“That’s true,” she hums. “He won’t let anything happen to you. I’m kind of anxious, too.”
“Oh?” I lift a brow. “Why?”
“It’s been a while since I was out in the field, you know? I got myself poisoned a while back, and it took me a while to recover. So, I’m scared I won’t do good.”
“What is, exactly, your expertise here?”
Many people here are just regular shooters, great fighters with an even better aim, and there are a few trained hitmen just like Arlo. One of them, Raven, enters from the basement, dressed in his attire, with his long, curly hair tied in a high bun.
“I like hitting things,” she smiles warmly, and I’m thrown off. I’m either dealing with a psychopath or someone innocent who can’t grasp the severity of this work.
“Hitting things?”
“Mhm,” she nods. “I have a metal bat that I added spikes to. They’re very, very sharp and can kill people.”
“No doubt.” I take a step back, looking at her thoroughly.
She’s a lot shorter than me, but now that I’m looking at her with a critical eye, I see that she’s got a great build. The bat in question is heavy if it’s metal, and it takes strength to swing that thing. Her arms are toned, biceps showing through the thin jacket.
“Don’t worry, my aim is good!”
“Then, you shouldn’t be anxious, either.”
She sighs. “I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, it feels like I’m not good enough for this line of work, you know? Especially when my wife is a freaking poison master. How do I ever competewith that?”
“You don’t,” I state bluntly, knowing that in terms of brilliance, Freya’s mind is one of a kind. “But why would you want to compete with your wife? You are both good, just at different things.”
Jewel takes a moment to soak in the words, then nods. “You’re right, sorry to be bothering you with my issues, especially since it’s our first time meeting.”
“No worries,” I smile. “I could use a friend or two around here.”
“Well, Freya, I and a few other girls go out regularly. It’s nothing fancy, just a dinner or gathering in here and playing poker for fun. You can always join. The next one should be in a week or so.”
“I’d like that,” I offer her a smile.
“Good, I’ll let you know when everything is scheduled.”
Jewel opens her mouth to speak again, but she’s interrupted when we’re approached by Raven. It’s the first time I’m seeing him up close, and he’s taller than he looks. The dark, curly hair has a few strands falling out of the bun. There’s warmth on his face that’s a rarity to see in this line of business, especially at times like these.
“Hey,” he greets Jewel, then nods at me. “I finished cleaning your bat. I left it with Freya.”
“Great! Thank you. Are you ready?”
Raven nods. “I’ll be going first, with Keith. He’ll be watching my back while I’m on the roof of the house.”
“From what I’ve seen, the house is rather big,” I quip, and the two turn to look at me. “And it has good security. How will you get in?”
“I’m good at being a spy,” Raven smiles cheekily. “X taught me a few tricks that I’ve used. It will be hard, but if done correctly, definitely not impossible.”
“Speaking of X,” I swallow, remembering the last time I saw him. It’s thanks to him that Arlo came to find me, but I haven’t seen him since. I’m not sure if he’s even alive, and given his contribution to saving me, I wanted to thank him. I never got the chance to. “Has anyone heard from him?”
Raven shakes his head. “When he completes a mission successfully, he disappears for a while. A year ago, we had this big mission, and he wasn’t seen until it was time to deal with Simmons and find the girls. A group of us started betting on his whereabouts. Some said he has a whole-ass family somewhere; the others were convinced he had another organization he was working for aside from Hudson’s. Some were even talking about him being involved with the cops again and trying to ruin the business.”
“And?” I urge, curiosity in my voice. “Has anything been proven correct?”
“No,” he sighs in disappointment. “Arlo shot all the rumors down and told us to mind our business. I did, however, press for more information. The only thing Arlo said was that he trusted him and not to question his authority. The betting ended there.”
“Do you think he’ll reappear at some point?”
