He responds by shaking his head and pocketing the photo. Then he taps his watch. I don’t speak mute, but I’m guessing that we’re on a tight schedule like the last assignment, so I don’t try to ask him what the fuck he’s saying.
“Two minutes out,feccia.Cinqueis going to make sure you do it right this time. You have twenty minutes.” Quattro finally speaks and answers the question for him. I keep my eyes on Cinque, and he nods only once, like it’s a silent message I’m supposed to understand. I just nod back to try and gain my resolve before I sink to a level lower than I knew existed for me.
The van comes to a stop, and we exit quietly. Whatever miracle drug Victoria gave me is apparently starting to wear off, because I can hear the voices try to confuse me. No matter how tactically I’m trying to look at this, my paranoia scratches at the surface. I look right and left, feeling like I’m missing something crucial. Even as my body aches, there’s still a tingle in my spine that I can’t get over. My limbs and back are still screaming at me, but that’s the least of my problems.
This house is much different than the last. It’s older, and clearly not as modernized, but I can see into the floor-to-ceiling windows and notice how exquisite the inside is. The lights are on, and not just in this house. Further down the road, I faintly see another older, expensive home, and weak lights glow from that as well. With that knowledge, I’m assuming it’s not too late into the evening, but that’s a stretch.
I follow Cinque through the clearly-maintained shrubbery, around to the side of the house. The night sky is clear enough, and the moon makes it easy for us to maneuver. It’s sitting on enough property that the ‘neighbors’ can’t see anything, but it’s pretty open compared to the last assignment. There aren’t really any trees nearby, and the ground is relatively flat. In any other circumstance, this would be a beautiful home. Right now, it’s an elegant death.
As we approach a window, I can hear passionate moans and grunts from inside, and it takes me by surprise. Just when I thought this couldn’t get any worse, it does. This is one of those ‘why me’ moments, when of course, this couldn’t just have been an easy couple that’s already asleep.
Cinque taps my shoulder, and then my pocket. I’m taken aback by it for a moment, but when I reach my hand inside, I feel a small, weighted piece of…stone? No. It’s not stone. I pull it out and realize it’s a magnet of some sort. He points to the window latch, then takes it from my hand—I assume to show me. It magnetizes to the hinge, and as he slides it upward, not only does it unlock the window, but it keeps the alarm from engaging.
Was that in my pocket last time?I didn’t even think of checking them. Why would I have any reason to think they would supply me with anything that would help? Saconne did say something about ‘the Society,’ and Victoria said they were involved in more than I could ever imagine. The ones with numbers are obviously trained assassins, but what if it’s all tiedtogether? The trafficking, the assassins, this Society? When we finally get out of here, Victoria is going to have to do some serious explaining.
Cinque pushes the window open and steps inside. I follow suit, having to bite the inside of my cheeks as I extend my legs too much. My muscles still pull in an agonizing way, but I can’t allow it to slow me down. The urgency and need to do this correctly are the first things on my whirling mind.
Once I’m inside, he closes the window back and then taps his watch again. We’re moving quicker than I did the last time, so I’m assuming we have about fifteen minutes left. My mind may be a little sharper this time around, but I still don’t have a way to count the time in my head. I’m sure with two targets, whatever time we do have will go by quickly, though.
We move towards the noise, and then Cinque points to the kitchen at my left. I quickly map out the way I would move and see that I can loop back around from the dining room that we’re in now, to the living room they’re clearly in, if I move the way he’s directing me to. We could just go in through here and ambush them, but I’m not daring to take the lead here. Whatever he says, I’m going to listen, no matter how unfortunate it may be.
Well, ‘says,’ but I’m not opening my mouth to makethatjoke, either.
I move in that direction quietly. It’s painful to move quickly and smoothly since every muscle twists and causes me to jolt, but I force myself to move how I was taught. The kitchen isn’t that impressive, but it’s well cleaned. The time on the stove reads eleven fifty-two, and something clicks. Maybe that’s what Cinque was hinting towards? We need to be done before midnight? DeLuca was concerned about the time before we left… Today’s date obviously means something to them. If that’s the case, we need to speed this up.
As I turn the corner, I step into the living room and make my way behind the couch. They’re both completely naked, from the looks of it, but she’s not paying any attention to her surroundings. Her eyes are closed, and her head is thrown back as she rides the man beneath her. I focus on the back of his head, both not wanting to look at another woman’s breasts bounce, and needing to focus on my target.
“That’s it! I’m getting my money’s worth!” my target moans, and I almost gag.
His statement does make me think, though. She is much younger than he is, and it’s clear alone by their photos. Their last names don’t match, and as I look around at the clothing on the floor, it’s clear that she’s either with him for his money, or she’s an escort—a high-end one, from the luxury dress and heels, and the stack of money on the coffee table. I start to piece it all together. The instructions lead me to believe that she told this man something that she shouldn’t have heard. Cutting off her tongue is a message to anyone who will learn of her death, and removing his ears will do the same.
Before I can think any more of it, Cinque acts. He wraps his hands around her throat and pulls her off of him. My initial reaction is to run up and beat the shit out of him, but I have to hold back and complete my part. As much as I hate myself for it, Ican’tstop him. That would mean that I failed the assignment, and I don’t want to think about what they would do to Ashia…
I wrap my arm around my target’s throat and lock him in. He fights and thrashes, but I hold on as hard as I can. I must have seriously lost some of my strength over the past few weeks, because this is a lot harder than I remember. Even with using all of my strength, it’s almost not enough, and as he continues to whip side to side, I have to really exert myself to hold on.
He manages to throw his head back, and I cry out when he knocks into my shoulder. The pain explodes and radiatesthrough my entire joint, almost forcing me to let go. I keep my grip harsh, though, and force his head and neck to stay in the back position he put himself in. He starts to gurgle and gasp, telling me that he’s beginning to struggle. With another tight squeeze and a quick jerk to the side, his neck snaps, and his movements stop abruptly.
I fall to the floor, unable to hold myself up after that. Every bit of my energy has faded away, and I can feel myself crumbling.All I need is a minute… Just give me a minute.I take deep breaths and settle the spinning room. We don’t really have time for this, but I suppose as long as Cinque does his part before midnight, we’ll be alright. So, I force myself onto my side and use the couch to help me stand again.
My gaze is then drawn to the floor, and the room twirls again. The woman’s now-lifeless body lays on her side, and her eyes are void of any light. I tear my gaze away, unable to look at her more than I have to. It doesn’t matter what she did or didn’t hear, or what she said or didn’t say, she didn’t deserve this. She was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time, and whoever wanted her gone made the mistake, not her. It’s sickening.
Cinque pulls out his knife, and I turn to grab one from the kitchen. I’m not going to stand by and watch him defile her, but unfortunately, I still have to take care of my end. The butcher knife sticks out of the block, and the ring it lets out as I pull it makes goosebumps prickle over my limbs.
It’s just another body,I tell myself as I walk back over to it. Thankfully, the ears are pretty flimsy, so it’s easy enough to hold and cut at the same time. The first comes off in a matter of a minute, and the second only takes just a little longer. As I stare at the flesh in my hands, I start getting a sick feeling. I’m disgusting. I don’t feel that way because of the dismemberment, but because I did it forthem.
They’re cockroaches. Somehow, they live through anything and do nothing but live off of the destruction of others. DeLuca and Saconne both take something as divine as eternal love and turn it into a weapon. Every decision they make is based on the idea of committing evil. They scrape the coals from hell’s surface and force others to walk among them. If I don’t get the chance to kill them before I escape, I’ll pick up my father’s legacy. It’s the least I can do for causing his death. Only, I’ll make sure the task is done.
Plastic is swooshed in front of my face, and I swipe it away from Cinque’s hand. The cartilage slips into the bag, and I don’t bother to wait to walk back out of the window. Whatever miracle drug Victoria gave me is wearing off, and I’m becoming exhausted. My mind never shuts off anymore. Between the hallucinations, the pain, and now this second assignment, I’m just tired.
“I’m so tired…”
Ashia’s voice from that horrible day plays in my mind, and it almost makes me stop in my tracks. Fuck, I remember how she felt, and how she looked half-dead as she dangled from the ceiling. The relief of finally having her in my arms again, even in the state she was in, was like the world became brighter. I can only imagine the sunlight that will emerge the moment I’m able to hold her again.
She must be drained after everything she’s doing. I’ve watched the feeds of her storming into buildings after my men, of her early mornings at the Attic, how she paces our room at night. She’s not sleeping well. She never does when I’m not there… There’s no one there to hold her when her mind plays tricks, and no one else knows to rake their fingers through her hair to soothe her. Does she have what she needs for her smoothies? No one, but maybe Serena, knows how to make them, and if Ashia feels like she’s being rushed, she won’t do it on her own.
Cinque quickly catches up with me, and I’m forced to come back to the moment. We both slink our way back the way we came. He’s obviously not going to say a word, but that doesn’t mean I have to. I take it that small talk isn’t one of his interests, and I’m not sure there’s much to say. The silence is actually comforting. My own screams aren’t echoing off the walls, and DeLuca’s laugh isn’t assaulting my ears.
As we enter the van, I throw the bag of body parts back at him and sit down. The pressure is taken off my joints, and I allow my head to fall back against the metal side with a relieved sigh. I never thought I would be happy to sit again after being forced to sit in that chair for weeks on end, but my body is grateful for the small release.
