Till Deceived Do We Part

I tapped mt fingers on my leg repeatedly, annoyance now filling me. Boris was early, so that meant the meeting would be too... right? Wrong. We had now been sitting here for an hour, waiting for Jake and Boris to finish ‘discussing’ something in private.

I let out an annoyed breath, which earned glances from everyone. Hunter, Vachel and Remington were all there, along with, of course, Flint and Zane. Hunter was looking as annoyed as I was, where the others were all looking either bored or emotionless.

I was just about to punch something when the door opened. All of our eyes turned. Jake and Boris walked in, both faces composed and showing nothing of their previous conversation. Both were hiding it, as every assassin should.

Jake sat down in one of the single chairs, and Boris took up the other one. Myself and Zane were on the couch across from them, and Flint was in a single chair near Zane’s end and Boris. The other three were on a coach closest to me and Jake.

Although they were both hiding there emotions, I couldn’t help but notice a slight sense of uneasy-ness. Something wasn’t right, or was is just all the recent attacks piling up?

“I want everyone’s undivided attention on this meeting. This effects all of us, and I’d rather not have to repeat myself.” Jake said, finally breaking the silence. My blood began to tingle, the sensation I got before every hit I did. The sensation before figuring out what I would be doing, and the feeling I got before my curiosity was quenched. “Now, we began to discuss why Boris and his men are here the other day,” he said glancing at myself, Zane and Flint. “We still have to finish that discussion, but we also have a new problem on our hands.” He glanced at me. “As some of you may be wondering, yes, it is linked with that. The attack on our female assassin, Andrayka, was from that group.”

I blinked. Probably not the smartest thing to do after finding out a man who is working for the men who killed your parents and tried to kill you, was the one that attacked you. But what was I supposed to do? Scream? Shoot something? Yell profanities? All in which I should do, would do... but couldn’t do since I was trying to prove that I was professional. I was trying to show Jake that my connection with the men was being left off the playing field and that he had no need to worry. If only he knew what was going on inside my head... granted, he probably had a good clue.

“The man is in our custody, locked away and being watched constantly. We have Drake to thank for this,” all eyes turned to me. Deep breaths, and maybe I won’t shoot them. I hated being watched. “The man played very low with her, and we have to take this into consideration. They’re not trying to play fair, trying to hold up their name... they’re merely trying to get their way. It shows that they’ll do anything, no matter how cowardly it may be, to get to us.” That was true. I had a bruised chest to prove for that. But I had sunk low too, only because he did, but I had done it nonetheless. However, that showed that we are capable of matching their attacks.

Flint shifted, obviously not liking that information, but by his face, I could tell he had already figured that out. Zane was frowning and looking deep in thought. Hunter was watching Boris, as if waiting for him to lighten the mood. Vachel was... well he was picking dirt out from under his name. Dedicated assassin. And Remington was watching Jake, his face set serious and look of determination on his face.

I remained sitting there, Jake’s words ringing through my head. Jake had fallen silent, obviously allowing us time to process the information. He tended to do that often, and I learned to appreciate it. When we were little, I used to take advantage of it... half the time I would fall asleep, so, seeing as I didn’t do anything in that time, Jake took it back. This resulted in many headaches from all the information being crammed in. I learned to never take advantage of anything Jake gave again. For he always had a good reason, always. Just that thought made me twinge. As Zane said, he did always have a good reason... and he had said that I shouldn’t see Dane.

I pushed that thought out of my head. Now wasn’t a time for Dane, it was a time to think of the task at the hand. The task that was, well I assumed, jeopardizing all our lives.

“I assume the man isn’t talking.” I said, breaking the silence. Jake looked at me for a moment before nodding.

“That’s correct. He hasn’t said anything,. We’ve threatened him, beat him...” he paused. “Tortured him, yet he won’t speak. He’s to be killed tonight, however, I wish for you to speak to him beforehand. He targeted you, so I figured we’d give it a chance. If you’re up for it, that is.” I nodded. Of course I was, and Jake knew it. It was only his courtesy that kept him asking. He knew I would never turn it down, and if I did, he would probably 911 the doctor. For me turning down something like that would be a sure sign of me going crazy, or becoming sick.

When I was sixteen, I had caught a very bad cold. I couldn’t stop coughing and sneezing. I could barely talk, and my body felt horrible. I didn’t want to do anything. And because of that, when Jake asked if I wanted to go a round in the shooting ranges, though we both knew he would always win, I declined. It had taken Jake a moment to realize I had said no, and when he did, fear filled him. He knew I had caught a cold, but he figured it was way worse. This resulted in me being examined 24 hours a day for three days. I had x-rays done, scans, blood samples, all the works. I even had a specialist exam my head. All results came back fine... and though Jake was still worried, I was annoyed. Being examined for three days straight tends to annoy someone, especially me. So... after being cooped in that room for three days, I managed to be released. Not on their own will. I smashed the entire room and threatened the doctor until he let me go. Hmm, and I still don’t’ know why he hates me...

“Now, we assume he’s from the group we were discussing previously, and I’m 99% sure he. He may not admit it, but it’s the most logical explanation. However, I don’t believe that the men who attacked me is from that group.” That confused me. If we were being attacked and singled out by that group, wouldn’t that mean they would want Jake dead? I caught the mistake that instant, they would want him dead. The men who attacked Jake didn’t. They just wanted answers. “We all have to be on alert. If and when we can leave the base, you have to watch out. They’ll be tracking our every move, but as far as I know, they still don’t know the base’s whereabouts.” The base was hard to find. I had gotten lost a million times. Flint would laugh at me every time, but when he got lost, which was only once, he was in a pissed off mood for days. I made his mood worse, but that’s what I was good at. “With that point, it means the people who wanted answers from me, has some connection with the people here. We have betrayers on our hand, so we have to be cautious here. That’s our top priority, to figure out who attacked me. Because I can almost certainly say that they will also go to our top assassins for information. Drake, you’re the lead on this investigation, and I trust,” he shot me a look, “your judgment. That you won’t make any false accusations.” I grimaced. I still had a gut feeling.

“Of course, Jake, I live to please.” I said, plastering on a fake smile. Zane let out a loud laugh where Flint rolled his eyes. Jake couldn’t hide the small smile on his face and Boris couldn’t hide his annoyance. I rolled my eyes now and lent back against the chair. Of course I wouldn’t let Jake down, this was my chance. There was no way I would allow myself to screw up again. Sure I could go on missions alone, but I was never in charge of group or partner missions. “I won’t screw this up, Jake.” I finally added when no one spoke.

Zane put his arm around me, pulling me roughly against him. I let out a grown before elbowing him, he let out another laugh before messing up my hair.

“Relax Jake, I’m sure she can handle it. If not, she has the big boys to bail her out.” Zane said, shooting Flint a look. At this, Flint laughed. Zane always could get Flint to laugh... I could too, but only at my own expense. And I wasn’t about to sacrifice my ego so Flint could get in a few laughs.

Jake let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. I couldn’t help but notice the joy and happiness in his eyes. He felt the same way I did, this was his family. There was me, his annoying scary daughter. Then there was Zane, the immature brother who would always be the baby of the family. Then the nephew who constantly stopped by, the one who would reek havoc around everyone else, but once around a parent, would act in place.

I shoved Zane’s arm around me off and moved as far away from him as I could. Zane only shot me a smirk before turning to Jake who was staring at him with an eyebrow raised. Flint had stopped laughing and now held his emotionless face again, so I quickly did the same. Sometimes I found it scary how we could easily wipe off any and all emotions from our face, almost like we were soulless.

“Back on topic, we have some serious issues on our hands. Like always, this information stays with us.” He paused. “For the next little while, all of you will be worked to the bone. For the mission that Drake’s leading, I need all of you to do as she says. If you have a problem with a command she’s made, come to me. If I find it ludicrous, I will dismiss it, but I trust her judgment. Now, with the mission myself and Boris are leading, you all will be on call 24/7. No exception. Get rest when you can, train when you can... but always be ready. Got it?” Nods ran across the room, and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. When was I supposed to get time to see Dane? “Flint, if you will.” I turned to Flint who gave a nod before straightening up.

“Lincoln and Dalton have formed and anti-assassin group. We had heard rumours about it previously, but we had no evidence to support it. However, seeing as we have been after those two for quite a while, we kept the case open. Nothing in two years had led us to the conclusion of it being true, until a month ago. We got a tip that one of our male assassins would have a little accident on his mission, that his car would collide with a tree and he would be killed immediately. When we got this tip, we tried to contact him.” He paused. “It was too late, and by the time we got to him, he was dead... the police already taking care of him. We couldn’t claim the body since the police would wonder the connection, but from the radio, we heard that the very same thing our tipper said, had happened.” Why hadn’t I heard of this sooner?

“Now,” Flint continued, his voice still professional. Sometimes, in cases like this, I found myself wondering how Flint could act so mature, in place, when he wasn’t. When he was still the guy who annoyed the hell out of me and fought with me every possible moment. He was so immature, yet at other times, like now, the most mature person. “We have no idea where those two are. We’ve been searching for two years, but since that last incident, we bumped it up. We have no leads. But we do have ten more dead assassins due to them. We tried connecting the areas they were killed in, but none are related in any way. They’re being careful and they are defiantly not making a pattern. However, due to the recent attack on one of our top, we know their main target. The man could easily have shot her in the head the moment she pulled over, but he didn’t... why? It may either be because Dalton and Lincoln let her live when she was younger, and wish to do the kill themselves. Or the conclusion which has more reasoning, that they wish to gather all of the top assassins and do something. Do what, we don’t know, but it’s being looked into.”

Now that was a lot of information to take in at one point. It was all going into my brain, and I was trying to find some loop hole to be the hero, but Flint had left nothing out. He had been thorough, and if he didn’t know more, it was unlikely I would be able to think of anything. He had more brains for this area than I did, and he knew it. We all knew it.

“This is a lot of information to take in, yes. So, if you wish to see a copy of the report, you can, it’s in Jake’s office.” Flint said. “We are not to take it out of there, and Jake, myself or Boris must be present when it’s being looked at. We’re having no chance of anyone at this base figuring it out, especially with someone betraying us. Everyone is to give it some thought, and tomorrow night, everyone is to put in what they think about this. Their thoughts, even the slightest change of insight can lead us somewhere, so think hard about it.” Jake shot Flint a small smile before speaking up.

“This is really important, for it doesn’t just effect the lives at my base, but at all. We may not be the most heroic people, but we deserve to live more than Dalton and Lincoln. Their group is made out of the worst types of people, so don’t underestimate the extremity of this mission.” He let out a breath. “That is all.” That was Jake’s way of dismissing us, we all took heed to it and got up.

Zane was immediately by my side, and I could tell he was itching to say something. My mind was already burning. This wasn’t good. This was worse than I thought it could be, and that was saying something. I had dealt with some horrific cases and here I was afraid.

Once out of the room, Zane directed me to shooting range. That was Zane, when he had to think, he shot. It was his best way of thinking, of getting his mind off everything. That was how Zane was, when he was in the zone, when he flicked on the assassin, he was the most hardworking person. He thought things out very thorough, sometimes making Flint surprised. He did his best work when in his element, which happened to be being an assassin.

Now, for me, I did my best work when fighting also... the adrenaline rush helps me. It’s like an energy drink going to my brain, fuelling up my mind and making everything so much more clear.

“What do you think about this?” I asked, just as Flint popped up by my side. I glanced at him briefly before turning back to Zane. Zane gave Flint one of those man chin up greetings before turning to me.

“I think we’ve finally got a challenge.”