Till Deceived Do We Part

It took me a fair while, longer than I’d care to admit, to figure out how to get out of the base. Finally I managed it, but not easily. It was easy to get out of the gates, for when the guards saw me, they opened the gate without question, but the hard part was getting out of the base. To make a long, slightly painful, story short, I went out a window.

The road was dark, but I didn’t dare turn on my lights. If I had gotten pulled over by one of Dalton and Lincoln’s men on this road, then I was sure there could be more waiting. I knew the road well enough not to crash in the dark, but not enough to go my full speed. I suppose talking on the phone while driving with no headlights wasn’t too smart either, but I had to improvise.

“Hello?” Came Dane’s voice. I smiled immediately.

“So, where do I meet you?”

“Do you know that new restaurant they built next to the pub? It’s supposed to be the place to be. I managed to get reservations, and remember, I’m paying. Just don’t get used to it.” I smiled. I knew the place, I had done a hit near there a few weeks ago. Before this whole epidemic of horrible things happening, started.

“I’ll be there in twenty.”

I was actually there in fifteen minutes, but only because I ran a red light. I was an assassin, a ticket wouldn’t bother me. However, I did make sure there was no one near; I wasn’t about to run over some little kid. Now, that would make me feel bad. Don’t get me wrong, I do not get along with children, they don’t like me, I don’t like them. But I could never kill or harm one, that was something that even my cold heart felt for.

The new restaurant was large, which was an understatement. It gave the outward appearance of a castle, with large towers and a fake, and cheap, battle wall. It even had a moat like thing around the place, only the water was deep red. It reminded me of blood, but I would keep those opinions to myself.

I parked the car in the parking lot, which had, not joking, men in joker and jouster costumes walking around. Even men in rags, giving the effect of the poor off. Now, having a castle as a restaurant was one thing, but costumes? What, was this place for kids? Judging by the fact the valet charged me thirty bucks just for parking my own car, and the parking place, I doubted it. This place was expensive, and why people came here, I didn’t know.

I headed to the restaurant, ignoring the men in costumes as they acted out their roles. This was pathetic, but once I got inside, my views changed completely. They got even lower.

There were silk colours hanging from the walls, from pinks to purples. There were fancy chandeliers, ribboned and gemmed pillows for the chairs, tables decorated in elegant tablecloths and men and woman in kings and queens outfits. The castle was one thing, the outfits another... but now they made the place look like a... like a gypsy’s home. That was all I could think to say, and it took all my self control not to punch the man who tried to put a tiara on my head.

No way I would wear that. No way.

“Isn’t this place... pink?” A voice said in my ear, an arm slinking around my waist. I let him kiss the side of my neck before turning, trying to ignore the butterflies.

I was going to tell him that this place was stupid and we should leave, but when I saw him, I couldn’t. And it wasn’t the fact that he took my breath away, I already knew he did that. But it was the fact he had a crown on, obviously handed to him by someone working. As soon as I saw that, on his head, I laughed.

He grinned and re-wrapped his arms around me, pulling my face now into his chest, his hand on the back of my head. My body shook his from my laughter, but I was sure he was laughing with me. I just couldn’t help it. Here there was this attractive, slightly egotistical, guy, and he was wearing this wimpy little plastic crown with fake faded plastic gems on it. How could I not laugh?

“Laugh it up. At least I’m comfortable enough with myself to wear this.” I almost snorted at that.

“Table for two?” A lady asked, a pleasant smile on her face, but from her posture, I knew she was just dying to get off work.

Dane nodded and followed the lady, taking my hand. His hand was slightly rough, and much larger than mine, but I didn’t mind. I liked the warmth it let off, I liked knowing he was mine.

The lady sat us in a corner and handed us menus, before leaving. Dane opened his and only stared at it for a second before turning his eyes on me. His gaze seemed to scrutinize me, which I didn’t like. I paid as much attention as I could to my menu, but finally, I looked up.

“What?”

“You look... exhausted.” I frowned. “You have rings under your eyes and you look mentally drained.” He frowned before grabbing my hand on the table. “I’m sure your step brother is safe. Just don’t worry about it for tonight. Tonight is a night to relax.” With that said, he leant across the table, placing a kiss on my lips. It was too short for my liking, but I didn’t have the courage to voice that. What a shock, I of all people didn’t have the courage? You’d think Dane was the boogie man with the way I was acting. A very attractive good-kissing boogie man, but still one nonetheless.

After we ordered and our drinks arrived, Dane wasted no time in striking up a conversation, it was as if he was waiting for my lips to be occupied by a straw, before he began.

“I know this may not be your idea of a place to go, but Kaz told me the food is great. Plus, this is just the beginning of the night. You should see where we’re going next. If you think me in a crown is funny, I can’t wait to see your face when you get put into... outfits.” I frowned, pulling my lips off the straw. I did not like the sounds of that. He saw my face and laughed. “Relax, you’ll enjoy it. Anyways, I’ll end up looking worse than you.” At this, I eyed his crown, earning a loud laugh from him. He stood up, still laughing, and scooted onto my bench, pressing me against the tapestry covered wall. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me against him.

The initial shock wore off quickly and I rested my head against his shoulder, revelling in the feel of his body shaking from laughter. I closed my eyes, feeling content. This was perfect, this was what I needed. Whatever Dane was going to make me do later, it couldn’t be nearly as relaxing as this was. Just having Dane hold me was enough to make my heart hammer, and when he began to stroke my hair, his laughter dying down, I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest.

How could I not smile? The warmth from his arm around me was warming my soul. Who knew I even had a soul? I didn’t. I could almost feel my cold heart melting, melting because of Dane. How cheesy was that?

“How’s your arm,” he asked quietly, carefully picking it up. I hid the sting it sent through my body, and gave a small smile.

“Better.” He looked at me now, an eyebrow raising.

“Really? I’d care to wager you’re lying.” Before I could even begin to deny it, and wonder how he knew, he lifted my hand to his mouth and began to kiss it. He kissed one finger at a time, gently pressing his lips to each finger, and gently brushing them. By the time he was done, I was left wondering what I was going to say. Just the feel of his lips on my hand had turned me to jelly. “Now,” he said, a smile on his face, “it’s feeling better. Am I right?” He was right.

I surprised myself, and obviously him, when I pressed my lips to his. After feeling their softness on my hand, I had to taste them again. And of course, Dane being male and all, had no objections. His hand wound around my head, pulling me harder against him. I didn’t object. I don’t think I would object to anything right now. He made that thought clear when he slipped his crown onto my head. I let him, in fact, I leaned closer into him.

His other hand gently let down my injured arm, and wrapped itself around my body. His lips pressed rougher against mine, his tongue now darting into my mouth. What little sanity I had left, snapped. I pressed my hands to his chest, loving the feel of his muscles underneath them. I loved the feel of his warmth, I loved the way his mouth fit mine, and I loved him holding me; kissing me. This was how it was supposed to be. This was how I was supposed to be, normal. I was supposed to have a boyfriend, be a giddy little girl, and be happy. Be loved. This was how it was supposed to be.

We took his car. After dinner, not that I remember much of the food, he insisted on taking me to where ‘my surprise’ was supposed to be. I suppose I should have been nervous, for all I knew Dane could be leading me to my death. Maybe he was a bad guy, maybe this was all a ruse, but for once, I didn’t think about it. I wanted to be happy. I wanted this. So for now, I let all fear and paranoia leave.

He would drive me back later to pick up my car. His car was a black BMW Z4 M coupe, as he had rattled on for a while. He loved it, and I had to admit, it was nice... and fast. But I had no interest in car names or how they worked. It made him happy, though, so I allowed him to talk about it for a while.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked, after he had fallen silent for a while. He shot me a smile, a smile that would have made my knees wobble if I had been standing.

“You’ll see.” I frowned. Now my curiosity was coming. Never a good thing.

“Bu-“ he let out a laugh, shocking me. Soon I was smiling also. He flicked on the radio so it was quiet in the background, before speaking.

“You’ll see, Dray. It’s a surprise. And in case you didn’t know, a surprise, by definition means, a feeling of mild astonishment or shock, caused by something unexpected. If it is to remain a surprise, then it has to remain unexpected, which means, you’ll have to wait.” He smiled again, and this time I laughed. Fine. He won. This time.

I turned my eyes to the window. Buildings were speeding by, as were people. My eyes instinctively sought out the people, labelling them and determining whether they were a threat. Woman; prostitute; no threat. Male; druggy; minimal threat. Male; gangster; mild threat.

I shook my head. I shouldn’t be doing this. I was with Dane, I should be thinking about him. Talking to him. Not resorting to my assassin self. I wouldn’t allow him to see that, and I wouldn’t allow myself to get distracted. I was here to relax, to forget about all my problems for a night. Tomorrow I would go head on again, but for now, now was for me. For my sanity.

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Came Dane’s voice. I turned to him, his eyes were glancing at the people, also. Wow. We had more in common than I thought, though I doubted the same thoughts were running through his head. “Their lives are ruined. No one is there to stop them, to help them.” He paused. “And some of the things that happen out there. They’re cruel, heartless.” He glanced at me briefly before smiling sheepishly. “I probably sound like a freak right now. But when I hear about all these... rapes, molestations, murders, I just flip. You know? It’s cruel. Why aren’t the police stopping them?” Because they’re idiots. “Why isn’t anyone doing anything?” Assassins are. “It’s just... I dunno. Sometimes I wish I could help, you know, maybe join the police or something. But then I hear about what happened to you, and about all those incidents where police are being charged. They’re almost as bad as they are, only they’re allowed an excuse to walk around with a gun. Are they really that much different?” I didn’t know what to say. “Don’t get me wrong, there are some police out there that are loyal and trustworthy. They make it worth their cause, but the majority? The world is a screwed up place.”

Didn’t I know that. I knew how screwed up it was, and Dane didn’t know the half of it. If he knew what happened to children, if he knew how some men treated woman, he would freak. I knew, and I handled it. I killed them, but that didn’t make me better. I wasn’t foolish enough to think it did. I didn’t think I was better, if anything, I was worse. Not all of them killed, I did. But in my eyes, in the eyes of Jake, killing them was an easier solution than letting them live. Some may call us heros, ridding the world of their problems. But we didn’t do it for them. Some may say, in a way, we were helping, that we were trying to be good. But that wasn’t it.

We killed. We killed bad people. We killed those who deserved it. But it wasn’t for humanity, it wasn’t for anyone. It was for ourselves. Some of us, even myself included rarely, like the thrill we get when hunting. As sadistic as that sounded, it was true. There were times, that if I went without a hit for too long, my anger would build up. Killing people relieved my anger, even if that sounded horrible. I would never be able to kill an innocent person on purpose, but someone who deserves it? I revel in the thought, even though most squirm.

I don’t believe what I do is right, but in my mind, it is. Some people see murder worse than rape. Some people would say that they’d rather men raping woman, than having the men murdered. That was how some people viewed things, and they could go ahead and view it that way. I didn’t.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to go all...” he trailed off, giving me another sheepish smile. I shrugged at him.

“The world is screwed up. The people who are supposed to strike hope and a sense of safety in us, are the ones causing the fear. The ones who are supposed to be causing fear, they strike the hope.” He frowned slightly now.

“What do you mean?” Oops. Should have kept my mouth shut. Too late now.

“Murderers are cruel. We all know that.” Not all. “But haven’t you ever heard of a murder, where the victim hadn’t been the innocent one? Where the one who was murdered, wasn’t better than the one murdering them? I may be cruel thinking this, but when I heard about a child rapist being murdered, I couldn’t help but be thankful. Is that bad?” I didn’t want to come off cruel. I liked Dane, and I didn’t want him gone. To my happiness, he smiled at me.

“I understand now. And no, that’s not bad. I agree with you. I’m glad he’s off the streets, and it is an interesting concept. A murderer making us feel better? Never thought I’d say that, but I see how it’s true. I wonder if when the guy murdered him, he thought that. Thought he would get the glory, or did he merely have a debt to settle?” Dane shook his head now, a bigger smile on his face. “Weird topic. How about something cheerier?” And farther away from what I do.

“Like?” He glanced at me, his eyes smiling. Gosh, how did I find him? I wasn’t anything like him, yet here I was.

“How about how beautiful you look tonight.” He then let out a laugh. “It wasn’t suppose to sound so cheesy.” I smiled at him now. “Alright. What type of music are you into? What’s your favourite colour?”

So we went from there. He asked me all of those small questions, and I returned them. I was actually enjoying the talking, something I had never enjoyed. But after about twenty of minutes, he announced we were almost there. When he said that, I looked outside. I knew most of the stores and places in the city, so I was sure I could figure it out. And I did...

“A spa?!” He jumped at my voice before laughing. Loudly. Not a small one, not a sheepish one. He laughed loudly.

“I should have blind folded you and got the ladies to drag you in there for me. Ah well. I got reservations for us both, and you’re going in. I don’t spend money on anyone.” Didn’t I know that. I was about to object to the whole thing, when I remembered Dane’s previous words. That he would look worse.

“You’re coming in too, right?” He smiled, his teeth showing. His white teeth. It was rare that you saw men with white teeth, it was a nice treat.

“Of course. I couldn’t leave you alone with them. You may turn against me.” I rolled my eyes and he put an arm around me. I leant against him, but kept my eyes on the road. I didn’t know whether Dane was a good enough driver to do that, but I didn’t say anything. If I could live through getting shot a few times, I could live through a car crash.

I think... I hope.

He soon pulled to a stop, getting out of the car. I followed and allowed him to give the keys to a valet. We were soon heading towards the huge building called a spa. Sure it may be relaxing, but I wasn’t too comfortable letting people rub my back while I lay there naked... naked and vulnerable. There was no room to hide anything on your body when you were naked. If there was, I would have figured it out.

Even going out with Dane, I was armed. I had a dagger strapped to each leg, a gun in my purse, and a small derringer strapped to my side. The gun was small but useful. It could shoot a .44 mag, but it hurt like a bitch.

And once in there, I would have to take it all off. Not a smart thing to do if I had a hit on my head... come to think of it, it wasn’t a smart idea to be with a man I could endanger. But it was too late for that. Anyways, if everything went well, everything should get back to normal soon... I hope.

Dane grabbed my hand, though I think it was more to keep me form running than as an act of sincerity. Oh well. I take what I get. I moved closer and he smiled. He sure did smile a lot, but I liked it. I never thought I’d like a ‘smiley’ man, but I did.

The doors swished once we got close enough, and Dane pulled me in. My eyes scanned for metal detectors and found none. That was good and bad. Good, they couldn’t find my weapons. Bad, anyone could have brought in some. I guess you couldn’t win at everything.

The spa was huge. The roof stretched far up, farther than the one at the base. Only instead of weapons being portrayed, they had flowers... and candles... and girly stuff I’ve never seen. There were a lot of glittery things, along with some pictures I’d rather not see again. Sure, some males find pictures of women laying in a bed of flowers, with only the flowers covering certain areas, attractive, but I didn’t. Though I didn’t mind the male version of that.

The floor had a thick cushion carpet that felt good against sock feet, since the man at the door made us take off our shoes. Dane had been watching me the whole time, as if waiting for me to storm out. I wasn’t that bad... well, he didn’t know I was that bad, so he should be relaxing, if anyone.

The woman at the desk had her hair put up in a nice tight bun, with curly strands falling down around her face. Her face held that innocence a teenager held... only all adults knew differently. I knew differently. She had manicured nails painted a dull pink, thick lip gloss, and fake eyelashes. She was wearing a tight pink sweater with white tight pants and a pink belt. She shot us both a smile as we approached, but it was directed at Dane. No wonder she did this job. How many men could afford to come here? Not many, and the ones that did? Usually attractive, and the ones that weren’t, who cared? She could get tips by flirting. Nothing made an ugly rich man feel good like boosting his ego by getting some young girl, barely out of her teens, battering her eyelashes at you. Granted, I couldn’t talk, I wasn’t much older. But at least I wasn’t like that.

“Reservations.”

“For?” She asked, her voice a little to girly to be real. I was an assassin, I was trained to notice these things... and the fact that he was eyeing my boyfriend had nothing to do with me watching her like prey. It was purely what I did.

“Dane and Andrayka.” She glanced at me for the first time, and I had to give her credit, she pulled off a fake smile really well. She typed a few things into the computer, how with those nails I didn’t know, but she did. Soon there was a beeping and she gestured to a door to the left.

“Go through there. Once in, there’s two doors immediately. One for males, one for females. You’ll strip, put your items in a locker, grab a towel, then head out. Once done, go to the door at the end of the hallway. Wait in there and someone will come and get you.” She smiled brighter now. “If you need anything, I’m here. I hope you have a pleasant stay here.” Dane gave a thanks and I shot her a glare when Dane wasn’t looking. That wiped the smile off her face.

The girl was right about the doors, not that I doubted her. Dane insisted on giving me a kiss before I went to strip, and who was I to turn him down? The female’s room was... well furnished? That would be an understatement. There were couches, stereos, buffets. Notice the plural. How many things did a girl need when stripping down... in a one sex change room?

Despite the curtain silk panels of fabric hanging from the ceiling, that could be easily moved, I opted to strip down in the bathroom. After I decided that, I realized it wasn’t much better. Sure, there were actual walls but... how many woman need pink scented toilet paper? If Jake ever bought that for me, I’d shoot him. No joke. That was just messed, though I’m sure Flint would love some. I was going to test that theory.

Once stripping and wrapping a pink, much to my dismay, towel around myself, I found a locker. I shoved all my weapons into my pants pockets and in my sleeves, but if anyone lifted either, they would be sure to feel the weight. But there wasn’t anything I could do.

I closed the locker and stared at the door. I felt naked. I guess it was accurate, seeing as I was, but I was referring more to the fact I didn’t have any guns... or anything. I didn’t even have nails to scratch anyone. I felt... naked.

I opened the door, walking out, only to find Dane leaning against the opposite wall, a look of, what I figured was, horror, on his face. I felt better. I noticed the blue towel around his waist, and I had to tear my eyes from his chest.

“At least you get blue.” I mumbled, at this he gave a small smile.

“Wanna switch?” His eyes danced and his smile grew. I rolled my eyes Typical guy. No matter how kind they were, how humours they seemed, deep down, they were still a guy. A horny-after-one-thing guy.

“Let’s just do this.” He smiled and led the way to the door. I followed, glad that the towel was one of those velcro ones. As we reached the door, he stepped aside, letting me go in first. I would have chalked this up to his nice, honourable, chivalrous side... but I didn’t miss his eyes travelling downward. As I noted, typical guy.

I walked into what I presumed was a waiting room... but it was bigger than... than the main room at the base. And here I thought that was huge, if it was, I had no word for this.