Till Deceived Do We Part

Why is it that the only times I actually revel in my sleep, actually enjoy it, I get woken up from knocking? I attempted to fall back asleep for about a minute, but when the banging on the door grew louder and harsher, I finally stood.

My door had a good lock, but any assassin could break it. However, Jake had made it clear that they were to remain unbroken, unless in an emergency, something Flint hated. He would love to be able to tear down my door and dump a bucket of cold water on my head while I slept, only he couldn’t. It was a direct order from Jake, and when he gave one, we all had to follow it.

I flipped open my door, shooting a glare at Flint who was standing there. Hunter was by his side, holding a folder. I shot him a brief glance before turning back to Flint. I agreed to talk to Hunter, but not Flint. And I really wanted more sleep.

It had taken me forever to finally tear myself away from Dane, and it had taken even longer before I had actually left. Then I had to go through the trouble of getting in the base, which was a lot harder than getting out.

“What are you doing here?” Flint shot me an annoyed smile before pushing his way into the room. I shot his back a deadly glare and let Hunter come in. I re-locked the door and sat on my bed, ignoring Flint who was looking around me room, his eyes taking in everything. Great. Just great. I really loved having Flint see my panties on the floor, and my bra hanging off a chair. Obviously he enjoyed it too, for there was an annoying quirk in his lips. Hunter, however, looked slightly awkward as he took a seat in a chair, a chair without a bra on it.

“I decided to come and join in on the conversation. See how it’s going.” He shot me a look before flinging my bra on the floor and sitting down.

Inhale. Exhale. I crossed my legs and leant forward on my elbows. “So, in simple terms, you came to check to see if I actually have anything; that I’m not screwing up?” A got a large smile for that comment.

“In simple terms, yes. Don’t worry about it, Drake, your failure won’t come as a surprise to me. It’s what you’re good at.” I clenched my fist, trying to remember to breathe. But it was hard, especially when every time I took a breath, the thought of ending his breaths was running through my head.

“Can we not taunt anymore?” Came Hunter’s voice. I turned to him now. His face was pale and sweat was accumulating on his forehead and hands. What was his problem? Wasn’t it just a day or so ago he was in my face, dissing me?

“What’s up with you?” Flint snorted now.

“Don’t tell me you suddenly started fearing her? A three legged kitten is scarier. Get a grip.” I shot him another glare, which he pointedly ignored.

“No, I don’t fear her.” He also received a glare. “In a sense that she’s about to murder me on the spot,” he added, when seeing my look. Smart man. That made one smart person, besides me, in the room. Actually, that also made one man in the room, Flint hardly qualified as a man. Even if he was going to be a daddy soon. Ruby, the woman who Flint had accidentally impregnated, was still at the base. However, she tended to stay in her room, with a chef and doctor visiting her every so often. After the first few months, she began to revel in the thought of having a child, and as for Flint... he would take care of the kid, but he wasn’t about to win any daddy of the year award. If I was correct, Ruby was due to give birth in two months, and only now did I wonder if part of Flint’s breakdown had been partially because his child was in danger.

“Spit it out already.” Hunter turned to me now.

“You give me your thoughts, I give you mine. It all stays in here?” I frowned. Why would he be afraid it got out? Then again, why wasn’t I? If Jake found out I still suspected Boris, nothing good would come from that. So, did this mean Hunter also suspect Boris?

“Deal.” Flint spun to look at me now.

“What? Jake needs to know wh-“ I waved an annoyed hand at him and turned to Hunter. I wished Flint wasn’t there, but there was nothing I could about that. Well, I could shoot him in the head, but I’m sure Jake could do without that.

“You first.” I wasn’t about to throw it out if he didn’t suspect it. Hunter shifted, the folder tightening in his hands. He shot a glance at Flint before turning to me.

“I’ve noticed some odd... behaviours from someone within the base. And when I did, I watched closer. I believe this person is behind the betrayal and the hit on your head.” Wow. That was all I could think. I figured Boris was behind the betrayal, but not the hit on my head...

“Who?” He frowned.

“Who do you think?” Not what I had in mind.

“I have suspects, and I was beginning to wonder about the hit being a part of the betrayal, but I don’t have evidence,” I glanced at the folder, “so I’d rather hear what you have to say than discriminate someone without anything.” Actually, I didn’t care. But I would play along for now, for Jake. Flint was watching both of us, and I’m sure if you could see his brain, it would be spinning.

“Fair enough.” He stood up and handed me the folder. I took it as he sat back down.

I opened the first page to see part of an assigned hit. Not my hit, that would never happen. People don’t leave that stuff lying around. But this was one that the base assigned. Actually, it was the one I got. The one where the friends had guns and where I found out about the hit. Only it was different, and looked as if it had been shredded and taped together. How did Hunter find the time to tape together a shredded document? And how would you even find all the right pieces? I always figured that was something only shown on tv shows.

This sheet, however, listed his friends. Listed the guns they had, listed their families names and the threat; medium. They may have been a threat, but could easily be swayed. Or so it said, and so I had experienced. It also listed a paragraph about how though the target was a rapist, he had also taken fighting lessons and tended to do a lot of hits for people. He was an un-named assassin.

An un-named assassin is what we call a man, and rarely a woman, who takes on a hit for money. Hit for money type of thing. They don’t have a base, they’re not in touch with other base’s, and they’re not as qualified. Usually when we found one, we killed them. If not, we’d get a bad rep and sometimes their screw up could lead to our work. It was never a good thing, so we tended to just kill them. No mess no foul.

“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” Hunter smiled now, obviously relieved. “With this, and...” I flipped to the other pages. Just skimming gave me the basics. Most were just pictures of Boris in some place of the base, with times on the bottom. Others were small scribbled notes, which I couldn’t decipher. Either that, or they weren’t in English. They also weren’t Hunter’s writing, for his had been on the front of the folder. This writing was like chicken scratch, the one on the folder had been neatly done, almost like calligraphy.

“Let me see.” I glanced at Flint. As much as I didn’t want him to know, if he was to agree with us, Jake would have to believe it. Flint’s thoughts had more weight than ours, and it may be what we need.

I handed the folder to Flint and waited. It didn’t take him long to go through it, but his thoughts seemed to take longer to gather. I didn’t blame him, this was big. This was what we needed.

“You know what the worst thing about this is?” He finally said. “The fact that you were right.” He gave a small shudder, as if those words had caused him tremendous pain, which it probably did. I know it would hurt me. Just the thought of saying he was right haunted me. Flint stood, setting the folder on the side table. Hunter tensed, getting ready to stand also. I did also, but not as noticeable. “Now, the award winning answer? What to do about it?”

“Kill him.” I answer came automatically. Hunter’s eyes turned to me, and I saw some regret. Not for telling us, but for the deed we would have to do. It never occurred to me before that Hunter may have looked up to Boris, may have respected him. It would be like Jake betraying me, and that thought scared me more than I cared to admit.

“In time,” Flint said. “First, we have to convince Jake. He won’t take it well. We’ll also have to get information out of him, we need some things answered.” His eyes met mine. “Mainly whether or not he placed the hit, and if so, who to. If we can catch them in time, we can end it here and now.” I hadn’t begun to worry too much about the hit, but I was thankful nonetheless. It would have hit me in a few weeks that I had went from being the hunter to the hunted. But until then, I was going to let it be. Just push it out of my mind. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but with all the stress and weight on my shoulders right now, it was the best. For me, anyways.

“So now what?” Flint shot me a glare, so I returned it with a smile. Never let it be said I don’t return a gift. I always do, but in most cases, people would rather I didn’t. Just like I was going to return a gift to those who took Zane, and though I’m going to personally enjoy it, I doubt they will.

“Now w-“ he was cut off by a knock on the door. I glanced at it but made no move. I knew it was Jake, for who else would knock, but why was he here? Didn’t he know we were meeting, so why would he...

Flint opened the door. I shot him a glare for that and turned my attention to Boris and Jake who were now walking in. I resisted a glance at the folder, for that would be a dead give away, but I didn’t resist the urge to go sit next to Hunter. I sat on the arm rest of the chair he was in, shooting him a glance. He returned it before wiping off all emotions. Good. He knew how to hide it, for a moment I didn’t know. But now the big question was, what now? Yet again I wondered that, only this time I didn’t voice it aloud.

“I just wanted to see how it was going.” Jake turned to me, and I shot him a smile. “And to make sure you two didn’t kill each other.” He was referring to me and Flint, and we both knew it. “Zane was the peacekeeper... or at least the person who stopped any deaths from occurring between you two, but now that he’s gone...” he trailed off, not needing to say anything else. We all already knew it. “So, since I didn’t get that thorough of a progress report last night, I would like it now. Drake?” Great. Of course on the mission I got assigned to, it was the one where it was Jake’s companion that he trusted, who was the target. Just great. My luck seriously does suck. The next time I see Zane I’m asking for a leprechaun for my birthday.