The Reluctant Assassin

by Alexandra Vos

  Listening to Jack roaming about his room was oddly soothing. I was under strict instruction from Dale not to miss a single sound that came from the bug, so I’d put it on loudspeaker and settled onto my sofa with a large pizza and hot chocolate. I could at least pretend to be relaxed.

  The door opened and my ears perked up. Something other than the gory movie he’d just had to have been watching was happening, even if it was just his mum.

  “You’ve made a big mistake, laddie.”

  I stopped chewing, panic setting in as the sound of something smashing echoed around my room. Jack was cursing and obviously got a good hit on someone before he was silenced: knocked out or gagged, I couldn’t tell. “Right, let’s go. The boss wanted him in the warehouse by now and we’ll be another ten minutes yet.”

  Setting aside my home comforts, I went straight for Dale. A plan would develop during our conversation, I was sure.

  I ignored Daisy and strode through to the back. “They’ve kidnapped him.”

  “Boring. I was hoping they’d say something.”

  “They did. They’re taking him to a warehouse. The boss is going to be there.”

  “Well, I hope you have something that can narrow down further than it simply being a warehouse.”

  “10 minutes from Jack’s house. There can’t be that many of them.”

  Dale pondered this before nodding and picking up the phone. “Violet, every warehouse suitable for a kidnapping within 10 minutes of the boy’s house. Make it swift. We’re going after the boss.”

  “If we can get him, then we’ll do it. Good work, Ilona. Go and get ready for moving. I’ll let Glen know what’s going on.”

  I decided I’d join Violet. Pacing my room would only make me antsier. At least this way I’d be able to see progress, if any was made. “Hey, Violet, how’s it going?”

  “Narrowing this down should be easy enough, we’re not in a very industrial area and Dale keeps all the places we can snipe from on record.” She jotted something down on a notebook. “This whole thing is bizarre. How did someone find out who we are? Do you think it’s some kind of underground defector out for revenge?”

  “I don’t know how they’d have slipped under the radar,” I pondered the suggestion, hands clasping and unclasping. “Unless they ran away and managed to organise an operation here. I guess we’re screwed if it’s like that. We’d never get to them.”

  Violet made a distracted noise of agreement as her hands worked over the keyboard. “It’s a big mess. I’m kind of excited to go and confront these dicks though if I can find the warehouse, though. Does that make me a bad person? I never really knew Derek, you know. I don’t think anyone did. It’s kind of sad.”

  “Yeah, me neither.” I didn’t even know Glen and Violet that well, but Derek was a complete acquaintance. “We’ll get these guys, though. I’m certain.” Bravado was normally the way to go in these situations. Boosting the morale was never a bad idea and I wanted this rescue mission to be every success. My phone ringing cut our conversation short. I blanched at Jack’s name flashing across my screen. Answering the call, I remained silent.

  “Hello?” His mother wasn’t what I’d been expecting. “Are you there?”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry. Hi.” I didn’t even know what his mum’s name was. I also had no idea why she was ringing me.

  “Is Jack with you now? I rang Ellie and he’s not there and it looks like there’s been-”

  “Are you in his room now?” I cut her off. “Get out of there before you talk to me, it’s bugged.” This wasn’t ideal, it was far from ideal, but I couldn’t let them know we knew about Jack’s kidnapping. That there was a chance we were going to do something about it.

  “What’s going on?” Her voice had changed, despair replaced with accusatory anger. “What’s happened to my son?”

  “Some bad people have taken him, but we’re going to fix it. Don’t worry. He’s in no danger.” It was perhaps the biggest lie I had ever told, but his mother’s cooperation was necessary. We didn’t need things getting in our way.

  His mother’s laugh was almost manic. “In no danger? Are you joking? He’s been dragged from his home. I’m calling the police.”

  “No! Wait! Calling the police isn’t the right thing to do, I need time without people interfering. Trust me, I can do this. Getting the police involved would be worse for Jack.”

  “I don’t trust you, at all,” her voice had wavered with doubt, though. “I’ll wait two hours and then I’m calling the police. If you don’t bring him back, I’ll make sure they’re taking you away.”

  She hung up.

  Violet fixed me with a frown. “His mum?”

  “Yeah, she’s calling the police in two hours. Jack probably doesn’t have that long anyway.”

  “I’m quite sure this mission has absolutely nothing to do with actually keeping Jack alive and everything to do with finding out more about this organisation.”

  “Yes, of course.” My irritation wasn’t well disguised, but Violet knew exactly what she was doing.

  “Don’t let Dale know you and this guy are more than meets the eye. He’ll no doubt want to end it.”

  “I’m not planning on it.”

  “Right, these are the three possibilities. Let’s go and see Dale and get on with this. You might want to go and fetch your gun.”

  Lifting my jumper, I revealed my already holstered weapon. For once, I was more than ready to end some lives.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The road was deserted and it was pitch black down the back alley Violet and I had found ourselves in. I had taken charge, edging my way along the abandoned warehouse to a window. It was silent.

  “No one’s here.” The room was dark and I could see nothing but a few decomposing boxes. “It’s not this one.”

  Violet had narrowed it down to three possible locations. We’d gone to one, Glen and Dale to another. If it wasn’t this one, perhaps they’d gotten lucky.

  My phone blaring into the silence made my body burn with embarrassment. I quickly answered, relieved when Violet retrieved hers to put it on silent too. “They’re here,” Dale whispered on the other end. “Park nearby, go down the back passage and keep low. The boy is still alive, but there’s no sign of the boss from what I can hear. Hurry.”

  We didn’t waste any time in hurrying back to the car and looping back towards Dale’s location.

  The warehouse seemed to loom over derelict buildings and closed cafés. It was dark and grim and certainly somewhere fitting for a murder. Or, if we got in there before Jack could be killed, plenty of murders.

  Dropping to crouches, Violet and I edged along the side of the warehouse, avoiding the low set window. Talking wafted to my ears through the thin walls. “Now, we always pegged you for a bit of a numbskull, but telling her everything you knew? That really exceeded expectations.”

  There was no response, Jack was presumably gagged. Dale gestured for us to hurry up, his stance angry and his gun ready to fire. “There’s four of them,” he explained, voice almost too low to hear. “One each. Glen, the blonde. Ilona, the hat. Violet, the lanky brunette. I’ll get the last one. Be wary of the boss, he could be anywhere, but we haven’t seen him yet.”

  A shrill cry followed by a low groan had my finger itching on the trigger of my weapon. I resisted showing any of my urge to go flying solo and prevent Jack any more pain and held back, waiting for Dale to give the order. Violet was right, I had to stop Dale from knowing at all costs. It would put Jack at risk.

  Dale gestured to two doors either side of us and we split up accordingly. He counted down with his fingers and the second they’d disappeared I was gone.

  I hit both Violet’s target and my own before she’d even aimed her weapon, ignoring their bleeding bodies to focus on Jack. He was tied to a chair in the centre of the room, blood pouring from his arm. It had been a cut that caused the scream, then – I’d certainly seen worse. Without appearing to be rushing too much, I hoped, I wen
t to him. The ropes broke easily under my blade and he hadn’t been gagged after all, just silent.

  “Thank you,” he murmured, also understanding the situation. “I definitely wasn’t expecting this.”

  My hand squeezed his for just a moment – no one would have noticed. Ripping the bottom half of my t-shirt off, I dressed his wound with the makeshift bandage. “That okay?”

  “Yeah, it just stings.”

  Preventing my lip from wobbling as I took in his bruised face and ripped shirt by gnawing on it, I returned my attention to Dale, awaiting instructed. “Dimitri’s in the office,” Jack brought himself to a pained standing position and I resisted the urge to offer him support.

  Dale didn’t bother to let us know a plan, he simply stormed towards the office door himself, pistol more than ready to avenge Derek’s death.

  He didn’t get that far before the door had opened and a dark shadow was cast across the five of us. I found myself squinting against the darkness that emanated from the tall figure now standing in the doorway. His hair was no doubt black, but it looked purple from the shadows. His face was the same, a palsy lilac in the current lighting, but probably deathly pale normally.

  “I see you’ve finally found me. Of course it would be because of this pathetic whelp. What a mistake bringing him in was. Though of course it has been amusing watching his poor little conscience try and figure out what to do.”

  I couldn’t move; I could barely breathe. His voice echoed, booming and yet calm and quiet at the same time. I hadn’t missed the mark.

  The red eye – the third eye – it looked like a small tattoo on his right cheek, but it was equal and opposite to my own. He shouldn’t be alive. “Oh your expressions are even better than I could have hoped for,” his local accent seemed wildly out of place. “Yes, I’m here. Yes, I’m alive. Yes, I’m going to slaughter you all. Don’t get too flustered.”

  Dale fired the shot.

  It was a direct hit, straight between the eyes. Dale didn’t miss. And yet, Dimitri was still alive, a dark shadow that had for a moment shimmered and become nothing. The bullet had gone straight through him without leaving a dent.

  “You Fae, so cute with your weapons. They don’t affect me. You don’t affect me. You’re all going to die.”

  Resisting the urge to flee was harder than anything I’d ever done. My feet itched, knowing I could be out that door in a few moments if I chose to. I wanted to be as far away from this man as I could. His coldness chilled my bones.

  “This is fascinating.” He began walking towards us now, but no one raised their weapon. We simply stood and stared, all horrified by his black gaze. His presence was hypnotising. “All so scared. Especially you.”

  Having all the attention brought towards me only increased my desire to run. He was approaching and my feet moved on their own, inching backwards. Anything to get away from the approaching figure.

  When a dark tendril extended towards me, my roll away was automatic. As was the bullet I loosed towards his chest.

  He didn’t just dodge, he disappeared and materialised right in front of me, the tendril wrapping around my wrist and extending up my arm. I struggled and screamed, but nothing left my mouth and that only made me panic more. My eyes darted to Jack, but he was no longer there. Nothing was there apart from Dimitri and purple shadows.

  “Hush, hush,” his lips didn’t move, but I heard his voice regardless. My back landed hard against the wall of the warehouse and the coil of darkness continued to work its way up, stopping when it was secure around my neck. “You can’t speak, I just want you to listen.”

  I had no choice in the matter and my whole body was rigid so a nod of confirmation wasn’t even available for me. “You know what I am and you understand my motivations. Everyone knows what the Fae did to the Warlocks. I’m sure you get taught a glorified version of your race’s noble actions.”

  It wasn’t even glorified – we were supposed to just accept that the genocide of an entire race was an accomplishment. That wiping out even the innocents, the children, had been the best course of action. We were Fae – we didn’t take an attack lightly and so the Warlocks had been more than deserving.

  “But you’re different, aren’t you? Not like those pathetic scum out there. You know I’m right.”

  “They shouldn’t be murdered. Derek shouldn’t have been killed.” My tongue had been freed and I spat my response.

  “Yes, he should. You know he assassinated a child last week? A baby. The child’s father didn’t want a kid, so he had it killed, and Derek was the one to orchestrate it. Don’t tell me he didn’t deserve it. Don’t tell me that they don’t all deserve it.

  “Ah, ah, no need to respond just yet.” My speech had been locked again, my mouth unable to speak. Part of me was glad. How was I supposed to respond to that? “You hate the Fae, Ilona. You hate them, with everything in you.” He tapped the skin over my heart with two pale fingers. “You’re on my side.”

  I shook my head, renewing my struggles, but being prevented more than an inch of movement past my constraints. The rope around my neck tightened until I was forced to stay still, breaths coming in pants.

  “How many people would have lived if your Guild had never existed? How much happier would you have been as a human, living a normal life, having your parents around? Never having to learn how to kill innocents, never having to hold a gun in your life?”

  “I won’t help you.” It was the only thing I could know for certain. I couldn’t let myself be twisted by him.

  His sigh was almost disappointed. “I really thought I’d be able to convince you without threats, you know? You have this moral compass and yet this stupid loyalty to people who couldn’t care less about you. Anyway, it’s beside the point. If you don’t help me, I’ll kill Jack and Jenny. End of. So, I have you on board?”

  “Yes, I’m on board.”

  That got rid of any need for consideration. Jack and Jenny were everything to me and their lives were worth more than all the Guilds in England.

  “Excellent, excellent. Well, it was nice doing business with you, Ilona. No doubt I’ll see you again soon. Now, good luck with explaining our conversation to your soon-to-be-dead colleagues.” With a final manic smile, he was gone, disappearing and the smoke leaving with him.

  I gasped for breath, my body finally free, and dropped to my knees, retching once. Jack was beside me in a second, helping my back to my feet and offering a body to lean on. “What was that?” Dale couldn’t hide his fear – it was the first time I’d ever seen anything like it from him. This wasn’t just anger anymore, this was complete terror of the unknown.

  My response was hesitant and I scanned my brain quick. Anything. Anything plausible would do. “He… he just told me I’d be last, that I’d have to watch you all die… because it would amuse him.” That would do, it would at least be enough that Dale wouldn’t care to push it.

  “We need to get out of here. Right now. I have a phone call to make.”

  “Oh, shit, I have to take Jack home. His mum is going to call the police if he doesn’t get back soon.”

  “What? You spoke to my mother? Why?”

  “I just saved your life, don’t whine,” making it obvious that Jack had my number probably wasn’t the best way to go. Dale would have no doubt figured it out, anyway.

  “Well, you can leave him there to sort his own mess out and get back to the Guild as soon as possible. We’re going to need all the resources we can get.”

  “If I take him home and leave him the same thing will just happen again,” I argued, mind racing for excuses.

  “Not our problem.”

  “We may as well keep him alive. There might be something we can use him for yet. As bait, or something.” It hurt to say the words, but I had no other reason for keeping Jack alive.

  Dale rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever. He’s staying with you, though. Now hurry up and get this over and done with. Get back to the flats as soon as you can.”


  Dale filtered out, Glen and Violet in tow. I sent Jack an apologetic look. “Sorry, it’s the only thing I could think of.”

  “It’s fine, at least I’m still alive for now.”

  Dale’s car sped away and I wasted no time in embracing Jack in a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re all right.” The fact he was injured didn’t cross my mind until he let out a small groan. I immediately pulled back, cheeks pink. “Sorry, I forgot. Just bruised? Did they break anything?” I gave his body a quick one-over now I could do so without judgement. I wanted to keep my mind occupied, and away from Dimitri’s pale face threatening my friends.

  “No, just bruised, I’m pretty sure.”