I don't really use Wattpad much anymore and honestly assumed this was a dead account that fell through the cracks. But with one comment asking for an update, I figured why not. So, this chapter is for you, thank you for engaging with my content.

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*TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF ABUSE, SUICIDE, AND RAPE*

"Does the result justify the means?"

Sydney's POV

With that big assignment done, Cole and I had to stay on track with our own project. Paedo was our next target, but we have to be careful. While the official cause of death is suicide and they're aware of his apparent brain tumor, there's lingering traces of paranoia among the remaining four. Once we take out Paedo, we'll have to move fast. Skeletor's death can be written off as a separate event, but two is too much of a coincidence. They'll go into full panic mode and smoke out the offenders.

I want nothing more than for all this to be over. Kalinda finally knows everything and we're in a good spot. I alluded to my desire to end this, but didn't dive into details. She's got enough on her plate. She doesn't need to worry about my dumbass.

Eliza, Helena, and some of the others that I trust the most are on 24/7 watch of my family and friends. If things get ugly, they know where to take them. For now, Ivy, Gianna, Leah, Desirae, and I are ironing out the last wrinkles in our plan to take out Paedo.

While Skeletor was in it for the sake of research and learning, Paedo is slightly more sympathetic. His name is actually Jamie, and his older brother was studying neuroscience at Harvard while also playing football for them. After a night of partying after a big win he was walking home and brutally murdered. With very little money or power, Jamie's family tried to do what he could—appeals, petitions, writing to politicians but the cards were stacked against them and his brother's killers were never caught.

Heartbroken over his brother's death, Jamie became somewhat of a vigilante serial killer while also becoming an accomplished researcher on human genetics and DNA. He had hoped that if he couldn't bring back his brother at the very least, he could help other families get some justice when the system failed. Jamie was the one that taught us how to kill efficiently and effectively. His knowledge of the human body was extensive and incredibly useful. He also taught us how to cover our tracks. Honestly, he wasn't too bad. He wasn't much older than most of us, being in his late 20s, and he was almost like an older brother. Many of us, especially the girls, sought some comfort from him. He was very unassuming and honestly just seemed lonely and sad, still grieving the loss of his brother. Without a doubt he was the most well-liked out of the big five.

Until we noticed how comfortable he got with these girls.

Sometimes one of the girls would stay late after class or training to help him clean the lab. Jamie had a calming quality about him. At some point the odd girl would avert her gaze if he was mentioned or walked into the room. And one night, Gianna came back in tears. She broke down and told us what happened and soon others were speaking up.

Jamie had gotten too close, too personal, and too far. He wanted more than just someone to talk to and he wouldn't take no for an answer. We saw the bruises on her wrists where he held her and the disheveled state of her clothing. Girls stopped staying late to help him clean up and we began to travel in groups if we knew we had to see him for training or class. Fear was woven into the mention of his name to the point that we gave him his nickname or only alluded to him. We wanted so bad to believe it wasn't true. But once we knew, it was hard to miss the lingering glances every time one of us would bend over to retrieve a dropped glove or how literal he took "hands on training." The little things like doing our hair and makeup or the confidence boost that came with wearing flattering athletic clothing were taken from us as some of us no longer felt comfortable doing so.

One girl tried to report him only to be shut up and Jamie became emboldened. At the very least, every surviving female recruit can say they have been groped by Paedo. He knew there was very little we could do, so we kept our heads down and breathed a sigh of relief when we graduated from trainee to field assassin. We could move out of the training barracks in the south wing and into the private dorms in the northeast wing. While we girls were cutthroat in training and class, we always made sure to look out for each other when it came to matters related to Paedo. Even that knife bitch stepped in when he'd cornered me in a hallway only days after she'd pulled that knife on me during our graded match.

01100101

Many of the girls had been watching him and his family until the plan was a go. Most of us had specifically worn our tightest or most revealing clothing and done our makeup with blood red lips and knife sharp wings. It felt like we were reclaiming this piece of ourselves. When we lost that method of expression, it hurt more than others may have realized.

So, that is why Ivy, Gianna, and Leah sat perched on the stairs as Paedo's keys jingled in the door. He stepped inside and went to flip the switch only to find it not working. Desirae was manning the power box. On cue, she switched on a single, entry light that bathed the three in dramatic lighting.

He jumped, drawing his gun, before a smirk curled onto his face as he eyed the girls' attire. Even from the rented house, across the street where we'd set up our makeshift command center, Ruby and I grimaced.

"Girls-" he purred, lowering his weapon, "-you look lovely tonight. To what do I owe this pleasure and what can I do to get a peek under those clothes?"

A second light came on to reveal his disheveled girlfriend and younger brother both tied up and gagged. Leah, Paedo's first victim, stood up and gracefully walked down the stairs—clothed in a leather sort of dominatrix style outfit. He looked horrified, again drawing his weapon as Leah continued to the two seated figures, unbothered.

"You destroyed me," Leah began, "When you...forced yourself on me. You took so much from me I thought it'd only be fair to return the favor."

The color drained from Paedo's face as the pieces clicked together in his head.

"You see, these IVs are on a timer. This button will stop the right one and the other stops the left one, but it's built so once one button is pushed the other can't be stopped," Gianna held up the remote before joining Leah by Kristine the girlfriend and Jack the brother.

Ivy glanced at her nails as if she was bored, "I believe you're very familiar with the fun little cocktail: Pancuronium bromide, potassium chloride, and midazolam. You know the stuff used in lethal injection. Although we have may have altered the formula a bit, just to be doubly sure it's not humane."

"We inserted the needle into a vein in the arm just like you taught us," Gianna piped up.

Paedo's breathing picked up as he began to panic and his grip on his gun began to shake as he whipped it between the three. He threatened to shoot, but we all knew it was an empty threat.

"You just have to answer a simple question," Leah smirked as she ran her hand down the leather strap of her top, "Who do you love more?"

"W-what?"

The girls chuckled.

"Better make your mind up soon," Gianna sang before looking at her watch, "You only have about 30 seconds."

Paedo broke down in tears begging for forgiveness mercy—to save both of them—to take him instead. But as the seconds ticked by, the girls remained unmoved and uncaring. Until Leah informed him, he was out of time with glee. He screamed for them to stop as Kristine and Jack's panicked screams were muffled from the gags. Not wanting them to suffer, Paedo raised his gun.

"I'm so sorry, I don't want you to suffer," he sobbed as his grip shook.

Two bangs rang out and their whimpers were silenced as Kristine and Jack slumped over as a pool of deep red soaked through their shirts. Ivy checked their pulses and gave a thumbs down as Paedo crumpled to the floor in tears, pleading for mercy and for them to just kill him.

"You want to know the worst part, Jamie?" Leah said in a sickly, sweet tone before she grabbed him by his collar and forced him to face the scene before him.

Ivy went over to the two bodies and ripped away the tape to show that the IVs were never inserted in the vein. They had never been at any danger. He truly looked utterly broken and placed his gun in his mouth, before he pulled the trigger. When he was only met with a click, he whipped the gun across the room and cried out in agony.

Gianna and Ivy wheeled the bodies away into the other room as Paedo howled out in pain. He begged God to bring them back and take him instead. Out of desperation, Paedo crawled over to the IVs, but Leah grabbed him and jabbed her pistol into his side

"That'd be too easy," she snarled as emptied two shots into his side, muffled by a suppressor.

Paedo clutched his side as Gianna and Ivy held him down so Leah could dig out the bullets.

As deep crimson leaked from his body, Leah spoke up, "Thanks for all those lessons on how to cover our tracks. Can't wait for your death to be filed away with the other cold cases.

Desirae, Kate, and Jennie moved in to stage the crime scene and clean up and traces that we were here. We had a little fun trashing the place and grabbing any valuables to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Man may have been a creep but he had good taste when it came to decor and electronics.

"They're good to go," Ivy told Ruby and me through the comms and we began to dismantle the command center and pack the car. Ruby pulled up first to pick up most of the girls before I pulled up behind her to allow Gianna, Ivy, Leah, Desirae, and Tommy to climb in.

Desirae and Tommy held a strong resemblance to Paedo's loved one's. In the dim light and under duress, Paedo couldn't tell the difference. We'd switched out Paedo's bullets for two blanks and put fake blood bags under Desirae and Tommy's shirts that burst when Ivy had pressed a button. We left a letter to his loved ones, exposing Paedo. And Helena had been so kind to create a virus we infected his computer with, sending his unsavory collection of content to law enforcement.

But we had to tread carefully now, the remain three are going to be on high alert and I know I'll be at the top of their suspects. They won't give me the benefit of the doubt. They'll simply take me out if I'm viewed as too much of a threat. It's not me I care about though, it's the others they'll go after to get to me.