G I G I

Things had been going well ever since the first target was hit. We'd found and killed two more Imperium assassins in the time after; they'd gone down easily and we'd left without a trace.

With the money stolen from the victims' pockets, we'd been able to afford a cheap hotel room for a few days—a luxury compared to sleeping on the streets every night, where we had to take turns keeping watch.

"Julia." I turned to face Neve, a frown on my face from hearing that name again. Everyone else had called me Gigi, but the nurses used my real name at the asylum. And now Neve did too, probably because she didn't like or trust me. That was fine, I didn't need to be liked or trusted. I didn't expect to be, either.

"Your contact again?" My tone was even. We hadn't had another disagreement over her supposedly trusted contact, but I was still wary.

She gave a stiff nod. "Our newest target is a twenty-five year old male named Blaise Uttam. His mission is to gain intelligence from a meeting some official is holding in his home. We get in, kill him and dump the body before the people inside realize what's happened."

Suspiciously, I took in her strained expression. "Is there something else?"

There was a hesitation. "No." A lie. I could feel the way her heart was pounding, could feel the rush of blood in her veins.

I found myself changing the subject for the moment. "Where is it?"

"At a ranch about twenty minutes from here. We can take a bus."

I let loose a sigh. "My bow and arrows and your knives aren't exactly conspicuous. And I can't kill everyone on the bus to keep things quiet."

With a sculpted brow raised, Neve muttered, "It's always murder with you, isn't it?"

My desire for vengeance won out against precaution. Hoisting my bow over my back, I said, "Hopefully we'll be intimidating enough that no one will question us. If anyone reports us, I'll...deal with it."

Neve stayed silent, apparently getting the message. As I stood by the door, ready to leave, she carefully hid her knives up her sleeves. Again, I was reminded that she was hiding more than just her blades. I didn't care about personal problems, but I would want to know if it affected me. After everything that happened, I hated secret keeping when it involved myself. Sooner or later, I would find out.

As we rode the bus, standing in the back, I caught several pairs of wandering eyes on my bow and arrows. They snuck looks at our dark, worn clothing, I could feel it. But I stared determinedly in the distance, eyes forward and jaw set.

Their confusion and wariness of us nearly made me smile. They were so preoccupied with the weapons I held, but they didn't know I was more dangerous. They didn't know I could let their blood pressure spike or crush their skulls without even moving.

Wordlessly, Neve and I stepped off the bus and it drove off, the passing wind blowing our hair forward. Our shadows—made long by the low sun—stretched out far in front of us. Down the road was indeed a ranch with a large farmhouse right off the street. It would be easy to get inside unnoticed.

As we neared the house, a neighbor's dog ran up to us, snarling. My breath left my lungs—the racket could give us away. And if it came any closer, it could rip us apart with gleaming teeth. Its heart was pounding furiously. I raised my hands to prepare myself for the inevitable.

Neve held out a hand. The dog immediately balked, almost as if it could smell our intentions. Hesitantly, it came forward, sniffing the air surrounding us. As soon as it got close enough to Neve, it rolled over and put its legs in the air.

"Smart dog," I remarked, relaxing from the defensive stance I'd been in.

Neve said nothing, just gave a serene smile at the animal and obliged it a few pats on the belly. It was a small action, but it reminded me of Riley, who'd been able to tame even the wildest beasts. The thought surprised me; I hadn't let myself think of my other crew-mates for weeks. I wasn't even sure if they were still alive.

I wondered why these thoughts had even come into my head. I had a new mission now, one that would keep me apart from nearly everyone else. It was fine; solitude was something I'd learned to make peace with. For a while, I'd wondered if perhaps I could have a life of more than brightly-lit cells and my own swirling thoughts. And I had begun to find a new life. But then...

Shaking my head to rid myself of those poisonous thoughts, I reminded myself of what happened between them and now. The familiar rage boiled again in my veins, though not as ferocious as usual. That scared me. If I didn't have my anger, I wouldn't have anything.

Beside me, Neve straightened. Satisfied with the attention it had gotten, the dog ran off in the direction it had come. She gave me a pointed look before continuing on down the road. I said nothing.

We were close enough now to count the cars lined before the estate—a sign that the guests were already inside. But there was no telling whether Uttam was here yet.

I didn't have to tell Neve to follow closely as we stalked through the front yard, squinting against the setting sun. The closer we got to the house, the louder the talking and laughter became inside. Nothing was awry yet.

I led the way around the back of the house, knowing the chances of being seen would be lower there. Plus, it was likely where Uttam would try to enter from. Once he showed himself, we would cut him down before he could get inside.

Backs pressed against the side of the house, we waited for a sign he was here. Though we were both silent as mice, I could sense the cautious rise and fall of Neve's breath, the pounding of her heart. She hadn't been nervous on our past missions. What made this one different?

Now I regretted not asking her before. She'd brushed aside my skepticism, and for some unknown reason, I'd let it go. And now, I had a strange feeling it would cost me.

Again, my eyes shifted to Neve, who stood to my right. She was closer to the corner of the house than I was. I wanted to ask her if she felt the wrongness in the air, but the people in the house had gone quieter and I didn't want to make them suspicious.

Over my shoulder, my fingers tightened around my bow. Wind rustled through the long grass, eliciting a steady scratching sound. Something wasn't right. Something wasn't right.

It all happened so fast. Soundlessly, Uttam's dark figure appeared from behind the corner of the house and plunged his knife into Neve. My bow was already unstrapped from my back and aimed for Uttam as Neve let out a groan and cradled the oozing wound. Her body leaned heavily against the wall. I'd have time to heal her once Uttam was dead.

His reflexes were even better than I'd expected as he smoothly dodged both arrows I sent streaking to him. In fact, he moved so quickly that I barely had time to get a good grip on any of the organs in his body before he was right in front of me. His knife gleamed in the sun, stained by Neve's blood. I blocked it with the thick metal of my bow, creating a horrible metal-on-metal grating. With some clever maneuvering, I was able to twist the knife from his hand and slash it across his arms.

The assassin took one glance at his wounds and lunged for me with added vigor. I'd only made him angry. Using some great strength I hadn't thought he had within his wiry body, he gripped my bow and tried to pull it away from me—my single weapon at the moment. When he kept moving and engaging me in combat, I couldn't pin him down with my power.

The knife was in the grass by my feet. If I could just leaned down and grab it...

I reached for the shiny metal, but Uttam saw my plan. Using my position against me, he wasted the bow in his hands and wrenched it so fast against my arm that I felt a snap. Instantly, I let go. Not bothering to attend to my broken bone, I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of the knife, preparing to strike again.

Uttam barely dodged both swings as I kneeled on the dirty ground below him, the pain from my arm making my legs weak. There was a great crack as my bow was brought down, full-force against the side of my head. I fell back against the dry grass, my vision full of stars. Pain racked my body.

"You really thought I'd be out on a mission here, where you two are cutting down our soldiers?" He was far from me now. "No. I was sent to kill you, Neve Baquri, traitor to Imperium." Did that mean he was taking me to the fortress? Or would he kill me too? I fought to stay conscious.

There was a groan. Had he hit her? "Go...to...hell." Her breathing was labored.

I forced my head to move. My eyes were threatening to roll back, but I looked to the two blurry figures. "You thought we wouldn't find you? You thought you could betray us for this crazy bitch? We knew the second you'd gone rogue, Neve." I could barely make out him taking a step closer to her. "In all my years of being your overseer, I've kept watch over you, Baquri, waiting for the day you'd finally choose a side. And now you've chosen the wrong one." I heard the click of a lighter and Neve flinched back.

Fury burned hot under my skin. He'd called me crazy. And he was slowly killing Neve.

I focused all my energy on him. Pure, bright anger was driving me now, filling my weakening body. My vision went clear again and I gritted my teeth. This would be sweeter than the other deaths. Uttam gurgled as blood came in rivers from his ears and nose. One last snap and his skull caved.

My energy beginning to renew as my body healed itself, I sat up just in time to see the body fall. Neve was covered in her own blood now, looking shaken for the first time.

Somehow, I found it in myself to be able to stand on shaking legs. I could feel my bone righting itself inside my arm as I walked to Neve. Looking down at her stab wound, I could see how bad it was. I would have to heal the inside as well as her outer skin. Though her skin was normally a rich tan, she was as pale as death from blood loss.

Stretching out a hand, I held it over her wound and began to knit the flesh back together. The longer the healing process went on, the weaker I felt. But still, I pressed on. She wouldn't die. Not now. Not here.

I only stopped exerting myself when she could stand without needing support from the wall. Though the outer laceration was still visible, I'd closed it well enough that it was no longer a danger.

Her dark eyes met mine in an unsaid question; she was wondering why I didn't just cut my losses and leave her to die. I was partially wondering the same. "Payment for saving my life in the first mission," I told her, knowing I would have died that day if she hadn't stepped in. Now we were even. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

Both of us looked to the dead body. We'd have to dump it in a river near the fence of the property. Working together, we dragged the Imperium assassin to the banks of the river and pushed him into it, giving up the body to the rapidly moving water.

Then, turning our backs on it, we walked to the street. The people in the house didn't even suspect a thing.