Four in Shadows

Chapter 2

"The chief of police reports, there was a shooting inside the Charlain hotel in the north district. It all started with a fifth story witness who heard two shots. In an odd turn of events the fire alarm sounded. Police say that there where actually two fires in separate parts of the building leading them to believe whoever killed the parliament member had an accomplice. This is SNC news, we will return after this short break-"
Eliza sat on the edge of the couch watching intently for any information the police might have on her. She didn't want to flee until it was absolutely necessary. Apparently the anonymous hirer did not care that it was all over the news. An envelope full of cash had been placed at her drop off spot so they must've been satisfied. God! How could she have made such a mess. Eliza peered out the window to see the sunlight glisten across the wet streets of the north district. Questions filled her head, but one in particular had her stumped. Who was the man in the hotel. He seemed to know who she was or at least that she was an assassin. Perhaps it was the man who hired her just making sure she did it right. Usually they don't want anything to do with it. Hints as to why they would hire an assassin in the first place. She ran her hand through her tangled hair. A short buzz broke her from her thoughts. Her pager,only used for emergencies, lit up. She scramble to grab it and read,
"Ready for the information?" Confused, she replied,
"Who is this?" Quickly they responded,
"It's not hard to hack a pager sis." Oliver. She sighed in relief but was still I see of his ability. She had to admit it would be nice to have had a hacker help her navigate the dark web. Then maybe her information wouldn't have been sold the moment she opened it. Now she had deleted her entire existence. She was officially no one to anyone unless they were hiring her. Another message popped up.
"I connected it last night when I was in your apartment."
Smart little fox, she mused
"What do you have for me?" She waited a minute before he responded,
"51°40'12"N 0°26'37"E @ 00:00" coordinates and a time. She waited for more but when he stayed silent she typed,
"What am I supposed to do there?" After an hour of waiting she gave up. Apparently she was to be left in the dark for as long as possible. 00:00. With a two hour drive ahead of her That left her with 4 hours to prepare for who knows what. She grabbed her gun one of her poison kits that was hidden in the floor boards and a set of throwing knives. Never let it be said that she was unprepared when it came to weapons. She packed a suitcase full of clothes but there was no telling how long she'd be away. Finally she was on her way to who knows where to do who knows what. "You'd better know what you're doing Oli" she mumbled as she started the drive to 51°4012N 0°2637E.

It felt like she'd been driving for hours on the dirt road, when finally she reached the coordinates. Eliza tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She was nervous for some reason. Something was off here. While she trusted her brother, there were too many unknowns. It was too dark to see anything but she noted a building further down the drive. There were no other cars and no lights on that she could tell. She took a shaky breath and walked to the door. Should she knock or just go in? Maybe she should wait until Oliver showed up. She knocked softly but there was no reply. Checking that her gun was in place, she tried the door. It was open.

It was too dark not even the moonlight could help her meaning that there were no windows. What if she had the wrong place. "Shit. I should've brought a flash light!" She muttered under her breath.
A voice sounded behind her, "Woah watch the language."  Before she could register it she shot her fist out making contact with something.
"Ow!" Lights flicked on. She squinted until her eyes adjusted.
"Oliver?"
"What the fu-" Oliver bent over tenderly touching his  cheek.
"Language!" Said another male voice.
Her brother stood a foot away glaring at her. She swiveled to see a stranger holding back laughter.
"Eliza, meet Tulios." He said bitterly.
"Oh my god Oli why did you scare me like that?" Oliver smiled now that the pain was subsiding and answered,
"Well I didn't expect to be punched in the face!" She kept her eye on the stranger, Tulios, stepping back.
"Who is he?" She said ignoring his remark.
"I just said, Tulios." She gave him a side eye glance. He was tall with a heavy build and seemed only slightly older than her.
"Well I know his name. what is he doing here? Is he the a-" she stopped herself, wondering how much he knew. "The one you work with?" Oliver cocked his head to one side with an amused smile.
"Yes. Tulios is the assassin I've been working for."
She squinted at the stranger. He responded to her distrust by holding out his hand.
"Tulios Rodrigo Vittoros, a pleasure to meet you." She took his hand and her whole body was shook with the handshake. His smile was so contagious and warm she almost didn't recognize the last name. She pulled her hand back immediately.
"I'm sorry- what did you say your name was?" She glanced over at Oliver alarm in her eyes.
"Vittoros?" He seemed amused by her reaction. She blinked in disbelief. He was nothing like what she expected a member of the Vittoros family to be. The best way she could describe him was... jolly. His sparkling eyes and full smile made him feel like an old time friend even though she had just met him.  
"So you're the one hiring us?"
"Exactly." Said Oliver from the corner. He leaned against the wall to watch the exchange.
"And what exactly do you want us to do?" Her voice was skeptical but he responded with easy charm.
"Ultimately I need you to kill Lord and Lady Chalas, the nobles who run the east district-"
"I've know of them-"
"And who run the underground drug operation there." Her eyebrows went up. This, she did not know. "Your brother tells me you need a moral reason to justify taking this job." Eliza gave her brother a quizzical look while he simply shrugged. It was true but he didn't have to tell people. "Well I promise there is no shortage of corruption in that family." Eliza knew this to be true. Rumors had it that Lord Chalas would take a new mistress every month from the orphanages they funded. Young girls  told that they would be given a good home only to be used by that awful man. She shuddered thinking about the many other rumors she had heard.
"There is a catch though." Tulios continued, "their security is nearly impossible to infiltrate so you'll need to get on the inside somehow." Possible ideas for this popped into Eliza's head. "Oh and you'll need the help of the Wraith and Marina." Her head popped up at this. Even Oliver seemed confused.
"I'm guessing you know them?" The Wraith was possibly the most infamous assassin in all of Kon. He was impossible to find or hire and he worked on his own terms. He was more like a serial killer than a hit man. Or so she'd heard.
"The wraith? Yes. But who is Marina?" She asked
"His accomplice of sorts. We only found her name through a fan page for the wraith if you can believe it." He laughed humorlessly.
"But why do we need outside help? I work best alone." Her pride flared.
"And I have no doubt you are exceptional by yourself but this is a task for a group of the most skilled hit-men. Not only will you need their skills to even be able to get to the Chalas, but they can, under no circumstances, find out that we hired you." Eliza was still confused. "The more experts involved, the less likely you mess up." Pfft. Eliza tried not to snap at him.
"Don't be offended. It's just extra precautions." Tulios turned serious his voice lowered. "If you neglect to finish the job once you've started, or they find out in any way that it was us, there will be war. I cannot prevent it." Yes, the two families were both powerful adversaries, but war? It seemed too much to accomplish. Then again, it would be interesting to have other people backing you up. Keeping you in check.
"If their going to be working with us, I suppose you've found the Wraith?"
"No, actually. That's where you come in."
He gestured to Oliver. "You two will find them and convince them to join us. It's rather impossible for someone on the outside to contact them. Matter of fact it was rather impossible to find you. If it weren't for Oliver I couldn't have done it." Oliver grabbed her arm to reassure her. "Oh, and if you successfully complete each task, you will each receive one million dollars." Oliver's breath hitched and he squeezed her arm tighter. "So what do you say? Will you take the job?"
She hesitated. On one hand the money was tempting, but it would never be enough if the job wasn't right with her Conscience. Eliza sighed. She had way too strong of a moral compass for this job. She might never know if what he says is completely true. Then again, had she ever fully known for any other job she'd done? Oliver's eyes bore into her. He seemed so desperate but she didn't know why. She trusted her brother. If he said it needed to be done, he was right. In her mind she resigned. She started slowly at first,
"If-" she emphasized. "If I agree, you have to guarantee our identities will be protected." He nodded vigorously. "And you will provide the resources we need."
"Yes actually-" she cut him off.
"-I'm not finished." He took a heavy breath but his spirits still didn't seem dampened. "And how will you guarantee payment?"
He gave her a soft smile and chuckled before answering.
"You think of everything don't you?" She stared at him intensely. "We will be prepared to pay you for every step you accomplish. Once you find the others you will be payed."
"Ok-" now was his turn to cut her off. His smile turned devious.
"I'm not finished, the further along you get the more money you will receive at one time. I can give you cash so it can't be traced." When she knew he was done, she nodded slowly.
"Then I agree." Oliver beamed.
"So do I." He put in.
"Excellent. First task, find the two others and then you will receive $100,000 cash." Alright then, Eliza thought. Let's get to work.