Red Princess

61. Assassin 101 - The Kissing Tactic

Ariel

This was one of those few tasks that I would always enthusiastically volunteer for. Less violence, more strategy; these tasks required me to be as vigilant as possible, and at the same time, they were pretty enjoyable.

"Can you... stop making that face? You look like a fish." Kaidon chuckled while confusedly staring at me, making me furious.

"It's called a pout, and it's trending among the youngsters these days!"

"Don't be delusional. You are not young anymore."

I picked up the pillow closest to me and hurled it in his direction. He stepped to the side, dodging it, his lips curving up in a slight grin, raising my temper by another degree.

I gazed at the camera lens on his phone. His eyes were fixed on the screen, adjusting some settings. For a brief moment there, I really wished for him to look at me directly rather than through the camera. That day at his house, when I saw all those pictures on the wall; pictures of my cousin, it made me realise how much he had loved her; so much as to surround his home with traces of her, and at the same time, had resented himself as much for letting her die. I didn't need to use my powers on him to feel the pain, the weight on his heart.

I wanted him to look at me, to see that I was more than just a picture.

Alive. Breathing.

I scoffed at the thought and looked away. The feeling left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had asked him to see me as Alice and act as he would towards her, but at the same time, I wanted him to see me for who I really was. Not as a replacement.

I felt like the part of me that wanted to help ease his pain was just a ruse. All that my selfish self really wanted was to be recognised as Ariel.

Do I want his attention? Of course not! I have Sey... but then... what is making me think like that? Am I really just an attention seeker? Sey would be so disappointed with me. Everyone would be.

I strode ahead and grabbed the phone from his hand.

"That's enough, I guess. We'll make do with these." I tapped on the screen, which prompted me to enter the password. "Can you...?"

"You can type it, 0610," he recited while his focus was still intact on his laptop.

"Your birthday?" I asked as I selected all the pictures to upload on the drive for Helen to receive them.

"Alice's." He promptly replied almost absentmindedly, making my finger freeze for a moment. I had the urge to reprimand him for keeping a stupid password such as that for his device. But it would be funny coming from me, considering my own password was my birthdate. I wouldn't deny that the real reason for my disappointment at hearing his answer was far more profound than I could fathom at that moment.

Recollecting myself, I shook my head and decided not to ponder on it too much. My priority was the mission, and any unwanted thoughts I'd push out of my head. I made that resolve in my mind as I picked up the glass of water to gulp down my medicine and went back to working on the website.

***

I could hear the restaurant music over the earpiece as I combed my hair in front of the mirror. Kaidon was stationed at his place as a waiter in the restaurant. One junior team was dispatched outside for ground support while Helen and our team were on standby at the headquarters.

"The music is distracting, Kaidon."

"Well, I can't help it, can I? I can't ask them to turn it off!"

I rolled my eyes as I twisted my hair into a loose braid on the side.