Hitwoman

Chapter 3: Busy Day

(Aramis)
The dark purple bruise glared at Aramis through the mirror. It lined the bottom of his eye and covered most of his cheek. It was one of the least painful injuries but it was the one he was having the hardest time hiding. He pulled up his button up shirt to reveal the bandages that wrapped around his whole upper body.

"Are you ready?" Nolan asked in the doorway.

So surprised, Aramis dropped his shirt and almost took a step back. He looked at his brother's assistant. His brown hair was styles back and he was wearing all black. "Who are you spying on today?" Aramis asked as he crossed his room.

Nolan smirked, "Perhaps you."

"I need a babysitter," Aramis sighed as he reached for a sweater. His hand brushed over the empty hanger where his favorite blazer was supposed to be. It had been stolen by that insufferable woman. He was determined to find who hired her.

They moved to the halls. Most of The Crimson building was made out of marble. It looked like a bank, but if banks were full of upper scale criminals allowed to carry automatic guns on their back. Nolan handed over a piece of paper to Aramis, "Cairo wanted you to have this."

It was a list. A to- do list. Aramis scowled before shoving it in his pocket, "I'm an adult."

"The last time we sent you to do something, we found you bleeding out in a hotel," Nolan pointed out.

Aramis' thoughts turned to the events of three days ago. It was full of humiliation and confusion. Usually when the mobs fought, they left their signature. Who would have him tortured in their own territory without explanation. Aramis ignored the pain in his left leg. He wanted to limp badly but he refused to. Cairo said that the moment their father used a cane, he started loosing his name.

The first thing on the to-do list was dealing with a few people. "Do I look scary?" Aramis asked.

Nolan laughed, "You look like a school boy who got held back for getting into fights." That was what Aramis hoped he'd say.

He reached for the door and opened it. Aramis' own office was smaller and a floor lower than his brothers. But it was more hidden and less frequented. Today there were two men waiting for him and Charles, the muscle.

Aramis slid across the room and sat down at the desk without acknowledging any of them. He shuffled the papers around and then opened a file, "Sterit Vol and Myles Queion." He said aloud. "Do you know why you are here?"

They shook their head but their bodies were tense and Aramis could see the sweat forming on their brows. "Me neither," he continued, "My brother just sent you down here with instructions to me."

"So let's review," he smiled and opened the file. He clicked his tongue and shook his head as he moved the pages and pretended to read them. "So who is going to pay for this slip up?" He asked.

Before either could answer, Aramis pulled the gun from his desk and aimed at Myles. the bullet rang out and went right through his shoulder. Myles screamed out in pain and stumbled down. Aramis ignored the blood. "let's talk."

"My brother likes to think of himself as a king and he doesn't take kindly to treason. You betrayed him, Sterit," Aramis drawled. "Your partner won't be holding a gun anytime soon, but you need to hold your tongue. Thankfully, Charles has volunteered to do that for you."

Just as Sterit realized what was happening, Charles grabbed his shoulders and forced him to the ground while pulling out a knife. Aramis trained his eyes on him, but as the blood gurgled over his lips, Aramis had to turn his head. He forced down the vomit in his throat.

Cairo wanted Aramis to punish them and intimidate them. He had been forced to watch his father do this a million times and he had created quite the perfect persona for it. But it was tedious and disgusting. Aramis left the room, pulling out his brother's list.

Number two was greeting Leilani. Terrific. No one had even told him his sister was coming to the city. The drive was boring as always. Streets full of people who pretended they weren't ruled by mob bosses. Children chased a ball across the sidewalk while avoiding angry men and worried mothers.

Aramis watched as they neared the train station. Through the window, he saw a woman standing in the platform. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun and there was a gun in her pocket. "Stop the car!" He yelled, barely waiting for the driver to stop. He grabbed the gun off of the leather seat beside him.

"You slipped up," he whispered as he ran onto the platform. The people parted for him immediately. She tried to slip away too, but he got to her first. Her grabbed her arm and slammed her against the wall, gun to her chest.

The girl looked up at him and smiled, "That's a bad bruise. Do you want me to kiss it better?"

"Shut up,"he growled. He remembered the gun in her pocket and ripped it from her. "Who hired you?"

She let out a little laugh, but her eyes were trained on the crowd. "You don't really think I'm gonna answer you, do you?"

"Does a bullet to the heart not worry you?" He asked.

"You certainly not the first to threaten in. You'd be doing the people of this city a favor. They wouldn't have to worry about the assassin in their streets," she spoke like she was weighing out the options. Anger sparked in Aramis.

He pressed the gun harder and her breathing hitched. "I'll kill you."

She leaned up in her tip toes and whispered into his ear, "I know who hired me to kill the little prince of the Bloody Hands and you know them too." His heart faltered. He knew them?

His grip loosened and she tried to pull away. On instinct, Aramis brought his gun to her head and hit her skull with the side of it. She crumpled to the floor.

"Oh heavens, my little Aramis attacks women when I'm gone?" Leilani stepped off the train and approached Aramis. She glared at the crowd until they began to move again.

He turned to his sister, still keeping an eye on the knocked out hitwoman, "She's hardly innocent."

Leilani took him in with her observant eyes, "Did she do this?"

"No, but she's apart of it," he said and then wrapped an arm around the assassin, pulling her off the ground. He held her with both his arms and her head rolled up against his chest. She was beautiful.