Assassin Thirty Two

Eighteen: Dancing With the Devil of Death

In such a dangerous world, trust was valuable. If you couldn't trust someone, then you were basically setting yourself up for failure. Valentino trusted the people that worked for him. He trusted Joseph, his second in command who had been by his side since his ruling of the throne. But he was yet to find out if he could trust Ivy. She didn't choose to one day devote her life to him and obey every command he put out. She had a life before him and she too, knew how important trusting someone was.

Valentino and Ivy were cold hearted people. Love wasn't something they thought about or needed, simply because they knew the dangers of loving someone could be. Valentino was taught from day one why love was a messy thing. His father would often remind him that he didn't love his son's mother. Or the many women he would drag into the house with him. Valentino saw how loving someone could tear down a man. Many occasions he'd be made to watch someone who did his father wrong. Their cries and pleas as they begged for not only their own life, but the person they loved too. Then the partner, the wife, the child, the family, would be slaughtered in front of him. It was a reminder to never fall in love, never show emotion because it was a weakness. And in this world, you had to portray yourself to be invincible.

Ivy never really knew what love was. She never saw it. Her mother didn't love her enough to look after her own daughter. Her father left and she jumped between foster homes. For her, most foster homes were just temporary families. People that took upon the responsibilities her mother left behind for complete strangers. While Ivy would admire some of the relationships within her foster parents, she envied it too. Why couldn't someone just look at her the way the husband would look at his wife, the bright smile they would share or how their voices would lighten when the other person stepped foot into a room? When she met her boyfriend, she thought she "loved" him but she never said the words to him. Often questioning herself mentally if she even knew what real love felt like.

Ivy pulled on her coat, the wind from the building's balcony much cooler than it was at ground. The earpiece crackled before his voice rang through it. "Target is still located in the shop, at the checkout now. Seems to have a guest with him."

Taking a deep breath, Ivy pulled off her coat and placed it on the chair next to her. Leaning into the sniper, she adjusted her stare so it was in perfect line with the scope. Her target this time was Peter, someone she knew from the agency. Valentino wanted him gone and Ivy understood why. He was the second best assassin in the agency, almost as talented as Ivy and Valentino saw him as an obstacle in the way.

Peter was an asshole. A playboy who liked to show off the money he earned doing his dirty work by zooming through the streets in his sports cars or taking random girls on cruises with him. Now and then he would flirt with Ivy but she wasn't interested. Flashing her dagger would put him into place and he wouldn't bother her again.

"Target is leaving the store now, wearing a navy blue coat and a mustard beanie." Ivy moved the gun, hovering the red cross of the scope on the door of the store. Through the scope, she could see people walk by and then just as Valentino had said, Peter was walking out of the door with a shopping bag in his hand. Ivy followed him through the scope, she had arranged for the time and place she would pull the trigger. But as her finger lingered on the trigger, someone caught her eye.

A little boy held onto Peter's hand as he munched away at a donut from the store. It was Peter's son. When at the agency, he often talked about his son. No one had met the kid but Peter didn't shy away from showing the odd photo here and there.

Peter and his son began to walk past the alley way and Ivy froze.

"Eliminate the target now." Valentino stated but Ivy didn't move.

"I said, eliminate the target now."

"I-I cant..." Ivy whispered. She didn't want to put a bullet through Peter's skull right in front of his son.

"Wh-What the fuck do you mean you can't? Kill him NOW!" Valentino roared in her ear. He was pissed. Ivy wasn't following orders and soon, the target would disappear out of sight, living to see another day.

"Target out of view. Mission incomplete." Ivy whispered as she stared at the two figures walking around the corner, leaving her sight. She flinched when something crashed in the earpiece and she was mentally preparing herself for when she would return back to the hotel. Dropping the sniper, she then pulled her earpiece out and shrugged her coat back on. With the hood of her sweatshirt hiding her appearance, she walked off of the balcony and down the street, to an alleyway where the getaway vehicle was parked. Two guards sat upfront and none of them dared to say a word, they most likely knew that the mission was a fail.

The drive to the hotel was short but dreadful. With her face made of stone and her jaw clenched shut, Ivy stepped out of the SUV and into the lobby of the hotel. No one stopped her on her way up the elevator and she didn't know whether to be grateful that no one disturbed the silence or upset that nobody tried to stall her. When she entered the hotel room, the two guards at the entrance closed the door behind her, leaving her standing in the eerie room all by herself.

The sound of his heavy footsteps echoed through the room and Ivy gulped. Her hands were balled into fists at her side and she waited for him to lash out a strong line of curses at her. Valentino stormed towards her, rage bubbling through his veins and all he saw was red. Ivy wasn't greeted with a "hello" or "what the hell were you thinking". Instead, the palm of his hand collided with her left cheek and she snapped her head to the side due to the impact.

There was a silence followed and Ivy swallowed the stinging sensation.

"I wasn't going to kill him in front of his son." Ivy muttered, not looking Valentino in the face until he grabbed her jaw, forcing her eyes to meet his angry, dark ones.

"I don't give a fuck if his son was there or not. I told you to kill him and you didn't listen."

"I listened. I just didn't obey." Ivy growled and Valentino clamped his hands onto her hips, pushing her until her back slammed against the wall behind them. Ivy gasped for air at the sudden impact and his grip on her hips only tightened, no doubt leaving bruises on her skin.

"You make me so fucking angry. I tell you to do something and you think you're in a place where you get to decide? I should've shot you when you fucked things up with the Italians. Fuck!" He only seemed to get angrier, his nostrils flared and the veins in his face visible. Valentino's tone was harsh and Ivy flinched when he went to throw a punch, but instead of his fist colliding with her face, he smashed it against the wall beside her head. With rage still pumping at a rapid pace, Valentino pulled out his gun, shoving it underneath her chin, causing her to snap her head up.

"You might be a pretty face with a body that can bring men to their knees, but I won't hesitate to kill you, Princess." He growled at her and Ivy smirked, her hand grasping the gun as she pushed it further into her jaw.

"Go on, kill me Valentino. Do your worst." Ivy grinned sinfully, edging Valentino on. His fingers danced on the trigger but he didn't shoot. Ivy laughed.

"Get the fuck outta my sight." He snapped, pulling the gun away and stepping away from Ivy.