Eve and the Artemis (UNEDITED)

04

"M, aku ingatkan kau main-main," Orked watched the sleeping Ayana, bewildered.

M just gave Orked the look of 'told you so' while munching down his roti canai tiredly.

"Dah tu? Kau nak bunuh budak ni ke apa?"

"Ah.. patutnya gitulah kan?" He ruffled his jet black hair with the side of his palm. "I don't think I can do it though. Kau boleh Orked?"

"Gila ke? Lagilah tak boleh. I have things for kids."

"Then I'll just keep her with me until I find a way."

Orked nodded. There was a moment of silence before she finally stood up. "I'll get going. Shift in 30 minutes. Kalau nak tanya apa-apa pasal budak, just ring me up."

"Yeah, see ya." M answered weakly before watching Orked leaving his house.

Orked. She's a year older than M. Despite always dressing in black and having cigarette scents lingering on her, she is actually a kindergarten teacher. With credibility, at that.

M first met Orked when he worked part-time at a local pizza outlet to go undercover. His target at that time lived about 700 metres from the pizza place. He still remembered the exact conversation of how he and Orked became really close.

"Kenapa guna nama fake?" Orked asked M casually while mopping the floor. That night there were only two of them closing the place down.

"Nama fake? The hell you're on? Hahahaha," M kept his composure, trying to brush it off as a joke.

"Bro your name ain't Faiz. I know. Because I sold the identity. Faiz Naiman Kamaruddin, 25, pensyarah separuh masa."

M's hand which had been cleaning the counter stopped on track. He turned to face Orked.

"Really? You sold the identity? What's your alias?"

"Bunga. You should know the name."

"Unprofessional gila?" M continued wiping the counter without looking at Orked. "Should you really pry into your customers' businesses?"

"Hahahaha ko ingat aku kerja gomen ke nak professional bagai? It's literally a work in the shadows." Orked rested the mop against the sink and went to M, facing him face to face.

"But to be fair this is my first. Awal-awal tu bila aku perasan kau client aku, rasa kelakar je. Tapi bila aku fikir balik.. Kau ni.. Pembunuh upahan yang tengah meluas kat area ni kan?"

M locked his eyes with Orked's. It's the eyes of a killer. "Yeah. Betul lah tu. And if you don't shut the fuck up, I have no other choice but to kill you, Orked."

"Yo chill." Orked hit M's shoulder several times. "Kalau aku report kau dekat polis, they will question me too. Not a smart move for an identity thief, right?"

M still has his intimidating look on. The cold eyes. Orked told him enough reason for him to not give a shit about her. But at the same time he still has his own doubts.

Since that night, they always work side by side with M passing threats to Orked in whispers while Orked just laughed at him, entertained. Killing threats turned to empty threats as M started feeling comfortable around Orked. Then, empty threats turned to jokes and somehow both of them always turned to each other.

"You finally did it huh?" Orked passed M a cold canned drink before sitting down beside him. It was lunchtime.

"Yeah. Aku mungkin sambung kerja lagi seminggu sebelum tinggalkan this place for good."