The Shadow Circle

Chapter-14

That was the confirmation I needed. His reaction confirmed everything. Even though the evidence was right in front of me, or in my backpack if you're a pedant. I walked past him and sat in the shotgun. Kai-Nikolai-Lie... Asshat. Asshat sat in the driver's seat and started driving. He didn't address it so I guessed Elizaveta and Julian were as oblivious as I was ten minutes ago.

The photo gave it away. Nikolai Nozava looked exactly like Kai and not in the 'all Asians look alike' way either (though they don't, if all Asians looked like Kai/Nikolai I'd move to Japan). He was extremely manipulative. That should have been my first sign. I'd known that ever since I saw him. I'd trusted him because he seemed a nice guy. Apparently not, Asshat was an asshat.

I don't exactly know why I confronted him. It was a recklessly impulsive move on my part but one of my options was to run (not that I'd make it far because a certain Mafia Boss was after my life) or keep shut and pretend nothing happened (seriously though, you expect me to do that?!) or tell Elizaveta and Julian (God knows how they would react) or confront Kai/Nikolai (even more unpredictable than Russian Barbie and the cute hacker).

When life presents you a selection of dumb options, my modus operandi was to pick the dumbest and enjoy the ride.

Not that I was enjoying much. Not with the way Kai/Nikolai was driving.

"So what now, Lie?" I asked, tugging on my seatbelt.

"Lie? Who lied?" Elizaveta mumbled sleepily.

Asshat turned briefly to look at me. His coal black eyes had lost any semblance of warmth that they held when I met him.

"Lie? Nobody lied. Why would anyone of you dangerous criminals lie? I said Kai," I said. "Kaiii."

"Go to sleep, Kestrel," Asshat said in a saccharine sweet voice that was usually used to calm down an annoying puppy. If the puppy was a hellish three headed dog called Cerberus. It was scary.

"No ways, I don't trust you," I told him.

"Hilarious," he smiled.

"I'm dead serious, actually," I said in a deathly serious voice.

I felt a sharp pain in my leg. Did this asshat just kick me?!

"Yeah, Kai what's the plan?" Julian asked.

"You're awake?!" I yelled incredulously making Elizaveta yell at me to shut up.

"Well, the Cavilleri thing was a flop," Kai said and caught my eye in the rearview mirror that implied that he knew exactly why it was a flop.

"Thank you, Craptain Obvious," I said.

Elizaveta giggled. "Craptain, suits him. Especially after the Rouge Bis fuck up."

Asshat glared her into silence. Julian petted Asshat's shoulder. "Don't worry, you know what they say. If Plan A doesn't work there is always Plan B and Plan C and so on, there are twenty-five other letters," Julian reassured with an amused smile.

"No offense, Kai, but maybe you should start with numbers instead," I said.

I guess it wasn't often that Asshat fucked up but at the rate at which things were going, it seemed too hard to believe.

He grinned at me but it looked more like he was baring his teeth. I guess he wasn't happy about me finding out the he was the Shadow Circle's Lost Scion. Neither was I. It would have been nicer if he had stayed 'Lost'.

"Kes, is something wrong? Do you know why our mission was sabotaged?" He asked gently. He knew.

"From what I gather, it had to have been the work of some selfish, manipulating, fuckwit of a lying bastard who-"