Ashton and I had crossed a line and there was no turning back. Multiple lines, actually.
He fucked me, poisoned me, then I tried to kill him, and he saved my life.
What about that says trusting coworkers let alone friends or lovers? None of it.
But our work didn't require trust. We had to watch our own backs before anyone else and that's why it was never a problem for us in the field. That's exactly how we walked into Rick's office building side by side in new suits without even having a second thought about working together. We had a job to finish and revenge to seek.
My heels clicked against the granite floor of the ornate black and white lobby, Ashton's polished dress shoes moving silently a few feet in front of me. The critical eyes in my head scanned the room subtly, memorizing every face I saw so I would know who turned me in if this went south. That, or to locate any CIA agents before they became a problem.
Ahead of me, Ashton narrowly missed walking into a short man leaving the office, lifting his badge off his suit jacket without notice easily. My partner continued ahead, scanning the badge at the elevator and pushing the stainless steel button. In no time the doors open a so was arriving at them, both of us stepping in and selecting the top floor of the skyscraper. The heavy doors closed around us, settling with a heavy silence. We kept our heads facing head, knowing we would have to wipe the security cameras later. The silenced pistol in my jacket felt heavy; I was about to kill yet another one of my bosses today and there was no stopping me. Rick has exposed me and now he would pay the price.
The doors opened and we stepped onto the silent floor without hesitation. Ashton let me take the lead, trailing behind me but following my movements as to not make it seem like we were together. The familiar turns came back to my brain as I walked past coworkers none the wiser to the real nature of this business. My black hijab blended me in with a majority of the other women working here on this floor; this might be a casual company but the corporate floor full of officers was anything but.
I rounded a corner to the right, slowing my pace so Ashton was walking beside me. He inconspicuously handed me the identification card with the flick of his wrist while we stopped in front of the class door leading to Rick's office area. The black box on the wall flashed a green light as I punched the door open with my hip. While placing the card in my pocket inside my suit, I pulled out my handgun in one move and fired two shots at the receptionists head before she could even notice the weapon. Two red holes blossomed in the front of her head as her limp body crumpled to the ground behind the desk, leaving the blue-tinted grey walls spotless. Ashton's long strides moved him ahead, his pistol comfortably sitting in his right hand.
He pushed open Rick's wooden door, aiming his weapon at our boss's head. I followed him in, shutting the door and locking it with my free left hand. "You must think pretty highly of yourself if you think you can outplay two of the best assassins in the world."
Rick's dark eyes snapped up with the sound of the safety clicking on my gun, standing straight down the wrong end of a barrel. If he was innocent I would have seen a sliver of fear in his eyes, but instead, I saw nothing but defiance. "I don't know what you're talking about, Athena. You're here and the money is in the account."
"Yeah, and the CIA's been chasing our asses all morning. You were the one with the rendezvous point," I growled back, my eyes in narrow slits of hatred. Never kill angry is a phrase I'd once been told by the man I left dead in an airfield today. Anger clouds you're judgement and that's why I was so risky in executing my father. Ever since that day I only killed emotionlessly but now I was having trouble following my own rules. I'd broken so many in the past year it was like I transformed into a sloppier and more deadly version of myself with Ashton being the prime example of that. My grip on the gun tightened. "I've killed people for less, Abioye. So I'll ask one time: who did you speak to in regards to me?"
