Assassin of Steele

Chapter 10

*by @amy_bda*

At 10 to 5, Rina and Ace turned up at the politician's address, bags in hand. Rina had already alerted Mack of their change in accommodation. The politician was staying at a grand hotel, with large, glistening marble columns leading to an imperial entranceway, guarded by two ornate obsidian lions. The lobby was even more ludicrous than the main entrance. It was full of plush, ornamental rugs on the floor, and art by famous painters on the marble walls. The ceiling was embellished with brass decorative embellishments.

Two glowering bodyguards met them in the lobby. After a quick once-over, noting their weapons, and glancing at their IDs, they led the way to the elevator and took them to the penthouse floor. Ace attempted to chat up the bodyguards throughout, but they remained stoic.

As they arrived at the top, Rina elbowed Ace none-too-gently in the gut, gesturing for him to shut up. Part of her took some satisfaction in the small grunt he made. She was still not quite sure about his strategy, and felt uncomfortable keeping her weapons on display. It went against everything she'd been taught, and she disliked having to defer to Ace and his plan.

They arrived at a small suite, where the bodyguards told them to leave their things. Then, almost begrudgingly, they handed them a sheaf of papers, room keycards and left the suite, bags in hand. Rina tracked them as they left the room, disconcerted by how sudden and smooth the change-over went. After checking the door was securely locked, she turned back to Ace. He had immediately flopped down on a bed. Rina inwardly rolled her eyes at him, before taking stock of the suite.

There was a small main room, with two chairs, a table and a TV. Off the living room, were two even smaller bedrooms, one of which Ace was occupying, lying on the bed, his bags already stowed under the bed. Shared between them, was the smallest room, a tiny bathroom which they would have to share. Rina quietly groaned at that. The only positive about the arrangement is that they didn't have to share a bedroom. Finally, Rina noted a third door that came off the living room, however it was tightly shut. She assumed it would lead to their temporary employer's room. At least it would make their job a little bit easier. Easy access to their target – check.

Finally, she turned her attention back to Ace. "Did you have a plan beyond this?" she asked.

"Oh! Are we finally speaking again now?" he asked, before turning his attention back to the TV, as he moved to one of the chairs.

Rina glared at him, frustrated by his immaturity, before deciding to turn her attention to the papers she'd been handed. Across all of them were instructions on how to "properly" bodyguard the politician. She briefly leafed through the papers, before putting them down, only taking note of the few important details. She wouldn't be needing the instructions for long, and then she could get out of the hotel, with its crappy arrangements, and dealing with a pompous idiot of a target and an even bigger idiot of a partner.

While Ace flipped through the TV channels, Rina started to plan their target's demise.

A/N: Sorry it's been a while, but I've been really busy. Anyways, here's the next chapter, and I'll try to get more done in advance while things have quietened down. That way, hopefully, I'll be updating more frequently.  Enjoy!