The Scarred Assassin || COMPLETE ✔️||

Chapter 29

When I think back, I remember hearing snippets of everyone else's conversations when I went in and out of the training area. It was all the way back when I first became an assassin. Obviously being the newby, I got a lot of unwanted attention from the others. Whispers always followed me around.

"So is she really the one replacing him?"

"There's no way, no one else can live up to him."

"That's why boss was an idiot to get rid of him, he was the best of the best."

"Shhhhh, you know he has eyes and ears everywhere Lori."

"It'll be fine, you worry too much."

Poor Lori, her funeral was that week, but at least her friend had a nice eulogy. So the person people were always whispering about in the corner of the training room must have been Carter. After a year of working as an assassin, I finally heard the story, or at least some of it.

He was sent on some sort of mission that he couldn't complete for some reason. After that he just... Left. Even though he left the agency before I started working there, it feels like he was still there the entire time, almost like he left a shadow there. Everyone both ignored and acknowledged the impact he left and the expectations he created. All I knew at the time was that I was replacing one of their top assassins and that's everything I was told.

Even when I look at Carter right now, I can't imagine him working as an assassin. He must've left the agency and decided to become a bodyguard to put his skills to good use. That probably explains how he's practically a professional at what he does, he spent years training.

Carter's still very confused about what my boss, his father, said about me. I can't blame him though. He probably thinks I was kidnapped and used as bait just to lure him here, which isn't a total lie, but I know I'm here to get my punishment too. Over the years, any assassin working in the agency will tell you to never defy boss' orders no matter what. I even have first-hand experience of his wrath and lived to tell the tale. That was considered quite a feat.

Boss laughs at Carter's confusion and I can already tell what's about to happen.

"Didn't you know?" he asks, "While you too were acting all lovey-dovey, she was also planning to kill you all. Isn't that right Amethyst?"

I can feel Carter's gaze and I lower my head in shame. I'm too scared to make eye contact, I'm too scared to see them fill with the hatred that I'm so familiar with.

"Oh, it looks like I was interrupting something," boss says, "Please, continue." At least his interruption bought us some more time. With his permission, Carmen turns her back and loads a few more bullets into the chamber. She turns around and points the barrel at my forehead. She spins the chamber a few times. She moves her finger to the trigger.

I can see beads of sweat forming on her face. It's just as nerve-wracking for her as it is for me. Both of our lives are on the line. Although boss gave her permission to continue the game of Russian roulette, but that doesn't mean she has permission to kill me. She already took a big risk by agreeing to play. If her luck runs out and she fires a bullet when she pulls the trigger, she might as well hold the gun to her own head.

Finally, she pulls the trigger and there's a click, but it isn't followed with a loud bang and a bullet through my skull. She sighs in relief and I just about manage to mask my own relief. I have to keep my composure during this, at least for a little bit longer.

Carmen hands the gun over to me, along with more bullets. She turns her back away from me and so does my boss. It looks like he's invested in this game as much as we are. Carmen wanted to play it safe, because she only loaded one bullet into the chamber. There's a loophole in my rules that she didn't even question, or notice. I never specified that she had to load any bullets into the chamber. I said she could load how many she wanted, she could've kept the chamber empty if she really wanted to. She was still taking a risk, even by loading one bullet.

I spend some time, pretending to load bullets into the chamber. The longer I take, the better, also it will pressure her more. She might think I'm fully loading the gun. I know Carter can see me though, I can still feel his gaze on me. I look over at him for a second and he's clearly confused as to why I'm keeping the chamber empty.

Carmen and my boss turn around once again. I point the gun at Carmen's head, but I wait. The sweat is now dripping from her face, messing up her makeup.

"Scared?" I taunt her. I pretend to pull the trigger and she finches. She frantically shakes her head, but she doesn't respond verbally. I take a deep breath and focus on the sounds around me. I strain my ears, listening for a specific sound. There it is. I can hear it. The others don't, they're too absorbed in the game.

"At the moment, there's a fifty-fifty chance that I'll fire a bullet when I spin the chamber," I say, "Depending on how many bullets I put in, it could either increase the chance of a bullet, or increase the chance of an empty chamber. What do you think?"

"JUST PULL THE TRIGGER ALREADY!" she yells in response. I spin the chamber and she gulps. I listen again. They'll just think I'm hesitating, but that isn't the case. I focus and I can hear it again. Loud footsteps. The footsteps of a group of people.

I finally pull the trigger and the others all flinch when they hear that familiar click. I take their shock and confusion as an opportunity. I jump out of the chair, the rope finally coming loose. I knock the butt of the gun against Carmen's temple and she crumples to the ground unconscious.

Before any of them can react, the door leading up to the rooftop bursts open for the last time tonight.

"THIS IS THE POLICE, PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"

Hehe :3