Fatal Attraction

By Samhita M

He closed the last button on his off-white shirt and stared back at himself in the mirror. His slightly long black hair is tucked into a small high pony, letting his undercut show as one strand of hair falls back over his eye. His eyes are outlined by light eyeliner and minimalistic jewellery adorn his neck, ears and hands. He was fairly tall and lean and he always wondered how he’s look in heels. He undoubtedly had urges to try it at time but it was inconvenient, given his job.

He sighs. “Finally, a night to myself” he whispers. After all, as the spy for The Phantom Vault, it was hard to get days off. At least he doesn’t have to deal with clients, right? As much as he likes the adrenaline rushes, a break from the crime life might actually be good for him. He still tucks a gun behind his back anyway. You never know. He adjusts his watch and puts on a mask but stops in between. It was second nature now, wearing a mask. But it was a date tonight. He doesn’t need it. He slightly smiles and rests it back down on his bedside table. His fairly big room was illuminated with multiple smaller lamps but never the brighter one. It was unconventional, sure, but he liked it that way. It gave him a sense of calm.

He walked out and grabbed his suit jacket and the keys. He had a disproportionately large apartment for someone who lives alone. He put on the jacket, locked his door and walked to his neighbour’s door and knocked. This was just a measure if Aaron randomly decides to crash. He had a tendency to do that. A young girl in sleepwear with eyebags and a pen in her coffee opened the door. He handed her the spare key and flashed an awkward smile which was not returned. He let out a breath as she slammed the door in his face. She was a medical student working two jobs to pay her tuition and rent. She was around 4-5 years younger than him. That made him feel strangely old even though he was still in his 20s.

Once he was out of the building, his thoughts diverted to his date. It was a blind date. He only knew what she looked like based on Aaron’s description of her. She sure sounded beautiful. “Trust me, Jami, you’ll probably fall for her the minute you see her” he had said. Jami scoffs. He isn’t exactly active in the love area but he is willing to try which is the only reason he let Aaron set him up with his friend who works at the local bookstore. Besides, Aaron had covered for him quite a few time in The Hollow Coin when his cover was going to be blown so he trusted him.

Both of them are spies from The Phantom Vault who were keeping an eye on The Hollow Coin. They were famous spies actually. Each had his own reputation. Jami was called ‘The Silent Serpent’ since no one ever knew what he looked like, sounded like or which organisation he belonged to, always slipped from their grasps and was still able to make lethal blows to any organisation he infiltrates. Aaron was called ‘The Untouchable Ruler’ since it was rumoured that he had his own organisation of spies. Even though that was untrue, he also had never been seen or involved in an actual physical fight.

The Phantom Thieves putting their top spies in The Hollow Coins means they are extremely untrusting of the latter organisation despite the truce agreement. At least the truce is how it’s supposed to be but it’s only on paper. The war between the money laundering agency, The Phantom Thieves, who organise robberies and lend money to a high-class clientele on credit term and the counterfeit money assets agency, The Hollow Coin who help the same range of clientele import and export fake goods with counterfeit money is bound to be endless.

He snapped out of his thoughts as the taxi came to a stop. After paying for the taxi, he realised that he told the wrong address but thankfully, it was only an 8-minute walk from where he was. The city was quite beautiful in the night, especially in this expensive area. Street lights flash over satin cloth as the smell of alcohol fills the air.

As he was walking, he notices that a woman had been on the same path as him for almost 5 minutes now. He turned his head to get a better look at her while his feet was still moving. Now that he thought about it, she did vaguely fit the description that Aaron gave him. She had long black wavy hair with a few slightly faded streaks of red. Although he couldn’t get a clear look at her eyes, they appeared a dark brown as they reflected the bright lights surrounding her. She wore a jumpsuit, the same shade of red as her hair streaks with jewellery that stood out, one of which included a pair of long black laced gloves. The gloves had accents of red, reflecting her jumpsuit. She was also going the same directions as him. Was it her? Was it his date?

He approached her without thinking. “Hey, excuse me, if I may ask, where are you headed ma’am?” he asks as they both came to a halt.

“Oh, I’m actually headed on a date.”

“Is it a blind date?”

“Yes, why do you- Oh! Are you Jami Cox?”

“Why yes, I am. Are you Nova Black?”

“That is me”

They both break into small chuckles. “Isn’t this quite the coincidence? We meet right before we reach our destination. Maybe it’s a sign that it will go well.” He met her eyes as he looked back up and saw that it was golden brown, the colour of luscious chocolate and worn-out books. He couldn’t stop looking at them. Without breaking eye contact, “Yes, I suppose so” he says, sounding as though he just saw the gates of heaven open before his eyes. “But there’s only one way to find out” he manages to get the words out of his mouth as he looks down, like he was snapped out of a spell.

“Shall we then?” She turns forward and offers a hand, gesturing they continue and walk to the restaurant. After he looks up, he realises he’s been careless. There are three men pointing a gun at them from the alley behind her. “Is there something wrong?” She asks as his eyes widen. “Get down!” He yells as the men start to fire. He grabs her hand and their backs crash against the wall as he observes that the entire street is now empty. This was carefully planned for tonight. He recalled the logos on their guns, The Hollow Coin. They were here to kill him.

How had they found out? How did they know he was going to take this route here? Had Aaron betrayed him? A thousand thoughts ran in his head as he looked to his to see a terrified Nova. He’d have to deal with these goons before finding answers or explaining to her. He took her to the alleyway two blocks away, asked her to stay there and ran to the opposite street to ambush them from the back. He didn’t recognise the hitmen, so they must be lower ranking members. It would be easy enough to deal with. But it was what that might come after that made his stomach turn.

He stealthily sneaked up behind them as he grabbed the neck of one of them and slowly, quietly squeezed it until he was unconscious. Unfortunately, one of the other two men, realised and got ready to shoot. But Jami kicked him in the crotch and slammed his head against the wall which caused the bullet to hit the last hitman in the shoulder. He punched him in the face, just to make sure. All three of them were incapacitated. He ran out of the alley, looked up for snipers and looked around for their possible backup. There was no one else but he had to kill the three. He sighed and as he walked back in, Nova followed him.

“What are you doing? I asked you to stay put” he says, concerned as she quickly walks towards him with a smile. “You did save my life; I owe you a thanks” she says, hugging him. This really caught him off guard. He stares at nothing for a few second before melting into the embrace. “Of course, don’t worry about it” he says softly. She breaks away from the hug and places her hand on this chest with one hand still on his back. They lock eyes again and it hits him like a truck. He’s mesmerised again but this time it was both her eyes and her smile. She was ethereal. He hates to admit it but Aaron might have been right, he was falling for her, after knowing her for only 15 minutes.

While under her spell, he didn’t feel her hand move up to the dip in his collarbone and the lower part of his neck. He finally came back to his senses as she put more pressure there, making it difficult for him to breath. “Thank you, Silent Serpent, for being so dumb.” she says, as she kicks in the back of his right knee joint, causing him to fall to his knees. He realises he’s been even more careless than he initially thought. She places his own gun to his head. This is when he notices the red on her laced gloves wasn’t a reflection of her outfit, it was blood.

If she had The Hollow Coin’s guns then that means she is most likely an ex-member. If she knew I was going to be here, means she knew Aaron which would also mean, she was in contact with The Phantom Vault’s members. He’s slowly starting to figure it out and this is the most dangerous situation he could’ve been in all of time he spent in the criminal world. He dares not move.

“They were decoys, weren’t they?” he says, furrowing his eyebrows.

“You’re finally catching on, good job” she replies caressing his jawline, pressing gun to his forehead.

How could he have been so stupid? He never should’ve let his guard down. This was the moment he realised he could never have a life outside of the crime world and anything or anyone who he drags into his life will inevitably be in danger by association itself. But he still had other things to worry about at the moment.

“How did you know who I was? What have you done with Aaron? Who are you with? But more importantly, who exactly are you?” He asks, fury shaking in his every word. She slowly circles around him, still keeping the gun near his head. “Oh, so many questions.” She lightly laughs as if to mock him. “But if you do want to know, I’m an assassin and bounty hunter, an independent one and about the other things, you’ll figure it out in time. That is, if you have more time to live-“ she heavily sighs “-which you actually might” “Huh?” This was unexpected.

“When I took this job, I was on the edge about killing you. You could prove useful to me.”

“Useful how?”

“Information of course. You are a spy. Not only do you know the inner workings of The Hollow Coin, but also The Phantom Vault.”

“Why do you want that information? You work independently. And you have enough connection to both organisations.”

She stopped pacing and faced him, “I have my reasons.” She restarted pacing. “Besides, you can give me more detailed intel”

“I won’t talk until you tell me who you are. Is Nova Black even your real name?”

She picks up a rope tied to one of the unconscious men and begins tying his hands behind his back but he didn’t resist in the slightest. “Even if it was, I wouldn’t tell you. Besides, you might know me by a different name” ‘A different name?’ It’s most likely a nickname rather than a pseudonym. Most famous assassins and spies have one. He should give up on trying to find out who she is and rather focus on how she found him.

“I’ll repeat my question, how did you find out who I was?”

She scoffs, “Just when I started to think you might be smart. Did you not hear me say that I’m also a bounty hunter? It’s in my expertise to know all of this.”

“But there’s only one bounty hunter and assassin who has these connections and possess these-” She tightened the rope making him flinch. It was her. She leaned in as he felt her breath on his neck. “Say it, say my name” her voice sounded, quiet and vicious in his ear.

“The Rose Watcher.”

She slow-clapped three time as she stood up. “Good, good.” She walked back in front of him, still keeping the gun steady. “Now, tell me. Do you want to live and help me or die a slow, painful death?”

By Samhita M