Secrets of the Crown Assassins

13

INDIGO

I peered out the window. The Rebel's base wasn't in the busiest parts of the city, but there was still substantial foot traffic most days. Today, however, there seemed to be more bustle than usual.

Children played on the streets. Vendors called out the deals for their products and tried their best to attract others. Pigeons swooped in and out and attempted to snatch spare food from unsuspecting pedestrians. A few children stood on the roofs and fed them while others tried to hit them with rocks.

I backed away from the window before anyone spotted me. We couldn't let the outsiders see too many residents in the base and I was especially risky. Many assassins would recognize my face after being an Alpha, especially one that managed to defeat an Alpha, and then disappeared with no trace. If they saw me, I would be an immediate tip-off.

I took a deep breath. The others at the base avoided me like the plague. Nydia was in her room and up to some strange scheme. I tried to hang out with her, but she practically closed the door in my face. I hadn't seen Wolf since the trial this morning and the others who were in the room were doing the necessary to run the base.

I continued walking through the metal-lined hallway—wondering how the hell I would befriend people and find the mole if I was shunned upon wherever I went—when I heard voices emerge from down a hall that I was near. I couldn't make out the words very well which sounded tense and heated. I inched closer and listened to the argument taking place around the corner.

"...you've been doing nothing these past few months," a man's voice said. I recognized it as Laine's.

"I know. I'm sorry," a girl whispered.

"Sorry? Just sorry?" Laine scoffed. "Sorry doesn't change anything. You need to work harder."

"I'll try harder now."

"You say that every time."

"And I try. I do! I swear! But I don't know what to do more. I'm doing my best with everything. I try taking on more tasks and missions. I help as many people as I can. What more do you want?"

"You're average at everything. You need to find a specific niche or something. Brianna is an amazing fighter, despite her missing eye and hand. Or you could be tactical like Nisa and Wolf. You need to be good at something."

"I'm good at plenty of things."

"Not good enough."

The girl said nothing. After a moment Laine added, "You need to do better if you want me to move you up. Got it?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

After a moment, I heard Laine shuffle down the other end of the hallway and leave. The girl made no move. I was mostly certain that she was his daughter, though no one told me he even had one. From what I just heard, their relationship wasn't very picture perfect.

As she continued to stand all alone for a moment, I had two options: approach her and try to befriend, but let her know that I was eavesdropping or leave her alone and walk away with the information I already had. But, I was positive Wolf would've already known about something like this. I needed to find something more and blend in. I took in a deep breath knowing the following interaction could go a number of different ways.

Turning around the corner, I took slow steps toward the girl who must've been a few years younger than me. Her dark blonde hair—a feature neither Nisa nor Laine carried—hung down in waves as she hunched down on herself, wrapping her arms around herself, her shoulders shaking. With a start, I realized she was shedding silent tears.