Assassination 101

Lesson 13: Red Flags

Lesson 13: Red Flags

"Urgh, you're joking?"

Henry shook his head sheepishly. "Afraid not. He destroyed the burner phone last night. It was only a matter of time, Cassie. To be fair, he kept it way longer than I thought he would."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and Henry gave me an apologetic smile. "I suppose I'll have to come up with a new plan to keep tabs on him."

"I hope it's not something too reckless."

I rolled my eyes, flashing him a devilish smile. "You know me, Henry. I live for danger."

"Unfortunately. It doesn't make sense to me though. You say you're all about risk-taking yet you over-prepare for everything."

I shrugged. "That's just being logical. I may be impulsive but that doesn't mean I'm irrational. It's always calculated risks my dear Henry and when all else fails come in guns blazing."

"That's why you're one of Celine's favourites," he said, running a hand through his hair as he squinted at his computer screen.

Henry was a decent field agent but the technology side and hacking were where he really shined. I could never do what he did, same went for Tammy.

I winked. "You know it. Now, the question is, how do we keep a track of Jacob now?"

~*~*~

"This is ridiculous," I muttered to myself as I absentmindedly flipped through a clothes rack. Everything in this store was ugly and overpriced, far more expensive than someone on Jacob's salary should've been able to afford yet here he was, browsing through items like he owned the place.

"Jacob, that's hideous," a guy with smooth, warm brown skin, coffee eyes and a slender frame said.

From my research, I knew this was Naeem. He'd recently finished his economics degree and had gone into banking and according to test scores was a very bright individual. He and Jacob were childhood friends but had become more distant since Naeem had moved away for school. It looked like their friendship was on the mend but my intuition was telling me that Jacob still held some resentment for him leaving.

"But it's designer," Jacob defended, holding the grisly jumper in front of him.

"That doesn't make it good," Axel said, looking at some t-shirts with a displeased frown.

Jacob scoffed. "What would you know?"

Axel turned and gave him a deadpan look. "Mate, I'm a model. I've worked for designers all over the world. I think I know a bit more about fashion than you do." The way Axel spoke was harsh, far from the friendly demeanour I'd known him to have. "But hey, if you want to look like clown vomit, who am I to stop you?"

Jacob scowled but said nothing as he forced the jumper back onto its hanger and stalked to the opposite corner of the store to look at hats that were equally as ugly as that horrendous jumper.

I sighed to myself. This was going to be a long day.

I followed the three boys into the next few shops they visited, even having lunch at the same place despite my dislike of seafood.

I needed to slip a new bug onto Jacob but one which he'd actually take with him for the next few weeks so clothes were out of the question. His tooth would be good but there was now way I could do that without him noticing. I could inject one into his skin but, again, he'd notice. My best bet was on his phone like the last time but I had no clue how to get it off of him.

I groaned, shifting the prawns on my plate to avoid eating them. Of all places, why did they have to pick a seafood restaurant?

I was seated a good distance away from the boys and was wearing a big sun hat and sunglasses to somewhat hide who I was but if any of them took a look at me — except Naeem — they'd recognise me instantly.