The Recruit

Chapter 24

A few weeks passed and I am still surviving. Raina had approved my request for wearing a mask as a part of my daily attire to conceal my identity. My free-run scores got better, the whispers about how I shouldn't have passed the hearing died down. I managed to make some new friends although I continuously miss my friend, little Jake. 

I lay low, avoiding the Masters except when I am summoned by Master Rose Raina to tell me about the ledger and if we meet in class. Sometimes from her tone I can only guess that Raina has solidified her alliance with Kojiro, Lucius, and Luca to cut down the rebellious minds.

I often join the other assasins as we gather in the assembly hall to see some of the traitors whose mind couldn't be saved either tormented or assassinated. Oddly enough, I started to enjoy the torments and seeing the traitors assassinated even though the purpose of the showcase was to remind the rest of us what would happen to us should we turn our back on the organization. Others were suspended from missions to do paperwork, menial tasks, or undergo retraining. Because of this my class has not been so empty these days.

I thank the Lord for creating Sundays, even the Ordinatio decided to give me Sunday a more lax schedule with no classes except for 3 hours of combat training with Lanaya and 3 hours of free-run exercise with Jay tonight .

I just finished my morning training right on time to catch Cora who just finished her mission off the Syrian coast. She had been sent on missions across the globe, so she wasn't around much when I made havoc everywhere. Since she was my handler, I was required to update her on what happened to me.

"Holy shit, I knew you had spike but I didn't realize you had THAT much spike to threaten the Masters."

"Yeah... I get that a lot. I kinda regretted picking fights with the Masters, some of them still hate me for it."

"I can see why, we assassins are mostly prideful being and we don't like to lose. You are an anomaly, but even I see a streak of assassin guts in you. To threaten a vampire though, that's like asking for death." She smiles with all teeth on display.

"I learned that the hard way." My hand unconsciously touch my neck remembering the horror of experiencing a vampire chokehold.

"Ah! I heard my ass of a brother gave you a hard time on the free-run class?" Cora peels her apple using her killing dagger. I find this rather unhygienic but I keep it to myself.

"The sadistic Jay is your brother?" I can't hide the surprise from my voice.

"Oh yeah. He told me, Master Octavius gave him hell. He has Jay compare your scores to the trainees from the previous batch instead of giving you an 'A' only if you could beat him. My brother knew he was the best man in free-running, so he really did it for fun. Like some assassins around here, he is one of the sadistic bunch who loves torturing his prey. It is rare for even a seasoned agents to beat Jay." Cora pause to think more about what to say. 

"Well except some other creatures in the organization including Master Octavius since he was a vampire who by nature had unnatural speed. Now you see, how crazy it was to expect a recruit to beat him." Cora finished her point.

That fucker! I think to myself. I don't know if I was more surprise Lucius reprimanded Jay or nobody actually could beat Jay, except our non-human assassins.

Cora continues, "But I could see the merit of his teaching though. Your speed is already as good as a full-fledged assassin."

"REALLY?! YAS!" I jump from my seat and clap with excitement. I feel like giving myself a high five, but seeing how I attract staring eyes already, I decide against my weird celebration ritual and sat back down. Just my luck the Masters are walking together and their heads turn to this direction after hearing a 'non-assassin-like' squeal. Raina change her direction to where I am at and hence, the Masters follow behind her.