Wings

Lies

Late May/Tuesday Afternoon

The screen that came out of Jessie's desk slowly made its way to Kelsie's face. It stopped and turned on with a trident logo popping up in the middle of it. A whirring noise came from inside of it, then a picture showed. It was of a bedroom, the date in the corner showed that it was the day that the emperor died. Jessie clicked a button on her desk and the video played. 

There he was, Owen. 

He swayed back and forth, getting closer to the bed in the middle of the room. Without a word coming out of his mouth, Owen was blowing fire onto the bed, setting it alight. Then, he left. 

The video seemed surreal, a wave of disbelief rushed over Kelsie. It was short, it could've been faked. Kelsie just sat there, eyes wide, in a state of bewilderment. "Surely not." She whispered. "There is no way, who forged this? Owen couldn't have done that." She continued. The screen went back into the table, Jessie leaned forward slowly. "Hey, hey, I know you must be confused, like this is your friend right?" She asked in a comforting tone, Kelsie only moved her eyes away from the leader. "It will be alright, I promise, but you need to accept this. Owen killed him. There is no way around that Mrs. Hunter." Jessie moved back, she straightened her clothes and stood up. She held out her hand in a 'follow me' gesture. "Let me show you something, Kelsie," A door opened on the wall behind the desk, "Maybe this will open your mind." She said, leading the young assassin into the room. 

"Hey Alyssa, Owen too, y'all come in here, I just got a message." Arion said, calling the others into the suite's living room. Alyssa rushed in from her room, Owen coming out of the bathroom at a slower pace. "What's it say?" Alyssa asked eagerly, her face giving off an anxious energy. "Ellie said, 'We arrived, interrogation starts now, we are safe.' They are safe, Alyssa, I don't think we'll get more than that until they need us." Arion said, watching relief wash over their friend. "As long as they are okay, that is all I care about, especially Bee. I know they can hold their own, but I am still worried about them." Alyssa muttered. "I know, well, now that we are a little more relieved, how about some food?" Arion asked, trying to look slightly more cheerful. Owen perked up a little bit, "Sounds great to me, the fast food here is actually good, better than your American mess you call McDonald's." Owen said, poking fun at the Americans.

The lights turned on in the room that Kelsie had just been led into. The room was filled wall to wall with pictures, awards, and weapons. There was a giant picture in the back, above it was a gold sign saying 'Esteemed Assassins.' Kelsie recognized a couple faces and names, even a few famous tridents and swords. "Why here? Why would this make me more willing to kill my friend?" Kelsie asked, prying her eyes away from pictures. "I know what you want, you are very determined, you've worked your whole life to get where you are. Kelsie, I know you because  I was you." Jessie said, never breaking her glare, then she asked the unthinkable. "Do you want a promotion?"

Kelsie stood frozen, everything she had ever worked for in her life had just been offered to her on a silver platter. "Is there a catch? Would I have to hurt him for this?" Kelsie asked, being wary as she had always been taught to be. "Kelsie, you are very smart, you know he did this. There is no denying such a horrible crime. If you kill him, and bring back any proof, I will make you my second in command, and that's a promise, Mrs. Hunter, if not, you lose your job." Jessie's smile that followed her comment was terrifyingly calm, and all Kelsie gave was a nod.

After about 30 minutes, there was a knock on the suite door. Arion answered, gathered their food, and tipped the delivery driver. They had ordered some KFC and were only eating to distract themselves from the worry, but it was working. "This is better the what we have, babe, goodness. I can't wait to stay here once all of this is over." Arion said after taking a bite of their chicken. "This is what I've been saying for the past 2 years, should've gotten here earlier." Owen said, smiling, mouth full of food. "Are you enjoying it, Alyssa?" He asked. She nodded, "It's quite nice, I like it. Still, not as good as homemade stuff but it's good enough." The three ate together in comfortable silence. Being at the suite with the weight of this mission had been nerve-wracking for them, but the news of their friends being safe accompanied by some fast food had given the group a much-needed break.