The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Seven

The doors to my office slammed open and close, shaking the ground beneath me and making the dark liquid in my coffee cup swish around. I'd purposely kept it unlocked this morning so I wouldn't have to answer the door though I doubt Sorin would stop at a single locked door. He stormed in, red-faced, his steps still wobbly from anger or the lasting effects of the drug, and he cleared the space to my desk in minimal steps. His hands slammed on my desk, and a small amount of my coffee spilled over the mug's edge.

"You drugged me?!" He roared. Fallon and Kaius broke through the door too, looking at me for orders to kick Sorin out or at the very least, calm him down. I waved them off and slowly looked toward Sorin.

"Well good morning to you too, Lieutenant." My lips tugged into a half-smirk. "How'd you sleep?" I watched the vein in Sorin's forehead pop out. He leaned forward, his face now mere inches from mine. Then, with a rough, dead voice, he spat,

"Mark my words, assassin, I'm going to go to the king, and I'm going to tell him you drugged me in order to shake me, to get rid of me. You did something last night -something you didn't want me to see- so you drugged me. What was it?"

I widened my eyes innocently. "I don't know what you're talking-."

"Cut the shit, assassin!" His fist pounded on the table again. Calmly, I covered the top of my mug with my hand and moved it away from the middle of my desk so it wouldn't spill. Then I folded my hands and leaned on my arms. Now our faces were barely an inch from each other. He didn't back away.

"You had a lot to drink last night, Lieutenant. You were stumbling on the way home and barely made it to your room before collapsing. It's not my fault you didn't know how much you could handle." There was a hesitation in Sorin's face as if he was still recollecting the events from the prior night. Then, he pushed off the desk and wiped a hand over his face.

He began pacing. "No. No. I remember you giving me a flask for a-a payment or something. Then I remember my vision blurring and a tang in my mouth and the next thing I knew, I woke up this morning." Finally, Sorin stopped and faced me. "Where did you go?" He hissed. Before answering, I dismissed Fallon and Kaius. They nodded, glanced at Sorin, and left.

"I was at home all night, listening to your drunken singing. Then, this morning, you were still passed out and I didn't have the energy to wake you, so I came to work by myself. That's all that happened-."

"Bullshit!"

"Interrupt me again," I said slowly, straightening my back. Sorin's lips curled.

"I'll do whatever I damn, please! You drugged me!" I opened my mouth to retort but Sorin went on. "I'm going to the king and I hope to god he sends the Guardians to come and skin you alive!"

I smiled. "The fact that you think it'll take an entire militia to take me down is flattering, Sorin -really it is- but you're not going to the king." Sorin exhaled irritably.

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me," I said slowly. "I'm not one for protecting a person who wants nothing more than to prosecute me, so no, you will not go to the king." Slowly, I stood up, leaning on my desk. "What would you tell him anyway? That you were drinking on the job, got intoxicated, and didn't follow me for a solid 12 hours? That you were so reckless that you took something from an assassin?"

Sorin cussed. "For the last time, you drugged me!"

I shrugged and folded my arms across my chest. "You have no evidence, and even the king can't overrule the law as much as he'd like to." He began pacing again.