The Deadly (Part 3 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 13- The Diner

Aldrich:

Allegra could pack a punch, and honestly, I liked it. The woman had seemed so apathetic over the past few days that I wondered if we were working with a true psychopath. Seeing her while she was sparring was refreshing, because you could finally see a real emotion in her eyes. It wasn't just enjoyment either, she didn't seem to like the part that inflicted pain. It seemed that she loved the focus, the adrenaline and intense action.

Whatever the emotion was, it was nice to know that she cared about something and wasn't completely emotionless. I would have gotten worried at that point.

And damn, her team was good. I understood why they carried the reputation that everyone spoke so highly of. I could tell that Mason was in awe of the technology and systems that Phoenix was using, and with their help we were churning out information much faster than we could have hoped to alone.

They were an unlikely bunch, that much had to be said. It was odd not knowing anything about them, but I supposed that they didn't know much about us, either. Although, based on the hacking skills they possessed, I'm sure they knew more about us than we knew of them. I wondered how they all met, what brought them into a team. Allegra was expressionless but also seemed like she wanted to murder everyone in the room, Phoenix was quiet but incredibly observant, like she was biding her time before she made her move. Nyoka was funny and laid back, Daitan was a bit more sarcastic and outgoing. It was clear that those two were madly in love with each other, and they were more friendly and open, they seemed to get along with my men best.

Every time I saw them interact, I couldn't help but be in awe of how their personalities should never have functioned well together, but somehow they seemed like best friends. Even if they didn't show it, I knew that they must rely heavily on each other.

The door to my bedroom opened, and I knew it had to be Christopher. He was the only one that would have dared come in without knocking.

"Aldrich?"

"Bathroom," I called through the open door to my room.

He stepped into the tiled room and held up a file folder, "Mason just got me the recent associate information for Jackson Otis-"

Christopher cut himself off with a laugh and a look of disbelief. I raised my eyebrows, asking him silently what he found so funny, but he just smiled at me in a matter of fact way, "It's true then, what I heard about this morning? Allegra kicked your ass."

"She didn't 'kick my ass', but yes, she got me down," I admitted, rinsing out my mouth and spitting the water back into the sink. It was tinged red from a split on the inside of my lip, courtesy of a left hook that I didn't see coming from the assassin this morning during our impromptu match. The damn thing wouldn't seem to stop bleeding, and eating lunch apparently didn't help.

"Well, I don't think I've seen anyone beat you in months."

I glared slightly, reaching for another shirt. It was true, though, Allegra did beat me. She had me pinned, I didn't even see the move coming before I was on the ground with her sitting on top of me. But she was prepared to take another hit, I had been ready for the excruciating pain that could have dislocated my jaw entirely, but it never came. Instead that adrenaline fueled fire in her eyes was gone, and she had scrambled up. There was a new emotion instead, guilt and anger.

I didn't like seeing that guilt there, it was a far cry from the excitement in her face during the rest of the fight. I had tried to call after her, to tell her that it was fine and a fair hit, but she was already gone, leaving a room full of shocked people behind her.