The Assassin's Assistant

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

Things go bad fast.

We were leaning against the front wall of the old brick building for twenty minutes. A few people had walked by us, but no one bothered us. Lux stood tense on the opposite side of the door to me. She had her one leg bent against the wall, her hand hanging by her foot so that she’d have easy access to the knife hidden in her boot if things went bad, and she had a Baby Eagle hand gun tucked in her jacket if things went worse. I felt completely vulnerable, with nothing but my fists and a half assassin who hated me at the moment for protection. And that assassin hadn’t even talked to me in the past hour. Overall, my day was going great.

Lux’s eyes floated all around her, suspicious of every movement. She looked out of place against the falling apart brickwork. Her ice blonde hair that fell straight at her sides and her bright white jacket made her look reminiscent of an angel. Of course, she’d punch me in the jaw if I said that.

Eight more minutes passed in silence, and I was beginning to fear that something had went wrong, but no distress signal had been set off. By this point, the sun was starting to set in the sky, casting an eerie shadow on the neighborhood. Structures that used to look only worn were becoming menacing in the dark.

I flashed Lux a look, nodding towards the door, motioning if we should help Britt, but she ignored it, continuing to stare off straight ahead of her, hand dancing over the boot that held the knife.

“Lux,” I called out, “should we check to see if something’s up?”

She scowled, “We should do our jobs and stay here.  She’s a grown woman, Jason; I think she can handle herself.”

I pounded a fist against the wall, “Okay, what’s your deal?”

Lux slowly rolled her head to face me. Just like in our old conversations, things quickly errupted. “I don’t have a ‘deal’. I’ve been in this for years; you’ve been here for a couple of months, who do you think knows best?”

“You’ve been a whiny little bi-“ she shot me a glare that changed my word choice,”bbbbbiiirrat. Brat. You’ve been a whiny little brat all day and I’m freaking sick of it. So, I ask again, what’s your deal?”

Lux rolled her eyes, “Sorry Romeo, some chicks don’t dig the ‘I hate you, now kiss me’ thing. That only works in the movies.”

I was grateful for the increasing dark, because I was probably blushing. “Sorry Barbie, most guys can handle the ‘I don’t feel the same’ thing,” I snapped back at her.

She laughed sarcastically. “Oh, you are rich with this stuff! Are you stupid? Do you realize that you’re going to get me killed with all this romantic talk? Have you ever thought of that? Forbid that anyone in the MOTHER FUCKING UNDERGROUND WOULD HEAR THAT!” She shouted into the air, turning in a circle, like she wanted the world to hear. “OH YEAH, TAKE HIM HOSTAGE NOW AND USE US AGAINST EACHOTHER! Did you hear that world? Let me repeat that. JASON LAKEHEART-“

I launched at her, pressing my hand over her mouth, hissing into her ear, “Are you insane? You just let everyone within a mile know where we are.”

Lux grabbed my arm and twisted it, pushing me away from her. “I still put us in less danger than you. I hope you know that.”

Suddenly, there was the sound of shuffling. Lux’s Spirit knife was in her hand within a second. From around the corner of a different building, three figures approached.

“Lux, hand me the gun,” I said, though I was terrified to even hold it. Still, I needed some form of protection.

She pushed me behind her,  “Just stay away from them, okay?”