SNAKESKIN (Tangerine) ✓

二十

The Cobra

"Italy?"

Shigeru nodded. "Yes." He reached into his pocket and removed a small slip of paper, handing it to me. I took it cautiously, flattening out the crumpled ticket, squinting to read the faded text. "That was one of your first missions, no?"

It was a plane boarding pass for a flight from Stockholm to Rome. It was from nine years ago, the year I had started working as a contractor. I could remember that mission so vividly. It was the only mission—other than the one I was currently on—that I had failed. A bounty had been put on the head of a passenger on that flight and I had been hired to take them out.

I was supposed to be discrete and efficient, but it was my third job and I was still new to it all. I had attempted to kill the man, but he was expecting it and managed to avoid me for the remainder of the three-hour flight. Unlike the bullet train, I couldn't just walk around the cabin without looking suspicious. The man had managed to hide in a different seat than his original one and I was never able to find him.

"How do you know about that?" I asked with a hint of scepticism in my tone. "There's no record of that mission anywhere." I turned to Tangerine, who was watching the conversation silently. "No one knows about it."

Shigeru chuckled, pointing to the bottom right of the ticket, where the seat number was barely visible. 17F. "Is that number familiar to you?" He tapped the ticket with his finger, before leaning back in his chair. "I was supposed to be sitting there." He waited patiently as the realisation dawned on me. "There was a heavy bounty on my head."

"What the fuck?" I stared at Shigeru. It wasn't that much of a stretch. I had never seen the target's face; I had just been given a vague description of their facial features, clothes and where they were sitting. But I did remember the seat number: 17F. It was where the target was supposed to be sitting. "You were the target?"

"I was." Shigeru reached forward and slid the ticket back towards him. He shoved it back in his pocket and stood up, brushing down his front. "Now," he said, looking down at us. "Now that we've sorted that out. I'm going to go and find my son."

"Wait." I stood up, holding my arm out to try and stop Shigeru from leaving. I still had so many questions. "How did you know it was me?" It was something that had been bothering me ever since I failed that mission. What had I done wrong?

Shigeru smiled softly at me, placing a hand on my shoulder, causing me to wince. He didn't notice, so I tried to hold in the urge to flinch away at the pain. He stared down at me as I set my mouth in an impassive line.

"You were following me all through the airport." He chuckled like it was obvious. "I knew you were up to something before I even boarded the plane." He dropped his arm and gestured for us to follow him. "Now, you know where my son is? Take me to him."

I turned around to face Tangerine, who was still sitting by the window. I tilted my head towards the gangway and he nodded, scooting across the seat and into the aisle. He stood up beside me and I turned to follow Shigeru, who was already heading up the train.

"I thought you'd never failed a mission," Tangerine whispered in my ear mockingly. I could hear the smirk in his voice and I elbowed him in the stomach softly. He didn't react. "I was so nervous when they paired us together for that job in Mexico." I stopped outside the locked bathroom, turning to face Tangerine with a warning glare. "They told us that you had a perfect record—that you were the best in the business."

I rolled my eyes. "I am the best in the business." He shook his head, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "It was one time and I had just started doing jobs." I crouched down, picking up the piece of wire that I had left hanging from the door lock. I yanked it down, opened the door and stepped back so Shigeru could see his son. "How many jobs have you failed in your career?"

"Whatever." Tangerine was standing a little off to the side, his gaze on me. I could tell he was trying to avoid looking into the bathroom; I was doing the same. "None since I met you."

"Yeah?"

"But that's not because of you." He quirked his brow, daring me to argue. "How many times have I saved your ass when you're in trouble?"

"Yeah, right." I furrowed my brows, disagreeing. "Name one time you've busted me out of trouble."

Tangerine sighed dramatically. "Bogota?"

"Bogota?" I rolled my eyes. He was right; he did save me during our mission in Bogota. "That was the only time."

We lapsed into silence, waiting patiently as Shigeru dropped to his knees, saying something in Japanese. I glanced over his shoulder, to see the man in the bathroom—whom I now knew to be his son—sitting up groggily. So, he really isn't dead. I turned back around fairly quickly, not wanting to see the bloody corpse of my best friend, concealed behind the door.

Tangerine was watching me intently. He didn't try to get a look into the bathroom either, just stared at me expectantly. "His son's alive," I explained quietly, not wanting to interrupt the Kimuras' conversation. "He's okay."

Tangerine nodded. "Pity it couldn't be Lemon instead."

"Hey," I consoled, reaching up to put my hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Tang." I shot him a reassuring smile as I dropped my hand. "I promise."

"I know." He snaked his arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him in an awkward side hug. I tensed, not used to the feeling of being embraced. I had been on my own for three years now, travelling around the world for jobs and missions. I didn't have any friends—I was never in one place long enough to justify making any—and my family hadn't spoken to me since they found out what I did for a living.

Right now, Tangerine was the closest thing I had to a friend... a companion. We had only just reconnected, but it almost felt like our years apart had never happened, We clicked straight back together without much effort at all. I had always been grateful for the Twins when I was living and working with them and it was nice to have a sense of family in such a lonely industry. I couldn't express how much I'd truly missed that.

I wrapped my own arms around Tangerine's waist, drawing myself closer to him and turning our side hug into a proper one. I rested my chin on his shoulder, standing on my tiptoes to reach. Tangerine was only a couple of inches taller than me, so realistically, it wasn't an uncomfortable position. The feeling of his warm breath on the side of my neck relaxed my muscles and I sunk deeper into the hug.

Suddenly a loud guttural sound caught my attention, causing Tangerine and me to jump apart. A yawn? Who could be tired in a situation like this? I whipped around to face the bathroom, immediately noticing the surprised expression on Shigeru's face. "What is it?"

There was a brief silence as I waited for someone to answer my question.

"Am I in hell?" A familiar voice asked. I turned to face Tangerine, who sent me a look of utter disbelief. Without a second of hesitation, I pushed Shigeru out of the way—not caring to be polite—and dropped to my knees on the bathroom floor.

"Lemon!"

A/N: So, Lemon's back! I bet you didn't see that coming... no, I'm kidding. Obviously, you did.

How do you guys feel about the development of Bronte and Tangerine's renewing relationship? Do you like how it's moving or do you think it is too slow/fast? Let me know. I'm writing this book for you guys, so I want to write what you want to read.

Make sure to vote and comment!