An Assassin's Guide to Family

Chapter 17: Present

-------------- Damien's POV: ----------------

*ACHOO*

I watched carefully as Orca lifted her mask, the small scar on her jawline, the one I'd only noticed a handful of times, becoming visible in the dim light. She wiped her nose, taking in a deep breath as she shook her head, her sea-green eyes shutting as she did so.

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking a step away from her as she turned her sights on me. The last thing I needed was to get sick now."This is like the ninth time you've sneezed in the past 3 minutes," Orca nodded, turning back to the computer screen mother was looking through.

I could tell that Orca was trying her best to stay quiet. As was I honestly.

Deathstroke had run away from the league yesterday, taking secrets and men with him. Lots of men and secrets. Mother had been spending the better half of the morning trying to figure out what exactly it was that he had looked through and potentially taken, including the names of those who left or who're now known as dead to the league. They were stupid to have opposed such a strong organization. Orca had only joined halfway through the search and made the mistake of saying hello, earning a quick and almost silent sneer from mother.

She'd chosen to sit with me afterward and together we'd been observing mother as she combed through various files. Even now she was still finding the information he'd taken, leaving holes in various documents including private residences that grandfather owned, even things relating to mother's arranged lovers, though she'd had Orca and I leave for that, using the excuse of coffee for Orca as the main catalyst. I knew mother had her secrets but I didn't see why it was important for me to care about who my father was, I was already happy with her and Grandfather, I didn't even mind Orca now, to be honest.

My eyes turned back to mother as she slammed her fist onto the table, letting out a half yell of frustration as she ran her fingers through her hair. She was currently looking through the members who'd left with him, by the looks of it, there were a lot of betrayals.

Mother swiftly turned back to Orca, her eyes narrowing as she did so. I turned to Orca to see her calm and collected, her feet resting on the table in front of her as she leaned the chair back. Quite the opposite of afraid it seemed. Mother walked towards her, slamming her hand on the table Orca's feet were on. "Did he offer this to you too?" I could only barely catch Orca's eyes with the sliver of light cascading down from above, by the looks of it, she was inspecting mother. I couldn't tell for sure though. Her body language was almost always closed off, to the point it was difficult to even tell if she was happy even while she laughed if she wanted to keep hidden. I couldn't help but watch as well, waiting for an answer.

Eventually, Orca nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "He offered last night, I caught him on his way out apparently while I was coming back from patrol." She removed one arm from her folded arms, putting the hand up in the air as she motioned around. "Course, I had no idea, he offered it as if in a hypothetical. 'Orca, do you have issues with the league? Don't you feel you deserve more power and influence?' I believe we're his exact words." She said quietly, her voice stern as per usual. "I told him to put his faith in the league, he was obviously too stupid to take my advice."

Talia watched her for a moment before sighing, immediately placing a hand on her forehead as she seemed to fight the urge to yell again.

"Thank you for staying Orca." I watched as she decompressed, turning to head back to the computer her demeanor much more graceful than before.

I turned once more to Orca, her eyes still placed carefully on my mother, her sea-green eyes now glinting with a hazy shine. She waited till mother sat down before turning to me, her eyes widening to properly catch the light once more, her eyes going from dark to bright in an instant. 

"So about our upcoming mission. Did you look into the group at all? what did they do?" She asked, her voice keeping firm and calm as if nothing had just happened and her loyalty wasn't just questioned. I had to give her some respect for that, facing mother was scary, forget keeping perfect composure. 

"Does it matter?" I asked, shrugging as I turned to mom. She clicked a button, a video playing loudly as if she were inspecting the sound quality. I turned back to Orca to see her eyes had narrowed ever so slightly. She was disappointed in my response. A small part of me wished I'd kept my mouth quiet. 

"Of course, it matters Damien. You can't simply kill someone just because someone says to." Orca's eyes went hazy again as her voice grew cold.  " You're no better than a tool at that point." I clenched my jaw at the prospect. 

"The list of missions was already approved by grandfather himself though. Obviously, they, whoever they are, are not good enough to fit into the perfect society." her eyes immediately cheered back up, a sigh escaping her mask. 

"Damien, what exactly is your perfect society?" I paused, but then the pause turned into a minute, and then Orca was pulling over a chair for me to sit in. Orca took my silence as an answer instead. "You need to think of what you want in this "perfect society", maybe keeping all kids safe, or no crime, or equal rights for all. And then think of how you'll keep it that way. Then, when you are sure of your answer, check with your grandfather. Your answers may not end up matching up." My eyes widened as the loud video stopped, mother immediately clicked onto another one. I felt a hand ruffle through my hair, my head turning quickly to see Orca with slightly closed eyes, the fondness in her eyes telling me she was smiling. "Remember, killing shouldn't be senseless. You need to have a purpose behind it." I found myself leaning into her touch as she continued to ruffle my hair for a few seconds longer before removing her hand. "Now, who're we going after?"

I nodded, smiling slightly without realizing it. I quickly changed it, coughing into my hand before speaking again. "A group of rapists. Apparently, they kidnap girls off the street." Orca's eyes seemed to lighten more. 

"Thank you, Dami." I was a bit startled by the nickname, but I didn't speak up. Instead, I watched as she stood up and stretched. She turned to me once finished, "I think I'm going to train for a bit. I'll see you two when I finish." With that she walked off, flipping her usual golden pen in between her fingers. I asked how it would make various weapons, from a bat to metal rods appear, she would usually just laugh then tell me "magic" while performing jazz hands. It was usually times like those when I questioned if she was really the same person from missions, but then we'd spar and the recognition would come right back. 

Now alone I was left to watch my mother scrape through what was left of our information. A part of me wanted to go after Orca, to ask to train with her, but I knew mother would be upset. She said not to get attached to anyone other than her and grandfather. It was safer that way, and with the recent Deathstroke incident, her rules would be cranked to 11. 

So instead of following Orca, I did what she asked. I thought about my perfect society and what it entailed. As I began to stare blankly at the screen, allowing my body to go on autopilot while I thought, I could only wonder; what would Orca's perfect society be? Why was she killing? I pushed those thoughts to the back of my brain as I began to picture things. 

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1389 words