Bound by Deception

21.1 A Massacre on Monday

It would have been helpful for Aria and Sterling to reach Hades' headquarters the moment that Hudson informed them of the predicament there, but unfortunately for them, night had already fallen upon the city, and it wouldn't be safe to leave knowing that young citizens loitering at night were often subject to speculation of spying. They couldn't risk having their cover blown, and to Margot's resentment, they were forced to stay home and wait for the next day. It didn't help that Aria had to make up a stupid excuse for her aunt, nor did it make the situation any better that she and Sterling were still very much naked while relaying all of this information. It took stern coaxing from Nela to finally allow them peace and quiet, but the atmosphere was strained even then.

"A massacre at headquarters?" Aria repeated the phrase again over breakfast the next day. She sounded like a ghost, her voice wispy and almost unrecognizable. "H-How the hell can that happen? Nobody knows where headquarters is!"

"Your fiance knows about it. Not the destination, but about it," Sterling pointed out. "And we've had moles before. This isn't anything new."

"How are you not surprised by this?"

"We're in the midst of a war, Ari. Betrayal and murder are expected."

"Yes, but in our syndicate? We've never had this large of a fatality count! Not since we joined."

"Well, murder is sort of our thing." He took another helping of eggs. "We don't know the full story. We can't afford to go batshit over something we just learned. Once we get more information, then we can start freaking out."

"Alright..." Aria relented, poking aimlessly at her food. Damn it. I'm losing my grip. Focus, Aria, focus! She shook her head and slapped her cheeks a couple of times.

"The day looks nice," Sterling noted. "Perhaps we can walk to work today? It'll help lessen suspicion, don't you think?"

"Suspicion about us being assassins? Sure. Suspicion about us being a couple and me cheating on a high-established soldier? Not so much."

"Fair enough." Sterling cracked his fingers. "So, I suppose I'll see you at headquarters, then?"

"Yeah, although you might get there first."

"Why's that?"

"I have to go see what horrific monster my aunt has turned into." Aria scowled. "I've been away only for a night, but my aunt goes nuts if we're out of her sight for more than twelve hours."

"She sounds...nice."

"Oh, she's charming." Aria wiped her mouth and stood. "I should get going. See you in five?"

"You got it."

~***~

"Oh, my sweet baby!" Tamasa, upon noticing the slightly limping, but otherwise pristine condition that her niece was in, rushed to the parlor and wrapped the poor girl in a hug that could suffocate even the burliest of men. "Oh, my little girl! My sweet child! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"Well, there goes the angel." Aria popped her ear. "Here's the demon."

"Don't you start now young lady!" Tamasa snarled. "Where did you decide to disappear last night? Your uncle and I were worried to death!"

"Actually, sweetie, she was more worried..." Bhuv hesitantly added, but the furious scowl his wife sent him forced him to retreat with a poor, puppy whimper.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Auntie, I'm fine. I was working."

"Working?! Working?! Doing what? What idiotic job has my poor baby working through the night!" Tamasa stroked Aria's hair and cheek with her dangerous, long nails. "Hm? Answer me, Aria! Where is this place so I can have a word with their manager!"

Sure. Go have a word with the guy who fucked me senseless last night, Aria thought, and it dawned on her that she would - for a sweet second - enjoy seeing the utter horror that would fall on her aunt's face should she have said that out loud, but she also realized that she wouldn't enjoy spending the rest of her life in confinement, so wisely, she kept her mouth shut. Luckily, Tamasa's attention was easily diverted after some time passed when her husband, the poor kicked puppy that he was, decided to wander through the parlor to get to his study with a plate of cookies.

"Bhuv! What do you think you're doing?!" The shrill woman left her niece and stormed to her husband. The man's face dropped into a terrified gaping that could be attributed to the likes of a child, especially with the cookie partly in his mouth. "Do you want to get diabetes? Do you want to make me a widow? Oh, why doesn't anybody care about me?!" Dramatically, the woman fell onto the sofa. "Nobody thinks about how hard I work for this family to keep you healthy and safe! Nobody worries about my poor nerves! No, nobody does!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Aria muttered. She glanced at her uncle, his face the epitome of a ragged, poor man who just wanted to eat his cookies in peace and quiet. Unabashedly, she turned and left, leaving him to fend for himself with the untamed dragon.

To get to headquarters, she had to pass through the always-busy Bishops Square, where merchants in all their bedraggled glory would march the cobblestone streets day in and day out, shouting prices and goods that they were selling. Traversing down the road, Aria noticed Edward milling in the crowd. He was surrounded by a harem of young ladies, much younger and more naive than she was, and they all giggled at whatever he was saying. Being short, dark, and almost unnoticeable in such a large crowd, Aria easily blended into the mix of people, escaping within minutes.

She exited at the border, close to the Corduroy Tavern. There, she met Sterling, who had been waiting for her with a bloody sheet over his shoulders.

"Another mission?"

"No. I found it here." He peeled the cloth from his skin and handed it to her to study. "It doesn't look like a common pattern. It might be old."

"The blood looks new, but the pattern is foreign." Aria tucked the cloth into her bag. "Let's save this for later observation and hurry. The longer we keep Madame waiting, the more impatient she'll get."

"Alright." He noticed the limp in her quick movements, but said nothing, smirking to himself. Yeah, I did that, didn't I?

When they made it to the base, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The desks were in place as usual and agents milled about the common room, carrying papers, broken weapons, and other miscellaneous items. They bowed toward Aria and Sterling, muttering under their breaths little bits of information about the recent attack, but saying nothing that could help further their investigation.

"It's so...peaceful," Aria noted speculatively. "I hate it."

"It is unnerving," Sterling agreed. "But at least we didn't come to an absolute mess. I'm surprised they were able to clean this place up in one day."

"Yasmine's tools must've helped."

-------------------

What do you guys think happened at the base? Does anything seem out of the ordinary? What will Madame say? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D