Medusa | Novella

|4|

"I... got lost," I managed, my voice surprisingly steady given the circumstances. My heart was pounding with exhilaration. This mission had suddenly become way more exciting than I anticipated. 

Crocodile's smirk widened, his eyes never leaving mine. He leaned back in his chair, exhaling a cloud of smoke that hung between us like a veil. "Lost, huh? In my private office? What a strange place to end up."

I quickly stood up, brushing off my showgirl outfit, trying to regain some semblance of control despite being painfully aware of the way his eyes followed my every movement. "I'm just a showgirl," I said. My voice was just the right amount of shy and shaky, I might not be the best actor, but I could at least pretend to be sincere. "I didn't mean to intrude. I'll just be going now—"

But before I could make a move towards the door, I heard a quiet click. Crocodile had pressed something on his desk. Suddenly, thick metal shutters slammed down over the windows and the doors, sealing the room shut. My breath caught in my throat.

I was trapped.

I know I should be freaking out but this was strangely hot, or was it that he was hot? Yeah but Sinclaire was hot and she didn't fancy being trapped in a  room with him. 

"Leaving already?" Crocodile asked, his voice heavy with amusement. "I don't think so."

I spun to face him, my mind racing with the wrong scenarios. I should be thinking of escaping or gutting him like the big reptile he was but still, my mind just wasn't cooperating. 

He stood up slowly, taking his time as he circled around the desk, like a predator toying with its prey. "You know," he said, his eyes glinting with something darker than amusement, "you're not here by accident."

"You see, I beg to differ." 

Crocodile's smirk remained as he took another drag from his cigar, the smoke swirling between us. It got sucked into my lungs, choking me. I coughed violently as I tried to swat it away. I couldn't deal with smoke. you might think an asthmatic assassin was pathetic and maybe it was but still, it is what it is. 

 He put out the cigar and the smoke soon dissipated, and once I could catch my breath, he continued. "I'm the one who requested you."

I blinked, completely thrown off. "What? You requested me?"

"That's right." He paused, letting his words sink in. "I wanted you to come here... to kill me."

I stared at him, utterly perplexed. "Are you serious? Why the hell would you want me to kill you?" At that point he was either talking nonsense, or he just secretly had a crush on me and wanted me back. "If you wanted to ask me out, you could've just done it, you know. No need to play games."

Crocodile chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that sent a strange thrill down my spine. "Ask you out? Why do you think you're my type?"

Many would take that as rejection, but I took it as a challenge. "What kind of question is that? Have you seen me?" I asked dramatically, Okay, part of me wanted to make a point and another part of me was stalling. If I didn't get back to Fredrick at least once an hour, he would assume something had gone wrong and it had been an hour—or almost an hour—since I last contacted him. 

He laughed at my audaciousness, and I made my face as thick as possible so I wouldn't feel embarrassed. "I knew you fell in love with me last week when you saw me." I said smugly crossing my arms and shifting my weight to one hip. "But you should have asked me out personally, rather than go through all this." 

He looked at me deadpan, his expression unreadable. "I'm shy."

I couldn't help it—I laughed. Full-on, couldn't-breathe laughter. Crocodile, shy? The man who ran an entire criminal organisation, who controlled entire cities with fear, claiming he was too shy to ask me out? It was too absurd.

Actually, the most absurd thing was this conversation. "Seriously though," I said, regaining my composure. "What's your game, Crocodile? Because if you think I'm going to just roll over and let you kill me, you're sorely mistaken."

He didn't move, his eyes still locked on mine. "I'm not interested in killing you."

"Then why—" I stopped, realisation dawning on me. He'd trapped me here, locked me in his office, and now he was claiming he wasn't planning to kill me. It didn't add up. Unless...

Crocodile noticed the shift in my stance, his expression changing for the briefest moment—something almost... flustered? His hands ran through his thick black hair, as if trying to calm himself.

"Look," he said, his voice low but steady, "I told you. I don't want to kill you. I don't want to do anything to you, so calm your damned mind down."

At first, I was still on high alert, but when he denied wanting to do anything to me, part of me almost wished he did. Was this some kind of reverse psychology?

"So what do you want, then?" I asked, still not dropping my guard, though easing slightly. "If you're not here to kill me, and you brought me here on purpose... what's your angle?"

Crocodile leaned back against his desk, his eyes studying me. He didn't answer right away, just stared as if weighing his next move carefully.

Finally, he spoke. "I wanted to meet you... because I need someone like you."

I scoffed. "Someone like me?"

"A killer. Someone who can move in the shadows, get close to powerful people. Someone who understands how the game works."

"And why would I help you?" I shot back. "I'm already here to kill you."

His smirk returned, more calculated this time. "Because I think you'll find working for me far more rewarding than trying to take me down."

I crossed my arms, glaring. "I came here to earn 100 billion beli for my retirement." I emphasised retirement because no one seemed to take that word seriously these days.

"Oh, but I don't think you really want to retire," he said smoothly.

Here we go, I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. You wouldn't believe it if I told you, but when I say I want to retire, I mean it. Why does everyone think I'm joking? Do they believe the assassin life is some kind of dream job that people are dying to have? Sure, people are dying... but I refuse to be one of them.

"Look," I started, "I got into all of this when I was too young to understand how messed up it all was. Now, I'm ready to leave. If you want to hire me, hire me as your secretary or something." Something that didn't require risking my life on the daily.

Crocodile tapped his fingers rhythmically against the wooden desk. "I believe you'll change your mind soon."

His words were ominous, and they instantly put me on edge.

"What do you mean—"

Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the casino. The shrill sound made me jump as I looked around wildly. The metal doors remained sealed, trapping us inside. "What are you doing!?" I demanded.

"Saving you," he said, completely unruffled.

"What—"

"Do you really think the World Government would let an organisation like yours continue to operate? How naive of you."

My eyes widened as the pieces fell into place, but I didn't want to believe it. "No—don't tell me..."

"Yes," he confirmed, his voice eerily calm. "It's a sting operation. Everyone in your organisation is destined to die today."