Twisted Secrets

Theo: The Archer

I watched Mark lean against the table, drumming his fingers on the wood as he waited for the D.C. police officers to pick up. The FBI and the D.C. Police Department had been searching for Reid Myler for the past three weeks after he hit a police car, punched an officer in the face and escaped.

"Hello?" Mark said, adjusting his position and sitting on top of the table, a habit I incredibly despised. He immediately stood up when I glared at him. He pressed the speaker button and placed the phone on the desk. "Yeah, how did it go?"

It went well, a female voice replied in a matter-of-fact tone. It was her. Anastasia Kim, the one I had told to shut up especially after she was explaining what Myler looked like two and a half weeks ago. The moment I had said that, we started our hatred arc, phase, whatever shit people called it these days.

"Is Myler in jail now?" Mark asked, his eyebrows furrowing with curiosity.

Well, according to the law, I simply do not have the power to put that shit-head inside jail immediately. We must wait for the verdict and the amount of years. Right now, I'm suspecting that Myler will be imprisoned for 175 years without bail. Anastasia said that all in a clipped voice, the voice I specifically hated. It made her sound like she was a know-it-all.

"Good job, Officer. But we might need you to come to our office tomorrow, because we have something a bit more...disturbing to discuss." Mark's previous expression of relief faded into a grim seriousness.

A cold drop of dread pooled in my stomach, creeping up my spine like a vine. The Archer. It was a nickname given to an unknown figure who had been behind the recent assassinations and murders. When we had arrived at the scene, we could barely recognise the victims' bodies.

I could almost see Anastasia pursing her lips on the other side of the phone call. Fuck it, she said, and there was a huge slam from her side. I wanted a fucking break. I'll be at your office tomorrow. I'll end the call now.

There was a small beep indicating that the call was over.

Mark sighed and rubbed his temple. "The Archer is incredibly intelligent. If he's able to murder all these innocent people without leaving a single trace, he clearly has some talent in strategies and technology."

My phone vibrated with a notification and I took it out, looking at the messages. Anastasia had texted me.

Anastasia: who is it this time?
Me: i thought u would never text me :/
Anastasia: fuck u
Anastasia: just get to the fucking point
Me: the archer
Anastasia: oh
Anastasia: yeah him
Me: u know?
Anastasia: im not stupid u idiot
Me: i never called u stupid 🙄
Anastasia: shocking i wasted two minutes talking to a shithead like u
Me: its better than being shit
Me: period
Anastasia: fuck off 💀
Me: fuck u too 
Anastasia: gosh ur so infuriating
Me: ur a pain in my ass 

I placed my phone back in my pocket, clearly pissed off. Every time Anastasia and I tried to have a normal conversation, it would always backfire and we would end up hurling insults at each other like some snow fight.

After all, we were used to hating each other. Being civil was not on our vocabulary list when it came to the other person.

"Ana, isn't it?" Mark stared at me with a small smirk, crossing his arms. "I can tell. You always look annoyed whenever it comes to her. But you know, Josh and Jules literally have chemistry, as you can clearly tell. Enemies to lovers."

"Don't. Bring. It. Up," I gritted, my hands clenching into tight fists. "Anastasia and I are nothing but rivals. We're not enemies. We're rivals. We hate each other."

"Oh, well. You two still have to guard the Bridget and Rhys' wedding in two days. I don't want you to be mucking around, mate. You're attending a royal wedding, and more importantly, your rival's friend's wedding."

"Whatever. Just go fuck off." I closed my eyes and leaned against my chair.

"You are literally a copy of Alex."

I opened my eyes and looked at Mark. Mark stared right back at me, before saying, "He doesn't know, does he?"

I shook my head. "Alex is smart enough to figure it out. We're crossing paths in two days. I'm sure he'll find me and bring the topic up."

"Okay. So if we're done for the day, I'll take my leave." Mark nodded at me, before walking out of our office, closing the door behind me.

When Mark exited the office, the rigid tension in my shoulders immediately relaxed. My phone decided to piss me off with another notification and I withdrew my phone to see a message from my brother. Alex Volkov. What a surprise.

Alex: You're my brother.
Me: took u long enough to realise
Alex: At least I'm older than you.
Me: at least im not the one having to put punctuation as if ur writing an essay 💀
Alex: Whatever. Just don't mess with my girlfriend.
Me: no offence, but your girl aint my type bro
Alex: I'll take that as a reassurance and an insult as well. I suggest you take that back.

I fully understood Alex's capabilities as a CEO, so I apologised. He was my elder brother, after all.

Me: my apologies
Alex: You should be sorry.
Alex: I'll see you at Her Majesty's wedding.
Me: yeah

Alex frustratingly left me on read. I put my phone down but there was another notification. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with my phone today? This time, the messages were from Josh Chen. An ER doctor who allegedly would be a great boyfriend of Jules Ambrose.

Me: what do u want bro
Josh: I heard that you're Alex's brother
Me: yeah so what
Josh: Okay then
Me: what the fuck man
Me: go talk to him or smth
Josh: No
Josh: I had an argument with him

At this point, I was getting irritated by the constant messages and decided to leave Josh on read. He didn't do anything wrong, but I was not in the mood to deal with anymore shit.

A glass of wine would do. And so, I stood up, grabbing my phone and exiting the office. I headed to my car and entered the driver's seat. 

Tomorrow was going to be shit.