Rise Of The Shadow ||A Contemporary Fantasy Romance||

08: The Missing Experiment

CAELI

I watched each person who walked in and out of the kitchen, took note of the time they were gone for and how often they returned. The servers were all young women, dressed similarly to me, although in looser dresses. Hansen's focus, and therefore everyone's, focus needed to be on me.

"Does this make us even?" Michael asked. He was one of the people who owed Vince and I a favour, and getting into this event had been the perfect way to cash it in. While I usually preferred upfront payment, I was happy taking favours from those I'd worked with before and trusted. Michael was one of those lucky few, and there was no chance he'd avoid paying up.

He was far too aware of what I was capable of.

"You won't be hearing from Vince and I again after this," I answered and spotted the look of disappointment that crossed his unremarkable brown eyes. His usefulness in this situation stemmed from his closeness to my target, they worked in the same circles, knew the same people, so when I asked for an in he'd contacted the caterer Hansen used every event without fail. And here we were.

"That's kind of sad, you guys were never boring." I smiled at his words, because it was almost sad for me as well. Whenever we'd ended up working with Michael we were always far too deep in shit we shouldn't have touched. "Do I want to know what's going to happen tonight?" He wasn't the biggest fan of Hansen, which was unsurprising, so when I'd told him who my target was he helped without asking any further questions. Maybe that lack of knowledge was finally catching up to him.

"Hansen has something I need, and I figured it was best to come in under cover since it will likely be under lock and key." I cracked my knuckles as I spoke. He'd likely asked in regards to what it meant for him, since Hansen's death would benefit him as much as it would give some catharsis. "And I thought I would take the opportunity to rid the world of one steaming pile of shit."

"Two birds, one stone?" Michael asked as I tilted my head to the side. That was an apt way of putting it.

"Something like that," I said as I straightened the front of my dress. The small daggers in my boots were starting to annoy me, but I couldn't let it show, lest Hansen notice something was off. "If you warn him about why I'm here..."

"There's really no need to threaten me, Riley." How many aliases had I used? I honestly couldn't remember. Was it seven? Seven felt right. "I've seen your work before, so the thought never once occurred to me." Good, maybe he would have an even better idea of her capabilities after tonight.

What I had planned for Hansen wasn't going to be pretty.

***

Playing the long game had always been my least favourite method of getting a job done, especially when it was only a short job. I'd planted the seeds early by locking eyes with Hansen within minutes of the party starting. It was relatively easy to pretend I was attracted to the man, all it took was a coy look as I tucked loose strands of hair behind my ears.

It was a patented method of mine, to look helpless and nervous to lure in my targets. Since I was shorter than most, there was the expectation I was easy to overpower. For him I had to look fragile, weak and naïve, so each time I looked in his direction that was exactly how I acted. It was working, judging from the way his near-black eyes were watching my every move.

God I was going to enjoy what was to come. While I hated the long game, it was always had the most satisfying conclusion.

It wasn't until the night began to die down that I began the endgame for my plan. It started with me carrying a full tray of champagne flutes and accidentally bumping into him; the action spilled bottle worth of sparkling wine all over his red silk dress shirt.