Guiltless

Chapter 5

"Be very careful, assassin. We have no idea where the hidden cameras may be. Whoever is behind all this has been always a step ahead of us. Letting him win is not a choice." Cathy speaks through my miniscule receiver and I barely control the urge to frown. She's emotional. She may get us compromised.

All the while, I roam around the Russian ball room with the disguise of a waiter serving champagne. My target, an ex-KGB and now one of the international terrorists, is directly in front of me with a request for a champagne. I hand him his glass and leave before he gets a proper look on my face.

It has been five years since my initiation into the world I was created for and I have already been to all the major countries. U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, China, India, Iran, Iraq and many more. All countries, despite their differences, were shelter for one terrorist or another. If I didn't have a powerful memory, I would have definitely forgotten all the places I had been and what I had done.

That was not a possibility for me though and even as I walked among the privileged who chose to spend money like water while others starved outside, I wondered if having Cathy as my contact was the right decision. Mark Mildew, aka Marcus Dewter as I later found out, was dead in the eyes of those who still lived in that mansion/fortress. I suspected he was now busy on quelling the coup in the Resistance. "I can sense you loitering, assassin. Keep your guard up." Cathy remarks and I immediately correct my previous assumption. Cathy could indeed be a worthy remote contact.

Without any sudden changes in body posture, I prepare my body as if I'm about to enter a fight and act as a meek barely legal waiter serving people way beyond his pay-grade. I move through the crowd while offering drinks in fluent Russian while tagging all the guards in the ballroom.

The one by the piano is more interested in the pianist than the security of the place. He could be a problem though if I do something while close enough to him. Two guards at each of the three entrances are more concerned with security than any of the plain-clothed five guards amidst the guests. The plan I have made is just perfect in regards to the guards. It is the anomaly that bothers me.

Honestly, I do believe she tries to blend in but it is hard to blend in when her heeled slippers have a slight defect that can also be a knife handle hidden in plain sight. I mentally curse Cathy for making me go blind on this one and wonder how to work up her profile. She has shown no recognition to me so I cannot be certain if she knows about me. If she is from the Resistance, I doubt she even knows of me. And by being an anomaly, I have no clue if her secret has to be protected or exposed. "Focus, assassin. Keep staring up at the pianist and you will surely attract the eye of a guard." Cathy warns me and I take heed of the knowledge. My lessons tell me I should feel annoyance but even that would be a risk too big in such an adverse condition.

I finish my rounds and am just about at the spot I need to be when my target, Dvok Belikov, walks in with a barely legal girl on his arm. The slightly smudged hair and the swollen lips ensure that everyone knows what just happened. The fifty-five year old is dressed in his tuxedo and I mentally adjust my plan on seeing the alert look of his eyes that had been hidden so long on his easygoing face. Is he expecting an attack? Have we been compromised yet again?

"Remember assassin, raise no alarms." Cathy speaks up and I know that she sees what I see as well. As the target grabs a drink from my tray, I make sure that I bow my head a little so that he cannot see my fae. Marcus taught me that bowing the head would please people far more than just seeing the fear and would offer a higher chance of being forgotten. I walk around the floor and serve the guests the rest of the drinks of my tray. Good. Exactly as planned so far.

Mentally, I plan my clock and recall the positioning of the basement guard who moves past the electrical of this place. According to my calculations, he should be hitting my small trip wire in exactly five seconds from now. At the same time, I see the target move directly under the chandelier. With my head still bowed, I head to the front door of the ballroom with the pretense of getting more drinks to fill my empty tray. Exactly as I reach the left basement entrance behind one of the twin grand staircases, it begins.