Shadows and Steel | ✓

chapter nine

-9-

As soon as she could, the assassin returned to training, focusing on her upper body and core. Kade had just watched her arrive and shook his head, not bothering to persuade her otherwise. Elle had slipped back into her normal routine of infuriating Jax fairly quickly.

Baldy stepped into the training room, eyes darting between the agents. Elle slowed to a stop and approached him, noting how he made a point not to look her in the eyes. "For months, the High Council have been developing programs and agendas for our agents, operations of such scale that we needed to reintroduce teams." He began, rubbing his hands together, "despite its...shortcomings it has been proven so far as to work."

Elle caught Tristan's eye.

"You will be infiltrating DETRA. Undercover as new agents entering their training program, young hopefuls if you will—willing to fight for your place within the agency."

It felt like the room's temperature had plunged. Her fingertips were numb and her ears muffled sound, no one spoke for a moment. Then the outcries began. Elle could only shut her hanging mouth and glare at the floor, stomach churning and boiling. DETRA? It was impossible to get in, and even more impossible to escape. They are assassins with dark agendas, slaughtering and hacking through anything—or anyone in their way.

"This is suicide! We have only worked together for a month, what are the council thinking?" It was unusual to see the normally lighthearted Leo so worked up, spitting in the councilman's face and cussing, running his hands through his hair. Elle just stared past the chaos, past Baldy and his pissy mission, to somewhere far away from where she stood.

Baldy had just managed to quieten down the room when Tristan spoke, his cold voice cutting through air thick with tension. "What is our objective in the heart of DETRA?"

The nervous man rubbed his hands together faster, sweat building upon his brow. "This mission is crucial to the Order's aims. You will need to collect information of a sort I suspect. Pick up on their weaknesses."

"Yes, yes." Elle folded her arms. "I think we both know Mikel has ulterior motives up his sleeve."

A nod. "Your mission is to identify and kill the Imperial Heir of DETRA." Her eyes widened but she clamped her lips together. "M-matters are being dealt with higher up than me. I don't give the orders, I merely follow."

"Yes, well I can see that," she grumbled. Baldy pretended not to hear her, continuing on with his little speech. "This is the first time we have access to DETRA, as one of their loyal ones has turned against them. They hold trials for new agents every few years in Lorel, someone will guide you from the Central Market. Keep out of sight, DETRA run that city and they have eyes everywhere. Once you infiltrate their guild you will partake in the challenges and competition between you and other budding killers—"

"Budding killers? Is that what we are?" Leo hissed into Kath's ear, she nudged him with her elbow.

"—and, with you all earning a prestigious place in DETRA, you can gain access to their main base. Kill the Heir, gather information."

"Information? Why?" Kath's brows were furrowed.

Baldy wiped sweaty hands on his cape, "it's out of my hands, see?"

There was something very wrong about this particular mission. Elle just knew it.

"We cannot give you much more information until you are inside: DETRA are notorious for breaking agent's silence through means of torture, so we don't want one of you to be compromised with the whole plan."