The Siren of the Titanic

Chapter 37: Cars and Coffee

The next morning the four of us gathered around the coffee maker and discussed different ideas for breakfast.

"Guys, we're in Texas, home of the best barbecue in the country! We should find a good spot and get pulled pork sandwiches." Talon did live here he must know first hand.

"Yeah but there's a breakfast place nearby. They have good pancakes, and we wouldn't have to drive aimlessly." Ethan was right we wouldn't have to drive around looking for something.

During our 'heated discussion,' a knock came from the door that connected our room to Xion's. Ethan and Talon almost jumped out of their skins at the suddenness of it. I rolled my eyes at their reaction with a laugh. I opened the door to see Xion leaning against the doorframe.

Her long hair was left down, except for a single braid from her bangs, and hung down to her waist. She didn't wear her eyepatch, which surprised me since her eye looked the same as the other one. Her eyes weren't brown or black as I first thought, but were a deep crimson red. She also didn't wear her assassin gear, but instead, she wore a simple black tee-shirt, jeans, and loose black combat boots. Her tattoo was covered by the shirt's high collar.

"Good mornin boys, how are you this fine mornin." She smiled brightly, showing off her, somewhat sharp, canines.

"We're good, just trying to figure out where to eat for breakfast. Got any ideas?" I smiled with her.

"Actually yeah, I was just about to head to a little place I know. I came over to ask if yall wanted to come with me?" The four of us looked at each other, deciding to trust her.

We followed her out to the garage, after signing out at the desk. Ethan gaped at her car, it was obviously a much sportier car then our jeep. Its wide shiny body was a candy apple red with black wheels that weren't shiny at all. It's front made a sharp angle from the top, looking arrow-like. It was low to the ground and very angular, designed for speed. Its seats looked super comfortable with black cloth cushions and bright red accents. Its steering wheel wasn't round like the jeep's but had a flat part at the bottom, which was also black with red accents.

"How do you afford that thing?" Ethan's eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open.

"What, my Lambo? Dude, I'm an assassin. Assassin's get paid big money. That guy last night was $2,000, and that's nothing compared to my next target who could pay for this thing by himself. By the way, this is my car in the states. I have others in Europe and a few other countries. I like my car collection. Maybe if you ask nicely I'll let you drive it later." Her eyebrow raised with a smile. She shook her head and opened her door, which opened upwards rather than out, like the ears of a dog. "I have room for one more if you want in on the power? The rest can just follow behind." Ethan groaned since he had to drive the jeep, but the promise to drive the red sports car made him smile. The rest of us looked at each other with decisiveness.

"Talon, you should go since she is your  friend." I nudged him with my shoulder. Alto sadly nodded his head agreeing with me. Talon gave a smile and thanked us before sliding into the expensive seat and closing the door. Alto and I piled in Ethan's jeep, I smiled, finally sitting in the front seat. With a roar of the engines, we were off.

We followed Xion to a small, out of the way, restaurant, one you wouldn't think twice about if driving by. She pulled her car up behind the building, hiding it from the cars on the road. We parked and smiled. The area smelled heavenly, the scent of wood burning and spices filled the air. My mouth watered.

"This place is owned by an old friend of mine, trust me when I say the food is amazing." Xion smiled as she opened the door. The interior was actually really nicely designed. Small walnut wooden tables and matching chairs, were placed in the center of the room while booths with larger wooden tables were mounted on the walls. One wall was decorated with pictures of several people. Some of the pictures were old black and whites, some were newer, some were even portraits, but they all had a similar trait. Each person wore a crown made of black metal and bones. I quickly figured it out when I saw a picture of Xion wearing the same crown of bones. These were assassin kings.

"You like our memorial wall?" Xion came up behind me smiling, not at the picture of her, but of a man with a huge grey and white bird of prey on his shoulder. "That is my master, Eagle. As you can see he gained that name because of her." She motioned to the bird. "Her name was Xynia. She was a good bird, she died a few years ago. Master could bond with different animals. Once he bonded, the animal would gain human-like minds, the longer the bond the more human they became, and the longer they lived. Master bonded with Xynia for years. A harpy eagle like her normally live for 25 to 30 years, Xynia lived for almost 48." She smiled. "Come on let's eat!"

True to her word, the food was amazing. I had an amazing omelet with melty cheese and bacon stuffed inside. Alto had a burrito with potatoes, eggs, cheese, sausage and bacon inside. Talon had thick cuts of bread which were dipped in syrup and covered with powdered sugar, while scrambled eggs and a biscuit sat on the side. Ethan scarfed his thick waffles which were made in the shape of Texas and covered with syrup and strawberry jam. Xion's mouthed watered as a breaded piece of meat covered in a thick white sauce was placed in front of her. The chicken fried steak, as she explained to me, was paired with biscuits, hash browns and eggs. We all ate happily, sharing each other's food. The assassin allowed me to try her steak and I quickly understood why her mouth was watering.

After eating and letting Xion pay, which we were grateful for, we left. The assassin, however, told us to wait a minute and grabbed Ethan by his sleeve, pulling him to the expensive sports car. Ethan giggled as she opened the driver's door and handed him the keys. She explained to us that they would be right back, before sliding into the passenger seat. The two of them took off, the car's engine giving off a powerful whine as they sped up and down the back road a couple of times. Ethan's happy yells could be heard over the loud engine as they zipped past.

A few minutes later they parked in front of us. Ethan got out, a happy grin plastered on his face. "I will never be able to drive a normal car ever again!" We all laughed. A few minutes later the four of us piled back into the jeep leaving Xion to her car and headed down the highway, to the city of Las Angeles.