Kaidon Cross, top-notch assassin of The Order of the Black Knights, had only one mission in his life, exact revenge for the death of his mother until he met the innocent Alice Reed, and his priorities changed to keeping her safe from the clutches of...
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"Always keep at least seven back-up plans."
That was what our instructor told us in the very first class of Strategy 101. Just as they teach you how to fall first in Judo, they teach you how to handle failure in planning. Things rarely ever follow the plan. The guard you thought was on leave might cancel his appointment. The receptionist you thought can be distracted may be late that day. Even a small miscalculation can put the entire operation in jeopardy. Hence back-ups are essential.
Seven. Why seven? I asked him that, but he never answered. Told me I need to figure it out myself.
My theory - to set a standard. People like measurable things, not ambiguity. There's been an accident on the road. Someone yells to call the ambulance. It wouldn't work because everyone thinks other people will do it. Hence always pick up a person and give them the responsibility to do it.
Similarly, if you don't let the kids know a number, they might think two or three is good enough. It isn't. No number is ever good enough.
I never told that to Alice. For her, this was our only chance, our only escape route. Of course, this was the safest option, but not the only one. I had seven different escape routes mapped out in my mind.
My heart almost stopped when I heard Helen yell on the earpiece that Alice wasn't going out the main door and instead running in the opposite direction. She could see her on the CCTV footage of the building. I was hiding from the guards who were on a lookout for me, but fuck it then! I let them chase me, so their focus gets shifted away from her. I was about to knock out the four guys in the hallway when I heard the fire alarm.
"Did you do that?" I asked on the earpiece.
"No, Bellpoint doesn't control it. It was Alice."
And for a moment there I was surprised, and my chest filled up with pride for her. Something so simple yet so smart, it was so like her. It reminded me of that Statistics quiz where she used simple arithmetic because she didn't know the formulas, and it brought a smile to my face.
I immediately peeled off my make up and then joined the crowd rushing out of the building. The good thing about always wearing a disguise is that your real face can also act like one when needed.
I spotted Alice in the alleyway and went around it to ambush her. I didn't want to pick up a fight right now because even if she didn't follow what I had asked her to, she improvised, made things easier for me, and even successfully completed the mission.
But a little prank can't hurt.
Wrong. A little prank can be painful at times. I winced and chuckled past the pain she left with her hits. I really did tutor her well. She must have been terrified since she broke down as soon as she saw me. I cradled her face for a while, then hugged her and picked her up in my arms. The team had parked the van on the other end of the alley, so I dashed towards it and settled her inside.
