The Hunt

72

"So, what? They left you two behind because you're the poorest?" Roxy asked with a sneer.

Sarah quietly rested her arm across the back for Roxy's chair and leaned toward her slightly, a pleasant smile on her face and anger in her eyes. "Hey Tiny, we're going to be together for a little while. So, how about instead of being annoying, you be helpful? Okay?"

Roxy's face instantly turned red with hate. "Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me in that way? I'm an assassin! You should watch how you speak to me!"

"Pfft, come on, Roxy," Hyukmin groaned with an exaggerated eye-roll. "You've killed one person. One. Up until a couple weeks ago you were just a thief."

That little bit of information hit me like a brick. I blindly searched for Jimin's hand, inadvertently groping his thigh for a few seconds before he caught my hand.

But the more I thought about it, it made sense. She had been sloppy.

Had the resolution of the security cameras been better, we would have had a clear shot of her face. The alley, while somewhat seclude, was well lit and she had stabbed JiHoon out in the open in plane view of the cameras. She hadn't done enough reconnaissance of the area beforehand.

And why would a seasoned assassin just walk up and stab someone in the gut? That's inefficient and risky. What if he had fought back?

"Whatever," she mumbled and leaned back against her chair, arms folded over her chest like a petulant child.

"You're crushing my hand," Jimin whispered in my ear.

"Oh! Sorry." I hadn't realized I had been slowly squeezing harder and harder. A quick glance at our combined digits showed that I had, indeed, begun to crush his hand. I loosened my grip and gave him an apologetic smile.

"So, you're a Hunter, right?" Hyukmin asked looking past Roxy at Sarah.

"I am," she responded evenly, but I could see she was on alert.

"That's cool. I've met a few in my line of work."

Sarah raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not because they were targets or anything. No, just fellow contractors." Hyukmin clarified. "It's a shame that The Council has it in for your kind. I don't think they know how many of you there really are."

"Yeah, that's something we don't really like to advertise."

We waited for half an hour in relative silence. Hyukmin tried to make small talk, but we mostly just stared at each other or our phones until Jin and Namjoon arrived.

They had both gone to speak with their fathers, both of whom lived down the street. I remembered that someone had mentioned most of the houses in the neighborhood were owned by hybrid families, I just didn't know they were mostly Kims.

They each came back with $150 million in cash.

"Start talking. You will get the rest once we check up on the information you provide," Namjoon stated flatly, and pushing the stacks of money toward Roxy.

"That's not what we agreed on," Roxy began, but she was cut off.

"Technically, we didn't really agree on anything," Namjoon said, his tone one of no nonsense. He stood up straight and peered down at her. "Now, either you take the $300 million and talk, or we will do what Yoongi suggested earlier and beat it out of you."

Roxy laughed in what was, probably, meant to come off as a confident way, but she appeared to be rattled. "You wouldn't dare. You rich, pretty boys wouldn't get your hands dirty. What would people say?"

"Why would they say anything?" Jimin asked quietly, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He sounded calm, collected, and deadly. "No one knows you're here, and it's not like you have anyone who would go looking for you."

The smug look on Roxy's face fell, and was replaced with one of concern. Jimin had hit the nail on the head.

"True, I didn't let anyone know I had picked you up, and the way we came into the house can't be seen from the street. No one knows you're here, Roxy," Hyukmin agreed.

"You should start talking. Now."