An Assassin's Trust [Watty Awards]

Chapter Eighteen

We moved swiftly down the hall towards the grand stairwell. We were heading towards the service entrance through the kitchen, but we needed to make sure that no one saw us coming down the residential stairs.

"Elle, we are heading towards the extraction point now. Are we clear to move?" I whispered into my comms, knowing that security could be just around any corner. Julian and I were definitely trying to avoid murdering anyone else or causing an international incident while still being on the premises.

"You're in the clear, no security around. Proceed to the route, we are pulling around the estate. We'll lose you for the next few minutes, so just be careful." Ellie responded, sounding the most serious that I've heard her all night. We swiftly walked down the steps, while still keeping a composed demeanor. Our fingers interlocked, so if anyone did spot us we'd just look like the newly married couple that snuck off for a little fun upstairs. Though I don't think I would describe what happened as fun, especially seeing as I still had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Once we reached the bottom unnoticed, we continued on towards the back end of the residence. Julian lead us down a long corridor towards the kitchen. We were meters from the kitchen door and I was so close to getting back to Sam. Then all of a sudden I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, as if there were someone behind us. I turned around to see that it was the same brown haired waitress who gave us the champagne when we first came in.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, did you need some more champagne? I can get it for you," She smiled, while still holding her now empty tray up with her right hand. Before I could answer, I saw a flash of something in her eyes that I didn't see before. Suspicion crossed my features as I realized that we never gave this waitress our name. I was sure that the only people who knew who we were was the security at the front door, the boozy flirty socialite, and the now very dead man upstairs. I gave Julian's hand a squeeze, as I moved my other arm closer to my weapon.

"Oh no, that's quite alright. We were actually looking for something a bit stronger." I replied, giving her a warm smile and doing my best to mask my suspicions. It's possible that she could have just overheard us tell one of those mentioned people our names.

"Ah, I think I might have just what you're looking for Jade," At the sound of her saying my true name, my warm eyes fully narrowed as my natural instincts had proven their accuracy. All in the same breath, the waitress removed the silver tray she was holding with her left hand to reveal a pistol and silencer that she held in her right, which had been concealed underneath the metal. She smirked knowing that she drew her weapon before either of us could finish processing what was happening, it was clear that she was well trained.

"Who are you? Who sent you here?" Julian asked, as I kept my eyes trained on the barrel of her gun. Steadying my heartbeat, knowing that my next move had to be faster and smarter than hers.

"It doesn't matter who I am, just know that Andrew knows exactly who you are. He wanted me to ask you how well that bullet wound healed up?" She grinned menacingly, which caused my right arm to tingle as the ghost of my wound remained. My eyes hardened at the sound of Andrew's name. That son of a bitch, how was he always one step ahead of me? How did he even know that I was going to be here tonight? I glared back at her and clenched my fists hard to try and subdue some of the rage that consumed me, because I was well aware that in this moment I had to be smarter than her.

"Why?" That was all that I could get out through my gritted teeth. That measly three lettered question, one small word that held so much depth behind its reply. It seemed to me that the answer to the question of why was always limitless and there was always more to it than whatever crafted response that a person could give in that moment. I've learned that the only way to honestly know the "why" to any situation, was that you had to find out the truth your damn self. The waitress looked at me intently, seemingly trying to come up with the best possible answer that aligned with both her truth and her mission. Which was the exact reason I asked her this, to split her focus.