How to Raise an Assassin

CHAPTER 16: THE RISE OF THE SWARMMASTER

Throughout our introduction, the mayor didn't question my blindfold. This meant one of three things. One, he was blind and couldn't see it for himself; two, he didn't care; or three, he knew about the second stage of the initiation into the Locusts.

And he knew about the second stage because he was in the gang as well.

Yet that comment he made earlier, about me being curious to join his organization, was odd. Everyone knew that all the hives were run by female "Queens." He couldn't be the leader of any particular hive at least.

My organization...

It started to sink in how much of a disadvantage my family was at. Not only was the mayor keen on destroying gang violence and targeting the Reapers, he was doing so because he himself is a member of the Locusts, and not just any member...

He was the Swarmmaster.

"My sister-in-law has spoken to me about your little deal you struck to join my organization. How curious that a girl from your stature would embark on such a humble journey."

It's not like I had much of a choice, I thought to myself.

But the Mayor seemed to read my mind. "True, my sister-in-law can be rather dramatic and demanding. However, you've been all chummy with my son here. I'd imagine you had plenty of opportunities to take him out to get to me. So, why didn't you?"

What kind of question was this? Why was he asking me this while Ash was in the room?

"It's important to clear the air here Miss Mata. I assure you that I am very well-equipped to detect dishonesty."

"Uh, Dad," Ash tried to interrupt. But he was silenced by something...perhaps a hand gesture that quieted him like a muzzle.

Seeing it rude to avoid the mayor's question, I responded, "He's my best friend. Why would I hurt him?"

"I see," the mayor paused and poured out a drink into a cup. "But perhaps your actions may change if a contract was put on him."

This guy knows too much about me and my family.

"I know just enough to stop your family's evil from ruining this great city," he spoke and then sipped his drink.

Okay, he's definitely reading my mind. What gives?

As if knowing I was on to him, he changed direction. "Miss Mata, how do you feel about your family? Do you love your lifestyle?"

Not particularly, but it's none of your business.

"I see," he muttered.

"See what? How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"It's easy to detect a person's mood, even without peering into your eyes. Your delayed responses, your body language, the roughness of your voice, they all easily tell me more than what your words are saying. As a politician, you have to get good at these things if you want to succeed because everyone around you lies to get what they want out of you."

He got up and went over to his desk. I heard him pull something out of a drawer and walk back over to the table. He placed something that was wrapped in plastic since it scrunched up and made a lot of noise.

"A gift basket from the famous ride-sharing company trying to buy my allegiance to their cause at the stake of the many honest and hardworking legal cab drivers in my city. I know you can't see it, but I believe there's some gourmet chocolate from Switzerland, olive oil from Spain, some wine from New Zealand, and a stack of oh, I'll say, one million dollars here. You see, they send this gift basket as a message. Take this as our payment for you to withdraw your promise to level restrictions on random, unvetted people from becoming drivers of Chicago's citizens. But what I see is what they're thinking of me. They thought I was some poor negro who would lap at the first whiff of cash."

I heard him toss the basket into a bin.

"Redemption, balance, justice. These virtues shouldn't be bought with gift baskets and cash." He paused for a second and returned to his chair as the leather cushions squeaked upon coming in contact with him. "But I believe your father, Savage is what he calls himself now? ... Well he's a big believer in the power of money."

Clearly the Mayor knew a lot about my family. Whether my father knew anything in return on him remained to be seen.

"But money can only rent allegiance. Respect, now that buys loyalty."

I felt a hand reach around the back of my head. My instinct was to grab it and twist the wrist until I heard a snap. I fought hard enough to resist that assassin's urge to maim and instead opted for a slap of the wrist.

But as I slapped the wrist away, light blinded me. When my eyes readjusted to the stream of light that had been shutout for nearly 16 hours, I noticed my blindfold in the hands of the Mayor.

"I see you lack trust in my organization," the Mayor spoke. His face was made up as if he was going for a televised interview. No pimple, mole, or blemish in sight. His pupils were like balls in a ping-pong machine, dashing around and examining my gestures along the way. He had a well-groomed beard that complimented the disappointed face he showed me. "And the whole purpose of this second initiation is to prove your trust in your fellow members."

"Dad," Ash interrupted. "She's not supposed to take it off until she sees Auntie."

The Mayor held up a hand that was like a stop sign for Ash to quit talking. "As Swarmmaster, I reserve the right to admit anyone into the gang with a single decree. I could do the same for you...but I believe you have a lot to learn."

So he is the Swarmmaster.

"That's right, and I'd appreciate that you keep that secret between us. Remember, I'll know if you tell your family. I'm the greatest lie detector there is."

He tossed me the blindfold. "Put that back on when you get into the car. I'll have it drive you two to Royden. As much as your family may hate me Zaslay, I want you to know something."

He got up and motioned his hand for me to follow him to the window, where a modest view of the skyscrapers of Chicago, and Lake Michigan spanned the horizon. "Chicago is my home. It's your home. It's a beautiful city with many flaws. I'm here to fix them. Your family may hate me for what I do. They may call me a Robin Hood, or a criminal with a title. But, at the end of the day, if we can choose to lift the helpless into modest prosperity, shouldn't we take that chance?"

He looked at me as if waiting for me to answer a question I was pretty sure he asked as a rhetorical one. I knew the answer my father would give: never help those who abuse the help. Never hand out money to people who will turn around and waste it on anything but their futures.

The thing was, I didn't think every poor person was like that. I saw what Auntie was doing with her hive. I saw where the money went to—food, clothing, education, medicine. Of course, some people will abuse these gifts, but many would make just use of them. Why punish the whole class for the dumb action of a couple of knuckleheads?

But I could see my father's viewpoint too. He worked hard to get where he was. Why couldn't they do so too?

The Mayor seemed to absorb my silence and took it into consideration. "Remember Zaslay, you could run as fast as you can to try and reach your target, but if you're stuck running on a treadmill, you'll never get the opportunity to even see your goal."

He turned towards Ash and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You make sure Zay gets back to Auntie safe and have her update me on the preparations for the annual Harvest. I'm sure Royden will be the perfect site to showcase a proper example of our new devolution back to the foundation."

I followed behind Ash. The Mayor pressed the button to call the elevator. The doors opened up immediately and we both stepped in.

"I'll check in on your progress soon Zaslay. Good luck with the coming stages of initiation."

And as the elevator doors closed, I felt like I was finally released from the Mayor's grasp. That whole time while he was in the room, he had me in a chokehold for information. Everything was exposed. And for an assassin, exposure was death.