How to Raise an Assassin

CHAPTER 26: I WANT THAT CONTRACT

Whatever I did to aid in Ash's recovery was apparently enough to get him back to the hive's emergency clinic without going into a coma. The Mayor refused to have his son transferred to a local hospital in Reaper territory where he knew they would hold him hostage, even though he literally just did the same thing.

When we exited the yacht club, Xavier was waiting for me by the car. He saw me trying to carry Ash upon my shoulder and went to help until the Mayor halted him.

"Get your disgusting hands off my son," he said to Xavier. Then he turned to me. "Send your minion home to his den."

Xavier looked from the Mayor to me. Then he looked down to the pistol latched to his belt and back to me. I shook my head. "Go home Xavier. I'll take care of this."

Xavier studied Ash's condition. Then he looked to the Mayor. I normally never saw Xavier express any emotions, but he clearly scowled at the Mayor. Had I given him the go ahead, he would have gladly mowed down the city's topmost politician.

"Yes Ms. Mata," he said as he returned to his car and drove off.

The Mayor's security personnel rolled up in their black SUV's, and he opened up the door and motioned for me and Ash to hop in. I helped Ash into the back seat and sat with him. The Mayor took another car back to City Hall to sign a new property tax bill. Meanwhile, we headed straight to the hive.

It took almost an hour to get there. All the while, Ash was resting on my lap shivering. He had a fever and was burning up. I reached into my bag and pulled out my school sweater. I didn't want to bother him by moving his sore shoulder through the sleeve, so I wrapped it around him and tried to my best to keep him warm.

But even while he was injured, he still managed to find a way to be annoying. "I knew you couldn't resist me."

I rolled my eyes, knowing if I hit him, I might undo everything I did to keep him from dying. "Shut-up."

He smiled as he cuddled up closer to my stomach and tried to keep his shivering under control. He buried his head into my blouse and his voice went faint as he said, "Thank you for coming to save me."

Then he started to snore. I rubbed my hand through his luscious hair. "Your welcome."

***

It took a week for Ash to recover from his injuries. I visited him at the Hive each day after school or after any contracts my father passed along to me since many were starting to flood in. I had two that week. One was a journalist for a very little-known website that posted stories revolving around the poor areas of the city. She chose option 3, like they all do, and failed to cut herself free from the rope I tied a stone to and tossed her into Lake Michigan with (don't worry, I gave her a knife, although it's sharpness was a different story).

The second one was some sanitation worker. Not sure why someone wanted a sanitation worker dead, but maybe he threw out the wrong guy's trash. Anyway, he surprisingly chose option two, which resulted in crushing his body in a garbage truck compactor. He was muttering the whole time while this was happening that he deserved such a fate he too had dealt to many of the discarded. Not sure what that was about either, but few sane people chose option 2 since it was long and gruesome; and let's just say I had to pull the lever multiple times before I could cross that contract off the list.

My father also asked about Ash and my time in the Locusts. He figured as much that Ash was a member, while also the Mayor's son. He wasn't quite sure if the Mayor was aware or not. So, he asked me to provide intel on what I have dug up on the Locusts' operations so far.

I told him about the stages, including the most recent stage. I told them what they did to Ash. My father nodded and tapped my shoulder. "You did the right thing not listing your family to protect us Za-Za."

Right, I thought. To protect you.

"And now you see why these monsters need to go," my father said while sipping a cup of whisky on rocks with a dash of vanilla extract for flavor. "They don't even hesitate to torture their own kind. Although, I am surprised the Mayor has managed to keep his son's allegiance to a gang a secret."

I tried to protect Ash by adding, "Well the media isn't supposed to cover the children of politicians. They're not responsible for their parents' incompetence."

He took another sip of his drink while he sat in his office chair. "True. Perhaps he joined to get his father's attention, or maybe to take him down. The Locusts love to murder politicians. Wouldn't that solve my problem."

I chuckled. "It would solve a lot of problems."

My father smiled. "You know Za-Za, when you told me about you infiltrating the Locusts to gather intel, well I was worried they would brainwash you. But I see this episode has strengthened your hatred for them."

"They're hypocrites dad," I mouthed with the taste of blood in my mouth. "They never look out for their own."

"An excellent observation," my father held out his drink towards me as a toast to my brilliance in deduction. "The poor are quick to step on each other's heads to climb an inch higher than their comrades. The rich band together to protect each other and our interests because we know we are poor in numbers."

He drained the rest of his drink and then started to sign onto his computer. "I must reply back to some emails really quick before dinner Za-Za."

This was his polite way of telling me to get out of his office.

But before I left, one nagging question crossed my mind. "Dad, before I go, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Za-Za," he said with his eyes scanning at the computer screen."

"Do you plan on assassinating the Mayor?"

My father's eyes swiveled away from the screen like a swing tossed back in a gentle great lake breeze. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because..." I hesitated. This was Ash's father I was talking about. Would he ever forgive me for even suggesting such a thing?

But after what I saw him do to Ash, there was no way I was going to let him get away with it. "Because if you do...I want that contract."

My father smirked. "Za-Za, I admire your zeal. You'll make a fine leader of this family someday. But, a word of advice. Never let your emotions interfere with your line of work. The results will never be pretty."

And with that he returned to his emails. But for once, I saw an expression on my father's face I hadn't seen in a long time.

Pride.