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Chapter 11
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2025-07-08 01:43:52Ilana felt around the wall for a soft edge before she pushed her knife in. She pulled herself up, hooking her left leg on the pipe clip attached to the drainage pipe that ran along the back wall.
Once you built the momentum, climbing wasn’t hard. Just one foot after the other. It took a lot of strength but in the end, it was just like walking. Ilana pulled the dagger free and then hooked it into the next purchase she found. She pulled herself up, using the pipe clips to give her some sort of support.
She wasn’t even out of breath by the time she reached the window but her palms were red and aching slightly. She put her body weight forward, leaning against the wall as she pulled the lockpicks from her pocket.
Lockpicking needed both her hands. She pulled in a breath and tried to stay as still as possible, her chest pressed against the wall.
She played with the lock, her fingers working delicately. The lock gave away and she hefted the small window in, pulling herself over the ledge and into the room with eerie silence.
It was a small bedroom, mostly dark but some light shone through the window, illuminating chunks of the room. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the dark before she was able to make out the lump on the bed, a thin sheet pulled up to his chest.
She locked the window and pulled the curtains back exactly like they were before. Then she slowly opened the door and slipped outside, silently running down the stairs.
She stopped in front of the front door, undoing the chains and picking the extra locks. She yanked the door open and pulled the boy inside, pointing towards the couch and putting her fingers to her lips, commanding him to stay silent.
She ran back towards the room she’d left and slipped inside. She was going to charge Helene extra for the hassle she’d stuck Ilana with.
She crept closer to the sleeping figure and nudged him harshly, forcing him to wake up.
He came by groggily, looking up at Ilana without understanding the situation.
“Get up. Pick a weapon. Anything you like. Go on,” she said, pressing the tip of her knife against the man’s throat.
The first time she’d had the misfortune of coming across a sleeping target, she’d slit his throat in his bed and then afterwards, she’d had wild panic attacks where she hadn’t been able to breathe for hours and she had spent four consecutive nights dry heaving in the bathroom.
She hadn’t told anyone. There never had been anyone to talk to about these things back at headquarters and she was still fairly new. She was surrounded by killers who seemed comfortable doing what she’d done and she couldn’t go crying to any of them. She was too scared of being deposited back on the cold, dark streets.
The second time she’d found herself in the same predicament, she’d woken the target up and recounted his crimes. Gave him a chance to fight. She had ended up bruised and bleeding and the house had been a mess. Clear signs of struggle, too hard to clean off the pieces of DNA she’d left behind.
Helene had sent a crew to clean and put the place back together as best as they could before the authorities flooded the place.
She had also given Ilana a heavily worded lecture but that was alright. That kill had been better than the last one.
Vincent found her afterwards and he’d coaxed the story out of her. He encouraged her and told her to do anything it took to keep her humanity alive while on jobs.
So, that’s exactly what she had done. If she ever came across a sleeping target, she’d wake them and fight them. She got better after every fight. She returned with less bruises. And she took the details to mind so she could put the area back together once she was done. Leave nothing that can be linked to her.
It made the killings better. To know she was avenging something meaningful and that she hadn’t turned into a monster completely. She was being paid for it, of course, but these people had it coming.
The man blinked stupidly at her before he finally realized what was happening.
His eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, slipping out the bed and falling on his ass. Ilana stood patiently, waiting for him to get his bearings back.
He grabbed the lamp from the bedside table and held it as a knife, trying to mirror her stance. She lunged forward and he dodged, falling to his side. She pressed her foot on his chest, strong enough to keep him in place but not enough to break the ribs.
“You’re to answer for the murders of the Roberston family. Do you accept these charges?” she asked and the man blinked, taken by surprise.
“The Robertson family?”
She pressed her foot down harder and he yelped, trying to squirm out from under her hold.
“Did you or did you not murder the entire family while they slept peacefully in their homes at night?”
“You’ll regret this. I have powerful people backing me. You won’t get away with this,” he whimpered, trying to yank her foot away.
“Oh, I know all about the powerful people behind you. That’s why you weren’t arrested despite all the proof they had about you and your friends, right?”
“We won’t be arrested. You’ll regret this,” he said, his voice weak.
“Not me. You are the one who’s going to regret,” she said softly, crouching next to him. “You and your friends would wish you were sitting in a comfortable jail cell somewhere once I’m done with you.”
He whimpered as she bought her knee to press against his windpipe.
“No, no. You don’t understand.”
“Did you or did you not kill the family?” she asked, dragging her blade across the length of his bare arm.
He yelled and she immediately pressed a gloved palm to his mouth, shushing him softly.
“It’s a simple question. Yes or no?” she asked, watching the ribbon of blood trickle down his skin and onto the carpet.
“They… they stole from us. They had it coming,” he whimpered.
“You murder them for stealing. Even the little kids? Did they steal from you too?”
“Yes. And the kids were innocent but they paid for the crimes of their stupid parents.”
She sighed before she ran the knife across his throat in one slick motion.
She sighed before she ran the knife across his throat in one slick motion.
Bab terbaru
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for her. The words were a sham but they bought comfort. A candle in the dark.A candle with flickering, dying flames but a candle nonetheless. She sought the warmth from it greedily every single time. The flames had grown weaker and weaker with every life taken and she wasn’t sure how much she could give before the candle went out entirely. Until she was left in the dark with nothing to hold onto.She wasn’t sure what would happen when the flame did die. Maybe she would drown in that bleakness. Maybe that’ll be the end of Ilana Meyers.But she stroked the flame now, giving it air to breathe. She needed it to stay strong for a little longer. Ilana wasn’t done right now. She wanted her revenge. Once that was done, she would gladly allow the flame to go out.The darkness would be a welcome respite then. But she had to fight until she had her vengeance.She took in a sharp breath and looked around the room. It was messy enough to depict a crime scene but not enough to give any clues.The
Love in the Line of Fire Chapter 11
Ilana felt around the wall for a soft edge before she pushed her knife in. She pulled herself up, hooking her left leg on the pipe clip attached to the drainage pipe that ran along the back wall.Once you built the momentum, climbing wasn’t hard. Just one foot after the other. It took a lot of strength but in the end, it was just like walking. Ilana pulled the dagger free and then hooked it into the next purchase she found. She pulled herself up, using the pipe clips to give her some sort of support.She wasn’t even out of breath by the time she reached the window but her palms were red and aching slightly. She put her body weight forward, leaning against the wall as she pulled the lockpicks from her pocket.Lockpicking needed both her hands. She pulled in a breath and tried to stay as still as possible, her chest pressed against the wall. She played with the lock, her fingers working delicately. The lock gave away and she hefted the small window in, pulling herself over the ledge an
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“Helene told me you are on an undercover mission near here?” the kid asked excitedly.“Yes.”“That’s so cool. I want to do undercover missions too.”Ilana held back a scoff, letting the moment pass without commenting on it.“So, where are you stationed for this undercover mission? I know it's pretty far away from Knoxville.”Knoxville was the small town where Helene had built their supposed headquarters. That's where Ilana had spent most of her childhood, either with Vincent perfecting her throws or with Nancy learning sleight of hand or with Lily learning history and art and geography.“It is far,” she answered vaguely. “What are you doing all the way here anyway, kid?”“Oh, I'm with Vincent. He said he had business here and Helene insisted for him to take me. And then this mission came…”“Vincent is here? In West Creek?” “Err… no. Not in West Creek. We're in the city. We’re in Nashville.”Ilana frowned. She was also in Nashville for the mission.“What's he doing in Nashville?” she
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Ilana got out of her car at least twelve blocks away from the apartment she was supposed to go to and began her walk along the dark street.She usually never drove to her missions. Cars were too risky and the chance of getting caught doubled whenever a car was involved. But today, she felt lazy and a little too confident. She’d been doing this for fifteen years now. She had earned the right for a little rest.The silence around her was thick, pressing onto her ears and she looked around, trying to spot the cause but she saw nothing. Extreme silence had never meant good.There was not a single soul roaming the street. It was only 1 in the morning but there was always someone. A drunk stumbling out of a pub or the whining of a child from an open window.West creek was devoid of life. Ilana bit the inside of her cheek, feeling the familiar rush of excitement wash through her. A fight was coming and she was so ready for it.She mentally counted through her daggers. Two in each arm band ar
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Ilana felt unreal, an entity weaved with threads of hopelessness and regret as she walked through the halls of the twentieth floor.She wasn't sure where she was going but she knew she was supposed to meet Calix Meyer. Make him aware of her presence.Her secret was out and now it was time to exploit it.And she would do it without complaints because Helene had said it was important. She had repeated the interaction in her head so many times, the words had stopped making sense. Like whatever happened wasn't real. Just like Ilana herself was not real anymore.It was important. Calix was important to the plan, the mission. He was just a means to an end. Nothing more. Helene had said it was important.Ilana didn't have to pretend when she slammed into someone. At least that had been real.“I'm sorry. I wasn't looking,” she said, keeping her eyes on the ground as she bent down to pick up the papers that had fallen loose from the folder in her hands.She didn't want Calix to see her yet. S
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Ilana slurped the greasy, most incredible tasting chowmein, an episode of criminal minds playing on the tv screen in front of her.She pulled the comforter around her - the fifth time in the last half hour - making sure it was tucked securely underneath her legs.Winter was barely there and Ilana was already a shivering, trembling mess.She grabbed the uncorked wine bottle from the table in front of her, taking a long swig. She sighed contentedly, the warmth from the wine and blanket seeping into her bones, even if it was only temporary.Ilana glanced at the clock. It was one hour till midnight.Her untimely cravings were to be the death of her. Now the show was on and there was food to be eaten and that meant one or two hours down the drain.Well, that was life, she thought with a mental shrug, leaning back into the couch.The episode ended and she grabbed the remote, skipping through the ending credits and onto the next episode but a voice made her stop.It was a door slamming shut.
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