Cold Shoulders

ETHAN COLE 

  Another mission dropped. I walked through the hallway, my feet leading me as I loaded my gun.

I halted at Ava's room, and placed a hand at the door. My fingers traced the ridges where the grain rose and dipped, smooth in some places, rough where needed. 

The air seemed calm, as I felt her breathing rise and fall. 

She was asleep — peacefully. This was the perfect time to strike. 

Winnie had said the mission was supposed to be a breeze and the pay, something I would never refuse. 

  My hand fell to my side as I took long strides down the stairs and out of the house.  I glanced at my wrist watch to check the time since Ava was an early bird, and of course I was meant to be by her side when she woke up. To be the first thing her eyes fell on. 

   Just then, a car pulled over and I hopped in. I still didn't understand how Winnie managed to get into the estate without being noticed, except if the security were working for VAR.

“Sweetheart, what was the mission again?” I asked, my eyes fixed on my phone. Winnie didn't turn to look at me, instead she focused on the road while her audio played through a headphone hung on her neck. Thank goodness, she used headphones this time. 

“Target has skilled guards, we are expected to kill them and blame his wife for his murder… quite sad right?” 

I sucked my lower lip, then let out a hiss. 

“What can we do?” 

  We had never gone out of place since we joined the organization, we followed the rules which included completing clients requests. One wrong move and we'll be abandoned, I had seen it happen — death was far better than that. 

“Yeah… we're here. He stays at the top floor. His wife is expected to come in five minutes to accuse him of cheating,” she said, parking the car. 

  I hopped out, my eyes fixed at the tall building. A five star hotel meant for people of similar class. I scoffed taking the lead while Winnie tagged along. We didn't need a pass to enter since the hotel was owned by my client. 

“Here's his key card, have a great night!” The hotel attendant smiled brightly, handing me the target's spare key. 

“Jobs like this always go smoothly, don't you think?” Winnie asked as we stepped into the elevator. 

“Yes. Let's be quick, I need to return before she wakes up,” I said, giving a rather gruff response. 

  When we arrived at the top floor, Winnie pushed past me walking straight to the target's room, she swiped the key card and the door clicked open. 

There were three things rich business men came to hotels to do — business, pleasure or both. I took in the room, the lamp stood on the desk, the light switched off. The AC wasn't too high, but the room was smoking hot. Everything in the room stood in place except the sheets. It lay crumpled in between bare bodies. 

I scrunched my nose in disgust. The room reeked of sex. 

“How dare you…”

“How do you wish to die, Sir? In the hands of the woman who's not your wife or… alone, with your dick erect,” I interrupted stepping in. I took out my gun and the girl jumped off the bed searching for her clothes. 

“Has he paid?” I asked, pointing the gun at her head. Her lips trembled, a transparent substance dropping from it. 

I grasped the fear that filled her wide eyes, sweat soaking her brown skin.

“N…no,” she stuttered, still searching for her clothes. “Pay up, Mr Cam. Don't keep the lady waiting-” I felt Winnie observing my every move. We hadn't been in touch for a while, and I was giving her cold shoulders especially since VAR gave me that instruction about going on missions as a group. I was their special agent. 

  Mr Cam nodded, reaching for his wallet. I grabbed it and tossed it to her. “Take his card, and get out.”

She obeyed, grabbing the card and scurrying out. 

Winnie rolled her eyes stepping forward. “I'll kill him. I brought another gun with me. We need it, remember?”

She wore some gloves before taking out the gun. 

She's smart, I'd give it to her.

   “Who sent you? Is it my wife, that bastard…”

Shoot. Winnie shot the gun, the bullet went straight to his arm. 

He screamed, clasping his hand against it. 

“I have money… please!” He whined pressing down at the injured arm. 

Shoot. Another… and another. 

The man shrieked rolling on the bed, his dick dangling around. 

“She'll be here in two minutes,” I muttered checking the white analog clock that hung beautifully on the wall. 

“I'm sure my wife didn't pay you well enough. How much do you need-”

Winnie gave the last shot. The bullet moved swiftly slicing through the air, and with its weight, it hit straight to his heart piercing deep into it. 

Mr Cam fell to the bed, his body lay bare… lifeless. 

“Now.”

   The door clicked open. A woman in light pink came in, a knife in her hand. “Where's she? That woman you're sleeping…”

Her voice trailed when she saw the blood gushing from her husband's body. 

The mission was simple. Make her the culprit. 

Her eyes grew wide in shock and fear, the knife dropping from her hand. She turned to look at us… she reminded me of someone I had a faint memory of. The fear in her eyes as I shot her looked similar, almost present. 

“Who are you?” She asked in a whisper wishing she hadn't walked in.

“You killed your husband because you found out he was cheating. The woman left before you came in, but your mind was already made. So you shot in the arm, legs and then right at his heart-” Winnie walked slowly towards her raising the gun at her. 

“You have no regrets killing him and you'll do it again in your second life,” she said smiling. She pushed the gun towards her, but the woman's hand stayed to her side. 

  A sharp pain pierced my chest. I shut my eyes trying to forget the way I killed that woman. No, I had no choice. She would've died either way. 

“Wait!” I said stopping my teammate.

“What? This isn't the time to…”

“Someone wanted your husband dead, and he wants you framed for it. Can you leave the state tonight?” I asked, staring right at her face. She nodded quickly, holding her breath. 

“Do it, take everything and leave,” I instructed. She shook her head, turned and took to her heels. 

When the door clicked shut and her footsteps became distant, I picked up the knife she left, observing it.  

    There was no hope for someone like me, but saving a person made me feel relieved.

“Let's get out. VAR would clean this up. Tell the client, his threat is dead, and the wife didn't come as expected. I'll clear her name from the hotel register.” 

We left a few minutes later without saying anything to each other. When we drove, the only thing that played was her audio. I listened to it wondering how I would tell her VAR's instructions, how she'd take it. 

“We're here. Go back to your princess,” she scoffed while parking the car. 

I stepped out and she did the same. We stared at each other for a while then she asked. 

“You saved her because of that woman, right? She reminds you of her, yes?” 

I shrugged. The moon cast its light down at us, her brown eyes sparkled like she was thinking.

“I guess I'm growing weak.” I chuckled, diverting my eyes from her.

“What did VAR say?” 

So she knew about it. I shut my eyes and opened them. Winnie had been my teammate from day one and yet, I found it hard to tell her about that fucked up organization's orders.

“I'll be off missions for a while, so we won't have time to meet for a while. I know…I'm a fool, I shouldn't have accepted this crazy mission and-”

“It's not your fault. We knew the mess we entered working with these bloodthirsty people,” she comforted coming towards me. 

   Without thinking, she wrapped her arm around me resting her head on my chest. 

“I'll miss you,” she whispered. I bent, kissed her nose and grinned. 

“I'll come unannounced. VAR doesn't have to know.”

Winnie dipped her head, a genuine smile on her face. I watched her as she entered the car and drove away. 

By tomorrow, Mr Cam would be announced dead and my focus would be on the interesting Ava Duval.