Chapter 4
Berlin
“So what did you do tonight after I left?” Eve asks, casually.
Alessia sighs deeply and rolls her eyes at herself, before telling the woman the truth.
”Well, I had a bit of a run-in with our subject,” she admits to Eve.
Eve stares at her.
“Our subject? What do you mean?” She asks, but Alessia witnesses her swallowing hard.
What a little fibber…
”You know, the woman…” Alessia replies, flicking a hand carelessly as if it wasn’t a big deal.
Eve's mouth drops and she steps closer to Alessia.
”What? You saw her?” Eve asks, incredulously.
The younger woman nods.
“Yep, I talked to her too. She tried to stab me but the way,” she replies then pulls out the dagger from her jacket.
She holds it behind two fingers and wiggles it.
Eve’s eyes widen and she points at the knife.
“Holy shit, are you serious?” She asks and Alessia merely nods.
An arrogant look speaks across Alessia’s face.
“She was no doubt following us. I am unsure if it was just you or me or the both of us, but as the train left, she approached,” Alessia explains.
Alessia points the dagger at Eve with raised brows.
”I told her to leave you out of this,” she explains, motioning to Eve.
She shakes her head.
“It was clear to me Eve that before we let it slip that I was on the team, she was fully focused on you…” She says as she stared into Eve’s eyes. She finds that Eve can’t quite meet hers. “And when someone like this focuses on someone…unavailable, they become obsessed. It would not end well for you. Whether that was her intention or not,” she adds.
Eve seems curious and Alessia has no doubt that Eve has a question.
Alessia just motions a hand to her.
“What makes you so sure?” She asks the younger woman, her head tilted curiously.
Alessia sighs deeply.
”I don’t know,” she replied.
Then she sighs deeply once more.
"But she is oh so curious about me. And I her. She’s arrogant, but she has a right to be. While her kills are ‘loud’ style-wise, they are unique,” she adds.
Eve merely blinks at Alessia.
”You do realize we are speaking of the people she murdered and not her fashion choice. Like she’s wearing a bold fucking shirt!” Eve exclaims.
Alessia cringes and points to Eve for a moment.
“Right. But am I wrong though?” She asks with a shrug.
Eve huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
”No,” she mumbles.
Alessia smirks.
London
Arriving back in England, Carolyn wasted no time asking and requiring us to detail what we found out.
”Alessia met her!” Eve exclaims suddenly as if she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Alessia stares at Eve incredulously.
“Eve, c’mon…” Alessia scolds, dropping her hands heavily.
Carolyn and the others to Alessia.
”You did?” Carolyn asks with raised brows, but she doesn't seem at all surprised.
Alessia nods.
“When did this happen and why were we informed?” She interrogates.
Alessia narrowed her eyes at the older woman.
"I have the feeling that you already know that answer, Carolyn," Alessia replies, instead of answering the older woman's question.
She cocked her head to the side.
"Why do I get the feeling that you are not at all surprised by the information that Eve so elegantly spilled?" She asks.
Alessia raised a brow when Carolyn doesn't answer.
”Nothing of significance happened. I told you beforehand that she would probably still be in Berlin, especially after the name drop. And she was. She approached me after I brought Eve to the train station for the dinner she had. We chatted. ‘Having fun in Berlin?’ Idle chitchat,“ Alessia explains, flicking a dismissive wrist.
Carolyn stares hard.
”Dod you learn anything?” She asks the young woman.
Alessia nods.
“I learned she was willing to attempt murder in a train station,” she replies matter-of-factly, brows raised.
The others gasp, sounding scandalized.
”She tries to kill you?” Bill asks, concerned.
Alessia nods then pointed at the man.
“And that is why you stayed here. Had you encountered her, she would’ve most certainly killed you. But that is if she would act impulsive,” Alessia tells Bill.
The man paled, significantly.
The Greek woman looks at the others.
”And remember everyone, don’t forget the emphasis on trying. She tried to kill me, with no success much to her surprise,” she tells them all with a smirk.
She raised a single finger.
”Another thing, she doesn’t know anything about who she works for,” she tells Carolyn.
The older woman raises a brow.
“Are you sure?” She asks.
Alessia nods.
”But I know the name…of the organization…I should’ve shared this earlier… they are called The Twelve. They have been trying to recruit me since I started. It’s top secret and I doubt you hear anyone else call them that outside of people within the organization. She didn’t even know that name. She is merely a pawn,” Alessia tells them.
”The Twelve?” Carolyn asks, crossing her arms.
Alessia nods.
“Ominous, isn’t it?” Alessia drawls, widening her eyes dramatically before smirking.
Carolyn frowns in thought.
”What do they want? What is their goal?” She asks.
“When you look at the pattern, our assassin’s pattern. Not the style of killing but the people," she began.
Then she motioned to the corkboard.
"They range widely in fields. One was a French politician that was expected to win and do good. The other was a Russian politician that was a sex trafficker. An Italian mobster, a Chinese hacker, and so on…" She trailed off before crossing her arms in front of herself.
She shook her head.
"All of these people are different. Some are the good, others the bad. Their goal, the Twelve’s goal, is to destabilize the system. To create chaos. They are a terrorist organization. Don’t forget that,” Alessia explained.
"What do we do now?" Elena asks no one in particular.
Alessia sits down heavily in a chair.
"Perhaps we use this assassin's lack of knowledge as an advantage. She doesn't like that she is so out of the loop, she'll probably ask her handler more and more about it and I doubt they'll tell her. She'll begin to get more suspicious and more impatient," Alessia ponders aloud.
She rests her elbows on the chair's armrest and interlocks her fingers.
"So with that in mind, perhaps if she were to give her a better offer where she knows who she is working for...we'll have just another person on our side," Alessia suggests, shrugging her shoulders.
"It isn't about her, it's about the organization," Carolyn reminds the young assassin.
Alessia rolls her eyes, then swirls the chair to look at Carolyn.
"Did you know that I've heard all about her and I'm not even a part of the organization? They are proud of her. She gets the job done and she fucking does so without giving a flying fuck about who her target was or why they were killed in the first place. And they tolerate her kills that lack subtly because she is good at her job," Alessia replies fiercely.
She smirked at Caroyln.
"Tell me, Caroyln, what happens when an assassin starts asking too many questions about the people they work for? They quickly find themselves out of a job. And I'm just gonna tell you that a non-governmental assassin doesn't get a pension," she tells the older woman.
Alessia pointed at Carolyn's face for a second, squinting her eyes playfully.
"You of all people should know that, no?" She asks with her brows raised.
She smirked at Carolyn.
"You don't think I know a former spy when I see one?" She asks, cocking her head.
She laughs lightly seeing how tense the woman is and how quiet the room has become.
"So, what we do Elena is wait for the next kill. We can't find out more until we get more to go on. Me and Eve knowing her appearance isn't enough," Alessia addressed the woman.
When her eyes meet Elena's, Elena stiffened which makes Alessia raise a judging brow.
She turned the chair to look at her completely.
"You don't need to be afraid of me Elena," Alessia assured the girl.
Elena nods shakily.
"I'm not," Elena states, even raising her chin.
Alessia chuckles.
"Oh yeah, well, you should tell that to your face," she quipped.
Alessia shakes her head.
"So, until there is anything else that Kenny can find or anything that is changed. I am going to my apartment and going to sleep. I haven't slept in three days, I'm not much help at the moment anyway," Alessia says and stands from the chair.
"If you see any suspicious activity, let me know," she instructed them while sending them pointed looks, one by one. Then she sighs deeply before she smirks at them all. "And who knows, maybe I'll save you or something," she adds with a casual shrug.
She was sending Kenny a wink before walking out of the office.