Chapter 14

There was an envelope sitting on the counter when Aeron got home. It was lying between the half eaten plates of lunch and cups of iced tea and soda. It was thicker than any they had before.

“When did this come in?” Aeron asked Lesley, who was eating a sandwich.

“It was waiting with a currier when we got back from classes,” Alicia said. “The boys will be over in a few. We tried calling, but you and Shannon didn’t answer.”

“She went into an emergency surgery,” Aeron said. “I figured I’d wait with the sister.”

“Oh,” Lesley said. “What happened? Did the…kid?…make it?”

“No. It was a six year old boy who fell off a Parkour tower,” Aeron said, pushing her food around on the plate. This put a damper on an already gloomy mood.

Shannon arrived home just after the boys got to the apartment, and she shook her head at Aeron before she could ask what had happened with Figg.

“Who do you think the mark is?” Shannon asked, nodding toward the still unopened envelope.

“We could open it and find out,” Luke suggested, rubbing Aeron’s shoulders.

Shannon grabbed the envelope in exasperation and tore it open. Her eyes widened as she scanned it.

“And the verdict is?” Justin said, breaking the silence.

“The son of a Norwegian diplomat.”

More silence.

Aeron yanked the packet out of her hands. “Well this is interesting…”

“Which one?” Alicia asked, paling slightly.

Lesley frowned. “Alicia, isn’t your new boy Norwegian?”

“Yeah,” Alicia moaned, dropping her head on the table. “What’s his name?”

Aeron scanned the file again. “Hans.”

Alicia let out a breath. “That’s his cousin. I don’t like him—gives me the creeps.”

“Isn’t that convenient,” Decius said sarcastically, taking the folder from his sister. Aeron nodded, and the feeling the Institute was watching them fell over the group again.

“What’s the reason?” Justin asked.

“Illegal activities, probably drugs or something where his diplomatic immunity protects him,” Decius said. “Deadline is two weeks.”

“That puts us into our winter break,” Lesley said.

“No big,” Luke replied, now reading the file. “We can get it done by this weekend and still have time to pack for the holiday.”

Luke dropped the packet back on the table. “Well, since Alicia has a direct connection already, we should build off that.”

Alicia nodded. “Sure. I’m supposed to meet him this week. I’ll bring one of you along.”

“I’ll go,” Lesley offered.

“He already knows you too well,” Alicia said. “We need someone he’s only met briefly.”

“That only leaves me,” Aeron said. “I think we might have met in passing at the Halloween Party, and—”

“No,” Luke said, cutting her off. “Shannon, if you’re up to it. I mean unless he’s into guys were out, and Aeron’s not ready.”

“Yes I am,” Aeron said, trying to control her small limp as she carried dishes to the sink.

“I’m perfectly fine. And it won’t be like I’m actually doing any fighting.”

“No, he’s right. I couldn’t let you anyways,” Shannon said. “It would just undo all the work we have done.”

Aeron was outnumbered. There was no point in arguing, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sulk while they hashed out the details.

***

The hit was planned for Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving. Aeron had hoped she would be able to confront Figg on Tuesday or Wednesday, but she had handed in her resignation Monday night and no one had seen hide nor hair of her. Shannon seemed to be conveniently busy every time Aeron tried to ask about what had happened.

Wednesday morning, Aeron spent the extra hours after lunch in the gym with Mason.

“How’s Molly?” she asked, practicing jumping and rolling out of her landings from multiple heights.

“She’s…quiet,” Mason said, spotting her as she lunged from the thirty-foot platform. “I think seeing Figg—or the hysterical woman as Molly puts it—really hit home with her mother. I think she’s thinking of studying more of the analytical aspects of planning hits rather than the practical.”

“Make sure she keeps that to herself,” Aeron whispered, suddenly dropping down and massaging her ankle. “I think…you know…” she raised her eyes to the ceiling, “is way more involved than they used to be.”

“Aeron,” Mason said softly, moving to check her ankle. “Of course they are. They have to have a small hand involved to be sure the proper hits are carried out by the right people. It’s why your hits work so well for you. Now the hits on students, I’m not positive about, but I’m sure there’s a reason.”

Aeron felt scolded, and changed the subject. “Did I tell you I talked to Figg the day she resigned?”

“No,” Mason said, sitting back. He took Aeron’s ankle and began stretching it out, helping with the range of motion. “I heard she lost a young boy on the table. I only wish she would have said why she had come here in the first place.”

Aeron couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the suspected vendetta against Shannon.

“Your ankle is much better than I would have expected, but still be careful on it tonight.”

Aeron nodded and watched him leave; his slumping shoulders the only sign of his heart breaking a little more.

***

“Remember—no drinking tonight,” Lesley said, as they sat around the breakfast bar going over their plans. Her hair was now black, and her eyes brown. She was wearing a low-cut shirt and tight jeans. “Tim’s letting me bartend from eight until ten. That gives us two hours to try and get Hans drugged—but if he’s as big of a drug-dealer, as the file indicates, on top of being a diplomat son, he’ll be extra careful with each drink.”

“No drinking,” Shannon said. Shannon was dressed as herself, with her protective gear underneath. She looked nervous, fidgeting with her hair and biting her nails. Since Figg had left, she had taken on the all of the responsibilities of head doctor.

“Are you guys sure about this?” Aeron asked. “I’m doing really good on this ankle.”

“We can’t risk it,” Decius said. “Alicia said they’re going on the yacht after Sapphire.

The uneven footing will put you at risk.”

Aeron let out a growl of annoyance. “And Shannon being overworked since Figg has been gone is putting her in just as much risk. No offense Shannon, but too much can go wrong with this one. I should be the lead.”

There was no arguing with the logic of this statement, but Decius, Luke and Shannon rallied up against the idea. Aeron glowered in defeat.

“Justin, you will be with Aeron in the boat, waiting to pick us up. And Decius and Luke will be already on board, disguised as the help to give Shannon and Alicia back-up.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

The mood of this mission was not a confident, cohesive one, and Aeron did not feel right sitting with Justin in the getaway vehicle.

“I should be on that yacht,” Aeron said. They were drifting not too far from the

Norwegian’s yacht, and Aeron was lying on the back of the boat with binoculars held fast to her eyes.

“Welcome to the boring part of our assassin team,” Justin said. He was sitting in the captain’s chair with his feet propped, reading a comic. “You’ve never had to do this, huh?”

“No. It sucks,” Aeron said, putting the binoculars down and rolling onto her back. Even out in the ocean, the lights of New York City dimmed the spectacular stars.

The sky was suddenly illuminated in pink light, and Aeron bolted up. “Pink was trouble, and purple safe, right?” she asked, looking at Justin. He had already started the engine and was accelerating toward the boat, revving the engine as fast as it would go.

Aeron’s heart slammed in her chest, and as they raced toward the yacht, the yells could be heard. “Faster!” she screamed at him, and when they got near enough, Aeron vaulted onto the yacht. She slid across the deck, landing in something slick. She braced her hands for balance, and they came off the deck covered in bright, red blood.

“No,” she breathed, searching the deck for any sign of whose blood she was covered in. A gun shot rang from beneath her and she sprinted toward the rear of the yacht, looking for the stairs. A figure was lying at the top of them, but Aeron couldn’t make out who it was. She approached with caution—it was Alicia, knocked out.

“Alicia,” Aeron said, trying to rouse her. “Alicia!” she yelled, shaking her hard. Alicia slowly opened her eyes, and Aeron was willing to bet her life she had a concussion. “C’mon. Get up.” She helped Alicia to her feet, and directed her toward the front of the yacht. “Justin is waiting for you. Go!” Aeron pushed her in the general direction and took the stairs two at a time.

The commotion was getting louder, and Aeron removed the dagger from her boot. The door to her left burst open and Aeron flattened herself against the wall—Decius toppled out.

“Where’s Shannon?” Aeron asked, reaching out and steadying him.

“I have no idea,” Decius panted. He was clutching his side, and blood was oozing between his fingers, “I was jumped, stabbed, and tossed in this closet.” He stumbled and gasped for air.

“Justin’s by the bow, and Alicia should be there too,” Aeron said, leading Decius halfway up the stairs. “Whose blood was on the deck?” she asked him.

“Ben’s,” he said, and stumbled up to the deck. Aeron swore and made her way back toward the noise. If Ben was dead, and Alicia knocked out, Lesley’s concoctions must not have worked.

The door at the end of the hall was cracked, and she could see Luke on the floor. He was pale and trying to stop his thigh from bleeding. He caught sight of Aeron and paled even more.

He gave her the tiniest of head shakes, and she ignored him. “How many?” she mouthed. He didn’t answer, and she asked again. He coughed once. Just one person did this?

For the first time she could remember, Aeron wished she had a gun. The element of surprise was on her side, but she had no idea how unstable the mark was. She decided to draw him out instead. She ran back down the hallway, kicking open doors and screaming at the top of her lungs. It worked.

The door burst open and Hans stood there—a gun to Shannon’s head. “Who are you!” Hans demanded. He had a broken nose, and was bleeding from his ear.

Your worst nightmare, Aeron wanted to say. “Just a girl looking for her friends.”

“You should have told your friends to mind their own business.”

“I’ll be sure to tell them next time,” Aeron said, struggling to find the words to reason with him. That was what Shannon did—but Shannon looked in no condition to say much. Her mouth was gagged and there was a huge gash across her face.

“There won’t be a next time. You can’t count on friends. You can’t even count on family,” Hans said, getting agitated. “I have a huge shipment worth half-a-million coming in tonight. You are not going to ruin it.”

“Like Ben did?” Aeron said, finding a button to push. Luke was getting to his feet behind Hans; she just needed to get him distracted enough…

“Ben was a fool. He saw a pretty girl and thought nothing of it. I told him she was probably D.E.A. but he was in love,” he spat. His gun hand began to tremble.

“Do we really look old enough to be D.E.A.? Your cousin had nothing to do with this. You killed him, and for no reason. You should have trusted him—blood is always thicker than water.”

“You’re lying!” he shouted, and turned the gun on her. It was what she was waiting for.

Luke attacked from behind. Aeron ran forward to push Shannon out of the way, but the boat rocked, and her ankle gave way—the gun went off before she could get there. Shannon’s face froze, and she looked down—blood steadily seeping through her clothes.

“Shannon!” Aeron yelled, and scrambled to her side, numb to the pain in her ankle.

“Shannon!” Aeron sobbed, pulling Shannon into her lap, and the image of Figg holding the redheaded girl flashed into her mind.

Aeron could hear Luke struggling with Hans, but her attention was only on her best friend. She gently tugged the gag from Shannon’s mouth.

“Shan,” she cried. Aeron pulled up Shannon’s shirt, looking for the wound. She knew only to apply pressure, and pushed down on the bullet wound. Shannon cried out in pain, and Aeron cried with her.

“Aeron,” Shannon gasped, but Aeron shushed her.

“Not now, you can tell me later.”

“Figg,” she gasped, and this time Aeron didn’t stop her. The blood was pouring around Aeron’s hand, and she knew there wasn’t much time. She had no idea how to treat this kind of injury.

“What about Figg,” Aeron asked, stroking Shannon’s hair.

“She killed Laura. Luke was right.”

“It’s okay. I’ll kill her for you.”

“No!” Shannon coughed, blood splattering Aeron’s face; she didn’t wipe it off. “It’s settled. Our score is settled. Tell Mason…” cough…cough, “I’m sorry.”

“Shannon,” Aeron said, letting the tears stream down her face. “You can’t die.”

Shannon smiled. “You’re a bossy-pain in the-ass, has anyone ever told you that?” Aeron laughed through her tears, hugging Shannon to her chest—her body going unnaturally still.

“Ronnie,” Luke said, pulling her arm. “Aeron,” he said again. “We have to go. Hans is dead. C’mon, get Shannon up.”

But Aeron clung on to Shannon, sobs rocking her body. “I can’t…She’s…”

Luke froze, seeing Aeron covered in blood, and then his eyes moved over Shannon’s now motionless body. Aeron could hear someone moving above deck, and she took a deep breath before looking down at Shannon’s lifeless body. They had to go, and they needed to take Shannon with them.

“Lulu, help me carry her,” she said softly, calmly. Aeron stood up, and almost fell right back down—her ankle was the size of a softball. “Luke,” Aeron said, “please, she’s too heavy. And my ankle…”

Luke snapped back into focus, and hastily scooped Shannon’s body from the floor. It hung limply in his arms, and Aeron had to look away as she staggered ahead of him and back up the stairs. Justin was waiting for them.

“I was coming to get you,” he said. “Lesley called—Coast Guard is on their way.” He reached out a hand to help Aeron, and his eyes fell on Shannon—his dark complexion paling in a way Aeron never thought imaginable.

Decius helped Aeron back into their boat, while Justin revved the engine.

“Here, elevate that thing and let Shannon have a look at it,” he said. Aeron said nothing

as her heart began to hammer. Luke appeared at the edge of the boat, and Decius caught sight of

the bloodied, motionless body in his arms.

Alicia cried out and lunged for them, Justin holding onto her as Luke passed Shannon gently over to Decius, and climbed into the boat.

“Get us out of here,” Luke said to Justin, who released Alicia. Aeron watched as Alicia collapsed into Decius and Luke’s arms—concussion, stab wound, and gunshot all forgotten as they consoled each other. She closed her eyes, allowing the rough movement of the boat to jar her ankle, enjoying each jolt of pain.

Decius sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulder. There were no words to say.

Nothing that could change the harsh reality—Shannon was dead.