AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Did he just say what I think he did? I know he likes to surprise me with each assignment, and he’s asked me to do some crazy things before, but this tops the cake. Fuck my life. I can’t believe I have to assassinate my father—or at least pretend to. Surely that breaks the sacred father-daughter bond.
The team makes noises of surprise, but Dad goes on. “I’m making an appearance at a fundraising gala with my wife, and all intel indicates that they are going to make the attempt at that location. It’s not like I go out in public very often, and I can’t miss this one because Sadie is on the board.” I hear concern and stress in his tone as he plays his role in setting up the assignment’s background.
“Shoot to kill?” This voice is one I haven’t heard yet, but goosebumps prickle my skin. It’s silky smooth and sounds deadly. It has to be Bad Boy using more than grunts.
“No!” Dad sounds panicked, but he coughs and clears his throat before continuing. “Capture and detain only, Miller.”
Miller! I quickly pull the electronic tab back up on my screen. Scanning the names in the file, I find the one I’m looking for—Miller King. At least I have one other name to put to a face, even if I don’t have anything else. I tune back into the conversation.
“I want to see if we can find out who hired them. If you can’t apprehend them without lethal force, then let them go. Lathan, here’s a thumb drive with everything we have on the assassin known as Phantom, which really isn’t much except for a list of their escapades over the last few years. Maybe that will give you something, but they don’t seem to have a solid method of operation.”
“I’ll check it out,” Nerdy Sexy says confidently.
I know that list of information contains all my agency sanctioned hits, but apart from the name of the victims and how they were killed, there isn’t any other information, nor will it tell them they were agency hits because they were all off-book and only run through Dad who acts as my handler. I don’t even use the same method of assassination each time. If they dig too deeply into who the actual victims were, though, they might discover that they were all very bad people who deserved what they got, but I’m hoping they don’t look that far into it. If they do, it might make them suspicious, but it won’t change the parameters of the assignment. If they only stick to clues regarding my identity, then there will be nothing to discover. I’m very good at my job.
“I’ll leave it to you guys to work out the details, but let me know what you come up with. Heaven forbid Sadie gets caught in the crossfire.” Dad doesn’t hide his concern for my mom. He’s really putting on an act.
“We’ll make sure they never get close enough to hurt you or your wife,” Asian Hottie responds.
He has to be the team leader. I need to make notes after they leave. It’s not much to go on, but it’s all I have. I’m even more worried now, because Dad usually tells them that this is their yearly assessment, but he’s making it sound like a real threat against his life. What game is he playing?
“Now, have you had any luck gathering intel about the operation in Summerville? I am assuming you left the other two behind to maintain your cover,” Dad remarks, moving on to a new subject, which also answers where the other two members of this team are. I guess they really aren’t college recruiters, and I better not let my guard down just yet because their looks—as yummy as they might be—are deceiving.
“Yes, we are all established and getting to know the community. It’s easy for them with who their dad is. He’s smoothed everything over, and they are living in their family home. Anders and I have both secured jobs. I’m working at the local tattoo shop, and Anders is bartending at a popular bar in town. Lathan, Miller, and Bishop have all been attending the local high school and working that angle.”
High school? How can they get away with looking like highschoolers? Is that what guys look like in high school? If so, then damn, I wish I insisted on going now. If they can pass as highschoolers, they must be pretty good at the job. I’m starting to feel a little suspicious about this whole thing, but I focus on the important details.
That’s two more names. I run my finger down the list again. Anders Brooks and Bishop Ramirez. If I go by names, I would assume the latter is Latino Lovely, but I could be wrong. This information is helpful, though, and I’m glad my dad is asking these questions.
“And your backstory? Why are so many of you living together?”
“Rich parents who travel for work wanted to make sure their kids were all looking after one another. The town is stupid enough to believe it.” I think it’s Latino Lovely who answers. There’s a hint of an accent, but not much.
“Good, good. Make the most of your downtime, because after the gala, you’ll be headed back to Summerville. Hopefully, you can get the assignment wrapped up quickly, but there don’t seem to be any solid leads yet, so you may be there for a while. I’m sorry, I know you were looking forward to a long break, especially because you’ve only just moved in. How are things at the new place? Do you like it? Sadie designed it with your specific tastes in mind.”
All of our teams live on-site. Each time a new team is established, they are allowed to pick a location, and then a new residence is added. The teams always get to help with the planning. It’s weird that an established team wouldn’t already have a place here.
“It’s amazing. You thought of everything we might need,” Bad Boy asshole says.
I switch off the intercom. I don’t need to hear anything else at this stage. I’m going to have to do some reconnaissance on the specifics of the gala. Mom will be the one to ask, since she is hosting it, and then I’ll scope out a place to take the fake shot from—one which is easily escapable. A closed session at the range is needed too. I haven’t had to snipe anyone with a sniper rifle for a while, so it won’t hurt to brush up on my skills. Not that I’ll be using real bullets, just blanks, and I’ll hit a place above Dad’s head or something. At least I have something to go on now, but an uneasy feeling runs up my spine at the thought of the new test. Something just isn’t sitting right. I don’t know if it’s because it involves assassinating my dad, or if it’s the fact that I don’t have much to go on regarding Team Basilisk, but I do know I need to be careful and make sure I dot all my i’s and cross all my t’s to make sure it goes off without a hitch.
I have to keep my perfect record of not getting caught, and I refuse to let Team Basilisk win.
Chapter 2
My nose wrinkles as I crouch down in a puddle of an unknown liquid and set up my sniper rifle. There were a couple of options for taking the shot, but with the knowledge that I have a team looking for me, I chose the least obvious, hoping they’ll scope out the more apparent positions. I did consider a drive-by attempt, but there would be too much collateral damage, and it’s hard to drive and shoot with any accuracy. I also considered taking a shot from inside the gala, but escape routes are limited within the building, so a rooftop shot it is, albeit from an extremely difficult angle.
I have my escape route already planned, and my motorcycle is parked close to the building. I expect to be home in time to order some takeout and watch a couple episodes of The Witcher before Dad calls me to debrief, and I can gloat about how I foiled his team once more. Henry Cavill is boyfriend goals and about as close as I’ll ever get to one with my line of work.
I think back to the aftermath of me listening into that meeting between Team Basilisk and dad. My concern had risen to such high levels by the time they left, I actually confronted him as soon as I knew it was clear.
“What is this shit?” I demanded, waving the paper copy of the redacted file at him. “There’s nothing about any of them except names. There aren’t even any damn pictures so I can put those names to faces! And what’s with the buddy-buddy act? Those men seemed to be a lot more than employees to you, so what fucking gives? And an assassination? You’ve got to be kidding me.” I was angry because my parents didn’t hide things from me, and this friendship my dad had with that team blindsided me.
When I met my dad’s eyes, I knew I’d gone too far. He was wearing his Director Watson mien, looking cold and blank as he leaned forward in his chair. “This is as much of an assessment for you as it is for them, Kenzie. Your ghost status is dependent on your performance, and I can hardly give you an unfair advantage by telling you all they are capable of. You never know, this team may be better than you—in fact, they might be too good—but we will see what the outcome is on the day of the gala. I hope, for your sake, you’re not cashing checks you can’t afford.” I wanted to stomp my feet in frustration, but I knew it’d get me nowhere when he was like this.
“I can afford plenty,” I grumble out loud, thinking back to how I replied to him. The muted sound of traffic below pulls me from my musings. Up here, I can still hear a dull rumble and an occasional blast of impatient drivers’ horns. A beep on my smartwatch alerts me to the fact that it’s getting close to Mom and Dad’s arrival time, and it’s time for me to focus.
Stop replaying everything over in your head, Kenz, or you’re going to fuck up.
