The Complete Assassin Episode 13 written by kayemjay
Ten hours later.
Stella’s eyes opened. They opened slowly, gradually adjusting to the dimness in the room. Her hands were tied behind her back. The chair she sat in felt uncomfortably familiar. There was a certain smell around the place, and the aura around the room felt like death itself.
She was sitting in the Interrogation Console.
As her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness in the room, she caught a figure to her left, standing with arms across his chest. He looked familiar too. Her brain was still weak from what had been injected in her. She could not really task it. Then the person spoke.
It was her brother Steven, The Shadow Prime.
******
Detective Samson stood in his office stone faced, hands held behind him and starring into the wall in front of him. On the wall was a large information board which had newspaper clippings, clues, a map and several other indicators concerning the all the assassinations that had taken place since he resumed office. The current one was a jaw breaker. Three prominent men had been murdered. It was a clueless perfect murder.
He had scavenged the crime scene, he had harassed staff of the hotel, he had checked every video footage, and had even called some professionals to help him solve this murder case. He hit a brick wall at every turn. For the caliber of detective that he was, it was unacceptable. He had just got off the phone where the Inspector General had told commanded him to produce results. The Federal Executive Council wanted the culprits brought to book in no time as leverage for their campaign in the forthcoming elections. There was no room for more delay.
Detective Samson took a pen from his jacket and grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk. He faced the wall again. He drew patterns from the first killing at the Haven and the three deaths, trying to create some sort of link between them. He failed to see any similarities between them. The more he studied the evidence he had, the more he was inclined to believe that there were carried out by different persons or groups.
This bothered him. One assassin was already a handful. Two or more working independently would be catastrophic.
He shrugged for the umpteenth time, turned around and sat on his desk. He punched the keyboard of his UltraSlim laptop. The screen came on with a logo that represented the City Police and had a cursor blinking asking for his password.
As he was about to enter his password, there was a knock on his office door.
“It’s open.” The detective barked.
James who was had been working with the IT team of the police force poked his head through the door.
“May I come in sir?” James asked. He was always afraid of Detective Samson.
“Only if you have got something tangible for me to work with. Right now I feel like blowing somebody’s head off.” The detective replied.
James walked into the office and slowly approached the detective’s desk. He left the door slightly ajar.
“Sir, I have good news and bad news.” James said.
“Start with the bad news.” The detective barked.
“We still have not been able to get the identity of the assassin. Whoever it was, the person was very thorough. We are still working hard to break through every fiber of video feed we have.” James said.
“Don’t I know that already? That’s not news. And how come you are speaking of one assassin? Couldn’t there have been more than one person committing the deed?” The detective asked.
“That’s where the good news comes in sir.” James answered and continued,
“After sifting the video footage through layers and layers of defragmentation and splitting the frames into minuscular packets, we got to know that in every floor there was the same person. And it was a female.” James replied.
“A female? You have a face?” Detective Samson asked excitedly getting up from his chair.
“No sir, We do not have a face. We have a shadow.” James said and unconsciously moved a step back. He expected a wash down.
The detective did not seem angry at this. He seemed to want to know more. Any lead at all was better than no lead.
“Explain to me James. In detail.” The detective said.
“There are distinctive markings we saw after we had dissected the footage into minuscular frames. We saw some spots in each of the three men that were murdered. Initially we thought it was as a result of the shredding process of the video. But when we noticed the spot in the three rooms, we knew it was not just a coincidence. This is what the spot looked like before we worked on it. And here is what it is after we worked on it.” James finished, showing the detective some images on the tablet he brought along with him.
“This is good evidence James. But I need more. The autopsy showed that they all died at about the same time. Fifteen seconds apart. From the same chemical substance. How can 1 person be at three different places in 15 seconds?” The detective said, relaxing in his chair.
“After extensive digging we found that some variations of toxibutnybubenol, the chemical that was infused into the victims can be administered to a certain degree which can decide how long before the victim dies. My guess is that this is what she used.” James finished.
“Good job James. Forward all this to me in a mail. How soon before I get it?” The detective asked.
“Sent already.”
“Okay. I will get back to you on this.”
James left the office as detective Samson put his feet on the table, crossing them. There may be light at the end of the tunnel after all.
********
Stella tugged at the rope that bound her hands behind the metal chair. It held tight. She could not believe that she had walked right into a trap. She had questions running around her head. Did her brother know all the while? Or she gave herself away too soon? She looked at him in the darkness of the Interrogation Console. She could see the outline of his face but not really any distinct features. What was his agenda?
They had not seen each other in eight years. After their mother died, Stella got adopted by the Williams while Steven moved in with the Doctor. The Williams were rich family friends who and Mrs Williams was Stella’s Godmother. For years after the siblings were separated, they maintained constant communication and also visited each other frequently until Stella had to go to the University. It was at this same period that Steven was recruited by the Shadow Organization as a rookie. Steven joined the Alpha Beta fraternity in the University and went on to become the Alpha Male in his final year. Unknown to him, every Alpha Male was automatically recruited into the Shadow Organization. He had no choice.
Coincidentally, Stella joined the Kappa Phi Sigma fraternity in the University and also advanced to be the Baroness of the frat in her final year. The Baroness was the second in command and did most of the organizing. It was during Stella’s stay in the frat that they rose to prime position and became the number one female frat in the entire country. The Shadow Organization normally did not pick candidates from female fraternities. They considered them too weak. However Stella’s activities in the Kappa Phi Sigma fraternity were too obvious to ignore. She was recruited.
Everyone in the Shadow Organization knew who the Sensei was. They also knew who the Shadow prime was. However, the Shadow Prime could not know everyone. Stella had been monitoring her brother’s progress in the Organization since she discovered that he was Shadow Prime designate. She read his history in the organization, his achievements, his strengths and why he was chosen. She respected him. In as much as she wanted to reach out to him, she could not.
The day she killed her first ever target in a 20 second assassination operation, Sensei had called her into his cabin as their boat sped away from the scene.
“Whatever happens, Steven must never know you are here. It would mean the end of your lives; both of you. The line has been crossed Lieutenant. There is no going back.” Sensei had warned.
She desperately wanted to reach out to her brother. To hold him. Hug him. Tell him everything that has been going on in her life. But he was her commander and he did not even know it. She swore to keep him alive, no matter the cost. And if staying away from him was the only way, she had no choice. The last time they spoke was months before, on the anniversary of their father’s death.
And now here she was, with her brother. A remarkably weird reunion.
“Hey sister” Steven said again.
“Hey” Stella replied, her voice croaky. She felt emotions run through her.
Steven walked towards her, flicked the light switch on the wall and drew another chair from the corner. He sat down inches from her.
“You have been very very naughty sis. I should reprimand you.” Steven said, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
“And how do you intend to do that, brother? Or is it Shadow Prime?” Stella hit back.
“Is this how to welcome your brother? When was the last time we saw each other? Six years? Seven?” Steven asked, leaning back and crossing his legs.
“Actually, it has been eight years. If my hands were not tied, I would have given you a hug brother.” Stella said smirking.
“Stella. Stella. Stella.” Steven said and continued.
“What are you waiting for? You and I know that if you wanted to free yourself from the ropes that bind your hands, you would have done so the moment you opened your eyes. Don’t worry sister. I am not gonna harm you. I did not remove the pin under your sleeve. You can cut yourself loose now.” Steven finished winking at her.
Stella smiled.
She squeezed the fingers on her left hand, applying pressure such that the bone on her wrist appeared. As she continued to squeeze, she felt a pin drop in her palm. She took the pin between her fingers, and then began tugging at the rope all the while staring at her brother who returned her gaze. In seconds her hands were free.
“That took you longer than expected. You were eleven seconds slower.” Steven said.
“I guess I need more practice. Besides, you could have just cut me loose.” Stella replied.
It was an awkward situation. Siblings who had not seen each other in almost a decade now are meeting face to face. There was no emotion, no tears, and no joy of reunion. There was this void, this emptiness that filled the Interrogation Console. Years of killing and hurting other people had gradually seen them become cold blooded people, with little or no emotions left.
“So, what now?” Stella asked, rubbing her wrists with her hands.
“I need to show you something.” Steven said and got up.
He turned away from her and moved towards a small knapsack lying on the floor by the wall. Stella moved quickly. She got up from the chair and rushed towards Steven in lightning speed. Steven heard the footsteps early enough. As Stella lunged a right punch at Steven’s head, he weaved the punch moving to his left.
Stella gave a flurry of punches. Left punch, right punch, left jab, right jab, left, right, right and left again. She was in emotional anger. Steven could see it. He parried the punches away as they came, going on the defensive. As he beat each punch away, he moved back not allowing his sister to come too close.
He did not want to hit her, but she was making it hard for him. She picked a short stick from the ground, using it as a weapon. As she tried to hit Steven with it, Steven ducked, his head moving backwards. As he ducked, he simultaneously stretched out his left hand and grabbed Stella’s wrist holding the stick. It was a strong grip.
He got back up, regained his balance at the same time twisting Stella’s wrist that he had captive. Using her free hand, Stella threw a punch at her brother. He saw the punch, blocked it away with his free hand, and then landed her a very huge slap with the same hand.
She unconsciously held her face as the slap stung her.
“Enough!” Steven barked commandingly.
Stella began to sob.
Steven could not handle the emotions that welled up inside him. He took the stick from her, threw it away and drew her close to him. Her sobs increased as he held her close to his chest, patting her gently and rubbing her hair.
“I am sorry sister.” Steven said, feeling a tear drop from his eye.
“I missed you so much. So much!” Stella cried, her voice barely audible.
“I know dear. I know. And we are never going to be apart anymore. That is why I lured you here. We need to do this together.” Steven said.
Stella’s sobbing reduced gradually as they stood in the middle of the room, like lovers. Minutes later, Steven pulled her away from him, looked her in the eye and asked,
“Do you trust me?”
“With my life.” Stella replied.
“Good. Come with me.” Steven commanded.
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