Elsie

 

“Corridor on the right, Elsie,” Lola whispered in my earpiece from her veiled spot in the van outside.

It was so dark that if it weren’t for the goggles strapped to my head, I wouldn’t even be able to see my hand in front of my face.

The corridor, as Lola had instructed, opened up to my right and I slid down it silently.

The place was eerie, its crumbling walls and the distinct smell of shit and piss making me wish Frank had sent another Weapon to do this one.

The three blades secured to specific points on my body gave me their strength and courage to keep moving forward. This ‘job’ was second nature to me now. Still, it didn’t stop the adrenaline from rushing through me, and I fought hard to regulate my heart rate. That part of the training, controlling every beat of my heart, had always been difficult for me. Everything else had come quickly, fighting, stealth, even sliding a blade across someone’s throat, but influencing my own body’s functions was where I failed. It never stopped me trying, though.

“Something’s wrong,” I whispered to Lola. “Where’s the welcome party?”

“You’d prefer a welcoming committee?”

“Not preferred, just expected. It’s too quiet. It’s supposed to be a fucking haven for Kenneth’s trafficking. So where is everyone?” I slid around the corner. “Where're the girls? The men keeping them captive. There’s nothing alive, well apart from a few rats and crawlies.”

Static roared in my ear, and I frowned. “Lola?”

This was the exact reason why Frank taught us all to control our heart rates, to stop it pumping erratically in our chests and deafening our ears with its thumping pulse.

The pounding in my ears restricted my hearing, and I blew out silent breaths to try and calm myself down.

“Lola? Fuck, answer me, Sister!”

Nothing but silence answered me.

“Shit!”

I was blind now, and not just because of the depth of darkness around me. Lola’s elimination impeded my way around the former hospital, her directions vital if I was to get to the floor holding all the women Kenneth had taken. At that point in time, I wasn’t willing to think about why she had disappeared, it would only hinder my assignment if my mind were elsewhere.

I crept down the corridor, listening at each door for any signs of life. Just as I reached the end, the green vision that my goggles allowed me flickered and then vanished, plunging me into blackness.

“Damn it,” I hissed as I tapped the side in an attempt to bring it back to life.

Flattening myself against the wall, I closed my eyes in resignation. If Kenneth had sent out an interference signal, then he knew I was here.

Basically, I was fucked.

A sound to my right had me dropping to a crouch and sliding each of the blades from their sheaths.

Five. Three heavyset men, judging by the reverberation of their feet on the floor, were coming at me from the right. The two to the left were smaller but swifter.

Blowing out a steadying breath, for the first time in my sorry life, I prayed…..

 

The continuous ringing of my phone woke me. My heart was pounding hard in my chest, and beads of sweat dripped over my eyes.

Snatching up my phone from the nightstand, my mouth dried when I saw Frank’s name flash up.

“Frank?”

“Elsie?”

My heart started to race when Sally’s voice greeted me. “Sally, where are you? Are you okay?”

She laughed lightly. “Elsie, calm down. I’m fine. Frank is keeping me safe.”

Relief flooded me, and I sagged back on to the bed. “Is he there, can I talk to him?”

“Sure.”

The time it took for Frank to take the phone from Sally seemed like forever, even though it was only a matter of seconds. “Hello, Elsie.”

“Frank! What the hell is going on?”

He chuckled, my lack of pleasantries something that always amused him. “We can’t talk over the phone; you know that.”

“Everything is kicking off, Frank!”

“I know, as I had anticipated. Meet me at fourteen tomorrow, six PM.”

“You’ll bring her?” I asked, referring to my sister.

“Yes. There’s someone I want you both to meet.”

I was accustomed to obscure conversations, so I wasn’t too concerned. 

“Oh, and, Elsie, your location has been compromised,” Frank added before he ended the call.

“Shit!” I hissed out at the same time as swiping my bag from where I’d stashed it under the bed.

It had to be Ebony. It had to be. Pain speared my heart with the thought of my Sister betraying me, deceiving Three Blades. She’d been my shadow for nearly eight years now, and the idea that she had gone rogue was implausible.

A shiver ran over me, the hazy fragments of my dream still hovering in the midst of my mind. My mouth dried, and I shook the thoughts away. The past refused to allow my future to be free, and as much as I tried to forget it, the mind was a cruel thing.

 

***

 

I groaned and stared with disdain at the cheap hotel bed. The place stank of shit and piss, triggering more memories to slice through my head.

“You need something?” Tehni asked when she caught my fidgeting.

Euan frowned at me, and I rolled my eyes. “She doesn’t mean drugs. Just something solid to help me sleep.”

He quirked his eyebrow. “You suffer with a lot of nightmares.”

“Some,” I answered vaguely as I pushed off the bed to find the bathroom. “Jesus,” I mumbled when I opened the door and was assaulted by more noxious fumes. “Frank needs to up our budget.”

“Right!” Felicity shouted in agreement as I shut the door.

My lip curled at the filthy state of the bath tub, so there was no way in hell I was risking the toilet.

“You know what!” I snapped as I flung myself back out of the bathroom. “Fuck this shit. I have a friend who’s safe. She runs a farm out in the sticks, but it’s open enough to watch for any unexpected guests. You all with me?”

They were up and out before me.