8. Alexis
Alexis
Adrian had brought me to a large open cavern. It looked like an underground cathedral, except it was far from it. It had high vaulted ceilings and several torches spread out along the walls, illuminating the expansive area.
There was nowhere to sit, just a large open space, with black torn fabric draped along the walls and the Anathema symbol at the room’s far end. A white rabbit with a red letter A dripping down its fur as if painted with fresh blood. The sight of it sent a shiver down my spine.
“Where are we?” I breathed in awe as I took in my new surroundings. Who would have thought that all of this was here, just sitting underneath the city?
Adrian stepped up behind me, close enough to wrap his hands around my body if I were to run but far enough away that I didn’t feel the urge to punch him in the face .
While I may have been reckless at heart, I wasn’t completely crazy; he outnumbered me with the entourage he brought with him. Assuming they were all men, I couldn’t fight off all seven of them alone, and I wasn’t dumb enough to even try.
“This is the heart of Anathema’s hideout, our central meeting and initiation space. Feel free to get yourself acquainted with it. If you pass your task tonight, you'll be here more often than not.”
He tucked his hands in his pockets and strolled past me, his arm brushing past mine, as he moved to where a raised dais sat below the rabbit symbol.
“I’m sure you are already curious as to what your first task will be,” He added, turning to face me as he rested his hand on the back of the chair that had been strategically placed in the center of the dais.
“You said you’d answer my questions if I came with you. I’m not doing anything until I get my answers,” I demanded, slowly approaching where he now stood.
The air in this room was stale and cold, making the hairs stand at the back of my neck. The overwhelming feeling of wrongness was an understatement for this place.
“I did. By all means, ask away. I’ll answer what I can.” Adrian was so casual about our interaction that it was as if we were old friends just catching up after years of disconnecting. It was both strange and uncomfortable.
“Who are you?” I started. I might as well get the easy questions out of the way.
He had to have been someone of high importance or status here; I don’t see any other reason why he would be dressed to the nines while everyone else was draped in cloaks and masks.
“Adrian Valtores,” he said with an amused chuckle, and if that didn’t send me into a rage spiral, I don’t know what else would.
Adrian was playing games with me and enjoying every fucking second of it. It wouldn’t surprise me if this whole recruitment and initiation were a complete load of bullshit, and he was looking for an easy way to take me out and get Madison back—always a selfish prick.
“You know what I was asking, Adrian. Who are you to Anathema?” I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring daggers at him.
“Ah. That all depends on who you ask. To give you the short answer, I am the founder, leader, and God here.” And if his smirk could grow any wider, it would fall off his freshly groomed face.
God? I couldn’t help but scoff at his self-proclaimed deity status. Adrian, ever the charismatic, manipulative piece of shit. The man who treated his woman as if she were beneath him in all aspects. God, my ass, I fucking hated him.
“What is Anathema?” Trying not to let my hatred consume me just yet, I moved on to my next question. I knew vaguely who they were from Eli, but I wanted Adrian’s explanation. I needed to know precisely the extent of the fucked up situation I had landed myself in.
“That should have been your first question, Alexis. Why don’t you come and sit, and I’ll tell you all about us and what we do here.” Adrian grinned, patting the back of the chair next to him, and I shook my head.
Absolutely fucking not; I knew a trap when I saw it.
“I’ll stand, thanks. Continue.” I gave him a pointed look, not giving even an inch. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, placing his hands on his hips.
“Knowing you, I’m sure you’ve been doing your own research after receiving our first letter. Anathema is a group of pitch-black assailants that handle the dirtiest jobs for a price. We don’t discriminate in the jobs we procure unless the client can’t afford the cost.”
“What do you mean by the dirtiest jobs?” I furrowed my brow at the question.
Was there anything dirtier than murder? I was already lost and confused.
“Let me give you an example… Say a client discovers that his business partner has been initiating under-the-table deals and pocketing the profits. The client wants that partner eliminated without question. We give him our price, and if he can afford to meet it, we handle his problem.” Adrian smiled, pleased with himself and his line of work, “But we’ve also had smaller—more petty—clients requesting something as simple as taking care of an individual’s partner, wife, or husband, simply so they could sweep in and take them for themselves.
” He shrugged at the last part as if blind murder for love wasn’t a big deal.
What the actual fuck?
“And you want me to what—go around putting bullets into people’s heads for no reason other than instruction? I don’t do torture. You’ve got the wrong girl if that’s what you want.” I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips in consideration.
Was I actually considering this?
While who they were made sense, what they wanted from me was still unclear.
I never performed senseless acts of murder like this for Charlotte; every job had meaning, and every client was vetted before service, so I don’t know precisely what his angle was with me.
I’m sure there were a million other people more than qualified to go around ending lives for the simple fuck of it.
“The client-paid targets are not what I’ve selected you for.
I need your hacking and computer skills for a much bigger picture.
” Adrian’s teeth sparkled white in the light as he gave a smile that didn’t meet his eyes.
“However, I need to test your morals before we move further to ensure we are both on the same page.” He snapped his fingers, and two cloaked individuals entered the room, dragging in what looked to be a woman with a dark hood over her head.
The strangest part was that she was… laughing?
I tilted my head in question as they dropped her into the chair beside Adrian.
Her hands were secured behind her back at the wrists with a zip tie, and her body was covered in dark black and blue bruises, some fresh and some partially healed.
She looked as though she had the shit kicked out of her, so why was she laughing like a psychopath?
On second thought, I didn’t want that answer.
“Alexis, I’m sure you know who this woman is,” Adrian said coldly, pulling the hood from her head .
My eyes widened as I stared at what looked like a mangled, life-sized Barbie doll. He was right; I did know who this woman was. The last time I saw her, she was in much better condition, but I knew who she was all the same: Monika. Eli’s Monika.
I shifted on my feet but remained indifferent towards her.
Eli believed that she had been dead for over a year, and yet here she was, bruised and battered to hell but very much alive.
How long had this been going on? She wasn’t frail or starved, so at least they had been feeding her, but why? Why hang on to her all this time?
Monika lifted her head to face me, her blue eyes meeting mine, and a feral sneer cut across her dry and split, injected lips.
“Adrian, why the fuck did you bring this dumb bitch here?” She growled.
Those were not the first words I expected from a woman who looked like she had lost a savage catfight. Nonetheless, I returned the sentiment by glaring daggers at her. Was she seriously name-calling me in her current condition?
Simply put, we never got along—like, ever; Monika despised me. She was always jealous of my working relationship with Eli, even though he was fucking her almost daily. I should feel flattered that she saw me as her competition, even if I wasn’t participating.
I had what she always wanted: Eli’s attention, something he failed to give her.
At least in the way she craved it. He used her when he wanted what I wouldn’t give him and then sent her out the door until the next time.
And so, in the end, she hated me. Not that I could have ever been friends with the likes of her, to begin with.
Adrian stepped down from the dais and approached me, grabbing my hand and sliding the handle of a gun into my palm.
Looking into my eyes, he spoke over his shoulder to Monika.
“Because Alexis is your replacement. You’ve outgrown your use for us.” His words were cold and uncaring.
I could feel the weight of the gun pressing into my palm as I looked up into his green eyes. They were hollow, empty. I swallowed just as she began laughing hysterically again, sending a shiver down my spine.
“You think she can replace me? That piece of absolute, used-up trash? Sweet little Alexis can do nothing for you, Adrian. She’s not cut out for this work.
I am the better choice. I’ve proved myself time and time again to you.
” Monika spat and fought against her restraints in the chair.
She was a feral, rabid raccoon looking to sink their teeth into flesh.
“There is no choice here, Monika. You fucked up, remember? We’ve discussed this at length, and you know we have zero tolerance for those who break our rules.
” Adrian turned to face her and ran a hand through his dark hair before slipping it into his pocket.
“You are done here, and Alexis is taking your position, provided she can pass her tasks.”
I didn’t need to ask what he wanted from me regarding my first task. Looking down at the gun in my hand, I held all of the answers already; I knew exactly what he wanted. For me to kill her for no reason except instruction .
I pressed my lips into a hard line as I weighed my options. The two of them arguing bought me precious seconds until a decision, a choice, had to be made.
“Alexis isn’t passing shit. She’s a good little computer nerd. That’s all she was and all she will ever be.” Monika snarled, her eyes moving from Adrian to mine. “I don’t know what Eli ever saw in you. You’re just another stupid cunt playing hard to get—a tease.”
And there it was… Monika went ahead and made my decision for me.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew what I wanted, and all with a simple push from Monika’s fucked up mouth.
I looked up from the gun to where she sat and stepped towards her, gripping it firmly in my right hand.
“I believe you are mistaken, Monika. The only stupid cunt here is currently restrained to a chair.” I cooed, lifting the gun to point at her head as I approached the dais.
Monika cackled as she stared straight down the barrel, not a single shred of fear in her eyes.
“Real cute, Alexis. We all know you’ve never killed anyone. You’re just the innocent girl next door toying with the emotions of desperate men.” Tilting her head, she believed every word she spat at me, and that’s where she was wrong. That’s where they are always wrong.
Eli barely knew what I did outside of simply knowing my way around a computer and amateur hacking skills.
I used him for assistance when I needed extra hands on Charlotte’s assignments, but I never disclosed to him what I actually did for her, knowing he would probably tell Monika all about it while they fucked.
The two of them didn’t know how to keep their mouths shut, clearly.
I wouldn’t doubt that Eli talked a lot about me while he was with her, making me sound so angelic and perfect.
His innocent little Alexis , the woman he always wanted but could never have.
And that was where they both underestimated me.
I was a force to be reckoned with. My kill count was higher than Chyler’s and Madison’s put together; I just don’t broadcast it to the world around me.
To everyone and anyone that mattered, I was a reaper of lives.
I licked my lips and smiled at her. A smile so sweet it dripped toxic honey.
“Innocent until proven guilty.” I shrugged before pulling the trigger and blowing a hole straight through the center of her perfectly manicured brows.
Fuck Monika. She can rot in hell.