Chapter 7 Elise #2
“There is no personal baggage,” I blurt out before I can stop myself. “I’ve explained the reason the mission on Lieutenant Im went awry. It was because his enforcer—”
“I’ve heard your excuses. None of them are good enough. We have a client who has shelled out unspeakably large sums to get this carried out and I intend on delivering. You’ve got little time to course correct. You better get to it.”
The screen goes blank, a dialogue box popping up to tell us she’s ended the call.
KD sighs and stands up, stretching his broad, muscular body like he’s woken up from a nap. But the expression he wears on his face is plain as day—I told you so.
“So you were right,” I say. “For now…”
“I hope you’re joking. You heard what Hart said.
We’re running out of time and we need to be on our shit if we’re pulling this off.
The objective to take out Im failed, but that means we move onto the next target.
Together.” His lips bend into a vague frown.
“You should take the rest of the day off. I’ll handle the tactical planning for our next hit. Go clear your head and get some rest.”
The stubborn streak in me comes close to objecting. My mouth even opens to utter the words, then the bruise in my side aches and I’m reminded how I’m not in the best shape this morning after my fight with Gun.
Releasing a deep sigh, I rise to my feet. “Alright, fine. I’ll take the day. But no big decisions without me, and I expect to see a copy of the mission brief before we finalize it.”
KD snaps into a rigid military stance, arms pinned at his sides, and then gives a mock salute. “Yes, General Silk. Mission brief will be ready tomorrow, General Silk. Now go get your ass some rest, General Silk.”
I can’t help smirking and rolling my eyes as I pass him by and head for the door. “You’re lucky I haven’t made you drop and give me twenty.”
KD’s thick laugh follows me out the room.
It’s a sound that follows me all the way out of the building as my mind travels back to the past, and I think about how he’d fought our breakup.
But KD was always determined to work it out.
I was the problem. I was the distant and withdrawn one.
The one emotionally shutdown and damaged. The one who couldn’t open myself up and trust no matter how hard I really wanted to.
…which is just another reason why it’s better if I’m a lone wolf. If I stick to relying on myself only and letting good guys like KD get with good girls like Priscilla.
They’re great together and deserve each other.
Meanwhile, I’m on this mission—I’m working for Vanguard in the first place—for the sole purpose of getting revenge.
I’m so messed up it’s the only way I can ever move on.
My chest tightens as I leave the fake modeling agency and wander the streets of downtown Itaewon.
Tourists chatter beside food stalls and boutique windows, but all I hear is the blood roaring in my ears.
Suddenly, every face feels like a threat. Every reflection, a warning.
I become hyperaware of how alone I am and how I’m on a public street mere hours after trying to assassinate two Cheongryong members.
Never underestimate your enemies. Always assume the worst. Always assume their capability.
My gaze slides from one corner of the street to the next, searching for the imminent threat. For the Cheongryong enforcer to be hiding in plain sight among the crowds.
…for Gun to appear.
The air stalls in my lungs.
It wouldn’t take him long to track me down. Not after last night.
Our chemistry was electric and we obviously had a mutual attraction. But Rhee Gun-woo is still a captain in Korea’s most powerful mafia syndicate.
He’d want blood after how I played him.
He’s clearly figured out the truth already—I’m Black Silk and my name isn’t Jamie. I’m Elise Quinn, living in a mid-rise building in Itaewon.
I could be walking into a trap. I could go home and find him and his gangster minions waiting for me.
Worse yet, Priscilla could accidentally come across them.
The anxiety and paranoia plague me the whole subway ride back to the apartment. I’m so on edge on the ride up to the floor that one of my neighbor’s cats makes me jump.
The black cat purrs in answer and then slinks along.
I clutch at my chest, inhaling deeper breaths.
Gun had called me a feline—I was a black cat.
Is that a sign? Some kind of symbolic warning?
I check every corner of the apartment once inside. Nothing’s out of place and nobody’s around. The modestly sized apartment is completely empty and silent. I send a text to Priscilla just to check in and make sure she’s okay (and not kidnapped).
She answers with a string of emoji. Then a follow up message about my bruises.
I tap ‘thumbs up’ as a response, then head to my room. I’m halfway undressed for the hot shower I’m about to take when my phone buzzes.
Uncle Jerald is calling.
“El,” he rasps in his smoky voice the second I answer. “Tell me it ain’t true, baby girl.”
I hang my head, almost groaning. “Unc, this isn’t the time.”
“You know you’re not getting out of this talk with that excuse,” he says sternly, sounding a lot like he did when I was a kid. “Tell me the rumors aren’t true. You went rogue last night?”
“Why does everybody suddenly know my business? This is supposed to be a top-secret assassin operation! What’s with the fucking gossip?”
He laughs. “You forget I lived in the ROK for years way back when? I always have my ear to the streets. Even now. Plus, you know me and Hart know each other.”
“So word’s spread about last night. Great.”
“Baby girl, you had no business trying what you did and you know it.”
I plop down on the edge of my bed, the bruise in my side aching more than ever. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I’d fractured a rib.
“I had to get one of them, Unc—and Rhee Gun-woo’s reputation makes him an easy target. The guy is always deep in the nightlife scene.”
“And what have I told you, baby girl? An easy target is the most dangerous. You let your guard down and start getting sloppy. Which is what happened last night,” he lectures. “Do you think your father ever got so careless?”
“No…”
Though it’s not as if me and Dad were in the same trade. Dad lived an honorable life serving in the U.S. military for many years, but after a service-related injury forced him to medically retire, he was never the same.
We had been living in Songtan at the time, about forty minutes outside of Seoul.
Mom had wanted to move back to the States so we could start over.
But Dad had other ideas. He decided to use his time in the service for his own gain and began working as a weapons dealer for locals in the area interested in that kind of thing.
Namely the mafia syndicates in the area.
Uncle Jerald had been his partner for many years until the business relationship they had with the Cheongryong soured and they betrayed him.
They killed him in cold blood.
Dad had made his mistakes. He had lived a life of crime in his last years when I was still just a small girl.
But he didn’t deserve what happened to him. He didn’t deserve to be stabbed in the back by the Cheongryong after they used him for their benefit.
And that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. I’m seeking an eye for an eye.
“You have to be careful about your next attempt,” Uncle Jerald goes on. “You should be with KD prepping.”
“I took the day off.”
“Baby girl, now is not the time for relaxing.”
“Things got a little… rough between me and Rhee last night. Priscilla and KD said—”
“You know better than to rely on others,” he reminds sagely. “Especially that Priscilla girl, El. You don’t know her from Eve. She could be in line with the Cheongryong. I’ve always found it odd how you said she was so eager to rent you the room.”
I half roll my eyes, the corner of my lip quirking. “Suddenly I’m remembering where I get my paranoia from.”
“You have to be paranoid in the world we live in, baby girl. That’s why it’s best not to let people get too close. You remember what that cost your father? He thought those people were his friends, and what did they do to him?”
My heart aches even more painfully than the bruise in my side.
“I… I know,” I mumble.
“Then shape up. You’ve got this. And keep me posted.”
We hang up not long after, with me feeling worse than when I got home. I take the hot shower I’ve been planning, change into some old, ratty, well-used PJs, then crawl into bed.
Priscilla would be happy to know I’ve even taken some pain meds for my ribs.
A few minutes are all it takes for me to drift off…
…I’m small again, walking beside Dad as the evening sun shines in gold. His massive hand swallows mine up, warm and rough but comforting. I hum alongside him as we walk, unsure where we’re even going.
Yet I feel intrinsically safe at his side.
Everything is fine. The world is whole.
And then the light dims. The moment changes and the scene shifts. We’re suddenly indoors, in some kind of parlor room with lacquered cherrywood furniture and deep maroon walls. The place smells earthy and smoky like cigars that have been lit moments before.
I’m hiding under a table, tears wetting my cheeks.
Dad is shouting. He’s arguing with someone who’s face I can’t see. The other man yells back, sometimes in English and other times in Hangul.
“Please…” I murmur. “Please don’t fight…”
But they don’t hear my pleas—their shouting only grows worse until the scary noises culminate in the scariest noise of all.
The deafening bang of a gunshot.
I gasp, eyes going wide as my heart almost stops inside my chest.
No. This can’t be. It can’t be happening. Daddy—
I jolt awake still gasping, dripping sweat. The room’s dark, the only light coming from the city buildings glimmering outside the window.
I must’ve been asleep for a long time. So long I passed out early morning and slept the entire afternoon away.
I’m so shaken that it takes me another moment to realize my phone is vibrating. The screen flashes with the notification to let me know I’ve received a text.
A welcome distraction considering the nightmare I just had.
I thumb it open, staring blearily at the screen. It’s from Director Hart:
I spoke to Onyx a few minutes ago.
Target confirmed. Briefing is finalized.
Assignment set for 2100, Thursday.
Bring your A game, Silk.