The Black Rose

Like clockwork, Landon arrived a few minutes before six. Mia had the Italian appetizers we wouldn’t eat sprawled across the counter. We pre-poured red wine into crystal glasses, giving Landon’s a special splash of sleepy time medicine.

“He’s coming up,” Mia buzzed with anxiety. I sat cool as a cucumber on the kitchen bar stool, sipping my glass of red wine. I had done my best to not strangle Mia today. Her naivety in my world heightened my already crippling anxiety.

“One, two, three, four, five, six,” I counted the seconds before Landon would ring the doorbell.

Ring. Ring.

Mia shot up and I made the motion for her to just take a breath as she moved down the hall to let Landon in.

“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you,” I could hear Mia trill, which I knew wasn’t like her. She needed to chill.

“Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine, Dr. Semmens,” Landon responded in a chipper, equally as shrill voice. Didn’t peg him to be Damien’s type.

“Just call me Mia,” Mia bantered jovially.

As she entered the living room, I rose to greet him as any host should.

“Alex, this is Landon, Landon, this is Alex…my girlfriend.” The way “girlfriend” rolled off her tongue made my insides squirm. I had never been someone’s girlfriend.

“Nice to meet you,” I bubbled, sticking out my hand. Landon accepted it eagerly.

“Nice to meet you,” he beamed. “What a lovely loft you two have.” He praised as his eyes took everything in.

“Thank you, it’s a recent purchase,” I placated grabbing my wine glass and taking another sip.

“Would you like some wine?” Mia offered on cue.

“Sure,” Landon smiled. Mia poured the wine into a glass for him.

“So, Landon, you’re in research as well Mia tells me?”

“That’s right,” he began, accepting the wine glass. “I have only been in the field for five years, but Dr. Semmens is a genius. I still can’t believe you called.” Landon’s eyes bulged. His enthusiasm was exhilarating.

Ding.

My phone alerted me to a text.

The Devil: Shall I head over?

Imagine that, I smiled. He was tracking my new phone. If he knew I was home, why didn’t he just come over? It wasn’t like him to be so polite.

Me: Give me twenty.

My head raised just to catch Landon’s lips hitting the glass. It wouldn’t be long now.

“Well, your research in photosynthetic films caught my eye,” Mia blurted. “Are you preparing to release another paper anytime soon?”

Landon nodded, “We just submitted our final draft for editing. I’m so excited. We were able to produce a solar panel film with eighty-five percent efficiency.” Mia nodded her head, but before she could respond, Landon’s head began to lull, his body following.

In a flash, I moved to grab his wine glass and ease his fall. Landon was officially asleep.

I pulled out the kitchen bar stool and placed Landon’s thick body on top. I took the duct tape and wrapped it around his wrists behind his back, then his ankles to the chair. Finally, finishing it off with a piece across his face. He lay there asleep like a baby gorilla.

“Well, that was easy,” I chuckled, standing back to admire my work.

“Easy for you to say,” Mia huffed. “I feel so terrible.”

I rolled my eyes slightly. This might get old.

“Your job is done,” I blurted a little harshly. “I can take it from here.”

Slightly dejected, Mia turned to head up the stairs. She paused at the base as if to say something, but thought better of it. I wasn’t about to stop her. She didn’t want to be present for what came next.

I took a seat at the bar, sipping the sweet red wine until it was empty. I reached for Mia’s untouched glass. The second’s drolled laboriously, I tapped my fingers to the beat of a drum, rising to step around Landon, smooshing his cheeks in and out, anything to satiate my boredom.

Glancing at my phone, it had been twenty minutes. As if on cue, I heard the elevator door open and my door ring. I secured the gun within the small of my back and walked steadily to the door. I swung it open.

“Well, isn’t it my favorite person in the entire world,” I grinned.

“Cut the shit,” he barked gun trained to my forehead. Oh, the naivity.

I backed down the hallway slowly, waiting. “What’s this about?” I asked feigning worry. Damien’s eyes flicked to the living room and that’s all I needed. In a flash my arm cut, thrusting the gun skyward. A bullet sang penetrating the ceiling. I grabbed his wrist, twisting until he let go of the gun and it fell deftly into my open palm.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” I seethed, before letting go of his wrist.

“How did you?” he stumbled, his mind still processing how I could disarm him so quickly.

“Just walk,” I barked. He moved forward down the hall towards the living room. As we rounded the corner, a sleeping Landon duct taped to a chair came into view.

“What is this?” Damien gasped. I moved to the front, circling Damien, gun trained to his head.

As our eyes locked, I retorted, “I should be asking you the same thing. Coming in gun’s a blazing.”

Damien’s eyes were wild. He was trapped. His jaw clenched. “What have you done?”

“Nothing yet,” I sassed. “Put your other weapons on the counter…slowly.”

Like an obedient puppy, he slowly pulled another gun from the small of his back and sat it on the kitchen counter, followed by a knife.”

“Why don’t you take a seat,” I aired lightly. Damien’s eyes flicked to the gun. “Don’t even think of doing anything stupid.”

Damien sat on the bar stool closest. I tossed a pair of zippered plastic cuffs and he slid them over his wrists with practiced precision, almost too easily. Tightening them with his mouth, he grit, “Don’t you dare hurt him.”

“Or you’ll do what?” I chuckled.

His eyes bore daggers into mine.

“Now, let’s get down to business,” I moved towards Landon. “If you haven’t put two and two together, I’ve decided to retire from Shadow. I want out.”

Damien scoffed, but never took his eyes off me.

“Since you too are in a precarious situation, I figured you’d want out too?” I asked, my gun pointing to Landon’s forehead.

“There’s no getting out,” Damien snapped.

“Well, that’s not the winning attitude I was hoping for!” I snarked.

“You’re insane,” Damien added.

“Whoa, whoa,” I tisked, “Careful who you call insane, I do have the gun.”

As I waved the gun in the air, Damien bolted. Before he could get his slow ass off the bar stool, I took a knife from my side and buried it into Landon’s thigh.

Landon woke instantly, screaming through his taped mouth.

“Sit down,” I seethed.

Damien halted in his tracks and backed up. His eyes wide with shock. Tears welled in his eyes.

“Sorry about that, Landon.” I patted his head like a disobedient puppy. Landon moaned in pain his eyes wild with fear as he saw Damien.

“I won’t move, just please don’t kill him,” Damien pleaded. “Landon, it’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Aw how sweet,” I puckered my lips. “Yes, Landon, if Damien obeys you have nothing to fear…well anymore.” I shrugged.

“Just tell me what you want,” Damien aired.

“Didn’t we go over this already? I want out.”

“And what does this have to do with me?” he growled.

“Wow, I thought you were smart,” I egged, rolling my eyes. “You are my handler after all, so the obvious choice would be to kill you…or recruit you.” I trailed.

“Why would I ever join you?” Damien looked at me in disgust. “I could never trust a sociopath addicted to pills.”

“Wow, what a clever man you’re dating,” I sassed, looking at Landon. “Bet you didn’t know your boyfriend works for an elite assassin group.” I moved my finger across my throat for theatrics. Landon glanced at Damien through the tears.

“Tell him, Damien,” I prodded. “Since we’re sharing now, tell him.”

Damien lowered his head in shame, “It’s true.”

“Well, didn’t that feel good. You know,” I rounded on both of them, “I recently had a moment similar to this, well, minus the stabbing and the kidnapping, but that’s besides the point. It worked out for me!” I patted Landon’s shoulder as he cowered in fear.

I turned to Damien, “Hand me your phone.” Damien hesitated. “I’m not asking!” I barked, my hand grabbing the knife handle lodged in Landon’s quad. He grimaced.

Damien reached into his pocket and extracted his phone. “Try anything and mark my words I will burry that knife handle and all into Landon’s skull.”

Damien nodded. “I took the phone and moved closer to him. I could smell the fear and perspiration. I extracted two white pills from my pocket. “Take these,” I ordered.

“What is it?” Damien asked.

“A little insurance. Again, not asking,” I prodded the gun’s end into his head. Damien grabbed the pills and swallowed.

The pills down, I continued, circling like a lion. “Those were designed by Shadow, a truth serum if you will.” I rounded on Damien. The pills had an almost instantaneous reaction.

“What haven’t you told me about Mia? About myself?” I baited.

Like word vomit Damien spat, “I…know Mia is here. I have been tracking your movements since you left the Shadow facility. I know you like her,” he continued. My jaw clenched, the six pills I had taken before this no match.

I stormed over to him, gun against his forehead, “You don’t know shit,” I seethed.

“I don’t care!” he screamed. “I don’t care if you love Mia, or if you want out. I don’t care if you kill a million people, all I care about is remaining alive,” he choked, “And keeping Landon safe.” He looked to Landon with a pained expression.

“You love Landon?” I couldn’t resist.

“Yes,” Damien sighed.

“And you would do anything to protect him?”

“Yes,” he echoed.

“So that means you will join me?”

Damien hesitated, but the pills in his system acted like mighty pythons wrapped around his brain, squeezing out every drop of truth. “Yes. I will help you.” A wide smile spread across my face.

“Well, well, well this is a chance to celebrate,” I beamed, looking at a pale Landon. He was losing some blood.

I grabbed Damien’s phone and held it in front of his face to unlock it. I thumbed through is phone until I landed on the mysterious number. “If I hit call will this connect me to that bitch Miriam?” I showed Damien the number. “You can’t call her, she calls you. You can send her a text to call.”

My fingers danced over the keys. I tapped my fingers on the counter and within ten seconds the phone rang.

“What is it, Damien?” she stated bluntly.

“Oh, Miriam, what an absolute pleasure,” I doted whimsically.

“Who’s this?” she asked, the tone of her voice on edge.

“You’re favorite agent, of course. I borrowed Damien’s phone. He’s a bit indisposed at the moment.”

“What did you do?” Miriam interrupted.

“Well, I was doing some thinking. I know I haven’t been pulling my weight recently, nor living up to my full potential, so when I caught Damien here trying to escape, I knew this was my opportunity.” I had the gun trained on Damien’s head so new couldn’t retort. If Miriam fact-checked, she would find the planted evidence on Damien’s phone and laptop.

“I see,” she trailed. “Good job.” Her tone unconvincing.

“I prodded Damien with the gun.

“It’s true,” he rasped. “I have failed you.” Damien looked to Landon, tears streaming down his bulging red eyes.

“So, what would you like me to do with him?” I asked, putting the phone back to my ear.

“Yes, captain, consider it done.” I pulled the trigger. Crack. I hit end on the phone.

Landon sobbed, as he realized Damien was still alive. The bullet lodged into the wall a mere three inches from Damien’s head.

“The cleaners will be here within the hour,” I commanded, moving towards Landon. “And when they don’t see a body…”

“You promised,” Damien seethed. I moved the gun back to Landon’s face, but with the other hand I grabbed the knife and pulled it from his leg. He squealed.

“Stop!” A voice rose from above. Damien stared up at Mia.

I sat the bloodied knife down as Mia rushed over to Landon’s side, pressing a kitchen towel to his bleeding thigh. Mia looked at me with reproach.

“Landon is now in this just as much as Damien, and if Damien wants him alive, then you won’t harm him,” Mia continued.

“Fine,” I relented, holding my hands in the air.

Damien rose and walked over to Landon and Mia. My hands jolted upwards gun trained ready to fire.

“Relax,” he sighed. “I am not going to hurt Mia or you. I’m as good as dead anyway. We are. They will send the death squad with the cleaners. They already don’t trust you and planned to eliminate you after they captured Mia. It’s over. We should just run.”

“Not happening,” I riled.

Mia ripped the tape from Landon’s face as Damien consoled him.

“Well, if we aren’t running, how do you plan to defeat them? We can’t take on all of them at once,” he soured.

“We will have help. I can’t divulge who at this moment, but we won’t be alone. Besides, I’m enhanced so technically count as like what five people?”

Damien’s eyes widened. “I knew it. Were you the first?”

I nodded. “I found out when at Shadow they have three more operatives enhanced as well. I would bet my favorite knife they send at least one through that door.”

Damien gulped. “Shit. I’m still in a bloody cast!”

“It’s fine,” I sighed. “We will have the element of surprise.” I moved closer to Damien, placing the bloody knife edge against the cuffs.

My eyes found his. “So, are you in?”

Damien’s eyes searched mine. I could sense the change in his demeanor, could see the flames flicker behind those irises. “Let’s make them pay.”