Lesson 7: Knives

3 years later

It had taken a lot of time to gain MI5's trust, a lot longer than I had anticipated. I was twenty-one now and hadn't seen my family in almost four painful years but the plan was working.

With my help, Luca had managed to avoid capture twice and had changed the main hideout location because I'd discovered how scarily close MI5 were to finding our original one. I was doing my part for the mafia even being so far from home so at least I had that knowledge to comfort me at night.

"Prescott, think fast," Miles — or rather Kole — said, throwing a perfectly aimed knife at my face. I ducked, the blade narrowly missing me, instead catching a few of my dyed platinum blonde hairs. I wasn't as big of a fan of this look as I was of my original thick dark brown hair which I had inherited from — what I assumed were if my name and skin tone were anything to go by — my Indian roots.

"Fuck you, Kole," I smirked, throwing my own knife at him which he expertly dodged. I'd found out about a year into my 'training' that his name was not Miles. What was even worse was that Miles wasn't even his regular code name. He'd made it up on the spot that day and let me call him that for over a year before Celine had finally corrected me.

"You're going to have to try harder than that," he taunted, hurling another knife in my direction. I dodged right and scoffed at the weakness in his throw.

"Says the guy who throws like my grandma."

He scowled, throwing three more my way in rapid succession, each of which I dodged with ease. "Correction, a guy who throws worse than my grandma."

"Oh fuck off, Jaia," he whined and I smiled, slipping the final knife free from my belt and lobbing it his way.

Instead of dodging, he chucked his final knife directly at mine, both of them clattering to the floor. I had to admit, despite his arrogance, Kole had great aim.

Clapping from the door of the training room caught our attention, both of us simultaneously snapping our heads to Celine who was watching from the doorway with a slight look of satisfaction on her face. She had never been one to outwardly express emotion so even a minor display was a rare occurrence.

"Good job you two," she said, no longer leaning on the door frame. "Jaia, you pick things up remarkably fast. I'm most impressed. You're over a year ahead of where I thought you'd be in training by now."

"I think that's thanks to her amazing teacher," Kole butted in, looking smugger than ever.

Ignoring him entirely, I smiled at Celine. "Thank you. Guess I'm just a quick learner." That was true but of course wasn't the reason for my far above average skills.

"I suppose so. Either way, I have a last-minute mission for you two tonight. Please freshen up and then head straight to the briefing room. Robert will be waiting for you there."

Without another word she was off, leaving Kole and me alone to quickly shower and get dressed. We gave each other a sly look before heading off in opposite directions to get ready, both of us already scheming in preparation for later tonight.

~*~*~

Robert was a wrinkly man with thin grey hair, beady blue eyes and a permanent scowl on his face. He was often the person who briefed Kole and me on missions.

I'd only had a handful of solo missions since joining MI5. I usually had to work in groups or at least with Kole because I was annoyingly still in 'training' but I couldn't wait for the day when they'd finally let me go completely solo. Partners slowed you down and I also had to be extra cautious around Kole so he didn't get suspicious. It was getting exhausting pretending to be Jaia — even if I technically was her — and not Blair.

"Jack, Cassandra," he greeted, not looking up from his laptop. We never used our real names at work. Upon arrival, you were given a fake identity to go by for your entire career. We tended to use that same name for missions (differing the surname). Occasionally we'd use a completely new one but other than that, you would always use your given alias for anything that involved MI5 and most of your daily life too as a precaution; you never knew if someone was genuine or working against you.

Celine and Kole were the only ones who knew my real name. Celine knew everyone's actual identities as that was her job but no one — as far as the agents went — knew hers. Since no one knew who anyone actually was outside of aliases, I was surprised to say the least when Kole had told me his real name. Celine had corrected me in front of him when I'd called him Miles and told me to call him Jack but he'd protested, saying he'd rather I use his actual name instead. I remembered the shock on Celine's face but surprisingly she hadn't stopped him from telling me. I supposed she thought it was only fair that I knew his name because he knew mine.

"Robert," we both said in reply.

Formalities now over and done with, he slid us each a file from his position slouching behind his mahogany veneered desk. "Tonight's mission is pretty simple," he began, speaking in that dull monotone voice of his. "Some of the gang activity in central London has been getting out of hand. We've traced reports of highly illegal weapons being transported to an old road-salt storage facility on the outskirts of the city. We need you to stop the exchange, seize the weapons and detain as many of the criminals as you can. Also, try not to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary. We want them alive, especially the leader or whoever the most senior member there is. Clear?"

We nodded, both of us grabbing the small black duffel bags Robert pushed our way. "Good. Strap on your weapons and read over the files I've given you. Your ride leaves in an hour."

~*~*~

The ticking of Kole's wristwatch was the only sound as we silently made our way closer to the warehouse.

He always wore that damned thing even though I'd told him many times that there was a high chance it'd get destroyed on missions. Occasionally my nagging worked and he'd leave it behind or put it away but that was a rare occasion. Today was certainly not one of those days which likely meant he thought this was a simple mission. Hopefully, he was right. I was in no mood to get my hands dirty.

The back entrance was our smartest way in but there were still two people guarding the door, hiding behind a near shrub in an unsuccessful attempt to be inconspicuous.

"I take left and you take right?" Kole whispered to me and I nodded.

As quietly as humanly possible we both crept up on our targets. Mine was the slightly slimmer of the two men. He had hulking muscles that could crush me with one squeeze but that came across as more comical than frightening because he looked absolutely ridiculous trying to hide behind the tiny shrub as he argued with his even bigger counterpart about taking up too much room. He reminded me of Humpty Dumpty in a weird way.

On the count of three, we both jumped on our targets, similarly to how we had the night we rescued that little boy — at least, I thought that had been a rescue mission but it turned out to have just been a stupid test set by MI5 and I was still a little pissed off about that if I was honest.

Since Robert had asked us not to kill anyone unnecessarily, I didn't immediately slit the guy's throat though that would've been the much easier approach. Instead, I clung onto him whilst he struggled under my sudden weight.

He bucked, trying to throw me off but I held on tight. I shifted so my thighs were now around his neck.

He grunted, grabbing what looked like a knife from his pocket but he didn't get a chance to even lift his arm before I leaned backwards to flip him over. Humpty Dumpty thudded onto the mud but grabbed ahold of my leg before I could scramble to my feet. Asshole.

He was too strong for me to wiggle free and he knew it. He dragged me closer to him, my back now caked in dirt and mud. There was an evil twinkle in his eye as he grabbed his knife and sliced down my left calf. The cut was deep. Motherfucker.

Shit. Blair, think.

"Who the fuck are you?" Humpty Dumpty demanded, trailing the knife down my skin.

I spat up at him and he scowled, gripping my leg even tighter; It was definitely starting to turn purple. "I never ask twice. Last chance," he warned but I only smiled back up at him.

"Little old me? I'm your worst nightmare."

His scowl deepened and I knew he was about to plunge his knife through my leg but I was faster.

I pulled a dagger free from my boot and threw it straight into his left eye. Humpty Dumpty howled in pain, letting go of me and clutching his ruined eye for dear life.

No way that was healing.

Much too focused on his eye, he didn't notice me getting to my feet, pulling a syringe from my pocket, walking up to him or even me stabbing him with it in the neck until it was too late. Humpty Dumpty dropped to the floor like a stone.

I smiled in satisfaction, rummaging through my discarded backpack for some rope and tape to bind him in case the drug wore off too fast.

Just as I finished tying the last of my knots, there was a low grumble to my left followed by the sound of metal hitting bone. Kole sighed, dragging the enormous man over to me. "Thanks for the help," he grumbled.

"You seemed like you had it under control," I shrugged, fishing some disinfect and a bandage out of my backpack. I cleaned the cut on my leg before giving the bottle to Kole so he could take care of the cuts on his hands.

I couldn't believe I'd made such a sloppy mistake. I never normally let enemies close enough to wound me. MI5 was coddling me too much and I was losing my edge. I had to get my head back in the game.

After clearing up, Kole looked at my leg with a frown. "You sure you're going to be alright in there? There's a lot more where those two came from."

I nodded, dismissing his concern but he looked unconvinced. "Look, you're still in training. It's okay to bow out." I was shocked at the lack of snark in his tone. I was expecting teasing not empathy.

"I'll be fine," I said, trying to reassure him. I wish he knew I'd finished training when I was fourteen so he'd just let me get on with the damn mission. A leg wound was nothing I couldn't handle. I'd dealt with far worse. Besides, I couldn't stand being treated like a child who couldn't handle herself. I was an assassin for crying out loud.

"Walk to that tree and back."

I grunted but complied. He was wasting time. I didn't limp or wince as I walked, hoping this proved my point. In truth, my leg was whining for rest but I was used to pain and I could mask it well.

"You seem fine..." Kole trailed off but the smile on my face dropped in a heartbeat at his next words. "But I think you're lying. You're good at doing that, Jaia. You're not coming in. Henry will help instead."

"Henry?" I spluttered. "He's miles away."

Kole shook his head, smiling softly. "Nope. Celine asked him to come for backup. He's hiding out over there." Kole pointed to a bush that Henry was stepping up from behind to walk over to us.

"So you're kicking me off the mission? It's just a scrape."

This time Kole laughed and my blood boiled. "Just a scrape? You're tougher than I give you credit for, Jaia. Relax, you're not off the mission. I want you on lookout duty from that cafe across the road. I have a feeling some of the guys we're after will be in there in case anything goes sour. Keep your eyes and ears open and alert us at the first sign of danger."

I grumbled in protest but Kole was having none of it. Me, a mafia trained assassin, was being demoted to lookout? The gall. It took everything in me not to strangle Kole in that moment, my ego more wounded than I cared to admit.

Swallowing my pride, I sighed in resignation. "Fine but just this once."

Kole grinned at me and I 'accidentally' stood on his foot as I grabbed my backpack. He scowled, looking murderous and I just waved politely. "Good luck, Henry. Hope you die, Kole," I called over my shoulder at the pair, unwillingly stomping to the cafe.

~*~*~

It's all kicking off now. I hope you're enjoying the story!!

Stay safe xx