"We're going out to eat as usual tonight," Levi said factually. "Petra Ral can be almost guaranteed to be there. If the men down at Scouting Wings have picked up on our location, then they've probably got our schedule down as well."

"But just act natural," Isabel clarified. "So that our target's alertness drops."

Farlan nodded. "Yep. You're learning fast, Isabel. Soon enough, you'll be a fully fledged assassin. Then Levi and I can finally get rid of you."

"Heeeey!" Isabel complained. "I like coming with you guys on missions. Big bro likes it too, don't you?"

"Hurry up and get dressed," Levi called, ignoring her. "We don't want to eat too late."

The three left the house a few minutes later, looking like a normal group of friends on a night out.

***********************************

Petra gave off the same unsuspecting vibe as she tailed Ackerman, wearing cream skinny jeans and a loose black t-shirt with a palm tree splayed across the front.

She was still mulling over why he had an enormous stash of lethal weapons in his drawer, but if she had to guess, he was either a crazy phsyco or an assassin like her.

The more realistic guess was the latter. He might not even be an assassin, she thought. He could be some kind of government agent.

But if that was the case, wouldn't it cause trouble for her with the government if they found out? Petra didn't have much sentiment for others, but she valued her own life. She was beginning to feel a little iffy about this entire job.

So she wouldn't kill him just yet, she decided. She'd get close to him, learn more about him. Besides, the better you knew your prey, the easier they were to kill.

Petra watched from afar as Ackerman, Church, and Magnolia entered the restaurant. She continued to wait outside for at least five minutes more before heading in herself.

"Table for one, ma'am?" A waitress asked smilingly.

"Please," Petra replied, glancing around for Ackerman. She watched him sit down at a four-seater table at the far left of the restaurant. An empty two-seater was situated right next to them.

The waitress began to lead her to the other side of the dining room, but Petra quickly stopped her. "Is it alright if I sit over there?" She flashed her a brilliant smile.

The woman looked startled, but she nodded. "Of course." She led her to the table and handed her a menu. "I'll be back shortly to take your order."

Petra sat down and immersed herself in the menu, pretending not to notice her target a few feet away. She'd rather not make the first move.

She didn't have to, either.

"What a coincidence--it's you again."

Petra looked up, feigning surprise. "Oh!It's you! From the beach!" She laughed, smiling her most charming smile.

"Funny how we keep meeting," Ackerman said, reaching out to shake her hand.

A thousand possibilities raced through Petra's mind. He could have dusted his palm with poison, or be holding a small needle that would prick her and send drugs into her bloodstream, or--

And yet, she reached out and grasped his hand in hers, giving it a brief shake. Stupid! Why on earth did she do that?

Well, if she refused, it would also be suspicious.

"My name is Elizabeth," Petra said, giving her usual alias. "What's yours?"

"Levi," her target said amiably and without hesitation.

Huh. He wasn't giving an alias. Perhaps he didn't suspect her? Or maybe he knew that she knew, and didn't want to arouse her suspicions by giving a fake name.

"Nice to meet you," Petra said cheerfully. "I'm visiting Florida for a couple weeks. Nice to take a little vacation."

"Oh?" Ackerman asked. "Where do you come from?"

"Oklahoma," Petra replied promptly. "Do you live here, or are you also vacationing?"

Ackerman didn't miss a beat. "No, I travel quite a bit. These two here are my close friends, Farlan and Isabel."

"Hello," Petra waved.

Church smiled pleasantly and Magnolia bounced in her seat. "Nice to meet you!"

"So are you staying in a hotel?" Church asked. "Some of them in this area are really nice, but there are a lot that are downright disgusting."

Petra paused. Should she be honest?

Yes, she had to. They would undoubtedly, at some point, see her exit or enter the hotel since they lived just across from it. If she lied now, it could lead to trouble later.

"I am," Petra answered. "It's Beachside Inn."

"Ah, we live just across from there," Levi told her. "It's a fairly nice hotel, I've been in there a few times."

They talked for a while after that. Petra ended up moving to sit next to Isabel while they ate, and the foursome chatted through dinner.

It was a bit strange. Petra knew that by holding this conversation, she was assessing her prey, yet at the same time it was like she was out with friends.

That was something she hadn't done since grade school, she thought a bit remorsefully.

"Is everything alright?" Levi asked her. He was watching her carefully. "You looked upset for a moment."

Huh. Wasn't he unusually observant. "No, I'm fine!" Petra replied brightly. "Anyway, where were we? Isabel, you were telling me about a project you were working on?"

Half an hour later, Petra finally left the restaurant. She felt odd, as if everything around her held an ethereal quality.

She couldn't be sure, but she felt as if Levi--wait, when did she start calling him that?--Ackerman had been picking her apart.

Even though she hadn't told him anything of significant worth, it was like his eyes had uncovered her every last secret.

For some reason, Petra just couldn't shake the feeling that he knew all about her little game and was simply playing along.

And she really wasn't sure about this, but every time he looked at her and smiled his easygoing smile with his steel gray eyes, her heart fluttered, just

a

tiny

bit.

***********************************

"Alright Isabel," Levi asked the red haired girl once they arrived at home. "Time for a little test to see how sharp your skills have gotten. Based on what Petra Ral told us, what information have you discovered that will assist us in eliminating her?"

Isabel bounced on the bed, looking thoughtful. "Well, most of what we spoke of were trivial topics. However, I did notice a few slip ups that she made. For some reason, she seemed a little distracted. I thought a top class assassin like her would be a little more alert."

Farlan nodded. "That's right, she wasn't on top of her game tonight. That's Levi's specialty. He fakes an easygoing personality--I don't know how he does it, since he's usually got as much charm as a slug--and gets his prey comfortable. Their awareness is lowered, making them easier to kill."

"Right," Isabel nodded. "Well, one mistake she made was that she said she lived in Oklahoma. However, later on, she mentioned something about cold winters back where she lived, something typical of Indiana, her real home state."

Levi gave her a thumbs up. "Yep. What else?"

Isabel scratched her head. "Umm...let's see. There was one time that she didn't respond to her name immediately. That was when big bro asked her "Elizabeth, can you please hand me a napkin?" Her reaction time was about 0.8 seconds slower than normal."

Farlan ruffled her hair. "And here I was thinking you were brainless."

"I'm smart!" Isabel said defensively. "Very very smart!"

Farlan rolled his eyes. "Anyways, what's our plan now, Levi?"

Levi clasped his hands together. "Alright. I'd like to arrange her death in a way that no one will find out about it for a while. My plan is to leave the state of Florida. She'll have no choice but to try to follow me. However, I want her to call her boss first and let him know her mission time needs to be extended. That way, he won't check up on her for a little while, and we'll have time to clear out."

Farlan was rubbing his chin. "So basically, we should have her tell her boss she's leaving Florida, but get rid of her before we actually leave. Then we can dispose of the body. Even if they search for her, they probably won't look for her here. We can have Isabel pose as Petra Ral when we take the plane, so that they'll have on their records that she left."

Levi nodded. "Makes sense to me."

"So then we should probably stay here for a few more days and get even closer to her, so that it wouldn't be odd if we told her out of the blue that we were leaving." Isabel chimed in.

"That's what we'll do then," Levi decided.

***********************************

Petra was a bit surprised when Levi--no, Ackerman--intercepted her the next day and asked if she'd like to go with him that night to the beach. They were having a small get together with some others, and he thought she might like to come.

They'd both confessed to being single last night, and it wasn't like Petra wasn't used to using this type of method to achieve her assassinations.

And when she saw his easygoing grin and steel gray eyes staring hopefully at her--

Well, it wasn't like this would hurt the assassination in any way. In fact, it would actually be very helpful.

So Petra said yes without hesitation, putting on her bright smile that didn't seem as forced as it usually did, and waved Levi--Ackerman--off as he left to work.

This was all going as planned, she told herself. All going as planned.

To be continued...

Whew, this is turning out a lot longer than it should have been. I was planning on finishing it with this chapter, but I think I'll probably need at least two more...

It's not really a one-shot anymore...I know...I'm sorry...