The first few days being benched weren't really that bad.

I worked all day at the office, hit the gym after work when the irritation got to be too much, then went home to write. Just like usual between jobs.

I knew if anyone was watching me it'd be a boring routine, and it was all extremely visible for prying eyes. I caught glimpses of a tail that screamed law enforcement several times, so I was glad I was playing along.

Tonight, however, I'm going to Mel's. Not only had she promised to make me my favorite, a make-up for the time I ruined her plans, and to help me with some of my other needs that she knew very well how to meet... but she also had updates.

Updates I was very anxious to hear now that I'm starting to get a bit antsy in the monotony of it all.

It felt like the day dragged forever. As if the universe had a conspiracy against me getting to Mel's.

Every meeting ran late, every simple decision ended up having complications, and every person fell shy of delivering what they needed to... by the time the day was over, my irritation was through the roof.

Perhaps it was that irritation that had me mounting my bike and squealing the tires like a madman as I barreled down the road. Or perhaps it was the blue eyes that flashed through my minds and the things they did to me as my need to stalk him again flared back to life...

Either way, when I arrived at Mel's it was a bit of a miracle I did so in one piece. Shaking my head in an attempt to focus, I walked in to see Mel. Hopefully getting the updates will help ease my mind.

The moment I saw her face, though I ,knew that wasn't what was going to happen.

I was instantly nervous seeing her thin lips and the concern behind her eyes. Whatever she learned isn't going to be good.

"Hey zona."

Her forced smile is making this worse.

"Hey gorgeous," I say cautiously, sitting down across from her at the place she's already set for me.

She really did make my favorite, sparing no effort to make a great meal. Yet, her hesitation has me nervous enough that I don't dive in. Instead I sit back and wait.

She observes me for a long moment, then nods slowly.

"The job was a trap, zona," she begins, breathing out as she puts her elbows on the table and weaves her fingers together as if in prayer before her, "Or, I suppose, a test may be a better way to say it."

A test... a test for whom?

Her sharp eyes tell me I don't want the answer.

"I think it was specifically a test for you. You called it, we should have never taken it. We should have left this one behind, and perhaps they would have moved on. Set their sights on someone else."

I'm trying to remain calm, but she is making this difficult. She's not usually one for dramatics, but this feels painfully dragged out.

"Let's take a step back and I'll explain what I found. Then we can figure out what the fuck we're doing about it," she grumbled, leaning forward and grabbing the glass of wine before her, drinking it in gulps.

That's not her style, she usually sips to appreciate the flavor...

"First, the four you took out are alive. They're being held by the Italians, specifically the Rossi family."

Oh fuck...

"I know you remember Antonio, and it would appear he hasn't forgotten you. The job was to secure people who have refused to work with him and use them for leverage, information, and or securing alliances. In the end, if they're unable to prove worthy - I imagine they'll be killed. What we didn't know, because we didn't care... was that those five were there that night specifically to discuss the possibility of an alliance. Rossi wasn't invited because the alliance is specifically seeking to cut the Italians out. The Russians and Italians have been at war for years now, but the Russians are slowly winning.

Rossi set that job up with a couple end goals, including preventing the alliance and getting pawn pieces, of course. But I think one of the main goals of the exact format and timing of the job was to draw out our best.

He's not an idiot. He knew there was only one person who could lead a mission like that... I think he did it to draw you out to confirm you are who he thinks you are. You refused his offers too many times, zona... I think he means to force you to work for him, or take you out so you can't be used against him. He needs an ace with the power shifts, and I think... I think he's hoping it's you."

Antonio... fucking... Rossi.

The Rossi family leverages our services as often as anyone else... but Antonio became obsessed with me when I pulled off a job he'd ordered after he became an unintentional audience. Ever since that night, he's tried absolutely everything to get my attention because he wants me to work for him instead of WKTA... and it would appear he hasn't taken my refusals particularly well. He's not exactly someone used to being told no.

"This feels like either we didn't vet this job well, and I know better than that... or you're skipping some details," I say cautiously, eyeing her closely.

"You're right, I am. But I wanted to skip to the end because I'm not one for dragging out the point. The details are a bit more sketch. The job didn't come in from the Rossi family. I think Rossi knows we screen his jobs more carefully now given his previous antics. I only know it came from them now because we found out where the four people from the hit are being kept - they're at his primary estate.

The drop guy we caught on cameras is a neutral - a nobody. It took some work to figure out he's just a homeless plant they use on occasion. He's tied to no one, but we managed to track him to where he was given the money for the drop off. It exchanged hands several times because they clearly wanted to cover their tracks, but ultimately we figured out it came from Rossi's men.

Those two things are how we managed to figure out who the client really was behind both the original job and the follow-up hit."

I eyed the pierogi, and finally put some on my plate... nibbling at the dough a bit absent mindedly as I considered what I was hearing.

"What makes you think I'm part of this? So far you've explained the client side, and sure it's messy, but I'm not following where I come into play here."

Nodding, she also finally plated some food and started poking at it gently.

"It's a hunch. The first job... it set off everyone's warning bells. We even said no originally. They adjusted it in a way that placated us, and the money was solid... so we took it because we knew we could handle it. You called it right away - it didn't fit... something was off.

So, we scoured the footage again from that night. Instead of focusing on the hit, we checked everything else. Rossi was there that night, Leo, and the only thing he did was sit there and drink while looking around until you hit the stage. Then he only had eyes for you. I don't know if he was looking for an opportunity to speak with you, grab you, or identify you... but whatever it is, he stood when the show was over and headed backstage. He never even glanced at the targets. The team was already gone when he arrived, so I don't know what his plan was - but I do know he is aware it's you that pulled it off."

"It was a team effort," I grumbled, taking a big bite out of frustration.

"It was a team effort to execute, but it was you that came up with the plan and made it happen. Rossi is a smart man. He knows that jobs you take, you control. The point is, I think it was a test to confirm his suspicions. If he didn't know you were die Dame before, I think he knows now."

I consider for a long moment. Until now I've thought of Rossi as little more than an annoying pest. He doesn't know who I am beyond knowing I'm an assassin. All he has is a single interaction with me from a job forever ago where he couldn't even properly see my face.

So what if he now knows the assassin he met that night is die Dame? Sure, his obsession with me can't be denied after all the antics he's pulled, but honestly I'm more likely to be flattered than anything. The biggest issue is it's become so damn inconvenient.

Is he really a threat?

I'd be an idiot to dismiss him, but it's difficult to consider him as more than a nuisance. In fact, knowing it's him behind all this actually eases the tension ever so slightly... at least we know the 'who' behind it all now.

"Okay. So now we know the real client and the politics behind the job - messy, but not sure if we want to do anything with that information right now. Two of the three things you were looking into. What about the detective?"

"Sure, we can skip to that, but we do need to get back to the part of deciding what we're going to do. Rossi is a bigger issue than you have ever wanted to acknowledge, and I can't imagine us rejecting the hit after the cash drop went south is going to make it any better.

As for the detective, he's a bigot with a complex. I'm not sure if there's anything beyond that. I found no ties to any of the sects we monitor, no suspicious activity. He seems clean and legit. I think he was suspicious of you because he's got good intuition, quite frankly, and then he latched on because he's the type to follow that intuition through. He's likely going to be annoying until he lets it go. He's got a tail on you, which I'm sure you noticed. He's done a stupid amount of digging into you lately, and the investigation you filed only seems to have pissed him off. We bugged a few of his spaces and we're keeping an eye on him, and he's definitely got his hackles up about you... but he doesn't seem to have anything beyond a gut feeling and general dislike of your existence."

Sighing, I sit back and nod. Great, just what I need.

"Our bigger problem is Rossi."

I can't help but roll my eyes.

"Is it though? Rossi saw me kill a man he hated once and got a schoolyard crush. He tried to set me up to do jobs so he could meet with me, and it didn't work out for him. Including this time. Even when he tried to set up something more elaborate, we managed to get out of there before he was able to make contact. His interest in me is unfortunate, but that's all it is. Eventually he'll get bored."

"Leo... it's been going on too long for that. I think his obsession is a bigger problem than you want to admit. I think... I don't know, I think he's somehow tying his power and success in the face of a losing war with the other gangs to owning you. He sees you as the key to his success, and this whole setup is evidence that he's trying to act on it now that he's getting desperate. Desperate enough to start targeting WKTA with these schemes, which spells serious trouble for us if we don't address it."

I eye her, squinting.

"What are you trying to say, Mel?"

"Look... we are technically neutral. We can't do anything, okay? We... as in WKTA... we can't do anything."

Her stare is hard and it's like she's trying to bore her meaning through to my soul.

"Mel..." I say cautiously.

This is not heading in a good direction.

"Rossi is a problem and needs to lose the war he's already losing. If, for example, the four people he's got locked up at his estate escaped... that would pretty much guarantee it. They'd have vendettas to settle if they got out alive, would formalize the alliance, and would draw more support from the other sects."

I know my eyes are wide and my jaw has hit the floor.

"W-what? You... what?"

This is picking a side... this is in direct conflict with everything she stands for. Everything she's ever fought for. She wants to pick a side... and all because of Rossi, of all people?

But she doesn't want WKTA to do it... she wants me to do it. She wants me to violate the neutrality, specifically.

"And if it gets out?"

My gaze hardens the second she flinches and her face goes pale.

"You'd cut me loose..." I whisper for her, glaring when she doesn't deny it.

She's refusing to meet my gaze, focusing her eyes on her food, her wine... anywhere but me.

"WKTA has to remain neutral. He targeted us first, but not in a way to justify retaliation to anyone else. We could justify not taking you out. We could... maybe if enough time passed..."

"You would cut me out. You want me to go solo, pick a side against Rossi, undo the consequences of a job we took that I suggested we not take... and then if I fuck up and it gets out that die Dame is no longer neutral, WKTA will cut me out.

All to protect the org's reputation and standing as the elite, neutral mercenary organization you want it to be. All because of politics," I bite the words out, harsh and cold just like the reality she's presenting me with.

She takes a deep breath before finally meeting my eyes, and I don't need her to say another fucking word.

--

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