"Why should I trust you? After all, you were just trying to kill me." I said as I narrowed my eyes.

"Ha! I wasn't trying." He said with a cocky smirk.

There is it, the confidence that made me want to just bash his skull in. I quickly narrowed my eyes at him as I threw a death stare in his direction while contemplating all the different ways I would kill him. I mentally scolded myself for thinking, that even for a moment, this man was attractive.

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already." He said as he raised his eyebrow. Even though his tone was somewhat playful, I could tell that underneath that exterior, was a very serious threat.

"Like I said before," he said as he began to walk towards a nearby window. "I just didn't feel like killing such a beautiful woman." He said as he shrugged.

"That kind of mentality will get you killed." I said as I lifted my chin slightly and crossed my arms.

"What can I say, I'm just a boy, standing in front of a girl, not wanting to kill her." He said before he shrugged and turned around.

"Really?" I said as I furrowed my eyebrows. "Does that work on anyone?" I asked with a scowl.

"Consider yourself lucky, lady!" The child screamed as she pointed at me, making the man let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head. The girl puckered her lips before she spat in my direction, making me raise an eyebrow at the tiny child.

"You're still spitting at people?" The man exclaimed as he winced away from the child. "I thought I told you that was rude!"

"Sorry Sensei." The kid said quickly before giving the man a wide smile.

"Don't say sorry to me. You didn't spit on me." He said as he nodded in my direction.

"Oh." The kid said before quickly facing me once more with a small smile. "Sorry for spitting at you lady."

"It's okay." I responded, confusion apparent in my voice as I looked down at the tiny child.

"Anyways, they plan on killing you as soon they see you. I overheard them in the alleyway on my way in." He said as he crossed his arms, the small child looked up at him before crossing her own arms and looking over at me.

Part of me wanted to believe him. But conflicting emotions clouded my thoughts, and I found myself questioning everything. Monroe always taught me to be cautious of my crew, and I learned from experience that Corporate would never kill an S-Rank head on. But even then, most of the S-Ranks I had to kill were always rogue agents. Assassins that failed missions, or just tried to vanish off the face of the earth, men and women I had to hunt down, never do a mission with.

I suppose if Corporate really wanted me dead, it would be for a valid reason. I'll admit I've been sloppy on some recent missions, but that wouldn't be enough to validate killing me. The only reason why I would think Corporate would come after me is...

Felipe Lombardi.

They must have found out. Or maybe it was the church incident... I suppose this wasn't my first stealth mission where I blatantly disregarded orders. But maybe it wasn't either of those... and word about what I did in Thailand got around to them. Maybe the man who supplied Felipe Lombardi's untraceable bullets also supplied them to Corporate. If that's true, then I unintentionally killed one of their suppliers... Or I'm being paranoid again, and this guy is making this all up to save him and the kid. Come to think of it, there could be quite a few reasons why they'd want to kill me.

"Oh, and by the way," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "I wouldn't start your car if I were you. Apparently that red headed one... the one that's loud, kinda has that psycho-killer vibe? Yeah, I'm pretty sure she put a bomb in there." He said before he gave me a small smile.

Shit. They really are coming after me.

I don't know whether to be angry or insulted that Corporate sent a bunch of unprofessional and disorganized assholes to kill me. Seriously, they couldn't even think of a plan ahead of time? They resorted to something so... simple? I would think they'd send the best of the best if that day ever came, but instead I got a group of S-Ranked idiots.

Technically, I still could kill this guy. He was a joy to look at, I'll give him that. But there was something about him that made me want to just break his jaw. But this man fought like nothing I've ever seen before. He made killing an S-Rank look like child's play. It was intimidating to say the least, and if I wanted to kill him, I know I wouldn't leave the battle unscathed... or I might not even walk away from our confrontation at all.

"Well, good luck with all of that." The man said as he shot me a smirk. "Hopefully after you handle your business here, I'll see you again." He said before he winked at me.

"Not likely. But thanks for the information." I said as I glared at him. I suppose I can spare him for now, after all, I had three assholes to kill. I can't be bothered trying to pick a fight with him when I have bigger problems on my hands.

I watched as he motioned for the child to follow him before he descended the staircase leading to the fourth floor. The kid tripped over her own feet and began falling headfirst down the stairs.

The man was quick to react, and caught the kid before gently throwing her over his shoulder. I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my lips as I saw the child begin to giggle as they walked down the stairs, and eventually, they were out of sight.

"A killer with a soft spot. Who would have thought that was possible?" I said under my breath as I turned around and grabbed my knives from the floor. "I'm surprised he's not dead yet." I scoffed.

I quickly pulled out my phone from my pocket. I know that I parked my Tesla a few blocks from here, but if what that man said is true, I should be able to still hear the explosion. I walked over to the East side of the floor. The walls were incomplete, and scaffolding lined the exterior of the building. I looked off into the distance as I opened Tesla's app on my phone.

I looked down at the app as my finger hovered over the button to start the engine before I quickly pressed it. A massive explosion sounded in the distance, and I sighed upon hearing the car alarms and faint screams.

"Well, this'll be fun." I said as I raised an eyebrow and smirked.

I placed my hand on my earpiece, connecting to it and turning on the mic.

"Car bomb. Nice touch." I said as I grabbed my gun from my waistband. "But you're going to have to try a little harder than that if you want to kill me." I said as I cocked my gun and walked over to the center of the floor.

I grabbed the metal chair the kid was sitting in before I turned it around and straddled the back of it as I eyed the staircase on the other side of the room.

"And here Corporate said you were too naïve to figure it out." Jayce said with an edge in his voice.

"They- what? Seriously?" I said as I furrowed both of my eyebrows.

I spent most of my life training within their organization. I've completed more missions than any other agent. Was I quiet during my missions? No. But just because I prefer explosions over the typical body clean up doesn't justify my termination.

"Regardless," I said with annoyance lacing my words. "I'm on the fifth floor if you want to come and settle this like professionals." I said before I took out my earpiece and stomped on it roughly.

"Naïve... really?" I said to myself as I furrowed my eyebrows. "Assholes." I seethed.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, attempted to calm my mind and get a handle on my temper. The only sounds that filled the air were the screams and sirens from my car exploding a few blocks away. The chaos was quite peaceful.

I quickly shot my eyes open before I turned to the side and fired off a bullet. Jayce's scream filled the air as I hit his hand that was gripping the edge of the building. I looked over to see Jayce pulling himself up onto the scaffolding with his left hand. He was breathing sporadically as he clutched his bloodied right hand to his chest.

"I told you it was a bad idea to scale the building." Gio said as he walked up the staircase with his hands in his pockets. "But no, you just had to have it your way." He said in a scolding manner as he looked over at Jayce and shook his head.

"Oh, fuck off you elitist prick." Jayce said as he narrowed his eyes at Gio before walking over to me.

"Are you two done yet? It's been a long day and I want to get this over with." I said as I tilted my head and crossed my arms on the backrest of the chair. Jayce and Gio began to close the distance between us, and after a few moments, Jayce stood to my left while Gio was on my right.

"Since I'm a gentleman, we can start whenever you're ready." Gio said as he took his hands out of his pockets and cracked his knuckles.

"How thoughtful of you." I said as I gave him a fake smile and looked over at him. "Gentleman's rules?" I asked as I tilted my head.

"No guns? You sure you can handle us without it?" Jayce scoffed. He raised his eyebrow as he mansplained me while giving me a cocky smirk.

He dies first.

"Well let's find out, shall we?" I said as I tucked my gun back into my waistband.

I waited for a few moments before I quickly stood up and swung the chair at Gio. He caught it with ease before he tossed it to the side as Jayce lunged towards me. I rotated my body, dodging the jab he threw with his good hand before I lifted my right hand and blocked the hook Gio threw. I quickly ducked as Jayce thew a roundhouse kick towards my head before I cocked my right arm back and struck Gio in the stomach with a jab.

I then rotated my right arm and struck Jayce in the jaw with my elbow, making him stagger backwards. I quickly brought my hands to my stomach, blocking a kick from Gio. I wrapped my left arm around his leg before I cocked my right hand back. I pulled him into me as I launched a jab at his nose, hitting it dead on and feeling satisfaction course through me as I heard the loud snap of a bone.

He grunted in pain as he rotated his hips, pulling his leg back and freeing himself from my grip. I looked over my shoulder to see Jayce running towards me with a knife in his left hand. I quickly side stepped him, avoiding the blade that he stabbed forward. He continued jabbing the knife at me with short bursts, and I continued walking back to avoid the jabs.

I heard Gio running towards me from behind, and I quickly grabbed Jayce's left wrist as he lunged towards me. I rotated my body and brought my hand across my chest, lodging the knife into Gio's shoulder. He let out a grunt of pain before he cocked his arm back and threw a strong left hook. I quickly ducked down placed both hands on Jayce's side before pushing him forward. I couldn't help the smirk that stretched across my lips as Gio's fist slammed against Jayce's cheek.

"Watch where you're aiming, asshole." Jayce said as he gripped the knife in Gio's shoulder and quickly pulled it out, making Gio hiss in pain.

"You're one to talk." Gio said with wide eyes as he looked down at his shoulder before looking up at Jayce.

"I'm not sure why you two are arguing. You're both equally as shitty." I said as I raised an eyebrow. Gio narrowed his eyes as he pulled out two long knives from his waistband. He twirled it between his fingers before he and Jayce began running towards me.

I quickly saw a thin, metal pipe by a nearby scaffold, and I quickly took a step towards it before kicking it up with my foot. I caught it before I quickly rotated it and held it in front of me. I gripped the opposite end of the pipe with my other hand, blocking Gio's knife from hitting my body. I quickly rotated my wrist, spinning the pipe once more and hitting the end of Jayce's blade as he was about to stab my side.

I continued walking backwards as I deflected their stabs, moving and pivoting out of harm's way. Jayce shot his hand forward the same time Gio did, and I quickly rotated my hips and stepped in between them. I swung the pipe and hit Jayce across the face before I used the momentum to hurl the pipe towards Gio to smash it against his cheek. Both men groaned in pain as they staggered backwards.

"Well, I've had my fun. Now it's just getting boring." I said as I quickly grabbed my gun from my waistband and lifted my hand. I quickly shot Jayce in the head before I turned and aimed my gun at Gio and did the same.

"Well then, now that's finished," I said as I looked around the room. "Where's Red hiding?" I said quietly.

Bodies were scattered amongst the open floor plan, and I carelessly stepped over Gio as I walked over to the center of the room. It was quiet now, eerily quiet. I listened for any sign of her but heard nothing. I looked down for moment as I stepped over Jayce, and spotted a small, red dot on my foot.

It quickly moved up my leg, and I looked in the direction of where came from to see Red. She was situated on the roof of a nearby building. She was leaning against the ledge with a sniper rifle in her hands and a wicked smile on her lips.

Before I could even raise my gun, the man from earlier jumped up from behind her. He quickly gripped her hair roughly and pulled her head up before slicing her neck open and killing her instantly. He smirked at me as he let go of her hair and let her lifeless body fall to the floor.

He gave me a playful salute with two fingers before he winked at me and began walking towards a fire escape. He motioned his hand waving it forward, and after a few moments, the child happily jumped onto Red's back, before she jumped off of her and followed the man.

I let out a shaky breath as I watched them disappear into the distance. I wasn't fast enough, I left myself open and my guard was down. I was sloppy, and it almost got me killed. If it wasn't for that giant pain the ass, I would have been dead by now.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out to see Monroe calling me, and for the first time in my life, I began to question his loyalty. He was like a father to me, but now, the organization he helped start is trying to kill me.

Did he know?

Was he involved?

Did he approve the hit?

What if he didn't know?

What if they go after him next.

Any mistake I make now will get me killed... or even worse. Get Monroe killed.

So just to be safe, I threw my phone up into the air before I quickly aimed my gun and pulled the trigger, shattering it and sending its pieces scattering amongst the concrete floor.