JOSI

Josi hasn't been this panicked since her cat and mouse game with Idris months ago. Now as she watches Eavesdropper head for the pool area, it seems she's been brought right back to that reality - where her fate were in the hands of someone with the potential for disaster.

This situation was never supposed to happen. At this hour of the day, Idris's men retire back to their quarters after they've all done their last security checks. The courtyard was supposed to be empty, survey free. But it seems the universe had different plans today.

"I'll call you back." Josi ends the phone call. Are things about to draw a conclusion after she's come this far? She'd spent the last couple months plotting and researching and assessing. The plans have all been successful thus far with the Underboss Ramsey now six feet under and the Consigliere Rand on his way to put his trust in her. She had so much more planned, and yet a simple slip up was all it took to set them off course.

But Josi decides she won't give up. She hasn't come this far only to have her plans ravaged by some no-name cannon fodder. So she works up another plan, and to set this one into motion, she returns to the living room instead of chasing Eavesdropper.

Then the silver pistol comes into view, its gleam still brighter than ever under the chandeliers. It dares the visitor in front of it to pick it up, to test it out, to find out what it can do. And that's exactly what Josi intends on doing.

By this time, Eavesdropper has begun making his way through the garden and towards the poolside. Josi decides not to follow his tracks and instead, takes a shorter cut. She hurries out the living room, down the massive hallway and makes it into a den, which is supposed to be the smallest living space in the house. There's a door that leads outside. And that's where Josi heads. She can spot Idris by the pool not too far off with his back to her, surrounded by two companions of his.

Just then, her target emerges from the garden on his way to the pool area. He hasn't noticed her there, which is lucky on her part. And now all she has to do is point. And shoot.

Josi does exactly so. The gun jerks back when the bullet leaves the muzzle. It connects with Eavesdropper's back and burrows itself deep into his back, creating a bloody hole only for her to see. For a second, she thinks the bullet didn't work, because time seems to freeze completely. Only when Eavesdropper falls and hits the ground does Josi know that her work is done. She's gotten rid of the evidence.

Adrenaline begins pumping into her bloodstream. She eyes the gun with a vision that has grown blurry and hazy, as though she were in someone else's body simply spectating. But this is Josi. That is her hand clutching the weapon, the one that lays still as if trying to exclude itself from the problem at hand. She'd seen Idris do that very action numerous times before, but to finally perform it herself makes it seem like a feverish dream. Was that really all it took to end a life?

"Josita?" Idris calls.

Josi looks at him, then looks at the gun. Then looks at him once again. "I . . . I didn't think there were bullets inside."

Idris confiscates the weapon and tucks it into his pocket. Meanwhile, Josi can't move. She can't even blink. Idris must sense her distress, because he wraps an arm around her as some form of support, then ends the meeting with his colleagues and begins ushering her inside. He takes her to their bedroom, sits her down on the bed, and says nothing more. Probably to allow her time to process what she's just done. Probably to allow her come to terms with the act she just committed.

And when Josi feels like she's done enough of that, she turns to Idris and asks a question she already knows the answer to. ". . . he's dead?"

Idris holds her gaze and grimly says, "He's dead."

Josi releases a long sigh. Just as she expected, she can't feel a thing.

"Are you going to be okay?" Idris asks.

"I'll be fine. I just . . . need to rest."

Idris simply nods. He gives her a kiss to the forehead and tells her to call on him if she needs anything, to which Josi obliges. And when he finally leaves, she does her usual routine before bed, then tucks herself under the covers. With this amount of silence all for her alone, Josi finds it the perfect atmosphere to catch some sleep.

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The next day, a text is sent to Dami regarding the message she had for Josi. There's no response yet. The assassin must be busy.

But that isn't the only thing on her plate today. Josi has discovered something new. She thinks it best to keep it under the rug, but if there's anything her mind has taught her about suppressing thoughts, it's that it will always come back to haunt her. So she decides to keep these cans of worms open.

As the record of yesterday evening plays on in her head, Josi realizes she'd derived a sick form of exhilaration from the entire fiasco. Grabbing the gun, chasing after the target, pulling the trigger. It had all been so surreal and so . . . thrilling. Never minding the fact that her secret was almost exposed in front of her prime target. She'd gotten an obscure form of excitement from the whole ordeal.

And an odd sense of accomplishment when the deed was done.

Idris checks up on Josi some time that afternoon after a meeting. He doesn't tell her much about the body, just that he's taken care of it. He makes sure she's okay again, and only until Josi smiles and kisses him hard does he believe her when she tells him she is. Then comes the question that buries more skepticism in him.

"Do you think I can have a gun?"

Idris looks at Josi with doubt in his eyes, because this is clearly not the sort of question he was expecting. "You want a gun?"

"I think it'll help me." Josi tells him. "That way, I can kind of protect myself if I ever get attacked when I'm outside." This is true. But what she doesn't tell him is the fact that she wants herself prepared in cases of future Eavesdroppers. Hopefully, she won't have to use the gun . . . But maybe it won't be so bad if a situation arises and she has to.

Idris somehow thinks it's a good idea."Will you be able to handle it?"

Josi embraces him and places a kiss on his cheek. "Of course."

Later that afternoon, Josi is taken to a room with a slab of metal for a door. There's a passcode on it which Idris types in, not caring if Josi sees or not. The lights come on instantaneously, and then everything comes into view. Arrays of firearms that line the sides and walls. They're classified by pistols, revolvers, shotguns, handguns, assault, sniper, and the rest of the like. There's even a shooting target to test out each weapon.

Josi isn't looking for anything too grand. A handgun will have to do. There's one on the side that draws her attention. A Beretta M9, slick and black. A bit close to Idris's own, but not too close since it's custom made. She decides on that one.

"I've made a choice." Josi hands the gun over to Idris who inspects it until he feels he's seen enough.

"Hold on," Says Idris with more doubt. "Do you know how to operate one of these?" And when Josi doesn't reply, he gives her a weary look.

"Don't look at me like that," Josi defends. "It's not exactly like someone taught me."

That's the truth of the matter. Idris could stick her with the gun and hope for the best, because with his busy schedule he won't be able to school her. But he comes up with a solution all on his own.

"Croff will teach you."

Josi pauses. Then she smiles, but only inside. The same Croff who has steered clear of her since their kiss those weeks ago. This should certainly be interesting. Now Josi's smile translates outward, because she can't contain her glee.

"Will he?"

~《¤》~

CROFF

He keeps to himself in the book study as usual. It's his quiet space, which isn't so quiet when his thoughts begin circling back to Josi. He shuts them all down, of course. But he's losing the battle. And he takes more damage when she visits him that afternoon. With a gun. This sends him into distressed mode.

"What's that?"

"It's a gun." Josi waves the weapon around. "It's mine now."

Croff looks at her as if he's heard the worst. Because he has. "Yours? Under whose decision?"

"Under Idris'. He gave it to me."

Croff shuts down. The idea of Josi wielding a weapon is not one he wants to see, and what surprises him most is the fact that Idris approved of it. He's never once doubted his judgment; always trusted in his word and followed through with them. But this is one he won't abide by.

"I just need someone to teach me how to wield it." Says Josi. "Idris said you'll do it."

This is the worst news of them all. He can't be in the same space as Josita Cade. It will knock down all his hard work of trying to erase his feelings for her. He'd even gone as far as avoiding her existence, except when he was tasked with escorting her. And even then, he'd managed under the silence. But now it seems Idris has just dug his grave. Because nothing good will come from this.

The smile Josi gives him makes her seem like she's innocent, like she has no idea what this means for him. But he knows she does. And she's enjoying it.

Still, he tries his best to talk her out of it because with his feelings for her aside, Josi and a gun just do not go together. "You can't handle that thing. It's dangerous."

As if Josi doesn't know sharks swim in the sea. "Why not? You have a gun."

"To kill."

"I'm well aware of that."

Croff clenches his jaw. She isn't listening to him. "This isn't a game, Josita. You pull the trigger on that thing and someone dies!"

"I'm well aware of that."

The air stiffens up, dry and tense from the words of disapproval Croff refuses to say. What else is there for him to do if Josi won't listen to him? What angers him most is he's the one in charge of giving her shooting lessons.

With nothing left to say, Croff takes one last look at Josi, sighs, then leaves, once again frustrated at the fact that he can't do a single thing.

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