“The first one is you have to be ready, on a moment’s notice, to carry out whatever contract they give you. Always and without question.”
I shrug. “Sounds fair.”
“The second one is you can’t kill anyone without The Order’s permission. The punishment for doing so is… not worth thinking about.”
“Okay, I can live with that…”
“And finally, you cannot — and I can’t stress this enough, Adrian — you cannot attempt to make any contact with anyone from your previous life. You must remain hidden. You must live like a ghost. Do you understand?”
I clench my jaw muscles repeatedly as I think about what Lily just said. That’s a big ask. I can imagine the temptation is always there, though it surely gets easier with time. I guess, since I woke up to this new life, I’ve been thinking, somewhere in the back of my mind, there would be a way of letting Josh know I was still alive.
I guess not.
“Adrian?”
“Huh? Yeah… I understand.”
“I mean it. That’s our only concern about you. Don’t make us regret our decision to recruit you, okay?”
I nod. “I won’t try to contact Josh. Cross my heart.”
“Thank you. Now, apart from those three things, the world is yours. A benefit of being in The Order.”
She smiles at me — a gesture I force myself to return. This is my life now. I accept that. The first two rules… they make sense to me. I was half-expecting something along those lines, to be honest. I’m an assassin, after all. Things like that come with the territory. But the third thing…
I sigh.
I know I was told from day one that contact with my old life wasn’t an option if I signed up. But I guess I had it in my head that I would be able to find a way around it or something. Now I’ve essentially been threatened over trying to contact Josh, it just makes me want to do it even more. I’m too—
“Are you alright?”
I must have zoned out again. I look at Lily, who’s staring at me. “Sorry, yeah… I’m fine.”
She smiles at me, and I detect a hint of sympathy. “Look, I… I know it’s hard, leaving people you care for behind. We’ve all had to do it. But it does get easier, I promise.”
That’s nice of her to say, despite it being no comfort whatsoever.
“Thanks, Lily. So what now?”
“Now…” She reaches in her pocket and takes out a cell phone, which she slides across the table. “…you need to take this. Horizon wants to meet with you, but before that, I actually have a contract for you. The details are in the message I’ve just sent to your phone.”
I frown. “Is this another test?”
She shakes her head. “No, this is life in The Order. This is your first real contract for us.”
I take the phone, but don’t turn it on. “Does everyone in The Order carry out hits? Do you?”
She nods. “I do, yes.”
“But this job is just for me? It’s definitely not another test? Because I’m sick of having to prove—”
“Everyone in The Order has a particular set of skills. Yours, it seems, is finding a way to pull off seemingly impossible contracts, which is why you’ve been assigned this one.”
“Uh-huh… What’s your skill set?”
She winks at me coyly. “I have many…”
“I bet.”
She certainly seems friendlier than when we first met. To be fair, I probably didn’t help the situation earlier. I think starting over was a good idea. My first impression probably wasn’t much better than hers was.
I turn on the phone and look at the message waiting for me on the screen. An image loads, showing a man sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant. He has dark hair and is smartly dressed. He’s…
Hang on.
I look at Lily, confused. “Is this a joke?”
Still smiling, she shakes her head. “No. He’s your target. And you need to carry it out immediately. Rule number one, remember?”
I look back at the screen and sigh.
It’s the guy sitting next to me!
7
I stare at the table in front of me until my vision blurs. I’ve lost my appetite. I have my beer in my right hand, but I’m no longer thirsty. The surprise… the shock—it has me thinking a million different things at once, but I don’t yet have the capacity to focus on any of them.
They want me to kill the guy I’ve been sitting next to for the last half hour! This has to be another kind of test, surely?
I stare at Lily, who’s observing me quietly. “Okay, hang on a minute. I don’t—” I glance sideways at the guy and lower my voice. “I don’t take someone out just because I’m told to, alright? I need to—”
She laughs. “He doesn’t speak English. There’s no need to talk quietly.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not bothered about that. I was gonna say, I need to know why someone deserves to have me coming for them. Why does The Order want this guy dead?”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t work like that, Adrian. That might’ve been how you did things in the past, and that’s fine. But it’s not how we do things now. Like I just said, if we give you a target, your only thought should be how quickly and effectively you can take them out. That’s it.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not executing anyone just because someone tells me to.”
“You did in Vietnam…”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. I found out what I could about Mr. Way prior to entering his little compound. I knew he was a piece of shit before I tore his world apart. I don’t know what this guy is supposed to have done, and until I do, I’m not touching him. Are we clear?”
Lily takes a sip of her drink and stares at me. Her jaw is set and she looks a little pissed off. Her eyes narrow slightly. I can see the internal debate raging behind her hazel orbs. After a few moments, she places her drink down and leans forward, resting on her crossed arms. “He’s a customer of Mr. Way’s. Or he was, anyway. He’s a successful businessman, and a senior director at a large banking firm here in the city. He’s married with two sons, eleven and eight. But he’s also a pedophile. He’s spent tens of thousands over many years with Mr. Way, having young girls delivered to an apartment he rents behind his family’s back. He’s a sick bastard, Adrian.” She nods at the cell phone in my hand. “Scroll through the images if you don’t believe me.”
I frown and look at the screen. Using my thumb, I flick through a series of damning pictures that show him walking into an apartment building, and then reappearing at the door to greet a couple of men escorting a young girl, dressed inappropriately. He then disappears back inside with his arm around her.
I clench my jaw so tightly I think I might actually shatter my teeth. I met a lot of those young women yesterday. They were scared for their lives. They were victims. And people like this piece of shit next to me did that to them.
I look over at her. “Okay, so he deserves it. Give me half a day for surveillance, and he’ll be dead by morning.”
She shakes her head. “Any recon or additional information will always be done for you and sent along with the details of the target. If you don’t receive any, it means there’s isn’t any. In those circumstances, termination is to be carried out immediately.”
Jesus…
I place the phone down on the table. I finish off the beer and place the empty bottle next to it. I look over at Lily. My brow furrows as I think about what she’s saying. “You said I have the freedom to live my life however I want now, providing I stick to your three rules, right?”
She nods. “That’s right.”
“So what happens if I do something illegal and the police get involved? Would The Order bail me out?”