Carnation: The Assassin's Tears - Chapter 3

Yeah, so this is the third chapter of the novel I'm writing. I'd like some nice advice to improve it (as I do with my previous chapters). And you also may have noticed I changed a character name: 'Kameira' used to be 'Kaycee'.

Thanks a lot to JayeCShore and CoraxCorvus for helping me with the chapter!

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Chapter 3

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Kayden:

Unexpected Luck

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Obviously, he was hiding something from me.

Usually bubbly and energetic in the mornings, especially during meals, I found him anxious and worried as we ate. Fidgeting restlessly as he chewed.

Something must have happened the night before. He left the hotel room to look for a ‘fresh spot’ somewhere in the afternoon yesterday, whereas I fell asleep waiting for him around eleven at night. That meant he returned after I dozed off, probably wanting to tell me of some events but was unable to since I was asleep.

Taking a sip of coffee, my eyes drifted off to my best friend. Gerard hasn’t made it halfway through his meal.

“You’re hiding something,” I blankly remarked. My dark-haired friend, startled by my comment, spilled his water on the table. Leaning back against my chair, I folded my arms, “Come on, Gerard. What happened?”

“Are you sure? You might get mad,” His lips curved into a small, unsure frown as he reached for a tissue and proceeded to clean the mess.

“I won’t be angry, I promise,” Leaning forward, I set my cup down as Gerard became hesitant. “Just take a look at your plate. You’re so nervous; you’ve lost your appetite.”

There was some silence between us before a small sigh escaped his lips. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But that’s only because you promised not to get angry with me.”

Sitting up straight, I waited for him to speak.

Gerard inhaled deeply, staring into my violet eyes as he stammered, “Um…well, I met this…girl.”

My ears waited for more words but it seemed that was all my friend had to concede. It took a few seconds for me to absorb what he said.

I blinked my eyes and croaked with confusion, “That’s it?”

After a few moments, Gerard said slowly, “Well, no…but—“

“You seriously thought I was going to get mad over your new girlfriend?” A smirk played on my face.

“W-Wait, I’m not done,” His stammer was followed with a frown, removing the smirk on my face. “Well, she’s not just any girl…”

“She’s not my girlfriend…yet, and she’s not just any normal woman,” My raven-haired friend explained. I detected the slight blush creeping up to his cheeks as he thought of his new crush. Gerard continued, “Her name is Kameira Hunter. She lives in West Haley, a neighborhood in Veronda.”

As my brain processed his information, I subconsciously nodded. For some reason, this girl’s name sounded familiar.

“Her job is…well, you know that woman who nearly got us busted two nights ago?” His voice reduced to a whisper, reminding me of the events happening on the 15th.

With a nod, I raised an inquisitive eyebrow, earning silly smile from him as he said, “Yeah, her.”

Once again, I found myself puzzled. It took a few seconds for me to register what he had just admitted, and when everything fell into place, my jaw dropped.

“What?”

Gerard was startled by my reaction and fell back into his chair.

“You have a crush on that lady cop who has been trying to arrest us for the past six months?” My attempt to whisper with disbelief ended up sounding more like an angry hiss.

“Hey, you promised me,” The dark-haired man reminded.

I laid back into my chair, released a small sigh and stared into his light brown eyes, “Alright, your secret is a shocker, but I’m not mad. There are some things I have to straighten out with you, first.”

“Alright.”

“Well, there are good and bad things when you befriend her in a situation like ours,” My tone turned serious, “First thing to consider is we’re both robbers. We are wanted criminals. Second thing is Kameira is a detective. Third, her targets are us, and fourth, you have a crush on her.”

My accomplice couldn’t help but smile when his attraction towards Kameira Hunter was mentioned.

“Now, here’s the good thing,” I continued, “You could gain her trust. You could persuade her to stop investigating our case, or you could ask her on her progress on our case so we’ll know where she’s at, and what she’s going to do next.”

Gerard remained silent as I proceeded, “But…let’s say, she manages to arrest us or somehow figures out we’re the robbers, and learns you’re one of the perpetrators she’s been looking for all this time. Tell me, how do you think she would feel?”

After some silence, my friend looked down and muttered, “Betrayed.”

“Exactly! And she is a remarkable and skilled detective, remember?” I reminded him, and he did not react, “Mix that fact with the part she somehow predicted where we were going to strike two nights ago—and she has a pretty high chance of catching us.”

Falling silent, I watched Gerard’s reaction to my explanation. He laid back against his chair, his hands laced together on his lap, whereas his light brown eyes were downcast. I knew he was in deep thought.

However, I noticed the glint of sadness in his hazel eyes.

My facial expression softened and a strong feeling of sorrow crowded my chest. Leaning forward with a hand out, I clamped my hand on Gerard’s shoulder, “Look, I’m not forbidding your relationship with Detective Hunter, alright? I’m just telling you to beware of what could happen.”

“I understand,” He told me, smiling, “And thanks for your advice. I’ll keep them in mind.”

I smiled back.

The truth was I was kind of jealous. One of the moments stuck in my mind concerning our last robbery attempt was the time the detective stared into my eyes after I pulled her down to save her from Nathan.

That brief moment of gazing at each other gave me the chance to examine her facial features. Detective Hunter is really pretty—that’s why I was jealous of Gerard.

After I paid for our meal, we made way to the hotel’s lobby. Something came to my mind as we approached the lift, “Oh yeah! Last night, while I was waiting for you, I did research on the Internet about Uriah City. Did you know there's an assassin, Carnation, here?”

Gerard shook his head, “Assassin? Kameira never mentioned a thing about assassins when I was with her.”

“There’s no way she doesn’t know who Carnation is. She probably just didn’t tell you because it never came up,” I told him, “Carnation is a female assassin. She's been working here for eleven years.”

“Eleven years? That means we were…eleven years old when she started her crimes,” Gerard whistled, impressed, “So, how does she look like?”

“Believe it or not, she’s so professional the police didn’t get a glimpse of her face, even after all that time,” I chuckled, pressing the button to open the lift doors, “She’s never been arrested before, they don’t know what she wears, and her weapons vary from sharp knives to the machine gun.”

“Hey, are you sure this isn’t just some fictional character?” Gerard gave me a doubtful look, “She sounds just too good to be true.”

“Hey, if you don’t believe me, I’ll show you the website dedicated to her,” A laugh escaped my lips as we entered the lift. Gerard pressed the button to our floor and I continued, “Well, she’s not that professional…I mean, she did leave behind a few things. The police managed to identify her as someone standing six-foot-one with brown hair, and her blood type is AB.”

Gerard raised an eyebrow and stared at me with a uncertain look, “And they still haven’t caught her?”

I shook my head in response.

“Wow, I feel bad for the cops,” My friend chuckled, looking up at the small screen to see which floor we were currently at. We’ve reached the ninth floor—there was another two floors to go, “So, who are Carnation’s victims?”

“Well, it depends on her client.”

“Client?” The elevator doors opened.

“Yeah, she only kills whoever she was hired to kill,” I explained to Gerard as we walked out, “She’s murder-for-hire. Obtain her number from any source, call her and arrange a meeting. At the meeting, tell her about the person you want her to kill and if she agrees, you’ve successfully hired her.”

As we stepped inside our hotel room and kicked off our shoes, Gerard looked up and asked, “Why do people call her Carnation, anyway? I thought that was the name of a flower.”

“Well, the website said the city believes a carnation is the flower of Death,” I told him, turning my laptop on. My accomplice plopped onto his bed whereas I sat on mine, “It’s probable the police gave her the nickname because of what she does.”

“Wow, to think big-time cities like Uriah City still has cultural beliefs,” My friend smiled.

I handed my laptop over to Gerard once I reached the website. He read the Home page and whistled, “Whoa, look at what it says here. ‘Latest assassination: 16th of February, 10.30 pm.’ That was yesterday night!”

“Where?”

Gerard read the report and exclaimed, “The East Uriah Tower.”

“That’s a famous landmark in the city,” I commented, raising both my eyebrows in surprise, “Not far from our hotel, either.”

“It says here her target was this company owner,” My friend told me although his eyes were still glued to the screen, “Rumor has it, this guy hired Carnation about a month ago to kill his wife, but he didn’t pay the fee. Someone who fails to pay Carnation within a month after the assassination will have to pay with their lives.”

I smirked and laid down on my bed at full-length, “Well, I guess that’s exactly what the company owner did—he paid his debt with his own life.”

“Although I protest against the ‘pay with your life’ thing, I guess she does so to avoid the cops, don’t you think?” Gerard gave me his opinion and I nodded, agreeing with him, “It’s pretty risky to meet with clients, right? What if the client is an undercover cop?”

I shrugged, “Why ask me? I don’t know. All I do know is Carnation knows how to get the job done.”

My best friend was soon hooked on reading the reports of Carnation’s past assassinations, leaving me clueless and unsure of what to do. I watched TV, but quickly got bored. After a few minutes, there was a loud knock on the door, successfully catching our attention.

“Who is it?” I called out.

“Just open the door!” A muffled voice came from outside.

I got off my bed and approached the door, looking through the peep-hole. Standing outside our room was a tall woman with long brown hair and stunning green eyes. She was nobody I knew.

She didn’t look like a cop, but since our encounter with Kameira, I had to be sure, “Who are you?”

The woman sighed and folded her arms. With a smirk, I took her reaction as a sign of defeat, and walked away from the door before returning to my bed.

Gerard asked me who was at the door and received a shrug, “I don’t know. Maybe she just got the wrong room.”

As soon as I finished my sentence, the door burst open, startling both Gerard and I. The woman from just now stared at us.

“Do you two boys go by the name of Kayden Grant and Gerard Kolten?” She questioned, pointing at us. We were too stunned to answer her, and she shrugged, “Alright, I take that as a yes.”

Closing the door behind her, she took off her sneakers, pulling out a chair nearby. She sat down, facing us.

“We don’t know you,” Gerard blankly remarked as he closed the laptop, sitting up straight. He was cautious.

“Maybe you do, but you just don’t know it,” Her lips curved into a smirk as she leaned back against the chair, “But I know who you guys are. And I need your help.”

I glanced at my best friend and he shrugged.

“First, I know you two are robbers,” Her sentence jolted the both of us.

The thought of reaching out for my gun came to mind, but the woman immediately raised her hands, “Wait, I know what you’re thinking. I have no intention of reporting to the cops.”

“And how do we know you’re not lying?” Gerard demanded.

“Well, first, I need your help,” She repeated, an attractive smile forming, “I mean, if I reported you guys to the cops, how would you two help me?”

“What do you want?” I asked, still considering the option to reach for my M5.

“Before I tell you my objective, listen to what I have to say, first,” The woman smiled in an assuring manner. My best friend and I glanced at each other, giving the woman a chance to continue, “Look, I’m a wanted criminal myself. I would be arrested along with you guys if I was stupid enough to report to the cops.”

Surprised, a few thoughts came to mind. Maybe this woman was a robber as well—and maybe that was how she unlocked the door and barged in. The thought of this only made me struggle with the urge to take out my gun.

“Don’t be scared,” She assured again.

Did she have a gun? Was she going to kill us?

“Remember when I told you boys I’m a wanted criminal?”

We did not respond.

However, her confidence was not perturbed and she continued with a smile, “Well, I’m an assassin, really.”

We both froze and our eyes widened.

A female assassin with brown hair? Was this woman the person we thought she was? But she was shorter than six-foot-one…maybe the journalists estimated her height wrongly? She was still taller than we were anyway—we both stood at five-foot-nine but the woman was surely five-foot-eleven or five-foot-twelve.

She couldn't be her, could she? Why would an assassin come to us wearing an evening dress and pumps?

“Sorry, that was sudden,” The lady laughed as a slight blush crept up to her cheeks, “Well, don’t get the wrong idea when an assassin asks two robbers for help. You have to hear me out, first.”

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind. There was no way this woman was Carnation. She looked just a few years older than us.

She looked so harmless.

I pulled out my M5 and aimed at the assassin, standing up to get a stable shot. Even with a gun aimed toward her, the woman didn’t show any signs of fear. Instead, she sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose.

“God, I was really hoping you guys haven’t heard of me yet,” She mumbled to herself before releasing another heavy sigh. She stared at me and hissed, “Come on, you wouldn’t be stupid enough to shoot, right? Everyone will hear you—I mean, we’re in a hotel room and you’re holding a sub-machine gun.”

I hated to admit she was right.

“Look, I’ve been hired to assassinate a murderer,” She explained sternly, “And that man is someone both of you know. All I want you guys to do is assist me with tracking this guy down, because he’s one of those rare bastards who are actually hard for me to find and kill.”

Her words seemed genuine and this caused my hesitation.

“Kayden…” Gerard uttered my name softly, and I turned to look at him. His chestnut eyes stared into my amethyst orbs and he assured me with a gentle smile, “Just put the gun down. It’ll be alright.”

It took a few minutes for me to comply.

“Great!” The woman chirped happily once my gun was no longer aimed at her, “So, do you two want to help me or what? I’m not forcing you.”

“What’s in it for us?” I asked, keeping my weapon away, “If you’re giving us cash or a guarantee you won’t kill us, then we don’t want it.”

She chuckled, “Well, I was about to offer cash, but a guarantee is too risky,” Her smile broke into a friendly grin, “Alright, since money is out of the question, what do you boys want?”

Gerard glanced at me and our eyes met. He was unsure as much as I was.

“May I suggest?” She offered. Before we could reply, she said, “I could kill someone for you, free of charge.”

We both shook our heads. There was nobody on our mind we wanted dead.

“Alright, then…do you two need help in your robberies?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. Answered with confused expressions, she giggled, “No, I’m not offering to be your accomplice—I’ve got too much on my plate to do that. I’m just asking if you two would like me to teach you a few tricks of my own. You know—like, be your teacher.”

My heart stopped as I considered Carnation teaching us her tricks. I knew just how professional this woman was—and getting her to teach us her techniques would indeed come in handy with our robbery.

“I agree to you being our mentor,” I blurted out. A smile immediately played on her face, but I interrupted, “Wait, but I have to know how it works. How long do you think it will take for us to help you track down this man?”

She was silent for a while before she answered, “I don’t know. Although I know you are my only chance to find him, it might be hard because I could tell you and my target aren’t so close. I predict about…a few months, at least.”

“A few months is long,” Gerard frowned.

“Yeah, it is. So here’s how its going down,” I said, “You decide which days of the week we’re going to work with you. In the mornings, you train us. After training, on that exact day, we’ll try to help find this guy. We’ll repeat this all the way until you’ve hit a firm location on him.”

“Well, you’ve got yourself a deal,” The assassin smiled brightly, lifting herself off of the seat. She approached me and we shook hands. After shaking hands with Gerard, she took out a piece of paper from her pocket and scribbled something down, handing it to me, “Wait for me to call.”

Quickly, she left the room.

It took a while, but Gerard whistled after recovering, “It’s hard to believe that was Carnation.”

“It’s hard to believe we’re still alive.”

A chuckle came from him, “So, what’s on the paper?”

“Seraphine…twenty-six years old…there’s her number,” I pointed to the series of digits on the paper.

“Wait, she said she’ll call us,” Gerard recalled, his lips curved into a puzzled frown as he scratched his head, “We didn’t even give her our number. How could she contact us?”

I stared at the paper in my hands, searching for an answer. After a few minutes, I shook my head slowly, eyes still glued to her name, “I don’t know…but we’ll be getting a call from her anyway.”

“How?” Gerard was confused. I just shrugged.

I mean, that woman tracked us down once—and she can do it again.