A failed assassination

Noel took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. "Alright, let's do this."

He grabbed his bag and left the apartment in the middle of the quiet night. He stealthily walked out of the building making sure that nobody saw him getting into the car. The plan was to board onto a ship that would take him to a place which was quite close to Ryan's lab. From there, he was on his own to find the hidden lab.

As planned, he successfully boarded the ship. Although it was a VIP ship, it was easy to get the VIP cards and infiltrate the ship. The ship he was supposed to board onto was a luxurious ship with several wealthy businessmen who Noel might've heard of from his father. His eyes take a moment to adjust under the bright lights overhead. Crystal chandeliers, fine wines and exotic dishes— the very air exuded opulence. As soon as he was inside the ship, he stood at the very corner, away from anyone that could recognize him. He was thankful that he decided to wear a well designed suit. It would be hard to blend in with everyone if he looked inferior to them. He observed men and women dancing to the music and getting drunk as the ship cruised through the roaring sea.

Noel called out to the waiter who was passing by him and ordered a glass of wine. While he waited, he saw a few men flirting with other women while some of them decided to go somewhere more private. He turned his head away to face something more pleasant. He gazed at the endless ocean through the large, open windows as the wind gently kissed his face. The waiter soon arrived and handed him the glass of wine.

"Thanks." Noel said as he sipped the wine.

The waiter gave a small smile and bowed before leaving him to his thoughts. Noel looked at the wristwatch on his hand and subtly pressed the green button to inform Elisa that there was no danger or suspicious behavior around him. Once again, he looked over at the drunk men who were busy making out with a dozen of women. Although Noel had seen such things a million times before, the very sight of it was repulsive but he had no choice. He had to look out for any information that he could overhear from them.

As he was observing them, he noticed that an old man and a young woman in a black dress were walking up the stairs to the floor above them, which consisted of different luxurious suites. Noel felt something was off about them even though he'd seen other men and women going in the same manner. He decided to trust his gut feeling and stood up to follow them.

He made sure he didn't seem suspicious as he walked up the stairs after the couple. When he got to the second floor, he found himself standing in front of a long, empty corridor with doors lining up on either sides. The chandeliers above him glittered brightly as he walked through the corridor, paying attention to the sounds from each room. Most of them were sexual noises or silence, but nothing out of the ordinary.

He kept walking and walking until he heard something different from one of the rooms.

It sounded like a muffled voice coming from the door he just passed by. He paused, muscles tensing up and his eyes widening with every second of what he was hearing. The muffled voice turned into a muffled scream which soon turned into silence. Noel ran through the corridor and hurried down the stairs before anyone walked out that door and saw him. Even though it was dangerous, he decided not to press the red button on his wristwatch since he didn't really need backup. He quickly walked back to his seat and waited.

"What in the hell did I just hear? A murder?" He thought, staring at the staircase a few meters away from him and expecting the man to walk down any moment. Just then, the young woman in the black dress walked down the stairs wearing a sweet smile on her face.

Noel's eyes widened. "So it was the woman? But why?"

Noel maintained a calm composure as he watched the woman come to edge of the ship and breathe in the fresh air. She took a long breath and sighed it out. And then, she turned to Noel.

He paused, not breaking the eye contact. She took the eye contact as an invitation for a conversation. She gave him a small smile and walked up to him.

"You were looking at me just then. Did I catch your attention?" she said as she seated herself close to him—very close.

"Oh, I didn't mean to stare. I apologize." Noel replied, subtly shifting away from her. He wasn't gonna be fooled by her pretty smile, the sweet scent she was giving off or how close she was sitting next to him. Regardless of his cool composure, he was getting a little nervous by the minute but he didn't show it on the outside. After all, it was the first time he was having a conversation with a woman who looked the same age as him.

The woman noticed him drawing farther away and shifted closer to him. "C'mon, don't be shy now." she smiled, subtly holding his hand.

"I must be the next victim. But why? It doesn't make sense for her to aim for me but I'll have to go along with it for now." Noel thought.

"It's pretty packed in here, don't you think? Wanna get a room upstairs?" She winked.

Noel smirked, sliding a hand around her waist. "Well, I can't refuse a beautiful lady such as you."

He wasn't sure how and where he got the sudden confidence to make a move like that— heck, he didn't even think he could flirt without making an absolute awkward mess. But as long as it managed to fool her, he was satisfied.

They stood up from their seats and the woman locked her arm with his, sticking as close to him as she could while they walked up the flights of stairs and through the long corridor. Noel thought she was going to take her to another room instead of the one in which she previously murdered a man. But to his surprise, she paused next to the same room she was in before and pretended to fumbled inside her little purse looking for the key. Noticeably, her purse consisted of nothing but one single key instead of any kind of cosmetics. And under close observation, Noel realized that she was wearing a wig. Not that it mattered, but he was still curious as to who would send an assassin to this ship.

Noel eyed her with hostility as she opened the door and ushered him in with a sweet smile.

"Come in. I'll make sure this night will be worth remembering for you."

"Of course it'll be worth remembering." Noel muttered under his breath.

He carefully walked inside, quickly looking at the surroundings before drawing his attention back to her as she locked the door. She had completely cleared up the space like there was no murder at all. Noel wondered where she could have hid the dead body.

She slowly walked over to him with a smile and pushed him onto the bed. Noel played along. She got closer to the bed and reached out behind her to unzip her dress.

"Now." Noel said to himself.

Right at that moment, the woman pulled out a knife from her dress and aimed straight at his chest. Noel swiftly moved to the side, letting the knife dig into the plush mattress. The woman looked at him in surprise for a moment before pulling the knife out and trying to stab him once again.

Noel dodged the hit once more, falling out of the mattress.

"Y'know, an assassin should have the brains to know that knives are easier to dodge than a gun. Which era do you live in?" He sneered as he quickly got to his feet.

The woman didn't say a word. She just had an unreadable, calm expression like her plan to kill him didn't just fail but he knew she was fuming with anger. She once again charged at him with her knife while Noel dodged every one of her attacks. For some reason, he felt like the fight wasn't fair— like something was telling him that this wasn't her full potential. An unskillful woman like her couldn't possibly be an assassin. When she kept attacking so bluntly, Noel took that chance to kick the knife out of her hand and tackle her down with her face towards the ground. Before she got a chance to protest, he grabbed both her hands in a tight lock and hovered above her.

"So, care to tell me why you had the mood to stab me? I thought we were gonna have some fun." He smiled.

The woman glared at him.

"Ohh, I'm so scared I could die." He rolled his eyes. "Now speak up, lady."

The woman gave him a cold stare. "Sure, you haven't done anything but your dear father certainly did. Sooner or later, you would walk down the same path as him. Isn't it better if I kill you now?"

Although Noel wanted to clear her doubts about him as soon as possible, he found something else more amusing. He bursted out laughing while she stared at him in confusion. "Even when you're in this situation, you think you can kill me?"

The woman sighed. All of a sudden, Noel felt a sharp pain on the back of his arm. He looked back to see a blade poking out of her black heels jabbed right into his arm. Blood trickled down his arm. He groaned in pain as he struggled to keep a hold of the woman. As soon as she felt his hand loosening, she shoved him to the side and got back to her feet. He leaned against the wall, clutching is bleeding arm. She grabbed the knife from the floor and took long strides towards him. Just as she was about to drive the knife into him, she heard a few men passing by. She paused for a moment, her muscles tensing up as she stared at the door.

They waited until the their voices died in the distance.

To his surprise, the woman threw the knife out of her hand and glared daggers at him as if he had ruined her plan.

"Next time, I'll kill you for sure." She spat the words out like venom and stormed out of the bedroom, leaving Noel utterly confused and injured.

"What..the heck?" Noel stared at the door which she slammed shut a moment ago.