Meticulous Mastermind

"What?!?!"

"I heard someone trying to break in through the front door," she repeats, her face full of fear.

"There's no way…"

"I'm not lying!" Jennifer insists. Seeing the panic on her face, I shake off my drowsiness, get up from my bed, and open my drawer to retrieve my gun.

With Jennifer behind me, I move into the dark living room. There's a noise outside—someone is messing with my door.

"See? I told you," Jennifer hisses. She immediately falls silent when I press a finger to my lips.

After signaling her to stay put, I walk to the front door and peek through the peephole.

I immediately crack the door open just enough to point my gun outside. "Whoever you are, leave and never come back," I say in a cold, low tone.

The man raises his hands instantly. "I… I thought this was my unit," he stammers. I catch the scent of alcohol on his breath.

"Who sent you?" I ask.

"N-No one!" he says, his voice shaking. "I live here! I swear! You can call Mr. Huggins to confirm—I live in 1104." That's two floors down.

"I thought this was my unit, but my key wouldn't work. I thought it was broken…"

"Go. Now," I order.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he stutters before bolting down the hall. I lock the door with extra latches and turn around to find Jennifer hiding under my study desk.

"He's gone," I tell her, setting my firearm on the desk before bending down. "You can come out now."

"Who was he?" she asks, still refusing to move.

"A drunk neighbor who got the wrong floor," I explain.

"And you just believed him?" she questions. I shrug.

"I've seen him around the building before," I tell her, extending my hand. "Come out. It's okay now."

Hesitantly, she takes my hand and crawls out from under the desk.

"I can't live like this forever," she sighs, leaning into my embrace.

"It won't be long. I promise," I murmur, rubbing circles on her back.

-

[Does it work, Boss?] Bob messages me.

[Worked like a charm,] I reply, raising my head slightly to see Jennifer's back between the pillows she arranged as a barrier—her condition for sleeping in my bed.

[That's great. Enjoy your night, Boss.]

[Thanks. Good night.]

I delete Bob's messages before setting my phone on the nightstand.

That incident wasn't a coincidence. Bob had one of his men pretend to be a drunk neighbor to scare Jennifer.

I know what you're thinking—that I did this just to get closer to her. Well, you're wrong, you perverted readers!

As much as her body constantly, literally all the time, arouses me, I respect her decision not to have sex with me because of my refusal to define our relationship.

I sigh. She'd never forgive me if she found out I tricked her. But at least she's safer now, and I can relax knowing she's within reach.

I need to catch the mastermind as soon as possible so she can go back to her normal life. Even if that means she won't be around anymore. A hint of sadness creeps in, but I push it away.

"It's for the best," I convince myself.

-

"Have you set up the frequency?" Thief asks over the phone.

"Yes," I answer, though the voice that comes out isn't mine—it's Sebastian's.

Thief extracted his voice frequencies from a video recording of his public declaration. Now, I'm using those frequencies with her voice-imitator device. She's thrilled that her invention is finally in action.

"You really sound like him," Thief smirks, clearly impressed with herself.

"Okay, you need to keep him on the line for at least ten minutes so I can track his location through his cellular transmitter," she reminds me before we end the call.

I take Sebastian's phone, which I received this morning, redial the last number he called, and clear my throat while waiting for the line to connect.

"Hello," a voice greets me. It's the same voice from that night. My muscles tense.

"Hello?" he repeats.

"It's me," I say.

"Oh… Sebastian?"

"Of course. I want to rep—"

"Tell me… is the hummingbird still singing?" the man suddenly asks.

Shit. It's a code. And I don't know the answer.

I hang up immediately, cursing myself. This guy is sharp.

The phone rings again—same number. He knows. He knows the caller wasn't Sebastian. I just hope I kept him on the line long enough for Thief to track him.

"Hello," I answer, still using Sebastian's voice.

"Who is this?" he demands.

"Who wants to know?" I counter.

"Where's Sebastian?" he ignores my question.

"Somewhere peaceful… or not," I reply.

"What do you want?"

"I know who you are," I bluff.

He laughs. "You're lying. I know Sebastian. He'd never rat me out."

"How can you be so sure? He gave me his phone so I could call you," I press.

"Because he would rather die than have his daughter mutilated," the man says casually.

I clench my jaw. So, not only did he hire Sebastian, but he also threatened him by holding his daughter hostage.

"Whatever your reason for wanting Jennifer McCourtney dead, call it off," I warn.

"Or what? You're going to kill me?" He laughs mockingly. "You don't even know who I am."

I let him laugh, keeping my rage in check. The longer he talks, the better it is for us.

"On the other hand," he finally stops laughing, "I know who you are now… Mr. Scorpion."

I stiffen. Shit.

"You're the only assassin I contacted before Sebastian," he continues, his tone smug. "You should've just told me McCourtney was your girlfriend instead of feeding me bullshit about your code of ethics."

"No wonder Sebastian had trouble getting to her. She has her own guardian assassin. But that's okay, Mr. Scorpion—it just makes things more interesting. Protect your precious Jennifer all you want. I'll still take her from you."

Before I can respond, the line goes dead.

Damn it!

"Tell me you got his location," I demand as soon as Thief picks up my call.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs.

"Damn it!" I slam my fist against the table.

"Even if he stayed on the line long enough, it won't help much. He was moving. Judging by the speed, he was on an airplane—probably a private jet."

"Can't you do something? Hack the air traffic control, track the plane's owner… something?"

"I can…"

"Then do it. Please!"

"…"

"He recognized me, Thief. He knows I'm Scorpion, and instead of backing off, he's challenging me. This guy is insane and dangerous," I push.

"Okay. I'll help you."

"Thank you," I exhale in relief.

"But it'll take time," she warns.

I nod. "Meanwhile, I'll keep her safe."

"I hope so," she says before hanging up.

I will.