Targets 2 & 3 pt.1

Adelaide

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"Nothing changes," he said, "whatever you do, don't let him near her."

"Understood," I replied before the line cut out.

I sighed deeply, snapping the phone in half.

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My heels rang through the mostly deserted hallway as I finished up my first round of observations and headed back into the main ballroom.

The mask that was tied carefully into my newly styled hair started to slip down my face, making me have to pause to tie it for a second time.

Apparently, there was a last-minute change to the dress code. An email went out yesterday to all the people that were supposed to attend the ball letting them know that they wouldn't be let in if they didn't have a mask.

Mine was a deep red that covered the area around my eyes before turning up on the right side for some extra flair. Jaekyung wore silver to match her dress, Jamie wore black, Malcolm had a deep green one and Mano had a gold one.

I walked gracefully back into the ballroom, seamlessly integrating myself part of the crowd again carefully letting my eyes roam the room for a deep green mask.

I sauntered over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder before speaking.

"Mr Sparks, would you care for a dance?"

He turned and broke into a dazzling grin.

"I would love one."

Malcolm took my hand and led me to the middle of the room where we joined the other dancing couples.

I pressed our bodies close together, wrapping my arms around his neck leaning in so that I could whisper in his ear.

"The hallways are clear, five minutes until the shot."

I tilted my head back and laughed, pretending that I didn't just put the first steps of our murder plot into place and instead, that he had just told me a funny joke.

I watched as his grin grew larger.

He was enjoying this.

He pulled me away from him, twirling my body before pressing me firmly into his again, his hand pressed strongly against my lower back.

"Someone's been watching you all night."

I pulled my head away from his to better gauge his expression but a tall sleek looking man tapped Malcolm's shoulder.

"May I cut in?"

His voice was inviting and low. What Malcolm said next surprised and angered me at the same time. He agreed, shooting me a wink and a smirk before making his way to the guns we had hidden earlier in the day.

The mysterious man snaked one of his arms around my waist and took my hand in his as he expertly glided around the floor, making me struggle to keep up.

His mask covered most of his face, leaving only his lips free.

"You're a better dancer than I thought you would be." He stated, taking me off guard.

My eyes travelled up his beautifully silver mask, to meet his light hazel eyes. I smiled a little at the colour of his mask. Silver was my favourite colour.

"What's your name?" I asked, not caring about the small talk he was trying to make.

A beautiful chuckle escaped his mouth.

"What's in a name?"

My eyes narrowed slightly at his answer. It was a deflection. This man radiated dominance and slightly intimidated me, something that was hard to do. My tongue darted out of my mouth, wetting my lips before I spoke next.

"Do I know you?"

A ghost of a smile played on his lips. He pressed my body closer to his so that we were as close as we could possibly get and I was overwhelmed by his scent.

It was calming and inviting almost...familiar.

"Soon Adelaide, soon."

My heart stopped in my chest when my name fell from his lips. How did he know?

I didn't have enough time to dwell on the unusual turn of events, I had a job to do.

My eyes left him and searched the crowd relentlessly for Malcolm, only to land on Jaekyung.

Jaekyung.

I watched as she talked into the earpiece we were using to communicate and I waited for her voice to ring through my ear but when I was met with only silence, my body stilled.

"Excuse me."

I unwrapped my hand from his and pushed away from his warm embrace, making my way to Jaekyung. I forced myself to momentarily forget about the mysterious man and instead focus on the task at hand.

"Jun, may I talk to you privately?" I asked, her fake name coming out wrong in my mouth.

"Of course, excuse me, gentlemen."

I took her arm in mine and lead her to a more secluded area of the ballroom.

"I think the earpiece has stopped working."

Her eyes met mine.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded as a response. Her eyes were questioning and I knew that she was waiting for me to give her orders as to what to do next.

"Just stay here and only come to me if you have something really important to say, don't panic." I nodded at her before checking the clock on the wall.

Two minutes.

I leaned my body against a wall, pretending to be completely uninterested in everything going on. I was only backup if anything went wrong.

I watched with anticipation as the Anson twins made their way centre stage.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely hope that you're all having an amazing night tonight and I apologize for the abrupt change in the dress code though you all look ravishing."

I scowled slightly at the back of his head and my eyes dart back up to the clock.

One minute.

My scowl morphed into an eerie smile as I delicately took a glass of champagne off of a passing server's tray. I brought it to my lips and blocked out the droning of one of the target's voice and my eyes met the mysterious man whom I had danced with earlier.

A small smile crept on his face and took my breath away.

I diverted my eyes but I could feel his eyes on me. I needed to get into the zone but it was hard to do that when I wasn't the one doing the killing.

I watched as the clock ticked, slowly making it's way to the desired time.

My heart leapt into my throat as the final second passed.

There wasn't a bang. No splattered brains. The twins were still centre stage talking away blissfully unaware that they were supposed to be dead right now.

I tensed and eyed up the area where the bullet was supposed to fly from before searching for Jaekyung.

I called her over with a discrete wave and she complied.

"What's wrong?" I asked tersely, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

Jaekyung leaned against the wall next to me, refusing to make eye contact and looking straight ahead before speaking.

"I was hoping you'd know."

I sighed and looked up with hopeful eyes to where Malcolm was supposed to be.

"A betrayal or a mix-up?"

Jaekyung glanced at me through the corner of her eye before settling her gaze elsewhere.

"A faulty earpiece and a missing shot are too much of a coincidence to be a mix-up, the real question is who did it."

Her words made sense, too much has gone wrong for this to be a simple mix up.

Coincidences rarely happened in this line of work.

I followed her gaze to the man I had danced with earlier, the one with the intoxicating scent. His smell hit something a chord within me, as weird as it sounded. I wondered what it was?

"Do you know him?" I asked her, tearing my gaze off of the well-built man.

"Why?"

I glanced at the man again. Was I jealous or did I simply not trust her?

"Curious."

She turned her head to look at me, her face expressionless.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

I narrowed my eyes slightly at her statement. Was it a threat or am I looking too much into it? Thunderous applause erupted around us but I didn't break our stare, I already knew what was happening.

The Anson twins were leaving the stage.

"Now what?"

I glanced up at Malcolm for the third time before clenching my jaw.

Of course, after last the mess up last time, Jaekyung and I had created a secret backup plan because, even though I didn't fully trust her yet, she was the most reliable one on our team and I knew that

"It's time to take matters into our hands."

She raised her eyebrows at me, evidently surprised at my answer.

"Did you bring what I asked you to bring?"

She nodded and I pushed off of the wall, slipping quietly out of the room and into the empty hallway. She closely trailed behind me as we entered the women's bathroom making sure that the stalls were deserted before locking the door.

She handed me a knife laced with a mixture of poisons which I carefully sheathed into a band wrapped around my leg before nodding to each other and leaving. No words were said.

I paused as I wrapped my fingers around the lock.

The sound of a gun filled the air.

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