Chapter 15

I flinched and simultaneously whipped out my combat knife. All my nerves stood on end as my scalp felt hotter.

A maniacal laughter echoed in the room.

"Don't even bother yourself" Egypt said and a sniff followed, "if that was Taiga, you wouldn't hear a sound. He is highly trained"

My taut nerves relaxed slightly but my temper flared; I marched up to her and lifted her head up with my knife, the knife pressed into the skin of her neck and I leaned lower to glare at her.

"I'm tired of your nonsense" l almost growled.

"I'm tired of seeing you alive" came her frosty reply, "and I will –out of the kindness of my heart- advice you to get the fuck out of my face"

I roughly pulled her bandana off her head and she scoffed and stared at it in my hand.

"How brazenly insolent you are"

"Oh I assure you, this is nothing"

She chuckled in response and shook her head.

I walked away from her and to the corner of the room. She flinched with a quiet moan and put her forehead on the ground in pain and to be honest, I felt a little happy.

Matteo walked back in with two men, one was holding a white haired male and the other two chairs. The one with the chairs put one down for Matteo and the empty one placed to face him then he roughly pulled Egypt up, causing her to moan again; although terrified, the white haired prisoner struggled to reach her. The guard holding him rammed his fist into stomach making him to cry out and sag against his attacker.

Egypt took a step towards them but the click of the safety of Matteo's revolver stopped her.

"I heard from a nightingale that this happens to be your favourite plaything"

Egypt turned to face him, "you will behave yourself or I'll end his life"

"I'll snap your song bird's neck"

"But it's already dead, you see" Matteo shrugged.

She sat down on the empty chair.

"Good" Matteo praised, "I brought him here for motivation, figured your silence was because you were lacking one" he said and waved to the prisoner that was roughly shoved between them. A whimper escaped his lips making me wonder how hard he was hit.

"You picked the wrong sacrificial lamb, Matteo" she whispered emotionlessly.

"I think not my dear" Matteo replied gleefully. "Un cuff her"

I stared at him like he was insane, the two men looked at each other then one of them obeyed the instruction.

"How did they find you so quickly, Gobi?" She asked the prisoner who ignored her.

"Are you willing to talk now?" Matteo asked her.

She flexed her wrists and cleared her throat.

"Do you know who the most dangerous person in the world is?" her eerie voice rang clear with a warning of something sinister.

She plucked the revolver from Matteo's hand gently.

I gripped my knife tighter and the two guards pulled out their guns. The boss held up a hand to stop the three of us, I was now sure he was courting death when he ordered the two men to exit the room.

With great concentration and nimble ease, her fingers plucked each seven bullets one after the other and lined them up on the ground in front of her, taking time to make sure they were equally placed while Matteo watched her with sick fascination.

"I am not a patient person, Matteo. You will answer me or die"

"One that has nothing to lose" he replied with a smile and she nodded.

"Do you know who is much more dangerous than the most dangerous person in the world?"

"Tell me"

She calmly picked her bandana and dusted it then tied it back on her head. Then proceeded to pick up three bullets and raised one up to Matteo.

"One for me"

Matteo lost his smile. She put it in the bullet chamber then lifted another bullet to him.

"One for you"

Insert.

"What-" came a confused voice.

She lifted the last one.

"One for luck" she inserted it, rolled the chamber and clicked it in place.

"What are you doing?" Matteo finally found his tongue.

With a casual shrug, like she was asked if the sky was blue she lifted the barrel of the gun to her head and pulled the trigger before either of us took another breath. Gobi gasped, I inhaled sharply and Matteo reeled backwards.

She pushed out the chamber, gave it another spin and pushed it back in.

Then pointed it at Matteo and pulled the trigger just as fast as she did before.

"Tie"

"You are mad!" Matteo confessed, eyes wide with just as much terror as I felt of the woman.

Repeating the ritual of rolling the bullet chamber but her next action shocked us all.

She pointed the gun at Gobi then like she remembered something she retracted the gun and tapped it on her head.

"Ah… I should have said one for motivation"

"No" the man whispered in fear and dragged himself away from her as far as he could. Not very far. Not far enough.

With onyx coloured eyes locked with Matteo's she fired the gun at Gobi. The bullet hit his stomach. He jerked with a cry then stopped moving.

Matteo shot out of his chair and stood behind it. My heart thundered in my chest against my ribcage.

"One who has something to lose and is willing, ready and able to discard it without hesitation"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Matteo asked with a slight tremble in his voice.

She looked up from the blood pooling at her feet and at Matteo with eyes hollow and haunted-

"You said to tell you"

Where was every other person in this bloody building?!

"Egypt-"

"There is nothing in hell you would tell me now that would make me forgive you"

She rose from her chair and stood her full height and crossed over the body to tower over Matteo, and I only just realized how very tall this deranged woman was.

"But in exchange for your life, I ask for your silence" she whispered as she adjusted his collar.

"You were never here" He replied with both eyes squeezed shut. Looking closely, I noticed she had a knife held at his groin area.

I didn't want to know where it came from.

"Smart man"

Pulling her necklace from within her white shirt she pressed its pendant like a button and the bulb turned off, swallowing us in darkness.

"Boss?" I called out in darkness.

"Hey kid?" her voice rang in the darkness and her footsteps glided towards me with ease despite the darkness.

I felt her hand curl around my neck making my skin crawl and I froze, even holding my breath unconsciously.

"Make sure I never see your face again"

Before I got to respond, she released my neck and the light turned back on. I blinked a few times to adjust my sight back.

Matteo was cuffed and looking confused, Egypt and the body gone only leaving a pool of blood behind.