As Vanessa walked past her private library where her AI assistant, Travis was currently charging, she contemplated stopping by and taking him with her.
But on second thoughts, she decided against it. Doing that would only slow them down and right now, she was eager to get this over and done with.
Trevor had barely said a word. He just moved beside her, silently, like a ghost. Vanessa stole glances at him from time to time but there was nothing in those cold eyes of his to give away whatever he had in mind.
A minute later, they were standing before the cell where the hostage was waiting for them.
Trevor stepped forward at once, inserted the key into the keyhole, and looked back at Vanessa who gave a nod signaling him to go ahead and open the door.
He did so without any hesitation. Cold air escaped from the room as soon as the door opened. Vanessa stepped in cautiously. It was as if there was something different about the room.
Instinctively, she looked around, her sharp eyes surveying the room. Nothing was amiss. Trevor had joined in the survey, sensing too that something was wrong.
As the duo moved around the room in silence searching for whatever was not in place, unknowing to them, a dead body lay sprawled on the floor turning cold on its own.
Vanessa finally stopped her search feeling somewhat satisfied that all was well. Trevor, on seeing that she was done with her survey wandered to her side at once.
"So," Vanessa began, her voice sounding more relaxed this time. "I would have thought that by the time I return, you would be more than willing to talk. I don't want to think I was wrong about that."
She was walking slowly toward the sprawled body on the floor, curious to know why he was silent despite her taunting words. She stopped at once before the body and peered at it. Something was not right.
Trevor was standing just a few meters away. One look at her and he knew all was not well. Her face was as white as snow.
He hurried off and took a look at the body, then he staggered backwards in surprise.
"He's dead," He said, half whispering.
Vanessa was not listening. She crouched down to the floor at once and grabbed one of the hands of the assassin. She was looking for his pulse. There was none. The hand was gradually turning stiff.
For a moment, she lost her composure and allowed herself to show her weakness for once. She had a phobia for dead bodies. The very first dead body Vanessa had ever had to see and touch was her mother's, and that was a long time ago.
Thinking about it now still brought tears to her eyes. From that day, she had dreaded the sight of dead bodies, and even now, as she stared at the body of the vibrant young man who had been sent to terminate her life, she felt shockwaves run through her body. Trevor was right. He was dead.
"Get away from the body ma'am," Trevor's voice said, calling her back to the present.
Vanessa was not a woman accustomed to taking orders from people but this time, she obeyed wordlessly and pulled away from the body.
Next, Trevor took her place on the floor and began to inspect the body more carefully.
"He ingested a powerful chemical substance," He said, taking a look at the powdery substance that was now scattered all over the assassin's face.
"How did he gain access to it?" Vanessa asked sharply. "Who gave it to him?"
Trevor was thoughtful for a moment. "No one."
"Excuse me?" Vanessa sounded angry.
Trevor rose to his feet and drew a deep breath. He took one long look at the dead body on the floor and began to speak.
"My guess is that he brought the poisonous substance with him. He must have analyzed a situation like this and came prepared for it. I've seen this before ma'am. Most assassins would rather die than give out any information about their employers."
Vanessa was not convinced with his explanation. But it sounded plausible. Her mind skipped a beat as the true situation of things hit her. She realized then that she had lost. And as if Trevor had read her mind, he confirmed her thoughts.
"We will never know now who sent him. And if whoever sent him realizes that he's dead? Well, we don't know how they might retaliate. And we don't know how to prepare because we don't know who it is."
Vanessa was pacing through the room, her mind wrapped in deep thoughts.
"The plan was never to kill him," She began. "I would have let him go with a warning."
Trevor looked at her for a moment, wondering if she had suddenly gone nuts.
"Ma'am, I really think letting him go was not the best option," He began to say very carefully. "If anything, it would have shown you're weak. I think the only problem here is not that he's dead. The problem is that he died without giving us the information we sought."
He's right, Vanessa thought. Her common sense agreed but her brain was working tirelessly to point out her mistake to her. The problem with trying to keep the peace was that she had given up on her ruthless ways and now, it was beginning to backfire on her.
Soon, word would be out that she'd been under attack by an assassin who had almost succeeded. Who knew what the rest of her enemies would do once they learnt about how weak she had become?
"Get rid of the body!" Vanessa said flatly. "I will call you when I need you."
She strode toward the door at once with only one destination in mind. There was only one person whose advice could save the day now.
****
Somewhere in the suburbs of the city, a man was seated before a computer screen watching the red light from the body blinking. His forehead was creased as he watched, getting furious by the second. This was not the plan.
For years, he had plotted to take Vanessa out but had failed every time. She was like the proverbial cat that had nine lives.
The man rose to his feet at once, becoming disinterested in the image that was flashing on the screen. He had failed once again and he did not relish the thought at all.