The Young Lady is a Reborn Assassin

Robert Van Gervan had a bad feeling about the arrangement. It was no exaggeration to say that his gang was under consistent assault by an unknown enemy. It was all too convenient for his liking. Now there was a letter under his door offering to talk it out. It sounded like a trap to his ears. He wouldn’t dare go to the meeting spot personally given the circumstances.

Which was what brought him to the courtyard behind Marco’s home that morning. He’d caught him in the middle of his day-to-day chores, hanging up some recently washed clothes on a line that ran between the two other houses behind his. This communal area was a common feature of homes in the area. Marco was not overjoyed to see him again, because he knew it involved begging him for a favour now that the situation had taken a turn for the urgent. For him, it was an unexpected visit from someone he’d spurned two days before.

“Marco, I need someone who’s experienced with this kind of thing.”

 “When you say ‘this kind of thing,’ what do you mean?” Marco asked whilst still pinning his clothes to the line so they could dry.

“The bloke who’s been buying up houses around Church Walk like a mental case wants to talk. He sent me a letter – he’s offering to bribe the gang to make us stop organizing the locals. Later this evening, that’s when it’s going to happen. From where I’m standing, they probably want to lure me out and kill me.”

Marco nodded, “Obviously. I’d recommend staying away.”

“I’m not going, but I don’t know whether it’s worth risking our guys to see what they’re offering if they even plan to offer us cash in the first place.”

“I understand why you want me to help, but my services come at a premium. You’d be better served finding someone else to handle this.”

“You don’t have to go out of your way,” Robert argued, “All I want you to do is make sure that everything’s on the level. I’ll give you a cut of whatever cash they bring with them.”

“You’re accepting the offer?”

“Of course not! I’m going to hear what they have to say, and then steal it. They need to be taught a lesson about screwing with us, and Church Walk.”

Marco sighed. It was an inelegant solution that also ignored his iron-clad rules for accepting work. He wasn’t going to take any job unless the client paid part of the fee up-front, and even that was contingent on them not being able to pay the full amount in one go. He knew that Robert had enough dirty money to buy his services for a day or two without any hesitation.

“Why are you relying on me to fix all of your problems in the first place? It’d be easier to take that white cloth out of your belts.”

“The people in Church Walk won’t feel safe if we’re not around, or if we’re not visible.”

Marco was dismissive, “You don’t even believe that yourself. Do you expect those words to move me? If that type of statement was convincing, I’d be a member of the Pesci Syndicate and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You’re from Treveno?”

Marco sighed, his name was enough of a give that Robert’s ignorance was unusual.

“My parents were, but it’s not related to the present issue. The people in Church Walk aren’t going to feel safe if the presence of your boys causes a series of violent assassination attempts. Tell them to stop wearing white and blend in. They won’t be able to identify you if you do that.”

“This is a matter of pride.”

“What is more valuable to you? Their lives, or their pride? They are not going to refuse an order from you without good cause, but this might qualify as that. You should get ahead of the discontent and let them protect themselves.”

Robert hated it when others second-guessed his orders. Marco was one of the few men he associated with who was so willing to openly contest what he was saying. In short, he was not a man who valued the input of others, even his friends, family, and high-ranking officers within the gang. Robert believed that he’d never once made the wrong call. Why would his hunch lead him astray this time?

“They’re trying to push us underground. That’s what they want, and I’m not going to give in. We disappear from the streets and suddenly everyone thinks that there’s nobody watching their backs, they’ll sell on, and suddenly the entire bloody neighbourhood will be up for demolition so they can build some fancy estates on it.”

Marco pegged the last piece of clothing onto the line to dry and picked up the wicker basket that rested by his feet.

“The locals know who you are already. Taking off your gang symbols is not going to make them wonder where you’ve disappeared. Didn’t you say you liked being a larger-than-life man before?”

That was more amenable to Robert’s perspective, “Yeah – I guess you’re right.”

“And these assassins, whatever you want to call them, can’t possibly be as familiar with you and the rest as the residents are. If you are so concerned with ‘protecting’ Church Walk, then there is no need to compromise. You can go low profile, find the attackers, and then handle it as you see fit.”

This was all disconnected from the reason why Robert was there. He wanted a clear answer from Marco about what it would take to get him to attend the meeting later that day.

“Listen – I know how you work, I know that you’re a professional. If it’s the money that’s the problem, then I’ll pay you up-front and then give you a cut of what we take from the meeting.”

“So, you intend to take it and do nothing?”

“What are they gonna’ do? Tell the police that they screwed up trying to bribe the local gang?” Robert laughed.

“Worse, given that they might be related to the attacks that have been happening around here over the past week.”

Robert wasn’t listening to Marco’s well-reasoned objections. His greed was blinding him to the risks inherent with marking himself as an unreliable negotiating partner. It would have consequences far beyond what Robert was assuming. If he ever needed to speak with another gang again it could pose a serious obstacle.

Robert wanted revenge but he couldn’t get it by killing the assassins who were running riot in Church Walk. They were too strong and too elusive for an unwashed mass of local criminals to take down. Thus, he was trying to target the next best thing. He wanted to steal the money without making any concessions.

Marco thought it was stupid. The property developers and nobles who were plotting to remake Church Walk had enough money to happily lose some in search of the result they wanted. Losing some bribe money was no skin off their teeth – and they could get it back in a more violent way if they were truly desperate.

“I’m not asking you to bodyguard my boys. Ideally, they won’t even know that you’re there. I want you to keep an eye on things and step in if they try any funny business. You’re the best gun this side of the country. I’ll feel a lot safer seeing you go with ‘em.”

Marco was a difficult man to convince. Gang work was always hit-and-miss, with a lot of personalities in the industry seeing hired guns like Marco as disposable tools that they were free to scam at the first opportunity. In a zero-trust environment, it was important to be the one with a finger on the trigger. They never lasted very long after angering him.

In his favour, Robert was a known quantity. He’d be in charge of the Church Street crew for two decades. He made no secret about his leadership role or his presence in the area. It was going to be difficult for him to cheat Marco and get away with it. That would demand either killing him on the job or packing his stuff and running to the other side of Walser before he found out.

The last consideration was the level of risk associated with the job. If there were any more of those mages around, then he could easily end up out of pocket by the sheer amount of ammunition needed to kill one of them. Marco doubted his ability to defend the gang members should they appear. They could blow them to hell and back with their magic before he could do anything to stop them.

“I can check out the meeting area for you, but I can’t guarantee that I can stop one of those maniacs from attacking. I shot two magazines into his chest and he kept moving. I shudder to think what would happen if there were more of them.”

It wasn’t going to be cheap, and Marco expected Robert to reject his price.

“I’ll take it. I’ll put up enough to get you running security, and then you can take a cut of the cash that they bring with them.”

They returned to the house and hashed out the other details. Robert was actually willing to pay the bill, which was a pleasant development for Marco. All Robert needed to do was rustle up the money and come back with it before the meeting time arrived. They shook on it, and Marco started to consider his best options when it came to countering this new threat.

---

The complete bust of my previous visit to the city was not enough to deter me. I made a second trip to Gertrude’s hideaway and pressed her for details about the Church Street gang, most notably all of the places where they liked to host meetings and do business. The one that she stated with certainty was a local pub named ‘The Red Half-Hawk.’

The owner had deep connections with the gang, allowing them to drink at the pub unmolested. There was a back area of the building that was reserved for gang members and other criminal elements. They tried to keep it above board and the police away, but it was an open secret that it was utilised by the Walkers to strike deals.

I couldn’t exactly waltz into the pub and bust the case wide open. It was in enemy territory, and they’d turn me away at the door for being a thirteen-year-old girl. The other pressing matter was the timing.

Thankfully Max arrived to save the day with another letter. He’d been asking his brother about the process with some consistency, and he was more than happy to spill all kinds of sensitive details to him in exchange for the scant curiosity. There was an investor’s meeting coming up. Cedric wanted to see movement by then.

With all of these factors, and some others, considered – it was obvious that our best shot of interfering with Cedric’s machinations was today. It was the most likely moment in which they would attempt to reach an agreement with the Church Street gang so that he could deliver the good news to his investors the following day.

This timeline was fairly insane from where I was standing. Cedric was rushing through this like a man possessed. What was he going to say at that meeting if things didn’t go his way? I was more than likely going to find out because Muwah wanted to bring Max along as his plus one. If not, he was going to tell him all about it when he returned to the estate.

Speaking of plus ones, Adrian insisted on coming with me. We sat and waited in the carriage whilst the city moved around us. I had a plan. We were parked close to the Red Half-Hawk, and it would be easy to spot a group of gang members going through the front door.

Adrian was tense, not only because of the circumstances but also because he was alone with me for more than ten minutes. This was the longest we’d ever enjoyed one another’s company, despite being acquainted for over half a year. Adrian could be crabby and ill-mannered so he wasn’t experienced in making small talk. To make it more difficult, he didn’t understand what type of subject I’d be interested in.

“Are you sure this is the place?”

“No, but it is the only lead I have at the moment. Allegedly the gang uses this pub all the time. If we see them making special preparations for the meeting then we can be certain that the man with the money is going to come this way.”

It wasn’t going to be Cedric or even one of the people on his payroll, so we couldn’t use that to determine if we were in the right place. The gang members were the key.

“Goddess knows where you learned to do all of this,” Adrian muttered.

“Experience is valuable, though a little bit of common sense can go a long way.”

“This is more than common sense. You’re like a professional.”

“Hardly.”

There was a brief silence. His mind wandered to another topic; “What is it that you want?”

“What I want?” I echoed, “What do you mean?”

Adrian crossed his arms, “Samantha has her Doctor thing, Claude wants to be a policeman – but I’ve never understood you. You don’t seem at all interested in inheriting your family’s empire and running it. I was amazed when I found out that you don’t have any siblings.”

“I’m going to take over. That’s a given. My Father isn’t interested in having any more children.”

“Are you sure your Mother didn’t castrate him on the way out?” he replied irreverently. I almost forgot that he and the others saw me get into a violent fistfight with her.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that theory.”

The truthful answer was too morbid for me to share.

I was always acting under the impression that this arrangement was temporary. I was a bad, bad man. I killed a lot of people just to enrich myself. I saw it as a day job, like how someone spends years of their life going through the same routine working at a supermarket or office. There was no dancing around it, no neat and convenient excuse. Even my self-imposed rules were an exercise in stroking my own ego.

This was temporary. In what universe was Durandia going to keep me around once I’d outlived my usefulness? That would be an utterly insane idea. Durandia was acting in the interest of protecting the people in the world she controlled. I was only ever going to harm others once our arrangement ended.

How it would pan out was a mystery. Durandia indicated that there was never a real ‘person’ occupying this body before me, for want of avoiding a situation where she essentially killed someone by bringing me over. She must have been controlling it until I arrived.

Making plans for a future that I was certain would never come would be foolish. Not only had I not earned the right, but my natural pessimism prevented me from considering it. My sole focus was navigating the increasingly difficult obstacles placed in front of me. I was trying to preserve my own life, and the lives of the important people around me.

Adrian didn’t buy it. Whether through newly found emotional intelligence or his usual stubborn attitude, he didn’t believe a word I said.

“You don’t sound too excited about the prospect.”

“Why would I be? You would be hard-pressed to find anyone our age who could be excited by the thought of spending the rest of their lives handling paperwork and investment meetings.”

“And is that why you do all of these crazy things? Must be more exciting than handling that.”

I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. There was nothing fun or exciting about it. It took all of my composure not to lose my cool and break down as a nervous wreck after each incident. If circumstances were slightly different I’d be crying myself to sleep every night. The stress was incredible, even more so now that I was burdened with the task of keeping someone alive.

“You asked for my help. Don’t get cold feet now.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say,” Adrian scoffed, “I’m curious.”

He was picking my brain because he didn’t know what he wanted to do either. He was already in charge of a large business empire, but it was obvious that he didn’t enjoy it or find it fulfilling. In the face of that – what else was there to do but put everything on autopilot and find another task to occupy your time with?

“If you’re so concerned about making something of your life, then perhaps you could start by exploring charity?”

“Charity?”

“That’s right. With your money and influence, you could do much for the public good, and you will be remembered fondly for it at that.”

“That seems quite self-serving,” he observed.

“The problem is that most people spend their entire lives working for the sake of living. They have bills to pay, food and clothes to worry about, and children to raise and educate. For someone with a regular job – that demands what small amount of spare time they possess. I needn’t tell you that our contemporaries thus spend their days in leisure.”

“Being a Doctor sounds more respectable than throwing my money around.”

“Perhaps, but a Doctor doesn’t get paid enough to do that. Did Cedric make an offer for all of the family businesses yet?”

“No. He’s holding off for the time being.”

The conversation wilted to a stop. Adrian had to give what I said some thought. He needed to find a hobby or field that he was passionate about. That wasn’t the kind of problem that I could fix for him by offering suggestions. He didn’t want it to be a vanity project either – he wanted to be driven to do it with his own two hands.

We’d been waiting across the road for around an hour. I was watching the pub, not even peeling my attention away when Adrian asked me a question. My patience was eventually rewarded as a large group of washrags emerged from around the corner and approached the building. Despite the clear attempts on their life, none of them saw fit to remove the distinctive clothing that marked them as members.

What distinguished this group from any other was the person tagging along with them. It was another familiar face, though this one was less affable than Veronica. It was Marco Fisichella – the hired gun who Lady Rentree brought on to advance her monarchist ambitions.

“I think that’s them,” I said.

“Why?”

“That is Marco Fisichella. The only reason he’d be with those gang members is if they paid him to be.”

True to form he quickly launched into an investigation of the area that surrounded the pub. He checked each of the windows, both from the building itself and the surrounding ones that could provide a convenient sniper’s perch. He dipped into the alleyway and made sure that it was a dead end. He tested the doors too.

“What’s he doing?”

“He is performing security checks. It looks like this is the place.”

These gang members were creatures of habit. If Cedric asked them to pick a place of their choosing, it was perhaps inevitable that they’d select their favourite hole-in-the-wall to serve as the venue. They could do the job and then get smashed on beer afterwards.

The more I observed Marco scouting the premises, the more I was convinced. The meeting was going to happen here in the coming hours. He presumably wanted to get an early start and fool-proof the place so nothing funny happened. Sadly for him, I wasn’t intent on making trouble inside of the pub. It was going to happen on the pavement out front.

This was a smash-and-grab operation. I would have preferred to have taken the time to plan, but there was no time for that. I’d have to let Durandia take the wheel and hope that I could get away with it. As for why I decided to steal the money, that was less concrete. I was taking the approach of shaking the tree and seeing what fell out.

It was callous of me to say, but I was not invested in the outcome of this real estate battle beyond what it meant for my investigation into what Cedric was up to. It also seemed that I’d stumbled across the next nation-destroying threat in the process. All of the signs were pointing in one direction.

I kept my head hidden behind the velvet curtain and hoped that Marco would pay our carriage no mind. It was not unusual to see them parked at the side of the street or in side-lots made specifically for them. The pub straddled the line between the rough part of town and the nicer areas, so there was nothing suspicious about one being there.

Satisfied that there were no imminent security risks to the meeting, Marco headed back to the door and moved inside to continue.

“The gang must have paid him to guard them during the meeting. Those attacks must have scared whoever is in charge.”

“When exactly did you meet this bloke?” Adrian asked.

“He tried to murder my Uncle a few months ago.”

Adrian’s jaw dropped, “He did what?!”

“It’s a long story. All you need to know is that he’s bad news.”

I reached into my pocket and checked to make sure that I had everything I needed to steal the money when the time came. I was already wearing some low-profile clothes to blend in. I also had a mask and my pistol, which I hoped I wouldn’t have to use.

“We’re going to stay out of his line of sight. I want to intercept Cedric’s envoy before they reach the tavern to avoid any of the trouble.”

“Where are they going to come from?”

That was a good question. My distance from the building would determine the level of risk I shouldered. If I were closer I could cover both approaches, but it might expose me to Marco and the gang members should they hear the commotion and come running. I suspected that they would be travelling from the more affluent area of the city by using one of the main avenues nearby.

“The right. It’s the richer district, and if they’re transporting the money from a bank, or from out of the city, they would have to move from that direction.”

I could post up there and snatch whatever they were carrying, before slipping away through the nearby street and letting my legs do the work. My chase with Kelly the day before had given me some devious ideas about how to get away from them.

“Do you want me to do something?”

I tightened the laces on my boots and tried to think of a job for Adrian to handle.

“No. Keep an eye on the carriage.”

Adrian tried to protest, but I was already out of the door and on the ground. The window of opportunity to dismount without being witnessed had come right as he attempted to pull me back.

I kept my fingers crossed and hoped that I was correct.