The Hitman and His Consort

IX – Failures

Third Person P.O.V: VALENTIN HACKSAW

After conflicting first impressions, the trio of Valentin, Arthur, and Inka then drove to a closer spot to their target place and person, Art on her motorcycle and Valya in the van with Inka. After finding an optimal spot, they regrouped in the van and reviewed their notes.

“This guy always gets off around 1:13 to grab lunch at the restaurant close to the building, we’ll catch him there, he’s one of the guards that does routine rounds everywhere so it won’t be suspicious if he’s seen running around,” Arthur explain and Valentin nodded. Starting to take heart in what they’re about to do. Figuratively, of course.

After all, he just went along because he was bored, and infiltrating a lab that seems to diverge from its ethical premises sounded fun.

‘Not that I’m any better in terms of ethics but I’m not getting billions from the lack of it,’ he thought to himself.

Inka parked the van in another alley, she had it placed as planned for when things went wrong, a quick escape would be their Plan B. Arthur glanced at the digital clock on one of the laptops, it stroke 1:14, and as expected their target left the building, holding his wallet seemingly counting his money as he entered the restaurant he frequents.

Arthur smiled as she turned to Valentin and cracked her knuckles, “Alright, Valya can you step out a bit? I’m gonna go change,” she announced, making him frown.

“What’s wrong with what you’re wearing?” Valentin asked as he stood up and followed her instruction anyway.

“I’m gonna change into a disguise, dum-dum,” Arthur replied with a smile before closing the sliding doors of the van leaving him to wait in silence which he took as an opportunity to have a smoke break, texting his mother that he will be late and texting his father to tell his mother that he’ll be late in case she didn’t see his message.

Just because he's a semi-professional killer does not excuse him for updating his parents of his whereabouts. He's learned his lesson.

It didn’t take long and Valentin’s cigarette didn’t even burn halfway before Arthur comes out, now fully blonde with her hair in a messy bun, wearing a rather fit and revealing white dress and some black heels and a black purse.

She stood for a second with her arms stretched out, a bright smile on her face now with make-up that made her look conventionally attractive. Her whole stance expressed the words ‘Ta-dah!’

Valentin, remaining expressionless, puffed out smoke, “… what?” he asked,

“Do you notice some changes?” Arthur asked, giddy as she slowly spun to give him a 360-degree view.

“Yeah, a lot, do you want me to compliment you about them?” Valentin tilted his head as he asked. This was sarcastic,

“No, not really,” she immediately replied, still giddy,

“Good, because I’m not going to, let’s just go,” Valentin said, making Arthur sigh and playfully rolled her eyes, mumbling ‘So crass’ loud enough for Valentin to hear, making him smirk as they headed to their target.

Valentin knows that he himself is a spontaneous man so he unknowingly expects everyone else to wing it like he does when it comes to situations and despite Arthur looking like she’s exactly the same as him in terms of on-the-spot decision-making he slowly realized that it’s not the case.

Arthur signed that she was walking and going inside ahead of him and, even without knowing why, he did so as well. She’s the one who truly has a grasp on the situation, so he best leave it to her unless he wants otherwise.

Through the glass walls of the restaurant, he watched her head inside and go straight to the counter and order. She waited to the side for her order and surveyed among the vast array of tables and people.

And with exceptional acting, Arthur gleamed with joy as she strutted to the target’s table, acting like an old friend and catching the man off-guard enough not to tell her off. Valentin put out his cigarette right before he went inside and went to the counter.

“Do you have coffee?” he asked.

“uh, yes sir but it's only a complimentary side to our banana bread,” the cashier answered.

“I’ll take that, but have the bread packed,” Valentin said as he set the asked amount on the counter, the cashier nodded. His order didn’t take long, so he waited for it before finding a spot not too close to where Arthur is but close enough to hear the gist of their discussion.

“Do you not remember me? Mikey, it’s me, I helped you when you had a flat tire last week!” she reminded but ‘Mikey’, full name Michael Kinsley, only stared at her in stunned fear, which didn’t stop Arthur from chuckling.

His flat tire last week was caused by someone deliberately shooting at his tires.

“So how’s the wife? How’s Patty? Oh, and didn’t Hazel turn 4 last month? Man, time sure flies, huh Mikey?” she gushed as she took a sip of her drink.

Listening to the whole ordeal made Valentin smile to himself, amused.

‘She’s relentless, how charming,’ he mentally joked.

Arthur knew she now has a grip on this man’s fear, so she raised the stakes by placing her purse on the table and discreetly showing him the photos she got of his family.

“Act normally Mikey-boy, I don’t want anybody to be suspicious,” she whispered sweetly, using the nicknames his mother and father used to call him.

She stalked him long enough to gather the important details of his life, admitting that she didn’t go much deep compared to the people on his hit-list but that’s cheers to her and her good work ethic and this is nothing more but personal interest.

Then again, Michael is not someone who needs a lot of threatening to ensure his cooperation, in fact, he trembled a little before nodding and plastering a horrified smile on his face.

“W-What do you need?” he asked, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“I want a blueprint of the whole building, I want to know every nook and cranny that’s visible to guards and surveillance cameras, I want to know the vents’ placements, I want to know everything about that building,” Arthur answered, leaning close to the man, making him gulp.

“… I… I can give it to you, but I need to know if Pat and Haze are safe,” he bargained, making Arthur scoff crossing her legs, surprised he had the balls to ask that.

“Mikey, give me your phone,” she ordered and so he did, she placed the number of their burner phone before giving it back to him and gesturing for him to look at the man behind them, none other than Valentin.

She clicked her tongue, “You see Mike, we’re not in a negotiable relationship, you see that guy? That guy has your family,” she trailed off. It didn’t take long for Valentin to lock eyes with her and Michael, and as a fellow professional, he didn’t disappoint and gave Michael a small sinister smile before nodding as a greeting.

Facing Michael again, Arthur also smiled, “his presence here is the most I can offer you in terms of proof of life, you can only trust my word when it comes to this, I have nothing against you so let’s work together alright?” she said, her lighthearted tone made the situation not sound as harrowing as it was to Michael

“Yes..” he answered.

“Great, I placed my number there and—oh before I forgot, if you tried to involve the police you best find yourself a new family ‘cuz I’ll end your current one, you know the drill,” she said as she prepared to leave nodding at him as she left the restaurant.

Valentin waited a few seconds before standing up. He threw one last glance at their target before exiting the restaurant. Certain the job was done right as he watched the crestfallen, harrowing expression of Michael, he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat and his hands shaking as he tries to eat his food.

Valentin walked back to their hiding spot and saw Arthur ripping off her wig and a hairnet before tousling her hair back to its original place.

Valentin squinted at her, taking mental note that she was actually not conventionally attractive... but aesthetically pleasing. Like a select or acquired taste, her features were very much oriental in nature. She has mild Asian features, but the color of his skin is throwing him off. He simply guessed she's either Malaysian, Thai, or Filipino. Her surname was another issue he didn't even dare to ponder.

Arthur beamed once she saw his large figure, "Valya! We got it, he’ll contact us soon enough,” she assured, and he nodded knowing full well that she’s right. She began to wipe her make-up away, “My disguise looks genuine enough, right?” she followed,

“mhmm, the wig looked real,” he answered, monotone,

“Oh yeah, of course, I have Inka to help me with that—I can’t color my hair like that,” she answered with a giggle before gesturing to Valya’s hair,

“How about that white part on the front of your hair? Is that like the genetic thing?” she followed,

“It’s called poliosis, and yes it’s genetic,”

“Cool~”

“Not really,”

“That’s your opinion and I reject it, it’s cool,”

“Do I really need to hear this childish bickering?” Inka suddenly called out, peeking out of the van with a deadpan expression.

Arthur, her face now bare of cosmetics, then waved her off with a chuckle, “Oh don’t be like that Ink, look we even got you… banana bread!” she announced, pausing to know the contents of the paper bag Valentin was holding, after taking it from him of course.

Inka rolled her as she nodded her head to the van, gesturing for them to come inside where she had Pierre and August's incomplete profiles. Pierre seems to be friends with the press. He has a distinct public reputation and presence that Valentin's never heard about since there was no way their paths could even diverge unless he was a target of his.

August, on the other hand, seems to lack in that aspect. The oldest known picture of her was her graduation photo, a photo of a meek-looking girl who looks too tired to proceed with her life and just barely finished graduating. Compared to Pierre who exudes the exact essence of a bachelor's spirit to take over the world and do great things.

"Now what?" Valentin asked as he sat down. Arthur raised a brow at him, her eyes widened with sudden realization.

"Oh right, your mother told me you're not good with waiting things out, right?" she pointed out, looking at Inka as they agreed with each other.

"Just how long did you talk with my mother? How much do you know?" Valentin asked, his brows furrowed making Arthur chuckle, waving him off not even answering him,

"Well, in any case, I don't really know how long we'll wait, but I guess we have time to fool around," she shrugged, pulling out her phone.

Now overcome with a new wave of boredom, Valentin slumped in his seat before leaving the van again, pulling out another stick of cigarette and debating whether he should see this through and wait or find something more interesting.

He doubts he'll find something more fun that has the same caliber as this situation but waiting around is not his strong point. He even thought of ways to speed things up.

He huffed as an idea crossed his mind, and he marched back to the van, peeking inside,

"Art," He called out, getting her attention.

"What's up, Valya?" she replied, not even looking at him, immersed in whatever she was doing on her phone.

"Come out here, just a second,"

"A'ight, a'ight," she mumbled as she got off her seat and out of the van.

Valentin gestured to her motorcycle.

"Let's speed things up a bit," he suggested, but it only made Arthur confused,

"What do you mean?" she asked, pocketing her phone,

"You know where he lives right, let's just send a hostage photo to the guy so he won't take his sweet time in there," Valentin cleared, making Arthur look at him in disbelief,

"Man... the guy's already scared sh*tless, he-he'll be back soon," she reasoned, seemingly not eager to actually hold the family hostage.

"Okay, then give me the address, I'll do it myself," he replied,

"What?! No! why?" Arthur exclaimed, shaking her head,

"I'm getting bored, let's pick up the pace, do something productive," Valentin forced, patting Arthur down to find her keys, unknowingly making her flustered as she swatted his hands away, she heard that Valentin either avoids human contact like the plague or is too close since he has no sense of personal space. He has no in-betweens.

"Valya! Damn it, fine!" she yelled as she shoved him off and hid her embarrassment, Arthur also knew that he's exceptionally tactless but seeing it first-hand gave her some depth of understanding of just how grave it was.

Arthur peeked into to van and signaled to Inka that she's heading out, to which the tall lady only nodded as she stuffed her mouth with the banana bread. She then stomped onto the motorcycle and threw the spare helmet to Valentin, a little stronger than she did earlier, before putting on hers and revving the engine.

Satisfied, Valya put on the helmet and assumed his spot behind her as they sped through highways once more. Michael’s house was far from the lab, or the city in that manner. It was in a more secluded area and it seemed like the typical quaint little town filled with picket fences and nice lawns. That being said, she parked in a less obvious spot, close enough to the address.

"Don't take off your helmet," Arthur instructed as she looked around the place after shutting the engine.

"Having second thoughts?" Valentin asked, but it sounded more like a dare,

"Yes, I didn't even plan this in the first place," she argued again, giving him a light headbutt, and it didn't really hurt since they were still both wearing helmets.

"We're already here, let's just do this," Valentin reasoned, tugging at his coat.

"Fine, you seem awfully happy to torment some souls," she spat, making him smirk but not giving a retort.

Arthur signaled him to take the front door as she headed to the back, picking the lock and entering as stealthy as she could but the moment she got in she was face-to-face with Patricia, aka. 'Patty'. Michael's wife. Arthur drew her gun, "hand and knees on the floor," she instructed.

Patricia trembled as she choked up, whimpering under gunpoint, slowly doing as she was told. Merely seconds later their daughter, Hazel, appeared "Mommy..." she called out in a whisper, it was a tone of a frightened kid. She seems to understand the situation because soon enough she was on the verge of tears.

Patricia looked at Arthur's covered face, tears already streaming down her face, "p-please...spare my girl.." she pleaded and it made her heart heavy seeing the expression, she won't be hurting them but it was never her intention to frighten them this much. She didn’t want to involve them as much as she could.

She was about to assure her that she was not here to kill them when from the corner of her eye she saw hazel's small figure thread to the front door, opening it in an attempt to flee but Valentin's tall, towering figure stopped her tracks.

"H-Hey—!" Arthur called out when Valentin reached out to grab the little girl but stopped midway when Valentin merely carried Hazel with one arm, walking in and closing the door behind him, the lock clicking in place.

He pulled the blinds down on the windows, his steps echoing a little as his tall figure and covered head made him appear more malevolent than he is.

"I need a phone," He announced, walking closer to Patricia, "Also you could take a seat on the couch, Mrs.Kinsley," he said, but it sounded more like an order than a suggestion.

Patricia looked at Arthur first, Arthur nodded and gestured to the couch to which Patricia sat cowering in fear, Valentin approached her and held out his hand it took Patricia a second before he knew he was asking for her phone, she fished it from her pocket and placed it on his hand.

"M-Mah... mommy~" Hazel was sniffling in Valentin's arms, making him look at Hazel's face,

"Kids are sure ugly and noisy," he noted, making Patricia whimper once again.

"Please..don't hurt her, she's just a child," she begged, afraid that the large man would be annoyed at Hazel to the point of 'silencing' her for good.

"I know, I can see," Valentin replied but still kept Hazel on his arm, carefully rocking her, she didn’t stop crying but it mellowed down a little, even Arthur was both surprised and confused by his actions, she expected a more crude approach to this ‘hostage taking’ from him.

Valentin then opened the phone and searched the contacts, smiling as he dialed the caller I.D of 'Hubby'. It took a couple of rings before the man on the line answered and Valentin spoke first, "Finally, here talk to your daddy," he said to Hazel and she barely managed to speak since her cries were louder.

Valentin then put the phone on speaker and, much like his daughter, the man on the other side was also crying, "Please... I'm begging you, I have it, I have what you need. I can give it to you now… please," he was sobbing as he pleaded.

Now even more satisfied Valentin's smile widened, "We'll go get it, also they're fine, good job Mr. Kinsley," he praised before ending the call, he then gave Hazel to Patricia but kept the phone and hid it in his coat pocket.

"I'll replace this when I could," he said before walking out, leaving Arthur stumped by what happened, but she recovered quickly enough to holster her gun and follow Valentin out. She's in a whirl of emotions at the moment that she didn't even speak to Valentin before and on their way back to the van's spot.

When they arrived, Arthur was already pent up and threw her helmet at him in a mix of anger and frustration. Valentin, having fast reflexes, caught it before taking off his helmet, revealing a confused face, "What's your problem?" he asked in a mocking tone, but Arthur merely ignored him as she went inside the van.

"What about the blueprints?" He asked, referring to the ones Michael will bring, but instead of Arthur, it was Inka who peeked out of the van, "She says go get it yourself," she said with a shrug before going back in the vehicle.

Sighing, Valentin placed the helmets on the seat of the motorcycle and pulled another stick of cigarette. He's smoked too much for the day but he felt irked enough to need one.

He knew she was unwilling to do that but he didn’t even hurt either of them, he even lulled the child. He’s clueless on the origins of Arthur’s irritation because he figured she’d prefer if they got results faster without actually hurting anyone.

Valentin puffed out clouds of smoke as he walked to the restaurant and saw Michael standing stiffly on the corner of the sidewalk, he whistled to get his attention and when he did, Valentin nodded in the direction of a back-alley.

Michael understood what he meant and followed Valentin there, once they stopped he lifted his tucked shirt and pulled a plastic folder out of them. There were multiple papers in the folder. Valentin held out his hand, Michael obediently handed the folder to him but it still left him uneasy.

"I-It's futile...No one was ever successful in breaking in,” Michael said,

Raising a brow, Valya replied, "that so?"

Gulping a lump in his throat, Michael nodded, "Yes, there are too many guards in the place and even the vents are routinely checked since Mr. Lovanné instructed us to increase security, only invited guests and visitors are allowed in the facility," he explained making Valentin furrow his brows.

"How do we become visitors?" he asked,

"You need to know some staff and attend their charity and sponsorship parties," Michael replied.

"When is that?" he asked again, not certain why their victim would be so willing to help but he'll take what he can get,

"..T-They have one tomorrow," the smaller man replied, making Valentin smirk to himself. He flipped through the contents of the plastic folder, it may still come in handy after all.

He looked up to meet Michael in the eyes, "Why are you telling me this, then? Ensuring your family's safety?" he asked and Michael nodded.

"They're safe and sound in your house, if you don't believe me you can go check, I suggest finding a new job," he said as he turned to leave, preparing to break the news that they can't infiltrate the Mariella Labs to Arthur.

'Really, how much harder will this mission be?'