The Billionaire's Assassin [COMPLETE]

File 16: Happy Birthday, Rex

Santa Barbara, California

2010

Never has Maya felt as over the moon as she did when Rex placed his lips on hers one last time before saying goodnight. Just thinking about it made her feet curl in her heels. A wave of euphoria washed over her as the memory repeated itself in her head, a smile indelible from her lips.

Unforgettable.

Magical.

Everything Maya never knew she wanted or needed until now.

“So, how’d the mission go?” a familiar voice asked.

Kenny Freyr sat at the dining table with an open book and a steaming mug when Maya entered. Walking passed the column wall separating the kitchen from the living room. She, Gabe, Jenna, and Kenny lived in the largest apartment space in the building with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a rec room, and a workout center. And yet, despite how spacious, there was never a moment of privacy with Kenny monitoring them.

Maya swallowed her excitement of the night, relaxing her features. “The mission went well. I’ve befriended Rex”--a hint of a smile whispered along her lips--“with an earlier success rate than expected. He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

She looked at Kenny for any hint of pride for her work as he languidly took a sip of his drink. Even after eleven years of working with each other, she still couldn’t grasp Kenny’s reactions to things. He’s usually the calm, supportive leader. Since they were little, she’d always looked up to him. Best in hand-to-hand combat. Best in weaponry. Best in toxicology. He was her role model for the perfect agent. So when he finally looked up from his book, his face impassive, her nerves froze.

“Was he disappointed when you said no?” he asked, his piercing eyes making her quiver.

She straightened herself tensely. “Um, I haven’t given him an answer yet. Don’t you want me to be his girlfriend? To stay close to him?”

Kenny leaned on the table, scratching the stubbles on his chin with a relaxed pose. “I’m putting Jenna back on assignment for Rex.”

Maya blinked at the order, hoping she’d heard him incorrectly. The happiness she’d just basked in was slowly shattering around her feet, feeling her grow weak in the knees. “What do you mean? He...he doesn’t like her...like that.”

Taking an abrasive breath through his nose, he held it for a second before expelling it with his dispute. “Maya, you are one of the best operatives I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I’ve seen you’ve grown into an amazing agent.” His eyes darkened, jolting her with shame. “But I think you’re letting your emotions get the better of you when it comes to Rex. He is the targets son. When the mission is done, we’ll move on. He will be nothing, you understand?”

Begrudgingly, Maya nodded. “I can see this through, Kenny. I’ve gotten far with Rex and, frankly, I think it’d be stupid to try to sway him into liking Jenna again when she’s already failed.”

“Do you like him?”

“He is a likable person once you’ve gotten to know him, sir. Rough around the edges and has--”

Banging the wooden dining table had Maya jumping in fright, Kenny gritting his teeth with his fist still held to the table. “Are you falling for this kid?”

Clutching the hem of her skirt, she shook her head, staring her commanding officer dead in the eyes. “No, sir. I’m just his friend, nothing more.” The rims of her eyes burned with tears before forcing them down. “I’m focused on the mission at hand.”

Kenny nodded, standing from his seat. The muscles in his exposed arms loosened as he rewarded her with a sweet smile that would usually calm her nerves. Tonight, it only heightened her tension. “Glad to hear. This boy has a bad reputation and I don’t want to see you getting hurt.” He approached her, his heated hands rubbing the length of her arms comfortingly. “Keep your mind trained on the target. Phase One will be commencing soon, so be ready.”

Delicately, he drew her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. Normally, Maya never took his touches to mean anything out of the ordinary but she could feel him becoming more apprehensive by the days. A lingering stare here. A caress of her hand there. Now a kiss that lasted longer than usual and maybe even meant more than just goodnight.

He finally stepped away, patting her shoulders. “We’ll speak more about it in the morning. Goodnight, Maya.”

“Goodnight, Kenny.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

March 13th. Rex’s birthday and Maya found herself on the rooftop of a warehouse overwatching a collection of Micky’s valuable intel meeting including Rex’s Uncle, Leo. When he should be at Rex’s party. Word had come through that Micky would be arriving to converge with all his intel in one setting. The perfect time to take Micky out. She watched alongside Gabe and Jenna, taking note of each person that entered.

“Micky had more intel than we thought,” Gabe observed, watching the dark cars park quite a distance. There was a hand full of cops, a few familiar politicians, men in business suits, and local thugs dressed prim and proper for their meeting. “But why gather them all in one place?”

“What do you think about this, Jenna?” Maya asked her, gesturing towards an older woman sashaying up to the warehouse.

Jenna ignored her, staring through her binoculars. For days now, ignoring every statement from Maya had become a priority for Jenna which was getting on Maya’s nerves. She wondered if it was because of the rumors at school that Rex was dating someone, someone like Maya. Although she hadn’t accepted his offer, he made sure to spread the word.

Maya adjusted her earpiece, sighing. “Jenna, you know they’re only rumors, right?”

Rapidly, Jenna sat up and glared at Maya, silencing her. “No, it’s not. I heard you the other night tell Kenny that Rex asked you to be his girlfriend.”

The color in Maya’s face drained, trembling at her best friends hurtful stare. “Jenna--”

“And then to make matters worse, you stated, ‘it’d be stupid to try to sway him into liking Jenna again when she’s already failed.’ I told Kenny that you might start liking Rex like I did, so you wouldn’t get hurt, then you say that crap?!”

Gabe intervened, looking over his shoulder at them. “Girls, this isn’t exactly the time or place to be doing this. So could you please…”

Static came through their earpieces, each of them adjusting them to hear Kenny on the other end. “Do you know how many have joined the meeting?” he asked.

Gabe answered, eyeing his notes. “I’ve counted thirty-two people attending.”

“Have you spotted Micky?”

This time Maya answered, pressing her earpiece closer to speak through. “There’s been no sign of him through any entrances.” The static crackled again, making them each wince at the high pitched sound.

“Keep your eyes peeled. He should be showing up any minute.”

“Was there any information about flight plans in his name?” Jenna asked on her end, finally turning back to the warehouse. She began unlocking her briefcase, taking out the pieces to assemble a sniper rifle while he spoke.

“...being him...know…”

“Kenny? Kenny, you’re breaking up.” The static cut through the ears, making Jenna curse, snatching the earpiece out and stuffing it in her pocket. She went back to assembling the rifle disorderly. “Damn thing won’t act right.”

“Let me--”

Jenna slapped her hand away before she could touch the rifle to help. “No, thanks.”

With that, Maya defeatedly inches away from Jenna and took a seat by Gabe’s side. He was expertly taking note of each of the members, scrolling through his phone with facial recognition and jotting down names.

“Micky had been very busy,” Gabe scoffed, half in disbelief and half impressed. “And there’s no telling if this is all of them.”

Wrapping her arms around her legs, the night air crisp against the sliver of neck expose from her black turtleneck. She watched Gabe at work, taking notes while Jenna pieced together the rifle. With her binoculars, she watched Leo through the window keeping his distance from the chattering group. His expression conveyed that he’d rather be anywhere else but there, with the group only having one thing connecting them: Micky. They seemed to be getting disgruntled, a lady motioning towards her wrist before yelling across the crowded room.

Why aren’t you are Rex’s party, Leo? Maya thought to herself.

A part of her wanted to be at his party too but the other half, knowing her answer for his previous question, wanted to keep her distance. Thinking it over, she’d come to the conclusion that Kenny was right. Her emotions were getting the better of her when it came to Rex. And the best thing for the mission would be for them to remain friends. But she hated the thought of ruining his birthday. Maybe it was the best to be on lookout tonight.

As though he could read her thoughts, “You should head to Rex’s party,” Gabe stated.

“What?”

He continued to scribble down notes. “Go to Rex’s party. One of us needs to be there since even his Uncle Leo ditched him for this meeting.” Maya hesitated for a moment, Gabe looking over his shoulder at her, quieting his voice. “If this goes well, this might be the last time you’ll get to see him. Don’t squander the offer.”

Maya opened her mouth before a loud crackle of static hit their ears. “Ow!”

Slowly a voice murmured in the background, both of them listening closely as it became louder. Something was different. Kenny’s voice was deep and broad while this voice, while also deep, was more whimsical and raspy. “...I see someone’s been snooping…” Maya and Gabe’s eyes caught each other with the same thought. Was this Micky? “Give the Red River Agency all my best wishes for the future. Oh, and stay for the bonfire.”

A cosmic explosion tore through the warehouse below, knocking all three of them back from the blazing heat. Shards of debris and glass clattered towards them as they rolled down the edge of the slanted roof.

“Aaahh!”

Maya caught herself, looking over her shoulder to see Jenna clinging to the edge of the rooftop. Gabe held on above her, all his notes sliding down the roof and to the ground below. Carefully, Maya squirmed downwards until she found Jenna, freeing a hand to reach for her. “Grab on!” Jenna’s fingers interlocked with Maya’s, mustering all her strength to pull Jenna up while the blazing heat of neighboring flames tickled her knuckles. “Come on!” With one hefty yank, Maya pulled Jenna back onto the roof, trying to catch their breaths.

“Th...thank you,” Jenna panted, still holding her hand.

“Of course.”

Once they all found their balance, they watched at roaring flames engulfed the neighboring warehouse without mercy. The insides of Maya’s stomach soured at the sight, feeling the broiling of nausea and hot tears rolling through. “Leo…”

Gabe caught her attention, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Maya, take the car and go to Rex. Check if Micky is there and…” He bit his lip, eyes dragging along the fiery scene eating its way through cement, tin, and glass. He couldn’t finish but Maya knew his mind trailed to Rex’s beloved Uncle Leo. Without question, Maya nodded and carefully maneuvered herself to the edge of the building, catching the fire escape before sliding down.

Tears already rolled down her cheeks as she drove to Rex’s mansion where shimmering light complimented the darkened horizon. Swarms of cars hoarded the outside of his house while music rattled the windows, the lyrics clear as day outside. Maya quickly parked, grabbed her bag from the back to change into, and dried her eyes before entering.

“There she is!” Rex exclaimed the moment he caught her entering in a sleeveless yellow dress. She sniffed away the remainder of her tears. Once closer, he drew her into his arms and she allowed herself to settle into his embrace. He smelt of beer and citrus. She smelt of sweet mint and “...have you been smoking?”

She choked on what could have been a mix of laughter and grief. “No, I just…”

Rex pulled away, looking down at her. His fingers played with the coils of her hair delicately, slowly growing worried. “Maya, is something wrong?”

Quickly, she shook her head, wrapping her arms around him. “I just couldn’t wait to see you.”

He held her tighter, a sudden rush of relief hitting him. “That means you bare good news, right? Like answering a certain question I’ve been aching to hear. Unless it’s a no…”

She looked up at him, reach up to run her fingers along his jaw. She forced a smile that tore her to pieces. “Happy birthday, Rex. And yes, I want to be your girlfriend.” I can’t disappoint him. When he hears the news, he’ll need all the support he can get. When he dipped down to kiss her lips, she felt the swelling of grief hit her, a single tear sliding down her cheek. I’m so sorry. But I’ll protect you in his place from now on. I promise.