POSITIONS

4

It was our first mission of the day.

Vamos was visiting a grand evening auction, where animal parts were being sold. The elite had money playing around in every part of their life. When we plucked shells and went to beaches, they did business deals with beach resorts. They slept and played with money all day, even to notice that when they die, they don't go with all of this wealth.

We were going to leave on a bus.

Vamos had his private car, a large limo, extended like a blanket that carried his driver, namely Mr Kuriakose, and a lady, who I was yet to introduce.

On the way, I met all the partners of my team.

A decent age group of twenties and thirties intermingled making it a decent group of arguments. We had one sixties man, Mr Nemo who dyed his hair consistently to not show his age, yet get taunts for his name.

Denver was the smartest one, who kept cracking jokes and enlightening the silence. We had Tony and Sam, who were so gay for each other, they didn't notice anything happening around. The only women in the group were Hazel and me, which gave me more confirmation of why Hazel was lost. She was staring at blank space throughout the journey, though she sat alongside me.

Khaif, a guy who looked like my brother, kept chit-chatting with me but I barely managed the conversation.

Everybody was welcoming enough, except for one guy.

Jason sat at the back, two seats behind, but the minute I was introduced, his features tightened and he didn't give any source of acknowledgment.

Provided, he smirked and averted his gaze.

Even when James distributed some bread for us, and I added some help, he stared at me like I was feeding him poison.

He looked at me like he knew something.

And I stared back like I didn't care

If Jason was going to be Donald Trump.

I better be Kamala Harris and kick his ass.

The auction was lit in a dark lighting in a large architectural beauty. Lights were surrounding the entrance and a flight of stairs. As Vamos got out and a hand extended to bring out the gorgeous woman whose pale green eyes and emerald dress glittered, I shifted closely to James and got into duty mode.

Guns equipped, an extra pen knife, a pen, and a pin.

I had my stuff on.

We moved in lines, following Vamos and his woman, while the driver left with the limo.

As we reached inside, I saw a splendor of posh tables, designed with mouth-watering food, chandeliers of gold and silver lining the ceiling, and red blinds of curtains enveloping the surroundings. Portraits hung on either wall, and a stage lay lit with many items, marked with golden numbers. People dressed in tuxedos, gowns, and exquisite jewelry marked their entrances, having classic conversations about how much money was at stake.

James aligned Denver, Tony, and Sam on one group to the left. Hazel, Jason, and I were handed the right, whereas James, Khaif, and Mr Nemo were going up front.

The right gave us a good view of the stage.

If Vamos was in trouble, then we could easily shoot the person down alright. We also had a clear viewpoint of who could be the suspects as well. Pretty clear we had a good area of vision, I settled down to enjoy some cool desserts and drinks at the nearest table,

There were drunk cocktails and alcohol, but I didn't touch them. My skin soared at the table of vanilla cupcakes, vanilla pastries, and more vanilla.

Jesus Christ.

Calling upon the lord would be the wrong timing, but I instantly felt the urge to gush some of it down and make a vanilla mess. King used to buy me a platter of desserts when I came home, after tiring and exhausting missions.

It was funny how more he knew about my tastes than me, myself.

"Those cakes are..."

"Focus, Vivian"

Jason's hard octave voice cut through, crawling irritation into my veins.

"How dare you?"

His lips concentrated near my ear, "I would prefer shooting someone else to Vamos's suspect"

I side-eyed him, "Someone with green eyes would be my choice"

He gritted. "Vamos would know your the one"

"Who would know?"

He groaned again as Hazel put her head into the same line, and chuckled, "I would love some gossip myself"

"Nothing of value, Haz"

"Don't call me that", she bit back and resorted to silence.

The auction's music came beaming into our eardrums, as we held a silent testimony to men in a wardrobe worth five digits, seated on lush leather seats, bargaining for random animal pieces; an elephant's tooth, a bull's horn, rhino nails (if such a thing existed) and a deer's skin.

People were pushing their hands up and down, going with the flow of numbers. Some locked on twenty-four thousand dollars, while others went up to a hundred and thousand.

Nobody wanted to win such stuff, except to display what ego and power meant in the world of the rich and powerful. Someone who bought the elephant's tooth received awes and gasps for the wealth he put into it, not about hanging it on the corner of his room.

"Aren't those real?", Hazel loaded her gun and placed it back on the holster. Her tiny gestures reminded me of a sister I could never have.

"Yes"

Jason sighed, "Killing animals isn't worth any of this"

"Everybody knows that"

"Why are you here?"

I wanted to beat his ass already, but a rush into things would mean defeat in the long run.

"Why does it matter?"

"Eva was murdered and you're here. Funny"

Hazel twitched and resided into silence.

"Murdered? That's the newest information I got here, like the sharpness of the tip of your tongue."

"My tongue is as sharp as a kick axe"

"Kick ass...", I hissed discomfort and switched my face to Hazel. She looked purple and hurt.

Frustrated at a memory she badly wanted to dismiss.

I wanted to apologise but felt denied to.

My eyes ran over the auction that was being mediated by a gorgeous lady in a black swan dress. She composed of grace and splendour and seemed gratified on her job. Moving around like a peacock, her swan feathers were glistening in the dimwit lighting and a sense of glory shined upon her light shadow makeup.

For a second, her gaze held mine.

And fluttered to Vamos.

Hmm.

He sat on a seat at the front, hands on each pocket, one leg over other, in an ironed glistening diamond tuxedo. The money he spent on the tuxedo would equal to my prize amount for five missions, yet his eyes kept running from the auction items to.....me.

I felt it a disconnect.

How his eyes swarmed around the items one by one, how nonchalant and blank he looked.

The others had a keen emotion of ego, arrogance and violence gushing as they raised the price to an infinite amount, and won the battle. Vamos didn't play the battle. He stood and watched it.

Like a fox.

I felt him exchange glances with our direction, sometimes leading onto me.

Smirks and grimaces revolved around my face.

He needed to know I wasn't appalled by any of it.

"When does this end?", Jason groaned.

Hazel clicked her tongue, "In thirty seconds"

That was such a luck shot.

Her lips murmured the numbers like the tick tock of a clock.

And I held my breath, as Vamos's gaze stayed still on me.

He held it, strong and fierce, like he wanted to play a staring game.

I didn't back down.

My body was still, one hand on the gun, another on my waist, bodyguard position, stand at ease and all firm and poise.

But I wasn't going to let someone scare me.

Not on my first day, neither on my last.

I held his gaze, an expressionless countenance offering him no signs of my plan.

Like most men, he doubted my presence here.

Like Jason, he too would have an eye on me.

Otherwise, Vamos was nothing like the media or world perceived.

He was a jerk who made it to the top, all by luck.

But the look of him didn't give me that impression.

"One"

"THANK YOU EVERYONE! THE AUCTION HAS COME TO A FABULOUS END WITH MORE THAN..."

The voice died as Hazel's lips closed and a grin walked in. Jason nodded, with pride.

Fucking hell.

I underestimated her.

Time control.

One of the most difficult trait to possess.

And she had it.

My roommate.

That one friend and trump card into Vamos's heart.

Hazel would pave the way for me.