Downswing Read online

  "Then I will join you as well, Emilia." Silas inclined his head to me as if bestowing a great favor and I smiled, holding back my laughter at his haughty demeanor.

  "Hey bitch, before you go signing us up for shit, shouldn't you know who it is we're working for?" Cin snarled angrily at Silas, which earned him another slap across the back of the head.

  "I did not say you needed to come along, imbécile." Silas said in a smooth voice, sneering down at Cin. The handsome black man snarled up at Silas but didn't move an inch from his side.

  Aw, they’re so warm and fuzzy.

  "All I'm saying is that, none of us really know Fox lady over there. We spent a fucking week with her, that's not shit. And you heard her, we don't owe her anything. Why are you so eager to jump in with someone we have no intel about?" Cin scoffed, glaring at me.

  Both Kamili and Ludo inhaled to start yelling, but Roy's quiet voice shut them up quickly.

  "Because she is your best option." He laughed suddenly, the sound utterly devoid of any mirth, and stood up swiftly.

  "Look at you! You're a bunch of criminals. Most of you were born in and have lived your lives in the worst parts of the criminal underworld. You are rebels, thieves, murderers. Do you want to go back to your families and fellow criminals who sold you out already? Or do you want to join up with a woman who will do anything to protect those she calls her friends?" Roy put his hands to his head for a moment, breathing heavy.

  Dropping his hands, Roy turned to me, torment stamped across his face.

  "And you will do anything, won't you? No matter what it costs you."

  I looked at Roy without blinking, my heart beating wildly. I didn't let a single emotion show on my face, but looking at Roy's expression, his anguished eyes, I felt a sliver of a memory bubble up and I froze.

  Eyes the color of fresh spring grass gazed at me, shimmering with tears. A gentle hand embraced mine and squeezed tight.

  "I'm going to be fine, Foxy. This nice man is going to take care of me, so you don't have to protect me anymore. It's my turn to protect you. I'll never forget what you did for me, never. But please, for your sake, please forget. Don't you dare tell a single soul. Live a normal life, and never look back." A sob followed the beautiful words.

  "I love you, Foxy. I'll see you again someday. I promise."

  The ice cubes in my glass clinked as my hand shook. I hurriedly calmed my shaking, and evened my breaths, though sorrow filled my mind and all I wanted to do was scream. My face never cracked from its emotionless mask, and I gave a sigh to cover up any discomfort that had leaked out.

  "So dramatic, Roy. I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve, but thanks.” I forced a smile that never reached my eyes, and Roy looked down with an embarrassed expression, sitting back down quietly.

  "Indeed, quite the outburst, but well put, I thought." Jane nodded decisively, then turned her attention to Masamune. "What about you, Jap? You were the first one to say before you were joining up with Emilia out of a sense of duty. Is that still your decision?"

  Masamune sat on the windowsill silently for a few more moments, his gaze still on me. He finally heaved a sigh, and for the first time took those intense dark eyes off me and looked to the ground. He then turned his head to Jane, his lips curled in a half smile.

  "I am a proud Japanese man, Smith-san. I do not rescind my words from earlier. I will join this little army of misfits."

  "Splendid! Then I will-"

  "Though," Masamune interrupted, tilting his head to me. "I do have one question for Kitsune-san."

  "Who is Keet-Su-Nay-San?" Kamili whispered loudly to Roy. He snorted, covering his mouth to hide his laughter.

  "It means 'fox' in my language, gaki." Masamune rolled his eyes at Kamili. "Ah, and gaki means 'brat'. Remember it well since that is all I will address you by."

  "Asshole." Kamili muttered, earning a swift admonishment from Roy.

  "Ask your question, Jap, so we can move on to working out the technical parts of this arrangement." Jane motioned with her hand impatiently, her voice beginning to darken, much to my enjoyment.

  "Of course." Masamune inclined his head in her direction. "My question for you, Kitsune-san." Masamune's eyes met mine, and I was caught in his intense stare.

  "How many guard's throats did you slice open at Korol's compound before escaping?"

  Silence fell over the room. All heads turned to me, and I sat motionless, my eyes locking onto Masamune’s knowing gaze. The tension in the room escalated swiftly and became so tangible that one could slice it with a knife.

  Ha… Slice it with a knife. Irony.

  Nervous laughter came from Kiernan, the first to break the silence. "Och, Jap, that's crazy. Emilia was busy running through the woods, she couldn't-"

  "When you emerged from the trees, Kitsune-san, you had leaves clutched in your hands at first. They looked to be wet, and when you took notice of us, you threw them away very quickly. I could see the difference in color of those leaves you were clutching. They weren't green, they were stained dark red."

  Masamune's sneer turned into a full-fledged smile.

  "That and the fact there were no guards waiting for us at the road, where I know at least ten were previously stationed. What happened to them? Even if Jane had been the one to slice the guards at the house, there was no time for her or anyone else in our group to take out those sentries by the road. So…" Masamune paused, raising a brow to me.

  "Where on earth did they go?"

  Silence fell on the group again, everyone's attention slowly coming back to me. Kiernan was quiet now, along with the children, who were both starting to look at me with the smallest hints of suspicion. I sat still for a few more moments, watching the uncomfortable atmosphere slowly build inside the large room.

  That serpent inside of me that had fully awakened slithered around once again, this time in sick, elated glee as it took over my movements. I felt a smile curl my lips slowly, and I began to chuckle, the scratchy, unpleasant sound spilling forth from me helplessly. I felt Viktor take a step back behind me, and the pain I felt at his retreat was quickly blanketed with that dark, slithering, sick elation. I brought my whiskey to my lips, draining the glass dry as I swallowed the rest of it with a flourish.

  "Well, I suppose the cat's out of the bag now." I sighed, soaking in everyone's shocked looks at my transformation. My face was screwed up into a crazed smile, and I knew my eyes were dead and cold as I unfurled my body form the chair, standing up fully.

  "I slit those guards’ throats on the first floor before I set the fire. It wasn't easy, but thank goodness some of them were still conscious enough to radio in to their friends outside. Otherwise I would've been a little more crunched for time. You'd be surprised at how eager some of them were to radio false reports to their men about me already having escaped. Why do you think there were hardly any men outside when you left? They were already looking for me in the woods to the West." I sighed, giving a mocking shake of my head before continuing in a voice that was so silky, it seemed to gently stroke the tension and wind it up more, slow inch by slow inch.

  "The guards at the border were a bit easier. I won't go into too much detail since there are young ears here. Let's just say it was easy to round up ten idiotic, sadistic men who liked to watch a half-naked woman screaming for help. Sadists are so easy to manipulate. Show a little leg, shed a tear or two, and they just gather right up for you. It was almost laughable at how fast they went down. With a little help from a friendly sniper for the first five of them, the rest were a piece of cake."

  I tilted my head to Masamune, whose face was now a stoic mask, and shrugged my shoulders once again.

  "To answer your question, my very observant friend, you are absolutely correct. I took the lives of twenty people this morning without a second thought, and now stand before you, proud as can be. If that changes your mind about forming an alliance with me, please do not hesitate to make other arrangements."

  Having finish
ed, I sat back down, and let my face slide back into the impassive mask I was now used to donning. The room was so silent, I could hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears.

  "One final question, Kitsune-san." Masamune again met me stare for stare as he addressed me in a quiet voice.

  "Where was Sergei during all of this?"

  I smiled at the question and answered him back in the same quiet voice.

  "Oh, he was quite the funny one. All bark, no bite. I personally made sure he had just the right amount of Rohypnol to incapacitate him but not enough to fully knock him out. We shared a few drinks together, he and I, over dinner, during which he felt the need to incessantly drone on about how happy he was to see what Korol had done to me." I casually leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs.

  "Ah, that was when most of the other guards were starting to feel the drug’s effect on the first floor. So, I lured them to me under the guise of being the scared, confused woman, who just wanted to help. When they were all nice and docile, I made Sergei watch as I persuaded a few of his comrades to radio out to their counterparts outside. Once they all passed out, I slit their throats slowly, one… by… one. With Sergei watching the entire time." I smiled, shrugging my shoulders.

  "I did leave him alive, though. I figured breaking him enough to go crying back to Korol about me would be the best course of action. Plus, that means one of you loves can have the honor of taking his life. Aren't I just a doll?"

  Shocked silence once again met my response, and I merely laced my fingers together in front of me, smiling a serene smile.

  Masamune suddenly nodded, standing. He walked forward, and I kept my impassive mask on, though my throat burned from the urge to break down and cry. Ruthlessly stamping down the shock and horror of my actions, and the revealing of them to the people in front of me, I simply sat, silent in my shame that I refused to show.

  The tall, sharply handsome Japanese man surprised me as he stopped in front of the liquor cabinet. He grabbed a bottle with Japanese writing on it, poured two cups full of the liquid, then walked back to me. Kneeling in front of my chair, he sat in what was called seza position, and extended one of the cups to me.

  "It is customary within the Yakuza to exchange cups of sake when binding a business deal. So, I, Masamune Onodera, disgraced fourth head of the Onodera gumi, do pledge my sword to you, to use how you see fit. You have my loyalty, Oneesan."

  After calling me the respected title, Masamune brought the cup of sake to his lips, and lifted his eyebrow at me, indicating I should do the same. My jaw fell to my chest, and all I could do is stare at him. Shaking myself from my astonishment, I brought the cup slowly to my lips. He gave an encouraging nod, winking at me over the rim of the cup, and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.

  We both drank the glass in one pull and let out a satisfied sound at the end.

  "Yeah, all right. Suits me fine." Cin said, bowing his head to me.

  "U-um, I-" I stuttered, completely taken aback.

  A warm hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up at Viktor towering over me. Though his face was in its naturally stoic state, I saw his eyes soften the slightest. The sound of a throat clearing had me looking to Fritz, who was smiling at me for the first time.

  "I think everyone needed to hear that, Emilia Fox."

  "Yeah, missy, what Fritzy says." Kiernan raised his glass once again to me, and though he earned a growl from Fritz, the Irishman went on unrepentantly. "I don't know if it's the same for everyone here, but I'm sick and tired of doing all the dirty work while me boss sits on his ass and rakes in me hard earned money. In the underworld, luvie, yer the best boss a man could ask for."

  "Po,” Jazzy said, agreeing with the Albanian word for ‘yes’. “I feel much better about joining forces with you." With a broad smile and loud laugh, Jazz kicked her feet in the air like a little girl. "I'm so happy right now I could just build a bomb! A big, big bomb!"

  I looked around the room and was met with smiles of relief, happiness, and excitement. The shock inside of me that I was trying so hard to suppress started to well back up, and I struggled to keep my breathing even.

  These people are all fucking psycho. I killed people. What the fuck are they so happy for?

  Even as the thought crossed my mind, the memory of a pair of shimmering emerald eyes rose to the forefront of my thoughts once again. I felt the shock inside of me quiet, if only a little bit. I knew that sometimes the line between right and wrong was blurred for even normal people, and the people that I had just agreed to lead against a major mafia superpower were so far from normal, that line for them was nothing more than a fairytale. They lived their lives outside of the law and had, had to fight tooth and nail for every shred of happiness and security in their lives. Of course they equated my murderous actions to strength and leadership. That was all they knew.

  Are you really any different?

  That disgusting serpent inside me spoke, sneering the words inside my head. And I could find no reason to deny it any longer. I was one of them, had always been, and my actions that morning had just been a refresher course in how to get back to who I was truly meant to be.

  A sick fuck who doesn’t deserve the loyalty of a rat, let alone these beautiful but broken people.

  I had a cold, distant smile pasted on my face again as the people around me celebrated, welcoming the future that lay within our grasp. The only ones without a smile were Jane, Roy, and Viktor. I felt their eyes on me, clearly waiting for the crack in my stoic mask to come.

  Show no weakness.

  "So!" Jane's voice rose after a moment, silencing everyone in the room, and bringing them all back into sitting positions. "It's decided, then. Just to be clear though, mates, we're in this for the long haul. We need to make you into a legend, and legends weren't born in a day. You need to get out of this country, lay low for at least a year to form a plan and build your organization, then we can talk about going after Korol.”

  Jane paused, clearly expecting protests. We all just stared at her, most of us shrugging. She looked a bit put out at that but went on cheerfully anyway.

  “There is a good piece of news I received this morning from my spies inside the other Russian mafia septs. Most of the Pakhans were beginning to find out about Emilia's existence, even if they didn't yet know her name. They will know she escaped, and the tale of Korol's runaway woman will spread. There are already rival groups that have been seeking a way to bring Korol down, and we can use them to our advantage. They won't think twice about allying with the one person who has managed to not only be intimate with Korol, escape from his grasp, and live to tell the tale… but also managed to form a mutiny and take out his country house in the process."

  Everyone around the room voiced their agreement and consent, and Jane went on.

  "Now, we also have a little bit of an advantage in that one of the Pakhans has already agreed to not help Korol. He runs a small, relatively unknown group to the outside world. In the mafia underworld, however, the group is respected and feared on a global scale, enough so that they are only spoken of in hushed tones. They are called Father of Assassins. They don't deal with drugs or the sex trade, they mostly run illegal weapons for profit, but it's not their main source of income. They breed and train such talented and precise assassins and mercenaries that they are hired by government Intelligence agencies and mafia groups alike."

  Jane looked to me with a hesitant expression, while I felt Viktor stiffen behind me.

  "Um, the next bit of information is extremely classified. As in, only five people knew about it and two of them were the directors of MI6 and the CIA." Jane cleared her throat, and again glanced at me, this time with almost a distinct look of guilt.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  Oh, what now?

  "One year ago, when Emilia Fox went missing, an operative from the CIA made a special request to go undercover and infiltrate the Father of Assassins. A mission both MI6 and the CIA have been attempting- and failing-
for years. It was attempted three separate times in the recent past, and no operatives from those missions were ever seen again. This single CIA operative was granted permission, though it was considered a suicide mission. Both MI6 and the CIA told the operative that if their identity was discovered by Father of Assassins, we would deny all responsibility and offer their life as a peace offering."

  Jane paused, taking a long pull from the red wine she was drinking.

  "Ah, so this operative, being the fucking idiot they are, agreed to the terms. They flew to Russia, walked right up to the head of the Father of Assassins, told him exactly who they are, why they were there, and asked him for his assistance in locating Korol… and Emilia."

  "WHAT?!"

  Shocked yells came from around the room, and even Viktor made a noise of surprise from behind me. I looked to him, and his face was slack in mild shock.

  "Viktor, are they that intimidating? I think Zakhar only mentioned them once, and he wouldn't talk about it." I asked, confused.

  Viktor nodded his head. "The current Pakhan of that group is Leonid Sokolov and he is… frightening."

  "If D'yavol says that, he's gotta’ be pretty tough." Though he tried to keep a straight face, Cin's lips curled in excitement, and a gleam crept into his eyes. A swift smack to the back of his head followed his observation.

  "Non, you may not pick a fight with this Leonid." Silas drawled, rolling his eyes. Cin turned to glower at him, rubbing the back of his head, muttering insults that Silas promptly ignored.

  "I have met with him numerous times. He is massive and extremely intimidating. I have seen quite a few grown men wet themselves just with a look from Sokolov. And his looks are the least frightening thing about him." Viktor said this all matter-of-factly, and I gulped, trying to imagine the man.

  I'm getting… Russian Abominable Snowman.

  I couldn't help a slightly hysterical laugh from bubbling forth. Viktor glowered at me and I tried to sober, though my lips kept twitching.

  "I'm sorry, go on."

  "I knew his father." The rumbling voice came from Fritz, and we all turned to him in surprise.