Page 4 of Ruined

Damon scowled at me, but looked over to where Reuben sat watching us while chewing on toast. "You're not going to believe this, boss."

Reuben lowered his toast. "You'd be surprised what I might believe."

Damon shrugged one shoulder to concede the point. "This might be an exception. The Sparrow is active again."

My heart skipped a beat. I'd expected this conversation. Anticipated it. I was ready with my mask in place.

Sweat still broke out on my hands.

Reuben placed his toast back on his plate. "I believe you, but you're right, I'm not surprised. Just like that?"

"Just like that," Damon agreed. "The notification popped up on my phone sometime in the middle of the night. I've spent the last hour confirming that it's legit. As far as anyone can tell, it is. The Sparrow is operating again."

"Cool," Gianni said around a mouthful of cereal. "Maybe I can meet them this time."

Damon looked over at me, slightly smug. "The Sparrow is?—"

"An assassin," I interrupted. Clearly he'd expected I wouldn't know that. "I've heard of them from before."

"Not just any assassin," Gianni said. "One of the best. They could get in anywhere, anytime. If anyone could get in here and take out Reuben, it would be them."

Reuben arched an eyebrow. "You might be overstating slightly. However, that's reasonably accurate. The Sparrow had impressive skills." He turned to Damon. "Is there any chance it's someone else stepping into the role?"

Damon placed his phone down on the kitchen island and poured himself a coffee.

"After all this time? Why now? It's been years. If someone was going to take on their persona, wouldn't they have done it by now?"

"They might have been honing their skills," Gianni suggested. "It would take a lot of work and practice to be that good."

"I'm still not convinced it's one person." Damon leaned back against the kitchen counter top, his long fingers curled around his mug.

"What makes you think that?" I asked. "Maybe they were just that good." I was, apart from that one major fuck up, but I was interested in his theory.

"It would take more than one person to break in here," he reasoned. "They couldn't just walk through the door."

I'd done exactly that, because they brought me here after they found me in Kurt's basement. Of course, that wasn't what he meant, but still. Knowing how wrong he was gave me a certain, possibly petty, satisfaction.

"Some people suggested the Sparrow was dead," Gianni said, but his tone was dismissive. Clearly he didn't think so. "If that's the case, maybe one died and it took this long to find someone else good enough."

"You don't believe that," I said. "What do you think happened?" How well had Kurt and my father covered my mistake? Well enough to avoid rumours?

Gianni shrugged. "They could have gone on a really long holiday."

"It's possible their cover was compromised," Reuben said. "Or they thought it was going to be. They might have thought it wise to step back and let things blow over. And now, apparently, they have."

Damon was watching me intently over his coffee mug. "What do you think happened?"

I tapped the tip of my finger on the table top and frowned while I thought. "If I was an assassin, why would I disappear for years?"

"You don't have to—" Gianni started.

"It's okay." I couldn't avoid talking about it forever. "Kurt ran when he was found out, before you could get to him. It's possible that happened to the Sparrow too. They thought someone was coming after them. Or maybe someone turned on them. Forced them to hide out. Or they made a mistake."

I tried not to look as if I was searching for information in their responses. Some sign of what they knew, or thought they knew.

"This is all conjecture," Reuben said. "Whatever the reason, they're active and we can make use of them. If anyone can find Kurt, it's the Sparrow. I prefer he be found alive, but if that isn't possible, dead will have to do." He nodded to Damon, who picked up his phone and tapped on the screen.

"I've sent the message," Damon said after a minute or two. He lowered his phone back down again. "I'll let you know when I hear back."

---