Page 30 of Brutal Empire

Bas-0.

“We almost died,” she kept going, and I grinned. Now she really looked at me like I was demented.

“It’s part of the job,” I said. “You want to live by the sword, then you better be prepared to die by it too, babe.”

Her eyes flashed, but I didn’t know why.

“What exactly is the job?”

I didn’t answer her at first. Instead, I started to take out the contents of my bag. I had three different passports with three stacks of foreign currency. Some rope, a sleeping bag, a lighter, two hunting knives, three Glocks, and a small yellow vial that all Sekten members carried.

Tetrodotoxin.

It was potent, and just like everything else in this fucking organization, it was also a gamble. It could paralyze you and slow your heart down so drastically, making it appear as if you were dead. There was just a small window to come back from the brink of death. It was perfect if you were in enemy territory or wanted to fake your death. Other than that, I also had some changes of clothes.

I looked over at Cam, who was now taking out the contents of her bag.

Three passports. Cash according to each country but primarily dollars. Three tiny scalpels, three hunting knives, two Glocks, all the parts for a sniper, and a grenade. A small locket that I knew had a saw-like chain coiled inside, a few changes of clothes, and a small black tube to filter water.

“Why the fuck didn’t you throw that grenade when you came to get me?” I deadpanned. It would have saved us a whole lot of trouble.

“I didn’t want to accidentally kill you.” She said it like it was obvious.

One thing I learned was that I wasn’t easily killed. When dying wasn’t an issue, it gave you a level of strength that wasn’t needed. That’s why suicidal mercenaries were the deadliest of all. They didn’t care who they brought down because they would all go to hell together. Between us, we had enough weapons, ammo, and cash to fall off the grid for a few months.

“You prepare your bag, or did that cold bitch do it for you?”

Her olive skin darkened when she blushed.

“I wanted to be prepared.”

“You did very well,” I told her and then wanted to kick myself when her eyes went wide, and I swear to fucking God, she beamed with pride.

My chest tightened at her action, and I knew that if I let myself fall down this slippery slope, neither of us would recover.

She was a woman, but her mind was still maturing from the child she had been. To endure all she had and then have to be stuck back in civilization, she was exceptional. She struggled every day, but like hell if she let you know or asked for help. She had been to the brink of death many times, and I was sure she returned stronger each time.

Maybe people like us made the best soldiers. You saw enough shit, you knew that the world was not all black and white, and then you didn’t mind taking justice into your own hands. You didn’t have a government at your back telling you it was okay to govern on their behalf. Judgment came from your morals and sets of right or wrong.

“Daphne, Roman, Gideon, myself, and thousands more belong to a secret organization…”

She scrunched her nose and cut me off. “Like Assassin’s Creed?”

I bit my lip to stop my smile for two reasons. The first was that she wasn’t as meek around me anymore, and I felt my chest puff out at that realization. The second was a comparison to the game.

“You played video games?” I asked, intrigued if this was something she had enjoyed doing in her past life.

She cocked her head, and I instantly saw the confusion on her features.

“You know when you say a word, and you know it fits into the context, but you can’t explain how?” She turned to me, and when I nodded, she kept going. “That’s my life.”

Fuck.

I reached for the stuff on the bed and began to put them in my bag. She started to do the same.

“Leave the sleeping bag and your favorite weapon,” I instructed.

Once that was done, I sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. We would have to take turns being on guard and move out of this city as soon as possible. I felt the bed shift and knew she sat on the other edge.

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