⚠️VIOLENCE AND SOME SWEARING⚠️

I pulled the trigger.

Almost immediately am I scolded by Valentina.

“You weren’t supposed to kill her! The mission was to bring her in alive!”

I stare at the woman sprawled out on the concrete. I wait for the guilt to hit, or the fear to kick in. It doesn’t.

“You told me I had the ‘all clear!’” I counter.

“To capture! Not kill- Ugh!” she practically falls onto the bench pressing her hand to her forehead, gun in hand. “We are so very fired.”

I look back down to the blood pooling around her body and take a cautious step back. Juliet Quinn. I tilt my head. Unlucky first name — almost like she was destined for tragedy.

I look back at Valentina, “What are you thinking?”

“Well, Kris, I am deciding whether to put my one remaining bullet in your head or mine,” she snaps, eyes still shut.

“I don’t see how that would solve anything,” I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I crouch down at Juliet’s body, “Let’s think rational-“

“I’m surprised you have the ability to think. You sure it isn’t hollow up there?” She gestures to my head with her gun.

Her previous idea of putting a bullet in one of our heads doesn’t seem so terrible right now.

I’m about to say that when a startling ring interrupts me.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Valentina jumps to her feet, phone flashing.

“What? Who is it?” I step closer to see the phone in her hands.

“Ethan. He’s gonna be pissed at us.”

“Relax, he won’t be pissed…” Yes he will be.

Val simply stares. If I didn’t know better I’d think she was trying to drill holes into my skull with her eyes. Which doesn’t seem impossible at the moment.

“Ethan?” She answers the phone on speaker.

“Val, Kris? Aaron and I ran into a bit of trouble down here, do you have Juliet Quinn?” his English accent muffled through the phone.

“Yes. Sort of,” Valentina cringes at the body.

“‘Sort of?’ What is that supposed to mean Val? Listen, we desperately need the information from Juliet. We just killed the only other people who might offer it.”

“Juliet is dead. I shot her,” I cut in before Val says anything. She shoots me a look and rolls her eyes.

“Look, we will figure something out. Don’t panic. Can you meet us somewhere?” she adds.

“Didn’t think you had it in you, Kris. But your timing for a first kill couldn’t be worse,” he’s breathing heavily now, wind causing his words to be barely understood. “We’re about two minutes away from where we split up. Meet there as quickly as possible. One of you stay back to dispose the body. Hurry up, Aaron’s got a bullet in his arm.”

“Shit, you couldn’t have told us that earlier?” A sudden panic barely escaping through her words.

“Just hurry up,” the line cuts off.

“Your mess Kris. Clean it up, I have to go fix the rest of this,” and she’s off. Speeding away while I’m left with Juliet Quinn.

Great. My mess.