Chapter 60: Blood on the Dagger’s Edge
Agatha opened her eyes slowly. The villa bedroom was pitch black. Beside her, Xavier’s breathing sounded heavy and steady. He was clearly exhausted after the day they spent at the beach. Agatha moved with extreme caution, sliding the blanket off her body without making a single sound. She slid out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold wooden floor. She didn't put on sandals. She needed her footsteps to be silent.
She reached under her pillow and pulled out the rose dagger. She tucked it into the waistband of her shorts. She grabbed a thin black jacket from a nearby chair and slipped it on. With movements honed by years of training, she opened the bedroom door and closed it behind her. There was no click. Not even a whisper of a sound.
Agatha walked through the quiet corridor. She knew exactly where the guards were positioned. She slipped through the back door, avoiding the sweep of the garden lights, and disappeared into the thick trees leading toward the cliff. She had one destination in mind, the shack where Vargo was hiding. Her gut had been twisting since dinner. Something felt wrong.
Her footsteps were light on the damp earth. She reached the vicinity of the shack within ten minutes. The area was far too quiet. There were no night insects chirping. The door of the shack was slightly ajar, swaying back and forth in the sea breeze. Agatha drew her rose dagger. The cold metal felt right in her palm. She approached the door, held her breath, and pushed it open with the tip of her toe.
The metallic scent of blood hit her nose instantly. Agatha stepped inside. The room was only lit by the moonlight streaming through a broken window. In the center of the room, Vargo sat in a wooden chair with his head slumped back. Fresh blood was still flowing from his neck, dripping onto the floor with a slow, rhythmic sound. His eyes were wide and bulging, but the life was long gone.
"The blood is still warm, isn't it?"
A woman's voice came from the darkest corner of the room. Agatha spun around instantly, dropping into a low stance with her dagger held in front of her chest. A woman stepped out of the shadows. She wore tight black tactical gear. Her hair was cropped short. In her hand, she held a curved blade that was still dripping with Vargo’s blood.
"Who are you?" Agatha asked in a low, dangerous voice.
The woman gave a small, chilling smile. She wiped the blood off her blade with her fingertip. "My name is Kalea. You must be Agatha. The woman who has been giving Lord Luigi such a headache."
"You helped him at the docks, and now you kill him?" Agatha glanced at Vargo’s corpse.
"He was no longer useful. Lord Luigi does not like people who fail repeatedly. Vargo was part of the elite five, but he was the weakest link. I hate seeing something weak continue to breathe near me," Kalea answered. She started walking in a circle, eyeing Agatha like a predator watching its prey.
Agatha tightened her grip on her weapon. "You went through a lot of trouble to save him back then."
Kalea let out a short laugh. Her voice was calm but sharp. "Yeah, that was my job. But today, the job changed to a cleanup mission. I really enjoyed cutting his throat just now. He actually begged, you know? That was the funniest part."
"Yeah, that part is always fun," Agatha replied flatly.
"A lot of things are fun in our world, right Agatha? You have killed plenty of people too. Don't act like you are a saint just because you are sleeping in Xavier’s arms now," Kalea countered.
Kalea moved first. She lunged with incredible speed. Her curved blade aimed straight for Agatha’s throat. Agatha parried the strike with her own dagger. The clang of metal on metal echoed through the small shack.
"Nice move," Kalea praised. She spun her body and kicked Agatha in the stomach.
Agatha stumbled back two steps, but she didn't fall. She immediately retaliated with a flurry of strikes toward Kalea’s chest. Kalea deflected every hit with the spine of her blade. They moved fast in the cramped space. Agatha could feel the rush of air every time Kalea’s knife swung past her face.
"Why aren't you using your gun?" Kalea asked while maintaining her attack.
"I prefer feeling it when my weapon pierces the skin," Agatha answered. She ducked as Kalea’s blade sliced the air above her head, then she swung her own dagger toward Kalea’s thigh.
The tip of the rose dagger caught the black fabric of Kalea’s pants. The woman was fast, but not fast enough to avoid a graze. A thin cut appeared on her leg. Kalea looked at the wound, and her eyes glinted with excitement.
"There it is. I like this pain. You really do live up to your reputation," Kalea said.
"You talk too much for an assassin," Agatha snapped.
Agatha moved in again. She used the close quarters combat techniques she had refined over the years. She didn't just use her dagger, she used her elbows and knees. Kalea was no easy target. As one of Luigi’s elite five, her fighting skills were on par with Agatha’s. They locked arms, pushing and shoving until they slammed against the wooden wall of the shack.
"Did Luigi send you just to kill Vargo?" Agatha grunted during the struggle.
"Vargo was just the appetizer. My main targets are you and Xavier. But seeing you come here all alone, I feel pretty lucky," Kalea answered. She pressed her blade down toward Agatha’s shoulder.
Agatha held the pressure back with all her strength. "Xavier will know I am gone soon. You won't make it out of here alive."
"Oh, I have plenty of ways out, sweetheart. Before Xavier’s men get here, I will make sure you have a little souvenir from me," Kalea whispered.
Kalea pulled her knife back and performed a feint. She looked like she was going for the stomach, but her real target was Agatha’s eyes. Agatha realized it at the last second. She jerked her head to the side, but the tip of Kalea’s knife managed to slice her cheek. Blood started running down Agatha’s face.
"One point for me," Kalea said with a wide grin.
Agatha didn't get angry. She became even calmer. She wiped the blood on her cheek with her shoulder and reset her stance. "You just made a big mistake."
Agatha went on a much more aggressive offensive. She stopped caring about total defense. She let Kalea strike at her arm just so she could drive her rose dagger into Kalea’s side. The strategy worked. The blade sank into Kalea’s abdomen.
Kalea hissed in pain. She kicked Agatha away to create distance. She clutched her side as blood began to soak through her gear. "You have guts, I will give you that."
"I told you. You made a mistake," Agatha said, her breathing heavy.
Suddenly, a phone lying on the table near Vargo’s body started vibrating. It was Vargo’s phone, which Kalea had taken. Outside the shack, the sound of many footsteps and Frans’s voice rang out.
"Boss! There are footprints here!" Frans shouted from a distance.
Kalea glanced at the door, then back at Agatha. "Looks like our playtime is over for today. Your husband is here."
"You aren't going anywhere," Agatha stated, preparing to lunge again.
Kalea pulled a small bottle from her pocket and smashed it on the floor. Thick smoke and a stinging smell filled the shack instantly. Agatha coughed and covered her nose. Her vision went blurry because the smoke burned her eyes.
By the time the smoke cleared, the window of the shack was empty. Kalea had jumped out. Agatha ran to the window, but she only saw a black shadow disappearing into the dark cliffs.
"Agatha!"
Xavier kicked the door open with his pistol drawn. He ran straight to Agatha and grabbed her shoulders. His face was pale with panic. His eyes scanned her body and stopped at the cut on her cheek.
"Are you okay? What the hell are you doing here?" Xavier asked, his voice shaking with a mix of anger and fear.
Agatha lowered her dagger. She pointed at Vargo’s body. "He is dead, Xavier. Someone else was here."
Frans stepped into the shack and checked Vargo’s pulse. "Crap. The blood is still flowing. We just missed the killer."
Xavier pulled Agatha into a hug, so tight she could barely breathe. "Why did you go alone? Why didn't you wake me up, Agatha? You could have died."
"I just felt like I had to come. Her name is Kalea. She said she is one of Luigi’s elite five," Agatha whispered against his chest.
Xavier pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Kalea? She is the most sadistic killer Luigi has. You are lucky to be standing here, Agatha."
"I wounded her, Xavier. She won't get far with a hole in her gut," Agatha said.
Frans stood up after scanning the room. "She escaped through the cliffs, Boss. My guys are chasing her, but there are too many caves down there. It is going to be hard to find her in this light."
Xavier wiped the blood from Agatha’s cheek with his thumb. "We are going back to the villa. Now. Frans, clean this up. Leave no trace. And I want the security at the villa increased tenfold."
"On it, Boss," Frans replied with a grim look.
Xavier wrapped his arm around Agatha’s shoulder and led her out of the shack. All the way back to the villa, he didn't let go of her hand. He gripped it tight, as if he was afraid she would vanish if he loosened his hold.
"Don't ever do this again, Agatha. I swear, if you sneak out like this one more time, I am going to chain your legs to the bed," Xavier threatened, though he sounded more like a man begging for his life.
Agatha remained silent. She looked back at the dark forest behind them. She knew this wasn't the last time she would see Kalea. The real fight had only just begun.