by Alessa Thorn
"Mio Dio, this looks like a bad idea waiting to happen," Leo whispered under his breath to Kon.
"Undoubtedly. Everyone, this is Leo, my hacker. I asked him to help out," Kon introduced.
Leo grinned at Athena. "The goddess in the flesh. This is a momentous day. I thought that you would've killed Kon by now."
"Well, the day isn't out. I take it you're the one that tipped off the airport security in Prague that I was carrying a bomb?" she said, her smile going sharp.
"Kon told me to," Leo replied, flushing.
"What's your handle?" Izabella asked.
Leo studied her curiously. "Vinci. You?"
"Silver Lady."
"Fuck off, you are not," he said excitedly before lapsing into Italian. Izabella replied, and they both wandered over to the back of the warehouse where she had set up a laptop. Leo put his computer bag on the table, gesturing wildly as he talked.
"And we've lost them," Athena joked. She elbowed Dante, whose hazel eyes were still watching Leo. "Stop that. There will be no eating Italian while we are on this job."
Dante only rolled his eyes at her. "I was only looking. You know I like the nerdy ones."
"Speaking of the job. I would like some information now," Silas said, glancing over at Kon.
"I know the feeling. Athena mentioned you got irritable when she mentioned Aurora?" Kon replied. "Information has to go both ways."
"Fine, show me what you have."
"I'll need a hand carrying it down."
Athena went to rise, but Silas put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Cub, I'll help him."
Kon led Silas upstairs to his wardrobe and pulled out one of the corkboards he had pinned his research on. Silas's eyes scanned over it for half a second before his fist lashed out and hit Kon in the face. Kon took a step back and swallowed the blood in his mouth.
"Feel better now?" he asked, shifting into a fighting stance in case Silas came at him again.
"Not even a little bit, you asshole," Silas growled. "I've spent the last twenty years trying to keep Athena away from Aurora, and now you've dragged us all back into it!"
Kon's eyes narrowed. "So you do know who they are."
"Not much, but it's enough to know never to fucking go near them." Silas pulled out the other corkboard. "Let's get on with it."
"Athena is making so much more sense now," Kon muttered, picking up the other board. "I'd like to think we can skip the conversation about me not being good enough for your daughter?"
Silas surprised him by laughing right in his face. "Listen, Basty, I don't have to say shit because if you do anything Athena doesn't like, she will take the nearest blade and slice you to pieces. I only have to sit back and watch."
"You trained her well," Kon replied, thinking of the man she had cut up in the middle of the cistern.
"I wish I could take the credit, but she's always been like that." Silas looked him over and shook his head. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she's found the most damaged and dangerous man in the world to get obsessed with."
Kon's brows shot up. "You think she's obsessed with me?"
"Let me tell you something about my daughter," Silas said with an unfriendly smile. "When she was thirteen years old, I took her to a sword museum in Toledo because she had such a thing for blades. On display was a beautiful rapier, and this look passed over her face. I swear she stared at the thing for a good hour without moving like she was hypnotized by it. Afterward, she had this dreamy grin for the rest of the day."
Kon remembered Athena licking the khanjar the previous night and could just imagine the younger version being transfixed by a sword.
"Charming story, but your point is?"
"When she looks at you when no one is watching? Same fucking grin." Silas lifted the board and headed for the door. "Unbelievable."
Kon waited until Silas was gone before allowing himself a small, pleased smile. Well, isn't that interesting?
Downstairs, Kon set up the boards on a wall where everyone could see them.
"I love show and tell," Leo said, going straight over to the boards and staring at them.
"Who is going to go first?" Kon asked, looking at Silas.
"Definitely you, seeing how you're the one that kicked this hornet's nest."
Kon looked at Athena. "Not to get picky, but technically, it was her that did that and fucked up four years of strategy."
"You shouldn't have stolen from her then," Silas said before Athena could reply. She lifted her middle fingers up at Kon, and he could only shake his head.
What a fucking pair.
"Fine, I'll go first," he said, outnumbered and not in the mood to fight.
It took Kon twenty minutes to tell everyone about his history with Liddell and the little he knew about Aurora. Everyone remained silent for the first time since they arrived.
"The plan was ultimately to get to Liddell and learn the identities of the other Secret Chiefs before I slit his throat. I'd still like to do that because if they are even half as bad as Liddell, they need to be stopped," Kon finished.
"The one I know about is probably worse than Liddell," Silas said, and everyone's gaze swiveled to him. He was looking at Athena. "It's got to do with how I found you. If you don't want me to tell them about it, I won't."
Found her. There had been nothing in Kon's research on her about that.
Athena had gone pale, but she still nodded. "Do it. The more we all know, the better right? Liddell isn't going to stop until we are dead, so we don't have much choice."
"Alright, Cub," Silas said softly before turning back to the others. Even Izabella and Dante looked curious, which told Kon that maybe they didn't know about Athena's origins either.
"Twenty years ago, I was hired with a group of other mercs to go and guard a dig site at Pokrovskoye in Russia. It's famous for being the birthplace of Rasputin, something that should have possibly raised a red flag, but I didn't care. I was twenty-eight years old, fresh out of the British army, and with zero fucks to give. The money was a lot for something as simple as guard duty. It was in freezing forests at the ass-end of the world. Still, after ten years of deserts in Africa and the Middle East, I was happy for the change," Silas began, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
"There were five of us. We were helicoptered in from Moscow in the dead of night. It was very cloak and dagger shit which made me think there was some kind of secret government involved. I was used to that kind of thing, as were the other guys we were with. We saw the fire from the air, and the pilot got edgy about us landing. He had his orders too, so down we went."
Silas's eyes had gone vacant, but Athena leaned against him, encouraging him to go on.
"I've seen some shit in my time as you can imagine. But nothing like that site. We went in, weapons out and ready for a fight. There were people scattered on the ground, blood everywhere, fires burning. The dig site had been completely trashed. We split up, trying to find out what had happened. We couldn't see any soldiers or gang members, nothing that would suggest that another group had come in to fight. From what we could tell, they had…done it to themselves. They had all turned on each other with whatever they had in their hands at the time. The last ones standing turned on themselves."
Leo looked back at the corkboards. "And Aurora? How do they figure into this?"
Silas let out a deep sigh. "I went searching through the paperwork that was scattered about. Found some orders for supplies that had been invoiced to 'The Aurora.' It caught my eye because the guy who hired us said he represented them. In the historian's tents, I found a journal documenting the daily work, and in that day's entry, it said 'Visit from Gadal.'"
Kon folded his arms as he absorbed the information. "And Athena?"
"I followed a blood trail that led into the forest. Found a man's body and a bunch of small footprints. Too small to be a woman's. I kept following them until I found a little blood-drenched girl with a knife in her hand. The only survivor in the whole da
mn shit show," Silas replied, his shoulders tense.
"And what? You just took her?" Kon asked.
Silas glared at him. "Was I supposed to leave her there for the wolves? Everyone was dead. When I took her to the main village at Pokrovskoye, no one knew who she was. Athena couldn't even tell me her own name; she was in that much shock. I started calling her Athena because it was like she had been birthed from that battlefield. She wouldn't let go of her damn knife for six months and wouldn't let anyone near her but me."
Kon risked a glance at Athena. She was shaking, looking like she was about to throw up, eyes icy and blank. She got up without saying a word and headed up the stairs leading to the roof. Silas rose to go after her, but Kon stepped in.
"Don't. I'll make sure she's okay," he said. Silas looked about to argue, but Kon cut him off. "She's looking for a fight and wants to hurt something. It's better that it's me and not you."
Silas looked down at him. "Upset her more, and I won't pull my punch again; I'll put a bullet in you."
"If I upset her more, I'm sure I'll be dead before you can take aim," Kon replied with a small smile. He nodded towards Leo. "Tell him whatever you can remember, especially about Gadal. We need to get Izabella and you working."
"What are you thinking? That he's another Secret Chief?"
Kon nodded. "Whatever happened at that dig, I'll bet you anything that magic was involved."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because of how they died. I've seen it before."
12
Athena couldn't breathe. She slammed down the door handle of the roof access and stumbled out into the late afternoon sun. The roof had been set up with fake grass, a punching bag, and an area for entertaining with a small metal brazier to have a fire.
Athena stumbled over to the punching bag. Her vision hazed, and she drew her knife before she fell into her nightmare.
Blood and snow. Screams of the mad and dying. A man made of shadows. The small knife in her hand. How it felt when she plunged it into the man that tried to throw her to the ground.
The roof door slammed, knocking her back to herself.
She was sweaty and breathing heavily, the khanjar still in her hand. The punching bag was hanging from its chain in tatters, rags and sand littering the ground at her feet.
"Lucky I always keep spare bags," Kon said. He didn't make a move to touch her or get within striking distance.
Instead, he went to a small shed on the other side of the roof, pulled out two large flat cushions, and placed them in the entertaining area. He sat down and turned his attention to the setting sun and the Bosphorus in the distance.
Athena steadied her breathing and sheathed her dagger, her arm aching and leaden. She walked over to the other pillow he had set out and sat down.
"Nothing to say?" she demanded.
Kon was gorgeous in the fading light, his brown skin golden and dark hair messy from the sea breeze. Athena's rage simmered down at his nonplussed expression.
"Do you need anything?" he asked calmly.
Athena shook her head. "No. It just…takes me to that place again. I don't actually remember anything before that night. The only things I get are impressions and being piss-my-pants afraid. The clearest thing was Silas coming through the trees and pointing a gun at me."
"You never wanted to go back? Try and find out who you are?" he asked.
"No. Whoever that girl was, she died that day. I know remembering might help track down who this Gadal guy is, but I can't. There's just…nothing."
"There will be other ways to find him. Don't poke that wound until you're ready to." Kon grinned a little. "Besides, you just appearing all blood dripping and knife swiping only adds to your mystery."
"Very funny." Athena shifted half an inch closer to him until they were shoulder to shoulder.
These were unchartered waters. She knew where she stood with the sex and the fighting. This quiet company and easy conversation made her feel unsteady.
"What's the bet that Izabella and Leo get super competitive and start trying to out hack each other?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"I wouldn't bet against that. It might work in our favor and force them to dive deeper." Kon hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder how we can encourage a rivalry?"
"You don't think there is enough rivalry to go round?" Athena laughed.
"It always made us work harder to outdo each other."
"Is that what you were trying to do? I always just wanted to inconvenience you as much as possible," Athena said honestly. She didn't have to prove anything to anybody.
Kon's eyes narrowed. "And look how brilliantly that turned out. We both have hits out on us."
"But it's made your life more interesting, hasn't it?"
"By interesting, you mean destroyed it?"
Athena shrugged unapologetically just to rile him. "Sorry, not sorry."
Kon reached over and twirled the end of her braid between his fingers.
"You're very cocky now that your father is here. If we were alone, I'd be bending you over my knee to punish such impertinence," he said, low and husky.
Athena's lady parts clenched in excitement, and his smile turned feline.
Two could play at that game. She ran her fingers along the tattoos on his forearm.
"Hmm, but Silas is here, which means I can't suck you off right now before riding you like my own little Turkish sex toy."
Kon pulled harder on her braid. "Always have to try and outdo me, don't you?"
"It's true." Athena chewed her bottom lip. "Do you really think we will be able to work together? We can't even have a conversation without turning it into a competition. I'm concerned that long-term exposure will make us tear each other apart."
Kon didn't look worried, just let his fingers twirl through her hair again. "I don't know. It doesn't sound so bad. I'd rather be torn apart by you than Liddell or whoever this Gadal is."
"Thinking he might be another of Liddell's cabal?" Athena asked.
Kon nodded. "That or he is close to one of them. Once we get Liddell, we can get the information about Gadal out of him."
"He's probably the only person who knows what happened that night in Russia," Athena said, tucking her knees up to her chest. "I dream of a man made of shadows trying to find me in the forest. He's the reason I wouldn't stop carrying that knife everywhere. I thought he would come back for me, and blades…they make me feel safe." She blew out a breath. "And yes, I know that makes me sound like a crazy person."
"Not to me," Kon said softly. "I know what it's like to have a childhood trauma caught up in some kind of magic. If all of this gets overwhelming for you, and you need someone to fight with, you only need to ask."
Athena looked sideways at him. "You want to fight me?"
"Well, I don't take you for a cuddler, but after meeting your father, that makes sense," Kon replied.
"I didn't think you were either until last night." Athena had drifted off with his arm clamped around her waist, mouth on her neck. After a night of getting shot at, it had been unexpectedly…nice.
Color tinged Kon's cheeks. "I assure you that was for purely strategic purposes. I couldn't have you running off."
"Just admit it, the Basty of Istanbul wants me to snuggle him," Athena crooned because she had never seen him blush about anything.
Kon's smile turned sharp. "The Basty of Istanbul wants to put his dick in that smart mouth of yours and watch you gag on it."
Athena laughed loudly, the nauseous ball of tension inside of her finally dissolving. She pulled a face at him. "Aw, I bet you do, but there will be no wrestling me to the floor and shutting me up with your cock while my dad is downstairs."
"Don't worry, Edgeworth. I am keeping track of every insult and teasing remark. We'll be alone at some point, and then you will pay for every single one of them." Kon leaned forward, so she had nowhere to look but at his dark eyes. "In the meantime, we are going to find the asshole that has a hit out on us and rip him a
part. Then if you are still feeling bloodthirsty, we will find the prick that killed your parents, and you can introduce him to your knife collection. Sound good?"
"God, I love it when you talk dirty to me, Konstantius." Athena grabbed his face and kissed him.
It didn't matter that they might kill each other one day or that he might be using her for his own ends; Kon got her like no one else did. His mouth opened, tongue stroking against hers until she moaned and pulled away.
"Nope, don't start that, or I'll be trying to climb on you, and I bet we have about another five minutes before—"
The roof door banged open, and Dante's sandy blonde head appeared. "So this is where you two are hiding. Silas wanted to make sure you hadn't killed each other but didn't want to come and make sure in case you were fucking. I offered to check."
He waggled his eyebrows at Kon, and Athena giggled. Dante glanced at the mess that Athena had made of the punching bag.
"Feeling better, Cub?"
"Much. I suppose we had better get back to it," Athena replied, getting to her feet. She waited until Kon rose and followed him across the roof. She touched his back where Dante couldn't see.
"Thanks for talking me down, Kon," she whispered. He didn't reply, only put his hand behind him and stroked her fingers to let her know he had heard.
For the rest of the day, the team got to work. Silas and Dante were reaching out to other mercenaries, asking what they knew about the people funding the contracts out on them, and Izabella and Leo had dragged tables and created an information corner with the corkboards.
"With your permission, I'd like to look into the Pokrovskoye incident while Izabella cross-checks the information Kon has on Liddell," Leo asked Athena.
"Sure. It's why we are here, right?" she replied, weirdly touched that he would even ask.
It would've been hard to picture Kon being friends with someone as good-natured as Leo a few days ago. He was cheery and friendly, quickly making himself at home amongst them.
"I wonder if what they were looking for in Pokrovskoye has anything to do with Rasputin. You want to talk about a man with a life too weird to be real," Leo said, sitting down on the couch with his laptop.