Song: Might bang, might not - Little Simz

(edited)

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Adelaide

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If he worked for MI6 then the promise of freedom that I had been given was just an illusion, but what role did I play in his plan?

"Now on to Mr Acerbi."

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My head was swirling, my body aching and my skin sweating so much that little droplets of water were beginning to fall onto the ground.

I didn't want to hear anymore.

And yet, I did.

I wanted to know how Romano had betrayed me. I wanted the trust that I put into him to shatter and fall to the ground, to prove to me that it was my fault. 

That I never should have trusted him in the first place.

I wanted a reason to hate him and this man seemed to have the key. 

"Mr Acerbi, " he spat with such venom, I it took me aback a little, "unfortunately isn't stupid as he pretends to be, he knew all along about Jamie's little tie-up with his pals in MI6." 

He stopped for a minute, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and twirling it with two fingers, "but that begs the question if he knew, why did he let it happen?"

He leaned against the wall, staring at his fingers as they twirled the cigarette, his body looking delectable as he did so.

"Now, let me tell you something about Acerbi, something I'm sure you don't know about our relationship."

He took out a lighter, and lit his cigarette, taking a drag and blowing the smoke upwards, concealing his face for a few short moments before it emerged again under the cloud of smoke, his hair pushed backwards so that his scar was on full display.

"As I'm sure you know, Romano is not a good man. In fact-"

"Why are you doing this?" I interrupted, my voice barely above a whisper.

I hung my head low, staring at my dirtied shoes, my badly dyed hair covering my face.

He hummed shortly, a beat of silence following after as the sound of him taking another drag filled the room.

"So many reasons Adelaide, so many." His voice was low and gravelly, almost a whisper.

I looked up to him, my eyes cold as ice, refusing to back down. 

Something about this man, something indescribable, pulled me toward him and made me forget about the zip ties tied around my wrists, as stupid as it was.

"No more interruptions," he broke eye contact and took another drag of the cigarette, "hold your questions until the end of the tale I'm going to spin for you, things are just getting interesting."

Things were just getting interesting?

"Are you aware of the fact that Romano slaughtered our parents?"

I nodded nonchalantly, he had told me that in The Lions Den.

He chuckled, "I don't think you heard me correctly, let me repeat myself, are you aware of the fact that Romano slaughtered our parents?"

I was about to tell him that I had heard him, but I held my tongue.

Did I hear that correctly?

Our parents?

I looked up at him, wide-eyed.

"You're-"

"Yes, we're brothers," he confirmed, "twins, in fact." 

All traces of any type of smile was wiped from his face, leaving behind a stoic man, something that Romano never tried to be. 

I sat there, like a gaping fish, tryin to process the information he had given me.

Questions continued to swirl in my head, but one stood out from the rest. 

Why was he not with Romano?  What had happened between them? 

My eyes travelled back to the scar marking his otherwise flawless visage, could Romano have done that?

"You're lying." I stuttered out, the only thing I could think of saying.

"Now now Adelaide, why would your precious Silver ever lie to you?"

My breath hitched as soon as the name Silver passed his lips. The completely untraceable enigma I had shared a night with stood in front of me, breaking my heart with his torturous tales of betrayal and trust. 

"But, I understand, you hardly know me and you don't trust anyone, right? I mean, other than Jamie and Romano, and look where that got you," he said, his voice 

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right, where had it gotten me?

Tied to a chair, defenceless and weaponless, that's where.

"Look, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not, I know what I'm saying is true," he took a step toward me, "and I know somewhere deep down in your heart you believe me too."

I hung my head again, using the trusty shield of my hair to avoid any more eye contact.

"Face it, Adelaide, my dump truck of a brother was only using you to lure in MI6, and it would've worked if I hadn't have gotten my hands on you before Jamie could intercept."

Nothing was making sense.

"You were never really free, MI6 would've snatched you right back into their twisted grip and Romano would've never willingly let you go," he stated, assessing me with curious eyes, looking to find any cracks. 

The words coming out of his mouth fit together, Jamie was only using me to be a distraction for Romano, knowing that if he had his eye on the ten kills and me he would have less eyes on the evidence he would take back to MI6.

Jamie didn't care for me, he only cared for a promotion.

Romano, on the other hand knew Jamie's motives the entire time and still kept me around, entertained my petty dreams of freedom to find out exactly what MI6 had on him. Knowing him, he had probably been feeding them false information the whole time. 

Romano had played me like a fiddle, knowing the whole time that I would never get the freedom I so desired and he promised.

"Jaekyung, what about Jaekyung?" I asked, hope springing into my chest again, where did she fit? Was she truthful? Did she actually care for me?

He curled his finger around my chin yet again, gently pulling my head up to meet his eyes, his cigarette dangling from his lips.

"You're very perceptive, aren't you?"

He retained the contact, I refused to speak, scared that my own voice would betray me.

"She's working for me, something that nobody in that house knew about."

She knew the whole time too, about Romano and Jamie, she knew everyones motives and yet she didn't utter a word about it to me, her professionalism ran high.

Was our bond real?

I turned away from his cool grasp, looking instead at the metal wall of the panic room, noticing the dried blood splatters that resided there. 

"And was she using me for something too?" I said, my voice barely a whisper.

"No, Adelaide, not everyone you meet is using you," a brief pause, "I hired her to protect you."

My whole body tensed up at his words.

Protect me?

"And before you say anything, yes, I know you can handle yourself, but Romano is unpredictable and Jamie is willing to do anything to get a promotion. Think, how many times were you really alone with the two of them?"

I remembered the time Jamie came into my hotel room, angry that I had gone out without telling him and seeing the flash of dark hair duck around a corner as he left.

Jaekyung.

The time where she disappeared in the hallway just before I killed the third target and met up with Silver for the first time.

The plane where she cornered and questioned me, warning me to stay away.

It was all planned, and I had no idea.

How oblivious was I?

A few minutes passed where neither of us dared to utter a word, what could you say to something like this?

Silver was the first to break the silence.

"Its time to hold up my end of the bargain, you've heard my ramblings, now you have to make a choice."

I looked up at him, my face expressionless.

I watched as he dropped his cigarette to the floor and stamped it out.

"Once I cut the zip ties, I'm going to hand you a gun. You have to make a choice. Me or him." He pointed to Jamie as he went over to the panic room door and unlocked it.

He flashed the knife previously held to Jamie's neck and walked behind me.

"You can choose to believe me or not, either way, one of us isn't making it out alive, there's only one bullet in the gun."

I felt the tip of the knife, cool against my skin.

"I hope you make the right decision."

Then, my hands were free and something I haven't used in a long time was pressed into them.

One bullet.

Two men.

One choice.

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okay bye, i hope this wasn't confusing