NINE.   forever is the sweetest con

      The blissfulness that had entered her life was gone and all McKenna felt was dread. She hardly slept as she was flooded with anxiety. Failing a mission was the number one mistake at the Commission. Those who failed their missions usually never saw the light of day again. She wasn't looking forward to how the day was going to go.

Walking into work that morning felt like a nightmare. She was shaking uncontrollably, her adrenaline high, and she felt nauseous. She imagined The Handler and board already knew of her fail.

"Good Morning."

McKenna flinched. She turned around and Five stood there smiling at her. "Good morning." She responded, her smile wavering.

"How did the mission go?"

"Uh. . ." More nervous bubbled in her stomach. "We'll talk about it later. How was your night without me?  Burn your place down?" She changed the subject swiftly.

Five laughed. "I can survive with you, y'know?"

She hummed. "That's not how you acted—"

He subtly pinched her side. "Not here." He muttered close to her ear.

She chucked. "I knew that would get you. "Did you miss me enough to come over again later?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He replied and she slowly felt herself calm down.

"McKenna!"

Her nerves shot up again. The Handler approached the pair with a large counterfeit smile. McKenna felt sick once more. "Good morning," She greeted and tried her best not to sound nervous.

"I hate to pull you two apart but Five, I need to speak with McKenna."

Five nodded. "Of course." He smiled at her. "I'll come find you later."

Not feeling like she could say any words, McKenna gave him a small smile and watched him walked away.  She was silently screaming at him in her head for him to not leave her.

The Handler smiled again. "Shall we?"

McKenna followed her to her office, her legs shaking the whole way there. Her hands became clammy. She avoided eye contact with the people she passed. They entered her office. "I have a feeling you already know what i'm going to say."

"I apologize for my failure I didn't expect there to be another person. I was unprepared and let myself get distracted." She immediately started apologizing.

"You've been in worse situations, McKenna," said
The Handle, her voice sickly sweet.

"Yes,  I know. I have no excuse. I should've tried harder. I'm sorry."

Her boss was silent and it made McKenna feel uncomfortable. She couldn't read her facial expression which was unheard of considering The Handler was a character. She was always big with her facial expressions. McKenna's nails dug into the palm of her hands and they started to sweat again.

She was taken by surprise when The Handle started to smile. "McKenna, you know I think highly of you—"

The fear gradually increased.

"—There will never be anyone as successful as you are here at the Commission. Which is why I need you here."

She was confused. "What?"

The Handler stood from her chair and walked around the desk. McKenna stood up. "You're not just someone who works for me, McKenna. I've taken care of you since you were a baby. You work harder than anybody I know. I've trained you to be a fighter and that's what you are. Your talent should not go wasted. I'll have to discuss this with the board, so you know."

McKenna shakily nodded. "So. . . I'm staying?" She carefully asked.

There was another unsettling smile. "I'm not the devil,  McKenna." Was what she responded with.

"Right. . . Thank you, Handler. I promise this is the last mistake I'll ever make." She exhaled.

"Oh, I know, dear." The Handler smiled and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "Now head on out. I have a board meeting to get to."

McKenna fled the office and pressed her back to the wall. She sucked in a deep and large breath. She counted her blessings.

McKenna's anxiety levels were so high that she smoked more cigarettes than usual. She was on her third one of the morning. She sat in the break room with her head on the palm of hand. Herb sat across from her reading the newspaper. She had told him everything. "Should I be worried? I mean, remember that one guy that failed his mission? He was gone within a day."

Herb lowered his newspaper. "You're going to be fine, McKenna. You're famous around here. They'd be stupid to let you go over one mistake."

"But it's a huge mistake. I mean, Abraham Lincoln? That's one of the most famous assassinations of all time!" McKenna exclaimed, her eyes nearly widening out of her head.

"And he's dead, isn't it?" He questioned. "Who cares who killed him? He's not breathing anymore. The timeline is on the right track, Kenna."

She took another puff of her cigarette and exhaled. "You're right. I'll be okay. Nobody's on my level. They need me."

"You got that right." He agreed while keeping his eyes on his newspaper.

"I mean, Five is a great assassin but I've been here longer. I'm the best." She continued to hype herself up.

"You sure are."

"Are you even listening?"

"Of course I am." Herb nodded. He pointed to a section in the paper. "I'm just reading a Looney Toons article."

McKenna rolled her eyes but smiled. She put out the cigarette. "Gotta use the restroom. I'll be back."

She exited the break room and walked down the hall to where the bathrooms were. She heard muttered voices coming from The Handler's office and she paused, seeing that the door was slightly open. Feeling the curiosity get the best of her, McKenna quietly leaned against the wall and listened in.

"She's one of the best assassins." AJ Carmichael said to The Handler.

The Handler was pacing around her room holding a cigarette in her hand. "I know she is. I trained her myself."

"But the rules still stand. Failure to complete a mission is punishable."

McKenna held in a breath.

"I know that, too." The Handler responded and rolled her eyes.

"So have we decided?" Asked Carmichael.

She didn't hear an answer right away. "I suppose we have. It's such a same, having all that talent go to waste." The Handler answered.

"McKenna's name will live on long after she's gone."

Her blood ran cold. McKenna stumbled backwards and fled down the hallway, her heart in her throat.

Five was reading a book in his armchair that evening. A glass of wine was on a coaster on the table next to him. There was a sudden rapid knock on his door and it went on and on. "I'm coming!" He shouted and put the book down. The knocking continued until he opened the door and McKenna stood there with fear written on her face. He instantly smiled. "McKenna."

With no response, McKenna quickly entered his apartment. Five furrowed his brows. "I was going to go to yours in a few hours—"

"I'm leaving, Five."

Her wife made him freeze. "What?" He asked, not processing the statement.

"I failed the mission, Five. They're going to kill me." She explained further and her voice started shaking.

"Kill you? Who?" He asked frantically.

"The Handler! The board! They're going to kill me. Failing a mission is punishable, even by death," She exclaimed and her eyes filled with tears. She started pacing around the kitchen.

Five quickly went and grabbed her arms. "Okay, okay, McKenna, please. . . W-What do you mean you're leaving?" He stuttered.

"I have to go somewhere, Five. I don't know where but I have to leave. I can't stay here—"

"Of course you can. You can stay with me—"

"I can't!" She cried out and tore her arms out of his grasp. She gripped the roots of her hair. "You don't get it. They'll strap me a chair and sent electricity through my brain. They'll fry me until I'm gone. They're vicious people, Five." Her cried for louder.

Five didn't know what to say. He felt dizzy all of a sudden. "I-I-I'll stop them." He stuttered again. He tried to grab her hands again. "I'll kill them first. I won't let them hurt you."

She cried and cupped his face. Five grabbed her wrists. "Please, don't do this. Don't leave me." He begged.

"I love you," she whispered to him and it was the most soul crushing thing he ever heard. "I wasn't supposed to love you but I do. And now I have to pay for it."

Five Hargreeves believed his entire life that he was unlovable. His family didn't love him. His father didn't love him. To him, Five was just a test subject. He didn't even give him a real name. He was nobody before the Commission.

McKenna Barlowe was the one thing in his life that made him feel worthy of love. She was a cowboy like him. A bandit, a con artist, a trickster. The number one rule of swindler was to never let your guard down. But for her, Five would ruin himself a million little times. Tears shined in his bright blue eyes like crystals. "Please. . ." He begged again with a shaky breath.

McKenna pressed her mouth to his. It wasn't a loving kiss, or a sweet kiss. It was a goodbye kiss. A kiss that meant to say i'm sorry that I have to leave. He hated it. It was an unbearable pain.

"Have one more night with me, Five." She whispered against his lips.

Five kept his eyes closed. "You'll be gone when I wake up." He stated, knowing exactly what would happen.

"I might be. But I'll be here when you fall asleep."

Her words cut him like a knife and he opened his eyes again to look at her. She was stunning; the most beautiful woman he had ever saw. He couldn't believe she was real. But she was real. She was real in his hands and now he was going to lose her.

Five kissed her again, harshly that time, and tangled his hands in her messy hair. McKenna made a noise and kissed him back, equally as rough. It wasn't an act of love. It wasn't sweet or innocent. No, it was a farewell. Five guided her back into his room and laid her on his bed. He crawled on top of her and took her in, breathing her so she could linger in his nose. He touched her like he was afraid of forgetting her touch. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

McKenna helped him take his clothes off. They were like wild animals going at each other. It was heavy and it made her cry because it wasn't what she wanted. She wanted that innocent love that he made her feel. Five made her feel like a person again and how she was ruining it again because she was afraid. McKenna took in every word and every kiss he gave. She wanted it all to linger in her mind forever.

Tears slipped down her face when he moved into her. Her hands caressed against his bare back and his head buried itself in her neck, his own tears setting her skin. Five Hargreeves was a killer; a cold blooded murder but McKenna only saw a man. He was a beautiful man. His mind was like a diamond; cold and hard and brilliant. She never craved attention until she tasted his.

Love was a dangerous game and Five was the chess board. She loved him. She never loved anyone before. She didn't know how to love but she knew she loved him. He loved her too but the skeletons in both their closets plotted hard to fuck them up.

And now, with his boots beneath her bed and their skin against each others, McKenna whispered that she would love him forever in his ears. Forever was the sweetest con. She tangled her hands in his sweaty hair and closed her eyes. Goodbye, my almost lover.

He went to bed holding her close. When Five woke up the next morning, she was gone.