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Chapter 7

Callista

She froze. It's as normal a reaction as you can get what with the barrel of a gun pointed directly at your head.

Time seemed to still around them as she stared at the man, a man she could only describe as strikingly handsome, yet one she wasn't thinking of befriending anytime soon as he continued to stare her down. He had on his face a blank expression as he stood unmoving, his stormy grey eyes boring into hers as they continued sizing each other up.

"Tell me Blake, did you go looking for your missing wallet in her bags or something?" The man asked in a bored tone, looking somewhere to her side where Blake stood, his gun held steady while his other hand remained in his pants pocket. "I'd hate to think you went as far as to go looking for them in her pants."

Calla only rounded her gaze on Blake, confused while he replied in a humorless tone. "Put down the gun, Gabriel."

Gabriel... that name sounded eerily familiar.

"Why should I?" He asked as he cocked the gun. "Here stands before me the reason for our long and exhausting flight out to this country. If I kill her now, we could be on the jet in less than an hour and already on the way back."

"Because you and I both know you don't want to." Blake countered. He slowly stepped towards him, cautiously approaching him as if not to surprise him into pulling the trigger.

But Calla knew better, he wouldn't be so careless. She finally recalled who this man was.

Gabriel Arsenio.

His name alone was legendary in the crime world. People often referred to him as the ghost. He was deadly; no one ever really saw him coming and if they did, they'd have to fear for their life.

Because no one has ever had a gun pointed at them by Arsenio and lived to tell the tale.

And that's what made him lethal.

She should be honored, now that she had time to ponder on it. Although not exactly the best situation to be flattered, he was notorious for being numero uno amongst their ranks.

Out of nowhere, she laughed, making both men look at her sharply. They must think she was going mad which, she probably was, she thought as she kept laughing; the kind that had her doubling over and teary-eyed from too much laughter.

This must be what it's like to go crazy.

"Put the gun down, Gabe." Blake said firmly, turning back to him as his hand crept closer to the gun. She didn't know what he was going to do, but she wasn't about to risk Blake's life for hers. She was certain Arsenio would kill him if he got in his way and she was not about to let him die for her of all people, not when she was already reeling from the possibility of... someone else's death.

She pushed Blake aside, stepping forward, grabbing the gun Arsenio held and holding it directly to her temple.

"I'm sorry for causing you any inconvenience, Mr. Arsenio." She said, still chuckling. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked. "Pull the trigger."

Calla unleashed the full force of her hypnotic gaze, staring directly into his grey ones, enthralling--no, pleading to him with her eyes to not kill her despite the words she said.

What she didn't expect, however, was for she herself to be captivated by his own spell-binding gaze.

***

Gabriel

The minute he was out of Blake's sight, he knew he'd sprinted away thinking he didn't suspect a single thing.

He should've known better. After all, Gabriel trained him, for a short period of time.

Granted, he did give him a head start. Blake was a genius when it came to codes and all sorts of tech but when it came to actual fieldwork, he would sometimes jump the gun early.

His acting has improved, however, he'll give him that. If he'd been anyone else, he could've fooled them. Blake was calm and collected, plus point for the indifference. But he didn't miss the subtle tick in his jaw every time they looked through Callista Drakos' photos, especially her pictures in lingerie; neither the times he leg would bounce anxiously when he thought he wasn't looking.

At the time, he'd wondered why that was. Now however, as he stared into her eyes, he understood the allure behind her gaze that wasn't there when they looked through her photos.

She was much more captivating in real life.

Blake was in love with her, the realization dawned on him as he looked between the two back and forth. Blake kept looking at her face, emotions he never thought Gabriel would see on him evident as he stared at her.

Blake was so closed off most of the time, deflecting all sorts of personal questions and was never really the first to speak unless spoken to, that it surprised him. That was his first clue when he came to his house with Drakos' files. He was oddly talkative, well-- more than usual.

It was clear as day that he was infatuated with her, but as he looked back at her, he knew she probably didn't feel the same way, nor knew of his little crush; or at least, didn't show it.

It unnerved him as she kept meeting his gaze head-on, not wavering in the slightest yet he felt her will to live, it was so strong it practically radiated off her skin and the fierce expression she had on her face.

"Well?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Are you going to shoot me?" She asked, pressing the gun closer to her forehead, so much so that it was probably leaving marks on her skin.

"Put the gun down." Blake said once again, his face murderous. He looked at him. Long gone was the worry he previously had on his face, now replaced by a calm yet intense sense of determination.

"I may not want to do it." Gabriel replied to Blake's earlier counter. "But orders are orders, and what needs to be done must be done."

"It doesn't need to be done." Blake argued. "She just wants to find Paris."

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows. "Paris?" He asked.

"My brother." Drakos explained. "He's missing."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, turning to Blake. "You didn't think to tell me this little piece of information earlier?"

"I was a little bit more worried about you not killing her to bother with telling you that." He only replied.

"Let me find my brother." Drakos interrupted, bringing his attention back to hers. "I know your hands are tied, you need to kill me to get CHAOS off your back, I get it."

"Just let me find him." She said.

"Calla," Blake started slowly but she cut him off.

"He's alive." She said firmly, surprising Gabriel with her determination.

He looked at Blake. "Explain everything, now." He gave him a terse look making it clear he wasn't playing games.

"Calla went rogue because news reached her that Paris died in an explosion here in Belfast." Blake said. "She went against orders and had gone rogue, CHAOS sent us to kill her and that's the end of it."

"There's more to the story." She argued, looking at him intensely. "Paris has been acting weird ever since he was assigned that mission. Something is definitely wrong, but he's alive, I know it."

"Give me time. I have some leads and I could get more information from a man later from The Lexington." She said, referring to the bar Manuel Santiago had presumably told her about, pleading with him despite still holding the gun to her head. He could tell that she was leaving the choice entirely up to him with this. "I don't care that you have to kill me. I'll comply willingly, I just need to know if my brother lives or not."

"Whether or not I am alive to see to the rest of our lives doesn't matter to me." She murmured softly. "If he lives, I can go knowing he is safe. If not, I'll join him soon after-- wherever he rests."

They stared at each other, unmoving. Yet another person's life was grasped within his hands, the outcome for his to decide; either with breath, or blood.

"If there was a chance that Amara was alive," Blake began, making Gabriel's eyes snap to his at the mention of his sister, tense. "No matter how small, would you take it?" He asked, his eyes boring into his, making Gabriel's hand clench around the gun, small bursts of pain spiking through his skin from how tightly he now gripped it.

Gabriel breathed sharply, before violently tearing the gun away from her forehead and tossing it away.

The tense atmosphere around them dissipated, both of them visibly sighing in relief.

"Don't be relieved just yet." He warned them, ruining their moment of ease. "Just because I decided not to kill you now, does not mean I wont in the foreseeable future." He said ominously before turning to Blake.

"Come." Gabriel ordered him and lead the way outside the suite.

He was at the door, holding the door open before looking back at her slightly slumped figure. "We'll be back." He said and slammed the door shut behind him.

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