The blades of a helicopter spun overhead, drowning out every other sound. Jason climbed in, Cass behind him. For the first time, he was there without adult supervision. They'd been briefed inside, and then just sent off. He felt unsure about Cass. As good as she was, could she actually understand an assignment without the words?

He put on his headset, his partner doing the same. Once he settled into his seat, he pulled out his book, trying to distract himself from the hour long flight. Cass stared out the window and played with knife in one hand, holding onto a pen she was chewing the end of. It was a nasty habit he'd recently taken notice of. It didn't take too long to get invested in his book, however. He was annoyed when the landing announcement came.

"Let's get this over with." He grumbled, stocking his supplies. It was a simple mission tonight. He just needed a gun and a couple grenades and a knife for backup. Finally, he tugged on a ski mask and put his helmet over it. Cass looked over to him, a hood pulled up, shadowing her eyes, a mask obscuring the rest of her face.

She grabbed the door handle, looking to him for confirmation. He nodded, giving a thumbs up. She slid the door open and hopped out, Jason at her heels. He looked around the area, feeling a sense of familiarity. This was his city. He knew it the second he saw the nocturnal skyline and caught a whiff of trash, drink, weed, and polluted seawater. So nostalgic.

"Jeff Maskell, a traitor. He gave up one of Cain's warehouses to the Batman. Get him, get out. Should be quick and easy." Was the information Thalia had given them. "You'll probably find him at the docks, where he works the night shift for a shipping company."

So, here they were. They couched down on a roof that overlooked the man's post. If there were other people around, Orphan would take them down while the Red Hood took out the target. Simple.

A breeze ran through the rooftops as they waited. "C'mon man! What the hell are you doing, leaving your post for this long?" Jason grumbled. More time passed, and Jason glanced at his watch. It had been a hour since their arrival. "Oh, for fucks's sake!"

Cass pointed down into the alleyway. Jason crawled over to look. The target was finally making his appearance, along with two other men. Jason and Cass exchanged a couple looks, figuring out a plan.

"I really don't get this job. I mean, who's gonna steal a ship full of literal dirt and shit?" Maskell asked.

"Yeah, we're gettin' screwed over. But think of it this way, man. Easy money."

"Easy if you don't like your kids." The second guy responded. "Cuz you barely get to see them."

"At least you're feeding them." The first unidentified man told him. "Most parents around here don't even do that."

"Don't I know it."

Jason felt a little guilty about these men. But it wasn't his fault that they picked the wrong man to hang around.

They moved into position. He didn't even have to look at Cass before she jumped down, landing directly on the first man, grabbing the second in a headlock.

"What the-!" That was all Maskell had time to say before he collapsed with a bullet from Jason's gun through his skull.

"That was too easy." The teen lamented.

Cass ended her fight, looking up at Jason, flashing him a thumbs up. She walked over to the target, taking his pulse. Jason jumped down to join her.

She nodded in satisfaction before slipping his watch off his wrist, pocketing it. Jason stared at her. She pulled it back out, offering it to him. He shook his head. She looked confused, but returned it to her pocket. Jason figured it didn't matter anyway. It wasn't like Maskell was going to care.

"Let's just scram before the Bat gets here." He ran off into the dark, Cassandra close behind. About a mile away, they bolted up and fire escape, climbing up the rope dangling from the helicopter. Thalia hadn't been wrong. It was quick and easy.

To a degree, it disturbed him how simple it was to kill. It only took seconds, and a whole life was over. He'd rather take the lives of people who deserved it. Though, if this man worked for Cain, he had probably deserved what he got. He looked towards Cass. Would others say the same about her? That she deserved to die because of her parentage?

She saw him looking, but let him be. She was staring at the watch. It now had a layer of blood that had rubbed off of her hands. She looked a bit upset about it. Did she regret taking it? Why had she anyway? Was she one of those psychopaths that took souvenirs from her kills? It was one thing to kill, another to get pleasure from it.

Did she wish that she'd grabbed something more valuable? Less valuable? Or did she just not like that she had gotten blood on it? He couldn't help but think about how little he actually knew her.

He went back to his book, managing to finish before they landed. The pilot announced five minutes until landing. Looking to Cass, she hadn't stopped staring at the bloody watch. Hearing the announcement though, she put it back in her pocket. She pointed at his book.

He handed it to her, curious what she could possibly want with it. She flipped through it, landing on a random page. She stared at it, as if that would magically result in it making sense. "Reading is difficult." He told her automatically. "Especially if you don't know English," He added, embarrassed.

She pointed to a word.

"'Emma'." He read.

"'Emma,'" She mouthed, carefully moving her lips. She wasn't able to say it, but she seemed content enough with this bit of rebellion. As the chopper landed, she handed it back.

"Welcome back." Thalia greeted. "How did it go?"

"Well. Target has been eradicated."

"Good boy. I can always trust you. How'd she do?"

"Great. Why?"

Thalia sighed. "David said that she's a bit squeamish about death. Not becoming of an assassin of her caliber, but true nonetheless. I had some concerns."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. She wasn't bothered tonight."

"Good. She must be growing out of it."

"Do you know why she's squeamish?"

"Her father said that it's his fault. She was eight when she made her first kill. That she just wasn't ready yet."

"But Damian-"

"Will start at that age. I have no concerns about him- he is an intelligent child who can use his logic to understand his actions. Don't repeat this, but I think Cain did his daughter a disservice by having her only language be body language. She can see death in an unclouded way that I don't think anyone else can. The horror of what she's doing can't be hidden by innocence or logic when the body speaks to her. He should've waited until she was older." Thalia's voice was cold.

"Or done it earlier. Before she was so in tune with life." Jason suggested, knowing nothing could be done about it now.

"Or that. It's not important if she learns to accept that death is inevitable."

Cassandra had disappeared when Thalia started speaking. "Where's Cain?" Jason suddenly realized her father was nowhere to be seen.

"He had business last minute. I believe he let Cassandra know before leaving, though. She likely went to clean up. It isn't as if she can give a report."

"Yeah. That's a good idea. I'm going to go shower."

"Alright. Rest well, child." Thalia rubbed his back before allowing him to go. A shudder ran up his back when she touched him. There was just something about her that made him uncomfortable.

He headed downstairs to his bedroom, before stopping suddenly. He had to pass the guest wing on his way, so why not stop by Cassandra's room? He had never been before, and he had something to return. He turned onto the hallway, signaling on of the servants. "Where's Cassandra Cain's room?"

He was pointed in the right direction and he headed there, knocking on the door. Cass opened the door, seeming startled to see him. She raised her eyebrows, asking a silent question. He held up the watch. It had fallen out of her pocket when she had stood to leave the chopper. She quickly took it before inviting him inside.

To his surprise, there were two beds. One was an elaborate king. The nightstand next to it was covered in empty glass bottles. The other, a simpler twin. There wasn't anything around it. He hadn't realized that she shared a room with her father. He had just assumed that they were separate. After all, he was a grown man and she a teenage girl. It seemed strange for them to share such a personal space.

Cass reached under her bed, pulling out a wooden box, that she set over her covers. She opened it before suddenly realizing that she hadn't cleaned the watch, and rushed into the bathroom to do so.

Jason couldn't help but peek at the box's contents. Inside was a folded up piece of red fabric, a necklace, a checkbook, a tube of lipstick, and a pair of thick black glasses. What on earth? Cass returned, nestling the watch into the box with the miscellaneous objects. Suddenly, Jason realized. They were trinkets from previous assignments. She did collect them! But why? She seemed to handle it all so delicately.

She slipped the box but into its place before looking at Jason.

"I guess... I guess that I should go." He pointed to the door, and she nodded. He left, carefully closing the door behind him. What kind of a person was he making friends with?