How to Become a Contracted Assassin

Chapter Four

"No... There was tension?" Outside, I was calm, but inside I was panicking. "We don't have any proof of it, but he was near the area. Also, you and Mr. Mortenson seem to spend a lot of time together." What a relief! She thought Drew liked me, not that he murdered Kyle.
...Wait a minute. If they thought Drew liked me, and I was dating Kyle, then they thought Drew killed him? I was so confused. I needed to clear Drew of liking me romantically. "Drew is my best friend."
"I see." she said. What kind of reply is that? Did she know? What if we'd been caught? My mind was racing with 'what ifs', and all I wanted to do was get away and think. Then a thought occurred to me. This could safely remove Drew from the situation. "Drew is actually the guy who convinced me to give Kyle a chance." This was actually true. Drew came up with that part of the plan. Officer Clancy looked surprised. "Alright, well that's it. If you're needed for the trial, we'll let you know."
I stood up and was walking out when I turned back to Officer Clancy. "I hope you catch whoever killed Kyle. He was a wonderful person." I smiled sadly, thinking one word to myself over and over. Lies, lies, lies, lies, and what? More lies.

About a week later Drew and I were sitting in his apartment talking over the developments. Drew had been questioned about his connection to Kyle, but he had a very solid cover story. He had never touched my water bottle, and I had slipped the paper that the poison had been wrapped in into Kyle's pocket. The authorities were at a loss, and the case made headlines when it was publicly dropped. There was evidence that seemed to conflict, and several experts were called in, but to no avail. Needless to say, Drew and I partied hard whenever the opportunity arose. And by "partied" I mean we ate junk food and marathoned our favorite shows. 

After the initial ruckus about the case being dropped, it was forgotten for a long time. Several years later, there was a film made about it, but the film was a total flop, and it didn't rekindle any substantial interest in the incident. Through the rest of my university experience, I kept a low profile when I worked. It wouldn't do to have multiple deaths surrounding myself. I was trying to go in for a career. 

When Drew and I graduated, Bruno paid for us all to go on vacation. Drew and I caught up with Bruno, and then Bruno sat us down to talk business. He looked very serious, even a little tense. I suppose that's how you should feel when you're talking to 2 assassins though. "I know you both intend to take this further as a business, and I would like to join in on the fun, so to speak." he said. "I have an idea for creating a network of professional, trained criminals who are looking for the big bucks. If you two are on board, we could take over the world." 

"Like the mafia?" I asked

"Better than the mafia! We don't need to have "families"," he said, making air quotes. "All you have to do is train the others. We could create a whole community. I'll find the recruits, you two will instruct and train them. From there it gets better. Once we have enough members, we'll organize them into teams. We're going to commit crimes for money, but nobody will ever know anyone's identity, so it'll be impossible to bring the system down."

Drew held up his hand to silence Bruno. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. If we agreed to this, we would ultimately spread ourselves to thin. I get what you're saying, Bruno, but world domination is not on my bucket list. I'm sorry, but my answer is no." 

Bruno looked disappointed. He turned to me. "I'm sorry, Bruno," I said, "but I agree with Drew. I don't do teams or anything of the sort. I work solo." 

Bruno frowned and took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to do this the hard way. Put your hands up." He had pulled out two handguns, one pointed at each of us. 

"Bruno, you have to see reason, it would never..." Drew trailed off as Bruno brought the gun uncomfortably close to his face. "Fine, I'll do it, Bruno." I said, walking over to stand by him. He smiled at Drew. "See, your girlfriend and I will do it. You're missing the chance of a lifetime!" You know that moment when you realize it happens now or not at all? I had one of those, so I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a small bottle of tablets. Pure poison. I pinched one between my index finger and thumb and slipped it into Bruno's coffee, which was right behind me on a table. Drew saw what I was doing and he pretended to give in to what Bruno wanted. Bruno smirked, satisfied, then he set one of the guns down. He used his free hand to take a sip of coffee, and then the look on his face changed. He had given me these tablets, and he knew that they would taste slightly bittersweet. After the taste, your heart would cease to work. The tablets would dissolve, leaving no trace and making look as though the victim had suffered a severe heart attack. He picked up the gun and tried to point it at me, but he was shaking too hard to shoot. Bruno slumped down on the ground, and Drew and I watched his last moments. Bruno dragged in one shaky breath, then he just stopped. Stopped breathing, stopped thinking, stopped feeling. Bruno was dead.