The Puppet Assassin [TTR sequel]

The Puppet Assassin - Ch 11 [connect -|- dizelde]

I hiccupped and managed to smile weakly.

"Goodo. Dizelde's a bit of a mouthful. I'm lazy when it comes to speaking names. I'll always try to find the shortest way to speak someone's name. You can call me Kay, or Hunter, if it suits you..."

She seemed to be blabbering now and in my clearing vision she looked slightly awkward, as if she had revealed a bit too much of herself to me.

"And, of course, I am known for my ability to find the best pubs and clubs in Dublin. And I've told you I've got a friend staying at my place. I'll have to organise a night when we can all go out... How old are you?"

"Sixteen," I mumbled.

"Hmm, well. I'll have to get you a fake ID. It'll be fun. You could use fun."

I let out a short breath. "Thanks. For it all."

She nodded sagely. "Just never tell Liam that we talked emotions. It's taken him months to open me up." She winked and my smile got a little broader.

"Have you been dating long?" I'd always wondered what it'd be like to have a boyfriend. Someone I could trust enough to see everything about me.

Her face went blank. "You know, I don't think we've ever had a date." She narrowed her eyes. "How shoddy is that? You think he could've taken me out to dinner at least once... I mean, the best he's done is have his brother cook." She rolled her eyes. "I guess we didn't meet up the usual way. You could say I had a bit of the Stockholm syndrome."

Liam was her captor? Maybe he had caught her when he was thieving. That was a little irresponsible, if he had fallen for the criminal. Though I suppose it was lucky for her. A guy would hear about my ability to snap necks and throw knives like a circus freak and they would run off in the other direction.

"Well, I could answer your question by saying that we've been living together for several weeks now. And... we've been through a lot which kind of forced us to speed up our relationship and he's already talking about marriage... which I think is a bit too soon. Not that I don't want to marry him but I'm only eighteen, you know?"

She was eighteen? She looked and acted a hell of a lot older. "Eighteen, nineteen? What does it matter, really?" I answered her question. She seemed a little surprised at my honesty but smiled.

"I don't really have an answer for you. My parents married late, after they'd been dating for over eight years, and they... they lived happily."

Lived. Past tense. Oh dear. "I owe your dad a lot, I hear."

She gave me a small smile. "Yeah, Hunt. Liam said he's the one that found you in the basement. One of his last missions."

- - -

A mess of dark brown hair, thick stubble and bright, friendly green eyes. A big hand outstretched in my direction. His lips were smiling but his eyes were glassy.

-come on, little one. Can you tell me your name?-

The eyes grew friendlier. My small hand reached forward, icy in his big, warm palm.

'Diss. Dizelde.' My voice was hoarse and quiet. I was waiting. Waiting for Him to come. Waiting for Him to come with the big knife and the loud voice and the scary eyes. Waiting for the screams.

-that's a nice name. My name is Hunt. Come on, Dizelde- The hand pulled me forward a little and the other big hand wrapped around my waist. -It's okay now-

I tensed under his touch, though I couldn't still my trembles. 'He... he's...'

He gently scooped me up, -He's not going to come. It's okay. I'm going to take you to a place where they have big blankets and big toys and lots of other kids to play with. They'll find you a happy family-

My lower lip trembled. Tears rushed down to clean my grimy face.

-it's okay. You're safe now, Dizelde-

- - -

Dizelde.

"Dizelde!"

I blinked back into focus. Kayli was shaking my shoulder.

"Are you sure you're not tired? You kinda blanked out then."

I laughed, no longer feeling completely sorry for myself. "My first memory. Three years old. It was of your dad. I used to have dreams about that moment."

She smiled sadly.

My stomach chose this moment to rumble loudly. Kayli stared at it in shock. "That's embarrassing for you."

I grimaced.

"Come on. We have to take advantage of Garth's money. I'm feeling shellfish. Lots of it. How about a seafood platter?"

"Sounds like a really good idea." Cher was allergic to seafood and I hadn't had any since she moved in. It had been my favourite food.

"Awesome."

I turned off the screen and we made our way to the kitchen. Kayli grabbed the phone and dialled a number to begin ordering. Larkin wandered in, told Kay that as long as Garth was buying to order him some lobster, and then sat at the table, eyeing me. I studied the cream walls.

"You know, you should rehydrate. Eat a lot of chips, to get some salt back into you."

Was it that obvious I'd been crying? And why did he always come up with these facts about hydration?

"Thanks for the tip, Larkin," I said stiffly.

"Anytime, goldilocks."

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I do not encourage the use of fake identifications in any way... seriously kiddies, wait til you're eighteen (or 21, sucker Americans) or you'll get bored of the night scene before you're 20... Or you'll get so into it that you fuck up your studies... that's not cool.