We were young and drinking in the park
There was nowhere else to go
— Bad Blood, Bastille
➵
[ 10: 30 PM, THE UNDERGROUND ]
Located below the city streets, the Underground was considered Grenwich city's black market. Where previously, subway stations had used to run was now a network of trade shops, opium dens, whorehouses, menageries, bars, fighting pits, and a whole lot of other activities declared illegal by the city, activities that couldn't be well concealed in the slums.
Ari had been to the Underground precisely two times—both when she'd been extremely desperate. The first time had been in those days after she'd left Omega, where she felt lost and disoriented and confused, unsure what to do or where to go, when she had stumbled upon the Underground. She had stayed in a dingy little hotel for three days, feasting on nothing but moldy bread.
The second time she had come back was when she'd needed money, and fast. Unsurprisingly, no one in Grenwich seemed to have a need for an assassin, and when they did, they were usually gang members from the slums looking to even out the playing field with a rival group, and even then the money they offered her in exchange for her services was barely enough to buy herself a loaf of bread for the week.
She'd given in to her internal urges and gone to the Underground, where she knew that the job offers for someone with her particular set of skills was always a necessity. One wouldn't expect any less from a place filled with criminals and thieves, gamblers and lowlifes. (Though Ari supposed she had no right to talk—she was an assassin, after all, someone who did the dirty work for cowards.) But once she'd gotten the money she needed, she promised herself she wouldn't return. There was something about the Underground that just didn't sit well with her.
Now, she was back. This time with Finn at her side.
Finn had insisted they keep a low profile, just in case they happened to run into the masked men again. She'd borrowed one of his sweaters, and the hood was slung over her head, concealing her face. The sweater smelled of Finn, a distinct masculine scent, which for some reason felt reassuring. The thought disconcerted her, and she pushed it away.
She scowled as she followed Finn through the crowds, dodging hands that reached for her out of the shadows and resisting the urge to slide out the dagger beneath her sleeve. She gritted her teeth as they pushed past stall vendors selling contraband and the likes. Roars of laughter followed them as they passed by a makeshift tavern tucked into boarded up tunnel. The chaos and noise filled her ears and the sharp scent of a strange perfume filled her nose, leaving Ari with a pounding headache.
"Where exactly are we supposed to find arrows in the Underground?" she asked Finn, as they entered a less crowded tunnel. Here it was nearly silent, not as many stalls or bars, colder and wetter. Darkness enveloped them as they got farther away from the torches that had lit up the previous tunnel.
"There's an old weaponry shop here," Finn replied. "It's run by a blacksmith who calls herself Dagger." At the pointed look Ari gave him, he added, "Ex-assassin."
Ari nodded in understanding, though it still didn't help reassure her. At Omega, assassins had the choice to come up with a street name for themselves, an alias. Many named themselves things like Crimsoneye or Deathmark, names they thought were clearly terrifying, names Ari thought were ridiculous. She'd gone by Artemis—it was her real name, but it seemed appropriate, made her think that being an assassin was something she was born to do.
Ari studied Finn as he led her along the tunnel. Curious, she asked, "Why are you helping me, Finn? What's in it for you?"
There was a long silence, interrupted only by the sloshing of their boots through the puddles in the tunnel. The only inclination that he had heard her was the slowing of his pace. He shrugged. "Maybe I'm just doing something out of the goodness of my heart."
Ari smirked. "Yeah. Right."
He turned his head toward her, giving her a proper look at his face in the darkness. His eyebrows were raised. "It's called kindness. You should try it sometime."
Her heart stuttered. Kindness. That was a word Ari hadn't heard in so long she'd almost forgotten it's meaning. She didn't know if she, of all people, deserved kindness. She bunched up her shoulders. "I don't have time for kindness."
She didn't hear his response over her footsteps in the wet tunnel. She told herself she didn't care what Finn thought of her, if he thought that she wasn't capable of kindness. It was the truth anyway. What did his opinion matter from a dozen others' who hadn't been afraid to tell Ari exactly what they thought of her? Exactly what they thought she was capable of and not?
Because he's different, a voice nagged. She pushed it away.
Finn stopped them in front of a makeshift shack, wooden boards stack precariously on top of each other, a hanging cloth acting as a substitute for a door.
"Is this it?" Ari asked.
Finn's response didn't make her feel any better about the place. "I hope so. Come on."
He pushed aside the cloth and stepped inside, Ari right behind him. The only light inside came from a lone candle perched on a chair. Weaponry was the right word for the place. There were weapons scattered everywhere, knives and swords, spears and crossbows. Ari eyed a lethal looking dagger, embroidered with swirling, intricate patterns, one of its sides shaped into sharp, jagged teeth, glinting even in the darkness.
"Don't even think about it," Finn said.
Ari smiled with her teeth. "You only say that because you know all the things I could do with it."
"That's not for sale." A new voice said, feminine and clear. It came from behind Ari, and her grip on her knife tightened by instinct.
"Relax," the voice said. "It's just me."
Ari turned around to see a girl about her age standing behind her. She had bronze skin that glowed in the candlelight, and long, dark hair falling in a gorgeous sheen past her back. Ari would have thought of her as pretty, innocent even, with the sweet smile she was giving them, but the deep scar that ran down the left side of her face made her beauty look dangerous, menacing, exactly like the dagger Ari had spotted. Pretty just wasn't the right word.
Finn stepped up. "Sorry to bother you," he said. "We're just looking for some arrows. I heard that this is the best place to get them."
The girl looked at him. "You don't look like the type to wield a bow and arrow."
Finn shook his head. "Not me." He gestured at Ari. "Her."
The girl's attention turned to Ari. She slithered up to her, moving with a liquid-like grace Ari couldn't help but admire. "Of course." She examined Ari, eyes searching her face beneath her hood, and then said, "Ah. Artemis Sullivan?"
Ari stilled. Beside her, Finn stiffened. She turned suspicious eyes on the girl.
"How do you know my name?" she asked.
The girl eyes glinted. "They call me Dagger." Her smile grew, somehow both sweet and threatening at the same time. "I've been waiting for you."
Ari's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean? And you didn't answer my question."
Finn pressed closer to her. She knew that he'd reached for the knife concealed beneath his sweater. She clutched her own, feeling threatened despite herself. It was just that though her street name was common knowledge among most, there were not many that could recognize her by her face.
The girl—Dagger—raised her eyebrows. "You can put your weapons down. I mean you no harm."
Finn exchanged a look with Ari. She did not put her weapon down. Neither did he.
Dagger rolled her eyes. "Fine, then," she said. "I'll get to the point before you decide to gut me. I have a message for you. For both of you."
Finn's confusion matched Ari's. "From whom?"
Dagger's scar caught the candlelight menacingly as she said, "Omega Corporations."
Ari took a step back. She didn't realize she was pressed up against Finn until she felt his chest, solid and reassuring. She pulled away quickly. "What did you say?" she asked.
"A message from Omega," repeated Dagger.
Ari's jaw worked. "I don't want to hear it."
Dagger's smiled. "Oh, I think you do. It's a rather . . . interesting proposition." She paused. "They want you back."
There was a momentary silence. Then Ari began to laugh. It was a harsh sound, cold and dark, free of humour. She sobered up enough to say, "That's ridiculous."
Dagger held up her hands. "I am merely the messenger. All I need is your answer."
Ari smiled sarcastically. "Well then, you can tell them no. Right, Finn?"
Finn looked from Ari to Dagger. "I—What exactly did they say?" he asked Dagger, ignoring Ari's sharp gaze.
"Oh, just something about wanting you back for an important mission. Especially you, Artemis," Dagger said, turning her eyes on Ari. "The reward will be good, I hear."
Ari shook her head. "I'm not going back there. Never again. Neither is Finn." Ari turned to him. "Right?"
Finn hesitated. The pause shocked Ari. The fact that he was even considering the offer made her heart plummet. Dagger interrupted the silence before it could go on too long.
"You want to know what I think, personally?" she asked. "I think that I wouldn't go back to that hell hole even if they offered me a fortune."
Finn closed his eyes. He looked like he was having an internal struggle. Finally, his eyes flew open, and he avoided Ari's gaze as he said, "Tell them I'll—I'll consider the offer."
There was another silence in which Ari stared at him, feeling an unexplainable yet deep sense of betrayal, and he determinedly avoided her eyes. Dagger looked surprised by his answer. "Very well," she said. "Right. Anyway." She ducked beneath a shelf and pulled out a quiver filled with arrows. "Your arrows," she said, handing it to Ari. She took it, handing her a few coins. Then she turned abruptly and left the shop, not bothering to wait for Finn.
She felt a weird sense of déjà vu as he followed her out, the sound of his footsteps behind her, sloshing through the wet tunnel. "Ari," he said. "Wait."
She slowed, only because he had helped her get the arrows, and she should at least spare him a thank you. He stopped beside her. His hood was down, and even in the darkness she could make out the handsome lines of his face.
"Ari—" he started, but she shook her head.
"There's no need to explain. It's your choice to make." She paused. "I just thought, after everything, that you would know better than to—" She stopped.
Finn looked pained. "Ari, it's not like that. I just—I need the money."
"There are other ways of getting money!" Ari burst out, unable to contain herself. "You don't need to go back there."
Finn looked away. His lips twisted. "I do. I have to . . . I left some things unfinished. I—you don't understand."
She shook her head. "You're right. I don't." Ari took a deep breath. Look. Thanks for helping me get the arrows, Finn. I appreciate it. It was—nice of you. But I think we should just stick to ourselves, okay?"
Finn stared at her. "What? Ari, no—"
"I'm better alone, Finn. I'm sure you'll be too." She gave him one last nod of thanks and turned, lingering a bit before walking away, quiver slung over her shoulder, ignoring the look of hurt that was etched across his features.