Chapter 3

I froze, my eyes bugged out, and I was in full flighty panic mode, I dropped my fork, jumped from my seat, and headed for the nearest exit. Only problem with that little plan was that I was stopped before I could even get out of the kitchen by a growling pooch named Suey who looked about ready to pounce.

     "Damn dog!" I growled through clenched teeth.

     As I attempted to go around the growling dog I heard a familiar click. Tightening my jaw I turned to face Joshua, and sure enough my gun was pointed directly at my face, cocked and ready to go. Our eyes locked, and they did not waver in the slightest bit.

     "Sit," He growled through clenched teeth of his own.

     Reluctantly I obeyed him. I took my eyes off of Joshua for a moment, and focused on Suey, who was still growling ferociously in my direction, as I made my way back to the chair.

     "So, what would you like to know?" I questioned with a devious smile as I sat down.

     "Just who are you?" He asked, face holding a blank stare; completely void of any emotion and that bothered me slightly.

      It bothered me only because it showed he may have some sort of experience in this kind of situation, but I couldn't be completely sure. For all I know he could be just putting up a good front in attempts to intimidate me. Little did he know I don't scare so easily.

     "My name is Momo Ayame Lagendorlf, as I'm sure you already know." I replied sarcastically rolling my eyes in the process.

     "You know exactly what I meant, so don't get smart with me!" Joshua spat back in my direction.

     'Tch, this kid's no fun.' I thought as I again rolled my striking blue eyes at him. "When I was eighteen my father forced me to work for a friend as a payment for all of the trouble I'd put him through. Thing is that friend just so happened to be the director of Covert Operations; Shawna Peterson. I worked for her as a spy for two years before I got fed up with the whole operation, and went rouge. For two years my life has been just peachy, that is until I got the order to kill you."

     Joshua's eyes slightly widened, his jaw clenched sharply, and scooted as far back into his chair as he possibly could. Classic signs of fear, and not only could I see it in his eyes, but I could smell the stench of it too. Fear is the best manipulative tool you could ask for, and there it was presenting itself to me, so that's exactly I'm going to use it as, I just have to play my cards right.

     "Scared of me huh?" I asked teasingly as I leaned forward onto the table. "Don't worry I'd be too." I finished suddenly feeling extremely bold like I had nothing left to lose.

     Mere moments later I felt the muzzle of my 9 mil. connect with the side of my face almost throwing me out of the chair. I was well beyond lucky at this point not only had he missed his true target; my left temple, but he showed just how inexperienced he actually was by missing. Letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding I brought a hand to my face. After a bit of poking and prodding at the wound I determined that nothing was broken. Sighing heavily for probably the thousandth time I pulled myself together, and sat up in the chair.

     "You must be one stupid blonde." I said followed by a dry throaty chuckle.

     "Why do you say that?" Joshua asked clearly intrigued by my light hearted way of speaking.

     "Anyone who knows Godric Jeager, personally or professionally, should better than to mess with something that belongs to him. You of all people should know that." I replied with a smirk as blood trailed down the left side of my face.

     "Yeah I know that, but you see the problem with that is Godric's not here, he's in jail, so he can't do anything about it." A putrid smirk of what he thought was victory crossed his face.

     "Tsk, tsk, tsk," I said wiggling my index finger back and forth. "I'll let you in on a little secret; he has friends on the outside who inform him on new developments, and follow orders accordingly. Just so happens my older brother, Shinji, is one of those friends. So, if I choose to tell my brother he will make sure Godric gets informed within the hour, and I can guarantee that Godric will send someone far worse than me who will not even give you the time of day."

     Joshua's smirk vanished, and his face paled, then he did something I didn't expect at all. He dropped the gun onto the table, and slid it across to me.

     "Do it, do your job, and be done with it." Joshua said sternly.

     "Nope, not a chance." I replied completely ignoring the itching feeling that it would in fact be easier to just kill him and be done with it.

     "Why not?"

     "You, just like me, want Godric out of prison, and that is a task I cannot complete alone. So I want you to help me complete it." I answered.

     Joshua bit his lip, and looked down at his hands. He looked as if he was buying it, but I couldn't be one-hundred percent sure.

     "I'll help you, but only if you help me find who put the hit out on me, and end him." Joshua looked at me with a, surprisingly, desperate look in his eyes.

     "Fine," I answered, after all the offer was a simple job, which made it extremely appealing, making it an offer I could not afford to give up.

     "Good. I'll take care of the dishes, go clean your face. Oh, and don't call me Joshua, it's Josh."

     I picked up my gun, uncocked it, and pushed the safety lever into place before setting it back down onto the table. I watched Josh as he picked up both of our bowls, dumped their contents into the garbage disposal, and began to wash them among a few other dirty dishes that were laying in the sink. I'm not at all sure why, but even after threatening to shoot me, and hitting me across the face with the muzzle of my gun I somehow felt comforted , and safe within his presence. Then again violence has always brought me closer to people.

     "So Momo are you gonna go wash your face, or sit there staring at me all day?" Josh questioned over his shoulder snapping me out of my thoughts, and causing me to blush slightly.

     "I wasn't staring!" I snapped crossing my arms over my chest, "I was debating on whether or not to ask you where your bathroom was."

     "Down the hall, last door on the left." Josh told me as he turned around with an all knowing grin plastered onto his face.

     Glaring at him I jumped up from my seat, and headed for the hallway hearing a light chuckle behind me.

     "Men, they're all the same." I muttered in distaste as I wondered aimlessly down the hallway until I reached the much needed safety of the bathroom, and I'm not really sure how safe it was either.

     When I walked into the small bathroom I wasn't exactly given a good first impression. The walls were pasted with a sixties flowered wallpaper that was chipping everywhere, there was a full bath with a missing showerhead, the toilet seat was cracked in several different places, and it looked as if the shaving products had commenced war on the sink, and the mirror had gotten caught somewhere in the middle of it all. I haven't seen something remotely as bad as this since my baby cousin decided to stay the night one day when I was fourteen, and trashed the whole house, but even so this was still much worse.

     Carefully maneuvering my hand around massive blobs of shaving cream that were practically everywhere I reached the faucet, and turned on the water. Grabbing a wash cloth out of a green christmasy looking basket I placed a corner under the running water to dampen it before I brought it to my sore face. Gritting my teeth through the pain I wiped away all of the, now dried, blood. Upon removing the blood I noticed my wound was nothing more than a swollen scrape, there's a good chance it would scar, but if anyone asked it could easily pass for a skateboarding injury. Satisfied with my job of cleaning up my wound I turned off the water, and light before happily exiting the bathroom.

     I slowly walked down the hallway softly singing "Wild Heart" by Sabi, though I stopped when I entered the kitchen, and saw Josh nor Suey were present. Sighing heavily, again, I brought my right hand to my temple, and massaged it gently. I was going to have to hunt down some kid, who's not even close to being a kid, and his dog in a small apartment? Really?

     "Don't sigh, you have a lovely voice." Josh said suddenly appearing behind me, and normally at that I would've jumped like a mad monkey with way to many fleas, but I'd expected such from him so I'd prepared myself.

     I shook my head not wanting to argue, and walked over to the table where I sat in the same chair I'd been sitting in all night.

     "So do you have a plan for catching this guy that's after me?" Josh asked eagerly as he sat down across from me.

     Honestly did this kid think I was some kind of amateur? "Of course I have a plan." I replied before yawning rather loudly, "What time's it?"

     "Um, about 6:30 in the afternoon, but what's your plan?" Josh questioned quickly getting childishly impatient, and it was beginning to annoy me.

     Leaving my gun purposely on the table I headed for the door. Spending the night at someone's house, stranger or not, just isn't my thing.

     "Where are you going?" Josh asked getting up to follow me.

     "Home," I replied turning the door knob.

     "Then why are you leaving your gun here?" Those questions of his were getting on my nerves, and at this point I wish I had shot him 'cause then he'd be quiet.

     I paused, "Keep it, it may come in handy while I'm gone."

     He looked at me questioningly like he was gearing up to open that big mouth of his, but I walked out the door before he got the chance.