"What are you doing here?"
"Fulfilling an assignment. Lord Rum sent me to bring back someone he's taken an interest in." Rei Furuya held up Lord Rum's order as he spoke.
"Hmph." Gin let out a cold laugh. "Go back and tell him that person is already dead."
Even though Lord Rum was The Organization's second-in-command, Gin ignored him most of the time. Especially now that Lord Rum had sent a newly promoted codename member, Gin cared about this mission even less.
Spinning around with his dark coat sweeping an arc through the air, Gin took the lead and stepped onto the stairs.
Seeing the gloomy look in Gin's eyes, Rei knew completing Lord Rum's assignment wouldn't be as easy as he thought. He followed behind Vodka, their crisp footsteps echoing through the stairwell.
They soon reached the rooftop. Gin kicked the door open to find a blonde woman sitting on the rooftop railing under the pale moonlight, with Korn and Chianti pinned beneath her feet.
"You're finally here." The woman smiled and waved.
"Scarlet," Gin muttered, pronouncing the woman's name one syllable at a time.
Seeing the blonde man behind Gin, Mao Akai's eyes instantly lit up. Ignoring Gin's blazing expression, a massive grin bloomed across her face.
Rei felt an instinctive wave of dread. Before he could retreat, Mao blew him a kiss.
"Darling, we meet again."
Instantly, Gin's knife-like gaze locked onto Rei.
"You know each other?"
It was the look one gave a traitor. If Rei so much as nodded, Gin would send him to meet his maker the next second.
Rei forced a stiff smile and spread his hands. "I ran into her during a previous mission. I had no idea she'd go and provoke The Organization."
A bullet grazed past Rei's ear as Gin glanced at him. "There won't be a next time."
Rei raised his hands and shuffled two steps to the side. "Fine, fine. Got it."
Hearing Gin say there wouldn't be a next time actually made Rei relax slightly. He surveyed the current situation, wondering how on earth he was supposed to complete Lord Rum's assignment under Gin's pressure.
Before he could sort out his thoughts, Mao, standing across from him, let her expression drop.
"How dare you make a move on my sweetie! Are you ready to die?"
Hearing Mao's words, Gin parted his lips in a sneer of utter contempt. Both of them moved at once; gunfire erupted and stone shrapnel flew everywhere as Rei and Vodka scrambled for cover.
Poor Korn and Chianti, still unconscious on the ground, were pelted with flying debris until their heads were covered in bumps.
Observing the battle unfold, Rei was shocked to find that the two combatants were evenly matched—and he knew he didn't stand a chance of defeating Gin himself.
Perhaps if he saved this person, she could be used to keep Gin in check down the line.
With that thought in mind, he took action.
Dialing Lord Rum's number and propping his phone up against a ledge, Rei stepped out from cover beneath Vodka's astonished stare.
"Gin, Lord Rum wants you to spare her."
Rei's voice caused Gin to waver for a fraction of a second. The gun in his hand was kicked away by Mao, and her own firearm was already pressed against his temple. The moment he dropped his weapon, however, a dagger slipped from Gin's sleeve; he caught it and pointed the blade at Mao's neck.
"You lose." Mao didn't care in the slightest as the cool blade sliced through her skin, maliciously digging the barrel of her gun a little deeper into Gin's temple.
"Or perhaps my knife will slit your throat first." Gin pressed the blade downward.
"Enough!" Rei stepped forward, pulling the two apart. "Gin, Lord Rum wants you back to handle the situation at the laboratory. As for Ms. Scarlet—"
Rei shot Mao a deep, lingering look. "Lord Rum invites you to join us."
At the mention of the laboratory, the aura of pure murder surrounding Gin faltered. With a cold snort, he ordered Vodka to hoist Chianti and Korn over his shoulders and left without looking back.
Once all the onlookers had cleared out, Mao finally had a moment to examine the man before her.
Months had passed, yet he hadn't changed at all—except this time, his golden hair wasn't hidden beneath a cap, but instead fell in soft locks over his head, a pair of amethyst eyes glaring at her coldly through the strands.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Mao felt her heartbeat slip out of control once again. "So you really are in the same organization," she said, feigning pleasant surprise. "If you'll stick by my side, I'll join. Working for someone is working for someone, after all."
Rei fought down the twitching vein on his forehead, picked up his phone from the ledge, and refused to look at Mao. "I don't have the authority to arrange your future assignments. All actions await the Boss's orders."
"I noticed the others all have partners. Can I request to be your partner?" Mao tested the waters.
"To be Bourbon's partner, you have to be a codename member." A gender-neutral voice echoed from Rei's phone.
Mao looked down at the handset.
The person on the other end seemed to sense her gaze, letting out a raspy chuckle. "Want to be Bourbon's partner? Then come find me. I'll be waiting."
The line went dead. Unfazed, Mao wiped the blood from her neck and asked, "Was that creepy weirdo just now Lord Rum? Where am I supposed to find him?"
With a complicated expression, Rei glanced past Mao's shoulder at a black helicopter approaching in the distance.
"I think you're going to need to catch that chopper."
Mao looked back and let out an involuntary whistle. This organization certainly wasn't short on cash.
The helicopter hovered directly overhead, and a rope ladder was lowered. Mao scrambled up the rungs. Just a second before she climbed out of reach, Rei asked with a conflicted frown, "How on earth did you find me?"
Rei was certain he had never left a trail, yet this woman had simply shown up out of nowhere. While coincidence likely played a part, it left him with too many suspicions.
Hearing his question, Mao paused with her hand on the ladder and leaned in close to Rei's ear.
Rei watched her tensely, feeling the other person's breath grow warmer and closer.
"You might not believe it, but fate brought us together again."
With that, Mao left a kiss on Rei's ear.
Startled by her actions, the man stepped back two paces, missing his chance to board the helicopter—or perhaps that chopper was never meant to pick him up in the first place.