Chapter Two
That fucking bitch is going to pay.
It was all he could think about as he sat there, tapping his pencil against the desk with building intensity. The teacher was prattling on about some reading assignment, but with every second that passed, the boy's skin burned a shade redder. He needed class to be over and done with so he could handle this properly. The clock ticked away the seconds with deliberate, mocking leisure.
But what the fuck could she have been doing? Who the hell walks up to a perfect stranger and.. and just.. smells them?! He was burning up just thinking about it. Rage at both the act itself and the embarrassing spectacle she'd made of him left his face steaming. That Fucking bitch. No one gets away with treating a Klein this way. No one. He sat there quietly fidgeting at his desk trying to solve the riddle, but his frustration only built. If she wanted to piss him off, there were less demented ways to do it. She must be sent here by someone. A test from dad? Or perhaps an enemy that wanted to compromise his position within the school before landing the final blow. Yeah. It must be something like that. That bitch was here to throw him off balance, and thus far, she was doing a fantastic fucking job of it. He stabbed a small indent in the top of his desk. No self respecting crime lord would let someone walk all over them like this. That psycho needed to be dealt with. Now.
As he sat their puzzling out the girl's elusive motives, he remembered an aspect that had escaped him in the midst of all the anger, surprise and confusion. Something he'd picked up on while she was.. that is, while her.. chest.. was right in his face. That bitch, playing mind games with him on top of everything else. But he needed to focus. What he'd started to recall was the unexpected side effect of their close proximity. Something that he had failed to take note of in the moment. While the psycho bitch had been smelling his head, his position had forced him to sample her scent as well.
The sensory memory was vivid, especially for how brief their encounter had been. Her scent was earthy, like.. walking down a misty forest path, lined with something floral, but not too sweet. But there was another undertone to it- one that he loathed to acknowledge. She smelled.. kind of warm.. and familiar. He couldn't place just where or how he could have encountered it before, but the unwelcomed scent was, he fervently hated to admit, tantalizing, in that special way that only a woman's could be.
Consciously, he leaned his forehead into the cusp of his hand to shield himself from peering eyes, deciding then and there that she was planted in his life to play havoc with his good name. He would have to make a crystal clear example of her, that much was certain. Above all else, he needed to guaranty that no one in this school would fucking dare to cross him again once he was done with her. It would be another eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds before the bell rang. His blood continued to boil with rage, and he knew he needed a distraction or he was going to lose it.
His gaze drifted over to Piper's seat and lingered. Sitting a bit ahead of him meant she wouldn't notice his glance, but there was something grounding about her that always comforted him. Normally, the two of them would be handling this situation by dragging their victim somewhere secluded and settling the score, classes be damned. But, there was currently something of an exception to the norm, a new rule that he had to take into consideration. The two of them were supposed to be lying low and gathering intel here in America. If they drew too much attention to themselves, he knew in his bones that some Fucking how, the Dietrich clan would find them here. Piper drew a knife at school in broad daylight, and there were numerous witnesses.
It wasn't the students that he was worried about. No, they were thoroughly under his thumb, every last one of them- certainly the students in this particular class at least. They had already learned better than to disrespect him. But teachers were a bit more tricky to force submission out of. They were honor bound to report any students that so brazenly endangered the rest of the student body. He could almost respect that, he thought with a rueful smile. Protection was, after all, what the Klein syndicate specialized in- just not the same kind that they enforced around here. In general, it was easier to handle business behind closed doors and leave the faculty out of things, lest the two of them incur any unwanted attention.
Piper knew all of this. She had spent her life training to earn the seat at his table that she had never really felt she deserved. Her parents had been trusted members of a family close with his own for several years; she was only a toddler when their charred corpses were found in an industrial warehouse on the wrong side of town. Father had taken her in as a tribute to all of the good years and fortune their alliance had brought, but, he suspected, also out of guilt that the family ties were what had gotten them killed.
After years of training with the Klein's best marksman and bounty hunters, she had finally thought herself worthy to ask for this particular assignment. He had bore witness the whole ordeal, and been asked to weigh in on his father's decision before he granted her the honor. She had been his personal guard for years now, making her easily the youngest bodyguard his family had employed to date, and one of few to ever achieve that rank as a woman. As such, she was fully informed on the situation back home that lead them to coming back here, and she knew the dangers they faced should they be found by the wrong people. Logically, he knew that the way she had so brazenly exposed them was both dangerous and unforgivable. He would have to deal with her later as well.
The thought plagued him, and he stole a closer look at her face as he weighed his decision to tell Father of her incompetence. That look was more than was enough for him to see it, written plainly across her face. She was already all too aware of her mistake, and he hesitated. She had been trying to protect him. A job that he knew for a fact she valued more than her own life. All of her pride was on the line, and if this mission proved too much for her, she would never recover. Odds were, she was going to beat herself up for this far more than anything he would consider a suitable punishment. Maybe.. once could be considered a fluke. Maybe, just maybe, in her case, once was forgivable.
The bell rang and he sat up with a start, tension spiking through his back and shoulders. Mr. Halbrook peaked up from his grading binder at the sudden movement. "Felix, everything okay?" he asked inquisitively.
"Yes.." Felix murmured, shooting a glance back toward Piper. She was already watching him for a sign and nodded her understanding as she stood. Mr. Halbrook was never one to linger once class was dismissed, and, true to form, the moment his papers were locked away in his desk he was out the door. The students filed out at a quicker pace than usual, likely because they had been watching him brood and boil throughout the entire period. He felt the raw menace radiating from his every pore, mixed with a gritty flicker of joy. All the fun little ways he'd thought up to punish this insolent girl rolled around in his head and left a devilish smile plastered across his face.
Felix took his signature black fedora from the hook on his desk and pulled it down over his eyes as he disappeared into the crowd now flowing towards the front exit. He watched from the door as the new girl slung her backpack on and trudged across the back edge of the classroom. No doubt she intended to avoid him by slipping out the back door, but no sooner had she reached the threshold than Piper blocked her path. "Cali, was it?" she glowered. Felix grinned from his position as the last few students finished skittering past him. It was finally time. He shut the door and slid the emergency bolt into place. Piper did the same to the back door without losing sight of her prey. One by one, he closed the blinds facing out into the hallway with the jerk of a chain, while Piper kept her pinned against the back wall.
It warmed his heart in a way, to see his loyal soldier finally so eager for something. It wasn't a sight he was able to see often. Her hair sifted free of her ear as she looked to him for orders. She had always kept it cut short, a sheet of dark silk threads flowing from her nape to just below her jawline. It was a choice he respected given her chosen profession. It shimmered in the light still filtering in from the second story window, a deep natural charcoal black, with a shine that reminded him of the carrion crow plumage they often saw back home. He grimaced at the thought. It suited her. Their childhood had seen too many dark alleys with carnivorous birds circling overhead.
"Um.. Hi guys. What's up?" the coy little minx inquired, as if her life weren't already forfeit. With a glance to check that the coast was clear, Piper once again brandished her switchblade and flicked it open as a response. He could see the sadistic smirk working it's way up her lips reflected in it's gleam. There were times he worried she was being warped by the demands of her position. But he was also unpleasantly certain that so long as she stayed the path, she would become exactly what the Klein family needed her to be. The perfect, loyal soldier.
Felix took a few steps closer, cocking his head to peer over Pipers shoulder, the fedora now hooding his eyes. The transfer student was trying to keep up a brave face, but she was clearly terrified. Good. She had already been backed into a corner and was curling into herself atop the bench that spanned the entire back wall of the classroom. Piper clearly derived pleasure from her reactions every time she made the slightest hostile twitch. She had a hell of a bone to pick, and the only reason he found plausible was that she blamed the transfer for their near exposure. A burden that was hers alone to bear.
Piper's grin evaporated the instant her blade was plucked from her fingers. This was no easy task, as her training had prepared her against dropping her weapon under hostile conditions, but one surprised peek told her she should let go immediately. Her face became ashen as the realization sunk deep into her skin. She had disgraced herself, and would under no circumstances be permitted these spoils.
A chill filled the air between them. The two of them had been working together their entire lives, and rarely needed verbal commands anymore to communicate. Understanding her position, she solemnly stepped aside, leaving the girl with one final sharp glare. "I'll watch the hall from Edinburgh's room. If she's any trouble, tap the shade." Felix caught the dejected expression that darkened her face as she passed, but there was nothing to be done about it. The door clicked softly behind her as she left.
Felix slid the bolt back into place and returned to look down his nose at the cornered girl, who was visibly unwinding at Piper's departure. Stupid girl, he thought as his grin returned in full watts. "You know, the fact that you think her leaving is a mercy shows that you really don't know who the Fuck I am." He growled the last part as his pupils constricted. He stepped menacingly towards her, and she picked her feet back up off the ground with a squeak. "But don't worry," he cooed, and the knife sliced through the air as he flicked it back open, becoming an extension of his arm. "We're going to fix that."