21) Plastic surgery

It was totally uncharacteristic of an assassin to fidget, since they were usually the ones to be the cause of that. Moreover, it was totally uncharacteristic for Squalo to fidget—and yet he was doing just that at the very moment. It had been hours since Mira's last message. If she's gonna be back in one piece, then she should at least call, he thought begrudgingly. Damn, that bitch is gonna make me do all the work.

Scrolling down all his contacts, he called Mira. After a few rings, he was talking to her voicemail instead. "You know what to do after the beep", it said in her cheery voice. "If you don't…well, sucks for you. Have a good day!"

Beep.

He groaned in frustration. "Dammit, Mira!" he hissed. "Now's not the best time not to pick up the goddamn phone! I don't care if you're out on a fucking job, or if you're gutting your victim right now, but…" he found that he was at a loss for words, what with all his worrying, "…bitch, you better call me back. I don't fucking care what you're doing, just—"

In midsentence, he was cut off by another one of those annoying beeps. Just call me back and let me know you're okay.

They—pertaining to her unknown attackers—wouldn't dare break the concrete pillar even if it meant getting her. After all, she'd just move to another one and once all the pillars were broken a whole level of parking lot would come crashing down on them. Not exactly the kind of victory either of the opposing parties had in mind.

Meanwhile, Mira remained hidden behind her sanctuary of cement. She couldn't risk making a break of the elevator. No, that would be completely reckless of her. She had guessed that there might be two assailants and one of them could be Aquitano. Surely, one of the two would be stationed near the elevator, waiting just in case she was stupid enough to take the bait. On the other hand, she could run for the stairs but those iron claws would probably catch her, if bullets—or worse, her hunters—don't get to her first. She was clean out of options, unless you count suicide to be one of them. She could just kill the two scumbags, freeze the bodies, and then drop them at a heart-stopping height. By the time they hit the ground, they'll be beyond recognition. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Carefully, she stepped out of her hiding place in a feigned act of surrender. Palms raised, she walked to the middle of the lot. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast", she yelled, hoping that someone was listening. "This is a once in a lifetime offer!"

Sadistic laughter erupted out of nowhere. "Good girl", taunted a female voice. "No wonder my brother fell for you".

Brother? She thought. Mira knew Ren all her life and there had been no mention of sighting of another sibling. Unless…

She started putting the pieces together, when as if on cue, two iron claws snapped out from the dark abyss, reaching out to claim her. In an instant, she ducked causing the two metal contraptions to collide and fall limp to the floor. They began to retreat back where they came from when Mira got a hold on them both, freezing them. Smashing the claws against the floor, she leapt up, looking around frantically for her other opponent. "Whoever you are, you'd better get your ass out here!" she called out. "I'm sick of your stupid game!"

"Are you?" the voice cackled. "What's the matter? Haven't been on any weddings lately?"

Weddings. Of course. Mira would have smacked herself on the forehead if her hands weren't engulfed in frozen flames. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Again, the voice giggled childishly. She sounded a lot closer that she was before. "We would have been sisters, you know? Sisters-in-law".

In-laws. Oh my fucking god.

Just then, Mira heard a gun cock behind her. Instinctively, she whirled around to face her enemy, only to find the gun's metal body smashing against her jaw. Her vision blurred as she buckled to the floor. With her down on her knees, she was practically vulnerable. A cruel hand reached out and grabbed a handful of her silver locks, yanking her head back just enough for a swift bitch slap to the face. Mira bit back any cries of agony, knowing that the bashing was far from over. The hand that held onto her hair pulled her forward and somewhere, a tapered foot landed a kick squarely to her stomach. Mira doubled over as a pained groan escaped her lips. That's gonna leave a bruise, she thought, hugging her stomach as she coughed up blood.

She kept her head down, running her tongue over each tooth as she checked for any that might have come loose. Meanwhile, her enemy ranted on. "I was in a boarding school at the time", she hissed. "I was so happy when I found out that my brother was getting married. Then I come home and find them all dead".

Mira was listening even as she checked for any dental injuries. Okay, I'm good, she thought, slightly relieved by the fact that every single tooth was still intact. Then: Holy shit. Nikolai never told me he had a sister, and neither did Ren! "Who…who the hell are you?" she asked weakly.

Once again, her head was yanked back sharply and Mira found herself staring up at a cold, cruel face imprinted with the same Russian features as her deceased fiancée. The face came closer till she were only a hairsbreadth away form each other. "Irina. Your sister-in-law. A pity Nikolai never mentioned me", she breathed.

Sister-in-law, my ass. Mira allowed her to gloat for a few seconds before grabbing her face with a flaming hand. In a blink of an eye, Irina dropped everything and clawed at Mira's hand, shrieking like a wounded animal as she did. Nevertheless, her feeble efforts were all in vain; Mira had her other hand scrunched at the back of her head, holding her in place despite her useless writhing.

Finally, when Mira decided that enough was enough, she let go of her newly mutilated face and punched her with an icy fist. The impact sent her sprawling to the floor, whimpering pathetically as she clutched her ruined face.

Mira looked down at her coldly as she got up, dusting herself free of dust, rubble, and grime. "Fuck you. I didn't even want to marry your brother!" she hissed, spitting out a glob of spit and blood.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she hobbled away from the scene and into her car. She wasted no time lingering and drove off at an alarming speed.

As she went down the Sicilian roads, Mira fumbled with her phone. Her voicemail contained one message and at the touch of a button, she heard Squalo's angry voice tinged with something that imitated worry. She allowed herself a little smile, knowing that she managed to make him worry, but somewhere deep in her heart, she couldn't help but wonder why Xanxus never called her—not even once. So you slept together…so what?! She scolded herself, the smile quickly leaving her face. He's your boss and you're supposed to be Varia quality! Your ass just got kicked by a dead man's sister! She shouldn't even be alive at all!

Mira took a deep breath, and struggled with the phone in her left hand as she drove with the right. Not after a single ring, Squalo had already picked up. "Hey, Mira! What took you so long?" he asked, then cut her off again before she could even answer. "Never mind…so how'd the job go?"

Of all the things he could ask about. "I'm fine, by the way, thanks for asking", she replied grimly. After a short pause, she said, "Look, I—it…it didn't go as planned…"

"What. The. Fuck. Happened".

When he spoke slowly and with emphasis, it only meant one thing: the guy's trying hard not to freak out. "Diego Aquitano was just a…a bait", she explained, licking her chapped lips. "I—god, it all happened so fast…"

"Spit. It. Out. Already".

"I just found out who's coming after me. I'll tell you more about it when I get home".