Jenni woke up around 6:00am in the morning. She showered, brushed her teeth, combed her fur, and got dressed in her usual outfit she had cleaned last night. She went down to the lobby to get some coffee and a muffin. "Good morning Ms. Graves." Jeremy said. "Good morning. Jeremy." Jenni replied. "Did you sleep well last night?" "Yes, thank you." "Any ghost sightings lately?" "No, thankfully." Jenni sat down and read the newspaper. Nothing interesting. A few birthdays, a few deaths, nothing unusual.
"Ah Ms. Graves! You're up early." Jenni looked up to see Mr. Sweet standing over her with a box of doughnuts. "Good morning sir. I see you're all set for breakfast." "You excited to meet the troops?" Sweet asked. Jenni looked uneasily at the newspaper, "A little nervous but I'll get over it." "Atta girl!" Sweet chuckled, "Most of the gang are friendly...in their own ways. But I'm sure you'll do just fine." "Is everyone excited about meeting me?" "Of course, they are. It's been a while since we had someone join us. Business, you know."
"When and where will I meet them?" Jenni asked. "Marigold room at noon. Don't worry about finding it. Jeremy will take you there." Sweet gestured to the nervous looking clerk. "See you then." Sweet walked away and Jenni nodded. She went out shopping for a couple hours at a nearby dress store for new clothes and shoes. Then, she went to see a new romantic picture for another hour before returning to her room and sleeping in until Jeremy knocked at 11:30. "Ms. Graves?"
Jenni immediately leapt up and answered the door, "Hello Jeremy." "Hi Ms. Graves...umm...I can take you to Marigold Room now if you like. Mr. Sweet just went down there." "That would be lovely, thank you." Jenni said, smiling warmly and nodding. Jeremy kept fidgeting the whole time he was leading Jenni to the Marigold room. "Is everything alright my friend?" Jenni asked. "Hmm? Oh yes, sorry. I just never like going to the Marigold room." "How come?" "I just get weird feelings." "Ghosts?" "Probably." The two chuckled.
Jeremy stopped at the entryway of a large door with a golden flower on it. "Here we are." Jeremy squeaked. "Thank you again, Jeremy." Jenni said, patting the clerk's shoulder. He smiled and scurried away. Jenni grinned and shook her head. She hesitated on knocking and pressed her ear to the door. She heard several faint voices; She recognized Asa, Wes, and Fish's voices but there was also two Cajun-French accented voices; one male and one female. The last voice was dark and silky.
"Are you sure we can trust her?" asked the dark voice. "That's why I'm putting her with you." Asa whispered. "Why not with me?" Wes asked, "Fish and I are the only ones who've met her." "You know how you are with ladies Wes." Asa grumbled, "Besides, she just might be one of those...seductive types." Jenni shuttered at that. "She didn't seem seductive." Fish said, "She was polite, sophisticated, well-mannered." "Probably what she wants you to think." Wes grumbled.
"I hope she's single." the Cajun male said, "Heard the Graves family was the wealthiest in the country." "That's disgusting Nico!" the dark voice stated, "Being with someone for their money. Relationships like that never end well." "How would you know Peekon!" The Cajun female said, "You never been in a relationship! Maybe you can start with this girl." Jenni pulled away from the door and shuttered, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." She placed her hand on her head and took a deep breath.
"Come on Jenni, you can do this. You've dealt with worse. Or have you? Oh god, I'm talking to myself again. Ok, for Dad. Do it Dad. For Mom. For J.R. For everyone." Jenni took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times. She pressed her ear against the door again but this time the room fell silent. Jenni was silent too. She looked at her watch; 11:55am. Heavy footsteps approached the door and Jenni backed away from the door. Mr. Sweet was standing in the doorway when it opened,
"Ah! Ms. Graves! You found us! We were just talking about you." "Yes. Well, you are hardly…inconspicuous." Jenni said quietly. "Come in! Come in! Don't be shy." Asa said gesturing Jenni into the room. She quickly slipped past him and looked around; the room was large, gold, and black with small yellow flowers painted on the walls. "Ms. Graves!" Fish cried, "Remember me…and him?" He glanced at Wes who fixed up his nice suit and bowed. "Afternoon madam." "Gentlemen." Jenni nodded.
The other three individuals in the room were two tall gray cats; a muscular male and a tall, slim, black haired female, and…the strange tuxedo cat from the lobby yesterday. The two locked eyes and gave each other suspicious looks. Jenni looked away when Asa cleared his throat, "Everyone, this is the young lady I've been telling you about. Ms. Jenni Graves. My dear I believe you've already met Mr. Wes Clyde and Mr. Fish." "Pleasure to see you again ma'am." Wes bowed. Asa chuckled,
"This is Nico and Serafine Savoy, siblings by the way." "Pleasure." Jenni said shaking hands with the Savoys. "It'll be nice to have another lady on board." Serafine said. "And such a beautiful one at that." Nico chuckled. Jenni chuckled, "I'm glad I'll be able to assist." She glanced back at the tuxedo cat, who hadn't taken his eyes off her. "And who is this gentleman next to me?" "That madam is your mentor, Mr. Mordecai Heller." Sweet declared proudly. "You can just call him Peekon." Nico stated. "You may not." Mordecai said, angrily.
"Don't worry, I won't. I don't find nicknames or aliases useful for my work." Jenni stated. "And why is that?" Heller asked. "I want my targets to know exactly who I am to see their reaction. If they're nervous or distant, that means they have a better chance of hiding something. If they appear normal, well…one way or the other, they all meet the same fate." "Ain't that the truth?" Serafine asked, "You're unique lil' Cher and I like that. You're kind of mysterious but that's even better." "Very mysterious." Heller said, quietly.
He and Jenni exchanged suspicious looks again. "Ignore him." Wes said, "He's just trying to make your skin crawl with his…intimidation looks. You should've seen the last guy who worked with him. HA! He never came around here again." "I see. Well, sorry to disappoint everyone but I'm not easily intimidated. It's futile being afraid of someone. Even of people like us." "You put off that intimidation vibe yourself Ms. Graves." Wes said, "What exactly did you say you do again?" "I'm an assassin." "You'll fit right in." Nico laughed.
"An assassin?" Heller said, "So you've had other contracts?" "Contracts. Bounties. Personal affairs. Matters that are too complex to explain." "Do you remember anyone else you worked for before coming here?" "I don't keep a record of every person I work for. It's too dangerous. However, to answer your question Mr. Heller, I remember doing work for Father Moore in California." "Moore?" Wes laughed, "That old badger?! Well, he did have a way with the ladies." "Don't remind me." Jenni said with a subtle growl in her voice.
"I also worked with Midas Prano." "Mighty Midas! HA!" Clyde guffawed. "He was a drug lord. Guy had over 50 boxes of crystal shipped to him in just 1 month!" "He's also dead." Heller stated coldly, "Drug Overdosage. He mixed three different types of illicit substances into his whiskey." "Thought he never did drugs." Fish stated, "Jen? Did he do drugs around you?" "No." Jenni said, coldly, "I don't know which is more ironic; A drug lord who doesn't do drugs or a drug lord that dies of an overdosage on drugs." "Sounds more like a paradox." Heller stated.
"Right then," Sweet spoke out, "Now that you've met everyone, I think it's time for some training." "Just a moment Mr. Sweet, can I speak to you in private for a moment please?" Jenni asked, glancing at her mentor. "Of course." Asa said, leading her across the room. "Intimidated already?" he asked. "No." Jenni said shortly, "Something's peculiar about him." "Who Mordecai? He's a bit…odd. But he's a hard worker and he's one of the best in the business. Just don't bring up Asymmetry and you'll be fine. Trust me." Asa explained.
"I saw him in the lobby earlier and he's been staring at me ever since I arrived here. It's rude." Jenni said, straightening her collar. Asa chuckled, "Well, Heller is observant. He likes to pay attention to every single detail. He's just making sure you're not trying anything funny. Or maybe he just likes you." Jenni groaned, "I hope it's the former. I am in no need of a romantic relationship with a male or a female." "You sound just like him. Well, at least give him a chance." "I just said that…" "Not romantically!
I mean form a friendship with them. See how he works. Find out his likes, dislikes, history, whatever you need. He'll start to trust you over time. You'll see. And if you do find him as a…potential…love interest, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't mind it. Love makes you stronger." Jenni rolled her eyes, "I appreciate the pep talk sir. Now is there a gym or a recreational area I can go to? My muscles are tense this morning." "I believe there's one down the street. Just leave Heller a note or something." "I'll see to it. Thank you."