A few days before the mission started.

"Wow, It took over fifteen hours for you to wake up…

Good now let’s talk."

Miss Debeers sat on Victor’s table as he gathered his bearings due to his long sleep.

"How could you make a bunch of kids bully you into approving such a thing?"

Miss Debeers was holding her poker face as she asked but the look of contempt was still hidden deep below.

"Bully, me?"

Victor shook his head as he sat up, a perplexed expression crossing his face.

“That is what I want the spy’s to think.”

Victor glanced at his watch before continuing.

"No, this is a necessary move—a golden opportunity, even."

He paused, collecting his thoughts before adding,

"This right here is our chance to catch them red handed. I know they’ll be waiting and we will be waiting too."

Victor rose, adjusting his tie with a sense of purpose.

"But what about the students?

Are you really going to let them get caught in the crossfire?"

Miss Debeers had an expression showing deep concern, if any of her students saw this side of her they would be shocked. Afterall, in her normal day to day classes she was as cold as evil.

Miss Debeers' concern was palpable, a side of her seldom seen outside her classroom, where her demeanor was as cold as ice. Deep down, she cared for her students, but she understood that in the world of assassins, coddling children led only to cold, lifeless bodies. Survival in this ruthless profession demanded a heart as cold as ice.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Veronica, listen, I know you want to protect the students, but…”

Victor hesitated, searching for the right words, not wishing to be overly blunt.

"The longer we wait, the more students will die anyway. If we don't seize this opportunity, we risk losing even more lives."

Victor chose to be direct, ignoring his better instincts.

Miss Debeers looked at him like she was looking at a stranger.

“How could you say something like that?

After everything that happened between us. How could you use our own students as bait?!”

Debeers looked at him with eyes filled with disappointment and regret.

Victor sighed heavily, avoiding her gaze as he retrieved his jacket.

"Veronica, you wouldn't understand. I've been out there, hunting them down. These guys are professionals—they leave no trace. I'm running on fumes, struggling to find any lead."

I’ve destroyed base after base and yet I still can’t get a hold of any of them!”

Victor let out his true frustration. It had to be understood that Victor was a veteran assassin. His web and connections throughout the entire world was lightyears ahead of anyone else in the world.

If he was having a hard time finding someone or something then there was a ninety-nine percent chance that it didn’t even exist to begin with. Victor had entire governments in his palm, multi-billion dollar companies, and multiple secret organizations that owed him favors not to mention the entire secret world of assassins. If with all of these he still couldn’t find any of the ‘ghost killers’ then they truly were ghosts.

Debeers looked at him, understanding his torment, but she couldn’t bear to put her students on the line.

“You are better than this-”

Her words were abruptly cut short by a persistent banging on the door.

“Come back tomorrow!”

Miss Debeers exclaimed, but the banging persisted.

“I’ve already waited fifteen hours! This is a code ‘red’! It can’t wait any longer!”

The voice from the other side was insistent.

Victor and Miss Debeers exchanged glances, their grievances momentarily set aside

“Come in”

In burst a blue-haired beauty, her face etched with worry. She carried a stack of papers and delivered her preliminary report in haste, laying them out on the principal's desk.

“I’ve been trying to contact you, Sir.

There was a ‘code red’ last night. Preliminary reports are at least forty dead bodies, with twenty of them being from our ‘shadows’”

Miss Alexis gave her rudimentary report in a hurried manner as she laid down some paper on the principal's desk.

Miss Debeers gave her a sharp side eye seeing her clutter the desk she had not too long straightened.

Victor looked at Miss Debeers and shook his head,

“See Veronica, the longer I take to solve the problem the more bodies we lose.”

Miss Debeers bit her tongue, not being able to argue after hearing the reports.

Miss Debeers held back her argument, her voice silenced by the weight of the reports she had just heard. She turned to leave, but Victor caught her hand, his eyes locking onto hers.

“I still need you Veronica.”

“What should I do, Headmaster?”

Alexis interjected, attempting to redirect Victor's focus to his responsibilities.

Victor sighed deeply, a pang of pain in his heart.

“Gather the students!

And call an emergency board meeting.”

Victor barked orders as he watched through the corner of his eyes as Miss Debeers left.