Hypnophobia - 04
vier — vows are spoken, to be broken
pairing: ares x original female character (beatrix)
blurb: “We all have secrets.”
word count: 2.1k+
title inspiration: enjoy the silence (reinterpreted) - depeche mode, mike shinoda
Sorry for the long wait! Life got in the way and I’ve been on/off sick for the past month ;; Right now, I’m actually typing this up while battling a migraine oof. This chapter was also edited while suffering from a horrible migraine, so I apologize for any mistakes I may have missed.
This work is cross-posted on AO3.
… | 03 | 04 | 05 | … series masterlist
When Beatrix opens the passenger side door, she is greeted by the familiar face of Ares.
With a small wave from the woman’s fingers and an upward quirk in the corner of her lips, Ares pulls a black cellphone out of her pocket. After pressing a few buttons on the screen, she holds the phone out towards Beatrix.
The assassin pauses to glance back over her shoulder.
Angelo’s men are probably in the apartment by now. They would be sweeping the space, calling out for Angelo and checking each room for his body. And when they discover him dead and drenched in his own blood, they will search every nook and cranny to find her, to find evidence of her. It wouldn’t be long before they burst through the back door, following her trail, ready to slaughter her in retaliation.
The woman releases her hold on the knife in her pocket and slips herself into the car.
Her fingers wrap around the cellphone. And she holds it up to her ear, just as the shrill of the ringing cuts off.
A man’s voice greets her. “It appears that you’ve completed the task,” he says.
Ares switches on the ignition of the car. She pulls away from the side of the curb and drives away from Angelo’s apartment. Glancing at the review mirror, Beatrix watches as his men slam open the back door and sprint down the wooden stairs.
“Were you doubting me, Mr. D’Antonio?” She says.
He ignores her response. “Were there any witnesses?”
“I left a specific trail for them to follow. No one will jump to accuse you of any wrongdoing. For this situation, at least.”
Santino releases a quiet hum in response. “You pinned the blame on someone else.”
“It wasn’t difficult.” Her gaze shifts to Ares, whose eyes are focused on the road in front of her. Was she taking her somewhere specific? Or just away from the scene of the crime? “Angelo wasn’t a very popular man.”
“And which of his enemies did you pick?”
Beatrix smirks. “I’m sure you are able to keep many things secret, but it’s best that you remain blissfully unaware of these details.”
Santino sighs. He’s annoyed.
“I did as requested,” she continues. “For now, that’s all you need to know.”
After a long pause, the man says, “I need you to come meet me in New York.”
“Oh?” Beatrix perks up. “Another problem you need me to take care of?”
“It’s an issue that requires,” he contemplates his next words, “a different type of solution.”
“You’re not hiring me for a hit.”
“No,” he confirms. “I want to make use of your other skill sets.”
Beatrix pauses to stare out of the car window, to examine the empty sidewalks of the frozen streets. “When do you want to meet?”
“In two days.”
“Of course,” Beatrix says. “I’ll see you then.”
“Goodbye, Ms. Amsler.”
The line goes dead.
Beatrix holds the phone back out to Ares, who slips it back inside of her pocket.
“Did anyone see you parked outside of Angelo’s place?” She asks, turning her head towards the other woman.
Ares rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She pulls the car aside, parking it in an empty spot next to the curb.
“Of course not,” Beatrix says. She reaches to pull open the handle of the door. “I need to get out of here, before someone sees us together.”
Ares leans across the car the wraps her fingers around the woman’s wrist. She pulls Beatrix’s hand away from the door and tugs it towards her. With the fingertips of her right hand, Ares places them underneath the assassin’s chin and urges the woman to face her. When their eyes meet, Ares releases her grip and pulls her hands away from Beatrix.
She brings them in front of her. And when Beatrix realizes that Ares is trying to communicate with her through the motions of her fingers, she glances down at the woman’s hands.
You’re bleeding, she signs. Ares lifts a finger to point at the woman’s head, at the spot where Angelo had slammed Beatrix against the bathroom mirror.
Confused, Beatrix lifts a hand to touch her forehead. She jerks away when she feels a burning sting of pain at the contact. Lowering her hand, she glances at the blood coating her fingertips. “Oh,” she whispers. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Ares opens the glove compartment and pulls out a long piece of gauze. She then presses it onto the wound on the forehead, causing Beatrix to flinch and pull away from the material. But Ares places her free hand upon the woman’s neck, forcing the woman to remain still.
Beatrix relaxes. She lifts her hand up to her forehead, placing it on top of the other woman’s. “Thank you,” she says.
Carefully, Ares begins to pull her hands away. She pauses, allowing Beatrix to adjust her grip on the gauze, before removing herself completely.
You knew him, she says.
“Angelo?”
Ares nods her head.
Beatrix leans back into the cushion of her seat. “How do you know that?”
I saw the way he looked at you. Ares reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. She pulls up a photograph and turns the screen towards Beatrix.
On display is a photograph of her and Angelo, sitting together in the booth at the bar.
“You were in the bar?”
She shakes her head. Someone else.
“You’ve been observing me,” Beatrix says.
Ares shrugs. Just keeping tabs.
Beatrix raises her left hand to press against the gauze. With her right hand now freed, she raises it in front of her. Lie, she signs.
A playful spark appears in Ares’ eyes and she smiles at the woman. We all have secrets.
“Did you share this information with Santino?” Beatrix lowers her hand.
No.
“Why haven’t you?”
Ares locks her eyes with Beatrix. She examines her, searching for any hints of weakness and deception. She can sense that the woman in front of her is an act, a shroud to conceal an endless well of secrets. She just needs to find a crack in her exterior.
Who was he to you? Ares questions.
The woman ponders her response. “An old assignment,” she says. “One of the first that I received from Lilith.”
You failed.
“I suppose that from her perspective, yes.” Beatrix blinks. “My priority was the extraction of information. I retrieved what she wanted, but not without complications.”
He found out.
“Angelo was much more intelligent than I believed him to be. He knew for quite some time that I was using him. He was biding his time, waiting for me to slip up and reveal what I was doing with the information.” Beatrix sighs. “But his boss was impatient and ordered Angelo to kill me. The next time I went to see him, he shot a bullet straight into my stomach.”
Ares raises an eyebrow. Why try to hide this?
“I didn’t think it was relevant information.”
Now you are the liar.
Beatrix laughs and shakes her head. “You’re worried that I used this as an opportunity to get my revenge and place the blame on Santino.”
Did you?
“No,” she says. “I am not one to chase a petty quest of vengeance. My instincts are more inclined for acts of survival, not pursuit. I grasp onto opportunities that keep me alive for just a day longer than before.”
Ares pauses, analyzing the woman’s response.
“I’m not interested in shortening my lifespan by framing Santino.”
Stay in the car, Ares says. I will give you a lift.
~ ~ ~
The moment Beatrix unlocks the door of her hotel room, she regrets it. Even with the lights switched off and the door opened just an inch, she can feel Eli’s presence permeating the room. When she steps inside, she sees him. He is sitting on the edge of her bed, twisting a butterfly knife between his long fingers.
“You’re back,” he says. He sounds bored, but Beatrix can hear the annoyance that is bubbling beneath the surface of his calm demeanor.
She shuts the door behind her and takes a cautious step further into the room.
“You’ve been gone awhile.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve been sitting here for a few hours now.”
The woman keeps her mouth shut. She knows that if she opens it now, if she makes the tiniest peep of noise, Eli will lose his temper.
“Got a call while you were gone,” he continues. “Any guesses on what the call was about?”
Beatrix inhales a shallow, nervous breath of air. “I wouldn’t know.”
“They said that my girl, my darling Beatrix, was hooking up with Angelo Ricci. Is that true?” Eli glances up towards her.
Upon seeing her face, the twirling knife freezes in his hand.
He stands up from the bed and approaches her. His eyes trail over her open wounds, the bruises beginning to surface, and the lingering traces of blood on her skin. “What happened?” Eli demands.
“I got into a bit of an argument with Angelo.” Beatrix says.
The man sighs. “You killed him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“For business,” the woman responds. “I can’t just waltz up to Santino D’Antonio and stab him to death. I won’t be able to kill him until I know for certain that I will be able to shoot before getting shot first.”
The man clenches his jaw.
“If you want me to kill Santino, I need to do a few favors for him.”
Eli narrows his eyes. “And what did you gain from killing Angelo?"
“Opportunities,” Beatrix says. “He promised me further employment, so I pulled the trigger.”
He raises his knife towards Beatrix and uses it to lift a few strands of hair away from her face. “And by wearing those earrings, you’ve effectively framed me for the hit.”
Beatrix stands up straight, a subtle challenge to Eli’s control over the situation. “I told Santino that the blame wouldn’t fall in his lap. I needed a scapegoat.”
“I suppose I am the most believable option,” he lowers the knife. “No one would question the motive of a man who openly hates him.”
Eli tucks the knife into his back pocket.
“But that doesn’t explain why you left without telling me,” he says. “Why you haven’t shared any of your plans with me. You’re supposed to keep me in the loop, right?”
Beatrix doesn’t respond.
“It’s one of the rules. You tell me everything. Your ideas, your plans, and your destinations. And I tell you what you need to do, who you need to meet, and where you need to be.” He leans down towards Beatrix, brushing his lips against the edges of her ear. “But lately, you’ve decided to do whatever the fuck you want to do. Where’s the communication, Bee? Where’s my little obedient pet?”
“It won’t happen again,” she says.
“Good,” he pulls away from her. “I would hate to kill you if you slip up again.”
~ ~ ~
The hot water of her shower did wonders to soothe the aches and bruises emerging on her body. And once she has washed away all of the blood and the lingering traces of Eli’s touch, she sits in the middle of her bed and dials a familiar number.
The call is answered on the third ring.
“Hello?” A woman’s voice. The word is muffled and she sounds groggy.
“Hey, Veronika,” Beatrix greets. “Did I wake you?”
The woman sighs. “If it wasn’t going to be you, it definitely would have been the baby.”
“How is she doing?”
“She screams and shits, typical baby stuff.” Veronika groans. “God, what time is it?”
Beatrix pulls the phone away from her face and glances at the clock. “It’s nearing 4a.m. for you,” she says.
A pause follows the response.
“How bad was it tonight?” Veronika says.
“I’ve had worse.”
“You sure? Cause you sound absolutely terrible, exhausted.”
“Thanks,” Beatrix releases a soft chuckle. “Don’t hold back.”
“Hey,” Veronika hesitates for a moment, before continuing her words. “I’m worried about you. I haven’t seen you in months and you barely respond to my calls or texts. I just want to know that my sister is alive and okay.”
“I’m fine.”
It’s a response that won’t satisfy her sister, but it will have to do for now.
“Really?”
“Listen,” Beatrix says. “I’m coming back to New York.”
The statement distracts Veronika. “You are?”
“Yeah, I got a new client.”
“Is that why you called?”
The assassin takes a moment to respond. “I just wanted to hear your voice. And tell you through a phone call, not a text.”
“How thoughtful.”
“Go back to sleep,” Beatrix says. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Let me know when you’re back, okay?”
“I will. Sleep well.”
Before Veronika is able to respond, Beatrix ends the call.
The woman slides off of the bed and scoots an armchair towards the large window. She settles herself into the seat and watches as Chicago is painted with a fresh coat of snow.
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