Garnet 3

𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧/𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭

𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧

"Mr James is in a stable condition now"

The doctor from the ER spoke as we stayed outside the critical care unit.

James was immediately taken to the hospital after I ran behind the assailant.

Assailant. Or should I say, Claire Williams? I haven't seen her face yet but there should be information about her with Larson.

"Larson, bring me her photo. "

"Boss... The thing is.

I Had thoroughly investigated her and all her information seemed genuine but none of them were on paper. "

" what do you mean by that," I asked.

"her information was stored in a particular type of file. I only discovered it recently. The speciality of this file is that the information stored will never be found once the file is self-erased. "

"Self erased? "

"The information will be erased permanently and would cease to exist.

This one is a rare type file.  The software used to make these files are unknown.  Certain other software also have similar properties but none of them was as efficient as this one"

I smirked at his statement and said.

"She has a pretty strong backup.  Sounds interesting But let's see how far she'll run"

All of a sudden Larson got a call.

"Boss, it's from the security team. They found something. They sent us the footage of the ball and there's something abnormal in it. "

Larson brought the IPad and started playing a series of video clips. It showed the clip of me holding Claire then fast forwarded to twenty minutes. I saw something suspicious.

"Larson stop the footage at 20:06 "

My eyes widen in surprise. It was a Morse code. Claire was using a Morse code but to whom was she sending those?

"Boss look at this clip, Claire actually tripped the Butler "

Larson said as pointed towards the screen. She sure was a brilliant little kitten but she's still a kitten. But if I was the target she could've killed me at any moment from the time we met.

So it wasn't me. I wasn't her target but why James? There wasn't anything cryptic about him. I need to investigate this. It's not that simple.

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭

"Huff, we almost got caught"

#108 said as she continued to pant.

It was truly a close call. If I had turned a little left I would've died.

"309, you sure you got him?"

"I can't say that because I shot his stomach but I'm pretty sure that my second bullet did hit him. I don't know why I feel something off about James."

I said while we drove.

I had planned to assassinate James at the masquerade ball. But I didn't have any way to infiltrate so I had to take a risk by going with the ruthless mafia Prince as his date. 

I stalked him and hacked into his scheduled data which was stored in his assistant Larson's system.

while I monitored both Ashton and his assistant, I found out about the "Beuca".

Ashton needed a date and Larson was looking for girls who matched his persona. That's why I wore my fake identity of Claire Williams one last time.

Larson was surely impressed by my fake bio which I e-mailed him while I pretended to be one of Ashton's officers.

I obviously can't send it myself. But also the file had something special in it. It wasn't a normal biodata file.

"The Scrypt" A new software that I developed could erase or make something appear in any files made in it. Not just that it also had the ability to destroy the system which had the Scrypt files.

Scrypt is  Still under development so I won't be introducing it to anyone.

Dressing for the ball was a hectic job.  I couldn't bring any weapons with me. The security is super tight. If you're caught red-handed you would see heaven the next moment.

Which is why I disassembled my gun and distributed it among the butlers who were my spies. I used Morse code to communicate with them.

Though my plans were perfectly sketched there remained a loophole. Escape. I could either escape through the entrance or the exit. 

The sapphire hill hotel had two entries and exits. In total four drive-through passages in and out of the place. So if I directly escaped through the exit the chances of getting caught are pretty high.

But at the entrance, the number of guards would be lower than those at the exit. That's what I planned in the beginning.

When Alessandro Moretti and Ashton were talking, I sent Morse code to the butlers. The pair of men in front of me thought that I don't understand what they were talking about. Of course, Claire Williams only knew English. But Scarlet knew Italian. I completely understood what they said but I can't show that that's why I wore a poker face. while they talked a Butler passed by us. I took the opportunity and tripped him. The wine spilled on my dress as he dropped the tray. I excused myself to use the bathroom and went away. while I walked towards the washroom a Butler handed me a glass of wine and the frame of the gun secretly. I drank the wine and walked. I  knew where the rest of the parts are. The barrel was inside the bonsai plant kept on the sides and the slide was placed among the used cutleries in the corner. Finally, I spat the bullets out of my mouth. When the Butler gave me the wine, he placed the bullets covered in a thin but waterproof plastic inside.

Earlier I saw James stepping out with his girlfriend. They were fighting. Glad that they went to the exit. They were arguing outside. It was dark and the illumination lights hung by the trees gave the place a golden hue. I stood there, under the shade of a big tree and assembled my gun.

"Bam" the first shot hit the target but it wasn't lethal. Another shot came following it.

James's girlfriend, shocked by the bloody sight screamed while the other groaned in pain as he fell limp on the ground.

Without wasting another minute I ran through the gardens while throwing off my heels. I reached the second entrance."Shit" I cursed as the guards saw me running but thankfully they only saw me after I crossed one of the dimly lit street lamps. But as I was about to reach the first entrance I sensed someone behind.

"Bam Bam" Several bullets were fired at me while I swiftly dodged them. It was Ashton he was behind me. Though it was dark he could exactly pinpoint my astonishingly impressive position. But I was sensitive to sound and also quite experienced with similar scenarios. I made it to the front of the entrance. He was still behind me but I managed to escape as the Van arrived. It was a hella task for me. But something feels off.  James was quite an easy target compared to Ian. If so why did they give me four years? If that guy was extremely intelligent then why was he an easy target? He did several heinous crimes which required extreme skills but he has none. Is James really the culprit or did they mistake him for someone else?