Page 52 of Hell’s Weapon

My brain sharpens, my mind finding focus. It’s been too long since I’ve been on a job and I realise I’ve missed this. Missed the hyperfocus, having a goal to reach, a target to eliminate.

We go through a few more rounds on the weights, a couple of the guys dropping out as we climb through the plates, well above three hundred pounds now. But I’m not seeing this as something fun to do to pass the time now. No, I’m assessing each of the guys, spotting their weaknesses, which side they prefer, which leg is stronger, which is their dominant hand.

I’m logging each titbit and calculating the easiest ways in which I could take them out. It’s harder because we don’t have any guns or knives in here, but I am still skilled in killing with my hands, or improvising weapons. I didn’t get my reputation and my high payment fees through being average.

I’d earnt enough money that I could've retired before I was thirty and lived on the interest with ease. The number of zeros on my bank balance was obscene, and I gave a significant amount of it to various charities.

Not that money mattered now. But the point is, I literally knew a hundred ways to kill someone and I needed to figure out who I should be aiming for during the next game.

We’re about to start the last round, the weight now set around four hundred and fifty pounds when three of the guards walk into the gym.

“Stop what you’re doing and line up against the wall contestants,” a female officer yells above the noise.

“Why?” Rio protests, as none of us move.

“Now,” she reiterates and the three male guards at her back start spreading out to push us all back. There’s about fifteen of us in the small gym.

We’re slow to move until they part enough to reveal the fucking giant cat accompanying them. The sleek panther steps through their legs and hisses, showing its sharp canines. We’ve been taught about the shifters, seen images in the textbooks, and seen a few of the guards spouting wings, but this is new.

All the grumbling ceases. And those that still take too long to move towards the mirrored wall quicken when the female officer gets pissed at their slowness and shifts her eyes. Her pupils change to reptilian slits and the irises glow with yellow flames. If the panther wasn’t enough, it reminds us that none of them are human.

The fear in the air grows in potency as the giant black predator starts prowling a line in front of where we’re standing against the wall. Two of the male guards move with it, doing body searches of each contestant. It's like a prison raid, where they search us for weapons or contraband.

They reach me, about halfway down the line. I can’t help tensing as the cat stares up into my eyes. Are they sentient in that form? Do they have their human thoughts? So many questions buzz through my head as the officers pat me down. I keep quiet, knowing I have nothing to hide. There’s no point in being pissy about this.

Not finding anything, the men move on but the panther lingers, whiskers twitching before it steps away. Taking a deep inhale I swipe a hand over my face and lean back against the mirror behind me. Now I’m seemingly out of risk of being eaten by a giant cat, my mind can’t help but start to worry about Tacita and Milo. Where are they whilst this is going down?

The guards finish the line and move back, coming to stand in the middle of the room, passing silent glances at each other.

“Thank you for your compliance contestants,” the female officer says. “You will now be escorted back to the dorms. I’m afraid we are going into another lockdown.”

There’s a few shouts of “Why?” along with some grumbled bitching as we follow the officers towards the doors. I’ve already figured it out.

“There’s been another murder,” I state, pushing my way through to the front.

The panther locks eyes with me again and tilts its head. Its yellow eyes narrow as it assesses the fact I didn’t form a question.

“You are correct number Thirty-Nine. This time on the top floor of the second dorms,” the female officer says.

“The top floor?” I step forward, my heartbeat accelerating like a hummingbird taking off in my chest.

“Yes. That’s where your room is, isn’t it?” She pauses, halting in a wide stance and the panther stops beside her, its ears flicking back. “How long have you been in the gym?”

“At least a couple of hours,” I reply truthfully. “Who was it?”

I’m scared of the answer. As much as I think you’d have to be incredibly ballsy to go after Tacita, Milo would be an easy target. If anyone has dared to touch him I’m going to lose it. The ways in which I was just calculating to take out those around me? Yeah, those will be put into action.

“It was the occupants of room thirty-seven.”

I breathe a relieved exhale. Tacita and Milo are room forty-two. Room thirty-seven had numbers Sixty-Six and Twenty-Seven. Two guys, Frankie and Ahmed.

“Both of them?” Rio asks, coming to my side.

“Yes,” the female officer says grimly.

Whoever this bastard is that’s killing us is certainly sly. Even I have doubts about getting away with murder with these demons around. Their senses seem far greater than ours. You’d have to be meticulous, flawless in the execution. But with four now dead, whoever it is, is fucking smart.

As we reach the dormitory buildings, our group is split up and escorted to their relevant floors. Only, when it comes to me, I’m led by one of the male officers around to the side. I’m about to question where we’re going when others from our floor come into sight.