Chapter 5 - The Panthers

'She remembered who she was and changed the game.'

———♤♤♤———

It was a sunny weekend, and for Bella, it was a day for her to train inside her own abode. She had no missions to deal with, after all. And so the woman kept herself busy and trained inside her own gym.

Bella Ryan was rich enough to live a somewhat luxurious life, that was a fact. For years she had been an assassin, dealing with missions that gave her great pay. The money she earned was enough for her to purchase a house in upstate New York. And though the house may be too big to be occupied by a single person, Bella felt comfort and pride, knowing that she was able to earn enough to be able to afford a house this size.

Anyway, the woman was in her gym, punching her third punching bag of the day. The woman went through equipment in a haze. Some of them were too weak for her strength. Nevertheless, she took not of buying new and more durable equipment in the future.

The two previous bags were now gathered to the side. One had its rope ripped when Bella accidentally sent a kick too strong for it to handle. The other had itself punctured with a hole due to the woman's punch. She was now on her third bag, silently hoping that it does not break nor tear as it was the last bag she had.

About to send another kick, the brunette halted when a voice echoed around the room.

"Those bags never did anything to you, Bella." The voice spoke with a laugh. Bella turned towards the man, finding Jace Mendoza leaning on the door frame in all his glory.

Her eyes widened, not expecting the man to pay her a surprise visit. Last she heard, he was in Colombia doing a top-secret mission of sorts. Said mission must've been over if he was already here standing in front of Bella.

"Didn't know you were coming, shadow. You should've told me before hand." Bella spoke, before continuing what she was doing.

"Why? Am I not welcome?" Jace-- or Shadow, asked. Like Bella, Jace Mendoza was an assassin who graduated from the same academy as her. He was known as Shadow, notorious for his stealth and skill to keep himself hidden as his name suggests.

"As far as I know, you're not." The woman teased, facing the man who now stood beside her.

Jace rolled his eyes as Bella spoke. "Long time no see, Jace." She smiled, hugging the man which he returned with a grin.

"You too, Moretti." Jace teased, knowing of her sudden name change when she moved to America.

"Don't call me that. It's Ryan now."

"Right, right. Bella Ryan." The man curtsied jokingly, earning a strong punch to his side from the annoyed woman.

"Ahh, that hurts." He whines, rubbing his left side as Bella broke into a laugh.

"What's wrong, Mendoza?" I tease.

"I hate you." He says just as Bella's phone started ringing. She quickly shut him up before answering.

"Hello?" She called out, waiting for the person on the other line to speak.

"Is this Red?" A deep voice asked.

Bella's brows furrowed, not recognizing the voice whatsoever. She caught Jace's curious gaze, as the man was also wondering why she had reacted the way she had. 

"Yes, speaking. Who is this?"

"My boss has a proposal for you." The man replied, blatantly ignoring her question, much to her annoyance.

"And you are?" She asked once again, wondering why a random person would call her about his boss wanting her for a job.

"No one important. My boss is the leader of the Panthers."

Cue the crickets.

Bella had heard of the Panthers, knowing that they were the American mafia. The woman, however, had no ties with their leader nor anyone related to the mafia, leading her to question how they ended up calling her phone. Surely she hadn't done something to agitate the mafia. Hopefully not, she didn't want another group of people coming for her back

"Who?" She asked.

"The new leader of the Panthers? The Kingston heir?" He asked, confusion lacing his voice. He wondered how the Red had no idea who the American Mafia don was. Bella's brows perked, recognizing the name. Hadn't Elmo Lang mention the same name? She had remembered him saying that Bianchi was behind the death of the Kingstons.

"Uh, I think I need to know more than that."

"You don't know him?"

"Just meet us by the abandoned warehouse on 7th street." The man says before hanging.

"That was weird." Bella muttered in confusion. 

"Who was that?" Jace asked.

"I'm not sure. Apparently, the leader the Panthers has some sort of proposal for me." She explained, scratching the back of her neck.

"The Panthers?"

"Yes, you know them?"

He furrowed his brows, thinking for a bit before replying: "Nope."

"Right, I'll get going then. You can stay over if you want, take the guest room upstairs." She informed, before leaving for the door.

Jace grabbed her wrist, stopping here. "Oh no, I'm not letting you meet strangers by yourself. I'm coming with you."

Bella shrugged, giving Jace a nod before heading towards her room to change. She put on her usual outfit, leaving her face bare and her hair done. The woman was usually was not one to accept deals from strangers. Though this Kingston can't really e a stranger, can they? She had heard of the name before and she knew of one thing: this Kingston surely had something against the Sicilians.

She got out of the room, handing a mask towards Jace who was standing by the door of the guest room.  "Wear this, unless you want them to see your face?"

Fine. You and your masks." He rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

♤♤♤

The two cautiously entered the warehouse, both of them having guns in hand. "Panthers?!" Bella called out, waiting for someone to appear.

All of a sudden, the lights came to life, making Bella wince as she tried to adjust herself to the sudden brightness.

"I suppose you are Red?" A familiar voice asked. It was the same person who had spoken to her earlier.

"Yes. And you are?" She questioned back.

"Jacob. The leader's right hand." He answers before adding: "I see you've brought company." He glanced at Jace, who gave him a sharp glare.

"Shadow, nice to meet you." Jace says sarcastically, obviously not enjoying their hospitality.

"Alright then, let me explain-"

"No," Bella cut off. "I want your boss speaking to us. I didn't come here to talk with a right-hand man."

Just as Jacob was about to speak, another man came out of the darkness, catching the attention of the two masked assassins. Jace stepped in front of Bella, holding out an arm as he guarded her from whoever had appeared. The woman simply looked at his action for she was used to the man being protective over her, having spent enough time with him in the academy. She figured it was probably because he sees her as a sibling. At least, that is what she had assumed for she had looked at the man as an older brother.

"Greetings, to the both of you." He greets as he headed towards the two, his pale blue eyes staring at Bella with caution.

"I am the Panthers' leader and the Kingston heir but you can call me Lucas." The man introduced himself, glancing at the guns the two held.

"Okay then, Lucas. Explain your proposal." Bella spoke, waving at Lucas to continue.

"We won't be doing such thing. Not until you two remove your mask, at least."

Bella scoffed in disbelief. The man surely had the audacity to order them around as if they weren't some feared assassins. "You call us here without warning and now you order us around? If that's the case then this deal, whatever it is, is off." The brunette said, waving at Jace to leave.

For someone who potentially had the same enemies as her, Lucas Kingston was definitely a piece of work. The woman wondered why the man had ordered her with such a tone, as if he was already her boss. Perhaps it was because he was so sheltered ever since he was a kid, until his parents met their demise in the hands of Bianchi. But Bella did not know that, from her perspective Lucas Kingston was simply a man who seemed to prideful for his own good.

Before the two were able to take another step, sudden clicks of guns halted their steps. They were surrounded. And at that moment Bella knew that they had no way out of this mess. The fact that she had brought Jace into this mess doesn't help the guilt that she felt.

'Shit.'

Both of them only had a single pistol. They knew that despite being skilled killers they stood no chance against men that probably reached hundreds in number.

Lucas chuckled. "Pardon me for resulting into this but I'm certain you'd not decline my offer once you've heard it."

With a sigh, Bella nodded Jace before removing the mask that covered her face. Her friend followed suit, removing his own mask.

Lucas clapped his hands, looking at them with a small smile. "Let's start with introductions first! I am Lucas Kingston and you two are?"

"Bella Ryan."

"Jace Mendoza."

"Right, so I've heard you have business with the Sicilian Mafia." Lucas starts, making Bella clench her jaw. Jace looked at her with worry etched on his face.

"It's none of your business, Kingston."

"It is. Especially when we share the same goal."

"And that is?"

"To take them down."