The Song of a Little Ghost, page 10
part #6 of The Silent Assassin Series
“Don’t worry, none of the sensors have tripped yet.”
“Yet?”
“I’m not saying it will,” Bryant continued. “But Matthew’s console hasn’t detected anything. Cameras are all clear. The hotel’s exterior is clean,” he paused. “You should be alright.”
“Last time the sensors didn’t trip as well, and look what happened,” the boy frowned. “Any idea what to do?”
“You should’ve asked the princess to come.”
Audi clenched his eyebrows. “Why her?”
“I don’t know, you seemed to be quite chummy with her,” Bryant chuckled. “I’m sure she won’t mind being your date for the night.”
“Thanks for the advice, but it’s too late you dimwit,” Audi clicked his tongue. “Besides, it would be risky to bring her anywhere near this hotel. Her presence would also blow my cover; the Ghost Girl would figure out that I’m nearby,” he paused. “Without an element of surprise, she can’t be defeated.”
Bryant kept silent for seconds. A mild whispers echoed through the channel as he spoke with Matthew. “Just survive, bandana boy,” he said. “We’ll do our best to keep anyone from sneaking in. Ceilings are covered. Ventilations are fully fortified and monitored. The darkest corners inside that ballroom are fully captured on camera. There is no way the Ghost Girl can sneak past without us and the system noticing—this I guarantee.”
“One hundred percent?”
“Affirmative.”
The boy put one hand on his hip and heaved a sigh. “I’ll keep my eyes sharp in here,” he said. “Keep me an update on things.”
He hung up.
The boy walked around while snatching drinks and snacks from different tables. He kept his distance from clusters of conversation and blended with groups by tailing their flanks.
A gathering of young people laughed hard on one corner of the hall. The boy glared in annoyance and tried walking away.
“That girl is so ugly, I can’t believe she dared asking me out!” one of men said.
Audi stopped.
“Who does she think she is?” a woman next to him laughed. “A nerd with pimples and glasses. She doesn’t even know how to use makeup, having to flaunt to public her dark skin.”
“Hey, that’s racist.”
“How can that be racist? We’re the same race,” she laughed, followed by others. “The difference is, I know how to take care of my skin and buy the right cosmetics. That’s a skill any woman must have, which is why my skin is bright and soft, not like her disgusting, crusty and craterous surface.”
“Like a moon’s surface?”
They laughed.
The boy gritted his teeth and walked away.
He tried filtering out conversations flowing into his ears, but the buzz of whispers and chats overwhelmed him. A man wanted to euthanise his dog because it wasn’t cute anymore. A woman thought to divorce her husband because he’s fired from a job. An old man wanted children to work instead of going to school because they will be more productive and useful that way.
The boy clasped his hands on his ears and dashed away to a corner of the ballroom. His pupil dilated and his breathing pace hastened. He leaned on the wall, snatched a used cup on the table, and drunk it. Are these the people Ojou wants to help prosper? Are these the people Jane wants to elevate through her inventions and discoveries? Why?
He took another used cup and drunk it.
Those two went through hell to maintain their ideals. People tried killing them even though they just wanted to help.
Does humanity even deserve their sacrifice?
The boy clenched his fists. He remembered the day of his childhood, when his home planet was bombarded from orbit. Government service ceased. People fought for survival, trampling over one another to live. Rockets screamed from above, blasting innocent people to dust. I used to think that was cruelty, but maybe they deserved it. He frowned. Do they deserve to live? Does anyone deserve to live?
He took a breath.
Ojou and Jane are wrong. He strode forward. These people don’t deserve their help; they’ll only hurt them further. They would make them suffer. These inferior beings deserve no love—
He bumped a person and pushed her to the floor.
“My apologies!” the boy flinched and lent his hand. “Are you alright? I wasn’t looking—“
She turned to him.
The girl sported a shoulder-length auburn hair with a small yet athletic body frame. Unlike the others who wore heavy make-up and glimmering jewelleries, she kept her foundation and lipstick light, and had only a simple necklace with a small pendant hanging on its tip. Instead of a shiny pair of heels, the woman wore a pair of white-laced black sneakers.
She took Audi’s hand and stood, unveiling a height as tall as the boy’s nose. “Ah,” she kneeled and took a black-rimmed glasses on the floor and wore it. “It’s my fault for not watching my way,” she said with a subtle hint of French accent between syllables.
Audi kept staring at her for seconds. “Where is your partner?”
“Partner?” she slightly tilted her head. “What partner?”
“I thought everyone brought a partner to this party,” he chuckled light. “Someone like you undoubtedly has one.”
She shook her head. “My papa was my partner,” she said. “But he went missing somewhere in the crowd, so I’m looking for him right now.”
“It is rather packed for a charity ball, huh?” the boy scanned around. “Hard to keep track of people.”
The girl nodded. “What about you?”
“Me?”
“I don’t see your partner anywhere,” she scanned around from left to right with fixed speed. “Are you here with your parents too?”
Audi chuckled. “I’m supposed to have a…err…date, but I’m pretty sure she stood me up.”
“Oh?” the girl put both hands behind and stepped closer to Audi. “A good looking guy like you being stood up? Impossible, I’m sure she’s somewhere waiting for you.”
“I’m hoping she isn’t, that’ll be too much trouble,” he glanced sideways. “Hopefully tonight ends up peaceful without too much headache.”
She chuckled. “If that is so, then do you mind accompanying me?”
Audi flinched. “Eh?”
“My papa is probably somewhere useless being useless, and there’s a slow dance coming,” she took the boy’s hand and held it gently. “Do you not want to?”
A warm flush simmered through his chest and he held his breath. “O…okay,” he nodded twice. “I would love to.”
The auburn-haired girl pulled him towards the crowd as an orchestra on stage played the music. Couples across the ballroom held each other close as they danced to follow the tune. The girl stopped on a large space between couples and took the boy’s other hand.
They danced with small steps and minor sways, holding their chest close while locking their eyes onto one another’s. Several minutes passed, but the passage of time seemed to stretch and only their existence mattered.
“Audi Prabian,” the boy whispered. “What’s yours?”
“Charlotte,” she replied with softer whisper. “Charlotte Payne.”
“Ah,” he smiled. “What a befitting name.”
The girl chuckled. “What makes you think so?”
“The name Charlotte is the feminine form of Charles, which etymologically means Free Man, as in human,” the boy replied. “Compared to others in this ballroom, you dress and look simple.”
“Do you not like it?”
“I think it’s cute.”
Charlotte smiled. “And how does that translate to freedom?”
“It is a statement of confidence, that you can express your inner self without fear of judgement from others,” he replied. “How many thousands of Weymars did others spend to conform to their desired image? The suit. The dress. The hair. The diamond laced shoes. Some even underwent cosmetic surgeries,” he paused. “On the other hand, you waltzed in without a shred of worry.”
“Maybe I just don’t have that much money,” the girl replied. “Your judgement is too hasty.”
Audi shook his head. “Those who are desperate to conform to image while lacking the financial means would be obvious.”
She chuckled. “You’re right, I don’t care for drowning myself in image-enhancing gimmicks,” Charlotte pulled him closer. “A lot of people would kill to earn just one percent of the money required to buy high end dresses and shoes. Spending my wealth on these would be an insult to many in this Galactic Economic Crisis.”
“Those who lack freedom of choice.”
“Exactly,” she pulled his arms around her hips and braced him around his neck. “But your name theory is a little incomplete.”
“How so?”
The girl pulled his ear closer. “Charlotte is not the feminine form of Charles, but of Charlot,” she paused. “It is Charlot that is the diminutive form of Charles. Little Charles. Petit Charles.”
“A linguist,” the boy said. “Didn’t know there are people who still care about meanings behind words. Most people I know dismiss such as trivialities.”
Charlotte rested her chin on his shoulder while keeping in pace with his dance steps. “The least I can do to respect my parents is understanding the meaning behind the name they gave me, the name I lived with for twenty-one years and counting,” she whispered. “But your name, Audi, is a little odd.”
“It is from an ancient language called Latin, in which it means to hear.”
“Hear as in…Audio?”
He nodded. “Audi is the second-person singular present active imperative form of audio.”
“…the second-person singular what?”
“One of its grammatical form,” he chuckled. “It showed that my parents didn’t just pick the name out of some list of popular baby names. An imperative form is, in fact, used for commands and orders,” his smile dimmed. “The name itself seemed to be a way of telling me to live with a purpose, with a meaning.”
“And that meaning is to hear?” she tilted her head. “Hear what?”
“No idea,” he shook his head. “The past few years have been confusing. My goal, my purpose of living seemed to have ground to a halt,” he pulled her close and planted his lips on the girl’s head, sending a gentle wave of shampoo scent into his nose. “So many times I feel like quitting this search for a meaningful life and just do whatever everyone is doing—“
Charlotte tightened her brace on him.
“Don’t,” she said. “If you let your life be dictated by conformity, can you still be considered sentient?”
Audi kept silent.
“Before I graduated school, my parents gave me three options for occupation to pursue: a medical officer, an engineer, and a financial consultant,” she continued. “Not because they wanted me to help people through these occupations, but because they are the most demanded in market and can provide the most amount of salary.”
“Did you submit?”
“I…” she paused. “Do I have a choice? My parents were the ones with money, and they’re the ones who can pay for my education.”
Audi closed his eyes. “Wealth equates to power, be it within family or society at large. It’s just how the world works.”
“And you’ve accepted that?” she glared at him. “That an individual has no choice but to submit to the force of wealth? To have their life’s purpose, their career determined by the cold market force which determines supply and demand of jobs? To have the children in our heart, the songs they sung in the past, the voice which cried for a meaningful existence be silenced?”
“That’s not—“
“See what’s happening in this planet,” she continued. “People are forced to take whatever menial jobs they could find: hard labours, driving taxis, compiling numbers in datasheets,” Charlotte gritted her teeth. “All of which could’ve been done automatically by technology.”
Silence.
“Among these people are pioneers of ideas, of imagination, of art and scientific discoveries—yet they are forced to work on menial jobs which only waste this capacities for greatness,” she held the boy closer. “And they have no choice, because otherwise they can’t survive a crisis-laden world where wealth is a direct determinant of happiness,” she paused. “And when we try to address this issue, what do people say? Work hard. Work hard. Work till you sweat blood. Don’t think too much. Stop caring about things we can’t control. Be happy. Be positive. Don’t think. Stop thinking—”
“Enough.”
Charlotte stopped.
“It’s been hard, hasn’t it?” he softened his voice. “To be the only one who believed differently. To desire for a better world, only for others to shut you down.”
She nodded.
“I have friends who are fighting for a better world, only for people to look down upon them—not because they are wrong, but because they think differently,” he continued. “They criticise prevalent beliefs, culture, and worldviews out of goodwill, but nobody listened. Nobody cared. Nobody gave them the chance.”
“That…”
“But they have never given up, and so shouldn’t you,” the boy pulled back and smiled. “We need more people who are brave enough to face the world, even knowing they would have to suffer through it,” he paused. “Someone a little like you.”
Charlotte closed her eyes and heaved a long sigh.
The boy chuckled. “What?”
The auburn-haired girl slowly pulled his face and pecked his cheek once. Twice. She moved to the corner of his lips and slid to the middle without taking hers away. Their dance steps ceased. Charlotte took control and showered him with slow pecks. Audi tried seizing the pace, but she wrestled back and slid her tongue in.
Minutes passed, and the orchestra concluded their piece’s finale. The host thanked the conductors and players with praises, then turned to the audience and raised his arm. “For the next event, I’d like to invite Mrs. Fitri Sumantri to the stage for a short presentation on our charity’s future projects.”
Audi opened his eyes and pulled himself away from Charlotte’s lips. “Shit,” the boy clicked his fatigued tongue. “I need to watch this carefully.”
“Why?” Charlotte asked with both her cheeks flushed red. “Is there something special about her speech?”
“Not her speech,” the boy replied. “There’s a chance something bad will happen to her.”
The girl chuckled. “No way, nothing bad can happen to her,” she pulled him closer for a peck.
“I guess,” he smiled and returned the kiss. “It’s probably too late anyway.“
Charlotte smirked. “For a fate so horrible has befallen her.”
Audi flinched. “What—?”
She put her arms around his neck and pulled him for a deep kiss.
A body fell from the ceiling onto the stage, splattering blood all over the host and the floor.
An orchestra of shrieks and screams thundered across the ballroom. People panicked. Front row viewers convulsed. Some vomited on spot. Hundreds shoved others on their way and dashed towards the exit.
Audi tried moving, but Charlotte locked his leg with hers and tightened her embrace. She pulled from his lips and swept a quick lick on hers.
“Don’t tell me…” cold sweat poured out of his skin.
Charlotte giggled.
“Didn’t I say that you haven’t been stood up?”
The boy’s heart clenched in shock.
“I can tell you what happened before I slit her neck,” she glanced up and paused. “She begged me to forgive her for channelling her foundation’s charity money to social causes which is funded by other rich people. Turns out her decisions for charity projects weren’t based on rigorous socio-economic analysis which determines the most effective altruism, but a result of investor and business lobbying. Social-cause themed merchandises. Orphanages which buy their necessities exclusively from sponsoring companies. That just means the charity money cycles back to them,” she paused. “You would be glad that I killed her.”
“How did you,” Audi panted heavily. “No. Impossible.”
“I had thought you would go all out on the defence this time: sending every security guard at your disposal, extensive network of sensitive surveillance, plus the hotel’s natural ease for defence,” she giggled. “Turns out I was right, so I entered the hotel as an ordinary guest, steal a knife from the lobby café’s kitchen, and kill her in her the room she’s staying. Then I covered her in a black cloth and tied her up to a lighting, timed it, and well…splat.”
The boy frowned. “Why did you show up here then?” his voice stiffened. “You could’ve left the body where it was, and there is little need for this insane theatricals. It’s tedious and unnecessary.”
Charlotte sighed. “For you, I’d do anything.”
“What?”
“I wanted to see you in a false sense of security. Of feeling triumphant and victorious, just for me to pinch a twist and turn the table at the very last second,” she stroked the boy’s cheek. “You didn’t disappoint. The face you made as you squirm in despair. Yup, this one right now; oh dear. I really really really love it.”
Audi gritted his teeth. “You’re kidding me.”
“I don’t kid when it comes to you,” she beamed an innocent smile. “And that is why I’m willing to hand you all the advantage for the next…and final assassination.”
He frowned.
“You can hide her wherever you want. Fortify the place as heavily as you want. Call in as many Police as you want even, so long as you do it under five days,” she bit her lower lip. “But we won’t hold back, and we shall storm your castle with everything we’ve got,” she paused. “Fun, isn’t it?”
“Is this why you fight? Why you became a mercenary?” the boy clenched his fists. “Fun? All for your entertainment?”
Charlotte tapped her chin with an index finger. “My teammates have their own reason and so have I, but this mission is just so special and personal. Reason being you and this last target.”
Audi grumbled. “Last…target?”
“Someone you seemed to have bonded with. Someone you know more personally than the other targets.”
