Chapter 20: A Random Innocent Bystander

The next day Claire went to work from the Air BnB and Six escorted her like before. The primary difference this time was that there was someone waiting to jump her on the way out of the pharmacy.

The moment she walked out of the employee exit she nearly had a heart attack because two people fell to the ground at her feet out of nowhere. Six was on top of someone else and had their hands restrained behind their back.

"Hello. How was work?" he asked in a ridiculously calm voice.

"Is that really what's important right now?! Who is that?" Claire screeched.

Her heart still pounding so hard she could feel it in her ears. She had not been prepared for this sight at all. Another hitman already? Did this have to happen where she could see it? She was so done with watching people die!

"No one I recognize," Six said grimly. "The bounty on you may have increased and been sent out to others because the Agency is taking too long to act. I suspect they are trying to put together a team to take me down. In the meantime, we only have these small annoyances to deal with."

Claire didn't want to believe that. No one could be desperate enough to kill her that they reached out to multiple hitmen organizations. That was crazy!

"Are you sure this isn't a random innocent bystander?" she asked weakly.

Six raised an eyebrow, which was the most expression she had seen from him so far. "A random innocent bystander with multiple guns?"

Okay, he had her there. This really did feel more like some crazy nightmare than reality though. She still hadn't been able to figure out who on earth might have it out for her. She had always kept her head down and stuck to herself so what sort of enemies could she have possibly made?

Claire sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is he dead?"

"Not yet."

"Don't kill him; I'll call the cops."

She was about to dial 911 when Six reached up and grabbed her wrist. "Don't do that. You may be a victim but you also acted as my accomplice getting rid of those other agents' bodies."

Crap. How had she forgotten about that already? She was momentarily surprised he even knew what an accomplice was but supposed he would have to have been taught about the law in order to avoid getting caught.

"Do you have to kill him?" Claire asked in a small voice. "I don't want anyone else to die."

"You do realize he was trying to kill you," Six said dryly. "Why do you care?"

"Because life has value! You can't kill people for no reason! He's already down; tie him up and toss him in a dumpster or something then leave an anonymous tip for the police. I don't know, just don't kill him!"

Her morality may have already gone out the window in the face of death but this man had already been knocked out with a punch to the head as Six grabbed her. She supposed he had done it so his hands would be free since restraining the other hitman required both.

He wasn't actively trying to kill her anymore so they should let the police deal with him. That was what normal people did.

Six frowned. "Is it that important to you?"

Wait, was he actually going to listen to her? "Yes!"

"Fine."

He produced a roll of duct tape from his utility belt and began tying the unconscious hitman up. Once that was done, he slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and tossed him into a dumpster belonging to another one of the businesses that shared this parking lot.

Claire stared on in disbelief. Six handled that so efficiently without a single change in expression. He looked up at her and said she should use a payphone to call in the tip so her number couldn't be traced.

She meekly followed his instructions and located one next to a nearby bus stop, being sure to pull her hood up so she wouldn't be recognizable on any potential security cameras. The last thing she needed was getting this linked back to her.

She looked up the anonymous tip line on her phone first before making the call.

"Lexington Police Department tip line, how may I help you?" a male voice asked.

"Hi…there's a man tied up in the dumpster behind Nails Nails Nails in downtown Lexington. He tried to kill me but I don't want to file a report. I think he's unconscious so you should go check on him, okay bye!"

"He tried to kill you? You really should file a repo—"

Claire hung up before the officer could finish his sentence. Six was right that it was better not to get the police involved. She was no longer the innocent girl who was able to depend on the law to protect her.

"Let's go," she said tiredly. Her deadly companion followed her without another word.

They had to head back to her house to meet with the guy from the security company and get everything installed. Hector showed up fifteen minutes later and took care of everything as the two of them sat around in the kitchen eating some of the fruit Claire had left behind.

She didn't want it to go bad in the fridge while they were away so she prepared a fruit tray and whipped up a quick dip made with cream cheese and marshmallow fluff. If they didn't finish it now, they could take it back with them to the Air BnB.

Like with the macaroni, Six dug right into the fruit tray. He seemed to really like the dip. It made her wonder how often he got sweet things if at all.

"I know there is cream cheese in here but what is this other flavor?" he asked as he dipped yet another grape.

Claire was surprised he even knew what cream cheese was since he hadn't seemed to recognize macaroni. That was a staple item in nearly every American household. "Have you never had marshmallow fluff? It's a pretty big deal around here."

Six shook his head, which gave her an idea. There was a beloved tradition in New England involving marshmallow fluff that she thought he might like since he enjoyed the dip.

"Are you allergic to peanuts?" she asked.

"If I was allergic to anything, it was trained out of me," he said matter-of-factly.

How do you even train allergies away? Was it anything like the legendary poison resistance training found in popular media?