Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 65: The Boss or the Girl

The tight line of Chandler's lips curved slightly as he reached out and took it.

Right in front of her, he showed off a one-handed magazine swap, so smooth that it made Mariella's fingers itch.

Mariella was impressed. "One-handed reload? You've got skills."

Chandler then disassembled the gun and reassembled it right in front of her.

His hands moved so fast that it was almost impossible to follow.

Mariella swallowed, a faint chill creeping up her spine.

This guy's gun handling was on another level. If he ever pointed that thing at her...

She wasn't sure she could dodge it.

"My gun never points at teammates. Only at enemies," Chandler said calmly, catching every flicker of her expression.

As if worried she might miss the point, he added, "As long as you're not thinking about silencing me, we won't be enemies."

Mariella rubbed her hands together and gave a dry laugh. "Never crossed my mind. I trust you to keep your mouth shut. You won't leak a word you shouldn't."

Chandler put the weapon away and gave her a look. "Thanks. I won't waste your trust or your weapon."

She had barely gotten rid of him when Number One pushed the door open and walked in.

Mariella almost choked.

Is there no end to this?

Number One stared at her for a long moment, then said with a hint of grievance, "They both have guns."

Mariella resisted the urge to curse. She reached into her bag, secretly grabbing something from her storage space.

Oops. Wrong one.

She pulled out the assassin's phone instead.

Tossing it casually onto the table, she reached back in again.

This time, she made sure she got it right. A handgun, two magazines, and fifty rounds.

"I was just about to give this to you anyway. Good timing.

"This is the last one, so keep it on you. Don't go telling anyone.

"If word gets out and others start asking, hand yours over."

She made sure to add a firm warning.

Number One happily took it and immediately started fiddling with it in front of her.

He popped the magazine out and reassembled it, playing with it like a kid who'd just gotten his favorite toy.

Mariella raised a brow. "You seem pretty familiar with guns."

"My old boss dealt in this stuff," he said with a grin. "He'd reward us with new weapons when we did well." He scratched his head. "But the business got too big. I didn't want to get dragged down with him, so I found a chance to slip away."

He was smart enough to know when to walk.

Mariella patted his shoulder, smiling meaningfully. "You've got my weapon now. Don't go getting ideas about running off. If you do, I'll drag you back and break your legs."

Number One's ears turned red again as he looked away. "I'm not going anywhere..."

She patted his shoulder again.

And this time, she didn't even pat Chandler.

Ahem. She even said she'd drag me back if I ran.

Number One's ears turned even redder.

Mariella had no clue what was going on in his head. Seeing him act awkwardly, she assumed he was just intimidated.

"As long as you stay in line, I'll treat you right. Stick with me, and you'll eat well, drink well, and have all the girls you want," she added, casually feeding him a nice, big promise.

Number One couldn't help glancing at her, seriously wondering, Is she the boss... or the girl?

...

After sending all three of them off, Mariella had handed out three handguns, six magazines, and a hundred and fifty rounds.

Looking at what was left in her storage space, she felt a familiar unease about her firepower.

Mariella decided she'd head out again tonight and see if she could replenish her dwindling ammo stock.

Her gaze fell on the phone on the table, reminding her she'd grabbed it by mistake earlier.

It belonged to the assassin she'd killed. She'd powered it off and tossed it into storage.

An idea struck her. She wanted to see how Harvey would react, so she powered it back on.

The bounty hunter kept sending messages, asking if the job was done and why there'd been no response.

Mariella typed back. "I've got Mariella. Alive. But if you want her, it'll cost you another 10,000,000."

After sending the message, she tossed the phone back into the storage space.

...

Harvey mobilized his employees to urgently gather anything useful from the office building, then hired helicopters to transport everything back to Celestine Ridge.

He could already sense that the disaster would be worse than expected. On top of that, Kieran had stepped in and blocked him from gaining control over Imperial Crest Plaza and Greenfield Organic Farm. Even his private stash had been wiped clean.

That overwhelming sense of crisis pushed him into action. He began frantically stockpiling supplies.

Celestine Ridge sat on higher ground, and Liraelith's hilly terrain gave it an advantage over many inland cities.