Plus Sized Assassin

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Barbara Neil Aryan was losing it.

She had come to her uncle, Kenneth, looking for redemption.

What she hadn’t expected, was to be trapped here like some prisoner.

Sure, her secret hideout was the very definition of paradise, with luxury dripping from every surface of the underground home she had been placed in. A full library, a personal chef, shelves of the most expensive wine… and yet, she couldn’t tell the difference between this space and those tight caves underground explorers loved to get trapped up in.

One week had already passed, and in the first few days, Barbie had told herself that she deserved this, as atonement for the lives that she had taken, but now… even she wasn’t sure she could bear the punishment any longer.

The silence in this place was deafening… and on certain days, like this one, she felt like the prison she was bound to go to if she dared show her face up on the surface, would be ten times better than the one her uncle had placed her in in the name of protecting her.

At least over there, she would have other inmates to keep her company.

But that was just the thing.

Uncle Kenneth said it still wasn’t time for her to go up yet.

“The heat hasn’t died down yet, Cara Mia,” he would tell her in his slow Italian accent whenever she called him to complain. “The police are very much investigating, and until the case is closed, I would rather you stay here, where I know you’re safe.”

She didn’t believe a word he said.

Her uncle, Kenneth, was one of the most powerful people in the underground world, if not the most powerful.

He had the kind of power to rewrite lives, clear sins, and create new destinies. She had seen him countless times, wipe people’s slates clean, give them new lives, fresh starts… and yet, when it came to her—his favorite niece—he had her kept underground like some cursed artifact.

Why was she the exception?

She paced like a madwoman, unable to sit still.

Her fingers itched to do something… she didn’t know what, but more than anything, she wanted to see him again.

That man she had been with on the night that she had let herself go…

Knight.

She wasn’t even sure that was his name, but he had felt like her savior that night. She had never felt that connected to anyone before… not even Peter, the man she had murdered.

Despite her fake alias and her very confident behavior, it felt like he had seen the real her. The insecure, clingy woman who was afraid that everyone would leave. He had connected so beautifully with that woman… showed her that it was okay to have such emotions and move, brave through them anyway.

And oh, the way he had kissed her…

How he had thrust so deep into her…

It really was a bummer that she wasn’t going to see him again.

Barbie was still standing in the middle of the empty living room, barefoot on warm floors, when the huge doors creaked open and Uncle Kenneth and his entourage walked in.

Barbie felt her heart leap when she saw him.

Hopefully, this was her last day here.

“You look like hell, Cara Mia,” he stretched forth his arms, and Barbara dutifully ran into them.

“I feel like I am in hell, Uncle Ken,” she lamented, squeezing him hard and breathing in his deliciously expensive cologne.

“Still, a brush of your beautiful red hair would have been nice, Bella.”

Barbie ignored the jab and the almost irresistible urge to attack him.

It seemed her manic episodes disliked anyone talking about her appearance… even her favorite uncle.

“When can I go back up, Uncle Ken?” She asked him, jumping right into it.

Kenneth sighed as though she were a child asking the same bedtime story for the hundredth time. “Ah, this question again…” He flicked a hand, and everyone he had come with left them alone.

Barbie felt anger rise within her.

“Don’t lie to me, Uncle Ken,” she stepped forward, eyes burning. “People have done worse than I have, and you’ve made them disappear in seconds. You’ve built new lives for men who betrayed you, for strangers who paid enough… So why not me? Why am I still down here rotting?”

Kenneth tilted his head, studying her the way one might study a sharp, but beautiful knife.

He didn’t answer right away, and that silence fanned the fury already burning in her chest.

When he finally spoke, his words made her blood freeze in her veins. “I brought someone for you to talk to, Cara Mia.”

The doors opened again, and a smallish middle-aged woman walked in, clutching a notepad to her chest as if it were a shield. Barbara eyed the wire-rimmed glasses… the stiff bun… the doctor's coat, and her eyes darkened in anger.

“You brought me a shrink?”

“You’ll humor her, Bella,” he said simply, already turning toward the exit. “I’m done arguing with you about this. We can talk about meeting your demands when we see how this meeting goes.”

And just like that, he was gone.

The doctor settled eagerly in the chair across from her, gesturing for her to do the same with the pen she held in her hands.

Barbie imagined snatching that damned pen and stabbing her in the jugular over and over until she was lying limp in her own pool of blood, but she instantly killed the thought.

She needed to cooperate if she wanted to be out of here.

And so, she sat down.

“Hello, Barbara… I’m Doctor Amanda Nevermore. You can call me Amanda. What do you want us to talk about today?”

Barbie leaned back, crossing her arms.

“Can we talk about how fitting your name is? Because I really wish you were no more, so we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

The shrink laughed, “Oh, you have a good sense of humor, Barbara. Unfortunately, it looks like you and I will be in each other’s lives for quite a while. So, let’s get started. Your uncle mentioned that you'd done a few things you weren’t proud of. Let’s dissect that.”

“There’s nothing to dissect, Doc. It’s simple, really,” Barbara flicked a hand dismissively, “Uh, let’s see… so, I found out my almost-fiancé was cheating on me with my best friend, Mariana, and I killed him.”

The doctor’s face paled, but Barbie didn’t even notice.

“I chopped off his d**k… used it to make Mariana’s favorite salad, poisoned it… because, in her words, I didn’t have the guts to kill her like I did Peter… and now, here we are, with you asking me questions, and me on the run.” She finished counting proudly, feeling that same adrenaline coursing through her.

Dr. Amanda’s hands shook violently. “Barbara, I—I think we should pause—”

But Barbie didn’t hear a word.

You see, she had taken her meds the first two days… but as the silence continued to taunt her and her guilt chased sleep away, she had stopped, because she needed an escape.

“I’m sure you’re wondering how I feel about everything I’ve told you, Doc. The answer is simple. I don’t feel guilty. I feel free… more alive than I have ever been. Those two deserved everything they got, and if you present me with the same situation, I’ll do it all over again… maybe slower this time so I can savor every bit of it.”

The pen slipped from Dr. Amanda’s hand and clattered to the floor.

It made Barbie smile in amusement.

“Why? Scared I’ll hurt you too? Come on… I don’t bite… but I could, if you’re into it.”

That did it.

The therapist dashed out of the living room like she was being chased, nearly tripping over a rug in her desperate flight. The heavy doors slammed shut behind her, the sound of it making Barbie burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

Kenneth appeared from God-knows-where, arms folded, lips twitching in amusement. “She didn’t last ten minutes,” he remarked.

“She’s weak,” Barbie replied, still laughing.

“So are most people,” Kenneth said, his gaze glinting with something darker. “But you, Barbara… you’re special.”

The laughter drained from her throat.

She turned on him, her eyes sad yet fierce. “Special? I’m broken, Uncle Kenneth. Don’t dress it up as anything else. I have serious trauma disorders. I have bipolar. I need help… not… not this. Not some silly woman who thinks that just because she has a piece of paper, she can now tell me how to live my life.”

Kenneth opened his mouth to reply, but before a single word could leave him, they heard it.

BANG.

The shot cracked through the room, and almost on instinct, Barbie moved forward, shoving her uncle to the ground just as the bullet shot past and hit one of the wine shelves, sending bottles of wine crashing to the ground.

Two men moved into the room, holding guns, and without thinking, Barbie reached for one of the bottles that didn’t break from their fall. She threw it with precision, and it landed smack in the face of one, knocking him out.

She threw a second bottle, but this time she wasn’t as lucky.

The bottle knocked the gun out of the other man, but he pulled out a knife, advancing towards them with purpose.

“Your reign of terror is over, old man,” he growled at Kenneth.

Barbara threw another bottle, and this time, it tripped him, sending him to the ground.

She was on him in an instant, trying to crush him with her heavy weight and snatch the knife, but he was stronger. The knife pressed closer and closer to her throat, but luckily for Barbie, Dr. Amanda’s pen caught her eye.

She grabbed it, and just like she had wanted to with the poor shrink, she stabbed him over and over in the jugular with it, and she didn’t stop until he was lying limp, in his own pool of blood.

Barbie stood up shakily, staring at her handiwork in horror.

Oh no.

What had she done?

His blood was all over her… her hands, her face… her dress, and yet, when she risked a glance at Uncle Kenneth, instead of the horror, the fear she was expecting to see in his eyes… all she saw was admiration.

He began to laugh as he struggled to his feet, low at first, then louder.

“Dio mio, Cara Mia,” he murmured, shaking his head in amazement. “You saved my life.”

Barbie stood there, chest heaving, her hands trembling from the rush. Her gaze dropped to the corpses. “This is sick. I… I’m sick,” she whispered, almost to herself. “None of this is normal. I should be locked up—” Bile flew from her throat at the sheer horror before her.

Kenneth rushed to her, cupping her bloodied, chubby cheeks in one hand, his voice hard and urgent. “Hey, hey, Barbara, look at me, listen to me. You’re not sick, Cara Mia. You are perfect. You are exactly what I need.”

Barbie’s lips trembled. “I don’t want to be like this, Uncle Ken. Just… just let me go. I swear, I’ll take my meds. I’ll get better. I’ll be better.”

Kenneth’s smile was cold, final. “But you see, Cara… I do not want you to be better. You’re perfect, just the way you are. You, are a weapon of destruction, Barbara, and I am going to shape you into one, mold you into your full potential.”

“No. No… Uncle Ken, I won’t do it. Don’t make me, please.” Barbara begged, the tears streaming down even harder than before.

But Kenneth’s mind was made up.

“You have no choice, Cara. If you refuse, I will just leave you to deal with the mess you left on the surface, because that wasn’t free, child. Nothing on earth is free. This is the price you’ll have to pay for your salvation, Cara, and you owe me. Big time.”

But she shook her head over and over as the tears continued to fall, because she didn’t want what he was offering.

Kenneth wiped the tears off her cheeks, his resolve crumbling slightly at her tears.

“Okay, fine, I’ll make you a deal. Train. Work for me for one year, and I’ll consider your debt paid. You’ll be free to go live your life. And I won’t stop you. What do you say?”

Barbie swallowed hard, her throat still sore from crying, “Just for one year?”

Ken took his sweet time lighting up another cigar.

“Yes, Bella… just one year. It’ll come and go by in a flash, you’ll see.”

Barbara sniffled slightly, mentally sealing her fate.

She desperately wanted to say no. But she knew her uncle, Kenneth, and was smart enough to know that once he had made up his mind about something, nothing was going to get him out of it.

And so, she steeled her shoulders, meeting his gaze head-on. “Alright. You have a deal.”

But deep down, that agreement was all a lie.

A year was far too long, and if things went according to plan, her uncle wouldn’t just give up on his dream of changing her…

She would crush it herself before the first month was over.