K A O R I' S
P O V
Soon or later I fell asleep but only to be woken up by the banging that comes from my door.
I sit up looking towards the door that was taking the brunt of the brutal impact of someone's fist. It looking like it's about to fall off its hinges and a crack starts to form where the person is banging on from the other side of the door.
The knocks abruptly stop. "Go to Zero's office."
The footsteps fade slowly as the person walks away from my door.
Knocking on my door, was the way they always wake me up at least if Zero wants me otherwise I wake up whenever I want to. Since the only way to open up the form rooms were by the chips that were placed in the wrist.
So they knock hard to wake me up knowing that no one can sleep through that and when they stop they tell me what they were sent to tell me and then they walk away.
A continuous hated process.
Stepping out of bed I start towards the bathroom planning to take a shower and make Zero wait.
Throwing my hair into a messy bun I do a once-over making sure that there is no more sleep in the corner of my eyes, my breath smells good, and I look half decent cause after all it is Zero I'm meeting.
Walking into the kitchen I decide for my breakfast to be a granola bar but I am stopped short of eating it when a nail-scratching-chalkboard addresses me.
Now I know this day is going to be a piece of shit trying to bite me in the ass.
"Hey, Kaori. You just getting back?"
I look up from my granola bar and take a bite. Purposely chewing to annoy her.
She rolls her eyes. "That was you running water early this morning wasn't for it? Were you trying to get rid of all of all the blood from the mission you were on? Y'know you can really be a merciless killer. Well the saying is like mother like daughter." The smugness drips from her voice and my dagger starts to twitch from the stitches inside of my bra.
Yes I have a small pocket knife sown into the back of my bras.
In my case, it is justifiable because of my profession. You have to take precautions these days.
"You would know though right? Seeing what mission you had last." Taking a step closer to her my voice drops to a whisper. "If you ever use both of our names in the same sentence again I will personally aid in your demise with a bullet between your eyes."
"Fuck you, you bitch!" She snarls.
Looks like I hit a nerve.
Waving my five fingers I grab my other granola and my way to Zero's office itnoring her yelling cheap insults behind me.
Walking the familiar hallway I stop at his door. Banging thrice times before opening it up.
Zero and his second command, Lawrence, looks up at me. Zero whispers something to Lawrence who nods and leaves the room closing the door on his way out.
Taking multiple steps I stop in front of his desk.
"You called for me."
"How was your morning?"
"Cut the bullshit and tell me what you want." I stare at him in the face.
"It was just a question." He smiles a smile that makes my blood boil. He is doing this on purpose; annoying me and purposely pushing my buttons. "I heard what had happened this morning with Agent Candice. News spreads so fast around here these days like wildfires especially if you are involved. You two really don't get along at all, huh? Y'all both are always at each others throats. I remember when I was that young and-"
"I don't care. What do you want?" I ground my teeth together in annoyance.
He pouts. "Fine. I was just trying to be friendly. I have another mission for you."
"Yo necesito más información."
[Translation: I need more information]
He frowns. "You have no sense of humor and you are boring. You are supposed to guess and be happy, excited."
Silence. I narrow my eyes at him to which he immediately stops smiling.
"No games got it. Sit down."
I stay standing.
"Sitting down will get you out of here faster."
Rolling my eyes I sit down. "What is all this about?"
"You have another mission."
"I've noticed." Is he gonna tell me what it is or he just gonna keep beating around the bush.
"Do you want to know what it is?"
"It depends."
He smiles leaning his facing on his right - my left - hand. "You dont say. On what?"
"Does it tell me what I need to do and what I need to know, but then again it is all in the file that you have yet to give me. So you tell me."
He smiles and playful demeanor goes away as his eyes harden and he leans back in his seat.
"You always ruin my good mood with your blunt answers, sarcastic remarks and monotonous comments."
"You still haven't given me the file."
"Here." He tosses it to me.
Opening the file I read it.
The first thing I see is a picture of a boy. It is a black and white mug shot of a boy that is about my age or 2 years my senior. The picture is definitely from a side angle so he has no idea that someone is taking a picture of him is what I would say but his lips are in a inconspicuous smirk (clearly showing his amusement); he is a clever bastard. The picture is too dark to tell what eye color he has but you could tell that he had dark colored hair. No facial feature were percieved because of the non colored picture.
The picture was cut. Purposely at that. From what I could tell it was cut with a pair of scissors and it was rushed using the diagonal and crooked lines.
Like they didn't want someone to know or see something.
I look up at Zero for a split second with an accusing and questionably glare and then look back to the file. The boys name was printed in big, bold font.
ARIEL LUCIANO.
Ariel Luciano the son of Christopher Luciano. Eighteen years old.
That was all the file said. No more information.
I lay the file down on the desk and stare at Zero like he has been doing me when I was reading. "Mug shots are supposed to be a picture of someone face his isn't, why? The photo isn't supposed to be cut yet it is, why?"
"You are perceptive. I raised you well." He nods to himself smiling to which I just blank and him with a monotonous stare. "We can't just take a criminal in without evidence so we had to be stealth when getting the picture. It was the best we could do without being detecting."
Well you failed because he knew you were there and that you took a picture of him. Some stealth that is.
"I am not sure who cut the photo but it doesn't really matter you know what he looks like so who cares about the minor details."
I do. You do. Anyone who work do. Now I know you are lying. You are hiding something and I will find out what it is.
For now though I need to focus on the task at hand. "Where is the rest of the information?"
"I dont understand. You just read it all." He raised an eyebrow leaning back in his chair.
"There is always more than this. This," I lay my hand down on the file," is going out on a whim."
"There isn't anything else. That was a the council gave us to work with." He gives me a thumps up. "We can do it."
I glare at him. "All I know is this boys name and age. Not anything else about what I actually have to do."
"Okay, okay." He playful demeanor drops yet again. "You have to find this Ariel boy and befriend him."
"Become friends with him?" I sigh at the incompetence of my subordinates.
"No. Well. . . yes-no. You have to get close to him enough to get in his circle. Become his girlfriend or just a friend that he trust deeply." Zero looks uncomfortable squirming in his seat and averting his eyes from mine. "You will know more as the mission progresses."
I stand up and walk to the door dismissing myself.
"Kaori?"
"What?"
"I have a question that I forgot to ask you."
"Get a move on I dont have all day." I turn around facing him.
He sighs. "When you were on your mission yesterday the earpiece suddenly stopped working and lost location and all I heard was static. What did you do?"
"I broke it," I say plainly.
"And why did you do that? You had the earpiece because I needed to be able to know what is going on. You don't just go around breaking things that you don't pay for. That equipment is expensive." His voice hardens.
Once again we make eye contact. "The mission was finished so there was no need for you - not that there was ever one for you from the beginning. I handled it so you are welcome. The expensive equipment get broken everday by a lot of people. Just put it on my mom's account; she will gladly pay for it.
"You are overstepping your boundaries." His eyes narrow as he brings both of his hands on his desk.
"These boundaries you talk about been broke." Turning back around I open the door reading to leave this suffocating office that smells like pickles.
"You aren't going in this mission alone." He says it in a rush as if he just wanted to get it over with.
I freeze mid-step. "Excuse you."
"We put you with a team for this mission. We cannot risk it. This mission is just too crucial for us to fail. We only have one chance. So if you preferred to work alone on this mission then you are out of luck."
I turn back around again. "What?" My voice hardens.
"You heard me. I am pretty sure you aren't deaf."
"Hell no."
"Excuse me?"
"I am not doing a group mission. I only do solos and you fucking know this." My words are harsh and blunt.
"And I don't care." He narrows his eyes at me daring me to object him. "Now go get ready to leave at 8."
I feel anger bubbling inside of me as he waved his hand dismissing me while takes out his phone and the intro for angry birds flow from his speaker.
Walking through the already opened door I slam it close. And I come face to face with a smug smiled Candice.
"Coming from Zero's office huh? You just can't stay out of trouble."
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were judging me but aren't you going to Zero's office too." I put my hands in the pockets of my hoddie.
"Shut up." Her ugly face scrunches up more. "I am here for my mission. Why are you here, huh?"
"I don't have to answer to the likes of you."
"You bitch. I'll have your head." She snarls stepping closer to me so we are only meters apart from each other.
"You sound like your daddy." I smile teasing her.
"At least you can say that about me with me and my parents but I - nor nobody else - could for you."
My smile was gone and once again the blade in my bra scraped my skin just begging to be used. "Like I give a shit."
She steps closer like she wants to give me a kiss. "You say you don't but let's be real even if it's just a second for you; you and I and everyone else know you care about them."
"Looks like someone has a pole stuck up their ass." I step closer to her, enough to fill her breath hit my face, with a deadly glare. "You might think that you are entitled but daddy can't always say you."
In the next split second the knife in my bra was lodged in her arm.
Her screaming pierced my ear but I didn't care. "I kept my promise."
Pulling the knife out of her arm she throws it on the floor and she covers the wound with her hands but there isn't any use since the blood was bleeding out in a steady flow.
I walk away from her giving her a five finger wave. As she calls for her daddy.
Let's get this party started.