The sun rose sluggishly over the city, its light filtering through the cracked blinds of the assassin's base. The quiet hum of activity was absent that morning; Leno, Leon, and Andrei were all out on missions. Kahanna sat cross-legged on the floor, cleaning her firearms with meticulous precision. Victor and Alina were preparing for an assassination across the city, leaving Jay to linger in uneasy solitude.
The silence broke as Victor's phone buzzed. "It's Leno," Victor said, answering the call. His face turned serious as he listened.
"What? Another mission?" Victor's voice sharpened. He glanced at Alina. "We're already tied up here. You'll need someone else for this."
Leno's voice, crackling over the line, gave a curt suggestion. "Hand it to one of the others. Kahanna's around, isn't she?"
Jay, sitting nearby, stiffened. "You can't send a kid on her own," he said, his voice wavering. His stomach churned at the thought.
Victor turned to Kahanna, who gave a small smirk as if the idea didn't faze her. "I'm not just a kid, Jay," she said, holding up her gun. "I've handled tougher jobs than this."
But Jay stood up, his hands trembling slightly. "I'll go with her," he said, his voice faltering but determined. He swallowed hard. "I—I can do this."
Victor hesitated before nodding. "Fine. Reign will provide backup remotely. Don't screw this up."
The mission's target was chilling: the child heir of a prominent family. As they reviewed the mission details in the car, Kahanna handed Jay a photo of the target. Jay's heart sank.
"This is a child," he murmured, his voice shaking.
Kahanna didn't look up. "Not quite. Look at the eyes."
Jay's gaze locked onto the photo again. The child's eyes gleamed with an otherworldly malice that made his skin crawl.
Reign, monitoring from a safe distance, cut into their comms. "Intel suggests that's no ordinary child. He's a demon who's been devouring people and assuming their identity. This is a clean-up mission."
Jay's mouth felt dry, but he nodded, gripping his pistol tighter as they approached the sprawling mansion.
Infiltrating the mansion was seamless thanks to Reign's hacking skills. Security cameras went dark, and alarms were disabled as Jay and Kahanna slipped inside. The grand halls stretched endlessly, and the air felt heavy, oppressive.
They moved silently through the dimly lit corridors until Kahanna motioned for Jay to stop. She pointed ahead at a faint trail of blood leading into another room. "That's our lead," she whispered.
As they advanced, a sudden noise echoed behind them. They turned, only to find themselves separated in the confusion. Kahanna disappeared down one hallway, and Jay's heart raced as he found himself alone.
Jay stumbled into a garden that felt impossibly vast, like a maze designed to trap its prey. He heard a soft, melodic voice behind him.
"Are you lost?"
Jay spun around to see the child from the photo standing there, a twisted smile on his face. The boy's voice was sweet, but his presence sent a chill down Jay's spine.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, tilting his head. "You must be new here. Let's play."
Before Jay could react, the boy darted deeper into the garden, laughing. Reluctantly, Jay followed, his pistol drawn. They navigated the maze-like paths until the child suddenly stopped and turned, his form beginning to shift.
The boy's body contorted grotesquely. His nails grew into jagged claws, his teeth sharpened into fangs, and his eyes burned with an unholy light. Jay froze, cold sweat dripping down his neck.
The demon lunged, but a gunshot echoed through the garden, striking its shoulder and halting its attack. Kahanna emerged from the shadows, her rifle still aimed at the creature.
"You okay?" she called out, not taking her eyes off the demon.
Jay nodded weakly, but his relief was short-lived as the demon charged at Kahanna. She fired again, but the demon's speed was unnatural. It slashed at her, knocking her to the ground.
As Kahanna struggled to get up, Jay noticed something he hadn't before—the way she moved, the scars on her arms, the fire in her eyes. Bits of her past seemed to emerge unbidden in his mind, pieced together from subtle clues over time. He remembered the whispers among the team about her being a survivor of war, how she'd once been a child caught in the crossfire of violence. The precision in her aim wasn't just skill; it was born from necessity, from a life spent fighting to stay alive.
Jay's thoughts were interrupted as the demon lunged again, pinning Kahanna down. Her gun lay just out of reach, and for a moment, Jay saw a flash of vulnerability in her expression.
"Move!" Jay shouted, raising his gun. But the demon's claws were already at her throat.
Summoning every ounce of courage, Jay fired. The shot struck the demon in the side, causing it to recoil. Kahanna seized the moment, grabbing her gun and firing point-blank at its head. The demon screeched, its body convulsing as it collapsed to the ground.
Jay rushed to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Kahanna gave a faint nod, brushing dirt from her face. "You did good," she said, her voice softer than he'd ever heard.
As they exited the mansion, the weight of what had just happened began to settle. Jay glanced at Kahanna, seeing her in a new light—not just as a sharpshooter or a teammate, but as someone forged by unimaginable pain and resilience. He didn't need her to tell him her story; it was written in every action, every scar.
In the van, Reign broke the tense silence. "You two pulled it off," she said, her voice calm but tinged with a weariness Jay hadn't noticed before.
Jay turned to Reign, who was methodically reviewing the data she'd gathered during the mission. Her quiet efficiency had always impressed him, but there was a depth to her he had never questioned until now. Reign caught his gaze and raised an eyebrow.
"Something on your mind, newbie?" she asked.
Jay hesitated before speaking. "Why… why do you do this? You're always in the background, but it feels like you've been through a lot, too."
Reign's expression darkened slightly. She leaned back, her fingers drumming against the keyboard. "You ever wonder why I'm so good with systems? Why I stay out of the field?" she began, her voice steady but distant.
Jay nodded, and Reign continued. "My father was possessed by something… a shadow, like the one that had taken over the boy. He lived with it for years, hiding it from all of us. When I was about Kahanna's age, I started noticing things—his voice changing, the way he'd stare at nothing for hours."
She paused, her gaze fixed on the screen but unfocused. "One night, the shadow tried to claim me. My dad attacked me. He… he killed my mom and my siblings before I realized what was happening. I barely escaped."
Jay's throat tightened. "What did you do?" he whispered.
Reign's jaw clenched. "I killed him," she said simply. "It was him or me. After that, I swore I'd never let something like that happen again. That's why I fight from here. It's safer, more controlled. But it doesn't mean the memories don't follow you."
The van fell silent, the weight of her words settling over them. Kahanna glanced at Reign, her expression unreadable but softer than usual. Jay felt a newfound respect for both of them—two survivors who had endured unimaginable horrors and still found the strength to fight.