Bullets And Roses

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

After Boss explained my new task, I was asked to follow one of the guards. I didn't know where I was but I was quite certain the building was colossal. It had endless series of corridors and each corridor had endless number of doors with the symbol X engraved to it. The golden-veined marble floors beneath my feet shone so brightly that I could clearly look at my own reflection. At the end of the corridor that I was walking through, was a brushed aluminum security desk. The masked guard, who was escorting me pulled his ID card out of the inner pocket of his pants and held it up for the two guards in the same outfit as his. He pressed his hand to the wall in front of him. What seemed like a wall turned out to be a door later.

I got a little nervous when I walked into the room. I was startled by a rapid-fire series of images of people that flashed on the walls of the gigantic room as soon as I stepped into it. The room was way bigger and modernized than the room in which Boss discussed the task with me. Discuss would not be an appropriate word to use since he was just laying out the plans and asking me if I understood it.  

"Hello, Black." A man appeared out of nowhere with a white coat wrapped around his shoulders. He could easily be mistaken for a doctor if he had the right equipments in his hands instead of a gun attached to his belt. He did not wear a mask like the others and I wondered why. The intensity of his gaze on me was searing. His entire focus was on me and to him the guard behind me was invisible.  

I caught a glimpse of his wrist as he motioned the guard to leave the room who obliged without any reluctance. 

"Sit down, Black." A warm smile replaced his callous one.  

I settled down on the chair that was placed beside a slightly uplifted area compared to the other parts of the room.  

"So tell me, how long have you been working here?"  

"What does that have anything to do with my task?" 

"It has everything to do with your task." He smiled. 

I looked right into his eyes with intensity as same as his and replied "Seven years." 

He seemed to be wavering between astonished and bewilderment. I sat for a moment waiting for him to say something. But thoughts had completely taken over his mind as he stared at the marbled floor. A few minutes passed by. I tapped my stilettos when he showed no sign of speaking. Looking at my own stilettos I wondered about the outfits I wore, which were contradictory to my profession. It was ironic how different my life actually was compared to what I projected to the world.  

The minutes that passed seemed longer than they usually did. Any other person in my position would've lost patience by then but I certainly did not- years of endless training and experience led me to be a person who did not lose patience easily. In fact, I considered patience to be one of my strongest weapons. Sometimes the simplest things in life prove to be the most significant ones. 

I looked at the thoughtful face of the man and wondered about his whereabouts. Was he forced into Anonymous? Did he choose to come here? Did he sacrifice himself for the sake of his family too?  

I couldn't ask him these questions for obvious reasons but my mind desperately wanted to.

The silence in the room was disrupted by the man's calm yet piercing voice. 

"Black, I reckon you realize that this mission is unlike any other mission you've had before?" 

"Yes Sir, I know."  

"Oh please, call me Henry. Do you think you're ready for such a task?" The sudden sign of friendliness surprised me. 

"I'm always ready, Henry." I said with an empty smile. 

"Your confidence is admirable. If you're ready then I think it's time to introduce you to my extraordinary inventions." He grinned. I got up from the chair and followed him toward the other end of the room. 

What he said about the task being different was indeed true. The various tasks that I had been a part of, involved a disguised me. I was the person who stayed behind the scenes and did the job. My face was never revealed. But in this task, it was completely different. I was presented with a new identity. I was to be a person who got a law degree from Yale University and led a life filled with luxury. A perfect life was constructed for me. 

A file that consisted of numerous pages was given to me. The content of the file varied from trivial to profound things from where I grew up to what kind of food I preferred to eat. It was all written in bold letters and the extremely important points were highlighted in red. The fact that I had to memorize it within one week scared me more than the mission itself. I didn't know where I was going since the investigation team was still trying to locate Duncan Barros. He was a very mysterious man who apparently was one of the most wanted Mafias in the world. I hadn't heard of him before this mission probably because he was very good at hiding himself from the media. He became a successful and powerful mafia overnight and everyone wondered how. He had everything he wanted under his thumb and was after something that would result in his being the most powerful and influential person in the world. Anonymous wanted to do everything to make sure that it didn't happen. They wanted to acquire that particular something from Barros. According to them, I was the perfect candidate to carry this mission out. I had both experience and desperation to make sure the task didn't go wrong. If the task got messed up, so would Meera.  

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Henry presented the gadgets in front of me and gave a detailed explanation of each. At the end of each explanation he questioned me to make sure I understood the functions properly. I didn't get a single question wrong which amused and impressed him simultaneously. He said he could understand why I was chosen for this mission. A few hours rolled by and I knew everything I was meant to know about. I bid Henry goodbye and took the first step toward my mission.