Morally Grey

Lance

Bullseye. Every. Single. Time. I set the handgun down and reach for the rifle. The safety clicks as I turn it off and fire off another round.
Bullseye.
Bullseye.
Bullseye.
Bullseye.
The instructor claps me on the back. "Good job, keep up the good work," is all he says. I swallow my frustration and hand my gun off to the next cadet. I'm at the top of my class. Aced every test, always the first and best. And the instructors don't even blink an eye. My jaw clenches, and I run a hand through my brown hair in frustration.
"You can go home now, we're done for the day." I head to my locker and grab my bag before running home.
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Luke was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework. His chair shrieks against the floor as he pushes away from the table and envelops me in a hug.
"How's Dad doing?" I asked, ruffling his hair.
"Same as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before. When's he going to get better?" My 14-year-old brother's face crumples.
"Soon." Never. We couldn't afford treatment or pay medical bills. I need to find a solution soon.
I make Luke some mac and cheese and bring a small bowl up to my father's room. He was sleeping, so I set the bowl on the stand beside his bed. His skin was pale and clammy. I let out a shaky breath. Shit. He doesn't have much time left. The numbers on my wrist appear from under my long-sleeved shirt as I brush Dad's hair out of his eyes. The date I meet my soulmate. In three days, 4 hours, and 27 minutes I will meet my other half.
9.19.2025.
2130.
When I walk back downstairs Luke is already done with his mac and cheese. I check over his homework and let him watch tv for an hour before sending him off to bed. Once he was asleep I slip my switchblade into my pocket and head out the door.
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When Dad was healthy we never went to this side of town. He told us never to go here. Which made sense. Outside of every other building somebody was smoking. It reeked like liquor and cigarette smoke and every few minutes there was a gunshot. This was my fifth night coming here and finally, I might have found a way to get enough money. Illegally.
The White Dove Charity Gala was coming up in a few weeks and somebody was looking for a crew to steal the 50 million dollars of cash expected to be raised. The idea of it bothered me and it was risky, but it was worth it. I head to Silver Skies Bar where I was to meet Carter Riley who would be in charge of the heist.
The bar was lit with dim gray lights and had a titanium ceiling. I slip into the backroom where a curvy redhead sat in solitude. A woman. And one who didn't look threatening. This was Carter Riley?
"Let me guess... you think you're in the wrong place?" She voices my thoughts. "She's just a nice little redhead, maybe the barkeeper's daughter..." She has me pinned against the wall, a loaded gun pressed into my gut before I can so much as take out my switchblade. "Wrong. Now, tell me why I should hire a North-sider like you?"
"I'm good with a gun and at hand-to-hand combat," my voice comes out weak.
"Prove it," she hands me her gun. "Hit the center of the clock on the other side of the room."
The sound of the gun is deafening, almost drowning out the sound of the clock shattering. Carter hums in satisfaction before walking across the room and I follow her. The bullet was lodged in the wall right where the center of the clock would've been.
"Not many South-siders are good with a gun, and not many North-siders would do something risky like this," she considers. I hand her the gun and her eyes snag on the date on my wrist. "Especially when they're meeting their soulmate in a few days." She smirks, as though she knows something I don't.
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The next day I get a text from an unknown number with a place and a date. I didn't question how she got my phone number.
Chiron House, B2. September 19th, 9 pm.
The same day I meet my soulmate. Half an hour before. I'm going to meet my soulmate...on the South-side. They were probably a member of the crew.
Thoughts about the heist and my soulmate intruded upon me all day, and I barely paid attention at the Academy. I try to refocus my thoughts as I reload the gun. Click the safety off. Aim. Fire. The bullet goes slightly to the left.
"What's up with you today?" Rylan Mizrahi, a friend of mine asks.
"Nothing," I lie, "just tired." Rylan accepts the lie and takes the gun out of my hands.
"Shouldn't be shooting if you're tired." I make a sound of protest and reach for the gun. "Tell me the truth then," Rylan chimed.
"I'm just nervous. I meet my soulmate on Saturday," not exactly a lie.
"It'll be fine. I'm sure they'll like you, you are soulmates after all," Rylan didn't have to worry about meeting his soulmate for over a month. He hands me the gun and I erase every thought out of my head.
Bullseye.
"There you go," Rylan claps me on the back. I hand the gun back to Rylan and watch as he shoots the target. Not every one of his shots were bullseyes but most of them were.
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After training, Rylan pulls me into a dark alley, a playful glint in his eyes. I didn't need to be told twice. My fingers twine through his hair and pull him to me. Our thing has been going on for a while, but it ends today. His lips were unbearably soft against mine. He backs us up until my back is pressed against the wall. A hand slides down to grip my thigh and I loop my leg around his waist. He nips my bottom lip and I part my lips. My hands slide down his chest and slip under his shirt, feeling the toned muscles underneath. My lips trail down his jawline and to that one spot on his neck, where I bite on it slightly. He moans and grinds against me.
"We need to stop doing this," I lower my leg. "I'm meeting my soulmate in just a few days." Rylan nods and steps back.
"Yeah, you're right," he presses a small kiss to my lips, and then he was gone.
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I like Rylan. I liked him a lot, but I'm going to meet my soulmate in just a few days. My thoughts run wild on different scenarios that could have happened if he was my soulmate, but instead, they're going to be some murderous South-sider.
I go through the same routine I always do: run home, make supper, correct Luke's homework. But this time I get to sleep. The moment my back hits the pillow, I'm asleep.
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I don't talk to Rylan the next day. I try not to look at him either, but it's hard not to watch his biceps flex as he does pull-ups.
Stop it. You're meeting your soulmate tomorrow, I try to rid any thought of Rylan from my mind as I do my push-ups. A South-sider. It was probably wrong of me to stereotype them, but I couldn't help it. The word slips through my head with each push-up. The instructor called the class back into the classroom for learning about different laws and regulations.
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The next day was Saturday so I didn't have training at the Academy. I was waiting impatiently for tonight. Luke could tell something was up, and he asked about it several times. Every time he asked I would either ignore him or mention I would be gone for a while.
It seemed like the day lasted for an eternity, but before I knew it it was 8 o'clock and I had to leave. 90 minutes. With every step towards Chiron House it felt more like I was walking towards my doom. I had a sudden feeling of regret.
No, you have to do this. Or else Dad will die.
I continued, only a few blocks from Chiron House. 34 minutes.
Chiron House didn't look special. It was a small yellow broken down house with a sign on the front door that said to use the back door. The door was propped open with a small wood block, so I walked in. There was an old rickety staircase leading down. I followed it down the stairs and it opened up to a room that looked half-arsenal-half-office and Carter was sitting at the desk.
She sent another message an hour ago saying she wanted to have a one-on-one talk with the crew members. The silence was deafening, until she spoke up.
"I'm going to be blunt with you: you are aware that there is an acute chance of having to kill people, right?" She asks. I nod. A life for a life. I'd kill if it meant saving my dad. "I have another North-sider on the crew too. Him and his sons, just so you know you won't be by yourself, Lance," she sounded as though she actually cared. Was it possible for South-siders to care? Stupid question, they were still humans. And how did she know my name, I didn't tell her it. "They also haven't killed before," she adds. 13 minutes.
I shrug. "That's good to know," I say nonchalantly even though the thought did bother me. I fidget in my seat as she tells me about the risks and that we could dye my hair before the heist, so I wouldn't be recognized.
The minutes seem to fly by and I get more fidgety, constantly checking the clock.
10.
9.
7.
5.
2.
"The others are waiting for you down that hallway," Carter says, snapping me out of my thoughts. Well, here we go. One of the crew is my soulmate. But at least maybe it will be one of the North-siders. There's a door at the end of the hallway and my knuckles are white from gripping the handle so tight. I open it and seven other people are waiting at a council table.
And one of them is my soulmate.