Beyond What Meets The Eye

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mira stared at her feet the entire ride back, her breaths low and shallow.

How did none of it seem real until now? She wasn't clueless, the mafia was notorious for violence, willing to do whatever it takes for success and wealth. She'd witnessed her father takes someone's life, yet she convinced herself it had been out of a sense of duty, not a choice, but a necessity. But that was no excuse; killing was a choice, no matter what the circumstances. She wanted for her dad to be a good person, but the reality was that he was simply a bad person that was good to her. 

She was so deep in thought that she hadn't realized that they'd arrived back to HQ until Elise gently tapped her shoulder. Mira forced herself to calm down as she slipped out of the van, her eyes finding Leo as he climbed out of his van, splatters of crimson decorating his shirt. She followed the group back to the artillery, keeping silently to the back. 

Everyone began taking off their gear and returning their weapons back onto the racks, Mira following in suite.

"Did it meet your expectations," Leo stood next to her, his icy blue eyes sending a tremor down her spine. She'd always compared his eyes to the color of electric sparks, but now she realized that they were far more than that; they were the eyes of a remorseless killer.

"Depends, do all of your routine operations end with you shooting someone's brains out?" She asked dryly. He shrugged.

"Whatever it takes to get the job done." He said, pausing. "Why, did my actions upset you?" He was mocking her now, a twisted smile crossing his lips. Mira pressed her lips together, not responding.

"Seems I was right about you, you shouldn't be here. Take a look around, Mira, you're in a room full of murderers. Scary, huh? But let me get one thing straight; none of them have done anything near as horrible as your father. We smuggle drugs, kill people, and traffic them under his orders. Let that sink in before you go crawling back to him for some sort of consolation." He hissed, eyes narrowed. Then, without another word, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.

Mira stood there, frozen in place. Her heart was racing, her mind repeating the same two words over and over again:

Get out, get out, get out.

"Hey, do you have a second?" It was Elise, her expression soft. The only thing Mira wanted to do was get as far away from everyone as possible, but something about the look in Elise's eyes convinced Mira to stay.

"Yeah," Mira agreed warily.

"Here, lets go somewhere a little quieter." She lead Mira out into the hall. She followed her all the way across the building out onto a large balcony. The balcony was completely vacant and for a split second Mira wondered if Elise was planning on killing her right then and there.

"You seemed pretty shaken up back there," She leaned against the railing, gazing up at the sky, a solemn expression on her face.

"If I'm being honest, I've never witnessed a murder... it was unsettling to say the least." She frowned, peering over the edge of the railing at the street below. Maybe Elise would ridicule her for being so mentally weak, but there was no point in pretending anymore. She couldn't.

"Unsettling. It was fucking horrific if you ask me." She replied, much to Mira's surprised. She turned her gaze to the freckled ginger standing next to her. Her expression was heavy, and her eyes looked... tired. 

"Then why do you do it?" Mira asked, her voice coming out as a mere whisper. She just didn't understand it.

"My little sister was abducted and sold into a sex trafficking circuit. I searched and searched until I could find out who was responsible, and that's how I ended up here. I begged and begged for her to be released, agreed to do anything. This is the debt I'm paying off for freedom that should have already been hers." She released a low shaky breath, closing her eyes.