Sinner

Chapter 7

Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. I thought with Ryan's image in my head. I sat on the couch in the living room waiting for the clock to turn to 7:00 am. Currently it's 6:58 am. I had put on some black cargo pants and another one of the infinite black t-shirts in my dresser. I had found a pair of Sketchers in the walk-in closet that were just a little too big for my feet. I would have to get a new pair of shoes today after training. I have a bad feeling that it will be Ryan who takes me to Walmart.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a pounding at the door. I waste no time in running over. I get there in 3 seconds and wait another 1 and a half to not seem too prepared. I open the door and see Ryan with his arms crossed and a smirk plastered on his face. He's wearing an outfit similar to mine, but he has some cool Nikes.

"Five seconds" he says.

"Four and half, actually" I remark.

"We round up here" he says.

I roll my eyes and shut the door behind me. We begin to walk towards the elevators. Ryan seems to be in a better mood. But I know he can change that pretty quickly. We get in the elevators and Ryan hits a floor that's below ground level.

"This is where agents train. All your combat training will be here" he explains.

I just nod my head. Anxiety is starting to build in my body. I remember his words from yesterday. "I can't wait for your hand combat training. It will give me a good reason to beat you up" he had said. I gulp and flush when I see in my peripheral vision that Ryan had given me a questioning look.

The elevator stops and the doors slide open. I release a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding and step out of the elevator. We're in a huge room. It reminds me of a huge warehouse. There are no windows because we are underground and the brick walls are painted black. Lights hang from the high ceiling and are distributed throughout the huge room, casting a yellowish glow. Along the whole room are big blue mats. A couple agents are sparring on several mats.

"This is where you'll learn to fight. But first we'll train you on shooting a gun. Follow me" Ryan instructs as if I have a choice. We turn right and walk towards a door that's painted black like the walls. Ryan pushes it open and heads inside first with me behind him. The door slams behind us. We're in a room that's rectangular in shape. About 60 feet to the left are big posters with a black outline of a man on them. The outline of the man has a target in the center. Mounted on the wall immediately to the right of us are all types of guns.

Ryan sees me looking. "Today we're practicing with some small handheld guns. You'll take these on your missions with," Ryan hesitates, "...me."

I nod my head showing I understand. Ryan then reaches for a small gun that you'd see a police officer have on his belt. He walks to a line taped on the floor and faces the poster that's 60 feet away. He holds the gun in his right hand and aims. He pulls the trigger. BANG. There's a hole right through the bullseye.

"Your turn" Ryan says and hands the gun to me. I take it and copy Ryan. He made it look so easy. I aim with my right arm and put my index finger on the trigger. I pull it. BANG. A surprising vibration throughout the gun surprises me and makes me drop the gun.

"HEY! NEVER DROP A GUN WHILE YOU SHOOT. THE BULLET COULD GO ANYWHERE" Ryan shouts from behind me.

"Sorry" I mutter.

"Sorry wouldn't help if you had shot one of us" Ryan remarks.

"I've never shot a gun before" I mumble, about to cry from my lack of experience.

"Obviously. Look, you need to hold the gun with strength. A powerful reaction goes on inside the gun to fire the bullet. Try using both hands at first to help steady your arms" he says.

I bend down and pick up the gun. I point the gun towards the target with my right arm and put my left hand around my right to steady myself.

"You're aiming too low. Here, let me help you" Ryan says. Wow. Never expected to hear him say those words.

I feel Ryan's chest on my back as he wraps his arms around mine. I feel extremely sensitive at his touch. I also feel very small. He's so much bigger than me.

Ryan pushes my arms up so I'm aiming higher. "There," he breathes, his breath hot on my ear, "Fire."

I pull the trigger. This time the bullet hits the circle around the bullseye.

"Pretty good" Ryan says backing away from me.

Relief floods me now that he isn't surrounding me.

"Thank you" I say, looking at Ryan with a new found appreciation.

He looks down at me. "You still need a lot of work. Your arms are weak. Also your legs could use work too" he says.

I feel my face get hot with embarrassment. "How would you know?" I ask.

"From chasing you the other day. You were an easy catch" he explains.

"Can I work out by myself? Or do you need to help me with that too?" I ask.

"Have you ever worked out before?" he asks.

"No" I reply. The S.I.N.S. could not care any less about my health.

"Then you'll need someone to help you. Which unfortunately has to be me since Traci assigned me to train you and be your partner" Ryan says.

"Am I really that awful to work with?" I collect the courage to ask Ryan.

"You killed my coworkers, including my girlfriend. So yeah, you are" Ryan spits, with sudden anger. I regret asking him.

"I didn't kill them. The S.I.N.S. did" I say with sudden anger myself.

"But you helped them" Ryan says.

"Like I had a choice!" I yell.

"You did have a choice!" Ryan rages.

"At the cost of my family!" I scream.

"YOUR FAMILY'S DEAD! THEY'VE BEEN DEAD! YOU KILLED ALL THESE INNOCENT PEOPLE AT THE COST OF NOTHING!" Ryan screams at the top of his lungs.

Something inside me snaps. I drop the gun I was holding and quickly walk up to Ryan. I gather all my strength and lose all my common sense and I slap Ryan, hard.

The slap echoes throughout the room and I see Ryan's brown eyes turn to black. Immediately he pounces on me, knocking me to the ground. He straddles my waist so I can't escape, and starts to punch my healing face. I look to the side to try to lessen the effect of his blows and I spot the gun I had dropped.

Adrenalin courses through me as my right arm slowly reaches out towards the gun. Ryan's so engrossed in punching the side of my face that he doesn't notice me reaching for the weapon. One finger hooks around the handle, then two, and then I pull it into my hand and immediately point it at Ryan's head.

Ryan suddenly stops and looks at me with infinite hate. "So you're gonna kill me too?" he asks.

I'm so shocked by his words that I don't have time to react when he slaps the gun out of my hand and throws it across the room.

"Wait 'til Traci hears this" Ryan spits with hatred but smirks.

"I was just trying to protect myself. Traci knows how tempted you'd be to literally pounce on me, he'll believe me. Think about it" I say, still underneath Ryan.

"Hell, I could even say you were trying to rape me. You're still straddling me" I go on.

Ryan immediately gets off of me and stands up. I immediately follow his movements, not wanting to be any smaller than Ryan than I already am.

"Fine. I won't tell Traci" Ryan mutters, and I can tell that he's wondering what to do next.

Ryan smirks, as if remembering something. "I guess we're done with target practice. Time for your hand combat training" he says.

I gulp. I've never been more scared in my life.