An Assassin's Quest

Chapter 1- Athena

It's well past midnight right now. "This is going to be a quick job." I whisper into my earpiece, my best friend and partner, Jena on the other end. "Don't get cocky Athena." She reminds me. Weird normally it is the other way around and I'm telling her to hurry up.

"Someone's in a mood tonight. Is it because you have to wear something nice for that ball?" My tone mocking. Jena loudly sighs in the earpiece.

"Take the shot so we can go back to the palace." She reminds me, clearly annoyed by my time wasting. "The Sovereign is going to want a full report when we get back and I don't know about you but I want to sleep tonight." She is definitely in a mood. To be fair though I'm not excited for the ball celebrating Adelina, the Sovereign's seventeen year old daughter's birthday. I think we'd both rather be doing our part to contribute to the war that started almost twenty years ago. Wearing a fancy dress certainly does not help with the war effort. But I know how to keep my emotions in check during missions, something Jena has always struggled with since we were kids, she was never beaten or starved for talking back. And I do also want to sleep for the first time in at least two weeks. It's been one late night job after another. "Relax Jena, let me focus. I've done this a million times." With that a click comes through the receiver. She muted me! At least now I have to focus. So I push forward into the thick of the forest. It's eerily quiet and dark for this time of year. With a flick of my finger the night vision goggles resting on my head are turned on. Looking around, I find a tall tree with a clear view into the labs. The bark is rough and scaly, indicating it's a Spruce. Not great for climbing but it has to do. The tree's scale-like bark is rough even underneath my heavy black gloves. It takes more than ten minutes to climb and find a branch suitable for the job. Quickly and quietly my long gun is removed from my back and in my hands. Carefully on the thin branch I shift my weight to get a clear shot. The entire facility is huge with several labs and an entire university in it. The entire place is around three square miles but the private lab off in a far corner is what I need. The window is only a few yards in front of me so I can clearly see the targets and lab. Four people. One a high ranking general from Akilah with graying hair and a thick beard. Around forty-five years old. The next one, the general's assistant, is young enough to be his son. He's only a few years older than me but time on the warfront has aged him to the point where it looks unnatural. The other two, a middle aged man and a young woman in her early thirties, are scientists from this lab. Indicated so on their long coats. We received a tip that they have been passing off info, supplies, and precious tech across the border. They are traitors to the Sovereign and the country and it's my job to kill them all. "Don't miss. It would be a shame to fail and report back to the Sovereign." I don't have time to worry about that voice and my mind automatically refocuses. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Four shots ring out each hitting and killing their target in one efficient blow. Their bodies crumble to the floor in jagged movements. Poor people didn't even hear the shots coming thanks to the muffler placed on it. "They had it coming, they were traitors and criminals using government property illegally." I remind myself. Looking around waiting to confirm the kills sparks an old memory, me and Jena hand in hand surrounded by guards wearing protective gear, waiting for a scientist to come tell us what was wrong with us. I remember she had ugly wired glasses and white hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in days. When she did come out she said what everyone else said, "We are done here, tell the Sovereign that my work is almost complete." Then we were shoved into a tight truck with half a dozen guards. That's what our entire childhood was, other kids were going to school or playing with toys or each other we were being shuffled from one lab to another.

I try to shake off the memory. "All good, let's move out." Moments pass and Jena still doesn't respond. She must have gone radio-silent. Shaking my head, annoyed at Jena, I begin to make my way down the Spruce. If it weren't for the heavy duty gloves protecting my hands I'd have a million little splinters.