Beauty With A Gun (Hidden Beauty)

Chapter 1

I precariously dangled the gun in my hand as I stared at the tied up man in front of me. I gave him my best cold smile. "You see Fred, can I call you Fred?" He struggled against his ropes trying to get away from me. "I don't believe that you don't have anything left to tell me." He spat his blood at me making me frown. "Now Fred that's not very polite. What would Cara think?" He struggled harder at the name of his wife.

"Roxanne, stop playing with the poor man." Collins said behind me. I just smiled as I stared at the man. Collins leant down and looked at the bloody, bruised man in front of us. "Look tell her what she wants to know and I'll kill you quick. No need to involve your loved ones." The man looked like he was actually considering this.

I grabbed his phone and dialed a number marked as Natalie. It rang a few times but eventually a way to cheery voice answered. "Dad!... Dad?.... Hello are you there?" I put my finger over my lips and watched the man before me turn pale. Right before she sounded like she was going to hang up I answered.

"Hi my name is Sarah Weller. I was just calling to tell you I found this phone in the parking lot." I quickly hung up before the girl could question me. I looked back at the man. "Now tell me before I get your daughter down here. I bet I can get you to answer then." I threatened. He told us everything our bosses wanted to know and when he was done I shot him in his head. "Goodbye Fred."

We were down the street by the time we heard the sirens. Knowing Collins he was looking back watching the flames rise higher. " I don't know how you do it, Roxanne?" I didn't answer knowing what he was really asking. How can I keep taking lives and not even cry about it? Me and Collins have been partners since we entered into the Phoenix Program. We were trained to be deadly weapons, but since the beginning I've been able to keep Collins from the worse of it. He's never been punished by the higher ups and most of all he has never had to kill anyone. Even when I was little I knew one of us had to try to stay pure and I knew he had a better chance. With me being the only girl I couldn't afford to show any weakness.

"I do it so we can survive Collins. Don't forget what Kitty taught us." I saw him shutter in the corner of my eye. Kitty was our mentor, was because they killed her. She favored me since I was her first girl recruit. She taught me things that she wasn't able to teach the men, things only women can do. Unfortunately, after my first mission she showed how much she cared about me. She tried to sneak us out of the program, Phoenix wasn't a fan of her plan. That night we found her dead in the training room with a note that read: ' This is what disobedience gets you.'

When we reached our car we drove off in silence.

........

"Congrats on a successful mission." Boss said, despite his words he looked anything other then proud. " Go rest up and find me in the morning for your next mission."

"Next mission? But we just got back." I demanded. He looked up at me sternly but unlike Collins I didn't flinch. I was the only person here who dared to speak out at Boss, most were deathly scared of him.

"Roxanne, I'm not in the mood today. Now go before I send Collins without you." He spat. I glared at him before I stormed off. I went to the gym and hit the bag a few times. Eventually a group of the guys came in and spared on the mat. I focused to block out their laughter.

"Hey Roxy." Collin called from the group. I ignored him. "Want to join us?"

"Dude!" One of them complained

"What?" He asked innocently as I kept hitting into the bag.

"We don't want her." He replied back.

He must of started to argue because another joined in. "Man she wouldn't join us if we did. She likes to keep to herself." I plugged in my head phones and worked out the rest of my frustration on the bag in front of me.

When I was on the brink of exhaustion I went into the armory and picked out a bow, Saturday was archery day for me. After the tenth arrow hit the bulls eye in a row I decided to relax. I laid there for a while before a shadow past over me. I smiled knowing who it was before I laid eyes on him. He pulled my headphones out of my ears and frowned.

"I have been calling you for ages. I was starting to think you offed yourself."

"Mark, if I offed myself I'd of done it to make a statement." I paused thinking for a second. "Like on top of Boss's desk."

Mark laughed. "Good luck with that, I've been here a lot longer then you and never seen that man away from his desk." I smiled up at him.

"I'd of done it in front of him, just to piss him off." This got him laughing. Mark, is the only other person here I'd consider a friend besides Collin. Most of the guys here just try to put me down and exclude me, so I found it best to ignore them all together.

"So how was the mission today?" He asked cautiously. I just sat up and gave him an exhausted look. "That bad?"

"You don't get it. It's getting harder and harder to hold on to my humanity." I looked off in the distance trying to remember life before the program, but like always failed to work up an image. He plopped down next to me and softly rubbed my back.

"Roxy, I know, it's hard enough for me with a partner who takes half the burden. What your doing for Collins is noble, but it also means your taking a bigger hit then the rest of us." Mark was the only other person who knew that Collins never killed before, if the program found out..... I couldn't imagine what they'd do.

"They are sending us out again tomorrow." I looked up at his shocked face.

"So soon?" It was rare, to be sent on two missions in a week. Unheard of to be sent out back to back, meaning this mission had to be extremely important. "Well..... I guess I'll give it to you now." He reached in to his backpack and pulled out a small box. "I know your birthday is coming up and if your going out so soon..... I just don't want to miss it." He said handing it to me. I carefully opened up the box to find a photograph. I looked up at him frowning but he just waved me to look at it.

The photo looked pretty worn down along the edges, but the actual picture of the family looked almost brand new. There stood three people, a man and woman who obviously were married by the looks of the bands on their fingers and there posture. Then in between them stood a little girl in a dress she had pitch black hair and unlike the couple she was looking at something away from the camera. You knew they were a family because the little girl looked so much like the mother. "Who are they?" I asked already knowing the answer.

He gently touched my hand. "Those are your parents, Roxy. I wasn't able to get your full folder, but I did manage to sneak the photo out."