The Shadow (Book 1)

Chapter 1

The Voice

"This company will become the best in the world." Shadow observed the grey-haired businessman. Tomas Milon waved his hands, pointing towards the presentation behind him. She was stood across and above him on a balcony that overlooked the crowd. The auditorium was completely dark, the only light on him. She had slipped in unnoticed and had remained unseen.

Her green irises were locked on Milon, following every moment he made. He took a step back, her gaze stayed on him, his eye twitched she saw it. A freckle of dead skin drifted from his head, landing on his shoe; she saw that too.

"How you ask?" Milons' voice; echoed through the room, rendering the mutterings obsolete. By this point, Shadow had tuned him out, focusing on his body movements and working out how she was to carry out her mission. A nagging voice in her head told her to listen, but she neglected to listen to that out too.

Shadow hadn't let the Doctor be in control for a long time. She was beginning to hope that she'd be gone for good. However, every time she thinks the Doctor's given up, the wall between their subconsciouses shatters as she tries to fight through. In truth, Shadow wasn't sure how long she could hold on in control of the body she shared with another. The grip she'd held for so long was slowly crumbling.

''You have five minutes till extraction. Whatever you're going to do, I'd do it now,'' the command filtered through the earpiece nestled in her right earlobe.

Without taking her eyes off her target, Shadow lowered herself to the carpeted floor of the balcony. Slowly she removed the sniper that had been resting across her back, sliding the weapon snuggly between the gaps in the marble balcony. Lowering her head so she could see through the scope, her eyes followed Milon as he turned around, raising his hands in the air. No doubt for a big finish. A big finish that never came.

Shadow pulled the trigger, not bothering to see if the bullet had struck or not. She flung the sniper back over her back, slipping across the carpeted floor and climbing out of the open window. The night air was cool on her face. She made her way carefully, down the fire escape out into the alleyway, where a motorbike was waiting for her. Swerving; her way; through the cities busy, traffic, police sirens pierced the air rushing in the direction The Shadow had come from.

⫸⫸⫸

''Just let me,'' the voice had broken through again. Louder, clearer; than it had ever been.

''Don't ruin this for me,'' she replied, staring into the mirror, finding her own green staring back at her, ''the second I let you out, I'll be obsolete,'' Shadow hissed.

''I was here before you. I remember that much,'' they were always right and it angered Shadow.

''Shut up.''

''Not until you let me out,'' Shadow flinched as her irises flicked from green to blue. It was only for a second, but it was enough to strike fear in her. It was enough fear for her fist to go flying into the mirror, cracking the glass in two. Drawing it away from the glass, thick reams of blood coated her knuckles.

The voice didn't speak again. Satisfied with the notion that she had scared the voice away, she bent down to retrieve the first aid kit from underneath the bathroom sink. Pulling out a roll of bandages' she wrapped her cracked and bleeding knuckles up, stemming the blood flow. The second she'd finished tucking the final edge of the bandage securing it around her wrist, her phone began to ring.

She made no attempt to answer it. The phone only had two numbers on it. She'd already spoken to the owner of one. Therefore, a quick glance over at the number told her it wasn't important, so she let it continue ringing. The shrill ring tone, filled the silence of the apartment before it shut off.

Sighing, Shadow swiped it up from the bathroom counter, going into her living room stroke bedroom with it. Just as she was about to throw it down onto the cracked, wooden; table she used to eat on, a message appeared.

The Shadow, it's been a long time. Your presence is required tonight at 11pm. I'll send a location in my next; message with additional information.

Shadow rolled her eyes. The voice inside her head let out a heavy breath.

⫸⫸⫸

The file stared up at him; classified was stamped across it in bright red capital letters. His hand ran over it, lifting the edge up; it opened to the first page. An image of a girl no older than fourteen or fifteen stared back at him. It was difficult to not be drawn to her eyes; one a deep blue and the other a piercing green. Heterochromia wasn't exactly a rare mutation but wasn't a common one either.

Shaking his head, he moved the image across to reveal another photo; this one depicted the child now a woman. A long plait of brown hair rested on her left shoulder, a lab coat draped around her shoulders and her eyes; well, that was the peculiar thing; they were both blue.

''Are you sure it was her?'' Director Fury asked, looking up his eye, settling on the figure of Agent Maria Hill. She stood opposite him, her eyes cast down at her feet, her hands resting, clasped behind her back.

''It has to have been. There were no traces of anyone ever being in the building. The assassin had been described as a Shadow. That had crept in through the window, evaporating as soon as they had appeared,''

Maria spoke softly, her gazing moving from her feet to look the Director in the eye.

''Or a Ghost,'' he mumbled as he took another look at the folder in front of him. The bright smile of the young women bounced back at him, ''Doctor Williams, what happened to you?'' He muttered, picking up her photo and it holding it a few centimetres away from his face.

''What are you thinking, Sir?''

''I'm thinking it's about time I meet this Doctor.''