Marked (On Hold sorry!)

Chapter Two

I sat down in my bed and carefully opened the file, not wanting anything to tear. The early dawn light shone through my bedroom window, reminding me that in less than an hour, I would be shipped off to my assignment.

My eyes glazed over the information on the first page. It discussed her style and patterns, most of which I already knew from doing my own background check on her. I flipped to the next page, which made me freeze.

In it, was a picture of her holding a black shot gun, pointed at the camera. Her hand was flexed, as if she was preparing to shoot. It made me wonder how the person behind the camera had gotten out alive to show the world this picture. Behind her, there were the familiar walls of the Enforcer headquarters. But as I looked more closely, I noticed there were small differences, such as where the picture of Big was supposed to hang was missing and the walls were a slightly darker shade of blue.

The date at the bottom right corner read, January 21, 2234. This picture was taken only last week, and it would be impossible for me not to know about an invasion of the headquarters.

This must have been taken from another base, one of the many that were spread throughout the nation.

I studied her intensely in the photo. She had a hard, determined look in her brown eyes. They seemed to glare at the camera angrily, but at the same time, look completely calm and collected. She was in all black, from her tight black top to her tight skinny jeans. And I have to admit, if I wasn’t supposed to kill her, would totally tap that.

I flipped to the next page and read the bolded black lettering at the top.

Victims.

The whole page was flooded with names, and nothing else. It didn’t have any description, any picture; nothing else about the innocent lives lost. But what really made me tense up was how many there were. There had to be at least a hundred all on that page.

I read the first few and didn’t recognize them. I skimmed the entire page until I found a familiar name. Commander Charles Whitman.

I didn’t know him personally but out of the whole list, he was the only name with a title. The only name whose death might have made a point against the Rulers. The others were innocent people. I clenched my fist and turned to the next page, wanting to tear my eyes away from the list.

But then there was a fresh list of new victims. A whole other page full of lives lost. I swallowed and flipped to the next. Another page.

I had to flip through seven pages before I came to more pictures of her, the list gone. But by then, my temper was beyond boiled over and I wanted to pound my fist into something.

Ava Sparks really had something coming for her. And she better hope, for her sake, that the Rulers get to her before I give her the long, painful death she deserves.

The door to my bedroom opened, making me look up in surprise.

Big stood at my door, dressed in his usual white shirt and jeans, gesturing me forwards. I rose from my sitting position and briefly saluted him before walking past him and out the door.

We walked down the hall, the echo of our footsteps filling the empty silence. Most of the doors we walked by were motionless, as the work day didn’t start for another couple hours. But, by then, I will already be launched on mission.

Big and I separated as I walked into the preparation chamber, where I was greeted by a middle aged man in a suit.

In front of me was a simple pair of clothing and nothing else, all laid out on a table.

“You will be going in unarmed, as you need to convince her that you are a rebel like her,” He said simply, his voice resembling a woman’s, rather than a man. I shot him a confused look.

“But most rebels carry a weapon on them at all times, ready to attack anyone, anywhere, any time,” I informed him. He gave me a sarcastic look.

“Do you want to keep this assignment? There are plenty other Enforcers who would love to take your place in this,” He threatened, his voice taking on a hard tone. I doubted they would kick me off this mission. From what Big told me, this might be one of the most important missions yet, and they wouldn’t put it in the hands of a common Enforcer.

But, I didn’t say any of this out loud.  Instead, I straightened my posture and apologized.

The man nodded in response and stepped around me to walk around me.

“Ten minutes,” He muttered right before he walked out the door.