Anna sat at her kitchen table, trying not to roll her eyes as her father, Gale Carter, paced in front of her. He slammed her knife that he’d been clutching in his hand onto the table and looked at her with infuriated and dark eyes.
“Do you care to explain this?” He asked in a strained voice, struggling to remain calm.
“It’s a knife…” Anna said staring up at him.
“It’s a throwing knife,” he roared, his anger flaring. Anna’s bored expression didn’t waiver as her father glared at her. Most people would have coward under the gang lord’s dark eyes, but Anna wasn’t most people.
“So…?” she said, raising one eyebrow.
“You know how I feel about you learning to fight!” he thundered, yet again.
“You’re the one who’s always telling me to be safe and take precautions,” she said in a mocking tone. “That’s what I’m doing.” Gale glared down her with a skeptical look. He shook his head and turned to brace himself with both hands on the sink counter.
“I’m going to trust that you’re telling me the truth, but if I find out that you really know how to use that thing….” He trailed of, letting the warning and threat hang in the air thick with tension. Anna took the opportunity to roll her eyes while his back was to her.
“I know, I know,” she sighed tiredly. Her father stood there a second in silence, then turned back to look at his daughter.
“I have to go to work,” he said simply. Anna didn’t try to stop herself from rolling her eyes this time.
“I don’t think work is the right word for what you do,” she snapped, glowering back at Gale.
“I’ll be back by three,” he said, trying his best to ignore her remark. Anna glanced at the clock, it was barely nine. Her eyes then flickered to the window to see that the light had already disappeared behind the mountains that surrounded the city. When Gale realized he’d already lost Anna’s attention, he sighed and disappeared out the door. Anna turned her head to watch him leave and a sad look clouded her icy blue eyes.
“Yeah…I love you too…” she whispered. She sat there for a moment, listening as the stolen car started up and then she leaped up as she heard it retreat. She sprinted up the steps two at a time, bursting into her room and kneeling at the foot of her bed, pulling out a silver metal case. She twisted the combination into the built in lock and then carefully opened it. She pulled out a pair of black lace up boots that came half way up to her knees and set them to the side, wrenching on the pair of black skinny jeans. She tucked a black T into the jeans and clipped a black holster around her waist, sliding her knives into their designated slots. She then laced up her boots and grabbed her black jacket, slipping it on. She took her strawberry blonde hair as though she were going to pull it into a ponytail and then pulled in on top of her head, clipping it there. It looked stupid until she pulled on a black ski cap. She sized herself up in the mirror and then put in her black contacts. After applying some dark make up, she shifted her clothes around until she was satisfied and then put on her night vision goggles. She crossed the room over to her window and slid it open silently. Gripping the top of the window ceil for support she swung her legs out first, landing lightly on her feet on the slanted roof. She turned and slid the window closed again; leaving enough room for her fingers so she could open it when she got back. Running across the roof tops with the ease and grace of a cat, she headed for one of the few flat roof tops. Crouching at the house just before the one she wanted, she looked around and then leaped across the four foot gap, landing without a sound on her feet and rolling to keep her balance. She stood, looked around once more, and then opened a door that led down into the attic. She bent in front of one of the chests with a lock and took the silver key necklace from around her neck, using it to open the chest. She took out her sheath of black arrows and slung them across her back, picking up her black bow and setting it gently on the floor so she could close and lock the chest again. She then zipped the key into one of her jacket pockets and picked up her bow. She sprinted back outside and towards the center of the city. Slowly, the clutter of houses and small apartment buildings – like the one she lived in – began to thin out, some of the building becoming taller and more and more light illuminating the night. Laneroad City was a smaller city with most of the businesses and expensive houses towards the center and the shabby houses/apartment buildings on the outskirts where it continued into rolling country hills, dotted with farms. But Anna wasn’t headed out; she was headed to the most criminally active parts of the city, the center. She passed Gale selling something suspicious to the big burly man in front of him, James Marks, one of her father’s most loyal clients. Anna stopped and listened closely to their conversation. James looked around nervously, which seemed strange for a big man like him, then turned back to Gale.
