An Assassin Never Tells

T H R E E

December 13th, 1998

The room was a pristine white, but it was not cold, nor was it warm, it was just neutral. It wasn't very big, but big enough to comfortably hold about ten people. There was a large chair in the middle of the room and I was sitting in it. The chair was very comfortable, and it reclined. There was a small metal table to my right and a red bucket to my left. On the table, there were three syringes, one labeled S.S.S, the next labeled Epi, and the final one is labeled A. There's also a thermometer. I was alone in the room for nearly 20 minutes. Uncle Phil walked in with a woman, her hair was brown and cut at her shoulders. "Hello Rosemary," she said to me, I cringed internally at the name, "My name is Dr. Eliza, I'll be administering your shot today."

"Ok," I nodded, "ok, cool."

Uncle Phil walked away and stood in the corner of the room, his eyes never left me once he got there. Dr. Eliza picked up the syringe labeled S.S.S. and uncapped it. "Ok, so this is the Super Soldier Serum. The dose is very small, so the most it will do is boost your immune system. The needle will be pushed into your upper right arm, ok? You are going to feel a slight pinch and maybe a little burning, but you have to let me know if it gets to be too painful, or if you feel some unpleasant side effects, we have an Epinephrine shot if that happens, it should help with the reaction," she spoke in a very calming way, "Now, are you ready?"

I took a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah."

Dr. Eliza rolled my sleeve up to my shoulder and pressed the needle into my skin.

'Small pinch. C'mon, you can do this Peggy. Uncle Phil is counting on you.'

My breathing remained steady. The shot was painful, but not unbearable. My eyes were directed to the opposite side of the room, neither Dr. Eliza nor Uncle Phil was in sight.

"Peggy," Uncle Phil piped up, I turned to look at him, "Are you ok? Do you need the epi?"

"No, no I'm fine," I sighed, "how much longer is this gonna be?"

"We've got about 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1," Dr. Eliza gently pulled the needle out, places a band-aid on, and smiled, "There! All done, how are you feeling? Any dizziness, nausea, chest pain?"

I took a second to assess myself, "No, I feel fine."

"Good, good! Well, you two are free to go. Oh, and happy birthday Peggy!"

"Thank you," I smiled cheerfully before Uncle Phil and I walked out of the room together.

"Hey Peg," I looked up at Uncle Phil, he's holding a blindfold, "I'd like for you to put this on."

"Ok," I said hesitantly. He handed it to me and I tied it around my head. He then began to lead me through the facility. We walked through countless doorways and countless flights of stairs before we arrived at our destination. He opened a final door and ripped off my blindfold as five or six people jumped out and yelled-

"Surprise!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. A smile broke out over my face, I'd never had a surprise party thrown for me before! Sure I'd seen them in movies and tv shows, but I'd never experienced one! "Thanks, guys," I exclaimed, "this is incredible!"

Uncle Nick spoke up, "Yes, well it's about to get better." He grabbed a box wrapped in colorful wrapping paper off of the table to my right and handed it to me.

I carefully pulled off the wrapping paper to expose a shoebox. I looked up at my uncle, confused, he gave me a look as to say open it, so I did. I lifted off the lid to reveal a pair of black Dr. Martens. I nearly squealed with delight, "This is everything I ever could have wanted! Thank you so much!"

"We saw you admiring them in the store window the other day," Uncle Phil chimed in, "thought that they would make the perfect birthday present."