Chapter 1: Awake
“Valerie!” A woman is yelling at a girl with black hair and emerald eyes. She has no response, only staring off into space at the mirror in front of her, the woman sighs heavily. “Val-er-ie!” The woman yells again, setting her hands on her hips and sounding out her name. Valerie blinks a few times then looks at her, “What is it, Jennie?” Jennie, a girl with brown hair and bright red freckles with a little white dress stands in front of her. “I have been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes! I knocked on your door and you didn’t even hear me or notice me barge in!” Valerie looked over at the door of her room that was wide open, “Oh.”
Jennie sighs again, “Liam is waiting for you downstairs the boss has a new mission for you both.” Valerie looked confused, “A new mission? I thought he just gave us one.” Jennie shook her head walking towards the door, “I don’t know, he said that one wasn’t a top priority anymore.”
Valerie chucked, “Taking out one of the resistance leaders isn’t a top priority?” Valerie was a top assassin; the boss had just given her the task of killing a man named Alex. Who is believed to be one of the heads of the resistance against the king of their country. Jennie reaches over to the handgun on the bed and hands it to her, “Just go downstairs.”
Valerie gives an exasperated sigh, “He wants us to deal with the issue in the kingdom, yet he gives us another job?” Jennie shrugs, “I told you Val, I don’t know anything.” Val is a nickname only her close friends give her, every time one of them uses it her mood changes but she wasn’t going to give up on getting an answer. “You must know some details, come on you stay here all day and never go out,” Valerie says knowing that Jennie wasn’t just her annoying friend that barges into her room while she’s thinking. She is also the records keeper for the association she works for.
Jennie gives her a pout, “I told you I know nothing. If something about this case had been documented already, I would have told you. But this just came in this morning... Actually, it has everyone frantically running around downstairs.” Valerie rolls her eyes, “I always forget my home is right above headquarters.”
“Boss wants to keep you close,” Jennie smirks, “I think he likes you!” Valerie pushes her friend playfully, “Oh stop!” Jennie laughs but Val’s face goes back to one of importance, “Why is everyone running around? We all have jobs to do.” Jennie shakes her head and shrugs again, she really knows nothing, “They are just yelling about how he’s a big deal, a huge target. But by the looks of his file, he’s just a man our age, what can a 22-year-old do? Just... Go downstairs, I am sure the boss knows more than I.”
Valerie walks towards her open door to her little room laughing, “He better, because your information was completely useless!” Jennie picks up a pillow off Val’s bed and throws it at her, “OH! You better get out of here before I change my mind about ever sharing secret information again!” Valerie continues to laugh walking out she knows Jennie didn’t mean it. But she doesn’t want to risk it considering she has helped her on a number of cases by supplying info she shouldn’t of.
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She walks down the long hall of rooms, many other assassins live in the floors above. But they live here by choice, while the boss orders Valerie to live there. Says she’s a special case, emotionally unstable, which really was true. Valerie lives off a case of morals that one would call broken. She’s an assassin that lives off the golden rule. Treat others how you wish to be treated, but Valerie has no regard for her own life. She wishes to be killed, so she kills.
As she walks the halls of the building approaching the staircase door ahead, she can already hear the running below. The sound of phones and people not in a panic but filled with excitement. Valerie slams the door open intrigued by the noise. She rushes down the stairs and opens the door the floor below which is indeed full of people rushing around and calls ringing loud. Just like Jennie said, whatever is going on has gotten people riled up.
Valerie doesn’t look amused with all the noise even though she wanted to see what was going on, “What a mess.” She hears a voice call out to her, a familiar voice. “Hey! Val!” In the direction of this voice was a tall man in combat attire, with blue eyes, black hair, and a bright smile. Valerie gives a soft sigh, she’s happy to see her friend amidst the chaos. “What’s going on, Liam?” She says walking over. Liam is her other, only friend, that she has in this place she calls home as well as her partner. “It’s a mess down here, why is everyone rushing around?”
“It’s a Race.” Another voice speaks up behind her over the ringing phones, her boss. Valerie looks over her shoulder, recognizing the piercing red eyes. The man held a silver cane, and he hunched over leaning against it. By no means was he old, no, he damaged his leg on the job, shot in the upper thigh. “A race?” Valerie asks, the man nods, “A race to kill a young man.” Is this the case he wanted to put her on? Is the thought that would cross her mind, “You want us to kill him? I’m sure there are better things to do. If the whole association is on this, why should we be? We assassinate members of the resistance.”
Liam nodded with his arms crossed, she was right their job for years has been just that. “If this has nothing to do with our usual cases, I think we shouldn’t participate.” The man shook his head and hobbled over to a seat at the corner of the large room. “I need you two to take this because it is not just our organization after this guy... It is every organization after him. The king asked for you two specifically, he doesn’t just want the boy dead he wants information.”
Valerie was interested now, the king of Ashana the land Valerie lives in, isn’t one to request people to do a job for him. So, whatever the reason, she was interested. “Information? Requested us?” The man nods, “Yes, given your two’s track record of recklessly going against orders, poking your noses into things you shouldn’t, and giving out the most brutal of deaths. He wants you two for the job, and he wants information on why the resistance against the king wants this man so much.” He gave an unsettling grin, “So really, this is a part of your usual cases.”
Liam, Valerie’s partner, doesn’t like the boss. His name is Rei, and he tends to be an untrustworthy man. Liam looks over at Val, but her interest is captivated he cannot stop her now. Rei pulls out a file from his jacket, handing it over to them. “Everyone in the business wants this case, it can mean big money and big praise. They all want their hands on this file, but the king requested it to be given to you. This is going to be a tough one, do not let me and your country down.” Valerie and Liam look at one another before they both grab the folder from his hands, then make their way to the door. Another adventure waits for them both, but the trails ahead are the worst they will face yet.