Bang!

Target five: dead.

I was now covered in blood after killing five people in a row. It had to be done.  However, I hated how much the blood made me stink. It's not my fault I'm the best assassin in the corporation and have to take on these tricky missions.

My footsteps echoed menacingly as I walked through the bloodied halls, my heels tapping against the hard ground. If I were the remaining targets, I would be scared too. It would be pretty obvious to them that an intruder is in the building because no females work with the McClelland's business.

After walking through the dark and long halls for around two minutes, I was finally met with a group of ten guards.

They must have seen me on their security cameras. Bummer.

I walked up to them slowly, each step emitting confidence and fearlessness. My black, leather and long sleeved bodysuit clung to my body, showing off my curves to the guards. The corporation purposefully did that to try and distract anybody I had to kill.

I spun the gun in my hand around my forefinger and stopped walking.  I moved all my body weight to my left leg, resting my empty hand on my hip.

'You boys going to shoot me or what?' I ask, smirking at them.

They stared at me in silence, not sure how to respond. One of them was checking me out. They weren't even trying to hide it.

One of the men finally stuttered, 'W-we... uh... who are you?'

I cross my arms, 'Why do you care? It won't matter once you're dead.'

As I imagined, as soon as I said that, the guard that was checking me out tried to tackle me. I jumped up, dodging his attack. When I fell back down, I kicked his head with my heel, knocking him out.

'Who's next?' I point my gun at the remaining guards, smiling. I was outnumbered, I know; but that never stopped me before.

They all started to fire at me all at once. Being the assassin I am, I dodged all their attacks and shot them all. I left the most nervous one behind on purpose.

I was short in height at five foot three but he was even shorter.

I walk up to him, flicking the "bulletproof" mask off his face. I bent over, resting my hands on my thighs. 'Hey, little guy. Tell me where your boss is.'

He shook his head violently. I swear, he was going to give himself whiplash.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I said more firmly, 'I told you to tell me where he is.'

'No,' he said, trying to sound strong and scary. It didn't work on me, though. I had faced much scarier men than him in my life.

I sigh and point my gun at his head. 'Tell me where he is, kid.'

He shook his head again. There was no point in me even asking him this. I knew where his boss was, anyway. I had already killed him. I just liked to make my targets scared.

'No. I-I can't d-do that,' he stuttered, shaking like a scared puppy. 'H-he's my boss. Just w-who do you think I am to reveal where he is?'

'You're cute, I'll give you that,' I say as I reload my gun. 'However, I already killed your boss. I just wanted to, you know, drag this moment out.'

I brushed my thumb over a cut on his cheek and then pressed down on it. He squirmsed under my touch.

'I'll make sure to tell your mummy and daddy that you love them,' I say, trying to stop laughing at how helpless he looked under my control.

I pull the trigger on the gun.

Bang!

Mission accomplished.

***

I promptly arrived back at the corporation to return the files I got from the mission. I waited outside Mr. Bradson's office. I was still in full gear, dried-up blood covering my hands.

'Miss Patterson?' asked the receptionist, wondering if I was here. I stood up and looked at her. 'Mr. Bradson is ready to see you.'

I nod and walked into his office, holding the files between my hands. The back of his chair was facing me. He was looking out his huge window which faced the town.

'Take a seat, Red,' commanded Mr. Bradson. Red was my codename. I wasn't called it often by my co-workers.  But I always was by the boss and on missions.

I walked over to the chair in front of his desk and sat down in it, making myself comfortable.

'Set the files on the desk.'

I put the files on his desk and then rested my hands in my lap.

'Did you find the mission hard, Red?' Mr. Bradson finally turned around to face me. He was wearing a suit, his black hair slicked back. Many females in the corporation found him hot and wanted to marry him. I didn't see anything in him, though. I suppose I never do with any men.

'Of course not,' I said confidently, keeping a straight face. 'You know me. I never find missions hard.'

Mr. Bradson nodded, 'Good, good. As expected from the best.'  He took the files and opened them.  'Did you leave any witnesses behind?'

I shook my head, 'No, sir.'

Mr. Bradson started to flick through the files, stopping at a page every once in a while.  After a moment of silence, he asked me, 'And their boss?'

'He's dead too, sir,' I confirm.

He nodded, throwing one of the files onto his desk to pick up another one.  He read the second file a lot more carefully than the last one.  I watch in silence, waiting for his next order.

He finally spoke up to say, 'You may leave.'

Before I left the room, I made sure to thank him.  I walked out of his office and got the elevator down to the second floor.  The second floor consisted of bathrooms, a lounge, bedrooms for all the employees (who did not have anywhere else to live) and various other rooms to make living in the corporation more comfortable.

Obviously, when I got to the second floor, the first thing I did was change out of my stinking clothes to take a shower.  I had to take the shower in the public showers as we did not have any bathrooms in our bedrooms.  After the shower, I dried off and got changed into some comfy clothes.  While getting changed, I realised that the blood on my hands had not came off yet.

Of course.

I walked out of the shower and into the main bathrooms.  Thankfully, they were empty.  I turned the warm water on and started to scrub the blood off my hands.  Not easily, though.  It was a struggle.

With that, my one hour long hand wash started.

While washing my hands, I heard the bathroom door open.  It was Kirsty.  She was a close friend of mine but not my best friend.  I do not have best friends.  I do not care how close I am to them, or whether they want to be best friends.  I don't do best friends and that is final.

The number one rule of being an assassin: don't get close to anybody.  I stick to that rule and always will.

'What are you doing?' asked Kirsty, completely forgetting about the fact that she came into the bathroom to use it.

I replied with the honest answer: 'To wash the blood off my hands.'

Kirsty laughed, slapping my back hard.  I flinched, pretending to find it funny but I certainly did not look like I did.

'What's so funny?' I asked, proceeding to scrub the dry blood off my hands with an excessive amount of soap.

'Oh, it's just...' she trailed off, trying to think of an actual reason for laughing.  'Uh, never mind.  It was funny in the moment.'

Funny in the moment?  Please.  Who does she think she is fooling?  I know she laughs whenever she is nervous.  Strangely, she is always nervous around me.

Eventually, I got all the blood off my hands.  It was good to know all those dead guards were not haunting me with their blood anymore.

By this time, Kirsty had finally remembered that she needed to use the bathroom so she used it.  The whole time she was doing her business, she was yapping to me about, practically, her whole life story.  It was a rollercoaster.  It went from the happy stuff like how she used to do ballet and tap dance to the fact that her father died six days ago.

I expressed my sympathy and said, 'I'm sorry for your loss.'  Nevertheless, I could not care any less.  It was not my problem to deal with.  It was another rule for assassins: never show any emotion.

Somehow, Kirsty thought I was being truly sincere and started to cry.  Was I really that convincing?

'Thank you,' wept Kirsty, her voice cracking as she cried.  She leaned forward, resting her head on my shoulder.  I stiffened as she did.  I was not an expert in comforting people.

Kirsty sobbed into my shoulder; her tears felt never-ending.  I hesitantly patted her back, trying to comfort her the best I could.

'Uh... there, there?'  I raised my voice at the end of my oh-so-comforting words.  Thank goodness Kirsty was dense enough to believe that I was being sincere.

After what felt like an eternity, Kirsty finally left.  As soon as she left, I washed my hands once more and then walked out of the bathroom.  I started to walk down a long flight of stairs until I heard that annoying yet familiar male voice calling my name.

Ezra.

He was Mr. Bradson's little messenger.  Like an annoying bird.

Ezra ran down the stairs to meet me halfway.  It seemed like he was in a rush.  I was actually impressed at how fast his stubby little legs could carry him.

Ezra stopped in front of me, breathing heavily.  Whilst trying to catch his breath, he said, 'Mr... Bradson wants... you to...' he took a big inhale before continuing, 'go to his office... immediately.'

My brow furrowed, 'His office?  Immediately?  Why?'

Ezra shrugged, 'No idea. You should go before he gets mad, though.'

'I will head there immediately.' I walked past Ezra, not even bothering to say goodbye.

I ascended the large flight of stairs I had just walked down. Once I reached the top, I decided to get the elevator up to Mr. Bradson's office. I pressed my keycard against the card reader. It beeped to approve access into the elevator and opened it for me. I stepped inside. The elevator was empty; exactly how I liked it.

After around a minute, I reached the fifth floor — Mr. Bradson's office.  Surprisingly, no one was waiting outside it.  Normally there would be about two to three people waiting to talk with him.

I walked up to the door of his office, assuming it would be best to knock on it as his assistant was not there.

Knock.  Knock.  Knock.

I knocked on the door three times until I heard Mr. Bradson call out to me, 'Come in, Red.'

He knew it was me.  How?  Why?  Was there a special reason that I was called here?  Was there a reason why his assistant was not outside his office?  Was there a reason no one else was here?  How secret could this be?

Gradually, I opened the door to his office.  It was dark inside.  The only light came from the blue light outside (though its brightness was limited by a few buildings blocking our view of the sky).

'Close the door behind you,' ordered Mr. Bradson.

I quietly shut the door with a click.  I then walked up to his desk but stayed standing.  I could tell from his tone of voice that he would rather me not sit down.

After a moment of silence, I spoke up and asked, 'Why did you call me, sir?'

Mr. Bradson turns around in his chair to face me.  'I have a new mission for you, Red.  A very important one, too.'

I stand in silence as he slides a file across his desk to me.  It's the file I retrieved on my last mission.  I take the file and open it to the page he put at the front.

'His name is Jaden Reed.  He's the CEO number one earning business in New York,' informed Mr. Bradson.  'He is twenty-nine years old and has two kids.  Their names are Charlie and Naomi.'

As Mr. Bradson told me all this, I proceeded to read through the document.  Jaden Reed.  He was quite an attractive man.  He carried the look of a CEO about him.

Mr. Bradson continued, 'Charlie is his youngest child at four and Naomi is his oldest at nine.  He has been looking for a nanny to take care of both of them when he's at work.'

'What about his wife?' I ask, turning a page to see what his children looked like.  Charlie was a very cute boy who looked like a messer and Naomi seemed like a very prim and proper girl.  Even at the age of eleven.

'His wife died three years ago,' solemnly said Mr. Bradson.  'He has been getting his maids and assistants to take care of his kids but he would rather hire a qualified person.'

I turn another page.  'And what am I supposed to do?  Hire a nanny for him?'

Mr. Brandon shook his head in disagreement.  'No.  You are going to be the nanny.'

My head quickly whips up to look at him, I could have got whiplash.  'What?' I exclaimed.'

Mr. Bradson looked at me with an unbothered look plastered on his face.  He does not seem to see the urgency of this situation to me.

'That's right,' he said calmly.  'You are the nanny.'

I stared at him with a baffled look plastered on my face.  'It's just I... don't really have any experience when taking care of kids.  I do not like them either.'  I look at him, waiting for him to respond but he does not. 

'Didn't the target want a qualified nanny to look after his children?' I ask, attempting to get myself out of this situation.

'He did indeed.'  Mr. Bradson started to fiddle with his pen.  'That's why we are going to train you.'

'Train me?' I immediately reply, instinctively trying to dismiss the idea. 

He nodded apathetically.  Was he serious right now?  I could be doing something far more worthwhile but no... I am stuck training to be a nanny.

I finally spoke up after a short moment of silence, choosing my words carefully.  'Sir, you do realise that I could be going on an actual mission.  It's not exactly ideal to keep me locked up in here to learn how to babysit some children.'

I glanced behind him to see a bird fly past the skyscraper window before I turned back to him.  'I don't think—'

'You are doing this whether you like it or not, Red,' interrupted Mr. Bradson.  He had a very commanding tone as he spoke.  I knew I could not negotiate anymore.

Mr. Bradson continued, 'Your training starts tomorrow.'  He set his pen down on the desk to press his hands together.  'You are dismissed, Red.'

I stared at him in disbelief before finally turning around and walking towards the door.  I brought the file with me so that I could learn more about the target.

***

'Jaden Reed?' Kirsty exclaimed excitedly.

'Uh huh.'  Me and Kirsty both turned around a corner.  For some reason, she wanted to walk me to the training room.

'He's the most top-earning CEO in the world!'  Kirsty seemed so excited about the topic that she was practically vibrating.  If only she could go on the mission instead of me.

She smirked and said, 'He's also hot too.'

I sighed, clearly over the fact that he's hot.  'I mean, he's not that hot.  He looks like every other guy.'

Kirsty gasped in offence as soon as those words left my mouth.  'How could you even say that?  He is practically a model!'

'Doesn't mean I have to find him hot.'  I pushed open a glass door, hoping Kirsty would stop following me but she did not. 

'I don't think I've ever heard someone say he's not hot.'  Kirsty paused before adding, 'Even Ezra thinks he is.'

I tried not to smile but I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching upwards. 'What? You're telling me know-it-all Ezra has a crush on Jaden?'

'Not a crush but he said he's attractive,' clarified Kirsty.

I rolled my eyes. 'Anyway, your point is?'  Before Kirsty could answer, I started to walk faster to try and escape her.  I found her really annoying.

Kirsty stepped in front of me to prevent me from continuing to walk down the hall. 'My point is that you could get with him.'

'No way,' I immediately dismissed, trying to move past Kirsty. She mimicked every step I took.

'You need to hear me out,' desperately said Kirsty. I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off  by quickly saying, 'Just think about it. He's hot, you're hot. He's single, you're single. It's fate.'

'I don't believe in fate.' I tried to walk past her again but she stopped me. I groaned loudly when she did.  'Seriously?'

'Just think about it!' Kirsty held her hands up in front of my body.  Her hands hovered just above my chest, making sure not to touch it.

I sighed in frustration, 'You don't get it, Kirsty. His wife is dead and I highly doubt he is the type of man to fall in love with his children's nanny.'

Kirsty shrugged, 'You never know.'

I sighed and started to stare at Kirsty with an emotionless look on my face.  I took a step forward, looking her dead in the eye.  Kirsty lowered her hands and started to look scared.  I already knew how scary I looked when I was mad or frustrated.

I took another slow step forward, my face now inches away from Kirsty's.  My eyes were dead, showing no hint of my true emotions.  Because of my job as an assassin, I had learnt how to hide my true emotions successfully — even in my eyes.

'End of discussion, Kirsty,' I said in a deadly calm voice, my breath ghosting over her face I was standing that close to her.  'If you ever mention me getting together with him again, there will be consequences.'

I then walked past Kirsty, purposely hitting her shoulder with mine as I did.  I continued to walk down the hall, not looking back at Kirsty once.

Kirsty stood still as she watched me walk away in stunned silence.  After a long moment, I started to hear her shoes tapping against the hard floor.  She was not walking towards me, though.  She was walking in the opposite direction.

Kirsty's footsteps slowly started to fade into the distance.  Eventually, I could not hear them anymore.

With a slam of the glass door, her footsteps finally stopped their echo.  I smiled in relief and opened the glass door in front of me and turned a left to walk down a new hall.

I had no idea how long the journey to the training rooms would be as I had never been there before.  When I first joined the agency, I had already been trained by my grandpa. 

Bang!

I started to hear gunshots coming from in front of me.  I must have been close to the training rooms.  All the new recruits would be training there. 

I finally opened the last glass door and entered the chaos.  I never knew what chaotic was until I walked into the multiple training rooms.  I already knew I would hate it here.