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Grade
12

My chest felt heavy as I struggled to open my eyes to the warmth of what I hoped was a sunset. With my eyes wide, the sun was just rising. My chest felt heavy as my hand came into contact with fur. A wet sloppy tongue was placed on my cheek, licking it repeatedly.

“Jetson!” I laughed, trying to move my face from the large Bernese Mountain dog, “Down boy, down!”

Jetson jumped off with a heavy thump to the floor, barking as he waited for me to get out of bed. He followed as I move to the other end of the studio apartment to feed him. Once I place his bowl down, I immediately headed to the bathroom. The shower only took fifteen minutes and I was dressed before Jetson could finish breakfast. I slipped on a pair of sneakers and dropped Jet off with Cole down the hall.

Cole is the perfect American specimen to any woman's eyes, yet he would marry an animal of any species before touching any member of the human sex.

Cole was somewhat of a big brother to me. We worked together a lot in the past, he basically trained me. He spoke very few words and his compassion was mostly towards animals than humans, reason why I trusted Jet in his care.

Once back into my apartment, I put my work shoes on and headed back out the door. It was supposed to be cold, but Washington state was all wind and sunshine today. I rubbed my slender fingers through my hair, feeling the wind through my new buzz cut; a cut I didn’t decide for, but couldn't stop the inevitable.

Stepping into my car, I buckled in and examined myself in the rearview mirror. My eyes were dark and glossy,
'Must be the eye drops early this morning right after my shower,' I thought.
Their color has always been a dark brown, but since I've grown over time, they've looked quite black. My mother called them 'coal in the sun' and I realized at a young age, coal never shined.  

I started to head on downtown to work, gladly passing green lights with a cigarette between my fingers, letting the ash fall upon my oak colored skin, when I remember I didn’t pet Jetson a proper farewell, knowing I probably be gone longer than expected with a target, It’s a just in case thinking, I never know about my targets till the day of, it’s how that company works.

I walked in twelve minutes early, opened up my black suit jacket, fixing the tie of my white dress shirt, and grabbed some coffee off of Daniel’s desk, the security guard of MC Corps. ,  heading to the elevators.

“Have a fine morning Mr. Alex Sir!” he shouted as I stepped in.

“You too Daniel.” I gave him a wave of my hand and a small wink as the elevator doors closed.

I stepped off and walked straight into Mac’s office and immediately sat on his black leather couch, draping my arm over the back, leaning into it, slowing drinking my cup as if I lived here. I practically did, this job was my entire life.

“You have a new target.” His voice focused and eyes cast down to his desk.

“When don’t I? Who is it?” I gave a quiet huff of a laugh as I watched Mac’s whole head rise up from his paperwork, his back straightened, and eyes darken up over me. Immediately, I sat leaning forward towards him, placing my coffee on the side table of the couch.

“It’s a child, just turned 8.”

My eyebrow rose, giving Mac a look, “Remember the last time? I almost got caught and lost my life. Children are harder Mac. They’re smaller and easily remembered by people, also difficult to maintain when storms brew through when something goes wrong.” I heard the bass in my voice, putting my foot down on targeting a child.

“I remember. This is the pickup location, the rest is up to you.” A text message was sent to me immediately. I grabbed my phone, reading the text.

“A daycare?” I rose an eyebrow, confused.

“A woman there will hand it off to you in a red coat & blonde hair. She will give you a leather satchel and a grey, hand-carrying suitcase, along with two train tickets to Seattle. Now if Seattle isn't your choice, get off at any stop, but whatever you do, don’t let the kid interact with anybody or out your sight.”

  “You make this kid sound dangerous Mac.”  I stand up to leave. Buttoning the middle of my jacket and heading to the door. With my hand on the knob, swinging it open, I  hear Mac call out-

“She is dangerous, after all, she’s just like you Alex. Just worse.”  

My blood goes cold, but I show no emotion as I close Mac’s door with a slam, heading to the elevator.

‘Just like me, but worse?’ I laughed it off. I'm one of a kind, I just know it, ‘cause how can I not be? I jumped in my car, heading to the daycare. When I arrived, a woman no taller than 5’6, her Louboutins adding height, walked over from behind a counter with bouncing brown curls and heavy makeup.

“Alex?” she question, raising her drawn on the eyebrow.

“The one and only.”

She laughed as if it was a joke and I just smiled, trying not to scrunch my nose to the smell of her awful perfume, a knockoff of ‘Marc Jacobs’. She went behind the counter again and I followed, not too close of course. She handed me a leather satchel and a grey suitcase, along with the two train tickets to Seattle Mac mentioned all in one go. She then whistled for the child to come like a trained dog and it did. Blond ringlets of hair and a red coat with ruffles, almost velvet looking came to the women’s side, but the child looked five instead of eight. I didn't have time to question it’s actual age, looking at my watch and at the tickets.

I crouched down to the child's height, looking it in the eyes, “I’m Alex and before the day’s over, no one will know you existed.” I attempted to smile but I couldn't, god knows what this child is.

“Yes, mister Alex sir,” it replied, smiling with eyes the color Aquamarine and a look of pure innocence. If I cared, I would have almost felt bad for killing it, but I don't have a heart and I did say almost.

I grab the kid’s hand and throw it in the backseat with the bags and hop into the driver’s side. There was nothing in Seattle for me or this kid if I was being honest. It was too large of a city to kill it, too many witnesses. It rained a lot there also and I hated the rain.

The kid looked nervous, glancing up at me and at the window every two seconds through the rearview. I had TWO rules for my targets: No questions and no saving. I decided to break the first one for this kid just something about it.

“What?” I asked, annoyed.

“I have never been in a car before.”

“Never?” I raised an eyebrow at the kid.

“Na uh.” It shook it’s head, glancing back to the window, then opened its mouth again, “so do you got the last name, Alex, huh? I don’t, it’s just NEON, all caps.”

And this is why I don't allow questions, one is always followed by another. I rubbed my temples.

“No, and it’s ‘have’ not ‘got’”

“Everyone HAVE a last name though.”

“Has.”

“Huh?”

I sighed, shaking my head, the kid didn't even know basic English “It’s just Alex, no last name. It’s on a need-to-know the only basis and you are not a part of it.”

The kid puffed its cheeks, turning its head with an attitude towards me, “You’re an ass.”

“And you're stupid!”

“Donkey!”

“Fish face!”

“Murderer!”

“Mistake!”

“Unwanted!”

“Little demon!”

“At least my demons aren’t a secret! I didn’t kill my father!”

My face went into shock and I stopped the car in the middle of the street, attempting to shut the kid up for the rest of the ride to the trains. My father’s death accident from training, I knew nothing of his kidney cancer and that my fist would make it explode, causing death. I grabbed it’s jacket, slamming it’s head on the seat.

“If anyone’s an ass or a demon or a mistake or whatever, it’s you for existing and making this job a little harder. I’m so going to kill you!”

I slammed it’s head again and it grabbed my hand, biting me. I pulled back as Neon flung the door open and ran out into the busy streets of Vancouver. I turned back into my seat, banging my fist on the wheel.

‘This is why I don’t want kids and I’ll be happy to kill this one.’

I parked the car underground, leaving my door open, getting on top the backseat, rummaging through the kid’s bag. Inside were important papers about the kid and it’s origins, meaning papers that needed to be burned. I decided to use these to find the kid, hoping to at least or let it die of starvation.

I found an address at the bottom of paperwork inside it's bag, knowing where the kid went and hopped back into the driver's seat on a mission. Just seven hours outside of Vancouver stood a gated facility. I parked a mile and a half down, planning to sneak in. I noticing my surroundings.

A lot of the grounds look well kept. Grass trimmed and trees filled with lush greenery. The building look worn out but you can tell someone tried to add a fresh coat of grey and polished the windows every day for presentation. I say an A for effort but it was nothing special. 

I rushed out the house hearing the kid.  Neon was shaking the gate, screaming out for a father it never had.

“Alex, please, don’t kill me,” tears filled it’s eyes, gripping the gates harder, turing it’s fits red. “Remember Viola, the daughter of Daniel, the security. She was eight Alex! A sweet spanish child whose only crime was being born to a dad couldn’t pay his past debts of drug dealing. Who’s only crime was putting up a fight towards you! I know why you hurt me. You see yourself in us, in each of you victims and you know you're killing a small bit of yourself. Please, Alex!”

NEON begged and I grew furious, I don't know how it could of known of Viola or my other targets, but it shouldn't have, leaving me no choose. I raised my gun, walking closer till it came into contact with NEON’s head.

“Viola wasn’t my decision, it had to be done, along with my targets not victims, they all were apart of something bloody and the same goes for for you.”

I pulled the trigger, watching the child fall, its hands loosening on the gate and body hit the ground. 

"Said I was gonna kill you, Alex."

my body hit the ground behid the gate and bled out.