Mercenaries

Prologue

August 17
1:29 A.M.

A woman's scream pierced the late night darkness. Only five minutes earlier she had been fast asleep, but now she sat up with a gun pointed to her face. From the short distance between them, the masked criminal glared with intense blue eyes.
"You have enemies." She stated. The voice was female, around mid-twenty's, and harsh. The poor inhabitant of the house nodded in fear.
"Ye-yeah." She said, stuttering. "Jason Gray, the man--"
"I know his name."The voice interrupted. She pointed her gun closer to the lady and smirked maliciously.
"And your enemies are my friends..." She whispered. A fearful look from the accused only strengthened the criminal's courage.
One shot was all it took. The small black silencer was quickly removed and placed in a bag. A handwritten note was placed on the body, another's fingerprints and signature on the paper.

Dear Police,

This woman has been murdered.
I did it. I get violent attacks sometimes, and this last one was beyond extreme.

I'm sorry,
Jason Grey, CEO of CITA Inc.

The murderer tapped the dead woman's chest.
"Two birds, one stone. Or more like, one bullet." She cackled as she exited the house. A car was parked along the curb, an old Ford with a dirty license plate. The man inside the vehicle started it up and drove away as soon as she entered it. They continued the drive silently for the first five minutes.
"Did you do it?" The man asked. The woman gave him a look and answered sarcastically,
"No, I left her there after telling her about MTI.... of course I killed the lady! It is my job."
"Well, yeah, but..." The man never finished his thought. He fell silent as the woman glanced his way. They drove out of the county in silence for five hours until the woman came awake from her dormant state. Something had caught her attention.
"Stop here." The man looked at his occupant in surprise. They were in New York City, not far from Times Square.
"But MTI is--"
"No, Carter!" She intererupted. "Let me out, park the car nearby, and meet me back here. Fifteen minutes, that's all."
Carter nodded slightly and let the woman out. She walked professionally to the bench five feet away from the car and sat down. The car pulled away from the curb and left the woman alone. The woman stood up and looked around. No one paid her a second glance.
Who would? This was New York City.
She noted the alleyway behind her, the spot in which a whisk of movement had caught her eye. She turned and strolled confidently towards the dark alley. Another job well done, without anyone noticing.

August 17
6:49 A.M.

The woman slipped down the dark alleyway as the sun began to rise. She had seen the dirty pair of jeans slip out from the restaurant and into the alleyway. Now the woman saw the person wearing those jeans. It was a young child, maybe ten or eleven, a girl. She had dirt in her presumably blonde hair, and a pair of blue eyes combed eagerly through her take-out bag. Another girl, younger (eight or nine), caught sight of me.
"Who are you?" She demanded with her eyebrows furrowed together. The older girl whipped around and gave a shriek when she saw me.
"I'm Amber, and I'm here to help you. Do you have parents?" The woman replied. The older girl tilted her head down without breaking eye contact.
"Yes, we both do." She said vaguely, looking away. Amber watched as the younger one bit her lip and looked away.
"How do you two know each other?" Amber asked kindly.
"We met."
"Why don't you go home?" Amber questioned. The little girl squrimed.
"Why do you keep asking us questions?" The older one asked.

Amber sighed.

"We met on our way and stuck together!" Deanna piped. Amber chuckled at Deanna's happy voice. The laugh died when Amber checked her smartwatch. She cursed and looked at the two children.
"Sorry you two. I need to go. Would you like to come with me? I have to go to my job and they need more people like you two." Deanna nodded her head vigorously while Macy looked at Amber suspiciously.
"How can we trust you?" Macy asked. Amber giggled at Macy.
"You can't. But, just between you and me, I have a pound of lollipops at home. Would you like them?" Macy took at deep breath.
"Well okay." She decided.
They both followed Amber out of the alleyway and back to the park bench. Carter walked up behind Amber and tapped her shoulder. Without turning around Amber said, "Call a taxi. Or we can walk." Carter walked out to the side of the road and held his hand out. Soon a taxi pulled up beside the group.
"Get in." Carter said gruffly. He himself jumped into the front seat and paid the taxi driver.
"Suite Dreams Hotel. 458 Belcard Ave. As fast as you can." Carter told the taxi driver. The driver nodded and pulled out into traffic. Thirty minutes later the taxi pulled up in front of a large hotel building with glass windows at even intervals. The driver looked at Carter.
"Have a good family vacation." He said. Carter blushed and Amber corrected him sharply.
"We're not married, or dating, or anything," she said.
The driver looked at her in surprise.
"Oh, well, then, I am very sorry, you four." he drove away with a smile on his face.
"You work at a hotel?!" Macy scoffed.
"No. I work behind the hotel. Come on!" Amber replied, grabbing Macy and Deanna's hands and running around to the back of the hotel. An outdoor pool lay dormant with a sign on the gate saying Closed For Maintenance.
Amber led the children to the pool house where a strangely modern magnetic lock stood beside the door.
Amber pulled out a key card and swiped it beside the door. The door hissed open and Amber stepped into an elevator right inside. The girls followed her and they descended quickly.
The door opened again and the girls stepped into a large atrium. Hallways branched off with signs leading to offices, a gym, and even dormitory rooms. Macy and Deanna gasped at the entire sight before them.
"This is where I work." Amber smiled. "Welcome to MTI, your new home."