The Archer (18+)

Prologue 0.5: The Beginning of The End

The Beginning of The End

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one~ Khalil Gibran

My impulsiveness one day just might be the end of me.

I was in front of a near-empty A La Passione, a strip club in the heart of Mexico. I was trying my absolute best to fit in as I pulled the skin tight red dress over my ass. I pushed the black rimmed glasses up my nose hoping that my little half-assed disguise was somewhat believable.

I walked six blocks to get here from the blacked out van that haphazardly dropped me off. I was hardly out before the vehicle sped away, barely vowing to return in the next hour to pick me up.

I had an hour and I was alone in a foreign country. None of the Mexican assassins volunteered to be a part of this mission.

I didn't know much about other assassins but I never thought of them to be cowards, especially not in their home country. But it was all good though, I worked best on my own.

I could barely hear myself think over the loud chattering around me while the line to go into the strip club moved slowly. I kept adjusting my stance so my smaller 5'4" frame wouldn't get knocked over by the hulk of Mexican men sparsely surrounding me.

I wore a black wig tonight, something I didn't usually do in my day-to-day life. The dark strands were wild and I didn't brush them away when it concealed my make-up covered face and obscured my vision. I didn't have a mask on and that was a bold move for me tonight; something I've never done while actively on a mission.

But I supposed it would be all part of the rouse. I was 99% sure if I showed up anywhere near this club dressed as an assassin, I would have my ass lit up like a Christmas tree.

Just pondering over how dangerous all this was made me slightly uneasy. I've taken down bigger men before... but nothing like him: Lucky Rodriguez, the right hand man of the Mexican mafia's don. He was 6'2", tattooed and a fucking tank of a man.

I got to the front of the queue and the bouncer let me in wordlessly.

I clutched my black purse with my trusted 9mm and inconspicuously patted over my bust where another was hidden. I nodded in conviction. This would have to do.

I took all but two steps before the gnawing feeling of being watched skittered over my exposed skin.

I regarded my surroundings warily. I didn't notice anything out of the blue but something felt off. I shook it off before fully entering.

For a strip club this was... different. Sure there were the usual topless women spinning themselves around poles but there was so much more going on in here.

Strobe lights in a myriad of colors and music were bouncing off the walls. There were scores upon scores of people gyrating on a dance floor to my left. To the right, there were red-topped oak tables where patrons were getting food delivered by bow-tie and assless-chaps wearing men and topless women.

There was even a bar too where rows upon rows of liquor were stacked on shelves behind bartenders.

I didn't know too much about strip-clubs but this was not my expectation.

Not many tables were free, but I found myself sitting neatly tucked in a corner that had almost a bird's eye view of the entire club. I was still being watched. By who? I had no idea but the feeling made me hyper-aware of where I was and what I came here to do.

There was a lot of people blurring around in the dark and apparently not one of them regarded me for more than two seconds.

The ceilings had surveillance cameras and men boasted faint outlines of guns. Besides these things, nothing looked amiss. Then why the hell was I being stared at? Surely if anyone here knew who I was then they would have attacked me... right?