Squad 6 | COMPLETED

Chapter 3- Cassandra

Cassandra

She had just kicked off her high heels, digging her toes into the carpet of the motel room floor. The bed welcomed her tired body. Her job was done. Melissa had complied in giving her the needed information. Not that there was any doubt she would. Cassie only had a couple of hours to rest before she needed to make her escape. The guards of Claudia will find Alonzo in his bedroom in the morning. But he won't wake up.

Cassie wanted to get to London as soon as possible. She'd feel more at ease if she was familiar with the location of the meeting and the surrounding streets. She drifted off to sleep, replaying in her head, a step by step plan.

Cassandra was woken up by a click of a gun's safety. She instinctively reached for her own weapon. Tina, the Colt 45, wasn't under her pillow. Cold sweat washed over. She cursed under her breath. That's what she got for beginning to relax. She got careless. Tina was still inside the bag she left hanging on the doorknob.

She jumped to her feet.

Between Cassie and her safety stood three people in masks. She recognized them. Blocking the door with all his baboon build was Rodger. He was as limited as a plant pot and notorious for big meals. On Cassie's left, with a gun pointed at her heart, stood Mila, a markswoman for Squad 4. And five feet away from her stood Chase, the team leader. She'd recognize him anywhere, under any mask. She didn't need to see his face to know that it was a face of a dog on a tight leash. She hated him just as she hated everyone else who's ever worked for Phi. Herself included.

Mountains surrounding Charlotte in North Carolina hid many secrets. Bears, wolves, assassins, murderers, psychopaths and people thirsty for blood. Those peaks held more secrets than a person could blink in their lifetime. If anyone were to discover Phi, they would have been killed on the spot. Some would say, in a blink of an eye.

They all followed a man said to be noble but Cassandra doubted that he could acquire as much power as he did and still keep his conscious clean. He made 13 Squads of under age kids to do assignments on the side. It earned him a pretty penny- using children as slaves, traumatizing them from a young age. Cassandra had witnessed and felt it first hand. She was a team leader and it cost her more than she was willing to give. After Phi took everything they could, she ran. She had hoped that she escaped by hiding and changing her location and with the protection her clients offered.

Now, with the same people she used to train side by side with, masked with their weapons drawn out, she was backed into a corner.

"We came for you, Cat Eye," Rodger said.

Chase cast him a look, shutting him up. He turned to her, tugging his mask off, to reveal his drooping eyes and crocked smile. His greasy shoulder length brown hair feel around his face messily. She knew very well the color of his eyes. The dark eyes that followed her every move, just as they did when she was better than him, which she always was.

"We came to get you, Cassandra."

He took a step forward, his shoulders rigid and in a straight line like he was afraid she was going to jump and rip out his throat. If she could do it without Mila's gun piercing her heart she would. Instead, she stood still, her eyes trained on the blackness as it moved closer.

"Can't a girl get some beauty sleep?" Cassie asked, crossing her arms.

"Believe me, if it was up to me, we wouldn't be here. But, Snakehead wants you back. He's got a job for you," Mila said, leaning on the wall. She put too much in that weapon of hers. Her fighting skills wouldn't be enough to save her life if anyone ever took that toy away from her. Cassandra debated on showing Mila what it felt like when you didn't know how to survive on multiple occasions in the past but never did.

"He can go screw himself. He's got nothing to offer me."

Because he's already made sure I don't have anything.

Chase was closer now, only about 3 feet away. "You killed a man tonight. A man whom we've been following for a long time. You cost us valuable intel."

Cassandra's eyes flashed in recognition. "You'd really think I'd just kill someone without knowing who he was? I have what you don't, Chase. Information. I won." She was always one step ahead of him. Always a better student, a better fighter. Always better.

Chase's face darkened, his nostrils flaring. He stepped closer, carefully, a wide grin on his face. His front teeth were unnaturally long and under the moonlight, the silver letter 'φ' on his chest glowed.

Cassandra didn't move when he approached her and caressed her cheek. "Cassie," he whispered in her ear. "this could only end one way. Be a good little girl and come with us."

His other hand found itself on Cassie's collarbone, going down to her chest. His lips hovered over hers and before he could touch her, she slammed her fist into his head. Nobody treated her like an object.

He lunged at her, slamming her against a wall with a thud. "You used to like it when I touched you."

"That was before you became an asshole."

She could feel his hands on her neck and she kicked him off herself. Pain shot through her shoulder even before she heard the gun fire. A gasp escaped her mouth as she tried to find anything to defend herself.

A punch in the stomach made her double over, as another pair of arms restrained her. Rodger held her still, tilting her head to the side. A needle pierceed her skin. She trashed, kicking. She would pull herself out of this. She wasn't going back to Phi.

Rodger released her and she stumbled forward, hitting a wall, head on. One of her hands landed on something leather. The lining of her jacket ripped and she flung Mike's knife at Rodger. It hit him in the chest and despite the dark and his black uniform, Cassandra saw a stain spreading across his chest.

He fell, his hands frantically looking for a way to stop the bleeding. Slowly, they dropped to his side and he went still.

Mila raised her gun to fire another shot.

"Don't. He wants her alive." Chase's voice was softer as he put his hand up, but Cassie's vision was blurry and her ears rang. She couldn't be sure.

"She just killed Rodger!"

Someone crouched next to Cassie, grabbing her by the chin.

"You don't deserve to be left alive."

"I agree. But, I'm not letting you kill me." She threw another punch at her ex, feeling something crack under her fingers.

He brought his hand down, slamming it into Cassie's temple.