Life and Time

Chapter 1

The kickback of the gun in her hand was a welcome and almost comforting sensation. The trail of the bullet meant it was time to go; otherwise she'd be discovered. But she couldn't resist a momentary glimpse below to observe the chaos of people running for cover and panicking bodyguards wildy pointing their guns upwards, nowhere near where she was perched on the roof of a 15-story brick building. Breathing in deeply, savoring the well of emotions rising up in her, she shot her grappling hook across a few lower buildings to make her exit.

  Her employer would have a car there at the rendezvous point in thirty minutes, leaving her alone to her post-job thoughts. Today was a bad day, the whisper of the girl she once was echoed like a voice in a cavern throughout her head. Look what you've become: a monster. A shell of a human who takes thrill in killing someone. You sit around and train when you aren't taking a job. You have no friends or family. Everyone and everything that once meant the world to you have become means to an end. Do you really want to continue a life of death and solitude? All you can do is destroy. You no longer find beauty in anything, just satisfaction of a job well-done.

For a moment she wondered, if maybe, just maybe, she could become the woman she once was. But a voice on her comm reminded her that she was broken; a shell, a murderess, a cold-hearted assassin with no hope or chance of redemption.

"Widowmaker, a car will be there in five minutes. Stay low and out of sight." Reaper's voice growled over the channel.

She bit her tongue, holding back a reply that would surely send her back to reprogramming. If only she had been stronger, if only she'd died while in their care. Gerard would find the person who'd she become despicable. But as Amelie Lacroix he would never pull the trigger on her. She was a monster living inside the skin of someone who meant the world to some people. People she knew she would not hesitate to kill should her handlers order her to. Amelie Lacroix was dead. She was nothing but a whisper living in her own mind.

The proof to that was her blue skin, a barely beating heart, and a rifle. Though it was winter, she could barely feel the sting of the frosty air. If she was allowed emotion she would dare say she missed it; feeling anything to remind her that she was once human. But that would never happen. She was the perfect weapon, the perfect sniper. She held no remorse for any of her kills.

A black SUV pulled up near her. She jumped through the window, landing easily on the icy ground. With a cursory glance to her surroundings, she slid into the vehicle and sat still, once more throwing herself further into the state she was forced to be; a deadly monster with impeccable aim.
*
Once back at the base, she immediately jumped out of the car and walked quickly but not too fast as to not draw any unnecessary attention to herself. Once back in her room, she relaxed and let out a sigh. She grabbed a change of clothes and a towel before going into her private bathroom to grab a bath. If anyone ever asked why she always took a shower after a job, she would always reply with she hated the feeling of dirt from perching in her hideout. In actuality, if even she was honest with herself, it was to be rid of the ghostly remnants of the soul she had released from its corporeal form.

The feeling of soap cascading off her body, taking away the grime both mentally and physically felt orgasmic and she nearly moaned when the hot water rushed over her body. Numbness aside, even Widowmaker, the deadly Talon assassin lived to feel the warm caress of water flowing over every curve her form had to offer. When she was done washing up, she slid into a loose hoodie and a pair of yoga pants. She would never leave her room like this of course. No one would ever see her vulnerable because the second she was, she would be useless and consequently disposed of. For all they had taken, Talon was her only home now. She had nowhere to go back to.

The deed to her maiden names' ancestral home Chateau Guillard, was up for grabs with her parents gone and no living siblings. She had been considering for a long while buying back or stepping up to the rights of the land; perhaps it would be a good idea to slip out of Talon's claws for some time. She remembered the way that she and her younger sister Ciel used to laugh and play hide and seek throughout the winding passages of the stone castle.