War of Prey

3)Blood and Bone

"They expose their demons rather than keep them at bay." 

***

Being in an airplane is nothing new to Rhea, neither is going to Mexico. As soon as she got out of high school she was recruited to DEA. Showing the most potential, she was put into undercover duty in the New Orleans department. There are only two people aside from herself who know that she is DEA and that is her informant and boss, Loui Harding, and her uncle, Cheif Bailey. Rhea's never minded going on missions or leaving home, but she's always missed her books. Reading was the one thing other than risking her life that she found peace and solace in. Something about the way the words transport you to another world and take away all your pain. Her favorite books were the classics, Twilight, Divergent, and Shadowhunters. The worlds they describe in the books are amazing. She had read history books from the early 2000s, reading how Los Angeles was in 2012, how London was in 1878, how New York was in 2008, how there was a town called Forks, and how Chicago was turned into Factions.

Back then life was so much different. In a way, it was so much more peaceful despite the viruses, fires, and protests that littered the early days. Her favorite time period in history class was 2020. It was astonishing how everything changed within a month. It was peaceful—then 2498 came, the year of the Pride, ever since the world has been in hiding from itself. What used to be called the United States of America is now called the Embassy and is the most hated and feared nation in the world. Presidents gave way to Kings and Queens, centuries of rulers and tyrants became normal, and each King and Queen hated more than their predecessor. Human life expectancy grew, the normal being around one hundred and fifty, except, of course, for the high murder rate. More than seven million per year, the Embassy population has gone up by 115% from 2130.

"Officer Haven?"

Snapping from her thoughts, Rhea looks up and sees Brad Hastings, the guy she has known since kindergarten, the same guy who has bullied her since she was seven. Even though they were in the same class recruits, Rhea has risen above him in ranks easily, him being a deputy and her being an officer. It made Rhea smile, knowing she was his superior. "Yes, Deputy?"

"I have been instructed to go over the plan for your mission with you. Since you will be going alone, there are more precautions. You are playing the role of eighteen-year-old Sàvia Ashin Lorenzo. She's a prostitute down in central Mexico working for Hierro, the thirty-three-year-old leader of the Iron Chain Link. You have to get hired by him; you have to show real potential for being a good worker," Brad announces.

"I have real potential for everything, how you wound me," Rhea replies coldly, "You know you could have had real potential too, but you chose to waste it on that girl. Ana, is it?"

"Adison. Her name was Adison."

"I would watch your tone with me, Deputy. After all, I am your superior. Pity all that potential got wasted for a daughter who does not even know you are her father, and for what? Adison to take her away not three years later. And where did that bright seventeen-year-old go? That Bradley had so much potential. If only he applied himself. Instead, he gave way to the past and allowed that insecure seven-through-sixteen-year-old who bullied kids because he wanted the attention he wasn't given at home. If it had been anyone else, you may have driven them to suicide, teasing them about personal family matters and being a virgin. What kind of potential does a seventeen-year-old who makes fun of cancer patients and tells people with an addiction they deserve what happens to them have?"

"I've apologized for that a thousand times. What else do you want me to do, Rhea?" he replies brokenly. Rhea walks over to him and cups his cheeks, looking into his brown eyes and deep into his soul.