Red Princess

53. Friends?

"She. Is. Not. Her." I bit out every last word with all the resentment held within. I would equally hate any woman that even remotely resembled her. My Alice was one of her kind. Every other lookalike was just a poor, laughable imitation of her.

"Kaidon. You lived undercover for a very long time. You are getting back in the field now, and I don't want you alone out there."

"How does that even matter! It's not like my talents have rusted by my furlough! I have seen things, done terrible things. If not anything, they just might have honed my skills further."

"Kai-"

"You want me to get a partner? How about Alex? Who is he working with? I'll take him."

"He was working with Seydon."

Seydon. Right. Where is he now?

"Did you send him on some mission? Ariel asked me this morning."

"Yes. The Chairman did. It's highly confidential."

Is this related to Gilaan? Why can't they just let me handle it? I deserve it!

"Kaidon..." he continued. "Please don't do anything rash."

Rash? I scoffed.

"Anyway, get it changed. I am working with Alex."

"No."

"Dad!"

"Son. We'll get Alex on your team. He needs to learn anyway. But Ariel remains. You need adult supervision."

"Adult supervision? ADULT SUPERVISION? I don't need adult supervision! I am not a child! And that woman is the worst candidate for that job! She isn't even close to the letter 'A' in adult!"

"She can be a great asset."

"She can't even kill anyone!"

"And how does that matter? You can be the killing arm then."

"But how can-"

"Kaidon. Do you remember your first on-field mission?"

How could I ever forget? I never even saw the face of the victim. All I knew was that she was a traitor and a potential threat to The Order. We had this weird ritual here. Your first few missions are as a shadow to a senior person. I shadowed my father. You aren't shown the face or the details of your first few targets. The records are never accessible until we become comfortable with the idea of taking away a life.

They say that it's an act of mercy for the new recruits because they always have an urge to learn more about their first target - their job, family, and then they end up regretting it, dropping out, and going insane.

So, Yes. Yes, it is an act of mercy. The visions of that mission still haunted me at times. It was a full moon night. Seydon was there with me. He told me that I would need him. And I did. That woman sat there on her knees, her face covered with a black cloth. She didn't let out a single word of protest. My hands trembled while holding the weapon. I was an expert marksman in the classroom, but real life was different. A whole lot different.