"It's about time you showed up," I acknowledged. "But you're too late. They're already gone."
"You act like this is over," Lily marveled. "Remember, I still want you dead."
I lowered my hands and turned around to face her, "Then, kill me and get it over with."
"That's no fun, if you give up." She lowered her gun, upset. Then, she shrugged. "All well. I guess we're doing this the hard way."
She tucked her gun into her pants, behind her back. I took the explosive vest off and tossed to to the side. My lip curled into a smirk and she lunged at me. She was throwing kicks and punches. Nevertheless, I blocked each one of them, totally on the defense. Anger flustered on her face as she continued to try and fail. We were evenly matched, especially since she didn't have the upper-hand. We danced across the rooftop, swinging and dodging.
I finally decided to take the offense, and punched her square in the face. She stumbled backwards, completely caught off-guard. She pushed forward again, not even noticing the blood dripping from her nose. Lily ran at me, as I tried to hit her again. She grabbed my arm, elbowed me in my ribs, and flipped me to the ground. I landed on my back with a thump. I immediately flipped onto my stomach and scurry to my feet. Luckily, I did. She was attempting to get her gun and shoot me while I was down. That cheating loser. I roundhouse kicked the gun out of her hand. It flew a few feet away from us and we continue to throw punches at each other.
I was getting sick and tired of this girl playing dirty. It was time to be the bigger bitch and do what most girls do in a fight. I grabbed her hair, pulling Lily back towards me. She yelped as I tightened my grip. She continued to elbow my ribs, but I wasn't going to let that little bit of pain get the best of me. I snaked my arm around her neck, and squeezed. She swung her arms behind herself, failing to hit me. She gasped hard as her air supply was shortened. Her swings lessened and her body fell numb. Eventually, she stopped moving completely. I released her and she fell to the ground.
I slowly walked over to the place, where the gun rested. I leaned down to pick it up, but something didn't feel quite right. An eerie silence took over the roof. I creeped towards Manuel, with the gun by my side. I raised it as I got closer to the spot he was last seen. He wasn't there. I walked back over to Lily's body and got the shock of my life.
Lily was still alive and aiming a gun at me. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was watching my every move like a hawk.
"I knew our dad picked the right kid," she mumbled. "He said I was the best."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, still gripping the gun at my side.
She grinned, "You are so stupid. Our father is still alive." I gasped, as she lowered her weapon to explain. "Those jerks at The Company lied to you. After dad's 'accident' that they setup, he had to go in hiding. The company needed new recruits so they took his kid and trained her. They didn't know there were two of us. Seeing how I am the best, Dad came back for me. You was just a carbon copy, tainted by The Company."
My father...was still alive. This whole time. I shook my head, trying to get a grasp of what I was hearing. Is what she's saying true? Was I working for the good guys or the bad ones? She started laughing as my head spinned out of control. Imagines of the my past came to light. I remembered the fire that took my mother's life. My father carrying me to safety. It was so long ago that I can't even remember their faces. I remember the day the police came to the babysitter, saying my father was in an accident. And, the day The company selected me to be the next Best. But there were gaps, big ones. And each gap was replaced by these words: 'I can't fail. I won't fail.' They repeated in my head, as if it was a trigger. I felt like I was brain washed. Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so out of it that I didn't even notice Lily raised her gun again. I didn't even have enough time to react, when a bright flash knocked me to the ground.
Was I dead? Did the bomb blow? I rolled off my back and tried to sit up. I looked down and saw that I was covered in blood. I was mystified. I felt my body for a wound. There wasn't one. The blood wasn't mines. I looked to my side and noticed Manuel was laying face down on the ground. While I was having a meltdown, Lily took full advantage and decided to shoot me in my vulnerable state. Manuel was able to get in front of me before the bullet hit me. He saved my life. I rolled him over as he stared at me, smiling. Lily was giggling like a madwoman. That when I really got pissed off.
I was on my feet, faster than a freight train. I stormed at her with full force, planning to knock some sense into her...or out of her. She started to raise her gun again. I was t going to let that happen. I noticed the bomb was still laying on the ground between us. I scooped it up as a bullet flew over my head. I held it up, shielding my face and still charging her. She slightly lowered the gun, not wanting to blow both of us up. That small hesitation was all I needed to slam into her, knocking her to the ground. She grabbed a hold of me and we rolled across the roof. She climbed on top of me, trying to rip the vest away from my hands. We were rolling closer and closer to the edge of the building. She wrapped her hands around my neck and I started to gasp for air. She slammed my head against the hard concrete. I wiggled and bucked to get myself free. I finally stopped moving. She squeezed one more time before removing her hands. She sighed. It was over for her, but not for me. I stile a page from her book. I faked death. It gave me a small chance to attack her. I kicked her in the back of her head, which sent her entire body over the edge of the building. I grabbed ahold of her hand as she dangled twelve stories in the air.
"Hold on," I yelled, trying to save my sister.
She looked up at me and smiled. "Its too late for me, but not for you. I'm sorry. You are the best. You always was."
"Stop talking and give me your other hand," I yelled at her. She was starting to slip out of my hand.
"Don't worry about me. You need to find our father. He'll know what to do. Just find our father." She said, one last time.
I couldn't hold onto her any longer. Her fingers slipped from my grasp and I watched as she kicked in screamed all the way down. Her body crashed into the top of ambulance, sending people running and screaming in every direction. Lily was dead. My sister was officially dead.
I stood up, looking over the edge. Even Though she was miles away, I could still see her eyes. I stared at them and they stared back. It was like I killed a part of myself. I killed a part of my family. The only family that I knew. Lily claimed that our father was still alive. I wasn't sure how much of that was true, but I was going to find out for sure.
I ran back over to Manuel. He was getting worst and coughing up blood.
"Hang on, I can save you." I stuttered.
"You already did...once." He replied, gasping. "No body puts baby in a corner."
I smile, remembering when we first met. We were about 13 yrs old. He was the son of the biggest sex trafficking boss in South America. I was one of the kids, kidnapped by his father. My job was to get close and identify the ranks. Manuel was one of the targets on my list, but I couldn't do it. I fell in love with him. He was my first mistake. I helped him escape before my team came in, killing his father and destroying their whole operation. He had no home and no family. He just had me. Later on, he joined The Asesino becoming the best and youngest sniper.
As Manuel laid there taking his last breaths, I leaned down and whispered in his ear. He smiled, hearing my last words to him. I leaned down and kissed him, one last time. I know it wasn't my fault what happened to him. But I still blamed myself for his undoing. I pulled away when I heard a helicopter coming close. I looked down, staring into his opened eyes. Manuel was gone.
The chopper didn't land long before I ran onto it and we flew away. Stan asked me how we were going to clean up that mess down there. I already had it covered. A loud explosion roared behind us as I closed my eyes on another chapter of my life. That explosive vest did some serious damage to the top of the hospital. It really set the roof on fire that time. I sat back and sighed as I came to a conclusion.
My last words to Manuel replayed in my head. "I might have chosen Zayn but I never stopped loving you. You were my first love and I always will be. I want to thank you for everything you ever did for me. I will always be in your corner. Always."
I sighed, knowing it was true. We've been through so things over the years. All of us. Quite a few missions. Nevertheless, I killed more friends today, than I did in my lifetime. Almost every contact I knew. Murdered. By my own hands. Nothing out of the ordinary for an assassin, but it definitely is for my age.
Stan told me that Aaron and Theo were taken a few miles away, to another hospital and were doing well. I returned the earpiece and he dropped me off to check on Aaron, before heading to see the boys. Aaron couldn't stop smiling. It was kinda creepy when he cussed me out, never losing his grin. 'Don't ever make me choice someone over you. I will not leave you behind again. Got it.' I knew that was coming. I took a cab back to our hotel, expecting to meet up with Stan and the other guards. However, that's not exactly what happened.
"Would you like to explain to me what happened on that roof," Paul hissed.
I sat in a room with Paul and George. He was demanding answers. Answers, I couldn't answer him, not without killing him. What happened up there is between me and my fallen friends.
"What did Zayn tell you," I asked.
Paul shook his head, "He won't say anything. Just that you took care if it. Whatever 'it' was." He sighed, scratching his head. "Should I be worried having you around my boys?"
"No," I replied, eyeing George who was blocking my exit. "It's over. They will never have anything to worry about, again."
Paul narrowed his eyes on me, "You better be sure. Because if anyone just so happens to look at my boys wrong, I'm coming after you."
I smirked to myself, like he could even take me. I finished explaining what I could to Paul, excluding what happened after I was kidnapped. I found it rather amusing that my own boss kidnapped me, in the middle of an assassin battle. Yes, it was John.
After blindfolding me and throwing me in the back of a black van, John informed me that he thought something was up with this case, especially when they specific requested me and only me. He really got suspicious when someone broke into his office, stole information on me, then wiped the computer clean. I suspected Aaron was the one who stole info on me; The other person was the guy in the baseball cap. He gave me a few items that helped me along the way, including the bulletproof vest that saved Zayn's life. John also told me that he had an informant that was working with the boys. After all the help Stan did for me, I figured he was the informant. I definitely need to thank him when he gets here.
When I was finished, Paul led me to the room where the boys were waiting. He seemed scared to allow me to see them, let alone go near them. But if I know those boys, they pestered him until they got their way. George opened the door for me and we walked through.
It was the same hotel room, I first met all of them. The guys were quietly sitting on the coach and a few nearby love seats. I didn't have to say anything for them to know I was there. Zayn ran to me faster than I could see. He slammed his body against mines, nearly knocking me over. His arms wrapped around me tight enough to crush my bones. He pulled away, cupped my face and planted my lips with the softest kiss imaginable. I've heard people talk about sparks flying and I finally felt it. My heart froze as my body started to tingle with pure bliss. We broke free, trying to catch our breaths.
"Hi," he said, innocently.
"Hi," I smiled back.
"Hi," Harry waved from the corner of my eye, disturbing our moment like only Harry could.
I giggled, "Hi, Harry."
I released Zayn and hugged Harry. Then, I hugged Liam, Louis and Niall. I also gave Niall a peck in the cheek. It was over, finally over. I sat down on the couch with them, reliving the last few days. Very eventful. Until Liam spoke.
"So whatever happened to Stan," Liam asked me.
I huffed, "I don't know. He's your security guy. Why are you asking me?"
" 'Cause he works for you," Louis stated.
"No," I gulped. "He said he worked for Paul. I never met him before."
I immediately pulled out my phone to call John. However, I notice that there was the earpiece I returned to Stan. I shrugged it off and called John.
"Hey D, what's up?"
"Hey. I'm curious to know if Stan contacted you."
The line was silent.
"...And who exactly is Stan?" John asked.
"You know, tall, jet black hair, muscles. Isn't he your informant?"
"No," John mumbled. "Manuel was my informant. You once told me I could trust him and I did. He's the reason why Aaron is still alive. He's the reason why you're still alive. I don't know anyone named Stan."
My world came to a whirling stop. I hung up the phone and looked down at the earpiece.
I slowly placed it in my ear and spoke, "Stan?"
"Yeah, it's me." he replied. "Glad you found my little gift and congratulation on your successful mission."
"Well, thank you. But, we have a problem. No one seems to know who are you."
He sighed, "That may be because my name isn't Stan."
"I figured as much." I huffed. "So, are you even one of the good guys?"
"I am, and I have a mission for you, if you choose to accept it."
"And why would I work for you? I don't even know your real name." I replied, as my phone vibrated.
It was a text message from Aaron. I was reading the message as Stan spoke.
From: You got me shot
To: But I still love you
"Well, my real name is Thomas, and well..." Stan said, as I continued to read.
Message: John called. Stan isn't who he says he is. His real name is Thomas and he's...
And, I dropped my phone. That was all I was able to read before Stan finished it for me. I slowly stood up from the couch as the boys looked at me worried. I couldn't comprehend what I just heard, what I just read. My mouth hung open and my eyes started to weld. The only thing I could say was...
"Daddy?"
The End