1 + 2

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  I glance at the Ravlek Vest as if it'll console me. I acquired the body armor months ago from an assassin who died from a fall when he attempted to take my life. I worked so hard over the past year not to kill anyone who came after me, and I haven't failed yet, but he still died, and he wasn't the first to lose their life in their pursuit of me. I cried so hard after the assassin died as if I had been the one to kill him. My heart has changed so much since then... since they took Preacher away from me. I no longer care if someone dies. I actually want to kill Topa and make him feel as much hurt as I do now, so I force myself forward. I set the backpack and the jacket beside a dead gnarled oak. The tree's a remnant from the sun era just as Preacher's a remnant of a future I'll never have, not since Topa killed him. I move forward, but have no sense of my own actions, engulfed by an overpowering heartache, and I move as if I'm a robot fulfilling a programmer's command. The shock of seeing someone I deeply care for die in my arms numbs me to the bone. I want to scream out, but that would give away my position, so I remain quiet and keep my grief within me. This is a nightmare... It has to be a bad dream. Preacher can't be dead.

  I continue up the path in a dismal drudge toward my grizzly objective as a hatred overshadows my grief and suffering. The constant struggle between me and the Un-Men seems to persist for ages, and I'm always the prey, always running and hiding, but not this time. My foes, the Council who send human assassins and the Factory who sends the Un-Men after me, remain in the darkness and beyond my reach. Today's different... I know one of their names and one of their places of safety. I grip my gun and in my left hand, I carry a white book smeared with blood. Topa will pay. Rage fuels my exhausted body, revenge fixates my mind, and anguish rips at my spirit. He took the most precious thing in the world from me, so he has to pay. I stare at the book as I slowly die inside. For Preacher, I'll kill, and I'll break an oath I made to myself long ago.

  End Katharine's view...

  Behind an iron gate, four men armed with hand guns stood beside a brick guardhouse. Two of them talked while the other two walked their designated area. The gate was the eastern of four entrances, and a fifteen foot wall of stone surrounded the estate. Three of the men wore a Winnow Mask type B or WM-B. The air filters covered their mouths and noses, and the masks permitted those not used to the Dark Half of the planet to work outside in the Dry Clouds' pollution.

  The lead guard moved away from the man he was talking to, pressed a button on the side of his WM-B, and shouted to the woman in the distance through the mask's intercom, "Halt! State your name and business here!"

  Katharine's view...

  I don't respond, consume with a murderous grief and continue my war march toward them.

  The four men move to the gate and position themselves to fend off my attack as the lead guard shouts, "She's wearing a vest. Switch to A.P.Rs."

  The four men eject their 9 mm magazines and replace them with the Armor Piercing Rounds.

  The lead guard declares, "We'll open fire if you don't state your name and business here!"

  "My name?!" I question. "My name?! I'm Sorrow! I'm Emptiness!"

  "She has a gun!" the lead guard shouts. "Take her out!"

  The four men shoot at me, hitting me in the chest, and I lurch back with the impacts as images of Preacher flash through my mind. I cry out in pain, seeing him die in my arms over and over again. I fall face down to the path, and I exhale from the impact as if it's my last breath. Fireflies dance about me and the surrounding area, paying no heed it's morning. I watch them and wonder if they can feel sorrow, and then my eyes slowly close as I slip into despair's embrace.

  End Katharine's view...

  The lead guard ordered, "You two, go check on her."

  They stepped out of the gate, scanned the surrounding darkness to make sure she was alone, and then approached her. The second guard rolled her over, Kat moaned, and he noticed blood covered her shirt underneath the vest.

  He said, "She's as good as gone." The second guard reached down, took her weapon, tucked it in the front waistband of his pants, then grabbed the book, and said, "This could be valuable." He searched her pockets, then scanned the area again, and spoke, "She has no ID or business card on her, so she isn't a Closer. She must be a nut job. See anyone else?"

  "No," the third guard replied, and then after taking another look, he said, "Take her arms. The orchard could use more fertilizer."

  The two guards dragged her inside the gate and dropped her on the dirt path.

  "What's that?" the fourth guard asked. He wore no Winnow Mask since he was a native of Noir.

  The second examined the item he held and then replied, "A book covered in blood."

  "A book you say. Is it legal?" the maskless guard asked.

  The second opened the cover, peered at a paper tucked in a clear plastic pocket, and replied, "Yeah, it's legal. Here's its registration." He read the top and said, "The Bible's registered to one Norman Odin."

  "A Bible?" The maskless guard walked over, grabbed the book, and flipped through it. He handed it back to the second, walked over to her, and told him, "Throw that archaic thing away before you get some disease." He snarled his nose up at her, then spat on her, and said, "She looks like she's from Wayfaring Lane. Bums, the lot of them."

  "I thought I might get some money for the book off the black market," the second said.

  The maskless guard folded his arms, shook his head, and said, "Not from that thing you won't. It's trash." He threw his thumb over his shoulder and ordered him, "Toss it!"

  The second nodded, then went, and dropped the book on top of the garbage that sat in a trash can outside the guardhouse.

  "Better let the boss know about this," the maskless guard said as he started to bring a radio up to his mouth.

  "I wouldn't do that just yet," Kat exclaimed to get his attention as she grabbed a hand full of dirt, then quickly stood, and threw the dirt in his face.

  The maskless guard cried out, covering his eyes with his hands, "I can't see!"

  "How's she standing?" the lead guard shouted as he drew his gun. "I thought you killed her!"

  "I did!" the third man exclaimed as he aimed his weapon at her and shouted, "She's covered in blood!"

  Kat held her chest in pain from the four earlier bullet impacts that struck her Ravlek Vest as she spoke, "It's not my blood." She leapt up, spin kicked the third guard in the temple, and then yelled, "Why do you think I'm here?"

  The third guard fell to the ground out cold as the lead and second guard shot at her. Kat rolled with extraordinary speed, evaded their fire, then raced to the lead guard as he shot again, and the bullet nicked her earlobe. She grabbed his wavy hair, whacked the side of his head into the brick guardhouse, and side kicked the second guard in the stomach. The lead guard slid down the brick wall, landing in a heap, and blood covered his forehead. The second guard bent over in pain after she had kicked him, then Kat calmly approached the second guard, took her gun from his waistband, pulled his mask down, and punched him in the face. He started to choke without the mask.

  "I can't see!" the remaining guard screamed again. "What's going on?"

  She marched over to the blinded man, placed the barrel of her gun against his jaw, took his weapon, and then demanded, "Where's Topa?"

  "I won't tell you."

  With calm resolve, Kat leaned to him and whispered, "I'm only here to kill him, but that doesn't mean I'll let you live if you don't tell me." She put her hand on his back, pulled herself close to his ear, and said, "Tell me, and I'll let you live."

  Sweat beaded his forehead, and a salty droplet ran down his face, landing on her barrel. He squinted at the fallen guards and saw blurry images of what looked like dead men.

  "Live like the others?" he uttered.

  She glanced at one of them as that guard moaned, and then she said, "They're alive. Now... Where's Topa?"

  "I won't..."

  Kat cocked the
gun and stated in a voice that made him feel the presence of death, "Last chance."

  "He's... He's in his office. Don't kill me!"

  She uncocked the gun, then used the man's own weapon, and struck him in the back of the head, knocking him out. Kat tossed his gun, searched the other men, and took their 9 mm ammo and what A.P.Rs. they had. She placed the magazines in her pocket and tossed their guns and masks into the bushes.

  Katharine's view...

  I start to walk to the guardhouse to retrieve the Bible from the trash can, but I pause and look at my trembling hands. I know this rage isn't me, but I can't stop myself now. I continue to the trash can, pick up the book, brush debris from its blood dried cover, and hold it close to my heart.

  I don't understand why they killed Preacher. Was it because of me or was it another test? My lips tremble as anguish shreds my heart into thousands of hurting pieces. Guilt saturates my thoughts as sadness attacks my being and my own mental accusers taunt me. They won't let me forget that I can do nothing to save the man I love. The accusations press against me and make it hard for me to breathe, but I won't let that stop me. I have gone this long grueling year without killing anyone. I took careful steps not to take a life and always found other ways to defeat the human assassins and bounty hunters the Council sent after me. I know it's wrong to kill but still, if I'm the reason Preacher's dead, then I have to kill Topa; it's all I can do for Preacher. If I can't even shed a tear for him, then I'll take...

  I break down, collapse to my knees, and pound the ground with my fist. I'll... I lift my head and wail. I'll murder the man who took him from me. I'll end his life just as he ended Preacher's.

  I breathe as deeply as I can, trying to rid myself of the suffocating feelings. I let rage fuel my resolve, and I force myself to stand on my wobbly feet. I start down the dirt path that leads to the center of the estate where the main house and Topa's office are. Hatred seeps into my psyche and drenches it with a malicious-filled insanity as I rush to my target, evading the rest of the guards. I won't have much time before the four at the gate are discovered, so I'll have to be quick and find Topa, and then I'll kill him.

  Chapter Five

  Enter The Life Closer

  9:09 A.M...

  The Sanctum...

  Within the Chamber...

  The Council monitored Pandora's bio-data on the center screen, and they noted changes in her mental state and that her Ultra-Epi had engaged.

  "Pandora has entered Topa's estate," Ms. Nona spoke with concern. "Should we stop it? Topa is not part of the experiment."

  "No, we will use him as we have used others who stumbled upon our tests," Mr. Morta replied. "The situation could be the catalyst we have been waiting for to take Pandora to the Gamma Phase of its metamorphosis."

  Mr. Decuma said, "The project has been a disappointment this past year; its skills are incredible, but..."

  "Yes, but Pandora holds back and has not taken a life," Mr. Morta said. "The why is what we have to discover."

  "The conditioning has failed," Ms. Nona stated. "We should be working on the Epsilon Phase by now, not worrying about the Gamma."

  "No, I think it is more than that. If you will remember even before we took custody of Pandora, it was an enigma. There is nothing wrong with the conditioning. I believe it is Pandora's emotions."

  "Its emotions?" Mr. Decuma questioned. He didn't understand the eldest member's reasoning. Mr. Morta held such high expectations for the experiment. It was almost as if he had grown attached, and if he had grown attached, it could be a problem. Mr. Morta could lose his indifference if he was not careful.

  "Yes, Mr. Decuma," Mr. Morta replied, and then he explained, "Pandora's emotions... though they maybe immature... they still influence it. You see, rage and love even from a child... they are both driving forces, and it has not tapped into them."

  "Until it met Preacher," Ms. Nona added. "Pandora knew love and now knows rage."

  Mr. Morta nodded as he spoke, "Precisely, if we had known how his death would have affected Pandora, we would have killed him long ago to move along its programming."

  A female supervisor handed Ms. Nona a report.

  Ms. Nona said, "This could be a problem."

  "What is it?" Mr. Decuma asked.

  "It seems one of the corporations does not like what Topa has been doing lately. A Life Closer has been dispatched to the estate."

  "By our corporation?" Mr. Decuma questioned.

  "I think not," Mr. Morta answered. "But with an organization as vast as ours, who knows for sure."

  * * *

  At the northwest corner of Topa's estate, a lone figure threw a small J-shaped grappling hook over the wall. The northwest part of the estate had little light, so Kim easily hid in the darkness of the late morning. Mirky gray Dry Clouds rumbled overhead, warning of a possible Tainted Rain storm. Kim was a native of the Dark Half and didn't need a Winnow Mask. She pulled her knit mask over her face, made sure it was securely in place, and checked over her black outfit. She wore thin gloves, jogging pants, running shoes, a tank top, and a zipped up hooded sweatshirt. She needed to keep her identity a secret if she didn't want to kill anyone not part of the Closing and have to file extra paperwork. Voice hated unnecessary deaths as much as she did, and she didn't want to make Voice upset.

  Kim climbed the cord to the top of the wall, dropped down to the other side, and glanced at her watch once she reached the ground. She would have this Life Closing done within the hour, if all went well, and Topa would make the front cover again, but with the headline, Found Dead.

  She tossed the thin climbing cord, grappling hook, and black knapsack in the corner and piled some leaves on the items to hide them, and then she checked the tactical knife in a sheathe strapped to her right calf. She quietly slipped by the guards, making her way to his office. In the e-mail Voice had sent, the client stated Topa would most likely be there. The office was at the end of a long cobblestone path leading from the house. Black cast-iron lamps lit the area, small pine trees grew along the path, and hedges lined the last twenty feet of the walkway and around the office. She hid in the bushes underneath a window just left of Topa. She glanced in, seeing one henchman in a corner and her target busy at his mahogany desk. Kim placed a silencer on a Walther PPK and stood to make her way in, but the front door opened. She ducked back into the hedges, and the green-blue bushes rustled with her movement, and then through the window, she watched as a second henchman walked into the room. He removed his WM-B and adjusted the mask's strap. Topa counted bundles of money then placed the stacks in a briefcase.

  "This is payment for the Illicit Closer we hired to take out that nuisance on Wayfaring Lane," Topa relayed as he finished counting. "That do-gooder won't be hindering our sales of Sunna Snapps anymore."

  "Why the cash, boss?" the second henchman asked. "Why not credits?"

  "This cash can't be traced to me. Credits could be."

  "Makes sense, boss."

  Kimberly's view...

  I can't believe he hired an illegal assassin. I think people are really stupid when they chance hiring someone who doesn't belong to the Assassins Guild. If Voice or Thanatos finds out, they'll kill him. I shrug as I decide in the scheme of things it doesn't matter now. Topa's Closing is today. What more can they do to him?

  Topa shuts the briefcase and hands it to his second henchman as he orders him, "Also tell our contact at the Valhalla Corporation we'll be doubling our next order of Sunna Snapps now that business will be getting back to normal."

  "Understood," the second henchman replies, then puts his Winnow Mask back on, takes the briefcase, and leaves through the back door.

  Topa turns to the first henchman and tells him, "Ready my car. We're going into the Norse Sector."

  The first henchman turns towards the window, so I duck down, and after a few moments, I hear a door open and shut. I glance in the window, seeing that the muscle has lef
t, so I again start to leave my hiding place. I can kill Topa before anyone comes back and be down with this Closing. I need to get some rest. I'm still tired from my last assignment. The front door opens before I leave my hiding spot, so I quickly duck back into the bushes. For Ares' sake! What's up with my luck today? All I want to do is complete this Life Closing and go home.

  Katharine's view...

  I enter and find Topa alone. His office smells of polished wood and has an old feel to it. Black and white photos of distinguished men who look related to him line the walls. I turn away from them; I can't let myself be distracted. I have to focus on my grim objective, and it's now or never; I have to eliminate the man who took Preacher from me. My gun hand shakes with indecision as it leans against my leg, and even my broken heart believes I have to commit this atrocious deed to atone for my failure to save Preacher.

  Kimberly's view...

  Keeping myself hidden, I peek through the window, trying to figure out who the woman is. She could be a second Closer. I glower, a little irritated and duck back down. Did Voice send in backup? I never needed it. I think about it. I never needed it before Moscow. I cautiously glance through the window, studying the woman, and she doesn't have the look of a Closer. Maybe she's a bodyguard.

  Topa glanced up when the door first squeaked open. He stares at her for a long time before he questions her, "How did you get in here?"