It's up to Me to Make You Bleed

Present Day

The alarm buzzed loudly and the obnoxious sound seemed to bounce incessantly off the walls. My eyes fluttered open, knowing that there was no escape from the day’s routine. Every night before going to bed, I look over the next day’s files and get to know my targets I suppose you could say. Today was going to be a busy one…two sniper jobs, and one hit job for a loan shark who’s close with Walter. That’s just in addition to my regular day-to-day activities!

With a loud groan, I forced myself up out of bed and stretched a little before stepping into my walk-in closet. It’s been ten years since my mother was murdered, and I’ve stayed with my dad that entire duration of time, even though I’m already 26 years old. He stayed true to every single word he said that day we first met in his old apartment.

Now we resided in a sprawling mansion built into a valley of hills. It had so many bedrooms that, if I wanted to, I could honestly have one for each day of the week and still have plenty of room for guests. My eyes scanned the vast collection of clothes before settling on a tight fitting blue tank and some black shorts, ready to head to the basement and utilize the work out facilities. After all, I needed to keep in good shape to be at the tope of my game, right?

With my iPod in hand, I headed down the stairs and hopped on the treadmill…running three miles. Then I finished off the work out with fifty crunches and some weight lifting.

It’s all rather ironic, now that I think about it. Imagine how different things could’ve been if I had these skills and strength when I really needed them ten years ago. So many lives could’ve been spared…but then again, if that had been the case, I wouldn’t get to extract my perfect revenge on them now.

“Morning, Dad,” I smiled as I gave him a quick hug before reaching in the fridge for a water bottle.

“Morning, sweetie. Have a busy day today?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, taking a bite out of a piece of toast, “all a bunch of downtown work. But I was thinking about stopping off to see Mom before getting started.”

“Today’s the…anniversary, isn’t it?”

I nodded, “It’s just so hard to believe that this much time has passed, or that that even ever happened.”

He stood up and rinsed his plate off in the sink before offering me a sympathetic stare. “I know it’s hard on you, Court, but your mother would want you to be happy. From what I’ve gathered, Julianne gave her life up so that you could live yours. Just remember to keep that in mind.”

I paused for a moment in thought, taking in what he had to say. “You’re right, Dad. Well, I gotta get going,” I replied, noticing the time.

He chuckled, “Alright, kiddo. Oh, hey, one more thing. Maybe this will help you get through the day.” He dug into his computer bag and handed me a folder.

Curious, I glanced inside to find full reports on James Owen Sullivan, Matthew Charles Sanders, and Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. It listed their current residences, martial statuses, some personality quirks, and careers. It was an assassin/stalker’s dream!

“Oh, thank you so much, Dad!” I exclaimed, giving him a huge hug.

“Don’t thank me, it was all compiled by Jeffery. You know, I think he has a little crush on you.”

“Ha, who in that office doesn’t?” I teased. I thanked him one last time before heading out the door and hoping into my black convertible Corvette. Maybe today wouldn’t be such a bad day after all.

The graveyard was still and silent. No birds were chirping and no wind was blowing. It was difficult to think that this place was my mom’s final resting place. She was laying here, decaying below the ground and lying next to hundreds of thousands of strangers that had nothing more than death in common with one another.

I kneeled down in front of my mom’s grave and read the tombstone engraving. She was only forty years old when she died. At some point, I stopped imaging what life could be like if we still lived with the Sullivan’s carrying on with or normal lives…or if Dad had never left…or if Mom and I escaped together.

It would be completely senseless to do that anymore. You can’t bring the dead back, and even if you could, you couldn’t go back in time and fix your mistakes.

After thirty minutes had passed, I realized that I didn’t have the time to spend all day here. I gently ran my fingers along the weathered stone and whispered, “Thank you for saving my life. I’ll never forget you, Mom. I love you.” I blinked away the tears that wanted to fall oh so badly and drove off to my first target’s house.

Walter Malone claimed that his company and assembly of assassins were designed to kill the menaces of society to make it a better place for the general population. Sometimes I questioned how true he stayed to his own claim. Weren’t loan sharks into the whole sketchy loan business? Shouldn’t we be going after the corrupt men who lend out the money instead of the poor suckers who fell for the scam?

When trained for this profession, you’re told to follow your orders and push your conscious to the back of your mind – it would only interfere. I found that the best way for me to deal with questionable cases is to picture the target as one of three boys who sent me down this violent path of profession.

I watched this man from outside his window. He looked nervous – almost on the verge of tears. It must be getting close to the day he owes his money. This man didn’t fit the usual profile of my victims. He was just an innocent guy. But…if I didn’t follow through, then I’d lose my job and wouldn’t have the resources I need to get my revenge. Keep the greater good in mind.

I bit down hard on my lip before kicking down his back door. He cried out in surprise and was probably fairly close to having a heart attack. “W-who are you?”

I avoided eye contact as I pulled the .44 caliber gun out of its holster attached to my belt. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly, “I really am.”

I glanced up and watched as my eyes thankfully turned his quivering form into a vision Jimmy with a smug look on his face and blood coating his shirt. I didn’t hesitate. I pulled the trigger, sending the bullet flying directly through his skull.

My vision dissipated and was replaced with the sight of blood and brains trailing down the bright white wall where Jackson Miller had just been standing. His body collapsed onto the ground and a small exit hole was evident in the back of his skull. Blood leaked out onto the carpet, seeping into the very foundation of the house itself.

My body froze after hearing footsteps and children’s voices just outside the front door. Wait…he was a father? My stomach felt as if it sank below my intestines. I quickly dashed out the back door and ran away as fast as I could, unwilling to hear the cries and shrieks of his soon-to-be traumatized kids.

Even though I was supposed to be tough and ruthless, I couldn’t completely get rid of my emotions. Some day that would surely be my downfall.

***

The city was thriving, almost taking on a life of its own. I was grateful the moon was so large tonight because otherwise I wouldn’t have had a good look at the ground below. After today’s earlier events, I decided to wait until nighttime to do my sniper jobs. I had just finished both targets off within a ten-minute span, which was probably a record time.

Based on the files that my dad gave me, it would seem that Brian, Matt, and Jimmy had formed a band with Zacky and Johnny called “Avenged Sevenfold.” They have been seen spending a lot of time in Los Angeles lately, which was a huge advantage for me.

As I stood atop the skyscraper I felt my newly created coldness forcefully take over as I stared down at all the people walking along the sidewalks, feeling disgusted. I rested my foot along the edge of the skyscraper, my eyes locked on the countless bodies walking by. What happened earlier today didn’t happen very often…and for some reason, I guess because I was “in the zone” right now, I felt completely malicious and ruthless. This city, hell, this country was filled with disgusting people that deserved nothing but the most painful ticket to the depths of the earth. Unfortunately, I was only dead set on killing three of them.

Wind blew from behind me, sending my hair whipping in several crazy directions. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. It may seem strange to wear these at night, but there is a meaning behind my madness. Walter provides me with all the devices I need to effectively complete my tasks. I slipped on my glasses and grinned as the specs’ faces below became viewable.

I continued surveying the people passing along the street in their busy hustle. It wasn’t until shortly after midnight that my heart skipped a beat. Walking along the street was a face I hadn’t seen in ten years…a face that haunted my dreams…a face that I wanted to destroy in the utmost vicious and painful way. My eyes locked on the target – Jimmy Sullivan.

“Looks like I’ve found you, stepbrother,” I mumbled to myself, slipping my glasses back into the pocket and taking off running across the roof.

My boots’ steps echoed loudly behind me. My heart finally resumed beating as my adrenaline rush reached its high. I slid down the ladder, enjoying the burning sensation I felt through my leather gloves. My feet made contact with the ground shortly after, and I wasted no time standing in place. I ran out on to the street, careful not to draw attention to myself. Instead, I maintained a low profile, remaining a few bodies behind him.

Of course I couldn’t help but notice that Jimmy was with my two other targets…Matt and Brian. What a perfect night! But even with the fantastic news, seeing their three faces all at once caused my mind to travel back in time ten years.

Horrible visions of past misconduct and violent acts of greed replaced my present-day view of the bodies around me. The back of my head burned in inexplicable pain, feeling like it did that first summer night when Brian came from behind and slammed a sledgehammer into my skull. My fingers trembled, just like when Matt poured all those needles onto my body, digging past my flesh.

A small red dot flashed before my eyes coming from that accursed video camera that recorded every God-forsaken moment of my suffering. My entire body was suffering some sort of pulsating pain as all the stab marks seemed to resurface. My lungs filled with water, recalling that afternoon when I nearly drowned. Brian swam into the water and pulled me up right before I died.

Feeling all that pain again made me angry beyond belief…almost to point of losing all humanity inside of me. I had to remind myself, though, that I was different now. I recalled the power and control I felt each time I embarked on a new mission. I took life should that person cross my path, or fall onto the main list of targets in my dad’s office. I was an assassin, not some defenseless girl. And, I had ten years of anticipated payback to deliver to those three assholes lingering outside and upcoming bar.

I drew in a deep breath and wiped away a couple of stray tears from under my eyes. I didn’t want my eyeliner to be smeared when I met them. After all, the last time they saw me was when they threw me into a black garbage bag thinking they had killed me. Boy, were they going to be shocked.

Once again my heels clicked on the pavement as I shoved past the crowds of people. I acted as if I tripped and carelessly fell forward, gripping Brian’s shoulder for support. You have no idea how hard it was to touch such a repulsive creature. He instantly spun around mid-conversation and stared at me for a long time with his jaw casually hanging open. Little did I know my hard look of scorn transformed into something similar to his expression.

It’s funny how much people can change over ten years. This was Brian? That couldn’t be right. He was so…attractive, in a ridiculous way.

“I-I’m sorry I must’ve tripped over on of the cracks in the sidewalk,” I stammered. My brain felt like it was about to explode and die of complications. I was rapidly growing attracted to one of the three who destroyed my life.

“It’s alright,” he grinned, seductively, as he leaned forward and helped me stand up straight, “glad I could break your fall. I wouldn’t want to see that pretty face get scratched up.”

Oh, the irony. Does he not recall the incident with the garden tools…the scraping? Surely, my face couldn’t hide those wounds.

“I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name,” he said. That’s because I didn’t give it to you, jackass.

He really didn’t know it was me? Sure, the usual motto of the assassin is to get the job done quick and easy, but after all I’ve been through I think I could have some fun with this one.

“Chelsey,” I smiled, extending my arm forward, “nice to meet you.”