Dawning the darkness

Chapter 1
I looked across the pier at my new target. There was nothing wrong with this man. He wasn’t a druggie; he had never killed or even witnessed a murder. He wasn’t in any gang; he had a job that didn’t make too many enemies. All that he had done was make the wrong friend as a kid.
He was 29 and had a strong build. He was an accountant and the last person you would expect someone would hire me to kill. He had short dark hair and shocking green eyes. He stood probably about six feet three inches tall and he was perfectly tanned.
He had told his oldest friend that he couldn’t even speak to him anymore because his old friend had made too many mistakes and it could ruin his future. He hadn’t realized that that mistake would result in me taking away any chance he had at a future.
It wasn’t my call. I didn’t get to choose whether or not I killed this man. It was my job and the way I was raised. I had been adopted at the age of ten and trained for two years. When I was twelve, I made my first kill and I quickly became one of my boss’s favorites.
I had been raised to think that life was not a right; it was something you had to earn. I had been old enough when they taught me that to realize that life was a right and success was something you had to earn. I was willing to earn the success for myself and those I cared about.
The best way to do that was to have no weakness, nothing that could hurt you. We were trained this way. We learned to watch those in our numbers die and to not react as they called for help. We learned to make the decisions that would help the most people. If that meant watching our best friend die, we would do it.
The wind blew and the strong sent of fish washed over me. I held my breath and expression so it would have appeared as if nothing had changed. The smell made me want to vomit, but I had a mission, I couldn’t be distracted.
This was my mission; this man was mine to kill but I had my guard all around. If I failed, then there was someone there to finish my job. The only way for me to fail would be for me to die. These men all knew that as long as my heart beat they were not to kill.
I had a record for killing after being shot. I was known for fake falls. Most of my armed targets had gotten their shots in and I wore the proof under my clothes. I was dressed in a slim black corset and butt hugging shorts.
I stood a dangerous smile on my face. I jumped from ship to ship and his eyes followed always two ships behind me. My smile held a fake sweetness as I jumped from the upper deck of the small yacht nearest him.
He turned as he heard me land. He glanced down at me and smiled like he had nothing to worry about. That made my smile real as I realized he didn’t take me as a threat. I walked forward still smiling as his hands went around me. I pulled him into the yacht that I had just come from and pulled him onto one of the couches.
“I don’t know your name.” He said before I had the chance to kill him. None of my kills had known my name, not even my first. As that thought hit, I quickly flashed back to my first kill.
Flashback
My heart raced as I pulled the gun up, my hands gloved. I aimed at my target, who was in perfect view. I took a deep breath and pulled back the trigger. He fell a second later and it was done. There was nothing more to it than that.
I made sure there was no evidence that put me anywhere near the crime scene, smiled at my handy work and I left. I returned to my boss to report my mission a success. That was when I was told I was being tailed. My guard reported my perfectly disciplined and calm way.
End of flashback
“It doesn’t matter, you won’t live to tell this tail.” I said.
“What do you mean by that?” He asked.
I smiled and said, “You made the wrong enemy, Mr. Boyd”
“How do you know my name?” He asked. I felt his heart accelerate under my hand as I held him to the couch of the stranger’s yacht.
“I know all I need to, and I’m sorry to say it’s my job to kill you.” I said honestly. I didn’t like killing, but it kept me alive and got me a place to stay. Killing was my way of life. I quickly twisted his head ‘til I heard the sickening snap and felt his whole body go limp under me. I checked to make sure he had no pulse.
I grabbed a rope that was at the end of the couch and pulled the body over my small shoulders and brought him back out of the boat. Now I had to hide the body. I knew it would be easiest to tie it down and toss it into the water, but where was the creativity in that?
I thought about it. I could toss it over into frenzy bay, or toss it into a kerosene filled container and burn it. I could bury it in the woods. I didn’t really like any of those ideas. What was I going to do with this body?
I heard faint foot steps against the old wood. I dived into the water carrying the body with me. I swam as low into the dark clouded water as I could and used the rope to tie the body to the bottom of the dock.
I floated to the surface of the water under the dock. I listened as two men talked.
“He should have been here. There is no way your men could have killed him and disposed of the body yet.” The first voice said. It was horse and defiantly male.
“I didn’t send one of my men after him.” That was the voice of my boss.
“I paid you to have him killed.”
“I sent my best to kill him. He is probably already dead. For all I know my agent is taking a victory swim.”
“You just said that you didn’t send anyone after him.”
“No I sent my girl after him. She works faster and cleaner then all my men. I have recruited more women because of her success.”
“Hi boss.” I said hoisting myself out of the water.
“Ah, Clara. It is nice to see you.” My boss said.
“And you as well, Boss.” I said not taking my eyes off the stranger.
“Clara, this is Brian. He is the reason you were working tonight.”
“So this is the guy that just made me kill his innocent friend because they got in a fight, instead of trying to straighten out his life so people weren’t embarrassed to be around him.” I said glaring at the man.
“Clara! That is no way to talk to a costumer.” My boss said.
“I will talk to him how I please, because I give it a week before someone hires me personally to kill him, without your interference and I’ll take the job proudly. There was no reason for me to kill that man tonight.” I said still glaring at Brian.
“Well, Miss Clara, what if I wanted to hire you for services other than killing.” Brian said.
“Then I wouldn’t need to have someone hire me. I’d kill you for my own gain.” I hissed.
“Really now? Well you would at least let me have my way before you killed me, right?”
“Nope, I’m an assassin not a whore.” I said.
“Clara is my go-to girl. She is unstoppable when need be. I trust her to make her own decisions that are best for her people.” My boss said and he wrapped a restraining arm around my waist as I started forward to kill that excuse of a man. “But she has a temper. I won’t even piss her off”
“You have so many people protecting you. If you wanted to piss her off then you wouldn’t have to worry.”
“She can take down any of my men. She has pulled off miracles in her work. Managed kills in hours that most would have a hard time to pull off in months.”
“No one’s that good.”
“I’m so much better than that.”
“Whatever.”
“Clara, my darling, go home and get cleaned up. There are some things I need to talk with you about, and some people for you to meet.”
“Yes boss,” I said leaving even though I was sure he was just trying to get me away before I killed Brian.
I walked calmly to the sleek black motorcycle that awaited me. I booked it full speed with my body down against the bike. I sped well beyond the speed limit out of city limits and into the hundred acres that was our home and training area.
I parked in my spot in the boss’s garage. I had been given a spot in here after some of the guys totaled my last car in retaliation to me getting a kill that they wanted. I didn’t care much that I had gotten the job. I was just happy to have made it through it alive.
That had been one of my favorite missions. I had to leave one of my targets alive because they had disappeared and not even we could find him. I had taken down the start of another assassination training facility.
One of their younger trainees had almost gotten the better of me. I came home with three bullet wounds; in my upper stomach, my thigh, and my shoulder. I hadn’t been allowed to leave the infirmary for two weeks and even then I wasn’t allowed out of the property for another two months. I was not happy and everyone knew it.
“Hi, Clara. Where have you been? Did you get another high class mission?” Doug said.
I glared at the young man in front of me. He was looking at me with narrowed eyes. He thought I had gotten another one of the missions he thought should be his. Before I came along Douglas had been boss’s favorite.
“No Doug it was a low risk case, just an accountant.” I said
He smiled at me and said, “Well in that case want to spend some time with me in my room.” He walked forward and wrapped his arms around my waist.
I smiled and pushed his back against the wall. I pressed my body to his and he smiled running his hands along my body. I pressed my lips to his neck and traced them over to his ear. I traced the toned planes of his chest with the tips of my fingers. When I reached the waist band of his pants I pulled the knife we were required to carry from him.
His eyes went wide as he saw how low his guard had gone down. He was now at my mercy, and he knew it. The men’s goal around here was to stay out of my mercy. If you were there and I had a sour mood there was a very low chance you would survive.
I raised my eyebrows at him. I saw the look of fear he was trying to hide and there was a fake smile on his face. He was looking for something that would make me keep him alive. “Calm down Clara. You can’t kill me with my own knife, it’s against the rules.”
“I just killed an innocent man, and then got in a fight with boss about whether or not I could be rude to someone I’m probably going to end up killing anyway. Do you really think that I care about the rules right now?” I said smiling at him.
“Clara, welcome home and do you think killing him is going to make the group better? He might be a pain in the ass and it might make the group happier, but he is one of our best fighters. Think it all through.” A voice I would recognize anywhere said.
I turned with a true smile on my face. “Keith!” I screamed running and giving him a hug, Doug’s knife still in my hand.
We were trained to always be cautious even with just those in our numbers, but Keith had never tried to hurt me and he had never stopped supporting me. He was one of the few men that agreed that women could do what they do if they were given the chance. I proved him right and got him higher up on boss’s positive radar. He had been like a personal trainer to me and whenever either of us needed help, the other was there.
He wrapped his arms around my waist. He chuckled quietly before he said, “Do you mind moving the knife away from my back?”
“Sorry,” I said. I pulled back slipping Doug’s knife next to mine in my waist line. He smiled showing perfectly white teeth that clashed against his dark olive skin. His thick black hair swayed with a dangerous length. That combined with his dark eyes and the fact that he never brushed his hair made him obviously dangerous.
“I think your look is going to give you away on your next mission.” I said smiling at him.
His smile widened and he raised his eyebrows. “Are you scared of me, Clara?”
“If I was scared of you, I would still have Doug’s knife in my hand.” I said tensing. I knew what was coming next and I was plenty ready for it.
“Clara I told you to get washed up. Get dressed in something sexy. I would prefer that small pink dress.”
“The one that has the fuzzy feather top?” I asked, as I remembered the hideous dress I had to wear on one of my missions a few months ago. It was hot pink and cut off mid-thigh and was strapless. It hugged every part that it covered and that wasn’t very much.
“Yeah that one will do the trick.” Boss said.
“Sorry Boss that, um, outfit was completely destroyed in the fight I came home in a guys shirt remember? Everyone thought that someone had finally got in my pants.”
“Oh, well that’s a real shame. I’ll buy you a replacement tomorrow.”
“Oh, um, there is really no need, Boss. I’m sure I can find something that will do the job. I just need to know what the job is.”
“You are meeting your future husband.”
“I’m what!?”