Finn has never known anyone whose gotten out of CHROME. No ones ever truly been free, even if they think they are. CHROME keeps tabs on its former employees in case they are needed once again, and they always are. Men and Women of all ages have been recruited, some young and some old with jobs ranging from assassin to undercover agent to desk jockey. Even Finn, who had been recruited at the tender age of 15, knew he could never be free. He had grown used to the constant looming presence of CHROME by now, and barely even flinched when he caught a spy camera or a bug in his phone.
The only important thing about CHROME was that they didn't keep secrets from high ranking officers, and Finn was about as high as you could get without being a part of the council.
No files were withheld from him and no information was hidden. Finn knew about a young girl who tried to get out by purposefully trapping her leg beneath a wall. They amputated it and she went home... only to be brought back in to test out experimental prosthetics and armor. He read about a cubicle worker who retired early and had to be killed for trying to sell some of CHROMEs secrets. He knew about everything.
And then he came across a file he had never read.
Deep in the pits of CHROMEs main HQ was a storage room filled with every paper copy of missions, and Finn would often come down and pick up a file to read in his spare time. He would use his laptop, but nothing could beat the musty smell of paper on a rainy afternoon. On this particular day, he had gone down to clear his head after an assassin had made an attempt at his life. He never enjoyed meeting assassins. They were always so... different. No two assassins were the same. Some loved their jobs while others were forced to do it, some had families some had been paid to kill their families... there was no in between. Even CHROMEs assassins were creepy and depressing to be around, but they were deadly and definitely a force to be reckoned with.
the man that had attacked Finn... well, he couldn't really say it was an attempted assassination. He was loud and clumsy. Nothing to truly be worried about. Finn had woken up the moment the man had stepped foot in the apartment and had him knocked unconscious before he could take the 5th step.
But the threat of death isn't what had really worried him, that happened to much to care about now. It was the mans wrist watch. it was an antique, and etched into the glass was a picture of a Strawberry cut in half. He had recognized the emblem immediately, and only now was he given a chance to confirm his suspicions. Sorting through the 'S' section of the extensive library he picked a file seemingly at random and took a seat and a long wooden table.
TWANEY STRAWS was printed across the top, and Finn knew all to well the story in its pages. Beneath the letters was a printed picture of a strawberry cut in half. Finn stomach twisted.
Kayla Tawney was the daughter of a man named Joseph Tyler and a (late) Mary Tawney. She took her Mother name because she hated her father so, and moved away as quickly as she could. There she started a Strawberry farm. Quickly the Tawney name became commonplace at any household for jams and fruits and such. Kayla would soon be swept into a very bad crowd, where she married a king pin of the local Mafia. They both then united their forces to create one of the most powerful drug cartels in the entire world. They shipped out millions of strawberries, and hidden by false bottoms and bribes were pound after pound of the most lavish drugs you were to ever find.
Their empire grew wider and wider each passing day, they controlled everything, and would murder anyone who dared to stand in their way. Including one of their founders. Kayla Tawney hired an assassin to murder her husband in the most gruesome way possible, and her request was carried through with surprising passion. There was no really reason for her to kill her husband except for the money, but she already had enough of that. It appeared that she had just grown tired with his company. She took full control and her kingdom flourished.
It wasn't until almost 9 years ago that she was finally assassinated. Finn had been 18 at the time, and had been shocked at her death. Kayla had ruled her empire for a solid 22 years, and to most people she had seemed invincible. She had been on a jog when a bullet had shot clean through her forehead. She died instantly. Her most trusted advisers were next. Poisoned, stabbed, smothered, shot... anyway you can imagine. The oddest thing of all is that no one knows who was sent to kill her. CHROME hadn't been training any new recruits and no other organization cared nor had the power enough to stop her. She died old, widowed, and alone.
Her empire fell apart with no one capable enough to lead it, and soon the Tawney 'Straws', named after her most popular export, were no more.
Except, now they were making a rise again, if the inscription on the mans watch was anything to go by. Finn sighs, and goes to put the file away when something catches his eye. A file, shoved under the shelf. The very tip of a manila folder peeks and out and blends in with the floor. He never would have seen it if not for his thoughtful staring at the ground. He slides it carefully from the bookshelf. Its old and dirty, but it's spine is still strong. Not many people have seen this file, but it appears to have been viewed rather recently, if the dust layer said so.
The scrubs away a bit of the grime and reads the title.
THE ASSASSINATION OF KAYLA TAWNEY.
He flips the file open and dozens of other papers spill out. Newspaper clippings related to the murder are paper clipped together, red pen circling important bits like what kind of bullet was left and the trajectory it would have had to be taking to make a wound like that. underneath that were papers full of data concerning a specific person, but the name was omitted in each paper. records of his weapons training, charts about his growth in accuracy, and even his report cards from school were all filed here.
and beneath those were tons and tons of papers, written by actual scientist concerning the mans mental health and physical health. They're experimenting the effects of turning a child into an assassin. The results are all positive, and they have no qualms putting him into the field, but his existence was on the down low. The name of said child has been marked or blurred out, and not a single picture was to be found.
And then they assigned him Kayla Tawney.
Hundreds of assassins had attempted to kill Kayla Tawney during her 22 year reign. None of the proved successful, and the assassins themselves were caught, tortured, and killed. It made Finn feel a little sick. They knew that this child would be subjected to some of the most horrible torture in existence if he was caught, but the still sent him in? He was only... Finn shuffled some papers around to look at his age... 13...A 13 year old child was sent by CHROME to try and assassinate one of the most powerful people in the world? Finn was afraid to check the other pages. He worried about what had happened to the child...
Tentatively he flipped the page.
His heart skipped a beat.
This kid... he single-handedly brought down the entire Tawney empire. All before he turned 14. Finn had never met this kid, but he was sure that he never wanted to. A child assassin as an adult? They would be complete and total freaks. Unable to interact with regular society... Social outcasts.