Hi guys! Author here, I just wanted to say hi and to drop my warnings on you.
M for violence, smutty goodness, and for cussing.
Pairings: Rio/Neil, one-sided Rio/Allen, and I really like the idea of Tina x Rod... So maybe some of that
If you guys want I can put a warning before the smut (Just Male x Female ;-;)... I don't know... Anyway, please R&R, and please let me know what you think! Your opinion matters! And constructive criticism is accepted and appreciated! If you don't understand something just let me know and I'll be happy to explain. By the way, this is my first Harvest Moon fanfiction, anyway, enjoy the story! And it will pick up pace/plot! Hope to get out updates soon! And again, I have no idea what's going up with not being able to tab. :(
~Chapter 1~
I looked up from my scope at my partner Al, seeing what he was doing. "Wait for my order to fire." He said somewhat shakily.
"Are you sure you're fit to-"
"I said wait for my order to fire! Now that's an order!" He somewhat yelled; his fists shaking as he took a deep breath and smoothed his hair back. "Now I am your superior-" I had to fight not to roll my eyes, "-for this mission, and you will do as I say. Now be ready to fire when I say fire!"
"Yes sir." I said trying not to let sarcasm leek into my voice. I didn't care about my rat of a 'superior', I just wanted to finish my mission and go home. Maybe train some, but I just wanted to go home. Al and I have been undercover for about a year, planning out how to carefully assassinate someone that's been somewhat of a bother to our agency. I continued tracking my target through the scope on top of my sniper rifle, ghosting my finger over the trigger, ready to fire at any given moment. I rested my finger against the length of the gun when I saw a school bus pull up in front of our target.
"Fire!" He said.
"But sir-"
"Why haven't you fired yet?" If he didn't stop yelling he was going to blow our cover.
"Sir, there is a bus full of children in my way. If I fire I could potentially kill one of those kids." I argued back. I did not want to drag innocent bystanders into this, let alone children.
"Does it look like I give a damn about the children? We can just make more! That's what you wenches are for! Fire!" He yelled in my ear while grasping my shoulder with unnecessary pressure.
"Do you have any idea what that would do to the-"
"I've changed my order!" He said suddenly. I sighed in relief. "Blow up the bus! It's close enough to him that he'll get caught in the blast!" He said with a somewhat psychotic undertone.
I put my gun down. "I will not hurt innocent bystanders. Now if you'll look, the bus is-" He grabbed my gun and hit me in the jaw with the butt of it, sending me flying. I landed on the ground with a thud, cupping my possibly fractured jaw.
"Shouldn't have sent a woman to do a man's job..." He muttered as he re-aimed the rifle. Everything seemed to slow down as I leapt to push him out of the way; hearing the bullet fly through the silencer as I did so. I cursed myself for being too late, but a flicker of hope remained. Maybe he missed. My body collided with his as I brought us both to the floor, but before we landed I heard an explosion. I got up from him with lightning speed as I looked and saw a mushroom cloud of fire rise from the bus.
Everything returned to it's natural speed as I watched in horror at the chaos spewing forth in front of me. Little children, kindergartens at least, running from the bus on fire. Their little child faces burned through and melted to the point that bone started to show. I saw other dark figures trying to escape the flames that consumed the inside and outside of the bus. I could practically see them running and tripping over all the fallen, charred bodies that were blocking the exit. I heard the screams of passerbyers and the distorted wails of the children. All of those children... They had a family... Someone who loved them. I watched as a tear slid down my face, followed by many more. Their lives had just started, only to end abruptly and cruelly.
"The bus was about to leave. They were almost done." I whispered. "They were almost done god damnit!" I yelled as I kicked the half wall in front of me. I felt nothing but horror in that moment; a horror that rang deep into my very soul. I detached myself from the scene and looked around. I moved to the other side of the pado we were on to see around the flaming bus. What I saw pinched my soul into a twisted deep hatred.
Nebilie Degirmenci, the mobster that we were targeting, getting up and brushing some embers off his shirt. His goons surrounded him, concerned, nearly smothering him. Nebilie started looking around, indifferent to everything around him. One of the flaming children fell and landed at his feet. He didn't even blink. He just simply looked down, then carried on. No sense of sadness or remorse. The charred body weakly lifted up it's hand to him; he responded by stepping on it. He continued looking around until his blank black eyes locked onto my bright blue ones.
He made a motion to his lackeys and pointed to me, never taking his eyes off me once. Nor did we break eye contact when one of his men cocked his gun inside his jacket and crossed the street to the hotel we were at. Al tugged at my arm pulling me away, but I refused to break eye contact still. Only when the flaming bus followed by the bushes on the patio blocked our view did I turn away.
"What are you planning to do Rachel? How are you going to get us out of this?" Al said nervously.
I slowly turned my head to his, meeting his weasel eyes with my menacing glare. "Us?" I said in a deep voice. I slowly walked toward him with a steady pace, backing him up against the railing. "What do you mean 'us'?" I growled grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and lifting him up. "You just murdered about thirty children. What are you referring to when you say us?" I stepped up onto the concrete half wall, dragging him up with me. I slowly started tipping him over the edge, until just his feet were still on the railing and his head was vertical with the ground.
"I-i mean- I w-was j-just t-thinking about the m-mission." He stuttered, beginning to cry.
"The mission was to assassinate Nebilie Degirmenci, involving as few bystanders as possible. The bus was just about to move and Nebilie wasn't going anywhere. You just slaughtered a whole bus full of innocent children. You are no partner of mine." I said gripping his collar as tightly as possible, before pushing him down and letting go. I walked away and started planning my next move when I heard a splash and cussed. Why did the pool have to be there? I grabbed my gun and went back inside my room. I packed my few things and climbed up above the front door, loading my gun. It took about two minutes before the door swung open and I fired at the intruder's head. Blood splattered on the floor as the man fell forward.
I swung down, avoiding the puddle of blood that was collecting around his head, and sat down on the bed; unassembling my rifle. I put the parts in my backpack and attached the silencer to a handgun that I then hid in my waistline. I readjusted my black leather jacket and flipped my straight blond hair before leaving the room. I opened the door to a linen closet that Al gave me the key for and shut the door. I made sure it was locked before I put my hair up and tucked it under a wig. I then stripped off my clothes and changed into something different, shoving the used ones in my bag. I grabbed my gray color contacts and inserted them into my eyes before pulling out a mirror and doing my make up. I quickly bound my chest, making my boobs seem about three times smaller and checked my mirror. I smoothed my now brunette hair and put on some heels, adding a few inches to my size. I looked nothing like myself I confirmed as I pulled out a purse. I packed everything up and walked out, taking the elevator down the five stories.
When the doors opened I saw two more of Nebilie's goons and swayed my hips as I walked past them. I looked over my shoulder to find them staring after my ass and winked, waving. They both grinned and I turned around, walking out of the hotel. There were a bunch of police cars scattered around the now charred bus with a fire truck and an ambulance. I framed shock as I ran over to a police officer, knowing Nebilie was watching. "Officer! Officer!" I said, catching one on crowd control's attention. "Oh my god, what happened?! Is everyone alright?!" I asked frantically even though I already knew the answer to my question.
"It seems the bus blew up. And we're still getting all the bodies... It's still very gruesome; a lady like you shouldn't see this." He said.
I nodded with tears in my eyes as I pat his shoulder, "I hope everything's okay." I sadly stated as I walked away. Before I rounded the corner I looked over my shoulder, pretending to look at the crime scene when really I was looking for Nebilie. The only thing was, I couldn't find him. I rounded the corner and unlocked my black car, setting my stuff down and getting in. I looked around; surveying the area, noting anything and everything. I started the car and pulled out, noting that a black car with tinted windows was behind me. I got a little nervous when I turned right and it followed me. I drove down a currently deserted street and wasn't really surprised when they rolled down their window and pulled out a gun. They shot at my tires and I started serving down the road, attempting to evade their bullets. I ducked to where I could still see the road but my head was out of their line of fire. I grabbed my gun with my left hand and rolled down my window. I aimed my arm up and backwards to give me the best shot available and started firing a round into their windshield.
I felt a sense of achievement as it looked like I got the driver in the head, the other vehicle rapidly accelerating. Fuck! Even though I took out the driver, his body was still in the same position. And his foot was flooring the accelerator. I cursed some more until I found a street to turn onto. Just as I was about to turn onto the road the vehicle behind me swerved to my left, easily catching up with me. I pulled my arm back in as I shot at the passenger door, having no idea if someone was sitting there or not. I was currently deciding my route when I missed the back window rolling down just a little. I only noticed it's decent when it was too late and had a gun sticking out of it. I swerved trying to once again evade the bullets that seemed destined to kill me. One specifically painful bullet lodged itself into my shoulder, I noted with a choked back scream. I turned onto a fastly approaching side road and watched how the car crashed into something from my rear view mirror. Before it crashed I noticed that some of my blood had splattered onto the side of their car. Fuck. Oh well. Hopefully that car goes up in smoke too. I looked down for a quick moment to see how much blood was running down my arm, not daring to pull over.
I steered with my knees as I pulled out my phone with my good arm, calling one of my business associates that lived in my apartment building. I heard the phone ring a few times before being picked up. "Rachel? What's wrong?" John asked.
"I got shot, meet me in my room. I'll be there in about five minutes." I said blankly as I turned onto the correct road, taking a shortcut to our apartment. I let the phone slid down into my lap as I continued driving. I pulled into my parking spot and hurriedly got out, locking the car behind me. I pulled out a spare jacket and put it around my shoulders with great pain. I wiped my face of any emotion as I walked into my huge modern apartment complex. I walked straight to the elevator ignoring everyone because I knew they wouldn't recognize me. I sped walked to my door and hurriedly opened it, finding John on my sofa with a med kit. I shrugged off my jacket, kicked my door shut, and grabbed a knife. I sat down in front of John with my back to him and ripped open my shirt with the knife. I shrugged the now ruined shirt off and let him work on my shoulder.
"May I ask what happened?" He asked after about ten seconds.
"Al compromised the mission, I got noticed and followed," I pulled off my wig with my good arm, "I took care of them but I also got shot." I winced as he probed the wound, searching for the bullet that was embedded in my flesh. "Also, they may or may not have my blood." I winced as he moved, shocked at what I said.
"What?!"
"I know, I know, but they caught me off guard." I defended myself.
"They caught you off guard? Well then we're all screwed... That's weird..." He said as he made a funny noise.
"What?" I inquired.
"I don't think I've ever seen a bullet like this before... It almost looks like it's grabbed ahold of you." Hmm. Weird.
I put some of my ruined shirt in my mouth, "Pull it out." I said slightly muffled.
"I'm sorry." He whispered in advance as he yanked at the bullet that was attached to my muscle. I screamed slightly into my gag as I grabbed the nearest object and squeezed. He made an unhappy sound as he pulled once again, I could feel it still rooted into my shoulder.
"Harder." I managed to say through the gag. He put his hand on my right shoulder and pulled at the bullet in my left; looking for some kind of leverage. A tear slipped down my face as I bit harder into the gag, trying not be loud. I felt it budge a little. "It... Moved!" I said in between silent screams. He pulled harder, emitting a wail from me as it felt like he was tearing out a tendon. Hot tears streamed down my face, soaking my gag as I felt John pull harder. I could tell it was almost out. "... Almost... Ahh! Out!" I said, my voice still muffled by the piece of cloth.
"I'm gonna give it one hopefully last yank. This will hurt, take a breath." He said.
I did as he instructed and nodded when I was ready. I just wanted to get this over with. He pulled the hardest he could as I screamed, crying in pain. I sobbed in relief as I felt the bullet rip out of my body. I heard a clink as he set it in a bowl and immediately slumped down. He cleaned and dressed the wound, taping a thick bandage cloth to it. I leaned slowly back, careful not to let my left shoulder touch the couch. I took the gag out of my mouth and wiped my face with a dry spot I had found on it. "The hell was that?" I asked panting. "That is not like any bullet I've ever seen... It almost looks like... No... No!" I yelled, immediately moving away from it and looking out the window.
"What?" John asked confused.
"That looks like a-" before I could say the word 'tracker' my door bursts open. I hit the deck, grabbing one of my parachutes I kept in a dresser behind my couch in case a situation like this arose. A machine gun went off, shooting where I was just standing a few seconds ago. I quickly strapped on my parachute and waited until I heard them stop. I quieted my breathing, being hidden by the couch. I noticed that my window walls had been shot and had fractures everywhere. I slowly got into a crouch as silently as I could. When I heard the goons shuffle to the other side of the room I sprinted to the mostly broken windows and jumped through.
Adrenaline rushed through me as I free fell in the air, pulling my parachute when the time was right. I winced as the parachute opened, pulling at my wounded shoulder. I quickly stripped it off as soon as my feet hit the ground, running and pulling out my phone. I quickly turned it off and threw it on the ground, leaving it behind. I ignored the weird looks I got as I was running, after all, all I was wearing were pants and chest bindings. I ran two blocks north and one block west, never looking back. I knew for a fact that John was dead but I couldn't think about that now. I finally navigated my way to my agency's building, which happened to be a police station. I ran straight in and hit the elevator button, bringing the elevator to my floor. While this happened, I used these precious moments to catch my breath.
When the doors opened I walked in and put my finger on a hidden sensor, opening a retina scan panel. The doors closed as I took out my color contacts and let it scan my eye. Once it took me to the basement floor I smeared and wiped off my print then stepped out. I worked my way around the elaborate compound and finally found my boss.
She was currently on the phone but when Vivian saw me she simply muttered, "Son of a bitch, I gotta call you back." And clicked the end button. She gave me an expectant look and I explained everything in detail. She sighed. "Well, since Degirmenci knows where you live, what you look like, possibly has your blood, and can somehow see through your disguise, I don't know what to do... And if he has GPS bullets, who knows what other kind of technology he may have... He may be more powerful than we thought. I would send you back out there again to terminate him once and for all, but I don't want to risk him seeing you and taking you out. We've already lost enough people as it is." She stated sadly.
"May I ask what you're going to do with Al? He's more than likely alive..." I muttered the last part with disgust.
"I'm gonna have his head served on a silver platter, and hanged in my office." She said. She wasn't kidding either I noted as I looked around her office and saw the heads of the traitors that she had severed. It was very creepy but it kept most of her people in line. Vivian looked around her office and rummaged through her desk before finding what she needed. She walked back around to me and presented an old piece of rolled up paper. Not just any paper I noticed as I unrolled it and pulled it closer, a deed. My eyes grew wide as I waited for her to explain.
"I want you to lay low here until we find out more information on Degirmenci. I don't want to risk losing my best sniper. The farm was my father's but I inherited it when he passed, goddess rest his soul." She explained. "That was the farmland and village my dad grew up in. I faintly remember it as a small child..." Her eyes unfocused for a second as she was lost in some memory. "Anyway, my dad's old friend is the mayor. I'll write him a letter, saying you're my sister and that I'm giving the farm to you. I think it'll be believable; you have my dad's eyes and my mom's hair... Also my nose!" She chuckled a little at this.
"Is there anything I should know about my new family?" I asked.
"Ya... Well for starters..." She then went on describing in detail my new family and everything I needed to know. She finished the letter, and signed it, reading over it twice before finally handing it over to me. "I want you to take some weapons with you, nothing too big though. You could probably disassembled your sniping rifle and get by with parts of it in various places." She said thoughtfully. "Also, please take care of yourself, the town, and the farm. Here's a cell that I'll contact you on," she said as she handed me said cell. "And some money to start you off, farming's not cheap, but who knows, maybe you'll make a profit!" She chuckled a little at this before sobering up. "Be careful... I'll miss you.
"I'll miss you too Viv." I said as I hugged her. I stepped back as we mock soluted each other.
"Say hello to everyone in Echo Village for me!" She said as I was walking out the door. I simply nodded and made my way back to the elevator. Once I got to the top floor, a.k.a. the police station, I walked up to the receptionist and asked for a shirt. The lady rummaged around and finally found one, presenting it to me with indifference. I quickly got dressed and walked over to the bus stop. After a while of sitting and hiding behind a newspaper, the bus finally rolled up and stopped. I got on and picked an empty seat as the the bus started off again. After switching busses a few times from city to city, in case any of Nebilie's men followed me, I was finally on my way to Echo Village. The drabby bus I was on squealed to a stop at the beginning of a long dirt road.
"Echo Village" the bored announcer said. I got up, bringing my bags with me as I boarded off the bus. I was the only one. I pondered at this for a minute before finally making my way down the path. About thirty minutes later while I was enjoying the view of all the trees and wildlife, I heard a loud thump. My instincts kicked in as I hid behind a tree, not knowing what it was. I ran my fingers across the rough bark before finally deciding to look out and see what it was. There was a collapsed body in the middle of the road.
I looked around the area to see if maybe he was attacked and was surprised to see that nobody was there. I stepped out from behind the shelter of the tree and went over to the old man that was laying on the ground. I bent over and pressed my fingers lightly to his neck, checking for a pulse. I nodded to myself as I felt the light flutter that was his heart beat, confirming that he was alive. I rolled him over cautiously, concerned that he may have hurt something when he landed. His breathing was normal but ragged, so he hadn't punctured a lung. I dragged him over into the cool shade of a nearby tree and propped his head up on a rock. I leaned him forward some and uncapped my water, trickling some down into his partially opened mouth.
He coughed slightly as his eyes slowly opened, revealing his dark irises. He sat up and leaned against the rock I had used to prop him up. "Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked him as I handed him my water.
He thought about this for a moment while drinking some more water. "Not that I can tell, thank you... Who are you?" He questioned with a unique faint southern drawl. I must have made a surprised face because he explained. "I'm sorry, its just that we don't get many visitors here often."
I laughed a little, "It's okay, and I'm Rachel Lock." His eyes practically bugged out of his head as he choked a little on his water.
"Lock? As in Timothy Lock?" He questioned after he finally stopped coughing.
"Yes, he was my father, you probably didn't know that he had another daughter." I explained as I pulled out the letter that Vivian had written and handed it to him. He read it over and nodded, smiling.
"Glad to have another member of the family!" He stated with a smile. "Help me up and I'll show you the ropes around the farm!" He said excitedly. He sure had a lot of energy for an old guy who just passed out.
"Alright, just promise me you'll take it easy. I'm no doctor but I know that if you push yourself too hard you'll pass out again." I said with sincere concern as I got up and extended my hand for him to take. He nodded as he took my hand and pulled himself up.
"Oh! How rude of me. My name is Dunhill, Ms. Rachel. A pleasure!" He said happily, shaking my hand. I smiled at his courtesy and waited for him to lead the way. When we got to the village, or should I say ghost town, there were four other people besides us. And two of them were leaving. Dunhill looked on with remorse as the two people, father and son by the looks of it, said a few words before leaving. "It's a darn shame, pardon my french. People just keep leaving. This village ain't like it used to be. It used to be beautiful, had the sweetest folks too. Then businesses started to go bad and people started movin' to the city to make more money." He said, greif hanging onto his every word. He stood there for a little bit before walking over to the other two villagers with me in tow. "Mrs. Hana, Mrs. Emma, this is Rio Lock. Mind if I call you Rio?" He asked the last part directed at me.
"No, not at all!" I said with a smile, "Vivian used to call me that all the time growing up." I lied smoothly. I had actually never been called that in my life, but it was very unique.
"I'm Hana," the older lady said sweetly. "Nice to meet you. Do us some good to have some more younger folk runnin' around." She said with a smile. I liked her. I've always had a soft spot for old ladies.
"I'm Emma," said the other lady. I looked over at her, she couldn't be more than thirty-five. "A pleasure!" She said with a smile.
"I'm gonna finish showin' Rio 'round." Dunhill said, getting the attention of everyone. "Have a nice day ladies." He said, tipping his hat to each of them.
So far so good, I thought as I walked down a valley and onto my farm. If that's what you would call it. It was more like a forest with a little clearing, that had a house on it. The yard was littered with debris and the only good farming soil was a dried up patch of land. I listened closely as Dunhill explained what I'd need to do to make this farm a farm again. Soon after he left I went up to the dusty old house to put my stuff down and get settled. The rickety door squeaked open and revealed the inside of the house that looked about as bad as my yard. I sighed as I set my bags down by the door, What have you gotten me into now Vivian?
Sssoooooooo? What do you think so far? Let me know in the comments!