Chapter 1
"Target located," I whisper into the air, which is then picked up by the microphone hidden in my hair, and sends the message to an unknown location hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
"Copy. Examine the target carefully before approaching," a voice says back into my ear. So it's a girl directing me this time…interesting, I think to myself. She's very formal in our walkie talkie style communication.
I forget my childish thoughts and focus my attention on the target. It's a male who appears to be 22-years-old. He has long blonde hair that is pulled back in a ponytail. He appears about six feet and has a very nice face. Including pale blue eyes, a nice smile, and a welcoming demeanor. After examining his looks I start to focus on his body language. He appears to be very comfortable. I can tell because his shoulders are relaxed giving me the conclusion that he senses no danger. Also he has his foot turned towards a young red head to his left indicating he's interested in her.
Not a good sign, I tell myself. "Permission to approach target now," I say into the microphone.
"Permission granted," the voice says back a little less formal this time.
I stand up from my seat in one of the corner booths in the club. It's dark and there are lights flashing. The music is booming and no one is paying attention to me. They're all too busy laughing and dancing with each other. This place provides me the cover I need to silently carry out my task.
I approach the target from behind. He doesn't indicate at all that he senses me. Perfect, I think to myself. This one should be easy. As quickly as I can I touch his back and place a small tracker that blends in with his black coat. He doesn't even notice and I continue walking forward to not draw any attention to myself.
I exit the club and pull out my cell phone. I pull up a map of Domino city and one single blinking dot appears on the screen, my target. I smile at my success. Now it becomes a waiting game. "Target marked," I say. The voice doesn't respond right away.
Eventually I hear, "Confirmed we see the target. Good work." I laugh when she says the last part. She doesn't mean it. None of them do when they say it to me. They all think I'm useless because I'm not like them. I'm different.
Before I can wallow in my sorrows any longer my phone starts to beep indicating that the target is on the move. I notice an alley next to the building and decide to conceal myself there. I look at my phone and see that my target is now outside the club and is heading in the opposite direction. I quickly put my phone back in my pocket and leave the alley. I head in the direction of my target making sure to keep a far enough distance from him so that I'm not noticed.
I realize that girl is with him. Her being here could sabotage the whole mission. I decide that I have to get rid of her. I approach them more quickly and call out to them, "Hey! Your jerk!" I cut them off and the target and girl both look equally confused at my sudden outburst. "I see you found a new lover already!" I yell and punch the target in the chest as hard as I can.
Pain shoots up my entire arm. I want to scream out in pain, but that would ruin the moment. I was so caught up in the act I forgot how strong creatures like him are. I quickly forget about my pain when he responds to my outburst.
"What are you talking-" he starts to say but I cut him off.
"You told me you loved me!" I scream and start to produce tears in my eyes. The red headed girl with him suddenly looks angry and looks at my target. She gives him a nasty look and proceeds to head back to the club. The target then looks at me straight in the eyes and I can tell he's angry.
He grabs me by the collar of my shirt and pins me up against the brick wall of what looks to be an abandoned building. "What the hell!" He tells right in my face. I laugh and this only makes him angrier. "Who are you?" He asks. I only smile and giggle once more. This only makes matters worse. He bares his fangs at me and that's my signal to carry out the plan. I immediately grab his neck with both hands and lift up my feet to kick him in the stomach. He releases me causing me to slide to the ground. He slumps over and gasps a little from shock. Thank god for steel toed boots.
"Target is weakened. I'm finishing it," I say into the mic.
"Proceed," the voice says back.
I approach the target and all the power on the block goes out. Perfect timing for what I'm about to do. Quickly I grab the targets head with both hands and I twist. It takes a little bit, but eventually I hear a snap. He lets out a small gasp and falls to the ground. Next I set him on fire with a special liquid that was given to me by the Corporation. He burns instantly leaving nothing behind except ash. I sweep the ashes into a special container and slip it inside my bag.
I start to walk away and the lights flicker back on. "All clear," the voice says to me. "Return to base now before the ashes start to reanimate."
I sigh and roll my eyes, "Yes I know." I've been told this many times before.
I walk at a swift yet normal pace back to the club where my car is parked across the street. Before I get in I notice the red headed girl from earlier exiting the club. She's talking to a security guard and pointing at the direction I was just in. I quickly sit in my car and syn my mic with the speakers.
"I have suspicion on me," I say trying to sound calm and professional.
"Explain," the voice says echoing throughout my car.
I take a deep breath and proceed to explain, "There was a girl with the target and I had to send her away. She must've heard the guy yelling at me and now she's sending a security guard to find us." I finish expecting to be scolded.
"Did she see your car?" The voice asks.
I think a minute, "No, I don't believe so."
"Then you are fine," the voice says.
I sigh in relief. I have never had any suspicion on me before. Maybe I over reacted, but in this line of work one can never be too careful. I drive through down town Domino and there are people everywhere. I need to hurry. If these ashes reanimate here I could be in a lot of trouble. I go as fast as I am able and eventually arrive at a huge warehouse at the edge of the city. It looks like it's been abandoned for years. I park my car in the back to make sure it can't be seen from the road. I then get out of my car and head to the warehouse.
There's one single door in the back with a small lock. I pull out a key and twist it into the lock. The door opens and I enter into darkness. I say the code word and the lights immediately flicker on. A steel door drops down over the door I came in.
I head to the middle of the room where there is a pod that serves as an elevator to take me down to a base to store the ashes. I enter and the door shuts quickly behind me and the elevator shoots down. The ride is quick and uneventful.
I exit and am immediately greeted by a woman sitting at a desk, "Hello!" She says and smiles.
I walk over. "Yugi Muto, mission 34C complete," I say. As soon as she hears my name her smile disappears into disappointment. She says nothing and starts typing on her computer.
"Please proceed to lab three," she says in a monotone voice.
I sigh and walk to my left towards all the labs. I'm used to people treating me like I'm nothing. I walk slowly down a white and brightly lit hallway. Lab three isn't a very long walk and I make it there quickly.
"I've got it," I say. Some of the scientists look up but most of them don't because they refuse to acknowledge me. The only one who walks over to me is my grandfather, Solomon Muto. He smiles at me and gives me a hug.
"Great job," he says as he lets me go. I say nothing back and hand him the container with the ashes in it.
"Here," I say a little bit snottier that I expected. He doesn't seem to notice or maybe he just doesn't care.
"Thank you so much!" He says. My grandfather is so cheery it makes me uncomfortable. He walks over to the wall and taps it three times. Suddenly the wall opens up and a black box slides out. My grandfather opens it and steam rolls out. He carefully places the container in and the box closes sliding back into the wall. The wall closes and again it looks as though nothing is there.
"Why are you keeping him?" I ask. The steam indicates that it's very cold in that case. Which means they're preserving those ashes and keeping that monster in suspended animation. Only study subjects are kept that way. Why would they want to study him? He seemed normal to me.
My grandfather smiles and walks back towards me. "That is confidential information," he says with a smirk on his face. I roll my eyes when I hear this. My grandfather just continues smiling at me like I'm the greatest thing in the world.
"Fine. I'm leaving then if you don't need anything else," I start to walk out the door. Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see my grandfather looking at me. His face is no longer happy, but serious. I turn around to face him, "Yes?"
"Before you go I have important information to tell you," my grandfather says. I'm a little nervous by the way my grandfather is acting. He only acts this way when something extremely important is going to happen.
"What is it?" I ask trying to hide my discomfort.
"We have an important client coming," he says.
I raise my eyebrow, "What does that have to do with me?" Important clients never request me for anything. They see me as weak and inferior. Incapable of completing a task. No matter how many missions I complete, and lives I save I'm never good enough.
"He has requested to see you," my grandfather says this with a hint of a smile. My eyes widen when I hear this. It has to be a lie or a cruel joke.
"Who is it?" I ask this with caution.
My grandfather removes his hand from my shoulder and sighs. "Yami Atemen," he says quietly.
I choke when I hear my grandfather says this causing me to cough. The other scientists in the room look at me with disgust. I hit myself in the chest and clear my throat. I take a deep breath, "Why is he coming?"
Yami Atemen is an extremely important person. I've never seen him before, but I'm still freighted. Not only is he one of the heads of the Corporation, he is also part of the royal vampire family. Back in ancient Egypt the Atemen family ruled over the country under the guise of Pharaoh. They still rule over the country, but that knowledge is not known by the people.
My grandfather shrugs, "He wouldn't say. Says its confidential and is only for your ears." My grandfather turns around and joins his fellow scientists. He acts as if this conversation never happened. He smiles and laughs with his fellow comrades causing me to hurt a little.
I shake my head and proceed down the hall back towards the front desk. The woman ignores me this time. I sigh and walk into the elevator. It shoots up and I stand there completely frozen. I'm not sure what to think.