--Scorching flames licked the walls around her, burning everything in sight. All she could do was huddle in the corner, hearing screams outside the door. Her mother's screams. The screams silenced and her vision dimmed until she saw only black. All she could hear was the roaring of the fire, now only a dull roaring in her ears.--
Amirah's eyes snapped open. She gazed blearily at the glowing green digits of her alarm clock. 4:53am. She mumbled a few choice words under her breath and slowly pulled herself out of the bed.
'Might as well get up now,' she silently muttered. She dragged her sleep-deprived body to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Stepping out, she glanced at her hazy image in the steamed up mirror. The fuzzy outline of her reflection seemed to taunt her and she resisted the urge to punch the jeering figure. Last time she had acted on that impulse and the only thing it got her was a bloody hand and no mirror.
Dressing in her baggy sweat pants and tank top, she grabbed an apple off the counter and quickly left her apartment. Her emotions were as raw as predawn sky that floated above her. She started to jog down the familiar path, away from her apartment and away from her emotions. Running was her relief from the pain of her nightmares. The burning in her legs and chest helped alleviate the pain in her heart. She felt the last edges of the painful memory of her nightmare fade away as she increased her pace and raced towards the rising sun.
When she returned to her small apartment, she saw a sealed envelope on her kitchen table. She walked over to it, noticing the small gold initials 'DD' intertwined with each other. Another mission. She sat down heavily on the kitchen chair and unceremoniously ripped open the letter. Small words typed in black ink read 'Café Destiny. 8:00am.'
"Café Destiny, eh? How ironic," she mumbled under her breath. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost 7:00. She hopped in the shower, threw on some jean shorts and a tank top, and threw up her hair into a hurried ponytail. She looked in the mirror quickly and saw what her steamy bathroom mirror had failed to show her. Ice blue eyes sparkled maliciously back at her, dulled from her past. Her skin, although flawless, lacked the luster that most people had. She quickly looked away, unable to face herself any longer, and walked down path that would lead her to the café.
She looked over the brim of her baseball cap and studied the solitary figure in the corner of the coffee shop. He sat reading the newspaper, unaware of the eyes that watched him. She had to admit, he was quite attractive, with his dark tussled hair and relaxed posture. He had one arm thrown languidly over the back of his chair, the other holding a cup of coffee to his lips. She couldn't tell the color of his eyes from so far away, but she imagined they were a dark, stormy color.
She jumped half a mile when a zoomed-in cup of coffee blocked her view from her target. She blinked her eyes and focused on the cup the waitress was handing to her. She smiled quickly to the woman, silently wondering if it she should have ordered decaf. She was way too jumpy for her own good. Anyway, she had to stay focused. She couldn't fail another mission, and shuddered as the unwanted memory found it's way into her minds eye.
One of Drake Dalton's little followers had met her there earlier, informing her of her next target. It was hard to imagine such a striking man as, what was his name? Heero? Yes, such a striking man as Heero could possible be low enough in status to be in the drug business, but she knew better than to trust someone by their looks. And she was in no place to question Mr. Dalton's orders. She needed to get answers, and this was the only way.
She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts and once again looked down at her coffee. Glancing up again she noticed the seat previously taken by the attractive man was empty. She jumped up out of her chair, knocking it over as she spun around, trying to find her missing target. Seeing him turn a corner down the street, she threw some money onto the table and quickly ran out of the café. 'Great, Amirah, just great. Lose him on your first day. Some spy I am,' she thought hurriedly. Turning the corner she had seen Heero turn, she came face to face with the most gorgeous prussian blue eyes she had ever seen, jumping as she almost collided into him.
She definitely should have ordered decaf.