The Assassin: WOOHP Files
... - flashback
Chapter 10
By Nate Sindel
"So she wanted to make up?" Sam asked as the three spies walked through the mall.
"Yeah, it was weird," Clover sighed, not even noticing the cute guy giving her "the eye".
"That's really unlike her," Sam continued, looking over at Alex, who was still looking slightly downcast. "Maybe she was about to confess her undying love for you."
"Oh come on, Mandy, a lesbian, she's even more boy-crazy than I am," the blonde joked halfheartedly. 'Though, sometimes I wonder.'
They walked in relative silence after that, after having talked for most of the afternoon they had run out of things to talk about. While most of the conversation had surrounded Mandy, they had branched out to other things. Alex had not spoken of her talk with Nate, and thought best to keep it to herself for now. There was so much to deal with now, she didn't want to burden them with something that may not even happen.
'They don't need to know, not yet,' she thought and pushed it aside, not wanting it to bring her down even more. "Well, there were those two girls who used to follow her around...whatever happened to them?"
"Don't know," Sam shrugged, "thought I heard a rumor that they were in a car accident."
"We can only hope," Clover quipped, gaining a less-than-eager chuckle from the other two.
The green motorcycle sped up the California coast, sheer rocks walls on one side, and blue ocean on the other. Monica still had not told Mandy where they were going, given that the music piping in through the speakers in the helmets was drowning out any possible speech. The teen didn't mind the heavy metal being forced into her head, it was a welcome escape from the music she used to listen too. Long ago she noticed that she was only watching hip hop videos to look at the hot chicks (honestly, why does anyone watch those in the first place?).
They passed a Route 1 sign at about 80 miles an hours, it was quite obvious that the assassin was in a hurry. The sun was slowly moving towards the ocean, the waves breaking up its reflection into a vast field of fire opals. This mixing with the blue of the ocean itself gave the appearance the opals were scattered over a carpet of sapphires.
The two of them had been travelling for more than a day now, not much being said between them, as they had not stopped anywhere along the way. Whenever Mandy did get the urge to speak up over the music, Monica simply answered that it was a surprise. She had a feeling it involved San Francisco, though she wasn't completely sure. It somewhat surprised her when they began to slow down, pulling off to the side of the road, right across from one of the places where you can look out over the ocean.
'Oh,' Mandy thought, given that she could have said it and not been heard.
Monica pulled the bike off the road, onto the slightly wider shoulder/temporary parking spot. She cut the music and then the power to the bike and got off, whipping her helmet off and shaking her long, emerald hair. Mandy followed suit, but she took her helmet off slowly, having tried whipping it off before, and succeeding in nearly ripping her ear off. Monica looked over her shoulder, smiling a little as she let her coat slip off.
After removing it completely, she draped it over the bike, and adjusted her tank top. With it off, she stretched her arms above her head, servos in her back mimicking the sounds of cracking joints. Placing her hand on Mandy's shoulder, she began leading the girl across the street to the viewing area. When they reached it, she stopped, turning to look at Mandy again.
"It should be starting soon," she smiled a little wider.
"What?" Mandy asked out of reflex. "We've already seen the sun set, what else could there be?"
"I forgot, you don't read anything unless it has to do with fashion," Monica chuckled lightly.
"Well the newspaper is boring, nothing but stuff about people I don't know, or ever will know," the girl stated firmly.
"There's more in there than just the insignificant," she scoffed playfully, throwing a loch of hair back over her shoulder. "The comics for example."
It was then that a small ball of light streaked over them, soon followed by another. The sun was very low now, and half the sky was dark, giving the two a perfect view of the meteor shower. There seemed to be an endless number of little lights zooming over them, disappearing in the fading glow on the horizon. Some were large, while others were small, small to the point of being almost invisible to Mandy's naked eye. Monica simply smiled while Mandy stared wide-eyed at the spectacle, it was easy to see why she was impressed.
"So this is what you wanted to show me?" the teen asked, nearly breathless.
"Yep, cool, huh?" the assassin's smile widened just a little bit more.
"Yeah."
The shower lasted another few minutes, and, with the sun finally going down, the sky appeared to glow an unearthly green. With it over, the stars could be seen to their full effect, with no light pollution to block them out. The two stood there for a long while, just staring at the stars, almost entranced by the simple beauty of them.
"Feel better?"
"A little, thanks," Mandy admitted, the situation with Clover was still fresh on her mind. "I better there was more than a million falling stars."
"Actually, there was nine-hundred-eighty-three-thousand-two-hundred-fifty-four," Monica said with no thought of what Mandy might say, "give or take."
"You're fuckin' with me, right?"
"Nope," she smirked, "that's about how many."
Before Mandy could continue, a drop of rain landed on her nose (good aim, hehe), and her eyes crossed to look at it. That one drop seemed to signal an entire torrent to immediately fall upon them. Looking up, she saw that the cloud was approaching from the east, giving them an unobstructed view of the stars in the west. All of a sudden, the rain falling on her stopped, but it hadn't stopped raining. Tilting her head a little further, she saw what appeared to be a wing, shielding her from downpour. Following the wing, she saw it led directly to her companion's back.
Monica, however, was still looking forward, as if nothing was happening, a second wing sweeping up and over her own head to keep the rain away. Though her face was looking forward, her eyes were trained on Mandy, taking in the bug-eyed look on her face, the total incomprehension of what she was looking at. She almost wanted to laugh, at least chuckle, but this was not the time for that.
"Well?" she inquired nonchalantly.
"WELL WHAT? YOU HAVE FRICKIN' WINGS GROWING OUT OF YOUR BACK!" Mandy screeched at a near-glass shattering pitch.
"You know how I told you I was in an accident?"
"Yes..." Mandy nodded. "...you mean you lost more than just your arms?"
Monica had to chuckle at that, "No, well, not exactly, there was no accident, I was part of an experiment to put a human brain in a cyber-robotic body."
"And it was a success?" Mandy asked, again out of instinct.
"Not the first couple times," Monica looked down, she didn't want to lie to Mandy, but there was really no other way. "I had actually died the first time - wondrous things those cloning vats are."
"They cloned your brain?"
"A couple times, the first time I just died; the second time, they said I went insane, and had to shut down the life support. I guess third time's the charm," Monica continued the lie, spinning a web that her little Mandy-fly would have to be stuck in for a little while. "Just think of me as your bionic guardian angel."
"So..."
"Please, can we leave it at that, and just enjoy the stars?" she turned back to the still bright sky, the rain cloud had yet to obscure the entire sky.
"Sure, but I was going to ask where to now?"
"San Fransisco."
It was about noon when the bike pulled up in front of Devin's bar, no need to go around back this time. Stepping off the bike, Monica helped Mandy off, and even removed her helmet, showing her exactly how to whip it off. With that done, they entered.
"Well, well," Devin said as he turned around, he saw the bike, but didn't see Monica remove her helmet. His eyes opened, expecting to see Nate standing there, waiting for his usual Guinness. Instead, he dropped the glass he was cleaning, "Holy shit."
"It has been a while, hasn't it Devin?" she asked as she stepped up to the bar, Mandy meekly coming up beside her. "It's been...what...five years?"
"S-something like that," he said, stooping to pick up the shattered glass. "To be honest, I was expecting to see your brother."
"I know," she smirked as she wrapped her knuckle on the counter top three times. Almost instantly a bottle of Guinness was placed in front of her, and a bottle of Diet Coke for Mandy. "I'm going to need a room for a couple nights, showing my friend the city."
"You sure you didn't come here for something else?" he asked slyly, he knew what day it was.
"Yes, there is that, now, about that room?"
"Right, right, third floor, one bed," he grabbed a key off the rack and tossed it to her. "You can leave the girl here, I know you have things to take of personally."
"Thanks," she handed the key to Mandy, "take your stuff up to the room, and don't leave this building till I get back."
"But-"
"No buts, I'll be back in a little bit," she turned from the bar and headed for the door, leaving her drink sitting on the bar. "Devin, could you put that in the fridge for me, thanks."
Nate stood in a cemetery, in front of the gravestone of one Felicia Carter, remembering his lost love. It was this day, three years earlier that he had killed her, because he had been told to do so. She had been an innocent, wanting to do nothing more than help people, to love, and be loved. How he wished he could turn back time, to make it all not happen, to, instead of killing her that night, told her it was over. He fell to his knees in front of the grave, crimson tears streaking his face.
"I'm sorry, please, forgive me," he whispered as he wiped his face with his palm, and then he placed the bloody hand on the stone. "I know you would forgive me, you always understood, even though I kept you in the dark so much."
...
A younger Nate was thrown across the room by a massively muscled guard, who brandished two shotels on his back. Nate stood, the nano-technology already running rampant through his body upping the flow of adrenaline in his system. As soon as he was up, though, a huge shoulder was rammed into him, literally blasting him through the door behind him. He landed on a narrow catwalk over a seemingly bottomless pit, but even then he wasn't allowed a bit of respite. The guard's fist plowed into his face, throwing him back even further, until he slammed into one of the spikes that littered the other wall. It pierced his back, but wasn't large enough to get all the way through.
"URGH!" he stumbled forward, grasping the railing to keep himself steady.
"Time to die!" the guard charged him, shotels raised and ready to end it.
Nate looked up, and, summoning all the strength he could with his technologically enhanced, grabbed his wrists as the shotels were coming down. The very tips of the blades just touching on his shoulders. His muscles strained against the powerhouse of genetic manipulation in front of him. It was then that he smirked, because the wrist units he wore (at that time they were external) opened and two blades jackknifed out, slicing off the guard's hands, which he held onto. While the man was stumbling back, Nate ripped the hand from the swords and took hold of them; using them to slice off his enemy's head.
He looked at the two massive swords now clenched in his hands, the cybernetic parts of his brain analyzing them. It was already calculating how much strength was needed to use them to maximum effect. Holding them up, he placed them against his back, four struts piercing his skin to secure them there. He was not wearing his coat, that had been torn from him by the four guard he fought before this behemoth. Gauging the man's height, Nate placed him at roughly eight feet tall, and 500 pounds (all muscle). Reaching behind him, he felt the hole in his black spy uniform, and could also feel it beginning to heal, slowly, but it was.
"Now then," he looked over the side of the catwalk, into the blackness, "guess I should be heading up."
Pointing his wrist unit up, a small grappling hook launched up towards a higher catwalk, where he saw a flash of movement. It caught, and he was pulled from his place, dragged through the emptiness of this unholy machine. He was not lost on the fact that he was in the main firing chamber for this massive weapon, which had enough power to level not only LA, but just about any place on the planet. But now was not the time to dwell on how this thing worked, something about a controlled nuclear explosion.
Reaching the catwalk, he swung over the railing, landing a little heavier than he'd like. It didn't matter, though, because he wasn't there long, taking off at a run to follow his target. There was no place left for this man to hide, no place left for him to run, the only room at the end of this hall was the control room, and Nate had to get there before the final countdown could be initiated. Feet pounding, he stepped up a bit, moving just that much faster, there was no room for error.
Red klaxons blared along the walls as his fears were realized, the weapon was being charged. The door came into view as he rounded a corner, and it was quickly dispatched with swift, well-placed kick. There he was, the man who built this place, the one who had caused all this trouble, the man who made Nate miss his date with Felicia, Dr. Marco. Drawing his revolver, he pointed it at the back of the man's head, cocking it.
"Step away from the controls, and turn around," he said in a very calm, slightly sibilant voice.
"I see you made it past Bruno," the old man said as he turned, and a single round was discharged into his head.
Wasting no time, Nate ran to the controls, seeing that the countdown had begun. He reached behind his neck, beneath his hair, and pulled a cable from a slot in his vertebra. It was a simple USB cable, which he plugged into the console, "diving" in to search for the shut down code. After finding it, and using it, he unplugged the cable, and felt it retract into he neck. Turning from the computer, Nate sent out a silent message that the job was complete, and WOOHP could send in a cleanup crew.
It was at that time that he finally felt extremely tired, leaning against the chair as the wound in his back began to heal faster, now down to almost a quarter its original size. Slowly he made his way for the door, the less energy he had to use moving, the more could be placed on healing.
Felicia Carter, a young woman, roughly 18 years of age, bade goodnight to her mother and went to her room. Out of reflex she picked up the brush that was on the desk by the door and brought it to he raven tresses. Finally scanning the room with blue eyes, she locked on the shadowy form in the corner. A smile crossed her angelic face when it moved. It was soon replaced with concern when she saw the red stains on the clothing.
"You made it," she moved forward, crouching down next to him.
"Told you I would," he looked up at her.
"I'm not even going to ask what happened or how you got in here," she stood, pulling him with her, he groaned. "Let's just get you fixed up."
"I'm sorry I missed our date," he brushed a loch of midnight hair from her face and kissed her, "I will make it up to you."
No more words were exchanged as she led him to the bathroom that she and her younger sister shared. It was built between their two rooms with a door at each end, allowing them both entry. There was a shower/tub on one side and a toilet and sink on the other. A whole wall of the shower was a single mirror (I'm not sure why), and it was one the edge of that tub that she made him sit. She removed his coat, and he unzipped the front of his suit, pulling it down around his waist (his implants haven't progressed enough to use shifter clothing). He heard her utter a gasp when she saw the wounds on his back, shoulders, and front.
After making sure the door to her sister's room was locked - hers as well - she got down to business. From beneath sink she pulled out a blue medical chest, taking what she needed from that. First she cleaned the wound, remarking quietly how clean it looked already. Next she began stitching the large hole in his back shut, not once believing the shudders from pain to be real. Then she moved to the two on his shoulders, they were in the same place on both side of his neck, exactly halfway between where his neck ended and the deltoid began. Something that looked like metal was showing from beneath the skin, but didn't pay it any mind and just went back to sewing it up.
"Nate...?" she started, breaking the silence.
"Felicia, please, not here," he sighed, looking at her in the mirror. "I'll tell you everything, but not here, not now."
"I understand," she draped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him to her.
Three days later she had gone to the amusement park according to the letter she had received, and was shot. Nate had pulled the trigger after hearing from Jerry that Felicia was a security risk, and could be a counterspy. It was this incident that had caused Nate's emotional breakdown, making him cold and uncaring to almost everyone around him. That day had been three years ago this day.
...
"Well, I didn't expect to see you here," a female voice said from behind him.
Turning from the gravestone, Nate thought he was seeing an almost carbon copy of his Felicia. He wiped the rest of his tears away, finally realizing who this was.
"And crying even, that's new," the girl continued.
"It's been a while," he looked the teen up and down, "Kana."
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Devin was attempting to entertain his charge for the time being. She just didn't seem interested in his advances, then he noticed her eyes following Grace everywhere she went. It dawned on him then why Monica/Nate had brought her here, this chick was a lesbian who was still coming to terms with herself.
"So, who is she?" he asked as he wiped another glass.
PPPPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT!
The diet coke Mandy had been drinking was now all over Devin.
"Wh-who do you mean?" Mandy asked, looking this way and that to see if anyone had noticed; a couple people had, but didn't pay it much mind.
"The girl who you're either trying to get into your life or out of your life," he chuckled as he wiped his face. "I've been in this city for the past few years Mandy, I employ a lesbian waitress, and get all kinds in this place; I've had plenty of time to learn peoples' mannerisms."
"Oh," she looked a little down, since when had her moods and thoughts become an open book? "Sorry for spraying you."
"Happens more than you might think," he smirked. "So who is she?"
PPPPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT!
"Sorry, I didn't expect you to ask again," Mandy apologized, wiping her mouth this a napkin as Devin wiped his face with a rag.
"Of course I was going to ask again, now stop trying to change the subject," he said, his voice showing obvious irritation.
"Tell you what," Mandy leaned forward, getting very close to Devin, "I'll tell you everything about this girl if you tell me everything about Monica."
Back in B.H. the three spies were walking though the mall when...
"AAACHOOOOO!"
Clover sneezed.
Mandy leaned ever further, the front of her shirt opening a bit to show just enough cleavage, while he voice contained just enough hidden desire to instill just the right reaction.
"Well?"
"What exactly do you want to know about her?" the former WOOHP tech. asked. "Because there isn't much to know really. Her brother's the interesting one."
"She never told me she has a brother."
"Hm, well, I just told you something about her," he leaned on the bar himself, also getting very close to Mandy, "now tell me something about this girl."
"She's blonde."
Devin stood up, turned, and walked down to the other end of the bar to serve someone a drink, leaving a bewildered Mandy behind. When he was finished there, he came back and looked down at her.
"If you're not going to be serious about this, then I'm not going to tell you anything else about Monica or her brother," he said sternly. "To answer the question you're about to ask, I mean I want to know something other than the external things, I want to know what makes you love her."
"Oh...um, she's...uh, I can'r say she has a nice rack, can I?"
"If it's one of the things you love about her, but I need more than that," his smirk grew wider, almost lecherous. 'Wonder if it's the blonde who had been in here last week?'
Nate stood on the pave walk in the cemetery as Kana placed a small bouquet of flowers on the graves in front of her. One was her sister's, the other belonged to her father, John Carter, who had died when she was only ten. When she stood up, she turned to look at the young man who was watching her, a look of pure venom in her eyes.
"Why did you come back here?" she asked.
"I was in the area," he shrugged.
"That's bullshit," she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Fine, what is it you want me to say?" he leveled his eyes directly on hers. "Sorry isn't going to cut it now, neither is asking for your forgiveness, so what do you want from me?"
She looked surprised, not expecting him to be this forward and responsive, this definitely wasn't the same person she knew three years earlier. Something was different, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Sure, he was older, but he seemed less reserved, more apt to converse, to actually tell her something other than to piss off.
"I don't want anything from you, just to us alone," her glare had relaxed a bit with her thoughts racing.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to stick around, and talk with you about something very important," he said before looking around briefly. "Could we possibly go somewhere more private?"
"Why? Is what you have to say so important it can't be said in front of her?" Kana gestured to the grave behind her.
He sighed, it wasn't supposed to happen like this; he was supposed to catch her at her home later today, not here. This girl had always been a bit of an annoyance, but always in a somewhat lovable way. Now that she had grown into this young woman, now she was just plain irritating. But what he had to say had to be said, otherwise she would never know peace over her sister's death.
"Fine," he conceded, looking away from her. "I used to work for a company run by my father..."
"Right, WOOHP, I already knew that."
"That WOOHP is just a cover for the real WOOHP, which is a network of spies and assassins working to keep relative peace in the world - thus the name World Organization of Human Protection," he began walking, beckoning her to follow, she did. "I had been an assassin, like my mother, born and raised in WOOHP for the sole purpose of killing, it's what I did. Then I met your sister, and my whole outlook on life changed; it used to be that I got an assignment, carried it out, and came home. Not anymore, Felicia opened so much more of the world to me than WOOHP ever could, a cornucopia of experiences.
"Jerry hadn't been taking my frequent absences very well, and arranged for her 'execution,'" he turned his face away from hers as the red tears began to flow again. "It was by my hands that she died, because it had been placed in my head that she was a counterspy, using me to get valuable information on WOOHP."
He then realized that she had stopped walking, and turned to see why. Kana was standing there, shaking, her hands balled into fists of rage, and tears were streaming unchecked down her face. Her eyes were shut tight, but it didn't hinder her crying, a choked sob making itself known every few moments.
"It was you?" she asked through gritted teeth. "You killed her?"
"Yes," he said, casting his eyes downward.
"YOU SONOFABITCH!" she screamed as her hand landed hard against his face, two of her fingers dislocating from the force. "AAAHHHGGG!"
She held her hand in front of her, looking at the flopping phalanges, wondering why it felt like she had just hit a plate of steel. Casting her gaze at his face, there wasn't even a bruise or a blemish, or anything that would indicate she had just hit him. WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?
"Wh-what are you?" she asked as she popper her fingers back into place.
"That's the part I wanted to tell you in private," he looked around at the people staring at them. "Do you mind if we go back to your house?"
"Not at all, it'll give you chance to explain to Mom at the same time," she shrugged and turned to lead him to her car.
TBC
THIS CHAPTER MUST END! It took me long enough to do it, but I did it, the truth will finally be told. How will they take it, it'll be about another 2-3 months before you find out, hehe. Trust me, I'm writing this story by the seat of my pants, nothing but the end is planned out, so I have to find a way to get there. Oh well, not much I can do about it till I do it. Hope you like the chapter, expecting more than a couple reviews this time.