I know what runs through your blood
You do this all in vain
Because of you
My mind is always racing
And it gets under my skin
To see you giving it
And now your trip begins
But it's all over for, it's all over
For you, for you
When you're on the edge and falling off
It's all over for you, for you
When you're on the edge and falling over
It's all over
It was only fifteen minutes later that the normal three hour drive was made in an hour and fifty six minutes. The firefighters were still putting out the fire as Carter and Zack got out of the car, staring with dismay at the scene before them. The place was still smoldering and the once beautiful yard was now nothing but burnt grass and ash. From what they could see no body bags were around, but closer inspection showed that the workers still couldn't even get in the house to remove any if they were there.
"Hey!" Zack pulled one of the men over. "Any survivors?"
"We haven't had time to inspect the entire house yet." He replied. "Still working on finishing off the last of the flames. Do you know the person that lives here?"
"Yeah." He replied solemnly, looking back. The man nodded and went back to work, leaving the two to stare at the depressing scene before them. Carter seemed lost in thought until something pulled at his pant leg. Glancing down he could see a kid around five or six standing next to him. "Hey mister, do you work with the lady here?"
"Yeah, I do." He replied warily.
The kid held up a disk that was in a paper CD cover. "The guy recently here said to give this to the people she works with." He said. Carter hesitantly took the disk before the kid turned around and ran away from the scene, leaving the taller black man to study what was in his hands.
"What's that?"
He flipped it over and in rough writing, 'Watch me' was written on it. "I think it speaks for itself."
XXXXXX
"So, Miss Shade, the oh so famous mercenary, seems to have finally met those better than her. But has she accepted it?" The camera zoomed in on Shadow, who was staggering up and sent it a glare, more specifically the person who was filming.
"Shut up." She growled. A punch came her way, and she was able to duck to the right only to have someone pin her arms to her side as the fist instead connected with her stomach, knocking the air out of her and causing her to stumble slightly.
The camera momentarily turned to film the group who was forced to watch. The twins had tears streaming down their faces while the guys were putting up more of a physical fight in an attempt to get those holding them to let go. Axel and Cloud, however, were standing there glaring at the camera but looking worriedly at their friend, making no attempt to break free of their bonds.
A crash was heard and Shadow has successfully slammed one of the bodies into the coffee table, destroying it further before a knife came and cut through her lower back, earning a loud curse from her before she turned around and attempted to strike back, only to have one of the broken wooden pieces from the table picked up and connect with the back of her head, quickly sending her to the ground.
"So tell us Shadow, what's it like to have an ultimate weakness such as friends?"
"They are not a weakness." She mumbled, lightly holding her head as she blinked to clear her vision.
"Oh really, but isn't that what got you into the situation in the first place."
"No, your boss having a problem with someone saying 'no' to him is what started all of this shit." When she was getting impatient, that's when the cussing started to become more frequent.
"He would disagree."
"Of course he would, he doesn't have the guts to own up to the facts of life." In return for this comment another foot slammed onto her upper back, successfully putting her completely on the ground now coughing.
Some blood escaped from her mouth but she just gingerly wiped it off with the back of her hand. "I take that as a sign to continue." Shade pushed herself up onto her knees and smirked at the camera. "Hear that asshole? You don't have any guts, honor, or pride. No, I take that back, you have plenty of fake pride that allows for everyone around you to laugh at the pathetic joke your trying to pull off."
"I wouldn't say that if I were you." The man growled, and another fist hit the side of her face.
She chuckled as she brought her head back. "Why not? You're not afraid to hurt them because you have orders to return them unharmed. More than likely my coworkers will have the brains to be more aware for any more of your pathetic attacks, and I highly doubt that I'm going to be walking away alive so what's a few more punches?" She slowly pushed herself up, and when she was standing she stumbled slightly before catching herself and looking at the camera.
Grinning she calmly gave it the middle finger. "I'll see you in hell asshole." Another piece of wood came around and slammed into her head, effectively knocking her out while the camera was cut off.
XXXXXX
The TV was filled with static as the occupants in the room numbly stared at it, some with teary eyes and others with cold expressions. A picture came back and they were then witnesses to the even of her tattoo being cut through, earning a curse from Larxene, and the house quickly being enveloped in a ball of fire. The hour long video finally covered its grand finishing act before the screen went black.
"Son of a bitch." Cid breathed, the cigarette in between his lips going limp some.
"I-Is she really...?" Yuffie was afraid to finish her question, and was praying for someone, anyone, to tell her no.
"It would be impossible for anyone to survive that explosion." Mr. Ogatami said matter-of-factly, but it was quiet, and somber.
"But she can't be dead!" Yuffie yelled, the tears now streaming down her cheeks. Tifa quickly came an enveloped the girl in a hug, quietly leading her out of the darkened room.
"Do we know where they went with the others?" Aerith asked.
"Probably hostages." Zack said with a growl. "Cloud and Axel were with them too." The simple observation was finally cemented when he said it. Carter had his head in his hands as he sat in front of the table. Sephiroth was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, staring pointedly at the ground. Zack, Aerith, Larxene, Cid, and Leon were scattered throughout the room. But everyone was facing the TV.
"Are we going to wait for them to contact us, or are we going to infiltrate their base first?" Leon calmly asked.
Mr. Ogatami let a rough sigh escape him. "We'll give them two days. If there is some way to get them out of there on their terms that will result in them being safe, I want to take it."
"And if that's not their intentions?" Cid asked roughly.
"Then we stick to the original plan. Shadow and Sephiroth already had it all laid out when she wanted to take care of them once and for all. We'll make adjustments to make it part rescue as well." Carter said, lifting his head from his hands.
"Sephiroth, you got anyone in mind to lead the attack?" Zack questioned. The silver haired man was silent, and after a minute he pushed himself off the wall and started towards the door.
"I'll have to think about it." No emotion crept past him as the door shut behind him, but Zack had known him for years, and he could see his mentor was stiffer than normal. Shade's death affected him too.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Aerith asked quietly.
"If they aren't physically damaged, they sure as hell are going to be emotionally." Cid replied, walking towards the door. "I'll be in the garage." The door slammed behind him.
XXXXXX
The darkness of the cells, the cold seeping through the outer walls, and the nights events all seemed to suffocate the group. Instead of stones there were solid white walls surrounding them, the only thing allowing them to see each other were the bars that made up the front and side wall to connect them together. Axel and Cloud had been put in the same prison, besides them were Sora, Roxas, and Riku, while the girls were in the third cell, on the farthest wall away from them too. They had been silent the entire time, and it seemed the tears had ceased falling only because there were no more to cry. Their depression scared there friends, and while they too mourned Shadow's death, they had been hit harder than anyone.
There were no windows in the room but the lights were on so they were illuminated and could see each other. Cloud had decided that it was well past two in the morning, when they had been led out of the vans he caught a glimpse of the sky and at the time it was past midnight, and being pretty good at judging time, at least two hours had past.
Not much was said between them except when they asked if anyone was hurt, everyone replied that they were fine, physically that was.
So it came as a slight shock when Kairi broke the silence, and her voice was hoarse from all the crying she had done. "Why was she sad?" The empty monotone made her friends wince as Axel questioned her.
"What do you mean?"
"When he cut through her tattoo. Those weren't tears of physical pain, but emotional." Namine explained, same cold tone.
Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "The tattoo of each member symbolizes their acceptance into the gang. Having the art cut through like that is the most dishonorable rejection one could receive."
"Why?" He knew what they were referring to."
"In order to previously join our gang there were...tests, that you had to past. Four years after she joined she got her mark, this was after it changed. He was saying," A sigh escaped him, "That she never belonged." Axel's hands clenched into fist and the anger was evident on his features.
Kairi and Namine quietly resumed their crying, tears seeming to have suddenly made themselves present specifically for the news. Cloud was just staring at the ground and Axel was muttering profanities under his breath. "Why does this guy hate Shade?" Roxas asked. "Like, the whole story."
Axel smirked. "Because she was the first and best mercenary to turn him down. It hurt his pride and humiliated him in front of the hundreds of others that found out."
"And the job?" Sora asked.
Axel hesitated but Cloud answered immediately. "He wanted the wife and daughter of an enemy dead." He gave a small smile and shook his head.
"I thought it was the husband he wanted to kill." Riku said calmly.
"He wanted to see him suffer, and in order to that he targeted the two people who meant the most in his life." Axel explained. "She just said husband because it left people not asking as many questions, only because that's normally what you see."
"She was three years old, loves tea parties, and loves her pet cat Shuffles. Shade threw the offer back in his face and did the opposite."
"What was the opposite?" Namine quietly asked.
"She protected them."
xxx Seven months ago xxx
"This is Shade. Leave your name, number, and a job description and I'll get back to you. Of course if I'm not interested don't expect a call back."
"Beep."
"Yo Shade! It's Axel. Listen, get you're butt back here because we just broke out the beers and the new Halo game is calling to us! You got five minutes." The line disconnected and Axel turned to the rest of the group, giving a thumbs up and earning cheers in the process.
"Think she'll get it in time?" Larxene asked, taking a small drink from the bottle in front of her.
"No doubt about it, she's just finishing up a job and should be on her way back." Carter said. They were in the extremely large lounge, the room consisting of four TV sets each in a seperate corner with the various video game consoles hooked up to them, and couches making half circles around them with a coffee table separating them between the electronics.
"She's driving back on her motorcycle in this rain? You'd think after all these years she'd finally get smarter than that." Leon smirked.
"She loves it to much, and besides, for this specific one I guess the motorcycle actually played a role for once instead of just looks." Axel commented. Once the main doors opened a dripping Shadow came in. Her pants and black shirt that exposed a few inches of her stomach clung to her while the leather jacket she wore only came down to just above her bellybutton. Her hair was down and clung to her while her boots, instead of the army ones, were actually normal woman's strap boots. The tips of her hair were a newly died red, which immediately caught the others off guard. Many of the guys had to confirm it was the same Shade they worked with as they looked over the series of couches in the room, some even doing catcalls.
She just calmly raised a middle finger to them as she walked over and grabbed a beer, quickly downing half of it and closing her eyes, letting her shoulders relax some as she let out a deep breath. "So, um, how was work?" Zack asked.
"I had to play slut for the night just to get to the target." She murmured darkly. "How do you think it went?" Sarcasm to the fullest.
"Why'd you take it then?" Cloud quietly asked, observing her movements that seemed to radiate annoyance.
"Child molester." Was all she said, and brief satisfaction shined in her eyes while she finished off the beer. "I heard there was a Halo game going, is that still happening?"
"You got it." Axel said with a grin, and the mood seemed to lift some. The game was already running and remotes were passed around. "Already made your soldier."
"What's my name?"
"Death Stalker." She smacked him upside the head while everyone laughed. "Why the hell would you name me that."
"Because it describes you perfectly!" He said defensively, a smirk lingering on his lips.
"Idiot." She said. Her finger was just about to hit 'start' when an emotionless, "Shadow" cut through all the sound in the room.
A frustrated sigh escaped her as she stood and turned around, seeing Sephiroth walk towards her. He briefly skimmed her outfit and the slightest of frowns appeared on his face. "What is that?"
"Mission." She growled. He could see the flare in her eyes and nodded in understanding. He had heard about this job, she didn't like what she had to do, but when she heard about the target she was willing to make a few sacrifices.
"There is a job that I think you'll want to hear about." Letting out a curse she jumped over the couch and started walking past him.
"Fine, what is it."
He easily kept pace with her as they walked out into the abandoned hallways. "The leader of the Devil's Harvesters has a job for you." She paused briefly in her walk, cursed again, and picked it up again, taking an unopened beer from a man stumbling out of one of the game rooms. When he started protesting she glared, and he immediately stopped, apparently not drunk enough to challenge her.
Already working on her second beer. Not good. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"After the way this night is turning out, definitely." She took another drink. "What's the job?"
"A double murder."
"Considering who this man is I'm questioning it. He send over information?" Sephiroth passed her a folder that she hadn't previously noticed. Damn, I must be out of it. She just nodded as she opened it up and started scanning the contents. "He gives me a name, age, and gender, but of a guy that I won't be killing. What the hell was he thinking."
"He wishes to speak to you personally about the mission." He replied. Sephiroth was the one that filtered most of the jobs that came in, when she had her weeks packed, which was fairly common most of the time.
Shadow found his number and took out her cellphone, starting to dial while she walked to her room. "Thanks." She said, before the door closed firmly behind her.
She let it ring a few times before someone finally answered. "Who's this."
"I got a call from your boss, double kill, put him on." She could hear him stiffen on the other line and smirked, sitting on her bed with her elbows resting on her knees, the cellphone held in place by her shoulder.
"Hello Miss Shade, you're reputation precedes you."
"How about my annoyance? You didn't give me the specific job only some details on it. Why."
"The man that is described currently disrupted one of the largest deals that me and a few others were making. He must learn there are consequences. I wish for a few of his close friends to be taken care of to make our point clear."
"Where can I find these friends?"
"They are currently staying with him. The address is in the folder. So are you taking the job?" She looked through the folder one more time and mentally sighed.
"I'll get back to you." She closed the phone before any objections could be made, staring at the picture of the rough man in the folder. It was a police photo, and the scale indicated that he was a solid six foot, muscular, and black man who looked like he had a grudge with the world. Yeah, I can see you pissing someone off.
XXXXXX
The dampness from that night's rain still filled the area as she slowly brought her truck to a stop, looking at the house on the other side of the street. She was now dressed more appropriately. Black jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt that was underneath the same colored zip up hoody. Her hair was tied back and she was actually pretty comfortable. Besides, she just wanted pictures of the targets, that was all. Shade brought out a camera, more relaxed, and took a few pictures, scanning the area as she watched, noticing how the lights in the house were still on though it was pushing two in the morning.
When a large jeep pulled into the driveway she saw the prisoner stepped out of the car, and she recognized the look on his clothes as that of a construction worker. The door was shut behind him and she watched his body movements that showed he let out a sigh. Rough day.
When the front door flew open she watched as a small three year old girl ran out of the house, dressed in a white nightgown with little unicorns on it. She was white, definitely not a biological daughter, but from the way he smiled and lifted her hi above his head which resulted in her screaming with delight she took it they were close.
A woman stood in the doorway in a blue bathrobe, arms crossed to defend against the cold but a small smile was on her face. She was white too, but when he came up to her and put a gentle kiss on her lips she immediately put the pieces together.
They were the targets.
His daughter and wife.
XXXXXX
When his phone started to play Riot by Three Days Grace, Shadow's personal ring tone, he knew who to expect on the other line. What he didn't expect was her mood.
"Hey Shadow." Carter greeted, taking a break from the weight bench. Yeah, it was pushing three that morning, but he was still awake after the party and decided to kill some time in the gym.
"He wants me to frickin' kill his daughter and wife!" She yelled, and he heard car horns blare behind her as she yelled some insults right back at them. "What the hell is he thinking?"
"Shadow. First you have to tell me who 'he' is." Carter replied.
"Devil's Harvesters leader wants me to take on this job. Gives me the address of the targets but won't say who he wants me to take out. So I go scope out the area and happened to get there right when the subject does. Turns out the two he wants dead is his frickin' wife and daughter." She said. Another horn blared but she ignored it. "Why the hell did he think I would take the job when he wants me to kill a three year old?"
"No doubt his status." He said.
She grunted on the other end. "Good point. No way in hell I'm doing this job."
"So he's going to turn around and let someone else do it, though I doubt he'll be happy about you saying no. Either way they're going to end up dead."
He didn't know if it was the silence on the other end, or the suddenly calmer breathing, that let him know what she was planning. "Shadow..." He said carefully.
"This is going to be interesting." She said calmly, before the line disconnected.
XXXXXX
Least to say, his little delivery boy was more than freaked out when his boss told him to meet a mercenary, alone, so she could personally deliver a message to him to carry on to his superiors. Shade looked as cold as ever as she met him half way a few streets over from the local park. He was timid, and he was probably a couple years old than her. She always did find humor in scaring the crap out of people older than her.
"Miss Shade?" Wow, he got his voice not to quake.
"Name?"
"Jackson." She took a file and shoved it at him, his hands quickly taking it so she could bring hers back to cross over her chest.
"Listen up. Tell your boss that he can take his offer and shove it."
"He said that if you wanted more money he'd be willing to raise the payment." He replied quickly.
"No amount of money is going to make up for the inhuman act that he wants done. Tell me, do you know what he wants to hire my services for?"
"N-not really ma'am." Ah, the stuttering begins.
"Call me ma'am again and you'll be walking away with one less body part. He wants me to kill a wife and her three year old daughter. Like I said, there is no amount of money that is going to be worth it. So you're going to be a good boy, go back, and tell your boss that he needs to suck up any pride he may have, which I doubt is much, and maybe if you have guts of your own you'll actually go and get a life." She smirked. "Got it?"
"Are you sure?"
"I want you to say it word for word." She confirmed.
"Alright." She nodded and roughly patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "That's what I wanted to hear."
XXXXXX
It was nearing nightfall as Shade pulled into the driveway of the target's family. She was dressed in black cargo pants with the regular black tank top to go with it, her dog tags hidden from view as her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. The kind of outfit she wore when she knew things were going to get rough.
Stepping out she slung the backpack over her shoulder, confirmed it was his jeep in the driveway next to hers, then walked up to the door, the lights still shining in the living room. Giving three solid knocks she waited, glancing around the pitch black neighborhood that was only illuminated in brief patches from the lamp lights.
The door slowly opened up to reveal the wife and mother, Teresa. Shadow nodded in greeting at the somewhat tired looking woman. "Hello ma'am. Is your entire family currently with you?"
"May I ask who you are?"
Good question. Bad timing. "Long story short, I'm here to make sure you and your family get out of here safely."
"Is something wrong?" Shade pushed her way into the house. Not threateningly, just firmly, she didn't want to be out in the open if they decided to go sniper style.
"Is your husband here?"
"Josh." She called lightly, and Shade watched as the very large and very intimidating black man walked into the room. He looked at Shade and she dipped her head in greeting.
"May we help you?" He asked. His voice was deep, currently it just sounded tired but curious.
"I'm just going to get straight to the point." She said, crossing her arms and looking at the couple. "Some time within the last couple days apparently you did something to piss off one of the worlds top mob bosses, and now you've got dollar signs over your head."
"How do you know this?" His wife sounded worried as she asked this.
"Because I was the first one he came too. The job was paying seventy thousand. He wanted you," She motioned to the woman, "And your daughter dead." Her gasp was loud as her hand shot up to cover her mouth, and Josh protectively put an arm around her.
"There's no way you're hurting my family." He growled.
"You're right." She agreed. "In fact, I'm here to do the exact opposite." She brought her backpack around and pulled out one of the many contents inside, the one in her hand currently a file. "The only way you're going to be able to get out without him chasing you down is relocating. There's a town about a days drive from here. The house has already been picked, a job is waiting for you, and the school already as Cessillia's forms."
"How did you know her name?"
"Sir, I'm one of the top mercenaries out there, getting this information isn't that hard." She handed him the file just as they heard small feet coming from down the hall. All three of them turned to see the said daughter sleepily make her way towards them. "Mamma? Who's this?" In response her father picked her up and held her close.
"Why are you doing this?" Josh asked.
She smiled faintly and looked at his daughter. "I don't believe in bringing innocent people into other people's problems." That's when things seemed to slow down for Shade, her pulse quicked, and instincts took over.
She rushed forward, grabbing Cessillia and dropping to the ground with the others when the explosion went off. It wasn't directly next to the house, so they were just on the outskirts of it. Intense heat washed over her and she felt momentary pain rake across her back before it disappeared and only the sounds of the fire licking at fresh wood came through their ears. "Bedrooms. Go." She ordered, quickly bringing the girl up and letting Teresa quickly pick her up and do so without questioning them. Shade reached turned and slid out a dagger that was sheathed at the bottom of her leg.
To her surprise, Josh walked up next to her, holding a shotgun up against his shoulder and pointed towards the door. "How good are you at aiming?" She asked, not bothering to look away from the shaded figures that were approaching the home, pulling out a concealed handgun while the dagger stayed in her other hand.
"Top scores at the police academy."
"Works for me." She said, then started to cautiously make her way up to the flames. If she could keep the fight in the front yard and away from the house, better chance of the targets staying clear of the scene. When the first target came from the side to the front of her she didn't hesitate in firing a single shot, watching the body fall silently.
But this didn't please his partners much as she had to suddenly dock behind and lower herself behind a piece of in tact wall, the bullets tearing above her head. When a momentary lapse kicked in she spun around, fired a few shots, and launched forward, tackling one to the ground before suddenly being up and having her foot slam into the back of another members neck. She heard more heavier gunshots that obviously came from a shotgun, and pinpointed this as the reason that some men were dropping for no apparent reason.
An irritated grunt came from her as a knife came and made contact with her upper arm, leaving a burning sensation behind. The knife came back for a second round but then Josh was there, the man having been slammed into the ground with a large hand wrapped around his pathetically small throat. She nodded her thanks before looking around, noticing the lack of targets. "We get your family, then you leave for the airport. There will be a man waiting there for you, Carter, he'll have a change of clothes and all the information you'll need to settle in quickly."
"Thank you." He said. "I didn't know that by doing my job so many would be angered."
"Unfortunately that is what normally causes these situations." She muttered, running towards the back of the house. When she noticed the bedroom door kicked in she cursed and held back the larger man, bringing a finger softly to her lips while the second tightened her hold on her gun. He reluctantly stayed back as she walked towards the door, looking around before taking one of her daggers and throwing it, the sharp metal embedding itself into the soft carpet. A young girl's scream came from somewhere and gunfire pinpointed the dagger before she spun in from behind the door, annualized the situation in two seconds, then fired. Soft whimpering could be heard as the two bodies dropped, revealing Teresa holding her daughter tightly and whispering soft words of comfort.
Shade motioned for Carter, who quickly came in. "Th-th-thank you." Cessillia said nervously.
Shadow smiled at her and bent down. "You know what helps me when I'm scared?" The girl shook her head and she reached into her backpack. When her hand came back she pulled out a stuffed small white dog, the material that of which felt like soft fur when stroked. "I like to take one of my stuffed animals, hold on to him really tight, and take a nice long ride. How does that sound?"
"It sounds really good." She squeaked, taking the offered doll and hugging it to death. Shadow gave her one last reassuring smile before standing up and turning towards the door, her head slightly turned in the direction of Josh. "Take the jeep and go." Her voice was more toneless than what she had used with his daughter. "I'll wrap up everything here."
It took them just two minutes to have the necessities, cash, purse, and for the wife a certain family photo album. Shadow watched as they pulled out of the driveway, and little Cessillia's hand game up to wave at her through the window while the other clutched the stuffed animal. "She smirked slightly, but lifted her arm in a slight wave nevertheless. As soon as they were out of view she took out her cellphone and flipped it open, hitting speed dial.
"Carter, they're heading your way."
"All safe and sound?" He asked, trying to stay alive in the crowds of people who were at the airport that early in the morning.
"Yeah. Make sure the kid gets something to drink when they arrive. Maybe a slushi or smoothie."
"You do know they are going to be extremely pissed off at you, right?"
"Hasn't stopped me before, didn't stop me now, and sure as hell won't stop me in the future."
"Didn't think so."