Friday night
Apartment 3E
I felt no emotion as I stared into her blue eyes.
Her face joined the others etched in my memory, all the others that I had killed. Many died without ever knowing who, or why. Some died as they stared into my eyes and me into theirs. Foxtail was one of those and I examined those eyes, relishing the fear and then I stopped...
What are you doing, Mindy?
Kill her!
No...
Kill her!
I had seen something in those eyes – I had seen the scared fourteen-year-old girl beneath all that Foxtail training. Underneath, I had been the same – a scared little girl, forced into a life of killing. It was not her fault, just as it was not Stephanie's fault. Somebody else had made both young girls into what they were, just as my Daddy had made me what I was...
Kill her!
No...
I would let her live – maybe, just maybe, we could...
"It's your lucky day, Foxtail..."
I slumped to the floor and I sobbed.
I was soaked in sweat and I hurt where her sword had struck me. I could not believe that I was still alive – she had me, yet she had let me go, Hit Girl had let me live... Why?
I still had a mission...
Had it been a warning to stay away from the Walker girl?
But I had no choice; I had a mission... The Walker girl had to die.
They would kill me, if I did not kill her...
Safehouse F
"What the fuck happened?"
Stephanie was raging and I knew why. What had happened at that apartment? Hit Girl had left and she was on her way back, only we could hear Foxtail moving around her apartment – she was still sobbing.
"What happened, Dave?" Stephanie demanded, her rage building.
"I don't know, Stephanie – you know as much as I do!"
..._...
Hit Girl never said a word as she headed back to the Safehouse. We tracked her motorcycle – something was wrong; she was obeying all speed limits and traffic regulations! Finally, she rode into the Safehouse and parked her Ducati. She passed through the armoured shield and I could tell by her body language that she was pissed.
Her helmet and mask were thrown across the mat as she went. Stephanie ran out of the Control Centre to confront her.
"What are you doing? Why is that bitch still alive? Do you not care about her trying to kill me? Have you gone fucking soft?"
I expected Mindy to fly for Stephanie – nobody spoke to Mindy like that! Mindy's face was full of confusion, but she smiled at Stephanie, who did not smile back.
"Come on you soft fuck, say something!"
"I couldn't kill her..."
Stephanie was astonished.
"You couldn't kill her?" Stephanie echoed.
"She did not deserve to die..."
"Explain that to me – I seem to have missed something here!" Stephanie raged.
Mindy sat down on the mat and looked directly at Stephanie, who sat down in front of Mindy.
"She deserves to die as much as I do, as much as you do. She did not choose to become an assassin and neither did you, and nor did I. I saw something in her eyes – I saw you, I saw myself..."
..._...
I walked over and sat down next to Mindy. Stephanie seemed to be cooling down and trying to make sense of what Mindy was saying.
"I suppose that makes some sort of sense..." Stephanie said calmly, then her eyes lit up. "You want to turn her?"
"I do – if we can..."
"I can live with that – assuming she doesn't kill me before we turn her!"
Mindy laughed and so did Stephanie. We all got up and Mindy headed for the armoury, but then she turned and kicked Stephanie across the mat where she landed in a heap with a scream.
"What the fuck?" The annoyed girl yelled.
"Just to show you that I've not gone soft, oh daughter of mine!"
"That bloody well hurt, Mum!"
Glenview
"What did you do this time?"
"I told Mum that I thought she had gone soft..." I replied to my little sister as I passed her bedroom door, rubbing my bruises.
"Idiot!"
I laughed as I headed for my room.
The next day
Saturday morning
We awoke late.
"Sorry for shouting at you, Mum."
"It's okay; I deserved it."
"No, you did not – I should have shown more respect for you..."
"Did Chloe ever tell you about a certain phrase of mine?"
Stephanie smiled sweetly.
"You slap me, I slap you back, twice as hard – err, Mum!"
"That's my girl!"
Apartment 3E
I was glad I did not have to go to school.
My mind was still reeling from my close shave. I had woken up on the living room floor, surrounded by ejected casings from my SIG. It had taken me a moment to realise what had happened, but then I saw my SIG, the slide locked back and my two swords.
Hit Girl!
Why had she left me alive? I had pondered that for the thirty minutes I had spent in the shower, but I felt no better as I dried myself and pulled on some clothes. My mind was completely screwed up. Until I had gotten involved with fucking Fusion, I had been focused and in full control – now? What would I say to my handler – he was coming by that night... The CIA did not take failure lightly – we were all but disposable as their pawns.
What a choice: die at the hands of Hit Girl, or the CIA!
Saturday afternoon
Glenview
Our visitor had arrived.
"Cassie!"
The poor girl, she was mobbed by the three kids almost the moment she stepped through the front door. I smiled as I waded through and pulled the kids out of the way, giving Cassie a hug of my own.
"You ready for this?" I asked.
"Apprehensive, but looking forward to it..."
Safehouse F
"Fusion, meet Nemesis!"
The combat suit was full body and no skin was visible although Cassie's ample feminine curves were obvious through the armour. Her overall suit was a very dark grey, however, the armour from the top of her thighs down to her knees was a dull yellow, as was the armour that covered her shoulders and upper arms. The upper chest and back armour were dark grey. The armour that covered her head and neck was also dark grey while the mask that covered all but her jaw was a dull yellow. Her gauntlets were dark grey with dull yellow armour that extended up her lower arms to the elbow. Her boots were lightweight, but had armoured soles and came up to her knees, they were dark grey.
On her right thigh was a holster for an FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol. On the outer side of her left boot was an 18-inch Tanto with a yellow cotton Tsuka-ito, with grey ray-skin in a dark grey Saya. On her back, angled over to the right shoulder was a 42-inch Katana with the same yellow cotton Tsuka-ito, with grey ray-skin in a dark grey Saya. Around her waist was a utility belt in dark blue that carried communications and ammunition.
Now she was out in the open, we would see what she could do... Who knew that Cassie had a thing for sharp blades and had been training with swords since she was eight!
The blades clashed as the two vigilantes attacked each other.
It was a spectacle to behold!
Nemesis was about four inches shorter than Hit Girl, but that did not seem to be a problem as Nemesis moved fast and she kept moving. The rapid movement stopped her becoming a target for Hit Girl, who seemed annoyed – at least that was what her body language indicated.
It was a surprise to see somebody who could actually keep up with Hit Girl, at least where swords were concerned. Nemesis had been holding out on us – apparently she had been into Martial Arts for about eleven years and she knew a lot of powerful disciplines.
I was expecting a very annoyed wife when all was done!
I could do this – I could take her!
Maybe that would be a bit ambitious, but I was going to see how far I could go... I loved to fight with swords – there was something about them that inspired me. Hit Girl was not amused and I took great joy in raising her temper.
"You're good – I'll give you that!" Hit Girl growled only inches from my face, her blade forcing me backwards.
I smiled at the compliment, but Hit Girl's verbal sparring was not over.
"Only I'm better..."
With that, I was kicked backwards and I fell into a heap on the mat. I had only moments to react, so I rolled sideways, only narrowly missing the descending Katana blade. I swung my blade up and caught Hit Girl's lower arm, causing her to let go the grip on her sword. Hit Girl was not allowing me even a glimmer of success over her – she kicked out, catching me in the side of my head.
I saw stars for a moment before I felt myself being hauled to my feet and hurled across the mat. I was very sore, but I was not about to give up...
"What is it with you goddamn Brits; you never know when to quit!"
"Well – if we behaved like you slovenly yanks, we would never have built the largest empire in history covering almost a quarter of the Earth... We stop for no man – you take us on, we fight to the bitter end, whatever that may be!"
I had no immediate comeback to that and I was also annoyed to hear two other Brits loudly cheering on their compatriot! I had no desire to start another American war with Great Britain, so I just went back to what I did best – I fought.
..._...
Nemesis was tiring and I knew that she could not go on much longer. She had stamina, tonnes of it, but she also needed to learn when to quit... Who was I to talk? I would fight myself to a standstill if Kick-Ass would let me! It was time to finish.
"Sorry, Nemesis, but I know that you won't quit voluntarily, so..."
I executed a high spinning kick, sending Nemesis across the mat, her sword skittering in the opposite direction. I ran over and pulled off my mask to signify the end of the fight. I helped Nemesis back to her feet. As she pulled off her mask, I saw that the young woman was soaked in sweat. I was about to shout for some water when Stephanie appeared.
"Well done, Nemesis – you reminded this traitorous yank that we British can still punch above our weight!"
The grinning girl handed Cassie a bottle of cold water and took her mask off her before fetching the discarded Katana.
That night
Safehouse F
Foxtail had a visitor and he was not happy!
"Hit Girl was here?"
The man was agitated.
"You have well and truly fucked up, Foxtail – I'm gonna have to report this up the line and you know the possible consequences..."
"Yes, I do..."
..._...
"That sounded bad!" I commented, gazing over at Abby.
"Yeah, Marty!"
"We need to accelerate things before the CIA takes her out..."
"Any ideas, Mindy?"
"I'm gonna go chat with Jason."
Safehouse Q
Chatham Road
I pulled up the drive and walked up to the front door.
Before I could knock, it flew open.
"Mindy!"
"Nicky!"
I followed Nicky into the living room. Jason was on the couch watching a movie.
"Hello, Mindy – got a problem?"
"Yeah," I said as I sat down beside Jason on the couch. "Would the CIA terminate Foxtail for not completing her mission?"
"It's the CIA – anything is possible..."
"Foxtail just got warned by her handler – I paid her a visit last night, but I couldn't destroy her..."
"You want to turn her?" Nicky asked.
"Is it possible?"
"It worked for Stephanie, but she was only part way through her training... Foxtail? I don't know, to be honest," Jason replied.
The next morning
Sunday
Stephanie did not seem happy.
When I awoke that morning, I found her pounding from one end of the pool to another. She was determined and she was not stopping. I walked back to my room and changed into my swimsuit. I returned to the pool and Stephanie was still at it. I dived in and easily caught up to the young girl as she swam.
"Anything I can help with?" I called over as I swam parallel to her.
Stephanie slowed down and stopped before moving into the shallow water and standing up. She turned to face me as she fought to control her breathing and there was concern on her face.
"How many more kids are there out there – kids like me and Foxtail? That training centre was full of kids, of all ages. We might be able to rescue Foxtail, but what about the rest?"
"We're gonna take down the whole damn lot, Steph, I promise you that."
"I don't think Foxtail is going to listen – I don't think she's going to turn, Mindy; I know the training that she went through. I never completed mine, which made it easier for me to leave it behind – she may still have to die."
"I spoke with Jason and Nicky, last night. You could be the key to turning Foxtail – if you think you can handle it. If she can't be turned, you can put a bullet between her eyes, personally."
"Nice image, Mum, thanks!"
Two days later
Tuesday morning
"They are so sweet!"
"That one is mine, Razor – he's able to walk properly now, as can Piper, Kiara, Hope and Hercules... Sophia – stop knocking your pups over!"
"Does she do that a lot?" Cassie asked with a laugh.
"Ever since they started to try and walk – she thinks it's funny!"
"You're very lucky, Steph."
"I know."
Three days later
Friday Night
Apartment 3E
It was my last chance.
If I failed, I would die, one way or another. Did it scare me? Not really, it had been part of our training; we were conditioned to accept failure and to just fight harder to the end. I would not disappoint; I would fight to the bitter end.
So much for Saoirse Doherty!