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((Okie doke. Here's the first half. ^_^ Also, I'm not sure I explained how the Unit's work very well so I also made a chart. That should make it easier to understand. Unit Division Chart The chart should be showing 1-12 with each number repeated. Please let me know if it's not.))

Title: Operation Assassin
Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Word Count: 9,865
Pages: 13.5

Description: She was one of many trained to kill. She was the best. If only it were that simple.

o.O.o

Part One:

When we are born, each of us is gifted with a special talent, a skill level no one else can even hope to match. From being the smartest, the fastest or the most beautiful, each of us has an expertise that is ours alone. As we age and grow, so does that particular skill. We hone it to a fine point and make it the most important tool in our lives. Some of us love these skills, some of us make our lives revolve around them and a few use them to brag, to show off. And still others…they use this skill because they were trained to; because it is the only thing they know how to do.

I was trained to kill. With efficiency. With elegance. Without emotion.

I am not the only one. There are six units with two members, equaling a total of twelve operatives in the 6 series. The first operative and the leader of each team is the Analyst. He or she does all the research and very carefully lays out a plan to learn and catch the target. The second operative is the one who puts the analyst’s plans into action and makes sure everything goes as designed. He or she is the Controller. There are also other units, ranging from A1 – F6, totally 72 operatives over all.

These are the things we are taught as children and they are the only things we know as teenagers. Very rarely do we see adulthood.

“Unit 6 Controller, A6 – 361 reporting to Unit 6 Analyst A6 – 362. Target in sight. Communication acquired?”

“Communication acquired,” Unit 6 Analyst A6 – 362 confirmed.

“Understood. Commencing operation. Confirm mic silence.”

There were two taps on the mic, signaling the now mute speakers in my ears. The office was quiet now, the nearly mind-numbing clackty-clack of computer keyboards down to a, thankfully, silent atmosphere. Only two or three people remained in the large area of cubicles, the usual work-aholics. Most of the lights in the office were off but a few remained, leaving just enough illumination. A janitor rolled by, his cart of cleaning supplies silent on the gray, industrial carpeting.

The screen before me was dimmed, prepared to slip into screensaver mode. I hit enter and leaned back in my chair, waiting. It wasn’t a long wait. A man was stalking down the hall across from me, minor annoyance evident in his stride. He stopped at a cubicle on the other side of the office, past my own small space. The moment he stopped to speak with the person I stood and strolled easily down the hall. It was easy to appear as if I had every right to be here. I pulled the door to his office open and stepped inside, quickly moving to the darkest corner of the room where the yellow lamp light couldn’t reach.

“A6-361 in position.”

Two more taps to the mic. I had only to wait three minutes before the business man returned to his office, none the wiser to my intrusion. He sat at his desk and returned to his computer, waiting for something. Another minute passed before he breathed a sigh of relief. My virus was gone now and he got back to work. Without looking away from him, I turned my watch slightly and pressed a button on the underside. A very silent, very unnoticeable click came from the air vent above me. The A/C was on. It was only minutes now.

Sweat was forming on his brow as air circulated around the room. Watching closely I could see his pupils dilate and his face was turning red as his breathing increased slightly. He wiped at his brow but otherwise continued to work, his fingers moving smoothly over the keyboard. More time passed before he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache, frowning. He was trembling. I glanced at his neck and was pleased to see his pulse slowing. He set his arm down and pushed the chair back slightly to rest his head, as if to sleep.

“A6 – 361 reporting. Mission accomplished. All vitals zero.”

“Understood. Rendezvous in 10 minutes.”

I remained in the office for another two minutes though I knew the man was dead. But I wasn’t willing to take the chance of the man still living. The punishment for failure was not a pleasant thing.

My stroll down the hall was slow and easy, just as my entrance had been. I had every right to be here. The hall was lined with more offices, these rooms lined with glass windows instead of solid walls. Like any other normal girl I stopped to mess with my appearance. My hair, normally waist length, was clipped in a neat bun to the back of my head, the dreary florescent light doing nothing to highlight my autumn colored hair. The usually vibrant reds and gold’s were dulled to flat auburn-ish color. I pushed a pair of boring black glasses back up my nose in front of light blue eyes, almost gray in their paleness. Standing up just a bit straighter I eyed my figure critically, not exactly understanding some of the reactions other females in the office had. I was made short and lithe, an athletic build with only minor curves and particularly flat-chested. As far as I was aware, this was not what the average girl wanted for her body. Giving one last cursory, falsely satisfied glance at my reflection, I continued on down the hall.

I stopped by my desk and picked up an empty brief case after shutting down the computer. There was no one still working beside the cubicle so I was free to leave without offering inane goodbyes to creatures I had no interest in socializing with. When I was finally standing outside the building on the curb I could hear the first few sirens, though they were earlier than I had anticipated. Probably the tech had gone to make sure the virus was gone.

A black Audi pulled up and I slipped inside the small sports car. We left the curb and passed the cops as they hurried towards the office building, an ambulance close behind.

“Unit 6 Analyst A6-362 and Unit 6 Controller A6 – 361 reporting. Target acquired and disposed of. Permission to return to base?”

As always when on the radios his voice was quiet and cold, filled with a professionalism we’d all been trained with. And like always, despite the fact that my voice sounded the same, I shuddered. As Unit leader it was his job to handle the radio and I was glad for it. I hated speaking with the overly robotic handler at base. There was a crackle and base operator answer.

“Permission granted.”

“Unit 6 returning to base,” was his prompt reply and he quickly put the speakers on mute so base control couldn’t hear but we could. Almost immediately with the privacy the atmosphere in the car warmed up and he smiled at me. “Hot cocoa for the lady, per usual request.”

I glanced at the chocolaty drink and at him, nodding slightly in thanks. I would drink it in a moment but the clip in my hair had to go first. Pulling the monstrosity out of my locks, I opened the window and tossed the small plastic torture device out, rubbing my scalp gently where the tips had dug in. The glasses were the next to go and I smirked at his light chuckle. Finally I un-tucked my shirt and unbuttoned the first four buttons. The heels were the last to go and I tossed those out the window as well, much to the dismay of the vehicle behind us. And still he was laughing. “Shut up, Maize,” I muttered, leaning back in the seat and finally taking a sip of the chocolaty goodness.

“Yes ma’am!”

The car was silent for a little as we both took what little time we’d been granted to relax. The only space on base we were allowed privacy was in our shared quarters. And even then we had to be careful because the doors didn’t lock. Our superiors said it was supposed to keep us all on our toes but for the most part it just annoyed the hell out of us. There was no point in trying to jury-rig the doors to lock though as the punishment wasn’t worth it.

“You alright Kasey?” Same old Maize. He always worried about me. He was the only one. He had no idea how happy that made me.

“Don’t call me Kasey…”

“Kase.” He didn’t need to repeat the question.

I looked out the window and reached over for his hand. “I will be.” The funny thing about this job was that we were all, everyone one of us, excited to start off. We’d been told we were ridding the world of its most vile inhabitants, humans the justice system wouldn’t or couldn’t mete out justice to. We all wanted to make the world a better place. They told us we were created specifically for this task. It was our only purpose and so it wasn’t possible for us to desire a change.

Maize gently squeezed my hand, the only thing he knew to comfort me. As a unit we were hard-wired to feel and understand every emotion, every feeling and every thought the other unit member experienced. On the job I had no choice but to completely shut off my emotions in order to have an efficient operation. I couldn’t allow myself to feel as I was taking a person’s life, not only because I was beginning to feel guilt but because it was tearing me apart and Maize through me.

We pulled up to the base and security center. I let go of his hand as he rolled down his window. Back to business now.

“Unit 6 A6 – 361 and A6 – 362 returning.”

“You know the drill.” The man at the booth was tall and dark with the build of what the humans called a football player.

He leaned into the car, a small retina scanner in his hands. Maize was still for a moment before sighing and leaning forward to press his eye against the scanner. The device beeped and Don, the guard, walked around the car to my side. I sat stoically in the seat, keeping my eyes on the windshield and refusing to put down my window. Maize set his hand on my knee and squeezed slightly, again trying to comfort me. I rolled the window down and he set his hand back on the steering wheel.

Don leaned in the car and I held still as he pressed the scanner against my eye. It beeped and he stepped away from the car. “Clear for passage. The director wants you in her office once you’ve prepared.”

“Understood,” Maize said before he rolled up the windows and pulled away from the gate. Another car pulled up behind us and Don continued with his scanning task.

“Annoying.” It was the same thing Don did every time one of us came or went and every time it was the right person. There had never been a breech in security before yet the Director still insisted Don make sure every time. I hated it.

Neither of us aid anything after that. We were back on the premises and everything could be heard. He pulled the car into the garage and into its slot. After we stepped out, a buzzer sounded and the car was pulled up into a shelf with all the others. I glanced at him and from the look on his face I knew he could see my uncertainty even though I tried to hide it. He gave me one of his reassuring smiles and walked through the door labeled ‘men.’ I stood staring after him and just like always I felt the butterflies and fear I’d never been able to explain. All I knew was that I didn’t like being away from him, at all. Missions were different; I never wanted him to see that side of me.

Fisting my hands I stepped through the door with ‘women’ on it and closed it behind me. It was a hall lined with fluorescent blue lights and scanners and a moving platform. I stripped. A tray slid out of the wall with a needle and a small bottle of Zeneca. I grimaced but picked up the needle and jar of micro-scanners and mini-healers. It took just a moment to get the right dosage in the needle and holding out my left arm, I tapped my vein a few times before sticking myself and plunging the liquid inside of me.

The moving platform slid forward a couple of feet and another tray slid out, this one with clothing. Standard black combat boots stood to the far edge of the tray, as well as a slim black cellular. Folded neatly beside the phone and boots was a pair of skin tight black pants and matching, long-sleeved shirt. Matching black underwear and sports bra lay on top. This was the customary uniform inside the base for women. Quickly I pulled on the clothes and tied my hair back in a ponytail, a few straggling bangs hanging around my face. As soon as I was dressed the blue scanners started moving, activating the micro-scanners now inside my body. I could feel them moving, running their course through my veins. I hated the feeling.

“A6 – 361 your cholesterol is too high. Your diet has been restricted.”

I couldn’t stop the scowl from forming. “Stupid computer…”

When finally the scan was over and I was standing outside the chamber, I let out a breath of relief when I saw Maize waiting for me. His outfit was similar to mine except he was wearing short sleeves.

“She told me I needed to lose weight,” he said, obviously disappointed by that aspect. He threw his arm around my shoulder and we started towards the armory.

“I have to lower my cholesterol apparently.” I smiled a rare smile up at him and I still reveled in the surprise he showed at those smiles. He shouldn’t have been surprised though; he was the only one I smiled at or around.

“Awesome! We can diet together then!” His voice was honey smooth and he leaned down to kiss my forehead, completely aware of the way my heart beat increased.

When we reached the armory another computer spoke to us. “A6 – 362 your knife has arrived.” A tray slid forward holding a long knife. The blade was about five inches, not counting the extra three inches for the hilt. It lay in its sheath, a clip attached to the belt. “Your 9mms have been received from your transport, serviced and reloaded.” Another tray was put in front of us and I automatically grabbed my gun and holster, slipping it around my waist. Maize did the same for his knife but his gun holster went over his shoulders. Another difference between the male and female uniforms. “Please report to the Directors office now.”

Maize grinned at me and grabbed my hand, dragging me along behind him, not bothering to answer the computer.

This was another thing he knew about; I hated being around the director even though the woman considered herself our mother and tried to treat us as such. It still drove me nuts because there was something about her that just rubbed me the wrong way. We passed a couple of other Units on our way, most of them about as touchy-feely as Maize and I were. Being physically close came with the territory. With the jobs we did, if we didn’t have a companion to be with constantly, we probably wouldn’t be able to function properly.

At the door to the Directors office, her secretary waved us on in, not bothering with small talk as he argued with a person on the other end of the line. Maize pulled open the door and stepped to the side, allowing me to go in first before walking in after me and closing the door. The Director too was on the phone though her conversation was on speaker.

“I assure you Sir, my Units are very capable of handling their missions. They don’t leave until their target is liquidated.”

“Yes and I understand, but humans make mistakes! I would have much rather you shot him and made it obvious rather than natural!”

It wasn’t hard to tell who the Director was talking to. Mr. Hinders. He’d hired UCA Inc. to kill a man who’d murdered his wife. The man I’d just killed a little over an hour ago. It wasn’t an unusual request by any means, especially since the client had the money to pay for our services but it was odd that the Director requested we make the hit as painless as possible. Apparently Mrs. Hinders death had been accidental but her husband was not taking no for an answer.

“What if they made a mistake?!”

“My Units do not make mistakes, Mr. Hinders. They completed their assignment successfully and with little to no attention.” She glanced at us while she was speaking to him and I shuddered at the cold anger in her brown eyes. I hadn’t seen her this mad in quite a while, not since one of the youngest Units failed to complete a hit and were caught in the act. Of course she’d had them shut down immediately and destroyed all traces of evidence linking them to UCA Inc. That hadn’t stopped her anger though.

“Please, all I’m asking is for you to double check! Humans make mistakes!” His repeated rejoinder had her gritting her teeth.

“Mr. Hinders, when you signed the agreement you were to have read the full contract. If you had done so you would know my Units are not human. I will not repeat this again. My Units do not make mistakes. If you have further questions you may speak with my secretary or your contact. That is all.” She hung up the phone and almost immediately she’d reverted back to her cold, motherly act. She stood and walked around the desk to us, embracing first Maize and then me, leaving us both with a kiss on the cheek. “The operation was successful, I take it?”

The question was unneeded as she had been listening in throughout the entire thing. She knew we’d done the job right. Still, I answered the question. Maize had tried to answer her once before and she’d had him punished. We weren’t sure why but Director Thurman preferred the females over males. Many of the other Units reported the same if not similar experiences. “Yes Ma’am.”

“Very good my dears. You’ve been called here for a reason. Because of your assignment today you missed a meeting the rest of the Six series attended. Tomorrow there is to be a showing and as the Six are my best series so far, I’ll be using each of you. You will report at 0700 hours to the auditorium.”

“Yes Ma’am,” I said again. It was as good as a dismissal, so Maize and I left the room, neither of us particularly pleased by the idea of tomorrows showing. It was always a bunch of rich snobs contemplating buying the services of UCA for whatever task they wanted done. But before any of them would put down money they wanted to see what each of us could do, from Units A6 – F6.

When the door slowly clicked shut behind us I glanced at Maize. His playful demeanor from earlier was gone; I hated to see him like that so I grabbed his arm and wrapped both mine around it, pulling him close. “It’ll be okay. They’ll give me some Zeneca after it’s over and you know I’ll shut off the feelings.” I didn’t want him to feel the pain I knew I was likely going to feel tomorrow. I was good and I knew I would be able to defend myself for the most part, but not even I could block everything.

He didn’t say anything else until we reached our room and the door was closed behind us. As he pulled off his shirt he looked over his shoulder at me, angry. “You won’t shut down on me.” The sentence was simple but it was more order than statement. He tossed his shirt on the floor and walked over to his bed.

“But they won’t give us both the---

“Come here.” He was sitting now, leaning forward with one arm resting on his knee and the other outstretched to me.

Even though he interrupted me I could feel no annoyance towards him and though a part of me wanted to resist his quiet request, to continue this argument just for the sake of arguing, I did as he asked. Within seconds he had his arms around my waist and his face pressed against my stomach. I wrapped my arms around his head.

“Please Kasey, please don’t shut me out.” His grip around my waist tightened and he pulled me closer.

Whatever resolve I’d had just seconds ago was gone at that quiet, muffled plea against my belly and I could feel myself melting in his arms. “Okay….” I knew of course that whatever pain I would be in tomorrow he would feel, every little nuisance of it but I also knew that shutting him out, closing down our hardwired connection, would bring him more pain in that situation than any I would be holding back. Because whoever I would face off against would be as strong if not stronger than I was.

I could feel his lips curve into a smile and before I could grab his wrists to stop him, Maize tickled me. Unable to hold back the laughter I tried to squirm away but only succeeded in moving further into his arms. He used this to fall backwards and drag us onto his bed, rolling so I was under him and he straddled my hips, still tickling me all the while. Only when I was out of breath from laughter did he stop and he cupped my face with his big hands, his warm breath brushing against my cheek. His eyes locked on mine for a moment and he left a chaste kiss on my lips before nuzzling his face in my neck. “Thank you.”

He rolled over again and pulled me on top of him, his arms loosely around my waist. “Sleep, love. We’re going to need it.” Almost immediately after that order he was asleep but it took me a bit longer to drift away, my concern for the morning bogging me down.

o.O.o

This was probably the worst possible outcome I could have asked for, though I should have known the Director would pit me against Unit Six, B6 – 481, or rather North as he was known to the other Units. Each compound was ranked in skill from A – F with A being the best and F the worst, so pitting me against North was going to give the prospective buyers the best taste of what we could do, even if we ended up tearing each other apart. Add to the mix the well known fact of North’s hatred and immense jealously of my being in the A Unit and well, this was just not going to be easy. North was going to be pulling out all the stops in an attempt to show me up and take my place. I turned my attention back to the Director.

“I would like to welcome you all here, to UCA Inc. and to thank you for even giving thought to investing in this program. I hope at least a few of you will be enticed by today’s…performance to buy in.”

There was an uncomfortable, somewhat awkward laugh in the auditorium as if the men and women assembled weren’t sure whether or not they were supposed to find her statement funny. The Director continued.

“Since the beginning of time and most often with wars, society has sought out ways to create the perfect human being, the strongest, the most intelligent, so on and so forth. And each time they have failed at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. In 2002 a discovery was made by one Marcus de von Kilhelm, a discovery that has led us to where we are today.” She picked up a white remote and pointed it at the screen behind us, where a picture of Kilhelm appeared on half and his discovery on the other. “Kilhelm showed us the way to combine genetics and electronics to create the best. Now, I would try to explain the science to you but I would likely confuse all you action minded people.”

This time the laughter was welcome and most of the people were paying avid attention to the screen and the Director.

“However, what Kilhelm allowed us to create was not the perfect human, but a cyborg. Now, most of you know what cyborgs are or have a vague idea, but I will try to clear the air a bit. Simply put, a cyborg is both human and robot.” She motioned to North and I so we obediently stepped forward while at the same time, our pictures and x-ray’s filled the screen behind us. “From embryo to baby they are grown with both an electronic chip and all the nutrients in a woman’s womb. From there, as they grow from child to teenager, from 3-13, they are continually trained and their body enhanced. When they reach the age of 13 the swell of upgrades stops as they are then implanted with automatically updating chips and systems, allowing them to do everything a normal human can do, only better. Much better.”

When she motioned for us to step back again we did and the screen flickered, this time with my stats.

“From cooking to killing, our Units are the best.” She pointed to the screen although most of the crowd was already staring at it. “As you can see, we at UCA Inc. do not stand for imperfection. This is Unit 6 Controller, A6 – 361 and she is the best in her compound. She’s got unsurpassed hand-to-hand combat skills, the highest kill-shot ratings and is so far the most advanced in assassinations, with a kill ratio of 10 in 10. She has never failed.”

She clicked the remote again and another image popped up on screen. My bodily statistics.

“Now I know that some of you might be wondering how a girl her size is even capable of such feats but I assure you it is not complicated, not at all.”

Not on the surface, I thought.

“She weighs 126 pounds and stands at 5 foot 2 inches. Her figure is small but athletic and well built. However, she is only half of the equation. From the time they start training, each Controller is fitted with an Analyst.” Another image filled the screen, this one of Maize and his stats. He stepped up beside me but kept his hands to himself. “I would like you to meet Unit 6 A6 – 362 Analyst. He is the one who lays out the plans for each operation. The brains of the outfit you might say.”

There was another laugh and most of the men and women were leaning forward in their seats. The Director set the remote down.

“There are a total of 168 operatives in UCA at the moment with 6 different Compounds and 12 Units. The Compounds are arranged alphabetically from A to F and the Units divided accordingly. For example, there are 12 Units in each Compound with 2 members in each Unit, one Controller and one Analyst. That equals 24 operatives in each Unit, paired off to equal 1 team. A6 – 361 and A6 – 362 here are the best members in their Compound.” She studied the crowd. “Are there any questions?”

One man raised his hand and stood after the Director acknowledged him. “What if one of the Unit members are killed during an operation?”

“Then the remaining member in the Unit will be hard-wired to be paired with a younger Unit or will be disposed of. However, in neither case will you get a refund. There is no cash-back guarantee at all. Quite simply, this is an investment.”

Nobody else raised their hand for questions and so the Director smiled. “Well then, let’s begin, shall we? Behind us you see a screen. Behind that screen is a 40 by 40 foot area where A6 – 361 and B6 – 481 will give you a very good demonstration. It is too dangerous to allow you to see it in person so cameras in the room will capture everything and show us on the screen.” She didn’t say anything else but motioned for North and I to enter the room.

As I walked past Maize he set his hand on my shoulder but was forced to let it drop as I passed. Usually our Analysts helped us in one-on-one battles, giving us tactical knowledge about our opponent. But not in matches such as these. Here, it was all about the Controller and what he or she was capable of.

North did not speak to anyone but his Analyst and the Director but that didn’t stop him from communicating with me as the doors slammed closed and locked behind us. The anger and excitement in his eyes spoke volumes.

A buzzer rang out around us and a bell sounded 3 times before we were allowed to begin. There was no customary hand shake or bow to show good sportsmanship; no, this was just a bloody demonstration for all the monkeys watching.

We were both still for a moment before we began to circle each other, observing even though we both knew what to expect. As best and second best the only thing to expect was, well, the best. Anything else and we could lose our positions.

I followed his movements for only a moment before I ran at him, feinting to the left and right to confuse him. It didn’t work of course as we both knew how to watch for the actual attack, but a show was a show. I raised my fist to slam into his jaw but he caught it and twisted, forcing me to drop and put my back to him. It was easy to fake the pain and gain the leverage I needed in order to flip him over my shoulder onto the hard concrete flooring.

He was on the ground no longer than a second before we were at it again, each of us dodging and throwing punches and kicks, some landing, most missing. He managed to get a good kick or two at my ribs, cracking them but I returned the favor and broke his left collar bone with a well-planned toss. We circle each other again before the fighting continued on for another 30 minutes or so before I was able to throw him again. His back and head thudded against the wall and I could tell he was seeing stars for a moment. We were assassins, sure, but we were still in a somewhat human package. We could feel pain, even if it was only for a moment before training forced us to completely block it out.

If this had been any other situation, a friendly sparring match with a different opponent, I would have stepped away and let North regain his feet when he was ready. But this was no such time and I was eager to finish this. I wanted to be with Maize again as quickly as possible. I rushed in and raised my arm to slam my fingers into the pressure point at his neck and knock him unconscious. Too late did I see the dull metal of the blade, his quick movements as he rushed up and straight at me as he slammed it into my stomach. We both stopped, stunned; he at having actually gotten away with the dirty trick and me with the pain and disbelief. He smiled then and did what he’d been trained to do, twisting the knife around and carving a whole in my belly.

I could feel the blood rising to the back of my throat, my knees growing weaker, my eye sight dimming. His attack was by all means a killing blow and had I been normal human being I would have dropped like a stone but human I was not. As my training had taught I swallowed the blood and slammed a fist into his jaw, knocking him back into the wall. I held him there with one hand, squeezing and grabbed his other hand, the one holding the knife in my body. Sucking in a breath, I quickly pulled the blade and his hand free of me and twisted his hand back, under and to the side. I felt nothing at the sickening sound of his wrist breaking, the crack loud and echoing in the room. The knife dropped from his hand and I took it further, pulling him forward and turning him around in an attempt to push him face first into the wall.

My grip was quickly growing weaker and he used that to his advantage as he too ignored the pain I inflicted and brought his knee up into my stomach as I tried to turn him. I was forced to let go and stumbled backwards a little. Blood had long since wet the floor beneath us and as he made a quick movement towards me I used it to my benefit, sliding forward with enough force to grab his arm and pull it behind him and force him into the wall again. With one quick twist I had dislocated his left arm and he sucked in a pained breath.

It wasn’t enough though as he slammed his head into my face, breaking my nose. I slipped backwards again in my own blood, holding my nose for only a minute before it too was numbed. We both stood facing each other, panting and wary. I had to finish this now or he was and I couldn’t let that happen. Pride forbade it.

In our stumbling and sliding the knife had gotten kicked across the floor to the other side of the large room. He rushed towards me and with a grim smile I dropped to my hands and used all of my weight to kick my legs up, hitting him squarely in the chest and sending him back into the wall again. As quickly as I could then I pushed myself up and was half-way across the room before he was on me. With a quick jab to my kidney I was down and he got to the knife first. I took a step back and tensed, waiting. Pain was clouding both of our judgments’ now and I could see he wanted to end this as quickly as I did. Except he wasn’t using his training anymore. He was getting sloppy and his movements were sluggish as he rushed me. I was quickly loosing feeling in my legs and the dizziness was getting worse. It was pure training that kept me standing. When he was suddenly in front of me I realized I’d stopped paying attention and acted purely on reflex as I grabbed his unbroken hand and slammed his shoulder joint back into socket, using the surprise and pain to grab his knife hand and twist him around so he was pressed back against my chest. It was easy then to force his other arm into place and set the knife into place against his own neck and pressed it harshly there, drawing blood and fully prepared to slit his throat.

The buzzer sounded and I was forced to drop him, but not without bringing my knee up and slamming in into his groin and slamming the knife into his thigh. It wasn’t hard then to let myself back away from him and drop to my knees. The doors to the room slammed open moments after the buzzer sounded and Maize and North’s analyst, Mary, walked in. Both of them were carrying medical supplies as well as a syringe and a bottle of Zeneca. Before my back hit the floor and I closed my eyes I could see the strain on both of their faces.

Then Maize was kneeling beside me and I was lost to everything else except his honey gold eyes and soothing whisper of a voice. When he plunged the syringe into my vein and dispensed the Zeneca I jerked automatically though it didn’t really hurt. He set to work then, pulling up my shirt to deal with the worst of my injuries. Only by sheer force of will did I manage to remain conscious as he poured disinfectant over it and put a cloth over it to stop the bleeding. I couldn’t let myself go yet, not until Maize and I were safe in our room. We would both be punished if I did. The Zeneca got to work, rushing through my body in a quick assessment before setting to work on my knife wound. Within minutes my skin was flawless again but the pain was still there. It took a lot longer to heal internal damage than it did external.

“C’mon sweetheart, almost there,” he whispered, brushing a kiss against my temple when the cameras couldn’t see.

With his help I was able to stand but his help could last only a moment before I was going to have to step away and walk on my own back out onto the stage. Even just the slight movement of taking a step had me wanting to cry but I forced that back like a good little cyborg and finally let go of Maize. I took a deep breath and then strode confidently out onto the stage, as if for all the world I’d never been hurt in the first place, Maize following along behind me. We were the only ones on stage aside from the Director.

“As you can see, my operatives are highly skilled and will continue to fight until they have succeeded in their task.” She motioned to me and I obediently pulled up my shirt to expose the now flawless looking skin. “When they are hurt they are given a solution the scientist here at UCA created called Zeneca. Zeneca does 2 things. First of all, it sends hundreds of thousands of micro-scanners throughout their body and assesses all damage and health levels, from knife wounds to cholesterol levels. 361 here needs to lower her cholesterol.” The crowd laughed. “After it takes note of everything, it sets to work on repairing the skin and wound. It is much more efficient than sutures. What would usually take a human months to heal completely, if they didn’t die from such a wound, takes my operatives only hours.”

The Director motioned to me again and I bowed to the crowd after pulling my shirt back down. Maize and I walked quickly off the stage and out of the room, though the Directors words were still audible until the door clicked closed behind us.

The moment we were free of the Director and the crowd my knees buckled and Maize barely managed to catch me. With a little maneuvering he managed to pick me up, princess style and I rested my cheek against his shoulder. “Easy now. Everything’s going to be okay.” His whispers were soothing and with the knowledge that I was safe in his arms, I let myself go.

o.O.o

Part Two:

"Well Maize, you’re as healthy as you’re going to get. As soon as the scanners are done you can go.” The Doctor glanced at me and smiled kindly. Dr. Danners was one of the few scientists in the lab who wasn’t scared of me and for that he was the only one Maize and I went to for our weekly check-ups. But because of his kindness towards us most of the other doctors tended to make a leper of him. “Let’s go Kase. Let me see that stomach of yours.”

Maize took my place against the wall and I moved over to the examining table and lay down. He pulled my shirt up to my chest and gently prodded the area where North’s knife had entered my abdomen. We both knew this was an unnecessary measure as the Zeneca had entered my system almost immediately after the stabbing and I was completely healed hours later. That was a week ago. Danners knew I was humoring him but neither of us said anything. A man well into his 70s, Danners was the closest thing Maize and I had to an influential person in our lives. A father was what the humans called him or a grandfather. Or even a very close, much respected friend.

He smiled and stepped away from me, satisfied. “Very good. Completely healed my dear.”

I pulled my shirt down and sat up on the table, reluctant to leave. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Before I could stop him he’d pulled me into a warm hug. “Just Danners, my girl, just Danners.” He let go of me then and glanced at Maize, smiling. “You’ll both be 21 soon, yes?” He didn’t wait for an answer as I went to stand next to my partner but barreled on. “Now you know I can’t get you anything, no, that’s quite against the rules I’m afraid but,” He took a step closer and gave a conspiratorial wink. “I can tell you where to go to pick something up.” Laughter bubbled out of his throat, threatening to turn to coughing and he pointed at us, his eyes gleaming with plans. “And of course no one knows who it’s from. No, no, we would all get in trouble if they learned it came from me, but—“ The laughter turned to a hacking cough, though he was still smiling.

Maize laughed and stepped forward to grab Danners hand and pat him on the back until the coughing stopped. When Danners was calm again he pushed Maize away, but he was still grinning like an old fool. He pulled a small slip of paper out of his pocket and passed it to me. “Now, just follow those directions on your next mission and everything will be fine.”

The door to the lab slid open and immediately Maize and the Doctor straightened, both of their faces morphing into the image of a cold professional. Two young children entered the room, neither of them looking a day over 10. The girl was short and her hair was tied back into two blond ponytails. She glanced at me with her pale green eyes and even though I knew she was seeing the same thing in my face, I shuddered at the uninterested, kill-you-in-your-sleep look she gave me. Her eyes turned to Danners and then to Maize for a moment before turning back to me. “This is A6 – 363 reporting to A6 – 361 Controller. You have a new Target. You will be debriefed on your way to Target operation.”

Her designation surprised me though I know it shouldn’t have. Just because Unit 6 was full didn’t mean the Director had no other operatives waiting to be given a position. The moment something happened to a Unit in my Compound these two would take their places. Briefly I wondered which she would eventually become, Controller or Analyst, but Maize’s hand on my arm and Danners quiet cough pulled me to attention. “Understood 363.”

The girl nodded slightly but otherwise didn’t move. “Let’s go 362.” Maize let his hand drop but stepped ahead of me and out of the lab. We didn’t glance back at Danners and neither of us said anything until we’d reached our room and were changing into our uniforms for missions. The outfits were still skin tight and black, the only difference being they were made of a softer material and easier to move in. And Maize had long sleeves as well.

He was done before I was and sat on his bed to check his gun while he waited. “21 huh?”

“We knew it was coming.”

“I don’t know anyone in any of the Units who is older than us,” he said. He looked up at me. We both knew there wasn’t any one.

o.O.o

This was supposed to be simple; in and out within 10 minutes. But of course it wasn’t. When is anything ever simple?

“361 your retreat has been ordered. You’ve activated a silent alarm.”

He had to be kidding. There’d been no warning for any kind of silent alarm in the layout and the planning. None what so ever. But if I strained my ears I could hear movement in the previously silent house. Damnation! I glanced down the hall at the closed door. I was almost there. I could be in there within seconds and be done with it all and no one would have to come back here.

“I cannot follow that order. 361 canceling all communications until mission completed.” With that I pulled the mic out of my ear and dropped it into my pocket before continuing down the hall. I could hear the orders still fuzzing their way through the mic before it was muffled.

I moved quickly down the hall and into the room, doing a quick scan to make sure we were alone. When I found no one but the intended target, asleep in his bed, it was easy to move forward and do what needed to be done. Within minutes the young man, maybe in his early 20’s, was dead, a pillow pressed against his face. I had smothered him.

I was halfway across the room before the door burst open and I dived behind a chair as one of the guards fired at me. The bullet slammed into the mantel behind me, little shards of marble littering the ground. I peeked around and he fired again. I was able to see 2 guards before I was forced to duck again. Should be fairly easy. Pulling my knife out of its sheath, I slipped into a small crouch and waited for just a moment. Leveling myself so I had a bit of momentum, I shoved the chair and it went sliding across the floor.

One of the men cursed as it hit him but I knew it had hit only one. I lunged and attacked one of them, dragging my blade across his chest and gut before slamming the handle into his head behind his ear. He went down like a rock, his big body thudding against the cold tile floors.

The other man was shooting again and I was too late to move; one bullet grazed my forehead and the other slammed into my chest. I cursed and fought the almost instantaneous darkness that tried to overcome me. It failed and I shut off my pain receptors at the last minute. Snarling, I threw my knife at the man and was satisfied when it slid into his chest clean to the hilt.

I grabbed the wound in my chest as best I could in an attempt to stop the blood but otherwise focused on getting out. Chest wounds were the worst as they could literally knock an agent out for a few hours at best or kill them if the bullet wasn’t removed quickly. I had to get back to Maize.

The way I had come was not an option as I was sure there was security waiting for me there so I closed and locked the door, pushing a chair in front of it. I had to stop several times to catch my breath and focus on standing. Damn it all to hell! Glancing around the room it took only moments to assess my options and the window was the best one.

Without a second thought I ran and jumped through the glass just as the door was busted open and men swarmed inside, guns raised. I raced across the immense grounds of the mansion, running on pure adrenaline at this point, and jumped over the fence. I landed softly but almost stumbled; my limbs were getting heavier. I staggered my way through the woods and underbrush until I reached the road where Maize was waiting for me. “Go!” I ordered as I crawled into the car.

He was pale as he glanced back at me but he turned back around and sped away from the area.

o.O.o

I held still as Maize straddled my waist, the car light shining down on us and glinting over the pocket knife and tweezers he held over my naked chest. We were in the back seat of the car, parked under some bridge and he was doing his damnedest to get the bullet out of my chest. I on the other hand, was in dream land. Sort of. I was awake but everything was kind of blurry and surreal. Awkwardly I reached a hand up set it on his cheek. He glanced up at me and I hated the fear in his eyes, the fear I put there. “I’m sorry Mason,” I whispered, using the name I had given him when we’d first met. Over the years we’d given each other nicknames, Maize and Kase, but rarely did we use our actual names.

His smiled was strained but it was still a smile. “It’s alright. My girl is not gonna die from something like this.” He dropped his eyes back to my chest and hesitated for only a moment, before making the wound just a little larger. Tossing the knife to the floor boards then he used the tweezers and dug around inside me until he found the bullet. I could feel it as he pulled it out of me; it was like having a scab picked up little by little. Both the tool and the bullet were the next to go on the floor and he pulled the Zeneca kit out of the front seat. He was quick to pull out the syringe and the bottle of Zeneca; he plunged the needle into the bottle and pulled out a goodly amount of the stuff before dropping the bottle and the rest of the kit into the floor boards as well.

Usually we applied the Zeneca straight into our veins as it was the fastest way to get the medicine throughout the entire body quickly but when we were faced with wounds as grievous as mine we applied the Zeneca directly into the wound. And it burned like a b***h.

Maize pushed the needle into the bullet wound and I jerked; when he plunged the medicine out of the hypodermic and it spread around my wound I couldn’t help but to cry out, tears forcing their way out of my eyes. He reached down into the Zeneca kit again and pulled out a bundle of bandage to press against my chest. He held it there and leaned down, pressing his face into my neck and shoulder to both hold me and hold me down. His body was shaking. A few minutes passed as my body convulsed from the Zeneca but when I was able to I wrapped my arms around him. We were both crying.

o.O.o

It took a minimum of 4 hours for the Zeneca to take full effect on the kind of wound I had so for 4 hours Maize and I spoke of the smallest things, from the day we met when we were 3 years old until today, we went over it all. Neither of us moved from the back seat, his body pressing into mine as we talked. Occasionally we would adjust ourselves a little so we didn’t crush each other and we made love once as well. And even though we already knew what the other was thinking, we voiced all of our thoughts.

In the front seat we could hear the finality in the buzzing on the microphone and speaker headset Maize had abandoned when we’d gotten away from the mansion and its troubles. They’d stopped trying to communicate with us about 3 hours ago. We both knew what that meant of course. We weren’t going back to Base. They probably thought we were dead and if they didn’t they would send someone after us to finish off the job because even though they knew where we were, even though they were watching our vitals, we hadn’t come back. As far as they were concerned we’d abandoned the mission and were attempting to run away. It was an action punishable by death.

When the bullet wound was merely a fierce, angry red scar on my chest and I was able to breathe a little easier, we set to planning. There was no way we could go back but we didn’t exactly have the necessary documentation to start over. Given time we could create the papers we needed but given time they could find us as well. We couldn’t keep the car as it was bugged with a GPS chip. And so were we but we’d alright gotten rid of those chips, taken turns cutting into each others wrists to pull them out and toss them into the floor board.

“I think Danner’s knew,” Maize said quietly and when I looked at him I guess I must have looked a bit disbelieving because he smiled down at me. “Just listen. Danner’s is what, in his 70s or 80’s, somewhere in there. He’s had to have been here since the beginning. He has to have known what happened to the operatives who were older than us. He probably knew what was going to happen today.”

“I don’t understand. What does one have to do with the other?”

“Think about it Kase. Neither of us knew about that silent alarm today. And I always make sure you have no surprises when you go into places like that.” He was leaning over me and brushed a hand against my cheek, pushing some of my hair back behind my ear. “But what if they did? What if the Director knew? What if she was trying to get us killed?”

“And if Danner’s knew the Director would try to do that….” I said, catching on. “He would want to help us because he likes us.”

“That’s why he gave us that note. He’s trying to help us get away!” Excited, Maize gently pushed himself off of me and climbed back into the front seat; I followed suit as he started up the car. “We’ll take the car as close as a mile to the location he gave us, then we’re hoofing it.”

That said, he put the car into gear and started down the road only to stop, lean over and kiss me so deeply I melted for him and then he pulled back into his seat and started again. “We’re going to get out of this, Kasey. We’re going to live like normal human beings.”

It took us an hour to get to the location Danner’s had given us, a small warehouse near the docks east of where we’d been. We’d abandoned the car a mile away, just as we’d planned and now we were sitting on the floor of the warehouse, pouring over the documents Danner’s had provided us with; drives licenses and ID’s, Social Security cards and Birth Certificates, Passports, Job histories, Credit reports. All of it. Everything we needed to start over. And $10,000.

I wondered how the good doctor had managed to do all of this and not get caught, not to mention how he even afforded any of it. This had to have cost him all the money he had saved up in his lifetime. But I was grateful, so very thankful that he would do this for us. And then I thought, what if we weren’t the only ones? What if there were more he had helped? I turned to look at Maize and voice these thoughts, hoping they were true so we could find others like us and then maybe, maybe we could help all the young ones still learning, give them a normal life by the time they reached our ages.

I looked at Maize but he looked odd, as if he was straining to listen to something and before I knew what was happening he was throwing himself on top of me, ordering me to stay down. I tried to push him off; I was the fighter, not him! Vaguely I noted the sound of glass shattering and falling to the floor but everything stopped for me when I felt his body go slack on top of mine. I pushed him off of me and rolled to protect him but I stopped when I felt the sticky, ugly sensation of blood coating my fingers.

Before I realized what I was doing I was holding his body close to my chest, rocking back and forth as blood poured out of the hole in the back of his head. His blood. Gods! I was shrieking, trying to close the wound, covering it with my hands as his blood dripped through my fingers and covered the papers Danners had made for us.

o.O.o

“A6 – 362 Analyst terminated,” she said into her speaker. Closing one eye, she peered into the scope again and sighted the other target, the young woman shaking and crying as she held her partner in her lap. She wasn’t even paying attention; if the woman moved she could probably save herself now. Too late. She pulled the trigger and watched as the woman’s body stiffened then slackened and fell over the body she held in her lap. Blood poured from the wound beside her ear and mixed with the blood from the male. Blood was already pooling and covering the floor. “A6 – 361 Controller terminated.”

“Understood. A6 – 364 requesting permission to return to base.” She smiled at the uncertainty in his voice.

There was a crackle of sound and she heard the reply over the speaker but still, she knew better than to act before her Analyst ordered. “A6 – 363 Controller and A6 – 364 Analyst have been promoted to Unit 6. You may return to base now.”

She frowned at that but did as she was told, brushing a strand of loose blond hair from her face as she turned and dismantled her rifle, fitting the pieces neatly into their places in the case. “So we took their places didn’t we Pace,” she said as she clicked the lid closed and stood, turning her green eyes one last time to the warehouse where two former comrades bodies now lie. Her blond pony tails lifted with the strong breeze and she turned to leave.

“Looks like it Destry.”

“Unit 6 A6 – 363 Controller and Unit 6 A6 – 364 Analyst returning to base. Mission accomplished.”