The Story of Blood and Roses

I exited the mansion in haste, prepared to call the chief and finalize all plans. I needed more rules, hard boundaries and some personal details checked up before I got into anything.

I was sitting on my sofa with my laptop and doing some research on Anthony Murray when a wild chat popped up on the screen out of nowhere.

'Who is this dumbass? Why is he using a Gmail account to chat with me?'

[JH212: Wassup?]

Really? This had what he had come down to? I smiled at the screen and thought before I replied.

[MV: Are you kidding me? Are you still roleplaying Justin Beiber?]

[MV: When will your Belieber phase pass?]

[MV: Am I missing the joke?]

His reply was quick.

[JH212: That time of the month?]

Hunt had been my playmate since we were in diapers. He'd been the one who warded off the bullies in elementary school and followed me to boarding school when my father abandoned me. Billy had been ecstatic that his son, Jacob Hunt had taken such a decision.

He was been young when his mother passed away, and it had a strong impact on him. He was extremely protective of those he loved and he loved me like a sister.

His friendship meant a lot. He had been there when my mother died. He had helped me train. He was a born fighter; watching him maneuver weapons like a magician performed magic tricks was one of my greatest delights when we were training. I had learned a lot from him, and he had learned a lot from me.

[MV: Har har. Very funny.]

[JH212: Heard about your new case…]

[MV: Oh.]

[JH212: That's all you have to say?]

[MV: What else?]

[JH212: Aren't you excited?]

[MV: Yup.]

[JH212: I'll visit you sometime. Miss you.]

[MV: Gotta go! Duty calls.]

[JH212: Daddy Dearest? :D]

[MV: Have some respect for your father!]

[**212: Bye. ;)]

My phone came to life. The call was from a private number. I picked it up and waited for the other person to speak.

"Mia, you are wanted at the headquarters in thirty minutes."

And the phone went dead.

'Why do I have to go to the headquarters again?' I groaned.

'Hello, work pressure.'

I thought I was going to sit on my laptop and have a nice evening stalking people, but hell no… They just had to ruin my plans.

It took me ten minutes to dress formally and reach my car. And then I drove like a maniac—traffic rules be damned.

"Agent Vincent," I said to the Chief's secretary.

A junior agent greeted me and asked me to follow him. The Chief was there, sitting in his office, going through a bunch of files.

Busy man.

"Mia, please take a seat. We will start the meeting shortly."

The door opened again and a blonde beauty came through it. She smiled politely at me as she sat down on the seat beside me and then cleared her throat.

"Daisy Green will be your partner for this mission." He gave me a pointed look.

"I'm sorry; I don't understand." My brows were furrowed in confusion. My mind screamed to protest.

'No, I can't work with someone else.'

"I'm sure you understand that I don't have to explain the reasons behind my decisions." He raised an eyebrow as if to challenge me to protest. "You might have experience with shootouts and battlegrounds, but what you don't have is the power of using technology-" I cut him off.

"I'm sorry, but as far as I remember, I am well acquainted with computers and software functioning. You know this!"

"You're being stubborn, Mia," he said in a calm voice.

"What's so different in this case?"

'Calm down, Mia, he's the boss. You can't scream at him. He has experience on his side; he must have a good reason!'

"Anthony Murray is not only a very intelligent man but also very well informed about the workings of our organization." My eyes widened. "We need to hide your identity. We have to make your fake records as real as it can get. You will be busy with the field work, but what about the other part of the job?"

"Excuse me, Chief, can I speak?" Daisy asked. Chief nodded at her.

"Miss Vincent, my name is Daisy Green. I have been appointed to make your job easier. Anthony Murray has a reputation for his background checks. He has a team of trackers who can find out each and every detail about you if you don't have a good way to block them out. I'll be acting as the barrier. My job will be to remove your birth records, and job records, among other things, so that you can continue without triggering their suspicions."

She was a confident girl. There was something about her that told me that she would do whatever to get the job done. There was a wicked gleam in her eyes, a gleam only workaholics had.

'Nice.'

"Shouldn't that be the job of the organization?" I challenged. Of course, now I was just testing her determination to make me understand. I think even Chief understood that. He didn't interrupt my interrogation. She blinked at my comment and then rolled her eyes.

"No offense, Miss Vincent, but the organization doesn't revolve around you." I laughed. "With the huge amount of work to be done continually to protect you, the organization has hired me to oversee it personally. We wouldn't want anything to get missed and leave you vulnerable."

"None taken, Miss Green." Yes. She would call me out on my bullshit. "Anything else?"

"Ah, Mia, now that we've caught your interest. I'll leave it to Daisy to give you the details… As far as I'm concerned, she gets the job done. You two will make a good team. Good luck."

He didn't let us speak further. His tone held finality. We left the room silently as I grumbled in my mind.

It might be fun to work with someone else. Maybe I would learn something new. Adding to the experience was never a problem, but then did I have the time to experiment on my abilities to socialize in this case?

"I know what you are thinking. You should relax a little." Yeah, she was indignant.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, c'mon, I did my research. I know that you must be really furious that Anthony killed your mother. You should be, but don't let your emotions get in your way! If he gets in your head, there will be no way that we will be able to dodge his attacks…"

"I know that." I sighed. "Let's make a plan. So apart from the records, what else will you be working on?"

"Well, if you must know, I will be monitoring your locations and interactions with the members of the gang and recording them, just in case we get any information on their workings. Then, we need to hack into their system and get access to the mansion."

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