Crimson

Twenty four year old Rebekah Danvers lay perfectly still, her dark blue eyes searching for the target through her rifle scope. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, focusing on what was ahead of her. The black car pulled up to the back of the nightclub rather than the front, just as she predicted. Two bodyguards came out. Then the target; a man in his late forties, dressed in an expensive suit and carrying a briefcase, which Rebekah knew would contain money.

She had been following this man for only a short while. He seemed more wary of his surroundings earlier in the week, but at this precise moment he clearly thought he was safe. Another shooter had tried to take his life and got caught. His mistake. Rebekah never failed any of her assignments. Sometimes, there were scuffles and she had to find other ways to escape from those who chased after her. But she always returned, mostly unharmed.

This time would be no different. She'd be there and gone before anyone noticed. Antonio Delgado was a lowlife, getting rich on trafficking drugs and young women. He had a reputation for being ruthless and sneaky. But he was also well known to become overconfident when it looked like things were going his way.

Tonight, he was handing the most recent profits he had made, over to his bosses. Authorities weren't able to get anything on him, which caused no end of upset. Sentry, the organisation that Rebekah worked for, knew he was too dangerous to be taken alive. They had already obtained enough concrete evidence to bust up his operation for good, which would be handed over to the right people, once he was dead.

Rebekah was raised by a single mother. Nicolette herself used to be a hitwoman. Her father Malcom had not hung around. They could have tried to track him down, but in all honesty, who really wanted to? Sentry allowed Nicolette to leave the business as long as her child, regardless of gender, was taken into the fold; that was the condition for her retirement...

It was now or never. Rebekah pulled the trigger. The bullet hit its' mark, right in the middle of Antonio's forehead. She shot to her feet and took off running as fast as she could. She raced down the stairs of the unfinished building and threw herself into the back of the white ice cream truck that had just turned the corner.

"It's done?" She tore the mask off her face as she moved to sit next to the driver whose name was Ross. "Mission accomplished." He grinned, feeling a genuine sense of pride; his charge had not been one of the most promising recruits he'd ever come across for nothing. "Clean getaway?" Rebekah smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "As always." Ross smiled back, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "You're just as good as, if not better than your Mum and she was a badass." "Thanks."

*********

EIGHT YEARS LATER...

Rebekah should have known her luck in coming back without serious injuries, wasn't going to last forever. But nothing about the information with her next assignment, gave her the sense of something not quite right. She did however have a strange knot in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps she'd have faired better to pass this one to someone else. But the mission had been tailored specifically for her, so there was no backing out now.

All in all, on the 12th of February, Saturday night, the set up had gone along in a very similar way to the others she had done in the past. She found a spot where her view would not be obstructed. She camouflaged the area well. Her favorite gun was primed and ready. Rebekah then got into position and waited, keeping her gaze intent on the cars which were coming and going.

The target arrived at the exact time he was supposed to. Nikolai Livingstone; the son and heir to a very wealthy family, who were very popular amongst both the upper and lower class. He wanted to take over from his father Kieran and wasn't willing to wait until the old man passed away. So, although it broke his heart, the father reluctantly hired Rebekah to do the job.

She took careful aim. The shot went through Nikolai's neck, not ideal but he wouldn't survive it. She dismantled her weapon and packed everything away (she probably could have set some kind of speed record, with how quickly she did this.) No traces must be left behind. She moved towards the main rooftop exit. Nikolai's security team must have figured out that something was up. Before she even got halfway, she could hear the echo of footsteps running up the staircase.

She headed back outside and looked around. The building to the right of her was closer than the one on her left. She sent an SOS message to Ross. Without a second thought, she ran to the edge and jumped. She landed, tucked and rolled, then sprang to her feet, never once looking back. She heard gunfire from what seemed to be a long distance away.

But the pain was instant when the bullets slammed into her body. Rebekah staggered for a few seconds, then collapsed on the ground. She knew she was in really bad shape; the light was beginning to fade and she couldn't speak a single word. Blood poured from her wounds, mixing in with the rain which had chosen at that very moment to fall.

*********

Rebekah noticed the familiar room that she was in, when she regained consciousness. Ross was there. The look on his face told her that it had indeed been a close call. Nicolette's friend and former mentor might be in his later years now, but he was still sharp as a knife and fitter than most guys half his age.

He was there the day Rebekah was born. There wasn't a time in her life where she couldn't recall him being with them. He was a great person to lean on, when Nicolette had to bring up her daughter alone. His partner Alan once taught new medical staff and only recently had decided to retire. Ross thought he himself could stick it out for a few more years, before calling it quits.

The young woman currently trying to sit up in the white hospital bed, was the closest thing he would ever have to his own child. He hated seeing her like this. But that was the nature of Sentry's work; there are always dangers in the field and not all of them were easy to spot. Ross just knew Rebekah would try to play this off. And sure enough...

"Hey, I've never actually been shot before. I thought it would be really painful. Bet I'll have some wicked scars."

Ross managed a weak smile, so thankful to hear that she had pulled through such an intense surgery. Five bullets were removed, to be exact. This was proof once again, that Rebekah was tough. She also had a will to live which was as strong as anyone that he'd ever known.

He stood up and kissed her on the forehead. "The medication is taking affect. You wont feel much for several hours. Those bullet holes will be there for a long time yet. Also, your mother's coming to visit you tomorrow, so get some rest. You need it." Rebekah obediently closed her eyes and drifted away.

When she awoke the next afternoon, she saw Nicolette in a chair by her bed. "Hey Mum." Her mother had definitely been crying, which made her feel bad. "Hey yourself. I've been here all day. Do you realize how fortunate you really are? I'm told it was pretty bad when they first brought you in and I was so scared that you wouldn't make it out of the operating room."

Rebekah smiled, although she could feel the pain resurfacing. It was starting to hurt quite a bit. "Well I did. I live to fight another day." She spied the morphine drip and pushed the plunger. Nicolette took hold of her hand. "I know better than to try and talk you out of this job. You love it, probably more than I ever did. You're definitely one of the best recruits Sentry has come up with and I don't say that because you're my daughter. Just...be more careful from now on. Please?"

"I promise."

She was discharged from sickbay several weeks later. The doctor said for her to take it easy, or she would do more damage. Of course, she didn't enjoy the idea of basically doing nothing, but she wanted to heal up properly so she could return to work. Rebekah went walking a lot, as soon as she was steadier on her feet. The gun range became a more frequent hangout; her aim was deadly accurate.

She brushed up on her knife throwing skills ;no problems there. She also supervised training sessions, always cautious about not putting too much strain on her current injuries. It would be another few weeks until she was pronounced fit for duty. The days seemed to both slow down and speed up. It was frustrating for someone as active as Rebekah. Finally the doctor cleared her.

*********

Home was a large two bedroom apartment, paid for by Sentry. It blended in perfectly with the suburban surroundings. Nobody would ever guess that this nondescript apartment complex housed two very dangerous women. Although Nicolette was retired from the game, she could still hold her own. Sometimes she and Rebekah would spar.

She worried for her daughter, wringing her hands whenever she knew there was a job. Nicolette knew better than most, that this line of work was unpredictable. However, both Sentry and Ross were watching over Rebekah all the time, and she continued to improve with every challenge. She refused to give up, even when the odds were stacked against her.

The forecast that evening, was for a severe thunderstorm. Nicolette could see from her balcony, that the grey clouds were rolling in. She pressed a button on her phone. Rebekah answered immediately. "Hi Mum. Order's just about ready." "Take it easy on the way home, it's about to pour down like crazy." Even a natural occurance like a storm brought out Nicolette's protective instincts.

Rebekah could hear the concern in her mother's voice. So as per usual, she gave her reassurance. "Of course, I will." "See you soon."

She paid for the takeaway meal and walked back to her bike as the storm gathered overhead. She put the bag inside the seat compartment and took her helmet off the handlebars. For a short while there, Rebekah merely stood in place and felt the first drops of the incoming bad weather. Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning began to flash across the sky. She slipped on her helmet, kicked the bike into gear and rode off into the darkness.

Rebekah didn't mind getting soaked, it was only water. Besides Nicolette would have warm drink and dry clothes waiting for her. And after a long hot shower, the two of them would settle down in front of the tv with their food and watch movies, just a typical Friday night.

THE END