Jib seemed in charge, and he dribbled the ball between his legs. “Wanna go?”
She laughed. “Me? You don’t wanna play me.”
“Come on. You can’t be that chief.” Jib grinned.
Bullseye held out her arms. “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. First shot’s yours.”
Jib walked to the line, and he took only a second to shoot. The ball fell through the chained hoop, and he ran to catch the ball before it hit dirt. Turning to Bullseye, he passed the ball to her with a grin.
“Your turn, new cha,” Nikki taunted from the sidelines.
From where she stood near the edge of the court, Bullseye looked at the hoop. She felt a tingling burn run through her body as her mutate-genes kicked in her perfect hand-eye coordination. Bullseye next locked eyes on her opponent. With a quick motion of her arm, she threw the ball in the direction of the hoop without looking. She saw Jib’s eyes widen as she heard the ball pass cleanly through the chains.
“Whoa.”
Bullseye smirked as she stepped to lean in on her flummoxed competitor. Having long since learned to ignore the hormonal drives of adolescence, she still knew what effect this would have on him. As she expected, Jib’s teenage body tensed as she leaned close to whisper in his ear, “How about we call it a draw? I wouldn’t want you to look shoddy in front of your chas.”
Jib threw a quick glance at the two girls. “Deal. I’m Jib, by the way.” He uneasily took a step back, and he motioned to his friends. “These guys are Ian and Erik. The chas are Lilae and Nikki.”
Bullseye looked at the group. “You can guess who I am now? I’ve heard the rumors about the cha who can’t miss what she’s shootin’ at.” When they nodded, she bobbed her head at the far perimeter wall. “Wanna get outta here?”
Nikki turned to Ian and the others. “She has her shots, you guys. Bulls over there has nothin’ to sweat with the treatment pumpin’ through her veins. She’s gonna get us factored! Flush it.” Nikki backed away, expecting her friends to follow.
The punishment of DRK injection always loomed over the Youth. Few were on the treatment schedule. It wasn’t unreasonable to fear viral injection for leaving the compound unauthorized after curfew. These Youth seemed particularly aware of the risk, and no doubt this wasn’t their first time breaking curfew.
“Fine, stay in here.” Bullseye waved around the yard. “I’m just offerin’ a little off-compound glow.”
The Youth exchanged glances and wordlessly debated the way a group of close friends can. Finally, Jib smiled at her. As the rest of the group stepped to join Bullseye, Nikki hung back and crossed her arms. Bullseye waved to Nikki before turning to lead the others toward the perimeter wall. As they ran across the yard, Bullseye heard Nikki catching up.
Good, little sheep, she thought.
The Youth scaled the wall and jumped over the far side before guards could spot them. They landed on a sidewalk that ran along the street outside. A topless recreation vehicle sat parked not far away, and it didn’t take long for Nikki to override the security system. Soon they were cruising away from the compound in the direction of Old Dunt, a nearby city on the coast.
With wind blowing her hair, Bullseye leaned forward from the back seat to shout in Nikki’s ear while the girl drove. “Where’d you learn to boost cars?”
“Every girl needs a skill.” Nikki took a drink from a bottle Ian had found in the front seat. “I was on my own without anyone to sponsor me for the Youth program. So, I stole cars and sold them for enough kronar to pay my own way.”
“It’s great having a loaded girlfriend,” said Ian.
Nikki slugged him. Ian laughed.
Erik, sitting beside Bullseye, spoke quietly so the others wouldn’t hear. “Nikki’s parents died in a rebel uprising a few years ago. Their family restaurant was right next to a Dominion financial institute. When the rebels blew up the one, they got the other by accident. Nikki was on her own and would’ve had to… Well, it would’ve been an unpleasant life. She wanted in the Dominion bad. When we graduate, she’s hopin’ to be a Dominion executive so she can be in business like her parents always wanted. Nikki’s a bitch sometimes, but she’s really determined.”
Bullseye had heard a few similar Youth stories. Kids usually had sponsors or family connections or exceptional MOB abilities that got them into the program. A kid earning their own way was rare.
Huh, thought Bullseye. Maybe I like this girl after all.
Much later, the Youth drank on the roof of a skyscraper overlooking Old Dunt. Erik stood on the ledge shouting nonsense at the world, and Lilae was trying to talk him down. Nikki and Ian were making out under a satellite dish. Bullseye and Jib lay on their backs, looking up at the occasional star that shone through the haze of the city.
Bullseye handed back their shared bottle, her head starting to swoon. “Enough for me, thanks.”
“Ooh. Has the super-cool assassin hit her limit?”
I’m way past my limit, she thought, but even drunk I can handle you people. Drinking and manipulating sheep into liking me – this is what qualifies as a fun Friday night. Besides, I need to blow off some steam.
“I’m chief,” she told Jib. “I just thought you might not be able to afford liquor like this very often. Enjoy it while you can. I doubt Nikki will buy another round, and I’m not going back to that liquor store.”
Jib laughed. “Ouch. Okay, yeah, I’m not at your pay grade. Back off.” He looked over at her. “You’re technically classified as a Youth, but you’re also an operative already, right? Is it as chief as I’m hopin’?”
Her head swam with every move now, so she closed her eyes and held still. At least the alcohol had a numbing effect on her bruised and battered side. “You want to be an operative?”
“Sure do. Wanna put in a good word for me?”
“I could do that.” It’d be helpful if Jib needed her alive for something. “Got your code name picked out?”
“Nah. Don’t wanna jinx it. What’s your real name, anyway?”
Eyes still closed, she scowled. “I don’t remember my name. I’ve been Bullseye since I came to the Dominion, and…” In her memory, she could see her mother’s face calling to her, but what was being called was inaudible. “Well, I was seven, and I don’t remember much before that.”
“Why not?”
Bullseye opened her eyes. The stars above danced in her vision. Whether from her level of inebriation or the mental strain of the day, she answered honestly. “My psychologist thinks I suffered a traumatic event and blocked out my early childhood. I remember bits and pieces, but nothing concrete. I remember my mom a little. And my dad, but nothing about him, just his face. My shrink says it’s odd because I have an exceptional memory otherwise, so I must’ve experienced something traumatic.”
But I’m also not supposed to remember my mother, she thought. Cruelthor doesn’t want me to…
“Can I have another drink after all?” She faced Jib again, who now lay with his head propped on his muscular arm.
That’s a pose if ever I saw one, she thought. Sorry, dude. I’m better at this than you.
Jib slid the bottle to her. As she took a drink, he said, “There are tons of stories about you, ya know. You’re a big mystery. Everyone knows you’re Cruelthor’s half-sister, but I’d heard once that you were kidnapped.”
“Nope. Mom brought me here for a better life. And I do. It’s super. I’m a super, awesome mystery of a girl.”
I’m starting to sound dumb, she thought.
“Enough about me.” She rolled on her side to face him. “The whole point of this outing was that I befriend you people, and I haven’t asked you anything about yourself.”
“Oh, that’s what you’re doin’ with us lowly children?”
Oops, she thought.
But Jib seemed to think her statement only part of her bravado. “Well, okay, let’s see… I’m a bit of a mystery too, ya know. I’m damaged.”
Bullseye laughed and almost sn
orted out the drink she’d just swallowed. “How so?”
Jib grew very serious. “I was kidnapped. That happens, I’m sure you know. When the Dominion finds a particularly talented MOB, they first approach the family and offer admission to the Youth program. If refused, the Dominion next tries bribery. If that fails, they take the kid. I don’t even remember my parents. Guess we have that in common.”
Bullseye regretted laughing at him. “Oh, I…”
A huge grin spread on his face, his white teeth shining. “Gotcha. I had sponsors, and I visit my parents every couple of months.”
Bullseye punched him half-strength in the arm. But she had to laugh. “Does that sob story usually work on girls?”
“Yeah. That’s my first approach. If that fails, I have other ways. –Hey, I’m like the Dominion!”
She rolled her eyes and took another drink.
“See here.” Jib opened his mouth wide and stuck out his tongue.
“I’m not sure what I’m looking at.”
With his mouth still open, he said, “In my ack hov hote.”
She rolled her eyes but looked closer.
Inside the back of Jib’s mouth near his tonsils, two small jets of flame burst in a poof. He closed his mouth and grinned. “I volunteered for a rather interesting experiment. They put an implant in my throat that shoots out a chemical. It reacts with air to create fire. I can control it so it sprays out of my mouth like a flamethrower.”
“Dragon,” she blurted. She set down the bottle and looked at him. “Your operative code name should be Dragon.”
Jib smiled. “Yeah, that’s perfect.”
Then, Bullseye laughed at herself and rolled on her back again. “How many girls fall for that? I can’t be the first to see how obvious your code name could be.”
“Well, you’re the first to catch me. You’re out of my league, cha.”
Bullseye smiled. She had an idea, sat up, and checked on the others. Nikki and Ian were still going at it. Lilae sat by herself, gazing up at the stars. Erik was peeing over the edge of the building.
Such are my new friends, she thought. These idiots better be worth my time.
She stumbled to her feet and put out a hand for Jib. “Get up. There’s something I wanna do with you.”
Jib raised an eyebrow in interest, took one more drink, and accepted her hand to stand. “I’m all yours. What do ya have in mind?”
Bullseye pointed to an empty space on the rooftop. “Sparring. You want me to put in a good word for you? Then I need to test if you’d make a decent operative. Besides, you’ve shown me your little trick. Now I’ll show you mine. I’ll bet anythin’ you want that you can’t singe a hair on my head.”
Jib grinned down at her. “You’ll bet anything I want?”
She nodded once, hard, which was a bad idea as her brain pounded against her skull. “Yep. Won’t matter. I’m gonna win.”
She’s a girl, and she’s throwing knives at a tree stump. She isn’t even paying attention to where she’s throwing the knives, but she hits the stump every time. Her mother looks on, smiling, from their small tent. When she walks to her mother with the knives in hand, her mother tells her to keep one of the ancient knives as a gift. Suddenly, a squad of Dominion drones storms out of the woods into their campsite. Her mother doesn’t look surprised, and she holds her by the hand as the drones prepare to take her with them. She kicks and screams for her mother, but the drones drag her away.
Bullseye woke and looked around before realizing she was back in her living compartments. She lay on her bunk, dressed in clothes from the night before. Her hairline felt sweaty from the dream. She dropped her head back onto the pillow and rubbed her eyes.
How’d I get home? she thought. I remember the rooftop in Old Dunt… Something about fire…
She looked down at herself and saw a hole burned in her shirt. Her skin underneath was fine.
What happened? she thought.
Her injured side throbbing, she climbed off the bunk. She changed into workout clothes and hesitated a moment before going to her table and replacing the familiar knife in her boot. She took a breath, then hurried out. She had to meet Matsuri for their morning exercises.
Rounding the last corner, Bullseye saw she was late. Inside the training room, her partner was already working with Edlyn on the mats. They looked to be finishing warm-up exercises. As Edlyn went into a side room, Bullseye snuck into the training room, dropped to the mat, and hurried through her warm-ups.
Matsuri dusted off his blond hair and made a face at her, displeased with her late arrival. Although only two years older than Bullseye, Matsuri always tried to act as if he had some responsibility for her. He’d protected her since they were kids. A year ago when he’d graduated from the Youth program, he’d even put his career on hold by volunteering to partner with her as she trained to be an operative. Matsuri’s tall, lanky frame had never proven to be a match for her in the past, but Bullseye rarely hassled her partner. She feared his judgment and needed his support. And, she trusted him enough to let her guard down. She could be herself – or as close to herself as she was capable of being – with Matsuri. If she’d known what the label was intended to mean, she would’ve called him a brother.
“Late night?”
“Think so.” Bullseye shrugged.
Matsuri stood over her as she stretched. He looked unsure of what to say but decided on, “Were you on another solo mission? I asked Edy, but she wouldn’t say anything. Did you take another mission without me?”
For the love, she thought in annoyance.
They’d had this discussion a number of times. Matsuri was always upset when Cruelthor authorized Bullseye to go on a solo mission without him. Never mind that the majority of these missions were mind-numbingly boring, like the time she’d been sent to steal a file in a rebel camp. Never mind that many of the missions were flat out too dangerous for him. No, telling Matsuri that she alone was needed for these missions never satisfied him. He always wanted to be a part of everything, even missions only she could complete.
“It wasn’t a mission, Mat. And I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t go around asking questions. It was stupid, what I did. I don’t want too many people to know about it.”
“You swear you weren’t on a mission? This sounds suspiciously like what you told me the last time you went on one.”
“Mat, that mission was a complete waste of time. I ran eight kilometers over the forested hills of some war-torn, ancient, Mainland country. It was just to find stupid plans the rebels were hiding. It turned out the plans weren’t even there.” She shrugged and stretched out a leg. “Most of the missions I take alone are like that, but last night wasn’t a mission. I…went out.”
Something in Matsuri’s expression twitched, like he hadn’t expected this confession.
Does he know something? she thought. Oh, well.
Matsuri glanced away and crossed his arms. “So you went out with the Youth? I’ve been hearing things – the underlings want to slay you. You wanted to make allies?”
“Yep.” She made a face. “I drank too much and thought it’d be a great idea to spar on a rooftop. Then… I think I blacked out. Whatever I did, it must’ve worked. I’m not dead, anyway.” She gave him an exaggerated wink. Humor often got Matsuri off her back. She saw it was working.
Matsuri tried not to smile. “You’re so spoiled. Do you even realize that? You pull stunts like this all the time – breaking curfew, ignoring the rules. Anyone else would’ve been factored a hundred times over.”
You mean you would’ve been factored a hundred times over, she thought. You’d be caught in an instant. That’s why I do most of the undercover work, Mat. You can’t lie to save your life.
Edlyn reentered the room. “Matsuri, leave us.”
Matsuri gave Bullseye a satisfied look and walked out a far door.
The instructor examined her remaining student, who now switched to faking her cool-down stretches. “Bulls, what did you th
ink you were doing last night?”
“I was exercising survival tactics. My life is in danger because the Youth hate me, so I was being friendly.”
“It was partying.”
“It was politics. It just happened to involve partying.” She looked up from the mat. “What did I do, anyway? Matsuri said you wouldn’t talk about it, which means you know something. And besides, he’s acting weird. It’s like he’s embarrassed for me, protecting me, or…something.”
Edlyn rolled her eyes. “You know, sometimes I think I taught you too well. You’re too smart for your own good half the time.”
“Yep, but the other half of the time I’m a complete idiot. Come on, Edy. Can you at least tell me how I got home last night? I woke up in my own bed, so I assume I made it back at some point.”
“I can only imagine how you got in your own bed. As for how you got home, I can guess. We found Malice’s recreational vehicle totaled against the outer gate this morning. Combine that with his broken nose, and you have one pissed Elite.”
Bullseye put her hand to her mouth in delight. “Oh, that’s great!”
“I’m serious. You’re lucky Cruelthor isn’t launching an investigation. You know how tense he is. Cruelthor is factoring anyone who shows the slightest sign of rebellion.”
“Edy, I know the drill. By the way, did any of the Youth get hurt in the accident?”
Edlyn shook her head. “I’m surprised you care.”
“Care? Right. Actually, I’m just making sure my plan wasn’t flushed. It would’ve been a complete waste if the Youth I befriended were slain.”
“Touching. Seriously, Bulls, you shouldn’t use people as pawns like that.”
“I’m doing what you trained me to do.”
Edlyn did not take this as a compliment. “You think this helps you become an Elite? Leading Youth into trouble is not applicable leadership experience.” She sighed. “I’m giving you and Mat the morning off. You need rest before you ship off in a couple of hours. Go get the sleep you skipped, and I’ll make up an excuse for why we have to postpone the mission briefing.” With that, Edlyn left her.
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