The man walked down the center aisle toward her, and she saw in the candlelight that he was a priest. His voice was hoarse from years of preaching. “I’m sorry, Meegan, I didn’t mean to startle you. What are you doing here so late? You know, people normally pray up by the cross.” He grinned and pointed toward the front of the chapel.
Bullseye chuckled and feigned embarrassment as she recognized the priest from his charity work around the city. Of course, he knew her as Meegan Hunt. Because of this, she slipped into character and erased all trace of her real personality from her expression, body language, and tone of voice. She had used this alias’s persona for a year, so the guise was faked quite naturally.
“Hello, father. I’m sorry I screamed, but I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here so late. I…” She hated to lie in the chapel. “I was on my way home from work. How did you recognize me?”
“Oh, I could never forget such vibrant, green eyes.” The priest smiled. “Is Jett keeping you late at the office? He shouldn’t work his fiancée so hard.”
Bullseye remembered she’d taken off her engagement ring for the slay mission, and she subtly lowered her hands from their folded position atop the pew. “Well, I had a few loose ends to take care of.”
The priest smiled again and sat in the pew sideways to face her. Even this late, his chatty disposition hadn’t left him. “Jett Chase is a good man – you could do no better. I’ve known him since his parents first brought him here. He’s always been the introverted type, but even as a child people liked him. Working as a scientist – virologist, excuse me – at that silly Lab suits him perfectly. He’s a smart man.”
“Yes, he is. A little too smart for his own good.”
Jett Chase hadn’t been what she’d expected. For starters, he wasn’t a native of Monaco. His parents had emigrated from the Mainland’s British Isles – not that anyone outside the Dominion educational system knew that place’s ancient name anymore. The priest was right to note that Jett was introverted, and this often made it difficult for Bullseye to analyze his thoughts and reactions. He was nothing like the scrawny virologist she’d imagined. He was of average height and in good physical shape. Female coworkers in the Free Labs lunchroom often discussed how mesmerizing his blue eyes were in combination with his dark hair. A few had agreed that “he’s not a pretty boy, but he doesn’t have that grungy outbacker look either.” Personally, Bullseye put little stock in their stupid fluttering. While Jett was intelligent, good-looking, and likeable, there was nothing particularly interesting about him. To Bullseye, he was just another common citizen – soft, naïve, and simple. But the older women in Monaco had shoved Jett and Bullseye toward each other so often that she’d finally realized the relationship would help her cover. Because of Jett, she’d been accepted into the community that much more. When he’d proposed months ago, she’d had little choice but to accept.
I don’t need to tell Cruelthor everything, she thought. He’d say my engagement is a part of the job. And he’d find it hilarious. I find it…annoying.
“I doubt you recall when Jett first introduced us,” the priest was saying.
Bullseye glanced at the doors behind her, but she knew she was stuck. Facing the chatty man again, she saw he was waiting for an answer. “Yes, I do. It was a warm day, and the children were running along the beach where you were handing out candy. Jett was giving me a tour of the city, and when you came up to talk to him he introduced us. That was last summer when I started working at Free Labs.”
“And one of the little girls pulled on your hand,” the priest reminded her. “I remember watching for your reaction. You knelt and smiled at her, and she handed you a flower and asked you something. She spoke in a tongue which you rarely hear in this part of the world, but you understood her and answered right back in the girl’s language. It was then I approved of you. If children like a person, you know that person’s all right.” He winked.
Recalling the little girl he spoke of triggered a much more recent memory of another little girl. Bullseye tried to shut out the dying face of Bella and instead reconstruct the face of the girl the priest spoke of. She remembered with pinpoint accuracy how the dainty, brown-haired girl spoke Russian, an ancient language Bullseye learned in the Youth program. The girl had been excited to hear her own tongue from a stranger. She’d asked Bullseye to be nice to Jett because she liked the way his voice sounded. The plea meant little at the time, and Bullseye had promised she’d always be nice to Jett. While Bullseye honestly didn’t care whether he lived or died, it occurred to her that slaying Jett would add yet one more guilty stain on her soul.
Perhaps in the wisdom of his profession, the priest peered into her face and said, “You look troubled. Is something wrong, Meegan?”
Oh, not much, she thought. I’m only reliving every terrible experience I’ve ever brought upon myself. I’m a cold-blooded assassin. I bring pain everywhere I go. I’m good at it. And now, I’m going to hurt this entire city of basically innocent citizens. Unless Cruelthor ends up factoring me someday, I’ll keep bringing pain to others. This is all my life will ever amount to. I damned myself long ago.
An uncomfortable yet inviting idea entered her mind. She eyed the priest. “How much can I confess before you have to tell someone else? I mean, if I were to confess something…”
“I will not speak a word but to God.”
“But this could be traumatic.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I meant for you.”
The priest smiled. “It would be my pleasure to listen to whatever you have to tell me, Meegan. Together, perhaps we can find a ray of light that will point you to some hope.”
Bullseye frowned.
It must be wonderful to have such a naïve outlook, she thought.
“Meegan, please, I want to help.”
She dipped her head so he couldn’t see her eyes. She didn’t particularly believe in this, but she did need to talk. “I’ve committed the worst sins, father.”
“Fear not, child. The woman I see before me isn’t capable of telling me anything that would repulse me beyond what I can stand.”
“You say that, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t agree with yourself if you heard me out.”
“Trust me. Please, speak freely.”
Bullseye glanced at him. “I shouldn’t be here. I’m sorry.”
Just in time, she remembered she couldn’t leave with the priest sitting right in front of her. Even if the drones had moved on, standing to leave would mean showing him the blood on her clothes. He’d ask questions, and that was the last thing she needed. She knew deep down that she couldn’t handle slaying this kind man. Besides, his would be the fifth murder of the night after the Penn’s, their daughter, and Ian. The city legally had to launch an investigation after five suspicious deaths, and that’d be devastating to her mission.
Wait, she thought. That’s what would stop me from slaying a priest? What is wrong with me? I am such a coldhearted mess!
Trapped, she decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity. “I once slaughtered a man’s wife and children in front of him. I tied him and forced his eyes open to watch while I hung his family in trees and slit them open. He begged and pleaded for their lives, but I laughed at him. When they were dead, I cut out his tongue and broke his legs and arms. After that, I took him to a hospital where they treated him. He was bedridden, and I sat with him for two straight days. He knew I was there the whole time. The staff at the hospital thought I was his daughter, and they told him how lucky he was to have me. I sat and watched him, never saying a word. I just sat there, letting his fear grow. He cried continually those two days, never sleeping. On the second night when he finally fell asleep, I slit his throat.” To her surprise, she felt moisture on her cheeks. She closed her eyes, unnerved by the pain the memory had surfaced. “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever done, father. I was very young.”
The priest was also crying. “Dear woman, did you confess these crimes to
the authorities?”
Bullseye wiped her eyes with the hand that wasn’t supposed to have an engagement ring on it and laughed shortly. She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d done this horrible thing at the command of the authorities. “Oh, I’ve paid for my sins, father.”
He gave her a sad, reassuring smile and pat her shoulder.
Bullseye snapped back into character. “Remember what you promised,” she said as if afraid. “You can only tell God. If people in this wonderful town knew…”
“I’ll keep your past secret. But this is a great burden for an old man to carry.” He looked at her with pity. “It’s an even greater burden for a young woman to carry, I imagine.”
“I’m okay, father.” She forced herself to lie. “I’ve left that life behind me. Besides, I have Jett to help me now.”
“Yes, that is good.” The priest smiled. “Meegan, often when a past sin seems too great to overcome, we continue to think of ourselves as unforgiveable. In a way, we have to forgive ourselves in order to ask for forgiveness. We have to believe we’re worth it, that we can do better. I can see you’re not ready yet. Promise me you’ll search for a way to forgive yourself, Meegan.”
If only her life were that simple. “I promise, father.”
“I’ll leave you, then. It’s late, and you should go home soon. Even these beautiful streets are dangerous at this hour.”
Bullseye agreed and pressed herself closer to the pew so he didn’t see her bloodied shirt as he rose. The priest walked back up the aisle and disappeared through the same door he’d appeared from.
Not wasting any time, Bullseye rose to leave. At the door, she peeked out at the street. There was no movement but the falling rain. The patrol vehicles had moved elsewhere.
The rain, she thought. It’s probably hindering their investigation. Or, it’s possible that by now Cruelthor sent orders to take Ian’s body and clear out.
Leaving her sanctuary, Bullseye ran through the rainy streets to her apartment building. The front entrance had posed a challenge several times – its airtight doors were managed with an elaborate security system. So, she followed an alternate route she’d taken after many late night slays. She walked to the side of the building, climbed up a fire escape to the correct floor, and crawled through the bedroom window she’d left open for this very purpose.
Out of the rain now, she closed the window and stepped into the dark room to switch on the light.
It was then she saw the blood on her shirt more distinctly. Rattled by this, she hurried to her adjoining bathroom and stripped off the citizen clothes. She threw the bloodied apparel into a metal basket, opened the bathroom window, and set the basket on the sill. Next she opened a cabinet, took out a secretly stored box, and withdrew a dropper with a special chemical inside. Returning to the basket on the windowsill, she dripped a few splashes of the chemical onto her bloodied clothes. For the last step, she grabbed a lighter out of the stored box and lit the clothes.
As the clothes burned, Bullseye stepped into her shower. The warm water felt better than the rain, and she let it wash over her as she tried to relax. The water ran red around the drain at first, which didn’t allow her to relax as much as she’d hoped.
Stupid, she thought. It was stupid to tell Cruelthor about the augmented citizens being a threat. Now, if I follow through with this, it’ll mean murdering dozens more. On the other hand, if I don’t follow through, Cruelthor will put me out of my misery for good. Would that be such a bad thing? Flush me. Getting to know these locals is what’s making this so hard. If I do this, I’ll never be able to…
“Forgive myself.”
She turned off the shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and stepped out into the cool air blowing in from the window. The fire had died, so she took care of the stored box and returned the basket to its place.
Free of blood now, she returned to her bedroom and changed into a comfortable, baggy nightshirt and underwear. She sat on her bed and forced herself to look in the mirror beside her dresser. Bullseye barely recognized the green-eyed, blond-haired, morose woman looking back at her.
Get a grip, she thought. What happened tonight?
She leaned forward to stare down her reflection. “What were you thinking, talking to a priest? Never get sentimental with a citizen, especially if that citizen can blow your cover! These people’s softness has gotten to you. Pull it together and finish the damn job.”
She took a deep breath, still looking in the mirror, but didn’t feel any better. Something had been eating at her for some time, and she couldn’t shake it.
Her eyes moved from the mirror to the dresser. The engagement ring she’d taken off rested on its surface. With a flash of panic, she remembered that Jett Chase was planning to stop by on his way back from a conference. The happy couple had scanned Jett’s ID tag into her door’s security device, so he might already be there.
Bullseye jumped from the bed, grabbed the ring, slipped it on her finger, and hurried to her bedroom door.
As she turned the corner into her living room, Bullseye saw that Jett was indeed already in her apartment. He stood in front of the fireplace. The fire was the only light in the room, but the white walls and carpet were well lit. The intense look on Jett’s face was also illuminated. He wore a common citizen’s suit shirt and pants. She took this in at a glance, but the most alarming thing she saw caught her full attention – Jett held a gun.
Bullseye took a quick step into the room but stopped herself just in time from slamming him into the wall.
That’s right, she thought, Jett took a gun for protection to that conference. Stop panicking and remember your character like Edy taught you! You are Meegan Hunt. You had a little breakdown earlier, but shake it off and get back to business. Everything is over if you blow this mission. Everything.
“Is something wrong?” Jett asked as she strolled into the living room. “Your bedroom door was locked, so I thought you might be asleep.”
It entered Bullseye’s mind that the little girl on the beach had been right. There was something melodious about Jett’s voice. Maybe it was the slight foreign accent. Now, however, his voice worried her.
“Meegan?”
“You startled me,” she answered with a light laugh. “I forgot you could get in.”
Jett checked the weapon absentmindedly and took a few steps from the fireplace to stand before her. He looked at her face in his probing, caring way that annoyed her. But she was more focused on the fact that he still held the gun.
“Honey, are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
She tried to keep her voice pleasant. “Everything’s great. Why?”
Jett’s brows furrowed as he made a strange face. He looked away, but he couldn’t hide that something was off. He’d been making that face a lot lately, now that she thought about it.
“Is something wrong?” Bullseye’s skin crawled, and she restrained herself from pulling the gun from his hands. Instead, she sidestepped a rocking chair to get farther away from him.
“How are you, Meegan?”
Well, she thought, I’m convinced my life is worthless and terrified my big brother is going to factor me.
She said, “Wonderful.”
Jett faced her with the same strange look. Then he walked back to the fireplace. From where she stood, she saw him pale as he supported himself on the wall over the mantle. He loosened his collar and let out a quiet moan.
With a feeling she assumed to be concern, Bullseye asked, “What is it?”
“You lied just then.”
She froze. “Yes, but I thought it was fairly convincing. How did you-”
“I can’t explain it.” Jett wouldn’t look at her but instead gazed at the fire. “I just know when people are lying. I’ve been able to do it since I was a teenager, but I’ve never told anyone. I think I have mutate-genes that affect my intuition and perception. Even if it is a skill from mutate-genes, it’s nothing juxtaposed to yours.” Jett looked back at her, revealing
why he was acting so peculiar – he knew.
Bullseye swallowed. In a rush, she dematerialized her leg. With her leg’s matter filling the space dimension, she kicked against the rocking chair in front of her. Without touching the chair physically, her dematerialized leg caused an invisible shock wave inside the space dimension that pushed the chair with enough force to send it flying. Because she also used her mutate-genes, the chair flew exactly where she’d aimed and slammed into Jett.
The chair hit him hard. He fell against the wall in pain, and his gun landed on the carpet. Before he could move, Bullseye flipped and kicked him in the chest. Jett slumped to the floor. She quickly stepped to her window and pulled off the long curtain ties. Then she went to Jett with these cords and tied his wrists together, next his ankles.
Jett winced from pain, but he looked at her calmly. It bothered her that he wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t angry, either. He wasn’t even struggling against the ties.
Shit, shit, shit, she thought. I assumed he’d be as panicked as most citizens when in this position. Maybe I haven’t pegged him. How’d he figure me out?
When finished tying him, Bullseye shoved Jett so he sat against the wall. Then she started pacing. But she realized she wasn’t breathing, so she stopped in the middle of the fire-lit living room and took a breath. She put a hand to her torso, hoping this would stop her body’s shaking.
I can’t let him see how rattled I am, she thought. I have to snap into the role of the ever-confident assassin operative…. Well, at least I can finally do away with Meegan Hunt.
Trying to at least appear in control of herself, Bullseye forced a laugh. “Why can’t anything go right tonight? I mean, I’m seriously about to lose it, but I don’t have time for a nervous breakdown.” She shook like a dog, pulled her wet hair to one side, and walked to stand over him. “I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is-”
“Bullseye.” Jett looked up at her with a calm expression. “You’re a Dominion operative. Your code name is Bullseye because you have mutate-genes that give you perfect aim. You can also become invisible. I assume you were sent here because the surgeons at Free Labs were performing cerebral augmentation on citizens like me. You’re the one responsible for the mysterious deaths and disappearances of the surgeons. Am I right?”
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