The streets were bare, a soft wind whistling through the air, causing Anna's hair to stir. Her back faced the breeze, her boots making soft staccato sounds against the concrete sidewalk as she crept along, trying to keep herself as quiet as she possibly could.

Darkness shrouded her, making it a bit harder to walk. Yet, she found it was easier knowing that everyone who lived in the area had long ago retired to their beds. They slept soundly in their homes, unaware of the bloodbath that was about to occur right under their windows. Anna was glad for it. She didn't want to have to deal with wandering eyes that shouldn't have seen what they did.

An eerie fog was creeping in. With it came a chill that seeped into Anna's leather gear and settled there. Surely, if her hair on her skin could stand on end, it would. But the tight barrier held it down, even as the cold rocked through her body and she released a short breath. She tried picturing herself getting warm in an attempt to put mind over matter, but it didn't work. Her teeth were close to chattering when she arrived at the corner of the alley.

Anna let out another low breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She tried to push aside the cold and focus all her energy on the task at hand. Instinctively, her hand tightened around her gun. Slowly, she pulled back the safety.

Opening her eyes, she peeped around the corner, trying to see if she could spot anything, despite the already thick fog. It was futile. She could see nothing but white. But the moment she heard the sharp intake of breath, Anna knew that whoever it was in the alley had seen her. Her head whipped back around when she heard the soft stifled sound of the silencer and the accompanying bullet whizzing by her face. She fixed her handle on her gun.

Slowly, she counted to three. Her Mississippi seconds went by gradually but, once she reached the fated three, Anna leapt into the alley, brandishing her gun.

She was given no time to fire, however. Bullets came flying past her face, the whoosh of the heated metal alerting her to the fact that not only were they bad aims, but they were desperate, which just might be her disadvantage as well as her upper hand.

Anna rushed over to the dumpster on the other side of the alley and sunk low, pressing her back into the freezing, stink metal. The bullets pinged against her metal barrier but she waited, patiently, until the right moment presented itself. If she took a chance and went out now, she might succeed in getting a bullet through her arm. So, she counted the seconds, listened intently for the slowing down of the bullets. For a break in the recessive open fire.

And at last, her moment came.

They must have been wearing themselves out. Or maybe they were just curious as to whether her silence meant their frantic shooting had succeeded in killing her. Anna didn't know what exactly made them pause and she didn't stop to wonder. She sprang out from behind the dumpster and fired blindly into the fog. Someone exclaimed and she saw a body slump to the ground.

She gave herself roughly two and a half seconds to rush forward and grab the body before they started shooting again. They began at two. Anna ducked her head low, praying that no stray bullet would graze her. She rushed forward and grabbed the dead man's body off the ground, holding him up before her as a shield.

It was difficult holding him while she held on to her gun, but she managed to keep him upright as a shield long enough for her to safely fire off bullets of her own. Unlike these obviously untrained bodyguards however, she didn't have any stray bullets. Every shot she fired found home in warm flesh – the head, the heart, the leg, wherever she could find. They all cried out when they went down but she paid it no mind.

Unable to bear the weight of her bullet shield anymore, she tossed him aside and fired off three more rounds, killing the remaining bodyguards instantly. Their bodies slumped together on the ground, blood oozing out of their bullet wounds.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man leaped out at her. Anna had virtually no time to shoot. The man grabbed unto the hand holding her gun and twisted it so hard, she dropped it with a cry of surprise. He snarled at her, trying to shove a knife into her abdomen but Anna whirled out of the way. She ignored the pain in her wrist and spun around until she was behind the man, consequently twisting his arm behind him. She grabbed at it and pulled, pushing her heeled boot into his back.

A crack ripped through the air. The man cried out. Begged her to stop, to have mercy, but she was deaf to his voice. She pushed him onto the ground, looking down at his weeping, pathetic form for a second. Slowly, Anna picked up her gun, made sure the silencer wasn't disconnected from its fall to the ground, aimed at his head, and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the silencer led her into the quiet.

Only one more to go.

Turning around, Anna approached the end of the alley, holding her gun down to the ground. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the thick fog as she scanned her surroundings, trying to spot her target. "Come out," she called.

"So, you can arrest me?"

Arrest him? She was no cop. She didn't arrest, she killed. And he knew that.

Anna eyes' shifted upwards at the sound of the voice. She looked around, knowing it had come from above her but not completely sure where exactly. She continued forward, stepping over bodies.

"Let's just talk," she told him.

"You think I'm stupid, don't you?" The man's voice was high and frantic. But the more he spoke the closer, she came to finding him. "You're not interested in talking!"

"Yes, I am," she lied. "I heard you want someone to listen to you. Well, here I am. I'm listening."

Anna inched closer, anticipating his response. As she drew nearer, she saw a high fence came into view. She frowned, then smiled.

Ah, I see. 

She examined the fence, her eyes roving over every inch until finally, near the top, she spotted a brown coat, slowly making its way upwards. She watched as her target tried to climb the fence as slowly and as silently as he could. For a second, she almost laughed aloud at his stupidity. If he wanted to get away without her noticing, he shouldn't have answered her.

"Don't give me that crap!" the man replied harshly, pausing in the process of climbing. It was a shame too; he almost made it. "Your voice is what's making it so cold out here!"

The corner of her mouth quirked upwards. "Funny," she murmured to herself before she raised her hand and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit him in the leg. The man screeched, releasing his hold on the fence and falling to the ground. Fortunately for him, bags of garbage beneath him softened his fall, and he flopped over on his belly onto the cold earth. Anna made her way to him.

"You shot me!" he screamed, clutching his bloody wound. She couldn't see much in the foggy night but she could see the fear and anger that lit his eyes. Still, it was rather smart of him not to act out on it. That would get him killed much faster.

"That was the aim," she muttered, pointing the gun at his head.

"Wait, wait!" The man struggled to his feet, holding one hand up while the other helped to push him up. His comb-over flew away from his head, revealing his shiny bald spot and adding to his frantic, terrified appearance.

He didn't seem to care. He managed to make it to his feet, holding both hands up in an attempt to keep her from shooting. It worked.

"Just listen for a sec, okay?" he started, swallowing harshly. "I've been trying to tell you guys this for days but no one will listen to me! They're coming, okay? They're coming for it and I don't know how to warn them."

"Warn who?"

"The Rebels? They need to stay away." The man tried to fix his crooked glasses but his shaky hands weren't doing very much. "They'll get themselves killed."

"By?"

"By the NPA!"

Anna simply tilted her head at him, not at all swayed by his words in the slightest. She blinked, and the man whimpered, knowing full well he was fighting a losing battle. Soon enough, a bullet would be lodged in his brain.

"You've got to believe me!" he pushed again, this time managing to brave the pain in his leg and stagger forward. He didn't get very far. "They're going to kill them! They're going to ruin so many lives, please you have to believe me!"

"Enough." Without a second thought, Anna's finger tightened on the trigger. The muffled sound of the silencer echoed through the stillness of the night and the bullet went clean through his head.

The man dropped to the ground without another word. Anna watched as his eyes grew vacant and his mouth hung ajar with shock. She bent at the dead body, her hands quickly sorting through the pockets until she came upon what she was looking for. A micro SD card.

Anna got to her feet and slipped the SD card into her pocket, knowing full well it will be safe there between the tightness of her leather body suit. She pulled out her dispatch to headquarters from her holster and called for cleanup. Now that her work here was done, there was no need to linger.

After everything, the adrenaline was beginning to drain from her body and the cold seeped back in. She shivered slightly and quickly exited the alley, making sure not to step into any of the pools of blood. It would be a pain getting them off her boots once it dried.

Cleanup would take care of the rest. She didn't give the bodies a second glance when she left, knowing full well that by morning, they would have been properly disposed of. The alleyway would be cleaned and everything would go back to normal before any locals noticed anything. 

Cleanup crew was thought to be one of the most important people at headquarters, by some people. Without them, their activities would be open to the public and shut down immediately. It was just as important to get rid of the bodies and put everything back to the way it was as it was important getting the mission done. Anna shared that sentiment. Without the cleanup crew, her job would be futile.

Putting her trust in the crew, she pushed away any more thought on the topic and made her way across the street. She cut into the park where her motorcycle sat idly by, the engine still running. Anna hurried to get to it, eager to feel the comforting warmth of the vehicle. She quickly hooked the helmet over her head, tucked her ponytail underneath it, and took off. The engine roared like a lion in the dead quiet of the night.

She sped down the streets, each turn she took bringing her dangerously close to the road. Still, she didn't ease up. It was what awaited her at home that had her racing down the streets this way. A hot shower. The double chocolate fudge ice cream sitting in her freezer. And finally being able to snuggling into her bed for sleep. Longingness had her flying toward headquarters as fast as she could. 

The dangers of her high speed riding, she decided, was nothing compared to the sweet taste of glorious chocolate melting on her tongue.

At long last, Anna arrived. She hopped off the bike, resting the helmet on the handlebars before she headed towards the tall building.

To the outside world, it looked like an average office building, although she was pretty sure no one knew exactly what it did. And if anyone cared enough to ask, it was the main office for a stationery company. One not doing very well if the outdated metal windows and sliding entrance door that was always getting stuck was anything to go by. It didn't really matter how it looked, however. To those who knew what this place really was, knew that it was what was beneath the building that was important.

Anna entered the main floor. She was immediately bombarded with bright fluorescent light. The light reflected off the pristine white floor, making the room even brighter. She headed straight toward the elevator on the far end of the room. There was a woman sitting behind the lone desk in the poorly furnished room, her head down. Neither one of them acknowledged the other.

The elevator arrived with a mechanical ding, but the silver doors slid apart with ease. She ignored all the other buttons that led upwards. Instead, she chose to shift aside a cleverly disguised compartment that revealed hidden buttons. She pressed B20.

It was the farthest floor underground, making the already eight-story tall building much more expansive. On the very last floor sat Anna's boss. She waited patiently in the elevator now to see him, knowing that between him and her were numerous high tech security measures that could butcher a man if the wrong thing was pressed. Intel was a high priority here and Anna knew that was the reason for the excessive security. For if any of that were to get out ...

The elevator announced her arrival as it slid open. Stepping into the first security chamber, she quickly inputted her special secret code. The code allowed her to bypassed all the other security measures put in place but only for five minutes. It was more than enough time for her to make her way to her boss's door before she was caught. 

Simple cubicles were lined off at the sides of the office, but very little people were around this late in the night. The ones who were watched her as she passed by them. Anna knocked on her boss' door.

"Enter," a rough voice called from inside.

Anna steeled herself for the interaction. This was, hands down, the worst part of the mission. She went inside.

Thomas Weber, NPA Mission Chief and head of this whole organization, sat like a rock in his high back chair. The massive desk before him acting as an oblivious shield between them and Anna kept herself still on the other side. His cloudy eyes flashed up to her when he spotted her. Anna saw something flicker behind them before he leaned back in the chair and laced his fingers together.

He was a handsome man, in his late fifties with eyes that missed nothing. Anna stepped forward, pulling out the SD card and held it up for him to see.

"Mission complete, sir. The target is dead and the card has been secured." Anna placed the card in the centre of his desk and stepped back. Thomas reached forward and his large fingers picked up the card. He held it up, as if judging if it was real before he smiled and he tucked it away into one of his desk drawers.

"Good work," he praised lightly.

"If that is all you require of me today, I'm going home." Eager to get out, Anna turned but stopped when Thomas called her name. She faced him again.

"Hold on one moment," he said, clearing his throat. "Before you leave I should tell you about your next mission. It has to do with the Prime Minister of France."

"Am I being shipped to France, sir?"

"Christ, no, Annabelle. I'm not a slave driver."

"My apologies." Her face remained vacant while she spoke.

He waved his hand before his face, dismissing the apology. "Don't apologize. Let me clearer. It concerns the Prime Minister and his son, who you'll be watching for the next mission."

"Watching?"

"Yes. Protecting him. You have to keep him safe until his birthday. Therefore, you will be attending the same private institution as he does."

And by private institution he meant ... "High school."

"Yes, precisely."

For a second, Anna mulled the mission over in her head. She'd never had to go undercover at a high school before. In fact, in all her seventeen years she'd never have to go undercover at any school. The only time she'd ever set foot on a school compound was when she'd once chased a couple of escapees across a football field. 

And a private high school? With what the TV always portrayed as a building filled with snooty girls and pasty, stuck up boys? Something told her she was not going to enjoy this mission. But she didn't voice that out loud.

"What's the matter?" Thomas asked, breaking through her thoughts.

Anna quickly shook her head, shaking away both her thoughts and his worry. "Nothing," she assured quickly. "Consider it done."

He smiled at her again. "Good!" he said, clapping his hands together. "Now head home. You'll get everything you need later on. Sleep well, Annabelle."

Anna gave a curt nod, turned and exited the room as quickly as she could without making it obvious she wanted to get away. She didn't like talking to Thomas. There was just something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Something that made her skin crawl and her feet itch to get away. 

Maybe it was the way he smiled at her, or the fact that he always treated her as if she was a precious daughter instead of the highly trained assassin she was. She couldn't be sure what, but whatever it was, it was a struggle to like him.

At least, her briefing was over now. She could focus on getting home to that hot shower and her bed. Oh, and she couldn't forget the most important thing. The double chocolate fudge ice-cream waiting for her as soon as she reached home.