2014 Copyright © A. M. Forest

All Rights Reserved

Magnolia's entrance into the Aztech Corporations building went rather unnoticed besides the nod she gave the security guard. Aztech Corp. was known to the public as the beacon of hope for technological advancement in medical practices throughout the world. To the underground, Aztech Corp. was an assassination and hunting firm of the human and vampire race. To Magnolia, it was her place of employment.

Once she stepped into the elevator, she slipped her keycard into the slot. It beeped before a hidden compartment slid open, revealing three more buttons. She pushed the last one.

As the doors closed, Magnolia's reflection stared back at her. She examined her 5'7" pale form, taking in the black v-neck t-shirt that clung to her chest and the fitted olive green cargo pants tucked into black combat boots. Her wavy red hair was longer on the left side than the right, chin-length bangs swept behind her ears, showing off the hoops that pierced the top corners of her small ears. Small nose, average lips, high cheekbones and dark hazel eyes that took all of this in. Magnolia quickly looked away.

The elevator dinged and she moved out into the empty corridor. Magnolia walked down the hallway until she reached the solid obsidian door that led to the Professor's office-slash-debriefing room.

When she opened the door, she moved to the right in a flash, dodging the bullet that was aimed for her forehead. Instead, the bullet embedded into the wall behind her with a resounding ping.

Standing with a loaded pistol aimed at Magnolia--glaring hatefully--was Agent Barton Jones.

"Now this is the welcome I was expecting last night," she taunted, unfazed by the gun. Magnolia shook her head in mock disappointment. "So you're willing to shoot a defenseless, weaponless woman point-blank for no reason other than the fact that she was chosen over you?" Magnolia made a tsk noise at him, meanwhile watching him like a hawk the entire time.

Agent Jones chuckled. "Weaponless? Yes, that you are. But you're far from defenseless, Haunt," he said, tightening his grip on the weapon, holding it like a lifeline.

She sighed dramatically. "Yes, I suppose you're right about the lack of defense. But, about the weapon situation—" She moved suddenly and kicked his arm up, causing him to lose his grip on the pistol. Using his shock to her advantage, she launched herself up and over him to catch the cold gunmetal in her hands as it came back down. Turning around, she aimed the pistol and a gloating smirk at the back of his head. "—that can easily change."

"Now, do you two always have to do this when I call Magnolia in for an assignment?" Professor Roger interjected, walking down the spiral staircase casually while ignoring the gun pointed at one of his best workers—next to Magnolia, of course.

Magnolia lowered the gun slowly, keeping her eyes on Jones the entire time. "As long as he continues to question my abilities," She looked at the Professor, a smile appearing on her face as she spoke, "yes, indeed we will."

The Professor shook his head and sat down on the chair directly opposite from them. "You may leave, Barton," he said, dismissing him with a simple flick of his hand.

"Yes, you may leave, Barton," Magnolia repeated as Jones turned to leave. "Oh wait, you forgot this." In one fluid movement, she released the magazine, removed the bullet in the chamber and ripped the slide off, disabling the gun. Magnolia then proceeded to throw the frame at his back. He glared over his shoulder, shooting daggers with his eyes.

The Professor shook his head again and looked through the files he had splayed out in front of him as he spoke. "Not going to add that to your collection?" There was a hint of a smile on his face, but he didn't look up.

She shot him a suspicious glance, but answered anyway. "Of course not; I've collected ten guns from him already. Plus he has terrible taste in weaponry." Magnolia's face turned serious. "Can we begin?"

He nodded and tapped at a globe on the table, a map appeared on its flat surface. "We have information from the North about a pod that's been spotted in the Canadian forest."

She crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat. "So, you're sending me to Canada in the middle of September because...?"

His eyes stayed on the screen. "We need you to destroy the pod."

"And why won't you send Agent Jones to do this mission?" She asked, genuinely confused, "Canada is Agent Jones' jurisdiction."

"Because you get the job done," he answered simply.

She chuckled and stood up, grabbing the files he had scattered on the table. "I'll be gone by this afternoon." She turned to walk out of the room, when he called her name. She whipped around to see that the Professor had moved around the table. "Yes, Professor?"

Professor Rogers leaned against the table, his body language guarded, and his face serious. "You have until winter, Agent Haunt. Any longer and Aztech will send reinforcements. If you don't cooperate with the standby team, then we'll consider you corrupted and you'll be shot on sight. Understood?"

This got Magnolia's attention. "What's the matter, Professor? It isn't like you to be so direct and even more so, to doubt my ability to get the job done."

"Nothing's wrong, Agent Haunt. I'm simply reminding you of your duty and the consequences if anything goes wrong." He shrugged stiffly before standing up, but stopped before he walked away, leaving her with a threat hanging in the air, "And you better hope nothing goes wrong, Agent."

~~~

After packing a suitcase and duffle bag, Magnolia was on the next plane to Canada that afternoon. Since it was estimated to be a long mission, she'd made sure to have necessities shipped to her temporary home in Canada and made sure that her apartment was locked down for the time being.

The private jet landed two hours later in a secluded landing strip where Magnolia was surprised to find a man waiting for her upon her exit.

He was approximately six feet tall, with a slim build and sharp facial features. He wore a black trench coat over a gray suit and black leather dress shoes. His blond curls were combed back, revealing a clean-shaven jawline, thin lips, a straight nose, and bushy dark eyebrows. He was attractive; medium threat.

Magnolia cautiously walked down the steps and moved across from the strangely familiar man, wondering why he seemed so familiar. "And who might you be?" Up close she could see his eyes clearly. They were a vibrant sky blue.

"Agent Haunt," the deep voice rang through her head, bringing forth memories she'd suppressed many years ago. "My name is Agent Austin Joseph; I have been assigned to accompany you during this mission."

"Maggie, are you okay?"

She shook the memory aside, an unwanted feeling swelling in her chest. "Is this some sort of joke? I work alone. I don't need help from anyone, especially you." Magnolia brushed past him to the waiting jeep. "All I need from you is to take me to where I'll be staying for the next couple of weeks."

The stunned agent didn't move until the slam of the door woke him from his shock. "Well Professor Adam did say you were a handful," he muttered to himself.

~~~

Magnolia walked into the log cabin with the silent agent behind her. She'd had him traverse the area with her so the animals were aware of their presence in the cabin.

She walked through a short hallway that led to a spacious living room. Directly in front of her were sliding doors leading to the large clearing that reached the edge of the forest. To her left was the entrance to the kitchen, down the hallway to the right was the bedroom, and another doorway she guessed to be the office.

"I'll be staying near a small farm on the east side of town. I left the address on the counter for when you need to get in contact with me for any reason," he paused when she finally faced him. "I mean, if you need to get in contact."

"I don't need anything from you. Leave." She pushed him right out the door and slammed it in his face before he could reply.

Leaning on the door, Magnolia took a deep breath. There's no way that could be him. It's just a coincidence. Her inner voice rationalized. Besides, if it was really him, he would have remembered you. And he didn't.

With that resolution in mind, she walked into the kitchen and carefully unloaded the contents of her duffle bag onto the wooden table.

Since Magnolia had most of her clothes shipped here and placed accordingly, she'd had plenty of room for her weapons and the files needed for the task ahead. She used her time to look around the cabin and was surprised to find that it was decorated very similar to her apartment, minus the guest rooms. Dark wood furniture, black brick chimney, black marble counters.

Magnolia quickly began to hide weapons all around the house; under the tables, in the chimney, in the kitchen cabinets, the office, and bedroom. She left her favorite weapons on the table: a nine millimeter Desert Eagle that she secured at her hip, two hunting knives in their holsters strapped around each thigh, a pocket knife to go in her boot, and a smaller pistol to be hidden in the back of her pants as a last resort.

When she was finished, she picked up the file, causing a piece of paper to slip out. When she picked it up, Magnolia recognized the handwriting as the Professor's. She sat in the chair as she began reading:

Magnolia,

I know I wasn't acting like my usual self this morning during your debriefing, but I was ordered to withhold information from you with no clear reason. I want you to know the truth:

Viktor's department has been discontinued. No one has heard from him since. I'm sorry.

The department is going through some changes and I'm not sure what is to come while you are gone, but from now on, I will update you further on this matter through mail. No one is to know of this.

Something isn't right. Be safe, Magnolia. I'll stay in touch.

Adam

As if her body had a mind of its own, she automatically turned on the gas stove and lit the note on fire, throwing the burning note into the sink as the flames grew bigger.

Viktor. He was the one who recruited Magnolia two years ago. He was the best in his section of the hunting organization and he was also the closest thing she had to a friend.

Why would they hide that from me?

Times are changing, Magnolia told herself. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, she saw it was only one o'clock. She checked the chamber in her pistol before quickly loading herself with her weapons. She went to the closet by the front door and noticed her long black trench coat hanging on the coat rack. She went for her short light brown coat that tied at the waist instead, since it was warmer.

Time to explore the town.

~~~

Edited by: @Shrutiluvbooks and