Pilot Chapter Part III: The Disappearance Of The Horizon

As the morning went by, quickly, the doctor was asking me to try and walk around for a bit, as just a simple exercise to start moving my legs due to the lack of movement in the few days. Even though it’s for some days, my legs cannot lose strength. Also, I need them if I have to run in my next mission…

-Say, Mazharie, is your leg feeling stronger?- the doctor asked, having a average short woman in a lab suit helping me to walk around until I told her I could do it all by myself.

-Yes. Thanks a lot, doctor. Am I able to go now?- I asked him, looking straight as the nurse helped me to stand up more.

-Oh, yes. Your leg has progressed properly by some days now. Quite surprisingly I must add.- He leaned on and took a glance at my leg, watching a tiny scratch in healing process.

-Days?! How many days I was unconscious?- I held tight the bars of the bed, highly confused about this.
I thought it were mere minutes! Neither Cerly nor Nate talked to me about how much I was slightly unconscious or totally for some days...

-3 days. You were bleeding constantly and we exactly know why: the bullet went straight into your artery and made a mess we fixed successfully. You lost ten to twenty percent of your blood but fortunately we managed to control the situation.-

-Three days?! It felt like just a scratch…-

-Miss Madellio, we spent 4 hours patiently taking out the loss and stitching the wound properly. This tiny scratch is nothing but work of your unbelievable quick healing, noticed between three days exactly.-

-Thank you and your medical team so much.- I apologized for my stubborn attitude and they handed me a little bag for some pills, recommended taking them each 8 hours and to do exercise daily.

After I arrived at my office, I decided to take a peek at some of the papers Cerly left in my office about the next mission.

-Hmm… let’s see.- I took out my phone and recorded the location in my map, sitting down as I grabbed my cappuccino to take a sip at it while reading the summary of our mission.

"Our principal suspect: Karl Vhon Konstantine and their entrepreneurs are in the eye of our agency as they made hidden contract with the well-known head of the corrupt boss of business: Daven Merger, as known as "The Boss"."

I looked up from the papers and instantly saw Cerly, walking into my office, with a serious facial expression looking directly into me.

-Have you catched up on the report already? We almost lost a good agent.- He commented, quite worried but still with his usual neutral face.

-You know I’m not leaving until this ends properly. I was just reading, the doctor already let me go.- I yawned and quickly covered my mouth, taking my cup of cappuccino as i sipped more, smiling.

-I’m glad you’re not giving up yet, Mazharie.- He nodded and we both noticed a louder and crumbling crash sound from suddenly coming from the first floor. It made the second floor shake for more than 4 seconds.

-Dang it! Must be another mess done by our rookie agents. Excuse me while I attend this.- He walked out of my office, with an exhausted look upon his face and his body language.

I made sure I had my gun with bullets in case something happened… I need to be prepared to shoot bad guys afterall.

Silence.

That’s all I could hear, dead silence and nothing else, after some minutes to just hear the emergency call for the agents. My heart started racing at full speed, adrenaline overwhelming me in exorbitant quantities.

All agents report to the main base. Emergency, unknown threat has broken into the Agency.

-Oh no... - I mouthed softly and grabbed my gun, quickly.

I took the papers for the mission and locked them in a safe place with the key I hold while I left it on my pocket. As I went out, I saw agents running carefully towards the stairs and taking their guns out.

-Mazharie, stay with us! Some of our most experienced agents are working to deal with the emergency.- Nate approached me and I lowered my gun, nodding.

-What do I do? I have never been in this type of situation.-

-I think you done enough with the-

Suddenly, my body froze to hear screams and shots, feeling an intense rush of sensations oppressing my chest heavily. It was fear.

-Mazharie, go straight to the main cameras room, quickly! I will be their reinforcement.- He took out his weapon and charged it, running downstairs as I sighed deeply, running straight towards the Main Cameras Control Room, where dozens of cameras around the Agency were hidden and yet every agent knew clearly where they were finely spotted for any emergency showed.

I kept listening to bullets being fired and blood-curdling screams coming from the first floor. My hands were shaking and so my body but I had to reassure myself and quickly to burn away every last of fear. I exhaled deeply and closed my eyes, looking for that hint of courage I was looking for…

I won’t stand a chance. I will fight with them! Whether I’m destined to die here or not, I will go to through hell itself just to save my people.

I smiled, turning against the door as I rushed to my office, watching other agents panic as I attempted to calm them all my way down.

Once I reached my destination, I walked in and searched on a shelf two more guns as I took a small bag to put the bullets cartridge inside there. I grabbed the bag and ran out, preparing my main gun to use it quickly.

As my feet moved downstairs, my heartbeat started to race more and more, moving myself carefully and with intentions of no making any sound.

The room looked a bloody nightmare, bodies of agents lying around, some of them struggling to breath, some of them struggling to stay alive… I stopped myself and saw a man in a black suit, just like one of Daven bodyguards. I quickly pointed at him and shoot two bullets, hitting his arm and hand, as I approached without fear.

Everywhere I walked in was leaving a trail of blood by my shoes, I erased all dear memory from humanity inside me. As I heard the man yelp, he begged pitifully for his life… typical of these idiots.

-Mercy-y…- As I heard his voice, a sudden rage encouraged me and I pointed straight to his neck, shooting and watching how he struggled to cover his wound up on his neck. He was screaming in such an intense way, I didn’t bothered to cover my ears for this bullshit.

-I don’t have pity for those who treat people as slaves and let them die.- I shoot him twice and his chest stopped moving, glancing at his eyes while they just rolled at the back of his head.

I looked around and none of these agents looked like Cerly or Nate but I went around, inspecting if someone came out alive.

No one. All dead.

I went straight through the hallway, so long and the trail of blood stopped here. I took off my shoes, not before checking my surroundings as I left them somewhere near but not enough to give them a warning. I have done some noisy entrance still…

The odor of blood was incredibly abundant around and remained me about their bloody bodies. The scene will be in my mind playing over and over again for the rest of my life, sadly...

Steps, quickly steps are going straight into my way as I prepare silently my gun, with a dead serious expression.

-Hey, Joe…?- He instantly saw me and I pointed to his eye, hitting painfully the eye and making him fall backwards, screaming in so much pain.

-You’re annoying me.- I walked quietly and near him, shooting again as he dropped dead onto the floor. I hate these guys so much but I shouldn’t let myself be affected by their pitiful deaths.

-You’re the silent bitch that has been killing them, aren’t you?- I see a woman at the left, I had nowhere to run and neither I was waiting to do so.

-We’ll talk less and shoot more!- I grabbed the dead man's body and let her shoot but since I couldn't shoot well, I ended failing.

-You talk too much. My Boss said you were easy prey…- She let out a cackle and kept shooting until one of them actual hit me on my left arm as I yelped loudly, cursing.

I let go of the body and instantly grabbed my second gun, shooting twice at her as she fell, yelping and cursing loudly.

-That’s what you gain for calling me a bitch and the easy prey.- The last face she saw was a devilish one, the face of a truly assassin without the weight of killing for the sake of her own family’s safety.
I made sure she remembered against whom she pulled her last fight and pointed my first gun at her, noticing how she was closing her eyes and finally accepted her fate. And then I shoot, seeing her face turn into a twisted terrorific face.

-Mazharie? Damn it… I told you to stay!- Nate approached with a big group of agents, some of them were wounded but still fine.

-I couldn’t save the others, Nate. Where the hell is Cerly? Daven's people broke into the Agency and we can’t trust in the building’s security now. We might be surrounded!-

-Mazharie, we can’t find him! I was too late and none of the others saw where he went.- He lowered his gun and decided to rub his face, as a sign of distress.

-Dang it! So who the hell is in charge now?!- I put back both of my guns and rubbed my eyes, stressed as the other agents backed off slightly, watching the droplets of blood around my clothes and skin.

-We don’t have any idea. Cerly never had someone named to be his commander and neither talked about it…- Repeated Nate, in a very aghast tone.

-Mazharie, Nate, we need to keep inspecting the rest of the building. Until now, we believe you two need to do some research on who should be guiding the Agency and the next mission.- As one of the group ended, the others followed her as they went through the hallway, avoiding the pool of blood around the next room.

-I say we go to the second floor and make a meeting with the rest of the agents. You prepare everything and collect the information. I will go to check the security and if the briefcase and the bottles are still in our possession. They are our main priority.- I nodded and both us went into different directions, passing through the long hallway as I attempted to pick up my shoes and avoid touching the dead bodies, still being picked up from the floor.

My heart felt heavy to see we lost our newest recruits in such a short time.

This isn’t over, Daven. I swear revenge and justice will fall over you!

I ran upstairs, signaling every agent to meet us at the Meeting room in fifteen minutes and they agreed, confused to hear the news from my part and not from their boss.

All of the adrenaline I didn’t felt, when I was protecting the others, came to me in such an intense wave that I needed to get rid of it.

After I entered the big room of important meetings, used to explain the mission to the rest of the agents, the room could use some more space because every agent was there.

-Miss Madellio, what is going on? Where is the boss?- One at the end of the room asked, curious and worried mixing into his dark expression.

-I’m afraid I still don’t have news about him. I got rid of three infiltrated spies who have killed at least 25 of our newest recruits.- Everyone in the room fell silently, listening to me with serious but heart-aching expressions on their face.

-But this loss of agents won’t end here if we don’t select quickly a second commander to cover Mr. Cerly’s disappearance. Our main objective with this meeting is to present the most skilled but also the person who always listen both parts and care about them. The one who will at least let their team escape with wounds, more appreciating it if none of them would be harmed.- I finished off with my speech, watching how Nate entered the room with a very depressed but anxious look.

-I’m here now. Bad news to everyone… Daven’s people stole the briefcase with the biological weapon and they captured our boss.- Nate said, with a dead serious face, some of the agents gasping and some talking between them.

-Silence, agents! I need your cooperation, our agency has to get back the biological weapon or this town and their people will die!- Some of the agents had their hands up and so I invited them over to talk, one by one, their ideas.

-I’d say we need two bosses, we haven’t met an agent with all the characteristics of our boss.- The woman next to this man talked, reassuring and totally accepting the idea.

-Yes, Jonen is right! We can choose between our most experienced and skilled to combine them so not only one will decide things on their own when the time comes but only two. Two different but high trained and full of discipline heads can think towards the best option.- The man agreed with the idea, letting the last person explain their reasons to believe in it.

-Because having a second opinion is a well-known base towards successful missions and the lower or vanquish the number of lost agents.- the third person nodded, looking at everyone in the room and finally towards me, along with Nate.

-So, is that okay with everyone in this room? Hands up for the ones accepting the idea.- Almost every agent on the room had their hands up, as I quickly signaled them to lower their hands.

-Fine, then it’s all settled. We will have another meeting again by the afternoon of tomorrow to choose the two most skilled and full-of-agility agents. For now, we all should not get ahead of ourselves and suggest others because that will be our goal for tomorrow's meeting. Additional to this, I'm afraid we can't leave the building right now as Daven's people will probably go and target one of us or perhaps all of us one by one. Please stay alert and be ready for any emergency.- I cleared my throat, nodding as every other agent agreed and just like that, one by one, every agent returned to their positions.

-Mazharie, you should get that wound checked...- Nate whispered softly as we went out of the Meeting room.

-I'm okay, it's only a scratch.- I tried to excuse it but he denied all my attempts and went directly to heal my current bullet wound.

Only I noticed now that the entire side of the wound was soaked with blood, leaving red spots on the rest of my shirt.

-Sometimes you're far more reckless than me, Mazharie.- He sighed and shook his head, somehow disappointed.

Somewhere else near the outside of Zerhaliha town…

-Well, well! If it’s not my good friend, Cerly.- A voice echoed through the whole dark and feisty room, chuckling softly.

Cerly turned his head around in a very weak attempt to recognize where the voice was coming and he knew he couldn’t talk too much as he was in the tiger’s mouth, trapped where only he could survive by his own with mere luck.

-Now that we know the location of your useless agency, it’s just a matter of time we will kill them all. I might have lost three of my best unit but they did wiped out enough of those worthless agents, am I right?- Just as the man finished, Cerly felt the need to recklessly attack the man. Although this, he found himself chained to a wall as he heard footsteps walking near him, attempting to contain his boiling anger.

-You’re not gonna get away with this one. I have deep faith in my agents!- He shot a harsh glare at where he thought Daven would be.

-Such a waste of time, Cerly. You clearly thought you could rise up a legion of agents against me?- Daven laughed deeply, flickering on the only source of light in the whole room. Cerly adjusted his sight, watching how he was a few meters away from Daven as he looked terrorific in the middle of darkness, approaching him.

-I might spare your life if you tell me the location of every family hidden out of Zerhaliha.- Cerly’s eyes widened, looking up straight at Daven with a face full of rage.

-Before I even tell you that type of information, I’d like you to know that you can proudly go and burn in Hell!- Daven’s face deformed into a devil smirk and he swung his fist against Cerly’s abdomen, making him gasp for air and cough without stopping.

-Keep an eye on him and don’t let him escape. We’ll lower our movements and when they don’t expect it, we will attack.- He muttered to someone before leaving the room, Cerly being met with a dead silence.

-”They will wipe clean all of my agents… Darn it, Cerly! You fucking need to get yourself out of this or at least warn Madellio.”- He thought for a second, sighing and wondering how much he would be staying captured.

Outside of the building where they held Cerly captured, the stars were still shining brightly along the moon, which were the only ones aware of the destiny that awaited for Cerly Varshdell.

TO BE CONTINUED...