Angel

Bodies lined the dark street, once gray pavement with indents and cracks are filled in with crimson red from the heaps of bodies dressed in black. There’s no light down the street, only light is from the moon light and a single light from the building window right next to the alleyway. I kick my Walmart shows against the dumpster, drops of blood scatter against the beat-up pot metal. I roll my eyes at the sight and scuff, today wasn’t a bad night’s work. Only six men, two women which is my weekly number. Mark won’t be very impressed, but I met my quota.

My phone rings just as I leave the alleyway, I flip open my phone and scuff in disgust as I wipe blood off of the front before lifting it to my ear. “Yes?” I hear heels in the background of the call. “Hey baby! Listen I’m sorry didn’t meet you but my **** date wouldn’t shut u-“ I cut her off before she could continue. “It’s fine May, the job is done. Just make sure you cover my *** next time I need it.” She can only giggle as she walks “of course baby! I always have my girls back!” I smile as I snap the phone shut and make my way back to the apartment.

This city has always been filled with scum life, ever since the **** depression there has been no shortage of low life forms. I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’m 24, living with my business partner with barely any money that I can show off and I kill for a living. I ain’t no saint. But for some reason everyone has agreed that I am an angel.

I enter my apartment that really should be foreclosed. Eggs**** coloured walls stained with green and brown stains I try to ignore, the floor boards are creaking and rotting in some areas and not to mention if I take a shower and do dished at the same time the **** power goes out. I toss my bag onto the table and kick off my crimson shoes and throw them into the black plastic bag filled with other crimson shoes and tissues. I walk down the hall, pulling the chocolate brown hair I have into a thin long ponytail as I step into the bathroom. I fiercely scrub the blood from under my nails. Even when I wear my leather gloves the blood still finds a way to seep through and stain my hands.

I scrub away at my hands for a good couple minutes before quickly stripping out of my tight jeans and black tank top. I crank the warm water as hot as it will go, and I step into the steam. I scrub at the blood and scars, hoping the memories of blades, blood and screams will be erased from my history; but no matter what that history is here to stay.

Once I am half decently cleaned I walk out of the shower wet and naked into my bedroom. Queen size bed rests in the middle of the room, clothes scattered around the room, books piled up on my side of the bed, my walls bare except for a few old sticky notes reminding me to pick up some half decent food and a new thing of coffee.

My life isn’t so bad, I got a job that helps me live, plus it gives me a reason to walk up in the mornings. That’s a lot more I could have said a couple years ago. I lay in my bed, with sheets that are in desperate need of changing and trace the scars and tattoos that line my skin. Thin lines smoothly show the outline of angel wings on my left wrist. It was etched there when I was just sixteen. I always believed that I would do great and bold things. I would help people, and I am! Just not in the ways I thought I would. Scars that are marked into my hands reveal previous fights and some burns from me not being carful.

There’s a loud knock at the door that echo’s through the apartment. I stand, quickly pull on my very sexiest house coat and pull my dirk dagger from its resting place by my bed and walk to the door. I open the door and see Maya standing there in nothing but a red dress and a smile. She walks through the door, placing a kiss on my cheek and rests a bottle of three-dollar wine on the table before speaking. “I thought this could make up for me missing the ‘project’.” I could only rest the dirk on the table and open the red wine. Taking a swig of the bitter, underaged grape juice and glance over at her. “Maya, use the **** entrance next time. I could have killed you for ***** sakes!” She only giggled and kisses the side of my head where the hair had been shaved off months before. “Oh Angel, I knew you wouldn’t kill me. You need me!” I could only laugh before taking a swig of the wine and setting it down before walking to my room once more. “I’m going to bed. Wake me up if we’re being attacked again!” She followed me and watched me curl into bed. “Ok sweetie, I’ll keep watch. I’ll wake you if He comes back again.” I roll my eyes and turn to my side, so I couldn’t see her. God, I missed him, I missed Him with a fiery passion. If only He would leave the depths of **** to come back. I’ll see if I can help Him out tomorrow, for now I need to recharge. 

I dreamt of Him again. More like a memory really. We where at His safe house. Small little cottage in the middle of nowhere. Only thing surrounding us is voiceless trees, a gl*** surface pond and a couple foxes and wolves that run around the woods like a couple of puppies chasing a ball around the back yard. I remember Him laying beside me, skin exposed and vulnerable. He never made himself vulnerable, He was always so tense, so ready for the worst to happy; he was a guarded man, but you have to be in our line of business. He lay beside me, perfectly sculped face covered with hair the colour of coal. His muscles pulse from his skin by the flicker of the fire, breath easy and steady. I gently drape the blanket across his torso to try and keep Him asleep, his gorgeous body lays beside me; the heat from the fire can’t compete with the heat coming from his body. It warms me to my soul, right to my core.

His soft snores descend into silence as his lapis blue eyes fluttered into existence. His lapis eyes wipe wright through me, my knees go weak and my soul shutters. It’s something about His eyes that just makes my whole being shutter. He smiles and runs His hands through my mangled hair from the sleep of last night. He cups my face gentle with one hand, His callused and scared hands hold my face with such care and delicacy its hard to believe that His hands where once covered with blood of the lows and highs. He gently cradles my face as He moves His body so His smooth, yet rough lips can meet my own. I can still remember how He tasted, how He smelled and how He felt against me. The dream felt like it would last forever, but eventually everyone needs to wake up.

I woke to the sound of my phone coming to life. The buzzing and ringtone of Mark trying to contact me pulled me from my dream of Him which flipped my ****** switch.” I turned over and quickly flipped on phone open and pressed it to my ear before speaking. “What the **** Mark? You know I don’t work till seven.” My job required cover with darkness, so my hours revolved around the darkness of night. He sighed “Yes I realize that Angel, but I need you to come in before I tear this new guy a new ********** I growl softly into the phone “Why do you need me? It’s too early for me Mark, and why do you need ME to do it when you have five people who would love to suck up to you.” Mark is in the big times when it comes to my area of work. He’s been doing this for years and have been known as one of the deadliest in the business, he may be my boss, but he never scares me. I know if I had to I could take him and he needs me. “Because you’re the best I have, and besides; I’ll give you double for your next hit, ok?” I smile softly. “Where do you need me?” he sighs softly in relief “normal location Angel, I’ll see you in a few.” And with that he hung up the phone.

I finally walk up the rusted and run-down alleyway. I look over my shoulder and see nothing watching me other then a small family of obese rats under the dumpster. I slide my hand under a loose brick and quickly step back before the tile gives out from under me. I look over my shoulder once more and I easily walk over the entrance and fall down a dark tunnel. Air wisps into my ear, moister and crimson stain my nose and lungs as I plummet down.

I land gracefully on hard stone, torches aluminate the old room, book shelves older then the American country sit just feet away from my body, banners of our old organization hang as a reminder of where we came from, what we have done and what we can improve on in the future. I walk past other, like me. People with black coats covering our true being. Leather and iron mated into one glorious piece of identity.

I walk with a light step, no echoing of the halls as I walk. It took Mark just days of lessons and tests to get me where I am today. I have had much of the knowledge he gave me from my previous life, I life I have laid to rest and I am **** proud of it. I walk into a open room, broken manikins made of wood and steal scatter around the room, targets rest on their head and chest. A large wall of the room holds weapons, many of which I choose not to use but have been trained to know how to weald.

Looking around the room I see Mark sitting near a corner with his rapier sword, he carefully holds the handle with strength but with great respect as he sharpened the blade. I walk over to him, my boots echo through the room so he may know of my presence within the room. Without him even looking up from his tasks he addresses me. “Thank you for coming Angel, you have no idea the agony I have been through the past hour.” I roll my eyes and watch him as he sharpens his blade lazily. “Yeah you look like you’re in great pain. What did you interrupt my well needed sleep for?” He glances up and sheaths his blade as he stands. He tilts his head up and points to the room above “Go see for yourself”. I look at him with a confused expression before I start climbing the wall, moving my hands into cracks of the rock.

I pull my body up from the small opening within the floor, the room is only lit by a small fire placed in the small fire place on the other side of the room, a large oak desk sits in the center with books and old scriptures surrounding it. Photographs of our founder’s scatter around the room, old English couches and chairs are all put around the room neatly and elegantly. I stand and brush my hands off of my pants before straightening my hair out into its proper place. I look around the room and see a tall body, slouched in one of the chairs, legs crossed at the ankle lazily as they slept. I walk over to them, carful not to make a sound. I look at the table beside them and stop mid step. A long silver sword with a gold handle with a single emerald gem sits on the stained table. I watch Him breath softly as He slept. He was here. How did He get here? Did He finally come for me? Just as I was getting the courage to move away, His head tilted up slightly, just slanted enough for me to see His bright topaz eyes to stare into my soul once more. He was here at last, but why?******

Many people didn’t know about me and Him. How we became a unit, a team. People feared us, they sank away into the darkest shadows in attempts to keep out of the light, to stay out of our eyesight But here’s something no one knows about Him. He is the shadows they hide in, He sees everyone and their secrets, their secret desires and sins. It’s what He feeds off of. I watch him before I move over towards the oak desk, pulling myself up and letting my feet lazily swing as we watched each other. It has been a long time since I saw Him. He hasn’t changed, black hair is the same, eyes are still the same. The only thing different about Him is that he got a few more scars along His arms and hand. Which is no surprised considering our line of work.

He watches me as I watch Him. He sits up and slides His sword back into its holder. I hear Mark climbing up the wall and within seconds he is in the room. He smiles as he sees that He is awake and watching me, he dusts off his pants and walks towards us. “Glad to have you here Angel. We have some catching up to do but we’ll get it done before you two have to go.” I looked at him puzzled and slid off of the desk. “You called me in here to help train some ******* that couldn’t learn anything. Why the **** are you sending me out with Him?” Mark smiled and walked behind the large desk that sat in the middle of the room, he opened section of the desk and pulled out a portfolio as thick as a bottle cap and let it drop with a thud onto the dark oak.

They watched me as I flipped through the portfolio. Blacked our records laid in the portfolio. Pictures of a man and an older woman constantly together shows up more then once. Couple mug shots and a few pages on phone conversations and text message show up. I glance up at them and look at the confused. “Who is the target here? There’s more then one person in each shot and there’s more mug shots in here then I can count.” Mark smiles shyly and turned to Him. He spoke “The people in the mug shots and each photo are the targets my dear. They are all head of some type of federal organization. We don’t know all the details of it but all that we do know is, they’re not up to anything good and need ot be terminated sooner rather than later.” I turn to Him with eyes wide. I close the portfolio and watch them. “You want me and Him to go out to.” I quickly flip open the profile and skim a piece of their mug shots. “You want me to go to Italy with him and take out at least ten people without being noticed or being seen by anyone. What the **** have you two been smoking and where the **** can I get some because your imagination is s surreal right now its criminal!”

He watches me and shakes his head before sitting down lazily back in his chair. “Angel, you do know that the only reason I’m here right now is to take care of this problem. I don’t want to be up here just as much as you don’t want me here. So, can we please just do this one last thing then I can be on my marry way okay?” I shake my head and watch him. “I don’t want you here but every **** time we meet up again you have to stay saying that you’ll stay and that we’ll be better, and we can be together, and **** and it never happens. I will do this together because you can’t do it without me but don’t do anything like you did last time or you won’t be going home in one piece.”

It took us awhile to actually talk about the case. We had to iron out the details of transport, the amount of funds we would actually need to survive the **** trip and the amount of materials we would need from our home organization to do this. But apparently Mark failed to inform me of the many years that I have been apart of this that we have partners in this. We have partner organizations that are willing to help us, house us, give us materials and he failed to inform us of our sister organizations, what a **** *****.

I made it home without killing Him. He really is infuriating in more way then one. I walk up to the apartment and ignore His judgemental eyes as we headed inside my ****** apartment. I walk in and see Maya laying on the couch asleep watching How I Met Your Mother. I roll my eyes as I start a pot of coffee and throw in a tv dinner inside the half broken microwave. He watched me then looked over at Maya and chuckled softly before sitting down on one of the stoles I bought from the bar down the road. He watched me watch the coffee as it dripped into the pot. “So, you replaced me with her? She looks like some type of high school cheerleader, you could have chosen someone better.” I turn my head towards Him and walked over to Him. “I choose her because she is good, because no one suspects her, because she doesn’t leave me and make promises she can’t keep.” I turn back to the pot of coffee and pour myself just as my dinner dinged. I pulled out the plastic container full of mystery meat and bleached vegetables and set it down to cool. 

He watched me as I burned my mouth on over salted mystery meal. Why the **** does he have to be so difficult? Why does he even need to be here, I can do this project with Mark or Maya, I don’t need him. I shake my head as I eat. Once I’m finished I turn to Him and walk into my room and He follows. I go into my cluttered closet and move some dirty jean out of the way, so I could open the opening from under the floor boards. I haven’t lived here for a long time, but people of the organization have been living here for years so there’s a couple places that are capable of hiding things.

When we get down to the hidden room it’s a simple ten by ten room with a twin-size bed, peeling white paint on the walls, a simple wooden chest and a bed side table. There was a single bare light handing from the wooden roof. He followed behind me and looked around, He glanced at me as He dropped His bag and sword onto the small bed. The weight from the bag and sword made the springs ache. He glanced around and looked at me. “I’m staying here? Under your floor boards? Really? You have to hide me under your floor?” I nod as I pull a blanket from upstairs and draped it over the bed. “You don’t have to stay here all the time, but this is the only free bed available for use. And you’re not sleeping with me again, so it looks like you get the secret bed.” I smiled calmly at Him and made my way upstairs. When I closed the trap door I saw Maya staring at me with a hot cup of coffee and a slack jaw that stated “really? Him again?” I glare at her and grab the cup and walk past her towards the living room while I called back to her. “It’s not happening again! It’s just for this case!”

It took me and Maya awhile to get through the story of me and Him. It was a story I don’t tell many people. How we dated for awhile, that He was my first partner, how He saved me from death too many times, how He was the light of my life, but that light was quickly blown out when He disappeared one day out of no where. It was painful. The amount of pain he put me through and the amount of time it took me to heal and get back to myself. And now, just as I am happy and back on my feet He has to come back into my life with those topaz eyes and forbidden lips I can’t feel again He’s satanic that way, just satanic.

He never told me why he left, never left a note or a message. He never tried to explain Himself. I always believed he found someone better, someone deadlier than me. That seems to be His type. Deadly women who could destroy any man within one hundred meters. But then again, He is the one who creates the deadliest girls alive. He did create me after all. He found me, I was homeless on the sidewalk. I was addicted to pain killers and booze, He found me and gave me a dollar bill. He had this look of petty in His eye’s so I threw a beer bottle at His head and got Him in the back of the head. I though He was going to kill me, but he trained me. When I asked Him why He saved me, He said He needed someone who had my spirit, who looked as well as I did and who He could count on no matter what. So, He trained me and we both did the dirty work. We killed countless people, saved a few. What we did together, was criminal, but I did it for Him; I owed Him everything.

We killed together, lived together, loved together. We where the couple to beat. We where partners in crime. I remember this one case where we both had to go to Rome to kill off one of the CEO’s of this Italian company who used *** and child slaves. We met up and they got me, they kidnapped me and used me for their work. It took Him only hours to get me back and get all the information we needed to finish up with the assassination. We killed the man within days, that was the very first mission I had with Him. It was scarring. I asked Him why the **** He decided that was to be my first kick at the can. He said that this wasn’t going to be the worst case ever to be assigned to me. That I had to get used to the idea of being used and abused in order to do right by other people. I had to get used to the idea of putting my head and body on the line for other people that I don’t even know. And as always, He was right.

It took Him awhile to finally come back upstairs. Me and Maya where laying on the couch together sharing a bottle of three-year-old red wine and watching reruns of Friends on cable. He looked us over and chuckled softly before walking over and stealing a swig right from the bottle. Maya glares up at him but places her head back on my thigh. I watched Him as He walked around to the kitchen and grabbed Himself a tv dinner and threw it into the microwave. The way He moved was a way of elegance and grace, He was deadly with every move, but He makes death look beautiful and appealing.

He caught me watching Him and I quickly moved my eyes away from him and continued to watch what was playing on the screen before me. He took what He prepared and sat down beside me, He was inches away from me. I haven’t been this close to Him in years. It felt as if nothing had changed, everything was as it once was. It was the time before He left me, a time where we where perfectly in sync, where we where together as both lovers and partners. I jumped at the sound of my cell ringing. I quickly sat up and flipped the phone open to the sound of Mark’s voice. “Hey Angel, listen, change of plans. I need you and Lu- Him to get ready to leave. Your flight leaves in two hours so be ready to move.” And before I could even say anything he hung up, typical *******. I looked up at Him and sighed. “Eat quickly, wheels go up in two hours and we still need to bloody pack everything and it takes twenty minutes just to get to the **** plane so be ready.”