Assassin's Revenge

8- Mission Successful

You remember how I accepted the fact that I would eventually die right? Well throw that all in the trash. I was happy with dying from old age not this! I know I was an assassin earlier in life and I probably deserve this but come on, this is ridiculous. Want to know what it is? Well let my doctor tell you. Cue flashback please.

One Week Ago

"Mrs.Clark, it's good to see you again. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances." Doctor Luke said looking pretty upset.

"What did the tests and scans say about the pain, don't even try to beat around the bush." I said sternly, tired of these damn pains.

"You have many complicated things wrong with you." He said sadly making me get worked up.

"Just spit it out Lucas Jay Black!" I yelled, tired of him going soft just because I am friends with his father.

"You have cancer that goes from your ribs to your thigh, we can't advise anything but chemo for that since it is wrapped around so many vital organs and tissue, yet alone the nerves." Luke explained hesitantly.

"You said many things, that was only one." I sighed, gripping my hair.

"You have a brain tumor as well. It's very serious Aunt Phoenix." He said sadly, giving me teary eyes.

"So it's definite?" I stared into his eyes, knowing he's not going to tell it to me straight.

Slowly nodding he looked away. "You-you should tell the family."

"I can't for the same reason I shouldn't have had you get involved." I said, sighing in grief.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked defensive as tears went down his cheeks.

"You will look at me with sadness and sympathy for the rest of my life. If my family knew they would do the same. Not to mention my grandkids, they haven't had to experience loss and I don't want to be the one to break them like that." I kept ranting as tears streamed down my face and my voice cracked.

"Look, Aunt Mac... It's not going to be easy but you either tell them now and give them time to mentally prepare themselves for that terrible day, or you don't and they suffer emotionally. They will be pissed at you for not telling them on top of grief and that is not a good combination. When you have a family with our skill sets you do your best to not let them experience too much at one time or they will go on a rampage." Luke explained my options which made my heart hurt even more than it usually did.

"How long do you think I have?" I asked him after I composed myself.

"A few months, year if you are lucky."

-- -- --

"Why haven't you touched your food Grandma? You love tacos." Jeremy, Ivys second born said worried.

"Yeah Mom what's up? You've been acting weird since you helped Lucas at the hospital the other day." Eli looked extremely worried.

"I guess I can't hide the truth forever huh?" I sighed drastically before looking up at Ivy. "Can you arrange a family dinner?"

"Of course, I will make sure everyone comes over tonight." Ivy reassured me before I left the room.

I hate how all movies and books leave out this part. The true ending for the characters, good and bad. Truth be told I don't give a s**t if I am the villain in everyones story as long as I am a hero in my families version of it all.

But back to the point, stories never tell you the amount of suffering a hero/villain goes through before they die. Did they die heroically? Cancer? Tumor? Car wreck? Overdose? Murdered? Nobody will ever know. But I refuse to die like that, unknown to everyone except family.

I am Phoenix for f***s sake. At one point in time everyone knew my name and people would fear when I walked into the arena. If I can't control the way I die then I can choose the way I spend the rest of my life.

"Hey Aaron, I have a request."

"What's up Kitten?" He asked happily.

"I want to be your ticking bomb and before you say no please hear me out. Come over for dinner and I will explain everything." I requested, keeping a strong voice even though I was crying on the inside.

"Okay, I will be there in fifteen minutes."

-- -- --

"Thank you all for joining us tonight, although I am not sure why this family dinner was called." Louis said awkwardly as he looked at everyone.

I nodded at Lucas so he knew I called it to reveal the truth. He gave me a sad smile and looked at everyone. "The sooner we all finish dinner the sooner all of you will know." Lucas told the family making them look at him strangely.

"Don't mind him everyone, it was just a long day at the hospital today. I will explain everything when we are done eating. But for now what is new with all of you?" I asked putting on a smile for everyone.

"Cristina made it onto the cheer squad at school. They just announced it after school." Matt said, proud of his first born who is now in middle school.

"That's wonderful dear, when is the first game she cheers at?" I asked, full of curiosity.

"Next Friday at five." Cristina said excitedly with a smile on her face.

"Guess I know what I'm doing that night." I said winking at the happy kid causing her to laugh.

-- -- --

"Okay, now that we are done eating I think it's time for the kids to go outside and play while the adults talk." I said, looking at my eight grandkids.

"Aw, come on grandma. We're old enough to handle big kid talk." Jackson pouted making me raise an eyebrow at him.

"When you beat Cristina at Warrior I will let you guys be part of adult time." I said, smirking at them.

"That's never going to happen." They mumbled while retreating to the back yard.

"So what's up Mom?" Ellie asked, looking at me with curious eyes.

I looked over at Luke nervously and he gave me a reassuring hand squeeze. Turning to face Louis I gently grabbed his hand and looked into his sea blue eyes.

"I have been lying to all of you for a few months now." I started, tears instantly forming in my eyes.

"I haven't been helping Lucas at the hospital. He has been running tests on me, most of them over night. Recently we got some scans in and I have cancer. It's bad." Tears were streaming down my face, but I refused to break eye contact from Lou. He deserves for me to tell him eye to eye and not hiding behind my hair.

When I finally looked at the rest of our family I couldn't see their reactions. My vision was too blurry to even see the outlines of everyone.

"I didn't know how to tell you guys. You haven't had to experience loss and neither have the kids. I really didn't want to be the ones to break you but..." I couldn't form words anymore, all that came out were sobs and whale calls.

"Mac has a few months to live if she is lucky. But there are a few details she left out... Mackenzie has a brain tumor that can't be removed. Just like the cancer, it is sitting on top of vital parts that if accidentally damaged or even touched would result in death." Luke explained for me as I continued to cry and my throat tightened.

"She also offered me a deal today. In all honesty I was set in turning her down when I showed up. But she refused to tell me her reasoning and now I know. And I really am sorry, but I am accepting her request. Mac saved my life multiple times and most of us wouldn't be here if it weren't for her sacrifices. It is only fair for her to go out like a hero." Aaron stated confidently even though he knew most of them won't like it.

"What did she offer you?" Louis asked, his voice cracking.

"She's now The Crusader Gangs ticking bomb." Aaron said matter-of-factly.

"W-why would you offer yourself like that Mom?" Eli asked clearly upset as I tried to explain myself.

"Wo-would-d you pr-prefffer me si-tting in pain and slo-wwly din-g while ev-veryone look-s at me with p-pit-ty?" I managed to ask, still not able to control my tears.

There was a long silence before Aaron spoke up. "We all hate the fact that we will be losing one of us. But the real question is do we want her to pass away quick or let her live in misery until we are ready to let her go?"

"When do you leave Mom?" Ellie asked, barely auditable.

"In two days." Aaron answered for me since I didn't even know.

"Okay, we can make that work." Everyone agreed and I didn't know if I should be hurt or happy that they accepted this.

-- -- --

The two days flew by in the blink of an eye. One second I was in the kitchen having dinner with everyone and the next I was at the airport saying goodbye. Thankfully today is Monday so all the kids were in school and I wouldn't have to make empty promises to come back.

"We will miss you, from the second you leave till the moment we are reunited with us." Ivy said while she hugged me.

"If you are reincarnated, please find us Mom, we need you." Eli said with tears in his eyes.

"And I need you guys too." I said with a sad smile.

"If you turn into a spirit or ghost, please be the one to guide us through life and never leave our side." Ellie said in a stern tone, making me accept her request.

"Lucas, keep an eye on my family please. I know they act tough but they are fragile on the inside."

"I will Aunt Mac, as long as you promise to say hello to my mother for me." Lucas requested making me smile.

"Of course, she probably can't wait to hear about her magnificent son." I commented while hugging him close to me.

"Phoenix." Louis croaked as I approached him.

"I know, but trust me you would break even more if you saw me get sicker and sicker every day until I died."

"I know but you are my everything and more." Tears started to form in both of our eyes.

"You are my Forever and Always, we are bound to see each other again. Just know that I will always be with you." I whispered as I hugged the love of my life as tight as I could.

"I love you." Louis said, crying into my hair.

"I love you too. Forever and Always, remember that."

-- -- --

Two Weeks Later

Today is the day, I can feel it. Operation Ticking Bomb will be over and I will be in the after life, if there even is one. Some of you may be wondering what 'Ticking Bomb' means and well, it means it's a suicide mission. When there is under a ten percent chance of surviving a mission they will only send ticking bombs into the area. Of course these 'Ticking Bombs' are people who either volunteer or were traitors to the gang.

So far I have survived six suicide missions and I can feel it in my gut that this is lucky number seven. As time has gone by the pains in my body has gotten worse and I have been vomiting and having bloody poop.

"Clark, it's time." One of the guards said and I nodded in response.

"Today is my day, so tell Aaron I said thank you for this. I am wearing a tracker so they can find my body so make sure they find it." I instructed the guard as we walked to the plane.

During the flight I kept checking my weapons. The safety was off all of them, rounds in perfectly. Extra ammo ready to be exchanged. All my knives were hidden in compartments within my body suit which was heavily padded. I even had to katanas strapped to my back in case I run out of ammo. Theres even a few grenades attacked to my belt buckle. Over prepared? There is no such thing in this line of work.

The captain announced that we were getting close so I quickly grabbed a parachute and hooked it around me. When the doors opened I quickly jumped out of the plane. The amount of force hitting my face and the water from the rain was ridiculous. We had to choose a rainy day so the enemy wouldn't see the plane but damn, it didn't have to be a tropical storm.

When I landed safely on the ground I took out my compass, using it to guide me to the fortress of jackasses. Apparently they have a human trafficking ring and it's my job to f**k these bitches up. Even if I don't succeed there should at least be enough damage done to where the rest of Aarons gang can finish them off.

I listened to my surroundings, trying to hear the guards positions and how many there are. Give or take fifteen and each about three feet apart. This should be interesting I thought as I carefully pulled out a M14 and aimed at their heads.

After killing them I moved to the inside of the building, listening for their reinforcements to come my way. The crazy thing about this is how nobody came. No sound came from the inside which was very alarming. Carefully walking further into the castle I noticed it was pretty much empty aside from the sound of a generator.

"Ah, the Crusader Gangs Avenger." Someone called out from behind me, making me turn around.

"Who are you?" I asked as I looked at the guy oddly. How did he know who sent me?

"I'm Shadow, for obvious reasons, huh? The fact you didn't know I was here should tell you why they call me that."

"You know what I meant Shadow. Who do you work for?" I asked, getting tired of talking.

"I work for the gang they want you slaughter but I won't let that happen." He explained as he walked closer to me.

"You know I won't let you leave alive right?" I said with a smirk causing him to laugh.

"Well Lady, I hate to break it to you but I'm the one who has guns pointed at you, not the other way around." He said victoriously causing me to laugh this time.

"There's just one flaw in your plan Shadow."

"And what is that?" He asked in fake curiosity.

"They sent a ticking bomb not an Avenger." I said proudly as I took the pins out of the grenades around my belt.

-- -- --

Two Hours Later

"Weeee!" I screamed as I flew through the air. It feels so good to be rid of my body.

I kept speeding through the clouds toward the place I called Home. Wait until they get a load of this! They are going to love it!

When I got to the house I went through the door and walked to the kitchen where everyone was.

"Hey guys you'll never guess what happened!" I exclaimed as I sat down next to Louis.

"Aaron just texted me, it's final. Her tracker stayed in place for ten minutes so they sent team Alpha as backup. She was blown to bits and pieces along with everyone else in the building." Ivy announced sadly gaining everyones attention.

"Ivy, that's not fair. I wanted to tell them!" I whined as I walked over to her. Why does she have to suck the fun from everything?

"Hey, there's no need to be sad! I'm right here and will never leave you again." I reassured them as I pat Ivys hair. Or at least I tried to but my hand went right through her.

I looked at all of them while I danced horribly and said hurtful stuff about everyone but they didn't budge. They can't see or hear me can they?

I could feel my eyes tear up as I looked at their sad faces. "I did this to them." I cried as I turned my back to them. I'm stuck like this until they join me.