The Hunt Between us

The director slammed the file on the table. It slid across the polished wood and stopped right in front of me. "This file is very important, Raven. This client... you need to take him down." Before he could finish his sentence, Rex interrupted. He laughed. That stupid, loud laugh he always does whenever he thinks a woman cannot do a job. "Her? Come on. You know that is not possible," Rex said, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "You need to give this job to someone better. Do you know who we are dealing with?" I did not react. I kept looking at the file. Black cover. A red stamp on it that said CLASSIFIED in capital letters. And a single name written in bold, white letters: DARIAN VORON. Rex continued, his voice getting louder so everyone in the briefing room could hear him. "Do you know who we are dealing with? This is Darian Voron! He doesn't even look at people when he kills them. He is not a normal CEO. He is a monster in a suit." The director did not say a word. He just kept staring at me. His eyes were tired, old, and full of sleepless nights. But inside them, I saw it clearly. He knew. He knew I was the only one in this building who could take Voron down. Everyone else was scared of that name. I was not. I have been scared only once in my life. When I was seven and I watched my parents die. After that, fear stopped existing for me. I stared back at the director. "Is everything I need in this file?" He nodded. One small, slow nod. I took the file. I did not rush. I picked it up like it was already mine, tucked it under my arm, and turned to leave. My heels clicked on the marble floor. Each step was steady. The room was silent as I walked. I could feel Rex's eyes burning into my back. He wanted me to fail. They all wanted me to fail so they could say they were right about women in this agency. As I was walking straight down the long, cold hallway, I noticed someone leaning beside the wall, waiting for me. I turned and stared. It was Mira. She pushed herself off the wall and came closer, staring at me with that fake concern she always wears when she wants my job. Her smile was sweet, but her eyes were jealous. "Raven, are you sure about this?" she said softly, as if she cared. "This mission is suicide." I did not say a word. I left her standing there without even a glance. I have no time for jealous girls who hide jealousy as advice. Mira has wanted my rank for three years. She would be happy if I died on this mission. "Raven!" A voice called me from behind. My best friend ran close, holding my arm tight. Her real name is Zara, but I call her Zaira. Her hands were shaking. "Why would you take a dangerous job like that? You could have allowed Rex to take it," she whispered. Her voice was full of worry. Real worry, not like Mira's fake one. She was genuinely scared for me. I turned and stared at her for a long time. Zaira is the only family I have left. She was there when the Agency took me in. She taught me how to hold a gun without crying. "No big deal," I said. My voice was cold. Distant. The voice I use when I am already in mission mode. I have to be cold, otherwise I will not be able to do what I have to do. "Do you know who you are dealing with?" she asked again, squeezing my arm tighter. I did not look at her. I kept staring at the file in my hands. I could feel his name through the cover. Darian Voron. "You are actually dealing with Darian Voron," she continued, grabbing my hand with both of hers now. "A very, very bad monster. He kills without thinking twice. He murders everyone as if they are not human beings. He has no heart. The last three agents we sent to him never came back, Zira. Their bodies were never found. Come on, think twice." I still did not say anything. I was already prepared for this mission in my head. From the moment the file hit the table, my brain had already started planning. How I would enter his building. How I would get past his security. How I would get close enough to finish it. That is how I work. Once I take a file, my mind does not stop. Mira approached me again. This time she blocked my path completely. She stood right in front of me so I had to stop. "Come on, don't act so brave. This is a very hard task," Mira said from behind me, but loud enough for the whole hallway to hear. She wanted an audience. I inhaled deeply. Slowly. I stared at her with the corner of my eyes without turning my body, without looking at her fully. It is the look I give people before I erase them from my list. She lowered her voice, pretending to whisper, but I knew she wanted Zaira to hear. "Don't go there to fall in love. I heard he's a handsome guy. Many girls from our agency fell in love and fought against their own agency because of him. Don't be stupid, Zira. You are too good to become his whore." The hallway went silent. Zaira gasped. A few agents passing by stopped to watch. For a moment, I did not talk. For two moments, I did not talk. The air became heavy. Then I broke the silence. I turned slowly, very slowly, and looked at Mira. Deadly. Straight into her eyes. I wanted her to never forget my face or my words. I stepped so close to her that she had to step back against the wall. "I don't fall in love," I said. My voice was low, but every word was like ice dropping on the floor. "I work. And I bring results." The words dropped like ice. Mira's fake smile vanished. Her face became pale. She stepped back. My best friend Zaira let go of my hand, not because she was scared of me, but because she knew that voice. That voice means the conversation is over. I took the file and left them there. I did not look back. Outside the building, the cold night air of Lagos hit my face. Or rather, the cold air of the city I am in now. I opened the file for the first time under the street light. Inside was a photo. A man in a black suit. Tall. Dark hair pushed back. Eyes like a storm about to break. A small scar on his left eyebrow. He was not smiling. He was looking straight at the camera like he knew someone was going to come for him. Like he was already waiting. Darian Voron. The most dangerous man in the city. CEO on the outside, mafia king on the inside. The man who owns half the city and kills the other half. And for half a second, my hand shook. Not because he was handsome. Yes, he was handsome in a dangerous way, but that is not why I shook. I shook because I knew — if I fail this mission, I will not come back alive. And more than that, if I succeed, I will have to kill the only man who has ever looked at me in a photo like he already knows me. I closed the file. The wind blew the edge of the paper. Let the game begin.