the bullet
647 Words
Silent Cinderella
Chapter Six
The Bullet
The sniper's finger slowly tightened around the trigger.
Through the scope...
He saw only Selene.
A frightened girl...
Crouching behind a metal dumpster.
A cold smile spread across his face.
Then...
He pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoed through the alley.
At that exact moment, William lunged toward Selene with all his strength.
"Watch out!"
He slammed into her, knocking them both to the ground.
The bullet passed inches above their heads.
It shattered the window behind them into thousands of glittering fragments.
Selene slowly lifted her head in shock.
William's breath brushed against her face.
For a few brief seconds...
Everything disappeared.
The gunfire.
The screaming.
Even the fear.
Only their eyes remained.
Then William quickly pulled away.
"Are you alright?"
Unable to speak, Selene simply nodded.
At the other end of the alley...
The man carrying the brown file took advantage of the attackers' distraction.
He fired two quick shots.
The gunfire forced the two men to dive behind a parked car.
"Run!" he shouted.
William grabbed Selene's hand.
"Come on!"
They sprinted through the narrow alleys.
Selene could hear nothing but the pounding of her own heartbeat.
"William..." she gasped.
"Why did you come back?"
Without slowing down, he looked at her.
"Because you were in danger."
On the rooftop...
The sniper lowered his rifle.
He pressed a small button on his earpiece.
"The mission failed."
A calm voice answered from the other end.
"Withdraw."
"But the girl is with William Consels now."
Silence.
Then the reply came.
"In that case..."
"Eliminate them both."
The line went dead.
For the first time...
A trace of concern appeared on the sniper's face.
A few minutes later...
The three of them entered an abandoned building.
The man locked the heavy iron door behind them.
He took a deep breath before turning toward William.
William's eyes were filled with anger.
"Who are you?"
The man remained silent.
William repeated the question.
"Who are you?"
The stranger reached into his pocket and placed an old identification card on the table.
William's eyes widened.
The card bore the seal of the...
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
FBI.
But it had expired five years earlier.
The man spoke calmly.
"My name is Daniel Ross."
"I was an FBI agent."
"And I led the team that worked with John Anderson."
Selene looked at him in disbelief.
"My father?"
Daniel nodded.
"Your father wasn't just an ordinary worker."
"He was a confidential informant working with the government."
Selene felt as though the air had been ripped from her lungs.
"That's impossible..."
Daniel removed another photograph from the brown file.
It showed her father wearing a bulletproof vest beside an FBI vehicle.
Her hands began to tremble.
"That's..."
"That's not my father."
Daniel's expression softened.
"It is."
"He hid his real life from you and your mother to keep you both safe."
William finally broke the silence.
"If all of this is true..."
"Why are they trying to kill her now?"
Daniel looked at Selene for a long moment.
Then he answered,
"Because your father died while protecting something..."
"Something no one has ever found."
Selene's voice trembled.
"What is it?"
Daniel replied slowly,
"Evidence."
"Evidence powerful enough to bring down an entire empire."
The room fell silent.
Then he added,
"And everyone searching for that evidence..."
"Believes you know where it is."
At that same moment...
Inside Richard Consels' office...
A man in a black suit entered.
"Sir..."
"The operation failed."
Richard remained standing by the window, staring out at the city skyline.
Without turning around, he asked calmly,
"Was William seen at the scene?"
"Yes, sir."
Richard closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he said quietly,
"Then Selene is no longer the only concern."
He slowly turned toward the man.
His face revealed nothing.
Only calm determination.
"The situation has changed."
End of Chapter Six.
- Writer
