Cinderella of Past Midnight

Her Life as an Assassin II

After their assigned mission last night, they were called into the office. The room was silent, you can hear their breathing. Slightly nervous, and slightly happy. There is three-person inside the room, Adam, and Mica standing in front of a desk while bowing their heads, and Asta glaring at them.

"You did not terminate the target as ordered by them." one of the high ranking officials in the headquarters said,

"Because there was a sniper," Mica whispered to herself.

"Mica, I would love it if you would shut your mouth," Asta, the high-ranking official said while smiling. It was a very creepy smile for Mica knew that he was annoyed. "Now, back to the topic. Did you figure out who the sniper is?"

Both Adam and Mica shook their heads. "We do not know for we do not have any remaining time to deal with that problem last night," Adam answered.

"Anyway, congratulations to both of you! You guys made it on national television! Not only that but also the first page of the newspaper!" he exclaimed. His happy face in a second is now replaced by an irritated emotion. "You fools! That was not the way I want him to be killed! I want it to be as quiet as possible so that we can avoid civilians' attention!"

Asta then threw a newspaper at them where the report of the assassination was on the first page. Next, he then turned on the television. And again, the news about the killings was being reported.

"In a certain bar, a room was filled with dead bodies all stabbed to death. According to the police, this was a murder case done by the rage of a gang. They are investigating and up till now, they can't pinpoint how the whole gang got inside this small room without being caught. The big question is, what did happen here last night?"

"You see that?!" Asta asked them while pointing at the television. "You made trouble!" he yelled.

'I knew it, these two would bring trouble if they work together.' Asta thought as he shook his head in dismay.

Mica is highly known as the chaos assassin. Yes, she would always do a great job, but she is also noisy. She would always tell what's on her mind and no one can stop her. It is both her problem and charm. There are times that she would accidentally spill some confidential information to the target, that is the problem but she would always do her job excellently. It is her charm because it makes her unique. Yes, she's a skillful assassin, especially with knives, but she is too difficult to handle.

Adam on the other hand is a quiet person. But his strength is incomparable, well look at those toned muscles he has. But this also sometimes causes trouble. Because he is quiet, he often misunderstood the orders and would never raise a question about it. The result? Troublesome. They have to take care of a lot of eyewitnesses because of him.

"Why? Even if we terminated a high-ranking official of the government it always attracts the attention of people, am I right?" Mica asked.

Adam pursed his lips and looked away. 'She started an argument with sir. Good luck for her.' he thought, feeling a sense of pity for her.

"It was because he was killed by poison then we disguised his death as a heart attack--- oh gosh! Mica shut your mouth, I do not want to hear anything from you!" Asta shouted, feeling frustrated because of her.

Mica acted as if she zipped her mouth then took a few steps back, letting Adam be in front of her. But in reality, she is hiding behind him. It's because she knew she pissed Asta off, no one knew what will happen if he blew off.

Asta sighed looking at the two of them. 'They are just a child.' he thought, reminiscing his childhood. He remembered climbing a tree and falling asleep there. Her mother would often chase him with a spatula, continuously nagging him.

"Alright, that's enough," he said, about himself reminiscing the past.

"Enough what?"

Asta rolled his eyes. "Mica, I was talking to myself," he explained.

"To yourself? You should go visit a psychiatrist then," she suggested then shrugged her shoulders.

"Ugh, you are so annoying! I wonder when will you quit being an assassin? You are being a nuisance to the organization!" he expressed himself, shouting.

Mica's eyes widened in shock then she turned to Adam. "Dear colleague, am I a nuisance?" she dramatically asked.

"No, just a blabbermouth," he replied.

This time, Asta was the one whose eyes widened. He sighed, what does he expect from them again? 

"The two of you, go out. I will just update you on whatever happened regarding the mission last night," he said.

Both Adam and Mica bowed their head and turned their back thus, they walked and get out of the office leaving Asta alone.

Asta rested his back on the couch and closed his eyes. He can finally have a good time for him to think and figure out who the third party involved was.

Adam and Mica were too preoccupied sheltering themselves from the sniper that they could not provide any further information about it. As for Asta and the headquarters, they pulled some strings and used all their resources but still the identity of the sniper nor the third party behind it was never found.

However, they are thankful. The mission was a success, after all, however, the goal of the person was still not clear. They do not know if he or she is an ally or an enemy, or maybe just someone who happens to be there.

'Whoever and whatever his deal is, I need to know who you are."  Asta thought.

Mica is thinking the same as Asta, she needs to know who it was last night. Also about the drive, she and Adam were the only ones who heard what Sanchez said before he died right in front of their eyes. about the 8th customer inside the room. 

With that information, she believed that she has the upper hand against the headquarters about finding out that person. But actually, her only lead is that he was called "Shid."

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

'Shid'

She said many times inside her mind. Half-heartedly cursing him and wishing she can punch him in the face.

She prepared herself, put on her coat, her shoes, and fixed her hair. She got out of her room with her car keys in her hands, ready to go.

"Where are you going?" a woman's voice asked stopping her steps.

She looked back to see it was Rim. 

They are not friends, nor enemies, but seeing each other pisses them off. Again, they are not friends nor enemies.

Mica showed her car keys and said, "I'm going out. Don't tell me you want to come with me?" she put both of her hands inside her pockets. "I'm sorry but I'm allergic to garbage, so go find your trashcan." she then savagely added.

Rim's eyes widened, taking Mica's insult to the heart. "Excuse me?" she asked with her hands in her chest.

"You are excused, goodbye." 

Rim's mouth was left wide open. Unable to say what she was about to say she followed Mica's back until she disappeared. When she realized that she is not in front of her, she snapped in disappointment.

"I was going to tell her news about her father," she said.

Mica does have a family. She has a mother, a father, and a big sister, however, only she and her father were left alive. Mirasol, her mother, died when Mica was just 7 years old because of a traffic accident. Then her big sister, Naomi died 2 years ago. She cannot accept that because her sister's body was never found up till now.

'What a pity.' Rim thought. 'Oh well, it is not my problem' she then shrugged her shoulders and walked away. 

On the road, Mica is driving fast, ignoring the signs and the traffic lights. If anyone can describe her mood---- nevermind, no one could anyway.

She pulled over in front of an abandoned junk shop, she then got out of her car, slowly walking inside avoiding the things that are scattered in the ground. On the ground, there were rusty tools, abandoned chairs, a lot of bottles and cans, well anything that you can find in a junk shop.

She swings the door open and walked inside. She ignored all the cobwebs, the mouse running around, and the eerie feeling inside. Mica then stopped in front of a door and knocked twice. She was not surprised when it suddenly opened along with the creaky sound of the door. What's waiting inside of the room was. . . 

"Dorris!" Mica called the man in his early thirties, wearing headphones with a cigarette on his mouth. He looked rather old than his age with his wrinkles under his eyes and on his forehead. He was wearing a cape as if he was Dr. Strange and paired his outfit with crocs. 

"Erin... what brought you here?" the man asked as he let go of his cigarette and then crushed it with his foot. 

She sighed looking at the man, "I told you to call me Mica," she said then took a seat at the table nearby. 

Unlike the dirty outside of this junk shop, this room in particular looks clean. Luxurious is a more fitting word to describe this room. Filled with luxuries in every corner of the room. The table that she is currently sitting now actually made of imported glass and is very expensive.

"You expect me to call you Micaella Peterson agent 135?" the man named Dorris scoffed, "No way."

Dorris is a friend of hers and the former lover of her deceased sister. He is actually against Mica being an assassin. But still, he always blended his hands every time she came to him to ask for help. It was a little sweet since it was just a promise between him and Naomi, he promised that he will be like a big brother for Mica for she saw her as Naomi, 

"Come on brother Dorris," Mica pleaded, halfheartedly. 

He stood still, not wanting to back down because if he were easily swayed, Mica will have it in her way. And it will be his loss since he's the one who always is at a disadvantage.

Seeing her pleading not work on him, Mica smiled wider showing her teeth. She then blinked her eyes many times, attempting to copy the "beautiful eyes" that Rim often uses to get what she wants. 

Remembering Rim, she gritted her teeth. 'She's annoying.' she thought, not knowing that that is also what Rim thought of her. 

"She's annoying," Rim said as she looked at Mica's portrait in the wall. "She's so talkative that sometimes I want to wring her neck and fed her to Adonis," she added. 

Adonis is her pet crocodile. She rescued it while she's on a mission and since then. He kept him, or her. Up till now, she doesn't know what its gender is, sometimes she just considers it as gay. Is it weird? She is weird. 

"Why do you hate her?" someone asked behind her. 

She sighed, "She is just so annoying," she replied before looking back. It was Adam with two cups of coffee in his hands, he then offered the other to her. "Thank you," she replied then took a sip.

"Welcome."

Rim stopped drinking and looked at Adam. "You..."

"Yes, me?"

"Yes, you."

"What is it?" Adam asked as he leaned on the couch, looking at Mica's portrait just like Rim did. 

'Mica,' he thought. 'She's a stubborn one and a blabbermouth.'

"You did a mission with her right?" she asked Adam.

Adam then nodded, "Yes, I did, last night."

"Then how was she? She's annoying, right? She's the reason why you guys are rumored that your mission failed? Right?"

This time, he shook his head. "No, she was not the reason why our mission failed."

"Then why did you guys fail? You have overwhelming strength while Mica-- never mind I don't want to compliment her," Rim flipped her hair then took a sip at her coffee. 

Adam was hesitant to tell the sole reason they failed. He doesn't know if he can disclose this information to someone. He then thinks hard if Rim is a trustworthy person. 

Rim, also known in the headquarters as Rimera Ford agent 101 was their colleague. She and Mica arrived at their organization at the same time and kind of developed an inferiority complex at her. But truthfully, it was like admiration disguised as hate.

"There was a third party involved and it sniped our target. So technically, we did not fail our mission to exterminate our target, there was just an unwanted interference," he explained then he looked at Rim. "Do you understand now?"

Rim sighed in defeat, her plan to spread the rumor was stopped since it was just a misunderstanding, more like it wasn't true. "There was a third party?" she asked. 

"Yes, but we still don't know who it is and what its motives are," Adam then sighed. "I don't even know where Mica is right now. I need to talk to her about something," he muttered to himself. 

"Wait, Mica?" Rim asked. 

"Yes, after going back to her room she suddenly disappeared. I don't know where she went," Adam stated.

Rim looked at him. "If it was Mica then I know what she is doing now. I saw her leave earlier."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Finding out who the third party is." She answered looking directly at him.

Adam's eyes widened. 'Shid!' he whispered under his breath.

"I need to know who Shid is," Mica said after Dorris sighed and agreed to help her.

"Shid?" Dorris asked. "Who is it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?!"

"Yes, I don't."

"Is Shid his name? What about his surname?"

"I don't know that either."

"You don't?! Gosh, how am I gonna find information about this guy when you don't know even his name!" Dorris exclaimed, feeling frustrated.

"I'm sorry."

He signed looking at Mica. He then asked, "What about his face? Any particular appearance that you remembered?"

"He was handsome."

"And...?"

"Just handsome."

Dorris felt as if he was melting. 'Why is talking to her seems difficult?' he asked himself. "Then care to explain why were you looking for this guy?"

Mica looked away, "Can I not answer?" she asked hopefully. 

But her hopes were cut down when he answered "No." he looked at him, almost glaring. "Tell me the reason, Erin."

"Please call me Mica."

"Then answer my question. Simple as that."

Mica got off the table then sat beside him. "He was my clue to finding out where the drive is."

"What is the drive?"

"It's confidential information," she closed her eyes as she leaned away at him. "Please don't ask anymore, I don't want to spill it."

"Fine." he agreed.

The two of them are quiet for a while. Both are thinking.

"Then can you at least tell me where he was last seen? And possibly, by whom?"

"The witness was dead. But I can tell you where."

He smiled. "Good, where is it then?"

Mica used the computer in front of her to browse for the latest news. She played the video she found online in front of him.

Dorris's eyes widened in pure shock. "That was your doing?!" he asked unbelievably after watching the news.

Mica nodded. "Only the stabbing, the sniping? Hell no, someone interfered."

Dorris's brows furrowed, not understanding something. "Why are you telling me this information?" 

He just doesn't get it! As Mica said earlier, it was confidential--- never mind. He doesn't get this woman at all.

"I wasn't actually allowed to tell you. It was just a slip of my mouth."

He shook his head in disappointment. "How did you become an assassin again?" 

"Oh! My superior also told me that earlier when he was scolding me! He even asked when should I quit." she told him.

"Ok, I and your superior thinks the same. What a relief."

Mica gave him an awful look. 'Really' she thought.

After arguing with him, she finally persuaded Dorris to help her locate 'Shid'. But of course, it won't be easy since there was no lead. Only a piece of information about his name.

When she got back at the headquarters, Adam and Rim quickly held her, side by side, and brought her inside an empty room. 

"Whoah, slow down folks!" she said. She then looked around the room, it is indeed empty. 

"Mica, I need to talk to you," Adam said.

"Same," one word that came from Rim.

She looked at the two of them with her brows furrowed. "You guys okay?"

"We are fine." the two of them answered. 

"Then, what's up with this? Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"Because you are out of your mind," Rim remarked.

Mica sighed, ignoring her and focusing her eyes on Adam. "What do you want to talk about?"

Rim rolled her eyes, 'This woman!' she thought. If only she can beat her, however, she can't. There is a big difference in their strength and speed, not to mention that Mica would always pull a knife out of nowhere.

"What the hell are you thinking!" Adam yelled at her.

"What?" Mica then brushed off his hands on her. 

"Don't interfere! Let the headquarters handle the third party! Don't involve yourself any further!" he said.

"Yeah? What about them? They didn't even figure out who he was after pulling some strings and using all their resources."

"So what?" Adam asked. "Just let it go, Mica, were worried for you."

After hearing that, both Rim and Mica looked at each other and at the same time had sour expressions on their faces. 

"I can't just let it go, Adam! My sister died for that drive!" she exclaimed.

"Then let her rest in peace!" Adam exclaimed back. He then sighed, "Mica listen, if the head ever finds out what you are doing you'll be dead. So please, stop. It's for your own sake."

She looked at him unbelievably, "You don't know how I feel. For me, this is justice."

"Justice?! You are putting yourself in danger!"

"I can save myself!"

"That is foolishness, not justice!"

"Then what should I do?!" Mica asked as she slowly drop on the floor.

Rim, who was watching intently felt a little sympathy for her. This was the first time that she ever saw her cry. She was unsure at first but still, she wanted to help. She took a few steps forward to her and helped her stand up.

"Relax Mica, I still hate you," she said.

Mica, on the other hand, ignored what she just said. The both of them are now standing, Rim still guiding her.

"Listen," Rim said, getting the two's attention. "If you want to continue investigating the third party then just quit."

"What...?"

"Rim?!"

"Let me finish what I have to say before you guys react!" she looked at Mica in the eyes. "Just like what he said," pertaining to Adam, "If ever the head finds out what you are doing, you are done for."

"So..?"

"Quit before they find out! In that way, you can keep your life and you can still investigate!" she suggested.

"Why are you helping me?" Mica asked then brushed off her hands at her. 

"I want to get rid of you," she replied, you can feel the earnest sincerity. 

"I like that, deal"

The two of them shook hands and Adam who was watching them furrowed his brows out of confusion.

"Are you guys friends now?" he asked as he point his finger at them.

"We hate each other."

"We are not friends.

Mica and Rim said in union.

They all agreed. Mica will quit being an assassin, and they will help her. A friendship-like relationship right? Wrong, Rim just wanted to get rid of Mica, while Mica wanted to figure out who the third party is believing that he or she is the key to the drive and Adam? He was naturally kind, he just want to help the two.

And with a nod, the three of them opened the door, about to get out. However, they did not see what is coming.

"Asta?!" Mica asked looking at the person in front of him. As usual, he was wearing a black tuxedo, probably a designers' one, and a sunglass. 

She looked away as she simply wiped her eyes. Since there was no mirror, she doesn't know whether or not her eyes are red, she just cried. 

Asta, cleared his throat, "Good evening."

the three looked at each other before greeting him back. 

"Good evening."

Asta then turned to Mica and said, "I need to talk to you."

"About what? Is it a mission?"

"No," he answered with a straight face. "There is no mission for you for the time being."

"Why?" Mica asked, confused. 

Why is she not getting any missions for the time being? And for how long? What does he mean when he said that?

"Because there is something you need to know, and it might affect you mentally and emotionally," he stated. "So, come to my office, now."

Without a choice, he followed him leaving the two alone.

Rim faced Adam, "You said you have something to talk to her about right? You mentioned it earlier."

"Yes I did," he sighed looking down at his shoes. "You too right?"

Rim gasped in shock, covering her widened mouth, "How did you know? I didn't tell you about it!"

"It was just a hunch."

They then looked at the hallway where Asta and Mica disappeared to. "What is it?" she asked.

"I have news for her," he answered.

"Me too."

'About her father.' the two of them thought at the same time.

"I have news about your father," Asta said as soon as they entered his office.

"What's the news about then?"

He looked at her, slowly taking out a folder from one of his drawers. 

"What is that? Am I allowed to know?" asked, Mica.

"Yes, this is what we are going to talk about, but first let us evaluate you and your past missions," he said, and then suddenly the room was dark and the presentation was flashed. 

Mica, thinking this is going to be awesome, sat on the couch. She was looking for popcorn but later on give up when she felt his glare directly at her. She behaved herself.

"Micaella Peterson agent 135, you joined us 10 years ago. We then trained you with the others, and successfully you became officially one of us."

She made a sour face when she remembered the harsh training she went through. They climbed up a mountain, they were dropped to the sea by a helicopter, the martial arts training, their poison classes, and many more. It was harsh, a good thing she survived.

"She was good at hand-to-hand combat but lacks when it comes to handling firearms," after hearing that Mica quickly looks away. "However her skills are incomparable when it comes to knives, daggers, and swords. It was her specialty." this time, she smiled, a braggy smile telling that she really is a pro on that field.

"Her first mission was 6 years ago, a drug lord hiding in the slums. She disguised herself as a buyer and when she had the chance, she stabbed him to death. She performed excellently and then caught the attention of the higher-ups. At all her missions, she either stabbed them or threw daggers at their vital points for easy and fast killing. Her targets were men, s****l assault, corrupt high-ranking officials, human traffickers, and those who are assigned to her. She failed 3 times," Mica closed her eyes out of embarrassment. 

"Gosh, why did they have to add that?" she whispered to herself. 

"Shhh."

"And it involved targets that have armed bodyguards in the crowded areas nevertheless---"

The presentation was cut when Asta suddenly turned on the lights.

"Hey!" Mica complained. 

"Don't 'hey' me, I am your superior."

She stretched her lips, a smile that was never a smile. A kind of expression someone makes when their assumptions were wrong and they would have just to say, "That's what I said!" to avoid being embarrassed. 

Relate much?

"That's enough, I know you are enjoying yourself."

She gasped unbelievably she said, "That is not true." He then gave her a glare penetrating the sunglass that he was wearing. "Yes, it was true," she then admitted after.

"Assuming that we finished the presentation, what can you say about yourself?" Asta asked as he took his seat. 

Mica has to take a 90 degrees turn to the right to face him. "I am awesome."

"What else?" the clicking sound of his pen echoed in the whole office after he asked that. 

"Hmmm. . . If I am going, to tell the truth, I hate the fact that I can do nothing about my lack of abilities on firearms. Maybe because I'm not comfortable using those in missions, yeah, that." she said.

"And why are you not comfortable?"

"It's not sharp." she directly answered. "I mean, I can just pull out my knives whenever I want, right?"

"Not in public places," Asta reminded him. 

"Of course, of course," she said as she nodded her head. "I agree, I don't want to hurt civilians after all."

"Last question. If ever you have a valid reason to quit, will you quit?"

She thought for a while. 

'If I have a valid reason to quit I can really do? This is the opportunity that I am waiting for. For me to keep myself alive while investigating the third party and to be one step closer to the truth. However, I cant use this as a reason can I?'

Mica looked at him straight in the eyes and confidently answered. "Of course, I have a life to live after all."