THE FIRST MISSION
635 Words
The city wasn’t waiting for permission.
By the time I opened my eyes, every corner of the underworld knew I existed and everyone had an opinion about what that meant. For some, I was a threat. For others, a prize. For me… I was alive, which, tonight, felt like a small victory.
Lucien was already gone. His absence was deliberate. I could feel it before the first knock came. My ability flared, nervous, sharp, hungry.
The knock came again. Three short taps. Purposeful. Controlled.
I opened the door.
Sofia stood there, sharp-eyed and perfectly poised. “Coffee?” she asked.
I didn’t answer. My senses told me her intent: neutral. Alert. No lies. Not yet.
She handed me a cup anyway. “First mission,” she said. “And it’s yours.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Mine?”
“You’re engaged to the Devil. That doesn’t mean you get a honeymoon. It means you get… this.”
I sipped the coffee, letting the bitter heat steady me. My ability had already pinpointed the target: a mid-level supplier in Lucien’s network, someone who’d been compromised but didn’t yet know we knew.
“Details,” I said.
Sofia stepped back, careful to respect the distance. “They’re holding a shipment tonight. Weapons. Not police level, but enough to start a war if they move it.”
I nodded. “Location?”
Her tablet lit up, coordinates highlighted in red. “Downtown warehouse. Guards, cameras, two escape routes. And a rat. Someone feeding information to the attackers from last night.”
My pulse quickened. Not from fear, but from the clarity of the threat.
“Lucien expects results,” she said, voice low. “And he trusts you to handle this without… collateral.”
I didn’t flinch. I rarely did. My ability had taught me long ago that hesitation was a luxury I couldn’t afford.
The warehouse was less than twenty minutes away. I moved through the streets like a shadow, every sense alert. My ability scanned the environment. Hostile intent flared once, then again. Two guards at the front. One inside, slightly anxious. And someone else… watching, calculating, familiar.
I didn’t hesitate.
The main door was reinforced, but I wasn’t there to break in. I was there to observe. To intercept. To ensure the shipment never left the warehouse without my knowledge.
Inside, the smell of oil and metal was strong. I crouched behind crates, counting movements, noting patterns. The guards rotated every three minutes. Cameras followed a predictable sweep. The rat moved nervously, trying not to be noticed.
I let my ability guide me.
One misstep. One hesitation. Deadly.
And then, from the shadows, a whisper:
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Recognition hit instantly. Not Lucien. Not Sofia. Someone else. Someone who had been part of last night’s attack, someone who knew me, and now wanted me gone.
I didn’t speak. I didn’t flinch. I moved with precision. Within seconds, the man was subdued, unconscious but alive. My ability confirmed the absence of malicious intent after the knockdown, temporary threat neutralized.
The shipment was untouched. The rat was captured. No one else had any idea I’d been there.
Back in the car, I exhaled finally. Sofia glanced at me. “Impressive. Lucien will be pleased.”
I didn’t answer. Not yet. My mind was already replaying the night, the engagement, the attacks. The city had marked me, and every step from here on out would be calculated.
“Tonight,” I said, voice low, “was the first test. But it won’t be the last.”
Sofia nodded. “And if you fail?”
I looked down at the ring. Heavy, permanent, binding. Not just a symbol. A warning.
“I won’t.”
Lucien would expect nothing less.
And I wouldn’t give him less.
- Writer
