Deadly Target: Force of Nature

Chapter 1 In the Beginning

I never thought I would be a civilian. I have been out of active duty for three years. And have been out of my contract job with a private company for three months. I am a 29-year old ex-marine and special ops sniper trained. I know I am young, but trust, I have the power to shatter worlds and destroy countries.

At the age of 16, I got emancipated from my trifling ass mother, and my seed-giving f**k faced father. I am Caribbean-American born in Brooklyn, New York. Guys gawk at me because of my beautiful long black hair that comes to my ass and hazel green eyes, and my golden bronze skin. I am short, yes, short, 5'4", short, and athletic. People look at me like I can't hurt a fly.

I am on my way to the Community Center to do some volunteer work. I have been doing volunteer work for about a year. I worked hard, even though it's volunteer work, I still take it seriously. I teach self-defense to women and help them feel more confident about themselves. I also teach art at a Seniors Retirement Home.

"Good Morning Joy, how are you this glorious morning?" I had a smile plastered on my face as I entered and greeted her.

I was always happy to see Joy. Her energy was magnetic. She was so high-spirited you could not help but be just as energized as she was when being around her.

Joy took the coffee from my hands and greeted me just as warmly. I was not too fond of coffee. I was not a fan of its smell, but for Joy, I would tolerate it.

"Good Morning Aza, I am fine, and what about yourself? What's on your schedule?"

"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I have a class this morning with some of the women in the community, so this should be exciting."

Joy smiled, "So you're out and about not staying in the house today?" She was trying to get information out of me. I told her very little every time. She was just so damn curious. She wanted so badly to visit my home, but I never told her where I lived, and I never will.

I lived in the country part of New York, away from the loud noise and busy streets. I have a couple of animals and a garden that keeps me occupied when I am not volunteering. It's an excellent place to get away from everything. But she will never know.

"Nope, I have things to do." I gave her a little chuckle. "Ok, it's 9 AM time to get this class started." I walked away with a bit of a smirk on my face. She gave me a wave and went back to her paperwork on her desk.

As I walk into the classroom, I notice some vibrant older and younger women. Their eyes lit up at the sight of me. Looking at me like I am too young to teach this class, or was it because I was so tiny. I could never tell.

"Good Morning, everyone. My name is Aza Jameson, and I will teach you all to defend yourself from an attacker. This is my assistant Malcolm. He will be the attacker to help educate us today." Malcom stood over top of me. I had to look up at him. He stood about six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular build. I smiled as I introduced him, and he gave the women a slight nod of the head.

"You don't look old enough to know much about self-defense." One of the older women commented. She looked me up and down. She was actually commenting on my size and not my age. I just smiled at her.

"Oh, I assure you I am capable of teaching you the art of protection in any way possible. How much are you willing to learn? That is the question?"

The class giggled as they began to settle in. I proceeded to teach different kinds of holds and techniques (non-lethal, that is) to protect themselves. Malcom was the perfect subject. He could have quickly taken any one of these women out, but with me, not so easy. He did a perfect job. The women caught on so quickly to everything I was showing them. When the questions began to start, I told Malcom he could leave. He exited with a wave.

"So what if the attacker has a gun?" One of the students asked.

I politely looked the student in the eyes, thinking back to when a gun was pointed at me.

"Make sure you do as they say and never argue with them. This is important and can save your life. Never argue with a person with a gun." This rule was necessary. I could not tell them to try and rip their throat out in one swift move. They did not know the things I learned. I did not want to scare the people.

"So just give in?" Another student chimes asked.

"Well, it's not giving in. It's self-preservation. But Yes, you do not want to give them any reason to hurt you, but you do want to be sure to get every detail of the attacker that you can even down to the mole on his earlobe."

"That's interesting. Have you ever been attacked before, Aza?" One of the younger students asked.

I started thinking about the question. More times than I can count, I thought to myself. "Yes, I have." That was all they were going to get out of that answer, I thought to myself.

As the class wrapped up, I politely told the women if they would like to attend another class, please place their name on the clipboard up-front. As they were leaving out, one of the older women stayed behind.

"Aza, I remember when you first joined the Elites." The older woman said.

I looked confused. "Excuse me. Ma'am, do I know you?"

"No, no," the older woman answered. "I remember your docket. A lot of black marks to be a young Marine. No worries, I can keep secrets, ya know." She was talking low like a whisper only I could hear.

"Ma'am, what is your name?"

"I am Sue Flux. Just know if you ever need anything, I will find you. I got all the answers you need." She said this as she walked out the door. I stood there, kind of in shock. What the f**k was that. Then I bolted out of the door to catch the older woman, but I was too late; she was gone.

"Joy, Joy, Joy, did that older woman leave her name on the clipboard."

"What is her name?" Joy picked up the clipboard and started to scan the page.

"Sue Flux," I said in a hurry-up voice,

"No, no, Sue Flux on here, sorry. Why are you looking like that? You look like you saw a ghost? Are you ok?"

"Never better," I had a bright smile on my face. That was just so weird. I never told Joy what I did, and I wanted to keep it that way.

I went back to my classroom to prepare for the next class. The morning went by in a blur. I went on to teaching classes, and I ate lunch with Joy.

We were sitting at the deli having lunch. My focus was on the woman from earlier.

"Still thinking about the woman." Joy looked a little upset. I was not paying attention to her. I had to apologize for being so distracted.

"I'm sorry, Joy. I didn't mean to be so distracted."

"Look, just do that thing you do, ya know to find out what you want to find out." She had this smirk on her face like she knew my big secret.

I started laughing at her, "And how do you know what I do?"

"Well, I've known you for a year, and when you want information on someone, you tend to get what you want." She started smiling so hard. Showing all her teeth. I just looked at her. My poker face was on.

"Ok, ok, you win, stop smiling like that, and it's called a background check." I gave her an innocent smile. She shrugged her shoulders, and we continued to eat our lunch and enjoy each other's company before heading back to the Community Center.