(f)inal

“Are you ready?”

“F, I don’t know if you’re ready.”

“No, I am. This has been a long time coming.”

She’s staring at me. Her eyes turn back to the screen as coordinates flash. Q has been with me since the beginning, though she never told me why. There is nothing for her to gain from this. No glory, nothing solved, nothing at all.

“Q.”

“Yes.”

“You never told me why.”

“Why what?”

“You know damn well what I mean.”

“I guess you deserve to know, because when it is done I will go my way and you will go yours. Do remember when I found you?”

“Yeah. You were helping Doc with the underground clinic. I came in bloodied and broken. You were the one that helped develop the cybernetics and the biometrics that reside in my eye and my right arm. You made the Double Tap and my dagger as well.”

“You, while you were under the anesthetics, spoke of trying to find someone you loved. That you would stop at nothing to find them. I wanted to be part of your journey. To help.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

*Beep*

“The hell? Oh yeah.”

*Beep*

The face of this unremovable watch read 21:13 again. I still don’t understand the purpose of it.

*Beep*

“So, where am I going?”

“No, where are we going.”

“Q, you can’t.”

“F, I was here from the start. I’m going to see the end.”

“Then let’s go.”

She wrote down the coordinates. I loaded D.T. Grabbed whatever ammunition we had left. Q unlocked a drawer on her desk and removed a second Double Tap.

“What? You thought you had the only one? I’m more prepared then you know.”

It only took two hours to get to our destination. A house. A large one. With gate. And guards. A lot of them.

“You ready Q? ”

A slight smile formed at her lips and she held up her left arm. The skin began to tear away and a blade appeared.

“Where do you think I got the ideas for your weapons? Doc found me, as I found you, broken. Then he rebuilt me. Made me a weapon. Watch this.”

Then the fabric on her back began to rip. Two more blades appeared. Then they split. Pain shot up my spine.

“Don’t worry. It subsides quickly.”

Soon, blades were floating around me.

“Think of how you want them to move, and they will.”

“Why the hell did you not tell me about these before. Fuck Q, this-” I took a breath and tried to gather my thoughts but could only say, “-is fucking awesome. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.”

She smiles.

“Let’s finish this.”

(f)irst

This couldn’t be any more of a cliché. She came to me. Lit cigarette. Asking if I could “take care of something” for her.

We met in a dimly lit bar. Hazy smoke permeated the air. A whiskey sour for myself, nothing for the dame.

“So, is this your first job?”

Lying, “No, my hands are stained red already. This is just another name for the list.”

Actually, that wasn’t a lie. Killing had become second nature for me at this point. This, however, was my first assassination. It all felt the same either way.

“Who am I going after?” as my drink is set down. The waitress gives me a wink and tells me it is on the house. Her compliments.

“Oh, you know, the typical revenge story. Ex-husband. Cheated on me for a younger girl.”

“That’s it? Nothing more. Just a cheating husband? You’re not telling me the whole story.”

“No, but do you really care?” she asked already knowing I didn’t.

“Yes.”

“A cheating husband with a lot of my money. My money that can not be collected until he is dead. Of course, he doesn’t know that I know. They left a hotel the other evening. Same old story.”

Same old fucking clichés. Whatever, I could care less. This broken world has led me to this. My left eye was acting up again and repairing biometrics was not cheap. Thankfully, my right arm is still fully functional. Something got knocked loose the other day when I was trying to get information. The information had more back up than anticipated.

“Information. I need more than just ‘he’s a cheating husband’ if I am to take care of this problem. Also, our agreement for an upfront.”

Sliding a hand under a table, I feel something graze my leg. Then a little further. Taking my payment, I push her hand away.

“You’re still a married woman.”

“Not for long hopefully.”

A napkin with an address and a photo in the folds.

Double-checking the payment. Fifty thousand credits. Good.

“I’ll contact you when it is done.”

A day or two, hell, it could have been a week pass. Lying in wait, I finally see them. Waiting ’til the mistress made her way, I casually walk towards the hotel. Hood down. Eyes forward.

“Excuse me sir,” holding out a styrofoam cup. “Any spare change?”

Digging through his pockets, his eyes aren’t on me. I make my move.

“Don’t move and this will be quick.” I pull D.T. against his stomach.

“She hired you didn’t she? Well, I will dou-” the blunt edge of my dagger hidden in my sleeve slams against his skull.

“It’s done. ”

***

Grabbing his hotel key, I carry his body back to the room and wait.

“Where is he!? Let me see the bastard!”

“Calm down, he is right here.”

“I thought you said it was ‘done.'”

“It is, I figured you wanted to witness the final blow,” as I load D.T..

“Let me do it.”

“Show me the money first.”

Slowly, she pulls the other half of my payment out. Good. Pulling the trigger, she drops to her knees bleeding. Slapping the husband awake, I mutter, “Wake up fucker, where is my money?”

“It is in my pocket.”

My hand furiously grabs it and looks at the credits on the screen. Two hundred thousand. This will do.

“You double-crossed me!? Why?!”

Spinning the chamber, I seat myself, putting the silencer on D.T..

“I didn’t double-cross anyone,” as I place the barrel against his head. “I was simply doing a job.”

The chamber slides and the hammer clicks. He drops. Looking at her as she is slowly bleeding. My eyes look up from beneath the hood.

“I hate clichés. But, money talks so loudly, that it is deafening. Also, neither of you have anything I need. No information, just money. Also, you’ve seen and heard enough of me that if you chose to, I would be put away tomorrow. I didn’t get this far by not covering my tracks. Plus, you’re no better than he is. ‘Loving’ him for his money. You’re fucking pathetic.”

The chamber makes one final revolution.

“Q?”

“Yes, F?”

“Make an appointment. Tell Doc, I’ll be there tomorrow. Then we leave.”

Before I leave, I search both of them. There is a note in the coat pocket. ‘Kill him after the payment. He is on our trail.’

He knew?

“Q, we leave tonight. Call Doc, tell him to get me in now. I have the money. Just, we need to leave tonight.”

(f)

The bullet penetrated the left temporal. Right through the eye. Again. Fucking hell. Every time.

Pulling myself up, I check in.

“Q, it’s me. You know that old saying,’Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.'”

“Yeah.”

“It has gotten real old in my books.”

They left me for dead. Apparently someone failed to do their research. A cocktail of oil and blood ran down my cheek and to my lips. Never really got used to the taste. Spitting out the mixture, I broke into a full sprint down the alleyways.

“Give me location Q, this job needs to be finished now. I really didn’t want to lose some of the pay to rebuilding the left side of my face yet again.”

A slight laugh broke from her standard delivery, “When you hit the street, cut left and wait for the third car. It will be off-white with a broken headlight. Hit them with everything you’ve got. It is fully armored with bulletproof glass.”

“Just bulletproof glass and I assume standard armor plating on the sides. Kevlar tires?”

“You got it champ.”

Within seconds, I found myself standing on the curb. One, two, and there is my target. Unfortunately, they slammed on their brakes when they saw me. My fingers hit the chamber and load a nice bullet just for them. The trigger gives way and as the bullet made its way towards the car, I pull the trigger a second time. The bullet stops, and breaks into a shattering scream. A high frequency bullet does wonders against glass. Even the supposed “bulletproof” kind. The resonance and vibration shatters it into pieces as I load another, something a bit more explosive. No. These guys deserve something more personal. Three of them. This will be quick.

“Listen boys, and more importantly, this is for you. I know you’re on the other end, since you never send your monkeys without a receiver. You will know pain. When I come to find you, and I will, your blood will soak and seep into the soil. The sorry excuse of a body you once had, will be carved into a thousand pieces. Hope you enjoy Hell.”

They were still recovering from the deafening sound of the bullet. The dagger slides from the sheath and into the first merc. Right into the stomach and up to his chin. Blood soaks the car and I step to the front. A small button is flicked and an electrical current runs through my blade. Slamming into the hood, I watch the blood snap and boil with electricity flowing through it and to his partners.

*Beep*
It was louder than a standard alarm on a watch. Wait, where did this come from?
*Beep*
The time was 21:13.

“Can you hear me?”

“Did you finish the job?”

“Yeah, but there is a problem. I’m on my way now, I have a new accessory.”

My fingers trace the edges of a red and black watch. Then, as soon as it had began, the beeping had stopped. 21:14. There is no time for this. I have to get back. My eye, or well, what used to be my eye was starting to hurt.