The Black Rose

I heard the faint click of a hotel key and the door swung open. I sat calmly on the freshly-pressed King bed waiting, gun in hand pointed at the empty space where Nadine would soon appear.

“Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?” she purred, neither scared nor surprised. In her hands was a bouquet of yellow and black roses. She brought them every time she graced me with her presence.

“One can never be too careful with unexpected visitors,” I blurted, keeping my gun trained on her.

She placed the roses on the hotel desk table, removed the handgun from the small of her back, and the knife she always kept in her boot. I lowered my gun slowly but kept it in hand.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked sarcastically.

“You know I love to check in on my favorite student,” she smiled, removing her coat and peeling her tight-fitted shirt as if it was a layer of her skin. Her ripped stomach, tanned skin, and black laced bra exposed. She plucked a single yellow rose from the bunch and took a deep inhale. I swallowed as she moved like a lion snaking through the grass ready to ambush her prey. I was the prey.

Her legs straddled around me, and she entwined her hands in my hair, lifting my chin to her. “Are you going to put that down now,” she rasped, holding the intoxicating rose to my nose. I inhaled, closing my eyes, drinking in the intoxicating scents of vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon.

My hand loosened on the gun’s handle, and it fell to the side. I slid my practiced hands down her back, unclasping her bra, and watched as the straps slid down her smooth ripped arms. She yanked my shirt upwards over my head, and whispered as the pheromones of the rose took hold, “Happy Birthday, Alex”.

Nadine and I ripped, pulled, moaned, and climaxed over the next few hours. Finally, drained of all energy, the toxins from the roses long gone, we lay naked on the bed, not cuddling as normal lovers would, but as two guarded assassins.

“Why did you really come?” I asked, still breathing heavily.

“I came to wish you a happy birthday,” she reiterated, “And to give you your gift.” Her shoulders moved to touch her ears as she shrugged, stretching the skin across her ribs taught. “Your request has been approved.”

I did my best to keep my excitement to myself, ignoring the erroneous birthday wishes, “Really, what brought this on?” I blurted. Nadine ignored the tone.

“Well, they recognized they have given you a heavy workload as of late, and you have done everything they’ve asked, so consider this your bonus,” she smiled.

I didn’t return the smile. My heavy workload consisted of often receiving multiple targets simultaneously, one short and one long-term. I had gotten so used to playing a role or killing that reality had become distorted. I found it hard to decipher who I was anymore if I wasn’t pretending to be someone else. Thank God for those pills.

“Are you okay?” Nadine’s brow rose in a facade of worry at my silence.

“I’m fine,” I stated bluntly, the crazed sparkle on my face slipping back into character.

’That’s my girl,” she nodded with an air of pride. “Now, once you take care of the Doctor, we will have your things packed and ready to move. Your new place in L.A. has already been arranged as is your new job location and assignment.”

I nodded, used to the routine. After being released from the training facility, I had lived in two places so far, Washington, D.C., then New York. I loathed them both. The women and men believed the sun shined out of their own ass, smarter than everyone, cooler than everyone, better than everyone.

Nadine rose and strode towards her garments strewn across the hotel room. After dressing, Nadine reached into her pocket and pulled a small piece of paper. Gliding back, she handed it to me. “Everything for your move and the details is in here,” she gestured to the receipt.

“You have also been given the green light to neutralize the doctor, ” she continued, “But Alex, you must procure the contents of his computer, passwords, and phone.”

I sighed wearily. I wasn’t prepared to kill him tomorrow. I thought this mission was going to stretch longer, but with the dangling carrot of L.A. in front of me, I could improvise.

“Done,” I nodded.

“Good, make it look like a heart attack or suicide,” she rasped, her business-like Australian accent returning.

“I know,” I blurted, starting to get annoyed.

Nadine rolled her eyes and bent down puckering her lips, she kissed me softly on the forehead. I was still naked. “This was fun, I will visit you soon in L.A. after you get settled,” she smiled once more, placing a vial on the hotel desk. “Don’t use these too fast. It isn’t easy for me to get more…without further explanation,” she trailed.

My eyes honed in on the vial filled with sweet, sweet, orange salvation. I could feel my salivary glands kick into overdrive. I swallowed. “I won’t.”

Nadine rolled her eyes she didn’t believe me, but I didn’t care. I had what I needed. Nadine grabbed her gun and knife from the mahogany desk and exited the way she came, in swift silence.

Her gone, I lurched for the vial and downed three pills within a fraction of a second. I let the calm and clarity wash over me before I returned to bed. I lay my head on the pillow with a loud thump, still naked. My mind ruminated over what just happened. Nadine made it a habit of “checking in” on me every few months, which consisted of us sleeping together, mostly under the influence, and then her leaving immediately after.

While I loved sex as much as the next addict, the spontaneous visits were beginning to wane. Our spark, the wild, passionate, and fresh chemistry seemed to be running its course. Even though I spent much of the last three years fine-tuning not only my flirtation and sexual prowess. Nadine was like a bad habit I couldn’t kick. With her, I broke my three cardinal rules.

One, never bring someone to my place of residence. Two, never sleep with the same person twice, and three, never develop feelings, which was often the easiest rule. While the first rule didn’t apply to Nadine since she was technically my boss, the second and third were the real challenges. I just couldn’t say no. How could one turn down magic pills, roses, and out-of-this-world sex?

I fingered the small piece of paper in my hands. Los Angeles. I gazed up at the ceiling, my thoughts lingering on the city, on Annie. The horrible record that kept me up the most at night, the person with whom I loved and was lost. One of her main dreams was to move to L.A. to pursue acting. While I couldn’t fulfill the second part of that goal, I could definitely accomplish the first. Besides, I was ready for new scenery, new faces, and new challenges.

I rose, grabbing the black silk robe from the hanger, and twirling it over my shoulders, feeling the soft material glide down my arms and caress my naked skin. With the paper, I moved to the desk and took a seat. While my laptop woke from its deep slumber, I opened the bill.

I chuckled aloud. The receipt was for condoms. I shook my head. Nadine did have a clever sense of humor I’ll give her that. My computer screen illuminated displaying a white text box in the middle of the screen. My eyes diverted to the bottom right of the receipt to the order number. I typed “142982048,” and hit enter. The computer screen flashed and before me, were two files, one titled “Move,” and the other “Operation Nero”. I clicked on the first file. Inside, there was flight information as well as the link to my new apartment. I clicked on it.

The loft was jaw-dropping. The living room had walnut colored flooring, with a swanky navy couch and matching white chairs, and a mustard yellow woven rug. Three of the walls were painted an earthy tan, while the longest wall was covered in weathered fire station bricks. Two giant windows adorned the brick wall, one, an elongated rectangle, and the other a massive circle. The exposed ceilings ran the length of the bottom floor with copper finishings that carried to the kitchen. The kitchen had a massive island with a wood top, a vintage blue oven, and a matching fridge with copper handles and knobs. A wrought-iron wide staircase led you to the top floor, which held an enormous loft-style bedroom with a walnut-stained barn door that divided the bed from the bath. This was a serious upgrade from my current apartment. The excitement mounted.

Moving from the apartment, I clicked on the other file, “Operation Nero”.

Name: Li Chin

Age: 69

Background: Prominent leader of Black Society Triad, Father of Zhang Wei Chin, investor.

Operation: Neutralization.

I read the remainder of the file. This target was significant, a larger piece to the troubling puzzle I had been trying to figure out for the last three years. What were Shadow’s main goals and objectives? Also, who the hell are they?

I had been sputtering on all fronts ever since; however, as my success grew, so did my access to higher-profile targets, and clout within this secret society. I learned that most recruits and operatives who graduated from Shadow were given secret spy missions. They were strategically inserted into various positions including journalists, news anchors, politicians, military, or protection services both domestically and abroad. Based on the faces I saw while in training, I had successfully located ten, but due to my meticulous day job, I hadn’t had much time to secretly track them down.

Since I was the only GMO (at least to my knowledge), I was given the glorious title of the top assassin. I didn’t have one specific assignment, I had many. I was the workhorse, the mule, the one they sent to neutralize threats or to gather information quickly that no one else could.

After skimming through my new target, I clicked on the last profile. A young gentleman who appeared to be in his early thirties appeared. He had a scruffy, weathered face, billowy shadows under his black eyes. He looked former military, hard, jacked, and deadly. Damien was to be my new handler. Hopefully, he was more charming and fun than my current. I surely wouldn’t miss Cedric, who was about as fun as watching paint dry.

I closed the computer, bored, and moved to the hotel’s balcony. I slid the door open and stepped out, gazing at the city lights before me. I had a lot to do in a week. I had a doctor to kill, secrets to unearth, a new handler, and a new assignment. Under all these chess moves, I couldn’t help but wonder what was next. How long could I keep up this charade before I grew bored? How long would it take for me to unearth the depths of Shadow? How long before I was the one targeted?

So many unanswered questions, however, there was one thing I knew. I had yet to reveal all my cards. They, whoever they were, had no idea what I was capable of. Dr. Swartz, with whom I reported back once a year, saw a distorted view through my tests, but they had no idea the breadth to which my brain had expanded, my senses heightened, my capabilities. As I gazed out over the city lights, on my twenty-sixth birthday, I had a strange feeling this year would be different.