The Black Rose

“What happened?” Mia woke wearily, her head rising from the window.

“You took a little nap,” I muttered softly.

Her brows furrowed she turned to me, “You knocked me out,” she blurted incredulously. Her memory returning.

“You were freaking out and needed rest,” I shrugged. Mia glared at me, her eyes taking in the scenery.

“Where are we?” she retorted.

“We’re in front of my old friend’s place and I’m about to make my entrance, but I need you to stay here.”

Mia looked at me with widened eyes as her brain finally adjusted. “I need to talk to him alone first. Then once he calms down, we can let you in. Can you be the lookout for me?” I grabbed Mia’s hand.

She nodded, her mistrust of me outweighed by her need to survive.

“Good. I will flash the light three times. His window is fourth from the top and last on the left.” I moved the black mask over my head. “Honk the horn if you see anyone suspicious, and make sure to conceal your face,” I muffled through the mask, tossing her one.

Mia nodded and I opened the car door. Like an alley cat, I moved through the darkness like a shadow. Safe beside the building, I lurched up, fingertips wrapping around the metal pipe suspended ten feet in the air. With a firm grip, I hoisted my lower body with ease, climbing and scaling the thin drainage pipe that clung to the edge of the building.

When I reached the sixth floor, I landed on the emergency exit platform. I jiggled the handle and to my chagrin, the door was unlocked. I eased inside along the hall until I was directly in front of Mo’s apartment. I looked left than right, no sounds made.

Jamming my trusted pick into the keyhole, I jiggled until I felt the latch give. I gently turned the handle and the door creaked open. I was inside.

The apartment was dark, but no match for my keen eyes. I snaked my way silently to the bedroom, turning the knob slow and steady. Mo and his partner, Chuck slept peacefully, their arms around one another, the rise and fall of their chests in perfect synchrony.

Extracting a towel and vial of GHB from my back pocket, I soaked the towel and quietly moved to Chuck’s side. I held the towel over his mouth. His eyes opened wide with shock with the force but his body fell in a gurgled slump before he could scream.

The commotion caused Mo to stir, but I was on him. I shoved a sock in his mouth to muffle his screams. I held a gun to his temple. His eyes were wide with terror as a black-masked intruder crushed his lungs at gunpoint.

“Shhh,” I consoled. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

Mo’s screams lessened but he continued to fidget.

“I need you to be quiet, okay?” I continued. “You know me.” I echoed as I pulled off the mask with my gun-less hand. Mo’s eyes widened as he took in my feminine figure. His tense muscles loosened and he grew quiet. I eased myself off his chest. The gun still trained on him.

He removed the sock from his mouth and spat, “Who are you?”

“An old friend,” I muttered, moving into the moonlight. “Danielle.” Mo shook his head in disbelief.

“No, it can’t be. She died years ago.” He shook his head vigorously as if to rouse himself from this nightmare.

I backed further towards the light switch by the door. I flicked it three times with my back shoulder and then leaving it on. The light streamed down, exposing me. Mo squinted.

“You don’t look like her,” Mo questioned, turning towards Chuck.

“He’s fine. Just asleep. I promise.”

Mo looked back at me. “Prove it.”

I was ready. “Back in college, we called ourselves the Three Musketeers and after graduation, we hacked into the federal government site, erasing your student loans. I’ve been tracking you and Cassy for some time now. I know you tried to find my killer.”

Mo’s mouth draped open. “Holy shit,” he sighed. “Is it really you?”

“Can we move into the living room?” I commanded, looking skeptically out into the street.

Mo nodded, getting out of bed, his Star Wars flannel pajamas still worn. I glanced down at them and he smiled. “Not much has changed.”

I grinned sardonically, “Maybe for you.”

We moved to the dark living room. “How can I let someone into the building?” I commanded.

“They can call my cell and I can buzz them in.”

I took my phone out and started texting, within seconds his phone rang.

“How do you have my num…never mind,” he shook his head. He already knew the answer.

“My friend will be joining us,” I aired.

“What is going on?” Mo demanded. “Are you really Dani? I mean you sort of look like her, a supermodel version of her.”

I grinned. “It’s me, and it’s a long story.”

I turned to sit on the kitchen counter. “Do you remember that night in my apartment when you guys found me on the floor? I fainted?”

Mo thought for a moment and then nodded. “Well, I was kidnapped shortly after by the same man who knocked me out that evening. I was given a choice. Join their cult or I would be executed.”

Mo’s face grew pale.

A faint knock on the door stopped us. I moved to the front door and peered out the hole. I opened it and Mia walked in.

“Mo, this is Mia.” Mo gave a slight wave as she removed her black mask. “I was just starting to catch him up.”

Mia nodded and sighed big, “Hope you have a strong stomach,” she chuckled, taking a seat next to me on the counter. I grinned, just being in her presence calmed me.

“So, where was I... right. This secret agency called Shadow, had been following me since birth.” A wave of nausea struck as I remembered Richard. He was the reason they had access to my files, my blood, tests, everything. I gulped. I didn’t want to reveal that just yet. “From the hospital database, they had gained access to my file and to my blood. Apparently, my genes, disposition, and IQ were a valuable combination. Once I said yes to their demands, my death was faked, and my genes were altered.”

“What do you mean altered?” Mo interrupted. “Is that why you look like that?”

Mia looked at me confused. “I wasn’t always this attractive,” I shrugged.

“Anyway, I underwent a transformation, a very risky one. No one had survived the procedure until me.”

“You failed to mention that part,” Mia interrupted her face souring.

I pressed on. “I survived. I inherited heightened sight, sound, senses, speed, brainpower, strength, healing, the whole nine yards. They made me into a new-age human, someone they could train, someone they could unleash on their enemies. For a year I went through rigorous physical, mental, and psychological...” I paused, Annie and Mia’s death flashing across my mind. Mia placed her hand on mine. I looked at her.

“Training.” I finished. “Then, I was set loose. I lived in Washington D.C., New York, and most recently L.A. Over the last three years, I have fulfilled their operations, their missions, until now.” I looked at Mia again, our hands still touching.

“And what were these missions?” Mo gulped.

“To kill,” I muttered my eyes boring into his. “I have killed many people.” Mo’s eyes glanced to Mia as if he didn’t believe me.

“So, why did you come to me?” he voiced shakily.

“I need your help. I’m in trouble. We are in trouble,” I corrected.

Mo rose from the couch and walked over. “What do you need?”

“I want out,” I muttered.

“And how do you do that?” he asked wearily.

“I have to kill them all.” Richard’s face danced across my mind. The sight of a bullet sailing straight through his temple. “It won’t be an easy feat,” I continued. “I don’t know where their facilities are, who they are, or how many.”

Mo gulped I could feel his heart race.

“If you help me, you will be in grave danger.” I looked at him. It pained me to have to involve him, to risk his life. I could see his brain working the risks, the rewards, Chuck.

“What are friends for,” he shrugged. His arms wrapped around me. I tensed in shock. Mo embraced me, pulling me into him. My arms slowly wrapped around his burly frame.

“It’s good to have you back,” he whispered. “I’m in, and I know when Chuck wakes he would be in too, and Cassy.”

I stopped him. “No boyfriend. It’s too dangerous. This isn’t a video game, Mo, this is real life. I can’t promise his life or yours,” I looked to Mia.

“Knowing that you were kidnapped by some secret assassin society and that you have no way out, I’m in.” Mo reiterated.

“Then it’s time to tell Cassy,” I muttered.