A much older looking girl was leaning forward with her Glock 26, pointing it at her target five yards away. The olive cap hid her ambitious dark eyes as they concentrated at the cardboard dummy taped to the tree trunk. Aiming at the center of the chest, the bullet blasted out of the gun's barrel and pierced through the cardboard into the deep bark. Grinning, she lowered her gun.
Not much had changed for the past three years. Daiyu was ten years old and grew a bit taller. She would be turning eleven in a few months on April. Taking her cap off, she let the cold wind tousle her black hair which was still short. The girl's round face no longer had baby fat, and certain features such as her nose matured. She wasn't explicitly attractive, but she was average-looking for a young girl.
Daiyu placed her cap back on when she was beginning to feel the cold air chapping her lips and cheeks. It was almost March, the month when it got colder before winter would fade away to spring.
The creak of the backdoor alerted Daiyu. Turning around, she found Itzal in his camouflage cap and black winter jacket.
"I'm glad that you're doing extra practice on your break," Itzal said.
Daiyu shrugged her shoulders. "I have nothing else to do."
"How many times did you miss?"
The girl counted in her head. "Two—three times out of twenty-six rounds with two magazines."
Itzal nodded his head with approval. "Good. You get an A."
The girl smiled in amusement. She liked it how Itzal graded her shooting progress. She had worked herself up from a constant C to an A. Sometimes she got an A+, but that would only happen when she used one magazine with thirteen bullets.
"Go back inside the cabin and clean your gun," he ordered. "I have something important to tell you." This was the only time his voice sounded serious besides training.
Without questioning him, Daiyu headed back inside the cabin.
~~~
Sitting down by his desk, Itzal was waiting for Daiyu in his room. He was still in his winter jacket since there was no heater inside the cabin. His camouflage cap was resting on his lap as he contemplated.
It would be four years once Daiyu turned eleven. He watched her grow from a timid girl to a mature girl full of strong character. Her reflex skills at first seemed much better than her shooting, but they eventually balanced out throughout the years. Now it was time for Daiyu to put her skills into use.
In several minutes, the girl entered the room quietly. Her olive cap was still on along her jacket and boots. She nearly looked like a miniature soldier standing by the door. A grin appeared on his lips which made her puzzled.
"You know I work for Corrigere organization," he told her as he lit a cigarette. "Tomorrow, you're going to meet Red Scarf. He's placing you together to work with a marksman your age for your first assignment."
Daiyu had remembered that Itzal told her about Corrigere two years ago. It was an organization connected with assassins and mercenaries. It came as a shock that Itzal killed people in the past for money, but she eventually accepted it. Now she was going to follow after the retired assassin's footsteps. It didn't matter much to her because in this world, there were no such things as morals.
Although Daiyu knew that she was capable of killing, she was still edgy about the assignment. What if she messed up? "Do you know what the assignment is?"
"No, but it must be a very simple task since he's accepting skilled kids your age," he replied. "The reward won't be worth that much. Maybe $1,000, but it's good experience."
Daiyu nodded. She didn't care much about the money. She owed much to the man for taking care of her and teaching her his skills, so she was willing to abide whatever he asked her to do.
~~~
The drive to meet Red Scarf and the young marksman was out of the state. It was going to take a couple of hours to arrive in Pike County, Pennsylvania. During the car ride, Daiyu anxiously traced the small plaid messenger bag on her lap which contained her Glock 26 and magazines. She mostly wanted to know what Red Scarf and the marksman were like, but Itzal didn't know more than their names. Does Red Scarf actually wear a 'red scarf?' she wondered. It was a peculiar name but vague enough to hide the person's identity. Sighing, she let her eyes pass the boring highway signs.
What seemed like endless hours finally passed. Itzal drove into a deserted road, and the car slowed down toward a quiet cemetery which confused Daiyu at first. This is where we're meeting them? she thought dryly. It was probably less suspicious however; there was nobody around that would hear them.
There were three males standing by the entrance. Daiyu didn't take her eyes off the Caucasian boy whose dark brown hair was half snugged beneath his blending flat cap. So that's the marksman? she thought. Questions such as his rifle training experience and age bombarded her mind. Right of the boy seemed to be his mentor. There was a slight chance that they were related. The tall man was dressed in a black overcoat in a business-like way. Detached from the two must had been Red Scarf. One of his boots was crushing a cigarette butt into the earth. He had no red scarf on which Daiyu found ironic. Sunglasses hid his eyes, and a brown jacket traced his long figure.
When Itzal and Daiyu stepped out of the car, the man in the brown jacket greeted them.
"You must be Itzal," his bass-tone voice began. "I'm Red Scarf."
Itzal nodded his head in recognition, and they shook hands.
"And you are Daiyu?" Red Scarf studied the girl for a while. Daiyu felt she was being tested and tried to dissolve all flaws he was trying to pick out. He grunted. "We don't get many females in the organization, but perhaps there will be a generation of them someday."
Red Scarf introduced Itzal and Daiyu to the two other males. The twelve year old boy's name was Indigo, and his mentor's was Cassidy. It turned out that they were distant cousins. Indigo eyed her skeptically which annoyed Daiyu that they ended up having a 'glaring contest'. However, Red Scarf's voice broke up the tension.
"Let's makes things short. The assignment I'm going to assign your first-time assassins is risk-free, so the reward is $1,000 each after they finish the task. Ralph Lesley is the client here who simply wants revenge. His wife and children were murdered by Hildred Slane, an ex-member of Eagles, an unpopular gang that broke up two years ago. The amateur local bounty hunters can't even find him for the past three years. Just two months ago, rumors were said that he was spotted in Pike County. Lesley resolved to contact us last week since we're known for our excellent service."
Red Scarf cast glances at Itzal and Cassidy. There was not one time he looked at Daiyu or Indigo while he was talking. "I won't question their skills. I assume you have trained them into fine assassins." He unzipped his jacket and took out a large envelope. Opening it up, he passed around the pictures and profile sheet of Hildred Slane.
Daiyu examined the colored photograph of Slane's face. He had sharp blue eyes and red short hair. The structure of his face was almost an oval, and there were sideburns growing. He didn't look too old or young. On the profile sheet, it stated his birth date and current age which was thirty-two years old. He grew up in Darby, Pennsylvania, and he was a half Irish man that stood five foot six.
Red Scarf passed the contract for Itzal and Cassidy to sign. Daiyu and Indigo had to sign next on the bottom beneath their mentor's signature. It ironically reminded the girl much of school contracts; the children were not eighteen years old yet, so it was necessary for their mentors to sign their names. Daiyu read the contract before signing: "By signing my name below, I hereby understand that none of this information is to be revealed out of Corrigere. I understand the failure of not abiding by this vow will result in severe consequences." The last words made Daiyu shiver. 'Severe consequences' meant death. Itzal had told the girl before that the information of their identities and assignments should never be given to anyone out of the organization. No one could be trusted. They could get tracked down easily by the government or any intruders if any information slipped.
After all the things were collected, Red Scarf departed to leave Itzal and Cassidy to discuss the details together.
"An ex-gang member," Itzal thought out loud. "He must have some money on him to hide during all those three years."
Cassidy nodded. "Perhaps he owns his own place."
Daiyu shifted uncomfortably. She was trying to find something to contribute to the conversation, but she had no such knowledge about hunting after a person. It seemed Indigo had the same problem as well. They were after all the ones going to assassinate Slane together, but it seemed their mentors were doing all the 'work' for them.
"Maybe he is hiding somewhere far away from people…" Daiyu mumbled.
Indigo wrinkled his face. "That's so obvious."
The girl flushed at the boy's snobbish response. If she was going to spend the rest of her life with him as a partner, life would be hell. She had no idea what she had done to deserve such disrespect from him. Just because he was two years older than her didn't mean he was superior. Itzal and Cassidy didn't miss the distasteful relationship between the two children.
Cassidy glared at the boy. "I've trained you for six years, Indigo, yet it seems you haven't learned enough discipline."
A deep flush appeared in Indigo's face from the embarrassing scold. Daiyu tried hard not to let the grin show in the corner of her mouth.
Itzal lit a cigarette. "If there's anything bothering you, spit it out."
Indigo bit back his tongue. "It's because she…."
"Daiyu," Cassidy interrupted, "Daiyu is her name."
The boy fought back a glare. "It's because Daiyu is a girl… and girls are weak."
"I smell sexism…" Itzal remarked dryly. Though, Daiyu knew he was upset as she was. The only reason Indigo didn't like her was because she was a girl and weak? The girl clenched her fists and could imagine herself swinging her Glock 26 out of her bag and blasting it in the boy's face.
I'll show him who's the weak one, she scowled.
Sighing heavily as if he had given up on the boy, Cassidy massaged his temples. "This is very childish and embarrassing. I am extremely sorry, Itzal and Daiyu, for the offense. I promise it won't happen again." Indigo grew pale at his last words. For the rest of conversation, the boy didn't say a single word which made Daiyu smirk.
The four were going to stay overnight at a motel to make plans. For now, they were going to inspect several towns and neighborhoods where Slane could possibly be hiding.
~~~
The last stop was another local bar. The sun was almost setting, and Itzal and Cassidy hadn't made much progress in the search. Cassidy's car was left in the motel parking lot, and the four rode Itzal's car instead. The two children were now waiting inside the vehicle for their mentors to return.
Daiyu sat all the way in the right to keep her distance away from Indigo. She played with the maneki neko keychain which she had taken out several times from her pocket. The white paint of the cat was slightly chipped off since the past years. Indigo was staring blankly out the window. His rectangular 'music instrument case' was standing up to perhaps block his sight of the girl. Daiyu assumed his rifle was inside the disguise.
While dangling the cat keychain in the midair, Daiyu could sense the light shift of the boy's movement in the corner of her eyes. She kept her eyes focused on the cat keychain and pretended not to notice Indigo looking in her direction.
"What's that?" he asked quietly. For once there was no mocking tone in his voice.
Daiyu's eyes remained on the keychain while it was spinning around. "It's a cat keychain," she replied in an even tone.
Indigo fell silent again. The girl laid the keychain on her palm and finally glanced at him. His round, light brown eyes were indirectly staring at her. There was no scowl etched on his face; it was rather devoid of emotion to match the girl's cool expression. Perhaps he had thought about what he had said earlier.
"It's my good luck charm," Daiyu added startling the boy. He didn't expect her to say anything else and arched his bushy eyebrows questioningly. "I got it a long time ago, so I always carry it with me…." her voice trailed almost sadly.
Indigo stared at his case. "I don't believe in good luck charms."
Daiyu placed the keychain back in her pocket and shrugged. "Your opinion."
Itzal and Cassidy were coming out of the bar. The two children felt relief wash over as they were saved from the awkward conversation. When their mentors got back inside the car, Cassidy was the first to speak.
"There are only two witnesses out of the all we had questioned that claim they had seen Slane. I have my doubts however." He told Indigo and Daiyu two of the different descriptions he and Itzal had received. One witness claimed that he had seen a man with long red hair that resembled Slane in a golf court. The other witness claimed that Slane chopped off all his hair and was last seen in a church.
"It's up to us now to find him raw," Itzal said as he moved the car. "But now let's get something to eat."
Daiyu agreed with her mentor. She was glad that the rumbling of her stomach was buried behind the car's engines.
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