Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Prosecutor
“I declare the defendant to be guilty. Court adjourned” I let out a sigh of relief as the judge made his decision. I turned to my right and looked at my client-well more like glared-and he looked away sheepishly.
As we were leaving the courtroom, my red high heels clacking against the floor, I gestured for my client to follow me into a hallway where there was low traffic. He looked at me questioningly, and followed.
“Do you think I’m going to be able to save you like that all the time?” I prodded him in the chest. “I was THIS CLOSE to losing that case! You were being reckless again, leaving trails behind!” I exploded at him. You see, if I had had him as a client once, everything would be fine. Normal. But, I’ve had this guy three times in a month!
He looked up at the ceiling and acted like he wasn’t listening. I grabbed his shirt and hissed, “Look, I saved you today, and the time before that, and the time before that. The least you can do is listen to someone who saved you from rotting in jail for a year.”
He looked up at me from underneath his brown hair and smirked. He then proceeded to gently remove my hand from his shirt. “Well, what do we have here? Is Ms. Alice trying to make a move on me? I mean, I know I’m irresistible-” I slapped him. Clearly this boy was not in his right mind. He looked shocked but quickly recovered as he pointed at me. “Do you have any idea who you just hit? How dare a low life prosecutor such as you touch one of the richest heirs in all of America?” He scoffed. “I mean, who do you think you are to hit THE Daniel Perez?”
This wannabe hacker was getting on my nerves. This guy has been caught by so many people hacking into all sorts of sites and each time, I’ve had to turn it around on the witness and file a lawsuit against them before they did to us. It’s not very easy. Therefore, it’s frustrating when he continues but does not improve! He thinks he’s good at hacking and getting away with it too. This kid has an ego the size of the entire universe.
I bowed and smiled at him. “Well, next time you get into a lawsuit or get caught, don’t call on this ‘low life prosecutor’”. With that, I spun around and walked down the hallway, toward the exit. I passed a couple of people I knew along the way giving them sweet smiles and never failing to remember their names. If you are a part of a very deadly clan of assassins and just happen to be a prosecutor, keeping a strictly nice appearance and personality front is absolutely necessary. Right as I placed my hand on the door handle, the hacker yelled, “Hey everybody! I bet I have a piece of information that you do not know about Alice Li.” I spun around quickly and started to run in his direction, he is one of the few people in my life who know about me and I’m not about to be exposed by a spoiled brat. To my horror, he climbed on a table and continued his speech.
“She may look cute and sweet and always be so nice but-” A large crowd has started to gather. It seemed that no matter how fast I tried to run, or how hard I pushed to get through the large number of people, I wouldn’t get there fast enough. If my secret gets exposed, I would get killed on the spot. The head master does not hesitate when it comes to killing people who the public knows about. It’s a threat to him and the whole clan.
“She is working under a clan as a top assassin! She kills people as her second job!” He pointed at me and everyone started to turn toward me and gossip to the people next to them. I tried to get my voice to tell them that it wasn’t true, but it decided to take a break. I started to cry as I realized what would happen to me next. If the police didn’t take me to jail first, I’d be killed. Just like that one kid.
There was a young boy that joined the clan around the time that I did and we just happened to be around the same age and made a great team. The boss would often team us up for missions together and we always got things done flawlessly. Then, in no time at all, we became the highest ranked assassins the clan had ever seen. Back then, before I joined the clan, I wasn’t really good at anything, not even the cases I was assigned as a lawyer. I was on the verge of losing my job and of losing my dreams of becoming a very successful prosecutor when I met someone in one of my trials. He seemed so pitiful and innocent.
I don’t really know what it was. Fate? But that was the case that I won. The smile that he gave me when the judge announced the final verdict was heartbreakingly beautiful. I smiled back at him and gathered my papers and told him to treat himself and his family, for he was now a free man. He simply nodded his head and exited the room. That evening, after I visited my aunt to make sure she was eating and taking her meds, I was walking home when I noticed that there were two pairs of footsteps for every one that I took. I quickly looked behind me and noticed a creepy looking man with long wet black hair draped in front of his face as he stepped toward me slowly.
Whatever my face expressed, it made him laugh. It was the most chilling laugh that I have ever heard. I swear I thought he was insane. I put my hands up and started to walk backwards. “Look sir, whatever you want, I’m sure I don’t have it. I’m pretty broke but maybe I can help you with something el-” The man charged at me and punched me in the stomach. I fell onto my back and the impact caused me to lose breath for several seconds. I looked up at the man in confusion and disbelief and he kicked me, causing my lip to split open and bleed. I lifted my head and glared at him from underneath my eyelashes.
“You don’t know who I am do you? No, I bet not. It doesn’t matter who the victim’s family is, does it?” He laughed and squatted down so he was face to face with me. “Awww, don’t be like that.” He lifted my head by my chin and held me there forcefully. I tried to use my hands to push him away, but when I did, it only made him angrier. He slapped me so hard I saw stars in my vision. He got up and started slowly pacing back and forth in front of me. “You’re probably wondering, what did I do to deserve this, huh? Why is this crazy man after me? Well, let me tell you why. You let the murderer of my son go.” He laughed.
“I mean, I thought, she’s one of the worst lawyers in the district, I will get justice for my son. But no! Out of all the cases you had to win, it was this one! Just for that, you deserve to die.”
By this point, I was shaking uncontrollably. My mind was trying to sift through years of self-defense or all the stuff that my teachers said would be useful when I grow up, but my mind went blank. In situations like this, you don’t wonder why Billy has 34 bottles of dish soap and how many did each one cost? Seeing that I was visibly shaken, a slow, sick smile spread across the man’s face as he slowly removed a gun from the waist of his jeans. My eyes widened in disbelief and horror. Out of all the ways I could die and when, this was definitely not on my list at all.
He raised the gun in my direction, pointed at my head and said, “You don’t even have to worry. I am sparing you the amount of pain and torture your ‘client’-” He sneered the word. “-Put my son through and I’ll give you a fast death.” He grinned hugely again as he began to slowly put pressure on the trigger. I willed my legs to find the strength to get up, to try to fight, but I was absolutely frozen in fear and that was going to be the death of me.
Right as I was coming to terms with my death, a gunshot sound rang through my ears. I waited a couple of seconds for the pain, for my death, for blood, for anything, but it didn’t come. I patted my body, looking for where the bullet entered when a shadow loomed over me. I slowly looked up and I gasped in shock. It was my client from earlier and he was offering me his free hand. In the other, he held a gun. I looked, wide-eyed, to the man laying on the ground next to him, seeping blood, and looked at my client in horror.
He looked at me with sympathy and pulled me into a warm, tight hug. Before I knew it, the shock wore off and reality set in. I started to sob into this stranger’s shoulder as he softly caressed my back and told me that: ‘It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” After about fifteen minutes, I composed myself.
“ I’m so sorry for all the trouble I caused you. Thank you for saving me, but did you really have to..?” I trailed off when I looked at his face. He was giving me a look like: Let’s just not talk about it.
“Don’t worry about it. All that matters is that you’re safe now.” He put his arm around my shoulder and we started to walk out of the alleyway.
Since it was still relatively early in the evening, he took me to a coffee shop where we had coffee and discussed our day as though everything that just happened, was just a dream. When I was getting ready to leave and thanking him for all his help, he caught me by my wrist and I sat back down. He leaned across the table and motioned for me to come closer too. So I did.
“Because I saved you tonight, I think it’s only right you help pay me back.” It didn’t seem unreasonable so I nodded my head in agreement. “I have this...job. Where we hunt...humans. I was told that I had to bring a new recruit by tomorrow or I’d be killed. You know how the desperation of not wanting to die is like. So, what do you say? Help your savior out? You’d be a great addition to our team with your legal knowledge and access and it pays well.” He looked at me in the same way he did in the courthouse.
I don’t really know why, but for some reason, I said yes.
In the days following, James and I were always together. He showed me the ropes and helped me learn quickly. The boss was impressed with both of our work so he paired us up together often. Like I said before, we were both very careful with our traces. We were flawless so therefore, the boss made us into the highest and most respected people of the clan besides himself. I suppose back then, all this attention and respect got me feeling a little cocky.
We were trying to get into an event where we were assigned to kill the rich host. He was a well known man, the CEO of all things related to technology it seemed like and he was involved in many scandals, all of which he made sure never reached the media. James and I were acting as officials that helped run the event and with our professional fake IDs, we got in without any trouble.
The night was going well and the CEO was giving his speech when James and I set up our stuff without being seen or without interference. Or so we thought. Right as James had his aim on the CEO, I was walking around him, when I tripped over a slight uprise in the floor that I didn’t see and fell. I crashed into James which set off the trigger. The people below screamed and ran for the exits, even the CEO. All except for one butler who was frozen in shock.
But once he snapped out of it, he pinpointed where the sound came from and pointed at us. I looked at the man in horror. He screamed, “There’s the source of the bullets! They must be assassins!” I looked at James, panicking but he was calm.
“What do we do now, James?” He looked at me with sorrow filled eyes.
“What YOU will do when I tell you to is run and don’t stop until you get to the master.” He then shot the butler and turned the gun on himself.
“But, wait, James! What about you?!?” Again, he gave me that same sorrowful look. He dropped the gun from his head and crossed over to me. He put both of his hands on either side of my face and kissed me. His kiss was urgent and full of passion. I was confused, but I kissed him back all the same. Then, all too soon, he stepped back several paces and placed the gun back to his head.
I reached out to him. “James, what are you-” He cut me off with his hand.
“You know that now only one of us can live. I’m sorry I have to leave you. I love you.” He squeezed his eyes shut.
“Wait, James! I love yo-” He pulled the trigger and dropped to the floor. “You too.”
I woke up sweating and out of breath. I felt dehydrated and my throat felt raw as though I was screaming the whole night. My phone lit up with a message and I saw that it was four in the morning. The message was from the boss: I have a new recruit I want you to meet. His name is Jayce. I rubbed my face then got out of bed. Today is going to be a long day.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone