“Poison at another ball, really?” Freddie throws the report down. “Laura just had to make a spectacle of herself.”

I shrug. “You knew her style when you signed her on.”

“You don’t get to talk. You’ve got all your charges believing they’re doing it all for some big cause.”

“Rewriting memories is harder than you think.” Especially when the targets need to be ‘adjusted’ pre-mission.

“Dayna, you got that guy to kill his mother last month. And you haven’t had an incident in a whole year.” Freddie sighs. “Meanwhile I’ve got the boss breathing down my neck for all this extra clean-up work my charges are making.”

“If you want me to take some just say so.”

He shakes his head, his pony tail still somehow staying together. “You’re going to be getting a team next week. I can’t give you more work.”

I forgot about that. “Let me advise then. The boss has wanted me to start supervising this department for a while now. They won’t blame you for the help.”

“You’re a life saver.”

I laugh. “We’re really not.”

I hang up my headset and sigh. Mondays always go overtime for me. Freddie went home hours ago. I still have two stacks of paperwork around a metre tall each to get through before I can finally sleep. Good thing Tuesdays are a no murder day. The office will be empty tomorrow. I might even get away with sleeping here for a few hours so I can get through this all. Oh, and that team too. I’ve got to set up their orientation program. Not going to have time before next week...

I really need to be payed more.

The security light starts blinking, again. I tap it a few times and it stops. The tape Freddie put over it is peeling off. We don’t have a replacement light in the budget this quarter. Hell, we don’t have anything spare in the budget these days. When did assassinations take such a low priority here? I guess they spend so much on counselling for the mercenaries’ handlers that they have nothing left for other departments. This department’s had its fair share of gruesome missions as well, but no, apparently directing chemical warfare is too much. I knew a different department should’ve been made for that.

But before I get a say in that, I’ve got to do this paperwork. Freddie may be my best friend, but if he keeps adding to my piles, I’m going to have to get him killed. It’s not like we’re short on murderers around here. I’d make it painless for him. I’m kind like that. Pretty sure he’s the only one around here routing for me to become supervisor though. The others are a bunch of power hungry, backstabbing, lazy idiots who seem to think that getting higher in this business means a smaller chance of being taken care of by one of our many charges. Meanwhile I’m actually good at the job.

When I get promoted, the first thing I’m doing is fixing this stupid security light. How is it blinking again? I tap it and it keeps blinking. Stubborn little thing. I’ll have to report this, won’t I? Dammit.

I pull my headset back on. “Hey, I’ve got a security light blinking over at Assassinations. It’s been acting up for weeks, but tapping it usually fixed it.”

“Why didn’t you report it earlier?”

“I did. Eight times.”

“Oh.” He pauses. “Well according to this, that light got fixed this morning. So if it’s blinking then-.”

“There’s a security breach.”

“Yeah. So have fun with that.”

Great. This better be someone forgetting their pass and trying to get back in. I shoot an alert over to security regardless. They’ll have to do a full sweep of this level. I scramble to secure any loose paperwork. Who thought paper could be so heavy? I knew I should’ve opted for those free gym sessions. The lights pulse red three times then return to normal. Crap. It’s not a security pass problem.

Where am I meant to hide? The cabinets have fixed shelves, there’s no way I’d fit. I could squeeze under my desk. No. That’s too obvious. Think Dayna, think. What do I always tell my charges? If you’re compromised, go for the door. People rarely open the door all the way and don’t make a habit for looking behind it. I clean my space to look like I’ve gone home and walk to the door, keeping my footsteps as light as possible.

My breathing’s too loud. Just control it. If I breathe like I’m sleeping then it’ll be lighter. Okay. Breathe slowly. Just breathe slowly. There’s no problem here because I’m breathing slowly. I shoot a desperate look to the closest camera so they know to come and protect me. They do that right? One team finds and evacuates personnel while the other locates the target. That’s how I’d do it. Yes, okay, focus on that. On how to manage that operation.

I’d split the team up, half doing one thing and half doing the other. It’s important to balance strengths and weaknesses though. Otherwise one group would succeed, but the operation would still fail. I don’t understand why people think splitting up is a bad idea. The only reason something bad happens is because the group wasn’t prepared for the situation in the first place. Splitting up allows the most amount of tasks to be completed in the shortest time. I’ll follow that methodology when I get my team next week.

Concentrate on that now. Concentrate on that team. Concentrate on all the paperwork still left to do. Don’t concentrate on the heavy footsteps approaching the door. Don’t concentrate on the distinct lack of radio chatter that security would have. Don’t concentrate on the door creaking open. Just don’t. Breathe. Concentrate on that new team. They’re a group of three so it’ll be harder to split them up. But they’ve been working together for years, so they won’t be dysfunctional. That’s a good thing. Unlike the heavily armed woman rummaging through my desk.

I could try and run through the door. Maybe she’s distracted enough that she won’t notice. But what if she’s got backup? There could be someone else just down that hall. I can’t risk running into them. But staying here isn’t safe either. If she turns around, she’ll see me. The door hides a lot of me, but if she’s any good then she’ll notice the shadow against the wall. Something tells me that she’s good. Especially considering that she’s found what she was looking for: my papers on rewriting memories.

That’s not the problem though. The problem is that stupid blinking light. She’s noticed it. Now she knows that security is on her tail. Now she’s more likely to act spontaneously. Now she’ll probably kill me on sight. Heightened impulse reactions are common in her situation. It’s worse with killers than anyone else. Judging by the guns, she’s a killer. There’s a chance otherwise. I’ve heard about mercenaries who like guns by don’t kill. But I know my charges and I know what a killer looks like. She’s definitely one.

And she’s walking right towards me. Or the door. Hopefully the door. I don’t think she sees me. That’s good. Yeah. Focus on the good. Don’t focus on the scars littering her face or the way her grey eyes narrow as they lock onto mine. She yanks the door aside and aims her assault rifle at me. I put my hands above my head.

“Who are you?”

I’m so glad she’s the talking type. “Dayna.”

“You work here?”

“Yeah.” No way in hell I’m risking lying.

“You a killer?”

“Indirectly.”

She lowers her gun. “You’re honest. I like that.”

“Does that mean I get to live?”

“Of course.” She smiles, which somehow makes me simultaneously calmer and more terrified. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t try that brainwashing bull on my team.”

“Your team?” I put my arms down. Should’ve recognised her from the pictures. “You know, your security passes get handed out next week. I haven’t made them yet.”

She shrugs. “I’m a little impatient. And I wanted to see how you handled pressure firsthand. You know, before you’re giving us directions in the field.”

My heart rate settles. “How’d I go?”

“You weren’t terrible.” Her laugh is surprisingly warm. “Better than expected.”

“Great. That’s great.” I run a hand through my hair. “So, try anything like this again and I’ll have my best out for you and your team’s heads.”

“Trust me Dayna; my team already is your best.” With that she walks away, laughing at the confused security that finally arrives.

“Took you long enough,” I grumble, waving them off. “Let the boss know that an incident report will be done before the end of the night.”

They nod and leave. I sigh and drop into my chair. I really didn’t need that interruption on top of even more work to do. This team better be worth it.