Sic itur ad astra

Such is the way to the stars

Prologue

If you’d said to my mum, thirteen years ago, that I was going to grow up to be an assassin, she would have laughed in your face and told you to go back to whatever hole you’d crawled out of. If you’d said to her that I had killed more people than she’d met in her entire life, she’d probably have glared at you and walked off, and if you’d given her a picture of what I’d look like in thirteen years, she’d have fainted on the spot.

Looking at myself in the mirror was something I tended to do everyday. It wasn’t just a habit, it was a necessity. I needed to make sure that I was actually alive. In this job, it was sometimes hard to tell. Currently, I was taking a small break, and I had decided to stay at Headquarters for a few days, to sort out some paperwork. It meant that I was waking up to the same room every morning, which felt really strange to me. I was used to waking up in four or five different rooms a week. The Institution had firm rules about leaving the area of assassination as quickly as possible, and about not staying in any one place for a prolonged period of time. A lot of assassins had learnt those rules the hard way.

But not me, no. I was one of the most wanted assassins from the Institution, and as of yet, I hadn’t been caught.

Turning to the large mirror in my room, I grabbed a brush and began to pull it through my hair. I used to be so proud of my long brown locks, but now I was forever pinning it back so that it didn’t get in my way… it annoyed me, but whenever I made the decision to have it cut, I remembered my mum running her fingers through my hair and commenting on how beautiful it was… making me promise never to have it all cut off. I couldn’t break that promise, no matter how stupid it had been.

After I had brushed my hair, I decided to leave it down. I was only filling in forms today… perhaps I’d have a bit of a workout later on too. I grabbed a long t-shirt and pulled it over my head just as there was a knock at the door.

“Kim?” Came a voice as the door was opened.

“Excuse me?” I folded my arms and looked at the man questioningly. He was about to speak again, when he realized what I was wearing. I’d thrown the t-shirt on, and that covered me… just. But my legs were totally bare. I had to stop myself from smirking as the guy blushed bright red.

“Oh… um, sorry, I…”

“It’s rude to just walk into a woman’s bedroom you know.” I said, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.

“I… my God, I’m sorry… The Boss just… he asked me to… he wants to see you.”

I gave him my most charming smile. “Am I allowed to get dressed first?”

“Um… I… of course…”

Now he was just staring at me. I raised an eyebrow at him and after a few moments, he realized what I meant, and literally leapt out of the room, closing the door behind him. It was only then that I realized I had never seen that guy before, yet he had known my name. And why did the Boss want to see me? I hope he didn’t hope another job for me… I had a rather large pile of paperwork that I needed to complete.

With a wistful sigh, I pulled on a pair of jeans, before sweeping my hair back and opening the door. The man was there, leaning against the wall and looking rather uncomfortable.

“I don’t need an escort you know.” I said, suddenly irritated by his presence.

“The Boss told me to come along.” He said, taking a step forward.

“Oh, fine, just don’t slow me down.” I snapped, and walked off down the corridor, the man trailing behind me; trying not to get too close, but not wanting to look too slow either. This should be fun…