Stories may be hidden, but the truth always surges.

Now that all three dots had been connected, the struggle had just begun.

None of them had any idea what was in store for them. None of them had any idea of the consequences.

Nothing could help them now but themselves.

And thus they lead on, with a half of reality under their skin.

Like a dark cloud covering the bright full moon, covering their light and hope, that's how they should feel.

Chapter 8: Cynical

"Do you trust Dante?" Adal hissed.

We were doing line inside a coffee shop a few blocks away from the Dante's apartment. Dante wasn't here. He said he had some business to attend to, which seemed suspicious, but Adal and I would look into it later.

"Of course I don't!" I barked. "He's still my target, no matter our hiatus position. I must have an eye on him, and what better way than allying ourselves with him."

Adal cleared his throat. "I am so glad I am not one of your targets. You are such a bitch when it comes to deceiving them."

I laughed, but I was not a bitch, fucking jerk.

With that, our conversation halted. We couldn't freely speak in public about our assignments and troubles without alerting someone of the freaks we were. So we bought our coffees and made our way back to Dante's apartment

Unluckily for us, he was already awaiting for us there.

"Okay," Dante sighed as I took a seat on the couch. "What is your usual distraction when about to attack?"

I heard Adal chuckle from behind, sitting in the dinning table, already knowing the answer.

I bit my lip as I looked down to my coffee mug. "Seduction," I whispered looking away.

Dante's eyes widen. "What?"

I scoffed. "Come on, you can't tell you did not know. You were victim of it before, don't you remember?"

"No, I—that's not what I meant," He stuttered. "It's just that—um, what I meant is that—ugh, we're fucked anyway." He said shaking his head vigorously when he could form no coherent words.

"Excuse me?"

Adal continue chuckling as he took a sip from his coffee.

"You can't go through the world seducing everyone. It's too cliché. You must have another card up your sleeve." Dante argued.

"I do. It's called acting and improvising."

I heard Adal spitting and choking on his coffee, but I ignored him. On the other hand, Dante's face went pale as he wore a mask of complete shock and utter disbelief.

"You mean all this time you've just gone with the flow? Not having a concrete plan?"

I grimaced. "I'm not that thoroughly with everything I do. I can't always be ten steps ahead of everyone."

"But you have to!" Adal yelled now.

I turned to face him and his face resembled that of Dante, except that he had anger added to the mix.

"Anyway," Dante interrupted. "Now that we have found that Isadora leads with no prudency, I think it's time to plan a strategy."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you suggest? What is usually your distraction and defense?"

He shrugged. "It all depends on the situation. I vary my options. I am a tactician after all."

"That's what I do as well!" I yelled in a shrilling voice.

"No," He replied in a bored tone. "You said you wait until that very moment to develop ideas as to how you would act. I, on the other hand, develop them beforehand, and once I analyze the situation, I put one or two or many combined into action."

"Go to hell," I growled.

We all ignored each other for some minutes.

"Dante, you said the agency had many irregularities, did you not?" Adal asked diplomatically out of the sudden.

"Indeed I did." Dante replied curtly.

"Well, I want to know what you found to be out of the norms. Not that I don't believe you or anything of some sort, but I need to do my research and get educated before rushing into decisions."

"I understand." Dante whispered turning his head to face Adal. "That is your nature after all, wanting to find out the truth of it all."

Adal simply scowled back.

"Tell me, have you ever felt like average human beings?" Dante asked, quirking a dark eyebrow, his gray eyes bored into both Adal and me.

"How could we? We were all murderers from such a young age. There is no normality in that." I replied feistily.

He rolled his eyes. "Aside the obvious fact that none of us had a normal childhood, do you consider that your body developed the way an average human being develops?"

"Your question makes no sense," Adal interjected. "Explain yourself, because you just sound like a mad man."

Dante sighed. "Have you ever wondered why everyone within the agency has these traits that make them special beyond normality? Our physical abilities are astonishing."

"Are you gonna tell a story like last time? Because that makes me utterly bored," Adal said rudely. "Not to offend, or anything, I just wanted to avoid that."

Dante glared daggers at him, but thus continued. "What I meant is that physically we are all capable of performing stunts that prove to be a challenge to the human body such as running for miles without tiring and climbing a building with only your upper body strength."

"That's what that infernal training we all endure during our childhoods was meant to do. Make us withstand the roughest of all scenarios." I remarked, sipping on my coffee.

"Probably, but have you ever wondered how everyone in the agency came to be so handsome?"

Both Adal and I gazed at Dante not understanding what he meant.

"Come on," Dante screeched. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed how all agents are appealing to the eye and how their intelligence goes a step further than average human beings?"

Adal shrugged. "When I had to meet people face to face, I honestly was too young to even pay attention to their physique."

"So you haven't dealt with any other agency members since…?"

"Since I was twelve." Adal replied monotonously.

Dante's brows knitted together. "You're telling me that not even at age 12 you had any feelings towards anyone? Male of female?"

Again, Adal glared. "I don't know if you were informed, but before your generations, we were segregated based on gender while on training."

"Oh," I murmured. "That's good to know, I guess."

Adal shook his head.

"That's not what I mean anyway," Dante argued. "But have you seen how everyone is appealing to the eye? And how none of the older agents have families as well?"

I frowned up at that. "Go to the point, Dante, because I do not understand what you are leading towards."

He sighed, exasperated. "Can't you see the obvious? Since a young age, they altered our DNA. They modified our bodies!"

"What?" Both Adal and I asked doubtfully.

"See, in our research, Euphemie and I looked into our DNA to compare it our respected real families, but we found something beyond that. According to the research, Euphie's DNA was partially alike to that of her sister, but there was something added to her's that was not a normal characteristic. Mine turned the same and in our studies it was read as something inhuman."

"You mean that we were genetically engineered?" Adal ask in disbelief.

Dante only nodded.

"But that can only be done by altering one cell at a time. I doubt they could do that on a growing child's approximate 70 trillion cells. It seems impossible and improbable!"

"Look," Dante interjected. "I don't know how they did it. I am no scientist to find out either, but the sheer fact remains that they manipulated our bodies to the point that none of us can ever even breed."

"Wait, what?" I asked with a deep frown.

"What the hell are you rambling about?" Adal asked, his face hiding none of his concern and confusion.

"We are all fucked." Dante growled. "We were bestowed with inhuman adroitness, able to blend in to all situations, being skillful and astute, but there are certain flaws in the development that the agency overlooked due to lack of concern. That is the fact that all of us are sterile, our bodies cannot age above thirty, and that we have an immune disorder."

We all remained in silence.

I was thinking, and being honest, I could guarantee that both Adal and Dante were as well.

If what Dante was saying was true, then my highest concern of all would be the immune disorder. The fact that I could not age was not something I was complaining about. It actually seemed like pretty prospect if I don't get killed before reaching thirty.

The other problem was not being able to have children, and I might sound like a bitch saying this, but never, in my wildest dreams, have I considered procreating life. After all I've done in life, karma or God or whoever controlled and fucked our life paths would get back at them for all of my sins.

Besides, I can barely take care of myself. Now imagine me being responsible for some brats who couldn't fathom living without their mother.

That would be tragic, having a mad woman such as me as a mother.

"Well," Adal whispered breaking the silence. "We are indeed fucked."

"Not really." I declared. "The only thing I worry about is immunodeficiency problem, but I doubt that will come and bite me."

Two pair of eyes glared at me quizzically.

"I have always known I'll die young. Remember I'm an imprudent maneuverer." I winked at them as I lightly shrugged.

Dante's expression did not change from its puzzled state. Adal's on the other hand managed to smile sadly.

I just knew what he was thinking. He was worrying— not news really.

I've always told him to stop worrying about me, yet he keeps ruining his life with my petty and sore mistakes. It drives me mad.

I sighed internally. I'll let Adal be.

"Now what?" I asked to get them back on track.

"Well, we need a plan." Dante stated. "It is a fact that the agency has not found out where in the world we are, but they will soon, thus forcing us to move out of here the soonest possible."

"And then what?" Adal asked.

"Well," Dante started scratching his chin as he thought. "I had a plan, but it might sound crazy at the time. If you do not mind, I'll share it when we settle down on the next town."

I shrugged, but Adal was sharper than I.

"I do mind, as a matter of fact." He replied sternly. "I want to know what Izzy and I are getting involved before taking any step further."

"That is understandable and I agree, but I insist on not wasting time. Our lives are at stake at this point."

"Still, I must insist."

I sighed. "Dante, arguing with Adal is futile. Just give him his explanation or else we won't move out."

Dante chuckled lightly. "Alright, but you will definitely think I'm mad, but I'll give it a go."

We waited for a second as Dante thought. "Well, the only way to bring down the agency is to kill the brain. Think of it as a zombie or some sort vicious killing machine that kills without regrets: the only way to shut it down is to go to the beginning of the maze; the very thing that control the whole rat race. In this case, it would be the superior in the agency."

"That does not help us in any way." I responded. "None of us knows who the superior is at the agency."

Dante vehemently shook his head. "That is where you are mistaken. You underestimate me far too much for my liking."

"So you know who the boss is?" Adal asked suspiciously.

"I may not be the most proficient researcher, but when I want something done, I'll get it done. No child's play, for this man is meant to die, and if I wish that to be accomplished, I must be thoroughly-"

"Look, I don't like to interrupt your speeches," Adal said sharply. "But can you wrap it up and tell us, for goodness sakes who we need to kill?"

Dante shook his head. "There is never a moment for poetic justice with you dunces."

With that he took a deep breath and took a paper out of his coat pocket. He placed it carefully on the center table. I glanced at it, but Adal was not conformed by just peeking. He came to sit beside me and took the paper.

There were two pictures and information underneath each picture. The first one was of a woman with slight Asian characteristics. Because of the longer face and wider eyes, I am concluding she must be of Japanese descent. Then I read the bottom: her name is Amelia Inoue, 55 years old, Hawaiian born.

The other picture was of a Caucasian male. His name is Lewis Klug, 58 years old, German. No other information was given.

"So, they are the head masters of the agency?" Adal asked grimacing.

Dante nodded. "We need to kill them to end this now."

"But will that guarantee the annihilation of the agency and the mass corruption that's happening?"

"I can't guarantee it, Isadora, but we must try."

"Let's plan then." Adal said with a smile. This was his forte, planning and researching, he felt at home.

"Let's, then," I confirmed.

"Izzy," Adal began in his worried tone, and I just knew what he would say.

But I indulge him, looking at him with an inquiring look.

"Why don't you go take a nap? You seem tired. You haven't rested in a while."

Now that took me aback. "What?"

He smiled. "Take a nap. I know you are tired, and you need to gather your strength for what's coming."

"Um, okay then," I replied confused. "Will you not need me for planning, then?"

Dante replied. "Of course, but we will handle the basis of it. When you wake up we will fill you in and we can make modifications."

I nodded and went one of the rooms to lie in bed.

I knew something was up. Adal was hiding something and Dante was covering up, but I'll look into it later. Right now there were more things I was concerned with that needed my attention

There was a crash somewhere and it woke me up. I immediately sat up on the bed realizing I'd fallen asleep. That was imprudent on my part.

The sound was there again and I started trying to distinguish from where it came from, looking around, I glare at every corner and every detail. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in here.

Then there was another sound: sort of like feet being stomped repetitively upstairs.

But that was insane. This was the last damn floor or the building. Who would be so stupid as to-

Then it hit me.

Oh, crap, I thought.

I threw my legs off of the bed and grabbed my gun from the dresser as I ran as fast as I could out the door of the apartment into the hallway.

I tried opening several doors along the hallways but all were locked, meaning no one had recently used them to stupidly climb to the goddamn roof.

At my fifth door, the door open and the first thing I saw was the barrel of a gun pointed straight at my face.

I immediately threw a punch straight for the nose and an uppercut. As the man stumbled backwards kicked him in the gut and snapped his neck before he touched the ground.

His body slumped and I had to analyze for a second who he was. I knew I had seen him before, but no memory of him came back to me.

I started rummaging his pockets for anything that would give me a clue, but he carried nothing.

Then I noticed his gun.

On the handle the inscription, for those about to rock we salute you.

So that's from where I knew him: the agency. This man was known for his obsession with that band. But that meant only one thing- the agency was here.

Fuck!

I sprinted up few steps taking his gun with me and kicked open the door with my boot.

I saw Dante crouching, hiding behind a dome in the roof. Adal was a couple of feet away behind a tall vent pipe.

I was puzzled, to say the least, but immediately ducked as bullets were shot, surely my way. I hid indoors, with the door still wide open, and ducked.

Most bullets ricocheted on the outside wall, but few managed to trespass the fucking wall I had my back pressed to and incrusted into the wall that I faced.

I gulped as I pulled my gun close to me with my finger ready on the trigger.

I peeked outside to see Dante peeking as well to towards the enemy and firing. Unlike me, he had a silencer, which would not draw attention as the other gunshots.

I simply sighed.

As soon as Dante fired, he hid himself again behind the dome. The other guys shot back in less than a millisecond, aiming perfectly towards where Dante's head had been a second ago.

Immediately, as they showed their head I fired, aiming for their heads.

A bald man's head snapped back and fell lifelessly to the floor. The other guy managed to ditch my bullet, but as he moved out of the way, from the side, Dante fired and hit the aorta artery.

Now that dude would bleed to death in less than a minute.

We both immediately hid, but I knew that I could not stay indoors. I would be more productive out there, on the open space to move freely and to have a higher probability of assassinating the contraries in less than fifteen minutes. I was being restricted in here.

So I carefully lowered to the floor and in all fours, crawled out of there holding my gun with my teeth.

Once outside, I had to pull myself forward with only my upper body strength to not show my back to the enemy

I dragged my body to where Dante was. His dome was bigger and gave more protection than Adal's vent.

As soon as I was at a close distance, Dante pulled me towards the dome, grabbing me from my jacket.

"What the heck are you doing out here, Isadora?" He berated.

I grimaced. "What do you think? My job, you idiot,"

"This is not a game, Isadora. We are surrounded." He chided as gunshots still rained upon us. "They have the whole building surrounded. Adal and I managed to get them focused solely on us so you could escape."

I scoffed. "You may not know me, but Adal does, and he is perfectly aware that I do not run away. Much less when it relates to threats to my life. I am too proud to give in."

Without giving an answer, Dante glimpsed over the dome and fired two shots. I heard a groan afterwards and something hitting the cement floor hard.

"I don't mean to interrupt guys," Adal called from where he was crouched. "But do you mind skipping the conversation for later? I have my hands already full."

I did not replied, I simply glanced above the dome as Dante had done and fired, hitting a gal on the neck. Her blood started oozing out like a water fountain.

"Izzy, you always do a sloppy job, god dammit." Adal reproached.

"Adal, stop criticizing me and focus!" I yelled back.

I heard his chuckle, but ignored him as I loaded my gun again.

"Just to keep the record straight," Dante whispered as he too recharged his gun. "I knew you would come. You don't seem as one to deny an opportunity involving an adrenaline rush."

I gaze at him trying to understand what he meant by that, but I honestly had no time to figure it out. I simply shrugged. "You take more than you let on. Interesting,"

That's when I saw someone come out from the inside of the building, through the very same door I had been seconds ago. Out of pure instinct, I drew my gun upwards not even aiming, and fired.

The bullet went through the man's right eyeball and, most probable, adjourned with his brain.

To that sound, Adal and Dante glanced backwards, to where the now dead body lay.

"Isadora," Dante called. "You take care of that whole perimeter," he said pointing to where the man I just shot laid lifelessly. "Adalberto, you take care of your surrounding and the right wing. I'll take the left wing and what I can over the rail."

I clenched my jaw as I killed one by one everyone who crossed that door or climbed the wall from my side, knowing that if they shot either Dante or Adal, they would kill them.

Adal and Dante were too absorbed killing their own amount of agents on their perimeters to look backwards. They were relying on me to protect their backs as I relied on them to protect me from my back and the sides.

We continued that way until my gun's clip was totally empty and I had no more.

Fuck, I thought. This meant I had to fight hand on hand combat. So as I pushed myself upwards, I felt something on the floor, just lying there, aimlessly.

The gun I had stripped from the first guy I killed, the one with the engravings.

How lucky could I get? I quickly checked it and started aiming. No one was coming thankfully, but I had to keep my eyes open.

"Guys," Dante whispered.

That's when I noticed the rain of bullets had ceased all together.

"I know," Adal replied. "Does this mean it's over?"

"I don't think so. It couldn't have been this easy, right?" I argued.

"Presumably, no, but then again, it isn't as if they sent the whole agency for our sake." Dante cleared.

I peeked around, but no soul was present, only dead bodies lying around. I stood up and looked around, but still, no change. No one was around and no threat stood in front of us that was ostensible.

"Well, I'll look around to see what these dead corpses carried with them. Maybe it can give us a hint as to how the hell the agency found us." I said.

"Yeah, I'll do the same." Dante said as he stood up.

"I'll wait for you here. I really can't stand up at the moment." Adal said in a raspy voice.

I was already kneeling besides a dead body by the time Adal finished his sentence that I did not really pay attention, but Dante did.

"What is wrong?" He asked, approaching Adal slowly as I observed from the distance.

Adal chuckled lightly. "I'm kind of injured."

My head immediately snapped towards his direction.

As if sensing me, he immediately turned to face me. "Nothing serious," Adal reassured. "Just got nicked, that's all."

"Well, either or, you should avoid putting excess weigh on the wound." Dante continued as he inspected the wound.

Meanwhile I started empting the pockets of a couple of corpses only to find loose change, hand weapons, extra bullets, a couple of wallets with aliases, but no leads.

I sighed, unhappy with my search while Dante had finished up wrapping a cloth on Adal's thigh. I continued towards other bodies searching and digging, recognizing few faces and stepping on the puddles of blood, the soles of my boots stained crimson red marking my path across the rooftop as I walked from corpse to corpse.

As I pickpocket one of the dead bodies, I found a paper crumpled up inside the person's shirt pocket. I deliberately pulled it out and straighten it to read it. Indeed it was of importance.

"Hey guys I—"

I was silenced by a weird unknown sound. I stared back at Dante who started inspecting all around, looking to see from where that sound was coming from.

"We better get out of here," Adal spoke up. With a nod, Dante helped him to his feet and guided him to the entrance of the building. He leaned him there and came back towards me, dragging me to where Adal stood.

Then the noise became louder and more identifiable.

Both Dante's and my head snapped towards each other as we realized from what the sound came from. Both our eyes widen with the silent confirmation of the other and in unison or heads snapped to the sky.

From the sidelines of the building emerged a helicopter making my eyes sting with the powerful gushes and waves of air it was making and sending to every direction.

"Oh, fuck." I whispered.

The door was open and from the helicopter a gun pointed at us; a sniper, to be exact.

"Hide!" yelled Dante as he pushed me savagely under a big useless and satellite dish, following behind while gunshots started again falling upon us.

I clenched my jaw as I tried to think of a way to get out. Then something snapped in my head.

Where is Adal?

"Where's Adal?" I screeched, standing up and dashing out from under the dish.

I ran with all the might my legs allowed me only to see Adal behind the steel door, grasping to it with a pale face.

As soon as he spotted me, his eyes widen. "Izzy!" he yelled.

I tried to dodge as many bullets that fell upon me as I approached Adal. He stepped out from behind the big door and stretched his hand towards me, indulging me to take his hand for safety.

My legs pushed harder as I jumped over the corpses laying in the way, but as I stood not merely a yard away from Adal, it all crashed down.

I saw it. I saw the bullet ripping its way through Adal's neck, tearing veins, muscle and tissue.

I knew the anatomy behind it. I knew which muscles it had damaged and the fact that it definitely crossed the jugular, making it a fatal hit to the victim.

With all that thought process, I halted, ignoring the continuous bullets trying to cause the same or worse damage that had just happened to Adal. Yet, the danger of the situation did not register in my brain.

All I saw was Adal—my companion, my only friend and confident, my anchor, my sole family—slumping to the floor, with dazed eyes and a puzzled face.

"Adal," I whispered softly as his knees hit the floor.

He gasped and looked up. He smiled slightly as his upper body started falling as well.

Mid-air, he mouthed. "Take care, my little one."

And with that his body fell lifelessly on the floor.

I gasped, but mid-gasp, I was violently tackled—thrown over Adal's body, behind the protection of the door.

I did not care what was happening then, all I had in mind was Adal.

I crawled to his body and took his hand. It was still warm, as if nothing of this has happened.

That's right, nothing happened. I smiled faintly as I shook his shoulder lightly.

"Adal, wake up! This is no time for jokes. We are being attacked." I said shakily.

But he did not move. I tried again, but to no avail.

The puddle of blood was growing bigger and bigger, soaking my jeans as I knelt beside Adal.

I wanted him to wake up. He needed to wake up. He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't.

"Adal! Wake up!" I yelled. "You can't do this to me, Adal! You can't leave me!"

My breath quivered as I shook Adal's body violently.

"Please open your eyes, Adal! Please!" I begged.

Tears were streaming down my face and I choke on a sob.

"Adal!" I yelled desperately, shaking. "Adal!"

"Isadora," Dante spoke up, grabbing my shoulders.

"Don't!" I shrilled back and continued my pleas to a dead corpse, one of the many around.

It was useless. I knew it. Dante, who stood behind me, knew it as well. It was futile.

Adal was dead before he collapsed on the ground.

I let my tears fall down noisily as I sobbed endlessly, laying my head over Adal's torso. I caressed his soft hair and his now pale face. I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt out of desperation.

I had never felt so utterly alone and useless as now.

"Adal, I'm sorry." I muttered between sobs.

Then something hit me, hard, on the nape of my neck.

I felt a darkness enclose on me as it took slowly my consciousness.

I heard a soft whispered behind me, Dante's voice saying, "I'm sorry, but we need to leave."

My last thought was of Adal: a memory flashing back.

The night I'd murdered someone for the first time and Adal held me tight at night, to keep away the person's spirit away.

I'll always protect you, he'd whispered. Always.