The first month of my training flew by quickly. It didn’t take me long to get the hang of the new skills that I would use throughout my career. Though, as I thought over Dylan’s words, I wasn’t sure how long that career would last. During the second month of training, I managed to set a few records. Of course, they weren’t the ones that Joe had set back in his day. No one except the Council knew who he was because he always worked alone.3
Jess was starting to come back a little, but I still missed the carefree wolf she used to be. With her help, I became the one to beat. The last week of training, the recruits were taken to the middle of the forest and turned loose, all in different locations. We were then given a dart gun that held twenty rounds. The last ones standing would then be inducted as assassins.
Quickly making my way through the woods, I let my scent linger in the air. After my trap was set I hid my scent and climbed into an evergreen and waited. It wasn’t long before I heard a soft whisper of someone moving through the brush. There’s another about half a mile on your left. They’ll be here in ten minutes.
Thanks Jess. I thank her as I take the first wolf out. Hiding the man’s body in a small heavy bush, I sprint back to my perch and wait for the second wolf to appear. It wasn’t long before I saw the second woman of our group slowly moving around the trees. Waiting until she steps near where I had hidden my first target before I shot a dart into her shoulder. I watch as her body slowly falls into the brush.
I had two of the nineteen wolves already out and I was just warming up. The dart had enough anesthetic to knock a werewolf out for a full week. Over the next four days, I managed to collect all but two of the other recruits. It took me three hours to track down the biggest guy in the group. I would have to credit his mistake of staying in the same place twice. I guess he never learned how to properly hide his scent because I could smell him a half a mile away.
Crouching in the shadows, I watched him for several minutes before shooting him. I was slowly carrying his body back to where I had stashed the others when I came across the tracks of the last person. Laying his body on the pile, I turn around and double back to the tracks. Climbing into a huge oak tree, I wait patiently for my prey to show themselves. Glancing at my watch, I knew that if I didn’t find and dart the only person beside me standing in about five hours, then it would be the two of us joining the Council’s assassins.
What do you think Jess. Should we just sit back and let them in? I ask her, but she didn’t answer me. A small flash of black weaves behind a tree to my right. Slipping further back behind the leaves, I slow my heartbeat and breathing down. Double checking the air, I couldn’t catch any were scent. I see another flash of black and I slowly turn my head right. The man stays protected by the tree but I catch a glimpse of his shoulder.
The hours start to slowly tick by, and I was getting a little stiff from sitting on a limb. As I sat in that tree I realized that in just three days, I would be turning 29. I let myself travel back through time to the parties that Dylan and Dan would throw for me. I had tried talking them out of giving me one, seeing as how I hadn’t really celebrated my birthday since I was fifteen, but they wouldn’t be persuaded to do otherwise. So, I did the only thing I could do, I let them plan and organize the parties.
Before I know it, the remaining time it up and I hear cars approaching. Staying on my perch, I watch as four black SUVs pull into the small clearing to my left. The cars come to a quick stop and the councilmen slowly step out. Dylan’s cousin, Councilman Colt, pulled a bullhorn from inside the car. “Alright recruits. Time’s up, please come forward.” The guy in the black shirt shot out from behind the tree and into the clearing before the councilmen. Minutes fly by and no one else steps out.
“Well, I guess you’re the only one…” I lean forward and jump off the limb, landing right behind the male wolf who I had been watching for the last five hours. “No, sir. He’s not the only one left, I am. You’ll find the other eighteen not too far from the big evergreen lying in a pile in some brush where I’ve put them.” Feeling someone watching me, I keep my face on the councilmen. “Could you please tell whoever’s behind me, staring at me to stop?” A faint heartbeat reaches my ears and I smile briefly. “Oh, and tell him that I can hear his heart.” The seconds I utter the words, the heartbeat stops, making me curious as to who the mystery person or were-creature is.
Colt chuckles softly while the other members of the Council look at me a little shocked. Shrugging their looks off, I turn to the guy beside me. Extending my hand, I flash him my trademark grin, ice cold and sharp. “I’ve had you in my sights for the past five hours, and I’ve could have taken you out at any moment. But I decided to let you stay. It’s no fun when you don’t have to hunt for your mark; it’s unprofessional if you don’t give them a head start.”
“I could feel someone watching me, but I couldn’t pinpoint where you were. It’ll be a pleasure working with you Blizzard.” Nodding once, I ask him his name. “Cotton, Marcus Cotton.”
“I think I’ll call you Mark.” Cotton jerks his head around to stare at me, but I make my face a void mask. I noticed that the councilmen were making arrangements to get the eighteen unconscious wolves back to the cars. Colt motioned for Mark and I to ride with him. Taking a last look behind me, I thought I saw someone slipping out of a tree. But when I blinked, the figure was gone. Brushing it off as nothing but the wind blowing the limbs, I climb into the back seat and shut the door.
Once we arrived back at the house, I made a beeline for my room. A hot shower and a good meal was calling my name. Slipping into a pair of workout shorts and a tank top, I make my way to the kitchen. I almost smiled when I saw Mark and several of the other wolves that I took out talking and eating. As I filled my plate, I listened to their conversation. “I heard that Hank was the first one to get tranqed, though I couldn’t find out who shot him.”
“I heard that it was Blizzard. Some of the others are saying that she made a trap using her scent and hid before they showed up and took them out one at a time.”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard. But Cotton here said that she was one of the last standing. Only two of the recruits this year are getting inducted: Blizzard and Cotton.”
“No way man…That means both of them took down all eighteen of us…” Mark takes a sip of his coke and speaks up. “The truth is that Blizzard took the eighteen of you down. And she had me dead to rights but chose not to shoot me. I didn’t know it, but for five hours I was in her line of sight.” I quickly made my way to a corner and sat with my back against the wall. Mark stands up, grabs his tray and makes his way over to me.
“Mind if I join you Blizzard?” I shrug and take a bite of my salad. Mark slides into the chair beside me and starts eating. I had just started on my steak when Councilman Colt walks into kitchen and makes his way to my table. “Kent, I have a letter for you from Dylan.”
“Thank you sir. How’s he doing?”
“He said he was doing alright, but he sounded tired to me.” He turned to leave. “Oh, and before I forget. You and Cotton need to report to the conference room tomorrow at six in the morning.” I nod once and he leaves. Slipping Dylan’s letter into my pocket, I quickly finish my supper. Mark was curious and I knew why. It wasn’t everyday that you witness a councilman delivering letters to recruits. Saying good night to Mark, I all but run to my room, wanting privacy to read the letter.
Dear Tami,
It’s been almost three months since we last saw each other, and I miss you terribly. I was flipping through some old pictures yesterday when I stumbled across some taken last year at your birthday party. I can remember the tongue lashing you gave me for letting Dan pick the theme, but we had a good time anyways.
That reminds me, you have a birthday coming up soon and we should do something this year. Don’t worry, I’m making the plans and it won’t be outlandish. Right this second, I’m sitting at my desk writing you because I just received a call from your father. Seems like he’s making another push for you to come and live with them in Charles’s pack. But I told him that you no longer were a member of my pack and that you were currently training for a position somewhere else, and I didn’t know where.
There’s something you should know, and I wish that I could be telling this to you face to face. Dan had a run in with that warlock two days ago. He came back to get Belle, but was stopped. They fought and Dan is now in the ICU here at the pack hospital. Doc said he’s stable right now, but he’s in a coma. I know that I should have told you when it happened, but we all thought he would heal a lot faster than he is. And I didn’t want to worry you or pull your concentration from your training.
Trust me Tami, there’s nothing you can do for him, so don’t think about dropping out just to come back. If there’s a change, I will either call you or come get you I promise. Anyway, Colt was here gathering a few things and he agreed to bring this back to you. I laughed when he told me that I should just call you or email, but I know how much you enjoy getting letters from friends. I think you once told me that each person puts a little of his or her soul in the paper each and every time they write a letter.
I just wanted to give you a heads up, and to let you know that I won’t be in town for a while. I have to go see a few councilmen in Washington. But when I get back, and if you’re not on a mission already, I’ll swing by and we’ll grab a bite to eat and catch up. Stay safe out there Tami.
Slowly folding the pages up and slipping them back into the envelope, I remove the locked box from the small safe behind the little desk and place it under the picture of my parents. Staring at their smiling faces for several seconds, I lock the box back and place it back in the safe. Turning out the lights, I crawl into my bed but lay there staring in the darkness. I had a feeling that tomorrow morning Mark and I would receive our first mission, and possibly a partner. As far as I knew, only three assassins were currently alone, but I was praying that I got picked to work with Joe. Letting my eyes close, I think of Dan, Dylan and how it used to be before everything had to get so complicated for us.