The Mission of the Heart Ch. 03

"Seems like you can't live without me, huh?"

"Yep, that's it." I can feel her grinning on the other line.

"Well don't you worry," I said, still smiling. "I feel the same way."

Whoa, where did that come from?

"Yea?"

"Yea, why not? It seems boring to be just your friend. So why not be a secret superhero, too?"

She giggled again, "You're a dork! Anyway, when you're all better, we should have a girl's night at my place. Just you and me. Besides, you haven't talked about your love life at all, missy!"

"I told you," I said. "There's nothing really to talk about!"

"Uh-huh, suuuure," she said. "I got to go. I'll call you later, yea?"

Smiling like a schoolgirl talking to her football quarterback crush, I said, "Of course." With a click, she was gone. Immediately, I frowned.

"So," I said gravely. "You know why you're here."

I picked up my gun, and looked at the gagged and tied man sitting on the chair in front of me. He shivered at the look of my eyes, squirming to get out. I stood up, and pointed the gun on his thigh.

"You know what's great about this hotel room? Unlike any hotel rooms?"

He shook his head in fear.

I brought my head near his face and whispered, "It's completely soundproof."

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Later on that night, I immediately infiltrated Charlie's house and hid on top of the roof, waiting for any disturbances to happen. The man I "interrogated" told me some professional men were ready to break into her house. Well we can't have that now, can we?

I had my full gear on; from my balaclava and night goggles, to my suit, to my M-160 Assault Rifle. Everything. I was all set for the night.

Sighing, I slowly sneaked to be on top of Charlie's room, and sat on the cold roof. Grunting, I gently massaged my sore side, and slowly laid myself down. Putting on my headphones, I listened through them for any disturbances (I put multiple microphones in her house, especially her room). I lifted my night goggles up. Then, I waited, and waited for what the night was about to bring me.

I slowly closed my eyes, completely focused on everything around me plus listening through the headphones. Years of patient and hard training, I mostly mastered the art of listening, but I never did find out what the significance of it until I was finally assigned to my first assignments.

The moon was up and high, like a spotlight shining upon the Earth. I loved the moon. Even though there are some evils in the world, looking at the moon always calmed me down. I smiled under my mask.

"Help!"

Frowning, I sat up quickly, and crawled to the edge to find the disturbance from below. Men were scrambling here and there in confusion. I listened closely to my earphones and heard Charlie scrambling in her room, and walking to her balcony. Idiot, I thought to myself. Stay in your room!

But, of course, she didn't. She went to her balcony with her light blue robe, curious what was happening below. Slowly, I crawled backwards to be hidden.

"What's going on?" I heard her say under her breath, wrapping her body to shield herself from the cold. She leaned over to get a better view; the men all huddled by the gate. Idiots!

Something's wrong, I thought to myself. It doesn't add up. If these so-called killers were to get their hands on Charlie, why are they approaching the front door? I put my night-vision goggles on, which can be a magnifier also. There was a truck parked in front of the gate. As far as I know, there was no one inside, but the truck engine itself was running.

Then, a soft knock. Charlie turned around and jogged to the bedroom door and I listened intensely. I heard the door open, and a shuffling sound outside of it.

"We're sorry about the disturbance ma'am," a man said, assumed to be one of the guards. "But we'll take care of it."

Wait a minute.

"Good," Charlie said with a sigh of relief. "I thought something serious was going on down there!

Wait just one goddamn minute.

"It is okay, ma'am," another man said with a very rusty Italian accent. "It will all end soon."

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered under my breath, as I stood up and jumped down stealthily onto the balcony. The accent, why didn't I catch that earlier? Why couldn't I stop them before they knocked on Charlie's door?

A muffled screamed erupted in my eardrums, and I immediately burst through the balcony door, my silenced gun in my hand pointing at the three men surrounding Charlie. One of the men spotted me, and shouted something in Italian through his walkie-talkie. The electricity went off, and multiple shots were fired in many directions. I took cover, and hid behind a couch, swearing silently under my breath.

You're losing your fucking touch, I thought to myself. Putting my goggles in night vision, I quickly took a double take and started firing back. One of the men started dragging Charlie out of her room, but she elbowed him on the ribs and got out within his reach.

Get out of here, I thought to myself as I shot one of the men square on the head. Get out of here, Charlie!

But the thing about Charlie is she's stubborn. Every time we would go out to eat, she insists to pay for our meal. Imagine my shocked expression behind my mask when I saw her elbow a guy in the temple. Oh dear god, I thought to myself. I shot the guy multiple times on the torso, and she looked at my way, a scared look on her face. Instinctively, I looked at her through my night goggles, my body refusing to move. God, I thought to myself. She's beautiful.

Suddenly, the last guy behind her bear hugged her, and she gave a big yelp. She began thrashing her body, furniture and decorations crashing down around her. I couldn't get a clear shot because there were a lot of movements. A little frustrated sound erupted from the back of my throat.

The man became aware of my presence, and began looking at my way. He grabbed Charlie with one arm, and put a gun on her temple. She froze, completely aware that she was being held hostage.

"Come out!" he bellowed thickly, pressing the barrel harshly on Charlie's temple. She whimpered, streams of tears flowing freely down her cheeks. I stopped breathing for a second. It has been a while since I was involved in a hostage situation and the last time I engaged in one didn't have a favorable outcome. Trying to analyze the after results, I couldn't help but to stare at Charlie fully vulnerable and scared. I wanted to massacre the man holding her more than anything else.

"Come out or I kill her!" he shouted. I can see his brown eyes full of anger, his brows smothered in sweat.

Silently, I argued to myself if I should come out or not. If I do, who's to say he won't shoot me right on the spot? If I don't, what would happen to Charlie? And many other questions. Decisions, decisions, decisions...

"Please..."Charlie whispered, her hands shaking by her sides. "Please help m-"

"Shut up!!"

I slowly got up, and walked towards them, my gun pointed straight to the man. I couldn't get a clear shot since he was hiding behind Charlie. Bastard. Even though the lights were out, the moon brought a little light in the room. Charlie held her breath, as my familiar appearance appeared before her.

The man tensed, and growled," Drop the gun. Drop it now!"

I hesitated, and kept my ground a few feet from them. Glaring through my goggles, I gritted my teeth. I could feel my heart pumping in anger, my mind focused on killing the man only and to kill him in the painful way as possible. But more importantly, I wanted Charlie as safe as possible.

"I swear I will kill h-"

Then, with a daring move, Charlie moved the barrel away from her temple, and stomped the man's toes. The gun went off, and Charlie screamed on top of her lungs, making her fall before me. Taking the chance, I shot multiple times at the man's direction, but he was smart. He hid behind the door, reloading his gun. I shot at his direction, but failed to shoot him. The gun clicked as I pulled the trigger, indicating I needed to reload. Shit, I thought to myself. I dropped the gun, and started to pull for my other one. But at that same moment, the man was pointing the gun at Charlie, and he was ready to shoot.

Fight or flight, and I decided to fight hard. The Agency always trained us based on fast decisions in order to make our mission a success. I looked at Charlie, on her stomach shaking by my side. She looked up and saw the man, whimpering when she saw him point the gun at her. Automatically, I dove down in front of Charlie, a shot was fired and the bullet made contact to my chest.

"Ugh!" I groaned in pain. The man stupidly stepped into the room, and I made the shot immediately to his head. He didn't even made a sound as his body fell to the floor. Painfully, I rolled onto my back and panted silently to myself. Gently, I placed my hand on my chest checking if the bullet went through. Thank god for bulletproof vests, I thought to myself. But my right side was another story.

I silently whimpered in pain as my hand grasped my side, the same side the man from a couple of days ago stabbed me at. As my body lay there on the floor in pain, Charlie was already kneeling beside me, looking over me. A bit panicked, I tried sitting up, but her soft hand pushed my chest down to the floor.

"Who are you," she whispered to herself more than to me. "Who are you?"

I didn't say anything as I lay there breathing deeply in front of her. Under the moonlight, she was still beautiful, but I can see uncertainty in her eyes. Her light brown hair was a mess, but it looked so sexy on her. Her robe slightly came undone, and I can see she was only wearing a tank top and underwear under it. Beautiful was an understatement because she was beyond its mere definition.

I started getting up, but then saw a gun pointed to my face. And Charlie was holding it.

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("Get in there, you piece of shit!" the guard yelled as the he threw the prisoner into the cell. The prisoner's body made contact with the ground harshly, a small crack can be heard a mile away. The prisoner didn't make noise. Just a small grunt, barely audible.)

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"I told you, do not report anything!" Charlie said to the guards outside her door. "You've already done your job, plus you got the bodies out of my room. Just tell the police it was just a simple break in gone wrong."

"But what about the one over there?" the guard said, looking at my direction. Charlie looked at my way, and waved the guards off.

"I'll take care of it," she said impatiently. "But, I swear, if you report this-"

"We get the message," the same guard said. "We'll leave you alone."

And with that, Charlie closed the door hastily. She then turned around and glared at me. The electricity was still off, but one of the guards brought an electrical lantern into the room. It felt like a spotlight that was directed at me.

So there I was, sitting on Charlie's table chair while my hands are handcuffed behind it. All my weapons and gadgets were taken away from me, except for my mask and suit. I glared back at her, but didn't make a sound. But inside, I was in a huge amount of pain. My side wasn't cooperating with me, and I grimaced at the knife-feeling pain it caused me.

She had all my guns, and they were all laid out on the bed. She looked at me with complete curiosity and carried one of my guns. Then, she slowly sat on the bed in front of me, her eyes never leaving mine. Fidgeting, she leaned over to me and I slowly raise an eyebrow at her.

"Look," she said in a serious tone. "We can either do this the hard way or the easy way. What should it be?"

A smile crawled on my lips. Did she know who she was talking to? I didn't say anything, but continued to look at her. She slightly curled her lips downward, frowning. Even when she was mad and frustrated, she still looked stunning as always. Squinting her eyes at me, she put her creamy hand on my jaw, slightly tugging on my mask. With horror, I moved my head away for the fear of her discovering who I really was.

"No," I whispered, my eyes looking at the floor but her hand never leaving my jaw. "No."

"Oh?" she said curiously. "What happens if I see the person behind this mask?"

With that, she slowly began to lift my mask up. I winced away, turning my head violently all the way to the left. "No," I whispered firmly.

"How about you fucking tell me what's going on then," she said in authority, "or I will fucking remove your mask. Do I make myself clear?" With that, she put a bit of pressure on my right side, my teeth gritting in pain. I turned to her once again, my eyes glaring into hers. She shifted uncomfortably, and unconsciously leaned backwards. She's still afraid of me, I thought to myself. But didn't want to show it.

"Untie me," I whispered, slightly leaning forward," and I promise you I will tell you what you want to know."

She tilted her head to her right with uncertainty and crossed her arms. "How do I know you're not lying?"

With that, I leaned back and said," Because I just saved your life."

Please just let me go, I thought desperately to myself. Please. As I tried looking at anything in the room except Charlie's gaze, I heard her get up and pace around the room. I pulled on my handcuffs weakly, but the overwhelming pain in my side made my whole body go limp. I can feel myself getting slightly out of breath, and dizzy again. As my head sagged downwards, I cried out in pain, whimpering. Let me go, I thought to myself. Let me go.

"Let-" I gasped. "L-let me g-"

I whimpered again, shaking out of desperation, trying to keep myself under control. Over all the missions I got assigned to, I never let anyone show my weaknesses, not even when I was in pain. But this was different, obviously. Taking a breath, I looked around, and found Charlie at my right side, looking at me with concern. Curiously, she reached her hand out and laid it flat on my side, making my body tremble in pain. Tears were beginning to form in my eyes, but I tried blinking them away.

"Are you hurt...?" she asked softly, massaging my side as she kneeled.

I didn't answer, but my body language gave it away. Literally, my body became tense, petrified. It was no use, I was the one being handcuffed to a chair. Turning my head and meeting her gaze, I gave her a pleading look, an expression I never thought I would wear.

"Please," I whispered firmly. "Just let me go."

We looked at each other for a couple of seconds, but felt like an hour. I could easily get lost under her gaze. Blinking a couple of times, I answered truthfully, "I need s-some medical aid."

She looked at me carefully, her mind full in thought. I analyzed the possibility of me getting out alive tonight and the result was pretty disappointing. Either she lets me go, I die, or I stay handcuffed for the rest of the night. God, anything but the last scenario. Charlie cursed under her breath and stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. I looked down to my toes, and felt Charlie's hand on the handcuffs. With the click, they landed softly on the carpeted floor.

Immediately, I put my hands on my side, grunting. I let my gaze linger to Charlie, who was cautiously walking to the bed getting my gun. I painfully stood up, and she grabbed the gun like a child would to a teddy bear.

But the odd thing was...I wasn't afraid. I love her gaze. Over the months we became close, I always would fall under her gaze and her lips while she talked. And her mind? It was brilliant. She was beautiful inside and out, which scared me. I never felt anything like this before, I was in an unknown territory. But at the same time, it intrigued me. She intrigues me and tonight, I was about to go deeper into this...territory. Whatever it is.

I looked at her with a pleading look in my eyes, my body unconsciously walked towards her. What the hell are you doing! My mind screamed with comments and criticisms, but for the first time, I completely shut off my left lobe. Because overall, I wanted her.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, raising the gun to my head. I still kept on walking, while gingerly taking off my clammy gloves. She was addicting to look at. The way she moved, talked, everything. With every step, I can feel my body becoming weaker and weaker, not because of my injury. No, this was something else. Something deeper.

I stopped as the barrel made contact between my eyebrows, my hand slowly reaching her. To my surprise, she didn't move or flinch, but stood frozen like a statue. Slowly, I pushed the loaded gun aside, my stare digging into her eyes. Airily, I let the back of my hand softly glide up her arm, and she shivered in response, her skin shaking under mine.

With my other hand, I glided one finger across the barrel, and slowly took it out of her hand and gently laid it on the floor after I put the safe lock on. Slowly I stood up, my head looking upwards.

With her grassy-green eyes wide open, she let her hands fidget unconsciously. She had her full attention on me. I walked even closer to her, our heads only an inch or two apart. She held her breath and walked backwards a step.

Not wanting her to feel threatened or uncomfortable in any way, I stood my ground.

"What about you? Are you hurt?" I whispered with concern, not recognizing my own shaky voice. She replied with a shake of her head, while covering herself up by wrapping her arms around her chest. I held my breath and looked down shyly.

"I, uh," I said softly, my hands at my back. "I suggest making the security even tighter around here. Maybe even interviewing each and every one of your security guards, uh, in person just in case."

She looked at me with full curiosity, but remained cautious of my presence. Slowly, I went to her bed and gingerly started picking my stuff up. As I was about to put my vest on, I felt a soft hand on my right shoulder. I froze, then whipped my head to the right.

Charlie, alarmed, stepped back. With full courage, she walked to me again and helped me put all of my equipment on. I looked at her (with a shocked expression underneath the mask) affectionately. I can feel she was forcing herself to be even nearer to me judging from her trembling hands.

Shyly, I whispered, "Thank you."

She shook her head, and looked at me intensely.

"No..." she whispered back, cupping my face with her hands. "Thank you."

At that moment, I was completely hypnotized by her eyes. I felt numb, and I couldn't breath. Then slowly, she started to lift my mask. My brain shouted to stop her, but my body wouldn't respond.

She stopped halfway, only revealing the lower half of my nose and my full lips. Biting her lower lip, she leaned in to me, and brushed her lips on my cheek. It was the sweetest sign of affection I have received in my life.

I put my hand on hers, while the other shakily glided up her fore arm. She shivered again, and let her lips linger on my cheek longer than necessary. Gulping, I decided to bite the bullet and stepped closer to her. She stepped back, shaking, but her eyes told me to keep on going.

I walked forward, she stepped back. I walked forward again and again, and she stepped back until her back made contact to the wall. I stepped even closer, until my body slightly pressed against hers.

She took a gulp of fresh air, as she looked at me. Challenging me. I can feel the heat radiating from her body, a drop of sweat glided down her forehead. I brushed a strand of her light brown hair, as her eyes darted back and forth from my eyes to my exposed lips.

I gritted my teeth together, then boldly pressed my lips to hers softly, brushing them to hers.

"Any day, I would gladly give my life in order to save yours ..." I whispered intimately. I felt a puff of air coming out from her mouth, while she shut her eyes closed. She trembled. Boy, did she tremble. I couldn't tell if it was from fear or something else, but I realized I crossed the line.