Not a single Bisomote citizen looked her way. Mallea had mastered the art of blending in with a crowd and not looking suspicious. A few blocks away from the Drazah compound gate, she made a wide berth to the mountain on the west side and climbed to get a view from above. For the next hour, the would-be assassin watched the patrols. She recognized every one of the guards, and made sure that the information she had studied matched reality. There were a few minor discrepancies, but overall it had been quite accurate intel.
She was waiting for a certain guard, a known smoker, to begin having a coughing fit. This would mean he would need to go get a drink of water, leaving a very small opening for just a few seconds. It took longer than she expected, making her start to wonder if it was ever going to happen, but eventually, the moment came. Mallea didn’t hesitate. She bolted down the mountain, and when she was still quite a distance from the wall, she leapt.
The girl soared across the dark sky, just barely clearing the wall. Once she got fully across, she grabbed onto the lip of the wall’s edge, bringing her to a complete stop as she dangled. She dropped down and hid against the wall. The next big issue to deal with was the searchlights. There were quite a lot of them, but their movements were predictable. Mallea got on all fours and started to shimmy across the grass. Thanks to her small body and aptitude for stealth, she avoided all of them rather easily.
As she got closer to the mansion, the infiltrator started to hear voices. It seemed the servants were all walking to the front gate, done with their work for the day. This was good. With the exception of a few guards and a single general servant, only the Drazahs would be left in the mansion itself. Once Mallea got to the side of the mansion, she crept along the outside of it until she reached a specific window.
This window belonged to the room of the infant Drim Drazah. Keeper had instructed her to start with the children, since they would likely be the easiest. Even if Mallea failed to kill Eleen and Relyk, it was his belief that if their children died, it would cause a serious blow to their morale. Mallea peaked inside for just a moment, to make a mental map of the room. She caught just a glimpse of Drim resting in his crib and committed his likeness to memory from the small bit that she saw.
Before now, the girl had never actually seen him. There were never any photos of him in the videos she was forced to watch, but there had been some of his sister, Phon. Mallea knew it would be too reckless for her to enter now, and a quick check told her that the window was locked. She’d definitely need at least a solid minute to be able to sneak inside, so for now, she’d be patient. The assassin hopped up on top of the windowsill and perched herself along the thin edge. No one would be able to spot her in the darkness up there.
She leaned her ear against the wall and focused, now able to clearly hear everything inside. The girl could hear Drim breathing, and making the odd noise on occasion, but she was mostly listening for footsteps—a good amount of which still clopped lightly in the background. Some time passed, and the door to Drim’s room finally opened. “My sweet boy, I’ve come to say goodnight,” Eleen Drazah hummed softly as she entered the room. Mallea recognized her voice, and her body started to feel hot again.
What happened next almost made the infiltrator lose her balance and fall off. There was an eruption of crying. Drim had begun wailing at the top of his lungs, which felt deafening, even through the wall. She could hear Eleen let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry… Did I wake you? Just once I wish you wouldn’t cry. Mommy loves you so much, and I would give anything to know you love me back.” A few more minutes passed, and the defeated mother eventually gave up and left the room.
Mallea tracked her footsteps as they went down the hall and up the stairs. Drim’s cries had started to taper off, and finally, all was quiet. The girl slunk down off the windowsill and peered inside, making sure her assessment had been correct. She slipped a small blade, designed for glass cutting, between her fingers. After cutting away a small panel, she reached inside and undid the lock. The assassin lifted it slowly, doing her best to make sure it wouldn’t make any noise.
Once inside, she slunk into a corner of the room. If she got too close to the baby and he noticed her, he could start crying, which would definitely make the entire operation more difficult. Mallea could easily take him out from here by throwing one of her knives, but she hesitated. The idea of killing the infant wasn’t what was stopping her, but it did feel off. She just didn’t feel right about killing someone she knew absolutely nothing about. At the very least, she wanted to see him properly up close.
Mallea waited in the corner for a while longer, until Drim’s breathing returned to what it was when she was first outside the window. Each step she took towards the crib made her heart beat faster, until she was hovering over it and looking at the small pink demon. Drim was sound asleep, breathing softly. “You look so innocent…” the girl whispered as she watched him. “But I won’t be fooled. If I let you live, you’ll turn out just like them. You’ll make it so people can’t be happy.”
The assassin pulled out a dagger and moved the blade to just over Drim’s throat. She closed her eyes since she simply couldn’t bring herself to watch. That was when she felt a small amount of pressure on the tip, then heard a sudden giggle beneath it. Mallea opened her eyes again, and saw the child holding onto the dagger with a big smile on his face. “Damn it… why did you have to wake up…”
She pulled the dagger away from his grasp, which made the baby pout. He then raised both hands out to her, and smiled again. “You… you’re happy… This is the first time I’ve seen it. How can you be happy? A minute ago you were crying like you were being tortured, but now it’s like you don’t have a single care. Aren’t you afraid of me? You don’t know me, and I’m trying to kill you. Can’t you see that?”
Her target made another grab at her dagger and pouted again as she moved it out of the way. He seemed to have gotten fed up and sat upright. Drim slid to the edge of his crib, and after a lot of effort and failed attempts, managed to pull himself up on top of it. “What are you doing, tiny demon?!” Mallea yelled in a hushed volume. She nabbed one of the pillows from his crib and placed it on the ground beneath him moments before he plopped down onto it. Ahh, now I’m helping the little monster! What’s wrong with me?!
Drim started slowly crawling across the room to his pile of toys in the corner. Mallea walked over and crouched down behind him, genuinely curious as to what he was doing. Eventually, he turned back around, gripping a small plush sword. He didn’t seem quite strong enough to lift it fully, but pushed it into Mallea’s foot. “I see… so you thought my dagger was a toy and wanted to play.” Mallea lifted up the toy and poked him gently in the face with it. “Bonk.” The baby giggled again, causing conflicting emotions to stir in the heart of the one meant to kill him.
Mallea’s mind seemed to go blank for a while, but in a different manner from when she overloaded on information. The girl wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the door to Drim’s room slowly crept open. Until then, she had been so out of it that she didn’t even notice the footsteps approaching, and didn’t hear the door knob turn. Only when the small girl spoke aloud as she entered the room did Mallea snap back to reality. “Drim, I’ve come to play!”
The assassin grabbed a knife from her sleeve instinctually, and was trying to throw it, but something was blocking her movements. That’s when she noticed that Drim was sitting on her lap, holding a book. The infiltrator remembered now, she had been reading to him. Her head quickly turned to the new girl, whom she instantly recognized as Phon Drazah. Mallea was able to tell immediately that the other Drazah child had no air of innocence to her like her brother did, and the assassin would have absolutely no reservations about killing her.
But before she got the chance, “Guards!” Phon screamed.
Mallea could hear several heavy footsteps thundering towards the room. She panicked, and thought about fleeing, but Drim was making that rather difficult. A guard entered and immediately pointed a gun at her. He fired, and she could dodge it easily, but something wouldn’t let her. The girl couldn’t leave it to chance that it would hit Drim instead. Her mind fought against all the programming that had been drilled into her, how the Drazah’s were evil and needed to die, but she covered Drim and protected him with her own body.
The assassin felt a slight prick in her back, and then began to feel a bit drowsy. A dart had punctured her just below her shoulder blades, and she collapsed onto the floor.
◆◆◆
Mallea found her face dripping wet as she was rudely awoken by a bucket full of cold water. While she was waiting for the water to clear from her eyes, she immediately noted that her arms were restrained. It wasn’t just usual handcuffs either. Her limbs were fully bound together by an extreme restraint that ran the length of her appendages. It was something used on only by the most dangerous criminals. One of the people she had the pleasure of ‘playing’ with was burdened by one as well.
It seemed she was taking too long for her captors, and her hair was grabbed by its roots. Mallea’s head was pulled up, and she was forced to look at the people in the room. There was quite the audience, at least 20 people around her. And at the center of them, sitting in an elegant chair, was Eleen Drazah, with her husband, Relyk, standing by her side. All of the assassin’s weapons were laid out at the dictator’s feet.
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She bent over to pick one up, tested its sharpness with her finger, then looked at the intruder. “This is quite the selection of dangerous tools you were hiding on your body. I’m amazed you were able to conceal all of them on your small frame. You’re really quite talented. Children really shouldn’t be playing with such things, however... Tell me, what is your name?”
Mallea glared at Eleen, her body starting to burn up just at the sight of her. The desire to break out of her restraints and kill the wretched woman was overwhelming, even knowing she’d never make it out alive with all these guards around. She had already completely undone her restraints, just leaving them on to make it appear she was still bound in place. There was nothing stopping her. The assassin could certainly at least slash Eleen’s throat, and possibly Relyk’s as well before anyone noticed. Before she could act on it, though, Drim’s smiling face flashed through her mind once more.
If she went through with this, and killed his parents, she’d never be able to see it again. Something inside her really wanted to go back to him. For now, she did her best to dampen her feelings and remain calm. “Mallea…” she just barely managed to say.
Eleen stood up from her chair and walked over to Mallea. She grabbed her captive by the bottom of her chin, forcing the girl to look at her. With her other hand, the dictator lightly grazed the blade across the assassin’s face, tracing around it slowly. “You seem to hate me, Mallea. That’s nothing unusual, but I can see it in your eyes. You want to kill me, don’t you? You know it would mean your death, but you can’t help it, can you? There’s an anger inside of you that you just can’t seem to quell. I’ve seen it before… So Mallea, did this man send you?”
The woman pulled a photograph out of her front uniform pocket and held it in front of the captive’s face. Mallea’s eyes grew wide when she saw the man and couldn’t help herself from muttering, “Keeper…”
“So he’s going by Keeper now,” Eleen smirked. “Let me tell you something, Mallea. That man has been a pain in my side for years. Did you think you were the first? Oh no. You’re the latest in a long line of assassins, but you’re the only one to ever make it this far. To think he’d have the audacity to make you try to kill my children… That’s to be expected, I suppose. You see, I’ve had his daughter as my prisoner for the past several years.”
“He never told you about her, did he?” the dictator chuckled. “No, of course he didn’t. That was all part of his little ruse, wasn’t it? Treating you like a daughter, making you want nothing more than to be like a real family. Oh you poor girl, you’ve been played. You were nothing more to him than a puppet, a tool to be used for revenge. And when he was done with you, he’d toss you aside, just like the rest of his failures.”
The blade suddenly slipped from Eleen’s hand, and clunked on the floor. “Oopsie,” she played it off poorly, as if it was an accident. The woman let go of Mallea’s face, and turned around. A flood of new thoughts and emotions rushed through the assassin. There’s no way… he wouldn’t… why didn’t he tell me about his daughter… can I save her… do I want to… am I not good enough… what do I do?! As she walked away, the villain ordered a few of her guards, “Send word to have this ‘Keeper’s’ daughter killed. If he’s going to threaten my family, I will act in turn.”
Mallea’s mind went into a frenzy. Even if Keeper had not been completely honest with her, she couldn’t let his daughter be killed like this. Many sudden realizations started to burn in her mind. How poorly she had been treated, that she was essentially his prisoner, that she was tortured and forced to kill, and thought of as nothing more than his experiment. All these feelings that she had been repressing were eating her alive, but she still couldn’t help herself. It was all for Keeper, all to make him happy. Her feelings meant nothing compared to his, the one who had given her purpose in life, and she had to save his daughter for him.
In one swift motion, Mallea burst out of her bindings, grabbed the knife, leapt up onto her target’s back, and slashed at her throat. ?Stop,? rang out from Eleen’s mouth when the blade was just a hair away from cutting her skin. Mallea’s body froze entirely. She didn’t understand it, but she couldn’t move. ?Get down.? As ordered, the assassin climbed down from the woman’s body. ?Hand me the knife.? Mallea handed it over obediently.
“There’s a good girl,” Eleen smiled for a moment. “You’re a dangerous one, aren’t you? He did well training you up. I’m guessing he tinkered around with your mind as well.” The villain went and sat back down in her chair. “Oh, I lied about the daughter by the way. That was just to get you riled up, and to get the wheels turning as it were. He has no family, and no real attachments. Trust me, I’ve looked. I may have done many things people look down on, but he is right there alongside me. Your ‘Keeper’ may claim what he does is to save the world, but I can guarantee what he really wants is power and control.”
“That man wants to build an army of loyal followers and powerful soldiers, just like you. He’s more like a cult leader if you ask me, but that’s not what’s important right now. What I really want to talk to you about is my son, Drim. Do you know how many people do not make my child cry when he’s near them? I can count them on a single hand. So imagine my surprise when someone who is supposed to kill him, not only didn’t make him cry, but tried to protect him as well.” ?Explain.?
Eleen had demanded an answer in the same controlling tone that had made Mallea cease her attack. She couldn’t stop herself from talking. “I’m not completely sure… I think it’s because he was so happy. It’s something I’ve never known, and I couldn’t bring myself to take it away from him. Then I started to think that if I spent more time with him, I would be able to understand what would make me happy as well. When your guard shot at us, something I can’t explain made me want to protect him, even if it meant going against Keeper, and giving up my own life.”
“That truly is a wonder…” the mother pondered. “What if I told you I would spare your life, and let you keep seeing Drim, so that you can discover these feelings for yourself? In my opinion, there is no one better suited to protect and care for him than one whose sole purpose in life was to kill him but couldn’t.” Mallea couldn’t believe what she was hearing and tried to deduce if she was being tricked in some way. “You would become his primary caretaker, and for my daughter Phon as well. I would not force you to commit to it either. If you found your answers, or did not like the working conditions, you would be allowed to quit at any time.”
“I know this must be shocking for you, and you may find it hard to understand my reasoning, but I’m at my wits end, you see. I want nothing more than for my son to be happy, and as a mother, it's the hardest thing for me to accept that I might not be able to give that to him myself. Bring Drim in,” Eleen raised her voice, and then the door to the room opened. Phon Drazah walked into the room, carrying her brother inside.
“What do you think of Miss Mallea, Phon?” the woman asked her daughter.
“I think she’s a creepy intruder, and we can’t trust her,” the girl hissed. “But it is true that Drim didn’t cry, and he seemed to enjoy being with her.” Phon clenched one of her fists while she said this, as if it pained her to do so.
Eleen stood up once more, and took Drim from his daughter and held him in her arms. The baby immediately burst out into his deafening cry. His mother walked around the room, holding Drim near every one of her allies and staff. “You see, he will not stop crying, no matter who he’s near,” the mother wallowed with a defeated exhaustion in her voice. “And then we get to you.” As soon as the baby was near the assassin, his crying dampened immensely, and he started reaching out to her.
“Go on, take him.” Eleen’s voice sounded surprisingly sweet now. Mallea picked him up and cradled him. Drim immediately wrapped his small arms around her neck and smiled. “He was worried about you, y’know. When you were knocked out he didn’t want to leave your side, and tried his best to shake you awake. I could be completely wrong about trusting you, but I would do anything for my son’s happiness.”
The girl’s heart felt warm and calm. There was no trace of the rage or hatred that had plagued her before. Maybe this is what happiness is, she thought to herself.
“There is one problem with all of this,” Eleen cut into Mallea’s blissful peace. “Your beloved Keeper. He will not stop. He will try over and over to kill us, to kill Drim. He will do anything to accomplish it, despicable things like he did to you, but to the next lab rat he can find. As long as that man is alive, Drim will never be safe. The next one of you will come along and do what you couldn’t. Would you be able to stop them, Mallea? Knowing they work for him, that it is his wish to see Drim die?”
“I need your help, Mallea,” the mother confided in her. “I need to stop him, so that my child can be safe and happy. I will not ask you to kill him. No, I just need you to guide us. If you do that, I will give you your freedom. You could stay as Drim’s caretaker, or you could go and try to find your own happiness out there in the world.”
“I’ll do it,” Mallea committed without hesitation as she hugged the baby tight. There were many conflicting emotions and thoughts running through her head, but there were two things she knew for certain. She wanted to keep Drim safe, and she needed to confront Keeper and get answers. The lab rat wasn’t quite sure what she’d do once she saw him, but figured she’d decide in the moment.
“Very good.” A sinister grin stretched across the villain’s face. “Phon, take Drim back to his room and then go to bed, mommy needs to talk shop.” The daughter did as instructed: eagerly took Drim from Mallea, gave her a smug look, and left the room. “I would like to introduce you to someone, Mallea,” Eleen walked near one of the guards in the room. “This is my head of security.”
The dictator took the blade she had confiscated earlier and stabbed him right in the heart. “You failed me more than anyone else ever has,” she screeched as she stared at the man in the eyes. After pulling the blade back out of his body, blood began to pool out as the man stumbled. Eleen threw the blade to the failed assassin’s feet. “Congratulations, Mallea, you just killed the Drazahs.”
◆◆◆
Mallea walked through the dark streets of Bisomote with bloody knife in hand. There was no one around to see her, so she didn’t feel the need to hide it. After going over the details with Eleen, she was allowed to leave the estate to meet up with her contact at the hotel. The girl was aware of the many people tailing her, but didn’t let it bother her since she was still so wrapped up in her own thoughts.
When she got to the hotel, she met a man who seemed astonished to see her. When he saw the knife, he began praising her like a hero, just as Keeper had foretold. Soon after, the man began escorting her back to the bunker. During the entire trip, Mallea didn’t say a single word. When they got to their destination, Keeper was waiting outside. He gave Mallea a big hug and took her inside.
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Do you think killing a dictator's children is justified?
