Elle

I dream of nothing so when my computer starts to beep, I’m pulled from sleep and feeling refreshed. I scramble from the bare bed so quickly that my knife clatters to the floor. I need to answer my computer before it disconnects or I’ll be in a world of pain. I ignore my t-shirt; I know who is calling and he’s seen me in worse states of dress than this. I manage to find my computer at the bottom of my bag; I flip it open and press the answer button just as the call starts to disconnect. A loading bar appears on the small screen so I drop my bare ass onto the worn flooring and cross my legs, while I wait for the video to start up, I uncurl my hair from the bun and brush it out with my fingers. I’m braiding it when my watcher comes into view; the video is distorted at first but he starts pressing some buttons and soon his image is as clear as if he were sitting right in front of me. Francis is getting old; his hair is more grey than black, he has lines on his face that he didn’t have when I was child and the slump to his shoulders tells me the weight of his age is starting to weigh him down. His red eyes shine brightly, which tells me he’s recently taken his serum; at this point he’s probably taking it to keep himself strong and not for the added strength in battle. I have several of the veils myself. It makes me as fast as a shifter and as strong as a warrior; it also protects me against the radiation that soaked our planet long before I was born. One shot every fourteen days keeps me standing on two feet and able to continue my fight. 

“Good work with Leopold Braid; many women thank you for taking him off the board.” I know Francis doesn’t mean to fill me with praise but that’s exactly what his words do. I watched Leopold for days and what I saw was a monster that didn’t deserve to draw breath. He had warehouses filled with containers and in each one was a woman waiting for the next client she never asked for. If a woman decides to whore herself out for money, then that's her choice, but if someone like Leopold forces them into that life, then I’ll be there to set them free. 

“He was an easy mark; how about a challenge? You know I prefer the shifters over the humans.” I keep my eyes cast down just as protocol demands; if I look Francis in the eyes, he might see it as a direct challenge. I made the mistake of looking directly into the eyes of a watcher once before; I was fifteen and he beat me so badly that it took seven surgeries and nearly a year for me to gain the ability to walk again. The Academy has rules and if they’re broken, the punishment is swift and effective. 

“I thought you might say that. Octavia still hasn’t killed the Alpha in sector twenty-three; you could always head down there and take the bounty for yourself.” As Francis speaks, a little beep draws my attention to the bottom of the screen; it's the same file I’ve already looked at, but it looks like someone has added more information because it's bigger now. 

“Alpha Gideon, right?” I ask him, I’m still not keen on travelling that far for such a low bounty but if I have a chance to see Octavia again, it might be worth it. Francis doesn’t say anything as I scan the file; the bounty has been tripled since I last looked at it and more images of the Alpha have been uploaded. I flick them aside with my finger; I’ll look at them when I don’t have an audience. I’m more focused on his crimes. It's not every day a two-million-gold bounty comes out of The Academy which means this Alpha Gideon must have some serious demons locked within his Pack. 

“He’s top priority, Elle. We need him taken out as soon as possible; if you can’t do it, then we will have to send in the judge.” I shiver as Francis issues that threat. The judge is the only male to go through The Academy, he’s kept in chains most of the time because he’s more monster than man. I heard some of the watchers say he lost his soul when the radiation morphed his mind but I think he just enjoys the feel of blood on his hands. We women call him the cleaner because everytime he’s sent in, no one is left alive for miles.

“I’ll take the job but I need more serum and ammunition. If Octavia hasn’t taken him down from a distance, then I’m going to have to get close.” I hate up-close fights with Alphas, but sometimes it's needed and something tells me I’m going to earn every gold disc coming my way. 

“I’ll send the coordinates. Don’t let me down, Elle.” Francis disconnects the video and the room is filled with silence. I grab the shirt that I tossed onto the floor last night and cover my body before digging into the guts of the file. Octavia has filled it with information, which means less recon for me. Alpha Gideon is in his late thirties; he’s an active member of his Pack and from what my old friend can tell, he hasn’t got a mean bone in his body. 

“We’ll see about that.” I mutter to myself as I close the file and pull up The Academy’s search engine. Alpha Gideon has some dark secrets and I’ll find them before he feels my blade.