Bloody hands, dying gasps.

Sakura shut her eyes and leaned her back straight against the side of the van. Listening to the traffic outside as the vehicle maneuvered under the heavy rain to its destination. A car must have trespassed the traffic since police siren lit up following the said offender to wherever they are.

Sakura chuckled in silence when a hand shadowed over hers. With one eye open, she glanced at the figure across her seat who gave her worried eyes.

“You’ll be okay, right?” Yena’s question killed her smile and Sakura could only stare in silence, still with her one eye, at the former.

“Of course.”

I should win an Oscar for that lie.

“Okay.” Yena nodded. Despite her superb skill in detecting lies, she never even once able to detect Sakura. To her, the older woman is like an enigma. She’s like a faceted crystal ball with so many sides. Yena has learned it the hard way.

Yena handed Sakura’s beloved little girl, a customized Hardballer .45 with its ammo. She watched as Sakura’s hands twitched at the familiarity, her dainty fingers danced around the deadly weapon before it snuggled comfortably in her hand.

A streetlight peeked between the blinds and Sakura swore she saw her hand, as well as her gun, were bloody red.

It must be my imagination. Sakura shuddered, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath.

The van stopped at their destination, the back entrance of a 5-stars hotel where a party is being held on the top floor. The same kind of party three years ago. The same mission. The same target.

But different names.

“Ducky to elephant,” Yena spoke into her earpiece as she stepped off from the van followed by the rest of the agents, “the clowns have arrived in time at the zone. Proceeding with our next step in five minutes.”

“Elephant to ducky. Copy that. House party set to start in five minutes. Clowns, get into your position.”

Yena watched as the rest of the agents stepped into the building in different attires. Chefs, bellboys, waiters, securities. Anything that would help them to blend in with the peoples inside the building.

Sakura put her gloves on as she was the last to enter the building before Yena. The older didn’t spare a glance at the latter and Yena crossed her fingers behind her back, praying that the nightmare three years ago wouldn’t happen again.

“Clowns, enjoy the party.”

As soon as the voice disappeared from her earpiece, Sakura straightened her back. She located the client straight away and counted the agents nearby. Three agents with high agility, two with high speed, and two with high shooting skill. It was more than enough.

Her attention then shifted to the client. A young woman who was currently busy talking with a few important figures. As expected of the head of Kim Tech Company who had announced a new technology currently researched. The said technology was announced to be a better, more efficient way to tighten every security in the world. A perfect technology in the price of the head’s own security.

Which was the reason why the company hired the agents to guard her.

First round will wrap up soon. Sakura thought to herself, looking around for any available tray of refreshment. An employee handed her a tray and Sakura thanked him with a small nod before making her way to the client.

She studied the other agents nearby, making sure they were all on full alert in case anything bad happen. After checking the others, she smiled in content knowing that once again they’re doing the best to uphold the mission.

When she was four steps away from her client, however, a glint caught her eyes followed by a gunshot. Sakura threw the tray into an old man nearby, sprinting forward to catch her client while her left hand fished the hardballer from its holster hidden under her uniform. In two seconds, she located the culprit and shot a bullet into his shoulder.

“Miss!” Sakura dropped her gun to the floor, her white shirt started turning red which she didn’t pay attention to. Her main focus was the woman in her arms who was having difficulty to breathe. The bullet hit her near her heart