Chapter 1: Out on a mission

  She sighed the moment she reached the sanctuary of her room, she abandoned the backpack on the ground and stared at the indoor basketball court she had in her room. She picked the basketball which is lying in the corner of the half court, tilted her hands and aimed at the hoop. Releasing the basketball, she watched as the ball flew and went into the net with a swish. If there is anything she truly enjoys, it will be playing basketball, she enjoys the way the wind cuts her face, and she enjoys the thrill and excitement of shooting.

This is the exact reason why she decided to have a basketball court in her room, although her room can only fulfill the layout of a half basketball court, it is sufficient for her. She spread out on the laminated court and stared up at the ceiling, wondering why her brothers can give in to her every request but refuse to her demands of dropping out of school. Her brothers are able to skip grades and graduate from school in the shortest possible time but when she is allowed to proceed to advanced classes, her brothers vehemently refused and wanted her to stay on.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her thoughts. “Amber?”

“Yes,” she answered as the door opened revealing Hyun Joong. He smiled at her and approached her. Sitting up, she stared at her brother who took a seat on the sofa bed by the side of the court. She tilted her head as she gave her brother her full attention.

“Amber, we have another mission. But this time,” he paused and patted her head, “it is a little more complicated. I wish you don’t have to be the one to do it, but,” he paused again. “Are you very tired? Is school fine?” He diverted from the topic as he patted at the space next to him.

Getting up from the floor, she dropped herself beside Hyun Joong and closed her eyes as she placed her head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, school is fine, but I just want to move on, I just want to graduate. But what about the new assignment? Why are you so uptight about it? Aren’t you the mastermind of all?” She couldn’t resist but to take a jab at her brother.

Her brother is the mastermind, the puppet master of every assignment. He stitched every part of their execution plan so seamlessly. The one who always boast about his high intellect and his perfect plans, now he is having doubts? That is a first, so unlike him, she mused to herself.

“This time, it is a little complicated since we are unable to provide any support to you. There is too little time for me to plan everything, there is insufficient time, I can only come up with the basic plan. I don’t have a choice, Amber.” He sighed and ruffled her hair lovingly. “Let’s go down, Key and DongHae are waiting for us.” He told her, grabbing her hand to lead her down the stairs to their meeting room on the second floor of their home.

Pushing the door open, she greeted her brothers before taking her place at her beanbag beside her brothers. “Amber, are you okay? You look tired.” DongHae asked, concerned sprawled over his features as he reached out to feel her forehead, to check if she is running a temperature.

“I am fine, so what is the assignment about?” She asked, her curiousity sharpened at the sight of their uptight look when she entered. Even Key looked worried, he always prides himself on being the coolest in the family, and he always acted as if nothing scares him.

“This is the man, your target.” A picture of a man appeared on the screen with a tap of DongHae’s finger. “This is the building,” he continued as the building did a three hundred and sixty rotation on the projector screen before zooming into the interior features of the castle like mansion.

She watched, fascinated as she realized that the mansion is not merely a maze; it has an elaborate security system which probably explains why her brothers are exceptionally serious. “I will shut the lighting system, so the ballroom as well as the rest of the mansion will be total blackness. So you must find the target in exactly three minutes, understand?” Hyun Joong started as she nodded.

Three minutes should suffice, though the ballroom is huge, finding a man will be easy since such people are usually surrounded by like minded cronies. And why do they need to host such a big party? Why would anyone have such a room in their house, what a waste of space. She could have built three basketball courts on the same plot of land. Is it a habit of wealthy people?

“DongHae will make his way in when I shut down their system to fetch you out so you have exactly one minute to kill him. This is because the guards will trigger an extra security system after the blackout and that place is just like a maze so you will get lost without DongHae.” Hyun joong added as he pointed out the escape route on the screen, the pathway in which his finger touched lit up in a bright green colour.

Fascinating, must be his new invention, she thought to herself as she commits the picture of the man and the escape route to memory. 

 “Key will be waiting for you outside, no fanciful exit this time, understand?” Hyun Joong sighed before continuing, “The guards and butlers are trained assassins like us, they will not hesitate to take down anyone suspicious, so please take care of yourself.”

It was then she realized how much Hyun Joong looked like her father, or rather, the way he behaves eludes fatherly concern. Sometimes she wonders if it is due to his responsibilities, he being the eldest and thus has to take care of the whole family, it is tough on him. And she can understand why he is constantly harping on her safety, due to the lack of time; he is unable to come up with a comprehensive plan that he is sure of protecting her safety. If anything happens to her, she is sure Hyun Joong, as well as the rest of her brothers will kill themselves over it, well, this is the overprotected life she is leading under her brothers.

“I will take care of myself, so it is held as a masquerade party?” She asked a pathetic attempt at foiling the tense atmosphere in the room. Perhaps it is due to her being the youngest in the family; her brothers had always treated her like a child, even more so now. Sometimes, she just wished that she is able to prove her worth, prove that she isn’t a child, and prove that she is able to take care of herself.

“Yes, get ready by six.” Came the laconic reply, shooting a glance at her, his features softening as he stared into her eyes setting off a chain of nerve racking, unsettling feeling down her spine. This is going to be one hell of a ride.

-

Gracefully dancing down the steps to get the attention from everyone in the ballroom, a smile graced her lips as her heels making a soft sound every time she took a step, resulting in the crowd below to turn their heads in her direction. Her new, long cascading brown hair hang over her shoulders and down to her waist as she turned her head, scanning the room as she sought for her target. The dark black gown that Key promised will be the centre of attention and made her wear made her stood out from the other females in the room.

Guess what, he is right.

Her smile widen as she caught her target approaching her on his own accord after some prodding and pushing from the people around him. A small frown flitted through her face and vanished before anyone realized it as she recognized her target’s face since he is the only one who is not wearing a mask. Nodding politely to the butler who offered her a glass of champagne from his tray, she picked one up and took a sip from it as she smiled at the target that is now beside her.

Three, two, one, and lights off.

Exactly on cue, screams resounded in the room where she bent down to remove the dagger that was bound to her thigh. Swiftly, she delivered a deathly blow to the man’s chest by plunging the dagger into his ribcage where his heart is supposed to be. A male scream can be heard, an addition to the high pitch screams in the room, it lasted for three seconds before ending with a gag as she moved her dagger to slit his throat as an extra precaution to ensure her mission is completed. Just when she was about to use his shirt to wipe his blood off her dagger, she felt a firm hand on her elbow pulling her away. She frowned, her dagger is going to be dirty, she doesn’t like the smell of blood on her dagger but couldn’t resist her brother’s pulling and nudging.

Catching the black shirt that was thrown to her, she struggled to remove her gown and put on the shirt while making their escape. Ripping the black gown off herself, she saw DongHae shoving it in his backpack and pulling out a gun and handing it to her. Dragging her down the chain of doorways, he meanders through them so swiftly, so quickly that it made her nauseous. Door after door, it is making her dizzy; she felt sick, the mixture of screams infiltrating her thoughts and senses as she tried to adjust to the darkness around them.

It was as if DongHae had a build in GPS system which shows him the way he is supposed to twist and turn. Trying to keep in pace with her brother, she struggled for a few more steps before tripping over her own feet. She panted heavily as her brother pulled her up to her feet, his urgent voice breaking through the screams inside her head. “Amber, are you okay? Please! A few more steps and we will be out; we are only left with one more minute.” DongHae told her as his grip loosens on her elbow.

Light flooded into their surroundings making her realize that they are in another long corridor and not in any of the rooms anymore. Hyun Joong was right, this place is a maze, and they are trapped. Her head is spinning as she got up to her feet when her brother shoved her behind him, as if he is hiding her. “Plan B,” he said in a low tone into his receiver as the four butler slowly approached them.

Disorientated but thankful for the light as her eyes adjusted to the bright light, something must have went wrong with Hyun Joong’s plan. According to DongHae, they should be in darkness for another minute or so, she is starting to worry for him. DongHae cursed as he tried to fight off their attackers while she continued to stand there as her feet remained rooted to the ground.

“AMBER!” DongHae shouted to bring her out of her reverie.

Her world continued to be a hazy red as she tried to dodge the oncoming blows from the two attackers who diverted their attention to her. Shaking her head to clear her vision, she felt as if she was about to throw up her lunch as she twirled the dagger around in her palm and changed her inertia. Her sudden change threw the two attackers off track as she delivered a retaliatory swipe at her attacker’s leg with her sharp dagger, leaving a long deep gash there. The other attacker immediately took the chance to deliver a kick to her face, hitting her face causing her to backtrack a few steps, hitting the wall behind. Her attacker stomped on her hand causing her to bite back a scream as she released her dagger.

Trying to recover, she poised herself as she rolled over to her side narrowly dodging the continuous blows while waiting for her change to strike. A jolt of pain coursed through her veins as she clasped her palm on the injured arm as if it could stop the pain or the blood. Reaching for her own gun, she attempted a shot at him but missed as the bullet merely grazed past his face, though drawing blood. As if blinded by rage, he started delivering his attack in a much rapid rate, and the kick to her stomach caught her unaware, sending her sprawling to the corner. The second attacker picked up her dagger and she felt the cool blade sliding across . As if driven by the sight of her blood, both attackers started to hit her with a vengeance as one lifted her up and threw her against one of the doors in the long corridor, blinding her with pain as she came into contact with the splintered wood.

She chewed on her lower lip to prevent herself from crying out from the pain that is wrecking her mind.  She winced; the pain that is coursing through her body, assaulting her senses made it hard for her to breathe. Her ragged breathing sounded in her ears as she winced again, every breathe hurts, every movement, every twitch hurts. She could not fight the pain much longer, despite her willpower: she had to succumb. Her world is spinning; nauseous as ever, the hazy red that is swirling before her eyes slowly turned black lulled her into a sense of comfort as she slowly embraced the welcoming soothing blackness.

-

What will happen to Amber? Will she die?

IIt's my first attempt at writing an action genre, so please tell me how did I fare. Comments will be highly appreciated! (: Let me know if you enjoyed the story, and if you have any burning questions. The more comments there are, the faster I will update (rather cliche, but true :D)