Chapter One

Chapter One

Present day

Samantha felt a stab of pain run up her leg. Another wound. She had to find cover. Sami hefted up her gun, as if to protect herself. She ran to the nearest tree and straightened her back against the trunk. She was out of breath and out of options. She willed herself to calm down and think. She examined the forest around her.
Sami was in a dense forest with think foliage all around. Three guys were out there, hiding, trying to find her and take her out.
    “Three against one…” Sami muttered.
    “You think too much, Sami.”  Said a voice from somewhere in the forest. It sounded close.
    Sami went on alert. She took a step forward. “Yeah? You think so?”  She called out.
She heard laughter. Whoever it was, sounded like they was enjoying themselves. “In this game, thinking only slows you down. You just have to act.”
    Sami crept forward slowly; trying to find the voice while it talked. She stopped suddenly. There, protruding from a bush was the point of a gun. There was a flicker of a smile as Sami slowly lifted up her gun to fire. Even though she couldn’t see him she knew that if she shot in the general direction of the gun she would hit something.
    “Gotcha.”  She smiled as she began to squeeze the trigger.
    “No, I got you.”  Said someone behind her.
    Sami didn’t even have enough time to look behind her. She felt the impact of the projectile hit the back of her head. She fell forward, face first, into the soft dirt. Samantha Brown had lost. Game over.
    The person who had shot her was laughing. It was Matt. Her worst opponent. He had dark brown short hair and dark brown eyes. Matt was in his early twenties. His thin face was covered with a paintball mask with a dark orange visor. Matt looked down at Sami. She wasn’t moving.
    “Come on, Sami. You can stop playing dead.” Matt said as he rolled her over with his boot.
Sami folded her arms across her chest and stared at Matt. “Yeah, thanks for the shot to the head. That’s going to take forever to wash out.”
    Matt was her worst opponent…at paintball.
    He shrugged his shoulders, “I could have shot you in the back, but that wouldn’t have been as funny.”
    Sami got up from the forest floor and reached up to feel the spot where Matt had shot her. She pulled back her hand to find it covered with blue paint. “Great! It’s blue! You know, if this stains my hair I’m going to kill you.” Sami looked around the lush forest. “Where are the others?”
    “They already started heading back.” He said as he picked up the paintball gun that Sami had seen from the bush. Matt started to walk in the general direction of the forest exit. Sami following, quietly.
    Matt lived out in the country and had the perfect forest for paintball. Samantha came over once in a while to play. To her it was practice and exercise to her friends it was just a game.
    Sami was seventeen, about to turn eighteen in a few months. She was British and lived in the London, her accent was slightly thicker then the normal English accent. She had light auburn hair that was just above her shoulders. She was a little on the short side but she never let that bother her. Her eyes her a dark hazel. Sami was very fit and athletic.
    Matt and Sami exited the forest. Tyler and Isaiah were standing by Matt’s truck waiting for them. As Matt and Sami neared the truck, Sami’s cell phone rang.
    It wasn’t a number she had seen before. “Hello?” Sami said.
    It was a woman on the other end. She was panting hard. “Is this Samantha Brown?”
    “Yes…” Sami stepped back from the others to get some privacy. She knew what the woman wanted. It was a job offer. Samantha Brown was a mercenary.
People called her giving her different jobs then they would pay her once the job was finished. Some people called asking her to take out someone. Others to find out information. Easy stuff. But when she is older, twenty to be exact, she will be a full on hitman…or woman. Twenty, to Sami seemed a far way off.
    “I need your help, and quickly. I need you to-” The woman was talking very fast.
    “Whoa, slow down. I’m not doing anything until I hear about payment.” Sami wasn’t trying to sound rude. She had to make a living somehow.
    “Right, sorry. I’m willing to pay whatever. But please, we must hurry. Will you help me?”
     Sami couldn’t believe what she just heard. This lady would pay anything?! Sami could get some big bucks with this job. “Okay, I’m in. Now just give me the general information. I can take care of the rest.” Sami pulled a small notepad and pencil. She always kept it in her back pocket just for one of these quick jobs. “Who am I killing?”
    “No one!!” The woman about screamed. She let out a sigh. “I was told you do ‘protects’?”
    Sami stuck out her tongue even though the lady couldn’t see her. A ‘protect’ job was where someone had a hitman or bounty hunter after them. These people would hire mercenaries to protect them until the threat was taken care of. Not Sami’s favorite type of job, she preferred the ones where there was lots of fighting and action. But, ‘protect’ jobs did pay a lot. And Sami could use some extra cash.
    “Yeah, I do ‘em.”
    The woman breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Thank goodness! What information do you need?”
    “Just name, address and a quick description.”
    “His name is Wesley. Wesley Adams.  He’s about seventeen with brown hair. And I don’t know where he lives.”
    Sami quickly jotted down the name. “You don’t know where he lives?”
    “No…” Was all the lady said.
    Sami shrugged her shoulders, “Well, I can’t protect anyone if I can’t find ‘em!”
    “I know. But I don’t have his address. Can’t you just go to your informant and ask them?”
    “I could but it cost me to get information.” Sami countered.
    On the other end Sami heard a door slam. “I have to go. I’ll meet you at Mark’s Café when the job it done. Just be careful, I fear he put the best hitman out there to kill him.”
    “Hey, wait-” But Sami was too late. The woman had already hung up.
    Samantha walked back to the truck and thought about what the lady last said. Best hitman? Sami thought, don’t worry lady, I know the best hitman. He doesn’t do teen kills.
    “Hey, wanna join us for lunch, Sami?” Matt asked when she reached the truck.
    She shook her head. “No, I can’t. Business.” Sami held up her cell phone to emphasize her point. “But I could use a ride into town.”
    Sami could drive but just couldn’t get her license. There was no way she could waltz into a --- and get her license. MI6 was looking for her around every corner.
Matt half smiled. “Sure, no prob. Just hop in.”
    Sami sat in the passenger seat, while Tyler and Isaiah sat in the back.
    Once they were down the road a little, Sami dialed a number on her cell. She waited, patiently as it rung.
    “Well, hello! Did I just hear from you a week ago? You already need help?” The voice answered on the other end.
    “Hey, Mattix. I need you to do a profile search.” Sami said.
    Matt glanced sideways at Sami. He didn’t know what she did for a living. But he had his guesses. How else could she afford such nice things and know so much about guns. It wasn’t very normal for a girl to know so much, even if she did hunt. I don’t think Sami goes hunting either, Matt thought.
    “Sure…what do you need?”  Mattix asked.
    “Just the address.”
    “Okay…what’s the name?”
    “It’s Wesley Adams.” Sami replied.
    Mattix went to work searching through all his data banks of people. He wouldn’t be able to give Sami an address right away. Even when you know the person’s name, it can take awhile…



Earlier that day

    “I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me.”  Mark Dell said.
    Ryland still sat with his arms crossed against his chest. He was in his late fifties with black hair that was starting to bald at the top. He had on a black T-shirt that showed his muscular arms. Ryland was a hitman and had just accepted a job to kill someone. The boy he had to kill was only seventeen. What was Dell thinking? Killing a seventeen-year-old boy. Ryland wanted to ask why he wanted him dead, but knew better.
    Instead he asked, “When do you plan on paying me?” He had a rough voice.
    Dell sat back in his chair; “I’ll pay you half now, half later. Fair?”
    “That sounds reasonable. Is there a specific time you like him gone?”
    “It would be nice if he was dead before the day was over. He has caused me a lot of trouble. You see I -”
    Ryland held up a hand before he could go on. “I don’t need a story. The least I know the better.”
    Dell nodded his head, “Right, I understand.”
    Ryland stood up and started to walk out of the room. His heavy boots made a huge thud with each step.
    As he reached the door Dell said, “Wait.” Ryland turned around. Dell fumbled with a button on his coat. He was starting to have doubts. Was it really worth it? Killing a young boy. Yes, it was. Dell straightened up and looked directly at Joseph who was waiting patiently. “Nothing…Just get it done as soon as possible…”
    Ryland nodded and left. Dell waited till he couldn’t hear his footsteps and more. He sighed and slumped into his chair. It had to be worth it. His daughter was more important then any schoolboy.