I stood in front of the live shoot house entrance. A small interior door you would commonly find utilized for bedrooms. I had three full magazines strapped to my belt just slightly forward of my left hip. Clear ballistic safety glasses on my head, with custom molded ear plugs specifically fitted to my ears were seated snuggly in their position to protect and preserve my ears as best as possible.

　　My HUD showcased the full magazine stack in the right side of my view with the yellow RF emblem just below it, showcasing the FMJ rounds. Jack and I however, ensured I was fully loaded with frangible rounds as I would be shooting against direct steal silhouette targets. I had my pistol drawn as it was nestled up against my sternum, Jack was directly above me on a catwalk to oversee my movement throughout the shoot house. I heard the small chirp of the blowhorn spark to life as his voice boomed out.

　　"You`re clear to begin whenever you`re ready." Jack stated above me.

　　I took two deep breaths, neurochip, play "Sun Doesn`t Rise" by Mushroomhead, on repeat . As soon as the drums thundered to life I started walking forward. My left foot taking the lead as I glided up to the door and stood parallel to it. I grabbed it with my non-firing hand, and began to twist the doorknob. As soon as I felt the knob begin to roll from the door not being locked. I twisted in a firm jerk, slamming my right shoulder into the door and crashing into the room with a sidestep.

　　I caught a glimpse of the inside of the room from the crack in the door, and took notice of the first black target standing directly off to the left side of the room. I squeezed back smoothly on the trigger and felt the center safety collapse back within the trigger. The pistol rang to life as I fired my first two rounds. The weapon recoil rocked slightly in my grip, the echoing cry of the metal sang out as the rounds impacted the target.

　　I continued crashing into the room and ensured my body took a centered position within the space. As soon as I was clear of the door, a quick twist around to ensure there was no target directly behind me. My eyes snapped back around to my center point. I noticed an open passthrough in the far-right corner of the room, which led to the next portion of the maze Jack had constructed.

　　I pushed off with my right foot and began to slightly turn and twist in a fluid motion to pie the corner. My eyes took notice of every inch of the next room prior to exposing myself to the potential targets awaiting me on the other side. I began to turn the corner beam and pressed into the room as I immediately noticed the target. It was wedged up on the right side of the wall.

　　My red dot instantly set itself on the center mass of the target and my trigger finger squeezed off three rounds. The tinging sound of the rounds shattering themselves upon the steel target reassured me of the deadly impact. I could see black paint slightly chip away on the target`s surface at the same time.

　　I saw the round counter in the side of my view cut down in size, the display showing me I had 12 rounds remaining in my magazine. I brushed past the target as I glided to the left side of the small hallway. I began to narrow in on the next passthrough which was also on the left side hallway. I began to turn the corner of the entryway in haste. My blitz into the room was greeted by three targets awaiting me.

　　I immediately engaged the far-left target, pounding two rounds in its center. The muzzle glided over to the middle target, another two rounds center mass. I finished off the third target to the far right side with one round just below the neck and the final round to the lower stomach area. My left to right arch of the room ensuring I didn`t miss anything and finished clearing the rest of the space from any immediate targets.

　　A slight sidestep to the left as I pressed forward. I looked past the targets I had just neutralized and could see a split hallway awaited me in the next section of the shoot house. My eyes were just able to catch sight of a steel target, its` right shoulder silhouette was slightly poking out from around the wall frame.

　　I slid another side step to the left and fired in between the two targets I had just finished off. The ring of metal in the distance confirmed my hit. I sliced in-between the two targets and noticed my ammo display was down to four rounds. Fuck I need a mag change. I told myself internally.

　　As I approached the intersection with the split hallway, I decided to blitz to my right, rather than my left where the target I just impacted sat. I entered the room to discover it was fairly small in size with only one target awaiting me. My pistol unloaded the rest of the magazine into it with deadly accuracy.

　　I brought the pistol up and directly in front of my face, hitting the magazine release along the way. The empty magazine slid out of the magazine well as my peripheral vision noticed the movement. My primary gaze remained on the other portion of the split hallway off to the left. The area I had not finished clearing.

　　My non-firing hand slid down off the pistol grip and found the comforting feeling of the full magazine awaiting me. I grabbed hold of it and in one fluid motion, I drew the loaded mag out of its holder, turned it upright and slid it into the magazine well. My firing hand hit the slide release with my right thumb and the slide hammered forward.

　　I was moving again after the entire reload happened in seconds. My body glided around the wall that separated the split hallway and I navigated around a small corner which then opened up to a longer corridor. My head peaked around the corner to see the first target awaiting me, my red dot directly on its center as my finger squeezed back twice. The led rounds hid directly on target as I continued to drive hard into the hallway without stopping.

　　My eyes narrowed in on two additional targets stacked behind the first. Both targets were also on the left side of the small corridor, but further distanced from the initial target I engaged. I glided down the right side of the wall with my right shoulder just barely grazing the rubber coating of the concrete structure.

　　Another two rounds popped off and hit the second target as I shifted my aim over to the final target directly behind it. My pistol engaged the target with three rounds, two center mass and one clipped the left shoulder. My ammo display showed 9 rounds were remaining in my magazine as I approached the left side of the hallway where the next pass through was located.

　　I peeked around the corner to find another long passage with two entry points on the right side. I continued to creep my way around the corner and saw a target set all the way at the other end of the hallway. My finger squeezed back and sent two rounds down range. One missing high right, the other hitting the right upper chest area.

　　The hallway now clear of any targets, I stepped forward and glided my way into the first entry point on the right side. I started a smooth turn, and centered myself as I passed through the doorway and into the room. The room greeted me as a large open conference room with a table at the center. Steel targets were placed around the table.

　　My red dot moved instantly to the first one on my left side, as my peripheral vision took notice of five targets total. I started to hammer back on the trigger sending a round into each target as I made my way clockwise around the room. I side-stepped to my right and took charge of the far corner as I hit all five targets individually. I had only three rounds left in my magazine and did a quick reload in the same fashion as before.

　　The room was now cleared after I successfully engaged every target and I turned and stepped off to exit. I walked out of the room and back into the hallway, a quick snap of my head to look behind me and ensure I covered the previous area. My check completed; I worked my way towards the final entry point on the right side of the hallway.

　　I stopped just before the entrance to the room and took a quick breath. My body snapped around the corner as I made entry and immediately started to sidestep to my right. My chest presented towards the center of the room the whole time as my eyes counted another five targets which awaited me.

　　One placed directly in front of me and in the center of the room with the other four beyond it and spread in a half circle. The recoil vibrated in my palm as my two rounds clanged against the first target in the center. I moved to the far right target in the corner and engaged it. My muzzle pivoted back over and engaged the two targets in the back center of the room. Two rounds per target shattered against each one as I then pushed off my right foot and pressed forward into the room.

　　I glided my way over to the left corner and narrowed in on the final target. Two rounds pinged off the metal surface and completed the neutralization of all targets I had immediately identified. Beyond the final target and by the far left wall in the room was a dead space I could not see. I started to take sweeping steps around the walls edge and worked to pie the corner from left to right.

　　I was slightly startled as the next target was precisely placed at the edge of the wall and was practically on top of me as I dumped three quick rounds into it. I could feel the small pieces of lead from the rounds splatter around me as they shattered upon the steel. I continued my motion, however, to see a final target placed a few feet further back into the final space of that small area. I dumped the last three rounds of my magazine into it as I then heard the audible siren sound from the bullhorn Jack was holding onto above me.

　　I had helped clean up the range with Jack and was about to take another run through the shoot house when I got the message from Brian that my next mission was about to come through my feed. I only had to wait for a few more seconds before the text started to scroll down my HUD.

　　[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

　　MISSION: TASTE TREAT DELIVERY, BENSENVILLE, ORDER #76

　　OBJECTIVE: DELIVERY

　　LOCATION : 41.941956, -87.946931

　　DISTANCE TO MISSION: N/A

　　ADDRESS: 500 W Jefferson St, Bensenville, IL 60106 / Orange Clouds Golf Club / 96 Bar & Grill

　　ACCESS: 1000 - 2000

　　POC: SUSAN OLSEN

　　AGE : 34

　　HEIGHT : 5` 4"

　　WEIGHT : 132 LBS

　　SKIN : WHITE

　　HAIR : BRUNETTE

　　CLOTHING : BLACK POLO, 96 BAR & GRILL LOGO EMROIDERED, LEFT CHEST AREA

　　NOTE : PROOF OF COMPLETION REQUESTED

　　REQUEST : SECURE DELIVER

　　TIMEFRAME : W/I 24 HRS

　　COMPENSATION : STANDARD RATE

　　SIGN / COUNTERSIGN: BRAVEAXE, LEMONADE

　　INFO : FIELD AGENT will deliver secured item to POC/OLSEN at LOCATION specified. AGENT will ensure package arrives within specified timeframe and unaltered. No photo is available for POC. Do you accept this mission? Yes or No?

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　　I sent Brian a text message back, "Seems pretty simple."

　　"It is, but it`s all we have at the moment." He replied.

　　"Got it, too easy."

　　I couldn`t argue and was just happy to get to do something outside of the agency. Our facility was top notch and if there was anything I ever needed, or practically wanted, I had it available 24/7. I didn`t take advantage of the services, though I easily could have, but the last two months were only committed to training.

　　I certainly felt the pull and desire to want to be back home and was hoping that I would soon get to operate from my house. I was glad that the agency had our location in the south end of Salem, and knew it would make things easy for when I did get to return home and could commute into the office, but there were certainly a lot of questions I had about how our agency had operated for so long in plane daylight without anyone else seeming to catch on to what exactly we did. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

　　I packed my go bag and had only packed for another 24 hr mission. Fly in, deliver package, and head out. I had my standard pair of jeans, but went with my standard pair of mid level assault boots. Jack had encouraged me to start training with them when I was going through the shoot house and sure enough, I was loving the feel of them and decided to take them with.

　　My hand reached into the closet and grabbed the first thing it landed on. An olive green long sleeve shirt that I chose to roll the sleeves up, exposing my forearms. I looked in the mirror and couldn`t help but notice how much my body had changed from training. The enhancements I had chosen helped make my body feel more like a rock. Firm, hardened, reinforced and ready for action.

　　I grabbed a Detroit Lions Ballcap out of the closet and grabbed my backpack as I exited out the door and down into the garage area where Terra had my ride ready for me. My US Air Marshall badge on my hip, but this time I ensured I checked with Terra on what name they had in the system. She informed me I could use my real name, Trevor Brinkworth, and if anyone was going to try and validate it, the computer systems would confirm it.

　　I was 99% sure that there was a LOT more she wasn`t telling me with how the system, actually worked. I didn`t press the matter though and got to the airport without any issue. Security wasn`t a problem either as I walked right through with the small flash of my badge.

　　The flight was smooth sailing, no fucking Karen`s or Mrs. Franklins to deal with and I was happy and not complaining on that front. The plane parked and I walked through the airport after everyone took their sweet ass time deboarding and grabbing their fucking luggage. I waded through the crowd of people, making my way towards the exit as best as I could. Inside my backpack was the box Brian had designed and was similar in hardened construction to the document container I had carried on my first operation back into the field.

　　I sent Terra a message as I worked to get through the crowd as fast as possible. "Off plane, headed to ride pick up."

　　She was quick with her response, "South Side Curb, Pillar 7. Silver SUV. IL Plate: SP67 9912"

　　I navigated my way until after a few minutes, I found the Pillar with the number 7 painted within a large green circle on it. "In position." I text her back.

　　"3 mike out, heavy traffic" Was all she replied.

　　I soon watched the vehicle roll up and stopped exactly on a dime in front of me. Impressive, I thought as I climbed inside the vehicle once I gained access through my chips secure access function. The vehicle began to pull away from the airport curb and a voice came over the vehicle speakers. It had the distinct sound of a robot but was certainly more personable from what I assumed was an AI assisted voice and with tonal infusion which gave it a more human sound. "32 minutes to destination. Heavy traffic on Highway 19."

　　My mind scrolled through my music playlist and I told my neurochip, Play " Lost in this city." By dEMOTIONAL. I checked the time to see it was 17:48, which placed me within the timeframe of the club being open and meeting our timeframe for mission completion. Too easy drill sergeant! I thought to myself as I watched the traffic move all around us.

　　The clubhouse to the golf course seemed to be buzzing with activity. I was surprised to see how busy it was and the place seemed to be pretty full, a late dinner rush, I thought to myself as I got out of the vehicle and began to walk up to the main entrance of the place. The majority of the folks inside and around the property mostly had golfing attire on with a few others in business attire intermixed.

　　A few patrons were smoking cigars on the back patio and fuck did I want to join them. Many of them had their scotch glasses in their hands as a mixture of laughter, storytelling, and all things politics were being shared and discussed. There were some other`s around my age and a little older who bridged the gap between me and the grandpa`s. I could only guess in what they did, lawyers, stock traders, doctors, and probably a politician or city councilmen intermixed.

　　The great thing about me and what I did, I didn`t give a fuck who they were& a 9 mm round will enter anybody without discrimination, all are welcome to receive this inclusive round of FMJ goodness. The backpack made things a little more difficult weaving through the more compact crowd of people waiting to be seated within the restaurant. But I finally arrived at the front hostess booth as Kathy greeted me with a smile. "Susan working tonight?" I asked her.

　　"Oh& yeah, she`s bartending, it`s open seating there." She replied with a smile.

　　"Thanks." I said as I walked past her and made my way towards the bar. The entire area seemed to be packed, but I thankfully noticed one seat was left open on the far-left side of the bar. I corrected course and made my way over towards the seat. My hand grabbed the back chair rest, but noticed a small sign posted on the bar top that said, Reserved. "Shit." I whispered as I leaned back a little and glanced back down the right side of the bar. A scowl on my face as I looked for anyone who may be ending soon and leaving the bar area.

　　I didn`t notice her approach, but once she said, "How can I help you?"

　　I turned and looked to see the swinging of the kitchen access door a little more off to the left side of the bar. The door still swinging back and forth allowed me to guess that was how she took me by surprise. She had entranced me completely. I couldn`t even speak and respond to her question as I just gazed back into her dark brown eyes.

　　A playful smirk came on her face and she raised one of her eye brows as she shifted her weight. She was holding onto a plastic glass cleaning bin, a full assortment of glasses inside it. "What`s wrong big guy, cat got your tongue?"

　　Holy fucking shit, I don`t know if there is a god in heaven, but there is certainly an angel on earth standing before me. I said in my head. I finally blinked and stumbled over my words as I finally caught on to something. "I.. uhh& well was just looking to grab this, you know seat here& and I saw it was reserved."

　　She blinked slowly and smiled even more, "Yeah, it is& for you& sit down, I`ll be right back."

　　Her soft voice entered my ears, and I was instantly planning out the wedding. White picket fence, three kids, two dogs, annual vacation throughout the US with the barbecue in the back and lemonade on the forth of July. Is it too fast to propose to her now? The right side of my brain asked me left, who replied, fuck no it isn`t, Beyonce her and put a ring on it now!

　　I swallowed deeply as the saliva was pooling in my mouth from all the thoughts my mind was racing with and the future, I had playing out like a cheesy holiday movie in my head. It took her only about two minutes at the other end of the bar to put the glasses away and get a few refills for gents who were desperate to get her attention.

　　She cracked that killer smile as her white teeth practically glistened in the bar light. Her tight jaw line perfectly shaped her face, and her slick black hair was cut down in between her jaw and shoulders. I could have sworn she was the identical twin sister to a mixed martial arts fighter I used to watch a few years back. I could see her arms were toned and chiseled as they pressed against the black polo shirt sleeves.

　　Her chest propped up and was a beautiful sight as her shirt looked like it was tailored specifically for her and contoured all around her body. She turned and began to walk back towards me, her body floating amongst the clouds of heaven as her eyes looked directly at mine. The playful smile returned to her face as she reached her right hand up and brushed the side of her hair and tucked it back behind her ear.

　　I could feel the jealous eyes glare over to me from the other end of the bar. She slowly came to a stop directly in front of me and leaned in a little closer to me with the playful look which also had a slight flare of mischievous excitement and adventure. The envy bearing down on me felt like the scorching sunlight directly hitting your skin when you`re lost in a dry desert without shade.

　　She smiled, "Wanna know one of the things I love to do?" She raised her eyebrows playfully and smirked on the right side of her face. She hid the look from the prying eyes at the other end of the bar.

　　I smiled back, "What`s that?"

　　"I`ve been stroking up those egos down there all night, letting them think they`re the big bosses at this bar who have it all figured out. They think I just love to hear all about their bullshit lives and businesses, all the dumb successes they think I am impressed by. Yet, no matter how much they tell me how great they are and we would be& I drag them along letting them think if they just keep chasing me for one more minute, that I`ll cave and give in to their bullshit. It`s all just a part of the game."

　　I glanced down and saw Susan embroidered on her shirt with the bar logo on the other side. "So you`re Susan Olsen." I raised my eyebrow and questioned for a brief moment.

　　She tilted her head to the side a little and glanced down at the shirt, "That`s what I had printed on it. So& I guess so."

　　I narrowed my eyes slightly, "But that`s not your real name, is it?"

　　"Bloodbath isn`t your real name either, now is it, Trevor Brinkworth?" She raised her eyebrow as I saw her tongue just slip slightly at the edge of her mouth as she turned and walked away. She knew I was enjoying the view and kept my eyes on her with every second that ticked by. My thoughts were now racing with questions and wanting answers as to who this Susan Olsen really was and how exactly she had this information. She started to walk by with another full tub of dirty glasses, "You want your usual?"

　　"Sure." I said as she turned and shoved her back into the swing door and disappeared into the kitchen. It was but a brief moment later that she reappeared carrying the green glass bottle in her hand and placed it down with the top already off for me. The purple colored flag on the label said it was the strongest ginger beer on the market.

　　"Thanks" I said as she kept gliding by and winked at me as she went to help other customers. The drink was on the verge of turning to ice as some of it had started the freezing crystallization process. The bitter bite of the ginger grabbed hold on my tongue as the sweet aftertaste slowly followed as I took my first sip. I watched as Susan started to make her way back over to me.

　　"I heard what happened to you&" She shifted her weight to one side, "I was worried& have been& worried. But when Brian told me you were back in action, I asked for you specifically for this delivery." She paused and looked straight at me. Our eyes locked and I swore neither of us wanted to let go of the moment we were having. "Brian said you had been on suspension but that this would give you an opportunity to prove yourself to the agency and he convinced a few of the exec board to let you out of your& cage, so to speak."

　　I took a long swig of the ginger beer as she spoke, but then asked when she finished. "So& seeing how you already know my backstory and you know that I am clearly in the dark on everything, you care to fill me on the details as to who exactly you are, and the connection we apparently& had?"

　　She pressed her lips down and tilted her head to the side as her face distorted slightly. "Not yet Trev& I`m not sure you, nor I are ready to have that conversation, but this, this is nice." Her face returned to the small smile it had and the playful look that I adored so much. "Let`s not rush back to what the past contains and just be present in this moment, at least for the right now." She looked back and winked at me.

　　Fuck, I can`t argue with that. I thought, and she was right. Did the past really matter at this moment in time? I had this gorgeous woman standing right before me, and she wanted to be present with me while we were shared it together.

　　She took me even more by surprise as she reached down and grabbed hold of my left hand with both of hers. She gently pulled it closer to her and she leaned over and kissed the back on my hand. She let a long exhale, the warmth of her breath flowed over my hand.

　　"So how long am I going to be able to spend time with you tonight?" I asked.

　　She frowned slightly as she let go of my hand and I brought it over and latched onto the bottle of my drink. "Unfortunately& not long, sorry Trev. I wish we could& Wish there was time for us to&" She seemed to be fighting her emotions and words at the same time as she stuttered. My perception telling me what she wanted to say, and what she had to say were two different things. "I have to get this package to its final destination as soon as this shift is over with. Otherwise, I would have loved to."

　　"What`s so important about the package?" I asked.

　　Her smile returned and she shook her head and rolled her eyes, "You know I can`t tell you that Trevor, but nice try." Her attention was drawn to the end of the bar, and she turned and lifted her finger towards me, "Give me a second." She went to serve another customer but returned only after a brief moment had passed. "Uhh& one of your competitors is here and annoying the fuck out of me."

　　My senses awakened to life as I started to straighten up in my chair. " What? Where? Who the fuck is it? They had better get the fuck back." I muttered out in rapid succession in the span of a nano-second.

　　Susan reached out and grabbed hold of my hand as she saw my mind race behind my eyes. "Easy grim reaper& I don`t need you to destroy the bar. But it would be nice if you chilled out and just focused on getting to spend a few more minutes with me."

　　My heart started to level off from where it had been a moment ago. The rising heat of my intensity towards the desire to protect her, was now starting to calm down as her grip tightened around me. A look in her yes telling me, don`t worry slick, I can also take care of myself, reassured me, but also made me desperate to know everything that had happened between the two of us.

　　"You have my delivery?" She asked with a slight smile. The look in her eyes told me she knew our time was coming to an end. A faint glimmer deep within them hinted to me out how she was going to regret departing away from her again.

　　I picked up my backpack and placed it on the bar top. She grabbed hold of it and started to throw it over her back shoulder. She started to walk over to the kitchen door but looked over her shoulder at me with a smile.

　　"Be right back." She disappeared through the kitchen door and returned with a much lighter backpack. She handed it back to me as she then reached down and grabbed a glass of ice water. A nice slow sip as we shared the moment up and until the small icon appeared in the top corner of my vision.

　　{&} | [:::]

　　I opened it up to see a message from Terra. "Hey! There is a mission that you need to jump on. It will look really good to the exec board if you can knock it out. I will send you the information now, look it over and let me know ASAP."

　　"Shit&" I said out loud. My eyes dashed up to see Susan`s softly looking back. Her gaze and smile left me feeling she was filled with nothing but empathy and affection towards me.

　　"Work?" She asked with a saddened frown.

　　"Work&" I sighed.

　　Susan walked back around the bar and approached me slowly. I swiveled in my chair to face her and she walked directly in between my legs and as close to me as she could. Her hands reached up and grabbed hold of the sides of my face as she leaned in and planted the softest, heavenly kiss I could have asked for. The long passionate embrace didn`t last long enough as she slowly leaned back.

　　"Don`t worry, I`ll see you again soon. Go handle business." She reached down and grabbed hold of my sweatshirt and began to gently tug at me. I stood up as she was now just slightly below my eye level. Her head nestling into my chest as she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze from her hug. "It`s Sasha." She whispered. We finally left each others embrace and I started to walk backwards slightly.

　　"I look forward to it." I smiled and then began to walk out. I turned around and messaged Terra back. "Send me the files and pull the car around, let`s do this."