His Killer Flame

Emily sat on the rocking chair in the sparsely furnished motel room, her Glock-19 pistol hanging off her fingers. She slid out the silencer, slowly wiping off the blood splashed on it. Maddy had handed her 5 bullets for the job, and she finished the entire round in the pot belly of Senator Brandon.

Picking up her buzzing phone, “target eliminated.”

“Good girl!” Maddy yelped on the phone, “Clean up quickly and come to the barn.”

Emily hummed a response before hanging up. Proceeding near her dead prey, her fingers shut his eyes and kissed his forehead. It was her parting gift to all her victims.

Dipping her index finger in the puddle of his blood, she inscribed. “Lady Bird’s last gig.”

Inserting her pistol in her trousers, she threw on her jacket before shutting the door and hopping into her Land Rover.

She let the sweet Bobby Brown melody ease her guilt as her head swayed from side to side. It was her birthday and her last kill. She had imagined the best place to retire to. Maybe start a new life in North Carolina, she smiled to herself.

Taking the swift turn to the barn, she spotted Maddy and the rest of the gang lined upfront to welcome her. A weak smile crossed her face, this would probably be her last time seeing their people-killing faces.

“My darling.” Maddy swept her into a tight hug. “This was your fastest kill.”

“The senator was too heavy with corruption to run anywhere.” She giggled, stretching a handshake to the Goblin twins. They were the most brutal of the gang but they wouldn’t go on any assignment without each other. Emily envied them sometimes.

“Happy birthday, Lady Bird.” Gabriella, Maddy’s second in command, strolled out of the barn with a cake in her hands.

“Thanks Gabriella.” Emily smiled before blowing off the candles and making a wish.

It was her 20th birthday, the year Maddy promised her freedom. Emily didn’t remember much of her life before she joined the gang. All she knew was that from her seventh birthday, she worked as a spy for the group before being initiated as a serial killer at fifteen.

Maddy always commended her for her innocent face, with which she lured her victims.

‘It was for a good cause.’ Maddy would reiterate before every mission. At first, it eased Emily’s conscience, but with time, she didn’t care. All she wanted was to draw blood until the nightmares became unbearable.

“Come on, let’s go in, my dear.” Maddy ran her arm over Emily’s shoulders, leading her inside to see the birthday decorations they had made in the barn.

Emily let herself enjoy the groove of the music before giving her appreciation speech.

“I’ll miss you guys so much.” She lied, she wanted out…and nothing would make her happier.

“Here!” Maddy handed her a bottle of beer. They toasted to more life before she led Emily to her office. A shabby corner at the end of the barn. The weaponry of the gang. Maddy made her way to her chair, spinning on it for some seconds before lighting her cigar.

Growing up, Emily envied her. How she handled her weapons, commanded the group’s response, coordinated every attack to the end that they’ve never had a casualty apart from Paul’s death two years ago.

“Is it me, or do you look too excited to leave?” Maddy leaned forward to her desk.

Emily took a generous gulp before saying, “I don’t know if it’s about leaving or not, but I’m excited.” She spread her shoulders.

“I can’t believe you’re twenty.” Maddy chuckled, “Just a few years ago, you were still my little girl. Now you want to leave us.”

“You’ll get another little girl. I’m sure of that, Maddy.”

Maddy breathed before bending beside her table to uproot a rusty metal box. Emily’s interest was piqued as she advanced closer to Maddy’s desk. “What’s this?”

A smirk crossed Maddy’s face as she slid the box in Emily’s direction.

“It’s your next job.”

The bottle slid out of Emily’s grasp, shattering into pieces. “What job?” She slammed the table, “You promised me complete freedom if I give you fifty kills before my twentieth birthday. I gave you fifty-one kills, Maddy!” Her voice cracked, giving way to emerging tears.

“I’m not doing any more jobs. I’m done, Maddy!” Pulling out her gun, she placed it on the desk. Springing up to her feet when a gunshot split the air. It was Maddy’s.

“Don’t you want to check what’s in it?” She wagged her gun in the air, not giving Emily much choice but to retreat back to her seat.

Reluctantly opening the box. She rooted out its content gently. Three pictures, a ring, a birth certificate, a torn piece of a newspaper, and a property document.

“What’s this?” Emily breathed roughly.

“It’s right in front of you…check it.”

Emily’s fingers nibbled the first picture of a man and woman on a sunny beach. The woman’s auburn hair looked just like hers. Turning to the next picture, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “This is…is…me.”

“Smart girl!” Maddy dropped her shotgun, “That’s your birth certificate, Emily…or should I say Isabella Taylor.”

Emily’s fingers fidgeted, holding the birth certificate side by side with her picture. That’s the most information she had seen about herself.

“Isabella Taylor, only daughter of Mr and Mrs Marshall Taylor, who were murdered in cold blood in their apartment with their six-year-old daughter missing.” Madison read out the little information on the newspaper before handing it to Emily.

Tears poured down Emily’s cheeks as she read the newspaper. “Who…killed…them?”

Maddie heaved a deep sigh, “Gang Morales, the most dangerous mafia group in Blackwood Heights. Headed by Ryan Morales and his family.”

Emily’s fist clenched, “But…why?”

“Your father was the province deputy in charge of Blackwood then, and his sole mission was to eliminate every form of mafia expression.” Maddy reduced her voice, “he raided their hideouts, arrested their best men, and was close to shutting down their headquarters when he and your mother were assassinated.”

Emily’s eyes burned with rage, her face beet red. “Why didn’t the police do anything?”

“The Morales were the police, no one dared speak. Not even the Special Forces dared to stop them.” Maddy wagged her head sideways, “So tell me who better than you is fit for the job?”