“ now there’s no going back. ” ( isla )
The dial was turned two – no, three times to the left, five to the right, and – “Fuck!”
She had to start all over again. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she wiped the beads of sweat that glistened above her brows. How could it be this hot on a winter’s night?
Setting: Corner-most booth of a "rail car" style diner
A crisp envelope lay on the table, its unknown contents still sealed. With a nod of his head, the teenager reached for it only to have him weigh it down with his fingers.
“Once this is opened, there’s no backing out.” His gruff voice held a certain authority to it that always somehow made Isla a little afraid of him. She never said a word about it to him. Wouldn’t want it to get to his head, she reasoned.
“I’m not Tom Cruise. Cut it out with this MIA crap.”
It sure would be cool to be a secret agent though. She didn’t even have to work for the lousy government; she could be some kind of undercover spy with all these high-tech gadgets and luxury cars. Oh, boy. Imagine how fast she could go on the highway!
Tearing the envelope open, she tilted it and out slid a piece of paper. Just that? She was hoping for a little cash to be in it. But of course, this sort of expectation shouldn’t even be allowed to manifest itself within her head because this was a test. For weeks now she had been pressuring the man before her – her mentor – to allow her to "graduate” from this lesson or whatever it’s called. When he finally agreed, she had to ask him to repeat it because she figured it would take years until he’d release her from his dictator-like grip.
( He was’t that bad; she just liked to exaggerate. )
Printed in bold, black ink on the paper was a set of instructions she was supposed to follow. Her cat-like eyes glossed over every word before leaning back in her seat to digest them. It was a simple task: she was required to get the cluster of diamonds from the safe of a corrupted politician. Nothing that she hadn’t done before. But written below the instructions was a specific warning about his upgraded security system.
Apparently, these diamonds had just been obtained about a week ago. Rumour also has it that there had been a number of missing gems from all over the world. Anyone with half a brain could piece the bits of information together.
She scribbled a number on the safe with a piece of chalk. The success of finding out the third number of the combination only made her more focussed. Three more to go. Combos shouldn’t be this hard. It’s just the nerves. Definitely the nerves. Just gotta ace this test.
The allocated preparation time was only a day. A string of protests began to leave her lips because even professional thieves need months of planning. How could she – an amateur as he never failed to remind her – ever accomplish such a feat in a very short amount of time? Where was she supposed to get her gears? Granted, her mother had an extensive collection back home, but she still had to ask for her permission first. And that usually would come with a price! Besides, she hadn’t had the opportunity to survey her target. What if they installed extra security measures? What if they had dogs hidden in one corner of the office? They would chew her up and spit her out like a toy! In conclusion, it just wasn’t possible!
“Then you’d better get going.”
Well that was easy for him to say. Lips pursed, nostrils flaring, she snatched the paper from the table and walked out of the diner. She needed to act fast and time was running out.
“Fucking bastard,” she murmured under her breath as she hopped onto the bus heading to the city.
As the vehicle approached her destination, she quickly hopped out when she saw her chance. Why pay when you can travel for free? Before anyone could stop her, she disappeared into the crowd, blending in with the pedestrians as they crossed the busy street. This had always been easy for her because a) she never wears fancy clothes that show off her “uniqueness”, and b) not to be cocky, but it’s an ability that’s ingrained in her DNA.
The male voice that broke through the dark silence made her fingers halt. God, and she was so close to cracking the combination! She was at her last number, for God’s sake!
“Then who left the door open?”
Isla wasn’t stupid. If there was one thing that spy movies had taught her, it was that leaving the door open would always land you in trouble, which was exactly where she was at the moment.
She was certain that she had shut it when she entered. But a nagging feeling began to tug at the sleeve of her mind. Could it be? He wouldn’t–
He looks like the type who would though. But why would he do this? Because it’s a test and he wants you to fail.
If anything, that internal debate only made her blood boil. But time was ticking and she needed to prove that she was indeed ready. So she resumed rotating the dial while still keeping an ear out for any approaching sounds.
Now how the hell was she supposed to get to the 23rd floor, crack the safe, and come down in one piece? She fished out the crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and read the information given again. The guards, she could handle. The safe? No worries. Motions sensors? Easy. Heat sensor? What the actual fuck? Was she supposed to immerse herself in a pool of ice first before commencing her task? He must have chosen this particular test so she would fail. But the girl was determined to prove him wrong. She was the right person for this.
With the safe now opened, she slipped her hand inside and grabbed the nearest thing. Belly of the beg on her legs hungry to be fed, she poured the contents inside with a wide grin on her face. She reached for another and then another, until the safe was completely wiped clean. Securing the bag, she slung it over her shoulders and stood up. And that was when the guard noticed her.
“You there!” Shit! “We have a break in. Requesting immediate backup.”
But Isla was already on her feet, running straight at him. In a swift motion, she leaped onto him, legs wound adeptly around his neck to pull him to the ground. He landed with a thud and Isla delivered a sharp blow to his cheek, knocking him out right there and then. She had to hurry. More will come.
And she was right. As she was about to descend the stairs, she saw a group of them coming up so she had no choice but to go up. Heights were her specialty anyway so she needed not fret – she hoped.
Making it past the 25th floor mark, she spotted a fire extinguisher by the emergency exit. Without a moment’s hesitation, she dashed for it and flung it towards the group of men chasing her. That managed to make a few of them tumble down, but at least 3 more were still in pursuit. She cursed under her breath and continued her escape.
On the 26th floor, she repeated the same acts which resulted in hurting one, who then caused his friend to trip over his fallen self. Blood was oozing down his forehead where the extinguisher had hit him.
“Sorry!” she yelled as her legs carried her up. “Would love to help but I’m in a hurry here!”
“Shut the fuck up and surrender!” came a voice not far behind. This one was very persistent.
Her taking and throwing the fire extinguisher at him seemed to have failed as they ascended the stairs. He knew all about her tricks ( mostly because she had nothing else up her sleeves ) and he was quick to dodge unlike the other clumsy ones. Her lungs were burning and her heart felt like it was about to burst through her chest. Why wouldn’t he just give up?
The 30th floor turned out to be the rooftop. A breath of relief escaped her lips as she pushed the door open to freedom. But it was short-lived because he was soon right behind her. How the hell did he manage to catch up so fast?
He tackled her to the ground and the two wrestled there for a moment. He had his arm wrapped around her neck, perhaps trying to strangle her to death. But she had been in this situation before, and she had been trained to counter it hundreds of times. Though she was panicking, she knew that only with a calm mind can she get herself out of this situation. With practiced moves, she managed to free herself from his grasp and made her way towards the ledge. He followed suit and seized her bag, the momentum making her topple backwards.
A punch landed square on her jaw, catching her off guard and making her lose her footing.
“Give me the bag,” he heaved, face dark in anger.
And she was on her feet once again, swinging kicks and throwing assaults in his direction. Somewhere in the fight, he had gotten a hold of her and they teetered dangerously near the edge. Isla struggled fiercely to escape his grip but to no avail. But then his foot got caught on something and both of them fell over, her breath stuck in her throat. It was only by a stroke of luck that her fingers managed to hold onto the ledge just in time as her legs dangled in mid air. Tears were streaming down her cheeks when she realised how close she was to her demise.
As she tried to climb up, a pair of strong hands suddenly grabbed her arms and pulled her up. She thought it was another one of the guards and she had no choice but to give herself in. It wasn’t. It was Henry, her mentor.
His words only made her seethe.
“I almost died! The guards–” She turned towards the door and found it locked shut. So she returned her gaze back at him. Had he been waiting up here all along? Were they paid actors? Then, that must mean--
She looked over the edge and saw the broken body of a man on the dumpster below. He was dead. This was no trick.
“He’s a real guard if that’s what you’re wondering.”
But he was dead. His blood was on her hands. She had never killed a person before, and she never planned on starting.
“The rest have all been taken care of,” he stated in a matter-of-fact manner.
How could he be so cool about this? A life was lost tonight and it was on her. All. On. Her.
Prolonging the topic only made her feel worse.
“Take your diamonds. I don’t want it.”
She threw the bag to his feet. With the back of her hand, she roughly wiped the tears that seemed to have no end. She wanted no part of this if this was what it takes. Yes, she had wanted to pass the test. But not to this extent. Tonight, she may have made it. But tonight, she had also lost a part of herself. Was he proud of her now? Was her mother?
He picked the bag up, an unreadable smile on his face. "Now there's no going back."
Her eyes widened. Those words had sent chills down her spine by how cold and heartless they sounded. His ability to be both inhuman and unfeeling was astounding and somewhat terrifying. But that wasn't what bothered her. What disturbed her most was how true they were. And she, unknowingly, had boarded a one-way train to hell.
