One Shot (Ruby Rose/Adele fan fic)

ONE

I open my eyes on full alert. The dim light of the morning it's starting to get through the window's drapes of my rented cabin. I fell asleep in the couch, again. I sigh and with a quick and fluid motion I sit down and I rub my face with my hands, then I stretch my arms trying to loosen all the knots in my back; this is a very uncomfortable couch but I've slept in worse places. It's 7:30 in the morning. I don't need to look at the clock to know it, I always wake up at this hour if I don't have to "work." I have a highly accurate inner clock. And I always wake up on full alert, I'm never sleepy and I don't need to yawn or wait a few seconds to focus my eyes. I'm trained for this. I could sleep more, nothing is really stopping me, apart from the memory of my uncle's hand shaking my shoulder vigorously:

"Wake up lazybones..."

"... we don't raise little princess in this house," I say loudly. The memory of my uncle almost makes me smile till I remember what I'm doing here. "Holidays..." the word leaves my mouth like a grumble. The Agency has the weirdest ideas sometimes, like we needed a break after recovering Pandora's Box recommended by therapists in order to assess the impact of a possible Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and to give us time to regain our strength. Yes, okay, to be honest last days have been insane: someone stole the Box, Augustus Gibbons died due to a downed satellite controlled by that Box, those who were the bad boys ended up being the good ones, the boys in a suit from Washington that we believed were good ended up being the very bad ones, they ordered to kill all the members of our team and the bullets flew from all sides, we had explosions, fights and car racings. All of that it's pretty basic in my line of work as a soldier of fortune; I don't see what the fuss is about. Finally Gibbons wasn't dead, the xXx agents are still on active duty, with me as a new member, and the Agency is getting rid of the corrupt elements. And in the meantime, I'm supposed to rest and relax in a perfect environment.

It sucks! Not the place, I mean, Mendocino National Forest it's a beautiful place and my wooden cabin overlooking the Howard Lake it's very comfortable and the sights give you shivers: mountains, trees, animals... But I've been here for the last four days and I'm about to go crazy: I've walked through the forest, I've breathed fresh air, I've slept, I've eaten and I've used the satellite uplink to play Call of Duty till falling asleep on the couch. All right, now what? I am supposed to stay here for another whole week. Luckily I've been ordered not to bring my rifle with me otherwise I'd be tempted to shoot myself with it. I wonder how the rest of the crew is doing. I pity Nicks if they're keeping him in a godforsaken island without night clubs.

I heave a desperate sight while leaving the couch and I turn off the TV and my PS4: "Lady_Boner has quit the game." I turn on the coffee maker and I walk into the bedroom looking for a change of clothes before taking a quick shower. They're more or less the same clothes I'm wearing right now: sports underwear, dark green jeans, black tank top and combat boots, but these are clean and not wrinkled. I place them carelessly on the bed, I take my toilet bag and I walk into the bathroom. I turn on the water and I wait for it to warm up while I'm looking at my reflection in the mirror. The same Adele from yesterday is looking back at me: pale skin covered in colourful tattoos, every one of them is a memory of my missions and adventures, plump lips, high cheek bones, blue-green eyes with a hint of grey and a long pixie haircut dyed blue. My uncle would have a heart attack if he could see me: "snipers must go unnoticed always" was his motto. With a faint smile I touch absently the bullet that hangs as a pendant from a chain around my neck before stepping in the shower.

The cabin is not that big: living room, bedroom and bathroom. The kitchen is placed in a corner of the living room with a little table and two chairs that I've never used. I prefer to eat outside on the little porch enjoying the fresh air, after all that's the main reason why I'm here. Anyway, I'm always cautious and I like to sit down on the bench next to the door, under the little roof that makes impossible to have a clear view from the forest. The only clear line of sight would be through the lake but I highly doubt a sniper could cover that distance, even I couldn't do it. I shot one bullet to check it out... before they took my rifle. Bored, I take small sips of my coffee: this is my guilty pleasure and I like to indulge myself calmly. Caffeine should be drunk with particular caution, it wakes you up and keeps you on alert but it also affects your heart rate and makes your hand shake; it could be the worst enemy of a sniper so just one coffee in the morning is my limit.