ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ɪɴᴄᴏʀᴘᴏʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ™

2.

A R R O W

P R E S E N T  T I M E

╳

"Come on, come on! Who am I supposed to send on such a short notice now that Team 14C failed their mission?" 

The blaring siren grows louder with every second. I put the ruby ring I'm holding inside its box and stuff it in my vest's pocket.

"Upload the target's data and send it to us, Ophelia." Ophelia nods, and I run past a worried Mr. Egor. After adjusting my glove, I tap on it's screen and the target file is uploaded. 

Mr. E stops grabs my arm, pulling me to a halt. "Where do you think you're going, Arrow?"

"Chill, Mr. E. My team's got this." 

"Wha—Mr. Arrow! Arrow, come back here this instant!" He turns to Ophelia, who's sitting at her desk. "What is the meaning of this? Do I have no authority anymore?"

Ophelia smiles. "Our team can pull off the failed mission. What more is there to lose?"

I grin at her and she nods, telling me to get the hell out of here. 

At the transportation bay, I show my ID and the mission file to the woman operating. "Use the left one, Mr. Arrow."

I move to one of the transportation pods.

"Your other left, Mr. Arrow." She rolls her eyes, accustomed to my ignorance.

"Thanks, sweetheart." I stand in the white pod, making sure my back is straight. Mr. E won't want to deal with another incident. 

"Stand by," the operator instructs. "Departure in five, four, three, two, one . . . zero."

In a blink of an eye, I'm on the roof of a tall building in New York City. I press on the button on the screen on my arm. "Arrival time: 4:56 P.M. Where is she, Ophelia? She should have been here already."

Ophelia's staticky voice answers: "Time noted. Time of death of target named Ana Gregory: 4:57. You're against the clock. Raven should have been there already."

"You're intel is accurate, El."

I turn around. A sigh escapes my body as I see her tying her black hair. "Thank the Fates that you're here. We have less than a minute to shoot the target. Did you see her file?"

"Yes. Car crash. Right into that fire hydrant. Enough impact to break her bones." She looks down the edge of the roof and spots the fire hydrant. "Are you wearing the tracking lens?"

"Yeah. That's her car right there. We got to move fast."

"Who's faster?"

"You already know my answer, Raven," I grin. She grins back. "Go get 'em, sweetheart."

"Ophelia," I speak, pressing my ear comm. "Mission is a go. Turn on her invisibility cloak."

"Got it. You have five seconds before they can see you again, Raven."

Raven steps onto the edge of the roof. She turns back to look at me and I nod. She takes one more step into the air, and her body falls out of my sight. I hurry to the edge and glance down.