Bullet for Prisoner Chapter 1

     I stood at the back of a dead end alley, pistol in hand with a single bullet in the chamber, ready to end my miserable existence in a place where no one would find my body for a while.  A fitting end for a murderer like me, I guess.  The events that led me to that rock-bottom all could have been avoided, though, if I'd only met her under different circumstances.


     "Megurine, your next target is a young woman," my boss said in a very business-like manner.  In my business, human lives were just another payday.  "Her name is Hatsune Miku and she is the daughter of a politician residing in Tokyo.  Our client wants her dead in hopes that it will cause her father to drop out of the upcoming election."

     "And this is where I come in?" I asked.  In the back of my mind, I thought it was pretty extreme just to make a man drop out of an election, but all my years as an assassin trained me not to question it.  This Hatsune woman was just a target, my next paycheck.  

     "Yes," he said.  "The client is willing to pay handsomely for her death.  You may use any means necessary to eliminate her.  You leave tomorrow morning."

     "Understood," I said as I walked back to my quarters.  The halls were almost empty as I walked.  Some of my fellow guns-for-hire were already on missions, some were asleep, and many were dead.  In the world of assassinations, you never lived long.  Fail a mission, you die.  Get caught, you die.  Refuse a mission, you're publicly executed in front of everyone.

     I arrived in my room and collapsed on the standard-issue bed.  I looked forward to my missions only because I was usually put up in a nice hotel with more comfortable accommodations than my own home.  I turned onto my back and stared at the ceiling until I drifted off to sleep.  I always slept dreamlessly, and that night was no exception.

     The next morning when I woke, I took a shower, letting the water run over my toned body.  It took a while to wash my extremely long, pink hair.  I turned the water off, dried off, and dressed in leather pants, heels, and a leather jacket left unzipped that exposed my stomach and bra.    

     "Luka, I've prepared your loadout," Kaito said when I reached the armory.  He was the only one I truly liked out of all of them, the only one who even referred to me by my first name.

     "Thanks Kaito," I said, giving him a light peck on the cheek and causing him to blush.  I looked at the weapons and supplies he packed for me.  They were in my usual black backpack.  Two pistols, a few clips of ammunition, a special phone to use in case I needed more supplies, and documentation on the target.  I would read the profile later, but for now I said my goodbyes to home.

     "Remember to bring me back the usual," he said.  Every time I went out, I would use my downtime to buy him a little trinket like a shot glass or some other novelty at a tourist shop.

     "Wouldn't forget it to save my life," I said.  I left the armory to meet up with the helicopter on the roof.  I'd read up on this Miku girl as I flew to my destination.

     The helicopter's blades were already spinning by the time I arrived.  I took my seat as the pilot started to fly and picked the girl's profile out of my bag.  I opened the folder and the first thing that caught my attention was how young she was.  Miku was only seventeen years old.  And her photograph was the picture of innocence.  Big, bright, blue eyes were her most prominent feature.  Her aqua hair was tied into two twintails and she had the sweetest smile on her face.  She was so beautiful that I almost lost my breath.  And then, as I was caressing her picture absentmindedly, that it hit me that I would have to end this poor girl's life.  A lump formed in my throat.  How this young woman deserved to die was beyond me.  Yes, I was used to killing, but all my targets until that point were corrupt politicians, members of the Yakuza, Mafia, and international terrorists.  I'd never been ordered to kill a civilian before.  

     I stuffed the folder back in the bag and tried to banish my thoughts.  "Ok Luka," I told myself.  "Just shoot her from behind, in the back of her head.  She won't suffer that way and you won't have to see her."  I almost had myself convinced by the time the helicopter dropped me off on the rooftop of her hotel.

     I got out of the helicopter with my bag and bid the pilot farewell.  I stuffed one of the handguns into the holster on my belt and quietly sneaked through the roof entrance.  Her room was the penthouse on the top floor, so I didn't have very far to go.  I walked through the hallways quietly and reached her room.  I used a special card that copied any hotel room keycard and slowly entered the room.  It was dark all except for a light coming from the hallway.  I heard running water, so I assumed she was taking a shower.  "Perfect," I whispered.  With her attention occupied, I could sneak in, shoot her through the curtain, and be on my merry way without having to watch her die.  

     I was halfway down the hallway until I heard the water turn off.  I quickly jumped into the closet to my right and stayed perfectly still.  Through the slits in the door, I saw her walk through the hallway, clad in just a towel, her long hair soaking wet, and go into the kitchen.  

     She prepared herself a sandwich and collapsed on her couch in front of the
television.  I even thought about shooting her from my position, but she was facing me.  I would have to watch the bullet enter her body and watch her take her final breath.  I couldn't handle watching that happen to the poor child.  I decided to try one last resort to get out of there and make sure I wasn't caught.  Lie.

     I zipped up my jacket, climbed out of the closet, and made my presence known to her.  "Oh God, who are you!" she yelped, nearly losing her towel.  

     "You're Miku Hatsune, right?  I'm Luka Megurine, an undercover officer charged with protecting you," I said.  If only I was her guardian instead of her would-be murderer.

     "How long have you been here?" she asked, slightly apprehensive but starting to relax.

     "I just arrived as you were getting out of the shower.  I wasn't supposed to let you know I was here, but I had to use the bathroom and I couldn't leave my hiding place without alerting your attention."

     "I think I should call the police to make sure you are who you say you are," she said, picking up her phone.

     "Don't," I said.  "If you do I'll get fired.  You were never supposed to know I was here."

     "Why do I need a bodyguard anyway?" she asked.

     "Because someone is trying to hurt your family and you may be one of the targets," I said, biting my lip.  "It's my job to protect you with my life."

     She narrowed her eyes and thought hard about it.  "Ok, I believe you, but no more being secretive ok?"

    "Ok," I said.  She scooted over and patted the place on the couch next to her.  I took that as an invitation to sit down and walked to her.

     "I never see very many female cops," she said.  "And they especially aren't as
pretty as you."

     "Thanks," I said.  "You're pretty yourself.  I bet your boyfriend is the luckiest guy in the world."

     "Actually I don't have a boyfriend," she said.  She bit her lip.  "Don't tell anyone, especially not my dad, but I don't like guys if you know what I mean."

     It took a while for it to click in my brain.  "You mean you're…"

     "Yes," she said.  "But please, my father would be furious if he found out."

     "You don't have to worry about me," I said.  "Remember, you were never supposed to even see me.  Everything we say and do is in strict confidence."

     "That's good to know," she said.  "Maybe, when you're off the clock, we can hang out some time?"

     "I'd really like that," I said, kicking off my boots and curling up on the couch.  All I was really doing by getting to know her was making it harder for myself to pull the trigger when the time to kill her came.  Miku was completely oblivious that she was watching TV with her murderer.  

     Miku and I sat in front of the TV for a few hours, talking about various aspects of our lives, most of which I had to lie about.  "So, Luka, do you have anyone special in your life?" she asked candidly.

     "No not really," I said.  "I have a best friend named Kaito, but he's more of a brother than anything else."

     "I see," she said.  "What's he like?"

     "He's nice enough," I said.  "But I'd never think of him as any more than a friend."

     "Do you think…you could give me a try?" she asked.  Miku was a little more forward than I assumed from her bio.  "I mean…I'm sorry if you're not like that.  It's just…I feel this connection to you already."

     "I don't know, Miku," I said.  "It may interfere with my work."

     "You're charged with protecting me anyway," she said.  "How could being in a relationship interfere with that?"

     "You have a point," I said.  "And…I never gave much thought into the subject of who I'm attracted to.  But I do think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met.  And you're so sweet."  I bit my lip.  "Yeah, I think we could give it a shot."  'Stupid Luka, stupid Luka!' I kept repeating in my mind.  'Don't fall in love with her!  You have to kill her!'  But I couldn't help it.  I truly had developed feelings for Miku that would make my job a whole lot harder than it already was.

     Miku leaned in and kissed me on my lips.  It was such an amazing feeling, the first time I'd ever been kissed in all my twenty-two years of life.  I felt so beautiful with all the feelings surging through my body.  I pulled her in closer to me and wrapped my arms around her neck.  Miku pulled out of the kiss and stared into my eyes.  "I love you, Luka," she said.

     "I love you too," I said, my heart shattering as the words left my lips.  If only I would have had a clear shot while she was in the shower.  Or better yet, if only that sick monster of a client had never enlisted my help.  Maybe Miku and I could have met and formed an actual life together instead of this countdown to her death and my misery.