《Dead Count Fifty》 Graduation As I stood there, waiting to receive my uniform, gear and be assigned a contractor, I thought ''I''m finally done with all their shit. No more tests, no more drills and no more doubters'' "Jason Demetri!" That''s me. Name: Jason Demetri, age: twenty-one, height: five foot eleven inches. My best friend, Tucker Gersburg, nudges me and I go up the stage. Headmistress Annabelle Hicks hands me a trademark suit, a katana with my calling card, a raven carrying a rose, on the hilt and sheath and no doubt on the blade, a set of ten throwing knives and a Berretta .50 cal pistol with a silencer attached. When I nod in acceptance of the equipment, my friends and classmates cheer. As I turn to face the crowd gathered in honor of this years graduates, a hand falls upon my left shoulder. From the feel of it, it was the left hand of a female. I glance over my left shoulder and see none other than THE Natalie Betton. I can not believe they chose the tall, blonde and beautiful Natalie Betton to be my contractor. She graduated five years ago at the age of sixteen as the youngest assassin to ever leave the Academy alive. She is not only one of the deadliest women in the world, she is also a world renowned hacker with the alias Black Cat. She was, is and will forever be my idol and now she''s my partner. ''Holy fuck!'' I thought while keeping a straight face, ''I am officially the luckiest man alive! I wonder though.... if I do extremely well, will she let me in her panties?'' The a voice penetrates my thoughts like a knife through the heart. "Wake up daydreamer." Natalie whispers in my ear "Time to head to our new headquarters." I nod slowly and head to the changing room. After a brief shower and a quick change, I head out to the garage. On my way, I notice Natalie is nowhere in sight which is customary but unsettling for sure. Losing sight of Natalie could mean losing my life. I shake off the feeling as I approach my black 2010 Kawasaki Ninja, mounting it as soon as I reach it. As I insert the key into the ignition and start the vehicle, I pat the right side gently like I always have. It''s sort of a ritual, almost as if the bike would ride smoother or turn easier. I had only ever not done it twice. One of those times the engine wouldn''t start while the other resulted in an accident. Neither I nor the bike were damaged badly but it required a new paint job and I needed some gauze bandages. The bike starts with a purr that would give any mechanic wet dreams and I back out of my spot, stopping abruptly as a black 84 Camaro flies past, horn blaring until it was roughly fifteen yard away. It was Natalie! She had gotten to her car first and now the race was on. I back out completely and rev my engine twice before starting off in hot pursuit. Roughly two hundred miles, a pit stop and two states later, I arrive at an abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere up in Colorado. I knew it was the place because there were two and a half dozen heavily armed men all over the place. I draw my pistol and eject the clip, whispering to myself. "Let''s see how much they loved me...." First Assignment I counted the bullets and slid the clip back in. "Eight. Understandable." I said, thinking ''Eight bullets, ten knives and a sword. I can do this.'' before cocking my pistol and sneaking around to the back. ''Alright. It''s training scenario 1174 all over again.'' I thought as I turned the corner and spotted my first target. And ooh la la did she have a pair on her. It was a shame really. A lovely woman like her just set up to be slaughtered. ''I''ll be nice.'' was the first and only thought that ran through my head before I carefully and quietly pulled a knife from its sheath on my outer right thigh. It was a seven yard shot, hardly anything, child''s play. An amateur could have hit their mark from that distance. I studied the craftsmanship of the blade and rolled my eyes. I could have made a better knife blindfolded but oh well. They were the cookie cutter knives every grad got and they were plain as all hell too. Just a piece of stainless steel with single edge that curved into a point that was barely sharp enough to puncture the skin. It was a piece of shit and the Academy knew it. It was meant as a final test of strength and skill to prove that we were able to take even a half-assed joke of a weapon such as the knife as an instrument of murder. But enough ranting. I lined up the shot and whipped the knife as hard as I could at the woman and..... Score! Direct contact with the jugular vein on the left side of her neck. Without a sound, she collapsed. I rushed over and removed the blade from her lifeless corpse then slipped it back into its spot, not bothering to wipe off the blood as I picked up the woman and hid her body in a nearby bush. ''One down, twenty nine to go.'' I told myself while I drew my pistol and moved in on my next two targets. I aimed and pulled the trigger, smirking as thug one''s brains splattered all over his buddy''s face. I pulled it once more to silence thug two with a bullet dead center through the Adam''s apple. And down went dumb and dumber. Whoever hired those idiots didn''t do a very good job with intelligence checks. I mean seriously, they standing in the open with assassins lurking about. Suddenly, I heard footsteps and a male''s voice. "Over here!" He cried. ''Finally! My welcoming party!'' I thought as I scaled the wall and climbed onto a second story balcony, snapping the necks of two unsuspecting victims. I then crouched behind a potted plant and waited for my next targets and as if on cue, four well armed men and a very butch woman carrying a pump action combat shotgun ran around the corner. Taking several deep breaths, I popped up and laid to rest two of the men before crouching again with a satisfied smile as I heard their limp bodies hit the ground. My smile widened as I heard "What the fuck!? Jeff and Danny just got smoked!" I popped up again and fired a round into the guy to the left of the speaker, quickly retreating before being seen. "OH MY GOD! HENRY!!!" was the next delightful sound from the man''s throat. The fear and panic of the man warmed my heart as I dispatched the woman behind him. I sighed happily as he cries "ELIZABETH!!!" And then I put a round in his left kneecap, watching him fall to one knee as his cries of sorrow turn to cries of agony. With a grin on my face, I holstered my firearm and jump down meet my new friend. I stepped out of the shadows and drew my katana from its sheath strapped to my back, using the tip to turn his gaze from the oozing hole in his knee to my face. "Hello there little guy. You must be terrified. And you look a little young to be a merc so I''ll make it quick. You have two options." I said as I moved the tip to his forehead. "Through your ugly face." I then moved it to his heart. "Or through your racing heart. Choose quickly because I don''t have much patience." When I said that, he looked at me with sad eyes and wet himself. "I...." He said as I chuckled. "As if I''d give you the choice...." I quickly sidestepped and lopped off his head. As I walk towards the back door, I heard the two thuds of his head and body hitting the earth and I said. "Perfect."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The Argument I walked in the back door and noticed Natalie sitting on a black leather sofa, sipping what looked like a Bloody Mary. She looked at me and playfully remarked. "What took you so long? I was starting to get lonely." The comments were followed by a playful pout. With a raised eyebrow, I calmly replied. "While you were sitting on your ass, getting drunk, I was outside playing with my friends. I had to come in though because Billy wet his pants." To this, she giggled and said. "I assume you you met all requirements?" My brow furrowed as I asked. "Requirements?" She nodded and downed the rest of her drink. "At least seven casualties and no alarms raised." I chuckled. "Of course. Only one dude saw me and that was right before I liberated his head from his shoulders." She sighed, slightly annoyed at my response. "Did they teach you nothing Jason? You are not to be seen by the targets." She scolded. I snickered which only seemed to make her more annoyed. It was clear by the look on her face that she was disappointed. "Look Nat. I met the requirements. Everything should be......" She stopped me mid sentence and placed her empty glass on the mahogany coffee table "Don''t ever call me that again. It''s either Natalie or Betton. No nicknames." It was my turn to sigh. "Jesus Christ. You''re so uptight. Who stabbed you in the vagina?" Outraged, she stood, slapped me, then stormed off up the stairs. I had to work real hard to keep myself from following her and giving her a piece of my mind and putting the bullet in my gun in her leg. Instead, I went to the kitchen and started raiding the fridge. Two and a half hours later, went upstairs and called out her name. "Natalie? I''m sorry about what I said." She replied with "Whatever. Just leave me alone." I walked down the hall until I came to an open doorway. I glanced in and saw her laying on a king size bed in a pink satin nightgown with a laptop in front of her. "I mean it Natalie. I shouldn''t have said it." She closed the laptop and moved it to the nightstand closest to her "Well, you did so.... Yeah.... Unfortunately I need you. Not just because we''re partners but because......" She stopped and blushed slightly "Never mind. Forget I said anything." I gave her a pleading look. "Come on. You can tell me." Her blush deepened as she mumbled "I need a bed buddy....." My eyes widened and I blinked a few times, a little confused. I couldn''t believe my ears. Natalie Betton was asking me to cuddle with her all night, every night. "I''ll do it." She continued to blush as her eyes lit up. "You will? I mean.... Thanks I guess." I laughed a little as I stripped to my boxers, revealing to her my extremely scarred chest and abs. Upon seeing the scars, she frowned and asked "Are those from the Academy?" I sighed as I climbed into bed with her. "Let''s just say I wasn''t the quickest learner. But hey. Scars and reminders of the mistakes of the past and warnings against future mistakes." I explained. She gave me a look of astonishment, as if it was the first time she had ever heard it put like that. "My God Jason, that was deep." I held back a ''That''s what she said'' and replied with "Did you think I was some kind of brainless killing machine?" To my dismay, she nodded slowly. "Most assassins I''ve met are." I scoffed, feeling a tad bit offended. She had just compared me to most assassins even though she had never seen my work. "Let me let you in on a little secret. I''m not most assassins. If you want me to prove it, come outside and I''ll show you how sick and twisted my mind truly is. My friends called me The Butcher for a reason." She sighed, the look on her face was letting me know that she had not intended offence nor did she need proof. "I know Jason. I''ve read your files. You like to toy with your targets and just as they hit the limits of fear a being can endure, you swoop in for the kill. Though on multiple occasions, you have refused to kill a female target causing scenario failure. On seven of those occasions, you had to repeat the scenario almost a dozen times which resulted in semester failure. You are among the oldest to graduate and at one point you were considered for termination. Not very impressive." I took a deep breath, hoping it would keep my temper in check. "Well I am truly sorry Ms. Betton. We can''t all be fucking perfect!" I turned away angrily and winced as I felt her hands trace the scars on my back. "I''m sorry Jason. I didn''t mean to upset you. We really shouldn''t be arguing this way. It is bad for the cohesion of our partnership." I felt her pull the covers over us and wrap her arms around my chest. If I hadn''t know any better, I''d have thought she was flirting. I turned to face her and closed my eyes, letting out a sigh. "I know.... I just hate when people bring up the past. It''s better off unspoken and left alone. Now if you don''t mind, I''m going to get some sleep." With that, I fell into a deep slumber.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The True HQ I woke up late the next morning, groggy and confused. It was almost as if...... "THAT BITCH!!" Natalie had drugged me! When I tried to move, I discovered I was cuffed to the bed with one pair attached to my wrists and another connected to the frame. At least I still had my boxers on. I look to my left and see Natalie''s laptop open with a word document on the screen. I read it silently at first then aloud for confirmation. What I read goes a little like this: "Dearest Jason," Off to a wonderful start. Anyway. "Dearest Jason, When you liberate yourself from the little surprise I left you, please meet me in the basement for your first contract. Sincerely, Natalie P.S. The key to the cuffs is under this computer" ''Great....'' I think as I quickly begin dislocating my left thumb. After a minute or two, I hear a sickening pop. Thanks to the Academy, my pain receptors are only functioning on a high enough level to alert me of life threatening injuries. I pulled my hand free from the cuff and relocated my thumb, picking up the computer and setting it beside me. Not surprisingly, there was no key. It must have been a test of my ingenuity. She was trying to get me to Macgyver my way out. "Alright. I have two options. Dislocate the other thumb or break the bed. Let''s try the bed first." I grabbed the chain of the cuffs attached to the bed and pull as hard as I can. This only brought disappointment. "Plan b then...." Just as I was about to pop my thumb out of place, I saw a slightly used toothpick on the nightstand where the laptop once sat. With a raised eyebrow, I took it and picked the cuff on my right wrist. In less than half a minute, I was free. I spotted my suit and gear on a chair in the corner. Beside it was a closet full of street clothes that, when I checked, were exactly my size and style. Against my better judgement, I quickly dressed myself in a pair of black jeans and a black tee with a white, winged cross on the back. I did, however, arm myself with my pistol and the three full magazines beside it before heading downstairs to find the door to the basement. During my search, I came across two master bathrooms, a supply closet, two guest bedrooms, an empty room and a few other rooms that didn''t look very promising. I then think about the wallpaper in the first guestroom I found. There was something unsettling about it and with that in mind, I decided to go back and take a closer look. When I reached the room, I entered and upon a second look around, I found a secret panel. Upon moving the panel, I found a switch which I flipped and stood back as a section of the wall lowered into the floor. With a raised eyebrow, I stepped into the darkness and nearly fell, almost breaking my neck. I had stepped into a stairway which I followed down for what seemed like an hour before stepping into a well lit space big enough to comfortably hold a few hundred people and that was with all of the technology and equipment. There was even my own forge. In the center of it all was a group of computers and sitting in a chair in front of the computers, smirk on her face and tablet in hand, was my partner. I took a deep breath and walked towards her, trying hard not to draw my pistol and fire a few rounds into her. She must have guessed my desire because she simply smirked more and stated, "Whoa there cowboy. You need me alive and well so while putting a few rounds in my chest might seem appealing, it is not highly recommend." My only response was, "Fuck you. I just want the goddamn contract."This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.