The Story of Blood and Roses

As I halted in front of an unassuming building that I had grown accustomed to, I felt a sliver of fear crawling up my spine. There was no mortal danger here, but I knew that I would not come out unscathed. I sat in the parking lot for the better part of fifteen minutes before opening the door and walking towards the entrance. People turned and stared. I could imagine that I looked unconventional in one of Michael\'s shirts and my sweatpants, none of the behind-the-desk workers in the organization had seen me out of my war gear. At least I would not have much problem discarding my clothes for a full body scan.

As the stares gave away to hushed controversies being passed from one person to the next, I walked towards the elevator whose password I had memorized. As the sliding door closed on me, I saw the last one them, having abandoned their unaffected posture into one of curiosity. They peaked from behind desks, craned their necks to get a look at me. This was going to be the only time they would see me like this, the prodigy who is human. I sincerely didn\'t think that they considered me human; I must have been a killing machine by how my reputation had spread—killing everything that came in my way. I suppose, we all have to end out winning streaks.

"Name," the robotic female voice asked.

"Agent Vincent," I replied just as blandly.

"Prepare for a full body scan, Agent Vincent." I unceremoniously pulled my clothes off. They slid along my skin, reminding me of the reason why I was here. I needed it. The temperature of the room dropped a few degrees before the voice asked me to clothe myself again. I wondered how removing my clothes had become a chore—an obligation. After all the time I spent going through the same process, I wondered if other agents thought if it was tedious.

As the door to the Chief\'s room slid open I saw that there were other people in the room. I raised a brow at Jacob, who was leaning against the wall behind his father. The chief was seated at the head of the room, while other board members surrounded him in a semi circle and spoke to him.

"Agent Vincent," Chief greeted. His lips pressed into a tight line as he took in my appearance.

"Chief, I\'m sorry that I didn\'t inform you about a meeting prior to this, but I hope that it is okay."

"You\'ve been undercover, agent. I understand that you were unable to contact us to protect your identity," he reasoned, but I could hear the judgment clear in his voice. He could be a family friend, but he would be harder on me for the decision I was making.

"I plead the board to pardon my attire; I didn\'t have the time or the mind to change my clothes before attending the meeting." They nodded as they asked me to take a seat.

"I am here today to ask you for a favor." The Chief\'s eyes widened a bit as he leaned forward. I could see his hands balling up into fists over the paperwork on his desk. Jacob stood there, frozen to the spot as he stared. His eyes were not on my face, but on the T-shirt that I was wearing.

"Agent Vincent, please proceed," one of the board members said. I nodded before beginning.

"I was assigned the task to infiltrate the Murray chapter of the mob in the state a few months ago. I will admit that I took the mission up for some selfish reasons that I do not want to reiterate in front of the respected members of the board. Because of the unprofessional nature of my decision, I have come to face with some diverse situations that affect my personal life immensely." I took in a cleansing breath before starting again. "I will take the opportunity to inform the people present in this room that I am no longer capable of continuing the mission. I have pushed my biased idea along with the mission since the mission, and it is not ethical on my part to go ahead in this manner. I plead the members to dismiss me from this case."

"But agent, you will put yourself in jeopardy if you leave so abruptly." I listened patiently as they put their two dimes in. I didn\'t give a damn.

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