1 1. April

We were running at full speed through the corridors of the mansion, me together with Ethan, Gabriel, Sophie and Natalia. We had infiltrated the opulent home of Esteban, a mobster who had betrayed our organization and whose mission was to eliminate him. Each of us wore a black metal mask that covered our faces, hiding our identities.

I couldn't help but pause for a moment to observe the place we were in. The mansion was huge, with portraits on the walls showing people with stern expressions and marble statues that seemed to look at us with disdain. The rooms were spacious and luxurious, every detail exuding wealth and power.

"Can you imagine how Esteban got all this money?" I asked quietly to Ethan, who was running beside me. I felt disgust at the thought of the atrocities he had possibly committed to finance his extravagances.

"You should know," Ethan replied with a bitter smile. "But that's what we're here to fix, isn't it?"

"Focus, guys," Natalia said, stepping forward a few paces. "We're almost there."

Suddenly, we found ourselves in front of a group of armed gangsters blocking our path. Without hesitation, I pulled out my knives and threw one after the other towards the closest enemies, hitting their throats with precision. At the same time, Ethan, Gabriel, Sophie and Natalia started shooting with their pistols, taking down several of them.

"You shouldn't have come here!" shouted one of the mobsters, before being silenced by a bullet from Sophie.

"Too late for regrets" I replied coldly, as I made my way through the ten or so mobsters. I jumped from wall to wall, avoiding the bullets flying around me and attacking from behind those who had not noticed my presence.

"I'll finish you!" I heard in the distance the shout of one of the mobsters, who was aiming his gun at me. A feeling of satisfaction came over me as I watched him miss his shot and fall to the ground, the victim of a bullet from Gabriel.

Good aim, Gabriel, I thought as I continued to move quickly among the enemies.

"What did you expect, we're a team!" he replied, with a smile barely glimpsed through his mask.

At that moment, I slipped behind the last of the mobsters, who had not yet noticed my presence. With a quick and precise movement, I killed him, putting an end to the fight. As I rejoined, I watched my companions, who had also managed to defeat their opponents.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked, worried that some of them had been injured in the confrontation.

"We're fine, April," Natalia replied, with a tired but triumphant smile. "But we have to keep going. We can't stay here for long."

"I know" I admitted, feeling a mixture of pride and revulsion at what I had just done. Despite being a trained assassin, I was never completely used to the violence and death that surrounded my life. But I pressed on, knowing that I had to fulfill my mission and please my parents, even if it meant getting my hands dirty.

We ran through the corridors of the luxurious mansion, getting closer and closer to our goal. My legs burned from the effort, but I couldn't stop. The adrenaline flowing through my veins kept me moving and alert. The echo of our footsteps echoed throughout the place, mingling with the sound of gunshots coming from outside.

"We're almost there!" shouted Ethan, encouraging us to keep going.

Finally, we reached the front door of Esteban's room, the mafioso who had betrayed our organization. The gunshots sounded closer now, and I knew we had been followed here.

"I'll cover them," Gabriel said, pulling out a submachine gun. "April, you open the doors."

I nodded with determination and grabbed the heavy brass handles. The doors creaked open, revealing a wide hall filled with shadows.

"Now, Sophie!" I shouted, and she threw a smoke grenade into the center of the room.

The smoke spread quickly, enveloping Esteban's bodyguards in a dense gray haze. I could hear their coughs and gasps as they struggled to breathe and get their bearings in the confusion. This was my chance.

I concentrated on my skills, listening carefully to the sounds of our enemies. Every footstep, every breath, every whisper told me where they were and how they were positioned. I couldn't see them, but I didn't need to see them to do my job.

"Come on, April!" I silently encouraged myself, as I shot into the shadows with deadly accuracy.

"Ugh!" exclaimed one of the bodyguards as he took a knife to the chest. "How did you...?"

Sorry, friend; I thought coldly. Nothing personal.

The gunfire continued, and little by little, the number of enemies dwindled. My mind was completely focused on the task at hand, causing everything else to fade into the darkness.

The smoke slowly began to disperse, revealing the bodies of several of Esteban's bodyguards lying on the ground. However, some of them were still alive and ready to face us. Without hesitation, I threw knives down their throats, while my companions fired with their guns. Muffled screams and the sounds of bodies collapsing filled my ears.

"Watch out, April!" warned Ethan, and I spun on my heels to avoid a blow coming my way. I moved nimbly around the room, somersaulting and dodging attacks, using my knives as an extension of my arms. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, intensifying every one of my senses and making me momentarily forget the disgust I felt for what I was doing.

So this is it, I thought with some disdain, as I finished off the last bodyguard. Esteban, you really underestimated our abilities.

With all the bodyguards defeated, I finally confronted Esteban, who had been watching the scene from a corner of the room. His eyes reflected fear, but also a kind of defiance. I approached him, holding my knives firmly in my hands.

"Esteban," I said in a cold, penetrating voice, "you knew what would happen if you betrayed us. Now you must pay the price with your life."

"Please..." he pleaded in a trembling voice, but there was no trace of regret in his expression. Placing one of my knives over his throat, my mind struggled to decide whether to finish him off or not.

"Should I really let you live?" I asked .

Esteban knelt before me, his eyes full of fear but also cunning. "I will give you information about the other group of assassins, those who are also against us. Just let me live, please."

"All right," I said dismissively, withdrawing the knife from his throat. "Speak."

I knew I shouldn't trust him, I would kill him as soon as he spoke, a part of me craved any information.

"The other group... They are..." began Esteban, but before he could say anything else, a deafening sound echoed in the room. Esteban's head exploded, pierced by a bullet fired from outside. My body tensed instantly, aware of the impending danger.

"Watch out!" shouted Natalia as another bullet grazed my metal mask, sending me staggering backwards. I quickly removed my mask, feeling the stinging pain in my forehead where the bullet had hit. My face was exposed, but at that moment, the only thing that mattered was surviving.

"We have unwanted company," Ethan announced, pointing his gun toward the broken windows where the bullets had entered. My thoughts raced as I tried to analyze the situation: They were waiting for us.

"April, focus!" I heard Sophie's voice in my head, reminding me that now was not the time to get lost in my thoughts. There was an enemy outside and we had to face it.

"Okay" I whispered, bracing myself for what was coming next.

Without a second thought, Sophie threw a smoke grenade on the floor, quickly filling the room with a thick gray fog. "We have to get out of here!" she yelled at me as she covered her mouth and nose to keep from inhaling the smoke.

"Let's go!" I exclaimed, following Sophie toward the door. Gabriel suddenly appeared, his submachine gun in hand, opening fire on the assassins who were beginning to enter through the broken windows. Bursts of bullets ripped through the air, whistling all around us as we made our way through the chaos.

"Which way out?" asked Natalia, panting as she ran alongside us. I remembered the ventilation system we had previously studied and pointed toward a duct in the wall. "That way," I said, feeling the adrenaline rush through my body as we ran toward our escape route.

We slipped one by one into the duct, moving carefully but quickly through the narrow space. I could hear the echo of gunfire and the crack of breaking glass in the distance, and I knew we didn't have much time before they caught up with us.

"Are you okay?" asked Sophie, seeing the anger in my eyes as we slid down the chute. I took a deep breath, trying to control my emotions and focus on the task at hand. "Yeah, I'm fine" I lied, knowing I couldn't let my anger and frustration get in the way of our escape.

"We're almost there" Ethan announced from the front, his voice tense but determined. I kept moving forward, feeling the cold metal of the duct rub against my skin as I moved carefully. I knew we needed to get out of there as quickly as possible, but a part of me wished this was all just over and I could leave this life of violence and death behind.

"Come on, April, we can't stop now," Natalia encouraged me, grabbing my hand to help me move faster. I nodded, gritting my teeth as I kept going, determined to escape that hell of bullets and blood.

In the end, we made it out of the duct and found ourselves momentarily safe. But I knew that our struggle was far from over, and that I would have to face the consequences of my actions and decisions, no matter how much I wanted to change my life.