Sniper (A Story of Love, Hate and Revenge)

I -

Sarah turned off the phone, sighed and walked to the closet. She pushed the hanger racks to a side and gave the wall a push at the side. The wall came loose at the other side. It turned out to be a false wall hiding a very big black bag. She pulled out the bag, fixed the wall, closed her closet and walked out of the bedroom. She strolled into the living room to find Angel, her daughter sleeping on the sofa with the TV still on. She walked quietly to the door.

Outside, he walked into the garage and walked to her car. It was actually her husband car but she loved driving it. It always made her feel close to him, like he was right in the car with her. She dumped her bag in the booth and made to the driver’s seat. She noticed another car parked in the garage. She wondered where Angel got the car from. Ever since her husband died, Sarah had been having a hard time keeping track of Angel’s movement and carrying out her assignments. She made a mental note to ask her when she returned from the mission.

As Sarah drove, she tried to control the anger that was welling up within her. She had just gotten a call from her supervisor. They finally had a lead on who gave them away on her last mission. Her last mission that had cost Steven’s life. “Focus Sarah, you are a soldier.” She admonished herself as she released her pressure on the accelerator pedal. “Your mission is shoot to maim. This is not a revenge mission.” Her supervisor had told her. She was a solder; like all good soldiers, she was going to comply. “This is nothing personal.” She assured herself.

II -

Sarah arrived at the ranch and looked at the many guards at the gate. This was the location aright. She continued driving until she was a few metres from the gate. There, she brought out her binoculars and looked around. “Sweet spot,” She cooed as she espied a hill at the outskirts of the town facing the ranch. She started the car and drove to the bottom of the hill. There, she parked her car and went to the booth. In the booth, just as she picked up her bag, she saw a picture of her and Steven. Steven had been kidnapped in this very car. No, she wasn’t going to cry.

Trudging under the weight of her bag, she climbed the hill under the smiling gaze of the afternoon sun. Argh, the sun was smiling too much for comfort. She wiped sweat off her face with her hand and continued up the hill. Every few metres, she would pause and turn to look at the ranch. She didn’t want to be too high, yet she didn’t want to be seen easily. Soon, she reach a plateau that offered her a few drying shrubs to lie on. She dropped her bag and sighed.

After the conversation with her supervisor, she sat on a low rock and drew her bag closer. Inside, she brought out her gloves - her husband’s gloves - and put them on slowly. The gun belt came out too. She put it on and pulled at it. Next, she pulled out a small case. Inside, she brought out a Glock 17, checked the bullets and kept it by her side, using the gun belt. She then sighed and brought out a large case. She opened the case and loved the smell that came out with it. She had serviced and oiled her sniper rifle only recently. Considering the mission she was on, she was glad she did. She then began to put the pieces together. Out came the small tripod too. She was getting in the mood already.

III -

Sarah had been lying on the ground for almost fifteen minutes. The sun was beating on her but she remained still. During that time, she had spotted another place that had the benefit of a tree hanging over it. She would have changed location but it was too late already. Besides, the tree could make her location easier to target. No, she was going to remain where she was. There were a few houses between her and the ranch. Any moment soon, the targets would appear, her team members would strike and she would happily be doing target practice with the bad guys. “The bad guys,” She smiled as she remembered the last argument she had with Steven.

Steven had asked her why she enjoyed killing so much - as if he didn’t - and she had replied that she only killed bad guys. “Bad guys? What about bad girls?” Steven was only teasing but she got the point. Most action movies always show guys are the bad ones. If there was a female in the mix, she had to be central to the plot. “Well, if I see a bad girl, I won’t hesitate. Because, if I do, I might end up being a dead girl.” She had replied. “A dead milf.” Steven corrected. She had slapped him playfully and laughed.

Sarah ignored the lone tear trickling down her face as she steadied her hold on the trigger. “This is nothing personal. This is nothing personal. This is no… God damn it Sarah, get a hold of yourself.” She chided. She felt another tear trying to make its way from the river that was springing in her eyes. She used her left hand to take off her shades and rubbed her eyes with her right hand. She then returned her left hand to the trigger. “The South Paw Shooter,” Steven had always called her. “With you in the game, the plans of the bad guys always go south.” Well, this mission wasn’t going to be an exception.

IV -

“Gray Phoenix, do you read?” Her supervisor’s voice came in through the ear plugs in her left ear.

“I hear you loud and clear Father, you don’t have to shout.” She muttered as she tracked a vehicle’s movement through her scope. The vehicle was driving towards the large house in the middle of the ranch.

“We have a friendly in the mix. He’s wearing a red jacket. I repeat, we have a friendly in the…”

“Yeah, yeah. I got that.” Sarah cut in. “What is a friendly doing here anyway?”

“Oh, so you’ll like to hear the details now? I thought you were only interested in who to shoot and who not to.” Her supervisor said as he chuckled.

Trust her supervisor to always joke. She wondered how he made it up the ranks. Well, it wasn’t her business.

“Well, we don’t know the snitch yet. So we sent in one of our men. He’s good, you know. He’s been in town for a week now. He’s the one that discovered the snitch. He says it’s a girl.”

“A girl?” Sarah asked as she turned her gun to trail another vehicle that also drove into the ranch.

“Yes, a girl. Not someone we know though. He could only send us a text message. He claims the girl even made him sleep in her parents’ house. We need this girl alive Sarah.”

“I hear you. Now, could you get off my radio? I need to focus.”

“I trust you. You’re The South Paw Shooter. With you in the game, the plans of the bad guys always go south.” With that, the radio went silent.

Sarah bit on her lower lip. “Focus girl. He meant that to encourage you.” She admonished herself.

Just then, the first vehicle stopped and a girl stepped out followed by a guy wearing a red jacket. She focused her scope to zoom in on the girl. Her heart skipped a beat. It was Angel. Angel was the one that killed Steven? That arranged for Steven, her husband, to be kidnapped in his car and killed?

She looked through her tears into the scope and saw Angel shoot the friendly. She then heard cars approaching the hill. “We are burned,” She muttered.

Two shots were fired. One from a sniper’s rifle going through the head of a girl about a mile away. The other from a Glock 17 with the muzzle pressed against the head.

This is my entry for the Art Prompt Writing Contest #10 by @gmuxx. Working with the picture was hard. It took me three thinking days to come up with this story. I hope you like it. The image was provided by @arrelaine13

Thanks for reading

Blessings