“Well? Do you accept your mission, Agent Miller?” Commander Thomas Guard asked, his face as difficult to read as a book written in Ukrainian. Arabella swallowed, her mouth dry. She hesitated uncomfortably and glanced around before looking a stone-faced Thomas Guard in the eye.
    “Yes.”
    That one word was the effect of a decision that may have been the worst one Arabella ever made in her life.
***
    It took a few days to prepare Arabella for her mission, but eventually, they were ready. Once she was near the enemy base, she would be joined by another agent. They would then enter the base and hack into the database, and gather information about the organization and future attacks. Then, they would get out without drawing attention to themselves.
    It sounded so much easier than it really was.
    Arabella had gone over the plan millions of times in her head. She knew it like the back of her hand. Despite this, she was still anxious. What if something went wrong? What if they got caught? She was handed a backpack and a helmet on her way down the dark hallway.
Arabella pushed open the door to the agency’s garage, wincing at the slight squeak. Light slowly flooded the hallway as the door opened, and Arabella blinked a few times so her eyes could get used to the change.
In the garage, she saw a sleek, black motorcycle. It was the same motorcycle that she had been learning to ride for the past week. She pulled on the helmet and tucked her auburn ponytail into it. Arabella’s eyes roamed through the crowd of agents who stood silently, waiting for her to leave. She mounted the motorcycle, her grey eyes locking with the hazel eyes that belonged to Thomas Guard. He kept eye contact, his face blank. Arabella blinked.
A moment later, she was gone, racing through the streets of the city. Arabella took a sharp right turn, and nearly jumped off the motorcycle when she saw another person on a similar motorcycle right next to her.
They looked over, seeing Arabella, and saluted her. She couldn’t tell if it was mockingly or not.
It was only a minute or two before the agents arrived at the enemy base. Arabella dismounted and took off her helmet, turning to the other agent. They were still getting off their motorcycle, so Arabella started toward the building. She headed toward the nearest door, remembering that she needed a passcode to open the door.
While Arabella was punching in the passcode, she was hit in the head, and everything went black.
***
    Arabella’s eyes fluttered open, a splitting headache weakening her concentration. It took her a moment to realize where she was, but when she finally got a good look around, she panicked.
    She jumped to her feet and gasped for air, her heart racing. The only thought in her mind was “oh my gosh heights” as she started hyperventilating.
    Arabella was, at the moment, stuck inside a glass room, high above the ground, with no people or civilization to be seen for miles and miles. Just barren land.
    After about a minute-and-a-half of panicking, Arabella saw a car driving toward her general direction. When the car finally stopped, a man got out. In Arabella’s fit of panic, she recognized the man. She heaved a sigh of relief, still shaking anxiously from the height of the room.
    Arabella, not paying attention, jumped when the man entered the room. She let out a cry of relief, jumping up. She froze when the man pointed a gun at her.
    “Take one step closer and I’ll shoot.” He said nonchalantly.
    Arabella was confused. “But… you-you’re here to rescue me, right?”
    He laughed. “Oh, you naive little girl. I’m not here to rescue you. I’m the reason you’re in here.”
    “You-” Arabella stuttered, not quite comprehending what the man was telling her, “-you betrayed me?”
    “Well, who else would have betrayed you? I thought you would be smarter than this. More like your mother. Although, I see you got most of your genes from your father. You’re naive, unintelligent, and big-headed.”
    “There is no way my father was any of those things, and I certainly am not either! I don’t care how well you knew my parents, or how well you think you knew them. My father was definitely not naive, unintelligent, or big-headed!” Arabella cried indignantly, but the man just ignored her, his hazel eyes angry and cold.
    “You know, you’re going to die the same way that your parents died-” Arabella cut him off.
    “W-what?” She stuttered, fear suddenly laced into the tone of her voice.
    He laughed wickedly. “Oh, you didn’t know? Did your grandparents never think to tell you that your parents were betrayed? Well, let me just tell you right now, that I betrayed your parents. I hated your father. How your mother married him, I will never understand. He was so arrogant and bold. But your mother, she was the smartest, most caring woman I have ever met. She deserved so much more. So much better. I could have given her that. ME! Not your egotistical monster of a father!”
    “MY FATHER WAS A GREAT MAN AND YOU ARE A COWARD TO SAY ANYTHING LESS OF HIM!” Arabella yelled, abruptly standing up straight and clenching her fists.
“Remember, I’m the one with the gun here.” He smirked, gesturing toward her with the pistol. Arabella’s eyes widened and she shrunk back slightly, but didn’t retreat back into the corner. “In fact, I think it’ll be easiest to just end this now.”
This time, Arabella did shrink back into the corner. This automatic response was completed with a terrified whimper. She clenched her eyes shut as he lifted the gun, aiming it toward her head.
“Any last words?” He asked smugly.
“My mother would never had loved you.” Arabella managed to say with a tone of defiance in her voice. He growled.
And then, he pulled the trigger.
***
    The last thing Arabella Miller ever saw before she died, was the smirking face of her killer, Thomas Guard.