CHAPTER 3
Dear Diary,
There are times in my life when I feel like I'm stuck inside the Limbo. I risk my life for my living, I do it because it's fun also, sort of. But there is a moment when the infinite possibilities of the future stops being exciting. It's like I already know what's gonna happen in the next minute and it doesn't bother me anymore. I'm young, I'm strong. But life has already given me a lot and as a result I have lost interest in it. Did I just sound like a philosopher? I want to see more than life but I don't if there is anything else at all.
I'm one hell of a dark creature; TBH. #Hey, I'm winking at you..
Love, Sam.
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For the umpteenth time, Samantha checked herself in the mirror and fixed the ribbon in her neck. Today is the day she would remove a name from the pages of the economy of USA. She has put on a light makeup to look like a stuttering teenager and practiced her likewise figure of speech for a few times. Staring at her own reflection Samantha saw the gleam in her eyes she always gets before going off on a mission.
She's ready.
Though the excitement is always the same as the first time when she was given order to eliminate a certain drug dealer's group.
It was 6:00 am in the morning when she left her apartment and boarded the bus for the Great Sapphire Regency.
The road was really empty at this hour in the morning. Truth be told, people live at night in Vegas and the day is spent mostly in hangovers. Suddenly Samantha wondered what the others are doing now. It's been a while since the boss had called in to the dark base camp where she had spend the early part of her life getting brutally tortured in the name of training. She pulled her sleeves and covered the deep cut she received because she hadn't slept for three days and was forced to practice with her katana against the most skilled merciless swordsman trainer out there.
Forty minutes later the bus stopped in front of the palace like hotel and Samantha got down from the bus with a loudly beating heart. She took a deep breath and took out her ID card; flawlessly designed by Sumire, her favourite subordinate who walks on the same path as her. Step by step Samantha walked forward to the huge front gate and then turned her way towards the reception.
A bald guy was sitting there with a mess of phone calls arriving all at the same time. Silently, she put her card on the desk and wore the pom pom smile.
"Let me take care of that, since Rupert is busy!"
Samantha turned her head towards the voice and saw it came from a girl not older than twenty five years.
Calm eyes.... A little lack of confidence.... Competitive... And doesn't have a nice childhood.... Currently having a bad day....
"Hi! I'm Selena Jensen. It's my first day here!"
"Welcome to the tribe! This way please. Oh by the way, my name is Olivier. I'm mostly known as Olive here!"
The girl named Olivia took Samantha to the other reception desk and demanded her ID proof.
"May I have the ID please?"
"Sure!" Samantha huffed in pride to see her voice not stammering. But it should be, as she thought.
Olivier placed the barcode inside the machine and with a beep she frowned in a not so comforting way. Samantha hid a cringe.
"You look a lot different than what the record says!"
"Really? I thought I provided the prettiest picture I have for the application!"
From behind, another guy came and teased Olivier with a pinch on her shoulder.
"Cut her some slack would you! Sucker is not gonna send her home without at least one aneurysm!"
"Shut up with those medical references! And don't say the S word!"
"Oh! Where are manners! I'm Noah, former medical student and now delivering food leftovers and laundry. Nice to meet you.. And welcome to the tribe!"
Jam and jelly.... Extrovert.... But hides behind smile.... Drools over anything with a hole between legs....
Samantha intentionally looked at the man with confused eyes and then he said, "It's kind of a tradition here. We say that to every newcomer here! I like your hair! You're pretty!"
"Go away Noah! No flirting with the babies!"
"I wasn't flirting! It was a compliment!"
"Yes you were! And Selena, I was just messing with you. Here.... "
She gave her ID back and Samantha fake sighed in relief.
"Ahaha, you got me! Hey, who's Sucker?"
"Shhhhh! We don't say that out loud! And don't worry about that, you'll get to know about it!" She winked and instructed Noah to take her to the Sucker, whoever it is.
Throughout the way Noah kept on chattering about all the craziest things about the Regency while Samantha clicked pictures of every corner of the place in her mind, comparing with the map she had received earlier. Soon enough they turned to the left of a certain corner of the crazy labyrinth and Noah opened a certain door.
A continuous shouting could already be heard from the inside and after they entered, Samantha could see a large, pale skinned woman in her mid forties who was apparently sucking the life out of the launderers right there.
The Sucker. Acronym for Sophie Tucker.
Angry bird.... Hard ass.... Sharper than knife.... Has a lot in her plate....
"Five minutes late! Now I don't wanna hear about how your alarm clock didn't ring in the right time or this little shit here wasted your time seducing you", she pointed at Noah who flinched at the hitting gesture she made, " You better start running towards the dishwashing and make sure all of them are dried before I get there. Now move!"
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It was just 3 pm in the afternoon when Samantha dropped her dead weight on a couch in the staff's common room. The Sucker has sucked half a life out of her through dishes and calls and laundry and housekeeping and so on. Noah had offered her a shoulder massage while saying his own experience of a lot worse first day than her but she politely refused.
Laying there, Samantha stared at the ceiling fan and started her favorite brain frying activity. She thought, what if this is her actual life? What if she never were a member of The Eirineftís to begin with? What if she was just having a bad dream all along and woke up this morning to go to her new job?
Stupid group.... Stupid boss.... Stupid people.... Stupid life.... Stupid Keres....
Suddenly she laughed out loud which drew the attention of Olivier and another girl who just entered the room.
"What's up with you?"
"What?"
"You started laughing all of a sudden."
"Oh! Yeah, laughter is a good way to release frustration."
"She's emo." The other girl tried to whisper but Samantha mocked her, "I can hear you, you know!"
"I didn't say anything."
Naive little girls. They think the world is as beautiful as it seems. Samantha takes pity on them and kind of likes the way she patronizes them.
"So, Selena, where did you do your hotel management from?"
"Uhh, from the TISOH!"
"Really? I was there too!"
"DID I TELL YOU PEOPLE YOU CAN JUST SLACK OFF?"
"O shit, Sucker!" Olivier mouthed.
All of the employees stood up in one jerk and gathered around the door, along with Samantha. Madam Sophie was standing tall at the door with eyes rolling in anger that can make anybody piss their pants.
"Move you lazy asses because I don't have time to babysit! Mr. Andrew could be arriving at any moment now and I don't want anything to be ruined by you puppies playing around; am I clear?"
"YES MA'AM!"
Samantha started her countdown. For the next few hours she needs to figure out the room number which is a private information; convince one of the superior to let her take care of guest or at least accompany them and somehow put the Botulinum toxin into the man's food or water.
She has always liked killing people in front of her eyes.