Agent X drove up to the designated area, while finding an open parking spot. There was nobody else on site. He turned off the ignition, gazing at Casey as she unbuckled her seat belt. Agent X read her body language from the way she perched up her lips and the nerves twitch from her hands.

"Are you alright?" Agent X inquired while closing the car door.

Casey walked on the sidewalk. "No."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He followed behind her on the grass. 

She sighed. "I rather not let's get this over with."

"Obviously, something is bothering you."

She sucked in her teeth."Don't you get tired of killing? Do you ever wonder there is more to life than murder?"

He halted. "I didn't ask for this life. I was forced into it and I don't even know who I am. We both know who is to blame for that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Agent X clamped his fist with a frown looking straight ahead. "Come on, Jared is waiting for us."He knocked on the door. Jared opened the door looking around his surroundings making sure no else was around.

"Come inside," Jared said, looking around the corner, waving Agent X and Casey to enter inside a shady house.

"What's the problem?" Agent X asked, grabbing a chair.

"My sister Alica. Deshed kidnapped her," Jared said in a serious tone.

"Oh, no I'm sorry," Casey reached for his shoulder.

Jared stepped back and took up an empty Mason jar and choked against the wall. Casey gasped with her hand covering her mouth. 

"I know you're worried about her. What do you want me to do?" Agent X inquired.

Agent X knew that Deshed was up to his old tricks in recreating Project Dark Descent, making a new breed of assassins like Alicia.

Jared stared at Agent X with intense eyes. "I want to find my sister. Can you help me?"

"I will see what I can do," Agent X said.

Jared reached for Agent X's shoulder. "Thank you, I am in your debt."

"Do you know if she had any friends?" Agent X asked, checking for leads.

"No, she kept to herself," Jared said. He passed a small black notebook to Agent X.

Agent X opened the notebook and skimmed through the pages until he discovered the Raven sketched in black ink. He rubbed the impression of the numbers as he closed his eyes. Flashes a memory floated into his mind from the Raven Institute. 

"Earth to Agent X, '' Casey said, snapping her fingers.

"Does he normally go into a trance?" Jared asked, feeling puzzled.

"Not like this," Casey said as she shook Agent X.

Agent X opened his eyes. "I know where to find her."

A red dot circled Jared's head through a window. Agent X pushed Jared and Casey on the floor out of sight from the shooter. Two bullets breached the window as the glass shattered all around them. Agent X looked up at Jared when the bullet had penetrated his skull with blood seeping through. His brown lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. Casey shook in terror with her hands on the floor boards.

"He's gone," Agent X said in a cold tone. "Stay here." He got up crouching down heading for the door, pulling at his gun.

The door opened as he ran close to the corner. Agent X saw a man moved from the shadows from a neighboring house. He ran in pursuit of the gunman. As the gunman turned around, he fired his gun at Agent X. Agent X had dodged and fired back hitting the person's leg as he screamed.

Agent X caught up to the gunman jumping on his back taking him down, knocking away from his hand. They wrestled on the ground for dominance. Agent X got on top of the gunman and whaled on him busting up his jaw. The gunman took some dirt into his hands and threw at Agent X's eyes as he turned the table on him and punched Agent X. The gunman gripped Agent X's neck. Agent X grunted, breaking his hold by squeezing the wound of his leg and head butting the gunman. Agent X reaches for the gun pointing at the man.

"Did Deshed send you? Hmm?" Agent X asked, shooting his other knee.

"I'm not telling you nothing," the man said in agony.

Agent X shot his arm. "I will ask again, did Deshed send you?" 

Agent X pushed the gun to the man's head. "Last chance."

"Go to hell, I ain't telling you a damn thing," the man said, closing his eyes, feeling the sting from his arm.

Agent X smirked. "I figured you wouldn't." Agent X knocked him out from behind. 

                       * * *

"How long until she awakes?" Deshed asked, looking through the glass laboratory.

"She will be ready in twenty minutes," one scientist said, looking through his tablet.

"Are the targets programmed as specified?"

"All safeguards are in place."

"Good, you may leave."

The scientists nodded."Yes, of course."

Deshed phone buzzed. He answered the phone from a remote location eager to hear the news of the off-sight mission. "Is it done?"

"I'm afraid he can't speak for himself," Agent X said in a taunting tone.

Deshed felt a slight chill to his spine as if death was approaching him. "Agent X?"

"I know what you are doing and I'm shutting you down."

"You can't stop what's coming. A new generation of assassins will be released soon. Not even you can't stop them. I'm afraid you are obsolete."

"Well see about that," Agent X said as he ended the call.

Agent X turned to the man tied to the chair. He slapped him in the face. "Time to wake up."

The man struggled against the rope and black duct tape on a steel chair. He gazed at the knives and tools on the table. Agent X went to the table to pick up a power drill. This is how it's gonna go down. You can tell me what I want to know or if you want to do things the hard way." Agent X pressed the trigger on the power drill. I got some time to kill."

The man spat on the floor. "Screw you."

"Okay, it is time to begin." Agent X walked forward with the power drill and began to push into his knee as he hollered in agony. 

Casey walked in Agent X during his torture session startled by his actions. "I found something."

The gunman hissed in anger. "When I get out of here. You are dead."

"Is that right? Agent X put down the drill on the table. "Oh, when I return. I still have more to discuss with you. Sit tight." Agent X closed the door to the room. 

Agent X and Casey stepped in the hallway wooden panel floors near two cabinets. Agent X had the sense something was weighing down on Casey's mind. She halted taking a breath and turned to him. 

"Is that the guy?"

"Yeah, that's the man who killed he might know where I can find Deshed. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"I discovered something on my laptop." Casey gazed at his eyes.

"What did you find?" Agent X had a puzzled look.

"I'll show you." She turned the laptop revealing a list of names of intended targets from the Raven Agency database.

"Is that what I think it is?" Agent X asked to skim through the names.

"I hit the proverbial jackpot with the hack of the central computers and I uncovered this."

"Nice work. Now we have what we need. Just a matter of getting to the targets before Deshed does. I need you to load the list to my cell phone."

Casey typed on her keyboard. "Sure, where are you going?" 

"To have a word with our guest." Agent X walked toward the hallway opening the door. "So you know he was the person who killed Jared."

Casey cringed at the thought that Agent X resorted to torture. She bit her lower lip afraid to say something as she continued downloading all the intel off her laptop. The man looked up at Agent X as he closed the door behind him. He approached the man staring at him with cold eyes.

"You are going to tell me where to find Deshed," Agent X said, balling his fist.

The man laughed as Agent X started punching his face with hard blows. "Where is Deshed?" Agent X punched him hard drawing more blood from his face. 

"I'll ask again where is Deshed?"

"You are not getting anything from me," the man said, staring at Agent X picking up a knife off the table. "You will talk when I am done with you."

The man's eyes widened when Agent X walked toward him when he took his right hand and stabbed him in the palm twisting the blade. The man screamed, clenching his teeth. Agent X pushed deeper with his blade. 

Agent X walked back to the table and picked up the power drill. "It is time I get a little creative."

Casey heard nothing but loud screams that brought chills to her spine. It lasted for hours on end. A part of her hoped Agent X didn't lose his humanity.