?
We are assigned out to Cayden again that afternoon; apparently he is going away on a trip to another one of the Zones.
There are three Zones within the normal district. Zone One is the lower class; this is for the citizens working the lower-level jobs. While the government provides housing and food for everyone, they still need to work for it. So this is usually reserved for the ‘dirty workers’ as they are called in town. They are our plumbers, our miners, any job that requires any sort of hands-on dirty work. They’re confined to Zone One and the buildings within it.
Then there’s Zone Two, which is for the middle class. This is for pretty much everyone else who’s not significant; the teachers, the bakers, the everyday workers. The people with no real importance to the new order, the average citizens.
And then there’s Zone Three. High class. These aren’t the elites, not even close, but they have more luxuries than everyone else; no curfew, lower guard presence apart from at the borders, no restrictions on food allowances. It’s almost impossible to earn your way here unless you’re in the government or an important force like the doctors and guards.
Anything beyond that is strictly for the elites, like Cayden.
The elites have unlimited access to everything, every zone, every luxury. They have mansions and cars, they have everything the normal citizens dream of. Most of them are our founders, the people who designed the new order’s system to keep us safe.
The elites either bought their way in, or were born into the status through family, or friends. The rich from before were allowed to keep their luxuries as long as they kept feeding the new order and their systems money.
It’s a win-win; they get freedoms, and the new order gets the funding it needs to keep safety protocols and systems in place to protect the citizens.
We were told to pack overnight. Our mission is to blend in, to observe who Cayden interacts with and report any conversations outside of the ordinary to The Academy immediately. It’s not the first time I’ve been sent on an overnight mission; while they definitely aren’t the usual, they also aren’t completely unheard of. They have given us a new outfit, one made to blend into the Zones. For the first time, I get to wear a hoodie.
They have laid out a pullover hoodie with a pair of leggings and a pair of used sneakers. I must admit, I have missed sneakers. They were a part of the old training uniforms before they decided to keep our casual mission uniforms as the training uniforms.
I understand it, getting us confident in the clothes we would wear on missions. But I would love to have comfortable clothes like this available all the time. At least for the times we aren’t training or on missions. Something to keep us comfortable.
But The Academy doesn’t want comfortable, they want fear.
“Did you notice any more girls gone today? I didn’t see any,” I ask Bella, changing into the new clothes and putting my training uniforms in the bag they gave us along with my gun. But I do keep my knife in my hoodie pocket.
“One, Sophia. She was Alison’s partner.” Alison, another girl who was taken. I nod, storing the information away and zipping up the bag, throwing it over my shoulder.
“You ready to go?” I look at Bella who is doing the same. We walk out walking into Madam’s office where Wolvrin, Overseer, Madam, and Major are waiting.
“PX-3, PX-57, your mission is to eliminate any potential threats to The Academy, not including Cayden Ashford. Cayden is to remain unharmed and observed.”
My heart drops. I feel like I’m running out of muscle memory. Would I even want to kill someone anymore? That definitely should not be my first thought.
I am PX-3, I am a trained assassin.
“Yes, sir.”
“And PX-3, considering Cayden’s emotions surrounding you, we expect you to use this to get more information. You must return with some valuable information, or else it will be the chair for interrogation.”
Well hello to you, too, sir. My day is going swell, thank you for asking.
“Yes, sir.”
Wolvrin leads us as we exit the building and walk out to the SUV. Like always, Bella and I enter first while Wolvrin enters after us. The car takes off, and our wrists are checked for the tattoo at the gate before we drive off towards Cayden’s house again.
And while the Overseer’s threat looms in my mind, I can’t help but be excited at the fact I get to leave The Academy for the night and actually interact with someone else, someone I can trust, someone who kisses me.
Fuck. I’m so screwed.
Chapter 20:
Cayden is standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for us when we arrive. He’s wearing a different set of jeans and a hoodie, his face softening as I step out of the car. Cayden looks happy to see me, as if I’m not here to watch his every move.
He looks at me like I’m just a normal girl, not an assassin.
“Hello, darling.” My heart flutters at Cayden’s voice. It’s like a comforting blanket wrapping around me that only he seems to bring. In a second, his arms wrap around me and his chin rests on top of my head. I could stay like this forever.
