*Half a year earlier*

The nervous mulatto woman ran into the room without even knocking or waiting for permission. She approached the fifty-year-old man sitting behind the desk, then slammed her hands hard on the wooden table, which immediately caught the attention of her companion.

"Give me a better job. " She said as soon as she met his confused gaze. "It's all boring! I want something better, some challenge." She said quickly.

"Welcome, papi, hello, daddy. How are you feeling today? " The man spread his arms out of frustration, to which Narin only rolled her eyes. "Thank you, my dear mija, I feel good today, how are you? "

"Berni. " Woman interrupted his chatter. "Give me a better job." She looked at him pleadingly as the older one just sighed.

"Mija..." He looked at her, resting his elbows on the desk. "Every job I give you takes a lot of effort. " He said. "Each one is demanding to some degree. I can't help it that you've gotten good enough to deal with them so quickly. " He leaned back against his red armchair. "After all, I trained you well. " He laughed softly.

Vazguez sighed and then sat down on a chair opposite the older man.

"I'm bored. " She said after a moment, which again caused a quiet chuckled of her guardian.

Torres, seeing her pleading look, shook his head and then reached into the drawer and took out a folder with documents, which he later handed to Narin. The black-haired girl immediately took the documents in her hands and began to look through them with great interest.

"That's less money than last time." She noticed the pay price for killing the man whose documents she was reviewing.

"You're the one who cares least about money. " Torres laughed.

"True, but I have to follow the rules. " She placed the papers on the desk. "Besides, it's an easy job. " She added looking at the elder.

"Easy, but at least you'll be able to play for a while. And then... We'll see if I can find something better for you. Deal? " He looked at the bored woman.

"All right, so be it. " She said, getting up from her chair. "I'll be back in the evening."She said, heading towards the door.

"Just be careful. " He called, which caught her attention. The man, seeing her expression, laughed softly and spread his hands. "I can't help worrying about my daughter."

Narin narrowed her eyes, said nothing but didn't hide her smile either.

"See you. " She grabbed the handle. "Papi. " She glanced at him before leaving the room, her last words bringing great joy to the older man.

Bernardo Torres is a fifty-year-old assassin who took young Narin into his care.

He's quite a tall and well built man. He has long, dark brown hair with a few gray streaks, which he always ties into a ponytail at the back of her head. He has a scar across his blind left eye.

He's one of the few people Miss Vazquez trusts completely. The man became close to her, as well as she to him. Bernardo treated her like his own daughter, he never had children himself. It was thanks to his help that a twenty-two-year-old woman was able to say goodbye to her old, gloomy life and it was he who took care of her.

Narin was born in a brothel. Her mother died in childbirth, so Vazquez was raised there. Until some time, she didn't know life outside said house. It wasn't until she was nineteen years old that the girl's life began to change. At the same time, two people very close to her extended a helping hand to her and showed that she was worth something too. One of these people died and the other is taking care of her to this day. The other person is Bernardo.

The man taught her everything he knew. He taught her hand-to-hand combat, fencing, and how to use weapons. He granted Narin's wish, because she was the one who asked him to help her study. Bernardo trained her not only in this, but also continued her reading and writing lessons, which she started with a person who, unfortunately, didn't live to this day.

Narin, because of her past, didn't like to show any feelings or emotions. She always seemed to play a cold and indifferent person. Bernardo, however, knew the truth and knew that despite what had happened, Narin's mind still had memories of the old days. The woman tried to hide it and never come back to it, but she couldn't always disguise it so well.

♦•♦•♦

"Yo, Narin! " The black woman approached the exercising companion.

Vazquez, after completing her job, trained at the gym, and at the moment she was practicing on a boxing bag. It allowed her to relax a bit and push the thoughts out of her head.

"Has the transfer arrived? " Mulatto woman guessed every other only nodded.

"Mm. " She nodded and looked at the woman. "You went fast. I wanted to complain to you why you didn't take me with you, but since this was so easy, I'm not surprised that you did it this way and not otherwise. " She sighed and put her hands on her hips, watching the assassin boxing. "Have you noticed Bernardo's head in the clouds lately?"

"He's always like that. " She said without interrupting her training. "And if something worse takes up his mind, he'll tell me."

"You're sure? "

"I am. " She looked at her companion. "I know him, Itzel. " She added hard and then returned to training again, and the black woman continued to watch her.

Itzel Martinez is a twenty-three-year-old woman who worked with Narin. She has been through a lot in her life, many bad ones. She lost many loved ones, and Vazquez rescued her from the darkness that began to take over her. Itzel was her extremely faithful ally, she was ready to do literally anything for her.

Martinez was taller than Narin, who was about five foot seven. Itzel was about six feet eighty-three. She had black skin and an extremely well-trained body. She was a bit thicker boned, but despite everything, she loved her body and the muscles she had acquired after many grueling workouts. The woman also had dreadlocks, which she always pinned up in a rather messy ponytail, which, when properly arranged, looked as if a few spikes were sticking out of her head instead of hair.

"You're staring. " Narin snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, reinita. " She replied with a cheeky smile. "You're too beautiful not to stare at you." She added, to which the mulatto only shook her head.

"Hermana!! " A loud and extremely squeaky voice rang out suddenly. Both women knew exactly who it belonged to.

The gray-haired girl ran into the gym and rushed towards Narin, and hugged her tightly for a moment, which didn't surprise the other two.

"E-eh, you're sweating, hermana." She looked at the black-haired girl and then smiled widely. "I'm back! And I missed you terribly! " She looked at Itzel and wanted to hug her as well, but the moment she saw her stern look, the woman decided to refrain from her intention.

"Candela, you're like a child. " Martinez shook her head in disbelief. "Grow up eventually."

"Eeeh?! Don't overdo it. " The gray-haired girl waved her hand. "I have a certain charm about me, don't I, hermana?" She looked at Narin with a smile, who only nodded her head. "By the way, have you had dinner yet? I'm starving!" She grabbed her stomach. "Can we eat together tonight?"

"Sorry, I'm off today. " Vazquez interjected and took off her boxing gloves. "I promised I'd check on Bernie.

"All right. " Itzel nodded. "We'll eat together another time. Now come on, kiddo. " She pulled her youngest companion by the hand. "Don't bother Narin now. "

"Eeeh! But why! Hermana!! " She called after the mulatto as Martinez led her out of the gym. "Itzel! Let's turn back, I want to Narin! "

"If you don't shut up, I swear that... " The black woman swore at her, their voices receded with each step, so now Narin couldn't hear another of their quarrels.

Candela Castro, like Itzel, worked with Narin. She was their youngest companion who treated Vazquez like an older sister. She's very childish and naive, so her older friends often had to stop her from doing anything stupid. Still, she has a certain charm. Originally, she had blonde hair, but she had dyed it gray and now only stuck to that color. She also had a defect of vision and wears yellow lenses. She didn't want her natural eye color, so she always wore her yellow lenses instead of the glasses she didn't like. The woman was also very short and extremely thin. She ate twice as much as Narin or Itzel, and never gained weight. She seems to have a very good metabolism.

After finishing her training, the assassin took a quick shower and at the moment she was having dinner with her guardian, Bernardo.

For several minutes there was silence between them, broken only by the clinking of dishes or the music played on the radio. Every now and then Vazquez glanced at her older companion, then sighed heavily and decided to ask the question that bothered her.

"Is there something you're not telling me? " She asked, which caught the man's attention. Narin took a sip of water without breaking eye contact.

"Why are you asking? " He replied with a question to the question, then rested his hands, in which he held the cutlery, on the table top. Bernardo shrugged and looked at the mulatto. "Why? You're worried about me? " He asked, which amused her.

"Tch, no exaggeration. " She shook her head and set the glass aside. "I just feel like there's something in the air. It's like... a hunch. " She said. "Something bothering you?"

Torres swallowed the bite he had in his mouth, then washed it all down with water and looked at his ward again.

"What can I say, we live in pretty hard times, linda. Even though all these technologies and other things are different ahead, there'll still be something on the frontier that will confuse us. " He said and took another bite of his meal. "Eh, but what can I do, I'm old." He shook his head.

"Maybe old, but not as dumb as you might look." Narin interjected, at which the elder chuckled softly.

"Listen... " He became serious and then looked mulatto in the eyes. "I may have a special assignment for you soon. It can also be quite difficult. "

"So it's even better. " She smiled. "From whom? "

"From me. " He replied, which surprised her a bit, but before Bernardo could say anything more, there was a sudden knock on the door, and a second later Itzel appeared inside.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. " She bowed then looked at her friend. "Narin, you should come with me. "

"Why? " Black-haired girl asked, putting the cutlery on the table.

Martinez smiled, knowing that the news she was bringing for her would make her friend happy.

"Mauricio. " The black woman said, and as soon as Narin heard this name, her facial expression changed immediately. Her gaze softened considerably, and her heart seemed to beat louder and stronger for a brief moment. "He just got back." She added.

Vazquez didn't wait any longer. Woman glanced at Bernardo, then quickly got up from the table and approached her companion.

"You won't be mad, will you? " She glanced over her shoulder at her guardian.

Torres smiled faintly at her.

"Just go, we'll finish it later. " He said, realizing that when it comes to Mauricio, even the older Bernardo can't stop Narin.

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Additional glossary of English-Spanish words:

*papi - daddy

*mija - my daughter

*linda- sweetie

*reinita - little queen

*hermana - sister