Astraea

Bell has been on surveillance for the third day now.

This should be the last day.

She should be home tonight.

Or else, her father would start calling her asking where she is and when is she coming home. And that is the last thing she needed now.

A distraction.

When she left the house three days ago, she said that she will be on vacation for three days and two nights. Her parents just asked where she was going and didn't ask any questions. Because there is nothing unusual about that.

They were used to her and her sisters telling them that they will be gone for three days on a vacation.

And that has become normal for them in the past seven years. At least that was what they thought. A normal vacation.

If they found out that it was nothing but a normal vacation, it will send them early to their graves. So Bell has to make a perfect excuse.

At first, it was her. Her first excuse was she will be going mountain climbing and she will return after three days.

Well, that was not a lie. She really did go mountain climbing at that time. Except that it was not for recreation.

She was hunting.

Hunting a fugitive.

It was her first hunt as a bounty hunter. She was hired to catch a wanted criminal who was bonded out after being arrested for killing his daughter-in-law. After a couple of days of investigating, she found out that the man was hiding in a mountain. So, she went mountain climbing.

At first, her parents asked her a lot of questions. Questions liked where is she going? Who is she with? When is she coming home? Is it a safe place? Is she fit to go mountain climbing?

She just rolled her eyes at them at the last question because of all people, her father should know that she is physically fit to go on mountain climbing.

At a young age, her father insists that she and her sisters should learn different kinds of combat techniques. He would hire different experts to train them. He even hired gun experts to teach them guns.

And she was thankful for that because she has been using those skills until now. It has been very useful in her kind of recreation.

Then two years later, it was her sister Brylee. Sometimes, she and Brylee would go together on a 'vacation'. Sometimes they would go alone.

Then years later it was Briony and Brina. The two would always go together.

So, when either of them would tell their parents that they will go somewhere for three days, they would not question them that much.

Not even ask who they are going with because they know that Bell or Brylee would always go alone or sometimes together. Briony and Brina always go together.

And that would always be for only three days. It was rare for them to ask for an extension. That means they have to finish the hunt in just three days or sometimes earlier than that.

And in this hunt, Bell is running out of patience. It's getting late now. She should be heading home. Any moment, her father will be calling her.

She is now in one of the country's popular cities. It was popular because of its many architectural and cultural heritage. But aside from that, the city is also popular as the home of small gangs that keep the police busy.

Before she went to the city, she made a couple of surveillance and investigations. Then she plans ahead of time so that she will not have to extend her 'vacation'. But she didn't think that the situation is much more complicated than it seems.

She is hunting a 20-year-old boy who bonded out after being arrested in connection with a shooting incident in a department store that resulted in the death of a mother and her 3-year-old son then didn't showed up in his hearings. Upon investigation, it turns out that the young boy was also involved in the murder of a 14-year-old male student.

Bell found out that the boy is a member of a small yet violent gang in that city.

Bell had talked to the boy's relatives and found out that he was last seen with some of his friends that were also a member of the gang.

The gang permanently resides in that city so Bell was certain that he could find the boy there.

But, it has been three days now. She has been following the members of the gang yet, she hadn't seen the wanted criminal.

She parked her car in one of the dark alleys of the city. It is the place where she frequently saw the members of the gang. It is said that they occupy one of the buildings there.

She happened to find out which building and which floor is their hideout.

It is getting late, and her patience is getting thinner, so she would risk it and invade their hideout hoping for a minimal casualty. Though she cannot promise that. Because as her real name represents, Bell is violent and untamed.

Her father named her Bellona which means Goddess of War, but when her mother found out the meaning behind her name she nicknamed her Bell or Belle meaning beautiful.

In the end, Bell grows up to be a beautiful war machine.

She is wearing a black tank top tucked in her jeans. She put on her shoulder and IWB holsters then secured her Glocks and Sig Sauer. Those were her personal choice of guns. She tied her hair in a bun then put on a black balaclava.

She covered herself with a black hooded trench coat and black leather gloves.

After making sure that everything is in place, she went out of the car and started to walk.

She leaves her phone inside the car to make sure that she won't be distracted by her father's call.

She walked towards an abandoned building.

With one of her hands in her pocket, she used the other hand to knock on the steel door at the back of the building.

After three knocks, she heard movements from the inside. Someone was behind that door, she was certain about it, so she looked at the peephole of the steel door to make eye contact.

"What do you want?!" A man asked.

"I am looking for Chaol." She said in her deep and husky voice.

There was silence.

"There is no Chaol in here." The man replied.

Bell narrowed her eyes.

"You don't want to get involved with this. My patience is getting thinner, so, give me that fucking asshole." She said with narrowed eyes.

There was an annoying laugh that is making her palm itch. Her palm itching is not good, at least for the man on the other side of the steel door.

"You ask for that damn Chaol one more time and I'll let you in so that I and my men could fuck you hard!"

That's it!

Bell's eyes turned dark under the black hood. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you." He said in a low voice.

"What is it? Are you still asking for that fucking Chaol? So, you want to be fucked, huh?" The man said and it was obvious by his voice that a grin is plastered on his face.

Bell heard some clanking of metal from the steel door. She seized that opportunity and removed the gloves from both her hands and threw the gloves away.

She shouldn't have worn that in the first place.

She places one of her palms on the steel door and the next thing she heard is the scream of the man from the other side of the door.

"Aaah!"

Bell could tell that there were two more men behind that steel door.

She gently pushes the steel door that the man already unlocked.

When she opened it, she saw a tall skinny man lying on the floor unconscious. There were burn injuries on his hand and face.

"W-who are you?" She heard one of the men say and before she could say anything the man attacked her with his fist.

She quickly grabs his fist before it could land on her face that is covered with the balaclava and twists it making a cracking sound.

"Aaah!" The man screamed in pain.

In a swift movement, Bell flipped her body and managed to put the man's neck in between her leg and knock him down unconscious.

"Fuck!"

Bell looked behind her and saw the other pointed a gun at her.

In two large strides, she managed to reach the man's hand and twisted it behind his back making the gun fall on the floor.

Bell kicked the gun away and harshly pushed the man on the wall. The man hissed in pain.

No one would think that a girl like Bell could exert such force.

She almost crashes the man's skull on the wall. If she doesn't need information, she doesn't have to suppress herself.

"For the last time," Bell said near the man's ear. "Where is Chaol?" She asked between gritted teeth.

"I...Aaah!!"

Bell pushed the man harder on the wall as if trying to mold him and the concrete wall into one.

"S-second floor! Unit 4B! H-he lives...there...w-with his g-girlfriend." The man successfully blurted out the words despite his face almost crashing on the wall.

Bell eventually releases the man before she hits him on his temple.

The man falls on the floor unconscious.