Mark, the Professional

Chapter 1 Who Are You

Her delicate fingers untied the silky white dress swiftly and it slipped off, revealing her fair skin.

She kept her eyes on him, looking seductive with her long blonde hair and deep blue eyes, and advanced towards him slowly like a cat. He was extremely calm, his breathing steady, as always.

“I’m deeply grateful to you for saving me, Mark.” She said with a smile as she stroked him on his chest. “Or I would have died in the cold.”

Mark said nothing, his face emotionless. He met her while he was out for food. It was snowing and freezing cold. She stood by the road, next to her car that had broken down, shivering in the cold. In such a remote area, one would hardly meet people. If Mark had not offered help, she would very likely freeze to death.

It was Mark’s job to handle the bad guys like gangsters, drug traffickers, mafias, rebels and the like. He had just completed a mission, demolishing one of the biggest drug-dealing groups, tracking them all the way to the most remote part of the country.

He watched her cautiously. “Hmm, how would you like to thank me then?” He looked at her into her eyes.

She smiled, took his hand and put it on her bare shoulder. “Just the way you want it...” she said seductively, took his other hand and placed it on her bottom.

Mark grabbed it with his rough hand and starting stroking her naked body. He was getting turned on, but he remained alert as usual and when he touched the blue diamond on her necklace, he caught sight of a light shining through it. His pupils dilated. He knew it was a device for communication.

She was communicating with someone! He suddenly realized, and without hesitation, he grabbed her neck, turned her around and held her tight, using her as a shield.

Bang!

The woman dropped dead. It was a sniper.

Mark fired at the light switches immediately and the room went dark.

Bang. He fired one more time and there came a sharp groan behind the door and the falling sound of a heavy body.

“What happened?” The sniper asked on the walkie-talkie, thinking that it was his partner that had fired but received no reply. Complete silence.

“Damn it!” He cursed. Just then, he felt something cold and hard pressing on his back. His heart dropped and his body froze. He knew he had failed and death awaited him right there and then.

He turned around slowly only to see Mark pointing his gun between his eyebrows. “Goodbye.” Mark pulled the trigger. The man was dead.

After clearing the scene, Mark went to the garage instead of returning to the hut. He picked a black vehicle, one of the least noticeable and drove away in the night.

It wasn’t safe here anymore. He had to leave as soon as possible. The radio was playing a classic piece of Chopin as the car marched across the remote land through the night. Mark looked ahead, focused and awake. Who is it this time? He wondered.

Just then, his phone rang. He answered.

“My boy! Where the hell are you? I’ve asked you to get your ass back to London ASAP, haven’t I?! Don’t you want to get your British passport?” A man shouted impatiently on the other line, sounding stern and annoyed.

“Aha!” Mark stepped on the brakes instantly and the squeaking sound of the tires scraping the ground broke the silence of the night and echoed in the distance. “Jack! You are still alive! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you! It’s been half a month since you last contacted me.” Mark replied with excitement.

The name, Jack Jackson, wasn’t just another usual name but one that could make people tremble with fear just by hearing or mentioning it. He was called ‘The Invincible Fighter’.

On hearing the excitement in Mark’s voice, Jack grew more irritated. “I have no time telling you off anymore. This is my request. Quit after you finish this last mission and get back to London. Stop worrying me, alright?”

Mark was an orphan and when he was fourteen, he was adopted by and became a disciple of Jack Jackson. Since then, he had started his life as part of the army. In the past ten years, he had made a great contribution and achieved a lot, though he had also been a trouble maker. He was said to be “The Invincible Fighter To Be”. Surely, he was the youngest with the most incredible achievement. If he could manage his playfulness better, he would have succeeded Jack long ago.

Mark pressed the speaker button and a robotic female voice spoke. “Name: Kate Lawrence. Mission: To protect her for three months.”

The order was brief and sharp, just the way Jack Jackson liked, or to be exact, the only way.

Mark hung up and sped up. Two days later, he was back in Manchester, back to civilization. He felt alive as if he had just returned from the dead. He heaved a sigh of relief, took out his phone and requested, “Hey, Mary Anne, check on Kate Lawrence for me.” Within seconds, a photo of a stunning-looking face appeared on the screen. Kate Lawrence, aged 26, the founder and president of the Kat Corporation, was one of the wealthiest female entrepreneurs in England.

Mark gave her a call. It was effortless for him to get anyone’s contact.

“Hello?” Kate lifted her hand at the sales manager, indicating him to pause; then, she walked towards the window and spoke quietly.

“We shall meet in ten minutes,” Mark said briefly.

Kate knitted her brows and hung up without a word. Have I got no privacy anymore? How the hell did a stranger get my private number?

She slipped her phone in her pocket and elegantly, she returned to her seat. “Go on, please.” She said plainly.

Seeing her indifferent look and sense that she wasn’t much intrigued by his report, the sales manager grew nervous and wished that he had prepared better.                                                            

Mark sneered at his phone and thought Aha, a stuck-up b***h, very likely. He got into a taxi and told the driver to go to the parking lot of the Lawrence Tower. He had already found out what Kate Lawrence’s schedule was for the day.

“Unacceptable.” Kate Lawrence pointed at the screen and said sharply, “The analysis of the data isn’t clear enough, nor is the explanation of the project. It will only confuse our clients. Redo it.” The sales manager nodded and obeyed. Kate took a look at her watch and said, “Alright, dismiss.”