The Sniper of Vlopolis

Chapter 6: Interrogation

        How did my boss know who I am? I cover my whole body, except for my hair when I wear my suit, and still, she knew who I was. Did she see me when I went into my lair? Probably not, because I always look around before I go into my lair, but still, she could have seen me. Did my friends tell her? No, because they are very loyal friends and they would never do that. I grew up with them. They swore to not tell people who I am. Did my boss see me exiting the lair in the subway station? Again, maybe not because it's hidden very, very deep inside the subway station, to the point where no one goes. Is It because of my black hair and she knows it's me since the Purple Death has black hair too? Mercury looked around at the people surrounding her on the sidewalk. There's a lot of people with black hair, so I don't think it's that. I'm so confused about how she knew the Purple Death was me.

        She kept on wondering how her boss knew that she was the greatest sniper in the world for the entire walk to her work.

        She entered through the revolving doors of Griffin Tower and went straight to her office. She closed the door quietly, locked it, and closed all of the blinds. Mercury tossed her computer bag on the couch and then pulled up her shirt. Her Hellcat pistol was in its holster. She hid the pistol with her shirt again and opened the blinds. I need answers from her. I need to know how she knew I was the Purple Death. Mercury closed her office door and went to the elevator. 

        On the third floor, the elevator door opened. Ivanka Vega, Mercury's boss, sat at her desk, talking on the phone. "Yes. I'll get right to it. Bye." She hung up the phone and looked up at Mercury cheerfully. She saw the apprehended expression on her face and slightly tilted her head. "Mercury, you seem troubled. Please, sit down." 

        She walked over to her desk and stood beside the chair, fists clenched. "How did you know I was her?!" She demanded, slamming the note on Ivanka's desk. Ivanka squinted her eyes and picked up the note. She took a deep breath and eyed Mercury. 

        "At the business party two weeks ago, I said 'wow, Purple Death is always on the news' after the tv showed you climbing a building with a grappling hook. Everyone started talking about her, except for you, which you were strangely quiet. One person said that Purple Death should go to jail, and that's when you walked away from the conversation. Also, I was there when you killed people in an alley on Foxman Street, but I don't think you saw me. I took a picture of you before you shot someone and then ran. At my house, I studied the picture and I spotted part of a blue sleeve sticking out of your suit a little bit. That day you were wearing the same blue shirt and the Purple Death has the same hair color as you, so I concluded that you were the one under that mask."

        "Let me guess, you're going to call the cops on me?!" she lashed out. 

        Ivanka opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a black and white notebook. She gave it to Mercury to read. She opened the notebook to the first page. The first page showed a sketch of her suit, but with a different design. It had a wingsuit attached to it and notes to the side of the sketch elucidating how it'll work. "I want to help you," Ivanka reasoned. 

        Mercury flashed her a surprised look. "You want to help me? But why?" 

        "I've always wanted to help a hero, especially you. I was a sniper in the Army eighteen years ago. I was one of the best in my squad. When I was forty-three years old in Syria, I had a mission to kill a terrorist leader. I was getting ready to shoot, but then I heard a noise sounding like a bomb ticking, and right next to me, there was a bomb in the bushes. I quickly got up and ran, but the bomb exploded before I got far away from it. It blew off my right arm. Soldiers who saw the explosion found me and put me in a helicopter to fly to an airport, where I flew on a plane back to the U.S. Two months later, doctors gave me a bionic arm, and they told me I could enlist back into the Army. I said no, I didn't want to and that year I retired. I want to help you because there are villains after you, and I think you need these ideas to fight off the bad since you don't have the powers to defend yourself. Force-field generation only blocks threats, not damages people or destroys objects."