[ TT ] `` Am I a monster ? '' The child asked .

`` Am I a monster, daddy?'' the child asked. 
 
 `` Yes, yes you are,'' the father said, taking a long deep pull of his cigarette. The skin of his eyes was a deep shade of purple. The only purple you see when the last bit of dusk hangs on the horizon before nightfall. His hands shook as he flicked the ashes off the tip of his smoke. He did n't dare look at his child, as he listened to her nose run and could almost feel the drops of tears falling from her cheeks. 
 
 `` So those kids were right?'' she asked. 
 
 `` Yep, last one of them.'' 
 
 `` But they're bullies are n't they?'' She wiped a few tears away and held on to a thin string of composure. 
 
 Hank groaned and felt the sharp edges of dig into his hand. `` You know... sometimes bullies are right,'' he said. `` They do n't teach you that in school, but sometimes they see things others do n't see in you.'' 
 
 The thin string of composure snapped and Milly's face flooded back with tears. 
 
 `` You're such a mean man,'' she yelled. `` A mean big bully!' She grabbed onto her Polly Dolly, a cheap doll Hank got her when she was even too young to walk, and threw it at Hank. One of the hard plastic eyes thumped off his forehead. 
 
 `` And you're just a silly child. You would n't know mean if it was written on your face.'' The father looked down at his daughter for the first time. Her blonde pigtails were adorable and it made it even harder to go through with this. She had the fight of her mother and the same green eyes, though he could n't see them behind her arms. 
 
 `` I hate you,'' she said. 
 
 `` Good. You can hate and cry. A very productive little monster,'' Hank said, as he left the room and then the house, slamming the front door. 
 
 He pressed his back against the door and slid down onto the cement, burying his eyes in his hands. His chest, convulsed as he questioned whether it was worth taking his next breath. From the street, a man in a black suit walked towards the house and sat down next to Hank. 
 
 `` It's done?'' he asked. Hank took a second to respond. 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` You did a good thing, Hank. Your country is proud,'' the man said, patting Hank's shoulder. `` She wo n't ever think of you again and that's what will keep her safe.'' 
 
 `` Yeah, it's great... Just give me the mission.'' 
 
 `` We'll need you to go to...''
