The whole building quivered, and an impossibly loud noise sounded from outside. Immediately, everyone went silent, the guards shifting to positions of defense. I moved to stand in front of the beautiful woman, holding an arm out to steady her as the building shook again and another blast resonated from the opposite side of the building. I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling as the alarm sirens went off and the real guards started ushering the businesspeople towards the exit.  

Slipping a hand into my pocket, I released the pin of a grenade, dropping in onto the floor as I quickly led the party out of the large room and into the wide exit hall. The explosion behind us easily took out most of the guards and CEOs. But as the ones who had made it started screaming and running towards the exit, I found it difficult to keep up the scared guard act. Keller must have read my mind through the earpiece: 

“Go for it, Vik.” 

I laughed manically and ripped the suit from my body, triggering the rest of the grenades in my pockets as I sprinted towards the Exit doors. The blast took out the rest of the guards behind me. Slipping out into the street, I grinned as I spotted the rest of my targets; only three had made it out. I pulled two handguns from my hips and held them out in front of me, nailing two of them in the back of the head. The third, the ugly old man, turned around just as I fired at him, his head flying backwards as the bullet ricocheted in his skull.  

“Got ‘em” I spoke to Keller and Greta through the com as I ran around the side of the building to retrieve my duffel bag, “Pick me up two streets down.” 

I started running as fast as I could, working to switch my facial expressions from those of absolute joy to those of extreme fear. The pickup point was a few meters away with no sight of my getaway car. 

“Shit!” I yelled into the earpiece, “Where are you guys?” 

Keller laughed, “Right behind ya!” 

Turning and grinning, I threw my duffel into the open back of the black van and jumped in behind it, pulling myself up to face my team with a wild look in my eyes. 

“Hell yeah,” I looked back at the havoc being reeked behind us as the building began to crumble and we sped off towards the drop off point, “Just another fucking Tuesday.”  

As I showered, alone in the house after my mission, I found myself staring at my feet and wanting more. 

More blood. More action. More Kill. 

I pulled a loose tee shirt over my damp head and stared at myself in the mirror. 

Holy shit, I look rough. 

Removing the contacts with a groan, I threw them into the trashcan and looked back to stare into my yellow irises.  

“Vik?” It took all I had not to grab my gun and blast my own brains out. 

I moved down the stairs and slowly made my way to the kitchen, the sigh leaving my chest in a long, droning breath. 

“Hey Mark, what’s up?” 

Whoever had given him a key to the house was going to pay with their lives when they got home.  

Mark swallowed hard and shifted awkwardly from his place by the door, “U-um,” he held out a shaking hand with an envelope clucked in his clammy palm, “The Kill was impressed with your work today and th-they want another job done tomorrow.” 

I turned around and punched the wall with such force, bits of plaster fell to the floor and blood from my knuckles stained the wall. Turning around again with a calm smile, I took the envelope from Mark and gestured for him to sit at the table.  

“You like stir-fry?” 

While the sizzling of shrimp tempura and the salty smell of frying vegetables filled the air, I read through the contents of the envelope. 

A retrieval at the Casino Noir; three targets and a kid to be extracted and taken to an undisclosed location. I would be working alone for this gig, all equipment provided by the Kill, including a ride from a pickup point to the casino.  

I looked up at Mark and frowned, “They know I only do assassinations and shit.” 

He shrugged, “They said they’re paying extra for the extraction,” he ran a hand through his hair, “Plus, the kid is the only son of Christopher Amallio, the Medici gang’s leader, so he’s gonna pay you a bunch of real money too.” 

Now that sounded appealing! 

“How much?” 

Mark pulled out his phone and my own phone vibrated. The text he had forwarded made me choke on the beer I was sipping. 

 “800,000 dollars...” I whispered, clutching my chest as alcohol stung my throat, “for one kid...” 

The look in my eye was a mix of excitement, joy, and a little bit of pure crazy. Mark smiled slightly and stood to help me dish out the food. 

“The rest of the details are in the envelope,” he nodded to the paper in my death grip, moving to sit down with his stir-fry in hand, “They didn’t want to risk your account getting hacked.” 

I winced and joined him, staring at the contents of the envelope while I chewed slowly. 

The kid’s name was Florence Lee Amallio; age, 23.  

“Huh!” I blinked in surprise, “Not much of a kid after all...” 

He was the only son of the head honcho of the Medici gang, an elite force of drug lords, professional killers, and business leaders combined to make a formidable force. They were partnered with Kill Incorporated and the rest of Davin Nao’s bloody empire, providing weapons to actual Kill agents and to hires like me. The kid—no, young man—had been kidnapped two weeks ago and since then, 7 Kill agents and 12 hires had been brutally murdered trying to retrieve him.  

I opened my mouth to complain, but Mark interrupted with a shaky smile, “You’re the best, Vik...” he sighed heavily and took another bite, “You’re wild and unpredictable, and that scares them.” 

“Aw, but I'm just an innocent little girl!” Mark tilted his head and chuckled, “But, yeah, they should definitely be afraid; I’m only doing this cause I’m bored, and I’ve got nothing to lose.” 

The front door slammed open and a very drunk Bex waltzed in, followed closely by Alek, who looked drained and too sober. 

“I love you, Ev—uh—I mean Vik,” She hiccupped and swung her arms around my neck, trying and failing to perch herself in my lap, “You’re, like, super-duper sexy and...and sexy.” 

Alek tugged at her waist gently and let her pet his head as he sighed, “She said she wouldn’t drink too much,” I smirked at this, knowing how bad my childhood best friend was at holding her liquor, “Next thing I know, she’s tearing it up on the pole and harassing the strippers.” 

Bex flopped wildly in Alek’s arms, cursing in Spanish the whole time before she suddenly went limp with a groan.  

“You better get her to bed,” I pointed to the food on the counter, “I made dinner when you come back down.” 

Feigning a sob and teary eyes, Alek bit his lip to keep from grinning, “You do care about me!” 

I shook my head, “I slipped in some rat poisoning hoping you would choke and die,” It was my turn to grin menacingly, “the more kills, the better.” 

This statement was enough to usher Alek and a snoring Bex up the stairs towards her bedroom.  

“Do you think you’ll have any trouble with the mission tomorrow?” Mark cleared his dish and started towards the door, “If you need anything, text me tonight and I’ll drop it off in the morning.”  

I waved a dismissive hand, “It’ll be fine...” Mark shrugged and slipped out the door, closing it behind him. 

“Besides,” I whispered to myself, “I’m really fucking good at what I do.”