The Playboy's Assassin

The Ambush: Vanessa.

I pulled open the door and slammed it shut with my leg. Then I went to the kitchen and dropped the groceries on the kitchen island. I didn’t bother to take off my shoes. I opened the fridge and took out a carton of juice, opened it and drank. I sighed as the cold liquid washed down my throat, cooling my insides. I went to the living room, turned on the TV and sat to watch some movies.

The first thing that came up was the news of the Duke of Edinburgh. As expected, the police had stated how the murderer would be caught and made to face the law which I knew wasn’t going to happen. I even did them a favour, they should be thanking me. The Duke was misappropriating funds, a bad husband and a terrible father. I did a lot of people a favour by killing him but do I get any thanks for it? No.

I took a drink from the juice carton again and an image popped up on the screen. It was a blurry image of me. My features weren’t clear but anyone who had seen me before could identify me. I took another drink from the juice carton. I wasn’t bothered. None of the people who ever saw me as Scarlett can ever identify me. None except one. Enrique.

I ground my teeth and dropped the carton on the coffee table. It was a mistake not killing him when I had the chance. Now he was a loose end and I would have to kill him.

This is what you get for trying to do good.

I went into my room and pulled out my toolbox from under the bed. Then I took out my revolver and placed a silencer on it. Something moved past my leg and I looked down, Murphy purred at me.

“Hey, Murph,” I slipped the gun in my back pocket and petted him on the head. He must’ve gotten in through the window again. “Run along now, I’ll come to feed you soon.”

He skittered off to his usual spot in the kitchen and I grabbed my leather jacket and packed up my hair into a ponytail. I heard him hiss and I rolled my eyes.

“I’m coming, Murph.” I walked out of my room and found Murphy lying on the ground.

“What are you doing, Murph? That’s not the kitchen,” I bent to pick him up. He felt limp in my hands. That was when I saw the bloodstains on the floor.

“Murphy?” I lifted him off the floor. There was a bullet hole in his chest where blood was seeping out of and staining my hands. “Murphy,” I mumbled.

I was confused. He had been alright a while ago and now– a tear fell and I closed my eyes.

“Wow!” A voice said and I looked up. “The ice queen is crying over an animal, a filthy cat,” Kira said.

“You did this,” I ground my teeth and placed him on the floor. I stood up and faced her. “How did you get in here?”

“That’s not a nice way to greet guests,” Dimitri said as he came out of the kitchen munching on my potato chips.

I lifted a brow, keeping my composure. “You’ve made yourself quite at home I see.”

He shrugged. “I had to serve myself, seeing as you weren’t around to do so.”

In my periphery, I saw the window Murphy had come in from open. Slowly, I edged towards it. “Cut the small talk, Dimitri. Why are you here?”

“Your target isn’t dead but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t.” I moved past the chairs and got to the window.

“I find that hard to believe. You’ve never missed a target before.”

“I got interrupted and had to make a quick exit,” I glanced behind me. It was a long drop from here. “I’ll get him next time.”

“There are no second chances, Scar. You’ve been compromised. Sniper does not need for you anymore,” he raised his gun, “I’m sure you know what comes next. Any last words?”

Surreptitiously, I moved my hand behind me to take out my gun but Kira caught the movement. “She’s got a gun,” she said.

Dimitri took the shot and I flew out the window, landed on the dumpster and groaned at the pain that ran up my back. I coughed and rolled down to the floor. I grabbed my injured stomach, my camisole was bloody. I looked up at Dimitri’s enraged face looking out the window, pulled the jacket tighter around me and ran.

ENRIQUE.

I flicked through the channels bored with my life. There was nothing of interest showing on TV, I dropped the remote control and blew out air. If I had known this would be the outcome, I’d have never opened my big mouth. Now I was locked in my apartment with no way out.

I got off the couch and moved to the window. Moving the curtains aside, I looked down at the police car parked across the street, right in front of the entrance to my apartment building. They’d been watching me for the past few days.

“Thank you, Diego. You were such great help,” I muttered sarcastically. I moved away from the window and went into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of milk, placed it on the kitchen island and reached up to the top cabinet to pull out a box of Fruity Loops. That was a bit painful with my left arm in a sling.

“Why did I ever decide to store them up there?” I groaned as I finally grabbed it and placed it on the island. I poured some into a bowl, added milk then sat down to eat. I took a spoonful, shoved it in my mouth and was relishing the taste of the sugary goodness when I heard the door open and footsteps heading towards me. I turned, expecting to see Diego and already planning out the words I was going to throw at him but the person I saw made me fall off my seat.

“Oh my God, it’s you.” I scrambled off the floor and moved as far away from her as was possible. Her face was sweaty with her hair sticking to the sides, she looked breathless and somehow she managed to scare me and thrill me at the same time. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t have time to explain but you have to come with me,” she said.

Hell no. I’m not going anywhere with her.

“You’ve come to finish the job,” I said as realization dawned on me. “That wasn’t what we agreed upon, you said you’d let me go.”

“I’m not here to kill you but if you don’t come with me right now someone else will,” she said as if she was in a hurry.

I wasn’t that stupid. No one else was coming, she just wanted to trick me out of the room. I scanned her body. She was dressed in the familiar leather jacket and jeans, it looked a bit dirty. She beckoned with her hand and her jacket moved, revealing a wet patch of blood on her white camisole. She was injured, also she wasn’t holding any weapon. I could take her.

I grabbed the nearest object my hand touched– the box of Fruity Loops– and rushed towards her at full speed. Her eyes widened and she stepped aside. The problem with that was I had propelled myself with too much speed and I couldn’t stop myself in time. I crashed into a sofa with the Fruity Loops pouring down on me. I groaned as I turned to face her. In retrospect, that was probably the dumbest idea ever.

She seemed to think so too as she stared at me incredulously. “Really?” she said.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“In a few minutes, my colleagues are going to get here if they already aren’t and trust me they wouldn’t be so nice. So you better come with me now or tomorrow’s headline would be your obituary.” She glared at me, then turned and walked away.

Something told me she wasn’t joking. I got off the floor and followed her. We made it out the door then I stopped. What was I doing?

“I can’t go with you. I have to change first,” I said and pointed to the flimsy silk robe I was wearing. I couldn’t walk out looking like this, that would be bad for my image. Any passersby with a phone could take a picture and I’d end up getting trolled on Twitter.

She ignored me and continued walking. I rolled my eyes but followed her. We took the elevator down to the parking lot and just as we made it to my car, s**t hit the fan. A shot rang out, missing me by a hair’s breadth. We both turned at the same time to see a man and a woman with guns aimed at us.

“Run!” she said and I did just that. I ran to my car and tried to open the door– it crossed my mind that I wasn’t with the key– a bullet hit the handle, grazing my hand and I yelped. She crouched and I copied her.

I looked down at my hand and shook it. Blood trickled down a gash on my index finger. Those bastards almost shot my finger off. “What are you doing? Attack them or something,” I whisper-yelled.

“I don’t have any weapons,” she replied. Their footsteps echoed as they got closer to us. She got up slightly and crept towards the back of the car.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Shut up!” she replied.

“Why don’t you make this easier for yourself and come out Scar?" the woman said. “I know where you are. I promise I’ll make it quick.”

We moved three cars away from mine to a white Lamborghini. She took off her shoe and hit it on the window hard, shattering the glass, then she slipped her hand through and unlocked the door.

“Move to the passenger seat. I’m going to hotwire the car,” she said and I ran to the other side of the car. I pulled the door open and was about to get into the car when I caught a glimpse of the police car up ahead.

I didn’t need to think about it. I was under attack by assassins and there were police officers not far from reach. I let go of the door and ran for the exit.

“Enrique! What are you doing?” The leather girl hissed at me. Almost as if moving away from the car put a target on my back, shots were fired at me rapidly as I ran. Amidst the gunfire, I heard the start of a car as I made it to the exit and ran to the police car.

Relief washed over me as I grabbed the door. “Officer, I need your help–“ the rest of the words died in my throat. They were both dead with multiple bullet holes in their bodies. The sight was so gory, I almost retched. Car tires peeled on the asphalt as a car stopped beside me.

“Get in!” The leather girl ordered. I didn’t need to be told twice. I jumped into the car.