Falling for the Ace Assassin

The Story

By the end of the day, the fresh-looking Connie had dried out into a husk. The work was endless. The secretarial staff were in charge of various reports from all departments ranging from manufacturing up to advertising and marketing. Connie earned a bachelor’s in business administration but she only had a year and a half of experience working in the corporate world. Learning on the fly was exhausting and she had taken pages of notes from the other working secretaries.

The “secretaries” up front were long gone before it was time to clock out. Connie was tempted to ask about their roles but the amount of work was enough to force her head down. Soon it was six and Connie’s stomach growled in protest.

Her fellow working secretary at the desk directly in front of her, introduced herself earlier as Jessica, pulled open her drawer, and pointed down to her cache of sweets, “Anything tickle your fancy?”

Connie grinned wryly in embarrassment, “No, thank you. I’ll be leaving soon to grab dinner.”

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged and dug out a Mars bar before closing the drawer.

Connie glanced at the empty front desk and sighed.

“You’re wondering why some of us are working till late hours while others are just loafing, aren’t you?”

Connie glanced over at Lora, the oldest of the group, and nodded slowly. Lora looked around and whispered in a low voice, “Those are Mr. Kensington’s squeeze. They somehow found favor with him and their responsibilities got pushed to us.”

Connie frowned, “What the…”

Jessica eyed Connie, “Don’t you go getting ideas now. Mr. Kensington’s quite picky. Not to say you’re not pretty but you really have to be a siren to get his attention.”

Connie rolled her eyes. “I’m only here for the money,” she rubbed her forefinger and thumb together, “I need to pay off my mortgage.”

Lora laughed, “Well, you’re in the right department then. They work us ragged but we get paid well. Just remember the two rules and you’ll be fine here.”

Connie nodded then noticed the only other working secretary, Tania, had yet to say a word all day.

“Hi Tania, I didn’t get to speak with you today. My name is Connie Tran, I look forward to working with you.”

Tania looked up and smiled shyly, “Yes, nice to meet you,” then went back to typing.

Lora laughed kindly, “Tania is shy but is a hard worker. If you have questions about the financial reports, she’s the one to go to but try not to bother her after work hours. She’s a newlywed so we want to give her some time to be with her husband.

Connie nodded.

They worked for another thirty minutes before Lora called it quits. “I have to go home to cook for my family. Don’t stay too late, ladies!”

Everyone else took it as a cue to finish their work and pack up. Connie was the last to finish and wrap up. When she reached the elevator, she fixed her hair using the elevator’s polished surface as a mirror. It opened just as she had her hairband in her mouth and her hands up behind her head holding her ponytail in place.

Instead of her reflection, she came face to face with a sharp-looking Armani suit at chest level. Her eyes swiveled upwards and she noticed a handsome brunette man, her boss, Mr. Johnson Kensington.

“He smiled good-naturedly, “You’ve worked hard, Miss…” Trailing off he looked down at Connie’s badge at her hip, “Tran.”

I’m sorry!” Connie mumbled with the hair tie in her mouth. She stepped instinctively to the left side to let him pass and tied her hair. Her hands shot down in front of her and she gave a polite bow, “Yes, sir. Thank you for your hard work as well.”

Johnson hummed and walked around her to his office. Connie realizing she was blocking his way, plastered herself to the wall, squeezed her eyes shut, and held her breath in to make herself as thin as possible.

She heard a snort and opened an eye to see another man with blond hair and glasses walk by her. He smiled at her. “Good night.” Without waiting for her reply he turned to follow Johnson.

Connie hurried into the closing elevator, pushed the button for the parking level, and blew out the breath she was still holding.

***

Johnson leaned back in his leather office chair. “So she’s the new secretary? Did you do a thorough background check?”

“Yes, sir. She’s clean and has been with the company since she graduated. A hard worker and is currently crushed under her home mortgage.”

Johnson hummed, “Debt is a powerful motivator. Have Lora observe her carefully at work and I want you to trace her bank account. Watch for any abnormal activity.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, and Pierce? Organize a company dinner for Thursday night to welcome our new secretary.”

“Yes, sir.”

Johnson turned his attention to his computer screen and started working again.

***

The next couple of days were the same. Connie was worked ragged, going through reports and organizing them into readable formats.

She later found out the blonde bespeckled man was her direct report, Darren Pierce.

“Everyone is leaving early for the dinner party held in your honor. We have never had that happen before…” Jessica eyed Connie suspiciously, “Did you catch someone’s fancy?”

Connie raised her hands and shook her head furiously. “Hell no!”

All three secretaries at the front turned to glare at her. Connie gulped and quickly tried to dig herself out of the hole she jumped in.

“I have deep respect for Mr. Kensington but he is too old for my taste. Besides, I think the dinner is just an excuse to thank everyone for their hard work. I just got lucky and came in at the right time.”

The three secretaries up front huffed and turned their attention back to their laptops. Since Darren was working in his office today, every secretary was working hard or at least tried to look the part.

Dinner was at an Italian restaurant near the office. Everyone sat around a long table and placed their orders. Darren stood up and offered a toast. “I would like to thank you all for your hard work and to welcome our newest recruit, Connie.”

Everyone cheered and took a sip of their wine. Darren’s phone tweeted, looking at the message he stood up and excused himself for an emergency. Leaving the company card with Lora, he left. Tania took a roll from the bread bowl and smeared a hunk of butter on it before taking a bite. Her face melted in happiness like butter on a hot roll.

“Hey, you better watch the carbs you eat, piggy, or your husband will leave you.”

Tania’s eyes shot open and her face flushed with embarrassment. Lowering her head, she choked down the bread still in her mouth and put the rest of the roll on her plate.

Lora patted Tania’s thigh kindly. Connie leaned over and saw Tania’s eyes brimming with tears, she felt a sudden urge to slap the blonde woman.

“Hey! That was uncalled for! Apologize!” Connie spat, her fists bunched up under the table.

The woman sneered at Connie and flipped her long blonde hair behind her. “Why? It’s true. I’m just helping her out.”

“You…!”

Connie felt a tug and looked down to see Lora and Jessica had grabbed her hands from under the table. She glanced at Lora who shook her head once. Connie wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips.

The blonde woman smiled triumphantly. No one else touched the bread bowl that night.

When food was served Jessica tried to lighten the mood and talked about the horror film she had watched recently. She was an excellent storyteller that even the three unfriendly secretaries were captivated.

Lora laughed, “Oh you younglings are so easily amused. You want to hear a real horror story?”

Everyone shifted their gaze to the older woman. Lora smiled mysteriously and leaned into the table with a lowered voice. Everyone unconsciously did the same.

“Have you all followed the news about the killings that happened this year?”

“You mean the Ace killer?”

Lora nodded, “Yes, the Ace Assassin.”

The blond woman straightened up and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, that is so corny!”

Lora ignored her and continued, “There have been three bodies to date. All of them were suspended in the air upside down and had numerous cuts across their bodies but the one to kill them is a clean slit from here to here,” Lora drew across her neck with her thumb. “Then they are left to bleed out like cattle. When the police arrive they always find an Ace card on the scene.”

Connie stuttered, “D… did the police find a motive?”

Lora smiled, “Not really, all three men had criminal affiliations so it could be a rival gang thinning the herd or maybe it was for revenge.”

Connie shuddered again and leaned in to grab Lora’s arm like a child. “Can we please stop talking about this? I’m scared.”

Lora patted Connie’s hands, “Oh you little scaredy cat. Urban legend has it, if you steal his Ace of Spades, he will let you live.”

***

Connie walked out of the restaurant in a daze. Her thoughts were processing the things Lora just mentioned. She had seen the news about the Ace Assassin, it was the biggest mystery case last year and since the third body, there hadn’t been any more murders.

When she came to, she realized she had separated from the other women and was lost in a deserted area. Connie fished out her cell phone but it had no reception. She looked around worriedly and started to walk along the warehouses hoping it would lead her back downtown.

“Hngh!! Uunhhgn!! HHHHHhhnnn!!!!”

Connie stopped, every hair on her body stood on end. It sounded like muffled screaming and it was constant. Connie kept her head down and hurried through the darkness. She saw a small light in the distance and tried to keep away from it. Whatever was going down had NOTHING to do with her but as she ran under the shroud of darkness the sound got louder and louder.

She turned the corner and found herself looking into a broken warehouse with a dangling metal shade lamp emitting a low humming sound and barely any light. Right beneath it-- the body of a man suspended upside down.

As the metal shade creaked and swung lazily from the breeze, it illuminated a dark hooded figure holding a rectangular object that glinted whenever it touched the light. Connie gasped, and the hooded figure turned towards her.

Their eyes lock.