Assassin X

Alex

The blood pumping fast through his veins was buzzing with electricity. He had actually found the identity of this killer, he had done something right and that wasn't a feeling that Alex had often, at least not in his job. It was more because of his father's reputation as a respected cop that had gotten Alex through the academy and kept him employed on the force than anything that had to do with Alex's own work.

Up until joining the task force, Alex had been content living that way. Skating by as a fun loving, low responsibility guy had seemed just fine. But he couldn't escape the realization that this new feeling, the feeling of doing something big, something right, was a much better feeling.

It took all he had in him not to race back to the station at lightening speed like a child tearing down the stairs at Christmas. He was excited at what he'd found out, if only he had been able to catch her.

As he drove back to the station he thought about that part too, the “who” part of it all. He was certain, absolutely certain, that it was Raven that he had seen in the street ready to go in for the kill. But that fact boggled his mind. Behind the counter of the coffee shop she had seemed so sweet, tiny, and cute. Like she would barely even hurt a spider, let alone kill a man. Or men rather.

How many had those delicate hands killed? How had she killed a man and then stood behind the wooden counter top and smiled at customers acting as if she was just a regular person? A shiver went through is body thinking about just how messed up that was. He wasn't even sure he wanted to think about the “why” of it all. Why did she do this?

Not that motive mattered at all, she was still a cold-blooded killer no matter what her reasons were. But when he had met her, that little bit of a skittish look in her eyes when he spoke to her for his coffee had seemed interesting and mysterious. But the secret she'd been hiding wasn't one he ever would have guessed.

It was one that was going to put her in cuffs and behind bars for the rest of her life.

By the time he finally made it back to the station, the excitement had started to wear down and the confusion about it all had set in. He didn't even know Raven, so why did he care so much?

Was it just the fact that any person could turn out to be a psycho killer? That any old person you saw on the street, or in the grocery store, or apparently the coffee shop, could turn out to be the shadow that is feared in the night?

Or was there something more to the confusion? He had only met her once but there had been something, a small flirtation or bit of chemistry, that had flowed between them. He had definitely had thoughts about asking her out the next time he went in there, but it wasn't like he had, he barely even knew her.

Inside the station, Captain was waiting in his office, sitting behind his desk, head bent and writing furiously. It was the picture that Alex always had when he thought of the Captain.

Alex rapped his knuckles on the door and Captain glanced up and when he saw it was Alex, he set down his pen and sat back. Where Alex had expected to see a smile or a bit of pride on his face, he saw instead a look of slight disapproval. He stepped into the office and took a seat across from the desk.

Captain stared hard at him and where Alex thought he'd be getting praise, he was surprised to find he'd be getting a lecture instead.

"That was stupid of you Alex. Going after a killer without backup tonight. You could have gotten yourself killed. What were you even thinking?”

Alex's pride in what he'd done was evaporating quickly the more he thought and the more he was being scolded.

"I just was thinking that I had the perfect opportunity…”

"To get yourself killed,” Captain interrupted and rubbed his eyes wearily. “Did you ever stop to think about your dad when you jumped off and ran after someone so dangerous? You dad…”

"Was killed by a killer.” It was Alex's turn to interrupt. “Yea, I know. Trust me, I've never forgotten. But he was also a great cop and I saw an opportunity to do something great.”

"You can do something great without being an idiot.” Captain sighed heavily, letting out his frustration at his sudo-son. “Do it again and you're suspended. Do you hear me? You're already on thin ice professionally with me, don't make me have to get rid of you because you're also being an i***t. I care too much about you.”

Alex nodded. He should have expected the lecture from Captain for being reckless, just like he would have from a father. So as much as he wanted to fight it, there was a part of him that was grateful to hear it.

"Alright, so let's get back to business. Tell me exactly what happened.”

Finally ready to regale Captain with his night, Alex sat up straighter again and began to tell him everything. He told him about watching his mark, about seeing him leave the restaurant, and following him. How Raven had come out into the alley, how Alex had been sure that at any second she was about to make her move, until he disrupted her. She'd run off into the night and his mark had never been the wiser.

"So, how well do you know this girl?”

Alex shrugged. “I don't really know her. I just met her the one time.”

"So, how were you so sure it was her? It was dark and it sounds like you saw her for only a brief second.”

There was no way he could tell the Captain that he'd had Raven on his mind ever since he met her, that her face had been immediately burned into his mind as a face he'd never forget.

"I guess I'm just good with faces,” was the excuse he came up with.

Captain raised a brow, sure that Alex's words were a lie but clearly too tired to push it with him.

"If you're sure you know this girl then we need to move forward with that information.”

"An arrest?” I asked.

"No,” Captain shook his head. “I don't think we should do that yet.”

"Why not? We have an ID on the killer,” I argued.

"What we have is an ID on a girl who happened to be walking behind someone we had on surveillance. She didn't do anything and as far as she could defend herself she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, even if she really was about to kill him, I don't believe that she's the real person we're looking for.”

Alex thought for a moment. He was certain Raven was a killer so what were they waiting for? Who else was Captain expecting to find?

"Who are we looking for then?”

"We're looking for the man who made the call, the one who is running this. This Raven, she's not the top of the chain. We need to find out who is.”

That made sense, maybe even filled Alex with something a little like relief. Somehow if there was someone else running the show then it made it feel like Raven was a lot less responsible for being a killer. If that even made any sense at all. But if Captain thought there was something more, then maybe there was a little bit of hope, weird hope, that the cute girl behind the register was the innocent girl he thought she was.

Doubtful but at least it was something.

"So, what the plan then?” Alex asked.

"If you knew this girl well enough to recognize her that quickly, then that's a good start for us.”

"A good start for what?”

Captain smiled and Alex wasn't sure he liked what he saw.

"A good start for you to get to know her better.”

That idea startled Alex. “You want me to get to know her better? You just yelled at me for chasing after her and now you want me to get to know her better? What sense does that make?”

"Well, there is a big difference between running out into the night after an armed killer and getting to know a girl a little…better..”

Alex finally got his drift and he shot up out of the chair. “You want me to date her?” he nearly shouted.

"I know you Alex, you don't remember this girl for no reason. I'm assuming she's pretty?”

The pause from Alex was all Captain needed to continue with his suspicions.

"It'll only be for a little while, until we can get the information that we need from her. Once we get it then we'll take her down and anyone else who is involved.”

This should have felt like a bad sentence, being ordered to date a killer, but it was hard to see it that way. After all, if Alex hadn't found out Raven was a killer, he was absolutely going to end up asking her out anyway. But she was a killer, and for his job he was going to have to date her?

Was this even real life? Because if it was it was such a weird mess that Alex was starting to feel like he was in his own nightmare.

"You should say yes to this Alex,” Captain advised.

"Because I am the one that met her once?”

Captain chuckled a little and shook his head, amused at Alex's obliviousness.

"You were so determined to be the big guy to break all of this open that you ran after a killer in the dark, alone, with no backup. Getting to know this girl, get the information we need, will break all of this wide open. And you'll be undercover for the mission but once it breaks open, you're going to be the hero. You're going to do what your father always wanted to do.”

He was baiting him, Alex knew that, he was baiting him to go undercover and date a killer. But the prize at the end that he was dangling, breaking up the case and being the hero…and the part about his dad… Captain knew there was no way Alex was going turn it all down.

So, Alex gave in and nodded in agreement. “Fine, I'll do it.”

Captain smiled and looked back down at his paperwork, easily dismissing Alex. But in true Captain fashion, he didn't let Alex leave without one final word.

"Alex? The same rules still apply that I gave you before about this job. You're still on thin ice so don't think that just because you have extra responsibility that others don't know about that you can start skating through the rest of this.”

"Absolutely Captain.”

"And remember, at the end of the day, that she's still a killer. Don't go falling for her, you're going to still need to arrest her when this is all done.”

With that, Alex walked out of the office and finally headed home for the night. Luckily for him he was on his long break away from the station. He was off duty for a rotation and planned on catching up on plenty of sleep and try to unwind his mind. And he was going to need it if he was going to get some rest because when he woke up and got on with his day again, he was apparently about to ask out a cold-blooded killer. But Captain had nothing to worry about, there was no way he was going to be falling for Raven.