Noir had just finished killing Van Gogh in his bedroom when the angel spoke to him for the first time.
“That was messy,” it said.
It had been a very messy kill, in fact, on account of Noir using a knife on Van Gogh, who hadn’t even been able to get out of his bed. Noir could have used a g*n and done the job with one shot. He could have been distant and merciful instead of close-up and cruel. But the Choir had told him to use a knife.
“Make it hurt for a long time,” the Choir had said when they’d called him earlier that night to give him the job. “This contract is all about sending a message.”
So Noir had gone to Van Gogh’s building, which was the tallest residential tower in the city. There were taller commercial towers, but the office towers were always taller. He’d taken the elevator
