Nighttime Cleaners (IC)

[Angel]

Khimara refrained from smirking at the fox's explanation, and offered him a serious nod instead. He was right, of course, and the feline had no intention of abusing Alasdair's services. And he himself didn't enjoy kiling, nor did he expect his assassins to.

When he caught up with Alasdair, he wshed the fox good luck as well and headed off towards his apartment. It was already later than he'd intended to be out, and he had to prepare for the trials of the other "cleaners."

[Azlan]

Alasdair continued down the street a distance before reaching a parked car.  The fox deactivated the alarm, opened the door and slid into the comfortable seats.  He slipped his poofy tail into the slot provided and sighed, Japanese cars were just not made for American foxes and the GTR was no exception.

Alasdair sat there for a few quite moments, staring at the palm of his right hand.  Frowning he clenched it into a fist, and with one fluid motion turned on the engine and shifted gears.  Pulling out into the deserted street, he made a quick left at the intersection and headed towards his house in the suburbs.  He was going to need a fair amount of extra meditation tonight.

[Angel]

((OOC: Mods, please understand I've been planning to post in this for a while.))

THREE DAYS LATER:

Khimara hung up the phone in his office at the cleaning building and looked at his legal pad again. He made a few scribbles and notes here and there, and thought carefully, but once he was finished, he nodded. Some of these seemed a bit out-of-place, the matches to killer and victim, but given the requirements some of his potential hires had given him and what he knew of each one otherwise, this was the best way for it to work. Now, just to make sure that the hitmen didn't object. Of course, given that offers like the one he had didn't pop up every day - steady work and pay in a usually sporadic business - there should be little to argue about, but when it came to assassins, beggars sometimes were choosers.

He glanced at the clock, then at the door. Shade was scheduled to receive his assignment today, and he was half-hoping to notice when he walked in this time.

[Ryudo Lee]

The evening that Shade was supposed to go meet with Khimara found Shade sitting at his desk in his apartment, looking over the notes he had taken during his information gathering on Khimara.  The only thing of real importance to Shade was his father.  Little notes were scribbled on the papers, reminding Shade to check up on his contacts and fences to see if they worked for Khimara's father.  Few probably would, but you never know how much influence these types would have.  Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he put the notes away in a drawer, and left the apartment, locking the door behind him.  It was time to go to work.

Shade found that he had time to make a few stops on his way to the cleaning service.  The city is such an untrusting place, but even so, people tend to be stupid.  Windows are often left unlocked, roof access doors without even so much as a light, leaving entire buildings ripe for the picking.  Shade chose a building a few blocks away, which turned out to be an upscale condo apartments building.  He scoped out the building for a few moments and found his prime target, an open window, and no security system control panel in sight.  He snuck in, and as he had hoped, the owners of the apartment had no security, and they were out for the night.  It was a simple task to swipe a jewelry box here, and some silverware there.  Shade's fences were pleased.

With some pocket money to work with, Shade made his way to the cleaning building's roof.  Once again, one of the windows was left open, but not the one to Khimara's office.  That one was locked down tight.  He would have to go in the door.

The door to Khimara's office opened, only ever so slowly, and just enough for Shade to move into the room and quietly close the door behind him.  Had he been seen?  Was Khimara paying attention?  Shade wasn't trying to show off.  It was habit.

[lucas marcone]

Shaun lay in the hammock below deck, the radient light from the black and white T.V. flickered over his face. Somewhere the boat creaked as the water shifted its pressure across the hull. A disjointed snore escaped his open mouth, getting trapped in the throat just for a moment. Damn waiting for the Boss to contact him was boring.

[Angel]

Khimara noticed this time when Shade walked in, but by the silence of the cat's movements he guessed that it was more second nature to him than showing off. He'd only tried so hard to notice to stop himself from slipping into dangerous boredom, really.

"Ah, good, you came back," he said, standing evenly and picking up a file folder from his desk. "I have your first assignment. The pay's decent, which I hope is all that matters. And if it's not..." He opened the file folder and flashed mild disgust across his face for a moment. "...For the record, I'd pay you extra to get this parasite out of society." He handed the folder over the desk to Shade. While flicking it across casually between his claws would have looked much cooler, it also would have resulted in the notes spilling all over the desk. There wasn't much; just a brief history of convictions, arrests, and the notes he'd taken during his conversation with the client. But he liked to keep things organized.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade snatched the folder once it was tossed to him and flipped it open, in what seemed to be a single fluid motion.  He had to flick his sunglasses up on his brow so that he could see the information on the papers, and the picture of his intended target.  As soon as the sunglasses went up, what little light in the room immediately started reflecting off his eyes, giving him an eerie, almost ghost-like appearance.
"Burtrum Ford.  I know of this guy.  One of the local drug peddlers.  One time he had the gall to try walking my street, peddling his shit.  A shame he went home broke that night.  Never came back.  I've been wondering who'd get to knock this guy off." He says.
His eyes shift up towards Khimara as he tosses the folder back to him.
"What's the pay?  Any time limit?  Any other restrictions or conditions?  Should he be found dead, or should he just 'mysteriously disappear'?" He asks.

[Angel]

Khimara picked up his legal pad and flipped back a few pages before shaking his head at Shade. "Practically no details on what to do. His wife put out the hit, so my guess is she's not too picky about how it's done."

He set the pad back down and pushed his own sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Of course, that doesn't mean I have the same attitude. It shouldn't be too hard to keep the police from noticing anything - hell, they'll probably be glad for the assist. Other than that, just handle it carefully. I'll be monitoring you, but I assure you it would be foolhardy to try to find me. When you're done, come back the next day and I'll tell you if you're right for this organization. You'll be paid upon completion of the job. I don't know exactly how much it is, but she has promised that she'll pay as much as she needs to." He didn't say it aloud, but there were ways to cover her funds if she couldn't pay enough. All he had to do was make a quick call if that was the case.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade nodded, though in this light it was barely discernable.  He flipped his sunglasses down, making his eyes disappear into the blackness of the rest of his body.
"I have a good idea of where he is.  This won't be difficult." He says.
With that, he opens the door just enough for him to slip through, and closes it quietly behind him.

Shade made his way back to the roof of the cleaner's building and started making his way over to where he figured he would find Burtrum: the bad part of town.  He stuck to the roofs and shadows, staying invisible.  He hoped that he would find Burtrum on the streets, but Shade was never one to get his hopes up too high.

[lucas marcone]

His searching would prove fruitless that night, for Rummy was in his apartment in the buisness area of town. sleeping on his white leather couch, the one Janace just HAD to have, smelling of cheap beer as the soccar game plaied on his big screen.
Janace was out drinking and picking up men.

[Angel]

Khimara watched Shade leave, and smiled. Being unable to pick up Shade's footsteps even with his sensitive hearing, he opted to wait until he knew it was safe to transform. After about ten minutes, when he was positive he was alone, he stood up and walked out of his office, locking the door and going to one of the unlocked windows on the upper floor. It was near the back, so no-one would see him, but he still had to move quickly.

He winced. Shapeshifting didn't have to be slow; it was just a matter of preference, like the difference between people who rip bandages off and the people who peel them off very slowly. In this case, unfortunately, he had to be fast. Gritting his teeth and clenching his coat in his hands, he allowed the process to be fast. Bones wrenched into new shapes, organs shrunk as if they were on a high-speed camera, his skin and coat melded as his fingers stretched rapidly, and his face twisted from a mask of agony into a wrinkled, folded, fanged apparition.

Although it was an uncommon sight in urban areas, almost no-one thought anything unusual about the bat flying through the night skies, not knowing or caring that it had a very specific destination in mind.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade spent a short while hopping roofs and checking the streets and alleys in the bad part of town.  Burtrum wasn't on the streets.  It wasn't often that Shade was wrong about the location of a target, but it happened on occasion.  The file had listed Burtrum's current address, an apartment in the business district.  Not a bad part of town to live in, unless you're a thief.  The law tends to hang around the business district, in Shade's experience.  But his abilities kept him safe from detection, though there have been some close calls in the past.

Shade made it to the roof of the apartment building where Burtrum lives.  With luck, Burtrum's apartment was right near a fire escape.  Pretty convenient for Burtrum to make a quick escape in case the law gets wind of his location.  Also convenient for one about to perform a little breaking and entering... and an assassination.  Shade peered through the window.  The lights were dim, the tv was on, and Burtrum's lazy carcass was passed out on the couch.

The setup couldn't have been any more perfect.  Shade began the process of quietly prying the window open.

[lucas marcone]

The window was a ad tougher to lift than a normal window, and as soon as the fire alarm sounded he knew why. It wasn't in the description, Janace had thought he be in low side when the hit took place.
Rummy shot up like lightning, with a thunderous yalp to match. He looked around to the kitchen, bedrooms, and door, no fire. He made for the escape, the sprinklers went on just as their eyes met. "Shit." was all he said before barreling for the door. coffee table, couch, DVD rack all failed to slow his girth.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade cursed as he finally got the window open.  He had been seen!  Burtrum had to die.  Shade made it through the window quickly and burst ahead.  Being in far better shape than Burtrum, Shade was on top of him before he hit the door.

[lucas marcone]

Rummy shoved his hand into his pocket. "GETOFF!"
Movement started in the hall way. Sirens sounded deep in the distance. "You don't wanna do this man! I could pay you more than-" A syringe full of heroine shot out like a lightning bolt twards Shade's chest.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade expected the syringe, but actually much sooner, and for Burtrum to use it on himself.  No matter.  The moment he caught the glint of the syringe, Shade's hand gripped Burtrum's wrist and sent the syringe plunging harmlessly into the wall.  He then quickly went for the dagger with that same hand, to drive it up towards Burtrum's neck.

[lucas marcone]

Lucky for Rummy he always ducked slightly as he kneed someone in the balls. His knee shot up in the general area of Shade's pelvis as the knife gave him an early hair cut.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade said something quite unpleasant about Burtrum's weight, sexuality, and birthright at the unexpected attack on his privates.  But he kept pressing the attack, though he would be quite sore in the morning.  He kept stabbing, trying to catch Burtrum anywhere that would wound him, his side, his leg, anything.

[lucas marcone]

The knife caught him in his side as he managed to open the door.  Rummy tumbled into the hall with a sickening wet thud.
The wound was leaking well enough to make puddles, but if he were to seek medical aid in time it would not be fatal.
The scragglers  who were just now leaving started screaming, the sirens drew closer and Rummy was crawling for his life.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade was immediately on top of him as Burtrum tried to crawl away, with his knife at his jugular.
"This has gone on long enough Burtrum, time for you to rest." Shade said.
He then made his move for the fatal cut.

[lucas marcone]

Rummy was dead before Shade was finnished cutting. Onlookers stood around as they forgot about the presumed fire and focused on the murder occuring right infront of them. One lady was on her cell calling the cops and the rest had gotten a good look.

[Ryudo Lee]

Shade bolted.  The first ajar door got broken off it's hinges as he burst through it, tore open the nearest window, and made his way up to the roof.  As soon as he was up on the roof, he was on the move, jumping from roof to roof until he was out of range of the sirens, cursing the whole way.  But at least Burtrum would be found, but without a name to put to his face, he could easily evade the authorities, for a time.

Shade cursed to himself as he disappeared into the night.  This was going to happen eventually, someone would screw up his procedures, and his face would get plastered on wanted posters and the like.  He would have to get a mask.

[Angel]

Amid all the chaos of sirens, rubberneckers, and screaming neighbors, the bat was forced to flap away from its hanging position on the eaves of a window on the other side of the building, fly screeching into the night - and ponder the success of the kill.

In the most basic sense possible, it was successful. The target had ended up dead. But it had been messy. The drunk, drug-addicted slob had proven himself to be much more physically capable under pressure than anyone could have thought of him. Then again, Khimara thought with a twinge of smugness and love for his job, that's the case with most people, old or young, big or small, healthy or sick. There was something refreshing about seeing just how much someone appreciated their life when they knew they were going to lose it.

But he was digressing. Shade had handled himself as well as possible for the situation, but he'd have to plan more carefully next time. Additionally, Khimara himself should probably request a bit more information from his clients, just to make sure this sort of thing didn't happen again...

[Angel]

((OOC note: *long sigh* I know, I know. I haven't been very active, and I didn't post when I promised. It's been weird for me lately, particularly in the creative department. But I really like this RP, and it's my first one, and I don't really want it to die. So if people are still interested in posting, this'll be here. I also hope that because the IC thread has been reasonably active, I don't get in trouble for this.))

THE NEXT DAY:

God, my arms and back hurt. It feels like it took months to fly home last night! Khimara rubbed his shoulders all the way to the building the next morning. It was fun having wings when you were in the form of an animal who actually used them, but the aftereffects always sucked. 'Don't let your arms get tired.' Har-de-freaking-har.

He finally made it in, slumped in his chair, slipped some ibuprofen out of his pocket and dry-swallowed it. Even if today was the kind of day that made one want to stay in bed, he needed to give Shade the results of his "test run" last night, and he needed to look respectable.