As I lie here on the roof٫ next to the railing٫ dark clouds emerge from the horizon. I smile. My phone buzzes beside me٫ I answer swiftly. The voice from my phone is familiar as he says ‘Hello Angel, your first target of the night is a man dressed in all black. He is currently in a group about to pass by. Seperate them then make quick work of it. We’re all counting on you.’ with that, he hangs up. I find my target easily considering he is obnoxiously loud. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ I mutter under my breath. When lightning strikes, I jump from the roof to the metal fire escape. Thunder coverning any and all sound I make. I watch the group turn around and I merge with th shadows. ‘Shit where are they going. They better not be drunk.’ I whisper. As I watch them walk away I drop to the floor. Following them casually, I smile when they turn down a secluded alleyway. Taking my hair down, I let my black hair fall messily over my face and shoulders. I walk - well stumble - up to the man in all black prretending to be drunk. I ask in a slurred voice ‘Can you help me home I appear to be lost.’ He happily accepts of course and he slides his hand around my waist. I fight every instinct in my body to not snap his arm out of place. We walk off and when and only when I am certain no one is around I pin him against the wall pulling my dagger from my hip and press it to his thoat. ‘Whoa, what are you doing with that?’ he asks.

‘Ending your pathetic excuse of a life.’ I whisper against his ear. He swallows then counters with, ‘If my life is oathetic then what’s yous?’ I pause staring at him blankly. ‘Mine?’ I breath ‘Mine is rewarding, and if you wish to keep your tongue, I suggest you shut that mouth of yours.’

‘Like you have th-“ I cut him off by grabbing his tongue and pressing my blade to it. ‘Wanna bet?’ I say with mock sweetness. I watch his eyes go wide but stubborn as they are, he kicks my knee. Ignoring the pain seering up my knee, I cut his tongue off. His scream of agony is cut short by me grabbing my gun and shooting him from under his chin. When his body has gone limp I let it fall to the ground. I walk - well limp away returning my gun to the holster on my hip. Cleaning my dagger of the blood now coating it. I call my Boss while leaing against the wall. He answers. ‘It’s done but I sustained a knee injury.’ I state rather bluntly. He laughs through the phone. ‘I knew you could do it. Go home and rest. You can have the rest of the night off unless we find someone needing your specific skill set.’ he hangs up and I limp down the street. I get to my building and I limp up the stairs - well it was more of a crawl. Right when I put my key in the lock my phone rings in my pocket. ‘Ugh … what now’ I answer anyway, I don’t want to find out what happens if I don’t. ‘Hello sir’

’Hello, we need your help with a certain target.’ he pauses giving me enought time to ask, ‘Where are they then?’

He replies bluntly with ‘Directly below your building and don’t let him distract you, he has a reputation for distracting people.’ I frown at his statment. ‘How will that be a problem for me?’ I ask camly even though I am anything but calm right now. ‘I’m not saying it will be. I’m saying be careful thats all your already injured.’ he answer quickly then hangs up. I scan the street below and my eyes snag on a man loitering by a lamp post. Instantly, I know thats my target. Strangely I feel like I recognize him but I don’t focus on it. I make my way down the stairs٫my knee making the job nearly impossible. When I get to thesreet blow, I grab my dagger from my hip and make my way towards the man remaining behing him. He turns around. I move into the shadows as quickly as my knee will let me. ‘I saw you,’ he pauses ‘and considering you aren’t supposed to be seen our doing a bad job at that.’ He goes silent. Is he expecting me to talk I think to myself. ‘So why don’t you and that pretty little dagger of yours follow me to somewhere…less crowded, hmm?’ I can’t help but scoff at his comment. I return my daggr to my hip and tie my hair back. ‘And why, would I go anywhere with someone like you?’ I ask remaining in the shadows. ‘Because, you’ll get a good fight out of it.’ he answers.

‘Hmm…tempting but no,’ I reply ‘and why would I go anywhere with some one I just met?’

‘Because I just so happened to train your boss.’ When he says this I get stunned and for some reaso can’t think of anything to say, but my hand is reaching for my gun. I can hear the humor laced with each word as he says ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you or you really would have no choice but to follow me.’ Does he think that is a warning I shake my head then speak softer than intended, ‘Good thing your not me an tell me where we are going and maybe just maybe i wo’t do anything irrational.' my hand rests on my gun. ‘Lets just say, you’ll be able to fight more freely a-’

‘Do you even know what I’m here to do to you?’ I ask cutting him off. I step out of the shadows. I watch his eyes skim over my outfit then he speaks while I supress a shudder. ‘Well, judging your get up and weapons, I’d say your an assassin here to assassinate me. But I bet you can’t do it be-’ his answer is cut off by me shooting my gun but it hits the floor next to his foot. ‘How the fuck did I miss.’ I mumble.

‘Maybe it’s because your heart is racing.’ he answers for me. I watch a smile form on his lips and my heart skips a beat for a reason I can’t quite place. So instead of thinking about it, I aim m gun for his head. ‘Oh, your a feisty one.’ he pauses ‘ You going to shoot me or is that you bluffing.’

‘I am not feisty and we both know I’m not bluffing.’ I say slightly annoyed by this man.

’If you weren’t bluffing you would have been able to sho-‘ I cut off his sentance by shooting his shoulder and smile having hit him but pissed it wasn’t his head. ‘I’m sorry, what was that?’ I ask sweetly.

’You crazy bitch!’ he shouts.

I shrug ‘I’ve been called worse before.’ I look down at him as he lowers himself onto a knee and takes off his tie to wrap around his shoulder. ‘That won’t work.’ I say in a sing-song voice to piss him off.

‘It will for now!’ he spits out and I smile knowing that I have pissed him off. ‘I don’t know what I did to warrent you shooting me though. So why don’t you tell me?’ he asks while standing up. I hum in response then say ‘How avbout no.’ He puts a hand to the bridge of his nose at my response.

’Your a pain.’ I open my mouth putting a hand to my chest pretending to be shocked then I say ‘Better than being a prick at least.’ He layghs at my comment ‘How am I the prick in this situation?’ he asks while I just look at him.

‘Well I’m just doing what I was ordered to. Which just so happens to be ending your miserable life.’ I state rather bluntly. He laughs again, why is he laughing. ‘Oh my life is miserable is it? Then what is your life like then considering you are a pawn in someone’s game.’ I find my gun pointed towards his head again ‘I am no one’s pawn. So don’t go saying I am!’ I say thoroughly pissed at this man. He holds his hands up ‘Okay okay. No need to be sensitive.’ he says quickly and I scowl at him. ‘You really are a feisty one aren’t ya?’ he asks.

‘How am I feisty?’ I ask surprisingly quiet.

’Because you always resort to violence, thus making you feisty.’ he explains. I cock my head to the side pretending to be confused. He rolls his eyes ‘I resort to violence because it’s what I was trained to do, that and trust no one but myself.’

’So thats why you won’t come with me’ he whispers to himself.

’No I am not coming with you because your body language screams untrustworthy. That’s why’ I answer even though he wasn’t talking t me. I smile at him when he looks over at me ‘What?’ I ask innocently.

’I wasn’t talking to you.’ he replies.

’I don’t care I answered anyway.’ I say. He walks off and I walk after him refusing to let him see my limp ‘And where do you think your going mister?’

‘Away from you and your limp’ he pauses ‘Yeah I saw that too.’

‘I hate you.’ I say through gritted teeth,

’Yeah sure I don’t care.’ he says walking faster causing me to limp after him to keep up with him. When he turns down an alleyway he stops and I stand in front of him. When I do there is a sharp pain in my neck and my vision starts to go fuzzy and dark.

She’s following me trying to hide a limp. ‘And where do you think you are going mister?’ she asks me so I reply with ‘Away from you and your limp.’ I pause ‘Yeah I saw that too.’ I bearly hear her next sentance of ‘I hate you.’ because she says it through gritted teeth. I decied to pick up the pace causing her to limp after me and I smile to myself. ‘Yeah sure I don’t care.’ I turn down an empty alleyway and stop. She limp infront of me. I put. sedation drug in her neck and I catch her body as it falls. She is surprisingly light but still the gunshot wound in my shoulder sting. Courtesy of her. I aproach a steel door and knock in a certain pattern. The door swings open an I wald in and down the stairs. It’s noisy today I guess theres someone popular here today. ‘Great’ I mumble to myself. I walk into a medical and lay her on a medical table snapping a smelling salt in fron of her nose. Her eyes fly open and she sits up quickly. ‘Easy your safe.’ I try to reassure her, ‘Am I? Because you just kidnapped me.’ she says agitated and she has every right to be.

’Just trust m-’ she throws her arms up cutting me off when she says ‘Oh fuck no.’ She swings her legs over the side of the table. ‘Why should I trust you of all people.’ she turns her neck to look around and when she winces, I look at the floor. ‘Yeah you might want to give your neck a few days, I put th needle in pretty hard.’ I say wanting to sound unbothered but the words instead sound slighty sympathetic. ‘Why would you do that.’ she says reaching for her gun that isn’t there. ‘Yeah I took those, I’m not going to have you killing me in my sleep.’ I say as shedeath stares me and I take a step back knowing she will make good on that. ‘Look you can have them back when I know you woon’t kill me.’ I say while she starts looking around for her wepons. ‘Give them back now! And tell me why the fuck I am trapped here.’ she shouts

‘No chance.’ I say as I fold my arms and continue ‘You are here because I am saving you from your boss.’ I explain calmly.

’What makes you think I need saving?’ she asks while sliding off the table and winces slightly when she puts weight on her knee. I watch her change the way she is standing so there is no weight on it. ‘Knee still causing you problems?’ I ask even though I am not concered for her in the slightest. She glares at me and I feel a chill go down my spine. This was a bad idea I think to myself. ‘Look your boss will come looking for you in a couple of days and you are to stay here so I can talk to him face to face and if you come to your senses you will join me and quit being an assassin.’

’You don’t think I’ve tried.’ she says quietly then speaks up. ‘You don’ttink I’ve tried to quit. He keeps me locked up if I even mention quitting and he beat me when I was 15 for trying to leave.’ Shock hits me when she finishes her sentance. ‘Why would you want t becaome an assassin when you were 15?’ I ask even though she won’t give me an answer. ‘Thats none of your business.’ she says as quickly as I expected. She starts limping arounf the room. ‘You’ll make. it worse. Just sit down.’ I say wondering why I am trying to help the woman who wants to kill me. ‘No I’m fine s-’ I cut her off ‘Why don’t you say that to your protesting knee, because you may be fine but that’t not.’ she rols her eyes at me my comment. ‘Well I’m going to leave you here to come to your senses. If you need anything just shout.’ I say walking out of the room and locking the door behind me.

It’s been four days and he still isn’t here. Why isn’t he here. I push th thouhts aside and continue my daily routine of annoyin her. I need to find out her name. I look up ‘Like she is going to tell me that.’ I mumble to myself then unlock the door to the rom I have trapped her in. I find myself ducking when I enter as she has thrown her shoe towards my head. ‘Really, again?’ I ask but don’t wait for an answer before saying ‘Look all I want to know today is your name.’ She looks at me confused ‘Why would I tell you that if I don’t know your name. And why would I tel you that anyway.’ she says with such ease that it sounds rehearsed. ‘Have you rehearesed that line before?’ I find myself asking for no reason.

‘What? I thought you only wanted to know my name thats your third question now.’ she says.

‘Look just tell me your name and I’ll be on my way,’ I say getting annoyed ‘and if you really want to know my name it’s Loid.’

She laughs ‘I’m sorry what kind of a name is Loid.’ she barely says because of her laughing. ‘Well is your name any better than Loid?’ I ask more than slightly pissed. ‘Yeah it is.’ She says not giving me her name like I had hoped. ‘Well what is it then and I can decied if it is or if it isn’t.’ I say trying to reason with her.

‘Why do you want to know my name?’ She counters.

‘Because I can’t keep refering to you as “The woman I’ve trapped in the medical room” now can I?’ She rolls her eyes then quietly says ‘It’s Angel and your not knowing my actual name.’

‘Fine then you have to refer to me as Lucifer.’ I counterseeing as she won’t tell me her actual name. This time she laughs - well cackles. ‘Now what?’ I say ‘I didn’t laugh when you said your name well codenamr I’m assuming was Angel.’

‘Lucifer? Just why Lucifer?’ She asks lifting herself onto the table waiting for an explanation. ‘And why should I tell you that?’ I say mimicking her. Her gaze narrows and I smile. ‘I’m scared of you. And I’ll tell you why when you tell me your name.’ I pause ‘Think of it as a compramise.’ I turn to the door and I hear her mumble the word ‘Shura.’ I face her and see her facing the other way. I stifle a small laugh. I think she heard me as I am now ducking so her other shoe doesn’t hit my face. ‘Still fiesty I see.’ I say as I stand up. ‘How am I the feisty one when you piss me off?’ She resorts and I just look at he then laugh. ‘Whatever.’ I say once I stop laughing.

‘What’s so funny?’ she asks.

‘That you take everything so seriously.’ I pause ‘And when you do something you don’t like or get embarressed over you face away from people.’ I answer.

‘I do not.’ She says shocked.

‘Alright then. I’ll be back later.’ I say then leave locking the door behind me.