It's Just an Assassination

[Rae]

Natalie sucked in a breath as she edged her way across the ledge. Below her was the bustling night life of Chicago, unaware that an ex-CIA operative could fall to her death any second. Just a simple loss of balance could send her plummeting for the ground that was seven stories below. There was a reason she had requested a room on the first floor--only to discover that all of the rooms below her were booked for the night. It seemed that whoever was up in the clouds wanted to make things really difficult that night.

The wind was picking up, tossing her body to and fro as she desperately tried not to slip. The fire escape was only a few feet away, but she was only moving inches at a time. Just don't look down. She had never been afraid of heights, but the idea that only 3/4 of her feet were actually placed on the slanted ledge was not comforting.

As she continued to move towards the fire escape, her mind wandered only slightly to the hell she'd been through in the last few days. When she'd caught wind she was being targeted by an assassin, she tried contacting her most trusted ally. Smith was his name. He told her to meet him here at this very hotel. When he came to her room, she would never have seen it coming were it not for the unfamiliar look in his eye. Now, he was laying dead on the floor. With Smith turning out to be a traitor, Natalie didn't know who she could trust. All she knew was that the assassin was in the hotel, and she had to get as far away as possible.

But at this rate and with the stupid wind, she might just end up making the assassin's job a whole lot easier.

 

[potassiumboron]

On the other hand, Madeline was having a far easier time of things. In fact, it was a walk in the park for her as she quietly made her way through the hotel corridors, tracking alongside her former friend on the outside. She knew she was there, of course - she could storm into a room, kill its inhabitants -a little collateral damage was normal- and simply open up a window and spot her assigned kill.

Maddie just had a warped sense of fun, so to her, the more time that passed with Natalie on the outside, assuming her safety from the assassin, the better. Not that Maddie even knew who her kill was - she had no clue it was the only person she had ever really liked in her life. If so, would it change her mind? That was to be seen, but a kill was still a kill, and when hired by some rather dark, dangerous people, misleading them was insane to do.

Humming a tune to herself quietly, she flipped back locks of her lilac hair easily, twirling her gun in hand and, with a natural sway of her hips, stopped at the end of the corridor, to easily unlock the door to the very last hotel room. She had the keys, naturally - she was an assassin, and she had her ways of secretiveness. Sure, she may have to kill normal civilians to complete a job, but the less attention brought to her, the better. Hence why she wasn't kicking the door down and making a noise for all to hear.

Smiling to herself once it opened to reveal a man lazily dozing on the sofa, she simply strolled on inwards, locking the door behind her and heading to the window, shoving it open. She rarely cared if she broke a nail, hence why the sudden sharpness of one cracking did little to bother her. Adrenaline and excitement of success masked the pain momentarily, at least. Peering out, she hitched herself up to sit on the ledge, smiling to herself at the sound of shuffled, anxious footsteps. She wasn't one to necessarily gloat, but sometimes, in these situations, it was hard not to. "Come on, dear. I think it's best we have a chat, don't you? You're hardly going to escape now, are you? Face it, it's over, love."

 

[Rae]

Natalie froze, her balance wavering for a millisecond as she took in the assassin sitting between her and the fire escape. Well shit. She exhaled, the shadows of the night masking the assassin's face from view. The same luck was owed to Natalie as well--the assassin couldn't see who she was. She wasn't stupid; she'd done her research on the assassin assigned to kill her. She hadn't learned much, but she knew enough to know that this particular assassin had never failed a job.

Her eyes darted around, looking for a means to escape. There was only one thing she could do: jump to the fire escape and hope she landed on the floor below. Natalie didn't like the idea, and she certainly didn't think luck was on her side. But what choice did she have? It was either that or die to the hands of this monster. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in chatting," she hissed, bunching her legs together before leaping.

Time seemed to slow as she barreled towards the black metal railing. Natalie could only watch as she fell too short, her body slamming against the edge and falling backwards. She fell two stories, her hands grasping for something--anything. Well, this sucks. By some miracle, her hand grasped onto the metal barrier surrounding the fire escape. Pain exploded in her shoulder as it was pulled out of its socket. Cursing loudly, she climbed up and over the railing and started running, skipping stairsteps and trying to ignore the pain in her right shoulder.

Don't stop. Don't stop for anyone or anything. Just keep running. The memory hit her hard and fast, but she didn't slow even a little bit as she climbed down the remaining four stories. The distant life she'd once known was long gone and so was her old friend--whom she didn't know was her very own assassin.

 

[potassiumboron]

Maddie, of course, knew very little of the girl's frank bravery and desperation, and so when spotting her jump, her main reaction was smugness. The girl was hardly going to make it, and would spiral simply to her death - it would be classed as an awful accident, possible suicide, and Madeline would simply receive money as a reward for seeing the girl die.

It was the perfect, perfect situation.

But what did that idiot had to go and do? She had to survive it. Granted, Madeline's critical eyes easily narrowed in on the slight hiss of pain the girl gave off -understandably if she had dislocated her arm-, but it was still beyond impressive that the other, her target, continued to run. Though why wouldn't she? It was either that, or certain death by bullet to the head. Silently cursing under her breath, revealing her complete disgust at the situation, she stood to her feet and, in one swift move, swerved her body to the left to take after the girl, feet quick and nimble -years of athletics and gymnastics helped with that- as she took after her old friend.

Like hell was she going to let the girl ruin her reputation, and have her yelled out at by her newest employers. No way.

 

[Rae]

((Apologies! I didn't receive an alert that you posted. Otherwise I would have posted hours ago!))

Natalie heard the slam of the assassin's feet above her. She was slowly gaining, but Natalie only had two floors to go. She leaped over the railing at the last floor (which was still about eight feet above the ground and connected by an annoyingly slow ladder). She landed hard on the ground, rolling to break the shock of the fall. Her dislocated arm shot with pain, but she otherwise came out unscathed.

She took off running, her feet pounding on the cement ground. Crowds of drunks and other late-night customers shuffled along, but she pushed past them. She earned several angry glares, but she ignored them. She had to get as far away from that assassin as possible if she wanted to live. Alleys were too risky--most of them had dead ends. She turned, cutting sharply into some club. The pounding music and sharp smell of sweat and alcohol was overwhelming. She pushed through, however, blending herself into the crowd as she made her way into the back. She had to find some other exit or just hope that the assassin didn't see her. Hope was useless, though, so she wasn't going to bet on it.

 

[potassiumboron]

[[ Hey, it's fine! I'm not getting alerts through either, it's a hassle >_< ]]

On the other hand, just as Madeline had scaled the flights of stairs as quickly as she could, she was met with the sight of... well, nothing. Just drunkards and a few others heading about on the streets, no sign of the target - whom of which she only really knew from a shady picture, and in reality, the side profile rather than actually being able to see her target in full, open view. For many, this would be a disadvantage, a hindrance to their plans, but for Maddie, it was just another kill she could pull off, despite limited knowledge of the other's facial appearance.

It didn't really matter as much for a skilled assassin like Madeline, anyhow.

Well, she was skilled, but in this situation, it did seem like the girl had the upperhand. After all, she had escaped the girl's clutches and frankly, Madeline had no idea just where she could be.

Loudly swearing, unable to hold back her irritation, and knowing of the consequences of failing, she was on the verge of just beating up some innocent bystander just to get rid of the built up anger. Though she forced it back behind a nonchalant mask, pocketed her weapon and strolled the streets. Where would she hide if she was in the same position? A park? A café? A club--

Maddie paused. She peered around the shops nearby, some closed given how late it was, but the one building open and pumping was the club - it would be packed with people, loud, noisy... the perfect hiding place. Trailing in with a sense of accomplishment, despite not even knowing whether she was there, she hummed to herself, a sense of calm now washed over her as she pushed past people with little care for their cries of surprise. She had to find the other girl, preferably sooner than later...

 

[Rae]

((Goodness, I did it again. I looked at your post and forgot to reply <.<))

She moved quickly through the crowds, ignoring the horribly drunk men and women trying to get her attention. If she could choose to be "ugly," Natalie would. Not that she really believed anyone was "ugly." In fact, personality meant far more to her than looks. But still, it would make this situation far easier if hands weren't trying to get her to join them in their frivolity. She glanced back, her eyes searching for that strange light hair she'd managed to pick out in the dark during her brief encounter with the assassin. Perhaps Natalie would have found her were it not for the fact that at least a dozen other people in the club had similarly colored hair--light blues, pinks, purples, greens. They all looked the same under the strobe lighting.

With a sigh, she finally made it out of the crowd of dancers. Now to look for an exit. She moved swiftly but easily, being sure not to draw attention. She saw no exit doors--not even a side door. Damn. Natalie moved everywhere, searching desperately. A thought suddenly occurred to her. It wasn't an entirely important thought, and it certainly wouldn't help her situation. But it still made its way to the front of her mind. Why hadn't there been a "bouncer" at the front of the club to check I.D.'s? Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on more important things--such as getting the hell out of this place.

((My plot holes are wonderful. XD))

 

[potassiumboron]

[[ Nah, don't worry about it. I'm missing the alerts and stuff, so it's okay c: ]]

The drunken men, on the other hand, weren't such a problem for Madeline. Okay, so granted, their touches and hopeful lusts were annoying, and given that her own appearance was hardly 'plain', the coos and whistles were somewhat inevitable from the people all drowning themselves in alcohol.

But it was hardly a problem for her. One simple glare, a dagger of fury, was easily translated to the drunkard who got too close for her liking, and he staggered back once realising that this girl was hardly someone to mess with.

Sternly scoffing at the disgusting display, she let her analytical eyes scan around once more, searching out for any sign of her target. Considering she was still caught in the middle of the crowd, it was inexplicably hard to search for someone. The dark lights, pumping music and crowds of people understandably made it a difficult process. She knew that to get out of the crowd would give her the best chance. Struggling on through, practically punching one woman who refused to budge (that of which was her mistake for annoying Madeline), it was only when she burst through the people that she took a deep breath - she wasn't claustrophobic, but that tight space, bodies all around, was hardly the ideal for anyone.

Thanks to the lack of doors, it didn't take the assassin long to spot the back of her target's head, practically sensing the oozing desperation she was giving off, Maddie took the moment to revel in triumph - she couldn't kill the girl in the middle of a busy nightclub, she wasn't that stupid, but there wasn't a chance she could let her get away now. Approaching from behind, struggling to keep a smirk from crawling onto her expression, she leant out to simply tap her shoulder, all while standing up taller in case things got a tad violent - though the target would hardly be that stupid, surely.

"Come on, hon. Stop running, it all gets awfully boring, doesn't it? Tell you what, I'll give 'ya good death. Something quick, painless."

[[ Haha, I forgot all about that to be honest, not just you ]]

 

[Rae]

Natalie laughed wryly, spinning around to face the assassin. "So, this is how my assassin treats me? At least grace me with properly seeing your face," she said, her voice laced with malice. She looked closely, her eyes taking in what she could see under the strobe lighting. Lavender hair, hauntingly pale skin...it all felt familiar.

The realization hit her hard and fast, and her heart skipped a beat. Natalie backed up, her back slamming into some drunk man. The man cursed several choice words but otherwise left her alone. She didn't care, however. Her whole world was fading into black, almost as if she had been drugged. But surely she hadn't been.

"M-maddie?" she whispered, her voice hardly audible as she collapsed onto the ground. It was surprising she'd lasted so long after being drugged by Smith--a fact that she had not realized until her vision faded. Of course, her fainting could easily be mistaken for the shock of this horrible fact: her only friend she'd ever had became an assassin.

((Simply cannot let my character be so pathetic as to pass out from shock XD))

 

[potassiumboron]

She knew her name? How was that possible?

Staring down at the girl as she fell, seemingly a common sight in clubs given the lack of people rushing to help - they presumed she was simply drunk, and passing out was a frequent event in these sorts of places. And like them, Maddie simply stared down at the girl, recognising the soft features to be that of Natalie.

Of course, the last time she had seen her was years ago, but she managed to at least recognise the structure of her face and how pretty she had been back then - that hadn't changed now.

Instant joy hit her, an emotion rarely found in her system, as she quietly reached to hitch her friend into her arms with ease - she was an assassin, she played Death's job, so being a bit strong came with the job title. This joy, though, did falter the moment she struggled past the crowds and people to reach outside. Even though she could no breathe clearly, and wasn't plagued by flashing lights that caused dizziness, the realisation of the sudden circumstances hit her hard.

Her only friend, the only person she had harboured positive emotions for... she was ordered to kill.

 

[Rae]

"Why are you sitting here all by yourself?" Natalie asked, looking at the pale girl. She got no answer, only a bit of a grunt. Natalie scowled, crossing her arms. "Well if that's how you're going to be, then I'll simply have to sit next to you until you give me a proper reply." With that, she sat down on the bench, her arms crossed. She sat there for fifteen minutes...thirty minutes...an hour. The bell rang, and it was time to return back to class. Natalie sighed, standing to her feet. "You win this round, Miss Stubborn."

And so she repeated the process for many days. She would sit next to the strange, pale girl. No words would be spoken; just two people sitting idly on a bench. One day, however, things changed. Natalie sat, crossing her arms as she usually did and not expecting any sort of response.

"Hi." Natalie jumped, staring at the girl. The word had been so quiet that it almost didn't seem real. And for the first time since they had begun their little game of sorts, the pale girl looked back.

Natalie's consciousness returned slowly. She noted the bouncing movement underneath her, as well as the uncomfortable position of being in someone else's arms. She vaguely remembered being in Chicago, but the rest of the memories were blurred. Had she gotten drunk again? No, she wouldn't have gotten drunk. She was in Chicago for a reason...

Her eyes popped open suddenly, and she let out a small yelp as she struggled to release herself from her assassin's arms. "Let go of me, bitch!" she yelled. The assassin's grip was strong, but Natalie had surprise on her side. She fell to the ground, barely managing to catch herself with her hands. They were just inside a dark alley, and she imagined this was the place the assassin had planned to kill her. But this wasn't just any assassin. This was her old friend--the only true friend she'd ever had.

"Maddie," she hissed, breathing heavily. Her muscles felt heavy because of the drug. Its effects would take a long time to completely wear off, but she was at least conscious. She groped for her gun but cursed when she found nothing. She'd lost her gun a while back. Yet another unfortunate circumstance.

 

[potassiumboron]

"Bitch. How original," came the girl's flat response, her dull eyes watching every movement Natalie made... and couldn't help a smirk gracing her features as she watched her fumble for a gun that wasn't there. Amusing as it was, Maddie was pretty thankful the girl didn't find one - she knew Natalie probably wouldn't have shot even if she had a gun, but that didn't mean Maddie would feel comfortable having her former friend aim a gun at her.

However, she had no such problems aiming a gun at her, reaching for her own and aiming it directly at the writhing girl on the floor, if only to prevent her making a dashed run for it.

Yet, she didn't shoot.

Instead, she simply held it out, finger on the trigger, but making no such effort to actually shoot her. "...What did you do to get yourself in this situation?" She eventually mumbled, her eyes finally betraying her, filling with a mix of curiosity and worry. "Natalie... you're a target! Don't you understand you'll get killed?!"

 

[Rae]

"Bitch. How original." Well, what the hell was she supposed to say? She wasn't exactly in a situation or state of mind to be creative with her choice of words, nor did she entirely care what her assassin thought. She coughed slightly, trying to stand but finding that she couldn't. Instead, she stared up at her (former?) friend pointing a gun at her face. She closed her eyes, finally accepting that death was just going to happen. Did she really think she could run forever, especially after knowing what little information she had found out on her last mission?

The shot didn't come. The millisecond of pain before death didn't come. She opened her eyes, surprise written on her face. "What did you do to get yourself in this situation? Natalie...you're a target! Don't you understand you'll get killed?!" Despite herself, Natalie let out a short bark of laughter. "I could ask you the same question, Madeline. Do I understand that I'm being targeted by my childhood best friend? I do now." Mustering up the strength, she finally forced herself to her feet, staring eye-to-eye at the woman.

"I can't believe you are the assassin that the CIA has been trying to get for almost a decade! You're asking me what I did? I should be asking you! What the hell happened? You moved away, and I never thought I'd see you again! But look here...you're the one assigned to kill me!" Hurt, anger, betrayal, confusion...what was she supposed to feel? Emotions mixed inside of her, and all she wanted to do was run away. But she couldn't. Not only was that stupid gun still trained on her, but Natalie couldn't leave like this. She wanted--no, she needed--answers. Dizziness overtook her once more, and she fell against the brick wall of one of the buildings they were in between. Still, she forced herself to remain standing. Her instincts told her to fight, but she couldn't. She was so weak from the drugs that she felt absolutely pathetic.

 

[potassiumboron]

Madeline cringed once the attention was aimed at her, though what did she expect? She was an assassin, a rather infamous one, and from her friend's words, one that was wanted by the CIA for a few years. While she probably shouldn't show anything but guilt about that, a wide smirk graced her features, one that rarely did show, before simply taking a sit on top of the closed dumpster.

Her whole demeanour did scream relax. She was calm, chilled, laid back... even as much as to lower her hand with the gun in. The other as her target, but she was also her friend, one of the only friends she had ever had, and she owed her a chance to explain herself, and vice versa, before Maddie had to decide just what to do.

"I got moved away, Nat," she finally spoke, her lips pursing from the smirk once realising she was letting her emotions, her delight at being with Natalie, show. And she shouldn't really be delighted when she had to kill the girl, ashamedly. "My folks didn't... like me fighting and all that. But I used fighting to train myself up, started boxing, and... just fell into doing this. It helps with my anger issues and affinity for violence, anyway. Plus, you know me. I'm a cold-hearted bitch, right? I don't feel... remorse. Every person I'm ordered to kill have done something bad, is how I see it-- and you've clearly done something bad if I'm your assassin, doll."

 

[Rae]

Natalie cast her eyes down, her hand automatically going to the opposite wrist. The scars on her wrist weren't incredibly noticeable, but they were still there. Reminders of her more terrible missions. She shook her head, crossing her arms and looking back at Madeline. "You may be a cold-hearted bitch, but I'm not Miss Sunshine anymore. You're right. I've killed, lied, and destroyed. That's my job, and it's your job. The question is: are you going to finish yours?"

She stared right into Maddie's eyes, refusing to waver. Natalie was too weak to fight, and she didn't even have a weapon. It was up to her old friend now what to do, and hope was not something she was going to cling to. It was pointless; hope had only brought pain. Did that mean she was hopeless? She couldn't quite be sure.

All she knew was that she was probably going to die in the next minute or so. Why Maddie was delaying the inevitable she couldn't be sure.

 

[potassiumboron]

"You want to know if I'm going to complete my job, hm?" She chuckled, pondering the statement for a good while as she moved to fold her legs, looking like an amused teenager, rather than a skilled, adult assassin. Peering at the gun beside her, she was caught between two minds.

On one hand, she had a job to do. She never failed a job, and she took pride in her work, in ensuring each target was taken care of and put to bed. It was what she had done for years, and frankly, her perfect record, and the infamy she gained from it.

On the other hand, this was Natalie. The only person who had ever really taken time to get through Maddie's hard exterior, and if she was forced to kill her, Maddie knew she would never ever really get over it. But if she didn't, and refused to do so, then she herself would either be killed for her insolence, or have her reputation and credibility torn to pieces.

"...I don't know what to do," she admitted, the sudden conflict on her expression, the vulnerability, was a rare sight to witness. "Nat, I... don't know..."

 

[Rae]

Natalie watched her old friend's expression. The stone-cold face she had known for many years slowly became one of vulnerability. It was then that Natalie's own expression softened. "I don't know what to do. Nat, I...don't know..." She remembered all those years ago when Maddie would literally punch anyone that dared look at them--especially Natalie herself--the wrong way. She remembered every moment, every smile, every tear. She'd been the only person to ever look past those walls and see someone worthwhile.

And now here they were again...stuck between two worlds that could result in her life or death. She took a deep breath, staring up at the starry sky. The city lights made it difficult to see the sparkling little dots, but she could still see them. The moon was crescent shaped and so thin that it almost wasn't there at all. What were they to do? Was it selfish for her to want to live? If she lived past tonight, she knew full well the consequences that would befall Madeline. If not just a ruined reputation, death.

"Well how am I supposed to know? Do you want me to beg for my own life? You're the one with the gun. If you don't kill me, someone else will. I can't run forever; you know that. They'll send someone else if they have to, and they certainly won't hesitate to pull the trigger. So unless you have some brilliant plan, I don't really know if I'd rather die at the hands of my only true friend or some random stranger who would never even bother to learn my name."

 

[potassiumboron]

"I can't kill you, though. You know I can't," she finally mumbled, that simply sentence betraying everything she had done for the last few years, betraying all she had learnt as an assassin. One key aim to do what she did was to detach from gaining empathy for targets. She had learnt early on that growing feelings for them would only make the inevitable killing harder, so even if the person she was targeting was someone her age, it was just another day at work.

The difference was, this wasn't just 'someone'. It was the one friend she had had, and being the person who killed her wasn't ideal.

"...Can't you just go into hiding?" She obliviously murmured, her thoughts not thought through, though mostly out of desperation to save her friend, and save her own reputation.

 

[Rae]

"Go into hiding? That's exactly what I did. Where can I go where they won't eventually find me? They have connections and funds. I'm the only person that can actually damage their organization. Why do you think they're so desperate to kill me?" Natalie shook her head, letting it fall into her hands. This was all so...confusing. What was she supposed to do? It would be so much easier if she hadn't discovered Maddie was her assassin. She would already be dead, and then she could go to whatever Hell was waiting for her.

Lifting her head up, she clenched her fists. "If you aren't going to kill me, then just leave. You can tell them whatever you want, but they'll find me eventually. It's just a matter of time."

 

[potassiumboron]

"Tell me, when, in all our years apart, did you become the bitch?" She suddenly muttered, her gaze fixated upon the fellow girl with a smile, one in which didn't show amusement, but seemed to be stuck to her face and masking whatever was going on in her mind at that moment.

Granted, it would be a lot giving the situation she was caught in, but she had the ability to hide it all behind a simple expression.

A typical assassin quality - even if Maddie had had this ability way before even entertaining the idea of partaking in assassinations.

"I'm trying to help you, Natalie. Do you think I want to see you dead and buried?" She countered bitterly, leaning against the dark bricked wall with a chewing gum now in her mouth - it did help her relax a great deal, especially since she had decided to try and quit smoking. Her health was important in her job.