opening

He hit her once over the head with just a small iron bar, but it was still enough to completely knock her out and she fell neatly into a pile at his feet. He was determined not to let this situation slip away from him and was quite sure that if she hadn’t been staring at herself in the mirror for so long that he would have missed it altogether.

She lay on the floor rolling her eyes in disgust behind her closed lids, she wondered if he would ever notice that it was his own gullible mind that was about to get himself killed. With even more disgust she realised that he probably wouldn’t and he would still be shocked when he saw that she was in fact awake and that clutched in the hand that was hidden away from him was a large and very sharp hunting knife. The stupidity of men always surprised her.

Just as she predicted, without even checking properly to see if she was totally unconscious he lent forward towards her face with a look of pure glee. Oh how she hated gloaters, people who had to take their time over killing someone else just so that they could get pleasure from the whole affair. It should be done with a detachment that didn’t fuck completely with your brain for the years to come that you had to live with it. She growled under her breath in annoyance causing him to pull back in alarm, realising his mistake too late she stabbed him quickly to the gut still leaving the shocked “oh” on his face. Once he had keeled over she raised his head back and with one quick movement slit his throat of ear to ear, blood spurted out at the alarming rate and was soon seeping over the entire white tiled floor of the small bathroom. She instantly cursed herself for doing it in such a messy way, not only was the little room painted in the stupid mans blood but also now so was she.

She exited the room quickly and had to get dressed over the top of the now dried blood hoping that no one would notice it until she had a chance to get out of the building and to another shower. She dressed in low-slung stone wash jeans that clung to her ass and toned legs and put on a simple black vest top as testament to the blisteringly hot weather outside. She looked in the mirror on the way out of the door happy to find that all of the splashes had happened below the waist and that she had managed to stay relatively clean.

She nonchalantly tossed her keys in at the hotel reception and walked out on to the sunny street, she didn’t feel any guilt towards the fact that she had just ended a young mans life well before his time. She never killed unless it was in self-defence and then it was no longer her fault for if faced with the choice of you or them what would any normal person choose?

The sun beat down on pavement and she stood for a second on the hotel steps, her face held up towards the sky as she basked and collected her thoughts on where to go next. She must be getting sloppy, she had only been in this town for two weeks before this rookie had found her. She was getting really tired of running all the time but it was either running and having at least a few shreds of her freedom or joining the Agency and losing all possible trace of it. They had approached her over five years ago to sign her life away to them and once she refused to go along with their ways they sent assassin after assassin to kill her. Their aim wasn’t really to kill her but to persuade her that their way of thinking was the better way, that was why they sent pathetic people to come and get her, insulting her intelligence and her skill.

She sauntered down the road wondering where the hell she should stay next, she really needed a shower and maybe tonight she could finally get a decent nights sleep after being on edge for so long she deserved a break while the next dumbass set out to try and find her.

She reached a market square that was flanked on all four sides by high rise shops all taking up about three floors each, in the centre of the paved square was a fountain that happily splashed water into its large circular basin.

“Mmm, fresh from the kill and yet so uncaring, a true warrior”
The voice came from no where, she was pretty sure that no one was following her and that the only people in the square were elderly shoppers going about their daily business. She spun around anyway taking in the scenery around her trying to find where this person was

“What?!”

“You still have that mans blood on your body” the voice was almost a whisper right next to her ear despite the fact that no one was anywhere near her. She heard what she thought was a deep breath in “you smell divine my dear”

“You sick son of a bitch” She was panicking slightly now, there was no one who could sneak up on her, surely she should be able to see someone who was this close to her and yet there was no one. Next came the laughter, it was getting louder and louder until she was looking to see whether anyone else could hear it as well, only the people around her were completely oblivious.

“Right, where the fuck are you?” she snarled in a low voice wondering where she should direct it to

“Aww, does the hardened warrior not enjoy being beaten? You need to take a little of your own medicine I think”

“I administer no medicine. Just tell me where you are and I think we will see just who has the upper hand” wearily she sat down on the edge on the fountains pool, running a hand down her tired face hoping that he couldn’t see her from where ever he was. She wasn’t ready for another battle yet, she needed a shower, she needed a clean bed and she needed rest. Oh how long it had been since she could relax anywhere, she was hoping that she could take at least a couple of days before the next one.

“Now? You can barely keep your eyes open and you have no weapon, you would hardly be a challenge to me. It wouldn’t be worth my time. Go get some rest and I will take you on tomorrow. May I suggest the Golden Arch hotel?”

Somehow she had moved like a zombie across the town to the hotel that the strange voice had told her to go to, whoever he was, he was dead right. She would be very easy to kill in the state that she was in now. This mysterious voice was obviously no rookie who took any chance he got to try and kill her, this guy meant business and for some reason thought that he was going to get a decent fight out of her.

She crossed the well furnished, cosy room and went into the bathroom, she had been looking forward to this shower all day and now she was going to stay in it until she became as wrinkled as a prune. She shed her clothes easily and stepped into the glass shower cubicle making sure that the temperature of the water was as hot as she could get it. She sighed as the cascade hit her body and she felt all of her muscles unwind and relax, the clear glass screen misted up almost instantly.

She relaxed so much that she actually screamed when the door was wrenched open and a blurry figure grabbed her naked wet body out of the shower, his arm round her neck as he held her against the front of his body. She could feel his hard torso pressed tight against her back and his other arm around her waist, she wriggled her toes and was surprised to find that they were no longer touching the floor

“Stupid, stupid little girl. You go to the place I suggested and expect me not to turn up? I am disappointed in you” it was the same voice as before only this time the speaker was in fact right next to her ear and she could feel his hair tickling the back of her neck.

She twisted and squirmed in his arms hoping that her wetness would give her the slippery edge but he only tightened his grip on her, now restricting her airways so that she could only wheeze in and out.

“They told me that you would be a suitable match, that you would put up a fight and yet here you are, already captured. You are nothing but a scared little girl”

“You caught me unprepared, you purposefully trapped me you bastard”

“Yet that wouldn’t have affected a real fighter and you know it wouldn’t. You know I can feel your pulse jumping in your neck, you haven’t felt fear like this for such a long time your not sure what it actually is. What are you going to do next huh? Think you can take me now?”

Her eyes flared in anger, not only at his put-downs but also at the fact that he was dead on, she really didn’t think she could beat this man. She must have grown so lax since the people that came out to get her had turned into nobodies; maybe she had lost all of her abilities? All the same this stranger had no right to just waltz in here and tell her all of her own insecurities. She flicked her legs up and gave an evil grin when she felt her foot connect with the sensitive flesh and heard him give a soft grunt as he released her

She ran naked through the bathroom and into the bedroom, not even looking behind her to see what her attacker actually looked like. As she reached the bed she made her first big mistake; she paused momentarily to search desperately for something to find something to wear, thus giving him enough time to catch up with her. He threw her down onto the bed watching with a smirk as she bounced under the force

“Now I’m starting to enjoy myself” he folded his arms over his chest looking serious for a moment “you’re still making some errors though, do you realise that not all men are affected by a kick like that? And, of course, the obvious one; why did you stop? Too afraid to go out into the world naked even though your life depends upon it? What would you do if I threw you out that door right now and locked it on you? You’ve got your priorities wrong my dear”

“Are you for real?” she stared up at him from the bed finally taking a good look at him. He wore a pinstripe suit jacket, a black shirt that was open at the collar and a matching pair of pinstripe trousers, all of them were soaked and stuck to his skin. He had a face that always looked like it was laughing at you and his eyes seemed to bore through whatever they were looking at. He had long, thick, jet black hair that was messily pulled back into a plait so that tendrils fell over his face, quite a few of them were wet and now stuck in patterns over his cheeks.

“Which would you prefer? We could change the rules if you like, I could be imaginary” he raised a mocking eyebrow at her

“Are…are you playing a game?” she was using this down-time to assess him, to pick up on his faults, his weaknesses, trying to find an edge that would help her in the battle that had yet to come.

“Yes” he brightened up instantly “why, you want to play with me?”

“I’m not sure I like the rules you play by. But do I have a choice?” she fidgeted uncomfortably on the bed, very aware that she was still completely naked and still couldn’t seem to find her clothes until she realised that they were still in the bathroom.

“Oh I do like you, your much more clever than I thought you were. This is getting more fun by the minute” his face filled with a look of evil glee that made her look uneasy “I tell you what, seen as you were clever enough to work it out I’ll give you a hint. If you play the game then everything becomes much more easy”

“And I’m guessing if I choose not to play, you’re not going to leave me alone ‘til its over” she shook her head, working out her options, not liking any of them. If the agency sent this guy then they were really getting fed up with her, at least she was going down with the knowledge that she had well and truly been a thorn in their grisly paw. Her eyes flitted back to him to find that he was looking at her body appreciatively causing her to flush instantly; she grabbed the quilt from the bed and wrapped it around her.

“So?” he gave her a quirky smile and raised his eyebrow awaiting her answer
She growled under her breath, not liking to be railroaded into anything she just wanted to rebel against him. This time though she could sense that if he wanted to he could kill her right there and then, she was going to play his game but only because he was better than her at the moment, she just had to wait until her opportunity came.

“Yeah, sure, whatever” she mumbled hating to give in to anyone, she looked down at the quilt and felt like she was a little girl all over again. She was starting to find this man very annoying and knew that she would take a lot of pleasure in killing him.

Her exhaustion was washing back over her now the adrenaline had worn away. She sagged back onto the bed and once again dragged her and down her face in a feeble attempt to rub it away. She wasn't ready for this battle, mentally or physically and for once she was coming to terms with the possibility of losing this time.

"Did the agency send you?" she realised that she was battling for time and if she hadn't been so worn down she would have been disgusted by her obvious display to gain herself a few precious more minutes.

"Does it matter who sent me? Its not as if you are unknown. You've become your own little celebrity, I wouldn't be surprised if half the idiots you've killed were independants trying to make a name for themselves" he stopped and let this piece of information sink in with her. She hadn't actually realised she had become popular at all, as far as she knew someone was trying to kill her and she was fighting back. No wonder the experience of those seeking her out had gone down hill of late. The cheeky bastards at the agency weren't even wasting their own people on her anymore. Although this did raise questions about the guy stood in front of her; was he an independant? Or had she finally become so annoying that she was just being exterminated?

"Well I'd quite like to know who wants me dead. Its common courtesy you know?"

His answer was a chuckle that twanged gloriously on her nerves and if she hadn't needed to convserve her energy then she would have leapt up and tried to scratch out his eyes. Her hand twitched with the desire and as she did so the gun she had tossed so nonchalently on the bed earlier slid into her palm and rested itself comfortable there. In that moment she should have won an Oscar for her facial expression didn't move a muscle. By slowly wiggling her fingers she got a firmer grip and slowly, ever so slowly slid off the safety.

"You may laugh but I..." she didn't finish the sentance and if she were to be honest with herself she had no idea what she would have said if it were to come down to her finishing it. All she wanted was his attention to be focused on her face rather than the rest of her. This allowed her to quickly raise the weapon and shoot off a round into the centre of his forehead. There was a brief look of shock on his face before his body crumpled to the floor in a heap.

There was something about him that scared her so much that she leapt from the bed and scrabbled to put on her clothes. She needed to put as much distance between herself and that body as soon as possible. It was obvious that hotels were now not doing their low profile job anymore, especially with this status everyone thought of her as. Once she left this building she was going to find one last hotel and from there she was going to make plans to actually buy somewhere. She was tired of running and it was becoming clear that it wasn't working anymore. It was time to take a stand. Plus it would be easier to proof it making it almost impossible for anyone to sneak up on her anymore. The thought of having even a moment of pure relaxation made her bones ache with the need.

She padded into the elevator totally relieved that now she had a plan and nothing catastrophic could go wrong. It was quite a short-lived emotion as between floors five and six she juddered to a stop and the over head lights dimmed down to the emergency power.

"No, not now" she was aware of the desperation in her voice as she rushed towards the door and placed her palms flat against the door. She had never felt this nervous about leaving a body before and couldn't put her finger on what was making her this edgy.

"You know its been quite a long time since someone has gotten a point blank shot at me like that" the voice drifted silkily over her shoulder and she could feel the presence of someone in the lift behind her even though she knew full well that when she had first entered she had been alone.

She should have been shocked that the man she had just shot clean through the forehead was now stood behind her, very much alive, in the elevator. Now she realised what that niggling worry had been; ever since his voice had come to only her in the square she had been wary of what this person was. Before she had been on the run she had been a gun for hire and the air was rife with rumours that some of the employees weren't totally human. At the time she hadn't taken much notice but ever since she heard his voice the cogs in her head had been clicking together.

"So your the one that sparked all of the rumours" she sighed and rested her forehead against the cool metal doors.

"My excellence preceeds me" he chuckled once again and stepped forward so that he could now whisper softly into her ear "that was a beautiful shot. Delightfully I have underestimated you"

She gasped as his hands lightly travelled up the outside of her thighs, up over her hips and only pausing when they located her gun that she had hastily wedged into her waistband. He disarmed her and slotted her gun into his own trousers. She didn't move her position but a blanket of dispair settled heavy on her shoulders. She had no idea how she was supposed to kill him. He wasn't human and if a bullet in the head wasn't going to stop him she had no hope in an actual fight against him. He could kill her where she stood there, just disappear without a trace and there was nothing more she could do to him than cause a mild inconvienance.

"You're bored" she wasn't sure where the words were coming from and yet as she spoke them she knew it was true "nothing is a challenge to you anymore so you want to play with me. In fact I would place money on it that you've sought me out based on my credentials just to see if I can be of some entertainment in your dull never-ending life. You want to play with me"

"And after such a disappointing start you reallya re starting to live upto your name, if you can even remember what it is anymore" he chuckled happily into her ear. He was thoroughly enjoying herself and she knew that the moment she stopped being of interest to him she was dead.

"So this game, tell me the rules" inside she was quaking and her brain was struggling to see a light at the end of this murky tunnel. Her key to survival was to challenge him and so on the outside she was the picture of calm as if she knew exactly what she was doing. One of the rumours that circlulated was that these beasts could read a persons mind and she just had to pray that he didn't know her true thoughts.

The lift gears started up again and they began to rise up through the floors. She didn't make a comment about the fact that she had originally been going to the reception to leave. As the doors pinged open back on the floor she had entered them on the first place she walked out onto the lush carpet and walked abck to her room. The exhaustion had crept into her bones again and she was now simply working on auto pilot as she slotted her key into her door.

"Take the rest that you body needs and tomorrow we can back to the fun stuff" he grinned at her madly and sauntered away down the corridor back to the elevator.

She stepped into the room, took one look at the ruffled bed sheets and knew that she couldn't relax in that room. Wearily she packed her meagre belongings and dragged herself down to the reception get her room changed. She had toyed with the idea of changing hotels completly but didn't want this to be miscontrued as an act of escape. By the time she had sorted a room out she was dog-tired and didn't even bother to undress as she just flopped out onto the mattress.

Reality came screaming back to her and she sat bolt upright in bed. It was still dark outside and when she thought back to what had awoken her she bagan to hear the sirens blaring down the street. With a heaving sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach she went out to investigate what was going on. She automatically punched a floor in the lift and was deeply disappointed to find she had the right one. There was a small crowd of guests in their night wear surrounding the room that had previously been occupied by her. She padded up to them in an attempt to see over their heads and into the room.

"Apparently shes had her throat slit from ear to ear. The room is painted red, I doubt if they will ever get it clean" two older ladies were stood in front of her, both in stylish pjamas.

"Well I shan't be staying here anymore. I don't want to get murdered in my sleep"

She started to feel numb by the shock of such a close call and backed away slowly down the corridor, she didn't want to be interrogated by any police that would begin to hover around. She paused, waiting for the lift to come back to her floor which she now suspected was full of paramedics rushing to see if there was anything that could be done to save the woman.

She almost screamed as hands wrapped themselves around her waist and she was hugged backwards into an embrace that she recognised from when he had stood so close to her in the lift earlier on.

"You swapped rooms huh?" the voice in her ear purred deliciously sending shivers through her body. She turned round to address him but his grip on her disappeared and she was alone again in the hallway. Sense returned to her just in time for her to dive into the stairwell to avoid the onslaught of paramedics and police that bustled noisily down to the room.

She climbed the stairs lost in thought as to what to do next, she couldn't stay at this hotel anymore as it was only a matter of time before the room switch information got out. It was way too early for her to actually get up for the day. She concluded that she needed moire rest to be fully ready for what lay in store for her. So with an annoyed sigh she packed once again and headed out into the night via the fire escape to find better accommodation.

Groaning loudly in protest to the sun that glared in her eyes she rolled over in the huge four-poster bed and it took her sleep frazzled bain a couple of seconds to register there was an extra body in the bed that shouldn't be there. Now she was instantly awake and her senses were working on overdrive. She was refreshed after this sleep and now her normal dose of detemination rushed through her system demanding that she stand up and survive. She was running through her options as she pretended to still be asleep and none of them were particularly looking too good, he had her only gun now and she hadn't thought to put anything sharp and pointy next to her last night when she had finally stripped off and slid under the thick duvet. She knew that she couldn't stay like this forever and so she dragged her hand through her hair and rolled over to face the intruder.

He was laid on his side next to her, head propped up on his hand and he seemed to be slightly less informal which just a shirt and trousers on. The shirt was white and had been rolled up at the sleeves and the the collar was open and had been un buttoned a little. The trousers were pinstripe, she couldn't quite see far enough down to his feet but his hair was still in the same style it had been the previous evening. At her looking him up and down she smiled at her lazily as he watched for her reactions.

"Good morning" the two words were simple yet she swallowed hard, she realised that when he spoke to her he purposefully made his voice low, soft and sexual and yet she just couldn't seem to make herself immune to it. She was very aware right then that she was, once again, the naked one of the two of them. As if he clicked on to the same thought as her his eyes flicked down and a grin spread accross his features causing her to pull the duvet up to cover her better.

"And to you" she wasn't sure how she was supposed to answer him and was not at all comfortable with this intimate scenario he had put himself into. She was fine when she hated him, when he was mocking her, but now they were getting just a little cosy for her liking and it put her her off greatly.

"I can see that you have had a decent nights sleep now. You're looking all refreshed my dear, ready to start the day are we?" he reached forward and grabbed a stray tendril of hair to play with it between his fingers. She flinched away and was shocked at his actions, this certainly was nothing like the crazed maniac that had dragged her out of the shower the day before.

"Well...I...of course" she stuttered over her words and felt an overwhelming desire to jump out of the bed just to get away from him. This man wanted to kill her and yet here he was acting as if he was her lover; like a slap on the forehead she realised that he was playing with her once again. She scolded herself for not seeing it sooner and for not having the chance to play along right from the beginning.