A night of convenience

It was still early in the night when storm clouds began to form in the sky above.

Down in the city pedestrians scurried about as rain started to fall.

A tall man in a hat and trench coat rushed into an old run-down apartment building then closed the door behind him and wiped his shoes on a mat. Across the lobby from him at the front desk was an old man with a newspaper in his hands who was staring at him. He nodded at the old man then proceeded to the stairs. The second floor of the building was completely vacant and it was quiet as he walked to other end of the hall where the stairs leading to the third floor were. On the third floor there was only two tenants. In one room an old woman was sitting on a recliner chair watching a game show on her television set and four doors down across the hall from her was a small family eating dinner. The man in the trench coat continued onward to the next set of stairs. Back outside the rain was now pouring down hard and thunder roared.

The man in the trench coat came up on the fourth floor where only one room was occupied.

Room thirty-six

Inside of room thirty-six was another man watching TV with a shotgun propped up against the side of the couch he was sitting on. Over by the window was two of his associates playing poker with their guns laid out on the table in front of them. The man in the trench coat arrived at room thirty-six and slid his key into the keyhole. The door swung open, sending the three men inside into high alert. They quickly reached for their guns and pointed them at the man in the trench coat.

"--Oh-- Hey boss Leoni" said the man on the couch. He relaxed and let out a sigh of relief then set his shotgun back down.

The two men near the window were also relieved to see that it was the man in the trench coat. They rested their guns on the table and resumed their card game.

The man in the trench coat smiled casually as he came in.

Watching the four of them through the window from a fire escape on the building adjacent was an assassin named Aleshanee Loto, codename: Bloody Mist. Their guns didn't pose much of a threat to her but the noise they'd make was liable to cause a disturbance. Luckily a thunderstorm was raging; a nice little convenience for Aleshanee.

She watched patiently as the rain beat down on her, soaking her red hair. She brushed her hair to the side and a pair of metallic gloves tipped with razor sharp claws could be seen. On her wrists were a set of golden bangles and wrapped around her neck was a white scarf, which had become drenched. Her blouse was phthalocyanine green but in the darkness of the night it appeared to be black. The sleeves of her blouse ended just passed her elbows, showing smooth caramel forearms and the body of her blouse ended midway through her rib cage, exposing a toned waist. Her pants were also phthalocyanine green. They fitted her well and glided along the contours of her hips, thighs and legs, complimenting her form. Her pants were fastened to her hips by a thick black utility belt decorated with custom-designed throwing knives, some of which had been dipped in poison. Strapped onto her belt and the sides of her pants were two scabbards sheathing two long daggers, one of which had also been dipped in poison. Finally, just under her knees were two long leather high heel boots.

She continued to watch the men in room thirty-six through the window.

The man in the trench coat pulled out a manila envelope from the inside of his coat and tossed it on to the table where the other two men were playing cards. Some money slid out.

"That must be Leoni" Aleshanee thought to herself. If she was right then he was the one she was after but he wasn't alone so she was going to have to take the others out with him.

She rose to a stance then took the scarf around her neck and wrapped it tightly around her face until her mouth was covered.

Lightning struck

The light in the apartment had burned out; yet another convenience for Aleshanee.

She climbed on to the railing of the fire escape then used her legs to launch herself to the other side of the alley where the window of room thirty-six was. She extended her arms out in front of her as she fell down at a slight angle.

Inside the apartment the man with the shotgun stumbled around in the dark to find a flashlight while Leoni complained.

Moments later Aleshanee came crashing into the apartment through the window, causing the two men at the table to fall back in their chairs. A series of lightning flashes struck just as Aleshanee landed and tucked into a roll. When she came to a stop she was kneeling on one knee with the other leg bent, it's foot planted firmly on the ground. One of her hands was balled into a fist and planted on the floor next to the knee she was kneeling on while the other hand was placed on her other knee. Her head was bent low. The man looking for the flashlight jumped behind the couch, forgetting all about flashlight and the shotgun.

The lightning flashes ended

The room faded to black.

The rain could be heard from the window followed by a shuffling from within the room.

Then the man from behind the couch shouted "Look out!" but he was too late. Aleshanee had already gotten his associate in the trench coat and the next set of lightning flashes bore witness to him dropping to his knees with a dagger in his throat.

"Hmhm" Aleshanee let out a small sinister laugh as the room faded to black again.

"Sh#t!" said the man from behind the couch. "Sh#t! Sh#t! Sh#t!" He continued to curse loudly as he went into a panic. "F#ck! What the f#ck!" His heart rate jumped and he started to pant.

Lightning flashed again, giving the other two men a few seconds to scramble to their feet and reach for their guns.

Shots were fired and profane shouts ensued, creating a different kind of thunderstorm inside of room thirty-six.

The only light at that moment was coming from gunfire.

Meanwhile

The other residents in the building carried on, completely oblivious to the chaos taking place in room thirty-six on the fourth floor. The old lady had fallen asleep in front of the TV and was snoring. The family across the hall from her were still in the middle of their dinner meal. The father sat at the front of the table with his wife and son to the sides. "So how was your first day at school, Johnathan?" the mother asked the young boy at the table. Down in the lobby the old man at the front desk sat on his chair getting his weekly dose of Sunday comics from the paper.

Back at the apartment

Gunfire continued but Aleshanee's physical attributes were on a level of their own. She was nimble, acrobatic and able to see faintly in the dark. Her uncanny intuition allowed her to sense danger as well. She performed a series of manuevers around the apartment, dodging bullets. Thirty rounds or more must have been let off before Aleshanee pulled two knives from her utility belt in mid-air and sent them flying at the two men firing their guns. The first knife hit one of them in the eye and the second knife hit the other in the neck. They dropped their guns and screamed.

With the gunfire ceased, the room was once again in darkness.

Aleshanee landed on her feet and began to walk towards them. Lightning struck again for the last time, adding terror to her approach. It looked as if she disappeared and reappeared from one place to another with every flash. The man behind the couch watched in fear as Aleshanee held her arms out low to her sides, showcasing the claws on her gloves.

By now the rain had slowed to a stop and the lightning had ended.

The storm was over

The noise died down and what was left of it was coming from the window where water could be heard dripping down on the alley below. For the most part it was silent but the silence was soon broken by the high pitched shrieks of two grown men coupled with the sound of flesh being shredded.

Within minutes the noise died down again.

Through the darkness Aleshanee could see the silhouette of smoke rising from the smoldering bullet casings that littered the floor. Running down the walls was the brown hue of freshly sprayed blood. The furniture was left in a messy arrangement and the TV had fallen to the floor. Near the TV laid the bodies of the three men she had killed.

The man behind the couch pulled out a lighter and flicked it before shouting "Show yourself!" The light from the lighter was dim but it was enough to light up his vicinity. He slowly raised his head and peered over the couch. Aleshanee wasn't there. He stood up and shouted once more "I'll f#cking kill you, you hear me!? Come out, b#tch!" He panted and frantically shifted his feet as he looked around the room in search of Aleshanee but she was nowhere to be found. He shouted again "Aahhhh! God Damn it! I'll kill you, b#tch! You hear me!? I'll f#cking k--"

His shouts came to an abrupt stop.

Looking down he could see a pointy metallic object protruding from his chest with blood dripping from the tip. Aleshanee had stuck him with her dagger. He gave a slow gasp then dropped to his knees, the expression on his face was a mix of fear, surprise and confusion. Aleshanee wrapped her right hand around the grip of the dagger then pulled it as she kicked the him in the back with her left foot. He fell forward on to his belly with his head turned to one side. Blood began to seep from his mouth, forming a pool by his cheek. Aleshanee kneeled down and feigned sympathy "Aww"

The job was done

Aleshanee pulled her scarf down to uncover her mouth then walked over to the body of Richard Leoni and retrieved her other dagger. She then continued to the bodies of the other two men where she gathered her throwing knives.

"I'm forgetting something" She said out loud. She looked around the apartment for a few minutes. She wasn't worried about the mess she would be leaving behind, it wasn't like the cops wouldn't be catching her any time soon. The guns wouldn't be of any use to her. She paced back and forth and thought "Hmm"

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the manila envelope of cash sitting on the table. "Oh yes, that's right" A wide grin appeared on her face.

The night was just full of conveniences.

After she collected the bonus sitting on the table she exited through the same window she came in from and disappeared into the night.