New Assignment

New Assignment

The night came as usual over the warehouse district as the decades old street lamps lit the corrugated metal of the rooftops. A stray dog sniffed at a row of trash cans near the graffiti filled wall, while I walked towards the door.

I blinked my eyes in front of the red beam of light of the security camera as the unmistakable click sounded indicating that the door was unlocked.

My footsteps echoed on the cement as I stepped into the dimly lit warehouse that smelled of decades old motor oil mixed with kitty litter. I tried to ignore the scent as I walked to the right.

As I entered, I shook my head and wondered how I got in this position? How did I go from a normal office worker to……this? Not sure, really. Last month, I was working for a fortune 500 company. I was making a good six figure salary and I had a cool apartment that overlooked the river. I even dated once in a while.

Then all of a sudden, I was let go. Five years in. Good prospects. Lots of opportunities for advancement and all of that came crashing down in a moment of corporate restructuring.

I found myself alone and on the street at night, with only the clothes on my back, which were ragged and smelling like rotten tomatoes, looking for scraps, when I was approached by a woman in a sleek dark suit that could’ve been made by Yves Saint-Laurent. Her green eyes locked on to me with the intensity of a sniper’s rifle. It was eerie.

She had me enter the back of her limo in spite of my current condition and began to speak.

“Benjamin Harper””

I froze. It was a strange situation. She knew my name and began calmly rattling off my whole story like a clinician examining data on a screen.

What could I say to that? I felt like a fly trapped in amber.

Her eyes locked onto mine and offered me this strange job of “courier” and that I would get paid regularly by their “organization”, as long as I remained ‘useful’. That part was chilling; however, I decided I really had no choice. I was unimportant in the company that let me go and I had no other way to survive even for one night.

Now, I was a go between for a rather reclusive female assassin for hire. It wasn't bad work; I got paid regularly and handsomely. Working with her, well …that takes a little nerve.

“ Oh, Ben,” she called out in the most jarringly seductive voice that sounded like a siamese cat armed with a chainsaw.

“Oh crap,” I thought, “She’s awake. Why can’t I just get lucky and slip the job underneath the door? I mean just once?”

Then, her soft chuckle echoed off the walls. “Gee, Ben. One would think you’re trying to avoid me! I won’t bite! “

Well, there was no escaping this. I ascended the open mesh metal staircase and delivered the mission to her.

From beneath some jet black bangs, the assassin stared at me with her almond shaped eyes. She sat crosslegged on the metal floor, grinning like the Cheshire cat….ready to pounce.

“I’ve a…..” I gulped as I held out a piece of paper with a shaky hand.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Ben, come on! Really?”. She shook her head as she rose from her position like a ballet dancer and glided towards the stairs, snatching the paper from my trembling hand.

Turning away, she sauntered away, leaving me staring at her retreating form.

She had a lean, muscular figure alright and her clothes just seem to hang on her body like sheets drying on an old clothes line in a backyard. Somehow, she made it all look seductive.

“Checkin’ me out, Ben?”, she cackled as she flashed that eerie smile.

Before I could even breathe out, she was strutting towards me, her eyes gleaming maliciously.

“ Relax, Ben” I knoooowww.. it’s not the first time!”

I felt sweat forming on my forehead. There was something spooky about how she dragged out the word “know” before turning away again in a deliberate tease.

As I turned away to head back down the stairs, her voice rang out “STOP!” in a way that felt like a cannon shot.

“Soo…..”, she began as she slid towards the tall wooden table and peered at the paper in the light of a gooseneck lamp. “The job……is interesting…..”

I froze. Why was I here? My job was to hand deliver her orders and leave. That’s it! Right? I waited, hoping I could leave soon. My stomach quivered and churned as I stood there by the stairs, holding onto the handrail.

She started chuckling as she read the orders. I really didn’t want to turn around to face her. The stairs are right there! So close!

I heard her slowly gliding over the floor almost like a ghost

“Turn arouunnnd Ben!”, she teased

I slowly turned and watched that grin grow impossibly wider and the gleam in her eyes growing brighter. Then, she presented me with the paper. I looked down and then my stomach dropped when I saw the message.

I froze in place. I saw her grin as she lightly tapped my face and read the words aloud on the page.

“Your carrier pigeon has been made”

“I, I, …” I stammered. My mouth ran dry as a bone and my eyes watered. I tried to protest or say something at least, but my throat closed like a vicegrip.

“You’re gonna say that you didn’t tell anyone?”, she giggled and guffawed with malicious mirth. “Ohh dear, sweet, kind hearted Ben. Of course you didn’t tell. You’ve been made!”

She sauntered around me to the other end of the stairs as she traced her index finger around my chest, as if appraising a side of beef.

“You were made, followed by a professional…and….”, she paused and looked directly over my shoulder.

I turned around and saw the front door open slowly ... ..then a whistling passed by my face and suddenly, the unknown intruder froze in place just as his right foot touched the concrete floor.

“Well…” she sighed like someone just choosing a pair of clothes. “There’s another one on the roof and two more around the block.”

I found myself shaking, maybe hyperventilating and my heart was beating like jackhammer. “What do I do?, I called.

I heard a whistle again. Then everything started going dark. I heard her speaking to me as I drifted

“Sloppy, Ben. Reaaaall sloppy”