-For Eyes Only-

Silver,
“Enclosed is your next mark. He is to be killed as soon and as quietly as possible. The mark is considered armed and extremely dangerous. As per your contract, this is a ‘No Questions Asked’ kill and the money has already been wired into your account."
-Mr. Sender

Enclosed with the rest of the letter was a detailed report and photograph of the hunt. The pages had seen better days, as the ball-point pen ink was wet and running, making any legible translation of the words near impossible; a selection of numbers and part of a street name are all that's really readable. The enclosed photograph was wet and damaged, but much lesser then the rest of the information. The photo contained a number of people in the image, but only one clearly discernible, a boy in his teens smiling at the camera with a blue sash tied about his head. A red circle was hasty drawn on the image, making him the target.

Silver slipped the manila envelope into his trench coat pocket once more looking at the streets. This was one of the addresses in the letter. He picked up the guitar case he'd recently been caring and began walking up towards a door. He would play this casual; keep things simple.

The city apartment complex was aging, but still looked respectable. The front door of it was normally locked to keep people out, but not for long. Luca charged past a couple people, almost tripping as he ran down the sidewalk, his dancer's ankles spinning him and keeping him from running into anyone. His coat flapped as he ran, revealing his bare chest beneath it, his jeans were worn with holes in places and ridding somewhat low on his hips, his sandals smacking against the concrete as he ran. His familiar blue sash was tied around his neck, with another tied snugly about a wrist and the third around his waist. He quickly dodged by Silver, turning for a moment to smile at him as he punched in a number on the apartment’s front door. "Need help getting it?" he asked. "I remember when I first started living here; it took a week or so before my password finally worked."

Silver's mind went back to the photo linking the sash with the one about the other’s neck. He smiled back stepping forward toward the door. “That’s kind of you and, in fact, I do. I can't seem to remember it, sadly; I haven't the mind for numbers.”

"Who does these days?" he laughed softly ushering himself inside and holding the door open for the stranger. "So you moving in today or just scoping the place out? Think the land-lady said something about possible renters coming around this week... or was it next? Feels kinda lonely on my floor without people living there. Last two people moved out so I don't have any neighbors anymore."

“Looking at the place, actually. Care to show me your place? I hope it’s not too forward, but it's less awkward then seeing the hopeful face of a land-lady and maybe not liking the apartment." Silver liked this more and more. This would be simple; no mess and no worries about people, but he'd use the silencer no sue being cocky.

"Not forward at all. Had a couple people hit on me in the subway this morning, one of them actually grabbed my butt! Right there at the terminal while I was trying to get in!" He scoffed, kicking invisible dirt on the floor with his sandal. "Still might be best if you avoid the land-lady, no use getting overwhelmed or anything. She is a little eccentric." He pressed a button the lift, almost bouncing inside when the bell rang and pushing the button for his floor after he made sure the stranger was inside. "You have a name? If we're going to be possible neighbors, might be best if we get to know each other, right?"

Silver always hated this question; so... personal, so... invasive. He would use an alias as per usual, just incase he had to follow this target. Incase things went wrong. “Gabriel. Sound like you had one hell of a morning; sorry I couldn't have been there to defend you. And since were on the subject... your name would be?" He leaned back against the lift wall keeping his case close at hand.

"It's alright. The guy who groped me has been on me for a while, he's a persistent one, I'll give him that," he smiled holding out his hand. "Just call me Luca, simple and easy to remember. And this," he gave a gentle tug on the sash at his neck. "Is Bella, my good-luck sash. Say hello, Bella... 'Hullo!" Like a kid, he grabbed an edge of the sash, waving it in front of Silver like it had waved to him. "So you play guitar?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. "What kind do you have? Can I see it?"

"I prefer not to subject her to new people." He hated this question, too. Something wasn't sitting right. As far as he could tell this target couldn't possibly be all that important. No questions asked... he'd call Mr. Sender later and discuss it. This wasn't something he could just let slide. "She's still traumatized over my last break up."

The bell for the lift signaled that the floor was reached. Luca instantly forgot asking about the guitar and what it was named, if Gabriel named it much like how he'd named his good-luck sash. "It's just down the hall a little bit. How long do you think you'll be today? Just a few hours or maybe the entire night? I think the guest room is clean." He bounded down the hall, stripping off his jacket, leaving him shirtless in the hallway, as he shook it out in front of him. A couple shakes dislodged a key, Luca smiling as he plucked it from the floor and began to wrestle with his lock.

"Mmm, I don't really know... I'd like to get a real feel for this place." Silver watched Luca closely trying to gauge his muscle mass, how much force he may need to use to hold him down; a higher caliber weapon might be suitable for bringing him down. He would make the call soon as well.

"Then spending the night might be a good idea," he replied with a smile, finally getting the door open. "Don't want the land-lady spotting you," he moved inside, holding the door open for Silver. The apartment was decently sized, the front room was like a small box, a sitting area cut in half by a small couch with a selection of books littering it. There was a definite lack of a TV, even a radio in the entire front room. The kitchenette was small, but functional, and a hallway lead down to, most likely, the bathroom and two rooms. "Not much, but my home while I'm here," he said with a smile. He disappeared into the hallway, coming back out a moment later with his jacket-less exposed body being covered by a tie-dye tank-top. "Normally don't wear much at home, but since you're a guest, this is what I normally wear."

"Ah..." He walked around, pretending to examine the place as a potential renter, asking questions every so often about the style and what not. After about ten minutes of touring he paused, pulling a headset from his pocket and slipping it over his ear. "Mind if I make a call in the guest room?"

"Not at all!" Luca called from the kitchen, the smell of cooking cheese filling the apartment as he tried cooking a quesadilla.

The guest room was somewhat small, a queen bed taking up the entire back wall with some boxes, open and filled with different exotic outfits filled them to the breaking point. The boxes would need to be moved into a pile before the room was able to be slept in.

Silver set the case down onto the bed before removing a PDA phone from his pocket. He quickly dialed the number he sought letting it ring.  Firm... he would demand to know. Confidant... yes, that's how he would handle this.

The phone on the other line rung twice before someone picked up on the other end. The person paused for a moment before speaking. "This is Sender, the line is secure. If you're calling me, I assume your task is complete?"

"Sender... we have a complication," Silver sighed audibly into the head set.

"You are supposed to be the best in your field. While it's known the target is considered very dangerous, there should have been no complications. Explain yourself."

"Dangerous in his over kindness to strangers perhaps. I need real info and what was sent to me has been damaged; it's all wet, including the picture. In order to avoid a black mark on the records..."

"Your job was labeled 'No Questions Asked', meaning we tell you who to kill and you kill them. The information strictly stated who it was you needed to off, and if it as damaged, you'll just have to fix it. We can't afford leaving a trail behind."

"I'm trying to avoid leaving unnecessary damages. I can not be sure that this person is who I'm looking for. Information needs to be given or are we looking for lawsuits this early in the year?"

"Lawsuits are petty compared to what will happen to you. We have access to all of your records, and if this job isn't complete the list goes public and to the police, as well as all of your information."

"I'm well aware of the consequences; I may need time with this one. I apologies for my uncertainty, it won't happen again."

"It better not." The line went dead after that, ending the call.

"How do you like your pizza!" Luca called from the kitchen, a few coughs followed, plus the smell of carbon; Luca had burnt the Mexican food again...

Silver slammed his fist onto the case. "Plain cheese if you will..." He called out. He hated it when Sender did this to him.

"Gottcha!" Luca called, finishing up his phone order before poking his head into the bedroom. A small blush was on his face as he'd temporarily forgotten that Silver was there, having tossed his pants away and leaving him in only a pair of underwear and his tie-dye shirt.

Silver stood adjacent to the door the case facing him still firmly closed. "Yes?" Looking up, he quirked an eyebrow. "Little drafty… don't you think.?"

"Not at night, actually," Luca replied, completely nonchalant. "Can get kinda stuffy at night, which is why I usually don't wear anything."

"Feel free to strut around in the buff then..." Silver tried to relax. He would make this guy’s last few moments nice, at least. "Grab a shower, I'll listen for the pizza man." He smiled wanting to get started with the preparations... he had a solid 45 minutes to kill this one.

"That's alright. I got a bit soaked earlier from the rain, plus I take my showers in the mornings," he replied. "And I think I'll wear something for the pizza guy. You just hang out wherever and see if you like the place." He gave a quick smile before pulling back into the other room.

Silver walked over, closing the door and locking it. Peace... peace enough at least to get things ready. Stepping over to the case, he opened the latches then the lid. His hands ran over the familiar pieces of artillery before stopping on an Mk1. He pulled the semi-automatic hand gun out checking to see that it was indeed loaded. He then picked up the silencer, screwing it into the Mk1. He slipped the gun into his pocket and closed the case. He was ready... at least psychically. Stepping back to the door he unlocked it turning the door handle.

Luca had just waved goodbye to the delivery-man, shutting the door. He set the pizzas down on the counter, smiling as he saw Gabriel come out of the guest room. "Come get it while it's still hot!" he called over with a smile. His hand absently twirled the blue sash around his neck on a finger.

Silver smiled. "Dig in yourself, first…" He waked up behind Luca his hand gripping the gun in his pocket firmly. "What'd you get?"

"Oh, nothing special. Since you got a cheese, I just decided to get myself a pepperoni," he replied, happily prying open one of the pizza boxes and taken a moment to admire the aroma. "Nothing beats the smell of a fresh pizza."

Silver slipped the gun from his pocket. "Agreed…" He slipped his finger into the trigger aiming it carefully. The back of Luca's head was in perfect alignment to make it as painless as possible.

Luca paused. In a flash he spun his body around, his ankle colliding with the back of Silver's knee, his hand quickly grasped and twisted the assassin's wrist, loosening the gun from Silver's grip. His other hand came around as he open-palmed slammed the ball of his hand into his potential-killer's chest to knock him backwards across the room.

Silver was indeed caught off guard. He kept a firm grip of his gun merely staggering a bit. "So you really are very dangerous. But you’re also insanely kind..." Silver sighed and ran a hand threw his hair. "You make this difficult…"

"Dangerous when I'm trying not to get killed," he replied, "You're not the first pro that's tried to off me and I'd like you to be the last  with me still be alive, if at all possible." He bit his bottom lip, not expecting the grip strength of his assassin, every other had dropped their gun, giving him the upper hand, but now he was still at a disadvantage and without the element of surprise.

Silver dropped his gun and stepped forward taking a slice of pepperoni pizza. "I hope you don't mind..." He waited for Luca's reaction hoping for God’s sake he wouldn't attack him... or worse call the police.

He held out his hand, his fingers curling for a moment in a sign to hand something over. "Gun, if you would. I'd rather not die today."

"On the floor behind me... I swear it's the only on me by my reputation as the best hired gun within my company." He took a bite of the pizza. " I need to know about you... you know I could have pulled the trigger easy but I hesitated. I don't do that.."

"Thanks for that, by the way," he sighed as he relaxed, grabbing a slice and taking a quick bite of the fast-food. "I had a feeling they'd send you soon or later," he continued. "They probably labeled it as one of those 'No-Questions-Asked' kills... they want to kill me because I'm not what they want me to be."

"Great. Are you an ex-assassin, because I hate these jobs?" He finished the first quickly going after a second piece.

"Not like that," he replied, still mulling over his first. "According to some unbreakable contracting, a year or so, I inherit all of their money. They don't like the fact I'm not some stuck up, elitist bastard who gets a hard-on for playing the stock-market..."

"So we simply fake your death, move to some rural backwards ass town, and change your look..." Silver said simply as he walked towards the kitchen. "Drink?”

"You don't think I've tried that?" he asked, though not expecting an answer. "Just water," he added quickly before taking another bite of his pizza. "Why else would I be living in the art district of San Francisco, habitually half-naked, and living in an apartment complex?"

"That gets you noticed..." He grabbed two glasses from a cupboard, filling them with water. "I’m talking backwards hick rural where you can run naked in a field of daisies..."

"Point taken," he sighed. "But where would you suggest? They aren't dumb, you know. Even if you are as good as your resume says, they'll find out it's a fake, come after me, and then turn you public. They have their hands in everything from corporations to the FBI..."

"Well there is the option of me actually killing you... or you can kill me, which I wouldn't particularly mind... or you can shoot me and take me hostage… or…" He offered one of he glasses to Luca still trying to think of things.

"I'm trying to keep bullet wounds, fatal or otherwise, off the list of options, thanks," he took a drink of the water, letting out a sigh as he set it back down, half-empty. "What about... you're a hired gun, can't I hire you as a body-guard or something?"

"Actually... how much can you offer?"

"If you keep me alive until the contracts kick in, I can pay anything you want," he replied, basically meaning he was flat-broke at the moment.

Silver reached into his pocket dialing again. He took a deep breath and motioned for Luca to be silent.

He nodded, setting down the piece of pizza, not daring to swallow the piece currently in his mouth.

On the phone, it rang twice, followed by the two seconds of silence before a voice could be heard. "This is Sender, the line is secure. Have you finished the job?"

"Situation changed. Clause 7-809 has occurred… As protocol of my contract with the company, and spot of number one two years in a row, I am authorized to accept such things as detailed in the clause."

There was a pause. "You had better hope for your own sake that you're not truthful in your words. Your position and your clause mean nothing to this job. It is to be done as soon as possible, this is not something that can be changed."

"The clause is part of my contract Sender... if you won't adhere to such contracts I can simply resign, and if you were to reveal my file then you'd also be breaking contract. An associate of the company may resign at anytime a situation can not be rectified by his or her contract and is conflicting with the contract in anyway.”

Another pause floated over the phone connection. "You and that wretch will not live long enough to regret your action," and with that, the line was terminated.

Luca sprung from his chair, almost jumping on Silver as he hugged him tightly, his grip like iron; a lump in his throat kept him from talking, but his actions were enough.

"Don't hug me just yet... Sender’s exact words were ‘You and that wretch will not live long enough to regret your actions’... Lucky me all the money dumped into my account is moved threw six or seven different banks I forget that they can’t track."

"Yeah, but I've survived a couple of attempts on my life already, plus I've got you to help keep me alive! Those old bastards can say whatever they want, I'm..." he paused, an old feeling falling over him. "I won't have to be so worried about getting killed," Luca said with a smile. He let go of Silver, taking another bite of pizza before bolting off to his room. "The contracts don't kick in for another year and three months starting next week, so where are we gonna lay low until then? Do you actually know of a backwater hic town where people run naked through fields of flowers?"

"... Yeah..." Silver went to grab his guitar case picking the gun up on the way. He dialed Sender’s number again.

The phone picked up after the standard time, making sure the call wasn't traceable before talking. "You have guts calling me after breaking contract."

There was the sound of a silenced gun penetrating skin. "Breach in contract? No. Well played deceptive acting? Yes..." He prayed Luca would stay away and/or keep his mouth shut even though blood was now running down his leg.
There was a pause on the other line before a soft chuckle could be heard. "To deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your allies… well played. Dispose of the body as quietly as you can," there was another pause. "and bring back a souvenir."

"Of course Sender.. but I'll be visiting a medic... fucker almost hot me twice... the first time is what called for my deception.. I apologies for having to resort to that but it was my life... or his... and you don't pay me lots of money for nothing now do you?... if you'll excuse me I have a body to chop up , blender, and burn..."

"As brutal as your resume. Make it quick. The sooner you finish there, the better." The line went dead not a moment after.

Silver shut off his phone and cursed audibly, sliding down a wall.

Luca pulled himself from his room, a solemn look on his face when he'd heard the gunshot. He moved over to Silver, quickly checking the point of entry. "It's not bad. Give me a minute and I can pull it out."

"I just bought you freedom, Luca…" He smiled a little. "So you’re going to give me Bella to prove it... and we’re going to hide you away."

He disappeared into his room for a moment, emerging a second later with a small kit. He popped it open, listening to Silver talk as he worked. Luca pulled out a small pair of tweezers from the kit, using his free hand to apply a numbing ointment to where the wound was. "Hold still," he dug the tweezers into the entry point, sliding in carefully. After a second, he felt the tip of the tweezers hit the bullet lodged in Silver's body. A quick twist of his wrist and a second later, the bullet head slid harmlessly against the ground. Luca pulled Bella from his neck, tightly wrapping it around the open wound.

"Good idea. Blood would make it look better… but my blood... well no, they'd believe it." He leaned back against the wall heavily. "You need to look not like you... and quickly." He slipped a credit card from his trench pocket, holding it out to Luca. "Take this and get far, far away… they don't track it so no worries. It's actually my mothers, so they won't guess… change how you look and then call me. I’ll write my number on your hand in a moment"

"Like how far? LA far or just far away from this apartment building?"

"I'd say just the next city over is fine; lay low, rent a nice hotel room, pick up clothing that hides who you are on the way... got it?"

Luca nodded, grabbing the card and bolting his way back into his room. He dashed out again, wearing his earlier outfit and getting ready to go. "Will you be alright? You shot yourself...."

"I’m fine. Get me a pen... wear something less you. More me..." Silver stood up limping into the other room. He dismantled the gun cleaning it and putting it away. He then removed a clean up kit from the box and walked back cleaning up the blood from where he'd been shot.

He fished around inside a book bag, pulling out a purple ball-point. He looked at his outfit with a bit of awkwardness, he'd been wearing similar for a few years now and it felt somewhat weird to wear something else. Still, he changed wearing more clothes then normal and in as dark of colors as he could find in his dresser. He followed Silver into the other room, offering him the pen.

Silver took he pen scrawling his number onto Lucas hand. "Get a hair cut, buy new clothing, stuff that makes you look as different as possible. In fact, dye your hair, get some food so we won't be starved, and it'll just look like my mother had a day of spa and relaxation..."

"Gottcha," he looked at the number closing his hand around it before bolting out of the room. Step one would be to find a ride, which wouldn't be too hard if he could catch a taxi. He made his way down the stairwell, ignoring the elevator and just moving in an almost outright sprint, even into the outside of the apartment building. He turned his head back, looking at the window of where his apartment would be, wondering if the assassin would be okay...

Silver forced himself to finish the cleaning job. He waited a good half hour before he left the apartment hurrying so no one would notice him, he had taken everything blood soaked or containing is DNA with him. A few taxi rides later he stood outside the Senders office waiting to be called.

The buzzer of the door beeped, signaling the lock was open as the automated door pushed itself open, letting the assassin inside the darkened meeting room. It was empty, save for a single chair at the head of the table, the familiar aging face of Mr. Sender in it. "I take it you brought me proof?"

Silver placed the bloodied scarf onto the table.  "I thought I'd be ‘subtle’ this time... not knowing the circumstances of the case, I didn't know if body parts were appropriate."

Sender's eyes scanned over Luca's favored sash, the one so ridiculously named 'Bella'. The worthless teen would have never given that piece of sentimental trash up, having it not in the teen's possession, and covered in blood, was truly evidence. "Very well. You can leave now."

"I would like to request time off..." Silver grimaced a little. "I’m no good damaged and I know it. I’m not going to risk my reputation or the company’s."

"I noticed you were limping when you entered. That brat had a habit of breaking the knees of everyone we sent at him... take as much time as you need to recover."

"Obviously..." Silver gave his usual successful job smirk. "I'm better. Knee not broken, leg only shot." Silver turned heading for the door. "Don't give away my number one spot now. Oh…" He turned back a grave look on his face. " I'll be traveling with my family. If you must reach me, I'm an officer of the law."

"I'm sure you'll have lots to talk about," Mr. Sender sarcastically mused, turning his chair around as his eyes stared at the blood stained Bella.

Silver left heading for the med bay. He had given the right performance as he had every time. He felt confident that things would go well... now he just needed to fix the fucked up leg.

A lab technician stared at a set of x-ray images off in a corner of the bay. He heard the familiar foot-falls of the assassin, not even having to turn around, though he heard them fall in a limping pattern. "Can you return from a mission where you don't need medical attention?" The technician asked.

"No. It's less fun that way." Silver dropped his pants and sat on one of the examining tables waiting for the Technician to come examine him. "I hate the dangerous ones, but on the bright side I got a vacation. I can finally go see my family.."

"Touching. Keep talking like that and people might assume you actually have a heart," the technician replied. He looked at the hole, applying a salve from a nearby cart to the wound. "Not that bad, I see you got the bullet out... you just need to apply this to it every day until it has completely sealed over."

“Awe, I hate icky creams..." He held his hand out for the jar, and as his reputation had hyped he was reduced to the mentality of a seven year old when visiting the med bay.

"Grow a testicle and use the salve," was the reply. "It's better then getting stitches and having to work with all those anti-bacterials."

Silver dropped down from the table putting his pants back on. "Thanks…" He limped his way out heading down towards the parking lot.