He was all sharp edges with a brooding darkness that set your pulse racing. His eyes blue fathomless pools. It was like looking into a void. Ice cold.
He was a cold hearted assassin. She was trained to take him down.
A Dark AU Van McCann story (thi...
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The door swung shut behind me, completely blocking out the background noise of the city, magnifying the sound of my breathing which was ragged and strained. A frightened sound. The enormity of what I was walking into pressed down on me now, but there was no going back.
It was pitch black in the windowless room and I had no choice but to fish my phone out of my coat pocket again, this time flicking the torch setting on. The harsh glare illuminated a path of light and I slowly moved it around, taking in my surroundings. I appeared to be in some kind of storeroom with bare metal racking floor to ceiling. The ground was covered in litter, broken down cardboard and scrunched up plastic that crunched under my feet as I waded through to the door on the far side.
The door was heavy and I wrenched it open with force, wincing at the loud creaking noise that emanated from the door jamb. The sound seemed to echo, amplified by the huge, empty space that I shuffled into. I stopped still for a moment to listen for any noise and survey where I was.
I was on the ground floor of the old department store. Looters had stripped anything of value and there wasn't much left, just a few old twisted clothing racks and broken down mannequins which seemed to watch me accusingly as I made my way stealthily across the shop floor. The room was vast and there were plenty of dark corners to hide in, but I knew Van wouldn't be here. He'd be somewhere up high, somewhere he could set up his rifle and lay in wait for his prey.
My heart thudded in my chest as I made for the escalators at the heart of the room, still tightly gripping the crowbar. Again I felt regret at not bringing my gun, my reasoning that I wasn't here tonight to kill or apprehend Van now seeming completely naive and foolish. What if things didn't go to plan and he decided to harm me? What if he wasn't alone? What if it wasn't even Van at all, but another even deadlier assassin?
The final thought sent spikes of fear shooting up my spine and made my throat close up tight. It was a real possibility, and the fact that I had only just considered the prospect just made me realise how blinkered I was. Completely blinded by the obsessive desire that gripped me, the same compulsion which saw me advancing up the lifeless escalator steps, past the first, second and third floor and on to the fourth despite all the fears clamouring in my head.
This level seemed just as empty as the others as I scanned the area covertly before emerging fully on to the shop floor. That only left the very top storey which by my recollections of the floor plans that I'd studied of this building was office space. The escalator staircase ended here so I'd have to take the stairs located on the far side of the building.
My heart was pumping as I entered the dingy stairwell, and I cautiously planted each foot lightly on the concrete steps so as not to make a sound as I advanced up gradually towards the top floor. I could see the doorway up ahead, the battered door hanging off its rusty hinges, wide open as if beckoning me inside.
I paused to the side of the doorway, back against the wall, trying to steady my breathing, and I closed my eyes for a moment, listening for anything that might give away Van's presence. Silence filled the air. I was just about to move when a quiet noise travelled to me, a faint scuffle like a footstep sliding across the flooring. I stood stock still until the sound petered out into quiet once more.
