Mila's Men

The Vizier

The walk sign lit up. An elderly woman, stepped out on to the crosswalk. She slowly crossed the road. After about a minute, she reached the other side. Suddenly, a man dressed in black, lunged out in front of her. He grabbed her pink Ausitch purse, and ran around the corner. The woman began to yell for help. The thief ducked down a back ally.

He could see the entrance of a dimly lit parking garage. The gate opened, and a car went through. The thief followed the car - staying close to it's bumper. The turned right, but the thief dove right - down to the lower lot. The purse jangled, as he walked down the dark aisle. All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks. The air was still, and only one lamppost was shining. The thief resumed his walking, and headed towards a set of elevator. He strolled past the last row of cars.

"Ah!!" The thief screamed. There was a face in the side mirror of a parked car. "Who's there?"

He spun around quickly. The lot was empty. Suddenly, the thief lost his footing. His back slammed against the hood of a silver sedan.  His vision was blurred, but he could make out the disheveled figure, of Katrina McGabes. She was covered in ashes.

"My, My - stealing an old lady's purse." Katrina said in a spooky voice. "That's not very nice you know! Now I have to take something of your's!"

The thief chuckled. " What are you gonna take from me? You're just a little girl!"

"Silence!" Katrina yelled. 

The thief looked up at her, but she was gone. He started to stand up, but something forced him back down. The thief starred ominously at his pants' pocket. He could feel a hand, reaching down his back pocket. The hand grabbed something, then slowly rose. The thief trembled in fear - his eyes bugged out. He starred in horror, at his pocket knife - floating in midair. The long, thin blade, ejected from the grip. It hovered over his face.

"No! No!" he screamed at the phantom knife - dropping the purse.

  "It's a shame you couldn't have a funeral..." Katrina's voice hissed. "...But don't worry - I'll give you a brief eulogy. In the words of the Persian poet, Rumi, 'Beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.'"

The lamppost flickered, as the thief let out his final scream.

The elderly woman was pacing the corner where she was robbed.

"Excuse me." Someone said, tapping the woman on the shoulder.

"Yes, deary!" The woman exclaimed, as she slowly turned around. Katrina was standing there - holding the woman's purse.

"I believe this belongs to you." Katrina smiled - handing her the purse.

"Oh, thank you!" The woman said, as her eyes lit up. "Officer! officer! This young lady found my purse!" She yelled at a police officer, who was standing by his car; filing out a report.

The officer quickly ran to the woman. "What young lady?" He asked.

The elderly woman pointed to the empty street corner. The officer rolled his eye, and walked back to his squad car. The officer froze in his tracks. His pen and pad, fell at his feet. There in the back seat, was the corpse of the thief. His knife was protruding from his exposed chest. There were words on his forehead; written in blood, "YOUR'S TRUELY, EPHEMERIA"...

                                                                                       ◊

Horns honked, as the limousine glided through traffic. Mila looked at her two bodyguards. Kage sat at her left, and Tomo at her right. There was a strange tension in the air, of the stuffy backseat. It was finally broken by Tomo.