The Magpie's Death

No More Mistakes

Aside from some dust, the South Bronx loft was the same as when he left. After some cleaning and a grocery run, it was like nothing had changed. Except that for the Magpie, everything was different.

Without his reputation to help him, he could only accept a few small-time, anonymous jobs. Mostly delivering illegal packages or tracking and delivering people. Showing his face in public wasn't an issue, since no one knew what the Magpie looked like, but he had to stay away from any requests that might showcase his style and talents. He had always been a target simply because he was a nuisance, but now he was a threat and he was hunted. He couldn't risk giving away even a hint of himself until everything was ready.

It would have been easier to stay away. To disappear completely. He didn't need the money. But he needed a distraction. Anything to occupy his time and his mind. Anything that would remind him of who he was. Who he was meant to be.

When he wasn't working a job, he and Squirrel spent their free time creating a plan for releasing Charlotte's secret recording. There couldn't be any flaws. Once the video was out, they would no longer have control, and this new Boss was more powerful than they could have imagined.

A week passed this way, trying to fill every spare moment with work, barely sleeping, and doing anything to keep himself focused on something other than what he was feeling. Feelings were an unnecessary weakness in this life. During the times when he couldn't suppress his thoughts, he told himself his actions were right. He had examined the situation and made a calculated decision. The Suns were only concerned with a three-year-old because of her connection to him. If he dumped the girl, it meant he didn't need her. And if he didn't need her, it meant he had what everyone was looking for. The girl was no longer important and Mirror Falls would be safe.

He could never go back after leaving this way, but there were very few people in the world he cared for. This was all he could do to protect them.

* * *

"Maggie... You need to pull yourself out of this funk or go back. I can't take much more of this ridiculous depression."

Squirrel still had classes, but they had abandoned the dorm and started commuting back and forth from the loft. They were too worried to leave the Magpie alone. To anyone else, he wouldn't have appeared any different, with the same blank expression and deep, emotionless voice, but his friend knew better.

"We don't know that they'll be able to find you," they pointed out, each word more frustrated than the last. "Technically, you don't exist. And even if they do, you're not helpless. Just kill them."

The Magpie pulled the blanket further over his head as he shifted his body closer to the back of the couch. He slept short periods at strange times, so he hadn't bothered moving to the bed. Right now, laying in the sun, it was hot and the air was stuffy, with each exhaled breath trapped beneath the fabric. His lungs struggled to find enough oxygen and his head felt light, but he liked it. It made it difficult to think.

With a quick flick of the wrist, Squirrel grabbed the cover from his hand and threw it to the floor.

"You're torturing yourself. Which is fine, except it's torturing me." Their high-pitched voice was charming as always but still clearly fed up. They cared, but they were not patient. "Get your ass off the couch and get your shit together."

With a groan, he lifted himself into a seated position and rubbed at the back of his neck. Squinting in the light streaming through the tall windows, he looked at his friend frowning above him.

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

For him, his tone was beyond miserable. At least that was the word Squirrel used to describe it. He had never felt miserable before, so he looked it up. Terribly unhappy and uncomfortable. Causing someone else to feel unhappy and uncomfortable. Constantly sullen and ill-tempered. It was too accurate. Yet another new emotion he'd never needed or wanted to experience.

Squirrel sighed, climbing onto his lap and circling their slender arms around him. After a few pats to the back, they laid their head on his shoulder and huffed out a short laugh.

"I never thought I would be comforting you. Who would have guessed you'd get emotional enough to need comforting?" The Magpie didn't respond, staying still inside the embrace. "You should go back. If you stay and get caught like this, I'm afraid you'll just surrender."

He lifted his friend as he stood, then set them down on the couch and walked to the kitchen. "If I go back, I'm risking more lives than my own." His voice came out raspy through his dry throat and he was still a bit dizzy. Since he didn't bother to keep track of time anymore, he couldn't guess how long he'd been under that blanket. "I still can't have what I want. So it doesn't matter."

This was his life. The one he was meant to live. The one he deserved. A solitary hunter who kept to the shadows. Who chased his prey in silence, then attacked without warning. Without feeling. Without regret. That person couldn't have relationships. And that person shouldn't raise a child.

"If you say so," Squirrel said, unconvinced but giving up the argument for now. Instead, they went to sit at the bank of monitors in the corner. "I have a job for you, if you want it. It's an open bounty. The mark is trying to skip out on a debt."

"So there might be competition?"

His friend nodded with a smirk, well aware of what was going through his mind.

"Good. I could use some competition right now."

"Yeah... Just don't kill anyone, okay?"

Without a response, the Magpie headed to the bedroom to pull a light, hooded sweatshirt over his t-shirt and grab one of the many burner phones from the dresser.

"You heard me, right?" The question was mostly playful, but there was a hint of real concern.

After slipping on his boots and checking his stashed weapons, the Magpie threw in his earbud and walked out the door without giving a response.

* * *

With a menacing growl, the Magpie approached the greasy-haired and heavily-pierced young man, now pinned into the corner of the cramped, basement apartment. It was musty and smelled of cigarettes and beer, which only aggravated him more.

"You had the man trapped in a concrete box with no windows and you still let him get away."

By the time he arrived, the mark was gone and this barely twenty, amateur thug was pushing himself from the floor to follow. Instead, he ran head first into the Magpie's massive chest. With a single, hard shove, the kid slammed against a wall and slumped back down to the ground. A few tosses later, treating the boy like nothing more than a doll, he had him backed into a corner. A look of horror filled his eyes as the Magpie waved a thin blade back and forth in front of him.

"This is why I hate these small-time jobs."

Darting forward, the Magpie sliced at the kid's face, the tiniest sliver of a cut appearing on his cheek. He winced in pain and the Magpie let out a low huff.

"If that hurts, you're in the wrong profession." The knife glided across his own cheekbone, his cold expression never changing, and he took a step closer. "See? Just a scratch."

"You're insane..." The young thug's voice trembled a little and the Magpie nodded, eyeing his throat. "What... What're you gonna do?"

"You really shouldn't have taken this job, kid. I've been in such a bad mood recently. I could use a good release."

The boy was visibly shaking now and the Magpie huffed again. This was a waste of his time and skills. And a waste of this kid's life. Grabbing him by the hair, he pulled up until his victim cried out.

"Don't do this anymore," he hissed, inching his blade closer until it brushed against the boy's throat. "You're going to get yourself killed."

With a quick jerk, he rammed his head into the wall hard enough to knock him out. The body collapsed as he released his grip, sliding to the floor. With a sigh, the Magpie shoved his knife back into his boot and pressed his earbud. Loud shouting erupted from the other end.

"What the HELL are you thinking? Are you INSANE?"

"You're the second person to say that today." He turned to look at the boy, now peacefully propped against the wall. "Squirrel. Find me a real job. As the Magpie."