Hired

I

Her face would be interpreted as rather imperfect by most people. Her left eye was just a tad smaller than her right, her nose slightly too big for her liking. But those things were only noticeable when you stood really close to her. Something not many people could do and live to tell about it. The ice cold look in her eyes is something that has characterized her. Her brown eyes would look right through you, whereas your deepest stare would never give you access to her mind. You would realize that, only to feel the cold steel of her dagger pierce through your skin, muscles and nerves, as it makes its way to its destination: the heart. Nothing would change in her expression; not even the slightest glimpse of regret or sorrow could be noticed. When walking away, she would listen to your dying screams, until they were no more than faint whimpers that ultimately turned into the most feared silence of death. That's how she does it. That is the way she has always done it. For two years she has had nothing but blood on her hands, and she isn't the only one.
As she walked down the street she hid her bloody hands in the pockets of her coat and kept the dagger she used close to her. Carefully, she scanned the faces of all people she passed by, no matter how far or close she was to them. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. The fast and uneasy vibration almost seemed to want to tell her it was an urgent matter. She made way for the closest alley and only grabbed her phone when she was absolutely sure she was not being followed. The brightness of the cell phone's display reflected on her face and made it even paler as it already was, though her cheeks were flushed red from excitement. She held her breath the entire time and rolled her eyes when she caught herself doing so. After looking left and right she hid her cell phone in her pocket again and continued walking. She inhaled the city air deeply and a sweet scent that reminded her of money was the strongest. Her thoughts wandered to the money she had just earned. The money she would receive in just a couple of minutes.

Her hair was braided down from the roots. It had taken her months to get it right. The end of the braid was flicked over her left shoulder and rested on her chest. Her hair was greasy and in desperate need of a wash, but they had run out of warm water Downstairs. Gray had said he would talk to someone about it and that it would be fixed within the next two days, that was a week ago. Her breath was visible. As she inhaled through her nose she watched as her previous exhale disappeared in the autumn sky.

After a long walk she entered a seemingly normal door that led to a basement. As soon as the door closed, the smell of mold spread through her nose. She inhaled deeply several times to get used to the disgusting odor. It was dark, but she knew her way around well enough to not get lost in the maze of hallways that were merely lit by old, flickering lamps on the walls. Two right turns, then left once, and immediately turned right again.

She hesitated, but gently put her hand on the door she stood in front of and put her ear against the rotting wood. After knocking once a voice asked her to come in. As she approached a black table with steel legs she pulled the dagger from her jacket along with a document. She put them on the table and wiped the blood that hadn't dried up yet on her pants. Two big hands that belonged to a big man flipped through the record with a risen eyebrow. His bright blue eyes looked up at her.

'Hands,' he commanded. His voice was higher than she had expected when she first met him. Nobody knew his name. Figures, she had thought. He called himself Black, and so everyone that joined Downstairs felt obliged to replace their name with a color, as did she.

'Green,' she answered when her name was asked.

'Bounty?'

'Four,' she replied. She lost connection to Black's eyes for a split second when she looked up to see where the rustling she heard came from.

'Greenie!' a boy said to the girl as he walked down the steps. He walked towards her with his arms wide open, as if they were good friends that hadn't seen each other in years. The try-hard seductive look on his face displeased her greatly.