Dead Drop Gorgeous

2. Andrey, Katja

The blood dripped gently onto the floor. It left a trail from the side of the victim's head, down their arm, to their fingers and onto the puddle now forming. Someone had said too much, someone had let something slip, or had it bought from them. Someone had to be taken care of, and Andrey was the right man to do it. He was ruthless and unforgiving in dealing with trouble, and this person tonight was far from an exception.

He had been selling information to the enemy, very secret information at that, plans, code ciphers and blueprints, all had been handed over for huge bags of money. Useless now, of course, but before that the amount was so large it meant he'd keep selling more and more. They couldn't just let him continue like this, it would eventually cause everything to collapse into ruins, all the years of work, of secrecy, of plotting and inventing, gone to waste.

Andrey had been given orders to go to the mole's apartment, which was in a small, brick building at the edge of the city, and finish him in any way he chose. It had been a quick killing, the mole was writing at a desk with his back to the door when Andrey quietly nudged the door open (leaving the door unlocked was a stupid idea) and tried to sneak in as silently as possible. With his big figure, this would be hard and it wasn't long before a rogue floorboard gave a resounding creak, and Andrey simply had to quickly dash to his victim and finish everything. A blade, for a gun would be too noisy. Even with a silencer, he couldn't risk someone picking up on the slightest noise. He hoped nobody had heard him sprinting across the floor, or could at least pass it off as the occupant of this apartment.

A small, cracked mirror lay on the desk beside the mole's head. Andrey didn't know his name, but knew he had to be killed. He glanced at his reflection. An angled, pale face, deep, dark eyes and dirty hair. He had the right visage for a murderer, but he wasn't always cold and cruel, he knew he had a happier side, it just didn't seem like someone had found it yet. Well, enough of that. Police sirens grew nearer and a car screeched to a halt outside the apartment block.

"Crap! Need a way out... and fast!" Andrey whispered to himself. Men were running outside, shouting about which apartment they were heading to.

He spotted his escape. The fire escape at the back of the building. He slid open the window and climbed out onto the platform and gently closed it after him. He tiptoed up the stairs, taking care not to make any clinking noises on the metal. At the top he came face to face with a pair of heavy velvet curtains. He rapped on the window. A face peered out the side and then retreated and the window was opened.

"Get in! Quick!" said a hushed female voice. Andrey piled himself in through the window, so quickly that he landed in a heap on the floor.

"The police... how do they always know?" he asked.

"I know you should've been here 5 minutes ago, slowpoke."

"Wait, you phoned them?"

"Yes, so you would get your act together and stop dawdling. You've just murdered a man, Steven, you shouldn't be taking in the view from his window after you do it."

"Stev- oh right, yes, Steven. Sorry for taking my time, but some of us have different issues to tend to."

"Boring. Do that when you're safe at home, please."

The woman turned a small lamp on in the corner. He saw her more clearly now. Tall, almost taller than him, with light brown hair that stretched right down her back. She was in a navy nightgown and barefoot. Her face was delicate like a porcelain doll's and her eyes were pale blue. She sat down in an armchair by the fire escape window and motioned for Andrey to take a seat. He realised he'd been on the floor this whole time and felt like an idiot. He stood up and brushed himself down, and then seated himself in a wooden chair.

"So, what's next? I believe our current problem has been taken care of," he said.

"Now, now, don't rush. We have to wait until the news of this calms down, as soon as they search his apartment they're bound to find a few things telling them who he really was. All eyes will be on us, well, not really, because nobody really knows about us, but people will be more aware of these groups for a while," the woman replied. This was the problem of being in charge of agents, some of them are too quick and end up getting caught. And she was not going to go through that again.

"Have you not been sent anything from the higher-ups?" Andrey inquired.

"Yes, although they know what happened tonight was going to happen, they still want us to push on. I'll try and get things set back, though, to keep some secrecy. It looks like you're going to have to stay here tonight. In the side bedroom, I'm sure the police will be up questioning me soon."

"All right, goodnight, Vera."

"Goodnight, Steven."

And with that, he stood up and walked off down the hallway, pushing open a little hidden door in the wall, cut so strangely he had to stoop to get through it and settled down in the hidden bedroom.

Katja crossed the room and stared out the window at the police cars and newly arrived ambulance. She looked across the city, some glittering lights remained, even at this time of night. In a few days, all of that might change.