Level Fourteen

Chapter Nine: Kyiira

"Enter with the tour group, wait until they reach the second level; then slip away. Down the hall, two lefts and then there should be a staircase. Up three flights and then to the Senator's Level. In the stairwell there should be an air vent. That's my ticket into the room..." Kyiira was musing aloud, going over the plan once more.

She was back on Level Fourteen; home sweet home, scarfing down a quick meal of carbohydrates and meat. It's that simple, she told herself as she was not one to get excited or anxious before a mission she was simply calm and in control. This was her playing field now. She made the rules, it was her mission. She knew what the hell she was ding; she'd been doing it for years now.

Bounty hunting was not a passion or job, it was survival. To be the best you had to beat the best, and that was exactly what Kyiira had done. Starting as a weak little scrap of a girl, she had clawed, fought and killed her way to the top of the chain. Earning herself the nickname, The Killing Shadow, she now stood victorious, a trail of bodies in her wake. But had been worth it, was worth it; she told herself. It was worth it. Hell, after this job she'd be so rich, she'd hardly need any other jobs.

Kyiira leaned back in her chair. Taking down THE Senator of Level One. Grinning to herself and thinking it was only a job the Killing Shadow would take; that was crazy enough to take. That man... her employer. Had he know who she was? Or was he simply looking for any bounty hunter and by stroke of luck happened upon her?

She was unsure. What she was sure of though was that new had been getting around Fourteen that Kyiira was taking down One's Senator. Bets were placed; the prices set higher and higher. In a way, the scums of Level Fourteen were a family. They may all be competing and killing each other to get to a job before the other; but they were all in the same profession. They all knew what it took complete each certain job.

It had been more than once that Kyiira had been drinking in a bar and heard the whispers.

"That's her, I tell you. The Killing Shadow."

"They say she's a legend."

"Her kill list is in the thirties!"

"Wouldn't want be on the side against her."

She'd coolly met the stares if whoever was talking and then lipped out into the night; a mere shadow.

This circled Kyiira's thoughts back to last night in the alley way, and the wanted poster. She'd always been able to hide behind the name, the Killing Shadow. The world above had never known her real name nor her face aside from Fourteen. And no one down here would rat her out, it was some sort of unspoken law or code amongst themselves. As well as the fact that the mole would be traced, hunted, caught and most likely brutally murdered for what he had done.

Forget your past, focus on the present and look to the future; Kyiira reminded herself. She rose from her table and padded into her chamber.

Opening up her armory, she moved on to easily the most enticing part of the mission; selecting her weapons. Recently she had purchased a set of twin daggers that strapped to the inside of her wrists. With a quick but precise flick, the daggers would shoot for her wrist. Almost like having a sword wielded to her arm, she thought wryly. She quickly chose a simple, but stealthy black tunic and black boots to match.

She would be a shadow, silent but deadly, lingering on the veil between chaos and calm, always ready and always waiting. Kyiira glanced at the timekeeper at her bedside. Two hours until the people of Level One were leaderless.