Venus pretended to read the article on the MacBook before her. In reality, she was watching the boy seated not so far from where she was.
She had gone out of her way to memorize the details about him: Issac Lewski. 21. College student. Last but not least, son of Governor Lewski.
Governor Lewski had disrespected The Boss. In a press conference the previous week he had said The Boss was a weak man that hid behind his numerous Assassins and could not stand up for himself. The Boss had not liked this, not in the slightest, now the Governor's son was going to die. Sure enough, the reason was rather petty, but it was not in Venus' place to question anything.
She knew that this was a very dangerous Assassin job; she knew this the moment The Boss told her what the pay for the job would be. Regardless of that, Venus had been reminded of its difficulty throughout the course of the day. The Target was constantly surrounded by bodyguards and Venus was yet to find an opening.
For the Assassin job, Venus was playing the part of an NYU College Student. Luckily for her, she easily blended into the part, this was probably why The Boss had chosen her. All the other Assassins were sure to raise suspicion with their bulky build and a thousand piercings and tattoos, but not her: sweet, innocent-looking 'V'. Furthermore, there was also the fact she was the only Assassin most likely to finish the job and finish it successfully.
Venus leaned back in her seat, pretending to stretch but in reality sneaking another glance at The Target. He was conversing with a blonde girl seated opposite from him. Venus realized that she probably wouldn't be able to make the hit on The Target in this setting. Besides the fact that way too many people were around, as usual, his bodyguards were seated not so far away from where he was, scanning the room occasionally.
Venus resisted the urge to smirk. She had already assessed these bodyguards, they were average at best, probably just a whole lot of muscle but a lot less of brain. Basically, these were Bruces. She smiled slightly to herself at her comparison as she leaned back over the laptop in front of her.
Venus skimmed the random article that she had propped up on her screen, but her mind wasn't there. Instead, it wandered back to the night before. Venus had gone down to her usual bar. It was one of the quieter, smaller, less-known bars in The City, so she often went there. She usually just sat there, had a few drinks and left, but last night was different.
A woman had come in. Venus knew she wasn't a regular, she had never seen her before. She seemed to have a dark aura around her which was what peeked Venus' interest in the first place. This was clear from her short dark hair which constantly fell into her eyes, and her dark clothing, right down to her hard combat boots. Venus usually didn't take an interest in people, but the woman's appearance was one that had Venus hooked.
Venus had slyly watched the woman who had taken a seat next to her. She wondered what the woman's drink of choice was going to be. The woman looked like the type of person to ask for straight vodka, but then the woman opened her mouth and asked for a 'coca-cola' which immediately threw Venus off guard. She had let out a scoff, it was loud and rude. But Venus didn't care, she didn't owe anybody kindness. It was then that conversation with the woman had ensued. Even though Venus had initially ignored the woman's attempts to get her attention, she found herself enjoying it. She liked the attention. She liked that the woman wanted her attention, it made her feel good.
But then the woman had asked to buy her a drink which was taking things too far for Venus. Just like that, she had ruined it. Venus wasn't going to have a "drink" with her, she knew the connotations behind it. She was an Assassin. She didn't sit around getting to know people, it just wasn't in her nature. Killing people was more up to her speed.
So she had left.
But now, as Venus sat in the café she couldn't help wondering what the woman's name was. She had given her hers, she honestly didn't even know why she had done that, but she never got the woman's name in return.
Nevertheless, Venus pushed all thoughts to the back of her head. She had a matter to deal with at hand, a very high-risk job to be specific.
As Venus watched, The Target now rose from his seat and headed out of the café, he was immediately followed by his two bodyguards. She waited for a few moments, pretended to be typing something on her laptop before rising from her seat and following suit.
The first thing Venus noticed when she stepped outside were the grey clouds. It was probably going to rain soon and a low grunt left her throat, she didn't want to have to deal with the rain as well as her job but she guessed that was how things might turn out.
Even so, things were getting even more complex. The bodyguards seemed to be glued to The Target every second of the day, Venus had no idea how she was going to make the hit.
She had studied The Target's schedule beforehand and knew that he had a class next, afterwards he would be done for the day and would probably head home. He'd be scott-free.
Venus ransacked her brain, but it seemed like there was no opening for her. She couldn't carry out the hit in a classroom full of people, neither could she do it now. Way too many people were walking about the campus and the bodyguards were standing too close to him.
As Venus watched, the Target suddenly stopped walking, saying something to his bodyguards before heading in a different direction from where Venus knew his class was. It only took Venus a few seconds to realize he was headed to the library, he probably needed to get a book before class but she didn't really care about the reason, all she knew was that this could possibly be the one and only chance for her to make the hit.
Venus walked to the library herself, appearing as casual as possible. Students moved around all about her but didn't even pause to give her a second glance. To them, she was just another college student, there was nothing that stood out about her.
The Target had now made it to the library and Venus watched as he discussed briefly with his bodyguards before heading alone to the bookshelves.
Perfect.
Venus walked fast as she went over to the bookshelves. She watched The Target out of the corner of one eye and his bodyguards from the other. They were distracted, talking amongst themselves. It was obvious that they had let their guard down, they didn't expect anything to happen in the library.
Big mistake.
Venus slowly edged her way closer to the boy pretending to be looking for a book on the shelf, then ever so slightly, she bumped into him, causing him to drop the books in her hands.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Venus said, raising her voice a few tones higher as she bent down to pick up the stack of books she had caused The Target to drop. Ever so carefully, she slipped the gun hidden in her boots between the stack of books, the muzzle pointing towards The Target.
"Oh, don't worry about it." The Target replied, smiling slightly.
Venus now looked into the boy's face up close. He had freckles sprinkled across his nose, and light brown hair. She felt her heart clenched as she stared at the boy before her. He was still so young, his life had barely even begun. He was innocent. But yet, he was going to be the one to pay. And Venus was going to be the one to take his life.
"Do your bodyguards always follow you around?" Venus asked, jerking her head towards the bodyguards that hadn't even noticed her.
The boy now smiled sheepishly. "Not usually, my dad has been making them follow me around lately because he crossed a bad man."
Venus nodded as she swallowed the knot that was forming in her throat. What was this? This was strange, she was hesitating, stalling. Even though she knew she had mere seconds before the bodyguards noticed her presence.
"Thanks for picking up my books." The boy now said, holding his hands out in front of him.
This was it. Venus had to kill him now, it was the perfect opportunity. But he was innocent, he didn't deserve this.
Either his life or mine, Venus thought to herself as she pressed the muzzle against The Target's stomach, still concealed beneath the books.
The Target's eyes widened, he instantly realized what was happening. But before he could cry for help Venus pulled the trigger.
She had a silencer on the gun so there weren't any sounds. Everyone else in the library continued working, oblivious to the fact that she had just murdered somebody under their very noses.
Venus carefully laid the body on the floor, making sure not to get any blood spill on her. She reached into her back, recovering a dark hoodie which she threw over her head. Then she was out.
She casually walked away from the bookshelves, she was headed for the library door, trying to make a smooth exit before anyone noticed.
There was a shrill scream.
Shit. The body had been sighted.
"Hey, don't let anyone leave!" Came a loud shout, Venus assumed it was from one of the bodyguards and she instantly broke into a sprint.
She felt something graze her leg but didn't slow down for a second. She was out of the library door, in the clear before anyone could get to her.