It was a dark night on the streets of Paris, with rain trickling through gutters on rooftops and rats scuttling around in back alleys. The stars were hidden by a blanket of dark clouds, making the night foreboding and ominous in the romance capital of the world.
The night was empty of laughter and kissing couples, most hiding inside and enjoying the comfort of each other’s arms. Only beggars taking refuge on doorsteps gave the rain company...that and three suspicious looking men searching the darkness.
“You think we’ll find any tonight?” The tallest of the three asked. He spoke in French as they stalked the back alleys of Paris, their eyes searching.
“In this rain? I doubt it...” the smallest replied and lit a cigarette. “I don’t know why we’re out tonight.”
“Because the boss told us to be,” the middle one replied with a sneer. “And if you want to stay alive you’ll do what you’re told.”
“Whatever...I just want a beer.”
“Hey guys!” The tallest one had stopped and was looking behind a dustbin. They all turned and looked to see a small woman curled up, using the bin to hide from the strangers. If it wasn’t for the dirt and the rain she would have been beautiful, though she watched them with wide, frightened eyes.
“What have we got here...” the smallest one stepped forwards.
“She looks perfect.”
He reached out and grabbed her arm, dragging her to her feet. She yelled, struggling to get away but the men just chuckled, “oh she’s got a bit of fire!”
The tallest stepped forwards, “shall we have a bit of fun before returning her to base?”
The girl looked from one to the other, shaking her head. She spoke in stuttered French, “please...don’t hurt me.”
“Hurt you?” he smiled showing his yellow stained teeth. “You’ll enjoy yourself sweet girl.”
“NO!” she tried to pull away but they ripped her top off, exposing her bra and thin form. They all laughed as she tried to get away, but one of the men hesitated.
“Guys...” the smallest one said and the other men frowned.
“What?”
“Look...” he pointed to the girl’s shoulder, where a black tattoo marked her skin. They all recognised the sign and froze. The girl’s expression turned from frightened to bitter amusement. “It’s...”
“Yes...it’s me,” the girl pulled knives out of nowhere and spun around, stabbing the tallest in the gut. He choked in surprise, falling to the wet pavement. Arms wrapped around her and pinned them to her sides, and the other attacked from the front.
She grunted and kicked his chin, sending him toppling backwards. She thrust her head back, breaking her holder’s nose and making him cry out. Spinning on the spot, she sliced the knife across his throat. Blood splattered across her naked chest and she sneered, the rain cleaning her skin.
Her eyes darted around to the man on the floor, the smallest of the three, and before he could get to his feet she jumped on him, pinning him to the ground with the knife next to his neck.
“PLEASE! Please don’t kill me! I’m just doing my job!”
The girl smiled, one that would have been innocent if you didn’t know she’d just killed two men. Her curling, brown hair stuck to her cheeks as she leant closer to him, “you work for Hunter yes?” Her French accent was perfect and the man nodded. She gave a small smirk, “tell him that if I find any more of his men in Paris, he’ll have headless bodies being dumped on his doorstep, do you understand?”
He nodded again.
She stroked his cheek with her hand and smiled, “good boy.” She got to her feet, letting him scramble to his own. “Say hi to him from me!”
The man barely looked at her as he sprinted away, down the alley and into Paris.
She watched him go and sheathed her knives, her shoulders slumping as she looked at the two bodies, “what a mess.” She rubbed her forehead as she looked at the corpses and then sighed, “four years...five months and twenty-four days Hunter and still I’m fighting your hired help. It looks like I’m going to have to come to you if I want this dance to end.”