The man sat down quickly. He looked nervous – as though he knew that he seemed mildly out of place in the establishment. She was already beginning to feel annoyance with him. She did not like nervous behavior in her clients – it drew attention. Attention was never a good thing. Before he could even speak, she abruptly parted her ruby lips and cut him off. ”Stop with the fidgeting, you’re drawing attention.” She hated making any sort of conversation with her clients, even prospective. She just wanted the cold facts and she was satisfied.
The man looked terrified and immediately stopped fidgeting around, sitting frightfully still in his seat, wide eyes on Dalanesca. ”Name.” Her voice was abrupt and demanding. She did not phrase the question inquisitively, but more commanded the information.
”A- Al- Alicia,” he sputtered. It was clear that this was his first confrontation of this sort, and that he had never dealt with anyone in her line of work before.
”Location.”
”Wait,” the man said, his eyes even wider than they had been before.
Dalanesca made a huffing sound, clearly expressing her annoyance with the prospective client. Slowly, she leaned across the table towards the man, her hand pulling a small dagger out of a waist sheath. She held it up surreptitiously. ”We don’t speak of anything other than the facts,” she said, the threat clear in her voice. ”Do not waste my time. Now, give me the location.”
”It’s two,” the man said, barely above a whisper. She stared at him in utter dismay. Did he seriously change the subject again?
”What is two?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. The man took a deep breath, and began his explanation.
”I need… I need two. It’s her. Alicia. But then, it’s him. Drenaal,” he said. Speaking the latter name, she could sense venom dripping from his words. ”He slept with that bitch of a woman,” he hissed, no longer looking frightened. Now, he just looked mad. She hated dealing with emotional clients. She wanted the ones who just wanted to have someone ‘taken care of’ so to speak, and pay her, and get on their way.
”You want two targets eliminated?” she asked, leaning her hand forward onto her hands. Sitting back up, she looked at him once more. ”Explain.”
”She decided that I was not enough for her, apparently. And he was. If I can’t have her, then no man shall,” he said, and there was a statement of truth to his words. ”I’ll reward you handsomely, if you can kill them in the same room,” he said, his eyes alight. ”They’re heathens. Hedonistic, even. It would not be difficult for you to get them into a secluded place together and take them,” he said. He sounded almost maniacal.
”I’ll do it,” she said, annoyed. ”But I won’t do them at the same time. I’m not taking that chance. I’ll have to do it separately.”
”No,” said the man. ”At once or only a quarter of the payment,” he threatened.
She pulled her dagger back out for a split second, before sheathing it once more. She stared the man down, wondering what she should choose. It was her policy, as it was for most assassins, to never take on more than one target at once, unless they were working with a partner – and at present, she was without a partner. What was a girl to do? She needed the coin… but she needed her life even more.
