The sound of heels clacking echoed off of the dark, underground, empty cobbled walls. Her black, silky hair swept behind her slender back as she confidently strode down toward a very brightly lit room. She wore a black, sleeveless dress that hugged her upper body and a thin underwired bottom. The black fabric of her dress stopped at her shins, being continued with a clean white fabric all the way to her feet at a slight upward angle. A single, large, black spade decorated the only white area of her dress. She had a white mink cover rested on her shoulders, keeping her warm from the biting winter cold. Her hands were covered with satin black gloves that stopped at her elbows, concealing her porcelain smooth skin. The lady's outfit was finalized with a small, textured, black ornamental top hat that rested at an angle on her neat hair with a thin black veil covering her eyes. The path she walked on led into a room that was large and domed with a warm fireplace on the far-side with two bookshelves place on each side. Comfortable, plush sofas were place around the fire with a wide Victorian style table in the middle. From the room were four other corridors that were too dark to see down. Blue eyes from a tall English man with golden hair looked up in her direction as he closed the book in his hands. He was dressed in a clean white button up with a red sash tied and tucked where a tie would usually be. It was understated by the light gold vest he wore under his black coat; his dress pants and leather shoes were black.
"You're in a good mood, Spades."
"I suppose I am. I just got my nails done," The girl of oriental ethnicity took her gloves off and flashed her hand at him, "We have another job. This client asked for me specifically but I don't want to go- I'll wind up ruining my nails. Would you mind going in my stead? Our employer has asked us to keep the job quiet and inconspicuous, if you can manage."
He gave a large boyish grin. "I was beginning to get terribly bored around here. Where's the place?"
A few moments later, he was walking out of the room back into the tunnel the Asian girl walked in from. In one hand he held a tall embroidered gold lance with a sharp silver tip and three smaller red blades protruding perpendicular to the main blade. In the other hand, he held a short, black top hat. His long strides already had him a ways down the tunnel before he heard her voice echo off of the walls.
"Remember, inconspicuous."
A large, clean mansion stood at the very end of the road he walked down; hundreds of acres of land surrounded the area. The street lamps in the area were flickering ominously, almost predicting the turn of events to come. The floor was made of uneven cobblestones, specifically for the travel of horses- it was covered in filthy slushed snow and was in desperate need of a strong rain storm. The young blond man easily found access to the empty home via a half opened window on the first floor. He gracefully jumped in, looking over his shoulder to search for unwanted eyes. He sauntered through the dark mansion, carefully looking around the lavish ornaments and expensive paintings that decorated the walls; it was too dark to see any color in the corridor. The halls were so elaborate in design and style, every turn made it seem as though he had entered the same route he had previously strolled down, but he didn't mind. There was no rush looking for his prey; slowly wandering the area was all part of the fun of what was to come later- it made his blood boil in anticipation and made the kill that much more exciting. On the third floor of his expedition, he came across his first room with light flooding out of it. A shadow paced nervously, flashing his presence onto the wall. An impish grin broke out onto the young blonde's lips. Leisurely, he pushed open the door to a brightly lit, luxurious room with a large fireplace, numerous bookshelves and the most expensive statues money could buy. On the small circular table closest to him was an expensive bottle of wine with two glasses and a large rectangular box. Peering out the window was a rather old, balding, slightly overweight man, perhaps in his late 50s. With his back still turned he began to stutter.
"I know why you're here…Collins sent you. I-I can pay you double, no triple what his offer was! I can-" He turned to meet the eyes of the young man, "..I-I thought the lady was supposed to be coming…"
"Plans change." The blond shrugged, casually swinging his tall weapon behind him, "I'm here now."
The man was in a brown suit, his tie strewn over one of his many large leather couches. He shook visibly, taking several steps backward. The stalker smirked at his cowardice, slowly advancing towards the space left by his victim. The smooth rectangular box to his right caught his attention. Inside was a large teardrop shaped onyx pendant held by a diamond studded loop that not only held the beautiful stone to the necklace but was decoratively drooped down one side of the gem in a slight 'S' figure. The blue-eyed man held it up to his eye-level, studying it appreciatively.
"Spades would love this," He turned to face his prey once more, "This was supposed to be for her?"
The rich man nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"And you thought she'd spare you if you pleased her?" His soft lips spread into a devilish grin.
The fat man began to sweat a little, uncertainly nodding again. The young man laughed mirthfully, placing the expensive piece of jewelry down. He moseyed his way towards his victim until he was less than a foot away. The blond leaned in, speaking softly.
"I'll let you in on a little something: the lady who was supposed to show up today? She is the least merciful of us. I know how she would do this; she would thank you for your hospitality and that would be the last thing you ever heard. Me? No, I'll let you talk more and form a few more memories before you have to go."
The older man whimpered, quickly side-stepping his uninvited visitor and making a clumsy run for the door; this only made the blonde's blood hotter- he loved it when they ran and struggled. Moving quicker than the balding man could register, the assailant used his left arm to pin the runner to the wall next the exit.
"See? I'll let you scream." He held his lance perpendicular to his prey's chest, "Spades doesn't even allow that. She's always so strict…"
"Please, no! Don't, I beg you! Pleas- ARGHH! AHHHH!"
The petrified pleas were quickly replaced with screams of agony as the sharp lance slowly pieced into the left area of his chest. Desperate, weak hands tried to claw and pull at the invasive point digging into his chest. Bright red blood flooded out of the wound, as the sickening sound of bones cracking reverberated throughout the empty room. Deep blue eyes flashed in excitement, watching intently as he dug his weapon in deeper to reveal more of his favorite color. Anguished screams were reduced to a low moan as the color in the rich man's face was slowly paling, his grip on his enemy's lance weakening. The killer licked his lips unconsciously, thoroughly enjoying the radiating warmth from the dying man's blood. But no, it was too soon- this man had more to give. The blond twisted his lance, listening intently for the satisfying squelch of the contortion of the already mangled heart, ripping another torturous, gurgling scream from the victim's lips. The lancer gave a bone chilling smile, pushing his weapon all the way in through the bloodied body before abruptly pulling out. Bone shards, blood clots and tissue splattered the floor and walls. He studied the specimen attached to the perpendicular blades on his beloved lance- it was still twitching and trying to beat.
"Stubborn little thing, aren't you?" He narrowed his eyes.
He jerked his weapon to the side, removing all human tissue as well as the blood in one swift motion. Pocketing the necklace and grabbing the wine, he took his time strolling around the room for anything else he would have liked before heading for the half opened doors.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
The blond turned to the now corpse on the floor, a mortified expression cemented onto his dead face.
"Spades says we're supposed to pay our respects to those give us things like this, so thank you." He bowed slightly, his wavy hair covering part of his face. Humming a random tune, he strolled down the dark, empty halls, leaving the body propped up at the waist, against the wall in its own pool of blood with a large, gaping, bloodied hole where his heart used to be.