Night time always made Ohm feel more alive. The smell of car fumes wafting up between buildings burned the hairs in his nose. The sounds of pedestrians' feet clicking on the cracked concrete buzzed in his ears. The feel of the slightly damp air, threatening rain gently coated his skin, cooling him and the metal of his Bolt Action SSG in his hands.

Ohm loved the night, and laid down on the concrete roof of a twelve story building as he waited for his perfect chance, the night was his protection.

He'd been motionless on the ground with his eye pressed to the sight for over fifteen minutes now. His target was reclined slightly in a wheeling desk chair, bored in whatever meeting he was in currently. His business suit-covered elbow was propped up on the dark wood table, the side of his head resting in his hand. He kept drooping slightly, then jerking slightly up, alert after suddenly falling asleep. It made Ohm grin every time. Oh well, Ohm will take the poor man out of his misery soon enough.

His opportunity was coming soon, and Ohm deftly readied his gun. The aim was simple, stop the guy from finalizing whatever deal he was making currently. Normally, Ohm would have just planted a bullet in the man's forehead before he walked in, but he hadn't. The poor guy clearly didn't want be here, so Ohm just let him suffer through the meeting. Now, he only had a few seconds before he and his business partners shook hands to kill him.

Oh well.

The guy stood, brushing off his tuxedo jacket, laughing at something one of the men across the table was saying. Ohm smiled, the cross hairs of his sight never leaving the back of the man's head. With a small exhale, Ohm squeezed the trigger, the bullet cutting silently through the air, piercing the glass window with little shatter, and sinking itself in the back of the man's head. Ohm's target froze, swaying slightly before collapsing face first onto the table. The men in the room with him stepped back, stunned, before running out of the room, one of them already on his phone calling someone.

Ohm rolled onto his back, pulling his gun onto his chest as he unbolted the sight off his gun. He slipped it back into the case laid neatly next to him on his left, clipping the case shut before looking over the edge of the building back into the meeting room. He could see guards in there, most hovering over the dead man, another was looking at the puncture hole in the glass. There eyes met, and Ohm felt the blood drain from his face as the guard's eyes sought him out in the darkness. Ohm wiped himself out of sight, sinking down onto the floor of the concrete roof, steadying his hammering heart. After a long pause, he rolled onto his front, pushing himself up onto all fours and crawling away with his gear dragging along. Once he got to the center of the roof, he stood up and broke into a quiet sprint. There was a fire escape ladder to the back right side of the building, and Ohm made straight for it, jumping down and skipping steps in his hurriedness to get away. He couldn't get rid of the feeling of those guard's eyes on him, following him no matter where he ran. It wasn't until he hit the concrete sidewalk that he paused for a breath, but only for a second. His car was hidden in the shadows, and Ohm threw is gear into the backseat before jumping into the drivers seat. He pulled out his keys, fumbling slightly and dropping them on the floor. Swearing, Ohm picked them up, slotting them into the ignition and feeling the car hum silently to life. Ohm gripped the wheel, finally turning his attention to the road only to fell his heart skip a beat. The guard was blocking him from going back onto the street, his figure illuminated by the lights of sidewalk lamps and buildings behind him.

Ohm didn't move, unable to think of anything for a few painfully long seconds. Finally, he found the ability to think and move again, and slammed the car into driver. He roared towards the guard, who ducked out of the way as the car came speeding past. In that split second before Ohm screeched onto the street and sped off into the night, the two men locked eyes again. Ohm could make out his face in the dim light, small eyes with thick brown beard and hair, a cockiness dancing in his brown eyes masked only by a quiet collectedness. It was haunting, and Ohm knew even as he left the guard in the dust that he couldn't let him live.

He was his next target.

It's easy enough to track down a man with a daily schedule. This guard, for example, had to be in the office every day at certain times, so if Ohm hung around the building all day, he'd find him soon enough. Across the street and down a few buildings was a Starbucks with a small outside patio, so Ohm set up here for the day, a laptop and a few books open to make it look like he was working. He'd spent several hours sitting in the shade of the coffee shop sipping coffee before he saw his target. He was walking down the sidewalk towards the Starbucks, completely engrossed in a conversation he was having on his phone.

Ohm lowered his head slightly, allowing his baseball cap and sunglasses to shield his identity from the man. The guy stepped up the few steps in the Starbucks, and before he entered, he heard him say "it sucks, but I have to do it."

Slowly, Ohm got up, pressing his hand to the back of his jeans checking to feel the cold metal of his gun pressing against his lower back. It would be a short death, and Ohm could slip out before the body even hit the ground. The guard was in line, still completely oblivious to Ohm sauntering up behind him. He was about to reach into the back of jeans for his gun, when something the guard said made him froze.

"…I can't just "cancel" on my little girl, Andy, she's turning 8 and Karen can't take her tonight."

Ohm's mouth practically hit the floor at this. His hand dropped from his jeans and he moved closer, still listening.

"Can't you just get someone else to take my shift tonight?…Man fuck corporate, a dude died last night, I think they'll forgive me for wanting to spend some time with my little princess."

Ohm felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. Here he was seconds away from killing this man, and now he found out he had a little daughter. This is why you never get attached to your targets, rule one of being an assassin; you learn too much about them and you start to feel sorry for them.

"Andy, just do me a solid this once, alright? I'll make it up for you. I'll bring you some cake tomorrow…sound good?" his voice turned sing-song, teasing his friend. There was a brief pause before the man let out a hearty laugh. "Thanks man — no you ain't getting the whole cake, just the left overs," he shot back, still laughing, and finally hung up the phone.

Ohm wasn't paying attention to the man in front of him anymore. He was lost in thought, trying to push what he'd just heard out of his head. Okay yeah the dude had a little girl who was having a birthday party tonight, big deal, Ohm had probably killed hundreds of people with families, this is nothing new. This is not different, just another nameless target with a sob story. Everyone has someone who will miss them. Big fucking deal.

"Hi, yes, can I get a venti caramel machiatto and two tall hot chocolates? Oh, also two of the pink cake pops," the guard was ordering at the cash register. Ohm looked up in surprised; a man his size ordering a venti caramel machiatto?

"Will that be all sir?"

"Yes m'am."

"You're total is 12.45, can I get a name for the drinks?"

"Luke," the guard grinned.

Great, now Ohm's target had a sob story AND a name.

Ohm followed Luke from a distance in his car. It was easy, the guy had a white pick up truck. He could spot him on the busy street fairly well, and trailed him all the way to what was supposedly his daughter's school. He was waiting outside on the street, his car window rolled down, and Ohm was willing to bet the hot chocolate and cake pops were waiting on the passenger seat too.

Ohm had parked further down the street and around the corner, with a good view of Luke's car waiting, as well as the front of the school building. Where supposedly, Luke's child would come running out at any moment. He didn't have to wait long either as it turned out, because ten minutes later, kids started running out, shouting and laughing. Most of them were young, so it was probably an elementary school he was parked outside. Ohm watched kids dash about, looking for one that looked similar to Luke, finally finding her in the crowd. She was small, with mouse brown hair tied into braids with ribbons knotting them off. She wore a white shirt with a denim jacket over it, a pink skirt, and white leggings underneath, with slightly dirtied white sneakers. Ohm was willing to put money on those shoes being light up sneakers too. She carried a My Little Pony backpack, and was holding the hand of another little girl with olive skin and frizzy black hair, wearing matching sneakers. The two waved at Luke before rushing towards the car, their faces lighting up when Luke pushed open the passenger door revealing his gifts.

Even from this distance, Ohm could see the excitement on their faces. They were bouncing up and down, greedily munching on their cake pops while Luke threw the girls' backpacks into the back of his pick up truck before helping them both in.

The drive home was short, maybe ten minutes at max? Ohm watched the car like a hawk the whole time, careful not to get too close, but close enough he could hear the radio inside Luke's car blasting music out of the rolled down windows. The girls were shrieking along to something, and so was Luke as far as Ohm could tell, all three of them giggling.

Suddenly, the pick up truck pulled into a dead end road. Ohm didn't stop, and he didn't follow, instead rolling on past them with his head turned the other way so Luke wouldn't recognize him. He parked two houses down from the road, and jumped out, skipping across the road to the shade of a tree where he could watch.

The house was towards the end of the dead end, and the pick up truck was parked outside a small garage next to a one story typical suburban house. Luke was swinging the two backpacks out of the back of his pick up truck and onto his shoulders while the girls pranced ahead, still singing, clutching their hot chocolate in hands. Luke's girl had the house keys, and unlocked the door for the three of them to disappear inside of.

Now was going to be the tricky part. Luke lived in such a difficult area to watch, and without the cover of night for another few hours, Ohm was in trouble. He couldn't stay here — a residential neighborhood like this wouldn't take kindly to strange men hanging around. And he couldn't just roll up and park on the street because then Luke would know it was him. Ohm sighed, rubbing a hand behind his neck, finally making a decision and turning back to his car. He'd take a lap and come back later. Maybe go somewhere he didn't have to think about his target's death affectioning two small children?

Come dusk, Ohm was back, and parked his car in the same place as last time. This time, he walked into the dead end road, his eyes watching Luke's house. Lights were on, and there were a few cars parked outside which made him uneasy. This must be the birthday party he'd heard Luke tell Andy about. When he got closer, he could hear the sounds of chatter and music being played. Ohm surveyed the house — a small porch with three steps leading up from a concrete path. To the right was the driveway and the garage, a small flower patch with some dinosaurs and barbies mixed in hugged the wall were the garage and house met. To the left of the porch was the corner of the house, and a large wooden gate barring him access. Ohm darted to the gate, noticing he was just barely tall enough to look over the edge of it. When he did, he noticed a bay window looking into the house, or more specifically into a kitchen then through to a living room, where Luke was sat on the floor with some of the other kids. He hair was a wild mess of ribbons and elastic bands, while his face was covered with pink blush, pink lipstick, and blue eye shadow. His daughter was sat next to him, while another girl and a boy Ohm didn't recognize hung around them, all of them with controllers in their hands busily playing a game.

He had the shot. Ohm could feel the cold metal of his silence pistol pressing against his lower back. One bullet was all he needed, and the guy would be dead. He'd be gone before the cops showed up, no one would see him, and no other fatalities. A clean kill.

But Ohm couldn't do it. He saw Luke's little girl grinning, how that pink lipstick on her lips was stuck her big front teeth, how a little bit of icing was on the front of her dress. She grinned up at her dad, who looked back at her with so much love and happiness it made Ohm's heart ache.

Then Luke got up. He had his hand on his front pocket, and Ohm realized he was pressing his hand onto his phone. He said something to the kids before exiting the room, and then Ohm realized where he was going. He made a mad dash to Luke's car, slipping behind it just as the man opened the front door onto the patio. Ohm's heart was racing, and he took several long breaths, before moving from his exposed spot behind the car to its nose, and peaking over it. Luke was sitting on the front steps of his house, phone pressed to ear, and look on his face Ohm could not read.

"Yeah, there's a party going on right now. A lot of the kids in her class arrived, she blew out her candles and opened her presents — where did you get that dress from? It looks expensive…Oh, Gabe, right," Luke ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't know you guys were still together…"

Ohm could feel his stomach shifting uncomfortably. He knew who Karen was now, and he could feel his heart ache in sympathy for the man.

"No I didn't mean it like that, Karen, I just…well yeah of course I don't like the guy, you left me for him…I'm not making this about me…I'm sorry Karen…Anyway, it was a nice gift, you can tell Gabe she loved it…No I'm not letting her wear it now, she's ruined her princess dress with icing, I didn't want her to ruin her fancy new dress either," Luke attempted a laugh, shifting his position on the steps, allowing a long silence to fall. He looked tired, very tired, and his index and thumb on his left hand were rubbing together, the telltale sign of an ex-smoker.

"You know, Bella wishes you were here. She said that, I'm not joking, she said she wished mommy was here — what did I say? I said she'll be home soon with even more gifts for you…" Luke was silent again. "When are you coming back?…No, no, I can handle Bella, I just wanna know so I can figure out work ahead of time…Well I can't leave her alone at night, and — you know night shift guard duty doesn't pay very well, even at that place. I can't afford a baby sitter every night…"

Ohm wrested his head against the car, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't let him go, he'd seen his face and would tell the police soon enough. Ohm's very existence was at stake here, he had to take that shot. But for some reason, Ohm just couldn't make his hand move to the back of his jeans and retrieve the gun.

"Anyway, whenever you get back, let me know. I might be able to bring Bella to the airport to see you two, she'd like that. She does miss her mom a lot…" silence, Luke took the opportunity to stretch, and Ohm could see his desperation to wrap up the call.

"Okay, we'll speak soon. I'll give a kiss to Bella from you…Okay, good bye."

Luke hung up, but didn't move, allow his head to droop for several long seconds. Silence, nothing but the distant sounds of cars and crickets was heard. Ohm couldn't tell if Luke was crying or not, but he could feel his own tears pricking at the sides of his eyes in sympathy for him. This poor man, and he was going to kill him.

Slowly, Ohm pushed himself up from the car, and walked around the back of it, seeing Luke still sitting on the steps, head hung. He looked up, feeling Ohm's eyes on him, and his own widened.

"You…" Luke recognized Ohm straight away, and he stood, glancing behind trying to think if he could run or not, but he didn't.

Ohm sighed, kicking the ground.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked, frowning.

Ohm bit his lip, looking away, as he pulled out his gun from the back of his jeans. There was a long pause, and without even looking at him Ohm knew Luke was scared. Instead, Ohm tucked it back into his jeans, looking back at the man.

"…it's because I saw you, isn't it?"

Ohm nodded.

Luke looked away, then back at him. "So, why didn't you kill me?"

Ohm sighed, biting his lip again before looking up at him. "You're too nice. I make it a point to never get to know any of my targets, but you were different. You weren't supposed to be a target. I fucked up and got to know you, and now I can't. Go inside and tell Bella you love her, and that you'll always be there for her."

"Thanks to you," Luke added, his face emotionless, but somehow putting so much meaning into those words.

Ohm grinned slightly, a small snort escaping. "Have a good night and have a good life, Luke. I hope I'll never have to see you again."

"No offense," Luke said, making Ohm look up, "but same, dude," his eyes twinkled as he spoke, and he broke into a small chuckle. Ohm giggled too, nodding at Luke before turning away and walking back to his car.