Sicarius

Chapter I

William Pickering. There he is. And the time is 10 minutes past 9. You can almost set your clock according to this man. But that's about to change today.

The thoughts that ran through Aroya's head were many, but her concentration was on her target, Mr. Pickering. All these other people walking about were just echoes as she focused on his path through the crowd.

Chalon Aroya had been studying William Pickering this past week to figure out when and where to complete her task. All that was stated in the order was for it to be public and within Friday afternoon. It was now Friday, 9 o'clock in the morning and Aroya had picked the market outside the UFP-building as the location.

I would have preferred if they gave me more specific information. I don't want to select the time and place. But I guess that's the training they want me to learn, and their right… I have to be independent. I have to think on my feet. This is good. It's a good location. You can do this Chalon.

She opened her eyes again just in time to see Mr. Pickering entering the coffee shop as he used to do every morning. A double espresso, she thought, just like all the other days. She had decided to execute him shortly after he would exit the shop.

Aroya sat down at a table with two chairs in the path out of the shop so he would have to pass within a few feet of her when he left. She wanted to feel him, to hear him, to be inside of him before she took the final step. This was after all her first real mission. She wanted to remember this special occasion. She wanted everything about it imprinted on her.

The warmth from the sun caressed her skin as she glanced upwards to allow the rays to embrace her face. She loved this warm climate so much more than her cold upbringing. She was a dark skinned child, but was adopted by a family living in Norway. All through her childhood she never took to the cold weather and was quite happy when she was stationed here in Paris after her academy years. She missed her parents, but nothing could drag her back up there.

"Can I get you anything?" A lithe voice snapped her back to the present.

Who was that? Snap out of it Chalon. You left your guard down again! She couldn't believe she allowed this person to approach her without her even noticing it. She priced herself on her ability to sense and analyze an environment at all time. And now it had failed? How could this be?

It must be because this is your first mission. You're just nervous. Snap out of it. Take it as a lesson. A lesson that this cannot ever happen again! She cursed inside as she raised her left hand to block out the sun from the eyes so she could see this 'intruder'.

Time stopped.

Everything around her slowed to an almost halt. Aroya's analytical skills set in motion. She could see her plainly now. A waitress had approached her, most likely to serve some beverage or meal, hence the question. It was her job and looked the part so there was nothing to worry about here. The girl herself looked like she belonged in a situation such as this, a student maybe. She looked about 18 or 19 years old. She had long dark hair that flowed a little in this gentle breeze they were having this day, giving of a slight shimmer where the sunlight hit. Her big blue eyes were darkened by the shadow but clearly displayed a girl of life. She seemed happy and as such a tiny smile was served with the question.

She was well groomed and clean, suggesting she enjoyed and respected her job. Her top buttons of her blouse was unbuttoned which was understandable in this heat, and even gave her a flirtatious look. A quick glance at her nametag neatly positioned above her left breast revealed her name, Alana.

Aroya could see from the corner of her eye that Mr. Pickering was still in line at the counter. She could calm down again. Nothing had passed her, but this could not repeat itself. I have to concentrate more. I cannot let my mind slip like this. Not even to enjoy myself.

Time resumed.

Aroya kept her eyes locked on Alana's eyes, as if she was reading from her soul hidden far behind the outer shell. A clear sign of discomfort came across Alana's face and so Aroya backed down, releasing her embrace of this young woman. She smiled and said; "Funny thing, my friends name was actually Alana, my best friend."

A saddened look ran across Aroya's face for a second before she continued; "It's a good name! Do you know what it means?"

Alana looked a little puzzled at this. Not exactly what she was expecting in reply. "No, no I don't. My mother never told me."

"Well, it's a popular Hawaiian name, but is rooted in Latin and is a derivation of Alan, a very common Latin male name, it means 'Awakening'." She said while again resuming a smile.

"Wow… that's cool. Awakening, huh… I like that." She answered with a proud look obviously content with the fact.

A few seconds passed before any of them spoke, as clearly Alana was pondering her new 'identity'. Finally Aroya broke the silence. "I'll take some green, mint tea, if you have any?!"

"We do." A big smile embraced Alana's face as it she was glad that they actually had that particular tea. "I'll be right back mam."

"Please, please. Don't call me mam, it makes me feel so much older then I actually am." Aroya said as she lightly grabbed Alana's arm to stop her.

A wall hit Aroya.

Alana violently jerked her arm back to release the grip and threw a look at Aroya that implied so much more then was actually going on. Aroya could feel the fear going through Alana and hear her screams to let her go. It was hard for her to keep her focus with all this intense emotions coming from Alana. She could see images of some sort of assault flashing from her mind. It was almost too much to bear, and had she not been as mentally trained as she was, it could easily have overwhelmed her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to… Are you all right?" was all she could get out before Alana pulled back in towards the shop in clear discomfort mumbling under her voice; "It's alright… I'm alright…"

Aroya was about to stand up and follow Alana in to the shop when she saw Mr. Pickering was paying for his coffee.

This is it. It's really happening.

Aroya slumped back in the chair and could feel all the blood draining from her head. She started cold-sweating and was feeling light headed.

This is really happening. I am about to kill someone. I am about to take a life…

Can I really do this?

Her focus shifted a while, but snapped right back when Mr. Pickering walked by her and onwards to a nearby flower stand where he stopped.

Ok. Chalon, focus! You have been trained for this. You know what has to be done. You know why it has to be done. You can't let your people down. He has to die!

She closed her eyes and took two deep breaths to regain her equilibrium. She could feel her worries melting away. She opened her eyes.

In front of her was the market place. There were all these people walking about doing their business. And in the middle of her sight was Pickering. He was still standing besides the flower stand most likely deciding what flowers to get. Slowly but surely the people around him started to vanish. One by one they faded into oblivion, erased from her existence, and along with them the noise of their presence. Finally the flower girl vanished. All that was left in the entire market was the stand, Mr. Pickering and Aroya. The market was completely silent and Pickering was frozen in his place.

Aroya slowly got up and walked over to Pickering. As she approached him the stand too vanished. Now all that remained was the target and the executioner.

"What is going through your mind William?" she asked as she started to walk slow big circles around Pickering.

"You are buying flowers, for whom? Ah… your secretary. You're guessing she likes lilies. You don't know! Why are you buying her flowers William? What is this? You don't think she deserves it, you just think she is cute! Well that's not very nice. You feel… You feel like she may be willing to go out with you. But you're married Mr. Pickering. You are really willing to throw away nine years of marriage over this woman? Oh… It's more. She helped you secure the treaty, so if you sleep with her, you can shut her up. How nice of you to think of her…"

Aroya stopped in front of William and stared at his throat. She could see the roughness in his skin. Mentally she started to peel away the skin. The internal workings of his neck were revealed to her. She could almost see her destination. Aroya reached out mentally and removed the obstacles before stopping. The windpipe! This is what would end him. Without oxygen the brain stops working and the body shuts down. An excellent way to kill someone! Death isn't instantaneous and very painful.

She reached out and grabbed the windpipe with a light force, slowly compressing the tunnel. The reaction was instantaneous in William. He immediately reached for his neck as if trying to remove a restrain around it. And his mouth opened up trying to gasp in air but was unable to. His eyes shouted in terror, screaming for release. She could hear his fear pouring out of his mind. He was actually praying!? He was trying to get the attention of some divine power for help.

This aggravated her more and she clamped down harder. The windpipe was completely shut now. His body was only working on whatever oxygen was left in his system, which was quickly turning into carbon dioxide triggering a violent compulsive reaction. His body was screaming for a new batch of air which was never to come.

Aroya was surprised at how much she enjoyed this. She could feel a shiver run down her spine.

So much power! I can let him go, or release his windpipe somewhat to prolong this. Or I can kill him now!

The feeling of this complete control was a powerful aphrodisiac and she wanted to keep it as long as she could. But the mark wouldn't let that happen. William's eyes were bloodshot by now, tears running down his face. He was down on his knees still clinging to his neck trying to release this hold on him. She could feel his life slipping away. His thoughts weren't as clear as they used to be. It was like images fading far away. Aroya couldn't quite make out what was going through his mind other than that he was sorry. Sorry that he didn't tell his wife he loved her this morning. All other thoughts vanished into the background. A clear image of his wife appeared in his mind and more tears ran down his face.

Then the image faded. Everything went black. His body fell to the ground and went limp. No thoughts, no movements…

He was dead!

Aroya maintained her grip on the windpipe a few more moments before realizing it was over and let go. She calmly went back and sat down on her chair again. The people and noises of the market started to reappear one by one centered on Mr. Pickering. People were trying to revive him by giving him CPR. Most of the people were just standing around looking. She would sit there until rescue personnel came to claim the body just in case someone was able to wake him up. Then she could kill him again.

For every second that passed without anybody being able to revive him, the greater the chance of brain damage if he was ever revived.

It took only about three minutes for Starfleet security to show up. While some of them tended to the body, several of them started to question the people standing around. Of course no one could tell them anything other than the fact that this man had just collapsed and died. No one had actually touched him.

Aroya slowly got up and started to walk away towards the east of the market, heading for her apartment. She took a last glance at the scene and turned around to see Alana standing there transfixed by what had just happened. Most people go through life without seeing death up close. Such events can be quite disconcerting.

A tear ran down Aroya's face while she walked away.

The power! The unbelievable power!

She felt so alive, more alive than she had felt in a long time. Since Beckett died…