It was almost 4 in the morning as he walks alone in the lonely road of the old Brooklyn, trying to wash out the memory of a suffering blonde under his hands tonight. He sighed as he remembered her words of begging him to let her live. But he was paid to do so, he was paid to kill her, he was paid to have no mercy on her. It wasn't his first kill but he still shivers every time he shed blood, especially if they started to beg for their life.
Dan Humphrey was an assassin.
He was trained for 3 years since he was 12 and had his first kill when he was 15. It was hazy on how he started but he remembered being approached by Whitney on his father's grave and without the sanity he had when his father had lived, he accepted.
The training was brutal but his heart was too cold to even feel pain. He was the fastest learner on the biro and that scares some of the others. He wasn't allowed out of the biro until an incident of murder happened inside the biro. Dan killed a boy of his age, a boy who envied Dan's skills and tried to kill Dan. It was in a way self defense but the way Dan looked at it, he had stabbed the boy even when the boy stopped breathing. That was the first time he caught on that he was already in too deep.
He was given the code name Perseus, ironic for him since Perseus was a Hero in the Greek Mythology but Whitney thought it suited him well. Dan didn't care much. After all, it didn't matter what his name is.
His killings were successful. Conglomerates, cheating husbands, wall street creepers; he had all these kinds of blood in his hands. But he never ceased to forget each faces after he kills. He asked Whitney whether this was normal, Whitney could only laugh and said he's still a child within. It didn't bother him, those faces, how they died. It only bothered him that he remembered everything so specifically that it seems weird that he did.
He walked around before finally entering his apartment. He was cautious when he heard some noise from inside. He went in, knife ready to plunge behind his back and slowly went in. He sighed when he sees it was only Jenny, his sister.
"Hey, Danny. Long night?" Jenny smiled. She didn't know what Dan does for living. All she knew Dan was always out so late and sleeps in during the day. She swore he was a gigolo at first. But Dan lied and said he is bartending, thus the late nights.
"Yeah. Many blondes tonight," he was being ironic but Jenny would never know. "What are you doing here? I told you Brooklyn is dangerous so if you want to meet we'll meet in Hudson."
"I rather be here. You know, I am almost 21 and I am allowed around the clubs," Jenny made some tea as Dan just lay on the couch. "Maybe the first experience should be around yours."
"I'm your brother, I would never allow you to any club even when you're 201," Dan said as he buried his face on the pillow.
"Danny," Jenny plopped beside him on the couch and pulled him so she could see his face. "Make me a good 21st birthday okay. Teach me how to drink and celebrate the adult way."
Dan smiled. She was the only warmth in his life right now and he was grateful she barely remembered their father's suicide. He witnessed him hanging and his notes of apology. That made him cold and somewhat angry. Rufus Humphrey was supposed to be the honest wise man, but he lied to his own children and left them.
Dan and Jenny were sent to their grandmother. While it was suitable for Jenny along with fashion school in Hudson, it wasn't being nice for Dan. He was spiteful of everything, the school, the teachers, the students. His grandmother was worried and he never really liked her. Too much of his mother's resemblance in his grandmother, the same mother that also left. One day, he found himself shifting on his father's grave, cursing him for being selfish.
That was when Whitney came by with a smile, offering him a weapon to destroy. He lost his sanity long before so accepting wasn't insane at all. He lied to his grandmother and Jenny, saying that he was accepted in New York's St. Jude's school for boys and that the scholarship also covers a loft In Brooklyn.
Dan let Jenny sleep in his bed while he sets the mattress on the floor for him to sleep.
"Danny," he hears Jenny whisper.
"Yeah?"
"You think dad misses us?" Jenny still looked at her father as a competent father.
"Yeah," Dan said silently as he looked to the side. Jenny doesn't need her image of Rufus to be tarnished.
"I bet he miss you a whole lot more," Jenny smiled.
"Why?"
"Well, he worshipped on how smart you are," Jenny said and that was true. Rufus was always proud that Dan was the smart one. He would definitely be disappointed if he knew Dan was killing for living instead of healing, but he disappointed his son first. Dan always had that in mind.
"Go to sleep Jen," Dan closed his eyes.
"Don't hurt yourself too much, Danny," Jenny said. He opened again and sees Jenny already sleeping. He sighed and went to the bathroom. He kept his shirt on before so that Jenny would not notice the traces of scars on his body. He was very good in hiding things but sometimes it felt as if Jenny had a sixth sense. For all Jenny knew, Dan was bartending while tending to his writing career.
Dan looked at himself, and he never liked the mirror. It showed too much of him. He slowly tend his wounds and made sure no blood will drip on his new shirt. He showered and let all the stains off himself. He cleaned the shirt and if the blood wouldn't budge, he'll throw it away.
Dan went out of the bathroom and sees Jenny still sleeping soundly. Don't hurt too much, she says. He smiled even if it's pain. The only thing that hurts him is that even if Jenny did know his real job, she would never leave him. She would do that much for him, but Dan didn't feel like he gave her enough.
Dan sat beside his bed and slowly he wanted to hold her. But his hands are dirty. No matter how many times he had scrubbed it off, it is still dirty. He would never taint Jenny that even the thought of holding her with his own bare hands disgusted him. But he needs this killing, it was his job, he was in too deep to get out.
He could never blame his parents for this. He chose this road. He chose to kill. His moral compass that his father taught him was long gone.
Dan started his day with sending Jenny off to Hudson, receiving a glare from his grandmother. They never liked each other. He thinks she sensed danger on him. Well, she was right. Dan left without a slight hesitance as he received a call from Whitney.
"Daniel, we have something."
Dan went to the café located near downtown and he stayed at the corner until he sees the sign that an informer from the biro had came in. At the first job it was a bit confusing to find such person, but after staking for long in his job, he noticed that every informer stands about 5 seconds in front of the table before sitting down. A sign that they are waiting for him.
Dan went forward as he sees the informer. A male this time, suited in black and fresh like a guy going through an interview. The informer sees Dan and smiled.
"Informing Perseus. If there were a coin and a 10 dollar bill on the sidewalk, which one will you pick up?" the informer asked. It was a code.
"You pick up both," Dan said as he sat down. The informer was satisfied and held him an envelope.
"Information on the client is in there and for all of the slay materials, the biro would prepare it for you. Deadline is in 3 months," the informer told him and Dan could chuckle. He peeked in and it was the usual conglomerate.
"I can do this in a day," Dan felt insulted.
"The client is not the usual. Details over him will be explained. 3 months is included a short course," the informer was still smiling. Dan smirked and he mouthed an 'okay'. "I have heard about you Perseus. The fastest trainee ever to exceed the biro and complied with such impressive skills. You have also killed the CEO of Van Der Bilt companies who is himself a mob without a trace of blood coming." The informer smiled and Dan sighed. This informer talks a lot. "If I may ask, is it true? William Van Der Bilt's eyes portray such fear when you held your gun? That heartless governor had actually shown a feeling?"
"You ask weird question that I don't have to reply," Dan looked at him. Something was weird but seeking back in memories, all informers were weird. "If you are going to ask for more, just be reminded that an informer acts…"
"An informer acts neutral," the informer smiled. "We are trained to be that."
"Well," Dan stood up and looked at the informer. "Be neutral then." Dan left.
The informer could only see him walk away and his phone beeped. He took the phone out and greeted, "Archibald here."
Dan sat in his car and looked through the files. He sees a bunch of profiles and he realized it was more than before. The guy he was supposed to assassinate. Bartholomew Bass, a conglomerate with a multi billionaire estate. He is also very powerful between the mobs thus it would mean he had protection even from the dirty side of New York. He plays the scene well in Wall Street and is definitely a person who gets his hands dirty. On 1999, his building caught on fire and two people died. He gets a billion dollar insurance from it. After further investigation, it turns out it was an arson declared by Bartholomew himself so he could save a couple of money for his next company. No one could prove him wrong as he kept every work very smooth and clean.
Dan looked further and he sees that Mr. Bass has a son named Charles who will one day inherit everything. He checked his client's details and it appears that the biro kept it anonymous. Could have been Charles Bass. He would inherit a lot when Bartholomew dies. There was not much on Charles Bass except that he was the rich kid who does everything to get daddy's attention. "Pathetic." Dan whispered.
On the very next was the profile of each bodyguards and he thinks Bartholomew Bass has decided to chain himself from death. There were 12 of them everywhere he goes and they weren't the regular suit wearing bodyguards, they were incognito Could be the pedestrian walking their dogs or the woman feeding the birds by the park. Even if Dan had their profiles, it would be hard to attack while being cautious of 12 unseen bodyguards. It would be even cautioning for Bartholomew Bass if his bodyguards disappeared one by one that he might upgrade his own security.
Definitely not a one day thing. Dan took his phone out and called Whitney, while typing through his laptop.
"Bartholomew Bass is a high class mobster," Whitney said as she typed in further details on Bartholomew Bass. "He's done things that even the biro could never imagine and he has his own personal ways to cast away bounty hunters on him. 3 assassins were found death failing to do the job."
Dan looked through it as nothing. Whitney just smiled. "Daniel, sometimes a bit of fear could help you."
"That would be what, being a chickened boy running out to kill but ends up backing down because he couldn't pull the trigger?" Dan sighed.
"Fear was what brought you here," Whitney said.
"Well, let's not make fear being the one getting me out of here," Dan looked into the details.
Whitney gave up. She has a soft spot for Dan as she was the one recruited him and she actually took care of him since he was 12. She felt the guilt for bringing him to this world, when he was supposed to be in college right now, being a student. Dan reminded her of her own child, who is happily living with his father. He was supposed to go and get beer with friends, not going incognito to shed some blood.
"How do I get in?" Dan asked.
"Well," Whitney took a paper. "Bartholomew frequents in this club he owned, Victor and Victrola. You need to get more information on him and his people. Bartholomew is never alone, do you understand?"
Dan nodded. "So I just get in this club and…"
"You can't just get in this club. It is an inclusive invite only. They have code bars for the invitation thus it would be a bit hard to imitate it," Whitney gave him an email. "We have this."
Dan opens the mail and sees his own profile with his real name and ID. "This is?"
"Get a job there. They are recruiting," Whitney smiled.
"Why would I give them my real ID?" Dan asked.
"Bartholomew Bass is very influential. He would know in an instant if you had a fake ID, but we did scrap up a few small details like where did you go to school and what type of job you had before," Whitney looked over. "Don't die on this."
"When have I?" Dan smirked.
Dan got back to his apartment and wore the suit that Whitney sent him. She said it would be important for his 'interview'. He gets more details on the club he's attending. Victor Victrola was succeeded by Charles Bass and became famous for its bo peep and burlesque. It is the place for high class Wall Street players to hang out. Only good wine and Italian cuisine is served. A table there can cost $100000 per night, the cheapest one that is.
Dan is recruiting to be the bouncer and he smiled, that was why his identity of having to be schooled in ST. Jude's is scraped. Nobody from such prestigious New York private school would apply a job as a bouncer. But then he needed the attention, so he typed something in his laptop and printed it.
The one recruiting would be Charles Bass. A simple line he added would definitely catch his attention.
Dan arrived and he played the role of a vibrant new kid searching for any jobs at all. He annoyed the club's representative when he came in with a smile too bright. "Kid we don't need sunshine here so lose the smile."
"But how can you not smile around here? Girls, money, its everything that makes it a sunshine," Dan chirped happily. "You do know what they say that money doesn't buy happiness, well money makes me happy and if I can buy girls with money, my dick would definitely be happy."
"Listen kid, Chuck Bass does not like happy on others, so if you want this job, shut up," the representative warned him and Dan nodded, motioning to zip his mouth. "Stay here."
Dan looked around and sees no sight of Bartholomew Bass. The club was everything he expected, a high class area, filled with lust and sin, money and power. He didn't like it one bit. All of it was too fake. He looked around more and took in the possibilities of Bass's Bodyguards.
He found 2, a middle age man who sits behind the bar flirting with the waitress and a woman sipping Martini shooting glances at the door as if waiting for someone. The man was not in the right place, he wore a wedding band. Usually the person who hits on waitress is looking for more outside of the club. For a married man, they are the ones who would want anything to do with the club kept under wraps. A waitress never shuts up. The woman was wearing too much jewelry, too much make up but not much flaunting. She dressed the part but a woman who dressed up as much as her would peacock her way around, not sitting and waiting.
It was tight, and Dan smiled. This should be fun.
"Humphrey?" he heard his name. "The boss will see you now."
He stood up and walked through the curtains. Another door was behind it. He laughed a bit, this was cliché.
"I really don't know what the boss was thinking. He rejected to see everyone but you," the representative sighed as he opened the door. Dan walked through the door and he sees a man with a white suit and a bow ties. He has his hair gelled up and a smirk he didn't care to like. That must be Charles Bass.
"Daniel Jonah Humphrey," he smiled as he offered a scotch. Dan took it. "Recruiting to work here?"
"Yeah, I've been meaning to join something as cool as this place you know," Dan played the part. He already knew why Charles Bass came to pick him. "Seriously, money, women and…"
"Will you just stop it," Charles said as he sat on the couch. "Tell me, why are you here?"
"I told you before…" Dan was cut again. He didn't like that very much.
"Your details said that you were a St. Jude's alumni. Why exactly a St. Jude's alumni would find a work here?" Charles looked straight at Dan, who had a worried face. "I don't think I remembered you."
Dan laughed in nervousness. "Well, I'm not really popular or anything. I mean I was a scholarship student and…"
"You dropped out," Charles said smoothly. "You think we can't find information on you? We did and sources tell me you were a St. Jude's drop out. I don't really care about that, I'm not even going to hire you. Though I am curious. Why are you here?"
Dan smiled inside. Bingo.
"I need to find someone. He's rich and he's definitely the man who would come here," Dan started.
"Did this person give you hell in high school?" Charles asked.
"No, in fact you may need to recheck your information because if you hit your high school documents, there was never a Daniel Jonah Humphrey in there. I made it all up just for this interview. I knew you'd be curious on the sudden St. Jude's alumni packing his frugal Armani suit for an interview to be a bouncer that you'd check up on it. But if I were an alumni coming here, you'd shut me out immediately because it's carved in you that any St. Jude's alumni shouldn't cross himself as a bouncer. Which is why I put the drop out part, makes you even more curious," Dan smiled. He knew how to play well. Charles Bass liked this game and he is going to play it. "It makes you too curious until you called me in here."
Charles smiled. "I like you," he said. "Now I am curious, what do you need me for?"
Dan smiled. "You don't like your father; I can get the dirt on him. I'm trained for that. We're on the same team."
"How is it we are on the same team?"
"You have connections, but you're too limited on options because every single client here is connected to your father. It may be good for business but you definitely don't satiate on such small risk. The person I'm looking for could be here tomorrow, next week, next year. I don't even know what he looked like. I need details on them, I need connections. You have that and if I use that connections, I can find you what you want," Dan smirked. "Sounds like a good idea doesn't it."
"Well, it is true that I never liked my father, but what makes you think I would work with a total stranger? When I myself can pay for my own private investigator." Charles asked him.
"You can never outrun your own father, not when the people you pay will receive double the amount from your father just to get lost." Dan smiled. "You have nothing to lose, only something to gain. You need someone from the outside, and I am that person. I am the only person right now that can make everything you got here, doubled." Dan had read Charles Bass's profile perfectly. In fact he knew guys like Charles Bass. They are eager, they aren't tied by blood and they are willing to go any means even to their father, if that means they will get the benefit for themselves. Dan knew the only way to get to Bartholomew Bass is by his own, vengeful son.
"Are you that confident?" Charles asked.
"I wouldn't be here if I were a chickened shit," Dan smiled. He knew he caught Charles Bass.
"Arthur," Charles called his follower, and the representative before came in. "Give Mr. Humphrey a tour on the club."
"You mean you're giving this guy the bouncer job?" Arthur looked at Dan, disbelieved.
"No," Charles said. Dan looked at him. "Even better, he'll be eyeing this club for me."
Dan smiled. He only planned Charles Bass to make him the sort of manager of the club after 2 weeks, but seems like Charles is really impressionable.
"But that is what I do. I am eying the club for you," Arthur asked.
"Well, someone needed to be eying you. You think I didn't know the loss of 2 girls last month?" Charles glared at him. "Mr. Humphrey has a better eye for some… club developing, don't you Mr. Humphrey?"
"I promise to do my best," Dan smiled. He passed his own planning. The beginning had already started and he claimed in his mind for victory.
Arthur showed him the club, insisting again and again that Charles had gone nuts. Dan looked around, to find more clues. Bodyguards, undercover eyes, place, room, everything. Nothing can tarnish his will now.
He looked at the door and as if on cue, Bartholomew Bass came in and he sees a few beefy men strode down with him. Exactly 15. He had more today. Dan looked behind him and he sees a brunette, long dark hair, fur coat, red lips and long lashes. He didn't recognize her from Bartholomew's profile, but he was somehow stuck looking at her when she passed him. They made eye contact but that was it.
Dan followed Arthur out. Coincidentally, Bartholomew is here but he needed more people off the room to actually kill the conglomerate. He looked back and sees the brunette linking arms with Bartholomew, chuckling while looking at Bartholomew talking. Before he left though, he heard Charles talking.
"Looks like Blair is here."
To Be Continued