Chapter One: "That's why I used past tense."
"I never thought that you would come for me."
"Why not?"
"Assassin Number 0 doesn't just kill anyone." Train Heartnet ground his teeth.
"Most assassins don't run away from Chronos."
"You know damn well why I ran away!" His voice rose an octave.
"Of course I do," she said, "Who amongst the numbers doesn't?"
"Then you should understand where I was coming from."
"Why you did what you did means nothing to me."
"I pity you…I really do, Iron Maiden." He shook his head.
"So do I, Black Cat. A lot."
The blade came down upon him.
Train Heartnet woke up violently. His nightclothes were soaked: a side effect of his night sweats. That dream had haunted him for years and would continue to haunt him for years to come. He knew. The Iron Maiden follows orders to the death, whether it is hers or her targets. The latter is usually the case.
"I was lucky," Heartnet muttered under his breath, gently brushing the faded scar on his neck.
"Lucky about what?" Sven asked, popping his head in the room, "I know you're not talking about sweeping. We haven't caught a good one in months."
"That's why I used past tense." Heartnet turned around, a large smile plastered on his face.
"Oh. I hadn't noticed" Sven looked down at his feet, feeling slightly stupid because he hadn't caught the past tense. Then he added, "It's about time you woke up. I was about to have Eve go in there and jump on you."
"Shouldn't you be teaching her more ladylike things to do?"
Sven just smirked in response.
Train opened the refrigerator to retrieve a carton of milk. He barely had it to his lips when Sven spoke up again.
"You had a nightmare about her again, didn't you?"
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"What am I going to do if my partner is so busy thinking about his screwed up past that he fucks up on the job?"
"Relax. I'm not going to slack off." Train took another sip of milk.
"That woman," Sven began, "I've never even seen her and she scares the shit out of me."
"That sounds about right. Few people have ever heard of her, let alone seen her. Chronos keeps a tight hold on its prize. Unless you are a number or wanted by Chronos, you won't know of her. Number 0, the Iron Maiden, is quite a fearsome woman."
"I feel kinda special," Sven grinned foolishly.
"So, I am a fountain of useful information." Train smiled.
"Don't get cocky just because you know about the existence of an assassin. That is useless information!" Sven smacked Train, "Now go get Eve. We have to check for new criminal postings."
"But I don't want to work today," Train whined, "Can't I get a sick day."
"Not when we're in debt up to our knees. Work!"
Train opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by Eve.
"Train! There's someone at the door for you!" She yelled.
"Hello Train."
The woman at the front door smiled in a professional way. Her cheeks turned up slightly but there was no squint to her blue eyes, signifying that she was, in no way, smiling on the inside.
"Hello Sera."