They all finally arrived back at the shop and they discussed the events of the day.

"You three went to the third hit?"

"Yes, boss." They replied simultaneously.

"How'd it go?"

"Successful."

"Good."

"How did it go with that girl?"

"Her name is Nicky." Red replied a little defensively, which surprised them all a little, including herself. "It went fine, I guess. She wants me to go see her tomorrow night."

"Why is that?"

"She doesn't fee safe in her house and she wants me to make sure she is alright. She wants me to come in her house through her bedroom window."

Some of them laughed.

Red gave them a cold stare.

They stopped laughing.

"She sees me as a superhero for taking her away from those people we got rid of yesterday, which she still doesn't know we killed."

They were silent for a minute.

"And I'm hoping she won't ever know find out." Red said quietly, more so to herself than anyone else.

"So are you going tomorrow? To her house?"

"Yes, I am."

The started laughing again. She gave them a stare again. They stopped again.

"Look, I don't know what it is, but Nicky seems to see something in me that she needs. Perhaps it's a nice and good mother figure, I don't know. But whatever it is, I'm willing."

"Ok, boss." Some of them said.

The next day was full of more murder or "taking care of business" as they called it. So many people thought they could get away with snitching on the mob, oh how wrong they were.

At his particular hit, a man was being difficult- too difficult.

"Bring him to the garage." Red decided she wasn't going to be very merciful.

The men carried the would be screaming man if the tape wasn't over his mouth, to their van and drove off back towards their headquarters.

In the garage were all kinds of things used for torture, all kinds of weapons.

"Tie him up." Red stood in the center of the garage and watched the men that worked for her tie the man's wrists together and then tie his wrists up to a long bar so he was hanging from the bar with his knees bent and just barely touching the floor. The man had been punched in the face several times and had his torso kicked several times before they left from his house so he had blood dripping from his face in some spots and some blood drying up in some spots.

"So," Red began, "are you going to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to spend some of our money on your house payment?" She said this cold and deadly.

"I'm sorry, I know I should have given you the money-your money- I know. But, but my house would have been foreclosed on, we missed our payment and they threatened to kick us out. I've been out of work for a month trying to settle my debt with the mob. It was my only choice. I have a family...my wife and kids, what was I suppose to do?"

Red looked at the man to her left and nodded. The man walked over to their victim and punched him with all of his might it seemed like, in the face.

"That was a stupid response. You know what you should have done regardless. Did you not think that something like this would not have happened to you? If not, then you're very foolish. Even so, you're very foolish." Red looked to the man again and he repeated the punch.

"I don't play nice if you're going to go against what I tell you." Red walked up to the man and whispered in his ear very cruelly, "I hope you're learning that."

Red walked back over to the the man who seemed to be her second hand, "Now, you know what to do. Don't kill him until you have to. And when you're hurting, don't play nice either, remember how important this deal was."

"I understand, boss. You have my word that he will suffer long and deeply for this."

"Good. Now I'll be back, it's getting late. I don't know when but I will be."

And Red, leaving that garage responsible for the torture and murder of a man that night, and countless before him, headed to make sure that that little girl Nicky was safe and sound.

Red drove to Nicky's house but was hesitant to get out of the car.

"This is crazy." Red said out loud to herself. But got out anyway.

Just like she said there would be, there was a ladder leading up to Nicky's room.

Red sighed deeply as she reached the ladder. Then she began to climb. She got to the window and lightly tap it with her knuckle. It opened after a minute and the curtains were slid open.

"You came!" Nicky whispered both excited and relieved.

"Of course I did. You wanted me to, right?" Red looked at Nicky most sincerely.

"Yes." Nicky said innocently.

"And so I did." Red smiled.

Nicky smiled back.

"So may I come in?" Red asked politely, as though she had been invited to a dinner party.

"Course." And Nicky opened the window more and the curtain more.

Red climbed in and looked around. Her room was very cute for a young girl. Pink walls with a castle painted on one of them. Her room was princess themed, quite fitting. Red could see Nicky as her little princess.

The entire time Red was looking around, Nicky was just looking up at her, beaming. Red looked down at her and noticed this. Nicky must have really thought of Red as something special. If Red was being honest, Red felt this sort of maternal instinct that told her that it was ok. And made her feel like Nicky was really important to her.

"So are you alright?"

"Today I am."

"Where is your mother?"

"She went out for the night. She told me she would be back really late."

"She just left you home alone?"

"Yup. She does this all of the time."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart." And Red gave her a half hug.

"It's like I don't even have a mom." They were silent for a moment.

Red bent down so they were eye level and rested her hands on Nicky's little shoulders.

"Nicky, if you'll have me, I'll be your mother." Red said, making sure her eyes showed nothing but the sudden love and care she felt for this little girl.

"You will? You'd be that for me?" Nicky's voice got so high and her little eyes sort of started to water at this wonderful news. Red thought she would have been jumping up and down if Red didn't still have her hands on her shoulders.

And Red felt moved to say, "Sweetheart, I'd be anything for you."

Nicky almost knocked Red over with her hug. Red laughed a little bit, surprised but pleased.

After some time talking about anything and everything, Red said it was time for her to go. She tucked Nicky in.

"When will you be back? I don't want you to go!" Nicky said sadly and Red's heart was touched.

"I'll be back the day after tomorrow. How's that?" Red asked kindly.

"So that's 1 sleep?" Nicky asked.

"Well you haven't slept yet tonight so that's 2."

"Ok, 2 more sleeps." Nicky said so innocently that Red felt her heartstrings being tugged on a bit.

"2 sleeps." Red repeated.

After looking back at the little girl all snug in bed, Red left out the window. Red got to the car and drove away, looking at that bedroom window as long as she could and whispered, "I'll see you in 2 sleeps my sweet Nicky."