After recuperating themselves back in Hell with the help of a few bullets to the head, the entire team was back in the briefing room, trying to make sense of the situation that had just developed. Moxxie took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his nerves after jeopardizing yet another contract and a handsome reward. Blitzo was marching left and right around the area by the door, trying to come up with a way to inform their most intimidating client yet. Just the thought of even talking to him over the phone was enough to send chills down the imp's spine. As for Millie, she was just as disappointed in herself as her husband was. The poor imp had half of her face burnt off, and yet she put up a better fight than most people would against a telekinetic experiment that was literally twice her size. Still, she had multiple chances to finish what she started, and unfortunately her last opportunity was cut short.

Blitzo put a finger to his lower lip. "What if we told him the guy learned how to fly?"

Moxxie responded with a deeper voice than usual. "That's not enough of an excuse, sir. He would not buy that, and above all, he still expects us to terminate the target."

"Hmm...good point. BUT, what if-"

"No 'what ifs'. We failed our mission. Best bet is to ask him for more time on the contract."

"Goddamnit, throw me a bone, Moxxie! Can you think of anything else!?"

The weapons specialist groaned and got out of his seat. He walked up to the whiteboard and took a marker of his own out from his pocket. He drew two big words that extended all the way across for the two imps to see. The end result received a depressing head shake from Millie while Blitzo stood there expressionless.

It read: "WE'RE FUCKED"

Millie rubbed her face and looked back up. "Well thank ya' for tellin' us that, dear, but it's no help right now…"

Blitzo put his hands to his face and screamed right into them. After muffling his internal pain, he looked back to Moxxie as if nothing happened.

"I have a fucking phone call to make."

"Oh, that's a shame."

The call was being held in Blitzo's office, where the boss sat himself down on his chair with his legs on the desk. The Cowboy Demon did not sound angry, but he did not sound too pleased either. However, the absence of a pause or a change of tone made Blitzo a little more optimistic about how this call would end. Regardless, he tugged on his collar.

"Sooooo...do we wanna...um...extend the contract maybe? Just one or two days?"

There was a silence on the other end.

Blitzo sat there in anticipation.

The door to Blitzo's office swung open. Moxxie and Millie awaited by the door, holding each other's hand hoping that their lives wouldn't be at risk. Their boss came out and joyously clasped his hands together.

"Well that's that! We have two whole ass days to fix up our fuck ups! We can start right now by tracking down that sunuva bitch! Moxxie, give us the jist!"

Moxxie fixed his bowtie and cleared his throat. He looked down and put his fingers on his chin. "Sir, there are two ways in which we can track our target. We did not plant trackers or any additional devices on him, so that door has already closed. The second way in which we can track him is through partaking in a blood ritual, but in order to track him, we need a trace of his own blood, and the only blood we got out of him was from the harpoon, but that's gone…"

Blitzo raised an eyebrow. "Um...does that mean that door is closed too?" Moxxie sighed. "I'm pretty certain. Well, unless he spilt blood on his way out…"

The three exchanged looks then hastily turned back around and headed for the ritual room. They were sure that the man was still out there, and if he was still bleeding from his wounds, which they were very sure of, then they have a good chance of recovering his red discharge...

...unless first responders and police were at the scene first…

They peeked from behind the gate outside and looked on as the police began talking amongst themselves on how such an unfortunate thing could happen. While the ward was closed off and isolated from the public, there were still very improbable reports called in.

Blitzo shook his head. "Fuck my ass."

"Oh gosh, we're really fucked…" Millie glanced up to his boss in sadness, who took Moxxie's spot and decided to comfort her during this time.

Moxxie frantically barged back into the briefing room with an easel and a whiteboard of his own. He spat the cap of the marker from his mouth and proceeded to write on it. He started off with an illustration of the man's head. "So, we have our target here. He had no known alias, and unfortunately, we were not clever enough to search the premises for any clues because he caught us all off guard. No worries…"

He then drew up a line that connected to the underlined words "POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS".

"We have to think of where our target may be. First, we need to look at motives." The imp walked back and forth. "All we know about this target is that he has killed many others before those hospital workers, according to him. We also know that there were multiple attempts at his life long before us. He is casually aware that he is living life on the edge. The question is, why was he so unphased by our appearances?"

Blitzo nodded. "Because we're not the first mofos from Hell to take a shot at him. We might not even be the first imps. Baldy read us pretty easily. It's like we were fighting a second time."

Moxxie pointed at his boss. "Correct. He's seen our kind before. When the Cowboy Demon approached you, you told me that the target had alleged powers, right?"

The boss nodded a second time. That's when Moxxie sat on the table and perched over.

"So why would the target have 'alleged' powers if he's seen us before? He killed someone, or some people, but they never returned to confirm. Their disappearances did not even reach the overlords in Hell, and they are pretty efficient in dispersing information. This first hitman...lacked prestige...resources...and networks...Just like your typical imp. Someone has taken this job before, and the Cowboy Demon doesn't know it."

Blitzo shrugged. "Yeah?"

Moxxie put the marker by his cheek. "So where would a person who has seen imps before, had multiple hits on him in the past, and has known that he is a popular target go? We know he'll be headed off the grid, yes, but just where? Keep in mind our portal took us to Duluth, Minnesota…"

Millie thought about it for a while, then she got up and headed towards a cabinet. She pulled out the second one and scrolled through the folders.

"Mills, the hell are you doing?"

She remained focused on searching for something. There were multiple dividers with abbreviations of all the countries on Earth. "Just gimme a sec, chief." After a little bit of searching, she gasped and took out a folded paper from section USA.

Then she unfolded it and continued unfolding it. The paper stretched very long and was now down to her feet. She grabbed it by the top edge and rested it onto the table. It was a map of the United States. Blitzo and Moxxie got closer to the map and had their eyes settled on Minnesota along with Millie.

The boss' eyes widened. "Oh shit! There's a national forest that's like 80 miles away."

Moxxie kept focus. "Two. Finland and Superior. I'm more intrigued by the fact that there's an equally elusive area by the creek. Lots of area space there. There's also a lot of water bodies here…Fuck."

He turned to Blitzo. "Excuse me for my language, sir."

The boss smirked and patted his back. "Excuse granted, bud."

Millie caught both of their attention. "Boys, I don't wanna be a downer here, but there are a lot of places where he can hide. I think I know where he might wanna go, though. When me and Mox were chased out of the Blood Bay by those imp-hating locals during our honeymoon-"

"Don't remind me-"

She hushed him, which caught her husband by surprise. "-we came up with a pretty dandy plan of running through the woods and trying to cross the Circle with no jurisdiction to stop us…"

Blitzo thought about it for a little more. "So what you're saying is that he's cross-"

"He's crossin' the border, sir. Pretty darn sure of it…"

Moxxie snapped his fingers. "He's going to need a reference to help him along the way. I think he's going to take Highway-"

"Sixty-one?"

"Yes, honey. He's gonna need a lotta miles to get there though. Can't see the man walkin' his way into-"

Moxxie slapped his hands together and rushed out of the room. Blitzo and Millie looked at each other and shrugged together. They sat down waiting for the imp to arrive with his big discovery. After seven excruciating minutes, it all made sense once he came back with a police radio scanner, but it was equally nerve-wracking to see him covered in blood with a machete on one hand.

"Sorry, I had to take this opportunity to take this from them. The drive from Duluth to the border is approximately three hours, correct?"

Blitzo looked at the map and confirmed. "Yeah, it says three hours there alright."

Moxxie glanced down at his scanner. "I left the portal open to keep the frequencies up. There hasn't been reports of a stolen vehicle, which I firmly believe the target will use to get himself through the border. The question is whether or not he's out there healing his wounds.

The team would continue to brainstorm for another two hours. At that time, they still had not heard anything at all. It looked like "Baldy" was waiting for the right time.

Moxxie shook his head whilst sitting next to his wife.

Millie turned to him, and so the games began.

"What's wrong, Mox?"

"Eh, nothing, really. It's just that...this job has been getting really stressful lately. I haven't really had time to...you know."

"Heh, that's just life, sweetie. You know that those big scary music execs can wait, right?"

"Well I don't want to wait any longer. I've been improving myself lately. I personally feel like I have a grand shot at it, you know? If this whole killing thing doesn't pan out, which seems likelier by the day, I feel very confident on our fallback."

"...What do you mean by likelier? And our fallback?"

"Yeah, it's just that we've never faced pressure like this before. There really is no other way to put it. We've been servicing overlords now. Multiple overlords. Like, from one to about thirty. That is a lot of pressure."

"Well you can't say it's getting likelier, hun. We've been 14 of 15. We just had our hardest contract today, but we can still finish it tomorrow."

"Millie, you know pretty well that we have another contract to complete tomorrow. And another after that. And another. Are you aware that we're just establishing an enormous snowball for ourselves to get buried under?"

"Snowball? Come on, Mox, be serious. We ain't goin' to allow that. Even with Loona gone-"

"See, that's the problem. We need Loona. We don't need to encourage her to take a vacation in the middle of our most important month of work! If we had her here with us right now, this wouldn't have happened! We can't do anything with just the three of us!"

"Hm, you really think so, huh?"

"Um, yes!"

"With all due respect, dear, you were knocked out. I had to fend for myself the whole time, and it wasn't pretty. I coulda got the job done, Mox."

"I know that, Mills! I know! But why are we acting like everything is okay!?"

"We're not! Maybe you're just bein' too darn worrisome about everything! Calm dow—"

"And just why is all the blame sent towards me? You know we've been taking it way too easy! That…"boss" has been taking it way too easy."

"Oh, don't be like that—"

"No, I don't want to hear it. Have you actually paid attention to how much of a burden he is whenever we go out on missions? Wagging that little blade of his and refusing to prepare for the biggest gold mine this company has ever seen, and you're too worried about me being 'like that'!?"

"Mox—"

"I can't even live a single day without feeling so miserable because of that lazy bastard. Every hour that goes by. Every excruciating MINUTE where I have to share the same room with him!"

"Mox—"

"You and Loona think I'm SO CRAZY for standing up to that big red asshole! You know what is crazy!? Thinking that—"

"—that everything is alright?"

"..."

"In that case, I apologize for bein' crazy, if that's what you want."

"..."

"Seriously, I love ya', Mox, but please put a lid on it."

"Why should I?"

"Look at yer' clothes, yer' house...look at me. This all wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the boss' sacrifices. He looks at us like family, so you should too.

"Oh yeah? Well news flash, we are still NOT a family. And sacrifices? Sacrificing what? A sixth of the time where he prances around like a useless idiot to take his job seriously?"

"Calm down, Mox. He gave up everythin' just so he can find success of his own. His family, the high life, the servants, everythin'. Just so he can call himself a self-made imp in a risky town like this one."

"He abandoned his family."

"Because they were going to abandon HIM! They did not treat him like family, they treated him like garbage!"

"...Wow."

"What?"

"Why don't you go blow him while you're at it?"

...

...

...

...

"Fuck you."

"No, Millie, I-I didn't mean to-to—please come back here! Millie. Millie! Look, I'm sorry. I'm being aggressive again, I know. We don't have to talk about it...Millie?"

"Listen. You can slap me across the face, kick me in my crotch, burn me alive, I don't care. Just please...talk to me."

"...You think you control me, do you."

"Huh?"

"I'm not stupid, Mox. I've been nothin' but nice since we moved together the day we met. Even when you talked down on me and tried to keep me on a leash whenever we had meetings, I still give you all my lovin'."

"I-I-I...Honey,—"

"Don't you 'honey' me, you conniving son of a bitch."

"Ugh. Okay, fair enough, but look, you know deep down inside that I'm right. If we took a better approach on how to handle this, we could have finished all these contracts with days left to spare. Isn't it fair to point out that on almost every one, we've all stalled together with the supervision of our boss?"

"...I guess. I just wish you can stop bein' so damn rude. I'm not yer' bitch. I don't have to abide by everythin' ya' say, and I'm not going to be doin' that anymore."

"I know. I've been treating you wrong. I'm so sorry for being a complete ass. It's just that we can be doing so much together. We could literally do anything else out there and any second can be an opportunity to have it all. This is a lost cause."

"We already have it all. We have millions of dollars, Mox. We have so many weapons stashed inside our house. What more could you want?"

"I-I don't know. I guess...I just want to move back."

"Move back?"

"Yeah."

"Move back, like 'going back to the hills' kinda back?"

"Yeah. Look, we met each other and married each other in this very city. I get it. You're very emotionally attached to this place, and rightfully so. But if we don't prepare for what's about to come, or what may come, we may never have another chance to do it again. That's why I have to do this now and only now. They're running out of room. If we finish it by the end of the month, we're going. If we completely fuck this up by the end of the month, we're going. Hey, you'll never know. Maybe you'll like it there. You'll never have to worry about serving anyone ever again. We'll be safe. You'll be safe. Our family will be safe...You'll thank me years from now, I guarantee it."

"You can't. We can't. We had this discussion before, sweetie. Whether you like it or not, Blitzo is our boss, and it won't be fair to him if we abandon him like this. Once we finish what we started, then we can start thinkin' about it.

"We're not abandoning him. We're just...planning ahead."

"Well I don't want to move to the hills until the job is done.

"We'll finish it, but I just need a bit of time beforehand. Hey, do you know when Loona is coming back?"

"Like at noon…wait what are you doing?"

"Moxxieee! Where are you going?"

"(fuck)"

"Moxxie, what is the meaning of—"

"What the hell is that?"

"Millie, listen—"

"No, you listen to ME. What. The. Blue. Hell. Is. That!?"

"I need you to stay calm. Whatever you do, don't make this room louder than it has to be."

"*huffs* Alright. Fine. Let me ask again, what is that on your hand?"

"You already know what this is. I'm going to take it with me."

"The hell you are! Mox, don't do this…"

"It's the only way we'll ever be happy."

"We're ALREADY HAPPY HERE! I'M HAPPY HERE! EVER BOTHERED ASKING WHAT THE FUCK I WANT!?"

"Shh!"

(angry puffing)

"Trust me."

"Fine."

"Thank you Mills, thank you. I promise you, this will—"

(gun cocks)

"...Millie?"

"You have til' the count'a three to get out of here before I change my mind and snatch that thing out of your cold dead hands…"

(runs towards window)

"One."

(opens window)

"Two."

(struggles to wiggle out)

(turns around) "M-M-Millie?"

...

"...J-Just be safe out there. Don't do anythin' stupid, please…"

"...Okay. I love you. I love you to death."

And the couple blew each other a kiss. However, Millie had to tell him one last crucial thing before he leaves her yet again. She turned to the window.

"Mox, wait. I needa tell you somethin'."

It was too late. Moxxie departed and Millie stood there with her head down. She sighed and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

She walked back into the living room and had her eyes settled on today's package. The couple had a security system involving a turret hidden in the front yard, so there had to be a corpse or two outside from oncoming thieves trying to steal it. Moxxie never even asked what the package was. He never even acknowledged its presence because he was too focused on wanting to change things around.

Millie opened it.

Moxxie left the car behind the house. He insisted on taking transit instead, knowing that Millie would need it for work tomorrow. The imp left no instructions for her, knowing that she already knew what to do in his absence.

The only items he took with him were his wallet, his house key, and his headphones. Not a single dagger, bullet, or gun hidden underneath his jacket, leaving him at his most vulnerable.

After a long sigh, he turned to a familiar face next to him. She was whistling and minding her own business. Her cheeks were flushed red and her body was pale white. Golden locks of hair came down beyond her shoulder.

The demon looked down at him and waved with a nervous smile.

"Hi there! Uh, I just got back from a public speaking arrangement. I don't know if I succeeded, but I just wanted to ask...are you thinking about um...rehabilitation?"

Moxxie paused. After a short time, he shook his head.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Oh, very well then. It was worth a try."

She turned back forward and rubbed her arm, minding her own business. Then the imp turned back to her.

"Hey, if you ever get a chance, can you tell your father I said hi? I haven't heard from him in weeks."

The demon raised an eyebrow. "Y-You mean Lucifer?"

Casually, he replied. "Yes. I assume you are the infamous Charlie Magne?"

"Yeah...that's me. The infamous one…"

"I'll see what I can do."

She turned the other way and stared out the window.

Moxxie shrugged and put the headphones to his ears. From there, he decided to take a quick nap as the soothing sounds of the hip-hop track made its way into his cranium.

/2x32fOW-AF0

"I'm just sitting in the studio just trying to get to you baby

But this song so fucking dope, girl it's hard for me not to play it

To tell the truth, wish it was you in this booth that I was blazin'

So I'm just sitting in the studio just trying to get to you baby…"