Apologies for the short first chapter. I promise to fix that later. So I'm always concerned about the quality of my writing, so if you have any suggestions, please put it in a review!
I scouted the back of the lot from the construction work next to the building. I saw only one guard, and he didn't appear to be heavily armed. He paced back and forth across the entrance, so I'd have to move quickly to dispatch him.
I moved back towards the side of the lot and climbed over the fence, landing silently on the ground, out of site of the guard. I risked a quick look around the corner, the guard had his back turned to me, and appeared to be speaking into a radio. Taking advantage of the distraction, I quickly moved towards him.
"Yeah, the back entrance is clear," the guard said into his two- way radio, "Roger that. Over."
The guard had finished his conversation, and I used the opportunity to quickly move towards him and drive my blade into his back. He made a sound of alarm before I laid him down gently on the dead grass.
The back wall of the building had three rectangle-shaped windows and a door for the ground floor, and four windows for the upper floor. The back door led to a staircase, one of two routes to the office, the other being an elevator that went between the floors. The bottom floor would be heavily guarded, but hopefully I wouldn't have to take that option.
I ejected my blade as I gently opened the door, but the stairs were deserted, and dark. I propped the door open with a brick from outside, and ventured up the staircase. The door to it was ajar, and light shone through.
That's odd, I thought. Surely they wouldn't be so foolish as to leave an entrance so unguarded? Something didn't add up, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. Through the crack in the door I saw a guard standing with his back to the door, watching over the second floor. The level consisted of of walkway on the back wall that looked out over the first floor below, an elevator to my right that went between levels, and an office at the other end.
Apart from the guard, there was no one else, until the creaking elevator appeared and two people stepped out. One of them was my target, Michael Grove, a man in his forties, with his black hair graying at the sides. The second person was a woman, probably no older than 20 or so, with blonde hair that was tied back.
"And I want you to double the guards on the back entrance. I don't want any Assassins getting in," Grove said to the woman, who replied with "Yes, Mr Grove."
Assassins? Was someone else hunting this man?
"Good," Grove replied, reaching his office, "That'll be all."
The guard wolf-whistled as the woman hurried passed, cursing Grove under her breath.
"Goddamn perverted bastards," she fumed, "Someone kill that guy already!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the irony.
Unfortunately, both the guard and the woman had heard me. The former motioned for her to be quiet, and reached for the handle to yank the door open. When the light hit me, I ejected my blade and buried it deep in the man's stomach. The woman's jaw dropped in shock, while I lowered the body to the floor and whispered "Help me with this."
She complied, most likely out of fear, and we moved the guard into the stairwell.
"Who are y-?" she began, but I cut her off.
"Quiet, someone might hear," I whispered, "Listen carefully, I'm here for Michael Grove. I need your help to get to him."
"Why do you need me?" she asked.
"You can help me keep this quiet. I can't afford to get caught," I explained quickly.
"What did he do to you?" she asked, seeming to relax. I looked down.
"He took my family," I said plainly.
"God," she said, "He took mine to. Made me work for him. The things he does to me, it's horrible. I never knew what happened to them."
I nodded my understanding.
"Listen, if you can help me kill him, maybe we can both find our families.," I told her.
"Thank you," she replied, "My names Angela."
"Ryan," I said, "OK, let's go."
We exited the stairwell and made sure no one was around, then crept up to Grove's office.
"One question," I said, "What did he mean by 'Assassins'?"
"I don't know," Angela answered, "He only said they hunted him and his 'business partners'."
"In that case, I'd call them allies," I replied.
I could hear Grove typing on the computer, and it was then that I made my move.
"Hey," Grove said irritably, beginning to look up, "Ever heard of knock-"
He didn't even finish this sentence before I had pinned him to the floor and embedded my blade in his chest.