I planted the cameras in the Elias-Clark building that night, choosing to plant them, instead of stalking, well, casing Miranda's place out again. I shook my head as I hung from the ceiling in the blind spot between the building's security cameras, planting my own slightly better ones right on top of the originals. Mine would get every inch of the office every minute of the day.
"Seriously, what are you doing?" I asked myself as I hung there. I'd checked Miranda's house out twice now, once in the evening, once in the day. I'd even been three feet away from the woman in a coffee shop and now I was planting cameras in her office, but already I was aware that I may not complete this job. Something about it didn't feel right, not that any of them feel 'right' but this one was particularly troublesome.
Blurry. I wouldn't say without focus, it definitely had focus. Too much focus, on Miranda.
"You were hired to kill her, you moron," I berated myself as I placed the last camera. "Not fall in lo, whoa I did NOT just say that," I mumbled as I packed up my gear.
I spent the next few days watching Miranda work. She was really quite hilarious at times and if I wasn't in the line of work that I was, I would genuinely be scared of the woman. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
I'd gone to make myself a coffee when I heard a familiar voice on the laptop I was playing the feed on.
"Miranda we need to talk."
I rushed back, vaulting over the couch to get to my seat while telling myself that was a normal thing to do.
"Ahh, so who are you, you insipid little man?" I wondered aloud to the computer screen.
"Yes, Irv, what is it this time?" she asked, her tone falling dangerously cold, her lips pressing a straight line.
I realised as he bumbled through the ridiculous thing he wanted to talk to her about. that this was the CEO. The man that was reported to be the driving force behind all of Elias Clarke's shrewd business deals. He was the one that had contacted me. But what did the CEO of a giant publishing company want to KILL one of his publishers for?
Miranda didn't like him, that was clear. I was fascinated by this woman. I watched her interact with him I realised that not only could I not do this job, but that I really wanted to meet her in person.
I laughed out loud as I thought that.
"Oh yeah, that's great Andy, just walk up to her and say, Hi Miranda, I've been watching you from the building across the road and the illegally hidden cameras in your offices and I'd just like to say I think you're totally hot," I rolled my eyes at myself. "Where the hell did that come from?"
I chewed my lip as I thought about it. I wasn't not into girls I supposed. I'd never been with one, the opportunities were just not there in my line of work and although according to Miranda's file she was at least twenty years older than me, right now it didn't seem to matter to me. I watched as she insulted the man without him even noticing and I realised that it definitely didn't matter.
I frowned as I watched Irv shift slightly in his chair allowing me a better view of the huge windows she had in her office. Squinting into the laptop screen I saw a flash of light across the street and had I been closer to the building I would have torn Irv's throat out like I'd wanted to tear out Stephen's.
"Fuck."
I realised what the flash of light was. Just then, two little red-headed children ran into the room and Irv made his hasty exit. I slammed my fist on the coffee table as I watched Miranda interact with the children, slowly realising that she did, in fact, have children, twins by the looks of it.
"Fuck," I grabbed my phone, dialling the number to her direct office line.
"Yes?" she answered, softly, yet deadly.
"I am about to save your life," I said breathlessly into the receiver. "You three need to go to the bathroom right now and take your mobile with you."
"Who is this?" She asked, her lips pressing into that familiar line again.
"I don't have time to explain right now, take the girls into the bathroom and I'll call you there,"
I could see her hesitating and my temper snapped.
"For God's sake Miranda, get your children into the bloody bathroom or you're going to die," I winced as she threw the phone onto the desk, ushering the children into the bathroom.
Keeping one eye on the sniper on the roof and one on Miranda I rang her mobile.
"Who the hell is this and what the hell am I doing in my private bathroom," I sighed audibly as she waited for an answer.
"Do you want the truth or a version of the truth?" I asked her bluntly, taking her back a little.
"I, I don't know," she admitted quietly, glancing at the twins who were looking a little worried. I rechecked the building across the street, cursing Irv for his stupidity.
"Urgh. Alright, you know the other night when you got out of your car and you paused on the steps, thinking someone was watching you?" Miranda pursed her lips and the twins took a step back. I closed my eyes and bit the bullet. Grabbing my laptop, still watching the feed I locked my apartment and got in my car, not really sure what I was intending to do.
"By all means continue at a glacial pace, if you are the one that was watching me, I'm sure you realise how much it thrills me," she said, her tone just as glacial as her words. I smiled.
"Miranda right now, I'm talking on the phone with you, driving through the middle of Manhattan and trying to keep tabs on a sniper across the street from your building. Cut me some slack, alright?" I asked, not really expecting a reply.
"A What?" she whispered, pulling the kids closer to her.
"Sit tight, I'll be there in three minutes," I said to her, intending on hanging up the phone and getting my gear together as I drove towards the building.
"Don't," she started, before changing her tact. "Do not hang up this phone," she said with the authority back in her voice.
"Alright, but you're going on speaker for a moment," I saw her roll her eyes and I laughed, startling her, making her glare at the phone. I popped in some cheek lifters and a false set of teeth, completing it with a long blonde wig and a pair of Louboutin's, knowing that I would not look out of place wearing the clothes that I had specially made for myself.
"What do you intend to do?" she asked quietly as I heard one of the girls whimper a little.
"I hadn't really got that far," I said honestly, "but I will be with you in sixty seconds."
I ran from the car into the building, whizzing through security with a tag I snatched off what I assumed was a model. I rode the lift to the 42nd floor, stalking out of the elevator, keeping an eye in front and behind me at all times. I walked towards Miranda's office, only to be met by an irate Emily.
"You can't go in there, who are you?" I sighed. She really was very good at her job.
"Emily, I am only going to say this once. You are to stay out here, away from the door until I give the all clear. I am going in there, on my own and until then, sit tight," I said, taking the slightly stunned woman back to her chair, glad that it was slightly out of sight of the door.
I pulled open the door, knowing that the other player would know what was going on, just as well as I seemed to. I poked my head through the door, drawing it back again when a shot rang out, shattering the huge pane of glass onto the sidewalk below. I yanked the fire alarm and directed Emily to call Roy and wait around the back of the building for me. After shaking her a little, she nodded resolutely and I dove into Miranda's office, taking up residence behind a filing cabinet.
"Miranda?" I called softly, not really sure what to expect. "Miranda are you alright?"
"What the hell is going on?" I heard a hiss from the bathroom. I smiled at her tone.
"Seems that they've seen me and decided they can wait no longer," I said wincing as another bullet penetrated the office, shattering Miranda's desk into a million shards of glass, all flying towards me and my right arm. I bit my lip until it bled trying to swallow a moan as I felt a small number of them lodge in the skin from my shoulder to my elbow.
"That's going to hurt," I mumbled as I got to my feet, making sure to stay behind the filing cabinet as much as possible.
I rushed through the room in a hail of pings and crashes as the bullets pelted the glass around me. I dived into the bathroom, making all three occupants scream.
"Calm down, I called you," I said holding up my arms, wincing internally at the pain in my right shoulder.
Miranda and I looked at each other and for a tiny moment, nothing else mattered. She fell into my eyes and I fell into hers. A small smile appeared on her lips before a stray bullet to the tiles behind us brought us back to our senses.
"Alright, I'm going to get you out of here, but there are three things we have to do first," I said starting to unbutton my jacket.
"What do you think you are doing?" she said, her professional mask slamming back over her feature while she fixed the most scornful look she could muster.
"Ow," I said involuntarily as the jacket caught a piece of glass. "Trying to save your life, now will someone please give me a hand?" I said, struggling to flick my jacket off. One of the twins rolled her eyes when her sister and mother did not move.
"I'm Cassidy," she said, dropping to the floor as a bullet penetrated the small, high bathroom window.
"Everyone down," I yelled, pulling Miranda down to the ground.
"Unhand me this instant," she hissed, kneeling up to smooth her shirt.
"Oh for god's sakes Miranda, they're shooting at you," I said exasperatedly as Cassidy helped me take my jacket off, squealing when she saw the blood. "It's alright, it's just blood," I said, but I noticed she'd turned a rather delicate shade of green. I rolled my eyes.
"Miranda, you need to help me get this off," I said ripping open my shirt buttons revealing a bulletproof vest. Her lips pressed together and I shook my head. "Don't give me that shit, I need to get you and your kids out of here, now can you please pull yourself together and help me," I said, my voice rising every second.
She seemed a little shaken by the tone of voice and nodded compliantly moving forward to the knife harness that was stopping me from removing my shirt. Her hands did shake for definite as she unclipped me, her eyes sliding from the three throwing knives to the sig I had stashed in the back of my pants before she slid the shirt off my shoulders. If the situation wasn't so dire I would have sighed, but as it was I couldn't. She made short work of the Velcro and then I was wearing nothing put pants and a singlet. I rolled my eyes.
"Put it on," I said in no uncertain terms.
"I will not,"
"Then you'll die," I said as bluntly as possible, looking her straight in the eye. She swallowed and pulled the vest on.
"Under the shirt."
"I will not be humiliated by a stalker," she said indignantly, her patience finally running out.
I sighed, once more. It was going to be a long day.
"I'm not a stalker," as I peeked out into the office, drawing my head back in quickly as another hail of bullets rained glass down on me making me swear. "Okay, I'm not trying to kill you at least. But bloody Hell, is there enough glass in your office?" I asked her incredulously. I caught her staring at my shoulder and I smiled a little at the twins, who had followed their mother's gaze. "It'll be fine," I said with a wink at them. They didn't smile back. I pulled off my wig and handed it to Miranda, who looked at it as if it was going to explode.
I left the facial markers in, just in case things went really south.
"Give me your shirt," I instructed, dressing in Miranda's clothes, and placing my jacket over her shoulders, trying not to shiver when my fingertips touched her skin. "Right, here's what we're going to do," I said, outlining the plan. "Miranda, you will take Cassidy and I will take Caroline and we run like hell for the emergency stairwell."
"Genius," she said drolly.
"He's going to wait for you to appear so when you go out there first he'll think it's me and automatically aim for what he thinks is you next, which is why, Caroline, you need to stay in front of me at all times," I said pulling her closer, "You got that?" she nodded, looking worriedly up at her mother, who simply stroked her cheek.
"It'll be fine Bobbsy," I smiled at the display of affection, winking at Cassidy as she rolled her eyes.
"Right. On the count of three, do not stop until you are inside the stairwell," I said, happy to receive a nod at the end.
"One, two, three. RUN," I yelled spurring the two into action. A few bullets nicked the back wall of the building as they ran out of the bathroom, but my judgement was correct, the shooter would wait for me. I knelt in front of Caroline.
"Okay sweetheart, it's you and me," I said gently, taking her hands in mine. "I want you to know that I will not let anything happen to you."
She nodded. "I believe you," she whispered gripping my hands tightly.
"Come here kiddo," I said wrapping my arms around her, picking her up and enjoying the feel of her arms around my neck. "Hold on tight," I whispered as I got ready for to run for the stairs. She nodded into my neck and I took off dodging and weaving as I tried to avoid the large calibre barrage we were facing.
We slid behind Emily's desk and I groaned as the glass embedded even deeper into my skin.
"Okay, I need to you run to your mother. I'll draw their fire away from you alright?" The poor little thing was shaking like a leaf but nodded and let go of my shirt, well, Miranda's shirt in anticipation. "Okay," I said to her as we sat behind someone's desk. "I am going to get up and run back into there. I need you to tell your Mom that Roy is waiting around the back of the building and Emily should be there as well." Caroline nodded again and I smiled.
"I would very much have liked to have known you guys," I said wistfully as I thought about what it was I was planning on doing.
"What's going to happen?" she asked, fear covering her features. I smiled.
"Tell your Mum that Stephen will not be a problem anymore and that if Irv goes missing not to worry about it," I sighed as another rain of bullets impacted the wall in front of us. "Come on where are the cops," I said to myself.
"What are you?" Caroline said as we waited for a lull in the firing. I frowned.
"Huh?" she rolled her eyes just like I'd seen her mother do.
"If you're not a stalker then what are you?" she asked, looking at me inquisitively. I sighed, wincing as my shoulder hit the desk.
"I do what this guy does, except I do it better, and honestly, I had been asked to do what this guy is doing right now. But, if it's any consolation, I decided right away that I wasn't going to," she nodded and got up on the balls of her feet as I pointed to the stairwell. "Wait ten seconds then leave alright?" She nodded again and I ruffled her hair. "Can you tell your Mom something else for me?" I asked genuinely. She nodded, her eyes shining a little. "Tell her I'm sorry. Now, go!" I said, removing any chance of a reply as I ran back towards Miranda's office, dodging bullets and flying pieces of glass.
"Worst bloody idea ever," I said to myself as I ducked behind Miranda's couch, hoping it was as solid as it looked. I pushed it straighter to form a barricade between me and the window. As I sat leaning against the sofa, listening to the bullets, I spied Miranda's office phone and made a decision. I grabbed it and dialled the number before he could find me in the scope.
"Where are you?" Came the terse answer. I smiled.
"Miranda, I need you to listen to me for a moment, without interrupting alright?" I waited, and when no answer was forthcoming I simply ploughed on. "You really are amazing, you run this magazine with a formidable courage that not many possess, a courage that alienates you from everyone around you. I had no idea you'd had children, and I'd been watching you for days. I assumed that you would have been too busy to have kids and on that I was wrong. I had all these ideas about you and then I happened to be at your house on the night Stephen was waiting for you," I heard a sharp intake of breath as she realised what I saw. "You were right to check up and down the street, although maybe I should leave instructions on how to check shadows as I was directly across from you," I paused. "That doesn't really matter. The point is, when you turned, I felt this spark of energy inside, like I'd come alive after I'd died and then," I chuckled. "Then you took off your sunglasses and I nearly walked over to you. Nearly 20 years I've been doing this and you nearly made me willingly blow my cover. You have the most beautiful eyes, Miranda Priestly," I said with a smile as I remembered them.
I screamed suddenly as a bullet pierced my arm.
"Are you there? Hello?" she called into the phone. "Hello?"
"Miranda," I sighed. "I think, in another life, I would have loved you," I whispered through deep breaths of agony. "Is there anything in your office that you couldn't live without?" I said quickly becoming irked at how little power I had over the arsehole in the opposite building. She paused for a moment and sighed.
"Actually in my bottom desk drawer, there's a box, it is nothing of intrinsic value, just baby photos of the twins, other, mementoes" another pause and I could imagine her pursing her lips. "Why?"
I smiled into the phone.
"Did Caroline tell you what I said to tell you?" I asked, un-phased as I fetched the items I needed from my shoe.
"What has that got to do with it?"
"Miranda, I took this job a little apprehensively. Firing people is not usually a cause for a death contract. I started my recon with a view to deciding whether to take the job or not and as I watched you, at home and in the office I realised that there was no way I could go through with it. You are a goddess, a force to be reckoned with, but you are also a woman whose husband is an arrogant arsehole, and a woman who loves her dog, even though she's not entirely comfortable with her on the bed, and a mother, who loves her children more than anything else in the whole world," I smiled even as I blinked away a tear. "It's highly unlikely that it will be me, but one day you should show someone that side of you," I said finally attaching the remaining piece to the contraption I was building. I smiled and took a deep breath. "Miranda, where are you?"
"What are you going to do?" She asked as I went quiet.
"I need to know you are safe, Miranda, I need to know that you are nowhere near the building."
"I'm two blocks away," I nodded, tucking the box under my arm.
"I am going to fix this or die trying," I whispered as I leant against the couch.
"I don't even know your name," she said sadly.
"Andrea Sachs, Andy for short."
"Andréa," she whispered, giving me goosebumps.
"I would have loved you forever," I said quietly. Almost hanging up until I heard a whisper on the other end.
"If what you said about me is true, then I probably could have loved you forever too," I smiled sadly as she realised what I was going to do. "If, if for some reason you find yourself alive, I, I would not be adverse to seeing you," she said haltingly.
"You'll be the first person to know," I promised genuinely. I smiled as I pushed the button, racing away, stumbling again as a bullet grazed my leg. I made it to the elevator doors just as the explosion rang out, knocking me into the elevators, my whole body screaming with pain as I prized the door open.
Finding the ladder I climbed down, eager to go and kill someone, anyone would do, but I was going to start with the arsehole across the street, who clearly had no idea what they were doing or else they would have left as soon as they saw me. I hobbled out of the service entry making it to my car, shrugging off the shirt I'd been wearing, dressing my wounds roughly, before pulling a sweatshirt over the hope and grabbing my gun.
Someone was going to die today.
I crossed the street, pulling out the cheek fillers as I did, hell-bent on this being the last job he, and I, ever pulled. I climbed the fire escape, ignoring the burning in my wounds and my very tired muscles crying out as my adrenaline wore off. Creeping up behind him, I could tell he was an amateur, not used to doing this sort of thing.
"You made two mistakes," I said as I walked up behind him. "Ah, don't move," I said as he reached for a gun. "Two mistakes." I could feel the killer in me coursing through my veins, but this time it was different. It was white hot, more potent than I'd ever felt it before. I realised that I really was in love with Miranda Priestley. This final job, was for her.
"One, you didn't do your homework, or you would have known about me," I said taking a step forward, ensuring my target could see me from where he lay. "And two?" I said gleefully, giving in the darker side of my character. "You are still here," I said, pulling the trigger, not even flinching as his head exploded in front of me.
My arm throbbed and the anger dissipated almost immediately, startling me for a moment until I realised that just by falling in love I'd healed my oldest wound. I didn't need to be that person anymore. I could just be me.
After I tore Irv's throat out, I thought to myself happily.