4:00 PM Thursday December 14th, 2023

"So, what's the plan sir?" Moxxie asked nervously. He was feeling a little concerned with this particular job, as something had felt off about the whole thing. He couldn't put his finger on why.

"Just as usual," Blitzø replied. "Go in, make the kill, then leave."

"Can I come for this one?" All attention turned to the resident hellhound Loona.

"Absolutely not Loonie," Blitzø stated matter-of-factly. "I don't want my wittle baby getting hurt."

Loona growled, "oh shut up, I'm nineteen!" Calming down, she lowered her voice a notch, "besides, from how the client had described, this guy's just a shut-in who's taken advantage of an extremely generous landlord. Not to mention he's way behind on rent."

"I knew something wasn't right about this whole deal!" Exclaimed Moxxie. Blitzø glanced over angrily.

"What did I tell you Moxx? We don't question who we kill."

"I know, but killing someone for no other reason than they're behind on rent sounds a little... extreme, doesn't it?"

"Don't care. We've already been paid, so let's do the job." Blitzø affirmed.

"So, can I come or not?" Loona asked.

"Eh, job seems easy enough." Blitzø said. "Fine, you can come. But be careful Loonie."

"Ugh." Loona growled.

4:58 PM

Chris was sound asleep on the sofa, the 46" TV on the wall was tuned to a nature documentary. The soothing voice of David Attenborough keeping the sound of cars on the overpass behind the balcony from waking up the sleeping man.

Chris was... different. Being on the spectrum alone made him different from everyone around him. It merely added to his ongoing depression. Being uninsured meant he was unable to afford antidepressants, so he just laid around all day on his lonesome.

Of course, his father certainly didn't help his mental health. His father — while not physically abusive — preferred to harm his son emotionally. He'd tell the twenty year old to get out of the apartment, but would do nothing to help his son make any substantial progress in his life. Having no friends meant nobody to talk to, nowhere to go. The most he'd do is walk to the gas station to grab a snack or two when his mother would wire him money. His mother lived halfway across the country, and was unaware of the abuse her son was suffering from.

The silver lining was the fact that Chris' father worked for a travel magazine. That meant the apartment was decent, and the man was rarely ever home. In fact, he was only there for roughly six weeks out of the year.

Or at least that was the silver lining. You see, Mr. Stuckmann had recently found himself in hot water with the mob, and was promptly murdered. Chris didn't know it yet, but he soon would be homeless.

4:59 PM

In Mr. Stuckmann's bedroom, a portal opened on a wall. Out stepped three imps and a hellhound. The imps glanced around in the dark, looking for a light switch, but the hellhound, Loona noticed the line of light below what could only be a door. She walked toward the door, grabbed the knob and opened it. To her right was a kitchen, and to the right of that, the living room. Asleep on the couch was their target.

"This'll be easy." Loona whispered. She slowly walked toward the couch, extending her claws as she did so. She licked her lips, preparing for the kill when... *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* Chris jumped awake from his nap, and stood up from the couch, immediately bumping into something... or someone.

He looked up to see what he could only describe as a person in a wolf fursuit.

"Ahhhhhh!" Chris screamed, and threw his pillow in its face, grabbed his phone and rushed out the front door.

"Ok, it's go time!" Blitzø yelled from the hallway. Loona was already out the front door chasing after the target.

"Come here you fucking piece of shit!" Loona yelled.

"Please don't hurt me!" The human yelled, tears falling from his face. He was running faster than he ever had in his life. His legs were burning.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm gonna tear you to shreds!"

"But why? I didn't do anything." He said, running out of energy. Making a split decision, Chris took a left and... found himself at a dead end. He immediately turned around, but it was too late.

"This is gonna be fun." Loona growled.

"Why would you do this? I didn't hurt you." The human curled into a ball, and started balling his eyes out.

Loona was ready to kill the target when he started emptying his pockets, throwing things at her. First his keys, then wallet, then phone. The phone hurt, and Loona let out a slight wimper.

"You're gonna regret that!" Loona growled. "Lets see, who do I have the pleasure of killing tonight?" Loona picked the wallet up off the ground. "Let's see here, Christopher..." She paused, her mind coming to a holt with shock.

Chris, tears still pouring looked up to see the hellhound holding his wallet and staring at it. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what.

Meanwhile, Loona was experiencing a flashback...

"I.M.P. Immediate Murder Professionals, this is Loona speaking. How can I help you?" Loona answered the phone.

It was another slow day, and Loona had been bombarded with scam calls for hours.

"Yes, my name is Ronald Stuckmann. I recently found myself in hell, and couldn't help but see a billboard advertising kill-for-hire services?"

"Yes, that's what we do." Loona spoke in a bored, monotone voice.

"Yes well, I'd like to hire you."

"Okay, when where and who?" Loona asked, her voice piping up a bit. Finally, a job.

"Yes, his name is Chris. He's twenty years old, and lives in my apartment. I know it obviously doesn't matter now, but I was his landlord. He's behind on rent, and even though I won't be there to receive it, I want that piece of shit dead."

"What is his last name? Might be important to have that." Loona asked.

Ronald stuttered a bit before answering, "well, seeing I'm now in hell, I don't have his file on me." He rushed out.

Loona sighed. "Okay, we'll keep in touch."

"Thanks, bye."

Loona hung up. "Hey Blitzø!"

Loona continued staring at the ID. It read "Christopher Stuckmann." The memory still fresh on her mind, realization hit her. Chris wasn't just some tenant, he was a relative of Mr. Stuckmann's.

"Christopher." Loona asked calmly.

Chris looked up, tears still streaming.

"W-w-what?". His teeth were jittering.

"Who is Ronald Stuckmann?" Loona asked, her face straight. She made sure to show no emotion as she questioned her target.

Blitzø continued to raid the apartment's fridge when out of the bedroom stepped Stolas.

"Oh Blitzie."

Oh fuck. Blitzø thought. He turned around to face Stolas. "Kinda busy here Stolas, don't really have time for whatever."

"Neither do I. An emergency came up, and I need my Grimoire." Stolas said firmly. "I'm sorry, but whatever it is you're doing right now, it will have to wait."

"Like how long?"

"One week precisely."

"Yeah, about that... Loona's out chasing the target..." He trailed off. "Hopefully she'll be back soon, but-"

"I'm sorry Blitzø, but this simply cannot wait." Stolas apologized. "She can handle herself. Besides, this apartment seems nice enough. A week by herself shouldn't hurt any, right?"

"But-"

"No buts Blitzie. I need my Grimoire."

"Ugh. Fine, here." Blitzø handed the large tome to Stolas. "Just let me write a note."

"Thank you, now do hurry. Time is of the essence." Stolas sang.

"Why does it matter?" Chris asked through choked sobs.

"Just tell me!"

"Okay, okay. He's my dad!"

"Oh fuck, that's rough." Loona cursed. "How do I tell you this..."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, first off your dad is dead..."

"He's dead?" Chris asked. He didn't seem too upset by this news, and Loona noticed.

"Aren't you concerned with that!?" Loona asked incredulous. "I mean, this isn't some stranger we're talking about, he's your literal fucking dad!"

"Well, no- I mean, yes. But no." Chris paused. "My dad hated me. He said I was a mistake and should've never been born. For that reason, I'm not unhappy about it. But he pays for the apartment that I live in, and I have nowhere else to go, so once I'm evicted, I'll be... homeless."

This changed things. This was no normal kill and be done with it job. We're dealing with a man who hated his son, found himself dead, and in hell ordered his son's death. Loona never asked questions. That was Moxxie's job. She just went in, killed the target, and got paid. Questioned or morals be damned. This was a very different case though.

Loona had spent the first eighteen years of her life as a drifter, moving from facility to facility. She'd never had a home. It was thanks to Blitzø that she had a permanent roof over her head, and a family to boot. She could tell that while Chris may have had a family, his relationship with them was strained at best. She felt sad for him. Not just out of pity, but she was genuinely upset to learn just how much his father hated him.

"Fuck, this is complicated." Loona groaned. "Get up."

"W-what?"

"I said get up. Come with me." Loona ordered.

"Okay, okay." Chris said. His tears had since dried, but he was still worried what would happen. "So you aren't going to hurt me?"

"No."

"Why. What changed?"

"I'll explain when we get to your apartment."

Chris sat down on the sofa, Loona sat in the recliner to the left. Looking at Chris, she wondered if she should even tell him the truth. Making up her mind, she spoke. "Look, I was sent here to kill you."

"Chris looked up and his face went pale."

"No-no, I'm sparing you."

"Oh, but... why? I mean, why would you kill me, and what changed?"

"It's complicated..." Loona noted. She rubbed the back of her neck, and looked everywhere but Chris. "You see, I work for a company called I.M.P. or Immediate Murder Professionals. We're basically a hitman company. But, we come from hell."

"You're from... hell?" Chris said, concern entering his voice. "As in, you're a demon?"

"Yes. More specifically, I'm a 'hellhound'." Loona answered. "Here's the gist of the situation. I was sent here to kill you, as someone put a hit out on you. However, having learned who that someone is, I have decided to spare you."

"Then who put the-" Chris paused. "no, but it can't be. I know my dad hated me, but why would he want me dead?"

"From what you told me, your dad was a shitty person, even by demon standards." Loona said. "Look, I don't know his exact reason, but it can't be good."

"Ok"

"Do you have anywhere else to go? Is your mom still alive. Could you stay at a friends place? I doubt you'll end up homeless."

"Well, my mom is alive. But my stepdad won't let me live there. Also, they live halfway across the country. I don't have the money to get there, and I don't drive. Also, I uh... I don't really have any friends."

Shit. This guy's life sucks. No friends, shitty family, facing eviction. For fuck's sake, where does it end? Loona thought.

"If you were to be evicted, when would that be?"

"I think in three weeks."

"Shit." Loona swore. "Hey Blitzø!" Loona yelled, trying to get her dad's attention. This made Chris jump.

"Fuckin' a, where in Satan's dick is he?" Loona went to the bedroom, but the portal was gone. "Oh fuck."

Stuck to the wall where to portal should've been was a sticky note. It read:

I'm sorry Loonie sweetie, but Stolas had an emergency and needed back his Grimoire. I won't have it back for another week, so it looks like your on your own. Stay in this scumbag's apartment for now. If you have to go out, use your human disguise. Stolas left some human cash on the kitchen counter.

Love you Loonie,
Blitzø

"That's just great..."