Grim tales of amity park

Just a job

The soft and delicate fragrance of recently baked pastries mixed deliciously with the aroma of recently brewed coffee permeated the interior of a homely café at Amity Park downtown one cold morning.

Wooden tables covered by pink sheets with unlit candles in the middle next to pastel color curtains that hang over the large windows and a large display showing off the wide selection of cakes and sweets made for a very welcoming sight.

Despite the elegant aura and French-style pastries, the café could hardly compete against the bigger names, even after hiring a couple of busty waitresses to allure some younger clientele much to the owners' dislike, as he saw it in poor taste to hire women just for their larger assists.

It was by the corner table just beside the window overviewing the main avenue where a strange dark hooded figure sat down enjoying a black coffee, in front of him rested a plate with two fried eggs and some well-cooked bacon strips.

Despite his eccentric attires that contrasted with the soft pastel colors around him, no one seemed to mind his presence in the least. His wicked green gaze turned over to a busty blonde waitress who poured him more coffee and granted a smile before walking away with a seductive sway on her hips.

"What a lovely place this is."- the hooded creature spoke gently. "I come here as often as I can, not only for the food"- the hooded creature declared to be among the few loyal customers.

His attention shifted from the waitress and her seductive walking to a tall man in his early forties who seemed to be perpetually dressed in a fine black suit that reminded him of Wall Street businessmen with their large offices and fancy cars.

Yet the long greyish hair which was tied in a ponytail along with a small goatee broke the illusion of a refined gentleman, even so, the man emanated an aura of respect and elegance as he customarily sat near the window just behind the curtain.

"Would you like to hear our specials, mister Vlad?"- A busty blonde waitress asked.

"An omelet with bacon, a Danish, and black coffee, if you please."- Vlad replied while opening a newspaper.

"A yes, I've heard that work dignifies a man, but not all work dignifies." The hooded creature said upon taking hold of his steaming hot coffee.

The waitress took down his order with a large smile and marched away to fetch it while her client continued reading his newspaper nonchalantly. She felt most comfortable serving Vlad unlike with the rest of her clientele for he never made any rude comment about her appearance.

Not a day went by without some random horndog trying to ask her out or making a discourteous borderline insulting comment about her rear side or large breasts, yet there were far too many who simply stared at her bust making her feel disgusted.

Vlad, on the other hand, hardly ever took his off the newspaper. Constantly reading the market stocks which put the blonde woman in a dream-like state as she would love to be asked out by him, even telling him her breasts size had he asked without a moment's doubt, men like him were a rarity in her opinion.

It was soon after breakfast that Vlad found himself standing in front of a used car lot, staring with bored eyes at the rows of colorful vehicles which stood under the baking sun, each one with the "For Sale" signs placed over the windshields.

"Semi and new cars. Low mileage and in mint conditions."- Vlad read the billboard over the entrance.

The man scoffed at the sign knowing the average man wouldn't take notice of the heavily worn-out tires that didn't match with the mile counter, surely, with a quick eye scan would find an incalculable number of damages.

Vlad smirked as he took notice of a particular logo that he knew all too well, a red bird that belongs to a black 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans AM, it reminded him of the same model he used to ride during his college years.

"I see you have a fine taste, good sir."- a salesperson spoke.

The seller appeared behind him dressed in a cheap blue suit with white strips and wooden buttons that by some miracle held his fat belly, a fedora hat covered his balding head, though more notable was the Cuban cigar in his right hand that granted him sickly yellow teeth.

Hardly a trustworthy appearance yet Vlad majestically hides his disgust towards the man, not only for his outer appearance but for being crudely distracted by a modest-looking woman carrying a baby in arms who didn't even bother in giving him a sideways glance after tipping his hat.

It was only after the fat man returned his attention to Vlad that he noticed his would-be client was already looking into the car's interior making the vendor elaborate on the original Corinthian leather seats and low usage.

According to the seller, the car was in mint conditions and had all the original parts intact including the sparks plugs, a single owner who hardly ever took out the vehicle and claimed even the paint job was also original.

Vlad smirked at this declaration as he knew the seats were covered in an extremely cheap leather that would peel off within the first month, the wheels were by no means the original ones, not matching at that, and knew that any mechanic would find an infinite number of issues with the engine.

"Looks like you got a sale."- Vlad replied with glee in his voice.

"You won't regret it; everyone loves my cars. That's why people call me, Honest Joe"- the fat seller said pointing Vlad towards his office.

"I bet they do"- Vlad replied making his way to the office.

The first thing Vlad noticed was a small workshop next to a small trailer that passed off as an office, a single car could be seen being repaired by a mechanic who clearly wasn't in any condition to be working around machinery given the many beer cans rolling around the floor.

There wasn't much to look at in the overly simple rectangular office once both men walked in, a few crude posters of bikini models laying over sports cars hung over the wall, a metallic filing cabinet pressed to the corner, a small worn-out couch underneath a window and a wooden desk.

As the fat man wobbled his way towards the cabinet to fetch the appropriate documents to make the sale legal, Vlad closed the blinders and loosen his jacket. Armed with a vanilla folder was how Honest Joe slammed his fat body on the chair that by some divine intervention didn't break down under his weight.

A large toothy smile was drawn on the fat man's face as he spread documents over the desk, though quickly noticed his window blinders were closed which he found most strange but gave no real thought at all for his was most interested in making the sale.

"I forgot to mention, we're cash only, hope that won't be an issue."- Honest Joe added, conserving his ever-present smile.

"Not at all"- Vlad replied, turning around.

The salesperson let out a burst of loud and rude laughter as he lifted the document validating the sale, a hole was instantly formed on his head leaving behind burned residue. All strength abandoned the man's fat arms as blood gushed out from a small hold just underneath his right eye.

Vlad approached Honest Joe and landed a second shot straight between his eyes at point-blank range, a stream of blood and brain matter flowed out of the exit wound as Vlad picked up the spent bullets.

Without so much as a sideways glance, the white-haired man walked out of the office after peaking out the window to make sure there wasn't anyone outside and locking the door behind him, even having the audacity to flip the open sign to close on his way out.

(XXXXX)

It was later that night that the moon gleamed over a modest four-story building where Vlad casually sat down on the living room of the top floor sipping on red wine while listening to his favorite opera singer, his eyes laid over the coffee table, towards his pistol that rested next to his cellphone.

Vlad wasn't drowning any sorrow or regret for his actions earlier that day, in fact, he didn't even mind in the least having murdered the man. He was simply waiting for a call to reach his phone.

Almost on cue was that his smartphone began vibrating over the wooden table as a pink bunny logo appeared over the screen forcing Vlad to put down his drink to answer the call with a cold unemotional greeting.

"The client is very satisfied with your house painting job and sends his congratulations."- a female voice said through the smartphone. "I'm sending you the details on your next assignment."-

Without waiting for a response, the woman on the other side hung up leaving Vlad holding on to his phone which he soon put down to resume his drinking. The man then stood up and head over to the kitchen for a snack.

Vlad didn't consider himself to be sick in the head nor a mindless killer despite what others may say, the man is a freelance assassin. A job like any other, no different from a butcher at the slaughterhouse or pest control agent.

Unlike what the movies claimed, there was no such thing as an assassin syndicate or a secret organization, most hitmen worked alone or for one particular group, but freelancers always employed a middle man for everything. Just to avoid stepping on the wrong feet.

Vlad didn't want to get involved with organized crime or become part of any mafia branch, though most of his customers often came from the Russian corporation as they like to call their mafia groups, never wanting to use criminal terms.

Before heading to bed, Vlad had a bit of routine after a job, to simple clean his pistol and keep it in prime conditions. It was his work tool after all and needed to be kept in the best possible conditions.

A great many people would consider a mere small .22 Ruger pistol to be a weak and unreliable weapon, unable to bring down large targets, often favoring more powerful calibers such as the Colt .45 or the .38 revolvers.

Nevertheless, Vlad didn't find any appeal to such weapons as they were needlessly cumbersome to wield and loud whereas his work demanded precision and discretion of the finest kind, to that matter, he had never encountered an armored target, most didn't even know he was there, to begin with.

It was an unspoken rule to never ask for the reasons for a client wanting him to murder another person, yet had to admit there was a certain satisfaction in exacting justice once in a while, like shooting down a man who crippled his wife and battered his own children into a coma.

Or castrating a rapist who got away thanks to an inept and corrupt judicial system, even the car salesman had someone holding a grudge against him. Sure enough, the fat man hadn't raped or murdered anyone directly, but his shroud business deals did claim innocent life.

The fat seller sold a used-up beetle as if it were brand new despite having faulty brakes and most of the engine being a lost cause leading to highway accident and killing the client's daughter, there was no way for anyone to prove the brakes were damaged due to the car being totaled.

Which in turn led to the victim's family hiring Vlad after the seller got off scot-free since there was no true way to link his faulty car to the accident.

(XXXXX)

A week later Vlad found himself sitting on his usual table at his favorite café being served by the same busty waitress who was more flirtatious than normal, something that he had taken notice of rather quickly.

Though tempted to ask her out most likely leading to a one-night stand, Vlad knew better than to let just let the young waitress into his bedroom most likely pursuing a relationship there were after all too many skeletons hidden within his closet.

The man was mentally fatigued after his most recent "paintjobs" that consisted of disposing of a cheating wife and her lover, ironically, a cheating husband was his following target though the client paid extra to his tongue removed.

Just as he was about to take the first bite of his favorite omelet breakfast, was that his phone began ringing announcing a call from his employer. Vlad groaned in exasperation as he wanted to have his meal before talking business.

"Speak"- Vlad said as his fingers made circles over the coffee mug.

"Client offered fifty grand for this paint job. Check your mail."- the woman said before hanging up.

It was then that Vlad produced a small laptop from his briefcase that he used solely for work, true enough, an email was waiting to be opened. The picture of a young teenager suddenly graced the screen.

For a moment, Vlad confused the child with a female yet on closer inspection realized it was a boy, his short black hair and bright blue eyes, followed by an almost doll-like face that didn't seem to match with that of the near countryside folk that often grace Amity Park despite being a two-million-man city had him confused, though only momentarily.

Unlike the romanticized version movies and books have about assassins, real assassins didn't hold to any sort of code or moral rules, everyone was fair game and had a price over their heads. Men, women, even children, were all valid targets.

The one true difference among them was the price tag over their heads, criminal lord and politicians along police were the most expensive as they prove to be extremely dangerous targets, mainly for the possibility of vengeance.

Common folk such as middle-class workers and housewives were often on the cheaper side, never reaching more than a few thousand dollars, during Vlad's darkest moments, had charged only a hundred dollars to kill a local thug.

It wasn't the first time that Vlad murdered a child nor did he ever feel bad about either, but it was strange for someone to offer fifty thousand dollars for a hit, surely, children were often more expensive due to moral grounds that kept his competition away, but never reaching such an exorbitant price.

Vlad was a very meticulous man and never jumped without looking at what was on the side, he even took his time to study the car salesman, to fully understand him and learn his patterns, trying to find the best moment to kill him.

Even now, the police were baffled by the execution as no one saw nor heard anything, even the mechanic who was "working" just a few meters away didn't hear the two gunshots. There weren't any cameras either.

"Daniel Fenton… Danny"- Vlad whispered before closing his laptop to enjoy his breakfast.

(XXXXX)

Several days had gone by and with the embrace of the night was that Vlad quietly sat over the bus bench overviewing a popular burger joint crudely named "The Nasty Burger" which made him twist his lips in disgust as he couldn't comprehend why anyone would eat such garbage.

The hitman watched through the large windows as young Danny stood behind the counter taking food orders in secession, a large smile plastered over his angelic face. Vlad couldn't imagine why anyone would want the boy dead.

No one pays so much money for a hit, at least not within his common clientele that often consists of small-time drug dealers, and angry husbands who wanted their cheating spouse's death along with the ever-popular, revenge killing.

Very rarely would a crime organization hire him for a hit as they already had their own people for such jobs, only ever doing so when they needed someone from outside, and not for his particular set of skills.

Nevertheless, Vlad had made a bit of a name for himself in the underground throughout the years, but not enough to bring any unwanted attention from both crime and authority. Never really wanted to play for one team.

"I don't like this"- Vlad muttered as he pulled his phone texting his contact. "Client hasn't back down?"-

As always, Vlad did his research trying to figure out the boy's routine and determine the best place to carry out the assignment. Anyone with half a brain can pull the trigger but getting away with the crime was art.

Shooting the boy at his house was an option, but the police would link the crime to his nearest acquaintance hence leading to the client, and there was the possibility of the boy's older sister being at home.

"See ya next week, guys!"- the young boy with raven black hair yelled out while stepping out from the restaurant.

"Be careful on your way back, Danny."- a male voice from within the shop yelled back.

That was Vlad's cue to move out, he had studied the boy for a time learning his goings and comings. Danny as he likes to be called works as a part-timer during the weekends at the Nasty burger always leaving at ten pm.

Vlad waited for a few seconds at the bus stop eyeing the boy like a hungry wolf before starting to trail his target allowing Danny to put some distance between each other, it was a mystery as to why the kid didn't use his bicycle.

It was by no means normal for a fourteen-year-old boy to be walking home alone after ten pm, though in a way nice to see a young kid earning his own money rather than having daddy hand it over to him.

The streets were completely free of both people and cars, save for a few vehicles parked by the sidewalk despite in a manner of speaking still being early. A few random shops could still be soon with their bright open signs still lit.

Murdering a child required a special touch and a rather cold hard, not many would do so unless in very specific circumstances. The last time Vlad took a young life was after being hired by a local mafia branch.

The mafia made-man started to take more than his fair share of the family wealth and started his own side gig without informing or paying tribute to the boss, which in itself was motivation enough to have him rid of.

Yet the mastermind behind this small-time operation wasn't the made-man but his dear wife who used their son to ransack the money, though Vlad wasn't told anything specific nor did he ask for any details, was hired to execute all three members. Something strange for the mafia to do as they only target the offending party.

Ironically, the mafia already had an "employee" on standby and ready to deal with this kind of situation, but neither he nor anyone else in the group wanted to have a kid's blood on their hands.

They wanted someone from outside the "Family" to take care of their unruly employee, someone with no connections to them, someone like Vlad Masters who could easily fade into the dark where no one would find him.

Nevertheless, Vlad couldn't understand why anyone would want Danny dead, during his investigation couldn't find any links to criminal groups, his parents were simply college professors and his older sister was still in high school.

It couldn't be money or a vengeful lover given his young age, it was abundantly clear the boy wasn't dealing drugs at school and couldn't have started a feud with the school's bully who was just a step behind from being a mental retard.

Vlad knew for a fact this Danny character didn't even form part of a street gang that could have a vendetta against him, yet couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the boy being the gay underage lover of some high-ranking politician.

"Maybe he got greedy or wanted to go public."- Vlad thought.

Despite its absurdity, it did shed some light on the reasons why anyone would want Danny dead, perhaps he truly was sleeping with some politician who wanted him out of the game as soon as possible, it was much easier to just "dispose" of the brat than buying him off.

At least Vlad was sure he wasn't being set up or led into a trap but felt bad for having to target an innocent boy who was most likely saving his hard-earned money to buy a new game station or be outfitted with the latest fashion trends.

(XXXXX)

Ruger Mark IV, Vlad's favorite pistol, discreet and quiet with sufficient power to take down most targets with a single shot, seldom did he ever require more than a single bullet and despite what movies showed, he had never been in a gunfight.

The Ruger pistol didn't have the same accuracy of the nine-millimeter at long range nor the same punch as the .38 revolver and was by no means nearly as powerful as the Colt .45, but it got the job done each time with minimal effort.

Vlad wasn't after military targets clad in armor, no, his targets were common everyday civilians, a few criminals here and there once in a while, yet rarely did he ever resource to his Remington 700 to take out a target.

Discretion was a key in his trade, that much had the media got right about Vlad's work. A powerful gun such as the .45 would have police in a three-block radius on full alert twice that distance with the nightly silence.

Vlad let out a sigh as he saw the boy turning around the corner into a dark alleyway he constantly uses as a shortcut, from there it was only seven more blocks to the boy's house, this is where the hit would take place.

The alleyway was dark and lonely as most of the homeless preferred to stay near the Nasty Burger just a few blocks further down where the employees left the leftovers in a separate bag for them to consume.

"Nothing personal kid."- Vlad whispered as he cocked the gun.

Danny stopped dead on his track upon hearing what he could only assume was a balloon popping, his legs started to lose all strength as a strange pain spread throughout his back, slowly he turned around.

Before Danny stood a man dressed in a fancy-looking suit holding what seemed to be a gun in his right hand, blood came out from the boy's mouth as he coughed once, more leaked out from the nose as all strength abandon him.

Vlad slowly walked towards the boy who fell on his eyes holding a scared and confused expression. It was natural since the boy didn't know why someone would want to shoot him. Pity filled the killer's heart.

Without hesitation Vlad fired his pistol again straight at Danny's chest making sure to hit him in the heart, the man wanted to avoid any unnecessary pain. The boy remained still over the cold hard ground.

This was one of the very occasions in which Vlad wanted to ask his client the reasons for having such an innocent boy killed. Was Danny the offspring of an affair? It didn't seem likely yet held little resemblance to his parents and sister.

A third shot to the head just to be sure that the boy didn't survive by some miracle, such cases were often heard of on the news and Vlad was far too thorough to allow such a miracle to occur on his watch.

Vlad knew it would be out of place to be asking unwanted questions, with that in mind continued to take the kid's wallet, phone, and wristwatch in order to make it seem like a robbery gone wrong and not hit.

"Shit!"- Vlad muttered as he accidentally kicked the bullet case into the sewer drain as he was about to pick it up.

Despite wanting to make the hit look like a common robbery, it was in his best interest to leave as little evidence leading back to him or the client as possible, one of the main reasons for resorting to a middle man.

Vlad never met, spoke, or saw the client at any moment nor vice versa as a safety precaution in case either side was captured by the police or a rival group, everything was done through a third party.

(XXXXX)

Unlike with his regular targets, there was a foul aftertaste in leaving a young boy to rot in a dark alleyway. It was hypocritical of him to feel regret for doing what he was paid to do, this is the life he chose.

"Fancy seeing you here so late, mister Vlad."- said the blonde busty waitress.

"I thought you had the morning shift."- Vlad commented more than asked.

The man was so distracted that he almost unconsciously drove to his favorite café. He never felt bad for taking a life. In a manner of speaking, he considers his job to be just like that of a butcher who slaughters pigs for money.

People needed to be killed and there was always someone willing to pay top dollar to make it happen, naturally, someone had to do. Vlad couldn't help but wonder what the boy could have done to deserve being gunned down like a dog on the street.

"What can I get you?"- The busty waitress asked with a kind smile.

"Just a black coffee."- the killer replied with a smile. "And a Danish."- end up adding with a smirk.

As the woman left to fetch his order was that Vlad texted his contact to inform her about taking out the boy, a clean shot to the heart and one more to the back of his head was more than enough to guarantee the job was accomplished.

He wanted to ask the reasons the client had for killing the boy but chose not to delve into matters that didn't concern him, in the end, it was for the best to simply assume Danny was the product of an affair and one of his parents wanted him dead.

The sweet flavor of the Danish was something that he always looked forward to every morning before taking any activity, but now needed more now than ever as he looked out the window staring at the empty dark streets.

His eyes open wide in utter surprise as he lay down his coffee mug, there was a peculiar object resting on the middle of the table that made him have a very frightening goosebump crawl up his spine.

An empty caliber twenty-two bullet case, the same model and brand Vlad uses for his Ruger. The same bullet was used to kill the boy earlier that night. Had someone seen him? impossible, Vlad made sure there wasn't anyone nearby.

It was then that the man looked under the table, naturally, finding no one underneath, the tables in front and back were empty, he then turned his head all around the café trying to discover whoever had placed the bullet over the table.

The busty waitress had her back turned to him as she placed the empty mugs over the display just behind the counter that held pastries and other sweets. An old man could be seen on the other side of the café sipping some coffee.

A young couple was leaving the establishment while waving goodbye to the waitress who looked over at them with a large warm smile as she too waved back at them, the sound of running water coming from the kitchen caught his attention for a moment.

Vlad froze on his spot as he saw the chair in front of him was moved, no longer pressed against the table. Yet there wasn't anyone sitting, but could feel the presence of someone, almost like an instinctual fear.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."- the waitress said.

"Can I have another coffee to go"- Vlad said, clearly disturbed by the bullet case and the moving chair.

He was sure there wasn't anyone who could get the jump on him, there wasn't anyone fast enough to put the bullet on the table and walk away without him taking notice. It was simply impossible no matter how he turned it around.

(XXXXX)

With firm steps Vlad made his way back to where he left the car, a parking lot just across the street from the café, the man couldn't risk leaving his red four-door Sedan near the Nasty Burger without having someone take notice of the car.

Vlad couldn't help but chuckle upon discovering a series of numbers written on the coffee cup with the phrase "Call me" written over as he was trying to pull out his car keys, perhaps asking the girl out was in order after all.

She had taken the time to write down her phone number, even leaving a kiss imprint on the cup that he failed to notice earlier for being too preoccupied with the bullet case, though now that he thought about it.

It was most likely that he accidentally took hold of the bullet when taking out his phone and by some odd coincidence landed on the table, Vlad made a mental note to be extra careful with such matters.

"Hey"- a soft voice said straight to his ear.

Vlad tossed his coffee and instantly turned around aiming his Ruger 22 but found no one, just the empty parking lot. Not a soul to be seen by anyone, the sudden squeaking of his car forced the man to turn around once more.

And once more couldn't see anyone anywhere, the man pulled out his smartphone and shook it once to turn on the light app which he used to shine behind the car, underneath and inside without finding anyone.

"I'm losing my shit"- Vlad thought as he opened the car door.

Before even climbing aboard had the light shine inside once more, wondering if he truly was losing his mind, the backseat was empty and so was underneath, the doors locked and with no apparent signs of tampering. Far too many people had died by his hand and perhaps the guilt was finally starting to reach him.

As the block piled up Vlad saw something over his dashboard, one thing that shouldn't be there, to begin with. The coffee mug with the busty waitress phone number on, he was sure to have left it on the floor after imaging the voice.

"Let's play a game"- A ghoulish voice said from behind Vlad.

Fear like never before engulfed Vlad's entire being as the steering wheel turned to the left heading straight to a light pole, the man was forced to put all his weight on the opposite side trying to avoid the pole.

Even after slamming the brakes with all his strength, the car crashed into the light pole wrecking the engine block, Vlad let out a painful moan as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

His eyes set over the rearview mirror which showed him an empty backseat, someone had pulled the wheel and caused the crash, Vlad was sure of it. Something else was at play, someone tampered with his car. It was the only logical explanation.

The man hit the door trying to get it open though fell on the ground the moment it did, the crash took a mighty toll on him, his entire body was starting to hurt and it took more than a few seconds for his vision to adjust.

"What the hell just happened?"- Vlad asked one in particular.

"That wasn't very nice… shooting me and stuff, not cool."- A young boy queerly dressed in a skin-tight black suit.

Vlad couldn't believe what he was seeing, it made no sense at all. Daniel was standing over the wrecked car no longer sporting his white shirt but what seemed to be a black suit that embraced his unnaturally curvy body, eyes glowing neon green which made the man fear for his life.

Without a moment's doubt, the assassin pulled out his pistol and fired twice at the boy, striking him once on the chest and a second time on the head. The boy unceremoniously fell on the opposite side of the vehicle with a loud thud.

"Holy Shit!"- Vlad cursed out loud as he pulled out his phone.

"This is an unscheduled call."- a drowsy female voice said.

"Who the fuck were client and target!"- The man continued while checking himself for wounds.

"You know the rules, need to know the basis only but I can look into it if you really want me to"- the woman replied in between yawns.

The loud sound of metal bending draws Vlad's attention back towards the wrecked car as it's being lifted overhead by Danny with his small thin and puny arms, Vlad's mouth is left ajar as he sees the impossible take place.

A sadistic smile is drawn over Danny's face as he gets ready to toss the car over Vlad, though before having the chance to is shot several times by the man as he walks away, not daring to come closer to the little demon.

The boy didn't even flinch for a second even with six more shots buried on his chest, his shirt already red with blood. With a loud inhumane growl, Danny tosses the car straight to Vlad who rolls on the floor avoiding the vehicle.

Fearing for his life, Vlad runs towards the subway entrance following his instincts, he knew there was no way for him to beat the monster, and running on the streets meant certain death, he needed to put as much distance as possible.

"What's going on? What was that noise?"- the female voice demanded to know.

"Wrong number"- Danny replied before hanging up and putting the phone inside his pocket.

(XXXXX)

Vlad limped his way down the flight of stairs knowing the beast was already on his trail, he could hear the monster's despicable laughter taunting with each step. Never had he heard of such abomination, not even in gossip.

No one told him there would be a literal monster, had he known there would have been no way for him to take the job. Vlad avoids killing mafia or high-ranking criminals without expressed permission to avoid vengeance.

"Boo!"- Danny yelled as he came through the wall.

Vlad nearly pissed his pants in utter terror as the creature walked through solid concrete as if it were made of thin air, the man once more shot Danny straight in the face though this time his bullets went through without harming the target.

Pieces of the wall fell to the ground as Vlad rushed down the long empty hallways leaving the monster behind, his insane laughter still ringing throughout the subway. Not a single guard, cop, or train rider insight.

"Last train departing"- A robotic voice said through loudspeakers.

The monster waved at him from the end of the hallways sending shivers all over Vlad's body. The man growled as he saw the kid skipping over to him, mocking him, taunting him, Vlad flip the boy off making him

Without wasting any time, Vlad rushed towards the train across the empty platform, for the very first time wanting for the police to be nearby, anyone who could distract the monster even at the cost of their own lives.

"Eat shit and die!"- Vlad screamed as he stood at the door.

Ten bullets came burning out from the gun barrel, each one hitting the boy without causing any harm at all as they went through his body no different from touching air. For a moment, Vlad could have sworn the boy's body turned to dust where the bullets hit.

Danny slowed down his pace as the train closed its door and began moving away leaving him behind upon reaching the yellow line, both the demon and the assassin looked at each other with scornful eyes.

Vlad was ever so grateful for the automatic system Amity Park's transit authority recently purchased. Had a human conductor been manning the train, he would have undoubtedly run off at the first sign of trouble.

Throughout the many years that Vlad had been working as a hired gun in the private sector, never once had he been in such a dire situation. His job, his trait consisted of discretion and precision, not wild west gunfighting,

No one ever knew that he was in the same room unless he wanted them to know. One shot, one kill, that was his motto though not always kept true to it, so far, hadn't seen a gunfight outside of a movie.

"Goddamn it! Gonna have to skip town."- Vlad muttered as he reloaded his Ruger with his final clip. "Should have nailed that bitch when I had the chance."- the man added with a soft giggle recalling the waitress.

With the monster no far behind was that Vlad began worrying about more trivial matters such as not going out with the blondie whose name he couldn't even remember. Or collecting his pay for the job.

The target was alive and kicking but also hunting him down, Vlad made a mental note to ask if future targets had some paranormal background even if he gets laughed at. It was much better than facing off such a monster again.

"You really didn't think I was gonna just let you leave"- Danny said materializing before Vlad.

The man's eyes opened wide in utter terror as he instantly rolled away and began firing at the spectral boy who disappeared before his very eyes, like a demon playing hide and seeks as Danny appeared and disappeared at will.

Bullets did nothing to harm the creature as they went through his body, no different from shooting at the air. His evil green eyes glowed as he approached the assassin who despite standing in front of real demons showed no fear.

"Listen little badger, that was nothing personal."- Vlad said dropping his gun. "I'm just a day trader, I can walk away, I can give you my client… tell you what… we can go to an ATM, twenty-five grand just for you"- The man offered.

It went against all the codes and rules that he and organized crime live by, but this was different. Vlad wasn't dealing with a man, not even a human for that matter, different rules for different creatures.

"Money? I trade in blood."- the ghoulish child replied licking his lower lip-

"Do your fucking worst then."- Vlad spoke firmly.

(XXXXX)

The wonderfully delightful fragrance of pastries filled the café one cold evening, men and women enjoyed their evening beverages of choice under the soft melodies of classical music that gave the humble café a more elegant tone.

Homemade cake was placed over the tables for the customers to enjoy, an all-time favorite along with the house's organic coffee that was trending among the youngsters who little by little favor the café over the mainstream establishments.

"You think I came too hard on mister Vlad?"- the blonde busty waitress asked her employer. "He hasn't come around all day."- the woman almost whined.

Vlad was like clockwork, always crossing the door at the exact time, ordering the same meal despite studying the menu for a good three minutes, though never missing out on the specials more so if they were Danish.

The man had a very big sweet tooth. It had been his morning routine for the last two years or so. The waitress heard from her boss as she only started a month prior, but she quickly learned to have the man's order ready.

"I already told you to stop picking up guys here."- the old man replied. "It's bad for business."

The blonde woman sighs out loud as she makes her way towards an oversize Espresso maker that took over the entire back counter, it was there that she pulled down several paper cups and started to fill them.

"This is Harriet Chin reporting live from Downtown subway station where another citizen of Amity Park was brutally murdered, initial reports say the victim was beheaded by a serrated blade, perhaps even a hacksaw."- the reporter continued.

"Better be careful on your way home. Last week some car seller was gun down." the café owner said. "This town's going crazy."

"Sure thing, boss."- the woman replied as she turned her attention over to the counter where a young boy waited to be served. "Good evening, what can I get you cutie?"-

"One black coffee and a Danish to go"- the boy kindly asked.

"Name please." The waitress continued.

"Danny"

The end