I nodded to Jayce as he eyed a guard turning the corner. He twirled a knife in his hand before quickly standing up and cocking his arm back. I watched as Jayce quickly stabbed the guard in the side of the neck while covering the man's mouth with his hand. Jayce quickly pulled the body out of the hallway before letting it collapse next to him behind the wall.

He gave us a playful wink before crouching down and quietly walking down the hallway while I pressed the button for the elevator. Almost immediately, the sleek metal doors slid open, revealing a guard dressed in a black suit. He quickly raised his guns, but before he could even make a sound, I quickly ducked while grabbing the knife strapped to my upper thigh. I quickly stepped behind him before reaching up and slitting his throat.

Red and Gio walked into the elevator as his lifeless body fell to the floor. I stepped over the body and clicked the button for the second floor, third, and fourth floor. The soft sound of jazz filled the air as we stood there in silence. Red began swaying, dancing playfully to the elevator music as the elevator came to a stop on the second floor, and we waited in awkward silence as the elevator settled.

The doors opened, and two guards walking next to the elevator immediately stopped and reached for their weapons. Red moved like a blur, and quickly stepped forward before throwing a roundhouse kick at one of the guards, knocking his gun out of his hand. She then quickly rotated her hips and turned to face the woman behind her. She then quickly grabbed the woman's hand before throwing a punch at her stomach, making her drop the gun. She crossed her hands, reaching for her knives before spinning as she extended her arms out. The blades in her hands slit both guard's throats simultaneously before she faced Gio and I.

Red's face was sprinkled with blood as she gave us a wide, crazed looking smile. She gave us a small wave, and giggled as she turned around and began walking down the corridor. I watched as she approached a guard down the hallway who had his back turned to her. As the door began to close, I watched how Red kicked the back on his knee, causing it to buckle before she lifted her hand and continuously stabbed the man in the neck until the doors closed. It was extreme overkill, and I could tell instantly that Red wasn't stable.

I have to keep my eye on that one.

I looked over at Gio before giving him a nod as the elevator stopped. He looked at me for a moment with an emotionless expression before looking at the sleek doors. His hands were already placed on his knife as the doors opened, and in the blink of an eye he immediately grabbed the guard in front of the door by the hair. He quickly stabbed his blade into the man's windpipe before looking over his shoulder at me. I couldn't tell why he looked back, nor could I read his expressionless face. Maybe he was reassuring me about the mission, just as the others did before him. Or maybe he was watching his own back, making sure I wasn't going to attack him while his back was turned to me. The man's body fell to the floor as the doors began closing once more, and I continued to make eye contact with Gio until the doors slid shut, I was left alone in the elevator.

I grabbed the knives strapped to my thighs, twirling them in my hand as I prepared myself as the elevator slowed down to a stop. My hands clenched around the handle of my blades in anticipation and my body tensed as the sleek doors slid open.

I was expecting a guard or two waiting for me, for a patrol of men and women to be walking the open floor plan, just as they were on the previous floors. I was expecting guns aimed directly at me, a small unit of men and women ready to end my life, but instead all I saw were... bodies.

I stepped over the corpse that was in front of the elevator door, looking down for a moment to examine what happened. His throat was slit, and judging by the full clip in his gun, he didn't even get the chance to defend himself. I cautiously knelt down and touched his cheek with the back of my palm, his skin and blood were still warm, and the wound was fresh.

Someone else is here.

I stood up before I quietly made my way down the hallway to find more dead bodies scattered amongst the floors. Most of them had their throats slit, while others had their necks broken. I examined the bodies as I passed them. Each wound looked similar, and was precise, accurate, and from the depth of the cut and width of gash, seemed to be done by the same blade. It would be nearly impossible for multiple people to use the same amount of strength and precision for each kill. There wasn't a team here, no. Just one person.

I suppose that this makes my job easier. Instead of handling an entire floor worth of guards, I just have to take out one person.

A very skilled, and very lethal person.

I continued surveying and evaluating the floor. Everywhere I went, everywhere I looked there was a body. As if whoever did this left chaos and death within their wake. I couldn't help but admire the skillset they had, the art of human corpses that now adorned the silent floor. Maybe I was deranged for admiring someone's style of killing. But this was my profession, this was my craft. The amount of skill it takes to eliminate and entire floor of armed guards without a single bullet fired is impressive. After counting twenty-three bodies, I made my way towards the back of the room, and I cautiously turned the corner as I walked up the stairs to the next floor.

This was the floor that was under construction. The walls were half built, revealing pathways of scaffolds that lined the incomplete walls. The scaffolds extended out, expanding down the entire building to the ground level. Rows of square, cement pillars lined the floor, providing a base for the partial ceiling that covered a third of the area.

"What makes you think he'll come?" A man's voice said in the distance, echoing slightly off through the air.

I quickly pressed my back against the nearest wall as my grip tightened around my knives. I listened intensely as the conversation continued.

"My sensai would never leave me behind!" A girls voice exclaimed with conviction and confidence. I heard her spit, then a man yell out in annoyance. I listened as she grunted loudly, most likely from receiving a punch across the face. I furrowed my brows. What kind of asshole hits a kid?

"She fucking spit on me!" A man yelled out.

"Apparently he's pretty fond of this little idiot." Another man's voice answered, ignoring his struggling friend.

I quietly and slowly looked over my shoulder as I peered over the corner of the wall. There were three men, all armed and surrounding a girl tied to a metal chair. Her hands were bound behind her back, and her ankles were tied to the chair's legs.

The girl looked young, maybe six or seven years old. She was a short and scrawny looking child. Her dark blond hair long, and tied in a messy ponytail. Her brown, round eyes were wide with anger as she fearlessly looked up at her captors. Her face was narrow, and blood dripped from her small, button shaped nose. But despite the injury to her nose, most likely from them just punching her, she had a deep scowl on her face as she looked up at the men who surrounded her.

"You're gonna regret that!" The kid yelled out as she pulled against his restraints.

I didn't see this kid during my recon... they must have just picked her up. The Order did say to kill everyone in this building, but they've never sent me after a child. I would never even consider hurting a child, Order or not.

"What'd you say you little brat?!" A man yelled out as he walked over to the kid. He was tall, his black hair and nearly black eyes swam with danger as he approached the child. His goatee was shaved neatly, and his long, shoulder length hair was untamed and messy. His collared shirt was ruffled, and half tucked into his slacks. Tattoos covered every inch of his body, and the way he looked at the child in front of him with such anger made me grit my teeth in disgust.

I recognized him immediately: Julio Lopez.

My target.

I watched as he struck the child once more, making the kid scream out in pain and making me tense. I took a small step forward, wanting to save the girl, to kill Julio for hurting a defenseless child who couldn't even defend themselves. But I clenched my jaw as I waited, knowing that I needed to wait for the right time to kill this fucker.

"Just don't kill her, we need to make sure she's alive." Julio said loudly before he slapped the child once more. While the men were distracted, I quickly closed the distance between us. With silent steps, I ran to the nearest concrete pillar by them and quickly hid behind it. As I gripped my blades and prepared my attack, I froze as I heard the men begin to grunt and gurgle before the sound of three thuds filled the air. I held my breath as silence filled the air, the only sounds in the desolate room were of the child continuously pulling against his restraints.

"Sensai!" The child cried out happily as I pivoted my foot and stepped out from behind the pillar, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I took in the scene in front of me.

I clenched my jaw as I looked down to see Julio Lopez and his guards slaughtered on the floor. Their throats were slit, and Julio was stabbed directly in the heart and bleeding out on the floor. I watched as a man gripped the knife piercing Julios heart before he twisted it roughly. He pulled out the knife, and I watched as Julio took his last labored breath on the floor before falling lifelessly still.

I looked up from his body to see the most attractive man I've ever laid my eyes upon. He towered over me, and stood at about six four, maybe even six five. He looked young, but mature, maybe in his late twenties. His tan, lean and toned body was composed of pure muscle. His jawline was sharp, and his face was covered in stubble. His arms and hands were littered with tattoos of all sizes, delicate art adorning his chiseled muscles. His hazel eyes flickered with curiosity as his piercing gaze turned towards me.

He was dressed casually, his black shirt was soaked with fresh blood, and it stuck to his sun kissed skin, hugging every curve of muscle on his abdomen. Scars, both newly healed and aged were etched into his skin in sporadic places, and I could tell he's spent years honing his body though combat.

This man's demeanor was calm, his shoulders relaxed, and his chin tilted slightly upward as he stared down at me. Slowly, a lazy smile stretched across his heart shaped lips as his eyes raked down my body. His flawless smile was bright and showed the small dimples on his cheek.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He said as a playful smirk stretched across his lips. He took the blade in his hand, twirling it once and causing specs of Julios blood to slide off the metal and onto the floor. His deep, baritone voice was like a purr of mischief and curiosity. He raised an eyebrow as his gaze snapped back up to my eyes, making me clench my jaw and tighten the grip around my blade.

I like my missions neat, orderly. I thrived in an organized work environment, because frankly, if the missions don't go exactly as planned, I'd most likely die. I wanted to tell this handsome idiot off, to curse in his face for killing my target, for intruding in my plan and ruining weeks of recon. I wanted to take out the pent-up anger and anxiety that has been eating me alive since I that night I killed Felipe in Italy, but instead, I didn't say a word. I lunged towards him, aiming my knife directly for his heart.