The clock tower down on Sixth Street had already begun to chime as Alice was locking up the jewelry store that she worked part time at. For the entire week, she had to be the one to close up every night. It was not a job that she greatly welcomed, but she did it anyway. In this day, age, and world, you had to simply grin and bear it with the promise of a check at the end of two weeks. College students, like Alice, were especially hard pressed for money. Financial aid was being way more picky than in the previous century when all you had to do was apply and sign some forms. Now, they actually did check your background to see if you really needed the money.

Alice had pulled the cage down and was in the process of locking the front door whenever she dropped the keys on the cold, wet ground. She stamped her foot on the ground in angst, and bent over to pick it up and proceed with her task. Once the key was in her hand, she stood straight up and was face to face with another man. Jumping back in fright, she let out a scream. The stranger jumped back in surprise to her reaction.

“I’m so sorry to scare you. It’s just that, well, you scared me half to death,” she apologized to him.

“It’s really no big deal, Miss. Are you closing up here?” he asked her. His voice was especially soft and soothing sounding, she noticed.

“Well, it is midnight, and that is when we close.” She pointed to the sign next her for a visual demonstration of the store’s hours.

“Oh, phooey!,” he exclaimed and banged his fist against the brick wall of the building. “That’s not good. Defiantly not good at all.”

“Well, we are open tomorrow from 9 A.M. to 12 A.M.” She pointed once again to the same sign as before.

“It’s still not good. You see, my sister’s birthday is tomorrow, and I forgot to get her a present,” he looked up at Alice and gave her a smile. “Now, I don’t want you to think that I’m one of those guys that always forgets when birthdays, anniversaries, and special events are. Really, I just been so busy all the time that I haven’t had time to go out and get her something very special for her big twenty-five.”

“Oh, I can defiantly understand the busy part of it. I’m balancing college and work. It’s hectic as hell,” she started to begin her ramblings about school, but he interrupted her before she could even begin.

“So, you do understand my situation of sorts? Then, please just let me look around inside for a little while. I won’t take long. I promise you.” She looked doubtful. Customers always said that they were going to only take a few minutes of her time, but then it usually turned into hours. “Look, please let me in, or someone’s going to die whether it be me from my sister killing, my sister from not getting a present from her precious big brother, or you because of the thought of causing all of this conflict will plague you for the rest of your life.”

Alice was in a dilemma. She really wanted to get home, but the nice looking guy was standing at the jewelry store door begging her to keep it open for a few more minutes. He was particularly nice looking in a blue suit that looked as though it had been recently purchased. His eyes were a dark brown like his hair, which was ruffled this way and that. In the end, she ended up opening the door for him and lifting up the gate.

Alice went and stood behind the jewelry counter. “Hi. My name is Alice. How can I help you?” she asked in a mock salesman tone.

“Hello Miss Alice. My name is David Radcliffe, and I’m looking for a very fine piece of jewelry for my sister’s birthday,” he said laughing.

“Ah, well, we have recently got in a lot of birthstone necklaces that are very nice I must say,” she opened up the display case and pulled out a few necklaces. “The birthstone for July is the Ruby. It’s also my birthstone. I love the color, if you can notice by my wardrobe.” It was true. She was wearing her favorite tight red dress.

“The color looks very good on you,” David told her.

“Thank you,” Alice said slightly turning the color of her dress.

He smiled at her, and she felt as though she would melt. He was an incredibly nice looking man, and he also seemed to have some manners which was quite rare in a man these days.

“Tell me, Miss Alice, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked keeping eye contact with her.

“Well, I did, but I dumped that loser. Actually, I was married to him, but I sued his ass for divorce. I’m too young to be married anyway. I have a life ahead of me,” she said handing him a beautiful silver necklace with a ruby dangling off of it. “That one is my favorite. I’ve thought about buying it, but I don’t have the money right now. All the money I got from the divorce actually went to pay for college.” She rang up the price on the cash register.

“I see,” he commented. “Well, thank you for your time and for keeping the place open,” he said as he handed her the money and began to walk toward the door.

“Hold on a second,” she said rushing toward him. “You forgot your receipt.”

“Oh, thank you.” He took the slip of paper from her. “Is that all that you wanted to give me.”

There was a pause as she tried to think of something to say, “Well, maybe you would like to call me sometime and we can talk?”

“That would be nice,” he said, which brought a smile to Alice’s face.

“Alright, may I borrow a pen?” she asked him.

“Sure.”

He reached inside of his coat and pulled out a pen. She grabbed a little slip of paper from off the desk in the corner of the room and scribbled her number on it. He took the number from her and put it inside his jacket, where he got the pen, but did not remove his hand.

“I have something that I would like to give you,” he said mischievously to her.

“And what would that be?” she asked him.

In a split second, Alice was on the ground. Silence pierced her heart, and she struggled in great pain to sit up and see what had happened. She looked up at David and saw the gun in his hand. There was a silencer on the end of the gun, and he was currently unscrewing it. Shock and horror filled her as she put her hand to her chest and felt all the blood that was flowing out of her body. Her breath was coming in short gasps of air. She looked at him and saw his dark eyes looking upon her with no regret or remorse.

“You wonder why?” he asked of her. “They all wonder why. It is a common question. The most common. I don’t really have the answer, but I will tell you who I am so that you may have some piece in your passing. My name really is David Radcliffe. I do not like to lie to the hapless victims. I am an assassin working for various people from time to time. A few days ago, I was hired by a syndicate member to off his newly divorced wife. He told me that she had made a fool out of him and stole all his money, blah, blah. I never really listen to all the reason. Anyways, it was just another job.”

She continue to look at him with horror. He appeared as a deformed creature with no heart to her now.

“I’m not trying to justify my actions. It’s a job, yes, and I choose with my free will to do it. You just happened to be my target this time. They told me to give you the age old speech about not messing with the syndicate and all of its affiliates, but I find that a bit old and clichéd. I will tell you this, though. My giving you a quick death is your ticket out of this hell hole that we live in day to day. I call it a hell hole because that is what it is. It is not a world. We are not people. We are all animals scrounging for a way to live. Crime runs rampant in the streets. Someone like you is too good for this place, Alice. I hope that you will one day appreciate my gift to you. I hope that you do find Paradise in death.”

Her eyes filled with tears, but he still kept his cold dark eyes fixed upon her. There was blood flowing out of her unto the clean white floor. She took one last breath, and her body collapsed. David began to walk towards the door, but stopped as he reached it. He turned back around and walked over to her body. Her eyes were still open, frozen in terror and disbelief. A familiar site to him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace that she had sold him a few minutes ago. Lifting up her head, he fastened the jewelry around her neck and laid her head gently back onto the cold floor.

“May you find Paradise in death,” he whispered to her before turning and walking out the door into a violent thunderstorm.