CINDERELLA WITH A VENGEANCE

To D,

I have a new dark-blue coat.

I have heard that the view in the alley between 12 and 14 Johnston St is beautiful at 11:00pm on the night of the full moon of March.

My boss has just given me quite a large raise.

-C

Dellin froze when he felt the cold metal against his temple.

“Quite a large raise,” a soft voice whispered in his ear.

Quickly thinking Dellin realized what he was meant to reply, “My boss had just,” he sighed when her felt the gun move away from his head.

“Don’t make any sudden moves, my gun is still aiming at you and I will use it if I have to,” the voice, which he now realized was feminine, said.

“Of course,” Dellin said, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman’s coat. She chuckled, realizing what he was trying to do and showed him the dark-blue material.

“How much?” he asked once he was facing her.

“Ah,” her voice held amusement though her hood hid her smile, “not one to beat around the bush, hmm?” seeing his serious expression she continued, “we shall discuss it in a more private location. Walk ahead of me.” She directed him through numerous streets until they came to a small door, almost completely hidden by ivy, in an alley similar to the one in which they had begun. The woman took out a key from her coat pocket and unlocked the door, gesturing for Dellin to enter, then entered herself and closed the door behind her. The room was small, with only a small kitchen in one corner and a table and a couple of armchairs in another.

“Please, sit down,” she told him as she sank into a black armchair, visibly relaxing.

Dellin sat stiffly in the other armchair and waited for her to begin speaking.

Leaning forward, the woman looked directly in his eye and stated simply, “I want you to kill my stepmother.”

Dellin blinked, “what?” he had never been one for manners. He was an assassin after all, and a particularly clever one at that. Though this woman was making him feel very stupid, she had snuck-up on him in the alley, had held him at gunpoint and had threatened him! He was the one that was supposed to be the professional killer!

“I want you to kill my step-mother,” the woman said, shaking him from his reverie, “she is an evil woman who has been nothing but cruel to me since the death of my father. I want her dead.” She finished icily, her eyes burning with something that Dellin knew very well, the need to kill.

“Anything in particular you want me to use?” he asked.

She smiled sadistically and walked over to what Dellin assumed was a freezer. She confirmed his thoughts when she brought out a frozen leg of lamb.

“This, use this.”

As he walked up the garden path, Dellin saw the two fresh graves where Cin, as he had been instructed to call her, had told him lay the corpses of her step-sisters. Both of whom she had had separate assassins murder. Making his way to the door he pulled his gloves up higher and readjusted his grip on the lamb leg. Slowly he turned the doorknob, careful not to make a sound, and was surprised to find it unlocked. Silently he opened the door and stepped over the threshold. He checked his watch, half-past six, Cin had told him that her step-mother normally began dinner at a quarter-past, hopefully she would still be eating and he would be able to catch her unaware. As he thought he walked quietly down the hallway, treading softly of the cream-colored carpet

The door which Cin had told him led to the dining room stood open and he could hear the sound of cutlery clanging against a plate. Smiling to himself, he took his gun out of his pocket and hid the lamb leg in the folds of his coat.

Dellin ran into the room and pointed the gun at the startled woman sitting at the table.

“Don’t move!” he ordered. He was glad to see that she was alone; it made his job that much easier.

He made his way over to her slowly. “Are you the step-mother of Cin?” he demanded.

“Cin? I assume you mean that ungrateful brat Cinderella,” she spat the name.

Dellin merely nodded. He then revealed the lamb leg and pocketed the gun. He swung the heavy piece of lamb up, and then brought it down hard on her head. He felt it crack her skull and watched as she crumpled in her seat.

He looked through her pockets until he found a small key which he pocketed, then he checked to make sure that she was dead and walked into the adjoining kitchen. There he quickly discovered the freezer and placed the leg of lamb in it. Satisfied that his work was done he took the key to the safe in the room across the hall and unlocked it. There he found a brown paper bag, exactly where Cin had described it would be.