"Getting away with murder."

Chapter 1. Bang.

Clank of the glasses, the noise of a crowded club, pumping music and people glued to each other on a dancefloor. Typical atmosphere of The Brick, a members-only exclusive place. If such a club is located in the suburbs, it means either that it's a minor club of less importance or just the opposite.

"Here's your bill" said a waitress to a tall man in black. He pulled a thick roll of green bills and left it on a counter. Whole roll.

Yes, it was indeed that second option.
And in that special place worked an ordinary girl called Samantha. She was really trying her best not to - SNAP!

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" she cursed and bent over to pick up the crashed glass from the floor. It wasn't her day, definetely, and it was her first day in new work. It's important to have a good start, isn't it?
It was in fact quite surprising, because Sam used to have her life under complete control. She graduated in Britain and went to college. Then IT happened and her dreams burst like a bubble. Now she was trying to start everything again in Chicago, USA. Trying is a good word.

"Damn it" she sighed and went towards the staff room. She was about to open the door when she hesitated. Whispers. To your information, Sam was smart person, maybe a bit dispirited because of her past, but nonetheless tough girl. Tough girls know that if you hear whispers in a such a suspicious club like The Brick, it is better not to interrupt unless you want to have your life interrupted... fatally.

"Where's he sitting?" asked one voice. Ew, she tought, I wouldn't even look at a man with a voice like that. So hoarse, so repulsive.

"Table eight" another voice answered. That was quite nice sounding man. Reasonably young, surely younger than the first shady character.

"The gun ready?" She heared and raised an eyebrow. Wait a minute, what GUN? She put her ear closer to the door.

"Yeah. We still have ten minutes till we get him. You know the rules."

"I'm not going to have anybody tell me what to do." started the husky voice. Someone got irritated. "I'm going to finish him off according to the plan, so spare me this bureaucracy."

Sam didn't think twice. She rushed to her counter and grabbed a piece of paper, scratched something on it and hurries to the table eight. There was sitting dark haired man with matching eyes, smoking a cigarette. He looked up to her and her words stopped in her throat.

"Your... bill..." she stuttered to the surprised man and left the note. Then darted away. She didn't knew if she was alarmed because of those men and the wole situation or because of these black eyes staring at her for a couple of seconds. Scary? Frightening.
Before she reached the counter, the stranger was gone.

No, she wasn't going to go through this again. She wanted quietness and peace of the mind. Sam went straight to a bathroom for staff and looked in a mirror. These blue eyes never gonna be the same, but still Sam's life had a chance to take a different course. She arranged her curly blonde hair and took a deep breath. It wasn't an important thing, she thought. Just a moment, nobody would notice. Maybe she saved somebody from a sudden death, a thing she didn't do at THAT time...

Sam didn't find anyone in the staff room, therefore she guessed that the two vioces had gone. Good. Now let's get back to the work, Sam, she told herself. Then she heard a lound BANG!
And the lights went off.

While darkness surprised the whole club he was elbowing his way through the crowd on a street. What would you think, if someone handed you a piece of paper with word "RUN!" written on it? Probably you would think he or she is a loony or Ashton Kutcher is hiding somewhere nearby.
But he knew better. The girl was terryfied and he could have guessed why. Damn it, those cops. He didn't like to feel like a prey, he wasn't used to being hunted. He WAS the hunter himself. Pulling his hood low over his eyes he turned left and went into dark narrow alley. There were no lights, only damp and cold brick wall on his both sides. And silence creeping in the shadows like a snake. Silence can have two faces - angelic one and the omnious one. He was always accompanied by the latter.

Panic seized the crowd in the club, but it took only 5 seconds to bring the lights back. Everything looked normal, just an ordinary failure in the power supply. Except that in the Brick this sort of thing didn't happen without a reason. Sam didn't knew what people came to the club, but she was sure, that they weren't the beloved sons of law and order. They seemed to be law unto themselves. Immediately a figure appeared on a gallery above the dancefloor with a microphone.

"Everybody please cool down, that was nothing serious, we are starting again with the party in five minutes" he spoke and the crowd took the seats by the tables. Meet Jim, the club manager. Age 34, divorced. Rich. And in this moment - really upset. He went down the stairs and head towards the counter.

"Did you see anything alarming this evening?" he hissed to Sam. It must have been something going on as he lit a cigarrete directly under the "no smoking" sign.

"No." Sam stated. What else could she said? If the whole incident was reported to the police, she would be in trouble. Again. On the other side she wanted to know, what's going on. She had to know what should she prepare for. Curiosity killed the cat? Maybe. But it was unawareness what would kill HER.

"Something's wrong, boss?" Jim hesitated. So, it apparently was.

"Keep your eyes open, just in case." he said and went back on the gallery.

She did keep her eyes open. She couldn't close them even long afterwards back at her apartment.