A Means to an End (attn: Ellis)

The enormous house had been far too easy to obtain access to, and it was fortuitous that very few people were in residence at the moment. The lateness of the hour meant that most of the staff were gone, and the man of the house seemed to be missing as well.

Like a pair of mischievous cats, up to entirely no good, Tai and Ellis had wound their way over the porch, around corners, through doorways, and down hallways. Tai was amazed at Ellis' ability to go completely unnoticed. It was unnatural... literally. He himself was using every skill at his fingertips to stay as stealthy as she seemed to be able to do without trying.

There had been an alarm system as well, but that was easily circumvented with the help of a few of Tai's toys. The dog, too, had briefly thought about barking before he'd been silenced. He now graced the bushes at he front of the house. No sense in being subtle; they were going to be in and out before anyone would notice anything was amiss.

The floorplan of the house was depressing in its lack of originality; they'd managed to find the architect's website. In his pride, the designer had posted the layout of this house, the most prestigious task he'd ever been paid for. Even if Tai hadn't found it though, his own knowledge of such things hadn't steered him wrong. Each room had been placed exactly where he would have thought.

In the study they found what they were looking for. There was a display case there with rifles and shotguns. Many of them were gifts, donations, bribes, whatever you wanted to call them. Tai picked the lock open and examined them before shaking his head and closing it again. He had no reassurance that the man's wife even had access to the case. Turning once more, he laid his eyes on the head of a deer over the mantlepiece. Below it, resting on the wall, was a highly polished, ostentatiously engraved shotgun.

Tai flashed a grin at Ellis and nodded to the wall, stalking over to it and retrieving the weapon. It was loaded; an obvious oversight, when the other weapons had thus far been locked up and properly attended to. One shot would do; their contract as for a single gunshot.

No one had specified the type of gun.

Ellis Duban 18 years ago
Good taste was wasted on the lower class. This was Ellis' assessment as they entered the quiet house of 5844 Fulmar drive. Reaching for her cigarettes, she spied a rather obnoxious 'No Smoking' sign hanging in the kitchen. Lighting her cig on one of the stove burners, she smiled as they continued into the home.

Tai had managed to quickly and quietly gain access, which impressed her, so she did nothing but smoke and blend her way through the home as he considered his options. They entered the study and much to his delight, he found a shotgun on one of the walls. Good enough, she thought.

Listening to the movement in the house, Ellis stepped back out into the main hallway and looked around. Giving Tai a nod over her shoulder, she proceeded back into the foyer and up the stairs. She'd leave the target to Tai, but she'd take a look around to see what she can see. Inhaling deeply on her cigarette, Ellis slowly took the steps up to the bedroom floors. There appeared to be at least 7 rooms in the home. Trying each door, she peeked in into the dark rooms but each bed was empty.

The hallway was decorated with fake plants and rather gaudy looking furniture. She spied what appeared to be a nest of fake faberge eggs. With a snort she continued on. The final door at the end of the hall and without hope, she opened the door.

Her eyes lit up with a rather evil light as she spied what was laying in a rather ruffled filled four poster bed. Ellis took a final drag of her cigarette and put it out in a planter next to the door. With a sleekness known for things evil in the dark, she entered the room of little Lily, the target's 8 year old daughter, and quietly closed the door behind her.
Ichiro Taiji 18 years ago
Tai took immense pleasure in the simplicity of this contract so far. The polished halls of the house were nearly impossible to leave a mark on, for someone who was concentrating on moving undetected. He watched Ellis make her way up the stairs and followed, availing himself of the years of training that had made him light and silent on his feet. It was still a wonder to him, that Ellis could do so effortlessly what he had struggled, still struggled, to perfect.

The third floor was Tai's goal. Ellis had apparently found something captivating on the second. He made his way up to what he knew was a short hallway leading into a spacious master bedroom. Shotgun in his gloved hand, he coolly slid along the walls, pausing outside the doorway to listen.

The television was on, but otherwise there was no sound in the room. Asleep, or just engrossed. Tai would have to move quickly once he did move.
Ellis Duban 18 years ago
Ellis leaned against the door of what was obviously a little girl's room. The moonlight from the window illuminated the soft pink poster bed and all its little ruffles. Tilting her head, she watched the little girl breath slowly. In. Out. Each breath with a soft little sigh. Everything in the room was soft and little, even little Lily. At least, that's what Ellis figured her name was, seeing how there was a little portrait of a cartoon girl on the wall with the name Lily written in cursive.

Her hands were still behind her, resting on the door knob that was digging into her back. She almost giggled at the thought of where she was and what she was about to do. Ellis pushed off the door and walked towards the bed. She silently crossed the room till she was standing next to the bed.

If anyone had looked in right then, they'd see a woman's figure hovering over what could be her own child. Tucking the younging in, as it were. The little Lily was laying on her left side, away from Ellis when suddenly she turned and looked at her with bright blue eyes.

Ellis stiffened but then eased into a warm smile.
'Hello,' she said.

The little girl blinked and then sat up in her bed. She pulled the covers up to her chest and said in a very small, very little voice.
'Who are you?'

Ellis sat slowly down onto the bed next to Lily, putting a comforting hand on Lily's leg.
'My name is Ellis. You must be Lily.'

Lily looked around the room again, searching but then returned her gaze to Ellis. She nodded and then quietly added in a whispered voice.
'Are you...the boogey man?'

Leaning close to Lily and brushing a blonde lock out of her face, Ellis replied in a hushed whisper.


'No dear, I'm much much worse.'
Ichiro Taiji 18 years ago
Tai peered around the corner into the bedroom. Inside, across the wide space, Andrea Worthing lay in a silk bath robe on her bed. Otherwise known as 'the target,' the woman in question was young, only 32, and not so happily married for ten of those years.

Unhappiness showed in the lines of her face, old before its time, gaunt and pale without the layers of makeup that normally hid the signs of too much plastic surgery and not enough sunlight. Andrea hadn't moved. Not so much as a muscle.

There was an empty bottle of Jack Daniels on her nightstand and a glass next to that. Tai frowned. Drunkenness was easy to measure in an autopsy. If he was to make this look like a suicide her blood alcohol level had to be low enough that she wouldn't have been passed out.

Tai quietly entered the room, thankful at least that without Ellis around he was once again the stealithiest person about. Andrea moved but didn't wake. Tai finally crouched at her bedside, looking at her face and wondering for just a moment if he wasn't about to do her a kindness. He set the shotgun gently aside and reached into the pocket of his coat for the one small item he'd brought with him from the store.

It was small enough to fit in a pocket, heavy enough to do the trick, and common enough that no one would hae taken any notice of the item or the man who'd bought it. It was portable, it was inconspicuous, it was...

Tai looked at it again.

It was something with asparagus.

Tossing the can up and catching it, he hefted it in his right hand and gently reached out with his left to brush his fingertips over Andrea's limp hand which dangled over the bedside. If the woman could even wake up at this point, he was ready. Hopefully Ellis was taking care of her own business by now.
Ellis Duban 18 years ago
Lily was contemplating her plight. Her 8 year old brain seemed to think that this pretty woman sitting on her bed wasn't posing a big a threat as the Boogeyman. In fact, the pretty woman seemed to be very nice, despite waking her up in the middle of the night.

Lily asked out loud, 'Are you going to hurt me?'

Ellis gave the little girl a sad face, one of her best. 'Of course not, sweetie. However, something very bad is about to happen and it might upset you. I'm here to...' Ellis struggled a moment with her explanation, 'Make sure you're ok.'

Her lazy smile revealed the tips of her fangs, a sight that was not lost on little Lily. Her eyes popped open wide with fright.

'Oh these?' Ellis opened her mouth a little more and tapped a fang with her manicured nail. 'Go ahead, give them a tug. They're not so bad. In fact...no one ever feels a thing with these.'

That was a bold faced lie, Ellis thought to herself.

Little Lily reached out and gently tugged on Ellis' fang. In the back of her head, something tingled in Ellis. Her blood lust had been triggered. She would have to hurry now, before the lust became a little too hard to manage and little sweet Lily became little dead Lily.

'There now, not so scary are they?'

Lily shook her head with a smile.

'Well then Lily, I'm going to have to go. I've enjoyed sitting with you. How's about a hug before I leave?' Ellis tipped her head, smirking at the little girl who reached out and put her arms around Ellis' neck.

Ellis was more than happy to embrace the child.

Lily smelled like lavender. No doubt from a caring nanny since it wasn't likely the mother cared much about their daughter. Her soft hair brushed up against Ellis face, just as she opened her mouth and speared the little girl's neck with her fangs.

Ellis fed deeply on the little girl. Lily stiffened and made a small gurgling noise which Ellis barely heard over the gunshot that rang out in the silent house. It reminded Ellis to stop since she was about to drain the little girl. Disengaging she laid the little girl back onto her pillow. She was a little gray but still alive. She brushed the blonde hair away from her forehead and gently ran her fingers over Lily's eyes to close them. Ellis wagered she'd be fine in about a day or two.

Tai appeared to be finished with his task. Standing Ellis wiped the trickle of blood off her chin and gave Lily a final look. The puncture marks from her fangs were just closing up on her neck.

'Fabulous.' Ellis said. Children always tasted like sugar.
Ichiro Taiji 18 years ago
Tai smiled at his handiwork. It wasn't often he got to be such an artist.

The obedient wife, Andrea had woken groggily as he'd touched her hand. Perfect. Before she'd had a chance to realize the man at her bedside was not her husband, something with asparagus had knocked her clean back out again.

Wiping the can clean on her artificially soft hair, Tai had tucked it back in his pocket for disposal later. Arranging her the proper way was easy. It was a little disturbing, how many people decided to end their own lives this way. It was a shame Andrea would leave no note.

He looked back at the macabre scene. A shotgun in the mouth was not a tidy way to go by any means. But the gun was ready-loaded and the fact that the back of her head was mising had neatly erased the evidence that she'd been knocked out prior.

Her being drunk was a bonus. With luck, the autopsy would show she was drunk, but not drunk enough to be passed out senseless. There were perks to every job, Tai mused.

Stepping lightly once more, Tai left the former Mrs. Worthing to her rest. He shook his head as he exited the room, not from any remorse or guilt, but to clear it of the images that always clouded his thoughts when the deed was done. Murder was a dirty business, but someone had to do it, and Tai had the skills for it.

With a backward glance, his well-trained eyes scanning the room for anything amiss, right down to the area rug next to the bed and the satin-shiny wood floors, Tai ascertained that it would be difficult at best to figure out that this was a murder and not a suicide. If the police were any good, they'd figure it out eventually, but there was nothing here that should be traceable to either himself or Ellis.

Tai nodded once and headed quietly back down the stairs in search of his mistress.
Ellis Duban 17 years ago
Ellis met Tai on the second floor landing and her eye fell on the asparagus can.

'Wow, you are a strange kind of twisted. Very sexy.' She nodded laughing as she made her way back down to the ground floor.

'So, we off then? Believable mess left behind, I hope?' Ellis lit yet another endless supply of cigarettes and inhaled. Tai seemed relaxed and quiet, although he always seemed relaxed. She wagered it was a yakuza trait, but his reaction to being pinned had intrigued her quite a bit. Some mental baggage there that's just waiting to be held hostage. Granted half the fun of twisting someone was finding that sweet spot. Fifteen hundred years can bore a person without a hobby, you know.

However, Tai was as much like Simon as he was different. The wounded ones were like magnets. So easily malleable, so many to choose from. This one had a particular edge that Simon never had. It was one thing doing evil things as a necessity, it was another seemingly enjoying it. Although Ellis wagered that Tai was the more emotionally detached psychopath. He was text book childhood nightmares and abuse. Simon? He was just stupid. In any case...

'Shall we?'
Ichiro Taiji 17 years ago
Tai raised his eyebrows at Ellis and glanced down at his pocket. His blunt weapon was showing. How embarrassing. With a quiet, sly smile of agreement he extended one finger and tucked the can more firmly into his pocket.

Believable mess, indeed. "If the bedroom wall is any indicator, then her brain is now doing a suitable impression of a Rorschach test. I wonder how it will be interpreted?"

Ellis looked... satisfied. Tai wasn't about to ask what or who she'd busied herself with. He nodded at her agreeably. "I've had my fun," he confirmed.
Simon Huntington 17 years ago
Simon looked down at his PDA, calling up the information he had received on one 'Andrea Worthing'. Something was niggling at the back of his neck. It was an almost...familiar feeling. As if there was something he had forgotten about, something important. He looked up from his PDA and inhaled deeply searching.

Nothing...yet something.

Blinking, he set off in the shadows towards the back of the house. He planned to be in and out. A slip in the shower or overdose, he hadn't decided yet. Approaching the rear entry, he pulled out a lock pick and easily unlocked the door. Simon's hand came down on the door knob but stopped just a hair above it when suddenly the door sighed and it created a vacuum, as if an opposite door was being closed. Maybe the front door. He barely picked it up but felt it more than anything. Someone was coming in...or leaving?

Simon waited a moment and opened up his perception, not as honed as say Alfarinn's but he was getting the hang out of interpreting certain triggers. He reached deep and searched.

Nothing was there...but something had been. Something familiar.
Ellis Duban 17 years ago
Time to go.

Her mind reminded her that her dillydalling around a murder scene was not the smartest idea. Wrapping an arm around Tai, Ellis smiled and pulled him towards the front door. Waiting patiently for Tai to open the door, she whispered into his ear.

'Tomorrow this will be in the headlines and we'll be a million dollars richer.' Well, Ellis would be richer, but that was besides the point. She needed to rebuild her warchest in order to properly prepare for her current and future enemies. Ellis was going to be quite the busy bee.

((OOC Ellis out, waiting for Tai to open the door so they can exit! =D ))
Ichiro Taiji 17 years ago
Ellis' ill-concealed glee didn't effect Tai much, although he was satisfied that she was pleased. A million dollars, ten dollars, he didn't care. Everything he had was hers, anyway. He nodded once, reached out with his gloved hand, and opened the front door. As they exited he turned the lock and closed it gently behind them.

The vampire had plans. That much he knew. He had no doubt that he would eventually be privy to every intimate detail of said plan, and quite possibly playing an integral role in its success. Whatever it was, he was hers to command like a puppet on a string. It didn't cross his mind that that idea would normally repulse him. His mind wasn't truly his own anymore. For now, his prevalent emotion mirrored Ellis'. So long as she was happy, so would he be.

((ooc: Tai and Ellis out))
Simon Huntington 17 years ago
Simon's gloved hand finally rested on the door knob. Pushing open the door he quietly entered the home but waited a moment to close the door. He listened to the loud silence of the house. Still nothing. Closing it gently, he quickly moved in the darkness to the front of the home, to the bottom of the stairs. He took a step and then something in him jarred him to the point of goosebumps up the back of his neck.

Was the the smell of cigarette smoke? A thin sheet of sweat covered his body immediately. Simon looked around with startled eyes, trying to find something but praying he wouldn't. Looking up the stairs, Simon took them two at a time. Quietly he checked each room till he found little Lilly's. He walked up and looked at the little girl's.

Pale, but sleeping. He gently pushed some of her blonde hair aside, revealing the right side of her neck. Nothing. He checked the other...nothing. Slipping out quickly he entered the third floor and the smell was unmistakable.

Blood. Lots of it.

Opening Andrea Worthing's bedroom door he found, what he assumed to be, the remains of his target. There was no need to enter. Closing the door again Simon stood quietly, thinking. He would pay the District Attorney a visit. Apparently he had double booked...or maybe Mrs. Worthing did him a favor, but Simon doubted it.

And with that thought, Simon left house and trotted the several blocks over to his jag. Sitting comfortably in the front seat, he called Carol.

'Hi hi, pookie!' She exclaimed.

'Andrea Worthing is already dead.'

Silence. 'What, did the DA...double book that kill or something?'

Simon knew that Carol knew that the DA never double booked. Tacharan got his kills. Always.

'You calling or me?' Carol asked.

'I will pay him a visit.' He checked his watch, it was nearing sunrise. 'Tomorrow night. I'm coming in.'

Simon hung up his phone and again sat for a moment. The distinct smell of cigarettes...was it his imagination? This was the first job since the warehouse explosion. He could've just been remembering old times. For the moment, he convinced himself of that and drove back to the Domicile.

((OOC Simon out))