A job in the dark. (private)
Click.
Ellis lit her cigarette as she slowly ascended the stairs up to her destination. Inhaling deeply, her foot falls echoed off the walls of the courthouse. Her thin, black coat grazed the backs of her boots as she recalled the last time she was there. With a smile she exhaled a plume of grayish white smoke that trailed behind her.
She took the next flight of stairs a little quicker, picking up the pace to be done with them. She decided against the elevator, mostly due to her need to remain hidden, but she really had to watch her girlish hips. The darkness was plenty of cover as somewhere, a clock struck 2 am.
Tai was following behind her, agreeably complacent. They were going to her previous contact, ironically the gentleman who hired her for her last job here. Reaching the top landing, Ellis strolled down the hallway, smoking like a chimney and making her way to the office at the end of the hall. Approaching the double doors she read the name stenciled on the glass.
JAMES WEATHERBY
The irony of coming to a courthouse to obtain a contract didn't pass him by.
In fact, it seemed wholly appropriate.
'He should be here. He's always here.'
She turned the handle and was tickled to see it locked. Boogers, she thought. Gripping it tightly, she twisted the knob until the lock broke. Pulling it out, she tossed it on the ground next to her and kicked the door in softly with her foot.
'James...where are you...?' Ellis sang. 'Jimmy boy. Oi, boy-o!'
The room was lined with books, from the hardwood floor to the tippy top ceiling of the large office. Sitting behind a large oak desk was DA James Weatherby. He was rigid, sweating and apparently scared out of his friggin mind.
'Hi, baby, darling...pookie! Good to see ya, boy!'
James Weather was bald, save for a crown of silver. He very much looked like a regal old king sitting at his throne. The shoulders of his jacket were pulled taut as his hands were out stretched, fingernails digging deep into the oak of his desk. James was...a little shocked.
'You're suppose to be dead.'
'Yeah,' Ellis laughed. 'I've been getting that a lot.' She batted her eyelashes and smiled. ''Sweet heart...I need a favor.'
Tai's role here was obvious. He stepped into the office behind Ellis, tapping the door back shut with the ball of his foot and Leaning back against it in an attitude of assumed carelessness, crossing his muscular legs, he took in the surroundings and played watchdog quietly while Ellis and the DA had their plesant little chit-chat.
When the man sought to defy the obvious by claiming Ellis was supposedly dead, Tai smirked openly. Ellis, dead? Hardly.
Ellis put her hands on the front of the desk. 'So I was thinking...about getting back into the game.'
Weatherby blinked.
'To see what my little friend here,' she nodded her head over her shoulder, 'is capable of and...well, mostly because it's fun.' Ellis circled the desk, running a red nail alone the shiny lacquer.
'My dealings were with Tacharan. Tacharan has been taken over by Simon...you know that, correct? '
Ellis sighed. 'James I'd rather not rip your head off right this second, but if you insist...'
Weatherby paled and reached for a drawer. He pulled out a disc and handed it to Ellis. 'The recent explosion at the mansion has kept me busy...this is all I have at the moment.'
Ellis reached out and pinched Weatherby's cheek.
He kept his eyes on the balding man during the brief exchange, unable to conceal his contempt. The man was obviusly a weakling, sitting here sheltered in his office with his books and his plots. Tai caught the mention of Tacharan and Simon... he filed the names away for the moment, to ask when the opportunity arose again. Ellis had given him some information, but obviously it was incomplete.
It didn't matter. She would give him what he needed to do a job, and then she would be pleased at its completion. Pleasing Ellis was Tai's first priority. Everything else could wait.
'That hit...I've already told Simon about it.' The DA raised his hands with a shrug, then lowered them again onto the arm rests.
'Well give him something else.'
'There is nothing else right now.'
Ellis shrugged, now annoyed by this teeny tiny fact. 'Well have him kill your new assistant DA, I don't care.' She couldn't resist. Looking over her shoulder she shot a wink at Tai behind her.
Looking back at Weatherby she pushed off the desk and settled into his lap seductively. 'Now...I can trust you to keep this little secret about me being alive, correct? I'm definitely coming out, so to speak, but I'd prefer to do it with...well A LOT of fan faire. So, are we,' Ellis held up her index finger and drew a square, '...about square?'
Noticeably sweating, Weatherby nodded. 'Of course.'
Again Ellis pinched his cheek and smiled.
There was no point in killing Yuu, and Ellis must know it. In fact, if she intended to use Yuu as a bargaining chip on Tai's admittedly abnormal emotions, she would have to keep the woman alive. Tai didn't like walking such a fine line, but he'd managed in the past.
Tai scowled at Weatherby, focusing his anger on that individual. He wanted to kill him, but there was nothing to be gained by it. He eyed the disc Ellis had obtained. That was what he was looking forward to now.
He looked at Ellis expectantly, waiting for her next instructions.
'I'll be in touch with a new bank account to deposit my money in. Same amount?'
Weatherby's eyebrows furrowed. 'Same amount? You're solo now...'
Ellis gave him a blank look, what's a million dollars to a dirty, filthy rich DA with connections? 'Is that a problem, James?'
With a sigh Weatherby shook his head.
'I'll be seeing you, baby.'
Ellis looked at Tai, waiting for him to open the door for her. She was a woman of high breeding and even higher class and she was starting to do things for herself. That simply would not do. So she waited patiently for Tai to comply.
He shut the door behind him with hardly a click.
She looked to her right at an office door. Again putting her hand on the locked door knob, she twisted it till it broke, then opened the door wide and entered. A small office for obviously a small person, Ellis seated herself at the desk and turned on the computer. She pulled the disk out of her pocket, spying some lint, she removed her cigarette and blew it off the disk and popped it into the computer.
Ellis sat back and read the information on the screen, her cigarette dangling in her left hand. Her eyes flicking left and right, reading the information quickly. She did not recognize the name personally, but knew of the family. It was the wife of a higher up politician in the city. A clean death, made to look like suicide, preferably a gunshot wound to the head. Easy peasy.
She whistled for Tai, a sharp penetrating noise and nodded towards the screen. Ellis stood and settled herself on the edge of the desk, letting Tai sit. Quietly, she smoked.
At the sharp whistle Tai abandoned the doorframe and moved into the darkened office on silent feet. Through the light haze of cigarette smoke he scanned the screen quickly, not recognizing the names of the politician or his wife, but noting the wife's picture with some amusement.
"I met her at the Mayor's ball," he murmured softly. "If anything, she's got it coming to her."
He recalled with particular vivid clarity a woman in an obnoxiously sequined gown with an equally obnoxious laugh.
"This should be enjoyable."
Ellis wanted to see Tai in his element, not just picking pockets. She was excited, watching a Yakuza do his work...well do her work. She was also not proud. Why do the work when she could have someone do it for her?
It was the most he'd said all night, but he didn't think Ellis minded his silence. Being seen and not heard was fine in certain circumstances, and now he got to have his own fun as a result.
"How much time do we have to finish this?"
Perhaps for vampires assassination was an easier thing to contemplate... they had a few more skills to their advantage. For a lone human like Tai, planning was everything. Without planning and preparation, no assassination was anywhere near close to foolproof. Even with, it was still a risk.
Ellis wasn't much for planning or wasting time. Tacharan had been profitable due to its nonexistant time laspes. Their jobs were done within 24 hours and because of this, the clan had been receiving orders out of state and even out of country. Simon would not wait.
'If Simon knows about this woman, she's already dead, but I'm assuming he doesn't. I'll say this about my old clan...we're the fast food of killers. So, on that note...what are your plans now?'
With that in mind, he regarded Ellis somberly. "I know very little about Nachton thus far," he admitted. "Your plans, therefore, are mine. If you show me where she is, I will get to her."
He spoke with quiet confidence. He'd been doing this long enough that he could certainly improvise. That was, in fact, one of his strengths as a killer. Tai was able to change his plans quickly to reflect alterations in different situations. He was an asset in that regard and he would prove it to Ellis. For Ellis.
Ellis brought her cigarette up to her mouth and inhaled slowly. Letting the smoke curl out of her mouth, she whispered, 'Impress me.'
"Calling on my contacts at the moment might result in some 'friends' coming to town," he said, just as a precaution. Ellis wished him to do this, and he would. Tai had a feeling Ellis would relish the Yakuza's sending her her next few meals, however. He would just have to stay alert.
The internet was, indeed, a wonderful thing. Within a few clicks of a button Tai had a good deal of information from multiple sources. He looked at it all, downloading nothing, doing his best to leave no discernible trail for anyone to follow. He was used to memorizing a great deal of information quickly.
"A few hours is all we have? Well. It doesn't get much simpler in that case."
The politician in question was a supporter of looser firearm permit laws throughout the city, and an enthusiast himself. There should be weapons at their home with which to commit the deed. And, provided they could catch the woman alone, it shouldn't be much trouble. Particularly if Ellis was going to be along. Best to verify that.
"Will your Highness be partaking in the festivities?" Tai asked silkily. "It should be... fun."
Either way, they had to move. Tai shut down the computer and glided out of the chair and back toward the door. Ellis had given him her orders, and he was ready to carry them out now. He had all the information he was likely to get. So, off to the woman's residence. But a quick stop for a few supplies first.
((ooc Ellis out))
With Ellis along, this would be the easiest hit ever. He hoped it didn't detract from the fun.
((ooc: Tai out too!))