Michelle’s orders were very vague. Her master usually did not give vague orders and always let her in on most of his plans. She was one person he trusted; or so she believed. This time however, her orders were to simply go to Oak town and meet with a man called Remy Martello. No other details. While she did wonder why she was getting such little information, she did not dare ask it. After all, she was there to do his bidding; not to ask questions.

The travel to Oak town was eventless. She arrived at the town fairly earlier than necessary. She roamed the streets, getting familiar with the town’s layout. A good assassin spends more time preparing and the least amount of time killing. One of the first lessons from Benjamin that she always reminded herself before a mission. After figuring the several escape routes possible from the target building, it was finally time to meet with Remy. She slid into the shadows of the inner alleys and scanned the streets for a light-brown-haired, well-dressed man.

It wasn’t long before Michelle spotted the man. If nothing, the Martellos are at least punctual. Michelle let the man walk past the alley she was hiding in and then followed him. She tapped the man from behind and let her intentions clear. “Michelle. Master Benjamin sent me,” she muttered, in her usual matter-of-fact tone. Remy, who initially froze rigid when he felt a hand touch him from behind, relaxed visibly when he heard the name ‘Benjamin’. “Phoo!” he sighed, “You scared me there.” Michelle did not grace that with a response. She felt if that little tap on his back made him jumpy, he was in the wrong business. Nevertheless, she wasn’t here to comment on his aptitude for the profession; she was more interested in the task he had for her. “So… What’s the job?” she asked, getting straight to the point. “Ah, yes. We ran into a fight in this building and there were several casualties. Unfortunately, some from our side too. Before the pesky Knights come investigating, we must clear out the bodies. That’s where you come in,” he said, as the two walked into the building.

“In broad daylight?” Michelle asked, not out of concern, but out of incredulity. “We don’t have much time. Besides, the workers are on a strike because of a payment issue. So, we should be fine,” Remy replied, while pulling out a large bag and an axe out of his backpack. The purple-haired woman knew what was going to happen there and was not fazed at all. “Bring the bodies to me here. I’ll take care of them. And make sure to keep the blood trail to a minimum. Don’t want to make the Rune Knights’ jobs easier than it already is,” Remy said. For a man who was scared by a tap on his back, he looked rather calm for what he was about to do.

Michelle couldn’t understand any of this. I was asked to travel this far, for this?! she asked herself.

513/1000

The twenty-four-year-old took a couple of breaths before nodding and leave the room Remy had settled himself in. It was time to scout the scene and see how she can efficiently carry all the bodies without making the trail obvious. Hiding the dead bodies without leaving evidence was part of the basic training as an assassin. This was no different from that. However, the fact that these goons have pummelled each other into a pulp instead of getting clean hits at the vital organs did not make things easier for Michelle. Nevertheless, this was not much challenge for the woman. In total, there were ten bodies. This shouldn’t take long. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can do something that is worthwhile for master.

Michelle began with the furthest one from Remy’s room. Despite her job being just to carry the bodies, she couldn’t help but start analysing the scenario. The first one she carried was a very light, petite woman with arrows sticking out of her chest. Light… killed in the backlines. Must have been a long-range sorcerer. The opposition was smart enough to dedicate their archers to this one. And so her analysis went for every body she carried, careful to keep their wounds facing up so that no more blood spilled. Every time she came back with a body to Remy, she would watch him chop the previous ones with his axe without even cringing the lightest. This one is a psychopath Michelle thought to herself, chuckling to herself.

Half way there, when Michelle carried the sixth one in, Remy looked at the body with some sadness in him. “Not him. Leave him there in the corner. When we are done with these bastards, I’ll need you to carry him and the other two from our gang to the back so that we can give them a proper burial,” Remy said, hacking at the body he was working on a little harder than necessary. Michelle couldn’t understand what difference it made to dead people, but she didn’t bother having a conversation about it. With a nonchalant shrug, she left the body in the corner he pointed to and left to pick up the next one.

After almost two hours, it was finally done. Seven of them chopped up and three piled up in a corner. Remy asked Michelle to carry the three to the back of the building and meet him there. She obviously couldn’t carry all three at the same time, and so she carried two in one round and another in the second. In the end, when all three bodies were dropped at the said location, Remy turned to her and handed a bag of Jewels. “Thank you for your assistance. Tell Master Benjamin that the Martellos will remember,” Remy said. “You can leave now. My boys will be here to pick me up and I don’t want them to see you.” Michelle was about to say the same thing. She did not want to leave too many witnesses who can identify her from a crime scene. Her power was in her discretion. “Was thinking the same thing,” was all she said before disappearing through one of the escape routes she had scouted before.

1056/1000
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