[RPG] Stargazer

She winced as the bullet grazed her left shoulder causing her entire arm to fill with pain.
“You damn...” she started bitterly, biting her lip to keep herself from cursing, “Your aim sucks because I’m not a damn bit lucky.” She pulled herself up with her right arm, while the other hung there. Pulling up the bottom of her right pant leg, she revealed a gun and poised it perfectly in the middle of his eyes, “You missed my entire point you stupid jerk! You only paid attention to one part, the part that meant nothing- ‘there are those special stars. Take Polaris for instance. You can pick it out of all the other stars because…it’s special- different.’ That meant something but you seized to mention it, unless you missed my point entirely. I’m not Polaris, Ed. No one gives a damn about me. If you had killed me right then and there no one would notice. I’m one of those “normal” stars that no one notices…the ones that no one notices at all. Except my employers that is. You would have been screwed my friend. They know where I am. They know when I die. There is a special signal that says that an assassin is either dead or has given up. Guess what would happen then?” She was furious but not one bit at herself. Ed had heard her message but had missed its real meaning.

Coldness enveloped Edward Gallium. A coldness he had not felt since his most passionate flame turned out to be a liar and unfaithful. His aim didnt suck. He didn't know if the roulette landed on the unlucky piece of metal incased within. Now his thoughts sickened him. An killer for hire who fell for him. Regret had pulled his wrist a bit off, since he too fell for her.

It didn't matter anymore what she said. Stars? Importance? He gathered himself to speak.

"So what? You want to run away with me and live happily ever after? Dissapear for good with each other, getting away from the pain and misery of your life?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Either way Jane, doesnt matter if you protect me. I'm not safe. Not with this coffin of a career I have. One day I'm not gonna see this coming. Someone's gonna have more focus than you and slit my throat while I turn around."

He reloaded his gun as he walked over to her. He grabbed her good hand and put the gun in it. Reaching back into his hidden pocket, he pulled out a clean rag. and tied it around her wound.

"Take it. Strike me down now. I'm a dead man anyway."

He stepped back as he did before and spread his arms out.

"Do me in, sweetheart."

He glanced around, taking a last look at his surroundings. He spotted Scarlett walking out, and just looked at her for a few seconds before turning away.

The phone stopped ringing.

She laughed at his first comment, “I already live happily ever after. This is what I was born to do. I love it.” She paused, thinking over his every word, “So you want to die? Let me just inform you of one thing- I don’t let my jobs die quickly, painlessly. You did something to get in this predicament so you might as well pay for it. You care to deal with the pain you’re going to suffer?” she held the gun tighter in her hands and then dropped it, causing it to dangle on her index finger, “I’m not ready to give you that, though. You think that if I save your butt tonight someone will come and kill you tomorrow? Probably, but probably is only probably. It is about as good as maybe.”

Stepping back, she chuckled a little.
“I’d rather kill myself first…so then I’d die and then you’d die soon enough. They’re already coming. I didn’t answer the phone.” She smirked and her voice now took on a sardonic tone, “And think about it. We’d both get what we want: I don’t want to kill you and you want to die. Amazing how it works, huh? Then we’ll both be dead.”

Tears welled in her eyes yet she still continued to smile.
“My fairytale is history now…because of you. I can’t believe I actually fell in love with you and you…you don’t even give a damn about me.”

She put the gun right up to her head, preparing herself for her final minute of life. She’d miss her job- the thrill of it- but now she didn’t have one. She messed up and she had to pay.

She had to pay…

“I’m making this too easy.” She protested as she moved the gun from her head to her stomach, “This way I’ll still be alive for fifteen minutes and I can suffer…because I deserve it. You might want to leave though.”

"If you really want to suffer, I could help you with that."

The voice came from across the street. It came from a man in a black coat, leaning against a parked car. The car had been there all along, but the man had not, and the really unnerving thing to Jane, and Galium, was that neither of them, though they made their living by paying attention to things, could say where he had come from. Had he gotten out of the car? There had been no sound from the door. He could scarcely have come down the street without being seen. Perhaps he had come from the alley -- that was the most logical explanation. But the creepy part was that as he stood there, great wisps of steam were rolling off a nearby storm grate, floating all about him. The steam was from a nearby laundromat. When the hot water met the cold air, it sent up a huge fog of it, tinged with the smell of detergent, with its artificial sanitation. But is almost seemed as if the rolling fog had brought him with it. Of course it COULDN'T have, but -- it seemed that way.

"I could help you in ways that you could not and would not care to imagine. But I've got a better idea. You could call me a cynic, but I've got nothing against the occasional happy ending. Suppose I were to offer you a different . . . job," and here he glanced at Galium. "Spare me", he went on, putting his palm up towards Jane before she could speak. "I know about your friends. I can imagine the speeches you would make to me, how they are great, and powerful, how they will kill you, and Mr. Galium here. You probably even imagine they'll kill me. But that is not likely. You see, your friends work for me. They just don't know it. Everyone in this town works for me, whether they know it, or like it, or not. So how about it then, how about a different assignment?"

X put down his drink and stood up. He had been in a kind of trance for a while now. "What is going on here? I sense danger to these nice people."

Arial noticed Crimson just lower his head and not answer. She just rolled her eyes and started to walk back towrads the bar. " Look, I'll see you when my shift ends, ok?" She said going back behind the bar. She saw a wad of moeny and a note in the place where Scarlette sat. She read the note and smiled softly." Come back soon, old friend....." She said soflty placing the note in her back pocket and the money in the jar.

ArialCan sense the tention rising in the bar. Everybody seems to be uneasy. Ed. Jane. Crimson. Even X seemed somewhat unstable.Arial stopped serving drinks even as people shouted at her.She just watched uneasily. She walked over to X. " Hey, What's going on? What's going to happen. Too many people are on the edge in here. Gives off a bad vibe to me."

The man's offer was tempting but she was pretty skeptical.
"What is it? Is it anything like this, like being an assassin because I don't know if I could do anything else." her voice was cold, like it usually was in situations where her job was involved.

Deja vu. This offer reminded him of a story one of his old friends had told him before he moved away from his old home to work here.

"So your the big boss? The Puppet master? Your the guy holding all the cards?"
Make a choice now Ed. You can accept or refuse. But if you act now, you'll get the new life AND the toaster!
"Right then, sir. Whats your next job offering?"

"Ah, yes, there's nothing like doing what you love, and loving what you do, is there, Miss James?", he said, smiling a smile as chilly as her voice. "Far be it from me to suggest a career change. I'm aware of your, shall we say, portfolio. And Mr. Galium's connections may prove quite helpful. The two of you make quite the pair -- a team, one could almost say. Rather sweet, in some sick sort of way. The job, then. I need you to -- take care of -- a certain guest of mine, who recently came to this city. He is a bit hard to keep tabs on. He may have registered as a mister Ivy, Ivers, Iverson -- something like that -- and on at least on occasion he's checked in as a Mr. Divey. Not much to go on, I realize, but then, I wouldn't want to insult you with some petty assignment more fit for a courier. I do hope you'll take it as a compliment--" he said, and in the distance they both could hear the sound of an engine driving at great speed. "I am most concerned about my friend, how he is doing in this city, all by himself."

The car with the loud engine roared around the corner, and began to blaze down the street, heading right for the man in the black coat, who stood there, not moving.

"I missed him at the airport, and I do hope you will be able to catch up with him soon. I don't think he does so very well on his own," and here he stepped forward as a black car with tinted windows snarled to a stop behind him. "Please show him a VERY good time, Miss James," he said, opening the door, "Oh, and Ed, I WILL throw in the toaster."

Then he shut the door, the car purred, then roared again, and he was gone.

* * * * * * * *


Crimson saw Arial roll her eyes, and a deep sadness came over him. How could he possibly tell her? He sighed as he thought to himself. He didn't tell the others because they didn't need to know. For himself, he could just leave. And then it would follow him. If it followed him to the bar, it would come, and not finding him, it would go. His pursuers knew the value of discretion, and they would not ordinarily risk any kind of public scene. But Arial would not be safe. "They'd notice you," he thought to himself, "Because you're different."

It was the only answer he could think of. Why couldn't he have thought of it a few minutes sooner. Crimson sighed again, and put his head down.

And if anyone in the bar was paying attention, they might have half heard, half felt, a kind of wind move through the place, bringing with it what could only be called a shimmering sound, if sounds could shimmer, something like the clink of ice or the stir of broken glass.

Mr. Winters raised his head again. A kind of peace had come over him. He had known, after all, that this was coming. He'd been expecting it. Waiting for it. And now that it was here, there was no more time for nerves. He put his hands together for a moment, something he rarely did to avoid the possibility of them both being trapped, and with the sides of his arms he felt to make sure that each of his pistols was in its place. This may not have been his usual business -- it was hard to say, what WAS his business -- but he could be quite good at it, when circumstances arose.

Something still didn't feel right though. Maybe this wasn't the time after all. But it was close. So he took another sip of his sapphire martini, and determined to wait.

Jane laughed devilishly when he left and placed Ed’s gun in her pocket. She had changed in a matter of seconds, from a love sick puppy dog to a blood thirsty murderer. It was business- pure business- and that is what business made her do.
“This shall be fun don’t you agree?” she turned her black eyes towards him, “Have you ever killed anyone…in this sort of way? Ah, it doesn’t matter really.” She turned around and jumped off the porch of the STARGAZER and began rummaging underneath. Pulling out a duffle bag she mumbled, “I didn’t think I’d need these but what the hell.” She looked again at Ed.
“I’ll need to change. We have a lot of people to kill- that guy he told us to and the people after us. You’ll need more than this gun.” She tossed the weapon to him and placed the bag on the porch. Opening the zipper she fumbled inside, “I would go inside to change but this will be rather noisy. It would be very dangerous for me. I’ll just go change over there.” She said, pointing to the side of the STARGAZER that was rather dark, “If you look, I’ll slit your wrist and that’s putting things nicely.”

She grabbed the bag and moved to the side of the STARGAZER, and undressed, including her jewelry. Looking again in the bag she took out a knife which she strapped to her hurt arm (which was still pounding every so often). She then took out a red track jacket, checking it inside to make sure that the guns were in there correct position. She then put on a white tank top followed by the jacket. Digging in her bag again she took out two more knives both of different lengths and strapped them to her legs. Next she took out a red skirt that was good at hiding the bumps from the blades and put that on. It was just above her knee so that also helped at concealing the weapons.

She walked out from the darkness, taking her bag with her. Putting it down beside her, she took down her hair for an added affect, combing through it with her fingers. When she was done she grabbed into her bag and took out two red high heels and placed them gently on her feet.
“How do I look?” she asked Ed when she was finished.

Ed felt the heat in his body suddenly go to his face. How did he know what he was thinking? What was going on? Why is Jane going under the porch..

He was staring off before he noticed her change, and when enquired he replied somewhat sheepishly.
Hot psycho. Hot.
"Uhh..You look great.
Hot.

He picked up his gun, now slightly worried he might actually have to go on a killing spree.

"Um..I'm gonna go get my other ones.."

He ran straight into the Stargazer and jumped at the bar, landing on his stomach. He reached over and removed a briefcase. Blowing a kiss to Arial("Thanks for hiding it for me.") he moved back outside. Smiling nervously at Jane he took out his Model 500 S&W and the gloves he needed to keep his hands from being bruised from a pulp from the recoil. It wasnt a light weapon, and because of the power it had he affectionaly named it the Noisy Cricket.

He shoved it into his coat after loading it, taking as much ammo as he could take from the suitcase. When that was done, scratched his head.

"So...exactly how many people have you killed?"

She laughed at him, finding his question amusing.
“What do you think I keep count? A record even?” she shook her head, “I have no earthly clue, really. I suppose if I did remember it would be rather depressing, maybe even sickening. I’ve been killing for awhile even though I’m pretty young. You see, my father was in this line of work and he never hid that fact from me- I even helped him sometimes, you know, getting his weapons ready before he went off and stuff. Of course he did have a separate life like most do but he decided that it was best for me to know, which I guess was pretty damn gallant of him. He wasn’t afraid of what he did. He always told me that the people you are assigned to kill deserve it, so it doesn’t matter.” She sighed but then continued, “I’ve killed a lot of people, Ed. I’ve killed so many I can’t even begin to try to remember. I even killed my fiancée once…but even that one wasn’t the hardest for me. The hardest was the first time I killed someone. I cried that night and every time I looked at my hands they seemed red with blood. My dad consoled me though. Told me it was a part of life. People die.”

She looked at him and smiled.
“Have you killed anyone?”

"Well I guess the apple never falls far from the tree.."

He looked up again at the sky. Stars. Goddamn stars.

"Yeah. I've killed a few guys. Never the kind that mattered really. I dont lose any sleep over it at any rate. But it's either me or them, and I aint a bad shot."

Your standing outside, theres a psychotic woman who has or at least could have had feelings for you, your carrying to kill, you were made an offer by a guy for a new life AND a toaster, and now your having a conversation about people you've killed.....yet the night is young.
You are SOOO going to church in the morning.



"So when we going?"

((We can't leave the Stargazer.))
"You haven't done this professionally have you? We know nothing except for some possible names our victim could have." she looked at him and grew agitated, "Could you stop looking at me like I'm crazy! I kill people for a living...it doesn't mean I'm psychotic, just unfeeling."

She took out her cell phone and dialed a number. It rang and rang but no one answered.
"Aw, f*ck. He's on vacation." she hung up the phone and turned to Ed. He still looked at her like she was crazy yet he seemed tense too. She walked up to him and kissed him passionately, grabbing his wrists to make sure his hands weren't going anywhere- she didn’t want to have him slam her on the ground again.

Letting the kiss and his arms go she said, "Don't stress. You can make it. Just a few bad guys. You'll be like the night in shining armor." she walked towards the door to the bar, "Why don’t we have a drink? On me.”

When Scarlett walked...she never really just "walked". It was always a sensual Monroe-like saunter, almost as if one side of her body was slightly off balance but not enough to be caught by the casual admirer. Scarlett could have been a natural on the runway had her life taken a different direction, but unfortunately Scarlett made all the mistakes she could have ever made to impead a happy future. Her first mistake was walking into the Speakeasy, her second was meeting Tommy, and her third was getting pregnant. But as she approached the end of the dingy little alley outside the back "entrance" of the Speakeasy her problems seemed to narrow. It was a a luminous evening, the stars above glowed with a pale white light against the midnight blue of the sky and on nights like this the promise of a better tommorow always teased playfully in her heart. "Maybe tommorow," She wondered
"something amazing will happen to me."

Scarlett reached the end of her short trek towards the safety of the sidewalk where a dim streetlight shed a modest and protective light. Although she had traveled this path every night on her way home, strangely enough she was afraid. There a lengthy car drove hissed by and inside...a man. She wouldn't have been able to describe him but she felt that she had seen him before...Scarlett very rarely forgets a face. However her recognition soon faded once she realized that she had forgotten her clutch at the table. "S**t...I'm always leaving that damn thing behind!" She cursed her mind sometimes...remembering faces when she should have been remembering her purse.

"A Knight in Shining Armor."

He smiled. 2 Kisses in a row. The devil on his shoulder was cheering and waving its foam finger about while the angel kept painting ever romantic pictures.

"Yeah. Thats what I'll be."

SNAP OUT OF IT! SHE'S A RAVING LUNATIC! A BEAUTIFUL, raving, lunatic who has an interest in you...second thought...roll with it.


Ed chuckled and ran toward Jane.

"Your crazy. Completely crazy. Maybe thats why you havent scoffed me off yet. Now about that drink..."

He used two fingers to push her in.

"Psycho Ladies first."

She glared at him but the look left her face as she noticed a hint of something in his eyes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she said seriously, "This isn't something you do and then wake up the next morning, forgetting it ever really existed. It will follow you around whether you like it or not."

She turned away and began to move back into the bar.
"I said that I didn't want to kill you, Ed, but frankly I don't give a damn if you die tonight...just as long as it wasn't from a bullet out of my gun. We all die eventually...fact of life...a cruel one but still one."

"So what, Ed? Are you really prepared for the road ahead of you?"

Ed's eyes let up any tension as he looked at Jane. His mediocre existance had changed almost the moment he laid eyes on her. He sat at the bar next to her.

"I'm ready for anything and everything. I know I may die tonight, but I might as well go on the best night of my life."

He kissed her quickly on the cheek.

"Dont worry too much. Just another job right?"

She smiled at him, "Yes...only more exciting."

She looked at the man whom she had observed earlier who had hurt the guy for tripping Ariel.
"Do you see that man, Ed?" she whispered, "He isn't from around here is he?"

Arial starting serving the drinks again. Customers were getting upset, and her boss was glaring at her. " I should really quit working here. But I can't now can I?" She said softly to herself. Every now and then she would walk past Crimson's table. She would look at him but never said anything. Seeing as her shift was nearing it's end she told a felow worker to take over for her. She went to the jar of money she kept on top of the ice box and started counting the money. " That's aobut $330.45. Not too bad." She said taking the jar with her too a back room. When she emerged again, she had her jacket on, the money stuffed in her pocket. She walked over to Crimson's table and sat down again. " Look my shift is over, ok? If you have something to tell me, please say it now." She said looking deep into Crimson's hazel eyes and fiddling with her sleeve.