The rain didn't just fall; it screamed. It hammered against the rusted corrugated metal of the hangar roof, creating a deafening roar that swallowed every other sound. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of rotting wood, old grease, and the sharp, metallic tang of fresh blood.
Elara Vance crouched behind a stack of moth-eaten tires, her heart slamming against her ribs like a trapped bird. She was a 'Fixer.' She was the ghost people called when they needed a mess to disappear. But she had arrived ten minutes too early.
She wasn't looking at a mess. She was looking at the man making it.
Julian Thorne stood in the center of the hangar, bathed in the sickly yellow glow of a flickering overhead light. He looked like a king standing in a tomb. His dark suit was worth more than Elara's life, and his expression was as cold as the rain outside.
"Please, Julian..." the man on the floor groaned. He was clutching his stomach, blood leaking through his fingers and staining the concrete. "I didn't... I didn't mean to—"
"You meant to steal from me," Julian interrupted. His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the roar of the rain like a razor. "And in my world, that is the only sin that doesn't get a prayer."
Julian didn't hesitate. He didn't offer a final word. He simply raised his silenced pistol and pulled the trigger.
Pfft.
The sound was small, but the result was final. The man's head snapped back, and then there was only the sound of the rain.
Elara's breath hitched. She needed to move. She needed to get out of this graveyard before she became the next body. She began to shift her weight, her boots silent on the grime-covered floor. She was inches away from the shadows of the back wall when her heel hit a patch of spilled oil.
Her foot slid. Her elbow barked against a metal canister, sending it wobbling.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The sound felt louder than a bomb in the silent hangar. Elara froze, her lungs burning as she held her breath.
Julian didn't even turn around. He just tilted his head, listening. "There's a rat in my house," he said softly. He flicked his wrist, signaling the two giants standing by the door. "Bring it to me. Unbroken, if possible. I want to see its eyes before I close them."
Elara didn't wait for them to find her. She bolted.
She burst through a side door and into the freezing night. The mud splashed up her shins as she tore toward the maze of shipping containers at the docks. Her lungs felt like they were filled with broken glass, and the cold air bit at her skin.
"Over there!" a voice boomed behind her.
She doubled back, sliding under a trailer, her heart racing so fast she felt dizzy. She could hear the heavy thud of boots hitting the ground. They were closing in. She was fast, but they were hunters.
She turned a corner into a dead end. A massive wall of steel blocked her path. She spun around, her hand reaching for the small knife in her belt, but she was too late.
A heavy blow caught her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She hit the mud hard. Before she could crawl away, a hand grabbed the collar of her jacket and hauled her up.
"Got you, little rat," a guard growled.
They didn't walk her back; they dragged her. Her toes scraped the ground as they hauled her back into the light of the hangar. They threw her onto the concrete at Julian's feet.
Elara gasped, coughing up the dirty rainwater she'd inhaled. She looked up, her hair plastered to her face, to see Julian Thorne looking down at her. He was wiping a speck of dust off his sleeve, his expression bored.
"I... I was just passing through," Elara croaked, her voice trembling. "I'm a nobody. I didn't see anything."
Julian finally looked at her. For a second, his eyes narrowed, a flash of something dark and unrecognizable passing through them. Then, it was gone, replaced by icy stone. He walked over, his boots clicking with a terrifying rhythm, until he was standing on the edge of her jacket.
"Passing through?" Julian dropped to a crouch, his hand lashing out. He didn't grab her arm; he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back.
Elara screamed as her neck snapped back, forcing her to look into the abyss of his eyes.
"What's your name?" he hissed.
"Elara," she sobbed, clawing at his iron grip. "Elara Vance. Please... I'm a professional. I can keep a secret."
"I don't believe in secrets," Julian said, his face inches from hers. "I believe in ownership."I trust ppl who are dead or people who I own.
He let go of her hair, but before she could move, his hand moved to her throat. He didn't squeeze, but the weight of his palm was a promise of death. He looked at her like she was a piece of property he was deciding whether to buy or burn.
"You're the Fixer," he said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "The girl who makes people disappear. It's ironic. Because tonight, you're the one who's going to vanish."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy gold ring. He didn't ask. He grabbed her left hand, twisting her wrist until she winced, and forced the ring onto her finger. It felt cold. It felt like a shackle.
"This is your life now," he stated. "You wear this ring. You stay in my house. You do exactly what I say, when I say it.You stay in my bed until I am bored of you..that's the price for the air you are currently breathing. You are no longer a person. You are my shadow."
Elara stared at the gold on her mud-stained hand. "You're crazy. I won't do it."
Julian pulled his gun in one smooth motion. He pressed the cold, circular muzzle directly against the center of her forehead.
"I wasn't asking for your opinion, Elara," he said flatly. His finger tightened on the trigger. "I'll give you three seconds to decide if you want to be a wife or a corpse. One... two..."
"Wait! Okay! Okay!" Elara screamed, her eyes slamming shut as she braced for the bullet.
The pressure of the gun vanished, but Julian didn't move. He leaned in, his lips grazing her ear. "Good choice. I'd hate to get blood on my floor twice in one night."
He stood up, looking at his men as if she were nothing more than a piece of trash.
"Burn her apartment," Julian ordered, his voice cold and final. "Delete her records. Scrub her name from every database in this city. As of this moment, Elara Vance is dead."If she tries to leave the mansion ..shoot her legs .I want her alive but I don't need her to walk.
He turned back to her, a cruel smirk touching his lips.
"Welcome to your new life, Mrs. Thorne.
Try not to make me regret keeping you alive."