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It was a simple mission really. Find Lance McClain and put a bullet through his head. Quick and easy, especially considering Lance had no reason to think that anyone would try to murder him. The boy had no clue that his father was associated with any gangs or gang-related activity, nor that he was in an immense amount of debt and had just screwed over his last buyer. It was just Mr.McClain's luck that his previous buyer had connections to the organization that housed some of the most dangerous assassins in the world.~"Keith? Do you have everything?" Shiro asks, turning his attention away from the television and to his brother, who is currently sheathing his knives and placing them carefully into his tool belt."Yes Takashi," he groans, rolling his eyes."Do I really need all of this? It's a simple task, I should be back home soon." Keith picks up his handgun and clicks it on to safety before tucking it away into his pants."Besides, how old is McClain's kid anyway? 16?" Keith questions, cocking a brow in Shiro's direction.Shiro groans sinking back into the couch and pinching the bridge of his nose, muttering, "You haven't even looked at the file yet, have you."Keith shrugs guiltily in response, "I got his name, face, and address, what more do I need?""First off, he's your age, Keith, 23. And if you had read the file you would know that Lance can be extremely charming and while he may not know about his father's occupation or the fact that he is a potential target at all times, he has worked his way out of dangerous situations before." "Who could possibly be dumb enough to fall for whatever this oblivious kid threw their way," Keith scoffs, causing Shiro to sigh as he starts reluctantly opening the manila file that was laying flat on the coffee table. Shiro clears his throat before speaking. "02/23/17 Armed robbery at a Capital One bank, Lance McClain was there alone and in line when the robber arrived. He was able to 'fluster' and 'confuse' the robber until authorities arrived. 07/15/17 House break-in, Lance McClain was home alone when the culprit broke into the apartment. He managed to get them into the kitchen and 'distract' them until he was in the position to hit them over the head with a frying pan, successfully knocking out the culprit. 04/19/18 Armed intruder at the Garrison, Lance McClain once more 'flustered' and 'confused' the intruder and gained possession of the weapon."Shiro abruptly closed the file turning his attention back to Keith who remains unimpressed."So he's a flirt," Keith concludes. Shiro simply nods, not bothering to elaborate any more than he already has. "I'll be fine Takashi," he says opening the door, "just wait and see, I'll be home in an hour." Keith slams the door shut and makes his way over to the garage. It's a cold October night and Keith suddenly finds himself feeling grateful for the thick, tight, black clothes his job requires him to wear. To say that Keith was discrete in the way that he dressed would be an understatement, one look in his direction had people raising suspicions, which is why he always tends to prefer these types of missions. Late at night, quiet, the darkness shielding him from any prying eyes. He didn't have to wear these big heavy disguises like some of his colleagues or go out mid-day to some prestigious event that was crawling with security. It was just him, his weapons, and more often than not, a dead body on the floor if he did his job right. Today was no different.
Keith hops onto the back of his sleek black sports bike, courtesy of the company, and plugs in Lance's address before speeding down the empty road. ~Shiro and he lived far away from the city in a house near the edge of an empty field and forest. It was secluded and subtle, just what they needed, and since it was so far away from any major cities, it gave them the perfect opportunity to train out in the open and talk openly about employers and recent missions. Their livers were surprisingly simple outside of work, especially considering what they did for a living. This is what occupied Keith’s thoughts as he found himself drawing closer and closer to Lance's apartment. He had long since left the empty fields and small roads of the countryside behind him. Lance's apartment was located on an expensive lot, no doubt paid for by his father, a few blocks away from the Garrison. Keith parks his motorcycle in one of the back alleyways next to Lance's building. Jumping off the bike, he pulls his signature red bandana over his mouth before reaching into the storage compartment on his bike and pulls out the grappling hook. Keith sets his foot on the end of the rope and holds the rest of it coiled carefully in his left hand. He unravels one of the coils and grapes the rope in his right hand about a foot away from the hook before slowly swinging it and gaining momentum. Loosening his grip, Keith lets the hook propel up towards the top of the building, the friction of the rope against his fingerless leather gloves heating up his skin. The hook catches on the edge of the roof and Keith tugs on the rope to make sure it is secure. Lance's apartment was one the second floor of the four-story-high building, the window to Lance's room faced inside of the alleyway, overlooking the single-story building that sat next to the apartment complex. Keith pulls the rope taut and begins to climb up the rope using his upper body strength and the friction of his shoes against the brick wall. When Keith reaches the second floor he looks into the window to see a bedroom with grey-blue walls, there's a photograph next to the bed and he recognizes the target as well as two others, a large Samoan man and a small girl with choppy brown hair.'Of fuck,' Keith thinks, 'I didn't check the file to see if he has roommates.' Keith internally curses himself for his stupidity and for taking this mission so lightly. Sighing to himself, Keith takes the screen off the window with one hand and places it on the small ledge before pulling up on the window itself, surprised to see it unlocked, Keith opens it all the way. He steps inside of the room and slides the window down leaving only an inch cracked open. Now that he's inside, and no longer holding onto the rope with a single hand to keep him from falling, all of his other senses heighten. Keith is now able to hear a soft humming and the sizzling of cooking oil coming from outside the bedroom door as well as the aroma of what Keith assumes is Mexican food. Quietly he walks out of the bedroom and towards the source of the sound. Making his way down the hall, Keith arrives at a kitchen of sorts, where a tall lanky figure dressed in a blue robe and... lion slippers? ... is cooking over the stove. Keith slowly sneaks up behind Lance and pulls his gun out. Wrapping his arm around Lance's neck swiftly and then clicking the gun off safety and planting it against Lance's temple, causing Keith's body to become pressed against Lance's back. Lance becomes tense and he drops the wooden spoon he had been using to cook with before, gulping. "Is that another gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" The out of place comment momentarily shocks Keith and his grip on Lance weakens, but it's enough for Lance to grab Keith's arm and twist out of his grip, flipping Keith over his shoulder and onto the ground, sending the gun skidding across the floor. Lance grabs the gun and quickly disposes of the slippers and robe, leaving him in nothing other than boxers but allowing him to move with ease. Keith groans in pain as his back suddenly makes contact with the solid, cold, tile that is Lance's floor, however, he recovers quickly and sits up to see Lance, in only boxers, pointing a gun at his head. "I see you're not one for small talk," Lance says, tightening his grip on the gun. Keith glares in response and pulls a knife out of his belt and throws it at Lance's head with deadly accuracy. Shockingly Lance manages to dodge it as he rolls out of the way, leaving the knife embedded into the wall. "Wow okay, you're trying to kill me, I get the point." Keith gives Lance a blank stare as he pulls out three more knives. "What?! Nothing?" Lance screeches as he ducks behind the island located in the center of the kitchen.Grunting, Keith gets up and hops over the island, landing on top on Lance who looks up at him and smirks, "Why, hello handsome." Lance smiles teasingly and flips there positions. Keith immediately finds himself regretting every decision that led him to this point in his life, which was to say, being straddled by the attractive man that he was ordered to kill. "It was really knife knowing you," Lance laughs, giving Keith the opportunity to grab the gun out of his hand and flips their positions once more.Keith aims the gun at Lance's head with the intent of finally finishing this godforsaken mission when Lance says, "You know, I always wanted to go out with a bang," causing Keith to pause. When Keith finally registers the words that had just come out of Lance’s mouth, he breaks down. The gun falls out of his hand and hits the floor as his soft chuckling slowly evolves into full-blown laughter accompanied by the occasional snort. "Well," Lance says, slightly disturbed to see his supposed killer laughing on top of him, "It's nice to see someone who can appreciate my humor."Keith finds himself struggling to breathe and resorts to pulling the bandana away from his mouth to get some fresh air, finally revealing his full face to Lance, who stares in awe."You know, when I called you handsome earlier, I was just flirting, but now I realize that handsome doesn't even come close to describing you," Lance mutters. Keith's cheeks turn red in response. "This was supposed to be a simple mission," Keith complains falling onto the floor beside Lance, "but this is the most fun I've had in a while.""What? Trying to kill me?" Lance asks only for Keith to shrug innocently. "At least the last thing I would've seen would be your gorgeous eyes." Keith huffs, casually pulling himself up off the ground and brushing his clothes off as if he hadn't just been trying to kill someone thirty seconds ago. "Wow, you really are a flirt.""Now where would you get an idea like that?" Keith rolls his eyes before putting his knives back in his belt and plucking the other out of the wall only to do the same."I need you to call your father, tell him that someone broke in and tore up your apartment," Keith states."Why would I do that?"
"Do it if you want to live, I can report back and say that you weren't here and that I was unable to complete the mission.” Keith starts to walk back towards the bedroom when Lance shouts, "Wait!" and scrambles to get up. " Report back to who?" Keith crosses his arms. "That's none of your business. Now get some clothes on." "Aww, but I don't want to, or rather, I don't think you want me to," Lance teases, walking closer to Keith. "I- you- um.. you must be mistaken," Keith stammers."Sure I am, anyway. You wanna go out sometime?" Lance asks, leaning against the frame of his bedroom door.Keith was in the process of opening the window back up when he froze at Lance's words. "You want to go on a date with me, the guy who broke into your house and tried to kill you, whose name you don't even know. You- you- your joking right?""Nope," Lance clarifies, popping the 'p'. "You’re cute, aside from that poor excuse for a haircut. Plus, you didn’t actually kill me. So how about that number?" "Don't worry about it," Keith smirks opening the window and grabbing the rope."I'll find some way to contact you."He pulls up his bandana and jumps out the window with a wink, not even bothering to retrieve the grappling hook before speeding off on his motorcycle.
