Story Two Silent Killers (DC)

[Solivagantt]

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢╭ ─┉─ • ─┉─ ╮⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢​

════ *ੈ✩‧₊˚| 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒 | *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ════​

⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣╰ ─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─ ╯⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣
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• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5

• 
  

  The Appointment​

  
  After getting a psychology apprenticeship working with Dr Jonathan Crane at Arkham Asylum, Anastasia Rosewood’s dream is suddenly cut short leading to her getting another job sponsored by Gotham university. Where she meets her first client, Zane Black, who is a doctor at the local hospital. He came to her with fainting problems. Zane has had these all his life but never taken much notice of it. He has no clue of what triggers them, so he hopes Anastasia has the answer to his question. Though Anastasia holds legal records, neither of them know each other's true personality as they are both undercover.
  
  The day of her first appointment with her first client, Anastasia sorts through the papers on her desk, eventually switching to making the room look nice by placing a vase of red spider lilies on the coffee table. Anastasia hears a knock on the door and stands up straight at the noise. Adjusting the cuffs on her sweater, she answers the door, her eye level about the same as the person who knocked, due to her wearing heels. “Zane Black?” Anastasia asked, trying to sound professional. “Yep, that's me,” Zane replies, holding out a hand for her to shake with a smile laced on his face.
  
  Shaking hands with the doctor she let go, stepping aside for Zane to walk in. Anastasia carefully watched as her client scanned over her office before slowly taking a seat on the red, satin chaise lounge opposite the desk and her arm chair. Perching on her seat, Ana starts their hour-long session. “So have you been having these…episodes… your entire life?” She says still looking at Zane’s patient file. “Quite frankly, yes I have,” Zane acknowledged, his eyes focusing on the blood red flowers sitting on a nearby coffee table. “And how frequently do you seem to faint Mr Black?” Anastasia went on, asking a second question.
  
  Zane thinks for a moment before recalling the moments before he faints. “It always seems to happen when I’m happy, or having a good time,” Zane responded, intertwining his fingers together and glancing at her with his light green eyes. Ana notes this down on her slip of paper with a black pen. Anastasia makes eye contact with Zane, “This may sound personal,” She starts, “But do you have any sort of trauma that could maybe be the cause of these episodes?” Ana knows the question would be on the uncomfortable side for him, but she has to find an answer somehow. Zane shifts in his seat, moving his right ankle to rest on his left knee. He remembers the point in his life where his parents were killed accidentally, it did end up with giving Zane trauma. “No,” Zane simply lies, meeting her gaze upon him.
  
  Anastasia stayed silent for a while, still jotting down little things like her clients movements and mannerisms. Zane once again scanned the room before Anastasia’s toneless voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Well Zane, if there is nothing more for us to discuss I shall see you next week for our next session.” she said, standing up from her leather armchair and making her way to the door. Zane sighed, shifting his shoulders slightly before standing up and following her towards the entrance. Once Zane steps outside Anastasia’s grip on the doorknob tightens. “Ok well goodbye-” Zane muttered before being cut off by the dark oak door being slammed in his face, the wind messing his hair up slightly.
  
  Ana quickly locks the door, sliding the chain lock and twisting the door lock, which is easily heard by Zane. He was shocked that the lesson went so quickly. Zane checks the time and it ends up that he was in there for 30 minutes. He shrugs and walks to the stairs, gliding down them and popping out onto the sidewalk of the street. Zane digs his keys out of his pocket for his Shelby Mustang. He clicks the unlock button on the key, unlocking the car, and opens the driver door, ducking his head slightly as he enters. Zane slides the key into the ignition and twists it, the car starting instantly with a loud and deep ‘vroom’.
  
  Anastasia started pacing around her office fixing anything and everything she could before she looked out of her window to see Zane hopping into his Mustang. She watches him slowly pull out and speed away, having a sort of admiration for his choice in cars. Ana sauntered over to a small picture hanging on the wall, Anastasia stood there, tracing her fingers over the delicate gold frame as she meticulously scanned her university photo, letting out a small sigh. She was standing there with him, she was standing with Dr Jonathan Crane. A muffled ringing was heard behind her as she settled back into the world around her. Every step closer she took the ringing would get louder until she was face to face with her phone screen. Ana’s mind raced whilst she slowly mumbled the words “It’s him..”
  
  Zane heads in the North-East direction, the direction of his apartment. He stops at a set of red lights, thinking about the appointment he only just had. Zane thought it was rather interesting that she ended the appointment so quickly. Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he waits for the light to turn green, and when it does, he revs his car, picking up some speed and continuing down the main road of Gotham. After that, Zane didn't think about the appointment much as he was much more focused on getting sleep before having to get up early in the morning the next day to go to work.
  
• 
  

  Unexpected Results​

  
  “Yeah… I know… Okay I’ll see you soon,” Anastasia uttered before hanging up her phone and walking out onto the lamp lit street, a cool breeze passing through the air. Grabbing her coat tighter, she slides into the front seat of her car, turning the key in the ignition and driving up to Arkham Asylum, she knows that she shouldn’t but she wanted to, no she needed to.
  
  Before she gets out of her car, Ana sits in silence for a hot minute, contemplating her final decision. Ana sighs and exits her car, shutting the door behind her and placing her keys in her coat pocket. Anastasia walks to the front door, opening it and walking to the front desk. “Hey, Dr Crane called me here,” She asked the receptionist. The lady at the front desk seemed to perk up at the sight of Ana, “Anastasia? I- What are you doing here?” Ana smiles fakely at the receptionist. “I was ju-” She was cut off by a voice she recognized, turning her head to the left, seeing Johnathan standing at the start of the long, winding corridor. “Good evening,” He says, giving Ana a half smile, his steely blue eyes landing upon her face.
  
  “Follow me,” Crane suggests, turning on his heel and walking away slowly. Anastasia was hesitant but followed him down through the winding hallways anyway, peering into a few rooms along the way. First there was an older man getting his medication from one of Arkham's nurses, not taking his eyes off Ana as she walked by. The next time she looked, she saw someone doing some form of yoga, she frowned at the sight and continued down the hallway, catching up to Crane's fast pace. “Why did we have to meet here Jonathan? This place is creepy..” Anastasia hissed, walking past what looked like an empty room. Before long, Dr Crane and Anastasia had made it to his office at the very end of a long and dingy hallway. “Well where else are we supposed to go, Anastasia? This is the only place where we haven't gotten caught,” Jonathan protested, grabbing out the keys from his blazer pocket and sticking it into the lock.
  
  Jonathan unlocked the door, holding the door open for Anastasia to walk in. Ana strode in turning around and she spoke, “What is it that you need from me?” She glared at him, she really didn’t want to be in this very building. Jonathan shut the door behind him, placing his keys back into the same pocket he got them from. “Well, you see-” He started, “I may have found a way to do that experiment that we started before you left…” Anastasia frowned at the word experiment, recalling that they had originally tried it once before. Crane’s eyes fell on Ana, giving her a hopeful look in which he would hope she’d agree to help him with it.
  
  Anastasia observed Dr Crane, she was interested, just like she was when they started the experiment. “How is it going to work?” She questioned Johnathan, intrigued with the experiment. “Well, I'm not entirely sure…” Crane trailed off before Anastasia snapped at him. “How are we supposed to do anything if we don’t know how it works!” She yelled, her voice going an octave higher. Crane and Rosewood stood there staring at each other in silence for a few seconds, both thinking about what to say next. “Jonathan, what am I really doing here?” Anastasia questions him again, still having a stern tone in her voice, “You’re wasting my time, I’ve got things to do..” She attempts to leave, but Jonathan latches onto her arm with a tight grip, stopping her from walking out of his office. “Please, Anastasia, you’re the only one I trust to help me with this,” Crane pleaded, he needed help, and Ana was the only one with the knowledge and trust to help him. Ana was hesitant, she has known this man for years but could she really trust him?
  
  Anastasia huffed, she liked Crane, the work he does inspires her so much, and working with him would be something she really wanted. Ana decided to wing it and say, “Okay, I’ll help you,” She started, Jonathan seemed to perk up at her answer, “So long as you pay me to.” Ana crossed her arms with a smug look on her face, she wanted to make sure Jonathan was being legit. Dr. Crane’s face drooped, he didn’t intend to pay Ana. But he ended up agreeing to her offer and paying her $10 for every hour she helps him.
  
  Crane and Rosewood got to work immediately, Jonathan showing what he had done in the time she wasn’t there. In order to see his work, they had to put on gas masks. “Put this on, it’s toxic and I don’t want it getting into your body,” Jonathan suggested, handing her a heavy duty gas mask. Ana placed the mask over her head, tightening the straps, although she missed one, leaving a small air gap around the mask, it felt uncomfortable on her face. They entered the room where Crane held the gas he created. He didn’t tell her exactly what it was made for, but he showed her anyway.
  
  Walking up to a larger version of a fire extinguisher, he grabbed the hose that was attached to the tank. “Ready?” Crane asked her, to which Ana nodded in a yes motion. Jonathan pressed down the lever, letting out the ominous gas that was contained inside. It didn’t look real by the colour of it and the way it moved around the room was odd. As the gas spread around them, some seeping through the gap between Ana’s face and mask; she breathed it in, not noticing a thing. It took a while before the gas she inhaled started to do its job.
  
  Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she saw her younger brother standing behind Crane, but by the time she took a second look, no one was there, just Dr Crane. Anastasia swallowed her own spit, getting slightly on edge of the person she had just seen. The thought left her mind when Jonathan's voice spoke to her. “Amazing right?” Crane acknowledged, a smug smile appearing upon his face, proud of what he has accomplished. Anastasia was quite amazed with what he made, having a thought of what it was actually created for. As Ana went to speak, she unknowingly inhaled more gas. She turned to look at Jonathan but something felt off, she had a feeling something was taking over her mind and body. As the experiment went on, her lungs got tighter as she struggled to breathe. Jonathan only noticed Ana's sudden struggle when it was too late. “Anastasia? Are you feeling alright?” Crane questioned as the woman next to him turned and tried running to the door, dropping her clipboard along the way.. Anastasia tried opening the door but it felt too heavy against her weak state, she leaned against the cold concrete wall sliding down slowly, her vision blurring heavily until everything faded to black, the last voice she heard was the voice of the man she supposedly trusted.
  
• 
  

  Hospital Shenanigans​

  
  Her eyes slowly open, the sounds of her surroundings becoming clear; the ceiling seemed to be moving quickly. “Check her pulse Black,” An unfamiliar male voice says, having slight worry in their voice. Something cold is pressed against her chest, staying there for a few moments. “Pulse is strong sir,” The voice is familiar. In panic, she sits up, fighting to get off the moving stretcher, not totally aware of her surroundings just yet. Quickly, hands were pressed on her shoulders and chest, two of which were Zane’s, his grip weirdly stronger than the others. “Ma’am, calm down-” a doctor raised his voice. Anastasia tried her best to fight the doctors but it was no use. Her eyes darted around drastically before Ana slipped back into a state of unconsciousness.
  
  Once she calmed down, the doctor's wheel her into an empty room. There was only Zane and one other doctor since the situation isn’t too serious. Zane does the usual checks, looking in her mouth, her eyes and just doing a general check up of her whole body to find a clue of why she fainted. “There's nothing that I can see sir,” Zane told the doctor, placing the little light he held back into his shirt pocket. Zane wouldn’t think that he would see Ana again so soon, and especially in this state.
  
  "We may have to run some tests on her, she looked a bit hallucinative,” the other doctor in the room said. Anastasia jolted back awake, still being restrained to the hospital bed. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes looked erratic, Ana was tired, but she wanted to make sure of where she was. Anastasia looked to her left, spotting a male in blue scrubs setting up a drip. Her eyes trailed up the man and stopped at his face. Ana recognized him, his sharp jawline and dark brown wavy hair easily standing out to her. “Zane?” her voice cracked and her gaze softened. Zane jerked his gaze down to her, his focus on preparing the drip changing to her.
  
  “Hey, how are you feeling?” He asked Ana, placing a hand on the bar attached to the bed to lean on. Anastasia didn’t know what she felt, she felt multiple things. Fuzzy, tingly, and mentally unstable. She creased her eyebrows together, staring at the white wall from across the room. “I don’t know..” Ana answered with quite a flat tone. “Well at least you aren't seriously injured.What happened anyway?” Zane inquired, adjusting the drip in Anastasia's arm. She thought of what she might say to the doctor, she can't tell him the truth because it could hurt the people she cared about but she couldn't recall last night's events either. “Well I'm not actually sure what happened, I just felt light headed and next thing I know I'm here” Ana replied, not fully lying nor telling the truth.
  
  About an hour later, Anastasia still lay in the hospital, staring at the plain, white ceiling. There was a sudden knock at the door before her Father entered the room with a relieved look plastered on his face. Ana’s Father works at the hospital, so he was quick to arrive at her room. “Oh thank god you’re okay, you had me worried sick when I heard you were in here!” Her Father says walking further into the room. “Hi Dad,” Anastasia sighed, propping herself up to look at the man standing at the end of her hospital bed. “What can I say Anya,” Her father said with a tinge of disappointment in his tone, “I never expected to see you here of all places.” He shook his head in dissatisfaction. “Dad I'm fine, nothing happened and I'm being serious,” Anastasia reassured her dad before another knock came from the door, after a minute Zane came in with a clipboard and placed it at the end of Ana's bed, “Dr Rosewood, Anastasia,” Zane pronounced, nodding politely two the both of them before exiting the room once again.
  
  Anastasia's Father picked up the clipboard Zane had bought in, and read where she was found out loud, “Arkham Asylum.” He looked very disappointed in her. “Don’t tell me you’ve been working with that freaky Doctor again..” Her Dad was stern, he didn’t like Dr Crane at all and he didn’t want his only daughter to be working with him. “He's not a freak dad, nothing's happening I swear!” She said, trying to calm down her Dad. Anastasia's dad huffed out a sigh. “This is your last chance to explain yourself so help me, were you with him?” He confronted her, this time raising his voice slightly. “No I was not with Jonathan, I was collecting my stuff and saw him on my way out okay…” Anastasia retorted back with a blank facial expression, her father stood there shooting daggers into Ana's soul, he was furious.
  
  “Don’t lie to me,” Ana’s Dad almost yelled, “You were with him, weren’t you?!” Anastasia flinched at the sound raise in his voice. She didn’t like it when he yelled at her. “Dad, no, I wasn’t-” Ana was cut off by a nurse at the door. Anastasia and her Dad stopped arguing and looked at the nurse, quite bugged that she came in at the wrong time. “You have visitors,” the nurse said before letting in a few of Anastasia's cousins. The youngest one, Arabella ran to her bedside, “Are you okay Anya?” They asked, a worried look on their face. “Hey Bella, yeah I'm okay, just a little tired that's all” Anastasia chuckled, trying to calm down the 14 year old.
  
  Anastasia peered across the room smiling at her eldest cousin Daphne before once again glaring at her father, who was watching her with a discontented expression sprawled across his face. The hospital room fell silent for a minute until Daphne spoke up, “Hey uncle Keiran could you take Arabella outside? I have something I need to talk to Anastasia about,” Daphne asked, receiving a nod of agreement from her uncle. Ana’s father shuffled Arabella outside into the hospital corridor, shutting the door behind him. Daphne waited a while before opening her mouth to say “Are you okay Ana? You seem off,” Daphne walked over to sit in the armchair next to Anastasia's bed. “Yeah I'm fine, are you still good to go out tonight?” Ana answered, completely dodging the question. “Anastasia, answer my question. I know you're avoiding it, are you okay?” Daphne insisted, Anastasia hesitated before lowering her voice, “Look, Daph I can't tell you here, who knows what could happen if I do.” Ana's voice was taut and clear as she looked into her cousin's eyes, desperate to leave the hospital. Daphne nodded her head, understanding what Anastasia was saying “Alright just meet me at Falcone's at 10:30 tonight,” Daph replied before standing up and making her way to the door. “Oh and Anya?” She chimed up, catching Anastasia's attention, “Don't leave us waiting, it's important.”
  
• 
  

  Prime Time [Gore warning]​

  
  In Gotham, there are heroes. The ones who save the civilians of Gotham City from all forces of evil. The evil are villains. The ones who create destruction in Gotham City. Some villains are well known, massively popular for what they do, but some.. some are secretive, undercover. They can be the people you would least expect to be a villain. Ignite is one of those concealed villains, portrayed by Zane Black. Yeah, surprise! He keeps low by blending in with everyday life, being a doctor helps him exceed in matching regular people. Zane works for no one, he is simply driven by revenge after his parents were demolished under falling rubble the heroes of the City accidentally caused.
  
  Zane has no powers, everything is done by hand. His weapons are supplied by his special dealer who gives him fresh ammo and knives. Zane’s prime killing time is when it’s dark, allowing him to blend in with the shadows with his black attire. His sneakiness is dead silent, giving him the chance to creep up on his enemies and slash away. His aim is a bullseye, granting him the perfect hit on his enemies. But overall, Ignite is the unknown villain to watch out for in the dead of night.
  
  After an early end to Zane’s shift, he drives home to his apartment, riding the elevator up to the 5th floor and counting the doors until he reaches number 008. Zane twisted the key and turned the doorknob, opening the door and walking into his average apartment. It was almost sundown, meaning Zane only had a few hours until it was his prime time. He placed down his bag on the couch before walking to the bathroom, stripping out of his scrubs and taking a shower, washing all the possible germs he could have picked up at the hospital. After that he got something to eat and a drink from the kitchen pantry, fueling himself for the long night out he was going to have. Zane went to his bookshelf, pulling a book like a lever. That book opened a hidden room in his apartment. The room was filled with all sorts of weapons, guns, swords, daggers and arrows hung up on the walls. The room also contained the suit he wore.
  
  Quickly, he shoved on his suit, but before putting on the mask that hid his face, he chose his weapons for the night. Zane grabbed a long range gun and a sword, placing them in the slots attached to his back. He also grabbed a few throwing weapons like daggers and throwing stars. Zane shut the hidden room after he was finished collecting what he needed, the room going back to looking like a simple bookshelf. When he put on the mask, he was no longer Zane, he was Ignite, a completely different person. Zane turned off all the lights in his apartment before walking to the balcony, he stared down at the ground, like he always did before he left his apartment. Then with swift movements, he parkoured his way down to the ground, using the railings of each balcony on each floor as a way to get up and down.
  Once Zane was on the ground, his first instinct was to move to the shadows, blending in with them. He took a detour down a dimly lit alleyway, moving swiftly through the darkness that surrounded him. Being on the ground for too long was slowly becoming too boring for him so Zane found his way up to the roof of a tall building. Zane scanned over the city making a mental map of where he would go tonight. After a minute to two of looking around he headed in a Westerly direction, towards the outskirts of the city.
  
  In about 20 minutes, he found the warehouse he was looking for, noticing the spray painted symbol on the roller door; expecting to catch the people inside off guard and kill them all with ease. Everything was fine until Zane got closer to the door, something felt off. He squinted, there was blood on the roller door, and the door was open too. Someone got here before me.. Zane guessed. He ducked under the door and the sight he saw was quite shocking. There were bodies sprawled on the ground, all of them having deep slash wounds. Zane frowned at the sight through his mask. He was supposed to do this, not anyone else. Zane examined the wounds, trying to guess what type of weapon was used to murder these people. He did this so he could be prepared for whoever was the cause of this. There were bloody handprints covering the floors and walls, a slight dripping sound coming from the right side of the room as well.
  
  Turning his head, Zane looked up to see a man hanging from the wall. Crimson red blood seeped through the man's clothes. Zane has never seen anything like this ever before. He walked up to the clearly dead person, looking at them through his mask. This definitely was the guy Zane was after. The man's shirt pockets were full of bright red spider lilies, Zane had recognized these before but he couldn’t recall when or where. He was just about to touch the flowers when he heard a clutter from the back room.
  
  Zane retracted his hand to his sword, hovering just over the handle of it, ready to strike what or who made the noise. Slowly, he approached the door of the smaller room, taking small and quiet steps. Once he approached the door, he listened in before he barged in. Zane could clearly hear someone was frantically sorting through papers. With one simple kick, he quickly shoved his foot against the door, swinging on its hinges and making a loud bang as the door handle hit the wall.
  
  Zane’s eyes landed on a person, quite amazed by the fact that the person was female, judging by the tight, black dress and dark flowing hair. “I’m sorry but you stole my kill,” Zane said through his full face mask. The woman looked up at him in shock as she slowly grabbed two files from the cabinet in front of her. “Well tough luck Mr whatever your name is, I got here first,” She accused back, staring at the masked man through the doll-like mask she wore, before cautiously making her way over to an unlocked window and jumping out of it.
  
  Zane took no time but to chase after her, wanting to know more about her and what she was doing. “Hey! Come back here!” He called out, jumping out of the window and landing on the pavement below. Zane drew his sword, being quicker on his feet due to appropriate footwear. The girl kept running, her slow heels clacking against the concrete pavement below. Zane was close behind before the mysterious woman turned the corner into the pitch black shadows.
  
  He paused at the corner of the block, having it being dark already, it was hard to see in the shadows. Zane squinted, walking slowly into the shadows as she could attack him from any point all while trying his best to keep his guard up. “Come on, stop playing games and tell me what the hell you’re doing with those files,” he called out, desperately wanting to know her reason for stealing and most of all, murdering the guy Zane was supposed to. Sooner or later, he heard the same click-clack of heels ride up behind him. Before the knife of the attacker dug into his skin, he stopped her by grabbing her small wrist tightly. Zane frowned through his mask, she was stronger than he thought.
  
  “How about you tell me what you’re doing first,” she said, also wanting to know who the man dressed in an all black suit was doing out here too. “And why should I tell you?” Zane replied, still holding the woman away from him. She attempted to hit him again with another knife with her other hand, swinging her arm low in an attempt to catch him off guard. Luckily, Zane had good senses and quickly stopped her second attack upon him, using his free hand to block her. With a grunt, Zane pushed her away with his foot, harshly shoving her backwards. The woman winced slightly when she lost her footing and collapsed to the ground. “Do I have to fucking fight your response out and waste my time or will you just tell me and not waste my time, it’s your choice,” Zane accused, swinging his own larger and pointer weapon around in circles as a way to show her that he was skilled in combat. “Shut your mouth, I don’t care about time.. what's your problem anyways?” the woman questioned again, getting up from being thrown onto the ground and reaching for something behind her back.
  
  In a flash something smashed on the ground, glass shattering all across the pavement. Harsh, white smoke blanketed the alleyway, blocking Zane's sight. He waved the smoke away from his face, some of it still getting into his mask as he coughed a few times. Once the smoke thinned out, Zane flipped his head around like a mad man, trying to locate his attacker but she was gone, leaving absolutely nothing behind for Zane to track. “Fuck,” He swore, mad about the fact that she made quite the exit. Slotting his sword back in its sheath on his back, he kicked a small stone, letting part of his anger out.
  
  Zane decided to call it a night, heading back to his apartment in a slow hurry. He needed the rest of the night to sleep anyway as he had to work at the hospital early the next morning. As he walked, the thoughts of the past few moments still lingered in his mind, trying to piece themselves together. Once he got close to his apartment, he took off his mask, goggles and all. Zane shook out his hair after it was pressed flat by his hoodie, taking a few deep breaths of the cold, night air. He entered the apartment building, nobody being in sight as it was the dead of night. When Zane got back to his apartment, he locked his weapons and suit back into the secret room and went to bed, eventually drifting off to sleep in a few minutes.
  
• 
  

  Familiar Encounter​

  
  Anastasia climbed to the top of a tall enough apartment building before taking her mask off to breathe freely, still holding the two files she had only just stolen out of some dead man’s desk drawer. She was curious about who that fully masked figure was that had arrived out of nowhere but she was definitely more curious about what was in the files she held. Ana looked down at her wrist, checking the time before putting her mask back on and climbing down the ladder on the side of the building and disappeared into a blanket of darkness.
  
  Anastasia checked her watch again finding out it was about 1:00 in the morning. She had about 10 minutes before Ana was supposed to meet her cousin and a few others for a business deal. As she neared the location they were supposed to meet, Anastasia took off her mask once again, walking onto the empty streets leading to Falcone's night club and an Italian restaurant. The streets were eerily empty but Ana didn't mind, the quiet of the night soothed her brain. But the soothingness stopped when suddenly a black Mercedes Benz pulled up beside her. Anastasia sped up her pace - worried. She heard the window roll down and someone shouted her name. “Ana! Hop in, it’ll be faster!” A familiar voice exclaimed. Turning around, Ana saw her cousin sticking her head out the passenger seat window and waving her arms around like a crazy person. Ana chuckled before approaching and opening the car door of the Mercedes and lowering herself into the backseat, carefully closing the door shut.
  
  The car started to move again, driving down the street. “Thanks for picking me up, I honestly thought you were a kidnapper,” She spoke the last few words over a laugh. “It’s alright, oh wait- do you have the files?” Daphne asked Ana, turning her body on her seat to look at her. “Yeah right here,” Anastasia said, handing her older cousin the two files she had just stolen. “Thanks Anya, you really saved my ass with these files. The boss is gonna be so happy with these,” Daph let out a giggle whilst opening one file and flicking through before closing it shut. “This guy was also there, he tried to fight me but I got away,” Ana said, remembering the black, dressed guy who looked overly geared from what she could see in the dark night. “You’re lucky he didn’t hurt you, or even kill you,” Daphne said, quickly glancing up in the rear vision mirror to see Ana’s expression on her face. “Daph, it’s fine nothing happened and you’re lucky he didn’t take those damn files because Falcone would’ve kicked your ass,” Anastasia teased before looking out the window as the car slowed to a stop in front of the closed restaurant they always met at.
  
  The woman in the front seat swivelled her head around to look at her cousin. “I think it's best if you put your mask back on before you go inside, y’know, just in case,” Daphne ordered, her tone becoming calm and serious. Ana nodded and followed her instructions, slipping her black doll-like mask back over her head, covering parts of her face before opening the car door and stepping out onto the sidewalk. Anastasia closed the car door and linked an arm around Daphne’s as they started walking towards the entrance of the closed restaurant. The door creaked open and the noise of two sets of heels echoed through the silent room. There was a sound of muffled yelling in the room over but the girls didn’t pay much attention to it, they dealt with difficult people who yelled like that all the time.
  
  Walking towards the booth Carmine Falcone was seated at, Ana glanced at a few guard men standing around the restaurant, along with feeling the breath of one behind her on her neck. Each and every guard had a handgun, so if things were going to go pear shaped, it was bound to get loud with gunshots. Ana hoped it wouldn’t end like that as she approached Daphs boss with her, her own breathing getting heavy as she was afraid Falcone wouldn't be happy with her work. “Ah, just on time…” Flacone commented, standing up to shake Daphne’s hand. “Always good to see you boss, I presume you’ve met my cousin Anastasia?” Daph replied, turning her body slightly to welcome Ana. Anastasia waved slightly before they all took a seat. “Do you have the files?” Falcone asked, taking the cigar from his mouth, blowing smoke across the table towards the two women. “Yeah, here you go,” Daphne chuckled nervously, formally handing over both files to her boss. Carmine searched through the files, his eyes scanning through every line of information.
  
  Daphne hoped Ana hadn’t missed any fallen out notes, and she also hoped Falcone was happy with what she had gotten Ana to do. Anastasia's face remained blank until she saw the man across from her grimace. “I'm impressed with your skills Anastasia…” Falcone smiled, putting the files carefully down on the table, turning his focus up at the young woman sitting across the booth. Daphne let out a sigh of relief and patted her cousin on the back before the room went silent once again. “You know you can take that creepy mask off, no one else is gonna be here,” The boss stated, putting out the butt of his cigar on a cigarette ash-tray. “Okay…” Anastasia said feeling slightly unsure about the situation. She looked at Daphne, who gave her a reassuring nod before she took her fragile, black mask off and placed it down carefully on the dark wood table. Anastasia's eyes dazzled in the gleam as the light above the table lit up her pale features. The room was silent again but the faint yelling from the other room was still there, it felt like the words of a familiar voice was getting closer until the door of that very room slammed wide open, it sounded as though the door was about to fly off its hinges. Anastasia and Daphne whipped their heads around to face the direction of the sudden, loud sound.
  
  Anastasia's eyes widened at who had come from the next room over. Then her eyes furrowed, darkening them. She did not want to see the person who had now entered the restaurant. “Are you kidding me? You didn’t tell me he was here?!” Ana replied, not realising she had raised her voice slightly. “Ah, Dr Crane, nice of you to join us,” Falcone welcomed the psychopathic individual. As Jonathan stepped further into the restaurant, all Anastasia could do was stare. She was pissed but also quite shocked, she had not expected Jonathan Crane to be here. Ana thought these sort of business deal things were not his thing to be a part of but she was wrong.
  
  Daphne sent a pleading look towards Anastasia to not cause a scene or say anything stupid but it was too late. Ana stood quickly from her seat, walking straight over to Crane, she looked like she was about to rip his head off by the expression she had on her face. But Jonathan's expression on the other hand remained the same, stern and melancholic. “Hey Anya, I'm surprised to see you here-” The man said, staring down at Ana who was about inches away from his face. “What the fuck are you doing here and don't fucking call me that,” She spat, her angriest expression filling her face. She could feel Daphne staring a hole into the back of her head, Ana knew her cousin wouldn't be happy but she couldn't help herself.
  
  “I could ask you the same question Anastasia, but I think I know…” Jonathan said grinning slightly as he moved in slightly, their faces were a few centimetres apart now. Ana could feel her cheeks burning up slightly, she couldn't stand Crane but for some reason she wasn't actually mad. The restaurant was silent for a few minutes, waiting for something to happen between Anastasia and Jonathan. Finally someone spoke, “What the hell are you two assholes doing! If you’re gonna fight or whatever this is…then go the fuck outside!” Falcone screamed, slamming his hands down on the table, making Daphne flinch in the process. Ana and Crane snapped out of their trance-like state, both turning their heads towards the angry mob boss. “Sorry Mr Falcone this won’t happen again, will it Anya?” Jonathan commented before stepping forwards and grabbing the files Anastasia had stolen and making his way to the door. “I’m sorry sir, it won’t happen again” Anastasia murmured, balling her hands into fists and walking back to the table. Why the hell does Crane need those files? She was fuming, surely she didn’t collect those files for him.
  
  Anastasia sat down at the table, she messed up big time. As Jonathan left he turned around to look at Ana “Oh, one more thing…” Anastasia twisted her body around to look at the man who had caught her attention. “It was nice seeing you, Anya,” Crane said in a cocky attitude before winking at her and leaving the establishment. A sigh escaped Anastasia’s lips before she bowed her head, hiding her reddened face.