Tales of The City: The Assassin

Returning to the apartment he stopped to pick up his brass. Carefully, Roger checked the immediate area to ensure all the spent rounds were picked up off the ground, tucking them in his pocket.

His heart was beating hard with adrenaline, but he realized his pulse was still faint. Opening his apartment door walking in as if nothing significant had happened.

With a devilish smile, he took out his phone. "Hello, I would like to report a murder. It occurred on the fifth floor of apartment hub thirteen. I'm pretty sure there are three dead bodies. The perpetrator was a white male. I apologize for not getting a better look. That's all the information I can provide. Goodbye."

Leaning against the door, clutching his phone, he couldn't help but wear a more demented expression than before.

Sighing with excitement, he began stripping off his clothes. Gathering all the garments, he made his way to the sink. Retrieving a bottle of bleach from under the sink, he poured its contents over every piece of clothing until they were completely soaked. Once finished, he hurriedly walked to his bathroom and rinsed off the blood in the shower. After showering, he walked over to the dresser, still drying himself off. He quickly put on underwear and a wife beater, getting himself ready. Yet he couldn't suppress his anticipation. Before doing anything else, he went to his nightstand. Pulling out a small medical bag. Opening the bag, neatly placed syringes with purplish red liquid. Quickly grabbing one and injecting himself, he could feel himself finally calm down. Walking to his dresser, he dug deep, selecting a random black shirt and a pair of custom-made armor-lined blue jeans before heading to the closet. Grabbing his plate carrier, he double-checked that everything was in order. Before returning everything to the closet, he pulls out an ammo box, replenishing the rounds he had spent. Putting on another pair of boots, he continued searching for a hoodie. Finally, he settled on a gray zip-up hoodie.

Stepping out of his apartment again, now wearing a fresh set of clothes, he glanced over his shoulder to find that the police had arrived. Holographic caution tape was everywhere, covering most of the hallway. To his surprise, there were more cops than he expected. But before he could do anything else, a female officer approached him.

"Excuse me, we want to ask you a few questions about the incident here. Do you happen to know what happened?" The officer spoke firmly.

"I'm not answering any questions," Roger said, holding up his ID and badge.

The officer examined the ID. Using a scanner, she scanned the badge. A standard information sheet appeared on the screen. However, before she could scroll further, a different file appeared instead. The top of the page indicated that only Roger's first name was legible, and all other aliases were redacted. While scrolling through the document, the officer saw it continued on similarly. The file was practically unreadable, except for the last few sentences that weren't blacked out. The sentences conveyed that, if detained for any reason, Roger should be released as he was the property of the Fire Swan Corporation.

"I'll be on my way now," Roger said, reaching for his ID.

"Wait a moment. Something doesn't seem right here. Can I get some assistance detaining this individual? This one is being non-compliant," the officer called out, summoning a few officers with drawn weapons.

"Well, that's not very nice of you. But I'm feeling benevolent, so by all means, call your Sarge."

"Sergeant, I'm sending you some files on a guy I detained for questioning. I'm at the scene, the anonymous caller reported. The caller was correct about the location." the officer reported, staring intensely at a stone-faced Roger.

Looking over the file meticulously, the sergeant leaned back in his chair. Horror seemed to wash over his face like an old ghost had resurfaced. Trembling, he reached for his cigarettes, fumbling to light one, finally succeeding on the fourth try.

"Hey, rookie, let that man go, now. His file is authentic. I don't have time to explain, but I'll do so in the debrief," the sergeant replied while exhaling the smoke.

"Copy, sergeant. Thanks. You're free to go; sorry for the hold-up," the rookie said, looking perplexed.

"No worries. Everyone has a job to do, and you are just doing yours. Good luck with the murder case, officer," Roger said pleasantly, heading towards the stairs.

Roger could hear a commotion from above as he walked down the stairs.

"Freeze! Drop the weapon, now!" an officer called out.

"Suck my dick, shithead!" followed by exchanging gunfire.

Looking up, Roger saw the muzzle flashes. They resembled what the local inhabitants would call an array of ghetto fireworks. With a ricochet whizzing past him, he slightly ducks and continues his way down. He finds solace in the lower levels and continues exiting the apartment building.