22 years later
The whistling of the wind combined with the speakers spitting out songs at ungodly sound levels on the rooftop almost gave Ethan a brain aneurysm. The girls in low-cut skimpy dresses gyrating to the music and spilling their drinks didn't help either. Looking for some much needed peace Ethan moved through the crowd carefully aiming for the balcony. The thrum of the speakers didn't fade but at least it was no longer a threat to his eardrums. Resting his hands on the balcony he looked out over New York City from his perch 80 stories in the sky, the sunset over the horizon painting the sky with streaks of yellow, purple and pink. The party behind him and the city below him fell away as he enjoyed this perfect moment. The wind picked up, ruffling his hair and throwing the flaps of his jacket back like some sort of superhero cape. As he closed his eyes to savor the moment the sickly sweet overpowering scent of perfume forced its way into his peace, shattering his moment of peace. He opened his eyes long enough to see a flash of blonde hair resting on a slender 5ft 3" frame, her black dress way too short to belong to someone who had experienced the streets of New York, also it was freezing. Ethan's preliminary profile put her as a high school senior out looking for some fun.
She leaned against the balcony with her back to it, her hands folded backwards forcing her cleavage to appear larger. She swept her hand through her hair a few times before pulling her phone out and texting someone for a few minutes, bursting into laughter at carefully planned intervals. The clicks her fingers made as they hit the screen also timed like she was counting down the seconds. When the noise eventually began to irritate Ethan he straightened his back and started to leave when she finally spoke in a rush, like she couldn't just wait to get all her words out while extending her hand to him to shake
"Hi, I'm Tiffany. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry this is kind of embarrassing but have we met before? You have this familiar vibe about you. Have you ever been to the Hamptons? My family owns a house down there. We go there for spring break most of the time, sometimes we prefer Florence even though my dad is like really tight-fisted when it comes to his private jet...."
"Just stop," Ethan said, finally pushed past his breaking point by the annoying whine of her voice. But before he can rip 'Tiffany' a new one the voice of agent Kristen Donovan came alive over the earpiece hidden in Ethan's ear.
"It's go time pierce, don't let me down. Remember, if you blow his mission Lorenzo Romano is going to take over Italy with the artifact he stole. So don't screw this up kid"
Delighted to finally be rid of the girl in front of him, Ethan turned to her and said in a whisper
"This will probably scar you for life but you'll be responsible with your life, so totally worth it"
And with those final words, Ethan bent his knees forward and leapt unto the balcony, the panicked shouts of the girl behind him drawing all the attention in the room towards him. He turned to face them and with a wink to everyone he fell back, and off the 80 stories tall building with a smile on his face.
The wind whipping into his eyes, his body streamlined to fall faster. The ground ominously glared at him, ready to accept another puny suicidal human. but just before he went splat like a piece of gum on the sidewalk, he disappeared into thin air. The people who hadn't stood up when he jumped, now rushed to the balcony to see the vanishing jumper for themselves.
As they lined the balcony trying to make sense of what happened, Lorenzo swam to the edge of the infinity pool hoping to see what they had seen too, when suddenly he was dragged under by a blur that came from above in colours of white and black. His lungs screamed for oxygen, his thoughts became a blur. Just as he was about to die, he looked up hoping to see his killer's face at least, and what he saw shocked him.
A minute later, Ethan jumped out of the pool soaking wet, mission completed and happy to leave the party early.