ALEK

The HIT Network wants death and I'm its biggest supplier.

It's 12 AM on a Saturday night as I stand over Tom Baker, an old white businessman living in the richest part of New York. He's slumped on his new and polished desk, left hand limply dangling down the side of his table. There's blood dripping down the edge of his chair, and the cool breeze that sweeps into the room from the open window makes the smell of blood a little bit more tolerable.

The thing about The HIT Network is that it's simple. You get into the website, accept a HIT, kill your HIT, and get your money. There's a hundred things that could go wrong, of course, but when you're an assassin that is well known as Shadow on the market, the employers know better than to mess with you.

Ding!

Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I take a slow step back towards the door and away from the already rotting corpse, wrinkling my nose. My black gear is spotless of course, and the black mask on my face hides my face.

User111 would like to send you a private message.

I grin. Those types of messages always make the most money.

I click 'accept' and watch as the page loads. I'm in no rush to leave the apartment, but I want to collect my money from my latest HIT as soon as possible so I can use this week to relax and catch up with my real life. I let out a loud sigh as another ding echoes and I roll on the ends of my feet in anticipation.

User111: I have a very important HIT for you, Shadow.

I quickly reread the message before typing out a reply.

You: Tell me more.

I watch as the word 'read' pops up below my text and User111 begins to type once more.

User111: Alek Russo. I want him dead.

I frown. Aek Russo? The Alek Russo? The Alek Russo who stole two million dollars from right under my nose three years ago? The heir to the most ruthless Italian mafia? That Alek Russo?

Hell no. I don't mess with the mafia.

You: You better have a reasonable excuse for bothering me with this request.

User111: 100 million bucks are on the line, Shadow. Don't you want to know more?

Here's the thing. Money is my weakness. I like to have more, no matter how much I already have. I might be the richest person on the planet, but I don't care. I still want more. And the thing is, most people on The HIT Network must have realized this because as their HITS get more absurd, so does their money. Only a few days ago did I get a HIT request from a user, begging me to kill the president.

Like, seriously?

When I started this whole assassin thing, I was only fifteen. And naive. But that was four years ago, because I'm nineteen now, and I know more than I did then. But no matter how much I know now, if there is one thing I will never understand it's why my parents, the leaders of one of the biggest American mafia's left me on the streets as a child and never looked back. I know they know I exist. I know they know. But what I do not know is why they haven't bothered to contact me.

I mean, I know I have a brother who's a year younger than me. But, why did they keep him and leave me on the streets?

Ding!

The notification bell snaps me out of my thoughts and I look down at the messages on my phone. User111 has messaged me again.

User111: Lucky for you, the Russo family is in New York to spread their business here. It should be easy for you to take out your hit on land you're familiar with.

I hold my phone tighter in my hands as another message pops up below this one.

User111: All of your expenses will be paid for. If there is one person who can get rid of Alek Russo, then it's you.

I snort. Compliments will get you nowhere in the mafia world.

You: 150 million dollars.

Yeah. I know. I'm actually thinking about killing the heir to the Italian mafia. But what can I say? You would too if 150 million bucks were on the line.

User111: Fine.

I grin. I don't have to give him my final answer until later tonight. The HIT Network always gives its suppliers a little time to think. But I like the idea of being 150 million dollars richer. But is Alek Russo even worth 150 million bucks?

I take in a deep breath and began to type, fatigue finally sinking into my bones after a long day and only five hours of sleep.

You: Tell me more.

_____________________

Three years ago, I would have never imagined myself as the person I am today. On the streets, I'm known as Shadow, an assassin who melts into the darkness and disappears without a trace. But in the real world, I'm known as Mae Kazimi, a nineteen year old girl living on the fifteenth floor in the richest part of New York.

What the world does not know…...is well…...a lot. In fact, they know nothing at all.

They don't know that I was found and raised by Hale, an old boxer who runs an illegal underground fighting arena near a shabby part of the city. They don't know of Rashid, Avery and Kai Chen, the people who I grew up with. They don't know of the days I have spent training in the back of Hale's underground boxing arena, using whatever scraps of metal I could find to use as a weapon. They don't know of the long grueling hours of workouts I spent doing when most kids my age were out having fun and attending parties.

I didn't get those chances.

It was only a matter of time before people discover who I really am. Mae Kazimi, daughter of Denez Kazimi, the great American mafia leader. And where would that put me?

In a grave.

Six feet below the dirt.

Hale knows my mother. I know he has a past with her. Whenever I used to mention her when I was younger, his thick brows would knit together in a frown and his mouth would twitch. I asked him about it a good two years ago, and all I got from him was a grunt.

And then, "We were close when we were younger. That's all you need to know."

I never asked him about her again. And I never want to.

It's way past 1 AM when I squeeze through the small metal door that leads downstairs to the underground boxing arena Hale has set up. I usually come here to clean up after taking out my HITs, and Hale is way past complaining about it. Now, when he sees me climbing down his shabby stairs and into one of his rooms to change, the only thing I get from him is a roll of his eyes.

"Mae," Hale grumbles, his deep voice rumbling through the hallway. "You're late."

I let out a yawn and walk towards the sound of his voice, not bothering with a greeting, "Do you have very cold ice cream by any chance? I'm starving."

As I enter the large back room, I can't help but notice the dirty rust stained walls and the line of empty beer bottles messily placed in random areas of the room. A long table sits near the front with a bookshelf attached into the wall behind it, books almost overflowing from its shelves. In front of the shelf and on a chair sits Hale, leaning back with his long white hair tied in a man bun and his old wrinkled face buried in a book.

Before I can open my mouth to speak again, quiet footsteps from outside the room catches my attention and I turn around to see the intruder.

"Ice cream?" Avery quips as she appears from behind the wall, a bright smile on her face.

I return her smile, taking it from her hands.

Avery is only seventeen, but with me, Rashid and Kai Chen to guide her, she's smarter than I was when I was her age. With her long braided blond hair and dashing face, there's nothing that she can't get with a little pout and doggy eyes. She's a robber….though she doesn't like going by that term.

"I simply acquire special artifacts that will sell well on the dark web," she likes to say, a secret grin on her face. "Everyone has their own thing, you know. This is mine."

I don't bother arguing with her anymore, but I like to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble.

Rashid and Kai enter the room from behind her, each holding an ice cream bowl in their hands.

"It's 1 Am," Hale complains, finally looking up from whatever boring book he's reading. "What are you four doing in my office?"

"Junkyard, you mean," Avery says in a singsong voice and settles onto the edge of his table despite his grumbles. "It won't hurt to renovate, you know."

Rashid pushes the glasses further up onto his nose as he joins Kai on the worn out sofa that is ripping in the center, "She's right. You'll have rats living here soon enough."

I toss my mask onto the messy side table and lean against the bookshelf that goes around the right wall.

Rashid is twenty-seven years old and wanted in more than twenty states. Well….Electro is wanted in more than twenty states….but Rashid? Well, he's just Rashid, the smart hacker who's too smart for his own good. He can hack into pretty much everything, so you already know how useful he is. Especially to me.

And then, there's Kai Chen. He's twenty two years old and is interning under Hale who has been teaching him to box since we were all kids. He makes money from the underground fights and helps Hale run the place when he's not training.

"I have news," I announce finally, unable to hold it back any longer.

Hale instantly straightens on his chair, setting his book aside to turn his attention to me. He knows when I say this, I mean business.

Kai's large body is purely muscle and so when he shifts on the sofa, Rashid almost falls face first into his lap, "Mae-"

Before he can continue, I interrupt him as fast as I can and say, "I've accepted a 150 million dollar HIT and the employer wants me to slit Alek Russo's throat."

The silence is deafening. All four of them stare at me, eyes wide and mouths open as they slowly digest what I've just said. I wait for them to stop gawking like I've just sprouted a tail and demon horns but they don't.

"It's not that bad!" I protest, turning to Avery and waiting for her to support me like she always does. "Come on Avery! Tell them!"

Avery is too busy gawking at me to move her mouth.

It's Kai who speaks first, "You mean the guy who stole two million dollars right out of your bank account three years ago? That douchebag?"

"Yes Kai, that douchebag."

Rashid snaps out of it next, "I….um...wow. Okay."

I know it will take Rashid a few moments longer to comprehend what he's just heard despite how smart he is, so I turn to Hale.

"Hale?"

Avery shifts over so I can look him in the eye.

"You're serious?" Hale asks, eyes narrowed and jaw set. "You want to murder the heir to the Italian mafia?"

I nod slowly, not sure where Hale is taking this conversation.

"What have I told you about messing with the mafia, Mae?"

Rashid, Kai and Avery shift uneasily from where they are positioned in the room. Hale is not one to scold, but tonight it seems like it will be a different story.

I clear my throat, "That I must not take part in it."

"Yeah, that's what I've taught you, eh?" he rumbles, getting up from his spot. "What do you think will happen if you kill Alek Russo?"

"I'll make sure not to get spotted."

Hale laughs. But it's not his usual cheerful laugh. It's an angry laugh.

"You know," he starts, turning his icey brown eyes to meet mine, "I knew a fool like you once. Thirty years ago, he got himself into a brawl with a mafia mate and received a job offer as a Capo after winning. Do you want to know where he is now thirty years later?"

I have to tread carefully. This is not a usual conversation I have with Hale, and even though he has raised me, I have hardly seen this side of him.

"In jail?" I ask calmly.

"In a grave," Hale replies.

I stay silent. I know Hale hates the mafia, and so I say no more. I watch as he makes his way towards me, his body made of all muscle and brute strength. In a fight with him, I'd end up without a head.

"Do you know why I hate the mafia, Mae?" Hale asks, his voice low.

I shake my head, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Because once you're in, there's no getting out."

And with that, he barges out of his office, his large feet thumping against the wooden floor and disappears into the hallway.

I look up to meet Avery's glistening blue eyes. I watch as she picks casually at her nails, blowing out a long breath, "Well, lucky for you, I happen to have already passed my goal for acquiring a specific amount of artifacts this month, and so I'm completely free."

Here's the thing. Avery is one to hide things until she can no longer hide them. She likes to keep her emotions….nonexistent. And even in the scariest and saddest times, the only thing you will see on her face is a small smile and the words 'it is what it is' coming from her lips. I can tell when she's sad though. It comes with living with someone for their entire lives.

After all, family is more than blood.

I know Avery doesn't set any 'goals' nor does she count how many artifacts she's stolen in a month. But I also know she will invent something as long as it means helping me deal with Alek Russo. And I truly love her for that.

"There's no way I'm letting you run off after that pompous ass yourself," Rashid says, fixing his glasses on his nose. "Who's going to disable all the security systems so you can slit his throat?"

I hide my smile.

Kai stays silent.

"Kai?" Avery raises her eyebrows. "And you?"

"I'll stay behind and watch Hale," Kai offers instead, stuffing ice cream into his mouth. "If you need any additional help from here, I'll be at your disposal."

I know they'll find a way to help me even if I say 'no.' But is the 150 million dollars truly worth putting Rashid and Avery in danger?

"Lucky for us," I start taking in a deep breath, "the Russo's are in town. We just have to find them."

"When are we starting?" Rashid asks as Kai lets out a yawn and drops his head onto his shoulder.

I turn to the clock that now reads 1:30 AM. It's late, yes, but it's never too late to kill a heir to an Italian mafia and make a good 150 million bucks.

"Tomorrow," I say.

After I'm done with Alek Russo, the entire Italian mafia will be at its knees. I'll get my money, and I'll get my answers as to what really happened three years ago. They say curiosity kills the cat, but the only person dying this time is Alek Russo.

And by the time I'm done with him, I'll have whatever remains of the Italian mafia quaking at its knees.

And the black mask of the Shadow will be the last face that they see.