Previously.

The sky turned a cold black. The assassin seemed to melt into his surroundings; from a distance Justin seemed safe and as the minutes stretched out he felt nearly human. The girl crossed his mind. He wondered what she was doing. There was no way out of the building.

Justin suddenly cursed. He'd left his knives on the table, and had sent the girl inside. He didn't dash in though. The assassin was much too calm for that. He gripped the Silverballer, imagining the inside of the building; the room with the dead man, the short hall, the empty kitchen, the bedrooms and the tiny yellow bathroom. He considered the tiny frail body of the scared, pale girl. Her big eyes, the scrape along her shoulder and the raw red of her wrists.

Then he opened the door.

Abigail stood with her back to the dead man. She was half crouched in fear and determination.

The knife in her hand glittered with dried blood and steel. It was trembling. Justin raised the gun level with her chest and stared at her. She shivered with fear. He shuffled his feet forward just slightly holding her eyes with his. He didn't blink; neither did she.

"Put the knife down," he said authoritatively. A tremor ran through her arm but she didn't move. Justin sighed. He didn't want to shoot her. He jabbed the gun at her again, making her flinch. Her hand was shaking as though the knife was about to fall from her fist.

Abruptly she gripped the knife with a look of determination coming over her face. Abigail lunged at him, the knife held high to dive down into Justin's shoulder. He swung up his arm to his face. With a crack their forearms collided. The knife cut down into his face. With a cry of rage Justin pushed the girl down onto the floor, his gun rammed against her neck. He pushed his knee into her chest.

"You..." words failed him. He pushed off her with his knee, making her gasp in pain. He held the gun up to her head. "Give me a reason I should not kill you!" he screamed. Blood coursed down his jaw and dripped onto his collar.

She stared at him in absolute terror. He gestured angrily for her to stand. "Realize, girl, that you are nothing to me. Nothing. I don't care if you live or die." Justin reached across to her and pulled the knife roughly out of her grip. His eyes were cold. Swiping a hand across his face he swore loudly. "Stay here."

Justin walked out of the room with the dead man down the hall. In a bedroom hung a second dress shirt. He looked down at his jeans. They were dirty but he couldn't see any great amounts of blood. His current shirt was splattered so he swapped it for the new one. He ripped the sleeve from the old one and pressed it against the cut on his cheek.

Abbie was still standing in the same spot when he returned. He gestured with the gun though he really didn't need to. She was shaking uncontrollably. He glanced at his wrist. It had just gone nine.

"I'll take you to get some food." He flung his coat at her and she put it on slowly. He sighed loudly and she jerked. "Ready?" he asked with annoyance.

They left the house quickly.

The streets around the house were dark, the few street lights glowed only a sick yellow and the girl kept on shivering in fear. As they walked in silence Justin's anger subsided.

He thought over the situation. The girl... She might talk. She might not. He should kill her. She could eat and calm down, once she was back at the house he would do it. Get her comfortable, then betray her trust. Justin grimaced, but it was what had to happen. He didn't need the police on his tail, not ever and not now. He had to kill Abigail.

She shouldn't have been there, the man had meant to have been alone and Abigail should never have been caught up in it. He should have sent her away with a lie before anything had happened; he should have killed her when he killed the man. He shook his head. It was too late for what ifs. He'd screwed up. He had to kill Abigail.

She huddled unconsciously close to him as the dark alley pressed against them. He breathed in, the smell of her hair filling his nose and he allowed himself a little smile. When they rounded a corner a bright street light filled thair path and for just a moment everything was nearly cheerful.

The blood was still seeping slowly through the cut and Justin pushed the cloth against it. In the instant his hand left her arm she ran. Justin flung up the Silverballer but realized in a moment that he couldn't shoot her. He began running after her. Her feet thudded against the ground with hard slaps. Then the fog and darkness swallowed her.

Justin ran.

Panting, he skidded around a corner. He could feel a slight sheen of sweat begin on his forehead and he pushed his hair back. Abbie was nowhere. The unfamiliar grip of fear closed around him, but Justin pushed it away. Fear wouldn't help him.

A scream twisted the air. Justin raised the gun and dashed forward. Through the mist two figures, a slender girl, hair flying, being pushed between them, backing her into the wall.

"Stop!" He yelled. They turned at his voice. He jabbed the gun at them, yelling again, "Stop that!" Abi screamed as one of them tossed her down onto the ground. Justin fired the gun once. A man jerked, blood spraying out from his shoulder, nearly falling. He pushed himself against the wall with a yelp, his arm bleeding and useless. Justin pulled the trigger again and it clicked loudly. He swore loudly and ran up to the two men.

The unharmed man rushed him, the shot man fell into the scruffle late, and with loud grunts they fell against each other, kicking and punching. With a solid hit Justin punched the wounded one hard against the wall. He fell in a huddled bleeding clump.

For a common street fighter the man had skill, he was big and well muscled. The slender assassin felt as though he was doing nothing. Suddenly his fingers found the soft skin of a neck. Cruelly he wrapped his hands around in and crushed. The body writhed under him, Justin kept pushing down, his knees digging into the shoulders. Slowly the man became weaker, the struggles less violent. Justin sat, panting, crouched on the man's chest.

He suddenly became aware of Abi. Hastily he got off the man, unsure if he was unconscious or dead. He didn't want to check, didn't want to have to tell Abi he was dead. Cautiously he stepped up to Abi, wrapped the coat firmly around her, gently put his arm around her shoulders. She huddled into him and he sighed at her smell. "It's okay. It's only a street away, the diner is. You're fine."

He enveloped her, holding her close. Suddenly Abi leapt back.

"No! You're... You're evil!"

Justin held up his hands, as if to show that he was unarmed. Her eyes went to the gun tucked into his jeans and he shook his head.

"It's not loaded. Come on, you need to eat. You'll feel better once you've eaten." Without touching her Justin began to gently guide her away from the two crumpled bodies.

For Sangsoo. To be continued.