A week earlier it hadn’t been so bad, Alexander had come into Paris via train, ready and eager to get this new job done. He had been born and raised in France, but after the war, England had taken him in after rescuing him from near death, and was especially pleased by the skills he’d developed in the areas of darkness magic. It made him incredibly useful when it came to hiding, and also finding those who were as well. So the military trained him, and now he was on the hunt for those that would mean to do harm to Queen and Country.
His orders were simple, find the man organizing the terrorist plot, kill him, and then come home in time for afternoon tea. He likely would have followed those orders to the letter if it wasn’t for the dream of a woman he saw sitting outside a café. Figuring a bit of fun wouldn’t be a problem, he moved to a table across from her, slipped his bag under his chair and ordered a cup of coffee, letting the sweet aroma mix with the beautiful strawberry blonde he couldn’t keep his eyes off of, “Why would anyone let you sit alone?”
She looked at him curiously, moving some of the thick curls away from her face, “Are you talking to me?”
Alexander nearly melted, her voice was as beautiful as she was, she made the French language something similar to an elegant poem. “Of course I am. No one else here is the vision of grace that you are. They are fools for letting you be alone.”
The woman shook her head and smiled, her hair dancing across her shoulders, “So you decided to take it upon yourself to point that out?”
“Someone needed to,” Alexander leaned back in his chair, pointing to her own cup, “I’ll buy your drink, but only if you come sit with me so no one else has to worry. You can tell me about yourself, I absolutely would love to hear it.”
It took a moment of her studying him before she stood, the tight skirt she was wearing flared just at her knees, as though tempting anyone to imagine more. Her top was one of frills against her chest, teasing men who looked at her to try and look away, and she brought her hand up with the small cup of coffee to block whatever view Alexander may have had, “My name is Dominique, and I am from Versailles.”
“The home of the French revolution, it is such a beautiful place,” he smiled at her, simply thrilled to have her company, “it only makes sense that you would be from there. My name is Alexander, and I was born in Paris.”
The woman smiled, resting her chin on the back of her hand, “A city boy? No wonder you are so forward. I haven’t seen you before though, and I’ve been in Paris for quite some time, where have you been hiding?”
“All sorts of places,” he laughed a little at the irony of her statement, “England mostly. Now I know what you’re probably thinking, but they did save me from certain death and patched me up. That’s the only reason I was there for so long. I decided to come home now though, I missed this,” he motioned his hand to the view of the city next to the river, then looked across the table at Dominique, “and I must have picked the best time to come home, because I found you as well.”
“Oh dear,” Dominique laughed, once again shaking her head at the man, “Do you have any idea just how desperate you sound?”
“Depends, is it working?” Alexander smirked, raising an eyebrow at the woman as he did. They stayed there for quite some time, simply talking about the weather, or the city, at some points they talked about a street performer who had decided to take up shop across the street, but eventually it came time for her to stand up, a motion that caused him to immediately take her hand to try and stop her, “You’re leaving so soon?”
“My apologies, but I must,” she looked down at him, some of the light red curls framing her face, “I am a rather busy lady.”
He turned his chair to face her, still refusing to let her go anywhere, “Then see me tonight. I will take you to dinner, wherever you want to go, then you can decide whether or not I’m being too desperate. What do you say to that?”
She looked as though she were pondering the offer before nodding her head, “Alright. Meet me outside here at 7:00, don’t be late, and don’t disappoint me, Mr. Alexander.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he finally let her hand slip away from his, and all he could do was watch her leave. It wasn’t until she was completely out of his sight that he remembered the bag he had been carrying with him, and he hurried to get checked into the hotel the military had put him up in. Now it was time to actually get to work. The suspected terrorist was fairly wealthy, according to the intelligence they had gathered on him, so he decided not to go around looking through the slums. Alexander put a hat on to hide some of his face, and pulled out a thin cigarette and a small mirror. He held the mirror over the smoke while whispering a short incantation, the spell creating an illusion that would make it so only the people he wanted to could see him. It was once he was finished that he ventured back out into the city.
It took some looking, but he eventually spotted the man in a local bar, the problem he found was that he wasn’t alone. The target, a Mr. Robert LeBeau, was also a local gang leader, and had a good deal of security following him around. Alexander cursed the fact he actually wasn’t going to be able to get his job done quickly, but took the opportunity to get as close as he could without being noticed, and luckily the darkness magic worked exactly the way it was supposed to and obscured anyone from seeing his location. They were discussing business, which was convenient, except they were talking about expenses, which Alexander could honestly care less about. He just wanted information on the supposed terrorist plot, not whether or not their books were correct.
He waited until he heard when they would be in the bar next and quickly slipped away. He managed to make it back to his hotel room and change into something far nicer, he’d only had enough time to make sure his brown hair was resting the way he wanted before he left, which meant he had to finish putting on his tie as he walked briskly back to the café. Alexander checked the pocket watch he had with him before rounding the corner, letting out a deep breath when he found he wasn’t actually late, then adjusted his suit making sure it was perfectly straight, and returned to walking. He almost collapsed from his knees becoming weak when he saw the woman waiting for him; Dominique’s hair was up, pinned by a dark red rose hiding amongst the curls, and she was wearing a long red dress to match it. Alexander had to remind himself not only how to walk, but also how to talk when he made it up to her, “You came.”
“Of course I did,” she smiled softly, only subtly looking him over, “I’m not one to stand a person up. If you wanted to prove that you aren’t desperate, I’m more than happy to let you try.”
Alexander smiled, holding his arm out to her, “Then by all means, let’s be off. I found this lovely restaurant by the river, how about we go there for dinner? Though I did say it would be your choice, so if you have any other suggestions I’d love to hear them.”
The woman let out a quiet giggle at his formality and accepted the arm, “That sounds delightful. Lead the way.”
Dinner was wonderful, though the part that he thought was more memorable was afterward, when Dominique hadn’t so subtly suggested going back to the hotel he was staying in. Alexander wasn’t sure when he eventually fell to sleep, but when he opened his eyes again he saw the space next to him on the bed empty, though still warm, so he sat up and watched as she tied a violet ribbon into her hair, “Did you sleep well?”
She smiled sweetly and walked over, placing her hands against his cheeks as she planted a deep kiss on his lips, “Soundly. I wanted to stay longer, but I do have work to do.”
“You never told me what you do for a living,” Alexander let his fingers dance over her own, weaving them together, “Actress, or a model?”
“I’m a gardener,” Dominique smiled, sitting next to him on the bed, “You never told me what you do either.”
“I consider myself a jack of all trades,” he laughed quietly, “I prefer doing odd-jobs and such to get by. I tend to jump around a lot.” Alexander sighed, looking to her with more than a little despair, “Though i
f you must leave, I suppose I can’t stop you. I only request I get to see you again, and understand if you refuse I’m afraid I can’t let you leave this room.”
She looked to be thinking over her options before kissing him again, “Then shall we meet up at the café again tonight?”
“That sounds like a glorious idea, I look forward to seeing you,” he returned the kiss then got up so that he was presentable enough to see Dominique off. It ached to watch her leave, but there was the promise of seeing her again that made it a little easier. Alexander took a deep breath, letting her perfume linger for just a bit longer, before moving to get to work himself.
Over the better course of the week their rendezvous continued, each morning they said their goodbyes only to meet again that evening. Through it all Alexander still managed to keep tabs on the gang leader. His orders were to kill the man, but he also didn’t want to do so prematurely, LeBeau was in charge of the terrorist group that had threatened England, and if there was anyone else or anything else that he needed to take care of, this was the man that would know. There was a bit of panic that had started to run through him, he had overheard LeBeau talking about having hired someone to find the supposed assassin, which Alexander was well aware we likely him. He wasn’t sure when or where he’d slipped up, and he hadn’t gotten even a description of this new challenger, which worried him greatly, however when he was with Dominique that concern would vanish instantly.
“Have you been to this place before?” she pointed towards the bar he had been listening at over the last several days, “I’ve heard they’re good.”
Alexander read the sign outside, making it seem as though he were trying to recall a distant memory, “I believe so, but not recently.”
The woman giggled lightly, pulling his arm towards the bar, “Let’s go get something to drink before turning in tonight. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“Sure,” he smiled back at the woman, allowing her to lead him into the building. It was a bit more crowded than when he’d been in there before, but that was fine, the problem he had with the situation was the terrorist leader sitting in the corner booth with a couple women on either side of him, “I was afraid of this…”
Dominique was half way to the bar when she looked over her shoulder at him, “What’s wrong?”
“We should go,” he moved over, taking her arm in his as though he were an escort, “There are some not good people here. We should just leave.”
She looked around the bar, her eyes full of confusion, “Who? Oh!” she leaned close to Alexander keeping her voice low, “My boss is here though, so we might want to keep out of his sight. I’d hate to start talking about work while I’m out with you.”
As though hearing the mention, LeBeau raised an arm, waving the woman over, “What a coincidence seeing you here, my dear Dalia! How goes the work?”
Dominique sighed, looking over at Alexander apologetically, “Sorry, hopefully this will be quick.” She walked over and stood in front of the table, purposefully ignoring the women on either side of Mr. LeBeau. Alexander slipped up behind her, he didn’t want her anywhere near that man, but he knew if he made a scene any cover he had left would be destroyed, but he made sure he was close enough to at least hear what they were saying. “Still getting out all the weeds, I think I’ve only got one left.”
“That’s wonderful news, though I will be honest, I’m a bit sad it’s taking so long, these allergies are trying to kill me,” he smirked a bit, taking a sip of a deep purple wine, “Are you having trouble focusing on the task at hand?”
“No, absolutely not,” she answered quickly, her tone becoming a tad defensive, “I will get this done, I guarantee it. I just need more time. Rest assured I will make sure to stop those weeds before you have any issues.”
Alexander felt his mouth dry instantly, and he wondered if any amount of liquid would fix it. Their code wasn’t hard to crack, he knew exactly what they were talking about and he found himself wanting to run. Why did it have to be her? How was he supposed to kill LeBeau if Dominique was trying to find him? She obviously hadn’t figured him out yet, at least he’d hoped, and he tried to get the images of her walking around his hotel room while he was asleep out of his mind. That meant it would likely only be a matter of time before his cover was blown, he needed to get things done quickly. Would she kill him? He really wished he knew the answer, and Alexander somehow managed to force a smile as she came back to him, “Done?”
“Yes, sorry,” she smiled sweetly, taking his arm again, “He just wanted to remind me that I still had work to do.”
He pushed away the sick feeling building in his stomach, nodding and bringing his lips close to her ear, “Should we turn in early then?”
She blushed deeply for a brief moment, followed by a mischievous smirk, “After a couple drinks. Then we can head back.”
Alexander smiled and followed her example, ordering the drinks and leading her back to his room. He wanted her, needed her, and never wanted to let her go, but once she was asleep he slipped away from the bed, planting one last kiss on her lips before he left. The job needed to be finished tonight, no matter what and he only hoped he would get it done before she woke up. The streets were quiet and he slipped the goggles over his eyes to make it easier to see in the dark. He knew where LeBeau was staying, a rather nice villa on the edge of the city, and Alexander likely would have taken care of the job sooner, but Dominique had become a wonderful distraction, and he couldn’t say he was exactly guilty about making the decision to focus on her. He made his way over to the roof of a nearby building to get a good view, then got down to street level to hug the side of LeBeau’s. Once there he started scaling the wall, making his way to the balcony and started digging through the pockets of his jacket the gadgets from MI6 the military borrowed sometimes were incredibly interesting; what he had been given was an attachment for his handgun to muffle the sounds of gunfire.
Alexander made sure his sounds were also muted as he went, the last thing he needed was to be noticed. Alexander pulled out a pair of thin metal pins, slipping them between the shudders of a window, using them to flip the latch on the other side. With a gentle push he let them open, waiting to see if there was any reaction. When nothing happened he slipped inside. The smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and perfume permeated the villa, and when he finally found the bedroom, he discovered Mr. LeBeau in a rather deep sleep, the two women he had been with at the bar in a similar state, clothing scattered throughout the room. Alexander preferred not to have any civilian casualties, however sometimes acceptable losses were necessary. With a quiet sigh he pulled the trigger on the weapon, one bullet for each of the people in the bed, making sure to hit LeBeau first.
He waited to see if anyone came at the sound that had come from the gun, even though it wasn’t much, and when nothing happened he put the gun away and retreated back to the window. He was getting ready to return to the adjacent building’s roof when he stopped moving all together, the silhouette standing against the moonlight was facing him, and through the goggles he could just barely make out the frown on the woman’s face, “Oh no…”
“What are you doing, Alexander!” she shouted, Dominique’s voice carrying across the way just enough to reach him, “Why are you over there?”
“I told you I take all kinds of jobs!” he shouted back, not used to the panic that was welling up inside him. This was a disaster, he really didn’t want her to find out, he wanted to just go back inside the room and find another way out, or simply go back in time and change everything entirely, but it was too late, “I couldn’t tell you, I’m sorry!”
“It was you this whole time!” there was a twinge in her voice that carried with it shock and betrayal, “You were the assassin I was told to get? I don’t…You know what I have to do!”
He frowned, he could see the large case that was resting next to her and could only imagine what was inside it, and Alexander then started figuring out an escape route, “You don’t
have to anymore! The job’s done!”
She went quiet, her head lowering and a few of her curls getting blown against her face by the wind, “I have a job to do, and I will complete it. Now this is out of principle.” Dominique cocked her head to the side, “I do have an option for you though, come with me, we can work together, then we won’t have to worry about anything!”
It was tempting, incredibly tempting, and he almost accepted her offer, placing his foot on the railing even, but pulled back, shaking his head, “I can’t! I want to, so badly, I love you so much, but…I can’t.” he looked away briefly so he couldn’t see the pain come over her face, “I’m going to leave now.”
Dominique froze, her hands shaking at her side, “I’ll give you a head start then!” she glared, giving the case a light kick which caused it to flip open, “So start running!”
Alexander watched as she knelt down and started assembling something, which he only guessed was a rifle. He wanted to change his mind, but the part of him with better sense had already started moving. He needed to run, somewhere, he wasn’t sure where, or if there even was a place he could go, but all he knew was that Dalia was hunting him.
Lighting the Lantern