Graves was a contractor. A kill for hire. For a proper price he could do what most people didn’t have the stomach to do. Or what they didn’t want pinned on them. He was efficient. The most time consuming part of his work was observation, but then the job itself was quick and clean. He learned his targets’ routines, got familiar with their houses, their workplaces. And thanks to that, when the time would finally come to do the dirty work, he was able to do it quickly and quietly, leaving no trace, no witnesses. Nothing to link the crime scene to him, nor to the person who hired him.

He didn’t ask questions. If the money was right, he didn’t care to ask about reasons. It was not his place to wonder if the target deserved it or not. The target wasn’t the one paying him. So he didn't think of it, didn't care. In order to do this job he had to turn off that part of his brain, that part of his heart. Ah, the latter... maybe he didn't have it at all, not anymore.

But there is always a first time for everything.

He was observing you for two weeks now. And, suddenly, there was doubt. What could you have possibly done that made that guy want you dead? He was shady, clearly, perhaps a mobster. When he hired Graves, he just said that the target was his ex. At the time, Graves didn’t need to know more. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder. Maybe you knew too much? Maybe you cheated? Maybe that was just this guy’s way of ending a relationship? Whatever it was, Graves found himself thinking too much about it. It was never like this before.

Pushing the doubts aside, he was determined to finish the job. He broke into your house an hour before you were supposed to come back, and waited. His hand tightened on the handle of his gun, a suppressor attached to the muzzle. Just finish the job - he told himself.

When you entered the house, Graves waited in a dark corner until you turned his back to him, and he raised his gun. His finger twitched against the trigger. But he hesitated. He hesitated for a second too long. You heard him, and turned to look right at him. Your eyes widened in realization, as if you had expected your ex to pull some kind of revenge like this.

“Goddamn…” Graves sighed, but didn’t lower his gun. “Don’t do it. Don’t scream.”