Right on cue, I waited in the alleyway. It was quiet here and the filthy stench of old pee filled my nostrils. There were some garbage cans and some old fashioned escape staircases from the previous era. The rain hammered down and in the distance I could see people moving around in a hurry, trying to get out of the bad weather as soon as possible. I pulled up my hood tighter and started to get more annoyed as they were keeping me waiting. They always expect me to show up on time but they rarely do. Right as I wanted to open my holo to videocall my contact a door opened and a big man showed up. He was either security or a club bouncer. He gazed around the alley until his eye landed on me. I showed him the token I was given earlier and he beckoned me to come in. 

I followed him through the graffiti-tagged door. He guided me through a maze of small hallways and dozens of doors which all looked the same until we entered a room with a metal scanner and firearm detector. There were two more goons waiting here and they both looked up at me as I entered and I noticed their surprise. They were obviously not expecting me to look like this. 

"Any weapons, firearms and anything else of a kind of metal which can be used as a weapon please discard here." The one who brought me in pointed to a chest. I shook my head but complied. It was no use to argue. I placed my daggers, needles, throwing knives and a single plasma gun in the chest. I had to do my best to hide a small smile as I saw their surprised faces. They had not expected me to pack so much heat I guess. Then he closed the lid and locked it before putting it away. The two other goons then grabbed their detectors and each walked to another side of me. They raised their arms and a green forcefield appeared between their devices. Slowly they lowered it, so I covered me and went right through me. As soon as I was cleared, they took me through another door and into a big corridor dressed in red velvet with golden ornaments on the wall. Tacky if you ask me. I prefer clean, white and clear hallways. At the end of the corridor, the goon taking me there knocked on the door and waited for the door to open. As soon as it did, he gestured me to enter while he took a little bow and walked off. 

Another goon looked me up and down, his face betraying no emotion, and beckoned me to follow him. We entered a big room adorned with the same red carpet as the corridor. The walls were black and one wall was used as one big screen with several live camera feeds of the establishment I was in. In the middle stood a few tables with three people sitting on one side. My contact, and two of the owners of this place I presumed. My contact grinned at me, showing his filthy teeth. I truly had no idea why he never had them fixed. The goon leading me in pulled back a chair and I sat down. A glass of water was poured and placed on the table in front of me, but I did not touch it.

"This is your choice?  A scrawny brat? How do you know she is even capable of this job?!" The man in the middle had turned red in frustration as he lashed out at my contact. I calmly remained seated observing him and his partner. The one in the middle was gray on the sides and bald on top. I could see he had one of his eyes replaced by a fake one, allowing him to see additional information nobody else could see. One of his arms was mechanical as well. The way his jacket curved along his shoulder compared to the other shoulder was a simple give away even though his hand looked like every other. I could tell he had a short fuse and was not used to hearing no. What he wanted, he would get. One way or another. 

"Oh, she is capable all right. I would never dare to put someone on the job who wasn't." My contact smiled without showing his teeth this time. The boss looked at me again and I stared straight back him. He didn't scare me and I would let him know one way or another.

"Prove it girl."

I felt my holo buzz on my arm and an arrogant smile found its way on my face. I slowly raised my arm and tapped the holo, wanting him to look down at his. He raised an eyebrow and opened his holo.

Breaking news as senator McGee was found dead in his hotel room together with what appears to be an escort girl. The police have not yet released an official statement but rumors are they died because of a new drug that's been taking hold of our city.

The boss slowly looked up at me as I tossed a single pill to him. It stopped sliding right before him and he slowly picked it up and examined it.

"How did you get this?" I shrugged still smiling at him. He was getting angry and it showed. I wanted to provoke him. This one murder was not enough to prove I was capable enough. He still deemed me weak because I had used poison and I knew I had to prove my physical strength.

"How did you get this! Answer me!" He slammed his fist on the table. The water inside the glasses rippled. I stared him straight into the eye and signed to my contact who reluctantly started translating. I knew he would speak exactly what I was saying. 

"She says she's a mute, not deaf or retarded." He flinched as the boss briskly and shortly turned towards him before turning back to me. His face was starting to get red from anger and I braced myself for what was to come. In the corner of my eyes, I could see slight movement from one of his goons. Just a little longer. Better start counting.

1, 2, 3, 4 ,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

As if he heard me counting in my head the Boss spoke up. "Seize her and teach her some respect."

I heard two pair of footsteps come for me and just before they reached me, I quickly got up and kicked my chair back. I spun around and from a secret pocket in my shirt, I took my last blade. A hard, plastic blade. Undetectable by metal and weapon scanners. Light on my feet, I spun around and got the first goon by complete surprise. He screamed as I lunged for him, but it was cut short as the small blade quickly slashed his throat. 

I hate blood. I really do. But sometimes there is no other choice. After this little show, I would need a shower for sure.

After dealing with the first goon, I saw the other draw his weapon and I quickly rolled out of the way right through the pool of blood from the first goon. 

Fuck. Now these clothes are ruined for sure.

He fired but missed and I was fast. I kicked his legs from out underneath him, took his gun arm and held it back as I kicked it with leg, breaking the arm right at the elbow. Always go for the weak points. Joints are one of them. His scream of pain was silenced by a gunshot and his brain splattering on the floor. I got up, stretched my back and turned to the Boss and my contact. The two other men just stared with their mouths open but all of them had remained seated. I was a little surprised actually. I had expected them to at least try to run, even though I had no intention of actually killing any of them. These two goons would suffice.

I signed to my contact and he scraped his throat before addressing the Boss. "She doesn't like it when you doubt her. She is more than capable as demonstrated. Either you hire her or she leaves right now."

Ok, that wasn't exactly what I signed but it was good enough. He just made it slightly nicer. The Boss looked at me and I saw his anger melt like snow before the sun. That was the moment I knew I got the job.