William sat down and ordered an iced Americano.
Before he could even gather his thoughts, his phone buzzed.
He pulled it out and saw a contract.
The pay was only a thousand dollars.
The location was a residential area.
The job: eliminate the occupant.
He snapped the phone shut.
As he looked up, the barista shot him a knowing glance, set down his drink, and walked away without waiting for a tip.
William didn’t have time to parse that look.
His mind was racing.
Kill someone?
Yeah, right.
He’d never even killed a chicken.
Back in his hometown, he used to get chased around by the village geese every New Year.
But from what Book had said, he was in too deep.
It was kill or be killed.
Hell, for all he knew, the poor bastard he was supposed to take out was some other poor soul who’d failed his assignment.
Based on what William remembered from the movies, the High Table wasn’t exactly a charity.
Playing along was the only way to stay alive.
As for taking on the High Table?
Let someone else be the legend.
That kind of fame came with a price William wasn’t willing to pay.
So, he made his decision.
He had to do this.
Get in, get it done, and get out.
Simple, right?
All he had to do was pull the trigger.
In this world, shooting someone probably wasn’t that big a deal.
The real question was what came after.
He couldn’t afford a “dinner” cleanup, and he didn’t have any contacts anyway.
Better scope the place out first.
Coffe in hand, William melted into the crowd and made his way to the address.
He circled the residential area, taking stock.
No cops in sight.
Not many residents around either.
Then a thought hit him.
If I kill someone, won’t that leave evidence?
But it wasn’t like he had a choice.
Soon enough, he spotted his target: a nervous-looking black man.
Jones JR Stenson.
His hand never left his pocket, and his eyes darted everywhere like he was searching for something.
He grabbed some food and hurried back inside.
Honestly, now would be a good time to draw.
There weren’t many people around, and if William was careful, the guy might not even notice.
But William had never fired a gun before.
Unless it was point-blank, he had zero confidence.
Maybe he really wasn’t cut out for this assassin gig.
Still, thinking ahead and prepping never hurt.
William finished his coffee and walked a couple of blocks away before tossing the cup into a street-side bin.
Some scavenger would pick it up and sell it for scrap before anyone could trace it.
He bought a pair of gloves and a stocking.
Grand Theft Auto’s wisdom never went out of style.
And it worked.
In most parking lots, there were a few abandoned cars, their owners having been “enrolled” in federal prison for one reason or another.
William just needed a disposable ride.
He found a public lot with no cameras, pulled on the gloves and stocking, and got to work on some “vehicle redistribution.” Smash the window, yank the alarm fuse, cross the starter wires, and boom.
The engine turned over.
William patted himself on the back for all those late-night deep dives into car theft tutorials.
His curiosity had finally paid off.
And weirdly, it felt almost instinctive.
The original owner of this body must have done this plenty of times.
He drove the beat-up pickup out of town and found a nice, secluded spot.
Time to dig.
Once the hole was ready, William rigged up a makeshift silencer, just an empty bottle.
It wouldn’t make the gun silent, but it would muffle the sound enough for his purposes.
The next day, William parked nearby and waited for the morning commuters to clear out.
He ordered a pizza and waited for the delivery.
After grabbing the pie, he checked the time.
The coast was clear.
He changed clothes, checked his weapon, and headed to the door.
Jones heard the knock and tensed up immediately.
He was a wreck, a bird too terrified to even fly.
He knew someone was coming for him, and the waiting was the worst part.
He gripped his gun, cursing himself for ever moving to this dump.
No peephole.
Who the hell doesn’t have a peephole?
Carefully, he pressed his ear to the door.
Then a voice called out.
“Hello, XXX Pizza, infinite flavor.
Your delivery is here.” “I didn’t order anything.” Jones cracked the door open slightly.
A calm-looking young man stood there, holding a pizza box and squinting at an address slip.
The kid looked up at the number, then back at Jones.
“Hello, sir.
This is the right address.” He held out the slip for Jones to see.
Jones opened the door a little wider and reached out to take the slip.
His attention divided, William saw his opening.
To avoid any complications, William chose the simplest method.
He emptied the magazine.
Gunshots rang out.
Jones collapsed in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open.
As he fell, he knocked over a cabinet by the door.
Knickknacks scattered, and a vase shattered on the floor.
William stared at the body.
Logically, he should be vomiting right now.
That was the normal reaction.
But something was off.
Mentally, he was repulsed.
Physically, he felt nothing.
Then a voice echoed in his head.
“Cleaner Simulator loaded.
Crime scene detected.
Enter Cleaner Mode?” William muttered a yes on instinct.
Suddenly, everything shifted.
Yellow highlights marked objects that needed to be restored.
Red patches indicated bloodstains requiring cleanup.
Cleaner?
William thought back to the game he used to play.
Talk about full-service.
Kill ’em and clean ’em.
Green as hell.
“Congratulations, player.
You have received: Cleaning Mop Level 1.
Bucket Level 1.
Unlocked: Auto-Pack.
Unlocked: Telekinesis.” Cleaning Mop: Just add water.
Quickly removes bloodstains and prevents them from being tracked.
Bucket: It’s a bucket.
Can wash the mop twice.
Telekinesis: Tired of struggling with heavy objects?
Now with a single tap, items return to their original positions.
If you want, you can even drag objects through the air and draw pictures with them.
Auto-Pack: Ever wondered how one person could run a cleaning company?
Now you know.
When packing doesn’t require hands, anything goes, trash or corpses, all in one smooth move.
“Profile” Name: William Stanley Age: 19 Gender: Male Occupation: Assassin / Cleaner Assets: $247 Skills: Auto-Pack MAX, Telekinesis MAX, Handgun LV1, Disguise LV1, Theft LV2, Driving LV1 Tools: Mop LV1, Bucket LV1 Mission Issued: Clean up the crime scene.
Dispose of body (0/1) Wipe all bloodstains (0%) Collect evidence (0/17) Return furniture to original positions (0/4)