Arden stalked through the streets shoving past civilians and the frequent beggars. For a city that looks so pristine, it was flooded with the poor. The gap between the rich and poor had been the largest it had been in centuries.

    Stepping inside the store, he was immediately greeted with the smell of freshly baked pastries and bread. It was a small store but made the best apple tarts, and they often remind him of his late mother. It was a long-faded memory, but the strongest of the memories when it concerned his family.

    "Can I help you, sir?" A girl with flaring pink cheeks comes up and asks him. He just shoved past the girl, and from the corner of his eye, he noticed the girl's expression to drop into a sulk.

    He grunted in annoyance but continued to head towards the cashier in the far corner, a bushy man stood by it. He noticed Arden coming and straightened up, a smile hinting on his wrinkled lips.

    "What do you need this time? Maitotoxin, Ricin, or perhaps the new shipment of-" Arden cut off the cashier with a simple raise of a hand. The cashier shut his mouth quickly and lowered his eyes slightly.

"Hemlock, nothing more nothing less," Arden commanded, his eyes sharp as he glared down at the man. He nodded quickly and scurried into the back, returning with a small plastic bag tied up tightly.

Arden took it and placed it inside his coat jacket, "put it on my card." Was all he said then he stalked out of the store shoving past even more people. Some had the nerve to glare at him but most slunk back and turned away.

-----

The party was elegant, as all millionaires parties were of course. Guests filled the ballroom in elegant suits and dresses, everyone's faces were covered in complex masks though. Even the servants had masks, they were rather plain and black. But hid Arden's identity easily.

The tray he held was covered in tiny sandwiches, ones that you eat in a single bite. One of these special sandwiches held a small flower inside of it, a small white flower that could kill a person easily.

He skillfully slipped in between the crowds, twisting and walking at a decent pace. Yet it prevented any other guests from grabbing a small sandwich off his tray. For the whole party, he had kept his eyes trained on a lovely redhead in a long silken white gown.

The girl had finally slipped away from the suitors that crowded her like crows, after all, she was a candidate for being the mayor in the next election. People in this city reached for any sort of power they could grab, and they also held on like a leech to however much power they already controlled.

Arden headed towards her, keeping his eyes distant looking. The look of a bored servant. He bowed his head to the girl and offered his tray to her.

"Would you care for a sandwich, madam? I find that the lettuce has a strange ability to keep the dogs away." He said a small smile playing on his lips.

He didn't expect her to laugh, but the candidate let out a soft and regal laugh. Her head tilted back slightly, and her red hair glittered in the light of the chandeliers.

"I did not think servants spoke in such a manner at a party of this caliber." She looked at him closely, her eyes sparkling slightly.

"Ah I could not help myself, madam, your pained expression caused the gentleman in me to come out." He replied back tilting his head slightly.

The candidate smiled more, though her gaze was thoughtful. "Was it so easy to tell? I thought I was doing a good job of hiding the boredom."

"It was your lovely eyes that gave you away madam." He bowed his head again, the look of a servant that was ready to do anything for her. The candidate just smiled and reached her arm out to take the small sandwich at the edge of the tray.

He smiled and bid her farewell, disappearing back into the crowd. He slipped into a corridor and placed down the tray, then he traded his mask for a more elegant and decorated one. Making sure to tilt his face down as he did so that no camera or person caught his true identity. Then he returned to the party and watched in the shadows after all a good hitman always made sure that his target truly went down.

He watched carefully as the candidate took a bite out of the sandwich and swallowed it, she didn't go down right away. After a second or two she grasped her throat and gasped. She seemed to claw at her own throat and took in sharp breaths, and people had finally started to notice. They slowly started to surround her and block off his vision, but from the gasps and screams, he knew that the candidate had started to convulse.

Arden straightened his mask and started to make his way out of the ballroom, pushing himself against the wall when the police came running by. He was a shadow that nobody paid much attention to.

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to his client, Done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Published: April 20, 2020, 7:13 PM

Words: 907