"I assure you, she'll get it done," Gary Thompson, head of security for Trustworthy Pharmaceuticals said to his CEO, Mark Miller.
"She'd better. This information will destroy us."
"She's here," Gary said.
"Miss Luna Nightshade, it's a pleasure to meet you," Miller said, extending his human hand to the black cat furoid.
"So I hear you have a job for me," she said, grasping the hand. Her black fingers were in stark contrast to the pasty skin of the human's.
"Yes, if you're willing to take it."
"Well, I need the money."
"This is different from your usual assignments. We're not asking you to steal corporate secrets," Gary said sternly.
"What is it then?" Luna asked.
"This man," Mark said, producing a photograph of a young human male who had short, wavy dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes, a square jaw and a boyish grin, "needs to be eliminated."
"Murdered? I don't do murder, sir."
"The price is two million," Gary said.
"Two..." she couldn't even finish, choking on the words.
"Yes, and that would more than take care of your...debts," Gary added.
"But...what...why do you want him dead?"
"Never mind the why. Worry about the how."
She was handed the dossier and studied it. "Ex-marine helicopter pilot, works as an aircraft mechanic at a small airport, I don't get it, why should this company care about him?"
"He received a flash drive of some very damaging data to our company. The person who gave it to him has...already been dealt with."
"Dealt with...in the same way you want me to deal with this guy?"
The two remained silent for a few seconds, then Mark said "Miss Luna, you see, we're at a difficult crossroads here. And now that you know enough, you have a choice to make. I think it's an easy one. Either you take the assignment and the handsome payment, or you...well you're not the only mercenary in town."
"Are you threatening me, Mr. Miller?"
"Giving you two very starkly contrasting options, Miss Luna."
"I'll take the job," she said.
"I figured you'd say that. Get us the drive, kill the target, and await your payment."
She nodded and left the conference room.
"Think she'll complete the mission?" Miller asked Thompson.
"I'll put one of my men as a tail on her."
"She already has one attached to that tight ass," Miller snickered, and Thompson laughed.
Luna Nightshade wore black cargo pants, boots, and a shirt with a tactical vest. She carried a Glock 17 nine millimeter pistol with a silencer, a boot knife, a folding knife, a multi-tool, rope, zip-ties, a ball-gag, chloroform and a telescoping baton. She found the target's house. Pete Langston, former Marine Captain. He stood at six feet even, weighed in at one-seventy, and was one of the most handsome humans the black cat had ever seen. The black cat was a looker too. She was five-seven, one-twenty, had long hair as dark as her fur, and lime green eyes that could melt the ice off the coldest heart.
Her palms sweated as she used the grappling hook and rope to scale Langston's walls. The nimble feline used her knife to wedge open a window on the top floor and slid in through the opening. The house was dark as it should have been at three in the morning. No alarm went off; good. She stalked the hallway, conscious of every footfall. The only sound was her own breathing, but it was indeed fast and shallow. She drew her pistol and attached the silencer, and found Pete Langston's bedroom. He slept in his bed, on his side with his back to her. She pointed the gun at the man and saw him shuffle slightly.
"I suppose you're here to kill me," he said, startling her.
"I have a gun pointed straight at your head. Any sudden moves, and you're dead."
"Sudden moves or not, I'm dead anyway."
"The jump drive; where is it?"
"On top of the armoire, in a porcelain bowl."
She cautiously went to the armoire, found the bowl, dug around some spare change and sticks of chewing gum and found the small jump drive. She pulled out a cloth and soaked it in chloroform.
"Take this," she said, tossing the cloth to him, "and breathe deeply."
"That's mighty humane of you; letting me slip into unconsciousness before you shoot me. I appreciate it. Um, before you execute me, are you at all curious as to what's on the drive?"
"No."
"Oh, alright then. Well, let me just say a quick prayer, and I'll sniff the rag, and it'll be lights out for me, for good," he said with a resigned tone. He mumbled a few words, gave the sign of the cross, and took the rag to his nose and breathed deeply.
Luna worked quickly. She used the zip ties to secure his hands and feet together, and stuffed a ball gag in his mouth. She couldn't help but fondle the man's ass when he was unconscious, and smiled. He was a very cute one indeed. She turned on the light and waited for the sedative to wear off.
When Pete came to, he realized he wasn't dead, and he was bound and gagged on his bed. He looked pleadingly at the black cat, as if asking why she toyed with him. "I'm not going to kill you," she said as she paced back and forth at the foot of the bed.
"Mmph?"
"Shocking, I know. I was paid to do exactly that. Pretty handsomely too. They want you dead, they want you dead real bad, and I want to know why. Now, I'm going to take off your gag, and you're going to tell me what's on this drive and why they want you, a fucking mechanic dead. I know I said I didn't want to see what's on the drive but...curiosity got this cat. You scream, you die, got it?"
Pete nodded. She undid the strap on the ball gag. He moved his jaw back and forth a few times to get the cramp out. "Cancer," he said.
"What?"
"Cancer. Trustworthy Pharms has a cure to at least seventy percent of known cancers, and it's on that drive."
"And you were what, going to sell it to the highest bidder?"
"No. I was going to give it to the media, the justice department, fucking Santa Claus if he'd be willing to listen. They've had this cure for the last five years, and yet people die from cancer all over the world. You know why? Money. They make two hundred different drugs for cancer, and they all do their part, but with awful side effects. Imagine a drug that can cure all these cancers with few side effects. Sounds great, right? Wrong; it hurts their other products, the chemo, the symptom relievers. They make this drug alright, but only the very wealthy receive it, and I mean guys you read about in Forbes."
"And you happened to stumble upon this while what, hacking their computers?"
"Ha, no. No, my cousin Jenna Lee discovered it while working there. And she paid the ultimate price. That drive, it's got it all. The formula, the list of patients who've received it, and evidence linking my little cousin's murder to the company."
"No wonder they offered so much for your head."
"How much, out of curiosity?"
"Two million."
"Well now, and to think my social studies teacher said I would never amount to anything. So what are you waiting for? That's an awful lot of money; shoot me."
"It is an awful lot of money," she agreed. She raised her gun and aimed it at his head. Pete closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable. "But I kind of like you."
"Look, if you're stringing me along here and then you're going to shoot me later, that's just mean."
"Shut up. I'm thinking."
"About what?"