Protecting Jasmine DuClare

-Outside the DuClare home-

It was mid-afternoon when Diana found herself back in Capital Crocus as the guest of Jasmine DuClare. Jasmine had reported being followed throughout the city on her daily routine and feared that the individual had sinister motives for doing so. The brunette had called upon Diana for help in the matter because the blonde was one of the only mages she knew. That was not exactly resounding praise, but a job meant Jewels, and Diana liked Jewels.

Dressed in her usual attire, Diana knocked on the door to 421 Croesus St. and was greeted warmly by Jasmine, who was in her black tube top and black skirt.

"Hey Diana! It's so good to see you!" Jasmine greeted her with a hug, still wearing her black wig. Diana kept quiet as she was embraced by her hostess. She could tell that the brunette was kind of into her, but she left the issue slide because there were more pressing concerns, namely why someone would follow Jasmine around the city for hours on end.

"Come on in!" Jasmine urged her. Diana obliged and the door was shut behind her. Perhaps she would learn more about the assignment once she stepped inside.

-Inside the DuClare home-

Jasmine ushered Diana inside the home, which was exactly the same as when the blonde had first been a guest in the DuClare home. That familiarity was oddly comforting to the rootless blonde, who had not had a stable home ever since her "family" had been killed four years ago. She had drifted from place to place, taking on jobs whenever money ran low. Now Diana was building up a modest financial reserve, which was fairly easy because she lived and ate cheaply to save money.

"I'm so glad to see you, Diana!" Jasmine said to her as she walked into the kitchen and ducked into the stainless steel double-door refrigerator.

[Word Count: 318]
[Total Word Count: 318/1,500]

Diana listened as Jasmine explained the situation with the person who had followed her around Capital Crocus. According to her, she had been followed to the supermarket, to the bowling alley, to the public library, and eventually to her home. That last part worried both young women, Jasmine more so than Diana.

"Do you think he is a hitman hired to kill you?" Diana asked Jasmine, who was sipping on a carbonated drink called Strawberry Slam. It was well-named because the blonde could smell the strawberry wafting from the open can.

"Yeah. He followed me everywhere I went and didn't say a word to me. He was obviously learning my schedule so that he could knock me off when I got home and was by myself. Your presence is the only thing keeping me alive right now, but you just got added to his list. They don't leave witnesses." Jasmine ominously noted. Diana might have been a lot more intimidated if she were not a contract killer herself. She knew firsthand the importance of eliminating witnesses and had killed a few in the past to keep her identity a secret. She found it funny that someone like her was hired to keep another person from being killed by someone else in her line of work. Life was funny like that.

"If he shows up tonight, I will deal with him." Diana assured Jasmine.

"Really? Thanks." Jasmine exhaled before taking another sip of Strawberry Slam. She set the empty can down and took it to the sink to be rinsed out.

"Try not to kill him if you can help it. I want him to be taken to the police so that the justice system can handle him." Jasmine expressed a wish for a non-lethal solution.

"What if his client has enough money to bail him out? Or what if he escapes police custody?" Diana asked Jasmine. The brunette looked at her for a moment as if trying to think her response all the way through. She then gave her answer.

"I don't think he'll escape because Capital Crocus has one of the best-funded and best-trained town guard forces in Fiore. But if he does manage to escape, we'll just have to deal with him another way." Jasmine said to the mage. Diana thought that the response was more than a little naive, but her client was not used to having to think like a contract killer did. That was a good thing because the life of a contract killer was a lonely one filled with violence, uncertainty, and a shortage of trust in others. In a perfect world, people like Diana would not exist because the perfect world would have no need for her "services." The blonde wished more than once that a perfect world would come about so that she could go someplace remote and die alone and forgotten.

Diana watched as Jasmine threw the can in a recycle bin and walked over to the couch before sitting down and turning on the television. Tonight she turned to a show about wealthy fashionistas called Cutting Edge Fashion. Diana tuned out the TV and kept a watch on the door. When nighttime came she would have to be particularly vigilant.

[Word Count: 540]
[Total Word Count: 858/1,500]

-The DuClare home, 12:45 A.M.-

Jasmine had finally turned off the television around midnight and went to sleep in her room while Diana remained in the darkened living room to keep a watch on the door. The front door was the most obvious point of entry, but there was also the possibility of the hired killer trying to slip into Jasmine's bedroom window, so Diana had to listen out for there as well. There was also another possibility to consider... what if two killers had been hired to take out Jasmine and one of them deliberately made his presence known so that she and any hired protection would think that there was only one hitman after her?

Diana could not rule that out, so she alternated between watching the front door and walking to Jasmine's bedroom to look at the window. Everything had been quiet so far, but that did not mean anything. She herself had taken advantage of a target's complacency to eliminate them quite a few times in the past, so she had to stay vigilant. She did not know the skill level of the hitman she was going up against, so that meant that he was either really good or a novice looking to make his first hit.

Diana switched to her night vision and walked quietly around the darkened house, making sure that everything was still secure. She carefully checked all the doors and windows. They were all in place and had not been tampered with. Diana made her way back to the living room and sat down on the couch to resume her quiet vigil.

Diana maintained her patrol and vigil for three quiet hours and nothing had happened. Around 3:30 A.M. things changed. Diana heard rattling at the front door and quietly got up to take cover in a closet she had spotted near Jasmine's room. A minute later the front door opened and footsteps could be heard as someone walked into the house. She saw a flash of red light and a tiny red dot flash down the hall... the person had a weapon with a laser sight.

Diana stayed quiet and let the person proceed deeper inside the house, being careful not to breathe or make any other noise that could give her away. She kept the closet door cracked so that she could see near Jasmine's room. After forty-five seconds the person made their way to Jasmine's room and stood in the doorway with the pistol raised. Diana had to act now!

She flung open the closet door and rushed at the person, knocking them into the doorframe just as they steadied their weapon in both hands. The pistol was dropped and Diana kicked it down the hallway, fighting the man for both Jasmine's life and her own.

"JASMINE, WAKE UP!" Diana yelled as she and the man grappled. She punched the hired killer in the face and he kneed her in the stomach. He grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed Diana's face into the doorframe. Diana retaliated with an Elbow Jab to the left eye, which made the man scream in pain. Jasmine woke up, turned on a lamp, and screamed when she saw Diana and the man fighting.

"CALL THE POLICE!" Diana yelled before being flung to the floor by her waist. The killer scrambled for the gun and Diana grabbed his leg, stalling him long enough for Jasmine to flee to another room and call the police. The angry man responded by kicking the blonde in the face three times until she let go. He grabbed his gun and tried to storm past the blonde, but she grabbed his leg again and detained him for another precious few seconds.

"You're really pissing me off!" He shouted. Diana struggled to her knees and grabbed him by the waist, flinging him into the doorway. He yelled and covered his nose with both hands, giving the blonde the opening she needed to turn the tables.

Diana laid into him with a series of Jabs to the chest and to the face, his resistance weakening with each hit landed until he fell against the wall and slid down to the floor. Diana kept an eye on him as Jasmine emerged from the side room.

"I've called the police!" Jasmine informed her. Diana did not take her eyes off the intruder. Jasmine went to the bathroom to get some bandages for Diana's bleeding lip and other superficial wounds.

-10:30 A.M.-

At 4:00 A.M. Diana and Jasmine had been escorted to the police station and gave their testimony about the attempt on Jasmine's life. They had gotten out of the station at 10:30 A.M. and were back inside Jasmine's house. The man had been apprehended without incident thanks to the brunette and the blonde; more importantly, he had been taken alive. Now it was in the hands of the Capital Crocus police. That was all that Diana needed to know.

"Thank you so much, Diana. You saved my life, this time for real!" Jasmine thanked her before giving the mage a hug. The brunette was shaken by the experience and more than a little wary. However, she refused Diana's offer of spending another night to thwart any second attempts. Diana was just glad that her client was still alive and unharmed.

"What will you do from here?" Diana asked partially out of well-rehearsed concern and partially out of curiosity.

"There's not much I can do, really. Just stay here and keep my eyes open. Kathleen needs a place to come home to, so I'm gonna stay." Jasmine affirmed. There was no deterring her from taking that course of action.

"Just be careful. If they tried to kill you once, they will certainly try again." Diana counseled Jasmine while standing in the foyer.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful. Thanks again!" Jasmine bade Diana farewell before letting the blonde leave and shutting the front door. Diana walked down the stone stairs and on to the nearest hotel for a place to stay for the night. She had another success to her name, a success which should help her secure more lucrative protection jobs in the future. Now she needed to line up another job very soon.

[Word Count: 1,045]
[Total Word Count: 1,903/1,500]