Putting Beall On Ice

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 8, Post Number 200

-Snowfall Island, outside Snowfall Island airport, early morning-

Disguised in a predominantly white outfit with a black long-sleeved shirt covered by a white vest, dark sunglasses covering magically altered blue eyes, and brown leather boots, Stiletto strolled out of the Snowfall Island airport terminal with a brown suitcase of clothing in hand without anyone paying very much attention to her. The clothing had been bought in Capital Crocus and was of no significance to Stiletto: it had been bought and put in the suitcase just to maintain the illusion that she was a wealthy tourist. While she looked the part of a wealthy tourist on vacation, Stiletto was not here for sightseeing. She had been sent to Snowfall Island by Hidden Blades on a mission of considerable importance.

An Anlecotti lieutenant named Jacob Beall had ordered a hit on a high-ranking corporate manager in Motor City named "Norman" who had steadfastly refused to sell the secrets of an upcoming motor vehicle project to the Anlecotti family even when offered high six-figure bribes and threatened with a wide range of "unfortunate accidents" that would take place should he refuse. The hit that was to be disguised as a random break-in missed the intended target and the manager's wife, children, and elderly grandparents had been killed in a hail of gunfire. "Norman" had escaped death only by being delayed in traffic on the way home.

However, while "Norman" had stayed loyal to the company, another manager named "Greg" had eagerly sold secrets to the Anlecottis and had told his criminal benefactors where "Norman" lived so that the hit could take place and "Greg" could get a promotion in the aftermath. Unfortunately for the turncoat, his clandestine dealings had been found out and he fled to Lavanitir Port City just ahead of Motor City Police to seek the protection of his patrons. The Anlecottis had him and Jacob Beall flown to Snowfall Island to stay out of the public eye until the heat from the incident died down. However, the motor vehicle company wanted the turncoat disposed of for selling their secrets and "Norman" wanted revenge for his family. Since the hands of the authorities were tied by issues of jurisdiction, that was where Stiletto came in.

Stiletto's mission was to find the Anlecotti safehouse hidden somewhere in the wilderness of Snowfall Island, then eliminate Jacob Beall, "Greg" the turncoat, and any security that got in her way. There was one mandate and one mandate only... Beall and "Greg" had to die. Stiletto had been given freedom to execute the targets in any way she saw fit just as long as they were eliminated. Stiletto then recalled the briefing she had received about dealing with security and remembered that she had been given freedom to deal with them as she wished.

Unlike the situation at Rose Garden Airport, the security at the safehouse would be all mob muscle. That meant that Stiletto could either knock them unconscious and move them out of the way or just kill them without fear of killing an unaffiliated civilian doing their job. However, just because she could kill the mobsters did not mean that she should. While she might not be dealing with a professional military force with extensive security training, she still did not need to kill indiscriminately. Even mob muscle would catch onto their perimeter patrols not responding and would take steps to increase security around Beall and "Greg" if she took to killing any mobster she saw while infiltrating the area.

Stiletto calmly walked to the sidewalk and raised a hand to hail a taxi. There was an upscale hotel located in skiing country named Snowfall Lodge that had been recommended to her to help maintain her cover as a wealthy tourist. Stiletto would try it out to maintain her cover now and as a trial run for future operatives whose assignments took them to Snowfall Island.

A taxi rolled up to the curb outside the terminal and Stiletto got in. She directed the man to take her to Snowfall Lodge, a request that was met without complaint. The taxi got rolling and the tourist was left to see the sights until she got to her destination.

Stiletto's Disguise (Minus Rifle And Ammo Belt):

[Post Word Count: 703]
[Total Word Count: 703/7,000]

-Snowfall Lodge, Room 437, thirty minutes later-

Having checked into Snowfall Lodge under the assumed name of Margaret DuBois with an Iceberg history as the daughter of the wealthy DuBois shipping family and an expertly forged Iceberg passport that was virtually indistinguishable from the real thing thanks to the tireless work of the staff of Hidden Blades, the disguised Stiletto sat in the room she had checked into for two days and made sure that the room door was shut before she planned her next move. She had checked into a hotel, so there were physical traces of Margaret DuBois, but nothing out of the ordinary. She had to be careful with her movements and not do too much to arouse suspicion. Now that she had set up shop in the Snowfall Lodge room, she had some time to herself to plan how she was going to go about the business of eliminating Jacob Beall and "Greg."

The first order of business was finding where exactly the Anlecotti safehouse was. The briefing had only told her somewhere in the wilderness, but that was not very helpful because there was a lot of wilderness around the remote area the lodge was located in. She would need a way to learn the lay of the land, but she could not question the locals because she did not know if the Anlecottis had spies among the hotel staff and she did not want to let Jacob Beall and his guest know what was coming.

Stiletto quietly sat in her small but lavish room with beige carpet, wooden walls made to resemble those of an old-fashioned ski lodge, a mini-kitchen with a granite counter and up-to-date appliances including a microwave and a coffeemaker, a small living room with a 48" wall-mounted television, and a small bedroom a stone's throw away from the kitchen with a double bed to sleep on. She did not plan on being here very long, so the amenities of the room did not matter very much to her because checking into the room was all part of selling the deception that she was a wealthy tourist, not a globetrotting contract killer. On a glass coffee table in the living room was a white brochure with blue print advertising hotel amenities, so the blonde picked it up and thumbed through it to see if there was anything she could use to build a cover story.

After three minutes of careful reading she saw that Snowfall Lodge had a ski slope at its attached ski resort complete with a ski lift to ferry skiers back to the top of the slope. The blonde saw that and carefully re-read the entire brochure to make sure that her eyes were not deceiving her. If there really was a ski lift, perhaps she could use it to gain a vantage point that would let her get a glimpse of the wilderness below. With any luck she might even spot the Anlecotti safehouse from her perch. While Stiletto did not know the first thing about skiing, today would be a good day to learn how so that she had a legitimate reason to be on the elevated areas around the slopes.

Stiletto took a deep breath and mentally prepared to go to the ski resort to build her cover story. Since she did not know how to ski she would be taking a lot of falls, but thankfully she would not be leaving any evidence that could trace her. All that the world would see was a novice skier taking the bumps and bruises that came with learning how to use that method of travel turned into sport. Stiletto could handle looking less than graceful in public so long as she could get a good glimpse at the wilderness around Snowfall Lodge's ski resort. Pocketing her room keycard and taking a deep breath, "Margaret DuBois" left the room and shut the door behind her, then made her way to the ski resort owned and operated by the hotel.

-Snowfall Lodge Ski Slopes, forty-five minutes later-

Having rented a pair of skis and poles and having put on the skis with the help of a patient slope attendant, after a lengthy preparation time Stiletto waddled towards the start of the bunny slopes. There were plenty of people on the ski slopes wearing a rainbow of colors and wearing sunglasses to avoid going snowblind. She saw blue, orange, pink, green, black, yellow, even a few people in white with orange hats for visibility purposes... hardly anyone would pay attention to a white-clad blonde zooming down the bunny slopes and possibly falling a few times. Stiletto stood at the top of the beginner's slope and exhaled a cloud of breath, then focused and used the poles to move herself forward.

She hung on the edge of the slope for what seemed like forever before finally going over and starting her rapid descent. Once she got going her altered hair whipped behind her, giving her the appearance of a comet as she used the poles to alter her direction to avoid hitting fellow novices and children with their parents. She soon found herself wishing that parents and older siblings would keep better track of their children because the skiing blonde looked away for a split-second because on the intermediate slope she saw a young blonde woman with purple eyes in a baby blue outfit who greatly resembled Francesca Corlone. She was so distracted by the sight that when she looked forward again she found herself seconds from impact with a child in a pink outfit. The huntress sharply swerved to the left and avoided hitting the child but lost her balance in the process.

She pitched forward and fell onto her front, doing three head-over-heel revolutions and part of a fourth before finally coming to a stop on her backside. Shaking off the fall, the dazed Stiletto quickly hurried to her feet and started skiing again before someone coming down the slop ran into her and took a tumble themselves after inflicting more injury on her. She got moving again and was relieved to find that her sunglasses had survived the tumble none the worse for wear, which was good because she had taken a liking to them. Investing in the durable model over the flashier model had paid off handsomely.

Stiletto stayed on her feet the rest of the time and managed to learn a little more about the art of skiing. She paid attention to what was in front of her the entire time and carefully navigated around fellow novices and wayward children lagging behind their parents. Stiletto was starting to learn how to smoothy maneuver instead of making jerky motions that resulted in her risking a second fall... the huntress was actually having a bit of genuine fun for once, but that fun ended when she reached the bottom of the bunny slope without further incident. Now that she was at the ski lift she had to wait for the next empty one to arrive and ride it up to the top while hoping that she could get a glimpse of the remote safehouse in the process.

[Post Word Count: 1,200]
[Total Word Count: 1,903/7,000]

-At the ski lift-

Stiletto patiently waited her turn to board the lift and hopped on the first one that was open once it was her turn. To her immense surprise the blonde woman in the baby blue outfit jumped on board beside her. The blonde woman then proceeded to not-so-subtly hint that Stiletto should get off and give her the lift to herself, but Stiletto stood her ground and refused to move.

"UGH, FINE!" The young woman fumed before turning away from Stiletto and pulling out her purple iLac.

"Selfish bitch." She muttered before scrolling through her contact list and double-tapping one. Stiletto was pretty sure that that blonde bimbo sitting to her right was Francesca Corlone. The purple-eyed blonde acted a lot like her and possessed the same self-centered attitude that Francesca had demonstrated on two separate occasions. The other blonde began speaking to her friend and was deliberately obnoxious and loud.

"Hey girrrrl, how's it going?" The young woman asked. Stiletto did her best to tune out the obnoxious blonde and look for the Anlecotti safehouse in the nearby wilderness. So far she had seen nothing of interest aside from the forest, but she was not here to gaze at trees.

"I'm good. Or I was until this BLONDE BITCH sat down beside me on the ski lift. Yeah, she wouldn't move and I just HAD to let her stay." The blonde continued her conversation, dropping some not-so-subtle hints about how she felt about the white-clad blonde to her left. Stiletto frowned a little. She was getting tired of her fellow passenger's behavior, but there was nothing she could do about it without compromising the mission.

"The charges? Oh, I beat those easily thanks to the family lawyer! Their case against me was so flimsy that it was a complete joke! It was all circumstantial evidence and it didn't fly!" The blue-clad blonde boasted to the person on the other end. Stiletto looked left but kept her ears tuned to what her fellow skier had to say. While looking left she thought she had spotted a two-floor wooden cabin with a few black-clad men standing on a second-floor patio, but her attention was divided between the cabin and the interesting conversation that was going on to her right.

"I'm Francesca Corlone! They don't have anything on me!" The blue-clad blonde boasted, confirming her identity once and for all. Stiletto frowned deeper. The closest thing she had to an enemy was sitting right beside her and there was nothing she could do to exact revenge without compromising the mission. She would just have to settle accounts with the former mob princess at a later date.

"Listen Kenzie, I'll call you back, baby. The person beside me is really getting on my nerves. If I don't like what she says I'm gonna slap that bitch so hard her kids will be born dizzy!" Francesca boasted. She gave a sappy farewell and hung up, then turned to face Stiletto.

"You got a problem with me, bitch?" Francesca asked with bravado. Stiletto thought that a former wanted criminal would do their level best to keep their heads down and avoid attracting the attention of authorities, but Francesca was a special kind of stupid. Apparently she thought herself untouchable and acted that way, but Stiletto would have to show her the error of her ways... later.

"Not at all." Stiletto replied calmly in a digitally altered voice that was an octave higher than her real voice.

"I think you have a problem with me." Francesca insisted. It was obvious from her body language and tone of voice that she was aching for a reason to slap Stiletto. If that was what she wanted to do, then Stiletto would let it happen and take it up with the authorities. She was sure that Francesca would dig her own grave if provided with the right incentive.

"I do not have a problem with you." Stiletto calmly repeated herself. Francesca reached over and slapped the white-clad blonde on the left cheek. It took all Stiletto had not to knock Francesca right out of the lift with her right fist.

"I don't like your attitude!" Francesca offered a flimsy justification for the flagrant assault. Stiletto was starting to believe that there were serious mental problems with her passenger. For one thing, she was boasting about her infamous last name in a public place. There may be people who were harmed by the activities of the Corlones looking for revenge on Mister Corlone and were willing to settle for the next-best thing by getting payback on Francesca. For another thing, committing assault on the flimsiest pretext did not make her look good, but Stiletto could exploit that hair-trigger temper for some passive-aggressive revenge that would tide her over until the day she could get her hands on Francesca.

Francesca slapped Stiletto a second time, then a third as they were pulling up to the top of the ski slope. Stiletto endured it all because the payoff for all of this was about to take place. The two got off the ski lift and Stiletto accidentally dropped a ski pole in front of Francesca.

"I apologize for that." Stiletto attempted to apologize for the accident.

"THAT DOES IT, YOU STUPID BITCH!" Francesca screamed. She drew her right hand back and slapped Stiletto so hard that the sunglasses flew off of her face and the blonde fell to the ground, dropping her other ski pole. There were over four dozen witnesses to the incident, including five employees of the resort. One of them hurried to Stiletto's side while others reported the incident on their headsets. Finally realizing what was about to happen, Francesca stomped off to try and flee the scene.

Fortunately she did not get very far because she was met at the resort door by two burly men and escorted inside the building. Seeing that sight eased all of Stiletto's pain.

"Miss, are you all right?" A blonde woman with shoulder-length hair, blue eyes, and a red jacket with black ski pants asked her. Another similarly dressed female employee brought over her sunglasses, which had survived the second fall of the day. The blonde was glad that she had invested in the more durable model before this tripe.

"I am, thank you." Stiletto thanked the young employee for her concern. Stiletto had gotten a modest revenge on her old nemesis and had seen an interesting building in the woods while on the ski lift. However, she would need to take a second trip on the lift to see whether the building was worth the risk of getting close to or not.

[Post Word Count: 1,114]
[Total Word Count: 3,017/7,000]

-On the ski lift, three hours later-

Stiletto had went inside to take a break from skiing and to testify about what had transpired between her and Francesca Corlone. After hearing her testimony and that of the over four dozen witnesses to the slapping incident, the scales were tilted against the former mob princess. She also did not do herself any favors by being combative towards the lodge staff and the authorities whenever they questioned her about what happened. The final nail in the coffin was Francesca Corlone's overwhelmingly negative reputation and attitude... the blonde had been staying in resorts all across Earthland and had been burning bridges at many of them.

As a result of all of those factors, Francesca was permanently banned from Snowfall Lodge and any of its facilities, which was more revenge than the blonde mage had expected to get. As expected Francesca screamed and ranted about how the "blonde bitch" had plotted to cheat her out of her "right" to stay at the Snowfall Lodge. She stormed out under police escort, but not before vowing revenge against "Margaret DuBois" for what had happened to her. The disguised mage remained silent and watched the scene from afar as the former mob princess left the hotel with her bags in hand and took a car to the airport. Stiletto was glad to see the back of the blonde bimbo.

After that was over Stiletto returned to the slopes to ski a little longer and to get a better look at that building she had spotted on her first ride before Francesca had decided to physically assault her for no good reason. After skiing down the beginner's slope without any further incidents and actually having fun in the process Stiletto had boarded the lift and sat down alongside another young blonde woman, but this one was dressed in a blue jacket and black ski pants with yellow goggles. She was also a lot more pleasant to be around than Francesca because she kept to her baby blue iLac and browsed at the LacBook page of a Fairy Tail mage named Nessa Cordelia Lux.

Stiletto looked left and saw the building with the second-floor patio: more black-clad men were standing on it with their hands near their jackets and looked like they were watching the woods for intruders. She saw no signs of Jacob Beall or "Greg", but then she remembered that she had no idea what they looked like because for some odd reason that information had not been provided in the briefing. That omission would complicate things quite a bit.

Stiletto might have to risk infiltrating the lodge to make sure she eliminated the right targets, but that would mean having to eliminate security, which would raise her chances of being discovered during the infiltration. She had wanted to catch the targets out on the patio and eliminate them there so that she did not have much legwork to do for the escape, but in between the security presence and the lack of description of what the targets looked like, Stiletto might just have to go into the safehouse to make sure that she took them out. Sometimes one had to deviate from the plan to get results.

Stiletto observed the building from her lofty perch and was fairly sure that that was the Anlecotti safehouse. The men on the patio did not behave like travelers on vacation; they acted like they were watching out for someone. They were paying special attention to the woods about 200 meters from the patio. Had they somehow been tipped off that someone was coming for the two VIPs? Stiletto had no idea.

Her initial plan was to sneak close to the safehouse to make the hit tonight, but "Margaret DuBois" had scheduled a two-day stay at Snowfall Lodge and an early departure would look rather suspicious. Thinking on the fly, Stiletto decided to postpone the hit until the night after tomorrow night so that it did not look quite so suspicious after she left the lodge. It was risky because she had no idea how long Beall and "Greg" would be staying at the Snowfall Island safehouse, but to make her move while the mob muscle was on alert would be foolish. The huntress would have to make use of her greatest asset, which was patience. While the mob muscle was on alert today and tonight and would be on alert tomorrow and tomorrow night, they could not maintain a state of constant vigilance forever.

They would get tired and close their eyes for longer than they intended. They would get bored and talk to each other a little bit longer than they should. They would get hungry and go get something to eat. They would go inside to warm up a bit and be a little slow about going back out to stand in the cold. Those lapses in attention would be the best times for Stiletto to strike.

The huntress would have to spend some time observing their routines so that she had a good idea of when to strike and from where. She could do that tomorrow night.

Stiletto turned her attention away from the lodge and focused on the top of the hill that was coming up. She had had enough skiing for the day. She had seen what she wanted to see and she did not want to alert the men on the patio by constantly riding by on the ski lift and looking in their direction. Stiletto would take the rest of the day off to plan her recon mission for tomorrow night. She would go to the cafe and listen out for any loose talk about the wooden house close to the ski resort.

Once the lift stopped "Margaret" got off and went towards the ski rental shop to return her skis and poles. Once that was done she would go inside to get warm, get something to eat, and listen for loose talk floating around the lodge. After that "Margaret" would return to her room and do something to keep up the masquerade like watch television or sleep. Right now she was going to play it safe and let time be her ally, not her enemy. The Anlecotti safehouse was not going anywhere and neither was she.

[Post Word Count: 1,055]
[Total Word Count: 4,072/7,000]

-One night later-

"Margaret DuBois" was on the second and last night of her stay. She had had fun playing tourist and skiing on the slopes, but watching the afternoon weather report had told her that she would need to move up the takedown of Jacob Beall and "Greg" before the resort got snowed in tomorrow night. If Snowfall Lodge got snowed in so would the Anlecotti safehouse. All of the security would be concentrated in the house and would make the hit a lot harder than it had to be. Therefore it would be best to make her move tonight before the blizzard hit and snowed in the targets.

"Margaret" sat in her room and thought hard over what she was about to do. She would have preferred to do some surveillance of the safehouse before the hit, but the weather had forced her to trash her original plan... or had it?

She could use this. She could use the blizzard to her advantage.

Only the most paranoid of targets or security personnel would expect a contract killer to brave a blizzard to get in range to make a hit. That was when security would be at its least attentive. Very few of them would expect someone to be audacious enough to attempt a hit during a blizzard, so that was the best time to try one... in theory. However, Stiletto would have to be careful. That was not just because of the weather or the off chance she would encounter that one guard equally audacious enough to stand watch in a blizzard.

The huntress would have to compensate for the blowing wind and driving snow when she aimed at the targets. The huntress would also have to wait for just the right time to make the kill shots, which would increase the amount of time she was exposed to the cold. While the guild armor was a marvel of engineering with a multitude of tools that made life working in the shadows easier, she was not sure if it was rated to withstand extreme heat or cold. Also, once she had taken her shots she needed to get out of there before the mob muscle caught up to her or the authorities closed in. All of those things would need to be taken into account before using the unexpected gift of a blizzard.

After some thought on the matter Stiletto decided to modify her original plan. She would perform a reconnaissance run tonight and get the lay of the land. If the targets happened to present themselves during this reconnaissance run, she would take them down. If they did not, then she would wait until tomorrow night and brave the blizzard to complete her mission. It was not the best-conceived plan, but that was a happy medium that the huntress could live with.

Now that she had definitively decided on what to do, all that remained to be done was to do it. She would make her way to the woods and conduct surveillance on the Anlecotti safehouse while under the cover of night and protected by the shadows in the woods. "Margaret" stood up and left her room to get the lay of the land.

-Snowfall Island, the woods outside the suspected Anlecotti safehouse, forty minutes later-

Clad in the guild panoply and safely concealed under the cover of darkness, Stiletto was about 100 meters away from the second-floor patio of the safehouse. Her position was located on a flat ridge just behind the woods and was just barely elevated enough to permit her a view of the patio. To obtain the needed elevation for the best line of sight she might have to climb a tree, but she would have to be careful in doing so. It was an obvious place for a sniper to go and being caught in a tree would leave her with nowhere to run.

Stiletto remained where she was and lay prone on the rocks to listen to a pair of nearby men in black pants with gray longcoats talking about something of interest to the huntress.

"So the boss thinks that someone's after them? All the way out here?" One man asked the other. The speaker sounded new to the organization he worked for.

"Yeah. After what happened to Peregrino at the Rose Garden Airport, Mister Beall's not taking any chances. Security in the safehouse's tighter than a drum." Came the response.

"We're in the middle of nowhere on a cold, practically deserted rock. Who would come out here just to put Mister Beall on ice?" The first man asked.

"You'd be surprised, man. Mister Beall's made a lot of enemies over the years. Just between you and me, he pissed off the wrong people with that stunt in Motor City." The older, more experienced man of the pair answered.

"How's that?" The less experienced mobster asked.

"Beall bribed the manager many times and he turned down the money each and every time. He also didn't break when he was threatened with an unfortunate workplace accident or a traffic accident on the way home. OK, so he was a tough nut to crack. He was loyal to his company. You find another way to send a message besides killing his family." The more experienced one opined.

"Oh, I get it now. Beall took everything the man cared about from him and now he doesn't have any reason to hold back in getting revenge. If we couldn't buy him off then, we sure as Hell can't buy him off now." The first speaker said once he realized what the older member was getting at with his statement that Beall had crossed a line in Motor City.

"But you heard none of that from me. Got it?" The old mobster asked.

"Got it." The first answered quickly. The pair lingered for a few moments before moving on to the next point in their patrol of the perimeter. Stiletto had learned that attempting to get into the house would be folly because of the heavy security presence and Beall's paranoia. She had learned nothing about Beall or "Greg" other than the former was paranoid. However, this reconnaissance was not entirely fruitless.

Stiletto had learned through observation that the patrols walked standard routes and covered the entire perimeter in roughly twenty minutes. That figure seemed to be the average, but she was not going to bank on having a twenty-minute window to escape once she had made the hit. Response times would be increased and security would be out in force.

Stiletto decided to wait where she was and see what else she could learn from the perimeter patrols before calling it a night.

[Post Word Count: 1,120]
[Total Word Count: 5,192/7,000]

-Five hours later-

Stiletto was pushing it by staying out as late as she had. In less than an hour the sun would be up and the shadows she depended on to remain hidden would be gone. She needed to get back to the hotel room so that she could check out and plan for tonight's blizzard. At least that was the plan.

Stiletto observed two patrolling men walking by and listened to them talk to each other. She risked a brief peek at them and saw that they were two middle-aged men dressed in gray ski jackets with black pants like some of the men she had spotted standing on the patio a day ago. She was not sure if that different clothing meant something or if it was just a personal choice.

"The boss and that manager like to sit on the patio and drink a lot." One of them said to the other.

"You know that's a bad idea. Anyone could climb a tree and do 'em in." The second man chimed in.

"I know, I know. But the boss and that manager guy have cabin fever something terrible. They've been holed up in that cabin for a little over a week and barely go outside 'cause the boss sees people waitin' for him in every tree. Are YOU gonna be the one to tell Beall he can't go outside?" The first speaker asked pointedly. The second man hmmm'd before answering the rhetorical question.

"Nah. That kinda thing's not gonna help me make it to retirement." The second man answered.

"Good thinking. We'll just let 'em drink. It's not like anyone's gonna go out in tomorrow night's blizzard just to get a shot at the boss." The first one remarked. The pair chuckled at the thought and then continued on their patrol route. Stiletto decided to call it a night at this point and retreat back to the ski lodge before daylight broke. Tonight she would do what the guards thought impossible and go into the blizzard just to get a shot at their boss and his guest.

-Eight hours later, outside Snowfall Lodge-

It was mid-morning when "Margaret DuBois" checked out of Snowfall Lodge. Stiletto had left no evidence that could trace the real her... all the authorities would find was records of "Margaret" checking in and out and how she had skied at the resort and had eaten at the lodge's cafe during her two-day stay. With her trail covered, Stiletto now had to figure out how she was going to get back to the ski resort and to the Anlecotti safehouse without attracting unwanted attention.

Her other problem was figuring out what to do with the suitcase she had carried. It had served its purpose of making her look like a typical tourist, but now it was dead weight. Lugging it with her on the hit would be unrealistic, not to mention rather tacky. Maybe she could just dispose of it somewhere, but just dropping it in the ocean would attract the authorities. It would also be a waste of good clothing.

Stiletto had thought of stashing the suitcase of clothing somewhere out of the way for later retrieval, but there was the risk of it being found and moved by someone while she was on the job. She could not let that happen because that suitcase was her ticket off of Snowfall Island. Since "Margaret" had shown up on Snowfall Island with a suitcase, authorities would be rather suspicious of her if she left Snowfall Island without one. Her cover as a tourist would need to be maintained during the escape, so there was no real option other than to carry it with her and hope for the best.

Stiletto would carry the suitcase after all.

Now that she had decided on her course of action, "Margaret" needed to find a way to waste time that did not look suspicious but kept her in range of the Anlecotti safehouse. Maybe she should have booked a three-day stay, but that would have complicated things because an early checkout would raise some eyebrows at a time she needed to get away without any complications. Oh well. She would go on a tour of the town and end her tour at a convenient location close to the ski lodge.

-Twelve hours later, near the ski lodge-

The wind and snow were beginning to pick up as the sun began to set. As predicted by both weather forecasters and seasoned locals the blizzard started to blow in, dumping large amounts of snow that hid her from view thanks to her all-white outfit. "Margaret" had toured Snowfall Island for most of the day and had not attracted any attention while doing so thanks to her special ability to blend in at will. To ordinary people she was just another face in the crowd and that was exactly what she liked to present herself as... just another face in the crowd. No one needed to know what her real self was like.

Stiletto decided to wait a bit longer before dropping the disguise as "Margaret" in case she had been followed by either curious locals or resort staff who just wanted to help what looked like a lost traveler. She would wait until the sun set completely before she went about her mission. She ducked behind the ski lodge on the side facing the Anlecotti safehouse and hid herself from any security cameras with her special ability. There she would wait patiently for sunset.

-Two hours later-

Two hours later the sun had set and the blizzard was in full swing. No one could see "Margaret" even if they wanted to, which was just fine by her. No one needed to see what was coming next, especially her intended targets.

Once she was sure that she would be unobserved by humans or electronic surveillance she dropped the disguise and became Stiletto. She then trudged towards the Anlecotti safehouse with suitcase in hand. With no one the wiser Stiletto made her way through the snow with the blizzard helpfully obliterating her footprints as she progressed towards her destination. She already had an escape plan in mind.

Once Stiletto made the hit she would immediately leave the area under cover of the blizzard and find a cab to take her to the airport. There she would lay low and take the next plane off of Snowfall Island. Once it landed she would make her own way back to headquarters to collect her pay and look for the next job.

[Post Word Count: 1,098]
[Total Word Count: 6,290/7,000]

-Outside the Anlecotti safehouse, one hour later-

Carefully hiding her suitcase in the snow below the base of the tree, Stiletto had climbed the tree and was in a good vantage point overlooking the well-lit patio where two men were seated opposite each other at a square metal table and drinking heavily from bottles of whiskey. One of them was a middle-aged man in a black trenchcoat and three-piece black suit with a short black haircut. The other was a middle-aged man in a gray business suit with salt-and-pepper hair with a large bald spot on the top of his head. Recalling what the mob muscle had said last night about the boss and his guest having cabin fever, those two men had to be Jacob Beall and "Greg" the former car company manager and fugitive from Motor City Police.

Stiletto waited for the snow to pick up before bringing out Silent Hunter, her favorite weapon for long-distance hits. Once the snow shrouded her from observation she brought out the weapon and observed the targets through the scope. Through the snow she could see the empty whiskey bottles on the table and could see the man with the black hair chugging another bottle of Old Turkey whiskey. The balding man followed suit and set his empty bottle aside to catch his breath before opening a new one.

Stiletto looked below her just in case there were one or two especially devoted mobsters patrolling the perimeter. She did not see any, but she still waited twenty minutes in case a patrol did come through the area. Patience was a virtue.

-Twenty minutes later-

Stiletto patiently waited for twenty minutes and no one had come through, so now was the time to make the hit. She raised Silent Hunter and aimed carefully at the man with the short black hair. She wanted to take out Jacob Beall first before she tagged "Greg" because the mob boss came first. Since the wind was blowing left, Stiletto slowly and smoothly moved Silent Hunter to compensate for the wind direction and calmly waited for the best time to shoot.

She would need to tag both of them quickly because of their proximity to one another. Stiletto waited for the wind to slow down and carefully maintained her aim just to the left of the dark-haired man's head. One Full Metal Jacket shot through the head would be sufficient.

Stiletto waited another seven minutes before finally getting the moment she needed. She slowly squeezed the trigger and Silent Hunter fired a FMJ round that punched through the dark-haired man's head. He slumped forward and his face hit the table, scattering the whiskey bottles across the patio. His drinking partner quickly took notice that the man had just been shot through the side of the head.

Stiletto quickly adjusted her aim onto the panicking man whose reflexes were slowed due to intoxication and waited for a moment before firing. She fired a FMJ round that hit him through the left temple and caused him to slump over sideways in his chair. She hesitated a moment before descending to make sure that they were really dead. Once it was clear that they were not moving she dispelled the rifle and quickly climbed down the tree.

She reached the bottom of the tree without leaving evidence of any sort and quickly uncovered the suitcase that belonged to "Margaret." She picked it up and quickly filled in the hole left by the suitcase, taking pains to make it look like nothing was ever there. She then dusted off the snow-covered suitcase and briskly walked towards the ski resort as a point where she could collect her thoughts before making her escape. As Stiletto walked away she looked back and saw that there was no heightened activity on the patio, meaning that chances were good that the howling wind and driving snow had masked any noise that had been made.

That would give her time to make good her escape from the area and come up with a cover story as to what "Margaret" was doing out in a blizzard.

-One hour later, Snowfall Island-

Once she was well clear of the resort Stiletto made sure that no one or nothing saw her before reverting to her disguise as Margaret DuBois. She calmly walked on the barely visible sidewalk and headed for the airport that would take her out of here. "Margaret" walked along until a yellow cab pulled up beside her and the window rolled down.

"Hey lady, what ya doin' out here in a blizzard?" The driver shouted his question. "Margaret" approached the window and spoke to him.

"I am from Iceberg. In Iceberg blizzards are commonplace. This cold is nothing to me." Margaret explained to the driver. He looked skeptical for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"Ya need a ride?" He asked.

"I would like to go to the airport. I have nowhere to stay the night and would like to get home." Margaret replied.

"Sorry lady, the airport's closed. It's so snowy that the planes can't take off. But I know a real good hotel you can stay at until the blizzard passes." He offered. The disguised contract killer did not want to stay on the island any longer than she had to, but appearing desperate to leave during a blizzard would look very suspicious. It was safer just to risk it and spend another night here so that she did not alert the authorities... or the Anlecottis.

"Please take me to this hotel." Margaret requested. The driver nodded.

"Sure, lady. Get in!" He said. Margaret obeyed and got in. Once she was inside the cab rumbled towards town and towards a hotel where she could spend the night.

[Post Word Count: 963]
[Total Word Count: 7,253/7,000]

-The next morning, Snowfall Island Airport-

"Margaret" had gotten up early and checked out of the hotel she had spent the night at, then hailed a cab and went to the airport to get on the earliest flight off of the island. Everything had gone smoothly up to this point. She had spent the night and had not attracted any unwanted attention. Now all she had to do was buy a ticket and board a plane and this job would be completed.

She paid the driver his fare plus a tip of 200 Jewels, which he accepted gratefully. He nodded before driving off to seek another fare and the white-clad blonde walked towards a set of sliding glass double doors. She seamlessly blended in with the rest of the airport crowd as she allowed herself to be seen by security cameras to keep up the charade of being an ordinary tourist. The end was in sight and all she had to do was be patient until she was on board the plane to Iceberg.

-Inside the airport, forty minutes later-

After a long wait in line "Margaret" walked away from the counter clutching a plane ticket to Iceberg that took off in roughly fifteen minutes. She briskly walked towards Gate 6A and kept her gaze focused forward. To everyone present she was just a young woman in a hurry to catch her flight. The airport security hardly gave her a second glance as she approached Gate 6A and got in line behind a line of nine people waiting their turn to board. "Margaret" had gotten here just in time.

"Margaret" fished her passport out of her coat pocket and held onto her ticket, holding on tightly to both items. Once it was her turn Margaret presented them to waiting airport security, who checked her for weapons and let her through without trouble. She boarded the plane with two minutes to spare. She got on board and put her suitcase in an overhead storage compartment, then sat in her assigned aisle seat.

Two minutes later the plane took off and she was home free. Jacob Beall and "Greg" were dead and she had left no evidence of any sort to link her to the hit. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get out of Iceberg and get back to headquarters. She had plenty of time to think of how to pull that off.

[Post Word Count: 407]
[Total Word Count: 7,660/7,000]