You Asked For It

The woman sat in the dark room, her bright honey colored eyes glowing in the darkness. Perched on the edge of the bed, she stared at the man slumbering peacefully. He had no idea that his life was about to end by her hand. He didn't know her, she didn't know him; she didn't need to. When the urge struck her she found the nearest body and only when she was soaked in blood did her need fade. As she stared at him, her hands shook, her heart raced, pumping adrenaline through her lithe body.

A sadistic grin twisted her innocent features into the mask of a deranged killer. Slowly, she crept up along the edge of the bed, barely making an impression in the firm mattress. He stirred, and she halted, but he quickly fell back into a dreamless abyss, light snores the only sound in the room. Her trembling hand gripped the hilt of a small silver blade tucked into the hem of her skirt. She remained poised above him for a few long moments, her free hand gently pulling his blankets down, off of his body.

A deep breath in. A slow exhale.

The young woman leapt onto the man, straddling his waist. He woke with a start but was immediately silenced when a thin blade was pressed against his throat. Reflected in his wide glassy eyes was the image of the girl, a twisted, manic expression on her pale face.

“I've got you.” She whispered, leaning down so their noses almost touched. “I can smell your fear..” Her lips twitched into a slightly wider grin. She stroked the side of his face with the back of her hand, then sat up removing the blade from his throat. “Scream.” Her eyes widened with deranged excitement.

Without another word, just as the man opened his mouth to scream, the girl slammed the blade in the center of his lower abdomen. With tortuously slow movement she slid the blade up his body, to just below his throat. The man was gasping, choking on his own blood now, and she just laughed. Leaving the blade in the mans chest, she pushed her delicate fingers into the gash and pulled his skin apart, tearing at the flesh, pulling it from the muscle. She kept one hand inside his chest, while she licked the blood from the fingers on her other hand. Her amber eyes fell closed and she moaned, tilting her head back.

She remained like that for a while. Blood pooled on the bed, soaking her legs, the man had long since died. Letting out a slow, steady breath, she looked at the cold man in front of her. Reaching up inside his chest cavity she grabbed his heart and yanked it out. Holding the muscle in her hand, she cooed words of adoration at it, before crushing it in her palm. Dropping the smashed remnants of the heart she licked her hand, swinging her leg over the man, flinging herself off the bed. When she turned back to the dead man on the bed, she noticed that one of his hands rested on an alarm.

“Well, shit...” She murmured, with a grim grin.

~

A few hours later, she lay unconscious, covered in blood. Electrified chains bound her, sending tiny shocks through her entire body, keeping her sedated. Unceremoniously she was tossed into the back of a white van; once the door slammed shut, the van took off taking her to God knows where.

"Sir?"

A gentle tapping pierced the silence of the dimly lit office, followed by the voice of a tired-looking assistant. The young man wasn't long out of training, but was a diligent worker. The one he spoke to looked even more tired. He stood at the window, staring through the darkness at the city slightly below him with a dry, callous expression written across his face. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, his short dark curly hair was wild from him running his hand through it in frustration. His glasses, with their thin nickle frames, sat atop the bridge of his nose, reflecting the orange glow of the cigarette dangling from his full pouty lips. The window in front of him was open, allowing the night to care the stale smokey air to escape and disperse, taking with it most of the heat. Mason liked it cold.

"I know. I heard already. Get the car ready. I'm not going to let those incompetent nimrods spoil this for me." With a nod, the intern shut the door and departed, leaving the office owner alone with his thoughts once more. He was not old, barely into his 30's. But the weight of fatigue was cumbersome, and it showed in how he held himself. This case, the culmination of months of work and research, all of it had been pressed upon him by his former superior before he ate the barrel of his own gun and blew his brains across his living room.

Grabbing his hat and his jacket, Mason extinguished his smoke after a final puff and exited the building. A black sedan pulled to the curb with uncanny timing, which Mason appreciated. Punctuality separated the people from the animals. Most of the time. The drive wasn't a long one, but to the man in the back it seemed to drag on forever. Thoughts raced through his mind like a hurricane, despite the eerie calm he exuded to the outside world. How did they catch her? How many victims had she taken? Was this nightmare really about to end?

The van finally stopped after what seemed like an eternity. Not to the girl of course, she was still dead to the world, but to those that brought her there. The driver and his passenger glanced back at her, afraid if they took their eyes off of her for too long she would wake and their lives would be over. But she did not even stir. Carefully and cautiously, knowing that their employer would be upset if they messed anything up, they took her from the van and into the "abandoned" warehouse.
The lobby was empty, except for a few pieces of furniture, but the two men bypassed that room and went straight into another darker room. Soundproof walls, made with thick concrete, drywall paced over it so it looked the same ad any other room on that floor. There were no windows and only the one steel plated door. One way in. One way out.
The men laid her against the back wall, which had been fitted with thick chains, large, heavy metal cuffs at the end. Almost afraid she would wake up, they hurriedly pinned her and cuffed her there. Only then did they remove the chains that kept her unconscious, but with residual shocks still pulsing through her it would be a while before she would actually wake up.
Her body was covered with dried blood, the sticky substance clinging to get skin and hair. It soaked her clothes. Her waist length auburn hair lay tangled down her back, her bangs shielding her eyes; some stubborn strands suck to her face. This woman, who looked innocent and young, was wanted in multiple homicides. There was not an innocent bone in her body. Her name was Daniela 'Danny' Mae, and she was waking up.

Smoke whipped out the cracked window of the dark sedan. Mason had lit another cigarette to calm his nerves as he and his subordinate neared their destination. The rather plain warehouse seemed very unassuming and obscure to most. Even the inside was bare and showed no sign of what the building was actually intended for. Built to harbor and interrogate the most heinous of criminals and fugitives, the warehouse, or The Locker as Mason had come to call it, was often the last place a monster like Danny would see before the world went dark forever. Not execution. No no, that was far too good for the scum they brought in.

The car came to a stop at a service entrance in the back of the building, walled off from outside traffic. No one would see their vehicle enter or exit, which suited him just fine. His footsteps echoed off the empty hallways until he finally reached his destination. Taking a deep breath, Mason pushed through the door, closing it quietly behind him, and approached the convict, still caked in the blood of her latest victim. "She hardly seems scary. You'd never know she was a fucking psychopath. Wake up," Mason commanded, tapping the girl's foot with the toe of his shoe.

Everything was dark, heavy, pressing in on all sides. Suffocating. The girl had trouble lifting her arms, or even moving her legs. The darkness was eternal, no light, no people, just an empty, nauseating silence.

Her fingers twitched, she felt something collide with her boot, a voice commanding her to wake up. Grunting softly, Danny forced her burning eyes open, struggling for consciousness. Her head hung with strands of blood soaked hair in her face shielding her eyes. Trying to move, she noticed it was futile, as her hands were chained to a wall. It seemed as if she'd been caught. Finally.

Her gaze drifted up, a man standing in front of her, staring down with tired hateful eyes. Turning her head, Danny examined the room. Four walls, no windows, one thick door her only exit point. She was bound tightly to a wall, the exposed flesh on her arms and legs burned from the electrified chains that had put her out.

Danny said nothing, turning her bright orbs back to the man in front of her. Her eyes held no emotion, but a smile twisted her features.

The smile twisted and gouged at Mason’s soul. The reckless girl chained to the wall was a cold-blooded murderer; the blood she wore was not even hers, but the victim that she had brutally ended with no shortage of barbarism. The expression on his face, however, was steely and icy, though the fatigue showed in his eyes. Mason had finally beaten her, a career high-point to be sure.

“You’ve been at this a long time, haven’t you? Had everything planned out, thought you had time to savor your kill, but then you get busted by the silent alarm? Tsk tsk tsk… very sloppy.” Mason took a step back, his weary gaze still laser focused. “Like a raccoon caught looting garbage… that’s what you are.” He didn’t care whether she took the insult or rolled it off. Frankly it made no difference to him.

The door behind him opened, through which a hand appeared holding a folding chair and a black bag weighed down with something inside, possibly several somethings. “Thank you,” Mason said, then took the items before watching the door close. After hearing the many locks reengage, he turned back to the girl. With eyes still training on her he unfolded the chair and took a seat, placing the black bag in his lap.

“You know we’ve been looking for you for a long time. You would not believe how much the government wanted you terminated. You know they even authorized a kill on sight order? Yep… not many assholes get that little title next to their name. Big red letters in your file. Anytime an agent looked you up in the system it was splashed in red. ‘Kill… on… sight…’”

“It took a ridiculous amount of work to get that removed.”

Mason watched for her reaction before continuing. ‘Well, it doesn’t matter. We have you now, which means you’re probably fucked.” Reaching into his pocket, he removed his soft pack of Camel Wides and lit one. “Really you should be on your way to a super max right now, rotting away while you wait for a judge to sentence you to death, but here you are, in a windowless room, chained to a wall, still twitching from our shock chains. Did you like those, by the way? I designed them myself.”

Mason’s satisfaction dripped like blood from an open wound. He took great pride in his work, considering himself quite the inventor. “Anyway, I have something for you. Something I think even you, with your sick sense of pleasure, might find interesting.” From the black bag, he removed a brown envelope, which he opened and removed a small box, inside of which was a passport, paper currency, a photo, and a small notepad. “I have a job for you,” he said with a small grin.

Danny watched the man before her, his words falling on deaf ears. She paid no mind to his insults, his 'kill on sight' speech. None of it bothered her. Why would it? This was not the first time someone thought that had caught her, but that person ended up dead. With this man it was no different. Tilting her head to one side, Danny licked her lips, positioning one of her hands close enough to her face that she could lick the blood from her fingers.

Her eyes stayed on him the entire time.

As he pulled something from the bag, her eyebrows lifted, slight curiosity reflected in her amber orbs. Her lips twitched, curling upwards, her eyes alight. When she finally decided to speak, her voice was soft. Delicate. It did not match her crazed appearance at all. The sound was almost innocent, light; insanely misleading.

"A job, hm? What kind of job could you have for little ol' me?"

"Oh please, cut the shit Danny. You're pretty little eyes don't work on me. Maybe for the morons who fall for a pretty face." Maybe the unlucky peons that she usually preyed upon, but Mason had been studying the young female killer for months, watching her every move and investigating every scene. He wouldn't be fooled by a change in her voice and a batting of her eyes. The remaining contents of the bag weighted heavily in his lap, though they weren't actually that heavy.

"It's simple. I let you live, and you kill the people I tell you to kill.You'll have freedom to also kill whomever you choose, under the condition that you ALWAYS call us to clean up the scene before the cops arrive. Keep up your end of the bargain, and you'll keep your freedom. If you fail to comply, you'll be... restricted, and punished." His warning prompted the removal of the remaining items within the black bag: a pair of gloves.

To the naked eye they would seem like normal gloves, black and sleek and form-fitting. What was not easily visible were the circuits laced invisibly within the fabric. When connected to the rest of the apparatus, the gloves worked like tasers, delivering intense electricity into the person unlucky enough to find their body parts pressed against the fabric-covered knuckles.

Her smile never left her face.

"You think that I'm going to needlessly kill flesh bags for you?" She raised an eyebrow, her voice low, now, with a dark dangerous undertone. "There are so-o-o many mercenaries for hire, why not snag one of them?" Shifting on her knees, Danny put her feet under her body and lunged at him.

The chains did not reach as far as he was, and she was yanked back against the wall, slamming her back, and cracking her head against the hard surface. The force with which she flung herself nearly caused the chains to dislocate her shoulders, but she barely felt it. Slumped against the wall she began to laugh.

"I kill for me. And me alone. I have no use for spineless garbage like you." Danny cackled. "Chaining down a girl half your size because you're afraid. You're a coward! I may be caught like, what did you say, a raccoon looting garbage? But you... You are the one who had to sneak around to get to me. You will never win against me. You will not survive me."

"Don't confuse cleanliness and cowardice. I prefer not to get my hands dirty if I don't have to. But if that's how you feel, i'll just kill you now and find myself another dog." Mason stood, pushing the chair out from under him. Slowly and deliberately he slipped the gloves onto his hands, flexing the fingers as the slid into place. With a quick flick of the wrists, the gloves were activated. Sparks of electricity flashed between his fingers as if they responded to his emotions.

"I've already beaten you, Danny. That's why i'm here... and you're there... So you get to choose. Do you live or do you die? It's that simple. Just say the word and i'll end your miserable little existence." Mason's breath had become somewhat agitated by then, though he kept his calm well otherwise.

The sociopath giggled, her eyes watching the crackling gloves, her grin showing all of her teeth. If she were to be compared to anything the Cheshire Cat would come to mind. "Getting agitated, love~? Oh, don't get your panties in a twist. Kill me if you must, but I know you won't. You didn't go to all that trouble of stalking me... And devising a plan to get me, if you didn't want to try to use me."

Her laugh echoed coldly in the room. "Go ahead, baby. Shock me. Convince me to join your merry band of fucking idiots. Give me something to play with." The urge was building inside of her. Fingers twitching she was craving to get her hands on someone - anyone - to tear apart.

"Heh..." Mason couldn't help but chuckle. Danny's bloodlust was somewhat amusing, though he did wonder what could have happened in her life that would turn her into such violent, completely insane murderer. "Use you? Don't say it like that. It makes me sound like a rapist. Think of me as your benefactor. You do what I say and you get no leash. You're right. I'd rather not kill you. It cost me quite a bit of time and money to find you. But make no mistake, I will if I have to." A quick slap of his gloved hand sent a surge of high voltage electricity coursing through Danny's body, equivalent to the power of a taser. Mason just wanted to see what would happen. It wasn't the highest setting, after all.

Danny's body jerked, as the jolt of electricity shuddered through her. She gasped, her back arching, fingers clenching until it had passed. Once it was over she looked at the man, and grinned. "Do it again, I like the feeling of fire in my veins," she growled. Danny had a particularly high pain tolerance. She didn't feel pain, but her mind overruled her body when it had enough. She could cut off a limb, not feel a damn thing, but still go into shock because that's what her brain says to do.

"So, are you going to undo my chains, new Master, or do I have to break myself out and slaughter my way to freedom?"

Smiling out of the corner of his mouth, Mason moved back to the door that locked him in with Danny and knocked. The door opened, showing the same subordinate that had driven him to the warehouse. "Go ahead and release her." The lackey moved into the room, making his way toward the shackles with an electronic key in hand. Mason stood and watched, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep inhale.

"No need to slaughter your way out. You can leave whenever you're ready. But, we'll know where to find you when we need you again. No restrictions, unless you misbehave."

"Misbehave? Me? Never.." Even as she spoke those words, she was devising a way to murder the poor soul who was to release her. The shackles fell heavily to the floor, and Danny stood, stretching her arms above her head. Her wrists ached but she barely felt it.

In a single movement she snatched the boy who'd undone her chains, grasping him tightly by his chin. She brought her face down to his, examining him closely. The wide eyed look of fear in his face, his pulse pounding. Danny slowly caressed the side of his face with her other hand, a sympathetic look falling across her face. She cooed to him, "Don't be scared.. I find no pleasure in murdering men who piss themselves out of fear. It ruins the perfectly metallic smell that lingers once I tear someone's insides out." He nearly passed out, and she released him cackling.

Mason made no move to rescue the young man, though it did put him slightly on edge. He was not as weak as some beat cop or a newbie who thought private security would be easy money, but he still had no desire to tangle with Danny. He'd fought others many times before, but no one so animalistic as she. He did, however, relax some as she released the flunky, who dropped to the floor limply with the soiled spot in his pants facing upward. Mason didn't know who to feel bad for, the lackey or the one that had to clean up the mess.

"Oh no. I'm sure you're a pious as a Catholic priest. We've arranged for a car out from to take you to your new living quarters. It's nicer than that place you used to call home, and is central to the city. You'll have easy access to prey from there. Keep your nose clean though. I don't want to bail you out of prison. That gets messy."

"We'll be watching, Danny," Mason said with an air of finality. He'd said all he needed to say. There was so much more on his mind that he wanted to release. In reality, he would have much preferred to beat her to within an inch of her life, though he doubted he'd be a match for her without a surprise. It wasn't anything he could not eventually banish.

"Any questions?"

"Living quarters?" Danny laughed, as if she found the whole situation amusing. "You want me closer to easily abducted, too trusting, naïve, gullible fleshies? Beautiful." She ran her fingers through her blood soaked hair, pulling at the knots. "If you insist, love. I've got no questions so show me to my new home."

As she sauntered towards the exit she paused, looking back over her shoulder at Mason, a crooked grin on her face. "I could get used to this.. Oh, wait. I do have a question." She faced him with her eyes slightly narrowed, still grinning. "Do I get a live in babysitter if I promise not to maim them? Can it be you?" She winked and faced the exit again. "I don't require an answer now, dear~ Take your time, think about it. I can be quite... Fun to hang with."

Reaching the guard at the door, she hooked her arm around his like one would do during a date. She felt him stiffen but paid no mind to it. "Let's go, Dove, take me to my new home!"

"Yes. I need you central to the action, if there should be any. Plus I want you to be able to hunt at your leisure, as long as you keep it quiet." Mason escorted Danny and her guards to the waiting vehicle, contemplating her question. "I'm sure we can arrange it. Why? Don't like living by yourself?" His taunting was made in good fun this time, not out of spite. She had been on her own for a long time, as far as he could gather. He knew that she could handle herself, but having someone there to make sure she doesn't do anything really stupid had it's advantages.

"I'll be following you in another car. We'll get you in the building, up to your living space, then go from there." Two vehicles had already pulled up to the curb and waited for their passengers to climb in. Identical sedans, shiny and black, with chrome accents. They weren't entirely flashy, but it was clear that they did not belong to any poor shlubs.

Danny skipped to one of the cars, letting her fingers trace over the frame. "Ooooh, it's so shiny!" Her smile was not twisted, or menacing, but genuine and soft a stark difference than earlier that evening. "I can see my reflection in it!" Looking at the car, she possessed a child like innocence and excitement; she was practically glowing. Yanking open the door, she jumped in, wiggling on the seat feeling the smooth leather beneath her.

"This is so cool! Do I get to keep it?" Danny poked her head out of the vehicle and stared, with wide eyes, at Mason. She liked the car. It was flashier than she liked to be, more noticeable than she normally was, but she loved it. To her it was a new toy to play with.

The shift in demeanor amused Mason. She was as unstable as all accounts labeled her to be, flipping from personality to personality like a flip book. There was no telling which side he would see in any given moment. At that moment, she seemed exuberant and child-like, which meant she would be less likely to kill someone on the way. If she really liked the vehicle, she would not risk getting it messy with bloody and bits of flesh.

"You can keep it, if you can keep it tidy. I don't want to see any scratches, dents, marks, or human matter in the interior." In his youth he had been a car enthusiast, and enjoyed nothing more than to go to car shows with his parents and see both the new and the old coups, sedans, and trucks paraded out for all to see.

Without another word, Mason climbed into the back of the second vehicle and ordered them to depart.

Immediately Danny stilled in the car. She wanted it, and if keeping it in perfect condition was all it took to make it hers, then she would keep it perfect. The ride into the city was quiet, smooth. She kept looking out the windows, staring at everything. Living on the outskirts of the city she didn't venture in much, so a lot was new to her. Other than the red light district. That's usually where she hunted.

Pulling up to her new apartment, Danny launched herself out of the car, obediently following her guards to her new home. As the door swung open, she got a good long look at where she was staying. Hardwood floors throughout, an open floor plan, it was nice and looked expensive. The living room was large, a window taking up nearly one whole wall giving quite the view of the city. A breakfast bar separated the living room from the kitchen which was updated with stainless steel and marble. To the right extending off the living room was a bedroom and bathroom adequately sized. The left side mirrored the right. It was large and open.

"Oooooh!" Danny squealed and explored the home.

With hands in his pockets, Mason walked up to the door behind Danny and entered only after she'd had a few seconds to take it in. It was actually a nice place that had been prepared for her. Along with the car, he figured she enjoyed beautiful things, and would be more likely to keep them clean if she approved of the aesthetic aspect. Stepping inside, Mason took a look around with her, noting the attention to detail in every room. Of course the tub and shower were larger than standard; it was a place to relax as well as a place to wash the blood from one's body.

"Same goes here. Keep it clean and undamaged and it's yours. We'll even do upgrades from time to time if all goes well. We aren't animals, after all. We take care of our own. I wouldn't sit down though until you've had time to clean up. It's much harder to keep clean than a shitty office chair."

Mason checked the cabinets to make sure they were stocked up with food and drink, including a healthy supply of beer and liquor. "As far as having someone here, you would be having someone here at least for the first few days, just to make sure you're comfortable, and well guarded." There was no reason to hide anything from her; Danny was smart enough to see through almost any lie. "It was supposed to be Mitchell, but i'll stay if you want me to."

"I don't want Mitchy, I want you. I like you. You're interesting." Danny spoke with her back to him as she gazed out the window, staring out into the city. She liked the way it looked at night, like a glittering diamond waiting for her to take it, taint its purity.

After a few moments she turned from the window, peeling her shirt off, and tossing it in the trash. "I need to wash up. Do stay, please don't make me come looking for you." She retreated down the right hallway to the bathroom, shedding her clothes as she went.

The bathroom was larger than she thought, and as pristine as the rest of the apartment. The water was hot against her skin, but she didn't mind. She liked it that way, it seemed to cleanse her of her sins as well as the blood. It didn't take long for the water to run clear, and Danny left the bathroom. Wrapped in a towel, she wandered the house again; she had no qualms being nearly naked.

Mason's curiosity was apparent on his face, but he did not question the girl further. "I'll stay then," he replied, his face buried in the refrigerator, looking for something to eat. It had been hours since he'd had anything substantial, but unfortunately he'd gone to long, so he was no longer hungry. Settling for a glass of bourbon, Mason moved to the couch and loosened his collar. It had been a long day and he was ready to relax. He kicked off his black leather dress shoes and left them under the coffee table, then kicked his feet up and bathed in the silence. The guards had exited a long time ago, though their eyes were more focused on the stripping woman than anything else.

When Danny exited the bathroom, Mason turned his attention to her and lingered, clearly happy with what he saw. Her hair was clean and her skin was no longer caked in crimson. All in all, she was a pretty girl with a heaping fuck-load of darkness in her mind. "There's clothes in the bedroom if you want them. Or you can stay in a towel." Silently he hoped for the latter, but it did not show on his face.

Danny plopped down in a chair, swinging her legs over the arm, leaning against the other. "Clothes are for wanktards. They're confining and I like to be free. Unfortunately laws prevent me from going outside nude." She paused for a moment, then laughed. "Then again laws also prevent me from killing people, but that doesn't stop me."

She moved off the chair, padding across the floor to the kitchen. She only needed to search for a moment before she found what she was looking for. Doritos. Popping open the bag, she opened the fridge looking for a drink. "Eh, how long have you been trying to catch me?"