He probably doesn’t even remember us.

Not that it matters.

*****

Skulking from one shadow to the next, I followed his path as he walked through the city's remains. Honed steps, dark clothing, and stealth-related Skills ensured I wasn’t noticed as I trailed behind him.

The man’s name was George.

A simple name for a simple man.

I hadn’t known George firsthand, but I wasn’t going to recognize everyone on the list.

One hundred names.

One hundred targets.

I’d been young back then. I, or should I say ‘we,’ couldn’t have been expected to keep track of every piece of scum that crossed our path. Let alone the ones that hid behind desks, unable to even look at what they’d signed up for.

No, I couldn’t remember George, but if there was anything I could trust in this new world, it was the System. The System hadn’t lied to me yet.

George stopped to talk to one of the goons on the street. Some idiot in a beanie and run-down coat, probably handing him some of the money he’d made for the week. George seemed like a connected guy as he walked from shop to shop, chatting and talking with the owners as they closed for the day.

I’d only hung around this part of the city a couple of times, but I knew most were crooked in one way or another. Still, most folks were trying to get by. And sometimes, that meant doing things you didn’t want to do to make it to the next day.

I couldn’t say the same, but who was I to judge.

My day-to-day involved either killing people or waiting to kill people.

Finally, George was getting ready to leave as he left the street and walked back to his building. I could’ve waited for longer, but I wasn’t complaining as the night got darker and the streets became barer.

George must’ve thought he was untouchable. He walked with a purpose, shoulders back and head held high as if no one would dare try to jump or rob him. Like he was the most powerful man on these streets. Skills could do that to a man, I guess.

Make them think they were invincible, that is.

I kept following at a safe distance until I noticed George walking down one of the side streets. Picking up the pace and noticing no one else around, I decided this was the best time to strike. Jumping up and onto the nearest roof, I ran directly above where George would be walking.

George was still there as I scaled the brick wall, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Closing in on the ground but still invisible in the darkness of the shadows around me, George stopped and waved his head to the left and right.

“Whoever you are, let’s fucking go! I haven’t got all night,” he yelled, darting his eyes, trying to find me.

By his expression, I knew he still couldn’t tell where I was, but it looked like his paranoia in his previous life had earned him a Skill good enough to notice he was being followed.

I contemplated trying again later, but I’d waited long enough already. Another day wasn’t going to help when I didn’t even know what Skill he had.

No, George may not have been on my personal kill list, but his death meant one more step towards finding the others. The quest didn’t let me skip names, after all.

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So, too bad for George, but tonight was his turn to die.

*****

I threw a dagger towards George. I jumped down as the first dagger plummeted towards him and threw a second directly behind the first. Each dagger didn’t pack much of a punch individually, but each was fast and sharp enough to alert George of my intention as I raced down the wall.

Stealth discarded; I threw daggers as I raced to meet George on the ground.

A couple of daggers pierced his skin, proving he wasn’t as untouchable as he thought. Most were swatted away as his hands became encased in a hard glowing substance like the boxing gloves of the past. George kept most of his body safe as he leaped away from my raining knives.

Still, I hadn’t expected to kill him with thrown daggers, and I was now close enough to strike him up close. He was target 43, after all – George wasn’t going to make this easy.

Faster than George could react, I was on the ground, my legs quaking from the quick descent, as I slashed the knife into his thigh.

“Fuck!” George cried out, feeling the cool breeze on his now bloody and exposed leg. A fist struck out towards me, but I was already behind him, another dagger stuck in the small of his back.

Another dagger appeared in my hand as I drove the one in my left hand into his hip.

We traded blows up close as he swung around and I dodged his glowing fists. All the while, my daggers ate away at his skin and clothes, his swings wide enough to keep me at a distance, but not fast enough to land. Near screaming in rage, George spun around and tried to grab hold me, but I jumped out of his reach.

George was already riddled with holes, some of the daggers still sticking out of him as he realized this was a losing battle. To George’s credit, he could take a hit.

Understanding the odds were stacked against him, George finally stopped swinging as he fell to the ground.

There, he got his first real glimpse of me amidst the alley's darkness.

In complete black wrapping and with my face covered by a white mask, I knew I probably looked terrifying to George’s disoriented brain. The man knew he was about to die as his blood glistened off his clothes and the one remaining dagger I still held.

I manifested a second. The dagger appeared in my left hand, identical to the one in my right.

He deserved to see his killer before he died.

Stalking towards him, George fumbled to hit his wrist where he had a bracelet with two small baubles. Worrying that he might use them to escape, I threw my daggers, unwilling to lose him when I was already so close.

Fuck, I really need to find a better way to stop them from running away. I thought, hoping I wouldn’t be forced to track George down again.

The daggers hit their mark, piercing his hand, but they weren’t fast enough to stop him as the baubles cracked and broke on the ground.

Two large dogs appeared in front of his failing body, but I was just glad to see it wasn’t a way for him to escape. George didn’t see it, but I was smiling behind my mask.

“Get that bastard!” George cried, pointing towards me as he slowly stood up and turned to run away.

The mutated dogs charged immediately, following their master’s commands.

Bulkier than I was and with teeth the size of my daggers, the dogs were George’s trump card in a bad situation.

Still, George wasn’t the only one with other tricks to play.

‘Grim Haste’.

The world around me blurred as the dogs took slow steps. Unwilling to risk them getting loose, I turned the daggers in my hands and jumped. A couple precise cuts and a kick to the ground was all it took. I dropped the Skill, the bodies of both dogs lying on the floor beside me. And in the aftermath of the Skill, I only felt slightly exhausted as my path to George was now open and I watched him try to escape.

George’s back was to me as he slowly limped towards the other end of the alley. A proud man, George was above screaming for help, but his complete trust in the dogs also made him unprepared for the daggers crashing down into his back.

Falling into him like a thunderous crash, his body slammed into the dirt, and George breathed his last breath.

I spared a glance at George but quickly climbed back up to the roofs around me. Some might have tried to loot his body, but that wasn’t my goal. I didn’t want people in the neighborhood to think a thief was going around randomly killing people.

No, when the City found George, they’d realize this had been targeted. That George had likely gotten in over his head for the last time, that he’d crossed the wrong person, and that person had finally taken their revenge.

And as my Quest updated, they would be partially right.

George wasn’t on my personal list, but he was complicit, just like the rest of them.

And sure, he probably wouldn’t have remembered me. Or any of us.

I’d forget about George just as easily.

Not that it matters – he’s dead.

*****

Quest Updated!

Avenge the other orphans – Kill everyone who actively participated in the program.

Target # 43 terminated.

Targets Killed: 43

Targets Remaining: 57

Next Target Available after ‘Dungeon duty’ quest is complete.