Chapter 1:

In the Tora Police Headquarters a loud sigh could be heard.

“Another one?” the police chief asked, wearily running his hand through his hair.

“Yes sir!” one of the officers chimed.

“The body was found along an old trail in Yupo Park.  It belonged to company CEO Gregory Falldaw.  The cause of death seems to be traces of a wire trap that we found nearby.”

“Was there a card?” the chief asked with a frown.

“Yes sir!”

The police chief sadly shook his head, “That’s the third one this week.  Were there any witnesses?”

“No sir.”

The chief cursed.

“We need to catch this person, the citizens are growing fearful.  Double the manpower!”

After giving his orders, the chief walked out of the room.  Numerous thoughts were swirling in his mind.

Two years ago, a mysterious murderer named Velvet appeared.  After every kill, they would leave a mysterious card marking their deeds.  The police had been on their trail for ages, even teaming up with the Special Forces division, but to no avail.  They were too slippery.

The chief grabbed a cigarette and went to the roof.  He lit the cigarette and took a long puff.

“If only we could find some connection between the victims.  I don’t understand why the kills are so indiscriminate.  One day it’s an important leader, the other day it’s a bum off the street.”

All of a sudden, the door to the roof screeched open.  In entered a young girl with a black ponytail.  In one hand she carried a lunchbox.

“Good afternoon Chief William!” the girl beamed with an angelic smile.

“Good morning Tara,” William smiled back, “Where’s Lia?”

“She’s in the car, she hasn’t done her makeup yet,” Tara rolled her eyes.

William laughed. 

“I hope she knows I don’t care about the way she looks,” he said teasingly.

“She knows, but she doesn’t care!” Tara giggled.

After talking for a few more minutes, Tara handed over the lunchbox and left.

William was thankful.  Both his girlfriend and her daughter were truly wonderful.  He wouldn’t want anything to ever happen to them.

He grit his teeth.  That’s why he had to catch Velvet.  He couldn’t allow a murderer to do as they pleased in his city.

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Outside, in the car, sat Tara and her mother.

“Did you give him the lunchbox?”

“Yup!” Tara chirped.

“Any suspicion?”

“No.  Everything is proceeding as expected,” Tara said, a serious note in her voice.

“Very good.  Returning to base.”

The car sped off into the distance.

After fifteen minutes of driving they arrived at their destination, a middle-class house located in the midst of the suburbs.

The pair stepped out of the car and went into the house.

Everything was organized neatly, nothing stood out from the ordinary.

The two walked deeper into the house, heading towards the main bedroom.

They turned to a closet and pulled open the door.  After pulling up a piece of carpet, they opened a trap door and went down a ladder.

With the flick of a switch the gloom was illuminated, revealing walls filled to the brim with weaponry and equipment.

“Get changed and get ready to spar,” Tara’s mom ordered her.

Tara nodded in agreement and quickly switched into exercise clothing.

The two entered combat stances and lunged at each other.  Blows were exchanged at a rapid pace.  Even professionals would be amazed.  Their blows went faster than the eye could see, seemingly inhuman.  Their bodies twirled through the air, bending at impossible angles in order to dodge powerful blows.

After nearly half an hour of intense combat, the two finally came to a stop. 

“Good work,” Lia said, wiping her sweat, “You still have room to improve though, make sure you don’t slack.”

Tara beamed in response, clearly happy from the compliment.

“Who’s next on the list?” Tara asked curiously.

“Henry Stackland, age 43, threat level 27,” Lia said, recalling the information from memory.

“Threat level 27?” Tara snorted in derision, “What are his powers?”

“Enhanced regeneration and pistol mastery.  According to intelligence he’s responsible for the deaths of three of our agency’s members.

“You’ve been given free rein on this assignment.  Just make sure there are no witnesses as usual.”

Tara’s grin widened, “Of course.”

“I’m going to take a shower, then I’ll head out,” Tara told Lia.

“Good.  Remember, failure won’t be tolerated,” Lia warned, a threat in her voice.

“Don’t worry! I don’t make mistakes.”

After getting clean, Tara put on an outfit and grabbed the equipment necessary for the task.

Two hours later, she was outside of Henry’s house.

She walked straight towards the front door and rang the doorbell.

After a few seconds, the door opened up with a click.  Standing in the threshold was a bald man with his arms crossed.

He glanced over her before opening his mouth, “Selling girl scout cookies?”

“Yup!” Tara answered, completely decked in the clothing of a scout.

“Five dollars a box.  Do you want some?”

The man frowned, thinking for a minute.  After a second he sighed.

“Sure, I’ll take three boxes of thin mints.  Just let me go get some money.”

He turned around, leaving the door open, and went upstairs.

Two minutes later, he came downstairs, only to see that Tara was gone.

“What the heck?” he cursed, “Where’d she go?”

All of a sudden he saw a flash, as something was looped around his neck.  It immediately tightened, choking him.

Tara held the garrote in her hands, using her weight to pull the wire taunt.

The man staggered, clawing at the cord in a desperate attempt to free himself.

Tara burst out laughing, a sound that sent a chill down Henry’s spine.

“You’re too weak.  Sadly, regeneration and pistol skills aren’t going to save you,” she taunted.

Henry’s eyes went wide with horror. 

“V-v-velvet,” he choked out before passing it.

Tara kept the garrote tightened around his throat for a few extra minutes just to make sure the deed was done.

After checking Henry to make sure he was dead, she reached into get pocket and pulled out a black card marked with a “V”.

She set it on his corpse and arranged it with a smile.  Afterwards, she took out a syringe and plunged it into his wrist, extracting a vial of blood.

After securing the bottle with a topper, she exited the house, taking extra care to make sure no one saw her.

Three days later, Henry’s body was found.

Chief William arrived at the scene, boiling in anger.

“Send this card to the lab too.  The others didn’t have fingerprints, but we have to check anyways,” he ordered his subordinates.