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Chapter one

When Matt suggested the idea, Nick thought it was stupid, like everything else the guy said. But here he was either way.

According to Matt, the idea was to steal as much from as many people as they could and see who got more in the end.

Now normally, Nick would have said no because one, he stole for fun not for competition. Two, the result was inevitable since he was clearly going to win. And three, he had more than enough to last him a life time. But he didn't have enough. Truth be told, he barely had anything thanks to a court case that left him penniless claiming his money had been acquired through corrupt means. So what if it had? He had still basically worked for it.

And now here he was, at a busy intersection at eight in the morning playing childish games with Matt.

He looked around and realised why Matt had picked this spot. There were lots of people rushing in every direction. Most of whom he guessed were heading for the subway to catch a train ride to work.

The air was heavily scented with the aroma of fresh coffee and pretzels from a nearby diner.

Nick walked into the crowd, snatching a wallet from a guy who was busy on his phone. Honestly, it was like they wanted him to steal from them.

He always knew who to target, the people he was sure he'd get quite a lot from. After about twenty minutes he went back to the coffee shop where Matt had said they meet. On walking in he saw him seated at one of the booths digging into a plate of waffles and bacon.

Of course he also realised the reaction his presence got from the other customers in the diner. Some looked terrified and others, like a blonde at the far corner, looked intrigued.

He went over to where Matt was and sat.

Nick didn't trust a lot of people and he was close to only a handful of them. And not close in an emotional kind of way. He hated emotions. They always seemed to mess with with everyone's reasoning, even his.

Of the few people he trusted, Matt was at the very top of the list. They'd known each other for years from back when they were teenagers learning how to be what they were now.

"So.... How much? " Matt asked past a mouthful of bacon.

Nick took everything he'd stolen out of the black overcoat he wore over his St. Laurent suit. Including a bundle of cash he'd gotten from a junkie selling cocaine in a corner.

"I don't think there's need to count, you clearly beat me, " Matt admitted while picking up his coffee to take a sip.

Matt had brown hair that he wore in a modern style. Slightly trimmed along the temples. His eyes were the same shade. He was handsome in a relaxed manner. Possessed looks that could qualify in Hollywood. The guy girls went to since they were sure they'd be safe and that they'd have cute looking babies.

Nick on the other hand was a different kind of good looking. Standing over six feet tall with broad shoulders and hard ribbed muscles. His hair was dark and he liked it combed back. His eyes were an icy grey. Someone had once told him that they never gave anything away except for an icy chill and he guessed they were right.

Apart from the clearly confused females, everyone else feared him.

As they should.

"Won't you order anything? " Matt asked and Nick shook his head.

"No, I was planning on dropping by Miguel's new restaurant. There are still some fucking court papers I have to sign, "

Miguel was Nicks lawyer. The best in all of Seattle. He had been charged with illegal possession of firearms. But luckily, Miguel had been able to make it all go away.

It wouldn't have gone well if the stupid cops had started digging in on his life. Working as a contracted assassin wasn't really deemed as acceptable.

And in the time he'd known Miguel a mutual respect had been formed.

"I heard he gave the restraunt to his girlfriend..... Don't remember her name but she's really hot, " Matt commented.

"Dahlia, " Nick stated.

Dahlia was Miguel's girlfriend. They'd only met a couple of times but he rather liked her. She was strong-willed and he liked females that could stand up for themselves.

Although love wasn't really something he was into. Luckily for Nick, he wasn't prone to that one very dangerous emotion. At least that's what he'd been telling himself for as long as he could remember.

"Anyways....... I got a job at this technical institute. I'll be helping out with programming and stuff, " Matt suddenly said, a rather smug look on his handsome face. That was the most shocking thing Nick had ever heard.

"Oh really, you? "

"Yeah. I mean I admit it's a little boring having to go in everyday but the pay is awesome. Plus I'll have plenty of time to work on a heist on the local bank. Which is pretty much the only reason I'm doing this, " well that explained things

"That institute has like the craziest technical system there is. You can hack into anything... " Matt went on with a foolish smile.

He was what you'd normally call a good bad guy. His actions were against the law but his character was great and he was always in a good mood.

Even when he was doing something as horrible as taking a life, he'd find a way to make a good time out of it.

"Good for you then. I have to go, Miguel must be waiting for me, " Nick said as he stood. He took two hundred dollars from the cash he'd just acquired and told Matt to keep the rest. The sooner he was done with that court stuff, the sooner he'd get to go back to work.

Outside the sun was brightly shining though it wasn't to the point of being called scorching. Nick normally wasn't a fan of light. He preferred the dark where he could do anything he set his mind to without worrying about the consequences.

He got into his car and was about to head to the restraunt when Miguel called. He'd gotten tired of waiting and had gone to his law firm. So nick had to meet him there. He just wanted to be done with all that bullshit once and for all. Then maybe he'd go over to Dahlias restraunt and grab something to eat. He didn't particularly hold food in high account. He could very well go an entire day without eating. But he found some amusement in teasing Dahlia. And for a guy who barely found anything interesting, he tended to maintain the little things that he actually took interest in.

That didn't mean he trusted her though, she had a habit of making it seem like his life was an open book. She could pretty much read people then she what she learnt against them.

The traffic in the morning sucked and Nick considered parking somewhere and walking instead instead of being stuck in the middle of all the chaos.

He leaned back on his seat and slowly shut his eyes.

He hated loud noises and as of now, they were all he could hear.

The sound of honking from all the cars around him and some stupid wannabe businessmen in their three dollar suits telling whoever was in front of them to get a move on.

The smells were even less pleasing. Just like any other state the air was made up of mostly vehicle fumes ,fast-food and sweat from everyone around.

He tried to think of something relaxing but the concept was all but foreign to him. After what felt like forever he was finally back on his way. He looked around at the skyscrapers that made up most of this part of Seattle.

Some other person would have marvelled at how high they went or how well they'd been structured.

But not nick.

There weren't a lot of things he particularly saw the need to acknowledge.

To him, there were only two significant moments of one's life. The moment one was born and the moment one died. Everything in between was just practice.

He had no idea where he came from though the records of himself which he'd stolen from the orphanage he'd grown up in said he was found outside a church in Phoenix.

Perhaps it was his disregard for life that made it easy for him to do what he did and not even feel an ounce of remorse.

He was brutal.

That was a fact he was well aware of.

He'd killed hundreds and was most likely going to kill more. He couldn't help it. It was just his way of life. He finally got to the law firm and parked his car,then he got out and headed for the building.

His lawyer, and apparently his friend, Miguel Diaz was, simply put, wealthy beyond measure. The Diaz Law Firm was as of now the largest structure in that area. Filled with people who were all under Miguel's command.

Apart from his massive wealth, Miguel had something that nick both lacked and respected.

He had a good heart. Although Nick didn't want one of those, it was admirable how Miguel had been able to have so much power and still not lose himself in it.

He walked up the stairs heading into the building then a car pulled over at the same time.

It was a black Mercedes. The type influential people drove when they wanted to draw attention to themselves.

Nick had nothing against the rich.

It was those who thought money could save them that he couldn't stand.

He was about to turn and keep going when something caught his eye. Actually, it was more of someone.

In the building right opposite Miguel's, at the very top of the roof, Nick saw a guy. Most probably a sniper. He was aiming at someone on the street.

Nick was an excellent shooter. He was an assassin afterall and was a natural at getting the perfect shot right between the eyes.

Though he preferred shooting someone straight in the heart. To have them experience the knowledge that they were truly going to die. It was this experience that enabled him to know that the hitman was aiming for the Mercedes.

Nick watched as the driver came around and opened up the door. A man, probably in his late forties, got off. Dressed in an elegant tailored suit. Silver hair that gleamed in the light of the sun. He was clearly the target and from where nick was, he could see the sniper getting ready to strike. He looked at the target again, watched as he retrieved a briefcase from the backseat then went ahead to straighten his tie.

Now a normal person would have screamed or shouted, then, if they knew who the target was they would have tried their best to save the person.

But Nick wasn't a normal person.

He didn't judge people's proffessions but most importantly he never interfered in anything that didn't concern him.

Never.

So what if he could literally kill in the blink of an eye? Didn't mean he'd go around stirring trouble. All he did was chill back and wait for the trouble to find him.

And even then, he never did it for free. He gave one more look at the target and turned around to walk away and leave him to his fate.

But as soon as he took the first step, something urged him to turn back. Instantly, Nick found himself running towards the target, ordering him to get down. He reached him just in time to push him out of the line of fire. The bullet hit the side of the car followed by two more. Then there was silence.

Both Nick and the guy were on the ground and completely unharmed. The driver had pulled out a gun and tried to shoot back, and when that hadn't worked, he'd gone after him along with security guards from Miguel's building.

People were screaming and running around.

Chaos.

Nick hated chaos.

The two of them rose from the ground and the guy was clearly shaken.

"You saved my life, " he said in between jagged breaths.

"I would honestly prefer it if you didn't say that out loud. "

Spoken in his normal straight to the point way. Nick was serious. He was also pretty confused. what the hell had just happened? He didn't save lives, he destroyed them. Especially not those of people he didn't know.

"What can I do to repay you? " The guy asked, finally retaining some of his composure.

"Nothing. I have to go, " and he turned to walk away.

"Wait! "

"What? I'm in a bit of a rush! " Nick said as he turned around once more. Unhidden irritation on his features.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do? Just think of anything, "

"How about you let me leave and we'll consider things even, " nick said and just then, the driver came back panting. Followed by two security guards and another guy. Nick knew the other guy. Henry Saunders. He was a cop, the same one who'd arrested him a while back for the illegal firearm.

"Sir, we didn't get him, " the driver said as he wiped sweat off his forehead.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me, " Saunders said as soon as he saw Nick. Must hate his guts for walking away from all the charges just like that.

"Good morning to you too Saunders, " Nick said with no hint of amusement.

"Is it just me or do you have a natural compass for trouble? "

"Actually I was just paying my lawyer a visit. So if you'll excuse me.. " he went up one stair before Saunders called him.

"Hey wait !"

"What? For the love of God can you just let me go! " he was already fed up of being there.

"Actually I can't. See, you Nick Hilton are a witness to an attempted assassination, " So what? Nick thought. A lot of people had been witnesses.

"I'd love to help... " of course he wouldn't. " but I have other things to take care of." he stated but the damn cop wouldn't even let him leave.

"How did you even get here so fast? " Nick asked in between their argument, realising just how fast the cop had had gotten there, there was no way he could have driven that fast.

"I happened to be at the diner around the corner when I heard gunshots. Just good luck I guess, "

"Good for you, I have to go.. "

"I already told you that you can't -" just then,the guy nick had saved cleared his throat.

"Sorry to disturb your little chat gentlemen bit I was almost murdered. Do you mind if we discuss that first, I happen to be a very busy man, " he said, already back to his normal self. Nick immediately regretted saving the guy. He was a workaholic, that much was clear and he was also very clearly more worried about his career than anything else, not even his life.

Nick was unwillingly forced to stay back and listen as Saunders asked the guy questions. Fighting the urge to snap his neck or use the illegal gun he had on him at that very moment to put him down. But he restricted himself. There was no need to attract unnecessary attention. The guy explained everything that had gone down including how Nick had saved him. A fact that greatly shocked Saunders. So much so that he asked the guy, whose name was Lucas Lockwood to repeat what he'd said.

Lockwood gave a detailed account of everything again and Saunders simply nodded. Taking in all of what was being said.

"So do you know of anyone who would want to harm you? " he finally asked and Lockwood didn't even bother thinking about it.

"I'm the most renowned lawyer in the state. A lot of people wanna harm me...... You know what, here, take my card and call me when you have any information, " he said handing Saunders a card while he stared at his watch. Then he proceeded to go up the steps. But he stopped and came back down.

"Here, you take one as well, I guess I owe you my life so whenever you get over your ego, give me a call, " he said before handing Nick another card.

Nick didn't take it. He was a human that relied on facts. And the fact here was that he wasn't going to call the guy. So why bother taking his stupid card. Besides, he didn't really like the guy.

Saunders intervened, taking the card and thanking the man who left hurriedly immediately after.

"Listen Saunders, I have no fucking clue about what went down here. So you're gonna have to count me out of this!" He didn't have time to deal with other people's crap.

"Okay. But first you have to swear you didn't see the guy, " how good did the cop think his vision was? The guy was on the fucking roof and the sun was up.

"I saw him but I sure as hell can't recognize him! "

"You sure? ".

"positive, "

Saunders kept quiet for a moment, probably contemplating whether Nick was being honest. But in the end, he let him go. Not like he had much of a choice. Nick decided to go over to Dahlias first. His morning was not going how he'd planned at all.He needed a freaking distraction.

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