Dante Kōgetsu stood on the outer ledge of the abandoned skyscraper. The wind whipped against his face. It was 2:14 a.m. in Jōkan City. The lights below blinked like distant stars. He held a silenced firearm in his left hand. A single-target dossier rested in his right. The metal of the gun was cold against his skin. The paper felt heavy in the breeze. He did not shift his weight. He was as still as the concrete beneath his boots.
Kairo said, "Target is in the third office from the right. Distance twelve meters. Wind speed twenty-three kilometers per hour. You have a four-second window."
Dante said, "I know."
Kairo said, "You have not raised the weapon yet."
Dante remained silent. The silence stretched between them. It was not empty. It was filled with the voice inside his head. Mūn spoke next. His voice was softer. It sounded like a dream half-remembered. It echoed in the back of his mind.
Mūn said, "What did you see in the photo?"
Dante did not answer. He looked at the file in his hand. He opened it. The paper crinkled in the wind. There was only one image inside. A single photograph. It was black and white. The edges were sharp.
He looked at the face. The air left his lungs. His heart skipped a beat. It was a glitch in his perfect rhythm. He had never missed a beat before. Not in ten years. Not in hundreds of jobs. His hands did not shake. But his chest tightened.
He closed the file. He slipped it into his coat pocket. He raised the gun. He aimed at the window. The glass was clean. He could see inside. The room was dimly lit. A single lamp burned on a desk.
A woman sat behind the glass. She faced the window. She did not know he was there. Her hair was dark. It fell over her shoulders like ink. The moonlight caught the strands. She hummed a tune. It was a simple melody. It drifted through the glass.
Dante froze. His finger hovered over the trigger. He knew that song. He had heard it once before. It was years ago. In a different life. In a different city. The memory hit him like a physical blow. It broke his focus.
Kairo said, "Dante. The window is closing."
Dante said, "Quiet."
Mūn said, "Dante. The target."
Dante said, "I know who she is."
The silence returned. It was heavier than before. The wind howled around the building. The woman stopped humming. She looked up. She looked directly at the glass. She looked directly at him. Her eyes were gray. They seemed to see through the dark.
Dante lowered the gun. He holstered it. He turned his back on the window. He walked away from the ledge. He moved toward the stairwell. His boots made no sound on the concrete. He descended twenty-two floors. He reached the ground level.
He exited the building through the rear exit. He walked to the parking lot. A black car waited in the shadows. He opened the door. He sat in the driver's seat. The leather was cold. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands. His knuckles turned white. He stared at the dashboard. The engine was off. The silence inside the car was absolute.
Kairo said, "What will you do now?"
Dante said, "What was asked of me. But on my terms."
Mūn said, "What if the employer finds out?"
Dante said, "I will find who hired him before he finds out."
He started the car. The engine roared to life. He pulled out of the parking lot. He drove into the night streets of Jōkan. The city blurred past the windows. The streetlights passed overhead. They cast shadows across his face. His phone rang. The sound cut through the silence.
He looked at the screen. The number was unknown. It was encrypted. He answered the call. He put the phone on speaker. A voice spoke from the other end. It was distorted electronically. It sounded mechanical.
Client said, "Notify me when you are finished."
Dante said, "It is done."
Client said, "Excellent. I want the proof within one hour."
Dante looked at the passenger seat. The dossier lay there. The photo was face down. He could see the edge of the paper. He knew what was inside. He knew who was inside. The lie tasted like ash in his mouth. It was dangerous. It was necessary.
Dante said, "You will have it."
Client said, "Do not fail me."
The line went dead. Dante lowered the phone. He placed it on the console. He looked out the windshield. The streetlights passed overhead. They cast shadows across his face. He thought about the woman in the window. He thought about the song. He thought about the name he had not spoken in years. He had buried it deep. He had buried it with the past.
Kairo said, "You have lied to the client."
Dante said, "Yes."
Kairo said, "This changes everything."
Dante said, "I know."
Mūn said, "She is the variable we did not calculate."
Dante said, "She is not a variable."
Mūn said, "What is she then?"
Dante did not answer immediately. He tightened his grip on the wheel. The car moved forward into the darkness. The city slept around him. He was awake. He was alone. But he was not empty. The memory of her face remained. It burned in his mind.
He whispered the name. It was barely audible. It was for himself only. It was the only truth he had left.
Dante said, "Sophie."
A/N: Welcome to Shadow Contract. This is the beginning of Dante and Sophie's journey into the dark. I hope you enjoy the ride. Please add this to your library and leave a review if you liked the first chapter. More coming soon!