One foot pressed strongly against the glassy surface of the high-rise, followed by another one, as the woman whose black clothes formed a contrast with the lights of the city and the gold splashed by the moon, descended slowly. Holding tight onto the dark rope, she rappelled through the clashing currents of upward heat and downward cold, her movements carrying a barely restrained nervousness as she avoided looking down.
Fortunately, her target was not far. In fact, it was very close. She tried to look through the windows of the dark seventieth floor, but to no avail. Still, that helped her calm her palpitating heart, and focus on reaching the balcony of the sixty-ninth floor, the floor with which the seventieth one formed a single unit.
Slowly arriving at the open door of the balcony, she gently pushed herself off the glassy wall, and let herself float down. Carefully landing with a soft sound further muffled by the boots she had meticulously chosen, she held onto the rope and looked into the exposed apartment for any unexpected presence that would bust her illegal visit.
Seeing only an empty living room, she held back a sigh of relief, and looked at the watch on her wrist.
00:03
A little past midnight, more or less as she had been told was the best time to do what she had been asked to. Most probably because they knew that Alex Lenner would be profoundly asleep. Though, she didn't understand why exactly today and not any other day.
She exhaled, and put those questions aside to unhook herself off the rope to let it dangle in the air, with the rest coiled on the floor of the balcony, and took off the harnesses she was wearing. After doing all of that with as little noise as possible, she stepped forward, and carefully walked into the apartment, a look of mockery in her eyes.
Alex Lenner was said to be many things, a scumbag, a philanderer, a rich heir, a handsome playboy, a prized bachelor, a scumbag again, and even a philanthropist, though the last one was just a rumor, which she had always found difficult to believe. And now, she could add that he had no awareness of danger to the list. If not, he would not have left his window open like he did, even if it was on the balcony hundreds of meters in the sky.
The feeling of scorn alleviated her nervousness somewhat.
At the corner of the balcony, she saw an easel. Raising her eyebrows behind the mask, her dark eyes looked around and let the surprise she was feeling show. Instead of the nudes she had come expecting, the modern and ordered apartment was decorated with paintings that felt like modest finishing touches to the design of the place. Depicting the joy of different things, places and sceneries with bright but moderate color schemes, they shone under the soft luster of the golden moon in the dim apartment.
For a moment, softness peeked through the dark eyes, before it was abruptly pulled back:
"Humph! The playboy got an artistic bone."
With that, anything that could have nursed some good feelings for the owner of the place was swallowed back and crushed.
Taking a deep breath, she turned back, carrying some regret, and walked back to the balcony. It would have been great if she had not had to do much more than search around then leave with the objective of her trip.
With a light exhale, then a deep breath which she held in, she slowly walked to the other end of the balcony, and carefully pushed the smaller floor-to-ceiling window that had been left with a small gap. The breeze blew in before her, and she could now see the bed inside the bedroom, along with the form resting on it. But despite the apparent comfort of the soft piece of furniture, her target, Alex Lenner, looked to be having a bad dream with his brows deeply furrowed like he was struggling with or against something.
She paused. Thinking about the round moon above her, she laughed inwardly. It would be funny if the most famous playboy of the city was to actually be a werewolf. Though that would not be funny for her, the intruder in his apartment. Fortunately, a creature like that only existed in stories.
But he was really handsome, even more so now seen up close and defenseless. Rather than a werewolf, she would believe it, if told that he was a vampire instead. She smiled behind her mask, then snapped out of her moment of dazed appreciation. She took a deep breath before whispering in a voice only she could hear:
"He is not a good person. No Lenner is a good person. I will just do what I came for and not linger here."
Shaking away her superfluous thoughts and exhaling her guilt away, she held her breath and stepped forward with the carpeted floor helping the dampening sole of the boots do a good job keeping her footsteps discreet. She took a small airtight purse from the side of her backpack once she arrived by the side of the bed. Unzipping it, she took a white piece of cloth from inside. Hurrying to avoid Alex Lenner waking up because of the nightmare he was having or the chilly breeze she had opened the way wider for, she leaned down, and with a careful gesture, put the damp piece of cloth at his nose, letting colorless fumes drift into his nose.
Slowly, he calmed down, his brows smoothening, and he stopped moving. Feeling a burst of relief, she pressed the cloth against his nose to let the chemical work faster. She only pulled back after a few minutes, and finally let out the relief inside her with a great exhale:
"Huff~!"
Then she paused, and suddenly remembered to check her target's breathing, before heaving another sigh of relief. Good that she had not messed up her first time being an anesthesiologist even though she had never taken any course in that major. She succeeded in one go and without complications. That was very good.
She patted her chest, then looked around and locked her gaze onto the chair in front of the desk against the wall. She went to pull it beside the bed, and with some difficulty, moved Alex Lenner's unconscious body from the bed to it.
She put her backpack down onto the bed and took out another rope from inside which she used to tie Alex securely. Only after she was done did she have the time to truly survey her surroundings.
If she could simply find what she had been instructed to come here for, she would not have to remain longer than necessary. But the bedroom was simple enough, even though as understatedly luxurious as the rest of the apartment. Everything inside could be seen at a glance. She went through the drawers of the nightstands, then went through the large wardrobe. She even went through the bathroom, before coming to sit onto the bed, defeated.
Even though she tried, and carefully combed through the room, she didn't find what she needed. She didn't bother searching the rest of the apartment because she had only been holding onto a flimsy hope before.
She let out a breath, then looked at her captive, whose head was falling on his chest. She thought for a long time, then her eyes hardened, and she hesitated no further. She went back to the bathroom and came back with a cup of water. She stood before the unconscious man for a moment, then…
*Splash*
Alex Lenner trembled, shaken out of the chemical-induced haze by the chill of the cold water. He frowned, and opened his eyes. He looked at the rope restraining him in the chair he was certain he had not fallen asleep in, then shook his head to clear his mind of the fog clogging its gears.
After making sure he was not dreaming, he looked up, and recognized his room, before focusing on the only unrelated presence before him.
He looked deeply at the woman in dark from head to toe, then let out a breath:
"Sigh… Either I didn't pay the property management enough, or I paid them too much. What do you think is the case?"