shadow (Closed to Darren)

Sydney stepped into the small bookstore and made a beeline for her favorite spot. It was right beneath a window, so the sun shined on her. But she also got a good blow of cold air from the ac vent across from her. She pulled out her book and started reading. She was soon developed by the words of Veronica Roth and the story of the Divergent girl, Tris. She was so into her story, that she didn’t notice a man stop in front of her until his shadow blocked her light. She didn’t look up but said, “Excuse me. You’re blocking my light.”

Darren looked down and pretended to look apologetic. "Sorry, I have to get a book from here."

He lingered in his gaze, she could be a suitable victim. Only if the bookstore wasn't so crowded with people and aliens. He sat in the chair furthest from her and began to flip through a book. He got up and moved to the sofa she sat on.

"Sorry, do you mind if I sit there?"

Without a reply, he sat himself down and busied himself with analyzing this new victim of his. "What book you reading?"

The spot he sat in was beginning to annoy him, it was hot and cold at the same time. He was growing impatient but was able to hold himself back, the knife was only in his trouser pocket, the handle going up his sleeve.

Sydney looked up and saw a man standing above her. He looked at her with curiosity and she returned the gaze with equal intensity. She nodded her head when the man asked her if he could sit beside her. "Im reading Divergent. Its a pretty good book." She smiled shyly and looked back down at her book. She noticed that it got very silent and akward very fast. So she looked back at the man and said, "Im sydney. And you are?"

She had just asked his name…would he respond with the truth and have everything revealed or lie and get her into another 'safe' or 'comfort' zone.

"Drake Hughes." He said, sticking his hand out for a shake, at least he had changed the first part of his name.

He got up and moved through each of the shelves nearest to them. "So Sydney, how long do you plan on staying he--"

Just as he was saying that, the bookshop announced it was closing in five minutes. The crowd was slowly beginning to shuffle out of the doors.

His comms turned on. "Darren? Do you receive this?"

"Yeah, yeah…just at a local bookstore, browsing…but I may have found the target…" Darren looked at one of the aliens, it moved quickly but also hid behind a larger one so it couldn't be detected, he then swiftly moved his head to Sydney and then back to the window.

"Get on it then, time's running short!"

"Not when you're me." Darren shut off the comms and turned to Sydney. "Where do you work?"

She noticed the bookstore was closing so she got up to her feet and smiled at him. “Drake, huh? That’s a nice name. I don’t really have a job. Im a student. But, I do have band practice in about a half hour. You should come check us out sometime.” She started twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, as she always did when telling people about the band. “What about you? What do you do?” She said, fascinating by his presence.

Darren raised an eyebrow, smirking ever so slightly. "I'm a bit of a…freelancer."

He suggested that he would visit today, if she didn't mind. "I always enjoy listening to music…you okay that I tag along?"

His grin grew ever so bigger. But he would have to wait, in his job, patience was a key virtue. She was a suitable victim, but it would take a lot more to earn her trust. He walked out and into the cool evening breeze, began walking towards the cafe, through the alleyway.

"Darren, you need to check in now…" The comms switched off.

Darren muttered something under his breath but smiled to Sydney. "Nice evening isn't it?"

He drew out the syringe, covered slightly by his sleeve.

She smiled as she looked up into his eyes, they were really mesmerizing, "Yeah totally. We love having an audience." She exited the store with him in tow. She looked up at the sky, "Yeah it is. Look at all the stars." She looked over at him out of the corner of her eyes and thought she saw him hiding something. She was about to ask what it was, but decided against it. It was probably nothing in the first place. "So Drake, where are you from? I've never seen you around town before."

Darren smiled, plunging the syringe into her neck. It was non-lethal but a knockout liquid. "I'm not from around here."

He carried her all the way to an underground cavern, a disbanded railway station, built but never used. He quickly taped her onto a wooden plank, which was already covered in blood. Darren sat on the stairs, waiting for her to wake up.

Oh how easy it was to...

"Get back to HQ, contract close to termination, Darren!" His boss threatened.

He shook his head, properly switching off his comms. The grin still there and his eyes fixed upon the body. Darren turned his back to see which of his collection he would be using today...

Sydney couldnt tell what happened next, all she remembered was beign really tired and feeling a stinging in her neck. She passed out pretty much. Next thing she knew, she woke up and she was tied to a piece of wood. She groggily shook her head as she tried to clear her head, "Wh- what happened? Drake? Whats going on?" She looked at the boy who was sitting in front of her and instantly was over whelmed by fear. She struggled as she tried to free herself from the ropes.

"Oh you should know…" Darren pulled a knife from the pouch, it reflected the dim lights within the underground. He chuckled and was about to plunge the heart into her chest before a few voices echoed, getting closer.

Police officers. Darren stopped and picked up his knives and turned and ran in the tracks, the officers didn't see where he went but stopped to turn to free the woman on the table.

"You alright, m'am?" An officer said, once cutting her free. "Who…what happened?"

Darren had chosen the set of clothes, that didn't blend well with the darkness. Creme trousers and a hawaiian shirt. But that was a close-call, he couldn't let something like that happen ever again.

"Myriam, returning to base." He muttered.

Sydney felt a flood of relief overwhelm her when she saw 2 police officers in uniform approach her and untie her. She couldn’t feel her legs, and wobbled at first before falling to the ground. “Drake… he… he..” But that was all she could get out before breaking down in tears. “I trusted him. And he did this to me. Didn’t he?” She felt the sobs rack through her body. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She remembered how Drake had made her feel special. Drake…? Was that even his name? He tricked her so why wouldn’t he lie to her as well? “I wanna go home…. Please take me home!”

Darren was only hiding in the shadows but a beam of light erupted and he was teleported back to base. He stood around and kicked at the floor very annoyed. "Anyway. Why do you call us back?"

Myriam turned around, smirking. She was satisfied in having Darren back, knowing that he was interrupted in a kill.

"Well, I need you to do a mission. The target's name is Sydney, Sydney Hale."

Darren's eyes widened. He was on that person's trail, and now Myriam has put him off her 'scent.'
"I was bloody next to her and about to kill her! You idiot!"

The next thing he knew, he was in the center of London and the crowd scattered around him. Spooked at the sudden arrival of a man. He started back towards the underground, only to find it empty.

Sydney sat in her bedroom and wondered about the man she knew as Drake. He had seemed so nice and trustworthy. Boy, had she misjudged him. She wondered where he was now. what he was doing. She let these thoughts overwhelm her and drifted off to dream land and a long, great, well earned sleep.

Found it. He was sure that this was the right door. So, he knocked.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

He stood there, silently waiting and silently watching everyone go by him. Some of them remembered him from the 'appearing act' and raised their eyebrows at him. He was still Drake to her, but why wouldn't Myriam have told him earlier? If his job was to eradicate criminals, why didn't she tell him about her? There was no point in asking himself.

"Sydney? It's Drake." He said, fairly loudly. "Could you let me in please?" It wasn't the best of times to ask as he had just attacked her and placed her on a table, ready to be killed…it was worth a try.

Sydney heard a knock on her front door. She threw on her robe to cover her pjs and ran down the stairs to answer it. Before she did, she heard a voice outside say who it was…. Drake. “What do you want?” She said trying to control herself so her voice wouldn’t shake. She was terrified… but he didn’t know that. How could he know where she lived? This was all too much. She felt her head start to spin and before she knew it she was opening the door. There he was, standing on her front porch. The man who had tied her up and possibly tried to kill her. “What are you doing here?” She closed the robe tighter around her and stared at him. She bit her lip to fight back the tears of his betrayal and kept her cool. “Well?”

Darren wasn't moved by the fact that Sydney was holding back tears, she was a criminal…or so Myriam had told him. "I need you to…come with me?" He phrased it as a question, so if she did decline, he could easily step inside and talk with her then. He had not believed the claims that Sydney was a criminal. "First things first, my name is Darren Hughes. Can we talk somewhere private? I don't want everyone listening."

He let out a drawn out sigh and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Was this the right move? He was sent on assignments and to find out that…wait, before Myriam left, she had smirked. What was that supposed to indicate? Smirking, to him, was a sign that something was wrong. Very wrong. "Have you killed anyone?" The words found its way out of Darren's mouth. He didn't bother covering the fact that he did and simply stood there his head tilted slightly.

Sydney stepped aside to invite him in, “I wont go anywhere with you. But you can come in.” She walked into the living room and sat on her couch. Her jaw dropped when he asked her if she had killed anyone, “What? Are you crazy. You tried to kill me! You’re the murderer. Not me.” She angrily stood up and held her hands at her side, her fists clenched. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted to hit him. But yet, a part of her wanted to hug him.

Darren sat himself in the chair furthest from any windows. He took a deep breath. "Yes, I am a killer. But only hunting down bad aliens and misbehaving humans.But for some reason, you have been a target from…Torchwood for a long time." Darren took his time to shudder as he said the word 'Torchwood.'

He could see the emotions running around in her brain, Darren simply cocked his head to one side, his eyes emotionless. Sydney couldn't have killed anyone…could she? Darren got up, inspecting all her cupboards out of pure curiosity. "I'm…not…going to…kill you." The hardest thing for a killer to say, but he was too busy with looking around the living room to fully concentrate. He was content that she hadn't had any weapons.

"I better…go?" He phrased that more as a question. He didn't actually want to go but he would have killed her if the moment came, and he didn't want to do it.

"Wait! Don't go..." She suddenly said. What was she saying? She mentally yelled at herself. "Please saty?" She moved slightly closer to him, hesitantly at first, then more confidently. "For some odd reason... i feel.... safe around you. Please please stay?" She reached out and grabbed his hand and met his eyes as she pleaded with her own.

"Safe? Around a person like me?" Darren tried not to scoff the sentence, but he couldn't actually believe what he was being told. He looked down at his hand, it was being held. An odd gesture but he smiled, slightly at first and it grew into a large grin.

"Tell you what, get me a job that I can pretend to be normal, and I will stay." Darren had almost forgot the reason he was here but she wasn't doing any harm nor was she threatening him.

He sat himself back in the chair and his eyes began to droop, and soon, he had fallen asleep.

((You could possibly call the police or…ideas, anyway, sorry it's short, you didn't give me much to go on…>.< No worries though. ))

Sydney picked up he phone and dialed a number she knew by heart. At first she was going to call the police, but then she changed her mind.she dialed a new nnumber, and when someone answered she said, "Hey Dylan, its me. I have someone here who needs a job. Can you help me out?" She listened to her cousins response and smiled, "Fantastic!" She looked over at Darren and saw that he was asleep. She walked over to him and softly shook his shoulder, "Darren. wake up."

Darren's eyes quickly shuttered open and he was standing up in a flash. He looked at Sydney in surprise and slight confusion filling his features. "What?" He was still in a half daze but shook himself awake, making his way through the various rooms, until he came to a standstill at the kitchen.

Darren scanned the room hungrily, usually this happened when he hadn't killed for so long that everything else seemed compulsory. He felt hungry. That was a change.

"So, how is this Dylan guy you spoke to? Yes, I was half awake anyway." He gave Sydney a small grin. "You could make me into a better person right?" It was an odd request but something was brewing at the back of his mind and this was part of it.

"Dylan is my cousin. He's going to hook you up with a job at the club. He owns a night club called the Pandemonium. They need a new bouncer. I figured you'd be perfect for the job." She smiled and sat beside him on the couch. She layed out and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sounds good to me, so…when do I…uh, start?" Darren felt himself falling asleep again, he remembered that he had a bouncer on his table once, but it couldn't be from the place that she was talking about, could it?

The gesture of affection was odd but he found it weirdly friendly, he had never been the shoulder to lean on or..."So, what do you usually do around this time of day…? I, uh, usually…" He didn't want to carry on with the sentence, his palm had gone sweaty and he knew he was going to say something out of place, like killing for instance. He couldn't mention that, again.

"You start tomorrow.... actually i should say we start tomorrow. Im performing at the club. And I'm usually at band practice. Which i missed today thanks to you." She smirked and pushed him playfully to show she was kidding. "What were you gonna say? You can tell me."She squeezed his hand comfortingly and smiled. "You can trust me with anything." She scooted closer to where there sides were touching and she could feel his body heat radiating off of him.