-August 31, 1:22 A.M.-

The moon was high in the sky and gave a white wash glow to everything its light touched. The stars were few, drowned out by the unnatural light of the city. The dirty alleyways barely stirred with life from a passerby drunk or a random unfortunate that called an alleyway home.

It was D.C. nights like these that a certain person loved to walk about and observe the nightlife of the streetwalkers and the degenerates. Was it dangerous? Certainly. Did the person worry? No, not at all.

This very person who loved to walk and observe blended in very well: an old bulky coat, heavy dirty boots, and a dusty hat that covered the head. You couldn't tell how old the person was or even if the person was a man or a woman. The person had walked through these streets many times before and was such a common sight that it would be noticed if they didn't come walking around.

After a few minutes the person turned a corner and reached their destination: a street well known for its female streetwalkers. The one that had caught their eye before, a young woman who was still relatively new, was in sight. The person walked over to her, they were getting closer and closer until they reached her and turned down the alley she was right by. It wasn't a good time yet. They stood in watch waiting for the right time, and it came rather quickly.

Half of the girls who were on the street were gone, having had left to entertain their customers. The person made their move.

It only took one well braced arm and ready hand to get the young woman and drag her into the alley. And only one, two hand movements to silence her.

One: reach into coat

Two: slash across her neck

So simple.

The young woman started to fade until… nothing… until she was an empty vessel with not a drop of life left, but with plenty of blood remaining. She was dropped onto the ground like an old, boring toy. The person kneeled down and got to work. A deep long slash here and a few incisions there and it was complete. It had taken longer for the young woman to fade away then it had been to grab, kill and cut her open, but it had all happened in a matter of minutes.

The silence was broken by a low scratchy whisper, "A dog doesn't attack unless it's threatened." The person pulled out an envelope with a red wax seal from the depths of their coat and placed it on the young woman's torso, her limp hand placed over it.

"But first it has to sense danger."