Don't Make a Mess ((Winter 1914))

[victoriousscarf]

Macavity leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. No matter how much he wanted a cigarette at that moment, he wasn't about to trust his paw not to shake while lighting it at that moment, and like hell was he going to risk the other cat seeing something like that.

[qualapec]

Brachen liked the way blood looked splattered all over the snow. It made such a pretty pattern, bright red turned black against the night. The snow was quiet - it made every little sound obnoxiously loud, simultaneously swallowing it whole. He relished in the sound of chokes. At first, he'd been afraid the cat would get away and he'd have to track the tom down to finish the job, but he must have hit the aorta because he'd dropped after only a few steps.

"Tell me, Macavity," he said casually, pulling out a white handkerchief to clean off his knife. "Why did I tilt the blade up when I stabbed into his chest?"

[victoriousscarf]

"For the lungs?" Mac said, considering the blood on the snow as well. It still set his fur on edge, dealing with death like it was a card game, but he was adjusting. The pay was too good not to. And it wasn't like half the cats deserved it. Probably more than half. He looked away again.

[qualapec]

"Good," Brachen purred, tucking the bloodied handkerchief into his pocket. "So, are you ready to take the next one? Once you get the first one under your belt the rest are no trouble at all."

[victoriousscarf]

Biting the inside of his lip, Mac turned his attention back to the other. "Now?" he asked, forcing his voice to be about as even as it was when addressing his father. Which was even as the plains of Kansas.

[qualapec]

"It's a long night, and I think I want to see you try it out for yourself." Brachen laughed, lifted his eyes to the sky to watch the pretty snowflakes drop like suicides and relished the way the crisp winter night carried and consumed the sound all at once. "Or am I just wasting my time with you, kit?"

Brachen studied Macavity's face and sighed, changing his stance; he didn't want to scare him too badly. "You've got a killer's eyes, if only you knew how to use them."

[victoriousscarf]

Mac shifted his back against the wall, considering before finally pushing himself off from it, once he was sure he wouldn't give anything away by moving. "Well, alright then," he said. "I wasn't aware there was anyone else ta be taken care of was all."

[qualapec]

Brachen couldn't stop smiling. Kits were so cute. "Follow me. There's a cat in this area that's been keeping some extra green for himself. The boss wants it to look like an accident."

He looked down at the body near his feet. "Come to think of it, he might have just asked me to give this one a warning..." he pondered this possibility for a moment. "Oh well, nothing that can be done about it now. Let him be a warning to the others, that's what I always say," he hummed before skipping off towards the street.

[victoriousscarf]

Mac's stomach cringed as he followed him at a much more sedate pace, fur along his spine on edge. On the plus side, it wasn't like anyone could see his fur standing on end, covered as it was by almost four layers. "Any idea who it is?" he asked, several paces behind the other who was moving much faster than he was. "And how... ta make it look like an accident?"

[qualapec]

"In this weather?" Brachen said, "I'm thinking he slips on some ice and cracks his head open." He paused beneath a streetlamp and held out his hand like an actor. "Oh, the tragedy. He was so young." He faked a sniffle for dramatic effect. "So tell me, did you bring the baseball bat like I asked you to?"

[victoriousscarf]

Mac paused, blinking at him. "No," he said. "It seemed ta obvious ta be carryin' around. And it's hardly like they can't be found just about anywhere."

[qualapec]

"Good call," Brachen said with a smile and a spin in the snow. "If you'd gotten us pulled over by the blues I might have sliced up that pretty face of yours." He cackled, twirling his knife. "Nah, just kidding. Can't risk doing anything that might hurt those eyes." He ran over and fished around in the snow, drawing out a heavy chunk of broken cement from beneath the snow. "This is perfect, 'Cavity."

He pointed to a building. "All right, that's his apartment over there. He should be getting back sometime soon. When he shows up, just...bash his head in with a rock." After a moment of thought, the inkling sensation that he'd forgotten something, he added, "Right. He's an orange tabby with little weaselly eyes. Can't miss him. I'll be lurking around, just in case you need backup. Give me the signal."

[victoriousscarf]

Slowly, Mac accepted the piece of cement, glancing between it and the other cat for a moment, ears flickering at the half threat, not to mention the unusual shorting of his name. "Alright," he said finally, hefting the broken cement, considering the weight of it. He paused for another second before slipping into the dark, looking around for the poor unlucky sod of a cat.

[qualapec]

Cain Trevor rounded the corner on the street that would lead him to his apartment. It had been a good night, and he'd sweetened the pot a little. The boss probably wouldn't mind...not that he was ever going to tell him, that would be suicide.

Brachen watched from the shadows, already grinning a little bit at how quickly Hollister had disappeared. Oh yes. This was a killer in the making.

[victoriousscarf]

Mac lurked in the entryway to the alley next to the apartment building, seeing the cat approaching and like he was perhaps going to be sick. Shooting somecat? That was different. He thought it would be anyway, having not yet done that either. But this? This was entirely different. This was up close and you saw them and...

Shaking his head, he leaned back a bit farther, trying to figure out how to time it properly... Rock to head right?