Balir didn't take three steps before his cell phone rang again. "Calm down..." He told himself. "It was all part of the job of being the head of an international corporation." And still, the fact that he couldn't even make it down the hallway made his blood boil over. He inhaled deeply, then shouted at the top of his lungs in French, his second language (useful to know, being based on the Côte d'Azure), "PUTAIN! CETTE PORTABLE FICHUE!" Balir stood still for a moment, just staring down the hall. Then, slowly, he reached for his cell phone. He flipped it open and checked the name (Jack Greenslade) before answering it.

"He-" Balir was cut off by Jack's rambling.

"Balir it's Jack I've just arrived at Naples now where's my apartment and refresh me on my target please buddy."

"Jeez, slow down there Jack." Bailr sighed. Jack was a character alright. A very... talkative character. "Let me check on up on your mission dossier." Balir plunged a hang quickly in another of his many pockets, soon pulling out a highly advanced PDA. With some of the best memory of any personal digital assistant in the world, it stored a lot of his archived mission data. He could also retrieve information from the Assassin's Guild Inc. servers. Balir had no idea how they did it, he just left that sort of stuff up to the real "techies".

He ran his finger over the scroll wheel on the side searching out Jack Greenslade's mission profiles. With a click of a button, he brought it up on the small screen.

"Alright Jack, you with me? You're staying at the Hotel Real Orto Botanico. You've got an indefinite reservation under the name Elliot Slade, your preferred alias, if I'm not mistaken. You've got to take out a woman named Allergro Botticelli. Unfortunately that's all the information I have. Balir out." With that Balir hung up the phone.

He sighed and slumped up against the wall. For the first time in his life, Balir had begun to realize how young he was. He was just a kid, after all and he doubted he could keep doing this forever. He was afraid he was going to break eventually. He was just a kid.

A kid who killed his own father, a Master Assassin. Balir looked up and stared at the opposite wall. He had actually killed his own father. He had done it. But was it really that hard? Jack was so unsuspecting and trusting. Would he have had what it took if Jack had been ready to fight him for real...? Balir didn't know. But there was one thing he did know. He had killed his father. Regardless of the circumstances, that was pretty freaking amazing. Balir was no ordinary kid. He could hold out. He could endure. After all, he was living his dream job at the age of eleven years old. Balir only took some solace in the knowledge that he wouldn't have to deal with-

A digital version of Nightwish's Ghost Love Score began to sound from his pocket.

-his phone. He plunged his hand into his his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. It was Stephen Harlan. Aah yes. The nutjob. He also happened to, unfortunately, be one of the very best assassins in the United States, or anywhere for that matter. Balir hated the guy's violent personality, though. It was all beat the crap out of this, put a few bullet holes in that. However, there was a part of him that actually unnerved Balir a little (He would never admit it of course). Balir could think of maybe three people in the entire assassin's guild that would actually have the stones to try and take him out. Harlan was one of them.

"Hey Kid, this is Harlan. That boy you guys suggested me? He washed out, just like the last two... I think you better let me choose my own recruits again, because these guys are a bunch of brainless thugs."

"Dammit Harlan, you know I hate it when you call me 'Kid'. I'm sorry to hear about that guy. One of my advisors said he looked promising. So, what happened to-" Balir paused. He knew what had happened before he even finished the question.

"Never mind," He continued. "If these guys really aren't working out for you, I trust your judgment enough to let you seek out new talent yourself. However, may I remind you that you are on a very short leash. Very short. I still remember how we had to identify that guy by his dental records after you got done with him. And even that was pretty tough, seeing as how a chunk of his jaw was missing. I'm not going to let you forget that you know. So as long as you can find someone whose brains you won't blow out at the first opportunity, you've got my approval. I will be having your recruitment watched, however. Balir out."

Balir started walking down the hall and out towards the main lobby. Maybe he'd take a personal day out in the sun for once. He might just get out and see the beach or something. At least long enough for him to throw his cellphone into the Mediterranean.

__________________


"I do not fear death because I was dead for thousands of years before I was alive and it caused me no inconvenience." - Mark Twain

Also, this.