Chapter Text
Climbing the fire escape stairs that lead to the top of a building somewhere in National City, Alex noticed how bright the moon was that night. The white orb casted the only light she needed to guide herself in the dark, glowing intensely against the black sky.
Moving as silently as possible in the shadows, Alex made her way through the gravel covered rooftop, glad her time working out was showing its results. Carrying a sniper rifle’s case while going up a twenty storeys high building was not as easy of a task as she once thought, but that night her breath was only slightly heavier than usual.
The late fall wind rushed through Alex’s hair as she focused on slowing down her heart rate. The air was cold enough that she could see her breath forming small clouds of steam in it, which caused her to wish she had worn something warmer than a leather jacket.
Let’s just get this over with, Alex thought, ignoring the shiver than ran from the small of her back to her neck. All her client had given her was a piece of paper with her target’s address and their name on it. Detective Sawyer, Alex recalled.
Forcing herself to face the cold midnight air, the assassin removed her gloves in order to assemble the rifle that would put a bullet in a cop’s chest and earn her a 2 million dollars pay check.
Alex’s skilled, scarred hands worked quickly on the weapon, putting it together piece by piece until she could no longer put off looking through its scope to check on whether her target was home or not.
Before bothering to learn the law enforcer’s full name, Alex had thought her target was nothing but a dirty male police officer who had tried to steal from the mob or got himself involved with the wrong people. As it turned out, her target was a very successful woman with her whole life ahead of her and so Alex couldn’t help but want to delay the assassination.
As her cold fingers came to rest near the trigger, Alex adjusted her scope to the window of the building in front of her, in which Maggie Sawyer lived. Her client had asked for nothing more than a clean hit that didn’t lead back to them and Alex hadn’t thought twice about taking the job as it appeared to be the easiest she had in a while.
Observing the woman casually taking a sip from her beer dressed in nothing but an oversized sweater made Alex think maybe it wasn’t going to be that easy after all. Momentarily stunned by the detective’s beauty, Alex all but forgot she was about to shoot a bullet into her heart.
She had known, from the minute she climbed to that rooftop, that night’s job was different. She just hadn’t realised it felt that way because she was forcing herself to go through with it, putting her feelings aside.
Alex took a deep breath as she remembered that one time she didn’t end her target’s life and, instead, gave her a new identity and a clear warning to never come back to National City. It had been wrong, she knew that now. But that still didn’t mean she was going to take someone’s life when they deserved better.
Maybe Lena was right, Alex found herself thinking as she fidgeted in getting her magazine from her case and latching it into the rifle, maybe I am going soft.
Her mentor was the only one who knew about Alex saving one of her targets. Even though Lena didn’t disapprove of her student’s actions, she didn’t follow them either, making it a point to remember Alex of how stupid they were every time they saw each other with a line similar to “You’ll get in trouble for that one day.”
However, lately, Alex prided herself in only killing people who had it coming either way. The list of those people didn’t include beautiful NCPD detectives with shiny, warm brown eyes like the one she saw through the scope of her rifle that night, though.
Alex was relieved to see another woman come into her line of sight, joining her target on the couch and unquestionably delaying the assassination. “Clean hit” meant no witnesses and so Alex released a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding and moved her finger away from the trigger.
The scene in front of her suddenly became inappropriate as the new woman straddled Alex’s target and kissed her passionately.
Deciding to put off the killing for the time being, the assassin looked away from her scope, determined on keeping an eye on her target but, maybe, not so closely.
It wasn’t the first time Alex was forced to assist to similar doings due to the demands of her job. Nevertheless, watching Detective Sawyer run her hands through a woman’s body made Alex uncomfortable. She blamed her mouth getting dry and her heart rate rising in the fact that her target’s actions reminded her of how warm Lena’s bed had been only two hours ago.
Alex looked up at the sky and focused on the stars she so much liked to observe. The way they shone, along with the moon, soothed the assassin, giving her the will needed to push the memory of her trainer hovering bare, above her, to the back of her mind.
Focus, Alex told herself. She needed to decide how to proceed with her current target.
With the stars shining over her head, Alex couldn’t help but wonder if she couldn’t have a better life, one that didn’t involve having to kill a marvellous detective, who, apparently, had someone to go home to.
She usually told herself her job wasn’t that bad. After all, killing a couple of criminals for other criminals wasn’t that harmful and the money made it worth it.
Still, Alex found herself thinking her job turned her into a bad sister and an even worse daughter. Her heart clenched at the idea of her father condemning her activities or even hating her for them.
Maybe she was getting soft after all.
Although, Lena didn’t really have the right to judge her for it. Last Alex heard, after almost being caught by Supergirl during one of her murders, Lena didn’t do much more than miss her shot when trying to put the kryptonian down.
Remembering that lead Alex to smile slightly before packing up her rifle. She really didn’t want to have to kill her best friend – or whatever Lena was - for hurting her little sister.
Checking on her target one last time before leaving, Alex caught a glimpse of soft, brown hair and toned legs. Her target really was stunning.
***
After a good night of sleep, Alex found the fact she honestly didn’t want to pull the trigger the night before unsettling. When had she become concerned with the moral implications of her job?
Nevertheless, she had time to decide what to do with the detective. According to her client, Alex had the whole month to get the perfect opportunity to kill the detective due to something to do with a trial she was testifying at.
Alex wouldn’t usually care about why a certain hit was put out on someone, but this time she was curious.
A quick walk down to Sawyer’s precinct in a police uniform and a couple of attempts to find the detective’s file gave Alex all she needed to understand why someone would want to kill Maggie Sawyer.
Her file was truly impressive and although Alex didn’t have time to go through it all before risking being discovered, she was astonished. Apparently her target was one of the few detectives who showed interest in investigating alien related cases and her number of solved ones was remarkable.
The assassin found her eyes drifting to her target’s picture on the file, but before she could dwell on the reason behind her odd impulse, the detective herself walked into the precinct, forcing Alex to hide the file under her jacket and cautiously make her way to the entrance.
Despite her best efforts to blend in, Alex found her target’s gazed locked on her. For a brief second, she allowed herself to look at the depth of the detective’s eyes and couldn’t help but think they were abysses she wouldn’t mind falling into.
The moment was over too soon, since Alex had to make her escape, which caused her to miss the detective’s smile. Nevertheless, the assassin was left with the sensation of heat creeping up her neck.
Nibbling on her lower lip, Alex pushed the door that lead to the street, taking a deep breath as cold air brushed against her warm cheeks, attempting to calm down her heart, which was suddenly beating so loudly she could hear her blood flushing through her ears.
Alex managed to push away the little voice inside her that told her to look at her target one last time, but couldn’t get rid of the thought that damn, she’s even prettier up close.
***
Sitting in the dark of her apartment later that day, Alex found herself nursing a glass of bourbon while going through her target’s file attentively. The more she read, the less she felt like those 2 million dollars were worth it.
However, Alex knew the rules of National City’s community of assassins. Refusing to complete a job after accepting it would take away all her credibility. Plus, even if she did refuse to kill her target, her client would merely hire someone else to do it.
Alex closed her eyes, pressing her fingers against her temples as if that would make her simply think of a solution to her problem. Not even when hired to kill a child a few years back had she given a job so much thought, so why was she so worried about the outcome of this one?
Downing the rest of her drink, the assassin revelled in the way the alcohol burned the back of her throat in the most pleasing way.
Maybe the concern Alex felt in relation to this particular hit had its roots in the fact that her target reminded her of something she could have been. After all, she did turn down a position at the DEO in order to become whatever she was now and, even though she didn’t specially regret that decision, perhaps it hadn’t been the best she’d made.
Sinking back into her couch after filling her glass once more, Alex caught herself looking at her target’s picture once again. By now, she had seen it enough times to be able to close her eyes and see the woman perfectly in her mind. The detective wasn’t smiling, since it was an official photo in uniform and all, but Alex could still distinguish the ghost of a smirk on her target’s lips.
Suddenly, an idea came to her mind; one that she knew would definitely not lead to anything good. However, before Alex could stop herself she was already dialling Lena’s private number, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
“Missing me already?” The CEO picked up. Alex could hear the smirk behind assassin’s voice.
“I need a favour, actually,” Alex replied, knowing Lena’s sigh meant she was about to show how much she disapproved of what Alex was about to ask of her. “You owe me, Lena,” the assassin said as a way to let the other woman know she hadn’t forgotten all the weapon purchases she did for her during the past years.
“So, let me get this straight,” Lena said after Alex explained what she needed her to do. “You want me to help you create a fake identity as a cop and get you to work with this Detective Sawyer?”
“Yes,” Alex confirmed, internally sighing at the disapproving tone that clouded her friend’s voice. “You don’t need to tell me it’s not a good idea.”
“May I ask why you’re doing this?” Lena asked, clearly concerned.
“I- it’s for a job, okay?”
“Alex, we murder people for a living. That doesn’t require getting close to our targets,” Lena claimed. “She is your target, right? The detective?”
“Yeah,” Alex murmured, remembering the way her target looked at her that morning. “This one is special, Lena, she deserves better.”
The assassin didn’t yet know what exactly getting close to her target would accomplish, but she told herself it would help determine the best course of action.
“Almost everyone we kill deserves better,” the CEO scoffed. “I’ll get you what you need by tomorrow night,” she continued after being silent for a while, knowing she would regret helping her trainee, but not being able to deny Alex what she wanted when her cause was noble.
She had heard of the detective from her mother and was perfectly conscious of how much she was becoming an inconvenience for Lillian Luthor’s plans to exterminate aliens on Earth. Lena wouldn’t be surprised if Alex’s client was her mother and so it wasn’t unpleasant to help Alex.
“Thank you,” Alex said before ending the call.
The assassin felt like she could breathe a little easier now that she knew what to do about her target or at least had a way to find out.
Taking her rifle out of its case, Alex noted to herself she should get more ammo. Even if she did end up sparing the detective’s life, she would still need to keep her current occupation as a killer for hire.
Alex began her daily routine of cleaning her weapons, turning on the TV as she did, as to avoid her thoughts from lingering on her previous words. This one is special.
The screen casted a bright light, illuminating the small apartment Alex never got to call home. Lena always asked her why she didn’t get a bigger place for herself; after all, it wasn’t like Alex didn’t have the money necessary to buy most of the things she could possibly want.
Her apartment’s walls were bare and the flat itself contained no more than a bed in the corner of the main room, a couch, a small dinner table and what was necessary to store weapons and food. Alex could see why Lena thought of her accommodations as unsatisfactory.
However, Lena didn’t know about the loose floorboard under her bed where she kept a picture of her and Kara, which had been taken before everything went to shit.
No place would ever feel like home without her little sister, no matter how much stuff she bought or where it was located. Having that picture as the only reminder of what she had with Kara made her apartment feel like any other would have. Living somewhere else wouldn’t change the fact Kara was her home.
“Breaking news!” Alex heard from the TV after finishing cleaning her rifle, bothering to look up to the bright screen.
Apparently there was an on-going hostile situation in the east part of town involving an alien gone rogue. As Alex was about to change the channel, she spotted a familiar blur of red and blue enter the scene, quickly followed by a woman in an NCPD jacket. Detective Sawyer, Alex concluded after watching the scene closely for a few moments, cursing herself for using her target’s name in her thoughts.
Focused on Supergirl and her target instead of the 10 foot alien they were trying to fight, Alex frowned upon the exchanged looks between the two of them. Certainly, getting closer to her target would be harder if the detective knew her sister.
After the camera filming the scene suddenly turned dark, Alex was left staring expectantly at her TV screen like she never had before. The assassin ignored how heavy her chest felt with concern, putting aside the idea that it wasn’t Kara she was worried about – her little sister knew how to take care of herself, - but Maggie Sawyer.
Moving to her small, constricted balcony, Alex looked up at the stars for guidance. However, all she could see was a pair of brown, shiny eyes and how dark the world would be if their possessor was gone.
Alex didn’t know why this woman – this target – was affecting her so much more than the all the others she had been hired to kill in the past. Nonetheless, the assassin knew she had to get the fascinating detective out of her mind.
After hours of staring up at the sky, Alex decided it was best to go to sleep rather than overthink, only to be awakened by distressing images of a certain detective laying lifeless on the floor, her white shirt tinged with blood coming from a hole in her chest and a familiar rifle hovering over her dead body.
Getting Maggie Sawyer away from her thoughts wasn’t going to be an easy task.