X concentrated and focused on the image through his rifle scope. He felt the chill of the night air press against his skin, and shivered slightly. He shook the feeling away and concentrated, he couldn’t lose his shot. X was of medium build, hunched over in a large black jacket and dark jeans. His hair was long, tied back behind his head; he didn’t need his hair in the way when he was ready for a hit. He took his eyes from the scope and picked up the radio from the gravelled roof of the high rise apartment. He clicked it on and tuned it to the right frequency.

“Target 1 is at the location, permission to act.” He pulled a pair of binoculars from the floor and gazed down into the lit office that lay across from his position.

The radio crackled back into life. “No go X, orders are to watch only.” The voice disappeared in a haze of static.

X swore under his breath and dropped the radio to the floor. This wasn’t what he signed up for when he left the military. The life of a sniper was a lonely one, but all he wanted was to pull the trigger again. He let the binoculars drop back around his neck and bent down to the scope again, adjusting the sights to get a better view. The electronic zoom whirred and the scene became clearer, damn thing had reset itself when he moved away. He hated these new rifles, but they did the job. The scene revealed two men, one sitting at a large old fashioned desk while the other handed something over to him in a large baggy. He zoomed in on it, and saw what unmistakably was blood seeping out of the bottom of the brown bag. Something was very wrong; this was meant to be a routine money drop.

He decided, there was no way he was going to let his target get away this time. He’d dealt with the previous target professionally and skilfully, if only the second shot had killed. He hadn’t wanted to stick around to see if the other woman had survived. Now, however he had a more important matter to attend to.

“Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight...” He whispered as he lined up the shot. He kissed the crucifix around his neck and waited until the man stopped moving.

But, just as he was about to pull the trigger, the man started moving too quick, shouting at the larger man behind the desk and slamming what looked like ancient katan blades into the wood surface.. ‘Screw this’ he thought. He looked down at the side of the rifle and clicked the fire mode to burst fire. He looked back into the scope…and pulled the trigger.