Chapter 2: Doubt creeps in

I stood there, frozen in the shadow of the alleyway, my eyes fixed on the silhouette of the woman who was slowly walking away. Each step she took seemed to resonate in my mind, disturbing thoughts that I had always carefully kept under control. She was nothing. A simple stranger, met by chance in this huge city. A brief encounter without importance. And yet, I couldn't get away from her smile, from that lightness that had surprised me.

A shiver ran down my spine, even though the night was relatively warm. I took a deep breath, trying to dispel the feeling of uncertainty that was growing inside me. It wasn't supposed to happen. I was an assassin. I had always acted with clinical precision, without emotion, without feeling. But tonight... tonight I felt different.

I shook my head, as if to rid myself of this incongruous feeling. It was just an inconsequential encounter. I had to focus on the mission. The target was still in her apartment, I was sure of it. I had followed her there, I had observed her, and her habits never changed. Nothing had changed, except for me, tonight.

I straightened up and slowly advanced towards the entrance of the building. The street was deserted. The darkness provided the perfect cover for my movements. I had learned to disappear into the shadows, to leave no trace of my passage. It was in my nature. But tonight, the shadows seemed denser, heavier. Perhaps because of this encounter, perhaps because of the uncertainty that was beginning to invade me.

I stopped in front of the door of the building and took a quick look around. Nothing. The street was quiet. The wind was blowing slightly, lifting a few dead leaves that were slipping between the cobblestones. I slipped my hand into the inside pocket of my jacket and took out a small tool. It only took a few seconds to deactivate the security system and open the door without making a sound.

I entered the hushed hall, my mind still elsewhere. I walked along the walls, heading towards the stairs. My gaze fell on the apartment doors, a routine that I had learned to decipher. Tonight, I wasn't afraid of making a mistake. It was a mission like any other. Yet each step seemed heavier than the last.

I climbed the stairs in silence, my breathing calm. The woman's apartment was on the top floor. I had no idea what I would find once I got up there, but it didn't matter. I wasn't there to ask questions. I was there to finish what I had started.

When I arrived at the door of the apartment, I stopped for a moment to listen. No sound came from inside. Everything seemed normal. I had memorized the layout of the apartment and the details of the mission. Everything was in place. I was going to knock. It should have been easy.

Yet I was not acting as quickly as usual. My fingers began to tremble slightly as I took out the silent weapon I had prepared for the occasion. My gaze returned to the door. I hesitated. Why this hesitation? Why, after all these years, was I not capable of doing what I did best?

It was a stupid question, one I should never have asked myself. But I couldn't get rid of it. The image of the woman with the red scarf kept resurfacing in my mind. I could see myself, frozen, at the moment our eyes met. She had seen something in me, I was sure of it. And that look, that small, inconsequential conversation, had made me falter.

I closed my eyes, trying to chase away those thoughts. It wasn't important. Not tonight. Tonight, I had to finish this job. I forced myself to take a deep breath, refocusing on the mission.

I turned the doorknob. It gave way easily. The apartment was plunged into darkness, lit only by a faint light coming from a corner of the room, where a cell phone was placed on a coffee table. I entered, my footsteps barely perceptible on the parquet floor. The door closed behind me with a slight whoosh.

The apartment was silent, almost too silent. Nothing seemed unusual, yet a strange feeling, like an invisible pressure, weighed on me. I moved slowly through the apartment, scanning every corner, every movement in the darkness. I couldn't hear anything, but something in the air was different. I felt like I was being watched, even though I was alone.

I approached the bedroom door, ready to open it. But a slight noise behind me made me turn around abruptly. A familiar figure emerged from the shadows. It was her. The woman.

She was there, in the apartment. Standing calmly, as if she had been waiting for me. She seemed neither frightened nor surprised. She was simply looking at me, with a slight smile on her lips.

“I thought you would come back,” she said in a soft, almost musical voice. ”But I didn't think it would be tonight.”

I stood frozen, my heart pounding in my chest. This situation... it wasn't what I had planned. How did she know? Why was she there?

She advanced slowly, each movement measured, unhurried. I took a step back, my mind in turmoil. I had no explanation for what was happening. But I knew one thing: I was no longer in control of the situation. I was no longer the shadow in the night, the one who decided everything.

“You made a mistake coming here tonight,” she said, her eyes fixed on mine.

I didn't know how to react. I was trapped in a tangle of doubt and confusion. Why hadn't I acted sooner? Why hadn't I seen what was happening before my eyes?

I prepared to move, to make a decision. But before I could do anything, the light suddenly went out. The darkness grew denser. And in total darkness, I realized that this mission would not go as planned.