LADIES IN LEATHER GLOVES

One Cold Night

It was a frigid night. The temperature was so low that your nostrils would stick together with every breath. I guess you had to expect this weather in New York in the middle of January. In spite of the intense cold Kelly was walking to a quiet deserted location down by the docks. She was dressed for the weather in her long sable fur coat, fur hat, knee high boots, and long brown extremely tight fitting kid leather gloves that showed through the 3/4 length sleeves of her coat. At 25 years old this beautiful blonde struck quite a figure. Most young women would be concerned about walking alone to the docks on a cold dark night. But Kelly was not like most women. In fact, Kelly was a professional hitwoman. She was used to dangerous situations and actually enjoyed them. After successfully completing 14 hits she knew that she could handle anything. And, if this were just another job Kelly would be enjoying the thought of meeting her victim and dispatching him slowly and mercilessly. Sure the money was good, but being a hitwoman actually brought Kelly a sense of satisfaction that she couldn’t receive on any normal job. But this job, on this evening, was not just another job.

You see, about six months ago Kelly had met Rick at a party and they had had a brief but intense affair. Rick was a good looking young businessman who was well connected and quite wealthy. Rick and Kelly hit it off immediately. Kelly felt things for Rick that she had never felt for anyone else. Her time with Rick was the most enjoyable in her young life. Rick felt similarly toward Kelly. However, Rick was also quite stubborn in his business dealings and managed to piss off some of the wrong people. He was actually quite innocent in many ways in spite of his powerful business dealings; he never really understood how much trouble he was in. In time the affair between Rick and Kelly had come to an end as it had to. Kelly’s work precluded any sort of permanent relationship, but she never forgot Rick. That’s what made this evening’s rendezvous so difficult. You see, it was Rick that Kelly was going to meet on the docks. After a 20 minute walk Kelly arrived at the designated area. Rick was already there. As soon as he saw Kelly he rushed over. “Kelly, it’s great to see you again. I couldn’t believe it when you called me and asked me to meet you here. I’ve missed you a lot since we were last together.” Kelly replied, “I’ve missed you too, Rick. Let’s sit down over there and talk.” They moved to a bench and sat down. Rick put his arms around Kelly and gently kissed her. Kelly kissed Rick back and they looked at each other in silence for awhile. Finally, Kelly said, “How’ve you been, Rick? How’s your business going? I’ve heard that you’ve been having some trouble.” Rick responded, “Well, it’s true. I’ve been getting some pressure from certain people to make some deals that would hurt my company. I’ve even received some threats that if I didn’t cooperate I would regret it. But I can’t let that intimidate me. I won’t be forced to sell out to a bunch of thugs.” Kelly listened quietly. Rick then changed the subject. “Let’s not talk about business. Tell me, what have you been up to lately? How did you come to call me?” Kelly simply said, “Nothing important, really. I just began to think about you and wanted to see you again.” With that she moved closer to Rick, put her tightly gloved arms around his neck, and began to kiss him again, gently at first and then more deeply. Rick responded. He embraced Kelly and the two of them began to kiss passionately. This went on for a full five minutes. At that point Rick noticed that there were tears in Kelly’s eyes. He asked her quietly, “You’re crying. Is anything wrong?” Kelly looked at Rick and said, “No, nothing. Just kiss me again.”

Rick and Kelly embraced again. During this embrace Kelly slowly removed her leathered right hand from around Rick’s shoulder and reached into the pocket of her fur coat. When she took her hand from the pocket she had a .22 caliber silenced automatic in it. As she and Rick continued to embrace she took the gun and placed it against Rick’s chest. She then moved her face a few inches from Rick’s and whispered to him, “I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.” Confused, Rick looked at her and saw the tears in her eyes. “What are you sorry about? Why are you crying? Is there anything I can do to help you?” Kelly said nothing. She just leaned over and kissed Rick as deeply as she possibly could. As she did so, her gloved finger pressed the trigger of the pistol. Phfft. The gun recoiled slightly in her hand. Rick suddenly stiffened. His face froze with a look combined of pain, shock, and confusion. Kelly continued to kiss him as tears flowed down her face. Rick then began to slump to the ground. He looked at Kelly and mouthed one word, “Why?” Kelly could only answer through her tears, “Because it’s my job.” Rick now lay on the ground. A large red stain began to spread over his chest. He was slowly dying. Kelly, ever the professional, worked to regain her composure. She looked at Rick and said to him, “You really should have heeded those warnings, Rick. If you had we may have met again under very different circumstances. I’m truly sorry about this.” With that she raised her hand once again and pointed the gun at Rick’s chest. The light of the emerging moon glinted off the leather covering her hand and arm as well as the silver finish of the gun creating a strange image of impending death. With that Kelly methodically pumped three more bullets into Rick’s chest. Phfft. Phfft. Phfft. Then she bent down and kissed Rick one last time. As she strightened up and walked away she thought, “There are times when this line of work isn’t much fun.”