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My name? That's not important, though I have to assume that you already know it.
I grew up as an only child and my father was the only parent, I always had. Where my mother is? I don't know. I don't know whether she is alive, where she's gone or why she's gone. I don't even know if I even have one - obviously I needed to have one, but I never knew her. I could have even killed her in my worktime without knowing. I've never seen her in my entire life.
Oh I forgot to tell you. I'm a headhunter - or assassin if you will. Killing is my bread and butter - or was to be honest.

When I was little my father already started to teach me the tools of his trade - knifes, rifles... - I assume you think it wasn't the most usual childhood and it probably wasn't.

I learned quickly... I learned well. At the age of 15 my father passed on what was soon to become my first mission: A local politian had a mouth babbling out things he shouldn't be able to know or to say.
My interest in politics are small so I never cared what he said or what he wanted to do.
I only knew one thing: We had our partner and he wasn't pleased. "Why?" Wasn't a question we asked.
"Morals will numb down you mind and will keep you off your goal.", I remember my father saying a lot, "This is a man's world and we're nothing but a mere excutive force and we will do without asking - that said: as long as the price is right."
You could say that we're nothing more than the servants of the 1% and you're probably right for the most part.
I nodded a last time before travelling off for my first mission - solo.

Despite my father being strong and muscular I never archieved a similiar statue thus right from the beginning our approach to missions differentiated. He liked to get personal to say it that way.
For my part I decided to be stealthy and poison the guy with one of my father's mixtures based on natural toxins.

Anyway, two days later the local newspaper reported that the politican has been found dead in his bed with no sign of an unnatural death. I've never seen my father prouder than in this moment. "I told you, this is a man's world and only the strongest men survive and you have proven yourself worthy!" - Indeed, and I was soon to learn that the hard way.

A few weeks later, while I was out on my second mission, I had a strange feeling, something that didn't leave me alone the whole time during that mission; as I came home I fathers room empty and all the papers scattered around. You may think we headhunters have a silent law among us to spare each other - you're wrong and I learned it that day.

Needless to say, I had to move, alone with no family left and the only thing I learned was my father's trade so I set up shop in the next town. I had become VERY careful about what to do and who to trust and dodged at least couple of attacks thrown at me by my competitors.
A year ago one request should change my life completely.

Since I started completely new contacts from the bigger partner were non-existant and I actually had to rely on... private customers.
I can tell you, these kind of customers can be picky on how to execute your plans and make it all very complicated and all that for less money... But a job's a job after all...
But this one mission was different than all the others... and crazier as well.

He called himself "Ray" and handed me a list with 101 names on it. "You're a headhunter, right? I want the heads of all these women. Use this." At first, I wanted to deny his request directly, because this would be a massacker and I simply wouldn't be able to not get caught no matter what I did, but the blade in his hand intrigued me.
It was about the size of a machete, but way more elegant, with runes engraved all over it. As I picked it up from his hand it started to shine blue and he told me: "No worry about the payment, it will be satifying."
I don't know why, but I trusted him instantly. Was it the blade? The tone in his voice? I don't know.
"One last thing.", I looked up to him, "Don't hurt them." I stared at his back as he left my office.
Immediately I started to collect date about the upcoming victims. Noone could have expected what was about to happen.

The first victim's name was Veronica, 26 years-old, single, takes care of her old grandmother every thurday around 4pm in the western destrict in town. Everything was pretty lonesome around here, many houses were empty and a small alley was nereby where she was headed.
I planned to trick here into coming into this small alley in order to give me some time to flee from the scene. Have I been crazy accepting that job?

It was a chilly and cloudy day as I arrived at the scene, I saw Veronica exiting the car holding a basket in hand heading for her grandmother's house.
It wouldn't take long for her to deliver the basket so I quickly moved into the alley. Waiting for the sound of the door opening I hid behind a pair of metal trashcans.
"By granny!", I heard a female voice and a door closing shortly after. Standing up, I knocked over a trashcan and let myself fall to the ground yelling "Ou, damn it!". The blade in the meantime was well hidden under my jacket.
Footsteps came closer as I layed on the ground.
I looked up and there she was, Veronica, middle long black hair, green eyes, well-tanned.
"Are you all right, miss?", she held out a hand to help me back onto my feet and she pulled me up. "Thank you a lot.", I said starting to wipe the dust of my clothes at the same time preparing to pull out the blade. "These stupid trashcans-" I pulled out the blade from my jacket and swung at her neck.
I went through her neck like jelly and her head slowly toppled over with her eyes closed.
Grabbing her head before it could fell down, I sprinted to the car as fast as I could. In my nervousity I didn't realise that there was no blood coming out of the head.

First victim... a job's a job.

After calming down listening to my favourite band I heard a loud yawing coming from behind my seat. I wondered if I heard right. Until a familiar voice said. "Ahhhh this was a good sleep." I freaked out and almost had an accident trying to stop my car on the sideway.
Slowly I turned my head around to find Veronica who I decapitated and I presumed to be dead, to be pretty much alive and cheerful. "Hey there, who are you?" She smiled at me - I wonder if she knew what happened. "Err, just call me Sara." It was a weird and at the same time fascinating sight to see that little disembodied head on my backseat smiling and talking to me. "Oh you have a body? That must be cool to have one, I have none, as you can see. Is this your car?"
I didn't say a word because I was perplexed. Didn't she remember what I did to her? Was it this weird blade? I needed answers.

As we reached my office I brought her in and placed her head onto the table and picked up the phone. If anyone had answers, my contact should have them, he gave me this job afterall.
He picked up."Yes?" "Hello, Mr. Ray. Considering your mission-""Yeah, that's supposed to happen." Silence.
He knew what would happen?
I took a deep breath and told myself "A job's a job." This had to be- no, this was the weirdest job I ever had.
"Okay, understood.", I hung up.

Seeing Veronica on the table just smiling around with no worry in the world made me wonder: What happends to their bodies? Do they live on, too? It shook me free from the usual dedicated mindsetting my father taught me. Veronica seems happy... Was I actually doing a good thing?
After a few minutes of awkward staring at Veronica, she broke my train of thoughts.
"Sara? Everything's alright?"
I shook my head and pushed the moral questions away, "Ehm, sure, I'm just a bit tired, that's all." She smiled at me, "Then go to bed, silly."
I picked her up and placed her on an empty shelve, "Sorry, but I got a job to do, you're fine with waiting here?"
She nodded and made a kiss mouth, "Sure, Sara."

I walked out of the office, it was already late night and I pulled out the list.
My next, shall I really say victim's name was Anna. She's stationed in a local hospital after having a minor surgery.
I drove up near the hospital and could already see the house to my laid in pitch black darkness. Sneaking up to the hospital I noticed a ladder planned for escaping a fire which lead next to the room Anna was stationed in - room 42b floor 2.
I got excited, which ISN'T good of course and I almost made a vital mistake turning the lights on.
The door opened slowly and I entered a 4-bed-room with luckily only one bed being occupied - this must be hers.
I move closer to the bed as I hear her calm breathing telling me that she was deep slumber.

I sneaked up to her bed and pulled the blade from under my jacket. It's blue glow was even more noticable than ever in the dark. Kinda hypnotising.
I stared into the glow and felt a tingling in my neck. Taking a deep breath I slowly placed the blade on Anna's neck and it slowly slithered through it, without much pressure.
The "cut" in her neck starte to shine in the same blue as the blade does and in her sleep Anna took a deep breath. Does she feel that? How does it even feel? Why am I asking this myself?
The glow intensified and her head was seperated. As I picked up her head, her body turned onto the side, aparrently still sleeping. "So their bodies live on..." Damn! Why did I SAY that?!
I fleed as silent and quickly as possible back to my office and placed Anna next to Victoria, who was asleep already.

The following night was uneasy as this blade appeared several times in my dreams.

During the next days I kept collecting heads... Weird that actually nothing came up in the news. I mean seing a headless person especially if they're pretty much alive would probably arise a lot of quetsions...
Strangely, it stayed quiet around those whose heads I took.

"Only one last name on the list... Sara Valentine..." ... wait what?! That's my name! How did he knew my real name? Noone knows it! And...
Was I really foolishly enough to not check the list thoroughly?! ... I sighed and called him, a job's a job after all...
"Mr. Ray? The job's almost done." "I'll come to your office.", and with that he hung up. You could hear a deep smile in his voice... again he knew what would happen.

I felt a tingling sensation all over my body as I waited long 15 minutes. I reached up to my neck where the tingling sensation was most intense. Will it hurt? Will it feel... good? Why am I doing this?
It's part of a headhunter's honor to get the job done and get paid but...
...I accepted his task and thus I have to accept my fate - even I will lose my head.

Ray arrived at my office with a big grin on his face, "Miss Valentine, it was a pleasure doing business with you." He picked up the blade from my table and came closer to me. I felt a thrill rushing though my body and the tingling, what it felt like, forming a line on my neck.

He rested the blade against my neck, "How do you want it? Quick, slow? You're choice. I'd choose slow if I were you."
"Slow" Was my answer as I took a deep breath.
"No worry, honey, it won't hurt."

Gently he started to push the blade and I felt the cold of the blade slowly passing through it. To blue glow filled the room. "The blade grew really attached you, honey."
I felt every worry in my life being sucked out, every bad memory relieved... I shiver more and more before the blade finally hit through the back of my neck and I feel myself losing grip of my body. My eyes are closed as he lifts my head off my body and kisses me deeply.

"You can open your eyes honey."

Surpsingly, I wasn't scared, I wasn't horrified, I finally felt... at peace. Without a body, without a worry...
I realised, that what I've done with the others wasn't bad, it was for their best and leaving my past and this job behind, was the best what could have happened to me... The payment was more than sufficient.
---

Now I'm just sitting here at my little pillar being a part of Ray's collection and I can't await the next time he comes to play and talk to me. I'm wondering... is my body still doing the headhunting business?