Wiping the blade on her victim's silk sleeping kimono she replaced it in the folds of her obi, and returned through the castle corridors as silently as she had entered.
Thirty-Four
Scotland
Stepping silently down the corridor of her Scottish home, Miss Thrope could have had her eyes closed. It was like playing a computer game, knowing in advance, where the traps and the monsters were. Don't get complacent she told herself. One mistake and it was all over.
The first one was concealed in the cupboard under the stairs. She shot him through the door, with barely a glance, and noted the change in his thermal signature on the neural net.
Three were upstairs waiting in her large and sunny studio where she painted her oils and water colours. She hoped they hadn't done any damage. The one saving grace was that they were professionals. Here to do a job. No emotion, no malice, just cold and calculated results, just like her, she realised.
There were concealed weapons hidden everywhere. A mad sense of equality had made her leave her gun of some sort downstairs, it's range of futuristic ballistics set aside. In her hand was a comforting silenced pistol from the old days. She was up against machine pistols and pump action shotguns, with just plain ordinary bullets and shot.
She came through the open door low, fast and ready. Landing in a roll she came out with the gun poised, and double tapped the one in her armchair who was nursing a shotgun. Head and heart. Still in one fluid motion, she shot the one raising his Magnum through each eye. A detached part of her mind scolded herself for showing off, but enjoying herself immensely, a seventeenth century blade appeared in her other hand. She threw it almost casually, but with enough force, to embed itself to the hilt in the third assailant's heart. Or it would have been if he hadn't been wearing a Kevlar vest. Too late Miss Thrope realised her last mistake. Too late to bring her pistol to bear, she stared into the barrel of the automatic weapon.
The sound was wrong. Three rapid phuts. Not the expected explosive sound of automatic fire. The hand holding the carbine let go as its owner's head exploded with the force of the three shots. For once at a loss from the expectation of certain death, Miss Thrope turned to the door where silhouetted, bloody-brimmed bowler firmly on head, was her friend with the loud waistcoats, eyes fierce, lips stretched in a grim smile of greeting over the familiar and completely reliable gun of some sort.
Thirty-Five
Earth - New York - Present
Miss Thrope had suffered as much of this man's inane conversation as she knew was required. Politely she excused herself to visit the restaurant’s powder room.
The CEO was pleased. The Jap had really come up trumps. The best restaurant in Manhattan, booked just for his sole use. His date was fantastic, and he eagerly anticipated the night to come. He waited patiently for her to return. What would he have thought if he had known that she had once performed a contract for his Jap's venerable ancestor just over four hundred years before.
He looked up, noticing his beautiful and charming escort, in a perfectly cut evening dress, gliding through the restaurant back to their table. There was something different though. Her demeanour had subtly changed and her eyes that had sparkled all night seemed to burn.
It was when he saw what she was holding in her left hand that his eyes truly widened in surprise, but accepting his fate he remained calm, and even managed a polite nod of his head.
Standing serene and still before him she spoke in her soft melodious voice.
"You threatened my family," she said, and with a fluid single motion drew the ancient blade, and dispassionately removed his perfectly groomed head from his immaculately suited shoulders.
Wiping the blood from her blade on the spotless white table cloth, she thought she might pop over to Capri, after all, didn’t she deserve a holiday?
THE END
What’s next?
Follow Miss Thrope’s continuing adventures in the next book in the Ann Thrope series, Apprentice, as she takes on young orphan Billy Brambling as her ward and apprentice.
A word from Richard
Thank you for reading ASSASSIN. You got this far so I’m guessing you enjoyed meeting Ann Thrope.
The next story, APPRENTICE continues her adventures.
Young orphan Billy Brambling doesn’t believe in being ordinary. Fearing life already passing him by, the eccentric nine-year-old jumps at the chance to learn how to become a deadly assassin. And with his future assured in the lethal hands of infamous hitwoman Ann Thrope, he eagerly begins his career in murder.
Studying under the sophisticated senior, a blind swordmaster, and an eight-inch fairy, Billy focuses on being the most ruthless gun-for-hire across galaxies. But when a dangerous assignment compromises his safety, the youngster must make a life-threatening choice between friend and foe.
Can the boy executioner survive a brutal alien mission, or will he come to an explosive end?
You can grab APPRENTICE at Amazon. What are you waiting for? The fun is just starting – once your start Ann Thrope, you won’t be able to stop.
Tap the link below to buy the book from Amazon.
BUY APPRENTICE AT AMAZON
Please Leave A Review
If you loved the book and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review either, on the webpage where you bought the book, or, often at the end of the ebook, you have a chance to leave a review. Your help in spreading the word is gratefully appreciated and reviews make a huge difference to helping new readers find the series.
Thank you!
In The Ann Thrope Series
ASSASSIN
She’s a master of the space-time continuum. But with alien mercenaries hot on her high heels, is this assassin’s life about to end in a black hole?
Sophisticated grandma Ann Thrope is exceptionally good at murder. The planet’s most dangerous professional killer, she’s just completed lucrative hits across the cosmos. But when word of her remarkable work spreads through the multiverse, she’s saddled with a galactic-sized price on her head…
Continuing to take contracts anywhere and anywhen, Ann continues to dodge an onslaught of extraterrestrial bounty hunters. But when her grandchildren are put in the crosshairs, the stiletto-wielding senior jumps into battle to defend those she loves.
Can this classy hitwoman take down the sinister fiends on her tail before she’s permanently retired?
APPRENTICE
He could have been anything when he grew up. Somehow “killer” ended up top of his list…
Young orphan Billy Brambling doesn’t believe in being ordinary. Fearing life already passing him by, the eccentric nine-year-old jumps at the chance to learn how to become a deadly assassin. And with his future assured in the lethal hands of infamous hitwoman Ann Thrope, he eagerly begins his career in murder.
Studying under the sophisticated senior, a blind swordmaster, and an eight-inch fairy, Billy focuses on being the most ruthless gun-for-hire across galaxies. But when a dangerous assignment compromises his safety, the youngster must make a life-threatening choice between friend and foe.
Can the boy executioner survive a brutal alien mission, or will he come to an explosive end?
Buy APPRENTICE at Amazon
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to Lynn and Linda for proof reading the manuscript, and my editor Lou for all her support and amazing attention to detail. All the L’s.
And thanks for buying my book, much appreciated.
Richard 2020
About the Author
In his spare time, Richard teaches Japanese martial arts, creates images for a photography agency, and plays tenor saxophone in a rock band. He lives with his partner in Gloucestershire...
Copyright © 2017 © 2020 Richard Weale
The right of Richard Weale to be identified as the author of the Work has been asserted him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Na
mes, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead is coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book was originally published as
The Adventures Of Miss Ann Thrope
under the pen name, Jhedron Luckspar
Assassin: Ann Thrope Series Book 1 Page 5