Two hours later, perched on a branch of a hundred-year-old oak centered in the park, Bennett sat quietly, content in her thoughts. It was frigid, and she exhaled up into the branches to hide the steam from her breath. The leaves had all fallen now, and hundreds of stars shone like sequins against the evening sky. Bennett never grew tired of looking at the heavens in the evening, marveling at the serenity it presented. Untouched, it was as pure as snow first fallen, not yet dirtied or trampled by the commotion of the human race.

Bennett spotted a shooting star, and she followed it on its journey across the far-reaching mural until she was drawn to something else. There it was. The babbling of the self-assured had finally found its way to her, and interwoven in their murmurs was the occasional trill of laughter as they prowled the park. This was their park now, and their confidence leaked from their pores like sweat. There were three. Two men and a woman, and closing her eyes for a moment, Bennett listened to one more closely and stiffened. The crotch-grabber had been the siren, calling to her for help on Wednesday night, and now Bennett would answer that call with deadly precision.

She dropped from the tree without a sound, approaching from the rear as the three crouched in the shadows, waiting patiently for a mortal to take the well-traveled shortcut. Bennett drew the daggers from her boots and was within only a few feet of her prey when a twig snapped under her foot. Three turned toward the sound, and two no longer carried the burden of their heads before they completed their rotation. The last scrambled to her feet, preparing to flee, except the steel grip of Bennett’s hand around her bicep stopped the woman before she could take a step.

“Going somewhere, darling?” Bennett said, slipping one dagger back into her boot.

“You’re s-s-supposed to be dead.”

Bennett recoiled when the woman’s breath smacked her in the face. It was almost as vile as her smeared Goth makeup. “I believe nowadays they call that fake news,” Bennett growled through the thinnest of grins. “You should really choose a more reliable network.”

“Let me go,” the woman said, struggling to get away. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Of course, you did. Why I didn’t recognize your voice the night of your little ruse is beyond me, but we both know you’re the one who lured me to that building.”

The woman’s eyes suddenly took up her entire face. “Please d-don’t hurt me.”