A Necessary Kill by James P. Sumner

nightclub. Her long toned legs are crossed, and her hands are clasped on her lap. She has no shoes on, and she’s bouncing her foot like she’s sitting in a doctor’s waiting room or something, idly passing the time.
    What the…
    “Ruby?”
    The foot stops bouncing. She uncrosses and recrosses her legs the opposite way.
    I get a brief image of Basic Instinct in my head and thank God she’s not Sharon Stone right now…
    She moves her head slowly to a different angle, never taking her eyes off me.
    “You’re not… him ,” she says. Her voice is faint, like a whisper. “Where is he?”
    I frown. “Where’s who?”
    “The nice man in the hat and the suit and the power tie, which has four different pastel colors merging into each other. He comes here once a day, about this time, with his newspaper and his drink of tea. Oh, he likes his tea. Same cup, every day. The same cup. I hope he washes it after each use… It will become stained. Yes it will. Stained. Like blood. Bloodstains. They don’t wash out. No, no, no, they don’t. They don’t wash out.”
    Wow.
    That’s… ah… that’s some kind of crazy she has going on for herself!
    She’s not moved. She’s still sitting all prim and proper like an English rose. But those eyes… man, I can see the demons in those eyes.
    They’re impressive.
    I know a thing or two about dealing with demons and about letting them out. Dear Ruby here seems to let them roam free 24-7.
    Her emerald orbs are darting in all directions now, like she’s trying to track a fly that’s buzzing around her. But still she sits, all delicate.
    “Well, I don’t know about that,” I say. “But I’m here. I came to see you. To make sure you’re okay.”
    Her eyes snap to me in an instant, her brow furrowing with an immediate, unjustified hatred. “And who the fuck are you ? Heretic! What the fuck are you doing here?” She spits out the words with venom, saliva forming on her lips.
    I’m starting to think this maybe wasn’t such a good idea.
    So, I’m assuming the patience and understanding route probably isn’t going to get me anywhere. I’ll try another approach.
    “Okay, Ruby, tone down the psycho—I’m better at it than you. And a helluva lot better at hiding it. I’m here to offer you a job. Do you know what I mean by that? When I say job ?”
    Her face relaxes, but the frown stays. I think more from confusion than anger, though. She tilts her head alternatively left and right, like a dog trying to understand its master’s command.
    I sigh. “Look, I’ve only got a few minutes with you because, for some reason, the guards here seem to be scared of you. Why is that, do you think?”
    A smile slowly creeps across her face and reaches her eyes, which light up with a fiendish glee. She stands, not bothering to shimmy her dress down. It’s ridden up a little, revealing most of her thighs. She walks casually toward me, up on her toes, placing one foot exaggeratedly in front of the other, like a ballerina, until she’s mere inches from the window.
    She strokes her hand up and down the glass, playfully, before turning around and reaching behind her, grabbing the zipper near the base of her neck, and pulling it down all the way to the top of her ass.
    I shift in my seat, feeling a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t be doing that, now. Come on.”
    She slips the dress off one shoulder, then the other… slowly, like she’s putting on a show. She shakes her hips as she ushers it down her body.
    She’s naked underneath.
    I quickly look to the floor, putting my head in my hand. “Oh, sweet Jesus…”
    I’m a man, like any other—in some ways, at least. Ruby is an attractive woman, and she’s now naked in front of me. I don’t want to see her like that but there’s really nowhere else to look—the window runs pretty much the full width of the wall and almost floor to ceiling.
    This is weird. Like, really, really , weird.
    Josh