[ WP ] An assassin receives an unusual contract : a man on death row already slated for execution .

You glance at the picture again. 
 
 He did n't look remarkable. Just a perfectly average, ordinary human being. But those are the most dangerous, no? 
 
 He looked remarkable in person, however. Almost not'person' at all. Emaciated. Hair trailing on the concrete. Skin flaking away. The undersides of his jagged fingernails blackened. 
 
 He looked up. His eyes were... soft. That was the way to describe it. There was so little light down here, they needed to be soft- to feel the faintest bit of light. To feel the tiniest difference in shadow. 
 
 `` Please,'' he said. It was n't even a word. It was just a sound. A sound produced by something that, maybe years ago, would have produced intelligible speech. `` Please.'' 
 
 You shrug. `` How long's it been?'' 
 
 He recoils at the sound of your voice. 
 
 `` Ten years? Twenty?'' You flick the picture at him through the bars. He scrabbles at it desperately. `` Been a while since you looked like that.'' 
 
 He holds the picture in his clawlike fingers, shaking. 
 
 `` Well... I'd love to stay, but I've been paid in advance. And I know they promised to end you over a decade ago, but... they'll get around to it eventually. Be patient, yes?'' 
 
 You walk back down the corridor, the sound of rattling metal fading into the distance.
