The Last Job

The rain blurred the city beneath him, turning streetlights into soft halos and washing the grime from the cracked pavement. From the rooftop, Luka had the perfect vantage point. His target sat alone in a café across the street, tapping away on her laptop, unaware of the sniper scope trained on her.

This was supposed to be an easy job. The girl,someone named Mia, from what he had gathered,was a quiet type. Worked at a small publishing house, lived in a modest apartment, and kept a low profile. But she'd gotten mixed up with the wrong people. Now, someone had paid handsomely for her life, and it was Luka's job to make sure it ended tonight.

One bullet. Clean and efficient. In and out, like he had done dozens of times before.

His finger hovered over the trigger, waiting for that familiar calm to settle over him. But as he watched her through the scope, something felt… different.

Mia wasn't a hardened criminal, wasn't some dangerous figure he needed to take out for the greater good. She was… cute. Her small frame was hunched over her laptop, brow furrowed in concentration. Every few moments, she would push a strand of hair behind her ear, take a sip of her coffee, and sigh with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Luka frowned. His grip on the rifle tightened, but he couldn't seem to steady his hand. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He was a professional, detached, ruthless. His emotions never got in the way.

So why couldn't he pull the trigger?

He zoomed in closer, watching her lips form a small smile as she looked at something on her screen. The more he watched, the more he realized she wasn't a target,she was just a person. A woman caught in something far beyond her control, and she had no idea.

Luka's heart began to race, a sensation unfamiliar and unwelcome. He hadn't felt anything for years, not since he'd started this line of work. But there was something about her that stirred something deep inside him,something dangerous.

His phone buzzed softly in his pocket, snapping him back to reality. He glanced at the screen: ETA 5 min. Finish the job.

Another team was coming. If he didn't take her out now, someone else would. Someone who wouldn't hesitate.

Luka looked through the scope one last time. Mia had shifted in her seat, staring out the window, her expression far away.

He should have pulled the trigger.

But instead, he whispered to himself, "Not tonight," and slung the rifle over his shoulder.

Because for the first time in his career, he wasn't sure he wanted to be an assassin anymore.