#replied: Lara Rivkin

[intxication]

@lararivkin

Mathias had been kept busy. He was either going out doing his own thing, or he was doing something for work. It got to the point where he barely slept and was just working. His blood stained hands and clothes couldn't get the red out even though he tried. While it was exhausting, Mathias was loving the thrill of it.

Not all of his jobs were to end in kills, which made things a bit easier for Mathias. He didn't have to worry about clean up or leaving evidence. He was just there to send a message and then leave. His job tonight saw him in some big office going after some political groupie. Mathias didn't really have an opinion on the politics of the city, they all seemed boring and bad to him. He went into the job unbiased.

His target was one Lara Rivkin, a press assistant to the Governor. He wasn't there to kill her, but rather remind her to keep her mouth shut (as told by the person who hired him). It was luck that Lara seemed like the type to stay at work after everyone else left. Mathias got in under the guise of some cleaner doing nightly rounds.

When he came to where Lara was, Mathias cleared his throat, still trying to put on an act, "Excuse me, ma'am, I'm here to get the trash".

[intxication]

"Shh shh" Mathias shushed her, "You don't need to beg. You aren't going to die tonight". The sweet relief wouldn't be bestowed, and in some cases that was almost worse. He wasn't here to take a life, he was here to create a nightmare.

He left the knife in her, and stood up. "You should consider yourself lucky, really. Not many get to live when I come to them. But I like you, and I was told to keep you alive. Lucky lucky".

Mathias took put his phone and snapped a few pictures, then sent them off to his client. A job well done. He crouched down again and yanked the knife out just to wipe the blood off on her shoulder. "In another life, I think we would have been good friends. You do seem very nice, even if you work for politicians. It's rare I meet someone like you".

He winked, "Just close your eyes, someone will find you I'm sure".

There was really no other response to think of, with fear and adrenaline running all through her veins. The blood pouring from her cheek was already making her feel unsettled, woozy - unwell. And she wasn't even sure if she could make any more sounds or words - all locked up in her throat.

She looked up at him, absolutely bewildered by the way he seemed to just do this so casually and make requests of her. She didn't breathe in, and didn't expect him to actually plunge the knife into her chest.

Eyes widened, and a choked, shrill scream locked up in her throat, she reached for his hands - now weak and seemingly running out of fight - to try and push him away.

"S-stop." Barely a whisper, barely a sound - "Please don't kill me."

[intxication]

"You should think of a more creative response" Mathias replied, "I've heard that one before". The hard part about stuff like this was that Mathias had to be okay with leaving someone alive. He had to hope that what he did would burn into their minds and create nightmares that froze them in fear. Fear would create inaction, and that was how he could keep himself safe. It was a lot of hopeful assumptions.

There was a certain feeling of disgust that rose within him. As nonpolitical as he was, Mathias was still aware how politics ruined lives. Even if they did good, he had to take it with a grain of salt. How good could anyone in power really be?

He crouched down over her and poked her with his knife. "Breathe in for me, okay?" Mathias didn't wait to find the soft spot under the ribs and slowly plunged the blade in. He was careful not to hit anything important, he was just doing it to cause pain.

The foot crushing into her hand made her scream once more and she cradled it to her chest with a whimper - all the fight she had was starting to run out as the pain was starting to overtake the adrenaline. The gash in her cheek was starting to burble blood into her mouth and she spit it out like drool into the carpet.

There was a brief flash of a thought where she wondered what Julian or Alan might do when they saw the stain, but was quickly dashed as Matty started to speak again.

"F.. fuck you." She managed, somewhat garbled.

[intxication]

The look on his face was blank and emotionless. This was all just work for him. Just another day in the office, like Lara. Only Mathias wasn't doing anything good to change the world. In fact, he was actively trying to end it. He was a cause of death, right next to accidents and sickness. Unfortunate and unlucky.

He moved back as she rolled over and started to get away. He stood up and pressed his foot into her back, pushing her back down onto the ground.

"Don't go, we're not done". He stomped on her hand, feeling it give under his heel. "You really shouldn't have stayed past your working hours. It's very dangerous to be in a place like this all by yourself".

The bite gave her a sense of triumph for a millisecond before his knife was digging into her cheek and rending it apart. The blood pooling was immediate. The panic before was heightened, but now it was just sheer terror. Whatever horrendous sound was ripping itself up from her throat was not of her own doing, not consciously - some sort of shriek filled with pain and horror.

Her hands immediately moved from trying to grab and scratch at him to her face, red dripping from between her fingers as she tried to hold the gash together.

She tried to roll over onto her side, to move, to get away. There were no thoughts in her mind - only survive - and get away from this mad man.

[intxication]

Mathias asked and of course his request wasn't accepted. It never was but it never hurt to ask anyways. Sometimes he wondered if people ever thought they'd be put into this situation. He was sure they read about it in the paper or watched it in the news. Some even made it a hobby to learn about. Little did they all know that this could happen to them within a blink of an eye.

He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak right when she bit into his hand. "Ow!" That was certainly a pain and Mathias, without much thinking, plunged the knife into the soft of her left cheek with a nasty scowl on his face. He jerked his hand up, slicing through skin and leaving a gaping gash on her face.

"Come on don't bite people like that! It hurts. Try something like that again and I'll take your eye".

The hand on her mouth and the sight of the knife did nothing to quell the panic and adrenaline surging through her system. The knife against her cheek was cool, sharp, terrifying. Eyes wild, she thrashed - throwing her hands up to grab and claw at whatever she could.

There's a brief flash of memory - listening to some god awful fucking stupid true crime podcast about catching a killer through the skin under their fingernails or caught in their teeth. She's afraid that if she doesn't do something, she won't live.

Make it easy for him? Fuck. That.

She screamed as loud as she could beneath the gloved hand and shook her head to try and get leverage to dig her teeth into his fingers - catch him off guard, something.

[intxication]

It wasn't easy by any means, and Mathias did have to put some effort into his movements. If he had been any other killer, perhaps he would have apologized and said whatever was needed to calm her down. Once they were face to face Mathias could only offer a hand over his mouth to keep her from screaming.

He let go of the wire and reached behind himself to pull out a knife. It glinted from the overhead lights. The carpet smelled clean, looking like the typical office carpet Mathias had seen on the tv sometimes. He held the knife to her cheek and sighed.

"Shh let's not make this worse than it has to be. It'll be over before you know it if you don't make things difficult for me. Please don't make it difficult for me, I really do think you're a nice person".

"For sure." She starts, always with her bright smile, twinkling eyes, and red-brown lips. As she walked past, already her mind was churning with what the next day might hold - or if she should stay up even longer at home to watch for the early morning news cycles. Above and beyond was the name of the game.

Her fingertips touch the doorknob, grazing against it, when the piano wire is pulled taut against her neck and all of the air in her lungs is immediately trapped. Eyes widening and panicked, she reaches and claws and kicks for some sort of leverage against the man.

She's not a fighter, she's not strong. Pure fear and panic is etched into her features as her back hit the floor and she looked up at him. All of the words in her throat are trapped as she tries to push out insults and curses towards him.

[intxication]

For a split second, Mathias looked enamored, as id he finally met someone he genuinely liked. A hopeful idea that was fabricated just to sell a story. "Yeah totally" he said, "I will! Hopefully next time it'll be at an appropriate time of day". He pulled out some black gloves from his pocket as she got up, looking like he was going to start cleaning. Instead he waited.

Mathias counted down to himself waiting until just the right moment before he pounced. She truly was a nice person, doing nice things for others. Why she was on someone's shit list was beyond Mathias. He was beyond his pay rate too, so he didn't question it. Piano wire, as brutal as it was, was a very convenient tool. Easy to store in the pockets and conceal, easy to use, great outcomes. He came up behind her, wrapping the metal around her neck and pulling. He wasn't trying to kill her, or hurt her for that matter (not with this tool). He used it more to get her unaware and on the floor.

"Sorry" He said sorrowfully, "You seem fun to talk to, but I really have to do my job. Hope you'll understand".

For as intuitive as Lara claims to be, she hasn't noticed anything off with the man in front of her. Blame it on late nights or her mind elsewhere. There's nothing about this interaction that makes her mind flicker any red flags at her. From her position on the desk, she lingers for only a moment before hopping down - sensing the end of the conversation.

"Make a change, be rich, some other.. do-gooder thing. It's all you ever see, right?" She laughs, and murmurs a thanks. "Yeah, feel free to come by and chat anytime." She turns to grab her bags and makes for the door - all confidence, no fear. "I'll have to have a chat with the office manager, tell them you're doing great, yeah?"

[intxication]

Mathias was just throwing things at a wall to see if they would stick. His small talk had gotten a lot better since last year, and now he was able to just come off as friendly. "That's really cool that you're making a change. I'm sure that's everyone's dream right? Making a change in the world, or becoming rich".

He nodded his head, "I hope your something greater is close. Mr. Berkeley is very lucky to have you on his team. Maybe I'll see you around more too if you're ever here late again".

She has no idea what it would be like to clean up dozens of offices in a short amount of time. She can't relate or offer any kind words that wouldn't feel false in her mouth, so instead she just takes his hand with a gentle shake. "Thanks for the advice, Matty. But I don't need to worry about pay or rent."

His question doesn't surprise her, so she lifts herself up slightly on the edge of one of the desks, leaning comfortably. "It's great, honestly. I feel like I'm making real change - getting to document everything people say and do, use the news to send to people like the speech writer who - Gosh, does wonderful prose. And hearing it from Julian? He's the real deal." Beat. "But hey, it's not everyone's thing, I get that. For me, it just feels like coming to work everyday is the first step to something greater." And one day maybe, being the one in the clips answering the questions for the next president or governor - something.

[intxication]

"Yeah, but I think I'm moving a little slow. I'll be lucky if I finish all these rooms before the morning guy comes in". He had cased the place, there truly wasn't anyone else around. The chances of him getting interrupted or her getting saved were slim.

Mathias laughed, "You ought to complain about that. Rent is really expensive here, and getting overtime pay isn't too bad". He put his hand out to her, "Matthew" A name he heard recently, "But everyone calls me Matty. It's nice to meet you Lara".

His smile stayed charming as he gave her a small once over, "Sorry I gotta ask, what's it like working for a politician? I dated someone who was into all this stuff and it just never stuck with me. I'd love to hear how you feel about it".

Lara can't help but laugh a little. Just her luck to run into the new guy on one of her rare late ones. "Lot of rooms, not a lot of people, I figure." She finishes gathering up what she needs to and sets it aside for him to grab easily when he's ready.

"All by myself. Overtime ended an hour or so ago, and this is just me being an overachiever. But hey, if it means I get to meet guys like you, I'm not so sure it's a bad thing." She can't help but flirt.. a little. He's cute, so what.

"Lara - and.. yours?" She glanced over his person for a name tag, eyebrow raised.

[intxication]

"So far yes, it's my first night, but I'm hanging in there. There's a lot of rooms in this building". That was an easy enough lie. Pretending he was someone he wasn't was muscle memory for him. Mathias knew how to smile and speak in a way that made him appear harmless. Whatever it took to get people to let their guard down.

"Are you all by yourself tonight? I hope they're paying you overtime" he joked. In his pocket was the tools of his trade, a knife a gun, zip ties. He wasn't sent to kill tonight, but he was given room to cause damage.

"What's your name?"

People had already filed out - Lara staying much later than the rest, simply to get things ready for the next day, get ahead, or clean up a little bit from their late night dinners. She grabbed some of the bags she'd left near Alan's desk earlier and used it to swoop some of the leftover coffee cups and take out plates.

It wasn't often that she ran into the night janitors, and it wasn't often that she looked somewhat disheveled from a long day of work, keeping up with the rapid fire influx of news.

This poll says that. That poll is bullshit. Hard to know what to say, when to say it, when public opinion can change at the drop of a hat.

Still, Lara pushes a bright smile towards the man. "Hey, just getting it all together for you. Easy night tonight hopefully, hm?"