"Lorraine Wheeler; managing editor.  Theodore Jackman; editor-in-chief."

Chiara glanced up from the folder as she tapped a finger on the page after reading the names aloud, and getting a good look at the two people in the photos.

"Newspaper editors?  Why would they possibly be targets Emma?"

Emma finished taking a sip of her coffee before replying.

"The contract has been ordered because this pair running the newspaper are going about business in the wrong way.  Their tactics tend to be on the greedy side instead of the quality of hard work.  Accusations of plagerism, and poor quality editions being published, all while raking in money.  Our client is protecting their investment, and will regroup after any such tragedy occurs.  They couldn't directly get involved, so sought help from I.C.A.  Enough is enough."

Her curious side always seemed to get Chiara into a bit of hot water, but she couldn't help herself by asking questions all the time.  In her mind it was better to ask, and be in the know than to silently assume anything.

"How in the world are they still making money then if their efforts are that dreadful and atrocious to read about?  Wouldn't people have half a brain to speak up in protest, or at the very least stop purchasing the newspaper?"

Emma's chuckle was soft, but Chiara still smiled when hearing it.

"I'm serious Emma.  WHY do people read that garbage then?  If you cannot publish something with substance, then why run a newspaper in the first place, ya know?"

"You know how the world works by now Chiara.  Money has always been the root of all evil, and these two are prime examples of it."

Chiara began reading a bit more of the information in the folder while Emma sat back in her chair drinking her coffee as if she was enjoying a leisure afternoon.

"What?  How in the hell did they even get awards for their newspaper?  What did they do?  Bribe someone to get these rewards or something?"

She flipped through the paperwork still muttering as she read about the various donations received, rewards given, public recognition, and she closed the folder with more force than intended.

"What happened to taking pride in one's work?  Were there really newspaper editions where stories had a simple one line quote, and the readers were supposed to be good to go with that?  Where was the depth and intrigue to the story for the reader to delve into?  Newspaper after newspaper filled with nonsense, rarely anything decent storywise, and full of sleezy tabloid advertisements."

Emma leaned forward in her seat, cupping the mug in her empty hand and held onto the handle as she spoke.

"This assignment is to be swift and neat.  You've come a long way from the training exercise, and I feel you are ready for this one.  No back up. No rescue team in place.  It'll be your first complete solo mission."

Chiara nodded in reply knowing she herself felt the confidence now as well.  After her first kill, she had taken time to adjust, and felt this time would go smoothly.

"Any specific instructions on how to take care of the issue?"

"We want it swift and neat as I said.  Two shots.  Done.  There is a rooftop overlooking the front entrance that will be the location you set up.  The client wants this handled by 18:00 tomorrow night.  Your travel arrangements have been made, so I expect you to get things sorted quickly, and head onto Cloverdale within the hour."

Chiara stood up then placed the folder back on the table.  The last time for her training assignment she forgot to destroy the folder of information before her flight, and Emma had given a slight lecture on that, which ended with Chiara setting fire to the folder.  Now Chiara just left it here with Emma for her to deal with instead of taking it to handle it later.  Emma handed her the plane ticket then went back to her coffee as Chiara bid her goodbye.

"I won't let you down again."

Two shots she thought to herself.  Sounded easy enough.  Quick and easy to remove herself from the actual scene of the crime since she'd be on the rooftop nearby.  After a quick stop by her apartment, Chiara ran inside her place, grabbed her to-go bag then gripped the handle of the medium sized suitcase from the closet, which contained her sniper rifle.  The rifle Emma had insisted she purchase six weeks ago, but hadn't explained why back then, and now she knew.

"It's a Whitworth rifle.  It'll come in handy for any future assignments, so get one and get a feel for the way it shoots."

"Alright Emma.  You're the boss."

The following day Chiara had made inquiries to get the Whitworth rifle, and rest stick, along with a scope.  She recalled the first few days getting used to using the scope, which was a nice change in her shooting practice.  Her mind was brought back to the present while the lady behind the check-in counter called for her to come up.  The airport wasn't overly busy which she was thankful for.  Once on her way to Cloverdale, Chiara began to plot out how she would take care of this issue.  By the time the plane landed, she had everything planned out.

She checked into a hotel across town, providing some distance between places.  Having secured transportation to her destination, Chiara took a few moments to take in her surroundings, including the building housing the newspaper business.  In close proximity were other businesses, but she was mostly focused on the building directly across the street.  A law firm from the sign across the front of the building.  The cafe and department stores nearby just didn't provide the accurate accessibility necessary to complete her mission.

Chiara had one errand to get done before she reached the newspaper building, make arrangements for a delivery.  Sending flowers as a decoy just wasn't her style really, so she decided on a gift basket containing fruits.  She stood at the counter, scribbled a note in the card, sealed it then paid for the purchase. 

"I want the gift basket delivered personally to Theodore Jackman himself, at the Healdsburg Press, so there is no mistake in him receiving the package.  Last time he was sent one, it never got to him.  So make sure this one does."

The delivery instructions were very specific in regards to hand delivering the package to Theodore Jackman himself and not another employee.  The clerk nodded as she took the order hearing the serious tone in Chiara's voice.  The delivery was set for an hour and half from then, giving her plenty of time to get in position. 

The time of day had people emerging from buildings all around in search of local cuisine for lunch time.  The crowds gave Chiara a bit of cover to maneuver through the buildings, down the alleyways without much thought or suspicion.  She left her luggage at the hotel, but kept her black case with her at all times.  It was a plain black case, so it gave the appearance she was just on her way to work somewhere.  Once she made her way to the rooftop, via the elevator then the stairs for the top floor exit, Chiara stood there gauging which angle would provide the most cover to hide her from view.

Off to the right of the rooftop was a set of vents, and off to the left was a shed with a locked door.  Once she chose the spot next to the shed, Chiara crouched down to open the case, smiling briefly as she picked up and assembled the Whitworth rifle.  She placed the gun with the barrel up leaning against the rooftop edge then retrieved the rest stick from the case.  Chiara set up the small tripod, extending the legs to make it steady then positioned the rifle atop the tripod.  She made sure to adjust the scope to get a clear view of the target location.

Now all she had to do was wait for the delivery, so Theodore came into her line of sight.  Lunch time was about over, and the crowds began to die down on the streets, leaving the stragglers who were just out enjoying their day.  Chiara waited about twenty minutes before noticing the young teenaged boy carrying the gift basket.  He saw his eyes travel to the sign reading 'Healdsburg Press' .  He waited outside the newspaper building after knocking, and speaking to whomever answered the door.

"Yes young man can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am.  I have a package for Mr. Theodore Jackman."

"Oh I can take that dear."

"I have specific instructions to give it to him personally, and I don't wanna get into trouble ma'am."

The lady arched an eyebrow in response to his comment, but yielded and went back inside to fetch her boss.  Once Theodore came outside, the delivery boy handed over the gift basket.  Chiara was watching it all through the scope, and had recognized the lady was Lorraine Wheeler.  She could see the looks to the delivery boy as he began walking away then back to the basket.  Theodore glanced about the sidewalk then across the street, his curiosity flaring.  He noticed the envelope then opened it to read the card.

Chiara had her finger on the trigger, the rifle carefully propped and steady on the tripod, and rested the butt of the gun against her shoulder. He read the card then glanced back around with a slightly confused look on his face.  She knew he'd get the meaning of her words.

Enough is enough.  We're shutting down the presses.  Permanently.

With the single movement of her finger, the echo of the gunfire richoeted through the air.  Theodore dropped in an instant, hitting the concrete quickly.  The gift basket he was holding fell to the ground, ripping apart the wrapping; apples, oranges and pears began rolling around.  Within seconds of the gunshot, screams began to echo the streets, and Lorraine pushed the door open to find him laying there, unmoving.  Chiara reloaded the rifle then locked Lorraine in her sights. 

"No no no no.  Theo!!!  Whyyy?  Why why why?!?!"

She had fallen to her knees, grabbing his shirt and shaking him. 

"Someone help!  Anyone!"

Lorraine looked up while still screaming and crying for help, and leaned back in her position just enough to give Chiara a clean shot.  A quick tug on the trigger sent another echo of gunfire through the air, and Chiara leaned back away from the scope watching as Lorraine fell forward, laying on top of Theodore.  People had begun running in the opposite direction of the newspaper building, and now was the time Chiara began repacking everything.  Within moments, she was already inside the elevator waiting for the doors to ding open. 

The lobby of the law firm was buzzing with people chattering about what just took place, and no one was really paying her much attention.  She was able to make it to her car without being stopped by anyone.  The thrill and excitement coarsing through her body didn't fade even when she had arrived back at the hotel.  Chiara wasted little time to pack everything, made arrangements with the front desk to return the car, and she was headed back to the airport via taxi.  She would be getting in contact with Emma to fill her in once she returned back to Los Angeles.