As Merci leaves HQ one evening in New York, she decides to talk a walk, rather than hail a cab. This is her favorite time of year...autumn. Although the leaves would be changing, she rarely gets to see them anymore. The nights have become her days, and buildings the only landscape.

After heading east a few blocks, she notices some activity down a darkened alley. Dipping into the shadows, she watches the scene that plays out in front of her. Is that...yes, it is. The head of the sanitation department, getting friendly with a local call girl. Wonder what his wife would think of that? Merci pushes away any sympathy and decides that there's money to be had here. Likes the ladies, does he? The image of her friend Favor popped into her head. A real looker, that one. Maybe she'd be interested in assisting in a little blackmailing scheme. All it would take, really, is a couple of skimpy outfits, a little research, and a camera...

Favor bit her lip and smiled in the vanity mirror of her suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. She knew she was far away from Los Angeles and loved to play naughty when outside of the city. Merci and her would frequent trips to the local bars and clubs but this time she had something more adventurous planned.

She picked up a copy of the Times laying on the bed, it was already folded to the Business section. A picture of Mr. Mancini, the department head of sanitation smiling while shaking hands with the mayor. 

" With the depression going on, and all you can think about is women , Mr. Mancini." Favor smirked.

Her eyes disgustedly examined his balding head, drooping face,and bulbous nose. His suit buttons were on the verge of popping from his protruding potbelly. She walked to the bathroom, propping one leg on the toilet as she slipped her fishnet stockings and garter belt on. She then wrapped a deep red satin and lace corset around her, tightening the ribbons to plump her breasts upward. Slipping on a black skirt, she concealed her gun strapping it to her thigh.

With a soft click from the door locking, she slid her arms into her grey trenchcoat, walking down the hall to meet Merci in her suite.

As Merci opened the door, Favor grinned and said, "Ready?"

Merci laughed, "Favor darling, one can see your hole'd fishnet stockings below the trenchcoat!"

"Well it's only down to the lobby and into taxi no one will notice. Did you get the address?"

"Yes, I found the motel that he normally uses for his regulars."

Merci and Favor quickly departed the lobby. Their heels could be heard clicking against themarble floors. As they sat in the taxi, Favor pulled out her brightest red lipstick holding up a golden hand mirror. She made a pucker face a Merci and teased,

"This trashy enough?"

"You need more eyeliner, like cake it on."

They arrived at the motel, it's location was a distance away from the city. Favor and Merci walked past the front desk clerk who was already asleep since it was two AM in the evening, knocking at the door located in the far end of the hall. Silence.

Favor turn's to Merci and whispers, "You sure this is the place?"

Favor knocked again. She could hear the sound of a radio playing, she and Merci knew men like him were up.

Favor and Merci heard a shuffle of feet towards the door and a brief pause. They felt his gaze through the peephole. He swung open the door, wearing a white beater and pant suit, his belt unbuckled.

" Who are you?" he bellowed drunk as the alcohol fumes eminated from his body.

" I'm Sophia, this is Vanessa," Favor said in the best ditsy voice she could manage.

" You ain't the gal I normally see."

" She was sick today, so we came to fill in for her."

" So she sent two girls?"Mr. Mancini's thin lips curled into a smirk, "Well come in..come in ladies, have a drink with me."

Merci and Favor walked in, whiffing in the stale cloud of cigarettes and alcohol stench. Mr. Mancini went straight to bed propping his head against the headboard. Taking a swig of whiskey from the bottle then slamming it on the end table he gurgles,

"My Selena and Val, what pretty dolls you two are."

" It's Sophia and Vanessa, Sir."

" Whatever, come here."

"What about payment Sir?"

" Just come ere' I ain't gonna' do anything to you, I just wanna' look at you."

Favor give Merci a small pleading look. Merci looks back giving a small nod. Favor crawls slowly towards him from the edge of the bed straddling his potbelly. Mr Mancini puts the bottle of whiskey on the end table, pushing the glass ashtray on to the floor. As Mr. Mancini grabs Favor's small waist, he feels down towards her thighs to where her gun is strapped.

"Hey..hey, whats..what's this?" Mr. Mancini's body jerks with concern.

Favor quickly takes the whiskey bottle from the end table smashing it hard across his face repeating stabs over and over again. Mr. Mancini passed out-- bits of glass flew, with several bloody pieces lodged into his face.

Merci sighed, " Hun, did you have to use the bottle? You were supposed to pistol whip or suffocate him drunk with the pillow. How are we supposed to make this look like a sex act if he has blood and glass all over his face." Merci crosses her arms.

Favor rolls her eyes, " Well I just got blood on my new skirt!"

" Okay, but how are we going to do this now?"

" We can just kill him," Favor pouts.

" I think he's already dead."

" One can't be too sure."

"No".Merci said. "One can't."

Merci laid her fingers against the side of the man's neck, her fingers sliding a little in the blood.

"Faint pulse, but it's there. I'll just help him along," Merci shook a butterfly knife out of her coat sleeve and flicked it open. "His wife is better off this way. Even without the insurance policy," she said as she slammed the blade, two fisted, into his eye socket, making sure to penetrate the brain. Viscous matter spewed out and hit her in the face.

Looking up at Favor, she said, "We're a right mess. At least the trench coats are dark."

Favor sighed. "All for nothing."

"Well, all's not lost. Check his wallet; maybe he left us a present!" Merci said hopefully.

Favor reached under the body and yanked the wallet from the man's pants pocket. Flipping it open, her shoulders sagged. "Twenty bucks. Head of sanitation, and he's carrying twenty bucks!"

As Favor tossed the wallet onto the body with a look of disgust, Merci wiped her face and draped an arm around Favor's shoulders. "Sorry, hun. Could have been worse, though, " she said as they headed out the door and down hall.

The elevator doors slid open and an elderly couple smiled politely at them as they got on. As the doors closed and the elevator descended, the women avoided eye contact, each afraid of bursting into fits of laughter. Once outside, they jumped into a cab idling at the curb.

"I guess I owe you one," Merci said. "How about a pretty new skirt?!"

They both started laughing as the cabbie stared them down in the rearview mirror. "Stupid dames," he muttered under his breath. "Can't hold their liquour!"