Between The Eyes [PiE] (WiP)

>The bass of the music from inside the buliding nearly drowned out the voices of the young and hyper crowd lined up and waiting eagerly outside.

>Applejack is next in line and walks up to the large bouncer at the door.

"I have a package for a Mr. Vercetti," declared the patron pony in her thick Southern drawl. "Code: 'Christmas'," she said, nodding to her saddle bags.

>The bouncer saw her honest expression and quickly checked her bags.

>He stepped aside to allow Applejack entrance to the club.

>Applejack smiled and nodded as she passed.

>Her happy facade faded instantly as she entered.

>Not just because she was in, but because of what passed for music to kids these days disgusted her.

>It didn't help the fact that it was playing so loud that she couldn't even hear herself think.

>She had a feeling she was going to be deaf by the time she got out of here.

>Okay well maybe not, but it's still unnecessarily loud.

>Applejack made her way along the edge of the crowd.

>Another guard had stood in the way of the VIP are of the club that she needed to get to.

>This one had the noticeable bulge of a glocking poking out from his belt under his shirt.

>Giving the same story as before, the guard stepped to the side and unhooked the red velvet rope.

>Seated at the booth around the table were three men with several armed guards standing at rest behind them.

 

>"Aha!" cheered one man sitting across from the other two, raising his glass towards the delivery pony. "This must be it at last, yeah?"

"Yes," confirmed Applejack with a nod.

>Applejack bent her neck down as a henchman pulled her pack off and placed the contents on the table in the center.

>"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked the man, refering to the stack of white bricks before him. "Down to business then, eh?"

>The two men across the table exchanged a few words amongst each other.

One finaly spoke, one leg crossed on the opposite knee and hands met at the fingertips near his mouth.

>His voice cool and collected.

>"Mr. Vercetti," he said. "My associate and I have decided that we would no longer wish to conduct business with you."

>Vercetti thought he misheard due to the club's loud music in the background.

>"I'm sorry, what?" asked Vercetti with a troubled smile.

>"You're done. We're finished," clarified the younger man with a sort of whinier voice.

>It could have just been his accent.

>"We don't want to work with you anymore," he repeated.

>"What!? Why!" demanded Vercetti.

>A sly smile appeared in the corner of Applejack's lips, overshadowed by her stetson.

>"You're too risky," said the first man. "Our last several transactions have gone bad due to complications on your end."

>"But I can assure you that everything is fine!" said Vercetti in a rushed,  panicked tone. "Here!"

>Vercetti opened a bag of product and pushed it towards the men across the table.

>"It's of the highest quality!" he assured.

>The older of the two took a tiny pile on his fingertip and brought it to his nose.

>He reeled away at the smell and held his finger out for the other man.

>The younger one took a whiff, but started coughing heavily as some of the powder went up his nose.

>The first man whipped the remaining powder from his finger.

 

>"How do you like it?" asked Vercetti with a beaming smile.

>"Is this a fucking joke?" asked the older man.

>He picked up the opened bag of white powder and stood up.

>"Carpet fresh?"

>He hurled the bag across the table at Vercetti to whom it exploded all over upon contact with his chest.

>"We're done with this circus."

>His younger partner stood, but Vercetti also jumped to his feet.

>"Now you wait just a minute!" shouted Vercetti.

>His sudden actions caused the guards of the two men to reach for their weapons.

>"This is a mistake!" pleaded Vercetti. "The deliv-"

>Vercetti looked around, but Applejack had backed out of the area and melted into the crowd of partying people and ponies.

>She still kept an invisible eye on her target.

>Vercetti had gone into full panic mode.

>"The only mistake was partnering with a clown like you," said the younger man.

>The two moved to leave again, but Vercetti piped up in one last attempt to save face.

>"You come in here and insult me like this? Disrespect me like this? In my club? My place of business?"

>His voice grew louder as he ranted.

>Vercetti raised both hands and snapped his fingers.

>The two men behind him stepped forward and brandished their weapons.

>"This is MY domain!" declared Vercetti, hands raised to he heavens.

>The older of the two men took a second to study his predicament before letting out a sharp whistle.

>Vercetti's guards stepped to the side, leaving him exposed.

>"What the hell is this!" shouted Vercetti.

>"Your domain is now outs," said the man, both turning to leave and simply giving their men a wave of his hand.

 

>The music was so loud, a silencer was almost pointless.

>Applejack turned to leave upon witnessing the deed being carried out.

>Her stetson was tilted down over her face to hide her smile.

>Contract complete.

>Weeks of work gathering information, deception, and other actions of the like.

>And a fat bonus for collapsing the target's small empire on top of eliminating him.

>The latter of which she didn't even have to do herself.

>Deception is an art the likes of which can take a lifetime to teach.

>Applejack was raised to be an honest, hardworking pony.

>Her upbringing is what allows her to be the saboteur she needs to be.

>She can pass any lie detection and not give a single physical cue, even if the lie was as obvious as day and night.

>Applejack was naturally gifted.

>Being a pony, and Earth pony no less, people were less likely to see her as a threat.

>Especially with her kind heart, cute smile, and brilliant accent.

>This false security was usually their downfall.

>Back at her own apartment, Applejack was ready for a long shower.

>The flashing red light of the answering machine in the dark of her apartment called her attention before anything else, however.

>Calling the number back, a voice came on the line.

>"I need a hitman."

"I'm your mare."