Prompt: In 1K-1.2K words, write a flash fiction containing an element of mystery with action.

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A murder.

A menace lurked on the the streets.

On her streets.

Crimson blood splattered the dark brick walls. Small puddles of water wept red, staining the pavement. But the object that held everyone's attention, was the mangled body of a girl lying broken on the cold ground.

She was dead.

There was no mistaking the lifeless look in her eyes.

"I want to know who did this." Aspen Reeves demanded. Whoever had done this had torn this poor child apart. Reeves felt sick looking at the sight. The stench of the rotting corpse was far worse.

"Good. Reeves, I want you head of this case." She didn't heed who told her, for she was to caught up in the murder before her. She managed a nod.

Reeves shook herself out of her daze and began barking orders.

I'll find you somehow.

~~~~

With a frustrated growl, Reeves banged her head on the smooth wooden surface of her desk. A week had passed already, and she was no closer than when she first started out.

No trace. No fingerprints. No bloody foot marks.

But the killer had to have left some sort of clue behind. He had to.

What'd she have to do, wait for another murder? Hell no.

But fate doesn't always give you what you want.

~~~~

Reeves looked between the two preserved bodies.

At least now I have a lead, she thought solemnly.

They were just children. Who would do this? Why? Reeves squeezed her eyes shut and pushed the questions out of her mind. She had different ones she needed to answer. Reeves needed to focus on the facts in front her. The burning questions she held for the murderer could be held after she found them.

From what she could tell, the murderer wasn't killing these girls in a personal grudge against the children themselves. She could tell that much from the fact that the two girls, given the lack of relationship towards one another and different backgrounds, looked uncannily similar.

Both were aged 10. Both had the same blonde hair and green eyes. Perhaps not the same shade, but awfully similar.

It must be a crime made to recreate the death of a child close to the killer. Perhaps they had mistaken these girls for someone close to them?

Perhaps these children looked like a woman they once dated, and killed them to prevent them from acting in similar ways?

Reeves had no idea.

But she'd better find out soon. And she knew where to start.

~~~~

"Reeves, with all due respect-"

"Which would appear to be very little." Reeves muttered under her breath, unheard by anyone else.

"- do you have any idea how many people in this city are blonde?" the head of her branch, Christian Jones demanded. "I can't possibly put out eyes on every single one of them!"

Maybe she should have specified things more.

"I suspect the victims are not just blonde, sir. They also have green eyes and are aged 10. That should narrow it down, should it not?"

"Very well." Jones grumbled under his breath as he dismissed her. Once she was gone he picked up the phone and began issuing orders.

~~~~

It took a week, but they finally had a hit. Reeves was the first to know. She had been among the agents who were issued orders to protect civilians matching the description Reeves gave. Reeves had been guarding a girl called Yuna Boston.

She didn't know it was coming until it hit her.

Reeves had been crouching under the windowsill of the girl's room, keeping guard when suddenly a fist came flying at her out of the dark.

Caught of balance the punch connected, smashing straight into her jawline and her head snapped back. She fell onto her back.

"Shit!"

I need to contact the-

A kick, to the side this time. Pain blossomed in her side and her eye sight danced.

Reeves was quick to retreat and wobble to her feet. She herself was not a major fighter, knowing only enough to get her by.

She held her left arm up as a guard, protecting the side of her face that had already been hit. Her curled fist was level with the top of her head. Reeves' right arm was extended slightly, ready to lash out when she had the chance. It was a risky formation to take.

Her eyes scanned her environment, searching the shadows for her assailant, and more than likely, the killer. She picked up on feet rushing towards her from behind and spun around, punching out with her right arm.

Hit.

Reeves may have hit him, but he'd still managed to counterattack. She felt a hard slap to her right ear and everything blurred.

My balance...

By hitting her ear, he'd knocked odd her sense of balance. Reeves shook her head.

Snap out of it!

She gritted her teeth in frustration. Keep him away from the girl.

There was a harsh tug on her hair, a large fist rooted deeply in the curly mass, right down to the scalp. She yelped in pain as she was shoved into the side of the house, grip unrelenting.

Yellow lights flickered on. Curtains opened. Surprised faces stared down at them.

The girl's parents.

They staggered back from the window. Reeves could hear the thumps of people running in opposite directions.

More than likely, one for the phone and the other for the door.

Reeves tasted copper in her mouth. Must have bitten my tongue.

"Do you know just how much power a person has by using their opponents hair? You can do almost anything. Allow me to demonstrate." A raspy voice informed. Reeves could hear the smirk in his voice.

Her head snapped back and she spun around. Before she could register what was happening, her face was slammed down into the killers knee. She yelled out and her nose broke, blood spraying.

"There's that for one."

"Oi!" A man's voice yelled from the porch. The killer's actions froze. Reeves only hesitated a second before tearing herself from the killer's grip, a burning sensation spreading across her scalp. She pulled back, putting all the strength she could muster into her next punch and her fist shot forwards. She felt a sick sense of satisfaction at hearing his nose crack in the same way hers had moment before.

Sirens were wailing in the distance.

Not long now...

Bending her knees, she slipped down and her right leg shot out, sending the killer crashing as her leg knocked his feet out from under him.

Not long after that it was over.

An ambulance had seen to her injuries and the killer was apprehended.

A job done well enough.

She not the girl had died.

Reeves felt peace coming over her at the thought.

"Well done, Reeves." One of her co workers patted her on the back as she wiped a stray streak of blood off her face.

"Thanks."

After all. It was just another day at the office.