The Painted Devil
She picked up the mid-sized aerosol can and gave it a quick shake. This was the biggest project she had ever worked on. It was also the most dangerous. A cigarette hung between her parted lips. She gave it a quick puff before pulling it from her mouth and pressed it to the ground, extinguishing the glowing ember at the end. She tucked a few loose strands of her chestnut hair behind her ear.
“You got this, Iris” She muttered through clenched teeth. “You’ve been planning this for months.” She pulled a respirator from her bag before pulling it over her mouth.
The guards had been the easy part. A little chloroform had done the trick as they weren’t prepared for a 5 foot 8 figure clad in a plain, black hoodie to jump them. Pretty much a waste of money, she thought to herself. Could a billionaire not afford better security? Eh, easier for me so I guess I won’t question it.
The cameras were still difficult though. They were everywhere and blocking them out like she usually did with a quick spritz of black paint over the lens wasn’t going to work. Someone would notice the multiple blank screens pretty quick. She needed to get into the system and play an endless stream of nothing. Well, not nothing, just an infinite loop of old security footage, where nothing happened.
After the guards were taking a short nap on the ground of the security checkpoint in front of the compound, Iris pulled a thin, silver USB out of the pocket of her black jeans. You have just 40 seconds max after putting this in to get everything set up before the silent alarms go off. She thought before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, placing it between her teeth. Gotta do it right. Iris took in a deep, shaky puff before inserting the USB into the side of the guard’s computer. Within the second her gloved fingers began flying over the keyboard.
38 seconds later, a small ding sounded from the computer. Iris let out the breath she was holding in. Perfect. She picked up her ancient duffle bag from the ground, making as little sound as possible before making her way through the front gate.
Although she knew that no one could see her through the cameras that were dotted along the empty road she felt extremely vulnerable even with the trees around her for cover. After a slight incline on the concrete path the compound came into view.
A few guards were scattered around the main building but after months of studying the guard’s movement and patterns she knew exactly what was going to happen. Right on time. Iris thought as they left their stations for their midnight break. 8 and a half minutes, that’s all I got but luckily that’s all I need. It was almost too easy.
Iris sprinted across the open field feeling more exposed than ever. Once she reached the center building she shuffled around to the other side and ducked underneath the large set of windows. 7 minutes 49 seconds left. She knew exactly where to turn and climb to get to get to the large, encircled A on the roof.
The Avengers won’t know what hit them. She smiled to herself. 6 minutes, 31 seconds. After extinguishing her cigarette, Iris began her work.
The outline was the first. A few sprays from the can and the silhouette of a comical, devil’s face and horns surrounded by a pair of wings was outlined around the enormous A. 5 minutes, 17 seconds.
Red was next. She filled in the horns and the majority of the face with the bright spray paint before adding some texture and shading with some darker and light shades. 4 minutes, 52 seconds.
The black and white went together. Iris filled in the wicked eyes and sneer with a bright white and the details with black. 3 minutes, 19 seconds. I’m going to be cutting it close.
“Breath Iris, breath.” She whispered to herself as she noticed herself going lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. 3 minutes, 2 seconds.
She finished off the final details of the devil’s nose and ears. The giant A was now obscured with a few layers of paint. 2 minutes, 20 seconds.
She filled in the two surrounding wings with a few coats of black, grey and white spray paint. 1 minute, 29 seconds.
Iris grinned down at her malevolent creation. The red face stood out in comparison to the shadowy wings, but she knew when daylight came, they would both be equally visible. She pulled down the respirator down to her neck and took a moment to appreciate her work before repacking her duffle bag.
Everything went as planned. She grinned to herself as she picked up her restocked bag. Well, everything but the strong grip that clutched her arm a second later. She spun around to see a shaggy mane of brunette hair with icy blue eyes staring into her emerald ones.
Even through her thick hoodie, she could feel his unnaturally cold hand on her bicep. His grip was supernaturally strong and she could already feel the bruises forming. They stared into each others eyes for a split second before Iris reacted.
Iris swung her other hand up to his face in a fist but he caught it with his own other hand. The man had reacted fast but he didn’t expect her to raise her leg, kneeing him full force in the stomach. He stumbled back a bit, mostly by surprise. He moved back towards her, but it was too late. She was off the top building, her duffle bag swinging wildly behind her.
He stared and considered following her but she was already concealed in the surrounding depths forest. The dazed man turned around and looked down at the fresh devil and its angelic yet sinister wings.