His new knife glinted from the bottom of his tote; he had gone to a muggle ‘pawn shop’ just the other day for it. Another thing he knew of muggles; they looked for patterns, and he never gave them one. He’d done a lot of different things to his… targets, never a knife though. This would certainly be interesting and new.

He flexed his fist for what had to be the hundredth time, wanting to check that it was in working order. Can’t have it any other way. What if something goes wrong? Feeling that his hand was fine, he pulled out his wand and shrunk his tote, leaving out some rope and wire. Putting it all in his pockets, he walked to the door and called out, “I’ll be back late, Mil. Why don’t you go to bed early, get a bit of rest? You deserve it.” He exited his flat, got outside the wards, and apparated.

When he regained his focus he was standing in an empty barn. “Yes I think this’ll do.” He surveyed the barn and the surrounding area, double checking there was no one there. Satisfied, he apparated to the house occupying Albert, the chosen target. In addition to watching him for the past week, he’d also done a bit of research. Albert had a wife, two kids, and a very serious drinking problem. Anthony went over all of the details in his head for nearly an hour until Albert finally stepped out. Anthony, unseen, let Albert pass him and stepped out to follow.

Anthony made sure his cap and hood were securely obscuring him from any potential viewer and glanced around. Seeing no one, he followed Albert into the alley he used to get to the pubs. Acting quickly, Anthony pulled the wire from his pocket and wrapped it around his hands. Leaving some slack, he lunged forward and caught Albert around the throat.

Not expecting this, Albert started to thrash and gave a shout. Anthony shoved him headfirst into the nearby wall, knocking Albert unconscious. Quickly, he took the rope from his pocket and tied it around Albert’s hands. He hoisted Albert’s arms around his own neck so that it would appear to passerby that Albert was drunk. Not that I’m all that worried. Not in this part of town.

After standing up, it took him nearly twenty minutes to get back to the barn. He tied Albert to a post, making sure the ropes were tight. Taking his tote out of his pocket, he returned it to normal size.  Kneeling, he grabbed the tape and the extra rope and placed it next to the bag. Getting his apron out, he put it on, along with the gloves. He always used the gloves while handling the knife, which he took out next.

He stood up and with the knife, walked over to Albert. After examining him for a moment, he patted Albert’s cheek. When Albert didn’t rouse, he gave him a harder slap. Mumbling nonsense under his breath, Albert started to stir. Realizing he was tied down and remembering the events that had transpired he started to struggle. He raised his gaze to Anthony and said, “What the- who are you? Why’ve you tied me up?”

 Anthony smirked. Enraged at this, Albert started swearing at Anthony, who smiled and replied; “Well, with that mouth Albert, are you really surprised?” With this, Albert shouted a few more choice words. Anthony’s smile grew as he said, “You know Al, and may I call you Al? I’ve been watching you for a few days now and,” he gave an exaggerated sigh, “I just don’t think you’re going to talk your way out of this one.” He held up the knife. “Every night this week, I’ve seen you at the pub piss drunk. You grab for all the girls, swear at all the men, and after you’ve made the entire block livid you head home. Home, to your wife, Martha, and your two children, James and Madie, who you clearly don’t care for, I might add. So, I thought I’d do the world a favor. Your wife, your two kids, a favor.”

Albert’s eyes grew as he saw the knife and as he heard the names of his wife and kids. “Please, I won’t tell anyone! You- you let me go and, I’ll be better… to… to everyone! To…” He seemed to be scrambling for the right words, “to my wife, my kids! I’ll stop my drinking…”

Standing still, Anthony replied, “This isn’t a negotiation,” and immediately stuck the knife in Albert’s gut. Walking back to his supplies he grabbed the tape. Ripping a piece off, he walked back to Albert. Silencing Albert’s screams, he stuck the piece on his mouth and grabbed him by the throat. Placing himself face to face with Albert, he gripped the knife with his other hand.

“As I said before, you really are not talking your way out of this one.” As he said this, Anthony twisted the knife and pulled out slowly. Bracing Albert’s head, he raised the knife and slid it along his throat. Anthony stepped back quickly and watched as blood went everywhere. When it was over, he looked at the knife in his hand and said aloud, “Too messy.” Shaking his head he said to the former Albert, “At least I tried it though, yeah? You have to try new things, even if it’s only the once.” 

Dropping the knife, he gathered the rest of his things, changed out of the apron, gloves, and bloody clothes. After he walked from the barn a ways, he disapparated.