Riddle of the Sphinx

Bang, bang, bang, bang. A woman's screams. Silence.

"Mama? Mama?" I had called out piteously, pressing myself against the closet door. All I could hear was the sound of heavy footsteps. First echoing in distance, then coming down the corridor, taking a wrong turn and getting further away. Crashes and shattering glass, stomping feet becoming louder again, the sound of opening and slamming doors, the door of the room where I was pushed open, furniture broken, fabric swooshed aside, the feet advancing nearer, CRASH!

I let out a startled whimper, only to quickly recover my senses and abruptly silence myself. There was a long pause. Then, the closet door suddenly flew open and I found myself staring up at the towering silhouette of a man. I pressed myself against the back of the closet, and he pressed a hard cold object firmly onto my forehead. A gun. The realization sent a chill through my body, but I could not move, I could only stare dumbly up at him, wide eyed and silent.

"Wait." A silken voiced drifted in from behind him.

"What is it?" He asked warily without turning around or taking his gunpoint off of me.

"Let's not kill her," it purred, "We should just forget about what the boss said. We should take her with us instead and hold her for ransom."

"Are you crazy?" The man asked, his voice rising in disbelief. "The boss will not let this go; especially considering how much he is getting from that woman to have her assassinated".

Woman.

"So what?" The voice challenged.

"What do you mean by 'so what'?! This is an important assignment!"

"Assign...ment?"

"Yes you moron", his words coated with exasperation, "We are suppose kill her, while making it seem like a burglary."

Wanted. Me. Dead. Was mama dead?

"We could set this whole place on fire," it suggested, "Claimed to have killed her," the voice dropped into an alluring whisper, "Secretly demand a ransom, and run for it with enough of a fortune to make us kings!" It finished triumphantly.

"Well..."

"After all," it continued seductively, "The boss might get a lot from this job, but it's not like he would be willing to share any of that wealth with us. Even though, WE are the ones who do the work..."

A long silence followed.

No, no. Mama could not be dead. I had been a good girl, see? Mama must come back because I kept my promise, and was a good child...so why?

"Alright", the man growled finally, "Alright". He reached for me with his free hand, I shrank back.

Why?

And then, BANG!

The man toppled over. There was a padded thump as his head struck the back of the closet. The body slid slowly down, the head making a streak of red on the wooden back like a skilled painter putting a crimson stroke on a dark brown canvas. His body slid until his head came to rest on the hollow of my neck. I sat, unmoving. Lukewarm blood soaked the front of my garment.

WHY?

A tinkling laugh. I looked past the corpse at the one who shot his partner. The man with the silken voice pulled the body off of me and threw it aside with a flourish.

"Are you alright, my lady?" He asked sweetly. I shivered involuntarily. He leaned forward, flashing his dainty teeth at me in the dim light. "Now, now, there's nothing to fear," murmured that voice demurely.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

Another flash of teeth. " I am currently working for y