“Maryann, I thought we said no more murdering at birthday parties,” my mom glares at me and I shrug. She sighs and returns to chopping carrots. “Frankly, it makes us look unprofessional.”

I roll my eyes and throw my scarlet-stained hands into the air. “Oh, come on. Shadowy alleyways are just so overrated. Like, yeah, we get it, you suck at your job. Broad daylight means you get a cooler scene.”

“It also means you get a lifetime sentence,” she stops slicing carrots to look at me. “You remember what happened to Nana.”

“Nana doesn’t have much life sentence left to serve,” I giggle a little bit, and my mom frowns. “What? It’s true. She’s like 83.”

“And just like you, she got a little too careless,” my mom points her kitchen knife at me and instinctively I flip open my pocket knife. We stare at each other for a moment, weapons hovering in the air.

My mom lowers her kitchen knife and shakes her head. Flecks of blood are in her hair. “I just want you to be careful. I love you and this job isn’t easy.”

I flip shut my pocket knife and smile gently at her.

“Mom, you’ve made me into the most ruthless, cold-hearted woman the world will ever know. It would be physically impossible to raise a more evil human being.”

“You really think so?” she beams at me.

“I know so,” I walk over to her and take her hands in mine. “Now let’s go decapitate some dude at the zoo.”