Leni stood in the doorway of the Loud House, bags packed, saying goodbye to her family as she waited on the taxi to take her to the airport.

"I'll miss you guys like, SO much while I'm gone!" She said, fighting tears back as she group hugged as many of her siblings as she could get her arms around.

They returned her hug, before Leni let go to wipe a tear from her eye.

"We'll miss you too, Leni, but it's only for the weekend. You'll see us again before you know it!" Lincoln assured her.

Leni had applied for a paid internship at a major fashion label, and had actually been accepted. Since then, every few weekends she'd have to travel to a major city to help prepare the clothing for display and wear by the models. This weekend was no different.

The cab pulled up and honked the horn. "That's my ride, I love you guys!"

Leni blew them a kiss and set off towards the cab as the driver loaded her things into the trunk. As the cab drove away, Leni pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to the driver from the back seat.

"Can you like, stop at this address for a sec? I got some stuff I need to pick up before we get the airplane place."

"You mean the airport?" the cabbie asked.

"Yeah, there!" Leni replied happily.

He read the address and raised an eyebrow, looking back at the smiling blonde teenager in the back seat. "You sure you want to go here, miss?"

"Uh huh!" Leni nodded, her smile shining brightly as her sunglasses bounced atop her head.

"Okay..." The driver turned off the highway and down towards the docks. Within a few minutes, he stopped outside a busy-looking shipyard.

"I'll just be one second, I promise!" Leni said, hopping out of the car and heading into a maze of shipping containers.

Leni hummed a happy tune to herself as she counted houw many containers she had already passed.

"Thirteen, fourteen, ah! Here it is!" She stood in front of a container no different than the thousands stacked all around her. Leni bent down and took the combination lock securing it in her hand. "Ugh... which numbers opened this thing, again?" she said aloud. "Oh, yeah!" She reached into her bra and pulled out a small sticky note with a combination written on it.

"Thank goodness I still have this." she said to herself, entering the combination and struggling to open the heavy steel doors. As she does, lights inside the container flicker to life, their hum filling the room as Leni stepped inside.

The back and parts of the wall had been decorated with fashion posters and a few mannequins with partially finished dresses on them.

On one side of the wall sat a workbench and a chair, and mounted above it on the wall was her Accuracy International AWM, chambered in .308.

"There it is!" Leni smiled, reaching for the sniper rifle. She took it off the wall and laid it on the workbench. She then produced a guitar case from beneath the bench and opened it next to the rifle. The outside of the case was decorated with old band stickers and a little beaten up. But it was Luna's old case, so beggars couldn't be choosers. She began taking the rifle apart into its main pieces before opening the guitar case. Inside, each part of the weapon fit exactly into the foam outline within. It was a perfect disguise. After placing the weapon inside its case, she snapped it shut. Leni turned around to the other side of the container and lifted a floral print duffle bag onto the bench, straining under its weight.

"Phew!" she said, wiping her brow as she unzipped the bag. Stacks of hundred dollar bills burst from it as she grabbed a single stack and stuffed it in her purse. "That should do it!"

Leni gathered her extra gear and headed out of the container, remembering to lock it.

She reappeared out of the maze of shipping containers and back into the cab, her new additional luggage in the back seat with her.

"Whatcha got there, miss?"

"Oh, nothing! Just some stuff for work."

The cab continued on towards the airport as Leni decided to pop her headphones in and listen to some music. The town of Royal Woods passed by as she watched it from the window. This would be the fifth time this summer she'd taken a trip out of town, but after the initial butterflies of the first few trips had passed, she'd settled into a calming routine.

Before she knew it, the cab had pulled into the terminal at the airport. "Here you are, miss," the cabbie said, leaning over to look at her.

"Oh, can you like, take me to the important people airport?"

He raised an eyebrow. "The executive terminal?"

"Yeah! That's the one!" Leni replied, her smile never fading. It was infectious, spreading over the cab drivers worn features.

"No problem miss." He turned back around and continued down a few blocks more to a much smaller, yet more expensive looking terminal.

He and Leni exited the car as he removed her bags from the trunk. "You sure you don't need any help with your bags?" he asked.

"Nope, I'll be okay, thanks." Leni said, reaching into her purse and handing him two crisp $100 dollar bills. "If anyone asks, you drove me straight to the airplane place, okay?"

He looked down at the money, then looked back at his customer. She couldn't have been more than sixteen, where would a kid come up with this kind of money? Especially considering the neighborhood he'd picked her up from. It was middle class at best.

Regardless of the circumstances, he gladly took the money. "Sure thing miss. You have a safe trip."

The cab pulled away from the curb as Leni took her luggage into the terminal. She was greeted by a pilot waiting in the lobby.

He was quite handsome, though Leni couldn't say she approved of his tacky uniform. But, she figured he didn't have a choice.

"Barbie?" he asked in a soft voice.

"No, I'm... wait," Leni paused, a finger on her chin in thought. "Wait yeah! Yes, I'm her."

He nodded and smiled. "Follow me, your jet is all ready to depart."

With that, a few concierges took her bags, and one attempted to take her guitar case.

"No, thanks, this is my carry-on," she smiled.

"Of course, ma'am," he nodded, herding the other bags towards the tarmac.

A gleaming private jet waited for her, a red carpet leading from the stairs into the aircraft.

"Will you be needing anything before takeoff?" The pilot asked as they walked towards the plane.

"Just some water, please," she said before her stomach growled. "And maybe a caesar wrap."

Leni climbed the stairs and took in the luxury surrounding her. Mahogany panels and plush leather seats greeted her as she picked the comfiest looking one. On the table in front of her sat a manilla folder, the words 'Barbie' stamped on it in bright red.

She opened it and emptied the contents onto the table. A few large pictures of a scary looking man with a goatee and sunglasses slid across the table, as well as a few other papers with enough words on them to give her a headache just looking at them.

Luckily for her, the important parts were highlighted for her!

"Hmm," she said to herself as the attendant closed the jet door and brought her a bottle of water and caesar wrap as requested. The jet began to taxi as she read through her papers.

'Drug smuggler'

'Crime boss'

'Suspect in ordering multiple hits'

'Bad man'

These highlighted phrases stuck out as she looked at the other papers in the folder. Leni pulled out a map with routes and routines of her target, all color coordinated, showing where he'd be on an average day and when he'd be there, and with how much protection. Leni wasn't one for wordy lists, but she could understand color coded maps like it was her job. Which, in this case, was true.

She pushed her dossier to the side of the table as she began eating her wrap. Once the plane was in the air, Leni marveled at the rapidly shrinking town. She tried to spot her house as she flew, but soon they were enveloped by clouds, spoiling her fun. Oddly enough, long rides in the van would leave her with a serious case of car-sickness. But airplanes were no problem for some reason.

She told her parents that she was going to LA but in reality, this jet was bound for New York City. She went where the jobs took her, but for the most part, her work was limited to the northeast, since she was only available on weekends.

Not many people in her line of work could set their own schedules and still get contracts, but she had a perfect record so far, and her reputation in this industry mattered to her as much as the reputation she hoped to build in the fashion industry. Once she had enough money to start her own label, that is.

Now that she was in the clouds and done with her wrap, she pulled out the map of her mark's favorite locations. She noticed an eatery he stopped at every Saturday for lunch had a perfect vantage point via a tall abandoned building a few blocks away. She wrote down the address and leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up and reclining in her seat. It would still be a few hours until they touched down.

The jolt of the aircraft touching down at JFK woke her. Leni gathered her papers and put them back into the envelope before putting them in her purse. The stewardess opened the door as a luxury taxi waited for her on the tarmac. She loaded her luggage into the car and hopped in.

"What's the fanciest hotel in town?" she asked as she shut the door.

"That'd be the Waldorf Astoria, Miss..."

"Le—" she stopped herself just in time. "Barbie."

"It's pretty expensive, are you sure you want to go there?" he asked.

"Yes." Leni nodded happily. "To there!"

She tried to take in all the skyscrapers, but found her a crick building in her neck. Before she knew it, she was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.

"Aw, why are we stopped?" Leni asked.

"Typical log jam Miss Barbie. That's New York for ya," the cabbie replied. "Say, while we're stuck here, what brings a gal like you to the big apple anyway?"

"Oh, I came here for work," Leni giggled.

"Work? Darlin' you can't be more than fifteen!"

"Oh, I'm a paid intern," Leni replied.

"Really, who for? A music label?"

Leni looked at him quizzically. "Music? No, I want to be a fashion designer."

"I see," the driver replied. "So what's with the guitar?"

"Oh, it's not a—" she stopped herself in the knick of time. "I mean, I like to play it in my free time."

"Really? Well we got some time now," he said, turning off the radio. "I'd love to hear some live music."

Leni grew nervous. "Oh, well... I uhm... I still have to... what's the word for playing it while you twist those twisty thingies at the top?"

"Tuning it?" he replied flatly.

"Yeah, that's it! I have to tuning it!"

Thankfully, the traffic had moved on enough to reach the awning to the historic New York hotel.

"That'll be $45.00 miss Barbie."

Leni produced another hundred from her purse.

"Keep the change!" She sang happily. Leni truly loved it when she made people smile.

The cab drove away as she checked into the hotel. The penthouse suite was reserved under the name 'Barbie'. She still had a whole afternoon to spend in NYC, and figured she'd drop her things off in the room before heading out to shop and buy souvenirs for her family.

She set her luggage down in her opulent suite and headed out to fifth avenue. Leni browsed the shops as though she was born to be there. She was a 16 year old girl with a wad of cash fat enough to choke a horse. Nothing was too good for her sisters and her little brother. The sisters were easy to shop for; she bought Luna signed Mic Swagger set list, Lori a pair of khaki shorts identical to the ones she normally wore, only these cost $300 for some reason, a rubber chicken signed by Bob Hope for Luan, a prototype baseball bat not set to be released until next year for Lynn, a first edition of Edgar Allen Poe's complete works for Lucy, a designer pageant dress for Lola... or was it Lana? Anyway, a designer dress for one, and an industrial drain snake signed by Billy Mays for the other. She bought Lisa a new telescope to replace the one Lily had knocked over, and she bought Lily a mobile for above her crib with the cutest little rocket ships hanging from it.

All that left was Lincoln. He was a bit harder to buy for, considering Leni knew next to nothing about comics. She found herself off fifth avenue and into a comic book shop with a cardboard cutout of that guy her brother liked so much in the window. Leni walked in as the bell on the door announced her arrival.

The sweaty nerd behind the counter nearly choked on his pocky when he noticed her walk in.

"Something I can help you with?" He managed, frantically wiping his cheeto-stained fingers on his cargo shorts.

"Uhm, yeah. I'm looking for like, comics about a guy who solves mysteries," she said, perusing the comics behind the glass case in front of her.

"Ace Savvy?" he grunted.

"Yes! I'll take one Ace Savvy please," she said opening her purse.

"Uh, miss, you realize that Ace Savvy number one retails for eight hundred dollars?" he replied condescendingly.

"Pfft," Leni huffed, producing her wad of cash. "One, two, three..." she counted out eight hundreds and handed them to the pit stained proprietor.

He unlocked the case and handed the plastic encased comic book to her. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Oh, no, it smells terrible in here. Buh-bye!"

Leni headed back to her hotel, dragging her purchases through the marble floored lobby. She finally made it back to her suite and piled all her shopping bags on the couch. Leni flopped down on her bed, kicking her shoes off and curling up beneath the covers. Tomorrow was going to be quite the busy day.

Leni was up with the sun on Saturday, but not because she had somewhere to be. Her daily beauty regimen took some time to complete. Once she was primped for the day's events, she carried her guitar case and a floral print backpack with a few 'peace' stickers and rainbows decorating it downstairs and walked to the building she had picked out yesterday, jamming out to the music on her phone as she went. The crowded sidewalks of NYC didn't leave much room for dancing, but she played the hand she was dealt. Leni finally arrived at her destination after a bit of a hike. As she entered, a security guard stopped her.

"S'cuse me miss, but what's your business here?" he asked sternly through a handlebar mustache.

Leni glanced around quickly. How could she explain away a guitar case in an office building? Luckily for her, she spotted a coffee shop on the first floor.

"Oh, I'm here to play in the coffee shop at lunch time. I just wanted time to warm up a little early." Leni hated lying, but sometimes it came with the territory. She batted her eyebrows a few times and the guard relented. Once inside she headed towards the coffee shop, but only for a moment. She waited near it until the guard at the front questioned someone else before she slipped out of the shop and into the stairwell. She had learned the hard way on her first job that elevators didn't take you to the roof. She nearly missed her mark that day. But so far, her perfect record remained intact.

Leni climbed the stairs, humming a jaunty tune to herself as she ascended. Years of cardio had trained her legs to feel no pain as she hefted her guitar case up the multiple flights of stairs leading to the roof access.

Once she made it to the roof, she set her case down and removed her backpack. Leni merrily hummed a song she'd gotten stuck in her head in the elevator at the hotel as she removed a set of binoculars.

"Here's my extra eyes," she said to herself, observing her target's favorite eatery. Ribbons tied on the awnings outside the restaurant gave her a sense of wind direction. Most folks in her profession had to write down numbers and do math to figure out things like impact angle and windage, but Leni could simply look at a location and asses every variable visually. Some folks learned by doing, but Leni learned by seeing.

She set the binoculars back in the bag and retrieved a bipod and a long, dark tube. Leni opened her guitar case and began assembling the weapon using a song she'd come up with just for the occasion. "Upper half, lower half, one two three! Put them together and what do you see? I'll earn lots of money, handily, and I'll spend it all on my family!" she sang to herself, her rifle now assembled.

She screwed the silencer into the end of the barrel and mounted the rifle on the bipod, setting it below the ledge of the building so no one would see it until her mark arrived. Leni reached back into her floral pack and produced a collapsable folding chair, throwing it open with a flick of her wrist. She sat in it and checked her watch.

It would still be another hour before her target would be arriving. Luckily, she came prepared. She removed a copy of Teen People and began thumbing through it, legs crossed as she waited for the time to tick by. By the time she reached the back cover of the magazine, it was time to wait on her mark. She raised the rifle on the ledge, resting the legs of the bipod on it to steady her aim as she looked down the scope, sunglasses still perched perfectly atop her blonde hair.

She closed one eye and scanned the alleyways and side streets while she waited. Eventually, a convoy of red SUVs filed down the narrow street towards the diner. Leni reached a hand to the top of the scope to adjust the windage.

"Just two clickies to the right... and one clicky up," she whispered to herself. Leni laid a perfectly manicured hand on the bolt action lever and drew it back. Carefully, she fed the magazine into the rifle, closing the bolt and trying to slow down her breathing.

A loud ringing nearly startled her off the edge of the building until she realized it was only her phone.

She fished it out of her purse and noticed it was a call from home. She glanced back through her scope and saw the convoy already beginning to park. Could she talk to her family and pull off a job?

There was only one way to find out.

"Hello?" Leni answered, holding her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she struggled to align her sight picture.

"Hi Leni!" Multiple voices shouted in unison. Looked like she was on speakerphone so the whole family could talk to her. But why were they calling her now?

'Oh no, I forgot to text them when I got here!' She thought. Well, that was one mystery solved.

"How do you like LA? Have you seen any movie stars yet?" She picked out Lincoln's voice from the pack.

"Uhm, LA is great! So many... uhm... california people walking around!"

Leni waited as the car doors opened. Lots of greasy mobsters climbed out as she scanned each face. She was guessing her mark was in the middle car.

"I got you guys some presents for when I get home," she added, eliciting a pack of squeals from her siblings. Her mark got out of his car as she spotted the outline of a ballistic vest worn beneath his button up shirt. "Looks like someone's wearing armor!" she sang to herself.

"Who's wearing armor?" Lincoln asked over the phone.

"Uhm, no one!" Leni stammered, forgetting she was on the phone as she dropped the rifles magazine and unloaded the chamber before searching her case for her armor piercing rounds. She deftly retrieved the magazine with the black tipped bullets and loaded them into her rifle. She pushed the bolt closed and took a deep breath before a long, slow exhale. Leni lined up her shot, the crosshairs just above her mark's chest as she placed her finger on the trigger and began to squeeze gently.

Leni smiled as she waited for the recoil before remembering she was still on the phone! How was she going to explain away a gunshot? Even a silenced one?

"Hey, you guys, can you do me a favor?" Leni asked as her siblings agreed.

"Can you all yell as loud as you can for me?"

Silence, but only for a moment.

"Okay," they replied before yelling.

Leni pulled the trigger, the sound of the shot drowned out by her yelling siblings. Her unblinking eye stayed in the scope as she watched the bullet meet its target. A red mist exploded out of the marks back as his bodyguards fanned out, guns drawn.

Leni smiled.

"All done!" she said, unscrewing the silencer and removing the bipod.

"Done with what?" a voice from the phone said. She really had to stop forgetting she was talking to her family.

"Uhm, intern stuff! Can I call you guys once I get to the hotel?" she asked, kicking herself for not having just thought to say that sooner.

"Sure Leni, we love you!"

"I love you too! Bye!"

"Phew," Leni said as the sound of an approaching ambulance and police cars echoed in the distance. She scrolled through her contacts and found 'Ken'. She pressed call and waited as it rang.

"Hello?" a voice from the other end said.

"Mike, Charlie," Leni said happily. She had no idea why she had to call him and tell him that after a job was done, but those were the rules, and she didn't question it.

"I think you have the wrong number."

The call ended as Leni looked at her phone in confusion. "I called Ken, right?" she asked herself before remembering she fell for this every time. He was supposed to say she had the wrong number in case anyone was listening.

Leni cheerfully disassembled her rifle and put it back into the case, packing up her chair and other gear and heading off the roof before she stopped at the door.

"Oops! Almost forgot!" She set her guitar case down and hurried over to the ledge to collect her shell casing. "Can't leave you here, little guy!"

Leni started down the stairs with her gear, more than ready to keep exploring New York now that she had an extra day. But, before she could continue her big city adventure, she had to meet 'Ken'. Leni was a bit tired by the time she reached the lobby. She ducked into the bathroom and began fixing the small imperfections in her appearance that resulted from her hike up and down the stairs of a skyscraper. Once she was ready for primetime, she strode confidently out of the bathroom, her gear in hand.

She had almost made it out the door when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Leni flinched, but slowly looked over her shoulder.

'Oh no, it's the building police!' she thought, plastering her most innocent looking grin across her face as the same security guard from earlier eyed her suspiciously.

"S'cuse me, miss, but aren't you supposed to play in the coffee shop soon?" he asked, eyebrow raised in scrutiny.

'Why does everyone think I play guitar just because I'm carrying a guitar case?' Leni thought in a panic, eyes darting over the security guards shoulders as she looked desperately for a distraction. She knew all she had to do was make it to the curb and hail a cab, then she'd be home free.

"Oh, uh, well, I was just doing that thing, like, where you make sure your guitar sounds right... what's that called again?"

"Tuning?" he asked.

"Yeah, tuning! I was just tuning it and I remembered I left my guitar plucker back at my hotel room! So I need to go get it so I can play some music for the coffee people," Leni explained, her smile spreading back across her lips.

The security guard narrowed his eyes at her. "You staying out of trouble, miss?" he asked threateningly.

Leni paused to think up a reply while two police cars and an ambulance raced by on the street behind her, sirens wailing.

"Uh... yes?"

Before the moment could get any more tense, Leni spotted her chance to escape.

"Look, that guy's emptying his coffee mug into the drinking fountain!" She gasped, pointing over his shoulder.

The heavy set security guard turned around and caught the culprit red handed.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

Leni power walked out of the lobby and onto the sidewalk where she quickly hailed a cab. Being a beautiful blonde girl certainly had its perks in NYC.

"Where to, ma'am?" her driver asked.

"The Walter Historia please."

The driver glanced back at her in his rear view mirror as she put her earbuds in.

He pulled away from the curb, knowing where she meant.

"Oh!" Leni interrupted, removing an earbud. "Don't go this way, there's a real mess down there."

The cab driver leaned out of his window to get a better look down the street. Sure enough, flashing lights and a log jam of cars waited just a few blocks over. He turned down a side street as Leni replaced her earbud and marveled at all the tall buildings and interesting people roaming around the big apple.

Leni climbed out of the cab with her guitar case and headed into the lobby. She certainly loved spending time in fancy hotels, but it didn't come without a pang of guilt. Sure, she had fun living the high life by herself, but it just wasn't the same without her family. The lonely feeling settled in as she waited for the elevator. It was going to be a long ride to her suite. The elevator played the same bland tune as before, only this time Leni wasn't keen on humming it. Once she got off at her floor, she produced her keycard. Thank goodness the staff was nice enough to write her room number down on it! She only needed to drop her things off before heading back into the city.

In her dossier, there was a meeting place she was to find her handler at for payment. She had done this a few times before, and always met with the same person. Someone who went by the name of 'Ken'. He always wore a hat and sunglasses, so she wasn't even sure what he looked like. It had also taken her three jobs before she realized the connection between her codename and his. She hailed a cab and took it to the train station, where she waited patiently in a perfectly matched spy outfit she'd brought just for the occasion. She was more than happy to step out in public looking so fabulous, even if the whole purpose of the outfit was to not look conspicuous.

Leni found herself people watching behind her own sunglasses before a man in a business suit, hat and sunglasses with a bit of stubble sat down and began reading the paper. Once the paper was spread out in front of him, he whispered.

"Barbie."

"No, my name is... Oh, right, Ken!" she remembered, turning to face him.

"Eyes forward, Barbie!" he reminded her.

"Oh, sorry!" Leni whispered, correcting herself.

"I don't have time to go over why we use code names again, Barbie." he said, reaching into his pocket and producing a key to a locker. He slid it on the bench over to her, still hiding behind his newspaper. "The locker number is on the key. We received confirmation of completion of the contract forty five minutes ago. We'll be in touch."

With that, 'Ken' folded up his paper and calmly boarded the next train as it came by. Leni grabbed the key and headed off towards the rows of lockers. She matched the number on the key and opened it. Inside sat a floral print duffle bag, with a sticky note attached that read: 'Per your request'.

Leni had never liked the drab colored bags she usually received payment in, and suggested a wardrobe change. She squealed to herself as she yanked the bag from the locker to look it over. "Oh my gosh, it's adorable!"

Her celebration was short lived, however, once she had a horrible realization. It clashed with her outfit! That certainly put a damper on her joy, but it didn't matter. She took a peek inside the bag and found that old dude one the hundreds looking back at her. She smiled, zipped it back up and headed back to her hotel room, her 'fashion intern' business taken care of.

She found herself outside the door to her opulent suite once again. Once inside, she dropped her new duffle bag and hefted her guitar case on the bed, opening it up. She took a hotel towel and spread it out on the desk in her room before laying out the rifle, and a few cleaning supplies she brought with her. Before putting on her rubber gloves, she dialed up her house, placing the phone on speaker. Once it began to ring, she got to work.

"Hello?" A voice she was pretty sure was Lynn's answered the phone.

"Hi Lynn! It's Leni!" she said happily, just hearing her sister's voice was enough to assuage her guilt a bit.

"Oh, hey Leni! How's California?"

"It's good," she said, talking apart her weapon and laying each piece out and meticulously cleaning the little bit of carbon and old CLP that had accumulated on the moving parts. "It's really crowded here! Like, how can so many people use a sidewalk at once?"

"I dunno," Lynn answered unenthusiastically. "So, what did you get me?" she wondered excitedly, hoping to squeeze and answer out of her usually gullible sister.

Leni smiled. "You'll just have to wait till I get home to find out," she said in a sing-song voice, rubbing the firing pin with a rag.

"Aw, man... hey, wait! What if we picked you up from the airport? Then we wouldn't have to wait!"

Leni gasped. "That's a great idea!"

"Cool, I'll go ask Mom and Dad if it's okay, see ya tomorrow, love ya!" Lynn said hurriedly.

"Okay, love you too!" Leni hung up the phone, happily going back to cleaning her weapon before a realization hit her like a ton of bricks. How was she going to explain a guitar case to her family? How was she going to explain $80,000 in a duffle bag? She dropped her cleaning supplies and hurriedly redialed her house. It rang and rang as her heart raced.

"Hello?" Thankfully, it seemed Lynn hadn't gone far from the phone. Maybe there was still time.

"Lynn, it's Leni! You guys don't have to pick me up from the airport—"

"Nope, Mom and Dad already said it was cool. We can't wait to see you!"

The excitement in her voice came through her cell phone loud and clear. It looked like her whole family wanted to reunite with her at the same time.

"Me too!" she forced herself to reply happily.

'Not good!' she thought.

Leni hung up the phone, her rifle still in pieces before her. She rubbed her palms over her eyes and sighed. She'd really done it this time. Leni rolled back from her desk and looked out of her window. The shimmering lights of NYC reflected in her window as she lost herself in the hustle of the city that never sleeps. Leni never gave much thought to her work. She knew her sisters always joked about how she wasn't exactly smart, but she wasn't too dumb to realize what they were saying. If she was honest, it hurt. Despite her best efforts, she had never proved any of them wrong.

That was, until she got this job. Unfortunately, she was sworn to secrecy. 'Ken' made that point very clear on her first assignment. Leni's father had taken her to the range one day, and she was a natural. Something about the simplicity of aiming and squeezing a trigger just spoke to her, the way fashion and design did. Her father let her use his rusty old hunting rifle and she went to the shooting range every day after school.

It was there that she was approached by the man who would become her handler 'Ken'.

Leni abhorred violence, and would have never considered hurting anyone. But, in the true style of a master manipulator, 'Ken' managed to explain the details of her job in such a way, that she now legitimately believed her job was no more unusual for a high school junior to have than waiting tables at a diner. After all, everyone they sent her after was bad, their files said so, and why would they lie?

The great injustice in her taking this incredibly lucrative job was that she had to contribute to her parent's bank account in secret. Leni made more money than she could ever hope to spend without raising suspicion, which is why she kept her extra earnings in her storage container. She hadn't counted it in a long time, but she absolutely adored the disguise she got to wear when making deposits into the family bank account.

Still, what she wanted most was to be acknowledged for her contributions. When their parents left, Leni had almost no responsibilities. To any other Loud child, it would be heaven on earth. But not to her. She was always babied, always treated like she was a danger to herself or others if left unsupervised.

Which, she was ashamed to admit, might have been a little bit true. But it still didn't change the fact that no one ever expected anything of her, and that hurt. Anytime she did anything right, all her siblings met her with surprised praise, as though it were a miracle from heaven that their idiot sister Leni managed to not screw something up.

She had to admit, there was a cathartic element associated with her job. With every ticket punched, she proved to herself and the world that she could do something not only right, but amazingly well.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.

"Room Service!"

Leni looked towards the door, raising an eyebrow.

'Did I order room service?' she wondered, putting a towel over her disassembled weapon and checking the peep-hole. Sure enough, a bellhop in his kitschy little uniform stood behind a cart, waiting for her to answer the door. Leni cracked the door as far as the chain lock would allow.

"Uhm, I like, didn't order any room service,"

The bellhop picked up a piece of paper from the tray. "This is from a mister... Ken?"

"Oh!" Leni replied happily, closing the door and undoing the chain. The young man pushed the cart inside her room as she fished out two hundred dollar bills. "Here ya go!"

The young man's eyes widened as she pushed him out the door. "Holy sh—"

She didn't have time for foul mouthed bellhops as she closed the door, turning her full attention to the silver dome covering her dinner. Leni picked up the card and read it for herself.

"For a job well done. Congratulations on number five, ace."

Leni blushed. "Oh, that Ken is such a sweetie."

She set the card down and removed the tray, steam rising off of a steak and lobster dinner with all the fixings. Below the food sat a bottle of vintage wine, which she was all too prepared to set aside. She wasn't 21, and wouldn't even dream of disappointing her parents and sisters by breaking the law. Well, that law, anyway.

She sat on her bed and pulled the cart in front of her, flipping on the television to the local news.

"Breaking news tonight, the man linked to multiple organized crime syndicates was gunned down in Brooklyn today, a lone assassin firing a single bullet from an undetermined distance marks the fifth murder of criminal figures of this style in cities across the untied states."

Leni smiled before changing the channel. A good employee always verifies the job is done before clocking out. That's what her sister Lori told her when she picked up her first job.

She finished her food, pushing the cart outside and hung the do not disturb sign on the door. She made quick work of cleaning her rifle and then ran herself a bath. The complementary robe and slippers were incredibly soft as she slipped into them, waiting for the jacuzzi tub to fill.

Finally, it was ready. She slipped off her robe and stepped into the bathroom. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she paused. Her birthday suit looked as good as ever, but no perceived flaw, no matter how minor, escaped her gaze. She put a hand on her abs, testing the flatness of her tummy.

'Maybe shouldn't have eaten, like, the entire steak...' she thought, disappointed in herself. 'Whatevs, I'll just get on the treadmill before my flight.'

Leni slid into the bubbly abyss and turned on the jets, the air bubbles messaging the worries of the day into nothing.

Tomorrow was going to be quite the challenge, hiding $80,000 and a rifle in a guitar case from her family. But, it was simply another opportunity to prove to herself that she could pull this off if she put her mind to it.

After her relaxing night in, Leni was ready to head back to the airport. As she climbed into the cab, Leni was confident she could manage a reunion with her family without them asking about her extra bags. She figured they'd be so distracted by her gifts that they wouldn't even notice. All she had to do once she arrived home was stash her weapon and money until she could call a cab to the pier.

Easy peasy japanesy.

Leni tried to soak in the rest of her time in the city as she traveled to the airport. The tall buildings never ceased to amaze her as the stop and go traffic inched towards JFK. At long last she arrived at the airport. A man with a sign with her name on it waited for her, taking her past security and to her waiting private jet. If there was one thing she loved about this job, it was flying. And not just any flying, but being aloft in her own secure aircraft was nothing short of magical.

She buckled herself in positively giddy with excitement as she listened to the whine of the jet engines spinning up. In truth, if fashion designer didn't pan out, Leni would have loved to try her hand at being a pilot. She had even done a little research into flying lessons, but the manuals and publications pilots were required to read were nothing short of staggering.

Leni was no fan of reading, and everyone knew it. She had quickly deleted her search history, lest anyone find out and ridicule her for it. The jet rumbled forward to the active runway, Leni took in all the details of the airport. Such a busy place, she wondered how they coordinated it all. In no time, they were on the runway, the acceleration of the jet pushed her back into her seat.

She reveled in the thrill of takeoff, watching the ground shrink below her as they pulled up, rapidly gaining altitude. She enjoyed the return flight's more than the flight to her destination. When she was traveling to a job location, there was much more stress involved, but the return trip was all smiles, with nothing to do but daydream and look out the window on the ground below. The sky was clear, and Leni was more than happy to thoughtlessly stare down at the ground below her.

Unfortunately, return flights always seemed shorter than the arrival flights. Before she knew it, the pilot was announcing their descent into Royal Woods regional. Leni reviewed her plan in her head one more time. Her family would probably be waiting in the van, the hassle of herding ten kids into the airport was too much for anyone but possibly her mother, father, or Lori to handle. She would quickly distribute the gifts, hoping that would draw attention away from her 'guitar'.

The pilots greased the jet's wheels onto the runway as Leni gathered her bags. She stepped off the ramp and headed towards the terminal. Waiting at the curb was a familiar sight: Vanzilla, packed full of her family. As soon as they saw her come out of the terminal doors, the sliding door screeched open. A flood of little girls and one little boy poured out, swarming her as she struggled to hug them all.

She got right down to business before they could ask any questions. She broke into her bags (the correct one, not the bag stuffed to the seems with cash, thank goodness) and began handing out the souvenirs. Each sister found themselves far too enamored with their gift to question the extra bags. The last sibling left to receive a present from Leni was Lincoln, the hardest one to shop for in her mind.

He had waited patiently behind his sisters, and Leni hoped she was about to reward him properly.

"How was LA, Leni?" he asked genuinely. She could always trust him to take an interest in her life, even when the others only did so passively.

"It was like, super hot, but totally fun." Leni replied, fishing into her bags for his comic.

"I got you something, I hope you like it!"

Leni produced the plastic wrapped comic and handed it to him.

Lincoln's breath seemed to catch in his throat, his hands reaching out, tremors nearly keeping him from grasping it. At first, Leni worried he didn't like it. Before she could say anything, he spoke.

"Leni... do you know what this is?"

"Is it the wrong comic guy?" she replied, worried. "I asked the man, and he said this was—"

Lincoln latched himself around her waist in a tight hug. Her fears relieved, she hugged him back. "I'm like, super glad you like it, Lincoln."

After everyone had their gifts in hand, they piled into the car. Leni plugged her earbuds in, trying to stave off her usual carsickness. Something about Vanzilla just did this to her.

Meanwhile, in the back seat...

Lincoln couldn't believe what he was holding. It was issue number one! There were only twenty six known and verified copies left on earth! He was terrified to even get his fingerprints on the plastic protector that covered it. He didn't dare read it; he could look up the comic online later. He flipped it over to the back and noticed a pricing sticker.

"Eight hundred dollars?" he gasped. Where on earth did Leni get that kind of money? He glanced over at Lisa sitting next to him. She appeared to be doing math on a calculator. "What are you doing, Lis?"

"Running numbers," she replied, not looking up from her calculator. "According to this, Leni spent over nine thousand dollars on our gifts alone."

Lincoln's eyes widened. "No... there's no way that's right," he said, though he knew better than to question Lisa's math.

"Trusht me, Lincoln. I've been following the money trail for a while now, and I don't believe our dear, simple Leni is at all what she seems."

Lincoln scoffed. "How do you figure?"

"As you know, I'm the one who makes sure the light's stay on in this family, and as such, I have unfettered access to Mother and Father's bank accounts. Before Leni began her internship, I had to do some creative accounting to keep all the utilities flowing. Once she began, my accounting prowess seemed unneeded. Suddenly, Mother and Father had enough money to cover all monthly expenses, though neither of them had reported receiving a raise, or a windfall of extra currency."

Lincoln was still not convinced. "C'mon, that's just a coincidence! We've been getting better at saving water and turning off lights when we leave the room. In a house as full as ours, that adds up!" he argued.

Lisa pushed her glasses up against the bridge of her tiny nose. "While true, we could live completely by candlelight, and still not see anywhere near the savings I've been tracking. And, to top it off..." Lisa reached into her pocket and pulled out her smartphone, opening up a graph of bank statements. "Every week after she returns from one of her excursions, our account balances see an increase, a deposit from an unnamed source." Lisa put the phone away and folded her arms. "Coincidence? I think not."

Lincoln stared blankly at his sister, trying to take in this wild theory. "But, she even told us it was an unpaid internship! Even if she were the one doing it, why would she lie?"

Lisa sighed, her shoulder's slumping in defeat. "That reasoning still escapes me. Even the most analytically sound minds cannot possibly predict the motivations of a girl like her."

He smiled patting his sister on the shoulder, even though he knew she didn't much care for physical contact. "Look, this is Leni we're talking about here. Do you think she even knows how to deposit money into a bank account?"

She had a tough time arguing that point. Leni could barely spell her own name, let alone secretively add to the family's funds at the bank downtown without anyone getting suspicious. "Well... maybe it isn't Leni, but whoever they are must have some deep pockets."

Satisfied that he'd heard Lisa out for long enough, he turned his attention back to his gift. He still couldn't believe he was holding one of the last copies of the original Ace Savvy number 1 in existence. That amazing fact got him thinking. Eight hundred dollars was quite a lot of money, and if Lisa's math was correct (and let's face it, it was), then Leni really did have money stashed somewhere!

He picked his head up from his comic and looked towards the front of the car. Leni sat a row ahead of him, peacefully bobbing her head to her music as his other sisters chattered about their gifts. They all loved Leni, but sometimes her... lack of wits, got annoying rather quickly. It was no secret that she wanted desperately to improve herself, but, for whatever reason, she seemed unable to grasp simple concepts and ideas. With the rare exception of lock-picking, wood carving, and fashion design, there didn't seem like there was much she could do.

Most of the time, Lincoln felt genuinely sorry for her. On the rare occasion when she did try her hand at something new, or one of her sister's wanted to try their luck at teaching her something, they would all run out of patience and give up, but not before making Leni feel worse about her intelligence that she already did. She would always seem to bounce back, becoming the happy, carefree beauty they'd all grown to love, but in those times when she had to come to grips with her own shortcomings, Lincoln could sense her raw pain and disappointment in herself.

It hurt him just to know how much she struggled, but what could he do? He was just a boy.

In the time he'd spaced out, lost in his own thoughts after his chat with Lisa, Vanzilla was pulling into the driveway of the Loud House. His sisters all piled out of the car, racing inside to assemble, frame, or otherwise play with their gifts, leaving just Leni and Lincoln standing outside the car.

"Thanks again for the comic, Leni, I love it!" he repeated. He couldn't wait to tell Clyde what an awesome sister he had.

Leni beamed at him. "You're welcome! I'm just glad I bought the right one," she replied, opening the trunk of the van.

"Here, let me help you carry these in," Lincoln offered as the door swung open.

"Thanks Lincoln," she said, looking over her bags. To her horror, she noticed she had brought two matching floral print bags! One contained eighty grand, the other, her dirty clothes. Leni could have kicked herself for not realizing it sooner. She had to be sure she picked the right one. Before she could stop him, Lincoln stepped in front of him.

"Oh, cool! Did you buy Luna a guitar? Can I see it?" he asked, too quickly for her to answer as he grabbed the guitar case. He pulled it out of the car and it nearly yanked his shoulder from his socket as it plonked to the ground.

"No, it's just her old case! I... uh..." Leni didn't like lying, especially not to someone she loved, but she had to think of something convincing, and had to do it fast. "I converted it into a cute suitcase!"

Lincoln raised an eyebrow, pausing as Leni flashed him a sheepish grin, hoping he would buy that. "Doesn't seem like it would hold a lot of clothes," he said, hefting it back up into the van with all his might. "Besides, what do you have in here, rocks?"

"No, it's like, just heavy clothes!" she said nervously, plucking the guitar case from her little brother's grip and lifting it as though it were empty. "And nothing else!"

Lincoln held his suspicion, but shrugged it off. Leni could sometimes act a bit strange when it came to her personal belongings. Lincoln looked back at the trunk and noticed the matching bags. "Didn't you only leave with one of these?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Uh, yeah, I saw it in a store in Brooklyn and liked it so much, I bought it again!" Leni grabbed both bags and scampered into the house to avoid any more questions. Lincoln was left standing alone by the car, Leni having miraculously carried all her bags inside the house on her own.

"Wait..." he said to himself, narrowing his eyes. "Did she say 'Brooklyn?'"

Lincoln paid her slip of the tongue no mind. After all, Leni has mixed up more common words before. Lincoln headed inside the house, ready to radio Clyde about Leni's amazing gift she got for him. He made his way up the stairs, the hallways unusually empty as each of his sisters were more than likely still admiring/using their presents. Lincoln opened the door to his room and gabbed his radio.

"Clyde, come in!" he said excitedly.

"Go for Clyde, what's up Lincoln?"

"Dude, you'll never guess what Leni got for me from her trip to California!"

"What?"

"Ace Savvy issue number one!"

A long pause fell over the radio before Clyde responded. "Quit playin'."

"I'm serious! Issue one!"

"As soon as I'm done organizing my Dad's Elizabeth Taylor collection, I'm coming over! I gotta see it with my own eyes!"

Lincoln set his radio down and found his laptop. A quick internet search and he found a version of the comic on the internet. He excitedly read through each page, still in slight disbelief that he actually owned a copy of issue number one.

Meanwhile, in Leni's room...

Lori had already left to hang out with Bobby in her new shorts, so Leni had the room to herself. Leni set the guitar case in the closet, and her duffle bag lazily thrown onto her sister's bed. She gladly flopped down onto her own bed, grateful to be home. With Lori gone, it was time for her to conduct what had become a ritual of sorts. Leni reached for her purse resting on the nightstand. She fished around for something, her hand searching clumsily until she found it.

"There you are, little guy!" she said, retrieving the shell casing she collected from the rooftop. She held the shining brass casing between her fingers, examining its every inch. Her targets were bad guys. She knew that. They told her some of the awful things they'd done to people. Her first job was a difficult one. He, too, was a bad man. But, when the time game to put eight pounds of pressure against the trigger with the safety off, she was having trouble.

Her window was closing as he exited his car. She remembered asking herself if she could do this, if she had gotten herself in over her head. Then she thought back to her dossier. This man killed people, he kidnapped children and sold them to the highest bidder. Leni thought about her siblings. What if this man had kidnapped Lincoln, or Lana, or Lynn, or any of her sisters? What if he had taken them away from her, never to be seen again?

That anger gave her enough conviction to squeeze the trigger.

Leni retrieved a file from her nightstand and began carving a number into the side of the gleaming brass.

A number 5.

A knock at the door startled her, as the casing slipped from her fingers and onto the floor.

"Leni? Are you in there?"

It was Lola.

"Just a second!" Leni scrambled to throw her duffle bag and 'guitar' case into the closet before opening the door.

"As soon as she opened the door, the young pageant princess flung herself around Leni's waist. The surprise attack left her stumbling backwards. He foot found the casing and sent Leni falling back onto her bed, her little sister still attached. The casing went careening out of her room and down the hallway, unbeknownst to Leni.

"Thanks so much for the dress!" Lola giggled, straddling her sister and raising herself to her knees, as she sat on Leni's stomach. "Look how great I look in it!"

Leni couldn't help but laugh. "I saw it and like, totally knew you would make it look amazing!" Leni tickled her little sister, sending Lola into a fit of laughter as Leni rolled her off her belly. Lola couldn't be held down as she hopped up off the bed.

"Watch my pageant walk!" Lola said, strutting her stuff as Leni looked on and clapped.

Meanwhile, in the hallway...

Lisa had just finished setting up her telescope, and thought a juice box would be the perfect answer to her thirst for apple juice, instead of science. As she left her room, she noticed Lola tackling her older sister. Lisa would normally pay no mind to such juvenile activities, but a glint of brass tumbling from her room caught her eye.

At first, Lisa made the most obvious assumption: a tube of lipstick had escaped its perfume laden prison. As Lisa passed its final resting place, she noticed it was not what she originally thought. She stopped, reaching down to examine it.

Lisa picked it up, holding it up to her glasses.

She gasped.

This was not lipstick. Not at all.

Lisa abandoned her quest for juice as she scurried back into her room. She closed the door and climbed into the chair in front of her computer. Lisa examined the item a bit more closely before her little fingers danced across the keyboard. The more she researched, the less she believed.

"Sweet mother of discovery..." she whispered to herself, feeling clumsily around for the casing beside her computer. Lisa examined it one more time, noting the number five scratched into the side.

Meanwhile, back in Lincoln's room...

Clyde had been unable to actually get out of the house to see the comic, but instead they both found it online and read it together while maintaining radio contact. Once they reached the end, Lincoln felt a rumble in his stomach. "I'm signing off, Clyde, I gotta grab something to eat."

"Okay, see ya Lincoln!"

Lincoln carefully placed his comic in the only drawer he had with a lock on it, and opened his bedroom door. His favorite sandwich clouded out any thoughts of adventures or Ace Savvy as he strolled down the hall, only to have Lisa throw her door open. Her sudden appearance startled him as she grabbed his collar and tried to yank him into her room. Fortunately for him, she wasn't nearly as strong as she hoped.

Lincoln followed Lisa into her room as the brainy Loud closed and locked the door.

"Lisa, what's wrong?" he asked, straightening his shirt from the wrinkles she had given him trying to pull him into her room.

"Lincoln, do you remember how I speculated that Leni was contributing to the family finances?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes," he sighed wearily. Sometimes Lisa just wouldn't let a failed hypothesis go.

"Well, I've come to the conclusion that Leni is not an intern for a fashion label at all," Lisa said, pacing back and forth in front of Lincoln.

He raised an eyebrow, arms folded. "Really? Then what is she?"

Lisa stopped mid stride, and turned to face Lincoln. In the most serious tone she could muster, she replied.

"She's an ashashin for hire."

Lincoln could only hold a straight face for so long before both hearing Lisa say the word 'assassin' and implying that Leni actually was one cracked him up. He let out a torrent of laughter, holding his gut at the very idea. Lisa was not pleased.

"I expected this kind of reaction from you, so allow me to present you with exhibit A!" Lisa produced the casing that had rolled out of Leni's room.

Once Lincoln had composed himself, he gave her his attention.

"Lipstick?" he asked, still catching his breath.

"No, dingus, look closer!" Lisa snapped.

Lincoln took the casing and realized what it was. "Is this—"

"A bullet casing, from a round chambered in the .308 caliber. Moreover, as you can see from the indications on the bottom near the primer, it was also armor piercing."

He paused, glancing at the bullet casing, then back to Lisa. "But, what does this have to do with Leni?"

Lisa adjusted her glasses. "As I was on my way downstairs to acquire a juice box, I noticed a shining object come tumbling out of Leni and Lori's room. What you hold in your hand, was that object."

That was certainly unusual. Neither Leni or Lori had any use for guns or bullets. In face, the only gun in the entire house was their father's old hunting rifle, and that was locked in a safe in the attic!

"So, let me see if I have this right," Lincoln said, pinching the bridge of his nose in confusion. "You think our sister Leni, the one who still doesn't have a drivers license, who once took Lana to a beauty pageant and Lola to play in the mud at the park... is an assassin?"

After he said it out loud, it sounded kind of ridiculous.

Determination etched across her face, Lisa grabbed the edge of the chair in front of her computer and struggled to climb into it. After her third attempt, she glanced at her older brother. "A little help?"

Lincoln helped her into the chair and she began bringing up the research she'd been doing.

"I cross referenced the dates Leni began her internship with all the high profile killings performed with a .308 caliber round. She's been on four trips, five counting the one she just returned from. To date, there have been five high profile killings in cities all across the country, all with the same caliber round."

It took Lincoln a moment to snap out of his daze, brought on by the onslaught of data his sister was presenting him with. "Okay, I admit it's unlikely, but that's still no reason to think Leni is out there killing people! She didn't even go to any of these cities!"

"How do we know that? Did anyone check her plane ticket?"

"C'mon, Lisa, that's just crazy! Leni would never lie to us!"

"You don't believe she would if she believed she was protecting us? Who knows what kind of unscrupulous characters she's been working for!"

Lincoln shook his head. "No, Lisa, this has gone too far. Leni is not a hitman! She's Leni!"

She turned to him, arms folded as he stood beside her chair. "Look at what's carved on the side of the casing."

Lincoln turned the shining brass shell until he saw an etched number five.