The first job was exactly the reason I hadn't lasted long in this
same position, back in the States. The target was the manager of a night
club - one of those in the hands of the mob. He had been arrested due
to one of the girls in there getting murdered, and my goal was to get
some light on what had happened (he surely had to know) and also to find
who he worked for. And unofficially, to avoid getting to a public trial, in Andrei's words.
Couple
hours later, I had to take another shower, this time to wash real
blood. Andrei was waiting for me when I stepped out of the shower room.
"Good job, Sandy."
I
stared at him, uneasy. Then lowered my eyes. "This... this was not what
I had in mind, Boss. This is the stuff I had back in there - and I
didn't last two weeks."
He smiled gently. "So, what do you want?"
"I... I guess I want... something more. Something else. I want to feel again. I guess I want her back, you know."
Now he was grinning. "Well, I'm not her, Sandy. But... I was hoping you'd say that."
I stared at him, wondering if he could be what I needed.
"Now, boy, I need you to realize - you're asking for a test. Aren't you?"
My heart skipped a beat, half terrified, half filled with anticipation. I saw his grin, his eyes glistening with cruelty.
My voice trembled. "I - I guess... yeah, I guess that's what I'm asking."
"Okay.
But - I must warn you," his eyes said it all, "this will not be easy.
You think Kali is ruthless? ... Then wait until you see me."
I took a deep breath and nodded.
He
was beaming as he hinted me to follow him with his head. I did. Soon,
we were in his office, the door locked so no one could interrupt.
"Now, Sandy. A test is not a test if you have nothing to lose, don't you think?"
"I... guess."
"So... what will it be? What are you willing to risk?"
I tried to think, but couldn't find anything other than Key. And that was not an option. I stood in silence.
He
kept grinning like a madman. "Nothing? Well, I have an idea. If you
can't do the job, you'll have a nice vacation. Far from all this. So you
can relax, you know. Then, once you've forgotten how it feels, once
you're back to vegetating your life away, I'll pay you a visit. And I'll
make you come back."
It hit me as a train. "Shit." I muttered. "No. No, I... You can't..."
"Or,
you can go now. I won't get back to you, I'll let you live as a
law-abiding citizen, if that's what you want to do. I'll make sure Kali
doesn't go after you, either. You'll be free to start a new life. You
know, there IS a way out. This is yours."
Shit
indeed. I felt light-headed, my breath shallow and fast, my heart
thumping against my chest so hard I could hear it. A rock and a hard
place, I thought. No way out - I couldn't go back after that morning.
But the only way forward meant I couldn't possibly afford to lose. And I
still had no clue on what the test would be - I could only imagine.
I stared at his devilish grin for a good second before closing my eyes. "I won't go back now." I whispered.
He
went to search the cabinets for a folder - the file on my next job.
Then he sat in front of me, and neatly put the file before him.
"Sandy, before I show you this, you must know one thing. Once you see it, there's no going back. At all."
I had to take a deep breath, not really managing to steady myself. "Okay."
"Also,
things would be quite different if you were not in this - I'll tell you
the details later. Oh, and last thing - fair warning. YOU are my target,
Sandy. My goal is to have you working here. And correct me if I'm wrong,
but that means I have to make your life Hell."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm down, to remind myself I was there 'cause I wanted to. "I... know." My voice trembled.
"You
can go back now. I can still offer you a standard job. 9 to 5, we have
plenty of files to work on. You've seen what was it about this morning. I
can also offer you your way out, if that's what you want. Or," he
teased, gently placing the folder before me, "you can open it. And find
what you came here for."
I stared at the folder for a
while, thinking of it all. Failing wasn't an option. Neither was going
back - not even to start a new life, much less to a job I hated. I
opened the file.
The target seemed like the most
average person ever. He was a law-abiding citizen, never got into any
trouble. The reason he was there: he was a nosy journalist - who never
found anything worth publishing, anyway, nor anyone willing to hear the
bits and pieces he sometimes got.
I kept reading. The
man had an average family. A pretty good-looking wife, about his age,
and a teen daughter. They were pretty much average, too. After that
page, there was some info about his schedules, where he worked, and
whatnot. I raised my eyes and met Andrei's gaze. I saw the Void in his
eyes. I couldn't help to think that he was the devil himself.
"You
see," he started, his wicked smile betraying his words, "he's one nosy
journalist, and I'd like him to stop poking his nose around, for a
change."
That was one way to put it into words, I guess.
"To
be blunt, I'd just send someone to take care of him the usual way. Blow
up his head, forget about it all. Except, here you are."
I shuddered at the thought of it. Hell, indeed.
"You know what happens next, don't you?"
I nodded as I stumbled to find words. He went on to explain himself, almost shoving subtlety aside.
"Long
story short, you'll be using the girls to get to him. I want you to
destroy him, to shred his very soul to bits." He grinned devilishly.
"This is a test, so bonus points if you don't touch him."
I
stared at him in horror, heart pounding in my chest so fast it hurt,
ragged breathing that couldn't bring in enough oxygen. I realized there
was no going back - at all.
"Oh. One more thing. If you
do pass the test, I'll make it worth your time. I see you would like to
have a reminder of why you're here. I can give you that if you want.
I'll also sign you a contract, and I'm more than willing to negotiate
the fine print. Just so you know. But now, I believe you've got a job to
do."
It took a while for me to process the fact
that I had to move. It took a longer while to get myself up. I reached
for the door, then recalled it was locked. As I was turning around to
ask Andrei to unlock it, he handed me an ID key-card. It was from the
department, and it meant I was part of it. Above the common laws, if you
will.
"Use this. Make yourself at home, Sandy."
"I... I can't accept this, Boss. I can work just fine..."
"Take it, Sandy." He interrupted me with a creepy smile. "You work here now, after all."
"Shit." I murmured as I hesitatingly took it.
"Now, I'll send my guys to get him. Take the evening off. Get some rest, you'll want to be fresh tomorrow." He winked at me.
