I made the mistake of sending Sandy to pay a visit to Key. You see, I
needed a file from her, but I figured she was still mad at me, so
sending the boy seemed like a sensible idea.
Not an
hour later, they both came see me. More like, she barged into my office,
dragging the poor Sandy along. She took a deep breath, visibly upset. "Now,
can you tell me what the hell have you done this time?"
"Key, dammit, how many times I have to tell you, I asked for it!" Sandy yelled at her.
I looked at her, dead serious. Her attitude annoyed me to no end. "First, it's none of your business."
"If you tell me that one more time..." She interrupted me, barely containing her anger.
I sighed, trying to avoid the upcoming fight. It was always like that with her. "Calm
down. What are you exactly going to do, anyway. It's not like you
haven't already tried. And lost. So get over it, Sandy gets to make his
own decisions, whether you like them or not."
"That's a pile of bullshit. You..." There was something in her eyes. Something dangerous.
I
pressed the button. Her ring's trigger. It knocked her out. I signed at Sandy to
help me move her to the safe room. Tied her to a chair. I could easily
keep her under control, but I didn't have to take risks. Her attitude
wasn't helping anyone.
"Sandy. Convince her to stop being such a blockhead, will you?"
He still had a long way to get to where I needed him. Facing her was another step in the right direction.
He awoke her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"Now, will you at least listen instead of yelling at me, Key?" Sandy crouched before her, in an attempt to be friendly.
She
sighed. "Do I have a choice?" She was still visibly angry at the world,
but being in a rough spot did wonders to her bad temper.
"Not really, you know. Anyway. I've told you. It's my life. I don't work for you anymore, so stop telling me what to do."
She
was about as hard-headed as a rock, but that didn't mean she couldn't
adapt. She took another deep breath. "Sandy. Listen to me. Okay? ... You
know it. You know where this path leads."
"Yes." Sandy's voice was cold as an iceberg.
She sighed once more. "And that's it? You don't even care anymore?"
"Oh,
I do care," said Sandy. I saw his smile. The kid was good at this.
"But... I've told you, I'll do whatever he asks." He grabbed her chin,
his eyes locked on hers. He drew a knife, gently placed it against her
throat. "Even if it means I have to kill you."
Damn if he wasn't making me proud of him.
She
couldn't help closing her eyes for a second. Trying to keep up the
fight. Idiot. Why the hell did you have to be such a bullhead? ... She
opened her eyes again. Cold as ice too. "Then do it already. You know
that's what he wants of you."
"Sandy." I stopped him. "Take a step back. Now."
He
reluctantly did, though he was clearly not expecting this. I went on to explain. "You
do that - you'll have to take on her job, since I don't
really have anybody else. I'm pretty sure you won't like that, it's
mostly paperwork these days."
She too was confused, but
decided to play along. "That's true, Sandy. It's been days since I did
some real work. It's driving me crazy."
"Sandy. Wait outside, will you?"
He looked at me, visibly puzzled. Yet he managed to keep up the facade and simply nod at me as he left the room.
"Kid has got himself a character, huh?" I smiled.
She had dropped the mask. "Why did you stop him. Why do that for me."
I
couldn't help smirking as I circled her. Time to have fun. To be
honest. I planted my hands on her shoulders. Gave her a little soft
caress. I felt her shiver. Good. "I'll be blunt, Key. I didn't do it
for you, I did it for him."
"Now you tell me you care for him?" She scorned.
I let my voice become a terrifying whisper. "Will
you stop being a jerk for once in your life, Key? Anyway. Don't get me
wrong. There's nothing I'd like more than to see him kill you. But, the
thing is, I don't want him to do it for me. I want him to do it for
himself. Then... I've lied to him. There won't be a price." If I have to
be honest, I kinda lied. Well, I just skipped the part where I didn't
really want her dead.
She froze. "You're a sick bastard."
I laughed as I untied her hands. "Now go and let the kid live his life, will you?"
We
both froze as we opened the door and saw Sandy, with a gun pointing at
her head. She closed her eyes, visibly shaken. We all say we're not
scared of Death, until you look at it in the face. Then your whole view
of it changes. Every single time.
Sandy could have been an iceberg. He looked at me. All emotions well hidden under an impenetrable mask. "What's the price."
Holy.
Shit. I was not expecting this. I tried to keep my own mask in its
place. "I've told you. Office work, at least until I manage to find
someone else willing to do it."
He took a step forward,
placing the barrel against her forehead. I couldn't read him, at all.
He was the very image of a faceless doll. Key was frozen. Else she
could have easily done something. But she didn't. I froze too as I heard
the loud bang. She collapsed onto the floor, dead. He had done it.
My
face turned white. "Holy Shit, Sandy." And my heart, that one that
wasn't there in the first place, broke as I saw him smile. Holy shit
indeed.
