"Hey. You wanted something?" I said as I opened the door to Andrei's office.
"Yeah, come in and close the door." He greeted me.
"So, what's it?"
"Sandy." He looked at me as I sat. I could see the doubt in his eyes. Oh-oh. "Do you trust me?"
Well.... yes? "Yeah. You know I'll do anything you ask."
"Well,
this is a... special mission. It won't be easy. Well, the actual
mission is as simple as it gets. Go to place, kill the guy. The
consequences, however...."
Oh-oh indeed. Andrei talking about consequences. Shit. "You know, I'll..."
He gave me the file on the target. More like he threw it to my face, except it actually landed on the desk, before me.
I opened it, and couldn't help but to let out a loud whisper. "Holy Shit!"
"Yeah.
Big fish. But the target is not the problem. The problem is the how.
Sandy, I'll be blunt. I want to make a statement. A public statement, if
you follow me."
I stared at him, words stuck in my throat. Shit. This was going to be a mess.
He
seemed to read my mind. "Yeah, I want you to make a big mess. To let
everyone know what we do. You're to wait for him right outside his
workplace. Once he gets out, you'll walk up to him and slash his
throat."
I looked down, uneasy. "You know, I can think
of another way to make a statement. Take him to a safe place, place a
camera, let people actually see..."
He smiled candidly
at me. "It's not the same. Watching it on TV, I mean. People forget
everything as soon as the next big news appear on their screens. No, I
need something else. I need people to see it firsthand. To get soiled
with his blood, so they can never forget."
I took a deep breath. Man was as nuts as they come. "So, this is why Key never wanted to get into politics."
"I'd guess so. But you're not her, are you? You don't mind that nonsense, do you?"
I sighed. I did. But oh, well. "Okay. ... So... you said this will have... consequences."
I
could see he was trying hard to keep his creepy expression, but
something was different in it. "Yeah. We're... following the legal
procedures this time. We'll go to trial. We'll make it big news so
everyone knows what happened."
He continued his
discourse, his smile unfaltering on the surface, belied by the doubts in
his look. "You'll plead guilty, Sandy. I... Yeah, I'll pull on some
strings to make sure the sentence is a bad joke. For the audience, I
mean. But, you'll have to go to prison."
Silence. Shit.
I couldn't say anything either. After a while, he resumed his briefing.
"Don't worry. I'll break you out of there as soon as I can. Couple days
should do it. But, worst case, make it a week." He closed his eyes,
planting his elbow into the desk and letting his forehead rest on his
hand, softly massaging his temples. "Sandy, I want you to know... I'd do
it myself, but I can't. Legally I can't do shit. Come here, will you?"
He patted his arm rest.
I took the chair to his side,
and sat beside him, not really understanding his reaction. Yet. I waited
for more, but he was waiting for me to say something, so after a while,
I broke the uneasy silence. "May I... ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"What would happen if... I said no?"
He
looked into my eyes. And I froze in place. There was no sign of the
Void this time, there was... distress. Remorse. Things I never thought
I'd see in his gleaming, twisted look. But they were there, and they
scared me way more than the brutal sickness I was so used too see there.
"Sandy... I have no one else to do this. Nobody is up to the task."
I pushed a bit further. "You mean nobody's willing to do it."
He
smiled, but it was the saddest smile I've ever seen. "I could convince
quite a few guys, you know. But... nope. They can't possibly pull it
off, they can't do what you can. They're not you, Sandy.
"So... why not do it yourself."
"Because
then, it's over. The war. This place. I could do that if it was about
the families, but above all, I'm the head of detentions. The family is
just a way to fight - but... this place, this is the only thing I truly
have. And if I were to make such a statement myself... legally, this
would be over. And I can't let that happen, Sandy."
"But everyone knows I work for you."
"Yeah.
But they don't have anything. Legally, this mission is a families
thing." He unbuttoned his shirt, showing his tattoos. "Legally... this
isn't here. The few people who have seen this, are friends. The rest may
'know', but they can't prove it."
I sighed deep. I needed answers. "Okay. But you still haven't answered my question. What happens if I say no."
"You don't want to hear that answer, Sandy." He looked down in shame.
"Yeah, I do."
He
sighed hard. "Well, I've told you I don't have anybody else. So...
either I convince you, or... it doesn't get done. And... Well, it needs
to be done, Sandy. Someone has to do something. So... I guess I'd have
to convince you."
I kept staring at him. I needed to know.
"Sandy...
Don't make me do this, okay? I don't want to. I swear, I have nobody
else, I can't do it myself, I need you Sandy. What else do you want me
to say?" He paused, thinking on what to do next. And then he had one of
those lightbulb moments. "Okay. What do you want? ... I'm willing to
negotiate a deal."
Wow. This was a first for him. Could I...? ... I had to try. "What about Key?"
He
looked at me, his eyes full of sadness, of woe. "What about her?...
She's mostly on her own. She never calls. She sometimes sends news, a
note or something, with a guy, never by herself. That's about it. I
haven't called her, given her any kind of file to take care of. I know
she'd tell me to go to hell."
That was another first for him.
"So, what's it. What do you want, Sandy."
"Forget it. I just had to know. I'll do it."
The
look of relief on his face, on his eyes, was a third first. His smile
was almost back to normal, if a bit bitter still. "Thank you, Sandy.
You... you don't know what this means to me."
I hugged
him in a soft caress that seemed to last forever, my head against his
chest, I could hear his heartbeat, steady, soft, and I realized this was
indeed the right place to be. No matter the hardships of work. This was
well worth it all.
