There are two types of jobs. Those you shower before, and those you shower after.This one was supposed to be of the first kind, for a change. Go to the attorney's office. Tell him to drop the case. Make a good enough offer so he would accept.
Except he didn't, not even after adding one too many zeros to the check.
Official orders were crystal clear. Do not make a mess - keep it civilized. Unofficial ones were clear too. Do whatever is needed. Shit, I should have known what would happen when I heard that part.
The attorney was as stubborn as a rock. I sighed as he refused the check for the fifth time. "Look. I... I have orders to not make a mess this time. So, please."
"Sandy, right? Look, Sandy. You can't touch me. You can't threaten me. You're wasting your time. I won't accept your very generous offer, I've already told you that."
His words brought a smile to my lips. Yeah. Legally, I couldn't do anything. Not even offering him a bribe - but that's exactly what I had been trying to do for the last fifteen minutes. I pointed that to him.
"Well, it's about time you stop trying before I lose my patience, and..."
"Call the guards?" I inquired, pointing out the fact that he couldn't do much either.
"I was gonna say, politely ask you to leave, but the guards will do, too."
I sighed, trying to appear defeated. "Okay, okay. I'll leave. But please, do reconsider your position. You've got a lot to win if you..."
"I've already told you, I'm not interested in your money." He interrupted me.
It was time to pull on the strings. "Before I go, may I see your ID?"
He drew an ID card from a well-beaten wallet. "Sure."
I took it, smiling, as I noticed a pic on his wallet. "Oh - is that your wife? She sure is gorgeous!"
He stared at me in horror as he realized what he had done. "You can't... I... I have contacts, you know. I can make sure everybody knows who did it."
I kept grinning at him. "Well, it's not like nobody knows I'm here, you know. It's not like nobody will ever know why you dropped the case in the first place."
"I'll go after you - legally."
I burst into laughter. "Don't be so naive. You know it doesn't work like that."
"I swear, I'll..."
The man was more hard-headed than a rock, I swear. Time to step up the game. I took a couple steps towards him, and drew a knife. He froze at its sight. I grinned at him. "You can't do shit. You do anything, Boss will pay you a visit. When you least expect it."
I noticed his hands trembling, his eyes locked onto mine, silently pleading. Finally.
Now I just needed to be sure he didn't forget. I gently took his hand, my eyes still locked onto his, and softly forced him to open it, palm side up. I glanced at it for a split second as I softly placed the edge of the knife against his palm. He was as lively as a dummy, so closing his hand around the blade was easy.
I kept staring at him. "You will drop the case. Or else."
He let out a silent scream as I yanked on the knife, letting the blade slice his flesh.
"Please, I'll do it, I swear...."
I winked at him, my creepiest of grins on my lips, and left. Guess that was my mistake.
- - -
That evening, Andrei came to my room and put the news on the TV.
"What the hell did you do, Sandy?" He pointed at the screen with his chin.
I froze as I saw the crawler text. I had misjudged the attorney - seems he hadn't changed his mind after all. Shit. I told Andrei what had happened.
He didn't seem to mind it too much. He smiled at me, a tranquilizing look in his eyes. "Well... you messed up, Sandy."
"I saw him snap, I swear...."
"Don't fuss over it, boy. It just means we have to fix it."
I looked into his eyes. He wasn't angry at me, at least. Still, there was no way this wouldn't have some sort of consequences.
He broke the silence first. "I'll meet you tonight, front door of his place. We'll make that idiot realize what a mistake he has made - and the public see that fighting us is never a good idea. You get some rest until then, I'll be only supervising you and making sure everything goes according to plan."
I managed to smile at him, shoving my concerns aside from view. "I'll be there."
I cursed at the screen as Andrei left. Stupid attorney. I knew all too well what would happen that night.
- - -
It was near midnight when I reached the building entrance. I triple-checked the address - the old tower's decaying aspect contrasted heavily with the minimalist luxury at the attorney's office. Andrei greeted me with a smile and a sign to get inside as he opened the door for me.
Once inside, he got me into a dark corner. "Okay, let's go over the plan again."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "Now we have a plan?"
"Yes. Kick the door in and make a big mess."
Guess it was indeed a plan. I sighed. "Do we have to let the whole building know that we're here? I'm sure I can open the door without making a sound, you know."
He looked at me in awe. "I like your plan better, Sandy. Let's stick to it."
I had to cover my mouth to avoid laughing out loud.
Once we reached his front door, I spent a few minutes fumbling with the door lock. I looked at Andrei in satisfaction as it finally clicked. I had to bite my tongue when I glimpsed the huge knife he had drawn. "Shit, Andrei. Are you gonna behead him, or something?"
I could clearly read a "maybe" in his smile. Shit. I sighed as I followed him through the darkness. This was gonna be a huge mess.
The bedroom door was closed. He silently opened it. The couple were inside, fast asleep.
Andrei handed me the knife, signaling me to enter the room. "I'll be waiting here if you need something. But, this is your mess, so you have to fix it yourself."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I took the knife. Shit. If only the attorney hadn't been such a bullhead. I walked up to the bed, and stared at the couple for a second. Look what you've done, I thought. This is all your fault.
I leaned over the man as I covered his mouth with one hand, the knife in the other, far enough so he could see it.
He screamed in silence under my hand as I gripped his mouth tightly. I took a finger to my mouth, the knife gleaming under the window's soft light. He froze at the sight.
"Good night, mister." I whispered. "I told you we'd pay you a visit if you made a mistake, didn't I? Now, I want to talk to you. So let's say, wake her up, and she dies. okay?"
He nodded awkwardly under my hand before I lifted it.
"So, I need to make sure you don't fool us this time, you know."
He was visibly shaking, but still tried to put up a fight. "Look, kid. You know who I work for. You do anything, and..."
"And what." Barked Andrei, leaning on the door frame.
The woman turned around. Our man cursed under his breath.
I pointed at Andrei with my head, my voice still a whisper. "He wants to make sure I don't mess it up this time, you know."
The attorney closed his eyes for a second, then started mumbling. "Please, I'm sorry, that was a big mistake, I shouldn't have, please...."
I gave him a tranquilizing smile. "Well, what's done is done. No point in trying to change that, is it?"
"Thank you, oh, thank you, thank you...."
"That said, we still need you to drop the case, you know. And, after today... I think I need to make myself clearer, don't you think?"
He froze at my words. Then he started mumbling again, his breath fast and shallow. "No, oh, god, no, no, no...."
"Look, I really don't want to do this. But, after this morning, I don't think I have a choice, you know?"
His eyes were in tears as I unbuttoned his pajamas' shirt. I jabbed the big knife into the mattress - too big for anything except scaring people and probably cutting limbs off. I drew a smaller one, much more suited for everyday uses. I pointed at the woman. "Remember, you wake her up, she's dead. Okay?"
He started whimpering as I sliced an x into his chest. His wife turned around again, with such a luck that her hand landed on the edge of the big knife. The sharp edge cut deep into her hand, jolting her awake in screams.
The attorney stared into my eyes, pleading in silence, as Andrei quickly seized the woman, covering her mouth so she would not wake the whole neighborhood. He shushed her in an insinuating whisper.
She finally fell silent as Andrei drew a gun, caressing her temple with its barrel.
The attorney started mumbling again at the sight. "No, no, not her, no...."
I shrugged at him. "Could be worse, man."
"WILL be worse." Corrected Andrei. "Sandy, this time make sure we can trust him."
Shit. I didn't sign up for this. I took a deep breath. "You heard him."
"Look, you don't have to do this, I have a friend...."
Yeah, give us their number so we can track him down too. Nope. I sighed loudly at the thought. "Man. Andrei is literally here. You think I'm gonna stand up to him? Answer is Nope."
He froze at the name. "Wh-what?"
I gently smiled at him. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't know it was him? Well, news flash, Mr. Attorney, this is Andrei. Andrei, this is our guy."
The attorney started mumbling nonsense again, as Andrei offered his hand in a condescending gesture, his grin betraying his apparent manners.
"My friend," I started again, "we really need to make sure we're all on the... same page, if you will. We can't simply trust you again after this morning, you know. So, this is a test of sorts for you. You do as we say, and we'll be on our way. You try anything stupid... And I'm guessing you'll deeply regret it."
I got up from the bed - freeing him. He wasn't moving. I offered him my hand, got tired of waiting, and took his, then pulled him into a sitting position. "Hey. Hey, you gotta cooperate, man. You can't be a rock, that doesn't help anybody."
He looked into my eyes. I tried to appear calm and friendly, but knowing what would happen didn't help. He kept staring, frozen in terror. Guess I wasn't that successful.
I pulled him from his hand again and got him to stand, and then dragged him to the other side of the bed, directly before Andrei and the woman. It was almost like moving a heavy dummy around.
Andrei handed him the gun. "Take this, man."
Our man started sobbing. "No, please, no... I'll... I'll work for you.... but.... don't do this..."
"Of course you'll work for him." I said softly into his ear. "And this is your first job. Take the gun."
He was still sobbing incessantly, and wouldn't move.
"You deaf now? I told you to take the gun. Don't make me repeat myself, or I can assure you it will be worse." I suggested.
"How... how can it be worse than this... Please... don't do this, no, no..."
Andrei grinned at him. "You really want to know?"
Our man shivered at the words, and looked at the floor as if there was nothing else to look at.
Andrei's voice turned into a ghostly murmur. "Then take the gun already. Or I'll show you how much worse this can get." He discreetly pointed at the big knife with his chin.
I got a chill down my spine. The man could be really unnerving when he tried. The attorney probably thought the same as he slowly raised his hand, and finally took the gun.
I leaned to whisper into his ear. "Now, you think you can try anything? Think again. Think what will happen if you fail. So, don't be stupid. Things can always take a turn for the worse, man. Trust me, for him, this is actually being nice."
He was still sobbing as I took another breath. I knew I had to do this, but that didn't make it any easier. I glanced at Andrei, and briefly caught his eyes, saw the Void in them. There was no other way, at all. I whispered again, my voice almost trembling. "Kill her."
I swear I had him properly held, yet he fell to his knees, his sobs turned into a pathetic wailing.
I crouched behind him as I took the knife Andrei handed me, softly grazing his throat with it. "Last chance. Kill her - or else."
He slowly raised his hand, gun pointing at the woman's head. She started sobbing, mumbling nonsense too.
"Do it."
He pulled the trigger.
