The Slay Spree - Short Stories

Payback

The 1980 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow made a scraping sound as he pressed the brakes. The red brake lights illuminated the alley, which after a few seconds, went dark. He turned the ignition and stepped out.
It was a mid summer night, the time when the city is the loudest and to stack it up, rush hour as well. The alley was in a shady part, the walls were full of graffiti and broken pipes, the floor littered and the air stinked.

The door opened and a man in his mid thirties stepped out, he was wearing a dark blue double breasted suit and Lee Cooper shoes. He had a goatee, dark grey eyes and a muscular physique.
Jacquin Demarco, the CEO of Demarco Industries, the leading industry in fire arms and weaponry had nothing to do with quiet parts of town but it was a code red.

At the far end of the street, there was a rusted shutter and a bulb hanging which swung carelessly. He swiftly moved towards the closed shutter, it was covered with a graffiti which read as "F*CK YOU", sprayed in sky blue.

The metal shutter door slowly rolled up as it's sides clanked heavily, reverberating the alley. On the other side, stood two guards, both looked like in their late twenties, wearing a T-shirt with baggy jeans.
One of them nodded towards Jacquin and started moving in the direction of the stairs which led to an office. Jacquin followed him and grinned as he saw the gun carried by the guard.

It had a "DemarCO" logo printed, a G36C rifle modified with holographic sight and a larger magazine. The guard opened the door, let Jacquin enter and closed the door behind as he walked away from the office.

"Mister Demarcooo!" - a person, in his late forties, bald and freckled face, welcomed Jacquin cheerfully. He had a glass of scotch in his left hand and a cigar in his right, and was sitting on his chair on the other side of the desk.

The office didn't have much items, a fan was spinning above their heads which gave little air. The window opened to a nearby street but was too blurry due to moist and dust. A small bulb lit up the office and the rest of the space was covered with drawers.
Stefano Francesco was running an underground gang which excelled at making assassinations look like an accident, it was their forte.

"I need an explanation for why am I here?"- Jacquin authoritatively spoke.

"Yes, please umm.. sit down."- Stefano directed him towards the seat.

"You better make it quick, it stinks in here."- Jacquin sat down.

Stefano's desk was a mess, scattered files everywhere, an ashtray and a picture which seemed to be his wife's.

"Do you remember when we first discussed our operation?" - Stefano took a sip.

"January 20th, 7PM. I do."

"You have a good memory, I have to write it down, you know." - Stefano chuckled.

"Mr. Francesco, you may not have much to do but my time is precious."

"Sorry- so I was saying, five years ago, I had a guy, the best of the best, a person who could pull off any hit you'd want him to. My pride."

"What does it have to do with me?"

"This assassination, which we planned, last Saturday. There were minor injuries, because we had to make it look like.. uhh an accident."

Jacquin nodded in agreement.

"A child died, she was hit on her head, lost a lot of blood, they couldn't save her." - Stefano searched his top drawer as he spoke and brought out a picture of the girl.

"I still don't get the connection." - Jacquin questioned.

"The guy I had, five years ago, he asked for a retirement. I mean, who asks for a retirement. There is no retirement in this business. I gave him a job, if done properly, he could retire, the one even you would never think about. The city blackout in 2015, when the mayor died. Well.. killed actually. He pulled it off, single-handed, without any assistance. The guy's name was Samuel Connors. This girl? Who died on sunday, her name was Melinda Connors." - Stefano took another sip from his glass.

"So what? A father lost her child in an accident. Why am I here?"- Jacquin started to lose his patience.
"That's what the problem is. He knows this wasn't an accident. He's gonna find out."- Stefano snapped.

"He's not in business, why worry now?"- Jacquin questioned.

"He WAS not in the business. We brought him now. You know what happens when you drag a devil in his own hell, the older one feels like heaven." - Stefano leaned forward.

Jacquin rolled his eyes in disappointment.
"Our relationship is just business, but you being alive is important. That's what I wanted to say." - Stefano concluded.

There was a few moments of silence, the only sound was that cranky fan above them.
"Next time, just call me. I don't have time to worry about people who no longer exist." - Jacquin stood up and walked towards the door.
"Mr. Demarco? Do you believe in Grim reapers?"- Stefano called him from behind.
"No"- Jacquin replied without looking back.
"Well.. good night!"- Stefano lifted his glass and smiled while Jacquin walked away.

Stefano took out a tissue and wiped his head which was constantly sweating. He closed in towards his phone and whispered.
"I did just as you said. Now.. please.. let me go."
"Sure. I'll let you free"- a heavy voice came from the phone.
"Th.. thank.. thank you." - Stefano placed his finger on red button, his finger was trembling with fear.

There was a slight pinch in the window as the bullet cut through the glass and pierced Stefano's head. He fell off his chair, a pool of blood formed there. He was history.
"You're welcome"- the heavy voice replied, followed by a beep.