Chapter 17: Mr. X: Chapter 16

“Fear nothing. Expect the worst.” – Notes of X

X

Wednesday April 18, 2007. 10:00 a.m.th

“What is he doing here?” the client yells from behind his desk as he notices me come inside.

“Sorry, sir, but in order to protect you, we must use all our available forces. Even if it is against your wishes,” my father says. “These last few attacks have been putting a strain on our ability to protect your legacy.”

“I don’t need him. I told you before. Keep him away from me and my daughter.”

“We can be of much better service to your cause if you let us choose who we use to protect you. You did re-hire us for that purpose, of course,” my mother says.

“I re-hired you to do as you’re told,” he snaps. “Don’t make me regret that decision yet again.”

“As you wish, sir,” my mother says. “We will not disappoint you.”

I try not to take it personally, but I know it’s meant as such. I know what I did. I remember what happened years ago, and he still holds it against me. I can’t blame him. I would much rather stay away from this house as well, but unfortunately my parents decided they needed me on this job. Apparently this client will pay them double what they’d earn with another client. Multiply that by the amount of years we’ve worked for him in the past and the years we’ll be working for him now … it’s a lot of money. So long as we don’t screw it up.

Which is where I came in last time.

I sigh as we turn around and walk out the door. When we’re out in the hallway, my father takes me aside. “Did you hear him? He doesn’t want you near him or his daughter, got it?”

“Yes, Father,” I say, rolling my eyes.

He slaps me on the back of the head. I don’t care. It doesn’t hurt anymore. “You fucked it up last time, so don’t you dare do the same now. You’ll obey the orders you’re given, understood?”

I nod, but keep my mouth shut tight.

Suddenly, he shoves me against the wall, grabbing my shirt with his fists. “You don’t talk to them. You don’t do anything. You just shoot when needed. That’s it.”

“What if they talk to me?”

“Then you cut it off and leave!” he snaps. “Your only job is to fire that gun whenever they’re threatened. You bleed for them. Die for them if you must. But do not let anything or anyone hurt them. Understood?”

“Yes …”

His hand is suddenly around my throat as he pushes me up the wall. I struggle to breathe. I’m stronger than him, but if I defy him, they’ll kill me. “Not good enough!”

“Yes. I won’t defy your orders,” I say.

“Good.” He lets go of me, letting me catch my breath.

“This job is too important for us. We have your aunt to thank for a good word she gave to this man about our family so he’d hire us again.” He grabs my chin, his fingers digging into my skin. “We lost it once because of your foolish actions; don’t make us lose it twice. If you fuck this up, I swear to God I will cut you.”

“I know you will,” I hiss, frowning, warning him not to take it too far.

“Don’t talk to them. Don’t even think about them. Be invisible.”

My father looks me in the eye for a moment, a silent threat of what’s to come if I ever disobey him. Then he pushes himself off me and walks away.

***

Tuesday, August 20, 2013. 1:00 p.m.th

Now, I find myself beside her, regardless of what my father told me. I guess I disobeyed him anyway.

I take Jay back to the diner, where we attempt to finish our meal in peace. I’m still fucking hungry and I’ll get my fucking food before I go anywhere else. Sometimes I just like to go somewhere else rather than eat at the hotel all the time. That, and I want Jay to get used to being outside with me. She needs to get used to the fact that even if she’s away from her usual surroundings, I’m still there to keep watch. I won’t let her slip away easily, which she should realize by now. There’s no escaping me.

A bell rings as someone steps into the diner. I hear the rattling sounds before I hear their voices. I don’t need to look to know I need to take cover.

Bullets fire as I shove Jay under the table, while I slide under too. At first she sputters and stammers, but when her eyes spot the suited men standing at the door she stops. Her lips tremble, her eyes widen. And then she screams.

I place my hand on her mouth while I take out my gun, pulling the slider back.

Gunshots fill the room with noise. First they shoot the cameras, then the people. Customers scream and run for their lives, crying. Blood splatters flick onto the wall beside us. I have to keep Jay firmly down, because all she wants is to flee. There’s no flight or fight here. Flee and die. Fight and live. The choice is simple.

“We know you’re here. No use hiding,” one of them yells. “Does it feel good knowing these people are about to die because of you?”

I didn’t expect the organization to find me this quickly. We must’ve been seen by some snitch here at the diner. They’re fucking everywhere right when I don’t need them around.

They fire at random, shooting holes into the diner like it’s some sort of fucking Swiss cheese. When my sandwich drops to the floor below, punctured by a bullet, I growl. “Oh, fuck me. Don’t fucking touch my sandwich.” Now they’ve done it.

Lifting my head, I check where they are and perch my gun on the couch, aiming for their legs. I shoot once, hitting the first one in the kneecap. He groans and sinks to the floor like a sack of potatoes. One more shot to the head and he’s gone.

The one behind him is much bigger and when he notices where the shots are coming from, he barges toward me, enraged.

“Stay here,” I tell Jay.

The man approaches us, so I put all my weight into throwing myself into his path. As I slide down the aisle, I fire another shot right through his shin, but the giant keeps going, even though blood is gushing out of his wound. I fire a few more times while crawling under a different table. He drops to the floor after six bullets go into his chest. A pool of blood leaks from him. Jay looks at him with sheer panic in her eyes. With my hand I signal her and mouth to her to stay down.

“You fucking cunt,” one of the men yells. There are two left inside. Fuck knows how many are waiting for us outside. I look to the back, where the manager has crawled under his counter, and find a door behind him. A perfect way out. I’ll have to shoot those other two motherfuckers first though.

“Hiding under a table? Pathetic son of a bitch. I wouldn’t have thought you’d stoop to that level, you know.”

“Afraid?” I yell. “Three of you against one of me. Fuck, you must be so proud of yourself to stand there watching your buddies die.”

He shoots at my table. “Shut the fuck up.” He laughs. “Like you’re the one to talk. You fucking betrayed us, man. All these years I’ve known you, and now you pull this shit.”

His steps alert all my senses. He’s coming, but I don’t know which way. I check both aisles, but as soon as I stick my head out, a bullet zooms past me.

He’s running now. Fearing for her life, Jay crawls close to the window, trying to hide, but it’s no use. He reaches her in no time, so I point my gun and shoot. Except, nothing comes out, just clicking. Shit. Now’s not the fucking time to reload.

I race to put them back in in time, but when I hear her screams I know I’m too late. By her hair she’s pulled out from under the table, a gun pointed at her side.

“Let me go!” she screams, fighting her attacker.

“Feisty one,” the guy says.

As I finish reloading I point my gun at him, but he uses Jay as a shield. Fucker.

“Move and she dies,” the guy says as my finger lingers on the trigger.

“Take your fucking hands off her.”

His hand is wrapped around her mouth, preventing her from screaming. Prodding his gun into her thigh, he makes my blood boil. He smiles and cocks his head. “Oh, you like this one?”

His hand slips down her mouth to her throat, grabbing her so tight she struggles to breathe. When he starts sniffing her hair I’m ready to blow all my shit. “Smells nice too,” he says.

“Take your fucking hands off me!” Jay screams, her voice hoarse.

The guy laughs and then chokes her some more. That motherfucker. I’m the only one allowed to do that to her. He has no right to toy with her body. “Wanna see who’s faster?” he says.

From the corner of my eye I spot her reaching for her pocket. She’s slow with her movements and he doesn’t seem to notice, so I distract him.

“You wouldn’t even be able to hit me if you got three free shots.”

He frowns and makes a face. “Stop your fucking jokes and let’s get to business.”

“Tell me, what business does the organization have with me?”

“You know damn fucking well what you did. Stop playing games!”

“Oh, and here I was thinking you wanted to play a game of shoot ’em ’til they drop.” I purse my lips. “Such a disappointment.”

“You wasted it all. And you did it for this girl?” he says, pushing the gun further into Jay’s stomach. A knife appears from deep down in her pocket as she carefully takes it out, trying not to get noticed. My knife. She must’ve picked it up from the ground while I was untying our victim from before.

“This is what made you turn against us? She’s a fucking whore!” he yells.

Jay grabs a firm hold of the knife, grinding her teeth. “I’m not a whore!” she says through gritted teeth. A quick jab backwards is all it takes to jam the knife into his abdomen. He groans and reaches for his stomach, releasing her from his grip. At the same time she jumps away I pull the trigger and shoot that fucker straight in the heart. His eyes roll into the back of his head as he drops backwards onto the table and slips down toward the ground.

She turns around, hesitating for a moment, gazing at the dead body before her. I crawl out from under the table and watch her go to her knees and pull the knife from his belly. Making a face, she glances at the blood before quickly wiping it on his clothes.

“C’mon,” I say. “Back door.”

She nods, tucking the knife into her pocket, and follows me back. I keep my gun aimed, ready to pull the trigger if they show their faces. There’s probably at least another two waiting to ambush us outside. We need to be prepared. As I open the door, I look around and clear the area before stepping out with her. She’s right behind me, tiptoeing as we walk alongside the building. My knife is still in her pocket and I know she could pull it out and stick me with it at any moment. Except, she doesn’t. Maybe it’s the fear of being in the middle of a gunfight, but for now I don’t think she’ll attack me. She knows I’m her only way out of this mess.

I look around the barren land. The area is open, and there’s nowhere to hide, meaning they’re either all in their car or waiting for me at mine.

“What do we do?” she whispers.

“Get the fuck out of here, what else?”

“No, I mean, all your stuff is in the hotel room, isn’t it?”

“So?” I glance at her over my shoulder.

“Well, if we go back there, won’t they follow us?”

I sigh. She’s got a point there. Hadn’t thought about that. But I have to get back there. I didn’t bring my toys with me; they’re all still in my room. No way I’m ever leaving them behind.

“We’re going back there. I’ll figure a way to get us out of here … So long as I can fucking kill them all, they won’t know where we’ve gone,” I say as we approach the parking lot. Antonio’s car is right next to mine. Great. Fucking fantastic.

“If you come out now, I won’t hurt you,” Antonio yells.

“Yeah, right. You’re insulting my intelligence too now?” I scoff.

“Show your face and you’ll see what I mean.”

Leaning against the wall, I take a tiny mirror out of my pocket and use it to determine where he is and what he’s doing. He looks at me and smiles like he knows he’s got me. That motherfucker. I know he can see what I’m doing, but that’s exactly the point. I’m not going to fucking stick out my head and risk having it popped off.

Antonio drops his shotgun to the ground and kicks it away. “See? All good,” he yells. “I just want to talk with you, that’s all.”

I sigh while putting away the mirror.

“Are you seriously considering going out there?” Jay says.

“There’s no other option. My car is our only way to get out of here.” Rubbing my bald head, I think about it for a second. I know he’s got more shit up his sleeve. The organization would never accept him coming back empty handed. This is all a trick. “There has to be a way to get to that car without him fucking blowing our heads off.”

“Then use me as a hostage. Fake that you’re going to kill me,” she says.

“They want you dead. I’d be playing right into their lap if I did that,” I say.

“Then why not just walk out with your gun pointed at him? I mean, we have the advantage now. He has nothing.”

“We?” I say, laughing. “You’re not my accomplice, Jay.”

She chuckles. “I know, but as you say, you’re the only reason I’m alive. I’d rather get out of here than lose my head.”

“You sound like me.”

“I learn,” she muses.

I think about it for a second. If he’s ambushing us, there’s no way I’m going in with just this gun. I need backup, because he’ll demand that I throw my gun away too. I’ll need something to protect myself and her when shit hits the fan. “Hmm … still got that knife on you?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” I take a deep breath. “Stay behind me, but keep an eye out.”

We walk out of the alley, stepping into the light. A smirk appears on Antonio’s face as we make our way to the car. I keep a close eye on him whilst Jay checks our surroundings to make sure there’s no one else to screw with us.

“Finally … the two lovebirds arrive.”

“Shut up,” I say, keeping my gun pointed at his face.

“Now, now … a little tense?” He chuckles. “No need. I’m unarmed, see?” He holds up his hands. “I’m just here to talk with you.”

“Stop bullshitting me, Antonio. I know why you’re here.”

He rolls his eyes. “What does it matter? We’re all going to die anyway; might as well end it here.”

“Not according to my schedule. Wanna talk? Speak up or I’m leaving,” I say as we move to the vehicle.

The look in his eyes immediately changes. “You know as well as I do this is not going to end well. You can’t escape this. Why do you insist on keeping her alive?”

“Because she is mine,” I say, grabbing Jay’s wrist. “You can tell the organization to back off. I’m taking this one and I’m out. I don’t work for you anymore.”

He laughs. “Yeah, that was already established. But do you honestly think that will stop us from claiming her head? There’s a hefty bounty for her, and I don’t intend to let it slip.” He starts fumbling with his pockets. I don’t like it one bit, so I keep my gun steadily pointed at him. I don’t want to kill him, but if I have to, I will. I know it’s exactly the same for him. Code before anything else.

If he’s set on claiming the money, then fuck it, I’ll make sure that money won’t ever become available to them.

“You won’t get that money,” I say. “I’m going to kill the client.”

Antonio frowns. “What? Have you gone insane?”

“No, it’s the only way to stop this all. If I kill him, it’s all over. He won’t be able to pay, so you won’t need to kill her anymore, and I’m off the hook since I’ll be gone forever. Everybody’s happy.” We approach the door of my car while Antonio’s eyes narrow as he watches us from his own car.

“I won’t allow it.” He pulls out a second gun from his pocket.

I shove Jay aside while dropping to the floor. The shot hits my shoulder so hard it flings the gun from my hand. Shit.

“It was a pleasure working with you,” Antonio says. “But you know money always comes first.” He aims for my head.

From the corner of my eye I spot Jay pulling the knife from her pocket and throwing it at Antonio like a dagger. It hits his thigh. He screams as he drops to the ground in agony. His gun is still in his hands, but he’s too focused on the pain to shoot. I scramble to my gun and pick it up. One shot is all it takes.

And then he’s gone. His flame has been extinguished. His limp body lies on the asphalt like a ragdoll, his eyes vacant, his muscles still twitching. For the first time in a long while I don’t feel victorious. This was not the outcome I would’ve preferred, but it had to happen. Still, it’s hard to swallow. Antonio got me into the organization. He was the one who let me in, who trained me in their ways, who made me even better than before … who helped me with my disability. He was my killer buddy; we always used to take on requests together. Just the two of us, off shooting some random people and returning with plenty of cash. We lived like kings. Now we die like street rats.

Such a shame.

I get up from the ground and watch Jay get up too. She wipes her clothes and checks her surroundings. “Are they all gone?”

“I doubt it, but I’m not curious about it either. Let’s go before shit really hits the fan.”

“Right …” She gets into the passenger seat of the car and waits for me. But I can’t get in yet. My precious knife is still stuck in his thigh, so I walk to his body and pluck it out, wiping it on his clothes. Before I turn my back on him, I pry the gun from his fingers and tuck it into my back pocket. Never leave spoils on the battlefield. Then I close his eyes and walk to the car.