𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

𝟐𝟕 | 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

... THE WEEK BEFORE ...

A black car stopped in front of a small one-story house, and a man in his thirties stepped out. His gait was slow and confident because he knew he had nothing to worry about. There was no danger for him at this point. On the contrary. Today, danger bore his name and branded shoes.

The man sighed heavily, sticking his hand into the inside pocket of a leather jacket. The weapon was there, ready to fire. What he was about to do had to be done. He had his orders. He had to follow them. However, the fact that he obediently fulfilled these requirements did not mean that he liked them. An innocent person dies again because of him today, and he could do nothing but hate himself for it.

A figure of the man dressed in black slipped around the garden and headed for the back entrance. He didn't want to draw too much attention. Neighbors in this part of town have eyes everywhere. He knew it very well because until recently his friend used to live here. A friend who is no longer alive. And he had a part in it.

The door to the house was open.

Without hesitation, the man pulled the handle and entered a very clean room, where everything around had its own system, just as it was in the abode of his dead friend.

"You're here," the young woman said, frowning at the intruder. The man was surprisingly struck by the sharpness in her voice. He looked at her carefully, trying to guess what the gaze on her face meant.

"Surprised?" He asked in a hoarse voice. Why didn't she leave? She must have known he was coming, so why didn't she pack her things and go as far as possible? Now he had to kill her, and he didn't want to.

"Yes, but not by your visit," she replied matter-of-factly, narrowing her eyes. She looked at the man standing in front of her with nothing but pure disgust. "I knew the snitch will show up eventually. I am rather surprised by the face of a man who didn't know to shut up. I never thought it would be you."

The man let out all the air from his lungs. This conversation was starting to be awkward. Even so, his conscience was quite heavy, he didn't need to be irritated even more. He decided to give up unnecessary words and get to the reason why he was here.

"Let's skip the irrelevant bullshit and get to the point." The woman in front of him frowned even more, terrified at the same time.

"Does the death of my sister and her husband seem insignificant to you?" she snapped, throwing words at him like they were an ax.

"Juliet, I never said the death of Cain and Grace-"

"How dare you say their names! After everything you've done!" she interrupted him with growing anger.

"You know I had nothing to do with Grace's death," the man took defense, "she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Oh, yes? And where have you been? Did you sit inside the van with your legs on the deck while White activated the bomb?" the woman shouted, sounding more menacing with each word as if she was grinding her voice instead of knives.

"I didn't know she would be there!" the man said, but Juliet just shook her head in disbelief. She didn't want to hear anything from the person standing in front of her, knowing that these empty words were all ordinary excuses he had used with an intention to deceive her. To make a better person from himself. Sweep his dirty sins under the rug.

"Of course not. But she was. And there were many other people, but none of you gave a shit, because you only longed for one thing! I hope it made you enough money to wipe your greedy butts," Juliet hissed, gritting her teeth irritably.

"Enough!" the man shouted at her. Finally, he pulled out a hidden weapon and didn't forget the muffler either. "Do you know why I'm here, so why are you torturing me with words like that? Give me the USB and I'll let you live."

Juliet laughed. She wasn't afraid. If she did, she wouldn't be here long ago. He would never find her or the USB.

"Andrew, I've forgotten how much you know to persuade people to do what you want them to do," she said, meaning it as some kind of weird compliment, "but you may have forgotten how I cannot be deceived by empty words. We both know that as soon as I put the video record in your hands, which, by the way, is the last thing that could convict White in his actions, you'll shoot me in the brain. Maybe I'm not married to a mobster like my sister used to be, before... before you blew her up, but I'm not stupid. You have your orders. And as the right messenger, you have to fulfill them."

Andrew's blood was hot as lava. He hated Juliet for being right. But she didn't understand anything. No one could understand that he had no choice. Well, he had, but he would never allow the second option to happen. He didn't want to watch his only child die. Is that why you prefer to watch your friend die? the man contradicted himself in his mind with a mockery.

"I'm sorry, but I have a family I have to keep alive," he said clearly, unlocking his gun. The woman's lungs contracted as if they were flooded with water. How could she once consider this person a friend? A man who would stand by them regardless of the circumstances and never betray them?

God, I was so wrong about him, she said, and even though she was getting sick by looking at Andrew, she didn't turn away her gaze.

"I had one too, Andrew. But the mob, people like you, White, they took it from me. I'm not going to thank you for that, you bastard," she growled, spitting on his face. The man frowned and almost pulled the trigger, but the woman began to talk again. He let her. She had a right to speak her last words. "You may be able to get me, but you won't get the USB. He's here, Andrew. Lucifer is after your ass, and you won't get rid of him. He will revenge Cain and Grace... I hope he rip out your tongue and-"

Everything went quiet with a shot that ended one life.

"Fuck last words," Andrew muttered, looking at the soulless body with a hole in the middle of its forehead. Lucifer is after your ass... He will revenge Cain and Grace, he repeated Juliet's words and swallowed dryly. He's here. That could mean only one thing. He had to find the camera record and run away before Lucifer finds him.

The man moved forward quickly, but something stopped him. Someone behind him was holding a gun to his back.

"Not so fast, Andrew," a voice of Lucifer O'Donnell warned him. It's too late.

The man gasped and for a moment forgot that he was still holding a gun in his hands. It didn't matter to him, he knew he couldn't do anything. Lucifer was faster, more experienced, and would have killed him sooner than Andrew could aim at him.