A GIBBOUS MOON

Chapter 3

A week passed in which I heard nothing from my boss. No locations to check, no secret meetings to discuss my promotion. I started to wonder if something happened. Other times he was so quick to schedule a meeting. I texted Alfa and asked if he could meet up. He told me to come meet him at the tattoo parlour. And I did exactly just that. I walked into the parlour and saw Alfa sitting on a couch. I went to sit beside him, and he greeted me.

"So, what is the occasion for this meeting?"

"I got promoted to hitman."

"I'm proud of you, man. You will be up in the inner circle in no time."

"Something smells fishy, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I got promoted over a week ago and I haven't heard from my boss since then."

"Shit."

"Do you think there is something going on?"

"The current drug lord hasn't reported any suspicious activities and told us everything was going fine, but your lieutenant should definitely have contacted you already. Something happened and the drug lord is covering it up or doesn't know about it. Okay, Xavier, I'll talk to the drug lord about your concerns, and I'll let you know what I figure out."

"Thanks Alfa, I'll owe you one."

"Hm, interested to be my canvas and let me tattoo one of my new designs? Free of charge of course."

"Count me in."

We laughed and he led me to his workshop. The design he made was of a cross with roses around it. We discussed the placement and settled on tattooing it on my upper arm. It took two hours for it to be finished and when Alfa showed me the final result in the mirror, I was astonished. He never ceases to amaze me with his artistry. We talked and hung out after that till Alfa's next appointment came around the corner and I got up to leave.

"It was fun hanging out with you, but I will get out of your hair now. Text me if you need a canvas again."

"Oh, I will definitely text you, Xavier. Till next time."

We waved each other goodbye, and I greeted the client coming in before leaving the tattoo parlour. I started up my motorcycle and drove home.

Alfa was quick and kept to his word. He suspects the current drug lord really doesn't know what is happening and said that he would talk to the lieutenant, my boss. He told me to text him again if I still hadn't heard from him in three days. Two days had already passed since then and I started to think there really was something going on with my boss. Later that day, when the sun had already set, I received a notification. It was from my boss, and I was waiting for this, but it still felt off. He told me that he would send the instructions in a minute. I asked him if he didn't want to meet up for that, but he insisted that wasn't safe to do right now. He asked me to verify what my new position was, and I reluctantly said hitman. This whole situation is suspicious. Why would my boss forget that he promoted me to hitman. Why would he talk about this classified information over text when he previously was so set on meeting up in person for more secrecy and safety. We never texted important information to each other, we always called or met up so it couldn't be leaked. I want to get to the bottom of this. Something happened to my boss, and I will figure out what. I wonder if I should get Alfa involved or first do my own research to back up my claim. I finally received the message explaining my new role. It said that hitmen work under the lieutenants and are those who are armed to carry out field activities. They carry out assassinations, thefts, kidnappings, extortions and executing protection rackets. The Hitmen also have to do the main task of defending the turf or plaza from rival groups, police, and military. After reading this information I realised why I got this promotion. With the police bust I showed that I was able to protect our organisation from the police which apparently showed enough skills for my boss to promote me. My eyes fell back to the word assassinations. The rest of the activities I was sure I could perform but I wondered if I would be able to kill someone. Could I detach myself from my human emotions and kill somebody in cold blood? I honestly didn't want to find out. I texted Alfa and told him my boss had finally contacted me. I didn't mention the suspicious behaviour and decided that I would investigate that myself first. Alfa texted me back saying he has a gift for me, something I will need for my new job. I asked him when he wanted to meet, and he replied saying he would come by tomorrow and that I should text him my address. I complied and sent him my address before putting my phone down and going to bed.