I pulled into the parking lot of the MegaPort and braced myself for what was to come. I never liked doing this, but when I thought of my little girl on that hospital bed I knew it wasn't for me. I grabbed the bag from the back and pulled on my ski cap.
I'd been here just yesterday and checked. There were no cameras; there was no security system at all. They didn't even have a smoke detector. Unfortunately, there was a car still in the parking lot; luckily, there was only one.
I walked into the little, white building with the fading sign. Memorizing it, knowing I'd never see it again. I'd never be back to this small town. It was perfect because it was isolated, but it made me miss my family. As soon as I had enough money, I'd head back home. I knew my wife would not approve, so I wouldn't tell her how I earned my money.
The man at the counter reached for the phone. He was little, so I guess he was perfect for the job, because he matched the building, itself. I couldn't have him calling the police, so I shot his leg. He fell to the ground with a thud. I watched, feeling slightly sickened at the sight of the blood pooling out of the brand new hole in his leg. No matter how many times I shot someone I never got over the shock of the blood and knowing that I had caused that.
When I looked back at his face, he was staring intently at something behind me, then he glanced at the door. I knew that look; I was no amateur. This was my fifth store; there was no way I was that dumb. I spun immediately and trained the gun on a young woman in the store. She was probably in her late 20's early 30's. "Hands up!" I yelled at her. My voice was shaking. She obeyed and I motioned to the check-out line, "Come here." I told her, steadying my voice to show who was in control of the situation. She did. "Money." I asked immediately, "Do you have any?" I clarified; trying to be demanding.
"Not much." She responded, "Mostly credit cards." She told me. I grabbed her purse and plopped it on the counter, rifling through it. I found her wallet and pocketed it, then I glanced at the cashier.
He wasn't going anywhere; he was so out of it in his own little world of pain. I knew that world. The world of pain you enter into when the doctor tells you your little girl may not make it, that there wasn't much hope. Looking at her tiny, trusting face as she asks when she's coming home. "I love you, Daddy." That's the last thing she'd told me when I'd left. The doctor said she wouldn't make it without another round of treatment. The cancer wasn't responding to the chemo anymore and they were going to have to try the cell transplantation now, but we didn't have the money to pay for it. I needed money for my little girl.
So I turned to the woman in the store and said, "Get the bag and start filling it." She hesitated for a second and I held the gun steadily pointed at her chest, about where her heart would be. She hurriedly went and picked up the bag and emptied the contents of the cash register into it for me.
I looked down at the cashier once she was done. He was losing so much blood he might die of blood loss before an ambulance could even get here. So really, I was doing him a favor. I needed the time to get away. I'd already made this decision, all that was left was to carry it out. I slowly pointed the gun at his head and steeled myself as I aimed slightly above his eyes and directly between them. I could show no emotion.
I squeezed the trigger and looked down at the ground as I waited the second that always feel like an eternity. Finally, I heard the thump of his body as his head hit the ground. The bullet may be small, but it was deadly and it had done its job as quickly as I could've hoped for.
I turned the gun on the lady and cocked it. She looked terrified. I hesitated, but then I realized that this look could soon be the one my little girl, my angel, my world could be giving me soon on her own death bed as the life slowly seeps out of her. So I slowly squeeze the trigger and watch as her body quickly collapses to the ground. I watched as another person sacrificed themselves for my little girl.
As I walked to my car I went through her wallet, counting the money and looking for something I might be able to use at an ATM or something once before they found her body. I came across two pictures. School photos, as the uniforms and the backgrounds indicated. Two little boys stared up at me with her eyes. The same eyes I had watched the life fade out of just seconds before. I felt tears come to my eyes as I thought of her little children coming home from now on without a mommy, but then I thought, at least they come home. I closed off my emotions and tossed the pictures onto the passenger's seat as I drove away. Towards home. Towards my little girl. My little Mikayla. She could have a future now and all these people had contributed to it, so I prayed for their souls as I headed towards my home with a hope for the future.
