Choking On Sapphires

12 Fireside

You dream of the sea again. This time he isn't in it. You panic because it feels like he should be. You feel like you're reaching as far as you can to search for him and as the waves pick up, a storm on the horizon moves in, killing the blue sky and turning it purple. When the lightning spreads out across the sky with a crack you wake up. These are dreams similar to the ones you had when he had his house blown up last time. So this time you know something has to be wrong. You have Claire check all your security, again. She knows there's no point in fighting you on it, she does as you command. You're met with an early morning light greeting you as you walk to the window. You sigh heavily and know you won't stay sane if you don't do something. So as you had from time to time on matters like these, you call Polly. You explain the dreams and the changes, she tells you all you need to hear in her omniscient way.

"If the night chooses to whisper something to you, dear, never ignore it. It doesn't speak to everyone and it never speaks without purpose." she pauses, sensing your hesitancy. "Do you care if the man lives or dies?" she asks plainly.

"Yes." you say without hesitation or added motive.

"Then go to him." he says sternly.

You have Joseph fetch the car and you make yourself decent. You put a pistol into your deep coat pocket and wait anxiously as your car carries you to the warehouse. You stand in the center of two massive brick buildings, hidden from the street. You gnaw at your lip and press your back against a blank spot of wall. You felt that sickening feeling in your gut. You shut your eyes and breathe, trying to take in everything around you for a moment. You know he's supposed to be here but you don't know if he is. This is where your mind told you to go and so you followed, continuing acting on Polly's advice.

The man wouldn't have stuck out to you with his hands in his pockets, hat over his eyes, shuffling with his head down towards the double doors. But his coat was far too expensive, one pocket sagging lower than the other. His shoes barely dirty. You knew he didn't belong here. And once he shifted his shoulder, his hand moving in his pocket, you felt like a hound picking up a scent.

He moves into the warehouse, you follow, dashing across the large space between the buildings. You slide in through the crack of the doors before they close again with the men entering and exiting. The hard look on your face kept the men from addressing you as you tiptoed to see what direction the man went in. You see Ollie at the end of a row and run to him, asking him if he's seen anyone who matches the description. As you're clarifying if Alfie was in a meeting or expecting anyone, the man walks past you, you're hidden between a row of barrels. You freeze and whisper to Ollie that this was the guy in question.

You peek around the corner, your hand on your gun in your pocket, much like the man you were following. You hear Alfie's voice but you don't see him yet. The man hesitates at the end of the row and looks around, you hurriedly move out of his line of sight to hide again, the gun outside of your pocket by your side. You move quickly around a grouping of barrels and exhale heavily with relief as the man comes into sight again. He cocks it, you can hear the snap like a radar blip in the white noise of the room. You hear Alfie's voice drawing closer.

It's now just you and the man that you can see, so you draw your gun and aim. Alfie's holding his glasses in one hand, papers in another, in a seemingly important conversation with the large bald man you'd seen multiple times now. He doesn't even think to look up as he rounds the corner, and why would he in his own bakery? The man takes a deep breath, and so do you. You see the glint of the shine off his pistol, knowing now you have full reason to move on him. You creep out from behind the barrels to get a clear and clean shot. As his gun reaches the level of his chest, gripped tight in hand, you shoot him in the back of the head. Your aim pointed up towards the ceiling so if the bullet did exit, it wouldn't blow his warehouse to hell by hitting some barrel. Deny the rums existence all you like, that bread will still blow if you light it on fire.