The Hit

Chapter Nine

 We pulled up in front of a house in an average looking subdivision. Nice homes, but cookie cutter. I turned the car off and sat there for a few seconds. Alissa had a look of anticipation on her face.

 "Where are we?" She said.

 "A friend's" I replied.

 I opened the car door, Alissa did the same. We walked up the driveway, Alissa a step in front of me. The exaggerated archway seemed mismatched to the simple brick exterior of the home.

 "Knock" I said. Alissa looked over her shoulder at me. I nodded towards the door. She knocked, then rang the doorbell. We waited for what felt like eternity, knocking a couple more times. The door opened, a tall, athletic black man filled the space.

 "What the fuck" he said, cutting himself off as his eyes grew wide. The shock of realising that the barrel of my Glock was pointed at his forehead sinking in.

 "Inside" I said. Slowly pushing Alissa towards the door. Gerald backed up enough to allow us to enter the home and close the doors behind us.

 "What the fuck is going on Ryan?" Gerald inquired.

 "I know you do documents on the side."

 "What? Why right now? What are you up to Ryan?"

 "No questions Gerald. Let's get this done." I stated, pushing the barrel of the gun a little closer to his head. The realization that I was in no mood to talk about anything finally prodded him to lead us to the back of the house into an office. Computers and printers littered the room, sitting atop desks and tables of varying height and style. A green screen with a camera set up on a tripod took up the back corner of the room.

 "So, what are we doing here Ryan?" he asked.

 "I need IDs and passports for both of us" I said, nodding towards Alissa. "Alberta, Canada."

 "Canada?" Alissa squeaked out. "I'm not going to Canada!"

 "We'll talk about this later. Make it quick Gerald." I said, directing Alissa to the green screen. Gerald typed away at a computer before turning to take a photo of Alissa. I switched her places and Gerald snapped my photo as well.

 "This is going to take a while if you want them right" Gerald stated. "Probably an hour or more."

 "Make it half that" I said. Alissa sat in a chair behind one of the desks. I positioned myself closer to the door, keeping a watchful eye on both of them. The room remained silent save for the sound of Gerald's keyboard and mouse. The clicking and clacking filled the air, each sound felt as if it was adding to the anxiety in the room. Gerald appeared to be working quickly but I couldn't really know. I had always just put in an order and picked it up. I only ever saw the end result. I tapped my gun on a desk every few minutes, a subtle reminder to Gerald to hurry up. Alissa eventually laid her head on the desk she was seated in front of. For the first time since she woke up in the motel she looked as if she was relaxing a bit. I couldn't tell if she had resigned herself to the situation or if she was just bored and tired.

 The sound of a printer broke through the silence, the pages that would eventually become our documents thudding as the thick paper hit the tray. Gerald scooped them up and began putting them together, retrieving the covers from a filing cabinet. When he finished getting them put together he placed them in a small machine that lightly manipulated the passports, adding the normal wear and tear someone would expect to see. He added a few stamps, indicating fictitious previous travel. He made quick work of the IDs, similarly aging them as well.

 "Alright" he said. "Welcome to the world Carl Harris and Sharon White."

 Alissa's head popped up. "Sharon is the best you could come up with?"

 "It's simple" he snapped back, almost as if the statement had insulted him. "I assume that's what you two need. Am I right Ryan?"

 "The names are fine" I said, gesturing for the documents. I looked them over for a minute or so. I couldn't see anything different from the ones I had received from him before. I really didn't know what to look for, but his documents had always worked in the past.

 "You going to tell me what this is all about now? At least who this is."

 I slipped the documents into my pocket ignoring him. I walked to Alissa and pulled her out of the chair by her arm. Then I raised my pistol to Gerald head. I could see the fear and confusion on Alissa's face out of my periphery. It occured to me that I told her I was supposed to kill her, that she still may think I was going to. She had never seen me kill someone though. She didn't know if I was truly willing, or capable of doing so.

 "Wha wha" her voice quiet and trembling.

 "Whoa man. You don't have to do this. I won't tell anyone."

 I was still contemplating whether I needed to or not. The important thing was Alissa's safety. It was unclear if Gerald would be a threat to that or not. Alissa was trying to pull away. I gripped her arm tighter, an instinctive reaction.

 "C'mon man! You don't have to do this man."

 "I'm sorry" I said. "I can't risk her safety."

 The gunshot rang out loudly in the room. Alissa screamed and pulled away from me, turning around and putting her hands over her face. Her sobs were devastating.

 "Come on Alissa. We have to go."

 She stood still sobbing for a few more seconds before letting outs a soft "why".

 "I had to. If I am going to keep you safe we can't take chances. No loose ends."

 "I don't want you to keep me safe. You're the reason I'm not safe."

 "If it weren't me it would have been someone else. I am the reason you are still alive. I need you to understand that Alissa. I need you to trust me."

 "I'll never fucking trust you!" she shouted. Finally walking towards the door, not fighting against me when I grabbed her arm.