The Hitman's Last Job(4)

“Hey kid, what took ya so long?” he said angrily to Carl.
“Urgh… things got a little complicated, but it’s all sorted,” he lied smoothly.
“Complicated eh?” Angelo squinted his eyes suspiciously. “But the girl? You got her too didn’t ya?”
“Yup,” Carl nodded, praying he wouldn’t ask more questions.
“Good work,” Angelo began to swim over to the other side of the bath where a briefcase lay. “As always, you never let me down,” and he slid the briefcase over the wet floor in the direction of the two men.


Carl picked it up gratefully and nodded in appreciation.

“Jerry here’ll show you out,” and Angelo swam back to his original spot.


As Carl was led out of the house and back to his car, he couldn’t believe that lying was so easy. He couldn’t believe that he’d bullshitted the Don and gotten away with it! He could feel the sweat clinging to the inside of his clothes as he started the engine and drove away. He gave a friendly wave to Jerry who was walking back in the house with a cheery expression and focused his eyes on the road.



CHAPTER 3

Carl looked to the passenger seat where the briefcase of money lay. $50,000. It wasn’t lottery money but it would keep him comfortable and settled for long enough. And anyway, he only needed a few more hits and then he could retire and make a fresh start. He always thought he’d head south and live somewhere warm, and cheap. The heat would help his back recover and he liked the idea of having a little plot of land to himself. A little orchard maybe and some farm animals. Or maybe he’d get a condo somewhere like Miami and party hard, living the bachelor’s dream on the beach.

As he pulled into the parking lot of the motel he felt a twinge of panic. He’d managed to get away with not killing the girl for now but what next? He’d get found out eventually wouldn’t he? He opened the door to the room and looked inside half expecting to see that Anna had escaped but was almost disappointed to see she was obediently lying still. He walked over to her and saw that she didn’t even seem angry, just inpatient.

“Who are you?” she spoke in hushed tones. “What are you going to do with me?”
“Shhhh…. You’ll find out soon enough,” he said rather harshly and regretted it.


Anna withdrew back into herself and sighed.

“Look, there’s no use getting all pouty and bratty,” joked Carl. “I ain’t lettin’ you go,”
“Well can you at least untie me…please? It hurts,”


Carl immediately felt like a brute. She was so tiny after all. What did he need to tie her up for?

“Ok fine… but don’t act up or I’ll shoot,” he put a finger on the handle of his gun that sat on his hip and Anna nodded.


He pulled the knots apart and let the rope fall to the ground. Anna stretched out her limbs and sat up feeling grateful.

“Thanks… I knew you weren’t that much of a bad guy,”
“Oh yeah… Why’s that?”
“Well if you were gonna do something, you would have done it already,”


She had a point. Carl almost smiled but stopped himself.

“Don’t get too complacent. There’s still time left,” he said menacingly.


But Anna was used to being threatened, and he wasn’t the first man that had showed her a gun to get their way. She could see the kindness behind the fa?ade of machismo and she wasn’t as scared as she should have been.

“You can get some sleep if you want,” Carl nodded to the bed,
“And where will you sleep?”
“I’m fine right here,” he shifted in his seat and winced in pain. His back was hurting again but it wasn’t anything a shot of vodka and a couple aspirin couldn’t fix.


Anna shuffled into bed and pulled the covers up around her. They were dirty and smelled musty but at least they were warm. She huddled up into the foetal position and closed her eyes for just a second. She never for a moment imagined that she could sleep but slumber came easily and she drifted off peacefully.

~

The sun was already shining through the venetian blinds when Carl woke up. He had his head on his shoulder and he felt instantly stiff and in pain when he woke.

“Urgh…” he grumbled to himself.


Anna, having heard him, also began to stir and for a brief moment Carl was certain he saw a pained expression on her face. It was as if she’d remembered something tragic. But then she opened her eyes and looked to the ceiling as she realized where she was. She didn’t seem even slightly perturbed and just sat up in bed, still wearing her coat, with a dishevelled look.

“Sleep well?” he asked sarcastically.
“Never better,” Anna said so seriously it surprised Carl.
“Are you hungry?”
“Always,” she replied.


And as Carl looked to her legs that hung from her coat he noticed that she was frightfully thin with bruises covering her pale skin like fading leopard spots.

“I’ll be right back with breakfast,” he spoke gruffly and yawned before leaving the hotel room and jumping in the SUV.
As he put his keys in the ignition he worried whether she would try and escape. Leaving her alone for a while was somewhat of a test. If she ran away she’d go straight to the police but they could never penetrate the protection of the mob. But what if she escaped and the Don found out? He decided to stay in the parking lot for a while longer and see what she did. He had the key to the motel room but she could easily smash a window. He could see her figure a little bit through the gaps in the blinds. She appeared to just be sitting on the edge of the bed. She leaned forward and flicked on the TV. So she’s getting comfy, he thought. She won’t be moving. As he drove out onto the freeway, he wondered why.