The Hitman's Last Job(47)

Right there in front of her stood Carl with the arms of another woman around him. They were kissing passionately and tears instantly began to fall down her face despite her not being conscious of it. As she ran back to the bar she didn’t remember much of what the girl looked like except for the fact she was tall and blonde with enormous breasts. She was in shock, she didn’t know what was going on anymore, but the world swirling around her and the anger that burned inside her made her want to run.

Her teeth began to hurt as she clenched her jaw in rage but what hurt most of all was the betrayal. Losing his trust made her feel as though she’d bottomed out and she wretched onto the sidewalk.

“Men are bastards,” she whispered to herself. “How could he?” her thinking was carrying her away to a dark place.


Pushing her way back into the bar she found the manager cleaning a table. Tapping him on the shoulder she saw his face light up as he saw her again. He saw her tears and his smile fell.

“Hey… you ok?”
“Still OK to get that ride?” she asked.


~

When Carl walked back into the bar he thought his eyes were deceiving him for a moment when he didn’t see Anna waiting for him. As he returned to his seat he desperately asked the barman.

“You seen my girlfriend?”
“The pretty red head who ran in here crying a minute ago? Yeah I seen her. And she just left,”
“She left? Did you say she was crying?”
“She sure was. Was sad as hell when she came back from outside,” he appeared to be enjoying breaking Carl’s heart.


Suddenly the penny dropped as Carl realized what she must have seen. “FUCK!” Was all he could scream in the moment, “Where did she go?”

“I dunno. I’m no psychic,” the barman sniggered and picked up a dirty glass.


CHAPTER 24

Vultures were circling the people carrier as John Reiner traversed the dusty desert. He was beginning to feel dizzy but he was sure it was just because of the heat. As soon as he reached the house he could lie down and cool off. And it wasn’t long until he’d get there. If he was right then he was less than half an hour away. But he noticed as the day moved on he was starting to forget little things. He noticed he was getting confused at just the smallest task but again he put it down to the heat.

Refusing to acknowledge the aching, growing wound in his side he only focused on getting to the house. He had family nearby and they’d help him for sure. That was if they remembered him though.

An open patch of empty road stretched out before John and the effect of the heat on the horizon gave off a peculiar illusion. John was certain the road ahead was melting, that the landscape was swaying. But it wasn’t until he consciously felt the car move him from one side of the lane to the other that he realized he was veering off the road.

Quickly righting himself he pulled the vehicle back into the center of the lane. He wondered what the hell had just happened. Had he momentarily gone mad? Had he lost his sight? Or was he starting to succumb to his injuries? He concluded that it was the heat making him tired and he drove on towards Monterrey.

~

Anna was sat in the passenger seat of the bar manager’s sedan clutching at the briefcase of money.

“That bastard,” she muttered to herself. “That dirty dog,”


Meanwhile the bar manager kept sneaking glances at her.

“I’m Tony by the way. Just realized I never told you,” he felt so awkward in her presence he almost croaked out the words.
“I’m Anna,” she grumbled. “I’m sorry I’m not much company right now,”
“Oh don’t worry about such a tiny thing,” he smiled at her. “We’ll get you to the station soon,”
“Thanks,” and she looked out the window to another strange town with new people and new accents, new experiences she couldn’t explore and different cultures she wouldn’t learn about.


As the car pulled into the station parking lot she felt the need to hug Tony hard. He was both surprised and ecstatic and hugged her back eagerly.

“Good luck kid,” he smiled at her. “And I hope whatever’s upset you goes away,”


She waved goodbye to him and disappeared into the crowd. When she emerged out the other side she was scanning her eyes for a payphone. Delving into Carl’s backpack she found lose change swimming between his belongings. Stepping into the nearest booth she slid the coins in and felt the sweat on her palms as she clutched the receiver.

“Hello Chicago PD, how may I help?”


Anna hesitated for a moment before choosing her words carefully. Her voice shaking as she spoke, she hesitantly uttered the hardest six words she’d ever said.
“I want to report a murder,”

She filled them in making sure they knew every detail.
“He’s in Corpus Christi right now. I left him in a bar called The Bison. About three miles to the south, just off the highway,”

And she hung up with a heavy heart.
“What have I done?” she stared into space for a second but she was too angry to think about it much more.

All men were dogs who treated women like filth. At least that’s what was going through her mind in the moment. Making her way over to the bays she looked over the various busses about to depart. Her eyes caught sight of the nearest one that was heading over the border. She fumbled in the briefcase as subtly as she could then joined the queue to get on board. Holding her cash out to the bus driver as she climbed the stairs, she tried to stifle the tears flowing from her face. But it was no use and she could tell passengers were staring at her.