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A Bang or a Buck


otter

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It’s ten minutes till nine. Where is he? He said he’d show by now, and he still isn’t here, he’s almost thirty minutes late...

 

Calm down, Joseph, calm down. Nat wouldn’t be late without reason, it’s alright, everything’ll be fine. He’ll ask you how the last shipment went, make sure you got everything, pay you, and send you on your way.

 

Heh. Always fun being able to name your own price. A buck for a bang, a buck or a bang, that’s how it worked, that’s what you always say. No worries, Joe; it’s smooth sailing from here out. Always was. Always would be.

 

Five till nine. Just think about the last shipment, Joseph, focus on the last mission, get your details straight. You rolled up to the warehouse, and your boy was there, had the briefcase, everything in it, every last little document. Just perfect. You paid the guy, and then what do you do next?

 

Exactly like you were told. Draw your handgun, and put one right through his skull, back to front, just like you learned. No problem, no sir. Your buddies take out the rest, and it’s time to head back; but no, somebody was tipped off, somebody knew about this, probably that fool Ilja’s group. Still, that’s not a problem; just gotta take ‘em down, you have permission, it’s standard procedure. Take down everybody who starts shooting at you.

 

Séamus takes down the guy with the hunting rifle; man, he’s a great counter-sniper, he is. - the best I’ve ever met. Thomas and George take down the others there. And then out runs one man, he’s wearing their colours it looks like, he’s got a small pistol, nothing else.

 

One round, right between the eyes. Just like it said. He was one of Ilja’s men, after all. He had to be, didn’t he?

Uggh, I need to stop talking to myself. It’s not healthy. I just...man, that was the longest string of unadulterated speaking-to-myself right there...

 

Three knocks on the door. Wonderful, they’re here. Like always, I stay towards the back of the room. In walk two men: One, I recognize. He’s my employer, the guy helps keep me alive. It’s Nat. The guy Ilja makes fun of by calling “Natholomew.” That’s all perfect. The other, though, I don’t recognize. Dark colours, keeping his face hidden. Looks like a typical bodyguard, just as it’s typical of Nate to bring a bodyguard here.

 

“Well, Nat, there you are. Mission’s over, there’s your supplies,” I say, gesturing to the briefcase on the table nearby. “So. Three thousand, that was what I said, wasn’t it?” I smile, ingratiatingly, and he turns to me. Cold. Angry, almost.

 

“Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” he growls, and I feel my heart drop. This can’t be good.

 

“There was somebody out there you shouldn’t have killed, yet you did. You know, when I signed you on, I thought you’d had discretion. I thought you were skilled in something other than just pulling a trigger. Apparently, I was wrong.” He picks up the briefcase, before turning to me, finally actually looking at me.

 

“Sorry, Joseph...what was it you said, a bang for a buck, a bang or a buck?” He turns on his heel, leaving. I stand there, dumbstruck.

 

No, no, Nat, what are you doing? I did everything you asked, I have for months now, and you’re dropping me so quickly?

 

Wow, Joseph, you screwed this up. Good job.

 

In a completely confused state, I find myself sitting on the long couch in the room. After a moment, the other guy sits next to me, about arm’s length apart.

 

“Man, you should’ve been more careful.” Oh, shut up. Darnit Joe, you’ve screwed up, now you’re going to have nowhere to go.

 

I turn, and there’s the other man...more importantly, I’m now eye-to-eye with the barrel of a P99.

 

“A bang or a buck, Joseph. That’s what you said. That’s what we give.” He smiles, tipping up his sunglasses, pulling down the small balaclava he wore.

No. No no no. It’s impossible. He can’t...they can’t have been working together, no. That can’t be possible.

“A bang...”Looks like we won’t make it out of this one, Joe.

Edited by Ilyusha Blokfase

profiles i guess

i'm a south american giant otter now

 

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I feel it's necessary to point out that this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The Book Badger is a friendly, compassionate member of the community, and has no association with anyone named Joe. Well, not anymore at least. Seriously, though, a fun little piece - stream-of-consciousness is always interesting. That said, the narrator's voice, while appropriately jumpy and freaked out, wasn't quite doing it for me. Hard to put my finger on why - maybe I'm just used to internal narration being a little lighter most of the time. No accounting for taste, I guess. :P Also,

In a completely confused state

That line's such a clunker I could take it down to the junkyard and get a couple hundred for the scrap. :P Edited by GSR

Hey: I'm not very active around BZP right now.  However, you can always contact me through PM (I have email notifications set up) and I will reply as soon as I can.


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