(no subject)
Grigori drew his lungs full of air and let the barrel of the gun fall, as the repulsive smell of the dirty apartment invaded his nostrils. It was a smell of cheap cigarettes, unhealthy chemistry and dirty laundry, mixed with a fresh, sweetish smell of blood. He unscrewed the silencer from the weapon, and felt his pulse steady and breath become more relaxed as he did it. It was over, for now.
From the doorstep he took a look of his fresh ‘’customers’’. The man was lying on the coffee table, his face frozen in horror and behind still resting on the couch. Grigori had gotten him first, straight between the eyes. Maybe he had tried to take cover, maybe reach for something from under the table. No-one would ever know. Soon Grigori noticed how the table had cracked a bit from the impact with his head. ‘’Too bad.’’ he thought, as he watched the bastard bleeding his juices on the table, where it was mixed with the fine, white powder that lay upon it. The same stuff that got him this far, and the same stuff that got him killed.
The woman was lying next to the man, all limp, partly over the arm of the couch. She got two slugs to the chest, and the shock of pain took care of the rest. Grigori observed her closely as he stepped closer, scanning for signs of life, but there wasn’t any. She was quite young, actually, about in her early 20s, with bleached hair and excessive make-up. ‘’No taste.’’ he thought in his head. She could have been beautiful, if the injection marks on her arms had not betrayed the corruption within. She could have been alive too, if her poor choice of a boyfriend had not betrayed her too.
Then there was a second woman, next to the kitchen door. Grigori stepped closer to see if she was still alive, but a shot through the back of her head had done her in. The man couldn’t help wondering who she was, this woman with one of those faces that one just couldn’t remember for more than a few days. A sister? A friend? A customer, maybe? Not that it mattered to him, though. Vladimir’s orders had been clear. No loose ends. That’s what they always got for stepping on his toes, and that’s why the number one rule of this business was to never step on Vladimir’s toes.
Shaking these distracting thoughts from his mind, Grigori got himself back to work. He took a handkerchief from his pocket, and gently used it to slide a ring off a dead man’s finger. A successful hit needed some evidence, and the ring would do just nicely. Something more personal than a silver ring would have been better, but a man’s ring was as good as…
Suddenly a quiet sound interrupted his thoughts, and he held his breath to listen. It was sobbing, quiet sobbing of a child, somewhere in the back of the apartment.
He took a deep breath as screwed the silencer back into it’s place. In this job one couldn’t leave loose ends. Not even one.
---Later that night---
Grigori pulled his car over to the familiar yard, and parked it next to the garage. He stretched his sore back and aching shoulders as he got out of the vehicle, and took a good whiff of the cold night air. The day had been long and hard, and all he craved for now was some snack and a good night’s rest. He fished a cigarette from a pack in his pocket, and had just managed to light it when the front door slowly opened.
‘’Daddy!’’ she happily exclaimed as she ran into his arms. He quickly flicked the cigarette away and took her into his arms, playfully ruffling her sunkissed hair.
‘’Valeria! Isn’t it past your bedtime, dear?’’
‘’I couldn’t get to sleep without you daddy. Why do you have to always work so late?’’
‘’I’m sorry princess. Daddy has a lot of work to do at the office when the company is growing.’’ Then a thought occurred to him ‘’What does mommy say when you’re up so late?’’
‘’She doesn’t know.’’ the girl smiled happily ‘’She fell asleep on the couch some time ago.’’
‘’Then we’ll let mommy have her rest, won’t we?’’ He let her down and took her hand ‘’I’ll tell you what princess: Daddy will make you a nice, big mug of hot chocolate, but you’ll go to sleep right after that. Understood?’’
‘’Yay! Hot chocolate!’’ she laughed as she pulled him inside.
He stopped to take off his shoes at the corridor as the little girl bolted into the kitchen. A small voice shouted from the kitchen as he lay down his shoes and grasped the handle to close the door ‘’I love you daddy!’’
‘’Daddy loves you too princess.’’ he answered as he was about to close the door, but then stopped for a while to look outside into the night.
The thoughts of this day still loomed in his mind, and he stayed there for a short while, before closing the door for good. ‘’Daddy loves you too.’’
Music of the day: Nox Arcana - God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen