Tonight, You're Gonna Break Your One Rule

Mob life, as I knew it, was fabulous.

I'd get to waltz around as if I was a queen, smile prettily as my boss put the fear into a few people, and watch with a sadistic smile when he shot them clean through the head. He'd smile his pretty, evil smile at me and wrap his arm round my waist, leaving the lower ranks to clean up the mess.

We weren't what I'd call involved, he was like this with all his girls, and we all appreciated the attention. It also meant protection, and that was paramount. I needed protection after what I'd done.

Today was a big day, that was clear, as I watch boss take a seat, surrounded by his men, me and two other girls lingering in the background, watching everything like boss had told us. I listen carefully, but I don’t listen to what they're saying, I listen to their breathing and heartbeats, how they're reacting.

"Girls," Boss says, turning us and we smile and glitter and glide forward, attention on us. He beckons us close, "Leave, watch from outside." He kisses us all and we smile and glitter and glide towards the white factory door and squash ourselves against the door, watching closely.

I see my own reflection in the glass pane and study it closely for a second. Cherry red hair, short and choppy, just below chin length, eyes rimmed slightly in black. Pixie was my nickname, the name I lived by in all these mob wars. I stare my own pale blue eyes out for a second, until laughter worms it's way past our door and into my brain, slow, mocking laughter.

A figure swims into my vision and my eyes focus beyond my reflection. Purple and green cover his body, green blonde hair hanging wavy round his face, eyes circled in messy black, and his lips, his lips smothered in red, mutilated scars extending his small smile.

"And I thought my jokes were bad," His low, gravely voice seems to float through the air and hold every single persons attention.

"Well fuck him all painted up." Jess whispers from beside, and the three of us giggle. Really, we were all children, sticking together in this big mob world. For a second I think I see the clown glance towards us, fix us with his blackened stare. We all stop giggling and shut up and watch.

"Give me one reason why I shoudn't have my boy here rip your head off," Boss says, and we smile, knowing clown face was going to get it.

"How about a magic trick?" He questions, and we all stir.

"What the fuck?" I murmur under my breath, and Cassie and Jess murmur back in agreement.

He pulls a pencil from his pocket and stabs it into the table, "I'm going to make this pencil disappear," he utters as Simon, one of my friends stands up and makes towards the clown. Quicker than the eye can follow Simon's head is slammed into the table and he falls backwards. We all jump, and Cassie half whispers a scream. I grab Jess and Cassie's hands and we watch with fear. Sure I'd seen people killed, but this was Simon, my friend.

"Ta-dah!" He whispers, in awe as he sits at the head of the table, "It's, ah, it's gone."

He adjusts the lapels of his purple suit and smiles at the mobsters, "Oh, and by the way, the suit – it wasn't cheap." He leans back in his chair as if he's completely at ease and he lowers his voice in order to aggravate the men around the table, "You oughta know, you bought it."

Boss makes to stand up and I hold onto my girls hands tighter. The Russian guy tells him to sit down and he slowly obliges, still watching the clown boy.

"Pixie, Cassie, Jess," I hear a slow voice behind us and another henchman is sticking his head out a room, "What're you doing out here?"

"Boss sent us out," Cassie whispers as we make our way towards the room.

"Yeah, he must've knew the clown was coming."

"The clowns here?" The henchman widens his eyes as worry flashes through them.

"Yeah," I say, placing a black tipped hand on his upper arm, "Boss can handle it."

I turn to Cassie, and she's slumped in a chair, staring into space, "Simon's dead," She whispers.

We all fall silent at that and its at least a minute until henchman speaks, "Dead?"

"Clown killed him." We all exhale in unison and sit in silence, not knowing what to say.

Suddenly, there's a distant but loud bang on a table, and the four of us react in an instant, suddenly against the door, "Enough from the clown!" Everyone is on their feet as the Joker holds his purple coat open and reveals a set up of grenades clinging to the fabric.

He makes a small noise as he takes a step back, "Let's not blow," He raises a hand in a fluttering motion, "things out of proportion..."

"You think you can steal from us and walk away?" Boss questions, his voice low and dangerous, just like the clowns, and I watch intently as the clown shrugs.

"Yeah."

"I'm putting the word out," Boss spits, "Five hundred grand for the clown, dead. One million alive, so I can teach him some manners first!"

Clown face regards boss for a second, and for a moment I think he doesn't take him seriously, "Right, so, listen," He reaches into his pocket, "Why don’t you give me a call? When you want to start taking things a little more seriously. Here's. My. Card."

A joker card from a deck of cards is dropped on the table, and the clown makes eye contact with everyone in the room as he backs away.

Towards us.

"Shit," I hiss, "Move!" We all scurry back into the room and hide in the corner, but so we can still see the door.

I see him swagger away down the corridor, humming to himself for a second before bursting into a maniacal laughter that pushed shivers down my spine over and over.

As soon as we're sure he's gone we burst back into the main room and us three girls run over to Boss. The others are whispering sweet nothings to Boss, yet I just stand at his side and listen and watch.

"So that was the Joker," Henchman says, staring back at the door then at Simons body.

"Yes Adam," Boss spits, "And he'll be dead in a week."