Brontide

Chris impatiently waited with George in an empty parking lot, his eyes darting from one corner to the next. George calmly stood there with his hands behind his back, watching Chris. He shifted his weight so he could lean in closet to Chris, speaking in a hushed voice.

"Calm down," he whispered, "They will be here. They are taking extra precautions, most likely."

Chris frowned, crossing his arms. He hated open spaces. Though he had a pistol holstered on his right side, he still felt vulnerable. The sun was just going down, so there likely wouldn't be any fighting. It was simply a client who wanted to meet face-to-face with them.

He showed up ten minutes later, flanked by two burly men with pistols of their own. Chris felt puny next to them, which was really saying something. The man was very young, and a CEO of some major company Chris had never heard of. He could guess what the guy wanted.

"Evening, boys," he smiled, speaking in a hint of a southern accent. George nodded, and Chris raised a hand in a small wave.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" the man looked to Chris, "Or are you all brawns and no brains?"

Chris opened his mouth to say something rude, but quickly snapped it shut. He knew better to threaten a man with snipers hidden around the lot.

"Sir, we assure you that we are educated in everything your business requires," George spoke confidently. "If you don't mind, we would like this meeting to be brief, as we would not like to attract any attention."

"Great then, straight to the point. I like it!" the man grinned wide. "I wanted to meet face to face, but the idiot secretary working for you guys wouldn't let me talk to the right person."

Chris and George both clenched their teeth to prevent from rudely getting defensive over Marissa. George cleared his throat, "She's simply doing her job, but please continue."

"There's a man out there, who knows something. I want to know what it is. The files are all on a little USB stick he carries around somewhere," the man explained. "I need that stick, but I need more than just a little mugging. There's something else."

"And what's that?" Chris asked, slightly distracted.

"This man is my father."

George's eyes widened slightly, but quickly went back to the calm expression he wore before.

"Let me explain," the young CEO laughed, "He's been gone ever since I can remember. Sleeping with other women, breaking my poor Mama's heart. I want him dead, but before you kill him, I want you to wring something out of him. He's hiding a fortune somewhere in our house, and I need to know where."

"Very well," George said.

One of the burly men handed Chris a folder, and he looked inside to find information about his new target inside.

"Get it done as soon as possible," the young man ordered, walking away. Chris waited until he drove off before speaking up.

"Is this guy for real?" he asked, "His father?"

"Orders are orders," George sighed. "You carry them out, emotions aside. That's something you have yet to learn.

.::.

Chris slowly did his work, distracted by what he had been asked to do earlier that day. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and spun around to find a startled Rae staring back up at him.

"Oh, it's you," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Those are the words every girl wants to hear," she rolled her eyes. "Are you okay? You seem out of it."

"I'm fine, really."

"Okay," she smiled, taking her hand off his shoulder and moving clean glasses back to the cupboards.

"How do you do it?" another voice piped up. Chris looked up to see Alex frowning at him.

"Do what?"

"Get that," he gestured to Rae. "It's not fair. We can't all look like Captain America."

"Captain what? What on earth are you talking about?" Chris wrinkled his nose.

"Why do girls like you and not me?" Alex glared at him.

Chris raised an eyebrow, looking Alex over. It was the first time he realized that Alex was dressed like him, with his hair combed back like his. Chris frowned, reaching over and ruffling his hair so it went bag to the shaggy mess it usually was.

“Hey!” Alex stepped back.

“You’re not going to get anywhere trying to be me, kid. You’ve got whole ‘skater’ thing going on,” Chris rolled his eyes. “I’m five years older than you are. If I walked outside looking unkempt, people will think I’m a homeless drug addict. If you go outside looking unkempt, it’s apparently attractive. I have a sister; I know these things.”

Alex thought for a moment, then beamed. “You’re right, I do have something you don’t. Hey, how old is your sister by the way?”

“Physically, she’s your age,” Chris shrugged. “Mentally, she’s going on fifty.”

“Is she single?” Alex hesitated, testing his boundaries.

“No,” Chris glared at him. “I wouldn’t try to get in there, either. The guy has ten years on you.”

Alex stepped back, taking Chris’s hint. He stumbled over to a table of three girls, untucking his shirt and messing up his hair. The girls giggled when he talked to him, and though they were likely making fun of him, Alex seemed to think he was a lady-killer. Chris was just glad he was finished playing dress up. He was the last person Chris wanted to get involved in his second life.

“It’s a miracle,” Rae laughed softly, coming back from sorting out glasses. “How did you get him to hop off your dick?”

“I don’t know,” Chris chuckled, “But I’m glad he’s over it. He was thinking about Marissa. Can you even imagine?”

“She would eat him alive.”

Chris shook his head, smiling as he sat down in a chair behind the bar. Rae was sitting on top of the counter, and the two sat in silence for a little while. It had been a slow night, and they found a lot of downtime in between orders. Chris rather enjoyed it, especially because he knew he would have to do some unpleasant business when he got the text from George. It finally came fifteen minutes before their shift ended.

Target is in sight.
-Blocked

Chris took his jacket off the hanger, reaching into the pocket to make sure the little earpiece he needed was still in there.

“Leaving early?” Rae frowned.

“There’s no one here,” Chris shrugged, “Do you need me here? I have to get some stuff done.”

“Well, if it’s important. I’ll see you later.”

.::.

Chris sat on the fire escape in a narrow alley, waiting patiently for the moment he was needed. He was dressed head to toe in black, and had a hood covering his face.

How are you doing out there? George’s voice buzzed in his earpiece.

“I’m as awesome as I’ll ever be in a freezing cold alley,” Chris said quietly. “Hey, have I ever told you how great it is to have a partner blabbing away in my ear instead of my dad going ape-shit?”

You flatter me. I expect flowers and chocolates next time. Be ready, he’s coming.

Chris climbed down from the fire escape, peering around the corner. A middle-aged man walked by the alley, with a face that matched the pictures in the file Chris had looked through. Chris quickly put on a scared face, running out behind him.

“Sir? Please, I need you help!” he cried out, receiving the man’s attention.

“Uh, what for?” the man looked over his shoulder, stepping towards Chris.

“It’s my wife! She’s pregnant, and her water just broke. Please, help me out here!” Chris put on a fake sob story, and successfully gained the man’s full attention.

“Well, where is she?” he asked.

“Come on, she’s in our car, this way!” Chris nodded towards the alley, trying not to break character as the man stupidly followed him there.

“Where is she? Where is she?” he snapped his head around, looking for Chris’s pregnant wife.

“Right here,” Chris smirked, kissing his knuckles.

The man looked at him in confusion, but realized what was happening too late. Chris threw a terrible punch, hitting him straight in the gut and knocking the air out of him. The man fell to the ground, reaching towards his pocket and pulling out a small bottle of pepper spray. Chris grabbed him by the wrist, wrenching the little bottle out of his hand and pinning his arms behind his back.

Chris struggled to keep him down as he held a cloth over the man’s nose and mouth, patiently waiting until the struggling stopped. He then bound his wrists and slung the grown man over his shoulder, talking him over to where George was waiting in the truck. He dumped the man in the back, climbing into the passenger seat. George got out, gesturing for Chris to slide into the driver’s seat.

“You can take it from here, correct?” he winked. Chris nodded, driving away as George left.

He drove out away from the city, out to an abandoned warehouse that the organization used for these purposes. He carried the man out into the warehouse, tying him to a chair and setting up his “persuasion tools” on the table. When the man finally woke up, Chris had already sharpened half of his knives.

“Good morning,” Chris grinned, tapping the point of his knife. “Sleep well?”

The man tried to speak, but it came out muffled through the gag.

“Funny how you tried to answer. This won’t take very long, I promise. My employer is looking for a USB stick of yours. I think you know the one. Company files and whatnot?” Chris stepped forward, picking up the man’s coat off the ground. “Is it in here?”

The man stood stiff, much to Chris’s annoyance. Chris pulled back and punched the man in the face, yanking his head up by his hair.

“Cooperate, old man. I don’t have all day,” Chris ordered. The frightened man jerked his chin towards the jacket, and Chris felt around to see if he could find it. “It’s not in here. Don’t lie to me. I’ll do whatever it takes, and you know that.”

The man stood still, flinching when Chris drew his fist back again. He quickly jerked his chin towards his briefcase, which Chris had forgotten about altogether.

“Oh,” Chris muttered, “I probably should’ve checked that.”

He dug through the case and found three USB sticks, pocketing all of them. He figured his employer was smart enough to figure out which one it was. Chris walked over to the table and started sharpening his knives again.

“So, there’s one more thing. I also need to know-”

Smack that, get on the floor! Smack that, gimme some more! Smack that, till you get sore! Smack that, wooooaaahhh…

A phone rang out, making both Chris and the man freeze in surprise. Chris quickly came back to his senses, reaching down into his pocket to take out his phone.

“Sorry, I thought I had it on silence,” he explained to the man, who seemed more worried about his life than Chris’s vulgar ringtone.

He looked at the caller ID, wondering who was calling at that late hour.

Calling: Rae

Chris held up a finger for the man to wait, and picked up the phone.

“Hello?” he answered as calmly as he could.

“Chris?” Rae seemed panicked on the other end. “You won’t believe this…”

“What happened?” Chris frowned.

“I think I just saw something I shouldn’t have. I’ve been hiding in the bar for at least an hour.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw this guy dressed in black totally beat up another guy and chloroform him. And then he took the guy away and drove away in a truck. He was wearing this black hoodie and black jeans. I’m really scared.”

Chris turned pale, looking down at his black hoodie and black jeans.

“Did you see his face?” he asked.

“No, but I’m scared he saw me too. It was a couple blocks away from the bar, where the pawn shop is.”

“Trust me, he didn’t see you,” Chris tried not to sound panicked. “Just calm down.”

“Should I call the police?”

“No, don’t call the police. You’ll just get more involved. Just go home, okay? You’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to go home, I’ll be alone there.”

The man in the chair screamed as loud as he could, and though the gag muffled it, it still went through to the other side. Chris’s hand shot out and clenched around his throat, cutting off his windpipe.

“What was that?” Rae sounded scared.

“It was this drunk guy on the street, he fell in a ditch,” Chris lied, silently cursing himself for coming up with such a stupid lie.

“Where are you?”

“Just doing some errands. I really have to get them done soon.”

“When will you get home?”

“It depends on how cooperative people are. Soon, hopefully.”

“I don’t want to be alone. Can I come to your place?”

“Okay, fine,” Chris rubbed his temples, “I keep my key under the mat. You know where I live. Just stick around there, have a drink or two, and I’ll be there soon. Okay?”

“Okay,” Rae squeaked, “Please come soon.”

“I will,” Chris promised, hanging up the phone.

He realized he was still holding on the man’s throat, and let go. The man gasped for air. Chris could almost hear the guy’s heart thumping out of his chest as he took off the gag.

“Please,” the man begged as soon as the gag was off, “I have a wife! I have a son!”

“That’s funny,” Chris smirked, “Your son is the one who hired me.”