An Easy Job

“Alright,” the man said, as he slipped a small revolver into my hand. “the big man told me to
give you a piece in case things get messy in there.”

“I thought nobody was going to be home – why would I need this?” I asked, as the suited
man stared out of the alleyway into the suffocating darkness of the street corner. He took
another puff of his cigar, slowly blowing the smoke out into the faint glow of the lamplight. He
groaned and turned his head back to me.

“Listen, buddy, the boss just wants you to get in there, retrieve what we discussed, and then
meet him at the Café on Walton. It’s an easy job.”

“If it’s an easy job, why do I need a piece?”, I inquired.

“Mr. Valone just wants a little . . . extra insurance, is all. Don’t worry about it.”

Louis Valone was a man with a reputation to stretch his word. On occasion, he would “accidentally” leave out little details in jobs like these. If I recall, the last “easy job” he gave out
was for some kid to lean on an old associate of his in the upper east district. The job was
simple; get in, rough the guy up a bit, and get out. Valone failed to mention that the man was
under police protection, and the poor kid ended up gunning down one of the guy’s baby sitters.
Now he’s getting the chair, and Louis doesn’t seem to give a shit, as if the guy was just some
empty suit. This job was getting shady, and it gave me all the more reason to be cautious – of
the job, and of Valone.

I looked down at the revolver, and quickly secured it into my belt as another car rolled up
further down the alley. A slightly more casual looking man stepped out and walked over to us.

“Okay, pal, Jiang just left the place. If you’re going to pull this off, now’s the time to do it.” he
said, as he pulled a cigar out of his coat. “Remember, you do this for us, and we’ll take care of
your little… financial issue with the DeLucas.”

The second man lit a match, and its light seemed to put an end to the gloomy blackness that
engulfed me more and more as I stood there in that alleyway. I realized that whether I were to
do the job or not, I couldn’t stand being in this place any longer.

“Alright, meet me back at the Café in about two-and-a-half hours…and hey, if your boss is
screwing me over on this—” I began.

“Listen tough guy, Frankie just saw Jiang leave. You just get in, and get out. There’s nothing
to worry about.” And with that, the suited man threw his cigar to the ground and followed the
other man back to the car. “And besides, if you don’t do the job, the shylocks’ll whack ya’,
anyway!”

As much as I didn’t like the guy, he had a point.

I arrived at the place a little after midnight. The mansion itself was pale white in colour, with two large columns at the front. A large wall surrounded the estate, featuring a black gate that lead
up to a roundabout driveway. It backed onto a large forest, with a significantly smaller backyard,
when compared to the front. A man by the name of Henry Jiang lived here. From what I was
told, the man had some important documents in his possession that Louis Valone wanted to
“take a look at”.

I managed to sneak my way over the gate, and up the side of the lawn, making sure to be on
the lookout for any dogs. Honestly, I was on the lookout for anything that moved. It’s a little
ironic if you think about it – a professional thief that’s afraid of the dark. The grass was still slick
with dew from the rain that evening, so I ended up doing some variety of half-crouch across the
yard, in an attempt to not get any of my clothing stained. I looped around to the back of the
house, and realized I’d have to find another way in. Where there would have been a back door,
a slab of eggshell coloured wall stood in its place. It was then that I noticed the layer of iron bars
covering every set of windows on the first floor. Every one of them.

I backed up a bit to take a good look at the mansion, searching for any other way in. There
were a couple plain windows on the second floor, and a balcony, so I decided to climb up and
have a stab at picking the lock to its door. The way up was a right pain in the ass – everything
was slippery, and I nearly fell more times than I care to admit. I was getting too old for this kind
of thing. I was meant to be retired by now, kicking my feet up in Hawaii, or fishing down in
Florida. Hell, I’d be happy with small house by the water. Things never would work out the way
I’d figured they would when I was young. Eventually, I managed to make it to the balcony, and
into Jiang’s home.

The first thing I noticed was that the room was only illuminated by a pair of small red lanterns
hanging from the ceiling. The second was the woman on the other side of the room staring back
at me.