Jonas Saul - The Kill

In that moment she knew she needed to die before she could let them touch her repeatedly in that way. She got up from the chair and bolted for the office window, intent on throwing herself into it. In her weakened state, she didn’t get three steps before they were on her.

A telephone rang. Hands pawed her stomach, her legs. Someone yelled. Her shirt was torn off, buttons flying. Someone yelled again. Hands ran between her legs. She was ready to throw up. Hands pawed her breasts, her panties about to give.

The phone rang again.

Then everyone let go. The man yelling was the boss.

“Leave her for a second. Let me get this. It’s downtown.” He looked down at her. “Make a peep and I will personally pull out your right eye and stick my cock in the hole to fuck your brains out. Do not betray me.” He emphasized his point by raises his index finger like a father disciplining a child.

“Hello,” he said. “Yes, I understand.”

She looked around at the hired muscle, her heart racing so fast she thought it would explode. One of the men smiled, winked and blew a kiss at her. She almost lost consciousness. She considered screaming. At least her death would be quick.

“Okay. I will handle it.”

The old man hung up. He looked around the room as if taking in everything for the first time. Then he picked up his letter opener, skirted his desk and ambled over to the men huddled around her.

He placed an arm around the man who had winked and blew a kiss at her. “She is something, eh boys? Twenty-five. Those were the days. Perk tits, tight pussy. Irresistible, eh?”

The men nodded and mumbled their agreement.

With a violence that belied his age, the old man plunged the letter opener into the neck of the man he leaned on. Blood shot out in torrents. The man reached for his neck, his eyes wide.

Acting on instinct, the other men reached in and restrained their colleague in the event he would try to attack the old man.

The old man gouged the letter opener back and forth and up and down as if digging in tough soil, looking for a buried coin.

Rosina watched in horror. She had never seen a man killed before. She’d never seen anyone killed before. The man fell to his knees, the color draining from his face.

In under a minute, it was all over. A man lay dead five feet from her. The old man wiped his letter opener on the dead man’s shirt.

“It appears that your Darwin is more able than I previously thought. I will not underestimate him again. I assure you of that.”

The old man walked behind his desk. “When I said stop, I meant it. Little Mickey didn’t stop. He winked at her. He blew her a kiss. That isn’t stopping. Defy me at your own peril. Now, we have other business to handle. Give her back her shirt. Get her looking reasonably good again. No one touches her until we have Darwin. We may need her intact.”

The old man looked directly at her. “I thought your husband would be here at any moment, but sadly he won’t be joining us quite yet. It seems he has killed two of my best men and escaped on foot.”

“What happened, boss?” The man in the suit stepped forward.

“I don’t know exactly. All I do know is that our men are dead in the van that was sent to get Darwin. They were killed in an accident on the highway.”

That was Darwin? My husband caused the accident that held up my bus? And now because he escaped, I’m getting a reprieve?

She wished they were together again so she could hug him and cry in his arms.

“But be careful. Do not underestimate this man Darwin. Apparently he was seen running away handcuffed. Most of the driver’s right ear is missing and my informant said it wasn’t because of the accident. They clearly saw teeth marks gouged in his head. Big John is dead too. Nothing could kill Big John, but he is gone.”

The old man addressed his crew. “Gentlemen, be on your guard. We may not have seen the likes of a man like Darwin Kostas who can be handcuffed, kill Big John, chew off the driver’s ear and then walk away from a van that apparently flipped numerous times. This man must be caught. He must be stopped. But until that time, no one touches her. We may need her for proof of life. Now, leave me. Find Darwin at all cost. But whatever you do, bring him to me with his heart still beating. I, and only I, will be the one who rips it out of his chest.”

Rosina found the resolve to smile.

Darwin walked through the shopping mall, feeling like a new man. He had on new jeans, a new, slim-fit collared shirt, and a black jacket. Rosina wouldn’t recognize him. When he finished this business and got to Greece, she would be so happy that he did what he was doing.

He still couldn’t get over what just happened. Flesh from the guy’s ear was still stuck between his teeth when he’d gotten to the mall’s bathroom.

After washing up, he’d gone on a spree, buying up everything he needed to look good. It was time to do a deal. It was time to settle this. He had to do it from a position of power and status, and for that he had to look the part.

He strode out the mall doors and looked toward the highway, where a tow truck was trying to right the van.

A police car entered the mall’s parking lot to his right.

Could they be coming for me? Was I seen?

He headed back into the mall. He had taken the cuffs off right away, but there was a little bruising where they had cut into his wrists. If the cops stopped him, looked at his wrists and started asking questions, it could be a problem.

He hustled to the other end of the mall and saw, through the double doors, a taxi sitting idling.

He ran out and hopped into the backseat.

“Termini Station, please,” he said.

The cab driver was writing in a pad of some kind. He looked up and said, “My time off.”

Darwin reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty euro bill.

“Take me to Termini. Then have your time off.”

The driver shook his head. “You want to go to Termini, one hundred euro.”

Fucking crook.

Darwin looked out the back window to make sure the cop wasn’t right behind them and then grabbed another fifty, thought again, and reached in for a twenty. He handed the driver the whole one hundred and twenty euros.

“Termini Station. And do it fast.”

The driver turned in his seat and said, “You got it.”

It took thirty-five minutes to get to Termini, making it almost three in the afternoon when he got there. He jumped from the cab and walked into the station, having no idea what he was looking for or how he would find it.

They would find him. That he was sure of, but he needed something to negotiate with before that happened. Or, he needed a weapon. Something to defend himself with, because he was prepared to deal, but they weren’t. He would need to take care of himself.

I’m convinced I can talk to them. Without that, there’s no hope. I can’t live on the run, so I have to try.

People rushed past him pulling luggage, yanking on their kids’ hands. Beggars asked for money. Uniformed policemen stood at the entrance to the station in pairs. A normal day at Termini.

He entered a McDonald’s where he ordered two cheeseburgers for a euro each. After getting his food, he headed for the downstairs. He needed a pay phone with relative privacy.

The call he was about to make was the first move in solving the Fuccini family problem.

Knowing Rosina was in Greece was such a relief that he felt he could do this. He was so happy she hadn’t run off that plane. Sure, she’d be pissed, but after he told her what had happened and filled her in on what he was about to do, she’d understand, forgive him, and they could really start to live.

He made it to a bank of phone booths, picked one at the end of the row and slipped his credit card into the slot.