Discretion -PAD2022- non-writer

Adam Leiter was seated comfortably on Keijo Graff's sofa, his hostage not withstanding. Mrs. Graff was in fact slumped against the opposite end, rendered immobile by the paralytic Adam had administered. The Christmas tree in the corner cast a kaleidoscope of festive hues across the dark room, a static tableau of red, blue, green, and white. At a quarter to ten, the lock on the front door clicked, and Keijo stumbled in with his mistress in tow. They were lost in drunken, amorous giggles and moans, clawing at one another as one of them kicked the door shut.

"Have a seat, Mr. Graff," Adam said.

The pair gasped, and Keijo fumbled for the light switch. Adam recognized Jun Kumar from her photo. A petite woman, with dark skin and eyes, straight black hair mussed from their passionate recreation. Graff was a not unhandsome man, equally unkempt, his face pale and contorted in horror. His eyes flitted between his wife and the gun Adam held on his thigh.

"Sit. Down," Adam said.

"Please, I have money--" Graff began.

Adam sighed and shot Mrs. Graff. A clean kill, straight through her ribcage. It barely made a sound, courtesy of the integral suppressor. "I won't ask again."

Keijo and Jun fumbled through their shock to obey. They fell into the love seat on the other side of the living room. Keijo whimpered, his eyes now locked on his wife.

"What do you want?" he cried.

Adam stood. "I explained the circumstances to your wife, Mr. Graff. Your indiscretions with Ms. Kumar were recently discovered by your employer, Aeternitas Industries. Given your position over a number of their government contracts, your employer tasked me with ensuring their secrecy."

Jun was next. She twitched once as the bullet punctured her heart, and again when Adam put a second round through her head, just above her right eye. Keijo shrank from her, and died just as promptly in a similar fashion. Adam stepped to the center of the room, and put a sixth bullet into Mrs. Graff's temple.

Adam drew a cell phone from his pocket. It had only two buttons: one for power, the other to send a call to a preset number. He turned the phone on and pressed Send.

"The transaction was successful. I'm closing the account now," he said.

"Any problems?" the client asked.

"None. I expect your deposit upon confirmation."

Adam closed the phone and pocketed it. He couldn't feel the heat from the gun through his gloved hands as he gripped it by the barrel, and drew a plastic bag from his suit jacket's inner pocket. After putting the phone and the gun in the bag, he left through the front door, locking it behind him.

Virginia was cold this time of year, but drier than usual. There hadn't been any snow in weeks, and what little remained was isolated to the grass and curbs. Adam deftly avoided leaving any footprints on his way to his car, six blocks away. The party that had started before his arrival was still going strong. There were three other cars parked around his own, none of which was common to the neighborhood.

He set the bag on the passenger seat next to him, and started the car. As the engine idled and he waited for the heater to start up, Adam pulled out a second cell phone from his pocket. This was a simple burner phone, available at a hundred different retailers within a few miles. He dialed three digits and pressed Send.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"My neighbor, I heard gunshots!" Adam said, carefully measuring the panic in his voice. He threw in a slight speech impediment for good measure. He hurried to give the dispatcher the address, in spite of her valiant efforts to calm him down. "Please hurry!" He hung up, and immediately disassembled the phone, adding its pieces to the bag.

An hour later, Adam pulled over on a country road, in the pitch black night. He carried the bag with him to his trunk and retrieved the specialized briefcase there. It would have passed any rudimentary inspection, or even the X-ray machines the TSA was fond of. On two occasions bomb-sniffing dogs had found it particularly interesting, but not enough to signal any worry. Adam carried the bag and briefcase to the front of the car, where he could use the headlights to see what he was doing.

He knelt down and opened the briefcase, and placed the bag inside. After closing it, he carefully turned the dials on either side of the handle, made to double as a combination lock and--with the right combination--a timer. Inside the case, a series of glass vials cracked, and Adam made his hasty retreat to the driver's seat. The case began smoking as he pulled away, and bloomed into flames in Adam's rearview mirror. By the time he rounded the corner, the magnesium charges had done their work, and whatever chemical concoction they had created at Aeternitas had rendered the gun and phones into slag.

It would be another hour before Adam returned to civilization, several million dollars richer. He was particularly happy that--so far--his client hadn't tried to kill him. Adam often lamented his lack of repeat customers on that factor alone, but Aeternitas had been polite and professional. His was not a business for chitchat, but it seemed his contact at Aeternitas understood Adam's devotion to his work and his attention to detail. Some would say he was passionate, but that was the sort of emotional description Adam avoided.

He turned on the radio, where a choir sang out a familiar tune for the season. Adam sat back and almost smiled as he drove.

"...and tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy..."

THE END

a reply to: Factis

I don't want to answer people at my front door until after Xmas. ha It felt like I was reading the plot outline for a short Hollywood action film.

a reply to: xpert11

D'awww, shucks! Thank you!

I'm sure you'll be fine answering your door. Provided you don't work with top secret projects and, um, divide your loyalties.

a reply to: Factis

Well done... I figure you will get writer status soon.

Thanks for your submission.


Good Luck in the Contest!
Johnny

originally posted by: 727Sky
a reply to: Factis

Well done... I figure you will get writer status soon.

originally posted by: JohnnyAnonymous
Thanks for your submission.


Good Luck in the Contest!
Johnny

Thank you both!