The Job's Not Done

Time was running out. I had the bag packed, the rest of the cash and a one way ticket across the country. Everything else I’ll figure out when I land. I left that damned battered black book on the nightstand, turned off the lights and slammed the door behind me. After throwing my bag in the back I hopped in the driver’s seat and threw the car into reverse. As I hit the road, I felt a wave of calm start to wash over me, relieved I defied the odds and was in the clear. I pulled up to a four way intersection, slowly creeping forward and saw no one in any of the directions so I proceeded to cross. Just as I was in the middle, a black SUV careens into the front of my car, sending me spinning, only to be stopped by a tree.

So much for escaping, I thought as everything went black.

- The Day Before -

It was Saturday afternoon and boredom had hit me hard. With nothing to do in the house, I walked to the town center for a change of pace. It was nice to see the flourishing commerce, patrons laughing and smiling. There was something fresh about the air even, it didn’t feel stale or stagnant, it was alive and buzzing. I decided to stop at my favorite cafe to get a quick drink, something to enjoy as I explored the beautiful day this Saturday turned out to be. I ordered, paid, left a generous tip and picked up my drink. When I headed for the exit, a tall man in a sharp black suit got up from a table to leave and dropped a small black book on the floor. Unaware, he continued to leave so I grabbed the book and followed him out, trying to get his attention.

Walking through the door, I shouted, “Hey! I think you dropped something!” But once I got to the sidewalk the man in black was lost in the crowd. I shrugged and took a seat on one of the sidewalk benches to enjoy my iced coffee and flipped through the book. For the most part it just seemed to be notes and scribbles, and on the last page I noticed a familiar address:

Banks Storage

1120 Park Avenue

Gate - 248735

Unit 9D

Combination - 21-4-8-45-5

With it only a few blocks away I thought it might be a chance to run into the man in black, to return his book. I headed over to see if I was right.

By this point the storage facility was closed but thankfully I had the gate combination to get through. As I walked through the corridors I started to feel unnerved. The place was completely empty, yet I felt as though there were a pair of eyes following my footsteps. By the time I reached Unit 9D curiosity got the best of me. I used the combination, wondering what would be inside and threw the gate up.

To my surprise, the unit was basically empty. All that seemed left behind in the web filled unit was a small, black duffle bag. I unzipped it, and saw stacks of twenty and hundred dollar bills. They all seemed so crisp, fresh off the press. Still feeling like I was being watched, I zipped the back up quickly, threw it over my shoulder and locked up the unit. The sun was starting to go down, so I headed back home where I could investigate the book and duffle’s contents closer.

Even once I was back home, with the door locked that creeping suspicion of being watched never seemed to waiver. I dropped the duffle on the kitchen table and opened it to see what else the bag contained. I counted up the bands of twenty’s and hundred’s realizing there was $20,000 in there… I had never seen so much in my life. When I pulled the last band out, what was left in there sent a chill down my spine, raising the hairs on my neck. At the bottom of the bag was a picture and a handgun, set with a silencer.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

The photo was a middle aged gentleman, well-dressed with a face that could be on the cover of magazines. The back of the photo told me his name was Jack Tolliver who lived at 413 Crestview Drive in Chatham, which was one town over. The bottom of it read 2/25 at 9:30 PM which was almost exactly 24 hours from now. My mind tried to race through alternatives to what was blatantly clear. Someone was trying to kill this man, and I inadvertently picked up his job.

I put everything back into the duffle, never even taking out the gun (not trying to get my fingerprints on that) and got into my car. I sped back over to the storage facility, punched in the codes and went to unlock the unit. For some reason, no matter how many times I put the combination in, it remained locked. Panic-stricken, I returned home, trying to figure out my next move. There was no way in hell I was going to kill a guy, I’ve never even been in a fight! I fell back into an armchair trying to make sense of it all and picked up the book. As I thumbed through the pages I started to look closer at the scribbles and notes on the pages preceding the ill-fated address I decided to explore. There were odd one-liners like “A job is a job and needs to be done.” “One more, then I can try to figure out a way to stop it.” “There is no stopping it.”

Between these unsettling fortune cookie one liners were other addresses and names with the word “Complete” written next to them. While I knew what it meant, I started to search the names online and was not surprised by the results. Each of them were found dead in their home, and none of the cases seemed to have any leads. None of this seemed real, yet it didn’t change the fact that I was $20,000 richer and now possessed a gun. I poured myself a large glass of whiskey and wound up falling asleep in the chair with the bag on my lap.

In the morning I woke up, in my bed. That wave of relief began to come back as I tried to tell myself last night was a nightmare and none of it was real. As I walked out into the hallway towards the bathroom, I peered towards the living room and was hit by a wall of ice when I saw the duffle bag sitting on the armchair. I forgot about the bathroom, didn’t bother brushing my teeth. I threw on some clothes and grabbed some of the cash before heading out the door. I drove to the airport and purchased a one way ticket to Los Angeles, California. I kept telling myself I would be safe once I got out there, and would figure out what to do next at that point.

Returning home I packed up what I could fit into my travel bag. I took the rest of the cash and tried to figure out how to dispose of the rest of the duffle. I burned the photo, letting the remnants wash away down the drain of my kitchen sink. I knew the gun would be harder, so I wiped down the duffle bag and zipper as best as I could, and returned to the unit. Still unable to get it open, I tossed the bag into a garbage nearby and left quickly. When I got back home I left the car running and went in to retrieve my cash and bag.

I didn’t make it far.

- Now -

The car was still smoking when I came to. I had blood rushing down my head, ears ringing with a haze washing over my vision. In shock, I fumbled my way out of the car landing on some broken glass. Stumbling, I hobbled over to the car that hit me only to find the man in black standing there smiling.

“A job is a job and needs to be done.” He said to me in a chillingly calm voice. “You took on the job when you took the bag. You should’ve just left it. Instead, you’ve freed me. Now its your problem.”

“Wha-what do you mean its my problem?” I wheezed, “I’m not going to kill that man, I don’t even have the gun anymore. You can take your money back, fuck this.”

“It’s too late for that and you know it. You also know what I’m referring to. You’ve felt its gaze on you, following you through the darkness. It’s a feeling you never get used to.” He explained as he came closer. “As for the gun, well, I did you a favor, but you don’t have to thank me.”

He gestured towards my trunk, still smiling. A feeling of dread floods my body as my hand opens the trunk. Just as I feared, Jack Tolliver, was in there. The man in black had tied him up and even after the car crash he was still alive.

“It’s time to finish the job.” The man in black said, holding one of the chef’s knives from my kitchen. “You can’t escape it, trust me. I’ve tried. Accidentally dropping the book only for you to pick it up was the only thing that freed me.”

I couldn’t believe any of this. It can’t be real. I started to back away slowly, shaking my head. “I told you, I’m not doing this. This isn’t real.”

“Oh this is real, and whether you like it or not this is on you.” At that moment the man in black took the knife and ran the blade across Jack’s throat. “Now if you listen to me, you can get away with this, just like I have with all of the others I was tasked with. Otherwise things can get a whole lot worse for you.”

The sound of sirens faintly rang through the night as the cold, harsh truth of what I just witnessed washes over me. I’m about to be arrested for murder, the victim is in my car, the knife is from my kitchen, and I have an insurmountable amount of cash I can’t explain. Regardless of what I choose, the life I led is over. I walked over to the man in black and took the knife from his hands and collapsed to the ground. As the red and blue lights got closer, I started to approach them. They screeched to a halt, throwing open their car doors and unholstered their weapons shouting for me to drop the knife. Unaware if the man in black was still behind me, I still felt the creeping eyes following my every movement.

“I won’t be a part of this, it ends tonight.” I said, and lunged forward towards the police. I heard the shots go off, and felt the heat of the bullets. Falling to the floor I could only smile, thinking to myself, “I’m free.”

- Epilogue: Four Days Later -

I heard a faint beeping as I slowly opened my eyes. Finding myself restrained to a hospital bed I had the sinking realization that I was still alive. My body ached, I felt limbs confined to casts.

How could this be?

I sat up in agony and looked at my surroundings. I was in a hospital, and I seemed to be handcuffed to the bed. The room was stark, a basic hospital room filled with machines. I looked over to my right and on the table beside me was the battered black book. My hands shaking, I picked up the book. There was a new last page.

The job’s not done.