Hiding the Pain

Jace, one of the guys who is apart of my group in the hands-on field, sat on a chair opposite Mark’s desk. He was one of the only guys I liked in this place. Like Mark and I, Jace and the rest of the team moved on together and changed locations at the same time, I always worked in the same group each time around, mostly because I couldn’t stand other people.

Jace was one of those people that is good company on a night out at a club. Our personalities were not much different from each other’s and he always knew how to break the awkwardness between the two of us. As he sat here now, though, it was obvious that he was the problem threatening to burst the vein in Mark’s temple. Jace's posture was quite casual though looked a bit too forced, as if he was trying too hard to play it cool. He may have fooled Mark but not me. A thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead and he violently wiped it off. I didn't see why he was stressing anyway - Jace, Mark and I all knew that no matter what he did Mark would forgive him - so why was he so nervous?

Jace was one of the best men on the field. Mark would never risk getting rid of him or handing him over so that our opposition could take him. Jace worked both efficiently and quickly and he could do anything we asked him to do, but he also knew how to get whatever he wanted from us. Mark told me once that this company never ran on money, that money wasn't what kept this business going. It was fear.

Each and every man who joined this business did it out of greed and wanting for money, but once they gained access to it all they realized how easy it was to lose everything that they really loved. Once you got involved in a job like this you started to realize that once you’ve signed with the devil, there's no turning back. You just have to keep moving.

Basically, our company’s main rule was that when people deceived and betrayed the company, the consequence was not so much a cut out of their pay cheque as it was just one less loved one attached to the family tree. That’s just how it was. Love was a weakness and obeying the rules of this company meant keeping your family and friends safe. The problem was that people like Jace can get whatever they wished out of us, because they had nothing left in this world that they loved other than money. That's why men like Jace are the biggest threat to us, and that’s why we try to keep him as close to us as we can.

Jace wasn't always a tough guy. Once upon a time he did have someone he loved, like we all did. Charlotte was a pretty girl, but a so-called 'accident' was set up and she died. Obviously Jace didn't know that the people behind the accident were actually Mark and I. The sad bit was that Jace didn't really do anything to cause this to happen. All he knew was that it was a car accident, and we weren't about to confess to this crime.

In some ways we did owe him, not that he'd ever know.

"I’m sorry, Mark. I won't do it again," said Jace trying to sound as relaxed as possible.

"Hell yeah you won’t!  You can't just go sleep with one of the prostitutes before we’re going to sell them off! They’re not worth crap after you use them!" screamed Mark. At this I couldn't help but laugh even when Mark shot me a venomous look, the concept of Jace sleeping with one of the prostitutes was hilarious. Poor girl, got kidnapped and sent overseas to be sold off as a prostitute but got laid even before she got sold. 

"I said I was sorry…" Jace said with a smile, looking a little more relaxed with me around.

"Why? You could have gotten any other girl you wanted. You know that bitch went and told the assholes that bought her and now they want all the money back that they paid for all the girls. I don't even think they want to do business with us anymore. We are in deep shit thanks to you! All this just because you wanted a night with a girl?" Mark spat.

"You wouldn’t understand..." looking a little more nervous again as his forehead went shiny with sweat again.

"What do you mean I wouldn’t understand?" questioned Mark, annoyed.

"She looked like someone I knew," stated Jace bluntly.