Million Reasons

Chapter Three: Russian Roulette

And you can see my heart, beating,
You can see it through my chest
I'm terrified but I'm not leaving, no
I know that I must pass this test
So just pull the trigger

Rhianna - Russian Roulette

As complicated as her life had been back in Vice, Maggie had never understood the true meaning of the word until she had come to work under Oskar Bremberek. Back when she had been recruited for this operation it had seemed like a fresh break away from a situation that was becoming more and more problematic with every passing day. She'd wanted to take a step out of her life and becoming someone new hadn't sounded like a bad idea. She had lost count of the amount of times that she had come to regret that decision over the past two years. It had been one that she had made in haste because she had realised at the time that she was falling in love with a married man, one that she worked alongside every single day.

That was why she was standing here right now in Oskar's office, her position was behind Oskar's plush leather office chair, slightly to the right of him. She stood tall and ramrod straight, her silk white blouse tucked neatly into the black skintight pencil skirt that ended at her knee. The black patent leather high heels she was wearing were hurting her feet but it was a pain that she chose to ignore. Shifting her weight from foot to foot would bring unwanted attention and Oskar liked his women demure and obedient at all times. She had been the perfect model of this over the past couple of years as she worked diligently on his accounts. That was part of the reason she was here today in this week's accounts were clasped in a manilla folder between her dainty hands and it did not look good for Roddrick Pollock. There was evidence in this file that proved he was skimming a large portion of money off the top of his share of the drug trade.

Everyday things in the organisation were going from bad to worse, Oskar was becoming more and more erratic, his behavior becoming more bloodthirsty and violent. He was beginning to lose control and his brother Jacob certainly wasn't much better. The sooner she got her ass out of here the better, however her superiors thought otherwise. She was to stay undercover until she had obtained more information regarding Oskar's foreign allegiances. Each time she met with her superiors it seemed like the goal posts were changing and she wondered if there would ever be a time that they would shut this operation down and allow her to actually lead her own life once more. It was one of the reasons she didn't feel too guilty about breaking protocol, supplying Voight's team with information would be like waving a red flag at a bull if Superintendent Regan ever found out. However her higher ups weren't doing much to tackle the crippling drug problem that was beginning to seize Chicago. They preferred to set their sights higher, to leverage more information so they could use it for their own political goals. This was an election year after all.

"Magdalena." her name rolled off Oskar's tongue, dripping with honey and she hated it. It repulsed her on every single level knowing that she had to obey his whims. He liked to use her full name, like hers his family had been devout Catholics and he still enjoyed aspects of the old ways when it suited him. Like a good Catholic he expected that she would keep his confession but his bastardization of their shared faith only made her want to catch him just that little bit more. "Magdalena, pass me the files."

Maggie handed the manilla folder to Oskar who in turn gave it to Rodderick. The stout little man took the folder with a bored expression upon his pig like features. His facial features showed confusion as he flicked through slender white pages without actually reading the words typed upon them.

"You are stealing from me." Oskar stated frankly, his voice was oddly pleasant almost as if he was pondering the weather outside. It sent a chill straight up Maggie's spine as she detected that cold edge underneath. Already her stomach was churning, her gut was telling her that this situation was about to turn lethal and she was powerless to stop it.

"There must be some mistake." Roddrick said as he once again flicked through the pages in the file. He was taking his time now, his squinting eyes scanning over the figures as he took in the details.

"Magdalena would not be here if she made mistakes." Oskar imparted, his tone bordering on normalcy. Maggie fought the urge to swallow hard against the bile in her throat. He'd done that on purpose, it was his way of reminding her that she was disposable and that mistakes would not be tolerated. It dawned on Maggie then why she was standing here in this meeting today. It was a lesson, a lesson that Oskar intended to teach her just in case she ever considered stealing from him.

"I am telling you Oskar, your secretary has made a mistake." Roddrick spat, throwing the file upon the desk before fixating his venomous glare upon Maggie. She ignored it, it wasn't the first time an employee of Oskar's had taken a dislike to her and it wouldn't be the last.

Oskar's hand was already slipping down towards the drawer on his left hand side. Maggie could see the metallic barrel of the Colt 45. gleaming in the light from the desk lamp. His plump hand was already wrapped around the ivory grip, his chunky finger resting on the trigger. Maggie inhaled sharply, forcing herself to stare straight ahead at the wooden crucifix that Oskar had pinned to his wall alongside the door. There was an unhealthy amount of irony in that, she didn't want to think about the things that it had bore witness to.

You can't do anything she reminded herself. Her small hands tightening into fists as she steeled herself for the roar of the weapon. There was no doubt in her mind of what was about to happen. Her jaw was aching, she had it clenched so tightly she could practically hear her own teeth grinding over the sound of her blood rushing through her ears.

"I told you." Oskar rumbled, his voice cold and calm as he spoke, withdrawing the Colt and pointing it directly at Rodderick. "Magdalena does not make mistakes."

The explosion of the gunshot made her ears ring. Despite herself she watched as Roddrick's head jerked back violently, blood erupting from the exit wound. The thick dark liquid dripped from the frame of the chair into a pool on the carpet. Almost instantly the pang of copper assaulted her nostrils making her wretch, she could taste it on her tongue and she fought against the bile climbing in her throat. She choked back hard, her nails leaving half moon imprints on the palm of her hands as she fought to gather her composure. Oskar returned the gun to it's drawer before turning his full attention upon her. His eyes were cool and clear and she could see that he had no remorse for his actions. She searched those depth less pits and found nothing, no emotion, not even anger. It was at this point Maggie realized how truly out of her depth she was here. She knew that Oskar was a murderer and one of the worst human beings that had the misfortune of being brought into this world but she'd had no idea he was a sociopath. Oskar looked back at her, watching as she pressed the back of her hand to her lips to hold back the torrid sickness that was ravaging her stomach.

"Now you know what happens when people steal from me." Oskar said, his tone dismissive before he tilted his head towards the door to his office, indicating that she should leave.

Maggie didn't remember crossing the room, one moment she was beside his desk and the next she was at the door, her sweating hand slipping off the handle as she struggled to grip it.

"Oh and Magdalena..." Oscar said casually. She forced herself to pause, inclining her head so that he could see the profile of her face. "Get Jacob in here to clean up this mess."