Control Freak ✔️

32 dead-end dollhouse

"Ari said you wanted in," a pink-faced man confirmed as he wiped away bread crumbs and ketchup caught in his stringy mane. He had sharp, pointed black hair hardened by grease, slicked to the back that resembled the scales of an armadillo. His pink face was carved ridged, all except his bulbous, spotted nose, glistening in the light. It sharply contrasted his harsh bushy brow. His taut cheekbones pulled his lips in a toothy sneer. His companion sat opposite him, on the edge of his seat.

"I do."

"Why?" he asked bluntly as he began sucking his fingertips.

"I need the money."

"Yeah, don't we all."

"I got a kid and we need to get out of this place."

"So? Get rid of it. Let the mom keep her."

"Her mom's dead. Plus, I'd never. I just need enough money to be able to disappear and start a new life. A better place to raise a family."

"You are aware, though, the consequences should this little excursion go awry."

"I am."

He put his burger down and peered straight into the young man's eyes. Instantly, he knew his story. "Ari explain the job to you?"

"He told me we would just be transporting a payment. I'd be the driver. I'm supposed to wait outside and go where they say and not ask questions."

"Good boy. That's it. You know where to meet?"

"Yep."

"Got a gun?"

"I can get one."

"Good." He dug in the lining of his jacket, coming up with something in his fist. "Boy or girl?" he said.

"Girl. A beautiful little girl."

"Here," he said, sliding him a folded up envelope. "Think of it as an advance. Get your baby girl a new dress. Don't worry. There'll be plenty more where that came from if everything goes right."

Her eyes were big, glossy green pools framed by her sweeping eyelashes, they got even bigger when she saw her dad coming around the gate and up the semicircle driveway of the school, where most parents were waiting in cars in line to pick up their kids. The girl emerged at the top steps, racing down to greet him.

She looked up at him, smiling, with a bright, inquisitive energy in her round cheeks and sparkling eyes, searching for what it was he was hiding behind his back.

"For you, sweetheart," he said as he held it out in front of her, the handheld game that all the other kids had, and with batteries, too. She squealed when he put it in her hands, instantly turning it on and going about pressing buttons, hardly noticing her father's arms wrapped around her until there was no space between them.

"Dad," she murmured. "Dad?"

"Yes, baby girl?"

"I can't breathe."

But he kept holding her, hoping time would stop. He'd stay like that forever, if he could.

"Sorry, baby girl."

* * *

Three men were parked on the street in front of the midtown condominiums. It was a black luxury sedan. The man Fred spoke to in the burger joint got out and went to the back so that he could take the wheel. His pocket vibrated, loud enough to hear. Fred reached down with his right hand, and came up with the phone.

"I'll put it on speaker," he said.

"Start driving," the speaker buzzed. "Take the main road." Fred did as he was told.

"You nervous?" one man called from the backseat with an easy smile. Fred shrugged.

"Don't be."

"I was just thinking about something I have to do after this," he answered, tightening his two-hand grip on the steering wheel. They were out on the highway, met with mild, late evening traffic.

"Make a left off of the bridge," the phone speaker chirped.

"Good, good," grumbled the man in the backseat. "Think about what you wanna do once we get the job done. I'm gonna go straight to the whorehouse. Ask for the skank with the fattest, juiciest pussy lips. And a big ass. That's what I want." It elicited a friendly chuckle from the young driver.

"I just don't wanna go back to jail," the third man finally groaned.

"Stop whining. None of us are going to jail as long as we do the job right."

"Yeah yeah, I'm just sayin'. Hey, new guy. You been to prison?"

"No," replied Fred.

"Good. They're doin' mad shit in there, man. Like you don't even know. Experimental shit, man."

"Jesus fucking Christ."

"They brought me a woman once— I was in the part where I had a cot and those airy, blue cloth garments, that were like scrubs, and slippers, a toilet in the corner, a sink and mirror in the other, a lounge chair to relax in, and a bureau with a uniform set of clean blue garments, the same I was wearing. Anyway, they brought this woman to my cell, this pretty raven-haired thing— it was a doll— come from the idea by a man of what a woman should be. Which really made it pointless, but— it was so lacking in warmth, or contempt, or anything that you would expect a normal human being to be composed of. It cmiled a practiced smile, one it learned by trial, and assessed it to mean 'understanding and persuasive.' It made me sick, staring at the lips of that mannequin, tending to me as a caged animal. I have no idea why it was that, but that's what did it. I just lose it. You and that mouth, I start sayin,' and I just keep sayin' it. Next thing you know, I got my hands wrapped around that synthetic neck, part of me couldn't believe how real it felt. My rage had swallowed me. Before you knew it, I was an animal, caught in a trap and fighting back. And it just stared back up at me with those cold eyes, analyzing me like a germ. I stared at that beautiful mouth, those perfect lips that did not quiver in fear of me. So, I shoved my hand in that mouth, hooking my fingers into the corners of those lips. It didn't bite me. It didn't do anything. It just watched me, studying every twitching muscle fiber, the hot blood burning through my veins. And it said—"

"It's up ahead," the phone's speaker buzzed again. "Park on the opposite side and three buildings down."

He brought the vehicle to a halt.

"Keep the engine on, rook," the first man grumbled half-jokingly as he rolled out of the car. The young driver watched him as he casually strolled across the street. He admired how cool and calm he was. He, on the other hand, couldn't stop himself from tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, checking the rearview every two seconds. The exchange felt like it was taking forever.

The sun had gone down almost completely, and with the calm of dusk, he settled in. He sat back and folded his arms, watching the cars go by. He paid them no mind after the first one or two. And then came a set of headlights that were particularly, irritatingly bright. They made him squint. They were so bright, it took him a second to know for sure that they were on his side of the road. It took him another second to realize that they were coming his way. Finally, he realized they weren't going to move.

His eyes shot wide open, wider than they'd ever been. "Whoa," he breathed. "Whoa whoa WHOA!"

In an instant, the wild metal bodies collided, hard enough for the airbags of the stationary car to deploy. Next, he heard the sirens, and then the megaphones. The whirling flashes of blues and reds were all around him now.