"Nervous?" Javier taunted. Manuel laughed.
"Why should I be nervous?" Manuel retorted. Javier shrugged his massive shoulders.
"Your cuticles are bleeding and you've chewed your nails down to splintered nubs," Javier observed as he lit up a cigarette.
"Fuck you Javi, what grown ass man knows what cuticles are anyways?" Manuel asked.
"Why are you avoiding the question?" Javier pressed. Manuel was visibly flustered, it didn't take much.
"Does it matter if I'm nervous or not? I'm still beside you ready," Manuel insisted waving his gun in the air for emphasis.
"Ya, because I have a blunt in the glove box if you're interested," Javier mentioned casually. Manuel eagerly opened up the compartment and began rummaging around. "Spark it up, it's Death Star, your favorite."
"Man I love this shit," Manuel murmured after a long drag. The Range Rover quickly became filled with smoke and Javier's eyes burned.
"Crack a window or something!" Javier growled. Manuel jumped and unrolled his window. "Are you not going to offer me any of my own weed you pig!" Javier muttered snatching the roach out of Manuel's fingertips.
"Sorry, I'm super stoned," Manuel muttered dumbly. Javier smacked the short Mexican in the face.
"Snap out of it I should have brought Jorge with me instead!" Javier declared. Manuel puffed his chest out and rolled his sleeves up.
"No Javi, I got this you can count on me," his colleague insisted. Manuel reminded Javier of a little boy trying to prove to his dad. Manuel was the most loyal to Javier, but also the least intimidating. It had been a long time since Manuel had rode along, and Javier was beginning to remember why.
"Ok but you have to focus, we're almost there," Javier directed.
"I need a cigarette," Manuel whined.
"In the cup holder, light me up one too," Javier instructed. Manuel obeyed and waited for his boss's further instruction. "Rafael owes Ricky $20,000, he wants his money or he wants him dead," Javier finally explained halfway through his cigarette. There had been such a long pause in the conversation it took a while for Manuel to comprehend what he had said.
"Rafael? Are you sure about this? Doesn't he have a wife and kids?" Manuel complained.
"I know he has a wife maybe a daughter?"
"What if he doesn't pay?"
"I know he's not going to pay," Javier explained. Manuel sat there clouded by confusion.
"Well what about the family? They know you, they'll see you and...."
"Ricky said no survivors," Javier stated. The confusion cleared from his face, and it was replaced with disgust.
"Javi, I can't kill a kid."
"I should have never brought you along on this....I thought to myself, hmmm Manuel is always bitching that he never gets the opportunity to come along, he's always trying to prove that he is just as good as everyone else, and then when push comes to shove, he bitches out like a pussy," Javier spat. Manuel flicked his cigarette out the window and sulked.
"I'll just do it myself," Javier proclaimed.
"No, I'll do it."
"Look at it this way, Rafael probably beats the shit out of his kids, you're probably doing them a favor," Javier mumbled.
"That's the dumbest explanation I have ever heard of," Manuel whined.
"About as dumb as you wanting to come along to help but not wanting to kill anyone!" Javier yelled. He turned his head so quickly to glare at his colleague that the vehicle swerved slightly off the road. "Do you want to call Ricky and ask him what he thinks?"
"No, no, it's fine," he stuttered.
"Good, we're almost there anyways." The two rode the rest of the way in silence, Manuel in fear, Javier anxiously.
"What if someone is awake and sees us coming?" Manuel finally broke the silence.
"You're right they're probably doing aerobics," Javier retorted. Manuel scowled and crossed his arms across his broad chest.
"One of these days you're going to thank you, you're going to say 'Gee Manuel, you're the shit, I never would have thought of that, you saved my ass.'"
"Not anytime soon." Javier killed the engine and took a minute to ponder the best way to handle this task. Javier pulled his gun out of his center console and polished it on his shirt.
"You still carry that piece of junk around?" Manuel inquired. "Didn't you get a new one last week?"
"This one is perfect, the barrel is small enough to fit in a mouth," he explained. Javier spoke with calculated madness that sent chills up Manuel's spine. He would never admit it, but he respected him and admired him above everyone else, even Ricky.
"His house is to the right at the end of this alley," Javier said nodding in the direction. "We're going to start in the basement and work our way upstairs. Have your gun drawn, but keep your hand off the trigger so you don't end up shooting anyone accidentally like last time." Manuel nodded not trusting himself enough to speak; he knew his voice would tremble.
"Leave the negotiating to me, now let's hurry up so we can grab a drink after," Javier said climbing out of the vehicle. The house was small, but modern, Manuel worried about the security system. Javier strolled up to the front door leisurely. He keyed in the code into the lock pad much to Manuel's surprise.
"How did you do that?" Manuel asked.
"Shhh," Javier ordered holding his barrel against the stoner's pursed lips. He walked inside, Manuel followed without making a sound. The house was pitch black, Javier had to rely on his memory to navigate them downstairs. A hallway night light illuminated just enough for Javier to make out the doorways of two bedrooms. He pointed his gun to the bedroom furthest from the stairs, his companion obediently followed gun drawn, hands trembling slightly. Javier's hands trembled for a different reason, in anticipation.
There was a sick and twisted game Javier liked to play when he went on these missions, he liked to look around at the household items they possessed and draw conclusions on how the people were based upon these observations. He would then build a personality from these inferences and then create a story in his mind why this person deserved to die. It was a demented game, but it was how he kept his sanity.
The room was decorated in toy cars and trains, something didn't seem right. Javier took his time creeping towards the bed. There was a little boy fast asleep. Javier could hear him breathing heavily, unaware of the present danger. He was younger than what he had anticipated almost too young. He wasn't prepared for this. Javier scanned the room, there was no way he could justify the child's death in his mind. He didn't clean his room? He drew on the wall with crayons? He hit his mother? None of those reasons deserved Javier's blood stained gun in his mouth.
Maybe Rafael would pay the money; the thought was so absurd he almost laughed out loud. He wouldn't pay the money he was far too selfish, they always were. It didn't matter how much he supposedly loved his kids, he wouldn't pay the money, and maybe he would if he had it, but Javier knew that he wouldn't have it. They never did, and then they beg and plead for another chance to pay the money back, just some more time they would urge. Sometimes on rare occasions Javier would feel generous and grant the debtors extra time to produce the money, but he hardly ever was in these good giving moods. By this point, all the second chances had been exhausted, and if they all were good parents like they all claimed to be, they would never be in these situations, nor would they subject their children to this situation.
Javier could hear thrashing in the other room. A few moments later Manuel dragged a tear stained teenage girl into the room. She whimpered quietly trembling in fear. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top
"Please...." She whispered.
"She's really pretty," Manuel observed.
"Stop!" Javier hissed. He turned his attention back to the sleeping child, so young and innocent.
"No really...she's so young and innocent..." Manuel's voice trailed off. He reached out and touched the side of her face brushing aside her hair. She flinched at his touch.
"Just give me a few minutes," Manuel begged. His hand slid off her face and began exploring the rest of her body prompting her to cry.
"That's not part of the plan, quit torturing the poor girl!" Javier ordered. "Do you want to take the boy since you can't control yourself?" The girl tugged on Manuel's grip and continued crying.
"Don't talk down to me!" Manuel growled, he yanked on the girl, a pointless attempt to hush her.
"Damnit Manuel!" Javier spat. He pried the girl away from Manuel. "Shhh, you can stop crying, I'll make sure he doesn't disrespect you. I know this is scary, two strange guys with guns in the middle of the night. Don't worry sweetheart, this will all be over soon. I don't want to hurt you. I just need to talk to your dad. The guns are just so your dad will listen ok? Your dad is a businessman right?" Her crying ceased and she nodded her head slowly. "We're businessmen too ok? I just need you to try and stay calm; we need everyone to cooperate, including you and your brother. Don't worry you'll be back in bed before you know it and it'll all just seem like a bad dream ok?" Javier explained, he nodded towards Manuel and he snatched her back up.
Javier scooped the sleeping child up before he could change his mind. He stirred slightly but quickly nestled into Javier's arms.
"Shh, just having a bad dream buddy," Javier whispered. The little boy didn't make a sound on the way to the master bedroom. The girl only made the occasional sniffle. The room was dark; they would have the element of surprise on their side. Javier took a deep breathe; he poked the gun in the little boys side. "Turn the lights on." Manuel flipped the lights on.
Rafael was exactly how they had remembered him, sloppy and disheveled. He laid tangled up in the sheets and his wife's limbs in some drug induced slumber. The wife was the first to wake up. She shrieked upsetting the children to the point of near hysteria.
"Oh my God Rafael, the children!" The mother screamed. Rafael jerked awake and began fumbling for his nightstand.
"Calm down Rafael," Javier ordered brushing the little boys cheek with the barrel of the gun. Fear gripped the father's face. "I apologize for catching you off guard, just take a minute to relax, comfort your wife and take a deep breathe." Rafael stiffly took his wife in his arms, hate coursing through his eyes.
"Javi, you fucker, you better not hurt my kids," Rafael growled.
"Trust me, I don't want to, we didn't come here for that, Ricky wants his money," Javier stated.
"Mommy!" The little boy cried stretching his arms out towards the bed. She started to get up.
"I wouldn't," Javier warned. She froze in bed and began crying louder.
"Just give them the fucking money!" The woman yelled. "Give it to them! Give them all the money; just don't let them hurt my babies!" She cried.
"We aren't here to hurt them, just hear to collect a debt," Javier explained.
"I'll kill you," Rafael warned.
"If you keep threatening me instead of talking business with me I'll kill them," Javier warned. "Now where is the money?"
"The 10,000?"
"The 25,000."
"25,000? Where did you get that number from?"
"I don't work for free, and I didn't come here to argue."
"Yes, but you can't get the money if I'm dead."
"Manuel." Javier prompted, his partner hesitated. "Do it!" Manuel shot the gun at the floor and pressed the smoking barrel against the girl's side she screamed in pain.
"Daddy!"
"Sorry baby, your dad is being a selfish prick!" Manuel spoke up finally; it usually took a while for him to join in. The crying child began thrash in Javier's arms.
"I'm not telling you where the money is until you let them go!" Rafael yelled.
"I'm the one doing the negotiating not you," Javier stated. The boy's crying ceased once he shoved the gun in the boy's mouth. "Look at your daddy, tell him to stop being so selfish," Javier coaxed. Gunshot.
***Tons of spelling typos and mistakes and honestly I cringe when I read this so I haven't re-read this for that reason.....if I EVER decide to do anything serious with this story or try and salvage it......it will takes massive time and effort to fix and frankly....I'm not sure it's worth the time or effort so if the poor writing is driving you crazy perhaps you should read something else....again this was published to compare to my other works......thanks