THE JOB Part 2
A 3 panel movie. Cheap Marker on 5x8 Paper 2 minute sketches, late night
free jazz of the pen. Soundtrack: Clifford Gilberto "The 10th Victim" from Xen
Cuts (Ninja Tune)
Part one; It's On
"I have known you all these years, you are really going to make me stick a
domino through the mail slot?"
I remained silent,
"Look I got the money
right here, cash of course and probably more than the job is worth"
I
shrugged but after quickly looking around rweached my hand out.
"My sister
says hello by the way."
I pocketed the money.
"You still owe me a
domino."
End part one
Part Two; Hard Eights
I went to Spontini's to make my final arrangements. We went over the last
details, I always liked to have a back up plan too, What if I did not find him,
what if I did and he was with her? How much did Aubrey want me to weight in
either situation?
"How are you going?"
"I will drive."
"But you hate
cars, you never drive."
"That is exactly why no one will notice or expect
me"
From the corner stool Ana was nursing the first drink of last call. She
never talked out of school and so had witnessed who knows how many scenes like
this. A Dutch-Cuban beauty with an over riding thing for feet of all shapes and
sizes.
"If you get tired take your shoes off, drive barefoot."
I half
raised my glass to her in salute without turning my head.
The half a second
he bent below the bar I had to ask myself as anyone in my position should,in
between two hard heartbeats, is this it then. is this how it ends? He popped
back up and slid a manilla envelope across the bar. I put it in my coat pocket.
I turned around to leave.
"Oh one more thing."
I turned around, a double
six, white with black dots was handed to me.
End Part Two
END SCENE; A Lion Alone
I had found them together, His idea of laying low had been the back
table of a Chinese restaurant. The scent of jasmine tea and burnt cooking oil.
His first instinct had been to sacrifice her and that I thought was about right.
He begged, pleaded and when the futility of that became evident threatened
which was followed by a sort of wide eyed hands over mouth regret for having
done the later. Of course he brought up the old times, the "good old days"
.
"They had not been that good for me."
He pushed her into me as to run
for the back door, the first mess made. An exhaling of breath, the icon stare
towards a cheap drop down ceiling that had seen its share of pu pu platters and
late night pai gow games. I lay her down on her back in the booth and nodded to
the waiter that it was ok to call somebody. I chased him but knew it would be
over before it became interesting. I read somewhere once that when a child is
lost he will automatically head up where as an adult to the center. He had-had
it soft his whole life his positions always being given because he was a legacy
member. And even as he rose in the organization he did very little actual work,
save entertain out of town guests taking them to all the places to do the things
he would have been doing any ways but now he did not have to foot the bill. He
ran up the fire escape. I followed but could take my time as there was nowhere
left to go. The roof top. He stood with his back to the neon skyline. He was
babbling in a panic now. I let it flow for a minute or two.
"Look, even if I
let you go, they know where you are someone else will come. You have never been
good at saving that is half the reason why you are in this mess. I am sorry, it
is over."
He decided not to go out with grace, he began taking off his watch
extending his hands from which it hung off clammy fingertips towards me. I did
not say anything which he took as hope but was really my temper about to flare
up.
"Why, why do this, you are not even one of us, you are just a lion alone,
you can let me go, give them the money back, I will give you the fee."
It was
starting to rain. I thought of something funny, not an articulate thought but a
small component of something. So vivid was the image I started to laugh which
momentarily mixed with a scream, an opera duet as could have been described by
Dante and it was over.
FINIS
- Wayne H. W Wolfson 2012
