He was their boss, but one could not tell the way he got out of the parked car his eyes darting nervously back and forth as he entered the bath house. The car was nothing special, a luxury that this crime lord had to sacrifice for his own safety. Attention was the last thing he wanted to bring upon himself.
“How long did the boss say he was going to take?” the driver asked.
“As long as it takes,” replied the passenger.
“And how long is that supposed to be?”
“It’ll take as long as it takes.” The passenger toyed with a single cigarette with his stubby fingers.
“So you’re just going to sit here and take orders without knowing what’s what?”
“I’ve been in this crew longer than you, and in situations like this, you just follow orders until the whole thing blows over.”
“We’re not at war with nobody. So what’s the big deal?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s a freaking bath house. What does the old man need all this security for? There were the two guys he went in the building with, and he’s got the two of us waiting in the car.”
“So?”
“So? Who or what is the guy afraid of?”
“Don’t give me that. You know exactly who he’s afraid of.”
“Who? The Skull?”
“The Skull.” The passenger tucked the cigarette behind his ear and laid his head back on the car seat.
“Oh, don’t give me that crap. Do you actually believe in The Skull?” The driver took off his hat and slicked his hair back before putting it back on in frustration.
“What’s not to believe?”
“So, you’re telling me that there’s this guy- an assassin- who’s been picking up high level guys with such deadly accuracy? And he runs around calling himself The Skull?”
“He don’t call himself that. We call him that.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Enlighten me. What’s the point?”
“We control all the crime in this city. We even have some key people in the police force in ever district, not to mention some very influential politicians in our pocket.”
“And?”
“And you’re telling me that there’s a single guy picking off the heads of the organization? A single, lone gunman is running this organization that has been around for centuries into the ground. It has to be a setup.”
“Are you saying it’s all a conspiracy?”
“There isn’t a single person who could bring down this entire system. It just doesn’t add up. It’s a n urban legend made up by the cops to scare us out of doing business.”
“That doesn’t explain the bodies.”
“The cops did it. If you tell the press the boogey man did it, that’s what the public will believe.”
“You can believe what you will, but I know The Skull is for real.”
“How would you know that?”
“I’ve seen the man.”
“No kidding? When was this?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, it looks like we might be here for a while the way things are going.” The driver was getting restless. He was young and wasn’t used to staying in one place for sustained periods of time.
“I was on a job. It was supposed to be a simple shakedown. Some low level pimp was skimming. Boss asked me to finish him off but there was no way I was going to dig a hole, kill the guy, and fill the hole again. I brought these two new guys with me.”
“Yeah? So did The Skull take your guys out?”
“Not exactly. The other guys were messy, nearly took out the guy out in the open- in the park.”
“Yeah? I’ve done some stupid things on jobs before, but I’m nowhere that stupid.”
“That ain’t the worst of it. These two kids that were playing hide and seek found us just as I pulled the trigger on the little prick.”
“Did you take them out?”
“Kids? Are you kidding me? I took off, but those two morons decided to scare the crap out of the little ones. That’s when we got another visitor.”
“The Skull crash the party?”
“Nope. The kids’ mom came looking for them. I looked back and saw that they shot all three of them. Point blank.”
“There are some sick people out there, man.”
“I wanted to go back and get them the hell out of there, but as soon as I got there the dad showed up.”
“I thought The Skull would be in this story.”
“That’s who the dad was. He took out those two idiots with his bare hands. Obviously I just kept running, but I’m pretty sure he got a good look at me. I never looked back but I heard the guy scream… It’s the kind of scream that’d give you nightmares.” The passenger took the cigarette and examined it thoughtfully.
“That’s some crazy stuff, man,” the driver commented, “Hey do you got anymore of those cigarettes?” The sun had ducked beneath the horizon leaving the sky bathing in a sickly blue light. The street lights buzzed one, emanating a weak yellow into the air.
“This is my last one,” the passenger answered, gesturing to the cigarette.
“Are you going to smoke it anytime soon?”
“Hopefully not.”
“Well, then can I have it? All this waiting is making me jittery.” There was no response from the passenger. He looked intently at the side view mirror. “Hey! Can I have the smoke?” Still, the driver got no answer. The passenger looked at the building behind them, looking for something but ultimately not finding anything.
“No,” the passenger finally answered.
“Why not?” The driver was more reckless than angry. There was a long pause before a response.
“This is the last cigarette I’ll ever smoke. I gave up smoking ever since that day in the park.”
“Congratulations, now give me the cigarette.”
“I promised myself that if I ever got into a corner, where I knew that I was going to die, then I’d save this smoke as my last one.” The driver wasn’t paying attention. He was tapping on the wheel and even reached over and pushed in the car’s electric lighter.
“That’s sweet. I’m going to that liquor store for a pack then.”
“Hey, the boss said to stay put.”
“I won’t be long. I just need something to do while waiting is all; especially since you won’t give me that damned cigarette.” The driver reached for the keys and began to pull it out of ignition.
“Don’t!” The passenger yelled. As the key was pulled out, the light in the car turned on, allowing everyone in the area to see everything inside the car. Before the driver had a chance to make a quip, there was a quick explosion in the driver’s chest. The pink cloud of blood rained on the passenger’s face. He saw a grappling hook holding the body back to the seat. This way, after killing the driver, the body wouldn’t slump over, lean on the horn, and give fair warning to the boss inside.
There was a steel cable attached to the hook. The passenger followed it to the building that was behind them; the same building that had caught his eye in the side view mirror. He sighed to himself and opened the passenger door. Click! The lighter popped out. He took the cigarette and pinched the filter gently between his lips. With a twist, he took the lighter and looked meditatively at the glowing orange coil before gently kissing its fiery metal to the cigarette. He drew in the flame and sucked the smoke into his lungs, letting it crawl slowly out of his nose.
The passenger stepped out of the car, the cigarette still smoldering as he drew in another puff. He could not see The Skull, but knew he was there… watching. The whizzing bullet struck him in the head and his body fell lifeless in a pile where he stood. The cigarette had burned slowly to the filter before the blood trickled down from the wound to extinguish it.
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