it?” he asked with a smile. “Is it really? Well, then I guess you’ll just have to try to take it off me, won’t you?”
“Oh God,” Bob whimpered, starting to crawl away. “Oh dear God, somebody save me.”
“We already saved you,” Beth told him, before spotting Candy’s collapsed form nearby. “Who the hell is that?”
“I think we have a problem here,” Ben said, still aiming the gun at Luke. “Fortunately, I’m a great believer in the power of talking to defuse difficult situations. Words are so much better than bullets, don’t you think?”
“I have a job to do,” Luke replied, clearly watching the gun and waiting for a moment to strike.
“Not anymore,” Ben continued. “You get to keep the money, but you also get to walk away from here without having to actually kill your target, is that understood? No-one here will ever tell anyone what happened, I’ll make sure of that, but in return you need to get the hell out of town and stay away. Do we have a deal, or is this going to have to get more complicated?”
“Crazy, unprofessional idiots,” Luke muttered.
“Do we have a deal?” Ben asked again, stepping closer with the gun still raised. “My brother died last night and I’m not in the mood to see more death, but if anyone here has to take a hit, my friend, it’s gonna be you.”
“You don’t have the balls,” Luke replied.
“Don’t I?” Ben paused. “You think I couldn’t blow your head off and then dig a grave out here? I don’t mean a shallow grave, the kind that might get discovered pretty quickly, I mean a full-on six-footer that no-one’s ever gonna find. Look into my eyes and try to work out what kind of man I am, because I can assure you, dealing with your bloodied corpse would be, at best, a minor inconvenience. On a day like this, it might even be a welcome distraction. So look into my eyes and work out what you see, and then base your decision on what you think you’ve learned.”
Luke opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.
“You’re a killer,” Ben added. “Men like us, we recognize one another.”
Luke paused, before finally nodding. “Okay,” he said, his tone having become a little more reserved, “I’ll go.” He turned to Beth. “But I’m keeping the money!”
“Just leave,” she stammered. “Please, just get out of here and never come back.”
Getting to his feet, Luke began to dust himself down. “This is what you get,” he muttered, “when you work for cheap. Crazies. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted anyone from this place. I swear to God, if I hadn’t been trying to get myself established, I’d have turned the job down cold.” He held his hand out toward Ben. “My gun, if you don’t mind.”
Ben shook his head.
“It’s my gun,” Luke pointed out.
“I’m sure you have others.”
Sighing, Luke looked down at Bob. “You’re lucky, my friend,” he explained. “Another five seconds, and you would have been dead. Your brains would have been sprayed across the ground.”
Trembling with fear, Bob turned to Beth.
“Get out of here,” Ben said, gesturing toward Luke’s car. “There’s nothing left for you to do in Bowley, and I’d strongly suggest that you keep away for the foreseeable future. You’re going to drive away, and I’m going to drive with you until the next town, just to make sure that you’re gone, and then you’ll drop me off at a bus stop and I’ll let you go once I’m sure you won’t show up again. I’m sure you understand that I need to keep my family safe. Plus, after everything has happened over the past twenty-four hours, I could really use a chance to let off some steam.”
“I don’t need a chaperone,” Luke replied.
“Just let him leave,” Beth said. “Ben, please…”
“I know guys like this,” Ben continued. “There’s just a spark of indignation in him, some kind of misplaced sense of honor, and I don’t want him thinking he can come back and punish us
“Oh God,” Bob whimpered, starting to crawl away. “Oh dear God, somebody save me.”
“We already saved you,” Beth told him, before spotting Candy’s collapsed form nearby. “Who the hell is that?”
“I think we have a problem here,” Ben said, still aiming the gun at Luke. “Fortunately, I’m a great believer in the power of talking to defuse difficult situations. Words are so much better than bullets, don’t you think?”
“I have a job to do,” Luke replied, clearly watching the gun and waiting for a moment to strike.
“Not anymore,” Ben continued. “You get to keep the money, but you also get to walk away from here without having to actually kill your target, is that understood? No-one here will ever tell anyone what happened, I’ll make sure of that, but in return you need to get the hell out of town and stay away. Do we have a deal, or is this going to have to get more complicated?”
“Crazy, unprofessional idiots,” Luke muttered.
“Do we have a deal?” Ben asked again, stepping closer with the gun still raised. “My brother died last night and I’m not in the mood to see more death, but if anyone here has to take a hit, my friend, it’s gonna be you.”
“You don’t have the balls,” Luke replied.
“Don’t I?” Ben paused. “You think I couldn’t blow your head off and then dig a grave out here? I don’t mean a shallow grave, the kind that might get discovered pretty quickly, I mean a full-on six-footer that no-one’s ever gonna find. Look into my eyes and try to work out what kind of man I am, because I can assure you, dealing with your bloodied corpse would be, at best, a minor inconvenience. On a day like this, it might even be a welcome distraction. So look into my eyes and work out what you see, and then base your decision on what you think you’ve learned.”
Luke opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.
“You’re a killer,” Ben added. “Men like us, we recognize one another.”
Luke paused, before finally nodding. “Okay,” he said, his tone having become a little more reserved, “I’ll go.” He turned to Beth. “But I’m keeping the money!”
“Just leave,” she stammered. “Please, just get out of here and never come back.”
Getting to his feet, Luke began to dust himself down. “This is what you get,” he muttered, “when you work for cheap. Crazies. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted anyone from this place. I swear to God, if I hadn’t been trying to get myself established, I’d have turned the job down cold.” He held his hand out toward Ben. “My gun, if you don’t mind.”
Ben shook his head.
“It’s my gun,” Luke pointed out.
“I’m sure you have others.”
Sighing, Luke looked down at Bob. “You’re lucky, my friend,” he explained. “Another five seconds, and you would have been dead. Your brains would have been sprayed across the ground.”
Trembling with fear, Bob turned to Beth.
“Get out of here,” Ben said, gesturing toward Luke’s car. “There’s nothing left for you to do in Bowley, and I’d strongly suggest that you keep away for the foreseeable future. You’re going to drive away, and I’m going to drive with you until the next town, just to make sure that you’re gone, and then you’ll drop me off at a bus stop and I’ll let you go once I’m sure you won’t show up again. I’m sure you understand that I need to keep my family safe. Plus, after everything has happened over the past twenty-four hours, I could really use a chance to let off some steam.”
“I don’t need a chaperone,” Luke replied.
“Just let him leave,” Beth said. “Ben, please…”
“I know guys like this,” Ben continued. “There’s just a spark of indignation in him, some kind of misplaced sense of honor, and I don’t want him thinking he can come back and punish us
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