THE MARKSMAN
The killer knew fear when he smelt it. Rust and sweat, that was what it smelt like. And Jack Maeto reeked of it. It had not been an easy task finding the man, but once he had found him, staying with him was relatively easy. The man was enormous and so, he stuck out like a sore thumb. His size did not give the killer cause to worry. Scared people were predictable. They were clumsy too, repetitive. They slipped up, made mistakes. Unfortunately for them; fortunately for him. The killer sat behind the wheel of his Toyota, a old rusty car he rented. It was perfect for keeping a low profile and had let him follow the man around town without being looked at twice. He fancied himself a hunter, and Jack Maeto and his companion were blood trailing prey. The Toyota was parked in a shoulder of gravel on the street that was directly opposite the restaurant the big man had just walked into. CRAIG'S DINER. The killer popped open the glove compartment where he had keptBIG JACKDeath was in the air tonight. Big Jack could just taste it. He did his best to shrug the thought away. It was only his nerves, he told himself. Running on caffeine and Coca-cola was not the best way to live.The receptionist was a lady in her mid twenties—or so he guessed—and like most people at that age, she had an attitude, and when she spoke, she sounded like disturbed water. Joaquin did a good job booking a room without threatening her within an inch of life, considering how exhausted they both were.'That would be 35 dollars a day.' She said, lips smacking gum. She never looked up from the computer. A row of gaudy bracelets jingled on her wrist whenever she moved her arm.Joaquin glanced at him. He returned the look. 35 dollars was mighty cheap compared to the places they had been to. 'We will take it.' Big Jack said.'Uh, you staying the week? It would be 250 dollars in total.'There was no chance they we're staying ther
BIG JACK:Big Jack awakened with the feeling of airlessness, like there was river in his lungs. He only managed to regain his composure after he had gasped and gasped into the floor, until he had drawn enough air into his body. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling in the motel room. It was dark and quiet, the only light coming from the windows. The curtains fluttered and a phantom breeze kissed his unclothed upper body. All was silent, almost disturbingly so. Not even the usual night bugs and crickets could be heard. Joaquin made a noise from his throat and rolled over in the motel bed. He thrashed around a little bit then sunk back into a deep sleep.Poor boy, Big Jack thought. Left his life to chase an old man who was afraid for his, all around the countryside. He listened for the sound of more thrashing, but Joaquin had gone silent. It must have been what had woken him, he told himself. In the dark, Big Jack waited for his heart to stop beating so fast. He was not sur
BIG JACK'The hell happened to your face?' McCoy asked, staring at him in horror, when he arrived finally.Big Jack palmed his bruising cheek self consciously. 'What the hell happened to your stomach?''This tends to h happen when you are living a good life, my friend.' The man laughed at his own joke and patted the new swell of his stomach.Big snorted. Only moving the muscles I'm his face hurt like hell. Worst than hell actually. Those he could tend to with an aspirin. The real hurt was in his head, where he could not get to. 'It's no worries. I was never a pretty man like you, McCoy.'They were in the better parts of Miami, in one of the buildings his friend owned. McCoy was reclined on one of lounge chairs, sipping sparkling wine from a flute when he was escorted up. The man had taken one good look at his face and exclaimed. Now, he offered Big Jack a drink.He shook his head at the offering. 'No.''Since when do you refuse champagne?'F
DANTEColeman Spears was just as punctual as he had expected. The bloody man was correctness itself, what with that firm jaw, those self-righteous eyes that seemed to have the ability to make anything he did not approve of combust if he fixed them with a stare for enough time. Which was what he looked to be trying to do to Dante when he spotted him in the midst of the festivity.Dante took his hand in a firm grip. The man's giant paw of a hand almost swallowed his. 'Finally,' he said through a smile that was more clenched teeth than it was actually excitement. 'I get to meet the man running the city.'Spears snorted. 'I could say the same for you. The people seem to believe you are the one in charge.'Dante's arm was in grave danger of being crushed. Flattery and subtle violence? One handshake and a sentence and he absolutely loved this guy.He managed to get his hand out of the vice grip and smiled. 'Well, this is New York. The people think what they
BIG JACKHe cut the frizzly beard he had grown on the journey. In the mirror, when he looked he had become another version of himself. A man who was familiar in a distant fashion, but who was still a stranger. Big Jack washed the shaving cream off his cheeks and chin and felt the smooth, new flesh there. Another thing Joaquin would never be able to do.The fight at the motel had left him with a limp, slightly imperceptible, but still there. He limped out of the bathroom with its ornate mirror and shiny ceramic, back into the room that had been allocated to him. The windows in the room were open, and a gentle breeze played with the shutters. For there, Big Jack could catch a glimpse of the street. A row of palm trees lined both lanes on the road, the early morning sun was the colour of a cob of corn. He was leaving, finally. Everything felt distant in a way already. Like he was never there, like he was just passing through.McCoy had made his staff leave him some clean
JACKIEWhen Dante called again, asking if she would come to his club, Ambience, Jackie had said yes without pause. There should have been that fear of sounding desperate, that apprehension that he would hear her rapid, almost desperate yes, and wonder, and maybe even guess correctly that she wanted to be there only so she could go through his things so she could get into his head.But there was no fear. That gave her cause to worry. Neil had warned her many times already. The last time was the day before the call. He had picked her up from work the other day. She came down after a long, grueling shift to find him waiting in his car outside. Even though she would much rather had taken a taxi, she let herself be talked into entering the passenger seat.'Dante is dangerous.' He had told her. 'Volatile.''Oh, and you are not?'Neil ground his teeth together. She could tell he wanted to pound the steering wheel. 'Not like this. I watched him shoot a man in
SPEARSThe team of officers came through the front doors like an avalanche, breaking the mountain slope. This, at least, was what Spears imagined it would have seemed like to Dante Bianchi.He had taken the rear, coming in as the last man, his hands deep in the pockets of his Police parka, the handle of his firearm protruding like a leathery bone from his utility belt. Ambience was a tall building, and the lower floor could be traced with the eyes to the VIP section in the upper floor. Only staff were in the building at the time, and one of them, a woman was descending the stairs when they charged through the front door unannounced. She stopped, clutching the steel railing in a fright. Leo Daniels was ascending the steps, talking to the Oman as he climbed. The bartender was startled, too. Spears did not blame him. Cops were never bearers of good never.Soon Dante Bianchi answered them. He came rushing down the stairs, in a suit that distinguished him, gave him t
ANDREThe snow that gathered at the top floor of his building had melted with the coming of spring, and the water that it had left behind formed shallow puddles at the corners of the roof. Damp wetness was everywhere you looked on the roof, every surface you touched. Andre had not been here for a long while. He had forgotten what a view Brooklyn was at the darkest hours of night, and how much better the view was in the light of day. He had forgotten the rows and rows of buildings, some as tiny as pebbles in the distance, others skyscrapers, bursting through the cotton wool clouds.Memories are feeble things. But it was all coming back to him as he stood there, staring out into the day. It did not seem so long ago now, since he had been there with Nick Noah, Trent in a building some distance away, with a sniper trained on him. A much needed precaution.This time, however, like the last, Andre was not alone. Gloria was at his side. She was dressed as she oft