The Last Job (Part – II)

Previous -  The Last Job (Part - I)

Grieg was dumbstruck. He knew it would be an unusual task, but a murder!! Good God!! He was indeed a lawbreaker but to be identified as a murderer? That too at the whim of a mad man? Grieg just couldn’t accept it. But he knew, his employer won’t like to hear “no”. So he just stayed silent, sweat passing over his forehead even in that chilly wind. The man asked after a short pause, ” Are you scared?”. Grieg gathered some courage to say, “Sir….. I…. I never committed any murder. You are asking too much of me. I am just a petty criminal.” The man stood there, silent. That silence shattered Grieg’s nerves and he started trembling. The voice then talked, ” You promised me, you will do any work for me – no questions asked. Now you deny. You break promise. You know the outcome, don’t you?”. Grieg wiped out the trail of sweats from his eyebrows and replied in a trembling voice, ” Sir, please understand….. I have a family…”. The voice now became cold and stern like steel, ” I don’t honor someone who don’t keep promises. Decide for yourself, for your family. And if you think of running away – well, I will find you, and then we both know what’s going to happen.” Grieg knew he was out of options. There was no possibility of mercy. With a long sigh, he replied, “Yes master, I will do whatever you say.” The man seemed to be pleased. He replied, “You will get the address and your payment tomorrow morning. Remember, tomorrow midnight.”. Saying this, the mystery man turned back and disappeared into the darkness again.

Grieg collapsed on his knees, still trying to grasp the reality. It seemed to him that he was swerving towards the edge of the precipice. He cursed himself for his greed and tried to think a way out, but all his efforts were in vain. He stood up and started walking towards his home, drenched in the rain – like a worn out machine, torn into pieces, to be scrapped in a few hours. Jane, his wife, was shocked to see Grieg at the door in such a shape.

“You look terrible honey!! What happened?”

“Nothing.. Just got caught in the rain. I am super tired. Where’s Alan?”

“You are very late today. He fell asleep while waiting for you. What happened? It seems that there is something you are not telling me.”

“No… Nothing.. I just… need rest… Please don’t mind honey, I have a job to get done tomorrow.”

“I don’t like the amount of stress you are handling these days. We were so happy just a couple of months back – playing games, going movies. This new job of yours seems to break you completely. Why do you do such work?”

“I get more money Jane. I am doing this for you, for Alan.”

“I don’t know what your job is Grieg. But whatever it is, it is not good. Leave it. I don’t want to lose you.”

Saying this, Jane went away towards the kitchen. Grieg’s heart was wrenching in pain. All he wanted was to go away, to somewhere safe – for Jane and Alan. But where could be the safe place? He had no idea. He peeked through the bedroom door of Alan, left ajar. His only son was sleeping so calmly, without knowing about the incoming storm. Grieg heaved a long sigh and went away towards his bedroom.

Next morning, when he woke up, he found an envelope slipped under the door. He opened the envelope to find two pieces of paper. One contained a rough sketch of the plan of a house and a red “X” mark on the other side, but no address. The other note said – “128/A, 8th Cross Street, 2nd Floor – Store Room, Grey Briefcase, Combination – 3-1-4”. Grieg knew it was time for him to get going. He decided to leave immediately and rushed off hurriedly, leaving a goodbye note for Jane and Alan.

The journey to the address took over three hours. Upon reaching the address, Grieg found a medium size gray briefcase. Following the instruction, he opened it and found a hundred thousand dollars in cash and and a small note with a key. The note mentioned – “71/C, Eddington Street. 1st Floor, Master bedroom.” . Grieg knew this was it. For some reason this address seemed familiar to him, but he was not sure. “No point thinking anymore, this is another job only.”. He shrugged off, closed his eyes, took a deep breath to get a grip, took out his Beretta 92 F, which one of his friends gave to him and went out to find the address of his last job.

To be continued…..  (and next part will be the finale…)

Precipice