Bourbon and Blood
03 Sep 2019Falcon15e
Getting access to the apartment level was considerably easier than either girl had expected. Although the lifts advertised a set number levels, both girls knew that a complete series of penthouses were not listed at all but existed only to those that knew the key code to access those floors. Although, Amayouta’s tiny hovel was not located on any of those levels. His hovel was only level fifty-six and squeezed into a series of mid-level apartments that were usually occupied by the mid-level station management. Normal middle-class families and regular station administration staff held their own section of apartments that were removed from “guest suites” and business class-living. These resembled regular apartment blocks that may be seen on old earth that were consistent your working class. The only difference being, floors that housed mafia employees typically had a good fella stationed on that level that was responsible for ensuring privacy.Kaisla already had a good understanding of the apartment layout from the helpful dossier she had been sent earlier. Just past the entry door was an ante chamber with a living quarters. A small kitchen was located to the right just past the entry and a bedroom and bath to the left. Larger apartments may contain two bedrooms sandwiching a shared bath and storage unit. Along the far wall, across from the ante room was a double-pane plexi-steel window open the vacuum of space. The picture window was able to automatically adjust shade based upon station orbit to the star.
The lift slowed to a halt and the doors slide open silently to a long but narrow hall. Just past the lifts, a small desk with a mini-fridge and cabinet sat caddy corner to the hall junction. A burly man in a cheap suit gazed up from his slate, noticing the severely pretty young girl and the very attractive, sparsely dressed one with her. He eyes Kai appraisingly, his eyes giving no quarter to his thoughts.
“I ‘elp you?” He asks with a repulsive sneer.
“Uh...we’re special guests,” Lamb interjects.
He breaks gaze with Kai’s body just long enough to glance at the other girl. “Eh, who for?”
Kai fumbles with a scribbled note briefly, “Erm, fifty-six, fourth-three. We’re uh, special guests on account of Mr. Amayouta’s thorough work last week.”
Lambast interjects, “Management sent us.”
He sleazes out another sneer while he ignores Lambast, staring at Kaisla. “Yeah, maybe you stop here before leaving and I’ll show you how much management appreciates your service.”
Lambast steps closer to him, “Oh wouldn’t you enjoy that? Maybe if you were promoted past being a floor guard, you would get the opportunity but that would require you do more than just drool on yourself.”
His sneer fades as his eyes swivel to Lambast. “Fifty-six, Fourty-three is down the second hall, on the left.”
Both girls head down the hallway. As Lambast rounds the corner, she pulls a small canister from her purse and stands on her toes to spray the black fluid over the fisheye bulb hanging from the center of the ceiling.
“Okay, I’ll stand watch outside the door, if you have any issues you know the signal.” Lambast whispers to Kai.
“Right. Shout as loud as I can until you break down the door.”
“No stupid, you excuse yourself and say you dropped something in the hall then go get it.”
Kai looks at her, “I’m not so sure it will be that easy to just walk out.”
The girls get to the door and Lambast looks her up and down, “You look good, good luck.” She walks five doors down to a door marked “Janitorial” and steps inside.
Kai hadn’t realized it until she brings her arm up to knock, its shaking slightly. She takes a deep breath and knocks. She can see movement behind the small lens attached to the front of the door.
A burly voice responds, “Oy, whatta want?”
Kai responds in a sing-song voice, “I was sent by the management, uh, as a congratulation.”
Amayouta pulls the door open, a pistol in hand leveled at her abdomen. “Congratulation on what?”
“Your promotion.” Kai blinks rapidly, tearing her eyes up from the gun to his round face. Beyond the extra weight and several days growth of beard, he didn’t look at all how she expected.
“What promotion?”
She shrugs, “I’m not sure Mister, they didn’t tell me what for. Just said you deserved it.”
Amayouta leans out the door and looks up and down the empty hall. “Well,” he says as he sticks the pistol into his shoulder rig, “ya mis-well come in.”
Kai follows him into the ante room. He walks over to a small bar. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Sure, whatever your having.” Kai says glancing around. The apartment is sparsely furnished but besides the take-out boxes on the kitchen counter, tidy. A boxing poster is situated just past the door way and contemporary but cheap furniture compliments the living space. A large holo-vision projection screen takes up most of the far wall adjacent to the living quarters, playing some kind of sporting event.
“He walks over to the gray couch and sets the drink onto the simple living room table looking back at her. Kai chews on her lip before walking over and cautiously sitting on the couch. He plops down into a matching grey recliner a few paces away and looks back to the holo-vid while sipping from his tumbler. Kai reaches down, secures the glass and lifts it to her lips. Her hand is shaking more violently now. She takes a long pull off the glass and sets it down with a commotion onto the table. The bourbon burns harshly down her throat almost making her gag. He looks over at her, “First time?”
“Yeah. I’m nervous, sorry.”
He ignores her statement, indicating the screen, “Hope you don’t mind this, its been a good game. Eravate’s playing LTT 15574, its close.”
“No, this is fine.” Every nerve in her body is screaming at her. Should she just stab him now? Was she sure this was him? The photo looked just like him but he didn’t look like a cold-blooded killer. Should she be provocative to get closer and then do it? She expected something completely different.
Finally she made up her mind. She downed the last of the bourbon, set the glass down and stood, walking over to the chair. She ran her hand along his shoulder and up to his neck, running her nails through the hair along his nape. He looked up at her and she sat gently on his lap, pulling his face in for a kiss. She had only ever kissed someone once before when she was dared to on the playground in the fourth grade. That had been Billy Romanov and he had slobbered everywhere. Amayouta didn’t slobber as she leaned in, drawing her hand forward to the side of his face. His breath tasted of the bourbon and his face smelled sweet of faded aftershave. She could feel the stubble under her palm and his extra flesh pushing into her face. Her other hand slide down to her thigh and slowly fumbled under her skirt. He reached his arm around to her waist and slowly rubbed along the top of her other thigh. Her fingers finally found the cold steel of the sharp stiletto in its custom sheath. She pulled him in harder for the kiss while she pulled the knife free. With one motion she brought her arm up and slid it slowly into the thick rolls of his neck. There was hardly any resistance until she had it buried in close to the hilt. She broke off the kiss and struggled to pull away while his body contracted around her. She looked down into his shock, wide eyes. “That’s for my father,” she twisted the knife, “That’s for my mother,” then, she pulled with all her might, dragging it across his neck. “That’s for my friend, Astro.”
She stood, pulling the knife free as he started to gurgle. Blood ran out his mouth as he gripped at his open throat. He continued to sit there, looking up at her as she wiped the knife off on his jacket laying nearby on the couch. He pulled the gun from his shoulder rig and went to raise it toward her. His arm failed half-way up dropping to the chair, the gun landing with a thud on the floor. Kaisla picked the gun up securing it in her purse before she finished his glass of bourbon then, securing the knife and wiping both glasses and her hands with his coat. She walked out of the apartment. Lambast was standing there. “Is that it? Is it done? What happened?”
“Yeah, its done.” She slumped against the wall, “Lets go.”
Back in the apartment, as Amayouta lay slumped in his chair, quickly being covered in his own blood, his now empty hand had managed to trigger a small device secured around his open neck. A red light flashed through the crimson color of his shirt.
Lambast pulled Kaisla up from the wall securing an arm around her waist and grabbing her purse, puzzled, looking inside to see the gun. “Where did you get that?”
Kaisla exhales, “It was his.” Lamb half carries her friend down the hallway just as the sleazy door man rounds the corner. He opens his jacket and pulls an SMG from a sling around his shoulder. Lambast shoves her hand into Kai’s purse, pulling the gun out. She fires four shots directly at the sleazy door man. Three shots pound into his chest. He falls forward onto his face and the two girls start to run. As she gets closer, Lambast lets loose another three rounds into his unresponsive body and both women rush to the lift.
The lift ride to the docking bay was a short one. As the doors slide open, both girls look up into the blue eyes of Johnston, standing there. “Is it done?”
“Yeah, its done.” Kaisla says.
Johnston, a look of relief and deep sadness crossing his face. “Okay, you two get out of here. I’ll handle the rest.”
The two women make it back to the Adder and depart the station without incident. The moment Kaisla slumps into the passenger seat, she starts to cry uncontrollably, deep sobs wracking her body as she gasps for air. Lambast kneels in front of her friend, placing her forehead against hers. “Shhhh...its okay. You’re fine. We’re fine. We have to go now okay?”
The lift slides open and Johnston walks into the hallway. He takes a right and then a left down the hallway. Just past the corner, a red spot is evident on the thin carpet and a man in a white one-piece jumper works industriously to clean the spot. A door marked “Janitorial” sits ajar with a polished loafer sticking out of it. The jumper man looks up and nods at Johnston as he walks past. Johnston walks down to room fifty-six forty-three and shoves the door open.
Two other men in white jumpers industriously clean the apartment and catalog the contents of the living quarters. Amayouta’s body lay covered in a thick rubber bag on a stretcher near the kitchen. Adele sits on the couch, legs crossed, sipping a glass of the pungent bourbon. “This is good stuff. Want some?” She holds the glass toward Johnston. He waves it away.
“Your people are quick. That was what? Ten minutes?” He asks looking around the room.
“Eight Mr. Johnston, and its like we discussed earlier, these ladies need to succeed. She did good. It was a clean kill and there was no sign of struggle. From what my people tell me, no calls went out except for this,” She holds up the pager that was around his neck. “Which only went to the guard in the hall. Amayouta’s death will be easy to pass off as a suicide but we’ll have to be more creative with the guard.”
“So that’s it then? Its done?” Johnston asks, hands on his hips.
Adele finishes the bourbon. “Oh no Mr. Johnston,” she hands him a data stick. “Send her this in a few days. It has more dossiers on it. I want those two girls to get as high up the food chain as they can and when they fail, then my people can finish it from there. But as long as those two girls are willing to take the risk, we let them.”
Johnston snatches the data stick out of her hand. “And if I refuse?”
“Then you don’t have much longer until the entire Cleve mafia comes gunning for you Mr. Johnston.” She extends her hand out to encompass the bloody chair in front of her. Adele looks up at him, a thin smile creasing her lips.
He turns to walk out of the apartment, pausing to grab the bottle of bourbon on the bar before leaving.