[A Long Short] Bang for the Buck

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

~Story inspired by Masquerade - a talented author, go check him out!

 

 

Bang for the Buck

 

The Lone Ranger does it again. A bank robber thwarted and put behind bars, the locals of a small Wild Western town cheer on the Ranger and his faithful companion Tonto as they ride off into the sunset, a new adventure awaiting them the next day, as always is the case.

 

Hah.

 

In modern 2024 society, nobody is that type of hero. Nobody openly defies the bank robbers, except maybe those foolish and brave enough to try. Nobody has new adventures each day - they're too scared to try. And certainly, nobody lives happily ever after. Except for the fat rich slugs sucking out all of the money from the ordinary Joe's pocket. Well, actually, not quite. That's where I come in. You see, ordinary Joe got quite tired of the posh people collecting money from citizens who can barely afford enough to feed themselves. And so, a new type of person appeared to help appease them for a while. I'm what the people in the slums call, a "Robin Hood" - a guy who assassinates the rich, gives some money and property to the guy who paid me a handsome sum, a little bit to corrupt officials, and keeps the rest. Actually, make it "The Robin Hood". I'm the only one left. Mainly because I killed the others for better business. Nobody's perfect.

 

Actually, speaking of perfection, the current hit I'm working on right now is going along right according to plan. Even though I am in the city's sewers, where half the tunnels are filled to the brim with a toxic concoction of whatever junk the crackheads above are smoking with the usual stuff, and the other half are just empty enough for me to get through without drowning in filth, I'm rather happy. My client, who I've never even so much as met before, promised me a much heftier amount of money than I would normally get on this kind of day, and he asked for only about five percent of the belongings I bring back. Either a family heirloom of his was at stake, or that five percent is worth one heck of a lot of green, because personally, I don't see what the profit is for him, unless of course he really wants this guy dead. The guy in question is a high-ranking official in charge of guarding the blah of the most important blah from His Highness's blah blah. I didn't really read the instructions, I just looked at his face and where to find him, then took off. Come to think of it, I probably should've read the instructions - I have no idea whether to turn left or right at this intersection I'm coming across. Time to use my big city know-how.

 

A quick glance to the left tells me that it's a smaller pipe leading up to several even smaller pipes that lead to several houses and eventually, toilets in above said houses. Looking to the right tells me that people have crawled through that pipe before - it's more used than before, certainly less dusty and grimy, and there is a little graffiti artwork I can see up ahead in the little light I'm given. It's still extremely nasty to crawl through, with the usual rats and insects scurrying away from my presence and the lingering smell of raw sewage permeating the air, but it's certainly better than a few of the sections I had to squeeze past. Several had dead bodies, and a few had live ones. Looks like the mafia bosses are especially active this month.

 

As I go on, according to my instincts, I can definitely sense a lightening of the air - in more than one way. The sickening smells of rotting flesh, human and animal, expired drugs, very expired food, and the usual stuff you would expect to find in a sewage pipe have lessened in intensity, and some smells, like that of gunpowder a few tunnels back, have disappeared altogether. As well, it's definitely become brighter in here, and I can see a maintenance lid that is most likely not used for maintenance. And to add to that, I can hear the faint sounds of idle chatter, occasionally accompanied by a small burst of laughter. It's very likely some head honcho of a local mob with his guards, friends, and, if I'm correct, a certain high-ranking official I was hired to kill. I head through the "maintenance" lid, and, as I expected, it leads to a larger and much, much cleaner tunnel. There are several doors to both sides, but it's easy to know which one is the one that matters; it says "Restricted Access - DO NOT ENTER". Opened up, it leads into a smaller room with a few guards. Easily dispatched. There seems to be a shower in the room, so I strip, let it loose, dry up, and change into one of the guard's clothes. Too easy. The guard even had some perfume and weapons on him, which will help both mask me easier and make the assassination quicker. I put the silencer from my old outfit on the new gun, and off I go through another door. This time, into a luxurious hallway with golden everything. I easily get past a few guards, and although one or two give me a funny look, nobody seems anywhere near suspicious. This mob boss really needs to get his security updated. Oh, speak of the devil. And of luck. The mob boss in question, no doubt the fat man surrounded by guards is the boss, is the same person somebody hired me to kill a few weeks ago. And, even better, he's accompanied by the official I was sent here to kill.

 

I easily blend in with the rest of the guards surrounding fatty and the other guy, and the rest is a blur. Got to the end of the hallway, unclipped and activated a smoke bomb, and with two quick shots to the head, got my money's worth. A quick one-two punch of grenades and machine gun fire get rid of the guards, leaving me free with a few credit cards I will take as payment. Along with a bullet to my right arm and a few landing near where the sun don't shine. But, everything after that is easy - another smoke bomb to confuse whoever survived the first round of madness, and I escaped through a manhole lid, conveniently located above me. A few more shots to get rid of the onlookers, even if there were only three, and I'm off to see the wizard. Or rather, my client. He agrees to meet me in an abandoned warehouse a few minutes from where he lives, and when I open the door, it's clear to me what I should do next. It's obvious. I really should have thought of it earlier before I took this job.

 

I shoot my client point blank in the head. His voice should have reminded me sooner - this man had a kill warrant on him, and I wasn't able to collect it. Until now. So, I take his possessions as well, and get out into the moonlit streets. Another client will be waiting for me. He's powerful, so much so that the law cannot touch him, and the murderous crime lords cannot lay a finger on him either. He's weaved his way into both the criminal world and the justice system, and has made so many allies that his enemies dare not make a move. Only one man has gotten away with it, and I just shot him in the face. Now, I can reap the rewards. The wealth of a mob boss, a maestro's enemy, and a high-ranking official is at my fingertips. But. But I can have so much more than that. I can rise above a life of servitude. And it's actually easy, come to think of it. Nobody knows who I am. Nobody knows where I live. And that will make it easy. Yes, yes it will.

 

As I rendezvous with my client, I reload my gun and place my finger on the trigger.

[ToHoYoNTaDa 1,147]

Good, Abadoom!

[M-axis 589]

Very Nice!!! Just might beat me to number one ;)

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

Very Nice!!! Just might beat me to number one ;)

Zat vos ze ulllltimet poorpussz forrh zis ztorreeee...

 

*maniacal 3vil laughter*

[M-axis 589]

Zat vos ze ulllltimet poorpussz forrh zis ztorreeee...

 

*maniacal 3vil laughter*

:P

[TTK_229 1,080]

Coke for you Abbs