"Let's start with introductions eh?"

Compelling a normal and genuine smile out of yourself in scenarios like this is something I suck at. In fact, one of the reasons I had my inhaler made is for me to get into character smother, and it still took a shit load of practice to make it look believable. ('A touch too dramatic' in Vera's words)

And as green as I was, I could only imagine later on how fucking sorry was mine acting that night.

"I'm a freelancer..... Took the wrong job at the wrong time from that greasy wop." I nod towards the street outside. "And y'all are Knox's group. Employed by the O'deans for sanitizing reasons right?" The man in the beanie tilts his head to the side for a moment, deep in thought.

"More or less. My turn, why haven't my employer called yet?" Scythe through a field.

Regarding the situation I'm in, no matter the case Enzo's agenda will play the defining role. In this guy's words, Enzo is the one with four of a kind while I'm stuck with a dead man's hand. Anyone would have put all the marbles on him. So I'm going to do the same.

"Because. At this moment an associate of mine had convinced them to..... reconsider their options." His facial muscles drag his skin at the corner of his mouth to form an insidious smile but there are no traces of joy in his eyes.

"So you're telling me that... Those O'deans at the back, who are hell bound to do this..... Who threw everything they got into this raid. Who already paid us a considerable amount of commission ..... bailed just now?" Taking a step forward, he tilts his head downward slightly to match my gaze.

......Oh, I can work with that..

"Only commissions eh?" A grin forms naturally on my face as I scoffed. The scout by the corner turned his head towards me, frowning. I take a deep breath and go over the play again, making sure there's nothing he can use to see through my bullshit.

"The associate of mine, whose name y'all may or may not know. Is Enzo." I quickly shift my line of sight off the man in a beanie to see how the others react. As subtle as they've shown most of them register the name.

"Earlier today Alonzo who was going to open the back door for them to penetrate from the rear while you guys spit roasted them at front." Panoptes arch his back forward slightly his lips twitched, almost slipping a smile.

"But Alonzo is dead." The man in front of me squints his eyes again. Narrowing his eyes into a brown slit like a reptile. "He was caught wearing a bulletproof vest while sweating like a catholic priest in an elementary school's pool." Panoptes turned his face to the wall, holding out a laugh while the scout behind him raises his head to the sky trying to control his facial muscles.

"It took 20 minutes and minimum effort to crack him. He spilled the whole thing, including Enzo's involvement before they open a third eye on his forehead." Irritation, tiredness, and...... a hint of glee. He doesn't like rats either.

"But Enzo struck a deal with Nicola. He.... Convinced Nicola to let him talk to the O'deans at the back...."

Now for the bait.

"Question, when was the last time your employers contacted you?" I take a look at the crowd while asking with a sarcastic tone.

The beanie guy remains unshaken and emotionless, at least in terms of facial expressions. The others couldn't compose themselves as well as him but were pretty good too, yet the idea of doubt was planted, some narrowed their eyes, and other's breathing gradually spiral to heavy exhales.

"Let me guess, been a while isn't it?" I shifted my gaze to Panoptes by the wall and found a glint of cold in them. Got 'em.

"That's because Enzo told them this was a trap, that Alonzo was busted already and Nicola was waiting for the O'deans tonight. I only met Enzo for a few hours and I already know how much of an effect he have on people."

Words came out of my mouth before I registered them in my mind. As I keep on lying, the smile on my face becomes more and more relaxed and I can feel my back lean towards the wall. An intoxicating thrill writhed in my chest for the idea of getting out of this felt real for the first time.

It's an addiction, to throw yourself in a pit of fire. As much as I don't want to admit it.

"Now ask yourself again, is it really that much of a fairytale for a smaller crew of half-asses to run as soon as things didn't go as planned?"

The seed of doubt bloomed, I can see it in the faces of those two scouts that they started to question if this will also affect them. The dulled eye man's dark brows slowly close together while the face of the guy pointing a pistol at me became more defined, especially the line under his ears, giving up he's gritting his teethes. The grey beard lights up another cigarette as he contemplates what I said.

The only one I still couldn't get a read on is the man in front of me. All of his reactions and expressions seemed so...... fake.

With the cigarette dangling on his lips, a grey bearded man walks up to us again.

"How you wanna do this?" He asks. The man in a beanie raises both of his brows and tilts his head toward the grey-beard man. For the first time, he showed surprise in his eyes.

"Oh, you believe him?" He returns the question with another. The older man puffs out a thin trace of smoke toward the sky.

"Not really. But I don't like to fuck with odds. Something happened, we don't have the means to know what. And I'm not too excited to walk into the dark." The man with a beanie lets out a chuckle.

"Age really did you in, old man. Messed you all up." The grey-beard man takes a step forward and hissed with an oppressed voice.

"I'm been practical here. This. Is a bad business." The man in the beanie stops his eyes on the older cleaners for a moment. One cold as steel, the other elusive with a trace of disdain. And all of a sudden, the man with the beanie darts his line of sight back at me with a smirk.

"Why don't you finish your testimony first?" His voice was as smooth as before but now pressed with a layer of belligerent. I swallow hard and try to remain as composed as I was.

"According to his words, after Enzo made them believe this is a trap. The O'deans, very conveniently decided to ditch y'all without informing this is a setup. Expecting you guys to vanquish here tonight so they don't have to pay the rest of the contract..... bit of a cunt your employers are, I'd say as a fellow freelancer." I shrug in the minimum movement I can portray right now.

The beanie guy drags the left corner of his lips like he's chewing gums before his mouth clicks. He turns around to look at the rest of the guys. No doubt my words had mind fucked them, especially the two young scouts, both of them had a nameless blaze in their eyes. Dulled eye man's eyelids drop with his face, gray beard spits out the cigarette and turns around to radio the sniper again.

Before I showed up they were the dominant force in this field but what I said originated the idea that they're abandoned and have no reasons to stay and carry out the work. It doesn't matter if they buy it or not, as long as the possibility is planted in their head would be enough. As I said, at the end of the day, the reapers are mercenaries as well.

"And what you got to prove it, merc?" Surprisingly, the one to finally ask the question is Panoptes. I can't help but let out a silent laugh.

Enzo you better do your fucking part.

"You can call them right now, see what happens." Panoptes turns his eyes to his leader. The man in beanie adjusts the channel key on his radio while keeping eye contact with me. Time slowed down again as he move his left thumb to the orange button on the side, I tried to keep my head clean and restrain my amplified heartbeats. The first was pretty easy, the second is impossible since my lies are one poke away from exploding like a balloon.

"It's passed the designated time, what do you want us to do?" A screeching white noise came followed by a long silence, I slowly lean back on the wall behind me as I can feel my legs shaking.

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

Three heartbeats.

Four heart.....

"Hold." A single word came through the radio before white noise takes hold of the microphone, then, silence creeps in again. Through the fabric of my shirt and the steel and Kevlar of their vests, they cling on your shoulder and slowly choke you out.

Until the man in beanie drag his thin lips to the side of his face and takes another step closer to arms-reach. With a light voice and an unsettling glint of hunger in his eyes, he says.

"Didn't catch your name earlier. What do they call you, kid?" A pressure returns to the back of my head, and it escalates, like a giant palm gripping my head harder and harder.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

".....Lee would be fine." Annual rings in his eyes lit up, a roaring blaze consuming it. His emotions are no longer fake or for sarcastic purposes they're now burning bright.

"Lee..... they call me Knox."

***

Knox wasn't a big name in any sense, his group was efficient, precise, and charge relatively more reasonable than others (most of the time). In today's freelance market or in lanes, they wouldn't be much of a note, just an old-fashioned cleaning group.

But six years ago was a very different period of time than present, the city's rules weren't concrete yet, and lines between factions were blurry. Piao Jie and Little Italy weren't under single influences like nowadays, it was chaos. Everybody wants and has the means to be somebody before another comes and rearranges the tides.

Vera once told me peace is the worse factor for her work. To some extent, I'm positive a shit load of mercenaries and cleaners in the lanes want the Russikies and Qins to go to town on each other. Tragedy and war take thousands of forms, some see it as a way to make a name or a quick buck, while others see it as an inevitable nightmare. Either way, it's good for businesses.

And that's where Knox and his group shined. They took jobs all around the city during the later period of power struggles among eastern Faust, even some japs told me (before I theoretically fucked up their casino) they had enlisted Knox's group's services once or twice long ago and they were very satisfied with the results.

This is what Knox's group mean back in the day, a constant paid force on different sides, and never once fucked up. Some even said they had never once lost a combatant....... before that night.

***

I feel as if the air around me materialized into cold iron and engulfed me. I'm not afraid of this man in front of me but what's inside of him.

"The story is mostly convincing but there's a thing I can't get over..... you. Why would they send you?"

Tilting his head slightly forward, he gaze upon me with a smile and a frenzy in his eyes. Before I notices, my back is completely against the wall as I keep leaning back out of reflexes. I take a deep breath and force myself to stand straight as my brain scrambles through all the stuff I could pull out of nowhere right now.

"Nicola's man saw you guys getting out of the van and walking into this alley. He didn't think you guys would listen to reason, that he has to kill y'all in order to see the sunrise again." I pause for a moment as I grit my teeth like I'm caught between anger and doubts, not sure how well I sold that but at least I know everyone's focus is on me.

"So that brain dead fuck decided to go as Enzo's lies and set up the scene to position his man around the front thinking that he could get the drop on you by surprise. And now all they need is for you guys to step into the open street.... And that's where little ol me came back into their mind." I let out a chuckle and dart my focus to the right.

The burly guy lowered his eyelids while his eyes are full of contempt, grey beard looks a bit more stoic than he was with his brows slightly moved close to each other, Panoptes switch positions with the other scout and leaned on the wall in front of me, resting his hands on rifle stock. Knox nods subtly from time to time with interest in his eyes.

"Enzo and the others in there practically forced me to do it or else they'll kill me before you do....... As for why they don't send someone else, well......." I slightly lower my head like I'm nodding and drag a grin on my face.

"Because no one have the balls to face the grim reapers." For the first time tonight, I heard the dulled eye man let out a grunt-like laugh.

"And you got an extra sack or you're secretly pissing your pants right now?" Panoptes asks in a dead serious tone that made the big fella and Knox grin while grey beard lets out a sign.

"Well, that depends on how many you have, and uh.... they let me use the restroom before shoving me out here so probably neither." I let a smirk form on my face naturally and turn my focus back on Knox. "I just hate not having control over anything. If I'm out to die, it ain't going to be sitting dock in some damp back room of a shitty dinner. I'd rather take my chances."

Knox scratches his beard with his left hand while his right hand is still holding the pistol firmly.

"So they told you to lure us out but you decided to....."

"Have a civilized conversation."

"Christ." Holding his chin, Knox hums. "You're a blackjack kind of guy eh? So what does this civilized conversation suppose to lead to?"

"Everyone waking up on their own beds tomorrow instead of the morgue." Knox raises his brows. "Your employers believed the words of an accomplice and ditched y'all, hoping that you guys will get killed. Your contract ended before you even got here, hell. I might get paid more than you guys tonight. The point is, y'all have no reasons to engage now. None. Nicola's man could be quickly convinced to let y'all be on your merry way. They, got no interest in a bloodbath with cleaners. While you have no need to follow orders anymore...... There is no point or gain for either side to do this."

In the end, my voice became shaky like I'm trying to contain my anger and laughter. I was invested in my own lies that the idea of Knox and Nicola's crew having a shootout seem generally ludicrous and the adrenaline rushing through my veins made my ear rings.

As my words sunk into the cleaner's mind I can visibility see their doubts clears out and turn their gaze to their boss. Knox, whose smirk still hangs on his face while he scrutinized my words in his head. Suddenly, his focus shift to the towel (or napkin... I still can't tell) wrap around my forehead and points at the edge of my brow where an icky pain still stings ever so often.

"What happened to that?" My right hand reaches to touch the fabric on my face unconsciously which triggers the big fella with a pistol at me.

"Doesn't matter." Knox's smile disappears but the flame in his eyes burn ever so brightly. An unwanted emotion returns in them. Suspicion.

For fuck's sake I'm at the brink.

"......I've been wondering since you start blabbering. You. A merc. Why would you try so hard to save them wops inside?..... You made this a fucking peace negotiation for them who carved up your face and force you on a suicide mission you didn't sign for according to your words." Knox crack his neck's joint as he continues on.

"Makes me wonder...... if you're not a merc, maybe Nicola have some Tokyo joe no one heard of stashed in his sleeves, and maybe...... you also fake the whole O'deans scenario." Knox now stares with the same frenzy in his eyes, anger, thrill, doubts, and disdain all mixed into one as his dark hazel eyes suffocate me.

The captain of the cleaning group once again presses the orange key on his radio. A short static came through before Knox asks again.

"It's been way too long. Are we doing this or not?" Ten seconds of silence came before the voice came from the other side again with a dry answer.

"Hold." A slight hint of anger rushes through Knox's face before he conceals them back into his eyes.

This is it.

He has nothing to prove me wrong. I have nothing to prove I'm right.

A real life Rashomon.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes to barricade every single emotion in my mind and replace them with sullen and intentionally narrow my eyes when I reopen them. With a light voice, I say.

"All I have against your words, are mine which are the truth. I'm a mercenary who took a job from a proxy at the lanes to deal with some loan sharks in the West. And when I return to Nicola, shit gone south. I was trapped in a conflict I have no interest in." I pause for a second to meet every single one of their gazes, to see theirs, and let them see mine.

"What happened about the O'deans I only have Enzo's version of the story but I saw them leave with my own eyes. And I'm also sure that none of you." I nod at the two scouts by the corner, grey beard, the big fella, dulled eye and of course, Knox. "Are going to get paid tonight." I scoffed at the words and carry on.

"You ask why I would try so hard to save them ginos inside..... Let's just say I have some personal reasons that would not affect you in any way possible.... Oh, and this?" I point at the wound from my brow to my forehead. "This is from Alonzo, I was the one that caught him snitching." I take a moment to breathe and act like I'm 'cooling my head' even though I'm more terrified inside than angry and count to ten in my head before I forced a grin on my face.

"...Now it's up to you. You're a gambler so tell me, am I bluffing? Or is it that all your cards were exposed by your partner who folds the second he sees his hand?"

Staring down Knox's eyes, I see conflicts, contradictories, self doubts. He knit his brows as his eyes narrowed. I lock my focus on him not daring to break the eye contacts, his dark hazel pupils is like a surgeon dissecting me, cutting through my skin, stretching my bones extracting my organs to find any sign of lies.

And I ignored them all. I know the more I try to decipher his thoughts the more uncertain and insecure my body language will become, so I let my mind wander off on the little details around me. The obnoxious feeling of blood soaking the rug on my forehead, the brown stains on Knox's beanie, the wry lines of his left ear, the tattoo on the neck of the burly man who never let the line of fire off me, the vague stink of garter and cheap tobacco in the air, and the oppressed sound of thunder from afar.

When Knox finally take a step back his motions were slow. He turns the channel key on his radio two and a half times and presses on.

"Birdy. How's the view up there?" Three seconds of static later he replied.

"They changed gunners a few minutes ago. Nothing new under the sun, chief."

I can see the moment Birdy finishes reporting. Knox compromised. The cleaner stared at the street few meters away from this alley wordlessly. Grey beard man walks up to him and break the silence among the cleaners.

"Say the word then." Knox closes his eyes momentarily, his breath heavy.

"Give him back his phone, we're leaving." When his eyes open again, the flame is gone. Emotions once again become lines of carvings on a lifeless stele. Doubts didn't leave his eyes but other thoughts surpassed it.

Almost every one of them, except the dulled eye, looks relief. They gather their equipments, the big fella finally put his guns down and throw me my phone back.

I flip it open and dial in Enzo's numbers slowly since my fingers are still trembling.

Calm down. Don't break character at this fucking moment.

I clutch the phone in my hand to steady it. I double check the numbers before phoning it. Enzo pick up before the first dialing tone finished. I press the speakerphone key five times to minimize the sound before putting it on.

"Took your sweet fucking time, merc?" A rage runs through my chest and spread all over my body, I grip the phone harder to calm myself down.

I take a peek to the right to make sure no one is paying attention to me, luckily since Knox gave the order I'm no longer there focus as most of them took position by the corner, grey beard resumed smoking in the back, Knox is still on the radio answering to birdy's questions about why they're bailing all of a sudden.

"They agreed to leave." Silence.

"......You sure?" An ominous squeak came from my phone's keypad. I take a deep breath.

"Yes. You done? Or were you having a fucking wine testing back there?" A series of short laughter came.

I should've stomped on his nuts when he was on the ground.

"Easy now, merc. they've been gone for at least ten minutes by now."

Wait...... I take another look at the cleaners before I ask.

"They answered the radio from the cleaners about three minutes ago."

"Yeah? What did they say?"

"They told them to hold." Another series of laughter came.

"Don't you worry about that...Oh, and tell your friends they can come out now."

***

After Birdy confirmed the gunners on the second floor are gone do Knox and his man clear out the alley, they kept their guns pointing at the restaurant's front door and the widows while crossing the road back to their van.

Though there are still millions of questions in my mind, I've run out of strength and will to care. I put the phone down, watching the black van's slide door closes and hit the road. As the car passes the alley again. My eyes met Knox's who gave me one last look from the passenger seat before rolling up the window. There's something in them. Bitterness? Indignant? Loathing? Speculating? I'm too tired to care.

I dust off the mud stein on my jacket before putting it on, and strap my .45, daggers back. Feeling whole again.

A drop of rain landed perfectly on the top of green lamp pole creating a clean metallic noise. Then the next one landed by my feet, at the concrete walkway followed by another one and another one and another one.......

One landed on my ear, pulled me out of my trance. I shake my head and look at the empty street as the rain starts mercilessly befalls onto it.

The towel on my head was soaked in a moment, weighting it down. My hands shake uncontrollably because of the sudden drop of temperature or the aftermath of what I done which I'm still in disbelief.

A series of acute pain triggered by the rain soaking through towel and stimulating my wound. I thought about the closest clinic around here and turn right towards the same direction as the Knox's.