Firs Meeting

Damian Past

My eyelids feel like it were glued together, the moment my eyes opened I find myself in a dark, cold basement. I might have blackout but I remember when I decided to kill the fucker who took my brother's life. A  familiar face comes into focus as he kneels down before me and starts to pinch me on my cheek. It’s the man in suit and he had a glasses on.

“Good morning,” he says. “I’ve been waiting all night for you to wake.”

“You missed out of the fun,” the other man says.

I didn't understand what they’re discussing, but I nodded anyways, which I figure is what most guys probably do when they speak.

“I’m Dante,” the man on blue T-shirt introduces himself first. “And this is my partner, Sebastian but you can always call him Ash.”

“I’m Damian,” I responded around the dryness in my mouth. Dante tosses me a bottle of water, and i opened drank from it immediately. “So, what now?” I ask.

The men look to each other “You drank a lot last night.” Dante stared at me and asked, what got me worked up last night.

That fucker  killed my brother, really?

The way Dante says it still sounds like a question, but when Ash bobs his head, that question is settled.

“Well, young man, Dante continue speaking  you only have two choices but I didn't let him complete his statement “Maybe you could keep me around, I'm going to be useful for you.” I gesture to the tables. “I’m a gambling my life, and I know how to deal.”

Dante laughs “Tell us what you want and we shall get it done. Do you want us to kill him?

I stared at the fucker and nodded immediately before they changed their minds. 

The deal was simple, they help me kill him and I fully dedicate myself to them. Dante slaps my back and squeezes my shoulder. “Have fun then and try not to choke.”

I’ve never killed a man and before mike, I never  thought I would either. Something had me convinced that I was just as hard as my father was, and when it came time, I could kill people the same way he did but that was all before I met  Ash. He was the one with the glasses and he had a blank expression.

The man is clean and he is as precise as a surgeon, even the way he moves about in the little room where Mike was. He discards his suit jacket and rolls up his shirt sleeves while he listens to classical music. It seems like an awfully weird  way to prepare to kill someone, but it looks like he’s probably done it multiple times already.

The guy I’ve been waiting nearly eight months to kill is already tied to the table, and his shirt cut off. There isn’t any fear in his eyes when he looks at me. Ash was too stiff and way too calm. I feel sick all over again when he turns and gestures for me to come look at his selection of tools. “Pick your pleasure.”

I take a look at the metal, but I only recognize a few. He must notice because he handed me a pair of shears. “I suggest starting with the fingers and toes.  I turn back to Mike, and he’s laughing at me with his eyes. Even he knows I don’t have the strength to do this.  “Do you think he made your brother suffer?” Ash asked.

I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but he has a point actually. The main reason I set out to do this initially is because Mike made my brother  suffer. And for what? Because he fucking could.

“He tortured him,” I answer, my voice barely audible. “Then it’s time to return the favor.  One last act before you go. Would it not give you peace to know you’d done what you set out to?”

Ash words give me the conviction I need, and I move to the table. He follows with a metal bowl in his hands, setting it beside Mike. He was taunting me with his eyes, and not convinced that I can do it. I think of my brother, remembering how his face was. From the time he was just a baby,  it fell upon me to look after him and I fed him, clothed him, made his lunches for school. He was a good kid with a my heart of gold. He would have done anything to fit in. All he ever wanted was to feel like he had a family. I hoped, if I guided him in the right direction and stuck by his side it would be enough. But in the end, I failed him.

“He was just a kid.” I meet Mike dead eyes. “A fucking kid.”

His lips twist beneath the duct tape around his mouth and I can tell he’s smiling when I reach for his hand. It’s all a funny joke to him but it stops being funny when the shears close around his index finger and I start to squeeze.

It’s a lot harder than I expected because there’s a crunch of bone and tissue before a tortured groan rumbles from his chest. Blood starts to seep from the wound, dripping onto the floor and making a real mess of what I’m trying to do. I can’t seem to get through the bone.

“It takes a bit to get the technique down,” Ash  told me. “Just give it a good hard squeeze.”

I do and I close my eyes and squeeze it like I wanted to squeeze that trigger the night before, and the nub of his finger falls to the floor with a satisfactory thud.

“Good on job” Ash slap my back. “Only nineteen figers left.”

He leaves me to it, and I’m surprised to find it gets a little easier each time. Mike squirming against the table, moaning and whining and carrying on like the pussy he is. Blood sprays my face and clothes, but I can’t smell it anymore. It’s like I’m in a trance and all I can hear is the sound of his pain and screams. I like it a lot more than I expected to.

The door opens, and another guy walks in. He’s got a bowl full of soup of some sort, which he continues to eat while he watches us.

“Rex.” Ash greeted him, he  finishes his food and then sets the bowl aside, leaning back against the table. “What’s the deal with this dude?”

“They were both at the warehouse last night,” Ash explains. “ The one on the table killed his kid brother.”

"What’s your name kid?”

“Damian.” I nod to him and then continue on with my work. I’ve still got three more toes to get through and Mike screaming like a child now, nearly choking on his own tongue.

“Damian,” he muses. “You have found yourself a new student, Ash.”

Ash response is dry and to the point. “He’ll chuck when he’s through.”

“We all chucked the first time,” Rex said but Ash shrugs. “Dante gave him a deal anyway. The kid won’t be sticking around.”

The room goes silent and when I glance at Rex, the amusement has disappeared from his face. He doesn’t like the sound of this deal, but I don’t know why he cares one way or another.

“The guy was in agreement,” Ash clarifies. “He’s a fucking kid,” Rex mutters under his breath. 

There was silence again and they don’t say anything else when I turn away, but the door shuts, and I know they’re both outside discussing the situation. I don’t let it ruffle my feathers. I gave them my word, and if there’s one thing my father beat into me over the years, it’s that a man has to stay true to his word.

My word is all I’ve ever had, and besides, it’s not like there’s anything left for me here. My parents and brother was dead.  I’ve been wandering this city without any purpose for months and I’m tired. Nicky was the only thing I had left, and I'm sure she didn't care about me when I caught her banging some random guy in the club last month. Doesn’t matter anyway. She’s gone now.  I put those thoughts out of my mind as the last of Mike toes fall into the bowl. When Ash comes back, Rex was gone, and that suits me just fine. “Alright, kid,” he says. “How do you feel about me completing the job?”