THE SECRET PACT

WHILE THE TWO ARGUED, Tom just watched the fight. He saw his two superiors discussing trivial things among themselves, while they tortured that man without any mercy. He had seen things like that in movies, and in the last few days he had learned the weight of carrying deaths on his conscience, but when he saw that scene before him, he felt his humanity being consumed with each act committed by his two companions. He had killed before for survival, or at least that was the justification he had found, but never for pleasure, not as something vile.

He began to think about himself, about the enormous change of paradigms he had experienced that day. That same night, one moment he was lying down with his beloved, the next he was in a shootout with dangerous people and now he was torturing a stranger to obtain possible information that he was not even sure existed.

At that moment, strangely, he began to question whether this was really the life he wanted to lead and found himself trapped in his own conscience, surrounded on one side by the guilt of the mistake he had made by taking part in this and on the other side by the responsibility he felt towards his wife.

Would it be worth it?

Would this allow him to live with Katy?

She needed to know everything. At least have the right to decide whether she would accept this. Or maybe it was already too late to make up for her bad decision...

The vacuum of his thoughts was interrupted by Tony's screams, which ended up giving him the opportunity to show his worth. He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Kid's forehead, who quickly stopped crying and tried to crawl across the floor, although he couldn't stop moaning from the pain he felt.

— Are you going to talk or not?

— I... I...

Leo pulled the hammer of the gun to release it, making the most frightening click of that poor guy's life. Benedetti and Tony, seeing his attitude, fell silent and watched.

— Did you know that the hole in the back is bigger than the one in the front? — Tom asked coldly, instigating Kid's reaction.

— Okay, man, I'll tell you... I'll tell you, but please put the gun down... — Leone slowly lowered the pistol, sliding it across his forehead to the tip of his nose and then bringing it towards him.

— Look, brother — Kid said, amid groans and heavy breathing — I don't know much...

Before he could finish his sentence, Tom raised the gun again, pressing the barrel against his forehead.

— Why did you raise the gun, man? — the desperate thug asked.

— I'm kind of impatient — he replied, lightly squeezing the trigger.

Kid looked between his eyes, already cross-eyed, his finger pressing the metal rod of the gun that would make the fatal shot.

— Okay... Okay! — Kid shouted — I'll tell you, I'll tell you, man! — They wanted to get him — he said, taking his hand off his bloody knee and pointing at Tony — and take him out of the game! They wanted to take his place in the city. They were bringing weapons, yes, good stuff, lots of military stuff, but they really wanted to take over his share of the money business, or something like that. They had already planned everything! The boss there, you know who, told me that if I did it right, I wouldn't owe them anything anymore, so I had nowhere to run, you know? If I didn't do it, they would kill me... I swear, I had nowhere to run. I didn't, man!

— Where are they? — Leone asked, squeezing the trigger a little tighter.

— Calm down, man! Calm down! I'll tell you everything! They hang out two blocks from my house, every night, in a bar with women, if you know what I mean... That's where I always met them, I don't know where it is anymore, just there. There's a guy named Mad, he's the boss in the area, he's the one who arranged everything with me. That's all I know...

Satisfied with the answers, Tom stood up and turned to his two superiors, saying:

— I think that's it...

Tony stepped forward, pointed his gun and shot Kid in the middle of the forehead, who fell dead at the same time.

— Yes, he is — he replied — Good job, kid.

Leo was startled, he hadn't expected that, so cold and merciless. He swallowed hard his fear and just remained silent, waiting for new orders.

— The kid is good, didn't he say? — Benedetti joked.

— Yes, he is," Tony replied. "You're the one getting rusty.

— I'll get Simon to come, he'll clean up this mess — Benedetti said, unhappy with his boss's answer.

— Please do it, Carlos, I'm exhausted — Tony said as he wiped the sweat from his face.

— Now I have to think of a way to talk to Hellen... It was about time he stopped! Forty years of driving, can you believe it? After forty years!

— Go away, we'll go with Simon later. — Benedetti said, pointing to the car.

— Okay, we'll talk tomorrow. — Tony threw his jacket over his shoulder and walked to the vehicle.