Just Business

 Saturday I submitted my entry for the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. Thousands of people from all over the world enter. There are 210 different groups and each of the groups are assigned a genre, a character and a theme/time. Once everything is assigned you are given 8 days to create an original story using the criteria you were assigned. The catch, the story must be 2,500 words or less.

I received; late, late night/crime/caper/a bartender. 

Tony disappears to break away from the family business only to be tracked down and faced with the choice of life or death. - Just Business

Just Business

     Tony wiped the warm wood of the bar, absently watching the waves as they kissed the sand and disappeared into the darkness. Warm air skipped across the sand, slipping in and out of the moonlight and nudging the lights dripping from the thatched roof. He was a lifetime away from the dirty slush, the metallic smell of blood and the family. He replaced covert meetings, hushed conversations and everything that made Chicago home with the tang of coconut, the raucous laughter of inebriated tourists and the veil of anonymity.

Glancing at the height of the moon he gave final call to his remaining two guests. Their pasty white legs glowed in the darkness competing with the brilliance of their Hawaiian shirts. Newbies. They had been jovial over the past hour, enjoying the umbrella drinks tourists craved. Thankfully they nodded off additional drinks, he calculated their check and slid it in front of them. He was ready for them to leave, ready for her to arrive.

Cold prickled down Tony’s neck as a hint of Chicago accent hit his ears. He casually strolled closer, wiping a glass; senses sharpened, when he recognized a familiar bulge under the loud Hawaiian shirts. How did they find him so quickly? He moved toward the center of the bar, carefully stacking the glass. Shaking out his rag, his hand reached beneath the bar, hovering over his Glock. His eyes darted around the area, looking toward the water, watching the pathways for others. Seconds ticked in time to his heartbeat. The two gentlemen fumbled with their wallets. Tony tensed, hand twitching. And then it was over. They nodded, slid the check back toward him and strolled off. He kept his eyes trained on their backs as he carefully opened the bill. No message, just a generous tip.

 

  He moved the wipe cloth, covering the Glock. Dead eyes stared up at him from the family snapshot next to his gun. Somber expressions spoke the truth of the moment. A bloodbath of a feud resulted when a new family moved in and tried to establish dominance. They lost cousins, brothers and almost the Don. He was done with blood and the power struggle. In the darkness he left, finally finding anonymity in the Maldives.

A whisper in the breeze caught his attention and he glanced up. Like clockwork she slid into her chair at the end of the bar.

“Good evening, Ray.”

“Good evening, Tony. How was your evening?”

“The usual. Tourists, drinks, drunken chatter. It was good.”

Bobbing lights highlighted the undulating blue in her hair. Her green eyes danced as they followed him. With a practiced hand he placed the usual sweating hurricane glass in front of her; bright yellow, pungent pineapple, sweet and sticky like a hot day, complete with a bright pink umbrella.

For two years they shared the same routine, she sipped, he cleaned, both enjoying the companionable silence. In five minutes, she finished her drink, and he finished putting the bar in order. Leaving money on the bar, Ray scooted off the stool, thanked him for the glass of sunshine and disappeared into the night.

Tony grabbed his keys, locked the bar and paused to watch the water. A luminescent glow rippled under the water. He had never seen them, but he assumed it was a squadron of manta rays, feeding along the beach. His mind wandered as he strolled to his bungalow. It was a quiet life with routine and repetition. He would sleep until noon, run his errands and start all over again. He owned the bar and allowed his employees to work the day shifts. He craved the camouflage of the darkness, easier to disappear and not be remembered. The scare tonight made him realize, though, he was too comfortable. They would eventually find him. The only way to truly leave the business was to die. A sharp pain split the back of his skull. Stars blocked his vision as his body slumped to the ground. He should have known.

 

Cold water shocked his system, pulling him back to consciousness. Cobwebs cleared as he assessed his situation. His legs couldn’t move and the strain on his shoulders indicated his hands were secured behind his back. Wiggling his wrists he could feel the bite of zip ties. The slap across the face forced him to open his eyes. The guys from the bar stood in front of him.

“You know why we’re here Tony.”

He stayed quiet.

“You have two choices; come back and all is forgiven or, well, you know how business works. We don’t care either way. There are others better suited for the organization.”

“Why don’t you forget you saw me?”

“We can’t do that. You’re a loose end.”

“I left the business. I don’t want to be part of it anymore. It’s been years and nobody has seen or heard from me. I won’t betray the family.”

“Yea well your dad doesn’t trust you. If it wasn’t for the Don, you would already be dead. The Don wanted to give you another chance.”

Tony shuddered slightly as his body dredged up the whisper of an Armani suit and the frozen scream of the guy he just offed. He couldn’t do it. He would rather die.

“Just forget you found me.”

“No chance.”

“Then kill me. I’m not going back to that life.”

“You would rather wipe down a bar and make tips then work in the family business? Are you sure?”

Tony nodded.

They stepped away, the low murmur of conversation drifting down the hall. They had to be new, otherwise he would have been executed the minute they knew he wasn’t going back. His body dumped in the ocean and the family on a plane back to the states. The chatter stopped and they walked toward him, ridiculous smirks painted their faces. How would they kill him?

“It’s time for you to swim with the fishes. The Don would approve. We don’t have concrete boots, but we have our own twist.”

Tony said nothing as they wrestled him, chair and all into the back of a dark suburban. Blanketed by the darkness they drove to the dock where a small boat waited. The boat rocked when they threw him into the bottom, the chair landing on its side. The engine puttered quietly as they aimed for deeper water. Tony turned his head slightly to memorize the brightness of the stars, and the warmth of the moon as it kissed the black waves. He would be dead within the hour.

The vibration from the engine stopped and the boat bobbed in the rolling waves. Yanking his chair upright, his mouth was duct taped and then one pulled out a knife. Quickly he sliced the tops of Tony’s arms. Blood poured out.

“No hard feelings, right? It’s just business.”

They hefted him over the side.

Tony panicked as water filled his ears and his eyes. He fought, zip ties cutting into his wrists and ankles. His world slowed down as he struggled not to suck water in through his nose. Blood trailed above him, leaving a scent for sharks to follow. His eyes cleared enough to see moonlight waver on the surface above him. Fish ignored him as he sank past, his chair rolling with the current. The burn in his lungs clawed up the back of his throat just as a huge shadow drifted just out of his line of vision. He prayed he would drown before the shark took his first chunk. The shadow drifted by again, close enough to change the current. He rolled and came face to face with a manta ray. It glided through the darkness, one with the depths of the ocean.

Tony lost track of the ray as the lack of oxygen diluted his brain. His body was done, and he finally accepted the end. His body relaxed, tricking him into believing he was moving toward the surface. He fought the heavy cloak of death to crack open his eyes and sharpen his senses. He felt something sturdy beneath him. Water split as a squadron of rays moved upward, keeping him steady. Tony’s face broke the surface as he slipped quietly into oblivion. The ray sprinted at her top speed, hitting the beach hard enough for the human to slide off.

With a trick of moonlight Ray sprang up from the manta and raced to Tony’s side. She quickly ripped the tape from his mouth and shook him. He didn’t respond and she could feel his life force escaping. She repeated his name over and over as she raced to the water for help. Her urgency raced through the water and in seconds a mermaid shed her tail and stepped on the beach. Her sharp teeth bit through the ties binding Tony. Between the two of them they laid him on the sand and pushed water from his lungs. Awkwardly they breathed into his mouth until he sputtered, water streaming from his nose. Tony’s body convulsed as he drew in precious air.

Ray’s voice permeated the fog, telling him to be still. He fought to the surface, sorting through the images floating his mind. With help, he sat up. He blinked back the final puffs of cotton, realizing he had another chance at life. He got his bearings and waited.

Ray watched him, concerned. “Are you ok?”

His voice grated in the night, “It seems I am thanks to you.”

“Why would they want to end your life?”

 “I don’t have a nice family. I decided to leave the family business. Nobody leaves the family business.”

She didn’t understand but wanted to help, “Will they keep coming back?”

“Someone from the family will check to make sure the job was done. If they find me again, they will make sure I’m dead.” Tony glanced between them, “How did you know where I was and how did you pull me out?”

“I will show you sometime, but now we need to fix your family problem.”

“How can you fix this?”

Ray glanced at her friend and they both nodded.

“We have magic that will alter their version of events. While I am gone, my family will get you back to your house.”

Water bubbled and vibrated as Ray walked to the surf. Mantas skimmed the shore and stepped onto the sand as humans. Ray spoke with them quietly as they walked back to Tony.

“They will take you to your home and heal you while my friend and I solve your other problem.”

Using her communion with nature, Ray located the men who tried to kill Tony. She paused in the vegetation and watched for the right moment. Duffle bags were slung over their shoulders as they walked toward a suburban. She closed her eyes and connected with their thoughts; images of guns, blood, money, family and business overwhelmed her thoughts. She saw the final moments when they threw Tony into the water.

Fighting the bleakness of their minds she stepped out from hiding and walked toward them. Her exotic beauty stopped them, drawing base thoughts and comments. Her smile entranced them as she whispered into the breeze. Images formed; a flurry of sharks, teeth tearing into flesh, the frozen fear in Tony’s eyes as the water filled with blood. Thoughts solidified the images, the Don’s grandson was dead. They saw sharks rip him apart. Walking toward them, Ray placed pearls in their palms and closed their fists, adding weight to the new memories. They wandered off and talked about Tony’s gruesome death.

Back at Tony’s bungalow, Ray smiled seeing the color back in his face. He was healed, benefiting from the healing powers her family drew from the deep. He quietly thanked her as she gripped his hands and whispered a quiet word to him. His eyes closed and he fell into a quiet oblivion as the sky lightened outside his window. Her family quickly filed out reaching the water just before the first beam of sunshine split the sky.

On cue, Tony woke an hour before his shift started. He walked through his shift in a trance. The typical resort noise and conversations happened around him. He nodded appropriately, worked the clientele and received his tips. The moon climbed the sky as tourists shuffled off to bed, slurring, stumbling and laughing. Finally, the only thing remaining was the sound of the surf.

Wiping a glass, the bar lights bounced in the breeze and Ray was there. He made her favorite drink, carefully setting it in front of her. He cleaned the bar, she sipped her drink and they enjoyed the companiable silence. When she finished, she placed her money on the bar.

“I will see you tomorrow, Tony.”

His breath caught in his throat when she didn’t disappear into the night. Ray followed the moonlight to the edge of the water. She glanced over her shoulder, her smile reaching him in the darkness. The minute her foot touched the water, she disappeared, and the shadow of the manta ray glowed. Water swirled as her wings fluttered through the water. He felt her joy, as she dove into the darkness.

His heart hammered when he could feel her thoughts brushing through his mind.

“You are free Tony. You are free.”