Without - 319
Ben Azevedo
“So?” he said flatly, without emotion. He glanced at his wristwatch.
“So you can’t just do things like that, ya know?” said a man in a dark blue suit. His voice rose with emphasis, “you can’t just, ya know, just…anyone coulda seen…we hafta be careful these days.” The man was sweating; it was too hot to be wearing a suit.
He didn’t like Dark Blue Suit much. Wouldn’t let it get to him though, that wasn’t worth it. Dark Blue seemed to be waiting for some sort of response, so he raised an eyebrow. The eyebrow tugged at the corner of his mouth, begging for a smirk, but he resisted the temptation
“And?” Still no emotion.
Dark Blue grimaced slightly at the lack of response from Walter. He adjusted his tie and adopted a new approach. “Look, Boss sent me,” (did he catch a flicker of emotion cross Walter’s face?) “and he just wants to make sure you’re…” he trailed off.
“What?” The voice was low and still without feeling, but Walter needed more information. If the Boss was directly involved, it could change everything. Walter knew more than he cared to about how the Boss was these days.
“You know how Boss is these days,” said Dark Blue, echoing Walter’s thoughts, “if you don’t do what he wants, you could end up like,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “the others.”
There was a long pause. Walter sat perfectly still, eyes tracing the path of a fly. Dark Blue shifted against the plastic bench. He could feel a drop of sweat running down his back under the heavy wool suit.
“Well,” said Walter at last. Dark Blue leaned forward expectantly.
Walter stared into his eyes and grinned.
Dark Blue suddenly stiffened. Blood started to trickle from his left nostril and ears.
Walter leaned forward and whispered, “Tell Boss…"
Dark Blue fell to the table. Walter stood.
“…I’m fine.”
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