Wonder

“You ever wonder if there’s more out there?” Henry asked, gazing up at the myriad of twinkling lights that dotted the evening sky. The clouds rolling in from the south had yet to cover up the sky above. He tried but couldn’t recall the last time he stopped and gazed in wonder at something. Being a hitman for the last decade had desensitized him to a lot of things. He hadn’t been permitted to take the time to appreciate anything other than a job well done. Standing in field located in the middle of nowhere had given him that time, and it was a stark change of scenery compared to the urban jungle he had grown accustomed to. “Why do we even do this anyway?” He asked, genuinely questioning the nature of his profession.

“We take on a job, we do the job, then we get paid for the job. That’s why we do this,” Jason replied with a deep, raspy voice. “We aren’t paid to think about the big picture, just to do the little things to make it happen.” He looked down at the body of a man lying on the grass, the man’s face was frozen in a look of shock. He nudged the body with his foot and grunted. “What’s gotten into you, man? You’ve been distracted all day.”

“Just getting curious,” Henry sighed. He turned and holstered his pistol inside his jacket and turned to look at the body.

“You know what they say about curiosity,” Jason said. he gestured with his gun toward the dead man, “You get too curious and you’re gonna end up like him. Come on and help me get him in the car.”

“What happened to snitches just getting stitches? Y’know, rough ‘em up a bit and send ‘em on their way?” Henry asked as he moved toward the body to help Jason.

Jason shrugged, “A bullet is a heck of a lot easier. We’re the best hitmen in the business, Henry. That’s why everyone hires us. Besides, roughin’ people up is for small time punks, not professionals like you and I.”

“A glorified clean up crew, more like it,” Henry muttered. “We just make ‘inconvenient’ people disappear.”

“Just lift his dang arms will you?”

The last rays of sunshine dissipated beyond the horizon as the two men awkwardly hoisted the body up and into the trunk of their car. Henry had the man by his arms, and Jason had him by the legs. The fresh hole in the chest of the dead man still oozed blood as Henry slammed the trunk of the car. 

“Let me call the boss and let him know we’re just about done here,” Jason said as he pulled out his phone and stepped away from the car. After a few short minutes on the phone, he gave a satisfied nod and rounded the driver’s side of the vehicle to get in. “Boss says we have another job.”

Henry paused in front of the passenger door as another low rumble passed overhead. “You hear that?” He asked.

Jason stopped with the car door halfway open. “Thunder. Get in and let’s get out of here,” Jason replied.

They drove down the highway in near silence. The soft patter of rain, and the quiet squeal of the windshield wipers were all that broke the silence between the two men. Henry had asked what the job was and only got a short, vague response in return. Typical, coming from Jason.

They hadn’t dumped the body with the cleanup crew yet, so Henry imagined they were set to take out another target. They traveled down dirt roads to a broken down, dilapidated hunk of wood that looked as though it was trying to be a barn.

“We’re here,” Jason said. He put the car in park and shut off the engine. “Let’s go.”

The two of them hopped out of the car and headed toward the barn, their boots crunching the gravel beneath their feet. 

“What’s our target?” Henry asked quietly, moving to draw his weapon.

“You won’t need that.” Jason said as they came up to the door of the barn. The door barely held on as two of the three hinges had rusted away. Jason nodded for Henry to go in. Henry winced, the door gave a loud creak when he pulled it open. He entered quietly, stepping into the barn slowly and carefully. 

The barn itself was empty. No stalls, no broken down machinery, just four rotting walls and a roof full of holes. Henry stepped into the middle of the barn and stopped to listen for a moment. The more he looked around, the more he began to feel as though he’d been here before. “What are we doing here anyway?” Henry asked as he turned to look at Jason.

Jason had drawn his weapon and was now pointing it directly at Henry. Henry faced Jason with a stoic expression, hands at his sides.

“You recognize this place, Henry?” Jason asked.

“This was where our first hit was, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, and the guy in the trunk is gonna be put down as your last if you don’t tell me what you’ve been up to recently,” Jason sneered.

“You sure you want the truth?”

“I swear man, if you’ve been snitching to the cops I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in you.” Jason raised his other arm to steady his pistol.

Henry sighed and shook his head. “I want out.”

“You what?”

“You heard me. I want out. I’m done. I don’t want to be a hired killer anymore.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Jason had a pained expression on his face. “You and I both know that the boss isn’t gonna let this slide. I can’t just let you walk away.”

“Yes you can,” Henry shrugged. “I’m tired of shooting Journalists that get nosy, and politicians that go off script. I want a life. Freedom to make my own decisions. Aren’t you tired of being at the bottom of the food chain?” 

Jason cursed under his breath. “The boss told me to keep an eye on you and take you out if you tried to pull something like this.”

“I figured that’s why the phone call lasted longer than usual.”

“Don’t make me do this.”

“Just shoot me and we’ll get it over with,” Henry said.

They stood staring at each other, tense. Waiting for the other man to move first.

“Well?” Henry gestured toward Jason.

Jason didn’t move an inch.

“In that case, I’m leaving.”

Henry took a step toward Jason and caught a bullet to the chest. He didn’t register what happened until he had fallen backwards onto the dirt floor of the barn and landed with a thud.

“I told you not to make me do it, man!” Jason yelled. He lowered his weapon and wiped the sweat from his face.

Henry gasped as blood began to fill in his lungs. “You didn’t have to do it, Jason,” he wheezed. “You could have come with me.”

Jason shook his head in anger. “We were making good money man! Why would you throw all that away?”

Henry grimaced in pain and reached into his front pocket to pull out his wallet.

“Don’t move!” Jason yelled, leveling his pistol.

Henry grunted and tossed his wallet at Jason.

Jason bent down to pick it up, gun still leveled at Henry. 

“Front pocket.”

Jason opened the front pocket and found a photo of a woman, another photo of a child with the same woman, and a million dollar bill.

“I found something to live for.” Henry gasped as it became harder to breathe.

Jason stood silent, unsure of what to say. “I hope they are worth dying for.”

“Take care of ‘em for me, will you?” Henry asked, his vision starting to become hazy.

“Sure.” Jason replied. He holstered his weapon and move toward the door.

Henry lay on the ground, numb. Deep down he knew he’d never get out, but to him it was worth a shot. He had found something, someone to live for, not just to die for, and the only thing that saddened him was the fact that he wouldn’t get the chance.

He looked up through the holes in the roof at the stars in the sky and smiled, feeling the same wonder he had felt earlier that evening. As his vision blurred, the stars seemed to flair and dance brighter.

Maybe now, he’d finally find out if there was something more.