Prologue
The gloomy daybreak drifts over the vast Mojave Desert. The wind kicks up a pocket of dust into the air. A tall, strong man dressed entirely in black flickers his lighter, cupping away from the gathering wind. He takes a deep, heavy breath from his cigarette and exhales.
''Hey boss,'' says a second man, short and skinny.
''How big do we need to make this hole?''
A sense of fear stretches across his long face as he glances to the man in black.
''Deep enough for a body'' replies the man in black, taking a second breath of his cigarette.
''You got it boss, anything for you.'' Says the third man, stocky and round, but weak willed.
A gecko sprints pass, the wind starts to pick up, blowing the long coat of the man in black and puffing out the end of his cigarette.
''Oh damn!'' ''Fucking wind''. ''Hey you two, fancy moving this along a bit faster, I've got a meeting up in Vegas I need to get to. I'm already late.''.
The diggers pick up their speed. ''Hey boss, you got a meeting up in Vegas?'' Says the round man. ''That's swell!''.
The skinny man stops digging. ''You meeting Mr. House?''.
'Hey! When in the hell did I tell you to stop diggin'?''. The skinny man stubbles for his words
''I, I so sorry boss. I didn't mean nothin'.''
"Well then dig!''. The diggers start to frantically move, the sun rises over the far horizon, the first shines of the sun start to appear and gentle warmth covers the Mojave.
''Say boss, who is this guy?''.
''He's a problem, that's what he is. Stop asking damn questions or I'll be putting you in the ground after him.
''Sorry boss'' say the men in unison.
''Hold up, that's deep enough.''
The men stop digging, exhausted from the rising heat. ''I'll grab the guy'' Say the stocky man, wandering over to where a body lays, face down in the sand. The man raises the body with an unexpected strength, as if he is trying to impress someone, drags him over to the grave, newly dug in the rough sand.
''Hold up!" shouts the tall man.
"Have a little bit of respect".
"Wake him up". The men lightly hit him around the cheek; the man instantly awakes with a gasp. His eyes adjust to the morning light. The men leave him kneeing in front of the grave and back up to stand with the boss, one on either side of him.
''Hi there, remember me?'' says the boss.
"No." replies the man who continues to kneel on the ground, his head hunch down to the dirt.
''Well remember.".
"I'm sorry I have to do this. I don't want to, it just business, nothin' personal".
"It's personal to me" The boss draws a special .44 Magnum from the inside pocket of his long coat and raises it to his hip, the chamber ready loaded.
''From where you standing, it looks like you ran into a bit of bad luck. Truth is, the game was rigged from the start.''
The bullet strikes the man right between the eyes, knocking him backward into the grave and killing him instantaneously.
The echo of the strike brings a silence across the desert. And the sun finally rises above the horizon, signalling the start of a new day. The silence is suddenly broken by the skinny man.
"You're gonna be late boss."
"Clean this up for me."
"You got it boss."