The Crow: Redemption
**1**
"Dam shame". The man said
A girl lay on the floor in front of him. She was gurgling blood in a last attempt to live.
"Were is it Janeene?" he said, " the film and the letter to the reporter. Were is it?" he said.
In the next room the muffled screams of the woman's little sister had slowed. Janeene looked at the closed door, tears ran down her face. The living room was trashed, some one would thing it was a robbery gone bad, she would be a forgotten case. She sobbed.
He put his hand on her forehead, " I'm sorry. But I can't leave until I get It." she coughed up some blood. "My little sister, my son?" she managed to say. He looked at his Beretta.
"Were is it Janeene." He said after a long pause.
"The mantle in my trophy" she said.
He walked across the living room to the mantle were several trophies sat. They were ten or more years old. Most were gymnastic trophies. A little girl with shining hopes in her eyes stared back from one of the pictures. He looked at the girl now beaten and broken on the floor, a stripper in his bosses club who had seen too much and not kept quite.
"What a waste" he said as he retrieved the package.
The screams had stopped in the next room. The man that he had been sent with liked little girls. He was a sick man; his nickname was Uncle Charlie. He came up with that one but the man refused to call him that, so he just called him Charlie.
"My son" Janeene whispered.
He cocked his berretta
"Sorry" he said as he pulled the trigger.
He stood over the girl, for a long time. And hated him self. Jon was a veteran contract killer, why this on had touched him so much eluded him. Jon had killed over thirty people, of all ages why did this one hit a cord with him? Maybe it was because this was his last hit, maybe because his own daughter was in gymnastics, of the fact that this one had deep brown eyes like his wife. There was a final scream in the next room then awful silence. He felt like there was a slug in his chest. The door opened and Charlie walked out with a small white and red thing that he was stuffing in his pocket. "Got it?" he asked cheerfully.
Jon did not answer but walked to the shattered glass door.
As the cool night air hit him a small cry from the back bedroom brought him to attention.
"The little boy Charlie." Jon said. Charlie looked disgustedly at him " I don't do little boys you deal with him. After all no witnesses"
If it hadn't been a two hundred and eighty pound mess to clean up Jon would have put a bullet in Charlie's head.
He went to the back bedroom there standing up in the crib was a blue eyed little baby, maybe seven or eight months old.
Jon pointed his berretta "Dam shame"
Charlie looked at the streetlights flickering in the late evening. There was the sound of a gunshot muffled by a silencer. About a minute latter Jon emerged, Charlie smiled at Jon.
"Now that's done with lets get going. Were expected," he said climbing into the car.
***
Maybe it was the happy tune in Charlie's voice, after Charlie had never liked him. Or maybe it was the night, but some thing did not feel right.
The drive up to the lake house was silent as always. But some thing was defiantly not right, something on the wind, as he would put it. Their where guards at the gate. Not unusual, but the number was higher than usual. That was alarming. As Jon formulated an escape route they pulled up to the cabin. Jon took count of the guards in the area as he got out of the car there were seven at the front maybe twice that many in the area. He would have to be fast, careful and above all cool headed.
There was the faint smell of burning wood as Jon and Charlie entered the cabin. The cabin was not well lit and there was the strange sticky sweet smell of blood.
The man who turned to see them was not there normal drop man, but a strange man in a business suite.
"The film." The man said.
Jon pulled the packet out from his coat and set it on the table.
"Thank you Jon" the way the man said it made Jon's blood run cold.
"There is one more thing sir," the man said as he paused long enough to drink. The glass was an odd shade of red in the firelight.
He looked Jon in the eye. There was some powerful force behind his eyes that commanded him. "Sit" the man said.
Jon found himself in the nearest chair.
He could hear his hart beating.
"There is a saying were I am from" the man said as he sat next to Jon.
"Don't Ever leave without paying the piper."
Jon got a real good look at the man. He was in a red silk shirt with a black tie that had gold leaflets on it. His eyes were an unnatural shade of blue. There was an ease about him that seemed to state that he could kill a man with his hands wile he dressed himself up to go out for the night on the town.
"And I'm the piper." He said ominously.
There was a sound behind Jon that snapped him out of his dream like state. There on the floor behind him were the bound and gagged forms of his wife Kayla and his daughters.
"Time to pay your due Jon." The man said behind him. Charlie snickered.
Jon pulled his gun and shot Charlie in the chest. Jon turned to the man who was sipping from his glass.
Jon shot.
The man stood there as the bullet entered his chest. The man regarded the hole and the blood coming out of it. The man took his finger and tasted his own blood.
Jon did not have time to think. The sound of shooting had brought the other guards to the room. Jon shot one as he dove behind the chair. As he came up to shoot the man was there in front of him.
He grabbed Jon.
And tossed him across the room like a rag doll. As Jon hit the wall the man picked him up. Somehow he moved across the room faster than Jon could react to.
The man held Jon off the ground by his throat.
"Choose" the man said. He had a calm expression like a mask on his face.
"There are four of you and only one can leave. So witch will it be Jon you, your wife Kayla, your daughter Angel or your other daughter Michelle."
The man looked at Charlie "Charlie gets the daughter you don't choose, so who do you love more?"
Jon wanted no more than to kill the man.
"Can't choose?" the man said. He smiled and pulled Jon close "that's ok. I was going to kill who ever you chose after they watched you and the others slaughtered."
Jon struggled. The man smiled. Jon noticed his teeth where sharp and pointed.
"We'll take good care of them," Charlie said
The next thing Jon felt was the strange mans teeth sinking into his neck.
There were agonizing seconds as Jon heard his hart slow. He looked at his wife she was crying. He was in the air, sailing. He felt light. He saw glass as he flew out the window.
Watched it spin as both he and it fell to the icy water below the lake house.
He heard his heart stop as he hit the water.
So unfair he thought, so unfair.
Over a house were lights of police cars flashed and over a lake a crow flew.
**1**
"Dam shame". The man said
A girl lay on the floor in front of him. She was gurgling blood in a last attempt to live.
"Were is it Janeene?" he said, " the film and the letter to the reporter. Were is it?" he said.
In the next room the muffled screams of the woman's little sister had slowed. Janeene looked at the closed door, tears ran down her face. The living room was trashed, some one would thing it was a robbery gone bad, she would be a forgotten case. She sobbed.
He put his hand on her forehead, " I'm sorry. But I can't leave until I get It." she coughed up some blood. "My little sister, my son?" she managed to say. He looked at his Beretta.
"Were is it Janeene." He said after a long pause.
"The mantle in my trophy" she said.
He walked across the living room to the mantle were several trophies sat. They were ten or more years old. Most were gymnastic trophies. A little girl with shining hopes in her eyes stared back from one of the pictures. He looked at the girl now beaten and broken on the floor, a stripper in his bosses club who had seen too much and not kept quite.
"What a waste" he said as he retrieved the package.
The screams had stopped in the next room. The man that he had been sent with liked little girls. He was a sick man; his nickname was Uncle Charlie. He came up with that one but the man refused to call him that, so he just called him Charlie.
"My son" Janeene whispered.
He cocked his berretta
"Sorry" he said as he pulled the trigger.
He stood over the girl, for a long time. And hated him self. Jon was a veteran contract killer, why this on had touched him so much eluded him. Jon had killed over thirty people, of all ages why did this one hit a cord with him? Maybe it was because this was his last hit, maybe because his own daughter was in gymnastics, of the fact that this one had deep brown eyes like his wife. There was a final scream in the next room then awful silence. He felt like there was a slug in his chest. The door opened and Charlie walked out with a small white and red thing that he was stuffing in his pocket. "Got it?" he asked cheerfully.
Jon did not answer but walked to the shattered glass door.
As the cool night air hit him a small cry from the back bedroom brought him to attention.
"The little boy Charlie." Jon said. Charlie looked disgustedly at him " I don't do little boys you deal with him. After all no witnesses"
If it hadn't been a two hundred and eighty pound mess to clean up Jon would have put a bullet in Charlie's head.
He went to the back bedroom there standing up in the crib was a blue eyed little baby, maybe seven or eight months old.
Jon pointed his berretta "Dam shame"
Charlie looked at the streetlights flickering in the late evening. There was the sound of a gunshot muffled by a silencer. About a minute latter Jon emerged, Charlie smiled at Jon.
"Now that's done with lets get going. Were expected," he said climbing into the car.
***
Maybe it was the happy tune in Charlie's voice, after Charlie had never liked him. Or maybe it was the night, but some thing did not feel right.
The drive up to the lake house was silent as always. But some thing was defiantly not right, something on the wind, as he would put it. Their where guards at the gate. Not unusual, but the number was higher than usual. That was alarming. As Jon formulated an escape route they pulled up to the cabin. Jon took count of the guards in the area as he got out of the car there were seven at the front maybe twice that many in the area. He would have to be fast, careful and above all cool headed.
There was the faint smell of burning wood as Jon and Charlie entered the cabin. The cabin was not well lit and there was the strange sticky sweet smell of blood.
The man who turned to see them was not there normal drop man, but a strange man in a business suite.
"The film." The man said.
Jon pulled the packet out from his coat and set it on the table.
"Thank you Jon" the way the man said it made Jon's blood run cold.
"There is one more thing sir," the man said as he paused long enough to drink. The glass was an odd shade of red in the firelight.
He looked Jon in the eye. There was some powerful force behind his eyes that commanded him. "Sit" the man said.
Jon found himself in the nearest chair.
He could hear his hart beating.
"There is a saying were I am from" the man said as he sat next to Jon.
"Don't Ever leave without paying the piper."
Jon got a real good look at the man. He was in a red silk shirt with a black tie that had gold leaflets on it. His eyes were an unnatural shade of blue. There was an ease about him that seemed to state that he could kill a man with his hands wile he dressed himself up to go out for the night on the town.
"And I'm the piper." He said ominously.
There was a sound behind Jon that snapped him out of his dream like state. There on the floor behind him were the bound and gagged forms of his wife Kayla and his daughters.
"Time to pay your due Jon." The man said behind him. Charlie snickered.
Jon pulled his gun and shot Charlie in the chest. Jon turned to the man who was sipping from his glass.
Jon shot.
The man stood there as the bullet entered his chest. The man regarded the hole and the blood coming out of it. The man took his finger and tasted his own blood.
Jon did not have time to think. The sound of shooting had brought the other guards to the room. Jon shot one as he dove behind the chair. As he came up to shoot the man was there in front of him.
He grabbed Jon.
And tossed him across the room like a rag doll. As Jon hit the wall the man picked him up. Somehow he moved across the room faster than Jon could react to.
The man held Jon off the ground by his throat.
"Choose" the man said. He had a calm expression like a mask on his face.
"There are four of you and only one can leave. So witch will it be Jon you, your wife Kayla, your daughter Angel or your other daughter Michelle."
The man looked at Charlie "Charlie gets the daughter you don't choose, so who do you love more?"
Jon wanted no more than to kill the man.
"Can't choose?" the man said. He smiled and pulled Jon close "that's ok. I was going to kill who ever you chose after they watched you and the others slaughtered."
Jon struggled. The man smiled. Jon noticed his teeth where sharp and pointed.
"We'll take good care of them," Charlie said
The next thing Jon felt was the strange mans teeth sinking into his neck.
There were agonizing seconds as Jon heard his hart slow. He looked at his wife she was crying. He was in the air, sailing. He felt light. He saw glass as he flew out the window.
Watched it spin as both he and it fell to the icy water below the lake house.
He heard his heart stop as he hit the water.
So unfair he thought, so unfair.
Over a house were lights of police cars flashed and over a lake a crow flew.