Maurice sat in the dark and cold room; he didn't really know where he was. He could've been in another country and never known. Every single time he was transported to another 'safe house', as his fixers called it, he was knocked out every time or had a blindfold wrapped around his head with ear plugs in. The room smelled slightly metallic with a hint of decay, but Maurice knew it was blood. He could see the dried up pools of blood in the room, the splatters on the walls. It was off putting to him, remembering that day he stood up to the Club. He tried to ignore it and tried to focus on what he was doing here. All Maurice knew, that today his blood would most likely add to the repulsive fragrance. He didn't know what had been going on since he'd met with Aiden. It had been a few months at least but he never had the chance to tell how long it'd been. Maurice sat there on the little box they'd given him, tapping his feet on the ground. He had to remember that important code Jordi had given him.
"1… 2… 3… 5," He puffed under his breath, his feet still tapping on the ground. Maurice had no idea why this code was so important, but he just followed his instructions. He never knew what Jordi would do if he messed up. Suddenly the metallic garage doors opened, letting the light into this dark room. Maurice looked away; trying to shield his eyes from the light when he saw the shadow of a man, a silhouette of his coat appeared as the doors rolled up higher. Maurice knew exactly who it was, Aiden Pearce. He panicked as Aiden walked into the room, a gun grasped tightly in his hand.
"1. 2. 3. 5. Fuck," Maurice hurriedly whispered. Aiden stopped in front of him, pulling his mobile device out of his left pocket and tapped away at the screen. The doors behind him closed, concealing them both in the small room, just like their first encounter. Maurice huffed, watching as Aiden fiddled with the gun in his hand. He knew that Aiden was going to shoot him dead; after all he'd gotten his niece killed. Maurice was his number one target from the start, but who knew what had happened between then, and now.
"You here to finish it off?" Maurice asked Aiden, cupping his face into his hands. "Clean up loose ends? I knew you'd be back," Maurice sighed as he looked up at ceiling, avidly trying to avoid eye contact with Aiden. Aiden shuffled around the room, fiddling with the things left lying around.
"Guys like us, we don't know when to stop," Maurice quickly glanced down at Aiden, who was looking at his phone again. He glanced at Maurice, who quickly looked away.
"It's done. You're the last," Aiden muttered, returning to look at his phone. On screen he found a picture of Maurice and his wife on their wedding day. They looked so pretty, Maurice was wearing this black suit with a blue tie whilst his wife wore this extravagant laced up dress. He'd found these files on a burner phone Maurice had left lying around in Pawnee, stupid idiot. Maurice chuckled, realising what Aiden had just said.
"There is no last. You're in it now," He laughed again, this time slightly obnoxiously. "I warned you! These guys… they're like nothing you've ever seen before," Aiden sighed, putting the phone back into his pocket and walking over to Maurice. He wanted the chit-chat to be over so he could finally reveal his actions to Maurice.
"So do you think it's fucking over?" Maurice asked him, looking across the room to the locked door on the left. Aiden sighed, he knew it was mostly over, but had he missed something in the last few months? He knew a lot of people were after him, the Chicago Police Department, Blume, the Chicago South Club. The list could go on forever, but he didn't want to think about it.
"No. But now they have something to fear," Aiden replied boldly, wanting to seem convincing. Maurice glanced up at him, mouth gaping slightly, his eyes seemed crazy and confused.
"What the fuck…" he whispered quietly. He started to laugh uncontrollably, it made Maurice look insane. "What's wrong with you, man, hey?" Aiden walked towards the garage doors, trying to ignore Maurice's conversation. He didn't even know where it was going anymore.
"You're fucked! You get that?!" Maurice yelled at him, throwing his arms around. He was becoming so aggravated that Aiden pointed the gun directly at him, trying to calm him down by threatening his life and fucking up the plan Aiden had developed.
Maurice wasn't even sure what he wanted anymore, was there any point to living anymore? His wife had been taken away, sold at an auction. He had no one to love anymore, no one that would accept him as he was. He doubted that he'd even leave this place alive, so he knew it was of no concern anymore.
"WE'RE BOTH FUCKED! FUCKING SHOOT ME!" Maurice screamed at Aiden who was closing the distance between each other, pointing the gun directly at Maurice's forehead. Maurice sighed, realising the mistake he'd just made, but he couldn't restrain the distress his mind was going through. He knew he'd end up in the Michigan Lake by the morning, floating face down in the icy waters until his body was discovered by an innocent person. Maurice just wanted to get it done with, may as well be dead sooner.
"Come on, it'd make you sleep better at night," Maurice teased. "Kill the guy who killed your niece," Aiden walked over to Maurice, nudging Maurice backwards as he poked the gun at him. Maurice grinned uncontrollably, trying not to weep.
"Good for you, you selfish FUCK!" Maurice screamed at him, he started to puff afterwards; the adrenaline was finally getting to him. Aiden pulled the gun away from his forehead and walked towards the locked door. He pulled a key from his left pocket and unlocked the door, Maurice watched as he disappeared around the corner and muttered things to someone. He inhaled deeply, putting his head in his hands again.
Aiden came back in, still glancing at the door; he then pointed the gun at Maurice again.
"Yeah, I deserve it, but it doesn't change anything. Nothing ever changes," Maurice sighed. He tried to prepare himself for his final breath and then the eternal darkness that followed. Aiden walked closer to him, his pockets were bulging at the seams. It seemed like Aiden was hiding something important, it would explain why he'd been gone for so long. Aiden went to speak, but he was interrupted by Maurice.
"1, 2, 3, 5…" He sighed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to show as much of his neck as he could. He may as well give Aiden a clean shot to the artery. Aiden walked over to him and tilted his head towards him. Maurice kept his eyes sealed shut, becoming overwhelmed with panic.
"Maurice, you done?" Aiden asked him, watching as Maurice reluctantly opened his eyes. Aiden grabbed a small leather package out his pocket and held it out to him. Maurice looked at him, watching as he reluctantly reached out for it. It had the words 'passport' written on it in gold letters, why was Aiden handing him a passport? Was he making Maurice do his own tasks for him? He opened it to see a photo of himself; but the name beside it was different. 'Christopher Jacot' was typed inside the cover of the passport.
"Ok, what's this about? You want me to do shitty jobs for you?" Maurice questioned Aiden. "Give me a different name, different identity and do your jobs?" Aiden pulled his phone out again and held it to him. He was into the ctOS profiling system, it showed Maurice, but with the same name as the passport.
"No, I had another idea," Aiden mumbled, rotating the phone back to him and started to tap on the screen again. Maurice didn't know what was going on anymore, he didn't want to live anymore, and he just wanted to fade into eternal darkness. The garage doors behind Aiden opened again, and the silhouette of a lady appeared. Maurice again, struggled to look directly at the light ahead of him. From what Maurice could figure, the figure was wearing a knee length dress that flowed in the wind. The doors continued to roll up and Maurice's eyes widened as he could finally see the facial features of the woman.
It was Abigail.
Maurice's eyes lit with happiness, he thought he'd lost her forever to some sleazebag who bought her at an auction. She gaped, looking at Maurice who was in pure shock. Aiden watched as Maurice slowly stood up, staggering on his feet. As Maurice took one step towards Abigail, Aiden's hand stopped him from continuing.
"Listen, Maurice," Aiden said, Maurice slowly looking up at him. Aiden handed him a mobile phone and another passport.
"These things are your key to getting out of Chicago. Maurice, you need a second chance at life," Aiden nodded, letting Maurice continue to walk. Abigail waited as Maurice stared at Aiden, still in complete surprise. He thought that was it, he was going into eternal darkness. He never expected to see his wife again; he never expected to have second chance.
"Why?" Maurice asked Aiden curiously. "I… I never expected that from someone like you," Aiden smiled.
"You were a victim in this. You were pressured into this, you never wanted to do it," Maurice nodded, listening to Aiden talk. "I've seen enough death; I can't kill you either. We're both going to have a second chance Maurice," Maurice smiled at Aiden, maybe Aiden wasn't as bad as he seemed at their first meeting. Of course, Aiden was still fuelled by the idea that he killed his niece. Aiden waved to Abigail who, at the realisation of the signal, came running into the room. Maurice opened his arms wide and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She buried her head into his chest, crying cheerfully. Maurice quickly glanced up at Aiden, trying not to cry.
"Thank you," Maurice mouthed.
"Of course, now get out of Chicago!" Aiden smiled, watching as Maurice buried his face into her shoulder, weeping. Aiden sighed as he walked out of the garage and into the busy streets of Chicago, feeling pleased with himself.
