Si's attention was quickly drawn to the end of the dark alley when he heard a dog barking loudly.
He recognised that bark, hadn't heard it in a long time though.
His hooded, dark eyes trained on the pale mutt and he sighed, exhaling a heavy stream of cigarette smoke.
Thorn kept barking until Si nodded in his direction, and the dog quieted, disappearing from the dingy alley.
Si ground out his finished cigarette against the tarmac with his big boot, cuffed the collar of his leather jacket and pushed off from the wall of the club, walking in the direction Thorn had come from, shoving his hands deep in his pocket with a sickening smirk.
He had a job.
Si finally arrived at the big hilltop villa just as the sun was starting to peak above the watery horizon in pale neon streaks of pink and yellow. Si pulled on his sunglasses to shield his eyes from the light, his pockmarked face twisting into a sneer as he pushed open the pretty wooden gate that led to the house.
The front door opened seemingly by itself just as Si raised his fist to bang on the door, and he slipped inside quietly, unseen by anyone only to be greeted by a snarling Hellhound.
"Chill Fluffy…" he spat at Thorn …" your boss invited me".
"Come to the back Si" he heard Max call through the house. Thorn snarled and snapped at Si as he walked past, but Si paid him no mind, he wouldn't hurt him, not when he had a job.
Si walked through the large house, taking in its impeccable design and expensive décor – Max sure knew how to live!
"Si, it's been a long time" Max said in greeting as Si walked into the study at the back of the house. It was dark, Max had thankfully kept the lights off and Si was finally able to remove his sunglasses and sunk down into a large leather wingback chair, sighing heavily as he rested his elbows on the arms, placing his heavy, dirty boots on the, what looked to be, antique coffee table in front of him.
Max raised an eyebrow and sighed in disgust.
He hated this part, but it was…necessary.
"So, what's the job Max"? Si asked with a smirk, his dark eyes flashing dangerously in the dark.
"It's a delicate matter this time" Max said in warning, leaning forward on his elbows over the shiny walnut wood desk.
Si rolled his eyes.
"A girl" Max said darkly.
Si's smirk turned into a full, toothy smile "a girl huh?" Si said "wouldn't've thought a girl would've given you much trouble Max, you've dealt with worse yourself"
"This particular problem requires my complete absence" Max said, steeple-ing his fingers "she's become…attached…to one of the boys"
"Is that it"? Si scoffed, rolling his eyes "let them deal with it, they're more than capable"
"That's not going to be a possibility in this particular situation" Max said, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose "it's a girl from, from…before"
"Ah…" Si exclaimed, understanding dawning on him slowly.
"If she stays in town much longer, he'll certainly leave, and the others will follow and I will not allow that" Max said, his yellow eyes glowing in the dim light.
"So you need me to off her for you?" Si asked, "I still don't understand why you can't do this yourself instead of paying me to do it, not that I mind being paid for my specific skills"
Max sighed heavily in frustration.
"The boys can't know I had anything to do with this" Max said tiredly, "if they knew, they would never forgive me and would leave anyway, this has to be done so I have plausible deniability. I don't want to know when you plan to do it, what you plan to do to her, I don't care, I just want her gone, and I don't want her to come back…ever, you understand me Si"?
Si nodded, his greasy dark hair falling in his eyes.
"So who is she" Si asked, the buzz of anticipation already running thick through his body.
Max slowly opened the drawer on his desk, pulled out a photo and stared at it for a while before handing it over to Si who let out a slow, low whistle and licked his lips as he took in the girl frozen in time in the photograph.
"Beth Campbell" Max spat, not liking the way her name felt in his mouth "she's residing on Chestnut Street"
Si licked his lips again and slipped the photo into his inner jacket pocket.
"Will 3 be enough"? Max asked, looking at Si over the top of his glasses. Si smiled his sickening smile and nodded his head "good, I'll have them delivered once the job is done" Si nodded in agreement, practically shaking with anticipation.
"And I have your word that this won't come back to me in any way" Max said dangerously.
"Yeah, yeah, I know" Si said, hauling his large body up from the chair, leaving Max in peace as he slammed the study door shut.
Max sighed heavily and placed his glasses on the desk, an unfamiliar feeling of remorse crept over him, but he shook it off quickly, reminding himself it was either her or his family.
Back out on the street, Si took the photo back out his jacket and stared at it hungrily all the way back to his grubby apartment.