Loona found herself reform by the parking lot. She stretched her arms as she yawned, and made her way back to the entrance.
The hound was not too happy about having to stay behind and allow the imps to do the work. She was a machine, but she was getting worn out too easily early on in the fight, but that's expected when your ways of killing are more physical than most. They had weapons. The many teeth she carried were the weapon, and if it works, it works. However, she felt she needed to be better, because if she couldn't get on the level of any of the three imps, then she was doomed. Why was she contemplating this just now? Easy.
The thought of working alongside Shrapnel on her job motivated her to take killing seriously.
As she finished climbing the stairs and reached for the door, she sighed and proceeded to open it.
In an unpleasant surprise, Moxxie was already waiting for her, and grabbed her by her choker.
Loona snapped.
"HEY! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE D-" Moxxie pulled harder and threw a tantrum himself. "HURRY UP! WE NEED TO HAUL ASS AND FINISH ONE MORE CONTRACT!"
Loona's scowl disappeared. She turned to Moxxie and looked at him blankly. "Wait, one more contract?" He groaned. "Yeah, I know. Nobody is happy about it, but we need to do what we must." The hound facepalmed. "Fuck." Moxxie replied, "Yes. Fuck, indeed."
Suddenly, Loona pumped the brakes and slipped out of Moxxie's grip. He instantly noticed and turned over his shoulder. "What the-" Loona clenched her fists and raised her shoulders. She was embarrassed to even ask, but it was a chance that she had to take. "Promise me that after this contract, you'll teach me combat weapons?"
He paused. It was too good to be true. Loona suddenly keeping an open mind and asking others to teach her the ways of killing? It was about time that she took responsibility, because they needed to be as efficient as possible, and they can't do that if only three-fourths of the members are keen on meeting the deadline for all these contracts. They already had a third of them done, but they needed to excel and overcome everything else in order to do so. Basically, they have to be much better than they used to be, and this was groundbreaking development.
Moxxie walked up to her and straightened himself up. The imp replied to her offer with the raise of his fist and held it in the air. Loona followed up his smirk with a hopeful smile of her own and proceeded to bump his fist. "Thanks a lot, dude. I really need this shit."
The imp fixed his jacket and turned around. "My pleasure. Now let's close this one out."
"I swear, Blitzo, if you keep wasting my fucking time instead of getting my goddamn contract done, I will-" Blitzo wagged his finger and held his phone closer to his ear. "I already have the portal open, Vale. Just give us ten more minutes and I'll make sure it is done."
Valentino groaned on the other line. He did not like it when it took this long for his contract to pick up. Usually he had priorities with his last hired hitmen, but most of them either died, raised their rates, or got run out of business. This was the only service he had that wasn't a complete failure, although the I.M.P did have financial troubles. No matter, it was a ship for him to turn.
"Just finish the damn job. And hurry. No more chances after this. I'm setting the timer to ten minutes." Blitzo spat out his coffee and sputtered. "W-W-Wait, you are actually going to ti-"
The overlord nodded and chuckled. "Heh heh, yep. And you better let me know when the job is done AT THE MOMENT it is done. Here's a room number once you arrive: 305. Got it?" The imp gulped and hung up the phone, but not before saying "Yeah sure sure, talk to you before ten minutes."
In an instant, he rushed out of his desk and left his office room. The boss nearly tripped on the carpet as he took a sharp left turn and ran through the corridor. Before he can continue past the midpoint, Millie rushed out of the ritual room. She looked determined, worried, and ready to alert the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, Blitzo was doing that as well, and he collided with her.
"Oof!"
The two fell hard on the floor. Millie groaned and held her head. She was not feeling well after the hit. Not at all. The poor imp got her upper body up and looked dead in Blitzo's eyes. "With all due respect, sir, why don't you watch where you're going? You could have easily made me break my le-"
And with all due respect, Blitzo got back on his feet quickly and continued running down the corridor, but Moxxie and Loona reached the floor already. The elevator dinged and opened. The boss stopped and threw his hands up in the air. "Where the fuck have you kids been? Come on, we gotta get our asses through that portal!"
Moxxie looked to a grounded Millie and held his hands out. He wanted an explanation for why she was on the floor, but all she could do was shake her head and get herself back up.
They jumped out of the portal. They found themselves in another empty hospital corridor. "Oh Jesus Harold Christ! Not again!" Blitzo was not pleased to be back in a familiar setting. Moxxie raised his finger and raised his eyebrow. "I don't think we've been here bef-" He was abruptly shoved out of the way as Blitzo ran down the hall and turned his head left to right.
"Fuck! We're in floor one! Come on, let's take the stairs!"
The three quickly followed. Moxxie whipped out his cutlass, Millie whipped out her axe, and Loona whipped out her pistol for what could possibly be the last time as long as Moxxie follows through with his promise. They all hurried and sweated as they felt the time getting thinner. Blitzo turned to a wide doorway, where the stairs were located. They all followed and quickly rushed through. There was one civilian lighting up a cigarette as they scurried past him. Luckily, he did not care enough to look up, let alone rat them out.
They went through two flights of stairs and saw the sign 200 FLOOR. They needed two more to reach their destination now. Sadly, Millie tripped on one of the steps and face planted to another step. Moxxie turned around and cursed under his breath as he attended his wife. She was bleeding badly. It was a perfect hit against her nose, and the faceplant nearly broke it. Blitzo and Loona couldn't turn around. They could only continue upstairs as the others fell behind.
"Fuck! Are you okay, Mills!?"
Moxxie was genuinely worried. With her teeth gritting, she shook her head and directed his attention to her leg. What he saw made him jerk his head to the left and throw up. He bent over to let it all out.
Millie had an open fracture and her tibia bone ripped through the skin of her leg.
It was exposed, and she fought back tears as the severe pain shocked her body. Once Moxxie was done hurling, he wiped the vomit left around his mouth and lifted her up. He grabbed her body and put her over his shoulder. She began sobbing quietly as the bone poked his chest. The feeling of her tibia on his breast made Moxxie want to throw up again, but he swallowed it and made his way back downstairs. They had to run back to the portal.
Blitzo and Loona finally made their way to the 300 floor, and they observed the big blue sign in front of them. 300-320 on the left, 320-340 on the right. They took a left and ran down the hall. There was a T-intersection that once again divided the rooms. 300-310 on the left, and 310-320 on the right. They took another left and spotted the room. 305.
Loona cocked her gun and Blitzo had his pocket knife close to him. "Shit. Alright, let's kill the target as soon as possible."
She scoffed. "Do you even know what the fuck this target looks like? You didn't give us details on the w-" Blitzo promptly shushed her and put his hand on the knob. "You and me, we're going to fucking light this place up." The hound sighed but later nodded, and he turned the knob.
They burst through the door. They were shocked to see a bald teenage girl lying on the hospital bed hooked to life support. Her eyes focused on them as she looked horrified by the look of the unwelcome visitors.
The patient struggled to talk with her nose being covered by the tubes. She groaned. "W-W-Who are you guys!?"
Blitzo cringed as he closed the door behind them. He recollected his thoughts and came up with a reasonable explanation for their unholy appearance. "Oh, us? Heh heh, sorry. We were shooting a big blockbuster film, and we were sent here by the uhhhh…"
Loona stepped forward. "...the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Yep. Sorry about the makeup, kid. We have to keep it on for a whole week. You know how it goes."
The patient giggled slowly. It was still a struggle for her to even do such a thing.
"T-That makes sense…I always wanted to meet actors."
Crazy coincidence. Blitzo nodded. "Yeaaah! So, who is this sweet girl and what's the dealio?"
The patient didn't move a muscle. She only looked up and then looked back at the funny looking imp. "I'm Emily...and I have cancer. I'm uhh...turning eighteen tomorrow." Blitzo crossed his arms as Loona stood there in complete shock. "Oh? We're gonna have a birthday girl real soon? Well that's fantastic!" He sat himself by the bedside and looked down at the "target". So, what does this brave gentle soul want for her birthday? Ask and ye' shall receive."
Silence.
Blitzo stared at her blankly, then laughed nervously. "How about another couple of years here?" Emily laughed quietly. "T-They told me I should pull through...I'll be fine for now." Loona put her hand over her mouth. She began tearing up as the jarring conversation continued on.
"Ah! Terrific job, buddy! Is there anything we can do to make that eighteenth birthday a little sweeter?"
The patient shook her head slightly. "There isn't really anything I want. I'm g-grateful that I'll be able to live for at least another year. But if it doesn't trouble you two…"
Blitzo gleamed. "Oh, do tell!"
Then Emily whispered. "I just want someone to talk to…"
Another period of silence. Blitzo suddenly woke back up and chuckled. "Aha! Of course we will do that, E! Lay it on us! Whatever you have on your mind, you spill the beans, girl!"
Emily looked down. "Well...I want to know if I'll be fine without my parents around...My dad left me a million to spend it on whatever I want...and I've been using it on cancer treatment, so I'm going to probably be short on money…"
Blitzo raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah, I know. He may have been an asshole when he was around...but I miss him and my mom. If I had to hear another drunken argument between them at least one more time, I would...just so I can tell them how much I love them…"
The imp turned his head to the family portrait on top of the nightstand.
A pale brunette, and a Caucasian male with a slim figure and a bald head. Emily was on the front. She had a full head of brown hair. What was really unsettling was that Emily and her father had one certain accessory on their faces. Heart shaped glasses. The father looked familiar despite his fleshy appearance.
It was safe to assume this was Valentino's daughter.
Everything made sense now. The impatience of the overlord, the fact that Emily was turning eighteen real soon, and the contract on his own daughter. They all interconnected to a heartbreaking motive. Valentino did not create a contract to get rid of someone equally as powerful as him in the living world, or in spite of anybody. There was a little known rule of abatement that only the overlords and contract killers knew. If you die before turning eighteen, the judgement on your life will be completely irrelevant. Emily's assessment of her own father was enough of an excuse to send her to Hell. It was clear that she was no angel, but the truth is, she can be.
Valentino wanted his daughter to die and go to Heaven.
It was a clever plan. It also made sense why he didn't decide to try the ritual himself and kill her. Now Blitzo and Loona had the unbearable task of killing someone's ill daughter.
The hound sniffed as she struggled to fight back an ugly sob. She looked at Blitzo and left the room. It was too much for her.
He turned around, and Emily began tearing up as well.
"I-I-I'm sorry...I just-"
He put his hands on her shoulders. "No, don't you dare be sorry. Your story really touched me, Emily, and if I were you, I would keep moving forward. It is never easy for somebody to try living without their parents. Trust me, I know. I know what it feels like to be lonely, to be scared, to feel like you are a mere shell of yourself and that you shouldn't have made it this far. But the truth is, you were destined to continue fighting. You are a strong woman with a strong but gentle soul. I want you to look me in the eyes and promise me that you will continue fighting no matter what. You do that, then I can promise you, you will live. You feel me, Emily? You are going to live."
Emily began sobbing.
Blitzo held his hand. She clenched it as she looked up to her guide.
"You are going to live, Emily. Promise me that."
She wiped her tears and stopped sobbing. Emily nodded.
"I-I promise. Thank you…"
He smiled. Blitzo got himself up from the bedside and patted her head. "Now you go get some shut eye. It's getting late. Good luck, soldier."
Emily smiled. She turned to her side and closed her eyes. She yawned and proceeded to breathe for a while Blitzo stood there crossing his arms, wiping a tear from his eye.
After a minute, Emily was finally in sleep mode.
Blitzo gulped and walked over to the life support. He got down on one knee and stared at the cable. This unspeakable act was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. He thought about it for a while. He took out his phone and looked at the calls. The call with Valentino was eight minutes ago. He still had time to spare.
He took a deep sigh and pulled the plug.
The monitor began beeping slower and slower.
Until it flatlined.
She died peacefully.
Blitzo already sent photos of the monitor and the deceased Emily over to Valentino. He stood over the portal and looked around one last time. Loona already messaged him, claiming that this contract was too much for her, and Moxxie messaged him that he and Millie were already waiting back in Hell.
He hopped back in and found himself inside the ritual room, where the couple and the hound were. Millie was laying down on the couch, feeling all better with her tibia no longer displaced. She killed herself almost instantly once they arrived and was relieved to be able to stand on her own two feet again. Moxxie held her close to him, and Loona was curled up in a corner. She turned to see Blitzo sporting a grim expression. Her fears had come true.
RING RING!
Blitzo picked up the phone and accepted the call.
"Hello Vale. I did the-" He was interrupted by loud sobbing from the other line. The overlord was letting out his emotions for the imp to hear. Valentino began sniffling and tried his best to talk. "I-I-I'm a bad f-father…*sobs*"
Blitzo sighed. "No, man. You had to do what you had to do. She's going to be in a better place now, alright? I know about the abatement and shit."
Valentino stopped crying and nodded over the phone. "Y-you're right. She's not going to be stuck here with me. I don't want that to happen for her. She's too good for that."
"Agreed."
Valentino wiped his nose and recollected himself. "Okay, the contract is done. I'll have one of my guys come over. He'll give you the payment in about ten minutes."
The payment.
Blitzo couldn't help but jump the gun. "Hey Vale, I don't know if you mind me asking, but just how much are you paying? You didn't give us any details on the target, so we couldn't estimate the pri-"
Valentino interrupted. "No, no. Trust me, imp. You don't have to worry about it. I'm very positive you are going to like it, baby."
The four stood outside by the parking lot. A black van pulled up and parked right in front of them. The driver seat popped open, and a large shark with a black shirt, black slacks, and beady eyes came around. He appeared intimidating, but his expression was soft and mellow, as if he was working at a floral shop. The shark approached the group and cocked his head forward.
"I have the money stored inside, ready for you, sir. I sincerely hope Valentino paid his debts."
Blitzo shook his head, while Loona growled. "I'll have to see a fucking therapist after this."
The muscular shark put his hands together. "I understand, m'am. Once again, we apologize on behalf of our lord." He turned around and opened the backdoor, revealing a large duffel bag that was stretched to the point where it appeared rectangular. He grabbed the bag and handed it to Blitzo. However, once he let go, the imp dropped to the floor as the bag took him down.
"Oh fuck! It's a lot!"
The shark grabbed the bag. "Don't worry. I will take it inside, if you wish."
Blitzo got himself back up and smiled. "Yep, that'll do just fine."
The shark dropped the bag down to the floor of Blitzo's office. Everybody stood there in his assistance, the shark once again bowed slightly and shook Blitzo's hand. "Thank you for your services." The imp replied, "And thank you for moving that big ass bag. We really appreciate that."
The shark nodded and walked out of the office. Moxxie got down and opened it up.
Everybody gasped.
Valentino wasn't kidding. He was positive that they would enjoy the payment. There had to be millions inside.
Moxxie jumped. "OH MY GOD!" Millie followed her husband. "WE'RE RICH, BABY! WE'RE RICH! WE'RE ACTUALLY FUCKING RICH" Loona put his hands to her head, and smiled as wide as she could. Not once did they ever break a hundred thousand, let alone $10M.
Blitzo stood there. He had no idea how to react.
Loona caught him by surprise and hugged him. The hound gave him a sloppy kiss, to which Blitzo had no reaction to. Moxxie and Millie embraced each other and shared a tender kiss. Once they broke it, Millie put her hand to his cheek.
A ten million dollar contract. Blitzo was in disbelief.
They were rich.
END OF VOLUME 1
