CHAPTER 3

Park Row

He had his gun pointing at the husband and wanted to get away with this quickly. His eyes turned to the white pearl necklace the woman was wearing. That necklace was the prize.

"You!" Joe pointing the woman "The necklace. NOW!"

She didn't flinch. It was like as if she wanted Joe to give his best shot at intimidation.

"Look….. You don't have to do this", advised the man in the royal black tuxedo.

"Stop talking!" yelled Joe followed by a discrete mumbling "I have every reason to do this".

The young boy's eyes turned watery. He hid behind his dad, holding his fingers.

"Dad?" said the boy in a whimpering tone.

The man was scared now. He was scared he might lose his family and he understood there's nothing more precious than family. His hand shoveled into his coat inside pocket to get his wallet.

This was Joe's first thievery through intimidation but he knew many people who had gone through these path and unexpected things always tend to happen. Joe's hands on the trigger slipped as the man was taking his wallet out. A gunshot and all hell broke loose. The woman screamed at high pitch. Joe had no choice but kill her as well.

The bullet pierced through her breastbone shattering her necklace pearls everywhere. Everything was happening so fast and it was hard for the young boy to process. He stood there, tears gaining slowly in his eyes. Joe knew he had to finish this clean and leave no loose ends. He pointed his gun slowly at the boy.

He turned to Joe with teary eyes. 'Kill me' his eyes said.

Joe hesitated. The kid reminded him of Ron. He stood helpless like Ron. A body without structure. He turned back sparing the boy's life and walked right out of the alley. Jake was waiting for him in the car. The gun shot had startled the entire neighborhood. People started to gather near the alley.

"I don't understand. Who were they?" asked Joe pulling out his balaclava helm and threw it in the back-seat.

"You killed them all? The husband, wife and that nine year old kid?" asked Jake avoiding Joe's question.

"No"

Jake's zeal shrunk into a deep frowning "What do you mean by 'no'?"

"The kid… I couldn't…" Joe broke into tears. He never wanted this. He felt his life shattering like glass pieces.

Jake turned gloom. He wasn't happy with Joe but then he smiled.

"It's okay. You just killed the Waynes, Joe. You just brought down a whole fucking Wayne Empire. I am sure the boy would be of no concern to Moxon. He's just a kid. What could he possibly do?"

"You used me, didn't you?"

Jack smirked at him again.

"I hate to get my hands dirty, Joe. You needed money and did a perfect assassination. I had my men to distract their butler and you completely foiled the whole plan"

Joe didn't reply anything.

Jake dropped him at Joe's place and gave him an envelope filled with a huge sum of money. Joe tucked it into his pocket and without any reply, he ascended the stairs. The whole apartment was silent.

He convinced himself that the murder was perfectly done. No one saw him there other than the Wayne kid.

'What could a kid possibly do?' thought Joe.

He knocked Ron's room. He knew he would have fallen asleep by this time but that Wayne kid's face was struck in his mind and he couldn't get it off him.

There was no response.

He knocked the door again. There was no response again. He opened the door slowly without making noise.

"Ron? Ro—"

Joe's face turned pale. He fell to the floor on his knees, crawled slowly to his son dangling in mid-air by a long noose around his neck.