Ash lounged back in the black leather sofa that doubled as his bed, in his sister's apartment. He scratched himself under his boxer shorts, and wrapped himself tightly in the leopard print blanket. The TV illuminated the dark living room with different hues as the movie changed from scene to scene. He watched the flickering images, absent-mindedly, letting the gun shots and explosions lull him to sleep. A plate and fork, still soiled from the off brand macaroni and cheese and hotdog slices he had for dinner, as well as empty cans of soda and beer littered the end table in front of him. This little area in front of the TV was his home, his solace inside his sisters apartment.
He was not embarrassed at all for imposing on his sister. Truth be told, she begged him to move in with her after he finished his four years at community college. They were always close, as twins tend to be, but she took it to the next level. Any idea of moving from the city, to better himself, was always met with toxic opposition from sis. She wanted her brother close, at hand and at her command. So when Ash returned with his education, deep in college debt, Alex happily opened her home to him, happy that her number two had returned.
Ash didnt mind though, he always found it comforting letting his sister do the thinking for him. While he was the brains of the family, and had the skill and the know how to get things done, he lacked the drive or the vision to do much about it. That's where sis came into play. She had the looks and the attitude to get just about anything she wanted. Fame, wealth, pleasure, none of that was important to her. Deciding how she and her brother lived their life, that was. It was all she seemed to care about. What better a person was there for Ash entrust with the boring little details in life? Where they lived, what they ate, when they shopped, he let Alex worry about all of that.
They were quite a team during the Hawaiian conflict, she was fearless, driven, and he would die to protect his sister and commander. When Blondie, or Jacket as the media dubbed him, started showing up all over the news, he was all sis talked about. It was then she had the idea to create their alter egos, The Killer Swans. It was also her idea, to show up, in full costume, to the courthouse to protest the outcome of Jacket's trial, whatever it should be. Ash was hoping he would be able to talk her out of it, or at least some kind of compromise, especially if they planned on acting on their impulses.
Jacket's trial had ignited something in Alex. Or rather, it raised something up into the surface. Ash had always suspected there was something off about his dear sister, even at an early age. He remembered himself as a boy wondering if it was weird that they preformed an autopsy on the neighbors cat. The brilliant Doctor Alex determined that the cat had died from rat poison. Ash already knew that, since she had encouraged him to put it there the night before. Still, he could have resisted her, but he didnt. He didnt even try, he didnt want to resist her.
He heard the door to his sisters room open, and turned his head to see her stumble towards the kitchen, smacking her lips. She had donned a pair of jeans before emerging from her room, and from the sounds of clangs and shuffling that soon came from the kitchen, Ash could tell she was looking for something to munch on. Ash flipped off the TV, and pulled on his jeans before heading to the kitchen.
Alex cast him a smoldering look when he entered, and threw a hand up. He understood she was inquiring about the lack of salty snack food in the shelves. Ash shook his head, giving her a look of regret. Alex sighed and gave him a forgiving nod. She pulled a can of tomato soup from the cupboards and showed it to him, giving it a little shake by rotating her wrist. Ash nodded.
He smiled softly to himself as she pulled a second can from the cupboard. Alex had decided they were playing another game. Ash knew the rules. No talking until she broke the silence first. Ash sat down at the small kitchen table as Alex poured the cans of soup into the pot, stirring it with a wooden spoon. She was doing her best to appear the part as the busy homemaker, as if the canned soup was some labor of love for her brother. In truth, Alex as far from a homemaker as Ash was, if her disaster of a bedroom was any indication… that and their shared affinity for narcotics.
This was all part of the game. If Ash gave her his obedience, she would treat him to whatever random acts of kindness that was in her power. Ash was content enough to played along, he knew she wouldnt mistreat him anymore then she would mistreat herself. They were one after all.
The phone rang, and as soon as it did, Ash gave Alex a questioning look. Alex bit her lip and pretended to give it deep thought before smiling and shaking her head no. Ash waited patiently for his soup, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the kitchen table. His sis shot him an annoyed look to stop, but Ash protested, raising his hands to the side. Alex huffed and relented, giving a reluctant nod.
Ash happily continued his tapping, waiting for the answering machine to catch the call. "Hey its Alex and Ash, you know what to do." Alex's voice from the answering machine said, followed by a beep. "Hey It's Mark…" When Mark's voice came from the machine, Alex and Ash looked at one another with sudden interest.
Ash listened intently. If it wasnt for the ragged breaths into the receiver, he would have wondered if the big was still there. "You still need a job? I have a job for you… its a big job, important job. I'll give you… one thousand dollars if you help me…" Ash raised his brow and looked back at his sister. She had turned to him at the same time. It wasnt the money that surprised them, but the desperation in his voice. Ash looked to the phone and raised a questioning brow, reaching towards it. Alex shook her head firmly, waving him away. "I'm in deep… I… call me back on this number as soon as you can, the number is…"
Ash shook his head in disbelief. Whatever mess he managed to land himself in, it had shaken the big man to his core. He looked to his sister who didnt return his gaze. She was staring at the phone, her eyes narrowed with intent. Mark hesitated on the line for another minute, before finally hanging up. Ash watched his sister carefully, waiting for her to determine the next course of action. She turned to him, her face carefully expressionless. "You better call him back."
Alex waited impatiently, as her brother held the receiver held to his ear. Though she could have simply moved closer to hold her ear next to the receiver, it was more fun to watch her number two do recon for her. Ash's eyes lit up as he Mark must have greeted him on the other end of the phone. "Yea hey! I got your message… yea. ...Yea?" Ash shot Alex a strange look. She bit her bottom lip and shifted anxiously. Ash listened for awhile, his face slowly changing into an expressionless mask. Whatever it was Mark was saying to him, she had a feeling it was going to be good. Alex tried to get Ash's attention but he waved her away. She huffed through her nostrils and pouted, tapping her foot impatiently.
"S-so… say that again." Ash said, glancing at Alex briefly, before looking back ahead. Alex never had so much difficulty reading her brother before, but his lack of expressions were throwing her off. His usual, wise cracking, smooth talking demeanor had vanished. "Ok… yea I heard you. You cant go to the police?" Alex's jaw dropped. Police? She began to fidget from foot to foot as her curiosity burned inside her. Ash ignored her. "Right… yea… you know your asking a lot… naw naw, its not about that. Ill have to ask my sister. Yea I have too… no thats not happening, hey look you asked me for help didnt you? Then shut up… shut up ok? Right… ok I'll call you back." Ash hung up the phone and slowly turned to Alex. "So?" Ash hesitated, forming the words carefully in his head. "We're going to need your saw."
# # #
Mark felt like sobbing in relief when he hung up. He gritted his teeth and struggled to keep his emotions from spilling out. He had no idea what possessed Ash to agree to help him. If the situation was reversed, he was almost certain he would have left Ash high and dry with little more then a "Good luck with that." Still, Ash had agreed to help, which meant Mark wasn't doomed just yet. All it would cost him is his life savings, which he would eagerly give. What good is a savings account when your bleeding out in a prison shower?
Still… Ash was bringing Alex along with him. He didnt want to be ungrateful, but she wasnt what Mark would call "Dependable" she was what he would call a "Psychotic bitch". With a war going on, and with only a few brief exchanges, Alex managed to creep Mark out. It wasnt how she acted when the bullets were flying, but how she acted outside of combat. The way she had her brother aid her in her morbid adventures, having him take pictures of her, laying next to mutilated Russians in playful poses… it was unholy, plain and simple. There was clearly something wrong with her, something that preceded the war. Still, at least she wasnt afraid to get her hands dirty, and an extra pair of soiled hands was exactly what Mark needed right now.
He waited for what felt like an eternity. He checked the clock again, it was forty past one. He had some time before sun rise. If it was enough time to mop the blood off the floor and walls, and dispose of the bodies… he'd have to wait and see. He glanced at the bloody mess before him reluctantly. "You can't go to the police?" Ash had asked him. Mark had stared at the severed head he had dropped near the body of the large Russian enforcer. Even if there was a way to get off with a slap on the wrist, to plead self defense, the decapitated body would make this a hard plea to sell. He was looking at hard time, and as he already knew, hard time was a death sentence.
Mark saw the headlights from Ash's van from behind the bullet riddled windows. He perked up so quickly he nearly tweaked his back in the process. He waited for what felt like a half hour, but Ash or Alex never left the van. Mark did his best to avoid panicking when the van sped off. He waited, his eyes tightly closed, hoping, praying Ash had not changed his mind and abandoned him.
Nearly an hour had passed, before the van finally returned. Mark walked to the front door and watched the twins through the windows. They were unloading large sheets of plywood from the back. Mark briefly thought to go out and help them unload out of obligation, but realized his clothing was still covered in blood. When they came to the front door, he took a deep breath, and swung it open for them.
Ash blinked and shook his head in disbelief. "Sorry, for making you wait… had to drop by the hardware store so we could board up these windows..." Ash said, trying to play off his shock at the sight of the massacre. Mark averted his eyes to the concrete tile floor in shame. When Alex made her way through the door she audibly gasped. Mark winced and watched her with a pained expression. Alex, creepy scary Alex, had her jaw dropped in surprise.
The twins set the boards down against the wall, and still Alex stared, lips apart, at the bloody mess Mark had made. Mark felt like crawling out of his skin. He opened his mouth, feeling he had to make up some excuse to how he had lost control. Before he could explain how he wasnt some kind of maniac, Alex turned to him. The look of admiration in her eyes sent shivers down his spine. "Oh… Mark..." She whispered.
It took Ash and Alex several trips to bring in all the items from the van. Among the pile Mark spotted a hammer and nails, a large container of liquid soap, an eight pack of paper towels, some plastic ponchos, three pairs of large rain boots, a box of blue rubber gloves, and a box of black garbage bags. Last but not least Alex brought in what she called her "little friend" a small gas powered chainsaw. Mark briefly wondered why the woman owned a saw but he quickly pushed the questions from his mind. He didnt want to know.
Alex looked down at Mark's clothes before asking for his wallet. Mark didnt bother questioning things. He fished out his wallet and slapped it in her palm. She pulled the hundred and forty bucks from his wallet and tossed it back before going back out to the van. That left Mark and Ash to put up the boards over the windows, nailing them into place.
Mark worked in silence. Thankfully, so did Ash, though the young man seemed a bit overly preoccupied with his work. Mark couldnt blame him for avoiding conversation. He didnt know what he'd say in his place. When the last board was put up, Ash finally turned to Mark. "That should keep the prying eyes from the streets off of your… handy work." Ash said with the delicacy of an enraged rhino. Mark flinched and nodded his head silently as Ash looked him up and down. He was probably staring at the blood stains that covered his clothing and vest. He had washed his hands and face in the kitchen sink but his clothing was still hopelessly stained. "Thanks… I owe you one…" Mark mumbled. Ash gave him an incredulous look. "Yea, you do."
Alex returned, with an unnerving skip to her step, and a bright smile on her face. In one hand she held a shopping bag and in the other a thermos. She handed the thermos to Mark first. "Here, drink up big guy." She said, surprisingly pleasant. Mark took the thermos from her timidly and opened it up, taking a sip. The taste of warm tomato soup entered his mouth, so he kept drinking. Alex just watched him as he drank it down. "After we clean this mess up, I bought you a new change of clothes." She rested the bag containing what looked to be a large Hawaiian shirt and sweat pants behind one of the display cases. "Thanks Alex..." Mark said weakly. Alex just shrugged nonchalantly. "You'll make it up to us." She said. The certainty in her voice worried Mark.
The three of them stood over the pile of blood and carnage, clad from head to toe in plastic and rubber. They stared at Mark's "Handy work" silently for awhile before Mark and Ash lifted one of the Russians by his legs. Mark winced as Alex pulled the pull string, bringing the revving the engine to life with a wicked grin. She noticed Mark's squeamish look. "What? You're acting like you've never seen a dead body before…" Alex said with a wink. Mark looked back down to the body and lifted the dead mobsters leg by his stingray skinned cowboy boot. "Hold it there, and Id look away…" Alex said, revving the engine of the saw, before bringing the swirling, angry chain down onto the lifted leg. He closed his eyes tightly and looked away, as he felt the spray of blood hit him in the side of the face. Soon, he held a severed limb, which he quickly stuffed into one of the black garbage bags.
Mark stared down black garbage bags sitting on the tile floor. You couldnt tell just by looking, but inside was all that remained of the would be buglers. Alex snapped her fingers in front of his face to wake him from his daze. "Hey you listening big guy? Now for the fun part… mopping and wiping. Get to it, we dont got all night…" Alex said. Her pleasantness had quickly deteriorating as the night went on. "Yea I got it..." Mark muttered, grabbing a mop.
They worked for hours, mopping the blood, wiping the droplets from the sides of the display cases and scrubbing the blood stained walls with soapy paper towels. Mark checked the clock, it was fifteen passed three, and they were making good progress. He might just get away with this after all. Mark scrubbed a display case, on his hands and knees, while Ash did the same on the other end of the store. Alex left to empty the blood and soap filled water down the sink, but hadnt returned. That was just as well to Mark. The woman's work ethics werent exactly stellar and the two of them made more progress without her. Still, the longer Alex wasnt in sight, the more he worried what the creepy blonde was getting into.
He stood up suddenly and declared "I have to hit the can." to Ash, who didnt even look up from his work. Mark went to the back room, and glanced towards the restroom. There was the bucket, but no Alex. Mark's stomach twisted when he realized where she must be. He walked into the storeroom, where he found Alex, watching the security monitor with a look of awe upon her face.
Mark slowly approached. He turned his head towards the direction of Alex's eyes. It was just as he feared. She was watching the security footage. He grit his teeth, as he watched his blurry image stomp, then tear the Russian strongman's head from his shoulders. He hadnt seen this tape, truth be told he forgot he put it in. Alex watched with baited breath, waiting for the moment when Mark dropped the Russian's head before hitting rewind on the VCR, back to the point where the Russian mobsters were robbing the store.
Mark watched Alex, with a pained expression. "How many times have you watched this…?" Mark asked. Instead of answering she turned to him with new found reverence. "I'm so sorry…" She said softly. Mark blinked. "Why?" Alex turned back towards the TV monitor and watched the recording of Mark appearing in the lower left of the screen, guns blazing. "I always thought you were nothing, not even worth getting to know. I didnt see you… the real you." Alex said, the sincerity in her voice, in her eyes made Mark's entire body flinch.
"This is not who I am…" Mark said firmly. Alex blinked and pointed at the screen. Mark didnt turn his head, he knew what was on the tape. "Who are you trying to fool?" Alex said in response. Mark thought long and hard on her words, before leaving her, to get back to work. Behind him, he could hear her rewinding the tape.
It was a little passed four thirty, the store looked like a tornado ransacked it, but no signs of blood or bodies were left. Only piles of black garbage bags stuffed with evidence were left. Alex had rolled up a blunt and was having a celebratory toke. Mark reached over and snatched it from her before taking a long draw of his own. She watched him inhale then cough, his lungs unused to inhaling smoke. After the twins passed the blunt back and forth between themselves for a few minutes, Mark finally gathered the nerve to ask "Whats next?" Ash looked up, unconcerned. "We go for a drive."
Mark sat in the back seat of the van with the piles of black garbage besides his legs and feet. He should have been concerned that the twins seem to know exactly what their doing, but he was far to grateful and exhausted to entertain much thought. Whatever sick shit they may or may not have done, its helping him stay out of prison, and thats what matters.
They drove for what felt like hours, until stopping near some dark alley. "This one, that dumpster there." Alex said, pointing at a back alley dumpster. Mark obeyed, doing so as quickly as he could, before scampering back into the van. They did this several more times, spreading the bags all around Miami. At the last dumpster, he grabbed the last two bags left in the van. A bag of bloody paper towels, and the severed head of a certain Russian enforcer, was sitting next to the bag with his vest, backpack, mask and the rest of his clothing he wore during the spree. He grabbed both bags at the next designated dumpster stop, but Alex threw out her hand. "No! Dont throw out that one…" Mark blinked, looking down at the bag with his clothing and mask. "You can wash them… its fine." Alex insisted. Mark opened his mouth to argue, but the somber look in her eyes deflated any desire to argue left in him. He left the bag with his soiled clothing in the van as he made the last dumpster drop off.
They were done, and Mark didnt ask where they were driving him next. He was so exhausted he could pass out right there in the van. "Tell him..." Alex said to Ash in the front seat. Mark shook himself fully awake. "You know Mark… what we did tonight, it wont be enough." Ash said delicately, glancing back at the rear view mirror at Mark. He narrowed his eyes before answering. "What do you mean?" Ash shrugged. "I mean, you killed some people, you got rid of the bodies… now what?" Ash said. Mark blinked, perplexed. "So I stay out of prison, thats what." Alex smirked back at Mark and shook her head. "It wont be enough…" She cooed. Mark snarled back at her, growing very annoyed. "Look… I've had a long night, I'm tired. I just want to go to sleep, can you get to the point please…?" Mark whined. Alex rolled her eyes, before Ash answered Mark's question.
"We're saying, you dont think the rest of them, the ones who they collect for, wont notice he's missing?" Ash said smugly. Mark felt a flair of anger mixed with desperation inside of him. "Your talking shit, their a bunch of thugs." Mark said, wanting to believe it more then anything. Alex clicked her tongue at that. "Tsk tsk tsk, I wouldnt underestimate them if I were you… they're organized. Tell him Ash." Mark looked to the rear view mirror desperately for confirmation. "Word on the street is, a new heavy hitter is in town… he wont like it when his collectors turn up missing."
Mark couldnt believe what they were saying, he refused too. "I'm tired, I can't talk about this shit right now. Just get me home please…" Mark begged. Alex snorted at that. "You still have to pay us back, remember." Mark nodded grimly. "Stop by an ATM, and Ill get you your money..." Mark said weakly. The sooner they were paid, the sooner they were square, and the sooner he could sleep and sleep, to try and put this day behind him.
Alex smiled as she glanced at Ash, who gave her a quick look before looking back towards the road. Mark braced himself for whatever she had to say as she turned her attention back to him. "We dont want your money Mark." She said matter of fact. Mark felt a creeping fear in his gut, but he had to ask anyway. "What do you want..?" Mark asked. Alex smiled softly, before reaching out, opening the bag full of bloodied evidence. She lifted his bloody bear mask from the bag and held it up. "We want you to help us kill."