Devil's Contract

One Year Ago

I hate this underground city. It’s cold, and there’s no life or happiness here. When this is over, I’m going to take my partner standing next to me, and we’re abandoning this life behind.

The room we were in was a private office with dim white fluorescent lights, the worse kind of light. The shutters were closed, and our handler was sitting behind his desk, pushing files and folders to the two of us. I’m certain that inside of it was another man’s picture was clipped to it, his face soft and kind. My daydreams drowned out his voice until eventually, I felt someone tug my arm.

“Did you get all that, Katayama?” said the handler.

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Then you’re dismissed.”

We left the office and dodged the traffic of people, all suited and walking around the office building with folders and files in hand. Many were like us, some were like our handler, all were responsible for the robbing of people’s futures.

I felt the warm, fresh air from outside as I pushed open the door. I felt the need to run, skip, and dance with joy, but I didn’t. We entered the car, me seated in the passenger seat and my partner in the driver’s. I opened the folders given to us earlier, and as I expected, another kind face was clipped to the files. His hair was gray, face wrinkled, and eyes soft.

“You were out of it again,” said Jo Takumi, his voice high pitched, innocent, and monotone. He had curly brown hair and soft eyes, not what you would expect from a seasoned assassin.

“It’s fine. We have these files that tell us everything. Debrief is just a waste of time.”

“That’s not what I meant. You’re still thinking of leaving?”

I stared at him. It looked like we were going to have the conversation again.

“Yes, Takumi, and I’m taking you with me.”

He frowned like he always did when we talked about this.

“It’s impossible. You know what they do to people who leave.”

A massive bounty would be placed on your life, and an even larger bounty could be earned if you were brought back to the agency alive.

“I would have to be punished for not taking you down,” said Takumi, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“That’s why I’m saying we should go together. With the both of us, we can survive anything.”

“But Masaru, the life we have here isn’t all that bad.” I scoffed, but he continued regardless. “We just have to keep following orders. It’s not hard.”

“Until when?” I raised my voice, but Takumi didn’t flinch. “You’re 16, I’m 17, this is the height of our youth, and we’re wasting it murdering men and women! We should be in high school, enjoying ourselves and stressing out about exams and which girls we like, not worry about being caught by the police or dying!” I shouted this time, tears beginning to stream down my face.

I leaned against the seat and covered my eyes, trying to stop it as best as I could. This was a curse. We became hired killers of our own initiative after thinking that our luck had ran out, and we believed that we didn’t have any choice but to do so. However, this was a curse, our contract with the devil which could never be broken.

My hiccups and sniffles echoed through the car. After a while, the sound of me mourning my youth stopped, but the pain remained.

“Masaru, the contract,” said Takumi as if nothing had happened.

A flash of anger squeezed my heart, but I ignored it. My face still red and sticky with dried tears, I rustled through the files and gave him the location.

The target was a middle-aged man married to a wife with two kids. He lived in a normal-sized house in a nice and quiet neighborhood. As for why anyone would kill this man, I could only guess. Maybe someone wanted to buy his house which was currently undervalued, or maybe someone at work has a grudge against him, or if we’re lucky, it was the wife who ordered the hit to protect her children and herself from her secretly abusive husband. The list goes on. Regardless, the people who put out these contracts were the scum of the earth. At the end of the day, my partner and I are the people who has to get their hands dirty.

Takumi parked across the street from our target’s house, gray and dull-looking. It was Saturday, and the time read 10:00AM. In addition to his address, we were given his workplace, the security chief at the local wharf on the night-shift. There was a condition on the contract that said to make him disappear. What easier way to do that than to complete the contract on his work shift and dumping his body in the ocean?

An hour later, a woman approached the house, opened the fence, and entered the house. She had to be his mistress. His wife probably worked a morning weekend shift, and in her absence, his mistress had arrived. I soon heard loud noises from the house, someone was raising their voice or shouting. After a while, a man and the same woman earlier left the house, him wearing white dress shirt with belted brown khakis, and the woman wearing a blue dress. Not only did he brought a mistress to his house, but he also dressed her in his wife’s clothes. I won’t be feeling pity for him once the contract is completed.

They entered their car, and we followed behind them from a distance. They drove to the city’s shopping district where they got out. We followed them through the crowded city streets, desperate to keep up with them. The two would stop to look at windows filled with mannequin wearing clothes. Sometimes, they would enter and leave with the man carrying big plastic bags, a wide grin on the mistress’s face, and a nervous smile on his.

The pair entered a jewelry shop filled with sparkling diamonds without any price tags beneath them. Was he finally going to properly propose to his mistress and divorce his wife? Or was he going to lead a double life until his last breathing moment? They left the shop, a brand new necklace hanging around the mistress’s neck.

As evening approached, they reentered the car and drove home. I read the files again. His night shift was today. We’ll have to scout out the wharf and plan our approach.

The sun was setting over the horizon by the time we arrived, and the time read 8:00PM. His shift would begin at 11:00AM. Red, blue, and green cargo container were neatly placed throughout the wharf, and even from the entrance, we could smell the ocean and feel its cool, gentle breeze. We parked a while away from the main building where the security office laid. It was a brick building that was three stories tall with few windows.

I peered through the window of the front door. A glass-covered front desk with someone stationed inside was to the left of the floor, and a bit deeper in was a set of staircases leading upwards. No going that way. I checked out the emergency exit from the side of the building, but it was locked. We’ll have to lure him out.

When the night shift came to replace the others, Takumi will steal one of their handheld transceiver and give it to me. Takumi’s voice just isn’t similar to a security guard at all. He’ll go to a private location near the ocean where I’ll call the security chief to. I’ll follow him from behind, and once he arrives, Takumi will incapacitate him with a stun gun, and then we’ll throw him into the ocean.

“Can’t I steal a handheld receiver now?” said Takumi.

I shook my head. “You’ll have to take one of the pervious shift’s guard to do so, and the others will notice him missing when they clock out.”

We returned to our car and waited, staring at the office building, and watching the previous shift enter the building as the clock read 11:00AM. Another group arrived, and we spotted the chief among them, shaking hands and smiling. One group went home while the other entered the wharf, flashlights in hand. The only light we could see were from the office building and the streetlamps beaming orange lights onto the pavement.

I put on my earpiece and waited for Takumi to leave when he placed something hard and heavy into my hand.

“It’s a taser. Take it.” I nodded. It was an illegally modified baton-taser that would kill a person if they weren’t strong enough. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t use it for tonight.

When Takumi entered the wharf in search of a lone guard from the darkness, a woman ran to the door, holding linen-wrapped boxes in her hand. Why was the mistress here? Did his coworkers not know he was married? Or maybe he had been so good at keep secrets and living a double life. It didn’t matter. The plan continued regardless.

My palms were sweaty as I stared at the building, waiting for the call from Takumi. Darkness surrounded the car, and I was given time to think about my future after this night. I was going to convince Takumi no matter what, and we were going to abandon the car, board the train, and leave the city behind. No one would be able to stop us if it’s me and Takumi together. After this night, after the adulterer was dead and disappeared, we will regain our future.

A thud on the car window from the passenger seat drew a sharp gasp from me. I stepped out of the car and held out a hand to accept the transceiver.

“Did you hide him?” I said.

“Yes. He’s alive,” said Takumi. I let a sigh of relief escaped.

“Did you find a spot?” I said. He nodded.

He slipped back into the darkness and headed to the location where I would lure the adulterous chief out. I sat down on the pavement, my back resting against the car. The night breeze felt cool, and the future I envisioned came into my mind once more. I imagined living a life in the countryside, gazing out into the meadows and forests, hearing the cry of the cicadas in summer, and watching snow envelope the land in winter. We could even settle in the city, attend college where I would meet others my age and finally live a normal life. The earpiece rang out, and my dreams rippled away into the darkness.

“I’ve arrived,” said Takumi, and he gave me the location.

“Ok. I’ll call him out.”

I placed my fingers on the PTT button and held.

“Sir, we got something out here we need you to take a look at,” I said through the transceiver and telling him where to go. I received silence for a couple minutes.

“What you got?” said the chief.

“I don’t know sir. We need you to take a look.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“I, I’m sorry, sir?” I said, stunned.

“Is it dangerous?” I contemplated my answer. If I said it was, he would just call in the other guards.

“No sir. I think it’s safe.”

“Oh good. You see, the love of my life is here tonight, and I thought it would be nice for the two of us to take a walk around the wharf.”

My stomach turned and ached.

“With all due respect sir, it’s a bad idea. I mean, it’s against the rules.”

“Oh please. It’s fine if no one notices. It’s my last day after all. Alright, we’ll be out in a second.”

Silence rang through my ears. Minutes later, the door to the brick building opened and emerged the chief and his mistress, walking to the wharf bathing in orange lights. My legs refused to move as I thought all of the possible ways I could separate the two without force, but none came to mind. I pressed a finger to my earpiece.

“Takumi, I messed up. He’s coming to you with his mistress.”

“I understand. I’ll find a way to take care of this.”

I entered the darkness with the giddy couple, keeping an eye out for any guards that might’ve been near. They walked in the light of the streetlamps while I hid in the darkness like a skittering rat. The two cuddled up to each other as they walked, talking in hushed and giggling voices.

From the darkness, a beam of flashlight shined near the couple. A patrolling guard had shown up from a slight distance from their right, but he hadn’t spotted them under the streetlamp. I couldn’t let the guard meet up with the chief. They’ll discuss the reason he was walking around, and it’ll be revealed that the person who made the call to the chief wasn’t official. I searched the ground for any cans or throwables I could use to distract the guard, but none came in sight. I grabbed behind my back and felt the hefty taser.

A quiet squeal came from the couple, and I raised my head to see them retreating behind the cargo containers. The officer, hearing something, approached the scene where they were at moments ago, shining his flashlight in every direction. A few minutes later, he scratched his head and deduced the noise to have come from a rat. The chief and his mistress emerged from behind the cargo containers, smiling and giggling as they continued their way towards Takumi.

I heard the ripples and lapping of the ocean water. The sea salt breeze grew stronger as I placed a finger on my earpiece.

“They’re nearly here,” I said.

“Understood. I have eyes on them.”

A large, blue cargo container stood in their way. They went around it, and then there was the echo of something slamming into the steel container. I rushed to the scene with quiet footsteps.

Takumi was pinned against the container by the chief who grasped him by the neck, and the mistress was standing behind him. I saw her breathe in once and opened her mouth, readying for a scream. I dashed forward, taser in hand. Closing the distance in mere seconds, I took aim at her back and fired. A pale, blue spark buzzed from the tip of the taser and struck the woman. She arched back then fell to the ground, her head hitting the pavement.

The chief craned his neck, saw me, and released his iron grip on Takumi. He charged me, fist at the ready to pummel me to a pulp after seeing what I did to his beloved mistress. He was too fast, and there was no way I could dodge. I braced, thinking that it wouldn’t be so awful if he messed up my face so bad that no one at the agency could recognize me. If so, I could escape from this life without any problems. He stopped a short way from me, froze, and collapsed to the ground, revealing Takumi with an outstretched arm, taser in hand pointed at the air that had been the back of the chief’s neck.

I stood, feeling the breeze once more. It wasn’t that bad. It was never bad against wrongdoers. Takumi crouched down to the security chief and put a finger to a side of her neck. He did the same to the mistress.

“Go back to the car, Masaru,” said Takumi, a bruise on his face. “I’ll take it from here.”

I shook my head, pocketing my taser. “No. I’ll help you.”

Together, we dragged their bodies to the edge of the wharf where the water swam beneath. We took large, heavy bricks and concrete and tied them to their feet. With a push of our feet against the corpses’ ribcage, they splashed onto the water where the bricks and concrete dragged them to the bottom.

“What happened?” I said, watching the two corpses sink.

“I tried to taser the woman first, but he saw me and reacted before I could.”

We entered our car and drove through the night, turning in our contract tomorrow in the morning.

Cold, white fluorescent lights. The files were returned to the handler which he gave to the shredder. The completion of the contract was already confirmed with the arrival of smugglers into the wharf. Weapons became more accessible for not only those at this office, but also for the local gangs and wrongdoers. The late honorable chief was replaced with a corrupt one, the kind who turned the other way and took bribes, allowing more weapons to arrive at the wharf. For the first time in my life, the handler smiled, a smile over death, a smile I would like to never see again in my life.

“Well done, you two. Your money has been wired, and since I’m feeling generous, how about you two take some time off? Let’s say a week.”

We nodded, leaving the office where we were greeted by more people, many of whom were congratulating and clapping us on the back. Some were glaring at us, wishing they were the ones who could’ve gotten the contract. All of it made me sick.

We spent the one-week break at our apartment, small and shabby with tatami mat floorings. We did nothing in particular, only sitting at the table and me reading various news outlet, searching for anything on the chief and a lost woman which I did two days later, only they weren’t two separate news. An article on my phone read, “Man and Wife Missing, Leaving Behind Two Children.”

I knew from the start. I knew that the wife had left early in the morning and returned later. I knew that the two walked around the city, celebrating the man’s retirement the next day. I knew all of it. I just chose to deny it, trying to make excuses. Even when the truth was revealed, I still didn’t feel anything. No remorse, no guilt, nothing. I was transforming into an emotionless killing machine, something the agency wanted me to become, something Takumi was already close to becoming.

As the days passed by, Takumi’s homecooked food started to taste bad, something I had thought was impossible. He was so good at cooking that if he opened a restaurant, he could probably become a Michelin chef. It was the only thing that could take my mind off my condition.

“Let’s leave,” I said during dinner.

He was silent.

“We could open a restaurant together, and I’ll be the waiter. We’ll hire some staff and become so close to them we might as well be family.”

He was still silent, and so was I.

On the last day of our break, I waited until the dead of night before rising out of bed. My wallet was full of money, enough to buy me another shabby apartment to hide out in. It was all I had as I snuck out of my room and passed Takumi’s, heading towards the door. I heard the satisfying crunch of a pistol’s slide being pulled back and a bullet entering the chamber behind me. I turned and saw Takumi standing in front of me, a pistol in his hand, barrel pointed towards me at point-blank range.

I froze. Why? Was it about the money? Was he that loyal to the agency? I examined his face, failing to see any signs of hatred, pain, or sadness. This person standing before me was a prime example of what the agency wanted, what I didn’t want to become. What I could do for him was to save him from this life, a life he was already too far into. I wanted to live. I will live. In the next second, I’ll grab his gun, push it out the way, and rush out the apartment. I might be weaker than him at fighting, but I’ll do anything to live.

Instead, he tossed the pistol and caught it by the barrel, the grip towards me. I took it, thinking he wanted me to have a gun to protect myself with.

“Shoot me.”

I stared at him in shock. “I’m not going to shoot you.”

He gripped my wrist and hand holding the gun, forcing the barrel into his chest.

“If you want to be free, shoot me.”

“Why? Is it because you don’t want to come after me? Or maybe you don’t want to get punished? You’re a lot more selfish than I thought.”

“I’m sorry, Masaru. I failed you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If only I had done a better job. If I had delt with all the targets while you stayed behind and planned. It’s my fault you want to leave” His voice was monotone and innocent. I was wrong. There still was emotion within him.

“It’s not your fault. It’s the agency’s, so please, leave with me.”

He dug the barrel into his chest.

“It’s too late. Please let me atone by allowing me to free you.”

I tried to pull my hand away, but it wouldn’t budge. Freedom, something I had been searching for so long. Was my freedom worth my partner’s life? I couldn’t turn my back on it now that it was right in front of me but with a high price. This door will never open for me ever again if I refused it. I’m sorry, Takumi. I can’t back down. If shooting through you is what I have to do to be free, then so be it. At the very least, he dies with little emotion than none at all.

“I’m sorry.”

A whisper of apology, a squeeze of the trigger, a deafening gunshot, and the spray of blood hitting the floor alongside my partner were some of the last things I remembered from that small, shabby apartment as I ran out the door, feeling the cool breeze of the night air of freedom.