“There’s a man I need you to find.” He sat on the bed and continued. “He owes the King money, and you are going to help me get it. You’ve grown quite a bit since you started at Gstaad. Eating like a rich boy has its perks. But you’ve always been sneaky. You can breeze in, shake him down, and get out quick. You’re a young man curious about women, no one will suspect a thing. I’m getting old and weak. And I was never one to use brute force anyway.”
My mouth hung open. I sat on the bed next to him. My knees were weak and I thought I might puke.
“Oh don’t be so scared. It’s nothing too serious. We just need to teach a man a lesson about paying his debts. It’ll be quick. And then you’re free to enjoy the rest of your trip. And consider next year’s fees paid for.”
I swallowed and stared at the floor. Then I looked up to him. “Ok. If it’s just quick. I’ll help you. But I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He laughed at that; it was the most hateful laugh I ever heard.
“Oh my dear nephew. No one is going to get hurt. Come, leave a note for Larz and we’ll be back by sundown.”
I did as he instructed, and followed him out the room. We left the hostel and stepped into the sunlight. But the sky wasn’t clear. Dark clouds were rolling in, it was going to storm. Tourists were already clearing the streets. We strolled through town side by side like any other tourists. It felt like we had been walking for an eternity when we finally entered a small brown building with women posing nude in the windows like mannequins.
It was a brothel, the kind Larz wanted to take me to. We walked through the dim hall. Through the endless locked doors I could hear moans of pleasure and pain blended together. We went up a flight of stairs and stopped at the third door on the left. The lighting was even more dim, and the walls that had once been white were scratched, dusty, and gray from cigarette smoke. Uncle knocked on the door.
A fat naked man with no neck answered. “Edward. Good to see you” my uncle chirped. He was smiling, but Edward wasn’t. The fat and pink bastard tried to slam the door, but my uncle forced it open with one hand. We entered the room. Two women, with small perky breasts and unnatural neon hair sat nervously on the bed. One covered her chest with the blanket. My uncle smiled, standing in front of the door. There were no windows. No place for Edward to escape to.
“You know why I’m here.” My uncle stated. His voice was high and his tone friendly, but there was something sinister in him I had never noticed before. He was tall and lanky, in an expensive but baggy three piece suit.
“It’s not right to borrow money and never give it back Edward. And to do so to a King! Well you know in the medieval era Kings were thought to have been chosen by God. Imagine trying to pull a fast one on God’s own chosen son. Well, that is never a good idea.”
I stood a few feet from my uncle, but kept my eyes to the ground. The nice white sneakers Larz had gotten me for my birthday were filthy from walking around this place. I looked up, trying to distract myself, right in the nick of time.”
Right as my uncle cleared his throat to say more, Edward had grabbed a knife from under the bed and lunged at him. I panicked and threw myself on him. He wasn’t hard to take down. We wrestled on the grimy floor for the knife, until I finally got it from him. I didn’t want to do it, but Edward made it clear he wasn’t trying to negotiate. He swung at me. I dodged it and pierced the knife through his chest. I stepped back and nearly fell over in shock. My whole body shook, and I could feel the dead man’s warm blood on my hands. My uncle only clapped.
“Good work Branch. Excellent. I didn’t think you had it in you.” He offered his hand to me. I grabbed it with my right hand, staining the sleeves of his suit coat with blood. “Oh don’t you worry about that. I was going to get rid of this suit after this job anyway. It’s so ill fitting, but it makes me look like a man with nothing important to do trying to look dignified. A perfect cover.”
It was dark by the time I got back to the hostel. Luckily Larz wasn’t there, and I was able to shower so he didn’t see the blood. When he finally got back, he looked at me funny but didn’t say a word. It was like he knew.