The Hitman's Last Job by Max Freedom Page B

describe what he’d done for
her.
    “ Anything else you’d like to know?” there was a hint of
annoyance in his voice because he didn’t understand why she cared
about his past.
    “ Your family, you never talk about them,”
    “ I don’t have a family,”
    “ Not even a mother or father anywhere? Or a random
cousin?”
    “ I’ve got no one but you kid. Like you said earlier we’re just
orphans in an evil world,” his words came out sounding
venomous.
The silence
resumed to the car and Carl lit a cigarette with his eyes still on
the road.
    “ Actually I’ve not been entirely truthful,” he exhaled smoke
over the windscreen.
Anna looked to
him suspiciously.
    “ I have a father….and a mother”
    “ Oh? Was your father as bad as mine? Is that why you never
mentioned him before?”
    “ Not quite. In fact my Dad was pretty much perfect growing up.
We were the best of pals. And he was prouder than anything the day
I signed up for the navy,”
    “ So what happened?”
    “ Well… when I came back from Afghanistan… I had my problems for
sure and not just my back. Just like you Anna, I have nightmares
that haunt me every night. I can’t close my eyes without seeing
them. But my Dad didn’t understand. Thought that all that crap was
in my head and it was! But he thought I was just being
overdramatic, that I was weak, that illnesses in the mind didn’t
really exist,”
Anna looked
out the passenger window with unflinching sadness. “I’m so sorry to
hear that. That changes everything then,”
    “ No, it doesn’t,” he wound down the window and tossed his
cigarette end into the road. “Anyway the last time I saw him, he
said I was a lazy good for nothing for not being able to hold down
a regular job after I was discharged. Said I enjoyed pretending to
be ill, that I was doing it for attention. I’ve never spoken to him
since.,”
The moment
felt profound to Anna as she looked to the man beside her. She’d
finally found someone that had stuck by her happiness and sorrow.
In that second as the little car sped down the empty highway there
was a palpable sense of trust between the new couple. They held
hands and looked straight ahead.
    “ It won’t be long until we’re there. Just gotta keep going,”
Carl nodded as he spoke.

CHAPTER 11
Don Angelo was
in his favorite bathtub watching his favorite movie, ‘It’s A
Wonderful Life.’ The tears always came to his eyes at the same
point like clockwork and he was getting himself ready. He always
loved ending his day with a luxurious soak but wished at times that
he had someone to share it with. A nice lady perhaps, but he was
rather romantically illiterate and often had to resort to paying
for a woman’s company. It turns out that money can’t always buy you
love.
He lay back
and lifted his eyes to the gold ceiling as if he could see into
heaven. He wondered if his parents ever looked down on him and felt
proud of his wealth. They had the best marriage and were together
until the very end. What he wouldn’t do for a love like that…
There was a
knock at the door and it interrupted his thoughts.
    “ Who the fuck is it?”
    “ It’s Jerry!”
    “ Yeah yeah, come on in,”
The small,
tubby man walked in with a plateful of fries.
    “ You read my mind pal, I’m starvin’” and Angelo tucked in. “Any
news on Carl?”
    “ Nothin’ nada,” Jerry waved his arm passionately. “With any
luck he’s wacked himself and that girl too,”
    “ Chance would be a fine thing,” the Don mumbled with chubby,
food filled cheeks.
The two men
watched the TV for a few minutes until Jerry interrupted.
    “ This shit’s miserable pal. You watch this all the time and cry
like a baby,”
    “ I can’t help it. It’s beautiful. Anyway… listen. I think I
have an idea,”
    “ Oh yeah?”
    “ That cop you know… the Irish one,” Angelo thought
hard.
    “ Callahan?”
    “ Yup, him. I think you oughta pay him a visit. Maybe time we
enlist some more help,”
    “