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Description
EPILOGUE

This job had been strange from the start. Contacted by a dying man who didn’t want to be killed. First meeting done over crappy quality videophone to arrange for a real meeting. Then on the way to the appointed café I get in a car accident. A bad one. Lands me in the hospital for several days, no way to contact my almost employer and tell him what’s up. Imagine my surprise when I got out to hear I had taken the job, missed my opportunity, and was at that moment embroiled in a fight at a hotel with a guy trying to kill my employer. In a world where not much shocks me anymore, this was almost unbelievable. I had to check it out.

The parking lot in front of the hotel was a zoo of squad cars, ambulances, spectators, and uniformed men and women. I could see my would-be contractor sitting by one of the ambulances, surrounded by underlings, hooked up to an oxygen pump, looking pissed. I slipped through the police line on the pretext of working for him and joined the little circle.

“So how did this go all pear-shaped?” I asked as I approached. The lackeys all put hands on guns that weren’t there, having been collected by cops.

The boss was not amused by my jocular tone. “If you’d shown up for our appointment, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Would’ve if I could’ve,” I told him, pointing to the bandages still on my head with my good arm. “What I want to know is, who took my place?”

He shrugged. “Some kid decided he wanted to play make believe. I dunno. I don’t get it.”

I was nonplussed. “How’d you mistake some random kid for me?”

“He looks like you! He was wearing a hat! He didn’t freak out when I gave him the job.” I opened my mouth to press the issue, but he kept going. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing as all hell, but… He saved my life.”

“Huh.” I looked around for the guy in question and spotted him easily. He looked a lot like a younger version of myself, which explained the boss’s error. His hair was brown, instead of greying like mine, which explained the boss’s eventual revelation. He was sitting outside a different ambulance where an EMT was just finishing patching up a nasty gash in his forehead. A beat up black and grey tweed driving cap sat in his lap. I walked over. “How’d that happen?” I asked as the EMT moved away.

“Ah. Bar mirror,” he answered. “Apparently. Didn’t even notice until after.” He seemed to be a little bit in shock, smiling slightly. I thought about asking his findings on his little existential experiment, but there was something else that needed said first.

“You got talent, kid.” He laughed a sharp, self-derisive laugh. “No, really,” I insisted. “You just held your own against a professional.”

“Professional,” he repeated. “Is that what you assassins call yourselves?” My eyebrows shot up. Forget being in shock. He was wide awake, and way more perceptive than I’d initially given him credit for. “You’re the guy I’ve been pretending to be,” he stated.

“Yeah. Care to explain that to me?”

“Not sure I can.”

I was unconvinced. “Try.”

“I dunno. I had a steady, well-paying job, a good-looking girlfriend, a nice apartment…and then that guy thought I was you, and… It was like being shown a ladder out of a hole I didn’t even know I was in.”

“That’s poetic.”

He shrugged. “You asked.”

“Why keep going? Why protect him even after you were found out? He’s dying anyway.”

“We’re all dying. But he wants to go out on his terms, not at the whim of someone else. I respect that. And you do too, or you wouldn’t have agreed to meet about the job.”

“I agreed ‘cause it’s a well-paying job—“

“Bullshit,” he interrupted unexpectedly. “I’m sure you have plenty of other offers that pay just as well, and are for customers who could hire you again if impressed.” He had a point, and I let my silence tell him as much. He laughed suddenly. “Though I guess I should apologize for stealing your identity for a week. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I considered for a moment. “You could be really good at this job,” I told him.

“Ohh, no. Not me.”

“Oh, come on. You—“

“Held my own against a professional, I know. But skills and talent aren’t everything. I wanted to see how far I could go with this, and I know now I couldn’t go all the way. I know now I couldn’t kill someone for money, and I’m pretty sure that’s a deal-breaker in your line of work.” This was true, and I had about five seconds to lament the waste of talent before he suddenly continued. “This, though,” he said, looking at the man he’d saved, who was getting to his feet despite the exhortations of the EMTs. “I could do this.” He said it quietly, as if a statement to himself. There were the findings of the experiment.

“Hey, kid,” the boss said as he hobbled over, propped up by his men. “I have an offer for you. If you can keep me alive until this slacker,” jabbing a thumb at me, “does what I was trying to hire him to do, I’ll pay you as much as I’m paying him.” The kid and I both stared at him, slack-jawed. “You want a chance at something different, here’s one that doesn’t involve impersonating someone dangerous. I owe you that.”

“I’ll do my best,” the kid said, them stopped and corrected himself. “No. More than just my best. I’ll do it.”

“Good. Well, come on then. I want to get outta here before they insist on taking me to the hospital. You,” he turned to me. “Get on it.”

“Hey,” I stopped the kid before he could leave. “You go down this career path, we may end up at opposite ends of a gun.”

He smiled strangely. “It would just be proof that I’m finally done imitating you, that I really am on this new path. My own path.”

He had guts, and I could see him going far. “Got a name, kid?”

He thought about it for a moment, then answered with a smile.

“Alexander.”

Description
EPILOGUE

This job had been strange from the start. Contacted by a dying man who didn’t want to be killed. First meeting done over crappy quality videophone to arrange for a real meeting. Then on the way to the appointed café I get in a car accident. A bad one. Lands me in the hospital for several days, no way to contact my almost employer and tell him what’s up. Imagine my surprise when I got out to hear I had taken the job, missed my opportunity, and was at that moment embroiled in a fight at a hotel with a guy trying to kill my employer. In a world where not much shocks me anymore, this was almost unbelievable. I had to check it out.

The parking lot in front of the hotel was a zoo of squad cars, ambulances, spectators, and uniformed men and women. I could see my would-be contractor sitting by one of the ambulances, surrounded by underlings, hooked up to an oxygen pump, looking pissed. I slipped through the police line on the pretext of working for him and joined the little circle.

“So how did this go all pear-shaped?” I asked as I approached. The lackeys all put hands on guns that weren’t there, having been collected by cops.

The boss was not amused by my jocular tone. “If you’d shown up for our appointment, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Would’ve if I could’ve,” I told him, pointing to the bandages still on my head with my good arm. “What I want to know is, who took my place?”

He shrugged. “Some kid decided he wanted to play make believe. I dunno. I don’t get it.”

I was nonplussed. “How’d you mistake some random kid for me?”

“He looks like you! He was wearing a hat! He didn’t freak out when I gave him the job.” I opened my mouth to press the issue, but he kept going. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing as all hell, but… He saved my life.”

“Huh.” I looked around for the guy in question and spotted him easily. He looked a lot like a younger version of myself, which explained the boss’s error. His hair was brown, instead of greying like mine, which explained the boss’s eventual revelation. He was sitting outside a different ambulance where an EMT was just finishing patching up a nasty gash in his forehead. A beat up black and grey tweed driving cap sat in his lap. I walked over. “How’d that happen?” I asked as the EMT moved away.

“Ah. Bar mirror,” he answered. “Apparently. Didn’t even notice until after.” He seemed to be a little bit in shock, smiling slightly. I thought about asking his findings on his little existential experiment, but there was something else that needed said first.

“You got talent, kid.” He laughed a sharp, self-derisive laugh. “No, really,” I insisted. “You just held your own against a professional.”

“Professional,” he repeated. “Is that what you assassins call yourselves?” My eyebrows shot up. Forget being in shock. He was wide awake, and way more perceptive than I’d initially given him credit for. “You’re the guy I’ve been pretending to be,” he stated.

“Yeah. Care to explain that to me?”

“Not sure I can.”

I was unconvinced. “Try.”

“I dunno. I had a steady, well-paying job, a good-looking girlfriend, a nice apartment…and then that guy thought I was you, and… It was like being shown a ladder out of a hole I didn’t even know I was in.”

“That’s poetic.”

He shrugged. “You asked.”

“Why keep going? Why protect him even after you were found out? He’s dying anyway.”

“We’re all dying. But he wants to go out on his terms, not at the whim of someone else. I respect that. And you do too, or you wouldn’t have agreed to meet about the job.”

“I agreed ‘cause it’s a well-paying job—“

“Bullshit,” he interrupted unexpectedly. “I’m sure you have plenty of other offers that pay just as well, and are for customers who could hire you again if impressed.” He had a point, and I let my silence tell him as much. He laughed suddenly. “Though I guess I should apologize for stealing your identity for a week. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I considered for a moment. “You could be really good at this job,” I told him.

“Ohh, no. Not me.”

“Oh, come on. You—“

“Held my own against a professional, I know. But skills and talent aren’t everything. I wanted to see how far I could go with this, and I know now I couldn’t go all the way. I know now I couldn’t kill someone for money, and I’m pretty sure that’s a deal-breaker in your line of work.” This was true, and I had about five seconds to lament the waste of talent before he suddenly continued. “This, though,” he said, looking at the man he’d saved, who was getting to his feet despite the exhortations of the EMTs. “I could do this.” He said it quietly, as if a statement to himself. There were the findings of the experiment.

“Hey, kid,” the boss said as he hobbled over, propped up by his men. “I have an offer for you. If you can keep me alive until this slacker,” jabbing a thumb at me, “does what I was trying to hire him to do, I’ll pay you as much as I’m paying him.” The kid and I both stared at him, slack-jawed. “You want a chance at something different, here’s one that doesn’t involve impersonating someone dangerous. I owe you that.”

“I’ll do my best,” the kid said, them stopped and corrected himself. “No. More than just my best. I’ll do it.”

“Good. Well, come on then. I want to get outta here before they insist on taking me to the hospital. You,” he turned to me. “Get on it.”

“Hey,” I stopped the kid before he could leave. “You go down this career path, we may end up at opposite ends of a gun.”

He smiled strangely. “It would just be proof that I’m finally done imitating you, that I really am on this new path. My own path.”

He had guts, and I could see him going far. “Got a name, kid?”

He thought about it for a moment, then answered with a smile.

“Alexander.”