Jack drove into the parking lot of the shop and alighted. It was a shop that specialized in selling outdoor tools and the likes. He hoped he’d find exactly what he needed here. He pulled his baseball cap low over his face and pulled open the door to the shop. The old bell above him dangled alerting the cashier to the presence of another. A freckled faced young man presumably in his early twenties_ it was hard to tell because of the bad skin was standing behind the counter. He smiled in welcome at Jack displaying surprisingly neat dental fixtures. Jack reciprocated with a smile of his own as he walked past the kid to survey their displays.

“Need any help sir?” the kid called out as Jack moved to another aisle in the store.

Aiming to please or just good customer service ethics? Jack mused to himself “I’ll find my way.” He called out to the eager attendant.

“Just let me know if there’s something you need and can’t find_ it might just be in storage.”

Jack took his time perusing through the shelves and selecting a couple of items on his list. After a few minutes, he walked back to the counter with his purchases. The kid turned from stocking a shelf behind him and stared down in obvious dismay at his purchases. He tried to mask his obvious disappointment at Jack’s slight purchase with a smile. Jack waited while he tallied his purchase and then paid in cash ensuring to leave a huge tip for the disillusioned young cashier.

“Keep the change.”

The kid rewarded him with a broad smile “Thank you sir.”

Jack dumped his purchase in the back of the car and settled himself behind the wheel. The envelopes were resting on the passenger’s seat. He reached for the first envelope and extracted the papers within. He was running out of time_ he still had the cops hot on his trail and it made doing the things he wanted done quite difficult but he had to find a way. He returned the papers into the envelope and pushed it underneath his chair out of sight. Every single information has been committed to memory. He had to be subtle and precise_ the last thing he needed was a bunch of incompetent law enforcement officers breathing down his neck and putting a dent in his plans. A brown truck drove into the parking lot of the shop and parked beside him. He stared at it absently as a slight man in his early sixties alighted and walked into the shop. There was something about the man’s gait and features that seemed familiar and then it hit him. He stared at the closed door of the shop for a while and thought about driving away. After a few seconds, he alighted and headed towards the shop.

The kid looked up and grinned at the sight of Jack “Forgot something.”

The man turned and locked gazes with Jack then bestowed a smile on Jack before turning to the kid “A friend of yours, Xavier?”

The kid shook his head “A customer, Mr. Avery.” The kid moved away from behind the counter and retreated into a door behind the shop. Jack assumed it was the storage he had been referring to earlier.

All the while, Jack’s gaze never left the older man’s face until the man started to feel uncomfortable by this customer’s scrutiny. Finally Jack spoke and his voice was cold “You’re Cliff Avery?” he inquired

the man nodded all the while wondering why all of a sudden this stranger’s face and that voice sounded familiar. Perhaps, they had mutual friends although he thought that highly unlikely. He studied the young man’s good looking features and nodded again_ slowly this time around.

“Yes, I’m Cliff Avery.” He answered rather tentatively even as he extended his hand for a handshake but Jack’s gaze remained riveted on his face and the next thing Avery saw was the muzzle of a .37 magnum pointed at him and when it came, he took it in the forehead and went down without a sound. The kid was just stepping out of the back room, his arms laden with goods intended to be shelved but he stopped in his tracks, the fear in his young face at the sight of the customer with a gun and his grandfather lying in a pool of his blood.


Jack looked up at the kid who stood whimpering, his arms laden with purchases_ the fear palpable in his young features. The plea for Jack to spare his life was evident in his eyes filling with tears. What had the old man said about contingency plans? In this business, it wasn’t advisable to leave anything to chance because it had a way of coming back to bite you in the ass. He stared at the kid and the kid didn’t recognize the smiling customer in that cold gaze. He took the slug in his forehead and went down for the count.