text: Tyler  McAlister Sympathetic Apathy Jarrie Merca, Cindy, and John McAlister. 
   
   
   Sympathetic Apathy 
      
   "There has always been violence in art. There is violence in the Bible, violence in Homer, violence in Shakespeare, and many psychiatrists believe that it serves as a catharsis rather than a model."-Stanley Kubrick 
   
   
   
   Act I: Thomas Marcus 
     
   - 
   
   
   
   Chapter 1:  The Morning 
     
   It was just another average morning before work.  I woke up at seven o' clock as I did every day.  I ran through my morning routine as I did every day, I am Thomas Marcus, CEO of my family's company, and just about the only one who truly cares about it.   
   After finishing everything I need to upstairs I head down to the kitchen to ready all the paper work I need.  I'm meeting a filmmaker today who's production is being funded by my company.  Not really my personal decision but my advisers said it'd be of good interest as it would open up more business oppertunities later on.  As I made my way to the kitchen there was a knock at the door.  The average person's first thought would be: Who the fuck is at my house this early in the morning uninvited?   
     
   However, I know exactly who it is, and surely enough as I open the door, I'm correct.  It's my younger brother Raymond, dressed in a red shirt and black slacks, as always he's wearing that fucking stupid hat.  I gesture to him to come inside.  "Well good morning to you too", he says.  I inform him immediately that I do NOT have time for a conversation so he better just hurry up and tell me what I need to know.   
   He asks me if I want to go see Stephen, Stephen is the youngest of us brothers, and he's been very sick for quite awhile now, he's in some sort of a coma while also battling heavy cancer.  It'd be pointless for me to put forth the extra effort to go see a person who isn't even there, I inform Raymond of this and make my way out of the door, for whatever reason, he follows.   
   I've now popped in my headphones by this point to block him out, I'm playing Chris De Burgh's "The Lady in Red", Raymond is shouting some non sense at me by this point but I can no longer hear, I'm finally in my car but the bastard continues to persist.  I roll down my window and ask, "Can I help you?" "Thomas you need to go see your brother".  I tell him as an exiting sentence, "I'll go see my brother when he wakes up from his little nap", and make my exit.   
   He shouts something as I drive away but I can't hear him by this point as my main focus right now is to get to work, I have a 10:45 meeting this morning with a Douglass Sherman, and hired gun working with a gang of rapscallons looking to make some money. That is where I need to be Raymond, THAT is where I need to be. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 2:  The Office 
     
   As I make my way into the office I look around at all my employees, not knowing a single one of them by names.  As far my concern goes they're all pieces of money floating out of my pocket.  No time for thinking about them, I have to get to my office before I miss the appointment I have, I cross through the minature lobby area that we have right outside of my office where my secretary, Nancy, a 20 something year old woman sits at a wooden desk, taking calls for me, notfying me of appointments and so on.   
   "Good morning mr. Marcus"!  I give her a cold gaze as I make my way into my office, what use would any sort of small talk do here?  That sort of thing is intended for friendly get togethers at a musty bar, or a family reuninion.   
   I sit down in my chair, preparing for the daily stress of the day.  As I catch a glempse at the time. 10:43AM.  I get a buzz on my machine from Nancy saying "Sir, your 10:45 is here".  Send him in I tell her, and cancel my 11 o' clock, my initial 11 o' clock was to be a meeting with a charity orginizer, this was not a meeting put together by me but by that generous bastard Raymond.  The only some what useful sibling I have right now.   
   My office door slowly swings open suddenly I see the face of a white man, a VERY white man, he's blonde hair blue eyes like you'd expect.  But he isn't entering the room, he's just leaning in and peering around at my office, "You Thomas"? he asks me.  I inform him that the dependancy of my indentity is on whether or not he's my 10:45, he begins to peer out the door, as if looking for someone to support him through this situation, by now I'm infuriated with this man's absolute bullshitting about in MY office, "IT'S A SIMPLE YES OR NO!" I scream at him, "Yes, yes that's me" he reports back to me, I command him to shut the door and stop letting out all the air.   
   FINALLY he makes his way in, he's about 5'8" in height, wearing a grey muscle shirt with blue jeans and some tennis shoes.  
     
   He has a seat in the chair infront of me, finally we can start the meeting, but before I even get a word out, he says "CEO huh?  wanna explain why your office looks like uh.. shit?"  How dare him?  Insult the interior of my office when he looks like he just got out junior high, or maybe work some fast food job, the chair he was sitting in is probably worth more then his house, I won't be assaulted by a peasant.  I ask him why some punk white kid like himself is getting involved with the people he is, when he looks like a fucking boy scout.  You can see in his face that this registered on an emotional level.   
   I proceed with the meeting asking if he's going to be helping the band removes some diamonds from a dishonest bank who lost a fair share of my company's money last month.  The dazed look of confusion just tells me what kind of individual I'm dealing with.  This fucking idiot. "We're fucking stealing them!  What don't you fucking understand?!" I exclaimed at the poor fucker.   
   I guess I thought I was speaking in my head but Douglass decides, we should start over, reintroduce ourselves.  After doing this I decide, I'm not the one he should be talking to, I'll have Nancy send him to our lead operater in the "illicit activities" department, Mason Porterfield, Mason, while not the leader of the group was the planning brain of the operations, making him a much more useful item in my eyes.   
   After doing this, Douglass is now threatening me with the usage of a "Vincent".  Asking me things like "Do you know who I am?"  I certainly knew what he was going to be, dead, if he didn't get the fuck out of my office.  He can tell Vincent all he wants, I didn't even know who Vincent was.   
   Finally he exits, but I still hear the faint cries coming from outside my office door.  I open it and there he is, talking on the phone to what I can only assume is "Vincent" after some more brief insults, he finally leaves.  Upon seeing the time I realized I must be going, I tell Nancy to tell any calls I get no, I proceed out of my office to meet this filmmaker I'm funding.   
   Hopefully, he'll be a bit more stern then that of the soft fleshed individual I just came into contact with.  The drive over there is pleasant enough, Brad Mehldau's "Blame It on My Youth" blares out the speaker of my car, music is the only place that I find peace within this world of absent minded morons, I had been greeted with two of those just this morning, first my brother Raymond feels compelled to try to talk me into going and seeing out comatose state brother, next I'm confronted with a so called criminal who can't even pick up on the hint of "we're robbing a fucking bank".  But the momentary relaxtion wouldn't last very long as it was in the blink of an eye that I was at the movie studio, a building constructed of bricks with a sign on front that "Memento films".  I head for set B to meet this filmmaker. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 3:  The Filmmaker 
     
   I enter the set and it looks more like a big theatre for plays or musicals, though the smell of wasted money was in the air, I was none too excited to see what I found.  There was my girlfriend, Vivian, a blonde haired woman who was just a little bit shorter then me and height but not lacking in personality, for someone who enjoys upbeat people that is, I merely had her about so I could maintain an image, she runs up and hugs me after I've made my way down the steps of the set, I have to remind her of what personal space is and why it's an important factor when dealing with someone like me, but before I can finish I'm interrupted, "WHAT THE FUCK"?!   
   I can only assume this is the filmmaker I'm supposed to speak to, he orders my girlfriend back onto the stage and then turns to me, "Who the fuck are you?  Are you an actor?  GET THE FUCK OFF MY SET".   
   While no doubt I deserve to be shouted at like this, from his perspective this is completely unwarrented, and impolite, especially to someone who's funding your bullshit creation.  I infrom him who I am, this subtles his tone, I still haven't caught his name by this point but we go ahead and watch the film in which he has created, or rather, he watched his film and I imagined all of the different highways that the money we spent on this could have gone to, I almost felt like the charity would've been a more profittable experience then this.   
   I feel betrayed, dirty, economically raped.   
   This will be fixed, after we get out of the film screening, he asks me what I thought of the film.  I compared it to that of Space Jam (the god awful Looney Tunes movie with Micheal Jordan),  offended, he tries to defend the god awful piece of work we just saw, no doubt, I should have seen this coming from a filmmaker, but being the BUISINESS man I am, I give him 3 weeks, exactly 3 fucking weeks to redo all of this, I know this is an impossible task, but I do it anyways, who is he to stop me?  I own his whole production. He can't tell me what is and what isn't, that's my job, I've put my head phone's back in, and am now listening to Huey Louis and the News, he's talking some non sense, something about, wait, Raymond?  How does he know about that?  I can't let him know I'm concerned but, he somehow knows Raymond stopped by my house?  I need to leave.   
   This man knows too much and I don't like the direction that this is heading.  I tell him there's no negiotating here, I begin to walk away, I notice, no argument from him, he merely turns around and heads out the other door, as if nothing happened, what was the man?  Was it a man?  What sort of human would react so inhumanely?  What was WRONG with this person?  I feel like he may be my match.  Perhaps I'm over reacting a bit, I mean, I'm a well known individual, in both the business and the crime world, but I'm not dangerous, he must know this, was nothing, perhaps he had met Raymond before hand.   
   It was nothing, I felt hungry, I needed to make a quick stop, perhaps a Subway would do me in fine, it's fast enough, while I'm not a common eater of cheap foods as it's below me, it's certainly needed at this moment.  A quick stop there, then back to the office. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 4:  Return To The Office, Make Way For The Bar 
     
   The filmmaker was a fucking fool.  Just like the rest of the people I'd met today, it was simply an off day for me today.  Fuck's sake.  Every day is, every day is the same.  Fools, all of you, fucking fools.  I'd lost track of the time some how, I was supposed to meet Vivian at the bar in 20 minutes, I need to make it quick or I'll be late, something I simply do not tolerate from myself, why would I tolerate it from anyone else?   
   Back to my car, not even notifying Nancy I was in such a hurry.   While I don't relatively care about what Vivian thinks, I do care about whether I'm on time or not.   
   I arrive outside the structure, it's gated in like a private community.  I sway the gate open and make my way towards the patio area of the bar.   Wait a moment, that's the filmmaker from earlier, what's he doing here?  For that matter, where's Vivian?  The time to be here has past, I'll give her a call right now.   
   The phone rings for about four tones before she finally answers.  I ask, her where are you?  She says she's having trouble finding the place.  I make my way towards the back alley area of the bar incase the discussion turns heated.  The bar is playing a smooth jazz tune and I wouldn't want to ruin the ambiance.   
   Upon going through the door way I find the individual from earlier, the boy scout, Douglass I believe.  He appears to be pissing into a trash can.  Confused but still maintaining my conversation with Vivian, I decide to let her know that our relationship is over and I will not tolerate someone being late.   
   Now to confront the boy scout.  He hasn't realized, or noticed, who I am yet.  "What the fuck are you doing?"  I asked him, to which he retorted, "What the fuck does it-"  A sweep of realization came over his face as he began to grip the gravity of the situation.  "Vincent!  Vincent!" he shouts to what I can only assume is the rest of the bar.  I've been waiting to meet the ever present Vincent since Douglass mentioned him a few hours ago.   The door that let to the bar swings open, at first the light is too bright for me to be able to tell who it is.  As my eyes adjust to the light I come to the realization that it's the filmmaker from earlier, that's who Vincent is?  This force to be reckened with is one of my employees?  Hardly laughable, by this point Douglass has fallen to the ground in a drunken stuper of some sort.  I'm fed up.   
   All I wanted was a nice night out and I'm greeted to this, a drunk, a failing employee, and a now ex girlfriend whom I hope to never hear from again, repulsive, the situation is absolutely repulsive, and I won't stand for it any more, these two we're now arguing with each other over what, I don't even know as I was no longer listening.  "Fuck you!  Fuck you! You're fired! You're fired!"  and I made my exit, knowing that firing the filmmaker would come back on me in a bad way but that's a situation I'm willing to put up with.   
   I needed to go back to work, to file some papers and then I would head home, hopefully not to my brother again.  I also promised my mother I would call today.  I must tend to these other obligations, my work was finished for today.  But there will always be a tomorrow, with new work, new possibilites.   
   
   
   
   Act II: Vincent Nash 
     
   - 
   
   
   
   Chapter 5:  To Mason's 
     
   There was me, that is Vincent, and my good friend Douglass on the floor.  Douglass had just gotten him and I out of our jobs.  Infuriated on the inside but calm and cold on the outside per usual.  My instincts work quickly, I have to go see Mason, he's about the only hope I can have in a sitution like this right now.  Thomas isn't going to get away with what he's done to me.   
   Douglass in his drunken stuper is wanting to come along but I can't let that happen.  "I want to go see Mason too", alright, let me help you up buddy, I help him up, but not before popping him in the leg with a bullet from the uzi I was carrying.   
   It tore through just quickly enough to where he'd be downed, but there'd also be no injury, while drunk he still felt the sting of the bullet, and was now screaming like a banshee.   
   On my way out I make sure the bartender understands the stipulations of what's happening while waving my gun at him like a mad man.  What he hears in there, he doesn't hear, and for $70, he'll lock up and close shop right now, and for my final question "Do you see me?"  To which he replies, "see who sir?"  Luckily he understood the concept so sadly I didn't get to pump him full of lead like I would have any other witness.   
   Upon getting to my car I wait to confirm that the bartender is leaving and isn't calling the cops.  A few bullets and some money can ALWAYS sway things in your favor.   
   On my way to Mason's now.  To talk about the cock sucking CEO that just robbed me of two jobs I worked, oh so hard to get.  Mason's house wasn't too far off from the bar.  I'd get there quickly, no issues.   
   The problem was explaining the issue to Mason without him losing his shit, in this world, you have two types of psychos, and Mason and I are examples of those two types.  Mason, with the proper time and planning, can be really smart about going through things, but in the heat of the moment, he panics.   I'm the opposite, but of course I'll always turn to violence when it's a possiblity, sweet, sweet violence.   
   I pass parked cop cars on the way there, this is good, this means Douglass can't be heard outside of the bar.  I'd go back for the poor fucker once we needed him.   I'm now pulling up into his drive way, which has a circular design, which is good in case of my need for a quick get away, park your car facing the street, lock all the doors except for the driver's.   
   Now I can go into Mason's home, I won't be knocking and going through the front door.  I go to the window on the side of the house and force it open, after carefully around the house, checking to make sure Mason was home alone, I approach the bedroom to where I find him sitting on his bed listening to a record, the tune sounding similar to "I wanna marry a light house keeper".  Suddenly he notices me in the door way, "FUCKING JESUS!" He falls over, knocking the lamp off the stand.  "No just me I'm afraid" I say.  "What the fuck are you doing here?"  I go ahead and explain to him the whole episode that occurred back at the bar.   
   Mason of course tells me that I'm not fired from the bank job, but that's not what concerns me, my family has been expecting to see my project for months, and now It's all been cut away from all of us.  Mason says I can't kill him.  It's not an option.  I'd be doing us all in if I killed him.   Mason wasn't the person I needed to go to, I realize this now as he forces me out of his home.   I know where I need to go.   
   
   
   
   Chapter 6:  The Church 
     
   I knew I'd find the answer here.  God has never failed me before, as I walk through the church to the praying ground, I feel a strange sensation walking past each person, why are they here?  What have they done?  Or what haven't done?  No one goes to church to have a good time.  Unless they're a bunch of teenages kids who can't make a friend outside of a widespread religion.  These people have problems like any one else, like I do.  I love the design of the church.  The carpet is red like blood, with a crest of gold like color rolling through it.  Light, shining through the windows, as if god is guiding me through the hall.  Finally I'm here, I will have the talk that I've needed with god.  He knows what I shall do, and I will heed his advice.    
     
   It's been seven hours.   I've finally come to my conclusion on what needs to be done.  I know what I have to do.    I need to go home.  I start the evening off with a bit of planning I need to be gone for the next few hours.  I'd take a small vacation then come back to do what I need to.   
   I pack everything I need, clothes, pills, and my gun of course, can't go anywhere without that.  It'd be a quickie, but I needed to head dead straight out of town, and kill ANYONE, I come into contact with because otherwise, the jig is up.  And I'm exposed.   
   I get a few miles out of town when suddenly I realize I forgot the most important factor of my trip.  a mask.  I'd stop at the first sport shop and take several, the employee at the counter has now become liable to become a victim.  I walk inside and instantly he spots me.   I know already that I can't let him live.   
   Luckily we're alone in the store, and the cameras are not strategically place.  I take out the wire.  I call him over, ask if he can read some fine print where we're hidden from the camera by a clothing rack.   
   He kneels down to read it but it's already too late for our poor friend here, I wrap the wiring around his neck and pull it tightly, in this way, not only is this cutting off his air, but it's slicing his throat at the same time.  A minute or two passes before he gives in.   
   Hide him in the clothing rack, wash off your hands, take the security footage, grab the masks, leave.  We're clear.  Now, I've got to get to Baker before I end up taking my enjoyment out on someone else.   
   
   
   
   Act: III: Revelations 
     
    Back to Thomas. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 7:  The Suicide 
     
   I made it home without the interruption of Raymond here, which is strange but, I'm not going to question it.  I have a voicemail on my machine but by this point, I don't care anymore.  I've had a very fucked up day and I don't want to put up with anymore people.  I need to sleep. 
     
   I've awoken, it's a new day of misery dealing with these fucking people.  I run through my morning routine as I always do, then make my way down stairs.  There's not a knock on the door like there usually is, as a matter of fact there's nothing, no call, no Raymond showing up at my door.  My morning is of peace.   
   I must head to work, I'll ask for my voicemails there.  I'm riding to work, I have strange feeling that something bad has happened, but I'll ignore it for now, suddenly my phone is ringing, but why?  Who would have reason to call me?  I've never seen this number before.   I answer, it's the boy scout, he sounds as if he's in tears.  "Vincent's gone!  What did you you do to him you evil bastard!?"  Vincent?  Gone?  Presumably Mason took matters into his own hands and ended him for me.   
   That's one less issue.  I hang up on the man.   Mostly because I've arrived in the workplace parking lot but also because I'm annoyed with his voice.  I need to get in, I'm sure I missed a lot while I was away yesterday.  I get to my office.  When  I get there, Nancy informs that there hasn't been any calls for me, except for one that's been left on my voicemail, from my brother Raymond.   
   I guess, I'll give it a listen just to see he has to say I suppose.  I enter my office and have a seat in my chair, leaning over to the machine to hit the play button.  "You've one new message" *Beep*, Raymond sounds as if he's been sobbing.  "Thomas, I can't take the way you've been treating this family, and now Stephen's gone, he past away last night and I don't feel like I'm gonna be able to go on without him, because the way you act is anything but a sibling, you used to be my brother Thomas, now you're just another business associate.  I still love you.  And I want you to know I forgive you."  There's a loud pop, something that you'd hear in an action movie.   
   A wave of terror I haven't experienced in years rolls over me.  Nothing but chills.  My mind is going, I can feel it.   This is unreal, this is a trick of some sort.  I'll go to Raymond's house, he strategically moved into a house that's not too far from the business, I try to keep my composure as well as I can, notifying Nancy that I'm going out on a business meeting, can't let her know that it's for personal reason or I'd seem like I didn't care about my work.   
   I'm making my way over to Raymond's house, twenty thoughts hitting my brain per minute.   I've arrived at his house, I'm not knocking I'm going straight in, the whole place is alreadu wrapped in crime scene tape but that's not going to stop me, I need to see my brother, I need to know this is true, I get inside and the house is set up as it usually is, my brother has had the same arrangement in his house for all the years he's lived here.   
   I wander inside, to nothingness, there's a strange silence to the place when the sound is broken by a man yelling at me "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU GOD DAMN BASTARD?!"  Who the fuck is he?  Why's he here?  He certainly doesn't resemble anything that of an officer or of a detective.   
   "Who the fuck are you?"  I ask him,  he retorts with "I'm the owner of this home!  What're you doing here?!"  What?  "My brother's lived here for years".  He tells me no one's lived here except him, for about 5 years now.  What? What is happening?  Even more terror rushes over me.  Who the fuck is this guy?  He forces me out of his home, when I get outside, there's no longer crime tape anymore.   
   What's happening?  Am I seeing things?  Fuck's sake.   I need to talk to someone, I'll go talk to mother, she knows Raymond, Raymond, my brother.   I have two brothers, I know it. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 8:  Mom's help 
     
    I'm heading over to my mother's house.  It's been awhile since I've seen her but surely she'll help me.  My mom has also remained in the same house since we were kids, it's only a few blocks away from mine, the drive over there is usually pleasant but the pleasance is over shadowed by the harrowing situation that I can't find my brother after I heard him kill himself and now some man is trying to tell me that he was never there at all?  This is madness, madness on madness.   
   I'm outside my mother's house now, I walk up to the door and knock, my mother of course, answers the door, she's a sweet old lady, only standing about 5'2" in height, small in comparison to her children.  Which is me, Stephen, and Raymond.   
   I ask her if I may come in for a bit to discuss something with her, she of course is fine with it, I assume she knows the circumstances too.  I have a seat in our living room where my mother sits across from me, we start it off with basic garble about how one's day is, and so on.   
   I finally ask her, mother?  Have you heard the news?  "Yes it's terrible isn't it?"  Yes!  She knows!  I'm not crazy after all.  So she knows all about Raymond.  "Who's Raymond?"  Waves of terror followed like a fucking tsunami.  "Raymond, my brother, the middle one."  "I only have two children Thomas."  Fucking Jesus.   
   This can't be real, I storm out of the home, lost, confused, unaware of my suroundings.  I need help.  I can feel the panic surging over me like steak knifes on every particle of skin on my body.   I get in my car, my mom seems to be rushing out the front to catch me, but I'm too quick for that.   
   I need to move, I need to get somewhere, I don't know where, I'll go as far as I can, I just need some where to think for awhile.   Just to think things over.   I've had my whole fucking life to think things over, what good is a few minutes going to do me now?  How could this happen?  Why does no one remember Raymond?  Given he's not known for making appearances, how would our own mother forget who he is?   
   I've driven my car somewhere out of town, a few miles out, merely taking a moment to think over what happens.  What has happned.   
   My entire reality being shattered before my eyes.  I never put forth the effort to take care of someone because I felt like Raymond had taken care of that.  But now I realize, no one was taking care of anything.  I had left people out with my cold cruel self.  I will change, I must go home, make some important phone calls, apologize.   
   
   
   
   Chapter 9:  Seeking Forgiveness 
     
    I arrive to my house and immediately get on the phone to talk to my mother and apologize for this evening, I suppose I should also call Vivian but we'll call my mother first.  Apologize for running in unannounced and causing a commotion.  She, as always is the understanding mother that she's always been, we talk for a few hours discussing what we can do bout the situation at hand and how I can better my behavior, I'll also be seeing a psychologist about Raymond to see what can be done there.   
   I tell my mother that I love her and that I will see her very soon.  I call Vivian shortly after, disregarding it's late, I have to tell her hwo very sorry I am for my behavior earlier, And that I only wish to improve now.  The tone rings about 3 times and she picks up with a surprised "Thomas"?   "Yes, this is Thomas".   I apologize for everything, and promise that I'll make it up to her tomorrow, I'll spend all of tonight planning out the next day.  Which isn't exactly what I plan to do tonight, but I will make it up to her tomorrow, I need to find out where Vincent went to.   
   Apologize to him and Douglass and give them both their jobs back, I really have no other option.  Tie up all loose ends, since Vincent is missing, I'll call Douglass first, I call him but I only get his voice mail so I leave him a lengthy message to get my point across and hope that works.   
   Mason will probably be the first person to ask about this, so I'll give him a call to let him know Vincent is welcomed back on to the team.   Mason isn't picking up either, I leave a similar voice message with some words directed completely for Vincent. In the hopes that I can make things better then what they were.   
   I won't be able to sleep now so I go ahead and make myself something to eat.   Perhaps I'll read a book while I'm here, I had plenty laying on the bar yesterday before I attended work.  I feel a sensation I haven't felt in a long time, relaxation, freedom of worries.  This is what I've been missing out on for so long.  With fixing my relationships with other people brings this whole new cosmic sheen of happiness.  I could get used to this.   
   But, what's this?  A knock on my door?  It's fucking 2 in the morning?   Who would becoming here at this hour?  Steadily skeptical I make my way to the door.  Slowly open it, and peer through the glass door that comes before it.  But there is no one there?  I step outside to see if it's possibly some teenagers playing a prank of sorts, but to no avail.   
   They're probably in the distance watching me wandering about my exterior like an idiot.  I wandering back inside, but wait?  My back door is open.  This has to be some sort of trickery of some evil bastards.  I begin walking toward the back door, but as I past the opening of the living room, a loud pop, and then darkness. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 10: Vincent's Revenge 
     
    I'd done it.  I killed the evil bastard, popped him right in the side of his head.  Only problem is I think the gun is going to cause a commotion amongst the neighbors, I must be quick, while I'm already stained with the blood that surfaced from the side of Marcus' head, I certainly haven't left any trace of me, all that's necessary now, is to make it look like a suicide before making my quick exit.   
   We'll just assume he left no note. Put the gun in his hand, aim it toward the point of contact, no, slightly off since he wouldn't be able to hold it still after blowing his brains out.  Okay, turn off the television in the living room which was playing American Psycho by this point, fitting for the mood.   
   Check out front for any signal of commotion, none so far yet.  I feel like a mistake has been made somewhere.  Almost like I was set up to kill him, no time for that.  Confirm that I've left everything untouched, all is well, make sure the body's position makes it liable to be a suicide, everything should be clear.  Leaving is the objective now, make my way to my car in the alley way.   
   Take off the gloves and the mask.  These have to be ditched somewhere.  Take them home and burn them I suppose.  Don't speed off, but also don't look to comfortable.  I've driven my car out of the alley way.  But I'm not scott free yet.   
   The cops might follow my tire marks which is why I can't make a straight burst for my house, I'll stop at a fast food joint after I change my clothes at the park because, the blood covered burgarly attire just doesn't seem fitting for an average Tuesday night.  Especially around 2 in the morning.   
   Was anyone open around this time?  There!  A sign is lit up, I'll go back there after I hit the park.  It's just down the road here, okay.  Park.  Confirm no one's around to see this.  It appears to be clear from what I can see, grab the clothing in the back, rag off any bodily fluids or brain matter on my skin.   
   We're almost free.  Change quickly, take the car out of park.  Begin driving to that diner we saw earlier.  Walk inside, have a seat at the counter, be straight foward, don't act suspicious.   
   "Hey there honey, what can I get for you?" she asks, I order just a cheeseburger with a Sprite and some medium fries, be casual.  The woman was about 40 years old, with red hair.  Her tone of voice half made me want to kill her but I'm not in the mood to clean this one up.   
   She brings the food in record time.  "Heard we had a suicide up in Richmen"  Shit, news is traveling fast here, have to act ignorant to it, "Really who?"  I asked.  "Some suit, CEO of some company.  Apparently shot him self in his house".  I nod to her and it appears our conversation is over.   
   Killing her would be difficult but not impossible, of course news of Tommy boy is moving fast.  He's big shot CEO, this southan broad wouldn't be missed after a week or two.  No, no Vincent, we have to carry on.  Go home.  Before the cops start pinning you as a possible suspect, I pay my bill and leave.  I've done what I had to do.  I'd go see Mason about it in the morning and see if he'd suspect me.   
     
   It'd been 5 hours, I hadn't sleep on account of the situation.  I sent Mason a text message.  He knows I'm coming or at least he should, I would knock on the door this time.  Be normal.  We start the morning with some small talk, the weather, the job, then I bring it to his attention that Thomas committed suicide, he seemed unaware that I killed him, or he knew and just didn't want to acknowledge it, I was going to question it, but I couldn't help but have this smirk over take my face.  "What're you so happy about Vincent?  WE still have a job to do." 
     
   Oh Mason, I've already got a job done. 
     
     
   
   
   Text: Tyler McAlister Images: Shane Hendon All rights reserved. Publication Date: October 28th 2015 https://www.bookrix.com/-twa71e9e4662555