“Please, I have no idea what was in the briefcase. I just handed it over to the man described to me. I don’t know anything. Please, don’t kill me,” pleaded the woman. From the way she looked, she was in her early thirties. The dark figure stared straight at her carefully, trying to determine if what she said was the truth. As a trained messenger, Ludmand observed every gesture, change of expression of the woman. He read her mind, fathomed the extent of her deepest fear. The sweat was real, the fear in the eyes was inevitably legitimate, the tremble was too obvious to ignore. Those observations made him agree that the woman was telling the truth. At gunpoint, those were what expected to be seen. “You’d better leave American soil before I see you again, Matie,” Ludmand said. Matie nodded and left immediately.
Ludmand was assigned to shut Matie’s mouth forever, and yet, Matie walked away alive. He was not as cold-blooded as he was thought to be though being a professional seller of death. He only took a person’s life if he was certain that the man or woman deserved it. Matie did not; she was a mere woman committing a task for the sake of money just like him. The only difference between them was that Matie did accomplish the task but Ludmand failed. He was paid to kill, and yet, he let her go. He did not earn the 10 grand. He left an envelope containing a cheque under the wiper of his client’s Mercedes Benz S320. He left.
It was between evening and night when Kimmel noticed the envelope. Only when he torn it off did he see the cheque he wrote out a few days back and a small note saying –
I was paid to kill. I did not, so here it is, your money. You never knew me, so didn’t I. destroy this note.
Los Angeles was not anymore a safe land for him. He was a man travelling from places to places, without leaving traces, footprints. There he was, LA International Airport. He intended to take a shuttle flight to Detroit. He was in a queue. Queuing was always seen as a waste of time to him, but without wasting this time, he wouldn’t be able to board the plane, he needed the boarding pass. Though being in a line, he did not fail to observe the surrounding cautiously. Businessmen, family, individuals, airport staff, people came from all categories. Nothing was wrong yet. It was still safe. “Next please,” the sweetie at the desk was calling. Ludmand approached. He handed over his receipt and his passport. The usual formal procedures were taking longer than he expected. This kind of customer service at this day was nothing less than unacceptable. Either he was too sensitive of not, he could not help shotting a glance to his right when he heard footsteps from the same person in ascending manner. I knew it, I knew it. A man in dark coat and black hat was running towards his direction, an unseen deadly force apparent. “The boarding pass, now. I’m in a hurry,” he told the girl. “It’s in progress, sir. It won’t take long,” she replied. “I want it now!” The girl was bewildered by his sudden madness. “It’s progressing sir. I’m doing my best to make it quick. The rest of the effort depends on the system. I hope you will understand.” “Too late,” Ludmand said. He shot himself through the crowd and ran. As expected, the man was now after him. There would not be only one man. He knew there should be more, hiding in the crowd, ready to break out and take him.
“Take him down,” the man in dark coat screamed. Ludmand was right. There were others, but he did not know how many. He just kept running. He would just be cruel to anyone who was to stand in his way. He was about to reach the exit. Two guards spotted the incident and tried to stop him. “They are trying to kill me. There are many of them, I don’t know. The man in dark coat is the only one I know.” Both of the guards poised their weapons professionally and aimed them at the man. Ludmand did not stop running.
“Raise your hands and turn around!” one of the guards said. “I said raise your hands and turn around!” the guard continued. The man in dark coat took off his sunglasses, fished his pocket and drew out a badge. “Senior Inspector,” the man said. The guards were bewildered. “Sorry, sir, go ahead,” the guard apologised. Ludmand was still running. He knew the longer the guards stopped the man, the safer he was. He was wrong, he almost forgot that there were more that might not have been stopped by the guards and were now after him. He was a professional assassin, was a well-trained soldier earlier before, a few men would not be a problem. Unfortunately, it was an airport, where security was extremely good. If he conducted an execution, he was not leaving Los Angeles. He noticed a golden opportunity. A car. A black BMW 320. The driver seat was empty. The left rear door was left open. Apparently, a man was waving goodbye to his partner after carrying the usual luggage out of the car. He had to move real fast. Just as the man was getting into the driver seat, Ludmand smashed into the man at massive momentum. The man fell back and dropped hard on the ground, cursing Ludmand and screaming in agony. Ludmand fit himself into the driver seat and sped off. He cruised around the airport in the BMW to observe the situation. It was not that serious. He could still get in. He parked the car at the car park and put on a blue jacket and a tennis hat which were found at the rear seat of the BMW.
He was in the line again. “Next please,” it was the lovely girl again. Ludmand approached, and handed her the receipt and passport, the same thing again. The girl was startled to the extent that she almost called for help. “Listen lady, I’ve got a 6-shooter in my jacket and all you need to do is give me the boarding pass as fast as you could. If I get caught, I would not mind having you swallow six bullets. Do we understand each other?” Ludmand’s words were threatening. The girl’s nod was accompanied by trembling. Two minutes later, the boarding pass was ready. This time, it could be seen that the service improved. “If you wanna know, lovely lady, I do not have any weapons with me; it would be useless to call the security when you know I’ll be fine when I go past the security check.” Ludmand walked away with the boarding pass.
“Put your backpack on the roller and your wallet, hand phone, in the basket,” the security guard told Ludmand. Ludmand did exactly as ordered. The security guard checked his body. Everything was fine. “Alright, go ahead. Next please,” the guard said. I’m finally safe, Ludmand thought. He boarded the plane. His eyes were shut. He needed peace. He needed rest.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m your pilot John Atkinson. We are about to land on Detroit International Airport, please fasten your seat belt and do not tilt your seat. Our plane attendants will approach if you need assistance of any forms. We hope that you enjoyed your travel with us. Thank you,” the pilot said. He reached Detroit, eventually.
“He’s in Detroit.” the man in dark coat said to the phone. “Unimportant, all I want is his corpse that’s all.” “Yes.”
Ludmand took a cab to a hotel. Not a grand, but rather an economic one. Room 403. Pretty nice. Just as he had had a shower, the moment he set his foot on the carpet again, there were three light knocks. Weird, he had not even ordered anything yet. He peeped through the peep hole and noticed it was the hotel manager. “Yes?” Ludmand asked. “Well, sir, It’s me Mr. Robinson, the manager of this hotel. I apologize to interrupt your peace but I was told to deliver a note to a man I was described.” Ludmand sensed a touch of fear under the manager’s tone. “Who’s the man?” “Mr Ludmand, sir.” “I mean who’s the man that told you to deliver this note?” “He preferred not to reveal his name.” “Slide it under the door. I’m Ludmand.” “I was told to only deliver this note to the man I was described.” The manager was trembling over the death threat posed by a man in dark coat who was pointing the barrel of the gun at the manager three feet away beyond Ludmand’s view from the door peep hole. Ludmand knew there was something wrong. Nobody knew he was in Detroit. It was too weird to receive a note especially when it had not even been two hours since he reached Detroit. He had to be cautious. Something must be wrong, he knew it. He could sense it. He unlocked the door and moved behind the door immediately. Just as the click on the lock was heard, the man in dark coat smashed hard into the door. The door crashed on the wall. The man in dark coat was surprised and furious to find that Ludmand was not hurt. This was pretty much expected. Ludmand was a professional. Due to this reason, he had had backup earlier. He smirked.
Without having a word said, Ludmand sent a big punch to the man’s abdomen and a knee-kick to the man’s chin. The man fell back. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “Tell Kimmel to backoff me. And if he refuses to, tell him to send someone professional. You’re not even close to being qualified!” Ludmand yelled at him. And the mention of the name Kimmel, the expression of the man changed. He chose to remain silent. “Where are the others? How many of them are outside the hotel? Ludmand asked. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” the man answered convincingly. “You’d better understand what I’m talking about before you understand the definition of death,” Ludmand said to the man while having the man’s gun pointed right into the abdomen. “Where are the others? How many of them? Any cars out there? If any what car and what colour?” “I said I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” Ludmand pulled the hammer of the gun back. The gun clicked. The bullet was in position. The last step would be a pull of the trigger. The man was obviously in great fear, but he was not telling anything. It then occurred to Ludmand. The hotel manager was gone. He must have called the police. The man was just stalling! Ludmand cover the hole of the gun with a pillow and pressed them at the man’s thigh. “This is the last warning. How many are there that are looking for me? Any cars? If any, what colour?” Ludmand asked. The man remained silent. But the fear in his eyes were very obvious. Ludmand pulled the trigger. A muted gunshot was released, followed by a muted scream. Ludmand shielded the man’s mouth with another pillow. “Tell me now and I’m going to pull the trigger again. Can your little thigh tolerate six searing bullets?” Ludmand was saying. Fear was not the only thing seen in the man’s eyes now, weakness and fury were both perceivable as well. Ludmand pulled the trigger again. The same thing went over again. “Tell me!” Ludmand said. The man surrendered eventually. “Two at the lobby. Two in a black Mercedes Benz ML,” the man said tremblingly. Ludmand near the window, pushed away the curtain and he saw the black Mercedes Benz SUV. The man was telling the truth. But was he telling the truth about the number of people? He had to find out. He could not afford to waste time threatening the man again using the same way again. Ludmand pulled the man up and held him as hostage.
Ludmand used the man’s body as a shield when the lift opened. There were two men at the lobby, indeed. They did not even approach. It was weird. “You said there were two men. Where are they?” The man swept his view across the entire lobby, and looked at the two men on the couch – the same men Ludmand thought were his partners. “They’re gone,” the man said. The hotel manager, receptionists knelt down with their hands raised high up. They were all in fear. The guards came, they were armed. “Put your weapon down,” one of the three guards said. “You put your weapons down or I shoot him through the brain. I’m being surrounded. If I were to die, I would not mind having him dead as well.” The guards hesitated. “I’m a man of my word,” Ludmand said again. He pulled the hammer of the gun back. The guards quickly dropped their weapons. “Now raise your arms high up and turn around. Don’t stop walking until I say so,” Ludmand ordered. The guards followed. Still having the man as hostage, Ludmand got out of the hotel and headed towards the Mercedes Benz SUV. Two men in the SUV got down of the car. “Turn around and run until I tell you to stop,” Ludmand told them. They did not move. “I said turn around and run until I tell you to stop or I’m gonna shoot him dead, do you hear me?” Ludmand was yelling. Still, they remained unmoved. It was the time, Ludmand felt as if he were floating in the air. He saw stars. Images flashed through his eyes. He went weak. He went limp. He turned around to see what happened. He could not see everything. His mind could not analyse everything. He saw another two men behind me. One of them was holding a huge wooden stick. They were the two men at the lobby. The next second, Ludmand was unconscious.
He opened his eyes. He saw moving figures, but they were vague. He knew people were talking. He tried to get up from the ground. It was so hard. He tried push himself up using his arms. It was too difficult. Why? He arms were taped together. Each of his leg was taped upon another. He could not move. He tried to scream. No, he could not. His mouth was shielded with a piece of cloth. He was helpless. He was struggling, hard, very hard. His vision was clearer now. He could see more. The images were more vivid. It was the man, the man whom he shot, and four other men. He turned to his left. He was shocked to see the person. Why? The person was not supposed to be there. Why would the person be there?
“Hey, hey! Wake up!, Hey!” Ludmand was whispering to the person. The person gained consciousness gradually. The four men had yet to notice Ludmand was conscious. “Ludmand? Why am I here? Why? Oh no, oh my god, I’m cuffed! Why?” The person’s sudden hysteria alerted the four men. They approached. “Why do you do this to us?” Ludmand asked them. The person was weeping. “The reason is simple. He wants it,” one of the men said. “Who is he?” Ludmand asked. “Come on, Ludmand, stop pretending. Kimmel. Kimmel wants it. You know exactly what I mean actually, so let’s not waste our time,” the man continued. “You mean the briefcase? The briefcase has been directly delivered to his hands. He has got it. He told me to kill this woman, who is now crying innocently. Yeah, I did not kill her, because I knew when she said she didn’t know what it was in the briefcase, it was the truth. I am a professional assassin, I read minds, I was trained to do so, and when I lose my temper, I slice anyone who pisses me off like a sledgehammer. Release me, and this innocent woman before I get mad. You will regret if you do not do as I say. Trust me on this,” Ludmand said. “Stop crying, Matie!” Matie looked at him and stopped crying. All four of the men exchanged looks, and chuckled. “Well, well, well, our dear professional assassin. You are being taped and you are one on four. What can you do? Stop the thought of using your gun. It’s here. You are unarmed. What can you do?” one of the men said. The hall broke into a cloud of laughters. “Well, let’s try,” Ludmand threatened. One of the men held the gun high up and hit the end of the handle hard on Ludmand’s head. It was a big hit. Ludmand could feel the blood rushing out of the wound, past every single piece of hair around the wound. The blood dripped from the wound to his forehead, gradually to his cheeks and stopped at the chin. “Enough, we’ve got things to ask him,” his partner said to him. “Alright, Mr. Ludmand, we don’t want to waste anymore time. Tell us where the stuff is, and we will let this woman and you go.” “You will?” Ludmand chuckled and said again, “I very much doubt that.” “You have no choice. I give you two minutes. The first two minutes you don’t tell me the exact location of the stuff, I chop a finger off this woman, the second two minutes, a hand, the third two minutes a leg. You have my word.” The man had a big hammer on his hand, pointed it at Matie. Matie literally trembled. “Tell him, Ludmand, tell him. He’s gonna chop my finger off me, tell him!” Matie was pleading. “You have 100 seconds, Mr. Ludmand.” “Tell him! Tell him where it is!” It was Matie. “”75 seconds! Time flies, Mr. Ludmand. Make your choice.” The man was telling Ludmand. Ludmand was hesitating. It was the first time he got a threat this serious in his life. Just because of his unwillingness of telling the location of something not belonged to him, a woman would suffer severely. “I don’t know where it is, the briefcase was sent directly to Kimmel, he has got what he…” “50 seconds.” “Stop! I received an order from…” “45 seconds” “I really don’t know where it is, how many times do I have to tell you, it was not me who…” “28 seconds.” “Tell him, Ludmand, tell him! He is serious!” Matie was begging. “I don’t know where it is! Do you really think I’m playing with your fingers?” “15 seconds.” “No, you can’t do that to her. She doesn’t know anything at all.” “But you do, Mr. Ludmand.” “No, I don’t. If I knew I would have told…” “5,” the man was looking at his watch while having the hammer steady in his grab. “4” “Tell him, Ludmand, please, tell him, I don’t wanna lose a finger. Please, Ludmand, please,” it was Matie. “3.” “Tell him, Ludmand! Tell him.” The hammer was raised high up. “2” Ludmand remained silent. “Last chance, Ludmand, where is it?” “Chop her finger, and I still won’t tell you. Do it. Say 1 and do it, come on.” “1,” the man said.
“Just keep running, don’t look back,” Ludmand told Matie. “Are they still after us?” Matie asked. “I don’t know. Just keep running. You don’t have to worry, even if they are, they wouldn’t get us. Two have to be sent to hospital, another two have already gone limp.” “What if they have a car?” “They may have a car, but they won’t use it. They want everything off public. Chasing two people with a car on a street just draws too much attention.” “What if you are wrong?” “I’m never wrong.” “Had you made a small mistake in your judgement, I would have lost a finger.” “You have not.” “What if you were wrong?” “I was not. Alright, I think that’s it. We should be safe by now. Let’s get to a hotel.”
In the hotel, Ludmand sat behind the dressing table and stared long at the mirror. It was when Matie got out of the bathroom in angel white pyjamas, Ludmand took his eyes off the mirror. Matie sat on the bed and looked Ludmand in the eyes. “Now will you tell me what happened?” Matie asked. “I don’t fully understand,” Ludmand replied. “They said the stuff is with you. They will never stop until you return it.” “Let’s not talk about that.” “Not talk about that? Huh? Not talk about that? Do you even think I want to? First I was instructed to deliver a briefcase to the so called Kimmel for $2000 and next you came threatened to kill me. What made you change your mind I don’t really know and then I thought I would be free again when you let me go. Then I was taken by some rude guys to Detroit. I found myself next to the same cruel killer that let me go. He risked my finger on his said-to-be-never –wrong judgement that the men would not chop my finger off. And I’m now in a hotel with the cruel killer that saved my life, and you tell me not to talk about that?” “Pathetic.” “Pathetic, yeah, pathetic, so that’s only what you would say now.” Ludmand did not answer. “Why did you take it? What was in the briefcase?” “Do you really wanna know?” “Yeah, I want to know it very badly, tell me now.” “First, there’s no reason for you to risk losing your life simply by satisfying your curiosity. Second, I do not have to tell you why I took it. Third, I’ll leave this hotel if you still keep asking.” “Well, good, leave then.” “Are you serious?” “Yes I am, leave now!” “Alright, let me remind you something, they wouldn’t stop searching for us. Take care, bye.” Ludmand turned the doorknob and pulled the door open. He was ready to leave. “Wai… Wait…” It was Matie. “Yes?” “I’m sorry.” “For what?” “Whatever. Just….” “Just what?” “Don’t go.”
For three hours, they talked about themselves, opened up with each other. They were getting closer. The barrier between them was narrowing. “So, you are a soft-hearted assassin,” Matie was saying. “Well, I love the sound of it,” Ludmand answered. “Why did you let me go?” MAtie asked again. “The reason lays on your definition towards my profession - a soft-hearted assassin. You were innocent. I knew that. From the way you looked. There was no ground to believe that you were telling lies.” Matie gave a sweet smile. “Thanks for believing me, Ludmand.” It was now Ludmand who returned the smile. “Ludmand.” “Yes?” “Why did you take the stuff? It did not belong to you, why don’t you return it to the owner?” “It’s a long story, Matie, and I know I’m right.” “What if you are wrong?” “I am nev…” “You are never wrong, I know. But the people are still looking for you. Is the list really worth risking your life?” Ludmand thought for a moment. “It is. I prefer not to talk about it, Matie. I’m tired. I’ll sleep on the couch. Good night.” “Okay, good night.”
The next morning when they both woke up, they packed their stuff and left the hotel knowing the longer they stayed, more danger they were in. The only stuff Ludmand had with him was his backpack. They had their breakfast in a restaurant. “Alright, Matie, keep an eye on my backpack. I’m off to the restroom, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” “Alright.” Matie was curious over what Ludmand had in his backpack. She unzipped the bag; normal stuff; nothing special. “No, there’s something.” She whispered to herself. She found a pen in the bag that looked too unusual to her. It was a normal supposed-to-be-transparent pen, but it was opaque. The case was made of transparent plastic but she could not see through. Something was rolled into the case of the pen. She turned the little seal at the end of the pen to retrieve the rolled paper. She was shocked to find that it was the list everyone was looking for. She knew Ludmand would be out any minute. She kept the paper and put the pen back in the bag. The bag was placed in a position exactly it was when Ludmand left for the restroom. “Alright, we gotta go,” Ludmand said to her. “Okay, but wait a minute. It’s my turn,” Matie said. Ludmand was confused. “Restroom,” she added. Ludmand chuckled. In the women restroom, Matie took out the cellphone and called her associates and told them the exact location of where they were.
Ludmand and Matie continued to run, without an exact direction. Matie was exhausted. “Ludmand, wait. I… I can’t…” “Do you need some rest?” “Yes, please. And water.” There it happened!
Ludmand felt the head of the gun pressed hard into his back. “Don’t move,” the man told him. Ludmand did not move. “Alright, do you have it with you?” The man asked Matie. Matie nodded. “Good, let’s go,” the man told Matie. The expression on Ludmand was predictable. “Sorry, Ludmand, guess you are wrong this time. The list is with me,” Matie told Ludmand. Ludmand did not say anything. Matie let out a chuckle. “Let’s go, boys.” Matie and the man got into a white van and left, leaving Ludmand sitting at the bench.
“This is it, Kimmel,” Matie said. Kimmel had a look at the list and smirked. “Good job, Matie. You will be rewarded well.” Matie drew out a pen and stabbed it into Kimmel’s abdomen. “I did not risk my life for a cheque. I want to be the leader.” Screaming in agony, Kimmel could not comprehend what had just happened. “No, no, you can’t…” “Yes I can.” “Take her down!” Kimmel ordered. His men remained unmoved. “Can’t you hear me? Take her down!” The men did not. “They are my men now, Kimmel. Rest in peace.” Matie said. “Clear this mess,” Matie told her men. “Have you got me Dr. Cooper?” One of the man replied, “Yes. He will be here in a while.” “Good.”
“Good evening, Dr. Cooper. “ “You must be Matie Mcguire.” “Yes I am. Let’s get to business. This is the list.” Dr. Cooper looked at it in amazement. “I never thought it would be possible.” “It is possible.” “How long will it take you to do that?” “I can’t do this alone. I need a team of the best scientists to assist me.” “We will supply you whatever you need. I need a timeframe.” “It is impossible to tell.” “Okay. But I want it done asap.” “Yes.”
“Take this.” Ludmand said. “What’s this?” “Just take it.” His best friend Professor Anazei took it. “Don’t you tell me it’s…” “Yes, it is.” “No, it is theoretically impossible.” “It has been made possible.” “Do you know what this is? I can easily do 30 years if I’m caught having this. With this you can harness the energy of the sun totally. No more power station, no more generators, no, nothing.” “I know. I can’t do anything with this. You can.” “I’m not doing this. I’m gonna burn it.” “Before you do, think, what you can do to change this world.” “Wait wait, wait a minute. As far as I know, this formula is created by a bunch of best minds in the world, and no one person really knows the entire formula which is this because every mathematician and scientist only works on one particular part of the formula. You should have loads of people after you.” “You don’t have to worry about that. I gave them the wrong formula. They won’t see any outcomes, instead, they will be arrested.” “What did you do?” “Smart deeds.”
A few months later…
“It’s getting done, Matie, it’s getting done.” Dr. Cooper told Matie. “What’s the progress?” Matie asked. “According to the list, once I transfer the liquid which was formed by a combination of chemicals that you may not have heard before, into this never-ever-existed generator-like machine, it will produce an electromagnetic force to…” “Stop here. I want it done. Spare me the details.” Matie was impatient. “Everybody get ready for this defining moment. We are making history!” Dr.Cooper told his team. Everyone was ready. “Is the video recorder ready?” “Yes,” the camera man said. “Alright, do it now!”
The liquid was poured into the machine. The machine shook at unstoppable rate. It was hot. The heat produced was too high to kill the switch. All controllers were malfunctioned. “What happened?” Matie asked. “This is weird. This is weird,” Dr. Cooper said. “What happened! Tell me what happened!” “I don’t know!” 10 seconds later, the entire underground laboratory was blasted into pieces. No one survived the blast.
