Business As Usual – an original short story

_{Business As Usual}

_{As he opened the door to his room, Ned Wiley could smell the mustiness escaping from it. He’d get used to it, like he always did when he had stayed in one of these motels that were part of the fabric of small towns all over the country. He wondered how good or bad the food would be in the attached restaurant. After he put his bag in the room, he walked the short distance to the restaurant and went inside. He sat down on one of the stools at the counter, picked up a menu and after a short review decided on a bowl of “home-made” chili and a cup of Joe.}

_{A waitress with the name tag “Vera”, appeared and took his order. Ned took out his notebook to once more go over his plan with the hope that he’d be able to stay on track with its need for precise timing and execution, if the end result were to be the one the plan was designed to achieve – the assassination of one Rick Jenkins, a killer that had managed to kill three of Ned’s associate assassins at the bureau over the past 7 months. This must’ve been something like the five hundredth time he’d stayed in a dump like this, while on the road in performance of his job. A job that few people even knew existed, and would be shocked to learn of, especially considering the identity of his employer. There were few agents more top-secret, than he and his associates.}

_{Vera returned with the coffee and said the chili would be out in a couple of minutes. He took the opportunity to ask Vera where the closest bar could be found, and she told him that he was in a dry county and the nearest bar was about 35 miles away. He was glad he had some sleeping pills with him, because he didn’t feel like driving another 35 miles and back, after the distance he’d already driven that day, just to end up in this God-forsaken shithole of a town. No matter. Tomorrow he’d do what he was sent here to do, and that will be that. Then life would return to normal… for a while.}

_{Vera returned with the chili. She then poured more coffee into Ned’s cup. “You know, if you really need a drink, why don’t you come over to my place when I get off work in a half-hour? It’s less than a quarter mile from here – within walking distance actually.” Ned’s spirits were lifted by Vera’s offer of hospitality, even if he thought it foolish of her to be so forward to a stranger stopping at a motel, and reckless to invite him to her home. “Well, I think I ‘ll take you up on that offer Vera, and I thank you, as I have a hard time sleeping without having a drink or two in the evening”, he replied.}

_{The chili was okay, and he hoped he’d escape any heartburn it may bring on in the middle of the night. As he waited the few remaining minutes for Vera to get off work, he pulled out his notebook once again, to go over his plan. Tomorrow, he’d fulfill his duty and complete the mission, like he always did; swift, clean and leaving no evidence. Vera approached him with her coat on, and said she was ready to go. As he walked with her, she began to tell him how much she hated working in the restaurant, but it was the only work she could get right now. Ned figured her to be in her early fifties maybe. Whatever her age, she wasn’t attractive at all in Ned’s view. He hoped she didn’t make things difficult by expecting sex from him in return for a drink or two.}

_{When they entered Vera’s home, she told Ned to make himself comfortable while she made him the martini he’d wished for, and one for herself. She excused herself for a moment, to change out of her work clothes, while Ned tried the martini. Not bad, he thought. He hoped Vera wasn’t going to appear in some negligee or something, trying to be sexy. She wasn’t, no matter what she might put on. Suddenly, he heard her call out, “Ned… oh Ned…” in a forced, flirty tone, followed by her chuckling. He hadn’t told her his name; how in the hell did she know his name? A bald man wearing a woman’s robe appeared out of the hall Vera had walked down earlier, with a gun pointed at him. “Enjoying your martini Neddy?” he asked with an evil laugh, as he chugged down his own martini, “You do know Neddy, that you’re now the fourth one of you morons your bureau is going to lose, don’t you? “Poor, poor widdle Neddy weddy gonna have to die now.” It was Rick Jenkins. The guy that he was supposed to kill, now was about to kill him.}

_{It was a good thing Ned thought, as he watched Rick Jenkins collapse before his eyes, that he had put the knock-out drops into the martini that was “Vera’s”, once he thought it may be a good idea that she pass out before getting any ideas about coming on to him. Ned finished his own martini, which really was quite good, and then got up. He walked over to the unconscious Rick Jenkins, took the sash from the robe, and choked him to death. He took out his notebook and wrote “Mission complete”, then took the glass and the bottle of gin, and walked back to his room for a good night’s sleep.}

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