deadgcrlâ ââ                /                đđŒđđđđđđđ đđđđđŸđ .
         âœÂ            despite the panic welling in her chest, thereâs still a small part of her wondering if this was just a dream. was this really happening? was the man before her really going to get rid of her ex? it seemed too good to be true. after everything, this was her solution? sheâs starting to feel sick over the whole thing, frankly     murder? sheâd never raised a hand to anyone in her life, and now here she was, sitting across from a hit man. her father would be proud.
   cheeks flush pink at her mistake, pulling the bag quickly back into her lap and letting her head fall forward to hide her face from view. could she be anymore pathetic? a hand lifts, palm pressing into the scar upon her neck; a constant reminder of him, and she knew that no matter how dead he was, he would never truly leave her.  â  heâŠÂ he has a lot of friends. even cops. they would always turn a blind eye to the domestic disturbance calls andâŠÂ his other friends and him would laugh about how clumsy i was.  â  her voice is starting to grow raspy. choked back tears are tearing away at her but she doesnât want to embarrass the man with her.
   she grabs for the cup, eyes closing as she chugs down the scalding liquid. itâs a moment to breathe, a moment to center herself, but itâs also purely for the warmth now sliding down her chest. it was december and bone chillingly cold outside. she lets out a cough when she finally lets the mug down, now empty.  â  h-heâll tell you i made it all up. iâŠÂ i ruined his life, i deserved it.  â  maybe i did. she doesnât say it out loud, as much as she might blame herself, she needs this done. sheâs already going crazy, sooner or later heâll catch up to her.   â  youâŠÂ donât have to pay. iâve got enough for the coffee, i can justâŠÂ pawn jewelry tomorrow.  â
not that it matters, but barry believes her. it doesnât matter because she was paying him to get the job done, and nothing else. even if she had lied about every aspect of this guy and their fucked up relationship, barry would still pull the trigger on eddie. innocence and guilt are built by perspective, after all. he listens closely while she explains the guyâs so called friends, though barry imagines heâll have no problem, either way. still, itâs good to have this information handy. cops were pigs and cared about no one and nothing but themselves and quotas. would say so, if barry thought itâd help the situation but they arenât friends, and he says nothing of the kind.
âdonât worry about,â says the hitman of the coffee. less than $5 when she was going to pay him twenty grand, when he had bags of money, maybe more than sheâs seen in some time. really, it was nothing, in retrospect, and if she had to pawn jewelry to afford a cup of coffee, than it only made sense for him to hand over a bill for her drink. theyâre both silent as she takes down the beverage. barry barely blinks. and he finds himself feeling sorry for her, if only a little bit. strange sort of feeling to have when talking to a client, talking with someone whoâs hiring you to kill someone.Â
thereâs a moment, and then barry sniffs, pulling the ball cap slightly down over his forehead, glancing at kat with an unreadable expression. âiâll send you a text when itâs done and then, uh... like i said, fuchesâll get in contact and do thârest,â before he stands, he takes a glance around, looks her before pulling a paper contract from his own bag. âiâm assuming you already know, but just so weâre clear- youâre signing this so i know you wonât tell anyone,â it seems simple, but many have fucked themselves over by spoiling it with their colleagues. bringing out a pen, he hands both things over the table to her. âitâs- itâs dangerous for you, if you do, and iâll... iâll have tâdo something neither of us wants me to do, if you tell,â kill her, too, he means. and he means it when he says he doesnât want to. however, itâs a threat that needs to be made, as his hands reach into the pockets of his hoodie to settle there. âjust sign that to agree to thâdeal. and hide that money for later, get somewhere safe. iâll handle thârest. all good?â