The Hitman - Chapter 6

THE HITMAN

Chapter Six

 

Clearing The Air

 

The police searched everywhere looking for those responsible for the bomb blast in London and foot patrols were checking out many leads but nothing was presenting . There was no motive or reason behind why this had happened . One of the detectives investigating the case made a wild statement to the press that it was the work of a madman and for everybody to be vigilant and cautious . This summed up Harry to a tee and no one could predict what a madman would do next .

There’s always a madman in the shadows somewhere out there . He’s on the on the run with a gun in his hand with no notion to surrender and  lives are hanging by a strand . You can stop what you can’t see, you can’t block what you don’t know , you can’t lock him up because you don’t know where he is  Tonight he is he’s looking for a fight , he might have ’s got a knife , he might have a bottle , he might have a steel bar . He might take a life , he might hurt or maim and he won’t give up until its done . He’s lurking around in the shadows somewhere with a bomb that’s about to explode or one in the boot of a car that he’s driving on the road . He doesn’t care who is there when it goes off  he’s a madman and happy to do what he does . Harry had snapped , he had stepped over the line to insanity . He was driven by memories of his early years and not spent a lot of time planning to get even with life .

Harry still had some contacts who would supply him guns and cars even safe houses if he needed . He had a list of people who were not connected to any organization he knew .  After he arranged some temporary accommodation he had an idea of another strike and after a few days looking around he noticed at least a dozen job advertisements on shop windows and approached the owner of a large restaurant who was after a kitchen hand . He was able to secure the job advertised as a kitchen hand . It was part of a plan he had devised to hit hard  the people of a frightened city that owed him a life .  Harry was the kind of person who could  create new situations and fit into different roles when necessary . He had convinced the owner of this top restaurant that he had worked for many kitchens all over the world . He could see the owner was desperate for help in his restaurant and started work immediately in the city centre .

Harry started work on a busy evening washing dishes and everyone commented how quiet Harry was . He just stood by the sink washing dishes all night .Almost withdrawn from life . He was completely isolated there in the corner just a poor dish pig from the ghetto trying to survive . It’s a lonely place by the sink and you’re not allowed to think  . All you have to do is to keep scrubbing pots and pans . All he ever heard were voices in his ear , its always the same when you’re a dish pig . No one really talks to you but in the residue of all their comments in his mind he was plotting out their destruction .

“Hurry up grub , keep scrubbing those pots “.

Then they would laugh . Nobody care for him there . He often looked at the sharp knives and how easy it would have been to stop their wicked tongues once and for all .

He washed up night and day with sponges and steel wool and he tried to keep cool , as he rinsed the cups and plated that piled up like mountains around the sink and if one dropped and broke he would have to pay the breakages  The greasy grates on the stove  that he scraped every night and day .

It was only a matter of time when Harry would strike . He was waiting for the right moment and it came on a day when the owner was going away on leave . They asked Harry to lock up that week after he had finished cleaning all the kitchen .

Suddenly the madman resurfaced from the shadows and he started to work late that night planting a number of bombs around the restaurant . He had  enough explosive to completely demolish the entire place with everyone inside .  No one saw him at work ,  he was like a shadow in what would soon be a lifeless hole  in the ground .

Fir three nights Harry worked away and on the fourth day which was the busiest day of the week Harry was going to blow everyone away . It was going to be a stormy night as Harry started his shift  . When the restaurant was packed and the dishes started to pile up he told everyone he was going outside for a cigarette .

All of the devices were set to explode one after the other . Nobody inside would have any hope of surviving the attack .

As he walked home down the same alleyway that he took every night , Harry started to think about his darling Mother who had abandoned him and his loving Father who did the same . How he wished that both of them were inside the restaurant . He thought about all those people he had shot dead and those he had killed along the way in his black existence and quickly he looked at his watch .

The first explosion erupted as all of the street lights flickered on and off with traffic on the street screeching to a stop as one by one other bombs exploded . From the end of the alley he saw flames and smoke rising into the night sky .

People ran along the streets helpless to do anything . Harry took another quiet side as everyone went rushing along the main street towards the restaurant .

Suddenly two police men approached Harry one of them looked at Harry for a moment and asked .

“So where have you just come from then :”

Harry responded

““It’s true what they say you should never talk to strangers.”

Without hesitation Harry took a handgun from his coat and shot the two offices dead .  They fell to the ground at his feet .. Harry walked away in silence and shortly afterwards disappeared into his flat and after a shower he took the bag he had packed the night  before and went to see a show that he had bought a ticket for .

That night was when Harry made a plan to strike at random whenever he felt the urge to do so .. Soon after people began to go missing . Each week more people disappeared without a trace . The police had no idea where to start looking but they knew there was a madman out there who had to be stopped . Harry had a new place to live . A shipping container down at the Isle of Dogs , He had bought it many years ago as a last resort if ever he needed some where safe  . It was furnished with comforts and he had everything there that he needed to continue his deadly wrath of vengeance .

 

Police began further investigations and hunted the streets for clues, but as so many times before they came up empty . When they tried to contact the owner of the restaurant they soon discovered his mutilated body without a head in a toilet of his home where he lived alone with out a wife or children . All of the staff who worked at the restaurant were on duty that evening when the bombs went off and there were no survivors except for Harry .

During the next few months other headless corpses were found in alleyways around the city . Even though the police told people to remain calm a panic had taken over and some armed vigilante groups roamed around the streets  . With more people going missing the city was now becoming a slaughter house  .
In a brief time many small businesses closed their doors due to a people staying home and many other cafes and restaurants were forced to shut .

The sight of places boarded up had become a normal thing now with the police not making any arrest for the spate of murders . Time passed with more killings without a motive or clue to why they had occurred .

A outside builder and developer was hired to establish some new housing estates in an effort to rebuild  confidence with the public . This was also an opportunity for some people to get rich quick as a number of business men and politician’s made an agreement to house the homeless and clean up the streets of vagrants .

The idea was presented with a silver tongue and the public swallowed everything they were fed . Harry however could see those who were involved with the new building project . It was driven and funded by a powerful syndicate who had previously built orphanage’s . Harry brimmed over with anger at this new development that promised jobs and hope for the under privileged . He went to the developer and enquired about leasing or buying some sites for an international investor   .
Everyone he spoke to seemed reluctant to talk to him about the idea of selling to an overseas interest . Harry pushed harder to take over the operation in a different way .

He began an extensive bombing campaign on all of the properties owned by this  syndicate . He knew the right people to talk to and was given all the information he needed and started blowing up every piece of real estate that was owned by the  syndicate who realised they were being attacked by an unknown force . After a while  all negotiations with the new development came to a standstill . All of the plans and  paperwork were put on hold for a future date .

Harry had sent a message to many people about who he was and he demands for protection money which were not given .

Some of the architects that had been involved with the project mysteriously disappeared and as more demands were made to the greedy business men involved , the project was cancelled and all plans to rebuild The New Kings Cross Estate were throw away by the local council and the people from the syndicate . Harry had many contacts in the building game and always got what he wanted .

Within a week of failed development some people arrived on the docks and were checking out all of the shipping containers . One of the site workers walked around with a group of police inspecting all of the steel containers on the dock site  .

Harry made an escape out the back of his steel box construction . He watched from a distance as the police gathered around the container he had been living in . They tried to get inside but Harry placed sealed at the front with only a secret back entrance .  

He wasn’t happy about the police being there . He suspected someone must have seen him or heard him there so now he had  to stay away .

Three months passed and Harry had laid low , keeping quiet , watching the wheels go around  . One evening at dusk he decided to go and spend some time in the city park  .

He sat there and watched the rich folk walk their dogs and the tourists with their fancy clothes taking photographs . He grunted as groaned at them from afar .

There were too many of that sort walking in the park as far as he was concerned and too many empty chairs for his liking . It annoyed him to see how they proudly marched through the park talking on their mobile phones . He approached one of them and grabbed the phone and stamped on it smashing it in front of him .

Then he said ,

I believe that this world would be a much better place without people like you  .“
The reply came  .

“Who am I talking to ?”
Harry said .

“I’m your undertaker .“

He said and cut his throat from ear to ear and disappeared in minutes into the city streets and underground and back to the hole that Joe had got him when he first arrived in London . He pushed the door open and went inside , Had a shower and a shave and as he looked in the mirror he said ,

“Harry as soon as possible you’ve got to get out of this place .“
 Then he answered himself back

“Well it so happens I’m in the area right  now so how soon before I should go .”

“I’ll tell you when I know  . “
The conversation went on among three different people  .

“Ok I’ll wait until I hear back from you then  .”
 

“You will .“
Harry turned around suddenly as a knock came to the door of his flat ”

“Hello  . I’ve come about the job “

A voice said .

Harry opened up the door .

“Who sent you and what’s the job?”

“Joe sent me , the fella who got you the flat in Camden . He says to look out as they’re coming after you . Want’s me to tell you that you’re American passport is ready to go and the three banks accounts are open in your name with the money you gave to him to deposit  “

He handed over a large envelope to Harry and said .

“Ok , that’s the job done I’m out of here now .”

He rushed off and Harry closed the door and opened the envelope .

He looked at the passport and bank account details .

“That’s right Harry you forgot about those didn’t you .”

He started talking to himself again .

“I never forget anything  .”

“:Just as well you didn’t kill that fella or you’d never have known about your ticket out of this hole “

 

“You’re right there all right “

“Better make tracks then”

That night he went out for dinner in a fancy restaurant . As he walked in the door the doorman asked .

“Have you a booking sir ?”

Harry practised his American accent and replied ,

“I’m sorry about that actually I don’t have one of those . Can you bring me one .”

The doorman continued ,
“I’ll  just go to speak with the manager sir and see if we can get you seated .”

He shortly returned and said  

“I’m sorry sir but the managers not in this evening .”

Harry replied

“Well what do you think he would  say if he were here and there was a hungry American at the door ?”

 

“He would personally welcome you sir and get you a table .“

The waiter was glad to show Harry to a table where he said  .

  
“Have you a wine list ?”

The waiter replied ,

“I’ll get one for you sir.“

The waiter went to the bar and returned with the wine list and two glasses .
Harry looked at the other patrons there for a moment .There was a sudden chill in the room .They all turned away .

Harry turned his back and looked through the wine list  . Some of the customers were a little uneasy . The waiter improvised and said ,

“This American is a well known celebrity who has been to some of the best restaurants all over the world and we are very grateful that he has come into ours .”

The customers settled down and said welcome . Some applause arrived just as the menus were brought .

 “I’ll have the managers special tonight .“
Harry replied  .

The waiter said ,

“An excellent choice sir . The managers special is on the house tonight :”

“Why is it ?”
Asked one of the customers .

“Because I have a gun pointed under my coat at him . that’s why . .”

“Just joking , everyone don’t be alarmed . It’s just a joke “

 The waiter continued ,

“This gentleman has the lucky menu . Every night one of the menus has a gold star on it and that person always gets a free meal .‘

Everyone applauded again  and the waiter continued ,

“The cellar choice is also yours sir . I’ll bring your meal shortly .“

Everyone seemed easy and Harry enjoyed his meal . As he walked out of the restaurant he waved goodbye to everyone .

The waiter shouted

“Come again sir”  

Harry returned to his flat and the next day he booked a flight to New York

 

 

End Of Chapter 6

 

Link to Chapter 7 

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/hitman-chapter-7

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