The Blue Zone

CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

Luis Prado waited outside in the hall. He had done his job well, following the girl back to the office. Taking care of the two agents when they came. Now there was only one more job to do. And he could go home.

It was a little creepy just hanging there in the narrow space with these two bodies on the floor. Even for him. What was Raab doing inside?

Luis stepped outside and lit a cigarette. He glanced at his watch, waiting for Raab to emerge. This was a medical office. It was a Sunday evening. Only a few people passed by on the street. He looked away from them. He wasn’t worried someone would come in.

Luis was thinking that this job would be his last. He had given everything to the brotherhood. Now he could go home. Back to his family. They would set him up with a little operation, a bodega, maybe a package-shipping outlet. Something legitimate. He could coach kids-maybe football, baseball. He liked kids. Maybe he even had enough money to move his family here.

Things were taking longer than he imagined. It was pointless standing out here. Maybe he could be of use inside. The jefe, he wasn’t used to getting his hands dirty, Luis laughed to himself. He tossed away his butt, pulled the outside door back open. The office door was ajar. Maybe he’d just go and check it out.

That’s when he felt something slam into his back. Was it a fist? A knife? Without even realizing it, Luis was on his knees.

He groped behind him at the pain in his back. When he brought his hand around again, there was blood all over it. Another thud hit him, and now he keeled forward, his face pressed against the cold tile floor.

Blood seeped out of his mouth. His vision was filmy. He glanced behind him. There was a bearded man standing above him, wearing a flat cap.

Luis chuckled-more like a sharp coughing spasm, razor blades in his chest, gurgling on his own blood. He always knew that it would end like this. In this way. It was right. Everything else-his silly dreams, baseball, the solace of his wife, his family-was just a lie.

The man knelt down and said in Spanish, “Time to go home now,” pressing the barrel of his gun against the back of Luis’s head. He pulled the trigger, and Luis no longer felt anything.

“Su deber es pagado aqui, amigo. Your duty here is done.”