Brittle Under Pressure

Content Warning: Adult themes and violence.
Siro stumbled through the door, head swimming, eyes blurred. Blood oozed through his fingers as he held his side and took a seat at the bar. He pulled the coat heโd stolen closer to his body to hide the wound from view. It was bad.
It was a Tuesday. Dim orange and blue lighting and leather stools reeked of loneliness and regret. It was a shithole. There were two lone stragglers at the bar and three tables taken up by small groups of early morning drinkers. A vague cowboy theme permeated all the signage, though little to no real decorations matched that aesthetic. The rustic appeal was due to age rather than style. Siro chose this spot so that Jason could get to it quickly.
โYou donโt look so hot, mister,โ the woman behind the counter stated. A redundant and stupid social expectation to point out the obvious to start a conversation. That type of comment normally annoyed Siro, but he was too drained to feel anything but pain.
โIโm fine. Scotch, neat,โ he said.
โYou want some ice with that?โ she asked.
โWhat does neat mean?โ
She looked shocked at his curt response. He knew that wasnโt what she had meant. He rose and limped to the restroom. Lucky for him, the door had a lock on it. The cracked and smudged mirror showed a man clinging to consciousness. A blackened eye, a slashed cheek, a torn collar. His forearm throbbed from where heโd landed on it. Siro eased the coat off his shoulders to inspect the hole in his side.
A bullet had gone straight through on his right, a hair below his ribs. Since he wasnโt dead, it hadnโt hit anything too vital. The quick wrap heโd done already needed to be changed. He braced himself as he prepared to pull the cloth off the bleeding orifice. A piece of childrenโs clothing, a small, once pink and white T-shirt, was drenched in blood. Peeling it off hurt like hell. The hole burbled, leaked, and dripped all over the floor and himself. He didnโt have any bandages with him. He clenched his jaw as he stuffed the hole with hand towels from the broken dispenser. Washing his hands was pointless. No matter how hard he scrubbed, he couldnโt get the red tint off.
Siro exited the bathroom and returned to the bar. His whiskey waited for him, no ice in sight. The bartender was nowhere to be seen. He sat back down and took a large gulp. It stung his cut lip and burned as it went down. Sheโd given him the cheap shit. He supposed he deserved that. The already bare bar had emptied in the minutes he was locked in the bathroom. It was just him and his pain now.
The door opened the second his ass hit the barstool. The whiskey hadnโt worked its magic yet, he didnโt have the energy to turn. But a brief feeling of relief came over him as the newcomerโs footsteps came closer and closer until they were directly next to him.
โYou look like shit,โ Jason said as he sat down on the adjacent stood.
โHelp me,โ Siro said. He chose to ignore the comment for the second time tonight.
โWhat happened?โ
โJob went south; I need to lay low.โ
โHow?โ
โI stay at your apartment in Amber.โ
โNo, how did the job go wrong,โ Jason asked. He sounded irritated already.
โDoesnโt matter.โ
Jason looked him up and down, his eyes rested on the crusted blood that had come from underneath his coat.
โLooks like it does,โ he said.
โWhereโs that bartender? I need another drink,โ Siro said.
โYou said you had an easy way to make a lot from a little work,โ Jason retorted. โThis doesnโt look like a little work.โ
โIt was supposed to be. I got lied to,โ Siro said.
โWhat was the job?โ
โA snatch, thatโs all they fucking said.โ
โKidnapping? You didnโt tell me.โ
โI needed the payday.โ
Siro lied. He hadnโt told Jason because he knew Jason wouldnโt have wanted to take a job with so few details and so large a payday attached to it. Heโd have called it too good to be true.
Jason shook his head. โDon’t give me that. You arenโt that careless.โ
โI need you to get me out of here. It’s bad. I canโt be seen for a while.โ
โIโm not helping you if I donโt know what happened.โ
Siro didnโt answer.
โFine, youโre welcome to wait here for the cops.โ Jason stood up and took a few steps towards the door.
โIt wonโt be cops coming.โ
Jason stopped. โWho?โ
โEnforcers.โ He couldnโt see him, but his instincts told him that his buddy tensed up at the word.
โSiro, what did you do.โ
โI didnโt know it was the Donโs daughter.โ
It was Jasonโs turn to be silent.
โThe hit was the hotel on Elm. They gave me a room number and a name, Abigail. He told me sheโd be alone. Fucking liar. No clue she was a kid. Didnโt know sheโd be young enough to need a nanny or mom or whoever with her.โ
Siro looked up at the ceiling. The multicolored lights mixed into a serene, muted purple. He saw only red.
โChrist, Siro. What did you do?โ
Silence.
โWhat did you do?โ
โI panicked.โ
โHowโd you get out?โ
โWindow. They boxed me in. I took a round in the crossfire. I grabbed a shirt to stuff it and jumped.โ
โWhere is the daughter now?โ
Siro said nothing. He put his head in his hands.
โIโm getting sick of repeating myself.โ
โI couldnโt get her out.โ
โSheโs in the hotel? Thatโs fine. This is salvageable.โ
โShe saw my face.โ
โOk, you have a witness, plus the mom. Not good but theyโll tighten security and that will be that. Lie low and itโll blow over.”
โThere’s no witness.โ
โWhat?โ
โShe saw my face. So did the mom.โ
When he closed his eyes, all Siro could see was her face.
Jason understood.
โWhat the fuck?โ
โI panicked. Youโve got to help me.โ Siroโs voice was muffled as he spoke with his head on the countertop.
โWhy the fuck did you ask for my help? I donโt want to be involved in this.โ
โI didnโt know what else to do.โ
Siro couldnโt tell what was happening in Jasonโs head. He still stood behind him. Siroโs vision was blurry.
โThe enforcers, they had to have seen you if they shot you.โ
โI killed the one who hit me and his partner. Backup came, but I jumped out the window. I doubt they got a good view.โ
โBut they could have.โ
โThey probably didnโt.โ
Jason took a deep breath.
โI donโt know what to do man I panicked,โ Siro said. He sobbed.
โHey, itโs alright. You can lay low in Amber for a while, and itโll all blow over soon.โ
โThank you.โ
โNow come on, let’s go. We should leave while itโs still dark out.โ
Siro lifted his head, hopeful for the first time tonight. It was the last thought he had.
His body went limp; head slammed down on the bar as his ass slid off the seat and crumpled to the floor. He never heard the bullet.
Jason put his gun back in its holster. He took his phone out and snapped a picture of Siroโs corpse. The counter and the shelf of liquor behind it were covered in viscera. He didnโt need to worry about the bartender; heโd already paid her to take the rest of the night off. He took a rag, wet it with vodka, and wiped off the stool and the area of the bar where heโd sat.
The front was locked and the sign said closed. Jason exited through the backdoor and prayed that the Don would be happier that he killed Siro than he would be mad that he was Siroโs first call for help.
Editor: Michelle Naragon & Shannon Hensley










Insane ending, the writing itself is so good too