Easy Money

Floyd looked around in his hotel suite. It was a lovely suite. It has a bar and two couches with a table. Except for the front door, leading to the hotel’s hallway, there was a double door leading to the bedroom and a door on the side to the bathroom.

This hotel suite costs a lot of money. Floyd assures himself that they will make the money back and more if everything goes well. Floyd shifts uneasily in his seat. A lot could go wrong. He could lose a lot of money or even get arrested. Not that he really had to worry about that. If he messed up, his boss would most likely personally murder him. Quinn was a great boss and a genius planner, but if there is anything he was sure about, it was that Quinn didn’t accept failure.

He looks at his watch. The client was running late. The exact moment Floyd considers maybe contacting him, he hears a knock on the door.

He stands up, takes a deep breath, and opens the hotel room door. A large man with black hair and brown eyes enters the room. He is wearing a grey suit, and he smiles. A large brass, mechanical arm replaces his lower left arm. An ample green light is mounted on the back of the hand. He speaks with a deep voice. “Sorry I am late. I am James. You must be Floyd.”

“The one and only.”

The men sit on the couch. Floyd gestures at the chocolate bars sitting on the counter. “Please take a peanut-filled chocolate bar, I got them complimentary with the room, and they are delicious.”

“No thanks,” James answers. His mouth is still smiling, but his eyes look more like a death glare as if he wants to kill Floyd on the spot for that suggestion. “I am deadly allergic to peanuts.” Floyd swallows. Quinn wouldn’t have made the mistake of pissing off a customer. Maybe he wasn’t ready to fly solo yet. He still hears Quinn saying how easy and straightforward this job would be. Floyd breaks away from his chain of thought and decides to change the subject.

He gestures at the bionic arm. “Is that an AI warning unit?”

James smiles, this time with his eyes. “Yes, the latest model. It detects every time I am in danger. It detects everything, from a person sitting next to me to concealing a knife to a pickpocket to a sniper aiming at me from a mile away.”

Floyd is intrigued. “It detects absolutely everything?”

James laughs. “Well, it has its flaws. Yesterday someone accidentally put peanuts in my order, and it didn’t detect it. But all other things it detects.”

“Can I see?”

“Sure.” James extends his arm. Floyd grabs it and taps on it twice with his hand. The green light immediately turns red, and James smacks his hand away. The impact from the metal bruises Floyd’s hand.

“It is a bit overzealous sometimes.” James laughs again. His laugh sounds eerie. It makes Floyd think of a devil. “But it sure keeps me safe. In my line of work, lots of people try to kill me. I can never be too careful.”

Floyd forces a smile while rubbing his hand. “Lets talk business.”

James suddenly looks excited. “Yes. Do you have the cargo?”

Floyd points to the double door behind him. “It is in the bedroom.”

“Let’s take a look.”

They walk into the bedroom. On the bed sits a nineteen-year-old girl. Her hands are bound behind her back, and her mouth is gagged. She is wearing a white crop top and a short white skirt. Her bare feet are bound together, and bruises are visible around her ankles as if she had struggled to escape. She looks up when the two men enter the room.

“So,” Floyd asks. “What do you think of the cargo?”

James looks at the girl and strokes her arm with his metal hand. The girl flinches as he touches her and struggles to get away. Muffled screams sound from below the gag.

“She sure is pretty,” James remarks. “But I am not sure she is worth the asking price.”

Floyd crosses his arms. “My boss told me they won’t negotiate over the price. Take it or leave it.”

James thinks for a bit. His metal hand caresses her curly blond hair. He ignores her desperate attempts to get away from him.

“Before I decide, I wanna test something first,” James says.

Floyd shrugs. “Be my guest.”

James places his metal hand around the girl’s neck. He sits in front of her and looks her straight in the eye. “I will remove your gag now. If you scream, I will crush your throat. Do you understand?”

The girl slowly nods.

“Good.” James removes the gag with his other hand. Then without warning, he kisses her on the mouth. The girl struggles in her restraints, trying to get away, but the grip of the metal hand is too firm.

Suddenly, James stumbles back. He seems to be searching for something in his pockets but can’t find it. Then he grabs his throat. His face turns red, then blue, and he falls down on the hotel carpet.

The girl spits out a couple of chewed peanuts. She looks at Floyd and grins. “Told you it was gonna work.”

Floyd sighs. “To be honest with you, Quinn, I was really doubting the plan after he almost broke my hand when I swiped his Epi-pen.”

Quinn breaks free from her restraints with almost superhuman finesse. “That is why I am the master assassin, and you are only an apprentice.” She kicks the body with her bare feet. “That AI unit is a piece of junk. I still can’t believe someone paid us half a million to kill him.”

The light on the arm is still green.