Loose Ends

Warning: the following content contains mention of death, kidnappings and blood.

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By Elvina Lau

-----Marlene’s POV-----

The street was bustling with noise and people, yet no one so much as spared a glance in her direction. “Help!” Marlene tried to shout, but a hand quickly covered her, stopping the shout from leaving her mouth. She screamed and kicked, trying to pry the arm from pulling her to wherever she was being pulled to, with no luck.

How about you bite? It’s got to hurt if teeth clamps on you, y’know, since it’s sharp and pointy? You can do that if it actually happens…

Suddenly, her friend’s advice popped into her head, and wasting no time, she bit down on the hand covering her mouth.

“Ow!” The person behind her yelped.

The voice behind her wasn’t what she expected. It was not manly and deep, but rather high. That’s not important right now, Marlene! Focus! Scolding herself for wandering away, she quickly tried to scream, to shout, to grab anyone’s attention from the street to her.

And to her delight, it worked! A man on the far end had been looking in her direction, and heard her screams! Well, she supposed he did, as he was moving towards her. Trying to move towards him in turn, an arm suddenly yanked her backwards.

The person who had grabbed her had recovered from her sudden bite, and was now dragging her further into an alley...and into a warehouse.

Thinking about all those news about deaths and how dangerous warehouses and alleys could be, she started to panic. It can’t possibly happen to me, can it? I mean, I’m very average, right? Thoughts ran through her head. But she couldn’t think anymore, as a cloth suddenly pressed against her mouth, the smell of chemicals dragging her into slumber. But, before she fell asleep, she saw a girl’s face; her hazel eyes blinking down at her with brown curls hanging over her face.

-----Sam’s POV-----

All she tasted was bitterness. Why she bought this, it wasn’t clear. Perhaps to get her mind off her last job? A message suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Bench on 26th. Incomplete task(s).

Frowning, she paid and headed there.

There was an innocent looking briefcase sitting on the bench. What happens if I leave it here? A simple question that always lingers in her mind. But she knew better, and so opened it.

Fix the loose ends of your last. Nolo’s Bookstore, 1430, tomorrow.

-----Man’s POV-----

“It’s due 2 days later. No exceptions.” Beep - the phone hung up. Why am I even surprised? You knew this was going to happen. Sighing, he got up. Ugh, I shouldn’t have procrastinated. Now I have to go back and finish this.

The jostles didn’t do anything to help his mood either. Then he heard it. Was that a choked scream? No one else in the street was looking for the sound either. I might be more tired than I thought…

Something unexpected caught his eye. Was that blood? A physical altercation? Rubbing his eyes, The lack of sleep definitely has got to me…yet he found himself walking towards it. He knew better of course, but curiosity got the upperhand.

-----Sam’s POV-----

The next day found herself in Nolo’s Bookstore, facing the bustling street. There was 1 loose end from her last job, someone, a woman, had seen something that she shouldn’t have. Now I have to handle that...and it’s all because I wasn’t careful enough.

At around 1430, a familiar face walked past the bookstore. Dark hair with blue eyes, she saw her somewhere but it wasn’t clear. Oh! That’s the loose end. Ignoring the feeling of penitence, she slowly followed the woman.

When they both neared the alleyway, slipping through the crowd, she grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled her into the alley. Noticing the woman was panicking, she covered her mouth with her hand and started moving towards the warehouse on the other end. Yet the woman put up a fight, kicking and pulling at wherever she could.

“Ow!” A sudden spark of pain shot through her hand, The woman bit me! Noticing the woman was trying to scream for help and moving back onto the crowded street, she quickly grabbed her and dragged her towards the warehouse. But before doing anything else, she quickly pulled out a cloth and covered the woman’s mouth.

-----Marlene’s POV-----

Her head was pounding like a train rammed right through. What happened last night? The memories from the afternoon suddenly came to her. Oh no no no no… I’m kidnapped? But why?

“Oh you’re awake now.” A cool, cutting voice came near from where she was sitting. Looking up, it was a girl in her prime. “Uh...why...why am I here?” Her sound was raw, probably from all the screaming and shouting she did earlier.

The girl’s face went pale, Marlene supposed, or maybe not, the warehouse was very dark. “On August 24th, you walked past the Emeroi Building instead of Polstin Street, as there was a blackout, preventing anyone from going on that street.

Oh...the day I went by Emeroi Building cause the normal street had a blackout. I heard screams and cries from the building and went to check,’ Marlene’s thoughts were grim. I shouldn’t have gone in, I could’ve called and reported this thing from the outside. Then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

“...I didn’t notice that you saw, not until it was very late. You wanted to know why?”

-----Man’s POV-----

Following the drips of blood led him through the alleyway, but there it stopped. Did someone get hurt? Are they going to the hospital? Looking around, there wasn’t anything special or different, other than those few drops of blood. Hopefully the injured person is fine.

Then, there was a slight rustle. Looking closer at the bushes and the trail, it seemed like there was someone moving about. Walking on the trail, he followed the noises, until he reached the entrance of the warehouse. What does one do in a warehouse? The entrance was unlocked, and there was someone speaking inside. Perhaps the person who got hurt went into the warehouse..?

“...I didn’t notice that you saw what happened until it was done…”

“But why? Why would you do this?...”

2 women were conversing, though one’s voice sounded hoarse, as though they had screamed a lot.

“...Job...You weren’t supposed to be there....thought it was empty...”

Loose ends? Sorry she has to fix this? No one should have known? The whole thing was confusing. Going inside the warehouse, what he saw surprised him.

A woman with dark hair and blue eyes was sitting down in a chair in the middle, hands tied, seemingly like an interrogation scene in movies. Another woman, brown hair and hazel eyes, was standing in the corner, in the middle of talking. The moment he came in both of them stopped, staring in surprise at him. Am I not supposed to be here? What?

The next thing he knew, he was facing the woman in the chair, knees kneeling and there was something cold against his head.

The woman was talking, pleading and begging, he thinks. The other holding him from behind was asking him something, but it wasn’t clear. Everything wasn’t clear. It seemed as though they’re murmuring, or whispering.

“...Wh..What? Please..?” He didn’t know who said that, him or the woman in the chair.

He didn’t need to either. A second later, all he felt was pain. The next second, he was gone.

--------Sam’s POV----------

The loose end, whose name was apparently Marlene, started to wake up. Well that’s good, this could be taken care of quicker.

“Uh...why...why am I here?”

Huh. She doesn’t remember? Face becoming grim, This part was always the worst. And this is my fault. If I knew, she wouldn’t have seen and this whole thing wouldn’t have happened.

“On August 24th, you ast Emeroi Building, but stopped and went inside, as you heard screams and cries...”

Her face contorted into various emotions, from confused, to sadness, until a look of realization settled. Good. She remembers now.

“....I didn’t notice that you saw, not until it was very late...,” Pausing to look at Marlene’s face, and continuing, “You wanted to know why? It’s a long story. I suppose it started 3 years ago…”

-----Flashback-----

Her hands were covered in red. She knew it was futile but she kept trying, grasping and tearing at the debris in front of her. It was no use. It's been hours and I still can't remove one. Staring down at her hands, there were scratches all over, of varying sizes and depth, all bleeding. She didn't even register the pain. Then there were silver drops, landing on her hands and the floor in front. I'm not getting out of here any time soon.. It'd be a miracle if…

The sounds of footsteps broke her out of her thoughts. Standing up and turning around, there was a man before her. His suit was pressed nicely, he looked very professional compared to her at the moment. Feeling self conscious, Sam wiped away her tears and patted her clothes.

"We have an offer. It's a simple task," The man put down his briefcase. "If you agree and succeed, you'll get a reward."

"I don't need money. I need-"

"You'll receive a pardon."

Her words stopped short at the simple statement, and her eyes widened at the implications behind it.

"That is, of course, only if you succeed."

A chance to go back and start over, if I succeed? The offer was tempting, and yet she wasn't sure. "What is it that I need to do?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to agree first, sign the contract, before we can tell you your task."

Her first thought was, It sounds simple. Succeed in a task and I'll get a pardon? Of course! But her instinct told her not too, Except that I don't know what the task is. What if it's something I can't do? What if I fail? Her thoughts were all over the place, and she was torn between agreeing or not.

An arm on her shoulder stopped her internal dilemma. “Perhaps you should come to the workplace first. Get your hands cleaned up, and then you’ll give me your answer.”

They stopped in front of a grand marble building. “This is the centre of where you’ll work, only if you agree.” The workplace, Sam observed, was very solemn and busy. They walked past people doing all sorts of things; answering phone calls, building technology, writing reports.

“I’ll do it.” Her hands were clean and bandaged by now, and she had taken the time to look around the workplace. It was somewhere she’d want to work in, and all the people seemed nice. She signed the contract the man gave her, and she was prepared to do whatever she needed to receive the promised pardon.

“Right. Your task is to extract information from whoever we need you to. There’ll be protocols that you’ll need to follow, and anything else you need to take notes on, you’ll receive a message on a mobile we’ll provide you with.”

It sounds simple. Nodding, Sam stood up and followed the man to another room.

-----3rd Person POV-----

“Of course, they had left out some important information. I regret the things I did and will have to do if I were to succeed.”

The sound of footsteps was heard. It was the man whom Marlene supposed saw her being kidnapped here. Eyes widening, Marlene tried all sorts of ways she could think of to make him go away before Sam saw him. But too late, Sam had him down on his knees before her.

Déjà vu. But this time, the man was the one in Marlene’s position. Without a warning, Sam had him on his knees, facing her. “What’s your name? What are you doing?” Sam asked all sorts of questions about him, but Marlene saw that he was panicking, his breaths coming uneven. He only came to see what’s happening, Marlene thought sadly. Just like me.

“...Wh-What’s happening?” His voice came out shaking and unsteady, his body was trembling.

I can’t afford another loose end. I need to do my job perfectly or my contract won’t be over. Stopping her questions to him, Sam took a deep breath, and pushing down the guilt, prepared herself.

“Please...Wh...What a..are you…,” Marlene kept pleading Sam, She learned her lesson. She knows I can’t. Sam’s face was grim but otherwise apathetic, yet her eyes betrayed her, showing sorrow.

She can change! I can change her mind. She doesn’t want to do this, she regrets this whole thing, she told me! Desperate thoughts ran through Marlene’s head, all trying to save the man. He doesn’t deserve this. Sam knows it too. He was just trying to help me.’

Without a warning’s notice, Sam did it.

The man’s eyes widened.

Marlene’s thoughts went to a stop. No…

And the man dropped to the ground.

Sam slowly looked up, away from the man towards Marlene. “I’m afraid my job comes first…”

“No! You don’t have to! Withdraw from the contract. Please, you don’t have to do this.”

“It isn’t possible. I need to succeed, and for that I need to tie my loose ends.”

“No...anything is possible.” Mouth opening, Marlene continued trying to convince Sam. “She isn't a bad person. She’s not. She only made a mistake. But we’re all human.”

It’s nice, Marlene was perseverant. But it has to be done, or moving on isn’t an option, and the contract would not be over. Sam raised her hand and clicked.

As Marlene fell, all she heard were “It’s my fault for saying yes.”

And then all was silent.