Collateral

Rose walks into “Sophia’s Cozy Corner”. Contrary to yesterday, today it is open at this early hour, and it is bustling with people. Mr Johnson is sitting in the booth closest to the door. Across from him sits a little girl, the same girl Rose had seen at the school gate before. They are both laughing.

When Mr Johnson spots Rose, he stands up from his spot. he kisses Rose on the cheek.

“Nice to see you, Rose. This is my daughter, Sophia.”

“Hi, Sophia.”

Sophia ignores Rose and looks at her dad.

“Dad, you promised me we were going to order dessert.”

“I will darling, don’t worry. You will get your strawberry cake.”

“Yes, please!” Sophia said, clapping her hands together.

Rose smiles. “That is my daughter’s favourite cake.”

Sophia laughs. “It is my favourite cake too. It’s delicious.” She over pronounces the last word, kinda slushing the s.

Mr Johnson tunes back to Rose.

He then turns back to Rose. “Take a seat.”

Rose crosses her arms. “Are we going to discuss this in front of your daughter? In public.”

Mr Johnson sighs. “Fine,” he says. He walks to the nearest waitress, a teenage girl with curly brown hair.

“Jess, can you keep an eye on my daughter for ten minutes, I have a private matter to attend to.”

“Sure thing Mr Johnson.”

“Oh, and she would love a strawberry cake.”

Jess smiles. “Of course.”

“Thanks, Jess.”

Mr Johnson gestures to Rose to follow him. He leads her to a small office in the back of the diner. It is a small room with a table and two wooden chairs. The walls are grey and bleak, it contrasts strongly with the cosy diner.

“Please sit down.”

Rose keeps standing. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Would you have done the job if I told you the truth?”

“If you told me he abused his wife and child, I would have.”

“Maybe. But I don’t disclose my clients or their motivations to anyone. Part of the trade.”

“What do you mean?”

“My clients rely on my discretion. On secrecy. I will not tell you who hired me and for what reason. If clients couldn’t come to me with secrets, I would be out of business.”

“But if I knew you wanted to kill him, it would have made my job easier.”

“Maybe. But I didn’t know if I could trust you.”

“That’s fair.”

Mr Johnson sits down. “In a way, I am disappointed. You didn’t finish the job. You just got lucky the target died in the hospital.”

Rose plops on the opposite side of Mr Johnson. She crosses her arms and looks Mr Johnson in the eye, with a stern look on her face, leaning forward, her face close to his.

“Ok, let me be frank with you. You hired me to place the tracker. I placed the tracker. I did the job the way you asked. If you wanted to kill the target, you should have said so. This is on you. You have no right to be disappointed in me.”

Mr Johnson tries to interrupt. But Rose raises her hand, and he remains silent. He looks slightly shocked.

“And second, I am not ‘lucky’. I don’t do luck. I take my life into my own hands. I take control. The target’s life support system didn’t fail like you think it did. I sabotaged it.”

“You what.”

“I sabotaged it. Turned off the oxygen. And then watched him suffocate.”

Mr Johnson falls silent. He just stares at her. After a minute or so, he reaches into his pocket and throws a credstick on the table.

“Here is the other half of the money. I am impressed.”

“Thank you.” Rose keeps looking him in the eyes.

“Would you be interested in doing similar jobs for me in the future?” He asks.

“I happen to be looking for a new job. Since my previous boss died and all that. And you paid me very well. But I have one condition.”

Mr Johnson raises an eyebrow. “Which is?”

“Don’t ever withhold critical information from me again.”

Mr Johnson thinks for a bit.

“Ok, we have a deal. I’ll call you when I have another job for you.”

Both stand up and shake hands. Mr Johnson smiles. It looks like a creepy smile. “Glad doing business with you.”

Rose gets up. “Never ever lie to me again. Or you will be sorry.”