One Last Job
masterlist
content: major character death, corpse stuff, aftermath of whump, implied torture, hostage situation, guns, gore
Deena entered her boss’ home quietly. She was shaking in her boots when she thought about the fact that her boss might already know that she’d spilled the beans the day before.
“Deena,” came his voice from the kitchen, and Deena jumped a little.
“Yes, sir,” she said carefully as she stepped into the room to talk to him.
“Why so pale? Today is a nice day. The sun is up, the birds are singing…”
“Is there anything you want to tell me, sir? Or can I just do my job?”
“Always to the point. Straightforward. That’s one thing I like about you, Deena.”
She stayed silent. Being praised by a soon-to-be murderer just didn’t have the same effect as anyone else.
“There’s one thing I wanted to tell you, and I tell you with a heavy heart, believe me.”
Her stomach was in knots. Where was this going? “What is it?”
“I won’t need your services anymore after today.”
This couldn’t be. This had to be a coincidence, right? It couldn’t be connected to the fact that she’d just told her husband the previous day. Right? “Wh— Why? What happened? I thought I was doing a good job?”
“Everything will make sense in time. For now, just go about your day like I told you nothing.” He walked past her, putting a hand on her shoulder as he did so. “You were a great employee, and I might reach out some other time if I need your services. The bucket and mop are in the usual place.”
Deena was in a daze as she went through the bedrooms and bathrooms of the mansion. She was cleaning, but her mind was far, far gone. She couldn’t think about anything else but her family. Were they in danger? Was she killing them by staying and cleaning instead of rushing home?
But when she entered the basement, it all clicked into place.
She dropped the bucket and the mop, water splashing everywhere on the ground. Both of her hands flew up to cover her mouth, but a shocked sob escaped even then.
Tia. Poor, innocent Tia. Her eyes were open, unblinking, fixed upon the ceiling. There was dried blood coating the entire right half of her face, coming from a head wound that must’ve caused her demise. Her leg was still swollen, black and blue — nobody had helped her after it had been broken.
Deena backed out of the basement, collapsing onto the stairs. She was breathing so quickly she thought she might pass out.
That was a corpse. Tia was gone.
Could she have saved her somehow? Had she been braver, could she have done something?
Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she sat there, shaking, filled with desperation. Tia had promised her that they would both get out. What about the promise? Why was she dead? Where was her fucking team when she needed them?
She had no idea how long she’d sat there before she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. When she raised her teary eyes, she saw her boss descending.
“All done already?” he asked cheerily. “Or are you taking a break?”
“You killed her,” she choked out.
“She died on her own. Tragic, truly. She died without telling me what I needed to know.”
“You killed her,” she repeated emphatically. It might not have been the smartest choice, and she pressed herself up against the wall even more when she saw her boss raise an eyebrow.
“Are we going to have a problem?”
“No… No, sir. I’m sorry. I’ll get right back to cleaning.”
“Before you do that — the whole reason I came down here is to let you know there’s a saw and trash bags in the cupboard over there. Be a dear and make this last day count.”
A… A saw? Trash bags? “You can’t possibly mean—”
“I said what I said, Deena. I’ll ask you again. Are we going to have a problem?”
Deena shook her head robotically. No. Of course not. She was a good employee. She was loyal. If her boss wanted her to… to dismember and get rid of Tia’s body… then she would do that.
Right?
“Good,” her boss said, then headed back up the stairs. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me. But I trust that you can handle this on your own.”
Deena got up on shaking legs, swallowing down the bile in the back of her throat. She grabbed the bucket and turned it right side up again, then got to mopping. She knew how to mop. She could do it with a corpse watching her.
The silence as she worked was deafening. There was no more idle chatter from Tia, and there would never be again.
“H-Hey,” Deena said awkwardly, between two sobs. “You said… You said I never told you anything. M-My name’s Deena.”
Tia’s body offered no consolation. Deena felt sick when she thought about having to move her and…
She didn’t want to think about it.
“I’m sorry I never talked to you,” she whispered. “I was a coward. I still am. I didn’t say anything to my boss. I didn’t even… I said nothing. I’m sorry. You deserved better.”
The water in the bucket was turning pink. There was still a substantial amount of blood on the floor.
“Did you have a family? A husband? Kids? Why did you enter this line of work?” She sighed, more tears trickling down her face and mingling with the blood under her feet. “I should’ve asked all of this while you were still here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Tia.”
It took four trips to get the floor relatively clean. It was time to take Tia’s body from the chair and…
Deena felt her breakfast in the back of her throat. She swallowed it back down. She approached the chair, gingerly trying to lift Tia up and lay her on the ground, with as much dignity as possible.
Once Tia was on the floor, she looked almost peaceful. Deena reached up and closed her eyes, and she looked almost like she was only asleep.
“Why did he kill you?” she breathed. “He was always so careful. He wanted to know where your base was so bad. He even… He had plans, I overheard him one time. He had plans to keep you here and lure your team here. So why? Why now…? It’s so— so sudden.”
She looked so young. She must’ve been younger than Deena. Her whole life ahead of her… snatched away.
She stood up and stumbled to the cupboard for the saw, but as she walked back, she felt the determination in her chest solidify. She wasn’t going to desecrate the poor woman’s dead body. She wasn’t going to do this. She’d done a lot of morally questionable things, she’d been part of something horrifying that eventually took Tia’s life… But this was it. This was the end. Tia would be buried. Properly.
She needed to sneak out of the house and call the authorities. Her boss had to go to jail.
“I was a coward up until now,” she whispered. “Not anymore. I’m sorry, Tia. I’ll bring you justice. I promise.”
Leaving her bucket and mop downstairs, she tiptoed to the wooden staircase and slowly made her way up. There was some creaking, but overall, she would’ve said she was pretty quiet. If her boss was in the living room, there was no way he could hear her.
She poked out her head from behind the wall, looking left and right to make sure she was alone. She softly padded over to the front door. Nobody stopped her.
She put her hand on the doorknob and slowly, carefully turned it…
Locked.
Deena’s blood turned to ice in her veins. The front door wasn’t ever locked, she could always go in and out freely. So why?
“Going somewhere?” came her boss’ voice from behind her. She spun around, pressing herself up against the door. She was standing face to face with a murderer. “I don’t see you carrying trash bags.”
“I— I was just— I wanted to see where the dumpster was on the property—”
“The dumpster you regularly use as my cleaning lady? I have a hard time believing you don’t know where that is.”
“Why is the door locked? How am I meant to carry the trash bags outside when it’s locked?”
“Oh, Deena… You were so close. So close. It’s such a shame that it has to end like this.”
“It doesn’t have to end,” Deena cried. “I was a good employee! I had— It was a momentary lapse in judgment! I got freaked out by the dead body in your basement! But I can do it! I can do this last job, then I can disappear!”
“Oh, disappear you will.” He walked up to her and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her towards the basement. “I really didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.”
“No!” she screamed. “Leave me alone! Please! I have a child! I have a fucking child! You can’t do this! Please!”
Once at the top of the stairs, Deena was pushed forward, and she just managed to catch herself before her boss kicked her in the back, sending her tumbling down. She cried out when she landed on her right shoulder; it was at least dislocated, if not outright broken. Still, she got to her knees and started crawling away. She grabbed the saw with her left hand — her non-dominant one — and turned towards the stairs.
“I’m not afraid to use it!” she yelled. “So stay back! Stay the fuck away from us!”
“‘Us?’ I don’t recall you ever saying things like that when she was still alive,” he said, grinning. “Funny how these things go. Now, be a doll and sit in the chair.”
“I will kill you!” she screamed. “Don’t you dare come anywhere near me!”
Suddenly, there was a loud bang upstairs, and Deena dropped the saw, curling up with her hands on her ears. Even her boss stopped in his tracks. Deena could hear footsteps and voices, voices she’d never heard before, shouting orders and commands. They were approaching the basement.
The next moments passed in a daze. Deena could see as her boss ran over and grabbed the saw, dragging her to her feet and putting the serrated blade against her neck. She saw the strangers flood the basement, all carrying guns but wearing no uniforms. They all stopped at the bottom of the stairs, scared to approach in case her boss did anything with that saw.
Was this man barking orders Minh? Was this Tia’s whole team?
“Tia…” the man she assumed was Minh said softly as he took in the sight. Then his gaze hardened as he looked back up at Deena and her boss. “Drop the saw. You’re outnumbered. Your men are all either unconscious or dead.”
“Then what’s one more, hm?” he asked, laughing a little. “Well, well… It seems I’m cornered. Better point those guns at the floor, lest you wanna risk my hand slipping. I’m very nervous with them all pointing at me.”
“Please,” Deena squeaked. “Don’t let him kill me. Please. I have a family.”
To her horror, Minh did not lower his gun. “We came for Tia,” he said, emotionless. “You were with him until ten seconds ago. We don’t care for your infighting.”
“So shoot,” her boss taunted. “Why aren’t there six bullets in my brain by now?”
Minh tilted his gun a little to the left and shot, the bang echoing in the small space. Deena jumped, nicking herself on the saw. The bullet bounced off the wall not even ten centimetres to her right. “Please!” she cried. “I’m not with him! I’m sorry! Please, don’t let me die!”
“You have ten seconds,” Minh went on, talking to her boss. “You either let her go and come with us alive, or both of you die.”
“Please!” she screeched. “I’m begging you! Please, please, don’t let me die! Not like this! Please!”
“Five.”
Her boss tightened his grip on the saw.
“Four.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Three.”
She heard them all cock their guns.
“Two.”
White-hot pain exploded in her neck as the serrated blade was dragged across it. Blood spurted out of the wound, and several guns went off within the next moment. Deena fell to her knees on the floor, putting both hands on her neck, trying to keep her blood inside. Her boss fell on top of her, heavy and motionless.
“Help,” she rasped. “Help. Help, please. Please.”
Someone rushed to her side and put pressure on the wound. It wasn’t Minh. “It’s okay,” they said gently. “It’s okay. It doesn’t seem to be that deep. It’s all gonna be okay.”
Deena’s vision was fading to black around the edges. She felt her body grow colder with each passing second. “Tory,” she breathed. “Save Tory. Please. Keep him safe. Please, keep him safe.”
“You’re going to be okay,” they repeated. “Just stay with me. Stay with me. It’s gonna be okay.”
That was the last thing Deena heard before everything went black.