Wet Work - A Greg Kelton Short Story (4 page)

Kelton pulled the SigPro back and sat down
in a chair he’d brought over near the bed before waking John. He
kept the gun in his hand but set it on his right knee. It was still
pointed in John’s direction but not at any specific body part.

“
Sit up against he headboard but do it
slowly,” Kelton said. “And keep your hands on your
chest.”

John shifted his body so his upper half was
sitting up.

“
Comfortable?” Kelton said.

“
Reasonably so,” John said.

“
Good,” Kelton said. “So, now that we
have the ground rules set, what do you say we get on with the
show.” He took a moment to clear his throat. “You do know why I’m
here, right?”

“
It’s not too hard to figure
out.”

“
But what you probably don’t
understand is who sent me,” Kelton said. “Am I right? Because if I
was with the mob, then I wouldn’t have bothered waking you up and
talking to you, I just would have killed you in your sleep. And if
I was a cop, I wouldn’t have come alone in the middle of the night.
I would have come to the front door nice and early with a couple of
my friends.”

“
To be perfectly honest, I don’t
really care who sent you,” John said.

“
You’re not even the least bit
curious?”

“
That depends.”

“
On what?”

“
On if the person who sent you told
you not to kill me.”

“
No, I’m afraid he didn’t.”

“
Then no, I’m not the least bit
curious,” John said. “I figure someone out there decided that my
debt to society wasn’t paid when I cut my deal with the
feds.”

“
Fair enough,” Kelton said, allowing
himself a tiny smile. Despite knowing better, he actually kind of
admired John Destrado, almost even liked the old man. Sure he was a
stone cold killer, but at least he was a man and not a sniveling
baby like everyone else these days. He was old school, just like
Kelton himself.

“
So are we going to get this over with
or what?” Destrado said.

“
Is there anything else you want to
say first?” Kelton asked. “A little prayer, anything like
that?”

“
Nah,” John said. “I’m not going to
insult the man upstairs by asking for forgiveness. I did what I
did, now it’s time to pay the piper. In this life and the one
after.”

“
I couldn’t have put it any better
myself,” Kelton said.

And then he stood up, aimed the gun, and
shot John Destrado in the center of the forehead.

5

Kelton was drinking in his customary spot in
the Garage the next night when Walter walked in carrying a small
blue duffel bag. He sat down across the table from Kelton and set
the bag down at Kelton’s feet.

“
The rest of your payment is in
there,” Walter said.

“
Thanks.”

“
My pleasure,” Walter said. “So how
did it go?”

“
Without a hitch.”

“
And I trust my information was
good?”

“
It was perfect,” Kelton said. “How
did you come about it, by the way?”

“
Oh, I have a few friends in high
places,” Walter said. “Friends who view the world the same way as I
do.”

“
And how do you view it?”

“
Just like you do,” Walter said. “With
a heavy dose of skepticism about the way it’s run.”

Kelton nodded absently and took a drink from
his beer. “You mind if I ask you something?”

“
Be my guest.”

“
Why me?”

Walter gave him an innocent look. “What do
you mean?”

“
I mean you could have gotten anyone
to do this for you,” Kelton said. “With the information you had,
you could have hired any jackass off the street to kill Destrado. I
want to know why you picked me.”

“
Let’s just say it was a practice
run,” Walter said. “A test of your moral willingness.”

“
You mean you have something else for
me to do? Something more worthy of my capabilities?”

“
Not right this moment,” Walter said.
“But I’ve got a couple things in the works that I’ll probably need
some help with. In a couple months or so, I would say. Will you be
up for it?”

“
I can’t make any promises,” Kelton
said. “But I’ll certainly listen to what you have to
say.”

“
That’s all a man can ask for,” Walter
said. He stood up and offered his hand. Kelton shook it.

“
Until next time,” Walter
said.

“
You know where to find
me.”

“
I do indeed.”

They broke their grip. Walter turned and
walked out of the Garage. A couple minutes later Kelton finished
his beer and did the same.

#####

About the author

Brian Springer has been writing for ten
years, most of which were spent managing a large brick and mortar
chain bookstore in between stints as a financial planner and
playing in the Spanish Professional Baseball League. He holds a
Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Diego
and currently lives in Temecula, California with his wife Kimberley
and their two children.

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