Chapter Text
Hitman /ˈhɪtman/
noun: hit man;
A person who is paid to kill someone.
A dark place, shadows who follow you everywhere you go and water dripping from the ceiling. The sound of droplets falling into puddles, making the space even more eerie then it already is. Footsteps were coming closer, his was heart racing faster and faster. You have to do this, you have to. He told himself over and over again. Then, from the distance, a large figure walked calmly towards him. The man took off the hood of his big coat and looked up with his piercing blue eyes. He looks intimidating with the bitter expression on his face.
‘’Mobrici?’’
‘’Yes.’’ He replied in a low, breathless voice.
The man took his hand out of his pocket to offer a handshake.
‘’Cornostra, Stefano.’’
‘’Fabrizio. Mobrici.’’
The man was eyeing him up and down, he could feel him judging him as doing so. Everyone always judges him without even knowing the person that he is. But he is used to it nowadays though, it’s not new. But he didn’t expect it to happen in such circumstances.
‘’So. Are you still up for the deal?’’
This was his last chance to pull out, to save himself from trouble. Is it really worth it?
‘’Yes, I am.’’
‘’Good. Now, everything you need to know is in this envelope. Read it thoroughly, prepare yourself and don’t mess it up, otherwise you can get caught. When the job is done, you will get paid the amount that we discussed. Keep me updated through the process, I want to know how you’re getting on.’’
‘’Right, okay. Why do you want this, if I may ask?’’
‘’You may not. I pay you to do the job, nothing else. Got it?’’
‘’Yeah.’’
‘’Observe him first, get him to trust you, this way you can get him on your own easier, so you can get rid of him without anyone noticing. Oh and- if you get caught by the police, it’s your problem, not mine. Don’t say my name, don’t tell them anything. Or else-‘’
‘’I get it.’’ He interrupted the man.
The man hummed and took a step back.
‘’Keep me updated.’’ And then he disappeared.
A day later Fabrizio found himself lying in the dirt under a bush across from his victim’s house. His dad's old birdwatching binoculars came it handier then he thought. He is starting to observe his target first, as Cornostra advised him. Last night he went through the envelope given to him, studying all the information. Described in the file was quite a lot of information, to Fabrizio’s surprise. A lot about the man’s life, his family, and the man’s past. He’s 37, from Albanian descent and works in music. Fabrizio is very curious what this man has done, what could be so bad that someone wants him gone? Maybe he’s a secret gang member, or maybe Cornostro’s girlfriend cheated in him with this guy? As he was running through possible reasons he suddenly saw some movement. A man got out of the house and starts to walk towards the pavement. Is this the man? If he remembers rightly, the information said that the man has dark curly hair, so it’s probably him. As quick as he could (and silent) he jumped up and started to follow the curly-haired man from a distance. The image that Fabrizio made in his head didn’t fit the man at all. The guy, is tall, thin, and doesn’t look intimidating whatsoever. In fact, from the outside, the guy looks quite normal.
It wasn’t a long walk. The guy entered another house and stayed there for a while. It turned night and Fabrizio started to get hungry and really needed to pee. Also, lying in dirt isn’t exactly doing good things to his back. God, why did he take this job. Well, for the money of course, to provide for his children. After Giada and him split up a few years ago, it has been difficult financially for him. Working 4 days a week in his father’s garage doesn’t pay the bills so well, and having two children to maintain makes it even tougher. He needs the money and it’s a quick job, one and one makes two. But is this the right solution though? Fabrizio’s mind didn’t go that far unfortunately, all he was focused on is earning that money and getting on with his life.
For weeks Fabrizio observed the man. Followed him, took notes, kept a low-profile. Most of the time wearing a hat and sunglasses to not stand out too much. Hopefully the man didn’t notice him. After all, he has no experience in this kind of…’work field’. Though through the week it seemed like he got the hang of it. But now it’s time for the next step of the process: Get closer to the target, make them trust you.
Fabrizio made up the perfect scenario to do so. He knows by now that every Thursday afternoon the man walks from a building to his house and grabbing a coffee on his way. His plan is to ‘accidentally’ bump into the man, act like he didn’t see him and hopefully start talking that way. Maybe throwing his charms into it to help the process just a little bit.
And that’s what he did. He took position on the streets corner with a pile of nonsense papers in his hands to make it look more believable. Here we go, Fabrizio spotted the man walking towards him, he took one last deep breath and puts on his best acting skills.
Their shoulders collide with such force that it could have possibly hurt both of them. The papers immediately flutter through the air and without having it included in his well thought through plan, he loses his balance. In a matter of seconds he sees the ground coming closer to his face, but then, suddenly, his body spins 180 degrees and a pair of arms wrap around his torso and shoulder. Like a girl on ice-skates being twirled around he now finds himself looking up to the curly haired man. The man saved him from a possible broken nose and some loose teeth, which was not exactly his strategy. But everything would be better than this situation. Fabrizio feels captivated, looking deeply into dark down eyes, mesmerized, under a spell and the man is the wizard. A faint, apologetic smile appears on the man’s lips and then he lifts Fabrizio up again. Why did this look like he’s part of a romantic movie where one person trips over and the other one catches them and they lovingly stare into each other’s eyes?
‘’I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there. Here, let me help you.’’ The man quickly crouched down and began collecting all the papers. All the while Fabrizio could only stand still on the spot and watch the man. It felt like his brain had an error and needed time to restart again. It’s just because it didn’t go according to his plan, and that’s why body acts this way, he told himself. Before he could kneel and help the man, the papers were already back in his hands.
‘’There you go.’’ The man said awkwardly, his tired looking eyes peeking through fluffy curls. But all that Fabrizio could do was stare. Even though he has seen the figure for weeks now, almost every day. He has never seen the man from this close, being fully visible in this angle at such a close distance. He imagined him to look scary from close up. To have something criminal-like in the way he pinches his eyes, the way he curls up the corner of his mouth in a ‘joker’ smile. His laughter sounding like a mad-man, like the villain in a movie. Because that’s what this guy is right? A criminal, a psycho, a sociopath? Cornostra didn’t say what this guy has done to him, but it must be something unbelievably terrible if it makes you to want that person to be dead. Why else would he? Though, much to his surprise, the man didn’t look even the slightest bit frightening. Quite the opposite actually…
Fabrizio shook his head, needing to do that to eventually get over this error, to finally be able to make words again. ‘’Thank you.’’ He said followed by silence. ‘’Are you hurt? Can I do something for you?’’ You’d think this is the perfect opportunity to get closer to the man, though Fabrizio just brushed it off out of reflex. ‘’No, it’s- I’m fine. It’s okay.’’ The man nodded and puts his hands in his pockets.
‘’You know what, I was just on my way to get a coffee. Why don’t you join me and I’ll get you one. See it as an apology?’’ Again, the perfect offer to gain this man’s trust, he couldn’t decline it again. ‘’Okay, yeah sure.’’ Nonchalantly Fabrizio agrees and joins the man in his walk to the café a few meters away.
-
It felt...odd, being in this man’s presence, sitting across him at a table with two coffees. He glanced up from his steaming cup and noticed the man tilting his head and squinting his eyes.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Fabrizio freezes. Shit, has he already been caught? Maybe the man did notice him all along...
"Uh- I, I don’t think so?"
"What's your name?" Panic rose in his body, why didn’t he prepare for this??
Bluntly he blurted out his name,- "Fabrizio"- which he later immensely regretted. What kind of a hitman reveals their true identity?! There’s no turning back now anyways, so stick it to it and get on with the job.
"Hmm I don't know a Fabrizio I think. Oh, and I'm Ermal by the way." He reached his hand out to shake it. Ermal, of course he's called Ermal. Fabrizio already knew that but weirdly enough never thought of him as 'Ermal'. Somehow his name was not relevant to him. Often, in his head, he referred to him as 'the man' or simply 'he/him' but never the guys real name. Maybe because it feels more distant, like this absurd thing is not really happening. But it truly is, right now in front of him.
Fabrizio notices that Ermal starts to hum to a song playing in the background, which actually, if he hears it right, is all you need is love by The Beatles. This is great, this way he could start a conversation. ‘’Do you like this song?’’ He nods quickly, beaming eyes looking up at him again when he just took a sip of his coffee. ‘’Yes, I love The Beatles!’’ ‘’Cool, me too!’’
‘’So what kind of music do you listen to then?’’ The genuinely interested tone of voice makes Fabrizio truly astonished. Why would he care what I listen to? Why does he act so interested in me, like we are good friends?
‘’Uhm, well, things like AC/DC, Metallica, Motörhead, U due.’’ ‘’U…Due?’’ Ermal suddenly bursted out in laughter. ‘’Are you trying to joke or do you seriously think that’s how your pronounce their name?’’ The curly-haired man giggles through his words, wiping his eyes from the tears of laughter. Fabrizio feels his cheeks heat up. ‘’N-no? Or wait yes? I don’t know okay!’’ He stated timidly.
It took Ermal a minute to compose himself before he could start talking. ‘’It’s pronounced U two. You know, in English.’’ Again Fabrizio felt his cheeks redden, too ashamed to even look up. ‘’I’m just not that great at English. It’s easier for me like this.’’ He said in a subdued, soft voice. As if he’s he is a child being told off by their parents because they stole a candy from the candy jar. But the man just smiled at him with the softest expression. ‘’It’s okay, not everyone is good at languages…especially Italians.’’ ‘’Ào, what do you mean Italians?!’’ Ermal sniggers at his response. ‘’Oh excuse me, I mean, Romans.’’
‘’Ào!!’’
They’re both giggling like teenage girls. Clasping for air, cheeks hurting. Again it took some time to compose, this time also for Fabrizio. Then finally when the giggles sizzled down he could talk again.
‘’No but seriously, what do you mean with Italians, you’re one too so you’re offending yourself actually.’’ ‘’Nope, you’re wrong there. I’m Albanian.’’
Of course he is. Fabrizio knew this, it was one of the first things he read from the information inside the envelope. But somehow he totally forgot. Though, it worked in his advantage. A long conversation follows with Ermal talking about where he comes from and his past. This is good, Fabrizio thought. This means that he trusts me enough to tell personal stuff. It’s a good start, maybe he should tell some little things about himself too…to let Ermal believe that he trusts him too. He didn’t tell him too much information though, to be on the safe side. It actually was a nice conversation, time fly by like it was just a few minutes.
‘’Oh shoot, I have to go I’m sorry. It was nice talking to you, I enjoyed it very much!’’ ‘’Thanks, you’re great company too. And thank you for the coffee.’’ Ermal rummaged through his pocket as if he was looking for something. Then with a ‘aha!’ he took out a pen and grabbed a napkin.
‘’Here’s my number, if you ever feel like talking again.’’ He handed Fabrizio the napkin with a cheeky smile and a wink and left the coffee place.
Did this just really happen? Did he just really get his victim’s number? This is great, no this is more than great. It’s fantastic! There's an even bigger chance to get closer to the man, to really become friends. It would make everything so much easier.
Yeah, this is going to be the easiest job ever, he thought confidently.
But oh boy, if only he knew this would be the most difficult thing he could ever experience.