He had gotten into trouble. His body rested on a metal chair, his head fell over his chest, and his black hair covered his sweaty forehead. He knew that his surroundings were dark, in the middle of that small room he felt that the walls were closing in and little by little the oxygen would be extinguished. The knuckles of his hands tied with a thick rope gave off that crimson liquid that whenever he was seen meant trouble.
His face full of bruises and slight scratches had been earned after the fight with the same guys who had him locked there. His chest rose and fell with difficulty, he kept his eyes closed, he knew that today was the last day he could contemplate the world, its colors, its details; and although he was trapped inside an infinite black, he liked to contemplate that ray of light that seeped through the hole that a bullet made when it went through the wall. He always said: "Everything is beautiful. It does not matter that you are in the most horrible situation, it does not matter the environment or the time if you only look at the details."
Well, he has always been an optimistic man. He struggled to make himself believe that he would let go of this. What a mistake.
Oh, the details… The same ones that had got him there. The things he saw and heard beyond what he could imagine behind the organization he worked for and the mission he carried out were far worse. He contained the truthful information for which they dedicated themselves in their work, and of course, they would assassinate him to silence him, that is the simplest solution. They just made him wait in front of a door that would soon open only for his head to get shot.
His little daughter's smile took a trip between his memories, and the cute pink ballet slippers he never wanted to take off. Her eyes filled with tears, her body began to shake from the great sobs that he emanated.
His wife, his daughter.
He wondered how he could be so selfish for giving up everything for his job. From the beginning, he knew that it was dangerous and even so, because of the vague adventure of fighting problems and solving them, he accepted to give rein to what they offered him. His life was simpler when he was just a doctor in a small office. The famous: Dr. Cass, cared for people with limited resources, it filled his heart with happiness when he knew that he helped entire families.
He marveled at all the great things he would accomplish, at all the people which, according to the men in suits, told him he would save. Sure, it fell straight into a sham. No one was there to protect, much less save people.
«Oh, Ezra. You've lost everything...», he thought.
The knob turned and the door swung open. Ezra made an effort to lift his head and see who was in front of him. The sudden clarity coming from outside caused his eyes to hurt and they quickly closed, he wanted to back up as if somehow the light was attacking him.
With difficulty, he could see a male figure standing in front of him. As the image cleared, he knew exactly who it was. The man wore a refined tuxedo and a red tie, he kept his face menacing. He began to speak:
–Hey, dude. –He outlined a smile.
–Go to hell.
But the man just gave a cynical laugh.
–Look, Doctor Cass –he started as he pulled some white gloves out of his back pocket, first delicately putting on one and then the other –. We can avoid all this. However, we know that y will open your mouth and it will not work as it should. So, since you chose your death and not your family's, we are here.
–You betrayed me –he said furiously –, you betrayed everyone on the team!
–I only hid part of the work from them. You and the other four accepted everything –he paused–. If we see it differently, you are the traitor.
–You cheated me blatantly!
–And you accepted almost blindly because of your ambition!
–...You also have a family to take care of, and this...
–I keep them out of the project and everything that has to do with this –he opens his jacket and takes a pistol out of it–. Now ... I don't want to do this any longer.
Ezra hates this blond man for every second of his life and will hate him during his death.
–Why don't you feel guilty? You have murdered, betrayed, and deceived hundreds of people.
–Killing is part of the job and, for my good luck, I don't feel what you call "guilt."
Ezra frowned.
What madness...
The man in the tuxedo raised the pistol slowly to the forehead of the man in front of him, turning the skin between Ezra's two temples into an imaginary target.
–I'm sorry, dear... –The poor man saw his life go by and began to apologize to his wife even though she was not there –. I didn't want to leave you or our daughter. –He lowered his head and said quietly.
–Don´t worry. As soon as you die, they won't take long to catch up with you.
–No! We have a deal! My life for theirs! Don´t–
A somewhat deafening sound was fired as the bullet exited. The infinite black that surrounded Ezra grew darker, thus ending his life.
Congratulations, you hit the mark without blinking!
–I won't touch them a hair –he snorted amused –, I just wanted to know how you would react.
He stared at Ezra's lifeless body for a second, turned around and he walked through the door again to leave, the hallway lights greeted him. The gray walls and black doors looked like they were dressed in mourning for the doctor.
He greeted with a nod of the head to the two members in charge of the surveillance in that small area, the soldiers were waiting at the end of the corridor, and they correspond to him in the same way.
A call to the man's cell phone made the front pocket of his pants vibrate, he passed the gun to his left hand and with the other, and he took it out and answered the call to put the device to his ear.
–Dad? –A small voice of an animated child sounded on the other end of the phone.
–Hey, that's my favorite boy! What happens? Why are you calling me from mom's phone?
–Ahh, mommy wants you to be early for, uh ... dinner. O-otherwise the food will get cold! –He stumbled over his words trying to find the right sentence to express himself.
–It's okay my love –his voice sounded sweet.
A woman heard herself in the background:
–Sweetie, give me the phone, please.
–Bye daddy, love ya! Take the phone, mom.
–Thank you... Hey, come early please –his wife ordered him.
–Okay, don´t worry –He smiled.
–I wait for you, darl- Hey, careful! –The crash of something falling made him raise his eyebrows–. He fell, see you! –she hastily hung up.
He put the phone away and the cold aspect of him returned to him like a mask, a mask impossible to see but capable of deceiving, of pretending to be someone else, a warm and loving person.
–You two –he said when he turned around–, get the body out of here.
–Yes sir –replied one.
But before doing so, the blonde man spoke again:
–Hey you –he didn't specify who was calling, but they both turned around–. Stay with this. –He threw that thing that a few minutes ago he had used to definitely end a person's breath. A soldier caught it–. Have a nice day guys.
Without further ado, he took continuous steps, and at the same pace, he reached the elevator and went down to the parking lot. He got in the car and headed home. When he arrived, his son was already waiting for him at the entrance and ran down the stone path that crosses the garden to hug him, as a good father, he carried his little son and they entered home.
–Honey –said his wife– we must have dinner. Go wash your hands.
He lowered his son and gave his wife a small kiss on the forehead–: Alright.
No matter how much you wear gloves the color of innocence and purity, not even holy water can wash your hands or clear your soul.