Thread: Thinking outside of the box  [DOM+AutumDreaming]

The a plain, non-descript car pulled up to the alley by the darkened bistro. A tall man dressed in a non-descript grey suit stepped out of his car and pulled at his shirt and tie -visibly not used to wearing them. He was tall and well built from years of working out on weights since he had entered adolescence. He had short light brown hair -almost a crew cut and was clean-shaven. He stepped up to the door and was confronted by two equally non-discript and large fellows who stepped out of his way after a quiet word. He made his way up the dimly lit stairwell into a small living-room that was only slightly better lit, and was spotted with worn furniture here and there. Inside he met a man who was clearly not only comfortable in the much more expensive suit he wore, but also comfortable wielding authority. Diamano Conti walked in with an odd mixture of humility and confidence, walking directly over to the older man who did not rise to meet him and leaning forward to shake the hand that was offered to him. As the man gestured at the couch nearby Diamano sat down. Diamano, the older man said languidly but powerfully there is a problem I'm having -a small bookstore next to one of my establishments insists on talking to people they shouldn't be talking to he said and then he spread his hands out and sighed sadly We've tried all kinds of things, offering compensation, offering protection -still, this rat wants to tell tales out of school. he said, his voice becoming slightly more heated. The man leaned forward and handed Diamano a slip of paper and looked into his eyes. I've been watching your work, young Diamano, you're discreet, you're professional -you don't go all crazy and you almost seem too gentle for this line of work. the older man smiled almost he said with a smile you don't lose your head, and that's important on a job like this...see. the Don moved a little in his chair, giving the illousion -and illousion it was- that he was undecided. I'm going to give you a free hand to take care of this problem for me. Diamano blinked in surprise. 'free hand'? You can kill his whole family if you want, if you think it best, or you can ...I don't know. the man leaned forward This man is a real nusance, no question about it -but there's many possible answers, and I want to see how you handle this, I want to see how you think. So solve this problem, however you think best. Just ...solve it. he said and then nodded his head, and as if by magic Diamano knew the audience was over I thank you for the chance to demonstrate and ...I promise you'll be happy with the results. Diamano nodded respectfully and then walked out, back down the stairwell and drove home. He wracked his brain for days thinking it over, and the more he thought, the more worried he became. He was supposed to think of something clever , yet the only thing that came to mind was to simply whack the family and be done with it. After a couple of days the Don had called and neither of them made even a faint allousion to the dilemma -except that before he hung up the Don said enigmatically In some things, Diamano, there are no wrong answers he said. Diamano replied that's true, I agree and then they ended their conversation. He wouldn't get whacked, he may never get further, but he would not be whacked for how he acted on this. That left him free to act on the decision he had made -to take out the whole family. He waited until 11 that night and then drove out to the house where the bookstore owner lived with his family. As expected, the lights were out. Diamano pulled his car in front of the house silently and then sat and looked into the darkened windows of the house. He thought of the children he knew of there, and of the daughter and the wife, and he wept, holding his gun in his lap. No one knew that any time there were women or children involved he stopped, paused to reflect, and then cried. Later, he would attend confession at a select church and do his penance -but for now he got out of the car, turned off his emotions, and walked inside. ...not knowing that there was only one person in the house that night.