Rain fell on the windsheild of an old-looking black sedan. Parked under a small bridge leading to the highway, it was mostly concealed. Inside, a man, seemingly in his early thirties, could be seen with his arms over the steering wheel, staring persistently at an apartment complex down the street.
The driveway was packed with an unusual amount of vehichles, although judging by the amount of lit windows on the building's front and sides, it didn't contradict with the usual traffic it must have been seeing on a daily basis.
Frustrated and clearly pressed for time, indicated by his incessant checking of his limited edition Boots The Monkey watch, he made a move.
Hurriedly, he opened the car's front storage compartment, situated on the right-hand side of the dashboard, and fished out a handgun.
The smell of gunpowder reached his nostrils as he checked the number of bullets left in the mag.
Hesitant but determined, he got out of the car, sighing heavily, and slammed the door but didn't lock it. This needed to be done quickly.
Hiding the firearm under his already soaked coat, he jogged towards the building's front entrance, no time to scout for alternatives.
Arriving, he found the door's lock destroyed, a fact that made him squirm even further; unfortunately, simply leaving wasn't an option for him.
'Ah, dammit Lewis, what have you gotten me into?' he thought before pushing the door, finally entering.
Wasting no time to gaze at the yellowing, flower-patterned wallpaper or the corners being invaded by moss, he ran past the elevator and chose to take the stairs, his sprint in full throttle.
Running through the floors, he checked every numbered door.
'119, 119, come on, come on, come on.'
'119!'
'Found you.'
A smile was about to paint his face, but the urge died down immediatly after hearing loud voices coming from inside, loudly overlapping his own laboured breathing.
He could also clearly see that the door was not closed completely, a tiny speck of a line of light shining through on the dirty floor.
'Argh.' He had no time for this!
Violently shoving the door with his shoulder, he burst in, taking aim immediatly.
The situation inside almost made his eyes pop out like a cartoon character.
With what could only be described as a mexican standoff on steroids, the man found himself at the end of about six different pistol barrels.
'h-holy-'
"Well, well, well, what do we got here?"
"Another one, huh?"
It took a minute for the man to start a consistent breathing cycle again, praying to whatever gods were listening, thankful that he hadn't been riddled with death holes right then and there.
"You alright there, son?!" an older gentleman, the oldest of the bunch by the looks of it, asked him calmy.
"Y-yeah, w-what's going on here?" he asked, all the while intergrating himself into their cirlce, waving his gun around at their faces, just as they had been doing to his.
"Isn't it obvious, kid?" another one spoke.
"Yo—we've fallen into a trap...
...all of us!"
"Someone led us here...
...all for a different reason, some for a trade, some for a killing!"
"Yeah!"
"But one thing's for certain, our lives are of no concern...
...anyway, why are you here for?" one of them wondered.
"Me and my partner were supposed to intercept a drop here, but—"
He left the rest of his sentence unsaid, he had to, as the other gunmen visibly tensed at the mention of an unseen partner.
"Is there another outside?"
"Wh-wha—"
"ANSWER!"
The mention of an added variable to this already incredibly tense situation only added fuel to the fire, as the gunmen started demanding an explanation.
"NO!"
"No, there's no one else, just me!"
"On the way here we—"
!!
It happened in an instant. Just as the man was about to diffuse the misunderstanding, he caught a slight movement in the direction of the apartment entrance that he had barged through earlier.
They say death is experienced uniquely by each individual. No matter how similar in circumstance, that overwhelming feeling manifests differently.
For him, it was the smell. He didn't actually see or hear anything when two more men holding a pair of machine guns popped in the room.
This time, there was no miraculous interference by the rule of gun discipline.
The perfectly round-shaped hole between his eyebrows was soon disrupted as red hot blood started trickling down his face, with it as the source. His nosrils picked up a pungent scent of lavender combined with gunpowder.
While easily deducable for the latter, the former's origin became a true mystery for him...
...for the seconds he had left, at least, before everything went dark.
______________________________________________________________________
A loud gasp, like taking one's first breath after a deep and lengthy dive underwater.
A vast body of water, surrounded by faraway montain tops. That exact scenery greeted the man as he stood up. He was quite a bit disoriented, as it took a while longer than it should have for him to realize that he was standing on water.
Watching his confused and panicked expression as he splashed around was heavily entertaining...
"..but, I guess I should get this over with."
!!
Appearing out of nowhere, an older-looking gentleman now stood face to face with the newly departed gangster.
"!wha—"
"mmhmmh—"
Before the man could even have the chance to be shocked, he found his mouth had been bound somehow...
"Yes, hello there, I apologize for my rudeness, but I thought this would help our business conclude swifter. My name is Tophat." Tophat spoke eloquently, his personality very straightforward.
Attributing to his name, his outfit consisted of a top hat, a black suit with golden buttons, and a simple cane.
Tophat paused for a minute, observing as the man gradually calmed down before continuing...
"You've probably realized by now that you are in limbo, not dead in the traditional sense but not alive either." Tophat stated the facts like a pro, like he had done so numerous times.
"..mmhmhmm."
"Alright, in a moment I am going to unbind you so we can procced with the resolving of your issue, please try to remain tranquill and cooperative..."
Tophat stopped speaking again, awaiting a response.
Contrary to Tophat's expectations, the man wasn't nearly as distraught as he should have been, in a predicament such as this one.
So, while unable to speak, he nodded in agreement instead.
"mmhmhm."
"Good, good, good, good, good." Tophat smiled, clearly pleased.
..
?
..
?
An awkward silence followed. Both men stared uncomfortably, the evidently artificial and soundless scenery not doing this situation any favours.
Finally, Tophat had enough...
"WHAT are you doing!"
There was no response as the man tilted his head to the left, his eyebrows furrowed inquisitively.
"WHY ARE YOU NOT SPEAKING, I'VE UNBOUNDED YOU ALREADY!" Tophat exploded, the stern persona from before seemed to be just that, as Tophat practically unloaded all of his frustrations.
"Urgh, I SHOULD NOT BE HERE!!" His dislike for his current task proved he was not here of his own free will.
"Wow, wow, wow, chill, I apologize...
The man pushed out his palms in defence.
...I was just waiting for a gesture or something, I didn't know you had unbounded me or whatever."
"Like a snapping sound or a clap, you know what I'm saying...
...anyway, I'm Joey, nice to meet you, Tophat, although admitedly you could use a few hours of counseling, anger like that is harmful for old folks like yourself, none of my business though."
Joey introduced himself and held out his hand, waiting for a handshake, a cheeky grin turned full-on smile on his face, he couldn't contain it, but at least he wasn't straight out laughing, he had held himself back, knowing it would send Tophat over the edge!
His honest smile revealing the full set of his straight white teeth, a gesture that usually helped him escape the most dangerous of binds.
It was really disarming and his best feature by far, his mama always said.