Johnny sits quietly in the front row of Saint Michael's Church. His head bowed he speaks silently before standing up and entering the confessional. "Forgive Me Father For I Have Sinned" he whispers. "What Sins Have You Committed My Son" a voice echoes back.

5 Years Ago

Johnny sits in a parked car motor running smoking a cigarette. The car sits in a dark alley across from a corner store around 1030pm. A lowly dressed man exits the store locking the door behind him. Johnny perks up as the man gets in a cab. The cab leaves as Johnny follows not getting too close. The cab pulls up to a rundown apartment building on the lower south side. Johnny stops about a block back and watches the man. The man gets out going into the building. 

After about an hour goes by the man exits the building nervously as Johnny looks on. The man walks in the opposite direction as Johnny gets out of the car. Johnny walks to the alleyway and into the building. Johnny gets inside and walks to the stairs. The mailboxes are on the wall at the bottom of the staircase and a piece of paper protruded from one in particular. Johnny looked at the paper then slid it out. It was from apartment 7C but the paper was blank. Johnny knew that 7C was his destination. Johnny walked upstairs slowly and as quietly as he could be. When he reached the apartment door he took a deep breath and turned the doorknob slowly. As he entered the apartment he could hear the radio playing. He pulled a gun from inside his jacket and crept through the apartment. As he reached the living room he saw a man in the chair facing the window. He sidestepped around the chair and realized the man sat dead. The man had his throat slit recently and fresh blood stained the front of his shirt. Johnny stunned a moment finally turned and saw a card sat on the record player. Johnny picked up the card and it read.

Game Over

Johnny knew he had been beaten to a job but who? The little old man? A rival hitter? He sat thinking for a moment before sirens filled the air. He knew he had been setup. Johnny immediately turned and fled the apartment window down the fire escape. Once he reached the ground he ran down the alley to an open door where he entered and shut it behind him. It was the kitchen of a local pizza shop. He made his way through the kitchen into the front undetected. He quickly sat down to decide what happened and what went wrong. 

The next morning Johnny sat at the kitchen table going over the events of the previous night in his head. "Whatd i miss" he thought, "What didnt I see." He got up washing out the coffee cup he had been drinking from and walked to the bedroom to get dressed. He exited the apartment and went downstairs and out the front door of the building. He had to figure out what went wrong and fast. He retraced the events in his head as he walked towards the corner store.

As he reached the corner store he walked in to find the man he tailed last night. Johnny walked in and promptly locked the door bwhind him. "We need to talk" he said as he flipped the open sign to closed. The two walked to the back room. The man quickly berated Johnny for showing up in broad daylight. "I need details" Johnny said sternly. The man reached into his inner pocket and produced a card which he quickly handed to Johnny. The card was a message to the man explaining if he didnt follow instructions that his wife and newborn daughter would not make it home safely. "Who?" Johnny asked as he looked over the card. The man advised Johnny that Jimmy The Rat was ransoming the wife and daughter to frame Johnny for the murder of a high profile government official. His job was to hire Johnny for peotection and lead him to an apartment the Senator had been renting for his mistress. The Senator was there dead and Johnny would be jailed for the job. "He was already dead when i lead you there" the man said "I dont know which one of Jimmys guys...if any of them actually killed him." Johnny motioned for the man to come closer. As the man leaned in Johnny grabbed a pen off the counter and stabbed the man under the chin. Blood sprayed down covering Johnny's hand as the mans eyes went wide before Johnny removed the pen and the man fell forward. "You rat fuck" Johnny muttered before exiting the back door into the alleyway as to not be seen. Johnny quickly ducked into an open doorway taking his jacket off using it to wipe off the blood covering his hand. Johnny tossed the jacket into a dumpster and proceeded down to the main street.

Johnny walked down to a local coffee shop and peeped through the window. None other than Jimmy The Rat was sitting at the counter eating a piece of pie and drinking a cup of coffee. Johnny walked in and sat down next to Jimmy smirking and lighting a cigarette. "Now I thought rats only ate cheese Jimmy" he said as Jimmy looked over a bit shocked to see him. "Now...you genuinely looked surprised" Johnny says. Jimmy remained silent as Johnny inhales the cigarette then exhaled smoke into Jimmys face purposefully. "I couldve killed you before you even saw me" Johnny said. "But I want you to KNOW its coming" Johnny stands up and pats Jimmy on the shoulder and walks out. 

That night Johnny was sitting in the dark in his chair with a pistol on the arm rest next to him. Jimmy and three men are right outside his apartment door. They quietly pick the lock of his door and slowly open the door. The men walk into the dark apartment. One man flips on the light and Johnny spins around in the chair. BOOM BOOM BOOM shots fire off as Johnny hits one man in the head Jimmy gets shot in the leg as @Vito_Genovese behind the kitchen bar, @MustachePete from the bedroom doorway and @BobbyLashley from the hallway all begin firing. Jimmy drops to the ground as he realizes his men are dead and he was undoubtedly next. Johnny stands up walking over to Jimmy. "Who pushed the button? Who put my name in your ear?" Johnny asked kneeling down to Jimmy. Jimmy whispered as Johnny leaned closer. Johnnys eyes went wide as he stood up. "Your kidding...right?" he asked. Jimmy clinches a bit handing over a piece of paper. Johnny takes it and looks it over before @Vito_Genovese pushes his gun into the temple of Jimmy and pulls the trigger. 

PRESENT DAY

"That note was a revalation father" Johnny says somberly. "My son death and chaos is never the answer" the Priest says. Johnny nods and a sadistic smirk comes across his face. "I am sorry for these and all my sins" Johnny whispers. Johnny fires a single shot throught the confessional hitting The Priest in the side of the head killing him immediately. He whispers “Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I detest all of my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who are all good and deserving of all of my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.” Johnny crosses his heart then exits the confessional. He reaches into his pocket pulling out the note Jimmy had given him 5 years ago. The note reads...

Jimmy, Johnny has come much too close and must be eliminated if our relationship is to continue. He mustn't be made aware of the circumstances of his wifes death. He is a lifelong member of the church as well as a close friend of the family. If he knew the church was behind her death it would severe ties and strongly impact the future of the church.

 

 

Signed Father Thomas O'Mallory

The End