MrBrown
Eternal Padawan
Beauty Drawn to Crime
The night was on its darker hours, the moon high in the sky but completely covered by clouds, it would probably rain later. Arthur James sat on his dark living room in a couch chair, his head down as he tried to think of something, anything really, to help him out in the situation he was in. He had just borrowed a large amount of money from the most vicious crime lord in their city and he had no way to pay it all back, plus the interest fee. He was going to die. The darkness had been quick to fall upon the city and with it so did Mason Bailey.
The crime boss stepped out of his parked car, finishing up a cigar and taking in the smoke as he looked up at the building and noticed the absence of lights from the windows. He exhaled, a puff of smoking forming slightly around him before the gentle and a bit cold night wind spread it across the air. Mason threw the cigar to a nearby trash can and turned to look at his two goons. One was Pinky Joe, a large and bulky man with short brown hair and a scar under his lip. Ironically, Joe was missing his right pinky hence the nickname.
Next to him was Mason's second in command, his younger sister, Jane Bailey. Jane was a tall woman, taller than Mason, with long, very dark black hair and blue-greenish eyes. She had a cigarette lit hanging on her fingers and looked bored and hasty. "Let's get this over quickly, Mason." She said, being the only person who could either talk to Mason like that and use his first name. "We still have three more stops to make." All three of them were wearing designer suits, clearly expensive, and Mason and Jane had white ties around their necks.
The crime boss didn't answer and instead only nodded before making his way inside the building. It took them less than five minutes to go up the stairs and, like death upon someone's door, they knocked first. It was three simple and hard knocks and then silence.
As it turned out, it started to rain, the falling drops accompanied by loud thunders that provided momentarily light to the darkroom Arthur was in. Just as the first thunder flashed and finished, Arthur heard the three knocks on the door. He could tell they were heavy knocks, made with a closed fist most likely. He didn't move to open it, he knew who it was. He thought that maybe if he didn't answer they would come back another time, giving him more time to think of something.
Another knock on the door proved his theory wrong. "We know you are in there." A voice said from the other side of the door. It was a woman's voice. Arthur still did not move to open it, his legs wouldn't listen to him as he started shaking all over, sweat rolling down his forehead even though it was a chilly night.
Anna lifted her gaze from her book and towards the door of her room at the knocks upon the door of their apartment. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, closing the book after marking it. She wasn’t aware her father was expecting visitors. Especially at this late hour. Her light was on but, unfortunately, her room did not face the street, preventing her from trying to see if there was anyone down there.
Anna stepped into the dark living room, not knowing why her father was alone in the dark.
Time to Decide
[1] Turn on the lights. It's too dark to see anything and it's making you uncomfortable and you want to properly talk with your father.
[2] "Who is it?". Who, in their right mind, would knock at this hour? Don't they know what time it is?
[3] Open the door. You're too nice of a person and don't like to talk from behind walls. Plus, you want to give them a piece of your mind for knocking at this hour.
[4] Look through the peephole. Whoever it is, it's always a good habit to look before opening.