The Balance Sheet

Chapter 6

The boss stood in front of Pete, on the other side of the couch by the living room door. He was obviously in charge by standing out and being called boss; that much I gathered on my own.

The boss looked around the living room as he added, "I'd say surprised too that you're living in this dump even though you managed to steal six hundred eighty-nine thousand, two hundred ninety-three dollars and thirty seven cents from me."

I'd never in my life heard that much money said out loud. I was very impressed that he remembered the exact amount though. It probably didn't take too long to count what was left behind.

Pete's voice got high but he wasn't yelling as he loudly said, "What?! I didn't steal anything. This must be some kind of mistake boss. I'd never –"

The boss turned to Pete and cut him off, "But you did. And I know you did. You've been dropping my money all over the place and from my sources, have been getting a lot more. Now I'm going to ask you one time very nicely. I want one-hundred percent of everything you earned and my exact amount back in exchange for your life."

Pete slowly replied, "Boss... I can't get–" The boss quickly grabs Pete by his shirt then Pete shouts, "Wait!"

By the time the entire word left his lips, the boss punched him in the face. I flinched in fear then the young guy next to me reached down into his suit jacket and kept a sharp eye on me. He stopped when I put my hands up to show him I had nothing then he realized I was just scared. Pete fell down and the boss dropped down on top of him then started rapidly punching him. All I saw of Pete was his feet sticking out from the end of the couch, moving rapidly; all I saw of the boss was his elbows going up and down from the top.

The punches were so hard, that I was able to hear them from where I was sitting. Eventually Pete's feet stopped moving but the boss didn't stop. I didn't hear any panting from the other side of the couch; the boss had incredible stamina. I stopped hearing Pete get his head beaten into the floor as the boss rose up then let out a sniffle.

He stepped over Pete and whipped out a cloth from the top of a small decorative table, making all of the glass on top fall to the floor. He started wiping his gloves with the cloth and the guy that stood by the door to the entry, walked over to Pete then shot him three times. I started shaking harder after each shot. I wanted to run but I was sure they all had guns and I wouldn't have gotten far.

That was the first time I had ever heard a gunshot outside of a T.V. and the first time I had ever seen a dead body; well... dead feet. I was more scared than I'd ever been because I knew that I was next in line and had absolutely nothing for collateral. I did have seven thousand dollars but I didn't want to insult him by offering him 1% of what he showed up to collect. I quietly sat there, hoping they'd forget about me.

The boss said to his men, "Clean this place out."

The young guy that stood next to me asked, "What about him?"

The boss looked over at me and quickly said, "Kill him too."

The young guy pulled his gun out then cocked it back and pointed it at me. I quickly moved over to the opposite side of the couch and put my hands out as if they'd stop the bullet that was about to kill me.

The boss quickly looked over and stopped him, "Wait." He stopped wiping his hands and asked, "Who is he?"

The young guy looked up and answered, "I don't know."

The boss said, "Well figure it out."

The young guy looked back at me and asked, "Who are you?"

The fear and the looking away made my voice sound a little muffled as I quickly answered, "My name is Marc and I'm just an accountant, please."