Assassin by Joe Craig

Author:Joe Craig
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497641693
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

14

IZGARU

IZGARU—the golden letters curled out around one another, far too grand for the restaurant they adorned. The dark green wooden frontage was chipped and faded; the glass in the windows was filthy. Jimmy’s focus shifted between the empty tables inside and the bedraggled boy reflected back at him from across the road. The menu posted by the door was barely legible because of the dirt that had built up on it. It was a Turkish place—hummus, kebabs, baklava. Jimmy was hungry. It was too early for anybody to be eating, so Izgaru was deserted.

Then he spotted activity inside. Viggo was moving between the ghostlike tables, with their white cloths hanging like shrouds. He sat down with his back to the window, pulled out a pen from his top pocket, and began working on some papers. He looked comfortable. Jimmy started thinking about how he was going to do the deed: a single blow to the neck.

Even as the thought was going through his mind, he felt disgusted. He wished the unfeeling, nonhuman part of him would take over and spare him the nausea. It was the real Jimmy, though, who nervously crossed the road, every step taking him nearer to his target.

When he came close, the door to the kitchen sprang open, and another man entered the restaurant, carrying a plate piled high with meat. His white apron was covered in grease, and his fat hands quivered with the heat of the food. Jimmy watched him return to the kitchen. Viggo had hardly acknowledged the arrival of his snack. It looked so tasty.

Jimmy realized he couldn’t just walk in through the front door. There might be a bell or buzzer, which would immediately give him away. He ran round the side of the building, looking for a back entrance. There wasn’t one, but there was an open window.

The curls of steam told him that it belonged to the kitchen. Jimmy jumped up and tried to grab the ledge. It was slippery from the rain and too thin to grasp. He tried again, but again he just fell back to the gutter. Much as he hated the thought of it, he needed to rouse the killer inside him.

He closed his eyes and clenched his stomach muscles. Come on, he thought, then he forced it out through gritted teeth: “Come on.”

There it was—a faint swirling, as if a worm were wriggling its way through his gut. Gradually it grew, until it was a surging, twisting ball trying to burst out of his chest. Jimmy felt his posture change. His shoulders rose up, tightening. His legs moved slightly apart, and his knees flexed—ready for action. He had to retain control though. That was the hardest thing, but he knew he could do it. He had summoned this—definitely.

Now when he jumped, he sprang so high that he was able to grab hold of the open window with both hands. With one fast tug, he ripped the whole thing out of the wall. As the wood casing came away, the faintest crumbling of the brick round the edge was the only noise.

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