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discoveredinaljSecond snippet. And Happy New Year to all!
Chapter 4 — Killer With A Long Arm: Georgi
I hope I gave that silly bitch a real shock by telling her about Niko.
Another dilettante, playing at being a revolutionary. I've met her kind before: she tells herself she's devoted to the cause but really she's sexually aroused being around violent men. Put her in a different situation, and she'd be dating a cop or a soldier just as happily.
Women are like that. They want sensation and emotion. They'll happily embrace chaos if they can wallow in those.
Costa and Tommy too. Costa is one of those nostalgia revolutionaries. He dreams of the great democracy of Athens, restoring the glories of centuries past and going back to his parents' village as a hero of the people. The reality was slavery and filth, just like everywhere else, and his father's heritage is probably a couple of rocky acres in the hills somewhere and a shed the family shared with the goats. And Tommy's never even been to Greece, for God's sake. For him, it might as well be Disneyland—all bright colours and exciting stories about Heracles and Plato frolicking in the olive groves with nymphs and satyrs.
I've never cared about any cause. Pay me, and I'll do the job, and get it right the first time. Plan, practice, follow through. There's no room for distractions, and no time for sentiment.
But sometimes I do remember Niko.
Ah, sweet Niko. That was a long hot summer. It felt like stalking a lion across the plains of Africa. The target was on alert; he knew someone was after him. The army and the secret police were everywhere, dragging people off the street for interrogation, searching entire city quarters building by building.
Niko was my spotter. I thought he was too young, too green. But he learned quickly, worked hard, and obeyed orders. He fell in love, as boys will, and I was bored. Too many days shut up in stifling flats with nothing to do once the rifle was properly zeroed. A distraction, yes, but a very pleasant one. And it allowed time to for the hunt to cool off.
The target's guards never made a slip. But as the IRA so wisely put it, the security people have to be right every time, and I only have to be right once.
Niko never faltered, not even when we had to run for our lives. How thrilling would Hilda find it to know we hid in the sewers to make our escape, until the stench permeated our clothes and skin and hair? Niko garroted an old man for his car, and we drove day and night to reach the border. If I could afford a partner, Niko would've been the one.
I killed him, of course. He knew too much about me, and he wasn't the kind who'd hold out under interrogation if he ever were captured. I don't often do close up work, but for Niko, I made an exception.
Perhaps I should tell Hilda that, too.
Title: 57 Minor Characters in Search of an Author: Chapter 4
Author: Verlaine
Slash or Gen: Gen
Archive at ProsLib/Circuit: Yes, please
Author's Name for Archiving (if different to above):
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money.
Previous chapters: Archive of Our Own https://archiveofourown.org/works/16699837
Chapter 4 — Killer With A Long Arm: Georgi
I hope I gave that silly bitch a real shock by telling her about Niko.
Another dilettante, playing at being a revolutionary. I've met her kind before: she tells herself she's devoted to the cause but really she's sexually aroused being around violent men. Put her in a different situation, and she'd be dating a cop or a soldier just as happily.
Women are like that. They want sensation and emotion. They'll happily embrace chaos if they can wallow in those.
Costa and Tommy too. Costa is one of those nostalgia revolutionaries. He dreams of the great democracy of Athens, restoring the glories of centuries past and going back to his parents' village as a hero of the people. The reality was slavery and filth, just like everywhere else, and his father's heritage is probably a couple of rocky acres in the hills somewhere and a shed the family shared with the goats. And Tommy's never even been to Greece, for God's sake. For him, it might as well be Disneyland—all bright colours and exciting stories about Heracles and Plato frolicking in the olive groves with nymphs and satyrs.
I've never cared about any cause. Pay me, and I'll do the job, and get it right the first time. Plan, practice, follow through. There's no room for distractions, and no time for sentiment.
But sometimes I do remember Niko.
Ah, sweet Niko. That was a long hot summer. It felt like stalking a lion across the plains of Africa. The target was on alert; he knew someone was after him. The army and the secret police were everywhere, dragging people off the street for interrogation, searching entire city quarters building by building.
Niko was my spotter. I thought he was too young, too green. But he learned quickly, worked hard, and obeyed orders. He fell in love, as boys will, and I was bored. Too many days shut up in stifling flats with nothing to do once the rifle was properly zeroed. A distraction, yes, but a very pleasant one. And it allowed time to for the hunt to cool off.
The target's guards never made a slip. But as the IRA so wisely put it, the security people have to be right every time, and I only have to be right once.
Niko never faltered, not even when we had to run for our lives. How thrilling would Hilda find it to know we hid in the sewers to make our escape, until the stench permeated our clothes and skin and hair? Niko garroted an old man for his car, and we drove day and night to reach the border. If I could afford a partner, Niko would've been the one.
I killed him, of course. He knew too much about me, and he wasn't the kind who'd hold out under interrogation if he ever were captured. I don't often do close up work, but for Niko, I made an exception.
Perhaps I should tell Hilda that, too.
Title: 57 Minor Characters in Search of an Author: Chapter 4
Author: Verlaine
Slash or Gen: Gen
Archive at ProsLib/Circuit: Yes, please
Author's Name for Archiving (if different to above):
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money.
Previous chapters: Archive of Our Own https://archiveofourown.org/works/16699837
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