"Cut&Deal"

“Cut & Deal” [In Love with a Sicko]

Gravel crunched under her boots as Claire “Massacre” Catalano walked casually down the dark alley towards the back doors to the ‘abandoned’ warehouse that held the scum of the earth, also known as the Russian mob, nested inside in a false sense of security.

She paused for a second to take a breath and crack her knuckles, before opening the double doors in one fluid motion. As she made her way through the empty storeroom towards the stairs to the second floor, she remembered her family. She recalled that fateful night when God, if there was such a beast, decided to reward her ‘sacrifice’ by giving her the punishment of life itself. This was how she always did these things. These, ‘jobs’. Before disposing of the boss and all his lackeys, she would relive that horrible night and refuel the fire that burned inside her, to remember why she was who she was. Why she took it upon herself to rid the city of all potential competitors. Why she was committed to the mission her entire family assumed. The mission she never fully understood until she was the only one left to carry on.

She loaded her shotgun as she pushed the swinging doors open and entered the room, the noise made everyone in the room look her way.

Four men were on their knees, arms behind their backs, with guns held to their heads by four other men. Two bodies lay lifeless in front of the boss himself. He was standing with his hands tied behind him and a cloth gagging his mouth. One of her men was holding him while another was pointing his gun at him.

“Good Afternoon, gentlemen” she greeted, resting the shotgun on her shoulder as she made her way towards the center of the room. She nodded to the man gagging the boss, Crazy Duke Zukhov, and he removed the cloth, the Duke wheezing and panting for air.

“What do you want? Whatever it is you can have it. You’ve made your point” he coughed.

Claire turned to face him, revealing her scarred face. He winced but remained reserved.

“No.” she answered, “I haven’t.”

With that she raised her gun and pulled the trigger, her permanent smirk curling upward.

“We are no longer living in the dark ages of organized crime, gentlemen.” she said as the Duke’s body fell limply to the floor. She lowered her gun and began slowly walking around the room.

“It’s time for the next phase. And what better place to start than Gotham city?” she glanced over the men on their knees, “The birthplace of the greatest vigilante in history? This city deserves the best because it can handle the best.” She stopped. Gave one last look at the men, their eyes glazing over with hopelessness, and chuckled. Then she turned and began walking toward the doors.

“Consider your lives a necessary sacrifice, in the name of progress.” She finished as she pushed open the doors.

Pops echoed through the empty building as she bounced casually down the stairs.

Commissioner Gordon sipped his coffee and checked his watch.
“Another hit.” A gruff voice made the Commissioner nearly drop his mug.
“Crazy Duke Zukhov.” He confirmed, “found him and half of his gang on the second floor of one of his warehouses.”
He turned to face the Batman, his dark silhouette towering over him. Despite their frequent ‘meetings’ he still got the creeps whenever he looked into those menacing eyes of his. Yet he still trusted him with his life.
“And the rest?” asked the Batman.
Gordon shook his head, “Vanished. Looks like another inside job. Another mutiny.” He replied.
“Him again?”
“Apparently we were both wrong” the commissioner held up a photo, handed it over, “this was pinned to the Duke’s body.”
“Claire Catalano? She survived the explosion?”
“It’s still unconfirmed, but forensics found DNA on the photo and it matches.”
“Could be the next victim.” Batman handed the photo back.
Gordon looked at it again, “Could be, but I have a feeling it’s-“ he looked up again and the Batman was nowhere to be found, “more complicated.” He sighed.

“-Authorities confirmed that the bodies belong to Crazy Duke Zukhov and six of his men.”
“-still at large..”
“-identity is still unconfirmed but rumors have been circulating. Could this be the return of Claire ‘Massacre’ Catalano?”
A hand pointed the remote and pressed a button. The small television flashed off and silence fell.
“Claire ‘Massacre’ Catalano” the owner of the hand chuckled and raised the newspaper to look at the picture of the heir to the great Catalano crime family.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

The dark room erupted in a wave of laughter.