Hotel 72: The Last Hit

by Anthony Ivins

and Robert battled to make out any recognisable shapes that he could focus on. He glanced at his watch, it was 7-08pm. He had two minutes. A strobe light started to pulse and with every flash Robert could just make out a figure standing behind the podium. He aimed at the figure and with each pulse of light he turned the dial slowly, focusing inch by inch.

  When Robert was happy he had a decent lock on his target he took his one hand off the rifle and picked up his mobile phone from the chair. He looked down at the app and touched a big green button which started a countdown timer of thirty seconds. He placed his hand back on the rifle and focused on the sight again, turning the dial slightly to make a few small adjustments.

  The app let out a loud beep and Robert knew it had 10 seconds to go. He took a deep breath and held his body steady, releasing the air slowly through his nose and focusing fully on his target. The app beeped loudly once more and an instant later Robert squeezed the trigger and felt the rifle recoil against his shoulder. The window of the convention centre was shattered by the explosion from the small black box and almost a split second later the bullet went through the hole, hitting Marcus squarely in the chest and killing him instantly.

  Robert put the rifle down, reached over and closed the window before pulling the curtains closed. He picked up the chair and moved it back to the desk. He looked at the time, it was 7-09. He had four minutes before the police would arrive. Robert took the rifle apart and took the pieces into the bathroom. He shoved them into the holes in the wall and then picked up the mirror and placed it back on the wall, tightening all the screws before putting back the silver balls.

  He opened the door and stepped into the passage and lifted his mobile phone to his ear, pretending to talk again. Robert walked casually down the passage to the elevator, pretending to be in deep conversation. As the elevator doors opened Robert looked at his watch, it was 7-13pm. He had one minute to get back to the bar. The elevator stopped at the ground floor and as Robert stepped out he could hear the wail of police sirens in the distance. He walked as fast as he could without running to the bar entrance.

  Robert was still pretending to talk on the phone when he walked up to his bar stool, “Okay Honey, I will see you tomorrow. Love you lots,” he said, before taking the phone away from his ear and sitting down.

  “Whew, that women can talk the ear off an elephant,” he said to Wade.

  “Like most women,” said Wade smiling.

  Robert picked up his drink and took a large sip. As he placed the glass on the counter two police men burst through the entrance, hands resting on their holstered guns and looking around frantically.

  “Whoa, what’s happening,” asked Wade.

  “Somebody was shot at the convention centre,” said one of the policemen.

  “By who?” asked Wade.

  “We don’t know. It looks like it was a hit that came from the hotel,” replied the police man.

  The one police man started to walk around the bar, looking around. The other policeman walked up to Wade, “Do you have a moment?” he asked.

  “Yes sir,” he replied.

  “Good, let’s move a bit away,” he said and pulled Wade gently by his arm until they were a few yards away.

  Robert looked up at the television behind the bar counter, pretending he was watching the football game. His ears were straining as hard as they could to try to pick up what Wade and the police man were saying.

  “Did you notice anything strange here in the last thirty minutes?” asked the police man.

  “Nothing sir,” replied Wade, “It has been a normal evening up until now.”

  “Has anybody new come into the bar in the last few minutes?” continued the police man.

  “No sir. All of these people have been here for at least an hour so,” he replied.

  “What about this one?” asked the police man, pointing towards Robert.

  “He’s a salesman,” replied Wade, “He’s been here a few days already, likes to unwind in the bar. He has been here the whole time. Came in at around 5 O’clock today and has been drinking like a fish ever since.”

  Wade leant closer to the police man and whispered to him “He likes the bottle. A lot!”

  Robert just managed to hear what Wade was saying and a small grin appeared on his face.

  “Okay thanks. If you can think of anything let me know. We are going to be looking around for a while,” said the police man.

  “Sure will,” replied Wade.

  Wade made his back behind the bar counter and picked up the remote control.

  “Don’t mind if I change channels, I want to see what’s happening next door,” he said to Robert.

  “No problem,” replied Robert, sipping on his drink.

  Wade flipped through the channels until he came across Fox 7 Austin. There was a breaking news banner on the bottom of the screen with bold text “Activist Shot at Convention Centre”. There was some amateur footage being replayed on the screen. It showed a man standing behind a podium, with a light pulsing. There is a muffled explosion sound and then the man behind the podium drops the ground and the video cuts out.

  “Looks serious,” said Robert, his eyes fixed on the television.

  “Yeah, not good for business,” replied Wade, “I hope they catch the bloke that did this.”

  “Me too,” said Robert, “How about another drink.”

  “Sure,” replied Wade, and he poured Robert another drink.

  A few moments later a man dressed in a smart black suit entered the bar and walked up to Wade.

  “Evening Mr Matthews,” said Wade as the man walked up to him.

  “Hi Wade,” said the man, “I am sure you have heard what happened at the convention centre.”

  “Yes,” replied Wade, “The police have already been here. We are watching it now on the news.”

  “Good,” continued the man, “Listen the police are going to be searching all the rooms. They think the man was shot from one of our rooms.”

  “Okay, how can I help?” asked Wade.

  “If any guests come in here offer them a free drink. The police said they wanted to search the rooms alone so they can’t go back to their rooms until we say so,” continued the man.

  “No problem Mr Matthews,” said Wade.

  “Great. I will be back when they have finished,” said the man, and he walked back out of the bar.

  “Jeepers,” said Wade to Robert, “The bloke that did this could be staying at this hotel. Hell, I could even have served him a drink!”

  “You never know do you,” replied Robert, “Now how about another drink, and if I heard correctly it’s on the house?”

  “It sure is” said Wade.

  Robert had a few more drinks and watched the events unfolding on the television. A reporter had been despatched to the convention centre and was giving live updates. They would invite witnesses to give a first-hand account of what they saw. Each person seemed to have a different story and sequence of events which made Robert smile. The bar was filling up with disgruntled guests who were waiting for the police to finish their search.

  It was three hours before the man in the black suit entered the bar again and walked up to Wade, “Okay the police have finished their search. All the guests can go back to their rooms,” he said.

  “Did they find him?” asked Wade.

  “No, they didn’t find anything,” replied the man, “They have called in the help of the Houston crime scene investigators but they will only be here tomorrow morning.”

  “Damn, I was hoping they would catch him,” said Wade.

  “I am sure they will,” said the man, “They always seem to get their man.”

  Robert stood up from the bar stool and said to Wade, “Time for me to crash. I’m dog tired.”

  “Good night Robert,” said Wade, “When are you checking out?”

  “Only tomorrow afternoon,” replied Robert.

  “Great I will see you tomorrow then?” said Wade.

  “Y
es, see you tomorrow,” said Robert, and he made his way out of the bar.

  Robert caught the elevator back to the seventh floor, this time he didn’t time it all. He stepped out of the elevator and walked to his door, fumbling slightly with his key card. He put the Keycard in and opened the door, letting the door close by itself behind him. His room was pitch dark, the police had switched off all the lights when they had finished searching it.

  Robert touched the wall, feeling for the light switch. The sound of a gun cocking caught Robert by surprise and he froze instantly, the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

  “Good evening Robert,” came a voice from the darkness, “You can put the light on,”

  Robert moved his hand slowly up the wall until he felt the light switch and then flipped it on. Sitting in the chair with a gun pointing at him was James.

  “James? I don’t understand?” said Robert.

  “I think you do,” replied James, “Do you think I don’t know what you have been up to?”

  Robert stared at James, his mind racing, thinking of a way to get out of this.

  “I thought you were retired?” asked Robert.

  “I will be soon,” replied James, and he squeezed the trigger, sending the bullet directly between Robert’s eyes, the silencer on the end of the barrel stifling the noise. Robert’s lifeless body seemed to float in the air before dropping to the ground.

  James took out a handkerchief from his pocket and rubbed down the gun, removing all his fingerprints. He tossed the gun on the bed and stepped over Robert’s body. James opened the door, making sure he also wiped down the door handle and walked to the elevator. He went to