There was nobody following him. He was paranoid. He should be. The man in question had robbed a lot of people. No, he didn't put a gun to anyone's head. He didn't force them to empty their pockets or tell them where the money was. Instead he robbed them of their futures. All in a moment of rage.
The crime family had been prepared to open a casino. Cliche, I know. But, if it works, there's no need to do anything new. Everything was lined up and ready to go. All that was needed was a bribe for the politician. Senator Paul Evans, was set to make one million dollars. Cold hard cash. Then he raised the price.
Everyone was willing to negotiate. 1.5 million was a lot of money, but he was taking on a lot of risk. Perhaps he could take a little less. They had already shaken hands and agreed. There was no reason to change. Our man Big Henry Hansel didn't like the disrespect of changing the terms. He had never been a man for talking. He towered over most and had another hundred pounds on those he didn't tower over. Physicality had always been his solution. He slapped the politician a few times. Just to let him know who he was dealing with. Ironically that meant the deal was off the table.
Henry knew they wanted him dead. A few guys drove by his office and pointed finger guns at him. Pew, pew, pew is what they sounded like. They laughed, just to put the fear in him. Henry didn't scare easy. He knew it was coming, he just didn't know when. He was sure someone would be following him home. Jump from a dark alley and shoot him in the head. It didn't happen.
Henry made it home and walked in. Nothing out of place. Just threats, nothing to fear. They could always find another politician. Nobody would care about this in a year when they were all rolling in money. Henry went over to the fridge and grabbed some leftovers. His mother lasagna. His favorite. Delicious. He loved every bite.
Opening the bathroom door to take a shower, that's when it happened. A single shotgun blast, right to the gut. Not the head, he needed to be recognizable. Henry had survived hits before. This was to show that anyone could be killed. The shooter stepped over Henry as he slumped to the floor. He felt a sharp pain all through his abdomen. Then he didn't feel anything but cold. His vision was blurring and he was struggling to hold on to conspicuousness.
