To Kill or Not to Kill

By Srinath R

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Chapter I: Dressed To Kill

It is the darkroom of a small cinema with a huge screen projecting Christopher Nolan’s

Oppenheimer. On the screen, there is a majestic atomic explosion, filling the whole room

with a white-and-orange light.

Leo Martin, 34, handsome, tall, strong-built, and with blonde hair, is sitting in the rear

row. He is wearing a thick pair of glasses and a black coat. He is bent over a tiny notebook,

and he’s taking frantic notes with a pen bearing the symbol of Seattle Weekly. The

notebook contains a review. There are words like ‘majestic’, ‘hypertrophic sound’, and

‘black-and-white flashbacks...’

Leo’s eyes move rapidly between the screen and the piece of paper. Lights suddenly

illuminate the very dark place and they reflect into Leo's eyes, constantly changing. His

expression, though, doesn’t reveal any emotion. On the screen, Cillian Murphy is looking

at us with a shocked expression on his face. Oppenheimer’s soundtrack resounds through

the whole room.

It’s raining. Water pours down from the skies on the cinema and its dark streets. Leo walks

out of the small structure holding his black coat tight, and with a hat on his head, trying

to protect himself from the storm. He also has a cell phone pressed against his ear and

his voice sounds like he’s trying to be polite and subjugated, but he just doesn’t get human

emotions. Around him, a few more people come out of the cinema as well.

Leo, “-a 7 out of 10, I’d say. I mean, it is beautiful. But it’s not a masterpiece, you know?

Memento was so much more cerebral...”

The voice from the phone is that of the editor-in-chief.

Editor-in-chief, “Yeah, sure. Why don’t you write it down in your review?”

Leo nods, “The review. Sure. Will send it soon.”

Editor-in-chief, “Yes, I’ll be expecting that.”

Leo asks, “What about the DiCaprio interview? Any news?”

2

The editor-in-chief hesitates, “Well, yeah. There is... news. They canceled it.”

Leo, “What? Aren’t we doing the interview anymore?”

Editor-in-chief, “No, we- we’re doing it. They- They just don’t want you.”

Leo seems frustrated, “Oh!”

Editor-in-chief, “They didn’t like your questions. Too straightforward.”

Leo defends, “But that’s my job.”

Editor-in-chief explains, “They want empathy. Or, they won’t interview at all. I’m sorry.”

And the call ends. Leo puts his cell phone away from his ear, and he looks down at it for

a split second, dumbfounded. Then, he just puts it back into his coat’s pocket, and he

searches through it for an orange, plastic box with some white pills inside. He puts the

pills in his hand and gulps them down without any water.

Behind him, a family of a mom, dad, and child, oversteps Leo and walks away, holding

each other’s hands, and smiling at each other. They’re the perfect depiction of love. Leo

just raises his gaze, and he looks at them with a puzzled expression on his features. No

emotions are shown.

A cell phone beeps and Leo frantically searches in his pocket, picking it back up. On the

display, there’s 1 new message. Leo taps on it, and the message opens –

‘47.58285072094039, -122.3241812753644, 7.23 PM’. Leo looks at his watch - it’s 6.43

PM. He raises his gaze, and his expression suddenly changes. He is now the most

unexpressive and ice-cold man on Earth. And he starts walking through the rainy streets

with a stride.

3

The sky, still pouring down rain, is getting darker, as Leo gets closer to an iron-and-glass

building looking like it has been abandoned for a long time. Leo walks into the building

and he finds himself in an empty open space, apparently part of a construction building.

He rapidly walks towards the sole elevator on the other side of it, with his steps echoing

all around. He picks up his cell phone and puts it on the elevator’s display. The display

beeps, and the doors open. Leo walks into the elevator. The doors close and the elevator

starts to descend. Leo just waits, standing at the center of it, with a puzzled expression

on his face. Then, the elevator stops, and the door opens.

Leo walks out of the elevator and goes directly in front of a modern desk with a young

receptionist behind it. She smiles, but there’s something empty in her eyes.

Receptionist, “Welcome back to the Organization, Mr. Martin. How can I help you?”

Leo puts his cell phone on the reception counter. The receptionist picks it up and passes

it onto her computer. The computer beeps, and something illuminates her eyes from the

computer’s display.

She remarks, “Oh. Of course.”

She puts back Leo’s phone on the counter, and he picks it up.

Receptionist, “Please, leave all your disguise in here.”

Leo looks as plain as a robot. He takes off his coat and puts it on the counter. He takes off

his hat and puts it on the counter. He takes off his glasses and puts them on the counter.

And, in the end, he picks up his notebook and pen and puts them on the counter. He raises

his gaze towards the receptionist. He is now wearing an incredibly elegant black suit, with

high-class shoes, and silver cufflinks, he’s dressed to kill.

The receptionist smiles, but her eyes are cold.

Receptionist, “Very well, then. You can go, Mr. Martin.”

She pushes a button on her keyboard and an automatic door opens on the counter’s right.

Leo nods, and he walks with a stride through the door. He walks through a gray-walled

By Srinath R