Never saw it coming

– There are no answers to your questions, so please stop asking them. Now, can we get back to the job in hand, please?

Jon sat back, the shovel resting against his knee.

– The thing is, Cody, I ain’t got the strength to do this no more, I’m beat. I just want to know who we’re working for. C’mon, it’s been four years – and yes, they’ve been glorious and we’ve been paid well, but I have this, I dunno, nagging suspicion. Look, I can’t explain, I just had enough.

Cody sat down next to him, put his thick, muscled arm around Jon’s shoulders and squeezed tight. Jon felt the air in his lungs compress, the bones crack, as Cody pulled harder and harder.

– Now Jon, what have I been telling you? It’s a need to know basis, and I know it’s a cliché, but you don’t need to fucking know. Now, dig.

Jon stood up again, his knees cracking, and continued digging the hole. It had already reached a good four feet in depth, but it needed to be a whole lot deeper by the time they’d finished the job.

Jon and Cody had been at this kind of work for most of their lives; they’d met at school, running small scams and making some extra pocket money for themselves over the years. Progression into the adult world of crime wasn’t as big a step up the ladder as they’d thought. It had come easy, almost too easily for Jon. He was beginning to question his role in life and where this career might be taking him.

Cody didn’t like questions. Not one little bit.

Within the hour the hole was dug, fresh earth spilling around the edges like the foam on their daily cappuccinos. Cody wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve, reached into his back pocket and pulled out a battered carton of cigarettes. He offered one to Jon, even though he knew he wasn’t a smoker. Sometimes he liked to hold one in his fingers. Cody didn’t mind the waste, not if it kept this partner calm and collected. Panic was the one thing that he couldn’t afford; it just wasn’t the done thing in this business.

Jon was watching an earthworm crawl from the sheer sides of the hole they’d dug. He knew it was a grave. What was bugging him was who the grave was for. Jon had never whacked anyone, he didn’t even like guns. He didn’t like violence. Jon was a quick thinker and liked the buzz of scamming people, but there wasn’t so much work for that kind of skill anymore. He hadn’t kept up with the computer age and there were people half his age making money hand-over-fist in that game. Jon was only good for digging.

– So, we done here? Jon asked.
– Yeah, I reckon. We gotta wait around for the boss to come over, though. Apparently, he wants to meet his ‘dynamic duo’ – that’s what he calls us y’know. Hehe, Dynamic Duo.

Cody was shaking his head, chuckling at his little joke. Jon knew that only one of them could ever be considered dynamic and it wasn’t the shit-for-brains standing next to him. Cody did, however, provide the muscle.

– Who’d ya reckon this grave is for then?

Jon knew that simply asking would get Cody’s back up, but he wanted to see if it was a question that could be answered.

– If you ain’t careful Jon, it’ll be your fucking resting place. Now, shut up. You don’t want the boss to hear ya talking like that.

Jon was mute again, staring at his muddy shoes as if in a trance. He threw his shovel to the ground and sat down against a nearby tree.

– Listen Cody, I’m taking a nap here. Wake me when the boss comes, okay?
– Yeah, sure, came the reply.

When Jon was certain that Cody was looking the other way, he snuck back into the shadows and disappeared into the undergrowth. Within a few minutes he could hear the whisper of Cody’s voice as he called Jon’s name, trying not to draw attention to himself in the process. Jon heard a car pull up in the distance and he quickly made his way deeper in amongst the trees. Cody had stopped calling his name.

Cody spun around at the sound of footsteps coming up the path behind him.

– Jon, is that you?

No reply came. The only sound was the crunch of gravel. Suddenly, a light was shining straight at Cody. He raised his arms to try and shield himself from the glare. Was it the police? That was the first thought that came into his head. Then, a voice spoke.

– Well, Cody, you all on your lonesome?
– Er, yeah boss. Jon, he’s, er… the thing is, he’s having a shit in the woods, I think. Shouldn’t be too long.
– Okay. Is the hole dug?

Cody wondered why the light was shining in his face, why the boss was asking him these questions. He shivered as he became aware that it was cold. The exertion of digging had made him sweat and now the light wind was making the air seem cooler than it actually was.

– Yes, boss. We made the hole a good deep one, just like you asked us to.
– Well then, Cody. All we need to do now is fill it.
– You show me the body and I’ll do the rest, boss.

Oh, he would be shown the body, thought Jon, as he pulled a gun from his pocket. He let the light drop from Cody’s face, giving him a glimpse of his own face in the process. The gun was raised and Jon’s finger was on the trigger.

– Jon? What’s that f..?

Cody never got to finish his sentence.

– It’s not Jon, it’s boss to you.