It was Jay who advised them to do it in the cafeteria. He says it's always the first place the janitors go to clean every morning. And the janitors never snitch.
Dante set down the three baseball bats he brought in a neat row on one of the tables. Then he takes out a pair of brass knuckles from his jacket.
"What are those for?" asks Iris, sitting pretty on one of the chairs nearby.
"My satisfaction." says Dante, putting them on.
The door opens and in comes Otto. A short, skinny man came in with him. His eyes went wide when he saw Iris.
"Hi, officer Kowalski." she chirps.
Kowalski's entire body trembled. He immediately drops to his knees.
"Please..." he whimpers, "please..."
Dante walks over to him. "Stand up." he commands.
"Please, sir...please..."
"Otto, stand him up." says Dante. Otto lifts Kowalski by the arms. He squirms, but Otto held him fast.
Crack.
Dante swung his fist and smashed Kowalski's jaw. Blood and teeth sprayed from his mouth. He couldn't even scream from the pain.
Crack.
Dante swung again. Turning his ribs to powder. More blood sprayed out. Dante pulls back, poised for the final swing.
Crack.
"Bend him over." commands Dante. Otto shifts Kowalski into position The skinny man now nothing more than a mess of blood. He looks up at Iris with tears streaming down his face.
"Please...I beg you..."
She scoffs. "I begged you too."
Dante picks up one of the baseball bats and turns to Kowalski, bent over on the floor with Otto holding him down.
"Pull his pants down, Otto." came the command. Kowalski gasps. He tries grab hold of his pants but he was much too weak, Otto simply swats his hand away. Dante got on one knee behind him, gripping the bat tight. Kowalski whimpers.
"They made me do it...I didn't want to...but they made me. i didn't want to hurt her."
"But you did." said Dante.
He thrusts the bat in, larger end first, and forces it in as deep as it would go. Otto put his hand over Kowalski's mouth, muffling the blood-curdling scream.
"Get the next one." says Dante, standing up. Otto releases Kowalski and does what was asked.
Harvey Kowalski lay there, in a puddle of his blood and tears, and finally understood the meaning of the strange incidents of that night.
He should have gone back for the sandwich, or gone with TJ and his boys. He should have bolted when he found the keys in the car. Kowalski should have listened to God, He was generous enough to send three signs. Had he listened, Harvey Kowalski would have never met the devil.
But maybe that itself was the punishment. To have him suffer more from knowing that he'd just missed the chance to be spared of it.
Kowalski looks up at Dante and when he did, he realized that it wouldn't have mattered. No matter where he hid, this silver-haired devil of devils would not spare him.
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