We were going to be late for my sister Alexis's Christmas Eve dinner and it was all because of Glenn.

“Dude. My sister doesn’t care what you buy her. She doesn’t even really drink anymore.”

Glenn shook his head. “Naw dude I need to impress her.”

I rolled my eyes. “Jesus. For the last time. She’s not going to leave Becca for you. Come on dude get your head out of your ass.”

“Found it.” Glenn said, pulling an overpriced bottle of Glenlivet off the rack. "Also, come on dude she's your sister. Who walks into a dinner party with no liquor?"

“Are you getting Glenlivet, because it has your name in it?” My eyes narrowed at how desperate and stupid this was.

Glenn nodded with enthusiasm. “Bingo.”

“You’re so stupid. Hurry up we still need to get to baggage claim. Watch, we’re going to be late, and you know how she is with tardiness. Alexis is a fucking lunatic."

Alexis got her strictness for being on time from our Mom. But she was ten times worse, which was insane. If she set dinner at seven, she wanted you to be there by 6:30 at the latest. It was currently 6:15 and we hadn't even grabbed our luggage. On top of that, we needed to catch a Taxi and the drive to her house was at least thirty minutes. We were cutting it close.

I could see Alexis now, checking her watch, double-checking the clock on the wall, maybe triple-checking the clock on the stove to see if her watch was off. Smashing our Dad's recipe for mashed potatoes with extra ferocity because she was wondering where the hell we were. Her temper shortening with Becca, as Becca did her best to look busy and avoid a freakout on the level of the Atomic Bomb.

God. We were so fucked. Thanks, Glenn.

Glenn paid for the bottle, and I could hear him questioning the price of an already expensive bottle…at the airport liquor store. He took his time, attempting to flirt with the cashier who was way out of his league. He flashed a smirk at me from over his shoulder, but I knew he was failing miserably with her.

Let’s fucking go. I mouthed to him.

"Come on dude. It's Christmas Eve, how can Becca even be in a bad mood?" Glenn said as he met back up with me, stashing the Glenlivet into his carry-on backpack.

I shrugged. "Bro, that's true for most but not Alexis. She's probably on the verge of blowing a gasket because we're not there."

We fast-walked toward baggage claim, keeping an eye out for our luggage. I spotted mine in an instant. A large, dark red Swiss suitcase, with a bright green rope on the right handle and a bright orange rope on the top handle. The thing stood out like a sore thumb. But there was no sign of Glenn's.

"Did you put a rope on it?" I asked.

Glenn nodded his head. "I thought I did..."

I rolled my eyes.

"There it is!" Glenn made his way towards his black suitcase and pulled it off the turnstile.

"Great. Let's get out of here. We might be able to make it on time."

The taxi pulled up to Alexis and Becca's house at 7:15.

"Ahh! Our beautiful hotel for the week!" Glenn exclaimed.

"Totally blaming you for the fact that we’re late." I muttered.

The taxi driver popped open the trunk and I retrieved Glenn's suitcase.

"Jesus dude, this thing is heavy as shit. What did you pack?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "You're just weak as fuck, Adrian."

I retrieved my luggage, paid the taxi driver and we both headed towards the front door.

Alexis opened the door before I could even knock.

"You're fucking late."

"Alexis. I know...I'm sorry." I struggled to think of a viable excuse. Why the hell didn't I think of this on the car ride here? "Airports?"

"Bullshit. Your flight landed an hour ago. I hope you guys like cold food." She held the door open for us. Standing in the entryway with that leaned-over stance, one hand on her hip, the other on the door, her head at a tilt that signified pure disdain at our delayed arrival.

We entered to the savory smell of a delicious home-cooked meal. The scent of egg nog flirted with my nostrils, and Christmas music played joyously in my ears. The decorations for their house were on point as they always were. Everything was perfect...besides Alexis and her horrible attitude.

"Hey Glenn." Alexis muttered.

"Merry Christmas Alexis! I bought you something!" He swung his backpack to one shoulder, opened it, and retrieved his gift. "I bought you a bottle of Glenn...livet

Alexis took it from his hands, examined it, and said: "I don't drink."

Glenn stood there like a deer in the headlights unsure of what to say. I couldn't tell if he was stunned at the fact that she rejected his bottle or that the joke involving his name flew over her head and out the open door.

"Merry Christmas guys!" Becca said as she approached us from the kitchen. She embraced both of us with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Come on let's eat." Alexis snapped.

Becca smiled and gave me a reassuring shake of the head. "She'll be fine." She mouthed.

And she was. Dinner was fantastic. Alexis may have gotten her quarrels with tardiness from my Mom, but she got my Dad's cooking skills. She always said she'd surpass his expertise and she proved it with this meal. We had a few drinks, and before I knew it it was deep into the night and we were all pretty drunk. Alexis included.

"I'm going to change." Glenn said.

"Oh, your room. Let me show you to your room." Becca said.

"Ummm...you do that baby. I think I'm going to go take a shower." Alexis said. She got up from the dinner table, kissed Becca, and headed toward the bathroom.

Becca showed us the spare room. A small room with two beds, a bathroom, and a few basic pieces of furniture. A very comfortable spot for the week.

"Night's still young. See you two in the living room." Becca said, she gave us a smile and a wink and let us be.

"Looking to drink more?" I asked Glenn.

"You fucking know it." He said as he placed his suitcase on his mattress and unzipped it.

"Holy shit." Glenn said from under his breath.

"What?" I questioned as I unpacked my luggage.

Glenn didn't reply.

"What's up dude?"

Glenn looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open as if he'd lost the ability to close it.

I frowned and walked over to his suitcase.

My jaw fell open. In his "suitcase" was what appeared to be a dismantled rifle. Beneath that was a silenced 9mm, and beneath that was a full manilla folder.

"Dude...what the fuck?" I whispered.

"This isn't my luggage." Hissed Glenn.

"Well, no shit it's not your luggage. Who's is it?"

I searched the luggage but couldn't find a tag. How was that even possible? Wasn't each suitcase given a tag? Beyond that how the hell did this thing pass customs? I was also shocked that a dismantled rifle could fit in a suitcase. I felt like my head was going to explode.

Glenn carefully fished out the manilla folder and opened it.

"You think that's a good idea?" I questioned.

Glenn ignored me and opened up the file. In the folder were countless pictures of random people, each paperclipped to a couple of documents. The documents appeared to have timestamps.

"Dude...I think this belongs to an assassin." Glenn whispered.

It sounded ridiculous. But he may have been right. There were ten files for ten different people. Each with documents that detailed what appeared to be their day-to-day routines. There were random photos, each of them taken without the person knowing.

"We need to get this back to the air..."

I was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. In the distance, I could hear Becca turn off the Christmas music and make her way through the house towards the front door. I checked the time.

11:54

A bit too late for a random ring of the doorbell.

I fast-walked out of the room and silently stopped Becca from even looking out of the peephole. She frowned at the door, and then back to me. I signaled for her to wait as I made my way to the front door and peered out the peephole.

Standing on the front porch was a very well-dressed man. He wore a pitch-black suit that reflected the light of the moon. A Rolex watch glimmered on his left wrist. He wore a blood-red tie that made his whole demeanor that much more intimidating. His brown hair was parted and combed with perfection to the left. He stared into the peephole as if knowing I was on the other side.

"Mr. Nelson. I know you're in there and I believe you have something that belongs to me." The man said through the door.

My body tensed up. I peered over my shoulder and looked at Glenn who stood there in a stupor. I looked at Becca, a look of pure confusion on her face. I placed my hand on the knob and from behind me, I could hear Glenn whispering for me to not open the door.

"I know you and Mr. Sanchez are in there with his sister and her wife." The man proclaimed. "Please. Open the door."

I opened the door.

The man stood there, hands clasped in front of him. His eyes never left mine, not to take in the house behind me, not to look at Becca or Glenn.

"May I come in Mr. Sanchez?" The man asked.

I struggled to find the words, but I couldn't speak. His eyebrows arched, demanding his answer. I nodded my head and let the man in, closing the door behind him.

"How...how can I help you?" I asked through a hoarse voice.

"I believe you gentlemen retrieved my luggage from the airport this evening. Am I correct?" The man asked.

I nodded my head. "Um. Sir. I'm sorry but who are you?"

There was no reaction in the man's face or his demeanor. He simply stared at me and I suddenly felt stupid. I felt small.

"The less you know of me. The better." The man said flatly. "Now please if you could answer my question. Do you have my suitcase?" He demanded.

"Yes." Glenn said from off to my side.

The man's attention shot to Glenn like that of a predator marking its prey. Glenn stepped back a few steps, his legs trembling.

"Where is it?" Questioned the man.

Glenn pointed to the guest room. "In there. On one of the beds."

The man looked at me, then to Becca, and back to Glenn.

"Did you see the contents of my suitcase?"

The silence hung in the air, pressing down on Glenn and myself, I felt like I was on the verge of suffocation. I became very aware and very regretful, at that moment I realized that opening that suitcase was a big mistake.

"I'm not the kind of man that either of you should lie to. Especially today." He gave a quick scan of the decorations in the house, but it felt as though he was taunting us.

"We didn't look inside the suitcase." Glenn blurted out.

I tried to hide my frustration with Glenn's lie, but the man caught me. I'm not sure what he caught, but he knew that Glenn was lying just by looking at me.

"Once again. I don't like being lied to. Did you or did you not see the contents of my suitcase?" The man challenged.

"Adrian, what's going on?" Whispered Becca.

The man ignored her. He kept his attention on me and Glenn. "I'll be frank. If you gentlemen saw the contents of the suitcase, then we're going to have a problem. That includes you too Becca."

"We didn't open the suitcase!" Glenn snapped. There was panic in his voice. And I wished from the bottom of my heart that he would have just kept his mouth shut.

For the first time the man smiled, he gave a small chuckle that made me want to scream out in fear. He reached for something under his waistband "I'll make this..."

BLAM!!!

BLAM!!

BLAM!

Three gunshots erupted throughout Alexis and Becca's house. The first shot struck the man's shoulder, the second hit the man's chest. The third detached his jaw.

He stood there, his eyes wide with shock as his jaw hung lazily from his face, dangling to the right. A 9mm slipped from his hand and clanked to the floor. His tongue fell out and landed with a soft plop on the entryway tiles. His blood cascaded across the front door, turning the green Christmas wreath that hung above into a bloody mess. He fell to his knees, then fell forward.

My eyes moved to Alexis who stood in the kitchen. She lowered the smoking handgun to her side. A look of pure terror on her face.

"Who the hell was that?"

I shook my head. I was at a loss for words. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed. My eyes fell to the man on the floor and I fought back the urge to vomit. Becca ran crying into Alexis's arms, Glenn slowly moved to my side. His eyes locked onto the body.

Glenn carefully stepped around the pool of blood that was rapidly forming around the man's body. He reached forward and picked up the man's right arm, examining his inner forearm.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" I shouted.

Glenn looked up at me. A look of sheer terror on his face. "Guys. This was a Bloodshed."

"A what?" Becca asked.

A whole new level of fear consumed my body. I felt my legs grow weak beneath me, I fought the urge to collapse to the floor.

"The Bloodsheds." Glenn repeated. He showed us a tattoo, a small "B" that had blood drops dripping from the bottom.

"The most notorious gang in the city." I replied.

"Guys. We need to get the fuck out of here." Glenn said.