There it went. One quick jerking motion and Mindy gurgled, her body shaking. No, she didn't want to die, and goddamn it, she wanted to get farther than this, but she'd dreamed of this moment happening in gunfire, usually at the end by some grimy mobster who got lucky or stacked the deck. A violent, bloody end, the way she lived her life.

Like this, quick, merciful? Not how she would have thought, but it was the first time. She could have starved, or been left to die of the leg. Instead, the guy extended his hand out of understanding. Death was hard and cruel. This was a gift.

"T-thanks," she said, trembling, feeling herself go, and then, her eyes closing, the pain was gone.