All Comments on 'The Contract is Binding'

Very good story, about the bargains we sometimes have to make.

But the ending leaves me a question. It seems both he and his friend (who told him about the "contract" to start with) had "hesitated" or reneged on the contract, at least to start with, and had their fingers cut off as motivation. Was his friend being killed because he didn't merely hesitate, but the finger being cut off wasn't enough motivation for him to follow through with it even after that, and that's why he had to be killed?

If the above assumption on my part is correct, then that brings up another question. Would his friend have referred him to this organization knowing how difficult the moral choice will be for his friend, and the likely consequences for him if he didn't? I realize it makes the story more powerful to show the friend not having gone through it himself, but it does leave that hole in the story.

And last, the MC being able to go through with it and kill his friend, not because he was a child molestor like the original target, but because he was too good morally to kill his own target, make our MC a morally bankrupt person who is probably even worse suited to raise those children than his wife? After all he was willing to kill his friend, a good man, out of self preservation.

In Dexter, the MC is a serial killer, whose adopted father (a cop) gives him a moral code to follow- to only kill bad guys. This organization seems like it was set up by men who are sociopaths, who get off on murder, but put in place this artificial moral code to justify what they are doing.

The reason I liken it to Dexter is because if someone doesn't follow through with the contract (their morality doesn't allow them to do it), then they have to pay the ultimate price themselves. I do get you need to have consequences. That otherwise, the whole thing falls apart. However, it's an artificial morality to guide people without a truly innate moral compass.

Them being able to target an innocent person because they were too kind to kill a stranger shows that the organization itself was truly immoral, and really makes their raison d'etre suspect.

It would have been a privilege to kill that child abusing scumbag. Hard to feel sympathy for the protagonist, when he balked at making the world a better place.

Dark but an interesting narrative

Like the early Tarantino movies with Mexican standoff endings where everyone shoots everyone. Nice tight bit of noire writing. Thanks

Interesting, dark story, but man, that service is a ripoff. What next, a hooker who charges you for a blowjob, and after paying her for doing it, a year later you also have to suck some other guy's dick?

Oh, and Throw Momma From the Train was great.

Thanks for the story

Cog

Story wife got hers the kids went too people who would take care of them. And he got to listen to his wife in hell.

This wasn't badly written. You warned us. Yet still I, like many others, will read it. Curiosity killed the cat such as it were. But in my book it takes so little cleverness to kill a problem that's it's just not worth it. A moron, with very little smarts, can off someone and most of the time get away with it. It happens everyday. People die. People disappear. You could read a thousand books about "How to kill someone". Hell they even made a TV show about the subject. It just isn't interesting. It didn't make for a good or even mildly entertaining story. Did the bitch get burned? You betcha. Did someone else pay the price? Yeah, her husband and kids. Just no fun to read about it. Sorry. Maybe next time some cleverness or originality?

Vastly better than most of what appears here

I liked it a lot. My only issue is the ending was foretold in the first paragraph and I wonder if it would have been more suspenseful if the outcome wasn't totally revealed at that point. I figure that there was no need to be concerned about being a murderer, he already was that when he ordered up his wife's death.

It is a minor thing and didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story.

Great job, J_W ... *****

dark and interesting.

5*, of course.

his kids was important and he let them down by not killing the sob.leaving them without both parents.

Cool plot. Well done. 5*

I know what you wanted the moral of this story to be, but I came away with a very different impression. The *actual* moral is "Don't have kids". Without the rugrats the bitch wouldn't have had a bargaining chip, they could've just gotten a regular old divorce and he wouldn't have had to worry about child support payments or the ex's pedophile boyfriends.

Also, he keeps getting these calls from the kids, but never once thinks about recording them?

Making a pack with the devil

On A Train.

5 Stars

So why7 did I give it 5*? Am I sick too?

There is too much spineless fiction in this world. I thoroughly enjoyed this, except for the worm who refused to pay his end of the bargain. He wasn't man enough to take the garbage out in his own life and HAD to involve others. When you let strangers into your garbage, nasty things often and usually do come about. It is the same with involving the "law" or the people we pay to supposedly keep our streets "safe". They are blind accomplices to the government hierarchy. That hierarchy exists only to enrich those within and to flourish under our continued "patronage". Nobody there is interested in the "law abiding" when there is money to be had.

Jaded and realistic - good story

Smokepole

Good story. Better than the score would indicate.

The story is well written like all of JW's story. It was a good read. Bummer ending is, well, a bummer. I gave it a four due to the bummer ending. I felt OK to do this as the story was rated less than four when I scored it which means the four helped pull the score up albeit very minute bit.

"They never saw or heard anything they could testify to in court." - Why not have the kids call their uncle, or even the cops, themselves? That would provide probable cause for the authorities to go into the house and talk to the kids. I know that kills the story, just sayin'.

Why wasn't the MC given the "encouragement" that Jack was given to carry out the contract?

Just_Words is one of the very best writers to post in LW. This just adds to his list of great stories. Dark, even for an evil cheating wife story. Good twist at the end, and I had to read it twice to understand it. That was the beauty of the writing for me. I didn't even notice that it was ending. I want more.

sorry i didn't like the kids being orphaned.

...wish the wifes boyfriend got whacked too. Although that was funny when he Got tazzed and dragged down the stairs and outside naked. Thanx! 5 stars.

Loklie

@johnadp - I believe that only "Jack" is missing a finger. Which is why I wondered why the original MC was given the same "incentive" to complete the contract.

This one was different. The “service” makes sense, because those executed were all killed by a random stranger, which makes solving the case difficult.

The MC had weak enough morals to get his ex killed, but not weak enough to do the deed himself. It makes sense in that he evades a murder charge himself, but then he can’t complete his part of the bargain. Yet, to defend his own life, he was able to kill John. Ahh, well, who can really know how he’d react in such a situation.

An interesting part was where the MC was told that his assigned target was a child molester, thus someone who needed to be killed, but he realized that such a description could have been phony to make it easier for him to kill the target.

There’s the big, unfinished ending, which leaves questions, but the story ended in exactly the right place.

If SaddleShit's stuff is considered out there, this is along the same lines. I lost interest halfway through.

he should've just killed himself and got it over with. His kids could be in danger anyway. He should've killed her lover and her and went to prison or killed himself then. He spent his last days looking over his shoulder. Then he ends up dead away, what a dumb ass. THat being said, I gave it a 4, pretty interesting tale.

Hard to like a story about murder, but harder still not to appreciate great writing. In the context of this story, taking out the wife to protect the children is acceptable. My only question is why not remove the deviant lover to protect other possible victims? Was John the wife's lover? Great story to think about after reading.

Warped mind and no sense of storytelling... The whole thing was a waste of words and 'paper' The World would have benefitted from this 'story' ending up on the 'cutting room floor' I gave it 1* for the time you wasted writing, editing and posting this unnecessary tale!

Why does one guy get a warning/incentive and not the other? Major flaw here

Didn't like where it went

Really interesting take in this category. It all turned out for the best. The kids really didn't need to be brought up by such a weak man. The bitch's fate was a given. In reality she should and would have been given the choice. As soon as she started her shit she would have been allowed to just go away. If not well, accidents happen and she would have been informed that continuing her behavior and staying would result in final consequences. Thinking that the justice system is fair is foolish. To depend on it for a fair disposition is like wishing elephants can fly. It is just dreaming and a waste of time.

Actions have consequences and decisions have long term effects. Once the consequences have been laid out for her. Her decision to continue her actions around the kids and her failure to make the right choice and relocate of her own accord. Well then the effects on her would be what she chose to have happen.

See justice can be had. You just have to accept the fact that it is up to you to protect yours and not fall into the false hope that putting the resolution in the hands of the morally corrupt and blind (legal system) will turn out right.

Of course taking the responsibility and actions needed to handle tough situations are foreign to today's Metoo generation.

I knew the ending to this story would draw complaints. I wanted to explore what happens when a good man is pushed beyond his limits. I suppose it is no more realistic then the usual "So I kicked the bitch to the curb, found a new wife with bigger tits, and I won the lottery." ending we always see. Fantasy is fantasy and doesn't always end well when a good man turns bad.

With sad ending

And sometimes there's no way to make everything okay again

This story is about one of those times.

Take it for the cautionary tale that it is.

Good work, Just_Words

i enjoyed it but what was this "then went to the food store for a few things" a food store lol

Entertaining. Thanks.

so the clients pay to have a complete amateur do the job? and then they (also complete amateurs) have to go and kill the next target? what is the sense in that?

First off, always hide the body! No body or blood evidence, no murder! Wife ran off with her lover! She couldn’t stand living with her kids without a subservient husband! Second, why doing anything to make her divorce her husband. A divorced missing wife has more alarm bells than a cheating wife still living at home with husband. Again, no body, no crime!

"I wanted to call Child Services, but I couldn't prove anything. Plus, I was deemed "dangerous", so would they even listen to me?" - Probably not, but they'll listen to the kids!

@johnadp, I'm guessing that since Jack brought the guy in, it became his job to take him out.

they just want to make the world a better place lol full of killers nice world huh lol. dumber than the purge

In exchange for the elimination of Jack's problem, he had two responsibilities under the contract: 1) purchase something at a price far higher than it's true worth and 2) perform the elimination of a stranger's problem. Jack had fulfilled his contractual obligations by the time he spoke with the MC and thus owed the organization no further service. The organization performed due diligence and accepted the MC as a client. Jack was in no way responsible for the MC's failure to complete his obligations.

So why would Jack agree to kill his friend? Why was Jack provided a painful inducement to fulfill his obligations when the MC was terminated without a similar prior intervention? Was Jack a part of the organization's paid staff?

I gave you 1 star for writing this. I simply don't believe murder/suicide have a place in fictional porn stories. It represents everything that's wrong and shouldn't be here. Just my thought.

Oh what a good story., nice set up good plot line and characters that seemed right.

Not funny, not happy, not necessary.

Why did Jack have to kill the main character? Surely he had already completed his contract. Secondly, why in the world would he shoot him in daylight in the park?

The concept is good. It just left too many questions for me and I can usually deal with stories without a concrete ending.

1 star - violence in the LW category always gets a one star rating

I'm not a fan of this type of story involving killing. Sorry not my bag. But its well written and kind of believable in a John Wick sort of way. Anyway well written but the subject matter disturbs me. BardnotBard

@BardnotBard - I actually agree. I set out to write a sad story about a man who feels trapped and takes desperate measures. I never meant for it to be a feel-good story (and I think I may have succeeded).

He made a binding contract and didn’t follow the rules. Lights out in this great story.

Depressing. He should have put the animus into trying to solve his problem some other way. Going to jail for bashing one of her beaus was idiocy on his part. Divorce. Fine. Pay thr no fault economic penalty. But after that? He was too desperate, too fast. Too emotional. At that point it is time to plan and develop a stratgey a la Sun Tzu. He flaked out a couple of time and sold his soul. He did that anyways when her had his ex wife murdered. Nice twist with 'Jake' being made to kill him.