Sense

The clock struck one. It was time. I walked out, using the darkness as my protection. The streetlights were out, as planned. I smiled gently. Just then, the streetlight opposite of me blinked, and then cast a dim light for a few seconds. I hid at the doorframe, so that the light would not fall on me. I frowned. This wasn’t looking good. I waited more for a few more minutes, not daring to move, listening for any movement. I slowly came out. I looked around, my senses alert. No movement reached my eyes. I carefully walked to the mansion, keeping alert. Still no movement. I think there just was a technical problem, but it is never useless to be careful.

The mansion reminded me of my last mission. It had also taken place in the mansion. Last time, I nearly got caught. I let my guard down. I got away, just narrowly. In the past times, that wouldn’t have been any trouble at all. However, that time, it was challenging. I could see my age coming. I drove the thoughts out of my mind as I disabled the alarm system. That, I could do without even looking. Technology develops, yet I have not seen a single system that I cannot break. It may take some time, but in the end, I will be the victor.

I entered, and revised once more time where my target would be. I stepped into the house. The great hall greeted me. In the dark, it meant nothing. I walked up the stairs, to my target. I felt adrenalin rush, the feeling I always get when I’m doing this. The silent echo of my footsteps could be heard. I closed my hand on my gun, ready to strike if any movement was noticed. I listened at my target’s door. Only the target’s steady breath filled the room. Making as little noise as possible, I went in.

The target was fast asleep. It surprised me that the target was a seemingly harmless woman. When I get assigned a mission in this urgency, it usually is someone with masses of power. I didn’t know why she was destined to be killed, but I knew better than to ask questions. As I readied my gun towards the woman, to be more exact, the silhouette of the woman, I thought of the numerous victims that I killed. They varied from lawyers, to policemen, even to CEOs of the very best companies. Compared to them, this was easy.

At the moment when I was about the fire, the woman opened her eyes. Our eyes met. She seemed surprised. So surprised that she couldn’t even think of screaming. I laughed at her. At how vulnerable she was. She didn’t move. She just stared at me. I fired.

When I came back to the building where I started my mission, I was surprised to see Leo there. Leo, who is the person who gives me all the assignments, usually didn’t turn up in my missions. He looked unusually tense, and the nervousness showed up in his face.

‘”Did you succeed?” he asked.

I grinned. “It was an easy piece of work,” I replied.

At that, he seemed to relax a little, now with a mysterious smile on his face.

“I heard about the last mission. That didn’t go so well, did it?”

“Still, I succeeded overall”

“Yes,” he paused, “yes you did. But just remember that that the more evidence you leave behind–”

“The higher the chance of getting caught. Yes, I know that.”

“Always bear that in mind. The money would be paid by tomorrow morning. Now, I will take you back to your hideout. I came to take you there.”

Then I remembered that it had been the same when I came here as well. Leo had taken me to this building, so that I don’t know the address. It was strange, especially considering that the mission itself was very undemanding as well, but again, I knew better than to ask questions.

I reached my house, which was a ten minute drive from the hideout Leo dropped me. I went into my room. I lit up the room, only to find shock. A gun was aimed at my face, and that was the very gun I used to kill my last victim. More importantly, the person holding the gun was no other person than Leo himself.

I frantically searched my pocket, but the gun was already gone. Leo laughed, and came a step closer to me.

“Interested in knowing why I am doing this?” he asked.

I just stared at him, startled.

Leo didn’t wait for a reply. “You may not remember, but years ago, you made a young, innocent man kill his own father without knowing it. The man felt suicidal when he found out. Ever since, he has been seeking for revenge. And as you may have guessed, the young man is me. I have waited for years for your senses to come down. You are getting old. You are not as sharp as you had been before. You are even dull enough to not realise what you have done.”

He stepped aside. On the bed, a woman lied dead on a bed full of blood. The woman’s eyes were wide open; her expression told that she could not believe what she was seeing. The woman, was my wife.