Heart of the Assassin

The incessant tapping of my knuckles on the hardwood table was the only thing keeping me sane from my own bored mind. Droll, that was the only word I could use to describe today. It's thin, grey clouds stretched were across the sky, threatening a shower. Granted, this was Seattle, so it always looks like this. Even from my perch in the Space Needle. 

"Thomas, I know you're a regular around here, but can you please get off the table." Droned the voice of a close friend of mine. His name was Eric, but he was kind of a stickler. He worked as a manager in the restaurant area, and I didn't work. Well, not in a normal sense of the word, anyway. 

"Nah, dude. It's more comfy than your booths, that's for sure." I chuckled sarcastically, looking down at the obviously much more cushioned seats. He responded with a deadpan stare.

"Man, I know you're bored as fuck, but I don't run things up here." He cocked his head. I dropped my eyes to his with a dark look and serious.

"But you could." He choked up quickly, nervously gripping his hands together out of habit. The man always gets so nervous about my line of work. It's not the first time I've offered, either. I hate his bosses guts. 

"Tom, I told you no before. I haven't changed my mind!" He whispered harshly, as if anyone would know what we were talking about. He shot down into the seat of the table beside me, staring up, but at the same time down at me. "You can NOT kill my boss."

"You're right, man. I don't have a contract on him, yet." I smirked back at him. He just kept staring at me until my face finally dropped. "Alright, fine. I'll leave it be." 

"Thank you." He sighed, getting up. "Now, I gotta get back to work." My phone picked the perfect time to start ringing.

"Me too." I smiled, "See you around, man." I picked the small burner from my pocket and pressed it to my ear.

"Is this... Mister Thomas?" The frail voice spoke. I quickly furrowed my brow.

"I'm... Sorry, I think you have the wrong number, kid." I sighed, defeated again by my own boredom 

"No no no! Please don't hang up..." She hastily scrambled. She was scared. Now, maybe it would be interesting. 

"I'm listening. But I want to know how you got my number, and why you called it." I spoke slowly, "But we can't right now. Come to the Space Needle. Go to the lobby, and wear a neon cap." I swiftly hung up the phone, and meandered my way down the stairs. I was still worried about Eric. Even though we obviously rode different waves to get to where we are, I'm making just a teensy bit more than he is. I mean, there's always someone who needs to be offed for a buck. His argument is there's always someone who can be fed for a buck. It's true enough, I figure. My job maybe morally unsound, but money is the name of the game these days. Family isn't in the agenda for this assassin. 

I'll be honest, that call had me a little uneasy. I'm weird about kids, I don't like them. It's strange I even heard her out, then again, I don't normally get contracted by 5 year olds. I was more curious than anything else. I got down to the lobby fairly quickly, despite my slow pace. That's the perks of being lost in thought, time just flies by. 

I leaned against the wall beside the stairwell and began my patient wait.
After the first two hours, I started to wonder if she was legit, and how she got my number. Amongst many other things, but I knew I'd have my answer as soon as I saw that neon cap walk through those doors.

It was atop the head of a small girl, she couldn't have been more than 8. Tiny, frail, and scared. Without a doubt, that was her. I bored into her with my eyes, waiting for her to look up and catch my gaze. She quickly found it and gulped. I nodded and motioned for her to follow me up the stairs and I went up them myself. After I got about a quarter of the way up, and made sure she wasn't behind me, I ducked into a broom closet. I listened closely for the sound of passing footsteps, and when I heard her tiny shoes clicking close to the door, I rapped my knuckles against it in a tune. The sound stopped, then clicked towards me one more time before she turned the handle and ducked in quickly.

“Mister Thomas..?” She asked.

“Yeah, but just call me Thomas. Now, why and how have you contacted me?” I gave her a serious look, kneeling down to her level. Her eyes started to water, and in turn melt the ice over my heart.

“It's… A long story.” She wiped her eyes on the long sleeves of her Hello Kitty shirt.

“I don't normally take contracts from, or even hear out, kids. You've made it this far, though. For you to make it any further in this, I need to know.” I spoke with a voice to match my stern gaze. She sighed deeply, then looked at me with the tears back in her eyes.

“My daddy is beating my mommy up and touching me in bad places… I told my Uncle John about it. He told me to come to you, with this.” She pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills. I couldn't help but smile a little. I took the money from her shakey hand, and she flinched hard. I opened the wad only to find it was full of one's. That only served to make me smile harder and let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, I've done some work for John in the past. I'm gonna have to remember to kick his ass for giving my information to his six year old niece.” I reached forward and put the money back into her hands.

“No.” She thrust the money back at me. “Please, make daddy stop…” She was crying again, and so was my soul.

“Kid, I'm not going to take your money.” I paused for dramatic effect. “But I will still do it. Free of charge. Don't get use to it, though. This is a once and a lifetime deal. Before I do something you might regret asking me to though, do you know what I do?” I kept my straight face, despite wanting to just sweep her little body up and protect her from all harm. I don't like kids, I said it before, but something about this little girl struck me as familiar.

“N...No, I don't.” She stuttered.

“John is gonna get his ass double kicked for this.” I rolled my eyes, then fixed them intently on hers. “I make people disappear. Permanently. Do you understand? I kill people I'm asked to kill.” She looked taken aback.

“Daddy is a scary man, he killed Sally because she left teeth marks on his boot…” She sniffled.

“Your family dog?” I asked.  She shook her head vacantly.

“My puppy… I had just saved her too. I guess I didn't really though…” She started crying full force this time. I don't know what came over me, but I wrapped my arms over her and hugged her tightly. She inhaled sharply and froze, shaking heavily.

“Shhhh. I'm sorry, you've been through alot, kid. You’re safe now, though. I promise.” I spoke softly, all of the previous seriousness vacant from my voice. Her small body slowly stopped shaking and she returned the hug, bawling into my shoulder. After a moment, she began to calm down. “What's your name, sweetheart?”

“E… Erica.” She spoke softly, her voice still shaky. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. “What's so funny?”

“My best friend's name is Eric. That's all. It's a hell of a coincidence.” I kept smiling as I pulled back from her. “In fact, I think you should meet him. Are you hungry?” I asked. Before she could even try to deny it, her tiny stomach let out a growl unfitting of someone of her size.

“...Yes.” She admitted, rubbing her bicep with her hand. I stood up and opened the door, holding out my hand. She took it and followed me up to the Space Needle’s rotating restaurant.

If I could use words to describe the look on Eric’s face when I walked in holding an eight year olds hand, it would be pure shock. He wasn't even annoyed that I was back again, he was just in pure awe. We sat in a booth and waiting patiently, both Erica and I trying to see through one another. Eric made his way to us fairly quickly, but I can't really blame him. He knows where I stand on the family issue.

“Thomas. What. The. Fuck.” His harsh whisper was clearly audible.

“Eric, I'd like you to meet Erica. The person who set up a contract with me.” A goofy grin split my face. He went from shocked to completely taken aback in seconds.

 “W… What? Tom, why?” He asked. As soon as he did, I smiled and waved my finger at him.

“Ever hear of customer confidentiality?” I asked rhetorically. He just gave me a dead glare.

“Alright. Nevermind that you're killing someone for a five year old-”

“Eight. I'm eight.” Erica corrected.

“Same difference.” He stated matter-o-factly, then turned back to me. “Well?”

“It's a special case, I'll tell you about it later, man. For now, we're starving. “ Eric just rolled his eyes at me, then smiled lightly with a shake of his head.

“Alright, what can I get for the girl and her assassin?”

“The cheapest for me, please sir.” Erica spoke quickly, without even looking at the menu.

“That was impulse,” I looked over and Erica, “Grab a menu and order anything you like.” Her eyes lit up, and she scrambled for a menu. “In the meantime,” My eyes shifted back to Eric, “I'll have the usual.”

“One Wild King Salmon meal,” He turned to Erica. “Take all the time you need, little one.” She smiled for only a second, then it disappeared as she scanned her choices.

“I think I'll have the Kurabuto Porkchop.” She pronounced that very well. Much better than I would have. Eric noticed it too, and was extremely impressed.

“Wow, most adults can't even say that. Your family must be proud.” Her face dropped instantly. I stood up and grabbed Eric’s arm, quickly pulling him over to an empty part of the restaurant.

“Alright, my bad man. She's asked me to kill her physically and sexually abusive father. I probably should have told you that sooner.” I rubbed the back of my neck.

“Christ, Tom. Ya think?” He shook his head, “Where'd she get the money?”

“That's the thing. She handed me a bunch of one's wrapped in a hundred. I don't know how she got it, but I handed it back to her.” I sighed heavily.

“So you're not going to do it?” He looked legitimately upset with me now.

“Of course I'm going to do it, I'm not heartless ya know. I'm not going to take her money for it though.” I looked back over to make sure she was okay. She hadn't moved, but her head was on the table and I could see her shaking. “Hey, go put that order in man. I've gotta go run damage control.” I walked back over to table and sat down beside her, placing my hand on her shoulder. She stopped shaking and looked at me with sad, tear filled eyes.

“Why doesn't my family love me?” She sobbed quietly. I gripped her shoulder tighter and smiled lightly.

“Look, Erica. My family was never around. My father was abusive too, so much that he killed my mother when I was a little older than you. That's when I began my line of work, he was my first kill.” Her eyes began to dry out as the sadness was replaced by shock. “I'm not telling you to be like me, but that's beside the point. Eric has been the closest thing to family I've ever known. Sometimes, the bonds you tie along the way are stronger than the ones that have been forced on you since birth. I'm not trying to monolog your ears off with my philosophy, but the thickness of blood means nothing when it spills just the same as water.”

“Thank you… Thomas.” She looked up at me with a light smile.

“Hey, that's what I'm talking about. None of that ‘Mister’ crap.” I returned her smile with a much heavier one. “Now what do you say about enjoying a nice meal?”

“That sounds good.” She giggled, enticing a chuckle out of me as well.

 The food was fantastic, as per usual. I couldn't believe Erica ate her entire porkchop. I'm pretty sure it was twice the size of her little stomach too. She went home shortly after, and I did too. I planned to do the assassination tonight. When the time came, I left into the streets of Seattle to do my work.

It had only been a couple of hours since my lunch with Erica, enough time for her to get home and get comfortable. Or as comfortable as she could be in that environment. Her house was on the edge of town, and with the address she gave me, I found it quite easily. I walked up to the door, straightening my black tie before giving a knock. Unfortunately, her mother was the one to answer. She looked at me with one eye black and swollen shut, and spoke fearfully.

“H-How can I help you?”

“Yes, I'm looking for the man of the house. A mister Doug Johnson, if I'm not mistaken.” I spoke evenly, not letting her injuries get to me.

“H-He’s not in right now. I'm sorry, sir.” My disbelieving stare threw her off.

“Look, ma'am, I'm a friend of your brothers. And I know what your husbands vehicle looks like. Please let me speak with him.” I pushed, only getting her to rapidly shake her head and try to slam the door. I stuck my steel toed boot in the way, and placed my hand on my silenced 9mm Pistol that was tucked in the back of my pants.

“Please go away and forget about this, Mister. It's not worth it, he'll just hurt us more.” Her entire body shook.

“You and Erica both, hm? I promise you, he won't hurt either of you anymore if you let me do my job.” I leveled my gaze at her. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her neck and snatched her back.

“Honey, what did I tell you about answering the door?” He spoke vehemently, pressing a knife to her throat. She burst into tears.

“P-Please… Don't…” She cried. I smiled lightly.

“You must be Doug.” I pulled up my gun, aiming at him, “Sorry, I mispoke. I meant, you must be the waste of air I've heard so much about.” His eyes went from angry to scared in a fraction of a second.

“Don't you dare! I'll slit her throat before you can pull that trigger.” He spat.

“You'd kill your own wife?” I asked with faux disbelief.

“Don't even play, assassin. I know why you're here. Erica told me, after I got done satisfying myself.” He licked his lips. My eye twitched as my vision went red. I started to apologize to the woman in the room, however, the silver knife flashed across her neck before I could even speak.

"NO!” I shouted and jumped forward, planting the hilt of my gun in Doug’s face as his wife fell from his grasp, blood spewing from her throat. Her glassy eyes looked up at us with disbelief as I parried his knife with my silencer. I jumped back and aimed down to his knee, placing two bullets into the cap. He screamed and went down hard, so I jumped forward and slammed my knee to the bottom of his jaw. He fell back and my knee followed his throat to the floor. I pressed my gun to his head and spat in his face.

“Goodbye, you fucking scum.” I unloaded the rest of my clip into his skull for good measure. I quickly leaned Erica’s mother up and looked her in her fading eyes. “Don't worry, I'll take care of your daughter. I'm so sorry it had to go down like this, but rest easy. She's safe now.” A smile cracked across her pale face. She could only mouth the words ‘Thank you’, but they were clear as day to me. She crossed that line and let out her last breath.

In the dark silence that followed, I could hear Erica sobbing heavily in the room upstairs. I sighed heavily, my mind made up. I knew what I had to do. This little girl was different, I could feel it. It was about time she felt safe again. I made my way up the stairs and knocked lightly on her door. Her crying stopped immediately, and the knob turned in seconds. She flung open the door with hope in her eyes, and hugged me tightly.

“Thomas!” She squealed with glee, then stepped back. “Does that mean..?”

“Yes, you're safe now.” I knelt down to eye level with her. “But I'm so, so sorry, Erica. I… I couldn't save your mommy…” Her face fell and tears welled up in her eyes. She threw herself against me and cried into my chest as hard as she could, her frail body shaking. I don't know what came over me, but I too began to cry. She wept and wept, for a solid 20 minutes I knelt there, covered in blood and tears, until she finally stepped back.

"W-What am I gonna do?” She sobbed.

“I told your mom I'd take care of you before she died… So, how do you feel about being my daughter?” I couldn't believe the words coming from my own mouth. I never thought I'd hear myself say anything like that, and I never thought it'd sound so right. She looked at me with shocked eyes, but they quickly changed.

“Yes…” Tears streamed back down her face as I pulled my new daughter back into my arms.

A few months have passed since that day. Erica was adjusting as well as she could, but I could still hear her quietly sobbing in her room now and again. I took care of the bodies and paid off the police, as well as getting all of the adoption paperwork taken care of. Erica was officially my daughter, and her parents died after their car careened off into the water. Their bodies were never found, of course, but that night still weighed heavily in my mind. I wonder how different my life would be without Erica in it, it'd be emptier for sure. I wish I could've saved her mother, but something messed up inside of me was glad I couldn't. I walked up to Erica’s door and knocked lightly. She answered quickly and sprung up into my arms, wrapping her own around my neck.

“Hey, sweetheart. How was school today?” I asked with a smile.

“Great! How was work Daddy?”

“It was wor-” I stopped my usual answer as soon as I registered what she called me. “Did you..?” She pulled back and looked up at me with shock written in her face too.

“Yeah… I guess I did.” Then she giggled, causing me to chuckle. Before I knew it, we were both laughing happily. “I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too, my daughter.” My heart expanded with my smile. I couldn't wait to tell Eric