Eureka

3

After I loaded my faithful car with everything I owned, I took off leaving a very distraught looking Bradley sitting on the stairs outside with his head in his hands. I noticed a partially-dressed Portia walking up to him as I pulled away. I giggled to myself as I chucked her cell phone out the car window. I'm keeping her keys, though. I watched them shrink in my rearview mirror as I left, feeling just a little sad for the end of a chapter of my life. At the same time, I was also relieved that I can get back to my real work without the fear of others getting harmed because of me. Brad didn't know what I did, or who I really was. He didn't know that I was a gun for hire.

If he did, he would have never been with me in the first place. I snort at the thought. He and Portia are both truly lucky I didn't feel more emotional about the situation. I gave up the majority of my main source of income to try and find a sense of normalcy. I wanted to see what I was missing.

Turns out, it wasn't worth the trouble. At least it wasn't on the relationship front. I found that I really liked having a place to come home to after a job. I liked not living out of a hotel room for weeks at a time. I enjoyed being able to be on a first name basis with the weird hipster barista at the local coffee shop where I would buy my bagel and coffee nearly every morning. I loved that sense of belonging, even if it was as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Granted, I could still have that if I stayed at our agency's headquarters like many of the other agents, but I liked the freedom too much. I could make up whatever tragic or fluffy backstory I wanted and the poor fools would be none the wiser. Or I could just be me without all the murder-y undertones. That's what I wanted.

As I sit, still stranded on the side of the road, it allows me to think more about what led me to this situation. I guess I always thought that being told to not make attachments with outsiders was just some garbage advice from my leaders and fellow agency members over the years, but it turns out they were right. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, I suppose.

"Settling down" with someone has made me soft and less perceptive of the realities at hand in my own life. It also made me lazy when it came to keeping up with basic training regiments. Plus, it's not like you can tell the people in your new life what you do. No matter how good you may think they are at keeping secrets, they can never know about The Family.

It seems that most people aren't very fond of sharing a bed with a murderer for hire. Settling down with an outsider makes it inconvenient to take jobs and travel without having a decent cover story. Many of us that find someone outside the gun-for-hire life run the risk of falling off the work boards altogether. This is a problem because it is talent wasted, and The Family doesn't like wasting their investments in good talent. You must continue to work regularly, or they will eliminate their asset before it can be exploited by another organization, or worse, law enforcement.

I shiver at the thought of the realignment program the agency uses if you abandon the life The Family graciously gave to you. That is the biggest risk you take when setting down roots. You could always apply for early retirement from our way of life, but our agency leader, Everett Crawford, sees every kill as payment for the roof over our heads and the training that went into making us the killing machines that we are. Years of service and a high enough body count are the only way to earn your retirement. At my age, I have not earned my right to leave the agency. I don't want to either. The bloodlust that was instilled in me as a child due to this lifestyle is too strong for me to just walk away from.

No, I think I'll leave in a body bag, or I won't leave at all.

So there I was, tempting the wrath of The Family for months to play house with Bradley. I still took jobs often enough to stay active on the job boards and stay off the hit radar myself. I mainly took hits that would require only a short flight or a quick drive away from where I lived in east Texas. I needed trips with quick turnaround and little planning involved. Those are few and far between, but I managed to grab all of them that I could. Thankfully my handler sent many of them my way before they were able to hit the job boards for others to pounce on. I'm still not sure how he managed that.

It was easy to cover most of those up as quick impromptu trips to visit old friends or just an extra late night at the bar so Bradley never became suspicious. He never came to the bar where I worked anyway so it's not like he'd know if I was lying. It kept me busy doing what I loved while avoiding realignment, and it gave me a chance to see what life is like for normal people. I chose Bradley because he had a pretty face and didn't ask questions. I worked as a bartender because working normal jobs is what people do, right? Well, it was a good cover and kept me busy when I wasn't killing.

It's been about ten hours, give or take, since I left Brad and Portia behind in Houston. I've been driving all night long. Not really sure where I was headed all this time, but I am determined to find a place that feels right and to set roots there. I know that running away from a perfectly good city seems a little dramatic after a breakup with someone I wasn't overly attached to to begin with, but I honestly grew to hate Texas during my time there. It just wasn't my cup of tea. Generally, I don't like cities despite them being the easiest to blend into. I decided to just drive until I landed somewhere I felt would suit my needs. Or until I got tired of driving. I can work from anywhere as long as I have a place to stash my gear and access to a nearby airport. Unfortunately, my car had plans of its own.

So, here I am. Wherever this is. I get out of my car again and grab my water bottle. Moving to the back of the car, I hop up on the trunk to sit. There aren't any dead bug guts on this side of the car, and it's not burning lava hot like the other end that's still spitting out smoke. Kermit is so dramatic sometimes.

I yank off my long sleeve flannel shirt leaving me in my tank top. After I bunch it up into a sad lumpy ball, I put it behind me for a little cushion. I lean back against the rear window and decide that this is the perfect opportunity to just get a little sun while I wait for a potential rescuer. Lord knows I'm not about to start walking around in the middle of nowhere to knock on random doors.

Hopefully I'll get lucky.

I watch the puffy clouds float lazily by. I try to think back to the last time I saw civilization. I can't even recall seeing driveways along this road. Then again, I wasn't really looking for them so that's not too surprising. It's a beautiful curvy road that has lush green woods lining the whole way. It has been a really fun drive up until now. I felt like a racecar driver on a Formula 1 circuit track or something. In my delirious state I may have even made sound effects while taking the turns. I cringe at the thought. No wonder Kermit decided to die.

My ears perk up a little at the sound of a car approaching in the distance. Please, oh, please don't be a weird creepy man. I don't usually like killing when I'm not getting paid to, but if Jethro gets too handsy out here I may make an exception. I yank my flannel shirt back on. It's too hot to be in one, but depending on who is coming through, I don't want to have too much skin showing. I have just enough visible scars to make people want to ask questions. I'd rather not deal with that if I can help it.

I hop down from the car and stand next to it for a moment, fidgeting and thinking of a way to act naturally while still signaling them to stop and help. Popping back into Kermit, I turn on the hazard lights. I double checked that my flannel covered the belt knife at my back, before getting out and standing by the open hood.

The incoming car finally rounds the corner and slows as it approaches me. Relief floods through me as they pull off the road and park behind Kermit. I never thought there would come a day where I would be happy to see a police car, but here we are.

A/N: Please vote and comment to let me know what you think so far!