Chapter 11: Murderer

Love makes you do crazy things. I mean, the craziest thing you could’ve done for love would be buying that diamond ring she liked so much but then she turns you down. Or, you could be like me. In pain because the girl you like may like someone else so you ask for a mission when you are malnourished and have a concussion. I know what everyone who hears about this will say. “You’re acting like a middle schooler in love.” Blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to hear it.

My new mission was what I thought was like the rest. Kill some big hot shot, leave behind the reason, and get out of there. It wouldn’t be until later that I’d realize that that wasn’t exactly the case.

The target this time is a 50 year old man named Bill Cameron. He is the owner of a rising technology company. This man thinks that he can beat both major phone companies and create even better things that no other company can compete with. He wants to put them six feet under, little did he know that today would be his day to do just that. For this mission, the difference from the others was simply that I didn’t have a reason to drop off. The boss told me that when I completed it, he’d tell me the reason. It was odd, but I’ve learned not to question things.

My own personal knowledge of this man extended to what I’ve seen on the TV. There’s this other guy who owns one of the technology companies that Cameron is trying to take down; George Perez. They’re constantly going head to head and trying to release something newer and better before the other. I’m not sure they know it, but they’ve become a laughing stock to the public.

Bill Cameron lived in a three story house in the suburb side of the city. Only the richest of the rich could live in the area he does. I looked into his place on Google Maps and discovered that his house is gated off, with two guards posted there almost 24/7. In the back of the house, they have a big backyard with an in-ground pool and several acres of forest beyond that.

Once the acres of forestry end, you are greeted with the side of a highway. Since I don’t want to take my chances by entering through the front (Though I’m sure the boss would love that), I’ll be entering through the back. It’s actually amusing how easy this is going to be. Rich people can be so dumb, money does make you think you’re invincible.

I was leaving the hospital when I saw Alice hugging some other guy. Worse than that, a couple of seconds earlier, he kissed her! And she didn’t push him away either! The flaming rage I felt in that moment was nothing short of blinding. All I could do was stand there, hands balled up into fists at my sides, my body screaming for me to run. Almost as if she knew I was watching, Alice looked over at me. Then, to my surprise, she pulled away from him quickly. He looked confused and hurt. All I could think or feel about that was: Good, let him be hurt. Alice deserves someone better than him, someone like me.

When I finally gained my composure, I walked straight out the door, but not before giving that guy a hard, cold glare. When I looked at his face close up, I felt as though I’d seen it somewhere before. It was very annoying that when I stepped out of the building and felt the heat wash over me, I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him. It was like trying to remember the name of that one song that's been stuck in your head but you can’t for some reason. Just like that.

Even though I exited the building and could no longer see them, my blood was still boiling; irrational thoughts coming in and out of my head. I knew that I couldn’t do this mission with my head this clogged so I went to a nearby corner store for a bottle of liquor and a protein bar. The sole things I survive off of now. As I set my stuff on the counter for the person to scan, I looked up at the small TV they had. As was per usual these days, the news was talking about the rivalry between Cameron and Perez. I sighed. Don’t they ever show anything else these days?

I was just going to ignore it until a familiar face appeared on screen. It was the same guy that was hugging Alice earlier! I tapped the counter frantically. “Hey, can you please turn up the volume? This piece is new and important.” Whenever you used the words: New and important when referring to news about those two guys, everyone was all ears. As I expected, they turned it up to an ear splitting volume.

“......The son of George Perez has been out of trouble for quite some time and Cameron says that he thinks that soon Daniel could be fit to run the business. What do you think of that Kate?” The male reporter asked the woman.

“I think that he is far from being fit, John. He was sent into court three times last month for who knows what and don’t even get me started on how many times he’s been there within the past year…”

That’s where I stopped listening. I knew I had seen him from somewhere before! He’s the son that has been disgracing his father for the past few years. George Perez could’ve gotten so far up that Bill Cameron couldn’t reach him but his son kept dragging him down. This is exactly why this guy isn’t a good match for Alice at all! He’s only going to bring her down!

It was then that the facts of my mission really set in. I was supposed to kill the sole competitor of that scum’s father. In the long run, that would be helping him out tremendously and that was something that I definitely wasn’t keen on doing. It was a long shot, and taking quite a chance but, I was going to ask the boss to change it. I called up his number for the second time today, and my heart pounded.

“What do you want?” He asked me in a very annoyed tone.

“Umm, actually, I was wondering if you could change my mission by any chance…?” I said in a wimpy tone.

“You know the rules. I won’t. Besides, you’re the one who asked for the mission anyways. Now go do it. I want it done within the next hour.” Then he hung up.

I paid for my stuff and exited the store, feeling all my spirits deflate. Suddenly I remembered! I still had the liquor! If I was going to do something as unjust as this, I was definitely not going to do it sober. So I unscrewed the cap and chugged the bottle, then set out.

I arrived at the area within ten minutes and parked my car alongside the highway, hazards on. Then I got out and opened the hood to make it look like my car had broken down. Then I set off into the thick forestry, straight for Bill Cameron’s house. I got a couple of scratches and bruises from falling, due to me being drunk, but overall, it wasn’t that hard to get to the house.

I ran across the freshly watered grass as fast as I could, already feeling the water seep into my shoes. It was quite uncomfortable and unfortunate for me to get my shoes wet. That would mean that I’d make tracks and my steps would squeak. Since I always plan ahead, when I got to the dry patch of rocks behind the pool, I changed into different shoes. I then snuck up to the back doors and tried to open them. They opened easily. I mean, I knew rich people were dumb, but this dumb? Really?

I didn’t really know where to look for Cameron but I had a hunch that he’d be upstairs in his office. I knew his office was upstairs because a lot of research was done beforehand by the boss. We just do the dirty work. I crept upstairs as quietly as possible and since it is a rich house, of course the stairs didn’t creak.

When I got onto the second floor, I saw a door open and gentle light spilling out of the doorway. I crept toward it slowly, making sure that not even my breathing could be heard, until I was pressed up against the wall just outside the door. I’m not going to lie, this was always the most thrilling part about my job. I loved it, the anticipation, the intensity, everything. Quickly, I peered into the room.

Just my luck! Cameron was sitting at his desk which was facing away from me. On top of that, there were no mirrors or anything that reflects near him that could possibly give me away. I snuck up to him, and while I did that, I slowly drew out my blade. I guess if I was going to do this for that brat’s benefit, then I might as well have fun. Right as I was about to strike, Cameron spoke, shocking me.

“I always knew that there would come a day when someone would try to kill me. I’m a pretty easy target.” I stayed quiet. I wasn’t about to give myself away. “You reek of alcohol, kid. What’s a kid like you need to do all of this for anyway?” I still refused to answer. “It’s kids like you who end up as a nobody for the rest of their lives, you know?” He said with a smug tone. That’s it, I was done with his talking.

“Goodnight, Gramps.” I said as I brought the blade to his neck. “Guess it takes a nobody to recognize a nobody.”

“Is that why you hang around Alice?” His question stopped me dead in my tracks. How did he know who Alice was? Secondly, how dare he-My thoughts were interrupted by Cameron grabbing the knife and stabbing me in the leg with it. It was then that I realized three things. This guy was not someone to mess around with. If I didn’t get out of here now, I’d be either arrested or killed If I did escape, I was dead regardless.

I groaned in pain as I staggered out of the room and tried my best to hurry down the stairs. Cameron was quick on my heels, except with a gun this time. When I took the time to look back to discover this last fact, I missed a step and went tumbling down the stairs, causing the knife to push inside my leg deeper. I cried out in pain as I hit the linoleum, but knowing that I’d die if I didn’t get up, I took off running through the back doors.

It was then that I heard “STOP! POLICE!” When I continued to run, they shot off a few bullets, but they all missed me. As soon as I made it to the forest, I ran as if my life depended on it, feeling more confident now that I was in the maze of trees. However, that comfort didn’t last long because I began to hear several twigs snap followed by a stampede of footsteps. My heart was racing even faster due to the fear.

I was about to just stop and let them take me, but then I saw my car up ahead. I began to cry tears of joy. My legs were growing weak but I knew that if I just pushed myself a little harder, just a little more, I could make it and not get caught. I looked behind me to check where the officers were before running across the road.

The last thing I remember was hearing several horns honk at me before an excruciating force hit me straight on. It was as if all my bones broke at once. Time seemed to stop before I hit the ground. I could see the officers on the side of the road, looking at me in terror, the truck drivers' scared face, everything. Then right before I hit the ground, I pictured Alice’s smiling face and smiled too. Then the world went completely black.