Call of Revenge: Hitman in the City

Ch-3 : Prison Break

The moment that Jack stepped out of the cell, all the guards disappeared from view, and the entire corridor was deserted.

Jack instantly understood what was going on, as the man in black saluted him. The feeling of reverence was clear in his voice as soon as he opened his mouth.

"We've been waiting for you, Master," he declared in a low murmur that carried a sense of urgency.

"You need to get out of here, please. It's time, Master."

He urged in a desperate plea, begging for Jack's attention.

However, Jack ignored the man and his words with an unwavering resolve. He refused even look in his direction, and dismissed him.

"Why did you come here? I didn't ask for your help, did I? I have grown accustomed to this life now," he stated matter-of-factly. "I don't want to go back to that world where there is only darkness and chaos."

The man in black was undeterred, and spoke;

"We obviously don't expect that simply getting you out of jail will be enough to convince you to step back into your previous role as our leader. Especially when you know you easy it is for us to handle these matters."

He admitted frankly, before revealing the dire situation that had befallen their organization.

"We've been targeted by numerous people," he disclosed, the gravity of the threats weighing heavily in the air. The shadows that had once been Jack's domain now harbored unseen dangers, prompting a collective urgency within the clandestine group.

The words of the man were measured and respectful, as he said in a polite tone.

"We understand that no one in the world can force you to do anything," he conceded. "But we need you now, more than ever. The organization is at a critical juncture, and we need our leader."

Jack was silent for a minute, as he weighed his options in his mind. On one side, was the life he had opted for, after cutting off all ties with his old identity. And on the other hand, was the organization to which he owed numerous debts.

The answer was clear, even though he didn't want to accept it; and Jack sighed helplessly as he followed the man in black, out of his prison cell.

Outside, a car was ready to escort him, but Jack refused to go anywhere else before he saw his family. He was overwhelmed by a sense of anticipation as he rushed to his house.

But once he reached the familiar address, his happiness and excitement was replaced by shock and confusion.

Instead, he found a lock hanging on the iron gates, and a "FOR SALE" sign suspended from the bars.

Jack turned towards the main road, struggling to understand the reality of the situation. He didn't even have his wife's new address, or any hope of contacting her.

Feeling disappointed, he concluded that the best option for him would be to go to his mother's house, and he would figure out everything else from there.

The harsh afternoon sunlight was irritating his eyes, but he had no choice other than to walk all the way there, as he didn't even have a single penny right now.

However, he got another shock of his life when he rang the doorbell, only to find that the door was already open.

Strange… his mother was usually quite careful and never left the front door open… could it be an emergency?

He hurriedly rushed inside, only to find that there was no sign of his mother, anywhere in the entire house. But something certainly seemed wrong…

Only then did he notice the signs: the entire house was messy, and things were smashed on the floor, in almost every room. Clothes, books, utensils, small knick-knacks… were strewn about on the floor, and it looked like someone had rummaged through the entire place in search of something valuable.

Had someone broken into the house?!

Ding!

Right at that moment, the doorbell rang, and Jack opened the door with a frown, only to find one of their neighbors standing there.

The older man spoke up as soon as he saw his face,

"Jack? Aren't you Jack, the son of the lady who lives here?"

He nodded slowly, when the neighbor exclaimed,

"Yes, I recognized you! Actually, I was mowing my lawn when I saw you walking through the gate. So I thought I should come and tell you about the unfortunate inciden–"

Jack interrupted him anxiously, thinking that the day he had been dreaming about for a year, was turning out to be one of the worst days of his life.

"What! What happened, is my mother alright –"

The old man hurriedly spoke up, looking at Jack with sympathy and concern.

"Look, I don't know all the details, but I just know that three days ago, Mrs. Turner was taken to the Charity Cross Hospital. An ambulance was called, and there was a huge crowd…"

Before he could finish, Jack had started to run towards the gate, yelling,

"Thank you, thank you very much!"

Adrenaline surged through Jack's body as he ran towards the hospital on foot, without even noticing the exhaustion or pain.

The receptionist gave him the ward number as soon as he mentioned his mother's name, and his feet finally came to a stop outside ward number 307.

After taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped into the room, anxiety pulsing through his veins.

His mother lay in the hospital bed, looking pale and fragile. An intravenous drip was attached to her hand, and she seemed to be asleep right now.

But on hearing his footsteps, she opened her eyes, and as soon as their gazes met, her eyes were filled with tears.

Jack took one step forward, saying,

"Mom…"

However, he stopped in his tracks, wondering whether she also wanted to cut off contact with him.

On the contrary, her face had a faint but reassuring smile as she opened her arms, lifting herself up weakly,

"Jack, my boy… you are here! You are finally here…"

Although he couldn't hug her due to all the medical equipment that was attached to her, Jack grabbed her hand tightly, his eyes filled with hundreds of questions.

Helen understood, and started to speak on her own.

"I never gave up on you, Jack. I always knew you were not guilty, my heart was not ready to accept it.

Ever since your hearing in court, I have been investigating, and I even managed to collect some evidence to prove that you were not the one who had committed that kind of horrible act."

But as she said this, a shadow of regret crossed her face.

"But yesterday… a group of rowdy gangsters broke into our house. And they… they destroyed everything, every piece of evidence that I had collected. They kept asking me where I had hidden the rest of it and what I had told the police. When I didn't tell them anything, they attacked me!"

Helen was sobbing by now, making anger rise up inside Jack's heart.

His fists clenched involuntarily as he was torn between anger towards these gangsters, and guilt for not being there to protect his mother.

But on the other hand, Helen was dealing with her own guilt. Her eyes reflected a deep regret as she confessed,

"I don't know why, but… I just never thought of backing up the evidence. I know I should have been more prepared, Jack. After all, this is the question of your entire life… I am sorry, I am so sorry my son!"

Jack quietly stepped forward as he caressed his mother's hand, saying softly;

"It's okay, mom, you didn't know what was going to happen, so how could you have done anything? But it's okay, I'm here now. Don't worry, I will make everything okay once again. Just focus on your recovery for now…"

Helen's tears eventually stopped, and after a few minutes of talking to Jack, she suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh, here! I almost forgot… I managed to save your phone from damage. I'm sorry but that's all I could do…"

"No, no, don't feel guilty, mom. I'm just happy that you are safe, anything else can be replaced."

Saying this, Jack unlocked his phone, only to find a number of missed calls from his daughter, and one unread message.

*****