GUN MAN

Chapter 5

The biggest smile she had so far was hers.But you wouldn't take it, wouldn't you?Remember, I saved your life.

"You've mentioned that once or twice, but that does not provide an answer to the question."

It's possible, but highly unlikely.They are not in danger from me.She gave me a brief stare.What's the point?

I gave it some thought.That was a question I frequently asked myself.When I was younger, I would respond to myself with idealistic notions of justice, world peace, and the like.I no longer had a reason to lie to her or myself.It wouldn't reveal anything about me to her.It pleases me.

“Seriously?Is that it?Not even money? No purpose, no major motivation.

The first time I hadn't lied to her or challenged me.All was well with this.Obviously, there was more to my motivation than that.My father and the priest were the ones who started it.At the Kung Fu camp, I had some time to consider my options and decided to become a vigilante.I wanted to assist others.But I decided to do something a little more significant because I was aware that there were many evil people in the world.I would attempt to exact punishment on the truly evil people.the ones who caused thousands of people's misery and pain, not just a few at a time.That wasn't a lie; I did enjoy it, so it was true.Are you enjoying it?”

"Yes, if it's someone the human race really needs to live without."

"Here you are.I just interpretation of individuals that I believe should be shipped off their the hereafter of decision.Your turn is now.You won't finish the contract, but you won't tell me who it is. You don't care about the backlash, and they won't likely retaliate against you, so you won't tell me who it is.

Before saying, "That's right," Simbine gave me some serious attention.

She thought I had less than I actually had.I had made it very easy for her to say no, but I also got a lot of information from her by giving her things she could say no to.Saying "no" is so much more comfortable.They feel safe as a result.I had changed the subject by resuming the conversation with her and receiving the confirmation, "That's right."I had to aim for the finish line at this crucial juncture in the conversation.

"Is risk management or retribution the foundation of your contract?"It was easier to comprehend revenge, but harder to pinpoint its source.Numerous possibilities existed.I had offended a lot of people.Risk management means that I finished a contract for someone else, and now they want me out of the way so they can't come back.

"I don't think I'd work for anyone who wanted to get even with you, would you?"

I knew that already, but I needed confirmation.She was able to easily respond to it once more.She would not be working for Daesh or al-Qaeda.It is not impossible, but it is unlikely.Every now and then, even our friends need a little trimming.Do you think so?Ben Mizrahi, an Israeli who she had recently executed in Washington, was the Israeli I was referring to.It was not widely known who had killed him.

She kept staring at me.I have no idea what you mean.

Who is the liar now?Just sit back and relax, your mysterious' protected with me.Once, the Israelis attempted to contact me in order to pursue you.As a result, I believe that ignoring them saved your life.That evens us out.

"I assumed no one could reach you,"

They just can't.This does not mean that I am unaware of their attempts.

"How can you determine what they wanted?"

The following time, I offered to do some work for them and they asked me again.tried to convince me to go all-in.You must have heard this before.He held high positions in Mossad.That's not something they forget.

"How are they aware that it was me?"

"Because Mossad is their name."

She gestured.They were not just the world's most feared intelligence agency.

They would have eliminated him on their own if you had waited a while.They simply do not like it when someone else gets involved in their business.

"Where might be the most ideal diversion for me in that?"

"Where's the fun in Mossad's desire to kill you?"

“Touché.There was a guiding principle.

Our coffee was gone.

"What next?"I pressed.How do you deal with a situation like this and move on?

"Why don't we form a team?We would be an incredible husband-and-wife assassination team, eradicating evil people from the world."

"Father and wife?"

"Sorry, got a little ahead of myself there," I said.She shrugged, "But it would be inevitable."You are just a human."

I chuckled.Her sense of humor impressed me.I work by myself.I'm sure it would be fun, but I've never allowed myself to do that.

Oh, please.We don't appear in movies.

I laughed once more.No, but if one of the two people is dead, they can't keep a secret.

So, my Ben secret isn't safe with you now?

"I keep it safe.With you, nothing is safe.Remember that Mossad already knew?They weren't told by me.

Who did it?

"That’s a different issue, and fortunately, it is not mine," I said.

"I guess we split up then," you say.Her voice had a tinge of sadness in it.

"Perhaps I'll call you."

I've heard that from a man before.

"None from me.I never know when I might require your assistance.or I'll assist if I can."

I left without speaking to anyone or looking back.

I made more than usual counter-surveillance moves when I couldn't be more careful and returned to the hotel room.I sat on the bed and thought about the day.

I had learned more from Simbine than she had in her summary.Obviously, there were a lot of people who wanted me dead, but a client had almost succeeded.I'd fostered the capacity to get a handle on my feelings quite some time in the past and sharpened it to a super level.I did that now by allowing my inner chimp to run amok in my mind, which is one way to accomplish that.I was enraged and offended.Why would a friendly nation wish for my death?It had to be punished.It should come as no surprise that the families and organizations of the people I killed wanted me dead; however, this only made me more of a target.But, customers?That was intolerable.I desired vengeance.I needed to identify the perpetrators and impose punishment.My chimpanzee raged on.

Allowing the chimp to exhaust itself rather than attempting to combat all of the raging and rampant thoughts was the key to emotion management.I therefore let my thoughts run wild.When I found them, what would I do?How would I discipline them?What would I do if I were to "Execute every mother fucking last one of them?"to use a Pulp Fiction phrase.I imagined executing a group of faceless heads of a security service who had sentenced others to death in a conference room.From a distance, I observed an explosion that ripped through the structure, sending the conference room windows exploding outward like a fictitious tower block.Then, before anyone realized what had happened, a series of headshots from a long gun.The sequence moved at a rate faster than even I could.Then, through a scope, watching as the poison in the water I had left for them caused them to choke and die.It went on and on.However, I eventually exhausted my inner ranting.My thoughts slowed down as my chimpanzee became tired.

After taking a few conscious deep breaths, I sat back and considered who might want me out of the picture.Mossad was eliminated due to their non-use of Simbine.They also desired her death.Ben Mizrahi, the head of Shin Bet and predecessor of Jack Reacher, had been executed by her.Even though it appeared to be justified in light of the circumstances, Mossad would not allow that to go unpunished.That makes no sense at all because she would have been contracted to kill me by Jack Reacher.She would have died by now if they had been able to reach her.However, almost every other Western government might be left out.Over time, I had signed contracts with most of them.All of my contracts and contacts were evaluated mentally.I had made a lot of people in many different countries into unwitting moles over the years.For someone with my abilities and intelligence, it wasn't that hard.Because I don't really have an ego, it wasn't a boast that Oliver Twist might have made.I was more like the television version of Sherlock Holmes played by Dominic Cumberbatch, who claimed to be a highly functioning sociopath.Holmes and I were not among those, though.He even lacked the spectrum.A sociopath lacked any empathy at all.Holmes had learned from a young age to remove emotion from his reasoning and simply incorporated empathy into his analytical reasoning.

We shared a lot of similarities.Since I was a young age, I had developed a very logical and analytical approach to solving problems.I used my intelligence and my previously acquired almost photographic memory.However, unlike Holmes, I had also developed a very strong empathy.I used it as a weapon where he was analyzing it.I had worked on it until I had mastered it, so it was just another skill.I had also perfected it.I was extremely adept at putting myself in the shoes of other people, comprehending their motives and manipulating them.Additionally, I was an excellent negotiator.In fact, I was so skilled that nobody ever thought I was negotiating with them.When most people think of negotiations, they usually think of someone like Oliver Twist.At a table, two people are fighting back and forth to see what they can get from each other.a loser and a winner.Naturally, that was a negotiation, just one that was extremely haphazard.I had gone far beyond that.I looked at hostage negotiators and other people who negotiated when life or death was at stake.I was captivated by it, but I was unable to enter that sphere, so I learned at the next best location.I had helped out at The Samaritans.You really picked up the art of careful negotiation when other people's lives were on the line.I had bargained with Simbine without her even knowing it.