The Assassin's confession

Chapter Eight

      It would be an understatement to say that Karen was stunned by those words of his. She was completely caught off guard and suddenly, she couldn’t help but think about him. She looked at his calm but still serious face and a tint of admiration surfaced in her mind, even though it was only for an instant. 

‘He considers me a priority to him and my safety matters. Why though? He could simply just let the assassins kill me. After all, they were most likely sent by my brother and I think he knows this too. Yet…’ She thought to herself and pursed her lips.

“Keep your eyes sharp, Karen. Don’t act like I’m holding you hostage.” His voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She wanted to flare up and turn this into a small argument but remembering that there were assassins after Jason, she just kept quiet.

“I don’t get something though. Since they’re after you, why don’t I just go home while you deal with them… or let them deal with you…” She suggested but Jason shook his head.

“Negative. You are my wife and if I let you go, you’ll be used against me. I have also thought of this possibility.” He mentioned but Karen was surprised. She leaned closer to him to whisper something to him,

“We both know that the person who sent those men is probably my brother, so why would he hurt me?” Karen asked and Jason looked at her coldly,

“Because there’s also a possibility that the person who sent them isn’t your brother. If they knew you were my wife, killing us both would be more advantageous for them.” He explained and Karen couldn’t help but feel an indescribable fear. She was fearful before, but thinking that the man who sent the men wasn’t her brother made her even more fearful.

Jason slowly looked to the side as three of the men walked into the restaurant. One was dressed in a black trench coat and wore a hat. Another wore a suit and the third wore a brown trench coat and a hat He was also holding a newspaper and there was a cigarette in his mouth and they all walked to the counter. Although he was side-eyeing them, they also noticed him. 

‘All three men have got silenced weapons in their pockets. If we wait here any longer, they would most likely take me out and if Karen tries to make any noise, they’ll quickly take her out too, given that those who sent them aren’t from Jared.’ Jason thought before turning to his wife.

“I’ll go order for some tea.” He said to her and for some reason, Karen didn’t want him to go but the latter was dead serious. 

Jason took a deep breath and old memories began to resurface. One mustn’t think that Mr. Marco simply adopted him. After picking him up from the streets, he modified Jason and shaped him into someone extremely dependable. All the training he got came to mind and he knew what tactics to use against these people.

‘They have a gun inside their pockets and that newspaper will be their tool. However, they won’t act until they finally get a seat and settle down. If they were about to, I would know. Once I move closer to them, they won’t try to get me. However, they’ll get their order and take a seat. The moment they take a seat, their actions will begin. I must prevent that, and I need only a simple method.’ Jason planned it all out in his mind as he made his move. He also acted like he wanted to take an order while standing beside the brown-suited one. However, when he got there, he realized that he miscalculated.

“Good morning sir, what would you… wait, Jason?” Mary, the lady behind the counter blurted and Jason’s eyes widened. ‘Shit… I forgot I work here.’ He thought to himself but decided to act calm.

“Uhm… hey, Mary. What’s up?” he greeted shyly but the latter was filled with astonishment.

“Huh? Have you any idea what the time is? Mrs. Angella is already fuming that you aren’t here. I called you a lot of times but you didn’t pick up the phone. May I ask if you still like your job, and you’re not even acting with urgency…” She ranted and Jason was slightly frustrated but he didn’t lose focus.

“Sorry, Mary. I’m not feeling good today so I’m just here as a customer and not a worker.” Jason replied but Mary only scoffed.

“You? Not feeling well? I don’t believe that bullshit. You’re always feeling too good. Even if you aren’t, you always push through. So, what’s so different about today? You even brought a woman with you.” She pointed and made sure to emphasize her last statement. Jason massaged his temples and was overcome with embarrassment. 

‘This woman? I feel like I’m being scolded by my wife rather than my boss… you’re not even my boss.’ Jason complained to himself before his attention shifted to the men who were about to have their order. He decided to placate her as fast as possible.

“Please just let me off this once. Here take this…” Jason said before passing her some dollar notes but Mary looked at him disdainfully.

“What do you take me for, a fool?” She flicked Jason's forehead, mainly because she wanted to get revenge for the other day. “I will not be bribed… but I will cover up for you.” She added and Jason couldn’t help but smile. 

“Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are?” He complimented and the latter blushed inside but didn’t show it.

“Tsk… whatever.” She uttered before bringing her lips closer to Jason and whispering to him, “But who is that woman you brought?”

Jason was speechless and couldn’t explain what was going on between him and Karen. After all, Mary had always known him to be single, even though he never really claimed it.

“Well, err…” he was just about to reply when one of the men butted in.

“Do you two want to chat all day or will you answer the customers?” he said and Mary bowed apologetically.

“I’m sorry sir. So very sorry.” She claimed before glancing annoyingly at Jason and returning to work. The latter heaved a sigh of relief before looking at the man.

“Please don’t be offended, young man. My co-worker is usually distracted but she’s hardworking.” He defended but Mary could hear him and the side of her lips twitched uncontrollably.

“You work here?” the man asked and Jason smiled.

“Yes sir. However, I’m not feeling quite well today so I’m here to only grab breakfast.” Jason answered and the man didn’t speak anymore.

“What about you sir? What work do you do sir?” Jason inquired and the man kept a straight face and replied,

“I’m a businessman.” Jason faked surprise.

“Wow… you sure do look like one. What sort of business do you run sir?” Jason asked again.

“I run an insurance company.” He answered briefly without even sparing Jason a glance. However, unlike Jason, he wasn’t taking any caution. This was one of Jason’s goals… make your enemy lose their guard on you and believe you to be harmless. 

“Hmm… that’s pretty good. So, are you going to work or are you coming back from it?” he asked again but the man seemed to be frustrated with all of Jason’s questions. He took a sharp breath and faced him.

“What do you think?” he asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

“What do I think?” Jason said before lowering his voice a bit, “What I think is that a businessman who runs an insurance company wouldn’t walk into a restaurant with three other hard-looking guys with silenced pistols in their suits and pockets.” Jason claimed with a smile but he was waiting. There was silence between all of them and the other two men heard his voice. That was what he wanted. He had provoked the snake, and now he was waiting for it to strike. 

After a brief moment of silence, the man suddenly drew out his gun from his trench coat with swift motion and aimed it at Jason’s head but the latter quickly grabbed his arm and made the man’s wrist aim upwards as he pulled the trigger.

POW!

The bullet hit the wall above the door and people began to scream and get on their knees. Some even lay down while others vacated the restaurant. A man with a gun is a dangerous man. Jason paid little attention to the people around him and only focused on this fight. A single mistake could be the end for him. After the man pulled the trigger, Jason elbowed him in the face and broke his nose. The second man, who was wearing the suit, wanted to draw his gun but Jason kicked him away while using the first man as a meat shield and advancing towards the other two.

As expected, they shot the man repeatedly but Jason kept pushing him forward and took the gun in his hand before shooting the one with the suit on the leg.

“Aaargh!” the latter screamed as he fell and that was the opportunity Jason needed as he picked up a cup of hot coffee on the counter and poured its steaming contents on the face of the third man wearing a black trench coat.

“Aaaagrh.” The man shouted and covered his face which was burning. Jason didn’t slack and made sure to kick him in the face and give him a few punches before shooting the second man, who was still on the ground but was about to aim at him again, on the hand, making him scream and drop the gun. Jason quickly disarmed him and knocked him out before facing the last one. He had recovered from his burns but he was partially blinded and could barely see. Jason kicked him on the belly before smacking the side of his neck and knocking him out. After which he quickly disarmed him.

He didn’t waste time doing this as there were still three more men to deal with. He dragged the one that was still alive behind the counter and began to interrogate him.

“Who sent you?” he asked but the man spat.

“I’m not saying shit.” He claimed but Jason wasted no time on him and placed the gun nozzle on his generation-creating tool. Before he could shoot, the man began to spill the beans.

“No no. Please not there. A man named Jared Marco sent us.” 

“How many of you are there?” He asked again but the man looked slightly confused.

“It’s just the three of us.” He claimed but Jason couldn’t believe it as he pressed the nozzle on his balls this time and he was alarmed.

“I swear. I swear on my mother’s life. I swear.” He yelled and it suddenly dawned on Jason. 

‘If this team was sent by Jared, then the others probably have nothing to do with these guys and were most likely sent by another person, one who I might just have a clue about. If that’s the case, this changes a lot of things.’ He thought to himself before sighing deeply.

“Thanks for the info.” He said before smacking the gun butt on the man’s head and knocking him unconscious. Before facing Mary, who was sitting there petrified and shaking in front of him he approached her and tried to calm her down.

“Mary, listen to me… alright, I need you to go to get these men tied together and call 911, okay? If they ask you about anything, just claim that you don’t know.” Jason instructed before patting her head. She still looked shaken but Jason couldn’t be bothered anymore as he went towards Karen. She was his main priority right now. If his speculations were true, then they are both now in deeper trouble than before.