Return of the Strongest Scavengers Assassin

Chapter Ten

Reed knocked on the door, thrusting his hands into his pockets while he waited for a response. Not long after, the door was flung open and a short, stocky man with beer gut and rounded glasses perched on his square face opened the door.

“What do you want?” He barked, giving Reed a once-over.

“I want to see…” Reed's words trailed off because the client, Anna was already standing behind her father, staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers.

It was obvious they were fighting. Her lashes were wet with tears, her cheeks sunken and even her clothes hung off her frame. 

Guilt slammed into Reed when he took in her appearance, especially when he knew that a large part of what was happening was his fault.

Making a decision there and then, Reed decided to return Anna's money even though it went against the rules of his profession…in return for a small favor.

“Can I see you for a moment?” He asked politely.

Anna glanced at her parents and then at him, nodding eagerly. “Sure.”

Her Dad wasn't so quick to let it go though. “Anna, who's this?!”

“He's just a friend.” She snapped, jerking the door out of his hold, and slamming it hard. Facing him, she folded her hands. “What are you doing here? How did you even find me?”

Reed raised his phone. “Technology, but anyways that's besides the point. I think we can be beneficial to each other at this point.”

“How?” She cocked a brow.

Reed inclined his head towards the closed door. “I heard what happened and I can help…by giving you the money back.” Anna's face lit up, and then he went for the kill. “But I'm going to need a favor from you in return.”

“Like what?” Suspicion colored her eyes.

Reed made a gesture towards his car, where his daughter was visible. “I need you to look after my daughter for a couple of days, I need to take care of this drug dealer business.”

Anna gaped. “How do you want me to explain that to my parents?”

“Just tell them I'm your classmate or something and I'm having a family emergency.” Reed looked up. “Oh, and I would advise you to take your family away, preferably out of the city for a couple of days.”

Anna nodded, taking the stack of dollar bills Reed offered her. “You need to be careful. Killing someone that dangerous is risky business which could get even worse if you die, leaving me with blood on my hands.” Glancing towards her house, Anna bit her lower lip. “After everything went south, I started to contemplate using legal means go catch that bastard…”

Reed only smiled, indulging her but deep down, his heart thumped hard in anticipation.

It had been way too long since he had killed many people.

Anna shook it off. “ I'll go in first and explain things to my parents, that should buy you enough time to say goodbye to your daughter.”

Reed's steps felt ten times heavier as he walked back to the car.

Mandy looked when Reed's shadow fell over her. His heart also felt heavy, hating the fact that he had to leave her so soon after they just reunited.

Ripping off the band-aid at once, Reed knelt. “Hey, pumpkin. Daddy has to go off and deal with the bad guys but you're just going to hang out with a friend for a couple of days…is that okay?”

Mandy was silent for so long, her eyes roving over his face that he thought he had done something wrong. Suddenly, she rushed towards him, circling her slim hands around his neck. “Whatever decision you make is fine with me Daddy. I know you're going to come back, no matter what.”

Reed felt overwhelmed by emotions and he fought to blink back the tears, softly cupping the back of his daughter's head.

Then he pulled away, reaching for a gun tucked into the waistband of his slacks, and handed it to Mandy.

He spent the next couple of minutes, showing her how to lift and level the muzzle, also showing her how to hit a target. They practiced how to flip the safety on and off without pulling the trigger and once Anna returned, Mandy had already gotten the hang of it.

Mandy turns off the safety, hiding the gun in her bag so she can follow Reed inside, introducing her to Anna.

Once Reed was satisfied that his daughter was safe, he drove away, locating the nearest payphone he acted out step one of his plan.

Reporting the laundromat.

“911, what's your emergency?” The female operator answered on the third ring.

Distorting his voice a bit, taking on a fake accent, Reed answered. “There's a laundromat on River Street and the owner is a drug dealer, using the laundromat as a cover for his illegal business. Also you'll need to get witness protection for A Margie Blackwater.”

There was a brief pause. “Okay, sir. We'll get someone to check it out, what's your name and location?”

Reed ended the call, getting back into his car for plan B.

Even though he had applied for a witness protection program for his mother, Reed's faith in the police system couldn't be stretched that far so he drove over to the hospital.

Tugging a baseball cap low on his face to hide from cameras, he walked briskly into the hospital only to realize there was a bit of commotion ongoing.

Police cars were parked haphazardly in the parking lot, and there were a lot of people hurrying to and fro.

Was there some kind of emergency happening?

His instincts never let him down, indicating that there was something fishy going on.

Reed sprinted to his mother's room in haste, but he stopped short when he over a nurse describing the situation to the police.

Directly opposite where he stood, was a monitor that displayed the CCTV footage which showed a familiar figure walking out of the hospital by herself.

His mother…