章 1: The End of a Life

In a dark alley, in the middle of the night, a man stood still blowing on a cigarette. The man appeared to be in his late 30's, with midnight black hair that reached down to his ears and abyssal black eyes devoid of even a speck of emotion. He was dressed elegantly in a formal suit with a long black overcoat on top.

"It's about time." He muttered in a hoarse and raspy voice, due to the effect of the cigarette. The man took one last puff and threw the cigarette stub to the ground, crushing it under his foot.

After a minute, another man arrived in the alley, who at a glance looked to be about the same age as the other man though one couldn't be sure as the man's face was covered.

He was wearing blue jeans with a green hoodie that concealed his facial features because of the hood of the garment. The man had a grin plastered on his face that would send an eerie sensation down a man's spine.

"Look at you Ray, today's the end of your career and yet, you are devoid of even a smile on that impassive face of yours." The man mocked and his voice echoed throughout the darkness of the corridor.

Ray's gaze shifted from the sky to the man who had just arrived at the scene, not even bothering to greet him.

"Shut up Sam, just give me the money so I can take my leave."

"You know it's a pretty sad day for the world to be losing its best assassin but I guess that never matters a thing like you so here you go." Sam retorted in a faked gloomy voice and took a parchment from his hoodie, handing it further to Ray.

The man named Ray Vixen, who was the world's best assassin, took the parchment and nodded towards Sam. Not speaking a word further, Ray quietly put his parchment in the coat and took his leave while taking one last precautionary glance at Sam, who just stood there smiling like an idiot at Ray's back.

He was always like this from the start, Ray thought. After all, he was his handler and Ray knew the guy better than anybody. But strangely this time the smile oozed a strange sense of uneasiness that crept up Ray's spine warning him to stay cautious.

However, Ray dismissed the feeling to the back of his head interpreting it as some sort of detachment feeling of his body due to the long years of service with his handler.

Also, today was a special day and Ray wasn't going to ruin his time just investigating a premonition that lasted for only a second. That also about his handler, who never betrayed Ray when he was working as an assassin.

Dismissing his thoughts, Ray reached the end of the alley and took a sharp turn leaving his handler, who still stood at the same spot not moving an inch, even in the terms of his sinister smile.

*****

As Ray walked down a street, he finally saw a house situated just at the corner, illuminated because of its interior lights.

'Finally after a long last, my chance of respite.' Ray thought as a subconscious smile played on his face and he walked up to the house.

Excitement welled up within him as he thought of numerous ways to surprise his family.

'I should have brought presents for them, what a father I am.' Ray sighed as he twisted the doorknob and entered the house.

Alas, what greeted Ray was a sight of bloodshed that made his, even for a man of his caliber who had been through countless ordeals and rivers of bloodshed, insides churn with disgust and making him want to vomit at the sight.

His eyes finally depicted emotions but they were contrary to what he was expecting. Lying there in front of him were his two little daughters and wife. Their faces messed up, almost unrecognizable leaving not a trace of their previous beautiful faces and smiles.

Their bodies mutilated in a grotesque condition that would make a normal man faint due to horror.

The house which was an ordinary building but also home to an endless collection of memories had blood etched on it walls like paint on a canvas. A tapestry of memories ruined, just like that.

Before Ray knew it, tears flooded his eyes and started to fall drop by drop. His abyssal eyes, a storm of rage, sadness, grief and misery. From the state of the bodies and the blood, this tragedy took place not long ago.

"Would you look at that, I think this is the first time I've seen you cry." A sarcastic voice pierced through the silence which was previously, only a sound of tears falling on the cold hard floor of the entrance.

Recognizing the owner of the voice, Ray's face spun to the direction of the voice which had just sounded from behind him. And standing at the gate was Sam, his face plastered with a devilish grin, clearly confessing himself as the cause of this tragedy.

Failing to control his emotions, his eyes seethed with rage as he launched himself at Sam with his spare dagger at blinding speed, a far cry to his usual calm and composed fighting style. Still, Sam did not move even an inch and his face was still etched with that malicious smile.

Suddenly, two gunshots resounded from Ray's back and the bullets pierced through his back.

Staggering from the sudden numbness and pain, his pursuit halted and he crashed on the ground. He moved his face bearing the pain and he saw numerous people donned in black suits appearing from every corner of the house.

Confirming his suspicions from before, Ray's being flooded with even more rage as he tried to get up but was quickly stopped short with two more bullets piercing him in the back. He glared with all his killing intent at Sam, demanding the reasons for his actions.

Realizing the look in his eyes, Sam shrugged and retorted in a nonchalant manner,

"Don't blame me man, I'm just following orders that Spyder gave me, nothing else."

Spyder was the organization dealing in assassination and espionage services and their reach extended throughout the world. It was also the organization which Ray served, before finally retiring today due to his own request.

"We took you in as an orphan, raised you as a full fledged assassin, gave you a home and this is how you repay us, by leaving us as our best project yet." Sam further spoke with a cold look in his eyes now.

"BUT WHY WAS MY FAMILY INVOLVED IN THIS!?" Ray shouted, unable to retrieve his pent up emotions.

Sam, not even slightly bothered by his question and state, calmly explained retaining his cold gaze,

"Because you can't be allowed to live now that you are free. You are akin to a time bomb attached to our neck that could go off at any minute.

You bear too many secrets and too much information, which now that you are free, cannot be trusted to you.

Spyder deems you as a threat to their existence. You had to die along with your family and any other memory or trace of you."

The men from before now arrived at the scene holding gasoline tanks, and started pouring them on Ray and the house relentlessly, emptying each tank.

"We will erase your existence from this world, along with anything that you possess and we deem as harmful to us. Today will be a day that will etch itself into the pages of history. Today the world's greatest assassin will breathe his last"

Sam took out a cigarette and a lighter, placing the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it. He threw the lighter on top of Ray's wet body riddled with bullet holes.

The whole house along with the bodies of Ray and his family started to burn ablaze with vigor. Before the last specks of his life finally faded, he heard Sam with his eyes containing a flicker of sadness and grief, muttering in a dim voice, but was not able to escape his ears.

"Goodbye, old friend."

With that, the man Ray Vixen, the world's greatest assassin breathed his last, or so he thought.

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