Assassin Game
Chapter One:
They Dragged Me Back in:
I never wanted
this. I never wanted this for the both of us.
This happened
six days ago.
I love my son
more than anything in this world. He gave me a second chance at my life. From
the moment I held him, the rest of the world fell away. I was going to do right
by him. For six years, I kept that promise to myself. Raymond is his name. I
named him after his grandfather. I raised him alone. You see, my husband died
before our son was born. I already lost one man I cared about.
I did my best to
try and live a normal life. I did it all for him. I would never let him know the
world I came from. Raymond deserves to live in a safe and happy world. I know
that won’t be possible forever, but I want to him to experience it for as long
as I can. However, that part of the dream came to a halt with a single phone
call.
I don’t know how
they even found me. I worked so hard to stay in hiding. It actually started the
night before. You see, our house doesn’t have a land line. The only way to call
me is my cell phone. Only my boss and a small number of coworkers have my
number. I had just put my son to bed when my phone rang. I pulled out my phone
and looked at the screen. I didn’t recognize the number. I hung it up and went
down the stairs. I hadn’t planned to do much that night. I just sat down on the
couch and watched some Netflix on my TV. I think I was watching a true crime
series at the time. My phone buzzed in my jeans pocket. Was one of the girls
texting me in the middle of the night? I rolled my eyes and pulled it out.
One voice
message.
Hm. I unlocked
my phone and opened my messenger app. I pressed play. The message didn’t last
long. Only about twenty seconds. From what I head it sounded like a car driving
on the highway with the window down. Then it ended. I looked at my phone.
Sounded like it was a wrong number. I shoved phone back into my pocket and went
on with my night.
The next morning
was just another typical morning. I got up, took a shower, got dressed for work,
and got Raymond up for school. We had breakfast together at the table. I reached
over and patted him on the head. He looked up at me. I smiled at him. I decided
to make his favorite for dinner, macaroni and cheese. Raymond said that he was
going to do some art project today. I think it was with clay animals or
something.
“I want to make
you a swan with a crown, mama,” he said. I giggled at his enthusiasm.
“I look forward
to seeing it, baby,” I said. Raymond laughed. His laugh could brighten up the
whole world. That day was a Thursday. We were going to go see his grandma on
that Saturday. She wanted to see him again after so long. I caged in. I mean,
how often did he get to see the rest of his family?
After breakfast,
I urged Raymond into the car and drove him to school.
“I will see you
later, sweetie,” I said.
“Bye mama,” he
said. I watched him run up to the gates of the school. I drove away after my son
made it into the building. After that, I made my way to work.
It should’ve
been an ordinary day from there.
I work at a
butcher shop. I cut up the meat for sale. Kind of ironic given my past. My
coworkers don’t bother me and I keep my head down. My work ethic has been good
for the past three years. It’s not like I need the money. It’s just something to
do.
That day, Chole,
the receptionist came into the back.
“Izzie!
Telephone!” she shouted. I didn’t look up as I chopped up more beef.
“Why are you
telling me?” I asked. “Don’t you deal with the calls?”
“They called for
you personally,” she said. I lowered my cleaver. Now, if anyone wanted to
contact me at work, they would call my cell. That’s what the school does. Also,
I don’t have anyone else who would try to call me. How bad would was it to call
my work number?
I put down my
cleaver and walked out to the front of the store. I walked over the phone on the
wall and picked up the receiver dangling to the floor.
“Hello?” I
asked. A familiar old gravelly voice said six words that made my blood run cold.
“Hello Isabel. We have your son.”