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.”