The next morning came sooner than expected. Groaning, Nathalie grabbed her phone, took a grumbling look at the far too brightly lit display, and pushed it back under her pillow with her arm. Ten to six. It was just ten to six in the morning; the sun was still a long way from rising, and yet countless voices could already be heard outside. A boot camp. It was like a boot camp.
Shortly before seven, Nathalie finally gave up trying to fall asleep, and after another fifteen minutes of pointless lying in bed, she got up and searched her bag for some fresh gym clothes. Yawning, she pulled on a pair of long sweatpants, a sports bra, and a running jacket that allowed her to put her thumbs through the sleeves. She pulled a fitness tracker out of a pocket, set the desired running time, strapped it around her wrist, and checked her iPod Shuffle's battery before she started.
•••
Her hour-long run through the woods was unexpectedly interrupted by the group of contestants and Hurley herself standing in a semicircle in an open clearing. The closer Nathalie got to the clearing, the slower her pace became, until she finally came to a stop on the forest path, from which she looked down at the clearing, partly eagerly, partly suspiciously, and unplugged her headphones.
A CIA boy and a Homeland boy were sent into the middle by Hurley, who also held a knife to the chest of the Homeland boy. Definitely growing suspicious, Nathalie approached the clearing even further, leaning her right shoulder against a tree and crossing her arms over her chest. What Hurley's task and thus the goal of the two boys was, she had unfortunately not noticed, thanks to the distance. But what she was about to witness less than a minute later was no normal training.
One punch after another followed; a kick to the shin after an attempt to dodge the knife, and without further ado, the Homeland boy landed on the floor with the CIA candidate in a skillful grip. The moment the Homeland boy straightened up, Hurley pulled out a pistol, fired the weapon next to the boy's ear, and walked around the two fighting boys. Such a lousy act. A gunshot doesn't make any noise or anything, as everyone knows. It doesn't get any meaner than that. While Hurley gave instructions and corrections, he walked around the two lying on the ground with the gun waving in the air. Then he stopped, looked at the two sitting on the floor, and put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. A moment later, so that everyone standing around could see, he pulled the trigger.
Nathalie did not notice at first that one person was not with the others, nor that he seemed to be nearby.
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✔ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ Ghost Story - American Assassin✔
FanficWhat was that thing with Ghost and Hurley again? Hurley was a former Navy commander who retired and years later started the 'Orion' program to fight terrorism. And Ghost, a former Marine who was trained by Hurley One, then known as Ronnie and later...
