Target Down - The Ghost Assassin

Date Night

As the hot water from the shower hits the top of my head and flows down my back. I smile, glad that tonight is date night for my uncle and aunt. I still climbed back into my room through the window, it's becoming a habit.

My hand reaches out for the shampoo bottle on the shelf in the shower and blankly squeeze some of the liquid into the palm of my hand and bring it up to my hair.

As the liquid turns into a bubbly thick lather my mind floats back to the day my mother gave me my dads puzzle box.

He knew I'd get it open.

My smile reappears.

The night before leaving my mother's house, Nate had come waltzing into my room with a brown paper envelope in his hand. The only thing on it was my name.

"I found this lying at the front door. It had your name on it so I thought I'd bring it up." He had said with curiosity laced across his entire face.

"Oh." I said, recognizing my fathers hand writing. "Thanks." I play the innicent recipient, raising my eyebrows at the envelope, then realizing it's about to turn into a white elephant.

Nate, crashes onto my bed and tries his best to be not so nonchalant.

"So, you goung to open it?" He asks, eyeing me out the corner of his eye.

"Nah, I'll just pack it for now. I don't want to leave anything behind." I try to avoid the envelope but grabbing random things and shoving them into my bags, the envelipe being one of them.

I can see Nate is not satisfied with my action but before he could do anything about the envelope, I slouch my shoulders and quietly tell him I didn't want to leave. Hoping an emotional tug would distract him enough, for long enough, to forget.

"Awe, babe." He coos and pulls me into him for a hug.

His every growing large frame surrounds me with the newly acquired muscle bulk of a drool able hero.

"Let's go for ice cream. I can tell the others to join us." He looks at me, but his eyes still aware of the white elephant, peeking out of my bag. "One last get together before you leave?"

"Arg! I don't like goodbyes." I tell him honestly. For a change.

"It's not a goodbye. Think of it as a 'see ya later' thing. Not goodby. Definitely NOT that." He physically anounces his distate for a goodbye. So much so I could have sworn his whole body shook at the thought.

"This path is a lonely one, Angel. The people you love, you will only be able to watch them from a distance. That's the only way to keep them safe." My fathers words come to me as they have done since watching his first video.

I miss my Nate. I thought sadly. Giving up everyone seems, all of a sudden, to be a daunting task. Not Nate. I can't see myself giving up on him. I have to remind myself about keeping him safe. I love him. He's like the brother I never had. I have to keep him safe.

As those thoughts, wring my emotions into an uncomfortable spring, I heard my uncle and aunts voices come dashing through the front door with a sense of urgency.

I walk out the bathroom in my room, throw on whatever is laying around and walk out the bedroom to find my uncle rushing aroumd, grabbing note pads and pens and a dictaphone.

My aunt is glued to him like a screaming shadow, not giving him enough room to move.

"What's going on?" My question freezes both of them in their places. Eyes on me. My uncle with a guilty look on his face while my aunts is boardering exasperation.

"Oh, sorry Sky. We didn't mean to wake you. It's just the office called and I need to head out for a story." My uncle explains his guilt.

"It's date night! Can't it wait? It's not like the guy is going to suddenly come back to life and run away!" My aunt yells out her exasperation.

My uncle looms over her, holding her shoulders. His eyes stern and hard. "We can have date night tomorrow, hun. Work is work and that's what pays for your shopping adventures."

And, with that. He lets her go and walks out the house. Leaving his wife and I standing there in silence.

Her eyes reach me from across the room and jolts her head towards the kitchen." Coffee? "

I follow her into the kitchen and watch her move aroumd grabbing, mugs and a teaspoon from the dish wrack sitting next to the sink.

"Did someone die?" I layer my innocence thickly.

She stops at the kettle but says nothing only giving a knod in confirmation.

She clearly doesn't like what my uncle does, or appreciate how hard he works.

I don't push her any further as I can tell I won't get anything from her. She doesn't drink her coffee with me in the kitchen but drags herself and her mug to their bedroom and closes the door.

Well, bitch, if you aren't going to at least wait up for my uncle and make him a cup when he gets back from working then I will. Besides, I could use the intel, to see if I left any traces behind.

About two hours later my uncle comes trudging back in through the front door and follows the pathway to the only light on in the house. The kitchen.

As he walks into the room, and slinks down onto a stool I place a cup of steaming hot coffee infront of him, which raises his head.

I smile to let him know it's ok and he smiles back.

"Rough night, huh?" I raise one side of my face to show him I sympathize.

"Yeah." He slides out as his one hand rubs his face.

I stay quiet. I know the man loves his job and given enough silence will spill all the details like a water boarded prisoner.