Bad Guys?

Part 0.1: Nathan

Nathan wasn't just your ordinary mercenary. He was in fact, the youngest mercenary in North America. At the young age of 17, he was leading a life that would see him coming home after school to take a contract and kill some poor fool. You must understand, however, that Nathan wasn't like most mercs. He would only take a contract and kill a person if they really had it coming. Some bigot? Nathan would be happy to off them. Corrupt politician? You better believe it. Unlike most people, he actually cared slightly about the world and he had morals. Nathan was a good guy, he honestly was, and he rather enjoyed helping out people. So whenever he heard about a organization of mercenaries that got together for a good cause, he was sure as hell to join in.

Killing almost came as easy as breathing to Nathan. He found his excellence in the skill whenever he was trying to gain some cash for his father's medical bills whenever his father was deathly ill. Nathan tried his best, he really did, but in the end Nathan's father passed away and left him and his mother nothing to live off of, giving all of his stuff to his brother in the will. Ever since then, Nathan decided to dedicate his time and effort into being the best merc he could, and it managed to get him noticed by many rich blokes that were willing to pay the highest prices. This gave Nathan enough money to support both him and his mother, for a very long time. Or at least until his mother was killed.

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August 12th, 2017.

10:47 PM. Greenflower City, Oregon.

Nathan aimed down the scope of his rifle, the cold metal pressing against his shoulder. The target was within his sights. A 40 year old man named John Kessinger. Rumors say that he sexually harassed many girls at a nearby school, and Nathan couldn't just stand for that. John was also caught up with some other shady people in town, but Nathan didn't really care for all that sort of drama. Michael Bigsby was willing to pay Nathan $60,000 if he could kill John in one shot, and Nathan was happy to accept. He lined up the crosshairs with John's forehead, and Nathan smirked.

"Look at the birdy." Nathan whispered, as he held his breath and squeezed the trigger ever so lightly.

A silent but deadly thwipping sound came from the rifle, exploding John's head into a million tiny, gory, red bits. Nathan smiled wide and stoop up, looking over the tall building down at the small office where John was. People were panicking all around, and sirens began to wail in the distance. Nathan knew that his job was done. He began to head down the stairway, ready to accept the $60,000 in cash. But then his phone rang. He didn't get too many calls, especially this late at night. Nathan looked at the device as he slid it out of his slack pockets. The screen lit up brightly in the dark, and in bright white letters it wrote out "MOM." Nathan answered.

"Hey Mom, what's shaking?" His laid back voice was followed by a different woman's voice, and it certainly wasn't his mother's.

"I have your mother hostage. Now answer my question, Nathan Pierce, and she will not be harmed." Thoughts began to flood Nathan's head. Being a merc wasn't an easy business. People were always bound to come back and bite you in the ass, which is understandable. Everyone just wants to do their job easy, and it was the job of a merc to go and fuck everything up. He tried to stay calm, knowing that as long as he answered her questions, his mother would be fine. The woman began to speak again.

"Did you kill a man named Albert Scalder?" Her voice was sharp and quick, and Nathan could hear his mother's muffled screams on the other side of the phone.

"I don't know, maybe? I kill a lot of people. Listen, I'm sure we can-" Nathan's negotiations were interrupted.

"Answer the damn question!" Nathan's mother could be heard grunting and screaming even louder now.

"Yes, no, I don't know! You know how mercs are, we kill people and don't ask too many questions, I probably did and just didn't remember." There was a moment of silence and then she spoke again.

"So you're telling me you don't remember every last second of your victims faces? How much they beg you to spare them, or even how much they don't even notice you. That makes for a weak merc. I know who you are, kid, and I need to know if you killed Albert Scalder. Now answer my fucking question before I blow your mom's brains out."

"No, I don't ever recall killing a man named Albert Scalder." There was a gunshot, and then the call ended. Nathan's heart sunk. He couldn't lose another parent. Not like this. He was trying to help his mom, not get her killed. He already blamed himself for his father's death. There was no way in hell he could stand this too.

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August 15th, 2017.

9:07 AM. Greenflower City, Oregon.

He didn't know much about that woman other than that he was going to make her pay. He wasn't too much into that weird kinky BDSM shit, but he had dreams of all the shit he could do to her to make her suffer. Nathan stuck his hands into his red leather jacket and sighed. He looked down at the graves in front of him. The one on the left, Lane Pierce; loving father and inspiring husband, and on the right, Joana Pierce; caring mother and lovely wife. Nathan shook his head and turned around, the clouds growing overhead. He pulled out his phone and thought for a moment. If anyone could help him find this woman, it was his best friend, Thomas.

Not only was Thomas Nathan's best friend, but he was crushing on him hardcore. This wasn't just a crush either, Nathan cared about Thomas more than he did himself, really. Thomas was there for him when his father died, and Thomas was the only person in the school who knew about Nathan being a merc, and they made jokes about it all the time. Thomas would help out too, he would tell Nathan where his targets were and often supply him with weapons that he just so happened to "find." Nathan thought that Thomas was the perfect human being. The two would often joke about Thomas being some righteous angel from heaven. Nathan dialed Thomas' number and held the device up to his ear.

"Hey Nate-dog. How are you holding up?" Thomas' voice was comforting to Nathan. It was crisp, yet soothing. It was a voice that Nathan could recognize miles away.

"I'm alright. I was wondering if you could help me out with something, if you aren't busy."

"Yeah, of course dude, anything for Natey Noo." Thomas laughed a bit, and then Nathan spoke.

"It's about my mom. I need to find the woman who killed her. I told you about what happened, and I think I'm finally ready to track her down."

"Well alright, come over on Saturday and we can start doing some research..." Thomas almost hung up, but then he hesitated. "Hey Nathan...."

"Yeah?"

"Don't kill yourself over this whole thing. You know I'm here for you, any time you need me."

Thomas hung up, and Nathan had only one goal now. Find the woman who killed his mom.