When One Story Should End, Another Begins

CH 9: Dumb Questions. Dumb Answers.

(AUTHOR NOTE: I'm literally so sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I have several chapters for this written but got carried away with school and couldn't figure out how I wanted to piece this together yet. Thank you for being patient and please let me know if you guys are still interested! ~Seb)

Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to.

Your grandmother always used to tell you that phrase when you were young. And, for most of your adult life, you tended to live by that advice. In general, it has treated you well.

What you were about to do now, however, went completely against that in most every regard.

You were sitting in Wade Wilson's apartment, soon after finding out that he is a mercenary, with full intentions to interrogate him about it. A stupid idea by all accounts, but this was far from your first and would certainly not be your last.

The two of you had just agreed that Wade would finally open up to you and tell the truth, so long as you kept his secrets, sealing the deal with a handshake. After surveilling his face and realizing that he was waiting for you to ask him a question, you began.

"You're a mercenary?" Was the first question you decided to ask. You already knew the answer, but it still didn't feel quite real. He nodded, prompting you to continue, "What exactly does that mean?" You decided to inquire next. He took a moment to think through his words carefully before responding.

"Simple definition? We commit crimes for money. There's a huge range and variety of what mercs will do, though. Most, including me, are hired to scare or intimidate people who are up to no good." He stated.

"Up to no good?" You invited him to elaborate.

"Creeps, stalkers, that kind of thing. Every once in a while, though, one of us will get a bigger job. We aren't hired to kill too often, but it happens." He explained, looking away from you during that last sentence.

"Have you killed before? I mean, other than that man on the news?" You asked with a much more sheepish voice than you'd intended. Your grandmother would smack you across the head for asking such a question with an answer that could only be no good. Still, you needed to know.

"Yeah. Quite a bit, actually. Employers hire based on skill level of the merc and difficulty level of their task, and I have a pretty good reputation of being clean and accurate with everything I do. Of course, that news broadcast is seriously going to fuck me over for a bit, but I'm still pretty respected by the other guys." The knowledge that, not only has Wade killed before on multiple occasions, but he even had a reputation for being quite good at it, had you shifting uncomfortably in your seat. He must've noticed, because he quickly added, "I know this is a lot to take in and probably hard to hear if you're not used to it. You can leave whenever you want to, by the way. Just remember that you promised this stays between us." He reminded you. For such a seemingly kind and understanding guy, it was strange seeing the ease with which he talked about things such as murder and crime. You'd always pictured contract killers as crazy people or lunatics. But Wade, while he was certainly still an interesting character, was charismatic and compassionate and nice to be around. Perhaps that's what made him so effective.

After considering his words and taking a moment to think through how to articulate your next question, you finally asked, "So, you're like an assassin then, right?" This earned an immediate scoff from Wade, which confused you and you found slightly off-putting before he began to explain.

"Nah. Like I said, most of the time I'm just trying to intimidate someone, not kill them. And if I ever do hurt someone, I do my own research and make damn sure I have every reason to want to hurt them. Assassins just kill whoever they're paid to, no questions asked, and usually much more high-profile people than I care to mess with. If I hurt someone, it's because they're a piece of shit who had it coming." He explained, leaving more questions in your head than answers.