Assassin For Hire

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

<Gavin Forrester>

My hands shake as I open up the door to my apartment and set the file down on the table by the door. I slam the door shut and lock it tight. I walk around my apartment and close all of the blinds so no one can look in at what I'm doing. I put a sticky note over the peephole in my door and then let out a deep breath.

After securing my apartment, I grab the file and sit down on the couch with an apprehensive expression. The worn paper of the file cover is taunting me and I bite my tongue as I flip it open.

The first thing in there is a picture of Victoria. She's dressed in a trench coat and has a pair of dark glasses on her head, making her look a bit suspicious. She's seated at a table near the window of a coffee shop, one I think that I saw in the Bronx while I was doing a job there. What is a rich, socialite like Victoria doing in the Bronx of all places?

The picture seems to have been taken from across the road due to the fact that the details of her face aren't extremely clear. The next few pages are pictures as well but these are all taken at a closer range. Now, I can actually see the color of her eyes and the pink of her lips.

A smile crosses my lips as I turn the page, which is an information page as opposed to a picture page. I sigh and begin to read the information. It says her birthday, her height, weight, eye color and address. Then there's a paragraph about her daily routine. Apparently, whoever writes the master files was watching her very closely because they knew what time she woke up, what products she used to wash her face, what makeup she used and what she'd regularly eat for breakfast.

They knew the exact restaurants and coffee shops she went to and what university classes she attended. Whoever made Victoria's file was tracking her because this isn't a normal amount of information that Talon's company gathers on their victims. I mean I guess I never asked for the reason I was killing a specific person before but this just seems extensive. Why is Victoria more important than any other victim before?

I continue turning the pages and then a page of reasons catches my eyes. It's a rumor around the office that before each new assignment, Talon writes an extensive essay on why this specific person has to go.

I let out a nervous breath as I begin to read. I skim over the first few paragraphs and then a few sentences make my blood run cold.

Victoria Grayson is my biological daughter. She is the reason my wife left me. She must die.

Anger courses through my veins and I suddenly feel like ripping the file apart and burning it, just so that I can forget what I read and so no one else can discover the horror. However, forgetting is not possible, those words straight from Talon's brain will haunt me forever.

I flip to the end of the file to make sure I didn't miss anything and I see the signature of who put together this master file. The name is written in blue ink and will now be burned into my mind for eternity.

Carter Jacobson...

What the hell is he doing putting together and signing murder files for Talon Tenebris?

Then I realize something major, those cameras weren't cheat cams; they were helping Carter put together Talon Tenebris' master file on Victoria. She was right, Carter Jacobson was stalking her, but not for the reasons she thought. She probably thought he was just creepy but no, he was preparing a file so someone could put a bullet through her head. Why would he want his own fiancée dead?

A million questions are racing around in my head and I can't focus on trying to answer any of them. There's no good reason Carter would be working for Talon and there's no good reason as to why he'd want Victoria dead. Talon has a more valid reason and his reason is crap.