Chapter 2

Shanra POV

Did you know that Silent Assassin killed again last night?"

"Really? And who is the plague of the society that our hero has silenced again this time?"

From reading the newspaper, I just quietly listened to the two women's conversation in front of me. The two are talking about the death of Danding Acebedo. It turns out that they viewed the one who killed Acebedo as a hero. Anyway, it's okay to call her a hero. Because Silent Assassin kills plagues the society and did not harm innocent people like other assassins. Whoever is her target is the one that she only kills.

"Who else but the well-known drug dealer, Danding Acebedo. Here is the newspaper and read the contents of the news," replied the woman selling the newspaper on the sidewalk while handing a newspaper to the woman she was talking to who probably knew her.

"All right, I'll buy it and I'll read it later when I get home," said the woman. After paying, she said goodbye and left quickly.

"I'll buy it too," I said after the woman that the vendor talking to was left.

"Did you know that Silent Assassin killed the drug dealer, Danding Acebedo? He deserved it. Because he has ruined many lives of young and adults because of the drugs that he sells," the vendor told me.

It was obvious that I heard her conversation with the woman who just left but she still told me the same story as she told the other woman. I think that maybe this vendor just likes to gossip around.

"I know," I weakly replied to her.  Because I'm the one who killed him, I added inside my mind. I am not in the mood to talk to her for so long so I quickly pay her for the newspaper.

After paying, I quickly walk back to my car which is parked beside the road. I just stopped for a moment to buy a newspaper on the sidewalk. I know that the death of Danding Acebedo will be headlining on the pages of the newspaper because his personality is well-known.

When I reached the front of the gate of my house I pressed a button inside my car. The high-tech gate of my house opened on its own so I didn't have to go down to open it. I get out of my car after parking it and scanned my face with the scanner placed on the door. If people who will look at me they will think that my face is the key to getting inside the house but they are wrong. Because the real key to opening the door and getting inside my house is my breath hitting the scanner.  That's how high-tech my house is.

Aside from the gate, the door scanner, my eighty inches LED TV, my lights, computer, and some of my equipment as an assassin are all high-tech. My tv and lights are sensors. With just one applause, my tv will turn on and off and with a flick of my fingers the lights will automatically turn on and off too. While my computer is like a person talking to me and answering all of my questions as if I am talking to a real person.

My house isn't that big but it was purposely designed to be a high-tech house to protect me from my enemies. The Engineer who designed my house is from Russia and he is also the one who made all of my high-tech types of equipment. In other words, a genius made my house and high-tech things. A genius assassin whose front is being an Engineer.

When I entered my house, I immediately went straight to my room and stretched out on my bed. I got up and took the picture frame of my whole family and stared sadly.

"Mom, Dad, Selina, Sarge. How are you guys in heaven? Do you know that I miss you all so much?" I could not hold back my tears in remembering my parents and siblings.

Before I stopped and bought a newspaper, I had just come from the cemetery and visited the graves of my loved ones. Today is the anniversary of their death. That is why I feel so much grief and gloom at this moment. I always like this every time their death anniversary has come. Together with the sadness, I feel inside is the deep hatred in my heart for the people who ruthlessly killed my family. And I won’t stop until I find the people who are the reason why I am now living alone. Why do I look like a living dead. Breathing but feeling dead. Because my heart was cold and seemed to be wrapped in thick ice.

The death of my family was the reason why I chose to join the Black Assassin’s Squad. A non-government organization led by top officials of the country. The organization is paid by wealthy people to remove the thorn in their throats. Whether the customers are good or bad as long as they pay the right amount we do what they want. And I use to build my house from the millions that they paid to me for the people that I killed. While I donated the other money to organizations that care for orphaned children.

According to my godfather, Eddie, the BAS leader is the only one who knows which of their members carried out the mission to kill my entire family and who was the person who ordered to do so. Yes. The BAS members killed my parents and siblings. And I can only talk to the leader of the BAS once I assassinated ten people. Currently, I have only killed three people, so the BAS leader still wouldn't want to meet me. So even if they order me to kill more people I will not hesitate to follow just so I could talk to the highest leader of BAS. In that way, I will know which people I should take revenge for killing my family.

I hugged the picture frame and lay down in my bed while reminiscing the last moment I was with my whole family alive ...

"You will study in college for a few months. Where do you want to study, Sha? Do you want to study abroad?" my mommy asked me while we were eating dinner.

"No, Mom. I want to study in college here in the Philippines. I don't want to be part of you all. I don't want to feel homesick when I'm away from you, Mom," I replied quickly to her. I will never want to be away from my parents and siblings. I wanted to see my two younger siblings grow up.

"Sister doesn't want to study abroad because she will be far away from Brother Craig. Her crush in school," my second brother Sarge Joaquin smiled and teased me. I was only two years older than him so he reached me in high school.

"You're such a gossiper, aren't you?" I gave him a warning look but he only ignored it. I always had a hard time speaking to my brother. He always loves to tease me although I'm older than him.

"Yey! Sister Sha has a crush. Is he handsome, Brother Sarge?" our youngest sister Selina who is in her last year in elementary school asked her older brother.

"You are still young but you already knew those things," I scolded my youngest sister but she only laughed at me as if she is enjoying that I felt annoyed and uncomfortable in front of our parents.

"Is Brother Craig handsome, Brother Sarge?" Selina asked again, unwilling to let go of her question.

"He is handsome but it looks like Sister Sha is not his type. That's why he ignored her beauty," Sarge replied while laughing out loud which makes me more feels annoyed. Even Selina couldn't help but laugh at what her older brother said.

"Excuse me! He did not ignore my beauty, okay? And what do you know? You don't always meet each other at school," I replied while raising my eyebrow at my younger brother. My brother is very attributive, I really want to knock his head sometimes because he is annoying. "You're the one that your crush doesn't pay attention to because you're ugly," I said to him.  But of course, I only teased him because the truth is that my brother is cute especially when he smiles and his deep dimple appears on his left cheek.

"Hey, stop teasing each other and you will end up fighting," our daddy stopped us weakly to avoid us fighting.

"It's okay for you to have those crushes as long as you don't neglect your studies, okay?" said our mother.

"Yes, Mom," Sarge and I answered together. Then we happily continue our meal. We are always like this. We teased each other but in a minute, we were already okay.

We were in the middle of our dinner when suddenly four men entered our house by force. Their faces are covered by bonnet so we can only see their eyes. Everyone was carrying guns and pointing at us.

"Who are you? What do you need—"

My siblings and mom screamed when one of the men who entered our house suddenly hit my dad in the head with his gun. My dad fell to the floor as blood flowed from his head.

"Who are you? What do you need from us?" my mom asked the intruders while crying. My mom approaches my dad who is now lying on the cold marble floor.

Instead of answering my mom's question, one of the armed men suddenly shot her. And then, they mercilessly shot my brother and sister including myself. After that, I remembered nothing. My eyesight darkened because of the wounds in my body. Before I passed out I saw that one man who entered our house had a dragon tattoo on his right arm.

When I regained my consciousness, I am already in the hospital and lying in the hospital bed. I am lucky to survive because I was not shot to death just like my parents and siblings. Or maybe, it's not my time yet to die that's why I survived. It was reported that my parents and siblings did not reach the hospital alive. I felt as if heaven and earth collapsed on me when I heard the bad news. I am now alone in the world. What is the use of my life? Why I didn't with them so that we still be a family even in heaven?

In my young mind, I felt a great hatred for those who killed my family. And I promised myself that I will pursue those who are guilty of killing them. I will not allow the death of my parents to be unclear. I will give them justice—"

My memory of the past suddenly stopped when the sensor alarm inside my room suddenly flashed. It flashed the color of red. That means danger. Because someone entered my yard with a gun or a knife. The device attached at the top of my door outside could detect if someone was inside my yard and if he or she is carrying something dangerous.

I quickly got up from my bed and cautiously get out of my room. I touch my needles which are only put to any parts of my body as long as it is well hidden and not visible to people's eyes. I don't carry a gun, although I know how to use it. I am more comfortable with my needles which hold three kinds of poison. Harmless sleeping poison. Whoever got pricked by this needle will only fa sleep for three hours. Anesthesia, which allowed them to feel numb, paralyzed their body for almost three hours and then feel pain before returning to normal feelings and the last poison is the fatal one. My deadly needle. Whoever got pricked by this kind of needle will going to be dead in just a few seconds.

I used my needles just like throwing a dart. I am an expert on it than using a gun. Guns? I hate using it. It only reminded me of how my family tragically died by guns.

Only three kinds of people could have sneaked into my yard. First are the police, maybe they found evidence and discovered that I and Silent Assassin are the same people and they are here to arrest me. Second, the staff or family members of the people I killed intend to take revenge on me after discovering my true identity. Maybe someone also saw my face and told the police even though I always wore a black bonnet on my head so that no one would recognize me. And third is the members of my organization who secretly hated me and wants to kill me. I know that many of my comrades are angry with me because they think of me as an arrogant person. Because I seldom talk with them and I am also close to the right hand of the BAS leader. So almost every mission goes to me which is the reason they envy me. I am the one who always gets the millions paid by the client.

Which of the three kinds of people could have entered my yard?