Chapter 2

No one knew what happened to the Lombartti family. The entire family tree scraped clean of its existence. 

Tony Lombartti, had ordered a hit on Ethan Robins and his entire family because of something someone else would have seen as stupid, and over-reaching. 

You see 6 years before Ethan Robins met Rebbecca, he was in a bar somewhere in the states. Sissy, or as most know her, Sicilia had come on to Robins, he turned her away. She had gone home and claimed that this guy had forced himself on her, and Tony lost his shit, and sanctioned a hit on him and his entire family once he found out who he was and if he had had any weak spots. 100 million dollars for the entire family. 

By the time the shots came through both me and Robins had no idea what was happening. 

Still after counting to 4 I still could’t pull the trigger like I had done countlessly 700 other times before. My kill count had grown to the highest in 20 years. 

In 20 years, I’d killed about 35 people each year. In the first year alone, 60, the family. Lombartti. 

To this day no one knows who, or what cleared the entire family or why. 

“ I can’t do this!”  I whispered. Bernardi had the most requests of my time, I have been his paid hire to kill for the last 16 years. That’s 43 to 44 lives. Men, women, children. Hell, sometimes even relatives. I thought to myself one day after I was given 10 years max to live. I had to change my ways. I had accumulated just about over 22.5 million dollars as a contract killer.

“ Meet me in the garage. 12 minutes, a second later, I’ll finish what I started. Just yourself. No money, no clothes, nothing. Leave your phone in your car. If you call anyone, I’ll kill you. If you drive away, I’ll kill you. If you alter your route and don’t go straight to the garage, I’ll kill you. Got it?”

John Spencer shook his head in understanding, and left. The way he shook his head you would have thought it would come right off.  Me? I just needed the next 9 minutes to get myself back together. 

While I walked up the pathway to the garage, I could hear the quick breathing. 

“ John? Come out, let’s go.” 

John had come around from behind a big white commercial van that had paint dabbed on the side. 

“ Are you gonna kill me?”

“ No John, I am taking you somewhere safe. There’s been a hit put on you.”

I watched as John's face went through several shades before settling on a pale white color.

My get away car, just a few spots up, sat in a corner for a quick grab and go just in case I was found out while watching my intended marks. 

It was an old beat up, blue Cadillac with all blue interior. “ John, I need you to get in the trunk.”

John started to panic all over again, his breathing shallowed, but a look of understanding flashed over him. I watched as he climbed into the trunk. 

It felt like 80 hours had gone by.. 60… 24… 9.. 

Here we are, this little nook, hidden away from the world. I had been building this place for me, once I retired this old thing. All this killing, this hunting, this… everything. I was trying to build a life away from it. A chance to finally live and breathe, for me and my family. Not to look over my shoulder another second. Instead, I built it, and it grew, one house became 8, then 9, then 14. I had 7 water turbines, half of a field of solar panels, plenty of hunting game in and around the area.

Over 4 years, I have hidden 12 families; 

The Johnsons, their family had a hit on them for their 7 year old daughter witnessing one of the 4 families schmuck doing a hit in the middle of the day. 

The Browns, the wife, saved the wrong person in the hospital, so there was a hit put out on her and her entire family. apparently she was supposed to save the son of one of the families and didn't get the memo at the door when he and the guy who attacked him both arrived at the same time. The son had done a real number on the guy, so per protocal she had to save the guy first. The son died before she even finished with the guy. 

The Garcia’s, the husband was a teacher and it just so happened that the families eldest daughter went to the school he taught at as a high school teacher. She had a crush on him, just like most of all the girls in her grade, except she went way too far with it and went to her uncles and father telling them he was taking special notice of her. The girl was suffering from mental illnesses that the family continued to hide. The girl had been to mulitple schools before it was finally reported to the police and courts. It didn’t sit well with her family.

The Millers, the son, was interested in Bernardi’s daughter, in that sense Bernardi didn’t see the Miller boy as much of anything and the kids were obsessed with one another, no matter what he did they couldn’t stay away from each other. So he put a hit out on the boy. 

The Andersons, well lets just say family vacation ended up being completely in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

It pretty much went the same with the rest of the families. Williams, Jones, Martinez, Smith, Rodriguez, WIlson, Davis. No one felt safe. 

Then I came along.

I used to kill without word, without thought, without feeling. 

12 Families, using the very land I planned to live out my last days. 12 families I have removed from meaningless deaths. 

I got out of the car, and went to the center where the rest of the families were sitting, watching the kids run around and play. 

“ Good evening everyone!!” 

“Good evening,”  They all replied. 

“ I have a new guest for you. Please welcome him with open arms as I have done you. Please show him around and help him work through this new chapter in his life.”

I walked back to the car and opened the trunk and helped John out.

“ John, you need to pick a new name, change your hair color, and try to adopt a new accent.”

John shook his head in understanding. As I walked John back to the crowd of families, recognition started to flood his face.

“ These… These are…”

“ Yes, John these are the families Bernardi Marrieotti hired me to kill.” 

“ But…. How??” 

“ Well John, the same way for you. I took them out, and gave them new life. I didn’t put you in the trunk to kill you. I put you in the trunk before my last family kill.”

Realization hit really hard on him.

“ The last family kill……. It was you!! You took out the Lombartti family!!!”

Pure terror flashed over his face, it was if he was looking at the boogeyman himself, in person. 

“Mr. Marrieotti…. He put a number on my head????”

Flashes of fear and terror flickered back and forth on his face. 

“ Yes,” 

I left it at that, and continued to walk him to the center of families, preparing to welcome him to his new home.

They started by sharing their names, professions, new skills they had aquired over the years during their hiding. To say the least, we had a nice little community here.