In the shrouded area in the woods of New Orleans, there hid a rustic warehouse. The woods mauled by termites, while the grass and weeds around the warehouse withered from the lack of care and fertilization. However, inside the warehouse was unlike the one people would usually see from the outside. Inside, David remodeled the entire structure into a modern outlook. Multiple motorbikes, cars, and even parts and engines parked in the garage and working area, while on the second floor was the residential area. A bed, kitchen, a bathroom at the other end of the room, a spacious closet, and even a living area, with a large TV.

David finished his exercise, before going up the stairs. He removed his damped shirt, tossing it on the laundry bin, before walking over to the kitchen. He opened the fully stocked fridge, before grabbing a bottle of water. He drank from the bottle before walked back to the living room. He glanced at the monitors in the middle of the room, where he could see multiple angles from the woods up to the area of his warehouse.

When he saw no movement or anyone in the surrounding trees, he walked away. He sat down on the comfortable couch, before turning on the television. Feeling the well-deserved peace and quiet after the controversial mission filled week that he had, David pulled his feet up to the table, before taking a deep breath and releasing a heavy and relaxing sigh.

Halfway through the how that David was watching, he heard the alarms blaring from his warehouse. “So much for peace and quiet.” From pure instinct, he jumped off the couch.

David ran to his monitors, before scanning the perimeter. When he could not find the intruder, he ran to his couch, before pulling off a drawer, containing his weapons. From the years of training received, David had the natural instinct to defend himself and his property if he deemed it needed be. He grabbed a handgun and a rifle, before taking his remote turning the TV off. He turned the lights off from the warehouse, before slowly going down the stairs. He looked around the facility, as he listened closely before he heard movement from the other side.

David pointed his gun in the direction, before the lights turned back on, surprising him. He saw Michael, with his hands up, while standing in front of him. “Hi there.” David felt a rush of emotion, including confusion, annoyance, and anger. “I like your place here.” He pointed at the building.

“How—?” David groaned, before placing his handgun on Michael’s head.

“I come in peace,” Michael told him with a soft look.

“Well, I’m not.” David warned. In David’s mind, he felt confused as to how the man in front of him could have found his clandestine hideout, but based from how he designed his security and tracking, he could not think of one answer to the multiple questions in his head. “How did you find me?”

“Well, it wasn’t easy. That’s for sure.” Michael smiled at him. “Look, hey, we didn’t finish our conversation back in New York.”

“Did you not get the message already?” David glared at him. “I’m not interested.” He pushed the tip of the gun on Michael’s head. “So leave me the hell alone.”

“Is this really how you want to live for the rest of your life?”

David growled, frustrated and annoyed at the man’s presence, as he placed his gun in his pocket, before taking out a knife from his ankle belt. “You want my blood? Fine!” he cuts his palm, before placing it in front of Michael. “Here. Get it and get out.”

Michael stared at David’s bleeding hand, before he took out his handkerchief, wrapping it around David’s palm. The man grew confused, as he frowned. “This isn’t what I’m after,” Michael told him, with a soft tone. “I told you, I want to help you.”

“I’m not interested in your help!” David yanked his hand away. “Get the hell out of here, before I paint the floors with your own blood.” He said, before walking back up the stairs.

“You’re not just a killer, you know.” David stopped, midway, as Michael stared at him. “You’ve been through a lot in your life and—“

“What do you know what I’ve been through?” David snapped, as he turned back to Michael. “Were you there?” he stomped back down the stairs. “No, right?” Michael stayed calm. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.” David’s voice lowered. “Get. Out.”

Michael stared at him for a moment, before giving a nod. “You still have your humanity, David.” The man grew surprised that Michael knew his real name. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have saved my life at that rooftop.” The lights of the facility went off, before turning itself back on. David saw Michael disappear from in front of him, as he stared at the place where the man once stood.

After recalibrating the systems of his facility, David changed the codes of his security, along with his GPS cover. He traced the system that managed to enter his software, tracing it back to the original source, despite their attempts in masking their location. He tracked them in Switzerland. David had the location and the face of the man who kept visiting him, along with the name of their organization. There was a personal debate in David’s mind on what he should do with the information, before choosing to leave it alone.

Days later, David had a new client. His mission was to assassinate a competition of a running Senator that implements the topic and the case of Climate Change. He tracked the new target in his house, where he started to scale the perimeter. He saw multiple angles for his sniper’s hide, before seeing his target walk out of the house, with two kids, laughing beside him. David was sitting on a bench, across the house, before seeing the mother join her family. From David’s enhanced hearing, he could hear the conversation of the family.

“Where are we going?” the target asked the kids.

“To the Aquarium!” the kids cheered, as they went to their car.

“Okay, seatbelts, you guys!” The mother told them. In David’s mind, he could easily place a bomb in the car, but the thought of harming the wife and the kids washed the untethered guilt in his heart. Confused for the first time, David turned away, as the family drove off.

Following the family in the Aquarium Park, David watched as he saw the kids running around, amazed at the different species of the fish and aquatic animals in the waters. He glanced at the side, where he saw a blue and black fish swimming over to him. It was alone. The fish swam around, before joining what looks to be its family, before swimming around together. David turned back to the target, where they continued to walk along the park.

Later that night, David was nesting on the rooftop across the house of the target, where he could see the family having dinner. He had a perfect shot on the target’s head, but he watched the group laugh, as they told tales about their day in the park. David was about to pull the trigger when he felt the unusual resistance from himself. He grunted, before straightening up his posture, as he stared at the house. He felt confused about why he suddenly felt peculiar in finishing a mission, as he never felt it before.

After the kids went to bed, the husband and wife both went to their bedrooms for the night. The lights around the house went off, as David was sitting on the ledge, watching from afar. He sighed, shaking his head, before turning to his phone, with a message. “Is it done?” The message wrote. David turned back to the house, before closing his eyes.

David slowly walked inside the bedroom, as he stopped beside the side of the bed, where he watched the target sleep on his side. The man shifted, before feeling his presence, as he jolted up, surprised. The target stared at David, though with a mask on, knows what was coming to him. The target glanced at his wife, still sleeping soundly, before turning back to David. The man nodded, before he sat up on his bed, raising his hands.

“Please.” The man begged. “Don’t hurt my family.” David gestured for his to go out of the room before they went down to the living room. The target turned to him, as he pleaded. “Don’t hurt them.” Behind the target, David saw multiple family pictures on the mantle, along with the shelves around the room. He sighed, turning back to the other man, before taking out his gun. The target started to cry, as David placed the gun on his head. David took a moment, as he felt the same resistance from before at the rooftop, before he grunted once more, placing the gun down.

David sighed, shaking his head, as he placed his gun in his holster. The target grew confused, as he stared at the assassin. “Your competitor, Senator Harvey sent me.” David told him, with a voice modulator on, before he walked away from him. “And I doubt I’ll be the last.”

“Wait.” David stopped, as he glanced back at the man. “You’re sparing me?” he asked. “Why?” David did not answer the question before he left the house.