Her Bodyguard, His Target

Hunter felt a firm grip on his shoulder. Without looking back, he already knew who it was.

It was a cold Friday night and him and his friend Joe had chosen to come to Fellas Corner with only one motto for the night 'No leaving until wasted'. But now he knew, he might not be able to stick around long enough to even feel tipsy.

Hunter looked back and saw Hector King standing behind him. Hector nodded at him and then began walking away slowly. Hunter knew that he had to follow his boss.

“What happened?” Joe asked Hunter.

Hunter shrugged, stepped off the stool and gulped down the last of his whiskey.

“You're probably not coming back, are you?” Joe asked him.

Hunter didn't respond, he just grabbed his leather jacket from the bar and shook Joe's hand bidding goodbye. He took one last long pull at his cigarette and then placed it in the ashtray. He then followed Hector outside. At the door of the bar were two very sexily dressed women and he walked out backwards looking at them. They were smiling back at him, obviously enjoying the attention of such a good-looking man. He winked at them and finally turned around to see his boss waiting. They often referred to Hector as King. They then walked together a few steps away from the club where Hector's car was waiting.

They got in on each side and Hunter sat there waiting for his boss to start talking. It was only when Hunter heard a shuffling in the back seat that he had noticed Marco Bianchi sitting there.

“Hunter.” Marco acknowledged him.

“Marco.” Hunter 'greeted' back.

Marco Bianchi was Hector King's consigliere. The 'wise man', who gave the boss advice on most topics that concerned the family.

“Guess what Hunter.” Hector said.

“What, sir?”

“The rock that the son-of-bitch Marcus Grayman was hiding under had finally been struck by lightning.”

Hunter frowned, trying to make out what his boss meant by that.

“We found him.” Hector finally cleared the confusion.

Hunter's grey eyes widened.

“Son-of-a-bitch has been hiding in North Sunnington all this while. Right under our noses and no one smelled that rat.”

Sunnington wasn't actually 'under' their noses like Hector had said. It was in another state in the country.

Hunter continued listening. He had never met Marcus Grayman, but he knew exactly how much Marcus Grayman was wanted by Hector and for many years now.

“Who found him?”

“One of our men on that side saw him stocking up on groceries at a store called Greenpastures, followed him and discovered his hideout. And I have the address right here.” When he said 'right here' he waved his cell phone slowly.

“So, what are you gonna do to him?”

“Nah, I want you to take this one. You know how much Marcus Grayman means to me. You know the great deal of distress he caused our family when he broke the most precious rule of all. He sold me out to the feds and got me 2 years in, had to pull some strings to get out early.”

Hunter had heard Hector tell this story at least a million times.

“Do you know how many days in two years?”

“730?” Hunter said it like he wasn't quite sure.

“Seven hundred and thirty days…” Hector repeated slowly. “For 730 days I had to let Colin be in charge even though I knew Colin wasn't close to ready.”

Marcus Grayman was Hector King's under boss back in 2012. That year Marcus wanted out. He decided that he was done with the mob and wanted nothing to do with that life anymore.

Although disappointed that he had lost a good underboss that would someday take over after he was gone, Hector King did not have a problem with that. According to how things worked, members of the mafia were allowed to leave the family if that's what they wanted to do. But even though they were out, the oath of silence was to never be broken or else, you'd pay with your life.

Everyone knew that. Even the lowest ranking gangsters and the street dealers knew it.

Marcus Grayman broke that promise. After a month of leaving the family, he reported Hector. He told the authorities everything he knew about the family including who ordered the trigger on an FBI agent named George Walker.

The agent incident had been investigated for five months before Marcus finally confessed and saved the FBI bureau a ton of time and energy. Hector King was trialled and then sentenced to 2 years’ incarceration. The 2-year sentence sent a raging commotion throughout the country because they couldn't understand why he only got two years when he was supposed to be sentenced at minimum 30 years, according to law.

After the sellout, Marcus Grayman disappeared and nobody knew where he was, until now.

“You know you mean a lot to me,” Hector continued telling Hunter. “And nothing would make me prouder to see you settle that debt for me.”

Hunter nodded, feeling evoked. Hearing Hector talk about him like that only made him feel more encouraged to continue being the perfect mobster. Hector was like a father figure to Hunter.

Hunter grew up in an orphanage where he received zero affection. In the orphanage the social workers and nuns refused to give the children supper if they misbehaved during the day, and as a result, Hunter slept hungry most nights because he kept getting into trouble. But he could deal with an empty stomach even if it were three or four consecutive nights, he eventually got used to it. He worked it out, if he didn't think about the rumbling stomach, he'd be fine until breakfast was served the next morning. What he couldn't get used to was Miss Jackson, who was the child psychologist.

She insisted that Hunter needed 4 sessions a week because he 'needed a lot of help'. Those 4 days a week, were worse than the feeling he felt when he was starving or being whipped. He remembered the days very well, it was always a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and a Friday.

Miss Wendy Jackson would take him to her office and lock the door. When they were outside and the other children, social workers and nuns were present, Miss Jackson was the warmest person in that place, with the kindest words and biggest smile. But once they entered the room and he heard the key turn, she'd turn into a monster.

She'd do things to him and tell him to do things that did not feel right. Even though he was only 6 years old, he knew that something was very wrong.

After every session, thirty minutes, she'd give him a bar of chocolate and tell him to never tell anyone about what happened during their sessions. He would then return to his bed and cry and feel guilty but at the end of the day, when he was starving, he'd eat the chocolate. That continued until he was ten, the eating of the chocolates, as for the abusive sessions it continued until he managed to run away from the orphanage. He was fourteen when he ran away.

After a few months out in the street, he started selling drugs for a gang in the streets. That only lasted three months until he was busted for selling to an undercover cop.

He was taken into custody and interrogated. They told him that he only had to answer one question, and they would let him walk, 'Who was he dealing for?'.

He refused to give up the name and was thrown in juvie. He stayed there for three years, and every month of the first two years, the detective would come back and ask him the same question, with the same reward of letting him walk and every time he'd keep quiet.

A month after he was finally out, Ray's boys, the drug lord came to find him and brought him to Ray. And that was the night Ray took him to Hector King. Hector King had heard about his great oath of silence and had wanted to see him. Hunter would never forget that night. For the first time in his life, he felt important.

“What's your name, kid?” Hector had had a huge cigar between his thumb and index finger.

“Jake.”

“Your full name.”

“Jake Scott.”

“Ray told me you're an orphan.”

“Yes…”

He stared at the boy for a few seconds before he said, “From now on, you're Hunter King. You're a special kid. I see myself in you and I believe that... with proper training and time, you'd be very useful around here.”

Before Hunter had time to even process all the praise Hector was giving him, Hector turned to Ray and said “And from today, he goes where I go. He's got a lot to learn.”

That being said, Hector turned around and went to fill up his glass at the table against the wall.

Hunter looked around and everyone was staring at him, some looked unhappy about what the mafia boss had said, some looked envious, and some looked at him like he was a joke, and Hector would take back his words.

“You heard him little fella.” Ray had hit him lightly on the back. “Follow him.”

Ray then gave him a little push forward, and when Jake looked at him, Ray smiled. That was the first time Ray was smiling at him.

And he did just that, he followed Hector to the table and when Hector saw him, he offered the boy a glass of whiskey, his first time having whiskey. He was seventeen. Hunter had never felt that important, wanted, like he finally had a purpose.

And now, 8 years later, and Hunter still felt the same way whenever Hector praised him.

“I want you to settle this debt for me.” Hector said. “I want you to go to that place and take that rat out.”

Hunter nodded.

“And before you pull the trigger, I have a message that I want you to pass on to him.”

“What's that sir?”

“I'll phone you when you're standing in front of the son-of-a-bitch.”

“Okay.” Hunter nodded. “So, when am I doing this?”

Hector glanced at his watch just for a split second. “Tonight. Take Joe with you.”