There is no rush, no guilt, no pain, just business. Ever since I can remember I knew that I could kill. So when I came of age I enlisted in the army and fought a great deal of skirmishes against the western colonies. I saw a great many of people go insane in war however this isn't because of all the death around them but rather the realization that killing is quite easy. It isn't dramatic and emotional as they make it seem in the movies. It's just aim, shoot, and go to the next target. I always kept a clear head in battle because my logic came to the conclusion that killing wouldn't be such a big deal and as you can guess from my repetition that I was correct.
I became so good at what I did that one day my commander recommended me for a position that I could never refuse. Only four would make it and there was over a thousand people being recommended for the positions. I was immediately shipped to a training facility way up north in the neutral colonies and put with the rest of the candidates. For the next couple we were all put through vigorous tests day by day and each day one person was eliminated. Many people gave up and dropped out within the year.
I was one of the four people that made it through to the end. I never knew what I was actually going for but I was hoping to get something a little more exciting than fighting incredibly one-sided wars. It turned out that we were an elite group that would preform top secret stealth operations. We were given code names and swore to never utter our actual names again until we would retire. I was Chameleon due to the fact I could easily blend in anywhere and because I was normally the sniper. There was also Fox the quick, Rat the infiltrator, and Worm the tech man. Together we were unstoppable...too unstoppable.
We were sent on a mission and were told that after this we could retire. We were anxious to finish the mission so we quickly agreed to do it. It was a trap and we were betrayed by the very people who made us. I was the only to escape the explosion just because I was sniping from afar and they thought they got me with the shock wave. I grabbed an innocent bystander that got killed it the blast put my equipment on him and forever left my dog tags behind.
I never again worked for one side. I went to the neutral areas and got started on becoming an assassin. I had killed my whole life I couldn't do much else so I figured this would be the job for me. When I started assassinating the explosion had already been covered up and long forgotten so I kept my code name Owl. I quickly became the highest paid assassin but nobody knew it. I stayed under the radar in order to protect my identity. My life was perfect for the next couple of years and I wasn't complaining.
One day I took a hit job that required very little planning and would pay me quite well. The description of the man was that he had brown hair and always wore a red ball cap. This would make him easy to point out in a crowd. Apparently this guy beat and killed his wife one day in a drunken stupor and her sister ordered the hit on him. The target was to be at a park at twelve pm. I set-up on the roof of a museum right next to the park which provided a great vantage point. I stood there for a hour and he finally came out of a cab and started walking in my direction. I put my sights on him. The target was perfectly lined up with his head but something wasn't right. His hair was a bleach blonde.
Before this thought even processed my ears started to ring and everything went a bright white. It was a set-up job. I pulled for my .22 revolver with a mounted scope and shot at the silhouette behind me. My eyes cleared and I realized I had shot at a cardboard cut-out. I heard laughing coming from down the left stairwell. I quickly jumped down the stairwell on the right. The laughing continued. "So predictable Owl" said the voice. "Who are you?" I screamed. "You can't tell by my voice?" he said. Ignoring what he said I rushed down the steps and hid behind one of the museum's columns. I peered out from behind the column and saw a figure in the distance. He slowly walked my way and I saw his arm raise up. I quickly moved my head missing a bullet my mere inches. I pulled a round from my belt and loaded it into my revolver. Going to need all eight bullets for this.
I jumped from behind the column and shot two bullets hoping he would dodge one and hit the other in the process. He ducks and both bullets miss. "I know all your tricks Trimund" he said. At first I didn't know what he was talking about since I hadn't heard my name is so many years. "How do you know my name?" I yelled. " Your dog tags you left on that body" said the figure. He didn't even have to finish the sentence I knew he had ran my number through the system. I peered over real quick and noticed he was standing in between four copper statues. This was my chance. I jumped out and shot four bullets at each of the statues. He side stepped and blocked all four ricochets. I thought real hard on how to kill this man. I got it! I jumped out for the last time and shot the chandelier above his head. He easily avoided the crash and started laughing again. "Just one bullet left huh" he said. "No I am fresh out of bullets" I said. He looked down at the hole is his chest and kept on laughing. I put my guard down for one second and he raised his gun and unloaded seven shots at me. Only three hit and out of the three one hits me in the stomach.
He fell to the ground dead. I knew I would do the same soon but I needed to find out who this man was. I walked up to the figure and noticed he had a mask on. My stomach was on fire and I collapsed. Inches within death I reach for his mask and rip it off. It was Rat or at least what was left of him. His face was half tore up with charred flesh. He had survived too. I shouldn't have ditched them. He had every reason to kill me. I grabbed his body and for the first time since I could remember I cried. I kept on for about a minute then everything went black.
He was my doppelganger. A ghost of a man that I had created.
There is no rush, no guilt, no pain, just business.
