Rose worked closely with the New York office. Some would have said that Rose was running things from her Ohio office. With all the work she did and the information Kevin was providing, she expected to shut John’s business down and not leave room for someone to take it over.

  Then came the day one of the people from New York had an attempt on his life. That was all it took for him to back off. In most cases, that would have slowed down what was going on.

  John would have been able to rebuild and put up new walls to distance him from the ever-closing grasp.

  What John didn’t know at the time was Rose was not going to let things slow down. The people out of the New York office already knew Rose was the brains behind the case. So, when the lead guy took a long vacation, nothing stopped.

  It took another two weeks before John found out who was really running the show. Then another week after that for Rose to hear that a contract was put out on her. The word on the street was that three hitmen had accepted the offer.

  Two of the men who were expected to have taken the contract had left New York City after having a meeting with John. They both were under investigation for some murders. They were not working together, and it seemed to be the first to the prize gets the money. One of the guys was last seen going to Pittsburgh, PA. The other guy wasted no time and went straight to Ohio.

  The third guy was an unknown man. Rumors had always been going around about a group of high-end fixers. These were the people who could fix any problem and would for the right price. The only reason it was believed that one of the members of the fixers took the contract was because of John. He liked to brag and when he would use his fixers, he would tell people the fixer is on the case.

  No one knew who these people were, and John would not say a thing more than they are his fixers. He would almost glow when said they were doing something for him. It was almost as if he had a sense of pride.

  With all this news, Rose’s family went into protective custody, while Rose pushed on and got closer to John. Then on a late night, while Rose was walking to get some air, she went to a park next to her house. She thought she would be safe with the protective detail in the car watching her.

  It was not completely dark, but more of that dusk time of day. Rose passed a few people and after a little bit, she noticed two men walking behind her.

  It was not the detail assigned to her and she was in a place that she could not see them. Instead, when she looked over her shoulder, the two men were wearing hoodies on an evening a little too warm for hoodies.

  She was about to run when a guy walked past her and towards the two guys. Her belief was that the guy would notice the guys chasing her and help.

  So, she did it and ran as fast as she could. Rose expected to hear the sounds of the guys running after her. Instead, the two men laid on the ground holding their sides.

  Rose didn’t stop running and ran till she found her security detail walking around looking for her.

  The next day, she found out the guys had been stabbed in their legs. They confessed to being hired by a guy with a New England accent. They didn’t get a good look but gave all the details of how they were to meet him after they had Rose.

  The two guys had become more scared than they ever thought possible. They should not have had any issues picking up a skinny woman.

  Instead, they had been stabbed in the legs. The knife went down to the bone. So, when asked how to find the guy that hired them, they happily told the police.

  It only took the police a few hours to mobilize. They swarmed around an old house that looked abandoned. What they did not realize was their target was not inside the house.

  Instead, he was in a hotel about two miles away.

  So, when the police bashed the door down, they only found a homeless guy strung out. Once the homeless guy saw the raid, he curled into a ball and screamed "I didn't say anything, I didn't say anything.

  Please don't hurt me again."

  After that, the police took the homeless man in and questioned him. No matter what they tried to get out of him, all they got was how he was only waiting for the aliens to come to get him.

  In the hotel where the was staying, he was not alone. His guest was one of the third hitman. This was not something you normally see. Hitman don't tend to spend much time with each other. That means nothing good would come of them being together.

  As they talked, the guy who hired the kidnappers sat in a chair with his hands tied behind him. In fact, he was restrained at the legs and chest as well. He knew that no matter how this visit ended, it would not be good for him.

  He was right, too.

  From behind him, he heard his guest speak. "You know I heard about you. How sloppy must you be to have people know who you are? I mean you are a person of interest in several cases of murder.

  That is unprofessional. I mean, you give us professionals a bad name."

  Then his guest walked next to him and the metal chair. "Let me help you out. If I don't, you will get yourself killed or you will hurt the wrong person."

  The next thing the hitman knew was how much pain shot through his entire body.

  All he could see was a white light and hear the blood rushing through his eardrums. This was because he just had his right hand-pounded to the chair with a bible that broke his fingers and the joints.

  Tied to the chair crying and wailing, the lesser of the hitmen were left in the room by himself.

  It was not long for the other people in the hotel to complain about the noise. After the third call, the hotel manager went up to investigate.

  He didn't expect to see a man tied down to a chair and bleeding when he entered the room. The manager got two steps into the room when he saw a gun and some papers with Rose’s information all over it. He knew that he had seen a lot of strange things in his job but was out of his pay grade.

  The hotel manager didn't want to get involved or release a dangerous man. So, he ran back down to the front desk and called the police. It was a great day for the two cops that showed up.

  They were about to arrest a man wanted in connection to several murders.

  When they walked in, the man was passed out. The pain had got to him and knocked him out. The cops called the ambulance once they made sure he was alive, then called their dispatch to ask the dispatcher to run the guy’s background, only to find out that he was considered very dangerous.

  That caused the hotel to have more people in it at one time than it had ever had before. The amount of police who came to the scene, were mostly there to see a real hitman. With his hand damaged and all the evidence in his room, he would not be able to do anything to anyone.

  The would-be assassin found himself waking up in a hospital. He thought about his career and tried to get up to run. Instead, he found his left hand had been handcuffed to the bed and his right hand wrapped.

  Once he relaxed to think things through, he noticed he had no pain and felt quite euphoric. He knew instantly that he was feeling the effects of morphine. Once that realization dawn on him, he began to yell. "NURSE, NURSE, I NEED SOMEONE NOW! HELLO, IS ANYONE THERE?!"

  A nurse and officer walked in looking at the guy. In a calm voice, the nurse said "Mr. Thrine, what is wrong? Are you in pain?"

  He quickly replied by telling her that he is a recovering addict. The nurse looked puzzled for a moment and the officer told her to remove the morphine drip. The officers’ instructions made her realize he was a junky and she rushed over to remove the needle from his arm.

  Removing the morphine, she informed Mr. Thrine that he would be in an immense amount of pain when the drugs get out of his system. Nothing more was said as she ran off to get the doctor.

  "Why am I handcuffed?

  I was the one who was attacked.

  Why is she calling me Mr. Thrine?

  I am..." The officer stopped him before he could go on. "Mr. Thrine, I don't know who you were about to tell me you are, but from the three driver licenses we found, only one was real.

  That is the one for a Carl Thrine, who is wanted in connection to several murders and a list of other crimes? We also have witnesses that have identified you as organizing the attempted kidnapping and assassination of a federal employee."

  Not another word was spoken for the remaining time Mr. Thrine was in the hospital. The doctor explained to him how his right hand was so damage that, he may never have full use of it. It was hard to accept, but he did. He knew that he had done the same kind of torture to others. Not every job he took was to kill someone.

  This was his big break into what he thought was the big time. By working with a real crime family, he felt this was, a group of people that would give him respect.

  This job was what he thought would be where he really was able to make a name for himself. Not just knocking off someone that no one noticed was gone.

  The thought ran through his head as he was being transferred to the police station. He was dealing with his pain and trying to handle it as best as he could. When he was at the police station, he was fingerprinted, and put into an isolation cell.

  Everything was ready to formally make the charges known to Mr. Thrine. The only thing they wanted to do was see if they could get him to confess.

  If they could get him to tell who took out the contract and give the details, Rose could go arrest John. It would be over, and she would have done with the biggest case of her life. Rose would have put the man she felt was responsible for the death of Scott Bearman behind bars The death of her fiancé from High School was Scott Bearman.

  The police wanted to let this guy sit in the cell and speculate what was going to happen. He already knew they had his real name, and this also meant they had his outstanding warrants.

  Carl Thrine was running through everything he had done and who had paid him to do it. He was working on two lists and looking to figure out what he could get leverage on for leniency.

  Since he didn't kill anyone in Ohio, he began to think he was safe from the death penalty there.

  The other states where he had committed a few hits had a death row penalty and they could transfer him there. The thought of that scared him more than anything else.

  As he got deep in thought, an officer delivered the food. When Carl looked through the viewing window, he froze and didn't touch his food. Then he said "I know you. How do I know you?"

  The officer just smiled towards Carl and said "I am just a Revenant. I’m someone you don't want to see, and if I see you again, you will learn about true pain firsthand. Now eat your food and make sure NOTHING is left."

  After that, the officer walked away and fed the other prisoner. Carl sat on his bed with his tray of food and noticed a small piece of paper.

  It was clear what was being done. He was being given a warning. Now he started to question how safe he was and where could the family get to him.

  Carl didn't know that John's organization was not very strong at that time. In fact, John was doing everything to keep from having another group push him out.

  When Carl opened the piece of paper, he read it.

  I found you in your hotel.

  I know more about you than you know.

  I have an offer for you. You are to ask for a lawyer before saying anything.

  If you don't say anything or make any deals with someone who mentions my name, I will let you live. No one will come after you and you will not need to look over your shoulder.

  -Revenant-

  There was no chance he would let this note be found. He had heard about these kinds of notes. They tend to be a one-time offer. Not the kind you take for a joke. He just thought it was an urban myth, something whispered by a few criminals.

  Now there was no question of the note, and he would definitely not say anything. So, when the police took him in to be interviewed, he didn't say anything other than he wants a lawyer. Rose watched the whole five minutes of the interaction, wondering if she could have gotten something out of him.

  Carl went back to his cell and Rose started to walk out of the police station. She was about fifteen feet from the door going out when she saw him.

  Her body would not move.

  One of the protective detail guys bumped her not realizing she had stopped. Then in almost an inaudible voice, she said "It can't be him."

  The protective detail started to look around for threats. After they realized there was no threat, they asked Rose what was wrong.

  It was only a fraction of a second that she saw the officer who was the same one that served the food to Carl. She didn't get a good look at him either.

  She knows that the person she thought she saw wouldn't be a cop.

  Instead of believing her eyes, Rose assumed that she was imagining things. Once she had herself convinced that she only saw a ghost, a memory that worked its way up, she began to move. Then Rose and her detail walked out of the station.

  The sun was bright and the warmth from it gave a comforting feeling. It was two days since she walked out of the police station. Rose knew she almost had John where she wanted. Then the contract on her life would be gone.

  She knew from the little information she had been given was that John was involved. If she could get Carl Thrine to spill the beans, John would not just go to prison, but never breathe free air again.

  Even with two more hitmen out there, she figured the police would catch them just as they did Carl. She didn’t know how the police had found Mr. Thrine. It didn’t matter, Rose would not let anything destroy her day.

  That was till Rose and her protective detail began walking to the SUV. Walking into the parking garage was not like any other time. They walked down the sloped drive that led them under the office building.

  When they got just out of the sunlight and got to where all the cars were parked, one of the detail guys made a comment to his partner.

  "Where is the guy in the booth? This place always has someone in that booth."

  Both of the guys on Rose's detail grabbed their guns and moved Rose faster towards the SUV.

  They got close to the SUV doors when a guy about 5'8" stepped out from behind the rear of the SUV.

  That is when the guys on both sides of Rose fell to the ground. The percussion of the gun put Rose in a state of shock. Without a thought, she covered her head and sat on her heels. The only thought that ran through her mind was how could she make it out alive. What would her husband do when he found out she was killed?

  The gun started to lower towards Rose. Then someone tackled the shooter. Rose looked up at the sounds of the men fighting. This time, while looking at the men, there was no doubt in her mind.

  It was Scott Bearman in front of her. Her heart raced and all the memories of them rushed back. She forgot about the hitman for a while. That was till a loud scream came from one of the two men fighting on the ground.

  Only Scott stood up and the other man laid on the ground, dead. The sounds of heavy breathing were all Rose could hear. She looked into Scott's eyes and broke down.

  After all these years of mourning him and all it took for her to move on, she now is faced with the truth.

  Rose had faced his death to only have a living dead man come back into her life.

  "Listen, there is not much time. The gunshots will draw the police and I can't be here. I want you to go home after you are interviewed by the police. I will meet you there."

  Scott didn't wait for Rose to answer. He left the same way he ran in. This time not so fast. Then he was gone again, but she knew that it was not the last time.

  Her mind was running wild about what could have happened that Scott was alive. There were so many possible ways that he could have been there to save her.

  Rose let her mind go as far as it wanted and stood in place quietly.

  She was not sure how long it was when the police got to her. It was the screaming sirens coming down the parking garage ramp that brought her back to reality.

  For her, everything went so fast. The police saw the scene and her standing there surrounded by dead bodies. First, she was questioned as the area was blocked off.

  Then she was led away from the scene and taken home.

  Rose felt as though she was being treated like she had been violated. The officer that took her home searched it looking to make sure no one was there. He and his partner looked everywhere they could think. When they found nothing, they told Rose that they would be parked out front if she needed anything. Then they were gone.

  Now that she knew she was safe in her home, Rose dropped to the floor. In the middle of the living room surrounded by pictures of her family; she fell asleep.

  It was a tapping of a foot that woke her up. The sun was starting to set and the light coming through the windows had an orange glow.

  A strip of that light was shining on the tapping foot and the man doing the tapping.

  Scott leaned forward with a smile on his face. "You know you never were to see me. Since you have, I owe you the truth." Scott paused to allow Rose to get up and get herself straightened up.

  Rose went and got two glasses of bourbon along with a little food. As she walked past Scott, she handed him one of the glasses, all the while saying "I picked up drinking this stuff after you died. My husband knows I drink it because of you, and he knows about you. Well, as much as I did until today."

  Scott took a sip and smiled. "Makers Mark! You didn't just pick up drinking my drink, but my brand too. I must admit I still drink this to remind me of you and the past."

  The glare from Rose's face told him to leave the past where it was. So, he went on and told her what happened the last day she saw him. The day that Scott Bearman died.

  He explained how Dan was killed, and Mr. Stone took him to work with him and his organization.

  He divulged how the only way he would do any work for John as if he agreed to a deal. It was a simple deal of him never going after anyone from his past and agreed that his former friends would all be safe from his reach.

  After a few years, John forgot the deal and didn't think about it when he came to take the contract.

 

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