Thursday, April 24, 2025

The day of the Jackal - part 7

// For this chapter, there won't be a flashback to reflect her mental breakdown. They would resume in part 8.


xxxx


To find Dylan Atwater with no further information about his whereabouts proved to be a mix of luck and determination.  Diane and Alex decided to use the only lead they had, which was his presence at the Neighbourhood Sunday Market. They believed that if she met him there, he was probably shopping there, thus they concluded that he might be staying in the neighbourhood. With that said, there were still several buildings to screen in search of an alias or a clue. Alex started to comb through the buildings, but it was starting to look like a gargantuan task. Diane suggested trimming down the list by dipping into the voters' registry. This way, they could quickly isolate the places that were rented to non-citizens or by citizens who couldn't vote directly in the neighbourhood and had to drive to their designated voting area.  Alex also decided to go to the Sunday Market, disguised as an old man, in the slim chance of seeing / that man/ there. 


It took two weeks of intense research, verification on site by either or both of them, to finally isolate three addresses. Two were Airbnb's that were temporarily vacant because the renters were out of town. One was rented by a Russian couple who happened to also be out of town.  Diane was growing more and more frustrated and was starting to doubt that attending the Sunday Market was an effective tactic. This Sunday, she decided to go with Alex. She remained on the rooftops, equipped with goggles and their communication devices. As usual, Alexander was sitting on a bench, observing pigeons and people alike with a newspaper in his hand. She decided to tease him and turned on their comms. 


"I'm bored, Alex. Let's play a game."


"You're not very patient, Di, aren't you?" -He asked in a bemused tone. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed-


"It depends on what I'm supposed to be patient with. I could never do what you do. Stay still for hours or days, waiting for my target to fall into my visor like you do? It's not for me!"


"I'm a sniper. I was trained to do this. I was made to do this." -He chuckled- "You are brash, you like getting your hands dirty. I saw you at work."


" Oh, come on! You make it sound like I'm a toddler throwing tantrums. I can be very patient when it comes to it. I do prefer a proper fight, not because I like to get my hands dirty, but because it keeps me grounded. It stops me from becoming numb to what I do."


"What are you saying? Are you saying that the people you killed didn't deserve it?" -She scoffed at his suggestion-


"No! That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I know the weight of the life I'm snuffing. They were people. They had souls, and no matter how foul they were, they were humans. I am not a monster killer; I kill humans. I kill people who were capable of everything, of pure hatred, of love, even redemption. I kill people whose lives left a scar on other people's lives. It's not collateral damage or a name I scrap off my list."


"And do you regret what you're doing? With the way you view things, there is a big chance that you're going to get hurt. It's going to take a toll on your soul."


"And didn't it take a toll on your soul when you were a soldier, Alex? What's different from the job we're doing? Don't give me that crap about being fine about it. War gives PTSD. To soldiers, to civilians, and to the land itself."


She had a point. He bit his tongue and clenched his jaw because he didn't want her to feel that her words made him upset. She twisted his own reasoning for taking his first job into a weapon, and for a brief moment, Alex was pondering her words. Did he suffer from PTSD? No matter how hard he wanted to deny it, the truth was that he did. Curiously enough, it wasn't the countless bastards his team snuffed out that plagued his nights. No. It was the innocent lives his team took. A wedding took place, and while their one target attended the wedding and could have been taken out expertly, his team decided to decimate everyone. They spared no one, not even the children and the sight of their corpses was burned into his skull. He couldn't get away with it. 


"Alex....I didn't mean to insult you, okay? I'm not judging your methods. At the end of the day, we both are killers. We both take lives. One way isn't superior to the other, but just the way that works best for me and the one that works best for you."


Alex didn't answer this time, which prompted her to grab her goggles and search for him. He was alert, looking in a certain direction. She furrowed her brows and followed his gaze, only to find what he was truly looking at. Dylan Atwater was in the market. He was with a child who didn't look like him.  Because of the child's presence, the Jackal simply observed/that man/. He watched as the pair walked past him and deeper into the market. He stood up and started to follow them. Was it Dylan's child? Was it a pawn? The little boy seemed stiff, terrified even as he walked closely to the older man, and Diane's heart started to race. She couldn't possibly exclude the fact that this kid was his. After all, Dy--/That man/ had walked the Earth for a long time. Having a child out of wedlock would not be a reach. He sincerely could have had a kid at any point in his life, whether with a willing participant or not. Alex followed them into the market and opened the comms with Diane. 


"Diane. He's here."


"I know. I noticed you weren't answering me. He's with a boy. I don't have a great view from where I am. Do they seem nervous or are they comfortable?"


He walked faster, following the duo as they walked further into the market. Alex observed them and noticed that the little boy was tense and tried his best not to shake. He then looked at the hand on his shoulder belonging to Dylan Atwater. What seemed like a loving touch quickly turned into a more sinister one. He was squeezing that boy's shoulder so hard that it felt as if he was going to break it. Alex knew by then that this little boy wasn't the son of Dylan Atwater. He was a hostage.


"No. It's his hostage. You said he was a sadist, right? Could it be that he is holding the whole family hostage and is toying with them?"


"Yes. It could be. Can you take a look at the boy? I want to see something."


Alex understood what she meant. While combing through the city registry, they found that one of the couple of renters was actually a family of four. One child was still a baby, while the other was a young boy roughly the same age as the hostage. Alex could feel his heartbeat increase as he grew closer to the duo. He had to take a look at the child to confirm his suspicions without being clocked by their target. He pretended to be clumsy and pushed the boy.  The child yelped and turned around to face the older man, who fell to his knees. The man held onto the boy's shoulders and muttered an apology for pushing him around. Dylan Atwater furrowed his brows and violently pushed the older man off the young boy. 


"Watch your step, old bones!" -He groaned, while being dismissive of that old man that fell on his butt-


"I'm sorry! I didn't see the young lad. Are you okay?" -He asked the boy, who nervously nodded before Dylan grabbed his arm and pushed him behind him.-


"He is okay. He could have been hurt by you dumbass!" -He scolded him and then shrugged his shoulders- "Anyway, what's done is done. Keep on moving, Johann!" 


He ordered the boy, who nodded and walked away from the scene. A young woman came closer to Alex and offered her help so he could stand back up. Still pretending to be an old man, he agreed and found himself back on his feet after a little while. He thanked her and resumed walking, this time in the opposite direction from where the duo had gone. Diane heard everything, and her knees gave up. She recognised the voice of /that man/. She heard the way he spoke to the child, and the sound made by Alex when he fell on his butt.  She ran her hand through her hair and held a fistful of her hair. She rocked her body back and forth in an attempt to soothe herself, but it didn't help. She couldn't calm down. Hearing that man's voice was even worse than seeing him. She ended up hitting her chest with her fist, forcing her body to feel the pain she still had trapped within her. She screamed, oblivious to the fact that Alex could hear her. 


He tried to get her attention. He called her once, twice, but it didn't work, so instead he decided to walk towards the building where she was stationed. His heart sank in the pit of his stomach as he heard her gut-wrenching screams. She was always so collected, poised and in control of herself that seeing her this vulnerable was disturbing him. His hatred of /that man/ grew even more intense as he vowed to himself to personally put a bullet to his head. He wanted to make him suffer and to make him feel even worse than what she went through. It wasn't anger he was feeling anymore. It was /rage/! He was filled with rage by now and determination to get rid of that asshole for the sake of the woman he loved. 


Loved? The thought crossed his mind, but he couldn't stop himself. He was in love with Diane, and he wanted to protect her more than anything else.  He cursed under his breath because it took too long to get there, but he didn't stop until finally he pushed open the door of the rooftop.  As soon as he found her, he slowed down and knelt before her.  He found her with blood on her hands as she kept pounding into her chest and bruising herself so hard she cut her skin open. She stopped hitting her chest and gave him a thousand-yard stare. 


"I'm here. I'm here now... I'm here, Diana." -He whispered and pulled her into a hug-


-TBC-

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