1 Chapter 1

Most stories start at the beginning, but the best stories develop their background later. If this were a song, we would be in the chorus. It's a hot day in Florida. A record heatwave has made a majority of the state Dante's sixth circle. Because of this the time doesn't matter, it's always hot all day long. The only time that matters is currently running out for a young boy named Liam Jackson. About a week ago in Miami, Liam witnessed the murder of his parents. The exact nature of the crime can not be gotten into at this time, but Liam had to be moved across the state and placed in Witness Protection. Only problem is that his parents' killer knows where to find Liam and WITSEC (Witness Security Program) isn't aware of it.

That brings us to now.

A white Honda civic pulls into the driveway of the safe house. A man with a tweed and patch jacket steps out of the car with a briefcase in one of his gloved hands. As the man walks towards the front door, the wind blows through the humid air, causing him to sweat. He wipes his brow and straightens his club master glasses before knocking on the door.

It is shortly answered by a man in his thirties who asks, "Hi, can I help you?"

The man outside first replies by asking, "Do you have a jack in your hand?" With a nod, he further says, "My name is Dr. Aleks Gregory, I'm a therapist sent for Liam.".

The man at the door lets the doctor in. "Just call me Sid. Do you have orders and ID?"

"Yes, of course, just a second.". Upon placing his briefcase on the living room table, Dr. Gregory opens it to retrieve the requested documents. He hands them to Sid, who looks them over before returning them with a nod. "Can you bring Liam out here?".

"Sure thing.". Sid walks to the room at the end of a short hall and brings Liam out. The young boy looks melancholy, but his eyes show fear. "Liam, this is Dr. Gregory. He'd like to talk to you.".

The doctor gets down on one knee to be closer to Liam's eye level. "Please, just call me Aleks. It's nice to meet you Liam.". Aleks extends his arm to shake Liam's hand, but the boy doesn't move. He then retracts his arm, "It's okay. You've been through a lot, haven't you?".

Sid is standing behind Liam and places his left hand on the boy's shoulder as a comforting gesture. Aleks walks back to the table and goes through his briefcase. But unknown to those behind him, he is reaching around in his jacket, as he says;

"You've seen a lot for a kid. More than most adults.".

Aleks stealthily takes out a Glock 26c...

"But that makes you stronger than most adults because you're still here.".

And attaches a snub suppressor to the gun.

"I hope you can stay that way. Stay strong.".

As if a switch had gone off, Aleks's face went blank as he quickly turned and fired two shots from his weapon. Both hit the mark, blowing right through Sid's kneecaps. With a scream of pain, he falls to the ground, and Liam runs to hide. Aleks then walks calmly towards Sid, who drops a knife he was hiding behind his back. Sid tries to retrieve the blade, but Aleks steps down on his wrist before he can reach it.

Aleks then goes on to fire a shot through Sid's left arm as he continues to scream in pain, "FUCK! Who the hell are you?!".

Aleks doesn't answer. Instead, he retrieves the blade and talks in a deeper voice, "I'm going to take my foot off your arm now, but if it moves, I'll make it match the other one. Got it?".

"The Fuck?!" With the gun barrel now to his head Sid is more compliant, "Okay, okay, just stop.".

Aleks then points the gun to the ground, takes his foot off Sid's wrist, and stands up straight. "You don't know me and you don't need to. But I know you. I know who you are, why you're here, and what you've done. You killed Philip and Claire Jackson, Liam's parents.".

Sid replies in a cold, dark tone, "You don't have proof it was me.".

"Now that's gotta be one of the rare moments where you tell the truth. Keep that up, and I won't shoot you. Lie to me... you die.". Aleks then proceeds to question Sid. "Did you use this knife when you stabbed Philip Jackson and then slit his and his wife's throats? And I want you to think about your answer.".

"Yes, I did. But you can't use this as a confession.".

"No, but your knife will make great evidence. Even if trace DNA can't be found, there's still matching serrations. Now, the men who were supposed to be watching Liam. Did you do the same thing to them?".

"No.".

"Are they alive?".

"Yes.".

"Where are they now?".

"Drugged and cuffed in the garage.".

"You were sent here to silence Liam too, weren't you?".

Sid takes a minute before answering, "Yes.".

"Do you know a hitman named Watts? W-A-T...".

"I can spell ass hole", Sid once again stops and becomes a little nicer. "No, I don't know any Watts.".

"You've been hired by the same groups in the past. You better not be lying.".

Sid then becomes noticeably scared, "I'm not, I'm not. And I'm sure.".

Aleks says, "Then we're done here.". He then throws the knife into Sid's throat, like a dart into a corkboard. Sid instinctively tries to remove the knife, but Aleks shoots his right arm before it barely moves two inches. Aleks then kneels down and removes the knife from Sid's throat, before proceeding to slit it. With that, Aleks drops the blade and walks in the direction Liam ran, which takes him into the backyard. Once he is standing in the middle of the patio, he speaks in the same tone he had used earlier.

"Liam. You can come out now. The bad man can't hurt you anymore.". Liam comes out of hiding and stands at the edge of bushes. "It's okay. Come here.". Liam slowly walks over to Aleks, who kneels down. "He won't hurt you ever again. Now look, I need you to do two things for me. First, forget my face, forget my name. Second, go across the street, knock on the door, and tell the people there that you need the police. Tell them about the bad man, but that a man in a mask stopped him. Ok?".

"Ok.".

"Good boy. Now go.". Once Aleks sent Liam on his way, he went back into the house. 10 minutes later, the police arrived. Liam had told them about Sid. What he did in Miami and here. That a man in a mask stopped him. The police entered the house through the back. They found the marshalls alive in the garage. Then they found Sid's body; the limbs shot, the throat cut up. But it was nothing compared to what was on the wall. In Sid's blood was a message: 'LEAVE LIAM ALONE - ABADDON'.