Page 5

FIVE

emmanuel

The news hits me like a punch to the gut. I'm sitting at the kitchen table, scrolling through my phone, when the headline jumps out at me:

brEAKING NEWS: Jacob Dellinger Arrested in Connection with O'Rourke Family Murders and Kidnapping.

My hand trembles as I tap the article, scanning it frantically. They found him holed up in a derelict farmhouse. The girl, Clodagh, was with him—alive, thank God, but traumatized. He was drunk when they busted down the door, barely put up a fight.

I should feel relieved. The nightmare's over. He can't hurt anyone else. But instead, a cold rage washes over me. This isn't how it was supposed to end.

"Emmanuel?" Ma's voice startles me. She's standing in the doorway, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong, love?"

I swallow hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "They got him, Ma. The guards arrested Da."

Her eyes widen, a mixture of emotions flashing across her face—relief, sadness, anger. She sinks into the chair across from me. "Oh," she breathes. "Is the girl...?"

"She's alive," I assure her. "They're taking her to hospital, but physically she seems okay."

Ma nods, tears welling in her eyes. "Thank God for that, at least."

We sit in silence for a long moment, both of us reeling from what that bastard has done.

It’s a heaviness that’s been sitting on my chest since the moment I found out he killed that family and took the girl.

He’s a monster. Two fucking months he’s had her.

God knows what he did to her while he had her captive.

The tightening in my chest intensifies to the point I can't take it anymore. I push back from the table, my chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"I need some air," I mutter, heading for the door.

"Emmanuel—" Ma starts, but I'm already gone.

I walk aimlessly through the neighborhood, my mind racing. This isn't right. He doesn't deserve a trial, doesn't deserve the chance to weasel his way out of this. He should be rotting in the ground, not sitting in a cell.

Before I know it, I find myself outside Jer's place. I hesitate for a moment, then knock. Jer answers, takes one look at my face, and ushers me inside.

"You've heard, then," he says, not really a question.

I nod, clenching my fists. "It's not right, Jer. He should pay for what he's done. Really pay."

Jer studies me for a long moment. "And what, exactly, did you have in mind, lad?"

I meet his gaze, my voice steady. "I want to finish what I started. I want to kill him."

Jer sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Emmanuel, I understand how you're feeling. But this... this is different. He's in custody now. Going after him would be suicide."

"I don't care," I spit out. "He deserves to die for what he's done.”

Jer nods. “I agree, but there’s a time and a place for it, and taking him out before that girl can get her justice isn’t the answer, son. She’s lost her entire family, son. She needs to get that justice.”

I sigh, running my hand through my hair. He’s right, but fuck, my father hurt too many people. He doesn’t deserve to be living. “So, I just leave him be?”

Jer smirks. “I never said that. The best thing about having connections, Emmanuel, is that I have many friends in many different places, including in the majority of prisons in Ireland. Your father is going to be in for a world of hurt while he’s serving time.

When he’s released, you’ll be able to do whatever you want to him. ”

He’ll be getting a hefty sentence, but the trial will take months, if not years to finish.

I clench my fists, frustration and anger still coursing through me.

But Jer's words sink in, and I know he's right.

As much as I want to end this now, to make my father pay immediately for what he's done, it's not the right move.

"Fine," I say through gritted teeth. "But promise me, Jer. Promise me that when the time comes, when he's served his sentence and he's out... promise me I'll get my shot."

Jer looks at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he nods slowly. "You have my word, Emmanuel. When the time is right, he's yours to deal with as you see fit."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Thank you."

"In the meantime," Jer continues, "we focus on the job at hand. Do you still want to work with The Agency?"

I nod without hesitation. "More than ever."

"Good," he says, "because Cole called. He’s got your first assignment lined up. You’re flying to Berlin with me. I’ll be by your side the entire time."

As Jer briefs me on the details, I feel a shift inside me. My father may have escaped my justice for now, but this is just the beginning. I'm stepping into a new world, one where I can make a difference. One where I can ensure that monsters like my father get what's coming to them.

"I'm ready," I tell Jer when he finishes explaining the job. And I mean it. I'm ready to leave Emmanuel Dellinger behind and become whoever I need to be to do this work.

As I head home later that night, my mind is clearer than it's been in days. I have a purpose now, a path forward. And someday, when my father thinks he's safe, when he's served his time and thinks he's free... I'll be waiting.

Because some debts can only be paid in blood.

* * *

The cold Berlin air bites at my face as I lie prone on the rooftop, peering through the scope of my rifle. Three days we've been here, tracking our target. A man named Klaus Bauer—wealthy businessman on the surface, but underneath, a monster who preys on children.

"Target's approaching," Cole's voice crackles in my earpiece. He's on street level, blending in with the crowd.

"Copy that," I murmur, adjusting my aim slightly.

Through the scope, I watch as a sleek black car pulls up to the curb. A portly man in an expensive suit steps out, laughing as he talks on his phone. Klaus Bauer. The monster himself.

My finger tenses on the trigger. This is it. My first real kill.

"Steady, lad," Jer's voice comes from beside me. He's here as my spotter, but I know it's more than that. He's here to make sure I can go through with it.

I take a deep breath, remembering Cole's training. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Bauer's walking toward the building now, still chattering away on his phone, oblivious to the fact that these are his last moments on Earth.

"Take the shot when you're ready," Jer says quietly.

I exhale slowly, centering the crosshairs on Bauer's chest. Time seems to slow down. I can hear my own heartbeat, steady and calm.

I squeeze the trigger.

The rifle bucks against my shoulder. Through the scope, I watch as Bauer stumbles, a look of shock on his face as blood spreads across his pristine white shirt. He crumples to the ground as panicked screams erupt from the street below.

"Good shot," Jer says approvingly. "Now let's move. Quickly."

We break down the rifle with practiced efficiency and stow it in an inconspicuous gym bag. As we make our way down the fire escape, my hands are steady, my mind clear. I thought I'd feel... something. Guilt, maybe. Or regret. But all I feel is a cold satisfaction.

One less monster in the world.

We blend into the chaos on the street; just two more tourists gawking at the scene. As we round the corner, I catch sight of Cole. He gives me a subtle nod of approval.

"How do you feel?" Jer asks as we climb into our getaway car.

I consider the question for a moment. "Like I did what needed to be done," I answer honestly.

Jer nods, a hint of pride in his eyes. "That's the job, lad. We take out the trash, so others don't have to get their hands dirty."

As we drive away from the scene, leaving the wail of sirens behind, I think about Bauer. About the lives he destroyed, the children he hurt. And I think about my father, still sitting in a cell back in Ireland.

"You did good today, Emmanuel," Cole says from the front seat. "Clean shot, quick getaway. Couldn't have asked for a better first job."

I nod, still processing what I've done. "What happens now?" I ask.

"Now?" Jer chuckles. "Now we celebrate a job well done. Then it's on to the next one."

As we pull up to our hotel, I realize this is my life now. No more school, no more normal teenage worries. Just moving from city to city, taking out the monsters that plague society. It should scare me, this path I've chosen. But all I feel is a sense of purpose.

"You still sure about this life?" Cole asks as we enter the hotel lobby. "It's not too late to back out."

I meet his gaze steadily. "I'm sure. This is who I am now."

He nods, satisfied with my answer. "Alright then. Welcome to The Agency, Emmanuel. You're one of us now."

“Watch it, Cole,” Jer says, his voice tight, which is a stark contrast to the smile on his face. “Emmanuel is one of my men first and foremost.”

Cole grins as he holds his hands up. “I get it, you want to keep the boy, and I won’t take him from you. He can do what Stephen does and work for the both of us. It’ll be good to have a silencer work for us.”

Jer turns to me with a wicked smile on his face. “Didn’t take long, did it, son? We now have your moniker. The Silencer.”

As we head up to our hotel suite, the gravity of what I've just done starts to sink in. I've taken a life, ended someone's existence with the squeeze of a trigger. The fact that he was a monster doesn't change that fundamental truth.

But I don't feel guilty. If anything, I feel... powerful. Like I've finally found my purpose.

"The Silencer, huh?" I muse as we enter the room. "I like it."

Jer claps me on the shoulder. "It suits you, lad. Quick, clean, efficient. Just like your work."

As Jer and Cole drink the whiskey Cole bought and we discuss the finer points of the operation, I find myself thinking about my ma back home.

She has no idea what I've become, what I'm capable of now.

Part of me wants to tell her, to make her understand why I'm doing this.

But I know I can't. This life, this work, it has to remain a secret.

"You did good today, Emmanuel," Jer says, interrupting my thoughts. "But remember, this is just the beginning. Each job will test you in new ways. Are you ready for that?"

I meet his gaze steadily. "I'm ready for whatever comes next."

Cole nods approvingly. "That's what I like to hear. Now, get some rest. We fly back home tomorrow, but it won't be long before your next assignment. I’ll be in touch if I have a job for you. I think until you’re eighteen, either Jer or I will be on the job with you," he tells me.

Jer nods. “Yep, you’re one of mine, son. That means I take care of you. Now get some sleep. You’re going to need it.”

As I lie in bed that night, sleep eludes me. I keep replaying the moment of the kill in my mind. The shock on Bauer's face, the bloom of red on his shirt. But more than that, I think about all the children he can never hurt now. All the lives I've potentially saved.

And I think about my father, still waiting for justice. Someday, I'll face him again. And when I do, I'll be ready.

I am Emmanuel Dellinger. The Silencer. And I'm just getting started.