Chereads / The Young Dragon / Chapter 4 - A New Life

Chapter 4 - A New Life

The next morning, in his apartment, Jason does Tai Chi with his shirt off, showing all the scars he has picked up over the years of being a hitman. He then sees a news report about the four bodies he dropped near Mr. Miller's apartment and let's out a sigh. After a few more minutes of Tai Chi, there's a knock on the door. He puts his shirt on and opens the door, revealing it to be Frank.

"Hey, Frank." Jason says after letting out a sigh.

"Hey kid, I've been trying to reach ya. Marco Salvatore has been blowing up my phone all morning."

"Really? Did he say why he try to have me killed along with the target?" Jason asks.

"Actually, he had nothing to do with it, it was his son. Said that he saw you and your target together, talking. Said he gave you something, and you just let him go." Frank says.

"He's a good guy, Frank. Not like the other guys you have me take out, everyone before now were pieces of shit who I had no problem putting in the ground, but this guy... a fucking English teacher."

"He slept with a married woman."

"A married woman who hates her marriage, why else would she sleep with this guy. And by the way, it really seems like Mr. Miller really cares about her." Jason says.

Frank then pauses for a moment.

"Hold up... Mr. Miller? Since when did you start calling him Mr?"

Jason doesn't answer the question.

"Did someone take their assignment too seriously? I mean, you know you're not actually one of his students, right?" Frank asks.

"Frank, look. Something... really amazing happened. When I was at the school, everyone was nice to me. They welcomed me and I got to know a lot of cool people, especially this gorgeous and wonderful girl named Hailey." Jason says.

"Right, and I'm guessing you also got to know Mr. Miller? You know, the guy you were supposed to kill." Frank says.

"Right, exactly. Great guy. And I don't know. They just made me feel really good about myself, you know? For the first time in my life, I felt... genuine happiness."

"So wait, I'm confused, so are you not going to kill this guy?" Frank asks.

"No... I'm not killing anyone anymore. I'm gonna be just a regular highschool student and retire from being a hitman. I'm done." Jason says.

Frank is shocked by this.

"Ok... but, what about what we do together, Jason?"

Jason stays silent for a moment.

"Look, you have other guys that can do what I do. You don't need me." Jason says.

"Hold on, kid. No one can do this like you. You have a talent for this. Please just... think this through." Frank argues.

Jason thinks to himself for a moment, then looks at his watch.

"I'm gonna be late for school, we'll talk about this when I get out. Lock up when you leave." Jason says, grabbing his backpack and walking out the door. After Jason leaves, a group of Marco Salvatore's men approaches the apartment. Later, as Jason walks into Mr. Miller's classroom, he is confused when he doesn't see Mr. Miller there. She then approaches Hailey, Britney, and Zach. Both Hailey and Jason smile at each other, happy to see each other.

"Hey." Hailey says.

"Hi." Jason says.

After a few minutes pass, Jason finally remembers what he wanted to ask.

"Uh- where's Mr. Miller? Is he out sick or something?" Jason asks.

"You didn't hear what happened? Four guys were found dead across from where Mr. Miller lives." Zach says.

Jason tries to act surprised by this news.

"What? No way." Jason says.

"Yeah, my dad is questioning him right now." Hailey says.

Jason is confused.

"Your dad?" He asks.

"Yeah, my dad's a cop." Hailey answers.

Jason is shocked to hear this.

"Really?" Jason asks.

"Yep, officer Terry Donovan." Hailey says.

Jason then sits down.

"So, has he said anything about the case to you?" Jason asks.

"Just that whoever the shooter is, he was a really good shot." Hailey says.

As Jason gets kind of flattered by the somewhat compliment, Mr. Miller then walks into the room.

"Good morning, class. Sorry I'm late. Let's get started." Mr. Miller says.

Later on during the day, As Jason is at his locker, he gets a phone call from Frank.

"Hey, Frank. What's going on?" Jason asks.

"Hey, kid. How's it going?" Richard Salvatore says.

Jason is supposed by the sound of Richard's voice, concerned about Frank.

"Where is he?" Jason says with a serious tone.

"You know, if I'm being honest, I'm pretty angry right now. But I'm going to put that aside for now. I mean honestly, if I were in your shoes I'd probably do the same thing you did."

"You kinda did do what I did. You tried to have me killed." Jason replies.

"We can point fingers all day long, Jason, but that won't help us in this situation." Richard says.

"Where is he?" Jason asks in a more stern tone.

"Oh, the old guy, right. He's right here, hey its the kid, say hi." Richard says to a tied up Frank, taking out his gag.

"Jason!" Frank yells before his gag is put back in.

"We're at the Roger Room, a bar in town, come join us." Richard says.

Jason hangs up the phone and goes to leave but then runs into Hailey.

"Hey, Jason." Hailey says.

Jason smiles, trying not to act suspicious.

"Hey, Hailey. What's, uh, going on?" Jason replies, trying to hurry.

"I was just wondering, there's another party happening tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go... with me." Hailey says.

Jason's eyes widen as a genuine smile appears on his face.

"Yeah. Yes I'd like that." Jason says.

Hailey smiles from ear to ear, happy that Jason actually said yes.

"Great, I'll send you the address and meet you there at seven o'clock. Ok?" Hailey says.

Jason smiles.

"Sounds good to me." Jason replies.

As Hailey leaves while smiling, Jason is very excited that he basically has a date with Hailey tonight. After standing there for a few more minutes, he soon remembers that he had something to do.

"Oh right, Frank." Jason says to himself as he quickly leaves school.