Chapter 2

Rayner Lake, Washington, 3 days later

The man drove his truck through the small town; a few people on the street recognised him and waved as he passed. He responded with waves and smiles of his own, he carried on driving until he finally pulled into a diner parking lot and parked his car.

"Hi Alex, haven't seen you in a while" the woman behind the counter said as he entered

"I've been out of town on business" replied Alex

"Anywhere nice"? She asked

"Los Angeles"

"Welcome home then"

He nodded at that and sat in a booth in the corner, he ordered some coffee and a piece of pie which the woman brought over.

To the people of the Town of Rayner Lake, Alex Carter was nothing but a park ranger for the Olympic National Park and lived in a small cabin in the Olympic Forest which surrounded the park. However Alex Carter was not just a Park Ranger he was also a Professional Hitman.

"Alex" Said a voice

Alex looked to see a man wearing a hunter's jacket sit down in the booth opposite him; Alex gave him a small smile as he sat and ordered some more coffee from the woman behind the counter.

"How was LA" the man asked

"A success as always" Alex replied

"Yes I know, the money was successfully transferred into the account" the man explained

Alex nodded at that and smiled as the woman brought over another pot of coffee and filled two cups for the men, Alex thanked her and she walked away smiling. The man opposite him was Ricky Miles and he was Alex's business partner who got him his jobs.

"What do you keep telling these people anyway"?

"What do you mean"? Alex asked confused

"Well to them you're a park ranger, so what do you keep telling these people your doing when you go out of town"?

"I tell them I liaise with other rangers of other parks and that I have a lot of meetings with them and visit their parks" Alex explained

"And they believe that"? Ricky said shocked

"They have no reason not you" Alex replied

Ricky just laughed and his shook his head, he then continued to sip his coffee and occasionally laugh at people believing Alex was nothing but a park ranger. They sat in silence for a while before Alex finally decided to return to his home; Ricky promised he would call him if any new job came up. With that Alex exited the diner and got back into his truck where he sat in for a few seconds, he pulled out his wallet and looked at photo where a pretty young woman and a small child smiled back at him.

"I miss you" Alex whispered as a tear began to journey down his cheek

He then wiped the tear away and placed his wallet back into his pocket and drove his truck out of the parking lot and towards his home.

# # #

Washington D.C

Emily was blinded as the many flashes from cameras erupted in front of her. She looked at her father who was on the stage giving his speech in front of a large crowd, his speeches were always passionate and she was proud to be his daughter. His speech was about the act he was trying to get people to vote for, something to do with a new energy project however it seemed to have upset a lot of other senators.

She looked across the stage and saw Tim looking at her, she remembered the confrontation they had before and she shuddered at the thought. She turned away from him and back at the sea of cameras where she put on her best fake smile, she stood there for ages before finally her father finished his speech and they both left the stage to sounds of thunderous applause.

"You were wonderful Daddy" Emily said smiling

"Thank you sweetheart" He replied

They walked to their car and were both got inside, the car drove off and both of them began to talk about the speech unaware that they were being followed.

# # #

Olympic National Forest, Washington

Alex opened the door to his cabin and smiled as he was met by a golden retriever running towards him and begin trying to jump up to lick his face, he placed his bags on the floor and began stroking his beloved dog.

"Hey girl, did you miss me"? He asked and was met by the dog licking his face

He got up from stroking the dog and walked to his fridge and grabbed himself a beer. He then walked over to where his couch was and removed a rug on the floor to reveal a hidden door; he opened it and proceeded to enter the hidden room.

He turned on the light to reveal an armoury full of guns, knives, grenades and other kind of weapons that he used for his job. He put back the gun he had in his holster hidden by his jacket and then turned the light off again and returned upstairs where his dog was waiting for him. He smiled at patted the dog on the head and proceeded to sit down on the couch and turn on the TV.

"How about some Football"? Alex said smiling as the dog jumped up on the couch and laid her head across his knees where Alex began to scratch her behind the ears.

He flicked through the channels until he finally landed on a football game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. Growing up nearer to New York he supported the giants and he happily sat there watching the game without a care in the world.

# # #

They drove through the streets of Washington and chatted together happily, Emily was laughing at a joke her father had made when suddenly the car hit something causing a loud bang as Emily sailed in the air and hit the window hard.

Voices could be heard all around but they sounded so distant to Emily who was now bleeding from her forehead. Her father seemed to be motionless in his seat and people could be seen running past the window, suddenly gunshots were heard which caused Emily to panic and she crawled over to her dad and tried to wake him up.

The door was suddenly opened and a pair of arms grabbed her, she tried to fight them but she felt something get stuck in her arm and she felt herself slowly becoming unconscious. The last thing she saw was somebody completely dressed in black checking her father's pulse before everything went dark.