The Speech

The rifle is where the drop said it would be. You breathe, exhale, squeeze — and a Senator becomes a headline. You are three states away before his blood cools.

That night, in a motel outside Scranton, you watch the anchor explain what he'd been about to expose: a private intelligence network trading in old loyalties. Your network. The protocol was never theirs to invoke. You were the silencer they reached for, and you came when called.

You stare at your hands. They are steady. They have always been steady. That, you realize, is the worst part.