Mark, cold steel still pressing against Thiago's back, ushered him out of the car. His right carried the scalpel, his left held a Glock 19 pistol with a black silencer attached to the barrel. However, Thiago was not looking at these. He was struggling to comprehend what had just happened. The socialite, successful doctor, of all people?

Mark Adams told his daughter, in the most serious tone she had ever heard him speak in,"Get inside. Now. Lock the doors until I come back."

Michelle, wide eyed, sprinted back as fast as her legs could carry her, right into the arms of her mother, who was standing at the doorway. They both went inside and closed the door.

Mark spoke,"You're very lucky there was a community party tonight. Hardly anyone is home. You were not seen."

Thiago took in his perfect poise, the sense of calmness exuding from him, the steady grip of his gun, pointed at him, and replied,"You are not exactly a doctor, are you?"

Mark smirked and said,"Well, I am a doctor, and a little something more."

He took the scalpel of Thiago's back, but did not lower his gun. In a very matter of fact tone, he inquired,"Now explain to me what the hell my daughter was doing with a man like you at this time of the night."

Thiago explained what had happened, though he left out the smoking part. She is in enough trouble as it is, without me adding to her misery, he thought, and when he finished, Mark had an eyebrow raised, but was quiet for a while.

He then said,"Well, since there are people about who are trying to kill you, it seems this neighbourhood isn't very safe anymore."

Thiago nodded,"I agree."

Mark said,"I need to move my family someplace safe. Maybe within the city. No-one would dare attack anyone like that in a populated area. Too much of a risk of someone being able to identify them later on."

This insight surprised Thiago, but he kept quiet. He would have his answers later, right now his main priority was to get them out of the area.

Mark then spoke,"Look, you seem like a nice enough person, but I really don't think you'll be a good influence on Michelle. She had quite the ordeal to go through..."

Thiago felt a small pang in his stomach, but nodded anyway. He was right. He would only be putting Michelle in harms way.

Suddenly, frustration began to boil up within him. He had served with distinction in the organisation, put in many years, earned a pretty penny along the way, and had only moved here to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Was it really too much to ask, to live comfortably having retired from his life of crime?

Then, a memory came unbidden to the front of his mind. It was of a mission Thiago had done only recently, the target being a fellow assassin within the organisation who had suddenly disappeared. Concerned that she might leak secrets to competitors if she were alive, Thiago was tasked with finding her and making sure she remained silent. He, after painstaking work, had tracked her down to a small neighbourhood within the slums of Egypt. She had expected him, she did not even flinch as Thiago pointed his gun at the back of her head, having snuck up on her as she read a book in Arabic. instead, she merely sighed, and without ever looking back, she said,"Thiago, have you ever had the chance to read the Quran?"

Her knowledge of his presence, as well as the nature of her question, startled him a bit, but he had regained his composure and told her,"No, I have not."

"It is a beautiful book, once you understand it. All that jihadi terrorist riff-raff, they don't understand the true meaning behind it..."She paused for a bit, then told him,"It'll get to you some day, this business we live in. We will have to answer for our sins sometime. I am sure of that now, seeing that you are here."

Thiago had stood for a bit, then lowered his gun.

"You're not selling secrets to the enemy, are you?"

"If I was, then I wouldn't be here, of all places, sitting and pondering about the meaning of this wonderful book."

Thiago had, for the first time in his life, considered letting a mark go. No-one knew she was here, and from the looks of it, she was enjoying her life outside of their trade. He had tightened his grip on his gun, then holstered it. Instead, he took out a small syringe.

"I hope you live to enjoy your retirement."

He then plunged the syringe into her shoulder. She was limp within seconds. Someone discovered her body two hours later, checked her heartbeat and found none. Luckily, with no autopsy whatsoever, she was pronounced dead, and after the effects of the ketamine had worn off, she had secretly moved out of the morgue and moved to another country. It was the only time Thiago had ever let a mark go.

Mark noticed Thiago had gone deep into thought. He broke the silence,"Look, after all this is done, I want you to give me a call telling me its safe. I'll trust you on that one... I'll move back then."

Thiago, startled out of his repertoire, looked at him and nodded. They then exchanged phone numbers, with Thiago adding," My cellphone number is unique, in the sense that it cannot be tracked, and the line is secure from outside interference. I will let you know... I would like to apologise, for all the trouble I've caused."

Mark at this point grinned, and said,"Pa, zivot je veoma, veoma, veoma zbrkano, zar ne?"(Well, life is very, very messed up, isn't it?"

Thiago stood very still, looked at him long and hard, and asked,"How long have you known? And how?"

Mark replied,"Well, you see, I happen to have a fair share of intelligence personnel as clients. That way, I know everything about all my neighbours; where they're from, how they got their wealth, affairs, everything... so imagine my surprise when one file several inches thick suddenly came to me, showing me a man from a certain country within who had joined a certain organisation at a very young age and had become a top class killer, was coming to live near me. Don't look so surprised,"Mark looked at the shell-shocked Thiago, who's eyes had widened,"the CIA and the NSA are very good at what they do."

"But why haven't they gotten me yet then?"

"Because your former organisation had very good ties with the intelligence agencies here. A fair number of your kill orders originated from here to begin with. And besides, they were notified that you had retired. Trust me, a lot of high up people took a deep breath in relief when they heard."

Thiago looked at him for a moment, then said,"You're still hiding something."

Mark returned his stare, and after a while, replied,"I was tasked to spy on you."

Thiago slumped. He would indeed not find peace anywhere. It was so ironic, he, the one who had felt invincible behind his crosshairs, was now being aimed at. The predator had become the prey.

Mark then said,"Look, I need to get my family out of here. You should run too. This place isn't safe for you anymore."

Conviction blazed within Thiago, and he replied,"No. I will not run like a hare from the eagle. I am going to get to the bottom of this, and when I do, someone is going to pay for disturbing my retirement... Yes, you should go."

He glanced at the taxi, still splattered with the driver/killer's blood.

"Will that be a problem?"

"Naa, I'll have someone pick it up... Take care Thiago, if that is your real name."

Just as Mark was about to turn around, Thiago called out,"Wait! I meant to ask... How is it that you know that language?"

Mark stopped, hesitated, then grinned broadly, saying,"Well, lets just say I have had alot of experiences outside of the medical profession... To be exact, I was once stationed there. Can't say anything beyond that."

With that, he turned around towards his house, on his way to get his family to get some items for themselves for where he was taking them.

Thiago then pulled out a pair of sunglasses, which looked like ordinary Ray-Bans expect for the fact that they had heat and night vision capabilities, and turned on the heat vision, taking a scope of his immediate surroundings. He was alone. With that, he took them off and turned to walk towards his home. He would collect some armaments, then proceed towards someone whom he knew, someone whom he knew had the answers.

A fair distance away, the CIA headquarters, for the first time in its history, found itself hostage. Every person within the building was at gunpoint, even the Director. The men who had amazingly infiltrated the area were true pros, and there wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind that they would not hesitate to shoot. From a vault contained deep within a building, which was thought to be nigh impregnable by someone who did not have permission to access it, a voice, coming from a man who was once more cloaked in shadows, spoke into a cellphone with a twisted, evil grin that would have struck terror into even the most hardened of people,"Let the Lightning Clouds strike upon the land."