Here's the next chapter. All your reviews have been deleted because I had to remove the story but I love all of them, you already know it. :)

Enjoy the story and I hope not to have more problems.

Chapter Two

Coming Back To Home

Eric POV

When I returned to Jackson it was too late to visit so I went straight to my apartment. Russell would want to hear every detail of the work but all that would have to wait until the next day. I was exhausted and the flight was a nightmare so I put my things down in the living room, undressed and got into bed.

Being a professional killer is not perhaps the best profession in the world but at least I killed for money, not for fun or cruelty. I had only one rule: no women or children. I never killed by my own initiative; I always had a specific reason and a set price. Yes, it may seem cruel or meaningless but it was my job, what I had been doing the last ten years and I was fucking good at it. Russell always trusted me for any work and he had never been disappointed.

My father always wanted me to be something important in life, and although I knew it was not exactly what he had expected, it was my job and wasn't willing to leave it. I earned big money and my victims were not candidates for characters of the year so I actually made a huge favour to the world.

My cell phone started ringing on the bedside table and at first I thought I was still dreaming.

"Hello?"

"Eric, dear, I was worried." Maybe I was wrong last night when I went to sleep and thought Russell wouldn't expect my call, but obviously he wanted to talk to me.

"Worried?"

"Mr. Samuels called me to tell me the work was done and I was surprised when I received his call instead of yours." There was a brief pause and he continued. "I hope there were no problems."

"No problems, Russell, everything went perfectly. Ellis is dead and the police will think it was a heart attack. The guy was a pig. Poisoned projectiles, a clean work and without suspicion."

Russell laughed lightly. "Eric, I'm proud of you, as always, but I still don't understand why you don't use bullets. Everything would be much easier."

"Bullets leave a trail, you already know, and I would have to go to his apartment to pick the bullet cap up and clean any trace. No, it's better this way, the projectile disappears in two hours and there's no trace of poison, so it's perfect. It's the future for the professional killer."

"I know. Listen, I need to tell you something."

"I'm listening."

"I want you to take a break, you know, holidays." That cleared my head better than any cup of coffee.

"What?"

"Eric, you're my best student and you know I trust you but I have to share the work so…it's nothing personal." Nothing personal? I started when it was just Russell and I, I was the best and he wanted to replace me now…?

"Russell, what are you talking about? Holidays? I don't need to rest, I'm ready for the next so…"

"Eric, I need to leave town and I'll be busy for the next two weeks so…don't take it personally, okay?" How wasn't I going to take it personally? I was the best in my job and my boss now was telling me that I should take a break.

"Russell, if there is any problem…"

"No problem, Eric, don't worry. I have only to take care of a few things and I'll be back in two weeks so you should relax and live a normal life for a couple of days, do you understand?" I didn't have the classic normal life so relax was not something I did often. "Go somewhere, enjoy a bit and in two weeks everything will be back to normal, okay? You're taking this as a punishment rather than an opportunity." An opportunity to do what? I hadn't many hobbies and holidays was not something normal for me so I had no idea what to do in these situations.

"Okay, I guess, but I still don't understand…"

"Eric, forget it. They'll be only two weeks so enjoy and do…you know, what you want to do or what normal people do when they on vacation."

It was still early when I finished talking to Russell but I obviously wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so I got out of bed, showered quickly and sat on the couch in my living room without knowing what to do. Two weeks and I had the faintest idea what I could do. I never had before so much free time so it was something completely new to me.

I turned on the TV and after twenty minutes zapping I decided any show or series would not be enough to entertain me. Action movies were not enough exciting and I hated romantic comedies and the rest of the channels were too boring so I turned it off and I looked into nowhere.

"Two weeks…what can I do?" I muttered to myself. Maybe I should start thinking about having a hobby but which one?

The situation was desperate and surreal. I couldn't stay two weeks locked at home because I'd end up going insane but planning holidays was not something I had done before so I didn't have many ideas. Go to a travel agency was not exactly what I had in mind because it would leave a trail and I didn't want surprises.

And then I had an idea. At first I didn't know if it was good or not but I just turned on my laptop and looked for less idyllic destinations. I didn't want to go to a tropical island that was full of people and a Swedish man in Hawaii would call a lot of attention. No, I needed to find something more normal, a small but fun place or at least not boring. Obviously, cities like Los Angeles, Washington or New York were out of the question for various reasons, so my options were focused on the southern states.

I had heard of Mardi Grass in New Orleans and although there was not time for the carnival I thought it would be a good choice. But then I saw a small town called Shreveport that caught my attention. It was a beautiful place to spend a few days off.

I booked my reservation in a small and discreet hotel and I wouldn't even have to catch a plane. I could drive from Jackson to New Orleans and then to Shreveport. Yes, it seemed a good plan and I liked driving fast so I'd be there much earlier than expected.

I would leave the next day in the morning and hopefully I'd be in Shreveport for lunch so I went to my bedroom, pulled out my suitcase and put my clothes in it, picked up the necessary things from the bathroom and all my personal documents. I never left home without them because if anyone was looking for me, they'd find nothing to identify me. There were no pictures of me or anyone else, no friends or family, and Russell took care of my house sending someone to clean my apartment to get rid of all traces.

Yeah, someone might think I was paranoid but with a job like mine you couldn't allow to make mistakes. The first rule for a professional killer was discretion so my apartment needed to look like new, as if nobody had been living there for the last months. Also, I used to change residence every six months to avoid problems.

I had everything ready, my suitcase was in the living room next to the door and my messenger bag on the couch with all my documents stored for safekeeping.

I spent the rest of the day out, I went to eat at a new restaurant in which I had never been before, I bought a couple of things I needed for the trip and then went to see a movie. The film was boring and I barely paid attention but two girls seemed more interested in me than the movie. Under normal circumstances I would have invited them for a drink and then fuck them but I was too excited about my trip so I went to dinner after the movie and then back to home.

I had no food at home so I only returned to the apartment to sleep. It was much easier that way.

I watched television for a while and then went to bed but not before checking every drawer and closet of the apartment again to make sure there was nothing that could cause me problems.

I laid in bed on my back and was asleep before my head hit the pillow so when I woke up the next morning I was completely ready for my trip.

"Well, Northman, it's time to have fun." I grabbed my things and walked down to the street. My car was parked a few blocks away so I walked to there, got my stuff in the trunk and left to Shreveport, Louisiana.

Please be patient with me because I've had a lot of problems publishing this story but I believe it's already fixed now.

You know, push the button and leave a review.

Thanks for your comments, reviews and messages, they're all great.

:)