I had the silenced pistol inches above his temple ready to fulfill the contract. It had all gone to perfection up to this point. Silent entry, easy location of the target, the sleeping man completely unaware of my presence. Flawless. Until…

“Put the gun down mister.”

Moving slowly, I glanced at the boy pointing a revolver at my head.

“You don’t want to do that, son.”

“ I said put the gun down.” His face was stern, but his two-handed grip on the handle told me he was not used to holding the weapon. It wobbled in his grip, but that made him even more dangerous. I pictured the headlines: ‘Assassin Killed by Accident’

“Listen to me son. What are you, about ten? If you pull that trigger it’ll stay with you for the rest of your life. You’ll be a killer. Like me. And believe me that’s not how you want to perceive yourself.”

The conversation awoke the sleeping man, and as his confusion turned to understanding and fear, he jerked to a sitting position. Keeping my voice calm but firm, “Mr. Jenson, stay still,” my Glock still pointed in his direction.

“Shoot him Tommy!”

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Jenson was a narcissistic swindler who had no concern for anyone but himself. What did it matter to him if his son had to endure a lifetime of guilt over killing a man?

I saw his finger tighten on the trigger. “You don’t want to do that Tommy. Your dad’s not thinking of how this will affect you. He’s only…”

The shot was deafening, but I felt no punch of impact. The boy’s face grew pale, and his mouth opened in shock. The pistol fell from his hands.
The grunt from Jenkins told me what had happened, but I turned to confirm. Blood gushed from the neck wound. My assignment complete.

Tommy was crunched on his knees sobbing. “No…I’m sorry Dad.”

Assassins are supposed to be immune to emotion, but I have a son about this boy’s age. And I have never achieved that level of detachment.

 I knelt in front of the boy and picked up the pistol he had dropped. “Tommy this isn’t your fault. It was an accident. You have to remember that.”

There was little time to spend here trying to comfort Tommy. Someone must have heard the shot. The police could be here at any minute.

I reached out and lifted his face to look at me. “I’m taking this pistol with me. You have to tell them an intruder shot your dad. Do you understand? What you did was an accident. Nothing more. Accidents happen. Forget and forgive yourself.”

I’ll never know whether he was able to understand what I was telling him. I hope so. We certainly don’t need more killers in the world.