I Want to Die, But I Am Immortal

His fist went through the plaster leaving a gaping hole. "I'll torture and kill you," he whispered his voice a low dangerous growl.

James walked out of the mansion and got into his car. Adam was waiting for him in the passenger seat a silent and imposing presence. James looked angry and tired his face a swollen mess.

"Did you get what I asked you for?" Adam asked his voice a cold flat monotone that sent a shiver down James's spine.

James held out his bag. But then he remembered the money he had taken from Philips. It was still in the bag. In his anger and his haste he had forgotten to put it somewhere else. He tried to pull the bag back but Adam was too fast. He grabbed the bag with a surprising strength.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked his eyes boring into James's. "What are you hiding?"

James smiled a nervous pathetic smile. "No I'm not hiding anything," he said his voice a little too high a little too shrill.

He found a small packet of dollars inside the bag. He was very surprised. He looked at James his eyes burning with a cold fury. "So you're blackmailing him and asking for money," he said his voice a low dangerous whisper.

James's face was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. He was about to deny it to lie his way out of it. But Adam grabbed his collar and pulled him close their faces just inches apart. "Give me the right answer," he said his voice a chilling promise of pain.

"Yes," James stammered his voice a pathetic whimper. "I'm getting money from him. The school doesn't pay me enough. I have a family to support."

Adam let him go. He took all the documents from the bag and kept the money. James was furious. He started to curse Adam under his breath a stream of vile and impotent rage.

But Adam was not listening. He was busy looking at the documents he had just acquired.

He saw that one of the documents was an acceptance letter from another prestigious school a boarding school in another country. He was shocked. "Another school?" he said his voice a mixture of surprise and a dawning understanding.

James heard him. "He was saying that his father wants to send him to another school," he said his voice a sullen mumble.

Adam realized then that James was not the reason Philips was leaving. If he had been Philips would have killed him by now. He was a monster a killer. He would not have tolerated being blackmailed by a weak and greedy man like James for so long.

There was something else something that Adam did not know. Something that was stopping Philips from killing James. Something that was forcing him to obey his father's wishes.

He looked at the other documents. He found a glossy brochure from a high-end auction house. It was for an auction that was happening tonight at 8:00 PM.

An auction house. A small smile appeared on his face.

"At least give me the money," James said his voice a desperate plea. "Five thousand dollars will run my house for a month."

Adam looked at him his expression unreadable. "Drive," he said quietly.

James was very angry but he did as he was told. He started the car and drove away from Philips's opulent mansion. A short distance away Adam got out of the car.

The scene shifted.

The city was a sprawling tapestry of light and shadow below. On the rooftop of a tall building across the street from Adam's house a figure sat perched on the edge like a gargoyle.

He was dressed in black from head to toe a shadow in the encroaching darkness. His face was covered by a tactical mask and a pair of high-tech night vision goggles were strapped to his head.

He was watching Adam's empty house with a patient and unwavering focus.

He brought a small communication device to his mouth. "Recon team responding," he said his voice a low professional whisper that was barely audible above the distant sounds of the city. "Target has not yet arrived at the house. The house is still dark."

Another voice crackled in his earpiece a voice that was younger more impatient. "This is the second recon team. It's been a long time. Are you sure he's even coming back here tonight?"

Then a third voice came on the line. It was hard and commanding a voice that was used to giving orders and having them obeyed without question. "Recon team stay in your positions," the voice said a cold and final command.

"The target will soon be in our area. Our intel is solid. He will come. And then we will begin our mission."

The man on the rooftop said nothing. He just continued to watch Adam's house his body perfectly still his mind a cold calculating machine.

He was a member of The Ghost group the most feared and respected team of assassins in the entire underworld. They were the best of the best the ones who were called in when the job was too difficult too dangerous for anyone else.

They were the ones who had killed Adam's parents. And now they were here for him.

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We are so grateful to each and every one of you for joining the adventure! Your assistance is greatly appreciated. I appreciate each and every one of your Power Stones, which are like mana potions that keep me writing if you are enjoying the story.

Let us have some fun now! I want YOU in this world. The new signature technique is about to be named by our hero. What ought it to be called?

Leave your most inventive suggestions in the comments section! I will choose my favorite, and it will be included in the story's canon with a special mention for you.

I am eager to read your insightful recommendations!

Alphaboss

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