29-Apr-2001

Wow. Been a *very* long time since I wrote much of anything on this. Hope to finish it sometime soon! This part was beta'd once and then revised, unfortunately it wasn't beta'd a second time so if it sucks it's all my fault. ^_^

Comments? Criticisms? Flames? E-mail me directly at: siberiant@hotmail.com

The Watcher by Siberian Tiger

Part Five

I ended up spending about an hour and a half explaining the who's where's why's and how's to the two boys. The looks on their faces had ranged from hate to maybe even a little amused. I think the amusement part was when I told them I had been watching them have sex. Little exhibitionists! The only thing I left out was why I hadn't gone ahead and killed them.

"So, I don't understand something, well I don't understand a lot of things about this but one thing in particular bugs me," Duo said, playing with the gun he had picked up off the desk earlier. "Why didn't you just kill us and get it over with? Why stick around to protect us. It doesn't make any sense to-"

"Love. Plain and simple." There, I said it. "I've killed more people than I care to remember, but none of them have shown me what you two have. Even the guys who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time have never shown me what it's taken to, well, break me."

Until now, Heero had been giving me a look that would've killed (if looks could actually kill), but now he had softened quite a bit.

"Alright, here's what's going to happen," Heero said as he stood. "You're going to dispose of the body, we'll clean up the rest of the mess. Remove the cameras and the microphones you planted in here and give us everything that was in the package except for the money. We'll give it to some friends to see if they can track down who it came from. You go back to your apartment and stay there - if you leave I will personally hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands."

"Heero-" Duo started.

"No. Regardless of the compassion he has shown, he is still a threat: He *was* sent here to kill us after all." He turned to me. "Alright?"

I nodded in agreement. "I have one question though."

"What is it?" Heero had this very subtle way of making every word he said sound like a threat. I bet he'd make a good assasin. Hell, he was, sort of, just a few years ago...

I pointed to a picture sitting on the table only a few feet away from where we were standing. "Who took that picture of you?"

"I don't understand," Duo look confused and more than a little suspicious. "Why do you want to know who took a picture of us?"

"Not just any picture, that one. I don't want to tell you why, just, please, answer the question," I raised my voice just a little to try and convey the importance of the answer. "You just *have* to trust me."

Heero turned to look at Duo, a quick and completely silent conversation transpiring between the two, before Heero turned back to look at me. "Our friend Hilde took it - Relena, Hilde, Duo and I took turns taking pictures of each other, as individuals and as couples. We had spent the weekend together, that was the last day. Last photo on the last roll of film, too." He looked kind of sad, like something had happened that day between the two couples.

I had an idea forming as to who was behind all this. "So what happened? I mean you don't look like it was the happiest day of your life, if you don't mind my asking?"

It took several hours to clean up their apartment and dispose of the body. I was tired. So tired I had almost forgotten about Heero's demands.

"Shit."

I took my copy of the photo and carefully hid it underneath and behind the sink in the kitchen. All the other documents I was given I placed back in the envelope.

After delivering the package to Duo, who acted like nothing had happened, I headed back across the hall to my apartment. Time to get some sleep - tomorrow will be a big day.

But there is no rest for the wicked.

Dreams of all the people I've killed in the past. Coming back to haunt me. They don't have much longer to torture me - I will atone for my sins. I will kill the one who sent me to kill Heero and Duo. And then I will kill myself. The pain will end.

I have always watched my targets. Watched them so I would know who I was killing. Watched them to know how best to hurt them. Watched them so I knew how to make them suffer.

But I like, no liked, to watch them suffer. I enjoyed it. It was what made me who I am.

*Michiko Miyagi* That little girl. I can still see her face. It's been, what? A couple of years?

My God. She'd be twenty-six now -- assuming she's still alive. I can still see the look on her face every time I close my eyes. I destroyed her life, her family, her parents. Right in front of her. Why does she still haunt me? Her parents did things they shouldn't have.

I had to do it. I was paid to do it. I'm sorry she lost them, but it couldn't be helped - my contractor wanted them dead because they were in charge of mobile suit production for OZ.

*Richard Franklin* I remember the look on his face the moment before I ended his life. He had no idea what was about to happen. He was so happy. Talking to his girlfriend about their future. He had planned on proposing to her that night. But he was a part of something bad. I was paid to take him out. And I did.

*Karo* Out of all the people I've killed, his was probably the most enjoyable. For me. He had information, my job was to get it out of him using any method I chose. His hobby was woodworking - carving small animals and such for himself and his family. So I cut off his fingers - four of them - until he gave me what I wanted. Then I cut the rest of his fingers off. Then his arms. Then his legs. I watched and listened and waited for him to die. It took longer than I expected. At the time I got a kick out of it, but looking back on it now I find it hard to fathom that this is something that I actually did. That I tortured a man to death because I was paid to.

More names. More faces. Hundreds. People I have killed. Lives I have destroyed. The unhappiness I have brought upon this world. At night it hits me the worst. When I'm trying to go to sleep. I see people long dead. Dead because of me. But I like my job. I like to kill people.

Because every day that I've watched them they've shown me something I've never had in my life. Something I know I'll never have.

True love.

I've taken too many souls from this world. I've had enough of this life and its emptiness. So how do I fix this situation I'm in?

They'll only be safe if the one who wants them dead is dead. It's so simple! Why the hell didn't I think of this before?

End Part 5

(:./siberiant/watcher5)