Be Cautious

'Don't go near the window.' ordered Mark, a Marshal, whose job was to relocate the witness. 6.3 ft tall with a well-toned body, Mark was the best man for this job with more than 120 relocated witnesses.

This relocation was his last task as he was on the verge of retirement. The physique of Mark easily deceived many about his age. 

Mark swiftly closed the curtains. He dragged Ron away from the window and pushed him on the bed. Ron was nervous about this Witness Protection Program. He was acting weird, and why won't he?

Ron single-handedly brought down the entire cocaine racket that was swiftly operating inside the college dorms in his town. Ron was a part of this gang, but after losing his girlfriend to the cocaine, his consciousness rose, and he sang like a canary. 

'Don't push me.' Ron said inside his mind to Mark. He was unable to utter those words through the mouth to Mark. 

'Are you hungry?' asked Mark by glancing at the menu near the telephone.

'No.' 

'Good. During this cooling period, minimize the interaction with the outside world as much as you can. Let this month pass. After that, eat whatever you want until we relocate to your permanent location.' instructed Mark.

'How will be the life under WITSEC?' inquired Ron.

'Not much different. Just a little more careful and more observant of the surroundings. You will never know when and where they will find you.' said John, another Marshall and the partner of Mark for nearly ten years.

'No, Ron. It is nothing like that. This protection program is full-proof. Don't believe the movies you see or the stories you hear. Don't worry.' said Mark.

As soon as Mark said the above words, someone knocked on the door of their motel room. John quickly stood-up and unholstered his gun. He pointed directly at the door. Mark gestured to Ron to take cover behind the fridge. 

'Who is it?' shouted Mark.

Instead of words, intense knocking answered the question. Mark also unholstered his gun and pointed it to the door.

He turned off the safety lock and shouted again, 'Who is at the door?'

No answer again. 

Mark moved swiftly to the door. John took cover behind the cupboard and was pointing the gun at the door. He was ready to take down almost any intruder with his Glock.   

Ron was shivering with fear behind the refrigerator. 

Mark gestured to John to give him cover fire as he was going to open the door. He gently grabbed the lock and silently rotated it. As soon as the look clicked, he quickly opened the door. 

Seeing two people pointing a gun at him, the hotel boy with headphones over his ears dropped the tray that contained the complimentary lunch. The tray made a banging noise, and the instinct mixed with adrenaline forced John to squeeze the trigger as an automatic response to that sound.

Luckily some sense came running inside the mind of John. John directed the gun towards the ceiling. The bullet penetrated the motel ceiling making some noise. The hotel boy saw this, and he ran for his life. He didn't stop till he reached back to the kitchen. 

John let a loud laugh out. Mark could not resist and joined John, increasing the decibels of that laughter. 

Ron was still in fear, but now he was also confused: whether or not to join the laughter. He allowed his facial expression to mimic the environment, but the growing fear inside Ron accompanied the forced smile. 

Seeing such a sorry state of Ron, John let out another round of laughter. 

Mark saw the scary expression on Ron's face. He quickly closed the door and hurried back to comfort Ron. That scarry smile was on the verge of turning into a tearful cry. 

'It was nothing serious. Just an idiot with headphones.' comforted Mark.

They took their formal sitting position and began chatting after some time.

Someone informed Mark on the phone about the nearby police station responding to 10-57 at their location. It was time to relocate to another site. 

'Hurry up, Ron. Pack your bags. We are moving to another site.'

'But, We just moved in a few hours back?' asked Ron to Mark.

'Cops will be here in a minute or so. We don't want you to get exposed on the first day. We don't want any unwanted inquiries on your new identity.' explained John with calm composure. 

They reached the garage. John gave the keys to Mark to drive. John wanted to collect the cartridge of the bullet that he just accidentally fired. 

'Load the luggage. I will be back in a few seconds.' John hurried up the stairs to the hotel room. 

Ron was loading his bag into the trunk of the car. Lost in his deep thoughts, Ron was contemplating the life ahead of him. 

'Be cautious.' the words of Mark was echoing in his mind. It was then that he saw a LED blinking beneath the dashboard of the car. Mark was checking his cell-phone for any further updates. 

After careful observation, Ron saw the extra sets of wire hanging beneath the ignition along with a blinking LED. The movies and stories helped him to act quickly.

He hurried towards Mark. He pushed him into the laundry trolley full of dirty towels lying one floor beneath them. He also jumped down. As soon as he fell into that trolley, the car exploded. 

Luckily both of them were saved, but they worried about John. 

What if he had returned early? 

Unluckily, the explosion killed the two passersby near the car. 

Upon hearing the explosion, John came back to the parking lot. He saw two dead bodies burned to char, lying near the car. 

Instead of sadness, his face was radiating with joy. 

Before Mark and Ron could climb the stairs back to the parking lot, John dialed someone and laughed. 

'It's done. Both are no more as planned. Now finish the remaining transaction. Only then, I will give you the name of the other witness that you want.'

'No, you won't.' shouted Mark while pointing the gun at John.

John was surprised to see both of them alive. He inferred what happened and swiftly pulled his gun on Mark. 

Before John can squeeze the trigger, Three bullets left the Glock of Mark. Two to the chest, one to head. 

Mark and Ron reached the other safe house. 

Mark reported the incident to superiors. 

The CCTV footage of the motel's parking lot and the recent ten million dollars in John's bank account proved that John was involved with that cocaine gang. He was collecting rewards for his retirements. 

Mark helped John retired early to the Grave.