I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

Deep down I probably knew for a while.

My. Family. Are. Assassins… 

Let me explain.

***

It all started after our most recent family vacation to a beautiful tropical county. Sun, surf, and gorgeous beaches. A teenager couldn’t ask for more. That’s not to mention all the flirty servers, which my Sister seems to think are only acting that way with me to get a larger tip, but she doesn't know my charm.

Needless to say, I enjoyed our trips.

So, the fact that every time we came home the news would be filled with talks of ‘mysterious deaths’ and ‘political assassins’ from the area we just visited didn’t bother me. At the time I was so hopped up on teenager hormones that I honestly didn’t put the pieces together.

Then, one fateful day, everything changed.

As I was unpacking my luggage, I noticed something. The clothes were different from what I remembered. Brushing it off I decided the luggage needed to be unpacked anyway, and the sooner it was done, the sooner I could head over to a friend’s house.

It soon became apparent that it wasn’t my luggage, it was probably my Dad’s. With a sigh, I threw the clothes back inside and decided I probably shouldn’t unpack his stuff.

Lifting the luggage off the bed and throwing it over my shoulder, I heard a sound.

Clank.

“Hm?” I said, slightly startled.

There, on the floor beside my bed was a long and slender knife. It was hooked at the end, sharp as a razer and gave me a feeling of dread. Never before had I seen a knife like this – a tool meant for killing.

I couldn’t explain how I knew it wasn’t an ordinary knife, I just knew. Something about the angle of the blade gave me the creeps. 

At this point, my mind was racing like a hamster on a wheel. A plethora of thoughts raced through my mind, in an attempt to rationalize why my Dad would such a knife.

“Maybe Dad just decided to take up cooking... with very unusual knifes.” I mumbled to myself, trying desperately to convince my own mind.

Four sharp knocks came from just outside my door. Suddenly, I was brought back to reality.

“Is everything okay in there?” The voice of my mother came from the hallway.

“Yeah… All good.” I replied, hoping she would not open the door. If she came in and saw the knife on the floor, she would think that I was snoopy. How could I explain what had actually happened? “Be out in a minute!” I said quickly.

Silence filled the air for several long seconds. Finally, I got an answer from my Mom.

“Okay… Sweetie. Love you.” Thinking back on it now, her voice definitely sounded strange. She probably already suspected what I found.

Anxiety was rising inside of me. I picked up the knife and held it backward. Having the knife in my hand made me feel better and the nerves began to settle. After a few moments, I decided to confront them on what I found. 

If Dad really was learning how to cook, I wanted in. 

***

“The target is far. Maybe… little less than 950 meters?” I said in a hushed tone.

“My range finder says 958. Guess you’re getting rusty, little bro.” My older Sister replied.

I didn’t even have to look over at her to know she was smirking. Whoever said don’t work with family might have been on to something.

Click.

A plume of smoke filled the air in front of me, and the suppressed sound of the sniper was barely audible.

I stood up, folded the gun’s tripod and set it inside its case.

“Lunch?” I said to my Sister.

“Ummm… How about that Chinese place we saw a few blocks down?” She said, getting up off the rooftop and stretching.

I thought about it, very seriously, for several moments. Lunch is a very important meal, after all.

“Alright, fine… But I get to pick dinner.” 

I followed my Sister as we carefully made our way off the roof of the skyscraper we were on.

“Urgh, every time you pick the meal…” She made sure to look back at me and roll her eyes. “… we always have the same thing.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her annoyance. Am I a bad brother for enjoying when she’s annoyed? Maybe.

“Hey, I can’t help that it tastes good. Beside I let you pick what we ate for the past week. I think its ti-” I was cut short by the sound of my phone ringing.

Brrrrrrt…Brrrrrrt…Brrrrrrt…Brrrrrrt

“Damn… Well, there goes lunch.” I knew before I even answered the phone who was on the other end. Only one person had this number, my Dad.

We got somewhere secluded then answered the call.

“Hello?”

“How did everything go?”

“Fine.”

“Is it done?”

“Yup. Do we have to talk about this now? Me and Emily were just about to go for lunch.” I knew it was futile to try and get out of whatever he wanted but I figure I might as well try. In the end, my Dad only called for only thing when we were working.

“Lunch will have to wait. We have another job for you both.”

I held the phone to my side and let out a deep sigh. My Sister just giggled.

“Alright. Send the information.” The line went quiet as the call was ended.

I turned, phone still in hand, to face my Sister. 

When I saw what she had in her hand, a wide toothy grin appeared on my face. She held two king-sized chocolate bars. 

“I am the queen of chocolate.” She said in a mock royal voice.

My eyes grew wide and my stomach betrayed me as a loud grumble could be heard. There was no use in trying to act like I wasn’t hungry. For chocolate, I would play along. 

I gave a bow of pretend respect toward my Sister. “Oh, great queen of chocolate. I am a humble servant, but spare upon me a morsel of your majesty.”

After a second, we both burst into laughter. She tossed one of the bars into the air and I caught it. Together we made our way off the roof and toward the next job.

It may be tough and taxing work, but at least it’s with family. Even though I didn’t choose to be born into a family of assassins, I wouldn’t wish it any other way.