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“You want me to what?!?” Jack shrieked, incredulously.
“Come on, man, surely you know someone,” Bill Grant, executive director of the LA branch of the Make-A-Wish foundation, wheedled.
“That’s not the point,” Jack said.
“Then what is?” Bill asked.
“The point is, what kind of kid asks to meet an international assassin?”
“A dying one,” Bill said.
“So?” Jack said. “It’s crazy.”
Bill sighed and leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk. “Look, Jack, I know it sounds nuts, but my job is to see that any kid’s dying wish is fulfilled as long as it’s reasonable.”
“This isn’t reasonable!”
“As far as I’m concerned, if I can fulfill it, it’s reasonable,” Bill said. “Now, can you help me or not?”
Jack sighed, resigned. “Yeah, I can help. It just so happens one of the most notorious assassins is in federal custody.”
Bill beamed at Jack. “Fantastic. I’ll let the kid’s parents know, and we can set up a date. Thanks, Jack, I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, never let it be said that if Jack Dalton commits to something, he doesn’t go all out.”
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“You want me to what?!?” Matty shrieked.
“Come on, Matty,” Jack wheedled. “It’s for a dying kid. You wouldn’t want to deny him his last wish, would you?”
“What kind of kid asks to meet an international assassin? It’s crazy!”
Jack was pretty sure he’d had this conversation before, only from the other side. He couldn’t believe he was actually defending this kid. He sighed and tried to explain it to Matty.
“I don’t know what’s going through the kid’s head,” Jack said, “and it’s not my job to. My job is to fulfill any reasonable request from a kid I can.”
“This isn’t reasonable!” Matty shrieked.
Yep, Jack had definitely had this conversation. “According to Bill, any wish we can grant is a reasonable one, and Phoenix can grant this one,” he said.
“Let me get this straight,” Matty said. “You want me to let Murdoc out so he can go talk to a dying kid who’s last wish is to meet an international assassin?”
“Yeah, that’s about the size of it,” Jack said.
“What makes you think Murdoc will even do it?” Matty wanted to know.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Murdoc likes kids, and he has a charitable streak,” Jack said.
“I hardly call killing people for free a charitable streak,” Matty said, dryly.
“Not the point.”
“What is the point?” Matty wanted to know.
“The point is, we can do this. You just have to let Murdoc out, under heavily armed guard, including myself, for a couple of hours. Whadya say? Wanna make a dying kid really happy?”
Matty sighed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but alright.”
Jack grinned. “Thanks, Matty. You won’t regret it.”
“I already do.”
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As predicted, Murdoc was more than happy to help out. “Anything to be of assistance,” he said. “i know I’m not a Boy Scout like Angus, but I do aim to please.”
Jack suppressed a shudder at the smarmy smirk that accompanied the statement. “Just don’t creep the kid out.”
Murdoc looked mock-offended. “Jacky-boy, you wound me. I would never do that, especially to a child.”
Much as Jack hated to admit it, Murdoc was probably telling the truth.
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Everyone on the children’s ward stopped and stared as four men in tac vests flanked a third escorting a man in a prison uniform in cuffs. Jack tried hard to ignore the whispers (“What’s he doing here?” “This is a children’s ward, not a prison ward!” “He’ll scare the children!”), but he could hear them as clearly as if they were shouted from the roof. This was a supremely bad idea. Jack couldn’t believe he’d agreed to this; he couldn’t believe he’d gotten Matty to agree to this.
They reached the correct room, and the tac team took up posts on either side of the door as Jack and Murdoc entered.
“Hey, kid,” Jack addressed the boy in the bed, “I have someone who wants to see you.”
The kid looked up from the book he was reading. “Who are you?”
Murdoc looked hurt. Jack couldn’t tell if it was sincere or not. “I’m hurt. Here I heard you wanted to meet an international assassin, and you don’t even know my name. I thought Jacky-boy here would have at least told you that much.”
The boy looked excited. “You’re an assassin? How many people have you killed?”
Murdoc looked proud. “More than you can count. I’m the best. Everyone wants to hire me. I’ve killed heads of state and CEOs of multinational corporations.”
The boy looked shy. “Would you kill someone for me?”
Jack stepped forward, hand out in a “stop” motion. “Wait a minute, you can’t. . . “
Murdoc shouldered Jack out of the way. “He’s talking to me, not you.” Murdoc turned his attention to the boy. “Now, then. . .”
“Sam,” the boy said.
“Sam. Who did you want me to kill? Some bullies?”
“Murdoc,” Jack hissed. “You are not going to kill for this kid!”
“But Jack,” Murdoc simpered, “you wouldn’t want to deny a dying child his final wish, would you?”
“I am not condoning murder!” Jack said, probably louder than he should. The tac team glanced into the room, but Jack waved them off.
“I don’t think that’s your call to make,” Murdoc pointed out. “Sam was asking me. Now, who’s the target, Sam?”
“Me.”
Jack had to put an end to this. “Now, see here. . .”
“Why would you want me to kill you?” Murdoc asked as though he got requests like this everyday. Hell, for all Jack knew, he did.
“I’m dying,” the boy said, earnestly. “Probably a slow, painful death, though, obviously, the doctor’s aren’t saying that. They say I have anywhere from a month to a year, but I’m going to die. I want to do it on my terms.”
Murdoc nodded. “Very smart.”
This was getting out of hand. “Don’t you think your parents would have something to say about that?” Jack said, desperately.
“My parents agree,” Sam said. “They’re giving me the money. How much?” he asked Murdoc.
“Oh, Sammy, I couldn’t charge for such a noble cause. I’ll do it for free.”
“Murdoc!” Jack hissed.
Sam nodded. “Okay, then. How do we do this? Do you sign something, or. . .”
“Let’s just call this a gentleman’s agreement, shall we?” Murdoc said. “I’d offer to shake on it, but as you can see, I’m a little. . .constrained at the moment.” He held up his cuffed hands.
Sam nodded again. He scrunched his eyes closed. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Jack moved between Sam and Murdoc. “Murdoc, if you lay one hand on this boy, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
“Now, Jacky-boy, don’t get so worked up. I’m not going to do it now,” Murdoc said.
Sam looked disappointed. “But, I thought. . .”
“Now, Sam, if I kill you now, everyone will know it,” Murdoc explained. “I’ll slip in one night when everyone’s asleep. You won’t even realize it. You just. . .won’t wake up. No one will ever know,” Murdoc explained, patiently.
Sam nodded solemnly accepting the explanation. “When, then?”
Murdoc winked at him. “Now, now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you’re expecting it, now would it?”
“But, you’ll do it?” Sam asked, anxiously.
“Of course. I’m a man of my word.”
“It’s time to go,” Jack said, ending the meeting before things could get any worse.
“Nice meeting you, Sam,” Murdoc said as he let himself be led off.
Sam waved. “Nice meeting you. And thank you!”
“You handled that well,” Jack praised Murdoc as they left the hospital. “You really had me going there. I thought you were really going to kill him. But telling him it was a surprise, and he wouldn’t know when, that was a stroke of genius. He won’t even suspect you’re not going to go through with it.”
Murdoc stopped and looked at Jack. “Oh, I’m going to go through with it.”
Jack scoffed. “Yeah, right. You’re in a Supermax. You’ll never manage to sneak out. And you’re too proud to let someone else do it. The kid’s safe, and you know it.”
“Oh, Jacky-boy,” Murdoc tsked. “You are so naive. Just keep believing that if it helps you sleep better.”
Jack didn’t like the sound of that.
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Jack tried to force Murdoc’s words out of his mind, but they came back when he got a thank-you note from Bill. “You made the kid’s day!” It was the standard thank-you Jack got every time he did something for the Foundation, but it left a bad taste in his mouth this time. Yeah, he made a kid’s day by letting him think an international assassin was going to kill him. Way to go, Jack.
After that, Jack mostly forgot about it, until he got another email from Bill. “Sam Hastings died last night in his sleep. Good thing we were able to fulfill his wish.” A shudder went down Jack’s spine, but he brushed it off. There was no way Murdoc was involved. It was just coincidence.
Then, Matty called Jack into the war room.
“Yeah, Matty, what do you want? Is there a mission?” Jack looked around. “Where’s everyone else?”
“There’s no mission, but there’s something you need to see.” Matty slid a piece of paper across to Jack. “The kid you took Murdoc to see died last night.”
“I know,” Jack said. “Bill told me. But, Matty, Murdoc didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Wordlessly, Matty slid another piece of paper across to Jack. Jack picked it up. It was a bulletin from the federal prison. Murdoc had been shanked the night before and taken to the same hospital where Sam was.
Jack’s blood ran cold. “Son of a bitch.”
“You can say that again,” Matty says. “Next time Bill tells you something’s a ‘reasonable’ request”--Matty made air quotes--”we’re telling him no.”
“Absolutely,” Jack agreed.