The Reincarnated Hitman

Liam found himself in a coffee shop, wearing a face that was clearly not his own.

His knowledge of creating masks was still not very advanced, but it had been enough to allow him to appear as your average geek.

His black hair had been transformed into a messy light brown, while his gray eyes had turned brown as well and on his face was a pair of transparent glasses.

No one would be able to connect the current Liam to his normal self; after all, he was basically a different person now.

Eli and Lea were back at the apartment, and this time, Liam was certain that they were safe since Sable’s people were still keeping an eye on them after that incident.

Liam calmly spun the glass holding his milkshake so the straw would be facing him as he continued waiting.

He had no idea what that stalker looked like, and now that he was in disguise, he was sure that the person wouldn’t recognize him either.

But the hitman had already spotted the person a couple of seats away from him.

It had been a few minutes since he identified the man, but he had made no move to approach.

Instead, he decided to observe the man for a while longer.

Liam picked up his milkshake and took a slow sip as he noticed that the man seemed to be growing worried by the second.

He kept looking at his watch every few seconds, and every time he did, his expression turned grave.

After a while longer, Liam let out a sigh, walked towards the man’s table and asked, "Is this seat taken?"

The man looked up at him with a frown before nodding, "Yes."

Even as he said so, the kid in glasses still sat down, and he seemed to have brought his own drink.

The next second, his expression turned completely serious as he asked, "You said you knew our parents?"

The man seemed a bit confused for a while before realization finally dawned on him, and he asked, "Liam?"

"You said you didn’t want to be spotted with me," Liam said, "so I had to prepare a disguise, quite convincing, right?"

The man was still having a hard time believing that it was Liam, but then again, the kid’s voice was proof enough.

"Now then," Liam muttered, leaning back on his chair, "what did you want to discuss?"

The man was hesitant for a while before sighing, "I think I should introduce myself first."

"My name is Dr. Thomas Warrick," the man said, keeping his voice low despite the noise within the coffee shop covering most of his words anyway, "I worked with your parents at the Field Anomalies Division."

" I-It’s technically an HA-affiliated research branch," he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "though you might not have known this since we all had to sign an NDA."

He was right; neither Liam nor Lea actually knew what their parents did for a living.

All they knew was that they were always away on business, which apparently was business with the HA.

"Is that so?" Liam remained calm as he continued listening to the man before him.

"I can’t tell you what the division does right now," Thomas said with a frown before he adjusted his glasses. "After all, I’m only here to deliver this to you."

He discreetly put a small object on the table, trying to make his actions seem as natural as possible.

Liam noticed that it was some sort of USB drive, and he calmly picked it up.

"They requested I have this delivered to you if something happened to them," Thomas explained.

Liam looked at the device for a while before pocketing it and asking, "What’s on it?"

"I have no idea," Thomas replied with a shake of his head, "it’s password protected."

"..."

Liam remained silent, observing the device for a while before sighing and asking, Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"W-well, I was just making sure I fulfilled my promise to your parents," Thomas then stood up. "I’d like to offer you three more hours of help, but I unfortunately can’t."

"In other words," the man added, "this is the last time we will be meeting."

Liam simply nodded and watched the man walk to the exit. There was something a bit off about him, but the hitman was certain that the man truly didn’t mean any harm.

He then picked up his milkshake, finished it in one go, before also standing up, ready to head back home.

"I wonder what’s on it."

***

Thomas, meanwhile, walked to his car and, with trembling hands, he opened it.

He let out an exhausted sigh as he leaned back on the driver’s seat, but before he had the chance to properly relax, a voice came from behind him.

"Good job, Thomas," the person said, "and right on time too."

The researcher immediately froze as he heard the voice; he didn’t even dare look at the rearview mirror, but he knew exactly who that was.

"W-what do you want with those kids?"

Summoning every bit of courage within him, Thomas managed to let out.

"What do I want with them?" The person placed a hand on his chin as he thought for a while before shrugging, "Let’s just say I’m preparing them for the advent of something."

"That drive should set him on the right path," he added, "after all, I’ve gone through the trouble of creating fitting obstacles."

***

Liam found himself back in the apartment building, in front of the door.

"You okay?" A voice suddenly came from his side, and he turned to notice Olivia walking out of her apartment.

"Yeah," Liam nodded with a smile before asking, "Heading out?"

"Hmm," She nodded. Her mood seemed a bit down, which meant one thing: she was going to visit her family.

"You want me to walk you down?" Liam offered.

"You don’t have to," she shook her head as her hand tightened on the strap of her bag.

"I want to," he said with a smile as he put both hands in his hoodie pocket and they walked towards the elevator together.

Olivia looked at him for a while before muttering, "Thanks."

The two stood in silence as the elevator headed to the ground floor.

"So...want to talk about it?" Liam broke the silence after a while.

She turned to him, surprised that he figured out that she was troubled about something, but she quickly recovered, offering a small, tired smile instead.

"That obvious?" she asked.

"Not really," He answered with a smile, "I’m just really observant."

"I see," Olivia said with a smile, "it’s just...a family meeting."

Before Liam had the chance to respond, the elevator door suddenly opened with a ding.

"Well," Olivia said, turning back to him with a smile, "see you later."

"Yeah," he nodded, "try not to let the family meeting ruin your mood; after all, your smiling face is a lot cuter."

The elevator door closed after his words, but he managed to catch a glimpse of the blush on Olivia’s face after his words.

He smiled for a while before reaching into his pockets and retrieving the USB drive, before saying, "let’s find out what’s in here, shall we?"