The Target

Chapter Two

Joanna 

"Didn't your mum or dad every tell you any scary stories about visiting graves at night? Don't you ever get scared? Like.." Nimma's voice faded in the background. Oh Nimma, you are scared of graves, but they are my home, he is my home. 

This is the grave of my father, he died 5 years ago, murdered to be more specific. My father wasn't an angel, I know. He was a dark man, I also know that but still he was my father. He was my everything when my mother left us when I was a little kid. He might have done really bad things. He might even have killed people while me on the other hand, help people to stay alive. Sometimes I feel like with every soul I save, it replaces one of the souls that my father might have taken. I think everyday that maybe if he was still alive now he might have had a chance to right his wrongs. I even think that because he wanted to right his wrongs, he is gone now. Just like I am doing it now for him, it's a dangerous game but since when did I ever have a normal safe life? 

It all started years ago. When the whole home was sleep and silent as every night, but my father was still in his office working and I was back from the hospital. I opened the door and then  to my father.

"Guess who is here?!" I said as I was opening the office's door. My father was sitting on his office with his head resting on his hand, the position of a crisis is on the road or have even arrived. I just know that position since my childhood. He looked up at me and weakly smiled.

"Aren't you a little energetic for a doctor who spent the whole day saving lives?" He asked while standing up for a hug. I hugged him hardly, harder than the normal as if I felt the future before being a reality. Finally we broke away. He was still smiling but his eyes weren't. 

"Dad, you okay?" I asked him, but then I walked a step away to control him "You don't feel any pain, right? High pressure? Chest pain?" I started taking his wrest in my hand to check his heart's beating rates. He smiled again a little wider and I realised that I did it again and I stopped.

"Joanna, won't you ever stop being a doctor for a moment? It's not the hospital here and I am not a patient. Besides, you might save all the people's lives but not mine, baby girl." He said sliding his hands over my check. 

"Dad, what are you saying?" I got worried but before he can answer my question, bullets came raining from the windows. The whole house of maids or workers were running and screaming and bodies were dropping. My father took my arm and hid us beneath the table. 

"Joanna, we don't have much time, listen to me carefully!" He handed me a gun, I took it and I felt as if it's another extension of me. My father has trained me for gun shooting, fighting, everything on my 16th birthday. I liked it but feared gun shooting's sound, and spend days in bed because of the pain at every part of my body. "Stand strong, Joanna Markel!" He always shouted, until I actually became as strong as I can, pain is no longer an issue, the gun shots' sound became like a symphony to me. 

"Joanna, take that gun" and then took off his necklace that he started wearing for months now. It's a USB "and this USB and run from here without looking back, okay?" I took the necklace and wore it and looked back at him with more attention. "And you, dad?" I asked him, afraid of the answer. "I'll be after you, start running when I say, okay?" He took my face in his hand and I lost words at this moment, all I could do was nodding. He nodded back and smiled again, this time a different kind of smile, a different kind of look in his eyes. "I love you, baby girl. Remember that." He said and I knew that it's the last time I might see him. "I love you too, dad." I took his hand in mine. He let do of my hand and took a look at what's happening above this table. I wish we could stay here forever, like this. I can't lose him. I just can't. 

"NOW!" He shouted and I started running, he started running after me. I felt a little relieved and started running faster, more confident. We are going to make it out of here. We both will survive and-. A scream made me stop in my place and I think my heart fell on the floor at the same moment. I know that my father told me not to look back but I couldn't.

"DAD!" I screamed and ran back to him and dropped on my knees with tears filling my eyes, blurring my vision. "Dad. Dad." I started checking him, I am doctor! I should do something! I can save him! I save tenth of people everyday, I can save my father too. "You are going to be fine, dad. We are going to survive. We are-" 

"Go, Joanna. Run. Ru-" Then he coughed the last time and left the "n" hanging in the air. The shouting of men and bullets brought me back to reality. I looked the last time at my father's body, closed his eyes for the last time and ran away.

I waited hidden for a couple of days until things slowed down and took my father's body to bury him in his hometown and stayed there. I worked at a hospital at Montana and stayed with my cousin, Nimma. She was more than a friend to me and the only family left. Her parents also died and left her the house and a bakery. I didn't tell her any details about my father's death and no one knows my past and even if they searched they can't find except what I want them to know. After my father's death and what I knew about him from this USB I deleted anything or record about his dark side and faked his death report. He is just a normal business man who died because of a false gun shot as he was cleaning his gun. Only me, my dad and his partners who know the truth. However with changing everything, I left my name. I wanted them to find me, easier than me finding them. Because the day we meet, the day I know their faces rather than just names said in a video or on papers, will be the day I can actually grief my father. It will be the day I can let my father rest in peace and other families live peacefully or let the people they lost also rest in peace. In other words, I made it my mission to end this or at least a part of this darkness. 

"From earth to Joanna!" Nimma is now standing in front of me waving at me, taking me back to reality. 

"Yes, Nimma! Fine, fine. I am leaving now." I started getting up from the ground. "Until I see you again, daddy." I said to my father's grave and me and Nimma started walking back to the car. My eyes didn't leave the grave until I can no longer see it. I looked back the road in front of me and rested my head back. Nimma looked at me. "You okay?" She asked. "Yeas, yeah. Just tired of waiting." I replied. "Only 30 mins. till home. Don't worry, won't wait to much in the car." She said. Everytime I am tired of waiting at home after visiting my dad as I always want to sleep or stay alone. But this time I meant another type of waiting.