Dallas Breeze

An late morning meeting with destiny

He blinked in response, speechless. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air of the apartment, the dust particles in the morning light being the only indication that time was indeed still going. Life returned to his body and he shook his head, suddenly animated again as he began pacing back and forth between the open kitchen and the brown themed living room.

"No, no, no, no, no," he said, his tone winding down in his repetition before rising back up in volume as he continued, "Say that again! Say that again! Are you serious!?"

I was relaxing in a large recliner chair by the window, my morning coffee gently wafting steam on the table next to me. I was determined to stay professional as always, even if this soldier was going to lose his mind. With the stakes at hand in my profession, you couldn't afford to lose your cool. Stuff like that gets people killed. To me, this was going to be just another job. That's how I get by. Or at least try to.

"You heard me," I replied, leaning forward and grabbing my coffee for a brief sip, "We're going to have to do it and I need your help."

The man went by the name "Leon". I knew who he really was. Former military. Still in his youth but he had a great off-the-record history. I could understand his apprehension to something like this. I have to admit, it would go down in history around the world and that did make things a little....tense, but it had to be done. That and I knew this was an act. Part of his training from the Agency. Leon went back to repeating himself again, shaking his hands at me in refusal.

"No, no, no, no, no! There is NO way I can be part of this! You're not talking just death penalty stuff, man! This is like, history defining stuff! Our great grandchildren will still be hated for this! Plus, you can't just ki-....Why me!?"

"We have to," I said deliberately, locking eyes with him, "I know about your history."

He froze, a brief flicker of real uncertainty showing in his eyes. I continued.

"It's honorable, the double work you've done for the Agency. Those outside the black list really believe you to be a traitor. I've seen the files though. You did good during Operation Doublehand. The boys up top think you'd be the perfect drop for this."

His eyes widened and he dropped the facade.

"So you are real," he said calmly, a deep depressed tone sinking in, "Tell me there's another way...I don't care about myself but we can't do this. He's a good man..."

I shook my head, looking out the window as the crowds began to line the street.

"I know he is," I admitted, "But there are several other groups who are planning their own. If we don't beat them to it with this and they pull it off, it could set off the last war we will ever see and the end of humanity."

I turned back, took a deep breath before looking back to him.

"I don't get it," he fumed, clenching his fists in anger, "If we know who it is, why are we not taking them out!"

I searched for the right words for a moment, the silence slowly fading into the faint sounds of the band. Time was drawing close.

"We think....there may be traitors within the organization. Even our own experts can't tell who might be on the other side, but we decided if we act first and take away their chance, it will give us the edge when their plans fall out in the open."

The band's music was drawing closer, coming in clearly from the window on the opposite corner of the room.

"We have to hurry," I added, "The first of their attempts is this morning. If we take out their gunman, they'll scatter like rats and our leads will go cold."

Leon swallowed, fear bleeding into his face.

"So...am I supposed to take the fall?"

I nodded.

"Yeah...if it's an internal attack, there's no one to go after for blood. Externally...."

I trailed off intentionally and waited for him to fill the silence. He appeared to be searching internally and after a long moment, he closed his eyes.

".....I'll do it," he said, as if a broken man, before adding with emphasis, "But I won't take the shot."

I realized I had still been holding my coffee and now set it back down, getting to my feet with a small stretch.

"Alright then. He'll be here soon then."

We were now at eye level and Leon stared me down, his eyes asking what he could not.

"It'll be okay," I said, patting him on the back as I moved past him to the open window, "I give you my word that I'll personally take care of every REAL traitor we find in the aftermath."

I glanced back with a coy look and he laughed softly.

"Alright then. What do I do?"

"Just stand there," I said, opening a case beneath the window, retrieving a large sniper rifle and setting its bipod mount on the window sill for stability, "When it finally comes down to it, say whatever you like. You don't have to take the guilt or anything. We'll get them either way."

The motorcade was finally in view and I steadied my breathing, lowering myself to the scope. A quick survey and I found my "rival" across the park nearby, set up in his own station. It was so tempting to take him now but I had to stick to my contract. My crosshairs on him as he waited for his shot, he had no idea I held his life in my hands. I instead drifted my aim back to the road.

"Alright," I said very deliberately as I finally found the target, "I hope you're ready my friend..."

There was no response from Leon. The target was a smiling man, sitting next to his wife in the back of an open car, one of the many vehicles in the concession. Time seemed to slow as I began to apply pressure to the trigger. I knew any moment my "rival" would be taking his chance too. For the first and only time in my life, I was conflicted on my actions. This would truly change the course of history.

But it had to be done.

"Time to run, Harvey," I said, just loud enough to be heard.

With that I pulled the trigger.

And shot the President of the United States.

Author's Note

I doubt this even counts as close to Historical Fiction because I did zero research on the actual details of the Assassination of JFK but reading about it and conspiracy theories made me have this idea for a kinda "what if". Like I said, not accurate, plus I know people will come at me with pitchforks for implying a killer wasn't a bad guy. There are a few subtle easter eggs I guess but this is more an alternate reality kinda thing, I guess. Cut me some slack, okay? Let me know what you think.