The Professional cont.

My line of work wasn’t all that unusual but I liked to think that my drive was unique. Most people took jobs because they had no choice. Circumstances forced them into a line of work they would never be able to escape. Other people got a kick out of doing Jobs. The guys who were in it for the thrills never lasted long, though. One way or another they all wind up with an early retirement.

Me, I had never known they were Jobs until someone offered my money. I’d been doing it since I was a kid because I could, because I was good at it. It was just a hobby, like those ships in a bottle, and this guy wanted to pay me for it? Sign me up. People always talked about living the dream, getting paid to do what you love. This was my chance. It sure beat working for a living.

After I did that first Job word got around. Soon I had all kinds of Jobs to do. I did them all with the care of a true craftsman. Before long, I could pick up a sense of when a Job was coming. It was a pulling feeling between my ears, a flood of excitement and desire in my chest. It was what I felt when I slipped that revolver into my pocket.

I left the dumpy little building I slept in the night before and set off down the cold slate sidewalk. The oldest part of town, still with real stone sidewalks and brick streets, it was quiet, perfect for me to listen to the pull of the Job. Little birds hopped in the snow, making funny little footprints. The call was getting stronger.

I wondered who want to hire me this time. It was fun to meet them, these furtive men and women, because they were never what I expected them to be. I never joined an organization; you met more interesting people working freelance. One time a husband and wife each hired me to do what amounted to the same Job for them. I took their money and did what they paid me for. I was a professional.

The Job was up a cobbled walk, in a big white house behind some ancient nut trees. A heavy wooden door stood open, leading into a dim hall. Normally my clients came to me, but I needed the money. I could make a house call.