"Versa Vice Sensus?" Lincoln pondered with his head cocked to the side. "What's that? What are you talking about?"

"It's where I work," Michelle took a seat on their king sized bed and clasped her hands together.

"What do you mean it's where you work?"

"It's why I'm gone all time," the brunette admitted with a sigh. "At night, it's my job, it's what I do."

"I've never heard of that place," he said in a hushed tone.

"I know, no one has, except for the people involved."

"I don't understand, what is it that you do and why have you been keeping it from me?"

"You wouldn't believe me," Michelle chuckled. "You really wouldn't."

"Given everything that's happened over the last few days, yeah, I would. Just tell me."

Michelle ran her hands down her face before she spoke, "Do you remember a couple years ago, there was a woman from this town on the news? Her three young kids suddenly stopped showing up to school and the neighbors hadn't seen them or her in weeks. The cops went to check it out and found all of the kids dead, none of them were above the age of ten. Do you remember?"

"Yeah," Lincoln sat next to Michelle, "It was horrific, I don't think anyone could forget that. The woman was found dead too...she killed herself after she killed them. No one knew why she did any of it."

"I did," she uttered. "I do."

Lincoln furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I was assigned that case," the brunette explained, "I was assigned by Versa Vice Sensus, the agency that I work for. They found out that she was abusing her kids, hurting them, so...they sent me in," she reflected. She recalled the events as if they just occurred yesterday, "Only it was too late." Michelle turned to her husband. "The kids were already dead. The mother drowned them in the fucking bathtub, the tub that she used to bathe them in for God's sake. One by one, she just threw them in, held them down, and killed them. You remember?"

"...Yeah. I remember, but-."

"I was sent to kill her, the mother, for what she was doing, you know, abusing them. I was supposed to kill her and end it before she could hurt them anymore. But, they were already gone. To this day the sight of their soaked corpses are still burned into my memory," she scoffed. "I found her upstairs, that woman, she was taking a damn smoke. She was so...nonchalant as if she didn't just murder her own children. You know, after she killed them she just put them back into their beds as if nothing happened, as if they were still alive. She was psychotic, she didn't give a shit...but neither did I. You're right, when the police found her she was dead. But, she sure as hell didn't kill herself."

Lincoln's mouth opened slightly and Michelle could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"I walked up to her, held a gun to her head and God, I wanted to blow her brains out, I just..." she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "But, I didn't because that wasn't the way it was supposed to be done. So, instead I led her to the bathtub, It was still filled with water, the same water that her kids drowned in, and I made her get inside."

Lincoln leaned forward, he was sick to his stomach yet so intrigued, the anticipation got the best of him. Michelle's words slithered out of her mouth in a tortuously slow fashion and he almost felt like he would explode.

"Then," she continued, "once she was nice and settled, I took the stereo that sat on the counter and I threw it in."

Her husband continued to stare at her in awe, his mouth remaining agape.

"I stood there as she shrieked like a banshee, and foamed at the mouth like a rabid dog. I watched until she was gone. My only regret was that I didn't do it sooner. The police found her, they found the kids and put two and two together and figured that she killed them, then killed herself. They thought that because I made it look like that, I did my job."

"You...you killed her?" Lincoln finally gathered the words to speak. "It was you?"

"Yes," she nodded, "That's what I do. I work for an agency that kills criminals, some of which the public knows about and others that people aren't aware of. You name it, we do it. We make it look like an accident so that it can't be linked back to us."

"And it's called what again?"

"Versa Vice Sensus," she reiterated. "It's Latin for altered perception. I didn't come up with it, but it's kinda clever if you think about it. It's everyday people that turn into assassins the second that night hits," she chuckled. "It sounds like something straight out of a comic book or something."

"Are you serious?" the man whispered.

"Very."

"I don't believe this," he stood to his feet and rested his hands on his hips before pacing around in a quick manner.

"Well, you wanted to know, so, here it is. It's sad, it's ugly, but it's real. It's the truth. And this job, it's why we lost our baby."

Lincoln stopped pacing once he heard Michelle's words, his interest peaked infinitely. "What? W-w-w-what do you mean, what are you talking about? This happened when you were doing this, this thing that you do?"

"They're called retributions," Michelle interrupted.

"When you were trying to kill someone they beat you up?" he demanded.

"Yeah, kinda. The agency, they tricked me, they sent me to do an assignment, kill the guy, but it turned out to be bullshit. They found out that I was pregnant and they knew that I couldn't continue doing my job while I was carrying a child, it would hinder my work. So...they killed our baby," she whispered. "The only reason they didn't kill me too was because they saw me as a decent worker, a valuable asset, they didn't want to lose me. They don't know that they already have."

"That's why you didn't want to have a baby," he uttered in realization. "But, wait, this whole time you didn't want to be pregnant, you didn't want a kid but that's what you said even when we were dating, even when we first met. Was it because of this? Because of this job?"

"...Yeah."

"But, that means it's been-."

"Ten years," she finished. "I know."

"This is what you've been doing for the entirety of our marriage? Killing these people?"

"If you'd seen half of what I have, you wouldn't call them people...they're monsters," Michelle asserted.

"You kill them?"

She simply nodded her head.

"Michelle, that's...it's sick," he ran his hands through his dreads while he spoke, "it's disgusting, it's illegal."

"It is."

"How do you have the stomach, the strength, the mental capacity to do such a thing?"

"I wish I could say that it doesn't get any easier because that seems like the sane thing to say, but, honestly, it does. It's right, it's something that needs to be done."

"And how do you figure that?" he scoffed. "You're murdering people. Who made you judge and jury? Who made you God?"

Michelle's eyes flashed to her husband's. "This agency was created because there were too many people in jail, everyday they become even more overcrowded and not to mention the people that get away, the people that slip through the fingers of the law because of the incompetence of the American justice system. Something had to be done, this was their solution, and this way...justice is actually served. You don't have to be God to see that."

Lincoln was at a loss for words, Michelle took his silence as permission to continue.

"This is why I always go to the law firm, it's the headquarters for this state. We have meetings, they have information on criminals and we take out the ones that need to be take out while the district attorney makes sure the rest are prosecuted."

"Wait, what do you mean the headquarters for this state?" he pondered. "There's others?"

"Yeah, there's a lot more. Each state has at least a hundred or so people working for them, and a boss, an overseer that governs the agency from their state. And there's a handful of people that oversee the entire agency, but I've never met them. It's all discrete, no one knows everyone that's a part of it, that way if they decide that they need to take us out then we'll never see it coming."

"This is insane," Lincoln muttered in awe. "Why, why would you do this? Why would you choose to be a part of this?"

"I didn't."

"What?" he uttered.

"You were right. My mother didn't make any investments. I get sixty grand a year for this job, they don't take out taxes or anything, it's all under the table. I first got in when I was twenty two, after my mother was killed. Like I've always said, it was a hit and run. She was buying groceries one night and on her way back to her car she got ran over. It was late so there were no witnesses, the surveillance camera didn't catch shit. No one knew who did it. So...I scoped out the convenience store where it happened, I went there every night around the same time that my mother was hit. I did it for about two weeks to see who frequented the place and every night there was one constant. There was this guy, he was my age at the time, every night he'd go there at the same time to buy beer. He drove like a bat outta hell. Anyway, I followed him back to his apartment so I'd know where he lived. Then, I got a job at the convenient store, noted what kind of alcohol that he bought, then I took it off the shelves."

"That way he had to request it," Lincoln interrupted.

"Yep. One night he came in just before my shift ended and he went looking for his drink. So...I gave it to him, only it was spiked with LSD. He paid for it and went home, I followed him. I spied on him from outside of his apartment building and I watched him drink. Luckily, he had a bad trip. He hallucinated and eventually jumped out of the window. He lived on the seventh story, so, yeah, he died instantly. The police investigated it, found traces of LSD in his bloodstream and figured he was just a dumb kid that did drugs and drank too much. They ruled it an accidental death. It made the paper, got more recognition than my mother's hit and run. Pretty soon, no one gave a shit about her case, or so I thought. Apparently, Versa Vice Sensus knew what he did, they were tracking him just like I was," she chuckled. "But, I got to him first...and they found out. They were impressed."

"They recruited you."

"More like gave me an ultimatum, either I work for them or they make sure the cops find out what I did. I sure as hell wasn't going to jail for getting justice," Michelle stated adamantly. "So, I took the job, and I've been working for them ever since."

"So, you knew who killed your mother all along?" Lincoln queried.

"Yeah, I knew."

"So, what, you just used the excuse that you were working on your mother's case as like a cover up or something?"

"I had to have a reason for going there," she explained. "I couldn't let anyone be suspicious of me."

"You've been working for these people all of these years and suddenly they just hurt you like this? They kill our baby?"

"They're relentless, ruthless savages. They do whatever they deem necessary and that was something they deemed necessary," she replied.

"I can't believe you work for them, I can't believe you do this, I can't believe you didn't tell me."

Michelle immediately looked away once she saw the hurt that flashed in her husband's eyes. "I couldn't tell anyone.That was the only way I could protect you, it was the only chance I had. I was doing this even before we got together and when we met, I tried so hard to push you away but...I couldn't. I married you for Christ's sake! That was my own fault, I didn't make you leave, and I wish that I did because now," she took slammed her eyes shut as her voice broke, "I can't protect you and I don't know what's gonna happen and I'm scared that they're gonna kill you too."

"They're not gonna kill me," Lincoln knelt down between her legs and looked up towards her. "And they sure as hell aren't gonna kill you. I won't let them."

The brunette scoffed through her tears, "Lincoln you're not gonna have a choice. Once they make a decision you can't stop them. If they could be stopped don't you think I would've stopped them from killing our child? If I could've, I would've."

Lincoln opened his mouth to speak but Michelle cut him off, "I'm gonna do everything in my power to prevent them from hurting you. I have some things in the works that I'm trying to do to so that I can get outta this life. But, it's never been done, no gets out and lives but, I have to try. There is a way out and I think I found it, but...there's no guarantee. I'll either get out or die trying," she laughed bitterly. "I only told you all of this because, after what happened it became apparent to me that what I was doing wasn't enough. I'll never stop trying to protect you or us and what we have but, I don't think that I can keep you safe. If I screw up one more time the next person they're gonna go after is you and I can't let that happen."

"Michelle."

"What I need you to do is to get your stuff and go," Michelle declared adamantly.

Lincoln contorted his face in confusion, "No."

"I need you to get everything and just disappear. Don't tell anyone, empty the bank accounts, take the money and go. I'll be fine, I always have money stashed away just in case."

"Michelle."

"Lincoln, I'm not asking you. You have to leave. Go somewhere else, somewhere far away, go west, go to California. As long as I'm still here and doing my job they won't look for you. It's okay."

"Michelle, I'm not leaving you," Lincoln blurted.

"It'll just be for a little bit. Just until I can get everything together. I think I have a plan but it'll take a while. I have to do it right. More people have to die, the right people. This town...it's gonna get bloody, it's gonna get bad and I don't want you around for that. I can't just pick up and leave, I have to keep working for them, I can't let them know that I'm up to something. But, you can. You can leave and that's exactly what you're gonna do."

"There is no way in hell I'm abandoning my wife," he said through clenched teeth. "I'm not leaving you with them. With the people that murdered our child. They don't get to do this. You don't get to do this."

"Lincoln, I want you be free, and you staying here in all of this, that's not you being free. It'll be okay, I promise, I'll find you after. This isn't over, us being together, it's not over. We'll be together again. We will," she pressed her forehead to her husband's as she attempted to maintain her composure. As much as she wanted to believe her own words, she knew that that was a promise that she simply couldn't make. She knew that there was a very slim chance that'd she'd be able to make it out, that her husband would be okay, that they'd be together again, but she had no choice. It was their only chance and she had to try. "This isn't goodbye, it's...I'll see you later," she soothed.

Lincoln swallowed the lump in his throat and let his eyes meet Michelle's, "After almost ten years of marriage, you still don't know me," he smiled sadly, "I don't care what you say, I don't care what they do, I'm not leaving you. The only way I'll be free is if you're right there with me."

"...Lincoln," she pursed her lips.

"Whatever has to be done, whoever has to be taken out, so that we can live, I'll do it. We'll do it."

"We?" Michelle spoke just above a whisper.

Lincoln took her hands in his own and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Us."

So, I hope I made everything pretty clear in this chapter in terms of giving an explanation to mostly everything. This is really gonna take Michelle and Lincoln to a whole new chapter of their lives. Please, let me know what you think and if you're enjoying the story so far. Thanks for reading and don't forget to hit that vote button. 🤗