Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up,
it unlocks many cool features!
- I knew one thing, though. Well, two.
- First—I had to find out where Wilkins, Helen, Ashton, and his party flew. I had a score to settle with the Colonel.
- And second—I wasn’t going to take any more oxycodone.
- I needed to be at my best.
- ...
- As he took the elevator to the lobby, checked out, and rode a taxi to Larnaca Airport, he realized he hadn’t experienced any painkiller side effects since he awoke that morning.
- Perhaps he was superhuman after all.
- ...
- After an awkward pause, 47 announced, “I have news.”
- “Do tell.”
- “I quit the pills. I’m going cold turkey.”
- “Really? Oh, Stan! That’s wonderful!” Then she realized he looked as well as ever. “How … how do you feel?”
- “Not bad. The first couple of days were pretty awful.” He shrugged. “Now I’m fine.”
- “But how can that be? My God, Stan, it took me weeks to get through withdrawal. You can’t kick the pills in three days. It’s impossible.” She shook her head. “I’m afraid you still have more to go through. It’s not that easy.”
- “I guess my metabolism is different. I don’t know.”
- “Stan, I had to go to a rehab clinic for two months. I thought I was well, and as soon as I was out, I started using again. That’s when I tried to—you know.” He didn’t say anything, so she continued. “I went to a different clinic and they made me go cold turkey. It was a nightmare, Stan. If there’s a hell, then that was it. I’ve been to hell and back. I still have trouble. There are moments when I crave it. I’ll never be completely cured. I don’t see how you can possibly be all right.”
- He didn’t answer.
- “You’re not lying to me about quitting, are you? Just telling me what I want to hear?”
- “No, I’m not lying about that.”
- At least that was true.
- ...
- He thought about the painkillers and how easy it had been to quit them after all. It was the genetic engineering that had done the work. What most addicts endured for weeks and months took only two or three days. No more shakes, headaches, or bad dreams. Actually, that wasn’t quite the truth. 47 still had vivid dreams in which Death appeared. The hitman was no closer to discovering who the Faceless One was, but he would find out soon. He knew it.
- - Hitman: Damnation, chapters 23, 28 and 29
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment