pharseer

I have a story with a government assassin who wants to leave the biz. However, this isn't the kind of position you just resign from, and faking his death and going to live an anonymous life in Belize or wherever is not an option.

How can I get him out of it without destroying his whole life? Any advice?

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That which could hunger, could starve. - Octavia Butler

Shaun1138

if a government assassin quits, they are usually paid alot of money to disappear for good...this can cause problems due to certain powerfully influential organisations who can afford to pay him/her double to stay.

if a government assassin accepts the payment from said government and disappears, said government still keep tabs on him/her for a number of years...if he/she leaks any information that could be linked to said governernment..then said government will put up an order to have him/her killed.



S.

Talia_Brie

Read the Jason Bourne books.

You can't stop being an assassin, but I suppose you can stop looking for new assignments. But eventually someone is going to decide you're still either (a) a threat or (b) an asset.

Besides, a book about someone stopping being an assassin would be boring if there wasn't some conflict. Your assassin will have to fight their way out of the organisation, convincing his employers he's too much trouble to pursue.

It is an attractive concept, and I think a lot of us have thought about doing it, but Ludlum did it first, and exceptionally well. Keep that in mind.

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Spudley

This reminds me of the movie Grosse Point Blank. Similar sort of theme.

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pharseer

I know its somewhat similar to GPB, or Ludlum...except here I want to find a way to keep his life intact. In GPB, Martin Blank was an independent contractor...there wasn't anyone looking over his shoulder. In the Bourne books, he had to give up his whole life--not that there was much of one. This guy...he has a fiancee, he has friends and a life for the first time ever and I don't want to take that away from him.

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That which could hunger, could starve. - Octavia Butler

daniela

It seems to me that there are two basic ways to keep your character's life intact.

1. Blackmail - The assassin gets some sort of information on his former bosses and tries to extort them into leaving him alone. From here, you can come up with many results.

2. Old Fashioned Blood Bath - The main character kills everyone before his bosses can get to him. He will be a horrible monster, but the assassin should have a relatively normal life, aside from having to look over his shoulder for revenge seekers.


This type of novel is not my cup of tea (but I do watch movies), so I may have rehashed about half of the "assassin-wants-out" plots already in print without even knowing it. If you can find a balance between the two options with an interesting twist thrown in (e.g. the fiancée has been living a double life and works for the government too), you should be able to write something different from all of the other books out there. I hope this was of some help. Feel free to beat me over the head if I am just going over stuff that you have already considered.

--DM--

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pharseer

I do try and keep my beatings to a minimum; my arms do get dreadfully tired.

I did consider/am considering both these options (the fiancee doesn't have a double life, but she has issues and connections of her own), but it never hurts to have someone else validate your own thoughts. Thanks, Daniela.

__________________
That which could hunger, could starve. - Octavia Butler