Free The Heart of an Assassin by Tony Bertot Page A

strength.
    Raised by his uncle, who took him in after
his mother died, Tyler learned quickly to adapt. His uncle George,
a police officer, was very kind and had opened his home and heart
to him.
    Shortly after taking him in, his uncle took
him upstate to an open field, where he made a makeshift dummy, gave
Tyler his gun, and ordered him to empty the chamber at the dummy.
At first, Tyler hesitated, looking at his uncle, shouting that this
would not bring back his mother. “Yeah, you’re right, but you can’t
kill the bastards that killed her. Shoot the damn dummy!” his uncle
ordered. Tyler, with tears in his eyes, shot at the dummy. Every
time he ran out of bullets, his uncle would take the gun, reload
it, and give it back to him. After a short time, Tyler was
reloading the gun by himself and putting holes all over the dummy.
This went on for almost two hours. When the bullets finally ran
out, his uncle took him in his arms, and they both cried
openly.
    His uncle loved Tyler’s mother. He looked
into Tyler’s eyes and asked his forgiveness for not finding who did
this and apologized for not protecting them. Tyler realized that
his uncle felt that it had been his fault and that he should have
prevented it somehow.
    “Tyler,” he remarked, “we need to go on. Your
mother will always be in your heart, and you must never dishonor
her memory by taking out any revenge, or seeking to hurt others for
what has happened.” Tyler watched his uncle as tears ran down his
eyes. Tyler realized in that instant that this man was hurting as
much as he was, and that he too lost someone dear to him. They
forgave each other and moved on. From that day forward, they never
spoke of it again.
    Tyler was far wiser because of this man. He
became the son his uncle never had. He excelled in school and
became a straight A student, continuing to excel all the way
through high school and then later on in the police academy.
    He remembered when he graduated from high
school, both his aunt and uncle took him out to a nice dinner. Over
the years, they became very close; their love was very strong. When
his uncle kidded him about finally earning his keep, Tyler smiled
back and stated, “C’mon can’t you take care of me for a few years
more?”
    “What you mean, boy?” his uncle barked at
him.
    “Well, how am I going to enroll in the police
academy if I don’t have someone to take care of me?” Tyler
responded.
    His uncle stared at his nephew, tears
swelling up in his eyes. “What are you saying?” he asked.
    “I have been accepted and will attend the
police academy. Just call me rookie!” Then he smiled.
    His uncle could not contain himself and
started to cry. Then gathering some composure, he rose from his
chair, excused himself, and walked to the men’s room. His aunt,
with tears in her eyes, placed a warm hand on her nephew’s cheek.
“Oh, Tyler, are you sure?”
    “Yes, Mom,” he said.
    When George returned, Tyler commented, “Dad,
you’re making a spectacle of yourself!”
    His uncle sat back down and looked up at him.
“I hope you are not doing this for me. You know I don’t want you to
do something you may later regret. You know,” his uncle went on,
“we are very proud of you, and we don’t want you to waste your life
walking the beat and putting your life on the line.”
    “Dad, I don’t plan to walk the beat. I plan
to be the best damn detective you ever saw. My goal is to be your
boss so I can fire your butt,” Tyler responded.
    They both stared at each other and started to
laugh out loud. His aunt quickly shushed them, ordering them to
behave. They both stared at each other. Their love was
unquestionable, and Tyler called him dad.
    “Hey, Tyler, snap out of it,” his partner,
Eric, shouted.
    Tyler was now a detective with the
Twenty-Fifth Precinct out of upper Manhattan. Though Eric and Tyler
had been partners for over a year, Eric knew very little about
him.
    “What’s going on?” Eric asked.
    “Uh,