As I’m watching the Middle East conflict, I keep thinking of a quote I read once: “A mark is thrown into a make-believe world which only resembles reality.”
When someone is marked for death by another person or organisation, they start living in a controlled environment in which everything they do and every word they speak is without lasting consequence, until their sudden death is brought about. The target generally doesn’t know he’s been marked for death, so it never occurs to him to make a fuss or to run for his life.