Shots rang out beside Alexa as the innocent bystanders
occupying the platform all screamed and ran for cover. Removing her weapon, she
pulled from around the corner and began firing wildly in the men’s direction,
watching as they scattered behind stationary objects themselves. Gradually she
walked backwards, down toward the next column, placing her back against it as
a black suit stood up on the left side of the stairwell.
He shot rapidly toward her, knocking bits of cement and
plaster from the wall onto her head as she ducked for cover. From what she
could see, the man was using a Ruger SR9B Semi-Automatic pistol. It had a 17-round
magazine capability and he’d already fired at her 12 times. Alexa counted the
next five shots, held her breath and jumped up returning five of her own, being
sure to stop before her gun clicked.
She couldn’t risk the men hearing her empty out a magazine for
fear they would descend upon her location quicker. Alexa checked the load on
her Glock, which held 15 rounds now down to 5, counted down from 10 and
unloaded again as she slowly inched down the platform toward the tunnel.
Another gunman popped up and returned fire in her direction
and she quickly threw herself into the doorway of the men’s bathroom. She used
the opportunity to reload her weapon, using the sound of the exploding rounds
to conceal the click of the cartridge. Silence soon engulfed the room as
moments ticked away. It felt like an eternity before she was up again,
exchanging rounds with another of the men across the passageway.
She heard him groan before exhaling loudly and a thud soon
followed. “You fucking bitch!” Another scream. Then a flurry of bullets fired
off from what sounded like a Mac 11 submachine gun. Alexa cussed under her breath.
Unlike before, she couldn’t count the number of rounds used since the Mac had an
ammunition box of 32 and a rate of fire around 1200 rounds per minute.
But Alexa remained still, biding her time. She retrieved her
personal weapon, a .357 magnum from the bag she carried. It had a specially
modified spring that allowed the cartridge to hold 11 rounds instead of the
normal 9. When the screaming stopped and the bullets were no longer flying, she
stood, looking her remaining attackers in the eyes. Taking a deep breath, she
charged for them, aiming carefully as she began firing.
Time moved slower as she felt the heat of their bullets whiz
past her head, barely missing their targets. She leaned back, dropping to her
knees gliding forward, watching as each of her rounds hit their marks and the
last three men fell one-by-one.
Pulling herself from the floor, Alexa took in the carnage.
The family of four was hiding behind a pillar. The schoolgirls were huddled in
the corner beside the bench while the man of the loving couple hovered over his
girlfriend protectively. And the businessman was near the turnstile, using his
briefcase as a makeshift helmet.
Alexa turned toward the man asking for handouts earlier and chortled as she started toward him. “Well now. That was a miraculous recovery,” she snarled at the man cowering in the corner. His blanket and sign lay beside him and the wheelchair he’d used earlier was overturned near the wall. With a smile, Alexa bent down and scooped up the bills she’d tossed into the Bakerboy cap, snapped quick shots of the gunmen’s faces and quickly scurried toward the exit.
Alexa hastily ran back toward Kasper’s hotel, taking the stairs to the building two at a time. She impatiently knocked on his door until he answered, wide-eyed and out of breath. “A? Wha—” Alexa shoved herself past him and slammed the door shut. “What’s going on? Why are you back here?”
“We’ve been made.”
“What? How?”
“I don’t know, K. Maybe that breach in your program. All I know is I was just nearly murdered on the subway platform. Three hired thugs and some wanna-be mob boss in a tailored Italian suit just made the train station their version of showdown at the O.K. corral.”
“Jesus! Are you hurt?” he asked, frantically pawing at her, checking for injuries.
“No, I’m fine,” she sighed, pulling away and anxiously rubbing her hand over her arms. “But I don’t know for how long. K, is there any way for you to pull the footage from the cameras down there? My face…everything is on those tapes and if the police…”
“I’m on it.” He sat down behind the desk, turning the volume up on his police scanner as his fingers diligently went to work.
Wilson Avenue Express station, all available units in the area please respond to multiple shots fired on lower-level platform. Fleeing suspect described as a white female, 25-30 years of age, dressed in dark colored blouse and black skirt. No associated vehicle.
“Great! Police have my description now.”
“No, they have a description of a generic white female; change your clothes and you’ll be fine. The witnesses were all hiding to save themselves; there’s no way they got an accurate look at you. Their description of you is worthless,” Kasper replied as he destroyed another angle of the crime scene. “And now,” he smiled, hitting the delete key one last time, “There is no video evidence to support their claim.”
“Kasper, you’re a genius, thank you!”
“It was nothing,” he smirked at her. Alexa’s face became
solemn and he stood and started toward her. “It’s gonna be fine, A.”
“No, Kasper, it’s not. We need to get out of here. The
client has obviously hired someone to take out the competition and there’s no
telling how many more he or she will send.”
“Wait, ok? How do you know for sure it was the client?”
“Who else could it have been? You show up here telling me that you’ve had a security breach and my identity as Hannah Taylor as well as this mission was compromised and the very next day I get shot at? It’s not a major leap to who ordered the hit, K.”
“But what if it was someone else? Someone from a past
mission that you may have angered. I mean it’s not outside the realm of
possibilities that someone else could have been looking for you this whole time
as well.”
“Either way, we need to leave. I won’t endanger you any more
than I already have,” she argued, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Can I
borrow a change of clothes?”
“Yeah sure, A, anything you need.” Alexa redressed and
quietly slipped out of Kasper’s room after imploring him to pack up and vacate.
Hailing a taxi, she started toward her apartment, intending to take her own
advice and skip town. And as she approached, she noticed Gavin exiting toward his bike.
“Gavin!” Alexa shouted as she approached from the corner.
“Hannah, hey, why are you dressed like? Wait…whose clothes
are you wearing?” he asked, turning toward her with a smile that quickly faded
seeing the extreme anxiety on her face. “Are you ok?” he asked, pulling her
into his arms.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just had a little run in with um…” she
paused, nibbling on her bottom lip as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
“Gavin, there’s something I need to tell you but I don’t know how well you’re
going to take it.”
“O…k. Are you dying?”
“What? No.”
“Were you really born a man?”
“What? Of course not, why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know, too much reality TV,” he shrugged and held her tighter. “Just
getting the bigger shocks out of the way I guess.”
“Well, compared to what I have to say, being born a man
would seem more like a blessing.”
“Alright, now I’m officially worried. What’s going on,
Hannah?”
“That’s just it. I’m not…”
“Hannah!” Alexa heard her alias being shouted behind her and
turned to see Kasper standing near the light pole on the curb. “Hey,” he
grinned as he rushed toward her, pulling her into a gentle hug while taking in
Gavin’s confused expression. “I thought that was you! Long time no see. How are
you?”
“I’m fine, B-Brian,” she looked nervously between Gavin and
Kasper. “Uh, Gavin could you excuse me for a moment please?” Alexa didn’t wait
on a response before gripping Kasper’s arm and yanking him a good distance away
from Gavin. “You followed me? What the hell are you doing here, K?”
“Stopping you from doing something incredibly stupid that
might get us both killed. Alex…Hannah, you don’t know him. Hell, barely four months
ago he was the mark for this job and now you’re willing to bare your soul to
him in a tell-all confession? He could be our client.”
“What?”
“Think about it. The secrets of the SA’s affairs are not
public knowledge. Those pictures were intimate, as if someone close to him knew
where he would be and when and was not afraid of being seen; someone like his son.”
Kasper nodded in Gavin’s direction, emphasizing his point. “He could very
easily already know about everything and you revealing yourself to him will
only leave us exposed.”
“What do you want me to do, K? I was shot at, targeted by
someone working for whomever and nearly killed on that subway platform earlier.
I need, no, we need to get to the
bottom of what is going on before one of us ends up dead.”
“And how is divulging secrets to your…lover gonna do that exactly?”
“I don’t know! I’ve never been in this situation before, ok?
I’m just making this up as I go along. Do you have a better plan?”
“Yes. We continue the mission as planned until we’re sure of
the identity of your attackers. I have my facial recognition software going.
It’s tapped into the NSA, CIA, local PDs and FBI. We’ll come up with something
soon, I promise.”
“And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime, we go on as scheduled. You continue being
Hannah Taylor, attorney-at-law and I’ll keep being K, the quirky, yet lovable
computer nerd.” He smiled and crossed his arms into his chest. “Don’t jump
ship. Not yet. Please? Just trust me. Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course. But if things get hairy again…”
“We’ll both pull the plug and run.”
“Ok.”
“Good. Right now, I need you to find a way to get into the Stark’s mansion. Get them to trust you so we can be ready to make our move.”
“Fine.” Alexa sighed, glancing over her shoulder at Gavin
anxiously waiting on her. “Now what am I gonna tell him? I made him think the
news was huge.”
“I don’t know. Tell him you wanna break up or something.”
“K!”
“I’m kidding,” he smiled stiffly, hiding the truth behind
his statement with a small laugh. “Tell him your classic car was stolen. Tell
him your aunt died and you’re going away for a while to take care of personal
matters. Tell him anything but the truth. I’ll catch up with you later, ok?”
Kasper waved briefly at Alexa as he backed down the street and she turned with
a smile for Gavin.
“Who was that?”
“Brian, he’s an old friend from college. Small world.”
“Yeah…I guess,” he replied hesitantly. “So, what’s this big
news?”
“The what?”
“This urgent thing you had to tell me that makes you being
born a man a blessing.”
“Oh that! Um, I need to uh, go away…for a while,” she
started, retelling the lie K spouted off. “My ex…my ex-fiancé is in town. The
last time I saw him he was being placed in the back of a patrol car and getting
carted off to prison for murder. He’s tracked me here and I need to leave town
before he finds me again.”
“Whoa what? Hannah, you…I’m sorry what? You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.”
“Whoa, ok, can we rewind, please? What…how do you know he’s even
here? St. Claire’s a big place.”
“A Detective Houser called me this morning on my way to
work; it’s why I kind of skipped out…forgot to call in. I’ve been sort of
wandering; trying to catch my breath. He’s out on parole and as part of his
parole he has to wear an ankle monitor so the courts know his whereabouts at
all time. Well, he sort of removed the anklet and his last known location is Paradise
Falls, which is only 70 miles from here. And if he’s that desperate, I have to
assume he knows I’m here.”
“So, you’re just gonna leave? Pick up and go, just like
that?”
“I have to. You don’t know him. He’s a very dangerous man. I
took out a restraining order on him and he was ordered to stay away from me.
The next day my dog was lying dead in the bed beside me with a note stabbed
into his eye that said: ‘You’re next’.”
“Jesus.”
“After that I packed up my belongings and skipped town.”
“What about the police? We can, I don’t know, report him
again. My Dad…”
“No. I don’t want to get anyone else involved. I just…I’m
sorry. There’s no other way but to go.” She replied and turned from him. Gavin
grabbed her arm and pulled her back, holding her close as he looked into her
eyes.
“And if you run now, you’ll be running for the rest of your
life, Hannah. Please. Let me help you.”
“You don’t understand. It’s not safe around me, Gavin. I
can’t let something happen to you because of me.”
“And I can’t watch you throw away everything you’ve built
here just because some asshole ex of yours is threatening you. If it’s really
as bad as you say, I can ask Frankie for some time off and come with you. You
shouldn’t be alone.”
“No. I can’t let you do that. You have your whole life
here!”
“So, I should just what? Lie and say that I’m ok with you
leaving? What about us? Remember what I said to you the night of my dad’s
dinner party? Hannah, I’ve never gotten this close to anyone before. I can’t
just let you go, knowing you’re in trouble. What if something happened to you?
Where would I be then?”
“Gavin, what do you want me to say?”
“Say you’ll stay. If you think this jerk knows where you are
you can just stay with me for a while.” He smiled at her, running a thumb
across her temple and sweeping a lock of hair over her ear. “Hmm? What do you
think?”
“That’s really sweet but I couldn’t do that. It’s too close
to my place. He’d probably go knocking on doors.”
“Alright, what about my parents? They have plenty of room and
I’m sure they would be more than happy to help.”
“No! I said I didn’t want to involve anyone else.”
“Then we can—we can tell them something else. Tell them that
the building is being inspected by the city or fumigated and we need a place to
crash for a while. You and me. There is PLENTY of security at their place,
we’ll be safe there, Hannah. Please. Let me do this.” Alexa nodded and Gavin
pulled her into his arms, comforting her in a warm hug. “Thank you,” he sighed
with relief. Alexa smiled inwardly. Her plan had worked. But for all the
trouble she was going through, the $750,000 she was getting was beginning to
look like chump change. “It’ll be ok, I promise.”
“I knew it was a bad idea moving to that side of town,” Joan
chided as Gavin finished explaining the situation to his parents. “No matter
how nice the building looked on the outside, they still built it on property
that had numerous citations from the city. You can stay here for as long as you
need and hopefully this will encourage you to find a different location to call
home.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Stark. I promise I won’t be any
trouble and I’ll be gone before you know it.”
“Nonsense, you’re the first girl Gavin has brought home…ever,”
she replied, giving her son a pointed look. “And I’ve already been impressed by
your work ethic. You can stay for as long as you need. And please, call me
Joan.”
After settling in, Alexa made up an excuse about moving her
car to a new garage in order to slip out of Gavin’s watchful eye. Telling him about
her ex seemed to bring out his dormant superhero gene; he kept trying to ‘save’
her. She made it to Kasper’s new hotel in record time and was listening to him
explain again why he thought it was best to stay. “Here,” he handed her a bag
of about five hearing devices and another full of tiny pieces of plastic and metal
attached to stickers. “These are mini cams. The
holographic sensor is basically an imaging system that ‘sees’ and records
an area within a 90-degree range.”
“I suggest placing one camera on the corners of the most
trafficked areas of the house as well as the office, library or any other room
with activity. Place one bug in the phones and I’ll be able to have eyes and
ears on the place 24/7.”
“Got it.” She tucked the items in her pockets and pulled up
from the bed.
“A, I know it’s probably stupid to say but I feel like I
have to anyway. Be careful. I know you can kick ass and you’re deadly with
weapons but, be on your guard just the same. I’ll sleep better knowing you
are.”
“Of course,” she smiled, thanking him for his concern.
Glancing toward the television, she was greeted with a very familiar face and
paused for a moment. “Hey, turn that up,” she motioned toward the tube and
Kasper hit the volume button on the remote.
I have
been idle for far too long. It was my hopes that in the office of State’s
Attorney I would be able to bring about real change. But I see now that I must
aim higher to transform this community from a place of hatred and fear to one
of compassion and safety.
Today’s
events proved to me just how lax we as law enforcement have been against the
menace in this town. The people of Avondale have suffered in silence at the
hands of the criminals who have made this place their hub of terror.
It has
been this way for long enough and it’s time we do something to take back this city. It’s the beliefs that divisiveness and discord
takes precedence over public achievement or positive creation. And that is why
today I am throwing my hat into the race and announcing my candidacy for
governor.
“Whoa. He’s running for governor?”
“Did anything like that come up when you vetted him?”
“No, not even sponsorship for a bid,” Kasper nodded his head
emphatically as he listened to the anchor continue discussing the possibilities
for Travis’ campaign. “What does this mean exactly?”
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