Chapter 03: Helpless

“A, I just got a report that SWAT is on the way. Apparently, the police are getting calls about a possible hostage situation.”

“Great. Anything else I should know? Like, how the hell do I get out of this room?”

“Where are you?”

“Laundry; lots of machines in here.”

“I can work with that,” he said and she could hear his fingers slamming across his keyboard as he pulled up the hotel’s blueprints. “Ok, head to the west wall and tell me if you can hear fans on the other side.”

Chapter 03: Last Call

 “You keep throwing them back like that you’ll be drunk before he even notices you,” Kasper scoffed in Alexa’s ear.

“Mmm, wrong! I don’t know if you knew this about me, K, but I’m pretty good at holding my liquor. Besides,” she said, downing her third shot and slamming the glass to the counter. “This bitch is watering down these things until you can barely taste the alcohol.” The bartender glanced at Alexa from the corner of her eye causing her to smirk. “Oops. Guess she heard me.”

“Well now you’ll get an extra little something in your drink.”

Chapter 03: Vital Signs

Billowing black smoke curled into the sky as the 60-foot vessel burned. Flames licked up the sides of the ship, growing taller and darker as more fuel fed the blaze. The explosion had rocked the pier, sending Alexa careening backwards and landing hard on the wooden dock. Gavin was nowhere in sight.

“GAVIN!” Alexa yelled, pulling herself from the ground as she frantically looked around the water and shore for him. “GAVIN!”

“No!” she heard Joan gasp behind her as she and her husband rushed toward the end of the pier. “Gavin? Gavin!” The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance as the panicked family continued searching the wreckage for their missing loved one.

Chapter 03: It Pays the Bills

“Good morning, I’m here to meet with Travis Stark,” Alexa smiled kindly at the receptionist after entering the large office building of the high-profile litigator. It had been a week since she interviewed for the Assistant State’s Attorney position and after the brief mention of her job hunt to Gavin, she’d forgotten about the opening. Instead, Alexa had resigned herself to finding another alternative into the life of her target. So, when she got home from last night’s surveillance and found a message on her machine from Stark’s office, needless to say she was more than pleasantly surprised.

“He will be right with you. Please have a seat in the lounge and wait.”