Chapter One - Confusion

A Chapter by Wolfwind

When Valerie is tailed and Shasta is the one in the sights, it throws both women into a whirlwind of change. Many questions with no answers.

Smith had taught Valerie several things to live by when it came to her job. One, it was never personal, two, you can’t control the weather so deal with it and three, always keep your guns clean and ready to fire at a moments notice. Smith would always laugh after the first three and add in with a twisted grin, four, caffeine is good and five, you can sleep when you’re dead.

Andrews gently took hold of the cross around her neck and whispered a prayer. “I guess you get to sleep old friend.” Shaking off the October chill of Eastern Virginia, Valerie flicked her gaze back out across the dark and windswept highway to the door of villa number five at the Mountain Back Rental Cabins.

As far the government was concerned, Jack Boylister was just another faceless greedy business man who had made to much money off the US government and now they wanted him removed from the chess match. For Valerie, it was personal. Boylister had been the leak that had gotten Smith killed three years ago.

“It’s an easy in and out, nothing to worry about.” Smith had told her as they had climbed the steps up the small apartment building in Milan. “Just watch my back and we should be on our way back to a week in Bermuda within the hour.”

Andrews had nodded and casually took up position at the end of the hall, near the door to the stairwell. She’d watched him knock, watched his shock, heard the crack and saw his brains get blown out the back. Smith slumped to the hallway dead.

Valerie blinked once and then quietly headed down the stairwell, putting on her stocking cap and vanished into the night. “F**k you John!” She’d cursed a few blocks later.

Andrews blinked. She saw the lights go out in the cabin. Glancing quickly up and down the highway, she crossed the pavement, her black soft soled shoes making steady steps across the damp and driven over fall leaves. She stayed off the covered walk ways linking the cabins and came in over the grass, stopping silently before the front door.

Valerie slipped one hand into her left pocket, sliding on a set of brass knuckles, the other hand unlatching her silenced Glock’s catch from its leather holster. She quietly knocked on the door, three times, then two, the four more in rapid succession. The knock was a code from one of Boylister’s pals in Berlin. Andrews saw the light come on in the cabin and heard the shuffling of feet on the wood floor with in.

“Who is it?” The voice of a man with a higher raspy voice came.

“A package from Galtsin, urgent,” Valerie spoke, using the name of the German contact. Who happened to be currently sleeping the endless sleep in a sewer, somewhere along the Rhine.

She heard the lock unlatch and saw the nob turn. For a brief moment her eyes met her mark.

“You must be one of Galtsin’s new gals.” The older man said, his voice and posture that of a tired and overworked man.

Boylister only had the time to widen his eyes a bit as a lightning quick left jab, connected brass with the cartilage in the mans nose. He fell backward to the ground, left hand holding his bleeding nose, the other scrambling for something to defend himself with.

Valerie closed the door of the cabin. She calmly slipped the brass knuckles back in her pocket and pulled out her gun, it’s safety now off.

“Who are you?” The man exclaimed, spluttering in a nasal tone.

Andrews made a quick glance around the cabin before speaking. “I’m afraid that’s personal and this is business.” Her words were cold and direct.

Boylister eyed the silenced barrel of the Glock with a keen sense of fear and respect. He knew that if he intended to live through the night, he’d have to negotiate with it, not the woman at its trigger.

“Look.” The old man rasped. “I’ll double what ever they are paying you. You’d be rich beyond your wildest dreams.”

Andrews clicked her tongue and squinted with her left eye, her head slightly cocked. “Hmmm… Dreams… I don’t think I’ve ever had them.”

“Well… you can surely have….”

SPIT! SPIT SPIT!

“No… I think I wont,” Valerie spoke as Boylister’s body slowly settled into the position of his death, his last exhale bubbling with blood. Picking up her three spend shell casings, taking one last look around, she slipped outside, back into the cold night air.

Walking casually back across the highway, she felt her stomach grumble. Slipping behind the wheel of her Jeep Rubicon, Valerie grabbed her phone and tapped a search for local restaurants. She took the first one that showed up more than two miles away, Bell’s Diner.

The man in the black Tahoe had been parked just out of sight, two blocks down the highway from where the motels were. He was tired, but his eyes were alert. He’d seen then Jeep pass by earlier in the afternoon and simply waited. His job was to follow and nothing more. He had watched the woman, whose 8x9 glossy black and white sat at an angle on his passenger seat, walk towards the cabins and then back to her Jeep. Though curious, the man had been told that the cabins held now importance and that the girl was his top priority.

The man waited a few minutes after the Jeep had pulled out before starting his own engine and following at a slow and casual pace.

Valerie had paid close attention to the headlight she saw show up behind her. They made her uneasy, as it was the middle of the night. Not many locals are out on the highways this late in the sticks. As she pulled into the gravel parking lot of the diner, she could see the headlights turn off about a half mile before the diner.

“There’s nothing down that short dirt pull off. “Valerie mused, “I cased it all this afternoon.” She wondered if she’d slipped up somewhere along the line and picked up a tail. Shutting off her Jeep she casually stepped out into the night air and stretched and yawned, like any late night tourist might. Her mind spun out time and distance calculations as she leisurely walked towards the entrance to the diner. “Half mile, normal walk, so not to over exert, would give someone about 10 to 12 minutes before they walked through these doors.”

Letting her mind keep track of the time, Valerie entered the Diner and took a seat halfway down the window side of the restaurant. When she glanced up at the waitress who’d stepped up to her table, she inwardly moaned. ‘Of all the people I’d have to run into on a night like this, out in the middle of nowhere. Crap, none other than the Harlot of Heraldwood High School.” Valerie Andrews smiled wearily, praying Shasta Edwards wouldn’t recognize her from school.

“Oh my Goodness, is that you? Valerie? I haven’t seen you in years.” The waitress asked, a smile coming onto her face.

No such luck, Andrew stomach churned. “Not since graduation,” She forced a smile.

“Well, what can I getcha?” Shasta asked, excited as her day’s frustrations dimmed a bit.

“Coffee, black Please,” Valerie replied, beginning to flip through the menu.

When Shasta returned with her coffee, she figured her count down was at around 8 minutes.

“So what have you been up to?” Shasta asked, sliding into the opposite side of the booth, as there were no other customers.

Valerie looked up, meeting the eyes of the ex classmate. “Not much, just keeping myself out of trouble.” She could see that Edward’s eyes were those of someone who’d been through hell and back. They looked tired.

“That’s good. What brings you out to Virginia?”

Andrews shrugged, “Business, Corporate closures and downsizing management.”

Shasta nodded knowing little about any form of business. “It’s really good to see someone from the old days.” Edwards dropped her eyes and fidgeted with the serving trays edge, “I tend not to get out much.”

Valerie felt a pang of envy. “Must be nice.”

Shasta nodded a bit, “I guess. Is there something I can get you to eat?”

Five minutes. “No, coffee is fine.” Valerie smiled.

The man in the Tahoe shut off his smart phone, frustrated that his employers had changed his task in the middle of everything. Grumbling, he pulled on his warmer over coat and grabbed his silenced Berretta, shoving it into one of the large deep pockets. Stepping out into the chill, he began trudging through the edge of the woods, next to the highway. As his breath came out in even puffs of steam, he couldn’t be all upset about the change. The new target was a hit, not a tail and three times the value.

As the clock ran down to zero and no one had walked into the diner, Smith’s words came back into Andrews mind. “Assess the rules but plan for the exceptions. God’s been fickle like that from the day of creation.”

Shasta had continue to drone on about small things in her day to day life, “I know we weren’t really that close back in school, but do you think we could get to know each other now?”

Valerie slurped down the last sip of cup number two at negative two minutes, her gaze swinging from Shasta to the opening front door of the restaurant. “Um sure,” She replied seeing a large, heavily dressed man carrying a newspaper folded up under his arm, with another hand shoved inside it.

“Oh hey!” Andrews bounded up and headed for the man, “Is that the current paper? I’d really like to check the winning lottery numbers.” She closed the distance quickly, seeing that man’s look flow quickly from focused to confused. A third party spook, she thought, he recognizes me, but doesn’t know that the game just changed. She saw the man’s eye flick to the Shasta and then back onto her. This bothered her. ‘Is she the mark, not me?’ she mused as she got within arms reach of the man.

“Hey, that’s kind of rude.” Shasta chided Valerie on her upfront nature to the new customer.

Andrews didn’t hesitate, she grabbed the paper and pulled, the man spun his pistol out. Shasta screamed at seeing the weapon. Valerie tossed the paper into the mans face, grabbed the gun and nerve pinched his wrist, spinning the gun around and slipped her own smaller finger over his on the trigger.

SPIT! SPIT! SPIT!

The man’s eyes went wide as he slipped to the floor, his coat quickly becoming a dark wet mass as his heart had been destroyed by the three quick taps of his own gun.

Shasta’s eyes were wide, her mouth open.

“Come on!” Valerie shouted to the other lady, reaching towards her and grabbing her shaking hand, which had dropped the serving tray.

“What? Where are we…”

“No time, we need to go. You’re in danger and I need to find out why.”

“My…My purse and coat,” Shasta stammered.

“Quick!” Valerie urged.

Shasta skirted around the dad man’s body and reached behind the bar, grabbing her purse and her overcoat.

Moments later, Shasta sat, her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself as Valerie drove South at a quick pace. She glanced into her mirrors often, to make sure they weren’t being followed.

Shasta’s shaky voice caused her to take a quick look at the other woman, “You just killed that man.”

“I’d say that man shot himself while trying to shoot at you. I just helped him out a bit.”

“At me,” Shasta exclaimed! “Why?”

“Look Shasta.” Valerie spoke calmly but firmly. “I don’t know why. All I know is that both of us are in danger. Something has spun way out of control and we need to get some answers before we can try to fix this. That man was a hired hit man. I thought he had been following me, but then when I noticed he went to shoot you first, I realized he hadn’t been told that I was a threat.”

Shasta shook her head in confusion and looked over at Andrews. “Why would he be following you?”

Valerie sighed, “Because of my past dealings with the people that may have hired him.”

“What kind of dealings?” Shasta asked, trying to make sense of everything.

‘Crap, if I don’t tell her, it will only make things harder down the road.’ Valerie looked over at Shasta, “Look. I’m a spook. I’m a cleaner for the CIA An assassin.”

Edwards fell silent for a minute, “That’s why you killed him so easily.”

“Yeah, I’ve had lots of experience.”

“Valerie?”

“What is it?”

“I’ll be honest. I’m scared. I’m confused and I don’t know what to think.”

Valerie nodded, “It’s natural to feel that way Shasta. Don’t worry. I’ll keep both of us safe until we find out why we’re in this mess. I promise.”

The two women continue to drive through the night and into the morning. Lost in thoughts, and searching their memories for answers that just didn’t come.

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© 2012 Wolfwind

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Silent Wolf

I really like this, and I do hope you continue writing it. Also, could you check out black shadow again? I'm gonna fix it ands it's changed to make a little more sense.