A Bounty To Be Paid. (Closed)

The drive was short and simple. After a few minutes, he pulled up behind the truck, off to the side. As he got out, he walked over to the passenger’s side door and opened it for Melissa. “Get two sets of clothes and what few possessions are in your bag. You won’t be keeping everything,” He informed her as he made his way to the trunk, “So make it whatever you can keep in your hands. The bag stays as well.”

He watched as she headed into the cabin. Carl noticed the clothes on the bed of the truck as he pulled out the black bag from his trunk. After setting it on the ground, he unzipped it, taking a look at the body. The resemblance was very uncanny. After pulling the body out a little bit, he grabbed the clothes and started to dress the corpse. With how they felt, there was no doubt that he was sure they were wet from something.

It didn’t take long before he had put the body on the bed of the truck, now clothed, and placed the bag in the trunk of his car. There was a slight grunt as he picked the body back up and carried it to the front of the cabin. He was surprised that his rifle was still there. Surely there had been enough time for Melissa to realize that she could run, though it would still hurt a little bit. “Are you almost ready to go?” He called out.

Melissa had no idea what was really happening. She had been confused since she had found her husband dead in his office. The police had been no help. Her lawyers had been no help. Max had been no help. Now, it seemed that she had little choice in anything that was happening to her.

Her leg was throbbing as Carl opened the door and told her to only take what she might be able to carry. She looked up at him and gave a nod, knowing that if she tried to run, he'd probably shoot her again. She'd be lucky if it were non-lethal this time.

She limped to her bag and pulled out two pairs of clothing and a few things that she wasn't going to part with no matter what happened. Sentimental things that had been with her even when she was poor as dirt before she moved into the big mansion. After that was done, she moved back to the car and took a seat, waiting for him to reappear.

"I guess." She answered back.

Carl had set everything up just as he had expected. The body that looked like Melissa was carried and staged next to the body, being propped up. He used his hand to reach for the bounty hunter’s gun and pulled it out, shooting him several times point blank. Though there was bound to be some blood on him, the important part was that it was on the body.

Once that was done, he grabbed the rifle and started to move between the bounty hunter and the truck. This was the part of his job that he wasn’t too fond of. It took a minute to position the body to where it was near the truck. He looked over at Melissa, hoping that she wasn’t judging too much. Once everything was set up, he made his way back to the staging area and pulled out the other gun the bounty hunter had. There were two shots from the bounty hunters’ hands that hit the body in the back. He watched as the body collapsed near the truck.

The last part was almost complete. He took the first gun and his rifle and walked over to the car. He handed the gun to Melissa. “Hold this,” he told her, “Like you’re going to shoot someone with it.” As that was going on, he opened the trunk and secured his rifle and the body bag before walking back to the passenger’s side and getting the gun from her. He walked over to the body and set it near as if she had dropped it while being shot and falling.

As that was finished, he got into the car and began to drive away. “She died a day or so ago. OD. Very sad, though lucky for us. By the time they find the body, they’ll think she got the jump on him, shot him and tried to get away. Unfortunately, she didn’t get far before being shot in the back,” He told Melissa.

They made their way to the freeway before he spoke again. “Your prints on the gun, your clothes left…” Carl’s voice trailed off. “Depending on when they find the body, it may not be in the best shape. They’ll just bury it as you died, and case closed. So, Melissa, where are we going?” He asked with some curiosity. “After this day, nothing under a four-star hotel will work for me. North? East? South?” He inquired letting her make the choice. The rest of the day would be a very nice wine and dine day.

Melissa stared off into the distance in a daze. She had no idea what had happened nor why it had happened. Nothing in her life made sense at all anymore, no matter how it was explained to her.

"How in the hell can you think that this is easy? They're going to find me. Those men that killed my husband won't stop if they think that they might be going to jail for any of this." Melissa said, looking over at Carl as he suggested a hotel as if they were simply going on a brief vacation. "And no one's going to fall for any of this."

“They may not. It may take a while, yes, but that will be to our advantage,” Carl answered as he decided to drive northeast. “Yes, they can find a new set of tire tracks and find out what kind of car. Yes, they can exhume a grave afterwards and find out you aren’t dead. But,” He said as the car started to accelerate more with the flow of traffic, “Those things take time.”

He entered his GPS Salt Lake City, Utah and looked for one of the most expensive hotels there. Once he heard the voice tell them where to go, he looked over at her. “You have black hair; the corpse has black hair. You’re 5’5”, so is the corpse. Her fingerprints are your fingerprints due to science. The plan is,” He began to fill her in on their schedule, “Is to stay at a hotel for about two nights, let you change your appearance, new clothes, so on and so on. Then we fly by private jet to Janus’ headquarters and work from there.”

He allowed a few long moments to pass before speaking again. “In the glove box is a package for you. New ID, new wedding and engagement ring that are cheap as hell, and a new phone. If anyone asks we’re married, and we have been for about a year and this is our annual getaway that we’ve been doing for the last few years since we’ve been together. Though with the price we’re paying, these people care more about their reputation and keeping quiet.” The drive continued as uneventful as it could be. “Feel free to let me know if you need to use the bathroom or get something to eat. Unless it’s important the next stop will be to get gas. But in the meantime,” Carl mentioned in a more upbeat tone, “Feel free to ask me anything you want. I’ll try to answer your questions the best that I can.”

"None of this makes any sense." Melissa muttered as he tried to explain, nothing making sense to her tired mind.

She stared out the window as he told her that there was a new ID and new wedding rings in the glove box. They had to pretend that they were married for a while, which just felt so incredibly confusing. He didn't seem the least bit put out by anything that had happened while she was still reeling, trying to figure out what had happened with her husband first of all and what had happened since then secondly.

"Why did any of this happen? Who killed my husband and why did they try and blame me?" Melissa asked, looking across the car at him.

Carl continued to drive as he listened to the questions. This wasn’t the first time he had to do a job like this for his company, and realistically, he wondered if it would be his last. He took a moment to think about what to tell her or not. Rather, how much detail to tell her. “Janus doesn’t have any dedicated ties to the government, just what we use as a resource. From what I can gather,” He began to say as he kept his eyes on the road, “Your husband - which I am sorry for your loss - was rich. Stupid rich.”

Carl looked over at Melissa briefly before looking back at the road. “From what we’ve found out, he had a lot of legitimate business dealings, but it was the not-so-legitimate dealings which brought in most of the money. Last I heard, he was playing both sides of the same coin. Cartel and mob. Two natural enemies.” Carl checked the GPS to see how long they had before they got to their hotel. “More than likely, one found out they were being played and ordered a hit on him. But,” He said when he took a breath, “If he dies, you get a shitload of money. If you go to jail, you don’t get money and they do. If you die, same thing as jail. Kind of why the body will be a decoy, at least for a while.”

He decided to hold off on telling her about the fact that her funds were going to be moved to a private account regardless. She would be restarting a new life, again, though this time with a lot more than she had before. Though there were inherent risks, it would be something he was sure she would be getting used to.

“I believe you didn’t kill your husband,” He told Melissa as they continued to drive at a normal pace. “Hell, I was wondering if you were going to try to use the rifle against me at the cabin. If you weren’t willing to do that, I doubt you would be willing to kill your husband.” After a brief silence he spoke again, “And just for the record, it was unloaded. And I’m sorry about your leg.”

"So, some random company wants to help me...because my husband as stupid rich?" Melissa asked, so confused as he told her that he didn't believe that she had killed anyone. "If this is some kind of sick game, I swear to God, I will make someone pay. Not to mention the lawsuit you would have on your hands if any of this ended up going to the court of law."

She was back to square one. No money and no access to money. Dependent on someone else to get her to where she was going. She was dead to the rest of the world for a while at the very least. None of this made any sense, but she was going to have to trust that this company was looking out for her best interests.

"So...you don't work for the mob or the cartel? You're not just going to drive me to a random field and shoot me in the head?"

Carl listened to the questions that Melissa asked. Between the last few days and his less than comfortable living conditions, he wasn’t too enthralled with the questions she was presenting him with. “Simply put, if the Janus Foundation wanted you dead, they wouldn’t have sent me. They would’ve had someone take both of you out and set fire to the woods. Or have someone taken you out and seal you in a barrel of bleach,” He told her knowing that the semi-detailed explanation wouldn’t be the most uplifting thing she heard. “If I were sent to do it, I wouldn’t have even bothered with the whole-body fiasco. I would’ve just taken you out with the bounty hunter and left you there.”

His body was somewhat tired, his eyes fighting some sleep. Hell, he hadn’t really had anything to eat or drink in a while. Carl looked at the GPS and searched for a gas station. A quick fill up would help immensely with raising his spirits. As he listened to the voice reroute them to a new destination, he thought about her other questions. “I don’t know all the details,” He began to say as he focused on the road, “But, as sad as your husband’s death was, which I’m sorry for your loss, it presented an opportunity. I’m pretty sure we’re going to take all the money from your bank accounts and stick most of it in the mob’s bank account. Some,” Carl thought about the best way to describe it, “Will be ‘donated’ to the foundation for a ‘fee’. But the idea would be to have the cartel attack the mob and watch the feds get involved. After the bloodshed…” He stopped for a moment, “You’ll be able to come out of hiding and be cleared of everything and live your stupid rich life that you’ve become accustomed to.”

As he drove to the gas station, he got out and handed her a $20. “Keep a low profile, use the bathroom, get some food, beauty supplies, and don’t feel compelled to do anything stupid.” He walked around and opened the door for her. As he helped her out, they walked in, so he could pay. With nothing going wrong, it would be about ten minutes at most before they would be back on their way. He got a few snacks and paid for the gas.

He was waiting outside, eating a candy bar as the fuel was being pumped into the car. He looked around, hoping that Melissa decided not to try to ditch him.

Melissa was quiet after he explained to her the situation, not really sure what was going on. She would stay quiet, staring out the window until he pulled up in front of a gas station. He passed her a $20 and told her to get something to eat, to use the bathroom, to take a moment to process. She'd need far more than $20 a quick pit stop to make any of that happen.

She walked around the aisles, looking at everything without much interest. Nothing sounded good. Nothing made sense. She was in a daze of sorts as she bought a bottle of water, a bag of generic chips, and then made her way back out to the car. She knew if she ran, he was armed. There wasn't much point to it.

Carl watched as Melissa reappeared. He was surprised at how little she bought; given there was still a few hours left. Once the gas had finished pumping, he put the nozzle back and got everything ready to go. He pulled his phone out and opened up his apps that said shopping. This wasn’t his first rodeo with doing something like this, and he wasn’t sure if it would be his last. When he got in to start the car, he handed the phone to Melissa.

“Take a look at some of the places and see if there’s anything that you’d like to order. Some new clothes and toiletries wouldn’t be bad for when we get to the hotel. Try to keep it under $300, alright? And a bag for your luggage,” He asked as they continued to drive through the scenery.

The silence had been deafening to Carl as Melissa wasn’t feeling like talking much. It made sense, given what she had been through, he thought to himself. He figured if he was going to be responsible for her, even if it was over the course of a few days, she should get to know him. “Feel free to ask me anything about myself,” He offered as he looked at her smooth face. “Or, you could get caught up on some sleep if you’d like. Your choice.”

Melissa took the offered phone and looked at it as he told her to order some luggage and some essentials. She let out a long sigh, knowing that she needed to do something and if was offering to buy, she would take up the offer.

"How did you end up in this line of work?" She asked as she scrolled through a few websites to find a simple suitcase that was reasonably cheap.

Carl continued to drive as he heard the question. “I’m not some crazy special forces, trained sniper, all-American hero. I’m a simple person who was, more or less, at the right place at the right time to be recruited.” He made sure he was following the speed limit as he took a drink. “I went to UMass, got a degree in forensic science with a minor in behavioral psychology. I was always good with puzzles and figured why not put it to use with recreating crime scenes,” He told Melissa as he looked at her while she shopped.

“I got assigned to work on a case that was with the feds,” He began to say, “Though, I had no idea one of the agents worked for Janus. So, I kind of got recruited. Same concept, just flipping it around and doing the staging to make it harder for others to do their job while we help people like you.” Carl figured it wasn’t worth lying as he told her what he did and how he got to his current position.

There was some silence as the only sounds that were noticeable consisted of the engine and the road, along with the clicking and tapping of the phone. “I did look at the details in your case and I know there are facts that do make it to where I know you aren’t guilty. The trajectory and space of the bullet, the fact that there was no traces of residue or blood on any of your clothes that would be indicated of a proper backsplash. That’s why I had the Jane Doe staged the way she was with that scene.”

"Then why are the cops so sure that I did it?" Melissa asked, looking over at Carl as he told her about what he thought might have happened and how he thought she wasn't the one who had done this. "Don't tell me that they're paid off too."

Carl looked back over at Melissa for a moment as she asked her questions. He figured the best answer was to give her a question. “If you knew you would be getting a kick back from a copious amount of money, wouldn’t you look the other way?” He didn’t think there was much left to expand on that point. “When a single percent of a billion dollars is still ten million, I mean, why wouldn’t you make it to where you get a cut like that?”

He looked over at her after a while. “Have the luggage and clothes delivered to the hotel and hopefully they’ll get there the same time we do,” He added hoping that she would at least enjoy having some fresh, new clothes she could wear.

"All of this is over money and drugs. Of course it is. I told him that if he was doing anything illegal, it would come back to haunt him." Melissa muttered as she thought about her husband and everything that he had been doing while they were married. "Maybe he got what he deserved. Maybe this all happened for a reason."

She did was she was told and clicked the button to order her supplies, having them delivered to the hotel as quickly as possible. It seemed that he was serious about them hiding out for a while and she supposed she just needed to sit back and wait for them to arrive.

The remainder of the drive was fairly quiet. Though they both looked like somewhat of a mess, he figured that would help them with checking in. He pulled out his suitcase and rolled it into the hotel with Melissa next to him. “We’re here to check in, and to see if our replacement luggage has been delivered,” Carl added as he handed him his ID and credit card.

The process was fairly painless with checking in. He handed one of the keys to their room to her as they made their way to the elevator, this time with more bags in tow. “Are you ready to see where we’ll get to stay for the next few days?” He asked as the elevator pinged and opened for them.

The ride was uneventful and once they got to their floor, they made their way to the room. Though it wasn’t as glamorous as Carl would’ve liked, it looked fine. There was a nice living room area, a king sized bed and a full bathroom for them. “If you’d like, I have no problem sleeping on the couch,” He offered as he set most of the things down. “Feel free to get cleaned up, get comfortable, order room service. Whatever,” He added nonchalantly as he stretched out.

"Well, I'm certainly not sharing the bed with you." Melissa said as she looked over at Carl stretched out on the sofa. "I'm going to shower first. I feel like it's been ages."

She grabbed her bag and escaped into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaning back against it. Her brain was spinning, but she was determined to get herself back on track. A hot shower, some food, and some rest and she would be better again. Then she could think about the future much more clearly.

Carl stood up and looked at her as she mentioned that she was going to take a shower. “No problem, just don’t use all of the hot water,” He said as he continued to lay there for a moment before getting up. Once he got up, he walked over and got his bag. He brought it back over to the couch and opened it.

Though he was sure that things were going to quiet down a bit, he still pulled out his gun and placed it in a secure location near the couch. He figured it would be better to be safe than sorry. They would need to figure out who was going to use what drawers for the next few days. As he was looking around, he found a menu and plopped it on the bed for Melissa.

The sound of the shower running slowly became interrupted as he turned on the TV and looked for some national news channel to see what kind of update there was. He figured it’d be a good idea to see if anyone has recognized them as he waited for Melissa to get done.

Melissa stood under the spray of the water for a long moment, her forehead pressed against the tile as she simply tried to gather her thoughts. Everything was still so....fucked. That was the only word that she could really think to describe the situation. Walking in to find her husband dead. Going to jail and being forced to scrape together bail. Then the entire mess that had happened afterwards. It was enough to make her dizzy.

She could hear the TV turn on inside the other room and she was very aware that Carl was still there. He wasn't about to leave her alone until everything was done...if he was telling the truth. She would have to think about that later. First, she needed to finish up the shower and then get some real food in her belly.

When she was done, she wrapped herself up in a robe that was hung on the door and took care of her hair with a twisted towel. Walking into the other room, she paused when she saw Carl relaxing on the couch, the news droning on about something that she didn't care about.

"Want something to eat?" She asked as she showed him the binder that he had left for her. "I feel like I could eat them out of food at this point."

Carl had spent some time between watching the news and pulling out his laptop and setting it up. Though it wasn’t something he wanted to do, he figured he should still call in to work and let them know how things were progressing. There was no issue with connecting it to the Wi-Fi, though he decided to hold off until Melissa was out of the shower and dressed.

After he went back to the couch to relax, a few minutes later he had heard the shower turn off. Not much sooner after that, he saw Melissa walk out in nothing but a towel. He heard and watched as she walked over with the menu. “I trust your shower was good?” Carl asked as he passed on taking the menu. He wanted to make sure that he was giving her enough space, though they were supposed to be passing off being a married couple.

“I’ll have a steak, medium, and baked potato,” Carl said as he stood up. Though he probably didn’t feel as dirty as Melissa, he still wanted to get a nice warm shower in as well. He pulled out some of his more comfortable clothes and headed towards the shower. “Feel free to charge it to the room and if you want to look on the Internet, I’d suggest staying away from any of your log-on information since the government might be monitoring those,” He added as he closed the door and began his shower.

As soon as he was cleaned up, he got changed into his sweat pants and a loose fitting t-shirt. As he came back out, he was curious as to what he would see. Though the opportunity was there, he had faith that Melissa didn’t try to jump ship and ditch him.

Melissa made their food order and then sat there dumbly for a while. She had no idea what she was meant to do. What did someone do while they were on the run and in hiding? Did they walk around outside? Did they hide away inside until all of the danger went away? She really had no idea.

She stood up and walked to the window, looking out over the pool and courtyard area. It just seemed like a normal day beyond their room. People were swimming, enjoying themselves. She certainly didn't think that they knew that Carl had just murdered someone and staged her death. It was all so confusing.

She looked over her shoulder as he came out of the bathroom, dressed in comfortable clothing and so unassuming. "Food is coming soon. They said about thirty minutes."