What's the price? [closed for raiguy]

Lissa leaned back in her seat, groaning slightly. Wearily she grabbed her bag off the floor beside her, stuffed her books inside and stood up, giving another glance to the last words scrawled on the chalkboard. Test Monday.

Karyn walked up the aisle towards Lissa.

"Can you believe that? We just had a test on Wednesday, and now we have another one on Monday? Why did I let you convince me to take this bio class Karyn!?"

"Because its one of your reqs anyways Lissa, and at least we aren't suffering through chem labs with Sara."

Walking out of the classroom and back into the bright sunshine and campus yard the girls giggled. At first glance some would have thought they were twins. Matching auburn hair, same height at 5'6", long legs and lithe frames. What gave it away were the small details. Lissa was just a touch bigger in the chest, boasting a nice 32C, while Karyns hips were just a bit wider than Lissas. Other than that and a couple of indiscreet differences unseen by many they were almost completely identical.

"So whats in the plans this weekend? Any parties we are attending? Any late nights with Brad?"

"Ugh, fuck Brad, Brads a dick!"

"Lissa! What did he do?"

"I caught him making out last night with that dorm rat Jenna during a 'study session'. What bullshit! To top it off he thought he'd be smooth and asked if I wanted to join in!"

"No way. Damn Lissa, you have no luck with guys lately."

"I know. Hey, don't you have your math class in 5 mins?"

Karyn looked at her watch wide eyed, and hugged Lissa, running off towards the other end of the campus while Lissa made her way to the dorms. Lissa was lucky enough to not have any classes for a couple of hours, and was in no hurry to get back to them. Making her way to the elevators she punched for the 17th floor, and then heading to her room. It had been a long day already this morning, and a couple hours to herself would be a welcomed change. Just as she exited the elevator though she was grabbed from behind, one hand over her mouth, the other hands holding her wrists. She gasped a moment when someone quietly whispered in her ear.

"Shhh."

Letting her mouth go she felt him move his hand to her waist, and then she rolled her eyes.

"Brad, I am not in the mood. Go fuck your little study slut and leave me alone."

Quickly she was turned around... and looked up.

"Honey, I don't know who Brad is, but when I'm done I think you'll have wished it was him."

Lissas eyes popped open, instinctively she kneed her attacker in the groin, stomped on his foot and headbutted him. As he fell back she shrieked, then bolted, running straight for the stairs.

Braden was in physics when his phone went off. He looked down at it, seeing the message from a friend. Apparently someone who didn't belong had just stepped on campus. Braden wasn't an assassin, per se, just a contracted "operator" undercover, sent to try and bust one of the bigger drug rings in the area. He also had a target that needed to be silenced. He also wanted to find his competition in the area, and this included tailing a mysterious man that was tentatively identified as one of the hitmen who worked in the area.

Braden quickly scooped his books up from the table and made his way out of the lecture hall, walking brusquely across campus to where the man was last seen. He checked to make sure his sidearm was ready to go in case anything went down. Normally he wouldn't use the gun for fear of drawing unwanted attention, but ff it was a correct ID, then the sidearm was a necessity.

After making it to the apartment building, Braden pulled out a tactical knife and his weapon, thumbing the safety. He looked at the elevators and saw one disabled, and the other on the 17th floor. Without skipping a beat, he took off up the stairs.

As soon as Braden entered the stairwell two shots rang out, echoing up and down the stairwell.

She started leaping stairs when she could, thanking whoever was watching out for her that she had picked sneakers this morning. She got down a couple flights before she heard the door above her open back up. Resisting the idea of looking back up she kept going. At least until she heard the gunshots. Midway through the flight between the 10th and 9th floors the shots rang out, followed immediately by a sharp sting in her calf. Falling the last few steps she tried to get herself back up. The bullet had made a pretty good mark on her calf, bleeding quite a bit. Silently crying she pulled herself up by the stair rail and opened the door to the 9th floor, limping through.

"HELP! PLEASE!!" She screamed, to no reception. Not her lucky day, limping towards a hallway she tripped and fell, holding her bleeding calf as the door to the floor crashed open behind her.

"Where are you you little bitch! I was just going to hold you for a bit, but now you're fucking dead bitch."

Lissa tried to crawl further around the edge, trying not to be seen, hoping the blood wasn't trailing too badly. Then her hair got yanked, the attackers hand holding tightly to her throat as he held her up against the wall.

"Maybe once he sees this he'll know we mean business."

He smacked her in the temple with the butt of his gun, knocking her completely dizzy. The last thing she heard before she slipped into unconsciousness was another shot ringing out.

Braden rushed through the flights, finally finding blood on the 9th floor. He quietly made his way through the door, coming out behind a man who had just proceeded to trap a girl against the wall. He took aim, directly into the man's heart since he was pinning her against the wall with his right hand at an angle.

He made sure he wouldn't hit the girl, taking an extra second. In that time he saw the gun descend, knocking the girl out. His aim pulled up a bit as Braden squeezed the trigger. The sharp report of his .45 went off as the man lurched, the bullet a clean through and through a little higher than a lethal shot.

The man turned, taking aim and firing. Braden felt a sharp pain in his right side, then squeezed off two more rounds, sending them center mass on the man. Braden sagged as the adrenaline wore off, then groaned as he looked down, realizing he had at least 3 broken ribs from 9mm wound. He brushed the pain aside as he holstered his weapon, then went to look at the girl.

Braden quickly realized the girl wasn't coming around, and that the leg injury wasn't mortal. He bandaged it as fast as he could, then pulled pepper spray from her purse. After spraying everywhere that blood was, he picked the girl up and carried her down the steps as fast as his side would let him.

By the time Braden reached the landing his side was covered in blood, and he was wheezing slightly. He made it to his truck, thankfully parked close. He floored it out of the parking lot, towards his apartment.

Once he got home, Braden got the girl inside and cleaned and dressed her wound, happy it was a clean shot, with no residual damage to the bone or muscle that wouldn't heal with time. After peeling his shirt off, Braden poked and prodded, figuring out that he had 2 broken ribs and at least 2 more that were cracked. He pulled a gauze pad out, and after cleaning the wound, put the gauze pad on and bound his ribs as best as he could with one arm.

He made his way to the couch and took a seat by it, relaxing while making sure the girl was ok. Without realizing it, Braden quickly fell asleep.

Falling to the floor.

Being carried.

The sound of driving.

Being laid down.

Flashes of cognizance amid the darkness. When she finally woke the room was dark except for the glow from the lights outside coming through the curtain in spots. Thankful she was alive she found she was next hit with the pain from the gunshot in her leg and the smack to her temple. Reaching down to feel her leg she found her wound was bandaged, and as her eyes slowly adjusted to the ambient light she made out the form of a man sleeping on the floor next to the couch she had been laid on, his soft breathing almost inaudible. Overcome with fear she whimpered slightly as she scrambled back on the couch away from the man. Trying to not wake him she looked around, trying to make out her surroundings. Just as she thought she was clear the lamp she had bumped into while scrambling backwards on the couch fell to the floor, crashing loudly and scattering in pieces.

Braden quickly came back to consciousness, seeing the girl get up. He immediately tried to seem as non-threatening as possible as he gingerly stood up, grimacing as his ribs protested from the movement.

"My name is Braden, and I wasn't the guy who attacked you. I actually saved you. You were asleep on the couch for a few hours from the look of the time, so I let you sleep," Braden said, wincing each time he drew a breath.

He looked around, then winced as his ribs flared.

"Could you please help me? I wasn't able to bind my ribs properly, and need someone to bind them for me. I promise I will drive you wherever you need to go once you do this, but I need this done now, otherwise the pain is going to knock me out," Braden said, already feeling overwhelmed.

"I... I..."

It seemed a lot to take in with her already groggy state after coming to. Cautiously she moved toward him, lightly touching the rough bandaging Braden had done to his ribs.

"Okay... but keep your hands where I can see them.."

Lissa looked in his eyes then back to his ribs.

"Please."

Looking around a moment she looked back to Braden.

"What do I need to do to help you?"

Braden quietly walked her through the steps to bind his ribs, wincing each time the bindings got tighter. He finally breathed a sigh of relief after the ribs were set and bound. Without warning, Braden caught the girl as she was collapsing, quickly carrying her over to the couch.

Braden changed her dressing, seeing that the wound wasn't bleeding nearly as bad as it had been. It really wasn't bleeding at all. He let the girl lay on her couch as he went to fix some food, using his left arm. It was harder than he thought it would be, but by the time he was done, the food was edible and didn't taste half bad.

She had almost collapsed on the floor again, her head still rough from the smack she took. She smiled weakly and thanked him when he caught her and helped her back to the couch. When the food came she picked at it to begin with, watching him eat it first before she took a bite.

"This came out really good. Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

She watched as Braden nodded slightly while eating.

"What... what happened to the guy who attacked me? Why did he attack me? I'm so confused."

She laid her throbbing head back after finishing half her plate. Trying not to pass out again.

Braden smiled sadly. He didn't want to bother her with details right now. He knew enough about her from her last name to understand what was going on. He decided that sleep would be the best thing for her. After checking for concussions, and being satisfied she didn't have one, he gave her some medicine to help with the pain and swelling.

"Sleep now, and I promise I'll answer any questions you have when you wake up," Braden said as the oxycontin took effect, putting her to sleep quickly.

Braden laid back down on the floor after setting up enough security to make sure if anyone tried to come for the girl, he'd know long before they got close to her. He fell asleep clutching his .45.

Waking slowly she looked around in the semi-lit room. It was morning now and the pain in her head had mostly faded, besides for a small throbbing headache she felt was almost expected, all things considered. Her leg was sore, but not horrible right now. She looked over at Braden still sleeping and she kept still on the couch, looking at the ceiling in quiet thought, trying to put the pieces and fragments of memory together about what had happened since Bio class.

Bio class... shit, she missed her English Lit class last night, and if she didn't get back to campus by tomorrow night she would likely miss her Algebra class Monday morning. Standing cautiously she moved slowly, quietly, letting Braden sleep. Looking around the kitchen she found some utensils and ingredients she would need, and began to cook up some breakfast. She figured eggs, bacon and pancakes would be a nice gesture considering he saved her life, patched her up and served her a nice meal.

Braden woke up to the smell of breakfast and then smiled. His ribs were still sore, and would be for a little while, but he could bear it. As he stood up, he pulled his shirt on and then walked into the kitchen. The girl was still busy making breakfast, so he sat down and let her do what she wanted. After a minute or two, Braden moved behind her and gently moved her to a chair.

"I understand the gesture, but your leg won't handle much movement for a little while. Please take it easy and I'll finish up," Braden said, smiling.

He must have noticed her leg fidgeting. Lissa had heard him get up and come in but she was paying more attention to the pancakes than to him coming in. Everything was pretty much ready when he slid the chair to her and began to finish up.

She saw him wince now and then while making breakfast, but there wasn't much left to do when he took over. Setting the plates on the table in front of her he slid onto the chair across from her and smiled. Lissa poured them some milk and began to pour syrup on her pancakes.

"I have questions, but I think I can wait to ask them until after breakfast. I hope you like the pancakes, I used my moms trick on them." She smiled "She always put a few drops of vanilla into the batter when she made them."

Braden smiled. His mom had done the same thing before she was killed in a car accident. After than, things went downhill and he ended up finding someone to "mentor" him.

Braden pushed that memory away then started to dig into the breakfast, delighted to find how delicious it was.

After pushing his plate away, Braden looked at the girl then locked eyes with her and said,"You were targeted because your father is trying to get out of the hole he is in. Right now, he is being bought off by a drug cartel to try to stop a law from being passed. He wants to get out because he is worried about you. The cartel thought that by removing you from the picture, through murder or kidnapping, he would be forced to cooperate. I was in the area and stepped in. That's as much as I could find out last night before we both fell asleep."

Lissa stared at Braden as she soaked in the information she just received. Her father had been bought out by a cartel but was trying to get out, and that is why someone came after her.

"So thats why he said something about showing 'him' we mean business. He meant my father."

Braden nodded, and Lissa sat there a moment, then stood up.

"Where's my phone. I need to call my dad and let him know I'm okay. I need to call Karyn and let her know I'm safe. I need to get a hold of someone at the school so they know I'm in trouble. I need to..." She fell next to the couch and laid there sobbing. Why did he have to get involved with drug people. Why did her father feel the need to be so stupid!

She felt a hand on her back, but she stayed where she was, her head down in her arms.

Braden sat there rubbing Lissa's back. He wanted to do anything he could to make her feel better, but didn't know what she wanted.

"For now, just rest. I'll take care of calls. Don't call anyone on your cell phone. Don't turn it on. That way they won't know where you are. My cell is untraceable, so we should be good. Write down the numbers of people I should call, and I'll call. If you need anything at all, let me know though," Braden said, the concern evident in his features.

Lissa stayed on the floor a bit, trying to recover. This all seemed to be too much too soon. Once she calmed down and got herself up on the couch she took the notepad and pen Braden set beside her and wrote down her father and Karyns names. Next to her fathers name she wrote 'tell him to take care of things with the school if I can't go back right now'.

Handing the list to Braden she looked around for her backpack.

"Please tell me you grabbed my backpack, my phone with all my numbers is in there."

Braden quietly went to his truck in the garage and came back with Lissa's purse and backpack. He smiled as he set them down.

"No homework. Rest. I'll find the numbers in your phone," Braden said, smiling as he gently guided Lissa back to the couch so she could sleep.

As Braden found the numbers he needed, he hoped that her dad would be ok with this. He wasn't going to say where they were, and he knew enough to keep his call from being untraceable.

He made his way to the kitchen, calling Karyn first.

"Hi Karyn, this is Braden, a friend of Lissa's. She told me to call you since her dad turned her phone off due to a bill issue. She got mad and asked if there was a place to stay, and I offered my place. She'll be out of school for a little while. I just wanted to let you know," Braden said, keeping the call under 45 seconds and using a blocked number.

Braden prepared himself to call her dad, then made it as short and sweet as possible.

"Sir, I have your daughter. The drug cartel ordered a hit on her to persuade you. For the time being I'm keeping her safe since the cartel doesn't know about me. I'll contact you if it is needed, but otherwise know that your daughter is safe, but disappointed that you are involved. she wants you to call school and take care of things so that she has a week's absence. Thank you and have a good day," Braden said to the recording, then hung up. He had kept the call under 30 seconds, and ran a few programs to really make sure he couldn't be found.

Braden set the phone down and dismantled Lissa's to be sure it couldn't be tracked. He went back to the recliner and sat back, watching Lissa sleep, hoping she would be ok from this ordeal.

Lissa laid back on the couch, keeping her leg up on the armrest of the couch as she listened to Braden make the calls. When he came back into the living room she moved slightly to look at him.

"My one big question I have right now is what were you doing there? I appreciate you saving my life and all, but how did you get all this information, and how come you were there to save me? Are you involved in all this drug business too?"

Braden shook his head, but knew that he owed her the truth.

"Honestly, I'm no better than the guy who tried to take you. I'm technically a government "operator", although contract killer is a more accurate description. I was there because I was trying to but a part of the cartel your dad is trying to escape, as well as to keep someone quiet if they decided to move against your dad. I was also sent a list of hitmen the cartel would use, and told to eliminate them if at all possible. The man attacking you was one of those hitmen," Braden said, laying the truth fully out before Lissa.

Lissa frowned.. her heart sank a bit more now knowing that not only had her dad gotten himself in deep, but Braden wasn't just an exceptional citizen. He was a killer for hire, even if he worked for the government. Sighing she rolled over on the couch, facing the back of it.

"I'm sorry. I need some time to think."

She found that she was more upset with herself than anything. She had really started to take a liking to Braden, but she felt more like a pawn in a chess game, being shifted around for everyone's use but her own. Feeling used was something she absolutely hated. She wasn't sure she could come to terms with her savior being just another cold-hearted killer either. She was thankful she was alive, but now found herself wishing she was anywhere but stuck in the care of this man.

Braden sensed her feelings, and regretted her knowing. He couldn't help but feel sad from getting to know her, only to find out tat she hated him.

"I'll leave you alone. I haven't killed anyone outside of my military duty. I was a navy seal for 4 years before leaving the service, and since then haven't killed anyone. I said that because the men in my line are mostly known by that. I want to change that. I just wanted you to know," Braden said quietly as he walked out of the room, giving Lissa the time and space she needed.

Lissa laid there thinking about what he had said. A few hours went by as she warred with her emotions and thoughts. She turned and stood up slowly, making her way out of the living room, looking to find Braden. Before she could get far though she heard the sound of a phone chiming.

Braden grabbed his phone, looking at the number.

"What's up?," Braden asked.

"The information you asked for is in a document on your computer," was the answer, then the phone went dead.

Braden shook his head, then went to his laptop, pulling up the file on the drug cartels putting pressure on Lissa's dad, trying to find a way to help crack them. He wanted to help her any way she could, and by extension her dad.

Lissa heard the phone get answered a bit down the hall, but couldn't make out what was said. Making her way down the hall she found the room Braden was in and peeked through the door. She saw him open his laptop and pull open some information. She was far enough away that she couldn't see anything, but she saw a reflection of Bradens face in a mirror off to the side. He looked concerned, and trying to concentrate. Quietly Lissa turned around and made her way back down the hall, stopping in the living room and having a seat. She didn't see a reason to bother him if he was in the middle of something important.

After a few hours she glanced up at a clock on the wall, noticing it was just after noon now. She looked back down the hall and seeing no movement she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. After making a couple of sandwiches she carried a plate of food down the hall, quietly making her way into the room behind Braden who was still going through things on his laptop. She coughed softly, which seemed to startle Braden slightly.

Lissa smiled slightly, handing him the plate with a sandwich and some potato chips.

"Did you mean what you said when you said you were trying to change things for the better? And that you haven't killed anyone? What about the man who attacked me?"