Caught in the Crosshairs (closed)

[zydrate]

Nicole Mason
Age: 28
Call Sign: Skylark
Last Known Location: Venice, Italy
Current Location: Unknown

She was enjoying some time off. Real time off. In how long…? 2 years? It didn’t matter.

Now, what was she doing? Well, she had been in hiding for the past 24 hours. Before that, she was running for her life. All communication was severed. She had no choice but to cut herself off from everyone because of a single text she had received.

Crazy Horse

It was a code to go dark. She had no choice. She didn’t question it. She didn’t reply asking for an explanation. All she knew that her life was now in danger. And at all costs, she was to go into hiding and not to establish contact with anyone, including her handler.

Not just her life, but several other agents like her. How many? She wasn’t sure. The division she worked for was one for solo agents. Agents who took care of the dirty work that Uncle Sam didn’t want others to know about. The agents did whatever it was they were ordered to. It was a lonely life if you let it get lonely. They weren’t allowed to have families or keep close friends. The agents didn’t know of one another. At least, they weren’t supposed to know one another but she knew of some, and they knew of her.

Nicole was good at her job of killing; her second-best asset was torture. Sure, each agent had a specialty or two, and they were used to their fullest potential for each and every mission.

She had a safe house and that was where she was currently at. She was waiting before moving on. She was waiting to see what other agents showed up. Waited for an update. She was waiting for one agent in particular…

Nicole wasn’t stupid and had a pretty good idea what this was all about. A few weeks ago, agents began to die off…well, killed off was more like it. Why? They were very capable of handling themselves. Experts in hand-to-hand combat and weapons… and whatever it was they could learn as long as it was something that would help save their life.

She kept the room dark, her weapon at the ready. She had bandaged up a graze on her upper arm from a bullet when she first started on the run. Lucky bastard wasn’t so lucky anymore since she left him bleeding and gutted in an alleyway to die slowly. It served as two meanings--the first: whomever they sent after her, she would stop them in the same manner, if not worse. The second meaning—well, it was sort of a message or hint to others like her to show she was still alive.

Nicole needed sleep. She had decided there was no time like the present. She would need to move out in less than 6 hours…whether or not anyone else would show up. The safe house was a small apartment on the 2nd floor of a very small building. First floor was too obvious and too easy to access. Third floor was too high. The 2nd floor was better suited in case she had to leave fast. It was also a corner apartment, so she had 2 main vantage points.

With her back to the wall, facing the door in the unfurnished apartment, she sat on the floor and placed her weapon next to her. Just as she closed her eyes, the sound of the keypad door lock was being accessed. She didn’t move as she readied her weapon. She watched as the door closed and locked automatically; she flipped on the laser guide which was more of a scare tactic than to help her in shooting on target.

He locked his weapon on her also.

Nicole knew she was an excellent shot.

"Code." She said, not lowering her weapon as she knelt on one knee, her posture perfect should she need to take a shot.

He gave the code. A six-digit code that each agent was familiar with. It was the code that was attached to the warning text.

Nicole stood slowly as she slowly lowered her weapon, "Call sign?"

He told her and Nicole nodded, "Skylark." She said, telling him her call sign. "I've heard of you." she nodded, her tone even, not giving anything away. "Do you know how many are alive?" Because she sure didn't.

 

[BeachBum25]

Birth Name.. .Trevor Morrison
Age 31
Name Used... Depended on the place and time (He has used over 50 names, and has plenty more that he can use if needed.. all with credentials)
Call Sign... Lone Wolf
Last Seen... Nobody lives to tell that
Current Location.... Many people would pay a lot of money to know that

Trevor had just finished a job and was moving through the airport in Budapest when he got the text message.

Crazy Horse.

That was something that Trevor never expected to see on his phone. Never did he think that anyone at the Agency would think his life was in danger. He NEVER left witnesses behind. Yes, there was often collateral damage on his missions, but Trevor insisted that there be zero chance that anyone would be able to identify him any time in the future.

He did not challenge the message though. He went dark. Instead of getting on the flight that he was originally going to get on, he switched and flew to Moscow. From Moscow he was able to get a flight to Beijing, and from Beijing he was able to get to Hawaii. From there it was easy to get to the safe house. His only concern about the safe house was who else would be there, and who, if anyone, could he trust.

As he made his way to the safe house, he stopped to pick up his weapons that he had shipped home from the last assignment. He made sure that his main tool, a Barrett M-82 sniper rifle made it home, and that he had it back in his possession. He didn't know what he needed to protect himself from, but his Barrett might come in handy. He also picked up 2 Glock 9mm handguns and several clips of ammunition for each weapon.

It didn't matter which weapon he used, he was deadly with them all. If he fired a weapon, he hit his target.... every single time. It didn't matter if they were a foot away or a mile away, he was able to hit what he fired at.

When he arrived at the safe house, he punched in his code. Each operative had their own code. It was one way for the agency to track who was at the safe house. Trevor did not like it. He felt like a sitting duck when he used it, because he wasn't convinced that it wasn't the agency that was trying to get him.

As he walked in the door, he closed it behind him. When he heard the door lock, he also heard movement and had one of the Glocks pointed at the noise immediately. Simultaneously, he noticed the red dot on his chest, and he heard a female voice ask for the code. "497185.' It was the code that had followed the Crazy Horse text. When she asked for his call sign he gave it to her, and she responded with hers.

"Your reputation precedes you." When she asked him if he knew how many were alive, he responded, "I have no idea how many are alive or how many are dead. I don't know how many are coming here. All I know is I got the text to go dark and here I am. I also am not sure how long I want to be here. I feel like now that they know I am here, if they are after me, I am an easy target for them."

He moved against a side wall. "How long have you been here Skylark?"

 

[zydrate]

He told her his call sign and he seemed impressed when she gave him hers. "As does yours." She said in reply to his comment.

When he asked how long she had been there, Nicole told him, "2 hours, 38 minutes and 41 seconds." she had no watch, no phone but she just knew the time she had spent there so far. Nicole didn't bother to holster her weapon. She did power down the laser but that was it. She had it at the ready, just in case.

Nicole knew he was right about not wanting to be here. It was a stupid idea and no doubt something set up by some brown-nosing lackey, which was why she hadn't turned on any lights or made her presence known. Why? The whole idea of going dark was to disappear.

No, they wouldn't be hearing from their handler. They were to meet there and wait for further direction and/or clarification from someone else.

The only problem, they didn't know who that someone would be. Not until morning.

"Well, sunrise doesn't happen for another 3 hours. Per our orders, we wait. If no one else shows, then we go our separate ways and find out why this is happening." And if there was one thing (out of many) Nicole didn't like, was the not knowing. She hated waiting on the higher ups to stop dick slapping with each other and get to work. But politics...

They didn't know each other but they knew of each other. No, their 'kind' didn't have partners. Never did, never will. They also didn't have families. No, they were all orphans. All agents in their division were orphans because well... family got messy. That and if they ever got captured, there would be no leverage to use against them in order to break them.

Nicole was going to say something else, even though small talk wasn't her forte, when they heard another code being entered. As if they practiced it, both she and Lone Wolf raised their weapon at the door. As it opened, another agent entered, only this one didn't move with confidence. Instead, when he entered, he fell immediately to his knees and then onto the floor.

Well...shit.

Looking closer and using the light from the hall, they both could see the man shot in the back several times. He was still breathing.... barely. But this also meant he exposed them all. There was always one that ruined things, that was for sure.

Nicole, still having her weapon ready, aimed at the man's head and shot him. There would be no help for him. No questioning him. No taking him to the hospital. No. This was their fate.

"Party's over. We have to get going. No telling who did this or how close they are."

 

[BeachBum25]

As they walked out the door, Trevor put a bullet in the man's head. It put him out of his misery and h e wouldn't have to suffer anymore. More importantly though, it prevented him from telling what, if anything he saw.

Lone Wolf followed Skylark down the hall and the back stairs. As they exited the building, Skylark looked left while he looked right. Once they saw it was clear for the moment, he said to Skylark, "good luck. I know where I am going. I am not sure where your next stop is, but I hope you make it safely."

Trevor moved away from the building and made his way to his next stop. There was always a back-up. There was always someplace else to go in case the first place was compromised.

An hour later, he arrived at the alternate location. He had taken his time. He took a long, circuitous route. He wanted to make sure there was nobody tailing him. Once he had the location in sight, he decided to stake it out and make sure it wasn't a trap. He went to the roof of the building across the street and, after securing the door so that nobody else could come up onto the roof, he took out his sniper rifle and used the scope to survey the area outside the apartment building that was safe house Beta.

He couldn't believe it. About 15 minutes after setting up on the roof, he saw Skylark moving toward the building. She looked around, and then entered it. "Why is she here? They wouldn't put the two of us together in the Beta safe house." There were only two answers that he could come up with..... 1. she was the one he had to worry about... or 2. the Agency was setting both of them up and was trying to keep them together to make it easier to take them out.

He continued to check the area, and soon he had his answer. They weren't very good, but there were 2 men sitting in a black SUV across from the entrance. He could see that it was 2 men, because they had the windows down. Not real smart, but it was probably because it was a warm day and they did not want the vehicle to overheat while they waited for him to arrive. He was tempted to take the 2 of them out, and call it a day. It would be easily done, but it also would alert their back-up. They had to have back-up. There was no way those 2 were sent alone.

Lone Wolf disassembled the rifle, packed it up and made his way down from the roof. Cautiously, he made his way to the back of the apartment building and made his way to apartment 2K. There was an pinpad on the door. He entered the code and had a handgun at the ready; just in case Skylark was in with the two guys out front.

His weapon pointed right at her chest as he moved inside and closed the door. "Fancy meeting you here. Are they friends of yours out front?"

 

[zydrate]

Nicole could only give the other agent a puzzled look. He wished her luck..? Weird. It was just weird to be wished luck by anyone. Oh well, she was glad they were separating. It would just mean she didn’t have to worry about him. He probably felt the same way too. Again, good.

Not wasting anytime, Nicole blended into the morning crowd on the street. She slipped into some small clothing shop and grabbed a new top and jacket. She threw some local currency on the counter as she left, not bothering to wait for anyone to ring anything up. She had left plenty to cover what she had gotten.

In a small deli, she walked to the restroom and changed. Putting he dark hair in a ponytail and re-secured her personal weapons on her.

When she was done, she ordered some local morning breakfast sandwich. She was hungry and she was tired. She didn’t touch coffee, instead, she grabbed a bottle of water. As she stood in line, she noticed a guy in a suit walk back… just after that, another one…

“Are you kidding me?” Could they be any more conspicuous? She watched from the deli and when she got her order, she grabbed it and left out the back door. No objections from the employees, as if this happened all the time or they just didn’t care.

OK, there were 2… she stayed in the shadows and watched. Looking around at the buildings, on top of the buildings, crowds… so far, it was only the two men so far.

Good. They were definitely lackies. Recon, making sure she stayed in sight. OK…ok, she was ready to play.

Moving from the alley, she walked across to the next street, making sure she was seen before she disappeared again. She didn’t let on she knew about them. It was a game as she made her way to safehouse Beta. At least, she’d be there alone.

She rushed up the stairs and to the floor where there was another apartment waiting.

No sooner had she gotten there, Lone Wolf arrived, his gun pointed right at her. Nicole wasn’t deterred, walking up to him, she looked him in the eyes, “Get that fucking thing away from me.” She had said, her left hand holding a double-edged spine dagger with a serrated double-edged heel. She had it ready and pointed just left to his groin, his femoral triangle. “You might get the hit on me first, but I’ll still have enough time to sever your femoral artery.”

They both stood there, both not budging until what seemed like hours, when it was only minutes. Nicole sheathed her blade and stepped back as he put his gun away.

“I led them here believing I’d be the only one here… I guess I was wrong. If you want, you can leave. I’ll stay and take care of these idiots. I'm tired of games." She was. She hated games. Nicole liked things direct and to the point.

 

[BeachBum25]

Trevor was pissed at himself. He got lazy and let her get close. He had assumed that she would back away when the gun was pointed at her, but instead she closed the distance. Big fucking mistake. That could get you killed.

After putting the gun back in the holster inside his waistband, Trevor listened as Skylark talked about leading them here to take care of them. He wondered why she would lead them to her safehouse. That could just bring anyone who might be with them along. Just because the two sitting out front were bad, doesn't mean that there aren't others following them that are much better.

"We have no idea who or what we are dealing with right now. Those two might be incompetent fools, but we don't know if they are just decoys to draw one or both of us out. Also, something tells me that they know where we are both going.... after all, they made it so we both ended up in the same place."

He looked around the room, and saw it, but he didn't react when he saw it. Lone Wolf looked into Skylark's eyes in a way that let her know that he saw something. They both knew not to talk about plans anymore, but Lone Wolf continued to talk about the two out front. "If you want to take them out, fine. I will enjoy watching it. I was told that this is where I should go if the first place was compromised. This was Beta. I was never given a Gamma, so, I have no place else to go. However, I would like to get something to eat though before you put on your little show with the two idiots. You are welcome to join me if you want. You know... nourish your body before taking care of them."

Trevor moved toward the door slowly. He didn't know who or what might be outside the door now. Slowly, he opened the door and found nothing. Looking down the hallway, he saw that it was clear, so, he moved into the hallway and went to the apartment next door and knocked on the door. After knocking a second time, he jimmied the lock and went into the apartment. It was fully furnished and it was obvious someone was living here. Hopefully, they wouldn't be home for a while... for their sake.

Once in the apartment next door, he looked at Skylark. "We can't go running... yet. Since they saw us talking, and they probably also had it wired for sound, they are going to send backup in since they know you are going to off the two outside. Obviously, you are free to go. I am going to stay here and see what I can find out from the response team that they send. Hopefully, the people in this apartment don't come home too soon."

 

[zydrate]

Nicole sighed, “You’re giving them far too much credit…” she wandered aimlessly around the apartment, planning in her head of what to do next. She wasn’t given a back up either but she wasn’t going to tell him that. She may have not been given a back up but that didn’t mean she didn’t have one on her own. “Like I said, I thought I was going to be the only one here.”

‘Always have a plan.’ Was what she was taught. Plan A required a Plan B and Plan B required a Plan C… it kept going on and on. Nothing was ever foolproof, and this just proved the point. Why did she follow him in the apartment anyway? She was free to leave also…

This was why they always worked alone. She didn’t have time to take care of him and she knew he didn’t have time to take care of her. But… they were in the same predicament and so… did they need to work together?

Probably. And Nicole didn’t like it.

“OK, fine… let’s say you’re right and they are smarter than they appear, the response team won’t know anything. They are soldiers, that’s it. They follow orders, they won’t know anything other than to do their job. It won’t matter who it came from as long as that person was a higher rank. You want to waste your time with them, fine. But I’m going to get some answers… real answers.”

With that, Nicole searched for the bedroom and found it after a turn or two. She made sure it was clear before looking out the window and making sure it was clear. They were two floors up and the bedroom was opposite the main street.

Clear.

Opening the window, she looked down and saw several SUVs pull up, screeching to a stop. Well… shit.

 

[BeachBum25]

"You do whatever you think is the best. I am not thrilled with the situation either. However, they know we are both here. It is just a matter of time before their response team shows up. You have to know by now that we are targets."

Trevor knew that this was going to be a difficult situation for both of them. Neither of them worked with a partner before. Neither of them were comfortable working with another person. Neither of them had any desire to work with someone else. Unfortunately, for the time being, he Lone Wolf felt like they were going to have to work together.

The challenge for Trevor was going to be that Skylark seemed to be full of attitude. It was one thing to not want to work with someone else. It was another thing to let that impair your decision making. Skylark seemed to be trying to exert her dominance... like she wanted to prove herself to be capable of handling the situation. In Trevor's mind, Skylark didn't need to prove anything. If they were targets together, she must be good, because Lone Wolf knew he was good.

Hearing the tires screeching, Trevor moved to the doorway of the bedroom where Skylark was looking out the window. He stood there waiting for her to let him know what the situation was, and how many there were that they were going to have to eliminate. By the sound of the tires screeching, they were going to have to work together to get out of this situation... it sounded like several vehicles, and he was sure there were several men in each vehicle.

Trevor didn't like it, but he knew that with the number of people he believed were sent after them that he would need Skylark's help to get out of there in one piece. Of course, she wouldn't admit it, but she was going to need his assistance as well. He put his rifle back over his shoulder and made sure that each of his handguns had full clips in them. The wait was killing him. He was someone who did not like to stand around. He wanted to get the job done and move on.

He moved away from the bedroom door toward the entrance to the apartment. He would like to catch them in the stairways as they came up. There would be no place for them to hide. However, he had to wait for Skylark. Yes, in this instance, they were a team.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole watched the vehicles, only 3... pity. She thought it would be more a challenge.

"3 vehicles... each looking to have a 4 man team... 14 all together." She said as she moved back inside and peeked out the window while she continued to watch, making sure she wasn't seen. "6 going to the front... 6 going around the back... plus the 2 idiots that were here initially..."

Stepping away from the window, she moved passed Lone Wolf and into the hall. "OK, simple enough floorplan, once they find out we're not in there, they'll probably go to each apartment." She grabbed her 2 guns; one from the back holster of her belt and the other from her shoulder holster.

It was too far up for them to jump down or even try to get down via fire escape. Others might think they were trapped but they weren't. She turned to Lone Wolf, "Your exit strategy? I have 3." It was something they all were trained to do, plan your exit as you made your entrance. Maybe there were more, maybe not. She didn't want to admit it but yeah, they were going to have to work together on this.

"This doesn't make sense. Why call out the code when they could have just gotten us when we checked in after mission?" Nicole had a very, far fetched idea of what was going on... although it was a theory based more on a rumor but... rumors had to start from something of the like...right?

 

[BeachBum25]

Trevor always had multiple escape strategies when he entered a situation, including personal situations. Today was no different. He didn't enter a situation until he had developed his plans on how to get out.

Before he could respond to Skylark, she started talking about the situation not making sense. "I have thought about that, too. I have a lot of things running through my head. Maybe this is a situation that has multiple goals. It could be that they are trying to get us, and are trying to test out their response team at the same time." He watched Skylark for a response, but got nothing.

"Of course, the other thing that is running through my head is that they have a big mission they need taken care of and they want to see how well we work together. That is, if we work together at all. Of course, if that is the case, I might have to change my name." It was a lame attempt at humor to break the tension a little.

"They have cameras in the other room, and I would be willing to bet they have cameras in the hallway. That means they know where we are. There is a downspout on the back of the building. I think we could get down it as the entry team is coming in. They will see us go into that apartment, but they will not just barge in, because they will anticipate walking into a situation with multiple guns aimed at them. That will give us time to get down to the ground and be on our merry way."

Lone Wolf didn't like this. He never over-thought things. he always assessed and then reacted; using his instincts, which never failed him. Now, he had someone else that was with him, and he had to rely on her being in agreement with the plan, and, the more time they took to come to a mutual decision, the closer the entry team would be to finding them.

"I don't know what you are thinking, but I am going. You can join me, or you can go your own way. The choice is yours, but I am not just going to stand here and let them close the gap between us." Trevor opened the door just a little and looked down the hall. It was clear. Then he looked the other way... also clear. He looked down the hallway to the apartment where he knew he could get to the downspout.

He started to move, but then heard the door to the stairway at the other end of the hall open. He turned and pointed his weapon in that direction, only to see an elderly woman who immediately started screaming. Lone Wolf, turned back around and headed for the target apartment, and kicked in the door. As he moved in, he realized there was nobody home. He moved to the back window and opened it. The downspout was right there.

Before climbing out the window, he turned to see if Skylark was following him.

 

[zydrate]

“Damnit…” Nicole said as she followed Lone Wolf. When on a mission, Nicole wasn’t one for jokes, even if it was to break the ice with anyone. It was either do your job or don’t.

They had to work together. Like it or not. Nicole would follow along…for now, but later, they would need to stop and talk. Talk when no one was chasing them. They had different ideas about what as going on. She, for one moment, did not think this was something to do to see if they could work a mission together. No… for now, she had to assume that Lone Wolf was part of this… no matter… she couldn’t trust him right now… if ever.

Nicole rarely trusted anyone. It was just because of their line of work. Relying on others could get you killed.

As he kicked the door in, Nicole had her back against his, her weapon ready for anyone that appeared behind them. They entered the apartment, classic sweeping of the room, at least they worked well on that.

She heard shouts and banging, probably from the doors being kicked in from their assigned meeting spot. Shouts and more screams. Without waiting for encouragement from her ‘partner’, Nicole hopped out onto the ledge and grabbed at the spout… it was a little wobbly but still, it worked as she crawled down it. When she reached the bottom, she jumped off and had one her weapons ready behind her back as she waited for him to come down after her. They were in public so having a weapon out visible could be a mistake, but still, they needed to have it at the ready.

There was no sign of the team sent after them, probably because they were still figuring out where their two targets went. They should have left at least 4 ready at the entrance but no, they all had gone up to look for them.

Both Nicole and Lone Wolf hurried along the street, keeping against the building and then over half a block to a crowded street where they had no trouble mingling in with the crowd.

 

[BeachBum25]

If this was a test, it was an extremely easy one. Wolf jumped off the downspout and moved behind Skylark; constantly checking their six.

Once they were on the crowded street, Lone Wolf took his hand off his weapon, but kept it close enough that he could get at it if he needed to. He stopped and stood with his back to a tall office building. "I am not sure where your Gamma location is, but I have a feeling that yours is the same as mine. I am going there, but I am not going to continue this fucking game. I am not going to be the hunted. If shit goes down at the next safe house the way is just did back there, I am taking them all out, and I don't care how public an even it is."

Without waiting for a response from Skylark, Lone Wolf lived up to his name and started to move. He turned his phone on to get the location of the next safe house. Then, he removed the sim card and dumped the phone into the shopping bag of a woman that was passing him. He knew they were tracking his phone. That would buy him some time.

As he got to the next intersection, he could still feel Skylark behind him. He stopped at the intersection. "Either get next to me or in front of me. Do not be behind me. I don't know you, and I still am not sure whether or not I can trust you, so, I do not want you anywhere that I can't see you unless you are going your own way."

An hour later, they were two blocks from the Gamma location. Wolf stopped and looked up at all of the buildings. He saw the building that would give him the clearest view of the Gamma location. "I am going up to the roof here. You can go on ahead, if you like. I am gong to get a look at what is already there, and I am going to see what kind of response they have to a threat. I am not playing the game under their rules anymore. Now, I am making the rules for them to follow."

He went into the building and found the stairway to the rear of the building. Taking his time, Wolf climbed to the top floor and then found the roof access. He had chosen this building because it was older and would have much easier access to the roof. Once on the roof, he considered making sure that nobody could come onto the roof, but decided against it just in case Skylark decided to join him.

Once he found the spot with the best view of Gamma, he took out the rifle and assembled it. Using the scope, he surveyed the area around Gamma. He saw 2 SUVs that were obviously waiting for them; one across the street from the entrance and one near the rear alley behind the building.

"Okay boys. Now we play the game my way." He squeezed off one round that penetrated the hood and the engine of the SUV across from the entrance. He fired a second round that took out one of the rear tires. Then, he took aim at the other SUV and took out a front and rear tire. The sound of the shots would not be heard on the ground from this height. What would send the people in a panic would be the operatives in the SUVs jumping out with automatic weapons in their hands. He could have taken them all out, but that wasn't his plan. He wanted to see what they responded with this time.

While looking through the scope and watching what was going on below, Wolf heard a slight sound behind him. It was barely audible, but he heard it. In one, smooth motion he spun and drew one of the handguns and pointed it at the person approaching him.

 

[zydrate]

Lone Wolf's take on the situation was a lot different than what Nicole figured. While he wanted to take them down, even publically, was risky. Yeah, she had wanted to take them down but her approached was way different.

There was too much talking. This was why their kind worked alone. Less talking, no having to get the clear on what they planned. Nicole let him move first, her eyes taking in everything, the crowd, the buildings, the cars... as if taking a mental picture to analyze later...

That's when Nicole saw something... odd.

Then she heard him get after her about trust. "Calm down.." she told him. Nicole didn't have a phone, but unlike him, she didn't have a Gamma house. It wouldn't do any good even if she did, she wasn't going and putting herself out there for them.

She thought about what he said about not trusting her. Good. She didn't trust him either. At least they had that in common.

There it was again... a fucking drone.

It didn't matter where they were going, they had a drone on them.

OK... that's when Nicole got an idea.

"Yeah... you do that. I'm done following you. Do what you need to do Lone Wolf.. and good luck." Did she mean that? Not really.

A drone couldn't follow them both...

Nicole kept moving, keeping her head down and moving a building down. A warehouse. More accurately, a meat packing warehouse. She entered and saw people working. No one paid attention to her but she kept a low profile nonetheless, staying against the backwall and going up some stairs. The offices were empty and Nicole moved into one. From there, she could see the streets clearly and with the dirty windows, she knew no one could see her as long as she kept low.

While in the office, Nicole recalled what she saw... thank god for her eidetic memory. 3 SUVs, one drone but there could be more deployed. She remained calm as she had her eyes closed and ran through what she saw.

Nicole could have told Lone Wolf this but he was too intent on doing what he wanted. Besides, they were trained to take care of themselves.

She took an assessment of her weapons on hand. One blade, her favorite. It had a 6 inch fixed blade, both edges were serrated, a custom handle molded to her right hand grasp. A FN Five-seven pistol with a laser target, along with 4 extra full clips. She didn't carry much because she was more the close combat agent than those in the same field. Only because she was female and could get closer to male targets easier. Not that she couldn't hold her own with a sniper rifle, she just preferred...intimate contact kills.

That's when she heard screaming and shouting. Even though the warehouse was noisy, being near the window and close to the streets, she heard the noise. Goddamnit. That had to be Lone Wolf's doing.

Nicole pushed away from the wall of the office and continued on her way up to the roof the warehouse. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she opened the door carefully and made sure she was clear first before, again, keeping low. She looked around for that damn drone and didn't see it... yet...

She did, however, see someone making their way up the next building, It was then she saw Lone Wolf...

Was that guy going to get the hit on him? Nicole didn't take any chances--besides, there wasn't anytime to think about it. Act now! her mind screamed at her. She raised her weapon and shot at the man just as Lone Wolf turned around.

Good.

But the sound of her weapon firing meant the attention was now on her. And that's when she saw it.. that fucking drone! She aimed at the drone and took it out.

Too late. They knew where she was. It was time to go.

 

[BeachBum25]

Lone Wolf fired one round and hit the man dead center of his chest just as the man's head exploded. He had a feeling that Skylark and fired the other shot, but he wasn't certain. Hell, at this moment, he wasn't certain of anything. How did they know where he was?

A gunshot rang out, and then he heard a loud crash. He peeked over the edge of the roof and saw a drone laying in the middle of the street. "Fuck. How did you miss that? You are getting careless, and careless will get you dead. Get your shit together."

He looked back toward where he had fired the shots at the SUVs. It was chaos. There were police cars and multiple black SUVs from which over 20 people in black suits had exited. It was just as he thought. Gamma was a set-up, also.

Trevor disassembled the rifle and put it in the bag. After putting the bag over his back, he left the rooftop, and, went down 4 flights of stairs. He could hear people entering the stairway below. He left the stairway and walked through the hallway. There were 5 people waiting for the elevator. Perfect. He was able to get on the elevator with them and move to the side. When the doors open, he would not be visible and would be able to use the people as cover. Yes, one or two or all of them might get killed, but that would give him a better chance at surviving. Collateral damage... sucks for them.

When the elevator doors opened at the ground floor, Lone Wolf let the people exit the elevator first. Then, he moved in close behind the last person, a woman.. making sure she provided ample cover. To his surprise, there was nobody there. He looked around the lobby... nothing.. nobody. Who the fuck was running this operation? Whoever it was, Lone Wolf never wanted to work with him or her.

Exiting the lobby through the rear, Lone Wolf walked through the parking lot. He noticed everything. He noticed everybody. He wasn't going to miss anything again. As he got to the street, a delivery driver got out of his truck and carried 3 large boxes into a building across the street. Lone Wolf entered the truck, found the keys in the ignition and slowly drove away.. not wanting to bring any attention to himself. He only needed the truck to get out of the immediate area.

Five minutes later, Lone Wolf parked the truck and locked it. He then boarded a bus that pulled up to the corner. It was heading out of the city center. It would give him time to figure out what was going on. He asked the bus driver about a library. The driver told him they would be near the library in several blocks. Lone Wolf sat just behind the rear door and waited. When the driver told him the next stop would get him near the library, Lone Wolf got off through the rear door and walked to the library.

Once inside the library, he found an unoccupied desktop computer with nobody around it. Sitting with his back to the wall and facing the front of the library, Lone Wolf logged on and then went to the top secret site where he received his assignments. After going through the multi-step log in process, Lone Wolf saw in large letters across the screen.... CRAZY HORSE.

There was nothing more for him to do. He was supposed to go dark and since that had come through, he had been a target. He logged off the computer... cleared the history, and then accessed a website that allowed him to load a bug onto the computer that would render it useless. In addition, it would take out the entire library computer system for a few hours. By that time, he would be long gone. Where would he be? That was a great question and he was the only one that would have that answer.

 

[zydrate]

*** Sydney, Australia - 3 weeks later ***

Nicole moved through the halls like she belonged. She was dressed in a housekeeper's uniform she had 'borrowed from the staff locker room of the hotel. She didn't have a cart but she had several towels draped on left arm. She approached the room she needed but there were two big security guards there. No problem.

Smiling sweetly, she held up the towels, "I'm bring extra items that were requested earlier this evening."

There was a slight pause from them and they just nodded. With that, Nicole used her 'acquired' keycard and let herself in the room. She looked around and saw nothing out the usual. A penthouse suite... room and adjoining bedroom, small bar stocked to the brim with the finest drinks, both alcoholic and non alcoholic. Perfect.

Nicole grabbed two bottles of water out of the small frig and opened them, only loosening the caps before placing them on the bar. She then filled the ice bucket with water from the bathroom and placed that, along with the towels, on the bar.

"Ohh nooo! Can I get some help in here please?" She called out as she hung out by the end of the small hall, waiting for the 2 guards to come rushing in.

OK, maybe rushing in was pushing it, they entered and looked around. The first one saw Nicole, asking her what the problem was. She said nothing and took him out. He crumpled to the floor and didn't give the second one time to react as she rendered him unconscious in a matter of seconds. Looking at her watch, she knew she still had some time to spare. Quickly, she dragged both guards, one by one, to the bedroom and secured them, took their weapons away, which she hid behind the bar.

Now... all she had to do was wait...

***

"OK, Senator O'Connell... just look at your wife. Why are you making her suffer? I thought you loved her?"

Elaine O'Connell, who was tied to a chair, was not looking too good at the moment. She was missing two fingers so far.

"Listen, I don't have too much time, OK? Why was Crazy Horse called? I hate repeating myself and so, you have one chance before I take both of your wife's lovely eyes out... and shove them down your throat."

That was all it took for the Senator to start talking. Nicole had tied the Senator up directly across his wife, their knees touching... very intimate--in a way.

The Senator told Nicole all he knew. It confirmed some things she had known and of course, brought new light to some things she hadn't.

When the Senator was done. Nicole nodded. She never once raised her voice to anyone. She thought about it all for a minute more. Standing up, she pulled her out weapon, "Thank you for your honesty, Senator. I truly appreciate it. I hope you both enjoyed the opera tonight. I mean, what a wonderful place to see an opera other than Sydney."

After she put them out of their misery, Nicole put the towels over both their heads, wiped down anything she touched bare handed. It wasn't much because she knew how to move and not leave a trace. In the morning, the authorities would check the hotel cameras and find that there was a malfunction...

As for the guards, they were taken care of way before the Senator and his wife came back from the opera.

***

Later, in the small boarding room Nicole had rented out for the week, she tossed a take out bag of food on the dresser. She had a lot think about with her new influx of information received. It was starting to make sense now but now, she would only stay a few hours to get some rest and then get a move on in the morning...

 

[BeachBum25]

Trevor was enjoying the white sand and the hot sun of the luxury Caribbean resort. After getting out of town, he had decided to take some time and to decompress. He was unsure whether to go skiing in the Alps or to the warmth of the Caribbean. Ultimately, the sun won out.

Periodically, he would go online and check the news and see what was going on in the world. He liked to stay up-to-date on world happenings, because that could have an impact on his next mission.... if there was a next mission.

While laying by the pool, Trevor wondered if it was such a bad thing that he had been ordered to go dark. An early retirement could be a good thing. He had more money than he could spend in 100 lifetimes. He had more identities than he could count. He could spend the rest of his life moving from place to place, and nobody would ever find him.

When he went up to the room, he opened a laptop that he had purchased when he arrived at the resort. When he opened up the news webpage, he saw... "BREAKING NEWS... US Senator and wife found murdered in Australian hotel suite."

Reading through the article, Trevor found out that it was Senator O'Connell and his wife , and there was mention that there were some signs of torture. That information came out because it happened in Australia and the US government did not react quick enough to suppress it.

Now, Trevor was not exactly sad that O'Connell was dead, because he was responsible for a lot of poor decisions that had been made by US leaders. You see, O'Connell was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Intelligence. That position gave him a great deal of power. That power often went unchecked, which meant that the intelligence community often made really bad decisions. That led to Trevor having to clean up a lot of their messes.

"How did someone get into his hotel suite? I know he always travelled with security." Trevor's mind started to kick into gear. This was a transformation from Trevor to Lone Wolf. As he thought about it, he wondered if this was an action taken by someone in the government to eliminate O'Connell or if it was the action of a lone individual.

"Skylark!"

It had to be her. It was too soon after Crazy Horse was called to be a coincidence. There were very few people in the world that could get close to someone like O'Connell. Lone Wolf did not know Skylark, but he knew that he had such a skillset, and if the two of them had received the Crazy Horse at the same time, Lone Wolf was pretty sure she had the skills too. If it was Skylark, why? Was she so pissed off about the Crazy Horse that she wanted to get revenge? Did she find out something and was taking it out on O'Connell?

The more Lone Wolf thought about it, the more he realized that the torture was an attempt to extract information. Someone who was just looking to kill someone would not take the time to torture them; even if it was for revenge. No, this was a way of getting information from O'Connell.

It was time to go. He packed up and left the resort without checking out. At the airport, he found the first flight back to the States was going to Houston. It wasn't ideal, but he could make it work. Once he got to DC, he reached out to an old contact who he knew he could trust. Lone Wolf could trust him because the man knew that if he betrayed Lone Wolf that he was signing his own death certificate.

"I need you to get facial recognition from all of the airports into Australia for the days before O'Connell was found. I need to know if any other assets entered Australia. This information comes to me and only to me and is not recorded anywhere." Lone Wolf did not need to confirm that the man understood.

The next day, Lone Wolf's suspicions were confirmed. She had tried to disguise her look, but they got a shot of her as she passed through immigration.

After getting the information, Lone Wolf tossed the burner phone in a trash can. "Okay, now what? Where are you and what are you up to?"

 

[zydrate]

*** 1 week later ***

Different everything. She had to be different. Now, she was back in DC, a place she really didn’t hate…

She felt a light tap at her shoulder and she nodded as she applied one last swipe of her lipstick. Hurrying out of the van and getting on her mark, with the backdrop of capital hill. Bringing up the mic, she smiled, and the countdown started.

In the newsroom, an anchor spoke up, “And now, let’s head down to our pollical correspondent, Rose Lawson.”

“Yes James, even after the terrible tragedy to befall Senator O’Connell and his lovely wife, tomorrow is a very important day as several key International Representatives will meet with White House Officials—” the story went on about after the representatives arrived, Todd Montgomery, dubbed Washington’s Batman, only because he was a local who had the money and influence in Washington on many agendas presented to him. Todd would be holding a $10K a plate gala for those representatives, who would be a guest, “and I have been granted special access to the behind the scenes for tomorrow’s dinner…”

Once they were off-air, Rose handed her producer her mic and earpiece. She told them she had to go and would see them tomorrow at the gala.

Smiling to herself, Rose grabbed a cab and returned to her ‘loft’.

Once in her loft, Nicole activated her security system, one she had help design herself. Making her way up to the bedroom, she removed her wig, setting the blonde monstrosity on a Styrofoam head in hidden closet, along with her dress… she was in desperate need of a shower. Before she stepped into the shower, she removed her color changing contacts. She then stepped into the shower’s warm water and washed the makeup cover she used to cover up her numerous tattoos to make her seem more ‘normal’ for the camera.

As she washed up, she thought about tonight. She was taking a major risk continuing with her own agenda. Her mind wandered to tomorrow night… she was indeed invited… well, Rose was invited but Nicole would want to have a little conversation with Mr. Montgomery…

The reasons Nicole had had weren’t personal… at least not yet. She thought about what the late Senator had said, again confirming her suspicions about why Crazy Horse was called. She was on a death list. As were several other ‘agents’, including Lone Wolf. A death list that had only been a rumor she had heard about when she was a rookie agent. Others had said it was just a scare tactic, so they would always be vigilant in the field. But some reason, Nicole didn’t take it as rumor.

And that’s where tomorrow night’s ‘talk’ with Todd Montgomery would play into all this… Her thoughts again turned to Lone Wolf. Would he have believed her when they had first met? She wasn’t sure. Her only objective was saving her own ass. That was always her number one. And she knew it was his also.

Hopefully he was still alive. The fact that he was the only who made it to the 2 safehouses proved she and him were the only ones alive. Hopefully to this point. He was good, but… Nicole wasn’t sure. Yeah, they all had their own way of working but with him…

She couldn’t put her finger on it. If he was as good as she was, then she had no doubt he was still alive.

 

[BeachBum25]

He had to figure out what was going on. O'Connell's death had to be tied to the Crazy Horse. Although he was convinced that Skylark was responsible, he couldn't be 100 % certain. There must have been other agents who had been ordered to go dark. Was it possible that he and Skylark were the only two that had survived to make it to the "safe houses."

There were people that would be in the know, and Lone Wolf had every intention of "reaching out" to them. His first stop was going to be his handler. Agents were not supposed to know anything about their handler, but Lone Wolf was not just any agent. Years before, he used some down time to track down where his handler lived and he found out everything about him, including where his daughters went to school.

When the handler left the house one morning, Lone Wolf was hiding in the back seat of his car. The handler was lazy. Anyone in intelligence knew to check out a vehicle before getting in it. Lone Wolf knew the handler was far removed from field work. As the handler pulled away from his house, Lone Wolf dropped a picture in his lap from the back seat. The picture was of the handler's daughters walking out of school. "Do as I tell you and there will be no problems..... for your daughters."

Once the handler was tied to a pipe on the third floor of an abandoned warehouse, Lone Wolf sat in front of him. "A handler is supposed to be support for their asset. You did not do that Simon. You did not let me know that the Crazy Horse was an attempt to eliminate me. I don't give a fuck about all of the others who may have been eliminated, but I do care about me. Big mistake Simon."

Lone Wolf got up and walked around his handler... well, his ex-handler. He thought about Skylark. He wondered what information she was able to extract from O'Connell. O'Connell would obviously have more info than Simon, so, Lone Wolf was going to have to do this in steps.

"You see Simon, I have a very difficult decision to make. I have to figure out whether to leave your daughters without a father..... or their father without his daughters. Now, I will be honest with you. I am going to allow you to help me with that decision. You tell me what I need to know, and your daughters end up without a father." Lone Wolf stopped in front of Simon and stared into his eyes. You fuck with me and try to play some stupid game with me, and you will be without daughters. Your choice."

Lone Wolf walked away from his handler into the dark recesses of the warehouse; giving Simon time to think about what he was just told. When Lone Wolf returned he was carrying two 5-gallon cans of gasoline. He sat one down next to the chair he had been sitting in. Then he walked over to Simon and poured the entire 5 gallons of gas over his handler's head.

"Ready to talk? Or do I need to go pick up the girls at school? Uncle Wolf would be happy to get them for you."

Simon began rambling. At first insisting he knew nothing. Lone Wolf stood up and started to walk away. "I told you it was your choice." Simon begged him to stop. Simon then told him everything that he knew. He told him about the change in leadership at the top of the agency. He told him about new agents in training. What he didn't know, or so he said, was where the Crazy Horse originated.

It would be quite some time before anyone noticed the old warehouse was on fire. By that time the 10 gallons of gasoline poured on and around Simon would make any possible identification of him impossible. That was, if there was even any remnants of a person.

Lone Wolf listened to a news report on the radio about a big political gala and fundraiser that night. A lot of important people would be there. It would be a perfect place to do some recon. His skills obtained in college as a waiter would come in handy once again.

 

[zydrate]

The evening of the gala and although it was closed off to cameras, Nicole’s other persona, Rose, was able to get in only as a guest. No cameras, no media. She was dressed in a long, flowy black dress and had her ‘blonde hair’ up in a messy, stylish bun. She smiled and played her part well, talking with high-ranking officials. Of course, she knew them all.

Well, in reputation mostly.

She even knew of there dirty side. The scandals she could release would end a lot of ‘happy’ marriages in DC.

No, she was here for one reason, and that was to talk with Todd Montgomery. She knew this would take a careful hand, but the thing was, time wasn’t on her side. Mr. Montgomery was also very carefully guarded…but then again, so was Senator O’Connell.

Nicole didn’t have any weapons on her. She didn’t need them but if push came to shove, she knew were to get some.

Most of the first part of the evening was making small talk with those ‘high class’ jerks. If only they knew…

The opportunity came just in time, as she was getting bored. She had wanted to question Montgomery here, but it wasn’t the time and place. As much as she didn’t want to, she would need to lure Montgomery somewhere private.

Be on alert… Her mind screamed at her.

Todd Montgomery was anything but conspicuous, she could easily tell which side their weapons were in their jackets. She figured out they were also ex-SAS and ex-Israel Special Forces. Interesting.

 

[BeachBum25]

Arriving at the venue early was a necessity. He needed to do recon. He needed to see where the caterer and their employees entered. As he watched, he just shook his head. All of these important people, and they hire some flunky security agency to check catering staff in. The dignitaries, the important ones, would have their own security inside; that was what he needed to be concerned about. Lone Wolf had no idea what, if anything, he was looking for at this event. He just had a gut feeling about something. He, also, had a feeling that Skylark would be in attendance.

He wore a tuxedo. He was certain that the wait staff for such an event would be wearing them. In his pocket he had a bow tie and a regular tie. He wasn't sure what to expect in that area. He moved around the exterior of the venue; taking it all in. He wanted to know where the exits were and where he could go if he came out one of those exits in a hurry.

While walking around the building, Lone Wolf saw a teenager in a tux wandering around looking lost. "Hey, you working tonight, too." The kid told him that it was his first night working for the company and that he had no idea what he was doing or where he was supposed to go. "My name is Vince Thomas. Nice to meet you. It was supposed to be my first night too." The teenager introduced himself as Billy Hoyle. "Hey Billy, it sucks, doesn't it. They asked a bunch of new hires to come down here and when we get here they tell us that they made a mistake and don't need us. It is probably a good thing though. First night at a fancy gig like this would be pretty stressful."

He saw a look on the kid's face that said he was happy he didn't have to work it. "I was so nervous about this. I couldn't believe this was my first assignment as a waiter. Are you sure they cancelled all of the new people, not just you?" Lone Wolf told him that there had been 5 others who were told they weren't needed. "And the catering manager said, if anybody knows this Hoyle guy, tell him we don't need him either." Billy shrugged his shoulders and turned around and thanked Lone Wolf for letting him know.

When Lone Wolf got to the catering entrance, he was asked his name. "Billy Hoyle." The security guy said there was no Billy Hoyle on the list, but there was a William Hoyle. Lone Wolf looked at the guy. "Seriously? My legal name is William, but I go by Bill or Billy as do most guys named William." He walked inside and there was a member of the catering staff there checking everyone in and giving out assignments. "Since you are new, we are going to have you work the back of the room. You will only have 2 tables. It will give you a chance to see how we work. During the cocktail hour, just move around and collect empty glasses. It should be an easy night for you. Now, where is your tie?" Lone Wolf noticed others entering in bow ties. "Sorry, here it is." He took it out of his pocket and put it on.

Perfect. Move around and collect empty glasses. The best possible way to do recon.

Before the even began, Lone Wolf moved around and took note of all of the exits, restrooms and stairways. Once the doors opened and the first guests began to arrive, he was ready for whatever came his way. He moved carefully, making sure not to bump into people. He didn't want anyone to realize he had two handguns in the back of his waistband. The early arrivals were low level dignitaries, but still well off enough to fork over the money for the event. As it got a little later, Lone Wolf recognized some more important people arriving. He also recognized the one man walk in with high-level security agents who were well-armed. "Hmmm, interesting way to spend a night out socializing."

He knew of Todd Montgomery, but had never had any direct dealings with him. He would have to keep his eye on him. He picked up a couple of glasses, and then turned around just as a woman walked past and stuck out her hand with an empty glass. He took it from her as she moved with a purpose. There was something about her that was familiar, but he couldn't place her. Then, he thought, "Is that her? Is she here, too?"

 

[zydrate]

Nicole liked living. Of course, there was always the possibility of her dying on a mission but that was when she was on a mission. That fact that she was being hunted like an animal pissed her off really. It didn't scare her. It just made her really mad. Of course, one could argue that's probably how her assigned targets felt but they were really bad people. She was just assigned to take care of the problem.

Like tonight. She had a mission. Although it was more personal, it was still a mission.

Right?

She smiled at the right people. Made the small talk just interesting enough not to be boggled down to talking for what would seem like hours. She played her part perfectly.

Although the actual dinner hadn't started, Nicole figured it was time to make her way to Mr. Montgomery. As she did so, she set her glass down on a tray a passing waiter...

Wait.

She didn't turn to look but she saw him. She hid a grin... so he was alive. OK, what was he doing here? She could only guess he had come to the same conclusion as she had. Good. But she didn't have time to worry about him right now. It would be too obvious. Besides, her objective right there, talking with some Congressman... he wasn't important, so Nicole didn't care about him.

Ignoring the stare down from the guards, Nicole greeted Montgomery and he seemed happy to see her. He knew of her, she was sure. They talked politely for a minute before he guided her away from prying eyes and of course, ears.

Ten minutes later, Nicole figured she wasn’t going to get anything out of Montgomery. At least not as Rose. She needed to get him alone. But that would have to wait until after the gala. It was too much of a public display to get him alone right now. He had told Nicole… well, told Rose to call him later tonight. He would be happy to talk with her more.

OK, Nicole could work with that. Rose had said yes, she would call him later and they could talk more. Montgomery’s guards? A mere afterthought. She’d have to bide her time a little while longer.

With that, she quietly left the gala. She would call Montgomery later tonight and see what he knew. Well, he was probably thinking something else was going to happen but surely, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

 

[BeachBum25]

Watching the woman walk away, he was certain it was Skylark. He had played a hunch when he heard about this gala on the radio. She must be using information that she got from O'Connell. Lone Wolf watched as she approached the man with the heavy security. He couldn't remember the man's name, but he was certain he knew the face.

As he moved around the room and collected dirty glasses, he get his attention on the woman; trying to confirm that it was Skylark. Although he was 99% certain it was her, he wanted to make sure. His focus on confirming it was Skylark, caused him to bump into a couple who were standing and talking. He apologized, and just ignored the snooty comment from the woman.

After bumping into a group of people standing between two tables and blocking the aisle, Lone Wolf decided he had to be more careful. He could not risk a scene. Although, the security for the event was nothing to worry about, the individual guards for some of the guests would be a concern, and if anyone discovered he was carrying two handguns while working as a waiter, it could be a problem.

He saw the man and the woman move out of sight. There was no way that he could see them without making it too obvious, so, he continued working while watching the area they had moved to. When the woman walked away, she immediately left the banquet area. That meant that Lone Wolf was going to have to focus on the man. He wasn't sure who Skylark was pretending to be, but that would have to be something to worry about later.

As people were asked to move to their seats for dinner, Lone Wolf did the final round up of glasses and then moved to his tables. He found out which entree each of the guests had ordered and moved to the kitchen to wait. Being at the back of the room, meant that his tables would be some of the last to be served.

While waiting, Lone Wolf decided to move just outside the kitchen. He noticed that the man that Skylark had been speaking with was seated at the head table, just to the right of the podium. He was definitely important. Lone Wolf needed to do some investigating.

When it came time to serve his tables, Lone Wolf moved around and made certain that each guest got what they ordered. Once again, he did not need to create a scene. While his tables were eating their meal, a man got up and started to introduce the people at the head table. Lone Wolf stopped for a minute. Then, he proceeded to move around and serve dessert to the guests.

He recognized the name. He had heard of Todd Montgomery. He recognized the face. Now, he was going to need to do some research on the man. After dessert was served, Lone Wolf quietly snuck out of the gala. If Skylark had left it meant there was no more to see here. He had a name, now it was time to do research on him.

 

[zydrate]

She had taken out the guards.

Why was it so easy?

Now, Todd Montgomery was sitting in the dark.. secured to a chair, one of his luxurious Egyptian cotton pillowcases covering his head. His muffled cries were of no concern for Nicole, who sat in the corner of the darken room, her eyes closed as she thought about how she was going to go about this. She had time. Mr. Montgomery wasn't needed anywhere soon. But Nicole knew she needed to get this done soon...at least before the sun came up.

He didn't know it was Nicole.

He didn't know it was Rose.

He didn't know they were one of the same person. And if he answered Nicole's questions, he might live to tell this tale to his friends... but for some reason, Nicole doubted it.

Her specialty was torture, after all. She could get the answer out of anyone.

It was why she was so damn good at her job.

She got up, walking to Todd, her footsteps silent. Her whispered question near his ear startling him.

"Here's what's going to happen... Todd. I'm going to ask a question. And for each question I feel you haven't answered honestly, well.. you're going to lose something. It could be a finger. It could be an ear... I'm not sure yet. So, I would suggest you be as honest as you can with me, OK?"

He shook his head vigorously. More muffled crying.

Nicole pulled up the pillowcase enough for him to remain blindfolded and she secured it before loosening his gag.

Her voice was still no more than a whisper, "Scream if you want. No one is going to hear you. As you know, by your design, your bedroom is soundproof. So..." she didn't need to finish what was he was saying as she was sure he got the idea. She had wanted to go into why she knew it was soundproof. Oh, she knew why... Todd wasn't such a good boy. His sexual tastes were a bit... extreme.

This time, Nicole spoke up, her change in voice scaring Todd, "You are part of the Nine Horseman, aren't you?" She watched him carefully until he finally nodded.

"So, it is true... from what I understand, your little group of billionaires put a hit out on several of Government's agents... those who put out the fire when things get too messy... the hit is out because you all thought it would be fun, right?"

A head shake from side to side.

"Remember what I said about lying." And just like that, one of the extra blades Nicole had on her found it's way into Montgomery's left thigh. "Consider that a warning."

Before Nicole could ask her next question, she sensed someone behind her.

Standing up straight, she didn't bother to turn around. She knew the guards were taken care of. She had done her job of making sure she had time to get her questions answered. In one move, she had tightened Montgomery's gag, even as he still cried out at the pain.

 

[BeachBum25]

Once leaving the gala, Lone Wolf knew he had to do some research. He also knew that he didn't have a lot of time to do it. If Skylark was making a move on someone else, after eliminating a sitting US Senator, she wasn't going to waste any time getting to her next "victim."

He was able to get information on Montgomery and also was provided with information about a group known as the Nine Horsemen. There wasn't much known about them. There were only rumors about who they were and what they did, but all were uber rich.

Using information that he was able to gather, Lone Wolf made his way to Montgomery's sprawling home. It was easy to get inside. Once inside, he saw the two guards who had already been eliminated. "She is already here." He moved around the first floor quietly; checking every room. Finding nothing and nobody on the first floor, he started up the stairs... slowly.... checking up and down.... making sure he was ready to take anyone out.

Once at the top of the stairs, he checked each room thoroughly... quietly. As he moved, he heard a voice... a female voice. He knew who it was. Damn, she moved quickly. Lone Wolf moved to the doorway, and heard Skylark say something about the Nine Horsemen. Then, he watched as she thrust a knife into Montgomery's thigh.

"Yes, I am here. You didn't think I was going to let you have all of the fun, did you?" Slowly, Lone Wolf moved over beside Skylark. Having already put the gun in the back of his waistband, he showed her that his hands were empty. "I am not here to harm you. If that had been the case, you would have never heard me. However, I am here to find out what is going on, and to help get to the bottom of it."

At no time did Lone Wolf use Skylark's name. He had no idea, yet, what her plans were for Montgomery. He was pretty sure that she had every intention of eliminating him, but he did not want to take the chance of revealing identities to him.

Looking at Skylark. "One of the Nine Horsemen?" Then looking at the knife in Montgomery's thigh. "I bet that hurts a little."

Then, looking back at Skylark. "So, the Nine Horsemen thought it would be a fun little game to eliminate agents of the government. Except the way they did it was like shooting fish in a barrel by bringing all of them together. Not much of a challenge."

Deciding that he was not going to be left on the sidelines, and not worrying to see if Skylark was okay with him getting involved, Lone Wolf moved over to Montgomery. "Answer every one of the lady's questions quickly and honestly. It seems that she is pretty good at torture, which you are already experiencing, and I know that I can deliver a great deal of pain. Don't lie or mislead again."

 

[zydrate]

Nicole didn't say anything to Lone Wolf. Why would she need to? He crashed her party and she didn't need him gone, just to not interfere. He did, after all, have every right to find out what was going on.

"I don't take kindly to be hunted. First they tried to get us out into the open by calling Crazy Horse. So, we know you had someone on the inside. Of course, that's not shocking at all. Maybe you did get lucky with taking out several agents but that was the main reason right? To get the weaker ones so the others could be dealt with in a more challenging situation?" With that, Nicole grabbed the knife handle in Montgomery's thigh and gave it a good twist, causing him to scream from behind his gag. He was sweating profusely and still wasn't talking.

Good. Because Nicole wasn't asking questions.

"By the way, I'm not here to get the names of the others. I know who they are..." Nicole knelt in front of Montgomery and reached over, before wrapping her hand around the handle and slowly, extremely slowly, pulled the knife out of his thigh. For his effort, Todd didn't cry out but his breathing increased.

"I know what you're thinking, maybe you'll get away if you kick me... I really suggest you don't..." She stood and wiped the blade on his expensive silk shirt. "

"So, I said I know who the remaining Horsemen are... what I want to know is who you gave the job to. That's it. Tell me... us, and you'll live. Simple."

But it was never that simple. Nicole removed the gag.

Silence.

"Todd." Nicole said, encouraging him, her voice remaining calm.

He seemed to be struggling within himself before answering, "I only hired Daniil Kozlov and Kaltiz Palova... that's it. The rest hired their own contractors..."

Nicole heard of Kozlov but Palova was new. Russian hitmen. Nothing too concerning since neither have succeeded so far.

"There's also a time frame," Todd continued between each labored breath, "First one to have the most hits by the 25th, gets the prize money."

Nicole kept her focus on Todd Montgomery. "How much?"

"It depends... you each have different prices on your head. All expenses are paid by contract holder. Money is no object. So... kill me if you want, but just know, it won't stop any of this. You'll both be dead by the end of the week."

Nicole took a deep breath an nodded. She then looked over at Lone Wolf, "Any other questions before I kill him?"