His Target (closed)

[zydrate]

(closed)
********

What hell was she doing in California anyway?

Brady Lynn Sharp wondered as she sat in her rental car that was park in a dark alley on a nameless street in L.A.

Oh yeah.. running from an assassin named Johnny Kates. He was ruthless and damn good at his job.

It had started not more than 4 years ago, when Brady was only a field agent for the CIA. She had been in a special division of the CIA. A trained agent with skills that only few would get to learn and all at the government's expense. It was a great life.

Until it was time to get rid of her and her partner, Alex Mason.

Both Brady and Alex were on assignment in Peru, each with orders to get rid of the other. But neither knew about it until it was too late...

Brady had escaped just in time... but did Alex? Yes, she was sure of it. They both had the same training, so it was inevitable that both would survive... So, since then, Brady had layed low, kept herself under the radar, as she was sure Alex had. Brady was more secretative about it all than Alex...hell, Alex didn't give a shit some times and seemed reckless. He liked to wave the fact that the Government had failed in killing him...flaunt it really.

Not Brady, she was more careful...at least until now.

With the purchased, no brand name cellphone in hand, she dialed a number she never thought she'd have to use... but she couldn't run anymore, she needed help... she was tired and about ready to give up.

The other end of the line clicked, indicated someone had picked up. The only one she knew would. There was no time for 'hellos' or 'how are yous'.... instead, she spoke, "I need help." She knew he wouldn't respond. She knew he would find her. She knew he would help her...or at least she hoped he would....

Deep down, she prayed that he wouldn't just ignore her... her prayer seemed to be answered when she heard him, "I'll find you."

That was all they could manage with out the call being traced...

He would find her. She knew she could count on him. He would find her and help her...she hoped he wouldn't be too late. Or else, she'd be another notch on Kates' proverbal bed post.

 

[BeachBum25]

Alex Mason had barely escaped the assassination attempt. He took two bullets; one in his shoulder and one in his thigh. His training and experience allowed him to get out with his life. He found a veterinarian who he was able to convince to remove the bullets from his body and stitch him up.

After the vet was finished, Alex duct taped him to and left the cash on the counter. That gave him enough time to get out of the area and head to his safe house. Baja Mexico was not a popular destination, so, it was perfect for Alex to recuperate. He did so in a little shack on the beach.... all the time planning his revenge.

As he began to feel better Alex started to lash out at those he blamed for the assassination attempt. Agency officials began to turn up dead one at a time... months and years apart. Alex didn't hide who was responsible for it. He made sure everyone knew it was him. They were not able to do anything about it though.

The phone rang as he sat on the beach. He heard Brady's voice, and it brought back memories.. some good and some bad. His only words to her were "I'll find you." If she was in trouble he would find her and rescue her. He walked back to his shack, grabbed his ready bag and was on his way. He took out one of several throw-away phones and after crossing the border into San Diego made a couple of calls to gather information. He gave the phone to a teenager and said she could use it until the minutes ran out. Then he headed off to scoop up Brady.

 

[zydrate]

Another punch to the gut. More being yelled at in Russian.

Yet, through all this, Brady didn't yield. The punch took her breath away, making her gasp for air...she could taste the blood in her mouth from the blow to the face earlier.

The handcuffs were cutting into her wrist, making the skin break and bleed...

They had finally had caught her, run her into exhaustion, making her make stupid mistakes. Mistakes of a rookie.

A stupid rookie.

By now, she had given up on Alex. Why would he rescue her? Even though he said he'd find her...obviously, they hid her well enough or she didn't give him enough time...

One thing she was sure of, she was going to die tonight. But the thing of it was that she wasn't going to give up the information they wanted.

Another win for the U.S.A.

Yay.

 

[BeachBum25]

Alex began to call in favors. He was going to find her. Other information that he needed would be obtained by torturing the right people, and then, after getting what he needed, getting rid of the people.

He traveled across the world. He was getting close. He wondered how he was going to get to her. He knew now where she was being held, but he could not trust anyone to help him on the mission. He knew that she was well guarded by many bad guys. Of course, being outnumbered had never stopped him before.

As he got within striking distance of the place that Brady was being held his plan started to come into shape. He scoped out the area and was able to identify the location of the exterior guards. He methodically went about picking them off one at a time. He did not fire a single shot. The guards were eliminated through the use of a knife, a garote, and his bare hands.

Once inside the compound he was able to locate where she was being held. He made sure to take his time to get a handle on the guards' routines. Then he started taking them out.

He went through the door and fired his first shot. It hit the man who was punching Brady right in the center of the forehead. He fired three more shots... all kill shots.

Then he walked up to Brady. He held out his hand. "Hey, how have you been? Long time, no see." After a little smile he said, "Are you okay to move? They are not going to give up. We are going to have to get moving and develop a plan."

 

[zydrate]

Brady tried to ignore the splatter of blood as the body of the man Alex shot fell to the ground, landing with a hard thud. After Alex got her out of handcuffs, it took every ounce of strength to keep herself upright as he held out his hand to her, giving her one of his wiseass remarks, "Hey, how have you been? Long time, no see."

"Are you okay to move? They are not going to give up. We are going to have to get moving and develop a plan."

"Yeah...give me a second." Brady coughed, wincing at the pain it brought forth, "I need a gun."

When Alex handed her his, she nodded and tried to walk, even if unsteady. "It's Felix. He's back."

That's all Brady needed to say to Alex for him to get the meaning. He knew exactly who Felix was.

****Later****
Every place was too hot in this city for both Alex and Brady to hide, but they needed to take their chances. Brady needed to rest, so after getting a hotel room under their aliases, Brady knew Alex was going to be asking questions.

But would she answer them? It had been a long time since they saw each other and that was when they were assigned to the other...

 

[BeachBum25]

Alex secured several weapons from the guards and escorted Brady out of her captivity. They moved cautiously until they were able to find a hotel that Alex thought would be safe.... for a little while at least. If this really was the work of Felix they were going to have to find a better place to hide than this hotel.

Alex told Brady to get a shower to help her feel better and to get rid of the dried blood. While she was in the shower he tried to figure things out. He had quite a few questions for Brady, but he was concerned about overwhelming her.

When she come out of the bathroom after the shower Alex was sitting in chair facing the door. He was not going to sleep that night.. he was sure of that. One of them would need to be rested as they moved, and Brady had been through a lot recently.

He looked at her, and the first question just couldn't wait. It had been eating at him for years, and he just couldn't hold it in. "Why? Why did you go through with their plan?"

 

[zydrate]

In the shower, the hot water felt so good. Brady's body started to shake and it was something she couldn't stop or control. All the events of the past few days started to catch up to her emotionally.

What the fuck?! she thought. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She was stronger than this. There had been other situations, far worse than tonight, that have happened and she never had this sort of reaction...

It's because he wasn't there...or rather, you didn't know if he'd show up or not. Before, you knew he had your back...

"Damnit..." she muttered, finishing up. This wasn't the time or place...more importantly, it wasn't the time. She wrapped herself up in a towel and took one more look at herself in the steamed over mirror, the bruises were there but they would be gone in a few days but for now, she'd just use make-up to cover it up.

Brady didn't even get to step two feet into the room when she heard Alex's deep voice ask, "Why? Why did you go through with their plan?"

Groaning, Brady walked over to the bed...why was there only one bed? "Because Mason, it was a job....besides, you're one to ask. Why did you? As I remember, I left with two bullet holes from your gun!"

She laid down on the bed, moaning from the pain, "Alex, please... can't we talk about this later?" Her eyes were already starting to close...

 

[BeachBum25]

"No, it can't wait. It has gone on far too long." He looked at her as she laid down on the bed. "I didn't go through with it. I didn't fire my weapon at you... not a single shot... not even after you shot me. The shots that hit you came from the back-up plan... the ones sent to make sure we carried out the plan. The ones that I killed before they finished you and me off."

As he talked he got angrier. "I could never have carried out that mission. I know it was the job, but you meant more to me than that. I could never do that to my partner... not without knowing that you had done something wrong... and I knew you hadn't."

He moved the chair closer to the door. "You go to sleep and we will finish it later. Maybe you will be able to explain to me why I came to get you." He sat in the chair and watched the door and listened. He stayed focused the entire night. He would let Brady sleep. They would have plenty of time to finish the discussion, but he just had to get the frustration off his chest.

 

[zydrate]

"Wait.." Brady started as she sat back up. Sleep wasn't going to come anytime soon and well, she was used to that... "What do you mean you didn't shoot me? What the hell do you call those two bullet holes in my side?!"

Not waiting for him to answer, she scooted over to the edge of the bed, "The only reason I went through it was because they gave me proof that you had turned! It wasn't until a few months later, when I interrogated Charles, that it was all a lie!"

"And as for coming to get me is because...well... I'm still not sure on that one but one thing I can be sure on is that Felix is out there and he wants us both dead. So deal with it Mister! Until we get him, he won't leave me alone because of you!"

 

[BeachBum25]

"Perhaps you didn't hear what I said. I didn't fire on you. The bullets that you took came from the operative they sent to make sure we both went through with the plan. When I didn't shoot you he did. His mission was to make sure that we both were taken out. He ended up being the one taken out."

Alex looked at Brady laying in the bed. "I am not sure why I came for you either. Maybe it was just because I wanted an answer as to why you did what you did. The fact that you believed what they said... what they manufactured to show you.. is very disappointing."

He went back to staring at the door. He knew she was right about Felix.... he wouldn't quit. Alex was going to have to make sure that Felix was eliminated, so that he wouldn't be a threat any more.

 

[zydrate]

There was more that Brady could have said to make amends with Alex about that night.

She needed to tell him more but right now, she couldn't think straight. She needed sleep. Seeing that he wasn't too happy about her answer, Brady pulled a pillow over her head and fell into a restless sleep.

Despite being so tired, she woke enough to every sound that was out of place. Such as Alex walking around the room...a door being slammed down the hall...

After a few hours, sleep just wasn't happening, she could feel Alex staring at her all night.

Suddenly, she felt something being tossed on top of her. She heard Alex tell her to wake, they had to get going.

 

[BeachBum25]

Alex knew that Brady wasn't sleeping. He could see her move with every noise... no matter how small. It made no sense to stay here if neither of them was going to get any rest.

He stood up and grabbed Brady's bag. He knew she was awake. He tossed it on the bed. "Let's go. You aren't sleeping, so, why bother being here. We can put some difference between us and Felix's men."

He was ready to go and waited for Brady to get ready. When she was set, Alex opened the door and looked both ways. He turned back to Brady. "The stairs are to the left. We are going all the way out, and we will find something to drive. Stay close, and make sure you keep an eye on our six."

Out of the room he went.. followed by Brady. They went down the steps and when they got to the bottom floor there was an outside exit. Alex looked out and then led the way through the door. He looked around and saw a GMC SUV. "Stay here by the building until I get the car started. I will open the door.. then you come."

Alex moved cautiously to the SUV and broke into it. He spent less than a minute hotwiring the car to start it. He opened the door and waited for Brady to get in.