Chance

by Carolyn M Bowen

  Alicia used her background in psychological studies to create a profile of Ming. Was she dangerous, and if so, to whom? There was no doubt Ming blamed Sydney. But, did she have a plan for revenge? She listened.

  If what she was hearing was Ming’s plan to complete the mission she’d been on since her husband’s desertion, Sydney needed someone to watch her back. She sensed relentless and unmerciful revenge, the kind signified and usually carried out from the mindset of kill or be killed.

  They said goodbye and made plans to meet again later in the month. Ming was smiling and waved as her Uber drove away from the restaurant. Alicia knew she needed to talk with Sydney and share her concerns. Her birth mother was consumed with hatred toward her and things could get bloody. She wondered if it was, she who’d been on a killing rampage. She decided it was a possibility, for dealing with her husband’s rejection could be a strong motivating force behind her recent actions.

  Alicia was no stranger to weapons and how to use them. Her adopted father made sure of that. He’d said, “Best you be prepared, for someday you’ll be living on your own and you’ll need to protect yourself.”

  Alicia talked to Sydney about her fears and she waved them off like it was a pesky mosquito bite. She’d hoped to be taken seriously, and Sydney would beef up her security. Alicia had no doubt that Ming had payback on her mind. She touched her handbag and felt the small pistol she toted for protection and hoped Sydney was as prepared.

  Ming called to let Alicia know she was returning to Beijing for an important business event. She wanted to know if she’d meet for drinks before her departure at a known Chinese hangout. Alicia agreed and said, “I’ll meet you there.”

  She found Ming waiting for her when she arrived and quickly ordered a drink. Ming was excited, and confided her return to Beijing was for the grand opening of her new apartment building. Alicia congratulated her on the smart business move, with Beijing fast becoming the new business capital, with the influx of competing global industries.

  She left the bar knowing the smug look on Ming’s face wasn’t about her real estate success but something else she had in mind—the completion of her mission. She had well-thought-out plans. What, Alicia didn’t know—except Sydney Jones was involved.

  Alicia made plans for the next day. She would shadow Sydney until she left in her car to go home, where security was impenetrable. She hung back after others, pretending work still needed to be done. Finally, when seeing Sydney leaving the office, she caught up with her for the walk to the parking garage.

  She was impressed with her zigzag movement as she bypassed the VIP parking and headed to her car. She was getting ready to split off toward her car when she heard gunfire. She ducked behind the closest vehicle, as did Sydney.

  A car nearby cranked up and sped out of the garage. It was moving so fast she couldn’t identify the make or model or get a tag number. Maybe it was a coincidence and the killer and/or guardian was lurking somewhere in the garage. She watched as Sydney called someone on her cell. Hopefully, security. They waited.

  When security arrived, they went directly to Sydney to ascertain her safety, then to look around the parking garage for shooters. Their video surveillance of the area was hacked, as they neither saw nor heard anything that could’ve happened.

  She and Sydney maintained their position crunched behind a nondescript SUV until security returned from their search of the vicinity. The look on his face said everything. They’d found the shooter, and likely, they’d no longer be a threat. The head of security said, “I think it best you return to your office and lock the door. We’ll call you after the police secure the crime scene and tell us more.”

  “Who was it?” asked Sydney.

  “A woman. Her pistol was lying in her puddled blood.”

  “Let me know when you know her identity. We’ll be upstairs.”

  Alicia didn’t need to wait—she knew it was Ming. She’d figured her moving to the States had more to do with revenge than the love for a lost child. The only love she showed was the day she placed me in a basket for a stranger to raise, she thought.

  Alicia said, “You have an angel watching over you.”

  Sydney agreed and said, “Let’s walk back to the office and get something strong to drink and talk about this before talking to the authorities. If it’s who I think it is, I want to keep you out of the police report and leave your relationship to Ming unquestioned.

  “My security team will call Captain Thomason to let him know about the crime scene. As far as anyone knows, we’re still working on a case. Neither of us saw anything, so we have nothing to report.” Thinking out loud, Sydney said, “Yet, as lawyers we have sworn to uphold the law, and secrets have a way of becoming stumbling blocks. We need to tell Captain Thomason about the nothing we saw. He can be trusted.”

  Alicia took the shot of whiskey offered and drank it before lightly setting the empty bourbon glass on the table. When deciding to intervene for Sydney against her mother, she was feeling brave. Now, she doubted she could’ve pulled the trigger. Her studies in psychology helped to gain a keen insight of her birth mother’s motivation. She was consumed by hate and desire for revenge against anyone who contributed to her imagined sub-rate life. Yet, when she was in reach of building a new life in the US and Beijing, she blew it. The desire for revenge killed her.

  Capt. Thomason arrived at the crime scene and told his agents to wrap it up while he talked to the eyewitnesses. Walking to the elevator, he wanted to turn around and walk away, for if Ming was gunning for Sydney, she’d met her match. He didn’t need to hear the rest of the story and see the sadness in her eyes.

  He walked into her empty law office suite. Everyone was gone for the day, and Sydney and Alicia were waiting for him in the lobby. He looked at Sydney and expected her tale-tell sign of guilt. There was none. He took their statements and said he’d let them know when he learned more.

  The best he could discern, Ming received her just desserts, thinking she could come on US soil and murder at will. He could close Liu Chang’s case now, for she was the one behind his and his mistress’s murders.

  Sydney told Alicia to take the rest of the week off and return Monday to get ready for the human trafficking case they were working on. She now better understood Alicia’s interest in human rights. Her adoptive parents saved her from death and gave her a new life. She wanted to help others who needed protection from government/s or greed.

  She’d landed in the right city to make a difference. There was plenty of legal work surrounding human rights. Atlanta is a major transportation hub for trafficking young girls from Mexico, and one of the fourteen US cities with the highest levels of child sex trafficking. On average, 100 juvenile girls are exploited each night in Georgia.

  Alicia’s division at Sydney Jones & Associates took the cases to counter this form of abduction and slavery. She was good at her job, and could do more with a seat at the table where relevant discussions were being held. She’d keep an eye on her and the posts she’d excel in and enable her to contribute more, even if it meant leaving the firm.

  Cheng Li received the news about Ming Chang’s death. His gut instinct was right; she’d not let go of the past. He’d told her not to mess with Sydney Jones and apparently, she did, since her body was found in her Atlanta parking garage. The news media was quiet about the murder, with headline news talking about the latest drug busts in the city and the epic heroin overdoses.

  Ming had wished for him to carry out her final wishes. Her son was now in the upper echelon of Chinese landholders and wealth with the recent death of his father and grandfather. After the bequest of her Beijing real estate, she left him a cursory token of affection and finances along with wishes for him to complete his studies in the US before returning to Beijing to take over the family’s business. Her newly acquired US property she left to her daughter, Alicia Brewer, who Cheng suspected would immed
iately sell it, as had Sydney after Nancy Lynn’s death. He’d take this one off her hands for dimes on the dollar like Ming did on the previous sale.

  He was certain Sydney would connect Alicia with her realtor and then he could act. Owning property in Atlanta might be good for getting away from Beijing; at least it would be cheap for the luxury location, and an excellent long-term investment.

  The premiere of Nancy Lynn’s final movie made before her death was being released and the executive of the movie studio, Dominic Houser, asked Sydney to accompany him to the opening. She gladly accepted.

  Sydney was moved to tears during the showing. Nancy Lynn was a natural actress whose beauty transcended time. The movie would be a blockbuster. She only wished her friend had lived to see it. She knew her legacy would live on, for it was one of those movies you’d never forget—a classic.

  She thanked Dominic for the night and for taking a chance on Nancy Lynn’s talent. He said, “She’s one of the best I’ve ever worked with. Bright, eager to learn, and ready on cue.”

  Returning home, she slipped into her nightgown after looking in on David sleeping peacefully in his bed. She was tired of her nonstop busy life and people dying or murdering those she loved.

  She knew her finances were secure and provided for her son’s future through her inheritances and income. She could reduce her workload and hand the managing partner role to one of the ace partners. She’d talk to her CEO, Nancy McNally, to get some feedback about the best way to go about making changes.

  With the nonstop demand for her attention and unsavory characters vying to kill her, she needed a break. Her thoughts wandered to Barbados. Her son could grow and learn before he was exposed to his next level of school and later adult learning. Whether just a whim in a low moment or her heart’s desire, she’d consider the options. She fell asleep calmer, knowing there was a chance life could get better.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  A Trap

  Everything was different, yet nothing had changed, Walker thought. Sydney was still dodging bullets, and he was still running to her aid.

  Walker stood at the refrigerator door staring out at the pale-blue sea through the nearby oversized window. His mind was exactly 3,392 KM away, thinking about his quick trip to Atlanta.

  He’d spent the last month studying Ming and the attacks he believed she carried out in Atlanta. Judging from the files he’d hacked, the GBI suspected the same thing.

  Ming liked to have the advantage of surprise, and having visited Sydney’s law offices, he figured she’d marked her territory from the parking garage. Sydney was the last of the people she begrudged for taking away prized possessions and being entangled in her love loss.

  His flight was running late, and he barely had time to hop into his rental car and get there before Sydney left work. He figured with Ming booking a flight to Beijing for that evening, she’d act.

  He backed his rental into a parking space and strapped on his holster and waited. She’d be hiding somewhere on the VIP level, thinking she could get a clean shot at Sydney on the way to her car.

  He spotted Ming behind one of the massive concrete columns supporting the garage. She had her pistol pulled, sneaking around the edges of the columns one by one, getting closer to the entrance to the building.

  Then he saw Sydney with a young woman talking, laughing, and walking to her car. Scoping his target again, he saw Ming’s finger slide to the trigger, and he dropped her. She fell backwards from the blow of a bullet between her eyes. He’d double-checked for any movement through his scope and got the hell out of Dodge. He didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until his flight home was in the air. He had no desire to get caught up in Sydney’s affairs, for he didn’t want the government looking for him and putting another bounty on his head.

  Sydney’s lost her edge; she’d never go unsuspecting into her garage acting like a newly crowned prom queen with no worries. She had a pattern she followed. Something or someone threw her off, for she wasn’t thinking about survival. She could’ve been killed, making his son an orphan. What the hell was going on with Sydney?

  His better self-won out and he took a chance on following up on Ming’s communications and followed her to Atlanta, knowing it could blow his cover if anyone suspected him of protecting Sydney.

  He’d pinpointed Ming as the murderess of most everyone who got in her way, and Sydney had managed to do that. He was glad he was there; otherwise, she’d be dead now. The young woman with her who drew her weapon when hearing his weapon discharge would never fire, even for self-preservation. Why she was even there was a mystery he’d solve, for it contributed to Sydney’s lack of focus.

  Sydney walked into a trap and wasn’t smart enough and equipped to protect herself. By God—she’s gone soft or stupid. Which, he didn’t know. He had no intentions of following her around the world to make sure she stayed alive. She’d built an attractive empire where everyone wanted a piece of Sydney Jones, he thought angrily, and they could get it.

  He wiped the sweat from his brow, knowing his frustration was getting the best of him. He pulled another beer out of the fridge and took a long swig, thinking how Sydney was always under his skin. She’d be the real death of him yet, he thought.

  Captain Thomason had no doubt the kill shot on Ming was a professional hit. Reading the eyewitness report once again, he realized Sydney was clueless, unlike her previous encounters with mercenaries. She was always bluntly honest when pulling the trigger. Someone was watching over her; who, he didn’t know, but had his suspicions. The question was, should he open that can of worms?

  Anyone who’d met Walker could see Sydney’s son, David, was his mirror image. He questioned whether Walker had found out before he was killed in the North Georgia car accident. If so, he may have decided she needed protection should something happen to him and made backup plans.

  He routinely viewed the video from the webcam he’d posted on the streetlight facing Sydney’s townhome. He knew that sooner or later; she’d take a case with some bad voodoo and this might be his only way of catching the culprit. Since it resulted in finding Daniela after her kidnapping, he was feeling better about breaking her Fourth Amendment rights to privacy.

  He scanned through the latest recordings from the cam to see if she’d had any visitors. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He knew Walker hadn’t returned since the CIA’s call to action and no other men, except the movie producer, had been at her home in the last month. And he was in and out.

  Did he think the case looked like something Walker would do? Yes. But the CIA was satisfied he was dead, and his body was cremated. They had to be certain of their assessment, for ruining a man’s life could come back to haunt the instigator. Captain Thomason’s job sucked at times like this. His thoughts gravitated to what his daddy said. “Let sleeping dogs lie.”

  He wanted to think it was just Sydney’s lucky day and leave it at that, but he knew there was no such thing as coincidence. For now, he’d place the case on the back burner and wait. This time someone was protecting Sydney, not trying to kill her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The Marriage Proposal

  Sydney was well-pleased with the role Alicia played in their latest sex-trafficking case. Her partnership represented victims’ rights against individuals and businesses involved in forced slavery for labor, or commercial sex acts. These personal injury lawsuits were becoming common in Atlanta, with victims or their families seeking restitution for harm or death of their loved ones.

  The new task force charged with infiltrating human trafficking organizations was accomplishing its goals. They provided the funding and top-level political support for crippling to a halt one of the fastest-growing transnational criminal organizations in Atlanta.

  The culprits were convicted and would spend their days and nights paying for their crimes. She was past being surprised at people you’d least expect
to be involved. The saying “follow the money” was an accurate description for the bankrollers behind the slimy scheme of abducting humans for financial gain.

  Sydney’s home life was improving since the attempted murder by Ming. A moment to pause and enjoy her son was what the doctor ordered for her health. And, staying alive was her top priority. Staying on top of her game was her mandate. She knew Walker would’ve said she was sloppy in self-preservation.

  Ming’s attempt on her life was a wake-up call. Like umpteen lawyers in Atlanta living the good life, at least not in crosshairs of an assassin, she could never relax and enjoy the life she created to help others. Apparently, not even a moment.

  Daniela was flourishing again and dating an acquaintance from Barbados now living in Atlanta. Jonathan contributed to the growing local business community with his graphic design business and came over often for Daniela’s homemade Caribbean dinners.

  She knew their relationship was past the budding stage. Daniela made it no secret she wanted to return home to the island. She now had credentials to teach and could contribute to educating the young children there. It was only a matter of time before they’d announce their engagement, and she shuddered to think about their loss. Jonathan could work remotely from anywhere with his bustling graphic designs business, so they would surely relocate to Barbados.

  Thinking on a positive note, David could attend after-school care when Daniela left. Although it wouldn’t be the same, her son would be safe and supervised.