“Understandable.”
“Also, I’d like you to credit the deaths of Mr. Nguyen and Dante to The Wraith,” Bailey said. “Put it on the wire, it might keep anyone else from picking up my paper.”
“You took care of Dante I assume?”
“Yes, this morning.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“Thank you,” Bailey said. “How’s my mother?”
“Pestering me everyday for news of you,” Jeremy said. “Apparently, I’ve been removed from her least favorite person list.”
Bailey chuckled. “That’s good to hear.”
“Your mother is a new person, Bailey,” Jeremy said. “She loves you very much.”
“That’s also good to hear,” Bailey said softly. “I’ll contact you shortly.”
“Very good,” Jeremy said. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Goodnight.”
“Take care,” he said and hung up.
Bailey leaned back in her chair and wiped at her eyes before she got up and took her tube of blueprints to the large desk and spread them out. She clicked on the desk lamp and seated herself, beginning to study them in detail.
She was still at it two and a half hours later when Piper appeared in the doorway and stared at her silently for several minutes. She stopped what she was doing and leaned back in her chair to return the gaze until Piper finally came forward.
“I don’t want to go without you,” Piper said quietly.
“I know, but you can’t come with me.”
“Do you have a backup plan, in case things don’t work out the way you expect?”
“Several.”
“I’m scared for you.”
“I know, this’ll be over soon.”
Piper closed her eyes. “Come to bed,” she said, walking around the desk and offering her hand.
Bailey silently took the hand and rose from her seat to be immediately enveloped in a crushing embrace. “I love you, Bailey Ann,” Piper said into her chest.
IV
Where black is the color and none is the number.
—B. Dylan
Piper haunted Bailey every waking moment over the weekend, never letting her out of her sight and taking every opportunity to tell her that she loved her. Saturday melded into Sunday and she made it a point to dote on her constantly, keeping her in bed the majority of both days, making love, watching television or listening to music and always holding her tightly. She knew she had slipped over the edge and was smothering her, but Bailey accepted it for what it was and never complained. Every night after she assured herself that Bailey was sleeping, she would slip out of bed and spend hours in the other room staring at Bailey’s mural and working the tears of worry and frustration out of her system.
Monday morning came too soon and Piper made love to her in the hours before dawn desperately, ending with the tears she had tried so hard not to let fall in front of her. She fell into her arms and held her close as Bailey tenderly comforted her until she had cried herself out. When she finally subsided, Bailey led her into the shower and covered her with gentle attentions, bathing her and washing her hair.
“I know you’re scared,” Bailey whispered holding her close as the shower rained down on them. “I wish I could convince you not to be.”
“I wish you could too.”
“I’ll be back, Piper.”
“You’d better be.”
“Trust me.”
“It’s not a matter of trust,” Piper said using Bailey’s words against her. “It’s more a matter of fear.”
“What a wise observation,” Bailey said with a grin.
“It took me a little while to truly understand what you meant,” Piper said with a reluctant grin of her own. “But I do.”
Bailey kissed her on the forehead. “I know,” she said. “Get ready, I’ll need your help today.”
“Okay,” Piper said, kissing her lightly before stepping out of the shower.
Bailey turned the water off and got out after her, drying off and wrapping a towel around herself as she exited, leaving Piper to stare in the bathroom mirror thoughtfully for a long moment. She dried her hair and put on her makeup reluctantly, entering the bedroom to find Bailey in her usual black business clothes, two handguns holstered on the sides of her belly.
“You expecting trouble today?” Piper asked worriedly.
“Just taking precautions,” Bailey said walking over to sit down on the end of the bed.
“Take off that towel and let me see you.”
Piper smiled and let the towel drop to the floor at her feet.
“Come here,” Bailey said and smiled when Piper covered the distance between them to stand before her naked. She tenderly placed a kiss on each of her breasts and stood to kiss her soundly on the mouth. “You’re beautiful,” she said. “Would you like me to fix you breakfast?”
“No, I’ll just have a bowl of cereal,” Piper said with a smile.
“Alright,” Bailey said. “Will you meet me in the executive conference room when you’re ready?”
“Yes,” Piper said. “Are you going to dry your hair, you got the back of your shirt all wet.”
“Yep, right now and then I’m off,” Bailey said with another kiss, throwing a smile over her shoulder as she ambled back into the bathroom.
Piper watched her go and waited for the hairdryer to start before she looked at the ceiling pleadingly. “God, please watch over her,” she said aloud.
———
Bailey was seated at the head of the conference table when Piper entered and she smiled at her. “I informed the Board that you’d be on leave for a few weeks and they guaranteed me that everything will still be standing after the holidays. Have you spoken to Debra?”
“Yeah, she’s a little nervous but she relented. She’ll do fine,” Piper said, seating herself in the chair next to Bailey. “What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to bring me the seven people on this list,” she gestured to the list in her hand. “One at a time, with another non-related employee so they don’t suspect anything. Once they’re all here, I’ll deal with them.”
“Do you want to alert security?” Piper asked hopefully.
“No, my guess is they’ll leave quietly.”
“Alright,” Piper sighed. “Who first?”
“Steve Wickman,” Bailey said. “Grab someone else from their area, I’ll dismiss them when they get here.”
“Okay,” Piper said. “You’ll be careful, right?”
“Of course,” Bailey said with a smile.
“Hmmm,” Piper grunted uncertainly.
“It’ll be okay, I promise,” Bailey comforted. “Once they’re all here, why don’t you take Debra to lunch?”
“Okay,” Piper said, getting up and placing a kiss on her mouth.
She waited just under eleven minutes for Piper to return with Wickman and another man she didn’t recognize. “I’m sorry to bother you,” she said to the unknown man politely. “I only need Mr. Wickman.”
“No bother, Miss Cameron,” the man said amiably and left.
“Have a seat, Mr. Wickman,” she said pleasantly to the man who narrowed his eyes suspiciously but seated himself at the table.
“Who now?” Piper asked.
“Sean Coleman,” Bailey said looking at Wickman whose eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
Piper left the room throwing a worried look over her shoulder, but grinned a little when Bailey winked at her. As soon as the door closed behind her, Bailey turned a casual stare upon the man.
“What’s this all about, Miss Cameron?” Wickman asked.
“Let’s wait until everyone is present,” she said pleasantly.
Wickman tried an indifferent shrug and worried his hands together under the table while she rocked in her chair, seemingly disinterested in him. Piper arrived a few minutes later with Coleman and dismissed the second man herself before they entered the room.
Bailey watched them exchang
e quick looks and smiled to herself as she turned to Piper. “Andy Richmond,” she said and Coleman opened his mouth to speak but she turned a look in his direction. “Save it,” she said mildly and he subsided.
By the time the sixth man entered the room they were all exchanging openly worried looks with one another and trying not to sweat.
“Who’s the last?” Piper asked as the sixth man seated himself.
“Kevin Marland,” Bailey said with a smile, which Piper returned on her way out.
They only had to wait a few minutes for her to return with Marland, who, to his credit, showed no reaction to being in a room with all of his cronies.
“Have a seat, Mr. Marland,” Bailey said. “Thank you, Miss Tate, I’ll talk to you later.” she said beaming smile at her.
“You’re welcome, Miss Cameron,” Piper said happily, heading off to invite Debra to lunch.
Bailey turned in her chair and studied each man carefully. “Who’s in charge?” she asked amiably and looked expectantly at each man but received no response. “The games up, let’s get this over with quietly,” she added noticing the rapid-fire glances around the table directed at Marland.
“Mr. Marland,” she said with satisfaction. “How would you like to handle this?”
“That’s up to you,” Kevin said tonelessly.
“I’d like it be as friendly as possible,” Bailey said. “Are any of you armed?” she looked around and again received no answer.
“Do you know who I am?” Bailey asked turning a glare on Marland.
“Yes,” Marland said.
“Do the rest of your men know?” she asked but received silence in return. “Tell them,” she added and he looked away from her. “Tell them voluntarily or I’ll have you screaming it,” she purred darkly.
He studied her intensely for a long moment. “Miss Cameron is The Wraith,” he said emotionlessly.
All faces turned fearful or disbelieving looks in her direction. “Now, I’ll ask you again,” she said quietly her eyes flashing. “How do you want to handle this?”
———
Piper left the conference room feeling much better about things and smiling at the charisma Bailey had at her command. She bounced a little on her feet when she arrived and leaned over Debra’s desk with a grin.
“Wanna go to lunch?” Piper asked jovially.
“I can’t today,” Debra said regretfully. “My husband’s coming to pick me up in about twenty minutes.”
“Oh poo,” Piper said disappointed. “Tomorrow then?” she added brightly.
“Sure,” Debra said agreeably.
“Okay,” Piper said happily. “Maybe I’ll run across the street and get something”
“Sorry,” Debra said with a frown.
“That’s okay, I’ll see you in a bit,” Piper said jovially and bounced away toward the elevator.
On the way down, she decided to just grab something at home, needing to pick up some more things since she was going to be staying out of town for a while. She walked through the lobby and upon entering the parking garage, she looked around carefully, and when reasonably sure no one was watching, she skipped happily to the Corvette.
———
Bailey sighed and looked at the clock, frustrated at how long it was taking to get past all the posturing Marland was throwing at her. She swallowed her desire to handle things in the way she was accustomed and tried to summon a little more patience. She really wanted to resolve the situation peaceably, not only for her sake but for Piper’s. However, having put up with over twenty minutes of Marland’s attitude, even the continuously reinforced reigns on her temper were beginning to show signs of strain.
“Bottom line, Mr. Marland,” she said interrupting him. “You and your men will be leaving C-Corp today. I’d like you to walk out under your own power but I can very quickly make sure you are carried out,” she said becoming annoyed.
“Do you think you could risk that?” Marland asked smugly.
“It wouldn’t be a risk, Mr. Marland,” Bailey said darkly. “Call your people and arrange to return to them.”
Marland stared at her defiantly for several minutes, slowly withering under the increasingly dangerous glare that she silently returned, his hand eventually reaching out for the phone in front of him.
———
Josh mentally patted himself on the back as he sat in his folding chair on the third floor of a very old and abandoned masonry company. He had a perfect view of his target and the chances of his being discovered were distantly remote. The bottom floor had been rather thoroughly boarded up and the property itself surrounded with a chain link fence, topped by a nasty ring of barbed wire. The only disadvantage that he could find with his stakeout position was the temperature, which was freezing and he often rubbed his hands together briskly and drank liberally from an industrial sized thermos that he had filled with steaming coffee.
He was bringing his current cup of java to his lips when he saw something that made his hands go numb and the cup fell to the floor. He brought the binoculars up so rapidly that he flinched in pain when they collided with his eye sockets. Regaining his bearings, he focused in on the flash of red hair, a sinking feeling making itself at home in the pit of his stomach.
———
“Excuse me,” Bailey said when her cell phone rang, her patience nearing its end as Marland pretended to be on hold.
“Cameron,” she said narrowing her eyes at Marland as she answered.
“Bailey, its Josh,” he said in a panic.
Her chest tightened unbearably and she bent forward slightly in her chair. “Yes,” she said hoarsely closing her eyes, knowing that her time was up.
“They got her,” Josh said urgently. “They got Piper. I just saw them lead her in.”
Her eyes widened and her hands begin to shake. She clamped her teeth down violently on her tongue to keep herself under control and turned in her seat, presenting the men around the table with the back of her chair.
“Bailey, did you hear me?” Josh said urgently.
“I heard you,” she said with difficulty, having trouble finding her voice. “Stay put. I’ll call you shortly,” she said and hung up, dropping the phone in her lap, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
She closed her eyes tightly and hyperventilated for several seconds in an attempt to compose herself. An attempt that failed miserably as the thread holding her temper in place broke with an almost audible snap, a white-hot anger building within her that she gave up all attempts to corral, willingly letting it take control. When she opened her eyes, they burned with black fire and she let loose a frightening scream of pure rage as she spun in her chair, guns flashing into her hands.
She stood and raked gunfire down both sides of the table so fast that the reports sounded singular. She dropped one gun on the table and reloaded the other in an almost invisibly rapid motion, needlessly emptying all ten rounds into the already lifeless form that only seconds ago had been Kevin Marland. Dropping the now empty pistol on the table to join its twin, she emitted another scream that echoed resoundingly around the room and reverberated down the surrounding halls. The wave of anger having not completely released her, she picked up her chair and hurled it violently over the length of the conference table to collide with the window, which remained intact but spider-webbed impressively as the chair bounced off and crashed to the floor. She stood panting heavily at the head of the table, closing her eyes tightly and waging a furious internal battle to get control of herself. When her eyes finally opened, her gaze completely ignored the seven dead men and she brought an arm up to her chest protectively in an effort to ease the sudden pain she felt there.
“Baby,” she choked around a sudden sob.
The sounds of commotion outside the room penetrated her senses and she turned to shut the blinds and lock the door. She collected her guns and exited through the other door, locking it behind her.
She passed a half a dozen people on the way to the elevator
, all of whom got out of her way rapidly and she ignored them completely. She took the short ride up with her eyes closed and entered the flat, letting out another scream as the door closed behind her and hyperventilating furiously. Closing her eyes tightly and balling her hands into fists, trying to reign in the anger that was threatening to engulf her. When her eyes opened this time, the anger was manageable and a calm, if a somewhat terrifying, dark conviction filled black orbs that promised retribution as she stripped off her blazer and threw it to the floor violently on her way down the hall.
Martin heard the scream over the television in his room and jumped out of bed in alarm, landing on his injured hand. He grunted in pain as he attempted to collect himself, the sound of the scream still raising his hackles. Steeling himself, he raced through the door and into the kitchen where he paused hesitantly before he proceeded to the mouth of Bailey’s hallway and stopped.
“Bailey,” he called out cautiously and reared back in alarm when she came out of her bedroom and walked straight for him.
He took a few involuntary steps backward, noting with increasing unease that he was dealing with The Wraith. Her eyes were flashing dangerously and the menace coming off of her in waves was perceptibly electric.
“Martin, get your things together, you’ll be leaving shortly,” she said in a toneless voice.
“What’s happened?” he asked hesitantly.
“Get your things together now,” she said and turned to walk into her office without another word.
Martin turned and ran for his bedroom closing in on panic.
Bailey took several breaths before she dialed a number into the computer.
“Yes?” Thumper said jovially.
“I need that helicopter on the roof in twenty minutes.”
“You got it,” Thumper said quickly his spine turning to ice at the tone of her voice.
“Tell him to wait until someone shows,” she said. “He’ll need to leave in a hurry, Washington D.C. no passenger return.”
“He’ll be there.”
“Thank you, Thumper,” she said and hung up.
The moment the line disconnected she dialed another number into the computer.
“Watts.”
Engravings of Wraith Page 49