The HiT Series

by Margaret McHeyzer

  “You know, I’m not even surprised anymore, Anna.” He indicates toward the bike and I smile at him.

  As we get in the truck, the tension’s now thick. Silence engulfs us, but it’s what we need to remain calm and quiet.

  I get to Ben’s drop-off point and before he gets out of the truck I grab his arm.

  “You know where to meet me and you know what to do. We need eyes and ears at the rear. You have thirty-three minutes.” Ben nods and says no more. I watch as he takes off toward the building disappearing into the shadows.

  Hold on Claire, we’re coming to get you.

  Anna

  I park 1.3 miles away from the building, under the cover of the large birch trees. The wind has died down, but there’s frost in the air. My ski mask is on and the only things visible are my eyes. I quietly remove my rifle and set it up 500 yards away from the truck. If the truck gets noticed, I’ll have enough time to take out whomever I need to.

  I lie on the cold, unforgiving ground. The earth’s damp, but not quite wet, the air around me is thick with anticipation. I look through my scope and see two targets. I look over to my opened laptop and notice Ben’s set up one camera.

  I hear him through my Bluetooth, but he isn’t speaking, I can hear his quick breathing as he must be running from one section to the next. We have only minutes of darkness left before the sun breaks over the horizon, easily giving Ben’s position away.

  “15, I have one more to do,” he whispers into the Bluetooth.

  I watch as the second camera comes to life. I close my eyes and listen to all the sounds around me, making sure my position hasn’t been compromised. I’m still good, and by the sounds coming from my Bluetooth, Ben’s managed to get the third camera up and operational.

  “I’m heading over,” Ben’s quiet voice clearly states. “Don’t shoot me,” he adds.

  He has fifteen minutes to get the 1.3 miles to me. We did one mile in twelve minutes yesterday, he should be able to make it.

  Fourteen minutes lapse and the sun is no longer threatening to make its appearance–it’s now here and ever so present.

  By the time the sun leaves us again, our entire day will have been about rescue and death, Claire’s rescue and those four men’s death.

  I hear footsteps approach and know it’s Ben, but I raise my two babies aiming directly where the crunch of the leaves is coming from.

  “It’s me.” Ben lays next to me on the cold ground and starts looking at the laptop. I holster my weapons and go back to looking out through the scope.

  The sun’s up now, so it makes no difference if we make our assault on the factory now, or in half an hour. I decide we need to monitor the building just a little longer to look for any extra security.

  I don’t recognize any of them. Secretly I’m glad I don’t see Tyler because I’m not entirely sure I could kill him. Tyler’s been nothing but decent to me, trying to warn me off Katsu and protecting me. If I absolutely had to, I’d kill him, but I’d be very conflicted about pulling the trigger on him.

  The next half-hour goes by incredibly slowly. We monitor the building and see Claire doesn’t look too good. Her body’s less responsive but her head’s still slowly moving.

  “It’s time for me to work.” I search Ben’s eyes and the only thing I can see is apprehension. “Like last time, you remain quiet. You tap me on the shoulder if you see any danger. It’ll all be over soon.” Ben’s chest is rising and falling rapidly, his body’s completely rigid and his face is home to a look of complete panic. “Quiet from here on in. Whisper only if necessary.” His head’s still nodding.

  I close my eyes.

  Breathe.

  In and out.

  All I need to do is concentrate. To breathe in and out slowly.

  Concentrate…breathe.

  Mask on.

  I snap my eyes open and find my targets through my scope.

  Three targets are standing together outside the door having a smoke. The fourth is approaching from the far side.

  Wait Anna. Wait for them to be together. Closer target four, come closer.

  14 more feet for target four.

  Target one turns to go inside. Not good enough. I’ll have to do it now.

  My finger depresses the trigger, the bullet leaves the barrel – target one down.

  Target two – down.

  Target three jumps back and looks around. He’s got no time to assess–he’s down.

  Target four takes cover behind the dumpster.

  Nothing.

  No bullets leave his gun.

  My eyes don’t leave the scope. I can see his foot sticking out from behind the dumpster. That’ll get him out.

  Another bullet leaves my barrel, blowing his left foot off. I hear a shriek and I see him lean forward in a motion to grab at his foot. That’s his undoing. The beautiful, sensual sound of the bullet being set free invades my hearing.

  Bliss. Such an erotic, yet calming sound.

  I watch as target four’s head explodes. He’s no longer a threat. “Thank you, baby,” I whisper to my Barrett. “You’ve done me proud.” I continue looking through the scope until I’m sure there aren’t any more nasty surprises.

  “Pack up my rifle, get yourself to the car and monitor the laptop. Stealth mode. If anything happens get yourself out of here and go back to my cabin.”

  “Alright, 15. Please get her back.” Ben stands and takes my rifle back to the car. I wait until he’s returned for the laptop. Once he leaves, I head over to the building, remaining as covert as possible. I don’t want to risk being seen and get myself, Ben and Claire killed. It takes me longer to get to the building because I need to be invisible; I need to be a ghost.

  With my Glocks drawn, I make it to the far side of the building and I flatten my body against the concrete. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around, but I can’t be entirely sure.

  I get to the door where the three guards are down. Each of their heads have a perfect hole between their eyes, and their blood is staining the cement ground.

  I turn the doorknob to go inside and my Bluetooth rings.

  This can only be one person. Agent.

  I touch my Bluetooth, conferencing Agent in so Ben can hear the conversation.

  I don’t say a word because the moment I answer the call, Agent screams only one terrifying word.

  “RUN!”

  Anna

  I freeze.

  I can’t move my legs.

  My brain doesn’t comprehend what Agent’s screaming at me.

  “Run, 15, get out of there it’s a trap!” Agent’s screaming through my Bluetooth.

  “Baby, get out of there,” Ben’s frantic voice echoes the same message. My heart’s palpitating and I can feel it through every cell of my body.

  Trap?

  Trap.

  Katsu.

  I turn and start running back toward where the truck is, hoping to get far enough away I won’t get caught by whoever’s coming after me.

  Agent’s screaming in my ear to get out of there and Ben’s yelling that he’s coming after me.

  “Ben get back to the cabin,” I scream as I’m running as fast as my legs can take me, but my world stops spinning. A giant explosion throws me a good 10 feet from where I was.

  My ears are ringing and I’m lying face down on the cold dirt. I can’t move my body and I can’t turn my head. I taste blood in my mouth and I’m finding it hard to breathe. I think my ribs have been either re-cracked or broken. It feels like a knife’s driving into my lungs with every strained breath I take.

  I try to drag my legs up under my body to stand, but they aren’t cooperating with me–what’s wrong with them? My left eye’s being stubborn and won’t open, while my right eye has something dripping in front of it. I think it’s more blood, I’m not sure.

  My brain’s telling me to move, but my body’s not listening. I finally manage to turn my head and see the building where Claire was being held is an absolute inferno. The wa
lls are collapsing and the fire’s raging and there’s no way Claire could have survived that.

  A tear escapes my eyes.

  Black dots are dancing in front of me.

  I fight it. I can’t pass out. I can’t…let the blackness…take me.

  My eyelid flutters open, but my head is filled with a cloud of black smoke. Am I seeing the black smoke or am I going to pass out again? My eye closes.

  My breathing’s calming, but my body’s protesting.

  “Look who we have here.” The ringing’s subsided, but I can’t open my eyes. I’m fighting it, I’m trying to regain my senses, but I can’t. How long have I been lying here?

  Someone picks me up.

  Darkness takes me.

  Fight it Anna, open your eyes. I’m willing my body to obey me, but I just can’t open my eyes.

  The shadows aren’t lifting. I don’t know where I am. Light’s peeking through, but the blackness wins.

  Fight it Anna, fight it.

  The darkness takes me again.

  “Why isn’t she waking up?” That voice. I know it. Who is it?

  “I don’t know, sir. She should be coming around soon.”

  “Keep me informed.” Who is that?

  I hear the tapping.

  Tap.

  Tap.

  Tapping on a hard surface.

  Tap.

  Tap.

  I can hear the whir of a fan, the scrape of a chair against a hard floor.

  Then the black takes over again.

  Why can’t I move my body? Is someone weighing me down? My legs and arms are immobile. My head’s still cloudy.

  Fight harder. Come out of the darkness.

  “Anna.” I look around to see who’s calling me.

  “Anna.” It’s a woman. She’s standing too far away.

  “Anna.” She looks like…me.

  Natalia? Mother? How’s that possible? I killed her.

  “Fight it, Anna. Don’t let them take you. You’re stronger than that.”

  Darkness sets in again.

  I open my eyes and they’re trying to focus.

  “Sir, she’s waking up.”

  I try to turn my head, but my neck’s stiff and sore.

  My entire body’s hurting. I try to lift my arms, but they’re weighed down.

  “Where am I?” My throat’s all scratchy. My eyes are coming into focus and I can see a dark room. The smell. Pine. Am I in the castle?

  “Ben?”

  There’s a man over at the door looking at me. He’s dressed in black and has a weapon holstered.

  I try to lift my arms again and can’t. I look down and see I have heavy leather straps holding me down to the bed. My clothes are gone and I’m in my underwear. My legs are shackled at the ankles too.

  The man at the door draws his weapon and points it at me. A P90. He must be one of Katsu’s Security Guys, but I haven’t seen him before.

  “I’m strapped down. You don’t need to point your weapon at me.” Idiot.

  There aren’t any windows in this room. It looks like a cellar or a dungeon. I turn to look around me and the bed’s old and shabby. The light hanging overhead is dim, the walls a worn, pale yellow. A lonely chair is placed by the door, a bottle of water next to it on the floor. I suspect this is where my babysitter sat until I woke up.

  The door opens and another Security Guy walks in, not Tyler but the man I first met at the hangar. He eyes me up and down and he smirks.

  Katsu walks in right behind him. Where’s Tyler?

  “Anna. It’s good to see you alive. It’s been a few days.” There’s an evil look on his face.

  “How long have I been out, Katsu?” I don’t try and hide anymore. He obviously knows who I am.

  “Four days.” He grabs the chair and drags it over to me. The screeching sound it makes against the slate floor is like fingernails scraping down a chalk board. The hair on the back of my neck rises and my heart’s starting to palpitate.

  He sits down next to me and his hands find their way around my neck. He applies a small amount of pressure on my jugular, just causing an uncomfortable light-headedness. He tightens his fingers to cut off my air intake. The demonic smile hasn’t left his face.

  “What were you doing at that building, Anna?” He doesn’t give me a chance to speak; his hand continues closing around my wind pipe. I don’t fight it. Instead I close my eyes and center my body. I don’t want to panic because that’ll make my death painful. Just as I’m feeling the edge of my demise, Katsu’s fingers release my throat and I regain my ability to breathe again.

  “I can make you hurt so much more, treasure,” he spits that last word out.

  “I’m sure you can, honey.” I display the equal amount of derision toward him when using the pet name he’d insisted on.

  “What were you doing at the building, Anna?” This time Katsu lowers his tone and his hand’s back at my throat. The diabolic stare is returning to his face; his body’s harsh and unyielding–I make no mistake. He will kill me and take pleasure in doing it.

  “It doesn’t matter.” I’m again struggling for breath. He releases me and starts tapping his knee with his finger. “I tell you what Katsu, why don’t you release me and even the playing field?” A small laugh leaves my throat, but it certainly doesn’t reach my eyes. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re intimidated by me?” I wink at him and lift my left eyebrow.

  “WHAT. WERE. YOU. DOING. AT. THE. BUILDING?” he bellows. Katsu’s beyond angry now.

  I say nothing, but smile at him.

  “You aren’t going to tell me what I need to know, Anna Moore? If your name’s Anna Moore. But I’ve a special little bedtime story to tell you. It involves a certain young man by the name of Ben Pearson.” He stands and starts walking around the small room. The guard standing at the door takes a step back, giving Katsu extra room to move around.

  “What happened to Claire?” I ask before he tells me about Ben.

  “Yes. Miss Claire… where should I start. Well, the bomb was in her room so of course, she’s dead,” he says it without a concern in the world. He still doesn’t know who I am, so he has no need to worry. Yet.

  “I knew if I could capture one of the Pace family leaders, the other would try to rescue her.”

  What the fuck did he just say?

  Did I hear that right?

  “Pace family leaders?” My voice is small and breathy. “Claire?”

  That means Ben is…no, he can’t be.

  I never got that serpent-bite feeling when I touched him.

  Wait, what?

  My breath’s quivering, my hands are shaking and my entire body’s trembling.

  “Claire Pace, or as you may know her, Claire Bramble. She and her brother Ben Pace, or as you may know him, Ben Pearson. The largest import/export of artillery this side of America. A family of influence. One half killed, now to lure him out–with you.”

  Artillery? How is this possible? I thought I knew everyone who ran guns. I made my living with guns.

  Ben Pace not Ben Pearson?

  How did I miss this? How did Agent miss this?

  My stomach’s knotting and I feel physically sick. I’ve never been so wrong about a person in my life. I’ve always relied on the snake-bite feelings I get to know who’s evil and who isn’t. Have I gotten it wrong before? Will I get it wrong again?

  Katsu is looking at me, but I can’t quite pick up the emotion his face holds. Fury? No. Sadness? Definitely not.

  Awakening? Yes.

  “You didn’t know who he is?” He starts laughing. “Oh dear, you were fucking the enemy and didn’t even know it.” He’s still laughing at me.

  Betrayal is all I feel.

  A lonely tear escapes my eye. Ben’s not who he said he was.

  Was everything he said to me a lie? Did he love me at all or was it just a pretense? But for what? A lump forms in my throat and I can’t swallow. My heart’s flooding with sorrow. I gave myself to him, let him into my life, an
d he fooled me. Was it just a con to him? Do I mean nothing to him?

  I haven’t even realized Katsu has come to sit next to me on the bed and is holding a syringe. He places a rubber tourniquet around my arm and is looking for a vein. My eyes travel to his and he shows no emotion.

  It’s at this moment I recognize myself in him. He has no remorse, no emotion and no connection. The way I was…before I fell in love with Ben.

  “Sweet Anna, you have made me some money.” He’s flicking the end of the syringe.

  Oh shit.

  Realization dawns on me.

  He’s sold me.

  ‘Where am I going?” I contain my feelings and search for my mask. It’s eluding me but I keep searching.

  “To a place where if Ben comes to save you, he’ll meet his death. But if he doesn’t, I’ll have made myself some money on you.” He punctures my arm with the needle. I don’t fight it. I’m strapped down and I won’t win this battle.

  But I’ll be back to be victor of this war.

  “Understand one thing before you inject me with whatever you have in that.”

  “Heroin,” he says with a smile.

  Fuck. That’s dirty shit.

  “You had best be looking over your shoulder because I’ll find you, and when I do, it’ll give me pleasure to watch you scream my name as you beg for mercy.” Mask on. “Just remember that.”

  “Anna, you’ll be on the other side of the world. Good luck finding me.” He empties the syringe into my arm.

  The warmth hits my arm and travels through my body. My eyes roll into my head and I feel the false comfort of the high and euphoric pleasure this disgusting drug elicits.

  “I found you once, Katsu, I’ll find you again.” I’m not sure that sentence came out how I wanted it to. Maybe I slurred it, maybe I didn’t.

  My mind blanks and I register there are now more men in the room.

  “She’s definitely a beauty.” I try to see who’s saying that, but I can’t see his face. My eyes are like slits and I can’t focus them. I can only hope my ears aren’t deceiving me as I try to focus on my surroundings. My body’s limp and my head is filled with a drug-induced fog.