Marie (Teumessian Trilogy Book 1)

by Ana Elise Meyer

  “Essentials, what’s an essential for something like this?” Tyler said aloud to himself as he looked around his bedroom. He lived simply, one bedroom one bathroom. He didn’t need a lot and he couldn’t afford a lot. His apartment was very plain with just a bed and a nightstand with a small black lamp sat in his white walled bedroom. His living room consisted of a plain white couch and metal coffee table. He never bothered with a kitchen table, he would just eat on his couch. No decorations were on his walls. The only real color came from his comic books that he kept in his closet. He had his military clothing and that was about it. He stared at the satchel sitting on his bed with the envelope next to it. He picked up the envelope and pulled out the watch. It was a nice watch, titanium band with an elegant glass casing on the front. It had roman numerals on the face and must have been a very expensive watch. He placed it on his wrist, attaching the clasp and looking at it. It was much nicer than he had anticipated and he actually felt high class wearing it even though he knew it was just a big kid’s leash. Tyler continued to look around, “I guess some clothing would be a good idea,” he chuckled to himself. Tyler was trying to keep his cool as he packed a few clothing items in the bag. Suddenly he heard a horn honk. He took a deep breath, he knew that was for him. Tyler strapped the bag over his shoulder, picked up the envelope and looked around his apartment as he walked out the door. He knew it might have been the last time he ever stepped foot into his apartment and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  Tyler took his flight and landed in Los Angeles by late the following day. He picked up the rental car that was waiting for him. Tyler took out the flyer from his bag and found the address and took the drive to the nightclub. By that time he reached the club it was nine o’clock at night. Tyler parked his car and stepped out and looked at the club before him and shuddered. He had always found strip clubs to be inappropriate and just plain wrong. Women parading their bodies for money and men encouraging it. It was not the way he was raised. Tyler took a deep breath and walked up to the neon lighted sign that hung over the velvet lined door. He slowly opened the door and the smell of smoke hit him like a ton of bricks. Tyler waved his hand in front of his face to try to catch his breath as he was coughing. Tyler took four steps into the club when he suddenly greeted by a tall sleazy looking man.

  “Hello, service man, and welcome to my fine establishment. I’m Chuck the owner, and if you need anything, you just let me know.” The man, Chuck, said with a smile showing off his gold front canine tooth. His greased slicked back black hair seemed to glimmer in the flashing lights and smoke from the cigarettes. Chuck extended his hand for Tyler to shake,

  Tyler hesitated but reached out and shook his hand, “Fine establishment? This is a strip club, nothing ‘fine’ about it.” Tyler replied.

  “Oh no no no this is not a strip club it is a ‘burlesque club’. My girls are very high class.”

  “High class? There is such a thing?” Tyler said with sarcasm in his voice.

  Chuck took a deep breath, “Then what can I do for you if you are not interested in my girls?”

  “I am looking for one of your girls, just one in particular.”

  “Oh, I see, a bachelor party. My girls are most defiantly for hire if you’re interested.” Chuck replied with a laugh and giving Tyler a small playful shove.

  “Sure, for a bachelor party.” Tyler replied.

  “Well what are you looking for? Red head, blonde, brunette? Give me some parameters for what the bachelor wants,” Chuck said with a laugh.

  “Brunette and very flexible.”

  “All my girls are flexible. How about this. You hang around tonight and if you see something you are interested in you let me know and we can get it set up.” Chuck placed his hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “Ah, and you have perfect timing our main attraction.” Chuck said, pointing to the stage. Tyler looked up and there she was; only she was different than she was in the video, but it was unmistakably her. She was thinner, looked more toned and was draped in a short red laced dress.

  “Her, I want her,” Tyler replied pointing to the stage

  “Oh, you like ‘the snake’,” Chuck said,

  “The snake?”

  “Just watch”

  Tyler looked back at Marie. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she moved around the stage. Suddenly she ripped the dress off revealing a red lace bra and thong and sporting two large pit vipers tattooed climbing up her back and resting their heads one on each of her breasts.

  “The snake.” Chuck said pointing to Marie.

  “Technically, that is two snakes.” Tyler replied, still mesmerized by her, his eyes never looking away.

  “One snake, two snakes, it’s all the same, but I will tell you she isn’t much for extra jobs. Might I suggest another girl, maybe one who might be more accommodating?” Chuck said with a wink.

  “No it’s her.”

  “I can let you meet her but I cannot guarantee anything. I would really recommend we try another girl.”

  Marie finished her set and was leaving the stage. Without hesitation Tyler began to follow her. Chuck quickly followed behind. Tyler let himself backstage,

  “Hang on, wait for me. I don’t need you scaring my girls. That’s her dressing room.” Chuck pointed to the third door on the right of the hallway.

  “Thank you,” Tyler replied walking towards the door.

  “I’m going to have a body to clean up again,” Chuck said to himself as he walked back to the front of the club.

  Tyler slowly approached the door, ‘should I knock’ he thought to himself. Tyler slowly lifted his fist and knocked three times.

  “Go away,” came the female response.

  Tyler got up his nerve and slowly started to open the door, “Excuse me, miss,” he said as he opened the door. Marie was sitting at her wooden make-up table, feet up on it, and was flipping through a magazine. She was still wearing the red lace bra but was now wearing a white tank top over it and a black pair of yoga pants. She had removed her red heels and replaced them with black sneakers.

  Marie never looked up, “If you’re looking for a ‘good time’ try the girl next door I hear she is very ‘enthusiastic’”.

  “No, no I am not looking for that” Tyler replied nervously as he walked through the doorway and closed the door behind him.

  “Then I think you are lost. You have no business with me.” Marie continued to flip through the magazine.

  “Actually I just wanted to talk to you.” Tyler felt himself trying to calm his nerves wringing his hands, he could feel the sweat start to form on his forehead.

  “I’m not much for talking.” Marie looked up slightly from her magazine and into the mirror in front of her catching a glance of Tyler behind her. “Especially to the Government” Marie returned to her magazine

  “I’m not here to hurt you or anything” his voice was shaking.

  Marie laughed, “Sweetie, by the looks of you I don’t think you could hurt anything. You look and sound like you are about to piss yourself.”

  Tyler felt his blood begin to boil, “I know who you are.”

  Marie closed the magazine and placed in on the make-up table took her legs down from the table and turned around crossing her arms across her chest and crossing her legs, “And who precisely do you know I am?”

  Tyler was shaking again, “I…I know what you can do and I know what you have done” He wiped the sweat from his face.

  “So you know what I am capable of and yet here you are standing before me, I guess that would explain why you look like a scared little boy.” Marie stood up. Tyler took a step back,

  “I am not here to hurt you, I swear.” Tyler replied anxiously. “I’m here to help you.”

  Marie started to laugh, “Oh, my god, are you serious? This is what the US Army considers helping me? Sending me a scared little boy scout. Have you ever killed anyone?”

  “No, no I haven’t. I am not here to kill people.” Tyler replied stumbling over hi
s words.

  “News flash that is what I do!” Marie barked at him.

  Tyler stumbled back, regained his footing, but he was backed to the door as Marie walked towards him.

  “So how do you think for one second, you are any good to me?” Marie got within inches of him.

  Tyler was terrified he was shaking, “I know where they are” is all he could get out and he repeated it “I know where they are”

  Marie took a few steps back, “Where who are?”

  Tyler took a deep breath, “You’re remaining targets I know who they are and where they are. I can…can take you to them.”

  Marie smiled, “And when you take me to them are you going to watch?”

  Tyler just stood frozen in place, “I’m not a killer”

  “So you intend to help me find people I want to kill and then let me kill them but you intend to not help? I thought you were here to help.” Marie replied with a smile.

  “I…I am”

  Marie suddenly held up her hand, “Shhh,” she placed her left hand to her lips and slowly walked up to Tyler and placed her right hand on his right shoulder and stood silent. “Get down” she ordered, throwing him to the floor and diving to the ground as well as gun shots rang through the door. Tyler held his hands over his head as he lay on the ground. The gun shots stopped. “Move,” Marie ordered, pushing Tyler from the doorway against the wall next to it and moved to her make-up table. She grabbed her knives from the top drawer. Tyler sat with his back to the wall as the door was kicked in. Marie was ready for them. Two men entered the room dressed in black and wearing masks. She quickly went to work on them and disarmed and sliced both of them. As she was finishing her work a third man began to enter the room. Tyler quickly grabbed him and struggled with him for his gun. The man freed a hand and grabbed his knife from his side pocket and cut Tyler across the right chest as Tyler was able to get ahold of the gun firing it into the man’s leg. Marie turned, having taken out her two assailants, and finished the man off with a knife to the neck. Tyler stumbled to the floor holding his chest as blood fell out of the slice in his shirt onto his hands. Marie looked out the door and scanned for more assailants. She saw none. She went to the man she had just killed and pulled the mask off his face,

  Tyler looked at the man’s face, “Japanese?” Tyler questioned as he was panting.

  “Chinese, you idiot” Marie replied looking at Tyler’s wound. “This is an initial incursion crew. More will come. Let’s go before you bleed out.” Marie pulled Tyler to his feet and grabbed his wrist. She slipped the watch off Tyler’s wrist and threw it against the wall. “I know a GPS when I see one. Tracking me will not be happening.” She heard footsteps coming down the hall, “Or they will come now, out the window.” Marie said pointing to the window on the far wall next to her make-up table. She helped Tyler out the window to the parking lot. “Follow me,” she ordered pulling Tyler along the building towards the dumpsters. Once there Marie pulled a motorcycle from between the two green dumpsters and straddled it, “Get on,” Marie ordered. Tyler hesitated. “Get on!” Marie barked at him. Tyler held his chest. He knew he would die if he didn’t go with her but if he did he wasn’t guaranteed to live either. Tyler took a breath and got on the back of the motorcycle as Marie revved the engine and sped off with Tyler clinging to her.

  Chapter 19

  It was a long ride from the club. Tyler was trying to stay conscious but he was losing blood and was in pain. He was not sure where they were or where they were going. They pulled into a dirt road and took it down to a small run down farm house; it looked like it had been abandoned many years prior.

  Marie pulled up to the large tree by it and got off, “Let’s go,” she helped Tyler off the bike. He started to make his way towards the house, but Marie stopped him. “No, this way” she said guiding him towards the field. Tyler followed trying to keep his mind clear. She walked up to a patch of hay and started to move it out of the way. As she did it revealed two doors. Marie unlatched the metal clasp holding the doors together and opened the doors and stepped down onto the first step. “In here.” She helped Tyler over the step into the cellar. He followed her down the ten steps and into a large open space. The steps led into an open common area. To the left was a small kitchen area with a sink, refrigerator, and counter space with a small hot plate on it; to the right was a metal bed and a small drawer set and directly ahead of him was a bathroom with shower.

  Tyler looked around, “It’s a bomb shelter!”

  “You’re quick” Marie laughed “Sit before you bleed all over the floor.” She pulled a metal chair from the small table from the kitchen area into the common living space. She went into the bathroom and got out a small black box from under the sink and returned to the living space and kitchen and placed the black box on the kitchen table.

  “How did you find this? And how do you keep it running? Does it have running water, does it have actual working plumbing? How about electricity are you on the grid or off it?” Tyler asked in quick succession.

  “That’s not important none of that is. Sit still and let me look at that.” She approached Tyler and took his satchel off his shoulder and dropped it on the floor and tore open his shirt to examine his injury more closely. “It will take a couple stitches but you will survive.” Marie smiled.

  “Stitches! Oh no no no you are not stitching me up.” Tyler stumbled through his words.

  “Relax, you big baby, I have done this before.” She opened up the black box and pulled out a large needle and thread. “Just relax” she said as she positioned herself over his right thigh and pinched the wound together preparing to stitch it up. “You know for a dork you take pretty good care of yourself.” Marie said with a laugh as she examined Thomas’s surprisingly fit chest and abs.

  “Just because I am not some killer ninja, doesn’t mean I don’t take care of myself.” Tyler was agitated.

  “You are a pretty judgmental guy aren’t you?” She began to thread the needle through the skin around the cut.

  Tyler flinched, “I am not judgmental” Tyler tried not to show his pain from the needle going in and out of his skin.

  “Yes, you really are you think that because I kill people on a regular basis. Somehow that makes you better than me because you don’t. Well, hate to bust your bubble, but death is necessary in this world and sometimes it has to be at the hand of someone not always something.” Marie completed the fifth stitch to his wound. “There you will live.” Marie got up off Tyler’s thigh.

  “Were you hit too?” He noticed the blood on the white tank top on Marie’s back.

  “Some of that is you and some is me, but I will be fine.” Marie responded

  “It’s true isn’t it?” Excitement came through in his voice.

  “What’s true?” Marie placed the needle back into the black box that was sitting on the kitchen table. Tyler got up out of his chair and walked up behind her and reached out to touch her back. Marie felt his presence behind her and quickly turned around and grabbed him by the throat with her right hand, “Don’t even think about touching me.” Marie calmly ordered as she pushed him back. “So I take it everyone knows. I guess I should have figured considering all the ‘visitors’ I have had over the past four years. I guess I didn’t have to save you, you know nothing that’s a secret.” She turned back around and closed the box.

  “You realize what your abilities mean, right?” Tyler rubbed his neck.

  “They mean I don’t need a band aid.” Marie replied sarcastically.

  “No it means you are the key to solving diseases, helping people heal from major injuries. You could save millions of lives.” His voice filled with excitement.

  “Yah, not for me. I don’t save lives, remember, I end them. It’s much easier for me, plus I’m pretty good at it.” Marie walked towards the bathroom and returned the box to its place under the sink. Tyler took a deep breath, he knew it wouldn’t be that simple to get her to help or even to understand what she could do
for the world besides add new graves. He reached down and picked up his satchel and placed it on the kitchen table. He opened it up and started to get out one of his US Army t-shirts to put it on.

  “Nope, you are not putting that on.” Marie ordered as she walked back from the bathroom.

  “So what do I walk around with no shirt on?”

  “As much as I am enjoying the view sweetie, the US Army gear is a no no. I would prefer to not be seen with any of you.” She walked over to bed and reached under and pulled out two large metal ammunition cases, measuring about three foot wide by two feet long and one foot deep.

  “You sleep with ammunition cases under your bed?!” Tyler exclaimed.

  “No, idiot but they work great for storing things, like things you find.” Marie smiled and dragged the cases to the middle of the room and flipped them open.

  Tyler gazed inside the cases and saw a large supply of various weapons, knives, guns, grenades and clothing, men’s clothing, that is. “Whose clothing is this?” Tyler questioned picking up a long sleeve black turtleneck.

  “That one, no clue. I find things and I keep them. You never know when things will become useful. Find something that will fit. I’m taking a shower” Marie walked back to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

  Tyler just stood there with the open cases in front of him, ‘did she just leave me with all of this?’ he thought to himself. Is she just trying to show me her accomplishments or what? Tyler was confused but started to look through the first case. He found several dark colored shirts and found one that would fit. He found several logos on shirts for groups that he couldn’t identify, ‘how many enemies have you made?’ he questioned to himself. Among all the weapons in the second case, Tyler saw a six inch blade sitting in a black holster. It had a beautiful inscription, so he pulled it out to examine it further. The inscription was in German or at least he thought it was German. ‘The Germans, the Chinese, and who else? Is the whole world after her?’ he thought to himself. Tyler sat back down on the chair and continued to examine the knife. It had been used. There was dried blood on it but not recent blood. Tyler began to swing it in his hand. It was easy to move.