Shoot to Kill

by James Kipling

  “Seven now. You’ll meet all of them after the funeral.”

  “Victoria,” Cedric called from the doorway, “are you ready?”

  Stepping out of the small lavatory, she looked at him boldly. “My new name may be Victoria but I would prefer it if you called me Tori.”

  He nodded and she saw four other people standing behind him. She didn’t know their names or their stories. What she did know was her life was stolen, and she was slowly coming to terms with it. Despite not wanting to be here, she had to serve her purpose, because if she didn’t, she’d be terminated.

  All of them began walking into a single file line to the parking lot. It was very bright outside and she had to squint. They piled into three separate black SUVs. Dazed, she felt sick to her stomach heading to her own funeral.

  “I’m Seeley,” the man beside her said, holding his hand out for her to shake. “This is James.”

  “And you already know who I am,” she said, not complying with his gesture.

  “You still seem very angry.”

  “There is a reason behind that,” she said.

  “You are going to be making a difference. You are now safeguarding this country with us.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t give a damn.”

  “You know,” said the man named James, “the reason they recruited you was because you are what this country needs. You are what this team needs.”

  She sulked for the moment and then the SUV stopped in front of the cemetery gates. The door opened and Cedric was there. “If you make any attempt to communicate, you will be put down immediately.”

  “I know what my rules are,” she said snidely.

  Getting out of the SUV, she saw the service roughly a hundred yards away. Her family was there along with several officers from the station, all gathered around her empty casket. Her stepfather held her mother who was wiping tears away.

  Nate was standing with Arianna. She scanned the crowd for Owen. He stood away from the crowd in the back. She wanted to let him know she was okay, but knew that she couldn’t.

  §

  “Hazel Hanson was an amazing daughter,” they heard their mother croak. “She was hard headed and stubborn as hell, but that is what made her so special. I love my daughter and I miss her so very much. Parents are supposed to go before their babies do, and I just hope that when my time comes that you will be standing at heaven’s gates waiting to greet me. Rest in peace, my baby girl.”

  Placing a rose on her casket, Hazel’s mother burst out into more tears. Dr. Mathis walked over to the casket and spoke. “Detective Hanson was a lovely young woman who made me a promise – she promised me that she would find the man responsible and she did. This young woman did not deserve to die. She was only looking for the truth and for justice. I hope that you guide your family through this hard time and know that you have touched not only their hearts, but mine as well.”

  Owen walked over to her casket and spoke. “Hazel, I have never been one to believe in talking to the dead, but if you can hear me, I want you to know that I love you. There has never been a person who understood me as much as you did. You were not just my friend, but you were the one I loved and cherished more than anyone in the world. Thank you for the life lessons you have taught me, and that you have taught everyone standing here right now. Life is fragile and more people should live in the moment, because moments are fleeting.”

  As he put the rose down on her casket, he looked to the plot she was going to be buried in. He looked to all the people standing here and saw the tears that they shed. Hazel Hanson was someone they all counted on. She invested her time to this and now that she was gone, it was going to take a while before they were all back to how things used to be.

  Brooks approached him. Owen heard as more people were saying things about Hazel and wished things were different. If he was strong five years ago, he would have pushed to stay with her. Not only did he lose her, but he lost his future.

  “You have been assigned to a new task force. I wish you the best of luck.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t care about any of that anymore, Brooks.”

  “You’re going to throw away your loyalties to your country?”

  “No, I will always be loyal to this country. I am just so sick and tired of always having to fight foreign battles. We have a war here in America among our own people. That is something that no one seems to understand.”

  “You are just saying that because you’re angry.”

  He shook his head. “That woman being put in the ground was the one woman who knew me better than I knew myself. Not only have I lost her, but I lost everyone on my team. They’re all dead and I’m still here.”

  “There is a reason for that,” Brooks said. “The man upstairs is calling the shots.”

  “If our God was merciful, my Hazel would still be alive right now. So would Braggs, Strider, and Wallace. They aren’t here now, are they? So please forgive me if this is insensitive or not professional.”

  Owens shoved past Brooks and left him standing by himself, shaking his head in frustration. He could easily tell Owen the truth, but he knew that by doing so he would be breaking his word. He’d sworn to protect the members of his team and follow all orders given to him, and he always has. He watched Owen walk away, and looked north to a group standing there quietly watching. Brooks knew Hazel was part of that group, watching everything play out. He looked back to where Owens had been, but he was no longer in view.

  At the main gate Owen paused for a moment and sat down. In time he would heal. Maybe dealing with new people and situations in Iraq is what he needed right now.

  Chapter 21

  Hazel watched with a heavy heart as everyone began leaving. “We are going to have to leave soon. Our jet should be ready to get off the ground in an hour.”

  Hazel didn’t want to say goodbye. She couldn’t let them go – it was hard. What was she going to have now? She was surrounded by strangers whom she didn’t know from Adam. Tears began forming but she blinked them back. She knew that she couldn’t be doing this – especially not in front of them.

  “We will wait for you at the car,” said Seeley.

  She watched as he and the others walked away. “You have five minutes,” said Cedric.

  Sitting down on the bench, she was completely alone now. What would her life have been like had she not miscarried? What would have happened if she and Owen had married? She wanted to assure her loved ones that this was not their fault, because it wasn’t. She was alive – her heart was beating despite it being broken.

  She looked over her shoulder at her gravesite to see Owen appear. He kneeled down over the freshly dug grave and seemed to be talking to her. Pushing back the urge to run to him, she knew that this was happening for a reason. This was part of a bigger plan that she had to accept.

  Before she turned away, she watched Owen again studying how he looked. It would be the last time she ever saw him. Then Cedric called out to her, “Tori, we have to go. We have to get to D.C. by nightfall.”

  Biting her lower lip, she slowly got up and noticed Owen staring at her intently. A part of her wanted him to know that she was still alive – but what would it do to him? She looked at her new “family” in the SUV and got inside.

  “You are doing the right thing,” Seeley reassured her.

  “I don’t believe that,” she said. “I am not the type to just let go of my family.”

  “Once you start chasing these monsters, you are going to feel better. Once you realize your purpose on this team is when you will see that you are helping your family live a safe life.”

  “Safe,” she said venomously. “If it was so safe, I would not be buried six feet in the ground. Have you ever thought of the other people that are being left behind?”

  Seeley gave her a look that told her she hit a nerve. “I know exactly how it feels, but this is what we do and there is nothing we can do to change t
his. You need to stop wearing your heart on your sleeve because if you don’t, it will get you killed out there.”

  “Maybe dying isn’t that bad.”

  Seeley ignored her last comment and began driving. He was not going to argue with her. She was going through a lot. In a way, he could relate to that. In fact everyone on the team could probably relate to her situation in some fashion, but he was not going to point that out to her.

  As they drove, she looked out her window and sighed to what could have been between them. If nothing else, she hoped Owen would find someone else to make him happy for the rest of his life.

  §

  His hand was on top of her grave, trembling. He wanted to tell her everything that he had never told her before. He wondered if this was a way to make him stronger, but he doubted that. He did not feel strong. Instead he felt vulnerable and knew that she would forever live in his heart.

  Then again, he had a feeling that he was being watched. Looking up, he saw a woman standing nearly a hundred yards away. It seemed like it was Hazel. Continuing to stare at her, he watched as she turned away. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he needed to know. His heart wanted this to be her.

  Walking up the hill to where she had been, he saw something in the dirt and knew immediately that he was right. A small “H” was in the dirt. He had a mixture of feelings at that moment – relief followed by anger. She was alive. Brooks knew. Their unit worked with all the others because they took care of all their business.

  Hazel was inside the black SUV that pulled away. He also knew that she had been altered – part of the process to change your identity.

  Walking back down to her grave, he put his hand on it and looked up to the heavens. He had always hesitated when it came to religion, but knew there was a greater force somewhere up there. He found the words he wanted to say: “Give me a sign. Tell me what to do next.”

  He waited for a moment, and nothing happened. Bowing his head somberly, he walked to his car hoping for a miracle when his phone rang.

  “Jones,” he answered.

  “This is Agent Jordan Fitzpatrick. I’m recruiting you to my task force in D.C.,” he said. “We have looked over the files that your superior, Walter Brooks, sent over. You are exactly what we need. Are you willing to join arms with us?”

  “What division is this?”

  “CIA,” he said. “Also, your superior told me that if you say ‘Hazel’, it would be your official resignation from his unit.”

  Owen looked to the sky and smiled. “Hazel,” he said with confidence.

  Now, a new journey began.

  Links to other books by James Kipling

  Haunted: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XR33798

  Promised: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9MXCMF

  Killed: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H39Y6ZQ

  Abduction: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01621RT2W

  Music of the Night: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073ZGYBXV

  Shoot to Kill Box Set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XSYK8MW

  Evil Shadow Box Set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0796NGQYS

  Promised Box Set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0798WC14M

  Killed Box Set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZYNNXQD

  The Untimely Death Box Set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0153PO9WG

  Vanished in Bitterroot Mountains: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W53YNQC

  Thank You

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  With profound gratitude, and with hope for your continued reading pleasure,

  James Kipling

  Author & Publisher

  Notes

  [←1]

  *Law Enforcement Officers.

  [←2]

  *Medical Examiner.