Ice Cold

by Mark Graham

  “Whatever, remember to pick up all your stuff if you can. If I have the time I will tear the rifle apart and put away. If I get spooked for some reason I will just throw the gun under the bed and we’ll get out of there. We then get to the door, take a deep breath and calmly walk to the elevator, then down, then to our car. Lots of people get attention if they run or seem out of breath, or are in a panic. When we leave the garage I will probable drive down a street, turn, go two blocks and such. In downtown Houston the streets running from north to south, and vice-versa are one way. Remember that if you get sent down here. If you go too far, just turn right than right again going in the opposite direction, If you think you just need to be careful you can cut over two streets, continue in your direction then go back or the other way two blocks. Just don’t get anyplace near the west side of downtown because the last one is both ways, and when you go east and come out to a ‘T’ you’ll see the convention center and find out you can only want to go north or south. Personally my advice is never go north because you get hemmed in somewhere in the ghetto.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said a little confused. “What if or some reason I get busted?” she asked.

  “Well if you get busted and I don’t I’ll make the proper contacts. If both of us get busted I’ll make the contact, Here,” he said giving her a little tiny piece of paper. If I get busted call that number and he will direct you to what you will need to do next. I think we’ll be okay but on our way back to headquarters or sometime this upcoming week we can review all the possibilities and you’ll understand a lot better.

  They went upstairs and made sure they had their stuff next to the door. Both of them put rubber gloves on. Ice took out five items which would make up the gun, one of the pieces a small clip with three bullets in it. It took out two other bullets and put them on the bed where they would be easy to reach.

  He handed her some small, but quite powerful binoculars she was really impressed with. She went to the window as he clicked the gun together, Then screwed on what looked like, and was, a silencer. He then put the scope on the gun, checked the little dials that were on it. He checked for wind, which wasn’t that much to see. He watched a flag that was hanging down the street and it hardly moved. He went over to the suction thing and took his knife out and kind of quickly smacked the glass within the circle. It immediately came out and he removed it from the little apparatus, and put it away. He tossed the circle of glass in the trash, but wiped it down of any finger prints that might be on it from the night before.

  Ice had shown Joyce a picture of the man while at breakfast and explained again where he should be. He was almost ready and heard her say, “He’s there, sitting at his desk.”

  “Good,” Ice said while getting down in a crouch position. Joyce could see that he was very well trained and had done this thousands of times before. Not all for killing but most of the times he did it in training.”

  While sighting in and making a couple of changes he was ready. Just before he was to go into his little exercise he did with breathing the man stood up and walked toward his door. Then he came back, with his back to the window picking up the phone. Ice could only assume the phone had rung and he had gone back to pick it up.

  Immediately, Ice started what would end in the end of a life’s end. With a surprise, Joyce was shocked at a little bang and looked through the binoculars. What she saw was the man dropping with a mass of blood and gore on the opposite wall.

  “You got him Ice,” she said trying to be calm, “blood and brain matter all over the opposite wall.”

  “Okay,” he said loud enough for her to hear, “close the drapes.” By the time he tore the gun down quickly into the original pieces he put them back in the case he had for them.

  Both stood at the door with their stuff in their hands. “Okay,” Ice said softly, “take a deep breath, relax, and we’ll leave. If you have to, tell yourself we just had a great time and it’s too bad we have to leave so quickly. He smiled at her and winked, opening the door. There was no hitches, and no one actually was around to see them except an old, apparently very rich old lady who caught the elevator after they’d dropped two floors. She got off the elevator at the level where the restaurant was. They had no problems in finding the car, putting there stuff in the trunk.

  “Just a second Joyce,” he said calmly and she saw him press a button on some other electronics thing. He slammed the trunk, hitting the button to unlock the car. “Just had to be sure we had no bugs, and if so they are burnt out. No explosives either.”

  That left her in wonder and she sat nervously until they got up on the 610 loop, then felt a big relief once they were on I-10 for about ten minutes.

  After arriving at what looked like a house, just a block away from off Bourbon Street, they found their room to be one of four on the second floor. “This is nice, Ice,” Joyce said, smiling at the character of the room, and what they’d seen on their way to the French Quarter.

  “It is actually a very fun place, with lots to do within walking distance from here. There’s no special functions going on this week, so it won’t be as dense as Mardi Gras or the Jazz Festival. When those events are going on a person is forced basically to be ass-hole to belly button,” Ice said.

  “What did you say about belly buttons?” Joyce asked.

  “Oh, sorry about that,” he replied with a smile, “when in boot camp the DIs put us in a line and ordered us to be asshole to belly button. It meant you had to get right up to the guy ahead of you. It squashed a platoon to fit the length on just the sidewalk directly in front of the mess hall.”

  “Wish we had time to hang out here a few days,” Ice said, “but the Director wants us back up there as soon as possible after completing this mission. So, we’ll catch a flight out of here so it will only take several hours to get there.”

  “So, do you have any idea how this will go down?” she asked.

  “Sure do,” Ice responded with a smile. “We have to wait until about 9 this evening and get over to Bourbon Street. It won’t be very busy, but busy enough. I’ll show you the guys picture and try to point him out to you. You will watch me and when I get within a foot of the guy you’ll scream frantically, yelling your daughter has been kidnapped. You can beg and cry and make quite the scene. Everybody will be looking at you as I sink a blade, hopefully right through his heart. If all goes well we’ll just walk back here. You taking that street to the south and I’ll take the next one over and return to right here.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Joyce said. “Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

  “Yep,” he commented, “and it’s always worked. I will be wearing a a long beach kind of shirt, and will be stripping it as soon as I turn the corner. The shirt will more than be covered in blood. That will put me in a t-shirt. It’ll be a dark blue representing and showing all kinds of patriot things. That’s so that in case we do get separated and are trying to find me. I’ll put it on before we leave so you can see it. Of course you’ll see the beach shirt too. Once we walk out the door of this place you will go one way and I will the other, arriving on Bourbon street a block away from each other. I’ll start looking around and when I see him I will do something signifying it’s the guy. Then when I go in for the kill, you do your thing”

  “How do you know the guy will even be there?” Joyce asked.

  “One of our people, not necessarily an agent, will be there posing as the guys girlfriend. She’s been undercover and been with this guy for a month. She has arranged to have him, along with another couple, eating at a particular restaurant. I may have to follow them to be able tell the most safest time is for me to act. In that case just keep up with me, walking down the side walk. Most people walk down the street so it should be easy to do. If you see a long haired beautiful lady with all the curves you can imagine with him, that is him. She has brown hair with highlights. If she sees you, don’t worry, just continue on with what I told you. We will more than likely stay the night here and get g
oing in the morning when most visitors leave.”

  “We have quite a wait then,” Joyce said.

  “Do you feel like going the aquarium that’s only a few blocks away. There’s a shopping center across the way where I’m sure you will find something you might like.”

  “Hey,” she said, and standing, “I’m getting tired hanging around motels and hotels and either in a car or plane. Let’s go.”

  Ice put his shoes back on and they left. They had several hours before their assignment would be at the starting point.

  Their plan, later that evening went well, without hardly a hitch. They did just as planned and as Ice approached the man closely Joyce could actually see part of the big knife. She went into her act, while Ice stabbed the guy four or five times. The man immediately went down, and Ice continued on toward the street he was going to cut over on. A guy who Ice didn’t notice walked over to him and grabbed Ice’s shoulder, and kind of hollered, “I saw what you did there, and I’m calling the cops. The man was quite a large man with big hands. When Ice looked at him he saw the other hand was holding a cell phone, waiting for something to happen.

  Ice looked around quickly and swung his knife severing the man’s wrist half way through. He then quickly stuck knife though the man’s eye, penetrating almost all the was through which put his brain out, and by the time the man hit the street he was dead.

  Ice looked around again, and not seeing anything else he ripped his shirt off and threw it down a stair well. When he got to the next one he threw the knife down and out of site. He knew he had to get some blood off his hands and arms and reached into his pocket and took out a disinfected pad and tried getting the blood off. All he could do was hope nobody would see his hand and arm.

  Ice felt lucky when he got close to where he was going where he saw what appeared to be a jacket. It was, so he took it and carried it on his arm, hiding any blood spots.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Both of you did a good job on these two last assignments,” the Director said as the three of them were sitting around his big round table.

  “Thanks,” both Ice and Joyce said.

  “Our contact in New Orleans,” the Director started, “wasn’t even aware at the time of the stabbing. She played the girl friend well, but even with her training could only see you walking away with nothing that she could see you were part of it.”

  “Well, not necessarily true boss,” Ice said. “I had blood on my hands and arms, and some on my shirt too. Guess I was lucky because after I killed the guy who was trying to play hero, I found a jacket and folded it over my arm and it hid all the blood.”

  “I also was informed that a person reported that a man and woman left the building in Houston about five minutes after the shooting. They had no real description. Evidently that section was filled with customers of the hotel and their cars had been parked there by one of the parking people and the cars usually retrieved by the same people and delivered to the front door when the visitor checked out.”

  “Any problem?” Joyce asked,.

  “No, none at all,” the Director stated, looking at her. “I just feel our agents need to know anything we get back concerning their jobs. Only you know how it went from your angle and many times agents want to hear things like this to kind of work into their way of doing things. If they think they can learn on it, then that’s good. I’d rather have them know there were no witnesses, and free their worries up.”

  “By the way Ice,” the Director was asking, “what are the details of the second killing in New Orleans after your assigned killing?”

  “This big guy approached me from the rear and said he was calling the cops for them to come get me because he saw me knife that guy. He had his cell out ready to call, and I nailed him. He was a big guy and that hand on him was actually crushing my shoulder.”

  “Well, we can’t have that can we?” the Director said, smiling, then turning toward Joyce, giving her a wink.

  The Director then open a drawer and took out a good size brown envelope.” Joyce, here are five driver’s licenses, along with five credit cards that coincide with that ID. There might be a time that you will need to secret away a second set, but it’s usually better not to have more than one with you at any time. If caught by the cops or the bad guys it could cause some major problems otherwise. Your primary ID, and what we want you to use is Betheny Johnson. We have that name which gives out your life story. Here, read this and you’ll find what that history is.” The Director gave Joyce/Betheny three sheets of paper filled with typing. Your social security card that you will use if you have is also with the papers for Betheny, along with a passport. You will be surprised when first looking at it how many places you have been. Memorize those pages then destroy them.”

  Also, after you get back from your next assignment we will have six houses for you to check out and hope you like one of them. We’ll then decide what has to be done. I’m sure Ice has kind of filled you in on that.”

  The Director opened his bottom drawer and took out a couple things. He handed a narrow small box to her,. “That is your satellite phone. Always keep it with you. Any thing you say will be coded and can only be accepted by a like phone. If for some reason you need to make a regular call there’s a button there on the side; you push it and a little green light comes on, then it operates like any other cell phone. You probably might not need it at all, but it’s there just in case. On your way out ask my secretary to give you five throw away cell phones. They come in real handy, and you throw them away at the end of the mission you’re on. If you need to sooner feel free to do so. We order these stupid things by the thousands.”

  Joyce smiled as she looked over her new phone. It looked like any other smart phone and found out there was some games on the thing too, plus a program she could use to find a particular address. “Thanks,” Joyce said to the Director.

  The Director leaned over again and retrieved a laptop computer, still in the box, and gave it to Joyce.

  “This computer is very sensitive, but almost unbreakable. However, if any body gets their hands on it there is a combination of numbers on your phone that will fry everything in side that computer. We’d rather replace it, then to let any of our secrets out. Ice will be able to set you up with everything, and your code for this week is C-8. You’ll find it in the computer along with everything else you’ll need, including telephone numbers, places of our safe houses, and a bunch of other stuff. The programs are all in there and if anybody wants to use it the only way it will turn on is to put your password in. For your information and safety, if someone tries to open it with anything other than your pass word, on the third try it self-destructs. The case can withstand anything up to and including a .357 magnum.”

  “The Director then gave Joyce a small plastic case. “In there are lock picking tools,” he said smiling. “Again, Ice will teach you how to use those things.”

  “Joyce, last, but not least,” the Director said, “Other than the housing when you return from your next assignment you will be sent off to our explosive training school, so plan on being gone from that Sunday afternoon to the next Saturday.”

  “Okay,” she thought kind of excited knowing she was going to learn a new skill.

  “Now then,” the Director started off, “you have two more assignments, but this time Talon will be there too. First you’re going back to Houston and take care of a Vietnamese gang. A total sniper job, but might escalate into something else. On that one we will need three shooters and you are the three. The second job is over to Laredo. There is a small group there that needs to be taken out. They are slave traders and running back and forth to Mexico has made it too hard to catch and prosecute.”

  “In Texas you will be staying at a motel, several miles from the airport, and checking in at different times, taking three rooms. You of course can gather in one room or go to a restaurant to talk over your plans, or whatever you want and need to do. Your target area is between I-45 and highway
59, both going south and to and through Houston. It will take you a day or two to put together a plan. Same with Laredo,although it might be kind of tricky there.”

  “Talon is down the hall, about three doors down,” the Director said. “Go down there and make plans, then go do it. Houston first, then Larado. See you in a week or two”

  The Director got up and shook both there hands, giving them both a smile for a send off. Joyce had her hands full so Ice took both the computer and satellite phone for her, “I’ll get you on board with these things today and tomorrow. We’ll probably leave the next day.”

  They stopped by the office to find Talon and they decided to go down to the cafeteria because Talon was hungry. They spent more than an hour together working out a pretty good plan. Talon the Eagle had gotten a Houston map and copied the section where they would be working, and blew it up to a large size making it a lot easier for them to follow along.

  The next day Ice was able to teach Joyce some other things and tried to cover what had happened with many of his assignments and telling of ones where agents were killed. They debated why the kill happened and what changes the agent could have done to cause them to survive. That kind of training put Joyce more into the thinking mode of every mission she did, and was a very good time of training. Some of which would help her stay alive. Later they went the department’s firing range. Although Joyce could shoot very well, Ice showed her some of the finer things when sniping in rain, wind, down-drafts and such. He had her practice her sniping abilities, using several pointers she’d learned.