by S. K. Lessly
He laughed again and this time his men joined in the laughter. I, of course, didn’t find anything funny about what he or I had said.
I gritted my teeth and replied, doing my best to remain calm. “Yes, you are right, he was bigger than me and stronger. But in the end, I, was the one left standing, and he wasn’t. I had to do everything in my power to stay alive. And I did.”
The special agent, a piece of crusted shit, stared at me, mouth open. Actually, all three of them did. It was the same way everyone else around the crime scene had been watching me, and I didn’t like it one damn bit.
I held his gaze, though, never wavering. Then the weird-looking man started to smile and clap his hands. “Well done, Agent. You have managed to trigger my bullshit meter to heights it’s never been.” His smile fell away just as fast as it had appeared. “You expect me to believe that bull crap of a story? You took down Simon by yourself, using a knife no doubt?” He then looked around to Shane. “You people must think I was born yesterday. Why don’t you begin again and this time tell the truth?”
I started to speak up, but I felt Malcolm touch my arm. I looked at him, anger very palpable throughout my body. I was done with this bullshit. Seriously, who in the hell did this little man think he was? What? A woman wasn’t capable of being good or even better than a man? He couldn’t fathom the possibility that I could kick Simon’s weak ass? Hell, if Dickwad would give me the opportunity, I would have no problem showing him exactly how I had bested Simon, the little bastard.
Malcolm, to his credit knew and understood where I was mentally, and he kept his hand on my arm, gripping with just enough force to stay in control.
Who seemed to be losing control was Shane.
“Special Agent Dickenson,” Shane began, “It’s obvious you are completely ignorant about a few things, so let me help you by clearing them up for you. Despite the fact that Agent King is no longer serving our country as a gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corp, it doesn’t mean she left everything she was taught in the corp. She’s still a marine. She’s been trained very well by our military and government. She is by far one of the most capable, ruthless, and efficient killing machines prepared by the United States. If she said she and Simon engaged in hand-to-hand combat, believe it. She could not only hold her own against him, but she could hold her own against any formidable opponent you throw at her.”
Shane then gave Agent Dickless his most menacing smile. “If you don’t believe me or her, Agent, I’m sure she would be very happy to demonstrate everything that happened between her and Simon, play by play, blow by blow, cut by cut. Oh, that is, if you’re not too squeamish or anything. After all, she did cut the man’s dick off. Just let me know which one of your agents you would like to see castrated, and I’ll order it.”
SAC Dickenson finally looked into my dark, cold eyes and saw something that undoubtedly caused him to change his tune. I couldn’t tell you what it was about me that changed his tune. It could have been the fact that I still gripped my knife tight in my hand that had him spooked or the fact that I still had the man’s blood all over me. It was on my clothes, in my hair, even on parts of my face. Whatever it was, it was clear as day that he had a different opinion of me now than he’d had before. Or maybe I had just solidified his original belief. Regardless, his pompous demeanor was gone. Shit was no longer funny.
He cleared his throat, his eyes wandering from mine to the bloody knife in my hand. He then looked at Malcolm’s grip on my arm before his eyes rested on Shane.
“Major Cooper, we will uh…review everything that was said here, including the fact that the communications were down. I hadn’t officially gotten word about any communication breakdowns, but I will look into her claim as well as her comms unit. Understand we will conduct a complete autopsy of the victim and see if there were any witnesses to her claim. Make sure she stays put for the next few months for any follow-up questions.” He then added, putting a little condescending tone in his voice, “That is with your permission, of course.”
Shane nodded, seemingly ignoring his attempt at being an ass. “That’s fine, just let my office know when you need to meet and we’ll arrange it. And as I said before, we will also tag her knife, clothes, and any other physical evidence, and give it to the techs before she leaves.”
“Thank you, Major.” He returned Shane’s nod, pivoted on the balls of his feet, signaled for his men to follow, and he disappeared.
He cautioned a look back, but I hadn’t removed my eyes from the back of his head. Once we were alone, I felt a slight tug on my arm. I moved my eyes from Agent Dickless to three very angry and downright killer alpha males.
I thought that they’d gotten tired after exerting all of their testosterone on the FBI’s brainless beta males and they didn’t have anything left for little ole me, but boy was I wrong. And just my luck, the first person to strike was my fearless leader.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Chapter Two
I looked at Shane, my jaw dropping to the ground. I couldn’t respond even if I wanted to. I was so taken aback at the pure rage that was pouring off him in waves.
“Bro,” I heard Malcolm say, coming to my defense, but Shane only got angrier.
“Not this time, Malcolm,” Shane growled, never averting his fierce blue eyes off of me. “You can’t follow damn directions even if your life depended on it, and tonight it did.”
Finally, breaking out of my shock, I shook Malcolm’s grip off of my arm and moved closer to Shane. I looked up into his eyes with a bit of frost covering my own. “What the hell did you want me to do? I needed to take action.”
“I was on my way, Misty. You knew that, but you still did what the fuck you wanted to do,” Josh interrupted.
Let me get you quickly up to speed. When the FBI’s comms went down, I quickly activated ours. It was a direct link to Junior, Josh, Shane, and Malcolm. I filled them in on what was happening and informed them that I hadn’t heard anything from the FBI on what they wanted me to do. That’s when Shane ordered me to stay put. He, Malcolm, and Junior hadn’t made it to the scene yet, but they were a few minutes out. Josh spoke up and said he was on the scene and was heading my way. I was okay with that for a moment, but the minutes were dragging, and he was taking entirely too long to get to me. Okay, maybe not that long, but I felt that the kids didn’t have minutes so I told them I was going in. So, ignoring the orders to stay put, I entered the building.
I took my eyes off Shane and directed my frustration at Josh. “I know and I tried to wait, but things happened so fast that I couldn’t.” I looked back at my quarry. “I couldn’t wait any longer, Shane. Those kids… I didn’t tell everything to those stiffs, but when I walked inside there were still fuckers lying around with kids in bedrooms. Shane, I couldn’t just let that happen. I had to act and I had to make sure every last sick bastard paid for what they had done.”
I took a deep breath to try to calm down so he could see and understand, but his anger never broke.
“Tell us what really happened, Misty,” Shane requested.
Confused, I looked from Malcolm to Josh. They both looked at me as expectantly as Shane looked at me. “Wh-what are you talking about I—”
“Don’t play games with me, Gunny. I gave you a fucking direct order.”
I frowned. “And I answered you, Major.”
We had our own staring match before Shane backed up slightly, giving me a sneer as he moved. I mean, he actually sneered at me. What the hell?
“Okay, so you expect me…us to believe that you dropped your guard in the middle of a mission? Simon got the best of you, a trained killer such as yourself, and he charged you? You both lost your weapons and decided that knife play was the only way to settle this? And you two just tussled. Is that right?”
I cringed as he spoke. My story was plausible for the FBI, but I should have known it wouldn’t fly with these three. However, I didn’t think they would start working through the h
oles of my story so soon. Still, I needed to keep to my slight fabrication. I had no choice. I felt myself losing my shit right here and I couldn’t let that happen.
“Yes, we tussled,” I voiced coolly. “Are you of the same mind as Special Agent Dickless, implying that I’m incapable of handling myself?”
Shane gave me his evil smile and backed up from me. “Not at all. Malcolm, bag and tag her knife and BDUs and send them to Junior for analysis before they’re sent to the FBI.”
Malcolm nodded, however Shane had already turned his back to us and moved toward our makeshift command center.
“So much for having my back,” I mumbled to the two that were left.
“Are you kidding me?” Josh chided questioningly. “Do you have any idea the heat that he’s about to get for your little stunt? You left your post, Misty. You practically dismembered our suspect. You placed yourself, us, and those kids in jeopardy. Seriously, Misty, how could you be so certain that the kids you left were safe?”
“Josh, I did what I had to do!” I stressed, my voice raising in frustration and volume. “I knew you were right behind me. I knew you would get the kids to safety, and that’s what happened. At the end of the day, the kids are safe, you’re safe, I’m safe, and the child molesters are atoning for their sins right this very moment. Everything worked out, didn’t it?” I rolled my eyes. “I swear we all wouldn’t be having this conversation if it had been one of you who’d killed Simon instead of me.”
“Oh, don’t give us that bullshit, Misty,” Malcolm forced out. “You fucked up; it’s simple as that. You were told to stay where you were, but you didn’t. Think about this from our point of view. What if someone else had pulled up in the alleyway, saw their men lying there, and went in after you? You’d be dead right now, and there’s no telling where those kids would be.”
“This is bullshit!” I snapped and folded my arms in front of me. I looked at neither Cooper as I stood there with my eyes cast down at my boots. I wasn’t conceding to them, I was just tired of arguing. They wouldn’t see this my way even if someone paid them.
Josh moved into my space, causing me to look at him. “Do you see? This is shit we’re talking about, Misty? You can’t see how you put your life in jeopardy for no reason, but to feed your ego.”
“That’s not true!”
“Oh no? Then why didn’t you wait for me once you saw the bullshit that was going on in those rooms? Why didn’t you tell me to haul ass to get to you? Why didn’t you report what you saw? I’ll tell you why. You felt like you had to prove something. You were pissed when the feds placed you in the back of the building even though they knew there was no way anyone would exit the building. They didn’t use you like they were supposed to, cracking into that bad-ass façade you have. That’s all this was; your way of proving to the feds who you are. You weren’t thinking of anything else but yourself.”
“Oh my God! Is that what you think of me? You think that I’m that self-centered and arrogant that I would put those kids or you in danger like that? We’ve been partners for years, Josh. I have never deliberately put you in harm’s way, and fuck you if you think I have.”
I didn’t wait for him to reply. I turned and left them both where they stood while I tried to keep my anger in check.
Seriously, this was complete and utter bullshit. He knew damn well I wouldn’t have done anything to put those kids or him in danger. For him to imply that I was reckless like that was not fair.
Granted, I was pissed at how the feds had dismissed me like I didn’t matter. But if they had fractured my sensitive ego, I wouldn’t have reported anything at all. I wouldn’t have waited for someone to give me direction on how to proceed when my situation changed. I would have simply gone into action and killed everyone that breathed minus the kids.
I felt someone coming up on my six and I knew who it was. I didn’t say anything to him as he walked past me. I knew what he wanted. Malcolm went into the Suburban next to us and pulled out a few large evidence bags.
I placed my knife in one, instantly feeling the loss of the only thing that hadn’t failed me today. Yes, I said that right. Then I proceeded to get undressed. I unbuttoned my shirt, balled it up, and placed it in the evidence bag Malcolm was holding. I pulled the tank top off as well, revealing my bra to the masses. I probably didn’t have to take off the tank top, but I was beyond caring at this point. If someone else had been here instead of Malcolm, I probably would’ve given them the bra too.
I bent down and undid my boots, kicked them off, and then undid my belt. Once the belt was loose, I undid my pants buckle and let the pants drop, leaving me in my boy shorts and bra.
I definitely knew that all eyes were on me now and they probably had the same opinion about what they saw. This bitch’s body is on point, but she is crazy.
And maybe I was, but I was also done. I was sure if I would’ve told Shane everything that had happened, things would have gone a whole lot differently, but he didn’t need to know. And, yes, as I’d said before if hindsight was 20/20, I should’ve waited for Josh. But the reality was, I didn’t.
No matter how anyone looked at this, I didn’t do what they wanted, but I did what I needed to do and I saved lives, including my own. End of story.
I balled up my pants and pushed the blood-splattered item inside another evidence bag that Malcolm held open for me. I handed him my boots, told him that my rifle was inside the Suburban, and I headed for my car. I’m outta here. Before I made a break for it though, someone had to get in the last word.
“Don’t think this is over. We are going to talk about what happened tonight, believe it.”
I didn’t turn around to face Malcolm. I believed him when he said this wasn’t over. The problem was that I didn’t give a shit.
I gave him the finger.
**********
Interlude
Central America three months ago…
The warm tropical breeze caressed the woman’s face as she slowly made her way along one of the beautiful private beaches in Brazil. The spectacular views of Pernambuco should have been her only reason for coming here. She loved this place, the people, and the atmosphere. She could get lost here, and no one would ever find her. However, now wasn’t the time to explore her surroundings. She had a mission to complete.
The woman searched the near-empty beach until her eyes fell on a cluster of very large men dressed in all-white business suits. They were surrounding a pergola-style structure with off-white fabric laced through the top and falling along the sides. She didn’t see the man she wanted, but she knew he was there. She smirked, changed courses, and headed in the men’s direction.
The woman started to feel excitement coursing through her body. It had taken almost two months of scouring the world, but she had finally found him. Now all she needed to do was make her approach slowly. The hard part was ignoring the bull’s eye that was no doubt placed precisely on the back of her head by some hidden sniper. If she was deemed any type of a threat, she would simply cease to exist right here. That was just how the man she was looking for operated. She was heading into the belly of the beast with no backup and no support. She was desperate. The risk of losing her life didn’t matter to her. Her needs, however, did. She needed to get in front of this man. It was one of the most important missions she had ever been on and it had to be a success.
“It’s show time,” she said aloud just as one of the men dressed in white turned in her direction.
The woman deepened the sway of her hips seductively as she continued across the uneven, sandy beach. She wore a white two-piece bathing suit that barely covered her essentials and glasses to shield her eyes from the unforgiving sun. A large white wide-brimmed hat covered some of her face from any onlookers as well as the men before her. She hoped the way she was dressed would allow her to get close enough to get an audience with her savior.
Just a little further…
As she closed the distance between her and her destiny, the air ar
ound her started to turn. The breeze started to blow harder, angrily kicking up sand in her face as she moved. If she was a celestial-believing woman, she would recognize this as a sign for her to high tail it out of here. The sweat that formed under her arms and down her back, despite the breeze that was kicking up, should have sealed it for her.
However, she ignored everything around her, including the fear that had started to wreak havoc on her nerves, and concentrated on her fierce need for revenge. She had a score to settle. No one got the better of her and lived to tell about it. No one made a fool out of her and no one ever chose another over her.
She was going to make him pay and pay dearly for his lapse in judgment. He would learn the hard way to never fuck her in the ass without permission. No doubt they all would learn, and the man who would help her get even was the very man she was here to see: Dante Perchenko, better known as Cupid.
Cupid, a Russian Nationalist, was known around the world as the most notorious contract killer this world had ever seen. He was noted for many assassinations and mass killings in various countries. He was wanted by The Hague, the world courts, for war crimes, crimes against humanity as well as other atrocities that he’d been found guilty of in abstention.
The bounty of five hundred million dollars on his head, set by the United Nations, placed a sizable target on his back. There were countless agencies and private sector mercenaries looking for this man throughout the world, yet he hadn’t been captured. He wasn’t Houdini or clever like his counterpart in Afghanistan who hid in caves in some remote area in that region. The reason why he was free had everything to do with her.
She had stumbled upon his existence, and instead of reporting him, she’d used him for her benefit. She did everything she could to keep him in the shadows by masking his identity for years. Her bosses were none the wiser and with good reason. He was in part her reason for her past successes. He was her mark. She’d indirectly worked with him on many occasions, using his connections to work in various countries for her personal and professional gains.