The Pretender- Escaping the Past

by C R Martens

  No one knew what FIA was capable of, the firm had spent too long in the shadows. And the distinction between good and bad was starting to blur. Ever since Francesco, Eve had been more vigilant in her research. But it was Eve’s second undercover assignment that raised her suspicions. She was supposed to get very close to a corporate director. She had received her brief from Harlow, which had been unusual as Cain usually assigned the cases, but it wasn’t that odd. This time there was no two ways about it, the brief was very clear from the beginning: Kill the target. Eve had already proved to herself that taking someone’s life was something she could do. But the brief was vague and the evidence against the target was circumstantial at best. But Eve was young and still relatively new to the firm so she did what she was told, not wanting to cause controversy.

  A month later, Eve was doing what she did best. The man watched her unknowingly, questioning her every move but he was so mesmerised by her body and beauty that his usual sharp instinct failed him. She walked around his office, pretending to be interested in him, looking at his pictures and business awards, but never touching any of them. He was much older than Eve and married too, but Eve represented his weakness and FIA knew it. Eve had been on a few secret dates with Sir Robert Jules prior to that night, but that night was the night.

  “You are going to die,” she said calmly, smiling seductively at him.

  “What?” He half laughed. Then the realisation hit him – she wasn’t lying. The desperation in his eyes grew and his eyes flickered around the room for an exit.

  “It’s too late,” Eve said. Sitting down at his desk, she placed a small vial in front of her. “I gave it to you 20 minutes ago.”

  “Is this a joke?” He was looking for his mobile. “Who sent you?”

  “It’s downstairs,” she said while he looked through his drawers. “And the door is locked and I have the key.”

  “Why?” He slumped against the wall. “Why me? What have I done?”

  “I don’t know why, I just do.” Eve looked him in the eyes. She felt that was the least she could do when she had just ended his life. “Maybe you shouldn’t have cheated on your wife. Or maybe it’s a monetary issue?”

  The minute the words came out of her mouth she regretted them. She knew FIA wouldn’t take money for hire. Even if she had her doubts about the assignment, she had no reason to speculate about it, especially not out loud.

  “Is this my wife?” he asked, stumbling back to the desk.

  “No,” said Eve. She was starting to get nervous and insecure in her actions. “As I said, I don’t know the reason behind it. I just do the job.”

  “Do you like this job?” He was starting to get out of breath. “Killing for a price.”

  “I’m good at it,” Eve replied. “I didn’t choose this job, it chose me. But killing bad people is not all I do and it’s certainly not all that I am.”

  “Who decided I was a bad person?” he asked. He seemed to have gotten around to accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to live through the night.

  “Someone.” She watched him closely. “Why aren’t you a bad person?

  Eve instantly regretted asking him the question, fearing the answer. But something in her needed to know the truth, even if it meant Eve had done something against her nature, hurt someone innocent.

  “The worst things I have done are cheating on my wife and on my taxes.” There was truth in his eyes, which terrified Eve. “If that justifies a death sentence, well then you have certainly done your job right.”

  “Are you sure?” Eve asked. “Surely you can tell me the truth.”

  “That is the truth,” he replied, getting emotional.

  “I’m sorry.” Eve had never felt the need to apologise before, but this assignment had felt wrong from the beginning. “I’ll stay with you, if you want?”

  “I would like that,” he stammered. “At least the last thing I see will be someone of great beauty.”

  “Why would someone want you dead?” Eve asked, getting an urgent sense that she might just have done a hit for hire. “What do you know that would make you a target?”

  “Who do you work for?” he asked.

  “FIA.” She trusted her instinct and told him. He begged her to come over and then he whispered one word to her. One name.

  Three minutes later, he exhaled for the final time. Eve went over to check his pulse. He was gone. She checked the room for anything she might have left behind, wiped off the things she might have touched, placed his mobile back on his desk and unlocked the door and left. That was her second undercover assignment where she had been ordered to kill, but her fourth kill altogether thus far in her career. Francesco, her first kill, would always stay with her. Her two other kills happened while on an assist assignment for the London Metropolis Police. They had a gang war that went as wrong as it could when the two gangs opened fire in the middle of a high street, one police officer and three gang members were killed and several others were injured, including Eve who got grazed by a bullet on the right thigh while taking down two gang members. But this was the first assignment where she left with a feeling that things weren’t as they seemed, that she was the one who had actually committed the crime. That one name haunted her mind. Even now, a few more kills and years later it still haunted her.

  ***

  A few months after her second undercover assignment, Eve was catching up on paperwork at the office. It was her quarterly visit to the office; most of her time spent as an agent was spent in the field. But papers still had to be filed. She was still unsettled by what had transpired that night between Sir Jules and her and writing it down or re-reading it didn’t make it any better. She had wanted to talk to Harlow about it but she had been away on her own assignment. However, that day she was back and in the office.

  “I need to talk to you,” Eve said, approaching Harlow’s desk.

  “Sure,” Harlow replied, busy at the computer. “I can find a time for you.”

  “I don’t want ‘a’ time at some point,” Eve said in a hushed but assertive voice. “I need to talk now!”

  Harlow looked up at her and could see Eve was slightly worried. She looked at the clock and got up.

  “Perhaps it’s time for a coffee break,” she replied. “Give me five minutes and meet me downstairs.”

  “Good.” Eve was relived already. She went over to her desk, shutdown her laptop, packed it in her bag and then went down to the front door of the building.

  “Let’s go to our usual place,” Harlow said, walking up behind her. “I think we could both use the walk. What did you need to talk about?”

  “Sir Robert Jules,” Eve said and Harlow almost stopped walking immediately. “Something doesn’t add up. The assignment was too constructed.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked. “The brief was simple and I knew you were up to the task. It was faultless.”

  “When was the last time you had the perfect undercover assignment?” Eve asked, stopping to look her in the eyes. “I spoke with him.”

  “You engaged with the target,” she started. “As your cover, right?”

  “Yes,” Eve said. “But then I stayed with him until he died and talked with him out of cover. I didn’t disclose my name, of course.”

  Eve could see Harlow processing what she had just said to her, trying to find an appropriate response.

  “It’s protocol to vacate the premises as soon as the target has been exposed to the drug,” she finally said, though she usually wasn’t one to follow protocol herself. “Did you put it in your report?”

  “No, I didn’t. I haven’t finished it yet,” Eve said. “I figured, since this was your case to begin with, you’d want a say in what gets reported.”

  “What do you mean ‘my case’?” She pretended to be ignorant.

  “Don’t do that, not with me,” Eve said. “I knew almost from the moment you gave me the brief that this was your assignment. You put on a great performance, which is why it took me a few
days to figure it out. So, why did you give it to me? You weren’t busy so why give it to me? The target told me the only bad things he had ever done was cheat on his wife and on his taxes. That doesn’t seem worthy of a death sentence.”

  “Bad people lie,” Harlow replied and walked off.

  “Not when on the brink of death, they don’t,” she answered back. Eve didn’t follow her. She could feel the strangers around her react to her words, but as with everything else, people are too scared to question their surroundings. Let alone what they hear. “Was this political? Because there were no threats to the public, and he wasn’t a career criminal. What was it?”

  “Stop.” She came walking back, getting right up close to Eve’s face. “Whatever idea you’ve got, put it out of your mind. You are right, this was my case, but I need you to give me a moment.”

  “It doesn’t seem right.” Eve was getting angry. “You taught me to challenge my surroundings, to always second guess what I see and hear. Now you are telling me to ignore it. To mind my own business.”

  “I can’t tell you.” Her shoulders dropped. “I am working on something of my own volition. It’s too early to tell if my instincts are correct and I don’t want you implicated if I’m wrong. So, knowing it’s a big favour, I need you to not ask any more questions.”

  “What if I can’t do that?” Eve replied. “I have a feeling this was a bad kill and I didn’t join this firm to perform criminal activities. I joined it to prevent them.”

  “I need you to trust me.” Harlow’s voice may have been assertive but her eyes were begging Eve to listen.

  “You’re right, it’s a big ask,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone about this conversation or the fact that I did your assignment for you. But don’t ask me not to question it because I’m putting myself out there for you and I am doing it unknowingly.”

  “All right,” Harlow said. Eve could see her worry. “But please know, I would never risk your life.”

  “I killed someone in your name,” she said. “You have already risked my life.”

  “I need to know that I can trust you.” Harlow looked at Eve intensely, searching her eyes for acknowledgement. “To not pursue this.”

  “I have already proven I’m trustworthy,” Eve said. She could feel herself getting emotional. “Otherwise I would have gone to Cain.”

  Eve walked away from her; she didn’t want her emotions to get the better of her. She felt Harlow had betrayed her. After that day, Eve knew her relationship with Harlow had changed. She was clearly keeping something from her, which might put Eve at risk and after that day, Eve didn’t know if she could trust her. But Eve still did as Harlow asked, and she didn’t act on her instincts. Now that she is dead, Eve felt even more alone.

  Eve stood on a train platform in Copenhagen and thought that maybe if she had acted back then, Harlow wouldn’t have died. Eve had so many maybes going around her head, so many things she wished she had done differently. But this wasn’t the time for maybes and what ifs. If she was going to close Harlow’s old case files, she needed to get her head back on track for this assignment.

  Eve wasn’t getting on a train, but the platform had a near-perfect eye line to one of the subjects in the Copenhagen case file. So, she stood there waiting with her camera for the man to come home, when…

  “What are you doing?” a man asked, walking towards her. It was the train station controller.

  “Pardon me?” Eve asked in her perfect English. “I don’t understand Danish.”

  “You can’t film on the platform without a license,” said the conductor.

  “I’m not filming, I’m taking pictures,” she said, acting innocent. “I’m an exchange student from the UK.”

  “Okay, so these photos won’t be used professionally?” he asked.

  “Oh, goodness, no,” she said. “This is just for private use. You know, memories.”

  “Okay, that’s fine then,” he said and walked off.

  Eve liked being on assignment again. She liked getting lost in a sea of strangers, even if she was breaking protocol slightly. Things had been strange between Cain and her since their meeting at Onslow Square, so being out of what felt like a toxic office environment was good. She waited three hours at the train station, leaving every now and then so as to not get unwanted attention. There was no activity at the house, which was odd, so she walked off to find another place to observe it. She walked around the area for a while then she decided to walk right past the property. Something wasn’t right, it looked abandoned, the garden was overgrown, and though the top floor looked lived in, everything was tatty compared to the other houses in the neighbourhood.

  Eve took a chance when the street was empty and she walked onto the property. She went straight to the backdoor, to keep herself out of sight. She looked through the windows as she went around, making sure no one was watching her. It was a weekday so most people were at work leaving the neighbourhood deserted. Eve stood at the backdoor trying to look through the stained glass. She could barely see anything so she decided to pick the lock. With the door only slightly open, she was in no doubt of what she smelt. Eve had come across this odour only once before but the stench had been burnt into her memory forever. Someone was dead inside that house.

  Before she entered she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and put on gloves; she was there as a ghost so she’d better remain one. She slowly walked around the ground floor of the house. There were no signs of a struggle, everything was just dirty and dusty. It looked as if several people might have stayed there at some point. There were documents strewn around which had different handwriting on them. On the table in the dining room were five glasses in front of five different chairs, indicating that maybe up to five people had once been seated there.

  Fully alert Eve walked upstairs wishing she had her gun. The sweet stench of rot was getting stronger, she was starting to feel nauseous. And there on the landing through a half-opened door, she could see a foot. She pulled her top up over her mouth with little effect against the smell. She edged the door open – the body slightly blocking it made it difficult. There she was face-to-face with her target, but he had already been ‘hit’ and he had been hit by something far stronger and more damaging than the camera lens Eve had pointed at him. The amount of blood that had seeped into the wooden floor suggested exsanguination. The smell was paralysing but she kneeled down next to the body and removed part of the coat that was covering the top of the man’s torso and neck. There she found the cause of death – a slit throat. He also had a stab wound to the abdomen. From the look of him along with the smell, she assumed he had been dead for about two to four weeks but Eve wasn’t sure; he was still fairly intact albeit a little mushed out, but that could be down to the fact that he was in quite an isolated and dry area with all the curtains drawn and windows shut. She took a few pictures and started to gather evidence. One thing was confusing though – there was evidence of several people having stayed there, but where had they gone?

  The next bedroom contained something much more valuable. But it was pretty clear to Eve that the place had been ransacked, everything had been pulled out in a rush, whoever had killed the target had not planned to do so, the scene was disorganised and chaotic compared with downstairs. But this was to Eve’s advantage because this meant they had missed something vital. No one is level-headed when stressed, which often leads to mistakes being made and this was Eve’s lucky day. In the back of the room underneath the closet, something had been kicked into the corner, probably accidentally. With all her force, she pushed up against the closet to move it. With only an inch to spare, she shoved her arm through the crack and got the wallet. Completely stunned, Eve stood staring at the name in the wallet. It wasn’t what she had expected: Dennis Hellström. Why was his wallet here? His disappearance was linked to this case but he was last spotted in the city and this house was in the neighbouring county. Nothing made sense in this case.

  Eve took a few more papers and walk
ed downstairs. The sun had crept over the sky and was ready to set. She decided to leave before people started to come home, and that’s when she noticed something behind a big wall curtain. A door. Without hesitation, she pulled the curtain aside, grabbed the handle and opened the door. The stairs leading down were pitch black. She felt around the walls for a light switch but without luck. She hated basements – a legacy from her childhood. Eve pulled a torch out of her bag, the light from the torch was almost swallowed up by the darkness. Each step down creaked, her eyes weren’t looking in the light but rather what was in the dark. Her final step landed hard at the bottom of the stairs. She stood there in the darkness listening to nothing. It was dead silent. She shone her light around the room. Finding a switch at the other side of the room, she inched forward, feeling her way with her feet. With the flick of a switch, her suspicion was confirmed – a room full of death. Three men, hands tied behind their backs. They had been executed, neatly and efficiently, unlike the man upstairs. She quickly took their pictures and left. There was nothing else there to take with her. The room was empty, but where was the fifth man?

  Eve walked up the stairs and out the back door when she heard a car stopping. Peering around the corner of the house, she saw a police car. What were they doing here? Who had seen her? With a deep intake of breath, she ran quietly to the bottom of the garden. The sun was setting, providing her with a little extra cover as the two police officers came around the house. She squished herself into the hedge at the back of the garden, trying silently to push through it. It was a tight squeeze and the branches were sharp, but she couldn’t risk going over it. She heard the police officers entering the house and waited a few moments. Counting in silence “one… two… three… four…” she calculated that by ten they’d be far enough into the house to not reach her when she made her escape. With all her force, she pushed through the hedge, making too much noise when branches cracked and broke, making it a loud escape. She could hear footsteps in the house as she pushed her body through to the other side. A branch cut her face, but with her last strength, Eve broke free of the hedge and ran off just as the flashlights shone through the hedge. She could hear them call for backup stating a suspect was fleeing the scene.