Chapter 32

The small amount of blonde hair that I had left unbound bounced around my shoulders, but it was the only part of my body that was feeling particularly cheery.  Everywhere I looked were people from my past, ones that I thought I was protecting, and ones that I couldn’t help but wonder if they were as dirty as my mentor.  Did it truly matter though?  To me, yes, and that was the reason why I needed to end this.  I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that these people couldn’t find another person to do their dirty work, but that person wasn’t going to be me.  It wouldn’t be Mitch, and if I could help it, it wouldn’t be any of the people under Mitch.

The thought made me pause.  Did everyone else know or was it just me who was blind to what was happening?  Could everyone else back at headquarters know that they had worked dirty cases, that they had killed innocent people?  I shook my head.  There was no way.  Maybe some knew, but everyone couldn’t, especially the people like me, who thought they were actually doing well by destroying the bad.

“You okay?” George whispered beside me.

Closing my eyes, I nodded.  “You know the plan,” I whispered back.  “I’ll meet you near the shrubs on west side of the house in twenty minutes.  If something happens, Hodge has me wired.”

His hand pressed against my cheek as he rubbed his thumb across my lips, making me smile.  When I opened my eyes, the expression on his face took my breath away.  “Nothing is going to happen, Laura.  I’m not loosing you again.”  I leaned into his touch and nodded, but before I could say anything, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a quick kiss.  “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I know,” he said with a grin as he took a step away from me.  The flirty smile that he perfected for the public overtook his grin as he winked at a nearby girl.  “Just remember it’s for show.  Any time I look at them, I’m thinking of you.”

He walked off, but despite his words, I wanted nothing more than to stand by him, wrap my arm around his waist and stake my claim, no matter how jealous it made me look.  Instead, I straightened my spine, ignoring the looks some people were giving me.  There were confusion on some, remembrance on others, and even a little fear.  So they remembered me just as much as I remembered them, and by the nervous glances, I knew that I was right in my earlier thoughts.  They were just as dirty as Mitch, if not dirtier.

My parents had warned me what type of party this was, but until I had seen it myself, I hadn’t quite believed it.  Mitch, with his ego, had invited everyone that owed him, everyone that he had ever done a job for, which meant this party was filled with some very powerful people.  Despite the power they held, they must have sensed the danger around me, or maybe I was glaring despite the fact that I tried to keep my face blank.  They parted as I walked forward; making a path towards the only person I wanted to speak to.

Mitch glanced towards me, looked away before immediately snapping his head back into my direction.  Something that looked like panic entered his eyes before he relaxed with an easy smile on his face.  It was his first mistake, because I had seen that smile before.  It was the smile he used when complete bullshit spilled from his mouth.

“I’m glad you got my invite,” he said with a chuckle, causing people around us to relax.

I stopped, tilted my head to the side and put a confused expression on my face.  “And which me am I supposed to be right now?  Dorothy or your protégée?”

His eyes narrowed, showing his annoyance, but he let another small amount of laughter fall from his lips.  “Only you, Laura.”

He thought using my name would throw me off, that telling everyone who I really was could actually make me pause.  He was wrong.  “You want to do this here, Mitch?”

“Outside,” he replied in a low tone, “but first, I want you to meet someone.”

Taking a step to the side, he motioned towards the couple who were once hidden by his large frame.  Dorothy smiled back at me, the expression completely artificial.  On her arm was the gardener, looking triumphant.  The bored look on my face didn’t waver as I nodded at the two of them.  “Nice to see you again.”

“Again?” Mitch wondered aloud, making his second mistake of the night.

“I’ve seen her scantily clad photos, and I’ve seen the gardener in less.”  I shrugged.  “It makes me feel a little friendly towards the both of them.  I have a couple of people I want you to meet too Mitch, a couple of old acquaintances, but I’ll understand if you’re too afraid.”

They were his trigger words, something I had learned long ago.  That was the problem with turning against someone who knew you so well, they made a horrible enemy, and at that moment, I was the worst enemy Mitch had ever encountered. 

“I pick the spot.”

I nodded along with his words, knowing that even if he changed the place where we met, Hodge would be able to relay the message to George, if the man wasn’t lurking in the shadows listening to our every word as it is.  “Deal.  When can you get away?”

He made a show of glancing down at his watch, most likely gauging how long he’d need for his men to get into place.  “Let’s say ten minutes on the east side of the house?  That way, you’ll have a chance to talk to a couple of people here.  I’m sure you see a lot of your old friends.”

“Plenty.”

I turned my back, not waiting for his reply, not wanting to deal with the small talk.  Despite the fact that I knew what he had done, I still wanted to hear it come from his mouth.  I wanted him to admit to what he had done and why he had done it, and until then, I couldn’t deal with his small talk. 

The crowd still gravitated away from me as I walked towards the doors, but this time, they didn’t pause to give me a second glance, already dismissing me as someone who meant no harm.  If they knew my plans for the rest of the night, what would they think?  Pushing the doors open, I took a right.  As I walked in the slightly damp grass towards the place where this would all end, I surprisingly felt nothing.  Where was the dread, the eagerness, or even the nervous jitters that I should have felt?  Maybe I was in shock, or maybe I knew this was what I had to do and nothing I could think up would change this.

Rustling noises surrounded me, making me roll my eyes.  Mitch knew I’d come early, which meant that his men were getting into place as I stood there, glancing around.  The only question was would they kill me now, or did Mitch want to have a little fun before making one of them do his dirty work?  I’d bet on the latter, and that would be the third and last mistake Mitch would make tonight.

“Frank!” I called out, making all noise around me halt.  “Come on out, little guy.  I know you’re here.”

A large shadow stepped towards me, and if I hadn’t known who that shadow was, I would have been afraid.  If people thought Mitch was a big man, all they had to do is glance towards Frank for that thought to disappear.  He stood several feel taller than me, but that wasn’t the impressive part.  His arms were the size of small trees, and I knew without a doubt that he could pick me up and break me if he wanted.  The fact that he hadn’t done so yet was just another testament to his character, despite the fact that he was one of Mitch’s top men.

When I bent down to grab something from beneath my dress, I heard the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked.  I held up my hands, but didn’t straighten.  “Just going to grab something that I think you should hear.  Believe me, little guy, I’m not stupid enough to try to pull one over on you.”

“I hate that nickname,” he grumbled before lowering the gun and stepping further into the light.

I laughed, despite the tension in the air.  “Then why do you let me use it?”

“Because I don’t hate you.”

It was the closest thing to a compliment I had ever heard him give a person, and right then, I knew that I had chose the right man, and Mitch had chose the wrong one.  “Is that why you haven’t killed me yet?”  I asked as I lifted the end of my dress.

His eyes strayed to my motions, but I knew the only thing he was looking at were my hands.  “I haven’t killed you yet because he ordered me to wait.”

“You never took well to orders,” I whispered.  “It’s the reason why I wanted you to hear this and not someone else.”

I ripped the small recording device from my thigh before chunking it towards him.  He yanked it out of the air.  Glancing down at it briefly, he sighed.  “What if I don’t do what you’re planning on me to do?”

Shrugging, he sent him a sad smile.  “Then I guess I die.”

He laughed at my words, not believing them.  He shouldn’t have, because Mitch wasn’t the only one who had guys surrounding the place.  George’s men had been here before I even took a step into the house, and I knew for a fact that they were more loyal than any of Mitch’s followers, especially after they listened to the recording in Frank’s hand.  His thumb rubbed over the device, clicking the play button.

Gabe’s voice crackled in the quiet night.  The more the man talked, the angrier Frank seemed to get.  By the time it was over, the large man was holding onto the recorder so tightly that it snapped under the pressure.  “What’d you give him?”

“A type of truth serum at the beginning, but there at the end, a friend of a friend tortured the information out of him,” I answered honestly.  “Do you believe it?”

Frank hesitated before nodding slowly.  “I had my suspicions, but I didn’t want to believe.”  He held his hand up, showing off the broken recorder.  “Sorry.  I’m guessing you have copies?”  When I nodded, he smiled.  “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Whatever you choose.”

His eyes narrowed, showing off the intelligence he tried to hide from everyone else.  “Tell me what you’re up to.”

“Mitch has to die.”

“Agreed, but you won’t be able to do it.”

I frowned at him.  “Why not?”

Frank motioned to a person behind him, who quickly stepped out of the shadows before disappearing again.  “He’ll be ordered to pat you down.  You won’t have any weapons on you by the time he’s done.”

“He can leave me my gun.”

“Like Mitch is going to believe you came unarmed,” Frank said with a snort.  “Keep a knife, a small one.  I know how much you want to do this personally, but if it comes down to it, I’ll make the call to shot.”

Glancing around me, I looked for the men who were now completely hidden in the shadows.  “And they’ll follow you?”

Again, Frank snorted.  “Mitch hasn’t worked with these men at all.  They’re not loyal to him; they’re loyal to the person who has their backs, whose trained them from day one, and that person is me.  They’ll do as I order, but I want something from you first.”

“You can have the agency,” I interrupted before he could make demands, “but I have a few requirements of my own.”

“Quickly,” he mumbled.  “Our ten minutes are almost up.”

“You never come after me or the people that I love, and I’ll never come after you.  Stay out of my life, and I’ll stay out of yours.”

“Done.”

“And,” I said with a large smile, which I knew put him on edge, “I have a business I need you to take over, one very similar to Mitch’s.”

Frank looked confused for about two seconds before understanding dawned.  “The rumors are true, aren’t they?  You didn’t kill George, and he is the one running the other crew.”  He didn’t wait for my answer, just nodded.  “I’ll take his men too, but I’ll vent them myself.  Anyone that I think will be a harm to my company doesn’t get a job.”

“Deal,” I whispered as we shook hands.  As he let go of mine, he slipped into the shadows.

I stood there, waiting for Mitch to round the corner, knowing he’d do so in any minute.  When he finally did, I had to force myself to stand completely still when I saw the person walking next to him.  With the same flirty smile on his face, George nodded his head at me.  I glared at him, wondering what the hell he was doing.  When he stumbled forward, and I caught the glint of the gun in his back, I understood. 

Mitch had come prepared.  He had grabbed and threatened one of the only things that I would let him exchange his life for, George.  I clenched my teeth together to push back my anger.  I couldn’t let emotions cloud my thoughts, couldn’t let Mitch rile me, because as soon as I did, he’d have the upper hand.

“Took you a while,” I said in an even tone.  “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show.”

“Apologies,” Mitch replied with a slight bow of his head.  “On my way here, I ran into an old friend who looked a little lost.  I didn’t want him to miss out on all the fun.”

“Enough,” I hissed, not being able to keep my anger at bay any longer.  “Just answer me this, why?”

He tsked at me before motioning towards the shadows.  “Not yet, Sweetie.  I need to make sure you’re as defenseless as your boyfriend here and then we can talk.”

The man I had only seen for a brief second earlier leapt out of the shadows.  His hands moved over me thoroughly and quickly.  He pulled the gun from my thigh, the knife from my ankle, but when he got close to my hair, he winked; only making a show of patting it down, not taking out my standard chopsticks, something that he knew was as dangerous as the knife he had confiscated.  Taking a step back, he nodded towards Mitch before disappearing once more.

If Mitch hadn’t been watching me closely, I would have smiled at how good Mitch’s people really were.  I would have smiled at the thought that they were no longer Mitch’s, they were Frank’s, a man I knew would stay clean until the end.  “There, you had your fun.  Now, answer my question.”

The usual anger was absent from my voice, but he didn’t notice as he began speaking.  “I’ve always wanted a daughter, did I tell you that?  I thought you’d be the perfect person, someone born from my two best agents at the time, someone with this life running through their veins.  When you went into foster care, you passed every hurdle I ever threw at you, and I knew you were perfect.”  Pride lit his voice, but the only thing it did was make me sick.  “You sailed through all of your training, became the person I knew you could be, but then you ruined it.”

Anger flashed in his eyes as he pressed the gun further into George’s back.  “I guess that your parent’s blood runs deeper in you than I had hoped, because you fell in love with another agent.”  He spat out the words as if they made him sick to even think of them.  “You became soft on me, and I’ve seen from the past what happens when people become soft.  They want out, and we all know that I can’t let people leave this business, not with all the secrets that they know.”

“So that’s why you did all this, because you thought I’d want out one day?”

He shook his head slightly.  “I knew where you’d go if you left me, and I couldn’t let you.  I wouldn’t let you work for him.”  He pushed the barrel of the gun into George once more, making him stumble.

“That’s all I needed to know,” I whispered before nodding towards George.

He dropped down just as I jerked one of the chopsticks from my hair.  I flicked my wrist, sending it sailing towards Mitch, and just as I had thought, the man moved before it could lodge into his throat.  His gun turned towards me, a confident smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth.  “You missed.”

“I still have another.”

“If you even twitch, I’ll kill you.”

A smile bloomed on my face, this one genuine, because in that moment, I realized something.  There was a way to hurt Mitch like he had hurt me.  There was a way to make him suffer for a split second before he died.  “You’re right,” I agreed.  “You would kill me, but guess what?”

“What?” he asked in slight suspicion.

“You can’t even see Frank.”

Mitch’s eyes widened at my words.  He jerked the gun towards the shadows, looking both outraged and frightened, but before his finger could even twitch on the trigger, a silent shot made its mark.  As a small hole bloomed on his forehead, he slumped over, his knees hitting the ground before he fell face first into the wet grass.

“You went against the plan,” George said as he wrapped his arms around me. 

I snuggled back into him and watched as several of Mitch’s men walked from the shadows, cleaning up the scene as they always did.  “So did you.  You could have gotten shot.”

“Some damn woman threw her drink on me when I was staring at you, ruined my hearing piece.”

Laughing at his words, I turned in his arms, and for the first time, I noticed the large stain on his button down shirt.  “I would say that you deserved it, but since it was me you were looking at…”

“Always you,” he promised before leaning down slightly, “but there’s something I need to tell you before this goes any further.”  He leaned away again, looking worried.

If I looked closely, I could see that his worry wasn’t real, which was the only reason why complete terror didn’t fill me when the words left his mouth.  “Let me guess, you have a secret girlfriend?”

“Tons,” he joked, “but I dropped them after out second assignment together.”

“The one where we played brother and sister,” I said with a grimace, which made him laugh.

“It was when I realized that I wanted something very different than a platonic relationship,” he said while wiggling his eyebrows at me.  The movement stopped, and a more serious expression fell onto his face.  “Stop changing the subject.”

A dramatic sigh left my lips.  “Fine, tell me your horrible news.”

This time, when he leaned close, he only stopped when his lips were inches away from mine.  “I’ve changed my mind about the white picket fence.” 

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could, his mouth was on mine, his arms tightened around me, and I knew that he’d get his way, because despite the fact that a white picket fence wasn’t something I had thought I’d want, with George by my side, nothing in my future was out of reach.

The End