by Avery Hawkes
My mind was racing. He owed someone money? Who? Why would he need to borrow money from someone shady enough to kill him for it?
Questions ran through my head and didn’t stop as I pulled into the closest street parking to the brick building Rob spoke of.
My hands were shaking as I opened my door and stepped out onto the pavement. I wished I had my firearm on me, but it was locked back at home in my safe.
My training left my brain as I entered the building. It seemed empty and I didn’t blame anyone, the area Rob had found himself in was NOT a good side of town.
There was no elevator, so I found the stairway, stepping over yellow tape that said “DO NOT ENTER”.
I tried not to breathe, creeping up the stairs like if I made any noise I would be shot. If this entire situation ended up being a prank, I swore to myself I’d kick him in the balls.
When I got up to the 4th floor, I wasn’t even winded. Physically, I was ready for a fight and could probably hold my own against a man, unless that man had a weapon.
There was a short hallway and all doors were closed except one. Light streamed in from that doorway, coming from a window in what used to be an apartment unit.
Slowly, I inched my way forward, then looked in the room. It was empty of furniture. At the opposite end of the room, Rob paced back and forth.
“Rob?” I asked, my voice shaking as I opened the door. The second I walked through my arm was grabbed from the side and pulled into the room. It was one of Rob’s friends, Alfy, and he placed his finger over his mouth to tell me not to scream.
They were all wearing gloves and masks, not a good sign. I kicked him as hard as I could in the shin, sending him to the ground. He yelled out in pain.
“Woah, woah, woah,” Rob said from the other side of the room. “There’s no need to fight.”
“What the hell is going on!” I screamed.
Rob rushed toward me then pressed his palm to my lips to get me to be quiet. I wanted to bite him, but I didn’t my eyes just widened, staring at him. After a moment or so, he finally let go of me.
“I’m sorry. I need your help Piper.”
“You need my help? With what?”
“I found a job, Piper. Alfy and Tony hooked me up.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” I was incredulous, stepping back toward the door.
“You know how I’ve been out late? We’ve been working as hired help for their boss. Doing odd jobs.”
“Odd jobs?”
“Body guarding, business negotiation, lots of great stuff.”
I glanced over Rob’s shoulder and looked at the chair that was sitting next to the window. Sitting there, was a sniper rifle.
“Why do you have a gun?” I asked.
Rob placed his arm over my shoulder, then walked me toward the weapon.
“This is our new job. Everything rides on this Piper.”
“No way,” I said, pushing him away. I stepped back toward the door, but I walked into Tony and Alfy. Two large Italian men against one petite woman were not good odds.
“We took out a loan on the rifle for us to do our job.”
“What’s your job?” I asked. Tony snickered behind me.
“What do you think, bella?”
“You’re going to kill someone?”
Their eyes shone with mania and as he shook his head my stomach felt like it was in knots. The realization of why I was there started to dawn on me and it wasn’t good.
My head whipped around to Rob. “You want ME to kill someone for you?”
His eyes betrayed him and instantly I knew why he brought me to the building.
“If we aren’t able to do this job and pay our loan back the boss, he’ll kill us.” Rob stepped forward and brushed a piece of hair from my face. “Do you want me to die?”
“Of course not!” I said. “That doesn’t mean I’ll do it.”
Alfy stepped forward. “You don’t have a choice.”
Rob nodded to him, then turned his back to me. Tears were running down my face. I couldn’t believe what was happening. It felt as thought I’d been transported to another planet; where my loving boyfriend had been replaced with a stranger.
“You see that apartment across the street?” Rob pointed toward the window.
I wiped my eyes on my forearm and moved over to look. Directly in front of us was a newer apartment complex, for people who wanted cheap rent and didn’t mind the area. I nodded toward Rob.
“A journalist lives there. He’s been sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong.”
“Why do you need me?” I asked. “If you’ve been chosen for the job, why don’t you do it yourself?”
“We tried,” Tony said, his arms crossed defensively. “He got spooked and hasn’t left his apartment for a week.”
I glanced down at the gun. Something deep down within me knew that if I didn’t pick up that gun for them, I’d be the one who left with a bullet in my head.
“None of us are good enough shots,” Rob said. “We need you.”
“You want me to KILL someone?”
They were all silent, but that was enough of an answer for me. I massaged the bridge of my nose, wishing that I had dated the geeky engineer from the air force instead.
“What if they catch us?” I finally said, moving over to look at the gun they had taken a loan out for. It was an older model than what I was used to, but it was expensive enough for a criminal to justify killing someone over.
Rob perked up, sharing a relieved smile with the two men opposite him, then walked over to me.
“We have everything planned. As soon as you get the shot, there will be a car waiting for us below. All we have to do is make the call.”
I nodded in reply as I checked to make sure the gun would be fully functional. Luckily, they hadn’t been given a dud.
“As soon as it’s done, this will all be over, Piper. I’ll start making money, good money. We can travel together, maybe go to Paris or maybe visit your Dad …”
Go AWOL? Leave the military? This seemingly came out of nowhere and it felt like a punch in the gut. On top of that, he was using the feelings of abandonment I had from my father to make me feel better about the kill. What he was forcing me to do would change my life forever. I would never be able to go back.
“Shut up and make the call.” I said. Feeling had left my body a long time ago. When they did nothing, I repeated myself, only louder. With a jolt, Tony reached into his pocket and turned to call.
Rob waited next to me, watching as I opened the window and took the time to set up the rifle.
“Where is he?” I asked.
Third floor. He has the yellow flowers in his window.
I looked down at the apartment. Sure enough, a man was sitting at his desk, typing away at a computer. He was young, no older than I was, with long hair that was pulled back into a man bun. He crouched over his computer, typing like his life depended on it. What he didn’t know was it was all for nothing. If Rob got what he wanted, that man would be dead in a matter of minutes.
“I can’t do this,” I said, putting the gun down. I heard the click of a safety level behind me and then the cold metal of a pistol against my skull.
“You have no choice.” Rob said as Tony held his firearm to my head. I tried not to scream or cry out, but I couldn’t stop the tears.
“Pick up the gun,” Tony said.
My hands were shaking as I clutched the handle of the rifle. It would be difficult to see my target, but I would have to try anyway.
The journalist didn’t move that much, only once in a couple of minutes to grab a sip from his coffee cup. I tried to take a few breaths to calm myself down. The man behind me was starting to get impatient.
“Do it already!” he growled, forcing the gun against my head once more.
“If you keep yelling at me, I won’t make the shot,” I told him in as calm of a voice as possible. “Give me room to do this correctly.”
Tony hesitated, but then lowered the pistol. “Fine.” he said. “But hurry up.”
I turned back and had to adjust the shot again. I couldn’t get a clear headshot, but the window was open enough that there was a clear line to his chest.
Good enough, I thought. It took a few minutes before the shot was ready, but once it was I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Tears streamed down my face. I had shot at a million life-sized dummies, but this was different. This was murder.
Bang.
A bullet whizzed past my head and into the frame of the window. The wood splintered and hit me. As the shot fired, I watched on the scope as the journalist turned toward our building. His face turned white as he noticed the rifle hanging out the window.
Fear made me pull the trigger.
I watched in the scope as he fell onto his desk, spilling his coffee onto his expensive laptop. After a few struggled breaths, he was still. My shoulders rose and fell with silent sobs and the room was silent.
“She did it,” Rob said behind me, walking up to Tony. “She did the job, like I said.”
“Thanks for that,” he replied, then once again I felt the barrel of the pistol, this time on my back. It was still hot from the recent shot.
Now that I had done their dirty work, I was expendable.
“Hey!” Rob pushed him, and the gun fired again, luckily missing me since he had been knocked off balance.
It was my chance. Time slowed down as I rose from my seat, then swung around toward where Tony and Rob were struggling for the weapon.
Tony didn’t notice me until it was too late.
The silencer muffled the sound of the bullet leaving the weapon. It went through the man’s leg, sending him to the ground. He screamed, the bullet from the high powered rifle sending a spray of red across the wooden planks of the apartment, and blasting a hole into the wall behind.
As he fell to the ground, Rob was able to wrestle the pistol from his hands and finished the job. I turned away.
The world felt like it was vibrating around me. I stepped over from my chair, watching as the pool of blood grew larger on the floor.
“What the FUCK?” Alfy’s voice rang from the entrance of the room. My instincts kicked in as we all reached for our fire arms. Whoever drew first would be the one to survive.
Alfy lost. Rob had shot him, once, twice, then three times.
I watched in horror, not pulling my trigger.
When all was said and done, we stood over the two bodies of Rob’s supposed friends.
My eyes were wide as I turned to Rob, mouth open. There was nothing to say. He had taken something from me, because of his own stupidity and shortsightedness.
“Hey!” The voice sounded from below. “Your ride’s here!”
Footsteps from the stairs reached my ears and I readied my gun. Rob held out his arm and shook his head. He wouldn’t let me kill his friends, but was fine with some Mafia goons coming up to see we killed their men?
I scoffed at him and kept the gun ready. As they neared the door, Rob threw the gun on the ground toward Tony and raised his hands up.
One man stepped into the door and Rob got in the way as I was ready to shoot, facing me as though I was going to murder him like he murdered the men below us.
“Piper, please-” he said, his voice an octave higher than usual.
The man who walked in was middle-aged, with horn-rimmed glasses. He had a gun in hand, but it was by his side. It was a small handgun that looked like it belonged in a purse more than a Mafioso's hand.
“Mr. Armento, thank God you’re here!” Rob said. “Please help, s-she snapped-”
I stiffened. Yes, I had shot Tony in the leg, but only because he was going to kill me first. Rob had been the one to end their lives. It was like the man across the room was driving a knife into my heart and I didn’t know what to do.
The man who entered the apartment glanced me up and down. I kept my rifle trained on him, just in case he made the wrong move.
Suddenly, the older man threw his weapon on the ground and then kicked it toward me.
“Piper, I’ve heard much about you.” His voice had an Italian accent, but he was still well-spoken and eloquent. “The fifth woman to graduate as an air force sniper, top in your class, 22 years old, deathly allergic to cucumber.”
My gun slowly lowered as the man listed off things about me. I blinked slowly.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Mr. Armento. I WAS here to pick you up after your job, but it looks like things got a bit messy in the process.” He motioned to the dead men.
“She j-just turned on them, killed them both.” Rob said. If a twist of a knife could be words, those were them.
Finally, I found my voice. “I’m sorry your men are dead Mr. Armento, but it couldn’t be helped. You and I both know I’d already be dead if you wanted me to. Those guns don’t have silencers, you must have heard them.”
He smiled at me. “Very perceptive.” He clasped his hands together. “The only reason you’re alive right now, Miss Piper, is that I think you are worth more than those two. But you took two lives that were not yours, and that comes with a price.”
I stiffened, that did not bode well for me.
“You,” Mr. Armento said, pointing to Rob, “Leave. The car’s downstairs.”
Rob looked like he was about to argue with the man, but he ended up closing his mouth. He left the room without looking at me and as soon as he exited, my heart left with him. All that remained was a black hole that felt like it was eating me alive.
“Now, let’s talk business. There are quite a few jobs that will help you pay off your debts.”
CHAPTER TEN
Luca
The gala.
It was an event put on by designer fashion companies. Executives, celebrities and government officials all were invited to it … and so were we.
It had been two days since we had met with Mr. Franco and two days since Piper and I had fucked. Since then, Piper gave me the cold shoulder.
“We’re strictly professional,” she repeated once more after I had accidentally gotten too close for comfort. She was obsessed with keeping her space and I couldn’t understand her logic for the life of me.
I knew we had something, that we physically “clicked.” Maybe we weren’t perfect while interacting on a day to day basis, but what couple was? But, even though she had to have felt what was between us, she still made me sleep on top of the damned blankets at night, lest our legs touch while we sleep.
Oh the humanity.
We had spent the two days exploring. Sometimes together but most of the time separately. I tried my hardest to learn more about my bride, but she had the bad habit of pushing me away both physically and emotionally.
It was night and I was wearing a new suit I had been given by the Mafia. I was tying my tie and looking at myself in the mirror. Piper sat on the bed next to me, reading a book. She had already finished her makeup and was ready to go out.
“You look stunning,” I told her, glancing at her from the mirror. She rolled her eyes in reply.
“What?” I asked.
“Is that all men can talk about to a woman? How she looks?” Piper huffed and closed her book on her lap.
“I have been asking questions about you all day long. When I asked you what your favorite animal was it looked like you were going to stab me in the eye with a fork.”
“It’s not my fault you ask annoying questions,” she shot back.
“Well then, it’s not MY fault you look sexy either.”
She let out a long, frustrated sigh and grabbed her purse.
“Are we leaving, or do I have to wait all night for you to powder your nose?”
“Coming, Your Highness,” I snickered and adjusted my tie in the mirror one last time.
To be completely honest, I was starting to get nervous about the event. I had heard of all the names that would be there, plus I had been worrying about what we had to do.
What could we do?
All I knew was that I had to make contact with the man who owned Tekfire, Robert Georgeson. I had looked him up on the internet and found pictures of him gallivanting at his clubs, and a few places listed on his Linkedin. However, he was rather young and only had two years of experience on his resume.
I glanced at Piper as I followed her. There was a reason she had been easily put-off for the last few days, and Mr. Georgeson had something to do with it.
However, the only time I had brought him up, instead of trying to elbow me in the stomach and say something sarcastic, she became quiet and withdrawn. Her face had turned completely white and she didn’t want to answer any of my questions.
“Where is the place we’re going to?” Piper asked after we made it to the lobby of our hotel. Outside, it was night.
“Second star to the right and straight on till morning,” I replied as we stepped outside.
“God, I wish I was single so much right now,” she said, shivering in the cold outside.
“Our marriage is in a rough spot, I know, but I have faith we’ll make it through this.” My biting sarcasm wasn’t lost on her and she couldn’t help but smile. Whenever she would grin, or bits of happiness would show through her usually stony facade, it was like rays of sun poking out of storm clouds. I waited for those moments and my feelings for her took flight whenever they came. But her smiles were fleeting and the one she had was quickly replaced by the wall she put up.
“No really,” she said, “Where the hell are we going?”
I pointed to a car down the road. There was a chauffeur standing, holding the door open to the dark vehicle. We were riding in style. If I was going to be the CEO of the most up-and-coming clubs, I would have to look like I was a high roller.
“Ah,” she said, giving a nod. As we got into the car, the doors closed behind us. We sat in silence for a while, until the car started to move.
“We need to talk about our plan,” I told her. “How we’re going to get rid of Robert without causing a gang war.”
“Not now,” she replied.
“Now,” I said forcefully. She turned her head and glared at me with her beautiful face.
