Shades of Grey: Book Two of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles

by Phelps, J. C.

  I rarely carried a purse and I had left my money in my pants from the day before so I turned to go into the bedroom.

  “Where are you going?” The man asked me in an anxious tone.

  I turned to see he had a gun pointed at me. I instantly knew what I was going to do, but I played dumb. “I was just going to get my money to pay you.” I lifted my hands and started walking toward him slowly. He hesitated long enough for me to close the distance. I dove for his arm that was holding the gun. Luckily he didn’t fire off a round until I had a hold of his arm and had the piece facing away from my body.

  The shot made my ears ring and I relaxed my arm just slightly. The barrel of the gun touched my arm and I felt it burn me. I wanted to flinch away but held fast. There was no thought involved in what I did next. I just reached out and sucker punched the guy in the middle of the chest. It must have knocked the wind out of him somewhat because he started to double over. By the time he was half way over I had come in for another jab except this time I got him in the Adam’s apple. He dropped the gun and clutched at his throat. While he was gasping for air he started flailing about and caught me in the temple with the back of his hand. It dazed me and I fell to the ground. My assailant took advantage of my misfortune and ran out the door, gasping and holding his throat.

  My wits finally returned and I ran out the door after him but he was gone. He must have taken the stairs because the elevator was not in use and the door to the stairwell was slightly ajar. I went back into my apartment, shut the door and locked it. Next I went to the phone and called Red and told him what had just happened. I don’t know how I managed it but I kept my voice calm and even. After my conversation with Red I tried to hang up the phone and had a bit of trouble because my hands were shaking.

  In less than a minute Blue was at my front door. As soon as I let him in he led me straight to the couch. He had his pen light out and was looking into my eyes. He took my pulse and looked at the side of my head before concluding the exam.

  “How do you feel?” He finally asked me.

  “I have a headache and my ears are still ringing from the gun, but other than that I’m fine.”

  “Are you sleepy? Did you lose consciousness?” He continued.

  “No, I didn’t. I was a little dazed for a few seconds though. I am a little tired, but I think it’s because of the adrenaline rush I’m finally coming off of.”

  “I don’t think you have a concussion. I imagine you will be just fine after you take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” He grinned at me.

  I rolled my eyes back at him. Talk about an inappropriate time for humor. Except now was probably the most appropriate time to lighten the mood. Nothing like an attempt on your life to bring you down.

  Right about then my front door opened and I was on my feet in record time, ready for anything, but it was just White. He was out of breath but managed to ask me how I was doing.

  “She’s fine,” Blue answered for me.

  “We got the guy. He was passed out in the stairwell. Red shipped him off to the hospital,” White explained.

  “Was he breathing?” I had to know.

  “I don’t know. Red sent me up here before I could get a good look. You’re okay though?” There was genuine concern in his voice and I was so flattered all I managed was a nod of my head.

  “Have you contacted Brown yet? I think it’s time.” Blue interrupted.

  With that White’s attitude became more professional and he said, “I’ll get right on it,” and he left.

  I sat back down on the couch in exhaustion.

  “Are you packed?”

  “Yes, I did it last night before I went to bed.” He gave me a strange look so I added, “Black told me yesterday that we were going to go to the cabin soon and I wanted to be ready. Heck, I’ve been ready to go back since I left.”

  It had been several months since I had been to the cabin and I was more than ready to return. It was nestled in the mountains near a cold, clear lake and surrounded by postcard scenery.

  The first time I had been taken to the cabin was very trying for me. Black had me hike up the mountain carrying a backpack weighing close to fifty pounds. He had me hiking at an almost unbearable pace and he and I could have made the trip in one day, but he decided he wanted to spend the night out under the stars. The next morning we hiked for less than fifteen minutes before we reached the cabin. Had I known the cabin was that close there’s no way I would have slept out under the open sky. However, right now I’d take any opportunity to be anywhere in those mountains, with or without the cabin to shelter me. Who was I kidding? I’d love to be there under any circumstances.

  I just didn’t understand all of this. I didn’t know why those two men had drugged me and manhandled me back to an empty warehouse and I didn’t know why the deliveryman attacked me. I didn’t even know if the two were connected but if they were I must be involved in something pretty heavy. I didn’t think the K&G Systems job was as important as all that and I wasn’t really involved with Penumbra. My background checks on Strom shouldn’t have set anything off either. They were discrete and I hadn’t done anything to violate his privacy, yet. Besides any of us would be fair game, not just me.

  “What is going on around me lately?” I looked at Blue not really expecting an answer.

  “There’s a contract out on you.”

  This bit of information was like a slap in the face. A contract? A hit? Someone wanted me dead? Not only that, Blue knew about it. Who else knew or was he speculating? I just sat there not saying anything trying to formulate a question. Blue read my mind.

  “We suspected as much when the two thugs nabbed you from the Skylight and since then we’ve asked around. Green found out that they had been hired to take you out of the picture. It’s too much to keep tabs on you here, that’s why we are going to the cabin. We still don’t know who is paying for all of this and until we do it’s just safer for you at the cabin.”

  “Why didn’t anyone tell me? I could have been more careful.” Then an awful thought came to mind. “How are my parents?”

  “They are fine. We informed the Admiral as soon as we were sure. They are taking all the necessary precautions as well.” He shrugged it off.

  I knew Dad could take care of himself and Mom if he knew what might be coming so my concern for their safety dropped away.

  “That doesn’t tell me why I wasn’t told about this. If it had been White, Red or anyone else you would have told them.” I said accusingly.

  “Not necessarily. We didn’t want you to change your habits. The men from the Skylight were disposed of and my guess is that nobody even knows they are missing yet. That means, hopefully, the person or persons financing this little venture don’t know we know.”

  “So what are we going to do now?”

  “We are going to get you up to the cabin, like I said.”

  “No, about the contract?”

  “We haven’t discussed that yet. I know we want to continue with your training at the cabin and both Green and I need to be there. Some of us may stay behind to work this all out. However, we do have people available to do the job for us, especially since it is just information gathering.” He looked to be deep in thought.

  White walked in with Red and Green.

  “I’ve contacted Brown, I expect he will be here some time this evening.” White explained.

  “I see you’ve told her.” Red said to Blue.

  “She had questions.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Red asked raising his eyebrows and insinuating I might need his psychiatric expertise.

  “Not in the way you mean,” I replied. “But I do want to get this figured out.”

  “You aren’t figuring anything out; you are going to the cabin.” White ordered.

  “Alright, that’s it. All of you had better stop right now. Yes, I am female, but no, I’m not a girl. I’m just as capable as the rest of you and you better stop acting like I’m easily break
able because it’s beginning to piss me off!” My voice rose higher than I had wanted it to at the end of my rant.

  It was quiet until they took it in and then the looks of chagrin made me feel justified.

  “You’re right Ms. Grey.” Red stepped up. “I am sorry if I have treated you inappropriately in any way.” Then I started feeling guilty for going on a tirade.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I do appreciate the concern. I’m just on edge right now and I want to know exactly what is going on.”

  “I’ve got people on it. So far we’ve found out that there is a sustained contract out there. Our guys have not yet been able to find out whom to contact when the job is completed. When we get that information things will come a bit easier.”

  “We should be able to get that from the deliveryman though.” I said.

  “We will find his contact, of that I’m certain. But that doesn’t mean that’s who’s paying for the job to be done. There can be several middlemen if the price is high enough. A lot of these guys, especially the amateurs, will do this kind of thing for only a couple thousand, sometimes less.”

  “Do we have any idea where the money is coming from?” I asked Red.

  “Not really. This could be personal against you or it could be job related, which means we have to look back at all your old jobs. At this point that will be simple because you haven’t done many. But it could also be aimed at the company. People might consider you to be the weak link because you are a new addition and because of your gender.”

  “Well,” I started to give my ideas but Red interrupted me.

  “Just a moment.” He held up his finger at me. “You three need to get ready to go to the cabin and I’ll talk with Ms. Grey.”

  “I’m not going to the cabin yet.” White said.

  “Come here.” Red walked away from me and White followed. They reached the kitchen and started talking in subdued tones. I concentrated and was able to piece together the conversation by watching their lips.

  “Yes you are White. There will be no arguments on this matter. I have men on this and you have already shown us how much information you can get out of a suspect under these circumstances.” Red’s face was firm.

  “I spoke to you as a friend not a doctor and now you are using it against me. Besides, it’s not a big deal.”

  “I’m not trying to use anything against you because when something affects your judgment, it is a big deal. If you were just some Joe Blow off the street it wouldn’t be anything to be concerned with but you aren’t. What you do and don’t do affects lives, not just how people live their lives but whether or not they remain alive. Just look at yourself and tell me you know what you are going to do from one moment to the next. If you can truly say you’ve got it under control then fine, but until then you will be at the cabin with us. Now this I’m telling you as a friend. Before we leave call one of your girls and relieve some of that tension.”

  Reds last comment made my heart jump and my face flush. I had to admit I didn’t want him to do anything of the sort. White shook his head. He turned and walked past me out of the apartment with Blue and Green close behind him.

  “Okay, first your past jobs…” Red sat on the couch next to me.

  “I only did the one major job. The Lion job.”

  “I don’t think we need to worry about that one. He was discredited among his followers and the government still has him in custody. I’m more concerned about you talking with your parents about Penumbra. That is the most volatile subject I can think of.”

  “But all I did was talk to Mom and Dad about it that one night. It hasn’t been brought up again and I haven’t done any kind of research on the subject. How could it be about that?”

  “It could be about that if your father has something to do with the contract.” Red looked directly at me.

  “I truly don’t think that’s the case.” I laughed.

  “Stranger things have happened.”

  “Yes, but if Dad had hired someone I know he would have hired the best and it would never be tracked back to him. Obviously whoever has put out this contract doesn’t have their very own personal killer, like Penumbra. If they did the word wouldn’t even be out on the streets like you said it was.”

  “That’s true or you would have received his famous calling card. We just have to cover all the bases,” Red said by way of apology.

  I had only been thinking about this for the past thirty minutes or so but I had to admit the thought did cross my mind. Not because I think my dad would want me dead but because I was taught to look at things from every angle. Then a thought occurred to me.

  “Is that why you didn’t tell me about this before? You thought my dad could be involved?”

  “Part of it. The Penumbra subject is a very turbulent one. It could be that your father unwittingly mentioned your conversation to someone else.”

  “That’s another thing I really don’t think he would do. He’s always been very secretive, even with my mother and me and I can’t picture him talking to anyone about our conversations. I suppose he could have broached the subject with someone else, but I don’t think he would have included me and because I am a part of White and Associates, I don’t think he would have included the company name in any of his external discussions.”

  “Like I said, we do need to cover all the bases.”

  “So are you saying you have someone checking out my dad?”

  “Not yet. White would be the man for that except right now I’ve got him doing other things.”

  “I see.” I knew it had something to do with the conversation I wasn’t supposed to hear so I changed the subject.

  “I know you are almost certain it has something to do with Penumbra, but I’m not.”

  “Well, let’s look at other options then. It could have something to do with Victor Strom and he would have the funds.”

  “But why would he do this? I know that he could but what would be his motive? I haven’t done any research on Strom that the average person can’t do so I shouldn’t have triggered any red flags. Unless the company has done something…”

  “We have never dealt with Strom before and I don’t think telling him we don’t know how to contact Penumbra would trigger this kind of action. Although, I would like to talk to White about this subject.”

  Both Red and I jumped at the sound of another voice entering the conversation. We turned toward the door and saw White standing there.

  “I said, what subject?” When we didn’t answer he added, “You really shouldn’t leave your door open, especially with what just happened.”

  “It wasn’t open.” I told him.

  “It wasn’t locked so it might as well have been open and I just fired our security downstairs so right now would be a good time to lock your doors.”

  “You fired our security?” Red was incredulous.

  White bent down and picked up the gun that was still on my floor. “Yes, I asked him how a man with a gun got into the building and he didn’t have an answer for me so I fired him.”

  “I understand that we will need new security but I don’t think firing him right now is such a good idea.”

  “Don’t worry, Red. I’ve got a back up plan. I knew I would have to fire our security someday, especially since we don’t have metal detectors in the building. It was just time to put that plan into action. When we get back from the cabin there will be new rules that we will have to follow, but it’s long overdue.”

  “So how long are we going to be without?” Red asked.

  “I imagine our guys will be here within the hour. And before you ask, they are our guys. I didn’t hire outside the company this time. I’ve really just been looking for an excuse to fire the security company we had already hired.” Then he looked to me, “Thank you Ms. Grey for giving me the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do for such a long time.”

  After that Red, White and I went to the kitchen and rehashed everything Red and I had already talk
ed about. White was up to speed in less than ten minutes and we started to explore new avenues. I should say they started to explore new avenues. They started to get into past jobs before I was a part of the company. I walked away from it and they didn’t even know I had left the kitchen. I decided to get back to the Strom question. Maybe I could finish up the majority of the work before Brown showed up.

  *****

  Chapter Ten

  It was less than two hours later when Brown showed up at my door. Red called Blue and Green to meet us at the roof for takeoff and I was escorted to the helipad. I almost felt like royalty.

  We reached the cabin several hours before the sun was to set. Brown set the chopper down near the lake where he had always parked it before.

  “I would have let you set her down, but you don’t have enough experience to do that in this type of terrain. The trees are too close.” Brown sounded as if he felt guilty.

  “That’s alright. I don’t know if I would have felt comfortable doing it anyway.” He smiled his boyish grin at me.

  “Let’s get to the cabin,” Red interrupted us.

  The cabin was a short walk from the lake. We each grabbed up our own luggage and headed toward the cabin.

  Walking up on the cabin I saw that it had somehow grown. Black had mentioned to me once that they had planned on building onto it, but when had they found the time?

  “I’ve been aching to see this,” Red said, as we got closer. “We were going to just add on another bedroom or two, but we enlarged the entire cabin. I think we made a good choice, don’t you?” He looked at me.

  I was awestruck. The old stick built cabin was gone and in its place a larger log cabin had appeared. I couldn’t find the words to answer Red’s question. We continued onward at a faster pace. We were all anxious to check things out except Mr. Brown who had already seen it because he had brought Black up earlier.