by D B Steward
The Four Brothers frustrated her because they did their business the old school way. They had no online presence so it wasn’t going to be easy to bring them down. She couldn’t seize their assets and dox their membership. She had cancelled their cable and kept spamming their phones to pester them. That was about as much as she was able to do from behind her keyboard. All their illegal business was done with cash, drugs, and weapons. And frustratingly, in person. Electronically they were virtually untouchable. She felt powerless. It was a new experience for her and she did not like it. But that was what Kelly and Sonny were for. They would be the physical assets that she needed to get close. They were going to be the fists and land the punches that she couldn’t.
Trace liked the two women. Sonny was an absolute badass and she found Kelly to be the toughest woman she ever met. Sonny impressed her because of the way she was able to stay off the grid for so long while being the best contract killer in the world. Trace had not been around when Timmerman had begun her search for her before. Therefore she took the success of Sonny’s ability to stay under the radar so long with a grain of salt.
Kelly King was also a badass bitch in Trace’s eyes. She had been an FBI agent, went to prison, got out, and then went to work for the mob chasing people down. She respected how the woman had survived after everything she had gone through. Prison, gambling addiction, drugs; and through it all she kept her snarky disposition.
Trace didn’t have friends, she never had. She thought most relationships were superfluous. Unnecessary emotional ties were distractions from her work. Those around her age found her arrogant and aloof. However, she couldn’t deny that her few encounters with the duo
had affected her. She realized that it might be beneficial to have friends. Perhaps it might make her work more efficiently.
She received an instant message from her boss Timmerman. She already knew what the message was going to be about. She had embedded a protocol inside Timmerman’s cell phone. It left her receiver open so that she could listen in when she wanted to. Timmerman was unaware of it. Trace only used it when she knew something important was being discussed and felt nosey. She sighed knowing that she would have to pretend she was hearing what her boss was saying for the first time. She typed in an acknowledgement that she got the message. She then went about securing what she was working on before Timmerman arrived.
She wished that, for once, she could work on her project without interruption.
After the Attorney General delivered his statement to the media, Reggie knew the Director of the FBI would be emailing soon. And sure enough, it appeared in his inbox, as well as the inboxes of every other FBI agent in the country. It stated that an immediate crackdown on the Four Brothers was the top priority of all field offices. Any suspects local to the relative offices were to be picked up for questioning right away. The Director wanted the bureau to be the agency at the tip of the spear. The Secret Service had dropped the ball and he meant to recover it and run it in for the touchdown.
Reggie could have told the Director not to waste his time sending him an email all the way up in Idaho. Although there was a thriving meth problem there, Reggie was positive that none of the handful of people of Mexican descent in the state were members of MH4. This meant more paperwork for him. An unnecessary distraction from the Pierpont investigation.
He wondered what the chances were that he could convince Ken to handle it all solo. Ken was a good guy, although a little stiff and buttoned down, he would do the grunt work. Reggie felt that he was close to something on the Pierpont investigation. He was waiting for the crack in the case. He could feel it coming in his gut, and he always trusted his gut.
There was something about the senator’s murder did not feel right to Reggie. An assassination was a major escalation for MH4. It was also out of character for those brutal animals. Something like that required planning and patience. Not exactly qualities that those thugs had in abundance. It had taken place in Texas and here he was all the way up in Idaho. He knew that the bureau had plenty of qualified agents working the case. He was confident that the FBI could handle the investigation fine without him.
The pizza had been devoured. Mostly by Kelly, although Sonny had allowed herself to have a slice. The empty box and the remaining crumbs lay open on the coffee table between them. On either side of the table sat two surprised women. Surprised that they were conversing like regular people. Something that they hadn’t had time to do while dodging bullets and running for their lives. Sonny learned that Kelly’s birthday was in March. Kelly found out that Sonny had a dog when she was growing up.
“What was its name?” Kelly’s legs were drawn up to her chin as she smiled, genuinely interested in the name that little Sonny had given her dog.
Sonny was relaxing back on the couch with her long legs crossed at the ankle in front of her. “It was a boy and I named him Atticus.”
“Atticus? After Gregory Peck’s character in To Kill A Mockingbird?” Sonny grinned and nodded in the affirmative while Kelly giggled. “Oh my God you are such a nerd!” Sonny grabbed a crumpled napkin off the table and threw it at Kelly.
“It’s a cool name!”
“Movie nerd!”
Sonny stuck her tongue out at Kelly. “You should talk Miss King!”
“Didn’t Atticus shoot a dog in the movie?” Sonny nodded. “I guess that makes sense. You like to shoot stuff and all that.”
“Ha ha.” Sonny tried to dead pan but Kelly could see the smile in the dark eyes.
“The other kids at school must have made fun of you all the time!” Kelly noticed the small twitch on her face before Sonny hid it. Sonny’s eyes reflected an emotion that Kelly could not immediately identify. Suddenly a piece fell into place. “You didn’t go to school did you? Because of your father and what he did.” Sonny’s face seemed to struggle for a microsecond before she slammed the impassive wall back into place.
“I was homeschooled.” The playful tone in her voice was gone now. Replaced by the business like demeanor she reserved for the rest of the world. Kelly was beginning to recognize when Sonny retreated behind her walls. Her childhood was one of the raw spots that caused Sonny to become defensive, she had discovered. Kelly had touched a nerve and Sonny was not comfortable talking about the subject.
“Hey, Sonny, I'm not trying to embarass you or anything.” Kelly smiled and leaned forward. She kicked herself mentally for going down this rabbit hole. Sonny was locked tighter than a vault, but Kelly had started making progress in drawing her out. They had reached a good place in Kelly’s opinion. Now she had to scramble to salvage the budding relationship. “You grew up in a different world, I get it.”
“I don’t need your pity Miss King.”
“Ugh!” Kelly ran her fingers through her red hair in frustration. “I’m not pitying you Sonny! You’re so God damn touchy!” She knew that her temper was about to get her in trouble but she had yet to learn how to shut her mouth when she got angry.
Sonny’s face twisted into a scowl and for a moment her mouth opened as she prepared a loud and angry retort. Then in a flash, her scowl disappeared replaced by a cold, composed glare. She raised herself to her full height of five foot ten inches and spun around on her heels like a soldier. Kelly watched as she marched to the bedroom door but stopped. She turned to face Kelly again. Her eyes icy.
“Since I upset you so much Miss King. We should remain apart until we have an assignment.” The door slammed behind her. Kelly felt whiplashed at how fast the conversation had crashed and burned.
“Well, that escalated quickly.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Hey trainwreck, where’s Jane Wick?” Trace entered the suite using her copy of the door card. She saw Kelly slumped on the couch with her arms crossed and staring blankly at the television. Something looked off to her. “What happened here?” Kelly didn’t say a word. Understanding dawned in Trace’s mind. “Oh, are you two fighting? Damn. What did you do?” Kelly’s eyes remained glue
d to the screen. “Your feet too cold? Fart too much?”
“Screw you Trace.” Kelly chuckled in spite of herself. “She’s mad at me because I said the wrong thing. So she’s been holed up in her bedroom since last night.”
Trace sat down on the other end of the sofa. She placed her hand on her chest in mock surprise. “You said the wrong thing? You? I am shocked. Shocked.”
“Again Trace. Screw you.”
“No thanks, unlike you two I prefer hot dogs to tacos.”
Kelly could not stop the laugh that came from hearing the prickly teen make such a ribald comment. “Thanks for the heads up kid.” She slapped Trace on the back . “I’ll try to keep my hands to myself jailbait.”
“I’m nineteen you jackass.”
Kelly crossed her arms and looked over the young latina contemplatively. “So what’s your story kid? How did you get wrapped up in this? A super secret government organization and a barely out of diapers year old kid? What, did you fill out an application or something? McDonald’s not hiring?” Kelly could see that calling Trace Kid irritated her. She decided then and there that Trace would be Kid from now on.
“Why do you care?” Trace sat down on the sofa opposite Kelly. She opened her ever present laptop and began to click away on the keyboard.
“If I’m supposed to work with you I need to trust you. In order for me to trust you I need to know what you’re all about Kid.” Kelly placed her chin in her hands as she leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees and a huge grin on her face. “So tell me Kid, who is Trace Rodriguez? Let’s take a stroll through Trace Park and skip some getting to know you stones on the pond of your soul.”
“Ugh, were you born annoying or did you train to be like this?”
“Nope, we’re not talking about me goth girl, we’re talking about you.”
Trace seemed to bristle and looked up from her screen. “First, I’m not a goth. I like black so I wear black. I’m not into vampires and goth music and shit like that.”
Kelly clapped her hands together and smiled . “Yay! We’re sharing! So there has to be a reason for the black. Are you a member of The Night’s Watch or what?”
“I don’t believe in fashion.”
“You don’t believe in it?” Kelly scrunched her face in confusion. “I’m pretty sure fashion exists though, it’s not a myth.”
“I don’t believe fashion matters. It’s irrelevant what stupid colors we put on our bodies. I wear clothes only because the rest of the world is too dumb to realize that technology has advanced far enough that we don’t need clothes for anything except extreme climate situations. It’s a meaningless value system.”
“Ahhh!” Kelly crossed her arms and leaned back. “Now we’re getting somewhere. You have a problem with societal mores.”
“The arbitrary value systems that humans have constructed for themselves is contradictory to the nature of existence. The universe is meaningless. There is no plan. Life is a fluke from a chemical reaction.”
“Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine in the morning! So why do anything? What’s the point? Why are you even here?”
“To advance the development of artificial intelligence.”
Kelly blinked and shook her head a fraction as she tried to register what Trace said. “Say what now?”
“Artificial intelligence.” Trace raised her eyebrows. “Smart computers?”
“I know what artificial intelligence is. I’m trying to understand what you mean by advancing it. Advancing it to what?”
Trace rolled her eyes and sighed. “All life is meaningless. But we now have the knowledge to create a form of existence that can continue forever. Humanity has evolved as far as it can and it is time to move out of the way for the next step in evolution. I believe that I can help do that here.”
Kelly nodded as she began to connect the dots on Trace’s world view. “You have access to the world’s most powerful computers.”
Trace laughed without humor. “More than access. Control.”
“So, a nihilist who gets carded at the bar is working on creating Skynet.”
“I’m only a nihilist when I’m in a bad mood.” Trace winked. “Most of the time I’m a fatalist.”
Kelly whistled. “I’m glad you’re on my side kid.”
“For now.” Trace grinned conspiratorially and Kelly had to chuckle.
“Kid, I think this is the beginning of a weird friendship.” Kelly grinned. She tilted her head to the side and regarded Trace with concern. “Where are you staying anyway? You have family in Chicago?”
“I have a room a few blocks away in a much cheaper place.”
“Timmerman got on your back about spending so much on our suite?”
Trace shook her head. “No, I don’t need all this.” She waved her arms around. “Give me a bed, four walls, and a power outlet and I’m good. But I figured someone basic like you needed all the frills. Seeing as how you’re dirt poor.”
Kelly shrugged. “I know you think you’re insulting me, but I have a jacuzzi in my bathroom and I can’t hear your sass from all the jets.” She could see Trace roll her eyes and a tiny muscle spasm in one corner of her mouth. “So what’s the story on Timmerman? Did she have the stick surgically implanted up her ass for the job or did it grow there naturally.”
“She’s okay.” Trace shrugged. “She’s a by the book, type A personality.”
“Yeah, type A as in asshole.” Kelly frowned. “She doesn’t like me much does she?”
“Not at all.” Trace said flatly.
“Don’t hold back or anything kid, tell me straight out. Oh wait, you did.” Kelly crossed her arms. “So why does she hate me so much?”
“I guess she doesn’t think you belong here.”
Well that makes two of us, A tiny voice deep inside Kelly said. She tried to ignore the feeling of uselessness. “So I guess I’m not on her Christmas card list.” She winked. “But wait until she sees me use my super power.”
“You have a super power?” Trace sniffed in amusement.
“Yup.” Kelly nodded proudly. “I can fuck up any situation so bad that it actually works out. It’s like I can move faster than the speed of shit hitting the fan.”
Trace stared in confusion at the redhead. “I have no idea how you have survived as long as you have.”
“What can I say?” Kelly shrugged. “Somebody up there likes me.”
“Or somebody down there doesn’t want to see you before they have to.” Trace countered.
“Kid, did you come here to bust my balls or is there a reason you darkened our doorstep tonight?”
“We have a mission.”
“Hot damn! A job!” Kelly clapped her hands together in mock excitement. “Where are we going? Monte Carlo? Bora Bora? Some other 007 style locale?”
“The ass end of Monterrey, Mexico. You’re going after a gang called MH4.”
No one saw Kelly flinch from hearing the name MH4. She masked her emotions and joked in spite of herself. “Should I pack a bikini?” She grinned, but inside her a flame was growing. An angry, white hot flame that she would use to burn MH4 to the ground.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sonny’s eyelids fluttered from the morning light and then opened. She was taking in the hotel suite as her mind reminded her of her current reality. She rose to a seated position and stretched her arms over her head and elicited a slow yawn from her lungs. Sliding her long legs over the edge, she flexed her toes on the carpeted floor before standing. She lowered herself to the floor and began fifty push ups. Her body began to keep a rhythmic pace and her breathing and heart rate leveled. She allowed herself to contemplate her current situation. More importantly she began to contemplate how a certain annoying, infuriating, and altogether cute redhead fit into it.
There was no denying that Kelly King had gotten to her. She had succeeded in breaching the defenses that Sonny had built around herself. She entered into an area that Sonny allowed no one into before. It was intriguing. Pe
rplexing. Annoying, and comforting all at once. It was not through her looks that Kelly had gotten in, although Sonny found the woman stunning in her own way. Kelly had a personality that seemed to envelop Sonny inside of it like a warm embrace. She found herself feeling safe and content in a way that had been unknown to her before.
She finished her push ups. Changing her position on the floor, she began fifty sit ups. Sonny did not understand why certain topics that came up with Kelly ignited such fiery emotions inside her. She knew that she had overreacted before when Kelly discovered that she had been home schooled. She had flown off the handle because she felt inadequate in comparison to the ex FBI agent. She had not wanted to appear weird or different to the other woman. She was aware that whatever her reasons behind the blow up had been, a large part of it had been due to the fact that she wanted Kelly King to like her.
