Borderline

by D B Steward

  She felt the sweat beading on her skin. She realized that she had gone past fifty sit ups and was now nearing one hundred. She stopped and mentally kicked herself for being so distracted. But that was what Kelly did to her, she invaded her thoughts and monopolized them.

  Sonny had become so infatuated that she could think of nothing but Kelly King. There was nothing and no one she could recall that had bewitched her so before. She got up and headed to the en suite to shower. She decided that a cold one might be what she needed.

  Contrary to the belief of his followers, Noah Pierpont was not an actual zealot. Far from it. The image that he showed to the world was that of a radical and dangerous white supremacist. In reality he was indifferent toward other races. Color made no difference to him. There were incidents in his past that helped in the fabrication of his role. Problems with people serving under him gave rise to the rumors that he was racist. Those incidents had been blown out of proportion by others in the Army to tarnish his reputation. In his opinion. But in truth he used those stories to help support his imagined role of a bigot to gain power and influence. So much so that he had been able to rise through the ranks of a small fringe group. And like Adolf Hitler, he had transformed it into one of the biggest and most dangerous domestic terror groups in the United States of America.

  Pierpont was a natural born salesman. Had he chosen to use his gifts in a more conventional vocation he could have become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. But Noah T. Pierpont had always imagined himself as a soldier. Ever since he was a small child he would dream of being a great general in the Army. He would be front and center, leading the United States to victory in some glorious war. It was his destiny to take his place alongside men like Washington, Napoleon, and Julius Caesar.

  Romantic images of himself always played in his mind. There he was, walking through explosions. Broken bodies that littered the battlefield filled his mind throughout his childhood. He entered the ROTC program in high school. Pushed himself to the limit academically so he would be good enough to earn a spot at West Point. Once he began his studies at the military academy, he found himself a mediocre cadet at best. He was often punished for insubordination. His instructors would scold him for his belief that he was always right. He graduated near the bottom of his class. He was placed in the infantry, which was his first choice anyway. He needed to be on the battlefield to show his natural prowess. Not trapped behind some desk pushing papers from one pile to another.

  Second Lieutenant Noah T. Pierpont was deployed to Afghanistan and he could hardly contain his happiness. He was going into actual combat against deadly combatants. At last his childhood dream had become a reality. At the start of his first tour everything was going as well as he could have wished for. He had eliminated a sniper that had shot two of his men. In another action he had pulled two soldiers from a burning transport that had struck an IED while under enemy fire. Because of this, his soldiers developed great respect for him. He had been promoted to first lieutenant swiftly. He was gaining a reputation as an officer who kept his cool in chaotic situations. His troops loved him because he was protective of those under his command. Medals and commendations seemed to follow him everytime he left the field. Although he showed humility on the outside, inside he was thrilled.

  ​Eventually he drew the eye of Colonel Timothy England stationed in Afghanistan. His combat savvy, bravery, and dedication to his men impressed England. Colonel England began to follow his career with much interest.

  Meanwhile, Pierpont was nearing the end of his deployment when he was promoted again. This time to captain. He was unsure if the newly minted captain would return for a second tour of duty. Colonel England introduced himself to Pierpont. The two men hit it off immediately. A relationship began to form between the two and England became Pierpont’s mentor. Pierpont reupped for another tour and England brought the young officer under his direct command.

  Although Noah had not distinguished himself as a scholar while at West Point, out on the battlefield he was something like a genius. His ability to adapt to any situation was impressive. The people higher up the food chain were beginning to pay attention to his career. They marveled at his combat instincts that seemed to come natural to him. He escaped or countered every ambush his command would stumble into by outfoxing the enemy. Word began to spread about him. Soon enlisted personnel were praying to be transferred under him because of his dedication to keeping his people safe.

  When Colonel England was sent to Iraq, he made sure that Noah was coming with him. The colonel knew that Pierpont was going to be a part of the top brass someday, as he would. And it would not hurt to have a loyal protegee underneath him. Once they arrived in Iraq, Colonel England received another young officer under his command. One that he saw the same kind of commitment to excellence inside of that he saw in Pierpont.

  Captain Jose Sanchez was a forthright and ambitious soldier. He had also risen up the ranks due to his bravery in combat. Sanchez possessed a compassionate nature that made him very popular among the soldiers. Yet there was a vital difference between the two men. Jose’s compassion was genuine, whereas Pierpont had to mimic his, being unable to feel anything for others. Having men die under your command was no way to succeed in the military. Captain Pierpont was not known for being an approachable man. Sanchez was gregarious and knew the first name and hometown of everyone under his command, Pierpont was often cold and only referred to his soldiers by their rank. At the same time, however, the sheer force of his personality won him the awe of his troops.

  Colonel England dreamed of being able to somehow fuse the two men together and create the ultimate officer. To his dismay, the two men were like oil and water. Once he introduced the two, it was obvious to all that there was a dramatic personality clash. Like opposing magnets, the two men would never work together without being forced. Sanchez was cordial to Pierpont at first, but after a short period of time, the colonel could see that even Sanchez’s patience had limits. Pierpont was icy upon introduction and grew even more flinty toward Sanchez as time went on.

  Captain Noah T. Pierpont saw Captain Jose Sanchez as a rival. He had always dealt with rivals with ruthless efficiency. Like a jungle cat, he measured his adversary for a vulnerability to exploit or the right moment to strike. Their careers followed the same trajectory and the colonel took great care to keep the two officers as far apart as he could in the war torn Middle Eastern country.

  In late 2010 all Colonel England’s machinations to keep the two away from each other failed horribly. In a coordinated attack at an ISIS stronghold the two captains were both on the field together. After a particularly bloody engagement, a key ISIS leader was captured along with his family. Loses had been heavy on the Army’s side. Captain Pierpont was beside himself with rage against the enemy. A campaign that had ended with so many casualties was sure to damage his plans for the future. It couldn’t end that way. He needed to find some way to turn the results of the battle to his advantage.

  The prisoners were brought to Pierpont while Sanchez was still in the field engaged in a final clean up operation. Through a translator Pierpont interrogated the ISIS leader. The terrorist was tough. He refused to give Pierpont any useful intelligence. Noah grew more and more frustrated at the bellicose responses he was getting. Pierpont drew his sidearm and threatened to shoot the man’s wife if he did not provide the location of the ISIS high command. When the man refused to do so Pierpont shot and killed the woman in cold blood.

  The brutal action was going to spread like wildfire and threatened to spill out to the outside world. Colonel England needed to move fast to contain the situation. Captain Sanchez was sent to relieve Pierpont and have him arrested. Meanwhile all the witnesses were debriefed and ordered to remain silent. Pierpont was court martialed for murder and sent back to the states.

  Colonel England was crushed. He had considered the young captain as a kind of surrogate son. He questioned himself over how he could miss the signs that the man had become
so unhinged. Pierpont was sentenced to a minimum of twenty five years at Florence in Colorado. Somehow during his transfer he escaped. Pierpont disappeared. It was like he fell off the face of the earth. Years later rumors spread through the military that he had joined an extremist militia in the Pacific Northwest. But the man himself continued to stay invisible.

  Now the former captain, and current fugitive, relaxed in the private quarters of his compound in Idaho. He watched the news reports of the assassination of presidential candidate Jose Sanchez. He allowed the proud smile to spread across his face. The cameras showed again and again the mourning civilians crying over their now dead savior. Although pleased at the moment, he knew that this was just the first step in a long journey toward his destiny.

  “Phase one complete. On to phase two.” He spoke quietly to himself.

  Kelly and Trace turned as one when the door of the bedroom suite opened to reveal a freshly showered Sonny. Trace gave the assassin a cursory nod of acknowledgment and then

  returned her attention back to her computer. But Kelly found her eyes locked on Sonny and unable to look away.

  Sonny’s lean frame was on display in her short athletic shorts and crop top shirt that ended below her ribs. Kelly’s jaw dropped as she stared at the long, smooth legs of the other woman. The tan color of her skin was so enticing that Kelly longed to see the contrast of her own alabaster skin touching it. Her legs were like a long distance runner. But they still retained a feminine form, curving nicely around the calves, knees and hips. Sonny was barefoot, and for a reason that she did not understand, Kelly found it very erotic. She marveled at the perfect sculpt of Sonny’s bottom. It seemed to defy gravity. The two mouth watering cheeks resisted any downward pull on them and hovered in the air. Kelly could see in her mind’s eye Sonny doing all the squats that would produce such a taut derriere. The thought of grabbing the cheeks in her hands and squeezing started a warming sensation down below and she could not help biting her bottom lip. Between the top of the shorts and the bottom of the shirt was Sonny’s tight abdomen. It looked as if it had been sculpted from marble. The absence of fat around her midsection was a testament to the woman’s dedication to being in peak physical condition. The ab muscles were visible but not so defined that they would prove distracting from the beautiful waistline. It seemed to call out to Kelly and invite her to wrap her arms around it and pull Sonny’s body close to her own. She wondered how it would feel to move her palms down that tight stomach and closer to what lay underneath those shorts. Kelly had to squirm in her seat as she felt the tug in her core growing stronger. The crop top hung loosely on her. It was sleeveless and cut down the front to show the soft curve of Sonny’s cleavage. A thin veneer of sweat began to bead on Kelly’s forehead and she knew she was done for. Sonny’s breasts were not big at all, she was easily an A cup. But they were perky and round, and like her ass, they seemed to float in mid air. Kelly flexed her fingers as she thought about holding those breasts in her hands. She imagined massaging them tenderly. Moving her mouth closer and closer to a dark brown nipple. Her eyes moved to Sonny’s subtle collar bone. They lingered on her muscled shoulders and biceps. They traveled up the long neck that she wanted to sink her teeth into and kiss a million times. Sonny’s razor sharp jawline and high cheekbones belonged on the cover of Vogue magazine. Sonny’s thick black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Kelly flushed as an image of herself grabbing Sonny’s ponytail and pulling it while in the throes of passion flashed in her mind. She finally settled on the woman’s dark and captivating eyes. While staring, it dawned on Kelly that those eyes were on her. Sonny had been watching while Kelly had been undressing her with her eyes. There was a small playful curl on the corner of Sonny’s mouth to let Kelly know that she had caught her. Kelly gulped out loud, and Sonny’s smirk grew into a definite grin. Kelly thought that maybe Sonny had dressed that way to elicit that exact response from Kelly.

  Without raising her eyes from her screen, Trace quipped to both women in her measured and disinterested way. “If you two have finished eye fucking each other I would like to set up this video conference with the boss.”

  Kelly imagined that her pale Irish complexion looked as red as a stop sign. She could feel the heat under her skin burning like fire. Only this time it was desire and embarrassment feeding the flames. Without saying a word Sonny sat down across from Kelly on the other couch. Kelly peeked out of the sides of her eyes. She saw Sonny was still grinning which only helped to sustain her mortification.

  Trace had been trying to ignore the sexual tension between the two. She finished setting up the video conference on the laptop. She spun it around to face them. Agent Timmerman was sitting in what they assumed was her office in Washington D.C. “Okay, you are a go for chit chat boss.” Trace placed the laptop on the table between them. She leaned back and pulled out her smartphone. Soon there was a small window of Trace’s face in the bottom left hand corner of the laptop screen.

  “Ladies, we have an assignment.” Nancy began, her voice was grave, belying the seriousness of their mission.

  “It's like I’m on Charlie’s Angels!” Kelly could not help but blurt out the statement, earning an amused snort from Trace and an eye roll from Sonny. “Good morning Charlie!” Timmerman’s face never twitched and she picked up her speech without missing a beat.

  “If you haven’t already seen on the news, Senator Sanchez and his family have been killed. It's believed that he was killed by a mexican gang called MH4. The senator had been campaigning that he would crack down on their rapid growth here in the states. And he talked about assisting Mexico in wiping them out when he became president.” Kelly frowned and made a disapproving grunt. “You have something to add Miss King?”

  Her green eyes flicked back to the screen image of her boss. “Well first, you can call me Kelly.” She jerked her thumb in Sonny’s direction. “Only she gets to call me Miss King.” Sonny looked down at her folded hands in her lap to hide the small grin on her face. “And B, are we sure it was the mexican gang and not someone else?”

  Timmerman looked offended as she replied. “We have actual investigators working on this. We’re pretty confident that it was MH4.”

  Kelly tilted her head to the side sceptically. “Perhaps.” Her gut was telling her that something was off. She did not have enough information yet to make an argument against the government’s conclusion though. And she knew she wouldn’t get very far in convincing Timmerman otherwise.

  “Anyway, you have been tasked to eliminate the leaders of the gang. Once their centralized leadership is gone, the gang will disintegrate.”

  “Whoa, you want us to take on an entire gang? In Mexico? That’s crazy!” Kelly shook her head in disbelief.

  “You are being sent to end the leaders, that is all. They are called the Four Brothers although there are only three of them. Trace, you have the dossiers for the ladies correct?”

  Trace nodded. “Sure do.”

  “Three targets.” Sonny spoke in her business voice, as Kelly had begun to call it. “What’s the timeframe? Must they be neutralized all at once? Is there a particular way this needs to be done?”

  “They would like to see this done ASAP, within a few days. A week if necessary. As far as the rest goes, use your own discretion. They want it done. It doesn’t matter how.” Timmerman appeared to have said all she wanted to, Kelly observed. “Any other

  questions?” The three women remained silent. “Good, Trace will set up the logistics and brief you. Trace, I want you in Texas to support them but do not cross into Mexico. That is an order.”

  Trace sighed. “Copy that boss.” Timmerman nodded in appreciation.

  “Good luck ladies and I’ll see you when you get back. Timmerman out.” The screen went dark and the room was quiet.

  Kelly bounced up and down on the sofa cushion with a toothy grin on her face. “ I’ve never been to Mexico! Well, I’ve never been there sober before.” Sonny rolled her eyes and then focused on Trace.
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  “I will need dossiers on the targets, locations that they frequent, reliable transportation and access to weapons and equipment.”

  Trace chuckled haughtily. “Done and doner. As far as weapons and stuff, just give me a list and I’ll have everything waiting for you down there.”

  “How are you going to be able to support us from Texas?” Kelly’s grin was gone and was now replaced with a quizzical expression. “Why aren’t you coming?”

  “The boss thinks she has to protect me like I’m sixteen.” The grumble in her tone reminded Kelly how young Trace was. “And she thinks I need the infrastructure here to be effective in the field.” Trace leaned in conspiratorially. “She doesn’t know that I have my own infrastructure and can do what I do from anywhere in the world.”

  Kelly’s eyebrows went up skeptically. “How do you manage that? Are you saying that you have coverage even in the Amazon? What kind of data plan did you sign up for?”

  Trace waved her hand as if Kelly was asking her if she could ride a bike or not. “Please, coverage is easy when you have your own satellite.”

  In disbelief, Sonny tilted her head to the side. “The United States government gave you a private satellite. Really.”

  “They don’t know that they gave me one.” Trace shrugged. “It’s easy to start an operation like that with a few memos. I gain access to funds and write a couple of classified documents. Then I get NASA to launch a satellite that no one is cleared to know about. No one knows what it’ll be used for and viola, my own private geosynchronous eye in the sky.” Kelly shook her head in awe at the young woman.