by I. T. Lucas
Syssi shook her head. “You’re putting a lot of faith in her abilities.”
“I know.”
Chapter 21: Eva
It felt strange to be back in a city that had been her home for so long, and stay at a hotel.
Eva added the last few finishing touches to her handyman costume, tucked her long hair under a hard hat, and headed out. The meeting she was going to eavesdrop on was happening at the headquarters of her client’s competitor.
Getting close enough was going to be tricky. Regrettably, the place was too well guarded at night, and she’d had to abort her initial plan of planting a bug in the room by sneaking in undetected. That kind of security required Nick’s expertise, but she hadn’t brought him along. Besides, it would’ve taken more time than she had to complete the mission.
Her best alternative was to go about it the old-fashioned way, acting like someone whose job was to take care of the place. Janitors and maintenance people were invisible. She’d go in, stick bugs in several places close to the conference room’s door, and go back to her hotel to listen to the transmissions.
With a few phone calls to her informants, she’d found out the name of the maintenance company servicing the high-rise office building. A couple of hundreds in the sticky hands of a petty thief got her the company’s coveralls and protective headgear.
Armed with a ladder, a toolbox, and an armload of fluorescent bulbs, she sauntered into the receptionist’s office. “I’m here to replace the bulbs.”
“Which rooms?” the guy asked.
Eva gave her gum a few chews. “Wherever needed. Did you notice which ones are flickering?”
“Check out the one in the center of the corridor. It’s making that annoying buzzing sound.”
She hefted the folding ladder under her arm. “No problem. Can you get the door for me?”
The guy got up from behind his desk and opened the way for her. “You’re the first female handyman the company ever sent over. Kudos to you for breaking the gender barrier.”
You have no idea, buddy. “Thanks. But all I care for is the better pay.”
A small smile crooked his lips. “Nevertheless, you and I are rebels.”
“You’ve got it.” She stepped into the hallway and headed for the buzzing sound.
“You need any help?” the guy asked when she unfolded her ladder.
“Thanks, but I got it. It’s my job.”
The receptionist nodded and went back to his station, closing the double doors behind him.
Perfect. Eva replaced the malfunctioning bulb and got down. Pretending to examine each ceiling fixture and replacing quite a few, she planted a bug inside one in each room that looked like an executive’s office or had a conference table. Six bugs including the one in the corridor.
No one had paid her any attention.
Not to seem in a hurry, she stopped to chat with the receptionist before leaving. The competitor’s offices took up the entire floor of the high-rise, so she didn’t need to pretend to go into any others. It was into the elevator, and down to the parking garage to her borrowed pickup. The truck belonged to one of her snitches and didn’t have the company’s logo, but it was the best Eva could do on such short notice.
Her mistake was not sending Sharon and Nick to do the prep work. Under normal circumstances, Sharon would’ve gone to the building a few nights before and assessed the security for Eva. Then Nick would’ve done his magic. But budgetary concerns required cost cuts, and Eva figured she could do without, saving on two more plane tickets and several hotel nights. Her client didn’t know that she’d moved to L.A., and Eva preferred to keep it that way. The airfare and hotel stay was on her.
No harm done.
The bugs were in place, and she had two hours until the meeting was scheduled to start. Enough time to get back to her hotel room and set up the equipment for the transmission. Theoretically, she could go shopping and then go over the recording later, but she preferred to listen to it in real time. If more investigating was needed, and not all of what her client wanted to know was discussed in the meeting, she’d immediately move to plan B.
Jerry, her snitch, was waiting for her in the parking lot of a mall.
Eva parked the truck and pulled out a pair of flip flops from a plastic bag. She removed her work boots, stepped out of her coveralls, and shoved them into the bag. Underneath, she wore leggings and a muscle shirt. The outfit did nothing to disguise her figure, but the blue contact lenses, blond wig, and makeup that made her skin look awful were enough to obscure her identity.
“Hi, Priscilla. How did it go?”
“Hunky dory.” She used a Southern accent. “Thank you for the use of your truck.”
“No problem.” He took the hundred she handed him. The savings she’d been counting on were evaporating by the minute.
“Did you hear anything new through the grapevine?”
Jerry puffed out his chest. “I hear a lot of things. You need to be more specific.”
“You know what I’m after. I still haven’t found that missing girl.” The imaginary one she was supposedly looking for. The cover story for why she was asking questions about slavers.
Jerry grimaced. “She’s probably dead by now.”
“Maybe. But I promised my client I will not stop looking.”
He shrugged. “There are always kids gone missing. If you want a lead, I suggest snooping around Union Station. Lately, there are more creeps hanging around there than usual.”
“I’m not interested in small-time crooks like pimps and drug dealers. How about the big guys who deal in flesh. Any new ones?”
“Not that I heard of.”
“Okay, thanks for the info.” Eva shook his hand.
If her surveillance provided what her client was looking for, perhaps she would check out Union Station after all and see what Jerry was talking about.
Should she?
It wasn’t as if she was going after whatever creeps were hanging around there. Not her kind of targets. The bottom of the ladder was too easily replaced to bother with. She went only after the middlemen, and every mission took a lot of planning and careful preparation.
Eva wasn’t stupid enough to be gung-ho about something that could land her in jail. No matter how satisfying taking out a few creeps could’ve been.
Damn. Her developing appetite for vengeance was worrisome. It was addictive. If she weren’t careful to keep herself in check, it would consume her.
Back at the hotel, Eva took out the irritating contact lenses and removed the blond wig. She called room service and ordered dinner, then sat down and turned on her equipment. Each bug had been calibrated to a different receiver so she could listen to several conversations at the same time. Once she identified what she was looking for, she was going to turn off the rest.
“Are you still looking for her?” she heard someone ask.
“The little bitch killed my brother and then crawled into a hole in the ground and disappeared. I’m not going to rest until I find her. I have people all over the States looking. Unless she left the country, it’s only a matter of time until someone recognizes her picture.”
That didn’t sound like two corporate executives discussing a merger. More like two thugs.
“She probably doesn’t look the same. Five years make a lot of difference in a kid that young. How old is she supposed to be now? Twenty-one?” the other guy asked.
“Something like that. Women don’t change that much when they get older. I’m going to find her, and when I do, she is going to pay.”
Eva heard a door open and slam shut.
“Loraine, please have the Montesito file ready for me. I’m heading out.” She heard the other guy. There was a pause, and then she heard him say. “The hotheaded idiot is becoming a liability. We need to get rid of him.” Obviously, he wasn’t talking to Loraine. There was another pause, and then he said, “Will do, boss.”
Shivers ran up Eva’s spine even though the chances the t
wo had been talking about Tessa were slim… or were they?
No, not really.
The timeline fit. Besides, how many sixteen-year-old girls killed a man five years ago?
Not many. If at all.
Eva closed her eyes and thanked God for prompting her to move her operation out of Tampa. But the move didn’t mean Tessa was safe. If the guy had provided her picture to a bunch of informants all over the country, eventually someone was bound to spot her.
Tessa needed a new face. Or at least a drastic change.
When she returned, Eva was going to take Tessa to a hair salon. A different hair color and a different hairdo would make a big difference. And of course the requisite contact lenses. Going from brown to blond and from hazel eyes to blue should do it. A change of style and attitude wouldn’t hurt either. The biggest transformation, if Tessa could pull it off, would be shedding her mousy look and adopting a confident one.
For sure no one would recognize her then.
Chapter 22: Tessa
“That was such a fun movie.” Tessa dropped her 3D glasses in the container outside the movie theater.
Jackson wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Gal Gadot is hot. She made an awesome Wonder Woman. Did you see how she punched? There was nothing even remotely girly about it. The fight scenes were very well made. Kudos to the choreographers.”
Tessa chuckled. “Our Israeli neighbor said that the movie should be called 'How to be an Israeli Woman 101.' Obsess over every baby you see, voice your unsolicited opinion loudly, and don’t take shit from anyone.”
“I like it.”
“Yeah, me too. If there were a course like that, I would take it. I wish I could be more like that.”
“Same as every guy wants to be Tony Stark. I think Iron Man is better than Superman. Generally, DC is not as good as Marvel, but Wonder Woman rocked.”
Tessa was still having a hard time remembering Jackson’s explanations about which superheroes belonged to the Marvel Comics universe and which belonged to DC. The one thing she remembered was that Wonder Woman was DC and Iron Man and The Avengers were Marvel.
“Have you ever watched the old TV series with Linda Carter?”
“No, I didn’t. Have you?”
“When I was little, I dreamt I was her. Tall, beautiful, powerful, everything that I wasn’t.”
An odd look flitted through Jackson’s eyes. “You got it all except for the tall part.”
Tessa tossed the empty popcorn bag in the trash. “Yeah, I’m the all-powerful Tessa.” She flexed her thin arm. “Fear me!” She deepened her voice as deep as it would go, which wasn’t very deep at all.
Jackson opened the passenger door for her, waited for her to buckle up and only then closed it and walked around to the driver’s side. “My place?” He turned the engine on.
“Are you going to make me a sandwich?”
“But of course, my lady.” He bowed his head. “I’m on a mission to fatten you up.”
She laughed. “When you accomplish your mission, are you going to eat me yourself or sell me to Hansel and Gretel’s witch?”
Jackson cast her a lascivious glance. “No one is going to eat you but me.”
As heat spread over Tessa’s face, she was grateful for the car’s dark interior. Careful not to trigger her fears, Jackson rarely made sexual innuendos, but some slipped out from time to time, especially when she supplied him with a perfect opening like that one. It was all talk; he hadn’t made a move to even kiss her other than on the cheek. They were like a couple dating in the early days of last century.
Were they a couple, though?
Other than the sex, yes, they were. They were spending every evening together, and their emotional connection was getting stronger by the day. She didn’t dare ask but was pretty sure Jackson hadn’t been with another girl since they started seeing each other. The poor guy must’ve had blue balls the size of watermelons.
And yet, he never complained, never pressed for more, never even seemed moody or frustrated, but Tessa felt incredibly guilty nonetheless. Jackson deserved a woman who’d welcome his touch, who would pleasure him not as an obligation and not in spite of herself, but because she loved him and his body and wanted to be intimate with him, as much as he wanted to be intimate with her.
There must be something she could do for him without freaking out. Maybe she could handle a hand job?
After all, nothing about Jackson’s body repelled her, which was a huge step for her. She should be able to put her hand on him. It was him putting his hands on her that she couldn't handle.
Tessa shook her head. Thinking about hand jobs before they had even kissed was ridiculous. But in some way a kiss was more terrifying. The thought of any part of a male’s body entering her, even a tongue inside her mouth, was intolerable.
But what if he remained completely passive? What if it was her tongue that did the entering? Could she handle that?’
Would he?
Jackson was a dominant guy, but in a good way. The take charge way. She couldn’t imagine him ever being abusive, physically or verbally, but she also couldn’t imagine him passive.
Unless he did it for her.
He would, she had no doubt of that. But it wouldn’t be easy for him and he probably wouldn’t enjoy it.
Besides, she was too embarrassed to broach the subject.
It didn’t make sense. After all that she’d been through, nothing should have been embarrassing to her. Except, she’d spent the last five years pretending as if none of that had happened. More so, she’d spend them pretending she wasn’t female at all. A sexless creature. That was what she wanted to be.
Before Eva had rescued her, Tessa had been starving herself to the point of being so underweight that she’d stopped getting her periods. It had been her only way to rebel. No periods meant she couldn’t get pregnant, which had been her greatest fear. She would’ve rather died than brought a child into the nightmare of her existence.
The thing was, she kept limiting her food intake even in the safety of Eva’s home. Having no periods was reassuring, as was looking like a scrawny, unattractive teenager.
All of that had changed when Jackson became part of her life. Tessa started gaining weight. Suddenly she had more appetite. Whether it was his friendship and the sense of normality he brought about, or the sandwiches he kept pushing at her, the result was that her pants were getting tight, and last week she’d gotten her first period in years.
The shocking part hadn’t been the sudden appearance of spotting, but the relief at seeing it. Another milestone had been crossed on the road to recovery. And maybe one day, in the distant future, she could have a baby.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Jackson said.
She waved a hand. “They are all over the place.”
“I’m sorry about that remark. It just slipped out.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
“So you’re not freaking out because of it?”
“No. I’m good.”
“Pfft. I was worried.” Jackson pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine. Tessa waited for him to go around and open her door, not because it was something she expected but because he insisted on doing so. In some ways, Jackson was very old fashioned for an eighteen-year-old.
“The usual?” he asked as they entered the kitchen.
“You know me. I’m a creature of habit. Same sandwich, same drink…”
“Same boyfriend?”
“Yeah. Same boyfriend.”
Jackson paused with the fridge door open. “Did I hear you right? Had I been just promoted from a friend who is a boy to a boyfriend?”
“You heard me right.”
Jackson lifted his eyes to the ceiling. “Thank you, merciful Fates.”
Tessa frowned. She’d heard him say the same words before and thought them a joke, but maybe it was more than that. “Do you believe in fate, Jackson?”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.” If
she did, she would hate the bitch with vehemence.
Jackson spread out the sandwich fixings on the work table she was sitting at. “I can’t say that I’m a big believer. It’s more of a saying. Like people who say thank God. I don’t believe in any particular deity, so I invoke the Fates.”
Made sense. Tessa often did the same even though she was an atheist. Some things were ingrained too deeply. Besides, since Eva was a big time believer, Tessa kept her own lack of belief private.
Getting into an argument about religion was just as bad as getting into an argument about politics. People clung to their version of the story regardless of any proof to the contrary. They just ignored it, or called it fake, or this or that phobic. It was a waste of time and energy to try changing someone’s mind. Eva was entitled to her beliefs, as Tessa was entitled to hers, and Jackson to his.
They were lucky to live in a free country which was founded on the principles of freedom from oppression and the freedom of speech. Most of the world’s population didn’t enjoy those freedoms.
In some countries, girls as young as she’d been when her nightmare began, were married off to men who were free to do with them as they pleased. She couldn’t help thinking that some of them must’ve suffered as she had, but with nowhere to run, no legal recourse, and no chance of anyone coming to their rescue.
In that respect, she’d been lucky, and she owed it all to Eva.
“Here is your feast, my lady.” Jackson put one plate in front of her and the other next to it, then pulled out two sets of cutlery wrapped in paper napkins. “What would you like to drink?”
“Coke, please.”
Chapter 23: Jackson
Tessa finished the entire sandwich, a first for her, wiped her mouth with the napkin and leaned back in her chair. “I’m going to explode. My pants are, for sure. Nothing fits me anymore. I have to shop for new clothes.”
“Can I come with you?” Maybe he could steer her toward the grown up section of the department store. Jackson was pretty sure she was buying her clothes in the kids’ section.
