Shoot to Kill

by James Kipling

  Owen cocked his gun and he nodded. “Jones,” Brooks said, “I hope you’re prepared for what you might find.”

  “I am ready for anything that happens.”

  Brooks spoke to the walkie-talkie attached to his wrist for all units to begin moving forward. Several wore full body armor while the rest just wore vests. Making their way through the gate, the first shot was fired. One of the men fell from where he had been standing. A sniper hiding on a neighboring roof had gotten him.

  The junk yard was roughly five acres divided into rows of scrap metal. There were different men lying in wait. Owen’s eyes were wide open as he crept around. He was not going to take in any survivors. He saw movement to his right and heard as the bullet went past his ear. He shot once and his opponent lay on the ground, dead.

  He heard more chaos, but he did not see any sign of Nate. There was a shipping container standing off on its own that looked slightly out of place. Two of his men appeared behind it. Giving them the signal, they followed close behind Owen and opened the shipping container. Standing inside, Cecily Ciervo was holding a gun to Nate’s head.

  “How did you find us?”

  “That isn’t important seeing as how your snitch is dead. Drop your weapon and you might not die.”

  “I don’t think so. I’ve never taken orders from the law. I will die shooting and the first one to go is him.”

  “No, Cecily, if you don’t put down the gun, you will be the only one to die.”

  He shook his head. “I’m going to die anyways and I might as well take people down with me.”

  There was no other way out of keeping Cicely alive at this point. Nate was not going to die. Owen squeezed the trigger and watched as Cecily fell to the ground. Nate was barely able to stand on his own. He looked like hell.

  Owen holstered his weapon and went to Nate immediately. Helping him to stand up, he saw how bad Nate’s condition was. He’d endured more torture than anyone ever expected. If Owen hadn’t grown up with him, he wouldn’t be able to recognize him. “I got you, Nate. You’re safe.”

  In that moment everything seemed serene, but Owen knew chaos was about to break out once more. The entire junk yard was being processed while they loaded Nate into the ambulance. He’d already called Chief Hanson, but wasn’t able to get through to Hazel. He was unsure if she was okay and just ignoring him, or if she was in trouble.

  Brooks walked over towards him appearing grim. “Several of them escaped,” he said dismayed. “I think you should go and do what you need to.”

  Owen nodded, understanding what he meant. He saw Braggs standing off in the distance on her own. Her eyes met his. He owed her no explanation. She’d always known it was Hazel who owned his heart, and at the time, she was okay with that.

  Owen got in the car and drove to Hazel’s apartment.

  Chapter 12

  Hazel sat on her futon with her knees pressed against her chest. The files were spread out on the coffee table and she knew that she was going to have to talk to the other families tomorrow. Hopefully they were all still in town.

  She felt tired and let out a sigh. Owen was still MIA and her mother had stopped by asking hundreds of questions as she brought in a ton of groceries. Hazel looked to the kitchen that was fully stocked now. She’d wanted to pay her mother back but she refused to tell her how much it cost.

  She was supposed to be able to protect people, and yet she wasn’t able to protect her own brother. She felt like she was supposed to cry, but no tears came. After a moment’s silence, there was a knock on her door. Reluctantly she got up, worried who it might be. She saw Owen through the crack in the blinds and felt a wave of relief pour over her as she flung open the door.

  She didn’t care if it revealed her emotions and she flung her arms around him. She was sick and tired of bottling her feelings up. “Hazel,” he said hugging her back, “we have Nate. He’s in the hospital being monitored. The doctors say he is going to be okay.”

  Tears of joy streamed down her face. “Thank you,” she mouthed out quietly.

  “Now I have to leave,” he said, seeming distracted.

  Hazel grabbed his wrist. “Stay here,” she begged. “Why didn’t you just call me?”

  “I did,” he explained. “The call never connected.”

  Hazel looked at him wondering why. Something was bothering him and just as he started to speak, she cut him off. “Owen, I need to tell you something. You being here just drives me insane and I just don’t˗…”

  He stopped her words with a kiss. “I love you,” he murmured. “Despite everything that has happened, I have never been able to get you out of my head. I was stupid for not fighting for you. You were so hurt though ... I didn’t want to make it worse.”

  For so long, she’d made decisions with her head and not her heart. She knew what she wanted, despite the confusion in her head. She let her shields fall and wrapped her arms around him. She felt safe and warm. She wanted him.

  Tilting her head up, she felt his mouth press against her lips. His hands began to slowly slide down her back. He lifted her into the air and walked into the bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, he pressed down on top of her.

  His lips brushed against her neck and she wanted to ask him if this was right. She didn’t want to do anything that would cause issues, but when his lips trailed down to the top of her breasts, she forgot about everything except him.

  He pulled her pants off and slipped his off as well. As he looked at her lovingly, the horrible things that could happen to her hit him. What he did for a living could put everyone he loved in danger, and she was the only person he truly loved.

  After they made love, he whispered in her ear, “I love you so much, Hazel.”

  As Owen stood there with his body pressed against hers, wanting to stay with her for the rest of his life, he knew they would never have the ability to do that. He was a weapon that the government trained. They had recruited him shortly after they had broken up. He had been an ideal candidate because he had no one at home. After his mother passed away, he had nothing to be used against him, but now he did. He knew he couldn’t break her heart, and wondered if he had to.

  Hazel pushed away from him and smiled. Her smiles made him feel warm and he never wanted to lose that. He, however, knew that being with her was something that couldn’t be. There were other things he had to tell her and it couldn’t wait.

  They got dressed in silence. She needed to know about the threat that had been made against her. She did not know what he did, not all of it at least. Despite it all, he was going to savor this moment. He loved Hazel and now he was in greater emotional turmoil.

  §

  Hazel woke up and slipped her robe on. She smelt food and went to the kitchen to see Owen standing at the stove cooking ham and eggs. “Good morning,” she said. “Smells wonderful.”

  Owen couldn’t look at her. Hazel knew that look and felt a sinking feeling in her chest. “Owen, is everything alright?”

  He turned to her with a pained look on his face. Brooks had just informed him of his new post after this case. He would be sent overseas to assist a team in Iraq. His relationship with her was going to be terminated by distance. He needed to get to know her again, but he would not get the chance.

  “I am just a little distracted right now,” he said.

  “You can tell me anything. That is how relationships work.”

  He finished cooking the eggs and turned the burner off. Looking at her, he shook his head. “Hazel, I can’t be with you now or possibly ever. I have a new assignment that is going to take me overseas.”

  Hazel’s face fell with the news and she bit her lower lip. “If this is payback for what happened between us five years ago, then you win.”

  “This isn’t about what happened five years ago. I love you and don’t want to go, but I am not Owen Jones. That person is dead. I am not me. I am owned by the government and not able to decide anything. You of
all people should understand that.”

  Moving away from him, she couldn’t think right now. All she knew was that she was hurt once more. “You need to leave. I can’t handle this right now.”

  “Hazel, please, can you ever forgive me?”

  Tears formed in her eyes. Blinking them back was near to impossible. She nodded and he gathered up his things to leave. There was pain in his eyes, but she couldn’t care less. He was standing at the door and she opened it for him. As he stepped out, she reached for the necklace she always wore and put it in his hand. Without saying a word, she shut the door and locked it.

  She slid down the door, sobbing like a child. Despite everything that had happened between them, she loved him. They grew up together and knew what true love meant when they reached maturity. She loved him not as a brother but as someone she could spend the rest of her life with. He had saved her brother and it had been Nate who had united them.

  After what had happened, she’d sent Owen away. Not because she had stopped loving him, but because she failed him. She wasn’t able to look herself in the mirror without feeling ashamed. She disliked herself and wished things were different. Gaining her composure, she knew that she needed to keep it together today. She needed to be thankful for what she had now. What she could have with Owen wasn’t important any longer.

  Owen was standing on the other side of the door holding the necklace in his palm. He looked at the ring fondly, but now he felt a wave of sadness. The only girl who he ever felt was perfect was on the other side of this door. He never wanted to see her cry again, but he had to let her go. He wasn’t what she deserved. She deserved a man who worked a well-paying job who didn’t know how to kill human beings. She deserved someone who wasn’t always leaving her side. What she needed was someone who would always be there for her when she needed him.

  Every part of him wanted to knock on the door again. He wanted her to know why things were this way and to reassure her that this wasn’t her fault. He wasn’t running away. It’s just that his courage had vanished. He felt fifteen years old again and a coward. He couldn’t be with Hazel and that was something he kept reminding himself. If he was with her, anyone could use her as leverage against him. Still, he wanted her more than anything.

  He knew Hazel would cry herself to sleep tonight. His own heart began to ache.

  Hazel pulled herself together and walked to her bedroom. She needed to bury her feelings for Owen forever. He was a distraction she didn’t need in her life. Getting dressed in her work clothes, streams of tears still fell down her face. She wiped them away forcibly. She had never needed anyone, and was never going to need anyone other than herself.

  She headed out the door grabbing her mother’s car keys. She was happy Arianna called last night to say she’d arrived at the Atlanta house safely; however, she was not going to tell her anything about Nate. Not until he was out of the hospital.

  Getting in the car, she knew where she had to go. Then her phone rang. “Hazel, where are you going? Aren’t we still working together?”

  She saw Owen’s car in the rearview mirror. “You can do your own investigation. I am working alone now.”

  “We work better together,” he countered.

  “No. I work better on my own. I don’t need you around to cloud my head with confused feelings. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”

  “You don’t understand what is going on. Please don’t do this.”

  “I don’t want to understand. If you knew what was going to happen, you should have stayed away from me. What happened last night could have been avoided. You should have never come over.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Please let me explain everything to you. You know me and how I feel. Are you going to throw away everything we have?”

  “Everything we have? What is that exactly? You and I know that we will never be together. Not the way we could have been before. I need you to back off and to stay away. I can do this on my own.”

  Hanging up the phone, she threw it on the seat knowing she was acting childish. Her phone rang again. It was her mother. “Nate is in the hospital,” her mother said frantically. “Do you know what happened to him?”

  “Mom, that is something you are going to have to talk to Dad about. I honestly can’t tell you anything. Not right now anyway. I’ll return your car to you tonight.”

  “I don’t care about the car. I understand that there are things you can’t tell me but this is your brother. I’m going to see him this afternoon and find out anyway,” she said sighing. “I love you, Hazel.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  Hiding things from her mother was difficult. She couldn’t protect her mother for long, though. Soon she would see the extent of Nate’s injuries.

  She had to keep focused on her work. Her first address to visit belonged to Stephanie Locke, an only child of a widowed woman. According to her file, Stephanie was in the retail industry and attempting to become a designer. Troy Wilkes was climbing his way up on Wall Street and had been successful for the most part. He came from a middle-class family with two younger sisters.

  Hazel knew it was time for some answers. She wondered how it felt to have lost a loved one and not know who was responsible. She was going to figure out who it was and make sure he was sent away for the rest of his life.

  She dialed her stepfather’s number and when he didn’t answer, she left a voicemail informing him where she was heading. She didn’t tell him she was alone. He didn’t need to know that much.

  Traffic was horrible. These damn people can’t drive, she cursed to herself. Even the cab drivers weren’t that great. As traffic inched along, she finally arrived at the front door of Stephanie Locke’s mother. Grabbing everything she needed, she walked towards the modest home and rang the doorbell. A woman with graying blonde hair and watery blue eyes answered. She appeared to be very weak.

  “Mrs. Locke, I am–…” she began, flashing her badge, then was cut off.

  “Detective,” she said simply. “You are here to ask me questions the other officers didn’t care to. Who else had to die to make my baby girl more important this time?”

  Hazel had not anticipated her being cold, but she started rolling with the punches. “Mrs. Locke, my department never knew about your daughter’s murder until just recently. We have connected her to several other women who were murdered in the same fashion. Not having answers is frustrating and in due time, you will have them. May I come inside?”

  She eyed her carefully and finally allowed her entry. Pictures of Stephanie still hung on her wall. “Stephanie was all I had left after her father died. I loved that little girl more than anything. She was a good kid.”

  “Could you tell me more about Stephanie? Could you tell me things that you liked or disliked about your daughter’s friends or anything in that context?”

  Sighing, she sat down in an old chair and nodded. “She always got good marks in school and tried hard to be better at everything than the other kids. When she was eight years old, her father passed away in a tragic accident. He was working all the time so they barely knew one another, but yet she was attached to him. She started seeking out father-like figures. She would bring these men to me telling me I could marry them. She was determined to find a new Daddy.”

  “That must have been very hard for you.”

  “Yes. Over the years she got used to the idea she was never going to have another father. She went to visit his gravesite every year just to talk to him. Then in high school, she met this boy, Raymond Stevens. He was trouble. He never treated her or anyone else right. Stephanie was too kind to him and he knew exactly what to say to her.”

  Hazel perked up at the mention of Raymond Stevens. Could this be the Ray they were looking for?

  “I knew that son of a bitch was beating my daughter and I informed the authorities. They weren’t able to make an arrest and I made it worse by reporting him. Stephanie grew used to th
e violence and finally she stopped caring. I told her she deserved better but I think her self-esteem was shot. She believed she could never do better than that bastard.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Mrs. Locke.”

  “It gets worse,” Mrs. Locke said wearily. “After three years of marriage she left him. She met this boy named Troy who had been a friend of hers when she was a kid. They loved each other. He treated her right and she was happy, and so was I. Stephanie was going to college and Troy was very successful. They wanted a baby but she wasn’t able to get pregnant. They were going to adopt, and a few months later I get the call they’ve been murdered. She was only twenty-three. She was finally going somewhere with her life, finally had a future, but she never got to see it.”

  “Do you know where I could find her ex-husband?”

  “No. I never want to see him again.”

  “Do you have any photos of him?” It was a long shot.

  “No,” said Mrs. Locke. “There might have been at my daughter’s.”

  “Would you mind looking at pictures of a few women and telling me if you recognize any of them?”

  She nodded and after looking through them, she pulled the picture of Jane Doe. She looked at it carefully and nodded. “That is Alyssa Dunham. She was friends with Stephanie’s ex-husband.”

  “Do you know why she was never reported missing?”

  “Alyssa had no family. She lost both her parents when she was a child and was put in the foster system after that. I don’t even know what she did for a living. The last I saw her she was pregnant with a little boy.”

  “Do you know who the father was?”

  “I don’t know at all. There are few things I do know about her.” Sifting through the other photos, she shook her head. “I don’t know these others.”

  “I appreciate the help you’ve given me.”

  “Do you think you will be able to catch the man who hurt my daughter?”