by Alice Cooper
“Oh you look a lot like your mother!” Liz commented.
“This picture is of when I was little.” He stated.
“Oh you have a sister?” She asked when she noticed a younger girl in the picture with them.
“She died a few years ago. It really broke my mom and dad up. Ever since then they aren’t the same. I swear I don’t even know if they talk to each other now. When I visit them, they barely say two words to each other.” Allen explained.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Death of a child has to be hard on parents.” Liz said.
“This is why I can’t leave them; all they have left is me.” Allen said.
Liz knew he was right. They had lost a daughter, how could they lose a son too? “I understand, really I do. So tell me about your planet, what is it like? Is it green? What is the weather like? All those things that will help me make up my mind.” Liz asked.
Allen thought of the best way to explain his planet. “Really it’s a lot different than you could ever imagine. We don’t have the same types of flora or fauna as Earth. I think it’s beautiful, but this is what I grew up with. The weather is decent year round, you don’t need coats. I think the best thing is for you to see it, and then decide.” Allen stated.
“Alright, so how close are we now?” She asked, excited yet nervous about her first views of the planet that may soon be her home.
“About 10 minutes and we’ll go out of warp drive, you’ll see the planet and then we’ll be there. It’s all very quick near the end of the trip. I hope you like it.” Allen said and hugged her.
She wanted to kiss him and have him make love to her, just in case it was the last time. But she tried to think about her life in a positive way. Instead they stood by the window and looked at waited for the ship to come out of warp drive.
“Watch this it’s really neat.” Allen said as they heard a shift in the ship and suddenly they seemed to be stopped in the middle of space. “We aren’t really stopping, it’s just we were moving so quickly it seems like we stopped.” He explained.
Liz watched and was speechless as so many stars showed up in the window in a second. They did appear to be stopped. “It’s amazing out here.” She commented.
“There’s the planet below us.” He said and pointed out the window.
She looked down at the planet. It was a purplish color from here and looked amazing. “It looks so nice from up here, is it the same on the surface?” She asked, her hopes rising up.
“I told you I love it, but I grew up here.” Allen stated. “Once we are on the surface you can look around. But we have to go and visit my parents too. I do it after each trip. That way I can make sure they are both okay. Often times when I leave they wonder if I’m coming back or not.” He said.
“I’d love to meet them. I’m so nervous right now, this means so much to both of us. I just wish I could easily say yes I’ll stay. But I don’t want to say that and then change my mind.” Liz explained.
“I know, I get it, really I do. It would be like you asking me to only live on Earth. Perhaps if my parents were not living I could stay there part of the time. But I would really miss my planet. I’m asking you to give up everything you’ve known your whole life, just to be with me. Liz I’ll understand if you don’t want to do it. I’ll be heartbroken, and I might still try to make it work out, but in the long run I’m not sure if it will.” Allen explained.
“I know it would be far too hard if I didn’t move. I will admit I’m worried about it. After all you did tell me that not many people speak my language. Not that I wouldn’t be happy talking to you, but what about when you aren’t home? What will I do?” Liz asked.
“You can study the language and learn it; really it may not be hard for you. I don’t want you to feel lost though. Really I’m willing to think of other alternatives if we need too. I really would love to have you as my wife. I don’t know I’m so confused and just hoping you’ll love the planet.” Allen admitted. “But I’m fearful that you’ll find it too odd and unusual to like.”
“We’ll see.” Liz commented. Hoping that he was wrong and that she at least liked it enough to see herself being stuck there for who knew how long before visiting her home.
“We’re here. Let’s find out.” He said as they heard a noise of engines dying down and shutting off.
“Your right that was quick, I didn’t even know we were landing.” Liz commented. She took a deep breath and grabbed his hand. “I’m ready.”
They stepped off the ship and she looked around, unsure how to register what she was seeing. It looked nothing like Earth, or even science fiction shows. But it was amazingly beautiful. “There are so many colors, how could you not point that out about it?” She asked. “Oh wow, there’s the blue you were wearing at the expo!” She exclaimed as she pointed over at a bush type of tree thing. But not a tree, it was something else. “I love it, really I do. I don’t think I would ever tire of seeing this out our window.” She stated.
“So that means you won’t mind staying?” Allen asked cautiously.
“Yes I will gladly stay here with you. But can we try to go back once in a while? How about a wedding and my friends? How will I tell them?” Liz rattled off a row or questions.
“I’ll talk to the captain and see if we can hitch a ride back to Earth and hold at least a little wedding there. It will give you a chance to say your goodbyes to people you love. Don’t forget though, if I stay with the ship and get promoted maybe we can visit more often.” He said.
“But I can’t go with you for now. Let’s figure it out later which way we’ll do this. I think I would love to stay here for a while. I can help care for your parents too! And of course learn the language so they’ll understand me.” She added.
Allen kissed her hard on the lips. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the whole solar system and more!” He said. “Come on let’s go meet my parents and tell them the good news! They’ll be shocked I can tell you that, they didn’t think I’d ever get married!” He stated.
“Maybe we can bring them some grandchildren too!” Liz smiled.
“I think we’ll have fun trying to see if our DNAs will match up and create life!” He gave her a wicked look.
Liz turned red and smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.
THE END
UNSEALED DESIRE
Chapter 1
“I know exactly your price and the client has given us 50% down with the rest to be delivered upon completion of the assignment. Shelley, I’ll have everything prepared for you. Your passport has already been updated and new identification issued in the name of Kelly Walker. You just need to remember that you’re there for a teaching symposium. All your credentials will be in order and you’ll have an ironclad story that I’ve already updated to your laptop.” “Jackson has always been the one that has kept me going all this time. This is not the type of business that I can get into with someone that doesn’t have my back. He knows that eventually my clock will be punched, but until then he has decided to ride the gravy train with me.
“Jackson, we both know that anything can happen on any given day. Life is full of surprises and you never know what’s going to be waiting for you around the corner. I will say that I’m glad to have you on my side. If you weren’t, I would be very worried that you were working against me in some way. There have been several organizations that have been trying to track me down without success. I’ve been very careful, my disguises are impeccable and I live by a moral code that I follow every day.”
Shelley had been working in the field of problem solver for quite some time. It’s been years and even today, she can barely remember how she got started. It came when she was at her lowest point, drug addicted and looking for her next fix. She came across a young man that wanted his wife taken care of. She found that problem solving was something that she was good at and she decided to make a drastic jump in her career choice. She never had anything to tie her down and didn’t have the socia
l skills to really keep a friendship alive for more than a couple of weeks.
“Shelley, we’ve been playing cat and mouse for some time and eventually we’re going to have to see each other face to face. I know that you’ve been hesitant to do that and I understand that you wanna keep this strictly professional. I’m just saying that I would like to have a face to go with the name.” Jackson was a little worried that things were getting too high profile for his liking. He had heard some stories and he knew just from listening that this was one of her targets that had met their final last breath. “As always, be careful and don’t trust anybody.” As he turned off the microphone to his laptop, he immediately wired the $10,000,000 into her account. It was 11,000,000, but he got that extra 1,000,000 for himself. It would be the same way when the second part of payment came in after the job was completed.
“This business can be taxing on the best of us, but I recently learned that maybe life has been passing me by. I try to make the best of a bad situation by going to fancy restaurants and enjoying culture, but there seems to be something missing. Some profound puzzle piece that has not permanently made me content and happy is still out there waiting for me to find it. I know that I’ve never been good at relationships, but maybe it’s time to finally find someone to share my life with.” Shelley was packing her clothing, making sure that the attire matched up with the story of somebody that was an educational professional. She wore her hair dark down over her shoulders and with a slight wave. She had a pair of nondescript glasses and her eye color was now permanently changed to that of green. That came courtesy of well placed contacts. It was also a twofold reason, as she did have one eye that was stronger than the other. With these contacts, she could have that 20/20 vision and still do her job without worrying about age creeping up and tapping her on the shoulder.
She worked alone, never bothering with a partner in the field, because she learned from past indiscretions that things like that can get ugly in a hurry. Everybody has their own agenda and that included herself.
She had this dream in the back her mind that she wanted to retire on a secluded island or maybe on a sailboat. Shelley knew that it was only a pipe dream and that her life was pretty much dictated by a bullet with her name on it
She had bought her clothing at the boutique that catered to those of a more sophisticated taste. It wasn’t expensive, but was something that she felt was choking off her air supply. The black blazer, the white blouse and the knee length black skirt really didn’t suit her. She looked in the mirror, making herself believe the story that she was about to tell those at customs. She could immerse herself into a fitting role like getting into a warm bath on a sunny afternoon. Sometimes, she felt like she was losing a part of herself, but that only came with the need to separate her feelings from what she did.
Before long, she was on board a plane that was soon taxiing into the Washington State. It was said to be a hot spot for political activists and back dealings in alleys that most likely were in offices. She never did like this city, but she was going to force herself to walk through streets that had haunted her for years. Each step outside of the concourse made her a little lightheaded and memories that had long been buried came flooding back in a hurry.
She remembered the fire, burning her skin and that permanent reminder of that scar up her left arm that indicated that she had been in the fight of her life.
She picked up the Manila envelope, perused the contents one more time and then tossed the whole thing into the trash. She had ripped it up into tiny pieces, making sure that there was really no way for anybody to know what exactly she was doing. They would need many hours to put it all together again and by then, her business here would be over and she would be long gone, before they even realized that she was the suspect that they were looking for.
“I need you to drive me around for the next three days. I’m willing to pay you $10,000, but only if you keep your mouth shut and not say anything to anybody. If you can do that, then there’ll be a bonus of another 10,000 dollars at the end of this transaction. That would give you $20,000 for three days work. I think that you would be a damn fool to turn that down.” “I had already walked by several other taxi drivers and I didn’t get a good feeling from them. This one named Nicholas looked to be ready and available for just about anything. I could see the hardened eyes, the way that he shifted nervously in his seat like he knew that somebody was going to come looking for him any day. It didn’t hurt that he was quite good looking, but I never mix business with pleasure.” Shelley watched his eyes and saw them light up like the 4th of July with dollar signs dancing in his eyes.
He had thinning brown hair, which he was constantly combing over to make it look like that premature balding was not something that was hereditary in his family.
He looked at this Asian tempest, her dark hair and short petite figure and had immediate visions of what it would be like to have her wrapped around his waist. She was offering a good deal and something that his gambling habit had predicated him working two jobs. That $15,000 debt would be wiped out and there would be no need for those that were shady to come to his house and give him a reminder.
“I do believe that you have a deal.” Shelley told him where her hotel was located and there was not even a word spoken the entire trip. Her mind was this steel trap and she was going over the pertinent details of who this Brent person was. From everything that she read, he was a dedicated officer with the navy. He joined when he was 18 and now turning 25, he had already had several medals. One was for bravery and most of his missions were redacted, so that nobody knew exactly what they entailed. She was a little leery about the man himself. He seemed cloistered, willing to do whatever it took for his country and not having anything to keep him from risking his life.
This was a man that had nothing to lose and was willing to throw it all on the line for the chance to impress those that were higher up.
The mission was pretty easy and she was to eliminate the target and make sure that he was not able to deliver the package. The package was to be taken and sent by courier to a P.O Box in Missouri. After she had taken care of that, her job would be done and she could move on to the next one without complications or anything to stand in her way.
“I’ll be back down here tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM and I expect you to be here. Punctuality is very important to me and I have a schedule to meet and I expect you to adhere to my wishes.” She knew his name, but did not want to say it, in case he decided that gave him an opening to idle chitchat. “I’m only getting him to do this for me, because I need somebody that I can at least control like a puppet on a string. Whatever his money woes are, will be more than enough to make him my loyal lapdog. He’ll come when he calls, panting and begging for attention and if he misbehaves, then he will get more than a rolled up newspaper on the top of his nose.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. The kind of money that you are spending is going to get you exactly what you want.” He was wearing this old threadbare suede brown jacket that had seen better days. His wife had left him and he was now feeling what it was like to fall into the bottle. He had recently quit drinking, but that didn’t stop him from his other vise of gambling on sports or anything else that he could get his hands on. Most times, he could pull himself out, but this time he had gotten in over his head and he was going to need an immediate influx of cash. “I’ll be here at the curb tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM.” He was already counting the money in his head and thinking about what kind of extravagance he would afford himself with the extra $5000 left over after the debt was paid.
“Make sure you are or there will be consequences to your actions.” Shelley made sure to give him that evil eye. It made him shiver to the very notion that she wasn’t just talking about taking away payment. “I’m a woman that always gets what she wants one way or the other.” She slammed the door and walked with her high heels and that briefcase over her shoulder. It was a leather black one and when she stepped throug
h the door of the hotel, her demeanor changed to a more sedate young woman.
Standing at the counter and waiting her turn was not one of her finest moments. She wanted to pull the girl by her hair and slam her down onto the floor, so hard that her skull would. She was complaining about the air conditioning not working and it was in the middle of October. The temperature outside didn’t come up anywhere near air conditioning weather. If she was acting as Shelly, she would have been more impatient, but Kelly was more meek and mild. She was the type to let people walk all over her.
Shelley finally got her room that was specifically reserved for her. It was the room that she needed to be in. Jackson was courteous enough to arrange all of this, including the party favors that couldn’t go with her through customs.
The room was pleasant enough, but it was only a room. There was nothing special about it. She would only use it to sleep and she did very little of that. Being a light sleeper make her senses well honed and ready to strike like a cobra when necessary.
She took out her case, which was underneath the bed, as requested. She was quite proficient with any weapon and the one that she had chosen for this particular occasion was a high caliber rifle. She brought it to the window and used the viewfinder to target the room directly across from her. It was in another hotel, but this was the perfect vantage point to see her target and get a feel for who he was. He had not arrived yet and then she had a delicious idea of how to get close without having to leave questions in her wake.
Chapter 2
He had arrived and he had a sliver briefcase in his hand. He had it handcuffed to his wrist. He was wearing a suit and Brent felt like the tie around his neck was a noose. He wanted to pull free from it, but he knew that he’s supposed to be playing it cool. Being low profile is not something that he was used to. He was always the one that was first into a firefight. He never believed in asking anybody to do something that he couldn’t do himself.
