A New Life Series - Finisher Set

by Samantha Jacobey

Moving to stand in front of him, she inhaled deeply and allowed the air to pass slowly through her nose as she cleansed herself from the rush. Raising her boot, she kicked him in the face with the bottom a few times with deliberate irate thrusts. She sneered at the way the bones made a loud crack beneath the impact, reminding her of the night she had dealt with Red Farrell in a similar manner.

  “Yeah, I am,” she agreed with him, the blood running down his face, “But not today.” Turning her back on him, she returned to the living room to gather her jacket and nine.

  She exited the small apartment the way she had entered it, moving with great purpose as she descended. Climbing onto the bike once more, she knew she had to be quick and prayed no one else would be lost in her effort to put a stop to the wicked crew once and for all.

  Luck was with her, and Tori found and disposed of the next two pairs and the final solo-man easily, leaving Enrique and Brett to deal with. Having seen what happened to Debra, she could hardly bear the thought of losing anyone else she had grown to love, and considered allowing them to complete their mission. If she did, she could meet them at their rally point later, allowing both men to live. That was what her heart told her to do.

  You can’t follow your heart, baby girl. Not this time, she admonished herself. Too much at stake, and too much paid to stop now. The choice tore at her in a way she had not expected.

  With a quick glance at her watch, she noted that she was still a bit ahead of schedule, and quickly considered how she might alter the plan and avoid killing the last two men. I have a few minutes to decide, and I need to think.

  Feeling weary, she pulled up in front of the small café and cut off the engine. Taking a moment to run her fingers through her hair, she shivered, the memory of Debra’s body and what she had done about it still fresh in her mind. I am exactly what Dan said I am, and so unworthy of any other life. A moment later, she removed her pack of planning materials from the saddlebag and made her way briskly inside the diner.

  “How’s he doing?” she breathed, dropping her gear on the table and sliding into the seat next to Geek. She ordered a cup of coffee to calm her nerves, waiting for him to respond as she studied the screen.

  Giving her a sideways glance, he appeared surprised to see her so soon, but he supplied what he knew. “He’s at the shop, been there all night,” then shook his head, “I don’t want you t’ kill ‘im.”

  Unable to stem the urge, Tori threw her arms around the young man, “I’m gonna try not to, honey.” Feeling the relief of having made the choice flow through her, she clung to her new friend as if she were in danger of being sucked away into a murky vacuum.

  “What about Brett?” he queried when she eventually released him.

  “Naw, you know he has to go. We can’t have him running around to come after us, now can we? He’s head of the group. Odds are, he’ll rebuild if we don’t take him out.” She stared into his blue eyes, waiting for him to take her words in.

  Eventually he nodded. “So what happened?” his question seemed out of line, and he hoped it didn’t piss her off.

  “What do you mean?” her brow furrowed slightly, caught off guard.

  “I dunno. You seem upset, like somethin’s wrong, but you’re hiding it.” He stared at her, waiting for her to decide if she would share the bad news he knew she concealed behind the shadows in her eyes.

  Tori drew a deep breath, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unsure she wanted to reveal her gruesome update. I can’t tell him what I did; it was so horrible. “One of our victims, the ones The Organization sent us to eliminate, was killed. Dan went in early, and they killed her.”

  Staring at her, Geek kept his tone soft, “I’m sorry. I can see it really bothers you.” His voice low, she took comfort in his understanding.

  Her guilty actions refreshed in her mind, Tori nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah, but it’s ok. Well, not ok, but it’s done and cannot be fixed.” She paused, unable to remove the bedroom from her mind at the moment, her hurt too new. Struggling to bring herself back to the present, she pushed on, “Listen, I’m gonna give you some money. It’s time for you to go. Go home, make a good life for yourself.”

  She tried to smile as she pulled the envelope out her pocket; the one that the Tates had given her before she left LA. She had never touched any of the cash, knowing someday it would come in handy. Placing the envelope in his hand, she felt a little sad to see him go.

  Geek took her offering, studying it for a moment before reaching into his pocket. He removed a small white card he had written on while he waited for the night to end.

  “Here.” His hand trembled slightly as he offered her the note, “This’s my parents’ address and phone number. In case you ever wanna meet up some time, or check in on me.” He smiled at her, truly grateful for what she had done for him.

  Tori’s lips curved weakly as she took the slip of stiff paper. “Wow, my wallet’s gettin’ crowded,” she confessed, and he gave her a funny look. “Never mind. Get lost.” She grimaced, standing to shoo him away.

  Rising from the seat, he grabbed her for one last hug, dropping a kiss on her forehead, and headed for the bus stop to make his way home.

  Waving to the waitress for a fresh cup of coffee, she sank back down onto the cushion, trying to compose herself and decide her course of action. According to her plan, she had plenty of time to make it over to take out Enrique and Brett, leaving their bodies for their last target to find when he arrived at work.

  From there, she would go to the federal building to inform James Godfry that the Scorpions had been dealt with and accept whatever consequences she faced for her actions. Opening the file to study the name of the last victim, she had another idea. Perhaps I should put some of the pressure of this situation on the Feds after all.

  Allowing the anorexic girl to refill her mug with steaming brew, she stared at the computer screen before her. She could see Enrique’s signal on the map, causing her to smile. I can’t believe how close I came to telling him I loved him, she recalled their time in LA. Those words were still sacred to her, and not something to be thrown about lightly.

  She still cared about him, glad she would be able to spare his life. And of course, provided Brett is still with him, they are exactly where they should be, waiting for the shop’s owner to unlock the door and make his way inside.

  Placing her tingling digits on the keyboard, she located the number for James Godfry, just as Geek had taught her. She opened her new go-phone and input the number with trembling fingers. Tori waited uneasily as it rang in her ear, licking her lips repeatedly. It was only 4:00 am, and her mouth went dry as she thought about what she would say to the man she had not spoken to in so long.

  He picked up after a lengthy amount of time, obviously groggy at having been awakened from a sound sleep. “Hello?”

  She heard his familiar voice, and licked her upper lip again, her own barely above a whisper. “Hi, Jim. It’s me, Tori,” she managed.

  He sounded confused as he tried to come to terms with who was calling him and the lateness of the hour.

  Thinking quickly, she tried to explain, “Listen, Jim; we don’t have time for this. I need you to call someone. His name is Thomas Godfry, and I suspect he’s a relative of yours.” Hearing him gasp, she knew her suspicion had been correct.

  “Shshshsh,” she soothed into the device, “We really don’t have time for this. You have to call him, right now. Tell him not to go in to work. You have to trust me. And I need you to come and meet me here, and I’ll explain further.”

  She gave him the address and flipped the phone closed. Tori knew she would wait until 6:00 am where she sat. After that, she would presume he had not done as she had requested and would meet her partners in crime at the rally point as they had previously arranged, dealing with the two men as she knew she would have to when the time came.

  Sitting alone while she waited, she rubbed and stretched her fingers anxiously. Thinking about her isn’t going to hel
p, she reminded herself. Not now. She still had a job to do, and would need a clear head. Pulling a list out of her pocket, she used the computer to double check the addresses one last time.

  I still don’t know if or when I’ll ever need this stuff, but at least it’ll be ready if I do. Maybe I’ll give it to Enrique... The thought made her feel guilty once again, as if the act would be like paying him off.

  Half an hour later, James Godfry bolted through the door. Sliding into the booth across from her, he hissed, “Mind telling me what the hell is going on? And how the fuck do you know my brother?”

  Folding the yellow page, Tori placed it back into her inner jacket pocket. She sat up straighter and appeared calm as she sipped from her third cup of joe. She seldom drank anything other than liquor or water, but tonight she needed the warm liquid to soothe her frazzled nerves and felt grateful that it had.

  Reaching, she lay her hand on top of the file folder, and slid it over to the balding man, tapping on the front with a long extended finger.

  Opening it, Godfry only perused a few pages before slapping it closed again and staring at her demandingly, “Well?”

  Lowering the top on the computer before her with a snap, she gave him a quick rundown of the events in New York and her meeting with Eli. Jim raised an eyebrow, as if he had been left out of the loop on both events. Tori nodded, suspecting as much. She indicated the folder he possessed, “That’s the file from The Organization. It contains all of our assigned targets.”

  Jim appeared stunned at the news. “In here? They sent you after these people?” He stabbed the folder with a stubby appendage as he spoke.

  Looking down at the table, she nodded slightly, aware of what this meant, “Yeah, they did.” Lifting her eyes to meet his, “You have a leak, Jim. I’m almost sure of it.” I only hope to God you aren’t it.

  “Maybe,” he half-heartedly agreed, then spouted angrily, “Or maybe you’re smarter than I gave you credit for…” his voice trailed away as she stared at him in obvious shock. “How do I know this wasn’t your doing?”

  Clamping her jaw shut, Tori gritted her teeth. “You don’t. Other than, I swear to you, I had nothing to do with putting this… thing… in motion. I have been trying to stop it, and to deal with the men who were to carry out the hits.”

  She began by explaining how she had infiltrated the Scorpions, and further clarified that she had taken over the group, and they had all been eliminated except for the last one, who waited for his brother at his small shop.

  Jim wore a horrified expression on his face, suddenly glad he had at least called his younger brother to warn him to take a sick day and hoped that he had complied.

  A tear spilled from her eye as she relayed the events that had occurred involving Debra Paisley, and he considered for a moment that Tori was not the cold hearted bitch he had always taken her for. Recalling the conversation he had had just a few weeks prior with Robert Frost, he almost felt guilty at the picture he had portrayed of the young woman who sat before him. Almost.

  “So are you going to finish this?” he demanded.

  “As soon as we leave here, I will meet up with Brett, the last living member of the group. He will be dealt with and it’ll be done,” she replied without hesitation. She half expected to be arrested after this latest killing spree, but he made no mention of his intentions and she did not ask, as it was a moot point at that particular moment.

  Handing him her map, the one she used to plan the op, she felt weary, as if the folded parchment were made of lead. “These are the locations. The places you will find the bodies are marked, same as before.”

  Godfry stared at the folded sheet for a moment before relieving her of the information. “Come to my office when you’re finished,” he instructed. Picking up the file and tossing the map inside, he clutched it under his arm, leaving her to her work and exiting the diner as quickly as his short fat legs could carry him.

  Time Will Tell

  Brett and Enrique had made their way into the tiny shop knowing it would be hours before their target arrived. It seemed funny how the pair had become real friends only in the past few weeks.

  Funny considering they had ridden together for six years prior to that. Something about the girl, maybe. Could be she’s a witch, after all, Brett chuckled at the thought. They pulled up chairs in the back to relax until it drew closer to time for the action.

  “You think she did a good job, planning alls of this? I mean, we seem to be here pretty early, don’ you think?” Enrique had a nervous twitch in his gut, suspecting Tori would use the op to make her move against the group, and anxious about becoming one of her victims. She didn’t ask me to help; that’s a bad sign.

  “Yeah, she did a real good job, actually. An’ us bein’ here early’s a good thing. Less likely anyone’ll ‘ave seen us comin’ in at this hour, and it’ll get busy aroun’ here soon. Smart plan really. Real good job.” Brett nodded, proud of his girl, and still convinced of her happiness with him and his crew over all. It’ll work out, and she’ll see how good they are, he reassured himself once more.

  The younger man nodded, lost in thought about the few weeks they had spent with the group. Maybe I should warn him. ‘Course if I do, that means he’ll retaliate against her an’ if this ain’t the time, she won’t get another chance. Sitting up straighter, he tapped his foot a bit fretfully in the dark, torn between his options.

  Brett dug a smoke out of his pocket and used his zippo to light it, then popped it closed with a flick of his wrist. Taken with the need to fill the silence and keep themselves occupied, he continued the small talk, “So, ya got yur problem worked out I guess? Or ya still feelin’ like she owns you?”

  Enrique snorted, “Oh yeah, she owns me.” Leaning forward, elbows to knees, he pressed his palms together. “Not much I can do about that. It’s ok though… bound to happen sometime. An’ hey, it’s not like she’s some delicate little flower or whiney ass bitch. Naw, she’s badass, man. Tough, smart, if she was loyal that’d make her damn near perfect.”

  Brett stiffened slightly, “What makes ya think she ain’t loyal?”

  Inhaling deeply, Enrique looked over at the outline of the other man, “Wells, I ain’t saying she’s not exactly.” Shit… “I’m just saying she’s damn hard to read.”

  “Yeah, but what woman ain’t?” Brett laughed, still refusing to think she would ever make a move against him. She’s loyal… enough.

  Enrique’s teeth flashed briefly in the dim light, “I know, right? Time will tells, I guess.” He didn’t want to say any more, already feeling like he had betrayed her trust. I still love you, baby girl, even if you can’t say the same to me.

  Where Loyalty Lies

  Rising from the vinyl covered bench, Tori wasted no time returning the computer to the storage compartment on Geek’s ride. Starting it, she made her way over to the small shop a few streets over. Observing the row of businesses, people were already beginning to move about the area. She pulled to park around the corner and trotted down the alley to find the right entrance.

  Opening the back door with her small set of tools, she called inside, not wanting to inadvertently become the victim. Her companions presented themselves from out of the shadows, where they had been hiding.

  Stunned to see her at their assigned location, Brett demanded loudly, “What the hell are ya doin’ here? We got this handled!”

  “Yeah, well, we got a problem,” she glanced around nervously, before swinging into action as she made her move against the group’s senior member. She had expected him to put up a fight, but he went down easy, unwilling to raise his hand against her, even to defend himself. The pop of the blade seemed extraordinarily loud, as Tori kneeled with her knee pushed into Brett’s chest.

  The knife frozen above her head, she stared into his deep green eyes. The first time she had lain over him, pretending to be his lover, flashed into her mind.

  Fully aware that she intended to kill him, he stared up at her with
an open mouth. He breathed deeply, studying her clear blue pools. If this’s what fate’s got in store for me, I can take it.

  Returning his gaze for long seconds, her still poised hand began a slight tremble, and she found she could not take the course that prudence dictated. Somewhere in the days and weeks with him, Brett had joined the men who scripted their names across her heart, and her head would lose again.

  He had told her they made her cold hearted on purpose, and she knew she would have to be to complete this act of treachery. Without anger to drive her, she just did not have it in her to complete the task.

  Lifting her gaze, Tori saw the pained expression on Enrique’s features, uncertainty in his deep brown eyes. He wasn’t going to stop her, and simply stood waiting to see what she would do.

  Heart pounding, she realized she wasn’t going to kill either of them. She lowered her weapon, clicking the release that snapped the blade back into its cover.

  Leaning forward, sliding her legs so that she lay across him fully, she kissed the man beneath her. Nuzzling him with her nose and cheek as she exhaled against his warm skin, her silky hair cascaded around them, and she became lost for a brief moment in the closeness of him.

  Rising and holding her hand out to him, she hoisted Brett to his feet and slapped him on the back reassuringly. With a silent curl of her fingers, she grinned slightly as she beckoned for them to follow her.

  Outside, they walked briskly next to her as she spoke to them in a commanding tone, “Get on your bikes and leave town. Don’t ever look back,” she stopped at the corner, staring directly in front of her. “Find a new life. The Scorpions are all dead, except the two of you, and The Organization is out of all of our lives for good if we leave this one behind.”

  Enrique tried to protest, but she brushed him off with a wave of her hand, refusing to look at him as she walked away. Leave now, she commanded her body to move, while you still can.

  Reaching out, he grabbed her, spinning her to face him, “Listen to me!” Searching her features, he tightened his grip on her upper arms. “Come away with us. I can make you happy, baby girl. I know I can. You don’t need that guy.” He moved his hands to the sides of her jaw to cup her face, his thumb tracing the bottom of her scar as he forced her to look him in the eye.