Kiana Cruise

by Jody Studdard

  But for her, it was something much more serious than a failed test, a fender bender, or a bad medical exam.

  December 6 was the day she killed a man.

  She didn’t mean to do it, and if there had been any way to prevent it, she would have. But there wasn’t so it happened. And it haunted her forever.

  The mission started like most missions and she was pretty excited about it. She, Christine, and Michael were sent to meet a man named William Stevens. Stevens was a brilliant computer scientist from Redmond (one of Seattle’s suburbs) and he had worked for years at a local software company. In recent months, he had shown interest in leaving the company for something a little more ‘suited to his talents’ and had contacted government officials about the possibility of working for one of their agencies. The USIA, which was always on the lookout for talented people, especially ones who knew a lot about modern technology and computer sciences, was immediately interested. Stevens, however, became cautious the minute he learned he might be working for an intelligence agency. He wanted assurances the job would be safe and he and his family wouldn’t be exposed to any unnecessary dangers.

  As such, Kiana, Christine, and Michael were sent to persuade him. And, as far as they were all concerned, Kiana was their ‘ace in the hole.’ After all, how dangerous could the work at the USIA be if it hired teenagers? Of course they weren’t going to mention anything about the Chiang Mai mission, where Kiana had almost broken her neck, or the Portland mission, where she had been shot.

  They met Stevens at the Space Needle in downtown Seattle. Kiana was pretty excited because she had never been to the Space Needle before, so she couldn’t wait to take a look around. They got there early and spent some time in the souvenir shop, then rode the elevator up to the observation deck, and Kiana thought it was funny, because for a few minutes she actually felt more like a tourist than an agent who was on an important government assignment. The view of downtown Seattle was stunning, with all of the skyscrapers to the south and snow-capped Mount Rainier just beyond them. To the west was Puget Sound, to the east was Lake Washington, and to the north Lake Union.

  This place is amazing, Kiana thought. Everywhere I look, there is water.

  But then again, it only made sense, since after all the city’s name had the word ‘sea’ in it.

  A few minutes later, however, the fun and games were over and it was back to business for the three of them. As such, they met Stevens in the Skycity Restaurant, which was a fancy restaurant inside the Space Needle just below the main observation deck. It was unique in one really cool way, at least as far as Kiana was concerned. The entire restaurant was circular and it rotated slowly, so that in the course of an hour you spun 360 degrees. And since you were so high in the air (almost five hundred feet), the view was almost as good as the one from the observation deck.

  Stevens arrived a few minutes after they did, and he joined them at their table. He was in his late forties or early fifties and had dark gray hair, blue eyes, and an oversized belly. Kiana had to do her best to keep from chuckling because his belly was so big it looked like he was nine months pregnant. Regardless, he was a nice man, soft spoken and pleasant, and after brief introductions and a little small talk they ordered dinner. They split an appetizer of Dungeness crab cakes, which was Stevens’s recommendation, and he said they were his favorite because he loved the fact they were served with jalapeño honey. Kiana had never had jalapeño honey before but one bite convinced her Stevens was right, it was excellent. The highlight, however, was her main course. She ordered the Alaskan halibut. It came with salsa verde, roasted grape tomatoes, and razor clam hash, and to put it bluntly, it was to die for. The only bad thing was it was so filling she didn’t have any room left for dessert afterward, which was really sad because the dessert menu looked as good as the main menu. She spent several minutes staring longingly at the pictures and started to wonder if she could order something to take home for later.

  In the meantime, Michael and Christine did their best to answer Stevens’s questions about the USIA and everything seemed to go smoothly. Kiana kept to herself and said little until Stevens turned and addressed her directly.

  “I’m really interested in you, young lady. I didn’t even know teenagers were allowed to work for the USIA until tonight. What do you do?”

  During their mission briefing, Beckman had coached her carefully and told her exactly what to say, so she did her best to recite her instructions word for word.

  “A little of this and a little of that. The adults take care of the main assignments, but I provide assistance as needed.”

  “You’re an actual field agent?”

  Kiana nodded.

  “That’s amazing. Here I am, concerned about my safety and I’m just interested in an office job. In the meantime you’re actually out in the field. Have you ever been in any danger?”

  “Things get interesting at times. But I always have plenty of backup.”

  It was the type of answer that would have made a politician proud. It didn’t really answer his question but it sounded really good anyway.

  “Fascinating,” he said.

  Michael jumped back in and resumed the conversation.

  “Do you mind if I ask? Is there a reason why you’re concerned about your safety? Anything we should be concerned about? If so, the USIA can make special arrangements.”

  Stevens paused for a minute, wiped his lips with his napkin, then smiled. “Actually, there is. I’ve made some very bad choices over the years, especially this past year. I think my life may be in danger as a result.”

  “What do you mean?” Christine asked.

  Kiana sat forward in her chair. Suddenly, the conversation had become a lot more interesting.

  “Over the years,” Stevens said, “I sold a bunch of industry secrets to rival companies. I now have reason to think my current company is onto me and is planning to eliminate me.”

  “That seems kind of drastic,” Christine said. “Assassinate someone for corporate espionage?”

  “It happens more often than you think. Especially when you work for the type of people I work for. They’re power hungry and greedy. All they care about is money and they will let nothing stand in their way of obtaining it.”

  “Give me some more details,” Michael said. “Who are you concerned about and why?”

  Stevens never got a chance to answer the question, and the next few minutes turned into complete pandemonium. He opened his mouth to say something but never did. A bullet, fired from a gun with a silencer, soared across the room and struck him right in the side of the neck. He fell forward onto the table and flipped the entire thing over in front of them. A woman sitting at a nearby table screamed as she looked over and saw what had happened.

  Michael jumped to his feet immediately, his pistol in hand, and raced after the assailant, who was a man at the far side of the restaurant. The man jumped into the elevator that led to the ground floor and tried to get the doors closed before Michael could get to him. Michael shot him in the leg and jumped into the elevator just as the doors slammed shut. A second later, the two men were gone, heading down toward the surface below.

  In the meantime, Christine and a waitress tried desperately to help Stevens. He was still alive but blood was everywhere. Kiana thought about trying to help them but then realized there was something else she had to deal with.

  There was a second assassin. He was a few feet away and he had a gun in one hand. He was moving toward them, clearly with the intent of finishing the job the first assassin had begun.

  He never got the chance. Kiana waited until he was within reach then kicked his legs out from under him. He was so intent on his target he never saw her sitting there, waiting for him, and he went down in heap. His gun bounced across the floor away from him. Knowing he was now unarmed and in obvious danger, he scrambled back to his feet and fled toward the opposite side of the restaurant, directly across from the elevator. Without thinking, and out of pure insti
nct alone, Kiana chased after him and followed him through a door and up a long, narrow staircase made of metal and concrete. She pulled her gun out and tried to aim it at him but he was just far enough ahead that she could never get a good shot at him. As such, she was forced to chase him even further, and after just a few flights of stairs she was breathing heavily and her legs were burning.

  Darn, she thought. I’ve got to start doing some more cardio work. Master Gwon would not be happy if he saw what kind of shape I’m in right now.

  But then again, in her defense, she had been laid up for three weeks recovering from her gunshot wound so she couldn’t really be too hard on herself.

  Without warning, the stairs came to an end and Kiana stopped in her tracks as she realized where she was.

  The stairs ended at a door that led onto the Space Needle’s roof. The door was wide open and the assassin had clearly fled through it and gone outside.

  This guy is crazy, Kiana thought. There’s no way I’m going out there after him.

  And there was no way anyone could blame her. The Space Needle was over five hundred feet tall and its roof was circular and sloped downward toward its outermost edge.

  But as she neared the door, one thing interested her. Where had the assassin gone? She didn’t see him anywhere out there. Had he stumbled and fallen off of the edge?

  And then it happened. He had been standing just outside the door, flat against the wall where Kiana couldn’t see him. The minute she got close, he lunged out, grabbed her by an arm, and pulled her through the door. She hit the ground hard, flat on her stomach, and her gun went flying. It bounced twice, then started to slide, then fell from the side of the building.

  Luckily, she was surprised but not hurt in any way. She jumped up, turned, and grabbed the assassin as he attempted to flee back into the staircase. She hit him full force just as he reached the doorway and he bounced off of the door’s frame and fell back outside. Unfortunately, however, he fell right on top of her. The two of them rolled around on the top of the Space Needle for several long seconds, desperately wrestling for control of one another, and for a few minutes things were going really poorly for Kiana. Like most men, the assassin was quite a bit bigger than her, and since they were so close together she couldn’t use any of her beloved taekwondo moves on him. She was forced to rely on brute strength alone, which wasn’t her strong point. As such, he started to wear her out and slowly overpower her, and he even managed to punch her twice, once in the chest and once in the side of the face. The blow to her chest didn’t hurt too badly since it hadn’t landed squarely, but the one to the side of her face stunned her and made her see stars. For a few seconds, she thought she was going to black out completely.

  The assassin, thinking he had beaten her, started to stand up.

  “Stupid girl. I should kill you right here on the spot.”

  In the split second he said it she did the only thing possible. She brought her right knee up as hard and as fast as she could and hit him squarely in the stomach. His breath shot from his lungs immediately upon impact and he stumbled and started to fall back toward her. In a desperate attempt to keep him off of her, she shoved him hard to the side and he fell awkwardly onto his back. Still stunned and unable to control himself, he started to roll away from her, down the side of the Space Needle’s sloped roof. Her eyes got big as she realized what was happening. He couldn’t stop himself and was rolling rapidly toward the roof’s outermost edge. If he went over it, he would be killed for sure.

  She tried to get to her feet and scramble toward him, to try to get to him in time and help him, but he was rolling away too quickly and there just wasn’t any way to catch up to him in time. She tried anyway and reached out to grab him, and she actually touched his hand briefly as he reached back for her, but she never got a good grip.

  As such, she stood there in complete shock as he fell. He screamed briefly as he bounced off of the side of the Space Needle’s observation deck, which was just a few feet below them, then dropped five hundred feet to his death. A car parked at the base of the Space Needle was smashed to oblivion as he landed on its hood. Glass shattered and flew in all directions.

  Kiana had never been so terrified in her entire life.

  Chapter 36

  Kiana barely slept that night. She kept having nightmares and each nightmare was the exact same thing over and over. She kept reliving the fight on the top of the Space Needle, time and time again, and each time seemed scarier than the last. She kept seeing the man go over the edge, and she kept hearing the sound of his scream as he fell. The sound echoed incessantly in her mind and threatened to drive her completely insane.

  And then her dreams started to get surreal. She started seeing the man’s face, in a field of black, and he kept repeating, “You killed me. You killed me” over and over. And then his face morphed into a grotesque, pale skull, covered in blood, and it said, “You’re a murderer, Kiana. A cold-blooded murderer.”

  She woke with a start. Her bedroom light was on and Michael and Christine were standing above her. Michael was saying her name repeatedly, clearly trying to wake her. She was covered with sweat and her blankets and sheets were on the floor to the side of the bed, clearly where she had kicked them off as she had tossed and turned during the night.

  “What happened?” She was confused and disoriented.

  “You had a nightmare,” Michael said. “You were screaming so loudly you probably woke Mrs. Ogglesby.”

  She tried to sit up but was instantly overcome with grief. “I can’t believe what I did. I can’t believe I killed that man.”

  “We already went over this during the mission debriefing with Beckman, remember? You did not kill that man.”

  “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “He is, but not because you killed him.”

  “I threw him off of the Space Needle.”

  “You threw him off of you. You did not throw him off of the Space Needle. He fell off of the Space Needle.”

  Ever so slowly, it was all coming back to her. They had had this same discussion back at Beckman’s office roughly an hour after the mission had concluded. The minute the adults learned what had happened, they had immediately set about trying to comfort her and help her understand the difference between an accident (which was what they claimed had happened) and a murder. Despite their repeated attempts, Kiana was still overcome with grief and struggling with the difference between the two. She wanted to believe what they had said, she wanted to desperately, but even so she was having a difficult time doing so.

  “What if that man had a family? What if he had kids, like me? Or even younger. They’ll never get to see their father again.”

  “There’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to move on. It’s not easy but you’ve got to do it.”

  “This spy work isn’t what I thought it would be. I didn’t know I would end up killing people. I’m not certain I want to do it anymore.”

  “That’s fine. You’re always free to leave the agency whenever you’d like. Beckman has already placed you on indefinite leave and she will not be sending you on any more assignments until you’re ready. And we have counselors at the agency and they’re at your disposal if you want to see them.”

  “I don’t need any counselors. And I’ve already made up my mind. I’m tired of getting shot and I’m tired of killing people. I’m done. I’m not a spy anymore.”

  “Whatever you want. That’s fine.”

  At that, Kiana’s career as a secret agent came to a quick and unexpected end.

  At least for a little while.

  Chapter 37

  The next day, Kiana refused to go to school and Michael wasn’t in the mood to force her so she stayed home. He contemplated staying with her but he had too much paperwork to fill out as a result of their mission the night before. As such, Christine took the day off and stayed with her.

  “You don’t really need to do that,” Kiana said. “I’m not going to do anything s
tupid. I’m not going to hurt myself.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Christine said. “I know you’ll be okay. But there’s something I wanted to tell you. I’m not certain if it’ll help you or not, and who knows, maybe it’ll make things worse, but I know exactly what you’re going through right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The same thing happen to me back when I was a new agent. I was on a mission in Houston and things went horribly wrong. One of the operatives we were working with panicked and pulled a gun and I was forced to shoot him.”

  “You killed him?”

  Christine nodded. “I didn’t mean to. I tried to shoot him in the leg, to take him down, but everything happened so fast and I was new and nervous and my aim was terrible. Instead of hitting him in the leg I hit him in the chest. He died miserably. He bled out before the paramedics could get there.”

  Kiana’s eyes were huge. She didn’t really know what to say.

  “Then what happened?”

  “I freaked out. I went home and cried my eyes out for the rest of the day, and sat on the couch in complete shock. Other agents, including your mom, came over and tried to comfort me but it didn’t help at all. And, like you, I felt guilty and had nightmares.”

  “What’d you do?”

  “Not much at first. There wasn’t much I could do. I was like you and I didn’t want to do anything. I just wanted to crawl up in a ball and disappear. But ultimately, after a day or two, I started to feel a little better and I realized life needed to move on. In our line of work, bad things happen on occasion and sometimes people get killed, which is terrible but there’s nothing we can do about it. At the same time, however, we do a lot of good things and we help a lot of people, so we can never forget that.”

  Kiana couldn’t believe it but Christine had actually managed to comfort her a little, which was something she thought totally impossible just ten minutes prior.