by T Gephart
It took a while before the steady stream of traffic slowed at the church. For a nobody, the nun sure did attract a lot of attention. And instead of me using that time to smash my fist against the wall, I’d calmed down a little and let Sofia tell me what she knew. Yeah, I couldn’t believe I’d been so adult about it either. I may have checked my balls a couple of times just to make sure they were still there. Wonders will never cease.
The idea that I’d had actual parents—and not some random bastard—was something I gave up on a long time ago. The only comfort in finding out exactly who they were was that I finally had a name. Theirs. Not so I could attach it to mine, nope, that wasn’t the reason I wanted it. It was so I knew whose doorstep to turn up on and unleash my anger.
“Here are the things you asked for.” The same nun who’d shown me the fallout shelter in the first place held out two canvas bags. “I must go and be with my sisters.”
“Go, but remember to keep your mouth shut.” I eyeballed her, her gaze dropping as soon as I’d grabbed the bags.
“You know, she is actually helping us.” Sofia took one of the bags from me and set up one of the kerosene lamps. “I’ve seen you be kind when you want to be.”
“The key words there were when I want to be,” I pointed out, going through the second bag as soon as the door was secure. “And we have bigger issues than my mood.”
I wasn’t talking about the ancestory.com revelations she’d dropped in my lap either. I was more concerned about the fact that she’d decided we needed to go to the house where she used to live—the place her father, mother and three brothers were holed up in—and kill Jimmy. And she thought I had issues with my sanity.
“Have you got a car?” She armed herself, shoving extra clips in her waistband as she multitasked and ate some of the food we’d been given. “I think we need to go over the plan one more time too.”
“I have a car.” Nothing as sweet as the Camaro that I’d had to ditch—sadly, last I’d heard had been impounded—but it would do the job. “And I still don’t think driving to your dad’s house is the way to do this.”
I lifted my fingers to serve as a visual aid because clearly talking wasn’t cutting it. “We’ll have no advantage. No line of sight until we’re in there. And have no clue as to how many guns and people holding them are inside. Not to mention security cameras that line the property and motion sensors.”
“There is a side door up the main drive that has a blind stop.” Her hand got busy with a pencil sketching a rough rectangle, illustrating where Jimmy’s house sat on the block.
“All you have to do is park on the street and jump the fence from the left hand side.” She marked an X over the front extreme corner close to the front gate. “Then as long as you keep your back flush against the metal railings, you can walk the entire length without being seen. Unless someone happens to look at the front window at that exact time, and then you’re shit out of luck.” She smirked, obviously having tested the theory.
“And the motion sensors positioned on the property line are at forty-five degree angles.” She drew circles on the border of the rectangle, with extending lines to indicate their range. “That corner—the one you jump the fence from—is just beyond its reach.” She pointed the pencil toward the heavily drawn X.
“My father was too arrogant to install a backup there because the area not covered is so small. But it’s possible, and when you jump it needs to be dead center or you’ll completely miss the mark. It’s how I snuck out of the house when I was a teenager, and how my brothers snuck their girlfriends in. Everyone assumed the back is more vulnerable so that’s where my father concentrated his efforts. He never thought anyone would be brazen enough to come from the front. And I’m telling you, it can be done.”
“What’s the margin? The jump onto that exact spot.” I pointed to the mystical magical X that would supposedly get us in and out unnoticed.
“Three inches over and the sensors get you.” She cleared her throat. “It’s got to be dead on.”
Three inches and we hadn’t even accounted for shoe size. Yep, this was going to be a motherfucking good time.
“And you’re sure he hasn’t fixed the oversight? It’s been a few years since you lived there.” Because if I were him, I would have overhauled the system and double layered the dead zone. Hell, I’d have made sure every single one of those cameras and sensors overlapped so not even one blade of grass wasn’t covered.
“Positive.” She nodded. “He upgraded a few years ago but the new motion sensors kept going off. He pulled them out and went back to the old system. Same margin exists that there has always been.”
“And you know this how?” Because it sounded like an awful lot of information and not any of it sounded hypothetical.
“I tested it myself three months ago.” She bit her lip, her feet doing a two-step shuffle before she stood up straight and looked me in the eye. The silent admiration for her skill set and attention to detail remained unsaid. “How do you think I got some of the information on the drive? I had to access the house and scanned some documents from his file cabinet. He hasn’t changed any of the combinations or codes either. Like I said, he’s arrogant.”
“So, assuming we get to that side door.” I resisted humming the Mission Impossible theme, but essentially that was what we were dealing with.
“We will,” she shot back, zero hesitation.
“And we can get in. Not setting off the motion detectors, not getting caught on the cameras and there isn’t some asshole at the window admiring the view.”
“We can.”
I ignored the optimism and stated the obvious. “What are you going to do once you get in there?”
“I’m going to end it.”
As expected, but she still hadn’t said how.
“Your brothers are in town, not to mention we don’t know who else is in the house. So unless you are thinking of smothering him with a pillow, I am almost positive someone will hear a gunshot.” More than likely everyone would hear the fucking gunshot and we’d be SOL on our exit strategy.
“My brothers won’t hurt me.” She got defensive, obviously forgetting it had been her father who had wanted her out of the picture in the first place. “Anyone else, I’ll take the chance.”
“No. You do this, you don’t trust your brothers.” The trio of douchebags might not be involved in the family business on paper, but the old man had been grooming them for years. “You need to get up close and personal. You use a knife and if you don’t have the stomach for it then this isn’t going to work.”
There were so many variables and possibilities, that even with careful execution, it could still turn into a shit storm. But there would be only one chance, and that was to get him when he slept.
Take him out quickly and with as little noise as possible. The mess, well that couldn’t be helped, but I’d rather worry about bloodstains on my shirt than a bullet hole to the head.
“Can you do that, Sofia? Because if you are serious about doing this, you are going to have to look into his eyes when he dies.”
“Yes.” For once she didn’t hesitate. Just a leveled stare that hinted she’d given it some serious thought. And regardless of whether I believed her, she looked like she’d convinced herself. “I know I can do this.”
***
The Nissan Maxima looked like every other car on the road. Which is why I had chosen it. That and the asshole I’d bought it from didn’t ask too many questions when I’d paid cash for it. A whole lot of don’t ask, don’t tell happening on both sides of the transaction and it would be safe to say the car had questionable origins.
Even though Sofia had shoved her hair up into a ball cap and had it pulled down low in front of her face, I wasn’t taking a chance in having her ride shotgun beside me. Nope, wasn’t happening. Instead she curled herself into the trunk and hid until we reached the pretentious leafy ’burbs. It was where all the jerk offs had their overpriced mansions.
; The car eased, coming to a stop near the curb. It was close enough that we didn’t have far to walk but not so close anyone at the Amaro residence would get an eyeful.
The house was dark. No lights were on except for a couple of security beams around the periphery, with the drapes drawn tight like everyone was in for the night.
When the trunk released, Sofia’s body uncoiled, her legs stretching as I helped her out of the car. She had changed so much since I’d met her. I guess we both had. I still wasn’t sure if either of those changes were for the better.
“You sure about this?” I grabbed her arm, not entirely convinced she could one-eighty her decision to let the law bring him to justice. “Once you go down this road, there is no turning back.”
“I’m already on the road, Michael.” She smiled, the reaction so fucking unexpected I almost fell back on my ass.
“Okay then, let’s go.”
There was no further talking. No need for it either unless we wanted to sign post we were breaking in. We’d gone over our entrance a million times, our bodies moving through the dark with only the streetlights’ glow thrown into the mix.
Jimmy lived in a good neighborhood. High trees, tall fancy fences—it made it easier to slip into the shades and stay out of sight. Plus most of those assholes believed no one would have the nerve to rob them with their hi-tech security systems and their beware of guard dog signs. Little did they know their false sense of entitlement had made them all sitting ducks.
Sofia took the lead. It’s what we agreed considering she knew the way and I would be better support if I didn’t stick my toe over the invisible do-not-cross-line and get us both killed. I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure this shit was going to work, but we were in too deep to turn around now. And we were all in, because there wasn’t a backup plan.
Her body moved smoothly in front of me, stepping into Jimmy’s neighbor’s front yard and pushing herself out of sight as I followed close behind.
She pointed silently to the ground a few feet in front of her. A large rock had been positioned with smaller rocks surrounding it like some fucking art installation that didn’t make sense. And with a nod she took a small run up using the rock to propel her body, her hands catching the top of the fence as the inertia swung her weight around. She wasn’t kidding when she’d said she done this before, the maneuver looking as smooth as an Olympic gymnast, her hands gripping the top of the metal fence without even disturbing the nearby hedge.
She hung for a second, her hands adjusting slightly and then there was a small thud as she landed on the opposite side.
Now I just had to replicate it.
Awesome.
I didn’t take so much of a run but more of a step up onto the rock. I had more height and a hell of a lot more weight, and the last thing I needed was to swing too far because gravity had decided to be an asshole. It wasn’t as quiet or as graceful as she’d done, but I hefted myself over and waited for her to point to my mark before I let go. A couple of dogs barked in the distance, but no one turned their lights on.
My landing was a little heavier than I would have liked, my legs bent at the knees to absorb the impact keeping me upright. Sofia gave me the thumbs up when no security lights turned on.
She wasn’t kidding about keeping our backs flush against the wall. If my ass got any closer to the metal that separated the two property boundaries, it was going to fuse to the fucking bars. But we kept moving, our feet shuffling as quickly as we could while keeping out of sensor range.
Once we got in proximity of the side door, it was going to get a little more involved. There was a camera tracked right on the entrance but apparently it wasn’t on. A hell of a gamble but there was no way to tell if it was just a prop or if Jimmy had stopped having his head up his ass and actually fixed the thing. Either way we were going to find out as Sofia took a small step into its range and held her breath.
Nothing.
There was no more hesitation on her part, her hands getting busy on the keypad and gaining access like she still had a key. The door opened with a little more than a flick of her wrist.
She took a step inside the doorway, gun drawn, running point as I followed her through with twin nines gracing my palms.
Whether we stayed in the clear was yet to be determined but for now the lights stayed off and the door clicked back into place behind us. There was no time to congratulate each other as I followed her through the house, moving on the balls of my feet making as little contact with the floor as possible.
This was easy.
Too easy.
Sofia had run through the layout of the house before we’d left. She’d roughly drawn where rooms were, and the location of doors and stairs, so some of it felt familiar as we walked around in the space. All the bedrooms were upstairs though, which didn’t improve our chances of continuing to be undetected.
We’d just cleared the massive marble entrance wall when we’d heard the click of a light switch.
Mother. Fucker.
I knew this had been too easy.
Sofia gestured to the large hall closet, one hand pointing wildly to the door while the other was still locked around her nine. But she had a better chance of her father rolling out a welcome mat than I did of getting into that closet. Nope, wasn’t going to happen. Apart from giving us no way out, it cut off any advantage, making us completely blind.
My head gave her the it-ain’t-happening shake as she moved closer. The echo of uneven footsteps traveled down the staircase as I clued up that it hadn’t been the closet she’d been pointing to but the corner next to it. The edge of the wall able to provide us some cover while we still maintained some visual of the room. Good enough for me.
“James? Is that you?” A woman’s voice called out as another light went on. The room on the other side of the wall flooded with overhead halogen.
Great. It was Sofia’s mother.
Don’t. I wanted to say it but couldn’t risk giving away our position, so instead I lowered my hand to her arm and pressed my knuckles against her. It was the best I could do while juggling my nine.
Her body tensed but she didn’t step out, staying where she was as we waited to see if her mother was going to go left or right.
“Elena, come to bed.” More footsteps, Jimmy’s voice carried down the length of the stairs.
“I’m sure I heard James.”
We couldn’t see a lot, but I was able to catch the corner of Sofia’s mom face. She dressed for bed but her hair was a mess. It also looked like her face was melting off; the forgotten makeup probably having competed with a pillow.
“I’m right here, Elena.” Jimmy stayed out of view, his voice agitated as he remained somewhere on the stairs. “And the boys are out tonight.”
“Then it must be Sofia.” She looked to the front door like she was expecting it to open.
I felt her body jerk at the mention of her name, but she managed to stay quiet. Both of us watching her parents interact with the limited view we had, wondering what the fuck was going to happen next.
“Elena, we’ve been through this before. Sofia is gone.” Cue the exaggerated breath. Something told me the old lady was missing a marble or two and this sort of scenario had happened more than once. “Remember, we are burying her tomorrow.”
“My little girl is gone?” The words got wavy, like she was about to cry. “Are you sure, James?”
“Yes, I’m sure. How many times do we have to go over it?” Another fucking deep breath, the asshole showing zero sympathy over the loss of his kid or that his wife was having a moment. “She’s in a better place now.” He tacked on like a Hallmark tagline. Father of the fucking year.
“Yes, yes a better place.” Elena shook her head as she slowly ambled toward the stairs. “I’m not sure why I came down here,” she muttered under her breath seeming to already have forgotten the dialogue with Jimmy.
“Let’s get you back to bed. We’ll get you one of those pills to help you sleep.”
>
Something told me those pills were part of the old lady’s problems.
She didn’t fight him though, her feet shuffling back up the stairs and killing the lights as she went. The house went dark again as we waited to hear the closing of doors.
One.
Then two.
Sofia’s parents hadn’t slept in the same bedroom in years, which might be sad for their marital harmony but helped us when there was only one of them we want to kill.
And while I hadn’t enjoyed the mild heart attack Elena’s midnight sleepwalk had caused, it had been informative. The close call gave us some much needed recon. For now the Amaro Trio, aka Sofia’s brothers, weren’t in the house and Elena’s freak show mask suggested there weren’t any other houseguests either. Jimmy’s wife would never allow anyone to see her if she wasn’t at her best. And hopefully whatever drug cocktail she had taken would keep her out for the count and we could get this done without collateral damage. We also didn’t know if and when Sofia’s brothers were coming back so shit needed to happen ASAP.
“Wait,” I whispered against her hair, her body jerking as she was about to take a step. “Give him time to settle back in and then go.”
She nodded her head in understanding, her shoulders relaxing a little as she settled into her shoes.
This was the last time she would ever feel like this and I wanted for her to remember what it felt like before.
Before she’d taken that final step and crossed onto the other side.
Because once you’ve gone there, there was no coming back.
He’d killed her too.
My mother.
She might be alive in the physical sense, but who she used to be was completely gone. I barely recognized her anymore; her once perfectly coiffured hair in complete disarray. It looked like it hadn’t been combed in days. The smear of lipstick across her face making her mouth look distorted, her eyes blackened by forgotten mascara.
That was not my mother; that was a woman who had given up. Beaten down by a man who hadn’t loved her or paid attention to her in years, who believed as long as he kept her in diamonds and designer clothes that he had fulfilled his duty.
