Eyes on the Target

by Gracie Meadows

  She realized while she was lost in thought, she’d eaten all her ice cream and she stunk, bad. Throwing her spoon in the sink, and the carton in the trash, she headed to her bathroom to shower. She pulled out her trademark ponytail and stripped off the rest of her clothes. Cleaning herself off, she soon felt better and more alert. She towel dried her long hair before looking at her refection in the mirror. She looked the same. She wasn't exotic looking like Rainbow, or a sex kitten like Bubbles. She was plain and boring. Then again, she wasn’t a girly girl so it worked out just fine. Sighing, she brushed out her long brown tresses before doing a simple braid for the night. Heading into her room, she pulled out her oversized sweatpants and t-shirt before climbing in her bed. Reaching into her nightstand, she made sure her gun was ready to go if she needed it. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax her body into a calm state. As she started to drift, she thought about the hot bodyguard for Verona. Oh how she wished they weren’t working for him, she might actually talk to them. Trying to clear her mind, she shook that thought away, and began to drift.

  Preston was feeling the pressure as Verona had a call that didn’t sit well with him. The bastard was now arranging a meeting at an odd location, and it made him uneasy.

  “I told you I want it all done tonight so we can move forward on the next step. If you can’t find someone to take them out, then I will hire someone else, someone who will cost me less. Now that got your attention, didn’t it? I suggest you finish it and meet me at the location with the information. No, I have him right in my back pocket. He won’t know what hit him.” Without another word Verona hung up and Preston kept his stance as neutral as possible, trying not to act like he just eavesdropped on Verona’s morning conversation.

  “Preston,” Verona snapped.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I need you to go to a location and check out security breaches. It seems a few people tried to get to me last night at the party. I hired you both, since you came recommended, but if someone gets that close again, you will never work security again.”

  “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

  “Here is the location. Go now and when it is secure come back. Our meeting is set for seven tonight.” Turning, Verona headed out of the room.

  Preston stood trying to figure out who it was. He remembered the hot runner, but she was taken care of before anything could happen. Going back in his mind, he could only think of the waiter who seemed to be overly fond of helping Verona with drinks. Taking the small piece of paper in his hand, he looked up the address on his GPS app on his phone. Taking the addresses, he forwarded it to Liam to let him know his location. Reaching to the side of his waist, he made sure his gun was secure. He actually had two on him and a knife, but it was normal for him and Liam. Both had a weird obsession with guns and hunting. Their dad was a big outdoorsman, and taught them both everything he knew. Since their mom took off, because she didn’t like country life, it had just been the boys. While looking at the location, Liam texted back “okay,” and out the door Preston went.

  “So listen to this, from what I found out the mayor is on the up and up, but then again I have only cracked the surface. He has a couple of accounts I am checking on, which have his children’s names on that look normal, except I know he doesn’t make much,” Coffee said between taking a drink of coffee and eating her regular Twix candy bars.

  “Okay, thanks for checking for me. Let me know when you have anything I can use. Until then, I’m going to try to do some groundwork. These new guards seemed to have their shit together and that worries me,” Jess responded before she thanked her and hung up the phone. Walking into Shileen Sweets and Coffee, Jess placed her order before heading out the door. As she left the shop her phone buzzed. Clicking on the small earpiece, she snapped, “Smokey Eyes.”

  “Hey, chicky, what're you doing?” It was Bubbles.

  “Nadda, just working and finally got the coffee going through me. What’s up?”

  “Nothing, just finished a case, and Chance and Dylan want me to take a break and go away for a small vacation. I keep telling them rehab was a vacation for me, but you know them. Anyway, I called to ask a favor.”

  “See, I knew there was a catch”

  “Yeah, there is. I need you to check something out for me. There is rumored to be a dog ring in the Southside area. An anonymous caller reported it and the PD wants us to handle it. I’m on the other end of town and can’t get there for a couple of hours. Coffee did a trace on the caller and nothing, whoever the dude was used a burn phone in a high trafficking area and then dumped it. So will you?” Jess thought about it and the idea of someone who hurt dogs sickened her. Yes, she hunted, but everything she hunted she ate, and normally she went to the range to shoot. This, well this was just plain sick.

  Agreeing, she hung up the phone when Bubbles promised to have her over for dinner one night. She snickered at the thought of having dinner with them. It was so domestic, and truth be told, she wasn’t used to it. Whether she was ready or not the four of them have changed and it would continue if the other two found a man who they would want to spend time with, well, all except maybe Rainbow, she wasn’t the settling down type. Picking up her pace, she made it to her car and took off in the direction Bubbles had given her. Jess sent a quick text to Coffee before she headed out to inform her of her location. It was a rule with all of them. Always provide locations so if something happened they knew were each one of them were located. She personally would have preferred to try the new micro-chipping program she saw, but the girls said no, they didn’t want a chip implanted under their skin.

  Spoil sports.

  She rounded the corner and spotted a bunch of warehouses. This was going to be fun. Not wanting to get caught, she drove down a block and parked her car. Reaching into her glove box, she took out the small hide-a-key and placed her car key in it and tossed her house keys onto the passenger seat, before locking the door. She had her knife, gun, and cellphone on her, so she was good. Reaching under the driver side tire, she placed the small magnetic box there before heading out. She didn’t like to take her keys with her because they made noise. She walked along a few and smelled the air to see if she could smell anything other than metal. If there was a dog ring, then the smell of urine and fecal matter would linger in the air. A few buildings were empty making it easy to look. She was able to climb up the side of a dumpster and looked inside the small widows. Everything was closed off so she didn't know what to think. She wiped down the window next to her and saw something that looked dark on the gray concrete. Having a sick feeling in her stomach, she climbed down and tried to get inside. The building was locked up tight, but the last door she went to she noticed something on the ground. Reaching down she picked up a small pill. Her heart picked up speed instantly recognizing it as a steroid pill. Damn it! Getting upset wasn’t going to help her. She needed someone to come and open it up so she could see if other evidence was in there. However, the sad fact was in the county she lived in it would be a while, and dogfighting wasn’t something they hurried to deal with partly because they were hard to catch. She would need to be here and take pictures and even video to get the right evidence. Now, with determination, she jogged back to her car to come back tonight to set up the right equipment to catch these sickos. She wasn’t going to let this go.

  “You did what?” Liam asked as Preston spoke in hushed tones.

  “I said I called the PD. I know they won’t do much, but shit man, I know what went on in there. It was all setup for a dogfight, or there was one last night. The walls for the ring lay against the wall ready for the next fight, and were splattered with blood and there was more blood on the ground. The smell was overwhelming.”

  “You know this is going to get us caught, Preston. We are undercover and can’t blow this for some dogs. Yes it’s sick, but still.”

  “I bought a burn phone and threw it in the river when I was done.”

  “Grrr, alright what is done is done. Let’s just hope they s
end out the right person to investigate, well, if they assign it at all. Go report to Verona and go on as if nothing happened.”

  “Fine, but at the end of all this shit, I will make sure the dog ring is shut down, no matter what.” That is something both he and Preston were adamant about. No way in hell would he let dogs be trained to fight and kill each other, so sick fucks like Verona could watch them? This was something they both promised to do.

  Chapter Three

  “So you said there were indications of illegal activities going on at this location?” the duffus at the front desk said. She wanted just to put in the proper paperwork before she did anything, but Dylan and Chance both said it was a simple form. However, this dipshit was making it worse than it had to be.

  “Yes, I wrote that down. All you need to do is file it for me,” she spoke slowly so he understood each and every word she said.

  “Okay, but what type of activities.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm her annoyance.

  “I don’t have evidence yet, but as per protocol, I need to state I’m there investigating. Nothing you need to do, but stamp it with that big stamp next to your left hand and put it in Chance or Dylan’s box. Simple.”

  “Okay, fine, whatever, you don’t need to be snappy.” Oh she’d show him snappy as she punched him in the nose. The little shit was getting too big for his damn britches.

  “Thank you.” She turned and left the station in pursuit of her new surveillance toys. The small shop where she got all her aggression out, her equipment and toys was the town's shooting range. Oddly enough that was the damn name too, “The Range.” It was small and had targets outside and inside for a variety of shooters. Three in each. Not many people were allowed to shoot there, but she was a preferred customer for many reasons. Walking in, the weird buzzer noise went off and Teddy looked up from the counter.

  “Hey, Smokey Eyes, how’s it going, girl. It’s been a while since you caused some trouble. I have your order, but are you going to shoot some first?” She thought about what Teddy, the owner of The Range, said for a second. He was older than her, a strong age of fifty-two, but he was always there for her when she needed him. His silvering hair and matching mustache was a trademark for him. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief while he waited for her response.

  “Sure, why not. I’ve got some time to spare. You have anything new you want me to try out, or use my own?” She knew he saved all the good guns for her to try first. They trusted each other. It was simple, no questions, no answers, leaving both parties out of the line of questioning.

  “I may have something. Sign in and then meet me outside,” Teddy said as he headed in the back. Jess practically bounced with excitement. She loved trying new things. The few gizmos and gadgets she owned, she’d tweaked until she got what she wanted. That was just her. She looked for flaws in things and made them better. She knew her stuff, and so did Teddy. As she walked around the counter and into the back of the range, she pushed open the doors to the outside. She smiled to see she was the only person there. As she approached Teddy he was loading something. As soon as she saw it, her heart started to pound with excitement.

  “Is that a real Tommy submachine gun, a M1921A, with a drum magazine?” She couldn’t contain her excitement.

  “Do you mean this Tommy gun? Then the answer is yes. I picked it up at my last gun show.”

  “Oh my God, seriously, this is a classic and an American piece of history. It’s beautiful.” She bounced up and down and then thought if she was a dog, she would be drooling all over this gun.

  “Oh, Smokey Eyes, you and your guns. I still don’t understand how a girl that looks like you didn’t do the doll thing, but has a weird fascination for guns.”

  “Yeah, well dolls are for sissies. And I, sir, love things with power,” she smiled brightly. Teddy just shook his head as he finished loading the gun magazine. She was so excited, it was like ten years’ worth of presents for her birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. She put on her protective eyewear that she had grabbed before running back along with a set of earbuds. She put one in the left ear as Teddy walked closer to her with her new obsession.

  “Okay, now here you go. I have a collector coming to look at it, and I want to be able to tell him it shoots, plus I know you would have skinned me alive if I didn’t let you play a little.” She could only just smile. Jess thought she’d never smiled this much. “You’re really happy about this gun, aren’t you?”

  “Hell yeah, not only was it what gangsters used, but did you know Bonnie and Clyde owned this gun as well.”

  “Well good to know, just don’t go knocking off any banks and everything will be awesome.” She nodded and Teddy stepped back. She took aim at the target, knowing this gun it had a lot of power in it. Spacing her feet apart, she placed her left foot in front and her right back. Keeping the gun aimed high, Jess placed her left hand on the specially designed handle while her right danced over the trigger. Taking aim, Jess took some slow deep breaths. With a deep breath, she let it out slowly and as the last breath left her body she squeezed the trigger in short bursts. The vibration from the gun made it hard for her to keep her aim, as the gun created a spray of bullets. As the last bullet left the gun she took a deep breath. She knew her shoulder would be slightly tender, but she would take anything to have shot the gun. Smiling, she turned to Teddy who was laughing and clapping as he jogged up to her. She removed her earbuds to talk to him.

  “That was frickin' awesome, kiddo. I would totally shoot after you, but no can do with this damn shoulder. How did it feel?” he asked her a few more questions about the gun before she returned the beautiful piece of machinery over to him and got her cameras. She double checked the list she had and headed out to her car. Unable to get the stupid grin off her face, she drove to the warehouse to set some things up; however, she didn’t expect to have guests when she got there.

  Liam walked outside of the building and he couldn’t get over how awful it smelled. He couldn’t help but feel his gut wrench at the thought of what happened there the previous night. Preston had followed Verona in the back area where he was meeting someone. However, he was assigned outside security, and Preston was inside. As he walked around the building he was looking for something out of place, or hell, anything at that point. As he got closer to the backside of the building he noticed some movement. Not taking any chances, he pulled his gun out and held it in front of him. Taking small steps, Liam approached the noise. Shockingly he found a woman climbing the dumpster, but just as he got a full view of her, he was surprised to see she’d pulled a gun on him too.

  “Lower your gun,” she stated in a strong voice.

  Raising an eyebrow, he looked at her. “Really, I lower my gun, you need to lower yours.” But as he said it she snickered at him.

  “I don’t think so, hotshot, now lower it and I won’t have to shoot your nuts off.” He thought about it for a second, but decided she couldn't be that good. He hadn’t seen a woman who was as fast as he was in shooting, and especially not as accurate.

  “I don’t think so, sweetheart. You lower yours. You’re the one trying to sneak into the warehouse. I should call the cops.” This time she let out a full laugh.

  “Go ahead and call them, they know who I am.”

  “Really? And that would be”

  “The chick who will totally shoot your dick off if you don’t get smart and lower your fucking gun.” He heard a slight growl in her tone and smiled. She was feisty. He liked a woman who challenged him. As he took a step a little closer, he suddenly recognized her.

  “You’re the runner from last night.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact. He watched as her face fell just slightly.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She lied. He knew it was her because of her eyes. No one he had ever seen had her eyes, plus she sported almost the same outfit, but she had a lighter colored shirt on today.

  “Oh really, well I hate to tell you this, honey, bu
t you were. Who do you work? Why were you trying to plant a bug? Yes, I know the tripping maneuver well, it normally works pretty good, that is if you don’t know what to look for.” Again she said nothing.

  “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you, just leave here and I won’t call anyone. You’re playing way above your level.”

  This time she did laugh, but she didn’t lower her gun. “My level, well aren’t you a pigheaded idiot. I am not just some chick who plays spy game, so I suggest you lower your gun. This is my last warning.” He felt the annoyance as she shifted her weight slightly and it gave him the perfect opportunity to knock her down. He rushed and grabbed her legs, making her back fall on top of the dumpster. She yelped in surprise, but fought him as he went for her gun. She wrapped her legs around him to hold him steady. He moved, but she was surprisingly strong and didn’t let him go. Moving to the left, the weight of their bodies rolled them to the ground. The thud of the concrete below them hurt when he landed with her on top of him. She soon was sitting on top of him holding his hands in place. He stopped struggling and let her think she won. Her breathing was ragged, much like his own.

  “You know, sugar, if you wanted to be on top all you had to do was say something.” He smiled at her. However, this threw her off yet again, allowing him just enough room to roll again. He lay sprawled on top of her, pressing between her legs.