The Rules for Breaking

by Elston, Ashley

  “Keep moving.”

  We move down the line of floats, weaving in and around the crowd until Thomas directs us into the side door of a small hotel.

  Once we’re inside, Thomas stops. “Hammond, please remove your weapons.”

  Hammond waits a few seconds then pulls a gun from his holder.

  “Drop it in the plant over there,” Thomas instructs. “Come closer to me.”

  Hammond obeys and Thomas pats him down for any other guns he could be hiding but finds nothing.

  “Go straight down this hall. We’re going to room 105.”

  Thomas drags me through a narrow hallway, bumping along the wall. Agent Hammond is ahead of us and stops abruptly in front of the door.

  “Knock on the door.”

  This is bad. I take a step toward Agent Hammond and Thomas jerks me back. “You will stay right by my side.”

  A large man opens the door, letting us in. Just past the entryway, the room opens up into a spacious living area. There are two other men in the room, one standing and one seated in an oversize arm chair. From the look of his clothes, this must be Señor Vega.

  “Pat him down,” Vega tells the man who let us in.

  Oh, crap! What happens when he finds the gun in Thomas’s pocket? And will he pat me down, too?

  I cringe, waiting for the moment the gun is found. And then nothing. The man moves to stand behind Vega and says, “He’s clean, boss.”

  What?

  Thomas pushes me farther into the room. Agent Hammond inches closer to my side. Then I realize the guy who opened the door must be working for Thomas, too.

  “You’re both quite dressed up this afternoon,” says Vega.

  “It’s always best to blend in. This is what was called for given the events of the day.”

  The two men behind him have guns drawn but they keep them pointed down by their sides.

  “What have you brought me?”

  “As requested, Miss Anna Boyd,” Thomas says, his clipped tone echoing through the empty room.

  Vega lights a big, fat cigar and blows a huge cloud of smoke in our direction. “Very interesting. And who’s her friend? Surely, this is not the boyfriend. He is too old!”

  “Agent Hammond of the U.S. Marshals Service,” Thomas answers.

  I’m trying not to panic. I don’t see Mateo here but I know he’s here somewhere. Vega looks put out with this whole charade and keeps glancing to a room on his left. Is he signaling Mateo to come out? The room is big but not that big. It will be hard NOT to get caught in the cross fire. I’ve got to turn the phone off. I can’t let Ethan walk into this. I should have left it behind.

  Agent Hammond is surveying the room. I wish I knew what he was thinking.

  “Interesting,” Vega says, “so I assume you wish to be back in my good graces. I’m not sure there is room for you when there are so many eager to take your place.”

  “Señor Vega, I was disappointed to hear you lost faith in me so quickly. Especially after so many years of loyal service”—he pauses briefly, then continues—“and the many years of loyal service my father gave before me.”

  Vega laughs and his two companions follow suit as if on cue. “Your father was a good man. I never once questioned his loyalty.” He takes another long pull on the cigar before saying, “You, on the other hand, seem to be more ambitious. Those who are ambitious only look in one direction, and that is up.”

  Chills race down my spine. This is not going well at all.

  Thomas lets out a sharp, quick laugh. “You’re right. That was my father’s biggest complaint about me as well. And as much as he tried to beat that out of me, I’m afraid he failed. The problem is, I always think I can do it better. And I’m usually right.”

  Before I can grasp what’s happening, Thomas pushes me to the side and lets out two quick shots. The henchmen behind Vega fall to the ground dead before they have a chance to raise their guns, including the one who just gave Thomas a pass in the doorway.

  The gunshots barely made any noise so it’s unlikely anyone else heard anything.

  Agent Hammond dropped down to a crouching position when Thomas started firing. But now he stays that way, his hand inching toward the gun one of Vega’s men had been holding moments before. When he fell, the gun landed under the side table, near Agent Hammond. God, please let him get it before Thomas sees him.

  Vega screams, “Mateo!”

  Mateo waltzes in from another room, his gun drawn.

  “What are you doing? You are here to kill him!” Vega screams.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t do that. He’s made me an offer I can’t refuse,” Mateo answers back.

  Vega is terrified.

  Thomas levels the gun on Vega. “Señor, you are right to feel concerned.”

  Vega holds his hands out in front of him and stutters out, “You must think about what you are doing…my death will not go unpunished!”

  “Well, you may be right. I’m afraid you’ll never know, will you?”

  And then Thomas shoots him in the head. Vega falls backward, dead before he hits the ground.

  Holy shit.

  Thomas spins around, leveling the gun on Agent Hammond. “Sorry, but he’s right. They will be looking for someone to blame for this but it won’t be me.”

  “Stop!” I scream. The gun is out before I finish the word. Ethan’s instructions are flying through my head. I stare at Thomas’s chest and try to get my hands to stop shaking. I’m close to him, just a few feet away. Surely I can’t miss at this range.

  “Well, well, well…there is the missing gun.” Thomas keeps the gun trained on Hammond, but his eyes dart between the two of us.

  I’m outnumbered. I’ve got to try to turn Mateo.

  “Mateo, do you know he’s leaving for Brazil?” My voice is shaky and I hate how weak it makes me sound but I can’t help it. After seeing Thomas shoot the man who let him pass through with a gun, I know whatever deal he made with Mateo was a lie.

  “She’s lying,” Thomas says, coolly. And convincingly.

  Mateo doesn’t answer me, but I can tell he wasn’t expecting that.

  “He’s got money. And a passport in a fake name. And a deed for some property in Rio. Did you know all that? He’s not planning on taking over the cartel. He’s planning on getting revenge then disappearing. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the next on his list to die.”

  Mateo now has his gun raised and he’s moving it between Thomas and me.

  “If you let this girl outmaneuver you, then you will be a great disappointment.”

  “She’s smarter than you gave her credit for, my friend,” Mateo says.

  “We have a deal, Mateo. Think about what you will lose if you make the wrong decision today.”

  Mateo’s head nods to one of the dead henchmen and he says, “I’m sure poor Miguel wishes he would have taken that gun from you.”

  Thomas looks frustrated. “You knew that was part of the plan. You didn’t seem too concerned for poor Miguel when you mentioned how open he would be to flipping sides.”

  And then the room is quiet, both men weighing the other. Mateo’s gun slides in my direction. I’m losing him.

  “This gun is loaded. I know y’all are better at this than me but my finger is on the trigger and it won’t take much to fire off a round. He may get me but I’ll get you, Thomas.”

  Mateo puts one hand on his waist. “Maybe I should let her kill you. Then I won’t be worried about if you’re double-crossing me or not.”

  The one thing neither of them is doing is paying attention to Agent Hammond. I can’t tell what he’s doing but he’s been making slow, steady movements ever since Mateo raised his gun.

  Thomas takes a tiny step toward me, the gun still pointed where Agent Hammond is crouched on the floor. “I didn’t give you enough cred
it.”

  I have to keep them talking. “So you plan to frame Agent Hammond for this?”

  “Everyone in the Marshals Service is looking for the mole. Everyone in the cartel will be looking for Señor Vega’s killer. I’ve given both groups their answer.”

  “And no one is looking at you,” I finish for him.

  “Precisely.”

  Agent Hammond explodes off the floor, shooting Mateo in the chest, then yells for me to get down. I scream and fall to the ground the second before Thomas turns his gun on me. The wood in the wall behind me rains splinters on my head. I raise the gun up, keep my eyes open, and focus on pulling the trigger, but Thomas is already falling to the ground in front of me.

  Agent Hammond got to him first.

  Thomas and Mateo are on the floor, dead. My ears echo with the vibrations and my nose burns from the smell of gunfire. I look around the room and see nothing but dead bodies and I sink to the floor. Agent Hammond moves to me, making sure I’m okay.

  “I can’t believe you got them both,” I say. I collapse and Agent Hammond drops down beside me.

  “Anna, it’s over. They can’t hurt you.”

  “I don’t know if I could have done it,” I say in a ragged breath. They’re dead. They’re all dead. I can’t bring myself to look at the bodies. “I wanted to shoot him. I wanted to protect myself but I don’t know if I could have gone through with it.”

  I loosen my grip, and the gun rolls onto the floor.

  Rules for disappearing

  by Witness Protection prisoner #18A7R04M:

  Don’t ever think it’s over….

  New rule by Anna Boyd:

  Original rule still in effect.

  reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. “I called Agent Williams after I spoke to you earlier. It shouldn’t take him long to get here.”

  When he starts replaying the events over the phone, I drag myself off the floor. I can’t handle hearing that right now. I get up and walk to the tiny bathroom. There’s blood all over my white dress and coat. After scrubbing my hands raw, I finally walk back into the other room. I can’t look at the floor littered with dead bodies.

  “It’s over, Anna. For good. There’s no one else to worry about.”

  But that’s not completely true. “No. Agent Parker is still out there.”

  He shakes his head. “Agent Parker? We found her remains not far from that island where Agent Williams took you. I’m sorry, Anna. She’s dead.”

  I shake my head, slowly. “I’m not sure what you found, but she’s not dead. She’s the mole. And Thomas’s girlfriend. What I said about Brazil was the truth. There was a passport with her picture and a new name.”

  Agent Hammond looks stunned. “Riley?”

  Riley? “Is that her first name?”

  “Yes.”

  That was the one person I couldn’t figure out the night I heard Thomas and Mateo talking in the courtyard. “I think I know where she is. What time is it?”

  Agent Hammond glances to the clock on the wall. “Just after three.”

  I move to the door. “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Ursuline. She won’t wait long. Thomas is meticulous. When he doesn’t show on time, she’s gone.”

  Agent Hammond calls Agent Williams again, telling him the change in plans.

  The sun has gone behind the buildings, leaving the streets in semidarkness. Most of the girls are on the floats and they’re moving slowly down the streets.

  Agent Hammond puts his coat around me, probably to hide all the blood, and we make our way through the crowd.

  Most of the other men in tuxes are already drunk and this event hasn’t really even started yet. They’re trying to kiss my cheek and hand me plastic flowers, but I just push through them.

  “So how do you know all of this? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “Thomas’s brother, Tyler, figured it out. I just happened to be there when he did.”

  “There seems to be a lot of this story I don’t know.”

  Once we’re a block from the convent, we leave the parade crowd altogether. We stop across the street.

  “Where will she be?”

  “Probably on the third floor, looking for the money and passports that aren’t there anymore.”

  Agent Hammond pushes me into a side alley. “Stay here out of sight until I come back for you.” Then he sprints across the street.

  I dig the phone out of my pocket and dial Catherine’s number. It barely rings before Ethan picks up. “Where in the hell are you? There are girls in white dresses everywhere! And this damn app just narrows it down to a single block.”

  God, it’s so good to hear his voice. “Come back to Ursuline. It’s over. Or almost over. Thomas is dead. And so is Mateo. Agent Hammond has gone in to get Agent Parker—then it will be over for good.”

  “Thank God.” Ethan chokes out on the other end of the line. “I’m close. Stay put, I’m coming for you.”

  I end the call and feel something against my back. “You’ve made a very bad mistake.”

  I turn around quickly and that’s when I see her. Agent Parker.

  She grabs my arm. “Let’s walk.”

  “Don’t touch me! You betrayed me. You betrayed my family. I cried for you when I thought you were dead!” I try to jerk my arm out of her grasp but her claws dig in deeper.

  “Agent Hammond!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “Help!” She pulls me deeper into the alleyway then pushes me down to the ground.

  She moves closer and I cringe with each step she takes. I can’t believe how normal she looks—no bruises, no busted lip, nothing.

  “Where is it? Where are the money and the passports?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She is furious.

  “Get up. You’re coming with me.”

  I don’t move.

  She cocks the gun and says, “You come with me or I leave you dead here. Your choice.”

  I didn’t come this far to let this bitch kill me now. Agent Hammond won’t be long so I just have to stay alive long enough for him to get back.

  “You shoot me and you’ll never find the money.”

  “Tell me where it is and I’ll let you go.”

  I press my lips close together.

  “I took a peek at dear ol’ Mom. Looks like she’s all dried up. Wonder if she’ll stay that way after she finds out you’re dead?”

  That one question is all it takes to knock the breath out of me. She’s the one who took the picture of her at the treatment facility. I refuse to answer her. I refuse to give this woman any power over me.

  The problem is, she won’t stop talking.

  “I can’t say I miss those tearful calls from her at all hours of the day and night. I mean, you’d think a fifth of gin would last more than twenty-four hours, but no. She always needed more.”

  I crumble on the ground. I could never figure out how Mom, with our limited resources, could have an endless supply of booze. Now I know. After everything that has happened today, this is what does me in.

  Agent Parker points the gun at me, yelling for me to get up—then she’s tumbling down to the ground, headfirst. The gun still in her hand.

  It’s Will! He’s holding her down with his knee pressed in her back as she struggles. “Knock her gun away, Anna,” Will says.

  Once I have her gun, Will and Ethan, using his one good arm, yank her up to a standing position. I take two steps until I’m face-to-face with her, then slap her across the cheek with everything in me.

  “That was for Mom.”

  I hear heavy footsteps and it’s Agent Hammond charging down the alley toward us.

  “Anna! Are you okay?” Agent Hammond takes Agent Parker from Ethan and Will
and throws her against the brick wall, twisting her hands behind her back.

  “Find me something to tie her hands together,” he says to Will and Ethan.

  Will grabs an old piece of rope near a Dumpster and Agent Hammond binds her hands together behind her back.

  Ethan and I both run to each other at the same time. I throw myself at Ethan and he grunts in pain. He hugs me back with his one good arm while the other is tucked away in a sling.

  “Sorry! I just didn’t think I would ever see you again.”

  He digs his hand in the back of my hair and says, “Me, too. God, Anna, when I saw her pointing that gun at you, I didn’t think we would make it in time.”

  “Okay, Ethan, move back. My turn.” And then Will hugs me tight. “I’m still mad at you.”

  I laugh. “I’m okay with that.”

  “Okay, give me my girl back,” Ethan says.

  And then I’m back in Ethan’s arms.

  “It’s over. Finally. Forever.”

  Agent Hammond starts walking a very pissed-off Agent Parker back toward Ursuline. “I need to call Agent Williams,” he says. “Tell him we got her.”

  There is a crowd surrounding the convent and lots of speculation of what has been going on inside here. They would all be so disappointed to know that it had nothing to do with the supernatural or vampires or any other crazy thing they will try to come up with. There are local cops and federal agents all over the place. Thankfully, Agent Parker has been taken away.

  “Anna, we’re going to have to go back to that hotel and walk them through what happened,” Agent Hammond says.

  I shiver at the thought of seeing all those dead bodies again. “Is it…like it was when we left?”

  He nods. “I’m sorry you’ll have to see that again, but you won’t have to stay long. I promise.”

  “And I’ll be with you,” Ethan says and looks at Agent Hammond like he dares him to say any different.

  A few hours later, all the loose ends start coming together. Agent Parker is spilling her guts hoping for some leniency. She said Noah was kidnapped so they could control Agent Williams. He was also told to go to a specific hotel in Mandeville and wait to be contacted. He did exactly as he was told. The plan was for him to be led to the scene where Vega and Hammond would be dead. Thomas would have planted something there to lead him to Ursuline for further proof of Hammond’s guilt. Or so they hoped.