© August 2012

Part Eight of Eleven

Chapter Eight: Here’s the plan

    Samantha and Sara both ran out to greet Nicole when she got back up to the cabin with the shopping. Nicole looked a little shocked when Sara ran over to her and threw her arms around Nicole’s’ waist and hugged her.

     “I’m sorry Aunt Nikki. I’m sorry for being mad with you earlier.” Sara said as she felt Nicole start hugging her back.

     “Don’t worry about it kiddo. I know you just wanted to come along for something to do.” Nicole said as she hugged Sara back. “I’ve brought you a little gift back as well.” Nicole added with a grin when she saw an excited looking Sara look up at her.

     “What did you get me?” Sara asked as she broke the hug and stepped back expecting Nicole to give her the gift she just said she had for her.

     “First you help to get all the stuff out the 4x4, and then you’ll get the gift.” Nicole smiled as she tapped Sara on the nose, just before she turned Sara around and led her to the back of the 4x4 and gave her a couple of bags full of shopping.

    Samantha joined in and they were soon all walking into the cabin with bags of shopping. Nicole had left the newspapers in the front of the 4x4 where Samantha and Sara wouldn’t find them until Nicole had time to sit them down, so she could explain it all to them, and what she needed to do.

    Nicole couldn’t stop thinking about the three women and their sons that had died so far, just because of some want to be assassins not doing their homework before going after a target. Nicole knew that Samantha wasn’t going to take the news very well, that people are still dying because of her wanting to do the right thing.

     “That’s the last of it!” Sara shouted as she pulled the final bag out the back.

    Nicole grabbed the newspapers off the front seat and followed Sara back into the cabin and then into the kitchen where Samantha was busy putting all the shopping away.

     “Thank you for getting some real food for us to eat.” Samantha said as she put the shopping away. “I was getting sick of eating steak and baked potatoes.” Samantha added with a giggle.

     “Sorry about that, but I never really learned how to cook much. I never had the need with it just being me.” Nicole shrugged as she sat down at the breakfast bar and watched Sara help her mother put the shopping away.

     “Sara and I will have to teach you how to cook then won’t we?” Samantha grinned. “We don’t have much else to do around here.” She added with a shrug.

     “I won’t be stopping long. I need to go back and take care of this contract Damon Gunn took out on you.” Nicole said as she looked at the table in front of her rather than the look she knew Samantha would be giving her right now.

     “You’ve already done more than enough, and Sara and I are safe now.” Samantha said looking confused.

     “I need the two of you to come and sit down for a couple of minutes.” Nicole said as she pointed at the seats on the other side of the breakfast bar.

    Sara and Samantha both sat down facing Nicole, both of them looking puzzled at the way Nicole was looking at them. “What’s got you looking so worried Nikki?” Samantha asked.

     “People are getting hurt, no worse than that; they are dying because of what that man has done.” Nicole said as she slid the newspapers over to Samantha, so she could read for herself why Nicole had to leave again.

    Samantha saw the headlines and then started reading the story of the three women being killed along with their sons. They even commented on the case with Samantha and Nicolas, and how they thought it was a case of mistaken identity, and how they thought the people doing the killing thought that the women were Samantha Kaye and her son Nicolas Kaye. Samantha felt ill as she read about the deaths, and she could now understand why Nicole felt the need to go back and force Damon Gunn to end the contract against her.

     “What if you go and tell this Damon Gunn that I will remain lost, and not testify against his son. Will that be enough to make him stop this madness?” Samantha asked with tears in her eyes for the dead women and their sons who died such a pointless death because of something she felt the need to do.

     “He would never believe that Sammi. The only way he could be sure to guarantee your silence is to see you dead.” Nicole explained the truth to Samantha and Sara as they hugged each other.

     “What can we do to help you Nikki?” Samantha asked as she looked up at Nicole.

     “You can both stop here and remain safe while I go and put an end to this.” Nicole scowled. “I’ve found out that some very dangerous people are looking for me because they found out I’d taken the contract and then protected you instead of killing you.” Nicole added.

     “We can’t just sit here and wait for you to sort all this out.” Samantha argued.

     “Knowing that you and Sara are going to be safe here, is the only way I’ll be able to focus on what I need to do.” Nicole said in return. “Do you still want your gift?” Nicole asked as she looked at Sara.

     “Yes please.” Sara said looking excited now.

    Samantha just frowned at Nicole for the clever way she’d managed to change the subject away from what she was planning to do, but she was curious as to what this gift was Nicole had for Sara.

    Nicole placed a bag on the table and slid it over to Sara. “What’s in here?” Sara asked.

     “Open it and find out.” Nicole grinned.

    Sara opened the bag and then looked a little puzzled at what she found inside. That was until she pulled out one of the boxes and read the label. “Androgen blockers. What do they do?” Sara asked.

     “They will stop you becoming anymore of a boy than you already have, and the other thing in the bag will help you to develop as a girl.” Nicole explained to Sara as she reached into the bag and pulled out some little bottles and some needles to inject it into herself with.

     “I’ve got to inject this stuff?” Sara asked with fear in her voice.

     “I’ll show your mother how to do it for you.” Nicole answered.

     “Couldn’t you get her a pill instead?” Samantha asked looking just as worried as Sara had when she first realised it would be her having the needles jabbed into her.

     “I could, but the injections work better, and give the best results in the end.” Nicole explained her reason for getting the injectable form of the estrogens.

     “I’m not sure I’ll be able to inject her with those things.” Samantha said as she pointed at the needles now stacked up in a pile on the counter top.

     “You’ll do just fine Sammi, and it will help Sara feel better about herself as well.” Nicole said as she held Samantha’s hand and smiled at her. “I’ll sort you out with a name for a doctor I know that will help you and Sara get everything worked out, once I have all this other trouble squared away.” Nicole added.

     “Thank you for doing all this Nikki.” Samantha smiled as she looked at Sara reading the information sheet she’d pulled out of one of the boxes of blockers. “So when will you be leaving again?” Samantha asked.

     “I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, but I need the two of you to look at some photos later.”

     “What photos are those?” Samantha asked.

     “I got a friend to sort out some photos of all the detectives on the case, so you can point out which one gave you the mp3 player. Then I can use him to get word to Damon Gunn for me.” Nicole explained the first part of her plan.

     “What happens to us stuck up here if you don’t come back?” Samantha asked an obvious question.

     “I’ll be taking one of the trials bikes back down the mountain, so if I’m not back in a week, I want you to activate this phone and head down the mountain and call this number.” Nicole said as she gave Samantha a cell phone and a card with a mobile number wrote on it. “A man called Ferret will answer, and give you instructions on what to do next.” Nicole explained.

     “What will it mean if you’re not back in a week?” Samantha asked, but the look on her face said she already knew the answer.

     “It means I’m dead, and you two will need to keep running, but don’t worry, Ferret will help get you to a safe place with new identities.”

     “Why don’t the three of us just keep running Nikki? I’m sure they will all forget about us soon.” Samantha pleaded with Nicole.

     “I can’t do that Sammi, I have to put an end to all this, so the two of you will finally be safe.” Nicole said with a sad smile as she reached up with her hand and cupped the side of Samantha’s face in her hand.

    Samantha knew that Nicole was right, and she did have to put an end to all this before anyone else died, but she had a feeling that this would be the last time they would see Nicole.

    Nicole showed Samantha how to give Sara the injections and then they all sat down and enjoyed a meal that Sara and Samantha had cooked. Sara kept looking at her chest all evening like she was expecting to see something happen right away.

     “It’s not going to happen overnight Sara.” Nicole giggled as she saw a sad looking Sara returning from the bathroom later in the evening.

     “I don’t feel any different though either.” Sara said with a pout as she dropped down into an empty seat and folded her arms looking miserable.

     “Don’t look so down Sara, you already look like a girl, which is more than most kids in your situation.” Nicole pointed out.

     “I know I look like a girl, but it’s all just dressing. If I take it off, I’m still going to look like a boy.” Sara whined.

     “Don’t go getting undressed in front of anyone then.” Nicole said trying to sound very practical as she said it. Sara playfully slapped Nicole as she started giggling at the silly thing she said.

    Samantha and Sara were sad to see the night come to an end when Nicole said she needed to get some sleep ready for her leaving again in the morning.

    Nicole was forced to have a good breakfast the next morning before she packed up a few things in a back pack and then got on one of the motor bikes she had at the cabin and left.

    Samantha and Sara both gave Nicole a hug and then waved as they watched Nicole leave. Samantha was left wondering if that was the last time they would ever see each other, but she couldn’t help hoping it wasn’t, and she would be part of Sara’s life for many years to come.

    Nicole made it down to the run down old cabin where the other car was parked in an old barn along with some other cars Nicole had stored there. She put her stuff in one of the cars and then sorted out her disguise and ID to go with it, before she got in the car and made her way to the local airport to get on a plane and return to the city where all the trouble started and Damon Gunn lived. She turned on a burn phone and used a hands free kit to place a call to Ferret, so she could let him know she was going to deal with the problem she helped to create when she saved Samantha and Sara, or Nicolas as far as Ferret knew.

     “Hey Ferret; you ready to do some work for once?” Nicole asked with some humour in her voice, which threw Ferret a little, he wasn’t use to the ice princess being friendly like this with him.

     “Hi Ice. I’m always ready to work, but this is a new side for you.” Ferret said nervously. “What is it you want me to do for you?” He asked.

     “I’m heading back to convince Damon Gunn to cancel the hit on Samantha Kaye, and I need your help getting as much info on him as you can find, so I can work out the best way to make him do that.” Nicole explained. “I’ll call when my plane lands, so find out as much as you can for me by then.”

     “I had a feeling this was going to be your next move, after I spoke to you yesterday, so I’ve already found out quite a bit, but I’ll keep looking.” Ferret said.

     “I also need you to look into a detective called Brad Lockwood. He was the one that gave the kid that mp3 player with the tracking device.” Nicole said with a growl in her voice.

     “His name’s already cropped up a couple of times in some other info I came across on the Gunn family.” Ferret said.

     “That’s great Ferret, thanks for all the help.” Nicole said with real meaning in it.

     “I owe you my life, and the lives of my sister and niece, so this is the least I can do for you ice.” Ferret said in a tone that made it sound like he thought Nicole was mad for thanking him in the first place.

     “You’ve more than repaid me for what I did Ferret, you don’t owe me anything anymore.” Nicole said with a pleading in her voice.

     “I will always owe you ice, as will my sister and her daughter, so don’t ever think my debt to you will ever be repaid, and you will just have to live with that Nicole.” Ferret said using Nicole’s real name to get his point across. “I hope you realise that Athena and Viper with be expecting this move from you after what you did to save Samantha and her son.” He pointed out.

     “I know that, but I can’t let anyone else die because of this, and I owe Athena and Viper anyway.” Nicole said in a cool calm voice.

     “You know that it won’t end until either you or they are dead.” Ferret warned.

     “This dance with them has gone on long enough, so it’s about time we found who the best was.” Nicole chuckled like it was going to be fun finding out.

    Ferret could tell that Nicole had thought it all through and she was still going into this with her eyes open. “I’ll do all I can on my end to help you be the one left standing at the end.” Ferret said with a sigh.

     “If the worst should happen to me Ferret, I’ve given Samantha a card with your number on it. Make sure you help them as if you were helping me, and get them to a safe place using my accounts and other assets.” Nicole made him promise.

     “All your assets?” Ferret asked in shock. “That’s a lot of money.” He added.

     “No, just half of them, the rest I want you to have as a bonus for all the hard work you’ve done for me over the years. That should give you an incentive to not want me to be the victor.” Nicole joked.

     “As nice as it is to see this new joking side of you ice, I don’t find that very funny at all.” Ferret said with some anger in his voice. “Don’t go getting yourself dead on me.” Ferret added just before he ended the call.

    Nicole was a little shocked to hear the tone in his voice. She’s always tried to keep her distance from him, but it looked like she’d still managed to make him her friend, which she found odd for saying she never had any friends as Nicolas in school, but as a killer, she was stacking them up.

    Nicole got off the plane and followed a group of four other women off the plane and asked a couple of them about parts of their clothing to make it look like she was part of the group as they walked through the airport. The girls even asked if they could give Nicole a lift into the city when they got out front where a limo was waiting for them. The girls were in the city on vacation, and Nicole was happy to except the ride and make it look like she was just another member of the group.

    Once at the hotel where the women were stopping, Nicole slipped away and then made her way to a twenty four hour storage place where she had a storage locker with guns, disguises, cash and ID’s. She was soon dressed in a different disguise and armed with a couple of pistols and some throwing knifes. Nicole left the storage locker looking like a secretary with brown hair up in a bun and wearing geeky looking glasses. Just the sort of woman no one would give a second look to.

    Nicole went in search of an internet cafe so she could find out what Ferret had found out, and then she could work out a plan to get the contract taken off Samantha’s head.

    Ferret had done a top notch job and sent Nicole a huge amount of information to look through, so she saved it all to a memory stick and left the cafe and found a room for the night where she could sit and go through it all and come up with a plan to not only help Samantha and Sara, but also get Athena and Viper off her back, but she also planned to use the two of them to help her convince Damon Gunn to remove the contract, even if they didn’t know it yet.

    Nicole’s first call would be to detective Brad Lockwood to let him know she was aware of his little secret and the fact she wanted him to arrange a meeting between her and Damon Gunn. She already knew that this Brad Lockwood would use this meeting to try and kill her and that Athena and Viper would also find out about the meeting and try to spring a trap on her as well, if they were half as good as she was at her job. Nicole decided to grab a couple of hours sleep before making the call to Brad Lockwood at nine the next morning.

    Ferret had already been filled in on the first part of Nicole’s plan, and he was ready to send an email to Brad that showed details of him taking bribes and also how he had hired a couple of mercenaries to kill Samantha and her son, so he could claim the bounty on her for himself.

    Nicole knew the last thing this Brad Lockwood would be expecting is for her to bring the fight right back to his doorstep, but she was hoping that he would also expect her to have Samantha and Nicolas close by, not several hundred miles away safe and sound.

     Detective Brad Lockwood was sat at his desk just before nine in the morning checking up on the latest news reports and possible sightings of Samantha Kaye and her wimp of a son, but it was like they had just vanished off the face of the planet since his too helpers had lost them at a shopping mall several days ago. He smiled when his cell phone started ringing.

     “At last, some good news I hope.” Brad said as he pulled it out and answered the call. “Detective Lockwood?” He said when he didn’t recognise the number that was flashing up on his cell phone.

     “I think we both know you don’t deserve the title of detective, Mr Lockwood.” Nicole’s digitally altered voice said to him.

     “What you talking about?” Brad growled. “Who the fuck is this, and what gives you the right to speak to an officer of the law like that?” He snapped.

     “I’m the one causing you so much trouble, but I must say your two thugs got close to us in that mall. Neat little trick hiding the tracker in the mp3 player by the way.” Nicole said to prove she was who she said she was.

     “I have no idea what you’re talking about you crazy bitch.” Brad snapped, but Nicole could hear a slight tremble to his voice, like he wasn’t sure the call was being recorded or not.

     “Check your email, all will become clear.” Nicole said smugly.

    Brad logged onto his email account and then saw an email from an unknown address in his inbox, so he clicked on it and felt the colour drain from his face as he saw photos of himself talking to Damon Gunn, and also the two mercenaries he was working with to track down Samantha. There was even a copy of the invoice for the tracking device and locator. Brad knew that if anyone in his department saw these photos, they would know he had something to do with the death of the two officers at the safe house. The first hit man he hired to take the woman and the kid out had failed when he was shot in the head after killing the two officers. There was even security footage of Brad talking to the pizza guy.

     “What is it you want from me?” Brad asked with fear in his voice now. “I can give you money, if you hand over all the evidence you have.”

     “Keep your money scum bag.” Nicole snarled at the insult. “I want a meeting with Damon Gunn.” Nicole added.

     “What makes you think Damon Gunn will want to talk with you?” Brad asked it like Nicole was insane for saying such a thing.

     “I have a feeling he will be more than willing to a meeting once I’ve finished showing him it would be in his best interest, and that of his son.” Nicole said with a grin. “Can I just ask you to hold for a couple of seconds while I do something?” Nicole asked.

    Nicole was sat up on the top of a building across the road from a diner where a group of men were sat around a table talking while they waited for their breakfast to arrive. Nicole was smiling as she had Seeley Gunn in her crosshairs. She first aimed the sights at the middle of Seeley’s head, but moved the crosshairs to his left ear and then pulled the trigger. Nicole watched as the window in the diner shattered as the bullet went through it and then took off a large chunk of Seeley’s left ear as he fell to the ground in pain.

     “Hello, hello? What the hell was that noise?” Brad was screaming when Nicole put the ear piece back in her ear.

     “That was the sound of a sniper rifle being fired. I’m sure that Damon Gunn will be willing to talk to me now, that is if he wants me to stop taking pieces out of his son.” Nicole explained what she’d done in a roundabout way.

     “Are you telling me that you just shot Seeley Gunn!?” Brad screamed a little to loud and found some of the other detectives in the office looking at him.

     “Yes, and he’s now missing an ear. I’ll call you in one hour and tell you were to get Damon Gunn to meet with me, and if he doesn’t show up, I will keep removing pieces of his son until he does meet me.” Nicole said just before ending the call.

    Brad was wondering if this woman was lying to him, but he was soon given the proof she wasn’t when the whole precinct burst into life with officers screaming about a sniper taking shots at people in a diner and some man losing his ear. Brad was soon on his phone and making the call to Damon Gunn to set up the meeting before his son lost any more body parts.

    Nicole called back one hour later like she said she would, and told Brad where she would meet Damon Gunn. Nicole just hoped Athena and Viper had ears in Damon Gunn’s network, or in the police department. Nicole was already in place and ready for the trap to be sprung when all the players arrived.

 

To Be Continued Next Sunday  

 

Story by SaraUK

 

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK

    EDITORS NOTE: Please Comment and/or leave Kudos and let Sara know you like her work please, Any comments on spelling, grammar or the layout of the story please PM me “Samanthak” not Sara. Thank you