Make Your Move

Chapter 15- Not Normal

Chapter 15

 

Date: March 21st

Location: Destler House

Time: 7:05 p.m.

 

Normally it’s quiet, normally everyone is taught with anticipation, normally this type of espionage stuff only happened in the movies. For a long time my life hadn’t been normal, but I never expected to be in the back of a limo wearing a dress so expensive it could be used as a down payment on a house with Matt humming the Mission Impossible theme music.

“Is that necessary?” The driver had asked as we followed the line of cars up the driveway.

“You obviously have no taste for dramatic flair,” Matt simply replied back.

The weekend approached faster than I wanted it too and soon Matt and I were squeezed into fancy clothes and putting on a few prosthetics to throw people off. It turns out altering the nose or chin along with some colored contacts can make a person look completely different. So while my eyes were a bit irritated at least my hair wasn’t squashed into a wig.

“You guys ready?” Williams’s voice came in through my ear and part of me wondered if wearing an earpiece around potentially deadly skilled people was such a smart thing.

“Sooner we get this over with,” I muttered.

The more time I spent away from the Guardians base the more confusing things became. Seeing how Caldwell ran things made me think that my leadership skills were sending people in the wrong direction. None of his men had questionable ideals or morals, at least for that of a criminal. No one lost their temper, everyone communicated. I could name a handful of times where I just up and left to do my own thing because I didn’t trust that anyone else could get it done.

Another thing I noticed Caldwell had from all his men was respect while I had admirers. People liked the results I gave them, they liked that I could take charge from time to time, but no one would really listen to me when push came to shove. I was still a kid in everyone’s eyes who got a lot of lucky breaks and while I’d like to convince myself otherwise of that, I saw truth in it.

With the new threat of Lockstar potentially reemerging made me think to ask for Caldwell’s help. He knew more about the business than anyone and he could probably get rid of them without causing a huge media spectacle like I would. Asking him would hurt my pride, but if it helped people, than maybe that’s what needed to be done.

“Showtime,” I barely snapped out of my thoughts as the door opened and Matt slipped out, offering me a hand.

I was wearing heels, something that I still wasn’t accustomed to wearing as I spent more time at hideouts than charity galas, or whatever Amelia was calling this thing. The dress chosen was supposed to be classy, but with how tight it fit made me want to throw on a large t-shirt.

“Fancy,” Matt whispered to me as he looped his arm around mine.

The house looked like a manor straight out of the 18th century. Its stone walls towered over us and you could see a chandelier glowing inside from behind large panes of glass. The steps led up to a double door entry way where there were three security guards and a woman holding a clipboard with names on it.

“I feel like there should be cameras,” I joked.

“There are, everywhere, you’ll have to be careful,” William piped in and my smile faltered for a second.