The Dark Shade's Letter

Chapter 2 b

It would be eight weeks later that Ares would have finally have left the hospital. His rehabilitation into what those who played Rudyard Kipling's "Great Game" called "civilian life," was not progressing and Virgo had her ticket she was going to finally be free to live her life in a new place.

Her dad, she knew would be proud, she was walking away from something she knew she'd be not just good at, but was born for. Something that admittedly she had found both attracting, and also (and this was the important thing she always told herself) revoltingly repulsive in its careless disregard for human life...(that thought caused her to pause in thought it reminded her of something) Ah yes that was it a movie (she continued to think then she began to remember) what was it that the character played by Carey Grant said in North by Northwest, he'd said it in regard to this very thing, she thought about it as she went to see Ares...Cal she reminded herself (now that he was a civilian as she was. The film had been one of her dad's favorites so she had seen it several times.) Ah yes now she remembered it was, "Then maybe they should loose some cold wars."

It was this thought that brought her to another as she left her hotel room, it was from a very old book, about the diversion of uranium, from a ship, bound for Egypt, that was then diverted to Israel; It was also why she was going now on her last trip to see Cal. In the book the leader of the operation to divert the ship was a man, not unlike Cal, in many ways, if he hadn't become a spy he would, it was said in the book, gone into crime, becoming a mobster perhaps. Cal she found out was heading into that direction dealing designer drugs and had already used some contacts in a few of the countries he had worked in to get drugs. She had been watching him far more discretely then those who were watching. It was getting dark already and the shadows and the winter cold was already making her wish that she didn't feel this obligation to save his neck. In truth Virgo didn't owe him anything but what was driving her now was the feeling that she owed it to those to whom Cal did mean something to, and her avoidance of him had hurt. Elise was one, Liza as she now called herself had gone out with him had been his girlfriend and had nearly been killed because of him; He had chosen her because as Liza had said, "If he couldn't be with the one he wanted then well he would Pygmalion one for himself." Liza had forgiven her on the condition that she "save" him from himself If she could.

So that was what she was going to do.

She walked toward the building, a renovated brownstone warehouse, and walked up behind the man she knew to be what were called in the movies a button man, a trigger man, a paid assassin is what the person amounted to.

The woman who'd been sent to kill him had been easily removed by Virgo.

It hadn't been because she wasn't a pro. She had been it was because woman have their own flaws and other woman can usually spot them.

The man who now approached the building wasn't expecting a "kid" for that is what she looked like a girl looking for an address. He didn't expect the gun with the hair trigger that she pointed out was located in a spot that would make his "family" and any wife or sweetheart extremely disappointed when they found the "family jewels" gone. The other weapon she had was a blade with a tip of poison that would kill him in less time then it would take him to exhale. (It was over the top she knew but she wanted no resistance from him.) She told him to place his hands on the wall of the building (a place in the shadows) and broke his hands. She knew he was in pain and said, "I let you live go to your bosses, and tell them, I am taking care of this problem and he wont bother their business or anyone else's. Oh and you better get out of here because the place is going to blow in just under ten minutes."

She went in the elevator and proceeded with what she had to do. The psychologists' call it "Closure," she didn't know if it would be, but perhaps he would understand that she could never be there to save him from himself again.