Mediterranean Mission

Chapter 4

Lady Brenda and Jeopardy sent their suitcases to the taxi waiting at the front door of the Barcelona hotel, for transportation to the ship. To anyone watching, they were on vacation, two singles, about to enjoy a cruise on the Mediterranean. It hid the real purpose - an assassination. Both were members of M-16, but this was not a sanctioned kill. This was retaliation, revenge, and it would be murder.

At thirty-eight, Lady Brenda was the older of the two by just a few years, but those few years seemed to have made her more level-headed. She wasn't entirely convinced this act of vengeance was a good idea. To her, killing someone over a man, any man, was pointless. But Jeopardy was her best friend - they had trained together - they had killed together. Now she had to standby her friend - no matter what.

Jeopardy was born in the slums so lacked the silver spoon attached to Lady Brenda. Her mother gave her the name, not knowing if she would die, or if she did live, what would become of her. Born small and in adulthood she reached a height of five foot two, four inches shorter than Lady Brenda. This inadequacy may have contributed to the chip she always seemed to wear on her shoulder. Her head covered in a mass of blond curls gave her extra height. Lady Brenda thought Jeopardy always seemed to stand at attention, her heels always touching each other. She wondered if her DNA carried some Prussian genes.

Lady Brenda had told her friend to be careful, to stay away from Matthew. He was a member of the opposition, the 'Enigma,' and his death could be called for at any time, and she might have that contract. But Jeopardy didn't listen, her eyes blinded by her first love. They met secretly and planned to run away together, start a new life where no one would find them. Matthew never was sanctioned, but he still ended up dead. CSIS was to blame, and Borders was their triggerman. Although Matthew was on the wrong side, she still loved him and was not going to let this pass. A CSIS member or not, she vowed to kill Borders. Make him pay and make sure he knew why he was dying.

Their cab arrived at the ship, to a waiting lineup that weaved back and forth across the dock. The check-in counters were efficient, and within a half hour the two women were walking up the ramp to the greetings and cheers of the entertainment committee. They found their cabin and dropped off their hand luggage - the suitcases would arrive later. With time on their hands, they made their way to an upper deck where they could view the oncoming passengers. It wasn't long before they caught a glimpse of Borders and Hill. Lady Brenda couldn't help but notice Jeopardy's scowl.

The ship had a manifest of two thousand passengers and a crew of one thousand. The tour was for twelve days - hardly enough time to see everyone on the ship, let alone one special soul. With two gangways, it would be useless to watch everyone who exited one of them. Borders and Hill were supposed to be on vacation, so they would act accordingly, eat too much and go on tours.

The passageway, its walls, ceiling and steel doors shaded in sea-green, a variation of the color green was sorely in need of contrast. Even the Burberry runner had shades of green and yellow. The doors, eight feet apart, sealed a cage, which sounded rustic, when called a cabin. Each door would seal in its monster. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors? Their cabin was next to the Infirmary. 'Was this another omen?'

The passageway was void of any passengers, one cleaning lady the only member of the staff visible. She gave Borders and Hill a broad forced smile.

"My name is Yvonne," she said. "You must be Mason and Chapel," nodding to each of them in turn. She kept the frozen smile and moved along the passageway.

The hairs on the back of Borders's neck stood up. She must have a phenomenal memory if she could remember everyone behind every door and put the correct name to each face. The cabin had vacated only hours earlier.