8 YEARS AFTER THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ROSINE DUPONT
Allegra:
If I had to dance with one more greasy and sweaty boy in order to not blow my cover, I was going to lose it. I may have been trained extensively for situations such as this, but every girl had their limits, and mine was being pushed. Well, pulled really, in the form of someone's hand tugging my skirt up my thigh.
The man didn't have a face yet, since my back was pressed to his front, but he had a feel and a smell. It was a surprisingly rich smell, high-end cologne in the midst of a sea of cheap body spray. As music threw vibrations and bass across the dance floor, I finally turned around.
He wasn't who I was looking for, but the closest I had found so far. Others may have been oblivious to the gun that I knew was strapped to his ankle, but it was an assurance of my mission- this was probably a soldier, not the boss. Not the one I wanted most, but still on the list. He would have to do for now.
I knew what he wanted. There was research done on these men, the bad ones who followed their leader blindly, and they were almost all possessive. I could use it to my advantage.
Slinging myself against him, I faked being much more intoxicated than I really was, "What's your name?"
"Doesn't matter," He tried to play it off as dark and mysterious, but I knew he wouldn't really give it to me. This type of man in this type of job couldn't really risk it. He was a liability to his boss if he did.
I doubt that he could hear it because of the music, but I tried to give him a sexy and flirtatious laugh. He took the bait, smirking, even though Forte always told me that I couldn't pull off ' sexy' as well as I thought.
His hand went around my waist while the other squeezed my thigh. In heels I was almost as tall as he was, so I fell onto him, and he grabbed me, thinking I was too drunk to stand. The possessiveness that I was counting on kicked in, and he whispered into my ear, his hot breath feeling cool in comparison to the throng of sweating bodies pressed around us, "Let's step outside."
I nodded, knowing he would take me out the back door, somewhere that no one would come across us, completely out of sight. He was half carrying me, but hands still roamed without my consent. I could have broken every bone in this man's body, but it wasn't that sort of mission. I should have felt something- not lust, not excitement, I should have been repulsed. But some part of my brain couldn't process emotions when I was working. There was just the Nothing. That level of subjectivity probably meant that I was bordering on psychopathy, but it was easier this way. He was a bad man, he helped sell other human beings. He deserved it.
He was still speaking, dragging me through the back hall of the club and saying things that he probably thought were encouraging me. No one stopped us, they were all too busy drinking and getting high to notice the nice looking rich boy dragging out in the drunken young woman.
The back door swung open with the harsh sound of metal slamming into brick. It closed slowly again, taking the volume down with it until all I could hear was the bass pushing the beat through the brick of the building. Any other girl would have been shocked by the way he whipped me around so that my back was to the wall. Even with the cold air waking us up, he was sloppy, obviously he had been drinking as well.
The man's hands were clawing roughly, grabbing and pulling at my clothes like an animal. Again, it would have been terrifying if I was anyone else, but I was in total control. His lips were pressing against my own with drunken fervor until I finally shoved him away.
He staggered back, surprised even in his drunken state. It would be so easy to make it quick, but he deserves so much worse. He was a rapist, a human trafficker. He didn't command what this organization did, but he supported the practice and took part in making it possible. Killing him slowly, making sure that he suffered just like he did to the women he hurt, was fair. But he was only part of my target, and he wasn't the one that I needed to spend the most time on.
In his tipsy state, also influenced by what I was pretty sure were some heavy drugs, the man never saw the knife coming. He hit the ground almost silently, the sounds from inside just loud enough to cover us, and him losing blood too quickly to really scream. I stepped back to avoid getting blood on my dress, but dragging him behind the dumpster might present a challenge. It took a moment, but I wasn't worried about being seen. The alley was dark, and this club was one of their operations, they wouldn't put cameras outside.
Once he was hidden, I leaned against the brick, reaching up the plastic piece in my ear and finally turning it back on, "One behind the dumpster."
"Jesus you scared us, Allegra," Phoenix's voice hissed back. "You went silent again."
"The bass and music on the dance floor were creating feedback. I had to turn it off, but I'm about to head back inside. I just wanted to get this guy taken care of first."
Daitan's voice had a hint of relief when she heard that I was all right, "I'll let Nyoka know you're on your way back. I don't think she would have left her post, even when you fell off line."
I was glad that this was a shity club- they weren't too worried about collecting admission so they didn't have the door locked from the inside. When we got to the front door earlier, the bouncer was too busy making out with a patron to even check my ID or ask for money. But now I was well over the legal age of admittance, and the years had taken a toll. My age was apparent even if the late-twenties didn't seem like that much. They probably didn't stop even the obviously underage from coming into their club. I had a sneaking suspicion that this business was more than just a front for trading human beings, but for taking them, too. It was right in the middle of a downtown area currently undergoing gentrification, but it was a haven for low-income people to let loose and enjoy a night off. I knew that if we looked deeper into police reports this would be the 'last place seen' for many women, maybe even a few men.
I fluffed my hair and rounded the corner, letting a more feminine gait into my step again. The girls told me that my normal walk was too predatory and aggressive, it wasn't good for baiting. It had taken me weeks to get used to doing this sort of thing in heels. My eyes went to the end of the bar, landing on Nyoka almost immediately. She had a shot glass gripped in her hand, but she wasn't drinking from it. She needed to blend into the crowd without losing any of her senses. There was a man in front of her, obviously flirting, and even though she was conversing, I knew that she was really surveying the room.
Now that there was a dead man in the alley, we couldn't just stay all night. He was somewhat hidden, but I couldn't rely on that- at any sign of danger, the boss of this place would be escorted out and it would become much harder for us to get to him. I sidled up to the counter, waving to the bartender at the other end near Nyoka. He acknowledged me with a nod of his head, and while I waited for him to finish with the other order, I turned around and leaned backwards against the counter with my elbows.
The music felt more clear now, the air more crisp. The stress, my grief, my anxieties were gone for just a moment. It wasn't the adrenaline of being in a crowded room with people all blind to each other that was giving me peace.... it was what I had just done behind that building. It shouldn't have made me feel good, and it wasn't exactly happiness, but it felt fair. It was satisfying that all of those people who the man hurt were now avenged. Momentarily, the world felt more just.
"What can I get you, sugar?"
I turned around, surprised that I could still hear him over the music. The southern twang in his voice wasn't what I expected, but up close he was more attractive than I originally thought. He didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the exhausted and sweaty crowd, something about him seeing too vigilant against the drunken and distracted bodies pulsing around us. His warm eyes and strong build were handsome, and compared to the other men that were surrounding me, my much less prim and proper gut reaction was 'damn, he's hot'. But it was definitely not the time or place for that. Ted Bundy was also attractive, and he was a serial killer. A girl has to be careful.
It took me a moment to remember what I did for a living, and that I was much more of a danger to him than he could ever be to me.
"Whisky."
"On the rocks?" He had to yell over the sound.
"Neat."
He rapped his knuckles on the counter and stepped back, casting one more look over his shoulder before he reached for the bottle. I could have stared at him for a couple of hours, he had that odd look to him that some of the old statues did- a classic beauty that wasn't common anymore. His look seemed casual and at ease, but his eyes were dark, I had a feeling that if he was pissed off it would be terrifying.
Instead I made myself turn away so that I could scan the dance floor. Our briefing before the mission was relatively deep, I had seen enough photos of my main target to know what he looked like. From my place at the counter, I could see some things going on at the dance floor that were..... Less than sanitary. If I could make it out of this mission without a disease, it would be a miracle. I didn't see my target among the masses of pulsing and gyrating bodies, and from the intel we had, by this time of night he had usually left his office for a more public space. My eyes ran along the balcony, scrutinizing the VIP areas.....
Bingo.
He was in an area concealed by glass, most of the men surrounding him were dressed much better than the people below. I was sure that if I could get a sip of whatever was in their glasses, it would be much more high end than what was being offered to us down below.
At that moment, my own glass was placed in front of me again.
"First round is on the house," The bartender leaned forwards onto his elbows, obviously trying to engage me in conversation. "What brings you here tonight?"
I glanced at him, trying to bide time and hoping that Nyoka had noticed where my gaze had just been from across the bar. If she could pick up on the hint, it would be better for both of us to know exactly where the target was at all times, even if I was going to be the one to actually do the deed. "Just looking for a good time."
"And have you found one yet?"
I raised an eyebrow at his obvious suggestive tone, "You tell me."
The look he gave me somehow seemed fake. It was supposed to be flirtatious, playful, but something felt a little hollow, like his heart wasn't really in it or his focus was on something else. Maybe he had been doing some shots of his own or had found some other recreational aids. He tried to keep playing the part, on the verge of responding to me when the other bartender came up beside him.
With both of the men in front of me, I knew that I was risking drawing too much attention. A bar with both bartenders zeroed in on one woman would eventually have some disgruntled customers, and I didn't need extra eyes on me tonight. Thankfully, a couple other employees appeared, able to handle the current demand.
The new one seemed a couple years older and looked me up and down, giving me a nod as he pulled a couple of glasses from below the counter, "What's your name?"
I flipped my hair back playfully, lying with one of the aliases Forte came up with a couple of years ago, "Stephanie. And you two?"
Talking to someone, letting any distraction in my way was not ideal, but I needed a minute to plan what the best method would be to take him out. With this tight dress, my arsenal was limited. I had a small vial of poison, a needle, and a couple of other small things that could help, but I couldn't fit a gun. Nyoka had one on her, since she knew she would be at the bar in a corner instead of out on the floor with people groping her from all sides, but getting it from her without drawing attention would be nearly impossible. She was really there as my backup in emergencies.
"Tom. And for a southern boy, my friend here knows how to forget his manners.... Especially when there's a pretty lady involved. His name is Cole." Tom had to speak loudly to be heard at all, so I was surprised that he was trying to keep up the conversation. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"
"I was-"
Before I had to craft another answer, something broke on the other side of the counter. The men turned towards the sound just in time to see a fight break out. It wasn't surprising in a place like this to see two men starting a brawl, but I couldn't miss the knowing look that Nyoka was giving me. She had a knack for instigating things like that, and I was pretty sure that it was her doing. I just hoped that it kept the two bartenders busy long enough for me to put my plan in action.
I turned away before either man could return, and crossed to a space next to the DJ at the front of the room. It was a focal point, beneath the spot on the balcony where I had seen my target. These men were vigilant, they looked down on everyone like they were prey, and if we we were right about this man, he was probably looking for women that could ' disappear' from the crowd and show up in a human trafficking ring a few days later. I just had to make myself exactly what he wanted.
Men like this were easy to fool and easy to understand. And it wasn't exclusive to men either, I had seen a few women that suffered from being drunk on power. If it's not managed correctly, power is debilitating.
I let my skirt ride up a little higher, more than I was comfortable with. I leaned back against the wall, prone and looking as drunk as I possibly could while still standing on my own two feet. From what we had heard about this man, he liked to 'test out the merchandise', so to speak. I just needed to catch his attention.
With the way that they were letting their eyes sweep the crowd, it wasn't long until one of the men next to him caught my gaze, nudging his boss and nodding towards me. His name was Tanner Stone, and he was one of the few pro-bono cases that we decided to take. The information on him had been passed along from an anonymous source, someone who probably didn't want to get their hands dirty. But when it came to human trafficking, my team had a soft spot.
Stone looked down at me as I tossed my head back. I met his gaze intentionally, biting the corner of my lip and running my hands through my hair. When Nyoka and Daitan gave me lessons on how to be a better baiter, I laughed them off at first. It wasn't until halfway through our first mission that I realized how bad I was at trying to look seductive. Even now, after years of practice, I was sure that Nyoka would have some critiques by the time we got home.
Half of the people in the club were stoned or drunk out of their minds, some were so messed up by molly and ketamine that they weren't coherent anymore. To this man, I was no threat, I was just one of the many people that he could pick and choose from. I gave him more of a show, managing not to punch a random man in the face who walked by and tugged up my skirt even further. At this point, if it went any higher, I would be better off just in my underwear.
Finally, after a few minutes of looking, Tanner Stone handed his glass of what looked like scotch to one of the men at his side. Something was whispered between them and a discreet nod was sent my way- I knew I was going to be their next target, they just didn't know that they had already been mine. Somewhere between the upper floor and the stairs that brought him down towards me, he had removed his suit coat and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. He was probably about 10 years older than I was, but just like the man that I killed earlier and left behind a dumpster, I felt nothing. No revulsion, no sympathy, no anxiety. This was my job, and since the world didn't have an equal scale, it was left up to us to create justice ourselves.
It was perfect timing, really. Stone came up to me right as a new song came on, the DJ was mixing heavy bass tones in with the original track. You could feel every beat in your body, and I swear I could feel the dance floor bending under everyone's weight as they moved. The one thing I was intensely aware of was the syringe tucked into my bra, and I knew that it would be most effective.
If I could get the needle into his skin, it wouldn't take very long. Five minutes maximum, and he would start feeling the effects after one or two. It would be just long enough for Nyoka and I to get out undetected after the dance before he realized that it wasn't just all of the scotch he had been drinking. By the time he found his cronies for help, he would be too far gone and nothing could be done. Even if his men had seen me, or they even interviewed the bartenders afterward, there were enough people in this room who looked just like me, sweaty, flushed, and supposedly drunk. They wouldn't know who I was, and if I could do this sneakily enough, they would never even suspect the naive drunk girl who their boss found in a corner. Most of them would just assume that he had his fun with me and then either took me to his office or walked away.
Nyoka's voice was barely loud enough in my ear to hear above the bass pulsing through my body. "He's coming behind you. You know the signal if things go wrong."
I gave a short nod to no one in particular, knowing that she would see it from the bar, even though it looked like I was just bouncing my head to the music to anyone else.
I could feel him before I saw him. Harsh hands started at my hips and found their way to my skin through the cut outs of my dress. It was rough and commanding, Stone wasn't going to waste any time, and neither would I.
Just in time, a new song came on, one that I knew. It was loud, it was manic, and it would get the crowd stirred up so that when I did the deed, no one would notice a stumbling man in the mass of writhing bodies.
He pushed me towards the dance floor, and I grabbed his tie, hanging on like I was drunk, but in reality I was using it to steer him towards the center of the crowd where we were less likely to be noticed. Thankfully, you didn't have to be any good at dancing for this club- it was more about throwing your body around, pulsing with the other humans around you. Most people here were too intoxicated or high to do any real dancing, but it created a heat and humidity that had my dress clinging to my body and my hair sticking to my neck like I had just climbed out of a pool.
My hair had to stay down, just in case by some minute chance there was someone here sober enough to notice the tiny piece of clear plastic stuck inside my ear. Daitan had developed it, so it was personalized and so small that I could barely feel it, but it was a lifeline that I needed for safety. His hands started to run around my neck, and I didn't want him getting anywhere near it, so I grabbed his hands, surprising him with my quick movements.
The bass dropped, and I wrapped his hands around my lower back. His fingers did what I expected, going lower and cupping a rather private area, tugging me closer so that we were really pressed up against each other now. Tanner Stone's mouth was suddenly on my neck, dangerously close to the ear where my mic was hidden.
I knew that if anyone was going to notice the piece, it was this man. Diversion was my only option, so I leaned forward forcefully to occupy his lips with my own.
He bought into it immediately. His hands were around my thighs now, yanking on me so hard that my legs ended up wound around his waist. He began grinding against me as the rest of the hot bodies around us pulsed, oblivious to the people and danger that surrounded him.
And the bass dropped again. Finally, there was a spark in my stomach. Revulsion, repulsion were there, not as strong as they should have been, but breaking me from the monotonous nothing that I had been feeling.
This wasn't the man that I should be kissing.
Forte always knew it was part of the job. He never made me feel bad when a mission called for it, but I avoided it when I could. It always felt wrong, and I knew that he didn't like it. I didn't like it either. Forte was the one that I-
Focus, Allegra.
The haze of smoke was perfect for concealing my true movements. The song was building, I could do it any second now. I ran my hand up his chest, concealing my movements as I reached into my bra and tugged the cap off of the syringe. I looped my hands around his back, running my nails up his spine so that my next move wouldn't feel out of place. Any second now....
And the beat dropped.
The crush of bodies around us moved, jostling everyone inside the small space. The needle went in quickly and smoothly, a small piece of metal that probably felt like someone bumping into him with a belt or a purse. I let it fall to the floor, to be crushed under shoes and to get lost among the heroin needles that had accumulated in the corners of this room. Even if they realized what happened to their boss, and could by some miracle find the right needle with fingerprints and DNA intact, it was no use. My father had done such a good job keeping us off the grid as children, and now I was even more difficult to find. There were no records of me.
I stayed with him for a moment, letting the song end so that he didn't get suspicious. As it transitioned into the next one, I leaned into his ear, "Stay here. Be right back, I need another hit."
I made sure to slur my words, and he probably would have followed me if it weren't for the tight knit crowd that I disappeared into, dodging between bodies. A guy like him, obviously wealthy based on his clothes, would get female attention, especially in a place like this. I was sure that within seconds, other girls were already on him.
Staying around to watch wasn't really my thing. I did what I was there to do, and now I was done. I strode by the bar, giving a look towards the corner where I knew Nyoka was watching from. On my way past, I grabbed a man's glass of what looked like scotch while his back was turned. His loss, he was too busy hitting on the girl to his left to not notice the assassin stealing the drink on his right.
I felt a pair of eyes on me as I strode to the door, but when I threw a glance over my shoulder, I didn't catch anyone's gaze. A woman suddenly completely stable on her feet leaving the club was probably a rare sight.
The cold night air was biting, and the area was surprisingly quiet for this time of night. I could hear Nyoka's heels clicking on the pavement not far behind me, hurrying to catch up. Once we were far enough to be seen together without drawing suspicion, I ducked into the stoop of a store. There was an old newspaper stand there, and I pulled two coats out from the inside that we had placed there earlier. The sooner that we could cover our clothes and avoid matching a description, the better.
We had pulled our coats on and were making our way down another alley when an ambulance sounded not far away. I glanced at Nyoka, making sure that she was alright. Both of our coats offered more covering than our dresses, but I was still trying not to shiver at the odd cold that seeped through the night. It would probably warm up again in the next couple of days. The sounds of the ambulance roared past, and I was sure that someone had found their boss dying and called 9-11.
Served him right.
I took a mouthful of the scotch I had stolen off the counter, swished it around, and spit it back out on the ground. Thankfully this man had ordered a double, so there was enough for me to do it again, this time rubbing at my lips with my fingers. The burning taste wasn't pleasant, but Tanner Stone had basically shoved his tongue down my throat, and I wanted to burn away the evidence of it ever happening. Nyoka said nothing, not even as I chucked the empty glass against the brick wall and watched it shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces.
The car had been parked a couple of blocks away so that it wouldn't look like a getaway waiting for us, and we were finally nearing the SUV. Before we made it to the alleyway, Nyoka finally spoke, her voice hard, "Allegra, you swore that you wouldn't do that again."
I immediately knew what she was referring to. "I was three feet into the back alley. That doesn't constitute leaving the building."
"We all promised not to run any missions like this alone, we promised to have two within sight of each other when in a building. After Japan-"
"Don't talk to me about Japan." I hissed. I regretted snapping at her the moment that I did it. The events of that mission had hurt all of us, damaged each member to our core, but we all handled it differently. I wasn't denying that it had happened, but they knew that I didn't want to hear it mentioned.
Nyoka hesitated, "Look Allegra, I'm just saying that we created these new rules for a reason. You would be pissed if the roles were reversed."
"I know."
At this point, we had rounded the corner and I could see the black car up ahead. Nyoka let the subject drop, but after that many years of friendship and the relationship that this team had, she knew that I was offering an unspoken apology.
When we were only a few feet away, the doors on the back of the car swung open, and Daitan jumped down first. She automatically reached for Nyoka, running her hands up and down the sides of the coat, knowing that it didn't do much against the cold. "You alright, babe?"
Nyoka nodded, quickly pressing a kiss to Daitan's lips, muttering something about wanting a warm shower. Daitan tended to be protective, she didn't like when her girlfriend was in the field before, and after our last mission she liked it even less.
I glanced towards Phoenix who was perched on the tailgate of the car, letting her feet dangle a foot or so above the ground. "Damn Daitan, that smokey eye you put on her really worked. From what we could hear, it went well."
"It was alright," I nodded. "That place was disgusting, so I'm voting to go straight home and shower."
"Do we have time to stop for french fries?" Daitan interjected.
I shrugged, "I could use a snack. A shower could wait until after that."
Nyoka nodded in agreement, already reaching for the door handle. She and Daitan took the front seats, and I climbed into the back with Phoenix. There were some computers and basic supplies laid out, it was sort of our mobile command center.
I gestured to one of the screens, "I know that I got that needle in, but could you make sure that a death certificate shows up for him in the next couple of days? I just want to make sure. Can't risk him still running around."
"For sure, boss."
We were an even team, really. Each of us contributed in our own ways, with our own special skills.
Phoenix always called me 'boss' though. It started as a joke, but there was some truth to it- when we were out working a job, the person with eyes and ears on the situation was best suited to call the shots. Forte and I were the ones that usually did the actual job, and the other girls never protested. Once or twice a job had gone awry or needed multiple targets taken out at once. In those rare occasions Nyoka and Daitan would join Forte and I, and take on the role of executioners.
The two lovebirds in the front seat were hashing it out to decide where we would quickly stop for food, but I was busy staring at the hem of my dress and shoes. There was definitely blood on them that I doubted I would be able to get out, but I was really just glad that no one had noticed when I carried out the rest of the mission.
"Hey, you good?" Phoenix nudged me, looking away from her computer.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. This one took a lot of preparation."
She nodded, but I was pretty sure that she didn't believe me. The truth was that yes, I was exhausted, but there was a hollow feeling in my chest, like something was missing. And I knew exactly what it was, but I wasn't going to talk about it. The other three in the car were still riding the high of a successful mission, and I didn't want to bring them down.
Instead, I tried to think of the amazing greasy food that I was about to get, and the warm bath that I could take once all of this was over.
Thank you to all of my amazing followers and supporters as we start the third book! Let me know what you think, and if you liked it, feel free to comment, like, or share!
- Elizabeth