The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Light and Shadows 9: Hidden Within the Shadows

By J. Darksong & Gbrn32e

* * *

Ch. 3) Growing Addiction

Rose yawned and stretched, sitting up from the couch. She felt marvelously relaxed, and refreshed, as if she’d just awoken from an eight hour sleep. Sighing softly, she froze, stiffening, the realization of where she was sweeping aside the momentary pleasant feeling. “Wilson,” she hissed, grinding her teeth together in frustration. “Goddammit,” she added, sinking back down onto the couch. She briefly considered tracking Wilson down and removing a few of his teeth, but decided against it. Nah. Too much of an effort. Besides, best not to burn my bridges when I may need to cross them again later.

Brushing aside the blanket, she glanced around. On the table across from her were the chemical vials she requested, along with a note from Wilson. She smirked, reading it before pocketing it and the vials. “Heh. Smart as always, Wilson. Drop the items off and then run for the hills before I wake up.”

Loathe as she was to actually admit it, however, she had needed the rest. Her head felt clearer than it had in days, since she’d first come up with her crazy half-baked scheme. Of course, with all the progress she’d made over the past week, the plan seemed a lot less farfetched than it had in the beginning. And now, well rested and sharp again, she could actually plan on how to bring it all together.

The solution is obvious, she thought to herself as she made her way back down to the ground floor. My target is being held at the Bellevue Sanitarium after all. And a mental hospital is still a hospital. It’s just a question of checking on the available equipment to see what I can use. With any luck, I’ll be able to use the facilities on site, use the device, and escape with the target before anyone even notices that she’s missing.

She paused at the doorway, chuckling softly. Heh. Luck. That was certainly a major consideration with my last client. I’m kind of glad Jimmy’s not involved in this in any way—the last thing I need is a non-stop bombardment of HIS kind of luck. She sighed. The kid’s all healed up and back in school now, the last I heard, she mused, he and his sweetheart. I wonder how Devon’s doing? Hopefully keeping young James in line.

Her last assignment as Jimmy’s bodyguard had not gone as planned. Actually calling the whole fiasco a royal clusterfuck would be an understatement. Not only had she and the other two agents sent to watch him had major trouble just keeping up with the boy, he’d ended up getting kidnapped, not just once, but twice, the last time ending in a nationwide manhunt followed by a massive shootout with a syndicate mob boss and a trio of her super powered bodyguards. Not exactly an everyday assignment, but she’d managed to bring him back alive. And along the way, she’d managed to make a new friend or two in the process.

“And, speaking of old friends,” she muttered, taking out her cell phone once more. Carlos Herrera wasn’t really a friend. More of a casual acquaintance, really. Truth be told, Rose actually hated the arrogant, chauvinistic patronizing son of a bitch. But the man was useful, if nothing else than for his contacts and connections. And, in this particular instance, she was interested in his current employer.

“Hey, Carlos? Yeah, it’s me. Remember that favor you owe me? Well, I’m calling it in.”

Silence for several seconds, then... “Damn, chica, you sure know how to sweet talk a guy, eh? Months and months with nothin’, no calls, no letters, nada, and then suddenly, out of the blue, you call me asking for a favor?” He sighed dramatically. “Fine, fine. Never let it be said that Carlos Santana Miguel Herrera failed to come to the aid of a lovely damsel in distress.” Rose groaned inwardly, barely resisting the urge to vomit. “So, chica... what can ‘da man’ do for you?”

Rose’s eyes rolled so hard she feared they might get stuck. “It’s a simple enough favor, Carlos,” she said, gently, so simple that even YOU should be able to do it without fucking it up, she added silently. “Two things, actually. I need you to take the next week off from work, and let your supervisor know to contact my agency for a replacement.“

“Really?” he exclaimed in surprise. “You want to work at this shitty little puissant job?” He laughed aloud. “That’s rich! What’s your game, Marie? You want to spend your time changing catheters and emptying bedpans? A high class girl like you? C’mon, pull the other one!”

Rose sighed deeply. The man was always suspicious, and about as trustworthy as a scorpion. When they’d first crossed paths years ago, she’d gone by the alias ‘Maria Montoya’ a persona that she had established for a certain job. In their past dealings, she’d been glad more than once that she’d never revealed her true name. “Listen, Carlos,” she growled, “you owe me, remember? In case you’ve forgotten, I saved your sorry ass from those gang members you pissed off, paid them off for the shit you stole and gave ’em enough extra that they felt it satisfied the insult you dealt them. And now, all I’m asking in return is for you to arrange it so I take over your shitty ass job for a week. What’s your problem?”

“Oh, no problem, chica,” Carlos replied with a chuckle, “I’m just trying to figure out what kind of game you’re playing. I can’t imagine that someone like you would want to work as an orderly for a week just on a whim. So level with me... what’s your angle? You’ve got some kind of an ‘in’ with a patient, doncha? Some wealthy old bat in there about to croak and you plan to worm your way into her good graces, is that it?”

“And what if it is?” Rose countered, decided to play against his suspicions instead correcting him. “What’s it matter to you? You OWE me, Carlos. I’m not asking you to pay me back that debt. All I’m asking is for you to do what comes natural to you anyway—sit on your lazy ass and let someone else do your job for you!”

Carlos, indignant, grumbled back in reply, “That may well be, but I can’t just stand by idle and let you swoop in and do whatever unspeakable acts you plan on doing to those poor inmates on my watch! If something happened to anyone there, my conscience would never let me live it down—”

“I’ll give you a thousand dollars.”

“Deal!” Carlos said swiftly, nodding. “I’ll make the call in just a second, and let my supervisor know I came down with something nasty. We can talk later to discuss meeting up for you to drop off the cash.”

“Great,” Rose answered, rolling her eyes again. “I need to make a few calls of my own to get ready.” She shook her head. “I’m so glad we were able to find a way for you to help me. I only hope your ‘poor conscience’ can deal with whatever trauma I’m about to cause your poor patients.”

“Fuck ’em,” Carlos replied without hesitation. “Goddamn bunch of crazies. I don’t get paid enough for all the shit we go through for them anyway. Hell, for another thousand, I’ll help you—even hold ’em down and take pictures for all I care.”

The urge to vomit was coming back again. “Thanks but no thanks. Just do what I asked and make those calls. I’ll swing by your place around noon or so and drop off the money.” Hanging up, she sighed deeply.

Well, that wasn’t exactly pleasant, but as long as he makes the call, I can handle the rest. I’ll need to call Mina at the temp agency, and make sure she intercepts the call and send it to me. Drawing a cigarette from her pack, she considered the conversation she’d just had with her ‘old friend’ Carlos.

It might be time to cut Carlos loose. I’m all about having ‘friends in low places’, but lowlifes are only useful when the benefits of working with them outweigh the costs. Hell, Bobby Edmonds is a paranoid, strung out junkie, but at least he’s loyal. I’d trust him way before I’d trust Carlos. She nodded silently to herself. Yeah. As soon as he sets this up for me, Carlos and I are going to have a ‘serious discussion’ about our futures... and whether he still has one.

* * *

So, I was a little perturbed at this point.

Arriving back home at my normal time, I’d unloaded my books, changed clothes into something a bit more comfortable, and made the rounds, checking to see if my girlfriend had made it back from wherever she’d taken off to. A thorough search found the house empty, but it did turn up a note from my beloved. It stated that she’d received a call from Julie, one of the Beautiful Gems, and gone to meet her and would be back later. Which was fine and dandy, a little girl time between my friends and my girlfriend was nice enough. Two hours later, still alone and no word from her, I was a little concerned.

Now, I’m well aware of what it’s like to be in a smothering, controlling relationship, with a person who always wants to know where you are and what you’re doing every moment of every day. I’d seen more than my fair share before. I actually took pride in the fact that Dev and I were able to manage a healthy medium between showing interest in each other’s activities, and giving each other space. That said, when the third hour rolled around with still no word from my girlfriend, I was about ready to call the police, the National Guard, and hack into my dad’s satellite system to try and track her down!

The worst part was that her cell phone kept going straight to voice mail, meaning her cell was turned off. I called Jett’s cell, which likewise went straight to voice mail. Getting a little frantic, I called Emily, knowing I was probably ruining what would be the best night of her life (well, up to her wedding night, that is, assuming Amber said yes) but luckily she picked up on the third ring.

“Hi, Em?” I said quickly. “Sorry to bother you, and this may be a silly question but... do you know where Devon is? Have you seen or heard from her today?”

“Devon? No, sorry, haven’t heard from her at all,” she replied, sounding entirely too pleased with herself. “But I’m glad you called. You can be the first to hear the news!”

I grinned despite myself. “Let me guess. She said yes?”

“She said yes!” Emily replied, laughing, and from the sound of it, kissing her now fiancé. “Man! It was perfect! Everything was perfect! This place is just amazing! And it went just exactly the way you suggested—Amber actually squealed when the maître d brought her the champagne flue! I wish you could have been here!”

I laughed, shaking my head. “I’m actually glad I wasn’t there, from the sound of it,” I teased her back. “You said it made Amber squeal, but I value my hearing too much. She can get pretty high you know... Mariah Carey range high.“

“You’re an ass,” Amber’s voice came through the phone, giggling still, “but since you gave us this dinner date, I’ll forgive you for it this time! Oh, Jimmy, thank you so much for this!”

“My pleasure, ladies,” I replied sincerely, then sighed. “Still, I did have a reason for calling besides congratulating you both. Do you have any idea where Devon might be? She left me a note saying that she was going to meet up with Jette, and now neither her cell nor Julie’s is picking up.”

“Hmm, well, I guess they wouldn’t be, then,” Emily said thoughtfully. “Jette, Ruby, and the others were on a mission tonight, going after that Richard Ryan guy at his club down on Maddison. If they were on Gems business, they’d have their phones off.”

A mission? A bloody mission?!?! “You said that club on Maddison Avenue, right?” I asked, walking over to the closet to get my jacket. “Do you know what the cross street is?” As I slid the jacket on and buttoned it tight, the front door opened, and Devon walked in, a huge grin on her face. “Um... never mind, Emily,” I said dryly, causing her to jump in surprise at the sound of my voice, “she just walked in. Thanks for the help. I’ll talk to you later.” Devon blushed heatedly as I hung up, and I tried my very best not to glare at her.

“Um, oh, er, hi, Jimmy,” she said sheepishly, hands behind her back. “I, um... I guess you were, um, worried about me? Sorry, I was, um... out a bit later than I’d expected.”

I merely nodded, unbuttoning my jacket, taking a moment to hang it back up in the closet before answering. “I see,” I replied in a tone so dry I’m surprise the words didn’t crumble away to ash in the air. I’m half-Scottish, you know. We’re known for our tempers. And my own temper in particular was pretty volatile, though years of learning to repress my emotions in order to keep my powers under control helped in keeping it in check. Suffice it to say, all of my meters were seriously in the red right now, and I knew I needed to tread carefully to keep from turning this situation into a big fight. “Are you hungry?” I managed to ask without gritting my teeth.

“Oh, actually, no, I’m fine,” she said neutrally, sensing the tension in the room. “The girls and I stopped and grabbed a bite to eat after we finished up with the, uh... the ‘thing’,” she amended softly.

“I see,” I replied again, teeth gritted this time. “Well, I’m starving. I had planned on surprising you by taking you out to dinner tonight... but since you’ve already eaten, I guess I’ll just order in.“

“Oh, oh, baby,” she murmured, coming over to me. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you had something special planned! You should have called me and let me know—”

“Called you?” I snapped, the words escaping my lips like bullets from a gun. “You mean on your cell phone? The one that’s turned off, and is going straight to voice mail?”

Devon groaned, slapping her forehead. “Shit. I forgot I turned it off before we went into the club,” she grumbled, sliding it out of her pocket. “Jimmy, I’m really really REALLY sorry—”

“Aye, as ye should be,” I snapped again, wincing slightly at the Scottish clip to my words. “I cannae... can’t believe you went on a mission with the Gems! Taking down a mob boss? What the hell were you thinking?!?“

Devon gaped at me, blinking. “Wh... what? What the hell? Where is all of THIS coming from all of a sudden?” she yelled back, surprise and anger at war with each other.

“This is coming from YOU trying to relive yer wild glory days on the road with Ghost Girl and Malleable Man,” I replied, gesturing to the costume she was still wearing. And from her expression, had even forgotten she wore. “How long has this been going on, Dev? All the times you said you were going to the store for groceries, were you secretly going out to fight crime with your new ‘besties’ behind my back?”

“Wait a second here! Where the hell do YOU get off dictating to ME what I can and can’t do?” Devon yelled back, causing ME to take a step back. “Who the HELL put you in charge of my life? Not that it’s ANY of your goddamn business, but this is the very first time I’ve ever done something like this before! Yes, maybe I should have talked to you about it first, and I can understand you being upset that you couldn’t get a hold of me—but that doesn’t give you the right to tell me what I can and can’t do! Especially since YOU do the same goddamn thing yourself on a regular basis!”

“I bloody well CAN tell ye what ye cannae do!” I growled back, feeling a trembling in the floor underneath my feet. “Ye... YOU can’t compare your situation to mine! I’m practically invulnerable, Dev! If some lunatic tries to stab me with a knife, the blade will bend. If some psycho comes up behind me and shoots me in the back, the bullets with bounce off and hit the ground! Care to guess what would happen if someone tried either with you?”

“So, you’re saying because you’re stronger than the average person it’s okay for you?” she fired back. I was shocked to see tears running down her cheeks. “Well, Mr. Bigtime Hero, being ‘practically invulnerable’ didn’t stop those three devil girls from kicking your ass, or keep Serpentina from bringing you a whole world of hurt! And lest you forget, I know exactly what you experienced at her hands,” she said, shuddering. “And I was good enough to help the others rescue you then, wasn’t I? If not for me, you’d STILL be suffering in that damned dungeon of hers!“

Dammit. I KNEW it would turn into this. I needed to reign myself in and do damage control before things started to become hurtful. Taking a deep cleansing breath, I turned to face her again. “Okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. Can we start over again?” Dev, biting her lip, nodded. Moving back to her, I took her hands into my own. “Look. You’re an adult. I won’t insult your intelligence and try to treat you like a little child telling you where you’re allowed to go and not go. But try and look at it from MY point of view, okay?” She lifted her eyes to mine, and I took a moment to wipe away the tear tracks.

“What we do is dangerous. A lot of heroes, well trained, with special powers and other ways to protect themselves, routinely get hurt doing this. And some get killed doing this as well—maybe not as often now as it used to back in the day, but it still happens. Most troubling is the number of Supers than simply disappear, vanishing off the face of the planet, never to be seen again. As you yourself pointed out, I was nearly one of those myself.” My voice caught on that. Not for myself, but for the idea of Devon going through the kind of torment I had. “You had to know there was a chance something like that might have happened to you when you went to help Jette. You purposely left your note vague about where you were going because you KNEW I’d be worried, didn’t you?“

Devon sighed softly, looking down at her hands. “Y-yeah. You’re right. I knew you’d freak out like this if you knew. I knew it... but I did it anyway. And then forgetting to turn my phone back on... and losing track of time afterwards hanging out with the girls... I’m sorry, Jimmy. This is my fault. I accept the blame for this.” She then lifted her eyes to face me again. “But Jimmy... the way you felt today, worrying about me? That’s how I feel every day... every time you go out as Darklight.” That brought me up short. “I know, I know, I’m being paranoid, and unreasonable,” she said bitterly, “but I can’t help how I feel. The same fears you had for me not coming home tonight are what I deal with every time you go out in costume.“

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, not sure what to say. “Dev,” I began after a moment, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Goddess Bless, sometimes I’m SUCH a moron!” I groaned, feeling her laugh softly against me.

“Yeah, sometimes,” she said, sounded a bit lighter, for which I was grateful. “So... what now, Jimmy? How do we resolve this? I won’t ask you to stop being the hero that you are. I know what it means to you, and what you had to go through to reach this point.”

“And... likewise, I can’t ask you not to do the same,” I conceded sadly. “If you really want to try your hand at running over rooftops decks in spandex with the rest of is... then the least I can do is encourage you and help you as much as I can.” I forced a smile. “Maybe on spring break we can head back to River City, and have my dad set you up with a real costume... Neuroweave, like mine. Oh, and of course, we’ll have to come up with a good name for you... something like ‘Foresight’, or ‘Futuregaze’, or ‘Oracle’ or ‘Vision’... er, no, wait, those last two are taken.”

Devon chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of figured. But let’s not jump the gun, okay? I never actually said I wanted to do the Super hero thing, you know. At least, not the way you do. Being able to glimpse the future isn’t exactly that useful in a fight. I was thinking more like... um... I dunno, assisting the police or helping other Supers...”

I nodded. “Yeah, I get it. The way Aunt Anastasia helps the police back in New York with her psychic powers.” I pulled her close, nibbling on her neck gently, the way she loves. “But Devon, whatever you choose to do, however you want to explore what your powers can do, just know that I’ll help and support you in any way I can.” We kissed one more time, then pulled apart. “Okay... now that we’re okay, I’m really starving here. Wanna ride with me over to Jack in the Box?”

* * *

“Hey, hey, Maria, right on time,” Carlos replied with a grin, as Rose stepped past him into the house. Glancing around, the brunette agent took note of the house’s other occupant, a rather large Latino girl sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table. Her expression alternated between bored and jealous as she glanced briefly at the newcomer before turning back to the TV. Rose merely stared at her blankly, outwardly ignoring her, inwardly assessing the girl’s possible threat level. She nearly dismissed her completely as unimportant, until she spied a small but noticeable tattoo on her left arm, and the barely concealed handle of a knife sticking out of her blue jeans.

“So, who’s this?” the woman snarked, gesturing with a hand, not even bothering to turn away from the TV long enough to face her boyfriend.

“Ey! Baby! C’mon,” Carlos protested, frowning. “You know who this is. This is Maria, that total badass bitch I told you about—the one that is bringing us the money? I told you she’d be coming over today, remember?”

Heh. Looks like Carlos’ latest pussycat is a real wildcat. Not really sure yet if I need to be concerned with her or not, but knowing Carlos, he’s probably blabbed everything to her as well. Great... another loose end to tie up. Carlos, if I wasn’t already about to put smackdown on your sorry ass, this alone would be a good reason.

‘Baby’ glanced away from the TV long enough to give her the once over, then scoffed, turning back to her show. “That’s this ‘badass’ you’re always going on and on about?” she asked in disbelief. “She don’t look like much. Kinda scrawny looking... like a stiff breeze would blow her away.”

Rose bristled slightly. “Well, we can’t all be blessed with a humungous fat flabby ass suitable for holding down furniture.” ‘Baby’ glanced up sharply at the retort, but Rose had already moved on. “Carlos. We have business to discuss. Private business. You know how I work.” She gestured towards the woman on the sofa. “Tell Thunderthighs to go wait in the bedroom until we’re done.“

“Thunderthighs?!?” the woman yelled, jumping up from the couch. “Oh, hell no! This bitch didn’t just call me some derogatory shit?” Scowling, she moved to get directly into Rose’s face. “Huh? Now what, bitch?” she snarled, reaching out with both hands to shove her. “Got somethin’ to say? Say it to my face—”

Almost faster than the eye could follow, Rose moved to the side, grabbing the girl’s arm, twisting, pulling her forward and down even as her knee rose to meet her chin. Snapping it hard, she sent the stunned Latina stumbling backwards, pretty much out on her feet. Never one to do anything halfway, however, Rose followed up with a spinning low kick, knocking the girl off her feet to land hard, flat on her back, on the floor. Kneeling down to the barely conscious women, she said simply, “You talk too much.”

Carlos, wide eyed, merely stared at shock as Rose straightened back up. “Damn, chica,” he said, shaking his head. “That was fucking sick! That was some of that ol’ Steven Segal shit right there!” He glanced down at his girlfriend. “Hey... you didn’t kill her did you?” he asked, scowling.

Not yet, Rose thought dryly. “She’s fine,” she said aloud, walking over to the couch, opening her coat, revealing the small brown envelope nestled safely in her inside pocket. “If you’re that concerned, you can always spend some of your hard earned cash to take her to the hospital and get her checked out.” Rose cracked the barest hint of a smile. “I can tell you right now, though... medical science has evolved a lot over the years, but there’s still currently no cure for being a stupid loudmouthed bitch.“

“Hey, watch that shit, chica,” Carlos grumbled, walking over to the couch. “She might be ghetto, but she’s still my girlfriend.” He glanced down at the envelope, eyes widening as she opened it, revealing a stack of hundreds. “So... it’s all there, right?” he said, wiping a line of drool from his lips. “You didn’t try and pad the wad there with a bunch of ones or anything?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “It’s all there.” She drew back as he reached for it, however. “But before that... you DID make those telephone calls I asked you to, right?” She scowled. “Both of them?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course I did!” Carlos replied, reaching for the envelope again. “I called just after I got off the phone with you.”

“Right,” Rose replied, blankly. “And you wouldn’t be lying to me about that, would you, Carlos?” she pressed, standing back up again. “I really, really... REALLY hate being lied to. What I just did to your little girlfriend,” she said, gesturing to the softly groaning lump in the middle of the floor, “I did because she irritated me slightly. Slightly. So you can just imagine what I would do to someone who really pissed me the fuck off by lying to me through their damn teeth!“

Carlos blanched, backing away. “Hey, hey, relax, chica, okay? All right... so, I didn’t make the call quite yet, okay? I still have half an hour before I’m supposed to go in to work! I was going to call in a few more minutes, I swear!”

Uh uh. Just what I fucking thought Rose growled, seething inwardly. SHIT! This is too fucking important to risk blowing everything because of some fucking moron too busy being an asshole to follow through! That tears it. I was on the fence about this on the way over here, but now? No way. My conscience isn’t even slightly bothered by this now.

“Well,” Rose said softly, turning, walking back to the couch, “I suppose that’s good enough. Since I have your word and all.” She placed the envelope back in her jacket. “So of course, you won’t have any problem making that call right here and now, while I watch,” she stated, sitting back down, crossing her legs. “Oh, and make it convincing. Let your supervisor know you’re deathly sick, that there’s no way you’ll be able to make it, that it’ll be at least a week, maybe more, before you’re able to work again.“

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Carlos grumbled, taking out his cell phone. After a moment, he dialed, then nodded. “Hey, Ramon? Yeah, it’s me. Yeah... yeah, man. Listen, I can’t make it in today. Huh? Yeah, yeah, I know, its short notice, yeah... but it’s medical man! I... I sprained my ankle. Yeah, really bad. Torn ligaments and shit, man... nearly broke it when I fell. Got it all iced up and shit, but the doc says stay off it for at least a week.” He grinned, winking at Rose. “Oh, don’t worry, man. A friend of mine works at this temp agency, and they do certified medical assistants and shit. They’ll send someone to cover. In the meant time, I’m gonna take it easy... lay back and let my girlfriend pamper me a bit.” He laughed, nodding. “Yeah, man. I know! Well, I’d say ‘break a leg’ too, but somebody’s gotta work. Hehehe. Okay, see ya later, Ramon.”

Rose nodded in approval. “Not bad. Sprained ankle... that works fine. It’s believable enough that you can even fake it with a limp when you go back to work later.” She opened her jacket again, taking out a small brown envelope. “You’re not that bad of a actor when you put your mind to it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a real Al Pacino,” he replied, staring eagerly at the envelope. “So come on already... hand it over!”

“Fine,” Rose replied, standing up, tossing it onto the couch as she walked towards the front door. “Take it all. There’s even a little bonus added in.” She flashed that hint of a smile again. “Believe me, you deserve every last cent of it.”

“Yeah, I know,” Carlos replied, picking up the envelope. His eyes widened, then narrowed as he opened it, glancing at the money inside. “Hey! Wait a goddamn second!” he yelled out, causing her to pause. “What the fuck is this?” he asked, dumping out the stack of fake dollar bills and newspaper clippings onto the floor. “What is this shit? What’s my fucking money?!?”

“Oh, the money?” Rose said brightly, opening her jacket pocket again. “It’s here, in this envelope. I brought two of them, on the off chance you tried to pull some kind of fast one over on me... you know, like ‘accidentally’ forgetting to make the damn phone call I asked you to make.”

“This is some ol’ bullshit!” Carlos growled. “Gimme the money, Marie,” he warned, pulling a gun from the waistband of his pants, pointing it at her. “Now. Toss it over, or I swear, I’ll pop a cap in that cute little head of yours.”

Rose, far from nervous or afraid, merely laughed. Perfect. He’s predictable, if nothing else. “Oh, Carlos. Silly, boy... have you forgotten who you’re dealing with?” She shook her head. “Besides... why would I waste perfectly good money by giving it to a dead man?“

“Funny, chica,” he replied with a smirk, cocking his gun, “I was thinking just the same thing. So, Marie, you’re pretty tough. I’ll admit it. You even scare a big macho guy like myself. But no matter how badass you are, you can’t stop a bullet.”

Rose merely nodded. “You’re right. I can’t stop a bullet.” She turned and walked through the doorway. “The thing is... I don’t have to.”

Carlos, scowling, gun shaking on his hand slightly, he sighed deeply, lowering his hands. “No. You know what? Fuck it,” he said, raising the gun again. “It’s ten large. I’m not letting that you walk out of here with MY money!” With that, he pulled the trigger.

Walking across the lawn, a large boom sounded just behind Rose. Nonplussed, she continued walking forward, even as the huge blast of wind ruffled her hair and stirred the ends of her jacket. Finally reaching her rental car, she turned, glancing at the flaming ruins that used to be Carlos’ house. Well, I did try and warn him, she thought with a shrug, slipping inside her car. And the best part? He pulled the trigger himself. Sure, I DID soak that paper money in that envelope with Master’s highly flammable, highly explosive celluloid solution, which he thoughtlessly tossed all around himself. And, maybe I DID pay him a little visit earlier and unhook the gas line to his furnace, just to prime the pump. But if he hadn’t tried to take me out, he would have lived at least a little while longer.

Starting her engine, she pulled out from the cul de sac just as several police cars and fire engines pulled up. The matter settled, her mind was already working on what she needed for her upcoming assignment...