Page 54 of Avenging Kelly

Sighing, I said, “It’s just the way the job is, Spades. You know it as well as I do. What about the chip?” I was afraid he’d think I was defending the fucking quacks at The Pit, which I definitely wasn’t. The shit they did to us was indefensible.

“I don’t have a chip. You got a chip? That must be the next advances in the program.” Lucky fucking me!

I was about to open my mouth when Orr said, “We’re addicted to amphetamines. Meth, cocaine, ecstasy, caffeine. Her adjustments to your meds are increases of certain drugs and decreases of others to see if performance is enhanced. The shot to sedate you and erase your memory? It’s benzodiazepines. It’s used in anesthesia for surgery.”

Just as I was about to ask how he knew these things, shouts were heard… from my pocket. Orr looked at me, a knowing smirk appearing on his face. I pulled out the phone, placing it on the table as a mia culpa for not being completely honest with him. We were trying to trust each other.

“Babe?” I asked, trying to be heard over whatever London was yelling about.

Orr chuckled and pulled out a phone from his pocket. “Allison, you there?”

“Girlfriend?” I asked.

“Sister. I’m in the middle of a god-awful divorce from a woman I never should have married. I want everything documented so my sister can collect from the Army for this shit when I get shot in the back for whatever made-up bullshit they create to explain me away like The Gambler is trying to do with Clubs,” Orr stated.

“Kelly? It’s Casper. What’s going on? Narc just ran outta here like his ass was on fire, and he left his phone on the table,” Casper explained.

“Don’t, uh… Thanks, Casper. I’ll have him call you when he gets home,” I said as I turned off the phone.

“It’ll take him about fifteen minutes to get here. Tell me how you found me in New York. Did Ritchfield send you? I thought she was headed to San Diego.”

Spades sighed. “I’m your shadow. I’ve been assigned to you for a year now, and I was sent to kill you when you got discharged and released because you’re now a loose end she can’t control. Before you got out, you were given a target, and I was assigned to ensure you succeeded. I hate to tell you, but you’re not killing who you think you are, Hearts,” Orr stated.

“Who am I killing then if I’m not going after enemies of the US Government? I accidentally saw my kill list,” I answered.

Spades smirked. “Nothing is ever an accident with her. Let me guess… The Gambler just left your file out there for you to see, right? It had a list of bad guys—a Russian spy or two, an Arab terrorist, a paramilitary leader somewhere in South America?”

“Did you see it? I mean… I don’t understand… Fuck!” The Gambler had actually played me.

“You’re assigned to a unique group of criminals, Hearts. Some of us actually do go after known terrorists just to make the operation look legit with the higher ups and to neutralize potential threats to the US. It’s the rest of us who are up to no good. Others of us do what you and I do—we go after folks who have nothing to do with national security,” Orr explained.

“And everyone knows about this? It’s sanctioned by… someone? If I’m not killing a foreign terrorist, then who the hell am I killing?” Dear God, what have I done?

“You’re killing competitors of The Alliance. A Russian Bratva and a Mexican Cartel have partnered up with a group of concerned US businessmen who want to rid the US of the Mangello Crime Family’s holdings and send the group packing back to Italy where they plan to take the fight to gain the Italians’ business holdings. We’re just the tools to help them along,” Orr stated.

“Who the hell is the Mangello Crime Family?” I was not versed in mafia families, nor did I want to be. That was all really above my fucking pay grade.

“They’re a family from… That part doesn’t really matter. It’s all a power struggle. Our services are being used to take out competitors for the members of The Alliance, though the official line at The Pentagon is that we’re a group of criminals with nothing to lose who can work off the books to rid the world of terrorists that the US government can’t legally touch. There are big puppeteers pulling our strings.”

I felt my brain seizing at the information overload, but I didn’t have time for details. London was on his way home, and I knew he’d be ready to fight with Orr. I needed information to calm him down so we could figure this shit out. “Who took my sister?”

“Miguel Montero is originally from Queens. His little brother goes to high school with your sister. That’s how they got her. The kid told her he wanted to take her on a date, and when he led her to the van, they grabbed her. It was meant to teach you a lesson for snitching and make some money for The Alliance to fortify their coffers for when they start buying loyalty from the Mangello’s associates,” Orr stated.

“My sister said she didn’t remember anything about her abduction,” I protested.

“They drugged her, the same shit they use on us.”

I knew that Mathis and my mother, and even the Feds, had questioned Mia about the abduction repeatedly, but she remembered nothing about it. If they had shot her up with the same shit they were feeding me, it was no wonder she didn’t remember her abduction.

After they had her, they must have gaslit my impressionable fourteen-year-old sister to make her believe that Rick Fleming loved her so she didn’t want to leave him. It was coming together in my head, and it was pissing me off even more.

“What’s the connection to all of this? It seems pretty thin,” I responded.

“Ritchfield has a brother. Start with him.” With that, Orr gathered his things to leave.

“Where are you going? You’ve got to stay here to explain this to London. My brain is scrambled, and I’ll never get this straight,” I protested.

“I’ve cleared my conscience. I’ve warned you, and instead of putting a forty-five in your dome like I was told to do, I’ve got other plans. Get out of this and get help, Hearts. These are bad people, trust me.”

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