Page 24 of Dirty Ex-Mas
Quinn
I take my time dressing for the party. It’s black tie, but that’s really all I know. Daria rented me an Armani knockoff evening gown that is gorgeous. Strapless, floor-length, sheath style, in a deep emerald green, with a slit up the side. Combined with three-inch heels, I look tall and statuesque. Like how Daria always looks. It makes me want to wear this outfit all the time.
I fashion my hair in a curly half-updo, and put on a deep red, long-last lipstick. My heels are platform, so I feel stable enough to walk fast or even run if need be, and not that I’m about to topple over at any moment. I feel like the belle of the ball.
I’ve properly coiffed, tweezed, moisturized, and accentuated everything that should be. I only cut my legs once while shaving and have yet to chip a nail. It’s as good as it will get.
Daria gave me a dossier which I found out is just a fancy word for file, with step-by-step instructions on everything I’m to do. I kind of can’t believe that two short days ago she barely employed me as a barback, and now I’m one of her hired assassins.
I mean, technically, I’m not an assassin yet, but that is my job tonight. I’m taking down a bad guy. Ridding the earth of his scum. Some guy who’s been kidnapping women and then delivering them to human traffickers who either keep them as forced sex slaves or sell them off on the black market.
This guy deserves to die.
Daria spent the last two days showing me how to shoot a gun and giving me tips on how to blend in a crowd. That’s the only part I have down pat, it’s the rest (read: shooting a gun) I’m still unsure about. Mostly because I’ve never shot a person before. If I’m honest, I’ve barely even fired the gun. When I did, I rarely hit the target. But Daria says I’ll be at a close enough range it won’t matter. I’ll just trust that she’s right.
I keep waiting for it to bother me I’m about to shoot someone, but so far it really doesn’t. We shouldn’t let certain people coexist with the living. And if even half of what Daria has told me about this guy is true, he’s one of them.
Daria told me she’ll have someone around in case I need help, and I just need to send her a quick message on my cell phone to let her know. But it didn’t occur to me until right now whythatperson couldn’t be the one to carry out the job. I’m not complaining, doing this for Daria makes me feel important, and who doesn’t love feeling important? Am I right?
I make sure everything I need is in my clutch, then head outside to wait for my ride. Daria is sending a car for me, which sounds fancier than it is, I think it’s just a Lyft or some kind of pay-per-ride deal. She hasn’t told me whose party it is or who my target is. All I know is he’ll be the first speaker in the rounds of toasts and that if I follow my instructions everything will go just fine.
I tried to get her to tell me who it was, but she said it’s better if I don’t know. So I won’t have time to personify the guy. That even if he is a scumbag, he’s still a person, and the more you know about someone, the more real they become. The less you want to kill them. It makes sense, human nature and all that.
Regardless, I’m beyond excited to be doing this. I know killing someone shouldn’t be appealing, but I’ve been in awe of Daria for a long time, even though she’s my best friend. And when I found out she was doing this whole vigilante thing, I was jealous that she had something with other girls that she didn’t have with me. I also know, it’s petty and ridiculous, but it’s how I felt. The idea of getting to join that club, and no longer be left out, is both thrilling and gratifying.
A car pulls up in front of my building. It’s sleek and black, like a town car. I like it. The driver gets out to open my door for me. I’m a sucker for chivalry. I smile and thank him. He doesn’t smile back.
Note to self, ignore rude driver.
I settle into the backseat of the car and pull my instruction cheat sheet from my clutch one last time to review.
Step One - Dress the part . . .
11
Mack
I’ll be honest, I’m not one hundred percent sure about this plan I’ve cooked up. There are so many holes in it. So many opportunities for things to go sideways. As far as I know, Reed believes Tremblay is innocent, and I’ve not told him otherwise. Instead, I’ve worked with Daria to put this flimsy plan together, one that will not only trap Tremblay, but ultimately prove to Reed he’s guilty, all while keeping Quinn and Daria out of trouble. It’s not my best laid plan. Or even a good plan. But it’s the one I’m going with.
I got myself on the security team that’s covering the event. Even though I’m working security, I still need to dress in a tuxedo so I can blend better with the guests. I’ll be working inside the party, just to make sure nothing untoward happens. Like the exact thing that I’m planning. I’m not sure why these people are so paranoid about their safety, since I’m one of ten guys who will roam the grounds and the party. But tonight, that paranoia will work to my advantage. That said, Ihave no idea who will be at this party. For all I know the head of the trafficking ring could be there.
And to think Quinn believes she’s going into this as a hired assassin. I have to laugh at her naïveté. People train for years to succeed in wet work, and Quinn thinks we’ve set her up for it in two days’ time, even knowing how often Daria and her girls train and practice. It boggles my mind that Quinn doesn’t put it together.
Daria didn’t think she would, and she knows Quinn better than I do. Daria said the romanticizedideaof what we’ve asked Quinn to do would preoccupy her too much to look at the reality of it closely. At first I didn’t understand how that could be the case, but I was wrong.
That said, I’m not taking any chances with handing over a piece to someone as inexperienced as Quinn. Especially when she is walking into a crowded room. The gun I gave her is loaded with blanks, this way if she does accidentally fire it, no one gets hurt. In the same vein, I also need to make sure no one shoots her.
Seeing Quinn brandishing a firearm should be enough to cause general chaos amongst the party guests, causing them to scatter, and I can always yell gun if need be. The security guards will scramble to secure the family members, as directed, giving me the opportunity to grab Tremblay and escort him to “safety.” It’s possible we don’t even need Quinn. But for some fucked up reason, she is beyond excited about doing this for Daria.
But, shit, like all hastily thrown together plans, too much hinges upon random people reacting the way we want them to. And I’ve not factored Reed into the equation at all. I know he’ll be there, but he doesn’t know about me or Quinn and I can’t have him involved in any of this evening’s activities.
Two things have to happen to ensure Reed’s not caught up in my plan: we extract Quinn before he has time to talk to her. And I’m able to grab Tremblay without Reed seeing me. After which I should have enough evidence, via a confession, to prove to Reed that Tremblay is guilty. Which will absolve Quinn’s involvement in the evening, so Reed doesn’t feel compelled to bring her in.
I like my partner, and we work well together, but Reed is the very definition of a rule follower. He takes “by the book” to an entirely new level of adherence. Not only will Reednotunderstand my plan, but he won’t agree with it either.
Even though I want toproveTremblay is guilty, I want a fucking confession from him more. Then I’ll either let Daria and her girls handle the rest or I’ll make sure the guys in gen pop at the jail or prison know he’s a lady seller. They tend not to like his kind in prison, second only to child molesters. I want him to suffer, not only for what he’s done, but for what he wanted to do to Quinn.
I’ve got a line to Daria in one ear, she’s waiting just down the street in case I need backup or extraction. And I’ll have a line to the rest of the security team in my other ear. It wasn’t hard to infiltrate security, whichiswhat Laurel and her family should worry about: how easy it was. But I’ve got a buddy who heads the company they hire, so maybe it was only that easy for me.
