Page 41 of Target Me
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The first timeI saw action, I was in the front passenger seat of a Humvee, driven by the General, back when he was a Colonel, waiting on the promotion to Brigadier General that came as a direct result of that day six weeks later. I had been sent to the drop zone nearest to camp under orders to collect our incoming OIC.
The second he had recognized me, he had informed me of his intention to drive, dismissing protocol and insisting he preferred to be in control. I remembered the awe I felt in the presence of a man who had dedicated his life to serve his country and achieved things I’d only dreamed of. We’d taken an unscheduled stop halfway to camp and come under fire from a nearby outcrop. The General had grabbed his service weapon and returned fire before disappearing in the rocky terrain. I remembered the terror of abandonment. My certainty that I wouldn’t survive the hour.
Instead, I’d sat useless in the car while gunfire raged close by, and when the smoke cleared, the General had detained two of the enemy and intercepted vital correspondence that saw a shift in the tide of the war.
As we approachedthe imposing study doors, I felt as though I were back in that car. Knowing my life was going to be different in a matter of minutes. And not necessarily for the better. Avery squeezed my hand, and I tightened my fingers in return. This was for the best.
The papers were a jumble after having spilled over the floor, and after some strategizing, we decided the best thing would be to halve the pile and see what we found.
The first few pages looked to be bank statements. Money in, money out. Regular numbers that appeared to be his salary and expenditure. The fourth page began to show irregularities. An eight-million-dollar deposit was lodged without sender details. Alone, it wouldn’t have invited my attention, except that the date of the deposit was familiar. I rubbed gingerly at the back of my head and wondered at the coincidence of the General receiving a significant sum of unaccounted for money on the day camp was raided and Lana was killed.
“Do you have anything over there?” I asked to distract myself from the freight train my thoughts had become. There was a fine, but definitive line between fact finding and conspiracy theorizing. I needed more proof than just numbers.
“Umm… photocopies of texts from a decade ago. Logan, I don’t like this. Listen.Target eliminated. She didn’t fight. Ensure payment by twenty-three hundred hours. Why does it sound like my father had someone killed?”
I shook my head. “We don’t know what the target was. It could have been anything.”
Avery hummed.
“There’s a few more from the same number, more recent. The top is cut off, but whatever they said, he didn’t take it well.You know the price of failure to comply. Make your choice. That sounds ominous.” The smile she cast me was crooked and didn’t come close to reaching her eyes.
“Hey. We don’t know anything for sure. We’re fact finding. Even if we do find anything, remember, you are not him. He is the only person responsible for his actions.” She nodded and glanced back at her page. “Hey… whoops.” She bent to retrieve the paper she had dropped as a loud crack preceded the almost simultaneous tinkle of glass and a thunk of a heavy impact on the far side of the room. Avery screamed, flattening herself on the carpet as I ducked behind the desk and crab walked around to her.
“Keep hidden. You’re going to crawl to the door. Are you ready? Stay down. Go.”
As soon as I confirmed Avery was clear, I moved over to the window and inspected the perfectly round hole in the glass. Cracks spider-webbed out from the entry point, but the pane had otherwise remained intact. Outside, there were no visible signs of life anywhere between the house and tree line from this angle. Granted, the shooter would have shifted as soon as they got the shot off, but they would likely stay nearby to confirm the kill.
Shit.
Either Avery’s mother had received paramilitary training at some point, or the threat was an unknown entity. The paperwork certainly implied the General was in bed with some shady characters, but who was pissed enough to go after his daughter?
The only thing this afternoon had clarified for me was that the house had been compromised. We needed to move, and there was only one place I could think to go.
When I joined her in the hall, Avery put on a brave face, jumping to comply when I instructed her to pack a bag and ensure she kept clear of any windows or doors that could give away her position to anyone outside. I didn’t miss the tremor in her shoulders as I hustled her out to my truck, or the glance she threw back at the mansion before we turned out of the drive.
“It’s not forever. Just until the threat is neutralized. You’ll be home in no time, I promise.”
Avery squeezed my knee, interrupting the stream of platitudes I gave her as I scanned the road and nearby houses for signs we were under surveillance.
“I don’t particularly care about the house. I just want this all to be over.”
I nodded. Of course, she did. While I wasn’t responsible for the threat against her, I sure as hell hadn’t made things easy. In fact, I’d taken advantage of the situation, hadn’t I? Shit. Talk about an unfair power dynamic.
“I’ll make sure it is,” I muttered, returning my attention to the empty street.
The sun disappeared behind the horizon as I crisscrossed the suburban streets, paranoid there may have been a tail on us. I went as far as to pull into the underground section of the parking lot at the mall, cutting laps before I chose an exit at random to evade any drone surveillance we may have picked up. Nothing seemed to be enough. When the prospect of jacking a car started to seem appealing, I hauled back on my protective instincts and decided we would have lost anyone who was following us by now.
Turning toward the highway, I headed for the one place no one knew about. Somewhere she could be safe.
The wheels of my truck rumbled along the asphalt, the hypnotic vibration comforting after the events of the day. I glanced across the seat at where Avery was curled against the passenger door. Knees to chest, she looked far younger than her years. Until she met your eyes. In those hazel depths, I could see every one of her twenty-five years and then some. I knew damn well she’d only shared parts of herself with me so far, but I hoped I could earn her trust, eventually.
“We’ll be there soon,” I said softly, interrupting the yawn stretching her mouth.
“Oh.”
Maybe I should have taken her to a hotel instead. Shit, I could have at least given her the choice. I cleared my throat, intending to ask her opinion, when she dropped her feet to the ground and turned toward me.
