Page 10 of His Target
He goes to it and then heads into the bathroom. There's not a lot in there. And my tampons are on the back of the toilet so he should be able to just grab everything he sees. I want to know how he knows ASL as well as he does. It's not like his career path in life has called upon him to be able to communicate with a deaf or mute person if he comes across them. Has he always been a killer for hire, or has this been something new in his life? I can't tell how old he is. I'm assuming older than me, but the facial hair could be aging him a little bit. I've met eighteen-year-olds who look like they're thirty when they have beards, so I wouldn't be surprised.
With all the clothes I can fit and or would want shoved in my bag, I leave my jeans I wear for work, along with my name badge. I won't be needing any of that. When I don't show up for work in the morning they'll probably fire me. It's not the first time I haven't bothered to go in. I turn to look around the place. I would love to be able to take my TV, it's the only thing I bothered to buy myself from a pawn shop. It's not very big, but it gets the job done in keeping me from going out of my mind with boredom.
My gaze stops on the sofa bed and I spot the brown stain on the sheet. Going over to it, I stare at the spot. I was shot, and there's the proof. In the mattress, next to the bloodstain, a dark hole stands out stark on the white sheet. Reaching into it, I pull out the bullet. It could’ve been the thing that ended my life before it started.
“I think I have everything from there. Shampoo, conditioner, a loofa. Your toothbrush and paste, and tampons. Did I miss anything you need? I didn’t see makeup. Oh, and I got your hairbrush.”
I jump as he brings me out of my stupor, my gaze still fixed on the bullet. How did my life come to this? It had started out normal. Loving parents, school, some friends who didn’t mind I was mute. I had a nice life and Harold and his organization had to rip it all away from me, to the point I'll never be able to get that life back.
Signing with one hand, I tell him he's good.
He comes over to me and it's now that I notice he has on rubber gloves and slips over his shoes. "I'll take care of the mattress later. Are you caught up on your rent? Will your landlord stay out of here until you miss rent next month?"
I nod. I point to the TV. "Can I take that?" I can carry it with one arm.
His phone rings, making us both jump. He pulls it out of his back pocket and swipes at the screen before silence falls over us again. "There should be a TV where we're going, it's been a while since I was there, but the place is loaded with movies and shows on DVD. A bit archaic, I know, but there's no way to get a TV or internet signal. There are also books as well, and I can bring you a console or something for old video games that don't require the internet."
I've been living without access to the internet for over a year now. I'm used to it. I don't even miss it. The WPP didn't want me to have any kind of social media presence, and if I had gotten the internet for myself, even if I didn't make a profile where someone would know it's me, I didn't want to be tempted or risk it.
I grab both sets of shoes I own, put one pair on while the other goes in the bag with my bathroom stuff. "I have everything I want."
He looks around. "Are you sure? You don't have any food you want to bring with you for the first night?"
I shake my head. "That would require there be food to bring. I ate the last of takeout before I fell asleep, and I don't eat much, to begin with,"
He arches a brow at me. "I've noticed."
The heat returns to my cheeks. I hate that he got a full view of my body, at least my upper body. I shrug. "I just don't think about eating until night time and then I tend to have one meal and stop when I feel full."
He returns with a shrug. "I'm going to make sure you have enough food for three or more meals a day if you want. C'mon, we shouldn't be hanging around here, too much. I'll come one night and clear it out before the landlord comes in; they'll think you just up and left without notice."
I head for the door and don't look back. Can't say I'm going to miss this place, but I have no idea where we're going next. I just hope I don't regret putting some trust in this man. If he pulls me back into the life I had before I'd given up, I'll take his gun and do the job myself.
Chapter Five
Gwen
"Hey, wake up."
My eyes open and I squint at the darkness all around us, the headlights shine on trees, but I don't see a house or even a mobile home. Is he expecting me to sleep in a tent or something for a month? He's crazy.
He turns on the overhead light in his car. I look at him. "Where are we?" I glance at the clock on the radio. It's been about four hours since we left the apartment. I can't believe I fell asleep, but I used to be able to sleep anywhere when I got the chance to sleep as a kid. I guess that old habit holds strong.
"About four hours outside of New York in the Boston woods. We've made it to the bunker.
Bunker? I look outside again. I don't see anything. "Here?"
He opens his car door. "Come on, you can't see it well unless you know where it is."
Getting out of the car as well, I realize I still have his leather jacket on. I pull it tighter around me as the chill outside cuts straight through my face to the bone. I follow him to where the headlights shine. Porter stands at the base of a lone tree before he uses his boot to kick leftover snow and leaves off what looks to be a metal door. Reaching down he opens it with a creak. He motions for me to come over.
I do so hesitantly. I don't like the idea of being underground, but in the grand scheme of things, it's the easiest way to hide. No one can spot me from above or outside the place. If he's as good as he says he is, it will be hard for them to track me here. Boston would be one of the last places I would go, and the WPP would probably move me to the midwest to like Kansas or something, so they might not even come this direction.
There's a ladder and I can barely see the bottom with only the headlight shining over here. My teeth chatter.
"I'll go first and turn on the power. Then I'll spot you on the way down."
The words leave my fingers before I can fully think about it. "More like you just want to stare at my ass."
