Page 77 of Targeted By Desire

THE ASSASSIN

The agents moved faster than I expected.

As I rolled onto Simone’s block, my eyes immediately caught the plain clothes agents sitting in the car in front of her house. Only one light shone through the darkness - her bedroom. Which, if they were really trying to play off her presence, was all wrong. At this hour, the silver light of the television would be reflecting off the curtains in the living room.

I drove past her house and turned onto the next street. I followed the road down to the empty playground to park my car.

I walked into the back of the van and sat down in Maria’s usual spot. Keys clacked under my fingertips as I logged into the surveillance measures we’d set up.

Simone’s phone signal had gone dead. Her computer screen was idle - and had been for hours now. An addition had been made to her professional file.

Status: Temporary Protection Program

Location: The Grand Lyon Hotel

Times like this, I was grateful for the FBI’s attention to details. They made it too easy to find exactly what I was looking for.

I took the short drive to the five-star hotel where Simone was staying. As I passed the building, I noticed the extra doormen near the entrance. Clear earpieces made them think they were hiding in plain sight. Little did they know their shifty eyes clearly separated them from the steady gazes of the actual employees.

I parked a few blocks up from the building and went to work at hacking into their database. It took me a little while longer than it would Maria. While she could infiltrate any software with her eyes closed, I had to pay close attention to make sure I didn’t accidentally set anything off.

Eventually, I found Simone’s room number and activated a blank key card with the codes needed to access her room.

I pulled a hat over my head and hoisted a small backpack over my shoulders before slipping out of the van.

Since the entrance was crawling with feds, I decided to go in through one of the back doors. As I strolled through the backlot, I noticed an employee taking out the trash. He was bobbing his head to the music blaring through his ears. I quickly jogged behind him and caught the door before it could close behind him.

To avoid going towards the main lobby, I wandered through the side hall, looking for the stairwell. Once I found it, I walked up the ten flights of stairs to get to Simone’s floor.

I kept my chin down as I came out into the hall. The cap of my hat hid my face from the cameras. I’ll erase any footage of me off of them later. Right now, I just needed to see Simone’s face.

I held my ear to the door when I reached her room. Rather than voices, I heard the distant patter of water droplets hitting tile.

The pad over the doorknob turned green as I ran the keycard over it. I pressed down on the knob and let myself in.

The hotel room was a standard suite with a queen-sized bed, tiny cable television, microwave, and a window overlooking the street. A duffel bag lay open on the bed, mountains of clothes spilling out of it. The door to the adjoining bathroom was cracked open, some steam from the hot water creeping through it.

I scanned the ceilings for hidden cameras as I made my way across the room to the window. Across the street was a corporate building, dark with the exception of the company logo's lights. Still, I pulled both layers of the curtains together, blinding any eyes trying to look in.

I turned my attention to the small nightstand, noticing some velvet black boxes sitting atop it. Rarely did I see Simone wear any jewelry. I wondered what was so valuable that she couldn’t leave it behind.

A small click broke my thoughts, bringing me back into reality.

I turned around and almost smiled at the sight.

Simone was standing a few feet away, draped in a white robe with the hotel’s logo stitched over the breast and her hands wrapped around a gun. Her skin was still damp with moisture, the droplets sparkling like diamonds on her ebony brown skin.

“Good evening, Agent,” I said.

“Put your hands up,” she commanded. “Now.”

I happily obeyed.

Simone stormed towards me. Keeping one hand on the gun, she used the other to shove me around and slam me against the wall. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t arrest you right now.”

“Wrong outfit for role play, don’t you think?” I teased as I felt the familiar coolness of metal bracelets around my wrists. “Or is the robe to make my life easier? You know, considering you’re cuffing me.”

She locked the cuffs and turned me back around. Her free hand balled up the collar of my tee shirt as she pressed her arm against my chest, pinning me against the wall. “Two agents!” She shouted. “Two fucking agents are dead because of you.”