Chapter 1
She walked around the building the meeting would be taking place at in 10 minutes, making sure that there were easy exit points. This was going to be the final meeting with the Governor, he was offering her a honorable discharge, it came with a price and she knew it, but it’s worth it.
After 6 years of serving in the Special Forces, and the loss of all 5 members of her unit, she was done with the Army and isn’t ever going to look back.
So here she is, making a deal with the devil, also known as Governor Armstrong, crooked and dirty, known for taking bribes. But he got shit done in the community so everyone looked the other way of how he got new schools built with no funding. Activist citizens stood up and some even got as close as taking him to court, but they always mysteriously ended up backing out and moving away.
She finally took a seat in the caffe near the window, eyes automatically skimming roof tops for snipers.
“Hi my name is Katelyn, I’ll be your waitress. Can I start you off with anything?”
Ara winced, the girl was too enthusiastic happy people just pissed her off nowadays. Always looking at the bright side of things.. geez.
“Water will do for now.” She tried to smile as enthusiastically as the waitress sounded, but she knew the smile looked broken and out of place on her face.
“Coming up.” She smiled, and Ara wondered how many hours she’d have to practice in the mirror to even look as half as happy as that girl.
After couple minutes of scanning the rooftops and looking for suspicious civilians with bulges in their jackets, and Katelyn the waitress sitting her water on the table in front of her, the chiming of the coffee shop door caught her attention along with the icey breeze the made her shiver. The Governor finally decided to join her.
“Ms. Fulmori.” He said with his creepy voice while waving his body guards to stand by the door. He took a seat across from her while unbuttoning the lone button on his charcoal black suit and crossed his legs.
“Governor,” She mocked. “I sure hope you didn’t bring your boy’s for my sake.” She flashed a sarcastic smile and wonder if it looked like the waitresses. Governor Armstrong smiled a gross smile that reminded her of the chesire cat.
“I have all the papers you require,” he paused to tap the briefcase he had sat on his lap, Ara’s face practically light up without a smile, “But, I thought long and hard about the service I shall require from you, and I have to say it’s a great deal considering what I’m handing over to you, I have become soft in my days in office.” He looked down to try and sell it but she wasn’t going to buy it for one second.
“Get on with it, Governor.”
“I will call upon you one day, don’t give me that look, I mean business, child. I will call upon you one day, it doesn’t matter if it’s a month from now, or 5 years. I will call upon you. You’re going to want to answer that phone, my dear.”
Ara’s face scrunched up, he was an actual reincarnarion of Lucifer. But in Satan, the Lord of Darkness’ defense he seemed like a nice, misunderstood dude.
“As long as the papers are legit, I’ll sit when you tell me to sit.” He smiled again and Ara would bet money she doesn’t have that he practiced that smile in the mirror.
“Now that’s what I like to hear, if only everyone could share your values,” he handed her the papers and like an alcoholic she snatched the good stuff from him and quickly scanned through the papers, “The United States really did a good job on you soldiers, so obedient.” Ara’s lip quivered and it took everything in her to not flip the table and beat the shit out of him. The Governor took her silence as a sign to leave, “Enjoy your time as a civilian Ms. Fulmori,” he stood up and buttoned the button back up, Ara stood up with him, “there’s always a place on my team. These guys need a woman’s touch in the workplace.”
Ara slid the papers into her leather jacket “I’ve chosen to never work for the government again.”
“Smart girl.” He flashed her another chesire cat grin, “I’ll see you soon.. or not.” He turned around and waved his finger in the air in a circle at his bodyguards, the opened the door and as soon as he got a foot out of the door he fell back.
Ara was momentarily confused until she released there was blood gushing from his forehead. Shot, he got shot.
The world had once again slowed down, Ara has seen many people get shot, most from her own doing but this was unexpected. Someone one wanted him dead, and more than likely all of the people he has made deals with meaning that she is also on the list of people who are about to get blasted in the face.
It didn’t take longer than 2 seconds for Ara to escape through one of the emergency exit she had scoped out just minutes before the meeting.
Ara stopped as soon as she got into the alleyway to collect her thoughts for a mere second, but it was too later, a sack was placed over her head and before she could fight the assailant blind, she was already knocked out from something that smelled awful.
Ara woke up with her hands and feet tied to a chair. It took a moment before she realized and began forcefully pulling at the restraints.
“It’s about time.” a voice spoke up causing her and her adrenaline to jump. The sack was still over her head and she continued to pull at the ropes around her wrists. All she needed was one hand out and she could maybe survive this. Just maybe she had a chance.
“Where am I?” She gave a final tug at them before giving up.
“You’re in a motel just a couple miles out of the city.” The voice answered honestly then snatched the barrier off her face, she kept her eyes closed. It’s basic knowledge that if you see your kidnapper’s face, they’re going to kill you. So she sealed her eyes shut.
“So why am I here? You had the chance to kill me back there just like Governor Armstrong. So why am I alive?” She snapped.
It became silent, all she could hear was her heavy breaths and heart pounding in her ears.
“The Governor’s death was my mission.” He said. Great, now we have assassins thrown into the mix here in DC. And shit, double great because Ara was now looking at the person who kidnapped her. He’s rather large, not the largest she’s ever fought but she had a 50-50 shot of fighting her way out of this, maybe breaking a couple of bones along the way but she isn’t ready to die yet, especially for someone as fucking stupid as Governor Armstrong.
“And now your mission is to kill me, so get it the fuck over with and put me out of my misery.” Another way to survive is tricking your capture into thinking you’re okay with death.
“No,” he looked at her, causing Ara to immediately look at the wall on her left, “you aren’t my mission.”
“Then help me understand why I am sitting here with my arms and feet tied?”
“I need your help.” He sounded desperate and somewhat genuine.
“You need my help?” her eyes tightened and she finally gathered the balls to look at her capture, he just nodded, “you have a funny way of asking for help man.” She shrugged her shoulders trying to gesture to the fact that she’s tied up.
“I didn’t want you to run away.” She didn’t know what to say.
“Well, you left my mouth unrestrained and you didn’t think about that part did you because I’m about to start screaming.” She smiled sweetly before screaming at the top of her lungs. “HELP ME! HELP MEEE!”
In a quick movement the man forcefully brought his hand to her mouth so hard it tipped the chair she sat on back on two legs and he decided to lay her down on the floor still strapped to it with a metal hand over her mouth. Wait- metal?
“Shut up! Shut up!” He said sternly as he muffled out her screams. But Ara continued until she physically couldn’t from her dry throat hurting her. “Stop struggling before you make me do something we’ll both regret” He squeezed her cheeks painfully tight and Ara squinted her eyes, she’ll shut up- for now. Until her throat recovers so she can once again scream again.
He gave her a look before slowly taking his hands off her mouth.
“Now, like I said, I need your help.”
“With fucking what?” She was becoming frustrated with this entire situation. “I don’t want to help you with shit! You just killed my only fucking chance of being discharged from the fucking armed forces honorably!” began struggling against the ropes and the chair she was now laying on and began talking to mainly herself, “Oh god the fucking papers don’t mean shit now. They don’t mean shit. Oh god.” She rolled her head back painfully against the cement floor.
“I-”
“Yes! You! You fucking ruined everything and you want me to help you?” She scoffed at this game he was playing.
“Yes?” He said honestly, like he had no clue.
“That’s not how the world works,” She spoke in a very condescending voice, “you don’t go around ruining people’s lives and then ask the person you ruined for help because, well, fuck YOU!”
He scooted away from her and leaned against the motel bed as they sat in silence, Ara still huffing and puffing. “I haven’t even told you what I need help with.” He spoke after a moment.
“And I don’t want to fucking know! You know why? Because I’m not going to help you. So make a choice right here and now, you either kill me and dump my body at the white house doorsteps or get the fuck away from me so I can figure out how to get my life back together.
“I need help running away from the people that turned me into this.” He held out his metal...arm. And rotated it around.
“We’re all running from something.” Ara’s voice finally returned back to normal as she looked away from him and stared up at the motel ceiling. “And we usually do it on our own before kidnapping random people who can’t help with what you want them to.” They both looked at each other. “I can’t help you with something like that because I’m still running away from all the fucked up shit in my life, I can’t have both of our demons on my shoulders unless you want me to eat a bullet.” Both of them looked away from each other and Ara continued staring at the ceiling and him at the wall in front of him.
Both Ara and her kidnapper didn’t have a plan ‘B’, their plan ‘A’ failed and they both have no idea where to go from this point.
“We can help each other.” She bitterly laughed.
“Step One from running from… whoever, don’t talk to old contacts, ever. I need to find another corrupt Governor that will get me honorably discharged. Do you know how hard that’s going to be? All you need to do is get on a cargo plane and fly to a place you’ve always wanted to go.”
More silence, “We can’t help each other, what do you say you we go our separate ways and never look back on this moment?” He stood up and took a knife out of his utility belt and stared at it, Ara squirmed.
“Look..” he dropped the knife within her hand reach and stepped over her, opened the door, and disappeared into the night.
Ara grabbed the knife and began cutting the ropes before he changed his mind.