Authors: R. S. Smith
“Where
are the sisters?” inquired his sister Janine.
“Kris
is here with me; Karlee is probably at home.”
“I
doubt it. Turn on your TV!”
He put the
phone on speaker mode, picked up the remote, and the large screen
came to life. There in living color was a video of the Lieutenant
Governor being assassinated! He had had a low-quality security
system, so the image was unclear. It had also picked up the killer's
voice, but again not clearly. The security guard had regained
consciousness shortly after Karlee's departure, and the police and
FBI were promptly on the scene.
“Oh
my God, that's my sister!” shouted Kris. “Even with her
voice muffled, I can still recognize it, and that's the way she moves
her body!”
“Well,
whatever you do, don't call her cell phone. It would ping the nearest
tower and leave proof of her whereabouts. I wouldn't be surprised if
the FBI checks those records for all inbound and outbound calls from
out-of-town numbers at least an hour either side of the killing,”
said Janine. “Give me her number. You have mine, so have her
call me as soon as you hear from her!”
Kristie and
Randolph were waiting at Karlee's condo when she returned home.
“Sis,
are you okay?” Kris asked as she hugged her.
“I've
never been better. Why are you guys here?”
“We
saw you on TV. You were awesome!” she declared with
enthusiastic admiration.
“What
do you mean? I haven't been anywhere.”
“It's
us, sis, your family. You don't need to lie. Besides, I'd recognize
your body language and voice anywhere, even if it's too poor of a
quality for anybody else.” She switched on the TV so Karlee
could see for herself on the next broadcast.
Karlee
looked over at Randolph, not yet comfortable thinking of him as
family.
“Janine
wants you to call her,” he said.
“Why?
I don't have anything to talk with her about,” she replied with
a tone of hostility. Karlee was playing it cool, as if nothing had
happened and as if there were nothing to discuss with anyone.
“How
did it feel, sis? Pumping those bullets into that sucker must have
been orgasmic! Was it, huh, was it?”
Try as she
might, Karlee could no longer conceal the hint of a wry grin.
“Oh,
I knew it!” shouted the younger Kris, jumping excitedly around
the room.
Soon the
replay of the security tape appeared on the TV. Kris watched Karlee's
eyes as they remained intently glued to the screen.
Karlee's
phone rang early the next morning. She hadn't felt inclined to make
the requested call to Randolph's sister. It was Janine on the phone.
“I
see you took my warning to heart. I must admit, it was totally
unexpected,” said Janine.
“I
don't know what you're talking about.”
“No
need to play coy with me, honey. I know Randolph gave you some idea
of what I really do, and we four all know it was you on that video.
For a rookie, it was a nice job. The fact that you're playing it the
way you are is impressive, too. Next time, don't turn on a light,
take night vision goggles if you need to. Next time, don't talk, just
shoot.”
“I
still don't know what you're talking about, Janine.”
“Dear,
I don't want to incriminate you. I want to hire you! I get more work
than I can handle now, and want to subcontract some of it and have
someone for backup at times that I can trust. I figure that with your
sister and my brother practically walking down the aisle together,
we're almost like family.”
“Really?
Well, I neither confirm nor deny anything. What kind of money are we
talking about?”
Meanwhile,
back at Randolph's place, he and Kris are lying in bed contemplating
the upcoming day.
“Are
we going to start my sniper lessons today?” she asked.
“What
makes you think you want to be a sniper, hon?”
“First
of all, I know what I
don't
want to be, and that's a housewife
who does cleaning, laundry and cooking. Your sister has nefarious
connections, you have a black-ops background, and my very own sister
was seen on national TV assassinating a prominent politician. What's
a girl to do? I want you to help me choose a rifle. Where's yours?”
“I
don't have one anymore. What exactly are you planning on doing with
it?”
“That's
my business, not yours.”
“If
you're going to be my wife, it is.”
“Is
that a proposal?”
“No.”
As they
cuddled together, she slid her hand down across his stomach, looked
to see how his eyes responded, then slid it lower, down between his
legs. Getting the expected response, she asked, “Why not?”
She began kissing and licking his neck as she awaited his response to
the question, then inched her kisses down across his stomach,
following the path her hand had taken. Suddenly she paused, looked up
at him and asked, “Why did you just say
that
? As long as
I've known you, you've never once mentioned the word
wife.”
The intimate moment turned into one of mild confrontation.
“Do
we have to talk about this now?”
“If
not now, when?”
“Get
back to what you were doing and maybe we'll talk about it after.”
“No,
we'll talk about it now and besides, it's
your
turn for
that
!
Plus, I don't even know that I would say 'yes'.”
“Why
wouldn't you?”
“Why
would I?”
Just then,
his phone rang.
“It's
Aunt Bea. She wants to know if we can come for dinner next Easter.”
“She
really plans ahead. Did your friends ever call you Opie when you were
growing up?”
“What
do you mean?”
“Oh,
never mind.”
“Well,
we did nickname Carlton
the doorman
though. So do you want to
go or not?” he asked.
“I
don't get it. Okay, we can go, but only if you take your turn at
you-know-what.”
“We'll
be there, Aunt Bea,” he promptly replied.
The next
day, he took Kris gun shopping.
“We'll
look at a few. It's mostly a matter of personal preference, Kris.
There's the Parker Hale 85 or the 308, and there's the Lapua. Some
are more aesthetically pleasing than others, some designed more for
entry-level work. The Remington 700P is a good one. You could get a
rifle for under a thousand dollars, or go custom made and spend ten
grand. Like I said, it's personal preference. I'm still in touch with
some of my buddies from training at Ft. Benning and might be able to
help you get a good one. How much do you want to spend?”
“'A
craftsman is only as good as his tools' dad used to always say. I
want to be the best. Ten grand is good.”
The rest of
the afternoon was spent shopping and learning. In the end, Kris opted
for the custom model. Randolph special-ordered it through one of his
buddies. When it arrived, he wrapped it as a gift, placing a diamond
ring around the trigger. Kris arrived for dinner early that evening.
“What's
this?”
“What's
it look like?”
“My
sniper rifle!” she said excitedly.
“Open
it.”
She tore
off the wrapping paper and drooled over her new toy, quickly noticing
the trigger assembly. “What's this, good sir?”
“What's
what?”
She slipped
it off the weapon, not sure which item was giving her more goose
bumps, the rifle or the ring. It was the ring she realized, trying it
on for size. “Oh my, it's just the right size. I love it!”
“So?
Will you marry me, honey?” he asked, kneeling on one knee.
Once again,
she looked into his eyes, pausing to answer. He began to get more
nervous.
“Are
you sure, baby?”
“Totally!
I love you, Kristie! I want to spend the rest of my life with you and
have lots of kids, if that's what you want.”
“Yes!”
They kissed, but instead of heading for the bedroom to celebrate, she
picked up the rifle. “Oh, Randolph, you couldn't have possibly
gotten me a better engagement present. Let's go shoot it!”
He gave her
shooting lessons the rest of the evening and was impressed with her
progress. “You're almost as good as I was when I started,”
he said.
“Soon
I'll be better!”
“Ya
think?”
“I
know! I'll be the best. I'm a girl who gets what she wants,”
she bragged, holding up her left hand and showing off her new ring.
“I can't wait to see the expression on everyone's faces at
Easter dinner this weekend!”
“About
that, there are a few things you should know about me before we do
this,” he cautioned.
“Don't
tell me yet,” she requested, placing her forefinger on his
lips.
“You
women are attracted by the mysterious element, aren't you?”
“I'm
as curious as a cat, but we all know what happened to that poor cat,”
she said. “Things have been so good between us that I don't
want to risk it. Just tell me later and remind me that you offered.”
“'Nuf
said,” he replied with an expression of relief.
“I'm
going to text Karlee to be sure she and Carlton will be there for
Easter dinner to share in the news. If I call her, she'll surely get
it out of me, but by texting, it'll keep her guessing.”
Meanwhile,
Karlee was reflecting on her life and pondering her future. Listening
to Janine had fired-up her imagination in considering her life-path
and its possibilities. Their talk had intrigued and tantalized her.
Her time with Carlton had been nice, but lacked the excitement she
craved. With all the potential adventures and risks she might be
facing, she wondered if there could still safely be room in her days
for him. She had changed from the woman she had been and was
wondering if she even wanted to marry him anymore. Just then her cell
phone beeped and she looked down to read Kristie's incoming text
message. A knowing-grin appeared on her face as she read it.
The
following days passed quickly and the long-awaited Easter dinner
evening arrived. It was the same routine as before, with hors
d'oeuvres and ice water with lemon slices served in the library.
Janine showed up with a date named Alexei. He had a European accent
and claimed to work for Interpol, but was mysteriously evasive on
specifics. Karlee and Carlton wandered off to spend some private time
on the balcony. As before, the butler rang the dinner bell, the group
moved to the dining room, and the traditional martinis were served to
everyone. When the servants began clearing the dinner plates for the
dessert to be served, and everyone was starting to feel their liquor,
Randolph loudly tapped his fork against his glass and stood to make
his statement.
“I'm
glad you all could be here tonight, because I have an important
announcement to make.”
Aunt Bea's
face lit up with a broad smile. Uncle Reggie looked indifferent as he
ordered yet another drink. Karlee writhed with anticipation.
Kristie's eyes sparkled. Carlton looked sad, but feigned a keen
interest. Janine was distracted with Alexei.
“I've
asked the love of my life to marry me and she has graciously
accepted. We will live together in the meantime. Please stand up,
sweetheart.”
They now
had everyone's attention and each called out their congratulations.
Kristie proudly showed off her large, new diamond ring. After a few
rounds of toasts to the happy couple, Carlton began tapping his fork
against a glass to share another piece of news.
“It
appears this is to be an evening of family announcements. Karlee and
I have decided that as fond as we are of one another, marriage is not
the right avenue for us. We have broken off our long engagement and
agreed to remain good friends.”
The dining
room was filled with an air of startled chatter. The liquor
consumption increased markedly. Alexei, who had barely noticed Karlee
earlier, now became interested.
The
following months passed uneventfully, then Janine got called over to
London on business. Karlee accompanied her. It was her first time in
London and the first time she had ever gotten a stamp on her
passport.
Alexei
resided there in a remote, old English castle which had been updated
with all the modern conveniences, so they opted to stay with him.
While Janine was away for the day on business, Alexei and Karlee
lounged about by the Olympic-size pool.
“How
does an Interpol agent afford such an impressive lifestyle, Alexei?”
“I'm
not technically an agent, but rather more of a consultant, or an
Independent Contractor as Janine calls it. I understand you two might
start working together.”
He was a
little evasive, but she loved listening to his European accent. It
reminded her of what had initially attracted her to her ex-fiancé.
Alexei appeared to be around age forty, roughly ten years older than
she, had a James Bond physique, and a distinguished look.
“Where
are you from, Alexei?”
“Belgium
originally.”
Just then
two young women in bikinis joined them from inside. They were around
age twenty.
“These
are my two nieces, Claudette and Roxanne,” he informed her.
“Girls, meet Karlee.”
They smiled
and nodded at one another. Claudette slipped off her top, then took a
dive into the pool. Roxanne followed her lead.
“We
Europeans are less modest than you westerners,” explained
Alexei. “Unisex bathrooms, hostels, saunas, showers and such
are prevalent all across the continent. Please feel free to go
topless if you wish. We rarely wear swimsuits at all, but did so
today so that you would not feel uncomfortable.”
“I
appreciate that, Alexei. My sister used to be the conservative girl
and me the liberal one. Now she feels comfortable being naked in
films for her agents and I've become the shy one. She makes me feel
as though I'm missing out on a part of life sometimes.”