Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (9 page)

I’d
modified this skirt with pockets in which to carry the tools of my
trade. In addition to the flashlight and the knife I’d taken from
the kitchen, I carried a thin black cloth bag and my black leather
gloves. I pulled on the gloves.

Sorry,
no time to enjoy the painting.
With one quick glance, I decided
that ballet costumes were whimsical but impractical. I wondered if
this ballet type of dancing was meant to tell a fairy tale. I hadn’t
had much use for fairy tales in my life. I tossed the painting onto
the bed and saw the door of the wall safe. This was a much more
advanced model than I was used to. As quickly as possible, I entered
the code. The safe didn’t open. I punched the “clear”
button and tried again. I didn’t hear anyone yet, but I was certain
the butler wouldn’t be distracted for long. This time, the safe
opened. I emptied the contents into my bag and turned off the
flashlight.

As
I crouched down, I pocketed the flashlight and pulled out the knife.
Would I be able to take out the butler without the element of
surprise on my side?

Quiet
as a whisper, I moved toward the open bedroom door, slid behind it
and set down the bag. A large shape moved into view and turned on
the light. His gun was already drawn. He immediately saw the
painting on the bed and the open wall safe and pushed against the
door to ensure that no one was hiding behind it. I pushed back as
hard as I could.

As
the door slammed into the butler, I dropped down with as much force
as I could muster and stabbed the knife through his foot. He
stumbled. A grimace of pain crossed his face. Quickly, he regained
his balance and pointed the gun directly at me.

I
stood slowly, with my hands out to my sides, my gaze locked with his.
I took a step backward.

“Stop!”
he ordered. Just then I saw another shadow move behind him in the
hall. I dove to the side. A muffled shot sounded, and the butler
fell.

“Scott?”
I called out. No, it was Eberhardt who reached out and helped me up.
“Nice gloves,” I said. They looked just like mine.

“Why
did you call for Scott?” he asked.

“Not
now. I should have known you wouldn’t wait in the car.”

“You’re
welcome. Let’s go!”

“I
haven’t finished the job.”

“And
you won’t tonight. With him dead, it’s too hot. We need to get out
now.”

I
sighed and then removed my gloves and shoved them into my pocket. I
followed Eberhardt to the front staircase. Fortunately, luck was on
our side, for the moment. No one was in the front hall, and no one
seemed to have noticed that the butler was missing, yet.

Eberhardt
pocketed his gloves and his gun. He pointed toward himself and then
to the front door. Then he pointed at me and in the direction of the
servants’ entrance. I nodded. Eberhardt must have entered as a
guest. I watched as he confidently strode into the night. Then I
took a smaller side corridor to the servants’ entrance and
successfully bypassed the busy kitchen.

During
the drive home, I had time to mull over the events of the evening.
Rick shouldn’t have sent in Eberhardt after I had specifically told
him not to, but if he hadn’t, I had to admit that I probably would
have been captured or worse.

I
silently studied Eberhardt.

After
a few minutes, he turned in irritation. “What?”

“Thank
you.”

“It’s
what I do.” He returned his attention to the road.

“Thank
you just the same.”

He
glanced at me again. “Backup is a good thing, you know.”

“Can
I ask you something?”

“I
guess.”

“Where
did you learn how?”

“How
to what?”

“Let’s
see.” I began to tick off items on my fingers. “How to
infiltrate. How to take out a trained bodyguard without flinching.
How to be backup.”

“Oh,
that.” His eyes clouded over. “The military.”

“Really?
I didn’t think people could leave.”

“They
can’t.”

“Rick?”

He
looked at me. “Guy.”

“When?”

“Not
too long ago. I guess it’s been about a year now.”

“Did
you fight in the last war?”

“The
one against Mediterra?”

“Yes,
the one that caused the Divide. Did you?”

“Yes.”

A
thought occurred to me. “Weren’t you afraid you’d be
recognized at Ramsey’s party? There were a lot of soldiers there.”

“I
didn’t mingle.”

“Oh.”
Clearly, this conversation was over.

-Keira-

Scott
Was There

When
we arrived at Guy’s apartment, he turned off the teleview and stood
up.

“It’s
not over yet,” I said as I set the bag of gats in the center of
the dining table.

“What
happened?”

“I
got the money and Eberhardt took out the butler, but Ramsey is still
alive.”

Guy
shot Eberhardt a concerned look.

“Had
to.” He shrugged. “She was cornered.”

“I’ll
have to go back in a few days to finish the job. I won’t be safe
until she’s gone.”

“I
still don’t think you should.”

“Obviously,
or you would have told Eberhardt to wait in the car like we’d
agreed.”

Guy
stared at me. “I never agreed to that. Let’s talk about your
other options.”

“Scott
talked about other options too. What did you say to him?”

“To
help you.”

“What
does Scott have to do with this job?” Eberhardt asked.

“He
was there, at the party,” I said.

“What
did he say to you?” Guy asked.

“He
said, ‘Don’t do this,’ until I told him she’d hired me to
kill you.”

Eberhardt
looked at Guy. “Why was he at Ramsey’s party? Did you send
him in?”

“No,
I already told you. He’s military. He was invited to the party,”
I explained. “He’s one of her soldiers.”

Guy
spoke so softly I almost missed what he said next. “Keira,
Scott’s one of us.”

I
pulled out a chair and sat down, completely deflated. I shook my
head. “No, he would have told me. And he’s military.
Military is loyal to the Gov.”

Guy
knelt in front of me. “Keira, people are just people, no
matter what their career or social standing may be. Many in the
military swear loyalty to the Resistance, even above their loyalty to
the Gov.”

I
looked at Guy accusingly. “You’re not just a member of the
Resistance. Not if you have the authority to send people in.”
I emphasized the last part.

He
nodded. “You’re right.”

“But
you didn’t send Scott in tonight. He was surprised to see me.”

“You’ll
find, Keira, that the first rule of the Resistance is secrecy.
Secrecy is what keeps people safe. You’ll be given information on a
need to know basis only.”

“That’s
why Scott never told me? Because you told him to keep it a secret?”

“You
really should ask Scott about that.”

“Not
all secrets are good, you know. Just think, if you had told Scott
about your plans at the Ramsey estate, he wouldn’t have told me she
was looking for someone to ‘take care of a problem for her.’”

“He
connected you two?”

“Yes.”

Guy
stood and quickly turned away so I couldn’t see his expression,
but I heard an intake of breath. Then he turned his attention to my
black bag and dumped the gats onto the table. He formed three equal
piles.

One
pile he pushed toward Eberhardt. Guy looked him in the eye and said,
“For your family.”

Eberhardt
nodded.

He
pushed a second pile toward me. “Your payment for a job well
done.”

He
then indicated the third pile. “For the Resistance.”

I
reached out and pushed most of my pile toward Guy. “I’ll just
keep enough for living expenses. Use the rest to help someone.”

“You’re
certain?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.
I may not agree with you all the time, but like I said before, I’m
in. I meant that,” I assured him. “Guy?”

“Yes?”

“When
we first met, you asked me if you could trust me. The answer is yes,
you can.”

“I
believe you.” He paused. “Keira…”

“Yes?”

“You
can trust me too.”

I
got the feeling that Guy wanted to say more, so I waited for a
minute. When he didn’t continue, I said, “I’m tired.”
I turned my gaze to Eberhardt. “Would you mind driving me
home?” We needed to talk.

-Guy-

Killing
Is Never Good

I
closed the door behind Keira and Eberhardt and went to the front
window. Tonight went better than expected. I watched them walk to
the car together. If anyone could convince her of the benefit of
team operations, it would be him.

I
was glad Keira had not killed Elaine Ramsey. Killing was never the
best option. And Ramsey was too high profile. Removing her was too
risky.

We
would have to do something to make her lose interest in Keira though.
Probably the best way would be to get Keira a new identity, whether
she wanted one or not. If Keira Maddock couldn’t be found, Elaine
Ramsey would not be able to control her and could not use her as
leverage against Scott.

Keira
had also demonstrated her loyalty to the Resistance tonight, in more
ways than I had anticipated. She was definitely an asset. Scott
should have told her a long time ago.

I
had to admit, I was starting to like her. Keira had a spark, an
energy that I was drawn to. She forced me to think about situations
from different perspectives, and she kept me on my toes. I smiled
and turned away from the window.

-Keira-

My
Apartment!

As
Eberhardt pulled the car away from the curb and accelerated, I turned
and glared at him. It was one thing to keep secrets, yet another to
lie. “You told me you’d never met Scott,” I accused.
“Why?”

He
raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I haven’t met Scott.”

“What?
When you walked me home that day, you told me he wasn’t part
of the Resistance.”

“No,
I didn’t.”

“Well,
you implied it. Do you keep secrets too?”

“It
really is for the best. You don’t need to know all the facts to
follow orders.”

“I
don’t follow orders. If I wanted to do that, I would have joined the
military.” I thought for a minute, and then said, “If
you had met Scott before, you still wouldn’t tell me. You would
probably even lie to protect that secret, right?”

Eberhardt
turned his head and gave me a steady look. “I haven’t met him,
but I know who he is. I’ve only ever seen him from a
distance.” He returned his attention to the road.

I
sat back in my seat and mumbled under my breath, “I hate
secrets,” even though I knew very well that I had many of my
own.

When
we arrived in my neighborhood, the streets were nearly deserted, and
it was very dark. Streetlights didn’t work around here, so the
unexpected light was almost blinding, and the noise left my ears
ringing.

My
heart jumped to my throat.

Eberhardt
swerved to the side of the road and pulled to an abrupt stop.

My
apartment! I pushed open the door and leaped out of the car. The
sky was aglow. I pushed forward into the heat to witness the
devastation that had been my apartment building.

My
mother’s locket, her music! I moaned and fell to my knees. My
stomach reeled. Elaine Ramsey was still one step ahead of me. I
stood and stumbled blindly to some low bushes. I threw up again and
again, until there was nothing left.

Strong
hands on my shoulders pulled me away from the bushes. Eberhardt
turned me around so that I was looking him in the eyes. He held my
gaze until I was steady. Then he guided me back to the car. I
collapsed onto the seat and bent forward with my head on my knees.

-Guy-

Bringing
Her Back

I
was just about ready for bed when I heard someone at the front door.
No one other than Eberhardt and my parents had a key, and my parents
would have called first. Did Eberhardt need to tell me something
without Keira present, something that couldn’t wait until morning? I
hurried into the living room to see what he wanted but stopped short
when I saw Keira. Eberhardt led her to the sofa. Her face was
ashen.

“Her
apartment just exploded,” Eberhardt informed me.

“It
burned down?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“No,
it exploded,” he repeated, “just as we arrived.”

“Elaine
Ramsey…” I began. “Could she have?” If there
had been any doubt before, it was gone now. Keira was right. Elaine
Ramsey had ordered a hit on Rose – there was no doubt about it.
And this…this was more than a warning.

I
sat down on the sofa and put my arm around Keira’s shoulders.
Eberhardt dropped into a nearby chair. Keira leaned into me and
began to sob. Eventually, she settled and grew quiet.

“She’s
asleep,” Eberhardt whispered.

“Thank
you for bringing her back.”

“Do
you want me to stay?”

“No,
you can go home. We’ll talk tomorrow.” He reached over and
squeezed my shoulder.

I
lifted Keira and carried her into the bedroom. She was so light and
fragile-looking. One would never guess she was a Freelancer. I set
her on the bed and gently removed her shoes. Then I sat down to
watch over her.

Would
this strengthen her resolve or weaken it? It was obvious that she’d
been shaken to the core, but why exactly? Was it because of the
attempt on her life? No, I felt it was something else. The building
was just an apartment, wasn’t it? I’d have to ask Scott exactly
where they’d lived when their parents were still alive. Maybe the
building itself had been important to her. Perhaps it was one her
father had designed or maybe there was something important within her
apartment. What had Keira lost tonight?