THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Epilogue - 11/6/16

[Roswelllostcause]

Wow! Things are not getting any better for any of them!

[Earth2Mama]

I've missed a few parts... but boy was catching up on them - fun to read!

Lots of things happening,making shape and unfolding. Can't wait to read more!

[begonia9508]

Great part! And I even loved Tess, that's a first!

I really loved that they - he and Kyle - belong to the Seals! It is an elite and the best from the Army...

Waiting impatiently for moe! EVE

[keepsmiling7]

Can't wait for more,
Carolyn

[L-J-L 76]

All I can say is another great chapter!!!!

From:
L-J-L 76

[sarammlover]

I find it interesting Michael didn't think twice about the fact he may have a tracer too. I am glad Isabel found hers and was able to contact Michael and let him know. Once again you have brought Kyle and Tess to the forefront and I am IN LOVE with them already. I love their characters and their relationship and we've only just met them. I can't wait until next sunday!!!!!!

[Double Trouble]

Alien_Friend: Things are picking up and that speed’s gonna hold on for a while. There’s a very limited number of people Michael considers worthy of his trust. You’re right. Anything happens to Kyle or Tess and he’d never be able to forgive himself. Yep, they know how to handle themselves.

It’s going to take time before we get any intel on our assassins‘ pasts, but you can be sure that as inquisitive as Alex is, he’s on the case. We may just find out in time how Maria does in similar situations.

This one’s looking to be a long and bumpy ride, lol, but we’re having a lot of fun delving into our new project and we’re glad you’re enjoying it!

Eva: Lol, Kyle and Tess are capable and a lot of fun. The guys both have that loner quality, but Kyle’s found someone to spend his life with.

Nope, that transmitter’s a little trickier than Val was hoping for, but don’t worry, she’s already working on Plan B.

You know, if someone out there wants to make us an offer... we’re open to that, lol. Thanks for the compliment!

Roswelllostcause: Lol, nope, not yet.

Earth2Mama: Welcome back!

Lots of stuff going on and more to come.

begonia9508: Thanks! Tess is a force to be reckoned with, lol.

The SEALs really are an elite unit, the best of the best.

keepsmiling7: Thanks for reading!

L-J-L 76: Thanks for reading!

sarammlover: Put it down to the years he’s been doing this job and never had reason to suspect that he had been tagged. We’re glad you’re lovin‘ Tess and Kyle. We’ll have more of them today. And here it is again... Sunday!



Part 15

“Ten years ago,” Maria nodded with a tight feeling in her chest when Michael disappeared out of sight.

“I’m sure you’re aware he knows how to handle himself, and Tess is fully capable of backing him up.”

“I know,” she sighed.

“He said he removed a tracker. Why don’t you move over to the table and have a seat, let me take a look at that incision?”

Her eyes met his briefly. “Okay.”

“Any idea why you’ve been targeted?” he asked as he washed his hands and then collected a first aid kit before moving over to join her.

“Not exactly, no. But next to my uncle I was the only survivor of an explosion where our families died and while they reported it was an accident, we know now that it was a planned assault and I was intended to be dead as well, so I guess that’s the reason. An’ lately I’ve started to find more proof that it wasn’t just a fatal accident.”

He stood behind her and moved her hair aside so he could remove the bandage. “You found anything to indicate why your family might have been targeted? Maybe something political?”

“Definitely something political but not sure what yet.”

He grunted in acknowledgment of her response and gently probed the area around the stitches. “Well, he did a good job patching you up. Do you have any pain in this area here?”

“Yeah, a bit,” she made a face.

“There aren’t any signs of infection, so that’s a good thing.” He cleaned the wound and applied an antibiotic ointment before bandaging it. He pulled the sterile gloves off and disposed of them and then went to get a painkiller that he offered to her. “Here, this’s stronger than what he probably had on hand to give you.” He cleaned up and then leaned back against the table. “Your dad was Daniel Deluca, wasn’t he?”

She frowned. “How’d you know?”

“I’ve worked joint ops with the FBI before,” he answered with a shrug. “He’s kind of a legend.”

Maria nodded, feeling depressed. “I’ve heard he was good at his job.”

“Yeah, he was the type that didn’t back down from a fight.”

“So you knew him in person?” She was surprised to meet someone who knew her dad so many miles from home.

“Didn’t really know him. My dad was an agent and he worked with your dad a few times. I met him a couple different times when my dad took me to the office with him.”

“That’s nice,” she mumbled, lifting her feet into the chair and wrapping both of her arms around her legs.

“You need something to eat? It might be a while before you get a chance to stop again.” He checked the time. He’d give it half an hour and then he’d head out to do the preflight check.

“No, we stopped at a drive-thru not long ago. I’m not really hungry. But thanks.”

He nodded. “I’m gonna put an emergency supply pack together so just hang here with the dogs,” he said when they returned from their perimeter patrol.

“Okay,” she eyed the animals skeptically without moving.

“You’re safe with them, Maria,” he assured her with a small smile. “They’re specially trained guard dogs.”

“Are they bulletproof?”

“No, but the windows are.”

“They are?” She was surprised.

“Yeah, they are. We didn’t spare any expense with our security measures.”

“Well, I guess that was a smart move. You never know who’s coming out here.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“I’m really sorry we pulled you into this mess.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

“No, but that wouldn’t make me feel any better if something happened to any of you.”

He waved his hand through the air. “If trouble has to come to someone’s doorstep, at least we’re equipped for it.”

Maria smirked. “Well, I’m glad you look at it that way.”

He shrugged with a grin. “I’ve gotta get that pack together. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.” She didn’t really feel comfortable though and when he left the room all she did was look around to find a spot that couldn’t be seen from the windows.

*****

The helicopter ride passed in silence as the two people busied themselves with their own thoughts. Tess landed a safe distance from the clinic and they hurried up to the small building. She unlocked the rear entrance and entered her code to disarm the security system before stepping aside and letting him enter.

“So what’s the story?” She studied him as she led the way back to the room that housed the X-ray machine.

“What?” he growled.

“You never go against their orders, and especially not for a target, so what gives?”

“Who said I was going against orders?”

She glanced over her shoulder while she prepared the machine. “Unless you switched jobs and now work for a personal protection company it’s pretty obvious, and although I’m blonde I’m far from being stupid.”

He smirked and reached for the back of his tee shirt to pull it over his head. No, she was one of the toughest and smartest women he knew. “I wasn’t far from killin’ her. Everything was set but then Blondie decided to play her ace in the hole.”

Tess chuckled at his lovely nickname for the woman and gestured for him to get rid of the rest of his clothes. “We’re doing a whole body x-ray, that’ll save time.”

“You wanna kill me with the radiation, Harding?”

“It won’t kill you.” She looked at him briefly when he stood in front of her naked.

“Like what ya see?” he teased and held his arms out at his side.

She shrugged carelessly. “I’ve seen better.”

“At home? Your old man’s gained a few pounds since you’ve been livin’ out here.”

“Shut up,” she laughed and brought him into position for the x-ray. “So what was Maria Deluca’s ace in the hole?”

He shrugged and shot a look at her when she warned him to stay still. “She was certain she recognized me.”

“And you just believed her?”

“Hell, no. I followed her to a cabin and I observed her. After she left I had a look at the documents she was reading and there was a picture of me from 2005. Had to know where she got it and why she had it.”

She nodded and guided him over to the x-ray machine, placing him in front of it the way he needed to be. “After all those years to suddenly meet someone from the past you don’t know. That has to be weird.” And it was a very good explanation why he couldn’t just kill her.

“Yeah, it’s weird alright.” He studied her expression when it turned pensive and she fell silent. “What?”

“Where’d Valkyrie say that tracker was located?”

“A scar below her left shoulder blade.”

“Well, that’d make sense,” she murmured as she studied the screen. “Of course, you have bits and pieces of shrapnel from that blast outside of Tehran so it makes it a little more challenging with you.”

He shrugged. “Wherever it is, Valkyrie says the damn thing could be felt from the surface but once they started cutting it was too deep to get to without a professional holdin’ the knife.”

“Well, it’s a safe bet it was implanted someplace on your back that you can’t reach, otherwise you might’ve noticed it. And if you’re bein’ tracked, they wouldn’t wanna risk you finding it and cutting it out.”

“Hard to cut anything out on your own back,” he muttered and stepped away from the machine to pull his boxers on.

“This could be something,” she studied the x-ray for several more seconds then walked over to him and felt around his back, pressing her fingertips into the space between shoulder blade and spine. “Yeah, I think we found it. It’s deep, halfway under the bone and considering how long it’s probably been there, it’s probably gotten quite comfortable with a few tendons. It’ll be challenging to get it-” She fell silent when the alarm on her wristwatch went off, announcing that someone was entering the building.

“Grab what ya need,” he ordered, pulling on the rest of his clothes and taking his gun in hand. “Stay in here an’ I’ll get rid of them.”

She checked her own weapon, placing the Glock on the counter within easy reach as she hurried to pack up what she would need to remove the tracker. It would be dangerous to attempt an extraction on the move, but they didn’t have much of a choice at this point.

Michael slipped out of the room, pressing himself against the opposite wall and glancing around the corner briefly. He didn’t detect anyone but a moment later he saw the small beam of a flashlight in another hallway and he knew he only had to wait in the dark until the person made it over to him.

Taggart checked the reading on the handheld infrared scanner, shaking her head when she located the heat signature of the target. Other signatures dotted the scanner’s screen, but they were smaller and four-legged, indicating the animals housed in the clinic. There was a second signature that was hurriedly moving and it was significantly smaller so she knew it wasn’t him. She killed the flashlight and pocketed it before moving back into the shadows. She was familiar with Bane’s reputation and he would already know she was in the building.

He had already killed one assassin and she had no intention of being the next on his ever-increasing list of kills. His posture on the scanner was rigid, his stance a dead giveaway that he was armed and ready for her. She had no idea how he had identified her presence because stealth was one of her greatest attributes. There had been no indication of an alarm system present in the older building, but the exterior was very misleading.

The inside of the clinic left no doubt that the patients received the highest quality of care available. The medical equipment was state-of-the-art and expensive. Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t give a second thought to any destruction of property that occurred in her pursuit of the target. However, orders had come down to avoid drawing attention unless it was absolutely unavoidable. The Circle was not pleased with the disobedience of two of its employees and the failure of two others to contain the two rogue assassins.

It had taken considerable manpower and expense to clean up the two crime scenes and force feed local law enforcement and reporters credible stories to cover the incidents. She moved silently, her gaze constantly moving from scanning the darkness around her to following his heat signature on the tiny screen. He was just ahead of her now, around a corner, and the only thing separating them was a narrow interior wall.

An interior wall that was most likely hollow, she mused as she pressed a button on the scanner to add a new feature. The screen on the scanner shifted slightly before stabilizing and her lips lifted in a cold smile when the inside of the wall appeared. The wall was less than four inches thick and he was standing between the two-by-fours that made up the interior support. Her gaze never moved from the scanner as she unsheathed the knife at her side. She directed the blow upwards, aiming for his heart, and the serrated blade easily moved through the plaster and into her target.

She was quick to pull the knife back when the target didn’t make a sound; not one of surprise, not one of agony, nothing at all. She stared at the blade in the moonlight, her eyes narrowing suspiciously when the only thing coating the metal was plaster dust. She cautiously moved around the wall, pausing when she saw a coat rack shrouded in what looked like a large blanket. She reached out to touch it, frowning at the heat coming off of it. It was some sort of heating blanket, maybe something used for injured animals.

Her temper boiled but as much as she would’ve liked to grab the coat rack and throw it through the nearest window to express her rage, she controlled the urge and turned, bringing the scanner up to search for Bane. Her eyes never had time to land on the small screen because as she turned she found herself face to face with him.

“Taggart,” Bane growled and made a quick move forward, his huge hand wrapping around her slim neck tightly while he pressed her against the wall. “Nice try. Did you really believe I’d let you stab me through a fuckin’ wall?” His hand pressed harder.

“You’re dead,” she rasped. “Me or someone else, but you’re a dead man.” She shifted and managed to wrap her hand around her gun.

“Certainly not you,” he used his free hand to pin her wrist so that she dropped the gun immediately.

She had known he would notice the move and she used the momentary distraction to twist free of his grip and turn to land a roundhouse kick to his midsection. She bounced back on the balls of her feet, ready to take him on.

The little bitch, he thought, trying to ignore the pain when he moved into her space again, blocking her hits with his arms and using his height as an advantage to pull her against him. Holding her close to his body, he turned her around, grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her against the wall once more.

She shook her head, trying to clear it to no avail. “Had enough?” she asked weakly.

He leaned closer to her. “I’m sorry they sent you, Taggart,” he muttered.

She couldn’t make sense of his words. They weren’t the type of people who apologized. “What?”

He didn’t want to kill her. She was young and compared to him or Valkyrie, a rookie. Using his weapon would make a mess they would have to clean up before they left, but he didn’t want to drag it out for her either.

“We both know the score, Bane. You let me live they’ll sign my death warrant. At least this way I go out doin’ the job.”

He nodded to himself and tightened his grip at the back of her neck, not doubting she would try to free herself if he wasn’t cautious.

With his free hand he lifted his gun and held it against her temple, pulling the trigger without warning.

“It’d be nice if you wouldn’t make such a mess,” Tess muttered. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, but still. The woman was shorter than Bane and the blanket he’d used as a heat signature had been behind her so at least the wall wasn’t covered in blood.

“She didn’t deserve to suffer,” he muttered and put his weapon back in its holster before leaning down and wrapping Taggart’s body in the blanket.

“No,” she mused quietly. “I’ve got everything I need to try and remove that tracker. We can take her with us and dump her body out over the mountains. Animals will get rid of the body quicker than we can. It’ll take years for anyone to find her remains when they get through with it.”

He nodded and accepted the cloth and cleaner she brought to wipe the blood away. It was a damn good thing the walls were tiled rather than covered in paper or paint. “Any video surveillance in here?”

“No, we’re good.”

He nodded. “Good. Let’s move before someone else shows up.”

“Don’t get blood all over my chopper,” she warned as they made their way out and she locked up behind them and hurried to toss a tarp over the backseat.

“Why don’t you worry about gettin’ us outta here while I handle what I’m best at, Harding?” Bane placed the lifeless body in the chopper, making sure it was wrapped in the blanket before he got in as well.

She ignored him as she started the engine and checked the panel as it lit up. Taking out the assassin would buy some time, but they had no way of knowing if another one had already been dispatched.

He took his place next to her and pulled the thick headphones over his ears. “Check in with Kyle and Blondie,” he demanded.

“You do realize the woman has an actual name, don’t you?” She turned a few dials and called out, waiting for a response from Kyle.

“All clear, babe,” he answered the call immediately. “What about you?”

“We have company but there’s no need to put out the welcome mat.”

“Everything’s set. We’re ready to leave when you get here.”

“Hurry it up,” Bane growled. He felt edgy and it was beginning to irritate him.

Tess started the chopper and they were up in the air in no time. “Where ya want us to drop you guys off?”

He shook his head. “Can you get across the border off the radar?”

“Maybe.”

“Canada’s close and we can get lost there.”

“You guys need some extra clothes.”

“I can pick up what we need on the fly.”

“You have to go through some surgery during the flight, Bane... Michael... which do you prefer?”

“What I know.”

“What the hell does that mean?” She maneuvered the chopper low over the landscape, her house already in sight in the distance.

“It means I don’t know who the hell Michael is,” he snapped.

“I guess it’s you. It’s just a name.”

“Is it?” He shook his head. Having a name might’ve changed everything. It didn’t matter now. He was who he was and a name wasn’t gonna change anything.

“Yeah,” she looked at him, “just a name. You decide for yourself who you wanna be.”

He grunted and pulled his gun out to check it. What did a name change? Nothing. It didn’t matter what anyone called him; he was who he was.

They didn’t talk for the rest of the flight but she could easily feel the tension in him. As soon as she landed the chopper, his gaze darted around for any sign of threat.

“Y’know, Kyle does know how to secure a perimeter.”

“He’s been settled down for a while now and I don’t wanna to be responsible for any damages.”

She rolled her eyes but kept any further comment to herself. She understood his edginess and the inability to be comfortable allowing anyone else to secure the situation. Even someone he trusted. “What’s the plan once we get you into Canada?”

“You drop us off an’ then you guys head back home. I don’t wanna drag you any further into this than I already have.”

“I know you don’t like to rely on anyone and you don’t wanna put us in danger, but I hope you know if your stubborn ass needs some help we’re here and we’re willin’ to help.”

He looked at her before opening the door. “I appreciate it, but I’d rather cut off my hand than have you guys risk the life you’ve built here.”

And as much as she’d like to snort at his response she knew better. In his position she and Kyle would both feel the same way.

Maria was already in the small plane, twisting her fingers in her lap awkwardly while she waited. She didn’t dare look out the window because every shadow could be hiding someone who was there to kill her and the adrenalin in her body had already been at dangerously high levels for hours now.

Bane dropped down out of the helicopter and jerked the rear door open to haul Taggart’s body out and heft it over his shoulder. He jogged over to the waiting plane and loaded the body in the rear hatch before going back to the helicopter and grabbing his gear. He made one final inspection of the interior before sprinting back to the plane, reaching it right behind Harding.

Maria glanced up when someone stepped into the plane and she was relieved when she saw him enter on his own two legs.

He scanned the plane’s interior, his gaze sweeping over Maria before he dropped into the seat next to her. “What’s that?” he asked with a nod at the two rucksacks resting next to her feet.

“He packed all kinds of stuff that he thought would be helpful.”

He nodded sharply and reached for one of the headsets hanging behind the pilot’s seat. “We’re gonna cross the border, try an’ stay off the radar. If we can do that we’ll have a chance to stay low and maybe get some answers.”

“Were you able to find the transponder?”

“Oh, yeah, we found it.”

“And?”

“And it’s not in a good place or easily accessible.”

“Oh,” she said, reaching for the wound on her own neck. “What now?”

“Now we get in the air and Harding will try to dig the damn thing out.”

“Isn’t that kinda dangerous?” she asked worriedly.

He shrugged. “It’s what has to be done.”

Her gaze shifted to the window and the ground flying past them while she tried to settle her nerves, but it was a poor attempt. When was this nightmare going to end?

When you’re dead, an inner voice said.

“Kyle’s gonna take the controls as soon as we reach cruising altitude,” Tess said over the headset. “Our best bet is to remove the tracker if we’re gonna throw them off your trail, but if we can’t get to it we may have to settle for attempting to kill its signal. Either way, this shit’s gonna hurt,” she warned.

Bane didn’t flinch or so much as blink at the news. He had been hurt worse and he wasn’t afraid of pain. “Whatever it takes,” he muttered and forced his body to relax for the short time it would last.

Maria’s gaze bounced between the cockpit and the man next to her. She wasn’t wearing a headset so she wasn’t privy to what was being said to him but she had a bad feeling it wasn’t good.

He rolled his head on the backrest and pinned her with his eyes. “Try to get some rest.”

She tried to give him an affirmative response but a hysterical snort escaped instead.

Or not, he thought and closed his eyes to give them a well deserved break.

She turned her head to stare out the window, wondering how the woman piloting the small plane could see where they were going. She could barely make out the trees below and that was only because they stood out against the snow on the ground. She could feel the plane climbing higher and she wondered if they were going to cross the border illegally. For a moment she wondered what would happen if they got caught and the authorities found out she didn’t have her passport. Did that matter if someone was trying to kill you? Could they put her in prison for that? No, Michael wouldn’t let that happen. He’d come for her in Pennsylvania, surely he’d come for her if she got arrested in Canada.

But what if that tracker was inaccessible? What if he died while they were trying to remove it? What if the woman couldn’t get to it safely and it killed him or permanently injured him? How could they even consider something so dangerous thousands of feet off the ground? Had they considered turbulence? It wouldn’t matter how steady her hand was if they hit an air pocket.

Tess checked the radar as well as the other instruments in front of her before nodding at Kyle. “Alright, you take over, I’m gonna see if we can get this thing out.”

“Roger that,” he said with a wink as he reached for the yoke. “I’ll keep ‘er as steady as I can.”

“Good,” she gave him a quick kiss and climbed over the seat. “Ready, Bane?”

[begonia9508]

Oh My, what's a dangerous life! Thanks EVE

[Roswelllostcause]

Things are never easy with any of them are they?

[Alien_Friend]

You two are good at writing this action and suspense stuff. It's sad to see all of these young beings that have to be sacrifice for this endeavor and that they will never have anyone mourning them. With that said I am glad that Bane is the winning over them though. To think of how crazy it is that Michael has to undergo surgery in a helicopter is mind blowing. I love how you come up with this stuff.

Will Tess and Kyle be able to go home since they tracked Michael at Tess' work? I am sure it wouldn't take much for the circle to find out more about her and where she lives. I like that the circle is annoyed with having to do a lot of work to cover up these failed attempts of eliminating the targets. It's quite amusing.

That is so fascinating that Kyle knew of Maria's dad. I look forward to seeing what that can mean as things progress.

Terrific stuff once again ladies.

Looking forward to more.