6. Teddy
Teddy
“ I ’m out.” I throw my cards down on the floor.
“Come on, T. You’re not gonna fight for it?” Kyle teases me.
I roll my eyes. “Fight for what? We’re playing for Life Savers.”
The guys laugh while Kyle pouts. “Fine. Oscar, are you going to stay in?”
“Why not?” He shrugs.
Kyle finishes the hand, winning the pot as I knew he would.
We might be playing for candy, but I’m not about to give up my stash for Kyle-the-card-shark to steal.
When I quit smoking, I gained a candy addiction instead.
It started with suckers because it gave me a similar feeling as a cigarette, but now, any hard candy will do.
I stand, a groan slipping out. I’m too fucking old to sit on the floor anymore. How these young guys get me to do this shit still eludes me.
I head to the kitchen of our safe house to find a snack.
We’ve been here for four months, waiting for our target to show.
He likes to bring his mistress to the house next door.
Most of the time, he sends her home before leaving himself.
Our job is to move in during that short window when she’s gone and he hasn’t left yet.
Instead of a snack, I pour myself a cup of coffee. Outside the window over the sink, the mountains create a picturesque scene. If we weren’t here for the reasons we are, I’d enjoy the landscape a little more.
I’d planned to have gotten out by now. I had a letter drafted after our last mission went sideways, but something stopped me from pulling the trigger. This life is all I’ve ever known. If I don’t have this, what do I have?
“We’ve got movement,” Victor says through our radio. I head into the bedroom we’ve been using to spy on our target and pick up a pair of binoculars.
Three black SUVs have pulled up to our target’s house. The first holds four guards, each with their eyes on their surroundings. Our target gets out of the back of the second one and walks straight for the house while more guards get out of the third SUV.
“Something isn’t right,” I murmur.
“Doesn’t the mistress normally come, too?” Victor asks.
“She should’ve been in one of the SUVs.”
“Did we walk into a trap?”
“I don’t know. Stay vigilant. I want to know their every movement.”
“Copy that.” Victor keeps his eyes trained on the house.
I gather the rest of the team and fill them in on what’s happening. “This is our only chance to get at our target. We’re going in regardless, but adjustments need to be made.”
“I’ll work on contingencies,” Kyle offers.
I nod. “Oscar, help Kyle. The rest of you, prepare to move at a moment’s notice. We may need to go in without warning.” I also assign shifts to watch our target. Twenty-four-hour surveillance is a given, but now it’s even more imperative we stay vigilant.
The team nods and goes their separate ways. I go back to Victor for an update. The guards have set up a perimeter around the house. Either they know we’re here, or the target is preparing for a meeting with someone.
I’d prefer it to be the former. We’re well-equipped to defend ourselves in the event of an attack. It’s the unknowns that will fuck us over.
Victor and I watch through the window until night falls.
There hasn’t been a single slip in their security so far.
We change shifts to get some much-needed sleep.
I check in with Kyle and Oscar, who have come up with a few viable options.
Our original plan still seems like it might be our best, though.
“Get some rest. We’ll need you sharp tomorrow.” I leave the two of them at the table in the kitchen. When I get to my bedroll, my thoughts begin to spiral. Plans and strategies hold my attention until I force them away. I can’t afford to be sleep-deprived tomorrow. It’ll get someone killed.
“You got your guardian angel?” Kyle teases me.
I flip him off but check my pocket just in case. The guys gave me hell about putting that picture of Lottie in my pocket the first time. Then we got ourselves out of a few scrapes that we shouldn’t have survived, and since then, they’ve called her our guardian angel.
I haven’t read a single email she’s sent me over the past four years.
There’ve been plenty of times I’ve almost given in, but I couldn’t fucking do it.
She needed to move on from me. I didn’t want to hold her back from finding the man she was meant to be with.
It would also likely kill me if I found out she actually did find someone else. So, I stopped reading her emails.
I’ve written plenty of drafts that I’ll never send. Just because I haven’t read her emails doesn’t mean I’ve stopped writing to her. It’s become cathartic to share my thoughts with Lottie, especially knowing she’ll never read them.
My eyes haven’t left our target’s house. The guards are starting to get a little lax in their patrols. It’s been two days since they arrived, and we’re running out of time. I can’t afford to wait much longer. The potential for them to leave is high, and I won’t miss this opportunity.
Our original plan was to move into the house once a few guards left with the mistress. Now, our safest option is to stay distant and snipe the target when he’s leaving the house.
Based on their movements, he’ll likely be leaving any day.
Kyle and I are relieved from our posts, and we move into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
Sleep is out of the question for me now that my gut is telling me they’ll be leaving soon.
I have no idea what their plan was. No one has shown up for a meeting, and they haven’t made it obvious they know we’re here.
I’ll be on edge until we’ve done our job and are safely on our way home.
“We’ve got movement,” Victor calls out.
“Is Oscar in position?” I ask Kyle, who nods. Oscar is our best sniper and has been on the roof most of the day after the guards’ movements had changed. “Everyone, to your posts.”
The guys scatter to their positions while I move into the bedroom. Victor and I both set ourselves up in a window. His position has the best view, but mine shows the side of the target’s house. We’ve been prepped and ready for a while now, just waiting for the moment to come.
Black SUVs pull into the driveway, and the guards surround them. They’re alert, eyes scanning their surroundings. We remain still. We don’t want to give away our position .
Movement from the front door catches my attention. Our target comes out, surrounded by more guards.
“Oscar, do you have a shot?” I ask into our comms.
“Not yet.”
“Fire when ready.”
“Copy.”
It’s as if time slows. We hold our breath, waiting for Oscar to take the shot.
The gun sounds. Even with a silencer, the pop is still audible. The bullet hits our target, causing the guards to scatter.
“Nice shot, Oscar. Let’s move.”
The team jumps at my order. Within minutes, we’re in our trucks and getting out of Dodge. Unfortunately, the enemy is just as fast.
“We’ve got company,” Kyle says from the driver’s seat. I turn around to see three black SUVs on our tail. We’re not in a city, so losing them will be tough.
Kyle pushes our vehicle as hard he can without crashing us while the rest of the team prepares to fire. This isn’t the outcome we wanted, but it’s where we are.
Shots are fired at us, and I instinctively flinch.
“Hold on,” Kyle warns as we lean into a turn at a much higher speed than is safe. Somehow, our second truck stays tight with Kyle. He opens it up on the straightaway to gain some distance, but it’s not enough. The enemy is going just as fast around the corner.
“They’re dropping back,” Victor calls through the comms from the other car. Before he even finishes speaking, an explosion rocks through us. Our second vehicle is now a fireball in our rearview mirror.
“Fuck!” I slam my hand on the dash. Kyle’s mouth tightens while his eyes stay focused on the road. “Get us out of here, Kyle.”
He nods, pressing on the gas to gain some distance. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but we can use the explosion to our advantage.
Two more turns later, and I think we’ve lost the SUVs. Kyle has continued to keep up our speed. We’re not taking any chances.
“Anything?” I ask the car as a whole. We’ve all been watching out the back, so if I haven’t seen anything, they probably haven’t either.
“Nothing,” Oscar confirms.
A tiny spark of hope shines in my chest.
Then there’s a deafening boom, and the world turns upside down before everything goes dark.