Chapter Eighteen #2
She missed the fast-paced action, and the ability to test her own skills as a government killer.
So, having this job come up…
It was going to be fun.
Jinx could already tell.
How did she know?
Well, first off, the dude lived in a high-rise apartment. That made it so damn difficult to get in there without drawing attention to herself. Jobs like this paid what they paid for a reason.
She got the big bucks because the client wanted her to disappear in plain sight, slip past cameras, people, and security to find the man's apartment, and somehow take him down.
She couldn’t scale the building.
That was out.
Jinx couldn’t pull a fire alarm.
That was out.
On top of that, there had to be about five hundred apartments. It looked as if she was going to have to figure out a different way to get in there.
And that’s when it happened.
She saw him.
On the flight there, she’d done her recon, getting all she could from Remmy and Calyx. She had his face, and lo and behold, the dude was leaving the building.
Holy shit.
Don’t tell her that the universe didn’t like a Snake, because now, he was on the move.
Yeah, he was going somewhere.
In his hand, he was holding a duffle bag, and at first, she thought he was going out on a job. Instead, he walked down the street, and she followed, driving past, parking, and waiting to see where he went.
That went on for about five blocks, and ten minutes. When she saw him go into a gym, Jinx knew she was about to get sweaty.
It was the most logical place to make her move on him. Not only was it perfect timing, but no one would pay any attention to her.
Not.
At.
All.
Getting out, she put money in the meter, opting to skip using the electronic option so there was no paper trail. Yeah, she had fake cards, but still…
For this mission, she wanted to do it as lowkey as possible. The team needed this asshole handled to tie up Devon Slater’s loose ends, and more importantly, because they weren’t sure if the man had hired him to go after the Blackhawks next.
Maura had sent out an alert to the team to keep their ears open and cover their bases.
So, cover it she would.
Going to the trunk, she grabbed her things, and headed in. At the desk, she could see the man going into the locker room to get changed.
So, she headed to the desk and made up some story about buying a one-day pass to try the gym out before she joined. The woman was nice enough to do that, and to give her a tour.
That gave Jinx the ability to scope the place out without looking out of place. The whole time, she made sure to ask questions, be loud enough that people would overhear, and no one would be suspicious.
In that time, the man came out, in workout clothing, and got on a treadmill.
Perfect.
She did the same after her tour and then got right on the treadmill beside him. Before that, she took off her wedding ring and slipped it into her bra.
It was time to use her Snake charms to get the job done.
Oh, it was a good thing Rogue wasn’t around because she was about to flirt her ass off.
As she started jogging on the treadmill, she knew the man was watching her from the corner of his eyes, and he should be. She was wearing tight workout clothing, and her tits were bouncing.
Thank you, pregnancy.
Momma had to make some coin.
When he slowed down to walk, she inadvertently hit the button to make her treadmill stop suddenly.
“Oh, shit,” she said, sighing.
The man beside her laughed.
“I hate when I do that. Then, I have to start all over again,” he stated.
She shrugged.
“Nah, I take it as a sign from the universe that I’m done working out. That’s between God and my ass,” she stated, the thick Russian accent out.
He grinned.
“Well, your ass looks fine from here,” he stated.
She batted her eyes at him. At least he was an easy target, and her lace-front wig wouldn’t be getting sweaty.
These things were pricey.
She held out her hand.
“Bunnie,” she stated, introducing herself to him. “Bunnie Mariya.”
He accepted her hand, and shook it.
“Bunnie?” he asked.
She leaned in and kept her voice low.
“It’s actually Elizaveta Mariya, but I got sick of having to spell it for people. Who doesn’t know how to spell Bunnie?” she asked.
That made him laugh.
“David Stedman,” he said, pouring on all the charm. “It’s a pleasure, Bunnie.”
Oh, he was an easy one.
And stupid.
What kind of fucking mercenary used their real name? That told her everything she needed to know.
Jinxy was about to make some easy money with this one.
“Da,” she stated. “I’m from Mother Russia. I just joined here, and already, I like what I see.”
He grinned.
“I have an idea,” he said. “Since the universe decided that the workout is over, why not join me for lunch? I know this cozy little place.”
She smiled.
Oh, Jinx bet he did.
“I need to clean up. I’m a mess,” she stated. “Can I meet you after a gym shower?” she asked.
He played with a piece of her hair.
And that was why you paid for the good wigs and not that synthetic crap you could buy online.
“Absolutely. Is it a date?”
She nodded.
“Da.”
That was all he had to hear.
“Crazily, I thought coming here today would be boring since it’s empty. I was wrong,” he stated, holding out his hand to help her off of the treadmill. “Today is turning into a damn good day.”
Oh, for her, yes.
For him, not so much.
It was going to end worse than he believed. By now, he was oblivious to his surroundings, but she wasn’t. Jinx had counted all the people and knew that the men’s locker room was now empty.
There was only the woman at the desk, them, and two older women on elliptical machines.
“Same,” she stated. “I’m glad I joined.”
As they walked toward the locker room, he waved at her as she went inside, and she blew him a kiss.
Yeah, her husband would be losing his damn mind.
This dude thought he was slick, but he wasn’t. Now, Rogue…that was a slick, sexy man.
Quickly, she grabbed her things, and slipped the gun into her workout clothes as she pulled her jacket over them.
Then, she headed into the men’s room, checking it out. He was on the phone, and she could hear him showering at the same time.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to cancel,” he stated. “I just met this sweet piece of Russian ass. I’m going to take her out, slip her something good, and take her to a motel.”
The place was getting steamy as she screwed on the silencer to her gun.
“Yeah, I’ll dump her ass somewhere. I just never fucked an honest-to-God Russian before. I’ll let you know how that goes,” he stated. “Wish me luck.”
When she heard the curtain close, she moved closer, and saw the only shower being used, so she knew where he’d be.
A rape drug?
Tsk.
Tsk.
Now, it was more than just taking out the loose ends. Now, it was also about taking out a foul piece of shit.
As she approached, he was whistling.
When she whipped back the curtain, he spun and saw the gun.
“Mercenaries don’t use their real names, jackhole,” she said, dropping the accent.
Then, she double-tapped him in the head, making him drop to the floor as the wall behind him was smeared with brains and blood.
As he sat there, she turned up the heat on the shower, took his phone, closed the curtain, and crossed to the closest basket of towels. There, she lit a fire, dumping accelerant from her bag of tricks into it.
Then, she ripped the smoke detector off the wall, and headed out, tossing that match into the now, highly flammable material.
Heading out, she waved at the woman behind the desk.
“I think I’ll see you tomorrow to sign up!” she said, leaving to get in her car.
As she drove down the square, she moved to a better vantage point. That’s when she saw the billows of smoke and people leaving the building.
It appeared she’d successfully taken out the trash.
When the firetrucks came, she watched the building engulfed in flames.
By the time they found the bullet, this would be a cold case on someone’s desk.
Jinx pulled off her wig and carefully peeled off the prosthetic nose and brow piece that altered her face. Now, she’d never be spotted on any of the other businesses' cameras.
Or at the airport returning home.
Turning off the man’s phone, she picked hers up and made a call.
To the boss lady.
When Maura answered, she was on the com. Jinx could hear the static and sounds around her, so she made it short and sweet.
“Mission accomplished,” she said. “One down. Tell my husband all is well. I’m heading home. Tell Gene to transfer funds to the women’s shelter.”
Maura got the message.
“See you back in NOLA. Good work, Jinxy. Get out of there.”
That was the plan.
“See ya, Major.”
And with that, she pulled the SIM card out of her phone, got out of the vehicle, smashed it with her shoe, and dumped it in the trash.
She saw a street cart vendor selling nachos, and a girl got peckish after doing a job. After getting a snack, she grabbed her bag, dumped the rental where it was so it would be towed, and hopped in a cab.
It was time to catch a flight and enjoy her snackie.
Or as she liked to call it, Girl Lunch.
Once more, she’d not only kept her skills sharp, but she also made some dinero for the women’s shelter.
Yeah, Jinx had missed this, Hopefully, with Von Donore dead, they’ll get more action going after BlackStone.
Because Snakes had to do Snake things.
Always.