Twisted Mercy

Adrenaline Low

September 17th, 2021

9:53pm

Location: Rockport, AR

**********

He squinted a bit, trying to make sure that he was actually making out a figure in the dark and not seeing something. He pulled out his flashlight and turned it on. His eyes widened in shock and mine, I'm sure, were filled with fear.

I can't believe I've been made. In no mission I've been on have I actually been caught. Gia has come close, but I've managed to always get her out of it. I guess that my luck had finally run out.

"Aidan, please," I whispered, frantically. I heard Gia gasp, certain she had heard me. All noise ceased on her end as she listened in.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped as we heard Jonny ask "You find anything, Aidan?"

I was begging Aidan silently, pleading with my eyes that he would show me one last act of mercy and not turn me in. He closed his eyes for a moment, silently debating with himself to turn us in and get a major promotion or side with the two most wanted people in the international crime syndicate.

After a moment or two, he sighed and turned off his flashlight. Then, with a voice full of confidence, he said "Nothing of importance, Jonny. Let's head back up."

"Alright, Aidan. I'll meet you at the door to the house."

His footsteps faded away and Aidan was still staring at me. His steel-gray eyes were stormy and he ran his fingers through his thick dark hair. He walked towards the alcove opening and turned his flashlight back on. Suddenly, I was aware of just how tall he was since his six foot four frame was towering over me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he signaled me to be quiet. His jaw was tight and his muscles were tense. He looked down the passageway and asked "Do you know how much trouble you're in right now?"

His voice was in such a low whisper that I thought I had imagined it. He then looked me in the eyes and I let out the breath I had been holding. "Aidan, I - we - you don't understand."

He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Enlighten me then, Lady J. Please tell me exactly how I don't understand."

"We couldn't come back. If we did, we would have been killed. Anyone seen helping us would have been...you would have been..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. Tears flooded my eyes, but they didn't fall. I can't be seen as weak.

I cleared my throat and looked him in the eyes. "You need to go. Go back to Jonny and stay safe."

Aidan scoffed and rolled his eyes. He headed down the stairs with me hot on his trail. We made it to the branch off in silence. As I headed to the trapdoor, he grabbed my arm, turning me towards him. He didn't look at me as he said "You make it back in one piece, okay?"

I turned his head towards me and traced the scar below his left eye. He got that awhile back when one of our sparring sessions went wrong. I still feel guilty about it, but it was one of the things that brought us closer together.

Aidan and I never really had a chance from the start. He was brought into the Cabal's inner circle a year and three months ago. We never got along, but we had an unspoken agreement amongst the two of us: respect me and I'll respect you. It wasn't until the two of us had to go on a mission together last December because Genevieve had pneumonia that we really got to know each other. From there, it was fun. We had to keep it on lock, so only Gia and Jonny knew, but it was still a thrill.

Then, we got shafted.

Aidan and I parted ways and I made it to the trapdoor. I opened it back up and crawled out, closing it shut behind me. I, once again, army crawled underneath the porch. I made it back to the area I entered the property from and sprinted the five yards (which doesn't sound like a lot, but I am not about to get caught twice in one night) to the forest. After diving behind the brush, I made the hike back to the van.

This was my least favorite part of missions. The adrenaline rush begins to wear off and I begin to think of all the mistakes I made. However, instead of focusing on what I can do to be better, my mind was consumed with what would happen to Aidan. We dated for eight months, but then I went off the grid after the mission in Louisiana. I guess we had never officially broken up, but the two of us stopped all contact with each other.

Once again, tears filled my eyes. He wasn't the first guy I gained feelings for. He, however, was the first one I thought it would last with. The other two guys I had dated whilst working for previous bosses were guys living in the town we were stationed in. Genna also had a couple of fleeting boyfriends here and there.

They never lasted because they never knew what we were doing. When it came time for us to up and leave, we would have to send letters. We couldn't even do it in person for fear they would try and make it work. Then, we would be delayed in leaving. And we'd be hunted down and tortured. The next time our exes' parents would see them would be in a closed coffin at the funeral home.

I made it to the van and hopped into the passengers seat. Genny started the van up and we began to drive off wordlessly. As we made it to Eddie's property line, she spoke. "Hey. Are you okay?"

I sighed and looked out the window. She turned down the two-lane, two-way road. "It's not like we were saying 'I love you' or anything like that before Louisiana. I'll be fine. Let's just make it back to the safehouse."

Those were the last words spoken between the two of us until we entered into the small city of Rockport. Eddie had his property outside of city limits, but everyone in town knew of him. They didn't know what he and his family did, however. They just thought he was some sort of celebrity.

No one knew about Genevieve and I or the horrors we've been involved in.

We took a right down the alleyway between the bar and a hotel. We parked the van behind a dumpster and got out. I took a tarp off of the dumpster and covered the van up. Now, it just looks like an extension of the dumpster. We headed towards one of the backdoors of the hotel and opened it up using the key we had managed to snag off of the drunk hotel manager. She was a sweetheart, but she needs to sort out her priorities.

We headed down towards the boiler room and, instead of heading straight in, we turned to the left and into the laundry room. From there, we managed to squeeze behind the industrial dryer and into the underground bunker they had. This area of the building had been closed off for years, but we pulled the old schematics up last month before we landed at the airport just so we wouldn't be flying blind.

I made it over to my makeshift bed and began to change as Genny headed over to the desk. She hooked up to the live feed and, after two seconds of static, we heard Eddie's frantic voice. He must've been on the phone with his Mother because he wasn't cursing the other person out.

"No. No no no. It is too risky. Ya han llegado a la casa. Who knows if they are still here?! No, por favor. Do not send anymore armed guards. Becau-LA GENTE DEL PUEBLO HA COMENZADO A SOSPECHAR! The armored cars moving through the city, me not making appearances anymore. I've heard talk from my guards that they think I am up to something and they are unaware if it is good or bad!"

I threw my hair up into a messy bun and put on my black, square-framed glasses and headed over to the desk. I traded places with Gia and sat down in the chair, watching Eddie in an eagle-eye view. He was pacing, but in a more frantic state, and running his hands through his pomade, making it stick out in various places. He looked like a madman.

"But Mama," I smiled knowing that I was right. It actually made me giggle a little "if they find out what we've done, it could mean the end of us. The entire operation..."

He headed out of the kitchen and I silently cursed myself for not placing more bugs around the house.

That is, until Aidan and Jonny walked in.