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Post by accountant on Jan 30, 2019 15:44:26 GMT -6
Hi all,
I know I've been gone for a bit, but I'm back now.
This is a new story that bubbled up in my brain. I don't know where it's going or how it's going to get there.
Please let me know if it would be worthwhile continuing.
Thanks muchly, A.
A New Life
Chapter 1 - Changes
Darren Sommers couldn’t believe it as he was walked out of the building by security.
“How could this have happened?”, he thought to himself, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Unfortunately, IT and his manager thought otherwise. For all intents and purposes, an email had been sent from his work account to one of the company’s competitors detailing the schematics of the latest designs his group had been working on. While Darren had protested that the timestamp on the email was when he was in a meeting with his manager earlier that day, it didn’t seem to matter. Darren was done and out.
Darren had been with the company for the past three years and had made a name for himself during that time. He had moved to Fairfax from Hartford, Connecticut to start fresh when his five year relationship and engagement had fallen apart. Christine, his ex-fiancé, had been cheating on him and when he found her in bed with his best friend, Chad, he knew he had to leave.
Walking to his older Toyota Camry in the employee parking lot, he didn’t know what to do. He had only been with the firm for three years and without any references, or an explanation as to why he was dismissed, he didn’t know how he would find another job in his field.
Darren used the remote to unlock the car, and mindlessly opened the door and sat down in the driver’s seat. For the longest time he just sat there before putting the key in the ignition and starting it up. What was he going to do? “Thank God”, he thought, “At least Mom and Dad aren’t around to see this day.”
Darren’s parents had been killed in an auto accident two and a half years ago. With no siblings and no family nearby, Darren felt all alone.
Shaking his head, he saw that there was a puffy mailing envelope on the passenger seat. Curious, since it wasn’t his, he reached over and opened it. Inside, it held a CD with “Play Me” written in marker on it.
Thinking of nothing else to do, Darren put the CD into his CD player and heard the gentle whizz as the CD began to turn.
Suddenly, a familiar female voice came through his speakers and said, “Hey, handsome. I know you’ve had a rough day. I’m so sorry about your job. I really am. I need you to meet me at Hilbillys Bentonville Junkyard just off route 340, south of Front Royal, just north of Bentonville. Don’t go home. The townhouse complex will be blocked off by police by now. They’ll say a gas leak caused an explosion or something. Trust me on this and meet me. Do not go home. I repeat, do not go home. I’ll explain everything when you get here. Hilbillys Bentonville Junkyard, remember that. Well, that’s it for now. See you soon, Darren. By the way, sorry about your CD player.”
With that, there was a loud pop and a puff of smoke came out of his CD player before it died.
Darren was confused. The voice belonged to Laura, one of the other residents of the townhouse complex where he lived. Why had she left the CD in his car? How did she know about him losing his job? It had just happened. And why was she telling him to meet her more than 60 miles away at a junkyard of all places?
Darren had had enough and just wanted to go home. The townhouse was only a 15 minute drive away and since his radio wasn’t working, he drove in silence.
Soon, he was pulling off Route 50 and onto Alder Woods Drive which lead to his townhouse complex. He was surprised to see fire trucks and police cars in front of Garland Tree Court, where he lived. Pulling over, he walked to where a police officer had put up the yellow police tape and was ushering people away from the area.
“Hey, what’s going on in there?”, asked Darren.
“Who wants to know?”, replied the officer.
“My name is Darren Sommers. My townhouse is number 12548.”, said Darren, looking over the police officer’s shoulder at the firemen putting down the fire.
“Sorry, pal. Garland Tree Court is off limits. It looks like one of the units exploded. It’s probably from a gas leak. You’re SOL for probably the next few days. Nobody’s getting in until the fire guys put it out and say it’s safe.”, said the officer.
“Is anyone hurt?”, asked Darren.
“No, thankfully it was one of the end units and it blasted out towards the woods.”, came the reply.
“What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?”, asked Darren.
“I don’t know, buddy. All I know is that you can’t stay here. Move along.”, said the officer, shooing Darren away.
“Well, that’s just great.”, fumed Darren to himself, “I lost my job and now I can’t even go home, fan-effing-tastic!”
He stomped back to his car, sat down, and slammed the door.
Then a thought came to him. Laura had lived in one of the end units. She had told him on the CD that something like this would happen. She also knew about him losing his job. If anyone would have answers to his questions, it would be her.
He pulled out his cell phone, looked up her number in his contacts, and had the number dialed. After one ring, a message came back that the number was not in service. It was strange, since he had just got a call from her the other day asking if he wanted to come over and watch a movie together.
Knowing the only place where he would get answers would be at the junkyard, Darren started his car and began the drive out to Bentonville.
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Post by texican on Jan 30, 2019 15:56:29 GMT -6
A,
Nice beginning....
A nice young lady (maybe) warns Darren and he ignores the warning....
Darren is a typical guy acting like a typical guy....
Rude awakenings are awaiting for Darren....
Texican....
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 30, 2019 17:52:47 GMT -6
These days, your computer might not be under your control unless it's a laptop that's in your hand and its battery is in your other hand - anything powered and connected to a network is always suspect :-(
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Post by misterjimbo on Jan 30, 2019 22:03:24 GMT -6
Sounds interesting. Good start. I'm in for the duration. Thanks for getting back.
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Post by 9idrr on Jan 30, 2019 22:04:38 GMT -6
With so many ways this new one could go, I hope you'll continue. Thanks for this start on a new story and thanks what you given us already.
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Post by sniper69 on Jan 31, 2019 5:11:57 GMT -6
Thank you for starting a new story, it seems the hook is already getting set with the first chapter. I do look forward to more of your fine story.
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Post by udwe on Jan 31, 2019 7:38:58 GMT -6
Like your story!
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Post by solo on Jan 31, 2019 9:00:29 GMT -6
You had me at the "I'm Back" Preamble. Don't you dare stop.... Please.
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Post by ydderf on Jan 31, 2019 10:49:22 GMT -6
I haven't seen any moars so will just ask that you continue.
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Post by accountant on Jan 31, 2019 12:14:42 GMT -6
Chapter 2
Entering the Unknown
The drive to Bentonville took longer than Darren had expected. Not only had he been stuck in Friday afternoon DC beltway traffic on the 66 but there was also an accident just before Front Royal which slowed everyone down even further.
As he crawled through traffic, Darren’s mind turned to Laura. He had met her a little over two years ago when she moved into the townhouse complex. Her U-Haul truck was blocking his garage entrance and he had helped her move the rest of her thing into her home. Since that first meeting, they had become good friends. They had a lot in common. They both enjoyed keeping active, and jogged together at least once a week. They went to the shoot range together and while Darren was better with his rifle at 500 yards, Laura had been closing the gap over time. They had the same taste in music as both enjoyed classic rock, and the same taste in movies, action adventures and spy thrillers. Laura had several home based businesses which she ran from her dining room table with online stores on Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon. Some days he wouldn’t see her as she was busy importing items and shipping them out across the country. They had become comfortable with each other but Darren wanted to keep things friendly since he was still cautious after the heartbreak from Hartford. At 5 foot four and 120 pounds, Laura was quite attractive with twinkling hazel eyes, dirty blonde hair, a few freckles, and a devious smile, but Darren wasn’t going to ruin their friendship by risking moving to the next level if she had already put him in the friend zone.
With no music to keep him company on his long drive, Darren was in a much worse mood when he pulled into the old junkyard close to 6pm. With no signs up front, Darren would have missed it, if it hadn’t been for all the old cars out front.
Turning the ignition off, he immediately heard and saw two large German shepherds barking and standing directly in front of his car.
A man wearing coveralls, a five days growth of beard, and an International Tractor baseball cap came out from behind a building and said, “Zeus, Apollo! Patrol now!”
The dogs ran off into the junkyard and away from Darren’s car.
“It’s okay, fella. They’re gone. You can come out now.”, said the man as he wiped his hands on a greasy rag which was tied to a belt loop on his coveralls.
Darren cautiously opened the car door and slowly got out of the car.
“Hi guy. The name’s Magnum. What can I do you for? It’s almost closing time”, asked the man, smiling.
“Umm, hi. My name is Darren Sommers. I was supposed to meet Laura Springfield here.”, replied Darren.
Magnum looked Darren up and down and said, “So you’re the guy. Huh? Well, I’ll tell Spider you’re here.”
Magnum turned around and yelled, “Hey Spider! He’s here!”
Turning back to Darren, Magnum said, “She’s in the house out back. Come on, I’ll take you back there.”
Darren hesitated for a moment then asked, “Umm, the dogs?”
Magnum let out a laugh and said, “What? Those two? As long as you’re with me, you’ll be alright. Just don’t make any sudden movements.”, before letting out another laugh and walking into the junkyard.
Darren walked with Magnum around the corner of the front building, past a few columns of tires and rims, and piles of rusted out car parts. Behind the front building, the yard opened up with large stacks of cars, auto parts, tractors, and even a few horse and bull carts. Just off to the side of the front building and down a way was an older two story house with a chimney, wrap around porch, and siding from top to bottom. The front door opened and out came Laura with a smile on her face.
“Darren you made it. I’m so glad. Come inside and let me get you a glass of lemonade and some stew. Knowing you, you probably haven’t eaten or drank anything all day.”, said Laura as she walked over to meet Darren and Magnum.
“Well, I’ve got a few things to take care of so I’ll leave you two to it.”, said Magnum, walking away, “So that’s the guy, huh? Never would have thunk it. To each his or her own I guess.”
Laura gave Magnum a smile and said to Darren, “Come on, let’s go inside.”
Darren followed her into the house, through the main hall, past the living room, and into the small kitchen.
Laura handed Darren a glass of lemonade and said, “Have a seat at the table and I’ll pour you a bowl of stew. You must be famished.”
Darren took a big swallow, sat down and said, “Laura, what’s going on? I don’t understand. Why are we here and what was with that CD?”
“First things first, you went home, didn’t you? I told you not to. That’s why it took you so long to get here. If you had come straight here, you would have missed all the traffic. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there now. How’s the townhouse? Did anyone get hurt?”, asked Laura as she set the bowl of stew in front of Darren.
The stew smelled too good for his rumbling stomach not to eat, so Darren ate a spoonful before replying, “The townhouse exploded but thankfully nobody was hurt. Seriously, I want to know what this all is. The CD, you knowing I lost my job, the townhouse, and meeting here at a junkyard. I just don’t understand.”
The back door opened and a large man entered the kitchen.
“Is that him?”, asked the man, looking at Darren.
Laura looked up at the man and said, “Yes, this is Darren. Darren, this is Boomer.”
Darren looked up at the man and said, “Hi, umm Boomer.”
Ignoring Darren, Boomer said to Laura, “I need to talk to you outside, Spider.” He then turned and walked out the back door.
“Laura, I really need some answers.”, said Darren, adamantly.
“I know and you’ll get them, I promise. I just need to take care of something. You just finish your lemonade and stew. I’ll be back in a bit, k?”, said Laura as she stood up and walked out the back door.
Darren was left alone in the kitchen with nothing to do but eat the stew and drink the lemonade. Since he was still hungry, Darren finished the bowl of food in front of him and drank the last of the lemonade. Not wanting to wait any longer, Darren decided that he would go looking for Laura. Standing up, he started to feel a little lightheaded and hung onto the kitchen counter for support as he made his way to the back door. The dizziness increased and when he opened the door, he just about fell through it. Luckily, Magnum was there and he grabbed Darren before he could fall on his face.
“Hang on there, big fella. I gotcha.”, said Magnum followed by a yell of, “Spider!”
Through the dizziness, Darren could just make out the image of Laura running towards him as Magnum turned and half carried him back into the house.
Taking Darren through the kitchen, Magnum put Darren down on a sofa in the living room. Laura kneeled down beside him, took his hand and said, “Don’t worry, Darren. It’s going to be okay.”
Darren was finding it hard to think but managed to say, “What…What’s happening to me? I don’t...I don’t understand. What…”
Laura stroked his head and said, “shhh…it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
Darren looking into her eyes one last time and passed out.
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 31, 2019 13:08:21 GMT -6
Methinks our boy Darren has been had... Whether for good or ill?
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Post by rep1270 on Jan 31, 2019 14:40:00 GMT -6
Good story. Please continue. Ralph ( I was going to say for 100 or 200 posts but that is not my way)
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Post by texican on Jan 31, 2019 21:28:45 GMT -6
Darren was finding it hard to think but managed to say, “What…What’s happening to me? I don’t...I don’t understand. What…”
Laura stroked his head and said, “shhh…it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
Darren looking into her eyes one last time and passed out.
A,
Didn't see that one coming.... At least he didn't pass out in his bowl....
Now just where does this one lead?.?.?.?
Another chapter will reveal....
Texican....
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Post by accountant on Feb 1, 2019 12:52:26 GMT -6
Chapter 3
Plus One
As Darren slowly came back to consciousness, he could sense that he was riding in the back seat of some kind of vehicle which kept ascending and descending hills. Opening his eyes slightly, he could tell it was night out.
“Where..Where am I?”, he asked, groggily.
“Shhh. Go back to sleep, we’re almost there.”, he heard Laura whisper.
The drowsiness was still too much for him. Darren closed his eyes and went back to sleep. The next time Darren came to, he found himself lying in a strange bed. Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that it was daytime as the sun was out. He was in a small bedroom. From the sounds of the cattle mooing and the sheep bleating outside, Darren deduced that he was at a farm of some sort. His head was pounding and when he raised his hands to rub it, he noticed that someone had put a wedding band on his finger. After rubbing his head and face, Darren saw that a glass of water and two extra strength Tylenol pills were sitting on a side table along with a man’s wallet.
Grabbing the pills, Darren sniffed the water before swallowing the pills with the full glass of water. The drink freshened him up and he took a look at the wallet. Opening it, he saw a Tennessee drivers license with his picture on it but it belonged to someone named Chad Smith. Chad Smith was 9 months and 3 days older than him. In fact, all the documents in the wallet including the social security card, ownership for a 1981 GMC Suburban, insurance slips, and even the hunting and fishing licenses were made out Chad Smith, who lived in Townsend, Tennessee.
Darren slowly got up from bed, grabbed the wallet, and headed for the closed door of the bedroom. In the hallway, he could hear some movement coming from the main floor of the house. Holding onto the railing for support, he made his way down the stairs where he saw Laura sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and working on her laptop.
Looking up and seeing Darren, Laura smiled and said, “Hey sleepyhead. How are you feeling? Let me get you some coffee and a Danish.”
Darren looked at her with contempt and said, “I don’t want anything from you. I just want to get out of here.”
He headed towards what looked like the main door.
“Okay, but you might want to put some boots on first.”, said Laura, “There’s some in the closet.”
Darren looked down and saw that he was in his bare feet. In fact, he was in one of his old t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants. Obviously someone had changed him out of the office clothes he had been wearing at the junkyard.
Darren opened the closet and put on a pair of workboots, and, not bothering to do them up, opened the front door. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. He was on a farm. There were at least five other homes like the one he was in, as well as a larger meeting hall of some sort. Off to one side there was a range where the cattle and sheep were grazing. A large barn was close by with two tractors and other farming implements in it. All around there were fields of either corn or some other crops, as well as large vegetable gardens. In front of one of the other homes, he could see Magnum sitting on the porch holding a cup of coffee and waving at him. But the most surprising thing he noticed were the mountains which were all around the farm. He could also see Zeus and Apollo barking and running towards him.
Darren quickly slammed the door.
“Please calm down and let me explain.”, said Laura.
“I don’t want to hear another word from you!”, yelled Darren, “I’m going to the police and I’m going have you and your friends charged with kidnapping!”
He reached back into the closet and pulled out a broom that he had seen in there when he got the workboots.
He opened the door and saw the two big dogs in front of the porch barking at him. Holding the broom in front of him, he cautiously walked down the stairs trying to keep the dogs at bay with broom. With the shepherds barking and snapping at the broom, he was able to make it ten steps before he tripped on his untied bootlace. Darren was quickly tackled by the dogs, who were snarling and snapping at his face. He could hear Magnum laughing his head off on the other porch.
“Do you want to listen now?”, asked Laura from the porch.
“Okay, okay!”, said Darren, “Just get them off me!”
“Zeus, Apollo, heel.”, commanded Laura.
The dogs instantly left Darren and sat down beside Laura.
Darren slowly got up and headed back to the porch.
“Come on, let’s go back inside. You can have that coffee and Danish and we can talk.”, said Laura, calmly.
“The dogs?”, asked Darren.
“Zeus, Apollo, patrol.”, commanded Laura.
The canines quickly bound away.
Laura held the door open and Darren entered the house.
“Take those boots off, please. I don’t want you tracking dirt all through our house.”, said Laura with a giggle.
While Darren was taking off the workboots and putting them in the closet, Laura grabbed the two cups of coffee and the plate of Danishes and went to the living room. Sitting on the sofa, she put her coffee and Danishes on the coffee table and patted the seat next to her for Darren to sit.
Darren sat down beside her.
“I know this is strange and difficult for you. I understand and I’m sorry.”, started Laura, “But I want to start by saying that there is no ill intent here on our part. In fact, everything we did was to save you from what is coming. Let me begin by telling you about me and everyone else here. First, my name is not Laura Springfield. It’s actually Cindy James. I’m not 25 but 29. I grew up in Springfield, Illinois. My parents died when I was very young. I was raised in the foster home system. Some were good and some were very bad. The last was with a lovely older couple named Mike and Enid Gardner. They supported me and nurtured me. They helped me through high school and helped me get an athletic and academic scholarship to Duke. I graduated with a degree in computer engineering and a minor in history. In my last year at Duke, I was recruited by the CIA and when I graduated, I was sent to the farm for two years. There, I learned everything that an operative needed to know and was put out into the field. I started in intelligence gathering and my cover was as an IT consultant to CIA front companies throughout the world. Gradually, my role changed to more covert ops and I was doing wet work internationally. That’s how I met Magnum, Boomer, and a few others whom you will meet. We were part of the same crew and I led the missions. One mission we had was to take out the rebel leader in a Latin American country which was in the middle of a civil war. We were told that by removing the leader, we would be bringing peace and stability to the nation as well as saving a lot of lives. As we were preparing for the mission, we found out through other sources that the real reason was that the rebel leader had been helping the local indigenous people with their land claims and certain American companies wanted to own the rights to the oil and minerals that rightfully belonged to the indigenous people. The team realized then that we were being used and murdering people for profiteers rather than safeguarding Americans. We together decided that we wanted out. We aborted the mission and quietly leaked some of the mission details to the local and international press. Of course, nothing that would implicate the American government. Unfortunately, our handler in Langley wasn’t impressed and there were burn notices put out on all of us. The CIA sent other teams to put us down and we had to fight our way back to the States where we quickly and quietly disappeared. That was three years ago. We’ve been running and hiding ever since.”
“That’s a great little story. How am I supposed to believe you? It’s not like I can Google CIA covert operative Cindy James.”, said Darren.
“No, but you can search up Cindy James, Duke or Mike and Enid Gardner of Springfield, Illinois. And I wouldn’t use Google. It can be tracked. Use Duckduckgo instead. It’s a little more secure. My laptop already goes through different VPN servers worldwide, but you can never be too careful.”, said Laura, handing Darren her laptop.
Darren used the laptop to look up Cindy James, Duke University and sure enough there were several pictures of her, albeit a younger version of her, accepting awards, competing in athletic competitions, and in her graduation gown and cap.
He then looked up Enid Gardner of Springfield, Illinois and found an obituary stating that she and her late husband had been heavily involved in the community and fostered several children through out their lives. It even stated that she was survived by her foster children including one named Cindy James.
“Okay, that explains that you are Cindy James, that you lived in Springfield, and you went to Duke. That still doesn’t explain why you had something to do with getting me fired or what we are doing here, or even what this place is.”, said Darren.
“And you’re right. So let me get to that. When we ditched the Company, we realized that the safest place for us would be in the US since technically they are not allowed to operate here. That doesn’t stop them from trying to find us and having us put away for treason, but at least we wouldn’t get bullets in the back of the head on foreign soil and besides we felt it would be easier to blend in here rather than be expats outside the US. We all got low level jobs or started small companies under assumed names and stayed under the radar. We also knew that if we were targeted, we would need a safehouse where we could go. Honestly, the truth was that we just didn’t want to die alone. So together, we came up with a plan to find a property that would meet all our requirements. It had to be out of the way, easily defended, self-sustainable, and have hidden egress. We looked and looked throughout the country, and when this property came up, we bought it under a corporation based out of the Caymans. Before we ditched the Company, we had access to certain, let’s say, institutional money accounts, which we diverted through international transactions to the corporation in the Caymans. Using those funds, we were able to buy the property and upgrade it as necessary. One of us, Rattler, and his family, who you’ll meet soon, have been here managing the property and the upgrades for the past two years to get it ready. Of course, the rest of us would come down and help whenever we could. When you didn’t see me for a few days sometimes, this is where I was.”, said Laura.
“So you stole money that belonged to the CIA and now are fugitives from the law.”, said Darren, abrasively.
“I wouldn’t say stole. We had access to the money as needed. The accounts were accessible by me at any time. But, if you want to call it stealing, sure go ahead.”, said Laura, flatly.
“Fine whatever. Why did you kidnap me and bring me here?”, asked Darren.
Laura took a deep breath and said, “Let me step back a little. Over the years, we have maintained a relationship with some of our international associates. Early last week, we were notified that some kind of major attack against the US was planned and would be initiated very, very soon. We don’t know if it might be an attack on the electrical grid, an EMP, biological, or even nuclear. If any of those things happened, it would cause mass chaos throughout the country, especially near DC. We also found out that there was a team in the US trying to find us. That pushed our timeline up and we had to moved down here as quickly as possible. We had to basically disappear again. That’s why I blew up my house and got you fired. You see, the agreement with all of us was that those of us with families would get to bring them here. The ones without a family could save one extra person.”
Laura paused, lowered her eyes and softly said, “Darren, you’re my plus one.”
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Post by texican on Feb 1, 2019 14:44:37 GMT -6
We had to basically disappear again. That’s why I blew up my house and got you fired. You see, the agreement with all of us was that those of us with families would get to bring them here. The ones without a family could save one extra person.”
Laura paused, lowered her eyes and softly said, “Darren, you’re my plus one.”
A,
Now, a shot out of the dark.... Darren has a love interest he didn't even know about.... How coooolllllll is that....
Now, how long will it take for Darren to get lucky?.?.?.?
A, you are so devious....
Thanks for the chapter....
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Post by 9idrr on Feb 1, 2019 19:00:28 GMT -6
Accountant, you're good at settin' the hook.
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Post by motherhen on Feb 1, 2019 22:32:39 GMT -6
Accountant, nice job! I look forward to reading more.
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remembergoliad
Member
if you send friend req on FB, message me too. I won't accept if I don't recognize you.
Posts: 158
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Post by remembergoliad on Feb 2, 2019 7:43:50 GMT -6
Why did this come to mind: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iDPw_qjhtM Eagerly waiting for each installment, wondering where this is all going! Thanks for sharing your talent with us.
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Post by accountant on Feb 4, 2019 14:47:55 GMT -6
Chapter 4
Dead and Married
“I don’t understand.”, said Darren, “Okay, let’s say that I believe that you and the rest were these crazy assassins like you say, and I’m not saying that I do. Why did you pick me? I mean, if this event is going to happen or if that team tracks you down, I won’t be able to do anything to help. I won’t be able to protect you. You could have picked anyone, why me?”
“I know this is a lot to take in, I know. But first, you need to drink your coffee. It’s getting cold. And you need to eat the Danish. You need your energy. Okay, so I never really had a normal life. Like I told you, I grew up in foster care, and then I was travelling around the world, doing “things” for the CIA. When I was doing these things, I was good at it, hell, I was excellent at it. And while I was doing it, a part of me was really enjoying it. When we came back, I wanted to leave that world behind. I didn’t want to do that anymore, I wanted to be normal. I wanted a normal life. I just wanted to be a regular woman, but that competitive edge and that killer instinct was still inside me. I tried to suppress it, but it was still there. When I got cut off in traffic, I used to imagine that the driver was an enemy agent and I would calculate how to disable the vehicle and take them out. Or when I went to a mall or a train station, I would always look for the best way to stay out of camera view or the best place to set up a sniper nest. My mind was always calculating and planning and I couldn’t make it stop. Then I met you. Somehow, being with you calmed me. You let me stay a little competitive while jogging and at the shooting range, but you also gave me that normalcy of pizza and movie nights, or grocery shopping together, or just hanging out. I know it sounds corny, but you helped bring balance to my life.”, explained Laura.
“You could have just told me all this. You didn’t have to get me fired and kidnap me. I’m assuming that it was you that got me fired, yes? We could have talked about this.”, said Darren, taking a drink of coffee.
“I wanted to. I really did.”, said Laura, “So many time I planned to tell you, but during my training I was taught to compartmentalize things and release information on a need to know basis. Up until now, by not telling, I was actually trying to keep you safe. You could have accidentally let some small bit of information out or say something over a cell phone, which the government is listening to, by the way. I could have slipped away, but I know what kind of interrogation techniques they can use and sometimes it’s much worse than waterboarding. In the end, your body wouldn’t have a single scratch on it, but your brain would belong to them. They would pull everything they could from you and then dump you off somewhere with a destroyed mind and make you live like a homeless, mentally unstable vagrant. I couldn’t let that happen to you. I just couldn’t.”
Darren was shocked when he heard that and said, “Did you..umm..did you use those techniques on people?”
“No. Like I said, I was part of covert ops and specialized in running termination projects. Everything we did was fast and complete. But during my time at the farm, I had to watch an interrogation as part of my training. It was explained that this is what would probably happen to us if we were captured by the other side.”, said Laura.
“So you got me fired so no one from work would come looking for me, yes?”, asked Darren.
“Yes, that’s right.”, said Laura.
“But won’t someone, somewhere notice when I don’t go back to the townhouse or pay the phone bill, or something?”, asked Darren.
“Well, actually not anymore. You see, last night, Boomer drove your car to the end of a pier, threw your cellphone in the water, and left your wallet in your car. When the police find it and do a little bit of legwork, they’ll realize that you just got fired, and you were blocked from getting home. They’ll think the stress was too much for you and you just killed yourself by jumping into the Potomac. The water’s pretty fast and it’s easy for a body to drift out to sea. They’ll rule it a suicide and close your file pretty quickly.”, explained Laura.
Darren paused to take it all before speaking. “So, I’m dead.”, he said.
“No, no, no. You’re not dead. You’re right here with me. It’s just Darren Sommers who’s gone, not you.”, said Laura, reassuringly.
“And I’m Chad Smith, now.”, said Darren, staring blankly off into the distance.
“Yes, you’re Chad Smith now.”, said Laura.
Snapping back to the present, Darren asked, “So what do I call you. Is it Laura or Cindy, or Spider?”
Laura smiled and said, “Actually, for you, it’s any of those names, but you should really call me Cassie.”
Holding up her left hand to show her wedding band, she said, “I’m your wife, Cassie Smith.”
Darren took a deep breath and said, “So let me get this straight. You and your team are CIA killers. The US is about to be attacked. There is a team hunting you. I’m…Darren Sommers is dead. And we’re married.”
Laura giggled and said, “Yeah, that’s it in a nutshell.”
“Do I really have to be named Chad?”, asked Darren.
Laura smiled and said, “Sorry handsome. Random name generator.”
“How long have Chad and Cassie been married?”, asked Darren.
“It’s been a little over a month according to our marriage certificate.”, said Laura.
“Was it..was it a nice wedding?”, asked Darren, sheepishly.
Laura took his hand and said, “It was in front of a Justice of the Peace. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
“What if there’s no attack? Do we have to, you know, stay like this?”, asked Darren.
“No, if there’s no attack, we can set you up with another identity in another part of the country if you want. We can create a full backstory for you, including jobs and references and you can start fresh.”, said Laura.
“But..What about you?”, asked Darren.
“What about me?”, asked Laura.
“Well you said that I bring you balance. What will happen to you if I leave?”, asked Darren.
Laura replied, “Darren, if you leave, just remembering the time we had together will help keep me balanced. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll start a new life somewhere else, again. I’ll be fine.”
Darren didn’t say anything for a while, and just looked at the woman in front of him.
“Hey.”, said Darren, “Your eyes are green.”
“Yes”, said Laura, blushing, “This is my real eye colour. The hazel were coloured contacts. I just wanted to be completely honest with you.”
Darren smiled and asked, “I like them. They are much prettier than the hazel. So, what happens now?”
“Now, my dear husband, you go and take a shower while I get brunch ready for us. I’ve already unpacked your clothes. They are in the bedroom closet and armoire. You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”, said Laura, standing and picking up the coffee cups and the plate of leftover Danishes.
“I do? And what do you have planned for me today, my dear wife?”, asked Darren, jokingly.
“A tour of Safehaven and training, of course.”, came the reply.
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 4, 2019 15:30:38 GMT -6
What kind of funny cigarettes has our boy been smoking? ;-)
Keep up the good work.
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Post by texican on Feb 4, 2019 16:14:50 GMT -6
“Now, my dear husband, you go and take a shower while I get brunch ready for us. I’ve already unpacked your clothes. They are in the bedroom closet and armoire. You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”, said Laura, standing and picking up the coffee cups and the plate of leftover Danishes.
Well Darren got a wake up call....
It is now the married Mrs. Cassie Smith and Mr. Chad Smith and will be living together....
Also, seems like training is on the agenda.... He will be too tired and stressed out for a while it seems....
Thanks A for the chapter....
Texican....
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Post by 9idrr on Feb 4, 2019 18:06:29 GMT -6
For some reason, when she mentioned training, it put me in mind of a buddy who was a firefighter for City of Oakland. Back in the days before the ladies joined the department, once a week was "training film" night, as they referred to "smokers" in those day. Is Cassie gonna indulge in some "training" on their wedding night?
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Post by solo on Feb 5, 2019 10:27:15 GMT -6
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Post by texican on Feb 5, 2019 12:07:55 GMT -6
Is Cassie gonna indulge in some "training" on their wedding night? Well the wedding night was a month ago and Cassie and Darren have a bunch of catching up to do.... Texican....
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Post by accountant on Feb 6, 2019 9:17:21 GMT -6
Hi all,
Thank y'all kindly for all the comments. They really do help me keep going on this story. I'm glad I was able to keep so many people interested in what develops. Whether I can continue to deliver or not is a whole other kettle of fish.
Incidentally solo, before you mentioned it, I had never heard of Mitch Rapp and had to Google the character (yes, I know I should have used Duckduckgo.). Apparently he is a CIA operative/assassin posing as a computer consultant too. Honestly, I had not idea about that character. Laura/Cindy/Cassie/Spider just came into my head one day and almost forced me to start writing this tale. Just to be on the safe side, I will not read any of those books until I finish this story.
And texican, if I don't keep giving you twists you didn't expect, I wouldn't be me. LOL
For those who have already read my two other works, The Accountant and The Devil's Frying Pan, (shameless plug, I know), I hope this story lives up to your high standards.
And finally, to all the readers who post comments, like, or don't comment or like, thank you for spending the time with me and Darren.
Sincerely, A.
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