Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 52338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“Nat, it’s Trent.” I close the folder in my lap. “I’m doing surveillance right now, and something doesn’t feel right about this.” I carefully think over my next few words. The Hotel doesn’t make mistakes. Any contracts I receive from them are always highly researched and vetted before they’re assigned, but I can’t deny the uneasy feeling sitting in the pit of my gut that’s telling me that this is wrong. “I wanted to confirm that this nineteen-year-old freshman girl is our alleged bombing suspect that I’m contracted to take out.” I reposition myself onto my stomach, peering through my scope just in time to see Morgan and a few other students settle down at a picnic table in the courtyard.
“Yes, the mark has been confirmed,” she answers. “I vetted the hit myself. You should have all the information on her in the folder you were given when you were assigned the contract.”
I sigh inwardly. Her words should reassure me and make it easy to do my job, but they don’t. The proof of Morgan’s involvement was in black and and white on my lap, but it’s so hard to ignore the proof in living color down below.
I look back out at my mark, watching as she laughs at something another student said. This doesn’t make any sense. How does a bubbly young woman like her get wrapped up in something like a terroristic bomb threat? I sigh deeply and shake my head.
“Yeah, I have that information, but after watching her for a few hours…I don’t know. My gut tells me that we may be missing something or that things may not be what they seem with her,” I finally say. “And my gut hasn’t been wrong yet.”
Her keyboard clicks over the phone for a moment as she types something into her computer before speaking again. “As I said before, I vetted this hit and approved it myself, so everything is accurate in your file. But since this seems to be a concerning matter for you, I’ll look into it a bit more just to confirm that the information we have on her is still correct. For now, stand down on carrying out the hit until you’re given further instructions.”
My shoulders sag in relief. “Thanks.” I look through my scope again, satisfaction filling me to know that I at least have bought Morgan a few more days before I had to take her out if she’s indeed the person I’m here to take out.
“I do want to remind you that if you’re wrong, hundreds of people will die,” Natalie warns. “She’s a person of interest in a terrorist attack, and as long as she is on that campus, everyone there is at risk the longer we wait.”
My earlier satisfaction is quickly replaced by dread once again as a knot of worry lodges in my throat. There’s always that chance I’m wrong about her, blinded by her perceived innocence. In my line of work, it’s not uncommon to come across marks who are good at pretending to be things they aren’t. It’s easy to think a woman isn’t capable of being a terrorist, but there have been a few times in my career when that’s definitely been the case. But I don’t get that vibe from Morgan from what I’ve observed, so I’m willing to take the risk of postponing the hit until I receive a second confirmation.
“I understand. I just want to be sure about this one because the woman I’m observing doesn’t seem to match the woman in my folder.” I watch as Morgan takes yet another picture with another student, her pearly white smile giving the bright sun a run for its money. “I’ll keep an eye on her in the meantime and continue to assess the threat until I hear from you.”
“Good. Report back if anything changes, and I’ll be in touch once I’ve reconfirmed our information,” she states before the call ends.
I turn my focus back to my scope and continue observing her. In order to truly find out if she’s the person I’m looking for, I have to find a way to get closer to her. You can really learn about a person by watching them from afar. On the outside, she appears to be a bubbly, social college freshman who probably won’t even hurt a fly. But even I know that the most dangerous people are skilled at wearing deceiving masks. And with a threat as great as a potential bombing, I literally can’t afford to be wrong on this.
A group of frat guys in letter jackets approach her table, one of them smiling and running his hand through his hair as he says something to her. A slow grin creeps across my lips as a plan unfolds in my head. While Natalie works on confirming information on her end, I can bide my time by blending into her world as a college student to get closer to her. I don’t often engage with a target before carrying out my hit, but this unique circumstance requires special measures to get the job done.