The Payne Archives #3
Naughty List
Merry Christmas!
"Liam?" I sat on the couch and took a bite out of my cereal bar. "Yeah, Alice?" Liam was sitting by the computer typing slowly. I wondered what he was working on and had even asked him but he said I could only see it once it was finished.
"What do you want for Christmas?" I took another bite. He turned and looked at me and he looked a little surprised. "Alice, all I want for Christmas is you." I smiled and went and kissed on the forehead. "Me too." I tried to sneak a peek at the computer but he had minimized the document.
I went to sit down again just as my phone rang. It was Marty. "What is it Marty?" I could hear him gulp (which was really weird). "Um Alice we need you at HQ, ASAP."
"Marty. You know I'm on my break. I'm not returning to the league until the beginning on January. Can't you get Reeve or Colin to take this case? It's not like they have anything better to do." "Um but Alice-"
I was getting annoyed. "That's enough Marty... it can't be so important. You don't need me. Phone the others instead." I was about to hang up when he finally manned up. "Alice listen, Colin and Reeve are already here and we need your help. This case is more important than you could guess."
"Okay then Marty, I'm listening…" Then he began to go on about the North Pole and Santa's workshop etc. "Marty, I hate to be the one to break it to you but Santa Clause isn't real." (Sorry kids)
"I know that. Just get to HQ and I'll explain." I finished my cereal bar. "Sorry Liam but I have to go save the world again." He looked disappointed. He always did… He didn't like the fact that one day he might have me and the next I would be gone forever.
He also understood how my job put him at risk as well, but to him it doesn't matter because all he wants is to be with me and he loves me.
Ok enough with the mushy stuff.
I arrived shortly and HQ and sat down in the lobby. Finally Marty arrived along with Reeve Bronson (in the flesh). "Okay. Now that you guys are here, care to explain why the hell I HAVE to be here?"
Marty nodded to Reeve as a gesture that he should go for it. "Well, it'd be a shame to begin without Colin so maybe we could wait a few more minutes." Right. Colin still had to come because he was also part of the mission. I had being trying to keep the picture of a naked Colin out of my mind but seeing him now wasn't going to particularly help.
We waited for a few minutes while I annoyingly tapped my fingers on the chair I sat on. Then Colin finally sashayed in- with his new girlfriend, Celia. EW… what kind of name is Celia? But then I remembered that I shouldn't care.
Colin kissed his girlfriend goodbye and she left. I chose to ignore Colin throughout the session. "Okay, now that Colin's here… Reeve will begin to explain." Marty sat down next to me and Reeve began to speak.
After a five minute explanation, I was speechless. Reeve was going on about some physco trying to be Santa. He had gone to a nearby mall in his state and shot the Santa who was listening to what the kids wanted for Christmas. Poor kids probably were scarred for life when the old guy's fake beard fell off. He was a fifty-three year old bald guy by the name of Wayne Kingsley.
"So where exactly are we going to find this sick bastard?" I asked. "Witnesses say he's been hiding in an abandoned flight-club north of Nuuk, Greenland. So that's where we'll be going."
I gulped. I knew we couldn't get to Greenland by car so we would inevitably be going by plane. Last time I had been in a plane things didn't end well and I was almost sacrificed by some sick vampire.
But that was the past… I had to face my fear eventually so why not now? But Greenland was such a far distance away… But it didn't matter. As soon as this mission was done I could go home to Liam.
Soon after we were given instructions I went home, packed my things… Said goodbye to Liam and I left for the airport.
***
Flying made me nervous. So I just slept until we were across the equator. I didn't have anything to do so I read a newspaper from 1923 that was in the jet strangely. It was about eleven thirty at night and I was told we would land at 6:00 am. I couldn't fall asleep so I just started counting sheep until I eventually fell asleep.
Once again I woke up but this time to the alarm on my phone. I packed up my things and got ready to exit the jet. We touched down and I shook the hands of the pilots and crew as I exited the jet. We sat in the VIP section of Greenland's capital airport.
We, along with some of Greenland's finest, started travelling to Nuuk in a convoy. It was freezing so I had to buy a blanket in a general store that we passed. I had my suspicions that Reeve was developing a cold when he started sneezing and rubbing his nose often.
After several hour of driving cross-country (in the snow), we arrived in the town of Nuuk. We stayed in log cabins and had a few hours to ourselves. There was a pub down the road where the officers had gone to have a party.
I found one of Colin's bags in my pile so I went to his cabin to give it back to him but he wasn't there. I figured he had probably gone partying with the officers. I put on a coat and took a walk to the pub with Colin's bag.
I entered to find a crowd of loud, drunk off-duty officers. One guy said, "Come here and I'll buy you're a drink!" I ignored him and asked some of the sober guys if they had seen Colin and I had no luck until I eventually got an answer after I had to describe him to one guy.
The man said Colin was in the corner laughing and joking with some guys so I went over there and found him holding a glass with a liquid inside of it. It looked like beer. "Colin…" I patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, hey there Alice! I didn't know you were the type to party!"
"I'm not." I put the bag on his lap. "I got this instead of you so I came here to return it to you, that's all." I was about to leave when a drunk officer grabbed my arm. "Now that you've put a bag on his lap… why don't you have a seat on mine?" I was disgusted. "Let go of me!"
"How about no?" I slapped him so hard that his face turned bright pink. "How dare you, you little b-"Before he finished his sentence, Colin stood up and yelled: "Don't talk to her like that!" The guy punched me in the stomach so hard that I fell and hit my head against a table.
Colin looked at the man, then at me, then back at the man. He looked pissed and jumped onto the guy and started beating him. All hell broke loose as everyone started fighting. A really nice guy helped me up and I tried to calm things down. I shouted at Colin to stop but he wouldn't listen.
Finally the pub doors opened and Lieutenant Kowalski stepped inside. "That's enough!" He yelled. Men started backing away from their opponents and the guy fighting Colin came off of him.
"I think you men have had enough partying for one night." After that, one by one, men started heading back to their shared cabins. I saluted him and went back to my cabin.
(WARNING: SKIP THIS PART IF YOU DON'T LIKE MUSHY-ROMANCE)
I was going to the base cabin to check how the mission was going. I noticed that the light in Colin's cabin was on. I felt guilty and I saw he had gotten hurt. I knocked on the door and he came to open up.
"Alice! Come in its freezing out there." I walked in and sat down on a couch near the fireplace. "Why are you up so late?" It looked like he was making some hot chocolate. "Um I just wanted to go check how the mission was going… Why are YOU up so late?"
"Well as you can see," He pointed to a bag of ice and his black eye, "I've been nursing myself." "Oh… Well I stopped by to talk to you about that. I'm sorry about what happened-"I pointed to his eye. "I really didn't know this would happen… By the way, thanks for standing up for me, oh let me help you with that." I held the ice bag over his eye.
"Alice, you know I'd do anything for you." He smiled and sipped his hot chocolate. "Why?" "Why what?" "Why do you do these things for me Colin?" His smile started slowly turning into a frown. "Because I fancy you."
I put down the bag of ice. "Colin… I-"He put down his cup. "Shh- don't say anything." He leaned forward towards me. "If you're never going to speak to me again I have to do this at least once."
He leaned more. "Colin what are you-"Then he kissed me. I knew that the right thing would have been to leave but my body didn't care. It stuck to him like glue. I was kissing him back and he was cupping my cheeks. I tried to fight the feeling but it was too strong. Somewhere deep down I had feelings for Colin. Then I realised all this was wrong. WAAAAAAY wrong. I had to push him off of my before he let go. "Did I hurt you?" "No… but I'm sorry I have to leave."
(THE MUSHY STUFF IS DONE)
I put on my coat, left the Colin's cabin and headed for my own. I was unlocking the door when I heard movement in the bushes. I took out my Swiss pocket knife and walked in the direction of the sound. I heard it again in a thorn bush. I looked into the bush and saw a hedgehog.
That was weird. I didn't know hedgehogs lived in Greenland. Before I went back to my cabin someone covered my mouth with a cloth and I passed out.
I woke up in the old flight-club rumoured to be the hiding place of Wayne Kingsley. I figured it must have been one of his men or even him who put me out. I was sitting on a wooden chair and my arms were bound to the chair with rope, but not my legs. Stupid henchmen.
I was busy untying my binds when a bald guy came in. This was thee Wayne Kingsley. "Well look what we have here." I scowled. "I'm going to kick your ass, I promise."
"Who knew women could participate in such dangerous affairs?"
"Sexist, much?" I continued to untie my binds. He ignored my comment. "Why do you wish to interfere with my plans? It is quite rude." "Don't you see you old hag, what you're doing is wrong and distasteful. You've scarred children for life and probably taken away their ability to believe."
He looked annoyed. "I'm trying to give children what they deserve, someone who really wants to give them toys and grant their wishes. I'm terminating the fakes." I was finished untying the binds so I activated my distress button. I needed to buy some time for the others to get me.
"Why?" "Why what?" "Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much?" Then he started a really dramatic story about when he was a kid he never got what he wanted for Christmas yada yada yada. "Just because you have issues doesn't give you the right to kill."
"I think I've had enough of you. And just my luck, YOU'RE ON THE NAUGHTY LIST!" He took out a knife. "I think I'll just get rid of you." "Trust me Gramps you don't want to do anything like that, especially to me." "Actually I can. I've heard of you back in Ohio… You're just a little celebrity aren't you?"
I grinned. "You know why I'm so… world-renown?"
"Go ahead, tell me." He stepped forward and held his knife to my throat. "I kick ass and I'm damn good at it." And so I got up and began to kick his old goat ass as promised. I broke his nose and I made a little gun out of my hand, pretended I shot him then blew the gun like the cowboys did in movies.
I walked out the room to find the flight-club had been invaded by officers. I told the officers where to find dear old Santa. I returned to my cabin to have a few drinks and celebrate a job well done.
*** BONUS MUSHY ENDING ***
I returned home on the 23rd of December and I just hung out with Liam until my Christmas break was over. "Alice, come over here!" Liam called me over to the computer. "What is it?" He had just printed something out. "Here's your Christmas present." He held the paper to me and I looked at it. "Awe thanks!" On the paper was a poem written to me by Liam himself.
BEST CHRISTMAS EVER
LoL, I'm sorry if you're not very 'romatincal'. I really don't know why I brought so much intimacy into this one. I promise more action in the next! X Feel free to review and favourite!
And Reeve, if you're reading this, I believe it's your turn.
ALICE PAYNE WILL RETURN.
