Hidden in Her Shadow
Prologue
"She's in."
I sat here with a grim look on my face as my partner kept me informed of the situation. I had always hated this part of the job. I knew it had to be done and I almost felt sorry for tonight's target. Almost. If everything goes according to plan, the bastard won't even see this coming.
Alcazar, in the beginning he had made a wonderful front. He already knew how to play the game. He could bluff and lie with the best. And with our backing, we had made a small time con into a formidable opponent, a force to be reckoned with. An excellent cover, that is what he had been. We could move him anywhere. With the power and influence that we had given him; he would play the game. All eyes would be on him while we did our work in the background. Yes, at first he had made an excellent front. But then, in the beginning, he had been on our side.
Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. We had given him free reign to build his empire. He had used his time, our influence, and our money to build up a network that for years had helped us to obtain our objectives.
But suddenly, over the last couple of years, he was using that network and power for his own objectives. People, our people, have been paying the price. Agents were dying in the field. The problem was that he knew where a good portion of the agents were. He knew what they were doing there. If those agents didn't do what he wanted, they could end up dead. He didn't kill them outright. That would have left a trail directly to him. He would create a leak that dropped just enough information in the wrong ears in order to put the agents in danger. It had taken months to trace these leaks back to our previously perfect front.
Or maybe, this turnabout hadn't been so sudden. Maybe we had just ignored the signs. After all we created this cover in order to help us. After all the time and effort we put into him, it was hard to accept that this monster, of our own making, had turned against its creators.
Either way, he had to be dealt with. Our not so perfect front had to be eliminated and a new one had to be created. Life as an agent and a spy was difficult. We can't afford a leak within our own network. That is what brought us to this night. That is why she was up there with him.
She will wait until the perfect moment to let our people in. Our people will finish the job. She will cover our tracks.
After all, she already knows the game. She can bluff and lie with the best. Her loyalties are firmly with us. She will eventually become the perfect front.
But that isn't why she is helping us tonight. No, she doesn't know about the plans we have for her yet. The bastard played god with her life and the lives of the people of this town. She wants revenge. Revenge for her husband who was shot, for the woman Alcazar brought back form the dead, for her irritating cousin who lost the woman he loved, and for Kristina's death. But mostly, she wants it for herself. Because of the events he started, she is alone. She has been abandoned by everyone who should have been there for her. She wants someone to pay for that.
The telephone rang. I shook myself from my revelry and answered.
"Yes"
"It's over. Alcazar is dead."
I hung up and shook my head. It isn't over. If anything, the game is just beginning.
"She's in."
I sat here with a grim look on my face as my partner kept me informed of the situation. I had always hated this part of the job. I knew it had to be done and I almost felt sorry for tonight's target. Almost. If everything goes according to plan, the bastard won't even see this coming.
Alcazar, in the beginning he had made a wonderful front. He already knew how to play the game. He could bluff and lie with the best. And with our backing, we had made a small time con into a formidable opponent, a force to be reckoned with. An excellent cover, that is what he had been. We could move him anywhere. With the power and influence that we had given him; he would play the game. All eyes would be on him while we did our work in the background. Yes, at first he had made an excellent front. But then, in the beginning, he had been on our side.
Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. We had given him free reign to build his empire. He had used his time, our influence, and our money to build up a network that for years had helped us to obtain our objectives.
But suddenly, over the last couple of years, he was using that network and power for his own objectives. People, our people, have been paying the price. Agents were dying in the field. The problem was that he knew where a good portion of the agents were. He knew what they were doing there. If those agents didn't do what he wanted, they could end up dead. He didn't kill them outright. That would have left a trail directly to him. He would create a leak that dropped just enough information in the wrong ears in order to put the agents in danger. It had taken months to trace these leaks back to our previously perfect front.
Or maybe, this turnabout hadn't been so sudden. Maybe we had just ignored the signs. After all we created this cover in order to help us. After all the time and effort we put into him, it was hard to accept that this monster, of our own making, had turned against its creators.
Either way, he had to be dealt with. Our not so perfect front had to be eliminated and a new one had to be created. Life as an agent and a spy was difficult. We can't afford a leak within our own network. That is what brought us to this night. That is why she was up there with him.
She will wait until the perfect moment to let our people in. Our people will finish the job. She will cover our tracks.
After all, she already knows the game. She can bluff and lie with the best. Her loyalties are firmly with us. She will eventually become the perfect front.
But that isn't why she is helping us tonight. No, she doesn't know about the plans we have for her yet. The bastard played god with her life and the lives of the people of this town. She wants revenge. Revenge for her husband who was shot, for the woman Alcazar brought back form the dead, for her irritating cousin who lost the woman he loved, and for Kristina's death. But mostly, she wants it for herself. Because of the events he started, she is alone. She has been abandoned by everyone who should have been there for her. She wants someone to pay for that.
The telephone rang. I shook myself from my revelry and answered.
"Yes"
"It's over. Alcazar is dead."
I hung up and shook my head. It isn't over. If anything, the game is just beginning.