I know it has been a while since my last update, sorry about that. Once again, bad internet connection in boondocks Alabama. Remind me to go into town more to get better connections.
Enigma
Chapter Ten
Miami Intrigue
Madison County Executive Airport
July 31, 2008
22:00 hours
The half hour trip from Huntsville to Meridianville was uneventful. Marissa was rather surprised that the plane was docked there instead of the bigger Huntsville International Airport. She asked Craig about it.
"It's quite simple, my dear. MDQ offers more privacy than HSV."
"MDQ?" Marissa asked. "Oh, the call sign for the airport! Like HSV for Huntsville."
"Right," Craig smiled. "My jet is just down here. We can drive right to the hangar."
Craig drove up to a hangar and parked. Marissa peeked inside the hangar and saw the jet Craig owned. It was a Bombardier that could easily hold ten passengers comfortably.
Craig was talking to a man in aviator glasses, a polo shirt, and khakis. "Ah, Penny. I was just talking to my pilot, George. George, this is Miss Scarlette. She will be accompanying me to Miami tonight."
"Ah, welcome aboard Miss Scarlette," George greeted shaking Marissa's hand.
"Now are we ready to go, George?" Craig asked.
"Yes, of course. Go right on ahead, Mister N, Miss Scarlette."
Craig offered Marissa a hand as they boarded the jet. Three hours later, they landed at Miami International Airport.
Marissa knew exactly what she had to do. After they met with C-Note's supplier, Marissa would sneak back out to him and dispatch him. She was happy that she had tucked one of her weapons in her overnight bag along with a GPS tracker.
Also, she had to distract Craig long enough to dispatch his supplier.
"I didn't realize how late it was," Marissa replied as soon as they reached their hotel suite for the night. "What time do you meet your business contact?"
"Noon. We have time to rest, my dear."
Marissa turned around and looked at him. It's now or never, she thought to herself. Mein Gott, I hate these missions!
"Actually," she said grabbing his tie. "I had something else in mind." She kissed him.
C-Note was putty in her hands for the rest of the night.
When he fell asleep around daybreak, Marissa was easily able to hack into his Blackberry and send all of Craig's dirty little secrets to Natasha and Clint. She placed the phone back in Craig's jacket pocket and crawled back in to bed next to him.
He never stirred from his slumber.
August 1, 2008
Miami, Florida
South Beach Café
11:53 hours
Marissa sipped casually on her wine, still trying to get Craig's revolting taste out of her mouth. She never enjoyed this part of her job even as a HYDRA assassin. She would rather slash her target's head off with her katana and move on to the next assignment.
And of course, she needed to focus on the job at hand. That meant she needed to bug the supplier to find his location. So, she needed to man up and keep C-Note eating out of the palm of her hand.
"How long is this meeting supposed to last? I would like to get some shopping in before we leave Miami."
"Not long, Love. An hour and you can do all the shopping you want."
"Good. I need a good souvenir from here. Maybe a new dress for you to take off me?" Or a knife to slit your throat later?
She saw his eyes darken. "I would like that very much," he whispered giving her a quick kiss.
Marissa heard a man clear his throat. "I hope I am not interrupting anything."
Marissa looked down in feigned embarrassment. She got a look at the man under her eyelashes as Craig shook his hand. He was of Cuban descent with clean cut hair and piercing brown eyes. He was dressed smartly in a business suit minus the tie of course.
"And who is this beautiful lady? This is the first time you have brought a woman on this trip."
"This is Miss Penelope Scarlette. She is in charge of my finances. Penny, this is Jose Marco Delacruz. He acquires assets for me in the Caribbean and Russia."
"Bueños tardes, Señor," Marissa greeted him, extending her hand.
"Es un placer, senorita," Delacruz smiled kissing her hand.
Marissa kept half an ear on the conversation as she studied the target she had to take out. He was comfortable talking to C-Note on his turf. He wasn't armed, but Marissa could see two men in the café that were keeping a casual but careful eye on the table. They were armed.
Easy prey, Marissa thought with half a smile.
Marissa ordered a grill chicken salad for lunch and continued to listen to the conversation, talking when she needed to. She put on a half acted show of boredom as she picked at her salad.
She saw an opening when one of the lackeys got up. "I'll be right back, Love. I need a powder break." She rose and grabbed her purse with the bug inside.
The two men continued talking as she moved towards the bathroom, deliberately running into the lackey.
"Watch it, Lady!" the lackey exclaimed as Marissa hit him.
"I am so sorry! I was in such a hurry to get to the bathroom, and I didn't see you." Marissa defended herself, picking up her dropped purse. She found the bug in her purse
The lackey identified her and waved off her plea. "Don't worry about it, ma'am. I wasn't exactly watching my step either."
Marissa smiled at him. "Wow, there are still nice men left in the world," she commented. "Thank you for your courtesy, sir." She slipped the bug in his back pants pocket without anyone noticing.
She walked off to the bathroom and checked her phone to make sure that the tracker was active and moving. Two minutes later, she returned to Craig and Jose Marco.
"I hope I didn't miss anything important," Marissa replied, touching Craig's shoulder in an affectionate matter.
"Not at all, Penny. We were just discussing prices. One thousand for the males and twelve hundred for females is a reasonable price, don't you think?"
"Ah yes. It is a reasonable price," Marissa said even though she wanted to throw up. So that's how much a human life is worth? Sick! "How many are you acquiring today?"
"Six of each. We were also discussing throwing in a few children as well?" Craig looked at Jose Marco with a grin.
Marissa really wanted to throw up now. That was really going too far! Marissa really needed to put a bullet through this man's skull.
"Children? That could be a really profitable investment in the future," Marissa replied struggling to keep a straight face. She looked at Jose Marco. "How many do you have?"
"Three. One boy about ten years old. A girl about the same age. And an infant, no more than eight months old. You interested?"
Marissa looked at C-Note and raised an eyebrow. "What do you think, Love?" She touched his hand. "I would love to work with kids."
"Okay," Craig replied, pushing a stray strand of hair out of Marissa's face. "Say seven hundred each?"
"So that makes seventy two hundred for the women, six thousand for the boys and twenty one hundred for the kids. That's a total of fifteen thousand, three hundred."
"I'll give you a full twenty thousand. I'll wire you the money as soon as we return home." Craig and Jose Marco shook hands as they finished their business. Craig paid the tab then he looked at Marissa.
"Now I believe I owe Penny a chance to shop. I am not much of a shopper myself, but I will let you shop in peace. I do ask that you carry a sidearm with you."
"Okay. Have one I can borrow?" Marissa joked.
"Funny. You know how to use one?"
"I do indeed. Jeremy taught me and Mona how to protect ourselves."
"Great. I'll give you my Colt then. It's at the suite."
"Okay," Marissa replied with a smile.
Craig and Marissa took the short stroll back to the hotel arm in arm. Marissa still felt sick that Craig would buy children from such a sick man as Jose Marco Delacruz. She stayed silent as they entered the penthouse suite at the hotel.
"I'm going to grab a drink of water before I head out." Marissa made for the refrigerator but she was stopped by a strong pair of hands around her waist. Craig turned her around and kissed her. "What was that for?" she asked when they parted.
"Just felt like kissing you, that's all." He opened the refrigerator and grabbed her bottle of water. "Here's your water."
"You are such a gentleman," Marissa teased, taking a drink of her water.
Craig retrieved his Colt and handed it to Marissa. "It has a full magazine, though I hope you don't have to use it."
Marissa grinned and took the weapon from him. She lifted the edge of her shirt and tucked the gun on the small of her back. She turned. "Can you tell that it's back there?"
"Not a clue." C-Note grinned. "Have fun."
Marissa grinned and grabbed her purse. "I promise I won't spend all of your money on this trip."
"Don't worry. I know you won't."
Marissa took one last kiss from him and she stepped out. As soon as she was out of sight, she pulled out the Colt from her back and stuck it in her purse. She pulled her more familiar Glock, and it took the Colt's place. She pulled her phone out and checked the tracking device she put in the lackey's pocket. It was in motion.
Marissa decided to let the target get to his location first. So, she decided she may as well do some shopping to cover her story. She hailed a taxi, and shut down the tracking program for the time being.
She made her way to a gun shop to pick up a gun cleaning kit. The owner eyed her appreciatively as she purchased the kit and a new holster for her Glock. She decided to hit the boutiques for a dress to wow her mark for the trip back to Huntsville—if she could make it that far without slitting his throat.
She found a little black dress that had a low front cut and hugged her curves perfectly. Then, she checked her phone and the GPS tracker. The signal was stationary. She sighed as the vendor wrapped the dress in plastic for her to send back to the hotel. "Time to head back," she told the woman. "My boyfriend doesn't want me to spend all of his money today."
"I am sorry to hear that. Please come back the next time you visit Miami," the woman said politely.
Marissa gave the woman a polite smile and walked out of the boutique. She hailed another taxi and drove off to meet her target.
The target was located at a small warehouse in Coral Gables. "Why do they always pick warehouses?" she mumbled under her breath. She looked at the taxi driver and slipped him a Benjamin. "Wait for me here. I won't be long."
"Yes, ma'am," the driver replied as Marissa got out of the cab and walked toward the warehouse entrance. She concentrated on disappearing and vanished from sight, pulling her gun from her back. She crept up the warehouse and scaled the two story building, looking for a window.
Five men were inside, including Jose Marco Delacruz. All were armed with at least Tech 9s. "Oh great. This will be fun," Marissa groaned. The slaves and the children must be further back in the warehouse. She crept along to find another window.
At least twenty men and women with a half dozen children were crammed inside a section of the warehouse that had the space for half that many. Marissa felt bile rising in her throat. Her temper was rising, and she needed the outlet.
She forced herself to focus her anger on the men holding these people hostage. How many can I get before I wear out my welcome? She thought quickly. Maybe two of them if I'm lucky. Time to be über sneaky!
Marissa searched for a side entrance to the warehouse that she could exploit. Finally, she sighted an open window. She crept toward the window and slid inside without a peep. She stashed her gun in the waistband of her pants. Best to use my hands until the element of surprise is gone, she thought as she sighted her first victim. She recognized him from the café. One of the lackeys who accompanied Jose Marco to lunch, Marissa identified him with a smug grin. One quick twist to the neck and down dropped lackey number one before he could let out a surprised oomph. She caught the Tech 9 and quietly sat it down next to him, pocketing the magazine as she went.
Lackey number two saw his downed comrade. "What the hell?" he muttered as he approached the dead man. He nudged him with a boot. "Get off da floor, man."
Marissa grinned savagely as Number Two keeled over, meeting the same fate as his colleague. He made noise as he tumbled over. Marissa decided to grab the discarded Tech 9 and tossed it at Lackeys Three and Four. Marissa dodged a few bullets as she took cover behind a pallet of bottled water. She drew her own weapon and fired two shots at Lackey Three, the guy she marked with the GPS tracker.
"Where the hell are all of these bullets coming from?" Jose Marco asked, eyes peeled near Marissa's location for the shooter. He leaned down and checked Lackey Three's pulse. "Ramirez is down. Damn, how can this guy get three of my men without exposing himself?"
Marissa nearly laughed out loud. "Idiot!" she muttered as she crept closer to Lackey Four. She launched herself at him, immediately disarming him and knocking him hard into Jose Marco.
"Clumsy fool!" Jose Marco berated him as he gasped for air.
Marissa dropped her cover. "Nein, Señor Delacruz," she smiled as the shock settled in. "He just didn't know what hit him."
"Ms Scarlette! What are you doing here?" Jose Marco asked, dumbfounded.
"Ridding the world of garbage like you," Marissa said as she leveled her weapon at him. One head shot later, she was done.
She placed her weapon back on the small of her back. She tied up the remaining lackey and walked back to the cramped living space.
The hostages immediately jumped in fear and shock when she entered. "Don't worry," she told them in Spanish. "I am not here to hurt you. I came to get you out of here. Do not worry. I am a friend."
Marissa grabbed her cell phone. "This is Agent Marissa Hermann, codename Enigma. I need an extraction team for approximately thirty individuals at the following coordinates…"
Marissa relayed her message and looked to the men, women, and children. "A team of people with eagle patches on their sleeves will come and get you to somewhere safe. You don't have to be scared anymore."
A woman with an infant on her hip walked up to her. "Gracias, Señora. Thank you for saving us."
"No problem."
She turned to leave, but she was surprised when a tiny pair of arms wrapped around her leg. A toddler, no more than three years old had wrapped her arms around her.
Marissa dropped down and returned the little girl's hug. "Be very brave, little one. You will be okay now." She kissed the little girl on top of her head and led her back to her father. "I have to get back now. I can't be here when your rescue team gets here."
Marissa gave them one last smile and walked out the first entrance, ignoring the unconscious man in the corner. He wouldn't remember enough to tell anyone what happened.
Marissa slid back into the waiting cab and gave him the address for the hotel. She allowed herself the chance to relax for a moment. The old scars were finally starting to heal, just a little bit.
She'd feel a lot better after she put a bullet in Craig Nottingham's skull, of course.
Author's Note
Who knew Enigma was so violent? Wait, me! So, what did you guys think of this action sequence? You know what to do amigos!