It was two o' clock in the afternoon when Hunnigan opened the door to her penthouse. There was a gift basket on the bed, a handwritten note tied to the front that thanked her for her business and informed her that her fridge was stalked with top of the line wines and waters. The woman at the desk had also peddled invitations for her and a friend to the hotel's premier spa but that was not of any interest to Hunnigan. She just wanted to get into her room and get her leg up. The swelling away returning since her flight.
Ankle to thigh, her leg was wrapped in an ace-bandage, cold compresses on either side of her calf. Thankfully, her dress pants were wide-cut, hiding the obvious difference in sizes between her legs.
She took a seat in on chair by the window, setting the bag on the opposite chair and propping her left foot on it. She could nearly feel the blood rush back toward her thigh, the pressure off her foot, the sole began to tingle. Hunnigan allowed her head to lean back over the edge of her chair when her phone buzzed from within her pocket. She pulled it out, not moving her head. Bringing the screen up to her eye level, she saw "Kennedy" across the phone. She let out a short sigh and answered the call, putting it on speaker phone.
"Hunnigan?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are you?" His voice was curt, no echo behind it so he was inside somewhere.
"Where are you?" She repeated, lowering herself in her chair a bit.
"I'm in your living room."
"How did you get in my house?" She recalled locking the door and setting the alarm.
"I remembered that little crash course you taught me on home alarm systems back in Bolivia, '09."
"That had nothing to do with picking a lock."
"I'll replace your door—Where are you?"
"What did you do to my door?" He ignored her question.
"Ingrid, where are you right now." She didn't answer him, he hung quietly on the line for a few moments, then let out a huff. "I knew it. I shoulda put a tail on you. You are insane."
"Did your guy get what he wanted out of my computer?"
"More or less, it would help everyone out if you would work with him so we can get these guys quicker."
"Is that so?" She let out a throaty laugh.
"Yes, I am doing this for you… as your friend. I can't stand to watch you throw away your life."
"I'm not throwing it away. In the past week I've gotten more of these scumbags then I did in all the years I've been working behind a desk— Leon, I am the only one that can get this going."
"You are going to get yourself killed, Ingrid! You aren't thinking straight. You are morning and you are putting yourself in danger. Helena wouldn't have wanted you to do it this way."

"You don't know anything about Helena." Hunnigan shot up in the chair, lifting the phone. The camera had been on the entire time, he had seen nothing but the non-descriptive ceiling of the hotel room. Now facing him on screen, she could see he was pacing her living room, her front door crooked on its hinges. "I promised her they would pay and I am going to make sure they do."
"What… are you in a hotel?" Her eyes darted over her shoulder, he had seen the bed and the gift bag. She threw her hand over the lens of the camera. "Hunnigan, which hotel are you at?"
"Forget it Leon, I am doing this." She ended the call then pulled the battery out of her phone. She didn't want to take a chance of him tracing her via GPS. She placed the components of the phone on the table then pulled up her left pant leg. She undid the binds and allowed her leg some air. The flesh felt cold to the touch. The wound seemed to be healing somewhat, but the entire back of the leg was bruised, a nasty yellow-purple mess. The compresses dropped the ground. She picked them up and placed them away in the small freezer, yanking out a bottle of wine and placing it on the counter next to a glass flute. She poured herself a single serving and sipped on it, taking a few more painkillers.
A few hours ticked by, Hunnigan watched from the window, for Reece's car to arrive. When it did, she got to work. He was setting up for the night. His next meeting wouldn't be until tomorrow morning at nine. She strapped the holster around her thigh, placing the ten needles in. She also pulled on a holster around her shoulders and across her waist.
Her plan was to repel out her window down to his balcony. The holster would help her carry the extra tools she needed. Along her right breast, three grenades laid. She had picked them up from a contact in the area after she arrived. They were all flash bangs. Should his bodyguards wonder in while she was talking to him, she would use them to distract them. It would, of course be a last ditch effort. It was her intention to get in, do what she wanted, then get out undetected. Over her heart, a small camera was mounted. It was recording wirelessly to a laptop set up in her room. The feed was being both recorded and broadcasted live to the Department of Defense.
She slipped in a pair of contacts, tinting her eyes blue, and pinned a wig to her head, as well as a pull over, black hood. She left just a peek of platinum blond hair sticking out here and there. In case she was spotted, she wanted to provide a memorable though false description. Hunnigan had wrapped her chest and hips in extra ace bandages as well as purchased a binder from an alternative clothing store. It slimmed her curves down to almost nothing, giving her a more androgynous shape.
She wrapped her lag back up, tighter than before and injected local anesthesia to it near the wound.
Standing in front of the open window, she wrapped the rope tightly around her balcony. A knife around her ankle in a small holster would have to be used later to cut it free. Double checking her knots and the feed itself, she went over to the bed. She pulled back the covers, then tore open the bag. She ripped open the bags of food, dumping them into the toilet and flushing away the contents. She laid the wrappers across the counter, tossed her clothes on a chair over her bag and turned the shower on in the bathroom as well as the TV in the sitting area.
She took one last glance around the room, making sure everything was just right. Then she walked to the balcony and heaved one leg over. Perching slightly, she looked down. It would be a long fall. She watched the balcony below. It would be her resting place.
Hunnigan lowered her other leg over and stood on the other side of the balcony. She looped the rope through a grip on her chest holster and leaned back. Then stepped off the balcony, pushing herself away. She swung back and forth, her heart stuttering in her chest. Her arms began to shake instantly. Her hands were gloved but it felt as though the material of the glove wasn't giving her the advantage she had hoped for.
One way or another, she made it to the balcony below her. Her legs nearly missed the edge, but caught it just before her arms gave out. She wrapped herself around the cool metal and took a few deep breaths. If her left leg was not injured, it would have made this trick a lot easier. She allowed herself to rest just for a few moments. Below her, there was no lights on in the man's suit. Hunnigan took a deep breath and kicked off again. She descended quicker to his balcony, losing her grip once and almost collapsing to the balcony floor.
She stood outside his window and undid the clasp tying her to the rope. Hunnigan gave the window a gently push and found it locked. From a pocket just below the lens of the camera, she pulled a glass cutter. A small blade on one end, a suction cup on the other. She stuck the cup to the glass and rotated the blade around in a circle. One pane of glass came free. She pulled it from the cup and went to work on the second pane of the double paned glass.
Her hand slipped in and found the lock on the window. It was identical to her own window back in her suite. The window pushed open easily and the dark suite beckoned her. She stepped in quietly, moving over to the bed. The man was laid in it, curled to his side. She moved over to the door way, looking into the sitting area. Two men were in there playing cards. She pulled two needles, one by one, making sure to coat their tips well. Hunnigan pulled back her arm and let the first needle fly. It struck the bigger of the two men in his back, just beside her armpit. His left arm went instantly numb. He let out a gasp of surprise and tried to reach for his gun, but his arm suddenly wasn't working anymore. His partner stood and grasped the first man's arm. Hunnigan sent the second needle across the room. It stuck the second man in the gut. She yanked it out quickly. Grabbing a third one quickly, she stepped forward and threw it, this time catching him in the shoulder. His right arm went limp, both men turned to her shouting at her. She grabbed the door she was standing beside and closed it quickly. She turned the lock then ran around to the far side of the fridge unit. Throwing her weight into it, she moved the unit in behind the door.
Reece had woken and was reaching over to the lamp beside the bed. Hunnigan launched at him, pulling the duvet from the bed up and over his head as her eyes saw the small pistol that his hand was wrapping around. He grabbed it but was blind under the cover. He let off one round. The bullet flew towards the ceiling and struck a light fixture. Hunnigan dropped low and circled around beside the other side of the bed. She grabbed the lamp that was there and dropped it on him. He groaned loudly.
Hunnigan yanked the covers off him and saw the gun still in his hand. She pulled a fresh needle from the holster and jammed it into his forearm. His grip on the gun went limp, he was muttering.
She took a second needle and drove it into the other forearm. He used his legs to push himself farther from her. She circled around the bed once more and turned on the bedside lamp.
"Reece, you are a member of The Family, are you now?" She pitched her voice lower than what was comfortable to her. The audio on her camera was on.
"What did you do to my arms?"
"It is temporary and nothing compared to what you have done, now I repeat: You are a member of The Family, are you not?" Outside, the banging against the door were becoming less frantic. The Erinyes was working quickly. She had to get the answers she wanted out of him before he was drooling on himself.
"I don't know what you are talking about." She noticed something around his neck. A glint of light. She lifted it from his chest. It was the crest, Simmon's family crest. The crest of The Family. She pulled the knife from her ankle and carved it into the wall behind him quickly then held the knife to his throat.
"I will kill you if you do not answer my questions." She dug the tip of the knife into the underside of his jaw. Black liquid formed little drops under it.
"Fuck you."
"Invalid response." She pulled the tip of the blade across his throat, leaving a wound. It was not deep enough to cut anything major, but enough to get him panicked. The front of his shirt was ruined.
"Yes! Yes—and you are fucked for knowing that."
"You are a member of The Family?"
"I am the new head of The Family you dumb fuck!" She placed the knife at his throat again. Outside, she heard more voices. Some of the other guards must've heard what was happening. They began to throw themselves at the door. Reece wore a limp smile, his eyes were rolling about in his head as the toxin was taking over. He wasn't feeling the pain of the wound on his neck anymore.
"Your people are going to pay for what they have done." She slid the knife back into its holster and pulled the last needle as the door crashed open behind her. Hunnigan pulled her arm back, turning her body into the attack, she drove the needle through his throat, the tip protruding out the other side of his neck. He gagged a little and someone opened fire on her. A bullet caught her in the shoulder blade. She cried out and dropped to the ground.
Moving along the floor, she rolled under the bed. The first guard got over the fridge and rushed her. She pulled the grenade from her vest and yanked the pin out with her teeth. He rounded the edge of the bed, she kicked out her foot barely connecting with the man's arm. The gun fired, a bullet striking the ground beside her. She threw the grenade behind him and at the feet of the next two men to enter the room. She covered her eyes with her forearm as light burst into existence.
Instantly, the carpet caught fire. Heat built up in the room, smoke began to choke the men. She stayed low, crawling as she had in her house the previous day. Making her way to the balcony, she closed the window behind her. The rope was still hanging from the balcony two stories above. She used it to pull herself up.
Upwards she moved, anxiety propelling her much faster than she thought she would go. Upwards and upwards until she heard glass shatter below her. Someone was firing out the windows. A man shattered the glass and jumped out, aiming upwards at her. She pulled the second flash bang from her holster and dropped it on him. Light erupted once more, the night sky bright as day for a moment. He groaned and fired blindly at her. She tried to move faster when she felt herself swaying. She looked up and someone was on her balcony, sawing away at the rope's anchor point.
Her mind went blank for a moment, her heart stopped. Everything went nearly still. If the world had ever been in slow motion, she was sure that this was it. The man sawed at the rope, his arm moving back and forth comically slow. She wished for a gun at that moment. She could fire at him, then continue to climb for safety. Below her, the man was recovering from the blinding light and would be taking aim at her soon.
In that moment, Ingrid Hunnigan embraced her death. She was either going to be shot by the man below her or drop to her death when the man above her got through the rope. Cold fear washed over her and she took a deep breath. Death was just inches away now, she had done everything she could.
"I'm sorry, Helena." She whimpered. The rope went taught for a moment then lack in her grip. Gravity ceased to exist then she plummeted downward.
Two hands shots out from nowhere, grabbing at the strap of her holster vest. She swung backwards awkwardly, her side slapping against the metal of a balcony railing. She looked to the hands and then up to the face. Even In the darkness, she knew that face.
"I gotcha." Leon grunted. "You are an idiot, but I've gotcha." He groaned as he pulled her up and over the edge. She fell to the ground near him. He hoisted her up and on to her feet. "Oh no, no resting. Have you got a gun?"
"No." She said between gulps of air. Her hand instantly went to the small wire from the battery pack to the camera body, she hooked her finger under it and pulled it free, disconnecting it. Heat surged through her body with a new found will to survive.
"Of course not." He lead the way, making his way to the suite door, he motioned for her to stick close. They went to the stairwell and started down. She limped behind him, her leg in pain as well as her shoulder blade.
They made it down to the ground floor but he kept going. Through the three floors of underground parking, finally the exited as they heard men above them shouting.
"How'd you find me?"
"You aren't as sneaky as you think you are." He lead her this way and that but she was falling behind. Leon stopped for a moment, looking back at her before he grabbed her arm and pulled it across his shoulders, towing her alongside him. "Keep up."
They turned a corner and found two men canvassing the area. One spotted Leon and started towards him.
"Alright buddy," One of them said. "Just let us take your friend here. This doesn't concern you."
"Sorry." Leon chimed. "But my friend is already has a date for the evening." His hand snaked down Hunnigan's chest and pulled the final flash bang from the holster, pulled the pin and rolled it to their feet. Both men jumped back but the light stunned them before they could fire on Leon and Hunnigan.
Leon moved quickly, nearly dragging Hunnigan to a rental car. He pushed her into the passenger seat then crawled across her to the driver's seat. He turned the car over and threw it into drive. The tires squealed as they followed the markings around the parking garage. They climbed in elevation and eventually made it out of the garage all together as fire trucks pulled in.