Author's Note: I know, I know. This has been a long time coming. I hit a huge wall in this story and I didn't want to post something subpar that wouldn't have done this story justice. There are a few more chapters after this one. THANK YOU if you left a message/review begging me to continue this. And THANK YOU for still reading this and sticking with me. I promise a gap like this isn't going to happen again. As always, reviews and messages are always welcome and really do mean a ton to me.
Alex exited the baggage claim and gripped the handle of the carry-on bag tighter. Her eyes scanned back and forth in the crowd of people heading toward the exit. She left the pack once out of the doors to a less populated area and hailed a cab.
In her best Burmese, Alex ordered the driver to Villa Inle. It was a fantastic hotel that her and Piper had visited once before on their travels.
'This is ridiculously out of the way.' Alex thought to herself. A 30 minute cab ride to a boat waiting to take her to Lake Inle; adding another 20 minutes to her travel time. The ride let her think about Piper, about the job at hand and how happy she would be when she and Piper were finally together in the States. It helped pass the travel time.
When Alex checked in and got to the Villa, she made sure to do her thorough check of the room. Usually she did this for Piper, looking for bugs, snakes and any other intruder to the sanctuary they would build in a room together. Satisfied with the room, she nodded to the valet, and handed him a handsome tip.
"Tell the maids do not come for the entirety of my stay. I do not want to be bothered." The valet nodded and quickly exited the room.
Right now, Alex didn't really care about anything in this room. She didn't care about whether something was dirty or a tile broken. As she walked around the room and saw the suspended bed immediately her mind drifted to memories with Piper. The most vivid memory was the last time they were here they almost broke the suspended bed. Part of the reason that Alex had made the reservation for this hotel was she wanted to retrace footsteps that she and Piper had made previously; hoping this would lessen the blow of being here alone in all of this.
As Alex lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, she thought about her love for the blonde. This was the second week without Piper and even Alex was surprised at how much she missed her.
"Fuck, Pipes. I could really use you right now." Alex said out loud to the empty room.
Alex rolled to the side of the bed and placed her phone beside her. Reaching down, she fumbled around her travel bag to pull out the burner phone that she had picked up in the airport. She thought about calling Piper, but decided against it. She had to figure out the rest of this drop. She pulled her laptop onto the bed and got to work.
A few hours later, Alex pushed her glasses off of her face and on top of her head. She rubbed her eyes. Making up for the loss of Fox meant Alex would have to do part of the drop herself. It had been years since she actually had to get personally involved in the switch.
"It's second nature to you, shithead. You did this for years, what's two more times?" Alex realized that there's a lot more at stake this time, namely Piper. She suddenly got very nervous at the fact that she's going in blind, with no backup and weaponless.
She reached over for her phone and dialed Maya. Perhaps she had access to a piece for Alex.
The phone rang four times before Alex heard the click of the phone and a grouchy Maya "This better be good for me to leave my company in bed."
Alex chuckled. "You know I wouldn't call unless it was necessary."
"What's up, boss?"
Alex's mouth slouched into a hard line. "I won't be your boss for long."
"I need a piece in Myanmar."
"Hold on." Alex could hear the sound of Maya whispering, "Two minutes", and the sounds of sheets and feet hitting wood floors. Maya spoke directly to Alex now. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I have to make up Fox's – I have to make up for the loss of Fox." Alex stumbled over her words.
"Yeah but, this? You don't need that. I've dropped for these guys before. They're on the level. In and out."
"I'd rather not go, believe me. But it's been awhile, and I'd rather have it." Alex said with a huff.
"Sure. Okay." Maya hesitated.
"Maya. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't feel it was necessary." Alex added. 'Please don't press the issue.'
"Okay. Yeah, there's a guy. I'll text you the number."
"Thank you. I'll send you the next drop info soon."
"Sure, Alex. Later."
Alex touched the end button and exhaled a breath that she didn't know she was holding. 'Jesus, could you have begged her more, you shit?' A minute later, a ping came from her phone, "Paol" and a number. As Alex slid her finger over the phone and pressed the number.
Alex paced around the room as the rings pierced through the phone.
"Who the fuck is this?"
"Got the number from a mutual friend. I need something. Where?" Alex knew the drill – give as little information as possible over the phone, find a place to meet.
The gruff voice on the phone barked an address to Alex as she scribbled it down on the hotel pad.
"One hour."
"Fine." Alex hung up the phone and quickly changed into jeans and a tee-shirt. Nothing flashy, nothing restrictive. She grabbed a wad of cash and breezed out of the hotel room.
On the way to the meeting, Alex caught herself fidgeting a handful of time. 'Just calm the fuck down, shithead. Maya uses this guy, it'll be solid and quick. I hope.' The cab jerked to a stop, effectively pulling Alex out of her thoughts. She paid the driver, and walked the half a block to a dingy looking restaurant.
As Alex walked into the restaurant, several dark, tattooed men turned their heads in her direction.
"Paol?" Alex asked the room. One bald man, in a tank top and strapped with a shoulder holster, pointed to the back curtain.
Alex swallowed hard and walked through the sheer fabric.
A young man with spiky dark hair and arms covered in tattoos sat at a table, a door behind him. Two guns are on the table.
"Paol." Alex said again.
Paol lifts his head and looks Alex up and down. "Yeah. I don't know you."
"We have a mutual friend, Maya. Redhead, wears terrible prints." Alex gave a small smile to try to alleviate the pounding of her heart.
"The redhead. Yeah. Too bad she's layn thu chit thu." Paol laughs.
Alex scowls at this. If this was any other moment, any other place, she would have told this asshole to fuck off. To throw a number at him and tell him to give it his girlfriend and she would make her forget all about him, making her cum over and over again until she couldn't walk.
'Now isn't the time to take some moral high ground, shithead. Stay calm.'
"You're unhappy." Paol stands. "Ah, I know. You must a dyke too." Paol laughs again at Alex's silence.
'I wish I could fucking bash this asshole's smug face in.'
"I need something from you. Something you have. Are we doing business or not?" Alex finally asks coldly.
"I am always doing business. What do you need?" Paol walks to the front of the table and rests against it.
"I need one of those behind you." Alex points to the guns. "How much?"
"1000."
"Are you fucking serious? C'mon, I could easily get something for half that."
"1000. Or nothing. I don't care, I don't like you." Paol crosses his arms in front of him.
Alex huffed. "Fine." She held the money out for him to take. Paol snatched it away from her and walked back around the table. He sat and counted the money. When it seemed like the amount was correct and sufficient, he looked back up at Alex.
"Choose." Paol said as he held his hands out in front of him.
Alex grabbed the smaller of the two guns, not entirely sure what kind of gun it was at all, and wedged it in the back of her jeans using her shirt to cover it.
"It's been a pleasure, Paol." Alex manages to force out.
"Don't come back here again." Paol followed behind Alex as she crashed through the fabric divider and straight for the front door. "Unless you have the Redhead with you! Maybe we can work out some other deal for a good show." Paol and the rest of the men in the front laughed heartily as Alex let the door slam behind her.
'Fucking pigs. How does Maya even stand to be in there?' Alex checked her phone. Fahri had sent her the amount of cash she was to carry and the location. 'Fuck. it's almost midnight and the deal is 7am. What fucking dealer is up at 7am?! Fuck me.' Alex quickly runs up the street to flag down a cab. It takes her a few minutes to find an empty one.
Once Alex makes it back to the hotel, she preps the bag she's going to bring to the deal, counting and recounting the bills to make sure everything is in order. She puts the gun on the nightstand, 'It's so I won't forget it.' Alex tries to forget the real reason that she got it. She's afraid of what's to come. She finally allows herself to relax and sleep some, although not a restful one since the bed is empty.
The alarm gets Alex up at 5am. She yawns and stretches her limbs and reaches for her glasses. She checks the phone, a new email from Fahri. Location change. 'This never happens. Ever. Fahri stakes these places out ahead of time.'
Alex quickly scrolls her contacts for Fahri's number. Two rings and she has an answer.
"Alex. Everything set."
'I see he's as smug as ever.'
"What's the deal with the change. This never happens. Are we calling this off?"
"Absolutely not. We need this to happen. Today. At the new location. It's fine, I sent a man around to check it out."
"Are you absolutely sure? I'll be walking in blind, here." Alex couldn't help but press for an answer to why this is happening now.
"You'll be fine! You're a pro!" She could feel the grin on his face, she was furious.
"I'm not happy about this, you should know." Alex stated coldly. "Also, about what we talked about..."
"Not this again Alex." Fahri huffed.
"I was serious. These are my last two drops. I'm out after this."
"You can't let a blonde bitch come into your life and start demanding things of you. You've never been like this before! You love the money, the power! What the fuck, Alex? Do you think she's going to want you when you can't take her all over and shower her with gifts?"
Alex was biting her tongue to not piss off the organization as she's trying to get out. All of these points were valid - Alex did love the money and power. Women and men alike flocked to her to try their luck. But she did worry about the money. Some of it was stashed away, Alex certainly wasn't completely bereft of money and locations, but it certainly couldn't sustain them the way they had been living for long.
'You don't know me at all, asshole. Or what I'm capable of.'
"She's not with me for the money. This just doesn't excite me like it used to."
"Alex. Think very carefully about what you do and what you say to me now. Kubra will not be kind to you. You know what he's like. You know what we're like." Fahri spoke low and pointed.
"I know. That's why I want to talk to him myself. Tell him I want a meeting." Alex's heart was racing. 'What the fuck are you doing, shithead? Demanding a meeting with the head of the organization? Yeah, sounds like a great idea. Why don't you dig yourself further down the hole?'
Fahri just sighed on the other end. "Do your job, Alex. Don't fuck it up. I'll let Kubra know. Be in touch."
Alex dropped the phone on the bed. She quickly dressed and gathered the bag. She slipped the gun from Paol in the waistband of her jeans and briskly walked out of the hotel room into the waiting boat to head back to the mainland.
As the boat chugged along, Alex tried to calm her mind and her nerves. Both were racing away and she needed to be focused on the job. Her hand reached up to her neck and touched the Hamsa that Piper had given her.
'I hope you're right about this protecting me, kid. I sure as hell am going to need it.'