The following morning
Wednesday
North Park Elementary School
I turned to the three girls and one boy.
"Be good, all of you – especially you!"
"Why single me out?" Stephanie demanded somewhat defensively.
I scowled at the nine-year-old.
"What did I tell you earlier?"
Stephanie rolled her eyes before responding.
"No maiming, no killing, no being abusive, no being overprotective of my siblings..."
Megan was giggling and there was a growing smirk on Anne-Marie's face. Danny just looked a little concerned.
"I'll be a good little girl, all day, I promise!"
"If she isn't, I'll put her out!" Megan promised, laughing at Stephanie's annoyed expression.
"Have fun, otherwise what's the point!" I said as I gave them all a hug before they headed into school.
Then I had a thought – what might I bring to my first day of school?
"Stephanie!"
"What now?"
"Hand it over..."
The girl's shoulders slumped as she knew that she had been rumbled.
"But..."
"Now!"
The girl reluctantly reached into her backpack and produced a black Walther PPK/S .22-calibre pistol. I palmed it smoothly so it was not seen by any of the other parents.
"We'll talk later, and if necessary you'll be strip-searched in the car every morning!"
That night
The Edgewater Lounge
Mindy and I were spending the evening at our usual watering hole.
Shannon had just served me a beer and Mindy a Coke while we sat at the bar. The kids had all survived their first day back at school – even Anne-Marie, despite her kidnapping experience... I knew that she was not over it, but we were working on that.
Surprisingly, we had not received a call from the school Principal saying that Stephanie had killed another kid – so that was good too!
It was nice for Dave and me to have some time together of an evening away from everything.
Several minutes later, my attention was drawn by two people entering the bar. One, a dark haired well-built man maybe two inches under six-foot tall, sat on a stool directly across from us on the other side of the bar. The other, a woman who was a couple of inches shorter than the man but with long mousy blonde hair – she sat down next to the man.
What had caught my eye was the fact that neither of them actually looked at Dave nor me – a dead giveaway that they were looking for us. However, it also occurred to me that they were being very obvious and exhibiting just enough 'trade-craft' to let me know that they were people to be taken seriously. I gave Dave a kiss, letting my eyes look on his own – he had picked up something too.
We moved away from the bar to a booth – we both sat on one side with Dave on the outside. The vacant seat opposite us was an obvious invitation, which was accepted once the couple had been served their own drinks – a beer and a glass of white wine.
"May we join you?" The woman asked with a smile.
"Of course, please..." Dave replied with a disarming smile.
"Shall we skip the bullshit?" I suggested.
The man grimaced, but grinned quickly.
"Jason, Jason Bourne."
"Nicky Parsons."
"I assume that you know our names," I continued.
"Dave and Mindy Lizewski," Nicky replied without hesitation.
Both the man and the women seemed to be able to handle themselves, but neither seemed armed – however the man seemed to be a weapon all on his own.
"So?" I pushed.
"You've been looking into something that was supposed to remain buried – Treadstone..."
"Let me guess – you're another product of those delightful people at the CIA?" Dave suggested.
"I believe I am not the only victim of brainwashing, Mrs Lizewski..." Jason mentioned pointedly.
I grimaced.
"Why were you searching?" Nicky asked, getting things back on track.
"We discovered a young victim – only this one was only partially trained. Her brainwashing was not completed..."
"Urban Predator..." Nicky breathed looking at Jason with venom in her expression.
"The bastards went ahead... How old is she?"
"Nine..."
"Fucking bastards – they were supposed to have stopped that before it ever got going – training little kids from an early age!" Nicky exclaimed angrily. "I hate to say it, but they got the idea from you..."
"Is this place secure?" Jason asked.
"We can talk safely..." Dave confirmed.
"I was the last survivor of Treadstone – I made sure of that..." Jason said darkly.
"I was part of the Treadstone operation. I was helping to apprehend Jason after he went rogue," Nicky explained. "It was a top-secret operation that transformed ordinary US Service members into assassins. It was a way of getting around certain Congressional interference when it came to assassinations. Treadstone used a behaviour-modification program to remove morality and make them unstoppable in their missions. The participants' loyalty was absolute – or so the CIA thought until Jason upset things for them!"
"There was another attempt – Blackbriar – we fucked that up for them too," Jason advised us with a grin.
"So there are more kids out there?" I enquired, a little horrified.
"Teenaged assassins?" Jason asked. "Yes – the aim of the program was to have them ready to operate by about thirteen to sixteen. We have no idea how many actually 'graduated' from the program – we hoped none. However, if you have one – then there may have been many more. Was there an adult with the girl?"
"Yes, there was – she was also brainwashed," Dave replied quickly.
"Some adults were intended to be guardians and a control figure for the kids during training."
"That makes sense..." I growled angrily.
"I am very pleased to see your reaction to this – it means we were right to seek you out," Jason confirmed. "You are going to need our help to sort this out."
"Can we meet her?" Nikki asked – genuine concern on her face.
"The girl's welfare is my responsibility – let me think things through," I replied. "How can we contact you?"
The following morning
Thursday
I noticed something as we walked down the street.
My senses said there was a problem. I instantly went on alert and guided Nicky down the next street on the left. She looked up and grimaced at my expression – shew knew; we were able to communicate without words. It was not a surprise – the CIA were not stupid; not totally, anyway! They had tracked us to the Chicago – I knew they would; getting in and out of the US was getting harder.
Now, I was going to make them dance to my tune for a change...
Glenview
Mindy hung up the cell.
Her expression was a mixture of worry and amusement.
"That was Bourne – the CIA are in town and we need to setup a little ambush..."
"That sounds like fun, honey – I don't think I've kicked over a CIA Agent before," I grinned before going cold and serious. "It'll be good to start having a go at those that made Stephanie..."
"Somebody call me?"
"Hi, Steph – we may have use of your skills tonight... We also want you to meet somebody."
"Who," Stephanie asked and she actually sounded interested.
"Somebody like you."
"A psychotic nut job?" Stephanie asked with a grin.
I thought for a moment before replying.
"Probably, yes."
That same time
Central Intelligence Agency
Langley, Virginia
"What the hell is he doing in Chicago?"
"He just showed up – a complete fluke we spotted him, really."
"What is going on in that city? First we lose that Walker girl and that Swedlow woman, then we have persona non grata number one, Jason fucking Bourne turning up!"
"Not to mention all those vigilantes..."
"Fuck those sad bastards – idiots in costumes; they're not important... Mind you – where's that Fusion file from December?"
Mark Martin took a moment to fish through the files on his boss's desk before passing over the relevant file. CIA Deputy Director of the Support Directorate Noah Vossen seized the file and flicked through it for a moment.
"There – Fusion gained a new member soon before Christmas. Female, short and violent and if that weren't enough, she's using her fucking codename - Psyche! She has to be living somewhere – how come we haven't found her yet?"
"We've checked all across the city; schools everything – no Stephanie Walker anywhere..."
"Time to make 'Urban Predator' work for a change – I'll show those fucking bustards that I can still kick ass!"
CIA Station
Chicago
Paul Stein checked his email and was annoyed to find an urgent tasking waiting for him.
He scanned the email briefly, taking in certain names and phrases: 'TREADSTONE', 'URBAN PREDATOR', 'FOXTAIL', 'AURORA', 'PSYCHE', 'BOURNE', 'VOSEN'.
There were some very specific instructions detailing his next actions. He was concerned about operating in Chicago; the CIA had no mandate to operate within the Fifty States, not that they did not operate covertly.
His first task, was to activate a deep-cover operative: Saoirse Doherty – a hell of a name!
That afternoon
St Benedict Parish School
Northern Chicago
The ninth-grade girl paused as the cell buzzed on the table beside her.
She picked it up and after unlocking it, checked the text message: 'FOXTAIL-ALFA-NOVEMBER-UNIFORM'. A smile crossed her lips and her eyes lit up with excitement as she replied: 'FOXTAIL-YANKEE-BRAVO-LIMA'. She had no idea that just a few miles outside the school, a man checked his cell, nodded and then drove off, his task complete.
The girl checked the time and headed off for her last class of the day as if nothing had occurred. To look at the girl, you would not see a highly trained assassin. She was almost five and a half feet tall, with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes. While she was in ninth-grade, you could be forgiven for believing her to be in the tenth or eleventh grades.
..._...
After the last class, she was about to leave the school when another girl came up to her.
"Office asked me to give you this, SD..."
"Thanks."
The girl checked the plain brown envelope and examined the seal – it was intact. She walked over to the side of the building and broke the seal. Inside the envelope were some photos – a man, a woman, a young girl and another woman. There were names on the back of each photo and warnings concerning how dangerous all four were – especially the young girl.
After examining and memorising the photos, Saoirse Doherty walked back into the school and over to the Office.
"Hi, Mrs Grey, could you shred this envelope for me?"
"Of course, Saoirse – one second."
Once the envelope was completely destroyed, Saoirse Doherty took a brief walk and jumped on her bus home.
That same time
Glenview
Stephanie was quietly fuming.
She was sitting cross-legged in the bath while Mindy awaited her decision. Mindy had made her decision, but she was allowing Stephanie to make hers out of respect for the girl.
"Come on, make up your mind – you either dye it or lose it..."
Thanks to the CIA being in town and presumably hunting her, Stephanie needed to change her appearance. She had been given two choices; dye her long blonde hair another colour – or have it cut short. Stephanie of course, wanted neither however, so after a lot of screaming and struggling she had found herself in the bath awaiting one fate or the other.
"Alright, dye it!" The nine-year-old growled reluctantly.
"Finally!" Mindy chuckled.
"At least you don't have to worry about the drapes matching the carpet!" Megan laughed as she smirked down at Stephanie.
"When I get out of here, you are bloody history, kitty-kat!"
..._...
Only that was not the end of it!
Megan had then suggested that both girls should have their hair dyed – making them the same. Mindy had thought that a good idea – but that was where the arguments had started. Anne-Marie was hauled into the bathroom to see what she thought; she liked the idea – only the girl wanted 'Hit Girl Purple'!
Mindy actually considered that idea a good one, but then contemplated what Marcus and the kids' school might say...
..._...
Finally, the two girls were finished – again after a lot of complaining as both girls had quite thick hair and it took a while.
For a time, they both sat gloomily examining their new hair in a mirror. Both were now a deep copper red colour which was very similar to Megan's own hair colouring, but darker. To all intents and purposes, the two girls did look like sisters, which was the end result that we had wanted.
"Get a grip, you two – I think it suits you both..."
"You would – I hate the colour!" Stephanie moaned.
"Live with it – it might just save your life..." Mindy warned.
That Night
Safehouse K
The CIA were not exactly hard to track, which was a somewhat pleasant surprise.
Despite that, we were not taking any chances as the three armoured SUVs raced through the open gate and into the yard behind Safehouse K. As soon as the vehicles stopped, we piled out, leaving only the drivers behind.
We all rushed into the Safehouse as all three SUVs quickly vanished out the gate.
..._...
"Nice place you have here!" The man commented as he gazed around the immense open area.
Hit Girl turned to the man as he removed his balaclava.
"You ain't seen nothing yet!" She hissed.
"She sounds like you when you're 'on the job'!" Nicky chuckled, pulling off her own balaclava.
"This way..."
As we walked over to a section of concrete that was marked with a dashed yellow square, a slight rumble could be heard as that section of the concrete floor moved down and then to one side, revealing a concrete staircase. We all vanished downwards and the concrete slab returned to its previous position, hiding the staircase.
We came out into a comfortable lobby that had carpet tiles on the floor and the walls were painted a pleasant light purple. We all headed through a pair of double doors into a large open area that contained a briefing area, a kitchen and a place to sit and eat. As we entered, lights clicked on across the facility.
I had never been there before and it looked cool.
..._...
"Love the colour scheme, Mindy!" Nicky commented.
"Thanks," Hit Girl said as she pulled off her mask. "We should have some time before those goons show up."
Kick-Ass pulled off his own mask and made for a large eighty-inch horizontal touch-screen table that was a duplicate of that at Safehouse F. It was already active and it showed the surrounding area in visual, night and infra-red modes.
Then Mindy turned to me.
"Time to show yourself, Steph."
I took a deep breath and pulled off my mask, feeling shy for some reason or other. I looked over at the two new people; I knew their names, but nothing else about them. Mindy waved for us all to sit down while Dave leant against the table and watched.
Shadow and Petra kept their masks in place while they kept watch on the surveillance systems.
"Stephanie, my name is Jason Bourne and this is Nicky Parsons. We are very familiar with your situation and how you are what you are..."
Stephanie looked confused.
"You're only nine, am I right?" Nicky asked.
Stephanie looked at me and I nodded with a reassuring smile.
"Yes."
"British?"
"Yes."
"Jason is a product of a CIA program called Treadstone – he was brainwashed into becoming a mindless assassin that would follow orders without question. You are the product of another one of the CIAs less clever ideas – Urban Predator..."
Nicky went on for twenty minutes. During that time, I saw Stephanie's eyes go wide with amazement and then narrow with anger. When Nicky stopped talking, Stephanie just sat there, staring at the floor.
"Steph?"
I was a little worried by her quietness.
"There are others like me out there?" Steph asked quietly.
"We believe so – only we have no idea who or what. You were not the first, but I hope you were the last..." Jason confirmed.
"So that is why I had to have my hair dyed this ridiculous colour this afternoon?"
"You look really sweet, Steph," Nicky said and I heard Shadow giggle behind us.
Stephanie scowled and was about to retort when Petra shouted over.
"Incoming!"