Caught in the Crosshairs (closed)

[zydrate]

He was right. Some part of Nicole had wanted to argue but why? He made sense and they were very limited on time and options, so arguing would just interfere with their goal of getting out of there safe. She kept her eye out for anything out of the norm.

The situation came to realization that these people would do anything and everything to get at both Nicole and Trevor. Were they last of the group they were after? How did they find them? Nicole's mind raced with thoughts and scenarios of everything she had heard and seen. The woman back at the B&B, the one that gave her information while Nicole 'encouraged' her, the info about Blair...

They found a small empty building about 5 blocks away. It wasn't a place to stay for a long period but a place to rest before they planned their next move... so they had about an hour, at the very least.

"Here, sit here," she told Trevor, who looked OK so far but she knew he had to be hurting. He had started to protest but Nicole grabbed him by his other arm and helped him down, "Let me take a look at it."

Even in the dim light, she saw that at least the bleeding somewhat stopped. It did need to be packed and wrapped still. Nicole straddled Trevor's lap so she could get better access to help treat the wound. Nicole worked as fast as she could because they still need to get moving. She had grabbed her field kit and took out the few bandages it had and then a strip of gauze and in less than 5 minutes, she the wound packed on about the front and back and the gauze wrapped around and under Trevor's arm. "Not my best work, but it'll have to do for now..."

She stood up and offered her hand to his good arm and helped him up, "You wait here and I'll go 'borrow' a car."

 

[BeachBum25]

"No, I am fine. Don't worry about it." He was not surprised when Nicole didn't take no for an answer and practically forced hi to the floor. When she straddled his lap, Trevor struggled with where to put his hands. Instinct had him placing his hands on Nicole's hips, but he was pretty sure that would not have been well received. He just sat there awkwardly while she looked at his shoulder and then patched him up a little from the field kit she had in her go bag.

After she finished, and told him to wait there, his reaction was swift and firm. "NO. I am not waiting here. We are a team now... like it or not. I will go with you. I can rest later. We need to move, and if I stay here and you have to come back for me it is just a waste of time."

He forced himself to his feet and he followed Nicole out of the empty building. Moving carefully, Nicole found a car for them to borrow. As they got on the road, Trevor turned to Nicole. "Leaving for Dublin will be too risky. They will be expecting us there. They are almost certainly going to be staking out Shannon as well. I am going to have the pilot come and get us in Knock. It is a little airport used by people making pilgrimages there. We should be able to get out of there and get to Monaco."

Using the burner phone that was exclusive for communicating with the pilot, he sent the message. Then, he looked up on the GPS how to get to Knock. It was a relatively short ride from Castlebar, so, they could take their time. They did not want to arrive to long before the plane did.

When they arrived at the small airport, the plane was only 10 minutes out. They left the car and headed toward the tarmac. The plane was only going to stop long enough for them to get on, and then it would be airborne again. Once they were on the plane, and the door had been closed, the pilot requested clearance for takeoff.
After getting clearance, they started down the runway and were getting ready to takeoff when the tower called to the plane and told them that their clearance to takeoff had been rescinded and they should return to the terminal. "Do not acknowledge that. Takeoff. Head out over the Atlantic and get into international airspace as quickly as possible. Then, head to our previously discussed destination."

The air traffic controllers repeatedly told them to abort takeoff. Once they were airborne, the controllers ordered them to return. The pilot did as Trevor told him. It was not easy. They flew south and finally began to communicate with French air traffic control. Unfortunately, all of this would allow those who were after them to track their movements.

"we are running out of time to get to Monaco and carry out that mission, but if we go directly there, they will have our location. We could land at Marseille or maybe go into Spain and land in Barcelona and then get to Monaco by land, but that will take a lot longer. What do you want to do Nicole?"

 

[zydrate]

Quickly thinking about it, Nicole tried to picture the map in her head. Trevor had said Marseille and that seemed like a good idea because yes, it would take longer if they chose to land in Barcelona. “How about we stick with Marseille and then take a train from there to Monaco. It should only take a couple of hours, 4 at the most, which would provide us time to clean up, get some rest and then be ready when we get there.”

She figured it made sense as those where hunting them would hopefully figure they were trying to get to Monaco as soon as possible. “There are only a few stops the train would make but there are going to be a lot of tourists and travelers on their way to the races.”

“From there, we can blend in with the travelers and find shelter. Observe and plan.” Of course, had there been more agents like Nicole and Trevor, then they would get a lot more done but no. There would be a lot of short cuts that would need to be taken.

Getting up from her chair, she walked to Trevor and knelt against his seat as she looked at his shoulder, “I know some people we can rely on to get us safely to a hideout.” She checked under his bandage and nodded, “Looks good. No more bleeding. It’s going to leave you with a hell of a scar though.”

 

[BeachBum25]

Trevor agreed with Nicole about going to Marseille. The train would be a good way to travel the last stretch to Monaco. However, he also knew that it would just be a matter of time before those who were tracking them would figure out where they were headed.

"We can't take too much time in Monaco. Yes, we have to do the job right, but they will figure out where we are headed once they know where the plane lands. I agree we will need to get cleaned up and get some rest, but, I think we should worry about rest after we finish in Monaco."

He looked at Nicole as she knelt in front of him and looked at his shoulder. "Once we finish in Monaco, I think we should lay low for a while. Blair will expect me to come after him. He knows me. Once we finish in Monaco, Blair will think we are coming for him right away, and he will be on high alert. I think we should hide out somewhere, maybe charter a yacht or go somewhere remote and let Blair wonder. Let him relax a little. Let his men relax a little. Meanwhile, we can take our time and plan how we are going to get to him and how you are going to torture him."

He saw the look on Nicole's face and he wondered what she thought of his plan. Yes, it was contrary to what Trevor was originally thinking, but, to him, the new plan made sense.

Smiling at Nicole when she mentioned him having one hell of a scar, "Well, that will be an addition to my collection.... not necessarily a welcome addition, though. Fortunately, it won't hinder my ability to take out the targets in Monaco."

When the plane landed, Michael talked to the pilot for a little while. It was agreed that the tail number would be altered and that the pilot would work on disposing of the plane. "I will be in touch with you. It may not be for a while, but I will definitely be in touch."

Making their way to the train station, Trevor bought two tickets for the next train to Monaco. The train ride was rather relaxing compared to what they had been through recently. They took turns sleeping and observing every person that came into the car. Once they arrived in Monaco, Trevor followed Nicole to where they would be staying.

Once they had settled in, Trevor turned the television on. There was a news report of a private jet being shot down over the Atlantic in French airspace. It was being reported that the plane was headed toward Paris and was going to attempt to fly into the Eiffel Tower. Trevor knew the truth. The plane that was shot down, was the plane they had been on. "I wonder if they think we were still on the plane."

 

[zydrate]

Once they got to Monaco, Nicole led Trevor to a small, run down part of the city and knocked on a door where she was greeted by a short woman who immediately cried out and hugged Nicole, talking to her in Italian, wondering where she had been. Nicole gave her a fake story about having to go back to the US to visit her sister who was pregnant.

Introducing the woman to Trevor, Nicole referred to him as her friend, “This is Anna, she is going to help us out.” That was all that was said as Anna handed Nicole a set of keys to a small apartment a few blocks away. Anna was a cleaning lady for a few of the wealthy men in town and when they were away, she would let Nicole stay at their home. It was a good deal the 2 of them had between each other.

Once they were settled, Nicole and Trevor went about the condo, making sure it was clear. They would be safe for a few days, at the very least.

Nicole watched with Trevor about the plane being shot down. She had her arms crossed as she watched and when Trevor said he wondered if they thought they were still on the plane, Nicole just shook her head, “To be truthful, I doubt it. They knew we might have landed some where if they were tracking the plane.” There was no time to worry about that now. If they needed to get out of the country in a hurry, then they would think of something.

“As soon as night comes, we should recon. The Prince’s yacht is docked at Port de Menton Garavan. I want to check his security, at least get a good picture of what we’re dealing with right now. The city is going to be in full party mode so we’ll need to watch it because if we can blend in, then so can they.”

 

[BeachBum25]

The pain in his shoulder was something that Trevor simply had to put out of his mind. There was nothing he could do about it, so, he had to focus his energies elsewhere. He could not let the through and through wound have any impact on this mission, or the most important mission that was to follow this one.

Trevor wondered if it was a good thing to involve a third person; even if it was just in helping them find a place to stay. The way things were going, there was only one person he trusted, and that was Nicole, and the only reason he trusted her was that she had plenty of opportunities to kill him already, and she hadn't done so. Involving Anna could be a problem. She would know where they were staying and could give information to the bad guys. It could also put her in danger whether or not she cooperated with those people looking for Nicole and Trevor.

He didn't say anything about Anna. Nicole was taking the lead in this part of the mission, so, he just remained quiet, and would have to look out for signs that Anna had given information about them to someone else.

After seeing the report of the plane, and agreeing that the shooting down of the plane was done after the bad guys knew that Trevor and Nicole were off, Trevor's mind wandered to Blair. He had to have ordered that. He would have the authority to deal with the French and convince them the plane was a threat. Maybe the intention was to get the plane before they got off, but it was obvious that those after them would know where they got off the plane.

"Party mode is normally a goof thing on a mission because you can blend in and nobody will recognize you and it makes recon much easier. This time it is a challenge, because, although we are doing our recon, there are people looking for us and we have no idea who they are. We will have no idea if the person we bump into on the street is one of the members of the team looking for us, yet they will definitely know us."

As much as we want to take our time and do recon, we need to move quickly. That does not, however, mean that we do not need to be careful. This mission has to be successful. Then we will move on to Blair. I think that you should do some street level recon. I will do recon looking for the high point where I can get an advantage with a long distance shot. I think we should have a way of communicating, though."

Heading out to begin their recon, Nicole and Trevor stopped at a phone store and bought two phones which would be disposed of once they left Monaco. The store was charging ridiculous prices for the phones, but with the current influx of foreigners for the Grand Prix, they knew that the could get the higher prices.

Nicole and Trevor did not care about the price. The paid for the phones and waited until they were sure they were activated, before going out and doing their recon. After splitting up near Port de Menton Garavan, Trevor started to look for a building that was high enough to give him a good shot, and that would be easy enough to access. The recon was made more challenging because everyone that made a sudden move garnered Trevor's attention, and he had to wait to make sure that person wasn't a threat. Splitting up to do the recon was a good idea, but it took away any backup that they each had.

After a couple of hours, that seemed like even longer because of the distractions, Trevor called Nicole on the burner phone to let her know that he was headed back to the small apartment. There was no answer. Nicole not answering the phone did not cause panic in Trevor. He knew that if she was in the middle of something, she could not answer. He made his way toward the apartment, and waited down the street for Nicole to either contact him or return to the apartment, since she had the keys. It was while standing with his back to a building that Trevor got this feeling that something really bad was about to happen, and a chill ran up his spine.

 

[zydrate]

The first thing Nicole wanted to do when she and Trevor split was check and see if Prince Arslan had arrived yet. She had no doubt he’d be there already, but she didn’t want to assume. She had walked into a small store and bought some new clothes and changed in the dressing room. She had to play the part and had to look the part—another tourist walking about, taking in the sights.

As she walked through the crowd, she made sure to take in those around her. Of course, it wasn’t easy as it seemed everyone was watching her. She needed to calm down and focus. She was letting herself get paranoid and that wouldn’t help her situation. She knew what she had to do and that was to check on the prince.

Sure enough, when she got in sight of the dock, she saw the yacht tied and anchored just where she had said it would. “Typical…” she muttered as she kept close to the wall of the building, not being obvious. Taking out her phone, she quickly got a few pictures of the surroundings. That’s all she could get right now as the races were still in practicing, so the main roads were closed off. Tomorrow would be the last day as they would be setting pole positions so after that, the streets would once more be open after 8pm and the closed off again around 4am.

One of the things she knew about Arslan was that he loved to party. He loved throwing parties. So, tomorrow, after qualifying, Nicole would have to find a way on and join said party...

After her little side mission, Nicole started to make her way back to the apartment but didn’t rush back as someone caught her eye… Rahmin Nassir. Goddamnit. He was the one leading a small party to get to Nicole and Trevor first before Blair could get to them.

There was no time to be cautious. She had to follow Nassir. He seemed to be heading in the direction where Anna had let Trevor and herself stay. She knew Anna wouldn’t give up anything as she had no direct ties to Nicole.

Dusk was approaching and the crowds seemed to be getting bigger and that made Nicole’s job a bit harder to follow Nassir, who had picked up two more goons who were following him. Nicole watched them and stayed back as far as she could and when they came to lot of small homes where she and Trevor were staying, she whispered, “Go right…go right..” But no, they turned left.

Fuck.

She grabbed her phone and saw that Trevor had called. Shit. She hoped he wasn’t in trouble. But then again, if he was, he wouldn’t have time to call. Nicole kept following as she quickly sent a text to Trevor’s phone: Nassir.

Nicole took a side street to see if she could beat Nassir. This wasn't the ideal time to get him but it was now or never.

 

[BeachBum25]

While standing waiting for Nicole, Trevor was on high alert. He had a bad feeling, and he was unsure of why he felt that way. His eyes darted from person to person on the street. There was nobody that caused any concern for Trevor.... not yet anyway.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw what Nicole had sent him. Now, at least. he knew who he was looking for, and he knew why he was feeling the way he was.

Moving back into the entrance to a dark alleyway, Trevor looked for Nassir. The problem was that Trevor knew that Nassir would not be alone. Acting on Nassir's presence would be one thing, but it would expose him to whoever Nassir had with him.

Trevor knew that he had to be patient. Despite that knowledge, he was getting very frustrated. Every time they eliminated a threat, another one appeared. It was getting harder and harder for Trevor to control his anger. He knew he had to maintain his cool, but he continued to have this feeling that he was just going to go off on their next threat. That wouldn't be good. It would expose him and Nicole, and it would mean that ultimately they would lose.

Then, he saw him... Nassir. Trevor watched him closely. He had a gun in the waistband of his pants that was concealed by his shirt being untucked. Most people would not notice the weapon hidden on Nassir, however, Trevor stayed alive by noticing such things.

Letting Nassir pass, Trevor noticed the two men following him. They tried to make it look like they were just out for a stroll and to enjoy the party atmosphere, but it was very obvious they were with Nassir. He let them pass, and, as he started to move out of the alleyway to follow them, he saw Nicole approaching. He made eye contact with her and she moved toward the alleyway Just then, one of the goons with Nassir looked in their direction. Trevor turned her and moved her against the wall and kissed her; hiding both of their faces from the guy.

Once he was sure they were no longer in the man's line of sight, Trevor broke the kiss and stepped back. "Sorry, I had to improvise when one of them looked in our direction." He stepped back a little more, not sure if Nicole was going to hit him. "So, how do we eliminate Nassir so we can get on with our real reason for being here?

 

[zydrate]

Nicole continued to follow Nassir carefully, keeping out of sight... at least she hoped. He got closer to the place where she and Trevor were staying and only then did she fall back and take the back way… she was careful and saw that Trevor was also in the shadows, the two made eye contact and she stayed quiet as she moved closer to him. She was watching the men walk by and as one turned in their direction, Nicole was taken off guard when Trevor suddenly kissed her.

Of course, Nicole could have pushed him away but for some reason, she didn’t want to… when the kiss broke, she just looked at Trevor and did her best to hide her shock as she took a step back. She quickly gathered herself as Trevor apologized for his actions, but Nicole shook it off, “I get it…” she did get it yet was still taken back.

It was a simple question, and she had a simple answer, “As much as I want him to suffer, we don’t have the time… we need to lure him and his goons into the open and we need to do it tonight. So… go get your weapon and then… come find me, I’m going to be the bait."

There was no time to argue and before Trevor could say anything, Nicole took off toward the direction of where Nassir was going—the time for games was over.

 

[BeachBum25]

The kiss lingered a little longer than it probably needed to, and it left Trevor wondering if he sensed Nicole returning the kiss a little at the end. However, there was no time to linger on that thought, as much as it would have been better than what they were about to have to do.

Trevor nodded his head as he understood what Nicole wanted them to do. He agreed they did not have the time for this diversion and the quick kill would have to be the way to deal with it. There was no time for Nicole to inflict the kind of suffering that they both wanted to see Nassir endure.

Watching her head away from him, Trevor paused for a second and then headed up the back alley and in the back entrance of the condo they were staying in. He grabbed the bag with his weapon and headed back out into the alley. He wasn't certain where Nicole was going to set herself up as the bait, but he knew it would have to be close to the condo, because that was where Nassir was looking for them.

After surveying the surrounding buildings, Trevor found one that provided easy access and would enable him to get off the building with no problem. Moving to the front of the building, and getting into position, Trevor was ready. This is what he was trained for... this is what he was the best in the world at.

Taking out his cell phone, Trevor sent Nicole a simple text, "Hot."

He waited for Nicole to lure the three into the open, and to their death.

 

[zydrate]

Pressing herself against the wall, Nicole watched Nassir talk with his 'friends'. Her phone vibrated and she looked it quickly, seeing the text from Trevor. It was now or never. She sent a reply back, "Copy."

The area they were in was near a fountain at the entrance of a park. There was some decent lighting from the street lights nearby and it was void of people... good. Activating the her phone light, setting it strobe for a minute to signal her location. Grabbing one of her prized daggers, Nicole walked up, the sound of her approach masked by the water from the fountain. Stupid mistake for Nassir, that was for sure.

"Looking for someone?" Nicole said, getting their attention. One guy turned toward Nicole with his gun raised and before he could make his next move, there was a bullet through his head and he crumpled to the ground. Just as he was shot, Nicole threw her dagger at Nassir, getting him in the shoulder. Suddenly, there was another whizz of a bullet and the other man was down.

This left Nassir standing there alone, still holding his shoulder, yanking out the knife. Nicole smiled and walked up to him, "See what happens when you let others do your work?" Nicole said.

Nassir seemed to be caught in a rock and a hard place, "Skylark!" He exclaimed and tried to through Nicole's knife back at her, only to be met with a shot to the shoulder, exactly where he had been initially stabbed. Damn... Trevor was good. Nassir gathered himself and shakily looked at Nicole, "Who is with you?"

"No one." Nicole said as she picked up the dagger. "Where is Blair?"

"Blair?"

"Playing dumb doesn't suit you Nassir. Where is Blair?"

"Does it matter? You're dead. And so is your partner."

Another shot passed by Nicole and struck Nassir in the leg. "One more time Nassir, where is Blair?"

He didn't answer, instead, he took out his gun from the waist of his pants. Nicole didn't flinch as he pointed it at her...

 

[BeachBum25]

Trevor saw her signal. He was ready. He was willing. He was most definitely able.

Watching through the scope. He loved how Nicole identified the first target. As soon as the guy turned, Trevor made his head explode. Fortunately there were no people around, because the bloody mess would have created chaos. Trevor saw the second guy turn as he watched Nicole throw her blade. The second guy went down with a gaping whole in the side of his head.

That left Nassir. Trevor waited for a moment before taking him out. He had a feeling that Nicole was going to try to get information from him. He gave her a second. When Nassir tried to throw the blade back at Nicole, Trevor decided that he was going to inflict a little bit of torture of his own and put a bullet through Nassir's shoulder, causing the dagger to fall from his hand.

Seeing the smug look on Nassir's face as he talked to Nicole pissed Trevor off. Rarely, if ever, did Trevor allow feelings or emotions to get involved in his work, but right now, for just a brief second, Trevor did. He didn't like the way that it looked like Nassir was talking to Nicole. The bullet ripped through Nassir's thigh, just barely missing the femoral artery, which was by design. Trevor wanted to give Nicole one more chance with him.

The chance ended when Trevor saw Nassir reach for the gun. "Game Over." Returning his weapon to its case, Trevor made his way down to Nicole. He was starting to think that they made a good team. He doubted that they would ever work together after they took care of Blair, but if they did, they would be in high demand.

"We are going to need to distance ourselves from this mess. It also might tip some people off that at least one, if not both of us is in town. By the way, good work there. Were you able to get anything out of Nassir?"

They moved back to the condo and got ready to debrief. Trevor took out his weapon and cleaned it while telling Nicole what he had found. "There is a building I can access that will give me perfect sight lines to the target. It won't matter what time of day or night, i will be able to get up there undetected and I will be able to get out after the mission is complete."

He watched Nicole. She certainly was able to maintain her composure. She had been right in the middle of things, up close and personal, but did not let it bother her. The one thing that Trevor was feeling right now was that he was at least starting to earn her trust. She had put herself out there knowing that she needed Trevor to do his job or she would be in serious trouble.

"So, Nicole. This one is your mission. Tell me what you are thinking and how you want to see it go down." Trevor was letting Nicole know that he trusted her and that he was willing to let her take the lead, and he would be willing to follow her. Trevor knew that their window of opportunity had just shrunk because of Nassir, and he was confident her plan would reflect that.

 

[zydrate]

“He didn’t say anything… I almost want to say he didn’t know about Blair but without being able to talk to him further, I can’t be sure.”

Get out after the mission is complete… Trevor’s words rang in her head as she surmised that this would be the end of their partnership… once Blair was dead, as well as the Prince, then what after? It was too soon to think about that right now, she needed to concentrate on the current moment.

“I’m not playing around anymore, that’s for sure,” Nicole said as she stood up and paced. What was her plan anyway? Nicole didn’t have the experience to plan a mission with others, she had only known how to do it for herself, so it was going to be a challenge.

“The ideal would be to be able to wait until late evening, only because that’s when the partying will be in full swing due to the qualifications would be done with before the race on Sunday. The evening would also allow us to not have fewer if any, collateral damage. But I know that’s not possible because I’m sure Blair will have heard about this by now so, it’s just going to have to wait.” She knew that wasn’t what Trevor had wanted to hear…hell, she didn’t want to say it, but they had to be reasonable here. Perhaps they could go on the hunt for Blair in the early morning and from there, see what they find out. But Nicole didn’t want to split up unless it was absolutely necessary.

She stopped and looked at Trevor as he cleaned his rifle, “You’re doing that wrong,” she said and knelt across from him, “the bore should be pulled through, not pushed…” she took it from him and showed him, “That way the brushes clean more effectively.” She suddenly stopped, “sorry…” realizing she had been telling a trained and seasoned sniper how to clean his own weapon.

 

[BeachBum25]

"It doesn't surprise me that he didn't say anything Nicole. He is like us. WAS like us. He felt invincible, just like we do. It is what makes us good at our job... we feel nothing/ nobody can hurt us. It just so happens, however, that we are better than he was. It is why we are still going despite everything that has been thrown at us. We are both very good at our job, and when you put us together we are incredible. That is where everyone underestimated the situation. They never believed that two loners could get along together."

Trevor listened to Nicole's plan. "At this point-in-time I don't really care about collateral damage. I am going to do whatever I need to do to finish each of our missions. The Prince will go down, I will make sure of it. Whoever gets in the way will suffer the consequences of their actions. If there is someone in close proximity that gets hurt, or killed.... oh well. I don't give a flying fuck anymore."

He looked at Nicole in disbelief when she took his rifle and began to tell him how to clean it. When she said sorry, he just shook his head. "Nicole, I will never tell you how to take care of your knives, or any other weapon...." He didn't finish the statement. He just let it drop.

"There is no doubt that Blair already has resources on their way here. Tell me what you want to do. If you want, I will take out the Prince as he gets off of his yacht in the morning and not worry about collateral damage. I know the perfect spot to get him from and I will be long gone before anyone realizes what happens. No matter what, however, I think we need to stay together. They won't get us if we are together. Their best chance is if we split up."

 

[zydrate]

Nicole nodded, they needed to stay together, "OK, how about this." She sat down on the chair opposite of Trevor, "We take him out first thing in the morning. That should get Blair's attention and as you said, he was your former handler, so let him know it was you by the way you kill the Prince. As a warning to Blair that we are aware of his motives that way we can see what he does because if he feels backed up in a corner, then he's bound to do something stupid."

"I can almost guarantee that the Prince's death will not be publicized for a day or two, only because, he is a big sponsor of the races here in Monte Carlo and so, his people would not want to bring any attention to it just yet as they will have to explain how they were not able to protect him."

"The races don't start until after one and usually finish up within 2 hours, depending on weather. The streets will be crowded so it would be the perfect time to get to Blair. We need him alive, Trevor. It's not going to be easy but like you said, they're going to try everything to split us up and catch us separately."

As long as she had a picture of what was to come, even though Nicole knew it wouldn't all go according to plan, as this was just an outline of what was to come, there was no time to figure out any other scenarios regarding Blair. They had to get him, that was all there was to it... because like Trevor, Nicole was tired of this. And once Blair was taken care of, this whole mess would be over. Although, Nicole didn't have a plan after this for her life. This was what she was trained to do. Not every 'pick' the government chose was going to be able to do what Nicole and Trevor were able to do. But for now, she would worry about that later. "We should get some rest, again, in shifts, I'll go first."

 

[BeachBum25]

Trevor listened to everything that Nicole had to say. He had no problem with taking out the Prince. It would be an easy shot. The only question was how much collateral damage there would be, but Trevor didn't care at this point. He could take out the Prince with one shot, so, there shouldn't be anyone else to worry about.

"Listen Nicole, when I go up to take the shot, you have to be somewhere that I can find you right away. That will be the only chance for us to get separated. After that, we move onto the big target together. I may have history with Blair, but that is personal for both of us. He wants us dead or alive. It was him calling the shots all along. We stay together and we can get him. He thinks he is smarter than us, but he has no idea what is coming for him."

"Now, you get some rest. I will stay up and make sure everything is okay. After we rest, we will get something to eat and then carry out the mission for on the Prince. Then, it is finally time for us to get Blair."

As Nicole went to get some rest, Trevor got a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat down at a chair in the small dining room facing the front door. His handgun was on the table in front of him. The slightest noise and Trevor would be ready. He could go a long time without sleep. Very often his missions required him to be in a specific location for many hours before the target showed up or before he was given an opportunity to eliminate the target. One mission had taken several days to complete, because Trevor refused to takeout the target while his kids were with him.

He sat at the table until he noticed the sun was starting to rise. He had let Nicole sleep longer than was planned, because he felt like she needed it. Trevor got up and went in and woke up Nicole. "It is time to get in position to take out the Prince. The sun is starting to come up."

 

[zydrate]

Nicole heard Trevor's deep voice as it resonated with her dreams... yes, she was dreaming about him. Usually she had better control with her thoughts and dreams but in reality, she had found herself thinking about him more and more... it took another minute for her to register that he wasn't in her dreams and that he was trying to wake her.

What the hell? She usually woke up instantly and was ready and alert... this time, she wasn't as ready to wake as she should have been. It was then she realized she had gone to sleep in just her panties and she should have been more modest but that just wasn't her... she had tried to modest for Trevor's sake but had given up last night.

Realizing he hadn't slept at all, Nicole was going to say something to him about needing rest also but if he was like her, he didn't need it and the only reason she did rest was because she knew she felt safe with him... which was a rare occurrance as that didn't happen with anyone in her line of work.

Sitting up in bed, Nicole checked the time on her phone and nodded. Getting out of bed, she grabbed her t-shirt and put it on before putting her hair in a messy ponytail, "Let's end this today. I'm tired of hiding and I'm especially tired of running." She told him in all earnesty. It was true, this had to end today. If not, they would be hunted until they were both taken out or turned to be the hunters...

Scooting by Trevor, Nicole stopped in front of him, inches from their bodies touching, "Are you ready?"

 

[BeachBum25]

Moving closer to the bed, Trevor gently pressed his hand to Nicole's shoulder through the covers. He was surprised at how long it took her to wake up. On previous tries to wake her up, Nicole had jumped so quickly that Trevor was concerned that she would think he was someone there to harm her.

When she sat up in the bed, He was surprised to see that she was topless. He wasn't going to complain, because her breasts were perfect, but in their situation, Trevor thought Nicole would be ready to go immediately upon waking up. Being almost completely naked would not allow her to engage in a confrontation quickly. Of course, knowing Nicole the way he had come to know her, she wouldn't take the time to get "decent" before taking someone out.

Trevor agreed that this needed to end today. It was amazing how the two of them were starting to think almost exactly alike considering how things had started between them. Here they were, two individuals who had always worked alone that were now thinking along the same lines and working together to stay alive and eliminate targets.

Watching her closely as she dressed; no, he didn't give her any privacy, Trevor then gave her a wicked smile as she scooched past him; their bodies so close.

"Are you ready?"

He winked at her when she asked. "Now isn't the time, but I am sure that we can address that question later on."

They both didn't react outwardly to his comment, but they went about preparing for the first part of their day. They made their way out of the apartment, leaving no evidence that they had been there. Making their way to the location that Trevor had chosen, they discussed the final plan and their rendezvous location after he was finished.

"I am going to get the Prince the second he shows his face. I don't care who is around. As soon as he appears on the deck of his yacht and I have a clear look at him, I am going to take him out. Once I am finished, it will take me less than two minutes to get to the location where we agreed to meet. You should be there waiting for me. If I am not there within three minutes, you should go."

Trevor handed Nicole a burner phone. "This is the last of the burners I have in my stash. If you leave, monitor it for my call, but do not use it to call anyone. The only person that will call that phone is me."

Once it was time for them to split up, Trevor looked at Nicole. "I get him, and then we deal with Blair. One will go quickly. The other will suffer... a great deal." Then, Trevor said and did something that surprised himself. "Be careful Nicole. I will see you soon." He leaned down and kissed her cheek before heading off to his chosen spot. Despite what he said and did, his concentration on the mission was totally focused.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole stole a few glances at Trevor as he lost himself in the crowd as they departed. As early as it was, there was still a crowd… it was race day after all. The race was set for 1pm local time. That left the prince plenty of time to have himself a party where the expense was unlimited. It was also an open-door policy… something Nicole probably knew his security hated as they wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on the comings and goings of others.

But that wasn’t in the least of her worries now, as her objective was to keep an eye on the boat without being too obvious. She would send a subtle signal to Trevor once the prince showed up so that meant she had to be close, yet far enough away to make a quick exit once the shit hit the fan. As she secured her bag in a storage locker provided for those visiting the many pools and of course, guests that were invited to yachts or such. She had changed into a black bikini and matching sarong in order to blend in with everyone else. But that did make it difficult to hide any weapons on her person… OK, that was fine. She didn’t need it.

It was well after 9AM as the party started to get lively and that let Nicole integrate herself with a group of other ladies on the prince’s yacht. They all spoke German as did Nicole, her pronunciations perfected and matching those around her.

No one seemed to notice. Even as she talked with them, Nicole looked around, keeping her eye out for the prince as well as anyone else that didn’t belong.

She had studied on what Blair looked like and she doubted he would be spending anytime here… but it was still best to keep an eye. It was the waiting that tested one’s patience. And if you didn’t have patience, then you were as good as dead. And she knew that she and Trevor had the patience to wait all night if they had to.

That’s when there was a fuss from the middle of the pool deck… looking with the other ladies, Nicole saw the prince make his appearance. He wasn’t quiet or subtle about it either as he welcomed everyone and hoped for a good race today as he had a lot of money riding on the outcome…

Nicole flipped her hair from her right shoulder over to her left.

 

[BeachBum25]

Moving quickly to his chosen location, Trevor made sure that he remained unseen as he went to the rooftop. After assembling his weapon, he focused on the yacht. He saw that Nicole was in the area. Through the scope, he looked at Nicole, and for a second his mind left the mission and was on how hot she looked in the black bikini and sarong.

Then it was back to business. He was focused on the mission. Nicole was in a group of women on the yacht. Trevor was not crazy about where she was positioned, because it really limited her ability to remove herself from the situation after he took out the prince. However, she had chosen to be there, and Trevor had to trust that she could get herself out.

There were a lot of people moving on and off the yacht. Trevor kept his eye on Nicole and was waiting for her signal. Then..... "Fuck. What is he doing there?"

It was Blair. Just then, Trevor saw the signal from Nicole. "Fuck." He wanted to take both of them out in that moment, but that wasn't the plan. The problem now was that Nicole's exit off the yacht would be even more complicated. Even though Blair had never met Nicole in person, Trevor was certain that Blair knew what she looked like. He had certainly seen pictures of her and familiarized himself with her.

Trevor made a quick decision. The first shot that he fired, hit the prince in the shoulder and spun him around. This shot was aimed at getting everyone's attention on the Prince. The second shot, fired only a second later, entered the prince's forehead and blew off the back of his head. Now, everyone saw what happened to the Prince, instead of just seeing the after effects of the prince dying. Everyone focusing on the prince would give Nicole a better chance to get off the yacht.

Of course, the prince's head getting blown off left some collateral damage. The shot that went through the prince's shoulder hit a woman in the chest that was moving to be close to the prince. The bullet that took off the back of the prince's head hit one of the prince's security detail in the shoulder. Then, of course, there were the people who were now covered in skull fragments, brain matter, and blood from the prince.

Trevor did not take the time to check on Nicole. He disassembled the weapon and was on his way to the designated meeting place. When he arrived, Nicole was not there yet. He moved into the entryway of a shop as people moved past on the street; some of the people going crazy as word of what happened on the yacht started to spread.

 

[zydrate]

It was a good thing she knew how to swim.

Usually Nicole could swim very well but when a bullet has grazed the back of your shoulder and you've exposed it to sea water...well, it wasn't that pleasant and it made swimming difficult. But she had spotted Blair too late. He seemed to just appear but knew that wasn't so. He and his goons probably were keeping an eye on Nicole but didn't expect her to immediately jump in to disappear in the water when everything went to shit...

Coming up quietly beside the yacht next to the Prince's, Nicole silent gasped for air before disappearing once more beneath the water. She had to get out of here and it meant she had to do it via ocean, then that's what she had to do. Although it had taken longer to escape, she still made sure no one was following her. Using her sarong to cover up her shoulder she headed to the small locker and grabbed her bag. She knew she was running late but she had to make sure Trevor wasn't still waiting and had the sense to make an escape.

She knew she should have told him that she was going to be that close to the Prince but in all reality, he would have talked her out of it but she had to in case...just in case... he had failed to get the job done.

The only mistake was not accounting for Blair to be there also....

Nicole had found a small hidden archway where she was able to put on some shorts and a black tshirt. The wound hurt like hell but she ignored it for now... she had to. With Blair near, there was no time to waste. Walking the pace with a crowd of tourist, she made her way to the rendezvous point.

Shew as able to spot Trevor from a few feet away but still, Nicole proceeded carefully toward him... carefully only because they weren't certain how many men Blair brought with him.

 

[BeachBum25]

He waited. There really had not been a plan for what to do if Nicole wasn't at the rendezvous point. They had only planned on what to do if he didn't get there. So, he stayed, and he watched, and he waited.

Trevor not only was looking for Nicole, but he was looking for Blair and anyone who might be with Blair. Blair had been easy to spot. He was so out of place. He was dressed in a dark suit, wearing dark sunglasses. Typical of a desk jockey. Blair didn't know what it was like to work a mission, and Trevor was pretty sure that the people Blair had accompanying him didn't either. After all, Many of the experienced field agents had been taken out as a result of the Crazy Horse. That left Blair with newly trained operatives who didn't know what the game was all about.

Looking around, Trevor saw Nicole approaching slowly. He also saw a suit moving in her direction. Taking his time, Trevor moved around and walked up behind the suit and put his handgun into the man's ribs. "Don't do anything stupid. Don't say anything. Just keep walking the way you were going. If you are lucky, you will live to see tomorrow, but, only if you are lucky."

His first instinct had been to just kill the man right then and there, but Trevor did not want to give Blair or any of his other goons a heads up as to where they were. Trevor walked the man up to Nicole who immediately sunk her knife into the man's heart. Trevor looked at Nicole. "I guess it wasn't his lucky day." Nicole looked at him quizzically. "I'll tell you later."

Letting the man fall to the ground face first so the blood would not be visible right away, they began to move away from the town square and move out to find a place to hide out. He had noticed that Nicole was holding her arm in an awkward way; the first indication to Trevor that Nicole was wounded.

They found a little cafe and took a table inside where they could see out onto the street, but it would be almost impossible for anyone to see them inside. After taking their seats and ordering two coffees, Trevor looked at Nicole. "Are you okay? Do I need to get you medical attention?"

 

[zydrate]

Nicole thought she was hiding it well that she was injured...apparently not. When he asked if she needed medical attention, she just shook her head, "Nah, it's just a scratch." Of course, that was a lie as it hurt like hell. This wasn't something she was used to. She was never really in the position to get hurt yet, when all this started to go down, she seemed to get hurt more often than before.

Leaning back tentatively against the booth, Nicole thanked the man who brought them their coffee before looking at Trevor, "So, that's Blair? I pictured him a bit taller."

"He's out looking for us... I was going to suggest perhaps we split up but--" she knew Trevor was going to object at that, "but, we're better off staying together. The question now is how do we proceed from here. We need to find out where he's staying and of course, what his plan is. I had thought we could get a couple of his goons alone and see if they would know but I take it Blair's not the kind to brag out oud about his plans."

They both knew the answer and that was to get Blair alone. It was the only way. He would need to talk and then it would up to Nicole to make him suffer as much as possible.

 

[BeachBum25]

"He wants us to split up Nicole. He knows he has a better chance of getting us if he can isolate us." Trevor was simply confirming what Nicole already knew they needed to do. They had been good together so far. Staying together gave them the best chance.

"Blair has a bunch of amateurs who he is trying to train to take the place of everyone who has been eliminated as a result of the Crazy Horse. Their first field experience is coming after us. They are no match for us on their best day, but Blair is too stuck on himself to realize it. He let all of the accolades he received as a result of my successful missions go to his head. He has no idea what it is like to conduct a mission and how important it is to only give information to operatives that they absolutely need."

Trevor sipped the coffee and motioned for the waitress. He asked her to bring them several pastries, because he had no idea when they would get a chance to eat again.

"His men are wearing dark suits. That shows how clueless he is to what goes on in the field. He has watched too many spy movies and tries to mimic them with his decisions. I think that we will be able to get one.. maybe more than one.. of his men and grill them for information. They will give it up really easily. That will lead us to Blair. I have no doubt he will give us information easily also, but he is going to have to suffer like nobody has suffered before him."

As they sat in the cafe relaxing, eating pastries and drinking coffee, Trevor noticed two men in dark suits stop right outside of the cafe. He nodded in their direction to Nicole. "Out back."

Trevor motioned for the waitress again. "Is there a back door to the cafe?" While asking her, Trevor extended 200 Euro in her direction. The woman nodded and said she would show them. Trevor looked to Nicole. "You go out back and wait for me there. I will be there in a couple of minutes."

Trevor gave the waitress an additional 50 Euro to cover the coffee and pastries before she left to show Nicole the back door. Moving to the front entrance, Trevor watched as one of the suits walked away and said he would be right back. Trevor stepped out behind the remaining suit and put the gun in his ribs. "Don't do anything stupid. Just walk slowly to the alley and then toward the back of the building. I promise you, I will not kill you if you do as I say."

They moved to the alley and down the back to an enclosed area behind the cafe. Nicole was waiting there. "Work your magic."

 

[zydrate]

Her magic?

Nicole relished in that compliment for a split second before looking at the man before them. He had it all it seemed, the looks, blond hair, blue eyes... an obvious shoulder holster for his gun.

"English?" Nicole asked.

The man spit at her, which wasn't too surprising, especially when that action elicited a response from Trevor in the name of a punch to the man's gut.

Nicole took out one of her blades, which she realized because of this mission, she had been losing them because of all this... knowing they didn't have much time, she reached for the guy's wallet and looked at it... it was a German ID. Idiot carried his wallet with is real ID in it? Damn... she knew that if anything happened to herself or Trevor, the only ID that would be found on their person would be something fake... this guy, he was trained poorly.

"Du bist Deutscher?" she didn't wait for an answer as she looked at his name, "Dein Name ist Hugo?"

"Where's Blair?" Nicole asked as she held the knife to his throat.

No answer.

Nicole sighed and wrenched the man's head back by pulling his greasy blond hair, forcing him to look up. She then drew the sharp tip of her blade along his shoulder and then pushed it into him, telling him in German, "Did you know that people don't die from being stabbed? They actually die from loss of blood. You know what happens when you slowly lose blood?" She pushed the blade deeper until she felt she was right where she needed to be, "You go into shock, first of all..." she pulled the blade up and the man tried to do what he could to not scream, "then your body starts shutting down... but don't worry, that's not going to happen to you... tell me where is Blair and I might let you live. Help you get a whole knew life... or at least get you some medical attention... where is Blair and what is his plan?"

The man seemed to think about it for no less than a minute before he spilled everything he knew about Blair and his plans... at least what he knew about it, even where he was staying...

"Du lässt mich jetzt leben?" His pain was almost matching the look of fear in his eyes. Nicole slowly shook her head, "No, because you're going to sit here..." she pushed him down to the ground to sit against the wall in the alley. "Blair is going to find you... now it's not going to be pretty but, if you want to live, then I wouldn't remove that blade if I were you."

Looking at Trevor, Nicole stood up, not in as much pain as she was in before... damn adrenaline.. "Let's go."