BountyGrl - A Sniper Story: Chapter 13

BountyGrl – A Sniper Story

– by RaysALight - Jennifer Butler

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Summary: I love sniping (in video games heh), but ever wonder what would happen if I was a sniper in real life? BG, my alter ego, is a teen girl working for a secret government organization - the Division. With her enhanced body and senses, she, along with her handler, complete jobs around the world until one shocks her to the core.

Disclaimer: None. This story and the characters are mine alone.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews and subscriptions, I mean it!!! Reviews make me happy; flames make me sad; constructive criticism makes me embarrassed, but a better writer.

[I apologize for the incredibly long delay between new chapters... I had a personal crisis of my own. It was a moment when I truly wished I was BountyGrl and possessed her strength mentally and especially physically. But BG’s back in action! So, thanks for reading and enjoy!]

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I took a step back as Jaden approached rapidly and suddenly his face was right in front of mine. I inhaled, my breath hitched, and my brain told me to knock him out of arm's reach. Before I could react, he hooked his foot around mine, effectively entangling us and I tripped.

I clung to the front of his shirt and we toppled backward onto the bed. Jaden fell on top of me, his bent knee between my legs, and used his hand to prop himself up so as not to crush me. His other forearm was pressed gently against my throat, not hard enough to stop my breathing but firm enough to end the match.


"Y-you win," I whispered.


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Chapter Thirteen


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I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest. It was strange. Perhaps I really was out of practice. I tried to listen to Jaden’s heartbeat for comparison but he’d already lifted himself off of me and backed away toward the window. He inched back the curtain, scanned the view and let the fabric drop back in place.


I sat up slowly as he took the familiar pose of leaning against the wall, arms folded, face blank. There were some things that never changed. I added never driving Jaden’s car to the top of that list.


“How about we try some of that crappy room service?” I suggested lightly, and went to retrieve the menu from the binder on the dresser. “You won, so you get to pick.”


Jaden agreed. We looked over the items and he decided pizza was the safest choice. I flipped through the television channels while he ordered.


He hung up the phone, brought in one of the plastic chairs off the balcony and settled into it, propping his legs up on the dresser. I lay back on the bed and folded my arms behind my head. We fell back into our familiar routine of easy banter as we watched an average end-of-the-world movie just out of theaters. After being in combat, it was easy to point out flaws in the movie; people don’t get blown so far away when shot and cars don’t flip so easily when crashed. We weren’t, however, able to apply that logic to the concept of aliens.


When there was a knock at the door, I nodded at Jaden and my Beretta and I took up residence in the bathroom. The less people saw my face the better; I knew this and wasn’t insulted. Everything that Jaden said and did was for my safety, and vice versa.


After we ate and watched the end of the movie, I glanced at the clock. Time to get ready. I zipped open my suitcase and pulled out a swimsuit. It was a black one-piece with a low-cut front and an unsettling dip in the back. I rolled my eyes.


I changed in the bathroom while Jaden packed the duffel bag with the camera, a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, a room key, and a book. He placed my loaded pistol in a secret compartment in the bottom of the bag. It would be concealed, but not easily accessible.


Next came the hard part. I gathered up my hair as Jaden used waterproof makeup to hide any visible scars. There was an old knife wound on my back just below my left shoulder, marks where bullet fragments had lodged into my right knee and the ever-present birthmark on my outer thigh. Those were just the ones I could remember, he took care of the rest. I pried the bandage off my palm and flexed it. The cut was healing nicely, and I covered the line with concealer.


“All set,” Jaden said, and I wrapped a towel around my waist. He handed me the duffel bag and I slipped into a pair of flip-flops. I truly hated flip-flops, almost as much as I hated high heels; I hated the sounds they both made and how they impaired my ability to move quickly. If I needed to run, doing so barefoot would suit me just fine.


Jaden sat back in his chair. “I’ll be here. Don’t come back until you do it right.”


I just shook my head in amusement at the familiar phrase, and left, shutting the door firmly behind me.


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Outside the pool doors, I tried my card key. The lock kept flashing a red light. That was interesting; our mark must have some pull here if he could get them to close the pool early.


I caught his eye from the workout room. He was trotting easily on treadmill and wearing a shirt a size too small to show off the muscles on his arms. He was overly tanned, with sharp features and dark hair cut close to the scalp.


I tried my card again, with him watching, and pretended to reread the pool hours. I shifted the bag onto my other shoulder and threw him a lady-in-distress look.


He slowed the treadmill to a stop and jogged out of the fitness center and to the other side of the pool doors. Giving me a friendly smile, he opened the doors and looked me up and down.


“Thank you so much,” I said sweetly. “I saw the pool and just knew I’d have to take a dip before bed!”


“Happy to help out a pretty girl,” he replied, leaning in closer.


I slipped past him and found a recliner by the deeper end of the pool, near the hot tub. As I sat my bag down and unwrapped the towel, he went back to his workout, lifting heavy weights this time. He’d left the doors adjoining the pool and fitness center open, so I could watch. Or he could watch me.


With that thought, I stepped out of my flip-flops and dove gracefully into the pool. After a few strokes, I kicked my way to the surface. My head popped up above the water and I took a breath and blinked to clear my eyes. With practiced ease, I swam a few laps and worked my way back to the deep end. I treaded water and listened carefully, filtering through the sounds around me until I heard heavy footsteps approaching.


The target dropped his weights and eagerly rushed to the pool’s entrance doors. He yanked them open and let in an older man. They greeted each other warmly, shaking hands and then a brief embrace. Old friends?


No, my mark was in his late twenties and his friend was old enough to be his father. Maybe he knew my mark’s father. The weapons trade could be a family business.


The two of them walked past me, and I watched with apparent disinterest as the old man glanced my way, then ignored me and continued to the hot tub. They both pulled off their shirts and while my mark went to retrieve glasses of wine from a nearby table, I briefly studied the old man. Even with a large hairy belly and a receding hairline, his whole demeanor radiated authority.


I kicked my way to the nearest ladder and pulled myself out of the pool. Water ran in tiny streams off my suit, down my legs and formed puddles at my feet. I walked over to my chair, grabbed a towel, patted down my arms and legs and began the process of ringing out my hair. When it was no longer dripping, I twisted it up on top of my head, using the towel as a turban.


I made sure to visibly ignore the other two guests as they sipped wine in the hot tub. I’d made the right choice in seating; they were facing toward me.


I reached for my duffel bag and pulled out the thick hardcover novel. When I set the bag back on the table, I angled the end with the mesh pocket toward the two men. Behind that mesh was decent-sized digital camera. With the lens pressed up against the mesh, the photos would come out fairly clear, kind of like looking through a screened window.


Inside the book’s spine was a carefully hidden button that activated the camera. The targets would have no idea they were being photographed. I pressed the button as the men talked quietly, using their own code words. Division would find out the details later, if needed. Right now, my only objective was to take the photos.


I pretended to be completely absorbed in my novel and sat quietly, snapping pictures every minute or so. When the men stood up and reached for their towels, I gathered my things and left, being sure to wrap another towel around my waist and tuck it in. By the time they’d dressed and reached the doors, I was gone.


Back at our room, I opened the door and looked at Jaden who nodded. The room was still secure.


“Damn, it’s freezing in here!”


Jaden just shrugged. I guess he hadn’t found a way to shut off the air conditioning. He was stretched out on the right side of the bed, nearest the TV, and had the covers pulled up to his chest.


“Assignment went as planned. No problems.” I set the duffel bag down and stepped out of the cursed flip-flops.


“Good. We’ll give the camera to Mac when we get back.”


The most talented operator in our tech department wasn’t actually named ‘Mac’ but after a boring lecture from him on the many differences between Windows and Mac computers, I’d given him that nickname. Much to his dismay, it stuck.


He was a wizard with all things electronic and with his personalized and extremely expensive computer setup, he could work magic using the internet, government databases and of course, his own hacking skills. There was a rumor that Division first recruited him as part of deal for dropping the charges against him for breaking through the Pentagon’s firewalls.


I looked through my suitcase, but other than a couple lacy pieces of fabric I’d never wear, found nothing suitable to sleep in. Who the hell packed lingerie for Division’s most feared assassin and unmatched sniper? I began to rummage through Jaden’s clothes.


“What are you doing?”


“I’m getting a T-shirt.” I found one, and satisfied, I went to the bathroom and changed out of the wet and uncomfortably cold swimsuit.


Jaden’s shirt fell almost to my knees. I unwrapped the towel from around my head and shook out my long hair, watching in the mirror as it cascaded down around my shoulders.


Then a thought hit me: there was only one bed. I swallowed. I’d thought Jaden and I were beyond embarrassment. We’d been in compromising situations before, like being pressed up against each other in a tiny sniper’s hide for hours. But that was different. We were both completely focused on the mission. This was a single bed in a hotel room, for Christ’s sake.


I put a palm to my forehead and leaned against the counter. I’d been ‘in the middle of nowhere-istan’ dodging bullets and explosions and here I was, nervous about sleeping with Jaden. Just sleeping, sharing a bed! I shook my head furiously, stopping those thoughts. He probably didn’t even care.


I left the bathroom and turned out the light. In the darkness, the room seemed even colder. In bare feet, I bit my lip and made my way to the left side of the bed. I drew back the covers and climbed in, noting briefly that Jaden was dressed in a old T-shirt and boxers.


I turned over and yanked the covers up to my chin.


“Night.” Jaden said softly. I muttered a reply. God, what if I couldn’t sleep? ‘You sleep when you’re told,’ I heard in my head. I tried to remember which instructor first told me that. There’d been so many. Sleep when you’re told... you sleep when you’re told. With that thought, I tumbled into a light, fitful sleep.


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It was cold. I looked around helplessly and to my horror, I found myself strapped to the interrogation chair. I couldn’t move my limbs. There was someone in front of me, someone blurry. I tried to focus on the face of my captor.


For a second it was an old drill instructor, talking so fast I couldn’t keep up. It was like my mind was moving in slow motion. He dumped a freezing bucket of water over my head. I sputtered, but was able to breathe. I just didn’t know how much longer I could stand this bone-chilling cold.


My teeth began to chatter and he laughed. The sound started out low and hollow, then increased in pitch and intensity. I tried to lift my head, but it wouldn’t move. The laughter turned high and melodic and all I could see was a flash of jet black hair with streaks of brown and red.

Why was it still so freaking cold? During training, there’d always been limits to this sort of thing. Why wasn’t it stopping? Why was I here? Where was Jaden?


I began to lose the feeling in my hands and feet. I tried calling out, telling him or her that if they wanted anything from me, to let me out of the chair and fight for it. Nothing happened, and I began to shake uncontrollably. Eventually I tried pleading with them to stop.


Suddenly, Jaden’s face appeared in front of me. But it was and wasn’t him. There was a dark look in his eyes, beyond anger, beyond sadness. Why? What was wrong? What could possibly make him look like that? What had I done?


I cried out his name.


Then, just as quickly, the images faded and there was warmth. It was right beside me and felt like heaven. The sun’s rays of light broke through the ceiling and I was no longer tied to the chair, but somehow floating in this delicious warmth. I clung to it desperately and the warmth wrapped around me. With nightmare over, I smiled and settled into a deep slumber.


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[Note from the Authoress: I couldn’t resist. I had to sneak in my username - RaysALight = rays of light. Tee hee. It happens in most of my stories. Next chapter: quite a few unlucky fellows meet their end mwahaha!]