Agent for a Cause (The Agents for Good) (2 page)

“Someone has too.”

She studied me for a moment more and then walked away. I studied the scarred counter top of the bar before me. Now what?

A glass with a cute little umbrella sticking out of a frothy red mixed drink was gracefully set down before me. I glanced up at Anna and then back down at the drink before me.

“Am I supposed to read something into the fact that you’ve given me something that looks like blood to drink?”

She half choked on a spurt of laughter, “Goodness no! I just thought you might like something else to drink other than that awful club soda that you never even bother to touch.”

“Thank you, but I don’t drink alcohol.”

“I know and I respect you for that, but there’s no alcohol in that and unless you’re allergic to strawberries I’ll bet you’ll like it.”

She was turning to go, “Anna?”

She looked at me and I struggled for words, “This has all been very confusing and I could understand if you’ve changed your mind about me. I’ll just go if you want.”

Her smile returned and she leaned forward kissing me on the cheek shocking me in the process, “Well, aren’t you the chivalrous stalker. I’ll admit your occupation is a bit of a tough one to swallow, but our deal stands. You may continue stalking me, just don’t kill me please.”

She finished on a somewhat nervous sounding note. She winked at me and moved off down the bar. My shock, over the kiss to my cheek, disappeared as I seized on the last part of what she had said.

Who on Earth would even think of doing that! I studied her closely, as she served other patrons at the bar; already deciding I was going to press her about what she had said later.

I picked up the cold glass and took a sip. It was actually quite good. I stayed until just before closing and then I put my hat on and left only to wait across the street from the bar in plain view.

She saw me when she came out of the bar and smiling she boldly crossed the street to me. Her eyes in the dim light given off from the street lamp asked the question of what I was still doing here.

“I wouldn’t be much of a stalker if I don’t know where you live.” I said by way of an explanation, as to why I was still here, even though that wasn’t the whole truth.

She burst out laughing on the spot. Her laughter was rich and full and one of the best sounds I’d ever heard in life. Still laughing softly she looped her arm through mine and started off toward the right.

“Come along Mr. Tyre, but I want you to know that I’m not happy having to do all your leg work for you. Sheesh
! Even the stalkers are half lazy anymore!”

I smiled.

“So you can smile! I was beginning to wonder.” She said studying my face closely.

This woman with her free smiles and implied innuendos was breaking me down in ways that torture experts had never succeeded. What was I getting myself into with this woman? Everything that had happened tonight had happened way faster than I liked change to come, but that was life, either adjust to it or be mowed over by it.

It was a long walk that went through some rather seedy areas and the apartment housing she indicated was very rundown in appearance. I couldn’t restrain my objections anymore.

“You walk this way every night, well after dark, to get to this shack!”

“Yes, Mr. Concerned Stalker.”

She said squeezing my arm with hers.

“You should at least take a taxi!” I exclaimed.

“Taxi’s cost money and the legs that God gave me are just fine for walking.”

“You’re a mugged rape victim in a dark alleyway waiting to happen!” I said abruptly and she didn’t respond.

The apartment complex did actually look a little better on the inside, but just barely. She pulled her key out of her purse to unlock her door and before she knew it I had snatched her purse from her.

“Hey!” She said objecting strongly to my actions.

Grimly I rifled through her purse. There wasn’t so much as a pocket knife, let alone a can of pepper spray!

She stood there silently her arms folded, every inch of her radiating anger, but her anger dropped away as I lashed into her.

“Unless you have a black belt in something that I’m not aware of, just what do you plan to do when you’re backed into a dark alley some night?”

She dropped her eyes from mine and mumbled out, “I’ll cross that bridge when or if I ever come to it.”

“That’s not good enough! You owe it to yourself to have a little more common sense than this!”

I was mad! Didn’t she read the newspapers and see the news at all? I dealt with monsters of every kind on a daily basis. This world was made up of bad people, who wouldn’t think twice about gobbling up an innocent girl such as her for breakfast.

I leaned down and pulled a 9mm out of my ankle holster. It was a smaller gun, but it would do the job. Anna’s eyes grew large as she saw the pistol in my hand. For being a woman Anna didn’t have much in her purse and the pistol fit easily into it.

“But I don’t have a permit!” She exclaimed.

“Consider this your chance to do something highly illegal then. Do you know how to use it?”

She nodded, “I shot some of my father’s when I was younger.”

“Good, it’s fully loaded and ready to go. Make sure to keep it with you and use it if you have to.”

I caught her looking at me curiously and I asked somewhat defensively, “What?”

“You really do kill people don’t you?” I nodded as I felt myself being led off track again by her pretty eyes.

I pulled out a wad of cash from my pocket and stuffed it into her purse alongside of the gun. She immediately bristled, “I’m not that kind of girl!”

“I’m well aware of that! This is a gift with a purpose! Taxi to work and taxi back home from work! Got it?”

She brushed some tendrils of hair away from her eyes and nodded slowly with a shocked looking expression across her features as she looked at me. I gave her purse back to her and she opened her door and partially stepped inside. She turned back to me and I could see some of her humor was back.

“You don’t make a very good stalker. I think we should move you from stalker status right up to boyfriend.”

She stepped close and swept a hand around the back of my neck and pressed her lips to mine in a quick kiss before stepping back a little breathlessly saying, “Goodnight, honey.”

I stood there staring at the closed door not at all my usual self. I brought myself under some semblance of control and knocked on the door.

The instant, “Yes?” From the other side gave proof to the fact that she hadn’t moved away yet either.

“You forgot to lock your door.”

“Oh yes, thank you! Good night.”

“Goodnight.” I said hearing the dead bolt close shut with a click.

It had been a long time since I’d said that to anyone. In fact it would have been my mother who was the last to hear such words, but that had been a long time ago and in a different language. I walked down the dimly lit hall not liking the place my girl was staying in.

Whoa! When had that special classification status of ‘my girl’ happened? I guess the answer to that was, when I had been promoted to ‘boyfriend status’ a couple of moments ago. No one who knew me would believe any of this!

On a hunch I stepped into a darkened doorway at the end of the hall and waited. About five minutes passed and I was just about to go, when Anna opened her door and stepped out into the hall. She didn’t have a coat or purse with her so I guessed that she was staying on the premises. In fact all she did was step across the hall and knock on the door. It opened after a moment and I saw the vague outline of an older woman standing there. Nothing nefarious in that so far.

Anna handed her a wad of cash, which was no doubt the taxi money, I thought as I felt my jaw tighten. Things must be threadbare thin for her to value her own skin so little. A boy stepped out into the hall and sort of listlessly stepped across the hall to enter Anna’s apartment.

Anna said something to him, but he didn’t respond and I saw a sad look come over Anna’s face as she watched him go by. It looked like Anna had a son. The boy’s behavior was odd.

Anna was the type of mother every kid would have adored having, warm, caring, affectionate, and even fun. The boy had to be about six or so and he’d just walked by her like she didn’t even matter!

Anna was a single mom with a kid that seemed to have some issues. No wonder she didn’t have two pennies to rub together. She had probably owed the old woman back money for watching her kid while she was at work. I stepped out of the dim hallway and continued on out of the building determined to fix some of what I saw wrong with this situation, but I couldn’t do anything right now. I was leaving the country in the morning and I’d be gone for several days, but when I came back things were going to change.

Chapter Two

Anxious for More

Anna looked around after she had dropped off Kevin. No sign of her stalker friend. A smile came to her lips as she started down the dirty walled hall.

She hadn’t intended to go so far last night, but she was glad she had. The quiet guy with the hat and the calm unflackable demeanor had intrigued her from the start. He hadn’t been so calm last night though. She’d rattled the cage he put around himself pretty hard.

It had been so fun! Fun that is up until the moment he had told her what he did for a living. She shivered as she felt the extra weight of her purse from the pistol contained inside.

He took people’s lives and yet he was trying to save hers, what an odd combination. What are you doing Anna?

That was a hard question to answer, but right now she really hoped her quiet admirer would be back at the bar tonight. She’d said he was her boyfriend, but that was really up to him to decide. She just hoped she hadn’t scared him off.

It had been nice having someone to walk her back to her apartment in the night. She hadn’t had to fear that every shifting shadow was some possible assailant. He would be mad with her when he found out she’d spent the taxi money elsewhere.

In a way it was nice to have someone mad at her. It meant at least someone cared whether she lived or died. She’d given up on her faith when the hits had just kept on coming. The stranger’s charity was the first bright spot in her life in a long time.

She swallowed down her apprehension as she stepped out onto the street. Her walk to work wasn’t much safer in the daylight then it was at night. Someone whistled and she cringed inwardly and hurried on.

“Hey you, miss, stop!”

She glanced toward the voice and saw a taxi driver with his head stuck out a window. Unsure of what was going on she diverted slightly and stepped out toward the cab.

The taxi driver had a picture in his hand, “Yep, you’re the broad. Get in.”

Anna her face cautious asked, “You were told to come pick me up?”

“Yep. Been paid to bring you back too.”

Anna straightened up. How had he known?

“This man, did he have a hat?”

“Sure did. Now I don’t know about you miss, but I don’t like staying around this neighborhood anymore than I have to.”

Anna nodded and got in and sat still in the back seat as the driver pulled away from the curb. He looked in the rear view mirror at her, “Names Bill miss, guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

“How much is he paying you to do this?” Anna asked in a small voice.

“Enough lady and then some! Take it from me sister you need to latch on to this one and not let go!”

The rest of the drive was quiet and Bill dropped her off at the curb in front of the bar. He rolled his window down and handed her a card.

“You can reach me with this number day or night and I’ll be here.”

“I don’t have a phone.” Anna mumbled out embarrassed.

“He said you might not. Told me to give you this. Chargers in the bag.” Bill handed her a sleek looking phone and then handed out a small bag.

Numbly, Anna took both, thanking the taxi driver and entered the bar. Her eyes drifted through the vacant bar to land on the corner seat on her side of the bar. Why? Why was he doing all this? All she’d done was talk to him! She looked heavenward for a second. Maybe she’d given up on faith to soon.

The afternoon passed and the evening wore on. Her boyfriend was a no show and her frustration with his absence was mounting. She wanted to thank him. Play around with his shyness and see his eyes light up in shock when she surprised him.

She must have polished the corner area of the bar where he sat half a dozen times now. She had to face the bitter truth. He wasn’t coming. At least not tonight anyway, maybe tomorrow night would be different.

“Hey Anna!”

It was Jim and he was holding something out to her. It was a manila envelope.

“This came for you in the mail today. I forgot to give it to you earlier.”

Anna took it and glanced at Jim. “Could you cover for me for a while?”

He nodded and Anna slipped into the back room and out the alleyway door. It was cold, but she didn’t notice as she opened the manila envelope eagerly. The first thing she saw was the money. Several thousand dollars of it!

There was a piece of paper too, which she pulled out and opened.
“Anna, please use the taxi! If Bill’s a jerk I can arrange for someone else to take over till I get back. I’ll be gone for several days. I look forward to admiring you again soon. P.S. You don’t have to hide your boy from me. Sincerely, your boyfriend.”

Anna’s lips began to quiver and then a sob escaped as tears tracked down her face to wet the paper clutched in her hands. She slid down to a squat with her back against the brick wall of the bar as she reread the short letter, which was far longer in the depth of its meaning.

She folded it up and put it back in with the money. She’d told him that she wasn’t the kind of girl that gave sexual favors for money last night at her door, but the truth was that she had been on the verge of becoming one of those girls.

She just couldn’t make it! Despite all of her sacrifices and how hard she tried she just couldn’t earn enough money. She could have had a payout and been on easy street, but Kevin and all the others just like him deserved more and she was determined to see that they got justice.