Assassin Affairs (30 page)

“Later
is good. Maybe we could just fly to Vegas and do one of the those
quickie weddings,” he suggested.

“I
hate to say it, but actually that might be a good idea, honey.”

Once the
bodies had been buried and some basic repairs had been made, the
group reconvened at the pool and they shared their wedding plans.

“If
we can go there right from here, I could be your maid of honor and
family witness,” said Janine. “After this week, my
schedule is full.”

“The
money from this gig is being wire transferred to all your accounts
tonight,” added Alexei. “In the meantime, here's ten
thousand in walking-around-money for each of you, along with a
profound thank you from Kristov.”

Karlee
opted to stay with Alexei at the castle for the promised training.
Janine, Kris and Randolph all headed for Las Vegas the next morning.

“Wow,
I've never seen so many neon lights before. This place is awesome!”
Kristie exclaimed.

“We
used to come here for weekend leaves when I was in the army. Do you
even know how to gamble, Kris?”

“No.
I just want to see some shows and play some quarter slots.”

“Ten
thousand dollars in your pocket and all you want to do is play some
quarter slots?”

“Hey,
I'm just a conservative girl from the heartland's cornbelt, buddy.
Have you ever been lost in a field of full-grown corn?”

“No,
can't say as I have, babe. How about you, Janine?”

“Nope.”

“Karlee
and I used to work on our uncle's farm in the summers when we were
young. There was a clique of a dozen or so of us kids, both boys and
girls. We were all barely into puberty at the time. The large field
of eight foot high cornstalks provided us privacy we couldn't find
anywhere else.”

“Privacy
for what?”

“We
were just a bunch of rambunctious, curious junior high school kids.
We'd play strip poker hidden in the middle of the big cornfield
Saturday afternoons, and then run off in different directions wearing
just our tennis shoes, playing a game that was a combination of tag,
hide-and-seek, and spin-the-bottle. When you found or caught someone,
you got a kiss, then they'd get to chase after you and do the same if
they caught you. It wasn't anything more sexual than that, just
innocent fun.”

“I
guess we city-kids led deprived lives,” chuckled Janine.

“One
time my friend Denny and I got distracted a little more than usual
and before we realized the time, it was starting to get dark. We
couldn't find our clothes! We called out for our friends, but they
had already gotten theirs and left. I got up on his shoulders to look
around, but it was a big field.”

“So,
no clothes?” Janine inquired with a snicker.

“Nope.
It got totally dark out really quick after that and we had to each
get home by dinnertime.”

“So
what happened?”

“We
had to sneak home naked. Fortunately it was a rural area, but it was
nearly half a mile! No one ever found out. We went back in the
morning and retrieved the clothes, not wanting anyone else to
discover our routine. It was the last time we ever did that!”

They all
laughed.

The next
few days were spent going to shows, having the wedding ceremony, and
gambling. Randolph played poker and blackjack, the ladies played the
slots. The time came to get packed and return to Chicago. As they
were walking out of the hotel casino, Kris pulled out a handful of
silver dollars left over from her slot play.

“Oh,
I don't want to have to take these through airport security. Let me
have one last pull on that big machine by the door. Please, guys!”
It was kind of an ugly thing, looking too large and shaped like a
volcano. The word 'PROGRESSIVE' was written across the top.

“Sure,
babe. My wife's wish is my command,” Randolph said as he lifted
her up to reach the top of the huge lever.

“Thank
you, husband,” she said as she inserted each of the big coins
into the slot, then used her weight to pull down the heavy handle.

The trio
watched as a “7” appeared, then another, and another.
Lucky sevens lined up all across the wide screen. Smoke spewed from
the top of the volcano and a fire alarm started clanging. Bells rang!
Lights flashed! Onlookers screamed and shouted.

“Oh
My God! What did I do wrong? Did I break it?” she asked in a
brief moment of alarm.

The casino
security guards were on the scene in a flash. It was as though they
had appeared out of nowhere. “Who did that?” asked a
menacing looking employee.

Everyone
pointed at Kristie. His expression turned from a scowl to a big grin
as he reached out his hand.

“Congratulations,
miss. You just won over ten million dollars!!”

She fainted
into Randolph’s ready and waiting arms.

The morning
newspapers said, “Actress Gets Ten Million Dollar Wedding
Gift!” They spent the next month honeymooning in the Fiji
Islands.

During the
following year, Karlee resigned her position at the law firm to spend
full time training with Alexei. Kristie shared her winnings with her
after the IRS took its cut, bought a two million dollar home in the
Chicago suburbs, and put the rest in the bank. Her TV career came to
halt when the producers learned of her pregnancy. A few months later
she suffered a miscarriage.

Just back
from her year with Alexei, Karlee stopped by for a visit with the
couple.

“Nice
digs, sis. Congrats again on the big slot win and thanks again for
the check. You didn't need to do that, Kristie!”

“I
know, Karlee, but I felt it was the right thing to do and Randolph
said it was fine with him if that's what I wanted to do with it.”

“I'm
sorry for what I said earlier about abortions. I feel just sick about
your loss.”

“That's
okay. I cried for a long time, but I'm ready to get on with my life
now. What was it like spending a year with Alexei?”

“It
was great. He's nice, but there was no relationship-type of
chemistry. We tried it for awhile, but decided it best not to mix
business and pleasure. I had to agree to work for him for a year in
exchange for his tutelage. I told him I'll only take on the bad guys
of the world and he said okay. You'd be surprised how many ways there
are to kill someone, and Alexei has taught me a lot of them. He's
trained over a hundred people that now take contract assignments from
him. He hired two new 'nieces' and he let me interview for a
pool-boy. It turns out he's into having sex parties. I only watched
at first.”

“At
first? Tell us more!” she insisted, as both she and Randolph
became engrossed in listening.

“Oh,
it's nothing that interesting, mostly what you'd expect,” she
responded a bit dismissively.

“What
would we expect?” asked Randolph with a chuckle.

“What
about that pool-boy?” added Kris inquisitively.

“Now
that was fun. It's nice having access to deep pockets and getting
obedient staff. Guys would come by for an interview. Some I merely
told that I'd get back to them, but if they were cute, I'd tell them
to take off their clothes.”

“You
did? Did they?”

“Most
did. It was so much fun that I kept interviewing for two weeks!”

They all
laughed.

“Then
one day I met Andre. He looked like he was right off a magazine cover
and was just the right size, if you know what I mean.”

“I
know you; I know what you mean,” laughed Kris.

“I
told him that I'd pay him well, but that he had to do whatever I told
him to do.”

“And?”

“And
he agreed. Then I told him his uniform would consist of a set of knee
pads. He didn't get it. He wasn't that bright, but that wasn't what I
was hiring him for anyway.”

“I
don't get it either, sis,” confessed Kris.

Randolph
leaned over and whispered into her ear.

“Oh
my God, Karlee. You wicked skank!” she said chidingly. “Well,
my life hasn't been so interesting. I've been helping out Randolph
with his dad's business, doing some more modeling and a few
commercials. In fact, I just heard from my agent. They're going to be
making a major film up at Lake Geneva and there might be a walk-on
role for me! I still have my Screen Actors Guild membership, so that
could help get me picked for the part.”

“I
still have mine, too, from the time I appeared on that twins episode
with you,” Karlee said.

“Oh
yeah, I'd forgotten about that. You should come down to the agency
with me tomorrow. It would be so much fun if we were in a movie
together, even if we don't get any lines!”

She readily
agreed and accompanied her to the audition in the morning. The same
big flat-screen was still on the wall when they entered the interview
room, but it was different people conducting the session.

“Thanks
for coming in, ladies. My name is Howard and this is my associate
Marie. We're familiar with your work, Kristie, and would like you to
appear in a minor role. Karlee, we saw the episode in which you two
appeared as twins and think we may want you to appear also, but we
need to see a little more as we're not as familiar with your
ability.”

“Well,
I'm not getting naked for you guys,” she huffed, looking up at
the screen.

“That's
not what we're looking for today. We just want to get a sense of who
you are and if you might fit in,” said Marie.

“My
sister and I are a lot alike, except that she's more of a home-body
and I'm more of a thrill seeker,” Karlee said, attempting to
pitch her value to them.

“What
kind of thrills, dear?”

“I
travel the world and I kick ass, ma'am.”

Howard
perked up and asked, “What does 'kick ass' mean?”

“I'm
close to getting my black-belt in martial arts,” she bragged.
“I've just returned from extensive training in Europe and plan
to resume my education locally.”

“If
it's okay with you, we'd like to record a sample of both your acting
and fighting skills for the screen. Our partners in New York and
Hollywood will review it. If things don't work out this time, there
is something else that we're working on,” said Howard. He then
punched a button on the intercom and asked for Raoul to join them.

“Yeah,
that's okay, I guess.”

Before she
could complete her sentence, a South American lad entered through the
exit door.

“This
is Raoul, who helps us out with our auditions from time to time. He
already has his black-belt, and will take you through a few script
lines and some basic moves to see what you can do. Okay?”

She tensed
up as she anxiously looked him over and as Marie turned on the
camera.

“Sure,
bring it on,” she said as she scanned the lines to read that
they had just handed her.

The reading
went well, and every time Raoul made a move, she counter-moved him,
usually with him ending up on the floor.

“Thank
you, ladies,” said Marie and Howard. “We'll be in touch.”

The next
day, Karlee got a message from Alexei. It was her first contract. She
was discussing it with her sister.

“Kristie,
I can't believe I'm doing this.”

“Be
careful, sis. When you dance with the devil, it can change you.”

“Oh,
it's not so devilish, it's actually more angelic. This time it's one
of those damn bankers. You know, one of the ones who nearly destroyed
society as we know it. Those bastards privatize the profits and
socialize the losses. They leveraged to the hilt and when the shit
hit the fan, we're the ones who had to cover it, and then they paid
themselves big bonuses. It was so egregious, Kris. No, no devil this
time, I'll be doing our country a service!”

“So
who's putting out the contract?”

“I
don't know. My bet is it's his wife. She's probably anxious to get
her hands on his billions.”

“Let
me come with you, Karlee! You could use some back-up, and I hate
those guys as much as you do.”

“Okay,
I guess I owe you that. What about Randolph?”

“He's
busy with his dad. Besides, this will give us some quality
sister-time together.”

“I
don't know about 'quality', but I do know I'd like someone with me I
can trust my first time out.”

“First
time?”

“Well,
first time as a pro,” she said with a wink.

It was a
few days later when they approached the man's estate in the middle of
the night. Both girls were dressed in black, had night vision
equipment, and were well-armed. It was a rural area on a large
section of land, with no nearby neighbors, lots of security and the
property was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.

“Be
careful, sis,” Karlee said as they approached. “He has
sound-activated sensors mounted in the trees. Don't speak unless you
have to, and don't even step on any twigs.”

“Yeah,
yeah, I know the drill, now hush.”

There was a
chill in the fresh night air as several dogs began to bark. Someone
stepped out from the home and took a look around. The girls tensed up
and exchanged a nervous glance. The man yelled at the animals to
shut-up and returned inside.

“Kristie,
you stay here and cover me,” Karlee whispered in her ear. “If
things go bad, do your sniper thing.”

“Okay,
sis. Good luck.”

Just as she
started to make her move, security flood lights came on and a siren
started going off. A half-dozen men came running out of the home.

“Oh
shit!” shouted Karlee. “Run, Kristie!”

The men
began firing and a round hit a tree just inches from the girls. Then
the dogs were released.

“What's
the matter, sis?” Kristie calmly inquired as she lay prone and
took aim. “I'm glad I spent the extra money for top-of-the-line
equipment. This thermal imaging scope really lights up these guys!”
She squeezed the trigger and fired off a shot; one of the shadowy
figures fell over. Then in rapid succession she fired off six more
rounds. Three more men and two dogs went down. “I can see
someone in that upstairs window, sis!”