Visible Ghosts

1

Darkness shrouds my surroundings but I feel the air shift behind me indicating Zane has returned.

"Did you get the package?" I whisper softly above the wind. My eyes straining to take in any movement from the lit up mansion in front of us.

"Yes." Zane answers, "let's get out of here."

We silently move through the forest, the glowing lights of the house fading until only the moon guides us. This was my third mission of the day and the long hours were catching up to me. Phil called two hours prior with a boatload of favors and an urgent mission. Whatever was in the package must be important.

After trekking in the woods for another 10 minutes, we came up to the SUV we stashed on the side of a service road. I jumped in the driver's side and started the engine. As soon as Zane was in, I was speeding down the dark lane and towards our house.

Phil could wait until the sun was up to receive his package, sleep was calling my name.

"What do you think is in this thing?" Zane asked, rattling the package. No distinctive noises came from the box besides some soft thudding.

I shrugged my shoulders, my eyes barely glancing in his direction. "Beats me. Whatever it is, it got us 5 favors each and the mission took less than an hour."

"So sleep first, then morning light drop this off at the hospital?"

"We have that meeting about the school at 8 with Phil anyway. Might as well do both at the same time." I pull my eyes away from the road and look closer at my best friend. His eyes are half closed, his hand loosely curled around the brown package in his lap. He looks dead. "We both could use the sleep. Phil can wait 6 more hours."

Zane nods his head and his eyes fall the rest of the way. I drive in silence the rest of the way to Charleston, Zane's scent of pine and honey relaxing me.

Pulling into our driveway, I gently shake Zane's shoulder. "Zane, time to get up. Your bed is less than 30 feet away."

He grunts in his sleep, his shoulders curling in on himself more as he leans against the door. "Zane. Get your fat butt up, you're heavy and I am not carrying you into the house."

Soft snores are my only response. "Fine. You asked for it."

I grab the package out of his lap and hop out the suv. Rounding the front of the car, I open his door and watch as his eyes pop open a moment before his body hits the driveway.

"What the fuck Sang?" He yells, jumping off the ground with a knife gripped tightly in his hand.

I roll my eyes and head to the door. "I tried waking you up, I'm not carrying you into the house again."

A knife embeds itself into our front door, a few inches away from my face. I blow out a breath, the movement causing some of my hair to fall into my face. My hand impatiently pushes it away before yanking the knife out. Spinning around I send a glare to Zane who is scowling by the suv.

"I'm keeping this." I claim, waving the knife in front of my face. "Now get your grumpy ass into the house and go to bed before I throw it back at you."

He huffs but does as I say, his boots clomping across the pavement until he stands behind me.

"Good boy." I taunt, turning back around to unlock the door. But to my surprise the door is already unlocked. I freeze. Something is wrong. No one has keys to the house beside Zane and me.

Zane must notice my hesitation and in his sleep deprived state grunts at me. "Hurry up Sang, I'm fucking tired."

I nudge him in the stomach, my head tilts back so he can see my eyes. My panicked look conveys more than words ever could. There's a long list of people that would like to see myself and Zane 6 feet under. Before we joined the academy we were involved with some unsavory characters. If they somehow found us, things could go downhill very quickly.

Zane's hand moves in a flurry of movement "I'll check upstairs, you get the first floor."

I nod my head in agreement, shove the knife into the top of my boot and pull the gun out of its holster from under my jacket. Zane has his 9mm gripped tightly in his right hand, the other furiously typing something out in his phone. When he's done, he gives me the signal and I open the door slowly. It swings open quietly, revealing the dark interior.

Nothing looks too out of place. I head in the direction of the kitchen, while Zane slinks up the steps. A soda can sits on the island, taunting me that someone has been in the house. I peek out the window above the sink, checking the patio for any movement. Only the slight swaying of the bushes answer back to my searching gaze. I step back into the living room and turn towards the hallway. A light at the end of the hall has my footsteps pausing.

The game room door is cracked but no sounds come out. I send a quick prayer to whatever deities there to have Zane come down soon. I listen outside the game room door for a moment. The telltale sounds of someone playing a video game are muted. I move my head so that I can peek into the room. On the couch a tall man with a dark brown buzz cut stares intensely at the tv, his large hands almost crushing the controller. Dark tattoos are visible under the sleeve of his shirt.

A Russian curse muttered under his breath has me sighing in relief until the anger surfaces.

"Raven, you motherfucker, what the hell are you doing in my house?" I scream at him as I slam the door open.

He jumps in surprise, dropping the controller onto the ground. I hear Zane's boots clanging down the steps and a moment later his body is pressed against mine.

"Raven?"

"Da." He inclines his head at Zane. His dark gaze settling on me. "Malen'kiy kotenok (little kitten), why are you yelling? You made me lose to frog!"

I ignore whatever the hell frog is and harden my glare on Raven. "Yevgeny Ravenstahl, what are you doing in my home? And why the hell didn't you tell anyone you were here. I was one second away from putting a bullet in your leg."

Raven stands to his full height, sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry little bird, I came over earlier to ask you a question and I saw the game Luigi kart and started playing."

The entire day starts to come crashing down on me. From the mission I installed cameras into an adopted family's home for safekeeping, to playing escort to some silver spoon fed playboy, to finally taking whatever stupid package Zane and I just took. I can't deal with Raven right now.

My fingers rub tight circles into my forehead. "It's Mario kart, Raven, not Luigi."

"Da. Same."

"Zane, please deal with him, I'm going to bed." I mutter tiredly giving Zane a sorry not sorry look before trudging upstairs to my bedroom.

I slip into my bathroom and strip. After a quick shower to scrub off the dirt and grim, I'm finally in my bed. The soft click of the guest bedroom door tells me Raven is staying the night. That's another issue that can wait until the morning. My eyes slide close and I enter another night filled with nightmares.