I bite down strongly on the ripped piece of folded material that sits between my teeth. I grunt as I try not to bite down on my tongue, my right hand hovers over my wounded shoulder. In my fingers I hold a small needle I found in the back of a drawer along with some thread. I tense as I shove the needle through my skin twice before pulling the thread to bring the two folds of skin closer together. I manoeuvre the needle to create a knot before I cut the thread short. I place it on the sink behind the tap and spit out the tag into the bowl of the off white sink. Specs of blood can be seen over the sink, the mirror, my body and a few can be seen on my grey sports bra that covers my upper body. I spit out some saliva that is left in my mouth from the rag before I look myself in the dirty, patchy mirror to my front. My face seems a little bit tired looking, probably from the immense amount of stress and pressure that has just been placed on me.
I'm assuming The Huntsman managed to escape, he wouldn't let himself get caught. He said he was expecting the guys to turn up so they must have been after him for a while, perhaps that distracted them from me. I unintentionally reminded them that I am alive and well, that didn't go down smoothly.
"Fuck sake Sophia" I slam my right hand down on the sink in anger, my chest puffing anger out in the form of sighs. I was clumsy, I was over confident.
I had put them behind me, they haven't.
I would have kept over thinking if my phone hadn't have buzzed and distracted me. I walk into the other room of the motel and locate my phone on the plain small scratched wooden table.
'I need to meet you asap' Charlie texts and I automatically presume it's about the events just gone by. He probably saw it all unfold on the CCTV cameras.
'When and where?' I reply and go to put the phone down but Charlie's quick replying causes me to return to my original position.
'Rooftop of your motel. 5 minutes' I read and smirk at his effectiveness. He's keeping track of me, probably a good thing but I can see its flaws. Considering I'm not technically going any where, I throw on a clean t-shirt and grab my phone and gun before leaving the room to find the stairways that lead to the flat rooftop. The hallways are abandoned and desolate with most of the occupants out and about in the buzzing city of London.
The stairs are easy to locate and the unlocked door at the top provides easy access to the rooftop. The fresh English wind is nippy and quite chilly if I'm honest. However, when I spot Charlie to the far right I decide to suck it up and move on. He is sitting with his legs hanging over the rooftop, overlooking the city with a laptop on his lap and his phone on the ground beside him. I lower myself to the ground and sit cross legged beside him, my shoulder complains at the unusual movements.
"You're lucky to be alive" Charlie states almost sarcastically as I shuffle into a more comfortable position.
"It's a non fatal wound, I'll be fine" I reassure him but he still casts a worried glance over my body.
"Could have been a headshot, that ever cross your mind?" He questions but I don't reply to it, I won't tell him that I ask myself that question every time a gun goes off around me and I walk away alive.
Every time.
"Is there a reason you wanted to meet?" I divert my attention to the task at hand, my eyes scanning the tall buildings of London in the near distance.
"Those CIA people, what's up with them?" Charlie hints at the discussion between Grant and I that he obviously witnessed over a screen.
"We have a history, bad history and I thought I had finally got rid of them but I walked myself straight into their claws once again" I say a huge amount of embarrassment in my tone.
"But you escaped?" Charlie asks in confusion, clearly not seeing the big picture.
"Yes but now they know I'm in London and that I can't leave. Grant the first guy I talked to gave orders to the second guy called Jackson to kill me, he nearly did but I think he deliberately shot me in the arm. My reaction time was too slow he could have hit me in the head if he wanted to. He has a good aim" I realise my mistakes now more than ever, sloppy.
"Wait wait wait. Firstly why can't you leave London and why didn't he kill you when he was ordered to?" Charlie questions and I lower my head so that I'm looking at the ground through my crossed legs.
"They will have airports and trains and buses on lock down, agents everywhere and why didn't he kill me? That's the golden question" I sigh deeply as my situation becomes clearer.
"I'm trapped in London with a hit team and an assassin on my ass and there's only so many places in London you can hide" I add thinking I've officially fucked myself over. I half expect Charlie to try and reassure me but he offers me something better.
"Look at this" He states and turns his computer screen to face me. I look over and quickly make out the format to be an email. As I scan the content, I can't help but compare it to that of an email I would receive if someone required my services. It's anonymous but the message is clear.
Someone is looking for an IT specialist or a hacker to help track someone.
"Why are you showing me this?" I question not seeing the bigger picture.
"I thought it was a little bit strange with timing and all so I traced the address which was hard to do as it was hidden well but I finally got it. It traced back to a phone belonging to a Mr John Grant" Charlie informs me and my head shoots up and looks at him dead in the eye.
"That's the head of the CIA team, they want you to try and find me and probably The Huntsman considering he too can't leave London" I say my eyes and voice drifting off near the end.
"It's a job offer, do I take it? I would actually have to dig up information on you and give them real time statistics but I could feed you info on the whereabouts of the Huntsman's if I find any and give you heads up if they get too close" Charlie offers very generously. I drift off for a second, lost in thought. This could be my way to find the Huntsman before he finds me but I could also be putting Charlie at risk. Wait, why am I thinking about his welfare? I don't care, he knows the risk.
"Take it, arrange to meet them tomorrow and ask the same questions you asked me when we met. It's dangerous, have you a weapon?" I ask, I like to make sure I cover my own ass. Charlie throws a confused look at me before swiping his long hair back behind his ear.
"Do I look like someone who carries a gun?" He smirks and I raise an eyebrow in agreement with his comment.
"My weapon can be my knowledge of London. I know every knook and cranny in this city. They're Americans, they don't know the city like I do" He proudly states somewhat awkwardly as we both stare out to the city that spreads as fair as the eye can see. The hair standing on end on my arms is my signal to return to my room and make preparations for tomorrow.
"Send me the meeting location when you know, I'll watch from a distance. Have a good night Charlie" I finally say as I push myself up from the ground with my right arm and leave Charlie alone on the rooftop to reply to his new unaware employers.
-------
YOU ARE READING
The Girl Behind The Bullets
Action~BOOK TWO~ It's been five and half months since the events in Cuba, since me, The Black Swan, escaped again. I left The Company, it was the best decision for me and the company so now I'm free lance. People pay me to get the job done and that's h...
