The Hit

Chapter Four

 With my near disaster averted I thought it best to keep a distance. I still watched Alissa, I was still looking for clues on how to get her into a hotel room. I really thought the phone would have provided more information, but over three days in it had been no help. Most of the time she spent on her phone involved telling friends via social media they were beautiful or texting with Michelle, her best friend apparently.

 Tailing her was similarly fruitless. Her work schedule was inconsistent. Her departure and arrival times home were scattered. She didn't appear to have a favorite place she frequented regularly. In fact she hadn't visited the same place twice in the three days. Text conversations indicated she would be going to a club on Friday and for brunch on Sunday.

 I was having a hard time devising a way to get this job done. The strong armed options were usually on the table. I didn't like that idea in this case. Kidnapping her and transporting her to the hotel seemed like the most likely outcome though. I had yet to see where an opportunity would present itself. The best would be in the night while she was at home. But her apartment was old, with thin walls and creaky floors. It seemed unlikely someone wouldn't hear or see something. How would I get her down three flights of stairs? The whole point is no one is ever supposed to know I was ever a part of her life. In and out like a ghost, not heard nor seen.

 My phone rang. It was Anneka, I picked up.

 "Hello"

 "You workin on the hooker?"

 "Escort" I replied, "How do you know what my job is?"

 "I asked Frank. You have been acting weird lately, I'm a little concerned about you, so I wanted to know what you were working on."

 "And he told you?" I inquired.

 "Frank loves me." She said.

 "Lusts after you maybe."

 "You jealous I'm his favorite?"

 "Not at all. Better your ass he's ogling than mine. What is this about?" I changed the subject.

 "Well, after our conversation the other day I wanted to make sure you were good".

 "Good how?"

 "Good as in you're going to kill the whore. No second guessing. No funny business. No questioning." She said firmly.

 "You didn't tell Frank about our conversation did you?"

 "I wouldn't do that to you Ryan. But I am worried about it. You need to get this done and do it fast."

 "I'm working on it Anneka. I can't find a way to do this the way the organization wants. I'm starting to think she isn't escorting at all."

 "Can't or won't? It doesn't matter if she's hooking or not. Get the fucking job done Ryan. You know what happens if you don't."

 The phone went dead. I wondered why Anneka was so worried about my job. We had never discussed a hit before it was done. We rarely talked while either of us were on a job. Her last comment confused me. I had finished a hit for someone else before. They were taking too long and I got the assignment. Was she threatening to take my hit? She was shrewd, stone cold about the job. But we were supposed to be friends. Surely Frank hadn't told her it was an option. It had only been a few days.

 I took a cigarette out of my pack and rolled it between my fingers a few times, then lit it and took a long, deep drag. I stared at the third story window of the apartment currently containing Alissa. Cigarette smoke curled around itself, adding a haze to my vision. I took another deep drag from the cigarette and tossed it out without breaking my gaze on the window.

 She's right I thought. I'm getting soft. I had been killing my entire adult life. If nothing else these hits are far more justified than the lives I took in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 A ding I didn't recognize broke my concentration. I picked up my phone and looked at it, confused for a moment until I remembered the phone mirroring Alissa's. I pulled it out and saw a green dot on the notification bar and a dot in the corner of an app called crush apples. A game notification. The app in question opened. Alissa was engaging with it. It opened to a simple looking menu, not a game. A list of options was available, messages, update profile, settings. She opened messages, she had one from someone called Phil.

 "Can we meet Friday?"

 "Can't do Friday" She replied

 "Late Thursday?"

 "How late"

 "Midnight, usual place?"

 "I have to work Friday morning. Extra 200"

 "Done. See you then sweetie!"

 So she was escorting. At least I knew that now. What I didn't know was where the usual place was. I would need to follow her all day on Friday. I couldn't risk not locating her and missing the date. For now I had a couple days to get on crush apple and find a way to proposition her. If I couldn't leverage Thursdays date into an opportunity I would create one of my own.

 Another notification tone. Alissa had messaged Michelle.

 "I'm going out with him again on Thursday!"

 "Alissa you need to stop." was Michelle's reply.

 "It's really okay. You need to stop worrying."

 "It's dangerous! You're going to get hurt. He isn't someone to mess around with. He could destroy your life."

 "It's just a date. What could go wrong? Plus it's an extra 200 dollars!"

 "Alissa really? It isn't worth it! He will use you for "dates" and then throw you away when it's no longer convenient for him."

 "Well... At least I've made a bunch of money"

 Michelle didn't respond after that. The way they talked about this guy was strange. This wasn't some regular john. I would find out on Thursday. She was right about one thing. Alissa was going to get hurt, just not in the way she thought.