C a r r i d e s a n d s t r a n g e r s

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Natalia took a sip of the bubbly champagne in her hands, gazing out the airplane window. Only a few people knew where she was going, not including herself. It was just another one of her jobs. She was simply a weapon, she did not need information on what she was being used for.
All she knew was that she was going somewhere in Utah. The company told her she would be attending a gala. That's all she knew, but she knew she could get it done with the initials and gender of her target.
She was the best in her business, or that's what she has been told by people around her, although she wished she wasn't.
"Miss?" A stewardess entered the room, taking Natalia's attention for a few seconds. "We are landing soon. Please prepare as necessary."
"Thank you," Natalia dismissed the lady, before turning her phone off, and putting her table up. She continued to look out the window as the jet landed, only looking away when it was completely stopped. She gathered her things and hurriedly got off to greet an old friend.
"Natalia, dear," The older man in front of her greeted her warmly. "I'm so glad you made it here safely!"
"Todd, hi," Natalia hugged Todd tightly. "Thank you for coming to receive me. I wish I could've come sooner. I've been so caught up with work that I haven't had any free time."
"Oh, I know. We've missed you, though. Please don't stay away that long again," Todd gestured to a black bentley behind him. "Now, how about we go talk to the Mrs.."
"Yes! I've missed Rosa so much!" She laughed and got into the car beside Todd. Rosa and Todd were very rich, yet they were extremely humble about it. "How's she doing?"
Todd smiled mischievously,"Good! And so is the baby."
"Baby?! She's pregnant? Since when?" Natalia smiled widely, a smile she reserved for the people closest to her.
"Since 6 months ago. We would've called you, but we thought you would have been busy," Todd shrugged. "But, the baby is healthy, and so is Rosa."
"Good. I'm glad," Natalia paused. "I have to tell you something."
"You have work while you're here? Yeah, me and Rosa suspected. It's ok though, we completely understand."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't say no. I wouldn't have gotten the job if I wasn't coming to the exact location it was in."
"Talia, really, it's alright. Work is work, it's not your fault. Your job is demanding," Todd smiled and leaned forward to talk to the driver. "Stop at a drive through on the way, would you? I'm sure Talia here is hungry."
Natalia took his hint and dropped the subject,"Thank you, Todd."
She knew her job was a sore spot for them. Despite the secretive aspect of it, Natalia couldn't help but tell the only two people she's ever considered family about her job. "Where is your new house?"
"It's over by the mountains. Rosa likes it better when it's quiet and a happy wife is a happy life. Plus, we wanted a more secluded place to raise the baby," He smiled fondly. "It's a very nice house."
They both took that as a cease to the conversation. Natalia looked out at the passing scenery to pass her time and Todd answered a call. She was slightly apprehensive about her task, but she did not know why. There was a weird feeling in her chest about it that she could not ignore. Despite her constant doubt in hope, she hoped that this job would go smoothly.
Her doubt hasn't failed her yet, and it won't now.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Morning, Talia! How'd you sleep?" Rosa greeted her brightly, too brightly for 7am in the morning. "I made crepes!"
"Good morning. Crepes sound good. How'd you sleep?" Natalia yawned loudly.
Rosa laughed and Natalia swore wind ran through her hair, "I slept amazing! Just like a baby."
"How are you so awake?"
"Essential oils. Trust me, they work miracles," Rosa grinned. Natalia found Rosa very bubbly, but she's the only one Natalia knows that can pull it off.
"Morning, honey! How's the baby?" Todd kissed Rosa on the head before moving to make a pot of coffee.
Rosa rolled her eyes playfully. "The baby's great, no new developments, like always,"
"You can't blame me for being worried about my two favorite people."
Natalia cleared her throat, trying not to laugh.
"Talia! I mean, two of my favorite people. Obviously, Talia is the other one," Todd laughed nervously.
"Uh-huh. Well,I am going to get some slight exploration before work,but,Todd?" Natalia fought the smirk crawling on her face, "Take care of my two favorite people. Oh, and take care of yourself too."
Natalia left the house with Rosa's laughter trailing her.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Natalia waited patiently as the hotel's elevator went up slowly. Her heel tapped against the ground, creating an oddly soothing rhythm. Finally, a ding sounded, and she continued on her mission. She glanced, for the final time, at the email sent to her by her boss, one that had to be deleted right after this glance. The task was a little more boring, unless the target wasn't in his hotel room. Then, she would have to attend a gala and seduce him somehow. She did not have a picture, only a description.
Tall, brown hair, green eyes. Outfit for the gala should be a light blue dress shirt and black pants, no jewelry.
Natalia reached his hotel room, and quickly deleted the email. Her target may still be in the room, despite the Company's suspicion otherwise. To check quickly ,she knocked twice on the door, yelling out a quick 'housekeeping'. Hearing no response, she continued on with her normal plan, being as cautious as possible, in case he was sleeping or hadn't heard her. Before she could begin undoing the lock, a woman with a maids uniform came walking down the hallway, pushing a cart in front of her. Her heart beat harder for a few seconds before she calmed herself down and thought for a second.
Natalia straightened and put on her best smile, "Hello! I just started on the job today, and I was wondering if this guest is out? I want to check if there is anything I have to clean before bringing a whole cart up."
"Oh, of course!" The maid smiled nicely at her, "That man is normally out at this time, I think I saw him leave earlier, and he usually stays out for quite a while. Here, you can use my cart, I'll go grab a new one."
"Thank you so much! I get a little nervous around people sometimes," Natalia put in a shy giggle.
The housekeeper gave her the cart and put a hand on her shoulder. "I completely understand sweetie, now get to work."
Natalia kept the nervous smile up, dropping it when the woman turned the corner. She turned straight back to the lock, working her way to the inside and disabling the lock. Hearing the click of the door open, Natalia quickly reassembled the lock and slipped inside the room, bringing the cart with her. FInding a housekeeping sign that fit the doorknob, she slipped it on before looking around for any information. She huffed in relief and started to snoop,finding an invitation on an office desk. She took a picture of it, knowing she didn't have enough time to make a copy at the moment. Taking note to alter the name on it, she walked around the hotel, shuffling through papers once and awhile, before stumbling upon an open computer in the bedroom.
She slyly grinned and started searching through the laptop, starting with the files. She found absolutely nothing, unsurprisingly. The target would not just leave things open to be found. She almost admitted defeat, until she saw the minimised mail app. It was still open, and she wasted no time in clicking on it.
"It's a miracle!" Natalia grinned deviously. She had something on the target, and not a moment too soon.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The information Natalia had gathered was nothing of huge importance, merely an email stating he would be at the gala, and what time. However, it was not the information within the email she was ecstatic about, it was the recipient. Natalia had figured out that her boss did not know anymore about Mr. Salvate than she did. Finding out who he was in contact with may seal her job. Before leaving Mr. Salvate's room, she jotted down the time he was going to be there, and the email of the recipient. She heard a slight commotion from the other end of the hallway, the end where the exit was, to her dismay.
"Yes, she told me she was new and she wanted to make sure he was gone," The maid's fearful voice started to come into hearing range.
"Did she say anything else?" Another, deeper voice came too, seemingly right around the corner. The footsteps were rushed, and coming closer. Natalia's heart beat quicker and quicker as the footsteps came closer.
Despite wanting to listen to the conversation, Natalia knew she had been caught, and her best efforts had failed. Her only option was the opposite way, but that ended in a wall, with no windows. Giving herself one second to think despite her anxiety to rush into things, her mind lit up. She dashed back into the room, frantically looking for a window. Her search was successful, to her joy. She slid the window open and looked to her left to find a wide enough ledge. She shifted and brought her feet up, planting them as securely as possible in the situation, and grabbed onto the outside of the window pane. Her legs slightly shook. She felt her lungs start to constrict on themselves, recognizing her irrational fear of heights. Her breaths became labored and she closed her eyes, preparing herself to be ten stories high on the edge of a building. Pulling herself up, she wobbled for a moment before grabbing onto a slightly protruding brink on the side of the building. Her adrenaline pumped through her. With widened eyes, she looked at her hand that was barely clutching the brick. She could feel the rough exterior of it scratch her skin, and she hoped she could endure it long enough to escape. The only thing she could do was pray that no one looked up nor that she fell, but as she looked down to see who was there, she found an empty alleyway. Breathing slowly and deeply, she slowly climbed down to the street, bearing the scratching on her hands, and brushed herself off. Casually, she walked out onto the sidewalk and continued in the opposite direction of the hotel. As the adrenaline wore off, so did the fear and the short breaths. She finally felt herself relax.
She walked down the busy avenue she had turned on, stopping every once in a while to admire something in a store window. Even though she was 99 percent sure no one knew what she was doing, she wanted to make sure that anyone following her would lose interest. She inconspicuously opened a compact mirror, checking behind her with it. Seeing nothing, she continued walking, yet cautiously.
Once Natalia had taken a wide detour to the car she borrowed from Todd, she got in and began her journey to the hotel she would be renting out a room from, just in case. It was a simple precaution she always took, and thankfully, she's never had to use it. As she was driving, she noticed a red Ferrari trailing behind her. It was slightly familiar, and she racked her brain from where she knew it. After concluding that she had simply seen it in a movie, she continued to the hotel.
However, after a couple blocks of turning, the red Ferrari was still behind her. Getting slightly suspicious, she made more turns, turning a full circle.
They were following her.
After an adrenaline filled escape from the hotel, Natatalia didn't enjoy being put in another one right away, but she yet again prepared herself for the chase.
She quickly redirected her car's GPS to a women's free pregnant treatment center. Once she arrived, she put on her 'acting' face and exited her car. She acted worried that someone would see her, then looked down at her stomach lovingly. She knew that the people in the Ferrari were watching her, waiting to see what she would do, in fact, she was banking on it.
Her plan had some obvious flaws, as all do, but it was the best one she could think of in the moment. If they thought she was a pregnant woman who was worried about her unborn baby, the Ferrari might start to doubt their suspicion. Obviously it was a dumb idea, but she had no better choice, other than killing them. It was always better to kill as little people as possible, at least in her line of work, as it got very messy.
Immediately after she entered the center, she whispered her situation to the secretary, with a little tweaking.
"This car was following me for about ten blocks, after turning completely around and making a lot of turns, I ended up here. Can I stay in here until they leave?" Natalia kept her scared act up.
"Of course! Here, we have an empty examination room, you can stay in there for a bit," The secretary had so much warmth in her voice that Natalia started to feel guilty about lying to her. However, she was desperate, and needed to get the car off her back. "Here's the room, and do not hesitate to ask if you needed something, sweetheart."
"Thank you," Natalia smiled kindly and closed the door once the secretary had left. She breathed in relief. Thankfully, there was a window where she could clearly see the Ferrari. She panicked as a man exited the drivers side, fixing his suit as he walked up to the entrance. Natalia quickly walked back into the hallway, hiding behind a corner to try and listen to what he was following her for.
"Hi, I am looking for a woman, black hair, blue eyes. She might've come here for an appointment a few minutes ago?" The man smiled fakely at the girl.
"Hi! A woman with that description? I'm not sure, but before I check, who are you to her? Also, do you have a name?" The woman typed on her computer, ready to search for my name.
"I'm her husband, and I'd rather not say her name, because she likely didn't use her real one. She lied about where she was going, and she's been acting weird. I believe she is pregnant with another man's child. She also may have told you that I was following her, because she clearly noticed that I was. She is a pathological liar, and is very good at deceiving. For that very reason, I believe she is dangerous. Please, if you have any information, many lives depend on it."
Natalia cursed. With a story like that, the lady would believe him. It didn't help that she was extremely gullible, not to mention innocent. Natalia didn't wait to see the outcome of the conversation, she simply rushed to the back, where she hoped there was an exit. She snuck around to her car in the front, hoping the man hasn't caught on yet. Entering her car, she glanced at the man's car and widened her eyes. There was another man in the passenger seat, staring at her with a smirk. He held his phone up to his ear, talking to someone at the other end. Natalia did not have time to react before her 'husband' came rushing out of the building, running towards her. She got in the driver's seat, the ignition turning over. She shifted it to drive, before pressing hard on the accelerator. Glancing in her rearview mirror, Natalia saw the man hurriedly getting in the car and racing after her.
This will be interesting.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After a couple minutes of hopeless turning, Natalia drifted around another destereted corner, and was pleased to find a construction site. Clearly, the construction hadn't started, but the city decided to prepare early. Not the smartest idea, but it worked perfectly in Natalia's favor. Thanks to the slight shortcut, she exited the road at 45th st, previously at 30th. The men behind her had taken the detour, clearly assuming she would get caught up in the construction and they would catch her. Thankfully, she did not see them behind her, but she did not relax. In fact, she picked up the speed, going even faster to try and avoid being caught. The men's intention was unclear, and Natalia did not want to take any chances, as she had a job to fulfill.
Not paying attention to the road, Natalia ran a red light, and just barely missed an oncoming car. Her heart raced, but she did not dare look back or stop, she just kept going in hopes that the cops did not bother with chasing her down. Her hands, although sweaty and slippery, both gripped the wheel tightly. Her breath was coming out in short pants, only slowing down when she reached her hotel. The Ferrari was nowhere in sight.
Natalia had lost them, for now.
Regaining her senses, Natalia stepped out of the car, hoping to seem inconspicuous.
She walked into the hotel, smiling at the doorman.
Walking up to the receptionist, "Hi, I booked a hotel room under Rhianna Star? I believe it should be room 405."
"Yes! May I see some identification?" The woman held her hand out in expectation."
Natalia handed her the fake ID she had prepared, "This is it!"
"Thank you!" The woman handed the card back to Natalia. "Here is your keycard, and the wifi password is on a notepad in the room. Thank you for staying at Delta Hotel!"
"Thank you!" Natalia took her keycards and walked down the hallway. Pressing the up button, she waited patiently for the next open elevator. The doors slid open, and right after Natalia entered, a man entered next to her.
"Hi, I'm Ian," Ian's smile exhibited dimples,and his hand rose to sake hers.
"Rhianna," Natalia shook his hand, impatiently glancing at the floor numbers increasing.
He gestured around him,"So, what brings you to Utah?"
"Business," Natalia replied curtly.
"What kind of business?"
"The kind of business that's not yours."
Ian laughed, "That's a good one, Rhianna. But, seriously, what kind of business?"
"I meant what I said Ian," Natalia purposefully mispronounced his name, trying to give him a hint that she did not care about the conversation.
"Oh, wow. That's low. Purposely mispronouncing my name? I'm truly hurt!" Ian grinned in a way that made her think he wasn't really offending by her actions. "I thought we were friends."
"You thought wrong," Natalia slightly smiled when the elevator opened on her floor and got out."Well, it was not nice talking to you, but I'm afraid I have to get going."
"Ok, now I'm truly offended," Ian put on a slight pout, but she could still see humor in his eyes. "Bye, mystery girl. Oh, Also, make up a better cover name. I could tell that wasn't your cover name immediately. Also, Rhianna Star? How'd you come up with that name? I heard you talking to the receptionist, and I-"
"Are you just maybe slightly overthinking this? Clearly you're a little paranoid. And creepy," Natalia walked away quickly, hearing the elevator doors close. She let out a relaxed breath. That random guy was getting a little too close to the truth for comfort. If he comes back with the same accusations, she would continue to pretend he was crazy until he left it alone.
Ian appeared next to her, causing her to let out a startled shriek,"I'm not paranoid, just right. You didn't think about the fact that the elevator doors would give me enough time to exit the elevator. So."
"I am going to call the cops if you don't leave me alone," Natalia threatened, though she was sure he could hear the lack of devotion in my voice.
"No you won't. You'd get caught then," He smirked smugly at me.
Natalia eyed Ian suggestively, trying not to crack under the pressure of Ian's questions,"Caught doing what? Trying to get away from an assaulter?"
"No, get caught as an assassin."
"Are you crazy? Please, just leave me alone," Natalia sped-walked forward, searching for her room number frantically. Once she found it, she glanced behind her, only to find Ian gone. She did not dare relax, knowing he knew more than he should. Frankly, she was slightly exhausted at the lack of relaxing today. Natalia opened her hotel door, got inside, then closed and locked the door as quickly as she could. Only when she was inside did she fall to the ground. If someone caught her in a job, she could lose her whole life. Money, friends, anyone she loved, would disappear. Her company was good like that, they could make anyone disappear, whether or not they purposefully betrayed the company. Natalia was dead if that man ever decided to let any information out.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, before she wiped them furiously.
"Your mother did not raise you to be a baby, Natalia. Stop crying, get up, and figure it out," With these words, Natalia got up and stalked to the bedroom, grabbing her phone and searching for dress stores.
She would get her job done, then take care of Ian.
Or she would die trying.

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