How to Raise an Assassin

CHAPTER 39: WE VISIT COSECHA MEADOWS

After gearing up, I called on Xavier to drive us to the location that Auntie provided us. While Ash and I filed into the backseat of the car, Xavier raised some doubt.

"Are you sure you wish to go there Miss Mata? It is awfully far."

I vacillated. Usually Xavier never asked questions. I told him to do something and he did it. The man was paid to be my chauffeur.

But his objection here got me worried. Perhaps he knew something I didn't.

"I have a contract there," I told him. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't be going there? You drove Noa and I to St. Louis for my first contract."

Xavier stared at me through the rearview mirror. His eyes showed concern and a hint of guilt. "And look where that got Noa."

Xavier put the car in drive and pulled away from the abandoned factory. "But if you insist, I will take you there."

Xavier headed in the direction of Cosecha Meadows, with no signs pointing to the newly developed suburb. We took an exit ramp that was closed for construction workers only. Once at the end of the ramp, we stopped at a tollbooth.

Xavier rolled down the window and punched a code into the machine. It beeped green and the divider rose up allowing the car to pass through. We drove another twenty minutes on unlit paved roads until we reached a lit sign welcoming us to Cosecha Meadows with colorful flowers decorating the yellow background.

Xavier switched off his head lights and suddenly the only light that could be seen was from the community tree lamps about a mile away. We pulled to a stop just short of the entrance, which was guarded by two security guards inside booths.

"I assume discretion is of the utmost importance," he placed the car in park. "I'll wait here for your departure. Do take care of yourself and especially your friend."

We could barely see each other in the darkness of the car, but I could sense Ash putting on a brave face of defiance. He held his head up high as he exited the car. I thanked Xavier and followed. I looked back and saw a bright light illuminate the inside of the car. Xavier pulled out his phone and was passing the time until our return.

Ash and I walked along the sidewalk towards the community. The road was empty. The sound of crickets filled the air. A couple of fireflies blinked in our path. A horrible odor filled the air, perhaps a skunk who had eaten a bad burrito. There was no moon out tonight, so if I looked up and stared hard enough, I could see a couple of stars I never would've seen back home.

We were closing in on the front entrance when we heard the roar of an engine coming from a distance in front of us. I pulled Ash into a bush where we hid. We watched as two cleaning service vans pulled to the front gate, followed by a trash compactor. Images of the sanitation worker I tossed in the back of one of those machines flashed before me and I had to force myself to get that out of my head. I wasn't here on that kind of mission. For once, I was here to save someone rather than end them.

The gate opened up, allowing the cleaning service vans, labeled "Janitors 2 U," inside the community followed by the trash compactor. They pulled into a roundabout community center, where the vans opened up and out the first van came a group of cleaning personnel dressed almost like they were here to clean up a radioactive spill. They had gas masks, protective suits, gloves, and tanks filled with solutions strapped to their backs while they held spray nozzles.

Out the second van came a group of janitors who were dressed similarly, but with lighter material and without the tanks on their backs. They did load out multiple handheld stretchers you would've seen in a World War II battlefield and piled them onto a row of service ATV's that had empty beds attached to the back.