Guns & Roses (Larry Stylinson)

Interesting

Chapter 22:

I didn't go to Zander's hotel room directly. It would seem far too obvious that I was seeking him out if I appeared out of nowhere after avoiding him for so long. Instead, I sat outside of the building, my car parked a good distance away but close enough so that I could see who entered and exited the building at all times.

The place still felt filthy, even from a distance. How in the hell did he manage to find the one place close enough to the town that seemed so sketchy and dirty? It was like a wasteland hotel-- where people and dreams went to die. Still, that didn't deter me nor matter. I had one mission here, and I was going to get it done without a doubt.

After a couple of hours passed with me sitting in my car, I threw my head back against my seat and cursed under my breath, wishing something would happen already. My legs were becoming restless as I sat there patiently, and my fingers were just itching for something to do, some kind of action or danger to draw closer to.

I knew I had to be patient.

I've been through stake out situations that lasted for days and weeks at a time. This was nothing. Sitting in the car for two hours may be incredibly uncomfortable and boring, but I had been trained well.

The worst mission we'd ever been on left me waiting in an air vent for a full day, such a cramped space reminding me vividly of the training I was put through, and I wanted nothing more than to break out even if it broke my cover and ruined our plan. I had to find a calmness within myself, and I had to focus intensely on my breathing in the cramped area unless I wanted to ruin everything and potentially lose my life to the men speaking below me.

My mission was intel, and even when I was panicked and distracted, I still managed to catch what the men below were discussing. I still managed to do my job, so I'll be damned if I let a fucking car stake out get the best of me.

I would lie in wait for as long as I needed until my target made a move. It was a game of cat and mouse, and I would wait for the mouse to think he was safe before charging at it, attacking without its knowledge. It was always such a thrill!

Finally, the front doors opened, and I saw Zander sway his way out of the hotel room and walk over to his car. He seemed to be whistling to himself, as if he had no cares in the world, and I found my hatred for him growing inside me yet again.

I hated anyone who laid a hand on someone innocent.

He climbed into his car, and I allowed him to back out of the driveway and toward the exit leading to the street before turning on my own car and moving to follow. I stayed a good distance away, always making sure there were at least two cars between us as he drove toward town. That's where it got a little more complicated.

There were hardly any cars turning down the same way he was as we got closer to the town, and if I were to turn alone with him, he would instantly wonder who else was driving into the sad, little town where nothing happened. The last thing I needed was for him to catch even a whiff of what my plan was, so instead of turning toward town along with him, I allowed him to drive away as I continued on straight for a while longer, driving the familiar path to the woods that Harry led me to when we went shooting those couple of times.

I wasn't worried about losing Zander when I parked on the side of the road and made a u-turn. The town was so small, and I knew what his car looked like. All I had to do was find his car, and then I could find a way to make our meeting up seem accidental. All I had to do was start a conversation and begin to establish trust there. I had no doubt that Zander would easily fall for it. He didn't seem much like the thinking type.

I began my drive back to town, thinking about the last time Harry and I went out to shoot in the woods. I knew who he imagined when I taught him how to shoot. It didn't exactly take a genius to guess that Zander was the person who hurt him the most. It would take everything within me not to snap while talking to Zander. I had to seem something akin to friendly but not submissive or enthralled by him. He had to know that I would still keep him at a distance if I must. After all, you couldn't trust someone who was too trusting. Not completely.