~ Better than a gold watch ~ {Sprayman }

[kimbra_ailis]

  A retired cop... The only thing that stood between her and her free ticket to the city.The heat had become too close in Texas for her to continue to work safely. Coming east had been the only option if she wanted to stay a ghost and one step ahead of the law. Briefly she had entertained the thought of going to California, but most of the gangs did their own work. They had no need to out source and most did not appreciate someone new on their turf. Actually from past experience, they did not share well.
   The mob, of course, had been a problem with coming east. It had taken some thought to come up with an offer to work in their city while avoiding working directly for them. One job. A little birdie had told her the Don was furious over a little incident involving his son and a cop. Apparently the Don was seeking someone outside the organization to take care of the problem. Rumor was the Don had enough heat from vise. A cop killing would not look good, even if it was a retired cop. Besides it looked bad for the son that someone else from within had to clean up this mess.
   Kill the cop and she could work freely in the city. It was hell of a bargain. Arriving in the city three days ago she had found out the cop in question had been forced into retirement. Probably in part to the Don reaching out to one of his political buddies. At least that was the rumor she had heard. Not that it would make any difference to her now. What was one old man?
   Scouting the house had been easy. Somehow a cops house should have been more difficult than her typical mark. In two days she had clearly not seen her mark. Last night she had caught a glimpse of  a shadow against the curtain. That did not bother her. It was not the first time she had worked blind. So far she had never made a mistake.
   It had been a lucky break that she had found a second story window cracked and unlocked. A quick sweep through the house she had found it empty. That was okay. There was plenty time. Two hours she laid beneath his bed, listening for the sound of the car, the front door opening. By standards, two hours was not that much time. Hearing the front door click open, her breath caught in her throat. Adrenaline pumped and it was an effort to force herself to lay still.
   Once the sounds of movement died down and she could hear the faint noise from the tv. Carefully she worked her way out from beneath the bed. Slipping the gun into her right hand and a small knife in his left hand. Taking her time, she carefully moved down the stairs, keeping her green eyes open for movement. Finding each room empty so kept moving. Silently she creped into the living room. finding a young man laying on the couch.
   “Sit up... keep your hands in sight....”
   The voice was steady and she was close enough that the gun was only inches from him. It was her plan to use the knife but finding a young man had thrown her plans up in the air. This was the first time she had actually been surprised during a job. It had never crossed her mind that the marks son would be here instead of the old man. Now she had to decide what to do with him until. The thought of killing an innocent by stander was not appealing, but neither was leaving a witness.
   “Your name?” 
 

[Sprayman]

Headed home after another lousy day in this lousy city, trying to find a job. After 8 years on the police force, you'd think I could find something better than a night watchman gig paying $8 an hour. So far that's the best offer I've gotten.

It's not like I got fired. 29 years old and they find a 'previously undetected' heart problem and force me to take a 50% disability retirement. Heart problem my ass, somebody got to the Chief of Detectives and wanted me gone! Hand the intern who does the annual physicals $500 and he'll write down anything they tell him to write.

One day I'm a 5 year veteran of the city vice squad, the next, I'm on the street looking for work. I can't even file a grievance with the union. Somebody put the fix in there too. The union rep says, not a chance, since they gave you retirement. I wonder what the hell I paid my dues for!

There can't be much wrong with my heart. I just finished a two hour workout at the dojo that would have killed some people on the force. Of course, I've been doing them since I was 16 and must be used to the strain by now. Karate is a great exercise and not bad for a cop to know. Not bad for anyone to know in this hellhole of a city.

Well, I've put out my resumes, done my workout, had supper at the deli downtown, and now it's time to kick back and watch some TV. I'd rather have someone to watch it with, but I haven't had a date in three months. The Vice Squad plays hell with your social life because it's 90% night shift.

Once I get a job, I'll think about looking up some of my old girlfriends.

I'm watching a talk show when all of a sudden, there's a woman pointing a gun at me. What the hell is this? Where did she come from? Not only does she stick a gun in my face, she has a knife in her other hand!

She says, "Sit up - keep your hands in sight."

When somebody points a gun at you, it's best not to start out by pissing them off, so I do what she says. I sit up and put my hands on my knees as I do.

Then she asks for my name. Following the same line of reasoning as before, I say, "Matt - Mathew Dollen, what's yours?

Someone should tell this woman not to stand so close to her target! Maybe I'll do that - after I have the gun. I'm still pretty loose from my workout and the positioning is almost perfect. The only question is - disarm, disable, or kill?

[kimbra_ailis]

   Dominique raises one eye brow at the name.  Right name, but still not what she was expecting. She doesn't bother keeping the confusion from her face. For a moment she hesitates. The thought that this was the still the old mans son was enough to give her pause. She did not like the idea of killing innocents, it was sloppy. The thought that maybe she should have actually done her homework this time around.
   Keeping the gun aimed at him till she brought the knife underneath his chin. Then she slowly let the gun lower to her hip. Dominique always considered her gun the back up weapon. The knife is in her weaker hand but she was well practiced that it would not make any difference. Right hand or left hand he would bleed all the same. I find no problem looking into his eyes as I contemplate if I want to do a little more research to make sure I have the right man or simply slit his throat and be done with this.

[Sprayman]

A momentary look of confusion flits across her face when I say my name. Maybe this is a case of mistaken identity. I've never seen her before, I'm sure of that. With her looks, I'd remember her!

As I'm considering my next move, and how much I'm willing to hurt her, the situation changes. She brings the knife up under my chin and slowly lowers the gun. Now I'm confused! Is she trying to defuse a 'wrong target' situation. If so, holding a knife to my throat isn't the way to do it.

I don't like knives! I've been cut before and it hurts. I try to avoid knives whenever possible, but I don't have a choice this time, and talking doesn't seem indicated right now. Since that threat of the gun has been lessened, lets get rid of the knife first.

Distract, then attack!

"Hey, wait a minute. Let's talk about this. If it's money you want, my wallet is on the table over there."

I point vaguely across the room. I see the almost involuntary flicker as her eyes start to look where I'm pointing with my right hand. That's what I want! Since my right hand is now moving, I speed it up and with a 'blade hand' strike, hit her knife hand where the thumb joins the wrist. It pushes her hand down and away from my face. It also damn near breaks her wrist and smashes the nerves against the bones. That hand is out of action for a few minutes.

My left hand hasn't been resting and I get a good grip on her gun hand with it. If she pulls the trigger now, I'll have a hole in my living room floor. Better the floor than me. I'm bigger, heavier, and stronger than her - and I'm pissed. The gun can't be pointed at me now so lets finish this. She's standing. I'm sitting on my sofa and that puts my head at the level of her waist. Holding her gun hand immobile and still pushing her knife hand down and away, I press my nose into her belly and stand up. Fast! My nose slides up over her blouse, between her boobs, and then the thick bone in the top of my forehead catches her under her chin and snaps her head back.

The knife drops to the floor as I pry the gun out of her other hand. Kicking her knife under the sofa, I momentarily let my anger take control and slap her hard across her dazed face. Forehand - then backhand! Slap! - Slap! And then again. Slap! - Slap! Then I push her onto the sofa and step away, switching her gun to my right hand. It's a nice weapon, a Kahr 9 mm semi auto. No safety to worry about, just a long hard squeeze of the trigger and it goes bang. About $800 at your local gun store.

I sit down across the room, about ten feet away. I know better than to stay within arms reach!

"Now lady, what the fuck is this all about?"

[kimbra_ailis]

   One minute Dominique is considering double checking his ID, at his is suggestion, the next moment a sharp pain effectively takes out her left hand. A softy cry escapes her lips. Instinctively she moves her hand to her side, holding it against her body in an effort to protect it from further damage. The pain in her hand effectively slows her reaction time when it comes to using the gun. Putting up a slight struggle to keep possession of the gun  although that battle is over his head comes in contact with mine.  It rocks her hard and pain erupts. At only 5'5, she notices he has several inches on her. 
   After the hard back hands she does not even have the sense to try to fight back. Going down on the couch. Her left hand still pressed close to her body. Honestly it had not occurred to her that he would fight back. Actually she was still doubting he was the retired man she was looking for. She whimpers softly looking at him. If there was any sense left in her head she would have lied, explained this was a mistake, that she had been looking for an ex. If she had any sense left she would have. But at the moment her mind was not working really well, still partly dazed. 
   “.... it seems you have caught the.... unwanted... attention of a few very powerful people....”
   Rubbing her jaw, she carefully tried to sit up. Noticing him across the room a slight smile crossed her lips. While her being too close to him had not been real good, him being that far away was good. Her right hand slowly started to reach for one of her back up weapons. She still had one more gun and three more knives hidden beneath the blue t-shirt and black jeans. Apparently he had not yet realized he was dealing with a pro since he had not bothered trying to further disarm her.

[Sprayman]

Her words cut through my anger like the knife she had held moments before!

“Attention of powerful people. . .!”

Damn, this was a hit! Someone wanted to take me out. Christ, that makes her a pro – a hitman – well – hit person! An assassin!

“FREEZE! Don’t move! Not even a little! Now very slowly extend your arms out away from your sides, hands open, palms up. Any quick moves and I shoot. With this nice little gun that used to belong to you, I can put six shots in your face so fast you will never know what hit you. Keep your hands at shoulder level and away from the back of the sofa. DO IT NOW!!!”

Her arms slowly extend away from her body and her expression tells me I’m right. She has other weapons. Any professional assassin would! I’ve got to frisk her and I’ve got to be very careful when I do. She’s a pro and she won’t just roll over and play dead!

“Listen very carefully and don’t do anything until I tell you to. I’ve taken all the slack out of the trigger of your pistol. You know this gun, so you know how close you are to being dead. Keep your arms at full extension! If your hands even twitch toward your body, I’ll shoot!"

[kimbra_ailis]

   Dominique really wasn't afraid. Common sense said she should be. Despite having her ass handed to her once she still felt fairly confident that she could still walk out of this.  Although the look on her face was annoyed. The sudden change in him told her she missed her chance. Acting hysterics and afraid probably would have been a better way to distract him. At the moment she doubted he would believe her if she suddenly started, so she obeyed his orders.
   “My left hand is really killing me.... I would much rather have my hands down....”Her voice was soft, obviously testing. Looking at him she waited for him to come to her or give her permission to put her arm down.
   “You don't really want to kill me.... I promise you my friend will not be happy.... And it is not a good thing when he is not happy....” That was the truth, whether or not he believed her. This was suppose to be his job but he had let her have it as a favor. Dominique had every confident her mentor would be here if something happened to her or she suddenly disappeared.

[Sprayman]

Trying to sweet talk me now. Telling me how bad her hand hurts. How her friend will be pissed if I kill her! Like I care if her friend gets mad. Need to get this show on the road and see what else she is packing.

“Keep the arms extended. I’m not really concerned about your comfort and I will shoot you in a heartbeat if you try anything. Pissing off your friend, whoever that is, doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”

“Now slide your ass out to the edge of the sofa, then drop to your knees on the floor. Keep the arms out or you die! Knee walk away from the sofa a little.”

She does what I say but she doesn’t like it. Once she is away from the sofa a couple of feet I say, “Stop, now close your eyes tight. I want to see your face wrinkle up when they’re closed. If you open them, I shoot!”

Her eyes close and I lever myself out of the chair and move quietly to the side a little. Then I look her over. Dark jeans and a tee shirt, some kind of boots on her feet. Probably a boot knife in one of them. The tee shirt fits fairly tight over nice tits, but there could be something in her bra, besides the obvious. Long brown hair hanging almost to her waist that could be covering a small arsenal. I’m going to have to undress her to be safe. Since I’m not on the force anymore, I don’t have to worry about being slammed with a sexual harassment charge either.

“Slow and careful, Take off your shirt. Any sudden moves and I shoot. Open your eyes and I shoot. Piss me off and I shoot! Is that clear?”

[kimbra_ailis]

   The look on her face was clearly annoyed at having to take her shirt off. She considered telling him to go to hell. And probably would have if his tone had been more sexual than authoritative. The voice of a cop. He knew what she was now. If he was worth his salt would know she had more than one weapon on her. Although that did not completely explain why she had to take her shirt off rather than just search her. Maybe he did not learn how to frisk and keep a gun aimed at the same time. It would be just her luck.
   For a moment she considered if she was going to be able to reach the dagger in its back sheath, she doubted it. Besides by the time she got it in view she could very well be dead.  Dominique tried to lift the shirt over her head but her left wrist did not like the pressure and movement. She tried one handed but the shirt was too tight. Without opening my eyes I look in the direction his voice had been coming from.
   “Your going to have to help if you the shirt off... I told you my wrist really hurt....” She kept her hand at the bottom of her shirt waiting. The closest knife she could get to was on her thigh, just above the knee and too far for her to reach.

[Sprayman]

She is starting to piss me off. I didn’t hurt her wrist that bad and even if I did break it, she can still get the shirt off one handed. Maybe she’s bashful and worried I’m going to cop a feel. Now that I think about it, why the hell not!

But as the thought goes through my mind, I notice that the cuff of her jeans have pulled up a little and I can see the bottom of an ankle holster starting to show on her right ankle. The bitch has at least one more gun and that means that there is probably a boot knife in the other boot. Got to take control and I’ve got to do it now.

“Extend your arms back out. DO IT NOW! Keep your eyes closed and face front. I didn’t tell you to turn your head. You are very close to dying right now, lady!”

As she complies with my orders, I step further around behind her. Having kicked off my shoes when I laid down earlier, I’m only wearing socks and can move damn near silently! Approaching from her left side and injured wrist, I lift my right foot up and deliver a strong push or light kick between her shoulder blades. My mind registers a lump under the sole of my foot as I push her upper body toward the floor. Neck knife! She’s a walking arsenal!

Reflexes bring her arms around to break her fall as her face nears the floor and when her left hand hits the floor I hear her moan. Maybe I did break it! Who gives a shit! I drop a knee into the small of her back with all of my 180 lbs behind it, forcing her upper body down into the floor and all of the air out of her lungs. Keeping the pistol well clear in my right hand, I rake the fingers of my left through her hair and don’t find any weapons hidden there but do feel a sheath high up on her back. No more Mr. Nice Guy! I grab the neck of her tee shirt and rip it half way to her belt exposing a neck dagger in its sheath. Snatch it out – throw it across the room into a corner/ Lift my knee up out of her back, then knee drop her again. I’m sick of this bitch and damn close to just shooting her and having done with it! Taking a handful of her hair in my left hand, I rack her head up and back while my weight smashes down into her back.

“Listen bitch, I know you have another gun on your ankle and most likely a boot knife in the other boot top! Spread these arms back out to the sides right now or I’ll just fucking pull the trigger and blow you away! What else do you have hidden and where is it? If you fucking lie to me, so help me god, I’ll break your neck!”

To emphasize the point, I increase the pull on her hair, straining her neck until I hear her gasp from the pain!

[kimbra_ailis]

   Not daring to further piss him off, she spreads her arms out again. Its a little bit of an effort with her left arm. As sore as her back now is, and the problem she is having dragging air into her lungs she does not dare give him more reason to further inflict damage. The wrist wasn't broken but it had just started to feel normal when she was forced to catch herself. If she had thought she would have let herself fall, but she did not think. The  body does not think in times like that.
   Having the back ripped out of her shirt almost is enough to piss her off. That was not what she had in mind when she has asked for help. Dominique heard it land with a thud some distance away and growled softly at the treatment of her things. At the moment she was not capable of doing anymore than growling about it. His hand tangled in her hair, threatening to break my neck is a sobering experience. She might not know what kind of pressure or what kind of angle it would take to break a neck but she did not want to find out with her own.
   Being an ex cop she had a fairly good idea he would call the cops on her as soon as he could. That did not make much difference to her. She had no record. No doubt the same people making his life hell now would make she sure slid on any charges. Hell if they were good they might be able to further turn this “incident” against him.
   “.... There is pair of throwing daggers on my right thigh.... there is a hole in my pocket to reach them... although you may be able to unsnap the sheath  by just pulling in it through my pants...”

[Sprayman]

Well, it seems that a little roughhouse got her attention. Maybe we can get this done without shooting her or breaking her neck. Let’s see how much she will cooperate if I give her some slack. I ease off the tension on her hair and let her head softly settle back to the floor. OK – gun first!

“Bend your right leg at the knee. I want your heel to touch your thigh. The sooner you do what I want, the sooner I take my knee out of your back and let you breathe normally.”

She bends her leg as ordered and I push the cuff of her pants above the ankle holster and remove another smaller semi auto. A Beretta Tomcat 32 auto. Not as powerful as the Kahr but small enough to conceal almost anywhere. I slide it in my pocket after ensuring the safety in on.

“Now straighten the right leg out and bend the left one the same way.”

She complies and I push the pant leg up and feel around the boot top. Finding the handle of another knife, I draw a nasty dagger sporting a 4 inch blade. Damn, this woman really likes sharp things. The throwing daggers she told me about aren’t available unless she has a hand in her pocket and that isn’t going to happen.

“OK lady, we’re making progress now, so I’m going to be nice and give you a choice. Here’s your choice. I’ll get off you and let you stand up. Then you will unsnap the throwing knives through your pants, no ‘hand in the pocket’ stuff, and wiggle your ass until they drop to the floor. Or, second option, I cut through your pants with this cute little knife and take them off you myself. This looks sharp and I can’t promise you won’t get sliced in the process. What’s it going to be? And by the way, I asked you before, what do I call you – or do you prefer Bitch, which works for me?”

[kimbra_ailis]

“...Dominique...” She offered softly. “... I will stand.... I would prefer to walk out of here with some clothes left on my body....”
Dominique moved slowly as not to further piss him off. She did not bother telling him that she could have undone it while laying on the ground. Or remind him weapons were useless if they could not easily be gotten to. Given the chance to stand she was not about to let it slip by. If she was lucky he would think her a complete screw up and let his guard down. Although at the moment she was doubting he would do that. Once he knew she was a pro he began treating her like one. That was a little unusual to her. Since most men tended to doubt the ability of a woman.
   Climbing to her feet she carefully felt the back of her thigh and gave a yank. There was no noise when the fastener let go. She gave it a second pull just to make sure it had completely let go. The blades where not the most easy accessible weapon that she had but they were handy as a last defense weapon. After the bullets ran out and before hand to hand. Lifting her leg she started to shake it, till she felt them slip down her knee. A couple of times she had to put her foot back down to catch her balance. They caught on her boot sos he simply let her leg go down flat. She figured he would not want her reaching to get them unstuck.
 “... If you had asked in the first place... you could have saved us both some pain and time....”

[Sprayman]

“Well Dominique, you could have saved yourself some pain if you had passed on this job. It looks like I’m going to have to take the throwing knives after all, but since you tried; I won’t cut your pants off to get them. Open your eyes and sit back down on the sofa. Interlock your fingers behind your head and don’t move your arms at all after they are locked.”

She does as I tell her. She acts like all the fight has gone out of her, but that has to be an act. She isn’t hurt bad and a pro won’t quit as long as they can fight. She’s definitely a pro, I’m sure of that.

“Stick out your right leg. I’m going to reach up and get those knives. If you move, unlock your fingers, or try to kick, I’ll shoot you.”

She extends her leg slowly and pointing the Kahr at her face, I use my left hand to work the throwing knives loose. Stepping back, I add the throwing knives and their holder to the collection in my pocket. Since I don’t have a sheath for the boot knife, I flip it toward the corner where I threw her neck knife. I have a lot more confidence in the guns anyway.

“Dominique, I just have to ask, are there any other surprises hidden anywhere on you? You don’t have a grenade stuffed up your ass or anything, do you? Never mind, I can’t really take your word for it anyway. I want you to move very slowly and do only what I tell you to do. Any sudden moves and I shoot. Take your hands down slowly and carefully remove your boots. I don’t want them on your feet when I frisk you. Do it now!”

[kimbra_ailis]

   “You can stop worrying... I don't put things up my ass....”
   Dominique stared at him for a moment before she leans down and starts unlacing the boots. She is still favoring her left hand slightly. It don't really hurt all the time but certain movements can send a flair of pain up her arm. Getting the first one off she gently tosses it a few feet in front of her. She wold have tossed it in the corner with her other possessions but she did not like the idea of treating her things that way, it was bad enough that he was.
   Looking up slightly as she starts to unlace the second boot.“ The daggers stick out your pocket enough that I can see them... Do you really trust I won't be able to get them back that way?” In honesty she had serious doubts that he would give her a chance to get that close but she liked the idea of messing with his head. Making him even more paranoid than he already was. He had enough confidence in her, founded or not.
   Once the second boot is loose she pulls it off, tossing it on top of the other. Slowly she sat up, putting her hands on her knees. “Listen... I really don't want to be shoot by my own gun... Its kinda embarrassing. If you are truly planning on shooting me... I don't suppose you would be willing to get one of your own guns and put mine in that little pile you seem to be forming?”