I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
to work on my phone. I had an American phone, not the kind you could easily switch SIM cards on, not like everyone else in the world. Except I could. I cracked the case, switched the SIM card and suddenly I was a grandmother from Memphis.
Then, and only then, did I call Michaels. He didn’t answer, I didn’t expect him to, but I left him a short message. ‘This is Lily. Find me.’ He’d do the rest.
While I waited for Michaels I examined the manilla envelope Burton gave me. Nothing odd that I could see, no suspicious powder or stray wires, no obvious signs of tampering. It was thin, far less substantial than other dossiers I’d handled while with Telrik, and a testament to Kelly’s thorough paranoia. Inside I found eight pages and three photo prints, ‘last known’
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
140Story - Day 13
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
it, where Telrik would have put a minuscule pinhole camera. I went about my business in my apartment, carefully cataloging the things that were not quite right.
Ten. I hadn’t been with Burton more than an hour but that was all Telrik needed to put ten different monitoring devices in my place. I took a short rest, made a sandwich and watched a little TV, and then removed nine of them. Telrik would expect me to find some - why else place so many? - but if I got rid of all of them they’d just be back tomorrow with a better crew. It was easier to leave one camera, right by the front door, which they would be watching from outside anyway.
I swept the bathroom twice more before I was sure I hadn’t missed any surveillance hardware. Then I went
it, where Telrik would have put a minuscule pinhole camera. I went about my business in my apartment, carefully cataloging the things that were not quite right.
Ten. I hadn’t been with Burton more than an hour but that was all Telrik needed to put ten different monitoring devices in my place. I took a short rest, made a sandwich and watched a little TV, and then removed nine of them. Telrik would expect me to find some - why else place so many? - but if I got rid of all of them they’d just be back tomorrow with a better crew. It was easier to leave one camera, right by the front door, which they would be watching from outside anyway.
I swept the bathroom twice more before I was sure I hadn’t missed any surveillance hardware. Then I went
Monday, June 9, 2014
140Story - Day 12
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
sense, over two fingers of scotch while a Yankees game blared in the background. Michaels. Tech guy. Sort of. Gray-market tech, not the kind of stuff you could go to the mall and get.
I made it to my apartment without letting the stooges tailing me know I knew exactly where they were. Standard Telrik procedure, eyes on the target at all times. My front door looked exactly like I’d left it, but I knew better. I went in, fingers closed around the Glock in my handbag.
Nothing seemed disturbed. And maybe it hadn’t been. Maybe Telrik didn’t need to get inside any longer, maybe electronic surveillance was enough. But there was something...
There. Right in the front entry. The souvenir, tourist-kitsch bowl from Africa had been moved. Slightly. I didn’t look up at the vent directly above
sense, over two fingers of scotch while a Yankees game blared in the background. Michaels. Tech guy. Sort of. Gray-market tech, not the kind of stuff you could go to the mall and get.
I made it to my apartment without letting the stooges tailing me know I knew exactly where they were. Standard Telrik procedure, eyes on the target at all times. My front door looked exactly like I’d left it, but I knew better. I went in, fingers closed around the Glock in my handbag.
Nothing seemed disturbed. And maybe it hadn’t been. Maybe Telrik didn’t need to get inside any longer, maybe electronic surveillance was enough. But there was something...
There. Right in the front entry. The souvenir, tourist-kitsch bowl from Africa had been moved. Slightly. I didn’t look up at the vent directly above
Sunday, June 8, 2014
140Story - Day 11
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
slices of my purchasing history. Nothing I did was secret, I knew that. At least nothing I did in a legit way, like a regular person. But if I were to take myself off the grid, like Kelly, or at least dip my toe in the midnight current that ran alongside the daylight path...
The first thing would be to ditch my phone. Metaphorically speaking, of course. If I got rid of it entirely they’d know something wasn’t right. Everyone had a phone these days, even kindergarteners. A grown businesswoman without a cell phone? I might as well have e-mailed them my entire plan. No, this was going to take some effort. But Kelly was worth it.
A few months back I’d met a guy at Scully’s place. No, it wasn’t like that, I met him in a business
slices of my purchasing history. Nothing I did was secret, I knew that. At least nothing I did in a legit way, like a regular person. But if I were to take myself off the grid, like Kelly, or at least dip my toe in the midnight current that ran alongside the daylight path...
The first thing would be to ditch my phone. Metaphorically speaking, of course. If I got rid of it entirely they’d know something wasn’t right. Everyone had a phone these days, even kindergarteners. A grown businesswoman without a cell phone? I might as well have e-mailed them my entire plan. No, this was going to take some effort. But Kelly was worth it.
A few months back I’d met a guy at Scully’s place. No, it wasn’t like that, I met him in a business
Saturday, June 7, 2014
140Story - Day 10
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
envelope again. “Instructions are there. Along with half your fee.”
I didn’t touch the envelope, and I wouldn’t until Burton was long gone. “Half? Telrik usually starts at ten percent.”
He tried to smile again, but it came across as a smirk. “We’re fairly certain you’ll make the effort.”
He was right, of course. Telrik knew everything about their people, including their weaknesses. A good glass of whiskey was one of mine. Kelly was the other.
If I hadn’t been a paranoid wreck before, I became one after I left Marcy’s. Check your six, always. And now my three o’clock, and nine, and up, and down, and sideways. Telrik was watching, they always were, but their methods had to have improved in the years since I worked for them. There were drones now, and GPS tracking devices, and big data
envelope again. “Instructions are there. Along with half your fee.”
I didn’t touch the envelope, and I wouldn’t until Burton was long gone. “Half? Telrik usually starts at ten percent.”
He tried to smile again, but it came across as a smirk. “We’re fairly certain you’ll make the effort.”
He was right, of course. Telrik knew everything about their people, including their weaknesses. A good glass of whiskey was one of mine. Kelly was the other.
If I hadn’t been a paranoid wreck before, I became one after I left Marcy’s. Check your six, always. And now my three o’clock, and nine, and up, and down, and sideways. Telrik was watching, they always were, but their methods had to have improved in the years since I worked for them. There were drones now, and GPS tracking devices, and big data
Friday, June 6, 2014
140Story - Day 9
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
couldn’t close my mouth. He was here? In the city?
“Yeah, we were surprised too,” Burton admitted. “We’d been hearing rumors but nothing solid. Then we got a semi-reliable tip and sent a scout. Decent kid, fresh out of training. Never heard from him again.”
I nodded, slowly regaining my composure. That was how Kelly worked. If he didn’t want to be found, you weren’t going find him. I could make him want to be found, though.
“So instead of risking another asset, you thought you’d get me to flush him out?”
Burton shrugged. “You and Kelly go back. That’s something he respects.”
‘Go back.’ That was a very corporate way of describing our relationship. Kelly had been... everything to me. Once upon a time.
“When I find him,” I refused to say ‘if’, “then what?”
Burton tapped the
couldn’t close my mouth. He was here? In the city?
“Yeah, we were surprised too,” Burton admitted. “We’d been hearing rumors but nothing solid. Then we got a semi-reliable tip and sent a scout. Decent kid, fresh out of training. Never heard from him again.”
I nodded, slowly regaining my composure. That was how Kelly worked. If he didn’t want to be found, you weren’t going find him. I could make him want to be found, though.
“So instead of risking another asset, you thought you’d get me to flush him out?”
Burton shrugged. “You and Kelly go back. That’s something he respects.”
‘Go back.’ That was a very corporate way of describing our relationship. Kelly had been... everything to me. Once upon a time.
“When I find him,” I refused to say ‘if’, “then what?”
Burton tapped the
Thursday, June 5, 2014
140Story - Day 8
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
sat in a booth at Marcy’s across from Burton. He’d come alone like I asked, no doubt leaving Crewcut Douchebag Number Two to monitor our conversation from the car. That’s how Telrik did things.
Burton sipped his coffee - black - and slid a manilla envelope across the table. “This should get you started.”
“You need to tell me more.” I wasn’t eating or drinking anything. Not with Telrik around.
“It’s all in there.” Burton tried to smile but it never quite got to his eyes. Yes, he was young, but he was dangerous. The kind of person Telrik liked to hire, and then twist into something horrible.
“Where is he?” I expected the answer to be somewhere you needed a passport to get to, and maybe an armed escort.
Burton tapped the envelope. “South of Downtown. We’re pretty sure.”
Shocked, I
sat in a booth at Marcy’s across from Burton. He’d come alone like I asked, no doubt leaving Crewcut Douchebag Number Two to monitor our conversation from the car. That’s how Telrik did things.
Burton sipped his coffee - black - and slid a manilla envelope across the table. “This should get you started.”
“You need to tell me more.” I wasn’t eating or drinking anything. Not with Telrik around.
“It’s all in there.” Burton tried to smile but it never quite got to his eyes. Yes, he was young, but he was dangerous. The kind of person Telrik liked to hire, and then twist into something horrible.
“Where is he?” I expected the answer to be somewhere you needed a passport to get to, and maybe an armed escort.
Burton tapped the envelope. “South of Downtown. We’re pretty sure.”
Shocked, I
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
140Story - Day 7
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
I missed and it upended, spilling everything onto the floor. Including the business card from Crewcut Douchebag.
As I picked up the card Telrik’s logo stared back at me, the same one I had once proudly and naively worn like a badge. The name read ‘T. Burton.’ The guy was such a pompous tool he thought he only needed an initial instead of a first name. Asshole. I was about to crumple it up and throw it in the toilet when, for some reason, I turned it over.
‘Kelly.’
One word. A name. The only name that mattered. That’s all it took, and I was in. No matter how terrible Telrik was, no matter what kind of betrayal they undoubtedly had planned, no matter what danger I would face, I was going to take that job.
The next day I
I missed and it upended, spilling everything onto the floor. Including the business card from Crewcut Douchebag.
As I picked up the card Telrik’s logo stared back at me, the same one I had once proudly and naively worn like a badge. The name read ‘T. Burton.’ The guy was such a pompous tool he thought he only needed an initial instead of a first name. Asshole. I was about to crumple it up and throw it in the toilet when, for some reason, I turned it over.
‘Kelly.’
One word. A name. The only name that mattered. That’s all it took, and I was in. No matter how terrible Telrik was, no matter what kind of betrayal they undoubtedly had planned, no matter what danger I would face, I was going to take that job.
The next day I
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