Tonight, I am baking a NY Style Cheesecake. I, therefore, will not be writing anything or posting anything creative. But, since Rube Goldberg Machines are awesome, I am going to encourage the lot of you to look up what that is here. It’s amazing.
Have a great night!
Ashley sat in her living room waiting for Joshua to come home. The paper the sergeant gave her was sitting on the table in front of her, unfolded.
She wasn’t sure she was mad; didn’t really know how she felt. She hoped seeing him would clear up her thoughts.
The sound of keys hitting the lock came to her ears and brought her out of her thoughts. Seconds later, the door opened, and Joshua appeared. He smiled when he saw her and she nearly cried. She loved his smile.
Joshua frowned. “You look mad. Did something happen at the funeral?”
“You might say that.” She looked to the piece of paper, then nodded. No use lingering on this. “Someone told me what you do for a living, Joshua.”
He frowned and looked to the paper. He walked closer, took the paper and took a look. He cursed softly. He sounded worried. “Shit. Who gave this to you?”
“Sergeant Williams.”
He relaxed visibly, then closed his eyes as more issues came to mind. He moved to sit next to Ashley. “I couldn’t tell you.”
“I know. You heard him kill my dad.”
“I didn’t know it was happening.”
“Is there any way it could have been anyone else?”
“I was watching the front and the side of the house. One person can’t cover all locations.”
“Ok.”
“Once Riley went in, I stayed hidden, but walked around the house. It looked to only be Riley and Henry. I didn’t see anyone else go in and no one else came out after the gunshot. I stayed in the area and watched the house. As soon as the police arrived, I called Williams and got the hell out of there.”
She sighed. “If you told Lester that, it would be enough to draw up an assignment.”
“He doesn’t know I’m an Operative.”
She hid her head in her hands. “When did you start following Riley?”
“After we started screwing, but before we started dating, your dad reached out to the Operatives. I was assigned. No one knew we were together. It wasn’t serious yet, so I didn’t see a conflict. When we started getting serious, I told your father.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to convince you to become an Operative. Said you were good enough.”
Ashley looked to Joshua. “So what about us? Is this real?”
He looked hurt by her words. “Ashley… Ashley I love you. This is for real. I’m not in a disguise or costume pretending to be Joshua and pretending to want to be with you. This is real.” He laid a hand on her cheek. “If I could have told you sooner, I would have, but our orders are to tell no one our assignments.”
She pulled away. “This is so complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be. He was an assignment, Ash. You weren’t. It as simple as that.” He gave her a pleading look. “Please let it be that simple. I don’t want to lose you.”
Ashley stood and moved away. “I need time to think.”
He stood as well. “Wait.”
She turned back, saw the look of pain on his face and felt the pain in her heart as well.
Joshua moved closer and she didn’t move. He slipped his arms around her and held her tight. She slipped her arms around him and returned the fierce embrace. After a moment, she took a deep breath and started to cry. He moved her to the couch and comforted her. After a few moments, she muttered, “I miss my dad.”
He held her for a long time, allowing her to grieve her father, wishing he had been able to stop it.
Ashley sat in the front pew as the services were held. She didn’t give the eulogy, her brother did. He filled his speech with stories that never happened, and words his dad never said. Ashley knew Henry better than Riley, but she didn’t say anything. She just let it happen. She stated at her brother with mild contempt, but he didn’t seem to notice. Others did.
People stayed away, left her the entire pew. She thought it might have to do with the fact that she was the only non-Agency officer in attendance but didn’t bother to think about it too much. Either way, she was left alone and that was best. When the others left the room, she demanded some time alone. The coffin would be moved shortly, but for the moment, everyone was in the foyer. She sat and stared at the coffin, waiting.
A few minutes later, she heard hushed voices and footsteps. She didn’t turn around but tracked the footsteps as they approached. The person had a slight limp. She listened as he entered the pew behind her and took a seat to her right.
“Hello, Ashley. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Hey, Sergeant. How’s the leg?”
“Hurts some, but rainy days usually do that. Your brother did not have kind words to say about your demands to be alone.”
“I really don’t care and don’t think you do either.”
“Do you know who killed your dad, Ashley?”
“I have my suspicions.” She heard paper and knew he was pulling paperwork out of a manila envelope.
“Your dad was killed by your brother’s gun.”
“If it were that simple, Lester would be here talking to me, and Riley would not have gotten a promotion.”
“He said he lost his gun a few days ago.”
“Ok.”
“Your dad had someone following Riley, Ashley.”
She turned to look at the Sergeant for the first time since his arrival. “What?”
“He assigned someone a few months ago, I think when you started talking to your dad about Riley.”
“Oh.”
“The man came to me and told me that the night Henry died, Riley went to his house. At 5:43pm he heard a gunshot. At 5:45pm, Riley exited your dad’s place by the side door and left quickly.”
“He didn’t have time to grab the casing, did he?”
“My team found it under the couch, near the wall. It had Riley’s fingerprint on it.”
“But if he said he lost it a few days ago?”
“We can’t prove he did or didn’t.”
“What about gunpowder residue test?”
“Inconclusive. Riley was at the shooting range for an hour before he went to your dad’s place.”
Ashley was quiet for a moment. “What gun did he use there?”
The Sergeant’s eyes went wide. “We didn’t check.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Agents have to register the gun they use before entering the range, even if they are using their Agency issued pistol. It should be in the database.”
“He might have changed it.”
“Riley likes to have his sessions recorded. Likes to see how he stands or some nonsense.”
The Sergeant nodded. “Looks like I have more work to do.”
“Yep.”
He stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I really am sorry for your loss, Ashley. Henry was one of my best friends.”
“He thought highly of you. When I came to him about Riley, he felt you would be ashamed of him for allowing his own son to become this much of a problem.”
“I was disappointed, but I had my own issues to deal with. He was a good man and deserved a better end than this.”
“Yep.”
The Sergeant placed a hand on Ashley’s shoulder, giving her a quick pat. “One more thing.” He slid a piece of folded paper to Ashley. She grabbed it. “Your boyfriend is not who you think he is.”
The Sergeant walked away as Ashley opened the paper. It was a picture of Joshua, and his record. He wasn’t just a Messenger, he was an Agency Operative. They worked with both teams to maintain order. Ashley sighed as she folded the piece of paper up and slipped it into her pocket. She would talk to Joshua about it, but for the moment, it was time to say goodbye. She wasn’t going to the cemetery. She didn’t want to listen to any more of Riley’s lies.
Ashley stood, went to the coffin and laid her hand on the top. It was a closed coffin. Riley shot their dad in the head. There wasn’t much left to put back together. At least Riley didn’t fight her on that. She sighed and closed her eyes.
“’Bye dad. I’ll miss you. And I’m sorry, but I probably can’t keep the promise I made you. But then, I don’t think either one of us thought he would go this far. It won’t be vengeance, dad. I was taught better than that, but your killer will come to justice. I promise.”
She opened her eyes, took one last look at the picture of him behind the coffin and left. There were things to be done.
“I’m not going to sit here and listen to this lecture!”
Captain Renald stood up from the dining room table and faced his son down. “Yes, you are! You are going to sit in that chair and listen to every word I say. After that, you are going to think about what I said. Very carefully.”
“Ashley’s a bitch and is only using her power to get revenge for all the years I picked on her! This is bullshit! You should be lecturing her on her attitude.”
Henry Renald shook his head and sat down. “Riley, she’s not the first Messenger who came to me with this, she’s the latest. And I have a feeling that she’s going to be the last.” He gave his stubborn son a terrible look. “I don’t want to lose you, son.”
Henry’s look seemed to penetrate Riley’s attitude for a moment, but it came back tenfold. “I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“You stole the antique vase from the Parson’s place last week. It wasn’t the first thing you confiscated that didn’t reach the evidence room.”
Riley stood glaring at his father but didn’t say anything.
“When the first Messenger came to me, I didn’t believe it. After the third came to me, I started to listen. I assigned someone to you that watched you. I get reports. I know what is taken from each location and I know what makes it to the evidence room. I didn’t want to believe it, even with the proof in front of my eyes. I wanted it to be someone else on your team. I had people moved that were loyal to you and made sure the new people weren’t the type who would turn.”
Captain Renald stood and faced his son. “I have tried talking to you many times. Ashley has, too. The next step won’t be a Message. It’ll be an Assassin. And with all the evidence that has been found, it’ll be legal. You need to stop. Turn over anything you haven’t sold, turn in all the money and stop. Go clean. This is your last chance. Go home. Think about all this.”
Riley didn’t say anything but watched as his father moved away from the table and toward the kitchen. Before his father was completely out of sight, Riley pulled his gun from his holster, clicked off the safety and followed his father carefully. A moment later, the silence of the quiet suburb was shattered by a gunshot.
“What are you doing, conjuring up a date for the dance?”
Beverly looked up from her spot in the science lab. Lance stood in the doorway, his arms crossed in front of him. He was dressed in a suit, as if going to an interview, or a formal dance. She shook her head.
“I’m working on the chemistry project that’s due.”
Lance grew worried and walked closer. “Due? When is it due? I thought we had time?”
She blushed the tiniest bit. “It’s due at the end of the month, but I like working ahead.”
He raised an eyebrow. “It’s the tenth. You have plenty of time. You should be at the dance, having some fun.”
“Lance, February is a short month. There isn’t as much time as you think. And I’m not that big on dances, especially Valentine’s Day dances.”
“Why not?”
Beverly opened her mouth to answer, then shrugged instead.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who don’t like Valentine’s Day because of the commercial aspect? Chocolates are yummy, and flowers are pretty. I like getting flowers.”
Beverly sighed. “I like chocolate, but I’m allergic to most flowers. Actually, most plants.”
Lance was on the other side of her work bench and seemed to lean in a bit more. “So if a guy wanted to get you something, he should not get you flowers.”
She gave him a strange look. “No, he shouldn’t.”
“Ok.”
Beverly reached for a flask on the desk and added a little bit of chemical to another flask. “Shouldn’t you be going to the dance now?”
“Am I bothering you?” His voice was pleasant, as if he truly wanted to know.
“No, but I don’t know. Don’t you have someone waiting?”
“Not dating anyone.”
“I thought you were.”
“We broke up after Christmas break.”
She looked up from her work to find him moving around the end of her workbench, moving closer. “I thought you were talking about going to Florida with her for Spring Break?”
“We were, but during Christmas Break, she found out an old fling was no longer married or something. She wants to be with him.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t give me that look, Bev. I’m ok.” He stopped a few steps from her and leaned his side against the sturdy workbench. “So, why don’t you like dances?”
“Changing the subject?”
“Yep.”
She nodded. “Ok. I don’t like dances because I don’t know how to dance, I don’t like crowds and I don’t usually like the music they play.”
“What about just going with friends to hang out?”
“Can’t talk at a dance. I like conversations.”
“I know. I’ve picked up on a few things while you’ve been tutoring me.”
Beverly smiled but didn’t say anything as she continued mix a few chemicals together.
“It is possible to talk at a dance. You have to find the right places.”
Bev stopped stirring and turned to Lance. “Lance, what are you doing here? I wanted to finish this up and maybe go to Larse Café for a late night coffee. I’m not going to the dance. You obviously are. So go.”
He moved a little closer. “No.”
“What?”
“I like talking to you, Bev. I wanted to hang out with you. Did it ever occur to you that I came here to find you?”
“What? No. What?” She looked confused.
He moved closer and looked into her eyes. “Yeah. I did. When I didn’t see you at the dance, I went to your dorm. Your roommate said you were here, so I came here.”
She blushed and moved away a bit. “Why are you looking for me?”
He sighed and his bravado left him. He gave her a shy smile. “How long have you been tutoring me, Bev?”
She shrugged. “Since Freshman year.”
“So three years. And you never once figured out I was flirting with you.”
She crossed her arms. “Stop it. That’s not funny.”
“This is serious, Bev. I like being around you. You’ve never treated me like an idiot. You’re nice and you’re smart. Do you know that I’ve been taking harder classes because you make me feel like I can?”
“This happened to me once before and there were people waiting outside. It was unpleasant.” Her voice was strained.
Lance stepped closer and held his hand out. “I’m not kidding, Bev. I don’t kid about things like this. I wanted to take you to the dance, but if you’re not comfortable at dances, then let’s go to Larse Café. We can talk.”
She turned back to the workbench and started to move flasks around. “I’m in the middle of homework.”
He moved a little closer, but made sure to keep enough room between him and Bev. She was playing with chemicals and he didn’t recognize most of them. They probably weren’t dangerous, as she wasn’t wearing protective gear, but still.
“Bev, homework is due at the end of the month. Can I please buy you a cup of coffee? We can come in tomorrow and I’ll help you with this. Or you can help me, really, because I’ll probably need the help.”
She stopped and turned to him. “If this ends up being a lie, I will kick your ass.”
She was his height and was rather athletic. He knew it wasn’t an empty threat. “I know. Doesn’t stop me from wanting to be with you.”
Bev moved closer. “I’m going to up all this stuff away. Then we’ll go to the Café.”
The smile he gave her was endearing.
Bev shook her head, a little smile on her lips. He helped her put everything away quickly, trying to remember what everything was. Once all was cleaned up, they grabbed their things and headed out the door.
As they were moving into the hallway, they saw Professor Gables coming toward them.
“Hello, Beverly. I thought you were going to be working for a while longer.”
“I decided to change my mind. We cleaned everything up.”
“All right. See you in class, Monday.” As he reached for the doorknob, he stopped and turned. “What is it you were working on, Beverly?”
Before she could answer, Lance piped up. “She was conjuring up a date.”
Beverly giggled. “You’re terrible, Lance.” She turned to Professor Gables. “I was trying to get a jump on the end of the month project.”
“Ah. Well, good night.”
“Goodnight, professor!” They said in unison as they walked away.
I don’t like mnemonic devices. It’s twice the work and I still forget what the string of words stands for. I would rather just remember the list the mnemonic device stands for. I think the only one that ever worked for me was the musical one because that one (Every Girl Boy Does Fine) the words were to remember a letter of the alphabet, not another word that started with the same letter of the alphabet.
Such as:
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas
(Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)
As a kid, it didn’t help as much as I was told it would. I kept forgetting what M, V, E, M, J, S, U, N, P stood for. Now, I’ve memorized the planets as they are and can recite them without the device.
If it works for you, awesome! I’ll just try to remember list of planets (and other such things) instead of using the mnemonic device.
This isn’t sparking any ideas, therefore here’s a paragraph from The Grey House, book three Protector of the Grey House:
“No.” The simple word was spoken by two male voices. Vincent looked to Joseph and waited while his bodyguard spoke. “You take her blood and the fight is done. If you insist on continuing the fight, Natalia will be given a proper weapon.”
Ashley sat at the table, drink in hand, as the other Messenger’s filled out. Once a month, Lester took the team out for dinner and drinks, to allow them time to get to know each other and to interact in a more relaxed setting. Dinner was done, the others were leaving, but she wasn’t done with her drink. She had come here from an Assignment and it had gone very well. She wanted to enjoy the feeling for a little while longer.
“Hey.”
Ashley looked up and smiled at Joshua. “Hello.”
“Mind if I sit?”
“Sure.” She leaned back in her chair as he sat in the one next to hers. “Not ready to leave, either?”
He looked her in the eyes and assessed her mood. She seemed rather relaxed, but there was a slight glint in her eye. He felt like he looked the same way. “I’m riled up. I had a great day and I can only thing of one way to end it.”
She gave a knowing smile. “Sex?”
He waited a heartbeat out of surprise, and then nodded. “Yep.”
“Your place or mine?” She downed her drink.
“Mine is about three blocks away.”
“Which means we can walk. Mines further away.” She stood up.
Joshua leaned back. “Wait, seriously?”
Ashley looked him in the eye, leaned forward and placed her hands on the table. “You approached me. You didn’t seem like you wanted to take your time getting to the end game. I’ve had an amazing day and I have a lot of pent up energy. I want more. If you want more, get up off your ass and take me to your place, and screw the hell out of me.”
He looked surprised, but that went away and melted into a rather dopey smile. Joshua got up led the way to his apartment.
*****
Some months later
The alarm woke them in the morning. Ashley reached out and turned off the alarm. She was immediately up and gathering clothing.
“You have to go in right away?”
“Yeah, Lester told me last night I would have a new Assignment today.”
He sat up and watched as she walked around the room. She had a drawer of clothing in his dresser and a couple things hanging in his closet. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
Ashley stopped moving then went to the bed and sat down, facing him. “A few. What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you wanted make us exclusive or something.”
She blushed a bit. “Joshua, have you slept with anyone else since we started this?”
“Um, well. I did sleep with someone when you were out of town for those two months.”
“You told me about that, when I came home. Anyone else?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Before we started sleeping together, I didn’t have a lot of partners. Wasn’t my thing. After the third time we hooked up, I pretty much decided you were going to be my booty call. No reason to find anyone else, especially since you were so keen on being with me.”
He blushed a bit and laughed. “Ok.”
“Three months ago, when Lester brought you home?”
He looked away as memories of that night came to him. Joshua spoke quietly. “Yeah.”
“That’s the night I realized I fell for you. You were late, and it scared the hell out of me. I realized then that if I was that worried, then I cared, a lot. I’m good with exclusive. I might go so far as to ask if you want to simplify things and move in together.”
“Wait, seriously?”
She cracked up. “You said the same thing when I told you I wanted to sleep with you that first time.”
Joshua laughed as well. When they calmed down he moved closer to Ashley and gently laid his hand on her arm. “I want to be with you. We like the same movies, books, music. We think the same about most politics.”
“We have the same job and it doesn’t bother either one of us not to talk about the day.”
They stared each other in the eyes and Joshua reached out to place his hand on her cheek.
“I want to be exclusive. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning. Move in with me. Or I can move into your place. Or we can find some place else to live.”
She smiled, and his breath hitched. She had such a lovely smile. “We’ll talk about it more when I get home tonight. Will you be here tonight?”
“I shouldn’t be assigned anything for the next few days.”
“Well, hopefully, mine won’t take long. We’ll talk when we can and we’ll figure it out, but I think getting a new place together is the best idea. My place is too small, and yours is a good size, but it’s missing some things I like about my place.”
“Ok, I’ll get a list of things together I want in a new place and we’ll talk more later.”
Ashley smiled. “All right. I have to get out of here.
Joshua leaned in and kissed Ashley. “I’m glad we talked.”
“Me, too.” She kissed him again, then moved off the bed. She had to get to work.
Riley stared at his sister as she knelt in the rooftop garden. “I never figured you for someone who would garden.”
Ashley looked up and smiled. “I didn’t either, but it’s a nice distraction from work.”
He didn’t say anything but moved closer to sit on a stool nearby. “We still going to dinner?”
“Yep, in a few minutes. I want to tend to my garden while the sun is still shining. Reservations are for 6. We have time.”
“Reservations? Where are we going?”
“There’s a place around the corner. They get real busy. Figured it was best to make reservations, even on an off night.”
“Oh, ok.” He watched as Ashley dug out a weed for a few minutes. Bored with the silence, he got up and started to pace up and down the row. “So, why did you move out?”
“I couldn’t keep living with you and dad.”
“Why not?”
She didn’t answer for a moment, as she pruned a tomato plant. Done, she looked to Riley and waited until he was facing her. Once he was looking in her eyes, she asked her own question. “Are you aware that dad lets you get away with things you’re not supposed to get away with?”
He frowned. “That’s not true.”
“Last week, the Tut’s place. The Messengers took care of things, the Agency went in and things went missing. That vase you sold three days ago, where did you get it?”
He reeled back as if slapped. “Come on, Ashley, what the hell is this? An inquisition?”
“If this were an inquisition, we wouldn’t be in a garden.” She stood and faced her brother. “There are things that need to change, Riley. Things you need to change. It’s time you started to tend to your own garden and get things straightened out.”
He stared at her, the frown still prominent on his face. A moment later, the frown melted and understanding lit up his eyes. “Is this about when I used to tease you when we were kids?”
Her eyes opened wide in surprise, but then she shook her head. He had always been dense. “No, Riley. This is about your life now. About the things that have gone missing from places where your team goes. It’s about the money you have tucked away in an offshore account that you think no one has found. Get things in order, Riley. Stop overstepping your bounds.”
He looked at her, perplexed. “Am I your target?”
“Assignment, yeah.” She looked at him coldly. “I asked for this, Riley. I wanted to be the one to talk to you. You’re my brother. I love you. I’m telling you, you need to change, or things may go badly. Listen to what I’m saying, and all will be good. Straighten out.”
He frowned again. “This is bullshit. I’m going home.”
Riley turned and left. Ashley hung her head as he slammed the rooftop access door closed. She sighed deeply. He wasn’t going to change. She looked at her watch. It was time to get ready. She was meeting her dad at the restaurant at 6. Had Riley been amicable to talking, she would have brought him along as a surprise. Captain Renald didn’t know she had a meeting with Riley.
Ashley hoped she could talk to her dad and get him to change his attitude toward his oldest. Riley’s life depended on it.
Day three of the same story I’ve been pursuing the past couple of days. We’ll call it Ashley’s Story.
_______
The young man looked up, bewildered. He stared at the woman in front of him for a long moment before saying her name. “Ashley Renald?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
They looked each other in the eyes for a long moment. He knew who she was, and she knew he knew. He finally looked at the paperwork and started typing into his computer.
“I’ll still need to see your ID.”
She handed it to him without hesitation.
He took the ID, typed for a moment more when a door close by opened. Seconds later, Ashley noticed a tall, thin man walk into the reception area. He walked with a cane and wore glasses. He came to the recruiter and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder but nodded to Ashley.
The young man looked up to his boss. “Lester?”
“I have her file in my office, James. Come with me, Ms. Renald.”
She looked the man up and down, then nodded. She stood and he led the way into his office. She noted that there was not a speck of lint on his impossibly black suit. It fit well but she could imagine that it was his favorite suit.
In the office, he indicated a chair for her. He rounded his large desk and sat in the dark red leather chair. She waited for him to speak as she found a comfortable spot in the chair.
“I’ve been waiting for you to apply, if you haven’t noticed.”
“You did send me the application, Mr. Zern.”
“The Valedictorian, and the top sniper, always gets an application. It’s very rare that is the same person.”
Ashley nodded but stayed silent. She didn’t know what to say.
“Tell me why you want to join the Messengers, Ms. Renald.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My family has been a part of the Agency for as long as there has been an Agency.” She looked Mr. Zern in the eye. “It has come to my attention that maybe this isn’t a good thing.”
“How so?”
“It’s possible people are starting to ignore the things they do. It’s possible people with my last name may or may not be breaking rules, and higher ups are ignoring them due to the family’s longevity with the Agency.”
Mr. Zern crossed his arms. “It has come to my attention that this may be the case, as well.”
They stared at each other for a moment across the desk. Mr. Zern nodded and reached into the top desk drawer on his right. He pulled out a hand gun and handed it to Ashley. She took it, checked to see if it was loaded and placed it on the desk in front of her. Mr. Zern clicked the intercom.
“James, come in here please.”
“Sure thing.”
There was a knock on the door, but James didn’t wait for an answer. He came in and closed the door.
“Yes?”
“Stand against the far wall.” He stood and nodded to Ashley.
Ashley stood as well.
“Take the gun.”
She frowned but did as told. James placed his back to the wall and waited to see what was going on. He had a small frown on his face but seemed calm. Mr. Zern led Ashley to about ten feet away from James.
“Kill him.”
Ashley had the gun in her hands, ready to use it, but it was pointed toward the floor. She looked to Mr. Zern. “Why?”
“Are you questioning my orders?”
“Yes. The Messengers don’t kill indiscriminately. If they did, I wouldn’t’ be here. Why do you want me to kill him? What has he done to deserve death?”
Mr. Zern held out his hand for the gun. Ashley clicked the safety on and handed it to him. He nodded to James and the man left.
“The gun is filled with blanks. Do you know how many people just shoot?”
“How many?”
“About 90 percent.”
“How many of the ones that shoot were excepted into the Messengers?”
“A few.”
Ashley nodded. “Does this mean I passed?”
“The initial application process is well underway, Ms. Renald.” He held his hand out to her. “Welcome to the Messengers.”
Ashley smiled and shook his hand.
Cat Stark 