Alice's Point of View
The drive back to Washington gave Alice plenty of time to think. Something nagged at her, something serious. She'd been counting on a kill to sate her urges. Gareth Hart, her last target, was almost a month ago. Soon the nightmares would start again.
An idle, insane thought struck her. Should she...just take someone? It would be easy enough to convince some loser to follow her back to a secluded location. There were bars in every town she drove by. Who would miss a random guy in North Carolina? She'd be back in Virginia before they found the body.
It was tempting, so very tempting, but no. Hunters who took too many chances didn't have long careers. She wanted to grow old with Alex, give him the children he wanted some day. Not worth the risk.
The Corps had a system: secure kill rooms, plenty of options, cleanup crews that disposed of the body. It was everything the discerning murderess could wish for. An ideal setup, provided your mission wasn't aborted.
That hadn't happened before. It honestly worried her. Had the chaos of the election year shaken the confidence of her superiors? Did they fear to make an enemy of the incoming administration? Alice could only speculate.
Traffic on I-95 was moderate. Alice left early in the morning and made good time, arriving back in Northern Virginia by the afternoon. She pulled into the parking lot of a roadside diner to check in.
You want to touch base? she texted Dahlia.
Are you close by? Dahlia replied.
Alice confirmed that she was.
Then by all means, swing by, her boss texted back.
Thirty minutes later Alice was walking into headquarters. To her growing unease, Alice noticed her boss wasn't her usual cheerful self.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "The family okay?"
"Oh no, nothing like that," Dahlia said quickly. "Brad and the children are fine, better than fine. The Corps? Not so much," she added bitterly.
Alice sat down without being asked. "There's a story there."
They stared at one another for a long minute, looks that conveyed more than mere words. Her boss was...perhaps "frustrated" was the right word? In all the years they'd worked together, Alice had never known Dahlia to have any trouble, with anything. Dahlia always gave her everything she needed to hit her targets, and any time she had an issue, Dahlia could fix it. If something was too big for Dahlia...
"A story I can't exactly tell you. Well, not all of it. You're an experienced hunter, Alice, and I'm sure you've noticed that there is a certain variety in target selection. This is necessary and by design. The Corps works for everyone. We solve problems without prejudice. Neutrality has protected us thus far, but now? Now, there is a certain...shall we say, difference of opinion amongst the Powers That Be. God, I've never seen them openly argue before."
Dahlia looked at her sternly. "You didn't hear that from me. The years of the Clayton administration have been kind to us, and Oboyo before her. Sixteen years of continuity and predictability, more or less. That party is about to end, I fear. Priorities change. Presently, our priority is survival."
"We can't afford to make an enemy of Aaron Hacker, you mean," Alice said.
Dahlia smiled a brittle smile, and that was all the confirmation Alice needed. "Draw your own conclusions, dear."
Alice sighed. "He's really going to win, isn't he? Dick thinks it means World War Three."
"Conflict is inevitable," Dahlia said. "It may be that the relative peace and stability we've enjoyed under Harriet Clayton was merely delaying what must come. Hacker is a brute, but he possesses a certain cunning. There are those who believe he will listen to sense when he hears it."
Wishful thinking, Alice thought. Hacker thought the answer to a stagnant world was setting it on fire. He was a man of action of the worst kind, the type who would rather make things worse than do nothing.
"Do you at least have a target for me? A minor target? Anything? It's getting to be about that time," Alice alluded to her needs.
Dahlia shook her head sadly. "Nothing, truly. We don't have anything for you right now. Every contract is being assessed in light of new developments, and there is a bit of a backlog. The Powers That Be want to take a 'wait and see' approach. Perhaps next month?"
"That's entirely too long!" Alice growled in frustration. "You know about my problem. What do you suggest?"
Her boss wouldn't look her in the eye. "Use discretion," she said simply, refusing to elaborate.
The part of Alice's mind that had a need to be fair appreciated the difficult position Dahlia was in, caught between the Powers, the election, and a kill-hungry hunter like herself. She was grateful for whatever consideration Dahlia could offer.
"I'll do what I can," she promised. Alice still had a few days before things got too bad. That long dry spell where she kept her boyfriend up all night comforting her would not be repeated. She would hunt. She would rape. She would kill. It was who she was.
"It's not all bad news, dear. Check your back account." Her boss' eyes crinkled in merriment.
Alice did just that. Jesus Christ! "That much? For a failed mission?"
"A successful mission," Dahlia corrected. "And a bonus for acquiring potentially vital intelligence. Save it, invest it, blow it all on Alex. The choice is yours."
That sounded like a plan, actually. The down payment fund for the house they wanted was closer than ever, but she could afford to shave a little off the top and splurge. Alex deserved it.
"Take care, Dahlia," she said. "I really hope you've got a target for me next month."
"Me too, Alice, me too."
***
Alice put on her red dress, the sexy low-cut number that Alex liked, and pounced on him like a lioness when he walked through the door of their apartment.
"Honey, I...ummph." She silenced him with a kiss.
"Slip out of your work clothes and put on something nice, baby. I'm taking you out tonight!"
Alex was quick enough on the uptake to realize she wouldn't take no for an answer. His basic polo shirt was rapidly replaced by a nice button down and jacket that harmonized well with her dress.
"How'd you know about my big win today?" he asked curiously.
She didn't actually. "Big win?" Alice asked as she reached out to adjust his collar. There, perfect. Her boyfriend had a big old thick neck and sometimes had trouble finding shirts that fit and looked good.
"Yep," he said happily. "The simulations went better than we could've hoped. ANIS is full speed ahead!"
"That's great, honey. I got a big bonus for my last job, but it's probably best not to discuss it in public. Things got pretty crazy. I'll tell you about it later. How does steak sound to you?"
Alex hesitated. "A fancy steakhouse? Can we afford that right now?"
"Just this once, since we both did well today. Come on, we'll take my car."
An hour later, they were in the district, waiting to be seated at the Capitol Grill, the same place senators and congresspeople dined at regularly, pretty fancy for peasants like them. The restaurant had a dark wood interior, plush carpet, and soft lighting, the perfect destination for a romantic evening.
A server guided them to an intimate table for two under a painting of a man on a horse.
"So, your 'big win' at work?" Alice opened up the conversation.
Alex looked at her fondly over a big glass of wine. Just one for her since she was driving, but her baby could drink all he wanted tonight. "It's kind of a funny story. Terry and I-"
"Which one?" she demanded. The whore would not ruin her date night!
"Terry with a 'y'," Alex assured her. "His sister works on propulsion. We're software guys for the most part. Anyway, we've been working on a distributed reasoning model where all the missiles can 'talk' to each other, basically, and compare notes to decide what to do. It's kind of like one big brain spread over a bunch of different-"
"The board loved it!" Bragged a man at another table, loud enough for them to overhear.
Alex went silent. "No fucking way..." he said softly.
Alice followed the direction of gaze. There was Chip Lackland, Alex's boss, dining with his parents. She recognized Chip's father, Senator Lackland, from her mission to take down the blackmailer Connor Oswald. It was a fair assumption that the older woman with them was the senator's wife.
"I'm getting promoted," Chip went on brazenly. "Those small-minded engineers didn't think it could be done, but I managed to motivate them. I had to coordinate multiple teams, lots of moving parts, you know. That's the issue, I think. Engineers get lost in petty details. I'm more of a 'big picture' kind of guy. The CEO at Lockhole said I had 'vision'. You hear that, Dad? Your son has vision!"
Chip demolished another glass of wine. He was already rambling and slurring his words slightly.
"Son of a bitch," Alex muttered. "Chip is gonna take all the credit. He didn't do anything," he whispered to Alice.
"That's great son. It looks like you've finally found your path in life," Senator Lackland said proudly.
"You're a natural leader, just like your father. You just needed to find the right outlet to bring it out," said Mrs. Lackland.
Both parents raised their glasses in salute to their son's new career.
"This is literally what's wrong with America," Alex told her seriously. "Real workers, who build real things, are sidelined, underpaid and overworked. 'Management' makes more money for pretending to lead. Everybody is a scammer, trying to figure out ways to get rich off of others without actually contributing to society. And what matters most is who your daddy is. Shit, I think he noticed us."
Alice tried to seem inconspicuous, but really, she was wearing a sexy red dress. Even if she looked away...
"Big man!" Chip called out.
"Be cool, babe," Alex whispered.
"What a coincidence!" Chip approached them like old friends. "Is it date night? I didn't know we paid you enough to afford this place!"
"I'm paying tonight!" Alice interjected. Big mistake.
Chip looked right down her dress and didn't speak for a moment. "Alice, you look gorgeous," he praised. "I really don't know what you see in this big lunk."
His attempt at good-natured teasing fell completely flat.
Urge to kill rising.
Alice was about to give him a death glare when Alex caught her eye; his expression was pleading. She tried to look at Chip, but nope, still looking down her dress. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.
"So, getting a promotion, Chip?" Alex tried to distract him. Chip didn't react immediately, his eyes still glassy and unfocused.
Geez, my tits aren't that nice. There was no way Chip was just wine-drunk, either. He looked coked out. Maybe he was popping pills. Drugs were never her thing, too much danger getting high around targets.
"Yeah man," Chip confirmed it. "ANIS is my baby now, the whole thing. Don't worry, dude. I'll bring you in when we start rolling it out for physical testing. Dad is gonna make sure it gets proper funding now. Your job is safe! Isn't that great?"
"Just great, Chip," Alex said sarcastically.
If Chip could tell he was being mocked, he didn't let it show. "There's gonna be a big launch party to celebrate ANIS going from concept to implementation. We weren't gonna invite the grunts, but in your case I think we can make an exception. You should bring Alice!" He turned to her. "You'd love ANIS, Alice." He laughed at his own joke, brushing past her in a way that seemed quite intentional as he rejoined his parents at their table.
The place where he touched her felt like it was in danger of rotting off.
I know I promised Alex I wouldn't, but that guy just needs killing on general principle. If Dahlia couldn't get her a target soon, Alice would just have to take matters into her own hands.