Scarlet Angel (11 page)

“
Oh no... No, no, no. You got it.
Spot on. Really, I mean. I’m just your trainer, right? Things
happen and...” Neil stood and turned toward the kitchen. “As you
said, it was just a thing.”

“
Okay.” She set her media player
down on the table and took another swig of water. Her blood pounded
in her ears in time with her racing heart.

A long, awkward moment followed. Neither of them
spoke and their eyes would not make contact. Finally, Scarlett
broke the silence. “So... I’m going to go get my shower.”

Neil just nodded. She walked past him and headed for
the bathroom. Just as she reached the doorway, his voice stopped
her.

“
Scar?”

“
Yeah?”

“
That wasn’t what I was going to
say.”

Chapter 16
The Doll

Idleness, itself, can be a catalyst for change.

* * *

Scarlett took aim with the plasma rifle. Through the
sights, the target rose and fell with each breath. Her lungs filled
with air one last time. She closed her eyes and let every muscle
relax. Warm air seeped past her lips in a long, drawn-out sigh. She
let her eyelids drift open.

Her eyes automatically looked down the sights of her
weapon. The tip of the rifle lowered toward the target in a single
smooth motion. At the instant the forward sight crossed into the
black, her index finger squeezed slowly.

When the charged bolt left the end of the muzzle,
her eyes closed again. This was the final shot of her weapons
testing. It wouldn’t make or break her performance, but she wanted
it to be the “cherry on top,” as she told Neil.

She cleared the chamber of her weapon and removed
the magazine. By the time she climbed to her feet, Neil was already
on his way back from picking up the target. He held it up for her
to see.

Dead-center in the black was a single scorched hole.
She squealed. “See? See? I told you I could do it! I told you... So
what do you owe me?”

“
Owe you? I don’t owe you
anything. I never took the bet.”

“
Please. You so took the
bet.”

He laughed and handed her the plastisheet. “Nope. No
bet.”

“
Liar.”

“
Nope.”

The two cleaned up the equipment and headed back
down into the apartment. Along the way Scarlett bumped shoulders
with Neil playfully. He smiled and bumped back.

“
So. With that, you are just about
done.”

She leaned against the elevator wall. “You’ve got
nothing else to teach me?”

Neil laughed again. “Oh, there’s plenty more I could
teach you... but, uh... trade secrets and all.”

“
Oh-ho-ho... I get it. Can’t
handle a little competition.”

“
Whatever.”

In the three weeks since Neil was able to walk
again, he had fully healed. Their physical training quickly got
back on track. The two had even begun discussing a plan for
Scarlett’s revenge.

Their relationship had grown too, changing Neil’s
attitude toward her. He still yelled like a Marine Corps Drill
Instructor, but the rest of the time he was more relaxed and
comfortable around her. He joked more. He talked more. And what
Scarlett seemed to enjoy most of all, they kissed more.

Neil opened the weapons locker and set the rifle
down on the fold-out counter. “Let’s get this rifle cleaned up. I’m
going to go get a shower and run out for a bit.”

Scarlett agreed and pulled out the weapon cleaning
gear. She didn’t question his order or where he was going. Months
ago she had accepted the role of the trainee, the recruit. But that
was ending soon.

She came out after her own shower to an empty
apartment. Her bare feet slapped against the concrete floor. She
plopped down into the chair at the computer and tried to relax.
Three failed games of solitaire later she gave up.

Scarlett gave a sharp sigh and slapped her hands on
the desk. Her chair screeched when she shoved it back. She walked
across the floor of the small apartment and back again. She
continued to pace back and forth for several minutes trying to come
up with something to do.

Walking back from the elevator toward the kitchen,
her eyes glanced over at Neil’s trophy display case. She always
laughed when she thought of him calling it that, since his
definition of trophy did not include the plastic and wooden awards
children received for Little League games.

One of the objects, a doll’s head, caught her eye.
She moved closer to get a better look. The creamy skin was marred
with scorch marks and black smudges. Scarlett imagined that when it
was new, the doll’s fiery-red locks fell straight down to its chin.
Now, the ends were melted to random jagged lengths.

The doll’s head had once belonged to a little girl
he was hired to protect. Heir to a massive fortune, she had watched
her entire family die in the same explosion that destroyed the
doll. It was only because of Neil that the child was saved. He had
kept her hidden for three weeks while killed off the corporate
thugs who’d murdered her parents. When it was done, he delivered
her to distant relatives. Neil kept the doll’s head as a small
memento of the life he saved.

With the idea forming her head, Scarlett sat back
down at the computer and did a street-view search of the area
around the warehouse. She found a small corner market just a few
hundred yards away. “That’s close enough to risk it.”

A few minutes later she was bundled up and ready to
go. Even if it didn’t snow, her heavy layers of clothes would not
be out of place now that it was the dead of winter. While everyone
else was trying to stay warm, she would stay hidden under her scarf
and hood.

She called out to the apartment’s security system.
“Security, show me the front door.” The center vidscreen lit up.
The display showed the office building’s front door and nothing
else. This time, Neil was not there waiting for her.

She rode up the elevator with a small amount of the
cash Neil kept for emergencies. When she reached the door to the
warehouse, she paused. Her hand hovered over the doorknob for a
long moment.

Slowly, she turned the handle and pulled. Before her
stood the open expanse of the warehouse. No Neil.

A deep sigh passed her lips and she strode out of
the offices and into the larger building. She glided across the
concrete floor, holding her breath the whole way. She expected Neil
to appear from behind some corner at any moment.

But he didn’t.

Scarlett reached the metal door beside the larger
roll-up one. She turned the handle and pushed. Sunlight and an icy
wind blasted through the opening. Her left arm flung up to shield
her face but the damage was done.

A couple minutes later, her eyes finished adjusting
to the bright, natural light she’d not seen in months. She glanced
around to get her bearings. A narrow alley stretched out to her
left and right. Another grey, concrete-sided warehouse loomed on
the far side of the asphalt.

Recalling the map from the computer, she darted off
to the right. The corner market turned out to be exactly where the
computer said it was. Inside the small establishment, the air was
definitely warmer. Still, she kept her scarf covering most of her
face.

The shop was devoid of any other patrons. An old
Asian lady behind the counter. She only looked up when Scarlett set
the box of hair color on the counter. “Dis good color fo’ you.”

“
I’m sorry?”

The woman’s voice startled Scarlett. Her screechy
and thickly accented English made her hard to understand.

“
I said, dis’ a good color fo’
you. It match you skin.”

She smiled beneath her heavy scarf. “Thank you.”
Scarlett placed a few bills on the counter and took the change when
it was offered.

“
You have good day. Come back and
show me colored hair.”

She waved at the woman and agreed without
thinking.

At first, Scarlett was worried that Neil had
returned while she was out, but the empty warehouse relieved her
suspicion. The expanse across the building to the offices seemed
even greater than before. Several times, she glanced over her
shoulder as she crossed the distance.

Even inside the offices, every step pulled her along
faster and faster. She knew Neil was going to come up behind her at
any moment.

Inside the apartment, she closed the elevator door
and leaned back against it. Scarlett inhaled a deep breath and let
it out in one, large burst. A quick check of the front entrance on
the security camera and she was satisfied.

Scarlett locked herself away in the bathroom and got
to work. A short while later she turned off the water and wrapped a
towel around her head. Her bare feet tingled as the floor began to
vibrate. Her reflection smiled back at her.

Dressed in loose shorts and a t-shirt, she strolled
out of the bathroom. The door to the elevator opened and Neil
appeared. “Hey...”

She smiled. “Hey.” Scarlett walked up to him and
gave him a light kiss on the lips.

Neil gave her a quick hug and headed for the
kitchen.

“
So, how was your
thing?”

He opened the stainless steel refrigerator door and
stuck his head in. “Oh, it was fine.”

“
Good.” Scarlett pulled the towel
from her hair and started drying the stringy strands.

Neil withdrew from the cold box and took a swig from
a bottle of his favorite microbrew. “Ah... that’s good.” He lowered
the bottle and looked over at her.

His face showed no reaction, at first, to Scarlett’s
change in hairstyle. He stared at her, as if he was trying figure
out what was different. His mouth dropped open. “What the…?”

Gone were her long, wavy, strawberry-blonde locks.
Instead, her hair blazed with the color of rich, red flames. They
extended to just below her jaw-line in straight, clean lines.

“
You like?”

Chapter 17
Haircut

A new hairstyle can make a girl feel like a whole
new woman. Then it’s up to her to continue that change.

* * *

Neil’s mouth hung open, utter shock painting his
face. He stared at Scarlett’s fiery hair. “Hmm.”

“
Well? Do you like it?”

“
I... uh, well... it’s, um... H’
How’d...?”

Scarlett’s face slackened. “Is it that bad?”

His arms flew up in defense. “Uh, no. No, not at
all. I’m just... It’s very different. But, how did you...?”

“
Oh.” Scarlett’s eyes widened for
a moment and she ran from the room. She returned a few seconds
later with a small wad of cash and change.

“
Here, I owe you $8.74”

Neil stared at the handful of money. “What? Where
did you get this?”

“
I borrowed it from your emergency
cash.”

His head snapped up. “You know where that is?”

“
Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“
No, it’s fine, I just...” Neil’s
words trailed off. “But I still don’t...” His wrinkled brow relaxed
as realization dawned. “You left. You went out into
public.”

“
Oh, don’t worry, I was
disguised.” Scarlett’s tone was playful, despite the anger she saw
flickering in Neil’s eyes. “Watch. Computer, activate vidscreen
one, security video, elevator. Time stamp 12:47 pm.”

The large screen showed Scarlett inside the
elevator. Heavy clothes covered her from head to toe. Her face was
hidden behind a scarf the color of her hair.

“
See? It was really cold outside.
I kept it like that the whole time.” She smiled. Neil watched the
video for a moment then turned back to her. She told the computer
to pause the playback.

“
I guess I should have known.
How’d you get back in?”

“
I memorized your
code.”

“
Four months ago?”

Scarlett shrugged. “Yeah.”

“
Impressive.”

“
Thanks. So how was your thing?”
Scarlett walked around and plopped down on the black couch. She
felt Neil’s eyes on her, scrutinizing her every move. It was as if
he was sizing her up all over again.

“
Oh, it was just a thing. Why
don’t you get dressed, we’re gonna do your final combat test. This
is real world shit, so... “

Scarlett’s heart raced as she bounded out off the
couch. This was the moment she was waiting for. She rushed out of
room to change.

From under her cot, she pulled a small metal case.
Neil had presented it to her a week ago and said her training was
almost complete.

She clicked the two buckles and the case popped
open. The smell of metallic, preserved air wafted to her. She
lifted the box as if it were made of crystal.

From inside she pulled out a neatly folded bundle of
what looked like black cloth. Despite being soft to the touch,
Scarlett knew it was not cloth at all. Instead, the material was
two pieces of flexible Kevlar fiber meshed with carbon nanofibers.
While the suit would stop a standard lead bullet or any other
traditional projectile, it would do little against an energy
weapon.

Scarlett stripped and stared at the two pieces of
clothing laid out on her cot. She picked up the skin-tight armor.
As she shoved her arms through the sleeves, the flexible material
was cool, almost liquid to the touch. She ran her hands over the
nanofiber material and smiled.
It’s about time.
Over the
armor, she wore a charcoal grey business suit with a wine-colored
blouse. In the bathroom, she checked over her reflection. Much
dryer now, she saw the stray strands of hair missed earlier. She
trimmed them and smiled.