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“Look, I let me get one thing straight. I’ve been runnin’ with you for ages now and I’ve had no reason to doubt you or whatever, but this is getting stupid! Are you sure the intel from that clown was legit?”
“Are you sure it is wise to be raising your voice to me?”
“I’m being serious here! Mike, Josh and David have all called in saying they ain’t found nothin’ and I’m not seeing anything matching the description here either. This whole entire scheme is a great fat risk on our part, and I’ll be pissed if it turns out to be a bunch of bull!”
“I understand you’re frustrated, but you just need to be a little more patient. I can assure you that the information is correct. One of them must have it, it’s just a matter of going round and checking them all, Dearie. Olivia still hasn’t report back yet, correct?”
“Yeah, but …Look, I’ll be real here. I get she’s your little protégé and everything, but do you really think that she’ll bring back the goods? You said yourself this job couldn’t fail, or else! Was it really a good idea to give this to a newbie?”
“…”
Silence. Deafening silence. Even the ever present static of a phone line seemed to melt away. For a moment, T was convinced that a bullet was about to come rocketing out of his phone and through his brain.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m not doubting your training, I swear! Just concerned for her, as all! Hell, my man Josh just finished blowing up my phone about the risks he had to take to pull this off, and he’s an ex-bank robber n’ everything!”
“Good. You of all people should know exactly what happens to those who challenge me. I expect your next call will be you praising Olivia’s ingenuity. Goodbye, Terrence.”
Not even a second after she uttered the last syllable, T could hear the line go dead, allowing him to release the breath he had been unknowingly holding for the last 20 seconds. It took a moment for the fear to pass, only for it to be replaced with anger. T had spent every year since he turned 15 moulding himself into a hardened thug, not taking any lip from no one as he scaled the criminal underworld. For years, he watched people tremble in his wake, letting his reputation of brutality against anyone who stood in his way do all the talking for him. And now here he was, sitting in a cramped, messy flat, shaking from just a few sentences from a woman he had never even met before. It was pathetic.
“Phone calls with your bosses are always scary, am I right?” T grumbled to the woman lying on the floor, hoping to get a little bit of sympathy from her, mentally kicking himself for even thinking that. How was a woman with her mouth stuffed with sponge going to offer any words of sympathy?
According to the lanyard he had found when digging through her handbag, the woman was Katelyn Stone, a 23-year-old history teacher at a nearby secondary school. Undoubtably, she was one of those teachers that teenage boys would remember for the rest of their lives since she was drop-dead gorgeous. Well, T assumed that she was, judging by the grainy photo on her School ID. He had grabbed her from behind when she walked into her flat and by the time things had calmed down enough that he could get a good look at her, silver duct tape had already been wrapped around her head, sealing her lips and eyes shut. Her blonde hair certainly didn’t look as glamourous as it in the picture, but that was only because she had spent an hour or so struggling like mad, desperate to break the tape wrapped around her body. Unfortunately for her, the adhesive material was tougher than her own will. Now the only movement T saw out of her was just the occasionally shuffle, though he could already picture the fight returning to her as soon as he left. It was a shame really. T liked feisty ones like her. If he wasn’t under strict orders, T might’ve considered just taking her for himself since he torn her apartment apart looking for the objective and didn’t even find anything worth stealing just for the cash.
Luckily for his victim, unaware that her captor was trying to calculate the logistics of hiding her from both the authorities and his superiors, T’s phone lit up in his hand and distracted him from his perverted daydream. His eyes widened when he read the text Olivia had sent him.
MISSION ACOMPLISHED!!
Meet you back at HQ?
“Well, I’ll be damned… the girl actually pulled it off.” He muttered to himself, before turning to his captive. “It’s been lovely chatting with you, but I’ve gotta dash.”
“Ppmmgh, jjtt lmmt mm ggmmmn…” Moaned the young teacher, the sound of tape crinkling filling the room as she pulled on the hogtie. She had been in that position since she got home from work, and now her body ached all over now that night had fallen, not that she could tell of course.
“Can’t do that I’m afraid. Would be unfair on the others.” T chuckled at her feeble pleading.
“Mmmthrrs?”
“Yup, that’s right. ‘Others’. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but it’s not like the cops won’t put this together fairly quickly anyway. Basically, we’ve been ordered to capture every 23-year-old woman with the name K. Stone in the area and raid their homes.”
“Whht?! Whhhy?!”
“That’s not something you need to worry about. If I were you, I would be more worried about the Year 11 boys who will get see a video of your blouse popping open while you wiggled around. I mean, who writes down email addresses anymore?”
That set her off. It was like all the energy she had saved up by resting these last few hours came out all at once, sending her writhing in her bonds and screaming into her gag. T wished he could stay to see her reaction when she inevitably failed to cancel the scheduled email. Unfortunately for him, his boss only taught her little project how to be the perfect cat-burglar and not anything that normally 18-year-olds should learn, like driving. If this Olivia girl was as good as they say, maybe T could fit in some time between missions to take her on the road.
Preferably with a stolen car and its owner tied up in the back, of course.