Chapter 16

*****Be advised: This Chapter contains some sensitive material. Reader discretion is advised.*****

I realize I am watching the floor when I'm brought back from my memory. What the hell?! How much time had passed? Did Blasphick even walk into the hotel yet?

Shit!

I pull out my phone and look at the time. An hour of daydreaming? I can't believe it! It's something I have never done before, let alone in the middle of a job.

Just as I am going to stand, Steven Blasphick walks in.

He is a short, Russian man, with the most prominent stomach and skinniest legs. In the old pictures I have of him, Blasphick had short black hair. Now he has long salt and pepper hair in a ponytail.

He looks at the clerk and winks at her. She half-smiles as she looks down at his clothing. He is wearing a cream-colored suit that he forgot to iron.

I immediately stand and follow him to the elevator. I get on first, and he follows.

"Fifth floor, please!" Blasphick says while on his phone. I nod, and I hit the five button. He then puts the phone to his ear again and continues his call.

"Yep. I'll be back in Australia in a couple of days. I have a piece of ass coming tonight. Sweet little thing too," he says as he laughs.

The person over the phone says something which I can't hear. "I'm not worried about Sven! He can suck my ass. No one can touch me!" Steven laughs. "Alright! I'll see you when I get back. Tell that sister of yours I said hi."

Is that so? I think to myself. Can no one touch him? I grin.

Blasphick puts the phone in his pants pocket and leans against the wall. He has a curious look on his face as he eyes me up and down. Once we reach the fifth floor, I let Blasphick walk out before me. He exits the elevator without looking back.

I follow a couple of paces behind him. As he turns right down the next hallway, he yells hello to someone.

The person who answered back has a thick Russian accent. "Geoffrey! Good to see you!"

I turn the hallway and see two men standing at his door.

Damnit!

I thought this was going to be an easy job.

I will have to wait until he is alone with the female that he spoke about later on.

As the three men walk into Blasphick's room, I make sure to pass the door. I don't want anyone to suspect me.

I then use the back exit and make my way back down to my room. As soon as I take care of Blasphick, I will head back home.

It's eight o'clock when I am dressed as a room service attendant. I had stolen this uniform from the employees' locker room. The plan is to knock on Blasphick's door and get him to open it.

I also made a stop near the security office. I pretended to stumble into the office, drunk, of course! I began to fall over everything and touch every device until I found the central recording tower.

When I found it, I placed a small square device on it. It would stop all recording and erase everything. It essentially would render the tower itself useless.

The guards in the office weren't too happy. They helped me back into the elevator and told me if they saw me the rest of the night, they would call the police. I begged them not to. They let me go with a warning.

Anything and everything I touch in my room go into the metal suitcase. I close the suitcase and hit my code on top of it. I slide it into the bathroom and shut the door. A small explosion emanates from the bathroom. I have gotten rid of any evidence that can be traced back to me.

I put my silencer on the gun and place it in the holster. Then I grab the ice bucket, wine it in, and make my way towards the door.

Once I reach Blaspick's door, I remove my sunglasses and knock on his door.

"Room service! Complimentary service for a Mr. Bushman!"

I look up and down the hallway, waiting to hear Blasphick. Just then, a woman opens the door.

She has purple hair, pale skin, and yellow teeth. There's a yellow towel wrapped around her body. A prostitute, I think to myself. She looks at me up and down, licking her lips. I look at her, unamused.

"Wow! What is your name, hot stuff?" She asks as she wipes her nose with her hand.

"It's a Kleenex. Where is Mr. Bushman?"

She glares at me as Blasphick pulls the door open. "Did you say complimentary? I love that word! Please come in! Put it on the table."

I bow my head slightly as I walk into the suite. It's a massive room—same old Victorian charm.

I place the bucket on the coffee table. The woman eyes me as she makes a line of coke on the coffee table and inhales it. She stands immediately and begins to dance. There is no music playing.

Steven walks behind her and starts to kiss her neck.

A little bile rises in my throat at the sight of these two. Blapshick and his friend pay me no attention as I walk into the bedroom to make sure no one else is in the suite. The bathroom and closets are also empty.

I stand at the entryway and wait until they finish. Blasphick is about to remove her towel when I cough loudly. Lord knows I don't want to see that!

Blasphick turns and does a double-take when he sees the silencer in my hand. "What the fuck?!"

He pushes the woman away from him! She yells in annoyance at him. When she sees the gun, she grows still and pales.

I look at her and point the gun at her. "Yell and I end your life. Understand me?" I want her to make a move. She nods and slowly takes a seat.

"Are you going to rob me?! Do you know who I work for?! Are you insane?!" Steven stands cockily and proudly, not showing an ounce of fear.

"The question is, do you know who I work for?"

Steven looks thoroughly confused. The prostitute shakes her head no.

"Cara Langley. She was seven years old. Ring any bells?"

Steven thinks it over and puts his hands up. He must have known exactly who I am referring to. I walk towards him.

"I hear you love snorting this stuff. How much do you have?" I ask as I pick up a small bag of cocaine and throw it at him.

Blasphick jumps and gulps. "This is all I have, I swear!" His bottom lip quivers as I put the gun to his forehead.

"He's lying! There's a brick in the bathroom." I turn to the prostitute and nod.

"Go get it!" I order her. She runs to the bathroom. A couple of seconds later, she comes out and places it on the coffee table.

"So you're a pedophile, murderer, and a bad liar."

Blasphick looks at the prostitute and curses her out under his breath.

"Open it!" I yell, startling both of them. He bends down, grabs a knife off the table, and rips through the bag. He places the knife back on the table and stands up.

"All right, Steven. There is only one way out of this. You will go through this entire bag. Once you inhale the entire thing, you are free to go! It's that simple!"

He scoffs and looks horrified. "Are you out of your fucking mind?! That's half a brick! I'll die from an overdose!" He looks at me and then at the table.

"It's a bag or a bullet. You choose. I have all night." I cock the gun. Blasphick slowly nods. He slowly bends over the table.

Half an hour has passed by. Steven has snorted half of the bag, and I am getting antsy, wanting to get out of here. He keeps twitching and shaking, starting to sway as his nose begins to bleed. I know he is at the point of no return. He's definitely going to overdose.

I put the gun into my holster as I walk towards Blasphick. He's sitting on the sofa, swaying, trying to keep his eyes open. I grab the back of his head and slam his face onto the coffee table.

Twice.

Cocaine goes flying everywhere. I hold Blasphick there to let him breathe the rest in, holding him down until he starts convulsing.

I looked up at the prostitute. She has been sitting, looking away, covering her ears, and silently sobbing.

I dust my hands and am going to say something to her when someone knocks on the door.

I grab the only thing I can find, a book from the table, and throw it at her. She jumps when the book hits her. I motion toward the door and to stay quiet, or I'll shoot her. She nods and gets up slowly. I stand against the wall of the living room.

"Who is it?" The prostitute asks, clearing her throat.

No one replies. I stick my head around the corner. She turns to me and puts her hands up, as to tell me what now?

I motioned her forward. She walks to the door and puts her hands on it. Getting on her toes, she looks through the peek hole.

Something is off. I am going to grab the prostitute when bullets go flying through the door and into her. She falls to the floor with her eyes wide open.

The door is suddenly kicked open. A brunette in heels walks in smiling. Seeing me, she begins shooting.

I run and dive into the bedroom. Bullets are still flying and hitting everything in their path.

"Ohhh, Ryder!" She sings as she slowly makes her way into the living room. She looked down at Blasphick's motionless body. "Oh! It seems like you caught your guy after all. Too bad! I personally don't think it was that big of a deal that he killed little Cara. I've seen worse done too much younger."

What an odd thing to say. Who the hell is she?

"I draw the line somewhere. Kids are off-limits," I say as I slowly stand from behind the bed, both glaring at one another. She has an evil grin plastered on her face. Her eyes are abnormally wide than they should be. Is she thrilled to be here with me? The woman's gun pointed right at me.

She tilts her head. "My how you've grown, Ryder."

I squint my eyes. Do I know this woman? "I'm sorry. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

"But we have. A long time ago. Surprised that you don't recognize me." She put her gun down to her side and begins slowly walking back and forth.

"Did I kill your loved one? Is that why you are here? I'm sorry, I don't have time for vengeance ploys. I'm on a tight schedule."

"Oh?" She sounds disappointed.

The woman turns and walks towards Blasphick. She faces me as she sticks her finger into the pile of cocaine. She begins to laugh as she puts her finger into her mouth and rubs the product on her teeth. Laughing out loud, she spins around once. A clear indication I am dealing with a lunatic.

"Sad that he overdosed on such poor quality," the woman says as she stops. Walking to Blasphick, she pulls his head up by his hair, examining his face, and lets him go. His body falls off the couch.

"What do you want?" I am done playing games with her.

The woman looks at me seriously and takes two steps toward me. "What do I want?" She asks as she points to herself and shrugs. "I want something you hold dear to yourself. Something no one else has been able to take until now. Whether I get it today or not, trust and believe, I will acquire it. Even if I have to kill your entire family in the process."

What?! What did she want? What on earth could I give this psycho? She holds her gun up at me.

"What do you want?" I say through gritted teeth. I am beyond angry right now.

"Your life!"

She kicks underneath an end table, causing a red glass cup to go flying into the air. She spins around and kicks it towards me. I quickly roll onto the bed before it hits me, the glass shattering against the wall where I was standing moments ago.

I am now straddling the bed. We have our guns trained at one another.

"Ready?" She teases.

Just then, we hear people yelling in the hallway as a police officer stands near the entrance of the suite.

"This is the police! Come out with your hands in the air! Now!"

Shit! I yell to myself. Playing with lunatic barbie here, I forgot I had seconds to leave after the first bullet flew.

The woman squints at me. "Guess we will continue this some other time." She suddenly puts her gun behind her pants and starts screaming, not to shoot; she is an innocent bystander.

The officer yells for her to come slowly toward him. I jump off of the bed as she makes her way to the entryway. I run from the bed and to the window.

Looking down, I see a fire escape!

As I climb down, I hear the officer yelling and a barrage of bullets. The woman has killed him.