The Night Changes Course

*Camila*_*

      We had waited until it was dark before getting ready for the operation. It was the perfect time to check out the house, but I hated that it was creepy. No matter how experienced I was in the job, it sent chills to my blood. 

      I got to my safe house and got out guns and explosives because I felt that the night would be distinguishable, I would find out later that I was right. 

      I handed Jacques some ammunition, and he gave me a distorting look. "Have you forgotten what we are going to do tonight?" He asked, looking at the guns and explosives. 

     "We can't go in there without arms, Jacques" I fastened my B&T's veterinarpistole VP9 to my jacket. 

     "This is too much, don't you think?" 

     "It doesn't matter, Jacques. Let's go" 

     "Yes ma'am" 

     We got out of the safe house and went into his Bentley Flying Spur Speed. Seat belts fastened, engine rived, we were ready for operation until the cellphone on my jacket beeped.

Jacques turned off the car engine and eye-motioned to me to pick up the call. He connected it to the car's audio system and on loudspeaker. 

     «Speak» I said into the cellphone. 

     «Plans changed»

     «Elucidate»

     «Mission has gone blue. Don't engage, I repeat, don't engage. Go into the house to have a talk»

     «Potential target isn't expected to be around»

     «Don't engage» *beeps* the call cut. 

     I groaned in disapproval, glancing at Jacques who did nothing but shrugged. "These people must be fucking kidding me! No arms?! What the fuck am I going for? A freaking peace talk!? Huh?" 

     Jacques tittered "Peace talk hahaha" 

     "Damn it, Jacques. Get it all out. But hold one for yourself" 

     "Yes ma'am" 

      Jacques got the arms out and packed it back into the safe house. Jacques was my favorite person. We have been together through the highs and lows and no matter how hard it got, Jacques never left me. I was a mess, but he was the only one that understood me. He was everything to me, and I couldn't afford to lose him. 

     We hit the road in the cold night, getting our path lit by the surging moon. 

     We arrived at the springs preserve and parked the car behind the shed of a big tractor. They must have been keeping the desert alive, Even though the leaves were lapsing from the trees. 

     With my Binoculars I looked into the house again. There was nothing but darkness being bisected by the faint columns of the moonlight. 

     "Jacques, what are we even doing here?" 

     Jacques shrugged and pin-pointed his eyebrows "You tell me, Ma'am" 

     I laid down on the dried grass with a deep sigh, and brought out a chewing gum from my jacket. 

     "Your jacket got a lot of shit to hold for ya" Jacques chuckled. But I was cooked up hot because of the mission. And my head was stirring round the clock.

"This shit is so cold.. so I have to just sit out here, wait for a perfect time, and then go into that shit of a house, knock on the door while I wait for a servant or something, then say I want to check out the house? What the fuck? Really?! Then I will sit down on the fucking dining room and say we need to talk…?" I lifted up my hands to the air, and dropped down at once in a frustrating manner. "Then what would I say? Hey mister, I'm here to talk?" 

     Jacques shook his head "You would make a good reporter. Perhaps if you didn't become an assassin" 

     "They should have gotten someone else" I snarled. 

     "Who? You're the best, Ma'am. And you do so great" 

     "Yes. But I don't do so great at talking!" I disengaged my gun from my jacket and motioned to get out, but Jacques dragged me down on my leg. 

     "Stay down, Ma'am. Time's not yet…" he shook his head. "Not yet" 

     Shadows crawled behind my eye sockets with the light's passage and my ear drums were pierced by the sound of multiple gunshots, my heart throbbed and my head turned to the direction of the signal. 

     I flashed at Jacques. He was bereaved, as I was, we had no firearms. 

     "Jacques, we are fucked" 

     A word from Jacques was coming but a call through my cellphone drummed against my brain. «Target has been confirmed! Eliminate immediately!» the voice was alarming.

It wasn't as composed as before. I tucked my boots, fastened my jacket belts and stooped to invade the night's horror… the cock on my B&T's veterinarpistole VP9 made the last stance. 

     And once again, resistance took the lead. "You can't just jump in there…" Jacques exclaimed. "Think about it. They asked us to go in unarmed, they said we should stay low, now there are gunshots everywhere and we get a call to eliminate the target at once! How did they know?" 

     Reasoning his proposition would take priceless shares of time and I would rather be on the action ground. I acquitted a handgun from my boot's possession and set it into Jacques hand. 

     "I always keep back up"  

    My eyes caught shadows at the rear, and my head turned back to see green pointers, my eyes widened and my heart ached of betrayal, tear gasses passed through my nostrils with a puissant pierce.

And a micro explosion knocked me off of my feet and the earth pulled my body down, receiving my decline with a heavy thud. My ears whistled into my brain and pain reflected all over my body.

The sounds became muffled, and my vision was blurred. I shrieked into the cold night as I crawled to get out from the radar. 'Where was Jacques!?' my brain clicked, I turned around to see Jacques pressing up against the car with the pistol in his hand opening fire over the shooters. 

      "Run!" He screamed. Bullets were landing everywhere, I couldn't get back to him. 

     They were drawing closer. "No, Jacques, come let's get out of here!" 

     "Too late, Ma'am…" he smiled. "I will be fine, I promise" 

     I took his words even when I shouldn't, I wouldn't leave him, but only if I knew that he had multiple gunshot wounds already. 

     I moved slowly with the abdomen close to the ground and stealthed out. 

     The gunshots weren't waning out, but in fact the house was an anchorage of gunfire… but the question remained; who were they shooting with? If it was just the target, shouldn't he be dead already? 

     I waited for sometime and the perfect time presented itself when the gunshots became scant. I followed the back door into the house and stumbled upon dead bodies, their blood drew artifice on the walls and ground.

But their wounds didn't look like they were induced by bullets. And my best resolve was that they were attacked by a wild animal. 

     A mournful sound originating behind the walls got me walking out to it. 

     I fixed up my gun and held it tightly as I saw a bloodied man on his knees before a wounded body. He whimpered, and I stealthily walked toward him… but… he turned back swifty and held my neck! I gagged and struggled for release.

He looked into my eyes, and his eyes were troubled, horrifying and vengeful, but it evinced regret and startle and released his bruising large hand on my neck.

I reached for my gun; I had tucked it into my jacket unknowingly, and before I could bring it out, damn! He was so fast! He swept me off my feet and knocked me down unconscious, and the tiny light of consciousness that closed up was used to reflect on why I and Jacques were attacked, and by whom.