Demigods (18 page)

Colonel McClure was not an idiot, and instantly realized that only a few people knew the color of her eyes, and he was not supposed to be one of them. Still, he understood how people can talk, so he asked one simple question.

"How did you know that her eyes were green?"

Charlie was not a spy, or even a soldier for that matter. He was only a very smart hacker, contracted by the government, so his fear, and stuttering, combined with a lack of a good response, made it obvious to the colonel.

"I can explain," he said, despite the fact that he could not do so in a way that would make it any better.

*            *            *

Happy, as they called him, was the first one near Viper’s room. It was the rooftop of the adjacent building, but that is where a sniper would go, considering the situation.

Quickly he set up his gear, which did not begin with his rifle, but rather the radio pulse device that could easily see her lying quite still in the bed.

"Check point one secured," he spoke into his com after setting up his rifle, and targeting the front door.

At this, a homeless looking man stepped around the corner. They called him Papa Smurf, for he was the one to get the closest first, and coordinate the mission. He had long, knotted hair, and a beard to match, which is why they all understood how he never had a woman to call his own. Nonetheless, it was what made him great at what he did.

Passing by the first and second room, Papa Smurf stumbled, and seemed to find a place to rest before the third door. It was from here that he would coordinate the assault, and he surely acted the part of a decrepit man.

"Check point two secure," they all heard in an electronic voice, for he used three buttons under his sleeve to send the message.

Slowly, a white van drove up, with a logo on the side, showing it to be a low class, electrician's company, and it parked in front of room number two.

"Just awaiting the green light," the two men inside of the van declared, unaware that Viper was able to hear them, even at a great distance.

"Is she still silent, Happy?" Papa Smurf asked, and he received an affirmative reply.

The technology that they had could see right through the wall for the most part, and they not only knew exactly where she was, but they could read her heart rate as well. She was very much asleep, according to the readings, and the timing was perfect.

"You've got the green light, tweedles," The two killers heard in the van, and they quickly, but silently emerged, and raced to room number one, yet Happy felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, before the lights went out.

Immediately they kicked in the door, and pointed their weapons at the woman in the bed, while Papa Smurf caught a glimpse of something coming through the air, before her foot met his face, and he too found the darkness.

Suddenly, an old, homeless woman rose up from the motel bed, holding the blanket tightly around her.

"She told me I could stay here tonight," she shouted, and quivered at the same time, as she spoke, unaware of what was actually happening.

"Who did?" Tweedle Dumb inquired with his weapon still secured upon her.

"She did," the old woman stated, as she pointed behind them both.

*            *            *

Charlie sat silently in an office, with two guards posted outside of the door. It was not his own office, for his had a window, and apparently, the colonel did not trust him.

How could he have been so stupid, he wondered, yet figured that the emotions that Viper brought upon him were easily to blame. They were wonderful emotions, and Charlie did not blame her, for he would not have changed a thing, except for the slip of his tongue.

The thing that troubled him the most was that he might never see her again, and he had greatly hoped to find a way that they could both be together, without being hunted. Now that seemed highly unlikely, and rather than hearing of her death, he wished that she would run away as far as she could, so that they would never find her.

He remembered for a moment how it felt when she kissed him, and although it was not his first kiss, it was, by far, the best. He did not feel nervous at all, and it felt as though she had meant it more than anyone else ever had. He was certain that he would remember it forever, as the best kiss in his entire lifetime, which could soon be shortened.

Standing, he began to pace the rather small room.

"Why are you so stupid?" he asked of himself as he hit his forehead with the palm of his hand several times, though the question was rhetorical.

For a moment, he began to wonder about the consequences, and he pondered what was to be done with him. It was not likely that they would simply fire him, considering the things that he knew, which left only two possibilities. They would either kill him, and find someone else to replace him, or they would consider him the best at what he did, which was why he was hired, and make his punishment less severe.

The more that he thought about it, the more he realized that Viper’s fate, whether she lived or died, was likely the key to his own outcome. If they killed her, he might be forgiven, but the way that she made him feel, he would rather die in her place.

Next, his swirling mind brought him to a place of fantasy, as he began to think about what might have been, if only his tongue had not betrayed him. It was a thought of tropical shores, with only the two of them there to enjoy it, and he would cater to her every desire, which in turn, would cater to his own. It would be a happiness that, until he had met her, seemed to have no chance in his reality.

Just then, he heard a commotion outside the door, and he raced over to hear what he could. The guards were certainly stirred, but he could not make out what they were saying.

"What's going on?" Charlie inquired from the other side of the door, once the chatter had subsided.

"Seems that your girlfriend is a real bad ass," one of the guards replied.

"But she's not as mean as they wanted her to be," the other laughed. "She left 'em all alive."

Word did travel fast, because the two guards should not have really known what they were dealing with. Either that, or the colonel was very scared, and letting everyone know what they were up against.

Whatever the reason, the news was uplifting, for he now knew that Viper had survived their first attempt upon her life. It gave him reason to hope, and although he still wished that she would run away as far as she could, he still had room for another hope, which was the hope that she would come and rescue him. It was an abstract one, built from fantasy, yet that is what love can do to a man.

He began to pace once more, but he did it with a smile this time. She was not only still alive, but had taken their best, first shot, and threw it back in their faces. The fact that she didn’t kill them only meant that they had failed in trying to make a cold-blooded killer out of her.

This also meant that she really did have feelings for him, and he understood that her premature awakening, and her realization of what she was, had countered the effects that they had desired. In fact, it likely had the opposite effect, since she certainly hated what they were trying to do with her, and this only strengthened his love for her.

"Just be safe, Kitten," Charlie whispered to himself as he found a spot back in the chair, and the moment brought him euphoria.

Casually, with a large duffle bag draped over her shoulder, Viper walked down West Tennessee Street, and was impressed by how many young men offered to carry it for her, while never asking how far. It may have been hormonal for the most part, but she could sense the gentlemen's tone within most of them. She was, after all, just less than five feet tall, and the duffle bag was more than half her length, yet they could not have ever known how easy it was for her to carry.

She also enjoyed the way that they would stop afterward, and watch her walk away, and she wished that she could see the looks upon their faces, but her eyes remained closed. She would not allow the triplets to see through them again, until she wanted them to.

Suddenly, she sensed a man stop about thirty yards ahead, and she blinked her eyes open for an instant, like the shutter on a camera, and as easily, she took a mental picture of him, and everything else within her field of view.

He had dull, brown hair, with a slight wave to it, that reached about two inches below his shoulders, with torn blue jeans, and a tattered T-shirt, and he was obviously not a threat. Instead, he just stood there with a smile as she approached, hardly blinking as his mouth sat wide open.

"Whoa," he exclaimed as she tilted her head to make him believe that she was actually looking up at him while passing by. "You are such a hottie!"

"Thank you," she replied, like tossing a dog a bone, and the fact that his heart rate did not match his emotions made it clear to her that he was under the influence of a narcotic. The scent she detected made her believe that it might be marijuana, and it intrigued her how it had affected his inner systems in such a way.

Knowing that he was still watching, she turned around, and walked back up to him.

"Could I have a joint?" Viper asked, and was completely astounded by his reply.

"But it's my last one," he told her as his eyes fell to the ground, while his hands searched his pockets to validate to himself that it was still there.

Surely, it provided her with information regarding its effects on someone, but she still desired it for a later purpose, so she opened her eyes, removed her shades, and pulled no punches as she smiled up at him.

"I'll kiss you," she pouted, and he almost convulsed as he pulled it from his pocket in somewhat less than perfect condition, "if you'll just let me have it."

For an instant, he completely forgot about what she was asking of him, and all he understood was the kissing part, but then it came back to him.

"Okay," he said with a stoned smile as he stared down at her, and handed her the joint.

Without ever unlocking her eyes from his, she accepted it, and then placed her hand behind his head before pulling his lips to her own. It was not a passionate kiss, though slightly prolonged, like one that you would expect from a kissing booth at a charity event, but it would be the highlight of his school year.

Once again, he uttered that incredibly sophisticated word, which means far more to some people, than it does to the rest of the world.

"Whoa!"

"See you around, handsome," she added to the situation, slightly satisfied by the fact that his heart rate was now a slave to her, rather than the drug, and she allowed her hand to slide gently across his cheek as she turned to walk away.

She did not hear him utter the word again, until she was a good quarter of a mile away. She knew that he had lost sight of her quite some time before that, yet still he stood there, and said it again, before turning away to continuing on the path that he had long forgotten about.

Suddenly, Viper felt something else that she had never experienced before, and it was guilt. Sure, she had felt it in other ways, but now she felt it about Charlie, because it would have broken his heart had he known that she had kissed another man, even though it was to serve a higher purpose.

She walked only a short while before determining that she would never kiss another man as long as Charlie still lived, and this brought some contentment to her confused heart.

He was such a kind sort, and not like the others that were involved in her programming. He was sweet and naive, and although she was not as naive as he was, she could still relate to him.

The way that she could see his fear and insecurities when he looked at her, made her understand his innocence, and she began to long for him. He was the best man that she had met, and she had met many of them now that she freely roamed about.

"
I do love you, Charlie,
" she thought to herself, before another man offered to carry her bag.

"No thank you," Viper replied without ever smiling, or turning her head. "I think I've got it."

Certainly, she could hear him stop, and look back at her, but it did not flatter her at this moment. Her mind was on her love, and she understood more than anyone, how complicated the situation was.

Finally she reached her destination, which was a sports bar with a dance floor upstairs, and according to the position of the sun, which she did not need opened eyes to calculate, it was somewhere between thirty-one and thirty-four minutes after four o'clock. This, she had figured, was a perfect time to enter.

As she had assumed, there were some young, college men there, and although they had not seen her enter, the electromagnetic waves that her brain produced involuntarily, caused many of them to sense her presence unwittingly.

The bar was at the far end, and the large duffle bag did nothing to lessen her sensual sway as she made her way there. She reached out to touch things as she passed them by, giving many the impression that she might be blind.

Along the way, all of the men noticed her, as well as a businesswoman with her red hair pulled tightly back, and Viper found her heartbeat and the change in her breathing, to be most intriguing.

It was not at all like the changes that occur in men when they first see her, like that of Pavlov's dogs. Instead, it was more like Schrodinger's cat, who was always calm, and uncertain of the outcome, while always wishing to live.

This truly sparked Viper's curiosity, and she wished that she could explore such a phenomenon more intently, yet it did not fit the strategy that was well developed within her calculating mind. It was a young man that she required for everything to happen perfectly as planned.

She had barely set the bag beside one of the stools, before a man offered to buy her a drink, not even giving her time to sit down. She had heard him approaching the moment that he stood up, but his scent made him an unlikely mark. It told her that he was a man that could handle his alcohol, and she was looking for the exact opposite.

"Perhaps later," Viper told him with a smile, and then sat down, and looked away.

She could feel how this disheartened and embarrassed him, both at the same time, and it made her feel bad, but he was not a part of her strategy. He would have to simply get over it, because now was not the right time for her to make him feel better.

"I'll have a Long Island," she told the barmaid as she approached, and as the woman turned to fix her drink, Viper turned, and blinked her eyes open once more, before turning back away in her bar stool.

All of the men still stared at her, yet she could sense their fear after watching how she had rejected the first man, but the redhead in the navy blue skirt suit had a sense of hopefulness developing within her.

Although most of them were college males, the two that sat off to the side seemed the most promising. They had expressions that were a bit more shy than the rest, and they were not drinking whiskey, or beer. Instead, they had colorful drinks in front of them, and the fact that they seemed to be studying more than just her, made it obvious that they were the ones that she was looking for.

"Here you go," the barmaid told her as she set the drink on the hardwood, but when Viper offered a twenty-dollar bill, the young lady continued.

"The boss said that this one is on the house," she continued with a smile, but Viper could also detect the disgust within her voice. It made sense, because she could also detect the change in the vitals of a man who had been watching her from the end of the bar, and she determined that he ran the place.

"That's just fine," she returned as she placed the bill on the bar, "but I assume that tipping is still acceptable."

At this, Viper instantly found favor within the woman who had found a reason to despise her only a moment ago, and it made both of them feel better.

Now she had to continue what she had come here for, so she took the drink, and turned in her stool, before grabbing up her bag, and walking over to the two young men that she had targeted. They were both naive according to what she felt from them, yet that was the point.

She opened her eyes as she approached them, understanding that the scene, in no way, would give away her location, which had only made them an even more perfect mark. It tickled her the way that they had become nervous, yet unable to look away as she neared them.

One had light brown hair that was styled in a way that made it obvious that he did not know how to style it, with its medium length. The other had dark hair, cut in a way that was simply simple. Both of them were clueless.

She had also heard one of them speak to the other when she had first entered, and knew that his name was Greg, but despite this, she would approach as though knowing nothing at all.

They both sat next to each other, while slightly apart, studying as they had been flipping through papers that they had spread out across the table. It made her smile as she watched them stack them up neatly when they noticed her coming their way.

Placing the bag beneath the table, she sat down across from them, and uttered words that they would have normally heard only in their dreams.

"If you party with me," Viper said with great charm and a slight tilt of her head as she smiled, "I will let you take me somewhere afterward."

"Yes, ma'am," Greg managed to reply, while the other had something to say as well.

"She was talking to me," he told his friend, as he playfully socked him in the arm.

"I was talking to both of you," she explained as she removed the sunglasses, while looking past them both, to continue the ruse that she was blind. "I am new here, and I just want to have a good time."

At this, the two young men just about did what was unthinkable, though it was not entirely their own fault. She was completely in control of their hormones, and they had no defense against it. To say the least, they both felt it deeply within their most instinctual parts.

"Will you party with me then?" she continued as she placed the sunglasses back upon her face, and closed her eyes once more.

"Yeah," they both said immediately, before slugging each other in the arm, but before either of them could speak again, she had something else to add.

"You have to drink at my pace," Viper explained with a devil's expression, "or I'll just find someone else."

Two young men sat there confused by the reality that they found themselves in, while each of them thought that they were the lucky one.

"Okay," one of them finally said, finding courage as he bottomed up his daiquiri.

Turning to motion for the waitress, Viper then turned back, and placed all of her money on the table. The two young gentlemen, however, would have nothing to do with that, and they both insisted upon paying.

It took them both by surprise when she ordered five shots of Southern Comfort for each of them, yet they both still wanted to impress her.

"Don't be afraid now," she teased, which only made them more complacent.

"I'm not afraid," Greg managed to reply as he sat up in his chair, believing that he actually had a chance, considering the fact that she appeared to be disabled.

"And what is your name, handsome?" she then asked of his friend, which seemed to totally break Greg's heart.

"Andrew," he replied with a smile, feeling that he might be the one that she desired, while neither of them realized that she was playing them both.

Soon, the waitress began to set the shots upon the table, without ever placing them in front of anyone in particular. She would leave that up to the patrons, while Viper showed her gratitude by slipping a twenty into her apron.

The redhead, however, was still watching, and Viper knew this. She had determined that she was not a threat, but it was a distraction nonetheless, so she sought a way to include her within the strategy that she had calculated.

"Bottom's up," she declared as she drank the first shot, and they both followed her lead, but neither of them did so gracefully.

"One more time," she said with a smile before tipping the second shot, and like lost puppies, they did the same.

As if this was not enough, she tempted them in a way that is both kind and cruel to any man.

"When you finish the rest," she told them in a teasing tone, "I'll kiss a girl."

They quickly began to down the shots, yet she kept a pace ahead of them, for her body worked too efficiently to ever feel the effects of the alcohol, and she had given them more than enough to get the ball rolling.