Forced to Change Ch. 11

The Chevy Blazer pulled to a silent stop in front of a cabin. I was lifted to Jared's shoulder as he carried me like a sack of potatoes from the car. One arm held my legs, the other his gun. He took the steps easily, shouldering my weight as if I were nothing. I remained passive and quiet as he followed Darkie up the porch steps. Darkie opened the door and turned back toward us, gun raised. I was flung across the threshold and into him.

Darkie dropped his gun as he caught me. I have to say I was glad for his quick reflexes as we tumbled to the floor. I landed on my left side facing the doorway with him on top of me. All the air left my lungs and I grunted beneath his bulk. I tried to scramble away from the pending fight but Jared was on us, halting my escape. Somewhere across the room, I heard the sound of hands clapping, immediately followed by a soft double thud, then Darkie went limp.

Jared moved in a blur of speed. Before I knew exactly what was happening or could catch my breath I was pushed across the polished wooden flooring. I caught a glimpse of a dark figure behind a post in the empty room. Jared's body blocked my view. He was between me and the wall. He'd somehow managed to pull Darkie with him and was using Darkie's bulk as a shield. Jared's arm was raised, pointing off to the side in the direction of the silhouette standing in the shadows.

Gun fights always seemed so intense in the movies, like they have their own rules. I knew nothing about guns except that if Harry Potter or Voldemort had used a gun, that story would have ended with book one. I knew about physical fights from my self-defense classes. They were all about the body. The movements of the muscles, and the eyes shifting right, left, up, down. If my hands were free I could do more to protect myself. They weren't, though, and the best I could do was crawl away.

Despite feeling like a useless player, I was grateful for Jared's presence. I had no idea why he was doing what he was doing, but I knew that his body was between mine and the other gunman's. Jared had promised not to hurt me. He'd also promised to protect me and I was grateful for that promise, no matter how unlikely his ability to keep it.

I crawled along the wall on my knees and twisted my body around until I was sitting with my back against the stone fireplace. This took me out of the line of fire for the other gunman. I could still see Jared as he used Darkie to cover himself. Jared didn't have a clear shot because the other man was hidden behind a support beam.

"Carter," Jared said, his voice steady and light.

"Yes. Is it Jared these days?" The voice came from behind the support beam.

"Jared is fine. Why do you want to kill me?" said the-man-whose-name-could-be-Jared-but-not-likely.

"Who said that was my goal?" Carter answered.

"CJ caught my bullet. Let's not play games. You've wanted me dead for a while now." I could see Jared's breath as he spoke, the room was so cold. I assumed CJ was the name of the guy I'd thought of as Darkie in my head all night.

"He could have been my target."

They spoke casually, as if they were old friends sharing a pitcher of beer in a bar, not two men with guns trained on one another.

"You and I know if CJ were your target you would have just said so. You said 'could have been,' which means he wasn't." Jared's voice dropped a level and fingers of ice raced up and down my spine.

"There is another person in the room besides you."

"True, but we both know if she were your target, it's still me." What the hell did that mean? I scrunched down, praying that I wouldn't be noticed by either of them as I assessed my chances of making it to the door.

"You're slipping. She distracted you."

Jared's eyes darted to me for a nanosecond, then they returned to Carter almost too quickly for anyone to notice.

"You're unfocused. Sloppy. You're getting soft. She's a problem."

"What's it to you?" Jared said. His hand dipped lower as if his arm were tired. Not good, I thought. "I've killed everyone you've ever told me to without question."

"That's not true. Her..." Carter started.

"No, Carter. They're all dead. Everyone you've ever told me to kill."

"Not true. I distinctly remember asking you to kill her. Yet somehow there she is." Carter's voice was still in the friend zone. He laughed. "Are you still trying to sell your betrayal to me even now?"

"I didn't betray you." The playfulness was gone from Jared's voice as if it had never been there. "You set me up. Was it the money?"

"That's not the job. You're supposed to be a killer, my assassin. There is no blame here, not if you were doing your job."

"I didn't want to believe...you've lost it," Jared said firmly. "Even before Cantana."

"It's you. You! If you'd just...It doesn't matter, not now. I've got a job to finish. You had your chance. If you'd just done what you were supposed to do, everything would have been fine. But you trusted him over me. You owed me this. You owed me your loyalty. She's just an assignment."

"I trusted you. Blindly," Jared said. Instead of rising in anger his voice went lower, colder. "But he was right."

"Don't judge me. You're off the rails. Not me! Don't pretend you haven't killed hundreds. That's the fact that you want to suddenly make go away. I trained you to be perfect. I've never seen better. I've worked with a lot of assassins, but you, you have this pureness that's beautiful. You kill without thought, without feeling. You weren't supposed to care." Carter stepped forward, looking nothing like I'd imagined. He was short and bald, barely over a hundred pounds. His voice was the biggest thing about him. Well, that and the gun in his hands.

"Be my creation, Jared. Right now. If you kill her we can both walk away from this. It'll prove your loyalty to me. The money is unbelievable and I'll forgive the lie." Carter paused for a heart-pounding minute as Jared stayed frozen, not moving a muscle.

"See, you are the one who has lost it. What is it? Do you think she could ever care about you? Is that what you're thinking? Is that why you betrayed me? Is she why?" Carter smirked.

"No, she doesn't matter. You're wrong," Jared whispered.

"Don't be stupid. Think with your head for once. The one above your neck. Think! You should know why she has to die. And if you can't do it, I will. Do you think I want to kill you? I trained you."

"You tortured me," Jared said. He shook his head as if waking from a dream. The silence in the room was long and I tried to be as invisible as I felt.

"Semantics. I trained you. I did it for your own good. I made you reach your full potential. I've invested a lot in you. Why would I want to kill you?" Carter took another step to the side, his gun still pointed at Jared. "You're an animal. A killer. It's the very definition of you. You haven't changed. Don't you see that? You can't be anything other than what you are. You're still a killer. You know the only way to end all of this is to kill her. It's who you are. You know that I'm right. It's what you are. No matter what..."

"Agreed." Jared cut off Carter suddenly.

"Yes, that's my boy. I'll forget the client. Kill her. Do it now and we both walk away." Carter smiled and took another step forward with complete confidence.

"Agreed," Jared said. He stood up with his gun still pointed in Carter's direction. His head turned and he met my eyes. Something passed between us as I held my breath. His blue eyes pleaded with me to trust him even if his words said he was going to kill me. I don't know why but I trusted him even as his gun swung in my direction.

"Yes. Kill her. Do it for me," the troll-man encouraged him.

"Agreed." Jared repeated the one word and faced him. Carter's attention was completely on me. He peered at me, his beady eyes gleaming with certainty.

"Agreed," Jared said again. In the same breath his arm swung back and he pulled the trigger, shooting Carter twice between the eyes.

Carter returned fire as Jared squeezed the trigger, but his bullet hit the still-bleeding Darkie in the foot. Carter jerked backward from a third shot to his chest and dropped to the floor. Everything seemed to happen in the same second. I let out my breath in a rush of dazed relief.