Plot Twist Challenge: "Cupid's Bullet"-- Hazel West

Cupid’s Bullet

By Hazel B. West

(Plot Twist: Love at first sight—but they’re a killer)

“Large mocha, extra espresso.”

            Those were the first words she said to me. I looked up from the register and she was standing there. It had been a long day, the morning rush was just winding down, but it was still five hours before I could go home, so it seemed like just another slog through the Slough of Despond. Don’t get me wrong, coffee is great, but catering to mostly hipsters all day can be a drag.

            That’s why she was a breath of fresh air.

            “And extra hot,” she said. “None of that tepid coffee. I won’t sue.”

            I grinned despite myself. “Well, it’s no skin off my nose either way,” I told her and cashed her out. “Can I get a name?”

            She smiled but said nothing, only moved on as if she hadn’t heard me. I watched her go over to a table, setting down her laptop bag and setting up, forgetting what I was doing until a soccer mom made a rude comment under her breath and my coworker stomped on my foot.

            “Dude, you’re drooling!” he hissed, and I snapped back to myself, embarrassed.

            To this day, I have no idea what attracted me so suddenly to her. Maybe it was because I could somehow tell that she was going to be the one to save my life.

            Or ruin it, depending on how you liked to look at it.

            I took the soccer mom’s order, and she didn’t tip, obviously, just gave me a dirty look and walked her yoga-panted butt over to plant in front of the pick up counter.

            “Here,” Jordan the barista said, handing me the large mocha. “You should call her over. I took the liberty of writing your number on the cup.”

            “Dude,” I moaned, blushing, but I took the cup, and went over to the pickup counter, glancing in her direction. “Hey, mysterious girl, your coffee’s ready.”

            A small smile quirked her mouth as she stood up, and came over to the counter, practically shoving past soccer mom who gave her a dirty look too, and took the coffee from me, at the same time slipping a ten into my hand.

            “Thanks,” she said.

            “You haven’t even tasted it yet,” I protested.

            “I know it’s good,” she said, her eyes glinting behind her glasses. “If it’s not, I’ll kill you. I have your number after all. It’s not that hard to track a phone’s GPS, so I’ll be able to find you.”

            I chuckled and stared after her again as she sat back down at the tiny corner table and began typing furiously on the laptop.

            I was confused. I had never believed in pure, honest instant chemistry, but now I was converted. How else could I explain it? After all, it wasn’t that she was extremely hot, in fact she was kind of ordinary. Brunet, nondescript clothes, grey eyes, and glasses that were neither nerdy nor hipster. Even her computer was in a plain black skin; of course anyone could obviously tell it was an Apple.

            “What’s her name?” Jordan asked, and I jumped, not having heard him come up behind me to drop off the angry soccer mom’s half-caff, soy latté.

            “I don’t know,” I said.

            “You didn’t ask her?” he groaned, slapping me in the shoulder. “How have I taught you nothing? Okay, if you don’t ask her before she leaves, then I get that tip of yours. I made the coffee after all.”

            I snorted. “Fine.” I could talk to girls.

            I grabbed a cloth and a bottle of disinfectant and went out with the pretense of cleaning off tables.

            My mystery girl was staring intently at the computer, fingers still flying over the keys. I steeled myself, looked back at Jordan who was giving me a thumbs up, and stepped over to the table next to her, wiping it off.

            “So, uh, you in collage or something?” I asked. “Midterms?”

            She barely glanced at me. “No. You just have good wi-fi here.”

            “Oh,” I was falling fast. Instead I panicked. “I’m Wesley.”

            “I know—it’s on your nametag.”

            Okay, so this wasn’t going anywhere. “Typically it’s considered good manners to tell someone your name when they tell you theirs so they are not left at a disadvantage.”

            “Is it?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. “I’m not really good at manners.”

            “I can see that,” I muttered, stepping closer. “You writing a novel here…oh.”

            She closed her laptop but not before I saw a black screen with a lot of green text—the kind you see in spy movies. The kind I’m also pretty sure hackers use.

            She gave me a thin smile. “Is it customary to harass the customers?”

            “Sorry,” I said, and retreated, my mind whirring. I realized I had no idea what to think now. Maybe she was a spy; that would explain her being so tightlipped. Either that or she was just making me feel even more like a fool than I already did for bothering her. I never should have bothered her, it was stupid.

            And yet, I still couldn’t keep me eyes off her for the whole time she was there. She was still there when I left for my shift, but as soon as I was climbing into my car, I saw her exit the café, her laptop bag slung over her shoulder as she crossed to a little 1970s dark blue Beetle. She was on the phone now, and she stopped before she got into the car, talking for a few more seconds, and nodding before she simply turned the phone off, threw it into a trash can and then got into the car and drove away.

            Okay, she was totally a spy. A really cute spy.

            For a very, very brief moment, I thought about following her, but decided I wanted to live, so instead, I just tried not to be weirded out and made my way home. After all, there was probably some very normal explanation for all this. Maybe she was working on code for her company. Maybe she had a boyfriend and she had been so angry talking to him on the phone that she had thrown it away afterward. You never know.

            Of course, you never know how many spies you come across every day either. After all, the only reason you don’t is because their whole thing is kind of keeping hidden.

            I however, did not need this right now. I had to concentrate on making rent and keeping the student debts at bay. Why else was I spending most of my free time making coffee for hipsters and soccer moms?

            If I hadn’t been so distracted, I may have noticed the car following me on the way home. But of course I didn’t. I was too busy thinking about this mystery girl who had completely ruined everything now.

            Home was a tiny apartment that wasn’t much, but it was the cheapest I could find and that was good. And I had room for my movies and books and comics, and a kitchen and plumbing that worked most of the time so it wasn’t that bad. I parked on the street, mooshing my car into a passable parallel park and hopped out to head to my apartment.

            I should probably have been studying, I had a test in two days, and an essay I had to write, but as I sat down, I found that I just couldn’t concentrate on anything. All I could think of was that girl! She was going to drive me crazy!

            Eventually I just gave up. My stomach was grumbling, and I knew that I couldn’t have done any more work even if I tried. Not with my head muddled by my mysterious spy girl and hunger at the same time.

            There was a Chinese place right down the street, which was where I usually went for dinner when I was too lazy to go shopping—and considering the fact that all I had in my kitchen right now was orange juice, individual cheese slices, coffee, and some various condiments, I really should make my way to the store sooner rather than later.

            I grabbed my wallet and my favorite hoodie, knowing it would be a little chilly out now that the sun was down, and headed out.

            The city was always bustling this time of night, people going out for dinner or coming home from work. With the collage nearby, there were always a plethora of young people, even on weeknights, and I saw a few people I recognized just as I was heading to the Chinese place.

            Just as I reached the door, though, I had the weirdest sensation that someone was watching me. I spun around and caught sight of some big dude across the street giving me the eye. I wrinkled my nose, wondering what his problem was. He looked like some thug and I had the weirdest sense of something ominous. I shuddered to myself, remembering how just last week I had seen…well, a lot of things happen in the city, and sadly some of them are pretty horrible. I didn’t want to remember it.

            I swiftly turned and pushed my way into the Chinese place. There were only a couple people there ahead of me, but the owner, a small Chinese man waved and called to me.

            “Hey, Wesley! You want usual tonight?”

            “Yeah, thanks Mr. Wu,” I said with a smile.

            “It will be up soon!”

            I hung back and checked my phone, seeing a text from Jordan asking if I had ever asked the mystery girl’s name and wondering if I was still coming over for video games tomorrow. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. I don’t know if I wanted to know her name. Anyway, whatever she told me, it probably wouldn’t be true anyway. Not if she was a spy.

            “Here, Wesley!” Mr. Wu called, handing me the bag with my takeout.

            “Thanks,” I said, handing him the money and turning to leave. The smell of the food acted like a restorative, and also reminded me how hungry I was.

            I stepped out on the street, planning on booting up Netflix as soon as I got home and trying to veg to get my mind off everything else.

            But as soon as I got onto the street, that guy I had seen earlier was right there, standing a block away from the Chinese shop and still staring at me!

            I tried not to look at him, turning swiftly to head back toward my apartment, planning to cross farther down. I took one cautious look back over my shoulder, and saw that guy walking after me, slowly, but with intent.

            “Crap,” I muttered under my breath. What was this all about? Why were these guys following me?

            I glanced toward my apartment complex, looking to see if I could somehow dash across the street and lose the guy among the traffic, but then I saw another guy over there, standing outside my apartment building!

            “Crap!” I said louder. What was I going to do now? Why was I being followed? I had no idea what was going on and it was going to drive me nuts!

            Actually, who was I kidding? It was going to kill me. They were going to kill me!

            I let out a very unmanly shriek as a hand clutched around my wrist and yanked me through the door to a small bakery I was passing. With shock, I looked over, planning to go down with a fight if nothing else, but I was struck still as I saw my mystery spy girl.

            “Come. Now,” she said firmly, and dragged me straight through to the back of the store, behind the counter and through the kitchen before I could protest.

            She pushed out the back door and continued to drag me through the back ally. That was when I finally got my senses back and I dug my heels in.

            “Wait, wait, hold on just a second,” I said firmly, and she stopped, giving me a longsuffering look. “What the…what is going on?”

            She huffed an impatient breath. “Long story short, you saw something you shouldn’t have, and now you have a target on your back. I’m here to save your life. You’re welcome.”

            “Whoa, hold on—target on my back?” I demanded. “Like, those guys are actually going to kill me?”

            She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Yes.”

            “But, why? What did I see? And why are you the one who is saving me?”

            “You ask too many questions,” she growled, glancing up and down the street before she grabbed my arm again.

            “I don’t even know your name!” I cried in desperation as I stumbled along. I had the thought that I must look utterly ridiculous with my Captain America hoodie and bag of Chinese food dangling from my arm still as I was being dragged along by some mystery spy girl who was supposedly ‘saving’ me.

            “Really, we’re going there again?” she asked with a huff. “Fine, I’m Kate. Happy? Now can I save your life?”

            I didn’t say anything. Kate. Okay, well, at least if nothing else we were somewhat acquainted now.

            That was when she cursed, and hauled me to a stop around a corner.

            “What—” I tried, but she shoved a hand over my mouth and shoved me back against the wall.

            “Stay still,” she said and before I knew what she was doing, she was pulling a freaking gun, with a silencer, out of the back of her jeans.

            “Holy…is that a gun?” I shrieked, as she spun around the corner and there were two whipping shots and the grunt and thud of a heavy body.

            Kate spun back around to me and grabbed hold of my hand. “Hope you can run, because we’re going to need to move fast now.”

            I didn’t have time to reply, as she was already breaking into a full on sprint and hauling me behind her down the alley.

            There was a car parked at the end of it, and she opened the door and shoved me toward it.

            “In,” she commanded and dashed around the other side to the driver’s seat. Keys were in her hand and she turned the car on swiftly.

            I glanced out the window and saw a dark figure running down the alley toward us.

            “Kate!” I cried, pointing.

            “Duck,” she said and I folded in half, hands over my head as she raised the gun and shot through the window into the guy coming at us.

            Glass rained down on me and I nearly slammed my head against the dashboard as she gunned the car down the street.

            I couldn’t believe this was happening. What even was happening? Because, honestly, at that moment, I didn’t really know.

            “Hold on,” Kate said and suddenly the whole car screeched around in a 180 and I looked over to see Kate leaning out the window with her gun. Several more shots and a car that had been racing towards up came to an abrupt halt, two tires blown and the engine block smoking.

            Kate then revered the car down the street at an alarming pace and then turned down another side road and was off to the blaring of several horns.

            It was only when the car screeched to a halt that I realized I was still cowering down in the seat, practically in the footwell of the car. I heard Kate’s door close and then I nearly jumped out of my skin as mine flew open.

            “Come on, quick,” Kate said, grabbing my arm and hauling me out of the car.

            She dragged me into an old parking garage from an abandoned apartment building. She headed straight for a stairwell, but as soon as we got inside I stopped, yanking away from her grip.

            “What is going on?” I demanded, trying to catch my breath and having a difficult time of it. “You just…You just killed those guys!”

            “Yeah, and they would have done that, and worse to you,” she said.

            “Worse?” I demanded. “Who does that? What did I do?!”

            She rolled her eyes and grabbed my shoulder, shoving me onto the foot of the stairs and forcing my head between my knees. “Breathe,” she said in a measured voice.

            I tried to focus on not passing out, staring at my shoes and breathing deeply.

            She waited patiently but finally gripped my shoulder again. “You good now?”

            No, I wanted to say, but I nodded instead and allowed her to pull me up. I followed her up the stairs. Several flights up, we made it to the place that connected to the apartment building and Kate led the way down a deserted hallway and into a room at the end of the hall.

            I looked around as she ushered me inside. It was bare, nothing but a sleeping bag on the floor, several cases and a card table set up with a power supply and a computer.

            Kate went over to one of the cases and flipped it open and my mouth went dry as I saw multiple guns settled inside.

            “Okay, this is ridiculous,” I said. “Why is this happening? Why do those guys want to kill me? I’m just a student! I have a crappy apartment and a worse job, I haven’t done anything to anyone!”

            “No, I know you haven’t,” she said, expertly slamming a clip into the gun she was holding before she glanced over to me. “Does the name Stephanie Alans mean anything to you?”

            My heart suddenly clenched in my chest. “I…that wasn’t me…”

            “But you were there,” Kate said. “You were a witness.”

            I closed my eyes, turning to the side as I pressed my palm to my face. Yeah, I had been there. It had been late, I’d been walking to my car when I heard screaming. I had run to see what was going on, just in time to see a guy smash a girl’s head into the wall of a back ally. Then when he’d seen me, he ran. I’d tried to help the girl, stayed with her until an ambulance had gotten there, but it had already been too late. I’d given my statement to the police and the last I had heard they knew who did it. I had just assumed they had found the guy and put him in custody. I was preparing to be a witness if needed.

            “Okay, but…I don’t get it, who would want to kill me for that?”

            Kate sighed. “The guy who killed that girl was the son of a rich drug lord—except no one is supposed to know he’s a drug lord. Long story short, he’s not going to let his son go down when the police only have the partial description you gave to go on. So instead of risking you going into court to testify and point out his boy, they’d rather take you out and be done with the problem all together.”

            I felt sick. How could I have gotten wrapped up in all of this? How was this possible? My chest was tight, but I forced myself not to have anther panic attack.

            “Okay, oaky, so I get that they would want to kill me for that. But I don’t get you. Who are you? Undercover cop?”

            Kate snorted. “Not quite.”

            “And you killed those guys!”

            “Yeah, that’s what I do,” she said simply, shrugging.

            My eyes blew wide as understanding finally entered my muddled brain. “Wait, hold on, you’re a hitman—er—woman?” I demanded.

            “Sure, you can call it that,” she said, tucking the gun into the back of her jeans.          I suddenly felt cold. I began backing toward the door. “Wait. They didn’t hire you to kill me, did they?”

            Kate rolled her eyes and came over, grabbing my hand and sitting me down against the wall as she sat next to me. “No Wesley, I’m not here to kill you. Look, yes, I am a hitman, but I’m the good guy here. See, first and foremost, I’m a hacker.” I glanced at her computer system and nodded jerkily. “My job is to go after the hitters that go after people like you, who don’t deserve to be killed. Normal civilians who may have done something to seriously tick off important baddies, or others who witness things they shouldn’t.” She snorted. “It happens more than you would expect.”

            I ran a hand over my face. “Okay, but, what I am going to do now? I mean, how do we fix this?”

            “We don’t,” Kate said firmly. “We wait to take out the rest of the men that were sent after you and then we get you out of the country.”

            I balked. “What? I can’t leave the county! I have a life here! School, a job…”

            “You won’t have a life here if you stay very much longer, trust me,” Kate said, then stood again, going over to the window. She cursed under her breath.

            “They’re here. You need to lie low in this room until I take them out.”

            “What? No way!” I said, getting to my feet.

            She cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not just going to dangle you in front of them. Tempting fate is never a solid plan.”

            “Well, I don’t want to stay here like a sitting duck!” I cried.

            The window shattered and Kate flattened herself to the floor as a figure dressed in black hurtled through the window.

            “Gun!” I screamed, jumping to the side as bullets hit the wall directly where I had been standing.

            Kate swept the man’s legs out from under him and leapt to her feet, kicking him in the face. The man grunted, but grabbed her ankle as she went for another kick and twisted, throwing her to the ground.

            “Kate!” I shouted and scrambled to my feet, rushing to help when the man pointed his gun at me again.

            Kate grabbed his arm and yanked it to the side just as he shot off several rounds, then slammed his wrist over her knee. The man grunted and lost the grip on his gun, then slammed his fist into the side of Kate’s head. She went down, and the man sneered, standing over her and reaching for his dropped gun.

            I acted out of instinct. Kate’s gun had slipped from her belt during the fight and was lying among the shattered glass on the floor. Without thinking about what I was doing I leapt forward, snatched it up and shot at the man.

            He looked shocked as holes appeared in his chest and he slumped to the ground.

            Kate was up instantly, kicking his gun away from his hand before she spun around toward me with shock.

            “How…?”

            I shrugged, breathing heavily. “I play a lot of Call of Duty,” I said lamely.

            I was even more shocked when she suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the back of my head and pulled me down into a kiss. I blinked dazedly as she pulled away, retrieving the gun from my hand.

            “I knew you were worth saving,” she said, a small smile on her lips, before she looked past my shoulder, and spun me around behind her as the door was kicked in.

            The man didn’t get far. Kate took him out in an instant, but there was the sound of more running footsteps on the way.

            “We need to go now,” she said and turned to shoot the computer system then snatched the baddie’s gun, shoving it into my hands before she grabbed her gun case. She turned back to me and held out her hand. “Come with me if you want to live,” she said.

            I grinned, all of a sudden giddy, and took her hand.

            She tugged me out the door and down the hall toward the back of the apartment building. There was a shout behind us and Kate spun around to take out the hitman coming up at our backs. Ahead, in the stairwell, another guy popped out and I instinctively aimed and shot. Kate clutched my hand tighter with encouragement and yanked me toward another room.

            This one was near a fire exit and she shot out the window.

            “Go,” she said, shoving me in the back as a figure burst into the room behind us. He shot instantly, but was wide. I gasped as it whipped right by my head. A second one grazed my upper arm, cutting through the layers of shirts and making me cry out suddenly.

            But Kate was already leveling her gun and squeezing off several shots herself. The guy went down with a grunt.

            The place was quiet.

            “That was all of them?” I asked, clutching my arm.

            “For now,” she said. “Long enough for us to get out of here anyway.” She swung herself over the windowsill, and grabbed my hand again. We hurried down the fire escape.

            “How’s the arm?” she asked.

            “I’ll live,” I told her. I didn’t think I would bleed out from it anyway, though it really hurt.

            Once we got back to the street sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance. I didn’t know whether they were there for us or not, but it was probably best to be on the safe side.

            “Here,” Kate said and pulled me in the direction of a classic blue beetle, the one I had seen her in earlier.

            “It’s very you, you know,” I told her as I saw the car.

            She grinned and put the gun case in the backseat. “Thank you.”

            I climbed in and suddenly felt bewildered. I had no idea what was going to happen now.

            “So what now?” I asked. “I mean, I guess I can’t go back home.”

            “Switzerland is nice this time of year,” Kate said.

            My eyes blew wide. “Switzerland?”

            She blinked and I realized she wasn’t joking.

            I swallowed hard. Somehow my life had changed drastically in the matter of twelve hours, and not only because some mob boss had wanted me dead.

            “Okay,” I said slowly. “But only if you come with me.”

            She smiled softly and nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

            I reached over and caught her hand. “I love you,” I said simply.

            “I know,” she replied and we leaned in for another kiss.

            And then she started the car and we were on our way to a brand new adventure.

            Copyright 2018 by Hazel B. West