She

Preparation Is Key To Survival

The darkness enveloped her and steadily begun to fill her lungs. Her hands at her throat as she tried to breathe and every gasp for breath was harder than the last. The dark oozed out of her pores like liquid death. Her body became limp as thoughts of surrendering to the black death flooded her mind. It solidified around her body, seemingly stopping any thought or struggle. Suddenly a spark of light pierced the darkness and a picture of the little girl flashed before her. It broke through the darkness that encapsulated her piece by piece. Sharon opened her eyes, once again in a panic, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. All the memories came flying back and she knew what she had to do.

#

            Bashakin woke up to the sound of rustling in his room beyond his wall. An intruder, some brave soul wanted to die, he thought to himself. He slipped out of the bed and to the door. He reached to open the door but hesitated, someone this bold would have to be thorough and cannot be working alone. Instead, he decided to see where this someone would lead him.

He saw a slither of a body moving around the other side of his bed in the dimly lit room. The wild hair was the first thing he recognized as the head popped up from under the bed and made it to the other side of the room. The dirty red streaks screamed against his shiny jet-black hair and the platinum blond tips fought for your eye's attention. Toby, he whispered to the air. The air shimmered around Toby as he moved about the room indicating his attempt to conceal his presence. He searched through drawers and closets while Bashakin watched. Finally, he found what he was looking for a box in the back of the fourth closet next to the window. Toby peeked into the box and slinked out of the room. Bashakin came out of the room making sure to create a double layer barrier only a few of the strongest leaders could detect or even create. He followed Toby out into the hallway from a safe distance and into another part of the building. Toby stopped at a supply closet labeled 9G and touched four points on the door and slid what he was holding through the door. He looked around once and walked around the corner. Bashakin waited for a while to see if there was any more activity at the door. When he was sure there was no one there he pulled a tiny camera from his pocket and placed it in the top corner of the wall facing the door. Then he went to the door hit the four points on the door and placed a camera in the corner. After looking around once more he went back to his room to meditate on what he just witnessed.

Walking around his room aimlessly, Bashakin was lost deep in his thoughts. Suddenly he stopped at the closet where Toby found the box and looked inside. A tingle went down his spine as he realized what was missing from his closet. His prototype of a new biodegradable wristlet, that was no doubt weaponizable in the right hands, as well as his crystal, was gone. This wasn’t going to be good but at least they didn’t find the blueprint, so it was going to take a while to figure it out. In the meantime, he would figure out what was going on in the Boss’ blind spot. Someone else was trying to exploit a flaw in the boss and he would find out who and why.

#

            Galiech stood outside the closed door for a moment, considering his next step just in case things didn’t work out. He would have to do it on his own and hope that they understood it was for their benefit. He cautiously opened the door to his room expecting a surprise attack but instead found her staring out the window. He called out to her, but she didn’t move, respond, or even flinch. Galiech took a deep breath, walked over to the desk, and sat down. “I am going to show you a little faith and untie you, and I expect you to show the same faith that what I am doing is all for you,” He told her. Her back stiffened in defiance but he continued. “I am still the same Uncle G that you were so happy to see some hours ago. Do you remember the conversation we had in the kitchen, well I still mean every word of it, but I need you to have a little faith and a little patience” He pleaded with her? She relaxed only slightly and whispered okay. Galiech walked over to her and warily untied her. He stepped back not knowing if she would attack or not. When he was sure that she wasn’t going to attack, he went into the duffel bag and grabbed some clothes. He placed the clothes on the bed. “These are for you. Get cleaned up, change, and get some rest. I am going to get some food and don’t try to leave I am locking the door,” he said and held out a small device in his hand. Galiech left the room and placed the device on the top corner of the door. Before walking down the hall, he stopped at Sharon’s door and listened. He didn’t hear anything and figured she knocked out from the injection, so he decided he would check on her when he came back.

#

The little girl continued to stare out the window for a little while longer after Galiech left. Suddenly, she got up pushed the chair under the door handle and the table behind the chair. Then she grabbed the clothes on the bed, went into the bathroom, locked the door and got in the shower. She couldn’t hold it any longer and finally let the tears fall until she was clutching her chest. When she finally stopped crying, she started to plan drawing on every bit of information Sharon had poured into her since she could remember. When Galiech gets back things will be on my term she thought to herself.

As quickly as she could, she got dressed and went through the duffel bag sorting through what she could use. Her lucky day, there was a computer in the room and that she could work with. She worked with the utmost seriousness of someone twice her age as she powered on and set up the room and electronics to the best of her know how. She had just put the finishing touches on the room when there was a knock at the door.

#

Galiech made his way to the car and drove straight to Pat’s Diner. If there was one thing that he could always count on it was Pat’s Diner. The food was as greasy as the regulars and the information flows like coffee...if you know where to look. He sat at the booth by the middle window facing the back of the diner and stared out the window. Arlene, the waitress walked over to him and nodded. “So, what you having today?” She asked never taking her eye off her pad. “The second and third specials of the day with a black coffee five sugars.” He replied, his gaze never straying from the window. “Someone’s got a bit of a sweet tooth” She replied with a raised eyebrow. “Only for you Arlene” He retorted back with a smirk. She left the table with a grin and went into the kitchen. She continued to walk past the chef and into a back room where a list of orders was hanging up as if for a line cook. She stuck his order up on the line and said to the room this one is on the double, then left the room. She went back to the front and continued with her regulars for another forty-five minutes. In the meantime, he had also ordered a few burgers, fries, and soda to go. Then a blue order paper appeared on the string of orders. The waitress plucked the paper off the line and the plate underneath it and brought it to him. Galiech slipped the blue paper into his pocket and proceeded to sip his coffee while taking bites of the toast on the plate. After a few minutes, he took an envelope from under the plate of toast and left the diner. He went straight to his car, pulled out the parking lot, and drove around the corner. He parked and read the blue order paper and envelope that he had gotten from the diner. He put everything back in the glove compartment and headed back to the motel.

#

Sharon unpacked her bag in the bed and accounted for every item she had down to the bullets. She committed everything to memory and repacked the bag. Her next steps would be crucial since she was now a ghost trying to protect two of the most important people to her. The counting had steadied and cleared her mind. She made something to eat since this was probably going to be her last for a while. Sharon sat at the table facing the window and ate. Just as she finished, she heard knocking at the door next to hers. She thought it was strange, so she looked through the peephole. Hoping to see Galiech, she felt dread as she saw the side profile of an H man. They hadn't planned for another to check in again soon. With Galiech out, they would take advantage and grab the little girl now. By simply cutting out the middleman they could kill three birds with one stone as the saying almost goes. Especially since Galiech already “killed” her, he had no more dire information for them. Sharon only hesitated for a millisecond and opened the door. Taking advantage of the momentary shock and disbelief that held him still, she grabbed him and dragged him into the room. She swung her arm around and put him in a chokehold on the floor. She held on tight until his body went limp. She dragged him into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. She tied it around the outside door and put up a do not disturb sign. She tidied up the room once more and walked out the door.

#

The little girl stared at the door waiting for another knock on the door. When it didn’t, she pressed her ear to the door and heard a low thud. “Did Sharon finally come for her?” she thought to herself. A heart had a flutter of hope and she opened the door slightly. She found nothing. Still hoping she stuck her head out a little to catch a glimpse of a person turning the corner. She closed the door and slid to the floor as her heart sank once more. She let the tears flow this one more time before she found Sharon, she promised herself.

#

Galiech arrived at the hotel with just a little more hope than when he left. He walked in and spotted Sharon by the back stairs leading to an exit. He immediately detoured towards her and closed the door behind him when he reached her. “What's going on, you're early?” he asked her. 

“There's an issue that pushed up the timeline” she replied flatly. 

“So, you remember, huh?” he inquired. 

She smirked “Yeah, I'll thank you when we make it” 

“I'll hold you to it,” he said as he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. 

“When did you get so dramatic” she asked playfully. 

He smirked “So where are we?” 

Her facial expression turned serious “Code Burgundy”. 

His face fell “Alright, I'm on it.” He turned around and she left. He looked back one more time and shook his head. Turning back around he walked back up to his floor. Before he could open the door, he noticed the do not disturb sign on the door. He hesitated and reached for the door. But he quickly pulled back and open the door to his room. He walked right into the little girl, nearly toppling over her. Her tear stained face revealed only a moment of vulnerability before it turned defiant once more. That one glimpse instantly broke his heart and he had to catch himself physically and mentally. In the midst of her defiance she saw his face flicker with deep sadness and for a moment a flicker of hope started to build.

Galiech cleared his throat and laid the food on the bed for her and turned on the television. He went and sat at the table reading the envelope once more while the little girl cleaned off her face in the bathroom. when she got settled on the bed, he let her know that he would be back and walked out the room. Now that Galiech had her settled; he went into the room that Sharon had left using a master key. If there was one thing that Galiech hated, it was to be locked out, so he always had a key whether it was physical or digital. He entered the room and quickly shut the door behind him. It was completely clean, and nothing was out of place except for a washcloth on the door. First, he went into the closet and peeled off a false liner off the back of the door. It was paper-thin, and it hid several tools secretly embedded into the door. He took two pills and a few tools out, then replaced the lining on the door very carefully. After double-checking his work, he proceeded into the bathroom to address the limp body on the floor. Galiech worked quickly undressing the man to his boxers and propping him on the toilet seat. Galiech placed the two pills in the man’s mouth and placed a device over the man's nose causing him to swallow. Before he left, he found the guys phone and cloned it to another device, while putting a bug on the original. When he reached the front door, he checked his watch. “Time to pick up the package.” He said to no one in particular and headed to his car.

#

Sharon waited patiently around the corner in a newly boosted car that she disabled the GPS on, and everything else that could be used to track the car. She waited for a moment before she pulled out and started following Galiech a few cars back. It was about twenty minutes of driving before he exited the main road and headed down a more isolated road. He pulled into a parking lot in front of a regular warehouse. She kept driving out about a mile before she pulled off the road and parked behind some trees. Sharon popped the trunk open, grabbed am empty gas container Sharon hung back a little further as the cars went down the road. Soon Galiech turned off the road and parked in front of a rundown warehouse with a fading sign that said Maury’s Beer Since 1950. Sharon drove right past Galiech and stopped a half-mile and walked back to the warehouse. The walk was short but with every step, it felt like her mind got clearer. She remembered these warehouses were used as points where one in the company could get supplies. Some were more category-specific and others could have just about anything. They were all the same size on the outside but depending on who ran it, the inside could be expansive. She snuck in silently through the back door that was propped open. It was a poorly lit back hallway with old looking lockers. She found Galiech at the last set of lockers watching her make her way through the dark. He took her hand and breathed a sigh of relief. “I'm glad you didn't flinch just now” he whispered. “I'm too experienced to let my emotions betray me” she whispered back. When he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off “Let’s go.” She walked into the staircase next to the locker and went down. They exchanged no words going down and the tension was evident and growing. When she reached the final staircase, he could no longer stop himself from trying to resolve the growing wedge between them. “What was I supposed to do?” he exploded. She glared at him “Let me know!” she retorted before exiting the staircase right into the chest of a very tall and burly man. He wrapped his arms around her, and she smiled. “Gurchlick, have you missed me that much?” She teased before pinching him on the arm. His scowl transformed into an instant grin as he nodded his head. He grunted and drew a line across his neck signaling that he thought she was dead. She shook her head. “That’s only what they want you to believe my darling Grunsch.”

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and squeezed. His face never changed from a scowl as he swung her from side to side. “Why...are...you...trying...to kill…...me?” She managed to say as she felt herself getting overly lightheaded. Instantly he put her down and when she looked up tears brimmed in his eyes, but his scowl never moved. A short laugh burst from her mouth and she shook her head. “You know you have to do something about that scowl baby” She said and grabbed his hand, placing it on her face. “I’m real babycakes and I ain't going anywhere anytime soon, so don’t you worry.” He smiled and stepped to the side letting her pass. “You’re always too sweet suga” she said putting on the extra sass she knew he went crazy for. As Galiech went to follow her in, Grunsch blocked the door and gave him the coldest glare he had. “Okay big guy I get it” Galiech growled and Grunsch moved out the way but never took his eyes off Galiech. “Always an interesting experience” Galiech said while motioning to Grunsch. Sharon rolled her eyes “Come on let’s go” They quickly crossed the dimly lit space that was stacked almost to the ceiling with various boxes and cloth-covered objects hanging on the walls. A small office with a big guy sat in the corner, and when they got within eye distance, he came out to meet them. He grabbed a crate and several smaller packages in plastic and placed it in front of them. Galiech took out the envelope from earlier and handed it to him. “250 Pruncsh”. Pruncsh investigated the envelope and said, “This is the pinnacle of an exemplary business transaction” Galiech shook his head “Thanks man, we are right out back”

Prunsch followed them with packages and crate in tow and packed it into the car. “It is an abounding relief to see you my dear” turning to look at her one more time before he went back into the warehouse.