“Fuck,” she whispered.
Throwing caution to the wind, she got to her feet.Sprinting at top speed, she came from behind the hay bale, running towards him, the weapon prepared.She fired off three rounds, center mass of his chest, knowing the paint balls would hurt.They may have hurt, but they weren’t slowing him down.That much man coming at her full speed had her heart racing, but she didn’t slow her speed, which also surprised him by the look on his face.Quickly, she changed her angle of approach.His size didn’t allow him the maneuverability to change the trajectory he was on.Helen, now at an angle, picked up more speed and charged at Mustang.
She used the entire one hundred and twenty-five pounds, launching her body at him, hitting him in his side and knocking the man off his feet.She tucked her body, rolling across him, bounding to her feet, and firing two more shots, one into his upper thigh, the other to his calf where his boot stopped.
“Ouch!”he yelled.
“Target neutralized,” she said, winking at him.
“Yeah, target is also hurt,” Mustang mewled.“Did I say ouch?”
“Yeah, you did.On your feet, Trooper,” Helen called out, taking off at a trot towards the house.
Her mouth was dry.In her chest, the rapid beating of her heart couldn’t seem to slow down.She didn’t look back but could hear him running behind her.She made it to the office building they had been working on, and she tucked, rolled, and came up alongside the building as if there were combatants on the other side.Mustang arrived and slid up beside her.
“On my count,” she called out as he’d taught her the previous weekend.“Three, two, and move.”
In unison, they moved around the building; she fired high on the target, and he fired low.Satisfied, she stood still looking at her handy work.Her heart rate began to ease off.
“Helen, what do you know that I’m not seeing?”he asked, suddenly feeling a sense of wariness.
“It’s been too quiet,” she replied.“That fax machine hasn’t gone off in nearly two months.That is eerie.Bad men don’t like quiet.”
“You think something is being planned?”
She turned to face him.He was a very handsome man and very rugged.Everything about her husband quickened her heartbeat.However, what she loved most about him was the quiet trust he placed in her instincts.Mustang trusted her.
“Not so much as planned, but openings are available, and out there, a small-time hood is looking to move to a new neighborhood; it is only a matter of time,” she said.
“Speaking of time, our wedding is in two weeks,” he said.“Do you have everything you need?”
She asked, “Pretty much.And Oscar, as the best man and at your bachelor party, does he have everything he needs?”
“Party, at the hotel,” he said.“Apple is working with him, but he did let me know there will be no topless women because, and I quote, ‘Aunt Helen ain’t about that bullshit.’”
“Man, I like that kid,” she said, smiling at him.
He paused.“You look concerned.”
“I am.”
“Any reason why?”
“I asked for this training with you because in my gut, I can feel the wrongness waking up and peeking at me through a half-closed curtain,” she said.“Even Apple said something is off, and it’s not just Kurtzwilde selling off buildings and closing up shop.Swallowtail is also quiet, along with Hornworm.Junkies need a fix.They can’t relinquish that kind of debauchery and funding.There will be a play.”
“A play?”
“Yeah, to take me out of the game, more than likely, and to start up again.The seraphim are quiet as well.I haven’t met them or know who they are, which may work in my favor,” she said, “but it feels off, and something is coming.”
“Let’s hope not,” he said softly, “since we’re getting married.”
“Yep, in two weeks,” she repeated.
She followed him to the workshop to put away the paintball guns.Much of her weaponry had been purchased, and Slow and Cherry had come for a visit the previous weekend, bringing many of the wedding gifts that had arrived at Mark and Ruth’s.They didn’t bring the kids, allowing the four adults to go out for a nice dinner and enjoy the night away.
The following two weeks went smoothly with last-minute bits and pieces being put into play, including finalized menus and seating arrangements.On Thursday, June 12th, Helen loaded a substantial number of items into her personal vehicle, including things she didn’t want to forget, and drove them to her home in Kentucky, just to make sure the wedding dress was at least in the right place, along with the luggage for the honeymoon.She took Cherry to lunch and made it home at the same time her husband arrived.
“Tomorrow, we head to the hotel to get checked in,” he said.“I’m pretty excited about this whole thing.Did you say all The Directions accepted the invite?”
