Price of a Bounty

-Keira-

Ramsey’s Dinner Party



Thursday finally arrived. I dressed as part of the catering staff, wearing the traditional short black skirt over black nylons and a pressed short-sleeved light blue shirt. I tucked my hair up under a blond wig. Although I didn’t think she’d look too closely at the catering staff, I didn’t want Mrs. Ramsey or her butler to recognize me while I was at the party.

As agreed, Eberhardt drove me to the town of Galt. Along the way, he described the layout of the mansion – more information, courtesy of Rick. The most difficult challenge would be climbing the main staircase in the front hall unnoticed. Eberhardt dropped me off a few blocks away from the estate.

As I walked along the main drive, I spotted Ramsey’s chauffeur. I didn’t slow my pace, and he didn’t pay any attention to me as I walked around to the servants’ entrance in back. I entered the kitchen and picked up a tray of hors d’oeuvres before anyone had the chance to notice that I didn’t belong. As I walked through the kitchen toward the party, I palmed a paring knife and slipped it into a pocket of my skirt. I was ever watchful for Elaine Ramsey and her butler.

Some guests had already arrived. They chatted, drank and danced in the ballroom. Many wore military uniforms. Others had the look of Gov officials and other Elite.

I carried a platter of stuffed mushrooms as I made my way through the festive crowd. A few of the men patted my behind with one hand while choosing a mushroom with the other. I imagined Rick would say it was yet another way to keep the Divide strong – a way to degrade the Working Class and keep us in our place.

I noticed the main staircase through an ornate arched doorway and began to meander in that direction but stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned. A man in uniform stared at me. His eyes were the exact same shade as mine, a perfect reflection of my own.

“Scott, what are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’m attending a party. You?”

“I’m working.”

“Oh, no you don’t.”

“She didn’t hold up her end of the bargain,” I whispered.

“Keira,” Scott said quietly, shaking his head. “I can’t let you do this.”

“Yes, you can, Scott. If you knew the whole truth, you’d let me.”

Scott pulled me into a side room. No one noticed or cared. At parties like this, it was not uncommon for guests to sneak off with the help. Scott turned on a small lamp, leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his chest. I set down the tray and looked around. We were in a small library.

“You have five minutes. Convince me.”

“Elaine Ramsey is not to be trusted,” I began.

“Few are. Continue.”

“She knows my real name. She knows we’re related. You could be in danger too.”

“I’m always in danger. Is that why you wanted to see me? Because of what she knows?”

I nodded.

“She’s too influential, and you have other options. You should be avoiding her. You know how to disappear. It’s time to take your losses with this one.”

“No, that’s not how it works. I can’t disappear forever, and with the information she has, I’ll have to do whatever she tells me to. And by threatening my safety, she’ll control you too. I can’t allow that!”

“You know better than that. She already controls me, to some degree. She’s as close to the head-of-command any corporate leader can be.”

“Wait, there’s more. I’m sure you’ve been wondering how Rick and I met. Elaine Ramsey ordered a hit on him, only she didn’t know him by that name.” Now I had Scott’s attention. “She hired me through you to kill one of your friends. Doesn’t that bother you? Then she double-crossed me. That bothers me. Fortunately for all of us, things went wrong. I also called the other day because I wanted to talk with you about the Resistance but not here.”

“No,” he agreed, “not here and not tonight. Rick told you?”

I nodded again. “A little.”

“Does Elaine know anything about that?”

“I don’t think so, but Scott, Elaine Ramsey also murdered Rose Brackaby.”

“Rose Brackaby died in a car accident.”

“A planned accident.”

Scott was pacing now, clearly agitated. “Are you sure about all of this?”

“Absolutely,” I lied.

“What’s your plan?”

“To take her out, of course. She knows too much.”

“Wait. Rick authorized that?”

“Authorized? Not exactly, but he knows I’m here.”

“Just one minute.” Scott pulled out his transceiver and placed a call. I noticed that he kept the vidscreen turned off and didn’t use any names or mention specific places. Rick was likely doing the same on the other end. All Scott said was, “I’m here. What can you tell me about tonight?” He listened intently. “All right.” He disconnected and looked at me. “Get back to work. I’ll distract Ramsey.”

“No Scott, I don’t want you to get involved. I never wanted you to get involved in this.” I shook my head sadly.

“Keira, I was already involved. Now do as I say.”

I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek just as another guest entered with a pretty girl. Scott hurried back to the party, and I slipped down a side corridor. The front hall was mostly deserted, except for the butler who was relaxing in a chair now that most of the guests had arrived. My talk with Scott had taken too long. I waited patiently for a distraction. Soon enough, one of the kitchen staff brought over a plate of food. While they were talking, I began to climb the stairs with my head down. This wasn’t the best opportunity, but unless another guest arrived, it was probably the best I would get.

“Hey!” I heard a voice call. Just then the doorbell rang. Damn, I should have waited, but how was I to know someone would arrive so late? I practically ran up the rest of the stairs, quickly located Elaine Ramsey’s bedroom and turned on a small flashlight.

I’d modified this skirt with pockets in which to carry the tools of my trade. In addition to the flashlight and the knife I’d taken from the kitchen, I carried a thin black cloth bag and my black leather gloves. I pulled on the gloves.

Sorry, no time to enjoy the painting. With one quick glance, I decided that ballet costumes were whimsical but impractical. I wondered if this ballet type of dancing was meant to tell a fairy tale. I hadn’t had much use for fairy tales in my life. I tossed the painting onto the bed and saw the door of the wall safe. This was a much more advanced model than I was used to. As quickly as possible, I entered the code. The safe didn’t open. I punched the “clear” button and tried again. I didn’t hear anyone yet, but I was certain the butler wouldn’t be distracted for long. This time, the safe opened. I emptied the contents into my bag and turned off the flashlight.

As I crouched down, I pocketed the flashlight and pulled out the knife. Would I be able to take out the butler without the element of surprise on my side?

Quiet as a whisper, I moved toward the open bedroom door, slid behind it and set down the bag. A large shape moved into view and turned on the light. His gun was already drawn. He immediately saw the painting on the bed and the open wall safe and pushed against the door to ensure that no one was hiding behind it. I pushed back as hard as I could.

As the door slammed into the butler, I dropped down with as much force as I could muster and stabbed the knife through his foot. He stumbled. A grimace of pain crossed his face. Quickly, he regained his balance and pointed the gun directly at me.

I stood slowly, with my hands out to my sides, my gaze locked with his. I took a step backward.

“Stop!” he ordered. Just then I saw another shadow move behind him in the hall. I dove to the side. A muffled shot sounded, and the butler fell.

“Scott?” I called out. No, it was Eberhardt who reached out and helped me up. “Nice gloves,” I said. They looked just like mine.

“Why did you call for Scott?” he asked.

“Not now. I should have known you wouldn’t wait in the car.”

“You’re welcome. Let’s go!”

“I haven’t finished the job.”

“And you won’t tonight. With him dead, it’s too hot. We need to get out now.”

I sighed and then removed my gloves and shoved them into my pocket. I followed Eberhardt to the front staircase. Fortunately, luck was on our side, for the moment. No one was in the front hall, and no one seemed to have noticed that the butler was missing, yet.

Eberhardt pocketed his gloves and his gun. He pointed toward himself and then to the front door. Then he pointed at me and in the direction of the servants’ entrance. I nodded. Eberhardt must have entered as a guest. I watched as he confidently strode into the night. Then I took a smaller side corridor to the servants’ entrance and successfully bypassed the busy kitchen.

During the drive home, I had time to mull over the events of the evening. Rick shouldn’t have sent in Eberhardt after I had specifically told him not to, but if he hadn’t, I had to admit that I probably would have been captured or worse.

I silently studied Eberhardt.

After a few minutes, he turned in irritation. “What?”

“Thank you.”

“It’s what I do.” He returned his attention to the road.

“Thank you just the same.”

He glanced at me again. “Backup is a good thing, you know.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“I guess.”

“Where did you learn how?”

“How to what?”

“Let’s see.” I began to tick off items on my fingers. “How to infiltrate. How to take out a trained bodyguard without flinching. How to be backup.”

“Oh, that.” His eyes clouded over. “The military.”

“Really? I didn’t think people could leave.”

“They can’t.”

“Rick?”

He looked at me. “Guy.”

“When?”

“Not too long ago. I guess it’s been about a year now.”

“Did you fight in the last war?”

“The one against Mediterra?”

“Yes, the one that caused the Divide. Did you?”

“Yes.”

A thought occurred to me. “Weren’t you afraid you’d be recognized at Ramsey’s party? There were a lot of soldiers there.”

“I didn’t mingle.”

“Oh.” Clearly, this conversation was over.





-Keira-

Scott Was There



When we arrived at Guy’s apartment, he turned off the teleview and stood up.

“It’s not over yet,” I said as I set the bag of gats in the center of the dining table.

“What happened?”

“I got the money and Eberhardt took out the butler, but Ramsey is still alive.”

Guy shot Eberhardt a concerned look.

“Had to.” He shrugged. “She was cornered.”

“I’ll have to go back in a few days to finish the job. I won’t be safe until she’s gone.”

“I still don’t think you should.”

“Obviously, or you would have told Eberhardt to wait in the car like we’d agreed.”

Guy stared at me. “I never agreed to that. Let’s talk about your other options.”

“Scott talked about other options too. What did you say to him?”

“To help you.”

“What does Scott have to do with this job?” Eberhardt asked.

“He was there, at the party,” I said.

“What did he say to you?” Guy asked.

“He said, ‘Don’t do this,’ until I told him she’d hired me to kill you.”

Eberhardt looked at Guy. “Why was he at Ramsey’s party? Did you send him in?”

“No, I already told you. He’s military. He was invited to the party,” I explained. “He’s one of her soldiers.”

Guy spoke so softly I almost missed what he said next. “Keira, Scott’s one of us.”

I pulled out a chair and sat down, completely deflated. I shook my head. “No, he would have told me. And he’s military. Military is loyal to the Gov.”

Guy knelt in front of me. “Keira, people are just people, no matter what their career or social standing may be. Many in the military swear loyalty to the Resistance, even above their loyalty to the Gov.”

I looked at Guy accusingly. “You’re not just a member of the Resistance. Not if you have the authority to send people in.” I emphasized the last part.

He nodded. “You’re right.”

“But you didn’t send Scott in tonight. He was surprised to see me.”

“You’ll find, Keira, that the first rule of the Resistance is secrecy. Secrecy is what keeps people safe. You’ll be given information on a need to know basis only.”

“That’s why Scott never told me? Because you told him to keep it a secret?”

“You really should ask Scott about that.”

“Not all secrets are good, you know. Just think, if you had told Scott about your plans at the Ramsey estate, he wouldn’t have told me she was looking for someone to ‘take care of a problem for her.’”

“He connected you two?”

“Yes.”

Guy stood and quickly turned away so I couldn’t see his expression, but I heard an intake of breath. Then he turned his attention to my black bag and dumped the gats onto the table. He formed three equal piles.

One pile he pushed toward Eberhardt. Guy looked him in the eye and said, “For your family.”

Eberhardt nodded.

He pushed a second pile toward me. “Your payment for a job well done.”

He then indicated the third pile. “For the Resistance.”

I reached out and pushed most of my pile toward Guy. “I’ll just keep enough for living expenses. Use the rest to help someone.”

“You’re certain?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Yes. I may not agree with you all the time, but like I said before, I’m in. I meant that,” I assured him. “Guy?”

“Yes?”

“When we first met, you asked me if you could trust me. The answer is yes, you can.”

“I believe you.” He paused. “Keira…”

“Yes?”

“You can trust me too.”

I got the feeling that Guy wanted to say more, so I waited for a minute. When he didn’t continue, I said, “I’m tired.” I turned my gaze to Eberhardt. “Would you mind driving me home?” We needed to talk.