Assassin Affairs Read online

  Assassin

  Affairs

  The Willful Women Assassins Series

  A novel by

  R. S. Smith

  Copyright © 2013 All Rights Reserved

  This novel is a work of adult fiction intended for those age eighteen and older, and is a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual individuals or events is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part in any form.

  Preface

  When Renée's lover is tortured to death, she seeks revenge. As an experienced New York City hit-woman, she has an advantage. Along her journey, she not only gets retribution, but also finds new romance with a handsome detective. Renée uses her femme fatale nature to not merely lure in men, but women as well. She hooks-up with an assortment of other willful young ladies, a collection of great characters, women who are not always what they seem, developing the group into a team of female assassin-mercenaries. They may be demure and innocent-looking, but in reality, feisty and lethal.

  Several twenty-year-old family mysteries/secrets get revealed and resolved as the reader follows the group on their missions and through their unusual personal relationships over a multi-year period, with an engaging combination of political and sexual intrigue. Intended for the adult reader, some parts are of a bisexual or lesbian nature, with elements of domination and submission.

  Renée's Revenge – A young woman seeks revenge and finds romance along the way. Page 5

  Colorado Cabin - A high school senior is abducted by a man with a history of sexual deviancy. A team of three mercenaries is on their way to rescue her, two women and a man, with some deviant ideas of their own. Page 57

  Awkward Accommodations – A middle-aged mom with an inactive sex-life becomes obligated to seduce a younger mercenary-assassin couple. Before the night is over, things become even more awkward for her. There is also a hit contract put out for an entire family. Page 96

  Tasting Testing - The reader gets introduced to a new sex-party theme. A hit contract gets executed. Page 136

  Thailand Terror - The girls go to Asia, where their adventures continue, with a surprise ending. Page 172

  Lethal Liaisons - Two look-alike sisters grow up in the country's heartland. Starting out with normal careers, they evolve into assassins destined to meet Renée. Page 206

  Lethal Ladies – The Colorado cabin is revisited, another victim is rescued, and a second tasting testing is instigated. Page 270

  Fatal Ascension - A senior female special agent ascends to CIA Director, and later maneuvers her way into the VP slot. Page 323

  Conclusion – Page 369

  Cast of Main Characters

  Renée – assassin, alpha-female, femme fatale, NYC mob

  Danny – small city detective, ex-Special Forces, assassin

  Laura – Leading west coast assassin

  Joanna Jennings – major movie star

  Jessica Jennings – Joanna's daughter, kidnap victim, assassin

  Ashley – assassin

  Julie – prisoner, assassin

  Karlee – assassin

  Kristie – assassin, Karlee's sister

  Kacey – assassin, Karlee and Kristie's youngest sister.

  Briana – willing sex slave

  Pepper Preston – CIA agent, CIA Director, Vice President, assassin

  Sanford McGillicuddy – Renée's dad

  Samantha and Dex Douglas – Married, CIA agents

  Chapter One

  Renée's

  Revenge

  The state-of-the-art surveillance system had gotten a clear image of the young woman, even though the narrow passageway had been dimly lit. As she had passed by a window, the glow from the city lights had revealed her short, reddish-brown hair and petite frame, and had also reflected off the long, silver barrel of her pistol. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, and her steely eyes showed a determined intensity.

  The man who had lived at the end of the hallway had been found dead, and although this woman had become the prime suspect for obvious reasons, he had been known to have a notorious background with numerous enemies, many from the New York area.

  Danny Danvers was single and one of the city's younger detectives. He had been working the case for over a year. In fact, it had been his first one since being promoted to the position. He worked in a small Arizona border city and his department had a small budget. His training had been minimal and his follow-through on procedures was often laughable. He had bagged-and-tagged a beer bottle left at the scene, but neglected to ever turn it in to his boss. A smudge of lipstick adorned its top. He wondered if the young woman had stayed to celebrate her kill.

  His boss, Captain Jennifer Mahoney, had been on his case for more years than he'd been on the murder case. Having worked together in one capacity or another for more than five years, their relationship had become more like brother-sister than boss-subordinate, and there was a bit of sibling rivalry. She was a willful woman who had clawed her way to the top of the department and took no grief from anyone. Raised by her single mother, she had never seen the need for men in her life, but wanted to have a baby. Age forty had come and passed her by much more quickly than she had ever expected, and she felt that the time for such a blessing in her life was running short.

  Danny had come to feel a peculiar attraction to the mysterious young woman in the video image. She had become a person-of-interest in a subsequent half-dozen unsolved murder cases in other areas, but this particular still-shot taken from the video was the only one of her face that the cameras had ever captured. He felt mesmerized by the photo and looked at it almost daily. He

  was in the process of having an enlargement made to put on his bedroom wall.

  “Danvers, stop staring at that photo and start solving these cases!” shouted his boss.

  “Yeah, yeah, you know I'm working on them. I just can't help but wonder what's behind those cold eyes. I'm willing to bet there was a lot of warmth there at one time.”

  “Well, get your hand out of your pants and go do some investigating. That's what you're being paid to do.”

  “Excuse me? You can't talk to me like that; it's sexual harassment,” he retorted.

  “You don't want to start a pissing contest with me, detective. I've got enough on you to get you fired anytime I so please. Now give me the updates on these other cases.”

  Two Years Earlier

  Renée looked down into the eyes of her long-time significant other, Chris, kneeling on one knee in front of her, diamond ring in hand. They had been serious throughout their school years and had had the usual trials and tribulations that most couples do. Each time there had been a problem, it had only served to bring them closer.

  She was an aspiring writer; Chris was involved with smuggling guns across the Mexican border. Renée had been struggling to get her work noticed. She knew she was good, but only half the agents she had approached even responded. The other half could not be bothered to even read her material. Chris feigned encouragement, but claimed to prefer living the real action rather than to see the fictional stuff and had never even read one of her stories.

  Chris dealt with gun cartels coordinated by a Mexican crime lord, bringing in weaponry with a group across that boundary and into the greater New York area. An increasing number of the nefarious characters they encountered spoke with Arabic accents, and it was becoming increasingly clear there was possible involvement with terrorist cells.

  The couple was now seated in a crowded restaurant and everyone was looking at them, waiting with bated breath to hear her response. The room grew so still that even the waitstaff had stopped in their tracks. This was the moment Renée had been waiting so long for, but now she hes
itated. Across the room, someone attempted to resume a conversation and was immediately hushed by all the others.

  Her past life began passing before her just as she'd heard happens to people having a near-death experience. Then questions raced through her mind. What other encounters had she missed out on due to this relationship? What new experiences and adventures might a marriage prevent? Might there be a better soulmate out there somewhere? Was she mature enough to settle down? Was Chris? Would she end up spending her days doing laundry, cleaning and cooking? As she focused more on the negative possibilities for the first time, she began to feel both horrified and panicked. She couldn't say 'no', but she wasn't ready to say 'yes'. She was not one to run away from something, so she did the next best thing a woman can do. She began to cry.

  Present Day

  Danny's boss was in one of her many foul moods as she came in and threw her keys down on the desk. “Danvers, give me some good news.”

  “The sun came up this morning, God is in his heaven, and all is well.”

  “Don't be cute. Why don't you show a little initiative once in a while? You need to spend more time in the field.”

  “I would if you could afford to hire someone to stay here and answer the phones. How about letting me run up to Phoenix and play with their up-to-date resources?”

  “Maybe that would get the mayor off my back,” she said. “Okay, go see what you can come up with. Take your girlfriend's photo with you.”

  A few hours later he sat with one of the older, more seasoned Phoenix detectives.

  “Did you ever try facial-recognition software?” he asked Danvers.

  “No, I thought that stuff was just science fiction.”

  “You small-town boys gotta get more in the loop, junior.” He scanned the photo into his computer. “Didn't you ever mention this photo to the detectives handling cases in the other cities?”

  “No.”

  “You'd never survive as a detective here, son. Can you say 'incompetent'? You mentioned New York connections. Let's check their DMV and see what happens.”

  Before they could finish their coffee, a little bell rang and an image of a driver's license filled the large computer screen. It was the only hit that the system got, but the photos weren't an exact match. Her name was listed as Renée. The address was in Manhattan.

  “Oh my gosh!” blurted Danny. “I can't believe it!”

  “I'm sending this file to our boys in New York who will bring this young lady in for questioning. You'll probably get credit for this collar, kid,” said the annoyed, older man.

  Danny didn't often have a chance to enjoy the benefits of big city life, so chose to celebrate his victory by stopping at one of the Phoenix strip bars. It was morning by the time he returned home and had a chance to break the good news to his boss.

  “I already heard, Danny. I spoke with the Phoenix office last night. They seem to think we're a bunch of ignorant fools here. Thanks a lot!”

  “Well, you could have suggested I try that. I'm not taking all the blame,” he said.

  “I'll just write it off to your PTSD. The bad news is that your girlfriend Renée slipped away. She was mysteriously alerted to her impending apprehension and escaped just as the officers arrived. From what I hear, there was quite an exciting chase. She must have friends in high places, Danny.”

  “What do you mean, boss lady?”

  “Somebody told her they were coming. It had to come from someone connected with the NYPD. I bet by now she has all the same info as they do.”

  “So?”

  “The images weren't a close enough match to mean anything in court according to the NYPD. She's been on their radar as a person-of-interest for months, but there's never been enough to nail her. If it is her, she's gotten more professional with each hit. Her only mistakes may have been with the case we have. They suspect she may come here to make sure there are no more loose ends.”

  “Oh, I can't see that happening,” he said.

  “I looked through your desk to see if there might be anything pertinent,” said the captain. “You really need to get organized one of these days, Danvers. You're the biggest slob I know. You got anything you're keeping at home?”

  “Um, no. Why would I do that?”

  “Because you're obsessed and obsessed people do weird things.”

  “I am not obsessed.”

  “Rumor has it you had her photo enlarged. Where is it? I bet it's on your wall at home,” she challenged. “That's obsessed, kid.”

  After he returned home for the night, Danny dug the old beer bottle out from where he'd stashed it. He didn't know why he'd kept it, but he had. As he gave it the once-over, he noticed that not only was there the remnant of some lipstick, there was also a fingerprint smudge. He set it aside, drank a few beers of his own, and climbed into bed.

  It was shortly before dawn when something pressing against his neck awoke him.

  “Keep quiet, honey,” a soft, female voice whispered.

  Groggy and unable to see much in the darkened bedroom, he asked “Who are you? What do you want? I don't have anything worth stealing.”

  “That's debatable, young sir. I wasn't planning on waking you, but there's just too much stuff sitting out here in the open to ignore. I need to find out what else you may have hidden away.”

  “Oh my God! You're her!” he exclaimed as he tried to sit up.

  “Easy, cowboy,” she said, pushing the pistol more firmly against his neck. “This gun has a silencer on it, so no one will hear if I decide to shoot you, and don't think for a second that I won't!”

  “Okay, okay, please don't shoot me, miss.”

  “First, tell me what's with that large photo of me on your bedroom wall.”

  “The eyes.”

  “What?”

  “Your eyes in the photo; I have trouble taking mine off them. They seem so cold, but I told my boss I bet they were warm at one time.”

  She held up the bagged beer bottle. “What's with this?”

  “Take it. No one else knows about it,” he said with a nervous tremble in his voice.

  “Get up!” she ordered.

  “I'm not wearing any clothes, miss.”

  She once again pressed the silencer more firmly against his throat. “Never again make me repeat myself,” she whispered threateningly. “Get! Up!”

  The young investigator pushed aside his covers and slowly rose to his feet. Renée switched on the bedroom light. “Now show me where you've hidden the other evidence,” she requested, admiring his well-toned physique with a wry smirk.

  “There's isn't anything else, here or at the office. I'd tell you if there were, Renée.”

  The naked detective spent the next hour tossing his apartment to prove it while she held him at gunpoint. They spoke as he rummaged the place.

  “So what's a nice girl like you doing with an occupation like this?”

  “Not that it's any of your business, but I was almost engaged at one time. My lover Chris was a smuggler who pissed off the wrong group and was tortured and killed by a gun cartel of ten people. So far, I've caught-up to seven and it ended badly for them.”

  “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” he said.

  “Less talk, more searching. You sure fit the stereotype of a small-town cop. I found your gun on the dresser and it wasn't even loaded. There aren't even any bullets that I could find, but I bet you have one in a pocket somewhere,” she said mockingly.

  “You're predictable, you know. That can be a hazard in your line of work. My boss told me that you would be coming.”

  “I bet that was her outside.”

  “What?!”

  “Someone was staking out your place; dirty blonde, fortyish, medium build, driving a black SUV. I had to take her out.”

  “You killed her?!”

  “No, but she'll be waking up with a headache.”

  “It won't take long for those cartel members to find you now that your identity has surfaced. I'm sure they'r
e as tied into the NYPD as you are.”

  “You shouldn’t be worrying about me, handsome. You're the one whose life is most in danger at the moment. Besides, I have friends who watch out for me. I do a lot of contract work for them on the side. It's expensive living in Manhattan and a girl's gotta make ends meet. What about photos? Where are the pictures taken at the crime scene?”

  “I never had those. The department photographer kept 'em until your trail crossed statelines and the FBI took our files.”

  “Wasn't this bottle in the photos? Won't questions be asked of its whereabouts?”

  “I took it before the photographer got there.”

  “Why?”

  “I dunno exactly, but after I saw that photo of you, I knew I had to get to know you. You should consider relocating here with me. Maybe I could help you with your quest. This is the last place anyone would consider looking for you.”

  “Forget about it. You're so not my type. My guy will be well-dressed and a man of action. He'll be a Versace and Gucci kind of guy, not an uncouth yokel like you.”

  “You're good with a gun, and word has it good at daring escapes. What else can you do?” Danny asked.

  “Enough talk. You clearly don't have anything else. I need to decide what to do with you before I go. No one else has ever had a photo of me hanging on their wall before, so maybe I'll show mercy.”