I looked at myself in the mirror. I smiled at myself. It looked fake. I smiled bigger. Okay, now that was terrifying. I smiled with my lips closed. Now, I looked like I didn't have teeth.
Great!
I decided immediately: dating was hard.
I had already tried on 4 different dresses, and none of them looked right. I had worn them all before, but today, none of them looked right. I ended up with the blue dress I was wearing the day Clem asked to sit next to me while I read. I must have been looking good for him to make the effort on that day.
I tried smiling again. No good, still looked fake.
Why was I trying to date anyway? It was just too dangerous. I am not your typical girl, after all. How would I keep Clem from finding out about what I really was? How would I not...?
Knock, knock, knock!
I threw my hair up in a ponytail, and ran down stairs to answer the door. I looked through the peephole. It was George, Clem's friend from Chicago. He had been very nice to me at the Flower Shop. No reason not to answer the door.
I opened the door. "Hi, George," I said. "How are you?"
George smiled. "I am well, Caroline. I was wondering if you would like to come back to Chicago with Clem and I. We're leaving in 30 minutes. I think the boss would really like you. Plus, you already know about the flower thing, so Clem wouldn't have to teach you. So, whatdaya say?"
I thought about it. Clem had told me nothing about going back to Chicago at 5. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to meet me at Marcie's at 6-ish. "Um... George," I began, "Clem didn't tell me we were going to Chicago this morning at the coffee house. When did this new arrangement come up?"
"Oh, at around 9:30," George answered honestly. "I did not go to the coffee house today."
"I see," I answered, thinking about exactly what George had in mind if I said no. "Why don't you come in? I baked some cookies yesterday, and I bet you would love to have some before we all go to Chicago." I opened the door wide.
"Oh, that sounds great!" George answered excitedly. "I love cookies. What kind did you make?"
"Chocolate chip," I answered, leading George to the kitchen. "They were my uncle's favorite."
George stopped, and looked at his watch. "It's 4:45, Caroline. I think we have to go now. I don't want the boss to be angry." He grabbed my arm with his hand.
I took a deep breath. "What happens if Clem or I say no?" I asked, quietly.
"Well," George continued honestly. "Then I bring your bodies back to Chicago."
"That's what I thought," I responded, twisting in George's grip, and quickly breaking his arm. George cried out in shock, but was quickly quiet, because I had a piano wire around his throat. I looked at my watch. George began twitching. I grabbed his head in both hands, and twisted with exactly x pounds of pressure.
Snap!
George was dead. I heard footsteps coming up the sidewalk to my front door. Why had George touched me with his hands!? I hid the piano wire, curled into a ball near the body, and began to cry.
It was Mr. Golden and Clem. I continued crying, because it wasn't just Mr. Golden. I really didn't want Clem's first impression of me to be...
Clem walked over to the body. He checked for a pulse, and immediately noticed George's neck was broken. Clem looked at Mr. Golden with a quizzical look, then he looked at me.
Mr. Golden smiled at Clem, and Clem said, with an air of surprise, "I'll go get my stuff," and walked back out to the car.
As soon as Clem was gone, I immediately stopped crying. "So, how'd I do?" I asked Mr. Golden, not moving from my position on the floor.
Mr. Golden inspected the kill. He smiled at me. "Very clean," he said. "Clem will have to remove the slight impressions on the wall from where you braced yourself for the use of the piano wire, but other than that, it is very clean. Nice work, Waters."
I smiled back at him. Mr. Golden was the only one who understood about the hands. This was the first time it had been useful. Perhaps with Clem in town, more trained killers would come to my doorstep. That would be fun! "Thank you, sir," I said. "Does Clem know?"
Clem was in the doorway. Shit! He had a big black duffle bag, and was wearing latex gloves. Maybe he and Mr. Golden had talked...
Mr. Golden smiled at me. "Clem is very used to this sort of thing," he said, helping me stand. "He used to perform this service all the time for George. He is very good at it. I am sorry we were late. Clem was very nervous about your abilities, so I had him drink some tea before we arrived."
Clem immediately went to work, wrapping George in a bag, and carrying the body into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him.
"I don't know how long he takes to clean," Mr. Golden said, thoughtfully. "Perhaps we should call Marcie and cancel? Then, we can go talk at my apartment. I am certain there is much Clem would like explained after this being your first date."
Clem poked his head out of the bathroom. He had a mask on, which he pushed up onto his forehead to talk. "I won't be long," he said, "but I would like an explanation rather than more coffee, if that is okay with you, Caroline."
I nodded. Clem looked at Mr. Golden, "Then, please, sir, call Marcie and give her our regrets." He pulled the mask back down over his nose and mouth, and closed the door to the bathroom.
I handed Mr. Golden my cell phone, which he immediately dialed Marcie. He told her he had fallen at work, and Clem and I were going to keep him company tonight and make sure he was all right. I could hear the worry in Marcie's voice over the phone, as Mr. Golden reassured her he was fine. I felt bad that he had to lie, but we really couldn't tell her what was actually going on.
Clem came out of the bathroom 20 minutes later. He had his duffle bag, but no remnant of George, whatsoever. "It's done," he said. "May he rest in peace."
"Clem," Mr. Golden said, obviously impressed, "that was fast! How...?"
"Various chemical compounds of my own design," Clem responded, taking off his gloves, and placing them in one of his jacket pockets. "We can talk more about this over dinner. Caroline, are you hurt in any way?"
This was a surprise for me. I looked at Clem quizzically. He was worried about me. It was strange, but sweet, I suppose. I assumed Mr. Golden had told him to get rid of the body as soon as they arrived, but I was not used to any man caring about how I was in earnest.
"I'm just fine," I replied. "Do you need to clean the scuff marks off the walls, like Mr. Golden said?"
Clem looked embarrassed. "Yes," he said sheepishly. "I'll get right on that." He removed a little spray bottle from his duffle bag, and quickly made my walls look like I had never used them to strangle a very tall man. "All better," he said with a smile. "Anything else, Mr. Golden?" he asked.
Mr. Golden opened the door to the bathroom, and realized that whatever chemicals Clem had used were now odorless. I peeked in over his shoulder. My bathroom had never been THAT clean, but I suppose that may be a benefit of having Clem around. "It looks perfect, Clem," Mr. Golden said. "Very nice job. May we use your car to get back to my apartment?"
"Of course," Clem said. "Caroline, do you need to change before we go? Did you get any genetic material on your dress?"
I double blinked. This had been Clem's job in Chicago. He was completely unfazed by my being a killer. This was... this was... AWESOME!
"I don't think so," I responded, trying to contain my excitement, "but this is only my second kill, so you may as well check before we go..."
Clem looked at me in the eyes, making sure I was okay with that proposition. He put on a fresh pair of latex gloves, took out a funny pair of glasses, and began going over my dress and skin. He only touched my dress, so it was okay. Him being so very businesslike about it helped too. My response to hands wasn't triggered, which was great, because I really liked Clem. I didn't want to kill him.
When he was finished, he took off the funny glasses, and the latex gloves. "You did a very nice job," he said. "I only found a few hairs, which I can dissolve when I get rid of the gloves at home. Clean kills like this are unusual for someone with such little experience."
"She's a natural!" Mr. Golden beamed. "Let's go have dinner. We can talk more freely in my apartment."
Clem put the funny glasses back in the duffle bag, and zipped the used gloves and hairs into a special baggie, which also went into the duffle bag. He stood, duffle bag in hand, and offered me the other. I looked at his hand like it was a piranha.
"I wouldn't do that," Mr. Golden said, taking Clem's empty hand. "Let's go to my apartment. Everything will be explained there."
Clem shrugged, and opened my front door for Mr. Golden and myself. We all walked out to Clem's car, and Clem cleaned any evidence that George had come to my house as we left. He opened the door to the back seat for Mr. Golden and I, closed the door after we entered, walked around the car, got into the driver's seat, closing the door behind him, and asked, "Where to?"
"My apartment is on 1st and Main," Mr. Golden said. "Parking is around the back."
Clem nodded and began to drive. I looked seriously at Mr. Golden. "Is this what you meant by him being a good man? That he can clean up after me?"
Mr. Golden laughed. "That is part of it," he responded after he stopped laughing. "The rest I suppose we will figure out at dinner."
Clem pulled into a parking place behind Mr. Golden's building. Like everything in Nowhere, Mr. Golden's apartment complex was very small. It was one building holding only 6 units. Mr. Golden lived in the second floor unit on the corner of the building on First and Main. I got out of the car, and ran up the steps, like I did most days, up to Mr. Golden's front door. I looked at the peep hole, allowing it to perform its retinal scan to let me in, and the door unlocked, closing behind me. I could hear Mr. Golden programming the scanner to accept Clem's scan out in the hall. I walked into the sitting room, and sat in my favorite chair. It was shaped like a C, and I could curl up into a ball in it, and feel like it was hugging me. This was home.
Mr. Golden and Clem walked in the door a few minutes later. Clem looked at me in my favorite chair, and then looked back at Mr. Golden. Mr. Golden walked into the kitchen to make more tea. Clem followed him, and asked loudly enough that I could hear him perfectly, "So she's your protege? When did you plan on telling me that?"
"I thought this would be a lovely way for you to find out, Clem. Plus, you have aced my assessment of you. Who did you train with in Chicago?"
"Sensei Okamori."
"Excellent, he's one of ours," Mr. Golden said. "That would be how your 'going straight' was possible. I am certain Gen wanted you to join us, and put in for your transfer because you now had adequate experience."
"One of ours?" Clem asked, sounding perturbed. "I, in earnest, wished to go straight. I did not want to be pulled back into a life of crime in a little town like Nowhere. After what happened in Chicago, I am quite finished."
"You performed admirably today. Do you have any intention of exposing Caroline?" Mr. Golden asked with menace in his voice.
"No!" Clem exclaimed shocked at the suggestion. "I would have had to kill George myself, had Caroline not finished him before I got there. I just don't want to do this anymore."
"Tea?" Mr. Golden asked.
Clem took a deep breath loud enough for me to hear.
"Let's go sit in the sitting room with Caroline. We will all be more comfortable in there, and we can have a nice talk so everything is explained," Mr. Golden said, leading Clem back into the sitting room.
Clem sat in the chair across from me. He looked stiff, on edge, and uncomfortable. I felt really bad. He never looked like this in the coffee shop.
"Clem," I began. "I'm really sorry I'm not normal." I looked down into my lap.
I heard Clem sigh. "Caroline, I'm just glad you're alive," he said quietly. "I did not realize Mr. Golden was training you. It makes it easier for you to understand my past this way."
"He didn't, at first," I began. "My uncle... it was an accident."
"She will need your help to clean up that mess," Mr. Golden chipped in, sitting in the rocking chair across from the two of us. "Right now, he's buried under the daisies."
"Was he the one who hurt you?" Clem asked.
"Yes," I said quietly, still not able to look him in the eyes. "That's why I can't stand being touched by hands. He used his hands to hurt me, so when anyone touches me with their hands... well..."
"She becomes the most efficient killing machine I have ever witnessed," Mr. Golden said. "I started training her after the incident with her uncle. I saw she was being abused, which is why I hired her at the flower shop. I wanted to monitor the situation, and if necessary, step in myself. I always told Caroline if she ever needed help, for any reason, to call me, and I would help without judgment. Well, the call came, and when I arrived, Caroline's uncle was very dead. I am not a cleaner, but an assassin, like Caroline, so your expertise will be most useful, if you choose to join us."
"I can help with that, once it's dark. After that, I should probably move on. I really don't want to be involved in crime anymore. I like being alive," Clem said quietly.
"Well, it's not dark yet, and I know you are all hungry," Mr. Golden said, sounding extremely cheery. "Caroline, shall we take the boy to New York for dinner? Or Paris? Or perhaps sushi, in Tokyo? It's your second kill, and you did such a very nice job... Let's celebrate!"
"New York would be great! We can show Clem the base there, and eat pizza!" I exclaimed. "If Clem likes pizza..." I finished more unsure.
Clem shook his head for a minute. "I like pizza, but how in the hell are we getting to New York before dark?"
"Like this," Mr. Golden said, accessing the panel for the time and place shifter on the wall. He input the code for noon, today, New York City, Times Square, and pressed go. The room shifted, and we were all sitting on the sidewalk, in the middle of Times Square, at noon.
Great!
I decided immediately: dating was hard.
I had already tried on 4 different dresses, and none of them looked right. I had worn them all before, but today, none of them looked right. I ended up with the blue dress I was wearing the day Clem asked to sit next to me while I read. I must have been looking good for him to make the effort on that day.
I tried smiling again. No good, still looked fake.
Why was I trying to date anyway? It was just too dangerous. I am not your typical girl, after all. How would I keep Clem from finding out about what I really was? How would I not...?
Knock, knock, knock!
I threw my hair up in a ponytail, and ran down stairs to answer the door. I looked through the peephole. It was George, Clem's friend from Chicago. He had been very nice to me at the Flower Shop. No reason not to answer the door.
I opened the door. "Hi, George," I said. "How are you?"
George smiled. "I am well, Caroline. I was wondering if you would like to come back to Chicago with Clem and I. We're leaving in 30 minutes. I think the boss would really like you. Plus, you already know about the flower thing, so Clem wouldn't have to teach you. So, whatdaya say?"
I thought about it. Clem had told me nothing about going back to Chicago at 5. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to meet me at Marcie's at 6-ish. "Um... George," I began, "Clem didn't tell me we were going to Chicago this morning at the coffee house. When did this new arrangement come up?"
"Oh, at around 9:30," George answered honestly. "I did not go to the coffee house today."
"I see," I answered, thinking about exactly what George had in mind if I said no. "Why don't you come in? I baked some cookies yesterday, and I bet you would love to have some before we all go to Chicago." I opened the door wide.
"Oh, that sounds great!" George answered excitedly. "I love cookies. What kind did you make?"
"Chocolate chip," I answered, leading George to the kitchen. "They were my uncle's favorite."
George stopped, and looked at his watch. "It's 4:45, Caroline. I think we have to go now. I don't want the boss to be angry." He grabbed my arm with his hand.
I took a deep breath. "What happens if Clem or I say no?" I asked, quietly.
"Well," George continued honestly. "Then I bring your bodies back to Chicago."
"That's what I thought," I responded, twisting in George's grip, and quickly breaking his arm. George cried out in shock, but was quickly quiet, because I had a piano wire around his throat. I looked at my watch. George began twitching. I grabbed his head in both hands, and twisted with exactly x pounds of pressure.
Snap!
George was dead. I heard footsteps coming up the sidewalk to my front door. Why had George touched me with his hands!? I hid the piano wire, curled into a ball near the body, and began to cry.
It was Mr. Golden and Clem. I continued crying, because it wasn't just Mr. Golden. I really didn't want Clem's first impression of me to be...
Clem walked over to the body. He checked for a pulse, and immediately noticed George's neck was broken. Clem looked at Mr. Golden with a quizzical look, then he looked at me.
Mr. Golden smiled at Clem, and Clem said, with an air of surprise, "I'll go get my stuff," and walked back out to the car.
As soon as Clem was gone, I immediately stopped crying. "So, how'd I do?" I asked Mr. Golden, not moving from my position on the floor.
Mr. Golden inspected the kill. He smiled at me. "Very clean," he said. "Clem will have to remove the slight impressions on the wall from where you braced yourself for the use of the piano wire, but other than that, it is very clean. Nice work, Waters."
I smiled back at him. Mr. Golden was the only one who understood about the hands. This was the first time it had been useful. Perhaps with Clem in town, more trained killers would come to my doorstep. That would be fun! "Thank you, sir," I said. "Does Clem know?"
Clem was in the doorway. Shit! He had a big black duffle bag, and was wearing latex gloves. Maybe he and Mr. Golden had talked...
Mr. Golden smiled at me. "Clem is very used to this sort of thing," he said, helping me stand. "He used to perform this service all the time for George. He is very good at it. I am sorry we were late. Clem was very nervous about your abilities, so I had him drink some tea before we arrived."
Clem immediately went to work, wrapping George in a bag, and carrying the body into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him.
"I don't know how long he takes to clean," Mr. Golden said, thoughtfully. "Perhaps we should call Marcie and cancel? Then, we can go talk at my apartment. I am certain there is much Clem would like explained after this being your first date."
Clem poked his head out of the bathroom. He had a mask on, which he pushed up onto his forehead to talk. "I won't be long," he said, "but I would like an explanation rather than more coffee, if that is okay with you, Caroline."
I nodded. Clem looked at Mr. Golden, "Then, please, sir, call Marcie and give her our regrets." He pulled the mask back down over his nose and mouth, and closed the door to the bathroom.
I handed Mr. Golden my cell phone, which he immediately dialed Marcie. He told her he had fallen at work, and Clem and I were going to keep him company tonight and make sure he was all right. I could hear the worry in Marcie's voice over the phone, as Mr. Golden reassured her he was fine. I felt bad that he had to lie, but we really couldn't tell her what was actually going on.
Clem came out of the bathroom 20 minutes later. He had his duffle bag, but no remnant of George, whatsoever. "It's done," he said. "May he rest in peace."
"Clem," Mr. Golden said, obviously impressed, "that was fast! How...?"
"Various chemical compounds of my own design," Clem responded, taking off his gloves, and placing them in one of his jacket pockets. "We can talk more about this over dinner. Caroline, are you hurt in any way?"
"I'm just fine," I replied. "Do you need to clean the scuff marks off the walls, like Mr. Golden said?"
Clem looked embarrassed. "Yes," he said sheepishly. "I'll get right on that." He removed a little spray bottle from his duffle bag, and quickly made my walls look like I had never used them to strangle a very tall man. "All better," he said with a smile. "Anything else, Mr. Golden?" he asked.
Mr. Golden opened the door to the bathroom, and realized that whatever chemicals Clem had used were now odorless. I peeked in over his shoulder. My bathroom had never been THAT clean, but I suppose that may be a benefit of having Clem around. "It looks perfect, Clem," Mr. Golden said. "Very nice job. May we use your car to get back to my apartment?"
"Of course," Clem said. "Caroline, do you need to change before we go? Did you get any genetic material on your dress?"
I double blinked. This had been Clem's job in Chicago. He was completely unfazed by my being a killer. This was... this was... AWESOME!
"I don't think so," I responded, trying to contain my excitement, "but this is only my second kill, so you may as well check before we go..."
Clem looked at me in the eyes, making sure I was okay with that proposition. He put on a fresh pair of latex gloves, took out a funny pair of glasses, and began going over my dress and skin. He only touched my dress, so it was okay. Him being so very businesslike about it helped too. My response to hands wasn't triggered, which was great, because I really liked Clem. I didn't want to kill him.
When he was finished, he took off the funny glasses, and the latex gloves. "You did a very nice job," he said. "I only found a few hairs, which I can dissolve when I get rid of the gloves at home. Clean kills like this are unusual for someone with such little experience."
"She's a natural!" Mr. Golden beamed. "Let's go have dinner. We can talk more freely in my apartment."
Clem put the funny glasses back in the duffle bag, and zipped the used gloves and hairs into a special baggie, which also went into the duffle bag. He stood, duffle bag in hand, and offered me the other. I looked at his hand like it was a piranha.
"I wouldn't do that," Mr. Golden said, taking Clem's empty hand. "Let's go to my apartment. Everything will be explained there."
Clem shrugged, and opened my front door for Mr. Golden and myself. We all walked out to Clem's car, and Clem cleaned any evidence that George had come to my house as we left. He opened the door to the back seat for Mr. Golden and I, closed the door after we entered, walked around the car, got into the driver's seat, closing the door behind him, and asked, "Where to?"
"My apartment is on 1st and Main," Mr. Golden said. "Parking is around the back."
Clem nodded and began to drive. I looked seriously at Mr. Golden. "Is this what you meant by him being a good man? That he can clean up after me?"
Mr. Golden laughed. "That is part of it," he responded after he stopped laughing. "The rest I suppose we will figure out at dinner."
Clem pulled into a parking place behind Mr. Golden's building. Like everything in Nowhere, Mr. Golden's apartment complex was very small. It was one building holding only 6 units. Mr. Golden lived in the second floor unit on the corner of the building on First and Main. I got out of the car, and ran up the steps, like I did most days, up to Mr. Golden's front door. I looked at the peep hole, allowing it to perform its retinal scan to let me in, and the door unlocked, closing behind me. I could hear Mr. Golden programming the scanner to accept Clem's scan out in the hall. I walked into the sitting room, and sat in my favorite chair. It was shaped like a C, and I could curl up into a ball in it, and feel like it was hugging me. This was home.
Mr. Golden and Clem walked in the door a few minutes later. Clem looked at me in my favorite chair, and then looked back at Mr. Golden. Mr. Golden walked into the kitchen to make more tea. Clem followed him, and asked loudly enough that I could hear him perfectly, "So she's your protege? When did you plan on telling me that?"
"I thought this would be a lovely way for you to find out, Clem. Plus, you have aced my assessment of you. Who did you train with in Chicago?"
"Sensei Okamori."
"Excellent, he's one of ours," Mr. Golden said. "That would be how your 'going straight' was possible. I am certain Gen wanted you to join us, and put in for your transfer because you now had adequate experience."
"One of ours?" Clem asked, sounding perturbed. "I, in earnest, wished to go straight. I did not want to be pulled back into a life of crime in a little town like Nowhere. After what happened in Chicago, I am quite finished."
"You performed admirably today. Do you have any intention of exposing Caroline?" Mr. Golden asked with menace in his voice.
"No!" Clem exclaimed shocked at the suggestion. "I would have had to kill George myself, had Caroline not finished him before I got there. I just don't want to do this anymore."
"Tea?" Mr. Golden asked.
Clem took a deep breath loud enough for me to hear.
"Let's go sit in the sitting room with Caroline. We will all be more comfortable in there, and we can have a nice talk so everything is explained," Mr. Golden said, leading Clem back into the sitting room.
Clem sat in the chair across from me. He looked stiff, on edge, and uncomfortable. I felt really bad. He never looked like this in the coffee shop.
"Clem," I began. "I'm really sorry I'm not normal." I looked down into my lap.
I heard Clem sigh. "Caroline, I'm just glad you're alive," he said quietly. "I did not realize Mr. Golden was training you. It makes it easier for you to understand my past this way."
"He didn't, at first," I began. "My uncle... it was an accident."
"She will need your help to clean up that mess," Mr. Golden chipped in, sitting in the rocking chair across from the two of us. "Right now, he's buried under the daisies."
"Was he the one who hurt you?" Clem asked.
"Yes," I said quietly, still not able to look him in the eyes. "That's why I can't stand being touched by hands. He used his hands to hurt me, so when anyone touches me with their hands... well..."
"She becomes the most efficient killing machine I have ever witnessed," Mr. Golden said. "I started training her after the incident with her uncle. I saw she was being abused, which is why I hired her at the flower shop. I wanted to monitor the situation, and if necessary, step in myself. I always told Caroline if she ever needed help, for any reason, to call me, and I would help without judgment. Well, the call came, and when I arrived, Caroline's uncle was very dead. I am not a cleaner, but an assassin, like Caroline, so your expertise will be most useful, if you choose to join us."
"I can help with that, once it's dark. After that, I should probably move on. I really don't want to be involved in crime anymore. I like being alive," Clem said quietly.
"Well, it's not dark yet, and I know you are all hungry," Mr. Golden said, sounding extremely cheery. "Caroline, shall we take the boy to New York for dinner? Or Paris? Or perhaps sushi, in Tokyo? It's your second kill, and you did such a very nice job... Let's celebrate!"
"New York would be great! We can show Clem the base there, and eat pizza!" I exclaimed. "If Clem likes pizza..." I finished more unsure.
Clem shook his head for a minute. "I like pizza, but how in the hell are we getting to New York before dark?"
"Like this," Mr. Golden said, accessing the panel for the time and place shifter on the wall. He input the code for noon, today, New York City, Times Square, and pressed go. The room shifted, and we were all sitting on the sidewalk, in the middle of Times Square, at noon.
 |
| A screenshot of a Caroline custom miniature from HeroForge.com |
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