News NetworkGood Intentions

Good Intentions

The below story is fictional and has not been modified in any way through the editorial process. Any similarities with persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

The plane was moving smoothly through the air as it reached the airport. It decreased its speed and the pilot skillfully lined it up with the runway.

Mina was feeling rested, she had slept for four hours straight since she left the mansion and she felt ready for her assignment.

A week ago she had been chasing a man known as "Le chien d'Argent" which is French for "the silver dog". A name he attained among assassins for being not only violent, but also a noble employee for whoever hired him. He used a silver blade concealed in his wrist watch and he usually killed his victims thrusting the knife to the back of their head.

It was during a surveillance operation in Latvia that she found him and followed him (although she had specific instructions to oversee a deal between a snitch and one of her own) to an abandoned warehouse where she managed to apprehend him during a short fight she made out to win when Le chien tried to stab her and she shot him to save herself. The bullet did not kill him, just gave him a bad enough limp that made Mina's success certain. After being shot in the leg, Le chien tried to escape and Mina subdued him and brought him back to the IEG (International Enforcer Group) base in Latvia, where she found out the place had been raided by an unknown force after the deal she was overseeing went bad and both his contact and partner were killed.

Three days later, back at IEG's high command, his boss Mr. Goldfox debriefed her and she spent the next four days in confinement pending trial for betrayal. Later, she learned Le chien escaped during her imprisonment.

She spent the following three days grieving and blaming herself for the death of his fellow agent and friend, she knew she had acted with supreme carelessness and was getting ready for whatever punishment was coming. Mina knew, like every other agent did, that the IEG treasured loyalty and took pride on their agent's ability to follow orders whatever the cost, a task she had failed miserably.

The fourth day of her tortuous confinement, a strange man demanded to speak to her. Mina knew he had to be very well connected since his wishes were fulfilled in less than an hour, and their meeting did not take place in an interrogation room. A guard escorted her outside the sad and grey building that represented the cell block and led her towards the heliport where a man in a grey suit complete with a tie of the same color and a white shirt was waiting for her. She could not see his face because of the intensity of the sunlight, and the fact that she had been kept in a dark room for the past days.

The helicopter took off and set its course towards the outside of Italy. During the flight not a word was spoken and Mina recognized the attitude of her companions as that of non-government types. Who did they work for? She expected to find out soon.

Once on the ground, Mina found herself surrounded by perfectly trimmed grass and greatly cared gardens. The heliport she had landed on was inside a mansion belonging to someone with great taste in both flowers and architecture.

She was signaled an open door and was instructed to enter the mansion, she did and once through the door, marveled at the beauty of the inside. A large hallway decorated with greek nudes and paintings worthy of the best rooms at the Louvre, followed by a large living room with leather furniture, wooden tables with a golden finish, a fireplace with expert crafts that depicted angels playing their harps. A bookcase with not only fine reading material, but also a deep show of class that welcomed her as she walked towards it to take a closer look. The clear timber floors clacked and Mina looked back, trying to hide the fact that she had been startled.

-I see you are peeking at my collection -said the man as he walked in the direction of Mina.

-Yes, it is quite impressive -she recognized the man from her early trip.

-Forgive the nature of our encounter, I imagine you must have a lot of doubts and I promise to clear them up to the best of my ability.

-What am I doing here? -asked Mina.

-I summoned you here because I need a favor.

-And if I refuse? -she asked to test the man's character.

-I will then take you back to your captors, who will be pleased to know you were found, and will no doubt be pleased to add "fugitive" to your rep sheet -This last statement made Mina understand she was working with a powerful and reckless man, she then knew she had to be careful with her words in their interactions.

-What do you need? -Mina sounded friendlier.

-Ah, that attitude is better; it will certainly lead to our success. The favor I require is a simple one for a woman of your skills. You know the man that was killed back in Latvia? Well, he was very, very close and, while as businessmen we were competitors; one cannot deny the moral obligations that a man is bound by when his brother is killed, even if it happened while he was betraying his family.

-So, you are taking vengeance against all involved in his death?

-Precisely! What else can I do?

-At least I'll die a classier death then -she replied once again observing the man's reaction.

-Ha ha ha, rest assured I am not planning on killing you, no. While those close minded fools back at the IEG cannot see past what they consider a betrayal on your part, I have a wider gaze, and a more prepared team. What happened to you was a perfectly executed plan. A plan that saw all his participants playing their roles to the letter: My brother was supposed to meet with your partner, give him documents about my smuggling operations and your agent would give him the money in exchange. You would look after the safekeeping of your objectives to later return safely to your people with enough information to take me to a hole deeper than the one you were in this morning.

That plan would have worked perfectly if it weren't for one simple detail: It was a decoy designed by my competitors, and what a plan! -his eyes filled with anger.

-So, we were all carrying out the roles assigned to us without knowing it. Your brother betrayed you, set up a date with us to facilitate the information we needed. I was sent to look upon the deal and everything was set up like a dream for your competitors to make their move. They distract me with D'Argent knowing I considered him to be a better objective. Without the overseer they kill your brother and steal the data, kill our agent to steal the money and I am brought down for the whole deal. Le chien escapes but not after feeding the IEG false information that I was part of the plan, and you and I are the only ones who lose. -Mina looked out the window trying to control the sudden rush of rage that overcame her.

-That's precisely why I know you will accept my proposal -said the man with a smile on his lightly creased face.

-You want to take them down.

-Exactly, and who better to pull the trigger than the woman whom they played to achieve their goals. I provide the logistics and equipment and you administer the coup de grace.

-Count on me -Mina had a cold and determined look on her face.

-Very well, we'll discuss the plan after you get some rest, some food, and the comforts that have been denied to you lately.

-Thank you.

-Don't mention it, by the way, we haven't been properly introduced, Mina, I am Mr. Conti -he shook her hand and then left without saying anything else.

Mina was still replaying in her mind the conversation when an old butler dressed with a white jacket and shirt; white pants and black shiny shoes interrupted her thoughts and took her to one of the rooms upstairs.

-Please call me if you need anything miss, there's a button by the nightstand -the butler seemed a really patient man--. I can arrange something for you to eat if you like, miss.

-That would be great -said Mina with a warm tone of voice.

-What would you like? -he asked respectfully.

-Let's make it something exquisite and nutritious.

-Certainly, miss -he replied knowing he had to do his best to guess the lady's tastes.

The butler left the room, closing the door behind him and Mina was left alone. The bedroom she was in had the same floors as the living room, but this time, they were partially covered by expensive rugs. A little desk, this one slightly modern than all the other furniture had resting on top of it a black dress, a pair of shoes pantyhose and lingerie, all tailored to adjust perfectly to her body. She smiled as she noticed this; it let her know Mr. Conti was resourceful and gave her faith in the mission she was entrusted to carry out.

The bathroom was just as fancy as the room, with hundreds of hygiene products, from creams and shampoos to delicate perfume bottles. Mina looked at herself in the mirror and squinted her eyes at her current unrespectable reflection.

She took her clothes off and took a long, hot shower; carefully washed her hair and stood under the water for about ten minutes before she got out. Once out of the shower she looked in the mirror again and smiled, afterwards, she put on a bathrobe and walked back to the bedroom. In her line of work she was used to being in unusual circumstances, so she knew lying down with wet hair wouldn't affect at all her health. She laid down on the bed and fell asleep quickly under the soft sheets.

A loud knock on her door abruptly interrupted her sleep; she looked at the clock on top of the desk and realized she had only slept for forty minutes. She got up and opened the door.

-Excuse me miss, the food is ready -the butler said.

-I'll be right down.

Knowing she could not rest anymore at the moment, she closed the door and got dressed. Her clothes felt particularly comfortable, perhaps because of the fabrics and care with which they were made, or perhaps it was because she had spent four days wearing something really close to cardboard, she could not make up her mind.

She came down and was greeted by a fruit salad, with a delicious sour topping and grilled salmon with lemon cream sauce which she ate delighted and after she was done, she gave her compliments to the old man, whom she was sure was both butler and cook.

Mr. Conti approached silently the dining room with two glasses of whisky, he handed one to Mina and raised his in a silent gesture indicating the girl she should drink it.

They talked for the rest of the day and part of the night about their revenge. They made plans, prepared her equipment and all the necessary items for their success. Mina was pleased to work with someone as logical as her, back at the IEG the only time she got to pitch in an idea over the tactical situation of an operation was out in the field after someone had made a mistake she needed to correct.

After she geared up and got all the details of her mission she boarded a plane towards Norway, her targets were sure to be there since Le chien's contact, a Mr. Larik owned a house near the beach, where he could rest knowing his security team would handle any threats before they could even get a clear view of his home.

Her objectives were simple, though not pleasant; she had to kill both Mr. Larik and D'Argent, destroy the documents they had on Mr. Conti and come back to his home, where he would be waiting with a man bearing enough influence to give her back her status as an IEG operative.

Both Mr. Conti and she decided it would be best to plant evidence on Mr. Larik's house that indicated he was actually working for his brother, the failure in Latvia would have happened anyway; and Mina had discovered it and tried to stop it before it was too late. They knew that kind of story would help them both and they would just need to make sure the agents who later searched the house came across said documents that were of course as fake as a two-heart ace.

At the airport, she retrieved her bag, thankful for the rest she had gotten on the plane and she headed outside. She knew she had to get close enough to Larik's house exactly at nightfall so her approach could be imperceptible.

Mina instructed a driver at the gates to take her to the beach, the sun was still bright but she wanted to have time to set up her equipment and get psychologically ready for her mission, after all, any assignment is hard, but it turns even harder when emotions are involved, she needed a few moments to convince herself to act professionally and become emotionally detached.

At her destination she paid the driver and gave him extra money to buy his silence, he was pleased with the surprise income and agreed to keep his mouth shut.

Mina hid from sight, as the sun began his dance that gave way to the moon, and undressed, opened her suitcase, emptied it's contents on the sand and dressed up with a pair of black pants, black boots, a black turtle neck, gloves and a hat to keep her blonde hair in place. She took the rest of her equipment up from the sand: a cell phone, a small GPS unit that could give her live images, a gun with a silencer attached and a pair of goggles.

She waited for the night to completely cover the land and began her approach, the GPS indicated her of any guards that were nearby and she subdued them one by one, careful that she was not seen.

Close to the main entrance, one of the guards spotted her and attacked her with a knife, Mina jumped on top of him and choked him until he was unconscious, then she added the knife to her equipment.

Once inside the house she heard a conversation coming from one of the rooms "Probably an office" she thought. The conversation kept on going as she walked closer to the door, hugging the wall. She stopped right next to it and put on the goggles, pressed a button and a small light appeared on the right lens; that function allowed Mina to see through the wall with a thermal scan.

In the room there were two men, one standing, and the other one sitting behind a desk; Mina watched them as she waited for the right moment to make her move.

Her goggles began to fail as the whole room seemed to be getting hotter. Something was happening inside but Mina did not realize what it was until it was too late. A loud explosion was heard and the doors next to her flew in a violent fashion; this prompted her to cover herself and fall to the ground, blinded by the strong light emitted by the goggles due to the excess heat.

She gathered herself and rubbed her eyes with her fingers, the explosion had made her presence noticeable to the guards, who were now on high alert. She covered her mouth and nose with her hat and walked inside the room, there she saw Larik with flames creeping up his leg, his face was frozen in fear and his white shirt was partially red with blood. "He was here!" She thought.

Recognizing that one as the perfect moment to complete part of her mission, she took out the false documents and put them between the pages of a book, she figured that they would resist long enough for the IEG agents to find them, and she jumped though the same window Le chien had used as his escape route.

Mina walked away from the scene silently, she was aware that running would give her unwanted attention and she needed to keep a low profile to fulfill the rest of her mission. She gripped her gun with one hand and her GPS with the other. Mina knew Le chien had to be close and was certain she could find him doing a quick mapping of the area.

-Hold it! -A menacing voice interrupted her search. Mina looked back and saw the face of the man she was chasing pointing at her with a six shooter.

-You! -whispered Mina, surprised.

-It seems I've been able to ruin your operations twice now -he said as his silver blade emerged from his hiding place --. Put the gun down!

Mina obeyed him and threw her gun to her right side in a forty degree angle; expecting to be able to reach it unharmed if she saw an opportunity.

-I would certainly have preferred to see you dead by your own people but, I will have to do it myself. It is better, this way I get to blame you for Larik.

Mina's phone vibrated and the almost imperceptible sound unsettled Le chien.

-Answer it! -He laughed--. Tell them your mission failed!

Mina reached over to her pocket with her right hand and wrapped it around the vibrating cell-phone. She put it in front of her face as if to show D'Argent she was complying.

-Answer it now!

Mina ran her thumb across the screen from top to bottom and then quickly up again.

A single bullet came out with a flash and a loud bang from under the lens of the camera, reaching Le chien in the neck. He dropped the gun and fell down trying to cover the wound so it would stop bleeding, gagging with his own blood and unintentionally cutting his chin with the blade attached to his wrist.

Mina walked away from the scene with a quick but steady pace. She disliked those kinds of jobs, but in that case she considered a necessity.

Back at Mr. Conti's home she reported on the success of the mission.

-I'm glad it's over -said Mr. Conti.

-Yes, me too, that contraption you thought of sure came in handy -said Mina.

-I have a good idea every once in a while.

Their conversation continued and a member of the IEG arrived to pick her up, this time with no cuffs involved and willing to re-establish her as one of the top operatives of the group.

Six months later she was given a new mission: To Capture or Kill Mr. Conti. Having been in her house she was the perfect option. Mina carried out her mission with no questions and in the most professional way she knew. He had helped her with her problem, sure, but she also helped him, and she did owe the IEG her absolute loyalty. After all, Mr. Conti was still a vile character and she had to finish the job she started.

Author - Armando Garcia

Armando Garcia is a writer and apprentice novelist. He often likes to play video-games when he can break the symbiosis between him and his computer, he also enjoys writing short stories as warm-up and still mourns the loss of his first novel draft to a virus he swore revenge against.