Stand Alone

Chapter Six

I woke up at 0430 to do my usual morning exercise. I did a number of floor exercises like sit-ups, burpees and legs raises before stretching and going for a run. I ran just over eight and a half miles this morning. I always ran in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark and nobody else was around. I walked into the house at 0545 and went into the bathroom. I was as quiet as I could be so as not to wake Daniel up who was still sleeping, hopefully with a proper nights sleep in a comfy bed he'll not be as moody as he was yesterday. I had a very quick shower tying my hair out of the way because I couldn't be bothered to wash it and I hadn't been sweating too much so it didn't need washing anyway. I let the cool water relax me before getting out and wrapping a towel around my body as the warm air hit my now cool skin. I walked back into my bedroom and started to get changed. I had just pulled on my underwear when I could hear somebody's footsteps on the landing and they were getting louder and louder as the person got closer. I used the door for cover as I waited to see who it was. "McKenzie?" Daniel asked and I stepped out from behind the door. "What the hell were you doing?"
"Force of habit okay? I hear footsteps and I don't know who they belong to my first instinct is to get into some form of cover." He shrugged taking a seat on my bed. "What do you want Daniel?" I asked continuing to get ready as he sat on my bed.
"I came to tell you something but it doesn't matter." He shrugged.
"What did you want to tell me?" I asked blocking his exit by standing in front of the door. I may be small in comparison but there is no way he's getting out of this door.
"Yesterday Mr Ramshaw asked for our car registration plates." He started and I already had no clue what he was on about.
"Who?" I interrupted.
"Boss man. He asked for our registration plates." That didn't sit well with me now that he was pointing it out, something about it just didn't feel right.
"He set us up with the cars, he should have known the reg plates." I was catching on to what he was on about and already formulating a plan of action if this starts to go wrong. I started thinking of how to get out of here, how to get away and what my next steps would be.
"Somebody else knows about the op and is pulling the strings." He finished for me. "McKenzie something isn't right about all of this, we're being set up." My mind was working at a hundred miles per hour now trying to figure all of this out. "Pack your bags. We're leaving."
"Are we aborting the operation." He asked sighing in relief.
"Hell no. We're just not playing by there rules anymore."
"I hope you know what you doing." He mumbled leaving my room.
"Me to." I whispered but I doubted he would hear me anyways. I finished applying my foundation to cover my freckles and tattoos before finishing erring ready and packing everything, and I mean everything into my bag. When that was done I went through the house from top to bottom bleaching everything in sight so as to leave no trace of us ever being there. Before I left I made sure I had my gun and knife in the waistband of my skirt making sure that they couldn't be seen, no way was I leaving without it today. I met Daniel at the door. "Where are we going and how are we getting there?" He was worried now. His hand was clutching into his bag strap so tight his knuckles were turning white and his face had lost almost all of its colour.
"We're burning the cars." I stated and he nodded catching the car keys I tossed at him. I got into my own car and he followed as I led us to an abandoned area where the cars wouldn't be found for days which by then they would defiantly be all burned out. I doused them in the petrol I had collected on our way hear and struck a match, throwing it onto the petrol trail I had left so we were a safe distance from the car as it blew up quite spectacularly. We stood and watched it burn for a good hour before heaving our bags up off the floor and beginning the long, long walk back to the university. "I know about your parents by the way." Daniel spoke as we walked and my breath caught in my throat. "I know that you want revenge when we find who it is were dealing with."
"I don't know what you're on about," I dismissed shaking my head.
"You aren't the first Taylor family member to be posted to operation Curahee. You're parents were the original recruits on this op."
"And they died from there mistakes. I won't do the same thing."
"But you know it wasn't there mistakes that killed them don't you."
"Can we please not talk about it?" I asked politely but it wasn't really an option. The conversation was over whether he liked it or not.
"What are you going to do when you find out who it is?" He was treading on egg shells and he knew it.
"They're becoming my next T104." I shrugged and he nodded. A T104 is a target to be killed upon first sight - that is what the person responsible for my parents deaths will become. I dragged my feet across the floor, kicking stones as I went. It was silent other than the noise our feet made until Daniel spoke up and broke the silence again. "Why did you come back to the department? I mean you left for a reason so why return?"
"Suicide mission." I shrugged.
"Yeah you've told me that but I'm still not understanding why."
"I spent my life right from the age of sixteen through to now in the marine corps. It's perfectly structured; you know what you're doing, you know where you have to be, you know exactly what time to do things. After I left I knew I couldn't be a civvy again, never. The only thing I'm good for is ironing clothes, polishing boots and field stripping an assault rifle. I didn't feel like I had any options left." It was a good couple of hours until we got to the university, Daniel persistently asking me question after question the entire way there until our uni building came into view. I hadn't realised it at first but now, looking at all of the different students who could be targeting us under orders, I finally understood just how difficult our mission had become.