Ava's Beginnnings

Day 2 (pt. 2): David

Looking up at it from the pitch black street below, the hotel was small. An old building with only five levels, easily scaled by hand. David was good with his hands. Whether it be building some intricate sort of machinery or climbing the steepest wall, he could do it. The Warche company hired him to hack into the WWCAB's system. They were looking to find a way to shut the company's system down for at least 24 hours. If anyone could hack his way into something, it was David. After getting dishonorably discharged from the United States army for being accused of murder, he used his free time to build things. He was a mechanic, usually working on things like motors or repairing small problems with generators. There were not many places willing to hire a veteran that was thought to be involved with a murder, even if he was found innocent. David had a natural way of getting himself into trouble, but he also had a way of getting himself out of it. This was a valuable skill to the Warche company, they needed someone who was good at getting in and out of things.

The street was quiet, the only sound that could be heard for miles was the sound of sirens going off in the distance. Reaching into his left pocket, he pulled out a small gadget. To the ordinary person on the street, it appeared to be a pen, but to him it was a useful tool to help him reach his goal. He pointed the pen toward the sky, aiming for the top of the building, his hands sweating. He pressed the small button on the side of the pen, immediately releasing a metal arrow that shot up toward the sky, spidering into a grappling hook. David pulled on the cord that was extending from the pen, making sure the hook caught. Taking a deep breath, he began his ascent.

***

Ava looked up at him in confusion. "You? The best? You're pretty cocky for a newbie." She said, trying to scan the room for something to help her out of her binds.

He laughed in response. "You're pretty funny, for someone so serious. All the more reason not to kill you." He walked over to the window and propped one of his feet up on the sill.

Glancing down at her feet, she saw her opportunity, but she had to be quick. Ava was fairly thin and so being tied up by a rope as bulky as the one he had used to bind her would make for an easy escape. She only needed to by herself a couple more seconds. "Is that supposed to impress me or something?"

"No, I was just trying to give you a reason to buy yourself time to escape my binds."

Ava's face flushed. How did he already know, she thought to herself. "Why would you do a thing like that?" she asked, her palms beginning to sweat. She almost had her left foot out, then she would be free to lift out her right.

He stepped up on top of the window sill now, facing the outside world. He glanced back at her and smiled. "My name is David by the way, and I waited so I could do this" and without hesitation he jumped out the window. Ava jumped free from the binds on her feet, the chair still attached to her back. She hobbled over as quickly as she could to the window, but he was gone.

[Not sure if I should pick this story line with Ava and David back up. I haven't decided yet.]

Day 3 (pt. 2): Hidden Talents

"How can I help you today?" the man behind the glass counter asked. Ava nearly jumped out of her skin. She was suddenly nervous, even though she had completed her task. "Oh" he said, realizing who she was, "It's just you. She's in the back waiting for you".

"Yeah, thanks" Ava said, nodding and then heading to the very back of the store. The sound of her boots hitting the floor as she passed through a small, dark doorway in the very corner of the store. There was a long, skinny hallway that made Ava feel claustrophobic every time she passed though it. The sound of voices soon filled the air, along with a pale light from the open door on the left end of the hall. She stood outside the door for a second, holding her breath. Come on girl, you got this far, she thought to herself. Her heart was beating in her head, this was technically her first job, that is, if they were even willing to give her the job in the first place.

"Well, don't just stand there, come in" a familiar voice commanded. Ava obeyed and slowly entered the room. A woman with short, silver hair and metallic silver lipstick stood next to two men dressed in all black. They were most likely other hit men Ava guessed, from their heavily equipped bodies. They both towered over the woman, standing at least 6 inches taller than her on either side. She gestured for them to leave and they exited in silence. "Well, well, well, hello there."

"Uh, hi" Ava said sheepishly, using her right index finger to curl the end of her braid.

"Please, come sit down my dear" she walked behind her desk and sat in a tall, leather chair that mad her already thin frame appear even more frail. Ava quickly sat down in one of the hard wooden chairs opposite of her. Yvonne was a fairly young woman, still older than Ava. She looked to be in her late 20's or early 30's from what Ava could see. Her face reminded Ava of vanilla icing on a cake, very cold and seamless but at the same time inviting.  The baby blue Harvey Nichols suit told Ava that this woman had money, and lots of it. She tapped her long nails on the desk, "Well, do you have what I have it?" she asked, her eyes suddenly gleaming. It was pretty clear why this was the task required for this job. That suit, along with every other lavish item laying around the room was stolen, or purchased with stolen money, no doubt. 

Ava quickly dove into her pocket and fished out the stolen Tiffany necklace. It looked more bulky to her now that she had a closer look than it had last night. She stared down at it for a second before handing it over to the woman sitting across from her. "It was easier than I had thought" Ava said, suddenly regretting her off-putting tone.

Yvonne's eyes  widened, her hands nearly shaking with excitement. "Indeed, I see you have retrieved the item I have sent you out for. I will add it to my collection". She snatched the necklace out of Ava's hand and walked over to the full length mirror across the room. Putting the necklace on her, she stood there posing and muttering to herself. 

"So, about the job-"

"So what about it? You think just because you got me one measly little item a dog could have gotten that I would just hand the job over to you?" She turned around and faced Ava square on.

Confused, Ava made a face, her right eyebrow lifting the way it always did when she wasn't sure what was happening. "Well, excuse me, but uh, you told me that this was the only requirement".

Yvonne laughed in response to this, her teeth as white and straight as tic-tacs. She walked over to Ava, smooth as a cat, her white Jimmy Choo pumps soundlessly gliding across the carpet. Ava tensed up in her seat, but remained seated. "That task, was to just see if you were able to follow orders, as well as manage to keep yourself from getting caught. The real tasks have yet to come". 

***

The guard was right on her tail, surprisingly. Ava was caught off guard by this, considering he was a fairly overweight man. She dashed through the backroom of the store and through the exit, her feet silently slamming against the ground as she ran. Sirens were wailing in the background, drawing closer and closer. They were closing in on her, she knew she had to ditch her clothes somewhere. Luckily, she had already thought ahead. She looked behind her, the guard was gone, but she kept running as fast as her feet could carry her. 

The alleyway behind an abandoned Chinese restaurant was her destination. The place had a living space on the second and third stories of the tall building. Ava looked above her at the fire escape, the adder had been removed years go, making the distance between her and the escape even greater. She had been able to jump pretty high, but this kind of jump was more difficult for her. She steadied her feet and took a breath, preparing herself. Her arms by her side, swinging, ready to grasp. She jumped, the weight of her body nearly swinging her into the brick wall as she held tightly to the side bar of the fire escape. Pulling herself up onto the platform, she quickly grabbed the bag she had left for herself earlier and quickly changed. The sound of sirens drawing near made her move quickly, she knew she would not have much time to escape. She removed the necklace in her fanny pack and put it into the deep pocket of her red leather jacket. The only other shoes she had brought with her from home were her black, studded boots. The red and blue lights were now visible in the distance from where Ava stood. She quickly gathered her clothes and the fanny pack into the now empty bag and dropped in below into an empty metal barrel. She grabbed the bottle of vodka she had in the bag and poured it into the barrel and then lit a match, igniting the bag and burning like a wild fire. This was her signal to leave.

She kept running through the back allies of the city until her body dropped from exhaustion. 



(A link to the Harvey Nichols website, prices are $$$ because they are designer. P.s. any links are just for fun and more detail.)
www.harveynichols.com/womens/all-clothing/suits-and-co-ords/

Day 5: Heart (pt. 1)

The crickets outside chirped noisily as the last bit of daylight disappeared from sight. It had been a fulfilling day of work on the farm and now it was time to relax. There was a man sitting in an old, dusty recliner on the front porch. The rough calluses on his hands were stained a permanent dark brown from his daily work. He held a beer in one hand and a photo of a young girl in the other. The man missed his daughter. She had left home nine months ago, the same amount of time since he'd last seen her face. He had mulled over calling her sometime tonight before he tucked himself in for the night, but he knew how busy she was ever since she got that new library job in the city. All things considered, he took another swig of his beer, polishing off the rest of its contents. The little girl in the picture beamed, with her crooked teeth, wildly curly hair, and dirt-stained overalls as she held up a chicken in her arms. The back of the photo read "Ava's first day of school".

Hanson stood up and put the photo in his back pocket and walked inside. The aroma of the dinner he had made for himself still lingered in the air. Roasted beef tenderloin with potatoes and carrots. That was just the kind of meal Ava would have ran home to enjoy, he thought. He had set aide a plate for his younger brother Dan whenever he decided to come back home. Dan moved in with his older brother after Hason and his wife divorced when Ava was only two years old. Diane decided that she no longer wanted a husband or a daughter and left without a trace. Dan occasionally helped out around the farm when he wasn't busy teaching MMA classes to children at a place called Fast Max downtown. The clock above the fireplace read 9:38. He'll be home soon from work, Hanson thought. Often times he'd like to read something while waiting for his brother's arrival and then getting ready for bed. Tonight was no different. He sat down in the rocking chair across from the couch and began reading his copy of "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

There was a sound of rustling and movement from somewhere outside. It was more than likely an animal that had wandered off from the small bit of forrest behind the house. Hason, went into the back closet next to the restroom and grabbed his rifle.

There was nothing but darkness as Hanson circled around the house to the back porch. The pale yellow light on the porch only gave him enough light to see what was directly in front of him. There was more rustling coming from the direction of the trees. He aimed his gun, cocked and loaded, ready to shoot. The sound of a gun going off rang into the distance. Hanson fell back, catching himself on the handle of the back door. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his left shoulder, closer to the crook of his neck. Another fire rang into the distance. The same pain was now in his right shoulder, same place. Scarlet liquid poured from the open wounds, staining his shirt and leaving a pool of blood beneath him. The world was becoming more and more dim as he tried to not lose consciousness. His back was completely against the door now, he slid down it to help him sit. Movement of shadows and light caught his eye. The lights from his brother's truck came into view, the world began to spin and then, darkness.


To be continued...