It couldn’t be too much more. Six weeks had already passed; it was more than she’d anticipated. It was a beautiful place for someone to spend their last days. It was a rare treat, she knew, one most in her position would not get to experience.
She wasn’t a fool. The only reason she was allowed into Taser’s private refuge was because she’d never be able to tell anyone about it. This was her final gift – the chance to make peace with herself and whatever she believed in. When the end came, it would be swift. Hopefully painless. And, if there was a God, she would never see it coming. But if she did, she’d already made up her mind that she wouldn’t fight it. She’d accomplished what she’d set out to do. She’d broken the rules, knowing the consequences. She was ready to face her fate.
––––––––
It was Wednesday, which meant a new shipment of supplies would be waiting for her at the far edge of the property come twilight. She never saw who delivered them; she’d obeyed Taser’s instructions to the letter, and they clearly stated that from four to six p.m. on Wednesdays, she was supposed to remain completely out of sight.
Nicki emerged from the woods, peering carefully this way and that. As always, she was alone. But this time, there was no shipment awaiting her. She sighed, bracing herself for the inevitable. Her time had finally come.
She took the long way back. Slipping off her shoes so she could feel the cool, damp earth and leaves beneath her feet, she wound her way through the forest. Her fingers stroked every tree along the way, memorizing the feel of the bark. She stopped briefly to admire every flower and inhale its scent. She listened to the sound of the awakening nocturnal creatures, the soft brush of the wind through the leaves. And when she emerged just short of the cabin, she looked up into the most brilliantly designed sky she’d ever seen.
There was a light on in the cabin; the soft glow spilled out welcomingly. So much for her not seeing it coming.
The aroma of steak and onions floated out to her and she smiled.
“There’s nothing like a great steak. Wouldn’t you agree?” the man asked without turning around. Nicki recognized him immediately. Taking a deep breath – she didn’t think it would be this hard – she smiled.
“Taser, you devil. I’m honored. I thought they’d send Fish. He’s been wanting to off me for years.”
The Chameleon leader laughed, a hearty, genuine rumble that filled the whole cabin. He had long straight hair the color of milk chocolate hanging out from beneath the do-rag that capped his skull. A neatly trimmed patch of facial hair appeared above and below his mouth, giving him a very sophisticated, bad boy look. Intense amber eyes – almost golden – turned to smile at her.
He took in her bronzed, sculpted flesh meticulously, scanning her from head to toe. Nicki didn’t bother feeling self-conscious. That was Taser. It was said that he got the nickname from the effect he had on people simply by looking at them.
Nicki joined him at the stove, plucking a mushroom from the pan. “Make yourself useful,” he said, his voice as compelling and hypnotic as his eyes. “Start on the salad.” He waved a skewering fork in the direction of a grocery bag spilling over with various green and fresh vegetables. She thought it was a little tacky for him to ask her to help prepare her own last meal, but what the hell.
“How are Fisher and Brookes?” she asked, pulling out a colander and breaking lettuce leaves into it.
“Like lost puppies,” Taser chuckled. Nicki smiled too. It wasn’t true, she knew, but it was kind of him to say so. Taser was nothing if not a psychological genius. He knew what people needed to hear and had no qualms about saying whatever was necessary to suit his purposes. And Taser would make this as pleasant as possible.
That was okay. Nicki had a similar gift, only hers allowed her to see through the bullshit and hear what he was really saying.
“I had to send them off to Seattle just for a little peace. They’re driving me nuts.” Nicki’s translation: Taser didn’t want them to know when or where it would go down.
“Yeah,” she agreed, “they do that. They’re good agents, though. The best.” It was her way of letting Taser know that neither of them had a hand in what she’d been up to. Surely he already knew that, but she was just confirming it for good measure. Taser nodded, amused.
“This place is awesome,” she said after a while. The silence wasn’t terribly awkward as they prepared the meal together, but it had been quite a while since she’d had the chance to speak to another human being. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.
“Thought you’d like it,” he said. “It’s my own personal therapy. I come here when things get to be too much.”
Too much for Taser? The thought was almost unimaginable. Taser was the embodiment of knowledge, power, and control. She said as much to him, evoking another round of laughter. “You make me feel like a god, Nix.”