Author's Note: This story was edited by Tim413413. His work was embarrassingly difficult. I actually think he spent more time on this than I did. Thank you sir!
*****
Sandra woke to the wonderful smell of coffee. She moved slowly before she realized she was alone in bed. The memories from last night flooded back and, judging by the brightness of the Sun breaking around the curtains, she had slept late. She donned the robe from last night and followed the smell of the coffee to the kitchen. The condo felt empty as she moved down the hallway.
Jayden was gone. There was a note on the counter next to the cash she hadn't touched. The coffee maker gave a friendly hiss as Sandra picked up the note.
I had to leave on business.
I don't know when I'll return.
Enjoy the coffee. There are fresh towels in the bathroom.
I'll call for a rematch when I'm back in town.
-J
Sandra smiled. She couldn't believe the trust he had placed in her. She poured a cup of coffee and counted the wad of money for the first time. There was $2,500 in the stack. 'What a wonderfully strange man,' she said to herself. Sandra had never met anyone like Jayden. She was good at reading people and she knew she had only seen the surface. She wondered briefly what he did for a living. Her instincts kicked in and she decided she would rather not know. She remembered his confidence and how he carried himself. Jayden wasn't to be played with.
Sandra took a sip of the coffee and looked at the pot. The coffee had an incredibly good, woodsy flavor. She looked around the kitchen and spotted a glass jar filled with coffee beans. She lifted the lid and a wonderful smell hit her nose. There were obviously several types of beans in the jar. The beans didn't match the decor. The coffee reeked of hominess, but the rest of the condo smelled of hotel. She took the coffee into the great room and relaxed. 'I will enjoy the coffee,' she thought as she took another sip, 'and I will be back when you call.'
*****
Evansville was over a twenty hour drive. Jayden was debating whether to do it in one shot or stop in Chattanooga or Nashville on the way north. He knew if he stopped he would be a bit more functional the next day. It was always good to be at the top of your game. A lot fewer mistakes were made that way. On the other hand, with $500K at stake, time could be of the essence. When the numbers got this high, multiple contractors were the norm.
Jayden's usual fee was $100K a hit. The two targets indicated in the text must have really pissed off the powers that be to warrant $250K each. 'Fools,' he thought to himself. 'Why would anyone ever get involved with the syndicate and then try to screw them? They had to know the end results of their actions. They might as well paint targets on their backs.' Jayden had no sympathy for idiots who dug their own graves. He was good at what he did. Even criminal organizations had rules and Jayden enforced them.
It was a well-thought-out arrangement. Jayden always remained separated from the people who hired him. Their mistakes, or his, wouldn't spill over into the other's world. He knew better than to think he was totally separate. One traitorous move and he would find himself as an "X" on someone else's phone.
Jayden was also a coffee expert. As far as the IRS was concerned, he was a high-paid coffee consultant. He had seen other's greed put them in jail and was adamant he wouldn't follow them. All of his paydays were funneled through Caravan Coffee as a fee for consulting services. Sure, he had to pay the US government over 30%, but, by doing so, they never looked deeper. All his money was accounted for as far as the IRS was concerned. Caravan Coffee had been a legitimate front for the syndicate for years. It was so clean the feds had never made the connection. How could it not be? It had thousands of outlets all over the country.
It was a good life. A couple of jobs a year was all it took to be financially secure. There weren't many professions where you could work a few weeks a year and vacation the rest. It did have the drawback of no family life. He could never mix innocents with his profession. They would always be at risk. A bargaining chip for those who meant to control him. No, he would have to be satisfied with hookers and skip the girlfriends.
His memory went back to last night. Sandra provided the best time he had had in years. Jayden was a little concerned she figured him out so quickly, but the results couldn't be denied. His favorite part was the loving kiss goodnight. What he wouldn't give for that to be real. No, he made his choice long ago. He could never risk taking a wife. Sandra now knew what he liked and he had to be happy with that. She seemed a little out of sorts at first, but after that brief start, the fantasy took hold and she steered it wonderfully. He wondered how he got so lucky with her Cribbage knowledge. Things just came his way sometimes.
If it wasn't for the weapons, he could have flown to Evansville. It was risky acquiring clean weapons and Jayden always limited his risks. It was much better having licensed equipment in the trunk and a carefree attitude in the front. Show your firearms license and a hunting permit and the cops wanted to talk about deer. There was no risk in hunting and no electronic trail the airlines created. Driving was the best method of travel in the US. It was also the most boring.
Jayden had tried audio books. He had tried spanning the radio frequencies. The only thing that really kept him alert was uninterrupted music. His tastes leaned toward the 60s and 70s, but newer sounds were always finding their way into his phone. A few tricks of modern networking had the sounds shuffling across his car stereo. Jayden was bouncing to "Panama Red" as he passed Gainesville on Interstate 75. It was a goofy song that made him feel good. When he felt good, time passed more quickly and that was important on a long drive.
Getting through the Macon/Atlanta connector was hell, as always. By the time Jayden neared Chattanooga, he knew it would be useless to continue. He had the stamina, but his mind would be less than one hundred percent if he continued to Evansville tonight. It was better to sleep it off and get an early start the next morning. Jayden only needed a bed and shower. There was no need to break the bank on comforts for a six-hour stay. A sign for a Days Inn promised what he was looking for so he pulled off the interstate.
Check-in was quick and painless. They were used to late-night travelers and knew not to lengthen the process with too many pleasantries. He got the first floor room he wanted and parked near the entrance closest to his room. He was a little miffed when a beat up blue Mustang pulled in the slot next to him when the parking lot was basically empty. It was a pain getting out of the car when the door could only be opened half way.
A tall man, scruffy with tattoos running down one arm, exited the Mustang and slammed the car door. He turned to Jayden and gave him a dirty look, daring him to question his parking etiquette.
Jayden smiled and walked back to his trunk. He had no desire to get in a fight over parking spaces. He retrieved his overnight bag and headed to the door. Scruffy was there fumbling with his wallet, obviously looking for a key card. Jayden snickered at the twenty-something idiot. The tough act would have to wait now that he needed a favor.
"Ah, I left my card in the room with my girl. Mind letting me in?" Scruffy asked. He was about six inches taller than Jayden and about fifty pounds heavier. Jayden smiled at the apologetic look on the young man's face. It looked as phony as he sounded. It was nice to see Scruffy eat crow, though.
"Sure," Jayden said as he swiped his card. The idiot grabbed the handle and walked in. A polite man would have held the door for the arms-loaded favor-giver. Jayden smiled again, inwardly noting that Scruffy would never amount to much in life. Useless aggression only worked in sports and never in real life. He imagined Scruffy in his sixties, living in a rundown trailer and waiting impatiently for his next Social Security check. There was no need to waste energy on people like that.
Jayden got to room 129 and swiped his card. He noted that Scruffy was lightly knocking on 131. 'Damn my luck,' he thought, 'I hope this asshole isn't a night-owl.' Jayden entered his room and shut the door. He could hear the continued knocking and Scruffy begging for his other half to open the door. Jayden could only image what kind of hideous creature would be attracted to a jerk like that.
Jayden pulled his toiletries out of the bag and transferred them to the bathroom. The knocking continued. He applied toothpaste to his toothbrush as the knocking became louder. A scowl began to form on his face. Of all the rooms the hotel had to offer, he got placed next to Scruffy. He began to brush. The knocking turned to pounding that rattled the mirror.
"Bitch! I know you're in there!" Scruffy shouted while he pounded on the door. "No one leaves me. Fucking open this door right now!"
"Fuck," Jayden chastised himself. The asshole didn't have a room. He was chasing after a girl. Maybe he should have wasted some time on Scruffy. He hated feeling guilty.
"Go away, Kyle!" The woman's shout came from inside the adjoining room. She sounded scared. Really scared. "We're leaving and you have to let us go." Jayden heard a loud crash and the sound of wood splintering. A child's scream echoed through the walls. Jayden entered combat mode. He moved quickly, opening the door and flipping the swinging bar guard out to hold the door open. A woman's cry permeated the hallway as Jayden closed the distance between the two doors. As he entered room 131, he assessed the situation and acted simultaneously.
Kyle was holding a crying, petite woman by the hair. Two small boys cowered behind a bed that contained a crying baby wrapped in cloth. There were enough suitcases lined up against the wall to indicate a permanent trip had been planned. Kyle's free arm was pulled back and his hand was balled into a fist. He was going to strike and Jayden wasn't going to let him.
Continuing his forward momentum, Jayden grabbed Kyle's wrist in the iron grip of his left hand. Coming over the top, the full force of Jayden's right fist drove into the side of Kyle's neck, just under the jaw. There was an audible gasp from Kyle as he released his hold of the woman's hair. Jayden leaned his weight into the back of Kyle's right knee and Kyle dropped to a more manageable height. Jayden drove his knee into the right side of Kyle's diaphragm and heard a rib snap. Kyle was gasping and no longer a threat to anyone. Jayden grabbed him by his scruffy hair.
"You don't mind if I have a chat with Kyle?" he asked as he smiled at the frightened woman. She looked fairly young. The boys looked too old to be hers. She nodded her head and ran back to the children. Not wanting to do this in front of the kids, Jayden half-dragged Kyle back to room 129. Kyle was still trying to find his breath as Jayden leaned him over the bed and twisted the asshole's wrist the wrong way behind his back. Jayden knew what was needed. Pain wasn't enough. He reached into his overnight bag and withdrew his Colt and placed the barrel between Kyle's eyes.
