Her Revenge

“One down, one to go.” she thought to herself. She looked around the room and, when she was convinced the room was “clean”, she left and never looked back. She walked six blocks before hailing a cab and sighed with relief as she arrived at her apartment building.

Inside she went directly to the basement where she stripped and placed everything she was wearing into the furnace. While she waited for the items to be incinerated she changed into the clothes she had hidden there. She knew the elderly landlord would be asleep and she wouldn’t be disturbed. Once she was satisfied everything had been destroyed she climbed the steps to her apartment. She didn’t need to turn on any lights. She knew exactly how to maneuver through her apartment in the dark. She walked down the hallway to her room and crossed to her bed. She switched on the lamp as she sank onto it. The only item she hadn’t destroyed was her gun. She cradled it in her lap and allowed herself to cry.

She clicked on her news feed where the headline reads: “Man found dead in hotel room. Police have no leads”.

Killing him hadn’t been as hard as she thought it would be. He had a thing for blondes and didn’t much care about his wife at home. She ran regularly and frequented the beaches in the area. This resulted in all the right curves and an athletic body that proved to be one of her most powerful weapons. She knew he would be in the bar of that hotel and it had only taken about two minutes for him to notice her and offer to buy her a drink. Her story about being in town on business was a further enticement. She could tell that her attraction as a “one-night” fling tempted him as he tried, without success, to nonchalantly check out the package she had so carefully put together for him. Her blouse was opened one button too many but she figured he would take it as an invitation. From the look on his face and his haste to motion the bartender over, she was correct. She knew he had come to this hotel bar looking for someone just like her. Within an hour she was acting tipsy and flirting shamelessly with him. When he suggested they venture up to her room for another drink she knew she had him.

As she had reached in front of him to push the button for her floor she glanced up at him through her eyelashes and he reacted as she thought he would. He pushed her up against the elevator wall and started to kiss her. She was sure he thought it was passionate and exceptional while she thought it was sloppy and disgusting. She played along until the bell chimed and managed to look properly flustered and “turned on” by the experience.

She had specifically asked for a room away from other guests. As they reached the end of the hall she fumbled for her key card as he pushed her against the door from behind. He started kissing her neck and reached around to cup her breast in his hand. She could feel his wanting and shuddered, not from pleasure but from the horrible thought that she may have to go further than she wanted in order to achieve her goal. He took it as pleasure and smiled against her neck as he continued to fondle her breast. She got the door open and they fell into the room together. From there it was easy to take control as she maneuvered them towards the bed and pushed him onto it. He pushed himself back onto the pillows and watched hungrily as she slipped her blouse off her shoulders. She kicked off her heels and moved to put her purse on the dresser. She leaned over the dresser provocatively and reached into her purse to retrieve her gun. She turned and shot him three times point blank. Nope, definitely not as hard as she thought it was going to be.

Now she needed to focus on the next one. Her mind traveled back to an easier time when her and her parents had lived a comfortable life. Her father was an attorney on the fast track to making partner when the case that changed her life forever came across his desk. He was defending a young man accused of murdering a store clerk. Such a cliché, but, that was the case. The young man worked for one of the firm’s biggest clients and they were paying the bill. Later she would find out that, although her father had presented a solid case, the jury had found him guilty. While incarcerated the young man was killed during a fight. She remembered hearing her father talking about it one night but it didn’t really mean anything to her. A few nights later a pair of intruders broke into their home and killed her mother and father. She had been playing in her room when she heard the sound of glass breaking. Her mother had grabbed her and shoved her into the back of their closet with instructions not to move or cry out no matter what happened. She had watched through the slats in the door as the men pointed guns at her parents and demanded to know where she was. Her parents explained she was spending the night at a friends’ house and that seemed a sufficient explanation since as soon as they said it they shot first her mother and then her father. She almost screamed out loud but managed to stay quiet and never gave away her parents’ lie. She waited for what felt like hours in the closet, staring at the bodies of her dead parents, scared to cry and scared to move. Finally, as morning light filtered into the room, she ventured forth and called 911. It didn’t take long for the authorities to determine what had happened. Apparently the young man who died in prison had two brothers who were also criminals and had no qualms about avenging their brother against the man they had decided was the cause of his death.

The authorities figured it was safest for her if they changed her name and sent her away. They found a family who was looking to adopt and made it appear that the adoption was occurring through all the proper channels. She became the perfect daughter. She studied hard and participated in various sports and activities. Slowly a plan took shape. When she discovered that her new father was an avid hunter she made sure to show interest and was pleased when her new father thought this was a great “father/daughter” bonding experience. She learned everything she could about guns, shooting, tracking and whatever else she thought might help her achieve her goals. She had never disclosed that she had seen the faces of the men who had murdered her parents. She was later able to research news articles and discovered that even though they had been tried they were never convicted of murdering her parents. It didn’t matter though she now had their names. The authorities who had given her this new life had contacted her just before her 18th birthday and advised that her parents’ life insurance policies had been placed in a trust. The day after her 18th birthday she accessed it and left. She never looked back.

Over the next few years she mastered many skills. She learned lock picking, martial arts, shooting, even acting. Eventually she returned to the city she had once called home. Of course, her name was different, her look changed daily and she never worked in small establishments only places with a high turnover. No one ever really got to know her but she made enough money to live and only touched her inheritance when it mattered.

She currently sat in the public library accessing one of their computers. This last one would be trickier but then she read about a corporate retreat for his company. He, along with various others, would be attending the week long get away. The excursion was happening on an island not far from the city. When she researched the company responsible for the retreat she learned that the island was only accessible by water but, from the photos, was packing some serious security measures. She guessed when you catered to the rich and powerful it paid to take precautions. Nevertheless, she spent the day researching everything she could find on the island and the company. Finally, exhausting the resources at the library, she went and rented a car to see the island for herself. She knew she would never survive the intensive background check for employment there so immediately struck that option off her list. She knew what she had to do and proceeded to put her plan in motion.

She clicked on the news feed where the headline reads: “Man shot in tragic accident while attending Company retreat.”

“It’s done.” She thought to herself as she settled into her seat on the plane and left the city and her old life behind. She never looked back.