"I can do it." I had to infuse that statement with a lot of confidence. My eldest brother didn't look as convinced as I would have liked. "Pretend for a few days that I am not who I am? I can so do that. " I bragged.
"And, who am I, really, that I should be important enough for people to pay attention to or take notice of?" I added and ducked beneath the giant bell that hung in the tower we were in.
"O.k. O.k" He also ducked as he followed me under the giant bell. "So, what am I suppose to do? Pretend to be you?"
I laughed as I glanced back at him. In my mind I saw him in my favorite evening gown with one shoulder bared to the world. His big feet in my silver sequenced high heels. I have to admit, I laughed so hard I fell over. "Oh, don't do that to me." I said as I got my breath back and picked myself up, dusting of the dirt from the bell tower floor.
Alec glared at me. "I don't see what you find to laugh about. This isn't a pleasure cruise your skipping out to do." I sobered but forced a smile
"Not to worry." Throwing an arm of affection across his broad shoulders I tried to reassure him. "Remember, 'We Sounder's always land on our feet.' "
In a family as large as theirs it was hard to feel lonely, but that was what Alec was feeling later that same night. He thought back over on their clandestine meeting in the bell tower. In all honesty, Angie was correct. Sounders did always seem to land on their feet. Even their parents probably would; eventually. He couldn't help considering that once in a generation lapse. He had to admit to himself that he was very worried for his baby sister. Angie had gone on her crazy mission only three hour ago, and despite her reassurances, Alec saw over and over in his head, her body…. lifeless, in some ditch in a foreign country with no one to identify her.
It was time to call in a favor.
Even with the threat of death hanging over me, my heart still felt light and carefree. I didn't fear death, but had to admit, being so close to it made me realize how much I loved life. So I was careful in choosing my disguise. Anyone looking through this crowd would only see what I wanted them to see.
The hotel lobby wasn't totally crowded but it was busy enough when you added in the hotel restaurant full of patrons.
I Studied the crowd in my mind. I saw several families on vacation, three men in business suits. One caucasian mid-forties, one Chinese man early thirties, and an African American man I thought was a Doctor of some kind. All three had Bluetooth earpiece's. They seemed to be talking to the air. They all had briefcases or message bags (depending on their age).
There was also an Indian man in western attire and two Indian women in saris standing next to him. By the window, there were three giggling teenagers all in uniforms. A stern looking woman in grey stood close to them, but apart from them.
Even I would have a hard time picking myself out of the inventory of people. I supposed, if I was a man, looking for one, Angeline Sounder, age 20, height 162.5 cm, weight 7.85 stones, I would zero in on the giggling teens, or even their stern chaperone. I could have easily pulled off those disguises. But they would have been too obvious, and no challenge at all.
Inside, I was trying not to laugh at pulling one over on my... stalker? Assassin? Kidnapper? And that's what stopped me from openly being amused. The sheer lack of information I had. That made me go cold with dread. But that was a good thing. Being scared was useful.
I have been here too long without anything suspicious happening. I was just about to let my guard down, deciding I hadn't been tracked, when a little grandma hunched over a walker came through the automatic sliding doors of the hotel.
Nothing about the little old lady gave any indication that she wasn't exactly as she seemed. An elderly woman with scoliosis of the spine, obviously moving as slow as someone her age and frailties would. But something about her sent off warning bells in my head. Something wasn't right about the woman. Frustratingly, I couldn't put my finger on it.
Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I continued to blabber on in Chinese about the plunge in the stock market of late. I was running out of feasible things I could say about the Chinese stock market. I would only draw more attention to myself if I said anything made up so I ended the one sided conversation. I sat down and pulled out a laptop from the messenger bag I had with me. Pretending to be absorbed in a spreadsheet. I tried to observe the elderly woman without bringing attention to myself.
I hated violence. I believed very strongly that any situation can be resolved by peaceful means. Or at the very least, by out thinking your opponent. I wasn't an idiot though, so I did have some defensive gadgets, if I needed them. Pepper spray disguised as cologne, a low voltage taser doubling as men's deodorant, and a pen that was also a high piercing whistle.
Pulling out the pen and a pad of paper, I started taking notes in Chinese. I really hoped no one around me could read it because it was random things I was noticing about the old lady, trying to figure out what bothered me about her.
She was paying way too much attention to everyone there, that's what was irking me. She made a few rounds around the lobby looking closely at everyone's face. That was not normal behavior. And why was she alone? A woman that old and in-firmed would have wanted to get settled as soon as possible. She wouldn't have gone around giving the other patrons a once over. And she would not be traveling alone.
I'd seen enough to know it was time to leave. But how to do it without drawing attention? Distractedly, I started putting things back into my bag. A family was getting done with their complimentary breakfast. They had been loud and a bit obnoxious. And not just a few people had glanced their ways in the last half hour. I waited until they started to gather themselves together, then moved when they did. I made sure to go in the opposite direction. With all eyes on the large family exiting the dining area, I slipped away. I didn't look back. That would have been a dead give away.
I changed disguises three more times before I felt safe enough to hole up for the night. I felt it was at least safe enough to enjoy a hot soak in a bath. It loosened up my tense muscles and chased away the chill that had followed me after the close call. I took a chance on the same hotel. I figured they would have ruled it out. I hoped I was being clever and not naive.
My mind started to wander. I wondered what was going on back home. Wondered if Uncle was aware I was gone. Probably not. Alec was supposed to run interference if by any miracle someone did start to ask questions about me. There was, in fact, only one person I would worry about finding out. But, thankfully, Uncle had let him go months ago.
For just a fraction of a second I was tempted to call him for help, but squashed it. I wouldn't have approved of his method of "helping". No, I could handle this. I wasn't a weak little girl who couldn't take care of herself. I would do this on my own. It was my problem, I would solve it myself.
It wasn't really fair to think of my family as being deliberately obtuse. Alec would be worried about me being the only one in the know. The others? They would care if they knew.
I imagine Aunt Claudia would ring her hands with worry. My cousins Joyce and Ida would pretend they cared. My older sister Cynthia would be scared out of her mind. My older brothers, Kyle and Mark would have tried to stop me by all means necessary and demand to get the police involved. Which is why I didn't tell any of them. Only my oldest brother could be trusted.
But my Uncle? I couldn't imagine how he would react. He was my guardian. And the second I was under his thumb, what did he do? He moved us to another country and terminated the services of a trusted bodyguard. I was trying not to think bad things about him but I guess I was a cynic at heart.
I sighed heavily and vacated the bath. Maybe a good nights sleep would help, if I could manage it. It wasn't until I secured every lock on the door, jammed the door with a chair and piled a noise maker in front of it that I felt safe enough to attempt it. I figuratively patted myself on the back that I had outwitted my pursuer.
Two nights later I was retracting that assessment.
I was done for. I knew it. My goose was cooked, my time was up,
Who ever was after me definitely had been hired to kill me.
I crouched down further behind a black SUV in a parking garage on ninth street. Made myself the smallest target possible . I slowed my breathing so as not to give my position away. But I knew, it was just a matter of minutes. The assassin would find me, put a gun to my head and kill me.
I hadn't stayed in that hotel, but I had been right. I wasn't bothered that night or even the following one. It wasn't until I went to buy a ticket out of the city that I had somehow been tracked.
'And things had been going so good.' I couldn't help but think. 'Hadn't I eluded my assassin for over a week? Hadn't I done everything to disappear?' Over confidence was my problem. It was my hubris that was going to get me killed.
I stiffened as I heard the soft scrape of a shoe. That Disturbing feeling of having the hair stand up at the back of your neck. Someone pivoting on soft-soled shoes. Someone trying to creep up quietly. 'Oh great,' I swiveled my head up to look straight into the assassins face. Younger then I thought, with cold black eyes. But the real kicker was that it was a woman.
Of course it would be a woman. Someone who could think very much like the person she was hunting. I would have kicked myself if I'd had time. I brassed myself for the impact of the bullet, (I know it was illogical but sometimes a person can't control these responses) when the assassin fell unconscious at my feet.