Nia: Beginnings

"You might be right, I do find guys attractive. I don't know it's just all so confusing." She squeaks in fright when the engines get loud and we barrel down the runway to take off.

We spend the next few minutes trying to keep each other calm. Does not work well the plane takes off then dips a couple times. The turn is a little severe, I could swear the plane was going down not higher and turning. A stewardess comes over and assures us this is normal and there's nothing to fear. She even stays there holding on to Sam's other hand and smiling at me so I don't look out the window. When the plane evens out the stewardess smiles at us and goes to refill our glasses.

"Sam I think your fear fed mine, that was not a normal take off though." Sam looks at me and sighs.

"I think I know why you don't like to fly." The stewardess comes back and hands over two new drinks for us.

"All we did was hit a couple air pockets, trust me it's nothing to worry about. We just took off a few seconds faster than we should have and caught a little of the trail of the plane before us. Drink up I'll bring peanuts by in a few minutes, dinner will be two hours." I sigh and nod at her with a smile, Sam smiles as well.

"So what kind of car do you drive?" Sam looks over at me and sighs.

"I have a Kia Rio SX its brand new at least a lot of the other students have better cars though it's weird." I giggle.

"The Rio's are nice cars not the best in performance but good mileage and all that fun stuff. I have a midnight blue Miata two seater it's really good and keeps up with my boyfriend's hemi car. I get much better gas mileage to I think he's jealous of it." Sam giggles and turns in her seat.

"Do you play role-playing games?" I smile big at her.

"You bet I love D&D. Don't have anybody to play with though, my boyfriend offered to get some of his friends but I've met them, they are weird." Sam is smiling and giggling.

"You should see some of the guys that play it at ASU I think all of them wear thick glasses and drooled at me when I tried to play with them." The man sitting just ahead of us turns and smiles.

"You just described about sixty percent of the people at the Con's I've been to. I'd ask if I could join in except I think you two are not staying in New York. Go to the game shops there usually are boards to put a name and number for players to contact you. There also are places to advertise for new players in the D&D website. Try not to say no to the guys in thick glasses, not all of us drool. Contacts are a wondrous thing." Sam looks at me and giggles, I smile at him.

"Thanks I will be sure and do that. So what brought you to Phoenix?" His smile falters a little.

"I think the same thing taking you to New York. I had a presentation to give." The tightness in his eyes clues me in on what he means, with no coverage on the news it means one thing.

"Oh my you are a legend I'm surprised you didn't get the presentation I did." He smiles and shakes his head.

"I'm not as good, you have eclipsed me in pure talent. I've heard that certain parties in Europe are trying to woo you." I sigh and nod.

"Yes they are, I've told them no, this is my last presentation. I'm going to settle down get married and try for the kids." He smiles and looks at Sam.

"I think your friend here isn't happy with the married part." I look at Sam she looks rather uncertain.

"We are both interested I just need to clear it with my boyfriend, we've been exclusive for eight months. Sam don't worry marriage won't change the answer." Sam looks at me and smiles.

"That makes me feel better, I know it's none of my business it's just I get the feeling presentations are not exactly what you are talking about." He looks at me and grins.

"Sam here is a bright one. Do you want to fill her in?" I sigh and look down then look at Sam.

"Not really, it always ends the friendship. I've lost two boyfriends because of filling them in." Sam looks at me and I swear you can see a light bulb go up over her head she leans in closer to whisper.

"Let me guess, you're a hired assassin, I never did tell you what my dad does. He's high up in the mafia I never say which he's probably hired you before." I suck in my breath and look at the legend.

"She knows first try, rather surprising I suppose." He chuckles and sticks his hand around the back of the chair.

"I'm Chris nice to meet you Sam and Nia." We both shake his hand with a smile. "You two had a very interesting conversation earlier, Sam I have experience in this. When you find men and women interesting you want both, bad sex is just bad sex doesn't mean anything." Sam smiles at him.

"Thank you that does help. I don't find you interesting so I hope there was not anything to saying that beyond to help." Chris holds up his hands and smiles.

"Not me, I am on the other end of the spectrum, I was not sure but I know I'm only interested in men. Course Nia I wish you were not retiring, leaves a big hole that I can't fill I'm too old. I guess I'll have to train one of the peons to take up the slack." I giggle.

"I remember when I was a peon, had to make up fake ID to get into clubs. Never did get thrown out of the clubs, it was fun times though." Chris chuckles.

"When I was a peon they didn't check ID that well anyway. Club fifty four was an interesting if drug hazed place. Say you don't have an Arizona accent it's more Midwest where are you from?" I look at Sam a little confused I didn't know Arizonans had an accent.

"I grew up in Missouri, we moved to New York when I was fourteen and I moved to Phoenix four years ago now. I like it it's really nice you should move there if you can stay away from the people." Chris and Sam laugh.

"I think people everywhere say the same thing about the people." Sam says with a smile.

"Nope, the farm states are always talking about how nice the people are, not like there's much else to look at outside the one or two actual cities. Why we moved, my dad was a traveling salesman and my mom was working in a diner. I think I was conceived the same night they met." Chris and Sam are staring at me.

"Huh and I always thought things like that didn't happen in small towns." Chris says making me laugh.

"Happens way more often than you think, like I said there isn't much to look at or do in a small town. Right about when you decide that boys or girls are nice you find sex to be fun and time consuming. Between school, any school activities you do, and working a farm you gotta find something to do on your spare time, sex is the easiest. Less condom use than you would think though, why there are accidents leading to marriage. My parents are still together and happy so it works fairly well." Sam giggles then leans closer.

"Why did you move?" I giggle and look at her.

"I wasn't ready for a guy so I got my jollies with girls small towns are not good for liking the same sex. I had a reputation and it wasn't doing us any good so we scrimped and moved. Luckily we weren't farmers, mom still worked a diner and dad was selling electronics. In New York dad got a job in a bank, mom worked in a restaurant, higher scale so better tips. I discovered by accident I'm good at certain things that got the attention of people on the underside and well here I am." Chris chuckles and leans over a little farther.

"I remember seeing the reports on you, at the time I was thinking dang she's good for her age. I didn't expect you to be that good I'm only a legend for lasting this long you're a legend because you can't fail." Sam sits up straight staring at me.

"Oh my god, you're her I didn't even think you were real just a bogeyman to scare the gullible." I giggle and pull her closer.

"Nope I'm her and shush there are some that think killing me or Chris would move them up. I'm being paid a lot for this one and I want to retire to marital bliss, perhaps with you adding more bliss. Chris I haven't looked at the floor plans yet, do you know anything about the new high rise single floor apartment building?" Chris sighs and nods.

"I was thinking about getting an apartment in the building. The apartments are all the same, you pay more for the lower down you are. The living room is right there at the elevator, off to the left are the bedrooms, four of them with separate baths. Off to the right is a kitchen and a dining room. Tenants get a pass card visitors get a one use card. Coming down is easy, there is a lobby button the elevator is slow to cut down on noise, why it costs less at the top your in the elevator for a minute to get to the top apartment. I know why you are getting paid so much, if there is enough hoopla you will be arrested, there's no escape except for the elevator." I sigh and look up then back at Chris.

"I figured but like you said I don't fail. If anyone can get away with it I can. Besides I'm rescuing someone important, at least what they are saying. If they are big important I can get a pardon. Be all over the news but my last presentation anyway." Chris smiles at me.

"I didn't know that, they didn't even offer me the presentation. According to the guy I talk to I'm the first choice for everything." I giggle and curl up into Sam.

"I'm told the same thing we may even have the same guy. I think dinner is coming." A stewardess is making a slow way down the hallway.

"Miss I'm sorry you were upgraded at the counter we don't know which dinner you would prefer. We have steak and lobster, orange chicken or Caesar salad." The stewardess says talking to Sam, she looks at me.

"Can she have more than one? I don't think she knows which she wants." I say reaching across Sam to get my steak and lobster.

"Oh of course, I can't leave all three here but if you both don't mind sharing I can leave two, perhaps the orange chicken and salad?" Sam looks at me I smile and nod.

"Yes that sounds good I'm not big on lobster." The stewardess smiles and pulls out the two plates then hands over three different packets of dressing.

Chris has gone back to his side of the chair to eat I busy myself with the butter on the lobster tail. Sam pulls the orange chicken plate to her, I look over it looks nice with the rice and peppers, the sauce looks especially good. I open up the little canister of cocktail sauce to dip the lobster in and start cutting up my steak. Sam holds her fork over to me with the chicken and some rice and peppers. I take the offered bite and smile it tastes as good as it looks, then offer Sam a bite of my steak.

"Is the food always this good in first class?" Sam asks with a little steak fluid running down her chin.

"Not really sometimes better sometimes worse it depends a lot on how good the ingredients are that they get. I always get the steak because they taste the same it's just a matter of how tough it is. Not all airlines still have first class, they find it better to offer cheaper fares and if at all hand out the same basic meal. Your upgrade went on my ticket because I'm a frequent flyer, doesn't cost me anything to upgrade a friend." Sam smiles at me, Chris pokes his head around the chair.

"The meals now are much improved over what they were like twenty years ago. Sometimes it was closer to cardboard than anything else. Flights were longer as well this one would have been seven hours or maybe eight I haven't been to Phoenix very often." Sam giggles as Chris disappears around the chair again.

"He listens in way to much don't you think?" Sam looks over at me and nods.

"Oh yes he does."

"I heard that." Chris says not even turning around, Sam and I giggle.

"We know." We say it in unison getting a groan out of Chris.

The lobster is really quite good with the cocktail sauce and drenched in butter. I trade a bite of lobster for some more chicken Sam is smiling at me as she eats it. We split the salad with Italian dressing Chris coming back around to watch.

"Heavens one would think your both pregnant eating that much. You realize it all goes to your hips don't you, a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips." Sam and I look at each other and giggle.

"Chris you are starting to remind me of my mother." Sam says getting an indignant face from Chris.

"Oh you so did not go there. The nerve of you young folks talking like that, what happened to respecting your elders?" Sam and I are laughing hard Chris is grinning and trying to not laugh with us.

A stewardess comes over asking what the joke was we share it and she walks away giggling. Chris moves closer his eyes intense motioning Sam to move in with him.

"Nia, do you have any idea what you are going to do?" I shake my head.

"I need to see the floor plan, I need to see the elevator and I need to see into the apartment. The elevator is the important part, with it opening into the living room where there would be guards I need something to hide behind." Chris nods glances at Sam then looks at me again.

"If you didn't have to save someone how would you do it?" I ponder for a second then grin at him.

"I would break out the Barrett no window made can withstand it. I'd think about a rocket launcher, though to much peripheral damage." Sam squeaks and looks at me.

"There was a serial rapist that was killed with one of those two years ago now." I smile at Sam.

"I do pro bono work on occasion I was in town for something else and managed to get it there in time. I saw the reports on his victims and it reminded me of a friend I had made on my first day in New York who had gotten the same treatment. I wasn't going to let him get away with it again." Chris smiles at me and nods.

"I've done the same thing, makes you feel good to know your not all bad doesn't it." I smile and nod back, Sam sighs.

"You still take money to kill people." I lean a little closer to Sam.

"Chris and I take money to kill bad people, mafia men are not exactly known for being good. I know your dad is one, there are exceptions. We get paid to kill the rotten apples any man that will turn on others to go up the ranks is not a good man. They are power mad, once they get a little they want more and are never happy. We are expensive so only people at the top can afford us they are the ones that need protection. People like Chris and I are the reason the mafia mostly stayed out of drugs, speaking of that Chris did you do the gang disappearance?" Chris looks at me like I'd just shot him.

"I thought you did it." I shake my head.

"They were not on my list I was going after one person at the time. For that many I would have used explosives. I don't do just poof and gone, you do that." Chris shakes his head.

"For that many I would use explosives. I don't know anyone that can do that with so many. Not even in Europe is there someone that good." Sam looks lost.

"What are you two talking about?" Chris and I look at her.

"There was a gang, some sixty strong that just disappeared one day, one day there the next not. The really odd part was their cars were found out in the desert, nothing of them just the cars. It was assumed to be a gang hit, except for the nothing of them part, gang hit would leave bodies and blood. There are not very many people who can do that, Nia and I are most of the few believed to be good enough. If it wasn't impossible I would think they were all eaten, nothing would leave no blood or bones behind." Chris says I nod along to him.

"Possible they all decided to just up and disappear, except no one set their affairs in order, people leaving do that, either by death or just leaving. There were no fresh tracks leaving except made by the man who found the cars. The really odd part, they had stuff for a big barbeque in their trunks all the fixings except one that had been opened and the predators got in it." Sam and Chris are staring at me. "I get good information." Chris chuckles.

"Better than I get I didn't know about the barbeque stuff or the open trunk." Sam giggles and looks at me.

"I'm going to be forward could you call your boyfriend and get permission tonight?" I look at Sam and sigh.

"I don't know if he will be awake, I only see him after dark, he works all day. I will leave a message if nothing else he will call back when he gets a spare moment." Sam nods at me, Chris looks around.

"I think we are in a holding pattern." I listen the engines are not as loud.

"Then we are at New York, I never get a holding pattern except here and Los Angeles."

The ding of fasten seat belts gets Chris back around the chair. I check my seat belt just out of habit Sam checks her belt breathing a little faster. I grab her hand and smile at her, landings are easier for me a little bit, we are falling down but controlled unlike my fears on the matter. The whine of the engines for our descent has Sam looking at me wide eyed. I put my other hand over hers and rub it a little smiling at her.

Sam squeaks when we touch down, I almost do the same. Controlled descent or not the plane bounces when you land. It's not much of a bounce but it is still a bounce. Chris looks at us from around the chair again while we are moving to the assigned terminal he's a little white himself. I giggle at him getting me a roll of the eyes and a shake of his head. Chris is getting a carry on out of the overhead when I get up, he's taller than I am, not Ben taller but a respectable distance.

"You know, you're tall for a gay man." I say with a poke into his midsection.

"I am not, your just short for a woman." Chris doesn't even look at me at first he just keeps getting his carry on out, when he does look he laughs.

We walk together off the plane up the ramp to the terminal building. We lose Chris there, he is coming home we are visiting. Chris stops then turns around and comes back to hand me a card. With a wave this time he is off again, Sam grabs my hand and points. I follow her finger to see a driver standing there with two signs, one for Samantha and one for Nia.

While we walk closer I look him over, he's maybe six foot with brown hair that is one of the never manageable kinds of hair. He's not terribly thin, not round or fat just chunky. Near him slightly behind is a taller man, this one is blonde with blue eyes. His hands are large, his feet not as much though there is a bulge, just not where it's supposed to be, he's carrying a pistol under his jacket. I relax when Sam waves and the blonde man smiles at her and waves back.

"Ed, how are you doing?" Sam asks as we get closer, he smiles both looking like they want to hug and know they can't.

"I'm doing good, wife finally relented we are six months along." Sam squeaks and does hug him then, the driver looks me over.

"If I was to ask if you wanted a cigarette?" I sigh and roll my eyes at him.

"I would say they are the devil's playground. I got two pieces of luggage to pick up I'd feel better if we go now." Sam is looking at me a little confused.

"What was that?" I giggle and pull her closer.

"Password, I don't always go about as I am, keeps people guessing. This is my last presentation so I figured why not, besides I went fertile today. I couldn't don a wig and not tell my boyfriend why I was donning a wig."

The driver leads the way, Ed falling in behind us. I don't like Ed there it feels wrong to have an armed man following me with no weapon of my own. It takes a while to get my presentation suitcase, I'm starting to think it did not get on the plane when it finally appears, attached to a second suitcase. I don't pick it up at first looking at the suitcase I went to the airport with it is opened and sealed again in the usual way with an extra strip of tape. I sigh and pick up both suitcases, this is not as easy as it sounds they are heavy.

I give the driver my two presentation suitcases he takes them without a comment then limps toward the exit. I watch him go giggling for a second then follow him. Sam grabs my hand and looks at me, she mouths boyfriend. I smile at her and find my cell phone hoping he's awake and not busy. Ben picks up on the third ring with strange sounds in the background.