Bella

She left the room and walked quietly to the stair rail and leaned over. The man was still reading the paper and the pistol sneezed discreetly as she shot him through the top of his head.

She descended the stairs quickly and walked towards the main entrance just as the door opened where the bright lights had been. A man holding a video camera stepped into the hall and gazed uncomprehendingly at the guard slumped in his chair with blood pumping from his skull.

He turned to her and stared blankly at the pistol. She squeezed the trigger and a black hole appeared neatly between his eyes. She caught the camera before it could clatter to the floor as he fell backwards.

She stepped quickly into the room and looked around. There was nothing she could do for the female body on the bed but the naked man wiping blood from his body jerked forward as she shot him through the back of his head.

It was becoming untidy and she needed to regain control. She had unavoidably spent two rounds but there were six still remaining. She made for the main entrance again just as a vehicle pulled up outside; so she turned and sprinted back up the stairs.

On the landing, the man who had accompanied her in the car was walking to Dimitrov's room. He looked at her in surprise and the pistol sneezed again.

Back in the room she tried the French doors but they were locked so she took a pace backwards and kicked into them with the sole of her foot. The wood splintered and she stepped onto the balcony. She was to one side of the house with a six metre drop to the ground. She put the pistol into her purse and placed the strap around her neck. She relaxed her body as she hung from the rail and then let go.

She rolled neatly as she landed on grass and rose to her feet to take her bearings. There was shouting coming from the main entrance and her work in the hallway was clearly the reason for it.

The land extending around the house had plenty of trees for cover and only the driveway to the main gate was lit. Then she heard the thudding of solenoids as floodlights around the house illuminated the surrounding area.

She looked up and there were three lamps on her side. Glass tinkled to the ground as she extinguished each one with a single shot. The land in front of her was now in darkness and she crouched low as she sprinted for the cover of the trees.

There were two rounds left in the magazine and she knew she would need to use at least one of them. Five men were running along the main driveway and all carried drawn weapons. They were shouting to the guard with the XM8 and waving him towards the dark area where she had to be.

He set off across the lawn but stopped thirty metres short of her position and levelled his weapon. The advantage was with her because she could see him but he could not see her. He sprayed only one short burst before she dropped him with a shot to the centre chest.

She needed his gun and had no choice but to break cover. Crouching low, she sprinted to the body of the guard as all five men starting firing together. She felt a stinging sensation in her upper right arm as she flung herself behind the guard's body.

The men were fifty metres away but clearly illuminated in the floodlights as she raised the rifle. There was no point in wasting ammunition so she nudged the lever up to semi-automatic and put one round in each of the two men on the right. As they both went down, the other three scattered and she flicked the lever down to fully automatic. She fired two bursts and another man went down before the magazine was empty.

As she turned and ran back to the trees she saw other men gathering outside the house. In the cover of darkness she was aware of a tingling in her right arm. She felt gently with the fingers of her left hand and the outside of the deltoid had been nicked. It was nothing serious but it could marginally reduce her efficiency.

The floodlighting fell short of the exterior wall and she ran along the side of it until she found a tree with branches that extended close to the top. She hauled herself up into the tree and looked towards the top of the wall. There was a sturdy branch protruding towards it and she walked sure footed as far as her weight would allow.

Although it was dark, she calculated that it was just over three metres and using the branch as a spring board she launched herself at it. She grabbed a spike with her left hand and then pulled herself up. The spikes all curved outwards to deter entry but they presented no problem for someone trying to get out. She slid over the spikes and dropped down to a grassy bank.

Her mental clock told her that it was twenty minutes after midnight as the gates opened and a car turned onto the road with screeching tyres. That was bad but not unexpected.

She ducked down as it passed and then jogged along the road as she waited for suitable transport to arrive. Traffic was sparse and only two lorries lumbered past during the next ten minutes. Then she saw the lights of an approaching car and stepped onto the road.

The male driver picked up the blonde girl in his headlights and she appeared to be in some distress. He braked and she walked to his window and opened the door. The gun in her hand looked very real as she said politely, "I'm very sorry about this but I need to borrow your car. Please get out."

He stepped out of the car and she pulled off her blonde wig and handed it to him with, "Here's a souvenir for you."

As she slid behind the wheel and placed the selector into drive, she became aware that her deltoid was beginning to stiffen. The owner stood back as his Mercedes left rubber smoking on the road.

******************************

Arnold sat slumped in the chair and his mind was numb with dread. He had never imagined that the last hours of his life would be so terrifying. The two men stood silently either side of the door and were listening. The guns in their hands hung loosely by their sides.

When he had heard the tap at his door he had assumed it was Bella and opened it readily.

Long minutes dragged by in silence. Suddenly the sound of window glass breaking came from the bathroom. Both men looked sharply at each other and moved quickly across the room. One took up a position by the bathroom door and the other crouched behind a chair. Both their pistols were levelled in readiness. Arnold also stared at the bathroom door and tense seconds passed in silence.

The apartment door crashed open and Bella hurtled into the room crouching low. The gun in her right hand spat fire and her left arm straightened as if throwing dice. The man behind the chair clutched at his face and screamed.

Arnold looked at the man by the bathroom door and he was sliding down the wall but leaving a shiny red trail from the back of his head.

He turned in bewilderment to the man behind the chair who was writhing on his back with something protruding from his right eye. Bella was standing over him and Arnold heard the sickening sound of bones crunching as she lifted her foot and stamped hard onto his chest.

And then there was silence.

Bella dropped to her haunches in front of him and asked, "Are you okay my darling?"

He was unable to answer and got quickly to his feet with his hand over his mouth. He made it to the bathroom and knelt with his head over the toilet. Bella followed and began to rinse a cloth in readiness. When he was able to stand, she carefully wiped his face clean.

She led him back into the room with her hand covering his eyes and straight into the bedroom. She sat him on the bed and said, "You're not intending to use the kitchen again are you?"

He shook his head.

Back in the room, she switched on the computer and then dragged the bodies into the kitchen. She returned to the bathroom and examined her arm in the mirror. It was nothing more than a burn so she washed it and covered it with a plaster from the cabinet.

She returned to the computer and tapped a few keys. The screen went black and then an hour glass appeared.

Arnold was sitting on the bed when she walked back into the bedroom. She said, "I hope your computer contained nothing sentimental that you wanted to keep because it has just self-destructed. Are you packed?"

He nodded and enquired, "Dimitrov?"

"He has been deleted."

He pointed to his eye. "What was that in the....?

She opened her purse and took out one of her long tubular earrings. She unscrewed a cap and withdrew a ten centimetre steel spike. She said, "I had only one round remaining." He winced and turned his head away.

On the way to the airport he said, "Nice car."

She answered, "A gentleman kindly let me borrow it."

When they had passed through security Arnold began to relax. The four hours passed slowly until his flight but finally the queue formed and she hugged him close and kissed him. Her dark eyes held his as she whispered, "I'll come and visit you soon and we can try some positions I learned in India."

She waved back to him as he disappeared along the corridor.

******************************

The morning was grey and drizzly as the young woman walked along Lombard Street. She passed under some low scaffolding and a workman stopped his task to watch her as she turned into the bank entrance. The door at the far end of the hall was marked 'Staff only' and the lock clicked open when she swiped her card. The corridor was quiet as she made her way to the private lift and pressed the button. When the lift opened at the lower basement level she walked the few paces to the heavy oak door and pressed her right palm against the scanner. She waited the few seconds for the camera to blink green and pushed the door open.

Miss Davies was wearing the same blue dress and without taking her eyes from her screen she said, "You're late but Madam said go right in."

Bella passed by without comment and entered the other room. She sat down and crossed one leg over the other.

Madam stared at her impassively and then said, "You have accomplished your task and I am satisfied. However it was rather untidy. Was it absolutely necessary to exterminate most of the male population?"

She received no answer.

Madam folded her hands and said, "Now let's get to the important bit. What have you done with Mister Simpson?"

"He has moved."

"You have defied my specific instructions and that is a serious offence. Bella, you are not completely irreplaceable."

Bella uncrossed her leg and leaned forward. "Now let me tell you something Madam. I do my job because I am also keen to rid the world of evil bastards. But I don't kill innocent beings who pose absolutely no threat to the organisation. Furthermore, if you ever send anyone after me, I will return them to you in pieces."

Madam listened without a trace of expression.

Bella continued, "And one more thing; I've taken out some insurance. I have many friends around the world who are sympathetic to the cause and I am in contact with them regularly. If they were to stop hearing from me, they would assume that I had passed away in unexplained circumstances. Their computers would immediately begin to broadcast information about Trove; every name, every agent and every benefactor. Criminal organisations around the world will be most interested. So Madam, I suggest you say a prayer for me every day."

Madam remained rigidly upright. "Have you finished?"

Bella leaned back in the chair and crossed her leg again. "I just want us to understand each other. Do you have another job for me?"

"Not at the moment so that will be all thank you. I will be in touch."

As Bella got to the door, Madam said quietly, "Please cross the road carefully."

As she walked back into the outer office she paused at the desk. Miss Davies immediately put her hands over her ears and said, "I'm not listening." Bella smiled and left the office.

The workman looked down again as the young woman passed under him. As she walked away she wriggled her bottom and he laughed and called after her, "Yeah, nice one."