Well, we have two new members to our team, and both are doing very well and have passed most of their tests so far. With 100 % on all of them, which I would say is quite good. I’m glad I never had to pass any of these tests, I probably wouldn’t have done very well. Anyway, Dorothy and Arielle were not actually killed, we just allowed them to be “killed” by the enemy so they would think that the two women were really dead. We were protecting them all along and did this to give them a new identity so they wouldn’t be continually hunted by their former bosses.

Dorothy became Charlotte and Arielle became Kailey. However, a red flag came up for Dorothy, so Galyna called me to her office. Apparently when Mr. Stone chooses a new sniper, the first kill the sniper does must be an innocent person, randomly chosen by the sniper. Then she left her rifle and a note saying she did this just for fun, and signed her name, Honey Hawk. That is the code name given her by Mr. Stone. Honey referring to her hair color and hawk because of her amazing eyesight.

She was quite relieved to find out the man she shot was single. It still wasn’t a good thing however, and she knew it. “You told me that Dorothy is now dead and buried,” I said, “is that true?” “Yes Steve,” she said through tears, “Dorothy is gone forever, I promise you that.” “Then whatever she did is buried in that grave with her,” I said, “nothing more to be said. I believe you have changed and Charlotte now lives.” I smiled at her and stood up to leave. “Is it permissible to hug our leader?” she asked.

I looked at Galyna. “I think it would be perfectly okay,” she said, “I’ll even turn around.” Later as I sat in our bedroom with Jennifer, Cristy came to me and asked why Akila and Hannah had taken over her position at the computer. “That is for protection,” I said, “just in case they find out something bad about your friend. It’s better they see it first, then they can tell me and I can tell you and Cristy. It will be easier on the two of you that way.” She smiled.

“You always think about us girls,” she said. She then left and met Misty in the hall. I asked Steve about it,” she said, “and he explained it all, so I can explain it to you Cristy.” They both walked down the hall talking on their way to their bedroom. Then Misty stopped. “Wait,” she said, “you called me Cristy, I’m Misty.” They looked at each other, blinking. “He did it again,” they said together and sighed.

“Well, what do you think about rescuing the twin’s friend?” I asked. “Oh my, you’re asking for my opinion on a case,” she said sarcastically, “good thing I’m lying down, just in case I faint.” “Very funny,” I said. But as I thought about it, I guess I don’t really ask her very often about such things. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I really should be involving you more often in these decisions.” “Apology accepted,” she said, smiling, “and if the woman is genuine, then we should try to help her if possible.

But you should make this case strictly volunteer. And make that announcement without Misty and Cristy around please. I will keep them busy while you talk with everyone. They probably went to their den and it’s almost time. So, get ready with your volunteer vote.” Sometimes I would like to know what goes on around here, and other times I would rather not know, and sometimes I’m just confused. Like right now. Sigh.

When I got downstairs I understood things better. Fresh donuts were ready and Jennifer took a dozen with her for her visit with the twins. I asked Hannah if they had found out anything about the twin’s friend, like her name which I keep forgetting to ask about. “Her name is Vista,” said Akila, “but everyone calls her Visty ever since she became best friends with Misty and Cristy. The three of them wanted their names to rhyme.”

“However, we could find nothing bad about her Steve,” added Hannah, “it is obvious the charges against her were false. That police chief was actually doing something to get rid of the drug gangs and they didn’t like that. But instead of just killing him, they planned this instead. Oh, we got this information from Jazzy. She also said she would be glad to help further if we take the case and want her help. She has reliable contacts in Mexico.”

That sounded good and I called Jazzy to see if she would join us in Mexico, and to my surprise, she said yes. I put it out to our team to see if we should tackle this case or not. Plus I would ask only for volunteers for this one. The vote for taking the case was 100% and volunteers was also 100%. Maybe I didn’t explain that right, so I tried again and got the same result. Then I explained how dangerous it would be and some might not make it back alive. I still got the same result.

“Steve, this concerns Misty and Cristy,” said Dawn, “none of us will say no to this, just like they would not say no if it concerned me.” But before we even left for Mexico we discovered that Visty had been transferred to a different prison, one that was much worse than the first one. This one is where Tracy began her time in prison too, but Jake had some influence with a couple of the drug cartels and after 7 months Tracy was moved to the other prison which wasn’t quite so bad.

“At least it was safer,” she said. That’s not very comforting. The next morning we were on our way, and since it’s a long flight, the best thing to do is use the time preparing, so I went in my room to sleep. “Why are you in here?” I asked. “Jennifer said you needed a wife,” said Dawn, “you can’t use Misty or Cristy because Visty knows they are not married. Sky and Angel will be too busy protecting you, so Jennifer said I would be perfect for you on this case.” She smiled.

I’m not sure why Jennifer wants me to have a wife on this case, but it is nice to have Dawn with me for a change. I just got to sleep and Dawn was waking me up to tell me Jazzy was ready to give us some more information. “Good timing,” I said, “I was afraid I might sleep too long.” Jazzy told us about the prison and the new changes made over the last couple of years. There is also a new person in charge of the prison now, a woman this time, and she is just totally mean and cruel.

That’s what Tracy had said about the man that was there before. Afterward I went to lie down again. I had just fallen asleep, with Dawn reading next to me, and she decided to turn the light off. She had to reach over me to do it and she dropped her book onto my face, making me jump and throw my arms around. “Sorry, guess I woke you up,” she said, “I was going to nap with you and wanted to turn the light off.”

“I hope you like short naps,” I said, “that’s all we get around here.” For some reason that made her laugh, and laugh, and laugh. It was a long flight. But we made it and Jazzy was waiting at the airport for us. Our cars and vans were also waiting for us and we were soon relaxing at our hotel. However, our relaxing was short lived…

To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.