© August 2012

Part Four of Eleven

Chapter Four: Like father like son

    Nicole pulled up just down the road from the seven eleven parking lot in a ford focus and then walked back to the other car to wait for Samantha and Sara’s return. She didn’t have to wait long before she saw two women walking towards the car, it took Nicole a couple of seconds to realise that it was Samantha and Nicolas, or Sara, as it was a young looking woman walking beside a brunette woman with thick rimmed glasses that made Samantha look like a school teacher, Samantha’s normal blonde hair hidden under the brunette wig.

     “This car looks just like the other one you were driving.” Samantha said as she tried not to smile at the look on the mystery woman’s face calling herself Ice.

     “The new car is parked just down the road. I need you and Sara to walk to it and then get in and follow me to a place where I can dispose of this car.” Nicole said as she handed Samantha the keys to the new car while she got her to look at a map, so anything caught on camera would just look like a woman asking directions.

    Samantha and Sara walked off in the direction of the new car, while Nicole got in the old car and started it up then drove out the parking lot and headed down the road, parking up just down from the new car and waited for Samantha and Sara to get in it before they drove off out the city into the country.

    Nicole found a spot she could transfer all the things from the trunk of the old car to the new car. She took the plates off the car and threw them on the back seat, and then she pulled a pin on a couple of canisters and then threw them into the old car before running to the new one and getting behind the wheel and driving away just before the old car went up in a ball of flames.

     “What was in those cans?” Sara asked from the back of the car as she looked out the rear window and watched the car burning.

     “They were thermite grenades. They won’t find anything useful by the time that’s done burning. They burn very hot, very fast.” Nicole explained.

    The light was starting to fade, so Nicole had to remove the sunglasses to keep seeing the road, she wasn’t worried about Samantha and Sara seeing her eyes because she had coloured contacts in that made her eyes look a warm chocolate brown.

     “Where are we heading, do you have any idea?” Samantha asked as she tried to get a better look at Ice’s eyes.

     “We’re heading to a safe house of my own, well a safe trailer. I have a car there as well, so don’t get used to this one, it’s just a stop gap to keep the police off our trail, and hopefully the other bad guys as well.” Nicole explained as she turned and looked at Samantha, so she could get a proper look at her finally without the sunglasses one.

    Samantha looked Nicole in the eyes and then looked over into the back where Sara was now sat smiling as she smoothed out her skirt and kept looking down at her chest and slowly working her way down her body until she reached her feet and then started taping them together. Samantha was shocked to see just how much Sara and Ice looked like each other, the only thing that made them look different was the ice blue eyes Sara had compared to Ice’s brown ones.

    Nicole kept stealing looks at Sara in the rear view mirror, and she could see the same thing Samantha was looking at. Even though Nicole had had plastic surgery done to alter her looks, it had just made her look even more like Sara now she was dressed as a girl and looking older than her twelve years.

     “Sara was telling me you’ve been helping her to become a girl, is she a happier child this way?” Nicole asked, hoping to throw Samantha’s thought process off its current path.

     “Do I really need to answer that?” Samantha smiled as she looked at Sara again as she sat grinning back at her mother.

     “Point taken.” Nicole said when she saw Sara smiling in the mirror. “She does look very natural as a girl.” Nicole added.

    All talk stopped when they saw a patrol car drive past them going in the opposite direction. They all looked at it to see if it might turn around and come after them, but it just kept driving away from them, heading towards the place they had dumped the other car.

    Nicole finally reached the trailer park and parked up in an empty spot close to the trailer she owned in the park. They emptied out the car and then Nicole drove it to a spot she knew it would soon be stolen from and stripped for parts, leaving no evidence for the police to find, all thanks to the local car thief’s. Samantha followed Nicole in an SUV that was parked in the driveway attached to the trailer. They left Sara at the trailer to sort something out for dinner.

    Sara had unpacked some of the food they had bought and was busy fixing them all something to eat when Nicole and her mother got back, and Nicole had to admit it smelt good. They were soon all sat enjoying a home cooked meal. Samantha and Sara were happy to chat while they ate, but Nicole had gotten used to being on her own, so she was happy to let the two of them talk while she listened as she ate her own dinner.

    “Thank you for the lovely meal Sara, you will make someone a wonderful wife one day.” Nicole said without thinking about whom it was she was talking to. Nicole had no idea how Sara felt about boys, and it wasn’t like she had much of a say in it either way.

     “Thank you Miss Ice, but I’m too young to be thinking about things like that.” Sara blushed.

     “Please call me Nicole. Ice is just my work name.” She smiled as she realised that she wanted them to call her by her chosen name, and not the name she used as the hired killer she’d become. “Nicole Princess is my full name.” Nicole added.

     “So your work name is Ice Princess?” Sara asked when she put the two of them together. “How did you get a name like that?”

    Nicole was just about to say it was because of the colour of her eyes, but managed to stop herself just before she let the cat out of the bag. It would open a can of worms she didn’t want opened, due to her having brown contacts in at the minute. Nicole also knew that Samantha would know who she was if she saw Nicole’s real eye colour. Nicole kept seeing the same eyes every time she looked at Sara.

     “The person that trained me said I was cold and heartless like an ice princess.” Nicole said as an answer to Sara’s question.

     “How did you become a killer?” Samantha asked.

     “It was a case of kill or be killed, so I did the killing and things kind of snowballed from there.” Nicole said trying to keep it vague.

    Samantha could see that there was more of a story there, but Nicole wasn’t willing to share it with them. Part of Samantha was glad Nicole wasn’t willing to share; she didn’t want Sara hearing stories of how Nicole became an assassin, and could act so calmly about taking another person’s life. Samantha had seen far too much death in her life, starting with the death of Jason Ackles, but he deserved to die, as he was trying to kill Nicolas and her after he found the two of them had made love. The only good thing to come out of all that was Sara, and Samantha was willing to do anything to keep her daughter alive.

     “I’ll let you and Sara take the bedroom, I’ll take the couch.” Nicole said as she got to her feet and went to sort out some things to change into before settling down for the night. “I’ll let you and Sara get ready for bed first.” Nicole added.

    Samantha and Sara were soon ready for bed and went into the bedroom to get some sleep, both of them feeling more relaxed knowing that Nicole was keeping an eye on them. Neither knew the reason for this woman wanting to protect them, but both knew she would with her own life.

    Nicole waited for the two of them to go to bed, so she could remove the contacts without the risk of Samantha or Sara seeing her without them in. The last thing Nicole needed was for Samantha to work out who she really was. Nicole let out a sigh of relief when she finally got the contacts out and placed them back in a little tub with some fluid to help keep them clean. She was soon showered and dressed in sweat pants and t-shirt, ready for any trouble that might come through the night. Nicole didn’t want to be caught in a night gown if they got attacked through the night.

    Samantha was stood right outside the bathroom when Nicole stepped out. Nicole was lost in thought and didn’t notice her until it was too late and she bumped right into her. Samantha was shocked to see that Nicole’s real hair colour was black just like Sara’s. Nicole had been wearing a wig since she saved their lives, so this was the first time Samantha had seen the real Nicole.

    Nicole pulled a knife from some place and had it held to Samantha’s throat in a split second, she quickly pulled it away again when she realised who it was. “Sorry about that. I’m not use to having company.” Nicole said as she slipped the knife back in its hiding place.

    Samantha had let out a scream which soon brought Sara running out the bedroom to see what was going on. She got out just in time to see Nicole putting the knife away again. “What’s wrong?” Sara asked as she looked around for the reason her mother just screamed.

     “Are we safe being here with you?” Samantha snapped as she watched Nicole putting the knife away again. “I’d feel much be...” Was all Samantha got out before she finally made eye contact with Nicole and stopped dead in her tracks as she looked into Nicole’s icy blue eyes, just like the ones Sara had.

     “Your eyes, they look just like mine, and your hair colour is black like mine as well.” Sara said with a shocked look on her face. “Who are you?” Sara asked with some pleading in her voice.

    Samantha was still trying to get things straight in her own mind as she looked at this woman that could be a sister to Sara’s father, Nicolas, but she already knew that he never had any other family, only his father, and he’d drank himself to death ten years ago, so who was this woman.

     “No, it can’t be,” Samantha said as she stepped back looking shocked while she took in the form of the woman stood before her. “You died a boy over ten years ago.” Samantha added as she saw there was no doubt that Nicole was a woman. The tight t-shirt and figure hugging sweat pants left no doubt in Samantha’s mind that this woman was all woman.

     “What are you talking about mum?” Sara asked as she looked at her mother and Nicole just stood looking at each other. “Who do you think she is?”

     “She’s your father.” Samantha stuttered out as she had to look behind her as she stepped back and had to hold onto the counter top to stop herself from falling over.

     “No I’m not kid.” Nicole said in a cold voice. “He died like your mother told you. I’m Nicole now, the ice princess. Hired gun and assassin.” Nicole added as she slipped between the two of them and carried on through to where the couch was, like nothing had happened.

    Nicole felt far from calm, but she had learned over the years to hide all her feeling while carrying out a job. She was hoping both Samantha and Sara would be angry with what they just found out, and go to bed, but they both followed Nicole instead. They wanted to know what had happened and why the boy Samantha knew in school and in her bed, was now a female assassin.

     “You can’t drop something like that on us, and then just wander off to bed.” Samantha said in a harsh tone as she led Sara by the hand into the living area and sat on another part of the couch looking at Nicole for an answer to all the question she had rolling around in her head.

     “There is nothing to talk about Samantha. Nicolas Johnson died just over ten years ago, and until this trouble kicked off, I had no idea you even had a child, or where you were living.” Nicole explained.

     “You have a daughter Nicole; doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Samantha asked, shocked at just how heartless Nicole was being about it all, but the more Samantha thought about it, the more she realised that Nicole had known all this time since saving them, and hadn’t let on who she really was.

     “If that’s how you feel, then why did you save us in the first place?” Samantha snapped angrily.

     “I’m beginning to ask myself that same question.” Nicole lied, but felt bad the minute the words left her lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.” She added with a sigh as she saw the hurt look on both Samantha and Sara’s faces.

     “Would you have got in touch with us if you had known about me sooner?” Sara asked with tears in her eyes.

     “No, I still would have kept away, but maybe kept an eye on you from afar.” Nicole owned up.

     “Did you always feel like a girl yourself Nicole?” Sara asked as she realised her father could still offer some help in her own transition. “Are you all girl now?” Sara added with some excitement in her voice. This was the first person she’d met that was anything like her.

     “Sara! You can’t ask questions like that.” Samantha blushed. “I’m sorry about that Nicole.” She added as she looked at Nicole who didn’t look bothered by the questions Sara just asked.

     “That’s alright Sammi.” Nicole said as she waved off Samantha’s worries. “She has a right to ask me any question she wants after me not being part of her life for the past twelve years.” Nicole added.

    Samantha smiled at the use of her old nickname. She’d not heard anyone call her by that name since Nicolas died. “You better start answering her then.” Samantha pushed for Nicole to fill in some of the blanks as to what had happened to her since Nicolas went on the run and then falsely turned up dead just over two years later.

     “Yes, I am all woman now, but I never realised I was different until I was on the run.” Nicole started to explain. “I always felt different growing up, but I never understood what it was until I was disguised as a woman so the police wouldn’t find me that I realised what it was.”

     “That’s how I felt.” Sara grinned. “How did you become the woman you are now?” Sara asked.

     “I did things a little different to how you’ll be doing things.” Nicole pointed out. “Everything I had done was kept a secret from the world. You will be able to do it all properly with your mother’s help.” Nicole explained.

     “I’ll have you as well.” Sara pointed out the flaw in Nicole’s statement.

     “I’m sorry, but once I have you both safe, and the threat on you both has been removed, I’ll be gone from your life again.” Nicole said looking serious. “The two of you would always be in danger if I stayed around, or the wrong people found out what the two of you were to me.” Nicole tried to explain to the now sad looking girl sat facing her.

     “Can’t we all go on the run and be together?” Sara asked, not wanting to lose her father, even if he was now a she. “You’re the only one that truly understands how I feel.” Sara pleaded.

     “The life I lead is no future for the two of you, and it would be too hard for me to keep doing my job with the two of you to protect as well.” Nicole said as she shut down Sara’s argument for them all to remain together and go on the run.

     “Don’t you think that should be a choice for me and my mother to make?” Sara snapped.

     “Nicole is right sweetie.” Samantha said. “She can’t live her life worrying about keeping us safe, she would make a mistake and get us all killed, so this is the way it has to be.” Samantha added in agreement with what Nicole had already said.

    Sara growled at them both as she got up and stormed off to the bedroom, slamming the door as she went in. They could both hear Sara sobbing from where they were still sat on the couch looking at each other and then to the bedroom door.

     “I’m sorry for all the trouble I brought into your life Sammi.” Nicole said as she let her head drop into her hands.

     “Sara and I would be dead if you hadn’t come back into our lives, so please don’t be sorry about any of it.” Samantha said as she moved over to the couch she was sat on. “I just wish we could have met under different conditions.” She added with a sigh.

     “You have no idea how many times I came close to looking you up, but I knew it would be a death sentence for us both if people found out who I was, and what I’d done since I went on the run all those years ago.” Nicole said as she looked Samantha in the eyes.

     “What stopped you really?” Samantha asked when she saw that Nicole wasn’t telling her the whole truth.

     “Even though I’m a woman now myself, I’ve never stopped loving you Sammi, but what could I offer you know I look like this?” Nicole said as she looked at her female form.

     “I can’t say I feel the same way about you as I did about Nicolas, but I could see you as a sister and an Aunty to Sara. I’m glad you didn’t die, and look to be thriving in your new carrier.” Samantha added as she cuddled up to Nicole.

    Samantha wanted to give Sara some time to calm down before she went to bed, so she rested her head on Nicole’s shoulder and asked Nicole to tell her what happened after she ran away, and what led her to becoming a female assassin.

    Nicole found it strange to be sat cuddled up to Samantha again after all these years, but it felt nice to be talking to someone about her past as well. Nicole was soon filling Samantha in on all the details of how a wimpy little boy became a female assassin. Nicole left out the details of all the people she’d killed. Samantha didn’t need to know about any of that.

    Samantha finally thought it was safe to go to bed and she said goodnight to Nicole and then left her to play the role of protector while her and Sara got some sleep. Sara was curled up on the bed asleep when Samantha entered the bedroom, so Samantha got on the bed next to her and pulled up the covers and was soon having a fitful sleep with an arm wrapped around her daughter.

    Nicole loaded a couple of her guns ready for use and also made sure she had some knifes spread around the place as a backup, not that she was expecting any trouble while they stopped at the trailer, but Nicole never knew what would happen. With every aspect covered, Nicole settled down on the couch and got some sleep before they moved on tomorrow and made the final trip to the cabin, where Nicole knew they would be safe, as the cabin was totally off the grid.

    Sara had woken and took a shower before her mother woke and wanted to take one. She wandered out into the main part of the trailer and saw Nicole sleeping on the couch with a gun sat beside her, so she sneaked over and went to pick it up, but was stopped when she found another gun being pressed up against her nose.

     “I don’t think your mother would be happy if I started letting you play around with my weapons.” Nicole said as she sat up and removed the pistol again and placed it on the table with the other one Sara was about to pick up. “Are you going to speak to me today, or are you still angry with me over my decision to leave again once I know the two of you are safe.” Nicole asked.

     “I’m still a little upset, but I don’t want to waste any of the time we have together, by not talking to you.” Sara said looking nervous as she watched Nicole put the guns down out the way. “Do you ever regret becoming Nicole?” Sara asked.

     “I can’t say I do, I still pretend to be a boy every now and then, and I hate the feel of the clothes and the way I look.” Nicole said as she screwed up her nose and made Sara giggle.

     “I know what you mean. I felt the same way when I was going to school as a boy these past two years. All I wanted to do is get home so I could become Sara again.”

     “Did your friends not notice anything?” Nicole asked.

     “I didn’t have any friends to speak of, I didn’t like doing boy things, and the girls wouldn’t let me do things with them. I just went to classes and then returned home so I could become Sara and then sort out dinner ready for when mother got home.” Sara said with pride.

     “Your mother did a wonderful job of raising you, I’m very proud of you, and I will do all I can to help you become the girl you want to become. I’m just sorry that I never got to see you grow up, if I’d known about you sooner, I might have done something’s different in my life.” Nicole said with a thoughtful look as she tried to think of some way she might have been able to live a normal life with Samantha and Sara, but would she have been able to do it as a man, or would she still have gone down the path of becoming a woman herself. These were all things she would never know the answer to. She still would have been tied to the murder of Jason Ackles, and probably spent some time on death row before being put to death.

     “Mother works hard to keep a roof over our heads, or she did, so the least I can do is make sure we eat proper meals.” Sara said with pride for her mother. “I’m sorry for the way I acted last night Nicole, and thank you for saving us.” Sara smiled as she sat down next to Nicole.

     “I better let you go and get washed and dressed then, so you can carry on looking after your mother then.” Nicole said as she let Sara go and take a shower before Samantha got up.

    Sara was soon skipping off into the bathroom to take a shower so she could get dressed. Sara was actually looking forward to getting dressed now she was wearing girl’s clothes all the time. She wasn’t happy about seeing her naked body due to it being the body of a boy still, but after seeing how her father looked now, Sara had hope that she too would look as good as Nicole did. Sara hated the thing between her legs and treated it like it was a poisonous snake when she did have to wash, but she was soon done in the shower and returning to the bedroom to get dressed.

     Samantha was just waking when she saw Sara enter the room with a towel wrapped around her chest, just like all women did, even though she had nothing to cover up.

     “Good morning sweetie. How you feeling this morning?” Samantha asked as she sat up and smiled at Sara.

     “I’m feeling much better than I did last night mother. I’m sorry about acting up last night, and I’ve already apologised to Nicole.” Sara said as she sat on the edge of the bed and gave her mother a good morning hug.

     “I’m pleased to hear that honey, and I hope you will make the most of the time we have with Nicole before she has to leave us again.” Samantha said with some sadness in her voice. “I may not like the fact Nicole will leave us again one day, but I can also understand her reason for leaving.” Samantha added with a sigh as she hugged her daughter.

     “I better get dressed, so I can get some breakfast sorted out while you go and take a shower.” Sara said as she got up and started putting her outfit together for the day.

     “I’ll be a little longer in the bathroom, because I need to colour my hair, so Nicole can cut and style it.” Samantha said with some dread in her voice. “I’m not sure just how good she is at cutting and styling hair, but I hope she’s as good with a pair of scissors as she is with a knife and a gun.” Sara added.

     “I’m sure Nicole is as good a stylist as she is an assassin.” Sara said just before she started giggling at her own comment. “That’s something I never thought I’d be saying.” Sara added with a shake of her head at just how crazy their life had become.

    Samantha was soon in the bathroom dying her hair from its normal blonde to a chestnut brown. Samantha let out a sigh as she looked in the mirror once she was finished and she now had brown hair, and feeling like everything in her life had been turned upside down. The most amazing part of it all being the woman waiting to restyle her hair that was once the boy she made love to and helped to create such an amazing child that she loved more than life itself.

    Nicole was stood on a large sheet of plastic that was laid out on the floor with her hands resting on the back of a chair. Samantha looked nervous as she made her way over and saw Nicole smiling at her as she lifted the pair of scissors in her hand, Samantha found herself wondering how many times Nicole might have killed someone in this very same way, while pretending to be a hair stylist. She had a vision of Nicole plunging the scissors into a person’s neck and then stepping back and smiling like she was now, as the person bled to death on the plastic sheeting laid out on the floor.

     “Don’t look so worried Sammi; I trained with some of the best stylists around.” Nicole said as she helped Samantha take the seat.

     “I trust you, but the plastic lay out on the floor, and you holding those scissors like that, kind of make me a little nervous.” Samantha tried to say with a smile, but it didn’t mask the fear in her eyes.

     “I know what I’ve become scares you Sammi, but you still mean more to me than anything, and I wouldn’t be trying so hard to keep you alive if I didn’t.” Nicole said as she stepped around to face Samantha who was now sat in the seat. “And I’d never do something as cheesy as this if I did plan to kill you.” Nicole added, which kind of killed the moment for Samantha.

     “Don’t you ever feel anything after you’ve taken a life?” Samantha asked with pain in her voice for the lost boy that she didn’t see in the eyes of the woman before her.

     “I kill people for money Sammi. There is no place for emotions in my line of work.” Nicole said in a cold hard voice. “Now let me style your hair into something that alters the shape of your face.” Nicole said as she walked around Samantha looking at what she had to work with.

    Samantha was soon sporting a much shorter looking hairstyle that changed the look of her face totally. Once the hair was done, Nicole spent some time showing her how to alter the way she put her makeup on, so she looked like a different person all together.

     “Now you both look different, we can see about moving on once we’ve had something to eat and got some things we need from a local storage unit.” Nicole explained as she watched Sara and Samantha looking at their new looks.

    Sara just looked like her female self, which was very different to the boy Nicole had first seen when saving them from pizza guy. With Samantha’s new look, they didn’t look anything like mother and daughter now either, but Nicole and Sara did when Nicole wasn’t wearing a disguise, not that Nicole ever left the safety of her home, hotel, or place she was stopping while working on a job without wearing a disguise of some sort.

     “You look so different mum.” Sara said as she looked at her mother and reached out to touch the new pixie style hair she had. Sara thought her mother looked like Alice Cullen from the twilight movies.

     “If what Nicole says is true, then that is a good thing, and it will mean we can move around more freely without the risk of being spotted and put in danger.” Samantha explained.

     “We still need to keep a low profile and get you two to a place where no one will be looking for you. A place that’s off the grid.” Nicole said while they sat eating.

     “What do you mean by off the grin?” Samantha asked with a puzzled look.

     “Away from ATM’s, street cameras and any form of computer identification.” Nicole explained. “That’s how the police and the bad guys will track you down.” Nicole added.

     “How can you be sure?” Samantha asked.

     “Because that’s how I’d track you down if it was me looking for you.” Nicole informed them.

    Samantha and Sara sat wondering for a short time as they sat in peace and quiet and ate their breakfast, just how many people had done this same thing, just to be caught and killed by Nicole.

     “Do you know of a place we can get off the grid as you put it?” Samantha asked.

     “Yes, I know of a place where you should be safe.” Nicole said as she thought about the cabin where Max first took Nicolas all those years ago. It was now her place, left to her by Max when he died of Cancer five years ago. He left her everything he owned when he died. Nicole was the only person at the funeral, as he’d not got any other family, and had come to think of Nicole as a daughter, even after knowing her as a desperate boy on the run from the law.

    Max had taught her everything except how to deal with an ex girlfriend and a son she never knew she had, who now wanted to be a girl, just like his father. Nicole had money stashed away in a Caymans bank account, some was what she’d earned on jobs, and some that was left to her by Max, but she planned to help all she could to make sure Sara got her wish, and both of them lived to see a bright long future.

    They packed up the car and were soon back on the road heading for a place Nicole knew to be safe, but Samantha and Sara were in the dark about it until they got there, and that was going to be a couple of days before they got there.

 

To Be Continued Next Sunday  

 

Story by SaraUK

 

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK

    EDITORS NOTE: Please Comment and/or leave Kudos and let Sara know you like her work please, Any comments on spelling, grammar or the layout of the story please PM me “Samanthak” not Sara. Thank you