Them

“No way, Boris insisted adamantly. There's no fucking way I'm going to let this psycho run me into hiding. I won't do it. I'm staying right here.” The detective Boris was talking to sighed. "I understand your frustration, but for some reason, she's decided you and Lauren are the evil culprits as far as her legal issues are concerned and still are. This woman is brazen enough to go after cops and—" Boris cut him off. "She's not doing anything. It's whoever the fuck she's hiring from the dark web." "We're aware of that. But that doesn't make you any safer. Is she worth your life? She almost took it once, so what's to stop her now?" "That's just the thing, Detective. I don't think she wants Lauren and me dead. I think she just wants to fuck with us. If she wanted to kill us, then why didn't she do it when she had the chance? It's all about mind-fuckery with this lunatic." "I hear you," said the detective, "but she's escalating." "Escalating?" Boris said incredulously. "I think this bitch crossed the line into escalating a long time ago.” “Exactly. And now she may very well intend to finish what she started." Ignoring him, Boris said, "What about the family angle? What are you doing about that and other people she may be in touch with? Parents are dead, but what about siblings?" "She does have a sister, but she swears she doesn't know anything." "You believe it?" "I don't know. But you and I both know that even if we knew exactly where she was—if she's in Montenegro—we can't touch her." "Well, I'll be damned if I'm going to let this nut job continue to ruin people's lives from overseas. I'm going to figure out a way to get to her one way or the other." "Boris, you can't take this on by yourself. No one can. She's way bigger than—" Again, Boris cut him off. "I don't give a shit how big she is, Detective. She's going down somehow, someway." "I agree that eventually she'll fuck up. She's obviously getting more and more brazen." "I'm not going to wait that long." "You shouldn't have to. But you shouldn't be left in danger either. Seriously, you're a sitting duck." "Well then, I guess it's time to turn the tables on her." "We're doing everything we can in our power." "Well, apparently your power isn't enough, so I'd say more drastic measures are going to have to be taken somehow." "Please don't do anything stupid." "That depends on one's definition of stupid," Boris retorted. "Remaining a target is pretty stupid if you ask me." "Then I'll just have to be stupid, because I'm not going into hiding." After the detective left his house, Boris couldn't help but laugh hysterically. They wanted him to go to the safehouse that they lied to Stone about. The safehouse they promised her that was really going to be prison until some stupid idiot helped free her at the same time she got off on a bunch of stupid technicalities was where the police force wanted him to be. He wasn't staying home, but he wasn't going into hiding either. That afternoon, Boris Brownly packed a bag and booked a flight online to the other side of the country. It was time to pay Stone's sister a visit. He just couldn't believe she didn't know something. If Stone was untouchable and she knew it, why wouldn't she stay in touch with those she actually got along with? Also, if the sister knew she was untouchable, why not say so? All he knew for sure at the moment was that he had to find out Stone's exact location. The only way to stop this bitch was if she were dead. He couldn't say for sure whether or not her plans were to have him and the other detective killed after she decided she'd played with him enough, but he wasn't going to give her enough time to find that out. He absolutely had to get to her one way or another. He knew that taking Stone out was putting his own life in grave danger—if not by her, then by the laws of her country—but he would rather rot in a prison cell than see her go on to torture whoever pissed her off. He would spend one more night in his small tract home, and then he would be off bright and early the next morning. He heard the sound of an email notification and walked back to his computer, thinking it was probably the airline company already eager to spam him since they'd already sent his flight confirmation. But it wasn't from them. It was from her. He opened the email to find one simple sentence in it. How was your meeting with the pig just now? An absolute chill ran down his spine. He could literally feel it slide down his back. But he could also feel his rage and determination boiling at the same time. He'd been instructed to report anything he got without responding, but fuck that. Silence wasn't always golden since it hadn't done any good to keep quiet. How the fuck could she possibly know he just had a visit and who it was? He got up and walked over to the window. He peered through the blinds but didn't see any unusual cars parked on the street. Still, it was obvious that she had eyes on him. He returned to his computer and began to type. The last thing he wanted to do was tip her off that he was going to see her sister. If he did that and she got wind of it and really knew where Stone was, she might take off for a while. They had secretly monitored the sister's phone calls and digital activity, but nothing suggested she was in touch with Stone. That still didn't mean she didn't know anything, though. It just might mean that Stone taught her how to evade detection. He replied to Stone with one simple sentence of his own. I'm coming for you.