X Marks The Spot [Part 2]

Ten years later....

Jules Finley sat down, binoculars held up to her eyes. They were trained on a man in a brown fedora and army coat. Colonel Branden Polansky. He was her target. Wanted by both the Russian and American government, Polansky was one of the most hardcore criminals on the lose. And she was ordered to take him down.

Reaching down, Jules replaced the binoculars and grabbed her Beretta 501 sniper rifle. Looking through the scope, she aimed the crosshairs for Polansky's head. Giving a soft, barely audible, whistle, she waited.

Out of the blue, a figure swooped down in the night. Dermott, her Harris's Hawk, perched on Jules' gloved arm. 'Send him a message, Dermott,' she whispered quietly, placing an evergreen spruce in her palm. The hawk grabbed the spruve with a claw, spreaded its wings, and took off, heading for the Colonel, who was ready to board his limo when he heard the call of the Harris's Hawk.

For a moment, fear flickered past Polansky's face when he realized what it was. Dermott circled above him, dropping the spruce right in front of the Colonel. One of his aides picked it up. 'Colonel, it's a--'

'I know what it is, Caleb,' Polansky said softly. 'Be on your guard.'

Nodding, Caleb shouted a command to the other bodyguards, who immediately surrounded Polansky and his aide with a protective circle. At another command, the guards pulled out guns and various firearms.

Above them, Jules Hailey chuckled. It took more than that to stop her. 'Dasvidanya, Colonel,' she whispered. Aiming again, she pulled the trigger, the silencer on the rifle muffling the shot. The bullet hit Polansky at the back of the head. Blood was everywhere. His aides were frantically calling for medical assistance, but it was no use. He was a goner.

Slinging the gun over her back, Jules Hailey packed up her stuff and stood up, her profile evident. With another whistle, Dermott, who'd been perched on a streetlamp watching the whole scene, flew back to her, and perched on her arm. At that moment, Caleb looked up, just in time to see a figure vanishing into the darkness.

__________________________________

'Well done, Ms. Hailey,' Lachlan Isaacs said, smiling. Jules wasn't. Her hands were clasped together, and she rested her chin on them as if she was praying. 'What happens next?'

'I'm sorry?'

'What happens next?' Jules repeated. 'What happens to me?' Lachlan shrugged. 'It's your call. You could do whatever you like, or go back to your old job as a researcher. As I've said, it's your call.'

Jules nodded, thinking. 'What happens if I want one last favor before I go?'

Lachlan smiled. 'What favor?'

'I need you to find my father,' Jules said. Lachlan started to speak but was interrupted. 'Not in the way you think. I just want to know where he is. I have issues to settle with him.'

'Okay,' Lachlan said after a long pause. 'After all you've done for us, we can do that.'

'Thank you.' Jules stood up. 'It's been a pleasure.'

'Likewise.' They shook hands.

Walking out of the room minutes later, Jules took one last look at her contact's office, before smiling and leaving the premises.

All she had to do now was wait.