Black: Sometimes, not following the rules is the right thing to do … (Rule Number 3 Book 2) Read online

  RULE # 3

  Book 2

  Black

  Sometimes, not following the rules is the right thing to do …

  By Teya Tapler

  Rule Number 3 Series

  Book 2 - Black

  Copyright 2015 © Teya Tapler

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  To my family for all their help and support.

  Time Traveling Association Employee Code of Conduct *

  Do not change the past!

  Do not leave technology traces behind!

  Do not engage in emotional relationships with the locals!

  Do not bring any weapons with you!

  Do keep a low profile and stay invisible!

  * If you have any questions, talk to your manager.

  Sometimes, not following the rules is the right thing to do …

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 1

  “I fancy a very demanding task for you my precious assistant,” The Chancellor’s crocodile like smile, his cold gray eyes and the usage of the word “precious” made Ollie shiver. He had never been called that. Ever!

  The two men were in the Chancellor’s office at the Galactic Representatives Building. As accustomed during that time of the day the room had the low lights on and the white marble accents in the space reflected their dark golden hues. Thin strips of smoke were rising from an incense burner in the middle of the table. The smoke slowly drifted in the air, filling in the whole room with strong, oriental, mind intoxicating smell. The atmosphere was mystical and perfectly matched the timbre of the Chancellor’s hissing voice as he continued speaking slowly and quietly. He was obviously afraid that other people outside his huge, soundproof office might hear their conversation.

  ”You have established your position here in 2424. Now, I need you to revisit the past and accomplish something there, for me.”

  Ollie had proven his value many times. Three years ago he killed the previous High Representative from Earth in the Galactic Committee clearing the path for his benefactor to rise to a Chancellor position. Then Ollie suffocated the previous assistant when the Chancellor suspected foul play and in the meantime he had successfully rearranged the people in power at many of the Earth’s local committees and agencies by the Chancellor’s request.

  The day Ollie was hidden from the justice system and spared the horrors of prison had blurred over time. It seemed that he had been with the Chancellor forever. The only thing he clearly remembered was the deal the two of them made. The Chancellor had kept his end of the bargain by ensuring that Ollie was well provided for. After many years of devoted service and countless special requests he even made him his assistant. Ollie on the other hand enjoyed receiving those assignments where his creativity could shine time after time. All Ollie needed to know was what his next target looked like, so that he could easily recognize him or her and complete the task. He was happy he had found someone who appreciated his rare skills and was more than eager to complete whatever the Chancellor asked for.

  “What would you have me do this time?” Ollie’s bushy eyebrows lifted as he rubbed the palms of his hands in anticipation.

  The Chancellor tried hiding the intense feelings the topic brought up in him. The muscles in his cheeks twitching as he spoke. “There is a particular person, who has become too powerful without reason and needs to disappear in her time. She must never live to be 22 years old.” He tossed an antique black and white photo on the table in front of Ollie and put his finger next to a girl in a T-shirt with a big smiley face on her chest. She had dark eyes and long dark hair lifted in a ponytail almost at the top of her head.

  “This is her the day her father discovers the last of the pearls. Her name’s Evangeline Shtuttgart.” The Chancellor said. “I’ll pass the rest of the details when your partner joins us.”

  Ollie frowned at the idea of partnering with anyone at all. He tried opening his mouth to protest but the Chancellor spoke before him. “He knows the environment better than you and is highly skilled in a different area. His specialty is the human emotions and delicate human relations. I’m sure that both of you have something to learn from each other.”

  The noise of a closing door made the conspirers look towards the sound. A tall and handsome man with dark sleekly combed back hair materialized at the far end of the Chancellor’s office. The newcomer held himself like someone with a reasonably high status. He proudly and carefully strode through the long office and when the Chancellor acknowledged his arrival sat on the sofa as far from Ollie as possible. Ollie enviously looked at the brown, thin-striped suit, coordinated shoes, vest, shirt and tie and after comparing them to his beige long-sleeve T-shirt and loose carpenter’s pants distanced himself to the opposite end of the red leather sofa.

  “You’re right on time, Alex.” The Chancellor looked at the newcomer. “I was just showing Ollie your target.”

  “This is her.” The Chancellor pointed again to the girl with the pony tail. “You must slay her subsequent to her parents discovering all of the pearls. I don’t want them distracted with her loss and forgetting to complete their work.”

  “Sure,” Ollie said quietly, thinking that finding and killing her would be a piece of cake.

  “When do you want this done?” Alex’s dark eyes were serious.

  “A few years subsequent to the discovery of the last pearl would be nice. No one should be able to link the two events,” the Chancellor hissed. ”It is unnecessary to say to you gentlemen that her death must be fortuitous.”

  “Just the girl, or the whole family?” Alex was focused on the picture.

  “Just her would be nice, but if you want to practice on somebody else I wouldn’t disapprove at all.” The Chancellor smiled indicating his approval was sincere. “There’s no restriction regarding your slant and style. Feel free to harass her, drive her insane, commit her to a mental institution, pester her days and nights, steal her freedom, crush her dreams, and make her suffer before you deliver the final strike.” His voice has slowly risen as he spoke, clearly displaying his excitement over the matter. With a small pause to compose himself, he turned to Alex and continued. “After all she has hurt you too. See … you sister Amanda would still be with us if it wasn’t for her.” Then the Chancellor turned to Ollie. “And my precious nephew Kevin, your best friend, is imprisoned because of her.” He took a deep breath and looked at Alex, “I would like you, to supervise this.”

  Ollie clenched his teeth. He was still digesting the introduction of a partner when he was given a new boss. That didn’t remain unnoticed.

  “This will make i
t possible for you, Oliver, to focus on what you do best,” the Chancellor smiled. “Now go, do your task and stay in the shadows. You will still be needed here as my assistant afterwards.” The Chancellor waved toward the door indicating that Ollie had to leave.

  “You should be all set now, Alex,” the Chancellor said after Ollie closed the door. “I understand that your work is more subtle than his and I appreciate your ability to mesmerize your victims. You will decide how to advance, the duration, and the execution site. Let him select the tools and do the dirty work for you. I don’t want anybody’s blood on your hands. Your people skills are far more significant for me. Here are the environmental and surroundings’ details for your destination,” he pushed a red velvet box, the size of a deck of cards, towards Alex.

  Alex started to get up when the Chancellor spoke again.

  “One more thing… Did your people pinpoint the next hideout?”

  “I’m meeting with them later today. They’ve been tracking the movements of the reader maker locket from the very beginning and should have the new location mapped out.” Alex said.

  “If you need more manpower, feel free to include Ollie in that too. He’s decent in following directions,” the Chancellor said.

  “Will do!” Alex took the velvet box and left through the same place he came from.

  As the hidden door closed the Chancellor propped his feet on the table, adjusted his ultramarine robe, put both of his hands behind his white-wigged head and looked outside. It was December and the snow falling on the balcony outside was dancing in front of the full-height glass doors. The cold air was entering freely through the opening keeping the room pretty close to the outside temperature.

  He already enjoyed the idea of that girl suffering the loss of one or more of her loved ones. He knew he would be avenged and then he would be able to bring back his brother Zull Mort and Kevin, his nephew. The power of the reader maker would increase their intuition, instincts and perception. With a heightened sixth sense the 906 Inquisitors would return ever more powerful.

  Everything would work as planned – one step at a time.

  Chapter 2

  “Don’t open your eyes yet! Just five more steps and then we’ll turn to the right.” Brittany said while helping Evan get up the stairs. They were climbing carefully to the second floor apartment. Evan had her hand on the banister, following its curve up the steep flight of stairs. Brittany was walking to her left keeping one hand on Evan’s eyes to ensure she wasn’t peeking along the way.

  “The smell’s familiar to me.” Evan said. “It so reminds me…of home.”

  “It’s a relatively old house; you saw it from the street. I guess all houses get that homey smell after certain age.” Brittany said.

  “It was so colorful; white walls, dark yellow shutters and this gorgeous purple door. I wonder what color the staircase is.” Evan said.

  “Just a few more stairs and you’ll see. I’m sure you’ll like it. For me it was a love at first sight.” Brittany said.

  “You won’t let me even peek, will you?” Evan said.

  “We’re almost there. This is the last step. Now turn right.” Brittany said and held Evan to a stop. Then she pushed the red apartment door open in front of them and sang, “Tah-da-ah! Here we are!”

  Evan opened her eyes and looked around. The place had been recently painted and the furniture looked decent. There were white curtains on the windows, neutral wall color and hardwood floor in the corridor and the living room ahead of them. It was a pretty good deal for the price; a beautiful and clean, semi-furnished apartment in a good neighborhood and relatively old building. The wind coming through the open window blew the curtains apart and caressed her face. It brought in the scent of fresh air. Evan smiled.

  “OMG! We are getting all that just for us? And the utilities are included? This cannot be! Brit, come on, tell me the truth!” she said.

  “You could OMG as much as you want but you and I Missy are going to live here happily ever after. We even get this couch.” Brittany said spreading herself on the sofa in front of the open window. Her loose, shoulder length blonde hair spread on the sofa’s backrest.

  Evan looked around. It was a neat two bedroom apartment on the second floor of a double-decker house in Cambridge, located on a quiet street with a bus stop just a few blocks away. Brittany was right. It was the perfect place. After spending their first three years in the college dorms, Evan was excited that now they could really spread their wings and be more independent. Everyone would have their own bedroom and they’ll share the bathroom, kitchen and living room areas. She could bring some of her favorite things from Hamptonville, make herself finally comfortable and be able to have more clothes than could fit in a 24 inch suitcase under her bed. Evan was glad she had all her stuff ready for the move since they started looking for their own place in mid March.

  “Hola chicas!” a loud greeting in Spanish interrupted her thoughts. It was accompanied by heavy footsteps climbing to the second floor.

  “Hola!” Brittany greeted the smiling lady. “Carmen, this is Evan. She’s my best friend, the one I told you will live here with me. Evan this is Carmen. She works for our landlord Mr. Woodsworth.”

  “Hola.” Evan’s brown eyes smiled back and she stretched her hand in front of Carmen but the middle-aged woman hugged her instead. The scent of homemade cookies engulfed Evan and Carmen’s thick arms surrounded her giving no chance of escape from the loving welcome. Evan made a weird face trying to ask Brittany what is going on when the woman let her go.

  “Happy to see you, chicas! There will be someone around Andy when I’m not here at night.” Carmen said.

  Evan looked puzzled. All that Brittany told her was that she had found the perfect apartment for them, not that they have to take care of anyone in particular. The thought of having to look even after a dog, frightened Evan, and it sounded a lot more complicated.

  “I’m sorry.” Brittany looked at Carmen and then sat with Evan back on the sofa. “I should’ve told you this before. The landlord, Mr. Woodsworth, is... in a wheelchair. He’s a very nice man. You should see him smile.” Brittany remembered fondly their meeting a few days earlier. “Carmen visits him during the day to help with the household work and stuff. The only thing that we need to do is keep up the front yard presentable. Like mowing the little lawn, gathering the leaves, cleaning the snow off the stairs.” She looked at Evan as a conspirer. “Maybe plant some perennial flowers in the fall and make a snowman in the winter. It’s not a big yard. You saw it.”

  “More people here’s nice.” Carmen said emphasizing the Rs with her strong Spanish accent. “His son visits every month for the weekend. He not married.” Carmen winked at Brittany. ”The only other visitor’s the mailman.”

  “I think that we could do that. It’ll be nice to have someone else, besides you Brittany, to talk to.” Evan gave Brittany a nudge. “Another point of view’s always appreciated.”

  “Si, si. He likes when you read to him.” Carmen smiled.

  “Ca-armen?” A deep male voice shouted from the first floor.

  “I hope you like the welcome gift chicas?” Carmen smiled pointing towards the chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter. “They’re from Andy and me.”

  “Ca-armen? Where’re yo-ou?” The voice from downstairs shouted again.

  “Si-i, si-i. Coming Andy!” Carmen shouted back and sped downstairs.

  Evan got up and closed the door behind Carmen.

  “What do you think?” Brittany asked.

  “I like it.” Evan said and twirled around, her pony tail bounced happily. “And the cookies are a really nice touch. We didn’t get cookies when we moved in the dorms, only cockroaches in the bathroom.”

  “I’m sure everyone there still remembers your first night, when you saw the bugs. I haven’t heard you scream that loud before.” Brittany laughed.

  “This place looks much cleaner than the dorms, so I think there’ll be a fewer screams here.”
Evan smiled back.

  “I’ll call Josh and Mitchell to bring our stuff then.” Brittany took her cell-phone out of her pocket.

  “Bri-it! Is there anything else I need to know?” Evan said sternly.

  “No-o.” Brittany started slowly then sped up.” Except that I asked Josh and Mitchell to be ready to pick up our stuff from your father’s garage and drive it here.”

  “You did no-ot!” Evan said.

  “Yes, I did. I knew that you’d like the place.” Brittany texted Josh and a few seconds later her phone chirped indicating an incoming response. “They’re on their way and will be here in an hour.”

  Surprisingly Brittany and Evan had kept their friendship since high school. It had started at the time when they were both popular cheerleaders who loved pink clothes, had lunch with the school football team and enjoyed their attention. Then they both went in college to study journalism enjoying the creativity behind the profession. It was going along nicely with their girly world. They both enjoyed being in front of the camera and being good looking was half of the reporter's work, at least according to them before their freshman year in college.

  Then two years ago Evan stopped wearing pink. She donated all her pink stuff and replaced it with black, brown, green and gray. She had also started taking more classes, even during the summer break, and now she was close to graduating a whole year earlier and with the very different major of Computer Science. Evan even got two minors; Data Warehousing and Statistics.

  “Let’s look around then.” Evan entered into the nearby bedroom. A reproduction of Van Gogh's Starry Night greeted her from the wall opposite the door. The room looked big enough to fit a full size bed, a nightstand and a small desk with a chair in front of the window. The closet was reasonably sized and had a few built in shelves. The double window facing the backyard was open.