Disappearing, Inc.

Chapter 12- Preparation

Chapter 12- Preparation

Nervous silence filled the hotel room. Tonight. Tonight we were going to kill a man.

But leave it to Brooke to mask the fear with foundation and curling irons.

"How about coral? Orange is a popular lipstick shade right now?" Brooke said voice shaking. She picked up the tube and applied it to Morgan's pursed lips. "No, nope, no sir-re! Coral is not the shade for you!" She threw it aside along with the other half dozen colors we have already tried. "Let's just do this later..." She sighed then got up from the tile bathtub.

"We need to lighten the mood guys, don't want to drop our cover."I warned as I sifted through the closet. This whole ball was a big deal and I needed some fashion advice. "Brooke, I need some help over here." She walked over with a little more spring in her step. Her fingers lightly fluttered across the lively colors and the life in her eyes sputtered then fell to that dull shade of gray again. Her hand fell and I knew I had to change something of not this would be the most miserable day of our lives. Actually, no matter what I did it would still be terrible.

"How about we do makeup and hair first?" I knew that the answer was yes no matter what I said, so I followed her to the bathtub where she had set up her makeup station. Rows of colors and brushes sat there, waiting to torture me. She tapped and tugged at my face: adding a little here, smoothing this over there, then deciding that the former wasn't acceptable then redoing it. By the end of it, I wasn't sure if my face was completely swollen, or if I looked like a hobo from New York.

I rotated my head to face the mirror. It took everything not to take my hand and wipe off the smoky eye shadow and velvet lips along with the rest of the 'masterpiece' she had created.

"Time for hair Claire!" She trilled and the life in her eyes returned again. She curled it then stuck it in an up-do with bejeweled bobby pins here and there with little tassels hanging around my face

"How about this one?" She asked. She pulled a satin navy mermaid dress. It was truly stunning. Small diamonds studded the a-line and the hem of the fabric.

"Perfect." I walked into the bathroom and put the dress on, slowly slipping into the smooth wavy fabric. "How do I look?" Brooke studied my as if I was a manual for the latest and greatest hairdryer.

Finally ,I was done

"Who's next?" She asked wining her hands on her invisible apron. After an hour or so, all of us were decked out and standing in front of the floor to ceiling mirror, studying the outfits.

Morgan was as short as usual, but had gained a couple inches in her heels. She wore a short orange dress with yellow flower prints and her hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders. Not to mention that light light pink was the perfect shade of lipstick for her. Amazing. Kelsey wore a long black dress with ruffles that fell from her shoulder all the way down to the floor and her short hair was in her signature flip. Stunning. Brooke looked invincible in her long pink silky dress. The thin neckline was studded with small diamond looking gems and her hair was straitened. Beautiful. We were all so amazing all dressed up. We have been working for this moment for fifteen years.

"Gadget wise, I think we'll go with a communication unit and tracker jewelry . I've put a bug in Derek's shoe, and with your bracelet or watch, we will be able to know where he is twenty-four seven." I accepted my watch then realized it was my turn.

"Okay, this is my part." I skipped across the room and grabbed my satchel. "Weapon time! We beauties on the outside, killer on the inside." I smirked and unbuckled it, spilling out the weaponry. "Morgan, take this knife and this gun and stick it in your handbag. Kelsey, wrap around your leg," I handed her a strip of Velcro to attach leg, "then the guns attach! For you Brooke... Lets do another leg gun like Kelsey. I'll have a leg gun too and I'll put a knife in my bun so if I have to put my hands behind my head, I'll be good to go!"

We walked down to the car. A Mercedes with a personal chauffeur. Wow. Cool. We slipped onto the leather seats and quietly reviewed our covers. No point in trying to avoid it, we were nervous. But, we had to keep our guard up.

The car slowed to a stop and the heavy door opened and outside was French Chateau mansion.

We were here.