The sleepy town of Boerne, Texas sits 45 minutes to the west of San Antonio, boasting a small population and vast stretches of uninhabited country. Parker had chosen to make her home there for the privacy it offered. Her house was actually a rustic log cabin home in the middle of no where. It wasn't large, yet still spacious and breezy, sitting on top of a hill. It was Parker's pride and joy, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She led Claudia inside, flipping on lights as she went. Both women were travel worn and exhausted...Parker wanted nothing more than to slip into a hot bath. Her body was sore, her muscles tense, as they had been for the last five days. The women had driven around Seattle aimlessly after leaving Claudia's place, trying to decide what their next move should be. Finally they had opted to just drive the stolen Honda and pray for the best. Fate had been on their side, they made it to Texas with no problems...the little Honda now sat in Parker's garage next to her Firebird.
Once inside, Parker retreated into the kitchen, leaving Claudia to fend for herself. Claudia glanced around the house nervously. It was much like the woman who owned it...cold, immaculate, and dark. The living room was decorated with a black velvet sofa and two matching armchairs. A large entertainment center was centered against one wall, complete with a television set and an enormous stereo system. Claudia's green eyes widened...a collection of Oriental swords adorned the wall above the sofa. Many were at least three feet in length. A glass topped end table sat between the armchairs, Claudia noticed a framed picture standing next to an ashtray. She picked it up and studied it intently.
Two woman were smiling and laughing at the camera...Claudia found it hard to believe that Parker was one of the women in the picture. The abrasive, stoic woman she had known for five days was quite different from the smiling, happy woman in the picture. Claudia turned her attention to the other woman in the picture. One of her arms was slung around Parker...her features were strikingly similar. But this woman's eyes held a warmth that Parker's didn't... this woman had an aura of refined beauty. She glanced up as Parker entered the room, carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels and two shot glasses. It was the first time Claudia had seen her without the ever-present trench coat...but she was no less intimidating without it.
"Who's this?," Claudia asked quietly.
"My sister," Parker answered.
"Twins?"
Parker shook her head, "I'm older."
"She's very pretty," Claudia stated, setting the frame back down on the table.
Parker shrugged, "She's dead."
Claudia was stunned by the complete lack of emotion in the other woman's voice. Her tone was totally devoid of feeling...she could've been talking about paying taxes. Claudia waited until Parker had taken a seat seat on the sofa, then she hesitantly sat down in one of the armchairs. Their trip had been spent in silence, they spoke only when necessary. It seemed as though Parker never spoke unless she felt it necessary. Claudia cleared her throat nervously, drawing Parker's steady gaze to meet her own. Parker offered her a full shot glass.
"No thanks...I don't really drink that much..."
Parker shrugged and knocked it back herself. The comforting sensation of the fiery liquid burning down her throat relaxed Parker. She closed her eyes momentarily, then reached over to a small black lacquered box on the glass topped coffee table in front of her. Claudia watched as she lit a cigarette with what she had thought was a figurine of a dragon sitting next to the box. Parker pressed one of the scales on its back and flames shot out of its mouth. She began releasing the straps that held her weapons to her body. When she was finished, six knives and three guns lay on the glass surface of the table.
"We have five days until we meet up with the tour," Parker suddenly said, exhaling a cloud of smoke as the words left her mouth. "I think we should lay low here until then. No one has any reason to connect the two of us...no one will think to look for you here."
"T-thank you," Claudia replied, feeling as though she was obligated to say it. No matter how uneasy Parker made her...this woman had helped her a great deal.
Parker shrugged the words of thanks off. In Parker's mind, it really wasn't necessary. She still didn't understand her own motives for helping Claudia, and her first instinct was to wash her hands of the whole mess and go back to spying on cheating husbands. But she was in too deep to back out now. Besides...Claudia was growing on her. She was a bundle of nerves, constantly on edge...but she wasn't afraid to fight if she had to. Parker admired that.
"There's not much to do around here," Parker continued, "unless you enjoy watching the grass grow...but it's quiet."
"That's okay," Claudia quickly replied, "can I set my computer up?"
Parker's eyes darkened, "I don't want any illegal shit going down in my house," she snapped. Claudia's face flamed, she literally had to restrain herself from shrinking back into the chair.
"No...nothing like that," she whispered. Parker nodded curtly, then stood up and stretched, scooping up her various weapons.
"I'm going to bed now," she said, "there's a guest bedroom at the end of the hall. I probably won't be here when you wake up in the morning...I've got some business to take care of in San Antonio. I'll be back sometime after noon."
Parker turned to exit the room, leaving Claudia with no direction of the house. Down the hall? Where the hell was the hall? Parker was just leaving her to figure it out for herself.
"Parker?" Claudia intended to ask her to at least show her around once...she didn't want to go snooping around herself and accidentally anger Parker. But the picture on the table caught her eye again, and the words left her mouth before she thought about what she was saying.
"What was your sister's name?"
Parker's spine straightened, but she didn't turn around. Claudia tensed, feeling stupid for asking such a personal question. She couldn't help it...curiosity got the better of her. She found herself wondering what had happened to Parker...why she was so cold and seemingly unfeeling. Did it have something to do with her dead sister? Claudia was intrigued.
"Her name was Paiton," Parker stated quietly. Then she disappeared through a doorway off the side of the living room. The door closed and Claudia heard the sound of a deadbolt snap into place.
Parker continued down the three steps behind the door she had just locked. It led directly into her bedroom, strategically placed so that she'd hear intruders if they entered her house. She slumped down onto her bed and squeezed her eyes shut. She was the only one left...Patton, Parker, and Paiton...now there was only Parker. She hadn't thought of her sister and brother in years, despite the fact that their pictures adorned many table tops in her home. Parker didn't want to think about them...her guilt tore her up inside every time she did. She knew she wasn't responsible for their deaths..her guilt stemmed from not being there when they died.
She heard Claudia rummaging around in the kitchen next to her room. Claudia...now there was a walking contradiction. She looked so sweet and innocent...but underneath she was shrewd and highly intelligent...not at all the airhead Parker had first assumed her to be. These five days would be a trial for Parker. She wasn't accustomed to working with anyone but herself. If she could be around Claudia for these five days without killing her...then she knew she'd have no problem working with her. Being stuck in the car with her for five days had been a piece of cake...they had both been nervous, constantly thinking that someone was tailing them. Now she'd practically be living with the woman.
Reluctantly, she pulled her long body away from the bed and padded into the bathroom. A quick look in the mirror showed that some of the swelling of her busted lip had gone down...the scratches on her face were healing. She splashed cold water on her face and changed into her pajamas, then left the bathroom and went to one of the two walk-in closets.
It was the larger of the two, and could only be opened by a combination that only Parker knew. Inside was an immense weapons vault. Various knives and guns lined the walls. There seemed to be an abundance of knives...Parker was a perfect shot, but truth be told...she preferred the smooth comfort of her blades. She replaced the weapons she had worn to their correct places, then swung the door shut and climbed into bed. Tomorrow she would take care of the two open cases she was working on...then she had five days to sit and wait...time to kill...to prepare herself for the mission ahead of her.
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