Fiction	Characters
Annie - Trick Shot Artist, Most Wanted
Mike Wass (11.05.99) elcarpo@yahoo.com

"Nice Shot..."

They called her Annie Oakley, and it was for a good reason. At the age of 6 she could shoot trap better than most men, and loved every minute of it. Her father was a trick shot artist, and she worked along side of him as his assistant. Her real name was Ashley Kern, but everyone called her Annie, after Annie Oakley, the legendary trick shot artist of the old west. Her mother had died giving birth to her, so she never had a mother figure in her life. For this reason she was sort of a tomboy early in life but soon grew quite pretty and her skills with guns increased. By the age of 16 she was the main attraction of her father's show and the two of them traveled the land entertaining at large corporate get-togethers. They quickly gained much fame and notoriety. Her father Emelio Kern was a good man. He treated his daughter well and often spoiled her.

The two were inseparable. They continued performing their show for many years. Annie took over more and more of the show as her father got older and older. At 26 she completely took over the show and her father ran the financing and the deals. It worked well because people, especially the corporate men, were more interested in watching a pretty lady perform than an old man. She was tall, about 5' 10", and had long red hair. She was athletic and charismatic. She could play an audience for hours without getting tired, and she loved the spotlight. Her act even got her noticed by various notables such as Kyle Haeffner and Nadja Daviar. Annie even had a large fan club, but was careful not to let all of the fame go to her head.

She was book smart and loved to read. After Annie performed for certain politicians she would often sit with them and discuss news and events. She was intelligent and could keep her own. Always the one to impress people, she would never have to look for another job, so she thought.

Annie and her father had been hired by Gigatech, a large computer corporation in Northern Free State California to perform at their annual banquet in which Gigatech had invited the President, CEO and all the executives of the corporation to come together and celebrate their newest innovations. There would be thousands of people and they were being paid top dollar. This would be the performance of a lifetime. It would also be Annie's most memorable performace.

Everything was going well. They had been performing for about two hours, it would soon be time for their final act. Annie would ask for an audience member to come forward and she would fire a cigarette from out of their mouth. The crowd knew this trick well and they cheered as the CEO was escorted on stage by the executive board. He joked with Annie that she had better be real good. She smiled reassuredly at him and placed the cigarette in his mouth.

"Know don't move a muscle sir and you'll be fine." She joked.

He laughed a slightly nervous laugh.

"Don't worry sir, there is no real bullet, it is a trick. When the gun pops the sound of the blank will cause the cigarette to pop out of your mouth. Now don't tell. This is the only trick that I cheat on and it works every time," she whispered.

"Besides if you told then I would have to do it for real."

He visibly relaxed and nodded, with a smile.

She placed him at one edge of the stage and blindfolded him. She walked calmly to the other side of the stage and upholstered her Colt American L36. She lined up the shot and aimed slowly in the general direction of the CEO. A drum rolled in the background and then ended. She slowly squeezed the trigger.

The CEO's head exploded, and his limp body fell to the ground the crowd gasped in horror and Ashley screamed and passed out. The executives rushed the stage to the CEO, while others rushed out the door in a panic. Her father came to her side.

She woke up on the stage the gun still in her hand. Her father was looking at her stunned.

"What happened why was there a bullet in the gun? What happened to the blanks?"

She shook her head in a daze; she had no idea. Someone must have tampered with the gun. She quickly holstered the gun and shook everyone off of her. Annie lept to her feet and bolted out the back of the stage. Her father ran after her. She burst into her prep room and searched for the blanks. On her desk there was a small white note. On it was written simply: "Nice shot."

She had been setup. She was going to fry for something she hadn't done. Her father was in the room with her now. He locked the door behind him and stared at his daughter. A tear rolled down his cheek.

"What is happening? The police are looking for you."

"Papa, you have to believe me, I was framed." She showed him the note.

"You must run, you must hide. I will try to figure things out. I will solve this crime; you must go to somewhere safe. Here is the money you have made. Once you have a new address let me know and I will send you more. Now take your things and go hide." She looked at her father; his old worn face was moist with tears. She kissed his forehead smiled at him and held him close. She took a backpack with some clothes, some money, and her gun bag. With her Colt American at her side and her Remington 950 and Defiance shotgun in her bag, she threw her long coat on, and snuck out of the theater into the street. She grabbed the first taxi she could.

"Where to Mam?" inquired the driver.

She looked at herself in the rearview mirror, and then at the driver.

"Seattle." She piped up.

The driver turned around and looked at her.

"Mam, that is very far away."

"I know. I will pay you in full and for all your expenses on the return trip."

His eyes widened. He turned around, flicked on the meter, and slowly drove off.

Ashley looked out the window as rain began to fall on the car making a slight tapping sound. Where would she go? What would she do? Why was this happening and who had done this to her?

She curled up in her jacket took out her Colt American, and stared at... What was she going to do?