The Hitman’s Phone – Chapter IV

Chapter IV: The First Complication

The next morning, the two of them were on their way. It had to appear like they were actually on vacation so Tony planned a two-day driving trip. Whenever Cheyenne complained about not stopping to see something he would just say, “We only have a week.” Which was his timeline for completing the job before someone else would be sent in to clean it up. And technically, the timer started yesterday. This was day two. He should have the assignment completed by the end of day 3. That gave him a little cushion time of four days but he never liked to bank on cushion time. Best to get in and get it done.

What he rehearsed in his head was how to make it sound spontaneous to move out west. “Hey, it is so nice out here away from the city. Why don’t we just up and move here?” She always complained about the number of people so he was pretty sure she would be willing.

All things were going according to his perfect plan until the late afternoon of the next day. He saw a sign that said the town was only ten miles away. He was just about to ask if she wanted to stop in town for the night when the car went quiet. As if in, the engine quit running quiet. He managed to coast to the shoulder before the car died completely.

“I told you,” Cheyenne said. “You should have taken me with you to get this. I grew up around cars. I could tell this was trouble.”

He listened to her quietly and nodded. “I’ll call a tow truck.”

“Don’t bother,” she said and got out of the car. She walked to the front and looked at him. “Pop the hood.”

He followed her direction.

After a few minutes, she slammed the hood shut. He watched as she walked around and climbed back in the car. “Better call that tow truck now.”

He did.

The mechanic at the garage told them it would be looked at in the morning. Tony sighed and looked at his watch. “Is there a hotel nearby?” He still had some cushion time. This was not a time to panic or stop following the plan. The plan was still good it would just be delayed until morning. That would be day four. No problem.

The mechanic nodded his head. “I apologize folks. Normally we have a vehicle to loan out but we have already loaned it out.”

“Busy day for broken cars?” Tony asked.

The mechanic started to answer but Cheyenne interrupted. “Actually, I saw a hotel as we came into town. Not too far down the road. We can walk.”

Tony wasn’t thrilled about leaving his gun in the car overnight but didn’t see he had much choice. There would be no reason for the mechanics to open the spare tire hutch, so he kept his calm face on. Still not panicking.

“Let’s just grab a couple of overnight bags for tonight.” She didn’t wait for an answer and was already at the car by the time she finished talking. He followed her and helped pack a few things. While doing so, he nonchalantly checked the spare tire compartment to make sure it was buried under the camping gear.

Once they had a backpack of essentials, they left the car and mechanic behind. Once they reached the sidewalk he turned right to head to the hotel.

“Actually,” Cheyenne stopped. “Let’s go this way.” She pointed to the left.

“We came this way,” Tony said pointing right.

“There is a sign for a car dealership,” she said. “Maybe we can get a rental.”

He doubted it but the idea appealed to him. If they had a vehicle, maybe he could slip out while she slept, break into the garage, retrieve his gun and complete the mission. They could pick up their car in the morning and be on their way. It was definitely worth a try.

When they arrived at the gate of the dealership, Cheyenne stopped walking. “Hey, honey,” she said.

He didn’t hear her.

“Hon,” she said again and this time tugged on his arm. “I need to tell you something.”

Marriage was teaching him patience so he took a deep breath and stopped. “Can it wait?” he asked. “I’d feel better if we found out for sure if they have rentals.”

“About that,” she said. “You know how I told you I am from a small town?”

He nodded his head and looked at the dealership to make sure it wouldn’t slip away while she talked.

“The thing is, I am from this town. This is my home town.”

He looked at her. The words weren’t registering.

“This is my family’s dealership. My brother owns it.”

He looked at the dealership and then at her.

“Your family?” he asked. She hardly mentioned them. Since he didn’t have any family of his own he just thought that was normal.

She nodded her head.

He looked at the sign and shook his head. She must be mistaken. “It says Dunn Family Autos. You are Cheyenne Kaye.”

“Yeah, that’s a story. Dunn is my mom’s maiden name. It was actually her family that owned it. My parents inherited it when grandpa died.”

Tony did not know what to say. He tried but no words came out.

“And the thing is, I haven’t told them about you…yet,” she continued.

He had spent time in an enemy prison and been tortured so he was familiar with pain. But her words hurt him more than he thought words could hurt.

“You haven’t told them you’re married?” he asked.

“They weren’t too happy when I joined the Army. And then when I was out and moved back east it hasn’t been easy to heal all that. So, I haven’t kept in the best contact with them. It isn’t you, it’s them.” She said.

“Oh,” he said.

“I mean, I thought we were just passing through on our way to Yellowstone.” She pointed north. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you.”

“We’ve been heading this way for two days,” he said.

“And I never did find a good way to tell you. So, surprise!” she forced a nervous laugh. “You’re about to meet my family.”

He nodded. He had never met anyone’s family. What if they didn’t like him? What if they blamed him for her not contacting them? Suddenly, the ex-military turned gun-for-hire was nervous.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Cheyenne said. She held his hand and they walked inside.

A salesman greeted them after a moment. He only stood about 5’5” at the most. “Hello there,” he said in typical salesman fashion tone. “How can I help you today?”

“I’m actually looking for Jackson,” she said looking over the salesman. It wasn’t hard. She stood about 5’8” without boots on and she was wearing boots.

“He’s at lunch,” he said a little disappointed. “Can I give him a message?”

“Cheyenne?” they heard. All three turned to see a tall man standing at the office door.

“Jackson,” she said smiling and walked to him. The two awkwardly embraced.

Tony was considered a tall man. At 6’3” he was used to being the tallest in a room or at least amongst the tallest. But he had to look up at Cheyenne’s brother. He had at least 5 inches on him. All height no weight though. His suit hung off him like a teenager going through a growth spurt.

“Jackson,” Cheyenne said still smiling. Not her warm smile that Tony loved but more of her forced smile that he had come to recognize. “I want you to meet someone.”

For the first time, Jackson looked down at Tony and their eyes met. Tony was unsure of the proper protocol but he was pretty sure he needed to smile and play the part of a normal human. Something he had been doing more since his marriage. “Nice to meet you,” Tony said in his mostly forced sincere voice.

Jackson looked at the outstretched hand then back at Tony.

“This is Tony,” Cheyenne said. “My husband.”

Jackson looked at Cheyenne then down at Tony’s outstretched hand. “Well shoot,” he said breaking into a smile. “If that don’t beat all.” He gathered Tony in a bear hug and for a wiry man he sure had a strong grasp. He set Tony down allowing him to inhale a deep breath. “Does dad know?”

Cheyenne shook her head. “It’s a surprise.”

“Sure is!” he slapped Tony’s back. Tony had to fight every natural instinct he had not to slap him back. Instead, he smiled. It was not the warm smile Cheyenne loved but more of his forced smile she had come to recognize.

“We are actually on our way up to the Park,” she said. “Kind of a late honeymoon thing.”

“Nice,” Jackson said.

“But our car broke down and we are in need of a new one,” she said.

“Rental,” Tony said quickly.

“Eh,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Your car broke down?” her brother asked slapping his knee. “You move to the big city and forget everything you know?” He laughed.

She didn’t say anything but looked quickly at Tony.

“Oh, let me guess,” he said looking at Tony. “It was your car?”

Tony nodded. “I was in a hurry,” he said defensively.
Jackson hooted again. “Well, c’mon now,” he walked to the office door. “I will take good care of you. Get you all set up. And I’ll even give you the friends and family discount, brother. Can’t say I can give you much for your trade-in since it is at the mechanic’s and all, but we will sort it out.”

Tony looked at Cheyenne. “Sounds good,” she said nodding her head. “Be nice to your only sister. I am pretty sure I can still take you down.”

Jackson nodded. “Sis, you are truly the only woman I am scared of. Actually, the only person.”

“Take good care of my husband then.”

“Of course!” he smiled. “We’re family now.”

It sounded to Tony like she was leaving. She wouldn’t leave him alone with her brother, would she?

“While you two are doing that, I think I will drop by mom and dad’s.”

She sure would leave him alone with her brother.

She nodded and gave Tony a quick kiss. “I’ll just go and let mom and dad know we are in town.” She looked at Jackson, “Can I borrow a loaner?”

He grabbed a set of keys off the hook by the door and tossed them to her. “It’s in the same spot as always.”

She nodded and smiled at Tony before ducking out the door.

But Jackson was a salesman and was overtly friendly. After picking out a new vehicle, he took him back to his office to finish the paperwork. Since Tony was planning on moving out west, he decided to get him a west type of vehicle. Jackson assured him a Dodge Ram would be the best for their trip. It seemed like a good starter vehicle for his new life.

Once the paperwork was signed and Tony was the new owner of a pickup truck, Jackson sat back in his chair. “Well shoot,” he said. “Cheyenne is married.”

Tony never had a brother before. He was an only child growing up and both of his parents died before he was twenty. It had been an adjustment to have a wife. Now he had a brother. He had no idea the rules he needed to follow for this situation.

Tony could feel Jackson’s studious look.

Jackson’s phone buzzed. “It’s your wife,” he said showing Tony the screen. “Hello, Mrs. Tony,” he said.

Tony watched as he talked to Cheyenne and could hear parts of the conversation. Words like “dad…dinner…tomorrow.” When Jackson hung up he confirmed what he had overheard. “Cheyenne said mom and dad invited you to dinner tomorrow.”

Tony fought back the urge to groan. His schedule was being interrupted again. But, he figured, this was marriage. He smiled at Jackson, “Sounds great.” But he mentally readjusted his schedule. Maybe he could still slip back to the garage later tonight and get the job done. He just hated staying in the area after completing a mission. It was best to put some distance between him and the target. No, it was best if he did it tomorrow after dinner.

“Cheyenne also told me to show you how to get to the hotel. She’d meet you there.”

That was perfect! He could stop by the garage and get his gun on his way to the hotel. If he was by himself, that is. “That’s okay,” he said smiling. “I can find my way. I’m pretty good at navigating, even on land.” He laughed.

“Sister’s orders are for me to get you there. I’m not about to disobey an order from an Army Lieutenant.”

Tony couldn’t think of a good enough excuse without causing friction between Jackson and Cheyenne or worse, between Cheyenne and him. He finally nodded his head.

“Before we go though,” Jackson opened a desk drawer and pulled out a flask. “We should have a drink to celebrate.” He pulled out six shot glasses and filled them. “Married six months, we need six shots between the two of us.”

Tony shrugged his shoulders. It would be rude not to accept. He grabbed a glass and tipped it into his mouth quickly. Now, he was no stranger to strong drinks. One time when he was stationed in Russia he had some local Vodka. That was so strong it felt like it burned a hole all the way through him. It knocked him out for hours. In comparison to what he just drank, that tasted like lemonade.

“What is that?” he barely got the words out and tried to clear his throat but it only made his eyes water.

“That?” Jackson said with a smile. “That is a little special Wyoming moonshine we call fool-prove.”

“Full proof?” asked Tony.

Jackson smiled and pushed another glass toward him.

Tony was used to being disciplined. He could say no when he needed to but he never had a family he needed to impress before. Even though he didn’t want to, he took the glass and downed it again. This time he was pretty sure there was now a hole in his stomach. His brow was beading in sweat. This felt like some kind of weird initiation. He had to commit and do it. So, he took the third glass.

No,” Jackson said. “Fool prove. It takes a fool to prove it shouldn’t be drank.”

Tony looked down and noticed Jackson hadn’t even touched his first glass yet. Jackson dumped the remaining three glasses into a dead plant’s pot.

That was the last thing Tony remembered that night.