Chapter 8

They only spent an hour at the shooting range that Case had found by calling information. Rain concentrated on readjusting her aim to the new, smaller gun. The barrel length was shorter by just a quarter of an inch, but it was heavier by two ounces. It took a little getting used to, but after emptying four clips into the paper targets at the far end of her stall, she felt her aim realigning itself to fit the new gun.

She picked up the spare clips and the last two boxes of ammo that were resting on the high bench in front of her, and stepped out of the partitioned booth. She looked down the aisle and saw a small crowd around one of the stalls. Curious, Rain shoved the clips in her jeans pocket and carried the boxes of ammo in one hand, as she made her way to the cubicle that was getting all the attention.

Rain took advantage of her height and peered over the shoulders of several onlookers. At the bench, she saw Case with four different handguns laid out in front of her, and the short woman was taking individual shots with each one, setting one gun down to pick up the next after each shot. When she was finished, Case pushed the button that would automatically bring the paper target forward from where it was hanging on the clothesline.

Rain's eyes widened slightly when she got a look at the target. All the shots had landed within inches of each other in the heart and head areas of the target. Everyone started clapping and Case handed over three of the guns resting on the shelf to their apparent owners. Case's smile was somewhat bashful, but the edgy energy around her subconsciously kept anyone from reaching out to slap her on the back in congratulations.

Case caught Rain's eyes, and she nodded slightly to signal that she was ready to go as soon as she could get away from the group. Rain nodded back and waited patiently, as Case extricated herself from the amazed audience.

"Sorry about that. I like testing myself like that and it's easier than keeping different guns with me all the time," Case explained, as they left the building and walked back to the car.

"How do you do that? It took me almost half an hour before I felt comfortable with the 9mm."

They got into the car and Rain took the driver's seat. She easily maneuvered them into traffic and chose the right freeway to take them to the rental place.

"I don't know," Case said. "I don't even really aim. I just know where I want the bullet to go and it does. It doesn't matter what gun I'm using."

Case shrugged her shoulders and Rain picked up on the sad note in the blonde's voice, or maybe it was resignation.

"You don't sound like you're happy about it. It's an amazing gift you have."

Case snorted in derision.

"Oh yeah, it's great. I can kill people without even meaning to."

Case turned her head to look out the passenger side window. The conversation had gotten way out of hand, and she actually felt her throat tightening up with the need to cry. She blinked hard and swallowed several times and willed her feelings under control.

Maybe she really did need a vacation. That last job had just brought up too many memories.

Knives. I hate knives.

Case banished the thoughts and concentrated on the scenery flying by her window. The black asphalt and dashed yellow lines blended in easily with the concrete barriers that guarded the side of the freeway.

Rain studied the road in front of her in silence. She'd unintentionally hit a nerve and now she wasn't sure how to fix it. Judging by Case's last remarks, she'd probably accidentally killed someone. Maybe that was what had gotten Carlotti's attention.

But there was something more. Rain knew it in her gut. She needed to talk to Dawson to get some background information on the petite woman sitting next to her. At the moment, Rain was just winging it, which she was good at, but to really make any progress, she wanted an edge, and she had a feeling Case was her best shot.

Case pulled out her cell phone, as they arrived at the rental place. She'd almost forgotten that they needed reservations to stay at the campsite she preferred at Yosemite. With that taken care of, she put the cell phone away, and gestured Rain ahead of her. Rain returned the keys and settled the bill, and then they caught the shuttle to the airport.

Case picked up their tickets at the desk, and Rain noticed the thin roll of one-hundred-dollar bills the small woman slipped the clerk. The clerk gave a barely noticeable nod and typed several things into the computer at his right. He looked back up from the monitor and smiled his professional airline clerk smile.

"Your reservations have been confirmed Detective. Enjoy your flight."

"Thanks, I'm sure I will."

Rain followed Case, as they cleared the roped-off waiting lines.

"You know him?"

"Well enough," Case answered vaguely.

"Wish I'd known I could do that. I'd have brought my own babies when I came out here."

"You weren't supposed to know then. Now you are. You've moved up and outside most of the circles you were a part of before. What I'm showing you is not common knowledge and it needs to stay that way."

Case looked pointedly at Rain.

"Got it. Not like there's anyone for me to tell anyway."

Rain grinned and Case smiled back. It was true. Once you got tagged for this line of work, you basically became a loner, an outsider to the entire business. No one wanted to associate with the assassins because it was quite possible they were next up on the hit man's list. And, honestly, who in their right mind would want to hang out with someone who committed cold-blooded murder for a living?

It was one thing to be involved in shoot-outs, where people got killed all the time, because a deal went bad or someone decided they wanted more than what they'd gotten. But to actually just kill someone because you'd been told to... That was more than even the most ruthless crime lords that Case had met could take.

Antonio had enjoyed showing her off, in the beginning, impressing his rivals with her deceptively sweet looks and then announcing what she did for him. After a few months, Case had refused to go to any more of his so-called parties. Antonio had threatened her again, but she hadn't backed down, pointing out that she was of much better use to him actually doing her job, rather than hanging out with the upper echelons. He'd agreed and left her alone after that, at least until the Massucci hit had gone bad.

She'd disappeared for a month after that, and when she'd finally been found, half-dead from alcohol poisoning and malnutrition, he'd warned her that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, he'd have things done to her she couldn't even imagine in her worst nightmares. Since she could never really remember her nightmares, she'd decided not to argue the point. She'd gone back to work and pushed the past as far away from her thoughts as she could.

Case pushed the thoughts away in the present, as the plane left the ground. Things seemed to be conspiring against her to make her think about the past. Maybe this little respite would give her a chance to regroup. At the very least, she would be able to get to know Rain a little better and enjoy some clean air for a change.