[Fiction] Vegas Memories [Complete]

[Haplo]

Writers note: This fiction goes hand-in-hand with the fiction "A Story of Past". Characters included within this story are introduced in A Story of Past.

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The beeps of a garbage truck shook Haplopelma from her slumber. It must be a Thursday, Haplopelma thought. As she lay in bed, staring at the cobweb infested ceiling, her thoughts were wandering to her past. A plain white envelope resided on the nightstand, and it contained a death wish. Hap had received it the previous day, and she immediately went to bed after reading it. The name was familiar, but it wasn’t the name that shook her. Though the title surveillance photo wrote “Alexander Kronkoff”, but the picture was that of a boy named David.

David, she thought to herself. David. Her head rolled to the side to peer at the envelope. David, David, David. You were dead, and now you’re going to be dead again. Who did you anger? Where have you been these years?

She sat up, and reached for the envelope. Her hand paused above it, and Hap looked like she was about to cry. She grabbed the envelope, and shook out the contents in front of her. A letter, a photo, and a receipt. The photo was of a man who looked to have been fit in his youth, but had let himself go once he hit his early twenties. The letter read as follows:

“Agent. Familiar name? Funds already in your account. Time to prove your loyalty. Las Vegas, Nevada. Bellagio hotel, March 12 – March 14.”

Just another job, she repeated to herself. As she stood and removed the blankets from the bed, sand was everywhere. Hap didn’t seem to acknowledge it, though, as she just kept moving. After a fast shower, she dressed in a black sweatshirt and loose sweatpants.

The train was nearly empty today. Mid afternoon on a Thursday meant that people had work, and were already there. A few teens huddled close as she passed by them, all whispering in their youth tongue. An empty section called for her, and she sat facing away from the teens. Her stomach was in jumbles, and she was starting to question the validity of her assignment. Was it just for her to kill someone who she was close to, or had he actually done something wrong? The comment on the letter confirmed her theory that they were digging into her past, but was curious if they knew his real name.

The trip was long and tedious. Many stops took place where no one got off, and no one got on. The teenagers vacated at San Francisco when a transfer took place, and only an old man shared the other train with her, and he was only there for several miles. It wasn’t for about twenty hours after she left Ukiah that she did reach Las Vegas. She had never seen it before, and when she did she hated it. It held nothing for her except a sense of dread.

When she arrived, she was instantly pointed out for a nova. It wasn’t hard, with blue skin and all. She found a bathroom and decided to use her high dormancy for the third time in her life. This place didn’t seem to be happy with Novas, and she didn’t mean to be crucified anytime soon. When she emerged, a few people gave her a eye, but most never bothered giving her a second look. She was too human looking to attract unwanted attention, and too dressed down to attract attention from the guys.

It was nearly 2100 hrs when she reached the hotel. The luxurious atrium was as grand as it was unsettling. Each of the tenants and employees viewed her with great disdain, as she was dressed entirely not for this location. She approached the main desk, and the desk appointee paid her absolutely no mind.

“Excuse me.” Hap spoke, but the man still paid no mind. She reached for the bell, and the man shot her look of utter contempt that she would never dare to call him on, but wouldn’t mind beating it out of him.

”Pardon, mademoiselle, but can I help you?” He spoke with a heavy French accent, and the pretentiousness could’ve been measured by the gallons.

“I need to reserve a room for tonight through the fourteenth. I’d prefer something very luxurious.” Hap said, half between wanting to out-pretentious him, and wanting to throw him through a plate of glass.

The man sighed and began to type on a computer. “Your name, mademoiselle?”

Hap didn’t respond immediately. She only had identification for Tasha Kronkoff, but never gave her name. For a moment, the pretentious employee stared at her, than beyond her at a bellhop. “Tasha. Kronkoff. That’s K, R, O, N, K, O, F, F.” The man began to type away, and for minutes not a word was spoken.

“It seems you already have a room reserved, Mademoiselle.”

“I seems someone reserved one for me. May I have the key?”

“Not without identification, Mademoiselle.” Hap pulled out her passport identification, and the man viewed it. Immediately, he gave her a look. “You don’t sound Russian.”

“And you don’t sound American.” Hap said, getting closer and closer to ruining the pretentious mans weekend. He handed her a key, than walked away. They key said 2011. Hap quickly got the attention of a bellhop, and he escorted her to the room.

When she entered, it was plainly obvious that no one besides the maid had set foot in the room. She excused the bellhop, and made herself at home. It was more of a four-room apartment than a hotel room. The tone of the room was tan and gold, and Hap hated anyone who might enjoy it. As she moved further into the first and main room, she changed back to her normal form. Her bag laid in plain sight as she dropped it on her way to the bedroom, where she found a king-size bed. She approached it carefully, turned away from it, and flopped down backwards. No sooner than she landed did she hear the rattle of keys coming from the hallway. Hap was sure her heart stopped, and time moved slower than it ever had before.

[Haplo]

As she lay still, she was frozen in time. There were no sounds, no movements, and no calm.

Hap became lost in a world of her own imagination. The room was under shroud with snow, with visibility near nil. She was back in her nova form, though naked. She rolled onto her side and hooked her arms around her curled up legs against her chest. A series of faces appeared and disappeared in the snow. Faces she knew, faces she was afraid of, and faces she’d destroyed.

She began frantically screaming in Russian. Her eyes were closed, yet she could still see the haunting faces. “Остановитесь! Пожалуйста для любви ко всему! Остановитесь!” Upon screaming the last word, her body disintegrated into sand, and began flying around the room, intertwined with the snow. She was becoming one with the faces, but could not raise protest. All at once, she felt the pain, anger, and sorrow of those she had once unjustly executed.

All at once, she woke up in a cold sweat. She was on the bed, and it appears she was only asleep for a matter of seconds. She lifted her hands to find that she was still in baseline form, and quickly reverted back to her Nova skin. She started to hear again. The patron at the door was beginning to walk in, and was breathing heavily. Another waited outside the room, not moving. Hap moved from the bed to the doorway to peer through. She was a master at not being seen. Behind the entrance to the room stood a bellhop, a different one than the one she had moments before. Standing in the middle of the room, though, was David. He’d changed, but she knew it was he. She silently watched.

-----

David moved to the center of the room, thinking to himself. ‘A bag? Has Nikki been here already? Doubtfully, she’d be filling her fat mouth with a buffet before she even attempted to see the room.’ David looked back at the bellhop. “Close the door, ass.” The bellhop gave David a rude stare, but obeyed. David cared not for the bellhop. He didn’t want an escort in the first place, and none-to-less pay for one. “Rats.” He said aloud.

He went to the pack, and set it up on the table. “Not heavy enough to be a bomb.” He unzipped it carelessly, and began rummaging through it. He removed the wallet as simply as he removed the clothes, just setting it aside. He lifted up a bra, and inspected it for a moment. “Not too shabby.” He removed a pair of panties, and set them aside. The bag was empty, so David tossed it aside. He picked up the wallet, and began to open it. Before he could inspect it, a phone began to ring. “Fucking hell, can’t I get ten god damned minutes!?” He answered the phone.

“I assume you are finding your lodging.. satisfying?” The man on the other line said. David turned around, facing the door.

“Of course it is, Jonny. I know you’d not let me down. Curious, though. There was a bag of belongings waiting for me. A joke?”

“A bag? I didn’t send nothing. Is it secure?”

“Secure? It’s a damn bag, Jon. Nothing but woman’s clothing.” David said, smiling. He walked towards the mini-fridge, and pulled out a jar of beans. ‘Nothing like jelly beans for five times their worth.’

“Woman’s clothing. And it’s not that girl of yours’?”

“Yeah, right. Like she could fit into anything below a size ten.”

“You said it, not me. Just remember that.”

“Whatever, Jonny. I gotta go. Call me back if anything important comes up.” David said, turning back towards the table and looking around the room.

“Oh! Yeah, that’s why I called you! Turns out one of our moles thinks someone might be on your trail. You sure that alias is clear?”

“Fuck yeah, man. ‘Alex’ died years ago in Russia. And who the hell knows about the girl. Knowing the business, she probably became a hooker in Moscow or something.” David said. He looked down at the table, and began rummaging through the clothes for the wallet. ‘I left it right here’.

“Right. Well, keep an eye out, Roy.” David hung up the phone, and looked around the room. All at once, his face turned white, and he reached for his back pocket.

-----

“Close the door, ass.” David said. Hap silently watched the exchange, her eyes never leaving the back of David’s head. Her mind was stuck on the dream she had just experienced, and the past she kept running from. ‘David. David.’

She saw him pick up the bag, but she remained calm. ‘It’s okay. If he finds me out, he’s just another product. Take him down. He doesn’t have a face.’ But he did, and Hap knew it. She knew right there that were would be no way she could continue on this mission. She would probably be killed for it, but she would deal with that when the time comes.

As David picked out the wallet, time seemed to freeze again for Hap. This time she had no dream sequence. He set the wallet down and began going through her underwear. She almost blushed, but than remembered her experience with him years before. That made her blush. She looked down for a moment to check her foot placing when she heard a phone ring, followed by a “Fucking hell, can’t I get ten god damned minutes!?”. David answered the phone and turned around.

‘This is my chance to get the wallet. I don’t need the other things.’ She crouched, and began to move forward.

“Of course it is, Jonny. I know you’d not let me down. Curious, though. There was a bag of belongings waiting for me. A joke?” David said, and Hap was being more cautious now than she had ever done before in her entire life. Slowly she took two steps. “Secure? It’s a damn bag, Jon. Nothing but woman’s clothing.” He moved to the other side of the room, and Hap moved a bit quicker. She made it to the table, and removed the wallet. Fearing that she might not make it back in time, she ducked under the table. “Yeah, right. Like she could fit into anything below a size ten.” Hap wanted to punch him. “Whatever, Jonny. I gotta go. Call me back if anything important comes up.” She remained still as a stone, and heard him turn to come back this way. He was taking his sweet time. “Fuck yeah, man. ‘Alex’ died years ago in Russia. And who the hell knows about the girl. Knowing the business, she probably became a hooker in Moscow or something.”

‘He won’t live out the day.’ Hap thought to herself. Her face was becoming slightly redder. She heard him rummage through the clothes, and for a second she thought she heard a secondary pair of footsteps.

David’s heart began pounding out of control, and a deafening “Bam” followed it!. She heard David fall heavy onto the floor, making pathetic whimpering noises. Suddenly, the table flew out from above her, followed by two more bams.

[Haplo]

Hap lay on the ground, two holes in her side about the size of a dime. She was making grunting and squealing noises, along with the man next to her. As his eyes caught hers, he only stared. For a moment, there was no wound for either of them. Than the woman above them kicked her hard in the side.

“Who the fuck are you?!” The woman yelled, and kicked Hap twice more. “Why the fuck are you here?!”

Hap only responded in screams of pain as she was kicked. The man only stared at her though, as he knew full and well who Hap was. They were both losing a lot of blood, and Hap knew it. Hap raised her hand to the woman, who took a step backwards. Hap slowly raised to her feet, clutching her side and grunting with each move.

“I.. “ She started to cough, and noticed the blood on her hand as she uncovered her mouth. “I was sent here to kill him.. “ She gestured to David. The woman looked at Hap, than at David.

“You.. uh. You two looked like you knew each other.” The woman said. Her voice was hard, and her eyes matched. Now that Hap could see her, she realized that this was a tough woman. She was about 6’ 5”, and was built like a lighthouse.

“In another life, maybe.” Hap began coughing more, and this time sprayed blood into the woman. It was accidental, and the woman regarded it as so by wiping it off with some of Haps clothes that lay on the ground.

“Give me your gun.” The woman said, and Hap complied. She pulled the gun out of the front of her pants, and handed it to the woman. “Now kill him.”

Hap looked down at David. His eyes were tearing as he was starting to recognize pain over Hap. She smiled at him, with a bit of blood dripping from her mouth. Instantly, Hap turned into sand and flew in a fury at the Woman. The woman held her hands in front of her face, and screamed.

Haps vision went dark. Nothing existed, and she couldn’t move. A toaster materialized in front of her, and began to shake violently before exploding into a fury of shrapnel. Hap raised her hands swiftly, and a wall of sand grew out of the ground, absorbing the shrapnel. The black began to turn to white, and Hap started getting cold. She couldn’t handle the snow again, and she realized it. She grabbed her pinky, and bent it backwards at the middle joint. She screamed, and was lying on the floor in front of the woman. Hap opened her eyes, filled completely with rage. This woman must’ve been causing the hallucinations, and Hap decided that this would be her last kill.

A cloud of sand materialized around the woman, and she began coughing. She waved her hands, but nothing seemed to move the fine sand. She was choking, and the sand was beginning to cling and crush her skin. She tried to scream, but sand filled her mouth before she could. Moments later, she was dead.

Hap awoke on the couch. Her shirt was removed, and she had bandages around her torso. Her bra was still on, but she didn’t care if it was or not. David sat across the room, reading a magazine. Hap sat up, and most of her pain was gone. She grunted, though, feeling like shit. David looked at her, and set down the magazine. He walked over to her, and stood before her. They stared at each other for a while.

“Were you really sent to kill me? Those words hurt, you know.” David said, adding a smile to the comment after the question.

“I was, but I am not going to. You can put the safety back on the gun.”

David revealed his hand, holding one of the two guns in the room. The other was on the table beneath the magazine. “A nova. Who woulda thought, eh?” Hap remained quiet and looked away from him. She was thinking about those years past. “Tell me your story. What happened after you left me for dead.”

“I did not leave you for dead. I thought you were dead, until I found the note. Wher.. “

David cut her off. “No, it’s your turn to tell the story. I’ve told you so many.” He smiled at her, and sat next to her.

Hap pulled the blanket that was next to her over her, and brought her legs up onto the couch. “In a past life, maybe.”

“Quit being so stubborn!” He said while laughing. “Tell me a damn story before I ‘rape’ you again!” Hap gave him a look of sorrow, and of apologies. David shook his head and in response said “Forget about it. Just tell me your story.”

And so Hap did. “After going back from Siberia that time, I never returned. I never wanted to, and Boss never asked me. I was never alone, always with two or three guys at a time. Four years back, an attempted mutiny happened against the Boss. Another leader from the other mob paid off a bunch of guys from our crew to turn on him. I was with boss when it happened. There were three other guys with us, and gunfire kept closing in. After about an hour, it was right outside the door. I could not stop thinking about what would happen to me if they broke through. Long story short, what happened to Boss is what happened to that woman just now. Our guards came under fire, so I took out the boss. It was my only way out of there untouched.” Tears began to flow from Haps eyes. “You know the Boss collected spiders. His last words were ‘Haplopelma Lividum’. It is a spider from South Asia, which is cobalt blue in its female species. It is regarded for its unpredictability, and its irrational attacks. It was directed to me, and that is what I call myself now.” Hap looked at her skin, than changed back to human. She knew she looked exactly as she did years earlier when she knew David, and she had no idea why she changed. “I moved to America after working under the new Boss. He gave me all the training I needed, but was happy to see me off.”

“So you’re a freelance murderer, is that it? Guess I wasn’t far off when I said you’d become a whore.” He stood up and walked behind the couch where she sat. “I assume you’re quitting, than?”

“I think so, yeah.” Hap said, staring at the ground in front of her. She heard a click, and assumed it was the door. She realized that she was in human form, and switched back as to get her perception back. She thought about running to Spain, perhaps with David if he wanted to. It was her last thought, and it happened so quickly, she didn’t even hear the bang of the gun at the back of her head.