The next day Johnny showed up at his meeting with Lorenzo and Gino, and jerking chins like tough men, they settled down in the conference room to work on getting the tight assed little agent out of his life once and for all.

Gino began the conversation with a rundown on what he’d discovered on the flash drive. “The only business by the name of Dragonfly that looked like it might be remotely capable of supporting gun for hire type activities, is a private consulting firm. Goes by the trade name Dragonfly International Security and Consulting. Scratching around and calling in some military favors got me a fairly thorough run down on their bank account records, credit card transactions, and real estate holdings. They’ve bought, rented or leased properties in half a dozen major cities all around the world, the last of which was a condo in a secured high rise in Dubai.”

Enzo joined in with a worried expression stamped on his face. “That ain’t all. They purchase an awful lot of weapons and munitions, which probably isn’t unusual for a big international security firm, but they’re buying up ammo at a rate that suggests their operation rivals your father’s whole east coast operation.”

Johnny shook his head. “They might be selling the shit to people who can’t readily obtain it in the quantities they want without drawing notice. My pops has a nice little side business buying wholesale and selling retail to guys who don’t like all their rich friends to know they’re a little nuts about stockpiling weapons.”

“That’s possible, but we need to be very careful that we don’t get in over our head artillery wise. They buy military grade AK’s and other fully automatic weapons for their overseas operations, where it’s not against the law to use that shit. Our rifles and semi-automatics are not going to scratch the surface on this one.”

“That ain’t gonna be a problem. We got warehouses of the same shit they’re shootin’ out on the waterfront. We’ll stock up when the time is right. You also know I got cash. This job ain’t looking like one that’s gonna pay for itself, so I guess I gotta.”

“Sure the little bitch is worth it? She fucked you right up last night.”

“It don’t matter. I gave my word and I intend to keep it. Call Charlie’s MC and see if anyone wants to sign on for this one. Tell them I’m paying ten grand each but they stay ‘til the job is done and it might involve travel.”

Enzo nodded his agreement with securing the extra muscle. “I’ll tell them to come clean shaven and leave their cuts at home.” Turning his attention to Gino, he asked tightly, “Any kind of plan floatin’ in that noggin of yours?”

Gino pressed his lips into a thin line. “These people run a huge team of professional trained killers. They ain’t gonna let us walk off with one of their best shooters.” Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. “We’re gonna have to do a bait and switch. We need some way to lure them into sending her on a job to some out of the way place.”

“Well that ain’t gonna be easy if they run in teams.”

Johnny nodded to Enzo before speaking. “How many women assassins can one organization have?”

“It’s definitely a male dominated profession. I guess this is the part where we have to piss you the hell off.”

“Hit me with it, nothing could fuckin’ phase me at this point.”

“My military contacts told me that your agent used to be a sniper in the military. Apparently, she was a good one, ‘cause she got sent to all those places on the maps with red dots, indicating heavily armed conflict on the ground.”

“Doesn’t surprise me at all. I knew she was in the military and she already told me about being in Afghanistan.”

“All the official records say her sister turned up missing in action. She was declared dead coming up on three years now, so it’s pretty funny that Sarah has been moving heaven and hell to find her for a little over a year.”

Johnny stood up and began pacing. A sick feeling coiled in his stomach as he realized what they’d been up to all these years. “How do you reckon a woman handles shootin’ people in the fuckin’ head for a livin’?

Gino’s angry voice responded immediately. “Don’t be one of those crazy women-hating assholes who thinks a woman can’t do a man’s job. Female snipers do that shit just like the rest of us, one target at a fuckin’ time.”

“Not my little agent. I think they both got tired of whatever shit the military was makin’ them do and they collapsed their two lives down to just one. Sarah told me that’s how they lived their lives when they were young. Every time the going got tough for one of them, the other would step in and swim in the competition or take the test. She said they did it so much it stunted their growth in different ways. How do you reckon two females with shortcomings like that managed to make a career in the military?”

Gino whistled through his teeth. “Shit, that makes more sense than anything I thought up to explain it. It would explain why they were always broke, living from hand to mouth. They were both living off one military paycheck.”

Enzo shook his head in disbelief. “Did you tell her what we found out about Dragonfly? That they took her to shoot instead of to abuse?”

Johnny’s head jerked up. “Fuck, how could I have forgotten that shit?”

Gino answered his question casually. “Because you’re a real asshole, that’s why.”

Pulling out his cell phone, Johnny smashed his finger into the picture of her face and pulled right. She answered on the first ring.

“Johnny, is that you? I’ve been so worried about you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Look, I forgot to mention that we got some intel you should be aware of regarding that crazy ass sister of yours. She was a special order for some company called Dragonfly, so you don’t have to worry about her being locked up somewhere with...”

“No, no, no…do not say Dragonfly. They can’t have her. Fuck, I gotta go.”

“Do not hang up on me, Doll.”

Looking at the screen he saw the words end call blinking up at him. Rushing to the door, he called over his shoulder. “She knows who that fuckin’ company is and she’s going to do something stupid.”

Gino grabbed his laptop and ran after him, with Enzo bringing up the rear. The big bodyguard stated breathlessly, “I can track her using her GPS. I already set it up.”

“I’ll drive, cause if I don’t give my hands something to do, I’ll go fuckin’ crazy.”

Once they were on the road headed to Sarah’s place, Gino activated his tracking program. “She’s already on the move, up the interstate towards the dock.”

“She better not be thinking of leaving the city, cause I don’t know what kind of range I have on this thing.

“The woman was in a full blown panic.”

Johnny overheard Enzo on the phone with the biker crew when his own phone sounded.

“Thank fuck.” Catching her call, he barked. “I don’t like being hung up on, Doll.”

“You don’t understand. Dragonfly equals more danger than even you can imagine.”

“I can imagine a lot, sweetheart. I know your dirty little secret by the way. You know, about sharing your military time.”

“It’s the way we always lived, Johnny. The military was really stressful. We figured that we could always fake a release at some point when it was all over. We were just trying to get by.”

“You’re preachin’ to the choir, Doll. I think it was pretty fuckin’ smart, you know, with two bitches sharing one job.”

“Well, if the military ever finds out, we’ll be court marshaled.”

“That ain’t gonna happen on my watch, Doll.”

There was a pause and he had the feeling she was rolling her eyes at his protective display. “Where you headed?”

“I have a shipping container being stored at the dock.”

“You going to weapon up and go kick some ass?”

“You don’t understand, Johnny. Dragonfly wanted me, I’m the badass sniper. For some godforsaken reason, squeezing the trigger never bothered me all that much. Margaret was a real fuck up, but that’s the one thing she could never stomach. She just kind of checks out. I mean, she’s walking, talking and shooting, but the part that makes her Margaret goes someplace else.”

“Fuck, you did the shootin’ and she did the standin’ in formation and shit like that.”

“Yes, that’s how it worked. We can’t leave her there.”

“Calm down and listen to me. Gino is former special ops and he’s got some bait and switch plan. He says that’s the best way to get your sister outta there.”

“He’s right, only I’m the bait.”

“Oh hell no, ain’t nobody said nothin’ about using you as bait.”

“I’m the one they really want.”

“Too fuckin’ bad, you already got an owner and he ain’t quite finished with your lying ass.”

“Just get as far away from me as possible, Johnny. I don’t want them getting you too.”

“What the fuck would they want with me?”

“They collect killers. You fit their requirements.”

“Yea, well fuck that. I don’t go around indiscriminately killin’ folks. I mean, sure, I’ll kill someone before I let him kill me. I’ll nail a bastard for even trying that shit on with me. Ain’t no gangster worth his salt who feels all that bad about whackin’ people who he needs dead, but I ain’t about to just go out and kill someone cause some dumb ass tells me to or for fuckin’ money. That ain’t me, Doll.”

“I never for a moment thought it was. I gotta go, Johnny. Take care and stay safe.”

Shoving his phone into his pocket, he grumbled. “You two fuckin’ geniuses made me feel like shit for not telling her the good news. Well, it seems that after hearing it, my little agent don’t feel like she needs our help anymore.”

Gino shook his head in amazement. “I gotta tell you, Johnny. I did not see that one coming.”

Enzo chimed in his annoying two cents worth. “She’s a fuckin badass. Compared to her, you are a total pussy, man. That’s why it didn’t last with you.”

“If I weren’t fuckin’ driving, I’d give you both a good punch up about now.”

“Drive faster, it’s starting to get dark.”

Johnny saw his chance to get his own back, and like a child he took it. “Sorry, Snowflake, I didn’t know you were still afraid of the dark.”

They bitched back and forth all the way to the dock.