Courtney Tillman had been asked to provide a special service that went beyond her previous self-known skill set, but now that it was done, she felt pride in having played a small part in the overall plan. The past few months, not to mention the last several hours, had brought back a zest for dangerous adventure that made her feel invigorated again. She hadn’t felt that way in many years, and although times were difficult with her husband Mason, she appreciated Samuel’s faith in her and his attempts to bring her out of an obvious funk. Now, Courtney believed within herself that Samuels trust in her was well warranted, as the evening shift control tower supervisor from Centennial Airport that he had sanctioned her to kill was now dead in his south Denver apartment.

Per the advance intelligence reports of number forty three regarding the man’s typical late night habits, which had subsequently been confirmed by Courtney, he entered a bar at ten thirty-five filled with those in search of little more than carnal pleasures. After a close pass of his position near the taps fifteen minutes later, Courtney sat down a few stools away and offered up a coy smile in his direction as she ordered a beer. The man took the bait with eagerness, and slithered in her direction while asking, “Excuse me, but didn’t I see you here last Friday wearing a green sweater?”

While surprised that he had remembered the detail of what she was wearing at the time, Courtney replied, “I was here last Friday, and yes, I remember you too.”

The ensuing conversation of more than an hour revealed that the man was quite arrogant given his less than attractive features, and he proudly boasted that he had given permission for two federal agents to park a helicopter on his tarmac for the night. Pretending to be enthralled by his self-proclaimed power of labeling the overnight staging spot as his tarmac, Courtney flirted with him over a second drink and waited for the man to advance. As the hour struck midnight and it was now the fourteenth of November, he asked if she wanted to have another drink back at his place. Courtney agreed, but as she supposedly had an appointment during the late morning, would do so only if she could follow him in her car.

Moving through the door to his apartment that he had held open for her, Courtney made sure to not touch a thing with her exposed hands. Then he said as he closed and locked the door, “Make yourself at home. Kick off your shoes and relax if you’d like.”

Having heard the deadbolt turn as she took note of her surroundings, Courtney spun toward him with a smile and replied, “Thanks, I think I will after you get me that beer you promised.”

He returned the smile before moving toward the kitchen, as the thought of eminent conquest flashed through his mind. Then while leaning into the open refrigerator he asked, “So do you prefer Coors? Or would you like something a little stron…”

Courtney hadn’t given him a chance to finish his inquiry, let alone attempt to act upon his thoughts of what could transpire during the next few hours. She had followed him into the small kitchen with complete stealth and fired two shots from her silenced weapon into his back as he spoke. Then with the body crashing forward and slumping into the now broken shelves that caused the contents of food and drink to spill upon the floor, she stepped closer and put one more bullet into the base of his skull for good measure.

In reviewing the events of her actions, Courtney came to a self-realization. The act of killing a man had been easier to carry out than she would have ever believed, and the release of some of the hate felt good. She wasn’t really sure how she had gotten to that point of needing such a release, but Samuel had obviously recognized the need for it. Courtney wondered if the hateful feelings were perhaps due to pent up frustrations over Mason, and whoever the woman was that she believed he was seeing on the side. Or perhaps it was because of the death of Chance many years before. He had been a wonderful brother-in-law during the early years of her marriage to Mason, and she, along with the rest of the family, missed him dearly. Maybe it was due to the fact of what Savanah had to face. She was such a sweet young girl with a love for life, but there was a chance that her life would end before she would be old enough to love a man with all her soul and bare children of her own.