Canceled

Janis Stone, thirty-six years old, stands five feet four and tips the scale at one hundred twenty-seven pounds. Her brown eyes are separated by a pointed, short thin nose. When nervous she has a habit of biting her lower lip. In high school the homely teenager had few friends with no social life and was considered a nerd but was only a 'B' student. Janis did attend the senior prom after persuading an older neighborhood boy of twenty to accompany her only after she performed oral sex on him.

Janis met her husband George while in college, and they married a year after her graduation. George began his own law firm and now after ten years in his hometown has an excellent income, so Janis is a stay-at-home mother and looks after their eleven-year-old son, Ken. Her free time is spent working as a freelance travel writer and has authored several vacation brochures.

Five years ago, while on an assignment, drafting a story about the Appalachian Mountains, Janis met Thomas, an older man in his early sixties. They hit it off more like a granddad and granddaughter. A kind gentleman of means offered Janis a position in his organization. For a small monthly retainer Janis was placed on call to perform a variety of tasks that won't last longer than a few days and not keep her away from home all that long. Janis' first assignment was in nearby Ohio with a seasoned woman of the organization who trained her. The job only took two days to complete, and Janis received two thousand dollars. She was hooked.

*

"How was school today?" Janis asked Ken. "Did you listen to the nuns and not fall asleep?" She glanced in the rear-view mirror to see his expression.

"Mom, of course I did." He rolled his eyes. "If not, Sister Mary Joseph would beat my ass." He looked out his window and waved to a friend as the boy crossed the street to his mother's car.

"You watch your mouth." Janis said chewing on her lower lip. "I'll wash it out with a bar of soap." She started the vehicle.

"Sorry," Ken said in a low, almost a whisper voice.

Janis shifted the car into drive and pulled away from the curb without looking for oncoming traffic. The wailing of an automobile horn and screeching of tires caused Janis to bite her lower lip. Seeing the driver mouth a few profanities her way, she gave the finger to the driver who returned the salute and sped off.

Ken, laughing said, "Mom, how about being a little more careful. I would like to make it to twelve."

'I'll do my best." She looked for traffic and started for home.

*

At five p.m. Janis mixed the ingredients for a meatloaf dinner and moved it to a baking dish and put it in the oven. She placed a sauce pan full of sweet peas on the stove top.

George was on time for the six o'clock family dinner as always. With dinner done he helped clean the table as Janis loaded the dishwasher with the used dinnerware. As she turned the machine on her cell phone buzzed and she answered the call.

"It's Thomas." The caller said.

Janis covered the mouthpiece and told George who was calling.

"Thomas so nice to hear your voice," Janis said. "It's been a few months. Do you have a project for me? You know I'm always ready."

"Yes, a high-level task. You'll need to use the company cell and call the number you always use to receive your instructions. The job needs to be completed at five p.m. Friday, that's in less than forty hours. You should leave tonight. It is out of state. Good luck."

"Of course, Thomas, I can leave in an hour or two." She ended the call and looked at George. "I have a rushed assignment."

"Yes, what I heard on this end I figured as much."

Janis kissed his cheek. "I need to leave within the hour. The other journalist came up ill. Maybe pregnant. Who knows. Anyway, I have to complete the job." She removed the dish cloth from the tabletop and hung it on the oven handle. She continued and lied to her husband. "At least I can drive to the city where I need to be." Janis left the kitchen and walked to their bedroom. George followed thinking he was going to get lucky.

In their well-furnished bedroom Janis pulled an overnight bag from under the king -sized bed. The bag always ready and packed just needed to be filled with basic essentials. She opened the door of her walk-in closet and called to George for help.

Pointing to the top shelf she said, "Hon, can you get my equipment bag for me? I'll need those things for this project."

George retrieved the bag and while Janis made herself a meatloaf sandwich from leftovers loaded the bags into her car. Back inside he called Ken to the den and explained what was going on.

Ten minutes later at the front door George and Ken kissed her goodbye and watched as she got in the vehicle and drove away.

"Well, it looks like just you and me for the next two or three days," George said to his son as he shut the front door. "Now go and finish your homework." Ken ran off to his bedroom.

*

Janis stopped at a Dollar General parking lot out of sight of the outdoor security camera. She got the company cell phone from the equipment bag, call the number and got her instructions. She was told the mission was in a small town in South Carolina and would have to fly there.

Janis drove to a small private airfield two towns over and got aboard the organization's business jet. The pilot gave her a sealed envelope.

"Thomas said for you to read these instructions and commit them to memory." He smiled at the plain-looking woman and said, " Seat belt please and enjoy the flight." He turned and entered the cockpit shutting the cabin door.

During the two-hour flight she read and re-read the document and committed everything to memory, especially the face in a photo of a distinguished looking man about forty years old. The key for a motel room that she found among the paperwork was placed in her purse with the photo. The remaining items she crumpled-up and using her lighter set them ablaze
turning them into ashes and flushed them down the chemical toilet.

The plane touched down at nine forty-five and the pilot handed Janis a car fob. "This is for the black Edge parked right there." He pointed to the SUV near the gate. "The car's GPS will get you to your motel. Good luck."

At ten p.m. Janis inserted the key into the lock of her four-star motel room. Unimpressed with the room she striped off her clothes, took a fast shower, put on her war paint, slipped into panty hose and a pushup bra. A short skirt and low-cut blouse completed the outfit for her alter ego. Happy with what she saw in the full-length mirror on the closet door she left the room and into the rental to find a local bar.

Janis steered the SUV through the small blue-collar town until she found a bar and grille still open near the center of downtown. She entered and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the room. She noticed the place was near empty and disappointed that the pickings would be limited. Two young guys were playing pool. An older couple were trying to dance as the alcohol they consumed was taking effect on their limbs. Two gay guys were making out in a dark corner booth. Sitting at the far end of the bar was a balding guy in his sixties. He sat alone nursing a glass of beer. Janis walked up to the highly polished bar and waited for the bartender to notice her.

The man was surprised to see an unaccompanied female and asked, "Are you alone miss?"

"I am. Is that okay? I'm from out of state."

"Of course. What will you have?"

"I would enjoy a greyhound and give that gentleman whatever he's drinking." She pointed to the man at the end of the bar.

"Oh, that's Jim. He only drinks draft beer, a cheap date." The bartender smiled.

"I'll be with Jim." She placed a twenty-dollar bill on the bar counter. "Keep the change."

The drinks were delivered to Janis and her new friend.

Jim thanked her for the beer and felt a warm hand on his thigh. "Thanks, But why me?" He laid his hand on hers wanting it to move closer to his manhood.

"You looked lonely." She squeezed her hand on his thigh. "I'm lonely and like older men."

*

It was almost noon when Janis returned to her hotel room after a wild night of sex with a guy old enough to be her grandfather. She took a long hot shower and wished George was as good as Jim in bed. After her shower she studied the map of the town where she needed to complete her task. Janis dressed in an old pair of blue jeans and a plain black sweatshirt and sneakers, got in the Edge and drove the twenty miles to her mission. She surveyed the town streets and paid particular attention of the height of the buildings. Janis observed the traffic flow from four o'clock to five o'clock and discovered it was light with zero congestion.

*
Janis got back to the motel at seven and called out for supper. She rehearsed her plan in her mind until she fell asleep at midnight. Waking at eight a.m. she called home to speak with George and Ken.

"I should be home sometime on Saturday," Janis said.

"We both miss you as always," George said. "Good luck with your job."

Ending the call, she ordered breakfast before she returned to town to complete her mission.

*

She had until five to complete her task. Dressed in her jeans and sweatshirt she returned to the small town and planned her ingress and egress routes branded in her brain. She returned to the motel and retrieved the equipment she needed and placed the bag on the front seat of the car.

At 4:30 p.m. Janis parked behind a three-story vacant building she chose that faced the front entrance of the courthouse across the street. Biting her lower lip, she climbed the backstairs with her equipment bag and with-in three minutes was on the roof with a clear view of the courthouse door. With her range finder, Janis discovered she was one hundred and thirty-five yards from the door of the city building. Her vantage point is in the shade of the large air conditioner unit. From her bag she removed a Kel-Tec Sub 2000. in seconds the weapon was assembled, and Janis loaded the magazine with only five rounds of 9 mm ammunition. She got comfortable and snapped in several times taking aim at the courthouse door.

At exactly 4:59 p.m. the courthouse door opened and what looked like a detective dressed in a black suit stepped out followed by two lawyers. Mr. Berns, Janis' target, came into view next with a uniformed policeman on each side of him.

Janis sighted in on her target and took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she whispered, "Mr. Berns, you're canceled." She squeezed the trigger of the semi-automatic three times---broke down the weapon and was downstairs in her car before the small crowd around Berns realized what just took place.

*

Janis arrived home Saturday at noon.

"Welcome home honey," George said while giving her a kiss. He helped with unloading the SUV of the few items she had.

"It's good to be back home." She gave him another kiss in the bedroom and put the equipment bag in her walk-in closet. "Where's Ken?"

"He slept over a friend's house last night," George said hoping she wouldn't smell Marcy's perfume. "He'll be home for supper. Is pizza, okay?"

"Sure."

"Did your assignment go okay? Get everything done?"

"It went like clockwork. Not one problem," Janis said. "I should see a check next week."

They walked to the kitchen where George unloaded the dishwasher and Janis poured a glass of iced tea for each of them.

Putting the last dish away George asked, "Did to see or hear the news about some Mafia guy who was to turn states evidence getting assassinated in front of a courthouse in South Carolina? It happened yesterday or the day before."

"No, I didn't," Janis said. "What's this world coming to?"