Immediately she closed the G-wagon door, with a revengeful tone Ishtar uttered in a sigh:
"It's pay back time."
Outside the car, Nadia, fueled by jeolous and hatred that was years old, she had her eyes through the windscreen at Ishtar. Whereas, Bob Lee walked to Phillip and had a small talk of two on the side before Phillip could walk to the driver's side, get in the G-wagon, and do what he does best, driving.
Bob Lee assigned him:
"If she suggests a different destination and not the airport, make sure you keep track on her."
So respectful to his boss, Phillip made a slight nod in agreement.
"Understood."
Then, as soon as he sat behind the stirring wheel and put his hands on it, humble, calm and respectful, he asked Ishtar:
"Where do you want me to take you ma'am?"
Of course, Nadia's eyes were still stationed, penetrating the wind screen direct at her on the passenger's seat when she took a quick glance. The eyes held an extreme dislike of her presence. Exasperating, Ishtar exhaled heavily.
"Drive me out of that weird woman's sight."
"Yes ma'am."
Doing what he knows to do best, Phillip put his foot on gas, turned the G-wagon around and it roared out of the compound like a beast. After Ishtar had left, Bob Lee turned a disappointed gaze at Nadia.
"You didn't have to say that to her!"
With a jeolous attitude she walked towards him and asked:
"Why? Because you want to reopen her legs _ start from where you stopped? Better not. Because if that day comes and I happen to find out about it, your German shepherd will have to enjoy dinner with your balls on menu.
Talking tough, looking him in the eyes, on a serious note Nadia added:
"I will pluck them off and personally feed it!"
Refusing to be intimidated by her words and her harsh stare, with a slight smile Bob Lee said:
"I will be waiting."
Then, Nadia wore a calm face that seemed harmless and gave him a quick reminder.
"We owe the bank a lot of money. And if they get the right buyer, the company will be gone for good. You will have nothing left and your father's legacy will be no more. You need to rescue the company and our home too. Hope that means a thing to you! I have already put a lot of effort in this including killing the prime minister, am not ready to watch you spoiling everything for us because you're distracted by that bitch..."
With a commanding tone, she concluded:
"Not until the paper work is done and money is fully paid into our account, stay focused. Erase that bitch out of your fucked up mind!"
Immediately after the desperate talk, with her white high heels, Nadia Browne stomped the ground out of Bob Lee's sight, leaving him standing mute.
.....
Sooner than later, the G-wagon entered the airport space and it dropped Ishtar off with her portable suitcase. She went ahead to find her way through check points until she was finally in the skies, travelling first class on an airbus, back to the place she thought was home for the period she had been having an amnesia.
After some long hours, she arrived at the lone home in the forest where she had spent years staying with Mr Beard.
Inside was as always; the army equipments, expensive art pieces hanging on the wooden walls, twenty duffel bags which contained bandles of American dollars, a briecase filled pure gold bars and glittering diamond stones, and the beds on which they sleep. This time, Ishtar walked around the house, looking at all the wealth Mr Beard had achieved for himself with a different mindset than before.
After all, she had recovered her memory.
"This old man made his own bank here!"
Later on, with eyes down at a heavily flowing river, standing so lonely in the middle of the forest, Ishtar wrung her hands piteously together and looked like a soul in torment. As she was still in her own head, occupied with complicated memories from her past and present life, suddenly Mr Beard showed up from behind.
"Did you unlive the client?"
Ishtar startled when Mr Beard's voice came in deep and unexpected.
He added:
"I wasn't at the house when you came back. I saw your luggage then had to look for you in your favorite relaxing spot."
He looked her over.
"You look pale and not in your high spirit. Is anything the matter?"
"No; nothing; of course am fine!"
Ishtar's response was not convincing. But Mr Beard took it slow on her.
"So, tell me. Did you kill Bob Lee?"
Trying to disguise the tension, she answered:
"After saving me from getting arrested at the hotel, the fool took me to his place for lunch. And after filling my belly with his food and wine, I jumped on top of him, he looked at me with fearful eyes, no choice but to watch as I used his own table knife to cut his throat."
"You mean you didn't bother asking why he sabotaged our job."
"No, I didn't see it as necessary."
Mr. Beard sighed.
However, as the saying goes; old is gold, Mr Beard was wise enough to read Ishtar's body language while she talked. He could clearly see the plastic in a smile she was wearing, a jumpy tone in her voice expression which made him doubt her story. And Ishtar was not as glowing as always especially when the job is well done.
The painful emotions of all she went through in the past when she remembers, and what she had turned into _ a person who takes life from others, something that violets her own interests, all these were too loud on her that it was very difficult for her to hide.
Quiet and patient, when everything about her seemed off and suspicious, Mr Beard waited for the night to come. On his high technology army gadget which was linked to the satellite, he hacked in Ishtar's mobile phone and sent an inbox to Bob Lee's contact, thanking him for saving her, informing him that she arrived home safely.
In a few second, an immediate reply from Bob Lee popped up on the gadget screen.
"My pleasure."
Words added:
"Sorry for all that went wrong, hope we meet soon and make amends."
After getting the proof he wanted, Mr Beard didn't bother replying to Bob Lee's text. He turned a grim face of disaster at Ishtar who seemed to be very asleep, tired in bed. Highly disappointed, he couldn't resist expressing his anger in a silent voice.
"Such an incompetent fool. How could you dare lie to your master? It's high time I open your hell gates!"
He turned on the gadget and erased the chat. But as he absent mindedly wrapped up the satellite gadget, Ishtar slightly opened her eyes at him. All along she was monitoring his movements too. But the old man was taking a long time to go to sleep so that she can take him to his grave too.
With eyes closed, as she pretended to be asleep, in a silent voice Ishtar, promised:
"I'm going to collapse you down. Soon you're going to speak by the edge of a sword why you stole my life away and turned me into a monster!"
Suddenly, Ishtar heard a rifle bullet entering into its chamber right next to her head. Alert, with a mini sword under the pillow on which she was laying her head, she didn't wait for a trigger to be pulled. Swiftly she pulled out the sharp mini sword and slashed a finger off Mr Beard's hand in a single swing.
He lost grip on the rifle.
As he was still screaming in pain for the loss of his middle finger, Ishtar didn't hesitate to give him a professional round kick that took him off his feet and landed him down. She jumped on top of him and put a sword on his throat.
"I give you only one minute to explain why I deserve to die!"
"You're an assassin. Death is the punishment you face when you violated the rules."
"You don't care killing your own daughter?"
"Cut the crap! I've never been your father."
"I know, my memory is back."
She added:
"Last question. Why did you have to lie about everything and keep me in darkness?"
With a sharp sword, ready to go through his neck Mr Beard strained as he answered:
"When I picked you from the harsh river in the forest, you were already dead. I dug a grave to bury you. Little did I know that a dead body was going to cough back to life. You gained your conscience. It was a big miracle. I got to understand that you lost your memory after a few simple questions. I had lost my daughter at a mission just a month before. So, I saw a chance I couldn't miss."
"Was she an assassin?"
Disrespectfully, Mr Beard replied:
"A competent one. Not an amateur like you!"
Mercilessly Ishtar told him:
"That's a big mistake. These are the swords you always use to enjoy your steak, right?
When I said I used his own table knife to cut his throat, I meant your throat not Bob Lee's."
And she penetrated his throat with the sharp mini sword, instantly with no hesitation.