Homemade Surprises

The night sky was clear and crisp as a lone car sped along the winding roadway. Howard Diaz glanced at his watch, 2 AM, he still had time to reach the cabin before it was too late. He turned the last corner on the road to where he was told his wife and daughter were and a relaxed feeling swept through him when he saw his wife's car sitting in front of the cabin by itself. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, it looked like this day would end as good as it started. His mind began to drift back sixteen hours to when this horrible day had begun.

Early that morning Howard reached over and switched off his alarm then stretched out with his eyes closed as he thought about what his day had in store for him. His thoughts were interupted by his wife as she entered the room and opened the curtains, "You'd better show some life mister or you'll be late."

Howard smiled as he opened his eyes, "I can't seem to remember anything that would motivate me to get out of bed."

She returned his smile as her raven black hair fell over her right shoulder, a look he loved to get from her. "Easy cowboy, you'd better save your strength for your big day."

He finally sat up and swung his legs out of bed, "I do hope you have the celebration ready to go for when I get home."

Miriam stepped towards him then leaned down to give him a kiss, "Shannon will be at Susie's house for the night, so when ever you can pry yourself from your busy schedule I'll be waiting." With that she straightened and left the room, Howard's pulse rate had nearly doubled.

Howard sat in his office after lunch with a smug smile, his business transaction had gone through and he had become the hero of the office. The company had turned the corner because of his deal, he was on top of the world were almost nothing could ruin it for him. It was at this time that his office phone rang, the voice had told his secratary it was an emergency and she had patched it through without a second thought. This one call would change his life forever, still smiling Howard answered the phone, "Howard Diaz here."

The voice on the line sounded like a man's but with a little distortion, he was cetain he knew the voice. "Listen to me Howard, you are in grave danger."

Howard's mood immediatley shifted to one of shock and fear,"Who is this?"

"Who I am is not important, the important thing is that I know who you are and about the reward on your head. Do everything I say and your wife and daughter will be fine."

"If you've done anything to harm them I'll..." his rage boiled over, how were they able to track him down here of all places?

The voice on the line remained calm and commending,"You'll do nothing besides what you're told to do. If you tell anyone about this or if you refuse to follow my directions your family's blood will be on your hands."

Howard took a deep breath, "What do you want me to do?"

The voice chuckled, "It's simple Howard, after work you'll go to the airport. There you will empty the contents of locker 18, the duffel bag they're currently stored in shall serve satisfactoryly."

Howard's brow furowed, how had this man known about that? "Now just a damn minute!"

"Being cavalier is not a luxery you can afford, now are you finished?" The voice paused a moment then continued when Howard didn't say anything, "Good, as I was saying once you've taken the duffel bag you will leave it sit in the terminal by the pay phones."

Howard waited a minute then spoke quietly, "If you harm either of them..."

"Honestly Mr. Diaz, if you do as I say you'll be with them by tomorrow."

"Wait! Wait, how do I know you have them?"

The voice chuckled, "I love your daughter's carebear underwear, it'd be a shame to mess something so sweet."

Howard was trying to think clearly, somehow this familiar voice had either seen his daughter's brand new under garments or had guessed rather luckily, fortunaltey he was not a gambling man. "Alright," his voice sounded defeated, "I'll do as you ask, just please don't hurt them."

"That, my dear Mr. Diaz, is entirely up to you."

Once the voice had hung up Howard sat for a moment as he tried to think of something to do, if they found him all he could do was hide, but with his wife and daughter being held there wasn't much he could do. Instantly he picked up the phone and dialed his home number, after four rings the answering machine picked up but it wasn't his wife's voice, "You're wasting time Howard, anymore delays and their blood will be on your hands." Howard slammed the phone down in frustration and collapsed into his chair.

The trip to the airport was a blur as he somehow managed to drive across town without any incidents and within minutes of him leaving the office. He wasted little time and parked his car in front of the terminal in the loading area and ran into the terminal. Once inside he was forced to slow down at the security check points and ran a hand over his balding head as he tried to regain his composure. He was reacting purely out of fear and he realized that, but it had been years since he had last worked for the Agency. Why would anyone waste the time to find him now?

Much to his dismay it took Howard nearly ten minutes to get through the check points and reach the locker he was too open. He stopped within arms reach of the locker and suddenly had a flashback to the day he had first used the locker to hide the payroll of a local gangster. Immediatley he could feel his chest as it started to tighten as an anxiety attack was trying to force its way to the surface. Howard closed his eyes and swallowed hard and took a deep breath, within a minute his hear trate had slowed down to the point where he felt comfortable and reached out towards the locker. He had no problem remembering the combination as he quickly spun through the four digit code and opened the locker. He let out a deep breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and lifted the duffel bag out of the locker as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

Without wasting any time he turned and made for the exit of the airport. His eyes darted side to side as he tried to find the one that would take his "package" once he left it but despite all of his training he couldn't locate a single one that may have been his contact. He stopped by the phones at the side of the terminal and sat down on the bench next to one of the many plants that decorated the airport and set the bag down next to the phones as he sat back and relaxed for a moment.

Five minutes later he slowly stood and stretched his back, before he absently made his way towards the exit of the airport. Part of being in the business was that you remained calm outwardly but there was always a part of you that would be scared, worried, or paranoid. In fact if it wasn't for this sixth sense no operative in the world would survive their first mission. With the constant feeling of being watched Howard nodded and smiled at the guard as the automatic door opened to allow him to pass. In response the guard returned the smile and nod as he wished Howard a good day, a wish Howard hoped would indeed come true.

An hour after leaving the dropoff point he was contacted by the same voice that had sent him on this hellish trip. The voice seemed pleased with Howard and had told him where he could collect his wife and daughter but he had to do so by 2:30 AM. Now as he pulled up to the cabin in the middle of the woods and parked next to his wife's car he felt a wave of relief sweep through him. He couldn't remember getting out of the car or even if he shut the engine off before he found himself inside the doorway. "Miriam! Shannon!"

"Howard!" The shout sent a great wave of joy through him and his wife ran into his arms from the next room. "Oh Howard! I was so scared!"

He gently held her tight as tears found their way down his cheeks. "Everythings going to be alright now my love. Let's get Shannon and get out of here." He took her by the hand and tried to pull her towards the door but she didn't move. After a moment he looked at her, "Didn't you hear me? We have to get Shannon and get out of here."

His wife just stared at him for a moment as a warning tingled in the back of his mind. "I told you this morning Howard, she's spending the night at Susie's house. It took you longer than I thought to get all your work done." Dumbstruck Howard's mouth opened but no sound escaped, even after he saw the flash of light in front of him and felt a great pain and burning feeling in his chest then he watched as everything in the room seemed to grow dark and spin around him like a whirlpool.

He watched his wife in shock as she picked up the duffel bag from behind a chair and slung it over her shoulder. "You made lots of enemies over the years Howard." He suddenly realised what had happened that day, how his own wife had been an assasin sent after him and how she had set everything up from the very start. He tried to say something but he could only gag on his own blood, he knew he'd be dead within a few minutes. Miriam bent down over him and gave him a parting kiss then wiped the blood from her lips, "I want you to know that it's nothing personal, just business. You were a good husband and father." Without saying another word she left him in the middle of the floor in a pool of his own blood. The last thing he saw was the headlights of her car as she started to pull away. He then slipped into darkness, he had recieved the payment he knew would come his way at some point and to him the peace was worth more than the millions in bounty on his head or in the duffel bag. Miriam's treachery would call for her payment in time, would she be willing to make her payment when it came time?