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Ess Oh Ess

Rated: 18+ · Fiction · Sci-fi · #2363360

Granny has a mission to accomplish

The upgrade stung. Out of reflex I rubbed my arm, trying to massage away the pain. My fingers trailed over the tech implanted into my skin, lumpy and unfamiliar.

“This comes with free texts?” I asked the question for the umpteenth time, knowingly annoying the docking agent.

“Yes, ma’am. Just as it was explained to you during your seventy-two hour flight from Earth, our built-in devices allow texting, calls, holographic reality, virtual reality —”

I waved away the pimply-faced youth and his condescending tone. Ever since spanking had become outlawed the young folk had become insufferable. I had to fight the maternal urge to turn that young man over my knee and give him what-for.

“Think of the mission,” I murmured to myself.

“Ma’am?”

“Thank you for the information,” I said, forcing a smile. I smoothed the wrinkles from my dress and patted my perfectly coiffed hair.

“Follow the yellow brick road.” I felt like Dorothy in Oz as I followed the flashing yellow arrows that directed me away from docking and towards the Selene Settlement. I had arrived early enough to powder my nose and go over my emergency exit strategy one last time.

My arm buzzed, sending a tingle down the palm of my hand. I stretched my fingers.

“Land sakes alive!” I glared at the embedded device in my arm. Tiny words were lit up on the screen. I squinted and pulled out a dainty pair of glasses. Setting the spectacles on my nose, the fuzzy words became clear.

Ess Oh Ess

Being the head of my class in computer hacking, back in the day, helped me to navigate the newfangled technology attached to my arm and I soon discovered the text had come from Matilda. She had somehow made it look like I had texted myself. Not only that but the simple text was time stamped four years into the future.

I rolled my eyes at my reflection in the hotel mirror. “When God was handing out hearts Matilda was at the front of the line and got the biggest one but somehow she ended up at the back of the line when he passed out brains.” I sighed, wondering again how I had gotten saddled with such a dimwit of a partner. At any rate, she had managed to get the code through. My fingers flew over the device as I sent a message back, setting up the rendezvous for the Luna Lounge at nineteen hundred hours. I prayed Matilda would remember protocol.

With determination I sashayed into the Luna Lounge dressed in my very best black dress, a knitted rabbit-fur shawl, and sturdy loafers. High heels were a no-go if I ended up having to run. The room was packed with young men dressed in tuxedos and women in slinky dresses lifting expensive drinks to their painted mouths as they laughed and danced. I was impressed at the efforts they had made to dress so elegantly. More often than not the young folk didn’t seem to care much about dressing up for an occasion and would, I frowned in disgust at the memory, go out in sweats or pajamas. I shuddered and then shook my head to regain my focus.

Matilda stopped at my elbow, shoved a bacon-wrapped date into her mouth, and then patted her lips with a cloth napkin.

“Target at my two o’clock,” she whispered.

I glanced over my shoulder to see a waiter balancing a tray of drinks and a couple not-so-discretely smooching in a dark corner. Back in my day, I seethed, displays of affection were never public. Scandalous! Matilda nudged my side, bringing me back to the business at hand. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh,” Matilda blushed. “Not 2 o’clock. I meant to say, um, ten…” she trailed off as I gave a slow blink.

“Ten what?” a little boy suddenly bounced up to Matilda, his red hair flying in all directions and his face smeared with chocolate.

“You brought your grandson?!” I hissed.

“The kids needed a night out. I offered to babysit,” Matilda shrugged.

“Ten what?” the boy repeated.

“Ten o’clock,” I snapped. “A time when all little boys should be in bed sleeping.” I gave a pointed glare at Matilda who, for once, took the hint.

“Come, Xeldo. Let’s go back to Mamaw’s room.” Matilda tugged at the boy’s stained shirt.

“Can I watch Robot Rangers on my screen?” Xeldo begged. He shoved the device attached to his arm into Matilda’s face.

“Of course, sweetie,” Matilda cooed. They started to walk away and I cleared my throat. Matilda paused and her fingers fluttered to her mouth.

“Oh, right. I almost forgot,” she murmured. With a too-obvious glance around her she yanked at the pearls around her neck, sending them bouncing to the polished floor. “Whoops!” she smiled and grabbed Xeldo’s hand, scurrying away.

The pearls scattered and I watched, amused, as three people slipped and fell. What a wonderful distraction! I pulled out a tube of lipstick and pretended to touch up my makeup, catching sight of my target, the governor of the first settlement on the moon, Myles Dalton. My employer was paying me a lot to take out this traitor to Earth. Despite my years of experience, my resolve almost wavered as his brown eyes fixed on mine.

“Ess oh ess,” I reminded myself. “Shoot on sight”. The code was meant to keep me from hesitating. I twisted the tube of lipstick, transforming it into a small gun. If I screwed this up the agency would retire me and I wasn’t ready to be stuck at home listening to Larry share his tall-tale fishing stories for the remainder of our golden years. I pressed my lips into a firm line.

“Grandma? What are you doing here?” Myles asked, clearly surprised.

A job was a job, after all. I reached out a wrinkled hand and gently patted his cheek one last time.

Assassin ▼︎

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