“Ok J.J, so what’s this job you have lined up for us then?” asked Katy. The sound of her car kicked into life now that she had hit the motorway after being stuck in a traffic jam caused by some idiot who tried to take a bus under a low bridge some miles back.

Holding the phone away from her ear so that she wasn’t going to be completely deafened, J.J put the phone on loudspeaker so that she could access her computer. “I was checking my emails and got a strange one about a job. It left a number to call, so I used a payphone and spoke to the ‘contact’ who promised us a huge payday if we do a little spying, that’s it, pretty sweet huh?”

“He sent me another email this morning and it reads; ‘I need you to track down a young woman for me, find out where she goes and what she gets up to, there may be further instructions but I can assure you this is worth your time and effort… like 5 figures worth of time and effort’. Sounds like a walk in the park to me, what do you think?”

“Yeah it sounds pretty good if it’s legitimate but if we take this job, you better not screw it up like at the Robertson place. The next time I go into an operation like that and get slashed, you’re finding a new partner, got it I?” she blasted as the phone flipped closed. It’s fair to say that Katy would be bitter about the last mission until they had a successful one, mainly because she uses the anger from past experiences to drive her onwards toward improvement, though the level of perfection she had set herself was unreachable by her own words, still it was enough to keep her going.

J.J (Jacqui Jane) Fleisch and Katy Barclay were like family; they had grown up together in Fresno, California as kindergarten pals and had remained friends all through elementary and high school. After college, they were struggling to find work but never in a million years would they have suspected that an incident in 2001 would change their lives and set them on the career path they were clearly destined for.

After finishing their daily workout in the gym at the end of their block, they saw a street crime in progress with the victim being an elderly neighbour they loved and respected. The poor and defenceless old man was being held at knife point by a group of 4 tracksuit wearing youths, having just withdrawn money from the ATM by the local mini-mart. He was forced to stay on his knees whilst the knife dangled above his head with the warning that unless he handed over the cash, he’d be penniless and lifeless. Needless to say J.J and Katy were gob-smacked, appalled and enraged.

As they made their way across to the scene, one of the delinquents pulled a 9mm pistol from his waistband and warned them ‘not to get involved or face the consequences’. Katy seeing this as a challenge, played rock/paper/scissors with J.J and as per usual, came out on the losing end. This of course momentarily amused the would-be muggers who now turned their attention to the girls and mocked them profusely.

“Damn J.J, looks like you won again,” said Katy with an almost believable frown. “Well rules are rules so you can decide”. The boys were still armed but whilst before they had been chuckling away, after Katy’s declaration, they became cautious. Knife boy made his way across to J.J and started to look her up and down, possibly as his next victim but then again there had been reports of young women being sexually assaulted by youths in groups much like this one. Gun-boy studied Katy from a little further back and started once more to raise his firearm to her forehead.

“The only thing you’re going to decide bitch is how many times you want it inside of you, and I am not talking about my blade!” growled Knife boy as he advanced towards J.J. At that point she delivered a full throttle uppercut to his jaw, sending him and the knife flying backwards maybe 4 or 5 feet in opposite directions.

“I’ve decided... it’s the wrong day for you boys to play with toys” she said as she leaped toward the knife and scooped it up before punting her would be assailant in the ribs repeatedly. Completely dumbstruck by what he had just witnessed, Gun boy wasn’t aware until it was too late that Katy had snuck up beside him and grabbed him by the crown jewels with enough force that she could have ripped them clean off.

“Drop the gun or I drop you and detach your ding-a-ling” she said with a sadistic grin. With every second that passed she squeezed tighter until he got the message and did as he was instructed. Realising that taking a beating from a girl was probably going to be worse than running; the boys took off and never showed their faces on the block again.

They went inside the apartment building and checked on the neighbour to see if he was alright and after staying with him long enough to make him feel safe and secure, they made their way back to the top floor flat they owned and settled down for the night.

The girls’ exploits were talked about for weeks after that, to the extent that sometimes they would be sought out by people within a twenty square block who had been on the receiving end of gang-related problems. They were even offered money to begin with. After a few months the girls decided to open their own private protection firm, helping out where required for a reasonable sum.

After 4 years they had terrorised the local gangs so much so that they knew better than to set foot on the girls’ turf. That however was when things changed for the worse and caused their sudden move from California to Glasgow. They were approached by the Fresno branch of the mob and were given an ‘offer they couldn’t refuse’... in other words, the mob felt that they were the ones to offer protection and didn’t take too kindly to some pretenders making a living at their expense. The capo regime had been sent by Don Lucas Exustio to offer the girls a way out; if they performed a high-profile, high-risk job for him then he would turn a blind eye to their line of business and allow them to operate without any interference from his family. However, if they refused then what would certainly follow would cause more harm and distress for the locals, with the blame being slapped on the heads of J.J and Katy.

Realising that they were in a bit of a predicament, they agreed to take on the job for the Don without question and were presented with some files detailing what the job would be, how he would like it executed and what was to happen after successfully completing the job.

It looked risky, and it turned out to be an absolute disaster. What should have been a simple bank job turned into a bloodbath and few of their team survived. They were sold out by the Don and consequently he put a price on their heads... dead or alive.

That was some 3 years ago now and although it wasn’t something they would forget, it was not something they were worried about as much anymore. New identities, new appearances and the same bad attitude but at least the young women could live ‘freely’ knowing that their past lives as Caroline Rossi and Sabrina Foster were now a distant memory and unlikely ever to re-surface.

It was hard at first for them to find work in the Dundee and the surrounding areas because at this time, not only was the city in a recession but there were simply no jobs in their line of work. One night not long after arriving into town, the girls went to a back street bar, suggestively called Liquor Out, for a few quiet drinks and nothing more. Now to be perfectly honest, seeing 2 muscular young women walking into a bar can result in either weaker men being afraid of them and or muscular guys getting pissed off that there are more muscular women than them in the world. The girls found a corner booth near the back of the bar and got themselves comfy.

Three men walked over to the girls’ table and sat down without so much as asking for an invite. They must have been in their early 30’s with skinheads and goatee beards, each with different tattoos on their exposed arms and facial furniture (eyebrow studs, nose rings, ear tunnels, cheek bars, lip rings, tongue studs and chin rings to be precise). Rolling their eyes at each other, J.J and Katy knew what these men were after and what they would inevitably get (not the same thing, just to clear it up), but they played along and pretended to be sweet little ladies looking for some big strong men to buy them a drink or two and show some hospitality. This act continued for an hour or so until one of them men placed his hand on Katy’s knee and started to slide it up her thigh. Looking directly into Katy’s eyes, J.J smiled and out of nowhere, smashed her elbow into the jaw of the man beside her and knocked him flying out of the booth and onto the floor. The other two became angry and launched the table out of the way to cut off the girls escape, problem being that the girls weren’t looking to run because they wanted to kick these scumbags asses and that’s exactly what they would do.

As the first man was cradled on the floor holding his jaw, the second man with a ponytail goatee beard threw a punch in the direction of Katy’s gut and connected pretty well as she doubled up but instead of following up, he celebrated and cheered like he’d won a medal or something… bad idea. Whilst the third man had grabbed J.J in a bear hug from behind and started to squeeze at her rib cage, Katy slowly got back up to a vertical base and, tapping her attacker on the shoulder, unleashed a furious roundhouse kick into his neck and started to pummel his kidneys with quick-fire fists. The occasional knee in the groin helped to keep him down and ensure she was in control of the situation. J.J called out to Katy for help because being stuck in a bear hug kind of left you helpless no matter how well you are trained in the martial arts. Grabbing a bottle and smashing it over the man’s temple, he quickly released the bear hug and collapsed to the floor, freeing J.J and allowing her to get some oxygen at last. One by one they picked up the men and threw them out of the bar via the door, piling them up on the sidewalk like garbage bags on trash day, then returned to the bar and paid their tab to the barman with a little extra to cover the cost of damages caused by the impromptu fight.

Surprisingly and unexpectedly, they were treated to applause and much congratulation, for it appeared that the scumbags they had just beaten up were regular troublemakers and had been using the bar as a place to sell cocaine and heroin. The only reason they had been getting away with it was down to the fact they threatened and had assaulted the bar man on countless occasions when he demanded they leave or threaten them with the cops popping by. Chicken (as the regulars knew him purely for his cowardly behaviour when dealing with rowdy or aggressive patrons), or Kevin Curtis to his family and friends, was eternally grateful to the girls and couldn’t thank them enough for cleaning up the bar for the first time in months where he hadn’t needed the cops.

He had no real way to thank them for getting rid of the thugs but made an offer to them of work; they work as ‘security’ on the 6 nights a week the bar was open from 7pm ‘til closing at 3am approximately, (they wouldn’t have to stand on the door, they would get a private booth at the back of the bar, secluded and hidden so that they had privacy) and he would pay them $100 each a night, with free drinks as a thanks. It wasn’t the kind of work they were looking for but realising their job prospects just now weren’t great, they grudgingly accepted his offer and started work the next night. By then, talk or rather false accounts of their exploits, was all around town of the new door-women at the bar and how they had beat up some 12 men with nothing but their hands. This had resulted in a lot of business for the bar with more and more customers coming in and buying drinks just to catch a glimpse of the duo and see if they were as tough as they were being made out to be.

Most of the time the girls grabbed anyone who was a little too drunk and escorted them from the building or broke up fights between customers, there was the odd occasion or two where someone would try and start a fight with them and ended up getting an ass-whooping but as far as they were concerned, it was a paying job and that’s what mattered. It was here that the girls managed to secure the kind of work they were looking for but specified they would only work during the day unless the money was worth it (they could afford to be picky because there was no shortage of people looking for hired hands to do some ‘overtime’ as it was called. Within a few months, J.J and Katy’s reputation was starting to grow strong but they remained loyal to the barman who had given them their first job in town and maintained a strong friendship and business relationship with him, he’d even described them as the daughters he had never been granted (being a single man with no wife or children in the past or on the horizon).

The weather of late hadn’t been fantastic so today she would carry out her plan and have a nice countryside drive, exploring Carnoustie, situated just a few miles down the motorway, north-east was Arbroath with Dundee to the south-west. She looked in the rear view mirror at her allergy affected eyes and grunted, not at the fact her eyes were bloodshot, but more at the fact her eyeliner was starting to fade thanks to her hay fever allergy deciding to kick-in heavily today.

With her arm sticking out of the window, the wind blowing through her long red hair and her eyes fixed on the fields and hills rising off into the distance, it filled Katy with a sense of fulfilment and happiness, feelings she had always thought were beyond her reach and yet in a new place, a new world and a new life, things were finally beginning to look up. Pulling up to the gas station and honking the horn for the attendant to come and fill the truck with fuel before realising that it was self service, she stepped out and filled up the tank. Next she walked into the store with the intention of buying some refreshments and a bottle of water as her throat was quite parched. Looking around, she could only see a frail old man approaching the counter and kids reading music magazines in the far corner. She stopped by the refrigerator and picked up a few bottles of soda, then headed back to the counter and paid for her purchase and gas. She felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately tensed up.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she said with an acid like tone.

“Well I knew you were feisty but this is something completely out of the ordinary Miss Barclay. Do you always greet potential employers with an attitude or is today the start of your ‘monthly moments?” asked the well dressed man who Katy hadn’t noticed previously in her browse around the store.

“I’ve been keeping tabs on you for a month or so now and I know what you can do Katy, you’re very accomplished with your hands, let alone a makeshift weapon. I think you and I should go and grab a coffee” he said softly and in a low voice, walking towards the supermarket café. Pissed off and still wondering who the fuck this guy was, Katy followed him and sat down on the opposite side of the table in the booth.

“I have a proposition for you; it’s financially rewarding and relatively simple. I need you to track down a young woman for me, find out where she goes and what she gets up to, there may be further instructions but I can assure you this is worth your time and effort…” he said. This sounded all too familiar and indeed it was, for it was the exact same kind of job and description that J.J had been given from her unknown contact.

With her suspicious mind, Katy knew something was going on here but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. A few minutes of silence had gone by before they hailed the frail and petite waitress to take their order and as they were waiting, the mysterious man broke the ice and discussed the proposal somewhat further, with interruptions only for more coffee or food orders. Katy finally agreed in principal to take on the job but there were some questions she wanted answering.

“I want to know who the hell you are and why you came after us to do this job. I mean after all, this is pretty much a babysitting job and the kind of money you’re laying down isn’t the kind that babysitting pays out. Secondly, why did you make the exact same offer to my partner this morning if you wanted to ask me directly? And lastly, how did you manage to, as you said, ‘keep tabs on us’, when we only make contacts using an alias?” she asked, keeping her voice low but with a determined look.

“In answer to question 2, I wanted to see if Miss Fleisch would respond to a random query or if she would report back to you as the more senior member of your team. She told you I’ll bet, with a huge smile and a pound sign in each eyeball,” he snorted, mocking her slightly. “Despite this, I’m 100% certain that I have managed to acquire the right team for this assignment. I suppose I should let you know though that this isn’t going to be just one job and you will be required to complete some other tasks based upon the target’s movements. The 5 figure some will be paid in 3 amounts as the job develops; one after you find her, one when you send on your report and one when you bring her to me. The fact I am willing to pay a lot of money for your services goes to show how highly your success rate is valued”.

Katy wasn’t quite sure whether or not to be pissed off for letting this stranger suggest that she and J.J were joined at the hip or to be worried that he has been able to record their movements with little or no difficulty. They would have to start being more careful about what they did and how they did things.

“In answer to question 3, I have tracked you down through my contacts on the other side of the pond. I know some very influential people in California who are looking for a Miss Foster and Rossi respectively with regards to a botched job a few years back. They showed me photographs of these girls and after much thought I finally realised where I had seen them… At Liquor Out a few nights back when you were turfing out a few rowdy customers who looked no older than 15 years old. Now, in the grand scheme of things I could have turned over information about you and ruined your life… but I decided against letting them know you’re here because I have a feeling we can form a good business relationship”.

To further prove that he had nothing to hide from her, he passed her his wallet, full of identification and photographs. Looking satisfied but not trusting him for a second, she handed back the wallet.

“Finally in answer to question 1; I’m Sebastian Spence. I used to work for The Polyamourous Group but not for the side that everyone knows about. I worked for the underground side of the company a long time ago but changed my career and until yesterday I worked as a high-school teacher in Business Administration. A strange career choice you would think and rightly so, but it also helped me to plant the seeds of destruction elsewhere and that is exactly what the company asked me to do.”

“What does this have to do with you personally? Nothing at all, but you do have two things to think about” he said with a sinister smile. “Firstly; you could do this job and walk away, no questions asked. We will make payments of $3000, $5000, and $12000 respectively as soon as each part of your mission is completed. Alternatively you could go back to your bar work with the occasional protection job, never knowing if or when the mob will or won’t show up and extract revenge for whatever you did that caused you to flee”. His eyes wandered to the parking lot as though he had lost all interest in Katy. “Just take my card and contact me as soon as you have decided what you want to do but I must warn you, my employers and I will not wait forever. We expect an answer from you one way or another 48 hours from now. I bid you good day Miss Barclay, and I hope to be seeing you very, very soon”.

Katy watched him eagerly as he rose from the table and paid their bill at the counter. She was left disappointed as Spence got in his black SUV (with blatantly illegal tinted windows) and slowly pulled out of the parking lot without any cop cars or other suspicious looking vehicles following suit. Maybe he wasn’t out to get her and he was genuinely looking to hire the girls for a proper job but something wasn’t quite right about him and that was never a good sign.

She reached for her cell phone and called J.J but got her voicemail, so she left a message. “J.J, I don’t have time to explain but you and I have been approached by the same person about the same job. I’m heading home just now, you better get back home too for safety sake because if he could find me as I was driving down the road, minding my own business, he might have someone watching you. We’ve got to find out what the hell is going on”.

Walking to her car casually, Katy got in and started the ignition, checking her mirror and putting the car into drive, slowly pulling away from the gas station and heading back towards the motorway. She picked up her cell phone and this time made a call to ‘Big Red’, a contact in Aberdeen who had hired her services in the early days when she had only arrived in Dundee. The girls had done him a few favours in the past by going outside of their contractual agreement to do a little extra where necessary and he had vowed to return the favour to them as and where he could help. Of course, real names were a no-no when contacting each other, purely for security reasons, so they all had codenames. He was Big Red, Katy was Silver Fox and J.J was The Jackal. The girls never did know what he was involved with or how he got his information but as long as he paid them for ‘overtime’ and they carried out the work, it was never really brought up.

“Big Red? It’s Silver Fox. I need information on someone… Sebastian Spence. Uh huh… Okay… Email me the details as soon as possible. Do this for me and we’re finally even Red. You have 23 hours and 57 minutes remaining,” said Katy as she ended the call. Never before had she needed to call ‘Big Red’ to get information on someone (usually it was the other way around) but this was very serious and she didn’t like it that Spence had pretty much unravelled the web they had built since moving from California with what appeared to be no real problem.