Chapter
7: From Angel to Goddess
“So,
explain to me again how you knew Van was going to end up dead if you didn’t
intervene,” Billie said as she glared at Sara, who stood before her desk, Van
and Deaq behind her.
“I just
had this unsettling feeling that something bad was going to happen to him, and
usually when I get these feelings, they tend to be true. You can go ahead and
call my partner back in
Billie
stared at her skeptically, but nodded her head. “I’ve read enough in your
file to support that theory,” she finally said. “In time, I might believe
you, but right now, this should be the last thing on our minds. Who the hell was
that guy shooting at you?”
“One of
Gallo’s men,” Sara answered. “He was sitting in the trees near the beach
waiting for the perfect shot. How he got there, I can only guess that he
followed Van. I have a feeling that Gallo already has suspicions and that the
deal will go down tonight as planned, but not as smoothly as we would hope. If
he’s ready to put up a fight, I seriously think we need backup. At least ten
people just to make sure nothing really bad happens.”
“I’ll
have a SWAT team ready. Oh, by the way, this is for you,” Billie said as she
tossed a small box to Sara. She opened it to find a dark red text messenger.
“That’s to keep in touch with everyone. Pick a screen name so we can program
it, and I want you to use it to keep in touch with us whenever you’re on
assignment.”
“Is
there anything else that you still need to give me before you leave?” Sara
asked as she started to fiddle around with the new gadget in her hands. She was
already in the process of picking a nickname for herself when she heard Billie
open the drawers to her desk and pull something out.
“Catch,”
she warned as she threw another box at Sara. She caught it and opened it.
“Keys?”
Sara questioned as she held them up for all to see.
“To your
new apartment,” Billie clarified.
“Oh,
great! And I thought I’d be stuck in some hotel for the rest of my time out
here,” Sara replied as she slipped the keys into the pocket of her jeans.
“Do you
have a nickname yet?” Billie asked before letting Sara off the hook.
“Yeah,
PezAngel,” she answered. “Everybody got that?”
“Yeah,
and I’ve already taken the liberty to program out names into your messenger,
so with everything set and ready for tonight, it’s time for you to get your
ass out of here and to that salon before you miss your appointment,” Billie
warned as she wearily stood from her desk and headed out of the warehouse.
“Van, Deaq, would you please take her there? I don’t want another Gallo
incident.”
“Sure,
no problem,” Deaq said standing up from his seat and heading towards one of
the cars in the vast garage.
Sara and
Van lingered in Billie’s office while Sara tried to figure out how to use her
new toy. As she turned around to leave, she found Van staring at her intently.
He stood up and walked over to her. “Thanks for saving my life today,” he
said softly, avoiding eye contact. There was something about his tone and
posture that reminded Sara of Ian. Van did have a slight resemblance to her
stalker; a well built body, a very handsome face, and an absolutely adorable set
of deep blue eyes.
“It was
nothing. We’re partners, we’re supposed to look out for each other,” Sara
replied, flashing him one of her million dollar smiles. They walked out of the
office together, Sara leading, and headed outside where Deaq was standing beside
the forest green Mustang Sara had seen earlier. They drove off the lot
cautiously, Sara in the passenger’s seat, Van in back, making sure that no one
was following them.
Sara could
feel the butterflies build in her stomach as she thought about what they were
going to do to her at the salon. She had never made a drastic change in her
image, which scared the hell out of her. ‘I’m not afraid of big scary men,
why the hell am I afraid of a hair dresser?’ she thought to herself as Deaq
pulled into a parking space beside the salon and got out. ‘Come on, Pez. You
have nothing to worry about. They’re going to take good care of you in
there,’ Sara continued to tell herself as she stepped out of the car and
walked into the salon.
“Hello!”
the guy behind the posh counter said so cheerfully that Sara nearly jumped.
There was no doubt in her mind with his high pitched voice and bouncy
personality he had to be gay. He was also wearing a very loud red tee shirt with
polka dots and black pants. She knew she was in for one hell of a ride that
afternoon.
“Sara
Pezzini,” came her barely audible reply. Now the butterflies were ready to
rush from her stomach into a pool on the floor.
“Ah, the
guest of honor has arrived,” the man said. “I’m Francis. Please follow me.
Jacque will be with you shortly,” he replied as he led Sara to a seat deep
inside the salon. From behind her, she could hear Van and Deaq begin to snicker.
She looked back and shot them a murderous glare. They soon stopped. As Sara sat
down in her seat, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. ‘Jacque, oh,
God! He’s French! Please let me live through this and not die of
embarrassment,’ she silently prayed as a bald man wearing a completely black
outfit approached her seat.
“Ello, I
am Jacque, you’re ‘air dressair for ze day,” he said in a pronounced
French accent, making the guys snicker even louder. Sara could feel her stomach
do a flip as he ran his thick, stubby fingers through her hair. “And I am
going to make you buteeful!”
‘Oh,
God! What have I gotten myself into?’ Sara’s mind screamed as he wrapped a
smock around her neck.
*~*~*
It had
been three hours since Jacque began Sara’s transformation. In that time, her
hair had been brushed, pulled, painted, washed, dried, and cut. Jacque was just
beginning to style it when a tremendous headache set in on the left side of her
brain. Sara kept her eyes closed deliberately, praying that things had gone
well. The last thing she wanted to see in the mirror was someone completely
unknown staring at her. Half an hour later, he pulled away to examine his work.
“Magnifique!”
Jacque exclaimed. Sara opened her eyes as he turned her chair towards the mirror
so she could see his work. The reflection was something she never expected in
her life. Her hair was now golden brown, flowing down in large, wispy curls that
hung around her face. Sara ran a cautious hand through it to make sure nothing
came out of place. It felt soft and silky to the touch.
As she continued to stare at her transformed reflection in the mirror, Van and Deaq came up on either side of her, both very surprised at how different she looked now that her hair was gold instead of dark chocolate. “Now what do you have to snicker about, huh, boys?” Sara asked, turning the tables on both of them.
“Nothing,”
they solemnly replied in unison.
“Makeup
time!” Jacque cheerfully exclaimed as he led Sara to another room in the salon
where several women were sitting beside makeup counters. “But before we do
makeup, we need to find you some clothes.”
“We’ve
got them,” Van interrupted as Deaq appeared with a bag filled with different
articles of clothing.
“Magnifique!”
Jacque scurried off behind a curtain. When he returned, another man followed
him. The new guy wore a gray ensemble, reeking of designer fashion. Deaq handed
him the bag and he gently pulled each article of clothing out, setting them on a
large sofa propped against the wall of the makeup room. Sara watched in
disbelief as he pulled out several high priced designer dresses, shirts, skirts,
pants, belts, etc. You name it; he pulled it out of the bag. She was surprised
to see how many things had actually fit in there by the time it was empty.
There must
have been at least fifteen outfits laid out on the couch in front of her. Some
were brightly colored blues, reds, oranges, and pinks, while others were more
classic blacks, whites, and browns. The man looked at each of them until he
finally picked out a very classy black dress and held it up against her frame.
Sara stole a peek at the price tag and her mouth almost dropped; $3,000! The man
shook his head and put it down. He grabbed another dress, this time a deep shade
of red and held it up to her again. Sara didn’t even bother looking at the
price. She was too afraid of what she’d see. Instead, she focused on the
man’s face, trying to read his nearly impossible expression. Finally he nodded
and gave the dress to Sara.
“What am
I supposed to do with this?” she asked, her voice slightly rising.
“Try it
on,” Van replied, matter-of-factly.
Sara
disappeared behind the curtain and changed into the flimsy dress that went
barely past her knees to find that it fit her perfectly, like it had been made
especially for her. She could easily see the curves of her body as she stared at
herself in the mirror to admire the full transformation from her hair to her new
outfit. Before she walked out from behind the curtain, she found a pair three
inch red stiletto heels that had been left for her to also try on.
Sara
slowly made her way back to the others, timidly looking up to see their
reactions when she appeared from behind the curtain. Jaws dropped as she stood
before the four men. “How do I look?” Sara shyly asked as her face began to
flush.
“Buteeful!” Jacque commented as tears formed in his eyes.
“My
God,” Deaq added as he continued to stare.
Van
remained speechless as he gazed upon Sara with wistful eyes. She couldn’t tell
what he was thinking, just hoped that it was something good. “Van,” she
finally found the courage to say his name. “What do you think?”
“I…
uh… You… um… You look really beautiful,” he finally blurted, a rosy red
color coming to his cheeks. “I gotta go,” Van said as he turned to leave the
room, leaving Sara to wonder what had happened.
On the
outside, Van looked calm and collected, but on the inside, he was in turmoil.
His feelings for Sara were constantly conflicting. At one moment, she was his
worst enemy, the next, she was his savior. He stood outside the salon, running
his hands through his long light brown hair wondering why something like this
was happening to him. How could he be so attracted to Sara when he knew that she
had just taken over his case? Van wanted to scream, his mind twisting and
turning in so many directions that he didn’t know which one to follow.
His
salvation came when Deaq walked up beside him and asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah,
the fumes were getting to me. I needed some fresh air,” Van answered, avoiding
eye contact. “Come on, let’s go back inside. I don’t want to leave Sara
alone in the hands of a Frenchman.”
As the two
walked back into the makeup room, Sara was sitting in one of the chairs getting
her face painted by one of the makeup artists. Her lips were already a deep
shade of red and her eyes and skin shimmered in the light. ‘My, God, she’s
beautiful,’ Van thought as he merely stared at her. When she stood up, her
full beauty struck him. Sara had long, thin legs, well defined arms, and
probably the best body he had seen on a girl in a long time. She wasn’t too
thin, nor was she “big boned,” she was just perfect.
“Hey, guys,” Sara said, breaking Van’s train of thought and pulling him back into the real world. He looked up at her as she asked, “Where do I put my gun?"