Scarlet Angel by C. A. Wilke

elevator door
and leaned back against it. Scarlett inhaled a deep breath and let
it out in one, large burst. A quick check of the front entrance on
the security camera and she was satisfied.
    Scarlett locked herself away in the bathroom and got
to work. A short while later she turned off the water and wrapped a
towel around her head. Her bare feet tingled as the floor began to
vibrate. Her reflection smiled back at her.
    Dressed in loose shorts and a t-shirt, she strolled
out of the bathroom. The door to the elevator opened and Neil
appeared. “Hey...”
    She smiled. “Hey.” Scarlett walked up to him and
gave him a light kiss on the lips.
    Neil gave her a quick hug and headed for the
kitchen.
    “ So, how was your
thing?”
    He opened the stainless steel refrigerator door and
stuck his head in. “Oh, it was fine.”
    “ Good.” Scarlett pulled the towel
from her hair and started drying the stringy strands.
    Neil withdrew from the cold box and took a swig from
a bottle of his favorite microbrew. “Ah... that’s good.” He lowered
the bottle and looked over at her.
    His face showed no reaction, at first, to Scarlett’s
change in hairstyle. He stared at her, as if he was trying figure
out what was different. His mouth dropped open. “What the…?”
    Gone were her long, wavy, strawberry-blonde locks.
Instead, her hair blazed with the color of rich, red flames. They
extended to just below her jaw-line in straight, clean lines.
    “ You like?”
     

Chapter 17
Haircut
    A new hairstyle can make a girl feel like a whole
new woman. Then it’s up to her to continue that change.
    * * *
    Neil’s mouth hung open, utter shock painting his
face. He stared at Scarlett’s fiery hair. “Hmm.”
    “ Well? Do you like it?”
    “ I... uh, well... it’s, um... H’
How’d...?”
    Scarlett’s face slackened. “Is it that bad?”
    His arms flew up in defense. “Uh, no. No, not at
all. I’m just... It’s very different. But, how did you...?”
    “ Oh.” Scarlett’s eyes widened for
a moment and she ran from the room. She returned a few seconds
later with a small wad of cash and change.
    “ Here, I owe you $8.74”
    Neil stared at the handful of money. “What? Where
did you get this?”
    “ I borrowed it from your emergency
cash.”
    His head snapped up. “You know where that is?”
    “ Uh, yeah. Sorry.”
    “ No, it’s fine, I just...” Neil’s
words trailed off. “But I still don’t...” His wrinkled brow relaxed
as realization dawned. “You left. You went out into
public.”
    “ Oh, don’t worry, I was
disguised.” Scarlett’s tone was playful, despite the anger she saw
flickering in Neil’s eyes. “Watch. Computer, activate vidscreen
one, security video, elevator. Time stamp 12:47 pm.”
    The large screen showed Scarlett inside the
elevator. Heavy clothes covered her from head to toe. Her face was
hidden behind a scarf the color of her hair.
    “ See? It was really cold outside.
I kept it like that the whole time.” She smiled. Neil watched the
video for a moment then turned back to her. She told the computer
to pause the playback.
    “ I guess I should have known.
How’d you get back in?”
    “ I memorized your
code.”
    “ Four months ago?”
    Scarlett shrugged. “Yeah.”
    “ Impressive.”
    “ Thanks. So how was your thing?”
Scarlett walked around and plopped down on the black couch. She
felt Neil’s eyes on her, scrutinizing her every move. It was as if
he was sizing her up all over again.
    “ Oh, it was just a thing. Why
don’t you get dressed, we’re gonna do your final combat test. This
is real world shit, so... “
    Scarlett’s heart raced as she bounded out off the
couch. This was the moment she was waiting for. She rushed out of
room to change.
    From under her cot, she pulled a small metal case.
Neil had presented it to her a week ago and said her training was
almost complete.
    She clicked the two buckles and the case popped
open. The smell of metallic, preserved air wafted