Deleted Scene: The Cafe

As an author, you would think I have control over my characters. Spoiler alert: I do not. They do what they want, often to the betterment of the story, and even if it frustrates me to no end. I have learned over the past 15 years of serious writing that it is part of my process, and to trust it. The story is always better when I let the characters be themselves. But that also means I have a bunch of deleted scenes, some of which I’ve only kept track of recently. 

When I first outlined The Assassin’s Storm, I knew a few things had to happen:

1: I needed Kat to have to work with the woman she despised.

2: I needed Aeron to get to Maureen in order to save her life and to give Kat and the team the advantage of having an insider behind enemy lines. I also needed Aeron and Maureen to have the time and space to have a heart to heart, uncovering some of the past trauma and the current headspace of our favorite villain. 

This scene happens after Aeron has run away from the safe house, and Kat learns that Rufus has grabbed her. In my first draft of Storm, Katherine reached out to Maureen, hoping to get resources and to gain trust in order to later betray her. I wrote this scene before I had fully fleshed out the story, and when I got to where this scene belonged, Katherine literally laughed at me as her character straight up told me ‘Fuck no.’ Now I may be the author, but I simply tell their story. I loved this scene. I thought I needed to have Katherine do the one thing she said she would never do: work with Maureen. I also wanted to show the struggle Izz was having with Mason and Maureen. At the end of the day, my characters knew the best story to tell, but that doesn’t mean this scene didn’t have some well laid punches and lines I wish I could have kept.

So for your enjoyment: A fun deleted snippet from The Assassin’s Storm. If you haven’t read that yet, I wouldn’t go any further. You’ve been warned. This deleted scene is unedited.

Enjoy!

Izz found Mason in their usual booth, a cup of coffee, a vanilla milkshake, and a plate of fries already waiting on the table. His cuts looked marginally better, but the dark circles beneath his eyes and his clenched jaw told her more. He hadn’t slept, or probably eaten, in too many days. She scanned the restaurant. The usual crowd filled the room, stay-at-home moms, white-collar workers at lunch, groups of elderly gathered around, drinking coffee and counting down their days, and Katherine Wayward tucked into a booth, her glare drilling a hole into Izz’s head. Izz blew a kiss and winked. Kat kept staring.

She slid onto the bench across from Mason. “You look terrible,” she said and took a bite of a fry. “I’d still fuck you, but I’d have to keep my eyes closed, or you’re hitting it from behind.” It brought a small smile to his face, and the knot in her chest eased. 

He wrapped his hands around his mug. “Those are for Maureen. Where is she?”

“On her way,” Izz said. “Eileen was talking her off a ledge.”

Mason shook his head. “She couldn’t just push her?”

Izz matched his smirked, and then schooled her features. It was one thing to talk shit about your boss together. It was another when you no longer were on the same side of the war. “She’s taking credit for Elijah’s kill.”

“Well that’s a new low,” he said and released a long sigh. “And what’s Eileen's stance?”

“Same as yours, I’m sure.”

“I doubt that.” He dropped his head back and closed his eyes. “Do we have a Mike Barnes on the roster?”

Izz drew her eyebrows down, the name unfamiliar. “We?” She laughed. “Mase, there is no ‘we’.”

He looked at her with hooded eyes, not picking his head up. “You’re here, aren’t you? Our entire careers have been dedicated to the Alliance, to protecting Maureen and the kids at all costs. I’m still doing that, are you?”

She glared. Protecting Maureen was all she lived for–well Maureen and the interests of the Alliance. But the Alliance was dead, and Maureen’s rash decision-making had become more erratic. “I don’t recognize the name,” she conceded, eyes scanning the restaurant. “Is there a reason your new boss is sitting over there?”

He picked his head up and licked his lips. “Same reason yours is running late.” To make sure the meeting was legit. “How is she doing?”

The question caught her off guard. “Excuse me?”

“I know her, Izz, and I know you. You look like shit–your normally perfect hair is in a messy bun. If you’re unkempt–she’s not doing well.”

Izz hated how well he knew them, jealousy stirred in her gut. The bell on the door rang, and Mason straightened up, signaling Kat to come over. Izz didn’t need to look to know Maureen entered the room like the queen she was. Kat slid into the seat beside Mason, and Maureen slid in beside Izz. If the tension in the room could be measured, Izz would bet it vibrated harder than her favorite magic wand. 

“Where’s Eileen?” Mason asked.

“Handling what used to be your job,” Maureen said. “Did you lose Aeron already?” Mason flexed his jaw but said nothing. “You look well, Katherine.” 

Katherine's stone face gave nothing away. “Are you working with Rufus?” Katherine asked.

“And what would that information be worth to you?” Maureen asked in return.

“It’s a very simple yes or no, Maureen,” Katherine said, leaning forward on her elbows. “Because if the answer is yes–I can promise you if he lays a finger on Aeron every ounce of torture Rufus has ever dished out will be your new hell for the rest of your miserable life.”

Maureen stiffened and Izz shot her glance at Mason. Rufus had Aeron? How long? How did they know? He sat stock still, jaw clenched as he held in everything he wanted to throw at Maureen in favor of Katherine making her move. “And if my answer is no?”

“Then you understand the gravity of Aeron being in his hands, and I’m asking for help returning her home.” Katherine’s lip curled just the slightest, but she remained focused on Maureen. Izz glanced at Mason, his eyes on Maureen, full of hope she would make this easy. He’d missed the breakdown after Andrew died, it broke something inside Maureen, or maybe she finally let that piece of her die–let Sin take over the spot in her heart where pain led to better decisions. But Izz knew if they could just open Maureen’s heart again, Mason could come home–the girls could feel safe. They really could go back to being a dysfunctional family.

Maureen picked up a fry, dipped it into the milkshake, and then popped it in her mouth. “You eat crow really well. I’m impressed. Why do you think Rufus has Aeron?”

Katherine pulled out her cell phone and placed it face up on the table. She opened a video and hit play. Rufus' ugly mug graced the screen, Aeron sitting behind him looking on the brink of death. “Because he told me.”

Maureen grabbed the phone, and Katherine reached for it–but Mason pushed her hands back down. Izz watched the video again over Maureen’s shoulder. “Who he is working for?” Izz asked.

“No idea,” Mason said. “But his message was clear: he wants Katherine.”

Maureen passed the phone back. “And?”

“And,” Katherine said, “he’s giving me 24 hours to show up. I think he believes we’re at odds, and I’m too stubborn to ask for help. So I’m here–asking for a team of assets to storm his new Playhouse.”

“Fuck no,” Maureen said. Izz’s jaw fell open and she exchanged a look with Mason. He exhaled and closed his eyes. “I’m still recovering from the damage you did in his last Playhouse looking for Luke.”

Katherine’s cheeks flushed, and she stood, exiting the booth. “At least you know I go all in when I want something. You better pray Rufus kills me.”

Mason slid out of the booth, too, and Maureen grabbed Katherine’s wrist as she passed, freezing her exit. Katherine glared down. “You are going to need more than one team if you have a chance of bringing home Aeron. I will give them to you.”

“In exchange for what?” Kat asked, her voice low.

“Access to StormLink.”

“We lost access when you lit the building on fire,” Katherine said.

“I’m sure the cold rooms will be intact when they are finally cleared. And what about at the Institute? That is where you sent your techs, right? I simply would like to have back what was rightfully mine before it was snatched from my fingers all those years ago. Aeron for StormLink. Seems like a fair trade.”

Kat exchanged a look with Mason. “Give us a minute,” she said. They retreated to the other side of the restaurant. 

Maureen dipped another fry into her milkshake. “This is going to work out better than I imagined. The information about Storm never reaches Mason's ears, understand?” Izz froze. Keeping that information from Mason after all these years was cruel—but only if he knew they were keeping it from him. "Until the girls are in my house, and Mason realizes his transgression, he cannot know."

She nodded, the feeling of betrayal setting deep in her gut with the movement. But Mason had chosen his side. “You want the top-tiers pulled in for this? Or what’s left of them?” 

“Yes. Rufus has been pining after Katherine long before he found out she was mine," Maureen said. "Aeron is bait and bonus material. He’ll put a bullet in her as soon as Katherine walks in that door.” Izz pulled out the phone, sending messages to Dash and the Raleigh team. 

It only took a few minutes for Katherine and Mason to return, Katherine’s face set into a scowl. “I agree to your terms,” she ground out.

Maureen’s lips curled into a victorious smile. “Deal. Where is he holding them?”