THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Epilogue - 11/6/16

[L-J-L 76]

Please come back really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max and Liz.



From:
L-J-L 76

[Double Trouble]

Roswelllostcause: Lol, well, it might be a while before that happens.

keepsmiling7: Honest to a fault... sometimes the man is just too honest!

Earth2Mama: Michael’s memories are bound to be a tricky path to maneuver.

It definitely wasn’t the right moment but it should be interesting to see how long they hold out.

sarammlover: Well, looks like that two weeks is finally up! Thanks!

Eva: It’s keeping them very on edge and likely will for a while.

The reunion’s upon us!

begonia9508: Thanks, and that’s so true.

Things should become clearer over time.

Alien_Friend: Lol, not sure M&L are soo happy about the get together yet…

Maria will need time to trust M&L again, but you know it will happen.

Michael definitely needs to improve his people-skills lol. Maybe Maria can help?

The vacation was awesome. We hope you are doing good. *hug*

L-J-L 76: We are back now!



Part 26

Valkyrie glanced at the map on the dashboard while she tried to remember the location of the outlying property where she had been only once. It was already dark outside and snow on the roads made it hard to distinguish them from the rest of the landscape. “Fuckin’ SEAL had to choose a place in the middle of nowhere,” she muttered.

It was actually a good thing since they hadn’t seen another car for at least thirty minutes, but right now she wanted to get out of this truck. When was the last time she had spent time with other people for more than a few minutes? As of right now, she had already survived one night with the four of them crammed into a shabby motel room and a whole day of driving with those same people. This was as far as her nerves could stretch, she needed some privacy and quickly.

“Are you sure this’s the right way?” Liz asked from the backseat, although she knew the other woman was ready to bite. They had been driving for countless hours, her ass hurt and she was hungry, but this ‘road’ didn’t look like it led to anywhere but nowhere.

Last night they had been told the basics about Maria’s whereabouts and the reason she was hiding out with a man – an assassin. Her mind still couldn’t wrap around all of the sketchy information.

“I know where I’m going,” Valkyrie said harshly, shooting the other woman a glare through the rearview mirror.

Max reached out and squeezed his girlfriend’s thigh before she could snap back. They were all tired and frustrated. Going for each other’s throats would just make things worse and they needed the cooperation of the woman in the driver’s seat if they ever wanted to find Maria.

“Want me to drive?” Alex lifted his head from the side window.

“No,” the blonde shook her head and nodded at something in the distance. “I think we’ve almost made it.” There was a dim light coming from the distance; the only light on the otherwise dark landscape covered by a cloudy sky.

He sat up and adjusted his glasses when they drove further and the shape of an impressive house slowly came into view. Several windows showed light coming from the inside, which was a good sign. “Seems like they survived the crash.”

“We’ll see soon enough.” Not another word was spoken until she parked the truck in the driveway.

“Thank God, I was starting to feel numb from the waist down,” Max said, fumbling with the door handle.

“Don’t,” Valkyrie warned him before he could climb out. She pressed the horn and seconds later two dogs shot out of the dark, ready to attack.

“Good grief,” Liz yelped.

“Nice,” Alex lifted one eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s Valenti. He’s never been very trusting when it comes to alarm systems,” she snorted and waited for a response, not letting the length of time it took irritate her. When there was movement in the darkness, she switched the interior light in the truck on for two seconds so the residents of the house could get a look inside and see them. Then she rolled down the window for a spare two inches in case one of the dogs still wanted to get a taste of her.

“Val,” a male voice called, “should’ve known he’d send you. An’ fully clothed this time.”

She rolled her eyes at his subtle reminder of their former encounter. “Shut up, Navy, an’ disarm your freakin’ bloodhounds.”

Kyle chuckled while he snapped his fingers and the pets strolled off like harmless little puppies. “Get out at your own risk.”

“Obviously you survived the dogfight,” she said as she shoved the door open and made her escape from the crowded confines of the vehicle.

“Who’ve you got in the car?”

“A damn headache.” She nodded at Alex when he stepped out. “This’s my hacker, Alex. The other two are tagalongs that I needed to keep quiet.”

Liz huffed when she got out, “We’re friends of Maria. I suppose you know who she is.”

“Civilians?” he asked, but a moment later shook his head. “No, private security?” He looked at Valkyrie for an answer rather than respond to the brunette.

The blonde nodded briefly. “The dwarf doin’ okay?”

“I can hear you, bitch,” Tess stepped out of the shadows of the roof and appeared on the balcony of the second floor, shotgun in her hand and a grin on her lips. “You look like shit. How about some dinner?”

“Dinner sounds good. Might shut the kids up,” she said with an annoyed nod at her unexpected baggage.

“Kids?” Liz stalked over to her. Maybe she was bigger but she couldn’t be much older. “If you weren’t so freaking annoying all the time, you might be able to see that we’re here to help.”

“Yeah, you’ve been a great help so far, goddamned backseat driver.” She shouldered past the woman, unbothered by her glare. “Harding, point that scattergun somewhere else and open up the mess hall.”

Kyle walked over to the truck and got behind the steering wheel to park it in a safe spot. “She’s a pain in the ass, isn’t she?” he muttered at Max. “Get in the house, you guys look like you need some good food an’ a hot shower.”

“We appreciate it, man,” Max said. He paused, one foot on the ground as he turned his head to look at the man sitting behind the wheel. “We’re also grateful for the help you gave our friend.”

“She came with one of my best friends,” he shrugged. “No need to thank us.”

He nodded and got out of the truck, moving over to join his girlfriend. “I’m not sure what the hell we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

“Nothin’ good, that’s for sure.”

Kyle drove off and came back a minute later, waiting for everyone to get in the house. “Don’t be so fuckin’ uptight, Val.” He shook his head and led the way into the kitchen.

“Stick a sock in it, Valenti,” she snapped.

Tess turned the heat of the oven back up and turned to face the others, back resting against the counter. “We were about to have dinner.”

“Bane said your plane was badly damaged and going down last he saw you. How’d you manage to survive that?”

“My wife’s the best pilot on earth,” Kyle walked up next to Tess and squeezed her ass. “Right, babe?”

“Yes,” she agreed with a grin, “that’s right.”

“We also had a lot of luck and one major snow drift that made our crash landing a little easier.”

“And you haven’t had any company since then?”

“The one following us went down with us and didn’t see daylight again. No one else so far.”

“You may be safe here. You went to ground after you were discharged.”

Kyle nodded. “What about Bane an’ the girl? Their jump was a little hurried.”

“Jump?” Liz asked with wide eyes.

“They’re safe for the moment. We’re heading to their location as soon as morning comes.”

“Where’re they hiding out?” Tess asked, checking the baked potatoes.

Her eyes narrowed at the question. “Someplace safe,” she ground out.

Tess mimicked her expression. “We’re not the enemy.”

“Okay, before the two of you set the kitchen on fire,” Kyle said as he stepped between them, hands raised, “let’s just agree we’re all on the same side here.”

“Well, that would be nice,” Max agreed. They had been treated like intruders when all they wanted to do was help their friend out of the misery she was in.

Tess ignored the taller blonde, stepping around her to study the new additions. “Tess Harding,” she introduced herself. “And you are...?”

“Max Evans and this is my partner and girlfriend, Liz Parker.”

She nodded and then glanced at the tall man shadowing the edgy assassin. “I had no idea the goddess of the underworld had followers.” She couldn’t help baiting Valkyrie and she made no apologies for it.

“Well, every goddess needs a henchman, right? Maria’s my friend and it seems like my services were needed.”

Kyle snorted when Val made no move to comment. “Let’s get to dinner. We can carry on the discussion over food.”

“Food sounds good,” Liz said, grinning up at Max and kissing his lips briefly. “Thank God they’re not a pain in the ass like this Valkyrie woman.”

“Agreed.” He smirked.

“And Whitman seems to like her attitude.”

“She’s possessive and knows how to handle weapons... the guy’s totally getting off on it.”

“She’s a controlling bitch for all I care. I hope this Bane guy or Michael or whatever his real name is, isn’t so harsh with Maria.”

Max chuckled, knowing she was far from impressed with the female assassin. “Well, Maria has a way of getting to people and bringing out the best in them.”

“IF there’s a best in them. I wonder what their bests are. All they seem to care about is control and coldness.”

“I dunno, must be somethin’ there to keep Whitman’s interest. Physical attraction aside, the guy’s kinda cerebral, y’know?”

“Yeah, but he’s got that little illegal vein.”

He snorted. “Yeah, who knew?”

“Still waters run deep. So true.”

Alex glanced at his companion, not missing the way her gaze bounced around the large kitchen, constantly scanning over all of its occupants. “You don’t trust them?” he asked quietly.

“I never trust anyone,” she told him. A friend could turn out to be an enemy, she had seen it before and in their business it wasn’t anything new. People were paid for things and if that didn’t work then they were threatened with something else.

“I suppose in your line of work that’s just good judgment.” He sighed and rolled his shoulders. “It’s a shame though. Not everyone turns on you.”

Her eyes focused on him. “You can’t be sure of it. Never.”

“No, I guess you can’t be sure of it, but bein’ suspicious of everyone, questioning their motives, wondering if and when they’re gonna turn on you, it’s really no way to live.”

“That’s why I prefer to be alone. No one to look after and no one they could threaten me with.” She gave him a little nudge towards the dining room.

He walked backwards as he gave her a cocky grin. “Alone’s no fun.”

Yeah, maybe it wasn’t any fun but it was the only way to survive in the world that had chosen her and not the other way around.

*****

Bane stood at the window that looked out over what would be the driveway if the ground wasn’t covered in several feet of snow. He was expecting company any time now. Things had been quiet around the cabin since the conversation following the news report. Maria had retreated into herself and he’d made no efforts to draw her out. She was surprisingly quiet when she chose to be. At first he’d enjoyed the silence, but now after nearly thirty-six hours of it his nerves were beginning to feel like they’d been rubbed raw.

He moved back when something moved in the distance and he squinted in an effort to pull it into focus. The snow was falling once more, heavily this time, and over the past couple of days he’d seen quite a few different species of wildlife. This wasn’t an animal though, the movement was all wrong. He heard Maria move behind him and his right hand shot out.

“Get outta sight and stay down,” he grated out.

He didn’t bother looking to see if she followed his instructions. She might be pissed at him for whatever reason, but she’d learned to listen when he barked out orders. Even if she didn’t like him she trusted him enough to know he was doing his best to keep her alive. He watched as the movement brought the distant spot into clear view and he easily identified the truck Valkyrie had described to him during their last contact. His hand automatically shifted to pat the gun in his shoulder holster as he made his way through the rooms to the door off the kitchen that led down into the attached garage. He’d instructed her to pull around to the garage, figuring their best bet was to hide the vehicle on the off chance anyone had gotten a lock on the tags. It was the only way she could be tracked because the GPS had long been disabled.

He disabled the alarm for the garage door before letting it up and waiting for the truck to pull all the way inside. His gaze moved over the vehicle’s occupants and he smirked at the scowl on Valkyrie’s face as she climbed out of the truck. He ushered everyone in through the kitchen door and armed the alarm for both doors again before turning to look at her.

“Quite the entourage you’ve collected,” he said dryly.

“Oh, hell, shut the fuck up, Bane.” She stopped in front of the counter and started to pull several weapons out of her outfit.

“I have one and you’ve got three... it’s not a competition.” He couldn’t help teasing her. She looked ready to blow and while he understood that, he wasn’t the one who’d been strapped with three civilians for the past couple of days. One was bad enough, but three? Hell, no!

“Well, now you have four, and me? Zero.” She pulled the zipper of her leather outfit down. “Bathroom?”

He snorted and gave her directions to the second bathroom, not wanting her to surprise Maria and scare the hell out of her. In the mood Val was in she’d get an extreme amount of enjoyment out of it.

“So you’re Michael?” Liz stepped forward, glad the bitch was finally gone.

His head snapped to the side and his eyes raked over the brunette. “Bane,” he bit out as he motioned between her and the man obviously with her. “You two, you’re the geniuses who were keepin’ an eye on Maria.”

“He’s not any friendlier than the other one,” she told her boyfriend stonily.

“Where’s Maria?” Max asked.

He turned and moved to the doorway, hollering back down the hall to let Maria know it was safe and she could come out. He nodded and moved away from the door, motioning to the entrance to the room. “Good luck.”

Liz exchanged a look with Max and then they moved into the next room to find their friend standing at the center of it, her expression quickly falling when she saw them.

“YOU? What the hell do you want here?” She stalked over to Michael, glaring at him. “What the hell are they doing here? You didn’t say anything about them.”

“Maria,” Liz reached out, but didn’t touch her. Every part of her body that wasn’t hidden behind clothes seemed to be bruised.

“No!” Maria jerked away from them. “Stay away from me!” She stared at Michael, waiting, begging, hoping for some kind of explanation that would make this make some kind of sense.

“They were in Boston when Val and your friend stumbled over them.”

“Alex,” Maria suddenly remembered, walking past him into the kitchen and found him. “Alex, you’re here.” Without thinking twice she ran over to hug him.

“Hey,” he mumbled, catching her in his arms and stumbling back a couple of steps when she barreled into him.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered.

“Girl, I wouldn’t wanna miss this for the world.” He leaned back so he could get a good look at her. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer.”

“Yeah, that describes it pretty good.” She forced a smile and took a step back. “I’m okay.”

“I’m sorry about your uncle.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

“You wanna show me around?” he asked, thinking maybe it’d keep her mind otherwise occupied and off of other things.

“Sure,” she took his hand and led him out into the hallway, ignoring the others. She was still irritated by Max and Liz’s presence. Why were they here?

They took a tour through the house and Maria caught a quick look at the second assassin who had just gotten out of the shower. The woman was beautiful and looked dangerous.

Yeah, she thought, that would be the type he’d have sex with,[/i ] and she felt the jealousy creeping through her veins. The woman told Alex to meet her and Bane in the kitchen in five minutes, ignoring her completely.

“I hate their attitudes,” Maria muttered when they finished the tour and she excused herself to find a bathroom.

Alex chuckled. “Takes some time to get used to it.” He nodded at the hallway ahead of them. “See you in there.” He walked back into the kitchen where that Bane guy as well as Max and Liz waited while they just stared at each other.

“Manage to calm the beast?” the assassin asked.

“Soothed perhaps, but not calmed by any means. However, if you’ll let me back out into the garage so I can grab the supplies we picked up a few towns back I do have somethin’ that might help.”

Bane frowned and shot a look at the hacker Valkyrie had picked up.

“She cooks when she’s down and she loves Italian food.”

He turned to her when the guy’s commentary made no sense to him.

“He felt it was necessary to stop for whatever it takes to put a dinner of lasagna and salad together.” She shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I don’t cook and it’s the last thing that would calm my nerves.”

“For those of us who don’t spend our days comin’ up with new ways to end the lives of others, the options tend to lean towards things that’re more domestic.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Just trust me on this. I know her better than the rest of you. Turn her loose in the kitchen with somethin’ familiar and it’ll go a long way to easing some of her stress.” It wouldn’t erase the tension, and her reaction to Max and Liz told him it was going to be some time before she could forgive them... IF she could forgive them.

“Fine, whatever helps,” Bane said. “At least one of us understands her complicated mind.”

“It’s not complicated,” Alex stated, earning a frown from the male assassin. “Maria only wants two things. First, she wants honesty about what’s goin’ on in her life and second, she wants the people she cares about to care about her in the same true and honest way.”

“Sometimes things aren’t that cut and dried,” Liz muttered under her breath. It would be nice if it was, but it just wasn’t. She and Max hadn’t expected to get so close to Maria when they’d accepted the job of watching over her, but they had and now the woman they’d grown close to believed she meant nothing more to them than a paycheck.

Bane didn’t want to think about any of this shit. Why would he want to figure any woman out? All that mattered was that she lived, didn’t matter if she was good-natured or pissed at him. And sometimes he could handle pissed a lot better.

“After dinner, we need you to look through some things.”

Alex snapped off a salute. “Fine. The garage, please?”

He nodded and made a move to follow him.

Liz looked at her boyfriend. “What’re we supposed to do?”

“We try to talk to her and hopefully she’ll understand that everything we did or told her was the truth. We were just under orders to leave certain information out.”

Across the room Valkyrie snorted. “What kinda fairy tale world do you two live in?” she asked as she poured a splash of bourbon in her coffee.

Liz sighed. She was fed up with the woman and she was ready to kill her. The thought amused her though. She would kill the assassin. Ha ha.

“I’ll go and try to talk to her alone.”

Max nodded and reached out to squeeze her arm. “If you need me...”

She nodded and walked off to look for Maria, hoping she could somehow make her see that they were on her side – always had been.

Maria stepped out of the bedroom that had been hers since they’d been at the cabin and stopped dead in her tracks when she nearly ran into Liz. She took a step back, her expression revealing her agitation at being confronted with the other woman. “Why’re you here?”

“Can we talk somewhere? Alone?” the brunette asked, leaning against the wall. “Please, Maria. Just hear me out, alright? You don’t have to say anything, just listen. I promise I’ll be completely honest with you.”

It wouldn’t change anything. “Say what you have to say, Liz.”

“Okay,” she glanced back at the kitchen and their audience. “Wanna go somewhere else?”

Her eyes hardened. “Oh, right, you guys work better when no one knows what’s going on, don’t you?”

Liz sighed. “It wasn’t meant that way.”

“And how exactly was it meant? Because I don’t recall being let in on the big secret, Agent Parker.” She took a step back and motioned to a room further down the hall. The door stood open and her earlier explorations had revealed it to be an office or study. Personally, she didn’t care for big displays, even if she was pissed off.

They walked into the room and Liz closed the door behind her, leaning against it but then realized that it could give Maria the feeling of being trapped so she walked over to lean against the wall next to the window. “First off, I’m not an agent. Max and I work for a private local security firm. It’s not really big or popular so I have no clue why your uncle approached us when you started college. There are many other well known companies like ours out there who work with better equipment and have people with more experience.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to decide how to approach the whole situation.

“The stories you know about me and Max are all true. We met when we were kids, we’ve been a couple since high school and we study at Georgetown because that’s what we wanted to do.”

Maria shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how much of what you told me is true! You’ve been lying to me since we met. Our entire friendship was based on a lie. You probably orchestrated that entire scene the day we met.”

“Look, Maria, the reason we approached you can’t be denied. Your uncle wanted us to befriend you so we could keep an eye on you and tell him whenever anything happened that could put you in danger. We didn’t know anything about you though. Not the reason why he thought you needed protection, not the history of your family, nada. And when we got to know you, we soon realized there was no need to pretend a friendship, because we both liked you right off the bat.”

“Then why’d you keep lyin’ to me? It’s not like it’s just been a few months, Liz!” She just couldn’t understand the rationality behind the entire masquerade.

“It was our job, Maria. If we had told you we would’ve been fired and someone else would’ve been brought in. Believe me, there wasn’t a day we didn’t hate the fact that our friendship was built on a false foundation, but I swear there was never a time we pretended after that first day in college.” Liz snorted when she remembered the discussions they’d had with Halverson on a constant basis. “We didn’t agree with your uncle’s strict rules. When we begged you to come to one of those parties, it was because we wanted you to be there. Your uncle hated us for it because he would’ve loved to see you sitting at home all night rather than out at a party with us.”

“And trying to steer me away from lookin’ into what happened to my family? Was that part of your assignment?” She hated the thickness in her voice, hated the way her voice cracked, and most of all she hated this entire situation.

[begonia9508]

Wow! Rocky situation, at this time of the day! They should really talk together and maybe discover that they were all together, they day of the explosion...
If they would put together everything that's happened, in their past youth, they will see that they all have something in common...

Thanks EVE

[Roswelllostcause]

Things are really tense in that cabin right now. Hopefully Maria will really listen to Liz. Liz really is her friend if she wasn't she and Max wouldn't have come looking for her. Once they had been fired they would have walked away and not looked back.

[Earth2Mama]

Oh boy... thus confrontation is not going to go well. I feel for Liz and Max. I just hope Maria really listens.

Valkyrie is pissing me off. I hate her attitude. I just hope she doesn't try to get horizontal with Bane at the cabin. Talk about awkward!

[L-J-L 76]

Please please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max, Liz and others. Wow it seems Kyle, Tess, Val, Bane all have sticks up their asses. Someone needs to pull them out really soon. There is so much tension in the cabin that it may blow up. And plus everyone seems to be on the edge. I hope Maria will listen to what Liz have to say. I hope Maria, Liz, Max, Alex can all be friends. And I hope everyone can trust each other really soon!


From:
L-J-L 76

[keepsmiling7]

Rocky situation indeed.....
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Eva]

What a chapter! Val's attitude made me smirk non-stop. Man, what a woman! The combination with all the other persons was hilarious!

Alex will be the glue between almost everything and everyone. The way he glides in and adapts himself in every situation is priceless. He really found himself in this rollercoaster of suspense and danger.

[Alien_Friend]

Aww I wanna hug Maria. At least she is willing to listen to Liz. Maybe her Uncle picked that company they worked for because either the circle had something to do with the company or it was just small enough that her uncle could control who is close to Maria and who wasn't or something.

It is hilarious to see Val with everybody and how much she hates civilians and really people in general.

I feel for Maria feeling insecure with Val being around Michael now but at least her and Alex could commiserate if they do hook up again.

Loving things so far that they are all together. If only Tess and Kyly came with. I am glad they are safe though. I feel like Tess and Liz could have easily bonded over how stand offish Val is being. She must be the Ice princess. I have thought that for awhile but her behaviour and attitude seems even more apparent that she's the ice princess.

Terrific stuff ladies.

Eagerly awaiting more.

[Double Trouble]

begonia9508: Lol, well, there’s quite a clash of personalities going on. There’s a lot still to be uncovered, including what happened that fateful day.

Roswelllostcause: It sure is! Maria will listen, but it’s gonna take time. There’s so much going on and everything she knows has been turned upside down.

Earth2Mama: It’s a tough situation and it’s going to take some time.

Lol, Valkyrie enjoys pissing people off. That would be awkward.

L-J-L 76: Well, Bane and Valkyrie aren’t exactly known for their social skills. On edge is a good way to describe this group. It will take time but we’ll see things between Maria and Liz and Max get back on track.

keepsmiling7: It is that for sure!

Eva: Thanks! Lol, yeah, she’s just not a people person.

Alex has certainly found his niche in this story and he’s making himself right at home.

Alien_Friend: Well, Liz will get some time explain a few things today… let’s see how much this will help the situation…

Val’s social skills are special, lol.

No worries, K&T will be back later.




Part 27

“No, it wasn’t. When you told us about what happened to your family and that you believed the gas explosion was a lie Max an’ I got worried. We didn’t know the truth but we were scared that your investigation could put you in danger or lead to more disappointment, that’s all. We didn’t know it was the reason your uncle put us on you in the first place.”

“Why were you assigned to me? I managed to survive all my years in junior and senior high without a bodyguard, so why was college any different?” Her mental gears were already turning, processing the bits and pieces of information, and putting them in some semblance of order. Uncle Reggie had been planning to announce his run for presidency and that could’ve made her a potential target, but it didn’t really explain two bodyguards. Other people had run for prestigious positions of power without having shadows put on them.

“I don’t know, Maria. I wondered about it too. Maybe they’ve always been watching you an’ they didn’t like all the questions you had. We had to file a monthly report and maybe they just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t find anything. It’s just a suggestion though because I honestly don’t know.”

“I just don’t understand, Liz. I get you had a job to do, I just don’t get why you didn’t tell me the truth.”

“Would you have kept stayin’ with us an’ telling us stuff if we had told you?”

She shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t have. But if you’d told me the truth, maybe we could’ve worked past it. If you were really my friends you wouldn’t have been taking things I was telling you in confidence and sharing them with... who? My uncle? Your boss? How many people know things that I told you? Personal things that I hadn’t shared with anyone else?”

“Maria,” Liz walked over to her and grabbed her upper arms, “we never filed those reports with anything personal. Whatever you shared with us stayed between us. Our monthly report was pretty short and was generally summed up in five words: No evidence of viable threats.”

“Three years, Liz! You’ve been lying to me for three years! Do you expect me to believe that in all that time you’ve made report after report without giving them anything I told you? Why would they keep you on the job if you weren’t giving them useful information?”

“Maybe they didn’t want useful information. Maybe they just wanted assurance you weren’t going anywhere with your investigation.”

“Which you helpfully provided them with. I suppose you reported it when Alex gave me that file at the cafe.” She stared hard at the brunette. “And now, because that information got into their hands my uncle’s dead, Alex is in danger, and I may never live to see the truth come out.”

“No, Maria. Our current report wasn’t due until the end of this week. We never turned anything in about the most recent events. Whoever did that, it wasn’t us.”

“More lies,” she spit out. She wanted so badly to believe what Liz was telling her, but how could she?

“It’s not a lie.”

“Then it’s very convenient how all the pieces just fell into place for the people who killed my family.” It only made sense that everything was connected to that horrible day.

“There has to be a connection,” Liz agreed. “And we’ll do everything possible to help you guys to get to the truth.”

“You can discuss that with Michael. If he wants your help he’ll tell you what you can do.”

The brunette nodded. “He’s really the guy from your past like you thought he was.”

She shrugged. “And like everyone else in my past he’ll be gone before long.” He wouldn’t stick around and he’d made it clear he didn’t care to.

“Unless you tell us no, Max an’ I will never disappear, girl.” She knew Maria wouldn’t accept the offer right now, but she was hoping for later.

“I’m not the one you have to convince. He calls the shots and if he says you’re out the door that’s all there is to it.” She turned to open the door. Her entire world was upside down and she couldn’t tell which way was up any longer.

“I wasn’t talking about those stupid assassins, Maria. I meant that Max and I will always be there for you. Always.”

“Stupid?” she asked incredulously. “He’s an asshole, I’ll give you that, but at least he’s been honest with me.” She couldn’t deal with Liz’ claims that she and Max would always be there. How could she believe anything either of them said at this point?

“I don’t think he was honest the first time you two met.”

“Were you there the first time we met?” she snapped angrily. “No, I don’t think you were!”

“No, but he pretended to be helpful when his plan was to kill you.”

“I’m not gonna discuss him with you, Liz!” But she went on before she could stop herself. “His plan was to kill me, your plan was to... I don’t know what your plan was. The difference is he turned around and told me the truth.”

“You’re comparing two totally different things,” Liz shook her head. “We didn’t tell you because it would’ve meant we’d lose our jobs and you would’ve been assigned to someone else.”

“What difference would it have made? If you weren’t reporting anything important to the powers that be, why did it matter if I wasn’t your job?”

“Someone else wouldn’t have kept your personal things out of those reports,” Liz said.

“And I only have your word that nothing personal was in those reports. Did you report that I believed the man who stopped to help me with my car was someone from my past?”

“I called someone from work and reported it because I was scared the guy could be a threat to you.”

Maria just shook her head. “Why would someone from my past be a threat? Why would me looking into my own past be dangerous?”

“Obviously someone doesn’t want you to find the truth. I don’t believe in coincidence and when that guy showed up right after you got the file from Whitman I wondered if there was a connection.”

“But instead of mentioning it to me you called in and reported it to someone else.”

“You didn’t tell us about the file either, did you?” Liz asked.

“Why would I tell you about that when every time I brought up my past all you had to say was that I needed to let it go and move on?”

“We said it because we truly believed you were lookin’ for something that wasn’t there, Maria.”

“And how would you know? You’re detectives, agents, bodyguards...” she threw her hands up in the air, “whatever the hell you wanna call yourselves! You never bothered to offer your help lookin’ for answers, did you? Not once! Wasn’t it apparent to you that this’s important to me? That until I have the truth about what happened to my family I can never stop looking?”

“We’re nothing like as detectives. And our job was pretty limited. Look, Maria, I know we’ve made mistakes, but I can’t change that. All I can do is tell you that our friendship was never faked. We love you and we don’t want you to be hurt.”

“It’s a little bit too late for that, Liz.” She turned the doorknob and pulled the door open.

“Yeah, I realize that,” she whispered when the blonde walked away from her.

Maria left the room and headed back for her bedroom, stopping when she was intercepted by Michael. “What now?”

“I was told you were cookin’,” he shrugged.

“You were told...? By who?”

He scratched his head and pretended he had forgotten the guy’s name. “The geek guy.”

“We both know you’re not that dense, Bane,” she said, practically spitting his name out.

His face hardened. “You prepare dinner for that crowd of people takin’ up every inch of space around here and then me an’ that hacker guy are gonna work on getting safe access to your saved files. We need to look through those pictures as well as the stuff they found on your uncle’s boat and what they accessed of the Circle’s database.”

“You can choke on a dry sandwich for all I care.”

“So rough tonight, honey?” he asked dryly and walked past her to find Alex. The sooner they had answers the sooner they could break up this meeting. There were too many people in the house.

“Fuck you, Bane.” She hated him, she really did.

His blood boiled although he really had no clue why. He had provoked her, not the other way around, yet he found himself irritated by her. “Nah, I think I’ll leave that pleasure to a woman.”

“Well, you’re in luck then, aren’t you? Miss Tall-Leggy-Big-Tits-Tiny-Waist-And-Hips-You-Can-Hold-Onto should be around here somewhere.”

“Should’ve known you remember that,” he grunted.

There was a knock on the open bedroom door. “Am I interrupting anything? I was just wondering if you could gimme the name of the service provider where you saved your files, Maria.” Alex leaned in the doorframe, confusion written on his face. Had she been talking about Valkyrie?

“Yeah,” she pushed past Michael, “let’s go. Apparently I’m supposed to make dinner.”

“Thought you said it’d make her more bearable,” Bane muttered as he followed behind them.

“I said cooking was an outlet for stress,” Alex said with a dismissive glance over his shoulder. “As for her bein’ more bearable? Well, check your attitude at the door an’ maybe you’ll see a difference ‘cause I for one don’t have a problem with how she’s actin’.”

Maria walked past the people hovering at the counter in the kitchen to the living room where she scribbled down the things Alex would need. “We just need the folders that are for pics and videos, right? The rest is private stuff, it won’t contain anything helpful.”

“No, I can’t imagine the rest of it needs to be looked through,” he said with a shake of his head. He shot a grin at her. “I picked up stuff for lasagna and a salad. Figured it’d been a few days since you’ve had a nice fresh salad.”

She smiled and hugged him from behind when he took a seat in front of the laptop. “Thanks, Alex.”

He reached up to pat her crossed arms. “You’re welcome. Alright,” he said as he glanced over the information she’d written down and his fingers went to work, “let’s see what we’ve got.”

“I’ll work on dinner in the meantime,” she muttered and left, wandering over to the kitchen and glaring at the woman inside. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone.”

Valkyrie crossed her arms over her chest, her unblinking gaze locked on the woman as she moved around the room, sorting through the items Alex had insisted they stop and pick up. She knew her presence was unnerving and she didn’t really care. Her head turned to the side when her hacker called her name and she nodded when he motioned to the computer.

*****

Command Center – Washington, DC – December 2015

Baxter rested his chin on his steepled fingers as his gaze scanned over the monitors mounted on the wall before him. Each of the screens showed newsfeed from multiple networks around the world and while he filed the information from each one his eyes never rested on any of them for more than a few seconds at a time.

“We’ve established a secure connection, sir.”

He didn’t bother to respond, merely motioned to the wall as he stood and reached for the headset hooked over the armrest of his seat. The screens flickered for a moment before they stabilized into a single image.

“Report,” he barked.

“We’re unable to establish a link with Valkyrie’s tracker.” The man pushed his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose before dropping them back into place once more. “If I were to make a guess I’d say the device has been discovered and she’s had it removed.”

“Those trackers were surgically implanted to make them impossible to remove.”

“Valkyrie and Bane were among the first to be tagged with the transmitters. They were placed so that they would fuse to the bone and become overgrown by the surrounding tissue. Earlier versions of the transmitters weren’t as advanced as what we’re using today.”

Baxter controlled his temper as he spoke but it took an effort. “If she’s off the grid we’re going to have trouble finding her. She’s had years of training in evasive tactics.” He waved a hand dismissively. “What of Bane’s tracker?”

“It hasn’t been disabled but the signal’s too weak to pinpoint his location.”

“Can the kill switch be activated?”

“Not at the current signal strength.” He pulled up a program on the computer in front of him. “The transmitter’s were designed to withstand an EMP but if your supposition is correct and he and Valkyrie are working together then it’s likely he’s become aware of the tracker and has somehow attempted to short-circuit it with a direct current. Even though it’s an older model, the device will regain power and when it reaches full capacity we’ll be able to activate the kill switch.”

“Keep me apprised of the situation.”

“I’ll –“

He cut the connection and after a moment of darkness the screens flickered back to life and the background noise of newsfeed began to filter in. He dropped back down into his seat and snapped his fingers. “Stevenson, send for Welling and Morris.”

The man nodded and scurried off to do his bidding.

It took less than five minutes before the door opened to admit the tall blonde with ice blue eyes. “We’ve learned nothing new,” he said without preamble.

“We know Bane moved north.” Baxter reached for the rolling table next to him and his fingertips tapped across the surface, illuminating the invisible keys each time they were touched. A map appeared on the monitors and he highlighted one area. “He was in this sector when he came into contact with Ronin and Lobo.”

“They reported that he had been killed.”

“Obviously they lied.” He snarled under his breath when the door opened again and Morris entered. “We’ve recovered their bodies but not one shred of evidence to indicate that Bane was mortally wounded.”

“It’s a large area, Baxter,” Morris spoke up. “With the amount of snow that’s fallen, it could be months before we even find any evidence that he was in the area.”

His eyes narrowed. “Evidence beyond the dead bodies of two of our assassins?”

“Bane is one of the best assassins in our employ. We knew if he ever went rogue he’d be hell to pin down.”

“And exactly whose job was it to make sure his kill switch was activated BEFORE he could get off the grid?”

Morris cleared his throat. “He was on the run with Halverson’s niece – “

“Your loyalty to Halverson has been of some concern since the beginning but it was allowed to continue because knowing he had you on his side kept him complacent.” He leaned back and stared at the other man. “The good senator’s dead now, Morris, and for all intents and purposes, so is his niece. I expect you to find a way to reactivate his tracker.”

“Baxter, be reasonable! He and Valkyrie were tagged with the prototype for our current trackers. They don’t have the same capabilities as the newer models. They’re nowhere near as sophisticated.”

The head of the organization stood up and closed in on Morris’ space. “You’re the one who fucked this up. If you’d followed protocol Bane would be nothing more than a brief story in the evening news. Just another head case that couldn’t hack it out of uniform. But no, you couldn’t do your job properly and now we’ve got two of them running around loose. I will not have this organization brought down by two rogue assassins and a handful of civilians. Our network has continued to thrive because only a select handful of people are even aware of the trackers or the failsafe that was introduced into our assassins. If our assassins were to come into possession of that knowledge we’d have to forfeit our entire operation.” He turned to look at Welling. “I want Bane and Valkyrie found.”

Jaan nodded. “We have to assume that Valkyrie’s doing the legwork and Bane’s gone to ground with the senator’s niece.”

“You’re suggesting protective measures. You’re suggesting the ability to form a connection, to trust.” Morris frowned. “Their programming specifically conditioned them against such responses.”

His blue eyes appeared even icier than normal. “Then why is the Deluca girl still alive? Why is Valkyrie on the run with a civilian hacker the CIA’s been seeking to recruit? If their conditioning was working correctly both civilians would be dead.”

Baxter crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to the exchange. He was growing tired of the conversation. “Jaan, pool whatever resources you need to locate Bane and Valkyrie. Morris, find a way to get his tracker back online.”

“There was a reason we advanced from the simple transmitters they were tagged with to the ones we’re using today.” The models they were currently using could be implanted so much easier than the older ones. There was no scarring, no chance of removal without sophisticated equipment, and the kill switch was impossible to deactivate without removal of the tracker and the neurotransmitter that activated the switch when prompted. “Without having him in close proximity I can’t boost the signal or – “

“I don’t want more excuses,” Baxter snarled. “Find a way or you’ll never have to worry about completing another assignment.”

When he was left alone again he reached for the table and began typing again, bringing up multiple video feeds that gave him clips of Valkyrie, Bane and their civilians. He was aware that the civilian she had partnered with was doing a damn good job of keeping her off the grid. It was making it near impossible to pinpoint their location and it didn’t help that they were staying on the move.

He rubbed his hands over his face as he studied the monitors. How was he going to stop them?

*****

Maria stared at her half empty plate while they all sat around the counters in the kitchen. Lasagna was normally her favorite food, especially the homemade kind, but she couldn’t find her appetite tonight.

She glanced around at the other people in the room, wondering how it was possible to still be so lonely. Alex was the only one she felt connected to at the moment but he seemed so far away.

Max and Liz – the confusion and hurt at their appearance overrode everything else and made it impossible to look past that. They had been her best friends, the only people since the tragedy in her past who had been able to pull her out of her shell. And for what?

The two assassins sat at the very end of the long counter. Both silent, concentrating on their food, and always keeping an alert eye on the windows.

“Tasted awesome,” Alex said, bringing her focus back to him.

“Glad you liked it,” she said, getting up and carrying his and her own half empty plate away.

“I’ll go and put the videos and photos on the TV screen to have a better look at them,” he said and walked off to the living room.

It felt like her entire life was being laid open for everyone to view. “Okay,” she muttered even though he was already gone. She wasn’t sure what they were gonna find or even if they would find anything at all.

“You should eat more,” Michael stated when he placed his empty plate in the sink. “We never know how soon we’ll need to get the hell outta here. If we have to walk through that damn ice field for days again, you’re gonna wish you’d eaten more.”

“There’re a lot of things I wish right now.” She shrugged. “And eating more right now may be something I wish for later, but at this moment eating more would be somethin’ I’d regret in the immediate future.”

“You should workout. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about a fat ass,” Val muttered as she passed them to go into the living room.

“Okay, I don’t know what her problem is, but one more remark against me and we’re gonna have it out.” Yeah, the assassin would probably kick her ass and pretty quickly but she was getting sick of the taunts when she hadn’t done anything to the woman to deserve them.

He smirked. “Good luck.”

“Thanks for your support,” she muttered under her breath. He’d probably sit back and laugh himself stupid if she dared to call the woman out.

“Am I the only one who feels out of place?” Liz leaned her shoulder against Max sadly.

“No, darlin’ I don’t think you are.” He watched Maria as she moved around the kitchen, her shoulders slumped.

“I don’t wanna see her like this, Max.” She buried her face against his chest. “She looks so lonely.”

“Just give ‘er time,” he said quietly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “She’s been hit with a lot all at once and she doesn’t know who to trust.”

“I wish there was something to do or say to make her see that we’re still the same people.”

“I think all we can do is help out however we can and do our best to make sure she survives this nightmare. Maybe through that she’ll find a way to come to terms with our deception.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Do you wanna take a walk or something? I doubt there’s anything we can do with those pictures they wanna look at.”

Valkyrie snorted when Bane shot a look at her after overhearing the question and she waved a hand dismissively. “Let ‘em go. Maybe they’ll get lost.”

“You two stay in the house, got it?” he said, taking one of the apples and taking a huge bite out of it.

“I guess we’re gonna be takin’ a look at those pictures,” Max said and rolled his eyes.

“Well, if you’re still as horny as you always were there are tons of things for you to do,” Maria remarked while she wiped her hands on a towel and then walked out of the room.

“Let it pass,” he advised. “She’s hurt and she’s pissed and all it’ll do is end up with the two of you in an argument if you respond.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Liz agreed tightly and pulled him along to sit on the couch.

“Alright, what’ve we got?” Valkyrie asked from her position standing behind Alex, arms crossed over her chest.

“We have several small vids,” he stated, hitting a few buttons on the keyboard to load them on the TV screen. “They were recorded with technology ten years ago so don’t expect the best quality.”

Maria came into the room and her gaze scanned over the files as they popped up one by one on the screen. She studied the file names in an attempt to remember what exactly was on each of them. Most of the raw footage was likely to center around Michael with little of it actually focusing on the wedding itself. She knew she’d panned the guests several times, doing her best not to be overly obvious about what she was doing, but to the trained eyes of those around her there would be no mistaking her amateur attempts to hide her fascination for 16-year-old Michael Guerin.

The next half hour went by quickly and without much spoken among them. Alex pulled up video after video and they played most of them twice just to be sure they hadn’t missed anything important. He knew why his friend had taken most of them and to everyone it was obvious by now. From the corner of his eye he could see the uncomfortable movements Maria was making, the way she tried to hide from the rest of the world from where she was huddled in front of the fireplace not far from the screen.

“Jeez, I really don’t know why she was so obsessed with you, Bane. You look like a little punk.” Valkyrie rolled her eyes. This was a waste of time.

“Max...” Liz tugged on her boyfriend’s sleeve as she leaned forward. “Alex, can you take that back about twenty seconds and freeze it when I tell you?”

The guy looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. “Sure.”

Bane shot a glance at Maria, noting the way she had pulled in on herself after Valkyrie’s comment. It was painfully obvious he was the reason behind her video escapades and he was sure if she could wish for the earth to open up and swallow her whole at that moment she’d be jumping on it. “What’d you see?” he asked with a glance at the brunette.

Liz ignored him in favor of focusing on the screen. “Okay, freeze it there.” She turned her head to look at Max as she pointed at the shot of a tall dark-haired man. ”He has a lot more gray hair now, but we know him.”

Max narrowed his eyes at the man. He had looked kinda familiar but he’d thought it was just from looking through a stack of photos of Maria’s dead family members back home. “Newman?”

“Who’s Newman?” Bane demanded to know. He walked closer to the screen but the guy didn’t look familiar to him.

“He’s a silent partner in the firm we work for. Most of the employees think he’s an outside consultant, but the receptionist can’t stop talkin’ anytime Max is around and she let that slip one time when we were at the office waitin’ to meet with the director.”