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

[Roswelllostcause]

Liz and Max both should talk to someone about what they went through.
I mostly had a fake tree. Mostly due to the fact a number of family members have allergies to evergreen trees. Me included.

[keepsmiling7]

lol........change with Michael is a gradual process. I say they are lucky he will change at all.
Kyle and Tess are cute together.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Eva]

I really like this Tess! Her way of dealing with things and especially her realtionship with Kyle is so hilarious, funny and sweet at the same time. Great woman!

[Double Trouble]

Roswelllostcause: It probably wouldn’t hurt, but right now they’re not ready to take that step. Yeah, fake trees are pretty standard. The real ones are nice for many reasons but they’re also a lot of work, lol.

keepsmiling7: Very gradual, lol.

Tess and Kyle are a lot of fun to write.

Eva: She’s very strong and she knows just how to handle that man of hers. We love writing them together.



Part 74

It took another few minutes before the tree was finally safely settled into its stand. Tess took a step back and studied it from a few angles to see if it was leaning to any one side. “Perfect,” she nodded after a minute, satisfied with the tree, which caused Kyle to sigh with relief.

She had always been a perfectionist when it came to stuff like this and it hardly ever happened that she was satisfied so soon.

“Go rest your leg for a while,” she told him, her tone leaving no room for discussion. She went into the kitchen where she found Liz and Maria already warming their hands on the mugs of doctored hot chocolate.

The two women glanced up from their hushed conversation when Tess joined them.

“What’re you two whispering about?” she asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Maria glanced in the direction where Michael was and then turned to Tess. “Do you think we should go after whatever my father left for me in the safe deposit box?”

“I think it’s safe to assume the big man over there isn’t about to agree to that.”

“But it could be really important,” Liz said as she turned the mug in her hands, seeking a warmer spot on the ceramic.

“It could be,” she agreed with a nod, “and it probably is. You don’t leave something like that behind unless it’s somehow important. On the other hand, considering the amount of time that’s passed since it was secured, it could also be obsolete. We could go after it and get caught, which would blow our chance at pulling this mission off.”

“Whatever it is can wait,” Michael called over his shoulder. “We can’t afford to put any of our players in the crosshairs.”

“Depends on what it is,” Val muttered while her eyes scanned the laptop screen. “There’s no telling what he might’ve dug up. An organization like the Circle is bound to have plenty of skeletons just waiting to be unearthed.”

“What if it could help move the case along quicker?” Maria wondered aloud. She couldn’t help but wonder what her father had thought was so important that he hid it from everyone in the family until after his death.

Michael sighed and leaned back in his chair. “And what if it’s just a crapload of emotional stuff belonging to the family that he thought you should have and we risked the whole mission for that bullshit?”

She pressed her lips together to keep herself from snapping at him. Sure, he had a point, but why did he always have to express himself so... so… rudely!

Val got up slowly and walked over to the other girls, checking out what they were drinking. “What’s the location?”

Liz unconsciously shifted away from the other woman when she moved closer. “A bank in Cedar Springs.”

“Small town in northern California,” Max added when no one seemed to recognize the name.

“We made some calls to verify that it’s still operating and asked about their safe deposit boxes.”

“No one authorized you to do that,” Michael growled.

“The calls were all made at random locations and we were careful to keep them short.”

“Liz had an idea about that box.” Max slowly and carefully shuffled around to look at the others. He’d completely forgotten about their conversation regarding the safe deposit box. “There’s obviously no record of any payments coming out of his accounts to pay for the box for the past ten years so either it was leased under an alias or he arranged for the box to be paid for an extended period of time.”

“Accounts that default to inactive status are closed out and the box and its contents are relegated to the bank’s underground storage vault.”

“Why are we discussing this?” Michael stood slowly and used the crutches to make his way over to the kitchen.

“We’re just going over our options,” Maria threw in. “Maybe my father found something that could really help us.”

“Yeah, or maybe not,” he grumbled. “We’ve already been over this point! We’re not going.”

“But-”

“No!”

Alex turned to Val instead, leaning his back against the counter, not at all bothered by the pissed off assassin. “What do you say?”

“It doesn’t matter what she says,” Bane snarled. ”We’re not risking it. This isn’t a fucking democracy! End of discussion.”

The speed and intensity that his temper had flared up was a good indication that his pain levels were up and he hadn’t taken the meds on schedule.

“It’s a valid question,” Alex interjected. ”I’d like to get Val’s opinion - “

“It doesn’t matter what any of you think. The subject is closed for discussion.”

Val narrowed her eyes at him.

“Hey, big man, let’s get a dose of meds in you before you drop,” Tess said, hoping to avoid an argument between the two assassins.

“I don’t need a fuckin’ babysitter, Harding!”

Val took a deep breath through her nose while she forced her muscles to relax. She knew what Bane was doing, had been there a few times as well. Slowly, she met his challenging eyes and was tempted to knock the shit out of him.

The tension in the room was almost visible as everyone waited for the explosion to happen. Maria was gripping the mug so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“He’s right,” Val said, her voice loud and forceful. It was the only thing to do in this situation. “It’s too risky at this point. And none of us is in a good enough shape right now to provide any protection out there.”

Tess relaxed slightly when Val didn’t go against Bane this time.

Kyle had been keeping an eye on things and like everyone else, he breathed a sigh of relief when the two of them didn’t go head to head in a battle of wills. He knew from experience just how ugly that could get. Under the right circumstances they could come to blows and considering their current physical limitations they couldn’t afford any additional injuries.

“I’ll take a couple of happy pills if he doesn’t want ‘em,” he offered, hoping to dispel the remaining tension hanging over the room.

“Yeah, that’s just what we need,” Val muttered with a derisive snort. “You hopped up on the happy juice.”

He grinned and shrugged. “I’m a happy drunk, doesn’t matter if it’s alcohol or painkillers.”

Michael hobbled over to the window that looked out over the frozen landscape. To some people it was probably a beautiful sight. To him the winter scene was simply an advantageous way to pinpoint unwanted movement. He controlled his breathing, employing every tactic he’d ever learned about managing pain, but his thigh was throbbing like hell and it was tipping his mood over into the red zone.

Maria watched him for a while, her eyes focusing on the tense muscles in his entire body. He tried his best to hide his true feelings but his stance spoke volumes. Exchanging a look with Tess, the other girl shooed everyone out and Maria grabbed the pills as well as a glass of water and slowly made her way over to him.

“Not taking the painkillers won’t help anyone, Michael. You might as well take them.”

“If I wanted the damn things I’d take them,” he growled without looking away from the window.

She frowned. “If you won’t take them for your sake, then take them for ours!” With a loud thud, she placed the glass on the counter.

“No one told you to stick around and put up with me!” His head snapped to the side and he glared at her. In addition to the pain he was surrounded by too many people and it was making the cagey feeling worse than normal. It was made even worse by the fact that he’d found himself needing Maria close by and it was something so foreign to him that he didn’t know how to deal with it.

“No?” she snapped back. “I’m pretty sure you told me to not leave the house.”

“Well, there’s more than one fuckin’ room in this house, isn’t there?” He shifted his weight so he could run a hand through his hair, the gesture revealing his agitation.

“Sure,” she shrugged and turned to leave, “but I doubt this house is big enough for all of us and your stubbornness.”

He frowned and swung one of the crutches into the wall, pissed off by her easy capitulation and his own disappointment that she was giving him exactly what he had said he wanted.

Maria growled in frustration. Pig! Asshole! Gosh, the alphabet wasn’t long enough for him!

He stared at the nick in the wallpaper. Harding would probably read him the riot act over that. His gaze was drawn back to the pills resting beside the puddle of water that had sloshed over the glass when she’d slammed it down on the counter. He hated having to rely on anyone or anything but he knew if he didn’t take the damn pills he was gonna have to deal with Maria getting on his case again.

*****

Alexandria, VA – Halverson Residence – mid-February 2016

Maria stood at the large window that looked out over the estate that now belonged to her. She’d been surprised to learn that her uncle’s will had named her as the executor of his estate. It was unexpected to say the least. It was also unwanted. She sighed and turned away from the window to look at the silent man lounging against the doorframe at the room’s entrance. It wasn’t unusual for Michael to say very little, but this time it was more unnerving than it normally was.

The eight of them had returned to Washington DC two weeks ago to meet with the state attorney general and present their case. It had been a shock to learn that the man had known Daniel Deluca prior to his death and that he was aware of the Circle. The two of them had worked together but in order to preserve their investigation he had been kept out of all of his reports to protect his identity. He had been quietly putting a case together over the years, attempting to collect evidence, but because his primary source of information had been killed it had been a painstakingly slow operation.

Max and Alex had made the initial contact with the attorney general, presenting their case and providing a list of demands. The four of them had then spent a considerable amount of time answering questions and relating their experiences at the Circle’s hands, block by block building a solid case. They had only revealed the evidence they had collected once Michael and Val were satisfied that the man could be trusted.

Attorney General Mark Ingalls had wasted no time taking the case to the grand jury and it hadn’t taken long before they had returned an indictment. Several dozen arrests had been made and there were more warrants being served. Baxter’s two right-hand men had been picked up attempting to flee the country and the head of the organization had been located and extradited back to the United States. His arrival was expected in two days’ time and they would be going to trial courtesy of an expedited docket.

Witness protection had been offered but they had declined. They had all agreed that they didn’t want government involvement in their lives. They had the means to disappear without its help and they didn’t trust anyone else to aid in their protection. Kyle and Tess had agreed to testify if needed, but as soon as their part was finished they would be gone, going back to their lives on the outskirts of civilization.

Max and Liz hadn’t made a final decision about their destination but with the release of their trust funds they planned to disappear once their part was done as well. Alex had cleared out his apartment and collected his dog, but he hadn’t yet sold Val on the idea of allowing him to stick around in spite of his best efforts.

She sighed and her gaze returned to Michael. His leg had healed well and for the most part it was impossible to tell he’d ever been injured. It was only when he was extremely tired that the limp revealed itself but she knew in time even that would fade away. Like him, she thought sadly. She’d had more time with him than she’d ever thought she’d have but he and Val were already making plans to leave, fully intending to track Janus down and kill him. He’d made no plans to return and she knew the time was quickly coming when they would say their final goodbye. She was scheduled to be in court to provide her testimony three days from now and once she was safely there she knew he’d have fulfilled his promise to her.

“Just a few more days and this’ll be over,” he said, breaking the silence.

“This might be over, but there’s not really anything to look forward to.” She shrugged and walked over to the couch, where she had set a mug of tea on the coffee table.

He frowned, not caring for the defeated tone in her voice. “You’ve got your whole life to look forward to.”

“Maybe. But I have no clue where to spend it.”

“Wherever you want.” He shrugged. “You said you’re gonna sell this place and I’ll bet it’ll go for well over a million bucks. You won’t have to stick around for the sale; you can have the money deposited into an offshore account that you can access from anywhere.”

She just nodded and stared at the cup on the table. “What’ll you do after Janus is outta the way?”

He’d spent a lot of time wondering that very same thing. “There’s always work for someone with my skill set.”

“Probably.” Her hands reached for the mug and she appreciated the warmth coming from the hot tea. “Will I ever see you again?” She knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him.

“Maria,” he muttered, his tone one of warning.

“It’s a simple question,” she said and forced her eyes up to meet his.

Yeah, it was a simple question and the answer should be just as simple. But, it was anything but fucking simple. “No. We’ve been over this. Hell, you’re gonna be better off without me around anyway.” He forced a grin he really wasn’t feeling. “If I stuck around I’d totally corrupt you. I’m not the guy you wanna keep around. Fuck, I’m not the kind that sticks around.” He pushed away from the doorframe. “Look, I’ve already stayed longer than I should have.”

“Do you really believe what you’re saying?” she wondered but then realized she had really asked it. Well, fuck it, so it was out and he’d better answer honestly because what he said and how he sometimes acted was totally different.

“Yeah, I do.” But she wasn’t buying it, he could see it clearly. “What if I stuck around, Maria? What do you see happening? A little house with a white picket fence? A couple of kids and a minivan? I’m not that guy.”

“Material things don’t mean anything to me,” she spit out. “You should know that by now.”

He didn’t want to hurt her, but better now than to let her get her hopes up. “Yeah, well, I’m not interested in bein’ tied down to one woman.”

She swallowed and focused her gaze on anything but him. A long awkward silence filled the room and seemed to last forever. When she couldn’t bear it anymore, she got up and headed for the kitchen, giving him her coldest voice as she spoke. “You’d better not follow.”

“Wasn’t plannin’ to.” It was hard to stand still and maintain an unaffected expression as she walked away. All the time he’d spent with her had screwed with his head.

“Yeah, right.” She opened the door and slammed it behind her, wincing at the loud sound.

Why did he have to be so stubborn? she thought and took a seat on one of the barstools along the counter. He wasn’t completely unaffected, she could tell. But he was sticking to his damn loner mantra.

Liz paused at the second entrance at the opposite end of the kitchen, wondering if she should intrude. There was no way to avoid overhearing their conversation but she didn’t know if Maria really wanted to talk about it. It was obvious what she wanted the assassin to say, to admit, but she’d have better luck getting a confession from a brick wall. Deciding to at least offer her companionship in the event she wanted to talk she took a step into the room and cleared her throat to announce her presence.

The blonde looked up and forced a weak smile. “Sorry about that.”

She shook her head and pulled another barstool out so she could sit down. “Not your fault.”

“I shouldn’t even try.”

“It never hurts to try. And, let’s be honest, if you didn’t try it’d drive you crazy wondering what would’ve happened if you did.”

“Maybe it’d be a better feeling than trying and just meeting stubbornness.”

“You know you can still come with me and Max.”

“I know, but...”

She glanced back at the door that led to the living room where Michael was probably still standing. “Yeah, I know.”

“I wouldn’t be good company anyway. And it’s better if we split up. At least for a while.”

She nodded. “You think we’ll be able to maintain contact?”

“I really don’t know, Liz.”

“I know it’s probably just wishful thinking.” She plucked a napkin from the napkin holder and started folding it. “It sucks to go through everything we’ve all gone through only to lose the relationships we’ve formed.”

“Yeah,” the other girl agreed weakly and wiped away a single tear.

“It’s not over yet, Maria. And there’s no way to know what’ll happen after they’re done with Janus.” Just saying that madman’s name sent a shiver up her spine.

If Janus wasn’t done with them first, she thought but didn’t say anything. Instead she just nodded quietly.

“I never thought I’d see the day where I wished someone dead,” she admitted quietly.

Maria chuckled coldly. “Things can change quickly huh?”

“Little more quickly than I care for.” They had been required to sit through a session with a shrink to satisfy the prosecution that they were indeed fit to testify and the woman had been good at her job. The session had made Max uncomfortable and he was still pissed off about it.

“Yeah one day you go to classes and the next an assassin wants to kill you.” It was ridiculous now that she thought back to the day she met her supposed killer.

Liz snorted softly. “Yeah, I don’t think any of us could’ve seen that one coming.”

“Thank God, we couldn’t.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have wanted to face him down.”

“It seems like ages ago yet it’s only been a couple of months.” Maria shook her head. “Nothing we thought we knew exists now.”

“But at least we’re still alive.”

“Yeah, who would’ve thought, huh?” Considering the circumstances it was kind of a miracle really.

“We were very lucky,” Liz said absentmindedly and the other girl knew all too well where her thoughts had drifted.

“We had some good help slash protectors.”

“I never would’ve imagined we’d ever be having this conversation.”

“Well, at least you’re not semi-involved with an asshole.”

“A lot of that’s probably the pain talking, Maria,” Liz said with a reassuring smile.

“If that’s the case he’s in constant pain and has been since the day I met him.”

“Mental pain maybe,” the brunette tried to make a joke and poked her lightly with her elbow.

Maria chuckled. “Yeah, must be that. Along with pain in the ass.”

A snort escaped past Liz’ lips and a second later both girls were laughing out loud at the double meaning. “That was a good one.”

“What’s so funny?” Max walked into the room, carrying a few used mugs and plates.

“Girl talk,” Liz said with a smile, her eyes moving over him and studying his movements as she sought out any sign that he was in pain.

He shot a brief glance at the doorway, easily detecting the annoyance in Michael’s posture as he stood at the window. He and Alex were working close enough that while they hadn’t heard the entire conversation, the couple’s voices had raised enough to provide the gist of their words. Their tone had made up for the rest.

“How’re you doin’?” Maria asked before his speculative expression released his innate curiosity and he started asking questions. Or worse, started giving advice.

He shrugged slowly and carefully, a move that, not long ago wouldn’t have required a single thought. Tess had warned him it was going to take time to heal and she’d been working with him, putting together a physical therapy schedule to help aid him in regaining full use of his arms. It sucked and most days it seemed like his body belonged to a hundred-year-old man, but he knew in time it’d be worth it. “I’ll be glad to get our testimonies outta the way so we can get the hell outta here.”

“You think it’ll all work out as planned?” Somehow it all sounded too good to be true, Maria thought. Would the Circle really go down like this or had they planned one last hit against them? The waiting was making her crazy. And she still couldn’t help but wonder what was in that safe deposit box her father had kept hidden.

“Everything looks fine,” Max agreed. “We have enough proof against them. There’s no way anyone could think any one of them is innocent.”

“And Janus will get what he deserves,” Val said as she entered the room.

Max stared down into his mug. “You will make sure he can never hurt anyone else.”

It didn’t come out as a question and Val didn’t respond to it as such. “Once I have him in the crosshairs he’ll never see another sunrise.”

“Assuming you draw a bead on him first,” Michael muttered under his breath as he shifted his weight. The wound in his thigh was well on its way to being completely healed but too much weight on that leg for too long caused it to start hurting.

She snorted indelicately. “Like you’re gonna get to him first.”

Maria rolled her eyes. In spite of her desire for the world to be safe from Janus she still found it a little disconcerting how easily they talked about killing the man. It was like they were discussing some random sporting event they were competing in against each other.

“I don’t care who gets to him first,” Max said, his grip on the mug so tight his knuckles had turned white, “as long as one of you takes him out.” He had disliked people before but he’d never actively hated anyone the way he hated Janus, had never wanted to see anyone dead before spending time as the man’s prisoner.

“Don’t worry about that, Evans,” Michael joined the rest of them at the kitchen counter, very aware of the ice cold stares a certain woman was shooting at him.

Alex poked his head into the room, his glasses on his head and the closed laptop held in one hand. “Who’s up for a game of pool?”

“Why not, yeah,” Max and Liz nodded.

His speculative gaze landed on Val. “How about we beat them as a team?”

She snorted but started to move in his direction. “I’ve got a few minutes I guess.”

The other couple followed them out of the room until Maria and Michael remained alone, surrounded by an awkward silence again.

“I’ll make sure you’re given a new identity and set you up in a new location – “

Her eyes were filled with anger when she cut him off. “Do you think I even care about that right now?”

“Right now, no, maybe you don’t. All you see is what’s right in front of you. But trust me, Maria, when the trial’s over and you’re free to pursue your own life again, you’re gonna wanna be far away from here. I don’t trust the government to keep you safe. There’re just too many risks involved in allowing them to supply your new identity.”

“I have no intention of letting them do any such thing.”

“You can’t just waltz back out there unprotected,” he bit out.

“What’re you gonna do, Michael? Pay someone to watch over me for the rest of my life? Obviously you don’t want the job, so don’t worry about who’s gonna do it. I managed just fine before you came into my life and I’m sure I’ll be fine once you’re out of it.” Liar! her conscience screamed at her. Oh, she’d go on, she wasn’t a quitter, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

It took every freaking cell in his body to not yell at her. He had to remind himself that hurt and anger were speaking out of her at the moment and it would be all too easy for him to jump up on the same train – which would only lead to a major blowout.

[Roswelllostcause]

Things are moving along. Hopefully everyone will find somewhere safe after the trial is over.

[Natalie36]

hope maria and mike get there crap together. I think there is to much tension right now but hopefully once all is done they will all be with each other

[keepsmiling7]

Michael and Maria never seem to change.
I don't know if I would want to "baby-sit" either of them for any period of time.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Eva]

Ah, we're getting at the end of this emotional and very thrilling story. But the ten million dollar question remains: will he stay for her or not? He declares he won't but is that how he really will act?

[Nix]

Will we get to read about their christmas experience? I was dying to read who Michael and Val dealt with it!

[sarammlover]

Sorry I didn't update on that previous chapter! I was glad nothing went wrong while they were out searching for a tree. And I see that we are moving along here now which begs the question...what will happen to Michael and Maria?? Will they be together? What happened to Michael's plan for the Maldives? Why hasn't someone killed Janus already? I want to kill him myself. HA! Special agent Sara to the rescue.

Sad this seems to be ending....but glad they are all finally getting some sort of resolution. Excited for next week!!