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

[Eva]

I'm glad we saw Alex & Isabel again. After he was shot I was worried about his condition. But the way he talks to Val said it all. His banter is very alive and contains his typical humor. He's going to be alright!

The journey of Michael & Maria goes on like it should go. I cross my fingers it can stay like that. On the other hand, it feels like the silence before a big storm. Where are the guys hunting them down? Have they indeed lost all tracks or are they still hidden somewhere out there?

[Candyfifi]

Awesome chapter! I have been lurking an reading your stories for years and I finally joined!

Can't wait for more! Hopefully they an bring down the circle but it's a big task!

Fi

[begonia9508]

I really like what is going on, in between Michael and Maria! These twos seem to have tamed each other, especially now it is important - but I am afraid it won't always be always like that... They are both known for stark caracters and it will show its hideous head someday...

EVE

[sarammlover]

Alright! Michael and Maria are almost to snowy Colorado! Which is where I am! HA!! Glad they made it safely off the train. Glad to have caught up with Val and Alex. I like that she asked him honestly what she would do. I also like that he isn't scared of her! SUch a great update!

[Ms_BuffyAnneSummers]

Awesome!! I'm so glad this is back!! Can not wait to see what happens in Colorado!

[Double Trouble]

Roswelllostcause: Thanks! Yes, they are.

Eva: His situation was serious, but with Val looking after him he’s on the road to recovery.

Lol, true, and you just never know which way things are gonna go with these two. Their trackers have been disabled, but those hunting them are still out there.

Candyfifi: Hi! Welcome to our little corner of the fic universe! Thanks, we’re glad to see you’ve decided to come out of lurkdom.

They’re still working on taking the Circle down.

begonia9508: Yes, there’s something in them that responds to each other. They do have very explosive personalities and that’ll rear its head from time to time.

sarammlover: Lol, excellent! They look forward to sharing the Rockies with you. Alex definitely isn’t scared of Val... whether that’s smart or not, only time will tell. Thanks!

Ms_BuffyAnneSummers: Thanks! We’re really glad RF is back too! Colorado’s coming up!






Part 44

Alex looked after her and shook his head. This woman had no belief when it came to herself. How could she be so strong on the one side, but so unsure on the other? Grabbing the laptop, he pushed those thoughts aside for now and started to pull up the copied files.

Valkyrie cleaned up the small mess she’d made while fixing his meal, taking her time and giving them both some space. She couldn’t say she’d ever considered going into the private sector. She’d been bred to draw blood. Since she was seventeen years old this was all she’d known and before that, well, there was nothing she could recall.

This was going to take forever, Alex thought while he watched the crazy numbers running across the screen. This stuff was encrypted by a professional. If they were lucky they might start getting answers tomorrow.

“Problem?” she asked when she came back and saw the expression on his face.

“No, it’s just gonna take time.”

“How much time are we talkin’ about?”

“If we’re lucky let’s say 15-20 hours. Worst case... several days.”

She sighed and nodded. What else was there to do but wait?

“They know how to hide their stuff.”

“So there’s nothing you can do to speed it up?”

“No, the program has to work its way through it. There’s nothing else we can do.”

She ran a hand through her hair and let her gaze drift over him as she considered ways to pass the time. She hated sitting around waiting worse than just about anything. Her eyes paused briefly on the bandage on his thigh and she shook her head. No, they couldn’t risk re-opening that wound.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing that’ll help right now.”

“Okaaay,” he lifted one eyebrow.

“Unless you’d care to have me sew that wound shut again.” She raised an eyebrow mockingly.

His gaze dropped to his leg. “Uh... tempting. But I think I wanna keep it closed up.”

She shrugged and turned back to the window. There was no reason for him to go through that again just so they could pass the time.

“We could do something else?”

“What?” she asked warily.

“We could watch TV... snuggle a bit.”

She frowned. Snuggle? It was a foreign concept. The closest she came to snuggling was sleeping with her gun. “Well, there’s a TV.”

He tried to suppress a grin. “There is.”

She never watched much TV other than occasionally checking in to make sure her kills made the news and she’d done nothing that would make the news recently. “I guess we can do that. Watch TV.”

“Alright.” He patted the bed next to him.

She moved around the room, her steps agitated. After a few minutes she grabbed the remote off of the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed as far away from him as she could get. “There’s probably nothing on.”

“Val,” he groaned.

“What?”

“Stop fussing around. Just lay down for God’s sake.”

She shifted to settle more comfortably against the headboard but gave him nothing more than that. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” he replied ironically.

She shrugged and turned the television on, flipping through channels to keep herself distracted.

“That show’s good.”

She went back a couple of channels, stopping when he nodded. Not being someone who spent any time watching television she really had no idea what shows were on or what they were about. “What is it?”

“Comedy. King of Queens, you seriously don’t know?”

“Not much time for TV,” she muttered.

“Well, it’s fun. He’s like the fat funny guy and she’s his demanding wife who wants to put him on a diet.”

“He should be on a diet,” she said after a few minutes of watching the show. “That extra weight will...” she turned her head when she felt him staring at her. “What?”

“Are you gonna say it’ll kill him?”

“Not necessarily but it’ll make his life hell as he gets older.”

“Yeah could be.” He shrugged. “He’s not that fat though.”

She tilted her head to the side as she studied the couple on the screen and suddenly she made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a laugh.

Alex grinned to himself. “Carrie comes across demanding, but she loves him.”

Yeah, she was demanding alright. “I was thinkin’ more along the lines of sex.” She shook her head. “Just the aesthetics of it with the two of them.”

“Think it couldn’t work?” He smirked.

“Well, where there’s a will there’s a way.” She shrugged. “Or so they say.”

“Indeed. And they’re not the weirdest couple I’ve ever seen.”

“Spend much time watching weird couples?”

“No, just saying.”

She shifted and grabbed a pillow, pulling it closer so she could lean on it. “What’s up with the annoying old guy? Does he live with them?”

“Yeah, he’s her father.”

She made a face. Living with another person would be enough to get used to. But having that person’s relative living under the same roof? No way. “Sounds inconvenient.”

“It’s not optimal,” Alex chuckled.

Valkyrie snorted. “No, I can’t imagine it is.”

“Well, the things we do for the ones we love, I guess.”

She shrugged. She wouldn’t know. “He drives them crazy.”

“A lot, yes.”

The guy would drive her insane in less than a day, she was sure of it. She braced her elbow on the bed and rested the side of her head in her hand, yawning as a commercial for toothpaste came on. She reached up to rub her eyes and blinked in an effort to keep them open long enough to catch the end of the show. After that maybe she’d head over to the second bedroom and catch some sleep for a few hours.

Alex looked over. “You tired?”

“No, just hate commercials.”

“Uh-huh.” He rolled his eyes. “You can lean on me if ya want, ya know.”

“I don’t lean on anyone,” she muttered, shifting closer to move the pillow into a more comfortable position.

“Just to get comfortable I mean, jeez.”

“I’m comfortable.” A statement that was immediately negated when she found herself shuffling around again.

“Okay, if you say so.” He shrugged and concentrated back on the TV. Damn stubborn woman!

She was in completely unfamiliar territory, something she found herself facing on a fairly regular basis with this man. He wasn’t pushing for anything more than her close presence and she didn’t know how to act with him. Sex, no problem, she knew how to act, what to do, and she had no issues maintaining the upper hand. Well, come to think about it, she hadn’t exactly been able to keep the upper hand with him in that area either. He was pushing for things she’d never given, things she didn’t know how to give. She’d never just relaxed with anyone, curled up next to them and done something as mindless as watch TV. She just didn’t know how to do something that most people probably took for granted.

“Watch out now,” Alex said softly with a chuckle. He knew the episode and what was coming next.

She glanced up at him, watching his animated features as he waited for whatever it was with anticipation. She could stare at him for hours and that made her decidedly nervous. His eyes sparkled with humor as he laughed at whatever she’d just missed.

He noticed her focus on him rather than on the screen and shifted his eyes towards her. “Hey, you were supposed to watch.”

“I was,” she muttered, wanting to look away but transfixed by his eyes.

“Yeah?” He lifted one teasing eyebrow. “What happened?”

You. She shook her head, unwilling and unable to give him that answer. He was distracting and she honestly didn’t know what to do about that.

“Admitting your focus was somewhere else?”

“There’s plenty going on to keep my mind occupied,” she answered.

“Name something.”

“That program.” She nodded at the laptop that was busy working on the encrypted files.

Of course, he thought but wasn’t really surprised by her answer. She would never admit any weakness and especially not in front of him.

She shrugged, ignoring the disappointed look on his face. What the hell did he expect her to say? She shifted around to get comfortable, rubbing her tired eyes.

“There’s no need to think about the program. It’ll work on its own.”

“I’m sure it will.” She fought back a yawn and her gaze was drawn back to him against her will. “You put a lot of stock in this crap, don’t you?” she asked with a wave at the TV.

“Stock?”

“Weight, belief, whatever you wanna call it.” She nodded at the couple on the TV. “The whole couple thing.”

“Well, it’s not something new I came up with.”

“But you believe in that whole two people being together, monogamous relationship thing.”

“Yeah, I do, when the right people come together.”

“Why? The divorce rate in this country alone is like fifty percent.”

“So? There’s still a chance.”

“They’re not great odds,” she said with a shrug.

“You should be used to that in your job.”

“Yeah, well, putting your life on the line’s one thing. Putting your...” she just shook her head.

“Heart?” he helped with a grin.

“Don’t make fun of me,” she snapped defensively. It just sounded stupid saying it aloud.

“I wasn’t,” he assured her.

“You loved your girlfriend, right?” She went on when he nodded. “And she dumped your ass for a fuckin’ trip so why would you bother puttin’ yourself out there like that again?”

“Because there were also good times and I wouldn’t want to miss them.”

She reached over and traced her fingertips over the tattoo on his left shoulder. “Why put yourself in a position to go through that again? So there were good times, but do they really outweigh the bad?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.

Valkyrie locked her gaze on the television when another episode of the same show came on. She didn’t understand why anyone would put themselves in the position to be hurt again. Physical pain sucked but it could be worked through given time. Emotional pain, on the other hand, wasn’t as easy to survive.

“This one’s good too,” Alex said as a peace offering between them.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a very strange man?”

“Countless times.”

She shook her head and sighed tiredly, not even really noticing it when she leaned against his shoulder.

He didn’t dare move, wondering if she would retreat immediately if she was aware of her own moves.

“You’re right,” she mumbled drowsily after a while. She needed to get up because she didn’t do this. She didn’t sleep next to anyone, ever. She’d get up in a minute, she decided.

“Right?” he asked quietly. “About what?”

“The show.” Her eyes started to drift closed as the past few days finally caught up with her. Her movements were heavy as she reached for her gun and placed it against his stomach, her hand resting over it. “S’kinda funny.”

He lifted one eyebrow at the absurdity of this situation. Here he was, together in bed with the sexiest woman ever. And they were snuggling while she held a gun against him.

She needed to get up and move to her own room, needed to keep watch, but she also needed to get some shuteye before she just passed out from exhaustion.

Alex waited a bit until her body began to get heavier. Only then did he dare to lift one arm and place it gently over her body.

Valkyrie shifted to a more comfortable position and gave in to the pull of sleep. Her hand flexed for a moment, tightening her hold on the grip of the Sig before she relaxed and allowed him to slip it free of her grasp.

“Don’t worry, it won’t go far,” he mumbled and then used his hand to run it slowly through her long blonde hair.

Too many years of remaining alert even in the deepest sleep wouldn’t let her fully relax but the tension in her body eased to a degree she rarely allowed. His touch was soothing and something she knew she had craved for a long time. The most unexpected thing was who he was. Or at least that had surprised her at first. But in the time he’d been with her he’d proven himself over and over again.

“It’s okay, just relax,” he assured her when she was drifting off and for once letting her guard down.

She shouldn’t be letting him have this much control, she thought, but it was hazy at best. She made a sound, consent, acceptance, she wasn’t even sure herself. What would it hurt to allow it just this once?

*****

Maria shifted behind the steering wheel, stretching the muscles in her neck from one side to the other a few times. They had spent hours and hours on the road without stopping at all and only for the last hundred miles or so had she been able to convince Mr. Stubborn Ass to give up control over the truck. He had been almost asleep, driving like a zombie before he had agreed to take the passenger’s seat the rest of the way.

“It’s behind the next rise.”

His grumpy, hoarse voice almost startled her in the otherwise silent truck and she turned her head slightly to look at him. His head was resting against the window and his eyes were already closed again. “Good.” Although she had slept for a while earlier in the backseat, she was still tired as hell and felt every muscle in her sore body. “Anything I need to know?”

“You’ll stop in the drive in front and I’ll handle the rest.” Michael forced his eyes open and sat up straighter to shake the fog in his head. As soon as they passed the peak of the small rise the roof of the cabin came into sight and it was ridiculous how happy he felt about it.

“This looks nice.”

He grunted and motioned for her to stop when she pulled into the clearing and his eyes scanned the property, locating the outbuilding that housed the chopper. He shouldered the door open and dropped down into the snow. “I’ll get it opened up,” he said with a nod at the building. “Once I’ve cleared it I want you to pull inside.”

The cold was very effective at pushing any thoughts of being tired out of his mind and he focused on the situation at hand while he went about entering the code next to the wide doors and then pushing the right one open. He stepped inside and did a quick visual check before stepping back out and waving her in.

“Alright,” she muttered to herself and slowly rolled towards him.

As soon as the truck was inside and she cut the engine he pushed the heavy door closed again. He moved over to the chopper, pulling the door on the pilot’s side open and looking over the interior with a nod of approval. “Nice,” he murmured. He stepped back and looked at Maria when she climbed out of the truck. “Stay here while I take a look in the house.”

He left the outbuilding and made his way up to the house, taking a look around the exterior before going inside. He disarmed the security system and moved through the rooms, making sure everything was as it should be before heading back out to collect Maria.

“Okay, we’re good. Grab your stuff and let’s get inside.”

“Okay.” She opened the back and got her backpack, glad they finally made it. “I’m looking forward to a shower as hot as possible.”

He led the way inside and armed the security system before leaning back against the door. “Go on and grab a shower. There’s a couple bedrooms so take your pick.”

“I don’t think I care as long as it has a bed.”

He motioned to the hallway off to his right. “Down that way.” The rooms were all furnished and from the looks of it they hadn’t spared any expense on making sure the place was comfortable.

“Wow, this’s a nice place. Even nicer than the other I think.”

He shrugged. It was secure, that was the most important thing as far as he was concerned. Comfort was secondary. He moved into the kitchen and started pawing through the cabinets and refrigerator.

Maria followed the hallway down and found a nice bedroom with a bathroom immediately. She smiled when she saw the tub set in the middle of the room and happily ignored the shower for it.

Michael spent the next half hour prowling through the house, cataloging supplies and then taking more time to admire the weapons assembled in the vault in the basement. Some of them definitely weren’t standard issue and several weren’t even legal, but he appreciated the collection. After a while he went back upstairs and wandered down the hallway towards the bedrooms, snooping around until he found the one she’d staked a claim on. He nudged the door open and looked around, listening to the quiet sound of water lapping against the sides of the bathtub. He stepped into the room and glanced around, his eyes scanning the windows before settling on the open bathroom door. She was slouched down in the tub, her fingertips lazily dragging through the bubbles on the surface.

“How’s that bath?” he rasped, enjoying the way her skin flushed at the unexpected intrusion.

“Don’t you ever knock?” She sank a little deeper.

“You left the door open. In my world that’s an invitation.”

Well, she had kinda left it open. “So did you inspect the whole place?”

“Um-hmm, top to bottom.”

“And?”

He shrugged. “What I expected. They’ve got everything covered.”

“Good. So we’re safe.”

“From intruders,” he said with a nod.

“You hungry?”

His gaze moved over her, his imagination filling in the blanks since the bubbles were providing more cover than he liked. “Yeah.”

She shivered at the raspy note in his voice and wondered if they were still talking about food.

He slouched down against the doorframe and shoved his right hand in his pocket. She had no idea what she did to him, he decided. “You offerin’ to make dinner?” Hell, she could be dinner as far as he was concerned.

“I can do that,” she agreed, feeling a little lightheaded.

He nodded and continued to watch her, his eyes unwavering in their perusal. “Plenty of options.” The tub, the bed, up against the wall. Hell, he was good with any and all of them.

“Yeah?” She looked at him. “Checked the kitchen?”

“The kitchen?” Yeah, countertops and tables were good too. “Yeah, fully stocked as promised.”

“You wanna shower or take a bath as well?”

“Um-hmm.” Getting clean was really the last thing on his mind at the moment.

She bit her lip when she recognized that look in his eyes.

He saw the recognition when it dawned on her and he shifted slightly. “You really that hungry?” It had been hours since they’d eaten and a hot meal was something he was interested in but there were other, more pressing needs that were demanding attention.

“Guess not,” she muttered and her eyes drifted over his body.

He pushed away from the doorframe and slowly crossed the room, stopping next to the tub and holding his hand out to her. “Me neither.”

She stared at his hand uncertainly. “You want me to get out?”

“Would you rather I get in there with you?”

Rather than presenting herself totally naked? “Yeah.”

He chuckled gruffly and reached up to pull his shirt over his head. “Doesn’t matter to me, but I’m gonna see you naked either way.”

At least she wouldn’t be the only one naked then, she thought but her brain went blank when her gaze dropped to his pecs.

He tossed the shirt aside and bent over to unlace his boots. He stepped out of them and pulled his socks off before straightening up and unbuckling his belt.

Maria leaned back while watching. She had never seen a man’s.... thing and she waited for it with a mixture of excitement and fear.

She was watching him with an intense look of concentration on her face and he bit back a grin when he realized she was holding her breath. He popped the snap on his jeans and slowly lowered the zipper, wondering how long she could hold her breath. He chuckled quietly and shoved the jeans and boxers over his hips and kicked free of them, standing before her as naked as the day he was born. “See?” He held his arms out at his sides. “Naked’s not a bad thing.”

“Guess it’s not.” Her words were shaky and she worried she would swallow her tongue.

He watched her for nearly a full minute, giving her time to look him over before he took a step closer.

[Eva]

Alex is a blessing for Val, only she doesn't agree with that. I'm very curious what will be the story after Val, her life before the Circle recruted her.

Michael & Maria and a hot tub? That's promising!

[Candyfifi]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

Great part! Its really great to see Val relax more around Alex, she will get there eventually.

Soooo looking forward to the M&M scene next time, steamy bath scene for Maria's intro to sex!! Love the passion between them.

Fi

[sarammlover]

GOOD GRIEF!!! This intense flirting back and forth between Michael and maria is so HOT!!!! And I LOVE Alex with val. LOVE HIM! He is completely confident and its nice to see her faltering a bit! Great job! Seriously. next weekend....its time. Time for Michael and Maria to finally get it on!

[keepsmiling7]

great part......