View Full Version : [M!] Two stones, one bird -The first hit (Pure and Nas)
This thread is rated mature for graphic violence. Gratuitous use of swear words. There will be blood, bone, meaty bits and bits that are discolored and leave you confused as to exactly what that was. There might be sex and fantastic use of nudity. Good fun!
Lemis Theatre
9:45 Pm
Act 2 intermission of Othello
Lobby?
Vukani's lip curled into a tired smirk, he'd seen Othello over seven times, each time played out or interpreted by a different cast. He was an avid Shakespeare fan and this was supposed to have been a high value affair. Some cast crew who's 'apparently' assembled for the first time in ten years in the name of charity, he wasn't even sure what charity it was. The role of Othello had been over plaid and was, quite simply, a waste of his time but of course he was most likely the only one there who'd actually come for the interpretation of the play itself. And not just to be seen.
He could not have imagined how their interpretation of Hamlet or King Lier would have looked, he preferred not to think about it. Not that it mattered, they had already killed Othello is his eyes.
He took another sip of his Jack Daniels Blue label, neat, and sighed losing himself in this own thoughts. Prehaps he was being too analytical. How did someone figure such out? He'd seen so many plans laid out and played out. Scenes and operations unfolding over the years that such imperfections by those who would deem themselves 'professionals' were simply unacceptable, offensive to his tastes.
He took himself another sip, his mind was slipping to operations and plans. This was supposed to be a day of freedom before he would throw his mind into the task at hand. Plus this was a high brow affair, anyone who was supposed to be any one was supposed to be there. Millions were supposed to be earned in the name of what ever charity this was supposed to be about. A ticket had cost five thousand pounds. Expensive, high brow always meant one thing his competition was nearby. He had yet to spot her but if she was there, she had undoubtedly spotted him. A pattern he'd come to enjoy.
Anastasia
03-29-2012, 10:45 PM
Nina Boguslavskaya looked down at her phone, it was already 9:45 and the intermission had just begun. A sigh of deep relief escaped her pallid lips as she rose quietly from her seat, and made her way with the crowd to the lobby, it was where the bar was. Ms. Boguslavskaya fondly remembered how she hated Shakespeare. She found him to be a waste of time for the most part, however she found the performance to be somewhat enjoyable.
The special occasion was the reunion of an original cast of somesort for this theatre was of no consequence to her. Othello at it's very best was something she considered to be at least tolerable. Why had she come? Checking up on old situations, she supposed. The tickets were pricey, even for her taste. Grinning somewhat as she made her way toward the bar, she shook her head noticing people stare at her as she moved. And how she moved, her classic little black dress fit her absolutely perfectly, her raven tresses descended over her shoulders and down her back, curling up perfectly at the ends. The white elbow length gloves she wore complimented her skin, appearances were everything and one had to be seen. Perhaps this was the purpose of her venture to the theatre this night.
Sitting quietly on a stool that a woman was kind enough to vacate for her, she ordered a simple drinк, русский стандарт or Russian Standard on the rocks, it was the finest of Russian vodka, and that was really all she needed at the moment, nodding kindly as she slipped down the cash for the drink and far more than adequate tip, she would rise again, smiling softly at those who nodded in her direction.
And of course, from across the room there he was. The two, a rather odd pairing had seem to run into each other quite frequently, they attended the same events, and worked in the same business, one she was already for. She could recognize him from anywhere. His suit looked rather tasteful on him, she did admit. Standing up, the young woman would make her way through the crowd, in his direction. She too had come to enjoy these chance encounters, he must be here for a reason, she was curious.
The ends of Vukani's mouth rose slightly into a soft smile. Not an eager one, he wouldn't be half the man he was without his world classed poker face. He's spotted her, cutting through the crowd like a bullet through tissue paper. It was an impressive air she had to her. The kind of air that, to him, told a story of its own. One that had kept him interested from the first time he'd met her to the moment he'd figured out just 'who' she was and how skillful she was.
The question of who would be the better assassin had yet to be answered but that would change after he finished the next assignment. When the lives on the contract he'd been given were extinguished she would know for sure that his technique of organised strikes would be the quickest and most effective method of killing a target.
He smiled a little wider, it had the edge of a wolf to it as he made his way to her to meet her half way, his own movements calm and controlled. Planned almost. He stopped when they were face to face.
"It is quite a surprise to see you here." He lied. "I never expected you to be here." He lied once again. "How long has it been, how small is this world and have you been making it any smaller since we last met?"
Anastasia
04-02-2012, 08:28 PM
Vukani had always intrigued her, he was delicate with his work, clean and elegant, without a single shred of waste. It was something to be admired. They had never once had to compete for the same mark, they had always just had the good conscious fate of consistently running into one another. He now began to move toward her, how gentlemanly it was of him to meet her in the middle. The look on her face softened, her smile was present.
"Your lies are written all over your face, Vukani."
Nina grinned lightly as she reached him, having heard his words, soft, polite hit her ears. She stepped closer to him, perhaps too close, her gloved hand had reached and moved to adjust his tie, straightening it. The other hand, would lightly dust off his shoulder.
"Better."
She spoke softly and stepped back from him, taking in a moment to laugh quietly at his comment regarding making the world smaller, but she had indeed, and it delighted her. She took a great passion in her work, and to be honest, she hadn't cared much for who she killed, it didn't matter, just one less individual heartbeat.
"I'd say four months, three days, 12 hours, 32 seconds." this was a joke, though it had in reality been around four months since their last face to face encounter. This was far longer than it usually had been.
"Quite a bit smaller, but I'm sure the same can be said for you... buy me a drink?"
He could smell her perfume. Mostly when she adjusted his tie and her her form close to his own. It would have been a ridiculous lie to can her anything less than stunning. Most especially considering what either of them did for a living. The most alluring angel of death. Undoubtedly there was a world to be learned from her.
It was hard to hide how genuine his smile was.
"Oh, I would love nothing more than to buy you a drink."
He held her hand as delicately as his fingers would allow but it was not not too soft to make it look as though she were being held by the wind itself. He weaved his arm around hers and led her through the crowd, almost honoured in his duty as he made his way to the bar.
Smiling he turned to her. "You should know by now when you lie you are most honest about yourself. It's easy to become a lie. Too easily and too often does one become a lie that one cannot help but wonder if the lie itself is embedded in one's self or if it is us who are the lie. Either way one finds the most ease in lying and you are most yourself when you lie." He chuckled to himself sharing the bizarre thought that had plagued him many a sleepless night in his past. "I see you haven't been busy in a few months, mothers can rest a little easier then. I myself am preparing for quite the bit of" he paused there measuring how much of a clue he was willing to offer up. "the vacation. A few locations here and there. I can only hope if this is the last time we see each other we make the best of it by having a glass."
Anastasia
04-06-2012, 12:42 AM
He was everything of a gentleman, she had always remembered this as the case. Though she felt rather strongly that he was one of the deadliest people she had ever had the pleasure of knowing, if one could call it that. He took her hand into his own, it was a gentle grip, and his arm into hers, it was polite, she watched the eyes of the people around her as they moved through the crowed. The smile across her face genuine, perhaps the first real smile she had cracked all evening. After all the play is the thing, and a happy place, it wasn't.
"I'm flattered."
She smiled quietly standing at the bar, leaning slightly against the counter, she stood close to him, closer than perhaps one should. But she did have a fondness for him, and she would listen to his words carefully, they struck her, she knew exactly what he was talking about, an assignment, she had wondered what it was, it might have been the same, wouldn't that be a twist of fate.
She held his hand within her own, intertwining their fingers, the other hand poked him ever so lightly in the chest, as she looked over her shoulder to the bar tender.
"Gin and tonic... if you please."
Turning her attention back to him she nodded softly, and spoke once more.
"I have been busy, just quiet, and you... my friend have a job. Don't you? It just happens that I do as well... I wonder what it is? Hmm? Also, how is that darling child of yours?"
She was serious on all counts, she smiled brightly, and simply waited for an answer.
It was hard not to over react to the simple question of how his family was. He didn't like people so much as mentioning her daughter's name alone acknowledging their existence. But of course she knew of his daughter. It wasn't technically a secret. But in their 'business' it was the last thing he wanted people to mention and yet she was beautiful and sweet. It was difficult to ignore and yet, ignoring the natural threat that he associated with the contempt and absolute fury that formed in his eyes passed quickly and a slow smile formed.
"Jonny Walker Blue thank you very much. As for me having a job. We all have to work don't we? And the next job can only be described as work. The kind of work that will never be forgot the the modern world. Which is prehaps ironic considering the level of secrecy involved within our world. I hope I have not revealed too much of my cloak and none of my dagger. Speaking of my fear of revealing too much, my daughter. She is well. As beautiful as the sunset, more radiant than the sun but as distant from me as the sun itself."
He uttered these last words with a slow drawn out sigh. It was a surprise to have her mention his daughter. It left a some what painful void in his chest where he liked to think his heart once was. He was sure his daughter would have agreed with the metaphor. Despite all his efforts to reconnect with her, despite all efforts to have her smile at him the way she had over a decade ago. He was the one without a heart.
Anastasia
04-11-2012, 08:03 PM
Nina knew very well that asking the question she did would cause some kind of reaction from him. People in their line of work seldom, if ever discussed details of their own personal lives. It was something that seemed rather like it didn't exist, for them, their work was usually the first and only priority. Perhaps this had been to blame for many of her own personal failures.
"Blue label, some things never change, do they?"
Nina quietly clinked her glass to his, a small toast, she took a long drink from it, rather disregarding the nuisance that was the small stirs that seemed like coffee stirring sticks. Listening to his description of the assignment left her almost dumbfounded, could it be, that for the first time they would be competing against one another? It seemed liked it. Though she wouldn't know for sure until work would begin.
"It seems we still have much in common, we should discuss as I am rather interested in your plans. Perhaps elsewhere."
She would nod softly, and flash her smile quickly, she could be elegant when she needed to, and these kinds of things were how she worked best, when a target couldn't be killed from a distance, the best way to handle it was up close and personal. She was prepared, almost excited even for the upcoming assignment, it was to be big, messy. Everything she wanted and more.
"I must admit, I'm surprised you answered me. I know how you hate such questions... you forget how well I know you."
Vukani drank quickly, not bothering to savour the taste as he would have preferred. There were plenty more places he could get a drink with her and this particular location had long lost its, flavour.
"Yes it would appear that you do know me well to know what buttons to press. Perhaps one would go as far as to say you might know me too well"
Vukani said with a wolverine like glint in his eyes. But he didn't linger on his own comment, choosing to go bottoms up on a rather expensive whiskey as though he were nothing more than a college phrat boy.
The best laid plans of mice and men. There was little chance everything would simply fall in place once the murdering began in his organised killing spree. The very idea of how complicated his life would be the moment he woke up the very next morning was enough to make him just want to go home with his knees to his chest in a panic. But there was little chance of him getting sleep in the first place.
Though that was not the only thing on his mind, Vukani didn't get where he was by being stupid.
There was quite clearly something very very wrong with the change of expression in her eyes at the mention of exactly how big his prize was going to be and to couple it with invitation to the change of location meant something was up. What exactly, he didn't know.
He hoped she wouldn't try and kill him. Sure she'd try but he'd been in too many confrontations with too many femmes fatales and too many nitty gritty fights to be beaten or killed by a date(Assuming that was what they would remember it as). Undoubtedly the same could be said of her. There was a reason her hand felt good in his, her arm felt so firm and cool in his own. Her movements ere not those of a victim in waiting. There would just have to be some level of trust.
Vukani stood and took her hand, weaving her fingers through his own and taking lead. "I would rather hear your own as it's clear your own plans appear to be quite something. Prehaps my hotel? The lobby should be open for quite a while and their, albeit no where near as well stocked as my own bar should suffice. If I am not being too forward?"
He asked, even though his hands were already leading her out of the theatre and the valet.
Anastasia
04-12-2012, 12:49 PM
Nina had quickly noted that he was had been drinking far faster than she had, she laughed softly and shook her head, it was through this action that she understood he was done with this place, and possibly upset by his interaction with her. It would be entirely understandable, she looked up and simply listened to him, as he discussed seemingly everything and nothing.
Something big was on her mind, if indeed he was competing against her, she wasn't sure she would win. Yes, she was creative, cunning, and had absolutely everything she needed, but still there were better. All their careers one had had watched the other from the distance, but had they really learned anything? Suddenly all of those missed details would seem important, much like mountains standing before your path. Oh how they should have paid attention to every single minute detail of the other's posture, their method, the result. All of these things were running through her mind, she seemed somewhat distracted.
Her focus was restored the second he interlocked their fingers, she looked up toward him and smiled. Nodding affirmatively as she found herself being lead out of the theater, she quickly placed her glass down on the first table she came across.
"Lobby? You can take me to your room, it wouldn't be the first time, now would it? We have much to discuss and oh so little time to waste."
Her tone was soft, melodic, sweet, there wasn't a hint of sadness or that anything was truly wrong behind it, it was just a question and statement, her hand squeezed his, it was a degree of safety, security, yet it could represent her own demise. What was to stop him once he figured out that they had the same assignment? If this, of course, was indeed the truth of the matter.
A some what sly smile formed on his lips and his head tilted to the side ever so slightly, he nodded his head to her reply.
"You're right. You are no stranger to my home so home it is."
A metallic silver Aston Martin V8 vantage roadster pulled up in front of the entrance and the valet presented him wit the keys. Vukani was in a good mood and gave the man a generous tip. They type that left the man slack jawed.
Being the gentleman he was he opened the door for her to let her in and swung around and got inside, starting the car.
He didn't waste time with a leisurely ride, instead speeding through the quiet streets with little to no care of being wrecked. He'd been through far more frightening situations in the driver seats in trucks, while trying to turn around away from rocket fire, mortar fire even to be quivering in English streets. He sped right into the parking spinning his car into his reserved space and opened the door for Nina as though no time had passed between him exiting the theatre and entering the hotel.
He had many questions and could only assume she had just as many if not many more. The elevator ride was a silent one for him. but once he opened the door of his room is shoulders dropped and he relaxed.
"Make yourself comfortable" he said taking off his jacket and throwing it onto a chair and unbotoning the top of his shirt, throwing his tie onto the chair next to his jacket and moving to the bar.
Anastasia
04-18-2012, 03:18 AM
Vukani's style of driving was nothing foreign to her, it screamed his personality. Indeed, Nina had known that he had seen worse, the idea of death was nothing to fear for the both of them. It seemed to be a mere part of the job. It wasn't exactly a fringe benefit, but it paid the bills.
The elevator ride was silent, save for a soft giggle or two that escaped her lips. This situation was familiar to her. As the doors opened into his apartment, she walked in, placing her coat neatly onto a chair. With a subtle elegance and grace she pulled the elbow length white gloves from her hands setting them atop the coat.
"Comfortable."
Nina repeated this word, making her way into the living space, in which there lay an elegant piano, a grand. Sliding onto the matching bench she lifted the cover for the keys, running her fingers along the delicate ivory. It was a feeling she had missed, looking over toward him, she began to play, a simple song. The Moonlight Sonata, it was Beethoven, her favorite. The piece continued on as she looked around her, playing was effortless, second nature to her. Nina's delicate fingers glided over the keys, her hands moving faster than most people could even dream of, yet it somehow seemed beautiful, even if unnatural.
"We're alone."
Her voice was stern, yet soft, but you could hear it above the delicate sound that oozed from the instrument before her.
"What exactly is your next assignment? You can tell an old friend."
The tone was commanding, but subtle, her focus returning to the keys, watching her own hands move. Several of her raven tresses falling over her shoulders as she her body moved forward and back over the instrument.
Vukani didn't take long mixing together their drinks, a G and T and a Johnny walker weren't hard things to mix together in the first place but he'd have been lying if he'd said he was willing to waste time on mixing together drinks.
It was a pleasure as always to listen Nina play the piano. Over the last few years it was the only time the thing ever got played. His daughter was for whom it had originally been intended, considering the talent she had on her own, but now it might as well have belonged to Nina.
Drinks in hand he slowly made his way to her and sat next to her as she played. The mood altered slightly with her words that followed, her eyes on his.
He didn't flinch. Instead he closed the piano, and rested his elbow on the cover, never once taking her eyes off of her. The response in a heavy and deliberate sigh which hung heavily.
"It's always been a most amazing part of you the way you can command a room, seemingly without any effort. You're asking a lot out of me dear friend. Perhaps too much, because I do not share the same confidence in a mission that I know you possess. My simply telling you could be a massive risk to the entire mission. I don't understand why knowing that it will be larger than any mission either of us had ever completed isn't enough. You've never been this curious before about a kill assignment. So tell me why first."
Anastasia
04-18-2012, 01:09 PM
Her eyes had followed him for certain portions of his process of making the drinks, she watched as he neared, sat down beside her and closed the lid of the piano. Her fingers moving out of the way quickly, she was rather taken aback, but understood that he too wanted answers to his questions. Answers which she did not necessarily intend to give him.
Nina had played that piano a number of times, she shrugged her shoulders coming to terms with the change and simply took the drink from his hand, and began to sip from it lightly, slowly, enjoying the flavors, the sweet juniper, it was delightful, delicate but complex.
"I have information that will help you, if your assignment is what I think it is. Now you must tell me, or suffer the dramatic possibility of your first and only failure."
Nina knew this wasn't true, but she needed him to tell her what his mission was first, she needed to immediately confirm or deny her suspicions. Nina knew exactly what she wanted, but would have a challenge on how to get it. Setting the drink down on an artfully placed coaster atop the piano, she fully focused on him, staring softly.
Placing her hand on his cheek she brushed it softly, moving closer toward him, the same hand would then drop, a finger sliding to the top of his shirt, into the pathway where he had begun to unbutton the garment, she pulled him closer toward her. Turning his head ever so slightly, Nina leaned forward her lips mere centimeters away from his ear, he could feel her breath upon his skin she whispered.
"Tell me... please? Just this once?"
This wasn't new to them, since the first time she'd come to his home this had been the general format but the speed and timing in which it was all happening as new and somewhat exciting.
He didn't know what she knew or what she thought she knew but he knew her questions were getting to him. Her form so close to his was a rush that threatened to over ride common sense. How dangerous some women could be to a man just by being beautiful. It didn't take much physical strength to lift her by her waist and rest her on the paino, his lips tracing over her cheek as he listened to her every word.
But upon thought calm reigned over and his actions slowed one pull away from freeing her of her blouse.
"I don't know what makes you think I'm in need of your help. Considering that you've never offered it before. Now would be the worst time to offer it unless I'm the one not conveying how important this next mission is to me and that you haven't heard who I'm targeting."
He pushed himself up against her form, breathing in deep through his nose. "It means you're lying to me or you're playing with me, both being acts you should know I do not appreciate." He'd cupped both her cheeks in his hands bringing his lips to hers, but they did nothing more than brush against each other. His fingers close to her neck and yet still she didn't flinch from him. This was a very dangerous game being played.
"You know what's happening to apple stocks of late, a boom which is threatened to be followed by a crash in the market when stock sale margins finally prove in capable of keeping up with the insanely high market projections. It's only a question of time before the apple bubble bursts. If you ever had shares there now would be the best time to sell them. Every company has ups and downs and run the same risks but these risks blew up with the death of Steve Jobs. The dragon that is apple is likely to de because of the death of it's head. Who would have thought considering what happens in the business world to prevent such. There in lies my assignment. There's a corporate dragon out there that was once considered impossible to slay but with what's about to happen to apple that gaint is just as slayable as any other. That's where I come in. My job will be to cut the muscle tissue, severe the neural pathways and the snap the neck and remove the head of the dragon for all the world to see. Now you tell me how you can help me. Or were you playing with me to get me to talk?"
Anastasia
04-18-2012, 05:42 PM
Day in and day out the game that was played remained the same. The two of them moved like the dancers of the Ballets Russes, it was elegant, it was cunning and beautiful. The two of them had an intellectual battle for authority, he was much more forceful and direct. Nina, on the other hand preferred games, she enjoyed the idea of suffering, but she was protecting herself. She needed to know this bit of information.
The dress she wore fit her body perfectly, black, single strapped, her perfume was evident, but not overpowering, the way he moved her was with a grace, but a degree of ferocity, it was clear that he needed a moment to think things through.
She didn't move, not a single finch, she was prepared for anything, including the possibility of her death if she revealed her secret, she was determined not to. As his lips brushed hers, she smiled, his hands moving from cheeks to her neck, her arms wrapping around his neck, her legs around his torso, drawing him in closer to her as she listened.
"How you indulge me..."
Her words were taunting, carefully placed, soft and melodic, her head tilted to the side, leaning upwards she moved to kiss his lips, biting the lower one, before parting to speak.
"You know how I love games... it's how I kill. But even this one is bigger than me. I hate to be out of control, you know that... all the power is in your hands right now. How does that make you feel? Do you feel strong? Do you feel like you are in control of me? Or do you feel manipulated?"
She let a soft laugh escape her pallid lips, the corners of her mouth upturning into a discernible, smile. Nina had gotten exactly what she wanted, and she was resigned to the fate that the two of them had the exact same assignment. Her suspicions were confirmed, and her goal was simply to leave this place alive.
"You know I would never lie to you, unless I had to. That would be in poor taste. But I am not quite sure I can help you..."
Vukani's movement's were calm and deliberate, the beast roaring inside of him was contained and there it would stay. His one hand dropped to her waist and he grinned wide.
"You misunderstand the situation. Although the two of us stand such as we are, it's me who should be asking you if you enjoy possessing as much control over me as you do. I indulge you against my most stringent policies and person rules. I show you everything of what I am. I allow you to know my daughter's name. I let you in my home, although we only ever chance a visit. I give you so much of myself. I even jeopardised my own well being just to sate your curiosity. I even let you lie to me, goad me and yet."
He lifted her up, pressing his own form against her more elegant form. "And yet nothing. More than can be said for most. Now answer my questions. I indulged you. Offered up my soul give me something why does this time matter so much to you?"
Anastasia
04-18-2012, 08:34 PM
Nina would be able sense the disconnect between his inner feelings and his most outward appearance. Indeed, she was a fan of getting up close and personal with her targets before neutralizing them. It was one of the many ways in which she operated, because of this she had an unbelievably keen sense for what was happening within him. She felt she knew him, understood him.
"You give me much too much credit. You of all know more about me than you care to discuss. You know about my old life, my ex-husband. Everything, you simply choose not to use those pieces of information... could it be that you respect me? Perhaps even that you like me just a little bit?"
Feeling his hand fall to her hips, him lifting her, adjusting her, he had the physical power, but she couldn't deny that she didn't enjoy the touch, and the game of cat and mouse they begun to engage in, her hands fell from his neck and ran slowly down his chest, along the fabric of his shirt, delicately. She smiled and stared up at him.
"You wouldn't much like me anymore if I answered your questions, and how I would hate that. It isn't important why I'm curious, is it? We simply ran into one another and, let's just say I'm interested in seeing what an old friend is up to these days... hmm? Don't make me tell you."
Her tone was serious, but somehow seductive, she attempted to distract him away from the matters at hand, she often did this when in a position of extreme discomfort, her hands sliding around to his back pulled him ever and ever closer to her.
*FUCKING THREADS! I SPEND AGES FORMING A FUCKING POST ONLY TO BE TOLD THE FUCKING PAGE EXPIRED AND I MUST PRESS BACK TO TRY AGAIN! I NEVER WORKS NEVER!! I JUST LOST ALL MY FUCKING WRITING!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK I STILL CNA"T GET OVER IT! *
Vukani stopped. They had very clearly reached a cross road.
He rested his head upon her forehead and regained his breath. He didn't realise he heart was beating so heavily until that very moment. He didn't want to talk, becuase the talking was moving into very dangerous ground and they both knew it.
The truth of the matter was that he meant every word about her being the one running things. She was a powerful drawing woman, she was the one who held the cards. She could take control and she was taking control. Although she was in his arms it was him who felt as though he were the one caught in her web. Tied up like a puppet in the strings of a black widow.
Although their meetings were hoped for they were never planned. They had never once gone on a planned date. They didn't do such things, they didn't have to. Neither had ever asked for more nor had they suggested that they wanted more. Because of the equilibrium they held with each other he felt he could trust her with everything she knew about him.
She'd asked the unthinkable and he'd answered her. Why had she asked? Did she seek to get more out of their relationship or did she seek to alter it?
He didn't know, what he did know was that if it was the latter he'd kill her right now. If it were the former he'd. He had no idea what. Why was all this happening on the eve of his most important assignment?
He slide down her form tracing his fingers down then tracing them back up to her neck and up where he held the back of her head in one hand and her chin in the other. "Then I wont ask, what it is. I will let you have your secrets. Carry them to the grave, what ever the case may be." He tightened his grip only to pull on her chin in order kiss her part lips deeply.
He held her softly but with tense shoulders. If his bond of trust were broken as it felt it was strained to the point of breaking he would not have a better opportunity to snap her neck like a twig, throw her down stairs. Beat the back of her skull against the piano till she couldn't move, strip her down and throw her into a bath and wait till she drowned. Both common occurrences, she'd have the alcohol in her blood. She didn't have a single mark to say he'd done a thng with her. They'd both quite clearly came in seperately and left together. No judge on the planet would convict him. She was a murderer, one who killed good and bad alike. Few would mourn her. Unfortunately he would be one of the few who would. It was impossible to be left unmoved by her touch, her very scent.
He stepped back from her and picked up his drink. The oppotunity, though clear as day wasn't there, it had never been there. He couldn't just kill her. She wasn't just any body. She would not have been there if she wasn't the only thing in his life that made sense. His foot step were heavy as he made his way to the bar, throwing his shirt onto the floor. "You should go Nina. I will see you when I'm done with my work" He said without turning his head to her. It was hard to mask is disappointment. There were only two ways he could enjoy a sleep devoid of visions of the people he'd killed, the horrors he'd seen. Whiskey or her. It looked like it would be whiskey.
Anastasia
04-19-2012, 12:50 PM
For someone who had gotten every single thing in life that they wanted, Nina Boguslavskaya was certainly upset. In this very moment it was also incredibly difficult for her to figure out just why she was feeling this way.
Nina was well aware of the simple fact that she was capable of dominating the situation mentally, it was something she took great pride in, though admittedly a part of her cared for this man, she did not enjoy watching him like this, though it was the simple way it had to be, to ensure her own survival. This contract everything, it was the single most important contract either of them had ever been given, and competition wasn't exactly an ideal circumstance. If one of them could be taken out, they should have been...
Nina had thought about killing Vukani, she could have if she tried hard enough. Instead she thought merely to seduce him and subdue him mildly. He had his hands upon her, and they felt good, secure. Even assassin's had their insecurities. When he kissed her, she returned it with every bit of intensity, but even she could feel that his body itself had tensed up, she knew that various thoughts about this situations were running through his mind.
Then she was dismissed, this was not something she was prepared for. A part of Nina felt she should retain control until the end, she would leave when she needed to. Walking back over toward him, he wouldn't look at her, so she moved around him and looked at his face, her hand reaching up, she slapped him. A single slap. With that she walked away, grabbing her coat and gloves, she called the elevator and stepped inside headed for the lobby.
Nina had often longed for personal connections, physical human contact that did not result in someone's death, or more over, something that was just for her. Something to keep her from all the things she had done as well. She looked over at the desk in the lobby, sliding over to it, she would leave a message for Vukani in the morning.
"V,
Two of kind, we are. Two stones, one bird. Understand?
~N"
The message said everything it had to, that they each had a stone, and they sought one bird, the same set of targets. She had just revealed that they had the same assignment, and with that she returned to her own hotel for the evening.
Walter H. Solsberg wasn't a very tall man by any accounts but in the world of the wealth he bore great power and wealth. He was the CEO of coke. the single largest drinks retailer on the planet. The type of career that one would have never have thought would have created enemies. Along Latin America, such as Guatamala, Columbia and Mexico where the unions had just been crushed for the last time without intervention from outside powers.
Those outside powers decided a message was needed. The message had come in the form of Vukani. Who was now in Cancun Mexico, at the luxurious Westin resort and Spa, seated upon a pearly white pool area facing the beach. It had been two months since he'd seen Nina but she still hang heavily in his memory.
His one hand released the paper to touch his cheek where she'd last touched him. He couldn't fathom the idea of them going after the same person but he had little doubt that he'd get to Walter first. As the thought of Walter appeared three armed men dressed in white summer clothes that didn't fool a soul. Soon after Walter stepped outside into the sunlight, sitting himself down with a laptop onto the beach chair right next to his.
This was his general flow before he moved everyone on the beach chairs to make space for him and his mistress who had yet to take a seat.
As per clock work one of the giant armed men stood over Vukani, blocking his sun light. "I need you to move" The gaint of a man said.
Vukani nodded and walked away. The wooden beach chairs were of a simple design, thin wooden strips hammered on a far longer strip to make the chair with thick silk cushion on top. It would have been impossible to notice the C4 hidden between the strips underneath the cushions.
Vukani counted his steps looking up to see where the marker he'd created was and how far he needed to be out of the blast radious. This was almost too easy, he couldn't help but wonder where Nina was.
Anastasia
04-20-2012, 04:14 AM
It had been a busy two months, Nina had spent much of her time preparing for her assignment. As well as taking on another two jobs in the mean time, she enjoyed keeping busy. This however, would be a challenge. And today, was the day. The day she accepted the challenge and rose to meet her fate.
Truthfully, every single day, every single time she was to finally go in for the kill, Nina felt truly nervous, sort of blind sided, unprepared for all of the possibilities. Indeed, the girl was truly and honestly very intelligent, but no assassin, no matter how skilled they might be was infallible.
Walter Solsberg was a rather ordinary man in all respect, he wasn't anything special. Yet he had amassed a fortune and sat atop an Empire. He was only the first part of the plan, a grand plan that hadn't been unveiled to her. Nina would only receive pieces of these plans until the entire thing was completed. This peeved her, more than slightly.
Her hair tied back into a perfect high pony tail, as Mr. Solsberg had adored, she wore a beautiful yellow sundress, a Sarafan, something traditional Russian but made for the modern world. Today and for the past month and a half her name had been "Jessica Ellestad." Jessica worked in advertising, most of the specs of her job were unknown or simply of little importance to the man she was seeing. Today, Jessica was the mistress of one mister Walter Solsberg. She stepped onto the beach, the sand flooding around each step she made, wearing flip flops, he toes painted the man's desired shade of purple.
How annoying he was with his likes and dislikes, ordinarily she would never put up with this, but here she had to. This was a mission, a job and whatever it took to be be completed she would handle. She knew Vukani would be around, he was never late, he was probably close, he would see her when she entered the scene that was for sure.
This was her opportunity, she would kill him right here, within minutes, she approached the man and sighed softly, flashing her smile she kissed either side of his cheeks before sitting down in her designated seat. She was a mistress, she hated this role.
Vukani found his marker, where the blast radius wouldn't hurt him, by an embankment on the beach where he unwrapped his detonator out of the newspaper and get ready on his patch off dirt for the impact.
All he had to do was press the button.
It was dumb luck, or intuition he didn't know, that kept him from simply pressing the button. He took a final glance and his heart jumped into his throat. He could see Nina resting on the very beach chair that had the C4 attached.
He'd been at the hotel for days. How hadn't he seen Nina? Was he in a nightmare.
Good and bad didn't matter. He'd have blown up the beach chair if Walter's family had been there, he didn't care. He wasn't allowed to care in the business he'd chosen.
"She'd press this button." He muttered to himself, determined to harden his resolve.
====
From beneath the beach chair the device began to beep loudly drawing the attention of everyone, two of the guards ducked behind the chair and began yelling fast in Spanish. Walter was lifted off his seat in a rush by the nearest guard before the guard crumpled to th floor, a bullet hole square in the center of his forehead.
Vukani had set off the timer effect he'd added in case of an emergency, he'd never guess it would be this kind of emergency. Both guards jumped up, guns blasting limiting his firing capabilies forcing him to aim, wasting precious seconds. The second guard dropped with a bullet to his head followed quickly by the third and final gaurd.
The whole moment lasted only a few seconds with Vukani rushing forwards the whole time, he rushed across the pool, his right arm numb, no doupt from a bullet wound. He saw Walter get up and try to run where he received a bullet to the leg and the back for his effort dropping him.
Vukani's gun trained on Nina's head. "Get up!" He yelled finally managing to get around the pool to her, his gun on her the whole time. He tossed it up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling them both into the pool this breath held.
The bomb detonated at the moment rocking the entire pool area, violent shock waves and flame passing overhead as rocks and gravel rained down into the pool. Vukani had long let go and was now swimming to stay ass deep into the pool area as he possibly could. A grin showing visibly on his features. He winked at her through the crystal clear base of the pool which was slowly starting to fog from the debris.
The best laid plans of mice and men He thought to himself, adrenaline allowing him to ignore the pain in his arm.
Anastasia
04-20-2012, 12:56 PM
This was a nightmare that not even she could have anticipated. Later on, she knew she should have. Nina Boguslavksaya had never once failed to eliminate her target. She should have acted quicker, immediately having disposed of him, it would have been slightly riskier but she could have done it.
Nina in way anticipated that Vukani's preferred method for this exact situation would have been an explosive device, she cursed herself for not having seen that coming. It was painful to even think about, yet she had no real choice in the situation.
When the beeping began she instantly had known what it was and leapt forth from her seat, in the confusion and panic trying to put distance between her and her soon to be late victim, she could act in this moment, out of desperation and stupidity. She saw Vukani coming to get her, she saw Walter take a bullet to the leg, she ran back, grabbing a weapon from one of the fallen guards. Looking at Walter she smiled.
As she was grabbed she had one single shot, she fired hitting him right between the eyes. As Vukani tugged on her arm, his gun pointed at her, she dropped the firearm she held in her possession and ran. It seemed like the entire world had just crumbled before her, and that everything was moving in slow motion, she was pulled into the pool, the world now tinted a strange shade of blue, or teal.... and just like that she was released, she began to swim toward the other side of the pool, staying under the water as the red flares of an explosion raged above them, and debris rained down upon the pool.
As it appeared the situation had settled she surfaced, taking a deep breath at the top, making her way to a clearly injured Vukani she grabbed him, purposely by the arm which had the wound in it and pulled him out of the pool after lifting herself out.
"Time to go, darling."
Her voice was agitated, she was clearly upset. When she had lost her cool, like she had never done before her Russian accent came out, it was thick, almost endearing had it not been for the fact that she was extremely dangerous.
Clapping her hands she waited for him to get up, she grabbed his hand and pulled him, running away from the scene, they could get lost in further confusion and stand a chance of getting out, Nina's organization had covered their bases, within the hotel another member had taken out a room, and given her the key, it would be here that she would lead him, virtually unnoticed, since all the armed guards had been killed and the explosion had done away with much of the evidence.
Opening the door she pushed him inside.
"Блядь! О чём ты думал?!" (1)
Gaining her composure, she took a deep breath letting the door close behind her, she leaned against it, sinking slowly to the floor, she jumped up quickly and moved to one of the bureau's opening a drawer she pulled out a handgun and pointed it at him, still breathing heavily.
"Let me fix your arm, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll let you walk out of this room alive."
==========
1. Blyad'! o chyom ty dumal? - Fuck! What were you thinking?!
I LOST ANOTHER POST!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AH!!
Vukani was sure that at some point he'd blacked out, most likely while under water, but he'd been up and mobile while being dragged across the hotel to a room by Nina. He found it impossible to regain any and all composure he had from before he'd seen her face for the first time.
He was in shock and he couldn't beat the sense back no matter how hard he tried. It was as thgoh the water had given him vertigo and it wouldn't go away. She spoke, he tried to glare at her, pull himself up to his full height, yell at her. He saw what she'd done. His gun had been trained on her to shoot her before she killed his mark but he didn't fire. Instead he had no choice butt to let it happen before he dragged her into the pool.
She was mad at him? He was the one who was supposed to be furious at her and he was but it didn't come out at all. The only thing that came out of his mouth here heavy coughs and heavy breaths.
He didn't reply at first slowly unbottoning his shirt and throwing the shirt at her. "Make it quick just make it quick." He said shutting his eyes to try clear his head.
Anastasia
04-23-2012, 07:58 PM
Nina was furious with him. She had gotten her way, but she was angry. Vukani had made a mess of the situation, and if it was one thing she hated it was mess. Assassinations should be clean and elegant without waste, she could have done it much nicer. It would have been everything she wanted and needed it to be. Nina was slightly obsessive compulsive, this was probably an understatement, everything had to be perfect, it had to be just so, without complication.
"You're an absolute idiot, you know that?"
Nina made her way to the bathroom, she returned with a small medical kit and a pair of tweezers, it was crude, it would hurt but it was all she had without taking him to the hospital. Looking at the minibar she eyed it and opened the door, grabbing a small bottle of vodka, it would work to sanitize the wound, sitting in front of him she grabbed the shirt with her free hand as he threw it at her.
"You could have gotten us all killed. Why must you insist on making an explosion? What is it with you boys and your need for loudness and horror."
Nina sighed and stared at him, opening the bottle she held out his arm with one hand and poured the liquid onto the wound, it would sting, it would burn, it would be anything but pleasant. With the tweezers she expertly slipped them in and within half a second pulled the bullet out. It was quick, relatively painless.
"It looks like your arteries are intact."
Cleaning the wound, the hole would require just a couple of stitches, something that she always kept with her in the medical kit, this too would be relatively quick, cleaning the wound one final time she dressed it with bandage. The whole process took no more than five minutes, but they would be long for him. He was undoubtedly angry with her, and she knew that entirely. He had been the one constant in her life since they first met, and they continued to meet. It was some twisted act of fate, she was entirely unsure that it was necessary, but it was welcomed.
She slid her hand along his chest and abdominal muscles slowly, before pulling her finger tips away, standing she run through a drawer, pulling out a clean men's shirt, she threw it had him. The organization had been prepared for anything.
"You'll need this."
It took real effort to keep from flinching and even more to keep from moving away from her quick but painful movements. It was quick but it wasn't the most painful experience he'd ever had. He made his way to his feet quickly and put the shirt on with hand. He'd had experience with working with only a single arm.
The yellow and white Hawaiian shirt was a good fit despite being something he hated to wear. The process of buttoning up was quick but upon the final three buttons his movements slowed dramatically. He could still feel her hand on chest where her fingers had last touched. He'd missed it.
The thought of how the last touch he'd received brought a somewhat pained smirk to his lips. "Every time I see you appears to be one hell of a painful occasion." He said with a humourless laugh. "Well, I never thought you'd get in the way of one of my kills. Now I have a hole in my arm that will most likely keep me from getting on a plane for a week, maybe two. I should thank you for the arm. What now? They'll be looking for us, we were the only ones running away from the explosion. Seperate ways?"
Anastasia
05-01-2012, 11:27 PM
As he dressed, Nina effortless picked up the numerous bloodied bandages and pieces of cloth, balling them neatly she tossed them into the trash, she tried her best not to look at him, but she couldn't help but doing some.
"In chaos, it will take time for them to even notice we're missing. Besides, Jessica, the girl they're looking for... doesn't exist. And in a short while the hotel staff will no longer be able to locate any record that she was ever here."
Smiling faintly Nina walked back towards him. Her tone had been gentle, the rough Russian accent she spoke with when she was flustered had begun to fade and something more civilized seemed to come out, running her hands along his shirt she smoothed it out, pulling down at the edges of his sleeves. She was one more appearance, and should he look like he'd just been shot, it would have been clear.
"Did you think I lied... when I left you that notice? This is just the first in a string of marks that all fall under the same contract. I'll not lose. You could have shot me, stopped me... you could even kill me right now, with your bare hands. You long to put them on me, I can see that... but you didn't and you won't. You like this little game."
Nina was lucky, she had the opportunity to make the kill and she took it, but the entire situation had been too close for comfort. In just a short while they were to part ways again and time would pass before she was to encounter him again. A part of her lived for these moments, these small joys, it was all she had, her life was never much of a life. Once upon a time she had parents and siblings, a husband to call her own, but no longer. Nina had changed.
"Well I still need to make my way out of here. I can't be here when they eventually quarantine this place put one and one together. I also am here under a false persona, which has already been long left behind. Any and all records of me ever being here are clean. Unfortunately that basically means that there's no reason why I'm here."
He sighed there, it was too bad really. The had been a nice retreat. He could have seen himself staying in such a place, his daughter playing in the pool as a ten year old and Nina with her.
"Most especially since my first target is dead. You may have killed him but it'll be hard to prove that when there isn't much of a body left behind for there to even be a bullet hole so I'll still get paid either way. If you're lucky, your word of an autopsy will prove you got the kill, then we can both get paid."
She'd been right about all of what she'd said. He could have killed her, he SHOULD have killed her but the one thing she could not have been more wrong about was this being a game. If it was a game it was most certainly not one he wanted to play. He hated being a conflicted as he was and had the bullet been a few inches to the right he might have died becuase of it months of planning had been shot to shit when she'd showed up and his heart would not let him do what he needed to stay safe and stay alive.
"I should go" he said his chest heaving not from the running or of the shock of the blast but the rush of having her within reach. He stepped into her cupping her cheek in one hand his other moving around her waist. He lingered there for a moment, unable to bring himself to kiss her for fear of not being able to stop. There was only so much he could risk in a day.
He dragged himself away from her and moved to the door opening and stepping out, closing it behind him and lingering there the fist on his good hand clinched so tightly it shook violently. There were still more kills to be had.
Anastasia
05-02-2012, 08:25 PM
Aanu Atos was a fairly remarkable man, he was tall, strong, brilliant and dynamic. As the CEO and President of Nokia he had made many decisions that propelled the company to further greatness over the past four years, however this was at great expense to the working class, who saw decreases in wages and deterioration of working conditions. Atos was an iron fisted employer, and it was no surprise to Nina when she was handed his name in a small envelope.
Black Baton, her parent organization rarely gave more information than was necessary, for any big mark, all that was provided was a name. It was something she had anticipated and it made her smile to think about, she was chosen because she was the best, and it had been determined after she reported the situation and from what information was released, that she had been the successful assassin on the Solsberg mission, at least so her employers believed.
Nearly three months had passed since the incident had occurred and Nina spent much of that time in Berlin where she resided, the occasional mission was accepted but she waited patiently for this one, and she knew that she would run into him again, and she knew that this time she might be so lucky.
A conference was taking place, a smaller economic forum in Copenhagen, and Nina would be there, she would take a different approach to her mission this time, something more old fashioned. She couldn't risk losing the target. She had followed him around for weeks, spending most of it in Espoo, Finland, and the winter months were entirely unforgiving, at least Denmark proved to be a little bit warmer, though not by much.
It was the morning of the forum, and Nina sat quietly atop a building, her rifle set out, she would shoot the man exactly twice. There were relatively few men guarding the roof tops, it was easily avoidable, she was rather invisible herself. All that had to be done was to wait for the opportunity to arise, when the man left his hotel, one second was all she would have, but that really would all she needed.
It was weird but he was looking for her. He couldn't help but try, as far as he could tell she had to be somewhere. He'd been blind sighted once before, he'd be damned if it would happen again.
The Copenhagen forum structure was a nightmare to navigate, most especially plan around. the situation becoming more of a nightmare when he considered the fact that Nina, an incredibly talented fem fatale, was out there most likely on a roof top or looking through a window some where. Such a fact had to be accommodated, hundreds of facts had to be accommodated.
The best technique he came up with was three months in the making. The first step had to do with th murder of Aaron Atos's secretary Kimberly Green. The hotel room she'd been resting in was easy to step into, the rest was simple. A simply pillow to the face, suffocation. It was two days before they found her corpse with the aid of a 'do not disturb' sign.
With the aid of his connections and the contents of her notebooks and hard drives he quickly managed to insert an old friend. Emily Wallace, 45 and an old member of his own mercenary group took the position quickly and everything else just seemed to fall into place.
Full itineraries were laid out before him and the opportunities to kill the man simply multiplied but in the two months since he'd never taken it. There'd never been a guarantee of a kill, not just yet but there was more to it and he knew it. This would be the only time he saw her before the next kill.
But she wasn't going to get an easy kill if he could help it at all but in order to complicate things he had to fire a rocket propelled grenade into his limo just before he got in. A full guard patrol had been formed fitted with three of his own men included into the fold.
He hated the front of the Furom's front doors, the path between the drive way was too wide and two open for the roof tops to all be covered.
A convoy of black limbo's pulled up besides the front. One by one, the business men invited to the forum entered until Aanu's limo can up and he stepped out the limo.
But it wasn't him. It was simply a look alike, it was easy to immitate the man from the back. The actual Aanu was driven in at the emergency entrance where he made his entrance with the nearby bridge passing as cover. His men were talented enough to be okay were Nina to come right up to the man but it didn't happen, Aanu made it inside the forum.
With a rifle scope in his hand and him on his knees on the roof of the forum itself, he looked around from rooftop to roof top, looking for her. It was unlikely he'd find her. This was her skill, not his. Ground work was his forte not this, looking around thing, crouching in corners for as long as possible.
He watched the decoy move, wondering if she'd realise or if she'd take the shot. He didn't know but he was sure she'd seen him eventually. And perhaps the small sign on the ledge in front of him.
A sign the said:
I'm sure you know this but he'll be in here all day. You can come inside and beat me to the hit, hopefully I'll see you before I take the hit for myself. Dont worry, no bombs this time.
Anastasia
05-07-2012, 01:01 PM
Looking through her scope she waited for the man, and when is limousine had finally arrived and he stepped out her eyes widened and her hand relaxed. It was a body double, a cheap excuse for a decoy, she recognized immediately that it wasn't him.
"Bastard must have taken the side entrance.... fuck! Why didn't I see that coming?!"
Her judgement had been clouded, she then moved the rifle and scanned the rooftops, with an ease she located the sign that could only have been left by one man. He was on top of the building which housed the Forum, she sighed softly and stared at him through a scope, focusing quickly longed to fire a shot, but she couldn't, it was too close to the building, it would be the end.
Instead, she abandoned the rifle and would move to another plan, one that hadn't been completely figured out yet, she slowly pulled off the black gloves, and the pants she wore, the sweater as well in a stairwell that had led to the roof of the building she was in. Beneath she wore a classic black dress, one that would be perfect attire for the event, she left the rifle and clothing on the roof top, someone from Black Baton would have them collected as soon as the mission was over.
The forum's security was tight, she would make it in with a weapon, this was fine, she didn't need one she had other ways of neutralizing a target, besides, why bring a weapon through the front door when plenty of weaponry could be found on the other side. In addition a single hypodermic needle filled with toxin to stop the man's heart was already stashed in the building, waiting for her.
She pulled a Press badge issued to those who would be present at the forum out of her bag and put it around her neck, it displayed her name as Sørensen, explained which paper and agency she was from. After a simple search and a bounty of metal detectors she was allowed inside, she would not have to find the man behind Nokia, and do it before Vukani. The other part of the problem was that she didn't know exactly where in this mess Vukani was, or what he was planning, only that it didn't involve a bomb. He didn't lie about these things.
Vukani spent an hour waiting patiently for her to make her way. After an hour he decided that she had had long enough of a chance to catch up, get her own oppotunity to strike but her time was up.
There had to be hundreds of people there at the forum, at least a dozen CEOs from different, smaller companies including the CEO of black berry and security was tight, UN meeting, tight. Getting away once the hit was taken would be a nightmare.
In a way this mission was exactly the same as a mission he'd taken over a decade ago. He'd needed to rescue an American journalist out of Sudan, who'd asked the wrong questions, stuck out too far ahead. He'd had to pull the man from a room filled with an explosive gas. One pull of the trigger and he'd would have ended up a smear on the floor. Walking around with a silenced pistol would be too obvious and one gun shot from a regular pistol would cause too much trouble if it was fired even once. Vukani couldn't help but wonder if she would figure this out or if she'd create her own fuck fest.
A slow smirk formed on his lips. If it was a game she wanted, then she would get the game she wanted. He honestly couldn't think of a time where he didn't indugle the woman.
The conference was boring. Hours passed with a group of presenations from the different comapanies both blackbeery and Nokia taking the most time and comming up last. Day dropped into night. The Nokia display had been completed but there would be a question and answer phase where the meeting would be summed up before the whole thing drew to a close.
Vukani looked at his phone, the target had been taken back to one of the rear rooms which was essentially a suite with a bed and shower. Four gaurds cleared the room and the target stepped inside promptly throwing all of his gaurds out. None of them had checked the attic space over the bed, but it was painted over so it wasn't that unexpected that it wasn't check. That the didn't check the air con unit was a bit of a surprise.He'd expected to use that as an exit once the job was done but first he'd com in through the ceiling.
On the other side of the ceiling Vukani waited patiently for the sound of the shower to be turned on before cutting the attic space back open as silently a possible before sliding down and closing it up. He rested upon the bed, arming himself with a silenced pistol of his own, screwing it in place and shoving it into his back pocket. It would be unfortunate if the target was killed before he got an oppotunity at seeing her, which was why he'd set up rope and gags.
Anastasia
05-08-2012, 05:37 PM
Nina was inside the complex, it was a mass of people and commotion, it was all rather unappealing to her, she had seen much of what had happened, and realized the Chairman and CEO had been taken back to his private "suite" for the time being, she had to get in there. But the question was how.
If she knew Vukani anything like she did, she understood that he was already inside that room, he was waiting, hiding possibly, and would make his move within minutes, it was all too clever she thought, folding her arms she pulled off her press badge and slid past one of his guards, she made sure to make contact with him, and drop her badge, and while he did would move to pick it up for her, she managed to slip the PDA out of his pocket, grinning lightly she hide it quickly and moved on.
Looking through the files, she needed to know who he was meeting with, a Mr. Sørensen, a private meeting was the next thing on the schedule, she knew it was the same Sørensen, a Dane, who ran Nokia's American sales, sighing she would make her way towards the suite. Having made a brief detour to pick up a small black bag, with a case in it that looked much as though it contained a bracelet when in reality it contained a syringe with enough substance to make his heart stop. It was what she intended on using for Solsberg, but that did not happen, so she'd try it again.
She would stand outside the door in front of the two guards, she spoke sternly with an authority.
"Jeg har en personlig besked fra Sørensen, skal jeg lade igennem med det samme."
(I have a personal message from Sørensen, I must be let through immediately.).
She knew that at least the one guard spoke Dansk, for she knew exactly who he was, she had read all the files on the men who closely protected the mark, he looked at her and scoffed, he showed no sign of moving. She would have to take another approach. Here, Nina did something careless, something that ordinarily would get a girl in trouble, but she could defend herself if she needed to, and if she blew it, at least Vukani wouldn't have the chance, and that was all that mattered, right?
Nina walked up to the man, the other guard watching her like a hawk, her arms wrapped around him and she pulled her body close to his, foot lifting off the ground her knee rising, and rubbing against a rather sensitive spot, she watched as he turned red.
"Det vil kun være et minut. Venligst?"
(It will only be a minute... please?)
Grinning as he nodded to the other guard, she carried the case now within her hand, and the man had opened the door for her without fail, she slid inside and locked it silently behind her, she looked around and could not see him. She withdrew the needle from the case and laughed to herself as she made her way toward the bathroom, where he had undoubtedly remained.
The hairs on the back of Vukani's neck rose when he heard the click of the opening door. She was here. He'd half expected her to come down the same shaft as he had or even the air duct. Whether that was a good thing or a bad one was not something he was bothering to think about. Instead his movements were slow, calm.
She would likely never admit it to herself but he'd seen enough of her to know she was incredibly direct minded when it came to doing what she wanted and getting what she wanted. It was why he knew this plan would work.
The silenced pistol cocked, he manoeuvred his way to the second passage that circled the behind the one he was in, allowing him to circle around her when she passed. It was delicate work. She'd be at her highest guard, even the smallest sound would cause trouble for him and potentially get them both killed but if there was one thing he was good at it was making a plan for himself.
She was at the door when he managed to get right behind her. He made to raise his gun but was too slow. In a knee jerk reaction at seeing the syringe he made a grab for her wrist banging it out of her hand, dropping his own silenced pistol in the process. He held her wrists, using his full weight to push her to the wall to keep from getting a knee to the groin. His forehead pressed to hers in case she head butted his nose. His eyes locked onto hers because, because he couldn't imagine looking anywhere else.
He slid his hands off her wrists to weave them through her fingers, his pressure on her loosened, his head tilted and his lips touched her own, knowing full well that the man they were going to kill was in the very next room oblivious of what was to happen to him very very soon.
Anastasia
05-09-2012, 07:09 PM
It was entirely quiet, Nina smiled to herself as she drew closer to the room where the mark remained, the syringe upward and prepared in her hand she walked ever slower until she felt the fingertips of her free hand grace the doorknob, the metal was cool, she was silent.
Pain. The next thing she felt was pain, she let out a nearly inaudible whimper, and turned around, Vukani. The syringe had fallen from her hand to the floor, she was moved and pressed to a wall. He was strong, stronger than she was, she knew she was held firmly in place.
She felt his hands moving up, his fingers embracing hers, he stared at her, as though he could see everything about her, through her, into her soul. The next thing she knew he had kissed her, and she had responded, returning it. She leaned her head inward, kissing him with passion and anger, she needed a way out of the situation, but it seemed hopeless.
A part of Nina simply wanted to stay here, to be with him, but she had a mission to accomplish, and he was her competition, her enemy in this situation, but he was able to control her so easily, he gave her what she wanted, but what she shouldn't have, at least not now.
"You're a bastard..."
She broke the kiss and whispered that one line, allowing her weight to relax backward against the wall, her hands moving to clutch his.
There was suddenly sound, the door to the bathroom had opened and the man emerged from it, in nothing but a towel, and he stared blankly for several moments at the two.
The man in question let out a gasp of air to scream but it was cut off when Vukani ploughed forwards, pushing past Nina for a moment before ramming his shoulder into his chest, pushing the air out of his lungs before he was able to scream for help. It took a quick series of conecting punches and knees before he threw the man back into his own shower, ramming the man head first into the shower where he fell in a crumpled heap on the ground and in that moment the deed was done.
Vukani turned on the shower andn left the door open, watching the blood wash away.
It was unfortunate that it had been that specific plan that had come to play, instead of the others he'd had in mind of using before she arrived. The death by slipping in the shower. He'd planned it once in the killing of Nina almost half a year before, now it was a part of his own plan to kill a target that she herself had been trying to take.
The deed itself has passed and he looked to Nina. "My point then? Does that makee it a draw? He said with half a smirk. She'd called her a bastard once again, she'd looked at him in the same way she had the day he'd thought about killing her in his hotel room, the day all of it had started. "This is what you wanted right? Don't leave just yet,"
Anastasia
05-09-2012, 10:40 PM
Nina watched breathlessly as the scene unfolded before her, the man couldn't get out a single scream, he simply fell lifeless into the shower, at least there was no mess, she hated mess, it infuriated her more than anything else in the world... except this. He had just done what she wanted to do, so badly.
"What did I want? You?" Nina laughed and leaned against him, her hands running along the front of his shirt, pressed to his abdominal muscles, before speaking again.
"What I wanted was to kill that man, and here you are... I should have known, and you may have this one... and if I'm lucky, I'll get you the next time... Or maybe I'll kill you first."
Pushing away from him she grabbed the silenced pistol off the floor and disengaged the safety, holding it toward him, she shook her head and knew deep down, she couldn't pull the trigger, she disliked admitting that she ever had feelings, let alone feelings for a man. But he was an obstacle, without him this whole thing would be clear.
"Make it quick, or I'll scream, and the guards outside will come running in, and that will be the end of this nonsense... or I could just do it... oh the pleasure I'd get from seeming you squirm in pain before you die."
She was lying through her teeth, but she spoke in a convincing manner, a hint of sexual pleasure behind her voice, she bit her lower lip and stared at him, still holding the gun that wouldn't fire.
Vukani extended both his arms and raised them high. "If you killed me, I'd understand fully. I don't make it a tradition to let any and all complications survive long enough to be complications and yet here you stand with my gun in your hand. We both know the business. Acting the way we've been acting will eventually get us killed and I'd much rather it be one of us over both of us. If you'd enjoy it as much as you say it will..."
Vukani put his hands behind his head and eased his way forward in as non threatening manner as a man his size could achieve. He pressed his forehead to the barrel, staring her right in the eye as he did. "If you will enjoy my death then I'll give that you to. Pull the trigger. Take my life. Or even scream. Watch as I try fight until someone finally puts me down. Draw every ounce of pleasure out of it you can get." He pressed his head harder against the barrel. "Do it. Get what pleasure you can because I don't see what pleasure there is to get from it when I can feel you recoiling under me every time I get close to you. I can't get close, I can't kill you. I've thought about it, tried to but I can't so if you can kill me then you most certainly should. Do it. Do it now."
Vukani didn't budge instead she just stared her dead in the eye, never turning away for a moment.
Anastasia
05-10-2012, 05:38 PM
Nina stared at him as he spoke, he put his head against his own gun and begged for death, or rather challenged her to do it. He must have known that she was incapable of such action, she grinned and rested her finger on the trigger and began to pull it.
At the last moment she released and instead hit him across the left cheek with the gun, hard enough to hurt quite a bit, but not enough to knock him out, though she could have if she truly wanted to. Smiling she dropped the weapon, taking his face into her hand she drew him to look at her, she kissed his lips fully, once more.
"Nice try, darling. Nice try."
She backed away and had looked for the vent through which he entered, spotting it she moved a smaller piece of furniture quickly, standing on it she pulled herself up into the system, it was time to go, and he knew that as well. She expected him to follow her, she would take the vent back to an exit from the building, really she just needed another floor, where could slip out unnoticed. The day would go to him, but the next would belong to her, she was sure of this fact. She had been careless, she could have gone in faster, she should have done it.
For a moment things appeared to be well, he'd laid out his cards. Let her know exactly what he was thinking but the following result had not been what he'd expected. He'd seen the finger motion to kill and he'd never taken his eyes away from her and never flinched but she hadn't killed him, instead she'd dropped down to his level and brought her lips to her own where he tried to hold her only to be knocked to the ground with that side of his own weapon.
The whole thing was surreal. She was insane. But as he squirmed on the ground watching her disappear he couldn't help but wonder with her leaving and him squirming in pain on the ground which was quickly starting to get flecks of blood from the shower's richote, who exactly was the crazy one. It seemed quite clear who it was.
Of course she was having fun. This was a game for blood and death. A horrific game but a game none the less, if they died, it ended, if they were caught it would inevitably end. They'd be killed by their respective organisations or be killed themselves by the police of whatever government it they happened to be in at the time.
A fact amplified with every life they took and every time their bank accounts swelled. It was all so impersonal and yet frightening. How long before she got bored of the game she was playing with out his consent and made things personal by involving his daughter, or mother. He would have to kill them in the name off keeping them safe.
But by now it was clear on both sides that that was not an option but why kiss him at all?
Every solution he tried to form about Nina seemed to serve to only draw more questions. He didn't like being behind in the loop. She had something for him, it was there but it only appeared to manifest in this game she was playing. Why did she recoil when he touched her only to come after him later on? Why was he so damn bothered?
With a splitting headache and bruise, he made his way to his feet and followed after her, finding the chairs and climbing after her. He'd stop over thinking things with her. Any and all thought appeared to only make him the fool when it came to her.
Halfway through the vents he took a deep breath through his nose recognising her perfume and following after her.
Anastasia
05-10-2012, 06:31 PM
Nina had asked herself why she played these games with Vukani. The only thing that would have been to her advantage in that moment would have been killing him, thus ensuring that none of her future contracts would be interfered with. But she couldn't, and she didn't know why. Part of her did, she had feelings for him.
The two knew nothing about each other, save for a few personal details of their lives. But they had always remained so guarded, it was impossible to truly knew someone, she surmised. It was as though he tormented her on purpose, though she knew this wasn't the case. As she travelled through the vents she broke free on the fifth floor of the building, it was being used temporarily by the catering department. Looking around she quickly scooped up one of the company jackets on the floor and put it on, and headed for the elevator, she needed to get to the garages or the roof, either one provided a sensible escape.
This was indeed what she would do, she knew Vukani was behind her, he would have no other choice, to leave the front door to the suite would have been suicide and it would have been a mere few minutes before the two guards grew suspicious and would break down the door when no one answered it. A woman would be implicated, she was there, then she wasn't. It was problematic at best, still she couldn't help but smile knowing he had followed behind. She hoped to run into him just once before she departed this mission and would begin on the next within the month, the assignments were to be back to back.
One two occasions he'd needed to stop and hold his head, as if checking to see if it really was intact. To his misfortune, it was. There was a good chance he had a concussion, it didn't matter in that moment because all he wanted to do was get to her. In any case he'd been on a plane to London soon.
He'd do everything he could to find her. He stepped out of the fifth floor and looked around at the many caterers moving around him like bees in a hive. He knew he couldn't just grab a jacket, he was a tall back man who couldn't speak more than a few words of Dutch outside of his knowledge of the Afrikaans language. He wasn't going anywhere with it but he knew enough about her to know that she was most likely in one of the catering jackets, he would have been in her shoes.
Fortunately he was invisible, people had had no reason to stop him and there was no visible blood on his suit. It would take too close of a look upon his person for it to be noticed. The only thing that could have caused him trouble was the fact that he would clutch his head in irregular intervals.
He had a car in the garage and judging by her abilities when it came to escaping she either knew how to hot wire a car or had one waiting. There was the possibility that she had herself an escape on the roof but he hadn't seen any equipment on her that would suggest so and he'd been on the roof hours before. There was no way she would have missed paragliding or rope jumping equipment.
Anastasia
05-10-2012, 07:20 PM
(We speak Dansk in Denmark, not Dutch. hehe)
Nina moved with an ease and effortlessness, she made her way to the elevator opening the doors, she looked behind her and saw him, as he neared the doors themselves, she grabbed his jacket and pulled Vukani inside. Closing the doors she hit the down button and as the elevator began to move, she hit the emergency stop.
"Looking for me? Can't find any other way out?"
She asked, looking at his face, it would be badly bruised come the morning, she felt a bit badly about that, but he did take her hit, he deserved it, right? Or so Nina told herself, she leaned back against the wall, pressing each hand to the opposite upper arm she stared at him, eventually her arms falling into being crossed, she waited for him to say something.
There were times when she was nervous, she knew, or she thought she understood that he would not kill her, he couldn't do it. He had said that, perhaps without evening saying that, it was the mere fact that she was still alive, but she knew far too much about him, that alone was reason enough to end her, right here, but he wouldn't, she felt it.
She had a car waiting for her in the garage, it was her safest bet at the moment, but even Nina Boguslavskaya could afford to wait for a few more minutes, if it meant being with him.
[It's those damn Double Ds, they always confuse me. I dont know it's an ignorance thing or a man thing. ^^]
She was good, it was good to know how good she was. The way she'd snatched him off his momentum was a relief. He wasn't just matching contracts with any killer, only the best in the business would be the person chosen for this task and it was them. it was an honour and yet a curse at the same time.
He watched her retreat from him, leaning on the wall again the feelings of confliction arose within him. What was it she wanted. Was he supposed to be doing something? Every time he'd tried it had worked against him. She'd recoiled as though frightened. What would make this any different? He stepped towards her but stopped, taking half a step back himself.
"I don't need a way, out. I'm not the one people are looking for. We both know that if you didn't kill the guards at the door then you're the only one that needs to run between us but I'd say that you'd be better off leaving with someone close to you than leaving alone. I'd like to think I'm a close alternative." He jibed waiting for her reply. .
Anastasia
05-11-2012, 02:38 AM
Nina looked up at the ceiling of the elevator, and breathed in deeply, she began to laugh for a few moments, really laugh, almost guffaw at her own situation. Nina had never actually failed at a mission before, never, and now that it had happened, she didn't know what to think or to do.
"You're right... you're absolutely right... I'm implicated... but who am I, really? Why are you offering to help me now? Because you won?"
She smirked and moved back over towards him, her arms wrapping around him, her head leaning on his chest. If she had been herself, the knife would go into the back, literally. Though she wouldn't, and didn't even think about it, she could have gotten out on her own, but you keep your enemies close to you, it's the only way to truly understand them, to know each and every thing they were up to. She had nothing to lose that she hadn't already, and if she was lucky... she'd be given another chance at mission.
Nina realized full well, that she could be killed for her failure, if only because she had been so close to Vukani, and she let him live, without a second thought. It was a tragic move, but she knew it was the right one, she could make an argument in her favor, and she might just live yet. The next time, she'd get it, she would. Or so she told herself.
In honesty, she hadn't know why he affected her so greatly. When she was married, her husband was the last thing on her mind, and if she had been told to kill him, she would have. He was nothing to her, at least not for most of it anyway, but this somehow felt different and she was somehow unable to comprehend.
Vukani's eye brow raised at her sudden laughter. By the look of it he was't the only one going through something. Either that or she really was as insane as he'd originally thought.
"No, I haven't won a thing. Winning suggests I'm playing or enjoying what ever game you think we're playing. I'm just some idiot trying to get close to you as close to you as you'll ever let me be. I wish you'd just let me in."
His heart felt light when she wrapped herself around him on her own. It was warm and the pain on the side of his head became an after thought to the warmth of her touch, her put arm around her waist and another through her hair.
"This is the closest thing to a victory I've felt."
He tilted her head back and touched his lips to hers, softly at first then deepening into the kiss just as the elevator doors opened.
Two gaurds, armed with Semi machine guns hanging loosely off shoulder straps, he didn't stop his embrace with Nina instead turning her away as the radio between them played out in dansk.
Anastasia
05-12-2012, 01:55 PM
Nina was anything but insane, in fact one might argue that you truly had to be insane to be an assassin, the goal in the entirety of your life was to kill others, to snuff out the candle flames of people regardless of reason or any kind of motivation, killing was natural. Unfortunate but natural.
It was strange to her, how he could embrace her so, she could have killed him, ruined his career when she took the first hit away from him, and here he was, as though he had loved her, his arm around her, fingers through her hair, lips to her own and she couldn't help but to kiss him warmly in return, she did not push him away.
As the guards entered the elevator she didn't pay much attention, she allowed her body to move as turned by Vukani, it didn't seem to matter at all, she allowed herself to lean against him. Their radios were loud, the Dansk coming through them was something she listened to... it began to discuss the woman in the dead chairman's room. Then it began to describe the woman who had last been seen there and how she was gone.
"Tall, sorthåret pige, bevæbnet og farlig..."
(Tall, black hair, armed and dnagerous..."
The men looked in her direction, not bothering to break her kiss from Vukani, she reached down sliding her hand up along her leg, pulling up the dress, revealing her garter which holstered a small pistol, grabbing it she turned the safety off, turning Vukani slightly, she outstretched her arm and shot them both between the eyes.
"They're on to me..."
She spoke softly, parting their lips for a moment, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I figured we'd at te very least make it to the car" He whispered into her ear, brushing his lips agasnt her ear down to her neck. "Follow my lead. This will be jarring but it should be good."
He could feel their eyes on him, he didn't need to look them in the eye to see that they were no longer just curious, but looked to be blatantly suspiscous. There was no easy solution to this. Gun shots were not a possible response, at the very least not before the elevator reached the basement where gunshots could be muffled from the upper levels, and that was assuming that there were no gaurds down below.
There could be little to no doupt that things were turning bad quickly but he didn't let go of her, his hands instead caressing her body raising up to just under her arms which he lifted her up, turning in a spuning motion which would have looked like a dip.
He lifted her up, swinging her legs right at the furtherest gaurd. It was a silly manourvre he'd discovered while playing with his daugther of all things but one which worked well. The manourve was enough to knock the furthest guard off his feet to the ground. Leaving the second one gasping in shock. He let her go., realisgn that she' would most liekly want the kills herself. He wasn't blind, e knew how badly not geting the kill was to her. He'd be damned if he were to cheat her of at least one kill. If she took it.
Anastasia
05-14-2012, 10:06 PM
He manipulated her body, he moved her as though the two had been dancing a waltz, though the pace was quick, it reminded her of salsa, she allowed herself to be moved, like a rag doll. Her muscles tensing when they should, it was a perfect performance, almost as careful as ballet.
Having knocked on to the floor she looked at the guard in shock, as they descended. Leaning in close to him, she pressed her lips to his ear, whispering. Pulling away she leaned to one side, her left leg lifting high into the air, her foot and heel pressing on his neck slowly choking him, she pushed down harder, grinning wildly as the life slowly left from his eyes, tilting her head to the side, she breathed deeply, and kicked him across the face, her foot then came back moving in the opposite direction, the force which she moved and struck would break his neck instantly, he would die quickly, painlessly, well for the most part...
Turning she looked at Vukani, leaning against him, the weight of her body resting entirely on his. Her lips pressed to the sleeve of his jacket, she slowly looked at him.
"Kill the other one, we'll be there soon..."
The doors of the elevator would open, there was nothing there yet, but it would only be a matter of minutes, maybe seconds before someone would arrive, there were oh so few ways to escape this building, it was a good thing she was a decent driver, but none were better than Vukani, she knew from experience.
Nina could not recall a time where she let herself be touched and manipulated, moved so easily through air and space without a care or thought in the world. She enjoyed it, she enjoyed feelings his hands upon her frame, she shouldn't, it was a mistake, but she did. It was wrong, but it felt perfect at the moment...
"I think... you love me."
She whispered slowly, softly before backing out of the small enclosed space.
A part of him was left curious as to wether ti was wath it meant to be hyponotised. A breathlessness, an endless energy, a complete and utter lack of thought or reason. He was drunk with it. She didn't compell, she didn't have to, she need need to use her femanine whiles or their history, it was unnessecary. Only her words hung, rotating constantly as though they were knats twirling around his mind.
He grabbed the back of the gaurds head and his jaw before twisting sharply. there was a slight resistance as though her hands were pushing through cement then a sharp snap and crackle and the gaurd fell lifeless from his grip.
Words which follwed when the doors slide open would pull him back to reality. She'd never been as direct now than she had ever been before, in all the years of knowing her. It left him speechless, deviod of any quip or witty remanined and none would come. If ever there were a moment for complete honesty it would have to be this one. As unfortunate as it was.
"There's no doupt in my mind. Now I would prefer you led."
Anastasia
06-05-2012, 03:34 PM
As the doors opened and Nina moved outward into the parking garage she looked behind her at Vukani, flashing a soft smile. A gun positioned, ready to fire in her hand, she glanced about at her surroundings. To her they weren't foreign, there were cars all around them. The area was dimly lit and had a feeling of nothing but cold and dampness.
Looking at the catering jacket she wore, she sighed somewhat, it wasn't as flattering to her figure. This of course, didn't matter a time like this, but it was something she noticed. She had made sure to be very careful with the statement she made to her companion, she didn't want to reveal any of her own feelings, simply call him out on his. She had assumed she hit the nail on the head by his lack of direct response to her.
She walked over to a vehicle, a man was on the phone in the drivers seat, speaking angrily in Dansk, tilting her head to the side she knocked on the window with the gun, he panicked. And began fumbling, dropping the phone from his finger tips. In his fear, he had forgotten to lock the door. Opening the very same door with her free hand she grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him from the vehicle.
"Tak." (Thank you)
Smiling she threw him off to the side, he was disposable, he wouldn't have any more than a few cuts and bruises from the way she had handled him.
"Get in the car."
She spoke toward Vukani, noticing as he was following her, she began to hear the familiar click of men with boots running in their general direction, they would undoubtedly have quite a few weapons on their disposal... this was her life. This was Vukani's life.
Sitting in the drivers seat she stared blankly, she could do this. He had told her to take the lead, she spoke again softly when he entered the vehicle.
"I always knew you did, you know..."
Grinning quickly, she turned the car on, the keys had been left in the ignition.
Trouble was coming in a big way and she'd managed to secure a vehicle.
It was a pleasure to watch her move. It was like he was envisioning himself through the eyes of another. Every manoeuvre, every procedural act completely different and yet exactly what he knew he would have done were he the one leading the dance.
Quiet, almost obedient Vukani followed after her, entering the car and shutting the door behind him. He'd seen her drive, she could drive. He'd never once seen her drive under pressure the very idea brought sensation of pins and needles running up his spine.
He rolled down his window and cocked the SMG he's relieved from the guard and laughed at her words.
"Oh is that right? I didn't realise I did until you asked. If that were true then why didn't you leave. Take your leave of me? You know what I am. Who knows what I would do if I were rejected so why stay unless you loved me too?"
He would have reached to her but the first of the gun shots fired.
Anastasia
06-13-2012, 03:13 AM
The footsteps of men echoed through the parking lot as the car's engine began to hum softly in the warm night air. It was cool, as Copenhagen often was. The air was thick, as though the skies could open up at any moment and allow a torrential rain to fall and wash the streets clean. The lot was cool, Nina sat there in the driver's seat as though for the time, paralyzed. Unsure of what she should do next, exactly how to act... she only listened to his words, and felt she couldn't respond.
If Nina were to admit what she knew to be true, the simple fact that she had fallen in love with him, she would be ending her own life. If she denied her feelings, she could also die... to be killed. It would mean she had failed all along, she had let him live, and she would suffer if he should die, even if it were at her own hand.
In that moment her eyes widened as the first gunshots were fired, the rear window of the car shattered, a single bullet had lodged itself in her back, and by some virtue had missed everything vital. A simple gasp escaped her pallid lips, her body fell forward for a single moment, hair flying about her before snapping roughly back into position, leaving gentle patterns of blood against the grey leather back of the seats.
Looking behind her, she was brought back to reality, and threw the vehicle into reverse, pulling cleanly and neatly out of the parking spot. Turning quickly she directed the vehicle further back, speeding in reverse toward the armed men, stopping just short of wiping them out, she pushed back to drive. Nina sped.
Nina sped faster, and faster, turning the car with deft precision around each and every turn of the lot, getting closer to the surface. She was in pain, she was bleeding, but ultimately she was focused. Focused on the road, and on her thoughts. Uninterrupted in the flow of time, she broke through the barriers at the exit of the lot, they were automated, but too slow.
Her lips moved carefully to form a single word.
"Love..."
The guards had had two magazines each on their bodies before he had relieved them of their weapons.
When the first of the bullets fired, instinct to dive back into the car from his raised position forced him back down to his seat in time for him to see her being flung forwards. His heart stopped for a moment when he saw the blood. All life and purpose held in place, time stopped for a moment.
Natural instinct fell away to training and survival instinct. He'd seen but did not act upon it, instead he let her work. The car moved and moved well, the rest was up to him. He fired in burst in sharp bursts, every burst dropped a different man, each burst aimed for the sole purpose of killing. The first magazine emptied and within a second the next one was slotted into place.
He was a roaring beast fuelled and determined but caged. Every bit of insanity that he held within him funnelled itself out of his body as though being funnelled through wired, lighting him up.
He barely had time to cover his head when they broke through the barrier.
"Nina! Nina!" He yelled sliding back into the car
Anastasia
06-13-2012, 08:29 PM
Her shoulder ached, the pain had been slowed by adrenalin that was quickly beginning to wear off as the vehicle moved with ease and grace from the barrier, which was a rough start, through the streets of Copenhagen. It was the evening, the traffic wasn't intense as during the early afternoon or morning. The lines shone down brightly upon the streets. Everything seemed to be illuminated. Nina could feel the pain beginning to spread as her arm began locking and feeling tighter... yet still she drove.
Nina had been shot before, and had been in far worse situations, but when her hand, arm even, may be rendered temporarily useless, she was not happy, not in the slightest. She moved between cars quickly, as they were being pursued, but after several minutes, it would stop, it would appear that she had lost them.
Vukani had called her name, but it seemed to slip through her, she took note of him and forced a smile through her discomfort, they had stopped moving. The car had pulled into a lot, down the street was a small hotel, not commonly used by tourists, it would be a place where she could treat her wound before continuing.
"We should stop here... they've lost us for now... but they'll come looking eventually... You killed a big one this time..."
Nina tilted her head to the side and slid out of the car, her arm falling limp at her side, her other hand reaching behind her back, pressing to the dress, when she pulled it away, she saw rich drops of blood coating her fingertips... Lovely, just lovely, she thought to herself.
"I never care about the people I kill, that's part of it. Big, small is irrelevant. What is relevant is the hole in your shoulder."
He reached over her and pulled the lever by her waist to slide the driver's seat back so he could get a better angle over her.
"Looks like nothing vital was struck but I don't want to take chances on you. I think we've taken quite a few chances on us as it has been. I need to stop the bleeding and cover this up or we'll be caught the moment you're seen, so this is going to hurt. And I mean really hurt."
Using his size he applied pressure to the world itself before letting go and placing the barrel of the gun over the wound. The heat the barrel burning as much of a temporary seal as he could manage considering the situation. He'd have to call his men over before he could get her any real attention. He didn't know the country and didn't know of any networks to get her patched up. Vukani started to look around the car and found a couple of half empty bottles of water and tried to wipe as much of the blood off of her as possible before offering her his jacket.
"I'm sorry this had to happen. This isn't how I pictured things happening. I can honestly admit that I am not enjoying this game. You think your adrenaline will allow to make it to hotel?"
Anastasia
06-15-2012, 12:18 PM
The words, "this is going to hurt, really hurt" echoed through her head absently. Nina had been used to pain, she had endured much worse than this simply gunshot wound, tilting her head to the side she smiled at him. When the gun had been fired, allowed to heat and the barrel placed to the wound itself, she leaned forward and bit down hard on the fabric of his jacket. She didn't scream, she just winced in pain, her muscles tensed as they had many a time. The next thing she could tell was that she was being cleaned.
Taking the jacket from him she slid it on, carefully over the one shoulder, her eye twitching as she winced in pain, before nodding softly again.
"I'll be fine. No need to worry."
Nina spoke with a commanding sense of authority as she always had, she watched as he exited the vehicle and she did the same... but taking a moment she crossed to his side and pushed him back against the car and held him there. Looking down her head tilted to the side, and she found herself leaning forward. At that moment her mind stopped and instinct seemed to take over, placing the free hand on his cheek she kissed him. She kissed him as she had done many times before, but only in the heat of moment... parting their lips she turned and began to move up the street.
Her movements were fluid, she showed no signs of being injured, you couldn't see the pain on her face, she was flawless.
"Are you coming?" she called back.
Vukani hung there, anchored to the car by gravity, frozen enamoured with such a woman who would not let a bullet wound and a archaic patch up job ruin when feelings she had for him. The fact that she still had the capacity to tease was something he'd be in awe of for a long time.
It was one odd situation for a man his age feel like a child but for a moment he knew his mind had regressed, it was until her words summoning him that he managed to start moving along with her. Walking next to her he wove his fingers between the fingers of her good arm. "Although I plan for errors and insane situations such as this it is quite safe to say that this is not how I imagined this day panning out when I put my socks on this morning." He chuckled but it didn't last. There wasn't much laughter inside of him right then, they had to get out of the country, even with camera footage they would never trace him back to England and they would never get a strong enough image of him to stop him from getting to a jet. The tracing part he knew he couldn't risk. He couldn't risk some overly curious British bystander putting one and one together if they managed to ever put a picture of him out. He'd have to change courses to his real home.
There he could lay low without having to sacrifice any of his life style choices. He already knew his daughter would find out. She looked for those types of cracks in the ground, looking for him in every news paper article. She'd find him this time. But she'd be the only one. He just needed to get to his jet, get it charted before the police caught up to them.
If they stayed it would be a matter of time. Even the dumbest car jacker knew to be weary of a car's GPS and the direction Nina was taking them suggested that they would be stopping at the motel nearby. A good location but he worried about how close it was too near to the car, which would eventually be found. He squeezed her hand a little tighter and sighed. He was being ridiculous, there'd be time. And time with her demanded his full attention.
Anastasia
06-16-2012, 02:16 PM
Nina had no family, it had been years since her divorce. Occasionally she would come home, to Germany and find a message from him awaiting her. Mostly complaints, things relating to alimony, or the simple fact that perhaps he had missed her more than he admitted. The entire affair was rather upsetting for the both of them. There was a time when she was the darling of the corporate world in Russia... the wife of the newest and richest Oligarch, the hostess of every party. The brilliant girl, quite a few years younger than he, who fell into obscurity. Those people had no idea that they read about her in the papers, or saw her on the news... her work at least. Nina often thought of her old life, and how bored she truly was... Her greatest resentment was losing her child.
Looking around the empty streets in the dark, she knew them well... the hotel they were headed two was small but upscale, it was currently staffed by a handful of Black Baton agents, her organization always set people up in cities were their major operations were taking place. Copenhagen was a hot spot for assassination, though most people chock it up to figures of varying importance just having a bad bit of luck, eating the wrong thing. But no, it was them, but today it was not her. This was a mistake she was going to suffer for.
Carrying herself with an extreme degree of posture Nina walked down the street quickly and through the main doors, smiling at the man she knew at the desk quite well, it was a familiar face. His name was Birk Petersen, he never cut it as a proper agent, so instead he was in situations like this, greeting agents, helping them make their grand escape... but he was in pleasant mood. Looking up from behind his desk he stared at Nina, as though he stared into her soul... his eyes seemed to plead with her, as though they said he was sorry.
"Malkovich, your room is ready. 1223." He simply outstretched his hand with the keys, and she took them, looking to Vukani behind her, she understood what this meant. Taking them out of his palm she headed for the elevator, all the while her eyes had been set on Vukani, she wouldn't die today... she would however, be beaten, repaired, and parts of her appearance altered, before being left to escape on her own means... punishment for her failure.
"Vukani... no matter what you see in there... you mustn't kill anyone. If you do.. you will kill me." Nina spoke easily, softly, as though she wasn't afraid, and in truth she wasn't.
Opening the door to the room, two men clad in black stood before her, these were unfamiliar faces, but there was a small button on their lapels that indicated they too were Black Baton, they pointed toward a seat, beneath the chair there was a tarp. The two men looked at Vukani, one finally spoke.
"Have a seat anywhere... this won't take long."
Looking at him, Nina nodded in acknowledgement, the first men had pulled her to the bathroom to wet her hair, her dress had been removed, and a hospital gown of sorts had been provided. Her hair was cut, it fell along her to her shoulders, following her jaw line, it was still long, but no longer down her back. They incorporated carefully placed streaks of blonde into the raven locks, while this was happening her gunshot wound was being reopened and the bullet removed. It was prolonged, done with the bluntest of instrument, it was designed to be excruciating, and that it was... she bit her lower lip in pain. It was then cleaned and stitched, she sat there silently through the pain.
The first man, the larger of the two withdrew a whip from his bag, and stood Nina up, giving her exactly one lash across her lower back, enough to rip through her flesh with ease, causing a flood of crimson to fall forth.
"They are aware of your failure to complete the mission... you must find your own way out of the country... the powers that be determined this was enough, and that it will not happen again with an agent with a record like yours."
She was instructed to shower, and dry her hair, the stitches held the bandages, waterproof kept them protected, and after such the new lash wound was treated properly, a bag of clothing had been left for each of them. The two men moved to take their leave. The entire process took about two hours, she stood up, sore... and looked at the bags.
"Time to change?"
It didn't make sense what he was seeing. It was as though he were looking into a dream instead of reality. He hadn't imagined how well organized her group was to have an entire hotel ready for her. But the group was a eccentric as she was is completely bizarre and surreal as anything he'd ever seen before.
But as he promised he did not move to interfere watched with grated teeth as she was moved roughly from location to location being patched and mended as though they were stuck in the sixteen hundreds. His fists were clenched to the point where blood seeped through his left fist as he watched the whip being raised and her pale body was struck.
He made his way to his feet sure that he would kill the both of them would be killed before the lash struck the second time but instead he simply stood there, unable to sit once again.
It was when her wounds were being shut for a second time that he realised how low his shoulders were. Whatever adrenaline he'd had once before appeared to be spent. Two hours of watching her had taken its toll on him. He watched the two men contemplating killing them, most especially the one who'd struck her but he was simply too tired, spent.
At the very least he knew there was a jet waiting for him. Eyeing the bag that was waiting for him he wouldn't help but wonder. He stepped over the back meant for him, pulling the strap with the tip of his shoe before looking to her once again. "Nina, if I try these clothes on will they fit me? I mean to say, what have you told them about me? About us? With this madness you appear to be happy to be a part of."
Anastasia
06-16-2012, 09:47 PM
"Those clothes will fit you. They have been tailored for you... You should understand this..."
Nina looked at him, once more her eyes seemed to pleading with him, in a very real sense, she was asking for his forgiveness for what she had just done... The men had left the room, leaving just the two of them now. Nina walked closely up to him, and took one of his arms into her hand, unfurling his fists she looked at the injured flesh and back up to him. She kissed his wound gently, and allowed his hand to fall quietly to his side.
"They know only what they see. They see everything. The know we've slept together in the past. They know you, because you are one of their greatest rivals. They know everything they can find, though not from me... there is only thing they don't know."
Nina grabbed the bag meant for her, and picked it up.
"That I love you."
Opening the bag she examined the contents, and looked at what was inside, it was a kind of sick joke, the kind only meant for her. Pulling white strapless dress out, it was pristine... one false move, her wounds would open, and the perfectly white dress would be destroyed, and all would see her. Nina understood, and before him allowing the robe she wore to fall the ground, where she slowly slipped into the dress, managed to zip herself up quietly.
A brush found it's way through her hair as she pulled out the black boots, and slid them on... her hair looked well down, a new length, blonde highlights, she pulled the pair of sunglasses out of the bag and slide them on, and then up so they rested a top her head.
"Happy to be a part of... Vukani... that isn't fair, that's not fair to me... You're being cruel..." The smile had that had been plastered on her face when she admitted to him that she loved him was now gone, instead she stood quietly before the door to the room, not leaning on any walls, balancing perfectly on the heels waiting for him.
She stood waiting, her featres delicate, her features as solid and controlled as always the case with her. There was a bloody civil war of attrition raging within the confines of his mind. How long had he been waiting for her to say those simple three words, this should have been an estatic moment and partly it was. But he was still in the hellish room, what had just happened to her was still fresh in his mind. Her bloody flesh showing itself everytime he blinked. How could she allow herself to be a part of that? How could she possibly stay with these people. Would she? How could they know so much about him that they just happened to have clothing ready for him.
That the clothing would fit was too eerie, too specific, too maddening for him. If they knew about his mother and his daughter he would declare war if it meant them being safe from these freaks. He wanted to scream and shout and shake her but more so he wanted his arms around her protecting her from things such as this instead off being forced to be watch.
He hung for a moment unable to move clashing with his ego and his sense of loyalty to her but watching her his loyalty ended up winning out and he took the bag, there was a white tuxdo instead that was exactly as she said it was but he changed quickly and without complaint.
When he was done he opened the door for her. He could still feel the shock and pain from when he first saw she'd been shot and when she'd been supposedly helped and then punished right in front of his eyes. Where he did nothing to stop them but he didn't say a word of it. She'd been the one who'd actually be hurt.
"We should talk on the plane and get a different car. Come on, we'll use the fire escape and I'll drive."
His hands twitched, he never wanted to put and arm around her and take away the pain but knew he wouldn't. "You're comming with me, is that fine with you?"
Anastasia
06-17-2012, 12:48 PM
Nina felt the cold eyes of judgement upon her, and never before had she felt so angry about it. Nina was at a loss for words, she wanted to beg him to see past it, she wanted to plead with him to love her unconditionally... but she wouldn't.
It took Nina a long time to remember who she was, why she did what she had done... and why she continued to do so. She thought about this carefully. Who was Vukani to question to her on such things? Then again, he had seen her be beaten, though compared to what she had seen before, this was relatively mild. The phrase "kid stuff" had popped into her mind.
Looking around the room one last time, a single tear fell from her eye as she looked at him, and within a moment she was back. Back to normal Nina, the only who was angry, the one who had a goal in mind, a mission, she didn't know she felt about the situation, only she knew what she needed to do. Grabbing an ash tray off the nightstand the hurled it at the mirror inlaid in the wall, it shattered a small hollow space became visible at the bottom, a secret compartment, she grabbed a hold of the box within and opened it, two pistols, she took one and moved toward the exit of the room, opening the door she slipped out, not bothering to wait for him.
She was angry, Nina was furious and it bothered her. Nina had managed to move herself in such a way where her wait was perfectly balanced, she didn't pull at her flesh and wounds, she could move like butterfly through the air, with grace and elegance. At the end of the corridor there was a window with a fire escape, she would listen to his plan. Staring at the window she pried it opened, and carefully slipped herself out, kicking the release on the ladder, sending it rolling down toward the ground. She climbed quickly and quietly down, waiting for him.
Vukani hated fire escapes. He grew up without the things and as a child the only ones he'd ever seen were the ones in movies that he'd have to sneak in to see, so he had to work his way just to see them and even on the TV screen they looked so fake and flimsy.
With all on his mind it was an odd sensation to have such an old phobia burrow itself into his mind. He climbed his way down carefully before touching ground. For the first time in hours he felt better about being outside.
Without a doupt they were still being hunted but that didn't stop him from standing away from the safety of the hotel walls.
"We should steal a car, I have a jet chartered for Cape Town South Africa, I can charter a flight from Nigeria where the Jet will refuel and you can take a flight to your home from there or you can lay low along with me if you want."
Anastasia
06-17-2012, 06:26 PM
It was there, on the street, a darkened alley way which lay below the escape. It was a larger car, a sport utility vehicle of sorts, looking around she quickly picked up a stray hair clip she found on the street, and with a few careful movements had the car door snapping opened. Looking into the driver's seat, she slid in. Nina winced in pain as her back collided with the fabric of the seat, reaching down she began to expose the wires. Hot wiring a car was one of the easiest things to do, if one only knew how. It would only take a few moments before the engine screamed to life.
She had listened to Vukani's offer and thought it best that she contain her mix of emotions, it wouldn't be good for either of them if she exploded into a fiery mess at this exact moment in time. She scooted quickly into the passenger's seat and lowered the sunglasses over her eyes, leaning backward. Her back however was arched inward, so while she sat up straight, her wounds wouldn't make much contact with the seat. She needed to keep from bleeding until she was on the plane, where suddenly it wouldn't matter.
"For the first time in your life... why don't you tell me exactly what it is that you want me to do."
Nina spoke frankly, the slightest hint of her Russian accent came surging forth, a sure sign that something was bothering her, she was after all, a human being with feelings, even if she murdered people for a living. She waited there for him to get into the vehicle, the airport was only about 10 minutes from here, she still had a spare passport on her, one created before the mission specifically for her escape, this was a saving grace, she thought.
Vukani stepped inside and slammed the door behind him, the engine revved violently as if in reaction to her words. The last thing he wanted was to be goaded into a fight before getting onto the jet.
He started the car and sped off like bat out of hell but slowed upon nearing the airport. He didn't entire through the front but through a side gate meant for service personel. Multiple badge flashes and credentials were shown before they could be allowed on to the airport but eventually they got through.
He sped to his hanger where three of his men stood waiting with a fueled jet but he locked the car before giving her a chance to get out. Fustration overwhelmed him the point where he beat on the stearing wheel.
"What I want. What I want is you with me, not as a guest but as a part of my home, as a part of yours. That's what I see in the distant future, that's what I want. But that's then, this is now. What I want right now is for you to get in that plan and for you to be well, I want you to come with me, all the way home. We'll both be safe in the Cape. Africa is my home ground and nowhere more so than South Africa. I just want it to be simple. Maybe not forever, maybe now for even a day but I just want you. With nothing between us, no baggage from relationships lost and gained, lives lost and lives taken. That's what I fucking want and I dont want what we had before either. We're past that. I'm not stupid. I know there will never be white picket fences, I'm not sure if I want that myself but I know that I want you. That Nina is what I want from you. Is any of that even remotely new to you? he reason I always offer you alternatives is because I know you're a free spirit and I would never want to take that sense of freedom away from you. That and"
Vukani lost his breath, he took a moment to gain his composure, he hadn't been yelling but at the same time he hadn't simply been talking either, so much had been put into everysingle word. "And I need the person I love to want to be with me. I need you to look at that exit and choose to stay with me on your own. That is what I want. What do you want and I dont mean one of your whims. I mean what you actually want, that wont change with a mood swing or something like that."
Anastasia
06-18-2012, 12:49 AM
On this drive, Nina realized that this was the most she had ever gotten out of Vukani. This was his life, these were his real feelings. He had always been honest with her, far more than she had been with him. He made her feel at times, as though she was the worst person to walk the face of the earth, and at the same time, the most beloved person. Nina Boguslavskaya had often wondered what happened to his wife, the mother of his daughter... it was someone never brought up, someone she knew virtually nothing about.
The car had stopped as he poured out his heart, the steering wheel was the unfortunate target selected to receive the blows of his frustration, her hand simply extended to rest upon his, holding them in place. Upon her face was something like a smile, a genuine look of concern.
Nina leaned back in her seat, allowing herself to recline for a single moment before she leaned over his seat, and flipping a couple of switches, slid his seat back, creating a bit of room. Slipping her feet carefully out of her shoes, she pulled herself to the driver's side, and sat on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, she could feel the stitches in her back slowly begin to split, but it didn't seem to matter.
"All you had to do..."
She began quietly.
"Was ask."
Her tone was soft, and sweet, almost melodic in nature, there was no pain, there was no suffering. A million thoughts flashed through her mind just then, if she went with him, stayed with him... everything would change, her life would be on the line, for a single shot at happiness.
"Vukani... I need you to understand one thing... I want nothing more than to be with you... but if I get on that plane with you... the game changes. Not game, this life changes. Black Baton will come after me, they will kill me. Because you are the rival... because I failed and you succeeded. I was afforded the change to atone for my crimes... I cannot drag you into this... they will come for you... for your family. Do you understand me?"
Nina was dead serious, she gripped his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. Faint, soft tears began to stream down her cheeks, not from the physical pain, but from the sheer fact that she felt she was truly loved.
"I would rather die... then see you suffer for what I've done... I will not ask you to do this for me... I give you an alternative, because I know you care for me, just as much as I care for you... your daughter... she's beautiful, she's smart..."
What Vukani hadn't known was that Nina had been acquainted with his daughter on exactly one occasion. There was a lot about her that he didn't know, and she feared he would hate for her if he found out... what was she thinking? It would have been wiser had he left her for dead.
"Please think carefully before you step outside of this vehicle."
Nina pleaded.
This was a day of firsts but there appeared to be very little to be celebrating as Nina said what she needed to say. He put his arms around her and felt the course texture of drying blood on his fingers.
He opened the door without words, without hesitation and slammed it behind him with her held tight in his arms.
"I'm not mad enough to think that this would be acceptable to this group of yours but I guarantee that if we're going to be safe it's going to be in south Africa. Your company will have one hell of a long reach if they think they can reach us there."
He knew his carrying her could not have been the most comfortable but it didn't matter he had to get her into the jet.
One of his men reclined the seat and He lay her down on her stomach. "You stay there. I'll be right back."
He rushed back and opened up the medicine cabinet with three taps to the side of the cabinet, opened the side door to reveal a far more complex series of tiny medicine bottles and poisons along with needles.
Rushing back he injected a needle into her vein. "This will help you sleep. You don't need to be awake for this patching process but you need to rest so forgive me." He stroked her cheek staring into her eyes, unblinking until sleep overwhelmed. With a heavy sigh he turned to the rest of his men.
"I have a change of clothes back here right? I feel like I'm wearing a suit made of blood. I need Edward on the line. I need everything we have on the Black Baton. I'm going to need your help to stitch her up, this wound should not have opened up the way it had. Not all of you are coming with. Those staying I want you on the next flight to London. I want a full protective detail around my daughter. I want any men we have thee looking after her as soon as possible, call in every favour we have."
----
Hours passed, the jet refuelled with food and new clothes being taken for Nina and himself, he fell asleep with dozens of pages of notes spread all around him.
Anastasia
06-18-2012, 01:39 PM
It had been a long time since Nina had been carried. It had been even longer since she let a man take her into his arms, regardless of whether or not she had been injured. Nina had much to hide, her life before she became a successful assign had been forced sealed by the Russian authorities, her records would never be made public.
The many people who had the misfortune of discovering her identity just before she killed them had been shocked, surprised. She had only opened up to those would die before her eyes, and only if they begged her to explain what she had been doing there.
Stirring from her thought she found herself in a seat on her stomach, and being drugged. Out of control of her own body was something Nina did not do. Though at this exact moment, she was left with no choice but to trust him.
As she drifted to sleep, she managed to squeeze out one more sentence.
"You have no idea what they are capable of... I could have killed her... when I met her...child..."
Her eyes were closed and the memories began to flood forth, nothing specific at first, but the events of her last trip to Africa playing through her head. The smile upon his little girl's face, this was some years ago... it was a day hotter than she had imagined. Together, she was there with someone, but his face was hard to make out in the drug induced haze.
There was a school, dozens of children flooding from the exit at the end of the day... and there was Nina, waiting. The sunlight reflecting sharply off her aviators, her eyes hidden, hair fallen perfectly about her bare shoulders. Looking down to the photograph in her hand, she had stopped the girl. The girl she had known clearly was Vukani's daughter.
Looking down, Nina had smiled and asked her questions about her day, what she had learned, and if she liked her life... if she missed her parents. A laser sight had targeted the girl, but Nina carefully stepped in front of it, giving the girl enough time to run far toward whoever she was looking for... turning her eyes upward toward a rooftop which seemed miles away, she simply smiled, and watched as the man fell from the roof, dead. Unexplained.
Hours, nearly a day had passed as Nina stirred, the flight must be nearing conclusion... she was groggy, but her back had been properly taken care of, she could feel the difference... stitches that wouldn't easily rip, the smell of medicines hit her nose, she wondered how anyone could stand her presence at this very moment.
He was asleep... with papers about him. Picking herself up, she was careful to find her balance, she made her way toward him and settled down beside him, leaning her body against his.
The jet landed in Cape Town international airport, home. From there he had a holiday house by Cape Point where the Indian and Atlantic met far away from everything but animal life. It was a good safe house. A good place to rest but somehow he doubted that there would be where she would want to hide, most especially if he wasn't coming with her.
He had work to do before he could simply rest at the safe house. Her organisation was big according to the records they had. Far bigger than the Spear but thee would work for them instead of against. Those were the last thoughts before sleep had taken hold but when he awoke with Nina rested up against his form he felt something he was certain he would never feel in such a way as he had ever before. The warmth of giving yourself to someone and having that feeling returned completely.
Right then he knew he had something people only dreamed of. People fought wars for this kind of feeling.
The sight of her stitches brought reality crashing down upon him once again. His phone was ringing. He had to sidle up against her and turn her offer to get free and to the phone.
"Ed? What's the news?"
"I have more Data to give you but I know you won't like it. They're pretty deeply rooted across Eurasia but not so much Iran and Iraq which is where I'm keeping myself busy. Cutting off the snakes head won't be an option for us as we would have originally thought. Even if we were to somehow find the heads of each of their divisions it wouldn't make much of a difference. They appear to have as many government networks as we do. Maybe more. Definitely more of the bigger ones. Israeli intelligence, British, Cia, Russia."
"That could work for us. networks with major governments are always flimsy and one sided at even the best of times. We just need to manage what we have. And force their hand every system has a vital point. A life line of sorts. If we can't get at their numbers then we go after their networks, if we can't go after their networks then we follow the money. They must have continuously flowing bank accounts with money moving and flowing in the same was money flows in a corporation in order to keep them alive like this."
"This seems like a great deal of effort Vukani. It sounds like you're putting all of us at risk."
"We were already at risk. It was only a question of time before we butted heads with this group, we were always going to expand into each other and you knew we were given the exact same hits to handle. What would you rather be done? Would you prefer we waited for them to catch up to all of us? Just use what we have. Where's my daughter."
"She's at your apartment That's about as far as she was willing to go as far as we know. She's not happy about being thee and by the looks of it she doesn't want to go home."
"For fucks sakes. Why does she always have to fight with me. I'll call her."
"Don't bother, she doesn't want to talk to you right now. She didn't even want to talk to me. but as long as she stays there she should be fine. No bullet will be getting through those windows and the ways up are covered by some of our own men. I trust them."
"I should get to London. Try to get her back here. To the safe house."
"What you should do is rest."
"No one has time to rest. Not while she's far from safe. I'll talk to you later."
Anastasia
06-18-2012, 03:13 PM
Nina's body had been moved, she allowed him to do so. So easily, she drifted away so he could answer his phone. Clearly arrangements were being made for his daughter. Nina knew this immediately, followed by inquires about Black Baton. She had wondered if he ever planned on asking her about them. She knew much, perhaps too much. For years Nina had been their best assassin, their greatest asset. Nina had never failed, though she had covered up the failures of other agents.
A perfect record until recently, and now she was abandoning it all. It was truly something that made her smile when she thought back on it. The teenage years, they were always the hardest she thought. Rising softly from her spot on the floor she moved effortlessly across the cabin to where he had wandered... she needed to know more about what was happening on the other end of the line... the one sided conversation was not enough for her.
Wrapping her arms around him from behind she held him in place. Nina was far stronger than she looked, it was years of training put to good use. He was clearly frustrated. She heard words like "intelligence, CIA, Russia..."
Her past continued to flash before her, how long had been since she had been home? Not to Germany, but to Russia... too long. Black Baton was headquartered in Moscow, shaking her head at the thought of her superiors she let Vukani go, and allowed him to finish his call.
"I had a child once, a daughter."
Nina mused aloud, but quietly, delicately. Her face had turned cold at the thought, her hands folded neatly within one another she turned from him and rested her hands upon one of the seat backs, they were desperate for something to clench, to grip. Her palms squeezing and releasing the fine leather. This was something she never wanted.
Nina was ready to beg, to plead to be released, she would crawl back to Black Baton, receive her punishment for her considerations and would be content with knowing that Vukani would be allowed to live, that his family wouldn't suffer because of her.
He turned around quickly and threw the phone to the side before snaking his arms around her and carrying her to where he'd lay before. He lay on herr back with her over him, he snaked his fingers through her hair and touched her lips to his.
"I'm sorry for being so distracted. You deserve all of my attention. I didnt know about your daughter. Could you please tell me about it?" He breathed softly,
His mind reeled over to his own daughter and the words that had come from nina's lips before she'd falled asleep. Could have killed her? That had been what she'd said. Had she meant her own child? What ever had happened he wanted her to open up to him and let her into his heart.
Anastasia
06-19-2012, 06:10 PM
Nina moved her body softly along with his and smiled quickly as he kissed her lips. She could feel him lingering there, as they on the floor of the plane, she wished to lay there forever, he asked her about her child, and her eyes widened. Her breath quickened and her voice dropped for a moment... she could barely get out a word.
"My daughter... She was beautiful, she was me, my husband. Natasha, her name was Natasha... we had six months with her. She was very ill, from the time she was born, but to me... to Alexej, she was perfect... in every single way... After that, the love left my marriage, and my husband could barely look at me, I reminded him of her."
Nina allowed herself to collapse on top of him, holding back her tears, she pulled herself up a while later, and looked around the cabin, nodding that it was time to go.
"I could have only hoped she would have turned out to be like your little girl..." Nina left it at that, she wouldn't say anything about meeting his daughter, knowing his life unless she was directly asked. Nina wondered if he knew all of her, if he would still love her.
Vukani's heartfelt heavy, he had never known the story of her marital life beyond the little he'd read, she'd been known enough to have the basic details. It felt surreal to have what had happened come from her mouth. He felt it inappropriate to say a word about his own daughter or to ask about how her daughter had died. It would be something he would have to wait to hear and something he would do all in his power ensure they had time to talk about.
The only trick, it seemed, would be figuring out how he would prolong their time together. Turn minutes into hours, hours into days, days into a life time, any second she would give him.
He would have to ask her everything she knew about the Black baton and make what arrangements he could from those plans, even if it meant sending an African invasion force to Russia.
Dressing himself up he nodded back to Nina and stepped outside, leaving his papers behind. He reached out for her hand.
"We should eat but first we should get a hotel space. I have one where which I use as a place to store weapons they have good room service. We could get some real rest there before we finally address the white elephant in the room."
Anastasia
06-20-2012, 11:51 AM
The look of pain and horror in her eyes had slowly faded, and her features seemed to soften for a moment. Preparing herself, she began to breathe deeply for a moment. It had been years, literally years since she had even mentioned the fact that she had once had a child. Her hand fell to her stomach, resting there for a moment before reaching her sides.
Nina had found herself dressed since she was incapacitated for many hours, nodding quietly at her clothes, she simply went with it. It didn't actually matter to her what she was wearing, she was concerned.
She knew that at this very moment Black Baton was tracking her, they were sitting back and watching, the thing they were the best at, they were contemplating her each and every move and how to respond. Nina stepped outside the plane onto African soil, the sun was subdued, it wasn't the weather she was perhaps expecting.
His hand was held out, she took it into her own and squeezed it as though her life had somehow depended on it, on him. She was still alive, this perhaps, puzzled her above all else.
"I was waiting for you to address those issues... Vukani you don't have time to waste."
Nina tilted her head to the side and pulled herself closer to him. She leaned over, toward his ear to whisper, she bit his flesh gently and spoke once more.
"No where is safe... don't underestimate them, or me."
"I'm not an idiot. I know that there's an element off danger that doesm't mean I'm useless within it." Softly he cupped her cheeks and kissed her. "I would never underestimate you Nina. If I had never seen you naked I would think you had armour and wings underneath those clothes." He laughed and kissed her once again. "I need to pick up my daughter and take her home one way or the other. But as quickly as I would like that to happen I still need to the jet to refeul. Ensure everything I need to ensure that I am allowed to ensure she is protected on the flight back. If they have a surface to air missile waiting then the plane has protective flares the vans we'll be riding in will be armoured. My apartment would need a small army before any person to get to my daughter. Refueling for a direct flight to Heathrow will take a few hours which is why I suggested the hotel. There is only so much we can do and I'm doing it. So I need to you just trust in that becuase that is all I have inside of me to keep me sane before I get my daughter here."
He held her close to him, his form trembling, as powerful and capable as he thought himself. Her every fear tore at the very core of his being. Before war and killing had become his life, he'd had a traditional upbringing and some sense of fustration involving him as a man being able to protect what he had being threatened ripped at him mercilessly.
There was black jeep cherike waiting for them where he led her inside. "We should talk about you staying at a safe house. It's a great place."
Anastasia
06-20-2012, 04:05 PM
Nina laughed lightly at his joke, the truth had been he had seen her naked, many times. But not once did he ever see her as vulnerable and out of control as she was at this very moment. Looking at him with a degree of concern, she slipped behind him, her arms wrapping tightly around him.
"I should like to see your daughter again... I wonder if she remembers me..."
Nina sighed and rested her chin on his shoulder, tilted upward slightly, running her fingers along the fabric against his arms, she inhaled his scent and sighed deeply as she thought.
"If you want to really know Black Baton, you need to ask me questions... once I tell you the answers, I have officially signed my death warrant. As has your family." Nina nodded and acknowledged that he would have to accept this as part of his life. It was something dark.
Letting go of him she looked toward the terminal that was in the distance, the hotel would give her a few minutes to change, shower, relax... tend to her wounds. The stitches were holding, she could still move without ripping them. It was a sense of freedom, once again she found herself flowing into her element. The serious Nina had been coming back, she ran her fingers through her hair and exhaled deeply.
They'd arrived at the hotel and he led her up to the pent house before shutting the door behind her.
"My daughter. Where exactly did you meet my daughter. I feel as though this is a story I haven't quite fully heard but one that can of couse wait. It is of the utmost that I hear of this black baton. There's more than one way to keep someone alive and no orginisation or group is immortal and unless you have a chip attatched to you, we won't be signing anything when you told me. the only person being underestimated is me. Give me a chance, give us a chance. Please."
Vukani unbottoned the top of his shirt and threw his jacket over the bed and threw himself over it. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sit thre for very long the restless of waiting was getting to him.
Anastasia
06-20-2012, 05:39 PM
Nina stepped inside and immediately her feet slipped out of the shoes she had been wearing. Her toes curled and stretched running through the fibers of the plush carpet. It made her grin, the sensation she was feeling.
She moved to the bed with grace. she turned him over, so he lay on his back, she sat atop him, straddled, her fingers moving quickly through the buttons to strip him of his shirt, she leaned forward, resting upright on her palms. Nina kissed his lips before speaking.
"7 years ago. We had just met. You seduced me for the first time... do you remember it? You wore a carefully fitted black suit. I had just completed a mission.... you were about to begin one. Black Baton knew who you were... exactly one year after, you had proved to be a danger. You were a rival... you know how we hate competition... you were good, but I.... I was better."
Nina breathed deeply and grinned, biting her lower lip with intensity, she leaned forward closer and kissed his neck, once more parting to speak.
"I had vacation... my first in a long while. A young assassin had been sent to kill your daughter... to unravel your life would surely destroy you. The agent was an amateur... it was after school. I had followed, taking an interest in the situation... your girl was beautiful, smart... clever, even. I had arranged for it to appear as though I was in Germany... and for the assassin to be eliminated, it looked like an amateur had missed his footing, fallen to his early grave... I stood before your little girl, as the laser sight nearly made it's mark... intercepting. I asked her all sorts of questions, and prompted her to run off..."
Nina moved away from him, and collapsed on the bed at his side, she turned away, unable to look at him, unable to move any further.
"If I had any sense, I would have let her die... or come to my senses and done it myself."
She was prepared for what he was going to tell her, he was prepared for him to hate her. To scream at her, to perhaps even kill her.
"Black Baton is a comprehensive organization. We are based in Moscow. Only three living people know who our Master is. We have contacts and agents throughout the world. A small army is not a problem, there are thousands of us. There are 13 top ranked Assassins, we complete the elite jobs, the ones that only take one. They are mercenaries for hire, they will do whatever they need to do to meet the demands of the highest bidder... the punishment for failure is death. Whether it is an individual or the group. I am too valuable to simply write off. As Agent 1, or Malkovich, I have access to nearly everything..."
Nina's voice was soft, and she failed to look at him again.
The hairs on the bakc of his necuk started to rise. This wasn't just some mark they were talking about but her daughter. His only child.
She'd been where? Done what?
They'd done what?
For once he was glad she didn't have her eyes on him becuase without a doubt would have looked like an over reaction and the last hthing he needed was her recoiling from him but containing exactly how upset he was proved to be impossible. His hands over his face, he quickly made his way into bathroom where he splashed his face with water repeatedly until the burning sensation in his heart and the weightlessness in his stomach passed.
He wasn't sure exactly how long he was in there before he finaly came out and he'd lost time how many times he'd washed the tears of fustration and anger from his face.
"They threatened my daughter?" He covered his face and turned away only to turn back to her. "That they would threaten my daughter is enough for me to want them dead Nina. It doesn't matter what happened before. I guess I am just glad you met my daughter."
He put both hands around her and kissed the back of her neck and unzipped her dress slowwly.
"I'm going to go get my daughter back to where it's safe and that's South Africa. We're more of a comepent nation than you would think. I do not care how big they are. If you have access to everything and they dont know that you've turned then there might be a possibility for me to hit them fast and hit them hard. There's nothing to say that you've given away any information. When I get my daughter back I'm going to moscow."
Anastasia
06-20-2012, 08:37 PM
"They had to be convinced that your mother wasn't a viable target..."
Nina arched her back as her dress was undone, she slipped out of it. Despite her injuries, her skin was smooth, flawless, her scars had healed over, her skin sensitive to each and every touch. She slipped her way out of each and every single shred of clothing left on her body. Running her fingers along the fabric of his jeans, she pulled the covers over her body, sliding underneath them. Skin to sheets.
"I don't kill children... not intentionally. I wouldn't have let them do it... the fact that it was yours... changed everything. I've loved you for a very long time..."
Peeking her head out from beneath the covers she groaned and reached a hand out to grab his arm pulling it closer to, pulling him closer to her. Her mind drifted to thoughts of her family and to Moscow... she would go back to Moscow, and as they say, Moscow doesn't believe in tears. Her life, everything would be there... she would have to see him. He would never forgive her if she didn't...
"No one should have to suffer the loss of their child... not like I did. When I boarded your plane after my failure, I left you alive... I forfeit my life. But for the first time... it's alright... no more talking, not now."
Nina wanted him, and only him, and in that moment everything else faded, lifting the blankets she threw them over him, and let out a small laugh, grabbing a pillow to hit him with it, before falling back and kissing his lips softly.
Hours passed, the jet was refeuled and ready for a straight flight to London England but he'd needed a phone call to remember for once. In what felt like centuries he'd simply forgotten, instead intertwined in the eyes of an angel, the heart of the queen he had forgotten about the world around him. She'd filled his mind and his heart so completely that all else had escaped.
He was in a dream unwilling to let it end and so he'd milked it for everything he had. His every kiss, his every touch, heartfelt and he simply knew that it was recipricated. He knew he could die. Death was always an option but he wascertain to ensure that every second was used as though it were his last with her.
His hand in hers he rode back to the air port, watching as eight of his men loaded up the Jet. He turned to face her at the hanger. "I'm not sure if you comming with is the best idea but if you want to come with then you can." He kissed her palm and cupped his face with her hand to savour the feel. "This shouldn't take long at all and they might be trying to lure you out using me."
Anastasia
06-21-2012, 06:17 PM
They had sex a number of times, in a number of beds, in a number of different countries. This was different, she could feel that he loved her, he looked at her in a way she had longed for. It was something absent from her life, a sense of love, or compassion.
"I have to come with you... there is no other option. You're walking into a fire fight... you do know that, don't you? They're waiting. If I am to die, it is on my own terms... not theirs. You really... don't know what they are capable of. They will take everything from you... and they will kill you, slowly, painfully. It's how they operate. Psychological terrorism..."
Nina Boguslavskaya looked around her as the jet stood before them, without hesitation she gripped his hand firmer and pulled him toward the stairway. On the jet she looked around and and smiled softly she pulled him onto a couch and sat in his lap, her arms wrapped around him. Looking into his eyes she nodded.
"I won't let them kill her... she'll be fine. It's me they want, and they will do whatever they can to get it... but you'll be fine.. she'll be okay."
This was the eye of the storm, he could just feel it. He'd had the first part of the storm, simply watching her get hurt was enough of a nightmare. Now he'd have to fight to keep such a thing from happening again.
The flight from Johannesburg to Heathrow was an arduous, tedious and simply endless but at the very least he as Nina with her. They wasn't much to be said between them that hadn't been said the night before the two of them lay intertwined for as long as they could. It was the only thing that hushed the noise of panic that reverberated within his skull.
He'd never been more relieved than when they touched ground on the capital of England where three black Jeeps were parked waiting. There was a light skinned black man moving towards them as soon as they got out with a semi machine gun in hand. With a serious face and straight eyes he let go of Nina and pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the man in return the man did the same.
They moved towards each other their guns aimed until each barrel was pointed at the centre of the other's forehead.
"What are you doing here?" Vukani barked.
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be safely deposited back in South Africa."
"I had to do this."
"For your daughter or for her?
"Both."
"You can't have your cake and eat it."
"After a lifetime of eating shit all the good that you think you've seen has just been shit dressed up to look like something else. It's always still shit."
"If we shot her right now we could end this."
"You'd end me if you did that. Are you ready to shoot me too?"
"What's wrong, don’t you trust me?"
"Would you trust any ones but your own hands if it was your family?"
They glared at each other and Vukani grinned wrapping his arms around his friend. "I'm glad you're here."
"You're my family by blood or otherwise. Of course I would be around to protect you."
"Nina! This is Edward. A friend, a partner and a very good man. We should get going. Everything should be waiting for us when we get back."
"It will be let's just go get your girl." Edward said grinning and patting Vukani on the back.
Anastasia
06-23-2012, 05:51 AM
Nina looked at the scene unfold and it was to her horror, and dismay, she was shocked, utterly shocked. Her hands fell immediately to the hem of her dress pulling it upward past the garter where she kept her pistol, she had it aimed carefully at the man who seemed to be orchestrating the event.
The two eventually boiled off into friends, they had clearly known each other. It was odd, she was then introduced. Her hand extended to the man before her. His name was Edward, she had recognized it from the file, it made her wince slightly though she would do anything but show it. He was handsome, fit, she made no further assessment.
Nina lowered her firm arm, looking off there was another black vehicle, it was standard issue for LHR security, her head tilted to the side, she recognized the man who had just exited the thing. He worked for the agency, he was her immediate successor, Rank 2. Anton Larionov, Nina remained slightly confused and turned politely to Vukani.
"If you'll excuse me for just a moment."
Nina held up a single finger, and smiled once more, and began to walk in that direction, her eyes darted around her. She looked for tell tale signs of Black Baton snipers, she saw nothing, he was alone. Whether or not he had been sent to kill her was a mystery, though he was certainly capable of it. How did she know he was here? Of course he knew, Baton knows everything about her, they always have, and always would.
"Передай привет, Мояа Ниночка." (Say hello, my Nina).
The looked on her face went from pleasant to angered, though she only grinned at his challenge, she said nothing of the sort, they merely appeared to be engaged in pleasant, but difficult conversation.
"Not yours. You best leave... before I turn you into your father. You do remember what I did to him those few years ago? They could barely find enough left to send home..."
Her head tilted to the side, she looked serious, her arms crossed, folded against her chest, she demanded an answer to his reasons for being here.
"I came to warn you." He said, rather coldly. "You can come right now... with me. Or you can die at his hands personally." Anton's retorts were spot on.
"His? Master would never risk something so foolish just to kill me. Don't play the fool. Don't worry... but do send him a message for me."
Nina embraced him quietly, she looked up at Anton and shook her head, kissing his lips ever so softly, her hands grasped in his, she twisted quickly, effortlessly, snapping both of his wrists, breaking the small fragile bones without so much as a single bout of hesitation. There would be resistance in the near future. She stood there, understanding he warned her, that there was a trap waiting for her... and possibly Vukani as well.
"Will he love you if he knows who you really are? An unfeeling killer? You're the best for a reason... you don't feel, my darling." His words were soft, enough to make her cross, entirely too cross.
He hadn't seen her leave because he'd been so preoccupied with his best friend but when he heard one of the men that were a part of the convoy cry out. He turned to find Nina standing over man who's hands were bent in the wrong shape.
"What the hell is going on?" He said rushing with his pistol still in his left hand.
He got to the car and found Nina hurting a man he'd never seen before outside the rear convoy vehicle.
Looking inside he saw that there were three dead men in the rear and passenger seat. Faces he knew from missions past.
The entirety of his form trembling he pulled the assassin free of Nina to the ground and started punching him in the face, the dull sound of his knuckles colliding with his face creating waves of pleasure until Edward pulled him free of the man.
"Don't kill him! We need to figure out how he got into the car."
Vukani pushed Edward free. "Fuck you Ed how in the fuck did this mother fucker get anywhere near us? How Edward?"
"How the fuck should I know those are my men too."
"How didn't you notice"
"I just fucking didn't. I can't be everywhere."
Vukani opened his mouth to scream but stopped himself, instead slamming the butt into the back window, smashing it. "Leave the car, lets just go. Get in the other car. Every second wasted is a second too long." He growled. "Everyone guarding the jet should tie him up and lock him in one of the cupboards."
There was the screeching of tyres and the two remaining cars took off for his hotel room.
Anastasia
06-26-2012, 01:24 PM
Vukani was thrust onto the scene, he was enraged, his men had been killed, and she knew deep inside that this was simply because his daughter's life was on the line, and this was far too close for comfort for the man. Sighing softly she shook her head once more and backed away slowly as Vukani beat the man unconscious to a pulp.
"Vukani that is enough. If you don't get your shit together and calm down you might as well kill your daughter yourself. Do you understand me? Calm yourself. You don't know who this is, do you? You cannot kill him... I broke his wrists for a reason..."
Nina turned away from him and threw her hands up in the air and nodded to the man who opened the car door for her. Waiting for Vukani to get in. Nina stared at him, her eyes were empty, her soul was on fire and she was flaming with anger.
"He's Rank 2. He's immediately below me, and has information that I don't have, since he's still in the loop and you would so easily kill him. Do you think I'd have the same interaction if I didn't know that man? I'm sorry you lost men... but you need to let me do what I am trained to do."
Leaning back in the seat she turned from him and looked out the window.
The blue light sirens were on high and he along with the car behind him tore through the london streets. He could still see the faces off the dead men that they'd left behind to get to his daughter.
It was early in the day so traffic was there but lighter than expected. The convoy stopped at an intersection too busy for them to simply push through.
There he turned and faced his love. "My shit is together. As together as it fucking can be. I didn't kill him so dont talk about me and my daughter like that. It's like you can't see what's happening to me at all." he said cathing his breath. "What is it you need to do that's so important?"
Anastasia
06-26-2012, 02:05 PM
Nina turned and shot him an angered look as he spoke to her, shaking her head, she extended her hand, she wanted to slap him, but instead she simply rested it on his cheek. Exhaling deeply, she glanced quickly out the window and let her hand drop, she looked for the words to speak... but struggled to find them.
"You don't know... what you're up against. How dare you speak me like this... What do I need to do? Save your life... you are the one who does not see. This stops when I die... Your daughter will be fine. But I need to have my answers too. This organization has been my life. It is everything I know, these people are family to me. All I have. They were my redemption."
Looking about her again she felt her muscles tensing, she pulled herself farther away from him, leaning against the door on the opposite side of the vehicle. Angry, but it was the only way she knew how to deal with this.
They would be at their destination soon.
"You always say that. There's nothing we can do Vukani, there's nothing we can do! That's what you keep saying. You're the one who said my daughter was in danger and now you're saying she's going to be fine. Which one is it? Dont you see that I just want to do what I can/ I'm not going to let you die so for once just stop considering it an option and please. Just please let me get my daughter back home. Allow me this."
The tensions of the situation were catching up to both of them quickly, he honestly was surprised at the way in which he was struggling to control his emotions. The fact that three of his men were now dead was a complete nightmare and still she was still going over how futile his every effort was. Each moment was draining and he just wanted to scream out how completely wrecked he felt.
They pulled into the parking structure, there were two vehicles which followed behind. Vukani started to speed up along with the vehicle Ed was driving the two following vehicles, two pure white vans sped up along with them. Vukani swore then swore once more, "Every one arm up."
Beyond the pistol in her hand a semi machine gun was dropped in Nina's, along with a radio device. The car swerved to the final floor of the parking structure and Vukani climbed out, oblivious of cover. He started firing into the nearest van.
Anastasia
06-26-2012, 04:00 PM
"Allow you this? Fine... as you wish. The deaths of your men was not your fault... This is all you can do. I won't bother with it... but you will let me do what I need to do."
Tensions were high as the situation came to a head, she took the gun into her hand as he dropped it and she slipped out of the vehicle. Walking further into the structure, there would soon be a hail of bullets. The man she was in love with was fighting for his daughter, for his family and for her. It was touching, she would have to get past it. Allow him to be a parent, to do what he needs to do.
"Vukani. Take cover."
She nodded softly and kneeled down behind a vehicle as she shot at a man with a familiar insignia, it was Black Baton. They were there and they wanted to keep him from his daughter but she felt this was simply a distraction. Something else was going on and was very wrong, yet she couldn't figure out what it was.
Holes were drilled all across both vans as men poured out of the vehicles only to be shredded by gun fire. The fire fight was drawn out a heavy as the remaining men kept fighting down to the last man but eventually even that man was shot and the only remaining sounds were those of a dozen car alarms from unfortunate cars that happened to be in the way of the shooting spree.
Vukani was the first to the elevator when he stopped himself. there seemed to be something incredibly stupid about using the elevator, like the act was the exact equivalent of jumping off a cliff and simply 'hoping' he made it out fine.
"We should take the stairs" He said mostly to himself, turning to the others before taking the stair moving carefully but at the same time moving so fast he was basically sprinting up the stairs. He'd never regretted sprinting.
As time passed he got to two thirds of the way up. "Oh fuck, thi is hard. There is something I feel I need to ask. What plans do you have once I get my aughter back home?"
Anastasia
06-26-2012, 06:14 PM
The sound of gun shots rang through the garage, a part of her would always regret killing these people, they had once been the only things she had, the amount of stress this put her under was tremendous, and she had little choice but to go with it. Moving quickly toward the stairs, she fired at those she needed to, killed those she could.
Her aim was excellent, her hand was steady, it was swift movements, she wasted very little ammunition, this was second nature to her. Killing was a way of life, it was merely how she supported herself, but it had been something indelible within her.
As they arrived in the stairs she darted up them with swiftness and grace, elegance, it was a quick journey. She had wondered what exactly Vukani was thinking what his plan was, then he emerged, with a first thought, though it wasn't exactly what she was looking for, it would do.
"After this? I'm going to marry you. Go to Russia and meet my maker... Master won't be pleased with this performance... I don't much mind this fact. I will kill him. I will take Black Baton down and I will gladly smile while I personally see the light go out of his eyes. I will have my freedom."
Smiling softly as she stopped at the designated she listened to the door, it was quiet... this was always a bad sign, there was danger on the other side.
"I say you kick the door and toss a grenade down the hall... but that's just me."
Nina felt it best to defer to Vukani for this.
He wasn't sure what too think of it but most of what she said turned to background noise when she'd said she would marry her. If there'd been a gun man Vukani's head would had been blasted off clean to his shoulders. She'd floored him as though he'd be clubbed into the skull.
That to him was the ultimate proposal. They'd talked arond it since all hell had broken loose. The talk about their family, their children but this was incredible. He just had to survive and drag his family along with them. In his head he was already telling his mother, thinking about how he was going to tell his daughter. It was too far ahead at thought to even be considered espcially when just five minutes ago he'd just shot a man in the head and watched him fall off the rail not a moment later.
Now he was following her commands pulling two incrediary grenades out of his pockets and into the hall, throwing them as hard s he could to get as much range as he could possiblly get.
He counted to ten and pulled the door open just as they exploded, his rifle aimed.
Anastasia
06-26-2012, 08:29 PM
"What are your plans after you get your daughter?"
Nina hadn't said anything further, just as everything was insane around them, the fires were being put out. The doors had opened before them and the smoke was clearing, with a flick of a button she turned on the light at the top of the semi and peered into the hall moving slowly through them. The smoke was thick in the air. It hung around them and she was slightly disoriented by the environment.
They kept going through, men followed behind her as she had her gun prepared, people kicking in the doors as they went and scanning rooms. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, she fell behind for a few moments to allow Vukani to take the lead.
"This hallway is clear, not a sign of life, just the smoldering remains of human corpses that littered the hall body parts scattered around. It left her entirely unphased, grinning lightly she watched the man she cared about go before her.
"The usuall, get married, help my future wife eliminate some shadow orporation, grow old with her. Live happily ever after, maybe have some peacan pie. There's there's this little old pie shop in Cape town, Windhoek that you just have to try. Every pie peacan I've ever had after that was little more than a joke." He luahged passig through the bodies of the dead.
Communications had been dead between the the guards there were supposed to have been looking after his daughter and themselves for a while now but he was possitive it had nothing to do with her being dead. There were simply too many exits to the building themselves.
All of which were ones she knew there was no chance of her being caught not in thetime that they lost contact to the moment they arrived on the top floor.
Both Ed and Vukani were at the door their weapos raised. In unison they kicked the door open their guns blazing. The room had been lost to the enemy by the looks of it but a blue light in the far corner of the room by the door suggesting that his exits were active. It allowed him the freedom to shoot He ducked for cover behind his couch, managing to get cover behind the bar before waving Nina over and providing cover fire.
"The usuall, get married, help my future wife eliminate some shadow orporation, grow old with her. Live happily ever after, maybe have some peacan pie. There's there's this little old pie shop in Cape town, Windhoek that you just have to try. Every pie peacan I've ever had after that was little more than a joke." He luahged passig through the bodies of the dead.
Communications had been dead between the the guards there were supposed to have been looking after his daughter and themselves for a while now but he was possitive it had nothing to do with her being dead. There were simply too many exits to the building themselves.
All of which were ones she knew there was no chance of her being caught not in thetime that they lost contact to the moment they arrived on the top floor.
Both Ed and Vukani were at the door their weapos raised. In unison they kicked the door open their guns blazing. The room had been lost to the enemy by the looks of it but a blue light in the far corner of the room by the door suggesting that his exits were active. It allowed him the freedom to shoot He ducked for cover behind his couch, managing to get cover behind the bar before waving Nina over and providing cover fire.
Anastasia
06-27-2012, 01:55 AM
Happily ever after were not words in her vocabulary, at least not at this point. The situation was stressful and pressures were running entirely too high. The hallways were cleared, but the smoke was abundant and slowly beginning to fade.
His daughter was a clever girl, of this she had no doubt and she would easily be able to wiggle her way toward freedom, all she needed was a good push. A really good push. Then again, life and death situations seemed to have that effect on people. The thought made her smile, though fleetingly.
Ducking down quickly Nina moved with ease across the room toward where Vukani had been, the barrier before them served as protect, preparing her weapon she popped her head out and opened fire, each shot was carefully thought out. Her mind raced as she fired, killing those in her way instantly, these people were foolish. They were a distraction.
"Vukani... these men are superfluous, they're distractions... sacrifices. Something is ahead of us... something we aren't going to like."
Nina had often remember that her organization would blow up an entire building simply because they could. The lives inside were deemed inconsequential, whenever Black Baton sent in goons to simply act as a shield, it either meant they were nervous, or there was something of a bomb in place, a trap, something... Nina thought hard about what it could be.
"We need to advance, but carefully..."
His home was a wreck. He'd been living there for years, each item, each floor panel had been something he'd fought and worked hard for. items he'd collected across the world, though he tried not to collect too much lest it be used against him in some international court or so that he didn't feel like that much of a serial killer.
He favourite granite lined bar was being turned to dust right before his eyes as both him and her used it as cover. The men were shooting into the bar as if they were trying to crush the cover itself.
Vukani fired and jumped up and fired into the one of his favourite couches and hit the nearest man in the area. By the sound of it there were four men left two near his daughter. Most likely without realising it.
He needed to get into the kitchen but he wasn't sure how. He waved and indicated to Edward to flank on the near side and indicated for Nina to flank on the safer far side. It was a foolish hting to do since he was sure Nina was the better shooter but he didn't want to risk the chance of her getting hurt.
He couldn't have that. There were three men decides the three of them, Vukani indicated for the three to lay down suppressive fire, which they did with a vigour that made him want to shed a tear for what was left of his apartment. There were feathers and wood chippings floating in all directions.
He moved around one of the passages and stopped at one of his pine panels in the passage to a compartment here he kept one of his emergency silenced pistols. One of his favourites.
There was ammo there too which he used and switched pistols before sneaking up on the nearest man, shooting him in the back of the head, dropping him before he knew what was happening. He entered the kitchen to find the second man, with is gun aimed up, it was a game of speed as both of them turned on each other quickly.
Edward's fast shooting took the agent down quickly before he winked at Vukani and moved on.
The kitchen was cleared and the path to his daughter was clear. He opened the door to a compartment behind the pantry which worked its way back behind the oven. He found her there. Her face stained black with where her mascara had run.
The look of intense fear in her eyes created a well off guilt he thought he would most certainly drown in. Her expression changed when it connected that it was her father to anger. She cried out and beat at him slapping him in the face. She raised her hand to slap her again but he caught her wrist.
"Not nowl, we're not out of the woods yet. You can hate me later one. Now take this."
He handed her the pistol he'd been using at the start. It was almost comical seeing her hold her pistol in both her hands, her eyes wide in horror at the fact that she was holding a pistol. It was most likely thefirst time in almost a decade.
Things were silent. Too silent, the suppressive fire had come to a grinding halt, there was nothing but silence now and he followed the path he'd let Nina, hoping to catch up to her. By now the police we filling up the ground floor, cutting off the location with every second that passed.
Anastasia
06-28-2012, 02:47 AM
The apartment in all of it's glory was as she had never seen it before. It was in ruins, absolutely every cherished piece of furniture had been destroyed. The piano on which she had played many times cried painful notes as bullets shot through it severing each and every chord. Pieces of delicate ivory keys flied across the room and dust filled the air.
Nina hid behind the bar using it as cover, Vukani not far from her. What pain he must have been in, she thought to herself. What was it like to know that your daughter was on death's door and not by her own choice? A familiar pang of pain shot through her body, it coursed through her veins.
The reign of gunshots was deafening, maddening, it was like nothing else she had ever seen before... except it was... these kinds of scenes were all too familiar, but what made it so special? Perhaps because this time she truly had a personal stake.
Leaping to her feet she shot out and took down a couple of poor souls who didn't stand a chance against her expert shot. As silence began to fall upon the scene, the pained cries of a girl pushed through the corridors. Vukani had retrieved his daughter.
Vukani emerged, the girl was holding a gun and this made Nina smile softly... the girl must have been petrified. Did she even know how to far a gun? Nina approached her carefully and removed the weapon from her hands... the girl stopped moving, perhaps out of fear, perhaps because she recognized Nina. Taking the safety off the weapon she placed it back in her hands, leaning forward slightly, she adjusted the girl's posture, positioning her hands correctly over the fire arm.
"Like this..."
Nina's words were soft, kind, they had no ulterior motive, her goal was simply to keep the girl alive as long as she could. Vukani's daughter did not respond to her, simply went along with what Nina had done, occasionally looking up at her, frightened with tear stained cheeks.
"We don't have much time, take what you weapons you need, have stored... now."
The remaining men on Vukani's side scrambled to collect the firearms wasted by the corpses which littered the room, how pathetic they all seemed, looking around her, the silence was deafening, but if you listened closely... in the background you could hear it... the faint sound of the rotor blades of a helicopter.
"When all else fails, destroy the target at all costs. Prerogative 23.4. Authorization, 4 and above... So it is true..."
Nina whispered these words and began to back toward the door as through the windows a heavily armed chopper came into view. It didn't leave them any time at all. The minutes of silence they had just experienced were all too common. The target must be destroyed, even if you have to take out a building, no mater how many innocents must die, the mark must not survive.
"Vukani... gentlemen... get your asses into the stairway and run. Run like hell, and I pray to see you at the bottom..."
Swallowing her words she darted toward the door grabbing Vukani and pushing him through it, followed quickly by his daughter. Standing there in the apartment by the door, she pushed the few others through, as a hail of bullets came through the windows. Every last piece of furniture that had survived was now torn into pieces, the entirety of the floor was devastated. Dropping down for a moment, she waited there... to see if her suspicions would be confirmed, and indeed they were. A single missile would be launched from the chopper, straight into the apartment.
Nina was the last person, running through the door she scrambled to close it behind her and down the stairs, down the stairs... they needed to get down several more floors before they could even hope to be safe... the bomb had exploded and the door from the penthouse into the stairs had blown off streams of fire pushing through.
Now there was the matter of police presence on the ground level, this was something she hadn't entirely been prepared for, they would have to exit the stairs and find the service staircase, something, anything to get them out of the way... perhaps the explosions had caused them to flee from the building which was now burning from the top down.
His plans for escape had gone up in smoke. There was little to no chance of them escaping from the bottom floor.
His mind reeled for information, answers as to how they would escape police capture. There was always an answer, he just had yet to figure out exactly what that was. Exactly how you make it work. That's when it dawned on him. Chaos.
"Ed how many grenades do we have left?" He asked.
Vukani grinned. This was going to be a very very stupid idea.
======
Ed and the other of his group separated leaving him and the girls to navigate his way down to the second floor where, abandoning the stairs for fear of whatever the British version of SWAT was, he wasn't too sure after years of having lived there. There'd just been too many of those types of names to remember over the years.
A distraction was needed and somehow he knew only himself and Nina could provide it, it would just require balaclavas which Ed had had. He knew his daughter should not have been there with them for what was to happen next but there was no chance in hell he was going to let her go.
The helicopter was still there.
Its very presence caused the most havoc of all as police tried to communicate and shoot it down. With all that was happening the last place the police would have expect would be the enemy coming out the most obvious location of all. The lobby but it's wide space and open windows were a perfect location for what he had planned.
Glass shattered and flames tore at rock and steel as each grenade blew up at the same time.
Almost like a choreographed move the two jeeps side up in front of them as Vukani laid down suppressive fire through the smoke until he was the last one not in the car then Ed took off in the lead with him, Nina and his daughter in the car.
They car moved like a fast moving tank, the windows crushed as though they'd been stomped on but refused to shatter it was only a question of time before they gave and they were all cut down by gun fire. But Ed made it through the barricade and took to the road.
"Don't go directly to the airport. We need to go the opposite direction and double back. Nina you alright?" He asked grinning. If that was all the Black Baton had then they were pointless. He thought, the helicopter still hovering in the back of his mind.
*Edited
Anastasia
06-29-2012, 01:11 PM
The journey to the lobby was a nuisance, Nina thought quietly to herself. It was something she had anticipated. Nina was simply grateful that Black Baton had decided not to take down the whole building. Ahh, upon thinking about it further, she felt she understood. This was part of their plan, and understanding it all together.
As the grenades exploded, Nina seemed entirely unphased by them, this was part of her life and part of her job, it was something that she had simply grown used to by this point. Her focus was entirely on Vukani's daughter, who seemed to be shell shocked, at least.
The place was filled with smoke, and she was being hoarded into a jeep, the vehicle had crushed windows, the blades of the helicopter could be heard coming back as it flew over the two vehicle convoy, disappearing in the distance.
"I'm fine..."
Looking over at his daughter, who sat quietly beside her, Nina felt the need to act like something she had never really been, and never really known, a mother. Leaning over she wrapped her arms around the girl, who either didn't wish to, or had lost the will to fight her. She was here because of Nina, what she did... Resting her head on the girl's chin, she simply held her there, finally turning toward Vukani.
"They wanted us to live. It's a game, cat and mouse. They're trying to distract us, if they wanted us dead... they'd send out the remaining three. They will undoubtedly be waiting for us in Russia... they want you to be afraid... afraid losing what you love the most. This to them is more valuable then simply killing you... You also owe your daughter an explanation..."
Her eyes turned downward once more toward the girl, and Nina squeezed her tightly. Not knowing what else she could or should do... this situation, what was to be done?
The follow twenty four hours were a complicated time. Therewas hell on earth revolving how panicked the people of London were. Therehadn't been an event causing such destruction since the second world war and ithad all happened in the place he called home only hours ago.
The day passed with them laying low and changing clothes, fitting themselveswith good enough disguises to get them by. By now they either thought he wasdead or somehow responsible, both ways they would be looking for him perhapseven now they'd started looking for her too. With the number of bodies that hadbeen blown to shreds there was a good chance they'd think she was dead.
With the right level of work he knew he could make sure that they found dentalrecords matching his and dental records matching his daughters. Only looking ather he knew that wouldn't happen.
There was a gaping chasm of silence hanging after Nina'swords had been spoken.
Even Ed was quieter than he was accustomed to. The journeyback into the plane was a careful one but still effective. The jet had been refuelledand they were ready to go.
Vukani held his Xoliswa's hand to pull her away from the othersbut she resisted, holding Nina's hand. Forsome reason she hung onto Nina, which was a pleasant surprise. "Nina?"He said taking Nina's hand as well to seat them away from all prying ears.
"Okay I know I owe you much Xoli, I've done everything totry make your life better than the life I had, I hope you can honestly believein that. By now your Gran would haveshown you the life we used to live. How sordid how history is. It was this lifethat gave us everything we have and unfortunately it is this life that took itall away because as of right now our lives will be different. There's nothing therefor you in England. Most likely for the next five years and I did that to you.For that I'm sorry. I am so sorry I can't stand it."
He tried to hold her but she pulled back, her eyes shuttingas she held onto herself tightly. She seemed to shrink right before his eyes,breaking his heart.
"We're being hunted by a large organisation and I needyou back home where I know you'll be safe and then we're all going to take care of these monsters."
He stopped there, unable to say much more. He wasn't surewhat there was to say in either case.
"Wouldn't I be safer with you all?" She said forthe first time. Her eyes looking up to Nina almost pleadingly. Vukani couldn'thelp but feel a pang of jealously for the connection Xoliswa and Nina had madeand yet he was ecstatic that there was anything there at all. It was an oddsuggestion that she come with to Russia. His little girl was a smart one but hewondered if he would be any kind of smart to think about such a thing despitethe time it would save. He waited for Nina to say something.
Anastasia
07-01-2012, 02:54 PM
Nina watched as Vukani tried to interact with his daughter, she resisted him at every single turn, it was typical of a girl her age. Especially under these circumstances, he tried ever so hard. A soft smile spread across her face as she watched, Xoli seemed entirely fixed on her, and this was something new and strange, never before had a child taken to her so well. Nina kept her arms around the girl, holding her close to her body, she didn't want to let go.
"What your father means to say, is that he's trying to help you. This organization wants me, and you and your father. I used to work for them... I did this to you, not him. Please don't shut him out now."
Nina's words were soft, well intentioned, she expected now for Xoli to pull away from her, she had revealed the truth, that her home was destroyed, she almost died because Nina made some rather poor decisions of her own. Leaning her head back for a quick moment she almost instantly regretted letting those words come out of her mouth.
"You're old enough to decide for yourself... if you want to come to Russia, I won't stop you. But you will have to do everything I tell you, do you understand me?"
As Xoli had looked up to her with pleading eyes, she wasn't sure she had made the right decision. Better yet, who was she to make this decision for someone else? Did Vukani want her to say no? She would have to wait at home? Did he want her to say yes? Nina had a number of safe houses in the Moscow suburbs, places where she could go relatively unnoticed, though it would be difficult with Black Baton watching her every move, especially when they set foot on their home territory.
Xoliswa's jaw clenched in a way that suggested that she was doing the math, measuring out her situation. It owuld have been cute were it not becoming clearer and clearer that what ever off calculating was over and the only thing she was doing now was hardening her resolve.
After a few seconds she nodded her head.
He wasn't sure what he wanted her to say but somehow he wasn't sure he wanted her to say yes. "Fine he said getting up and moving into the jet with his men in tow.
The flight plan changed and they were headed to Domodedovo. Edward sat next to Xoliswa pulling him away from Nina to talk to her. Which offered a well needed opportunity for vukani to talk to talk to his loved one. He held her hand and sat next to her, kissing her shoulder softly before resting his head on her shoulder.
"Worry about my daughter. I think she's accepting the fact that she wont bee able to go back to the life she had. I think this isn't the first time she's considered this becuase she decided to come with rather quickly. I think something may have happened to her back at the university. Some kind of break up. There's no chance she would have failed her subjects the child is a genius. I hate that I can't ask. I hate that she hates me but I love that's she's taken something to you. It's more than I could have asked for."
He looked up and saw his daughter talking to Ed. A smirk formed, by the looks of it, Ed was being bombarded with questions. He couldn't help but feel a pang off pride, his fingers weaving through Nina's hands.
Anastasia
07-02-2012, 03:10 AM
They made it safely to the aircraft, the rumours of her death were all around and she had to say they sounded pretty convincing. Nina Boguslavskaya would believe she were dead, if she didn't know any better. Watching as his daughter carried about her business, weighing the options she realized one thing, she was everything like her father. This was a source of amusement for Nina.
Being pulled aside she sat down and grinned carefully as his head rested upon her shoulder, lips pressed to fabric, to flesh. She listened to his words and could tell just how much his family meant to him.
"Flying into Domodedovo is an interesting choice. I would have picked Sheremetyvo, less commercial, but it will do just fine."
Nina's voice was calm, though her skin was crawling, she grew more and more nervous as they drew closer to her maternal homeland, it was clear that she didn't want to go back, but she had to, she knew she did.
"She's a smart girl. Xoli is every bit like her father... I can't say that I'm surprised. But she does love you, you know. I think she understands more than we give her credit for. You can always ask... or better you can always tell her that you're there for her. She may never take you up on it, but she'll know. Maybe she just needs a woman to talk to... someone that isn't your mother. When we get to Moscow, we won't be met with any resistance. Black Baton won't cause a scene until they have. They will wait for me to come to them. For us, to come to them. I need to see my husband first... you should be there as well... your daughter can stay in one of my safe houses... They don't need her anymore, she's out of danger."
The way she spoke was matter of fact, smiling, piecing together bits of information she squeezed his hand as it wrapped around hers. They would be landing in Moscow in a few hours, oh what it would feel like to be home... how she missed it. Leaning back against Vukani, her heart began to sink slowly.
Vukani kissed her palm softly and put on his jacket before getting off the plane he was in unknown ground as much as he'd tried to set foot on Russian soil as an agent he and Ed had never managed to get much of a foothold.
But they'd formulated plans and those plans had allowed them to work around are skirt through the aid of Russian groups to achieve missions from safely removing Russian defectors to successfully moving Russian tech out of the country to richer hands.
He'd never had to commit to a heavy gun fight on russian soil. "This is your game show. Consider all of my resources yours" He said grinning as he pulled her into his lips before stepping back. "Where do we go?"
Anastasia
07-03-2012, 12:06 AM
Russia. The Great White Beast, it was before them. They landed on her soil. From the safety of the plane, Nina had made several phone calls to people she knew she could trust. A convoy of vehicles would be awaiting them once they had landed. The drivers would hand off the vehicles to Vukani's men. The convoy awaited the plane's arrival on the tarmac.
Smiling softly, Nina would move to kiss Vukani in return, her hand dropping his as they landed and disembarked from the aircraft. Her expression changed the moment they stepped out. Suddenly it looked as though she was all business, not one to be fooled with. A well dressed man stepped out of the first of the SUV's, the other drivers following suit. A small smile was on his face.
"Дорогая Ниночка, мне очень рад тебя видить..." (1)
Her face changed for not even a second, though she moved quickly to embrace him. This man protected her when no one else would, he also ran her Russian household in her extended periods of absence.
"Vukani, this is Ivan. You may trust him."
Nodding politely at Vukani, she snapped her fingers at Vukani's men and pointed them in the direction of the vehicles, where each of the drivers handed off the keys and moved out of the way. Opening the back door to the SUV nearest them, the one Ivan had driven she nodded to Xoli.
"Get in."
The look was extended to Vukani, so as to be sure he knew she addressed him as well, she waited for them to follow her commands. Stepping around to the front of the vehicle, she sighed ever so softly and slid in the passenger seat. As Ivan moved to drive.
"As per your request, the vehicles are armored, though you shouldn't need them. I trust before you retire for the evening you'd like to see him? Will your company be joining you?"
Ivan spoke dryly but said what he needed to, his English which he spoke for the benefit of the present company was well constructed though his accent was thick, it was reassuring to her in many ways.
"Yes. I take it you broke the news to him then?" she responded quickly.
"He sounded his usual. Unenthusiastic. He understands that you appear to be in trouble. I doubt he'll take kindly to the girl, or her father."
Ivan took the freedom to speak as though Vukani and his daughter weren't there, he undoubtedly did this on purpose, then again he had long been in the employ of her ex-husband before transferring to her employ after the divorce had been finalized.
The drive took a half hour, they arrived at an Estate in the suburbs of Moscow, snow on the ground, it was the harshest part of winter. The estate was surrounded by walls and cameras, the gates opened immediately for them and the convoy would proceed down the long drive way, the doors to the main house, or the Residence, as it was called were already opened, the staff assembled at the entrance.
Ivan quickly manuevered around and opened her door, assisting her out, followed by the side which contained Vukani's daughter.
Nodding quietly to the butler and footmen at the top of the stairs, a quick wave and they had been dismissed. A second nod issued to Ivan as he excused himself inside.
"Pavel is not the most welcoming of people. But I need his support, should things end badly. He also knows a few things about the Master." Smiling quickly, Nina kissed Vukani once more, her hand resting on his cheek before she turned and entered the house.
The entranceway was large, imposing, full of marble, a large table boasting an ornate bouquet of flowers. Behind it stood a man, nearly six feet tall, handsome, in his early 50s. He clapped his hands together and moved his way around the obstacle, staring at Nina and at the group behind her.
"You know how I hate house guests. This better be good, or I'll end you personally."
His face was serious, and it was met only with Nina's smile, tilting her head to the side she walked up to him, her heels clicking against the floor as she moved.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the man I married. You're as warm as ever. But as a matter of fact we have business to discuss. Vukani, come, please."
Nodding in his direction she smiled and held her hand out in the air, as the servants of the house quickly began to attend to Vukani's men and daughter, eager to serve something that wasn't their own employer.
"The day that child died is the day all the light when out in this house, and with that man." A maid commented in the direction of Xoli, smiling and extending her hand, offering to take her to the kitchens to gorge on sweets. Yes, she was university aged, but something much younger than any of them. Something they hadn't been able to do in a long time.
----
1. Dearest Nina, I am glad to see you again.
Vukani had a hard time being bossed around. He'd once grown on it but on it but decades of calling the shots himself changed things and being moved from location to the place his love once called home. It was far bigger than he thought it would be, much bigger.
But much of it's beauty was lost to the words of Ivan. Just looking at him he swallowed down a smile at hearing his name and nodded at the man. It was surprising just how commanding his love could be.
He'd always considered his family and situation to be an odd one but listening to the man she had once called her husband threaten her so simply left him stunned and incredibly upset. His muscles tensed and his brow furrowed but he remained silent this wasn't his home and nina didn't appear to be phased by all this.
He didn't want to part from his men nor did he want to separate from his daughter if it wasn't for Nina's calm reassuring touches he wasn't sure he would have handled leaving his daughter alone or not carrying a gun.
He grinned at the maid "she could do with the special treatment."
But he followed them to the upper floor holding her hand gently.
Anastasia
07-04-2012, 09:23 PM
Nina moved up the staircase with ease, grace and comfort. Her fingertips of her free hand trailed along the delicate undoubtedly hand carved wooden banisters. Vukani trailing behind her, until she let go of his hand. Moving back her ex husband they arrived at a set of large oaken doors, it had been down a considerably large hallway.
Pushing them opened, the room inside was a study. Nina pointed to a chair and snapped her fingers, the servant, her husband's footman had noticed and closed the doors behind them immediately. Pointing a chair, she spoke once more in a commanding tone toward Vukani.
"Sit." Looking directly at Pavel, she remained stone faced, unbudging, her arms folded before her, heels clicking against the floor and trailing off into silence as she stepped onto the carpet.
"What is it this time? Don't keep me waiting, especially not while you bring such unfortunates into my house."
Nina grinned fiendishly at his comments and shook her head, her raven tresses flowing, following her every movement.
"If I remember correctly this is my my house. You know what I mean... I need to know where they are, Pavel. I need you to tell me."
The man stood, he was imposing, muscular despite his age, he stepped closer toward the woman he had once married, possibly even once loved and placed his hands on her hips. She flinched and released, turning away from her, only to turn back a single hand swiped across her face, the sound of the slap echoed across the room, her head had turned, following through with it, her hand extended, signaling that Vukani shouldn't move...
"You never did a damned thing for me... and I'm supposed to help you. If you die, it's on your own head, little duck."
Nina froze in her tracks, he hadn't used that turn of phrase since they were happy, since they had a child of their own, since before that... when they had first met. When she was nothing but poor, dirty, underfed... Looking up she nodded.
"Tell me."
"The old Arbat. Beneath it, there is a bunker. That's all I know. I stopped having to deal with Black Baton after everything happened... they should still be there. They don't expect anything, of course, now they expect you, you to walk right into their trap... They'll snap you up Ninochka, and they'll cut you into a million little pieces and I'll only regret not having done it first."
Nodding once more in his direction she stepped back from him and took Vukani's hand into her own, pulling him up she moved him out of the room, down the hallway and down the stairs, clapping her hands together the servants re-emerged with the girl who had since been well fed, and all of Vukani's men had been provided sandwiches and water.
"Time to go."
She said softly, not wanting to look back on this situation.
For the second time he'd had to watch her get struck by people she was supposed to be acquainted with. It destroyed how annoyed he'd been by her telling to sit like some common dog though with her halting gesture he felt like a pitbull gnashing at prowler while still cuaght on his chain.
when they were free off the hellish home he pulled her back just before she stepped into the car, pushing himself against her, pressing her to the car. His hands cupped her cheeks, his forehead to hers.
"That's the last time, Nina. The last time I let anyone hurt you and I allow them to live. If anyone. Any one who hurts you deserves nothing else but death by my hands and I promise to do that. There's no point if I can't help with you men as awful as that."
He gently stroked around the cheek and held her hands tightly before leading her into the car with his arms around her.
"I'm guessing you know where we're going. If your former husband is right then we are no where near ready to drive there. We should wait a day, get some snow camuoflage and then strike a dawn. "
Anastasia
07-05-2012, 12:56 AM
Nina walked until she had been stopped, until her arm tensed with his pull that retracted her into his arms, she shook her head, and listened to him, her head, her face leaning into his hands, a sign of her surrender to him, she had no will to fight him, not on this, not ever.
"If you killed him... we would have no one else to help us... You can save those promises for your vows..."
Smiling quietly, meekishly she slid into the vehicle, and had Xoli seated between them, she wrapped her arms around the girl and squeezed her for dear life, pressing her close for what seemed like eternity before she let go.
Nina waited for Ivan to slip into the drivers seat, having taken Vukani's suggestion into account, she nodded in agreement.
"Alright Ivan, let's go home... Have you been feeding them?"
"Of course."
He responded quietly, calmly, and began to drive off, leading the convoy out of the property, the estate... Within another half hour they had passed nothing but trees, and the car turned down a dirt road, which seemed to have more of nothing on it. But at the end stood a tall house. It was modern, sleek, a thing of beauty. Floor to ceiling windows glimmered in the lights that glowed quietly in the dark around the property. A modest gate stood before it which opened silently in the dead of night for them, allowing them through without question.
"This is my home Vukani... a place you've never seen."
It had been exactly 3 and a half years since she set foot on the grounds of this property, and here she was, before it and all it's splendor. A massive chunk of what she had saved from her first years of work went into it's creation.
Sliding out of the car, she waited for his daughter to exit. Taking his hand she waited for Vukani to stand at her side, and together they would walk to the threshold, entering a swift code on the door, a distinct unlocking sound could be heard.
The two large doors opened easily, and reaching to her lift several switches were activated and suddenly everything was illuminated. There were windows everywhere, modern furniture to match the style of the house. Then the sound of barking.
Two darling siberian huskies came charging, one from down the swiftly sweeping staircase and the other from another door, barking with a sense of joy, running so fast they slid against the polished wooden floor. The two animals pawed at her, front paws climbing up her body so they stood. There she embraced them, ruffled their fur, pet behind their ears. The two creatures then turned and greeted Vukani the same way, as they had been hand in hand, a sign of acceptance.
"Ruslan" Nina said pointing to the larger of the two dogs.
"and Lyudmila" she pointed to the other, with a snap of the fingers the two sat and allowed the rest of the party to enter the house.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable, all of you. There is food in the kitchen, Ivan keeps everything prepared, in case I should return home.. he also watches my darlings in my absence."
For the first time since they arrived in Russia, her voice was relaxed, calm, she was entirely at peace.
Her home was gorgeous. A truly wonderful place, the type of place one could picture raising a family in.
He also found himself smiling for the first time since arriving in Russia. He took his coat off only to be embraced by her dogs. He'd never met such stunning pure breed huskies before. He knew dogs, he grew up watching the homes of the poor around them had malnutritioned dogs that he would try to feet.
It felt special that she had such animals. What she'd said about vows hadn't escaped him from the moment those words had left her lips all he'd done fill up with a sensation of endless love. So complete, so pure he couldn't stand it.
The moment his daughter left along with the other men he grabbed her hips from behind, kissing the back of her neck softly, caressing her form. "You know, I love it when you talk about marriage, it sets me off in the most, interesting ways. I'm famished, aren't you famished? I could do with something to eat. Couldn't you do with something to eat?" He nibbled her ear. "Quickly before they realise, where's your bedroom. By then we should have gotten some recon on our distination, we can talk about it in bed."
Anastasia
07-05-2012, 06:25 PM
Nina's breath escaped her when his arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly, his lips against her flesh, she remained still for several moments. Listening to him, grinning at his words. Ruslan and Lyudmila craned at her feet, brushing their soft fur against the fabric of her pants, she bent down and pet them, before they ran off in the direction where the others had gone.
Taking his hand off her waist she embraced it within her own and pulled him up the stairs, down several corridors into the master suite. The bed was large, freshly made with clean sheets. The room was surrounded on two sides with floor to ceiling windows. The other walls had spectacular paintings of pastoral scenes and of urban Russia. There was a portrait of her and her ex-husband and new born daughter quietly tucked away in the corner.
The double doors that guarded the threshold to the chamber were closed, Vukani would hear the gentle click of the lock as it engaged. The bathroom was off to the right through a rather plain looking door. The carpet in the middle of the room was plush and engaging, hungry for bare feet, or laughing children.
No romantic man had set foot in this room, it was the sanctuary she built for herself after making her own name, and yet here Vukani was, standing behind her. For a moment she was awestruck. Turning around she threw her arms around, kissed him. Her fingers moving wildly tearing his clothes from his body. Forcing him onto the bed, they would make love, as they had done a few times before... but it was a distraction. A moment of love or rather something different from their current situation.
In the aftermath she laid between the sheets, pulling the duvet back over herself, poking her head out slightly.
"Still hungry?"
She whispered, her mind slowly starting to wander towards the coming day.
Vukani scratched his shoulder and fell back over the duvet, rolling over her, kissing her lips softly. "No, I'm still famished but if we're going to be battle ready I need to go in there angry. Caressing her cheek softly he simply smiled at her.
"I swear you're so beautiful I can't help but stare. It's a miracle any one who looks so delicate could be so tough. God, I never want to stop staring. I'm already getting angry enough to get this done quickly. I just want you to be mine so badly I can't stand it."
He pulled himself up, his naked body stretching before walking around the room, stopping by the picture of his future wife along with the monstrous husband and the child she deserved. How he wished he could be the one give her the child she lost. He stroked the frame staring at the art piece.
"I'm sure she really was a beautiful one as stunning as her mother." He sighed looking at her once again. "If we get through this I swear you wont have to hide such painful memories because we'll create beautiful ones as many as possible as we move from your home to my own. From the heat to the cold."
At some point pages of satellite images had been pushed through the door which he took and threw on the bed. "I'm thinking we should split up into two groups. Sniper group and an assault group. You're our sniper and I'm the hard hitter. When you clear a path for us you come in. He said pointing to positions and contours where a sniper could fit in best.
Anastasia
07-05-2012, 11:38 PM
Moving to sit up in bed, she raised her knees which were covered only by a thin white sheet, the duvet pushed aside. wrapping her arms around her legs, chin leaning on the very same knees she watched him as she moved about the room. Entirely care free, quite animated, and very, very naked. This provided her with great amusement, for no discernible reason. Perhaps it was simply because she loved him.
"Natasha was beautiful. The image of perfection, or so we would constantly say. She was everything a little girl should be, and from what little we could tell, nothing at all like her mother, but everything like her father... or how he used to be."
Nina sat quietly for several moments listening to him, her hands still clutching her legs, she grinned quickly as the satellite images were placed before her. Reaching her hands out she collected them and looked carefully.
"The problem is, however... you don't know a thing about Russia."
Grinning she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed, so he lay on his stomach, rolling quickly she climbed on top of him, laying on his back. Taking the back of his hand into her palm she pointed at the same imagery, though undoubtedly a little crumpled from his unexpected fall.
"This street is the old Arbat. It's one of Moscow's most famous streets, one of the oldest and is a huge center for tourism and business. It's dotted with stores as far as the eye can see, which is interesting because it's a rather short street.
Moving his fingers to another point, she adjusted herself quickly and bit her lower lip, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"This is the Pushkin Museum, the entrance to what we need according to these photos and what little my darling ex husband had to give away, is beneath this. Just about any gun shot would cause a scene, but I can perch carefully and take out the external guard that will rise to meet us. We just have to be careful, the second the first shot is fired, the Moscow police will be on us like nobody's business... understand?"
Her tone was soft, her words were quiet and sweet, almost with a hint of humour and kindness behind them, she lay there and didn't feel much like moving at that exact moment.
Vukani laughed simply watching her.
"I'm sure the police will be a nightmare but there's always one thing most police always have in common. They never know what's happening until it's happening. We'll just do what's needed as we always do. Formulate a way out. We'll have our exit set up. Two get away cars. Two change overs and two changes of clothing. If there are subways in moscow then life becomes even simpler. We go under ground when we come outside we simply get only the first helicopter leading out. Or we cross borders by car and leave from there as a backup." He lay down on his stomach next to her, talking into the matress, rasing his voice to be heard. "Each car will have two paths. Route one and route two. Each route one takes us to the next point and route two takes us to a hidnig place. As long as your husband doens't know about this place we can leave Xoli here either way she takes the plane to Cape Town interantional abd we all meet there."
He laughed into the mat, raising his feat for air. "You two can pick out a wedding invatation letters." He laughed again at the thought and dropped down into the mat once again.
Anastasia
07-07-2012, 12:35 AM
Standing up and sliding away, Nina disappeared into the bathroom just off of her bedroom where she showered, and returned awhile later, clad in nothing more than a silken robe. She shook her head and threw a clean shirt and pants at Vukani from her closet.
"I don't care about the escape plan. We'll get in through the museum, it's easy enough. We'll create a distraction... and you can slip in. I'll meet you inside, through there we can access the tunnels into Black Baton HQ. They'll be waiting... get dressed. You need to eat... food."
Making her way down the stairs she walked across the floor, bare feet and all into the kitchen. There Vukani's men had been eating most anything they could find around, and Xoli sat quietly at the island in the center.
"It's nearly one in the morning, should you be asleep? Your bedroom is next to mine... you should get comfortable, you'll be here for awhile..."
Nina spoke quietly, but seriously to Vukani's daughter, she had taken control of the Russian operation.
The clothing fit. They were the best but they were stylish enough for him and he still had his jacket so it was warm enough as a whole.
She was telling what to do again but he simply followed, there were certain soldiers, officers that soldiers were proud to follow into the depths of hell there was no questioning that that was what he felt for her.
Except how often did a soldier ever sleep with their commander. When she commanded his daughter, it didn't bother him as he thought it would. Instead he simply watched as the finality in her tone, quelled the arguement that Xoli had had in her. Instead she nodded her head looking down at the ground and carryin papers as though she were carrying homework. By the looks of it that was exactly what she was doing but homework on his own organisation.
He sat down and pulled a chair for her. "You need to eat too." Vukani pulled together what plates of food there were and started picking off, pulling what he liked into his own plate. "Ed, what's all that my girl is holding."
Ed grinned. "It's accounting details of the organisation. Everything we have. Just in case there's nothing of us left after this. In reality when David goes up against goliath. It's david's head that gets cut off."
Anastasia
07-08-2012, 04:11 AM
Sighing quietly, she forced a smile as Xoli disappeared toward the top of the house. Glancing across she watched as the men had cleaned their plates, mostly, she allowed herself to pick at the left overs. Though suddenly she found herself not as hungry as she would have liked.
"I think we've all had enough for one day. Everyone should sleep. The three guest bedrooms have been arranged, you'll have to share. I apologize. There are of course couches throughout if you prefer. Just remember, no shoes on the furniture, please. Get some rest, breakfast will be ready for you at 6. There are showers upstairs as well, please... make yourselves at home."
Nina spoke with ease, she played the role of hostess as best she could. The men began to disperse throughout the house, staking out their claim to various locations to sleep. Sighing once more she looked up at the ceiling of the kitchen... she missed this house.
"I miss this... I miss having a family of my own... I'll be up to bed... don't stay up too late."
She kissed his lips quickly, and moved her way up to her bedroom, disrobing to sleep. Ruslan had found his way onto her bed and lay at her feet, Lyudmila had taken to the foot across from her compatriot, at the foot of what would be Vukani's section. Tomorrow, or rather today, in a few hours would change her life completely. Or end it.
He didn't go up immediately instead lingering in the kitchen by himself. He stared at the room, enjoying just how spacious it was. It was potentially just as large as his own kitchen had been. He rested his bare hands on the granite fixtures, feeling the cool rock on his palms.
It was hard not to be worried in such a scenario. Most especially when they appeared to hold little to no tactical advantage what so ever.
He'd never realised how much he obsessed over plan A's and plan B's, C's and the like.
The cost of every hit was always double the price he actually used. He wondered if it were the same for her. It seemed unlikely in his head. She had always had the Black Baton, even if not right at the start of her killing career, he'd had his best friend, it wasn't much but it was enough to keep her sane.
Who did she have, Ivan or Igor , oh god he'd already forgotten the man's name. He burst out laughing and climbed up the stairs at a run.
Even alone where he mostly enjoyed the silence of solitude all he could thinking of was feeling the warmth of not only her body butt her simple presence. The sense of simply having her there with him could not be under rated enough. It was an impossibility. By the looks of it she was already in bed and sleep had won her over.
He found himself doing something he had not done in an age. He prayed.
He prayed for her, he prayed for his daughter and he prayed for his men.
He slid under the bed adjusting himself around Lyudmila,worried pushing it off might wake Nina up. He breathed heavily and slowly savouring the simple fact that she was there, loving her more and more with every moment that passed.
Anastasia
07-09-2012, 02:01 AM
Stirring slightly from her sleep as her alarm beeped, she reached out a hand out and slammed on the button, pulling herself from the bed. Standing up, she sighed and looked at herself in the mirror as though it would be the last time. Moving swiftly, she pulled the curtains opened, allowing the morning light to filter through the room.
"Time to go."
Nina repeated this line a few times, mostly for her own benefit but for that of Vukani as well, she had showered quickly and began to dress. Form fitting white pants that flared slightly at the bottom, her favorite boots and a black short sleeved turtle neck sweater, that hug snugly to her body. Pulling on a perfectly tailored black blazer she looked at herself once more. Body armor was out of the question, it would make her too obvious in the streets of Moscow, especially as she took her position on the rooftops and dashing down through the museum to the entrance to Black Baton headquarters.
Armor wouldn't protect her from a bomb, she rationalized, she had long lived dodging bullets, and if today she were to die, it would be as good a day as any. Her hair had been cut so short, falling to her jawline, layered, the blonde low lights, she looked like the average muscovite twenty-something. It wasn't her, not anymore.
Turning to face the foot of the bed she watched Vukani.
"Hurry... I still have one last thing to do before we leave..."
Vukani's eye snapped open and he sat abruptly. She was fully dressed already. It took him by surprise, he was generally such a light sleeper but it come with a good trade off. HE felt stronger than he had in a while.
He wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or something else but he felt calmer than he should have been, the only comforting feeling about it was the restlessness that felt like was building in his shoulders.
He took him time showering savouring the feeling and the joy of his body being whole and intact. He felt his body up and down as the took the time to examine himself. His fingers circled each and every scar he'd earned learning the job. There were a dozen with some long faded, leaving only bright skin while others still had scabs. The glass from the windows he'd smashed as a distraction from the police being the most recent. The only and last memories of his English home left behind.
The most interesting being the rough patch job she'd done on him in Mexico. How far off the deep end had he been that day when he'd thrown himself into a group of armed gaurds to save her from a bomb he'd set off.
She'd been furious.
He burst out laughing, warm water dripping into his face as he threw his head back.
He stepped out the shower and dressed quickly, putting on armour underneath his jacket. He met up with her at the bottom and held her hand kissing it before moving to the rest of his men.
"As you know she runs the operation. I trust her with my life and you should too. I understand if this seems like to much of a mission for you men. We've lost so many members already." He said dropping his hands on Ed's shoulder. "Any one still willing to come?"
The group nodded and patted him on the shoulde before standing behind Nina. Vukani grinned.
Anastasia
07-09-2012, 08:04 PM
Nina Boguslavskaya was about to leave her home. Walking through every hallway, into each and every room. Running her fingertips along the walls, across tables and various furnishings. Her head tilted to the side. Vukani's daughter had long been awake and sat quietly looking over various files that Nina had left out from a mission nearly three years ago.
"What are you doing?"
Xoli had asked her in a rather shy voice, perhaps not wanting to really know the answer.
"Saying goodbye."
Nina spoke quickly, smiling softly as her hand dropped off the wall, she turned to the girl and nodded in affirmation of her own statement. It would be a few more moments before she spoke again.
"I built this house... as my escape from the world. But for the first time, I am not sure that I'll be back. Not to worry. Your father will be fine. I won't let him die. This is my fight."
Xoli didn't wish to comment on it any further, but rather instead held up the files with a questioning look.
"The Ukranian Prime Minister?"
Nina looked down, almost ashamed, but not at all, she found herself unable to formulate the words, but instead simply nodding as they came together in her mind.
"August 2009. Yes. I killed him. 50 million. No questions asked. I took a bullet to the back that night. On the whole it was fairly straight forward... your father works so you won't need to live this life. I won't say goodbye to you.. on the chance I do return."
Smiling once more Nina moved quickly behind the couch and kissed the girl on the top of the head, moving toward the main hall where Vukani's men had waited. Breathing in deeply she nodded to them all.
"Goodmorning gentlemen. Should you wish to escape at any time, that is your right. You have all hopefully reviewed the maps. The ground team will have to storm the museum, the entrance to their head quarters is from an elevator hidden within art storage. I will provide cover from the roof, they will be expecting us, they will be on the street. It's a heavily civilian trafficked area. Try not to kill any of them."
Nodding kindly, she moved past them and opened them moving out into the daylight.
(I'm offf tomorrow and my net appears to be giving me a break! here's to super fast posting!)
There were three pure black vehicles with diplomatic plates, a cover which suited them as a group of heavily dressed dark men driving in a convey seemed to be more trouble than the alternative.
The drive itself wasn't short, more so punctuated by the fact that Nina was not in the car along with him.
He wasn't driving, which was a positive, but despite having free hands he had yet to call his beloved.
He couldn't think of single reason of why he hadn't turned on the coms unit in his ear. He couldn't get himself to press the button turning it on.
Prehaps it was the preassure, the sense of fear that surrounded him completely that the last time he kissed her might just be the last time he ever kissed her ever again. The very idea of it scared the life of him.
She was right about it being a busy part of town, but tthe diplomatic plates seemed to give some effect. Some good effect becuase no one called the poilice when he stepped out, heads turned but no one ran right up until they raised thier guns, unleashing a hailstorm of gun fire.
Head bent but eyes sharp, he stared forwards gunning his way through to the promised land, freedom for his future wife and the key to his own personal happily ever after.
Anastasia
07-19-2012, 01:31 AM
The ride took forever, or so it felt. Though the slow reality was that it was only about an hour and a half. The traffic was light until they reached central Moscow. Nina had been dropped off sooner than the rest and moved swiftly through the buildings able to take her position on the roof.
It had occurred to her that posing as diplomats was the only way for them to pass through. A large group of Africans on the Old Arbat otherwise would have stirred up some suspicion. Not that it would matter, as soon as the people began to flee when shots were fired. A hoard of men dressed in black would come from what seemed like nowhere. From the depths beneath the Pushkin museum and would flood the street.
Taking aim, Nina would begin to pick them off one by one. Her thoughts wandered, she thought of her love, and how she might be dead before the day was out. It was discouraging but gave her enough to move along.
Firing one, after another shot, she picked away as the men on the ground did the work. Their instructions were simple, to make it into the museum, down into the art shortage room and into the passage toward Black Baton headquarters. An elevator would take them directly there.
Nina herself was being watched, this much she knew, though she wasn't expecting to be reached so easily. Watching as the first team had entered the museum, the police were already on their way, though they would be so far underground by the time they arrived, it wouldn't matter. It was utter chaos on the street, blood and death were everywhere.
Watching as the scene unfolded, and about to take aim once more, a searing pain shot through her body, the swift motion of the hilt of a gun hitting on the head, rendering her unconscious, she was out. Her hands and feet tied, she was taken through a service entrance into the headquarters of Black Baton, where she would lay in wait as a mere hostage.
The fire fight was proceeding perfectly, whatever cover the enemy took was blow away by their heavy rifles what members of the black Baton remained weere cut through by the rifle of his beloved.
Within minutes they had already cut right through the first half of the muesem, which had once been beatiful, stunning and as wide as a hall with green finishing but was now riddled with bullets. The high windows allowed for Nina to keep cutting through the enemy allowing them sight of the elavators leading to the fascility itself.
But then there was silence from above, nothing but static on her end.
The gun fire which had aided, completely vanished, they're little bonus had dissapeared. Now all they had were thier guns which tore right across the center of the areana, bursting through on of the building's support beams and covering a huddled group in crushing concrete.
But something changed, their wall of gunfire was met with another, even larger pinning most of his men. There was a scream cut short near him and he saw one of his men. Tolani Abrhihams drop. A half his left shoulder up to his neck missing.
It was clear he wasn't the only one out to play with big guns. That was of the room appeared to turn into a shower of concrete as the Black Baton managed to supress their attack.
Vukani couldn't affort to stay there, they were behind scedule and the elavator down was right behind the soldiers wee making his stand.
Vukani started whistling in sharp bursts, and the firing on thier side slowed as they volleyed their counter attack in order to allow each other to reload an concerve what they had. Vukani on the other hand was on his knees, altering his weapon.
He blew once, a long one, every man there rose up, their weapons blaring. A solid wall of bullets flew over The Baton. Another one of his men dropped, caught by a bullet. Vukani took the moment and aimed his rifle, a rocket slotted in.
He fired, the room trembled, flame burst in all directions and then there was silence.
Vukani was the first one running, he opened the elevator doors, free of booby traps and took it down to the basement with the rest of his men.
Guns ready, there was a well dressed man standing at the door, a gun at his sides but his hands free save for a knie in his left hands in surrender and spoke directly to Vukani.
Anastasia
07-19-2012, 01:19 PM
The elevator doors would open to the basement level. It was empty. Instead there only stood one singular man. About six and a half feet tall. He had perfectly groomed black hair, eyes of piercing blue and a smile across his lips. He simply stood and as the doors opened clapped his hands together letting out a soft laugh of joy and triumph.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Congratulations on making it this far, but your journey will end here. Just behind us is the elevator into our head quarters. But first, a deal."
The man backed up slowly, still smiling. His name was Viktor Ryazanov, he was a highly ranked assassin within Black Baton, and a personal friend of Nina's, the two of them had gotten their start for this agency together, however Nina was always a better shot than he was.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your darling Nina is already dead. That's the thing about having one assassin on the roof, she can only look forwards, not from what's coming behind her. She begged for her life, you know... pleaded, and then she settled. Settled, and made me promise... if I killed her... I'd let you go... I've never seen her so impassioned by something... The sight of the life leaving those beautiful eyes of hers... it's something you'd not soon forget. Just as I wouldn't forget the very taste of her lips, the feel of her delicate fingertips against my skin... you loved her didn't you?"
Viktor smiled and let out a deep laugh as he spoke, removing a loaded gun from the holster at his side, her held it up and shot one of the men behind Vukani, clean between the eyes, without a second though or even the slightest hesitation.
"A promise is a promise. If you turn around and leave... we'll let you live, our business has been taken care of. She violated the terms of her contract, she failed on a mission, and she fled. That is our internal business, not yours... so what'll it be? You can leave now, or die below."
Viktor stepped aside and stretched out his arm, pointing to a wall panel which was the secret entrance to what lies beneath, their fate.
Vukani turned his head and watched one of his comrades get shot at point blank range. They'd been ten when they'd started out now they were seven men in total left including him and Ed and now Nina was dead.
Vukani let out a wild and animal roar, viceral and black with hate, he charged rigth at the assassin. He was nonploussed aiming his gun at Vukani's head calmly but then he retreated back seeing the others of Vukani's men raise thier own weapons he tried to step in Vukani's path while backtracking to keep Vukani in his line of fire. It was a good plan right up until he clipped his own heal forming enough of a distraction for him to turn his gaze ever so slightly.
He recovered enough to let off a shot.
The bullet tore flesh from the side of Vukani's head but he didn't slow catching the man's wrist. Viktor Reached for his second weapon and recieved and elbow to the diapham in a spinning manouvre which would have seemed unatural to a man Vukani's height.
Viktor had hieght of Vukani but the size advatange truly belonged to vunaki who you'd every inch of it to slam Viktor against the passage wall. The man creid out but didn't give up, dropping his gun he held Vukani's wrist, ramming his head into Vukani's. Disoriented he gave lee way for Viktor to manouvre but Viktor rereceived a forehead to the skull as a reward for his efforts.
Viktor reached over vukani's shoulder and grabbed the gun on Vukani's back, firing it down, unable to pull it free of the strap. A bullet tore a hole through Vukani's thigh and he roared slamming his forehead into Vitkors face before falling back to the ground both men dropped and there was a mad scramble. Viktor made for his second pistol only for it to be kicked away. Vukani made to swing the rifle free of his shoulder only to for the clip to be yanked free and tossed aside.
There was still the first pistol which they both dashed for but Vukani got his hands on it first only for him to deliberately throw it away and grab at the man's throat. Viktor recieved a disabilitating knee in the groan, once twice, three times. He screamed despite the fingers squeezing on his throat.
Vukani had forgotten about the knife at his side but he remembered quickly when Viktor grabbed it and rammed it into Vukani's chest, by the grace of God it his bone turning down cutting a line down his left side. The pain was too much to hold on, half delierious himself Viktor let the blade slip.
There was a high speed hand to hand fight as the knife fell, each man trying to disorintate by attacking a vital point only for thier hand to be slapped away before they had to counted themselves.
Viktor was the first to manage a hit slapping his palm against the open would but when he dropepd for the knife got a knee in the face, striking his nose, blinding him for a second. It was enough for Vukani to throw himself at the ground and grab the knife rammig it into the bottom of Viktor's lower jaw blood spilt freely as the blade burst out of Viktors open mouth. Forcing him to let out a wet gurgling scream.
"That's for not shutting up." Vukani managed before slamming the blade at the man's groin. "That's for my wife" He screamed.
Both man dropped flat but only Vukani remained breathing.
Vukani blinked awake. His shift off white bangeds tied way too tightly to his torso and leg. Edward helped him up. "Come on. We promised to finish this no matter how many of us died. She knew that comming in. She was most liekly trying to buy you time to finish the job. You're as patched up as you're going to be without a hospital. Can you still hold a gun old man?"
Vukani grinned then cringed. "The only thing that's chaged is that I wont be tap dancing any time soon and that I'll have to switch shoulders. Nothing else. Let's finish this."
He lip quivered but he held, he couldn't mourn her just yet.
Anastasia
07-19-2012, 03:48 PM
Behind Viktor was the elevator, it would take them to the lowest level, which contained a series of mazes, just never ending corridors, locked doors, opened doors, things that weren't doors and only looked like them. And somewhere inside there was their final destination, the source of what he had been looking for. There were a series of control rooms, of rooms with endless files, there would agents carrying out their daily duties throughout.
People monitoring equipment, preparing and cleaning weapons for use. Many, many purposes of the day to day operations. Most of whom would flee at the sight of armed men who weren't their own coming in, especially with the amount of blood that had been spilled. They were all aware of the possibility that they would have to evacuate.
Inside a large room, it was dark, and Nina lay on the floor, having been stripped and placed in something like a hospital gown, a series of various drugs had been injected into her blood stream, and for the past several hours since had been knocked out, she had apparently been screaming in unimaginable pain. But now it was quiet, silent.
Looking around the lights came on, there was an empty chair in the center of the room, and a mysterious voice boomed through the speakers which kindly asked her to sit, and so she did. She would have to sit and wait, for Vukani, knowing he must have been successful thus far, he never gave up. Though a portion of her wondered, just why exactly she had been allowed to remain alive. It was a mystery. While seated, she crossed her legs and waited for something an explanation.
She understood the purpose of this room. It was a sterile torture chamber. What had been done to her was just one of many tricks the agency had for those who had gone astray, it was all supposed to lead up to death, though usually it was far swifter.
"Vukani...."
she whispered, as she looked up toward the ceiling, the door opened, but no one was there. It remained opened, as though she were the cheese at the end of the mouse trap.
He wanted his wife back, he wanted her enough to detroy his soul to allow it to happen. thoughout his career he'd killed the innocent, even going as far as going through them to get at his enemy.
If one was to be an effective killer this was a mentality you needed but every man had a line.
An invisible point where he knew not to cross in order to keep what he figured was left of his soul.
But that was before the world had just taken away whole of the few bright lights left in his life. Vukani was a terrifying force as he drilled his way through the passages. Shooting first, second and then moving on to the next room. He didn't have a sngle question he wanted to ask these people.
Agents who were never used to shoot were gunned down along with the rest of them There just wasn't enough ammo to allow him to keep it up for ever but the enemy had abliged by triyng to shoot them back they were half way through clearing the maze, the sounds of alarms asking for an evac blaring.
Vukani, tripped over something that was never there. His strength left him and he fell to his kness the of the black baton emerged out of two passages at the moment as though waiting for the first slip up but Edward was there.
Vukani's life was saved. He wasn't sure how much time passed before he managed to pull himself up. He knew he'd need a hospital soon but the patch job was a good one. Ed had always had a way, a way that would allow him to turn this entire area into a morgue, he ran in the direction of where the others were running, deterined to cut off any who linked themselves with the black baton. It wouldn't bring his fiance back but it would do for now.
Anastasia
07-21-2012, 01:36 AM
The sirens to evacuate, and the sounds of shots being fired, and people screaming grew louder. The sounds echoed and reverberated down the halls. Nina could tell that he was getting closer, he was bringing himself nearer to her. Though this would be her last chance.
Looking around, there was nothing, she needed to know who she was up against, it was a trap. This much was for certain but the door was wide opened, simply waiting for him to cross the threshold. Standing once again from the chair she went closer to it, thinking about sliding across and into the hall way.
I'd think twice about that if I were you, Nina.
A voice came from the loud speaker in the room, echoing across the walls, she slid back and her eyes widened, immediately and just then she had been hit with the truth, she finally knew. In that moment, she felt weak and dropped to her knees, as though she had been kicked. Wretching, dry heaving against the cold floor, she tried to scream but could hardly speak.
So the beauty figures it out. What shall our beast think?
The voice was accompanied by a laugh and then it was gone, as she saw Vukani round the corner and make eye contact with her, she let out a primal scream, blood curdling in absolute pain, and despair, as the door slammed shut, the lights in the room went out, and just like that, it seemed to be over, for the moment.
(OOC not sure what to do so small post for myself, keeping the ball in your court lol, you can totaly GM my char if you want. HE should be esy to control right now.)
She was alive. SHE WAS ALIVE!
His whole body trembled in disbelief. He was injured, his flesh held loosely together just moments from falling apart but none of that mattered. He had to get there.
She looked to be in a great deal of trouble creating a new found desperation inside of him. She screamed, he screamed back to her, pushing his weapon to the side in an attempt to gain speed but the door slammed shut in front of him.
He roared ramming himself into the door once twice, three times his own wounds reopening. The door was strong but he still had his rifle, which he fired around the door weakening it before smashing right through aling with the Ed who burst in right along him.
"Nina!" He called out.
Anastasia
07-21-2012, 01:57 PM
Nina Boguslavskaya stared at the two men before her, clearly she was in visible agony. She reached her hand out, shaking her head quickly.
"NO. Go Vukani, leave now... you must turn back!"
Her voice was frantic, though she was short of breath as she spoke, pleading with him from across the room as she sat on the floor. Next to motionless, it was as though she had been hit by a train, she noted that Vukani was bleeding badly.
From the wall behind her, a door opened, a familiar face walked through, followed by a string of armed guards. The face of the man was that of her ex-husband. Pavel. He was there. Walking up to Nina from behind, her left hand reached down, running through her hair, his hands grabbing a good piece, pulling her upward by her hair, he sat her down in the chair.
He began to clap slowly and laughed somewhat nonchalantly.
"Welcome to my parlor, Vukani. I'm sure you found the fight to get here to be satisfactory? I hope you've taken a liking to my wife, she is rather special, isn't she? Ah... pardon my manners. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Pavel, and I am Black Baton. Though poor little Nina never knew that, all those years we were together... I imagine you must have questions. Shall we get those out of the way before I end your pathetic little lives?"
Nina sat dumbfounded, upset, betrayed. She found the words to speak, as she sat there, on the verge of tears.
"How could you do this to me, Pasha?! What have you done to me?!"
Nina stood, only to be forced back into the seat by one of the armed guards.
"When I found you... you were poor, weak. You were a criminal, most petty things, easy enough to cover up. But you were beautiful, and such spirit. I arranged for my people to find you, take you in. Give you a purpose. You exceeded all of my wildest expectations. You were the best we'd ever seen. Of course I got to know a more intimate, personal side of you. I fell in love with you... but as you know business is business. I had to make you cold, jaded, angrier... I had to cut your connections with the world of the living and emotion, and destroy what was left of your humanity... I had so desperately hoped our daughter would have around far longer... but she was the perfect means... so I had her killed. And from there I slowly watched, as you fell apart. Throwing yourself in with your work, becoming better and better with each target... I pretended to stop loving you... which propelled you further and further.... You murdered world leaders, without a second thought. You were brilliant. And then... along came Vukani... and from the start we knew he'd be trouble... he slowly began to undo everything I'd done for you... I gave you everything!"
Nina looked up at the man she had once loved, with anger, and sadness in her eyes. Standing up, she bat away the hand that tried to force her down, running she took one of the weapons from the guards and murdered them all... leaving her darling ex-husband for last.... but she couldn't, dropping the weapon, she looked at the man...
"You murdered me... my life... my child...."
Coughing what seemed violent, she fell to the ground and vomit everything, anything she had contained in her stomach, bile, acid, she could hardly breathe, she turned toward Vukani.... and nodded at him... whispering the words... "Kill him."
And with that, the lights went out, and Nina lost consciousness, unable to handle the reality of what she had just been told, laying on the cold floor, utterly motionless, defeated.
Vukani didn't have it in him to kill the old man. Instead he stared at the man with jaded indifference. Too angry, to hurt, too awestruck by the idea that a single man could do so much to another human being.
He'd killed many a monster. Killed many a druglord in the name of their orginisation killed more in the name of South African intellgence. Moved across the continent wiping out monsters but this one wasn't worth the bullet.
"No, I won't kill you." He said moving slowly past the man to his future wife. "Ed?"
Ed dropped his rifle pulling out the pistol the assasin had held and pointed it right at the man's head, pulling the trigger. There was a clean hole in the front but the back of his head burst apart. The joys of a hollow point point.
His every step was a slower one, each step born of excruciating pain and matured in agony. He could feel much of himself leaking out of his wounds but still he trudged on. For a moment tre was a rushed element of competition inside of him where he couldn't help but wonder whether he would make it to her before the pain eventually caused him to black out.
He dropped to his knees right in front of her, panting. "It's over my heart of hearts. It's over." He kissed her cheek and mustered all he had left, including what he never thought he had inside of him into lifting her up in her arms and standing up. The sentimate of carrying out out was there but not the phyisical ability. Ed ending up holding her legs holding acting as a shoulder to lean on for Vukani.
"We should definately get out of here." Ed said whistling for the surviving memers of his men who came back covered in blood and scars.
"There were just too many people here for us to have to worry about getting a get away car. They couldn't have all come by bus."
------
Six months later.
Uganda
Vukani, generally loved the heat but even he had to admit the Ugandan sun was a little too opressive on him, such heat made his scars tingle in a way he'd hoped to long forget. At times he could still see the Black Baton assasin utting into his flesh but at this point it was pushed far ito the bakck of his mind, dealt with. Scratching the back of his head where the grazing bullet had left a mark, he stared at the ring on his hand and smiled. It was difficult to be bothered by anything in the world when he remembered the ring on his finger.
He opened the door to his dusty brown safari jeep and stretched his lets further. At the moment the door to the wooden bungelow a few meters away opened. The screaming inside having long stopped.
Xoli stepped out her once thick afro turned into long dreaded locks which ran down to her ribs. She yanked off her bloody spandex gloves and threw them to the floor before bending over, retching. Nothing came, she only spat and sat up sucking on her teeth as if looking fo something and spitting again.
Vukani smiled. "I told you it gets easier. Much easier"
Ed stepped out considerably more drenched and patted Xoli on the back "You were right, she's a natural." He laughed. "We got what we needed, I'll do the clean up. Finish the job and kill that fucker."
Vukani gave a playful 'hats off to you' salute and waved Xoli over.
Xoli got in the car and stared at the massive long item sitting in the back, that reached across to the gap between the driver and passanger seat. "What's that?"
The car roared to life, pushing off at high speed through dry savannah leaving a trail of cloud in his wake.
"You're birthday gift." He pulled the cover off revealing a massive hunting rifle and grinned. "It's for you. I bought one for your step mother just like, you remember?"
In the distance there was another jeep of the same colour and type, parked and waiting. He kissed his daughter on the forhead. Go have fun with your mother and lets get rid of this warlord once and for all. I love you Xoli, tell nina I love her too."
He grinned as he watched his daughter take the weapon, struggling at first with the size before shouldering it and running off to Nina's car. He'd thought he'd be able to stop the business once he'd married nina but instead all they'd done was change their directive. He'd never felt closer to either of them dispite them driving them away.
He took a moment to laugh at his own sentimental mood before dropping a rifle on his own lap and driving to where the rest of the assult team aly in waiting.
It was a hot day but a good one none the less.
Anastasia
07-23-2012, 11:19 AM
And they lived happily ever after, the end.
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