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| >> Campfire Creative >> Fiction >> Action/Adventure >> ID #1705852 |   |
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[Introduction]
  a C A R N A L story they are convicts, rock stars, soldiers they are rich, they are poor, they have everything, they have nothing and the one thing they have in common is they are desperate. Salvation comes with a price. The price is paid in years. The price was paid to: The Shifter Initiative |
 Wenston  Episode #1: Costas DeFranco Simon pulled up to the small apartment complex and grinned at the man sitting on the steps beneath the small veranda. The rain was coming down heavily and he looked a little pissed off because he’d been sitting out in it for a while and it was the kind of rain that came in sideways. So he was a little bit soaked. But as Simon pulled up, he just stood and held his hands out to the side, walking down the steps slowly, like the rain wasn’t even bothering him. Simon knew otherwise. His brother fucking hated the rain. He pulled open the passenger side door and leaned down, resting an arm on the top of the car and grinned the stupid grin of his. “What the fuck are you driving?” he asked, his long hair pulled back, but a few strands were stuck to his face. “Get inside already,” Simon demanded and pointed a finger at him. “You’re getting rain in my car.” “I’m serious,” Alexey said but he climbed in and slammed the door behind him. He looked around the car, not caring that he was soaking everything he touched. “What the fuck is this?” Simon grinned and put the car into drive, pulling out of the apartment complex and he turned to grin at his brother. “This is a Lexus.” He reached forward and pointed towards some of the buttons on the dashboards. “It has heated seats. You cold? I could start roasting you.” Alexey groaned and threw his hands up in the air. “Jesus Christ,” he said dramatically and Simon chuckled. “You know what this is? This is a rich person’s car. This is the kind of car that hoity-toity bankers drive to get to the Rolex store to buy a watch that goes with their Armani suit. Oh fuck, you’re not wearing Armani are you?” “Nope,” Simon shook his head. “Polo.” He flicked the turn signal on and merged onto the highway before glancing at Alexey, who was ringing out his ponytail onto the car seat. Simon laughed and said, “They’re gonna give us uniforms anyway, probably. Covert, secret agent uniforms.” “You watch too many movies,” Alexey told him but reached forward and flicked on the seat warming button. He wiggled in his seat and little and then a grin spread across his face. Simon felt one echoed on his own because his brother could be such a little kid sometimes. They hadn’t exactly been close growing up. Simon had lived in New York with their mother. Simon’s father had left when he was really young, he never knew to where or why, just that he left. Alexey’s father had been a real piece of work and their mother hadn’t wanted him around, which meant she hadn’t wanted Alexey around. So they’d grown up in two separate states. But they were still brothers. And Simon had always made sure they stayed that way. “But seriously,” Alexey continued. “We need to get you a different car. This just screams rich boy.” Simon shook his head. “This is a modest Lexus.” “There’s no such thing as a modest Lexus, you tool,” Alexey said and then leaned forward again, pressing some more buttons on the dashboard to see what they would do. Simon rolled his eyes but let his brother play around with the car. He wondered if he was right. He wondered if the car would attract too much attention or if they were even going to be allowed to use their own cars. He wondered what they would even be doing. He wasn’t used to this kind of stuff and it seemed like he’d stepped into a different world and he’d never felt so out of his element before. He’d been a personal trainer living in his mommy’s mansion before he’d been diagnosed with cancer. He’d never had to work, he just chose to so he could stay busy. When he got cancer, it was like the universe had slapped him across the face because he’d always been a health nut. Alexey used to make fun of him for it all the time. He still did. The cancer had nearly killed him. It would have, if it weren’t for Alexey finding an alternative treatment. Gene treatment. He’d always said that was a path he’d never go down. When he’d first heard about the experiments and the new technology, he’d always said that he’d never do it. Why would a person want to have animal DNA inserted into their own? Why would they want to change their genome to be something unnatural and different? He’d even attended an anti-gene splicing rally once just to see what it was all about. Turns out, he was probably the biggest hypocrite on the planet because when the opportunity came to live, he’d changed his mind with barely the blink of an eye. And now, he had animal DNA mixed and mingled with his and it had cured his cancer, but now he owed years of his life to the government that had saved it and that was something he wasn’t used to. Owing people something, having someone else control his life. He wasn’t sure what they were supposed to be, but they’d just gotten done with a six month basic training to learn how to fight, how to survive, how to shoot and how to use the DNA within them. Because not only did it heighten his senses, but it allowed him to shift between forms. The Shifter Initiative. He was a fucking monster. Alexey had come along for the ride and gone through it with him as well, but Simon had never asked his brother why. He’d never asked Alexey why he’d done it when he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t in trouble, and he didn’t need it. Maybe his brother just wanted a change. Maybe he just wanted a way out of his life in Los Angeles struggling as a musician and he’d seen an opportunity when he’d presented it to Simon. Whatever his purpose behind the decision, it was Alexey’s business, not Simon’s. If his brother wanted him to know, he’d tell him. “What is this?” Alexey snapped suddenly and Simon saw him reach for a bag sitting between them. He smiled at his brother and looked back at the road. The compound was a building downtown that required a badge to get through the door. They were going to pick up their badges when they got there. A part of the contract they had with the government meant that they did whatever the government asked. And it had just so happened to ask the both of them to join a team that was forming. Some mercenary team. Simon just thought it sounded like a good way to get killed. But the government had trouble taking “no” for an answer. “Almonds,” Simon told his brother. One brow on Alexey’s face rose up and he looked over at Simon with an incredulous look on his face. “Almonds,” he repeated. “Yeah,” Simon answered and reached over to grab the bag from him. He set it back between them and then opened it up, pulling out a handful and popping a few in his mouth. “Healthy snack.” “Oh my god,” Alexey said. “That’s a one pound bag of fucking almonds. How much did that cost?” Simon shrugged. “Like, nine bucks.” “You know you could buy like, three bags of chips with nine bucks?” Simon just grinned and popped some more almonds into his mouth. Alexey groaned loudly. “You’re impossible. You’re embarrassing. My big brother’s going to embarrass me in front of all my new friends.” “That’s what big brothers are for,” Simon said seriously and squinted his eyes as he pulled the car into a spot near a meter. “We’re here,” he said as he shut off the car and both of them leaned forward to look out the windshield at the building. It was tall and looming and inside there was an organization that controlled the lives of shifters all over the world. No one but them knew about it. It seemed odd to Simon that he’d lived in New York his entire life and had never heard of the organization. Different world. Alexey kept looking out the window at the building as he said, “Maybe we don’t have to tell them that we’re brothers.” Simon laughed and shoved his door open. He hunched over in the rain and looked back in at his brother, who was giving him a dirty look. “What? You want to say we’re army buddies? Okay, I saved your life in Vietnam. Stopped you from sleeping with a Vietnamese whore who had Chlamydia.” “You’re a fucking riot,” Alexey spat and Simon just laughed as he shut the door. He didn’t wait for him as he headed inside. .Wolfie. Victoria always knew when someone was staring at her.The overhead light was on in the room but she was pretty sure that hadn’t woken her up. She’d gotten used to sleeping in a lot of different places, some of them not half as nice as this, and she could sleep through just about anything not immediately dangerous. No, she’d woken up because someone was fucking staring at her. She kept her eyes on the wall and she bit back a growl because she didn’t want to be awake right now. Her body was sore and there was a gash on her forehead being held together with butterfly stitches. She’d come in late last night and then had to deal with the gatekeeper giving her a hard time about it and she was fucking tired. “The fuck you looking at, Morticia?” she snarled. She heard a snort from behind her and she didn’t even turn around as she pushed herself to the side of the bed. She put a hand to her forehead and her fingertips brushed the still healing gash there. She wished she could say it was from a mission, but it wasn’t. It was from a god damned bar fight because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut or her fists to herself and she smirked a little because she was doing a hell of a lot better than the other guy at least. “Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere right now?” her roommate snapped. She glanced over her shoulder at the girl and didn’t hide the disdain in her eyes. She had long black hair and black fingernails and she hadn’t grown up and gotten past her fucking goth phase. God, even her animal shape was a damned black bear. She was sitting on her bed in a black lace top and a plaid schoolgirl skirt, just smoking her clove cigarette and staring. The girl needed a fucking hobby and she needed to mind her fucking business. “Didn’t you have some meeting or something? Some special task force? I don’t know, don’t you have anywhere else to be?” “Why?” Vic snarled, ignoring the comments even though her roommate was right. A glance at the clock told her she was already late and maybe she should have set an alarm or something. She rubbed a hand over the bruises on her arm and tried to tell herself that maybe he would understand. She wasn’t the only one who’d had a late night last night. “You got a date with your purple dildo or you just want to turn out all the lights and cut yourself?” “You’re such a bitch,” Lisa spat at her, shaking her head like she’d only just figured this out. “Only just figuring this out, princess?” Vic said, and she was smirking. She scrubbed a hand through her dark hair and she could tell just by the feel of it that was all over the place and probably wasn’t going to listen to her today. “Do you want to hug it out? Maybe cry and talk to your therapist about how daddy touched you in your bad place when you were little?” The bitch was still just staring at her. She rolled her eyes and put her cigarette back between her lips and Victoria wanted to ask if she was a damned dyke or something because she didn’t stop staring even when Vic crawled out of bed in her underwear to yank her tattered jeans on. They had holes in them and paint stains from where she’d painted their bathroom pink just to fuck with Lisa and it had been worth every second of it. The girl had thrown a shit fit when she saw it. She’d come storming out like it was the end of the world and proceeded to tell Victoria all the reasons she hated her, like she would ever give a damn. Victoria didn’t care about anyone. Maybe her old man, but pops was years dead now and even if he was still alive she would never say she loved him. She didn’t know what that word meant, because it was one of those weak emotions and she wasn’t interested in weakness. She wasn’t interested in anything but fucking and fighting and surviving and so she fought to be the best at all of them. That was why she was here. She’d sold her life to the Devil because the alternative was prison for the rest of her life. She didn’t like enclosed spaces and she didn’t like other people telling her what to do. She didn’t like being confined or tied down and she sure as fuck didn’t like prison. Three years was too long for someone like her. She hadn’t stayed anywhere longer than a year since she was eight years old and pops had gotten thrown in the can for the first time. “I have a friend coming over,” Lisa spat. “I’d like your skanky ass gone before he gets here.” “Ooh,” Vic said with a sneer. “A boy? You finally going to get some from something that ain’t plastic and vibrating?” She shook her head and pulled a black zip hoodie over the white tank top she’d slept in. Her shoes were tucked under her bed where she always left them because she had to keep them close by in case anything happened. She had to be ready to run if the mafia or the cops showed up and maybe it was an old habit but it was one she didn’t let die. Just like she never stopped keeping a knife under her pillow and kept a pack of cigarettes in her back pocket, even though she never smoked them. Cigarettes were currency. “Just because I don’t spread my legs for everyone doesn’t mean I don’t spread them for anyone Vic. You might want to look up the difference.” She tilted her head to the side and was still staring at her with a bitchy look on her face, smoke rising up from the burning cloves in her hand. It was the kind of look that made her want to punch the bitch in the face and it wasn’t because the words hit home. It wasn’t because she was fucking a man she worked for and it wasn’t because she’d made it easy for him. It was just because Vic hated it when people stared at her and the bitch hadn’t stopped. She walked over to the bed and yanked the cigarette out of her lips and put it to her own. The thing stank and she didn’t particularly like the taste but she sucked in anyway and then blew it out across Lisa’s face. “You fucking call me a slut again and I’ll gut you like a fish.” Lisa smiled but she saw the moment of hesitation flash across her face and she reveled in it. “Didn’t call you a slut, honey, but someone’s got a hell of a guilty conscious.” “Go fuck yourself,” Vic snapped. Her roommate rolled her eyes because it was a weak comeback but Vic was pissed now. She felt like hitting something now and if she didn’t walk away it was going to be Lisa and then she’d have to try and live with her after that or wait while the folks downstairs or upstairs or wherever tried to find her another roommate. She’d already gone through two and she wondered if there was a three strike rule and after the third she was the one that got kicked out. Not that she liked being this close and on the government’s leash, but she didn’t really have any other place to go. “That’s what my purple dildo is for, remember?” Lisa said with a cocky smirk. Vic snorted and turned on her heel, just shaking her head. “I’ll be home late,” she spat, and she probably didn’t need to say the words. She was always home late, if this place could even be called a home. More like a halfway house, and she didn’t know what the other half was supposed to look like. “Don’t fuck in my bed or I swear it’ll be the last thing you do.” She headed into the main room, still holding her roommate’s smoke in her fingers. The room was like their kitchen and their living room and their dining room all in one. At least they had cable. She hadn’t had cable her whole fucking life, but as soon as she signed a contract with the government they were more than happy to put her up in a decent apartment for no rent. They cut it out of her salary and even that felt fucked up because she’d never had a salary before. It felt strange to have something like a real job and a place of her own because that had never been something she pictured for herself. Then again, she’d never thought about the future much. There hadn’t been a point to it. The only important thing was keeping enough miles between her and the cops or the mafiosos or whatever was after her and her dad at the time. She didn’t know half the time and honestly she still didn’t know. He’d pissed somebody off when she was eight years old and after a brief stint in the foster system he’d taken her and then they’d dropped off the grid. Her pops had done whatever it took to keep her fed and clothed, including knocking off liquor stores and selling drugs in back alleys to pimps and prostitutes. When she was sixteen she’d started going with him and she was sure all of that was written down in neat print in a file somewhere. She probably should have been dead. She rubbed at her stomach as soon as she thought it because there was a round bullet scar left on her abdomen and that had been the day that Vic Boston or Vicki Memphis or Vi Charlotte had died. She didn’t remember what name she’d been going by at the time. She wasn’t sure it mattered anymore because none of them were her real name Even that one didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was Victoria Wolfe, but she went by Vic to everyone else. Nobody called her Victoria unless they wanted to lose a limb and now she probably had the strength to back the threat up. She was a wolf shifter that worked under contract hunting whatever they decided to send her after. It wasn’t such a bad gig really. She got to fight all the time, and that was one thing that Vic had always had a knack for. She always knew the right things to say to piss somebody off and it had gotten her into trouble more times than she could count. Most of the time she came out on top. Most of the time. She flicked the cigarette into the sink before she turned her attention to the fridge. A glance at the clock told her she didn’t have time to make coffee, considering she was already fifteen minutes late now, but she wasn’t going on an empty stomach. As if in response to her thoughts it grumbled up at her and she pressed one hand against her skin and yanked open the freezer with the other. A sneer curled her lip because it was next to empty and Lisa had fucking eaten the last of her frozen burritos without replacing them. God she hated roommates. She liked her cellmate in prison a thousand times better and she wondered why they’d picked Vic and not Rita. That bitch would have made a good shifter. She slammed the freezer shut loudly and obnoxiously. “Replace the fucking burritos!” she shouted over her shoulder, and she didn’t hear a response. She snorted and shook her head and wondered if Lisa actually had someone coming over or if she was just being a pain in her ass. She yanked the fridge open and she’d left half a hoagie in there, her name written in black marker on the paper. “Fucking dyke,” Vic grumbled, grabbing it in one hand and kicking the refrigerator door shut with the other. She slammed the door shut behind her and she hoped she would get something to do at this meeting so she didn’t have to come back here for at least a couple of days. The place was nice enough but she hated waking up to people staring at her and she hated her roommate that had the nerve to call her a god damned slut and expect to walk away without a broken nose. She ate the half a hoagie on her way to the main building, her hood pulled up over her face. It didn’t help much because it was raining sideways and she felt it stinging her skin anyway. Honestly she didn’t mind it. Three years in jail and she welcomed any reminder that she was outside and she was free, even if it came with an industrial sized string attached to it. She tried to ignore the fence that kept her closed in and she told herself she was free to come and go as she pleased, as long as she kept doing her job. The minute she stopped doing that was the minute they shut her in and never let her out again and she would do whatever it took to keep that from happening. Wenston “Oh my god.”Simon glanced up at his brother’s comment. They’d been in a briefing room for the past twenty minutes. When Simon thought about briefing rooms, this was not what he thought of. It was a large room, with wooden floors and a one door at the very far end of the room. There were wide, wall length windows on one side of the room covered with white curtains that let in the light, but wouldn’t let anyone see inside the room. There was a tall bookcase with leather bound books lined up in a neat row. The only other furniture in the room were some couches and love chairs arranged in the center over a large throw rug. A table sat in the middle with a potted plant sitting to one side. A wall of televisions lined the other side of the room and there was a desk to the side of it. Otherwise, the room was wide open and every noise echoed and bounced off the walls. There were already a few people seated. Alexey and himself were sitting on one of the couches and his brother was being fidgety as Hell and maybe it was because he was nervous. He didn’t know what he had to be nervous about, his brother was the one who used to get into fights when they were kids. He was the one who’d excelled at the basic training they’d gone through together and he was the one who was fit for this soldier business. If anyone had anything to be nervous about, it was probably Simon. He could handle the physical aspect of it alright, but he’d never been in a fight in his life. Next to them, sprawled on a love seat by himself, was an older, skinny man with scruffy blonde hair. He looked like he’d seen one too many crack pipes in his life and the lines in his face were heavy and deep and Simon wondered how the guy had made it through basic training, let alone up the stairs. Probably took the elevator. There was another man standing near the desk and Simon had no problem imagining him making it up the stairs. He was huge. Tall, buff, square head that looked like he’d slammed it into a few walls. He must have won, because Simon could only imagine the walls. But none of these guys had been the object of his brother’s attention. Alexey sat up on the couch, straightening his shirt a little bit and cracking his neck. Simon followed his gaze to the door where a tall, platinum blonde woman had just walked in. She wore a pair of white leather pants with matching white high heel pumps. A light blue lacey tank top barely held her bosom in and she wore sunglasses that covered half her face. Her long blonde hair fell to her waist and around one of her shoulders was a bag with the word, “Princess” written in jewels on the side was toting around a small white Chihuahua. Her heels clicked on the wooden floor and when she got a few steps into the room, she stopped and reached a delicate hand to pull the sunglasses up on top of her head. She looked at each of them and then shook her head, her nearly white hair shifting about her bare shoulders. “Well don’t you all look like a class act.” “Think you stepped off on the wrong floor, sweet heart,” the blonde man on the couch said in a slow, calculated voice and he sat up with a slimy grin on his face. With his eyes open, Simon could see a yellow sheen to them and they looked almost reptilian. It seemed to fit the man in an odd sort of way. “Unless you’re here to step out of a giant cake. Then I think you have the right room.” The woman rolled her eyes and looked around again. “You couldn’t afford my services,” she said and gave a polite smile before coming over towards one of the other couches and sitting down in it, crossing her legs and bringing the bag with the dog around to her lap. She pulled the small, shaking excuse for a dog out of the bag and held it close to her chest, talking baby talk and tickling behind its ears. Alexey leaned in towards Simon and nudged him with an elbow. “Twenty bucks she’s an underwear model,” his brother whispered and Simon grinned. The girl didn’t even look up, just pulled her face back from her Chihuahua and said, “Not an underwear model. But I do wear it well.” She turned her head to give Alexey a pointed look. “I could show you if you asked nicely.” Simon outright laughed at the look on his brother’s face. Alexey couldn’t decided whether she was joking or if he should be trying to think of a nice way to see her panties. The girl’s eyes moved towards Simon and an actual smile graced her face. She set her dog back into the bag and then leaned across the coffee table separating them, offering her hand. Simon kept his eyes upright because if they lowered to watch her tits, she’d probably wipe that smile right off her face and he didn’t want to be pissing people off on his first day. Apparently, Alexey had no problem pissing people off, because he tipped his head to get a better look at the twins. “Jezibel,” she offered. “Simon,” he told her back as he lifted his hand to shake it. The smile widened across her face and she held his hand for longer than he really thought necessary. Then she finally pulled back, sat back down and didn’t bother looking for anyone else to introduce themselves. “You have soft hands,” she said, going back to running her fingers over the Chihuahua, playing with the pink collar around its neck. “You must be fresh out of basic.” She glanced over at him and gave a coy smile, which he returned and then he gave a small shrug. “A guy can’t have soft hands in this business?” he asked. She laughed at it was high and stuck up but Simon had spent enough time around rich house wives to know when they meant it and when they didn’t. And he didn’t think Jezibel meant it to sound that way. There was a look in her eye that said she was admiring him and he wondered why. Alexey was the better looking out of the two of them, though he’d never admit that to him or anyone else for that matter. But his brother had the rock star thing going for him and he probably had more experience with women than Simon did. There’d been a few girls in Simon’s life. One of which he’d been pretty serious with. Funny, Jezibel kind of looked like her if he squinted just right. “No,” Jezibel said swiftly and grinned. “This business requires rough hands. Calloused and scarred and long fingered.” Her voice lowered into a sultry. Her eyes moved to Alexey and she held out her hand. “Let me see yours,” she demanded. Alexey snorted and stood up, pulling his shirt down and straightening his collar. The smile was still on Jezibel’s face, but now it had morphed into an amused one as Alexey rounded the table and sat down on the couch next to her. “Alexey,” he said, confidently, holding his hand out. Jezibel laughed a little and took his hand, running her fingers over his and Simon watched his brother’s face and this girl seemed way out of his league but he’d let his little brother find that out for himself. She tilted her head and brought his hand close to her mouth and Simon held back laughter at the look on his brother’s face. Then she suddenly let go of his hand and shook her head. “You’re fresh fish too,” she said, dismissing him just as quickly. “Your rough fingers are from guitar strings, not guns.” “Well that’s true,” he said and then leaned a little closer. “But they are long, aren’t they?” Jezibel raised an eyebrow and looked back down at his hand. Her mouth quirked just a little bit and she gave a reluctant, “They sure are.” The door opening saved them from anything more embarrassing and Simon wondered if Alexey had really meant it when he though Simon would be the one to embarrass them. Although maybe he should be proud of his little brother because he tried so hard. Now if he could just focus that determination in the right area. Maybe this team would help. Maybe fighting for his government would snap Alexey in line. They all looked back at the door and two men were entering. One was wearing a fancy Italian suit and his brown hair was slicked back. The other wore a uniform, it looked like Marines. He was tall and square and looked like the epitome of a soldier. They walked side by side and when they reached the chairs, they stopped. The shorter one in the fancy suit looked around and his lips quirked to the side. “Almost everyone’s here,” he said. “We can go ahead and get started.” Jezibel raised her hand, cutting the man off. He tilted his head to look at her. She smiled politely at him. “Is there anyway we could get some sparkling water or something? Princess is parched from the drive over.” The man looked at the dog in the bag and turned his head away in annoyance. “I’m afraid we don’t allow pets on our compound, Ms. Givessi.” The woman pouted but shrugged. “Well I guess that excludes all of us in this room, now doesn’t it?” The blonde man on the couch laughed loudly and Alexey turned to look at Simon, giving a chuckle. Simon smiled back but kept his eyes on the man in the suit. The soldier wasn’t saying a thing, looking disinterested in the conversation as he looked at everyone else around the room. “Ms. Givessi, you are a part of this team and you will do as you are asked. Remove the dog, now,” the suited man said. The smile faded somewhat from Alexey’s face and Simon chewed his lip because he already disliked this man. Jezibel, for her part, didn’t falter. “Well, I’m here and not of my own free will, so I figure I can go about this one of two ways,” she said calmly. “I can be given some extra privileges and cooperate fully, or I can go by the rules and make your life a living Hell. You know what I’m capable of, otherwise you wouldn’t have picked me. So the choice is really yours.” The huge man standing near the desk snorted and walked over to the grouping of chairs and Simon watched as he grabbed the back of Alexey’s neck, shoving him off and away from the couch so he could sit next to Jezibel. Alexey stood up and whirled, his hand going to the back of his neck and he held up a hand. “Oh, no, it’s cool. You go ahead and sit there, big guy,” he said and he came around and fell into the couch next to Simon. “Not like the seat was occupied or anything.” The man just snorted and the blonde guy on the couch laughed. Simon sighed loudly and looked up at the man in the suit. “Interesting group you’ve put together here,” he said and when the man turned his eyes on Simon, he caught the rugged look there before the man hid it. Simon really didn’t like that guy. “We’re getting off on the wrong foot,” the man said and Simon wondered if there was a right foot with this group. He didn’t really think so. The door opened again and they all looked as another girl walked in, wearing jeans and a hoodie, the hood up. Her hands were shoved into her pocket and she looked like she’d just woken up ten minutes ago. She rolled her eyes at the group and the man in the suit smiled to himself, turning his head over his shoulder to call to her. “How nice of you to join us, Victoria.” “Fuck you, Elias,” the girl spat and then climbed onto the arm of one of the couches, not looking at anyone, just sitting and waiting. Simon watched her a moment and then sat back in his chair. This would be interesting. .Wolfie. Vic thought it was bullshit that Elias looked so polished when she felt so sore and tired.He stood in front of the desk with his hands held loosely in front of him, fingers laced together. His Italian suit was ironed and pressed and it always made her feel a little bit better to leave it crumpled on the ground. She rubbed at her arm and the bruises there and then moved her attention away from the arrogant smirk on his fucking face to the boyscout standing next to him. He had his hands clasped behind his back, his feet spread evenly apart and his shoulders stiff and straight. She wondered which branch they’d dragged this guy out of and if he thought he was being a patriot by signing on with this bunch. “My name is Elias Skarsgaard. For the duration of your time in this unit, I will be your liaison to the men up top. I will be assigning you your missions and you report to me when they are completed.” He paused, eyes sweeping the room, and then that arrogant cocky smirk creased his face. “To put it simply, you will jump when I say jump.” “Just like that?” someone said. It was one of the guys sitting on the couch. The smirk on Elias’s face grew wider. His head tilted and he had that dark dangerous look in his eyes that reminded her that he wasn’t just a guy in a suit. If he was, she never would have started fucking him. “Just like that,” he said firmly. He cleared his throat and focused on a woman down at the end. “This means from now on you will leave your mutt at home or you’ll find out exactly what it means to have your life made a living Hell, do I make myself clear, Ms. Givessi?” She kept her eyes forward but she heard the woman down at the end make a small, offended scoff in the back of her throat. Vic shot a small glance out of the corner of her eye and she saw a flash of platinum blonde hair as she tossed it over her shoulder. “Oh, I understand perfectly, Mr. Skarsgaard,” she snapped, and Vic smirked at the bitchy tone in her voice. It’d be funny to see who won. The man at his side lifted his chin a little higher and jutted out his square jaw. Elias motioned a hand to his side. “This is Avi Rogers, lion shifter. As he has the most combat experience out of all of you, he will be assuming command of your unit.” She heard a snort and a small chuckle and the man in the uniform turned his attention to the couch. He looked so severe and serious and way too clean. “Something funny, Mr. Romanova?” he asked, his voice a low rumble. There was an indulgent smile on his lips that never quite reached his eyes and just came off as condescending. Apparently their team captain had gotten the lowdown on who he was commanding already. She felt a snarl tug at the corners of her lips as she thought about boyscout reading through her file. She bet it was an interesting read anyway. “Naw, it’s just funny,” the man on the couch said. “You know. Rogers. Like Steve Rogers?” Vic chuckled despite herself, ducking her head down a little farther to hide it. Rogers allowed the indulgent smile to remain on his face. “Captain America,” he said dryly, like he’d heard that one before. “Yeah,” the man on the couch said, but he didn’t sound like he was smiling anymore. “I thought it was funny anyway,” he grumbled, and he sounded like a fucking teenager when he did. She heard the low rumble of someone laughing and she wondered just how long she was going to have to work with all these strangers. She didn’t like how vague Elias had been about how long this new assignment was and she didn’t like that half the people in this room sounded soft and weak. She tilted her head forward and slid a hand under her hood to rub at her dark hair. It gave her a chance to tip her head to the side and study the strange collection of people Elias had accumulated. There was some rich bitch down at the end with her little toy dog resting on her boobs and she didn’t have to guess to know that was Givessi. She looked like she was used to getting her way and she wondered if she would really leave the dog at home next time. Next to her was a giant of a man who didn’t look like he had a lot going on upstairs, but then being as big as he was, smart people probably didn’t call him on the stupid. On the couch next to them was a scrawny fuck with shaggy hair and he must have been Mr. Romanova. He was slumped back in the couch cushion, his head tilted backwards as he tried to catch a glance down the blonde chick’s shirt. It looked like it was going pretty well if the smirk on his face was any indication and she found herself smiling despite herself. Then she focused on the man next to him and her first thought was just to wonder why the Hell he was here. He looked way too clean and way too nice. He had a polo shirt and at least the color wasn’t popped, but it might as well have been. He was well muscled but she wouldn’t have been surprised if it was from doing yoga or some shit in a room full of rich wives, kinda like the girl on the end down there. She wondered if he’d ever been in a fight in his life. Probably not. She snorted and shifted on the arm of the couch, stretching one leg out in front of her. Then she sucked in a breath and then tilted her head to the other side so she could look at the man sitting on the loveseat to her right. He was reclined with his fingers laced under his head and he was watching her with strange golden eyes. “Stop fucking staring at me,” she snapped at him, because Vic always knew when someone was staring at her. He’d been doing it since she walked in and the gold eyes swirled as he sat up, still looking at her. They were snake eyes, and they looked strangely natural on him. A small smile tugged at his lips as he rested his arms on his knees. “Just taking in the new crew,” he said, tilting his head to the side to try and get a look at her face. The smile didn’t leave his face the entire time and she felt a sneer curling her lips because he was still staring at her and she didn’t like it. “Since we’re all going to be best buddies now.” “Well study someone else before I remove your fucking eyes from your skull,” she snarled. Elias sighed and she glanced back at him as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Victoria,” he snapped, and she felt her lip curl because she hated it when people called her that and he fucking knew it too. She glanced up at him and that dangerous glint was back in his eyes as he watched her. He met her gaze squarely and didn’t flinch away and then she saw a small, arrogant smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Play nice,” he told her. “Fuck you,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. There was a quiet laugh next to her from the man with the golden eyes and then she felt his gaze leave her. She leaned back against the couch and hated herself as soon as she looked away from Elias. She didn’t like the small smirk on his face, the cocky one that said he’d already been there done that. The bruises hidden on her skin were testament to that and she wondered if it was fucked up that she liked it that way. The asshole was possibly more screwed up in bed than she was, and that was saying something. At least she had an excuse. She hadn’t been right since she was thirteen. “This is your new team,” he said, brushing off the comment, at least for now. His gaze swept the room to make sure that everyone was paying attention, and so far the only one who looked like he cared to be here was Captain America over there. Everybody else looked like they had better places to be. Hell, maybe they did. “Jezibel Givessi, owl shifter,” he gestured a hand at the woman with the dog. She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes, and if the look on her face was any indication she already didn’t like Elias. “Dancer, by the way,” she said, tilting her head to look around the giant at the long haired kid on the couch. “Not a model. Sorry honey.” His eyes widened a little and then a smirk danced across his face. “Dancer was my second guess.” She laughed brightly, and at least her laugh was honest and amused. Probably more real than the color of her hair or her boobs, if Vic had to guess. Elias sighed because he hated dealing with bullshit, and for once she agreed with him. She felt like she was in a fucking AA meeting. “Anthony Bruno,” he said, gesturing his hand to the giant of a man sitting next to her. He grunted in response, watching Elias like he was waiting for him to say something interesting. “Bull shifter.” Then he turned and smirked darkly at the kid on the couch. “Followed by Alexey Romanova, fox shifter.” Alexey grinned and pushed himself to his feet, putting a hand against his chest as he looked at everyone in the room. “Hi, my name is Alexey. I’m a recovering alcoholic.” Vic snorted, covering her mouth with her hand because apparently she wasn’t the only one that got that vibe out of this place. He glanced at her face and smiled back before slumping back down on the couch. The man next to him was covering his eyes with his hand and trying not to laugh. At the front of the room, the look of amusement fell of Elias’s face and he shifted his attention to the polo wearing monkey next to him. “His brother Simon Welsh, black panther shifter.” Vic snorted, because she wouldn’t have pegged them as brothers. She turned her head to study them, and now that she knew she could catch the family resemblance. Their facial features were similar, even if everything else about them was different. Simon’s head turned towards her when he felt her looking at him and her gaze narrowed. “The fuck you want?” she snapped. She heard Elias sigh, a quiet smile on his face as he nodded his head towards her. “Victoria Wolfe, wolf shifter.” “Vic,” she snapped, glancing back up at his face. Fucking Christ, he knew she hated it when people called her Victoria. She’d told him that the day she met him, because only pops had ever been allowed to call her that. This was probably his way of getting back at her for being late, or maybe just to push her buttons and see how much he could fuck with her. It was probably that one. Elias was a dick sometimes and she knew it, but she kept fucking him anyway. He tilted his head to the man sprawled out on the loveseat, the lines in his face making it hard to tell how old he was. He looked strung out, and she’d known her fair share of junkies in her lifetime. She tilted her head to the side and tried to place which one he’d been on. Probably coke, but he looked too chill for that. “And last but not least, Lyle Liddle, snake shifter.” Lyle shifted and it looked like it took a lot of effort for him to move himself to the edge of the couch. “Tex,” he drawled slowly. Elias didn’t answer him, lacing his fingers back together and sweeping the room with his eyes. There was a studying, contemplative look on his face and she wondered what had even made his bosses decide to put this team together in the first place. They were a ragtag bunch and she doubted she had anything in common with a single fucking one of them. “Well, now that you all know each other, we can begin briefing on your first mission.” Wenston Elias was smiling at all of them and Simon already didn’t like the man. He wasn’t sure what he thought about the others. Jezibel seemed nice enough, if not a little prissy, but he was used to those kinds of people and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that the one person he thought he’d get along with in this place was a woman who had a dog named Princess. The others intimidated him and he was trying not to let that show. Anthony was just plain scary, but Simon thought maybe if he held something shiny in front of his face, he’d be alright. Lyle looked like the kind of guy who would shank you in a back alley so he could steal the thirty bucks out of your wallet. And Victoria, or Vic, just looked like a bitch. Acted like one too. Looked like she could care less to be here. Aside from Alexey, and maybe Captain America up front, Simon didn’t know if he trusted any of them and he only trusted Rogers because he was a Marine and Simon had an innate faith in the military. Maybe because he’d always suspected his father had been a soldier of some kind. The little he remembered of the man, it all pointed in that direction. “This team has been brought together to perform special tasks for the United States government,” Elias said and he spoke eloquently and like a professional. It managed to unnerve Simon because this felt like a fucking spy movie or something. He wondered again why he’d been chosen for this. People who’d joined the Shifter Initiative didn’t always end up in groups like this. Some of them did mundane things and he thought maybe he was better suited for some of those mundane things. Why the Hell would anyone choose him for a special ops team? “The name of this Unit will be the Night Stalkers.” “Fuck me, that’s awesome,” Alexey said and Elias’ dark gaze moved to Alexey, but his brother didn’t even flinch beneath it. He just put a hand to his chest and then leaned forward. “Do we get issued weapons? I’d like one of those huge knives that has a jagged edge one side. You know the kind Jean-Claude slits throats with? Oh, hey, my brother here wants to know if there are going to be uniforms. Maybe you could give him a ninja outfit? I think it would make him feel special.” “Mr. Romanova,” Elias said and Simon glanced at his brother because he thought he was starting to piss the man off, but Alexey didn’t even seemed phased by it. He just sat there and grinned. “We’ll discuss equipment after this briefing.” Alexey nodded, his fingers forming a gun and he clucked his tongue as he pulled an imaginary trigger at Elias. “Gotcha, boss,” he said and leaned back on the couch, the grin still on his face. Dismissing the gesture easily, Elias held a hand out towards Rogers and spoke politely. “Now I will leave you in the very capable hands of Captain Rogers. You will show him respect and listen to him carefully. You will only be briefed once on this mission, so ask any questions you have now, because you won’t get the chance later.” Alexey raised his hand and Simon smirked because his brother was a little shit sometimes. Elias sighed, but then Rogers nodded at Alexey. “Mr. Romanova?” he asked. “Can we please call you Captain America?” Alexey asked, without missing a beat. “It would fulfill a childhood dream of mine. I could be Bucky. Carry your shield.” The grin on Rogers’ face didn’t falter. “You may not,” he said simply and then grabbed a remote off the desk. Beside him, Alexey sighed and slumped down on the couch, looking defeated. Simon chuckled and patted his brother’s knee comfortingly even though he was pretty sure Alexey was just fucking around because he was bored and maybe a little anxious. Rogers clicked a button and the television screens behind him came on. There was one image, spread out over all the screens so the overall image was huge, spanning nearly the entire wall. It was the face of a man and Simon squinted because he looked rough. “This is Costas DeFranco. Alias, Cygne Noir.” “Black swan,” Simon said before he could stop himself and everyone’s eyes turned to him. He shrunk a little beneath the gaze and looked at Rogers standing at the front of the room. He couldn’t read the look on the man’s face. There was something akin to surprise playing across his features but also something that Simon didn’t understand. Maybe anger? He decided he’d keep his mouth shut from now on. Rogers nodded anyway. “That’s correct, Mr. Welsh,” he said. He lowered the hand holding the remote to turn and looked at Simon a little clearer. “I wasn’t aware you spoke French.” Alexey sorted. “Yeah, me neither,” he said. Simon shrugged a little. “I don’t,” he said and then glanced around the room, to everyone who was looking at him and he tried not to let his cheeks turn red because he felt so out of his element it wasn’t even funny. “But I’ve been around a lot of people who do. You pick up a few things.” “Those are called STDs, bro,” Alexey said and Simon grinned despite himself, elbowing Alexey hard in the ribs and he heard his brother laugh loudly. Rogers tilted his head and his eyes lingered on Simon for a little bit and Simon wasn’t sure how he felt under the scrutiny. But the man finally turned back and clicked another button on the remote. The screen changed and filtered to another picture of the man, a scrolling wall of text next to him that no one could read but he didn’t think they were supposed to. “As Mr. Welsh has pointed out, his alias is the Black Swan. He is a Serbian arms dealer with bases in Moscow, Dublin and most recently, a small town in Lebanon. He is not currently on the FBI’s most wanted list, because to them, he is an apparition. He exists only in name.” He clicked the remote again and the image flashed to a small town whose buildings had been burned to the ground. There was a woman and a child in the foreground and the woman was screaming, blood running down her face. The child in her arms was limp and lifeless and Simon felt his brother suck in a breath because suddenly this wasn’t funny anymore. “This is the aftermath of Cygne Noir’s work,” Rogers said, looking at each of them. “He deals in anything from Uzi’s to missiles to nuclear warheads. He not only supplies countries with weapons, but terrorist groups, militias, and private parties. He is one of the most dangerous men in the world.” Vic snorted from the couch and everyone looked over at her. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her hood was still up. She looked like she was a stubborn teenager. She waved one of her hands around. “He’s just a supplier,” she said. “Does that really make him so dangerous? He’s a fucking businessman.” Rogers smiled but it wasn’t nice and it wasn’t polite. “His business has lead to the deaths of over a billion people.” “You could probably say the same for Henry Ford,” Simon said. He was surprised when it was Vic who was the one that said something next. “I’m not defending the asshole,” she snapped and she was glaring at Simon as she said it. He sighed and wondered what happened to his plan of staying quiet. “I’m just saying that he’s probably not killed someone with his own hand. So when you say he’s one of the most dangerous assholes in the world, that’s a lie. He’s just a businessman in a suit and he’ll be easy to take out.” Rogers smiled again. “I’m glad you think so,” he said. “Because that’s what we’re going to do.” He clicked the remote again and the screen changed to a picture of a marina with a large barge docked near one of the piers. “Cygne Noir will be arriving in the harbor tomorrow night at approximately 11:43 pm. At 11:58, the NYPD and the FBI will be storming the docks and taking everyone aboard into custody, including Mr. Costas DeFranco.” “Well why the fuck are you telling us all of this? We offering protection to the FBI?” Alexey asked, and then he grinned. “And if so, could I get an FBI badge? I flash one of those and I can get into any strip club in the country.” Jezibel laughed. “There’s a few things you could flash that would get you in.” “Oh, you’re a tease,” Alexey said and looked over at her. She smiled coyly and him and the grin on Alexey’s face grew. “Jesus, just fuck each other and shut up already,” Vic spat. Lyle started laughing and didn’t stop even when Vic gave him a look that said she hadn’t said it to be funny. Rogers sighed heavily. “We’re not offering protection,” he told them calmly. “Cygne Noir has agreed to a deal with the FBI and the CIA. He’s going to talk about his competitors because there are more of them than there are of him. And if he gets rid of the competition, he will have free reign over the arms race.” Rogers clicked another button and the screens shut off. “In exchange for his cooperation, he will be granted immunity within the United States. That means he will have free access to our borders, to our cities, and we have it on good intel that he is already looking at setting up another base of operations right here in New York. We cannot let this happen. You have a fifteen minute window from the time Costas arrives in the harbor to the time the FBI shows up to take him in. That’s fifteen minutes to get in, take him out, and be gone.” “We’re killing him?” Simon blurted, his eyes widening as he looked up at the man. Rogers paused and turned to look at him. He set the remote down slowly and then folded his hands behind his back, standing in the military position again. His head rose and he looked really defensive. “Is there a problem with that, Mr. Welsh?” Simon glanced at his brother, who had leaned forward on the couch and Alexey’s hands were folded together. He turned to look at him and Simon scoffed a little and looked back up at Rogers because he wasn’t sure his brother was entirely okay with killing someone either. Probably more okay than Simon was, but still. “I didn’t sign up to be a killer,” he said. Elias cleared his throat and stepped next to Rogers. “If I remember correctly, Mr. Welsh, it wasn’t you who signed up for the Shifter Initiative,” he said coldly and Simon felt his brother shift uncomfortably next to him. “It was Mr. Romanova who signed your name. If you wish to not comply with our guidelines, we can terminate your contract. But we’d have to terminate your brother’s contract as well.” Alexey cleared his throat. “Define terminate,” he said. Elias smiled calmly. “I don’t think you want me to, Mr. Romanova.” Simon sat back on the couch with a laugh, running his hands over his face. “Alright, I see how this works,” he said bitterly and he didn’t care that the others were all looking at him, some amused, some annoyed, and Jezibel looked genuinely apologetic because maybe she’d gone through something similar. “That’s why you wanted us to come to this thing together. Because if one of us refuses to do something, you’ll just use the other as leverage. That’s a real neat trick you have,” Simon said darkly. “Mr. Welsh,” Elias said and the grin on his face was dark and malicious. “You’re very smart. I suggest your start using those smarts for your government instead of for yourself. You never know who may suffer the consequences.” Simon smiled bitterly back at the man and then Elias clapped his hands together. “Now, you’ve been briefed on the target. Next you will be given your standard issued equipment. Out in the hall, you will find a room on your right where your stuff will be stored. Everyone please head there now.” Simon shook his head as he stood. He felt Alexey give his shoulder a rough pat and it was his brother’s way of telling him her was still here. He looked at the others and they were already over the little scene, heading out towards the room Elias had told them about. But then Elias turned back around and smiled at Simon. “Oh, and Mr. Welsh, when you’re finished there, you will be going to the medical wing.” Alexey didn’t give Simon the time to answer him. But he asked the question Simon was about to anyway, just in more colorful terms. “Why the fuck does he have to go to the medical wing?” Simon watched the others pause in the doorway and he wished they’d just keep walking. He wouldn’t wish that he never signed this contract, because that would be wishing something entirely different. But he didn’t want everyone knowing his damn business. “Because I don’t want to send a leukemia patient out into the field, Mr. Romanova.” Alexey gave a laugh and he didn’t sound like he was enjoying this anymore. “Uh, in case you hadn’t noticed, you’re the ones who fucking cured him.” Elias shrugged nonchalantly. “The treatment is still very experimental. We just want to be sure. He’ll be tested before every mission.” Then Elias reached out and touched Rogers’ arm and the two started walking towards the door as well. “What an ass clown,” Alexey said and Simon chuckled. “It’s alright, Lex,” Simon said quietly as they started following everyone else. “It’s just a test.” Alexey shook his head. “It’s not just a test. He must just have a fetish for sticking tubes in people. If he asks you to wear latex anything, I’d cover my asshole, if I were you.” Simon just laughed. .Wolfie. The others filtered through the door into the equipment room, Rogers moving to the front of the group. She watched Simon’s back as he headed into the room, and apparently that answered that question. He was a leukemia patient. Must have been pretty bad too, if shifter genes were the only solution. There was a split second of pity before the emotion was gone, because Vic didn’t believe in it. Why the Hell would they stick someone so soft and sick in a special unit that was supposed to be killing people? She didn’t want him watching her back that was for fucking sure.Vic lingered near the back of the group and she glanced over at Elias as he headed towards the doorway. He was wearing that small, arrogant smirk on his face but he didn’t look over at her. She rubbed at her arms and brushed by him into the room as he just leaned against the doorframe. “You’re an asshole,” she said over her shoulder, her voice low. She hoped he wasn’t going to make a habit of calling out people’s business in front of the class, because they didn’t need to know her shit. He smiled, eyes looking straight ahead at Avi, not even shooting her a glance. Rogers was going to the wall where weapons hung in a neat arrangement. “You look tired, Victoria,” he said, and she didn’t miss the sly tone in his voice. It made her lip curl in a sneer. “Make sure you get some sleep before tomorrow. I won’t tolerate lateness again.” “Fuck you,” she spat, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the wall. The smile widened but he kept his lips pressed together and she didn’t miss what he’d been trying to tell her. She wasn’t invited over tonight and she felt a vague feeling of disappointment in her chest. He was an asshole and she wasn’t even sure she liked him. She sure as hell didn’t trust him, but then she didn’t trust anyone. Despite these things, or maybe because of them, she still liked to fuck him. He was rough and got her off and that was all she needed out of anyone she fucked. That just said all kinds of messed up things about her, didn’t it? Anyway, that meant she had to go back and deal with Morticia and her invisible friend. “Standard issue M-4 Carbine,” Rogers said, picking a gun off the wall. He held it loosely in his arms as he showed the class his toy. It was already in one piece so he began to break it apart with quick motions. “I’ll assume you’ve all fired the M-16 in combat training. It’s essentially the same gun, only with a six inch shorter barrel, making it more reliable in close situations.” Givessi shifted, hefting her little dog higher on her chest and pressing a kiss to its nose. Then she smirked and glanced up at Rogers. “‘Reliable’ is about all you can say for six inches,” she told him, pouting a little. “Hey, then I’d say I’m exceptional,” Alexey said brightly, moving to stand next to her and putting a hand to his chest. Jezibel smirked and glanced over at him with wide eyes. “And you say I’m a tease,” she told him. He tipped his head back and laughed. Simon just rolled his eyes and clapped his brother on the shoulder, but he kept his mouth shut. Vic’s gaze lingered on him for a moment and then she snorted and shook her head. A cancer patient. They’d put a cancer patient in on a task force made for murder and she couldn’t tell if that was more of a punishment for him or for the rest of them. He looked uncomfortable just standing there, eyes studying the weapons on the wall like they were completely foreign to him. Hell, maybe they were. “Glock 22, a forty caliber semi-automatic pistol with a box magazine,” Avi told them. He held it up and then took it apart with quick motions, dropping out the clip and snapping the top off. “You also should have used one of these in basic training.” She watched him put it back together just as quickly and at least soldier boy was good for something. He knew his weapons and he probably knew how to use them, probably better than all the people in the room. He smirked and slid the gun into a holster before he pulled out the next toy behind him. “And your Jean-Claude knife,” he told Alexey dryly, unsheathing it. Vic smiled because that was the kind of thing she was more used to. She’d started carrying a knife around when she was thirteen, because she wasn’t going to let herself be just another fucking victim ever again. She’d gotten kicked out of school when they caught her with it but she hadn’t gotten punished, not by pops anyway. He’d told her that if she was going to carry a weapon like that around, she sure as fuck better know how to use it. “Fuck yeah!” Alexey said, a grin spreading across his face. He slung an arm around his brother’s shoulders and pointed at the weapon Avi was holding. He had it clasped loosely in his hand, the blade along his forearm like he was some kind of knife fighter. She wondered if she could take him but it would be fun to try. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Vic snorted and leaned her head against the wall. “Don’t think you should trust Bucky over here with one of those,” she said to Rogers, jerking her head at Alexey. “Hate to see him cut something off because he’s too excited.” “Aw, it touches me that you care so much,” Alexey said, grinning over his shoulder at her. She smirked despite herself and forced it away. “Fuck that, I’m not interested in touching any part of you,” she snapped, turning her head back to Avi. “Never mind, boyscout, let him play with it. Don’t think it’s anything that’s going to be missed.” Avi sighed and he was trying to keep a smile on his face but it was failing miserable. He looked annoyed with this band of misfits and she could only imagine how things were going to go tomorrow night. It didn’t sound too bad to her. Just get in, kill a guy, and leave. She’d done it before, couldn’t be that hard, right? Unless Welsh over here freaked the fuck out on them, in which case she’d kick his ass. “You will each receive three flashbang grenades, do not use them unless I order you to.” Alexey’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped. She couldn’t tell if he was scared or if he looked like a kid in a candy store and then he forced his jaw to close. “Grenades?” he asked, taking a step forward. He picked one off the table and Lyle immediately took a step back. Not that she could blame him. “We get grenades. Do we get to play with the real thing?” The smile on Avi’s face was gone as he snatched it back from Alexey. “Not this time,” he snapped. “Jesus Alexey, you want to blow us all up?” Simon asked dryly. He scrubbed a hand through his dark hair and shifted his weight like he was uncomfortable just standing there. He probably was. She wondered if they could leave him in the car when they went in to kill this guy, because she didn’t exactly want to get shot by someone who was supposed to be on her team. Alexey sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s just a flashbang,” he said miserably. “I couldn’t actually blow us up. Man, you guys are determined to take all the fun out of this.” Elias snorted behind them and she glanced over at the doorway where he leaned almost casually. She knew better. Elias never looked casual. He looked irritated and serious, his hands laced together in front of him as he watched Avi go over their weapons. When he spoke his voice was harsh and cold and a little annoyed. It made her smile, because she always got a kick out of getting under Elias’s skin. “This is a serious matter, Mr. Romanova. If you’re looking for fun, go to the bar.” “Hey, that’s not a bad idea,” Alexey said, pointing a finger at Elias and grinning. He jumped in surprise when Tony’s hand suddenly dropped on his shoulder. His face transformed in a heartbeat from a scary giant to a big teddy bear as a smile creased his face. “You know bud, there’s one three blocks from here that’s got one dollar drafts after ten and three dollar snacks. Their buffalo wings are delish.” Vic almost laughed at the expression on Alexey’s face and she scrubbed a hand over her mouth to hide it. He looked like he was ready to shit himself, and she couldn’t blame him. The man could probably snap him like a twig without even straining himself, maybe not even on purpose. She thought his shifter form was pretty fitting. The man was a bull in a china shop, and the world was the china shop. “Uh… yeah, that sounds cool man,” Alexey said nervously, smiling up at the man. Avi sighed, setting the knife on the table and looked like he just wanted to use that M-4 on every single one of them. She decided she liked pissing him off too. Fucking Captain America up there, thinking he was better than everyone else. “Those are the basic weapons you will be using. Take care of them, don’t lose them, and clean them after every use. If anyone is unsure or uncomfortable about their use, please familiarize yourselves with them. There is a firing range out back that’ll be available for use until sundown and a gym and a sparring ring the next floor down that is available twenty-four hours.” Tony snorted and apparently missed the point. “Nah man, I got a gym at home.” Lyle smirked and looked down at his fingernails. She watched him chew on one of them and thought he was definitely a crack addict. “Why does that not surprise me?” he said quietly, chuckling to himself. Avi sighed before lifting a black bag up and dropped it on the table in front of him. It looked like there were six more tucked under the table, one for each of them. He unzipped it and took out pieces of clothing and set them on the table in front of him. “You will each be receiving standard clothing. Black pants, black, long-sleeved shirt, black gloves, and black combat boots. Along with these, you will also receive a bulletproof vest and protective goggles.” Alexey elbowed his brother in the stomach and then gestured at the table. “There you go, there’s your ninja gear. See that? It’s everything you expected and more.” His finger looped under the pair of goggles and lifted them off the table, snapping them over his head. She couldn’t see his eyes behind them and she imagined they were in case they had to use the flashbangs. Simon smirked and shook his head. “That’s not ninja gear. It’s only ninja gear if all you can see are the eyes.” Givessi was frowning and stepped closer to the table. The look turned into a sneer as she inspected the clothing, lifting a shirt up with one perfectly manicured finger. She sighed affectedly and looked over her shoulder at Elias. “This is so unfashionable,” she said. “Honestly, you expect me to wear this?” Lyle chuckled. “I’d love to see you try and kill a man in those white leather pants of yours.” Alexey whistled, lifting the goggles off his eyes so that he could look back at Jezibel. “So would I,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. She laughed and dropped the shirt back on the table with a shake of her head. If she was going to say anything else, it was cut off by Elias from where he stood in the doorway. Vic tilted her head to the side to look at him as he addressed the whole crew, his voice hard and cold and unquestionable. “You will all report back here no later than ten o’clock tomorrow night. If anyone is late or chooses to not show, it will be treated as a breach of contract and dealt with as such.” He shot Vic a look, and fucking him or not she had no doubt that included her too. “Any further questions?” Alexey’s hand shot up. Elias’s lips tightened and Vic smiled because the kid was starting to piss him off and it always made her happy to see him lose his composure. He was also so in control and such a dick about it. She wondered what he looked like when he really got mad, though maybe she was a little nervous about finding out. He was the connection with the Big Bosses. He got pissed off, they would probably get pissed off, and that could mean the end of the contract. That could mean back in prison for her or worse. Elias forced himself to smile and nodded his head at Alexey. “Mr. Romanova,” he ground out. Alexey dropped his hand and his voice was very serious as he addressed Elias. “What if we run into traffic?” he asked. Lyle chuckled behind him scrubbed a hand over his face. Elias’s eyes narrowed and his voice was like ice. “Leave early.” Alexey frowned. “What if we get into a car accident?” Elias’s face darkened even further and he snapped out his response in a chilly tone. “Then you should hope it kills you,” he told Alexey, a dark smile creasing his face. The man opened his mouth to keep arguing but Elias ignored him, looking next to him with Simon and she was sure that wasn’t unintentional. “If there are no further questions, Mr. Welsh, please follow me.” “Fucking asshole,” Alexey grumbled under his breath, watching his brother get led out of the room. Vic snorted and looked down at the ground. “Yeah,” she agreed quietly. Wenston Simon tried not to grumble like an old man as he walked out onto the shooting range. He figured if he and Alexey drove together, this was where his brother would be because Alexey had a strange fascination with guns and weapons and shooting things, even if they were inanimate objects. He wondered if he should be worried about that, but apparently the only thing he should be worried about was himself. Because he was way, way out of his element. His hand was pressed over a cotton ball taped to the crook of his right arm, surrounded with a dirty yellow liquid that he had gotten far too used to when they’d taken blood samples from him before. He hated that part. Funny that the thing he hated most about having cancer was the needles. There’d been a lot of them and maybe that made him a pussy in other people’s eyes but he really didn’t care. Needles and Simon just didn’t get along. He’d been poked one too many times and apparently it was going to happen a lot more often. Once before every mission. He wondered what he’d do if they found something. He didn’t want to think about that. Sure as shit, Alexey was on the shooting range. He was surprised to see Vic there too, but she wasn’t firing any guns. She was sitting lazily on the fence behind Alexey, one leg swinging down in front of her while she laid down and watched him shoot. He didn’t thinks he was there because she was lonely. So what the fuck had she come down here for? Lyle was there too, and he was a few stalls down shooting his own gun. He didn’t know where the others went. Jezibel probably had gone home. Tony maybe to the gym. He seemed like a gym guy. Alexey let out a war whoop and turned to say something to Vic, but he spotted Simon and a grin broke his face. He unloaded his gun and he was a little too good at it and then pulled the earmuffs off his head and waited for Simon to come over to him. Vic sat up a little, pulling the earmuffs off her own head and Lyle down the stalls quieted his gun, leaning around so he could eavesdrop and Simon didn’t like that slimy bastard either. “So?” Alexey asked and he was trying to come off as fun and light but he could see the worry in his eyes. Alexey had been the one, more than anyone, who’d been there when he’d been sick. He never wanted to put his brother through that again. “Are you a survivor, what? Are you not gonna give up, what?” he sang and gave a little dance. Simon snorted. “I will survive,” Simon joked and pumped his fist in the air half heartedly. His brother grinned and there was real relief on his face and Simon hated that Elias had put doubt there in the first place. He wasn’t getting sick again. He couldn’t. “That’s debatable,” Vic said from her position laying down on the fence. Simon and Alexey looked over at her and when she felt them staring, she rolled her head to the side and a vicious sneer was spread across her face. “You’ll probably be the first one to take a bullet.” “Hey, go team,” Simon said sarcastically and shook his head, turning away from her because he didn’t know what he’d done to piss her off but he must have done something. Maybe it was just the fact that he was here. She looked like a bitch, just looking at her. He wondered how serious she was going to take this and if she could be trusted. Could he really trust any of them? Five strangers all with guns and all of them now knew he was the weak link? Yeah, this would go well. Vic shrugged and closed her eyes, rolling her head back towards the sky and letting the sun fall on her face. It had stopped raining a while ago, but water had still soaked into her hoodie and jeans from where she was lying on the fence. He tried to ignore the way his eyes moved down her frame because he wasn’t attracted to her. “Stop fucking staring at me,” she snapped suddenly. Alexey laughed and clapped Simon’s shoulder. “Man, she’s like a super bitch,” he said and Simon watched Vic roll her head to the side to glare at Alexey, who seemed oblivious. “A Bitchzilla, if you will,” he said and then shrugged. “But she’s probably right, you know.” Then Alexey pinched his stomach and Simon swatted his hands away. “You’re very squishy. I don‘t think anyone would blame you if you wanted to stay in the car.” That actually got a laugh out of Vic, but she put a hand to her mouth to cover it and Simon looked between the two of them, his gaze lingering on his brother, who waggled his eyebrows. Simon rolled his eyes and slapped Alexey roughly on the side of the face. He laughed and Simon leaned against the counter with the guns, picking one up and starting to load it. “If I stayed in the car, how would I go through with my plan to shoot you with friendly fire, Lex?” he said and he heard his brother scoff behind him. Then he heard him gasp and Simon snapped his head back to look at his brother because he could tell the difference between Alexey’s playful tone and his fearful one. Tony had snuck up on them and Simon swallowed thickly because he didn’t know how he felt about a guy that big being able to sneak up on him. Vic was smirking and apparently she had heard him coming. He bit his lip and wondered how these animal genes were supposed to work and maybe he could keep just his ears shifted at all times. He wondered if that was even possible. “Hello Small Fry,” Tony said to Alexey, who turned with wide eyes to look at the man. “Are you ready to go to the bar now?” Alexey swallowed, his eyes widening even more and Simon bit back a chuckle because if they widened anymore, they were just going to pop right out of his head. “Uh, well, big guy, I thought I’d just go home and get some shut eye, you know? Big day tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep, I’m cranky in the morning.” Tony’s happy gaze didn’t falter. “No, you’ll come with me,” he said and it was intimidating just because it was coming from him. His grip tightened on Alexey’s shoulder and Simon heard his brother yelp, but he just crossed his arms over his chest as Alexey looked at him. “Good buffalo wings, better beer. Come.” “Uh, yeah, alright,” Alexey said and then snapped his gaze towards Simon. “Dude, Simon, help me,” he hissed. Simon just shrugged, holding his hands out to the side. “What do you want me to do? I’m squishy, remember?” Alexey’s face went white and then he was snarling back at him, “I didn’t mean the squishy comment. Or the staying in the car comment. You can come. You can come!” he yelled louder when they reached the doorway. “Oh God, he’s going to devour my head!” Then the door closed behind them and Simon laughed. He doubted the man would devour his brother or even hurt him. He seemed docile enough, even if he was scary as fuck. His eyes went back to Vic and she was smirking to herself. He cleared his throat a little bit and she sighed but didn’t open her eyes. “So, are you from around here?” he tried and thought it was lame as soon as he said it. Vic didn’t move for a moment, like she was calculating her actions, trying to come up with the best one. Finally, she just rolled off the fence and landed gracefully on her feet. Her hood was pushed back and he could see a stitched gash on her head and he wondered where she’d gotten it from. She sauntered over to him and got right up in his face and he didn’t feel like this was going to be a friendly relationship. “Let’s get one thing straight,” she said lowly. “I don’t have friends. And even if I did, I’d never make friends with someone like you.” Simon raised an eyebrow. “Someone like me?” Vic smiled sweetly but it didn’t seem all that sweet. “Rich boy. Plays with Daddy’s money.” She didn’t give him time to correct her. He wasn’t sure he wanted to anyway, she looked like she could fuck him up. “So, we’re not friends. And we’re not ever going to be friends. You keep your distance, I’ll keep mine, and I won’t have to break your arms. Deal?” Simon nodded. “Sure, sounds good.” “Good,” Vic smiled brightly and maybe she would have been pretty if it wasn’t so fake. Then she rolled her eyes and headed off into the compound. Simon jumped when Lyle laid a hand on his shoulder and he’d forgotten the guy was there. He turned around the man’s snake eyes were piercing through him and it made him uncomfortable, but then again, everything in this fucking compound made him uncomfortable. “My money’s on her,” Lyle said and Simon just smiled politely as Lyle walked pass him and suddenly he found himself alone in the shooting range. He sighed and picked up one of the guns, pulling the earmuffs over his head. “Well, you’re off to a great start, Welsh,” he spat at himself and then started shooting at the target. He practiced right up until sundown. .Wolfie. Vic felt a little bit like she had when she was eight years old and her foster mother had sent her to bed early.She’d gotten in trouble for fighting with some kid because Vic didn’t take anyone’s shit. Pops always told her not to, so when some little shit tried to mess with her she’d broken his nose. Turns out the foster mother didn’t like that so much and she’d gotten sent off to the girl’s room for the rest of the night. It wasn’t the last time things like that happened, but it had been the first foster home that Vic had been to, so that one stuck in her mind more than the rest. She’d bounced around a couple of them until she’d turned nine and pops had finally come back for her. She was thinking of it now because of that fucking asshole Elias. She wasn’t some teenager that he could just send to bed early because he didn’t feel like fucking her tonight and she didn’t know why it was bothering her, but it did. She kept her mouth shut though, because if she opened it and said something than maybe she would come off as weak as it sounded in her head. Fuck him. She didn’t need him to keep herself entertained. Not when there was a bar three blocks away with one dollar drafts. She walked there by herself, hands shoved in her hoodie pockets and she wondered just how long this assignment was going to last. Was this going to be for the rest of her contract? Right now she could just imagine Simon or Jezibel fucking up and getting them all killed because she’d broken a nail or some shit. Hell, maybe because he broke a nail. Maybe he swung that way. Next time she got Elias alone she was going to ask him what the fuck rich boy was doing on the team. And there she was, thinking about fucking Elias again. She knew the bar Tony was talking about as soon as she saw it, because it was the only one three blocks down and there was a bright white sign outside advertising their one dollar drafts. The name of the place was the Drunken Bear and it seemed to fit Tony. She snorted and shook her head as she elbowed her way in the door. If she couldn’t get laid the day before a potentially fatal mission than she could at least get drunk, and nobody should drink alone. Inside the bar was dim and smoky how she liked it, but she could hear people laughing over in the corner by the jukebox and the atmosphere was bright enough anyway. She stretched up on her toes to look for the two she knew were going to be here. Out of everyone, she probably liked them the best so far, at least they hadn’t given her a reason to hate them yet. Lyle got under her skin because she didn’t trust a single thing about him. Jezibel was probably the exact opposite of her in every way. And Simon struck her as soft and weak, and there were few things she hated more than weakness. She heard Tony laughing at something and she elbowed her way through the crowd up to the bar. He was sitting at one of those touchpad games, a draft held in one hand and his hand hovering over the screen while he tried to find all the differences between two pictures. Alexey was leaning over to help him and there was a half-empty glass sitting next to a plate of buffalo wings that she guessed were his. “You’re running out of time, big guy,” he said, eyes flicking over the screen. Vic smirked and leaned her head between the two of them. “His cummerbund is missing.” “What the fuck is a cummerbund?” Tony grumbled. He didn’t flinch or even look behind him when he heard her speak, but his eyes narrowed a little as he stared at the screen. Alexey jerked in surprise and then poked at the screen. A blue circle wrapped around his waist and then the picture disappeared and got replaced with another one. Alexey glanced over his shoulder as Tony started pointing at the picture. He took a drink without even having to look at it and she swore he drained the whole thing in one swallow. She met Alexey’s gaze and he was frowning like he was surprised to see her, or maybe wondering if she’d killed his brother and dumped his body in the river. She had to admit she’d thought about it. He was probably a floater though. Then a smile spread its way across his face. “Bitchzilla!” he said. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” She snorted and slid into the stool next to him. She shrugged the hoodie off and tossed it onto the stool beside that because it usually kept drunken assholes from bothering her if they thought the seat was taken. If she wanted to get laid, she’d go to them, not the other way around. Fucking Elias. “Bitchzilla, huh?” she said dryly. “You know I could kill you in like a minute, right?” Alexey’s grin widened. “Only a minute? Man, and here I thought you were this badass bitch.” He clucked his tongue. “I am disappointed. All my expectations are shattered. Next you’re going to tell me Avi’s not really Captain America.” She laughed despite herself and hid it behind her hand before there was any proof that she had. “I’m saving that for a rainy day,” she told him. “Right after I tell you Superman is dead and Wonder Woman’s a crackwhore.” He tipped his head back and laughed and she believed it coming from him. Maybe there was potential here. If she couldn’t fucking scare him off, then maybe when they had to charge in there and shoot some bitches he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Now Welsh, she could barely picture him holding a gun, let alone firing it. She tipped her head back over her shoulder to the bartender and he came over when she caught his eyes. “Get me whatever he’s drinking,” she said, jerking her head towards Alexey. Alexey grinned and leaned on the counter next to him. “So what,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re not going home, getting a good night’s rest for the big day tomorrow? What if you’re late? What if you oversleep?” He waggled his fingers and made a face. “What if Elias comes after you?” She snorted because she didn’t think he meant the implied innuendo but it struck a nerve anyway. She grabbed her draft as the bartender slid it across the counter. “He always comes after me,” she said, raising it to her lips. Alexey smirked and shook his head. “Man’s a douche in a suit,” he spat. She took a swallow of her beer and set it down on the counter, fingers playing over the glass surface and when she was done with this she was going to have to get something with a little more kick because somehow she didn’t think this would be enough to get rid of the pissy mood she was in. “Yeah,” she agreed. “But you watch your back with him. As fucking hilarious as I think it would be if you really managed to piss him off, might not end so well for you, kid. He’s more of a shark than a fucking lawyer, I swear. He smells blood in the water and that’s it.” Alexey snorted, pulling his buffalo wings closer and ripping at the meat. “What, Elias? He’s just another corporate tool, just you know, a scary corporation that hunts arms dealers and practices semi-illegal gene therapy. No biggie.” He grinned and then took another chomp of his wings and Vic laughed and shook her head, working on downing her beer. The sooner it was gone the sooner she could get herself good and drunk and then stumble home and pass out. Sounded like a good night to her, anyway. “So…” Alexey trailed off, glancing up at her forehead. “Where’d you get the gash?” He grinned like maybe if he did that then she wouldn’t get pissed off and she sighed, setting her beer down and tilting her head to look at him. “Look,” she spat, sitting back in her seat. She liked the younger brother better, so he was going to get a nicer deal than Welsh had. Mostly because she’d seen him shoot and maybe he’d actually be able to hold his own in a fight. “There are two things that really piss me off, and I’ll warn you now so that you knock both of them the fuck off. One,” she said, holding up a finger. “Don’t fucking stare at me. Two,” she said, holding up a second finger. “Don’t fucking ask me any personal questions. Sound fair?” Alexey nodded slowly, and she knew as soon as he opened his mouth he was going to say something to push her buttons, just by the slow smirk curling his lips. “Sure, sounds great. So anyway, how’d you get the gash on your forehead?” She rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh. “Bar fight,” she said, and she heard him laugh. Tony reached out abruptly and slapped the smaller man in the chest. It was a light hit but it still knocked the wind out of Alexey’s lungs. He cast a nervous look over at the giant and shook his head, rubbing at his chest. He tilted his head at Vic and mouthed an ‘ow’ at her before Tony grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer. “Come here and help me with this bud.” Alexey forced a laugh and leaned over his shoulder, rubbing at his chest. Tony let him go and brought his beer back to his lips and she wondered how many it would take to put him under the table. “Sure big guy. Just take it easy on me.” Vic snorted and shook her head, something like a smile on her face as she went back to her beer. She didn’t know how many the three of them went through but after a while it was hard to remember which beer was whose because they kept switching sides as Alexey and Vic tried to help Tony win at his stupid touch screen games. She’d never known a single person that actually played those things but he seemed to take them very seriously, a bright grin lighting up his face when he finally got a high score. She bit back a laugh herself when she saw him punch in the name of ‘Nght Stlkr’ as the winner, and she didn’t know what he had against vowels, but whatever. She was probably three sheets to the wind when she started getting that itchy feeling between her shoulder blades and a small growl pulled its way from her lips because she always, always knew when someone was staring at her. She sucked in a breath and tried to ignore it because maybe if she did it would go away. Maybe they would leave her the fuck alone. “This seat taken?” a man asked, and she knew as soon as she heard his voice this was the fucker who’d been staring. She tilted her head to the side and studied him for a second, the bar blurring around her. She was having a hard time focusing on his features but his face looked a little red like he’d been drinking already and when she leaned back in her stool she could see four guys at a table watching him, their eyes flicking from her to the guy. He looked like he was on his way past thirty, with a build that said he used to have muscle before he’d gotten married and started drinking too much beer with his buddies on the weekend. He was picking up her hoodie to move it. Behind him she could see four other empty barstools. Her lip curled into a sneer. “Yeah,” she spat. “It is.” He smiled and sat his ass down next to her anyway. “You sure? Because it looked like you could use some company.” She rolled her eyes and she felt her teeth grinding together in her head because she was getting pissed off fast. He was still fucking staring at her. He was staring at her face and whenever she looked away he would move his attention to her boobs and then down to her ass. “I don’t need any fucking company,” she spat, her words slurring a little and she was way too drunk to deal with this shit. Why couldn’t people just leave her the Hell alone? “And you need to stop fucking staring at me now.” “You sure, baby?” he asked, leaning forward, his hand coming to rest between her shoulder blades. There was a snarl rising in her throat but before she could say anything or gut the man she heard Alexey’s voice over her head. “Hey buddy,” he snapped. “Why don’t you fuck off?” The man frowned and then his hand left her back as he pushed himself to his feet. He pointed a finger at Alexey’s chest and pushed a little bit and Alexey frowned and looked down at his chest and back at the man like he was trying to figure out if he was for real. “Hey,” the man slurred. “Why don’t you fuck off? Me and the woman over here were having a private conversation, so why don’t you mind your fucking business before I have to get physical?” There was a rumble as Tony growled, pushing himself out of his stool. “Fuck off,” he snarled, moving so that he was standing next to Alexey and Vic. She glanced over her shoulder at them and she wanted to tell them she didn’t need any fucking help and she could take care of herself, but they both looked so severe with their arms crossed and dark looks on their faces. She frowned because otherwise she would have smiled a little bit. She sure as fuck didn’t need any knights in shining armor coming to her rescue but it was still kind of funny that they felt like they needed to. The man snorted and shook his head. “Alright, you got friends? I got friends too. Hey guys!” he shouted over his shoulder. Vic rolled her eyes and she took one last swallow of her beer before she hopped off the stool. The guy had just enough time to turn around before she threw a fist hard into his face. She felt her knuckles crack against his jaw and it stung and popped like a motherfucker and it was one of the best feelings in the world. A feral grin split her face as he stumbled back, his lip split under the punch and bleeding onto his fingers. There was that moment of silence where everyone seemed to realize a fight was about to break out and he was trying to decide if he should keep pushing his luck or if he should just turn around and go the fuck home. She hoped he picked the first one. She cracked her neck to the side and flexed her knuckles and really, really hoped he picked the first one. He didn’t disappoint her. “Fucking bitch,” he said, and then he was throwing a fist towards her face. Vic dodged the first hit and then the guys were scrambling out of the table across the bar and she felt herself laughing as it burst into all out war. She threw herself forward on top of the guy trying to hit her, knocking him onto his back and slamming her fist hard into his face. His nose snapped and she was grinning until someone grabbed her arm and hauled her off him. She felt something strike her cheek and it snapped her head back but she never lost the smile. Somewhere behind her Tony was roaring as he picked a guy up and threw him across the bar and it just made her laugh harder, maybe because she was drunk and maybe because she just fucking loved fighting. Alexey caught her gaze for a split second and when he saw her face his own split into a wide grin and then they were both laughing, even as someone else socked the kid in the stomach. By the end of it they were all bloodied and bruised and the bartender was threatening to call the cops as they were kicked out the door but Vic couldn’t stop laughing. She was grinning and sucking in air even as she fell against the wall and Alexey was chuckling and shaking his head. “You,” he said, between breaths. He pointed a finger at her face and the grin was wide. Tony was slapping him on the back and he didn’t look like he’d taken much damage, if any. She thought someone had broken a chair over his head but maybe she’d just been imaging that. Or maybe he was just that fucking scary. “You’re a crazy bitch,” Alexey told her. “Yeah,” she said, still smiling. She tilted her head back against the wall and looked up at the stars. “You’ll have that.” She didn’t recognize the car that pulled up onto the sidewalk but apparently Alexey did because then he was shaking his head. “Oh Jesus,” he said, and then he started laughing again. Vic tilted her head to the side and realized that she’d left her hoodie somewhere in the bar and she wondered if they would get mad if she tried to retrieve it. Probably. Simon fucking Welsh pulled himself out of the driver’s seat and his eyes widened when he saw the three of them. He was driving a Lexus and she rolled her eyes again, using the wall to drag her way to her feet. “Jesus, Alexey, what the Hell? I leave you alone for five minutes…” Welsh shook his head, scrubbing a hand over his face. He looked like he couldn’t decide whether he should be laughing or yelling and maybe he would do both. Vic sighed and kept a hand on the wall to keep herself steady. “You know you love me,” Alexey said with a grin and a shrug. “Just get your ass in the car,” Simon said, rolling his eyes and yanking the passenger door open. “See you tomorrow, small fry,” Tony said, his voice a low rumble but the smile on his face one of the brightest, most honest one’s she’d ever seen. She thought about the chair that had met his skull and she was so, so glad he was on her side. He started heading off down the sidewalk and then he paused and glanced over his shoulder to grin at her. “You too, bitchzilla.” She laughed and waved a hand. “See you, Tony,” she said, shoving her hands in her jean pockets and starting to walk away. She heard Simon clear his throat and she didn’t turn around but she felt that itch between her shoulder blades and even after all that he was fucking staring at her. “Hey,” he called, and she paused, rolling her eyes and not turning around. She heard him clear his throat again and she tilted her head to the side so that she could look at him out of the corner of her eye. He was looking at her face, but still, he was staring at her. “You need a ride home or anything?” She sucked in a breath and then she turned around and stalked back over to him. It probably lost something because she was stumbling and unsteady on her feet, but she managed to stop herself right before she ran into him. Her hand came to rest on his chest and he looked a little surprised and startled at the touch. “You want to fuck me?” she asked. His eyes went wide like he couldn’t believe that was coming out of her mouth. She tilted her head and looked at him and then he shook his head, clearing his throat. “What? I... no?” She smirked and then it was gone in a heartbeat. “Then stop fucking staring at me,” she snarled. Then she turned on her heel and started the walk back home. Wenston Simon didn’t want to fuck her.He was sure of it. He was sure when he showered after dropping Alexey off at his apartment. He was sure when he took a shower that night and he was sure as he lay awake at night thinking that the next day they were going to kill a man and all he could do was lay in his bed and think about how sure he was that he didn’t want to fuck Victoria Wolfe. It wasn’t a good time to get into a relationship. He’d just gotten over life threatening cancer, broken off a pretty serious relationship, and been told that he was joining a special ops team that were probably going to be involved in some pretty dangerous and serious stuff. He wasn’t one for one night stands either. And besides, she wasn’t really his type. Not that he had a type, but there had to be another reason why he didn’t want to fuck her. So it was stupid that all he dreamt about at night was rolling around in her bed. All he dreamt about was her hand on his chest and her voice soft and whispering to him and asking him if he wanted to fuck her. He dreamt about that slow, sly smirk being shot his way and it wasn’t fair because he’d only just met her. When he woke up in the morning, he felt like he hadn’t slept a wink and he felt guilty because he always felt guilty when he had dreams like that about girls he barely knew. Not that she was just any girl. He probably wouldn’t be able to look at her straight for the rest of the week. When he stood in line at the coffee shop to buy a non-fat soy latte on his way to Alexey’s apartment the next morning, he found himself wondering where she grew up. He wondered why she’d chosen to take part in the Shifter Initiative and he wondered what her favorite meal was. He wondered if she’d ever been to Franco’s downtown and he shoved that thought out of his mind immediately because the last girl he’d taken there and gotten into a relationship with, it had ended badly. And he didn’t want a fucking relationship, or to fuck her, so he didn’t know why he was thinking all these things in the first place. When he got to Alexey’s, he stood on the front stairs and buzzed his brother’s apartment four times before the speaker crackled to life. “What the fuck do you want?” Alexey spat out and Simon grinned because he bet his little brother wasn’t feeling all that great this morning. Pressing the speaker button, he leaned closer and said, “Rise and shine, small fry.” “Oh fuck me,” Alexey’s voice came and Simon just laughed but his brother still didn’t buzz him through the door. Simon shrugged and pressed the buzzer several more times before he just held his finger down on it and then his brother’s voice came back through the speaker. “Okay, Jesus Christ, I’ll be down in a minute. Go jog a mile or something, you freak.” Laughing, Simon stepped back and walked down the stairs. He glanced at his watch and it was nine o’clock in the morning. It was still very early and he wondered if Alexey realized what time it was because if he had, he’d probably tell Simon just to fuck off. But he wanted to go to the compound and go over the equipment again. Things had been thrown so fast at him yesterday that he hadn’t picked up some of it. And Alexey was a pretty good shot, so he was hoping his little brother could give him some shooting tips. He really didn’t feel like getting shot and when he thought that, he thought about Vic’s comment that he’d probably be the first one to take a bullet. Simon was pretty sure that if things kept going the way they were going, he was going to end up hating Elias with all his soul. He already felt so much disdain towards the man. He was trapped, basically. He wasn’t exactly sure what they would do if they had to terminate a contract. He didn’t think it would be death, but then again, he wasn’t very familiar with this business. But even if he was willing to take that chance with himself, he wasn’t willing to take that chance with his brother. He wouldn’t do anything to get his brother in trouble or get him hurt. So that meant he had to suck it up and do what he was told and if he was told that he needed to go kill some arms dealer, then he was going to go and do it. He’d never killed a man before. He wondered if it was something he would get used to. He wondered if he wanted to get used to that. He was pretty sure the answer was no. “Do you know what fucking time it is?” Alexey spat from behind him and Simon turned around. He laughed out loud when he saw his brother because Alexey had dark sunglasses over his eyes that didn’t really cover the one black eye he’d gotten in his little bar escapade last night. There was a cut on one of his cheeks and his lip was split and Simon hoped that the other guy was faring just as bad or worse because he didn’t like to think about his little brother getting beat on. “You know we don’t have to be there for like, another thirteen hours, right?” “I know,” Simon said with a grin. He opened the car door and grabbed a coffee sitting in one of the cup holders, coming over to hand it to his brother. Alexey looked down at it and then sighed and took the coffee without argument. “But I thought we could get some practice in. Maybe hit the gym a little? Are you sobered up right now?” “Mostly,” Alexey said, sipping at his coffee. The his brother reached up and pulled his sunglasses down his nose to look at Simon. He winced at the black eye his brother had, but Alexey didn’t give him time to ask if he was okay or not. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Simon raised an eyebrow. “What? No,” Simon scoffed and it sounded like the lie it was. He saw his brother smirk and then pull the sunglasses back into place. Simon watched him walk towards the passenger side and he followed after him with a frown. “Are you?” he countered. “Fuck no,” Alexey spat as he got into the car. Simon sighed and followed suit, starting the car up and waiting for his brother to buckle up before he pulled out of the apartment complex and started off down the road. “I think this shit is exciting.” “And you’re okay with killing people?” Simon asked, trying to sound casual about it, but he couldn’t quite keep the skepticism out of his voice. Alexey sighed and brought his free hand up to touch the cut on his face. He pulled down the visor and looked at it in the mirror. He smirked, like he was proud of it and knowing his brother, he probably was. “Simon, there comes a time in every man’s life when you have to realize that in this world, it’s either kill or be killed.” Simon frowned and glanced at Alexey, but his brother was just tugging at his own cheek, still looking at himself in the mirror. “And when it comes to us, it was either I watch you die or I agree to do whatever they ask of me.” The joking tone was out of his voice and Simon wasn’t so sure Alexey meant for it to come out so serious because he suddenly sat back in the chair and looked down at the coffee in his hands. “There’s no choice there. So I’m going to make the most of my new job.” Then he grinned and looked over at Simon’s face. “Weren’t you the one that always said I needed to find a real job? Maybe I just switched my guitar out for a really kick ass knife and a gun that I forget the name of right now.” “M-4 Carbine and a Glock 22,” Simon said automatically. Alexey raised an eyebrow at him and then laughed. “Wow, someone paid attention in class.” Simon just shook his head and continued down the road. He didn’t know why his mind kept going back to it, but he was wondering if Vic knew how to use a gun. She seemed like she would. Or maybe she was better with knives. He licked his lips and tried to sound uninterested when he asked, “What do you think about Victoria?” Alexey reached forward and snapped the radio on. He started twisting through the stations until he came on some classic rock station. Then he sat back and said, “Well, first, I’d make sure you always call her Vic because I think she’s the type of person to slit your throat for a little thing like that. Second, if you go to the bar with her, make sure you’re ready for a fight because that girl is trouble.” Then Alexey turned and quirked a brow at him. “Third, why the fuck are you asking? Oh my god, do you have a crush? You want to get in her pants?” “What?” Simon snapped and tried to keep the red out of his face. “No, I was just wondering what you thought of her.” “You want to get in her pants,” Alexey concluded and it was doing nothing for Simon’s assurance that he didn’t want to fuck the girl. “I’d be careful with that one, bro. I bet she keeps a cock trap down there.” At Simon’s confused look, Alexey made a small circle with his hands. “You know, when they have this ring in their pussy with razors that point inward. So you can stick your dick in no problem, but when you pull out…” he made a squishing sound with his mouth and Simon winced. “Where the hell do you hear about this stuff?” Simon asked, giving his brother a disgusted look. Alexey just shrugged. “HBO,” he said. “A special about extreme bondage.” “You know what,” Simon said and shook his head. “I don’t really want to hear about that stuff.” “Oh I forgot, your virgin ears,” Alexey said and reached over to pinch Simon’s cheek. He laughed and swatted his hand away. “I’ll make sure to shout ‘earmuffs’ next time for you, bro. But just remember, you’re the one that asked me. And if you do get in her pants, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Simon just sighed loudly. “I don’t want to fuck her,” he said. It almost sounded like the truth. .Wolfie. Morticia had fucked in her bed.She knew it as soon as she walked in the room because it was neater than how she left it. She’d barely managed to crawl out of it this morning and she was pretty sure her comforter had been on the floor in a heap. Now it was thrown across the bed and god fucking damn it there were dents behind it and the room smelled like sex and cigarettes. She was still drunk but even in her drunken haze she knew that the bitch had fucked in her bed and then she was ripping the sheets off the mattress and dumping them on top of the sleeping girl in the bed next to her. She snatched the pillow out from under her head and struck her in the face with it and Lisa woke up with a startled yell as Vic hit her. “I told you not to fuck in my bed you fucking bitch whore!” She was just slurring curses at her as she brought the pillow down on her head and she heard Lisa yelling back at her. She rolled out of bed and hit the ground on her knees before she used the edge of the bed to push her upright. She was blinking in the near darkness and trying to focus on Victoria. She threw the pillow across the room and it struck her in the face. Lisa snarled a curl and threw it back at her. It hit her in the chest before it fell to the floor and then the girl was pointing a finger at her from across the bed. “You ate my fucking hoagie!” she yelled. Vic waved her arms over her head. “You ate my fucking burritos!” Lisa scowled and she was still tired because for a minute she groped for words. She pointed a finger back at Victoria and after a moment her eyebrows lifted. “You… painted the bathroom pink!” Victoria wished she had something else to throw because in a second she was going to fly across the room and throttle this fucking bitch. She’d had sex in Victoria’s bed. She fucking hated roommates. She hated living with another girl and she wished her cellmate from prison was here or that she’d found someone else to go home with because this was fucking ridiculous. “You’re a fucking bitch and you leave your hair in the tub and you fucking smoke in our room and stare at me all the time you fucking dyke and now you’ve fucked in my bed!” Lisa’s eyes narrowed and then she was turning to her nightstand and digging her cigarettes out. She jammed three of them between her lips and Vic felt herself seething as she flicked open her lighter and lit them all up at once. Her hands curled into fists and she wondered if she was a floater or if she could just dump her body in the river. “Yeah?” she said viciously, and something like a smile curled her lips as she blew smoke into the room. “Well, you’re a slut.” “Oh I will kill you,” she snarled, and then she was clambering over the bitch’s bed to get to her. “You fucking bitch whore cunt,” she spat. Lisa’s eyes went wide and she ducked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Vic’s fists hit the wooden surface and she was kicking at it hard, the door rattling with the blows. “Get your fat ass out here!” she screamed through the door. “You’re drunk!” she shouted back, and Vic frowned, like that fucking meant anything. “So?” she yelled. “You’re still a bitch!” “Get the fuck out of my room!” Lisa shouted back and then she squeaked as Vic hit the door again. The edge didn’t look very solid, maybe if she kicked it hard enough she could knock it down and drown the bitch in the toilet. That made her smile and for a minute she stopped hitting the door so that she could think about that. “Go sleep on the god damned couch and I’ll wash your fucking sheets tomorrow you crazy whore.” Vic snarled a curse before she scooped her pillow off the floor, ripping the cover off it and dumping it on Morticia’s bed. She grabbed a hoodie out of her drawer and Lisa was still hiding in the bathroom but fuck this, she would rather sleep on the couch then stay in that room. She kicked the door one last time for good measure. “You should fucking sleep with one eye open from now on,” she shouted. “Yeah? Well you should fucking sleep somewhere else!” shot back, her voice muffled by the door. “Well I wish I was!” she snarled back. She really fucking wished she was. She wished Elias weren’t being a dick and had let her come over, even if he never let her stay. Christ, she even wished that Simon fucking Welsh had told her yes. She would rather have gone home with him and fucked him. She could have ripped that stupid fucking polo off him and messed his hair. She wondered how he was in bed and if he was as boring and weak there too. She wondered why the fuck she was thinking about it and maybe it was because she was drunk and lonely and now she was sleeping on the couch in her own fucking apartment. Instead, she had to come home and deal with Lisa’s bullshit. Whore had fucked in her bed. She needed to think of something really nasty to do to her now. Maybe she could leave bugs in her bed or something. Maybe she’d dye her hair blonde while she was sleeping. She giggled a little at that and now she knew she was drunk because Vic didn’t giggle. Maybe she would just break the bitch’s legs or something equally as brutal. She fucking hated roommates. She slept on the couch and pulled the hoodie over her and at that point because she was tired and drunk and as soon as the drunk wore off she’d realize that she was sore. She would be surprised if she didn’t have a hangover in the morning, or the afternoon, or whenever the fuck she crawled back off the couch. There was death metal coming out of their bedroom. Vic blinked and there was sunlight streaming through the window and metal coming out of their bedroom. The door was still shut and she groaned because she needed to get in there because she hadn’t showered in like two days and she actually had shit to do tonight. She pressed her head into the pillow and tried to ignore the pounding of her head and the dry, cat shit taste in her mouth. Her eyes were gritty and sore and as soon as she moved she realized the rest of her was too. There was a sore spot on her cheekbone and as her fingers pressed against it she remembered the Drunken Bear and a small smile curled her lips. It pissed her off that someone had tried to fuck with her and it annoyed her a little bit that the boys thought she needed them to back her up, but it had still been fun. She loved fighting. She loved proving that she was the baddest bitch on the block because she had worked hard for that. She had worked hard all her fucking life to be strong so that pops didn’t look at her and just see weakness. Then the smile died because she doubted he would approve of her cutting deals to stay out of prison. Then again, it wasn’t so different from what he’d done. She groaned and rolled to the edge of the couch, using one hand to hold her head together. She felt like shit. She thought about getting breakfast and as soon as she thought that her stomach rolled over and she pushed that idea aside. Maybe just some coffee. She pushed herself to her feet and went over to rap on the door where the music was coming from. She didn’t hear a response so she banged on it harder. “I need to fucking shower!” she yelled. “Shower at the gym!” Lisa told her. Vic rolled her eyes. “Well then I need to get some fucking clothes!” There wasn’t a response but after a moment she felt a click and then the sound of the bathroom door slamming. She smirked because she just imagined the bitch running to the bathroom to stay away from her. She pushed the door open and her sheets were still lying in a pile on the floor. She better fucking wash them or tomorrow she was sleeping her ass on the couch and if she was lucky she would still have her arms and legs attached to her torso. She yanked her clothes out of the drawer and shoved them in the black bag with the rest of the shit she’d need tonight. She wondered if she was going to get sent home again tonight and she cursed at Elias in her head. She paused for a minute in the middle of the room, bag hanging from her shoulder. The clock on her nightstand read three o’clock and she still had seven hours until she absolutely had to be there, but fuck, she had nothing better to do. She studied her knuckles where they were split and bruised and then she cleared her throat. “It’s safe!” she said, tilting her head to the side to see if Lisa would open the door. She just heard dark laughter from inside the bathroom but it didn’t open. “Just get the fuck out!” Lisa yelled back. Vic snorted and rolled her eyes, hefting the bag up on her shoulder and slamming the bedroom door behind her. This shit needed to stop. She either needed another roommate or some place else to stay. She felt pissy as soon as she thought it because her first thought was Elias and she knew better. She never slept over. She stayed there for hours at a time, sometimes until the sun was coming up, but when he was ready to sleep, she left. It was an unspoken rule and neither of them had tried to break it. She wondered what he would say if she asked. He’d probably just be a prick about it. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and it just made her headache worse. She didn’t know why she was fucking thinking about it because she knew Elias was an asshole and she didn’t want anything more from him. It was a relationship based on sex and that was it and she didn’t know why she was thinking of staying at his place or why she’d even want to. She slammed the apartment door behind her and now she had a headache and she was disgusting and hungover and she wanted coffee. The walk over to the building was way too bright. It hurt her eyes and it felt like there was a knife jamming itself in the middle of her forehead. She pushed gently at her face with her fingertips because she could feel bruises pulsing there and her whole god damned head hurt. She just wanted to go back to bed. She wasn’t paying attention when she got in the building, because at this point even the fluorescent lights were hurting her. She headed straight to the locker rooms attached to the gym and she just dumped her bag on the bench, resting her head in her hands. Coffee. Coffee would fix this. When she was showered and human again she would get some. She heard him yelling over his shoulder a split second before he walked around the corner and she glanced up. His hair was dripping and wet, a towel wrapped around his waist and that was about it. For a second she focused on his chest and she thought that maybe life wouldn’t have been so bad if she’d gone home with him last night because he was built better than she would have guessed under that stupid polo. He froze in his steps and then she glanced up at his face and he was looking at her with something like wide eyed surprise. “Hey Vic,” he said. She snorted and then let her head fall back into her head. He stood there for a second and stared at her but then she felt the sensation leave her skin and at least he was learning. “Hey Simon?” she asked, as she heard his steps start to retreat around the lockers the other way. He paused and she heard him clear his throat. “Yeah?” he asked, and she smirked because he sounded worried, like she was about to give him another lecture about how they weren’t friends and would never be friends. It was still the truth. Maybe it didn’t matter because maybe he would just be dead by tomorrow and she scrubbed a hand over her face. “You got any Tylenol?” Wenston It took a while for the red to fade from Simon’s face. He wasn’t sure what he was so embarrassed about, maybe the fact that there were only a handful of girls who’d seen him that exposed before. Not that he was really exposed, he had a towel on, but still. He’d gotten dressed quickly and he’d heard Vic head to the showers just as Alexey’s was turning off. He could hear his brother’s voice echo through the locker room as he shouted, “Oh, hey Bitchzilla. Man you look like hell.” He didn’t wait around for Vic’s response and as he left the locker room, he wondered how his brother could be so flippant about walking around with only a towel on while there were girls around. Even if that girl was Vic. Simon headed out into the gym area and looked across the hall at the sparring ring. He sighed and hoped that Vic was just here to shower because he didn’t really feel like making a fool of himself in front of her when he tried to spar with his brother. Alexey had picked up the combat moves fairly quickly and Simon thought the little shit was pretty good. But Simon was absolutely terrible at them. He never quite got the hang of it. One of the combat trainers he’d worked with said that he thought too much while he was fighting. Maybe that was true. But he had always been really analytical through his entire life. Attention to detail, calculating scenarios, and it didn’t come easy to just turn that off. Figuring Alexey would be a while, Simon headed to the sparring ring and looked around. There were weapons on the wall, most of them not very dangerous. Wooden swords, dummy guns, all things used for training. There were boxing gloves and hand pads for karate. He sighed and walked to the side of the room. He glanced over his shoulder and neither Alexey nor Vic were coming out of the showers yet and he had to push aside the thought that his brother was spying on Vic while she showered because even his brother wasn’t stupid enough to do that. It could get him killed. Sitting down, he stretched his legs out in front of him and bent over to grab his toes. He felt his back pop and he closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. He stretched the tendons in his legs and his back and then he sat back up, doing the same to his left side and then to his right. He kept stretching out his muscles and focusing on breathing and holding positions and yeah, maybe Yoga was stupid to some people, but it was relaxing to Simon. It always had been. More so after the cancer. “You know,” Alexey’s voice came and Simon opened his eyes. His brother and Vic were standing in the doorway to the sparring room and they looked like quite the pair. Both of their faces were bruised and Alexey’s left eye was dark and bloodshot, but at least it wasn’t swollen closed. Vic had bruises on her cheek and one across her jaw and he’d like to have a word with the guy who would just punch a girl like that. “Some girls find that kind of flexibility very appealing,” Alexey continued, then he looked at Vic. “What do you think?” “If he’s that flexible, he doesn’t need a girl,” Vic said dryly and Alexey burst out laughing as she walked pass him and went to go sit on a bench in the corner of the room. Simon just sighed and straightened himself out before rolling to his feet. He stretched his arms and gave his brother a look, to which Alexey just plastered on his most innocent face he could muster. Alexey grinned and then walked to the center of the ring. “Okay, come on,” he said, waving at Simon. “I’m hungover and I’ll still kick your ass.” Simon snorted, but he thought that was pretty much true. He hadn’t been able to beat his brother during basic. Alexey was just too fast for him. His eyes flickered to Vic, who sprawled out on the bench, disinterest on her face but she kept her eyes on them anyway and Simon looked away quickly before she could yell at him for staring again. Simon went to stand in front of his brother and he took a breath, cracking his neck. They started slow. Alexey, despite his rambunctious personality, had the patience of a saint when it came to sparring with Simon. Simon was slow in making his moves and he’d pause sometimes to look at the placement of his arms. Alexey would stop with him and as soon as Simon got a good grasp on how things were working, they’d continue and Alexey never said anything. Simon was a bit surprised at that, because he’d thought his brother would rib him about it until he was blue in the face. But his brother had surprised him a lot recently. Simon threw a few punches, which Alexey easily dodged and blocked. Alexey grabbed both of Simon’s wrists during one by-the-books move and then he grinned. “This is where, if I were you, I’d head butt the fucker.” Simon snorted, breathing heavily and he grinned. “Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked. Alexey just shrugged and let go of Simon’s wrists, shoving him back. He held his hands out to the side. “Only hurts if you don’t have a hard head.” “Oh, then you should have no problem,” Simon told his brother and Alexey let out a garbled laugh. Vic suddenly sighed and sat up on the bench. They both turned to look at her because she’d been quiet for the past half an hour and Simon wondered if that was a record, because there hadn’t been a single bitchy comment to come out of her mouth the entire time. She tore off her hoodie and threw it on the bench, leaving herself in a tank top and Simon couldn’t help but think it looked really good on her. He ran his hands over his face afterwards because he didn’t want to be having those thoughts. “You guys are boring as shit,” she said and then pointed at Alexey. “You and me.” Alexey’s eyes widened a little bit and then he laughed. “Fuck you, I saw what you did to that guy last night. I don’t think my tender body can take that kind of a beating.” Vic grinned and it was a feral thing spreading across her face. “We’re just sparring. I won’t hurt you that much.” Simon ran his hands over his face and took a few steps back. He watched as Alexey shrugged and then the two were circling each other. “I have to warn you,” Alexey said, although his gaze was focused solely on Vic and he had a concentrated look in his eyes. “The state of California made me register these fists as deadly weapons,” then he planted a kiss on both of his hands. Vic snorted and Simon chuckled a little at his brother. “Sometimes they get a little out of control. So if I end up copping a feel, it’s only because they chose that as an alternative route to killing you.” They stopped circling each other as Vic paused in her tracks, her back to Simon and he watched her a second before looking back at his brother. “Cop a feel and I claim a hand,” she told him calmly. Alexey seemed to ponder that a moment and shrugged. “It’d be worth it.” A grin spread across his brother’s face and he was sure there was one mirrored on Vic’s, but he couldn’t see it. It didn’t matter, because in the next minute, she was whirling and he didn’t even have a chance to think or react as her hands closed around his arm and her shoulder met his gut. She flung him over her and he landed with a “oomph” on the mat on his back. She straddled his waist and hand a hand wrapped around his throat and the other held one of his wrists to the ground. Simon took a breath and blinked up at her, because he’d thought she’d been sparring with Alexey, not him. So why the hell was he the one on the ground? But then she bent her face down close to his and grinned, a nasty look on her face. “Expect the unexpected, Welsh,” she spat and then slapped his face before climbing off his stomach and standing up, taking a few steps back. Simon just laid there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. This day was doing nothing for the whole convincing himself he didn’t want to fuck her idea. “That was fucking amazing,” Alexey laughed and Simon rolled over and pushed himself to his hands and knees, looking up at them. Vic was smiling smugly and she’d walked over to Alexey, who looked like he’d just witnessed the coolest thing in the world, his eyes were shining so brightly. Simon rolled his eyes and then stood up. “Thanks for the lesson,” he spat. Vic turned to look at him, the smile off her face, her jaw jutted and she shrugged like it was no big deal. “You’re slow and weak,” she told him. “I don’t give a fuck if you get yourself killed. But if you fuck up and get me killed? I’ll desecrate your fucking body.” A laugh escaped his throat and he reached a hand back to rub at his shoulders. She had some power to her movements. “I’ll try not to let my slow, weak self get you killed,” he told her and she just rolled her eyes. Alexey looked between the two and then he waggled his eyebrows at Simon and he knew what his stupid little brother was trying to say. But he was wrong. He didn’t want to fuck her. “That’s a unacceptable goal to have, Mr. Welsh,” a voice came from the doorway and the three of them turned to look at the newcomer. It was Avi. He stood there and he was out of his Marines uniform, but he wore the black pants, boots and shirt that was to be their new uniform. He didn’t have a bullet proof vest on or the goggles. He stepped into the room and stood in that stupid defensive stance of his. Alexey snorted. “What? You want him to get her killed? Captain America, that’s not very patriotic of you.” Avi merely glanced Alexey’s way before he turned his attention back to Simon. “No, I want you not to be slow or weak,” he said and then stepped closer. “I want you to be fast, smart, strong, and a soldier. That’s why you were picked for this team and that’s what you will become.” “Then maybe you should have picked someone else,” Simon said carefully and he saw the smile on Avi’s face flicker, but he couldn’t tell if it grew or faded. “You’ll spar with me,” Avi said and rolled his shoulders, loosening his stance and walking over to Simon. Alexey scoffed and said, “Can I have your car when he kills you, Simon?” A sigh escaped Simon’s lips and he spared a glance at his brother, who looked impassive about the whole thing and then at Vic, who was watching the two of them closely with a look of amusement on her face. He shrugged at his brother and then brought his hands up. “Sure, Lex,” he said and locked his gaze on Avi. “Sweet,” Alexey muttered, then turned to Vic. “It’s got heated seats.” Vic just snorted. The two of them stood still for a moment, each waiting for the other to make a move. Then a smile spread across Avi’s face and Simon thought he was getting too much amusement out of this. “Come at me,” he demanded. Simon bit his lip once and then did as he was commanded, throwing a fist Avi’s way. The man easily dodged it, grabbing Simon’s arm and flinging him behind him, one hand coming out to slap the side of Simon’s head. He growled and forced himself not to pause as he turned around to try and kick out at Avi’s legs, but the man grabbed his leg and flipped him. Simon landed hard on his back and he rolled to the side, climbing quickly back to his feet. It was only because Avi allowed him t, though, and he knew it. They were all right. He was too slow and he was too weak and this was never going to be easy for him or be where he belonged. “Get him, Simon,” Alexey snapped from the sidelines and Simon wondered what the heck his brother expected him to do. He knew better than any of them how terrible he was at fighting. But he did as his brother said and went after the man again. Simon tried several different moves, and each of them Avi was able to fend off and throw back in his face. He wound up on his back more than he was on his feet and he wondered when the man was going to call it quits because Simon was getting his ass handed to him and he felt now that this was more a show of Avi’s ability than Simon’s lack of one. After the ninth time of climbing back to his feet, Simon took a deep breath. Sweat was trickling down his forehead and he wiped it away with a sleeve before looking back at Avi. “Had enough?” Simon asked, a forced smile on his face. Avi’s face was dark when he said quietly, “Not quite.” Then he was coming after him. Simon only had a second to dodge a fist that flew at his face and he realized the man wasn’t pulling his punches anymore. He swung an arm out at Avi’s face and the man blocked it with his own, then Simon grunted as he was backhanded brutally. He stumbled backwards, hand coming up to his face and when he pulled his fingers away, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “Whoa, hey,” Alexey said and Avi paused for a moment, but his eyes were still locked on Simon and Simon kept his eyes on Avi because the guy had actually hit him. Not just a sparring hit, an actual hit. “I think you’ve proven your point that my brother’s a pansy.” Alexey said and normally Simon would laugh with him, but he didn’t think this was very funny. “Lucky for him, that’s why we have guns, right?” “Guns don’t stop everything,” Avi said and Simon didn’t even have time to dodge the next blow that came his way. The air left his chest with a whoosh as Avi let his legs come out and hit him in the gut. He stumbled backwards and all he saw was a flash of limbs and black and Avi whirled along the ground. Bent at the waist, his head was lower and he gave a surprised yell as Avi’s legs wrapped around his neck and then the man was flipping him violently to the ground, wrapping himself around Simon and his legs were pressing on his throat. He gagged and coughed and his hands came up to try and pry the man’s legs from around his neck because he couldn’t breathe. From the side, he heard Alexey give out a snarled, “Jesus, fuck,” and apparently it looked as brutal as it felt. Avi was holding him for longer than Simon thought he should. And then Alexey snarled a, “I think he’s down, Cap.” Apparently, Avi agreed because the legs loosened on his neck and the man crawled away. Simon coughed, rolling onto his stomach, taking deep, gasping breaths of air. He lay there for a moment and he heard Avi climb to his feet effortlessly, though breathing heavy and the man was calm as he spoke. “You’ll need extra sparring time,” Avi said. “Ms. Wolfe.” Simon picked his head up to look at them. Alexey was watching him and he raised an eyebrow to silently ask if he was okay. Simon just rolled his eyebrows. Vic was watching him and there was a disgusted look on her face, but she turned to look at Avi. “What?” she snapped and Simon couldn’t tell who exactly she was disgusted with. Probably him. Probably because he was weak and pathetic and they’d never be friends. “You’ll be his sparring partner,” Avi said and completely ignored the eye roll she gave him. “Every day. Four hours. Make him better, Ms. Wolfe.” Simon pushed himself to his hands and knees, his hand coming to his throat and he looked back at Vic as Avi left the room. She threw her hands up and headed back to the bench, grabbing her hoodie. “Just fucking great,” she spat. .Wolfie. Vic realized two things very quickly.The first was that she pretty much hated Captain America. There were people she disliked and would still be willing to fuck, and then there were assholes like him that just made her want to grind his face into the dirt. She wished that he’d stuck around to spar with her because even if she lost it would still be worth it to get a hit on that square jaw of his. If he looked at her again with all that disdain in his eyes, like he was somehow better than her, then she was just going to pop him one in his eye. It wasn’t that he’d beaten the shit out of Welsh. It was that he didn’t understand strength and weakness. There wasn’t anything to be gained by beating up the weakest one in the room. A fucking three year old girl who turned into a kitten would probably be able to take him down. If he wanted to show off and act like he was so fucking tough, he could meet her in the ring. If he thought that he was teaching both of them a lesson by forcing them to spar together he might just end up with a dead team member and that was the second thing that she realized. She did not, under any circumstances, want to devote four hours out of every fucking day to babysitting Simon Welsh. She yanked the hoodie over her head and sat down hard on the bench. She was just staring at the mat because she was fucking pissed off now and this day was just getting better every second. At least her hangover was mostly gone. That counted for something, right? Alexey cleared his throat and sat down next to his brother. Simon had settled on the bench some feet down from her. That made her smirk because at least he was keeping his distance like she’d told him. Then again, that wasn’t worth much now because Rogers had decided to make them partners or best friends or whatever the fuck. She watched his face for a moment and she didn’t know if it mad her feel better or worse that he looked so fucking miserable. “Well,” Alexey said, and then a smile spread across his face. “At least you don’t have to fight him every day.” “I’m not sure this is better,” he said quietly, and Vic snorted because she heard him anyway. Alexey quirked his mouth to the side and glanced over at Vic, letting himself smile. “Yeah, well, at least you’ll have a chick straddling you and grinding your face into the dirt. That’s something, right? Unless you’ve suddenly switched sides on me, bro,” he grinned and clapped him on the back. Simon managed a small chuckle and shook his head. He prodded at the split on his lip and grimaced when it came away bloody. Vic kept glaring at him for a moment because she felt like somehow this was his fault. She didn’t know how yet, but she thought he was to blame. Maybe if he hadn’t gotten his ass kicked so easily then she wouldn’t be stuck in this situation. “I’m not an early riser,” she snapped abruptly. “So don’t expect me here at ten o’clock or anything. Actually, nothing before noon.” Simon cleared his throat and didn’t look at her and she smirked because his face was turning red. “Alright,” he managed. She sighed and leaned back on her elbows, staring at the empty mat and then she thought maybe she could blame this on Elias. If he wasn’t so busy being an asshole then maybe she wouldn’t have gotten locked out of her room and the bathroom and ended up here so god damned early. Or maybe she was just still pissed at him for telling her no. She heard the sound of a bag unzipping and then Alexey was leaning down to pull out the knife they’d been given. Vic snorted as she watched, because it wasn’t a bad knife, but her pops had given her a better one when she was thirteen. She watched Alexey unsheathe it and hold it in front of him and she rolled her eyes at how awkward it looked in his hands but she stayed in her seat as he played with it. “You think we’ll have to shank somebody?” he asked, nudging his brother in the stomach as he tried to cheer him up. “What do you think the point of this is? I mean, we’ve all got claws, right?” “Maybe they just like watching us struggle,” Simon said, managed a small chuckle. He cracked his neck and then settled back into a reclining position on the bench. He raised an eyebrow at his brother and a small smile creased his face as Alexey stood up and started to play with his knife. He held it in two hands and made a karate chop and then laughed at himself. Vic braced her head against her hand and then sighed and pushed herself to her feet because he was going to cut his fingers off. “Look, you’re doing it wrong,” she snapped, taking the knife from his fingers easily. She spun it in her hands and then held it along her forearm, lifting it up front of his face. She stepped back a few paces so that she didn’t strike him across the face because he was the brother she actually tolerated, and then she moved like she was throwing a right hook. “Like this,” she snapped. She made a few quick practice slashes and then her hand was curling around his wrist and she was flipping him, dropping on top of him and pressing the flat of the knife across his throat. She grinned viciously at him. “See?” She flipped it one hand and then slapped it down next to his head. She climbed off him and went back to her spot on the bench, sprawling out and shutting her eyes. Almost immediately she got that uncomfortable feeling running up her spine and she sighed, tilting her head to look at Simon. A wicked smirk creased her face. “You said no, remember? Knock it off.” “Right,” Simon said quickly, looking towards his brother. His face was turning red and she smirked at the reaction. Alexey sat up, staring at her with wide eyes. “Wow,” he said, putting a hand to his chest. “That was almost like being helpful. Are you being helpful?” Then he turned his head to look at Simon, his eyes getting wide. “Did we step into the Twilight Zone?” He turned the knife and pointed it at Simon with a serious look on his face. “You meet any kids named Anthony Fremont you stay the fuck away.” She snorted and shook her head, letting her eyes drift shut. “Don’t say shit like that,” Simon said with a dry chuckle. “Or we’ll end up repeating this day over and over again and nobody wants that.” Alexey laughed. “True enough.” She heard him moving and then he was dropping down on the bench next to her. She kept her eyes shut but it apparently didn’t bother him because he was determined to give her a hard time anyway. He was quick, but maybe not a quick learner. She’d still rather be sparring him than his brother every day. There was the sound of the knife dropping into the bag and then the zipper as he closed it back up again. “So you learn that in basic training or what?” She opened one eye at him. “What’s my second rule, Romanova?” His face turned into a grin. “Right,” he said, pointing a finger at her and making a clicking noise in his cheek. The door opening brought their attention to the far side of the gym and Vic watched through lidded eyes as Jezible and Tony made their way into the room. And then she sucked in a breath because behind them Elias was lingering in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes cool as he scanned the room. She watched him for a second and then looked away because she was still pissed off at him, even if she couldn’t exactly explain to him why. He’d just be a fucking dick about it and she knew it so she turned her attention to the other two and pretended she didn’t see him there. Tony didn’t look any worse for the wear, his gaze traveling around the sparring room and grinning when he saw the punching bag. Then he saw Alexey and his grin got even wider and she heard the man next to her make a small nervous squeak. “Small fry!” he said brightly, heading across the room towards him. Givessi laughed, taking off her sunglasses and studying the three of them sitting on the bench. She looked ready for a nightclub, in some low cut, printed top and a pencil skirt. Her high heels clicked on the floor as she made her way over to them, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder and she heard Alexey whistle lowly next to her. Vic didn’t miss that the dog was absent, but she had no doubt the woman had more tricks up her sleeve to fuck with Elias. The thought almost made her smile only that meant she was thinking about Elias and she sighed and pushed herself to her feet. Jezibel crossed her arms over her breasts and raised an eyebrow. “Well you three look quite battered. Did I already miss the mission?” Vic snorted, leaning back on the bench. “Yup,” Alexey told her brightly. “It’s all handled, we can go home and forget this ever happened. Darn, you know what, I think Simon has to stick around and get his ass kicked by Bitchzilla over here, why don’t I get a ride home with you?” He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed brightly. Victoria rolled her eyes and brushed past the woman without a word, her head tilted to the side and watching Elias as he stood in the doorway. An arrogant smirk creased his face as he watched her approach and she wanted to wipe that look right off his face because he looked like he knew exactly what she’d been thinking the last twenty-four hours and that was bullshit. She thought she hated him a little bit and then she stopped in front of him, head tilted up and a challenging look in her eyes. “You’re staring,” she snapped, and he laughed quietly at the comment. His fingers brushed her chin and tipped her head up to the light as he studied her bruises. His eyes were cold but a small smirk creased his face as he glanced over her shoulder at the four other people in the room. He lifted an eyebrow and she didn’t know who he was looking at but then his eyes were dropping back down to her face. “I tell you ‘no’ for one night and you go off and fuck Mr. Romanova?” He clucked his tongue at her. “Your standards are dropping Victoria.” She snorted and pushed the hand roughly away from her chin. She wondered why the comment bothered her but it did. “I didn’t fuck him,” she snapped, a little more defensively than maybe necessary, and then a small sly smile curled her own lips. “I went to a fight and a bar broke out.” He chuckled dryly and his thumb brushed over the bruise on her jaw. She kept her arms crossed over her chest and she didn’t allow him to see the shiver that ran down her spine at the slight touch. “If you live through tonight, come over afterwards,” he said lowly. “If?” she snapped, raising an eyebrow. “Just who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” she asked, and she saw him smile at the comment. She shifted her stance, her jaw jutting out because maybe she was easy sometimes, but he’d fucking blown her off. She wasn’t just here whenever he felt like fucking her, and she didn’t have to make it easy for him every time, even if she already felt a little dry mouthed with anticipation. “And what if I have better things to do?” she snapped. He shrugged and pulled his hand back, arms crossing over his chest and he honestly looked like he couldn’t care less. She didn’t know why it bothered her. It shouldn’t. She shouldn’t give a shit whether or not Elias wanted her to come over tonight because she didn’t need anyone. “Your call,” he told her. “You’re an asshole,” she snapped, and he raised an eyebrow at her for a moment, like he was surprised at the reaction. And she hated herself because she looked away. His slow, cruel smile widened and she hated that she had no fucking pride at all. She should have told him to go fuck himself but then he wouldn’t be fucking her. Then he straightened up and tipped his head to the side, focusing on the others in the room. “Start getting ready,” he snapped, raising his voice so that it echoed around the room. They had been talking but it quieted at the sound of his harsh voice. “I want you all assembled in the briefing room within the half hour.” Wenston Maybe it wasn’t a ninja outfit, but when Simon started putting on his uniform, he decided it was pretty close and just as cool. He’d gone straight for the locker rooms after Elias had told them they were going to start to assemble and he told himself it wasn’t because he was fucking embarrassed that Avi had just kicked his ass. He didn’t know where the guy had disappeared to afterwards, but he was glad he’d just decided to make an ass of Simon in front of his brother and Vic. Although she was bad enough, Simon didn’t really feel like the entire team should see how awful he was in a fight. They’d probably find out soon enough anyway. He sat on one of the benches and he’d already pulled his black pants on. The black shirts they’d given out were long sleeved and Simon thought they were just a little ridiculously tight. He scrunched in on himself and looked at his stomach, putting his hands to his gut. It had taken him a while to get himself back in shape after he’d gotten sick. He’d gotten really skinny, from the treatments they’d tried. Once he’d started feeling better, he’d begun his own work out routine. But basic training had pretty much finished off toning his muscles back into what they’d been. Heck, maybe he was in even better shape now than he’d been before he’d gotten sick. Sighing, he grabbed his boots out of his bag and bent over, pulling them onto his feet. He started to lace them up when the others finally joined him. Alexey came in first and gave a cat call when he saw Simon already starting to get dressed. Simon rolled his eyes at his brother and Alexey slapped him hard on the back. “You almost look professional,” he said. “Almost?” Simon asked, watching his brother head to a locker a little further down the row. “Yeah,” Alexey said, pulling his shirt off and then he grinned at Simon. “You just need a tattoo over your heart of an olive branch. You add a leaf for every guy you kill. Keeps track of your kill count.” Alexey pointed a finger at him. “But it only counts if you pull the trigger. Doesn’t count if you’re just there when it happens.” Simon shook his head. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.” “You do that,” Alexey said, clicking his cheek and then his eyes went wide and Simon looked over his shoulder. The big guy, Tony, was heading into the locker room and he passed Simon without a second glance, coming over next to Alexey and setting his bag down, pulling open a locker and then he pulled his own shirt off. Alexey just stared up at the man because he was a good foot and a half taller than his brother. “Uh, I don’t think it’s fair that you change so close to me,” Alexey said and Tony turned to look at him, his face deathly serious. Alexey opened his mouth and Simon bit back a snicker because his brother was so awkward around the big guy. But he didn’t blame him. Tony was at least twice the size of Alexey, if not three times as big. “I just don’t want one of us feeling inadequate around the other, you know?” Tony just stared at him for a moment and Simon watched with curiosity because he wasn’t sure what the man would say to his brother. He didn’t know if they’d bonded while they were at the bar together or what. Then Tony laughed and clapped Alexey on the back. The blow had him staggering and he fell into the lockers with a thud. Tony was just laughing as he said, “Don’t worry small fry, you don’t make me uncomfortable.” Alexey had a look on his face that said that hadn’t been the most pleasant experience and then he paused and pointed a finger at Tony. “Right,” he said. “That’s exactly what I meant. Good. Glad we uh, got pass this awkward stage of our relationship.” He turned around so his back was facing Tony and he gave Simon a wide eyed look. Simon just laughed. A noise behind him had Simon turning back to look and he sucked in a breath because Vic walked into the locker room. She looked pissed off, but then again, she always looked pissed off. She threw her bag down in front of one of the lockers and Simon realized at that moment that they needed to build a bigger locker room, because there was only one row and the row didn’t offer much privacy. She tore open her bag and pulled out her gear and then before Simon could look away, she was ripping off her shirt. He swallowed thickly and looked away, because she had a thing about staring and he didn’t want to find out how pissed off she would be if she felt him staring while she was topless. It was hard to keep his eyes forward because she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to put on her new shirt. He bent forward again and finished lacing up his boots. Alexey was not as discrete as he was though. His brother cleared his throat and shouted across the room to her. “Hey, is that a bullet wound?” Simon couldn’t help it then. He turned and looked and his eyes immediately fell to the round scar on her stomach. He sucked in a breath and held it and he wondered where she’d gotten it. He figured this wasn’t her first mission, but it looked old. He heard her sigh and his eyes rose to her face. She turned to look over her shoulder at Alexey and there was an annoyed, but semi-amused, look on her face. “I take it you don’t know the meaning of the word rules, do you Romanova?” she said and she still wasn’t putting her shirt on. She was rifling through her locker, stuffing the clothes she’d taken off into it haphazardly, not bothering to fold them. “Oh I understand,” Alexey grinned. “That wasn’t really a personal question. It was more of a distraction so I could take a longer look at your boobs.” A laugh actually escaped Vic’s lips and she shook her head, pulling her black shirt on over her head and Simon didn’t think the shirt did any better. It was as tight on her as it was on him and it really left little for the imagination. She looked down at it and rolled her eyes, her hands moving the button of her jeans next. Simon let out a small breath and forced himself to look in his bag for his gloves and his vest and his goggles because he was not about to watch her take her pants off. “It’s only fair if you give me something to look at too,” she said. Alexey scoffed and then leaned against the lockers casually. “I don’t know, I don’t normally put out on the first date.” “Really?” she asked, actually sounding surprised. “Nah, that’s a lie. Normally all it takes is one date.” Alexey sighed dramatically. “But I’ve already changed and it would just look suspicious if I changed out of my uniform only to change back into it. I don’t want to make myself look desperate.” Simon snorted. “Too late,” he said. “Ouch. You know, it hurts my feelings when you say stuff like that,” Alexey pouted. “You’re my brother. You’re supposed to have my back. Not stab it with insults.” Vic sighed, like she was annoyed. “Why don’t you go tell Mom that your brother is picking on you?” Simon winced slightly and glanced towards his brother because their mother was a sensitive subject. The two had a pretty nasty falling out when Simon had gotten sick. Although, their relationship hadn’t been all that great beforehand, it had only gotten worse after and he realized that he’d never really asked his brother if he was okay with that. Pointing a finger at Vic, Alexey said, “You know what Mom would do with a knife in my back? She’d twist it. Then she’d pull it out and go for the spinal chord. And when I was down on the ground, paralyzed and bleeding to death, she’d kick me in the nut sack and spit in my face and then she’d take me to a pig farm somewhere to hide the evidence and all that would be left of me would be my teeth lying in a pile of pig shit.” Simon just stared at his brother for a second because sometimes Alexey could be so random. Alexey looked like his little rant had let off some steam that Simon didn’t know he’d been holding. His brother took a calming breath and behind him, Vic snorted. “You have issues.” “Yeah, well, I guess that’s why they picked me for this team,” Alexey grinned and then pulled out his bulletproof vest, strapping it around his chest. The door to the locker room opened again and they all turned to look as Jezibel came into the room. She was already dressed in her uniform. Simon smiled when he saw it because she’d made a few adjustments to the style. “What?” Alexey spat. “Where did you change? That’s not fair, we were having a nice changing party in here. Team bonding.” Jezibel smiled. “Nice try,” she said sweetly. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and hung down her back loosely. Her pants seemed to fit more snugly than everyone else’s and she’d cut the fingertips off her gloves, to let her nails poke through. The combat boots were the most drastic change. Simon pointed to her boots. “Made some alterations?” he asked. “Oh my god,” Alexey growled. “Leave it to my brother to have the first thing he notices about a fucking hot chick is her shoes.” That got a laugh out of both Vic and Tony and Simon turned to glare at his brother, who just waggled his eyebrows at him. Giving a soft laugh, Jezibel sat down next to Simon and picked up her leg, laying it across his lap. He was more than a little awkward with her being so close to him, but she pulled up her pant leg to show him the full boot. She’d had it modified all right. The boots went up to her knees with laces. The heel of the boot had been replaced with the heel of a stiletto. “I took them to my favorite shoe store downtown,” she said, tilting her head to look at her boots. There was a smile on her face and she wrapped an arm around Simon’s shoulders. “I have a friend there who tailors all my shoes for me, so I figured he could work with those gaudy boots.” Tony spoke and Simon had honestly forgotten the man was in the room. “I think they look very nice on you,” he said. Jezibel smiled at him sweetly. “Why thank you, Anthony,” she said and then turned to look at Simon again. “Do you want to see the best part?” she asked. Simon swallowed and shrugged. “Sure,” he said. She smiled and then quicker than Simon could react to, she shot her leg out and slammed the ball of her toes into the locker. He jumped and watched as a knife suddenly clicked out of the toes. Behind him, Vic snorted and he couldn’t tell if she thought it was cool or ridiculous, but she kept quiet. “Jesus,” Alexey said and they looked at him. He was looked at Jezibel with wonder in his eyes. “Look, I’m just going to skip the pleasantries and the pick up lines and ask you for your phone number.” “You couldn’t handle me, sweetheart,” Jezibel said and the grin only grew on Alexey’s face. .Wolfie. Vic wouldn’t say it out loud, but she was grateful that bulletproof vests were a requirement.She could count on hand the number of times in her life that she’d cried and the only time in her adult life it had happened had been the night she’d gotten shot in the stomach. Nothing in her life had ever hurt quite as bad as that and she didn’t want to repeat the experience any time soon. She hadn’t been able to do anything. She’d just curled in the fetal position and cried. She’d felt like she was dying and maybe she had been. She’d barely been able to pull her way over to her father’s corpse and by then he was already dead and he couldn’t yell at her for being weak and crying at something so stupid as pain. It was almost funny that it was the cops that saved her life. Right before they put her in the slammer for manslaughter and accessory to manslaughter and drug trafficking charges and a bunch of other little ones that didn’t mean half as much as the ones that said she killed a guy. She hated them for that and that she was trapped in this contract now, but she wasn’t sorry she was alive. Strength and survival was more important than anything and pops had made damn sure she learned that lesson. So there was a little part of her that was happy to strap the thing around her chest because that meant she was mostly safe from getting anymore holes punched in her gut. Maybe they’d hit a limb, but she thought she could handle that kind of pain. And if they hit her head, well, she wouldn’t have to worry about it hurting for very long. She slammed her boot against the locker as she focused on lacing it up and she tried to tell herself that she wasn’t jealous of the blade Givessi had hidden in hers. It didn’t work and alright, she was fucking jealous. Knives made her feel better. Right now, she was feeling pretty bitchy. She focused on threading the laces on her boots and there were a lot of things that should have been making her mad. She should have been mad at this whole situation, because this fucking crack team that Elias had put together was the biggest band of misfits. She wondered how long this would be going on for and maybe she would ask him later and that was what was really pissing her off. She knew she was going over there and he knew she was going over there and it was getting under her skin. Vic wasn’t getting attached. She told herself that because she never got attached, not to anyone. Everyone eventually left, one way or another, and she didn’t care. The only one she’d ever been able to depend on being there was pops and he was dead. He was dead and he wasn’t coming to get her this time and that was fine because he’d taught her enough that she could survive without anyone else. Which meant she wasn’t getting attached and she sure as fuck wasn’t getting attached to someone like Elias because he was an asshole and she couldn’t trust him because even if he wasn’t just using her she was Vic and she didn’t fucking get attached. She let her foot drop and slammed the other one against the locker to tie it and she was trying to pretend that she wasn’t bothered by even thinking like that because it was stupid. No one treated Vic like that, like a fucking call girl, and if he was going to be a prick about it then she should tell him to go fuck himself because she wasn’t doing it anymore and then she should go home and break one of her roommate’s legs and take a nice hot shower and then crawl into bed and sleep for two days. She knew she wasn’t going to do those things, but thinking about it made her feel better. What she was going to do was go and kill some asshole named Costas DeFranco and then she was going to go fuck Elias and mess up his hair and try not to get too comfy in his bed afterwards. Then she would ask what the fuck the point of this little task force was and maybe he would even answer her. “You okay over there sweetie?” Givessi asked. Vic glanced up from her boots and the woman was watching her with a smirk on her face. Vic couldn’t tell if it was real or faked but she didn’t really care. She was bad at playing nice. “Don’t fucking call me sweetie,” she snapped, pushing herself to her feet. “She’s mad because she wants your boots,” Alexey said, grinning from where he leaned against the locker. Vic rolled her eyes because he was giving Givessi the once over and she was playing it up without even trying. She wished they would just fuck and get it over with. “She’s jealous that another kid on the playground has a shinier toy than her.” “Hey, I got an idea,” Vic snapped, tilting her head to smile sweetly at Jezibel. “Why don’t we test that shiny toy on Romanova?” Givessi laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Vic hoped she got whiplash. Then her cool eyes were landing on her face and she was smiling, but she was studying her like she was still trying to figure her out and Vic didn’t like the look. She didn’t like people trying to figure her out because she didn’t like people. “I could,” she said. “But he seems like the kid on the playground that would take that sort of thing as a love letter.” She pouted and Vic snorted and refused to smile because she didn’t like the woman and she wasn’t going to like the woman. Simon chuckled from the bench and then stood up and stretched. “He likes it when you put gum in his hair.” Vic glanced at him for a moment and she could hear his back snapping into place from where she stood before he bent over and pressed his palms flat on the ground. She tilted her head to the side and had to admit he was pretty flexible and then she looked quickly away because she wasn’t checking him out. Flexibility didn’t matter if he couldn’t throw a punch. “He’s lying,” Alexey said quickly. Then he put that cocky smirk back on his face and leaned against the lockers, his arms crossed over his chest and he lowered his voice like he was reading a personal ad. “But I do like long walks on the beach, sunsets, and I love it when you call me big papa.” He waggled his eyebrows at Givessi at the last part. Simon’s breathing was even and steady and then he was straightening back up, the black shirt stretching over his stomach and outlining his abs and his ribs. Vic frowned and threw her shit in her locker because damn it, she wasn’t checking him out. Simon rolled his eyes before he clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Let’s go then, big papa,” he told him. Behind him Tony chuckled, slamming the locker door shut and following the brothers as they headed for the doors. He smiled at Jezibel and Vic as he walked by and she couldn’t help but smile back, partly because it was so genuine and partly because he was huge and terrifying and she would rather have him on her side. “I wasn’t talking about you,” Alexey grumbled. He pulled away from Simon’s grip and started walking backwards, pointing a finger in his brother’s face. His tone was bitchy and teasing and it made Vic smirk. “You know, there’s a name for someone like you. You know what it is? Cockblock. That’s right, I said it. You’re a cockblock.” Simon rolled his eyes. “That implies you had any hope of getting some to begin with.” They disappeared around the corner and Vic could hear Alexey snapping something back and she wondered if this was what their whole life had been like. Next to her, Jezibel was laughing quietly and then she pushed herself to her feet and followed and for a moment Vic was left alone in the locker room and it sounded so quiet in here without everyone else carrying on. She was still holding the sheathed knife and she flipped it over the back of her palm and into her hand. She knew she was a shifter now and had that strength and speed and power to back her up. Still wasn’t quite as heartwarming as a knife in her hands. Everyone was still getting settled in the briefing room when she slipped in and she settled on the arm of the closest chair. On the far side of the room she could see the shape of what she assumed was Lyle Liddle. He was on his side and his breathing looked even and steady from here. She frowned and wondered if he was asleep because it sure looked like it. Simon and Alexey were settled on the couch next to him, and Alexey was nudging Simon in the ribs about something. He was rolling his eyes and looking annoyed and embarrassed and she thought it was funny how easy his face turned red. Jezibel had her legs crossed on the sofa next to them and Tony was taking up the rest of it, his arms slung out across the back. At the front of the room stood Elias and Avi, and she ignored how her dark mood returned as soon as she looked at him. He had his hands laced in front of him and he was scanning the room and studying the people gathered there. She doubted he was impressed. She sure as fuck wasn’t. She didn’t understand why she’d been taken off individual assignments and mercenary work and shoved into a team where she didn’t fit and didn’t want to fit. Granted, she hadn’t been doing it this long, but long enough. “Well, since you’re all here, we can get started,” Avi said. His words were firm and controlled and there wasn’t a smile on his face anymore. He looked deathly serious and she wondered just how strict Captain America was going to be about this business. Because she wasn’t in the military and she wasn’t a soldier. She was just a bitch with a knife. “No it’s cool,” Alexey smirked. “Don’t waste time with foreplay. We’ll just you know, warm ourselves up or something. Hey, you need any help with that?” he asked, leaning his head back to look at Jezibel and grinning at her. “I’m already warmed up sweetheart,” she told him slyly and Vic snorted at the look on his face after she said it. Then Avi clapped his hands together hard and the noise brought everyone’s eyes up front. There was a snort and a choking sound as Lyle jerked off the loveseat, his hair tangled but his eyes wide and focused already. Avi smirked and then turned to the screens behind him, picking up a remote. They showed security footage of a boat in the bay. “There are three possible locations for Costas onboard the ship, so we will be splitting into three teams,” he said, eyes sweeping the room. Vic rolled her eyes because she always hated group projects and this just kept getting better and better. He pointed at spots ont the camera as he spoke, illustrating each part of his plan with another image on the screen. “Team A will go up the ramp and take the first area head on. Team B will go in through the water and take the second area here. Team C will use zip lines to drop in on the rear end of the ship and then they will drop below to take the third area here.” “Ooh!” Alexey said quickly. “Can I be on her team?” he asked, jerking his thumb to the left. Avi grit his teeth together and he tried to put a smile on his face but it looked strained and painful. “No,” he snapped. Then he gestured to the side at Vic and her eyes narrowed because she knew where this was going. “You will be on a team with Ms. Wolfe.” She sighed and scrubbed a hand through her hair, glancing over at Alexey. At least it wasn’t his brother. At least he knew how to shoot a gun and maybe it could be worse. “You will be Team B. That means approach through the water.” Alexey quirked his mouth to the side like he was thinking and he looked over at Vic. He studied her for a moment like he was thinking about arguing it. Then he shrugged and smiled. “Alright, I’ll take that.” A grin spread his face and then he pointed at Avi like he was double-checking his orders. “Go get Vic wet, got it boss.” “If you trip and drown I’m not giving you CPR,” Vic said dryly. Alexey’s face fell and he put a hand to his chest. Vic rolled his eyes at the tone of his voice because he was trying to sound so wounded and she wasn’t buying it for a second. “That hurts me. Right here, below the sternum somewhere. I would give you CPR, whether or not you were drowning. I think it’s only right you return the favor.” Avi cleared his throat loudly. “Team C will be Ms. Givessi and Mr. Bruno. Team A will consist of myself, Mr. Liddle,” his grin widened and he focused on Simon. “And Mr. Welsh.” For his part, Simon looked like he wanted to sink into the couch and stay there. His eyes were narrowed and his teeth grit as he met the arrogant smirk on Captain America’s face and for once she couldn’t blame him because the man had just given him a beating less than an hour ago. At least he’d kept getting up. She had to give him that. “We’ll be going in up the ramp. If any of you kill Costas, radio in immediately with ‘target down.’” Elias pulled away from the desk. “One last thing,” he said coolly. “Do not, under any circumstances, kill or injure anyone on the police force or the FBI.” A dark smile curled his lips and she didn’t quite understand the meaning behind what he said next, but she felt like it meant something. “After all, we’re all on the same side.” Wenston They took the elevator down to an underground garage that Simon hadn’t known had been attached to the building. There were an assortment of cars and vehicles parked in the garage and Simon had to admit that when they walked out of the elevator all together, dressed all in black, they looked pretty freaking scary. Alexey was grinning the whole way and Simon thought his brother was enjoying this all a little too much. When thy reached a row of vehicles, Avi stopped them and turned around. He pointed to a pair of Yamaha motorcycles. “Bruno, Givessi, those are yours.” From next to him, Alexey gave a small, jealous scoff and Simon grinned because no matter what his brother was given, he’d always be jealous of whatever someone else got. Although, the bikes were pretty cool. They were sleek and black and Simon had no doubt they were fast as Hell. Jezibel smiled and grabbed the helmet off the seat before straddling the motorcycle and bending over to grip the handles. “Oh Jesus,” Alexey said, putting a hand to his chest. “Are you sure I can’t be on her team?” Avi ignored him and waited until Tony hopped onto his motorcycle. The man barely had to lift a leg to get on it and he looked a little funny because he was so oversized for the bike. Once they were both on, Avi waved them off and then walked over to a small black Sedan, pointing at it and turning to Alexey. “Romanova, Wolfe, this is you.” “A sedan?” Alexey groaned. “Can’t we get a Mercedes or something?” Avi didn’t respond and Alexey scoffed, turning his head to look at Vic. “I’m driving,” he told her childishly. “No you’re not,” she told him firmly and manhandled him away from the driver’s side door. Simon laughed as she climbed in without another word. Alexey came around the side and grinned at Simon. “Well, have fun, bro,” he said and Simon suddenly felt his throat close up a little bit because it hadn’t hit him that he wouldn’t be with his brother during this. He was the only person he trusted in this whole operation and beyond that, even if Simon wasn’t the best fighter or couldn’t shoot a gun all that well, Alexey was still his little brother and Simon had wanted to keep an eye on him. “Be careful, Lex,” Simon said seriously and his brother paused, his grin frozen in place on his face and his hand on the door handle. He looked back at Simon and then his face softened a little. “I’m the King of Careful,” he joked and Simon smirked, despite himself. Then Alexey put a hand to the side of his mouth to shield his lips from Vic, already in the car. “But if something does happen, she probably did it,” he said, pointed into the car. From inside, Vic yelled, “Get in the fucking car.” And Alexey made a squeak before he flung open he door and climbed inside. Simon sighed as he turned around and followed Avi towards a black van parked a little further down. He hoped his brother would be alright. He wasn’t sure if he was glad he was with Vic or not, because she had proven that she was good in the sparring ring, but that didn’t meant that she’d have Alexey’s back and Simon wasn’t sure his brother realized that. He hoped so. He hoped Alexey would watch his own back and nothing happened to him. “This is us,” Avi said, opening the back of the van so Lyle and Simon could climb in. Lyle sat to one side, yawning as he held his rifle in his hands. Simon sat on the opposite side, watching Avi close the doors with a slam behind them and walk around to the driver’s side. The slamming of the doors felt ominous and confining and Simon wondered if this would really be as easy as everyone thought it would be. He wondered if he was about to get shot as soon as he stepped out of the van or what, because he was nowhere near the skill level of anyone else on this team. He wasn’t sure about Lyle, but at least the man had a tough look about it. As they pulled out of the garage, Simon leaned his head back against the wall of the van and closed his eyes, going over the plan and the man’s face and combat maneuvers in his head. He wondered if he’d actually be able to do this, because he didn’t think so. He thought he’d try to go after the first guy who pointed a gun at him and he’d get shot in the head and that would be the end. If he made it through this, he was going to have to get better. Maybe he’d actually learn some things from his sparring sessions with Vic. Or maybe she’d blow them off or just kick the crap out of him every day. How the hell had he gotten into this mess? It was better than dying slowly of cancer, he guessed. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Lyle’s slimy voice came and Simon opened his eyes. The man was slouched on the bench, his tongue running over his bottom lip and his lips looked chapped and white. Simon wondered if the man was stoned. He didn’t answer right away and Lyle just smiled. He looked even more tweaked when he smiled. “The first one is always the worse. But once you get a kill under your belt, it gets easier.” Simon nodded and he somehow doubted that. But the man was trying to be friendly, so Simon smiled politely. “I didn’t know this was what they meant when they said ‘government work’ in the brochure,” he joked. Lyle either didn’t catch on that he was joking or chose to ignore it. He tilted his head to the side and chewed on his thumbnail. Simon frowned because his nails were practically chewed down to the point they were bleeding. He wondered if Lyle missed his fix this morning. “Well, just be glad they gave you some pretty toys,” Lyle said slowly and hefted the rifle up in his arms. “My first mission, they gave me a name and a face and told me to go. Had to kill him with what God gave me.” He crossed himself and then his grin spread and he winked. “And the scientists of this lovely Shifter Initiative. You ever seen a man get five inch fangs in his neck? Left a nasty taste in my mouth, but it was kind of fun.” From the driver’s seat, Avi sighed. “Liddle,” he said and the grin fell off the man’s face. Simon stayed quiet and tried not to let on how nervous he’d just gotten around Lyle. He glanced at Avi and the man looked at both of them in the rearview mirror. “Keep the comments to yourself.” Simon wondered if Avi was trying to keep him from getting nervous or just didn’t like Lyle. He decided on the second one. Lyle snorted, insulted, and leaned back, settling in and looked like he was getting ready to take another nap. “Sure thing, Cap,” he said and then his eyes moved back to Simon. “Don’t blow chunks after your first kill either,” he said, quietly and Simon saw Avi’s eyes move to the mirror again, angered. “They can track DNA. Then you get us all killed.” “Liddle,” Avi snapped. “Right,” Lyle said and closed his eyes, crossing his legs at the ankles and settling down. “Comments to myself.” Simon let out a slow breath and looked down at his hands. They were shaking a little and he tried to still them, but he was nervous. Nervous was a very mild word. He was scared. He wondered how this time a year ago, he’d been teaching yoga classes and the most stressful thing he’d do all day would be the commute through traffic and now he was holding guns and knives and getting ready to storm a ship and kill an arms dealer. Didn’t people spend years of their life training for this sort of stuff? He’d gone through what, a few months of basic training? He wanted to talk to the guy who’d picked him for this team. The rest of the ride was quiet and the van pulled up to the docks with the headlights off. Simon straightened himself, but Lyle didn’t move until Avi jumped out and opened the back door, letting them out. Lyle moved first, slowly and like he was in some sort of pain. Simon stood up and came out after him. The three of them crouched and headed towards a stack of crates, kneeling behind them for a moment. Avi looked at his watch and then pulled the radio from his shoulder. “Teams in position,” Avi said. “Affirmative,” Jezibel’s voice came over the radio. Then Alexey’s, “Right-o!” sounded and Simon smirked at the annoyed look on Avi’s face. “Move in,” Avi gave the signal and then stood. Lyle moved and Simon was surprised that the man was actually quick and agile. Simon went to follow them, but Avi suddenly turned around and his hand came out, catching Simon in the chest and stopping in his tracks. Simon frowned at him because Avi looked pissed. “You stay here,” he said. “What?” Simon asked, frowning. “Why?’ Avi tilted his head slightly and said “There are people with guns on this ship,” like he was talking to a child. Simon just frowned back at him. “What are you going to do against them with your safety on?” Avi snapped and shoved Simon’s gun back into his chest. Simon looked down at it and spat a quick, “Shit,” before looking back up at Avi. The man didn’t look amused and he didn’t smile or tell Simon it was a common mistake. He just pointed at the ground and said, “Hold your position and we’ll talk when this is over.” Simon sighed as he watched the man jog off after Lyle and then he turned around and glared at the van. He looked down at the gun in his hands and pulled the safety off, growling at it. “Shit,” he spat again and sat down heavily on his ass. .Wolfie. Vic felt short. She had to hold her guns over her head to keep them from getting wet because the water was up to her breasts. On Alexey it only came up over his stomach and she was trying not to bitch because he was cradling them in his arms and looking like he had an easier time moving through the water because he had a longer stride and wasn’t in it quite as deep. Her boots felt heavy and she gritted her teeth and tried to keep her feet moving against the uneven ground. If she fell and got her gun wet she’d never hear the end of it. She’d have to kill Alexey so there would be no witnesses. She wondered whose brilliant idea this was and it was probably Captain America’s. Fucking asshole. At least it was low tide. She tried to be grateful for that. And her bulletproof vest. She didn’t give a shit how much it weighed her down, she was happy to be wearing it. They hadn’t given her one on her first mission, but then there hadn’t been as many armed men on that one. They’d been sleeping in tents and they’d never had a chance to wake up before she slipped in there and slit their throats. She thought she should have hesitated more, but hesitation meant doubt and doubt meant weakness. She had two options. She could go in and be a killer and slit their throats in their sleep, or she could go back to prison or worse. At the end of the day, that meant she really only had one option, and she wouldn’t feel bad about doing what it took to survive. Alexey had a grappling gun slung from his shoulders that they were supposed to use to scale the side and she honestly couldn’t wait until that part because she wasn’t having fun wading beneath the docks. A glance up at the ship showed a guy walking around and studying the water with a bored expression but he couldn’t see them in the shadows. She wondered if the others were doing alright and if Avi would be patient with Welsh or if he would just kill him and call it an accident. She doubted it. Captain America seemed like too much of a boyscout for that kind of underhand treachery, but then again she didn’t really know him. “So,” Alexey said, waggling his eyebrows at her. “Am I about to deflower you? Is this your first time? Should I be gentle?” Vic snorted and rolled her eyes. The ground shifted beneath her feet and she didn’t much feel like small talk but maybe it was too much to expect Romanova to keep his mouth shut for more than ten minutes at a time. She wondered if he’d ever heard of the quiet game, and if he had he probably lost it all the fucking time. “No, no, and no,” she snapped, tilting her head to look at him. “But I can tell it’s yours,” she said sweetly. He grinned, keeping his head up and the gun in his arms. Her eyes narrowed at that and tried not to think how sore her shoulders were getting trying to keep the M-4 held over her head. It got heavy after a while. Why the fuck did they pick the shortest one to wade around in the water? “Yup!” he said shamelessly. “You get to pop my mission cherry.” She couldn’t help but smirk at the comment and she shot a look in his direction. “Don’t expect me to be gentle.” He grinned at that and faked a wince. “Oh, ouch. Careful you don’t tear anything on me. I might need it later,” he said, lifting one eyebrow. She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips at that. “Will you hold me if I cry afterwards?” he asked, his eyes widening. “This could be a very emotional experience. I might need the support. And by support I mean your boobs.” She rolled her eyes. “See, this is why I never had much fun with virgins. Too much talk, not enough action.” “So no cuddling?” Alexey asked. Vic bit back a laugh and if she wasn’t using her hands to keep her guns out of the water she would have slapped him. “No,” she snapped, trying to keep a sneer on her face so she didn’t smile. “No cuddling. No flowers or calls the next day either.” It was funny because it was pretty much true and she felt herself getting a little annoyed because now she was thinking about her fucking bitch roommate calling her a slut. She wasn’t. She just liked to fuck and she didn’t get attached to people. It wasn’t a matter of being a slut or being a bitch, it was about survival. People couldn’t be trusted. People would get her hurt or killed. “Wow,” Alexey said, and he was staring at her. She rolled her eyes because apparently he’d ignored the warning she’d given him and she wondered if he was just stupid or just didn’t care. It was probably the second one. She’d seen brief flashes of intelligence somewhere in all his banter and the potential for a killer. So what happened with Welsh? All that muscle and no fucking clue how to use it. “If I hadn’t seen your boobs I would think you were a dude.” She snorted and smirked at that because she figured there were worse ways to be. Better a dude than one of those girls that bitched because her boyfriend didn’t call her before bed and then wrote poetry about it and cried herself to sleep at night. “And yet I still have no proof that you are,” she told him sharply. “You have to buy me dinner first,” Alexey told her. She scoffed because she didn’t believe that for a second. “Hey!” he said like he was offended. “I’m trying that ‘hard to get’ thing, is it working?” “Absolutely,” Vic told him, casting a dark look in his direction. She lowered her voice because they were next to the ship now and she didn’t want to give them away before they even got started. She felt the first thrums of anticipation beginning in her chest and she wondered if everyone else was in place. She hadn’t been paying enough attention to the air so she didn’t know if Givessi and Tony had ziplined in yet. She imagined Avi was in place, because she couldn’t imagine Captain America slipping up even once. Even with Liddle and Welsh on his team. “Keep doing it.” “Oh, who am I kidding?” he said, his grin getting wider. Vic paused next to the ship, keeping her head up because the water was lapping around her neck now and even Romanova had moved his gun to his shoulders. He turned around and leaned against the ship, casting a sly smirk her way. “I want you, I need you, take me now.” She rolled her eyes. “Just get the fucking rope up there, Romanova.” He chuckled and pulled the grappling gun off his back, stepping back into place next to her. “Damn, you weren’t lying when you said you wouldn’t be gentle.” He shook his head as he slung the M-4 over his shoulder and pulled out the grappling gun instead. She hadn’t wanted to let him carry it, but he was taller than her. She hated feeling short. He lifted the gun in his hand and started to point it towards the top of the ship and then he hesitated for a moment. He looked like he was nervous or scared and she rolled her eyes because she didn’t have time for this. She saw him lick his lips and open his mouth and she wondered if he was about to ask her to do it and then he spoke and it wasn’t what she expected. “Hey uh, try not to tear up my brother too much in your sparring sessions. He’s not as manly and stoic as me.” The words had the same joking tone and he was wearing a smile on his face but when he glanced at her face she saw a flash of worry looking back at her. She frowned, because what the fuck did he think she was going to do to him? She would spar with him because she had to, but she didn’t take it easy on anyone. She wasn’t interested in weak things like compassion or pity and taking it easy on him wasn’t going to make him a better fighter. It was going to get him killed or hurt when he least expected it and he couldn’t depend on someone coming in to stop it on time because by then it would be too late and he would be just another victim in the street. “He’s weak,” she snapped, and there was more annoyance in her voice than probably necessary. The look on Alexey’s face darkened and he turned away from her to look at the ship. He still wasn’t firing the gun and she was getting annoyed with this. “He’s not weak,” he told her. “He’s a lot of things, but he’s not weak.” She snorted shifting in the water that was trying to make its way up to her chin. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Alexey rested his M-4 across his shoulders and pointed the grappling gun upwards, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he aimed. “Here goes nothing,” he said, squinting one eye and then pulling the trigger. It sailed upwards and Vic watched it with nervous anticipation because she was pretty sure they were only getting one shot at this. She should have taken the shot herself but it was too late now and the rope was off and away. Either they’d be climbing up the side of it in a second or they’d be calling Avi to tell him they didn’t really feel like playing tonight and they were going to the bar. She smiled when she wondered what he’d say to that. She winced when she heard the clang of it striking the ship and then Alexey was pulling on the rope with one hand. It slithered back down and she felt herself getting nervous as more and more rope fell into the water. She was biting her lip and trying to pretend she wasn’t worried but she still breathed a sigh of relief when it jerked abruptly to a stop. A grin creased his face and he looked like he wanted to let loose a war whoop. “See that? Not so bad for a virgin, right?” Vic shrugged and a relieved smile curled her lips. “Well, you got it in; now let’s see what you can do with it.” She grabbed onto the rope, giving it a hard yank. It pulled taut and seemed like it would hold her weight. “I guess we’ll find out,” he said, laughing quietly as she started pulling herself out of the water. As soon as her chest left it, she slung the gun onto her back so that she could focus on climbing. “Nice,” he said, as she started to climb the rope. She rolled her eyes because she always knew when someone was staring and she was going to bet he wasn’t looking at her gun. She paused with her body half pulled out of the water and she glanced over her shoulder. He was standing with his gun braced around his shoulders and a smirk on his face. His head was tipped to the side and then he glanced away from her ass to her face like he’d forgotten that was up there. She rolled her eyes and then pulled herself hand over hand farther up the side of the ship. “If I feel a hand back there you’re going to lose it,” she snapped. He chuckled and then the rope moved as he started to climb up behind her. “Maybe I’m just trying to help you,” he said conversationally. “You know, give a girl a boost.” She snorted. “Maybe I’ll just happen to cut the rope. You know, give you a hand down.” “Hmm, yeah I don’t see how that’s helpful in this situation,” he said, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Vic’s fingers curled over the edge of the railing and she pulled her knife before peeking over the side. She didn’t see anyone, but she tipped her head to the side first to try and listen for any signs of life or movement. She could hear Romanova’s breathing behind her as he tried to hang onto the rope and she could hear both their hearts beating heavily. The rush of adrenaline was staring to burn in her veins and she gripped her knife tighter with anticipation. She heard the footsteps first and she turned to look down at Alexey, pressing a finger against her lips. He nodded and stayed still below her, his lips pressed tightly together as he tried to keep his mouth shut. She closed her eyes and listened as they passed by her position and started heading off to her right and when they’d gotten about five paces away she pulled herself up onto the side. There was a man with his back to her and he held a gun loosely in his arms. His gaze was dull as he looked off onto the shore and he didn’t look like he really expected trouble. That was the last mistake he’d ever make. She moved up silently behind him and then her hand shot out and clamped hard over his mouth. He had time to make a single strangled cry before her knife flashed out and she cut his throat wide open. It took him a minute to die so she kept her hand over his mouth as she lowered his body slowly to the deck. There was blood pouring from his skin and she felt it getting on her gloves and on her knife so when he was gone she used his corpse to wipe the blade off. “Holy shit,” Alexey said from behind her. She glanced back where he pulled himself up over the side and onto the deck. For a minute he just looked surprised and then he focused on her face and a grin stretched across his lips. “That was fucking awesome.” She rolled her eyes but there was a small smile on her own lips. “Get the rope,” she told him, as she worked on dragging the body off to the side. The guy was bigger than her but she hooked her arms under his shoulders and slid him across the deck. He left a trail of blood behind him but at least it wasn’t quite as obvious as a corpse. The piece in her ear crackled to life as she was shoving the man’s corpse behind a container. “Teams in position.” Avi said in a short clipped tone. It didn’t sound like a question, it sounded like an order. Something told her she wasn’t going to much like working with Captain America and maybe he would be the one to get shot in the head and then maybe the team would break up and she could back to doing solo missions. That seemed like too much to hope for. Alexey was wrapping the rope around his forearm and elbow but he grinned and pulled the speaker on his shoulder to his lips. “Right-o!” he said brightly, and Vic just smirked and rolled her eyes. “Move in,” he snapped back. They slunk along the containers until she saw the hatch they were supposed to drop through. She sucked in a breath, sheathing her knife and pulling the M-4 to bear. “You ready?” she asked him quietly, lifting an eyebrow at him. He grinned. “You nervous?” he asked. “I didn’t think you got nervous.” She smirked and shook her head, crouching down to open it. “I’m not nervous,” she told him honestly. “I’m excited.” Wenston Simon clicked the safety on his gun on and off. He sat beside the crates with his legs stretched out in front of him and his shoulders slumped. He was going back and forth between feeling relieved that he could stay up here and out of the line of fire, or rejected because Avi had pointed out a stupid mistake and basically kicked him out of this mission altogether. It was a stupid mistake, one that anyone could make. Granted, if Avi hadn’t pointed it out and Simon would have found it out while he was trying to shoot someone, he’d probably end up getting shot himself. Which in that case it wasn’t really a stupid mistake. It was a pretty big one. He sighed and leaned his head back against the crates, then glanced down at his watch. Their fifteen minute window was down to ten and he wondered how they were doing. He hadn’t heard any gunfire yet, so that had to be a good sign. He wondered if Vic had killed his brother and left him to float in the river and that thought made him chuckle a little because there was a part of him that didn’t doubt she might do it. He hoped his brother could keep his mouth in check while he was with her. Then he tried to picture Jez and Tony zip lining onto the ship and he frowned because that’s not the pair he would have chosen to do that. Tony was too big, for starters. He was big and strong and it would have made more sense to send him straight up the middle. If anything, he would have sent Vic and Alexey down the zip lines, because they were both small and fast and that was less time out in the open like that. But Avi must have had his reasons. He wondered what the man thought about his new little team here and he wondered if he wanted them to fail so he could take on something more practical. Maybe a team that wasn’t full of misfits and assholes. A noise caught Simon’s attention and he ducked his head forward, his ears straining to hear whatever the noise was. It was a small tapping at first and then he frowned because it sounded like someone was running. His first thought that it was one of his team members, maybe not Jez because it didn’t sound like heels, but they were running swiftly and he swallowed thickly because maybe something had gone wrong. Maybe someone was hurt. At that thought, he climbed to his feet because if it was Alexey, he needed to be ready to go get him. The footsteps were getting closer and closer and Simon’s heart was beating faster the closer they got and his hand tightened around the Glock. He held his breath and his eyes stayed on the corner of a pile of crates because any second, someone was going to come around that corner and he didn’t have a clue who. The shadow came first, cast by the shipping yard safety lights. Then the runner came and froze as soon as he rounded the corner, his eyes coming to Simon. Simon didn’t know who was more surprised. The man wore an expensive Italian suit. His dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and he had a goatee that was neatly trimmed. His eyes were dark, but wide and panicked as they stared for a second, registering Simon’s presence. Costas DeFranco was a lot shorter in person. For a moment, the world ceased to exist around him and all he could focus on was the man standing in front of him. All he could focus on was Costas and his wild face and heavy breathing and the feel of a gun in his hand because he was supposed to aim that gun at this man’s head and pull the trigger. Except he’d been told to stay behind. He’d been told to wait in the car and he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near this man and he’d accepted that and calmed down and now he was staring into the man’s damned eyes. “Nemojte pucati,” the man said lowly, his voice deep and dangerous. But his hands came up and he took a step back. When he spoke again, Simon could recognize the words this time, but his accent was thick. “Please, don’t shoot.” Simon didn’t say anything. The gun was held tightly in his hand, but it was pointing towards the floor, he’d never brought it up. He kept his eyes on the man and he was unarmed. He didn’t even have a knife on him and Simon swallowed thickly as the man kept stepping backwards. Then, the man turned on his heel and looked away and started to run and Simon had a split second to make a decision. He could easily let the man go and no one would know. They’d go in there, not find the target, and the mission would fail and no one would be the wiser. But then he thought about this man setting up a base for arms dealings in New York and what kind of impact that would have on the city, and the country. What kind of people it would draw here. Simon was staring at the back of the man’s head as he ran away and he almost disappeared back around the crates. Almost. But then Simon was raising the gun and firing and instead of watching the man disappear, he watched him crumple to the ground. He watched blood spray out on the crates and pool on the ground and Simon kept his gun drawn in front of him as he looked down at the dead man. Costas DeFranco. Not dead man. He had a name. He probably had a family and a home somewhere and people who cared about him. And Simon had just shot him in the head. His eyes moved from the body on the ground to the gun in his hand and it was shaking. He lowered it slowly and looked around and there was no one else here. He swallowed and thought about Lyle’s words in the van, telling him not to throw up because they could get DNA. He shook his head and his limbs felt numb because he’d just killed a man. He grabbed the radio at his shoulder and pressed the talk button and he was speaking without really thinking about it, because he was following orders. “Target down,” he said, his voice shaky and unnatural. There was a moment of silence over the radio before Alexey’s voice sounded. “You’re full of shit,” he said, his voice quieted. Avi’s voice came next and he sounded serious. “Welsh, repeat your status.” Simon ran a hand over his face and sat down heavily, his eyes moving back to Costas lying on the floor. He’d shot him while he was running. He’d shot him in the back of the head. “I said target down.” “Wait a minute,” Alexey said. “Aren’t you two supposed to be together?” Avi’s voice snapped back over the line, angrily. “Clear the radio,” he said. “Welsh, did you make a positive ID?” A laugh escaped Simon’s throat and he was exactly sure why. He snapped his head back against the crates and gave an angry growl before his fingers closed, white knuckled, around his radio. “Yes it’s him,” he snapped and put a hand to his head because he suddenly didn’t feel very well. The smell of blood was heavy in the air and he looked back at the man again. “He’s dead, I shot him.” Another sound caught Simon’s attention and he looked away, up towards the left of him. There were footsteps making their way towards him and this time it didn’t sound just like one person. He sucked in a breath and stood up, having to grab onto the crates to pull himself up, his legs feeling shaky. He could see flashlights coming closer and he wanted to laugh again because this was just ridiculous. “Everyone back to the vehicles. Pull out,” Avi’s command came. Simon turned to look at the van and shook his head. “Our vehicle’s compromised,” he said into the radio. “I really want to know why you two aren’t together,” Alexey said again and there wasn’t any joking tone to his voice this time. Simon watched the flashlights get closer and he looked around. He didn’t know where to go. “Did you fucking leave him by himself?” Avi ignored Alexey altogether. “We’re coming to you, Welsh.” “Don’t,” Simon told him. “Don’t, cops are here.” “Flash bang ‘em, dude!” Alexey said, his voice sounding just a little bit scared. “Just get the fuck out of there.” “Shit,” Simon spat and he let go of his radio, because the footsteps were coming closer and the flashlights were shining his way. He turned and he ran away from the van, towards the dock. The flashlights suddenly illuminated him and he heard a voice yell, “NYPD, freeze!” He didn’t. He kept running and he jumped over a line of crates, heading towards the dock and he could see where it dropped off into the water. He couldn’t see the water from the top and he hoped it was deep at the bottom, because it was kind of a long way down. “Take him down, take him down!” Simon reached the edge of the dock just as the cops opened fire and he held his breath as he leapt off the edge, feeling his stomach tighten from the freefall. Maybe he heard his brother’s voice coming through the radio or Avi’s giving him more orders or even Jezibel starting to say something, but all he could focus on was the barrage of gunfire coming from behind him and the water rushing up to meet him from below. He thought this might hurt a little. .Wolfie. They’d been crouched behind a row of metal containers when everything went to shit.There were five guys sitting in the hold and up until a minute ago they’d had bored expressions on their faces and a deck of cards spread out on the floor as two of them played poker or some variation of it. The other three had looked like they were trying to care about their jobs, holding their guns and scanning the hold every so often, but none of them were Costas DeFranco and Vic was annoyed because she’d wanted to shoot the bastard between the eyes and get out of here before the cops showed up. There was a little part of her that still got nervous just thinking about it. None of that fucking mattered now. The five guys had freaked as soon as the gunshots started going off and now they were all standing and looking around nervously, their guns held up by their shoulders as they waited for orders. One guy was shouting Italian into a radio that had been resting on one of the crates and someone was yelling back at him and she didn’t understand a word of what they were saying. “Let’s go now,” Alexey snarled next to her, and she glanced at his face. There was an expression there that she hadn’t expected to ever see on the man’s face. He wasn’t laughing or smiling or making dirty jokes. He was fucking pissed. He looked angrier than she’d ever seen him, his lips a hard white line on his face and his knuckles white around his gun. His teeth were grinding together in his head and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Wait,” she told him, and then he flinched as more gunshots rang from somewhere above them. He was pissed because Rogers had left Welsh alone and now he was in trouble. She was still trying to process that he’d been the one to take down Costas, because that alone was something of a mindfuck for her, but now there were gunshots echoing around the hold from outside and Welsh wasn’t answering the radio and maybe he was already dead. She was surprised when she realized she almost felt a little bad about that and ten the feeling was gone because she didn’t have time for it. “No,” he snapped, and then pulled his gun up and before she could argue he was moving forward and pulling the trigger. “Jesus fuck, Romanova,” she snarled, and then she was launching herself on top of the crate because no fucking way was she going to miss out on a fight that Alexey started. She’d never live it down. The first guy shouted and didn’t even have time to pull the trigger on his gun before he went down in a spray of blood. Romanova didn’t even take the time to process that he’d just killed a man before he was on to the second one, ducking behind a crate and firing around the corner at the next one. He screamed as it clipped him in the shoulder and his knee struck the ground, blood pulsing from his skin. A spray of bullets lit up the shadows as the other three fired their guns. She heard them bouncing off the metal crates and dinging off the floor and Romanova yelled as they bounced off the crate near his head. They were all so focused on Alexey that they didn’t see her moving or hear her coming until she dropped down behind the guy on the left. Her arm snaked out and wrapped around his neck, dragging him back hard against her frame as she fired into his spine. He screamed as they shredded his spine and then she was shoving the gun under his armpit and firing at his friends. One of them whirled and opened fire on her and she hated the small wince that ran through her as they struck the body in front of her. The man jerked but didn’t cry out because he was already dead. Then she was pulling the trigger on her gun and the man shooting at her went down in a heap. The last guy standing shouted and motioned at the gun on the floor and he was trying to crawl across to his gun. He was shredded in the next moment by Romanova’s M-4 and then Vic’s bullets were finding the last guy, making a hole in his head and leaving his brains and his blood across the crate next to him. She shoved the body away from her roughly and then she was moving across the ground to meet Alexey. He was climbing out from behind the crate and he still wore a hard expression on his face but it broke for a moment when he took in the five bodies on the ground and all the blood that had come out of them. It was only a slight widening of his eyes but it was enough and then he was looking up at Vic, swallowing whatever was rising up in his chest. She was glaring at him and then pushing him against the crate, her gun snapping out under his chin. “When I say wait, you fucking wait,” she snapped. For a moment he looked startled and scared that she would pull the trigger. Then he forced a smile across his face and even though he still looked pale and shaken and probably worried about his brother, she almost believed it. He shrugged like he didn’t care about the gun under his chin. “Hey, if you’re going to press yourself up against me like this every time I fuck up, maybe I should keep on doing it.” She snorted and shoved him one last time before she turned around. “I’m not joking with you, Romanova,” she snapped, reloading her guns before she headed towards the stairs. “Who said I was joking?” he said, following close behind her. “You’re kinda hot when you’re angry.” “Bullshit,” she said, tilting her head around the corner. “You’ve never seen me when I’m angry.” “Yeah?” he said conversationally. “Do you turn green and rip all your clothes off? Because I could get into that.” He crouched down behind her and waited until she waved him the all clear to follow her up the rest of the stairs. She heard gunshots from somewhere over her head and then shouting to her right. She slammed her back against the wall and waited until the two men were running by her to gun them down. They had just enough time to scream before their kneecaps were gone and they both hit the ground hard. One of the men was still alive and she stomped on his hand and fired into the back of his head before he could get to it. “No,” she responded, glancing back at Alexey. “I only turn green.” He snorted and almost laughed but almost five minutes had passed since the heard from Welsh and he was getting nervous. She was trying to understand, but she really didn’t. She’d been an only child and she didn’t understand their bond or anything about them. Welsh was weak. Maybe he’d killed Costas, but if he got himself dead or taken in by the police it was because he’d fucked up and it wasn’t their problem. Alexey didn’t really look like he would agree with her. They kept pushing forward, moving down a side passageway towards where they’d first climbed aboard. She saw the stain of blood on the ground from the man she’d killed and Romanova glanced only briefly at it before he started yanking the rope off his back. She didn’t know where everyone else was but they needed to get the fuck out of here. Even Avi was yelling in her ear for everyone to pull out immediately and she wondered when this had turned into such a clusterfuck. “We have to find Simon,” Alexey said, glancing at her face as he hooked it over the edge. She frowned because that was pretty much the opposite of what she’d just thought. He didn’t wait for an answer, rappelling down the side like a god damned rock climber and she snarled curses as he went. She tipped her head over the edge at the water below them and then glanced at the docks. “Fuck,” she snarled, and then she was dropping over the railing, grabbing at the rope. The cops were lining up along the docks and she saw the black vans starting to pull up with the giant white letters ‘FBI’ on the side of them. In a second they were going to get spotlights on the ship and they were going to see them all scrambling around on it and then she couldn’t breathe because maybe then they would send her back to prison where she would never see the light of day again. She wrapped her hands around the rope and she was glad she was wearing gloves as she let herself slide down it after Romanova. There was a light splash as he hit the water and she could hear shouting over by the docks as the cops leaned over the side. Flashlights flickered around her face and she felt something like panic rising in her chest. Elias was going to be mad. He was going to be pissed because the last thing he’d said to all of them was not to engage the cops and not to shoot them or at them or anything to do with them. He’d said to just book it out of there if it came to it and if he found out he was going to be pissed. She really didn’t fucking care. She wasn’t going back to prison. No fucking way. She would rather get gunned down now then sent back to the slammer. And that was all she had to think about it before she pushed her boot against the side of the ship and shoved off it. She ripped the gun out of its holster and then she was snapping it up to point at the docks. She heard shouting and then she was firing over their heads, shooting at the lights above them. She heard yelling and bullets were striking the ship next to her. There was a thump and a painful pressure on her chest as two of them struck her and her grip slipped on the rope. She hit the water hard, the water splashing around her as she landed. Her first instinct was to kick out at the bottom but she stopped herself, letting herself sink in the black water. Over her head she saw lights dancing along the surface. She held her breath and did her best to pull herself along the bottom because swimming in this was next to impossible. There was a pressure in her ears that made any sound seem like it was coming through a long tunnel. Vic didn’t let her head break the surface until she was under the docks and that would only be safe for another moment. The cops were shouting over her head and there were feet pounding along the wooden surface. She glanced up at it for a moment but they were shouting at something else on the ship and she heard more guns going off. Then her gaze dropped and focused on Romanova. “Come on,” he was snarling, and she couldn’t tell what he was talking about at first. She blinked and pushed her boots against the bottom, forcing herself to stand and wade through the water towards him. She kept her guns with her, but they were completely fucking useless at this point. She just didn’t want to leave them behind. “Come on you asshole,” he said again. She pushed him aside and he turned and snarled at her when she did but the first thing she saw was Welsh barely floating there in the water. His eyes were closed and his mouth was half open but she couldn’t tell if he was breathing. Alexey was the only thing holding his head above water, his arms wrapped around his brother’s bigger frame and trying to keep him afloat. She held a hand over his mouth and she didn’t feel air coming out and then she was cursing. “We have to get him to shore,” she snapped, grabbing onto his other arm and starting to drag him. Alexey glanced up at her face and his eyes were wide and scared. “Is he breathing?” he asked. Vic gritted her teeth. “We have to get him to shore,” she repeated. As soon as they hit land Romanova was dropping on his knees next to his brother, hands pushing at his chest and Vic kept her mouth shut and didn’t tell him that he’d probably been without oxygen for too long. She didn’t tell him that and she didn’t think about her dad’s body lying across from her on the carpet with a bullet in him and his eyes open and dead. She just counted the compressions silently in her head and when he hit thirty she leaned forward and pinched his nose shut, breathing into his mouth twice before sitting back up. She watched with a dull detachment as he pushed on his brother’s chest. Her head lifted for a moment and she could hear him crying and cursing quietly under his breath as her eyes focused on the cop cars and the FBI trucks gathering on the docks. They were shouting and yelling and she saw men being directed onto the ship and she didn’t even know if anybody else got out of there. She wondered what Elias’s bosses would do if any of them did get caught by the authorities, if they would bail them out or just leave them to rot. Probably the second one. Then she looked back down at Simon’s face and she hit thirty in her head and leaned over to breathe into his mouth. Her lips pressed over his and she forced air into his lungs and on the second one he suddenly gasped and coughed. He jerked on the ground and Alexey was grinning and wiping at his face as he tried to pretend he wasn’t crying. Welsh rolled over and vomited up water onto the ground and for a moment he just lay there breathing heavily. Then he blinked and looked up at his brother’s face. “Did we win?” he asked, his voice a harsh growl. Romanova laughed and then he was wrapping his arms around his head and scrubbing hard at his hair. “Fucking A right we did,” Alexey spat, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and trying to drag him upright. “But dude, if you were just looking to get a chick to make out with you there had to be an easier way,” he said, forcing a grin on his face so that nobody else saw the panic and the fear that had been etched there. Vic watched him for a moment and then she looked down at Simon and he was smirking and trying to push himself upright. Vic stayed crouched on the ground for a moment and watched him and she didn’t know why but for some reason she was thinking about Alexey telling her that Simon was a lot of things, but weak wasn’t one of them. Wenston “I don’t understand what happened,” Alexey said from the front seat. Simon was in the back, while Vic drove. His shivered in his seat and ignored the way his lungs burned or the wet cough he still hacked every once in a while. They’d gotten out of the shipping yard, but it had been a task sneaking around the cops and the FBI. Avi had been demanding status reports and for everyone to check in and Simon was worried for a while about the others, but finally everyone had responded that they were returning to base and he could breathe a little easier. Vic wasn’t talking to them, she was concentrating on the road and being really quiet and Simon wasn’t sure he understood why. He’d tried to thank her for helping pull him out of the water, but she’d swore at him and brushed him off and he didn’t understand how she could save him one minute and then think he was a piece of crap the next. He guessed there was a lot of things about her that he didn’t quite understand. Alexey was turned in his seat so he could look at Simon. His brother still looked a little shaken, but at least he was grinning and joking again now. He wondered how things had gone for Alexey, besides the whole his big brother almost drowning thing. “Why did Avi let you go in by yourself?” A sigh escaped Simon’s lips. “He didn’t,” he said, leaning his head back against the seat. He saw his brother frown and Simon rolled his eyes. “I never went in at all.” Alexey frowned. “So…you lied about shooting Costas?” he asked hesitantly. Vic’s eyes snapped to the rearview mirror and she looked doubly pissed off. Simon shook his head. “No, I…I really shot him,” he said and that seemed to sink in a little bit. He swallowed and forced a smile on his face. “Maybe I’ll get that tattoo now.” Alexey snorted and grinned back at him but he could tell his brother was watching him closely. Then Alexey’s head tipped. “I still don’t understand what you were doing by yourself. Did you get separated? Did you stop to tie your shoe while the others left you behind? That happened to me once on a school field trip. We were at the museum. But then I went into the observatory, where they showed you constellations and stuff, and I made out with Becca Martin. She was a perfect ten, dude.” Alexey frowned suddenly. “Maybe that’s why I failed history in high school.” “You went to school?” Simon asked and he saw his brother’s face go slack and annoyed. He laughed and coughed and then shook his head again. “No, I didn’t get separated. I…” he paused and rolled his eyes. “Avi told me to stay behind.” Vic snorted and Alexey laughed but then straightened like he hadn’t meant to let it slip out. Simon narrowed his eyes and him and Alexey pretended like he wasn’t trying to hide his smile. “What a prick,” he said. “Making you wait in the car.” A snicker escaped and Alexey shook his head to hide it. “Why’d he do that?’ He almost didn’t want to tell them. He closed his eyes a moment and then he blurted it out. “I forgot to take the safety off my gun.” “Jesus,” Vic spat and Alexey laughed, slapping his knee and running a hand over his mouth to quiet himself. “Hey, come on,” Alexey said, trying to sound gentle and consoling. He was doing a piss poor job at it. “That’s a common mistake. Right?” he asked, nudging Vic. “A lot of people make that mistake.” She just glared at him out of the corner of her eyes and Alexey bit his lip, trying to keep his laughter back as he looked at Simon, who rolled his eyes and looked out the window as they drove. “Okay, well, I’m sure you’re not the first person to do it. I mean, well…maybe you’re the first one in a while? Either way, I wouldn’t feel too bad about it.” “Thanks, Lex,” Simon said sarcastically and then his brother couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore. He turned forward in his seat and sighed contently, like it was the funniest thing he’d heard in a while. Simon didn’t think it was that funny. And he didn’t think that his brother thinking it was funny, was funny either. They were quiet for a moment and he was surprised when it was Vic who broke the silence. “So you shot Costas by the van?” she asked. Simon rolled his head back to look at her in the rearview mirror and she stared at him a moment before looking back at the road. He swallowed. “Yeah,” he said simply. Vic’s face contorted into one of confusion. “What was he even doing out there?” Simon shrugged. “I have no clue,” he said honestly. “Maybe Captain America had faulty intel,” Alexey said nonchalantly and Simon bit his lip because he didn’t think that was right. Vic seemed to consider that and he wondered if she was actually giving this thought because she’d seemed like the type who just wanted to get in, kill someone, and get out. Not deal with the logistics or specifics. He doubted she’d even care if they didn’t tell her the guy’s name she was killing. “Nah,” Simon said. “He came up fast, like he was running from something.” “What did he have to run from?” Alexey scoffed. “The cops were coming to take him in and give him a key to the country basically. What’s he got to be afraid of? The only thing that was a danger to him tonight was us.” Simon shrugged. “Maybe he knew we were coming.” Alexey turned to look at him and he looked like he was thinking that over in his head. Simon hadn’t really meant it and he sighed and was about to tell his brother that, but Alexey turned to look at Vic to see what she thought. She glanced at him and then frowned, snorting. “Don’t fucking look at me. I could give a fuck if he knew we were coming. He’s dead, I got to shoot some people, I got what I wanted out of this fucking night.” “And you got to kiss my brother,” Alexey said, waggling his eyebrows at her. She jutted her chin and slowly turned to look at him. Simon felt his face turning red and he had to avert his eyes. Alexey just grinned wider. “He’s available you know. Just got out of a bad relationship, a girl bitchier than you, if you can believe that. So he’s on the rebound. Means he hasn’t been laid in a while. He’s probably got a lot of built up tension, if you know what I mean.” “Lex,” Simon hissed at his brother. Alexey turned to look at him and held his hands out to the side. “What? I’m looking out for you. And you know, I’m sacrificing a lot by hooking you two up. You should have seen the way she tried to seduce me while we were scaling the side of that ship.” He lowered his voice and wiggled his fingers in front of his face. “She’s all hands.” A growl escaped Vic’s throat. “Romanova,” she said calmly. “You know I can easily find out where you live and kill you in your sleep tonight, right?” Alexey’s eyes widened a little. “Is that your way of hinting that you want to come over to my place? Man, I don’t know, we’ve only just met. I might need a little more foreplay before we get that serious. Maybe we can have another changing party in the locker room when we get back. This time with showers. Hot steamy showers. And then a naked relay race.” “Do you ever shut up?” Vic snapped. “No, not really,” Alexey said. “Well, sometimes in certain places. The shower, for one, and I’ve already invited you there. And bed, for another, and that’s an open invitation.” Vic just shook her head as she pulled into the parking garage. .Wolfie. Vic didn’t really care that Costas DeFranco had made a run for it.She didn’t really care that the mission had almost been a bust and she didn’t care that the Black Swan almost got away. She didn’t care that Givessi was sitting over there pouting because she’d broken a nail. She didn’t care that Avi was making her and Welsh and Romanova stand because they were still soaked and he hadn’t fucking waited until they could change to talk to them. Alright, maybe that one pissed her off a little bit. And she told herself that she didn’t care that Welsh had drowned and really had almost gotten killed on the first mission because she didn’t really care about him at all. What she cared about was the possibility that she could have gone back to prison. What she cared about was that whoever’s job it was to plan this mission had fucked it so badly that the weakest member of the team was the one that had eliminated the target because he’d essentially been told to wait in the car. That was what she cared about. Because those things were fucking stupid and they made her mad and she wasn’t mad because Avi had almost gotten Welsh killed. Captain America himself was currently pacing at the front of the room and he looked pissed and annoyed. He was trying to hide it but he was doing a shit job and she just cocked her hip and waited for him to go off or whatever so she could leave. There were fresh bruises on her chest from bullets that hadn’t killed her and she was feeling them throb painfully back at her now. “What went wrong?” Avi finally said. He stopped in front of the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. Romanova snorted and he mimicked Captain America’s position and expression easily. “Gee, I don’t know, maybe when you left Simon alone? Maybe that’s when you changed the fucking plan and things went wrong?” He raised an eyebrow and she heard the scathing anger echoing in his voice. She glanced at Simon and he just turned a little red and rubbed the back of his neck. It was his own mistake that got him left and maybe he was embarrassed. She didn’t understand either of them. She didn’t understand Romanova who made fun of him in the car and made fun of him to his face and then when push came to shove he was the one asking her to take it easy on him and yelling at Avi and she didn’t get them. “No,” Captain America said, dismissing it easily. “That’s not it. Givessi, what went wrong?” Jezibel rolled her eyes, crossing her legs and holding her hand out to examine her nails. She looked like she could care less and for once Vic was in total agreement with her because this wasn’t their fucking problem. The plans were Avi’s problem. The plans were his responsibility and moving his troops or whatever the fuck was his responsibility. All Vic had to know how to do was kill people and she was really fucking good at that. “I don’t know,” Givessi told him, raising one eyebrow. “What makes you say anything went wrong? The target’s dead, and we’re all here. I say we call it a night.” She smiled sweetly up at him. Avi stared at her for a moment, and she watched him suck in a breath as he tried to calm himself down. He looked like he was ready to fly off the handle at her or anyone else that pissed him off and Vic rolled her eyes because she was over this macho bullshit already. “No,” he finally snapped. “Liddle, what went wrong?” A sly smirk curled Lyle’s lips but he never got a chance to answer. “Excuse me,” Romanova snarled, taking a step forward. “Are we just going to ignore this? What happened to ‘work in teams’ Captain America? You just fucking left my brother! He could have gotten killed or arrested or both and this isn’t a problem for you?” He gestured behind him at Simon and Welsh was just rubbing the bridge of his nose and turning red. Avi jutted his chest out and took a step forward so that he was standing right in front of Alexey and it made the size difference between them all the more obvious. The man could put him down in a second, but for his part Romanova just put his chin out and stared the man down and Vic smirked because this was almost kind of funny. She didn’t think she wanted to fuck him, but damn, Romanova could step up when he wanted to. “No,” Avi snarled at him. “This isn’t a problem for me. Welsh screwed up, so I left him where he couldn’t get himself or his teammates killed. That was my call, as your Captain, and you will accept my decision.” “Fuck you,” Alexey snapped, and then he was pushing hard at the man’s chest. His mouth opened like he was going to say something else but before he could Avi’s hands were snapping out and catching his wrist, twisting it behind his back and shoving him forward against the desk. She heard both Simon and Alexey cry out at the sudden motion as Avi forced his face against the wooden surface. “Romanova,” he snarled. “You will respect my orders and my authority or you will find your contract abruptly and violently terminated. Do I make myself clear?” His back was turned so he didn’t see Tony get off the couch. He probably didn’t even know he was there until he grabbed him by the back of his neck and yanked him sharply away from Alexey and then Avi gave a startled shout, stumbling a little against the carpet. He snapped his head around and Alexey was straightening up and rubbing his shoulder. His eyes went straight to the giant standing over him. “You okay, small fry?” Tony asked. “Uh… yeah. Thanks man,” Alexey said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Are we done with this now?” Vic asked, rolling her eyes. “No,” Avi snapped. He straightened his back out and crossed his hands behind his back and swept the room with a narrowed gaze full of anger. She almost laughed because she was just wondering who the Hell he’d pissed off to land himself with this job. She wondered again if he’d thought he was going to be a patriot for his country or some shit and if this job wasn’t turning out to be all it could be. “Is there anyone in this room that can tell me what went wrong tonight?” His gaze swept right past Romanova and Tony and landed on Vic. She shrugged in response and she saw his lip curl before he looked at Simon. Welsh took a breath like he wished he could keep his mouth shut and then he tilted his head to the side, rubbing at his neck. “Why did Costas run?” he asked, and as soon as he did he looked down like he was embarrassed. A sneer curled Avi’s lips for a split second before it was gone, replaced with that arrogant indulgent smile. He kept his eyes trained on Welsh and Vic shifted uncomfortably because it was this asshole’s vendetta that had gotten them in trouble in the first place. “Yes,” he snapped. “Why did Costas run? There was no reason for it. There was no reason for him to want to leave that boat because he was about to get everything brought right to his doorstep. So why did he run?” Vic sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face before putting it up in the air. “You know what? I really don’t fucking care. Target’s dead, bunch of other assholes are dead, and we’re all still here. Planning is your problem, not mine, so the way I see it you’re the only one that fucked up here.” Then she smiled sweetly and it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m going. You have a nice night.” “Victoria!” Avi barked, and she ignored it, ripping the straps off her bulletproof vest as she headed towards the door. She had places to be and better things to do than listen to this asshole go on all night. She heard his steps on the carpet right before he slammed his hand against the door. “We’re not finished here,” he snapped. “The way I see it we are,” she snarled back at him, and she really didn’t like how in her face he was getting. She didn’t fucking like it at all and if he didn’t back the fuck off she was going to end up pulling her knife on him. She focused on getting the vest off and then let it hang from one hand. “Let’s just cut the bullshit, Rogers. The reason you’re pissed off right now is because fucking Welsh is the reason that we succeeded at all tonight. You know, the one you left by the car because of your brilliant decision making skills. So put on your big girl panties and fucking deal with it.” She didn’t expect him to hit her. She didn’t expect the blow that caught her across the jaw and snapped her head to the side. For a second she just stood there because she couldn’t remember the last time someone had hit her that hard. She stared at the carpet and then she brought her fingertips to her lip. It was sore to the touch and when she pulled her fingers away they were bloody. She looked up at his face and for a moment he looked surprised that he’d done it. Then he wiped the look away and replaced it with a calm, controlled one. He jutted his chin out and looked down at her and she wanted to wipe that fucking look right off his face. She wondered what he would do if she just brought out her knife and took care of him now. “Sit down, Ms. Wolfe. You will be dismissed when the meeting is over and not until then.” She snorted and licked the blood off her lips. “You can go to Hell,” she told him. His face contorted and then he was stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest. “Someone in this room tipped him off,” he said loudly. Vic’s hand was curled around the door handle but she paused at those words and glanced up at his face. She heard the others go still and quiet and he had all eyes on him now anyway. He smirked and then his gaze swept the others, one by one, like he was looking for the traitor to jump up and go ‘yeah, sorry, that was me.’ No one did and then he shook his head. “Someone in this room tipped off Costas that we were coming. There is a traitor in our midst. And trust me, I will find out who you are, and when I do, you will suffer. Is that understood?” he snarled out the last part and his gaze went back to Vic. It lingered there and she sucked in a breath as she realized that he thought it was her. “Go fuck yourself, Avi,” Vic snarled at him, yanking the door open. She slammed it behind her and she was past caring about all of this because no one fucking hit her like that, like she was some bitch that needed to be put in her place. No one had hit her like that since pops and he was the only one allowed to because he was just trying to teach her the difference between strength and weakness. Avi could go fuck himself. They could all go fuck themselves and she was still telling herself that when she hit the locker room. She stripped off her shirt and her pants and shoved them in her bag and it just reminded her how cold and damp her skin was. She yanked on her jeans and her tank top and they were dry but they weren’t very warm and so she yanked the hoodie on over it. Maybe Elias could get her off this fucking team and she knew as soon as she had the thought that it was stupid. She couldn’t depend on him. She couldn’t depend on anybody but herself. Wenston Simon had to go to the infirmary before he was allowed to go home. He was just happy they didn’t run any more tests on him. They just listened to his lungs to make sure he was breathing okay and all the water was out. They gave him some antibiotics to take for a week and a dissolving pill to put in a glass of water and drink to get rid of any lingering fluid in his lungs. He was okay with that, he supposed. At least he didn’t have a bullet wound and at least he was still breathing at all. Unlike Costas. When he went to the locker room, everyone was already gone except for Alexey, who was sprawled out on one of the benches, changed back into his jeans and a t-shirt and he looked up when Simon came in, still wearing his damp uniform. He started pulling it off and his brother sat up on the bench, a small smile coming to his face. Simon was worried that it was just a small one. “Hey drowning victim,” Alexey greeted and Simon snorted, pulling the vest off first, then pulling the shirt over his head, grabbing his polo from the locker. “Docs give you a clean bill of health?” Simon snorted and nodded his head. “Yeah,” he said quietly, pulling his cargo shorts on and then he leaned sat down on the bench and leaned back, looking up at his locker. “I’m perfectly fine.” As soon as he said the words, he realized it wasn’t true. Physically, maybe, but he’d been thinking the whole time they’d been driving back to the compound and the whole time they’d been in the debriefing session about why Costas had run. He’d been thinking about why the man had come bolting his way and he hadn’t sat back and thought about what had happened when he got there. He hadn’t thought about the feel of his gun going off in his hand or the smell of Costas’ blood soaking into the ground. He’d killed a man. “Hey, just forget about Avi, alright?” Alexey said and Simon glanced over at him. His brother was watching him closely and he suspected Alexey was picking up on his darkening mood. “The guy’s a complete douche bag. I mean, how could he slam a face like this into a desk like that?” he waved a hand at his face. Simon chuckled and that got a real smile out of his brother. Then Alexey’s face grew serious again and he was straddling the bench to face Simon. “You showed him, anyway. I mean, you single handedly saved the mission from being a complete and utter fuck up.” The words didn’t cheer him up. “I killed a guy,” he said abruptly. Alexey bit the side of his cheek, a frown marring his face. “Yeah, so did I,” he said quietly and Simon looked at his little brother, because he hadn’t known that. “You did?” he asked. Alexey nodded. “Yeah. I shot a couple guys. No biggie. Vic, though - she killed like seven guys. She’s pretty hardcore, man. Did you see the way she took that punch from Avi? I’m surprised she didn’t rip his balls off.” Simon smirked. “Yeah,” he said and looked down at his hands. They were still shaking. He didn’t think it was because he was cold. “You don’t feel bad that you killed those guys?” His brother sighed and then swung his legs around to one side of the bench. He stood and walked over to Simon, leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed over his chest. “No,” he said after a moment of thought. “They chose their professions, just like we chose ours.” He frowned. “Well, that’s a bad example, because…well we didn’t really chose this…” he made a face and then shook his head. “I’m not good at these pep talks, but what I’m trying to say is no one forced them to be on that ship tonight. They knew the danger of their jobs when they signed up. They’re helping the bad guy, so that makes them bad guys.” Simon looked up at him. “We didn’t even know anything about them. Maybe they had families. Maybe-” “Man, Simon,” Alexey interrupted and then he turned around and sat down beside him. “Don’t do this to yourself, bro. You can feel sorry you had to kill a guy. Feel sorry that he chose to do what he did and got himself killed. But don’t start feeling guilty that you killed him. You did what you had to do. There’s no point in wondering what he left behind, you know what kind of person he was. He was an arms dealer. You saw how little he cared for other people’s lives. You shouldn’t feel guilty.” “I do,” Simon told him quietly. He gave a bitter laugh and threw his bag in his locker. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this, Lex,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t just shrug it off like you can. I took someone’s life tonight.” Alexey ran a hand through his hair, looking at the ground. “Yeah, well…maybe later tonight I’ll realize what I’ve done and break down crying with a bottle of scotch or something. Would that make you feel better?” Simon laughed and shook his head. “No,” he told him. “I would just think you’re a pussy.” Alexey scoffed. “Oh, okay, I see how it is,” he joked, putting a hand to his chest. “You’re the mopey, sensitive, caring one and I’m the heartless bastard, is that how this works?” Simon nodded, smirking at his brother. Alexey narrowed his eyes playfully. “If you think that’s going to get you into girls’ pants…you’re probably right.” Simon chuckled and pulled his wallet and car keys from the locker, holding them in his lap. He didn’t get up to leave and he just sat there quietly for a moment. Alexey sighed. “You’ve gotta get over this, man. First mission, first kill - it will always be the roughest. You’ll always remember Costas and you’ll always remember his face and you can’t let that eat you up because it’s gonna consume you.” Glancing at his brother, Simon smiled a little. “It scares me that I didn’t hesitate,” he said. “When he was running away. I just aimed and fired. He surprised me, asked me not to shoot him, then turned around and ran. I shot him in the back. It scares me that I didn’t hesitate to do it. He didn‘t even have a gun. I could have just let him run to the cops.” Alexey was quiet a moment and Simon glanced at him. He was hunched over, a hand running over his mouth and he looked contemplative. “I didn’t know he said anything to you,” he whispered. Then he shook his head. “Yeah, that would make it harder. Especially if he asked you not to shoot him.” Alexey’s face was so serious and her was struggling so hard to figure out what to say to make it okay that Simon knew he couldn’t do this to his brother anymore. He shook his head. “You know what?” he asked and Alexey turned to look at his face. “It’s okay. I’ll get over it. You’re right. It’s the first mission, my first kill - I just have to get used to it. No one else is having a problem with what we did tonight. I shouldn’t either.” Alexey raised an eyebrow and then shook his heads. “Simon, you’re a good person. Even with all that money in your pockets and nice cars and fancy polo shirts.” Simon frowned and looked down at himself. “You don’t have to be good, but you are. I don’t want you to kill a guy and just not care. I’m just saying you shouldn’t let it consume you. It would worry me if you were able to kill someone without feeling just a little strange about it.” Simon sighed and ran his hands over his face. “You’re right, you’re really bad at these pep talks.” Alexey laughed and slapped him on the back. “Yeah, if we’re not talking about boobs or…well boobs, I suck at talking.” Simon shook his head, laughing as he stood up. “Yeah that’s true.” He heard Alexey snort. He turned to look at him and then said sincerely, “Thanks, Lex.” “Hey, you’re my brother, that’s what I’m here for,” Alexey said and Simon grinned because he was glad his brother was around. He didn’t know what he’d do if he wasn’t. “Now it’s your turn. I need a pep talk encouraging me not to give up my quest to get one of the girls to come home with me. I prefer Jez, I mean, could you imagine that kink? I’d be walking crooked for days. But I’d settle for Vic. Halfway there, I seen her boobs.” “I doubt either of those are going to happen,” Simon said and started heading for the door. Behind him, Alexey scoffed and followed. “What? I spend all that time giving you a pep talk and you shoot me down when I need one the most? Where’s the love? Where’s the respect? I take back everything I said. Feel guilty. Wallow in your self pity. Eat a cheeseburger.” Simon quirked a brow at his brother and Alexey shrugged. “I need you to ruin that figure of yours. Your fucking six pack is hogging the spotlight. Give another guy a chance, will ya?” “I could teach you to do yoga,” Simon offered. “Oh fuck you.” .Wolfie. Elias was still up when she got to his apartment.He was sitting at the island counter in his kitchen, his shirt untucked and partly unbuttoned. His Italian dress pants were wrinkled and she wondered what it was like to have enough money that he didn’t have to worry about it. There was a glass of red wine on the counter next to him, the bottle uncorked and sitting down away from his elbow. There were files and reports open in front of him and he was reading and making notes in the margins. She wondered what he was doing. She wondered if he was working on their next assignment or if he was dealing with recruitment files and she wondered if he had a secretary for this sort of work. He looked so cool and professional and rich. He looked like no one she would ever be with in a million years and she always felt so out of place just walking into his apartment. Everything was always neat and in its place and clean and she was none of those things. She was chaotic and messy and here she was anyway. She was the girl that didn’t drink wine, she drank beer. She bought her clothes from the Salvation Army and she didn’t think she owned a pair of jeans that weren’t ripped or stained from blood or paint or dirt. He glanced up when he heard her come in and that cool smirk crossed his face. She hated that look. She hated it and it got her bothered and that was how it always went with Elias. She loathed him and she was attracted to him and she knew it was fucked up, but so was she. “How did your mission go, dear?” he asked, a mocking tone in his voice. She snorted and dumped her hoodie on the dining room chair before she went to lean on the counter across from him. His eyes studied her face for a moment, lingering on the cut on her lip for a moment before returning to her eyes. “We eliminated the target,” she spat out, meeting his gaze. She wondered if he already knew that. She wondered if Avi had called him right away and she glanced at the cell phone sitting on the counter. Probably. Avi probably called as soon as they left the room and bitched and complained and said it wasn’t his fault. She wondered if Elias already knew that someone had ratted on them. She wondered if he had done it himself. “No thanks to Captain America,” she spat. “Oh?” Elias asked, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t find Avi to be an admirable team captain?” “He’s fucking stupid,” she snapped, and then she looked away, her finger coming to prod at her lip. She should have decked him or knifed him. Next time he raised a hand to her he was going to lose it. She thought about telling Elias about that too, but somehow she doubted he would be on her side. Then his hand was coming up to pull her fingers away from the cut, letting his thumb brush over the skin. “Why the fuck did you put him in charge anyway?” she demanded, brushing off the touch and looking at his eyes. Elias smirked and looked back down at his report. He took a sip of his wine and then settled it back down on a coaster and she hated people that had things like coasters on their fucking kitchen counter. “Avi was selected for the same reason the rest of you were.” The smile pulled at one corner of his mouth and gave it a wicked tilt. “He was desperate.” The words stung a little so she ignored them, leaning forward towards him. “What exactly is the point of this team?” she demanded. He smirked and scribbled something in blue pen on his report before taking another sip of wine. “You should pay attention during meetings, Victoria,” he lifted his gaze up to hers and that cruel smile quirked his lips. “Perhaps if you’d been on time you would have heard me when I answered that question. The purpose of your unit is to perform specific missions for the United States government in order to maintain the safety of our great country.” He rattled the words off with rote precision and she wondered who else he’d had to feed those lines to. Maybe the United States government. “That’s not what I meant,” she snapped. He sighed and then settled his report down on the counter, closing it firmly and sliding it to his right. “I’m aware of what you meant, Victoria. Have you considered that maybe the answers aren’t any of your business?” He raised an eyebrow and finished off his wine before setting it aside. Then his hand came out and lifted her chin, tipping her face towards the light so he could study her bruises again. She wondered why he was always so fascinated with them. Maybe he was jealous he didn’t give them to her himself. “Well, how much longer do I have to stay in this unit?” she demanded, because apparently he was going to be a cagey prick and not answer her question. She didn’t understand why they’d picked someone like her and then someone like Welsh and then put them on the same team with Captain America. Maybe desperation was the one thing they all did have in common. He shrugged, letting his hand drop from her chin. “Probably for the duration of your contract, and likely after your renewal.” She frowned, studying his face. “My renewal?” she said. “Who says I’m renewing?” He laughed. It was a mean, nasty thing and then he was shaking his head at her like she’d said something stupid. "Oh please, Victoria, let's be realistic here. Where else would you go? For all intents and purposes we wiped your record clean, but you're still a high school drop out with no real world work experience. Are you going to go back to selling drugs? Knocking off liquor stores? Maybe whoring yourself out to the highest bidder?" Her eyes narrowed, her motions stilling as her head tipped back to look at him. "Fuck you," she spat, a frown on her face. She didn’t know where she would go. That wasn’t the point. The point was she was supposed to be free. He smirked and shrugged off her reaction. "Perhaps you'd rather have your contract bought by one of the fighting rings where they can parade you around like the prized bitch you are. Or sold for further testing? Maybe you'd like to go back to prison?” He watched her face and she was trying to pretend that she didn’t feel sudden panic in her chest at that thought. “No? None of those sounding good? Well, then renewal is likely your best option.” Then he smirked, and it was a vicious thing. His eyes were cold as steel as they focused on her face. “And let's be honest. Killing gets you off." “I don’t need to take this shit from you,” she snapped, and then she was grabbing her hoodie off the chair and heading for the door. Her ears were burning and she didn’t know why, but for some reason she’d always thought once the contract was over she’d be free. She didn’t even know what she’d be free to do, but she’d be free. Free to travel the country or stop traveling the country. Free from steel cages and concrete walls anyway. Free from people like Elias holding her leash. He laughed and followed her, catching her arm before she hit the door. She yanked out of his grip but she let him stop her and maybe she shouldn’t have. Maybe she should have kept going. He held his hands out to the side before resting them on her arms. “Relax, Victoria,” he told her. “The night’s too early for you to leave mad already.” She should have argued with him. She should have hit him but there was the distinct possibility that Vic was getting attached. He tried to take her arm and guide her back to the counter but she yanked her arm from his grip and walked her damn self back over there. She was pissed off now. She hadn’t thought about it and she felt stupid for not, but what the fuck had she thought she was going to do? She didn’t know the answer but she knew she didn’t want to be stuck on the god damned ‘Night Stalkers’ for the next ten years or more. She slumped down on the stool and let him pour her a drink, glancing up at his face while he did. “I don’t want to be on this fucking team anymore,” she told him. He chuckled and settled back in next to her, watching her down the glass of top shelf whiskey whatever the fuck he’d poured her. It burned on the way down, but in a pleasant sort of way. She spun the glass in her hand when she was done and she wished she had another one because this was a fucking ridiculously awful day and being here wasn’t making it better and she didn’t know why she’d expected it would. Then he smiled at her and his tone was almost condescending, but almost caring too. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. “What’s wrong dear? Not making friends with your teammates?” She rolled her eyes and cast a glare in his direction. He was smiling at her in a way that almost made it seem like he gave a shit so she smirked back and then focused on the glass in her hand. “I don’t make friends with anyone,” she snapped, and it was the truth. She didn’t have friends. She liked Tony and Romanova well enough, but she didn’t have friends. “But I don’t understand why you would put some of these people on a combat squad. Like, oh, I don’t know, Welsh?” Elias chuckled. “Only Welsh?” he asked slyly. “Not Givessi or Romanova? Your problem is with Welsh?” She didn’t like the look in his eyes. “Well, yeah,” she snapped childishly. “What is, like a fucking yoga instructor?” She shook her head and pictured him trying to fight Avi and getting the shit beaten out of him. She didn’t picture how he kept getting back up and she sure as fuck didn’t picture him walking out of the shower in a towel or stretching out in the locker room. Elias’s smile widened. “What’s wrong Victoria? Does he make you wet?” Her eyes widened for a split second at the comment and then they narrowed into a glare. He just laughed, his hand coming out to brush along her cheek. “Do you want to fuck him? Some rich boy who drives a Lexus and probably has a bleach blonde fiancée at home? He seems like your type. Let’s be honest, you like getting fucked better when it’s by someone you loathe.” “I don’t want to fuck him,” she snapped, shoving the hand away from her face. She said the words a little too harshly because maybe that was a lie. “I just don’t want him to get me killed.” Elias smirked again, watching her face like he knew she was bullshitting him and then he shrugged. "The Big Bosses saw potential. Who am I to argue with them? After all, if recruiting decisions were left up to me I would have left you in prison." The corner of his lip curled into a sneer when he said it. He pushed himself off the stool and began to wash his wine glass off in the sink, leaving Vic to sit at the counter and stare at him. For some reason she’d always credited Elias personally for setting her free. And he thought she should still be in prison. "Why?" she demanded. He smirked, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Because you are deeply unstable, Victoria,” he said. He said it like he was commenting on the whether. He thought she was unstable and should be behind bars and there wasn’t even a flicker of emotion in his voice when he said it. “You should probably be receiving daily psychiatric evaluations." "You're an asshole," she snapped, and she didn’t like where any of this was going. "I'm not talking to any fucking shrinks." He smirked and then he was walking around the counter towards her. She left her arms braced across them and stared at him darkly. His hand came out and rested on the back of her neck and she hated how she leaned into the touch. She hated how much more she liked it when his fingers moved to her hair and tangled tightly in the strands. “No?” he asked. “Maybe you should. Who was it that raped you, Victoria? Was it daddy, or just one of his friends?” “Fuck you,” she hissed, jerking back away from the touch. She felt her chest tighten and her heart drop because she’d never told anyone that but pops. It was made worse by the smirk that curled his face. He followed her as she tried to move backwards, bracing his hands on either side of her against the counter. “Don’t you fucking talk about pops like that.” He smirked and stepped in closer, his head tilted to the side. “One of his friends then. Doesn’t matter. You’re damaged goods, Victoria. That’s why you only fuck men you hate.” He was too close and she was having a hard time breathing. “Fuck you,” she said again. He laughed and then suddenly his hands were on her belt, yanking her closer against him. She felt his hands working on undoing her pants, his long fingers popping the button and working the fly down. “You say that a lot when you’re angry with me,” he told her, leaning his head in. She felt his lips brush against her neck and she should have pushed him away and told him she hated him. “I wonder,” he said lowly. “Would you still want to fuck me if I was nice to you?” He yanked her pants down and let them fall to the floor and then he was grabbing her roughly by the arm and shoving her towards the kitchen table. Her cheek met the hard wooden surface and she felt his fingers curl around the back of her neck. She should have hated this. She should have hated him and maybe she did even as he yanked her underwear off. She heard the sound of his zipper and then she closed his eyes as he pushed his way inside her. He leaned over her and his other hand tightened around her hip, holding her in place while he began to move. “Is this what you want?” he asked her. She felt his lips brush her neck again and she shivered at the touch but he was going too slowly and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like the words he was whispering or that she was still here when he’d said nasty things to her. “Do you want me to be nice to you? Do you want me to be slow and loving and tell you that you’re beautiful while I fuck you?” He was slow and controlled and his hips were rolling against hers. A whimper clawed its way up her throat and as soon as it left her lips she hated herself for it. This wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want anything gentle or nice, she just wanted to be fucked and she hated that he knew that about her and that there was so much panic rising in her chest. “Is this what you want, Victoria? Do you want me to be nice to you?” Her nails dug into the wood and her voice was harsh and ragged when she whispered back “No.” She heard him laugh and then the hand on her neck was tightening with bruising strength and suddenly he was slamming inside her. She cried out with the sensation and that was better already. It was better when he was rough and fast and it was better when no one cared about her and it was better when he lost control because if he didn’t have it then she did. "I didn't think so," he told her, and then he fucked her how she wanted to be fucked. She came first. She hadn’t been lying to Alexey when she told him that. She cried out wordlessly and by the time it was over she was clinging to the edge of the table and leaving gouges in its surface. He’d kept her pinned the table the entire time and usually they made it to the bedroom but she didn’t care this time. He followed her shortly after and she felt his head come to rest between her shoulders as he remembered how to breathe. He pressed a kiss to her skin and she felt his lips travel down her spine for a moment. Then he was pushing himself off her, tucking himself away and zipping up his fly. She lay there panting, her cheek resting against the table and bruises around her neck and on her hips. She didn’t care. She liked the bruising and she liked it when he was rough and unforgiving like her. It was the only way she knew how to fuck and the only way she cared to. Anything else felt like weakness. Anything else and she got scared, and Vic didn’t get scared and she didn’t get panicked and she didn’t run. Then pushed herself upright, trying to ignore how weak her legs were. She pulled her panties back on and then slumped in one of his dining room chairs, watching him with lidded eyes. He stopped next to her pants and picked them up, digging in the back pocket for the cigarettes he knew were always there and she frowned as he pounded one out into his palm. “Those are mine,” she told him. He sighed and tilted his head to look at her, those blue eyes like shards of steel. He smiled as he pulled one out of the pack, sticking it between his lips. "Out here cigarettes are meant to be smoked, dear. Not bartered with." She snorted. “They’re still mine.” He laughed and then grabbed a pack of matches off the countertop, lighting the end of the cigarette and flicking the match in the sink. He turned around and leaned against the counter, studying her for a moment and she didn’t like the cruel arrogance looking back at her. Her cigarette dangled from his fingers and then he shook his head, tossing her pants at her. “So are these,” he told her. She hesitated before putting them on, and she didn’t know why. She should keep her mouth shut. She shouldn’t get attached and she should just go home and sleep on the couch for a few hours before she had to get up and go beat the shit out of Welsh. “I could stay,” she said abruptly, and she surprised herself because she hadn’t meant the words to come out. Elias studied her for a moment, no expression on his cold face. Then he laughed, pushing himself off the counter and walking over towards her. “I thought we had an understanding here Victoria. Let me make this clear to you,” he leaned over her, resting one hand on the back of her chair and the other flat on the table. “You’re not here because I want to date you or marry you or have a relationship with you. You’re here because you want to be fucked.” Then he leaned closer and blew smoke across her ear as he spoke. It smelled bitter and acrid and burned against her skin. “And I allow you to be here because you’re easy. I allow you to be here because it amuses me to do so.” The words hurt. They shouldn’t have hurt because it was nothing she hadn’t already understood somehow, but they did. She pushed herself to her feet and shoved him back with one hand, working on getting her pants on. He laughed darkly and smoked her cigarette while he watched her dress. “Are you angry with me, Victoria?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. She paused, her fingers on the button of her jeans and then she shot a look up at him. “Go fuck yourself Elias.” It was all she could manage to say because she felt hurt and she felt used and it was all she deserved. She almost opened her mouth and told him she couldn’t do this anymore but it sounded too much like words she’d heard a thousand times before. She shook her head and headed for the door and she wondered why she kept coming back here. Elias snorted, walking over to her as she reached the door and put a hand on the back of her neck. He leaned over her shoulder and his words were harsh and cruel when he spoke. “I’m sorry dear. Is that not what you wanted to hear?” He sneered at her and his lips brushed her ear. “I’m only being honest with you. You’re not a girlfriend, Vic. You’re just a fuck.” She yanked herself away from him, turning so her back was to the door, her arms crossed over her chest. He followed her, bracing an arm against the wood as he met her eyes squarely. He was staring at her. She fucking hated it when people stared. “You’re an asshole,” she snarled. “And I hope you rot in Hell.” “Why are you acting so surprised?” he snapped. “We both already know you’re a slut.” She hit him. She didn’t plan to but as soon as she heard him say that she was hitting him in the jaw. His head snapped back and his hand went to his mouth for a moment, watching his fingers as they came away bloody. She wasn’t a fucking slut. No one got to call her that, not anyone. Sure as fuck not Elias. “That’s the last time you get to call me a slut,” she snarled. He blinked once and looked down at her with surprise, and then his hand was wrapping around her wrist in a bruising grip. He shoved her against the wall, his eyes dark with rage. “And that’s the last time you get to hit me,” he snapped. “Go fuck yourself, Elias,” she snarled at him, “because you won’t be fucking me anymore.” She didn’t wait for an answer, pushing him away from the door and letting herself out it. She slammed it hard behind her and she ignored the constricting pain in her chest because she didn’t give a fuck. He’d been a good lay, the first one she’d had since she got out of prison, but it had gotten out of control. She hadn’t gotten attached and this wasn’t what heartbreak felt like because she didn’t care about Elias or his stupid fucking mind games. She walked home with the hoodie pulled up and she hated the world and mostly herself. Wenston Episode #2: Gustavo Alvarez She’d said not before noon. He climbed the stairs to the housing units and the apartments were tiny and packed together and Simon wondered what all these people did here. If they did stuff like the Night Stalkers or if they were under normal contracts that didn’t require them to shoot guys like Costas DeFranco in the head. He had two coffees in his hands and when he reached her door, it was 11:58, so he didn’t knock and he just stood there for a moment, watching the second hands on his watch tick away. Simon didn’t like to sleep late. He liked to get a full night’s sleep, because it helped regulate his metabolism, but if he got to bed late, he still tended to wake up early. He tried to convince himself it was so he could stick to a schedule in this hectic new life of his. Or that he’d gotten used to it in basic training. But the truth of the matter was, he could sleep until noon if he wanted to. He could sleep all day if he wanted to. But he didn’t. The earlier he woke up, the more hours in the day he could have. He felt more alive and he didn’t feel sick and he felt healthy. The watch clicked over to 11:59 and Simon sighed, looking at the coffee cups in his hand. He wondered if she liked straight up coffee or if she’d want the latte. He hadn’t drank from either of them, because he wasn’t sure. He’d grabbed some creams and sugars too because he didn’t know if she liked her coffee black or dressed up with flavor. Maybe he should have gotten tea? Or a chai latte? Or a hot chocolate? He didn’t know what she’d want. He bit his lip and tried not to get nervous that she’d be mad he brought the wrong kind of drink, because that was a stupid thing to get mad about, but he didn’t know. He was nervous about this whole thing, but Avi had told him they were to spar with each other for four hours a day and Simon was going to take that seriously. He was going to get better. Because he couldn’t afford to go jumping off docks into the water and drowning himself again. His lungs still hurt. At 12:01, he decided the extra minute would allow for their clocks being slower than his watch and he balanced the coffees in one hand and knocked on the door. He heard someone shout from inside and something banged, followed by someone cursing and then the door was flinging open. Simon’s eyes widened a little bit because the girl who’d answered the door was definitely not Vic. She wore a black leather and strap tank top thing that Simon didn’t think should leave the bedroom. She had a skirt on that was ripped up the sides and thigh high boots. Her hair was dyed black and her lips were dark, her face paler than he thought was natural. She frowned when she saw him, his eyes scanning over his body and Simon tried not to blush under the scrutiny of her gaze because she looked like she was looking at a piece of meat. Or a toy. Then she smirked slyly and leaned against the doorway, her arm extended above her head. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice overly sultry and Simon swallowed thickly, his eyes going pass her for a moment to scan the apartment behind her. It was tiny. There seemed to be one room, a bedroom and a bathroom and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle the tiny space. The kitchen was a mess and it looked like this girl in front of him had been trying to cook something. Apparently she hadn’t been doing a good job at it. “Uh,” he tried to smile politely at her. “Is Vic here?” Her face darkened slightly and her jaw fell open. “You’re here for Vic?” she snapped, the sultriness gone from her voice, replaced with disbelief. She gave a small laugh and shook her head. “Well, I guess you are her type, but…damn,” she said, shaking her head and reached forward to touch his stomach. Simon cautiously stepped back away from her black painted fingernails, the coffees still held in his hands. “That’s a shame.” She quirked a brow at him. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather fuck me instead?” Simon spluttered a little, his eyes widening. “What? I’m, uh, I’m not here to have, uh, a relationship with her.” He paused and tried to fight the image of her stripping her shirt off in the locker room out of his head. Or her eyes on him as he’d stepped out of the showers with just a towel around his waist. Or her sprawled out on the fence in the shooting range and he had to shake his head again and he just closed his eyes a second before his mind stopped racing and he collected himself. “We work together,” he said firmly. “Oh,” the girl said, then she grinned. “Well in that case, come on in,” she stepped aside and held her hand out, motioning him inside. He swallowed nervously and tried not to think that he was stepping into a lion’s den and then went inside the apartment. The girl shut the door behind him and the lock sounded ominous. He wondered what kind of a shifter she was. Praying mantis maybe. Didn’t they bite the heads off their mates? She seemed like the type. “So,” she said, leaning on the counter next to him as he set the coffees down. He glanced at her and she was jutting her chest out at him. He politely declined to look. “What’s your animal? Something with claws, I’m sure. You look like a growler,” she said, a coy smile on her face. Simon smirked nervously. “Um, black panther, actually.” Her eyes widened a little bit. She moved closer, her hands trailing up his arm and Simon had never felt so uncomfortable in his life. He bit his lip as she moved her chin closer to his shoulder. “Black’s my favorite color, you know,” she whispered, her fingers slipping into the waistband of his workout pants. Simon gave a nervous yelp and stepped back, his hands coming out to firmly take her wrist and remove her hands from his pants. He stepped around the counter and frowned. “Is she…here? Or…?” he trailed off, glancing towards the closed bedroom door. The girl pouted a little, the seduction out of her face. “You’ll probably catch something if you put your dick in her,” she spat nastily and Simon chewed the inside of his cheek. “She’s a fucking slut.” Then she turned her head over her shoulder and shouted at the bedroom door. “Victoria, you’re boyfriend’s here!” There was a thump behind the door and the girl’s head ducked, her hand gripping the counter and she looked a little nervous. Simon supposed he’d be nervous too if he had to live with someone like Vic. The door flung open and Simon blushed profusely, because Vic stood there in the doorway, her hair tussled and all she wore was a tank top and panties. She looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. He quickly looked away, down at the counter which was much more safe and unable to kill him. “You keep shouting and I’ll break your fucking legs, Morticia,” Vic growled. The girl, Morticia apparently, sighed and rolled her eyes, muttering something beneath her breath that Simon didn’t quite catch. But she turned around and went back to trying to cook. Vic’s attention must have turned to him then, because she wasn’t saying anything and she was just standing there. When she finally spoke, she sounded pissed right the fuck off. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Simon looked up and focused on her face and not her half clothed body. “Uh, well we’re supposed to be sparring and you said not to come before noon.” He glanced at his watched. “And now it’s 12:06, so…here I am.” Vic just glared at him and looked like he’d spoken a foreign language. Finally she rolled her eyes, her chin jutted, and she turned around and slammed the bedroom door closed behind her without saying another word. Simon wondered if that meant she was getting dressed or if she was climbing back into bed. He waited for a minute before glancing at the girl at the stove. She had a book balanced above the boiling pots and she was squinting trying to read the instructions. “So,” he said casually and she glanced at him, her mood completely changed, disinterested in him anymore. “How do you like living here, Morticia?” he asked. Her eyes narrowed and she growled, “My name’s Lisa.” “Oh,” he said, frowning because Vic had called her…he caught himself in that thought and couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped his throat. He had to admit, that was a pretty good one. She must not have thought it was funny. “Are you laughing at me?” she spat, picking up one of the knives off the counter next to her and pointing it at Simon. “No,” he said quickly, his eyes flashing to the knife. “I just…I’m sorry.” Lisa glared and then set the knife down slowly, turning back to her book and dismissing him just as quickly. Simon glanced around the room and wondered if he should leave. But then the bedroom door opened again and he never thought he’d be so relieved to see Vic. She had pulled a pair of jeans on and another hoodie and she still looked half asleep, but she slammed the door behind her and came over to the counter. “Let’s go,” she said coldly. Simon moving carefully pass Morticia, or Lisa, so she wouldn’t stab him, and grabbed the two coffee cups. He held them out to her. “I brought you coffee,” he said. “One’s coffee, I have cream and sugar. The other’s a latte. I didn’t know what you liked.” Vic looked at the cups in his hand and then without a word, she grabbed both of them, turning and tossing them in the trash. The she turned back to him and smiled sweetly, except it loss some effect. “Let’s go,” she repeated. .Wolfie. Vic hated everything.She hated her stupid bitch roommate who had been banging around in the kitchen all morning. She hated that Welsh had woken her up at noon. She hated that she’d opened her mouth and told him that was okay because it really fucking wasn’t, especially today. Though to be fair it probably wouldn’t have been okay even by five o’clock because she didn’t really feel like getting out of bed today unless it was to kill something. Since she probably couldn’t kill Welsh and get away with it that meant she didn’t see any fucking reason to get up at all. She was tired and sore and she just wanted everyone to leave her the fuck alone. Most of all, more than any of that, she hated Elias. She hated him because she had fucked up and gotten attached. She hated him because he’d said nasty things and she’d just stood there and let him and let her treat her like that. If anyone else had said those things she would have brought her knife and cut them open in a heartbeat. If anyone else had called her pops a child molester or called her a victim they would never find the bodies. Maybe pieces of them. But never the whole thing. The worst part of it was that most of what he’d said was true. It hurt going down and she hated him for it and she hated that she’d let him get away with it because he was an asshole. No one got to fucking treat her like that and she’d let him because she liked fucking him and she’d gotten attached to it because she’d been in prison for three years and then he’d taken her from that. She had been so fucking stupid. He hadn’t saved her. He was a sleazy bastard who’d done his job and fucked her on the side and she felt miserable and angry and she just wanted to hurt someone. Welsh was quiet on the walk over to the compound and she was glad because she didn’t want to fucking talk to him. She stripped off her hoodie when they hit the gym and dumped it on the bench in the corner. She felt him staring at her so she paused to suck in a breath before turning around. She studied him for a moment and he looked awkward and uncomfortable as his eyes went to the floor instead of her. She thought about Elias telling her he was her type because he was some rich boy that she should hate and a snarl curled her lips because that wasn’t true. He was weak and that meant she wasn’t fucking interested in him and she just wanted to get this over with so she could go back to bed. He put his own bag on the floor and she watched him for a moment as he sat down on the floor and started to stretch out. She kept glaring at him as he bent on the mat and she wondered how she got to be the lucky winner to train him. Was Avi too fucking important for this, or did he just like to piss her off? She guessed it was that one. Maybe he was hoping that she would kill Welsh and take care of that problem for him. “What happened to your neck?” he asked quietly, and she stiffened in surprise because he was lying stretched on the floor but his head was tipped the side and looking at her throat where Elias had left his fingerprints last night. Her hands went to her skin before she could stop them and the marks were still tender and sore under the touch. “Mind your own fucking business,” she snapped, and she hated that she looked down at the ground. “Sorry,” he told her, and she felt his gaze leave her. She kicked her shoes off and stretched her hands over her head, snapping her back into place. She felt her muscles protesting and she hadn’t gone easy on her body yesterday but then she never did. “Don’t say you’re sorry,” she told him harshly. “Apologies are for the weak and I don’t fucking need one.” “Alright,” he said quietly, and then went back to stretching his legs out. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” She sighed and twisted to the right to crack her shoulders and then she was stomping onto the mat. “Can you even fucking hit me?” she demanded sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. His gaze flicked to her face and he frowned like he was confused. She rolled her eyes and kicked at his feet. He pushed himself upright, cracking his neck out as he watched her face. “It’s a simple fucking question, Welsh. Can you even hit me, or are you going to be pulling your punches because I’m a girl?” The frown deepened as he thought about it. “I don’t know,” he told her honestly. The answer just pissed her off, because as far as she was concerned that was a no. Did he think she was weak, that she couldn’t take it? She didn’t give a shit about pain. Pain was weakness, just like apologies and attachments and she was so fucking stupid. Her fist lashed out in a hard blow and she struck him across the mouth. “Wrong answer,” she snapped. He blinked and looked up at her because maybe he hadn’t known they were starting. Maybe he’d thought she was going to ease him into this but she didn’t like foreplay. He ran a hand over his jaw and then he took a step back, trying to settle into a fighting stance. His gaze narrowed in concentration and he glanced down at his feet once to make sure they were positioned correctly. He flexed his fists in front of him and then held them up in a defensive position and she just shook her head, rolling her eyes. “You know what the first rule of a fight is?” she snapped. She took a step back from him, hands hanging loosely at her sides as she started to circle him. He watched her carefully, trying to shift with her and he was concentrating so fucking hard on how he was supposed to stand that he was missing the point. A real fight, not one of these stupid training matches, didn’t give a shit about positions and stances. There were no rules. There was only kill or be killed, win or go home. “What’s the first rule?” he asked her. As soon as his mouth was moving she was. Her fingers curled around his wrist and dragged him forward, her knee snapping out to catch him in the back and force him forward. He stumbled and she released his hand, letting him fall to his knees on the carpet. Her legs straddled him and then she dropped down on his back, arms crossed over his shoulders as she leaned forward, her lips next to his ear. “Hit first,” she snapped. “Don’t stand there and wait for me to ask you a question. If I’m talking that means I’m not fucking paying attention, and that’s when you need to hit me. And don’t fucking pull your punches because you’ll just piss me off.” “Got it,” he grunted underneath her. “Hit first.” She snorted and slapped him in the back of the head, pushing herself off him and stepping a few paces back. She watched him push himself to his feet and turn around, trying to resume a fighting stance. This was going to take forever. She rolled her eyes, beginning to circle him again and she tilted her head to the side as he watched her. Her hands were hanging loose at her side and she wondered what it would take to get him to hit her. She didn’t want to piss him off because that was stupid. People fought worse when they were angry. They made stupid mistakes, but Christ, he was thinking too much about his hands and not about hitting her. He was concentrating so fucking hard and she wondered if he was really expecting her to make him better. “Can you even fucking hit me or not, Welsh? Because if you’re not even going to try and-” He didn’t let her finish. He jabbed at her head and her hand snapped out to block it. She was startled when he threw the second hit at her head with a cross and she felt it connect with her jaw. It wasn’t as hard as it could be and she knew it, which meant he was still pulling his punches, but he was trying. She took a few quick steps back, bringing her hands up into fists and she felt a smile curling her lips. “Good,” she spat at him. “But you need more follow through.” He opened his mouth to say something back and then she was moving. Her fist snapped out towards his face and he lifted his arm to block it. She let him, the other fist coming around to hit him hard in the stomach. He let out a sharp breath of air and he tried to swing back but he was still slow and clumsily. Her fingers curled around his arm and she used his momentum to flip him over her shoulder. He hit the mat hard and then she was dropping back down on top of his stomach, fingers curling around his throat. “You’re slow and you’re weak,” she snapped. “You hesitate and that’ll get you killed.” She didn’t expect him to fight back. She didn’t expect the hand that knocked her grip off his throat or the sudden tilting of the world as he rolled her over onto her back. His hands wrapped around her wrists and pinned her down and for a second she could only blink and stare up at him as he held her down against the mat. His body was pressed hard against hers and his hands were bruising against her skin and she hadn’t thought he had it in him. Then her head snapped up against his. He shouted in surprise and pain and there was a loud crack as their foreheads met. She felt it lance through her skull but she wasn’t fucking weak and she didn’t get pinned. She felt the grip on her hands loosen. She brought her knee up and kicked him away. He landed hard against the mat in front of her and coming up to rub at his forehead and he was groaning. She brushed the back of her hand against the fresh mark on her face and then pushed herself to her feet, stepping back away from Welsh. “Consider that rule number two,” she snapped. “In real fights there are no rules.” Wenston Four hours was a long time to get beat on. He sat on the floor of the sparring ring afterwards, his legs stretched out in front of him as he drank from a water bottle. There were at least a thousand new bruises littering his body, he was sure. He didn’t know how he’d be able to do this every day, because she hadn’t exactly gone easy on him. She hadn’t pulled her punches and it hadn’t really been sparring, so much as him getting his ass kicked by a girl. It was the second time she’d called him weak to his face. He took it because, well, he couldn’t beat her in a fight and he didn’t really want to piss her off. But he hated being called weak. He didn’t mind that maybe he was a weak link on the team, because everyone thought that, including his brother. He was the weakest member of the team, but there always had to be someone at the bottom, right? But there was a difference between being the weak link and just being weak. And she’d called him weak twice now that he knew about. He’d spent a long time being weak against his will. He’d spent a long time watching his health slowly deteriorate and he’d spent a long time relying solely on the strength of others to do simple things because he couldn’t get out of bed on his own. It was all physical and maybe that’s all she meant when she called him slow and weak, but there was a lot more about him to consider. There was a lot more to being strong than just what he could do physically. He almost told her that, but he didn’t feel like getting his ass kicked anymore today. He turned his head to look at her and she sitting on the bench, her hoodie by her side. She had a new bruise on her forehead where she’d head butted him and his eyes fell to the bruises on her neck and he wondered who’d put those there and if she was in trouble because they looked nasty. They looked like someone had hurt her and he was surprised by how much he didn’t like that concept. Vic turned and glared at him once because he was staring again and he wondered when she always knew he was looking at her. He just smiled politely and then started stretching out his muscles, ignore the new aches and pains. He almost told her that she should probably stretch too, but he kept his mouth shut. She didn’t seem like the type of girl who minded some sore muscles. “So?” he asked, bending over his legs and turning his head to look at her. “Is there hope for me?” he asked, grinning. She didn’t return it. Instead, she spat, “Welsh, we’re not friends.” He frowned, the smiling fading from his face and he just nodded, sitting up and stretching his calves. He knew they weren’t friends. She’d told him enough times and he was a pretty smart guy and a good listener. “If training you is what gets me paid, then fine. But don’t mistake us for friends. Or anything else, for that matter.” “Alright,” he said quietly and looked down at his hands. He didn’t miss the way she was just sitting on the bench, not leaving, and that kind of surprised him. They were done, so he expected her to go back to her apartment and go back to bed or leave. He didn’t know why she was staying. His eyes went to the bruises on her neck again and he wondered who had given them to her. Maybe it was her roommate. She seemed angry enough. He bit his lip and then said, “Your roommate seems different.” Vic just sighed and ran her hands over her face, laying back on the bench and throwing an arm over her eyes. She didn’t respond at first and Simon twitched his lips and continued to stretch his muscles quietly. He thought about last night and how she’d been with Alexey when they’d pulled him out of the water. He wanted to say thank you, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate it. Then he thought about Avi’s words, that there was a traitor among them, and he glanced back over at her. If the notion bothered her, she didn’t let on. He swallowed thickly and wondered why he hadn’t thought about that before he’d gone to her apartment this afternoon. What if she was it? What if she was the one who’d tipped off Costas? That made no sense to him. What would she, or whoever the traitor was, gain by tipping off an arms dealer? They’d only known about the mission a day beforehand, so it hadn’t given whoever it was much time to warn the man. He frowned as he thought about that. Maybe they’d had a previous connection with Costas? They had to have had one, otherwise how would they know how to get a hold of him? “What do you think about Avi saying there’s a traitor?” he asked before he could stop himself. Vic didn’t lift her arm to look at him. She didn’t even move. “Are you it?” she asked. Simon’s eyes went wide. “What? Uh, no,” he said lamely. “Then I don’t give a fuck,” she snapped. Simon quirked his lips to the side and focus on her. “What if I said yes?” he tested. “I would laugh really hard,” she said dryly. “Then maybe I should say yes and cheer you up,” he grinned. Vic growled low in her throat and then she was sitting up, swinging her legs off the bench. “I don’t need to be fucking cheered up,” she spat at him and he bit his lip nervously because she looked really mad. “Talking must run in your family. You and Romanova don’t know when to shut your fucking mouths.” She stood up and started heading towards the door. “I don’t know how to make this much clearer to you that we’re not friends. I don’t like you. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to have personal conversations. I don’t want to spend more time around you than what is absolutely necessary. So stop talking to me.” Then she was out the door. Simon watched it swing shut and he sighed, leaning his arms back and bracing himself there, staring at the door. He wondered what he’d done to piss her off, other than be born. Her and Alexey seemed to be hitting it off. Maybe he had to be more direct, straightforward. Maybe he should make a comment about her boobs. He snorted when he thought about what she’d do to him if he said anything like that. He rather liked having all his limbs in place. He glanced back at the bench she’d just vacated and her hoodie was still sitting there. Sighing, he stood and grabbed the hoodie off the bench. He wondered if she’d think he was following her and try to slit his throat. As he stepped out into the hallway separating the sparring ring from the gym, he paused because he could hear voices up the hallway. They were yelling. He recognized one voice as Avi’s, but he couldn’t recognize the other. “Handle it, Rogers,” someone was snarling. “I don’t want a repeat of last night, do I make myself clear?” Avi sounded so defensive when he spoke. “Crystal, sir,” he spat. “But if I were given real soldiers instead of misfits, I could-” “You’ll deal with what you’re given,” the voice yelled. “Don’t you forget that your contract is just as easy to terminate as theirs. Take care of the problem.” Then a door slammed and Simon panicked a moment as Avi came around the corner. Their eyes met for half a second before Avi was moving quickly, too quickly. He slammed into Simon, his forearm pressing against Simon’s jugular as he forced him back up against the wall. Simon choked a moment and he tried to bring his hands up to fend the man off, but Avi grabbed one of his wrists and the hand he was actually able to grab Avi with was useless as he tried to pull the man’s arm away from his neck. “What are you doing here, Welsh?” he snarled and Simon would have answered if he didn’t have an arm pressed against his throat, choking off his air. Avi snarled and pulled him back slightly before slamming him into the wall again. “Answer me.” Simon gagged as he choked out the words, “Following your orders.” The words didn’t seem to appease the man. In fact, if anything, they made him angrier. The next thing Simon knew, he was hauling an arm back and striking Simon across the face. His head snapped to the side and the man could hit, hard. He brought his hand back to hit Simon again and Simon wasn’t having it. He brought his leg up and kneed Avi in the stomach. The man’s grip loosened just enough for Simon to get some leverage and then he was shoving him back away from himself. Avi hit the opposite wall and then he snarled and pointed a finger at Simon. “Where’s your partner then?” “She left,” Simon said, rubbing his neck. Avi’s voice lowered. “Just because you shot Cygne Noir, doesn’t mean you can’t be the traitor.” “What?” Simon squawked. “I’m not a traitor.” “Then where is your sparring partner?” Avi yelled and Simon wondered if the man was on something. Steroids maybe. Or meth. He’d seen people do crazy, stupid, angry things when they were on both of those. Although, he couldn’t picture Avi doing drugs. But this was just ridiculous. He didn’t give Simon a chance to respond before he was coming at him again. Simon dodged the first blow, but then he got so lost in his thoughts that hey, he had actually learned something from Vic, that he didn’t see the second one coming and it caught him across the jaw. The blow left him wondering how he got on the floor and then Avi was flipping him onto his back and pressing his leg across Simon’s throat as he kneeled by him. “Answer me, Welsh,” he growled as Simon’s hands came up to try and get the man off of him. He couldn’t answer. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t talk so he couldn’t answer this man and Simon panicked for a moment because maybe Avi wanted him dead. Avi’s head shot back down the hallway and Simon followed his gaze, even as he choked. Relief flooded through him as he saw Vic round the corner. She paused when she saw them on the floor, her eyes going to Simon first, then to Avi and her face was just impassive and bitchy, like always. “Can I get my hoodie?” she said dryly. .Wolfie. Five days after the disaster that was Costas DeFranco, Vic woke up to people talking in her apartment.She groaned and pulled her pillow over her head because it was probably Morticia trying to convince Simon to fuck her. He showed up every god damned day at 12:01 with two cups of coffee in his hand and every god damned day she tossed them in the garbage. Either he wasn’t getting the picture or he was just that persistent. Almost as persistent as Lisa because she’d started going to bed in filmy lingerie so that when he arrived in the morning she was already dressed for him. The bitch had practically jumped up on the counter and spread her legs for him and it just made Vic hate her roommate more. She smiled to herself as she buried her face in her blankets because it probably wasn’t having the desired effect today. Vic had given the bitch a black eye last night because she’d made some snide comment about her being home a lot earlier lately. Vic didn’t exactly want to be but now she wasn’t out fucking Elias anymore and that just reminded her that she hadn’t been laid in almost a week. “What’s wrong?” she sneered. “Your pimp having a hard time finding customers for you?” There had been a smile on her face and Vic smiled sweetly back before grabbed the bitch by her corset strings and landing a fist right in her eye. She’d shouted and dropped to the floor and then Vic had kicked her in the side and told her that the next time she called her a fucking whore she was going to lose a limb. Morticia laughed loudly and obnoxiously at something and Vic groaned, pulling her pillow tighter over her head. If they were fucking then the least they could do was keep it down because she didn’t want to hear Simon fucking Lisa. As soon as the thought crossed her mind she got a mental picture and she groaned because she didn’t want to picture that. He’d been getting better. Not much, and not very quickly, but he was getting a little better. He moved faster and he didn’t hesitate as much when he hit her. Sometimes he second guessed himself, like he’d hit her harder than he’d wanted and she saw something like guilt in his eyes. She didn’t like it. She didn’t want his pity or his compassion because those were weak emotions and she didn’t have any use for them. So every time he hesitated she hit him back a little bit harder than necessary. The bruises on her neck had faded. All that was left were yellow marks and if she kept her head down then they weren’t even visible anymore. She hadn’t seen Elias since she’d slammed the door shut on his apartment and she hoped she never had to again. She pulled the covers over her head and didn’t think about the things he’d said to her and didn’t let them hurt her. He had been mean and he had been cruel to her and she had gotten off on it. He was right about her. She didn’t like it when people were nice to her and she didn’t want it or deserve it and anyone who did was just fucking weak. She heard Morticia laugh again and she snarled, slamming the pillow down on her bed. She hauled herself off the mattress, her legs still tangled in the sheets and she kicked them off her legs. It was twenty after already and she frowned because usually Lisa was waking her up because Simon usually didn’t like wasting time hanging around her apartment. That wasn’t a problem for her because she didn’t really want him here. They weren’t friends and even if they were she wouldn’t fucking bring anyone here. It was small and shitty and he was probably used to fucking penthouses and mansions like Elias lived in. “Will you quiet the fuck down?” she snarled, yanking the bedroom door open. One hand slammed against the doorway as she spoke and she was annoyed because maybe they’d be fucking out there and maybe she didn’t like the idea of Simon fucking Lisa. Maybe she didn’t like the idea of him being anywhere near her and she could blame that on just how much she hated her roommate. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her and she snorted in surprise because Romanova was leaning across the counter like he was at a god damned bar, a smirk on his face as he talked to Lisa. She was wearing some filmy black thing with her underwear clearly visible under the sheer fabric and Romanova had obviously noticed too. He wasn’t so much looking at her face as her boobs and Lisa looked like she was perfectly okay with that. She was leaning against the counter and pressing them out of her top and Vic just rolled her eyes. She’d been trying to scramble eggs but it smelled like they were burning. Simon sat in the arm chair, two cups of coffee held in his hands and he looked up and smiled politely at her like he did every day. She wondered if she was getting used to that. She wondered if she would be surprised tomorrow if she woke up tomorrow at three o’clock in the afternoon and no Simon and no cup of coffee for her to toss in the garbage. “Hey Vic,” Alexey said. He turned his back on Lisa, leaning back against the counter as he swept her frame in a quick glance. A grin tugged at his lips and then he waggled his eyebrows at her and she sighed because it was too early for this shit. Romanova didn’t look like he could help it. The day he kept his mouth shut was the day he had a tag around his toe. “I like the look. Is that what you wear to beat the crap out of my brother every day? No wonder he takes his bruises and comes home smiling.” Vic snorted and leaned against the doorframe. “He goes home smiling because I leave him alive.” Simon shrugged, looking down at his coffee cups with a smirk. “Small favors, right?” he asked wryly, glancing up at her face for a split second. She watched him struggling to keep his eyes up and not on the almost nothing that she slept in. She couldn’t help it. She yawned and closed her eyes for a moment as she stretched her hands over her head, the tank top riding up over her stomach as she cracked her back. When her eyes opened again Simon was looking away. Alexey wasn’t. He waggled his eyebrows at her and grinned. “Nice,” he told her. Lisa snorted from behind him and just looked annoyed now. She slammed her pan down a little harder on the stove and Alexey glanced back noticing the irritation on her face. His eyes focused on her boobs and his grin widened. “Do you really sleep in that? Can I watch?” Lisa grinned slyly, biting the end of the spatula. “Sometimes I sleep. Sometimes I do other things.” Alexey’s grin widened and he leaned his elbow on the counter, his gaze going back to the breasts that were falling out onto the counter. Vic made a mental note to disinfect it before the next time she tried cooking anything, not that she did much cooking anyway. “Other things?” he asked her. “You mean things that you might need an extra hand for? Maybe two?” “Only if you want herpes,” Vic snapped, drawing Romanova’s eyes over his shoulder. His eyes widened for a second and he raised his eyebrow like he wanted to know if she was kidding or not. Vic ignored it. “And what the fuck are you doing here anyway?” He shrugged, picking a coffee cup off the counter and taking a sip of it. Simon must have picked it up for him on their way over. He stuck his chin out as soon as he did, waving at his face. “Hot,” he mouthed and then swallowed it quickly, wincing as it burned his throat on the way down. He wiped his fingers off on the front of his shirt and then finally looked up at her with a smile. “I came to see the show. I want to watch Simon get his ass kicked by a hot chick. Really, you should be selling tickets to this thing. You dress like that, kick his ass, we could make a killing.” “Well then maybe I should be charging you,” she snapped at him. “Charging me? Will I be receiving your services?” he asked, glancing at her with a sly smirk. “Are you taking me up on that open invitation to my bed? Should I pay you now or later?” Vic’s eyes narrowed at the question because all it did was remind her of the nasty things Elias had told her. Lisa snorted. “Trust me, when it comes to fucking she doesn’t charge.” She tilted her head to look at Vic and shot her a vicious smirk and Vic gritted her teeth to keep from going over there and giving her another black eye. “She’s free and easy.” Vic smiled back sweetly. “Nice shiner, Morticia. Looks great with your complexion.” “You’re a fucking bitch,” Lisa snarled, dumping her eggs on a plate and then pushing herself away from the counter. She pushed past her into the bedroom but paused to look behind her at Alexey. “See you around Romanova,” she said, giggling a little at his last name. She tried to push the door shut and Vic snarled and stopped it with her hand. She snatched her pants off a chair and shot a glare at Morticia before she yanked it shut herself. “No wonder you come by here in the morning, bro,” Alexey commented. He tilted his head to the side and watched Vic pull her jeans on. “Why didn’t you tell me there were hot chicks just wandering around in their underwear? Hey, did we just walk into a girls gone wild video? Are they going to fight? Pull hair? Make out?” Simon smirked and shook his head. “Maybe the fighting,” he told him, shaking his head. Alexey grinned. “Good. Just you know, roll around in mud or take your tops off first,” he told Vic. She rolled her eyes and focused on Simon for a split second. He was watching his brother and not her because she hated it when people stared and she’d been making it very clear to him just how much she fucking hated it. There were still healing bruises on his jaw and his neck from where Avi had assaulted him in the hallway and her eyes narrowed when she looked at them. She didn’t like Avi and leaving bruises on Welsh was her job. She tilted her head to the side and focused on the bruise on his cheekbone and the split lip instead because those were gifts from her. He was trying anyway. The first two days she’d been merciless with him while she took out all her aggression and hurt and rage on his body and he’d taken it all and kept getting up. She told him he was weak and slow and worthless a thousand times and he just kept pushing himself back to his feet. She wondered if any of those words were really for him. She wondered sometimes when she opened her mouth and asked him if he just wanted to be another fucking victim on the street if she was still talking to him or if she was talking to herself. She’d fucked up and she’d gotten attached to someone and she should have known better. People were worthless. People were shit and they would turn on her and betray her and hurt her, but only if she let them. She tried to tell him all that, but he kept getting back up anyway. Even when she had her foot on the back of his neck. Her feet carried her across the apartment in front of him and then she reached down to pick up one of the coffee cups. He looked up at her for a moment and smiled wryly as he held the second one up so she could throw them both away like she always did. “Is this the coffee or the latte?” she asked. He was trying not to smile. She swore if he did she would just toss it. “The coffee,” he told her. “Good,” she snapped, putting it to her lips. “Now let’s go.” Wenston “Does he do this every time?”Simon rolled his head to the side to glance at his brother. Alexey was sitting on the bench, while Vic leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. They were both looking at him as he sat on the floor and stretched out. He was drawing it out a little longer today, mostly just to mess with his brother, but partly because he was distracted. He was distracted because she’d taken his coffee. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t help but smile when he thought about it. She’d actually taken the coffee and he’d had a latte that was sitting on the bench next to his brother that he didn’t even want to drink because he’d already had one at the coffee shop. He always drank his before because she always threw them away except today she didn’t. He was distracted wondering what that meant. Maybe she just wanted coffee. But maybe she’d stopped looking so angry at him when he showed up at her apartment in the mornings. “Yes,” Vic spat and then sighed heavily. Alexey snorted and raised his voice. “You know,” he said loudly so Simon could hear him. “I don’t think drug cartels or ninjas or even Samurai’s would give you time to stretch before they kicked your ass.” Simon just smiled and kept stretching his legs. “What if your body is so used to stretching before a fight, that when you actually get in a fight, you get a cramp? What will you do then? Call a time out. They don’t have time outs in this business, bro.” Simon laughed and looked at them again. “I’ll take my chances,” he said, smiling. He glanced at Vic and she was looking annoyed. He sat up and then climbed to his feet, because he didn’t want to piss her off right after she’d accepted his coffee for the first time. “Okay,” he told her. He’d started liking these sparring sessions. He didn’t like the bruises or the sore body afterwards, but he didn’t mind that he was actually learning things from them. He didn’t mind that sometimes he landed a punch on Vic and it was becoming a more frequent thing. He felt guilty about hitting her, but then she’d always hit him back and then he’d remember that she’d told him guilt was weak. There were a lot of things that were weak with Vic. Vic shrugged off the wall and came to the center of the room. They started quick and they started hard. It was the same every time. Vic never said “go” or “start,” they just started. She threw the first punch and Simon ducked beneath it, moving to the side as he did and aiming a jab at her ribs. She bent back out of the way and brought an arm around to strike the side of his face. He took the hit, but then grabbed her wrist and spun her away from him, gaining distance between so he could collect himself. From the bench, Alexey whistled. “Holy shit,” he called and Simon didn’t dare turned to look at him because Vic told him to never get distracted and never look away and he listened to all the advice she gave him when it came to fighting. “He could pass for decent,” Alexey chuckled. The corner of her lip twitched. At first he wasn’t sure if he’d seen it correctly, but he had. She’d smiled. She’d smiled at the idea that he was getting better and it wasn’t a fake thing and it wasn’t joking or mocking or cruel. It had been sincere and he didn’t think he’d seen that on her before. It was enough of a distraction that he gave a startled cry when she lunged forward, her hand snapping across his face, her other hand coming to grab his arm and then she was flipping him over her shoulder and onto his back. She twisted, straddling his waist, his arm twisted around and her other hand on his throat. Alexey laughed. “I take it back,” he said. Simon looked up at Vic and she was looking down at him. She smirked and slapped his face before letting him go and standing up, giving him time to get up. He sat up slowly and sat there for a moment, rubbing his arm because she‘d twisted it harder than what he‘d thought was necessary. So much for being decent. “I can’t believe this is what you do every day,” Alexey said as Simon pushed himself to his feet. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I’d have been here every day, cheering you on. And by cheering you on, I mean fantasizing about hot chicks kicking my ass and straddling me on the floor.” Simon chuckled, but kept his eyes on Vic. They were circling each other when the door suddenly opened and Simon froze because he wasn’t sure if he should look and risk getting punched or keep watching her and risk whoever was at the door being someone he didn’t want watching this. Luckily, his brother bailed him out because he was suddenly giving a happy cluck of his tongue and shouting, “Oh my God, if you were wearing a cheerleader outfit, this would be a wet dream.” The laugh in the doorway was familiar and it had been a few days since they’d seen her last, but Jezibel stood in the doorway. He saw Vic take a few steps back and look over at her. Simon bit his lip and then he lowered his hands and risked it, glancing to the doorway. Not a second after he looked away, Vic was moving forward, landing a blow to his gut and then kicking one of his legs out from under him and slamming him down into the mat, wrenching his arm up and behind his back. She leaned down and put her mouth next to his ear. “Welsh…” she started. “I know,” he told her, gritting his teeth and hoping she gave him his arm back. “Never look away,” he said like he was repeating a lecture he’d been given in school. He heard her snort and then she was letting go of him and standing up, heading for the bench. Simon rolled over and sat there on the floor for a moment, rolling his shoulder as he looked at Jezibel. She wore a pair of pink jogging shorts that were tight and short and she knew how to wear them. She had a black sports bra on and jogging shoes and her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung down near the small of her back. She looked like she’d just come to work out. “No cheerleader outfits,” she said to Alexey as she stepped into the room, looking down at Simon on the floor and smiling warmly at him. He returned it. “But I do have a nurses outfit in the trunk of my car.” Alexey gasped and then put a hand to his heart. “Oh man,” he said and Simon rolled his eyes, climbing to his feet. “Did you hear that? I think it was the sound of my fairy godmother granting me my one true wish. Now all I need is a pumpkin carriage and a glass slipper and I’m set.” Jezibel chuckled, shaking her head. Then she looked at Simon and tilted her head at him. “Practicing, are we?” she asked. “Kind of,” he answered, scratching the back of his neck and shooting a glance at Vic. She was slouched on the bench, one leg hugged to her chest, the other stretched out in front of her along the bench. She looked annoyed and she was glaring at the back of Jezibel’s head. “Avi’s trying to whip me into shape,” he told her. “Oh?” Jezibel asked. “Well, let’s see what you’ve got,” she said and took a fighting stance. Simon raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to tell her he thought he should really stick to fighting with Vic, because he didn’t know if he should hit Jezibel or pull his punches or how good she was and he didn’t want to come too fast at her if she didn’t know how to fight. But Alexey didn’t give him a chance to talk. His brother was off the bench in a heartbeat. “What? Wait a minute,” he was squawking, making a beeline for them. When he reached them, he wrapped his arm around Simon’s shoulders. “Look, my brother’s tired and sore and he just got his ass kicked by Bitchzilla over there. So, I think he should take a break for a little bit and you can find someone else to practice your moves with. Like me. I’m available. And willing. But go gentle….just not too gentle.” Simon laughed and shrugged his brother’s arm off. He grinned at Jezibel and then walked over to the bench. He sat down on the opposite end of it as Vic. She glanced at him and he kept his eyes on Jezibel and Alexey so he didn’t stare at her. Jezibel looked like she was contemplating actually sparring with Alexey and then she shrugged and resumed her fighting stance. Alexey grinned and folded his hands together in front of his chest, like he was praying. He shook them towards the ceiling and mouthed a silent, “Thank you God,” before he let his hands fall and he mirrored Jezibel’s stance. “Okay,” Alexey said. “I have to warn you. The state of California made me register these fists as deadly weapons…” Jezibel didn’t give him time to finish his normal pick up line. Simon’s eyes widened as she moved forward so swiftly and gracefully that it seemed she was just a blur of platinum blonde. She slapped Alexey across the face, and it could have easily been a punch, and then swiped a leg out to kick out his right leg. Then, as he was falling, she grabbed both his wrists and whirled, bringing her other leg up to hit the side of his neck. The two of them fell to the ground and Alexey was effectively trapped beneath her, her leg wrapped around his neck as she held his hands down by his waist. From beside him, Vic let out a small noise and maybe she hadn’t known Jezibel could fight. He sure as hell hadn’t. And by the look on Alexey’s face, neither had he. Jezibel craned her neck to look at Alexey, because his face was practically pressed up against her thigh. He looked surprised for a moment before he looked up at her. “Marry me,” he said simply. Simon just laughed. .Wolfie. Givessi could fight.Vic was surprised to learn that but now that she knew she was itching to meet the girl on the man. She was really fucking quick, and Vic honestly didn’t know if she could keep up with her. It was hard to say, since she’d only watched her fight Romanova so far. He’d managed to convince her to go best out of three, and he was grinning the whole time. Vic didn’t even think he was trying, because the second match he ended up on his back with Givessi on top of him and the third time he’d found himself in a headlock, the back of his skull being held tightly against her breasts. She’d laughed off his request for best out of five. “Not on the first date, sugar,” she told him brightly. “Well, then can we have our second date yet? What about a third and a fourth? On which date do we get to have hot, wild animal sex?” His eyes were bright and hopeful as he lay on the mat. He was still stretched out on the floor, grinning up at her slyly. She’d laughed and just winked at him. “You can’t handle me,” she told him. He grinned and lifted his eyebrows at her. “Maybe not, but I’d love to try.” She laughed brightly at him and just shook her head and then she’d gone to run on the treadmill for a while. Alexey had just settled onto the bench, his chin resting on his fist as he watched her run and he looked like he could die happy there, new bruises and all. Vic had just rolled her eyes and then she’d kicked Welsh forcibly off the bench. He’d looked up startled at her and she’d bit back a smile before heading back to the mat. “Your four hours aren’t up yet, Welsh,” she told him, watching as he pushed himself up and followed her. He was distracted today. She wondered if it was because of his brother or Givessi and she hoped it was the first one. The thought of him having a hard on for Givessi just pissed her off and she couldn’t say quite why. It would have made sense, after all. She was beautiful. She proceeded to beat the shit out of him and he did his best to fight back. He was getting better with the hitting and not talking but he still always let her make the first move and she wondered if it was because he still felt weird about striking her. If he was, he would have been the first guy to ever do it to actually feel bad about it. She headed to the showers afterwards, letting the water run hot so she could try and work out all the aches and pains in her muscles. Her skin was in a perpetual state of bruising and it didn’t bother her because for every one she’d earned she was sure she’d given back two. It was only a small pain and she could deal with the small ones. If she couldn’t then she was no fucking good to anyone, especially not herself. She’d gotten shot in the stomach once, what was a punch in the ribs compared to that? What was a bruise on her face from a man who didn’t want to hit her compared with bruises on her neck from one who did? She tipped her head back and let the water run over her skin and then she heard laughter echoing in the room behind her. She pulled back the curtain for a moment and blinked the water from her eyes as Givessi sauntered into the room. “Well if I get lonely I promise I’ll ask you first,” she said, rolling her eyes as she headed into the shower stall next to her. Vic snorted and pulled it shut again because she didn’t have to ask to know she’d been talking to Romanova. Someone needed to fuck that man just to shut him up. Maybe if he actually got some he would close his mouth for two minutes. She heard the water start next to her and she went back to her own shower, turning her back to the water to let it sooth her aching muscles. Today wasn’t as bad as yesterday, but that was because Welsh had barely tried today. Next time he could leave Romanova at home because if he was worried about showing off for his brother or at least not looking like an asshole in front of him then he wasn’t worried about hitting her before she could hit him. Then he wasn’t worried about keeping his face off the mat and he wasn’t concentrating on moving because she’d told him to never hold still. He stopped moving and he got hit. “You’re pretty good,” Givessi said abruptly, her voice raised so Vic could hear her. “I know,” Vic snapped back. She didn’t tell her that she wasn’t bad herself because she wasn’t here to make friends and she especially didn’t make friends with rich bitches like her. She didn’t make friends with bleach blondes that owned tiny little dogs that could fit in her purse and she didn’t make friends with rich assholes that drove a Lexus. “A little sloppy though,” Jezibel continued. She didn’t sound like she was trying to be mean, but Vic growled lowly anyway. She closed her eyes and tried to block her out because she didn’t give a shit what she thought about Vic’s fighting style. It worked for her. It had worked for her in prison and it worked for her out here and as long as it kept her alive she didn’t care if it was pretty. “You strike me as more a knife fighter.” She laughed and she heard the curtain rustle. “I’d say we should go one on one sometime but Romanova might just start humping the bench if we did.” Vic snorted, and she refused to laugh. “Don’t even give him the idea,” she told her sharply. “If you want,” Jezibel said, and she heard a sly tone in her voice that made Vic instantly suspicious. “I could take him off your hands. Welsh, I mean. So you don’t have to waste your time training him.” Vic’s eyes narrowed and she felt a weird sort of anger settling in her chest. She thought about it for a minute and she should have just said yes and let Givessi take him off her hands. She hadn’t wanted to do this to begin with and maybe this was her out. Avi probably wouldn’t give a shit as long as someone was beating up Welsh every day, though he was strange about his rules some days. Her hand came up and rubbed over her lips as she thought about it. Then she could go back to sleeping until the late afternoon and not worry about roommates trying to fuck her teammates. Only then she wouldn’t get to see if he could get better. She frowned as she thought that but she was curious. The day she’d met Welsh she had decided he was weak all the way down to his bones. She was starting to wonder if that was true. It wasn’t just because he was getting better. It was because he kept getting up. Maybe there was steel in there somewhere. Vic sighed and then shut the water off, reaching for the towel slung over the bar. “I can handle it,” she snapped. “Just offering, sweetie,” she told her lightly, and Vic rolled her eyes because she hated being called sweetie. That and she doubted she was offering out of the goodness of her heart. Givessi started to hum quietly to herself as she showered and Vic was still trying to ignore her as she wrapped a towel around her. She grabbed a second one to towel off her hair as it dripped onto the tiles below. “That’s alright though,” she added, poking her head out behind the curtain. She smiled brightly and Vic thought she looked strange and almost human without the makeup on her face. “You two look cute together.” “Fuck off,” Vic snapped automatically, and she heard Givessi laughing at her as she went back to her shower. Vic rolled her eyes and tried to brush off the comment as headed back towards her locker. She didn’t hear any voices so maybe Romanova was taking a cold shower by himself and she doubted that would calm him down any. Maybe they’d gone home already and the thought was gone as soon as she stepped out from behind the row of lockers because Welsh was sitting there on the bench by himself, pulling his shoes on. He glanced up when she walked in and for a second his face turned red before he snapped them back to the shoes on his feet. She bit back a smile as she walked past him towards her locker. She pulled it open and starting yanking her clothes out, holding the towel in place with one hand. She tossed the one for her hair on the bench behind her and cautioned a glance over at Welsh. He had his eyes closed and he looked like he was trying very hard to keep them that way. A small smile curled her lips as she shoved her dirty clothes in the bottom of her locker. “You’re a fast learner,” she told him. He smirked and shook his head, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Was that a compliment, Vic?” She pulled her underwear on under her towel before she let it drop to the ground. She picked her bra off the bench and worked on getting that on. It was just clipping into place when he spoke and it made a small laugh leave her lips. “Of course not,” she snapped. “Then it might go to your head and you might start thinking we’re friends.” She backed the comment up with a light slap to the back of his head and he snorted out a small laugh. “I might start thinking more than that if you keep parading around in your underwear,” he told her, his face beet red as he hid it behind his hand. As soon as he said it he tensed like she was going to hit him for it, but mostly she was just surprised that had come from Welsh. She snorted and shook her head and told him as much. “Now that comment sounds more like your brother,” she said. He laughed dryly and his eyes were still crushed closed. “Maybe he’s just rubbing off on me,” Welsh said. She snorted and shook her head as she started pulling her jeans on and she heard him suck in a breath. “Can I open my eyes now?” “Who ever said you had to close them?” she asked him sweetly. Welsh’s eyes slide open and they went straight to her face instead of her boobs. She tilted her head to look at him and wondered if he tried so hard because he didn’t want to get killed or if he really didn’t want to fuck her. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Maybe a little part of her hoped it was more the first one. If he was going to answer her, he didn’t get a chance, because in the next moment the locker room door was opening and Avi was walking through it. Vic’s eyes narrowed when she saw him and then she grabbed her tank top off the bench and yanked it down over her head before she crossed her arms over her chest. Rogers raised an eyebrow and looked unimpressed, focusing on her face and then on Welsh. “Are any of your other teammates here?” he asked coolly and calmly, and it was a far cry from the man she’d seen five days ago. She felt her hands curl into fists and she still owed him for that hit. Fucking asshole. “Alexey and Jezibel,” Simon told him, scrubbing at the back of his neck. “Why?” Rogers snorted and then clasped his hands behind his back. “We’ve received our next assignment. Get your equipment together and meet in the briefing room as soon as you’re prepared. As soon as your other teammates have been contacted we will be leaving. You will be briefed en route. Any questions?” he asked, raising an eyebrow that said he didn’t really want to ask. Vic snorted. “Yeah,” she snapped. “What’s your plan to fuck up this time?” Wenston Simon was surprised Avi hadn’t hit her again. Heck, he was surprised Avi hadn’t hit him either. Not that he’d been the one to talk down to him, but he kind of expected it. Just out of principal. But the man hadn’t said anything. He’d just turned around and had left the locker room. Avi seemed different than he had five days ago when he’d been accusing Simon of being a traitor out in the hallway. He seemed more in control and he wondered if Avi had just been overly stressed due to the clusterfuck of their first mission. Maybe Elias was breathing down his neck, telling him to get things in order. He didn’t know. But he was glad Avi wasn’t screaming or yelling or trying to choke him to death. They didn’t have to wait long for Tony and Lyle to show up. Simon headed to the infirmary, per Avi's instructions, to get tested and once he got the all clear and everyone was changed, they headed for the roof. Avi still wouldn’t give them any details and when they came out on top of the building, there was a military grade helicopter waiting for them. Standing right outside the door was Elias and he had his arms crossed over his chest and a pair of sunglasses on and his normal Italian suits that Simon was used to seeing him in. “I hope no one is afraid of flying,” he said loudly, over the whirring of the helicopter blades. From the way he laughed afterwards, Simon thought the man was privy to some information that he was not and he saw Elias’s eyes glance over them all, rest on Vic for longer than the others, and then he waved them towards the helicopter. Simon glanced over at her and she was practically snarling at Elias, but her eyes kept darting to the helicopter. Avi shuffled them towards it and they climbed aboard and strapped in. Elias leaned in to say something to Vic as she walked pass him and he saw her tense but she didn’t say anything. Simon sat next to Vic and he was somewhat surprised that she didn’t yell at him for it or tell him to get lost. She just sat there, strapped herself in and then rested her hands on her legs and if Simon didn’t know any better, he’d think she was nervous. He wondered if that’s what Elias had been joking about. Maybe he knew something Vic was scared of. “I hope we go some place exotic!” Alexey yelled over the sound of the motor and Simon glanced over at him. He was wedged between Tony, who nearly took up two seats, and Lyle, who looked about ready to take a nap and he wondered what the man did all day that he was always sleepy whenever he saw him. Jezibel sat on the other side of Simon and he noticed Alexey staring at him. “How is it,” Alexey started and he leaned forward, “That you get to have the hot girl sandwich and I’m stuck with BFG and…Liddle. I want to change seats.” Tony reached forward and wrapped an arm playfully around Alexey’s neck. Simon laughed when his brother let out a yelp and then Tony was ruffling his hair and saying, “We need to hit the bar when we get back,” Tony said and Alexey’s face paled as he looked up at the giant of a man. “It’s wing night tomorrow. You’re coming with me.” “Oh God,” Alexey groaned. “Are we setting up a tradition? I don’t know if we’re close enough yet for…” He didn’t get a chance to finish as Avi climbed onboard, after having discussed something with Elias. He motioned for the pilot to take off and the helicopter shook as it started to lift in the air. Simon leaned back in his seat and he glanced down at his harness to make sure everything was still buckled up correctly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Vic’s hand going white knuckled as she clung to the seat. He glanced up at her face and it was steady, but she was grinding her teeth and her eyes were closed. He felt surprise and wonder pass through him because holy shit, she really was afraid of flying. He didn’t say anything and none of the others seemed to notice, so he didn’t want to draw their attention to it. Knowing she was afraid of something seemed to humanize her in Simon’s eyes and he wondered what else she was afraid of. “Okay, team, listen up,” Avi yelled. Vic’s eyes opened to look at the man, but she darted her gaze to Simon’s face and just growled when she saw him watching her. She didn’t yell at him for staring and she didn’t tell him to fuck off and he didn’t like it when she was scared. He averted his gaze to Avi and listened carefully. “The man we’re going after is Gustavo Alvarez. He’s one of us, a Shifter.” Avi held up a picture of the man. He was huge. He was scary looking. He looked a lot tougher and meaner than Costas DeFranco had and he probably wouldn’t hesitate like the man would. Simon wondered what his animal was. He wondered if he’d win a fight against another shifter. He could barely win a fight normally, so he didn’t seem to think so. Avi continued, “Mr. Alvarez worked for the Brazilian military up until about three months ago, when they began to dabble in gene splicing technology based of the work of the United States Government. Mr. Alvarez was a top solider and he was their first test subject. The gene splicing worked, except for one small side effect – an increased level of toxic neurochemicals being produced by the animal DNA spliced into his genes. In other words, he’s a very angry man.” “Hey!” Alexey said, grinning. “Sounds like half the people in this helicopter.” Avi glared at him and Simon lashed out with his foot to kick Alexey in the knee. His brother gasped and frowned, rubbing at the sore spot, giving Simon a playful sneer. Simon just chuckled at him. Avi ignored both of them and then continued, “That would be true, except his anger and his rage has sent him on a killing spree across the Brazilian countryside. He’s been targeting farmers and small villages.” “So we’re basically chasing down The Hulk?” Alexey asked. “Mr. Romanova,” Avi said, his face impassive. “I need you to take this assignment extremely serious. We will be under extreme conditions and danger going in there and I need everyone to be on their toes.” Simon didn’t miss the way Avi’s eyes paused on him for a moment and he sat back in his chair, frowning and trying not to feel rejected. He was getting better. “There have been three teams before us, military teams. Army commandoes, Marines, and Black Ops were sent in to eliminate Mr. Alvarez and all have failed.” “What happened to them?” Alexey asked. Avi smirked. “They were sent home in pieces.” That seemed to sober everyone up quickly. Alexey sat back, biting his lip and Simon knew what his brother was thinking. He knew what they were all thinking. Why them? Why a team whose first mission had gone so astray? Now they were being sent to track down a killer that the United States government couldn’t even bring down? Highly trained professionals? Simon sighed and tried not to feel doomed. “We will be landing near a small village off the Amazon in the Brazilian state of Pará. Alvarez’s last known location is due East of our drop site.” Simon cleared his throat and Avi looked at him, a flash of anger crossing his face before he nodded, signaling to him he could talk. “Why is the United States government interested in a man terrorizing Brazilian farmland?” he asked. “Because, Mr. Welsh,” Avi said, smirking smugly. “The United States and Brazil have just entered into trade agreements concerning the production of Ethanol.” “Booze?” Alexey squawked. Avi snorted. “More importantly, a reusable resource.” “I don’t think there’s anything more important than booze,” Alexey grumbled. Avi continued, “The farmlands Alvarez is targeting are the feedstocks right in the center of this trade agreement. Our government is not willing to lose a four billion dollar trade agreement because of one rogue Shifter. So we’re going to take him out. Are there any questions?” Alexey raised his hand and Simon smirked. Avi nodded. “So when we kill him, does that mean we get free drinks for life?” .Wolfie. Vic didn’t like helicopters.She didn’t mind planes, at least the big ones, because then it was easier to pretend that she was just on a bus or something and still had both feet planted firmly on the ground. At least in a plane she could watch in the in-flight movie and get pissed about how terrible it was instead of thinking about how she was sitting in a big metal tin can with no idea how it was even staying in the air. She’d been flying all of three times in her life, all of them after she signed on with the Shifter Initiative. The first had been in a jumbo jet when they’d flown her from prison in Colorado to New York City, and the two times after that had both been in helicopters like this one. She hated it. She hated that when she looked out the window she could barely see the earth below. A shiver passed through her and she tipped her head back against the metal wall as she tried to pretend she was anywhere else. Fear was weak, so she was trying not to be scared. Chances were they wouldn’t crash and die in a fiery explosion. No matter how many times she told herself that, her body still didn’t want to listen to her. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest and she licked her lips and was honestly surprised that everyone else in the cabin couldn’t hear it. She felt like it was trying to beat its way out of her rib cage. She tightened her grip around the harness and her knuckles were white as she clung to the straps. She wasn’t afraid. She couldn’t be afraid because Vic didn’t get scared and she didn’t get nervous and she was. “Have a pleasant flight, dear,” Elias had said to her. That was all. That was all he needed to say because he’d been with her the first time she’d flown, ever, and he knew that she hadn’t taken to it. There had been that cruel smirk on his face and his warm breath lingered on her skin in an unpleasant way. She felt like she needed another shower and she hated that she’d let him touch her. Figures that she hadn’t seen him in five days and the first thing he did was put her on a helicopter. He was a fucking asshole and she didn’t miss him, not at all. Not after what he’d said to her. She hated Elias and she hated helicopters and she just wanted this flight to be over. “Are you seriously taking a nap over there Vic?” she heard Alexey say. He snorted and she heard him laugh a little but she couldn’t get herself to open her eyes. If she kept them shut then she could pretend she was on a boat or something and that’s why the world was rocking back and forth and humming loudly. “Don’t tell me my brother wore you out. Though I guess it is a lot of work, kicking his ass constantly for four hours. Must be exhausting.” She opened her eyes to glare at him but she couldn’t get her mouth to move to tell him to fuck off because her stomach didn’t feel too stable and she hated this. Next to her Simon shifted in his seat, his shoulder brushing against hers as he crossed his arms and grinned at his brother. “Hey, I’m pretty persistent. It takes a lot of ass kicking to keep me down.” Alexey laughed and Vic tilted her head to the side to look up at Welsh. He was looking at his brother and not at her and she was glad because the last person she wanted knowing she had a stupid irrational fear was Welsh. Bad enough Elias already did. Towards the front of the helicopter Avi leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “And how are your lessons going?” he asked. There was a smug smile on his face and Vic couldn’t tell if he was trying to be an asshole or if he actually cared. The helicopter lurched and her stomach went with it so she crushed her eyes shut and tipped her head back against the cool metal again. It was just like riding in a car. There was no difference except she wasn’t driving and they weren’t touching the ground and if something went wrong up here there was nothing they could do. She ground her teeth tightly together and refused to make a sound. It was just like riding in a car. She kept telling herself that because maybe if she said it enough times she would believe it. “Good,” Simon said simply and Vic didn’t try to open her mouth to put him down or back him up or whatever she might have said. He was better, just not enough to beat anyone else on the team yet, with the possible exception of Liddle. She didn’t have any clue what the man was capable of, other than sleeping and probably getting baked. She hadn’t had the chance to see him in a fight, or fire a gun, or use a knife. She wondered if he knew how to do any of those things, but she figured the answer had to be yes. “Personally I think its bullshit that Simon’s the one getting to roll around on the mat with a hot chick. I think I might need some extra training. You know, just to whip me into shape. Jez looks like she’s pretty handy with one, get her a leather corset and I think she could handle the job.” “Honey you have no idea,” Givessi said slyly. Her legs were crossed at the knee and she was filing her nails as they flew, like it was no big deal to her. Vic wondered if she was used to private jets or flying cross country or whatever else she did with her time. Alexey laughed but Avi’s voice was bland and dry. “Mr. Romanova if you feel you need extra practice time I imagine Mr. Bruno would be happy to help you train.” She heard Alexey suck in a breath across the helicopter and Tony rumbled out a laugh. Vic almost smiled, but it was Avi and she hated him and she was on a helicopter and hated those too. Then Avi was turning his attention back to Welsh and Vic wondered what he’d done that Captain America had such a hard on for him. “Glad to hear it Welsh. Maybe when I stop by in two days to watch you spar you’ll have some results for me.” “Sure, Captain,” Welsh said, mimicking the try done in Avi’s voice. She heard him snort in response and then the helicopter got quiet and she didn’t know if she was happy or sad about that. At least when they were talking she could listen to their voices and not think about the death can they were sitting in and not think about the rotors snapping off because how the fuck did those things keep them in the air anyway? They were just spinning blades. Blades couldn’t make anyone fly. She was way too grateful when the helicopter finally touched down and by then her hands were sore from clinging to her straps the whole time. She flexed them and then started undoing the buckles as Avi stood up to talk some more and she could barely focus on the words because she was getting desperate to get out of this metal deathtrap. “We’ll fan out in a single line to sweep the area,” he said, hands clasping behind his back and his feet spread a shoulder’s width apart. “Any sign of Gustavo, report in immediately. If you see him, do not attempt to engage by yourself.” “Aw come on,” Alexey said, grinning and clapping Tony on the back. The motion didn’t even make the big guy move and Vic glanced at him as she stood up. “We’ve got our own Incredible Hulk here, you telling me he can’t take him?” A grin creased Tony’s face at the comment and he leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as he looked up at Avi. The smug smirk on Tony’s face almost made Vic smile except she couldn’t really manage it right now. She felt unsteady on her feet and it pissed her off because she felt weak and she hated feeling weak. Somehow this was Elias’s fault, the fucking bastard. She felt Welsh looking at her again and she glanced down at him with a sharp glare but she still couldn’t get her mouth to move to tell him off. She wasn’t going to throw up. The helicopter had stopped and they weren’t in the air anymore and she was fine. Welsh turned away from her when she caught him looking and turned his attention back to Rogers. Avi’s head turned and focused on Tony and then Alexey. “No,” he said calmly. Alexey looked a little nervous at that and then Simon was clearing his throat, drawing Avi’s gaze to him. “So I take it bullets don’t have much effect on this guy, right? Otherwise someone would have gotten him already.” Avi’s eyes narrowed but he kept the indulgent smile on his face and Vic decided she hated that look. It was so fucking condescending, like he was annoyed that everyone wasn’t just jumping and running to follow his orders. Elias got the same look on his face sometimes and she’d hated it on him too and she just fucking hated him so she stopped thinking about it. “Correct,” Avi snapped. “They can wound him, so don’t discount them all together, but they don’t do as much damage as they would to either of us. That and the healing process we go through when we shift is accelerated for him.” “And he’s just like the Grinch too, right? His heart is three sizes too small?” Alexey grinned and made a little heart with his hands, holding it over his chest. Jezibel rolled her eyes at him from across the helicopter, especially when he shot a wink at her. “No compassion or pity or love or pain or any of those troublesome things, right?” “Weak emotions,” Vic snapped. Alexey laughed and shook his head, focusing on pulling the straps loose. “Figures you would relate to the psycho angry serial killer. You really have to find a way to get rid of all that pent up rage and frustration. If you need someone to help you out with that, I am always available. Unless of course Jez finally accepts my advances in which case I’ll be too busy giving her the time of her life to come to the phone and you’ll have to settle for my brother.” He shot a wink across the helicopter at Welsh. “I wouldn’t call your brother ‘settling,’” Jez told him, grinning from across the helicopter. “I would call that coming out on top. Or bottom. Which do you prefer?” she asked, tipping her head to the side to look at Welsh’s face. It was turning red and he looked at his brother like he was asking for help. Alexey pointed a finger at him, sitting forward in his chair. “Don’t you answer that bro. It’s a woman trap. She’s trying to trick you into have sex with her and then you’ll have to feel guilty for plowing the love of my life for the rest of yours.” Lyle chuckled dryly from next to Alexey and his head rolled against the back of the helicopter as he focused on Romanova. He looked like he was still half asleep and Vic wondered if he ever woke up. “I think in his case the guilt would be worth it,” he told Alexey. Jezibel laughed and she had a hand resting on Simon’s shoulder and Vic had to look down at her feet because she was getting pissed off and there was no reason to be. She was just irritated at Elias and irritated that she was scared of flying and she sure as fuck wasn’t getting pissed that Givessi was hitting on Welsh. “If you are all quite finished,” Avi snapped, drawing their gaze up front. “We’ll move out.” Wenston The jungle was dense and thankfully Avi had passed out machetes to cut through the brush. They were spread out in a line, with Avi at the center. They kept about thirty feet apart from each other on either side, but with how thick the jungle was, it probably wouldn’t have even mattered if they were standing five feet next to each other. There were too many places to hide out here and too much brush to see through. Simon wouldn’t have been surprised if they passed right by Alvarez without even knowing it. To Simon’s left was Lyle and every so often he could hear the man’s dull cursing reach his ears because it took a lot of energy and it was basically a full body workout try to maneuver through this jungle and Simon wasn’t surprised Lyle was having problems because he hadn’t seen the man hit the gym once. He wondered what Lyle actually did. He wondered if the man had a family and a life outside of this. He couldn’t seem to get a reading on him. On the other side of him was Jezibel and she was having no trouble at all. She barely made a sound, except for the thick thwapping of her machete as it cut through branches and vines. Somewhere beyond her was Avi, and next to him was Alexey, then Vic, then Tony. Simon tried to keep tabs of where everyone was. He would have liked it more if they would give periodic status reports, or checked in, because he couldn’t see them and if he couldn’t see them, that meant there was the possibility they could get into trouble. “Hey,” Alexey’s voice came over the radio. A moment later, Avi’s answered. “Romanova, report.” Simon bit his lip and hoped that it wasn’t his brother who had found Alvarez. The man could probably break Alexey in half like he was snapping a freaking twig. He still didn’t know what type of shifter the man was an he thought distantly that they should have probably been told that information. “I was just wondering if anyone else had a sudden urge to break into song,” Alexey said and Simon couldn’t help but grin. “A little Guns N’ Roses, maybe? Welcome to the Jungle? Anyone?” The radio was quiet, Avi not gracing Alexey with a response. Simon bit his lip to keep from laughing, his eyes scanning the brush for any sign of movement. He wondered what would happen if they came on some wild animal. Not a shifter, just a wild animal. Like a boar. Or a jaguar. Or even a monkey. He wondered if he could shoot a monkey. He seemed to do well enough with Costas. The radio crackled and he was surprised to hear Lyle’s voice come through. “Do you think this jungle has fun and games?” “Lyle, my man!” Alexey laughed into the radio. “We’ve got everything you want,” he continued with the lyrics. Jezibel’s soft voice came over next, “Honey, we know the names.” “Jesus fuck,” Alexey spat. “Seriously, you are the hottest woman I’ve ever met. And notice I said woman, not girl. That’s how much I respect you.” Avi suddenly snarled into the radio, “Everyone will maintain radio silence until the target is spotted,” he growled. “If anyone chooses to disobey those rules, I’ll issue a formal write up when we return to base.” Simon frowned and wondered what a formal write up was. He wondered if it was like a parking ticket, and they’d have it deducted from their salary. Or it they collected enough of them, maybe they got fired. Could a person even get fired from something like this? The government put a lot of money into each and every one of them, he didn’t think they’d be willing to just throw that money away because someone spoke out of turn. “Captain America,” Alexey said and Simon thought his brother was just trying to get the man riled up now. Maybe he was testing him as much as Avi was testing them. Or maybe he was just being Alexey, because the kid had never conformed to rules. Ever. “What?” Avi snapped and it was nothing like the military style of speaking he normally had. It was bitchy and irritated and Alexey was doing a fine job of pissing him off. His brother was quiet for a moment before he started back up. “Does radio silence bring you to your shun na na na na na na na knees, knees?” he sang. Simon couldn’t help it. He let out a laugh and then brought the back of his hand that held the machete to his mouth to keep it from echoing around the jungle. He heard a chuckle come from Lyle to his left and it just made him grin wider. He was glad he wasn’t in Avi’s position, though. He didn’t think he’d be able to keep his brother under control. But then again, Avi wasn’t doing a very good job at it either. Something in front of him caught his eyes and Simon slowed down, bringing the machete down in front of him and he froze for a moment, trying to peer through the thick foliage. He gently started pushing some away and was trying to quietly make his way towards whatever was in front of him. It looked like a small clearing. “Impressive use of your tongue, Romanova,” Jezibel said. So much for radio silence. Simon could almost picture Avi’s head exploding at the lack of control he had over these people. As he made his way towards the clearing, he wondered what Avi had expected. He’d come in and treated them all like they were beneath him. It was no way to win respect. Simon had respected him, simply because he was military. But that had quickly faded. He did respect his fighting abilities, however. “You should see the things I can do with it. Seriously, if you want me to show you, I would have no problem,” Alexey said, apparently also deciding Avi’s threat of a formal write up wasn’t something he rightly cared about. “It’s the most used muscle in my body.” Simon was surprised when the radio crackled with Vic’s voice next. “I believe that.” “Holy shit, Vic, you’re still here?” Alexey laughed. “I thought for sure you’d be back at the chopper downing a few beers while we’re out here doing the dirty work.” Tony’s voice finally came through. “That’s not a bad idea, Small Fry.” Apparently no one had respect for Avi’s orders. Pushing his way through the last of the foliage, Simon sucked in a breath because he had come upon a small clearing and at the center of it was a makeshift structure. A hut of some sort. There was a fire pit outside and some pots and barrels up against the side of the little lean-to. But that’s not what caught Simon’s eye. In the open doorway of the hut, someone’s arm was hanging out and he could clearly see that the arm had been detached from the rest of the body just below the elbow. He swallowed thickly and looked around, because the arm was still dripping blood. “I found a body,” he said into the radio. “Simon,” Alexey snapped. “Why are you always ruining the fun?” “Quiet!” Avi snapped and Simon didn’t need the radio to hear the man say it. He frowned and bit his lip, taking a few steps closer to the hut, his machete tucked into his belt and his hands holding his rifle out in front of him. He tipped his head to the side and peered inside the structure. He sucked in a breath because he found the rest of the body. And several others. When Avi spoke again, his voice was calmer. “Welsh, repeat.” Simon licked his lips. “There’s a hut here, with multiple bodies inside. It looks fresh.” “Everyone hold their positions,” Avi barked out the order. “Welsh, I’m coming to you.” “Copy that,” Simon said. Movement from inside the hut had his gun snapping up and his heart leaping into his throat. His eyes were wide as he stared inside, but he couldn’t make out where the movement had come from. It had just been a shadow somewhere. He steeled his quickly beating heart and then heading for the entrance to the hut, his finger tight on the trigger, ready to pull if something should jump at him. He had to side step a woman whose neck had been broken, her head facing the opposite direction it should have. Simon tried to ignore the rolling of his stomach. There was a man, who belonged to the arm in the doorway with his legs ripped off and throw onto a cot bed in the corner. There was another younger man, no older than his late teens, lying on the floor, nearly folded in half backwards and Simon wondered again what kind of shifter Alvarez was because this was gruesome and it required someone with remarkable strength and maybe Alexey wasn’t that far off when he’d called him the Hulk. A small noise from beneath the bed caught his attention and he whirled, aiming his gun beneath it. He heard the whimper and his eyes widened slightly. From outside, he could hear Avi’s machete chopping coming closer and closer. Simon just crouched down and ducked his head and he sucked in a breath because from this vantage point, he could see a pair of small feet, dirty and bloody and they were shaking. He crouched a little further and then he could see her. A small girl in torn skirts and a dirty shirt. She had blood on her feet, like she’d walked through the puddles and she was hugging her legs to her chest, her eyes wide and terrified and tears soaking her cheeks. Simon immediately pulled his gun back, slinging it over his shoulder. He kneeled and scooted closer to the bed, trying to avoid the massive amount of blood on the floor. “Hi,” he said lamely and winced because she was clearly traumatized and he didn’t think she’d come out for someone like him. “Hi there, sweetie. It’s okay,” he held out his hand to her and she shook her head violently, crying out. “Vá-se embora!” she yelled. Simon twitched his mouth. What was that, Portuguese? He swallowed and withdrew his hand, leaning down a little further and trying to keep his voice quiet and soft and as soothing as possible. “Óla,” he said and held his hands out so she could see them. “É seguro,” he tried, stumbling a little over the pronunciations, but telling her hello and that it was safe. She whimpered again. “Mamãe,” she cried for her mother, her eyes moving to the woman lying lifeless on the ground. Simon shifted so he blocked the little girl’s view of her, but it was hard because there was blood coating the floor and body parts lying around. He cringed as he thought about her hiding under the bed while she watched her family get torn apart. “É seguro,” he repeated, it’s safe. He pointed to himself. “Americano.” He bit his lip, trying to remember the right words. “Ajudar,” he said and he hoped that was the right one to tell her he was here to help. “Ajudar,” he repeated softer, holding his hands out for her again. The little girl seemed to contemplate it. Her eyes going between his open arms and his face. Finally, she must have decided he was okay because she started crawling towards him. As soon as she was out from beneath the bed, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He held her and felt his heart start beating because she was terrified, but he was glad she wasn’t among the bodies on the floor. “Welsh,” Avi’s voice snapped and the little girl tensed and then cried out. Avi appeared in the doorway and there was an angry look on his face. He took one look at the girl and then dismissed her like he could care less. “I told you to stay in position.” “She’s terrified,” Simon said softly, as to not scare the girl. “We have to get her out of here.” Avi looked down at the girl and when he spoke again, his voice was so cold and so emotionless, Simon could only stare. “She’s not part of our mission. She stays here.” .Wolfie. Vic crouched in the jungle, the machete held loosely in one hand and the other resting on her outstretched knee.It was sweltering here and she felt like there was something crawling up the back of her neck. She slapped it away and wiped it off on her black pants, eyes scanning the jungle around her. She could feel sweat trickling down the back of her neck and down her spine and she shifted uncomfortably, resisting the urge to wipe a sleeve over her face. She was tense as she waited for any sounds or sights that meant they’d found Gustavo, but this was the fucking jungle. He could be just about anywhere, and they weren’t exactly wilderness trained. She at least was a little out of her element here, but she wasn’t going to let it show. She already felt unsteady after the helicopter ride and she didn’t like the thought that right now maybe she was the weak link. She shoved that thought down and tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that chances were no one else was used to stumbling around in the jungle either. She tried to picture how Lyle was doing and the thought made her smirk because she just imagined the guy settling down under a tree and taking a nap. Maybe he was crouched under a bush doing lines of coke. The radio had gone quiet and she wondered if that was a good sign or a really bad one. Not even Romanova was talking and she had wondered if the man was even capable of shutting his mouth. Captain America had gone to investigate the bodies Welsh had found and it was almost funny that he kept finding this shit by sheer dumb luck. She heard something buzzing in her ear and swatted dully at it as she looked up at the jungle canopy above her. Were those monkeys up there? Did monkeys attack people? Were they going to fling shit at them? Honestly, as uneasy as she was in the jungle, she hoped it took them a little while to find Gustavo. She would prefer a long hunt over another chopper ride any day, because at least here she had her feet firmly on the ground and if anything happened, she could shoot at the problem. It made her smile to think about Avi losing his fucking mind trying to put up with Alexey belting Guns N’ Roses for the next eight hours. The sound of a gunshot shattered her thoughts. She jerked in surprise and stayed crouched, her eyes flicking around her as she spun in a slow circle. She wondered if they’d found Gustavo and if they had why Avi wasn’t fucking telling the rest of them. Within a moment she could hear the radio crackling to life. “Captain, what’s happening?” Givessi asked. “Hold your positions,” Avi snapped back. Vic felt the sweat begin to chill on her skin and she shifted, pulling her leg underneath her so that she could move quickly if she had to. Her heart began to beat faster in her chest and she wondered if Avi was just firing at random animals or if something interesting had happened. She slid the handgun out of its holster and kept her grip on the machete tight, her nerves firing as she waited. “Just so you know Captain, if you just shot Welsh I’m not helping you hide the body,” Lyle said. There was a dry humor in his voice but there was a long range of silence afterwards. “Simon, he didn’t just shoot you, did he?” Romanova joked, though there was an undercurrent of fear in the question. The radio was ominously silent. She was surprised at the quick range of emotion that flashed through her at that. She thought about waking up every morning for the past week to him sitting there holding two cups of coffee and a polite smile on his face and there was an ache in her gut because if he was dead then maybe she would miss that. It was followed by a surge of anger at Avi because she didn’t like the fucker and if he’d waited until they were in the middle of the jungle to shoot Welsh in the back then he was a fucking pussy. Both of those were followed by a familiar, cold detachment because she didn’t even like Welsh so why would she care if he was dead? The emotions hit her hard and then passed quickly because she didn’t have time for them. Emotions were weakness, and she needed to stay strong at all times. She tilted her head to the side and strained her ears as she tried to listen for any signs of life from her teammates. She could hear the birds over her head clearly enough as they chattered and flapped and she could hear bugs buzzing near her head. Over all of that, she thought she could hear yelling. “Avi, you fucking asshole, did you just shoot my brother?” Alexey snarled. She heard movement from her left as Romanova started cutting through the brush and heading in the direction his brother had been. He wasn’t being quiet or gentle and she snorted as he crashed through the trees on his way towards Simon. “I said hold your positions!” Avi ordered sharply, and she could hear Welsh shouting in the background before it was cut off by the radio. Apparently he wasn’t dead. Maybe wounded, but not dead. To her right she heard Tony as he started to follow Romanova and apparently no one gave a damn about Avi’s orders to hold position, so she wondered why she was still sitting there. She straightened up and swung the machete down in front of her, hacking through the jungle as she made her way towards Welsh and Captain America. She wondered if he’d shot him because he wasn’t on the radio yelling that he’d found Gustavo. She met up with Tony about fifteen feet from Simon’s last position and he only said one thing to her as he brought the machete down and hacked through a hanging vine. He reached out a hand and ripped it down easily, tossing it into the underbrush. “Captain America’s really getting on my nerves,” he grunted. She snorted and smirked. “You know if we killed him now no one would find the body,” she said, and Tony just smiled. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she heard Welsh yelling. They broke into the clearing and everyone else was already there. Lyle crouched near the edge of it, his machete resting across his knees and his eyes flicking between Welsh and Rogers. Alexey was standing close to his brother, his arms crossed as he glared at Avi. Jezibel was standing a little ways back between the two of them, hip cocked as she took in the scene. Tony moved to her side and she glanced up at him with a small smile before turning her attention back to the fight going on. Avi held his handgun in his hands and behind him she could see the hut that Welsh had found. Blood pooled on the inside of it and she could see an arm lying in the doorway. She tilted her head to study Gustavo’s work and fuck did the man have a lot of strength behind him. She felt a shiver of anticipation because now she really wanted to fight him. “We have a mission, Welsh,” Avi said coldly. “I’ll not allow you to get distracted from that.” “That’s our mission! Isn’t that what we’re trying to do here? Protect those people?” He pointed at the hut behind Avi, his face contorted with anger and sorrow. Vic watched him for a moment, holstering her gun and crouching to the earth. She’d had yet to see him this upset and she wondered what had just happened because she didn’t see any bullet holes on him. “No,” Avi told him coldly. “Our mission is to eliminate Gustavo and preserve the investment that the United States has made here. This isn’t the Peace Corp. Welsh. We’re not here for charity work.” “Charity work?” he spluttered, his jaw dropping. He shook his head and he gestured violently. “You’re a fucking murderer, Avi.” “No,” he said sharply, and his voice was cold and hard. His chest was stuck out and his eyes were narrowed and it was more in control than she’d seen him so far. She thought it was funny how he was yelling at Welsh at the time. She wondered how he’d ever gotten picked for this and she just kept thinking how Elias had said he was desperate like the rest of them. Maybe no one else had wanted the job. “I’m a soldier and so are you. I gave you a direct order and you disobeyed me. There are consequences to your actions, Welsh, and it’s time you learned that.” “What the Hell happened?” Givessi asked, shifting and trying to draw Avi’s attention. Her eyes were wide and concerned as she studied Avi but he didn’t flinch. She glanced across the clearing at Vic and she didn’t know what to tell the girl because she didn’t know what the fuck was going on either. Avi’s eyes didn’t move from Welsh and neither of them looked anxious to answer her. “I’m done,” Welsh said abruptly. He shook his head again and put his hands up. “I’m going back to the chopper, but I can’t be a part of this anymore. I’m just done.” Avi’s face darkened. “That’s a breach of contract, Welsh,” he told him. Welsh shook his head, his back already turned as he headed towards the edge of the clearing. “I don’t fucking care,” he said. Vic snorted as he walked away, her eyes narrowing. She couldn’t believe he was just walking away. She’d thought he was getting better but maybe she’d been right about him. Even if he learned how to throw a punch it didn’t mean he’d ever be a fighter or be anything other than a polo wearing monkey. Maybe he was too weak for this and she felt a little disappointed and mostly annoyed. “Way to pussy out, Welsh,” she snapped. His feet paused for only a moment and she watched his fists clench, his knuckles white. Then his head turned and he cast a glare over his shoulder at her, shaking his head in disgust. “Fuck you, Vic.” She was surprised by the venom in his voice and then he just turned around and kept walking. Avi’s arm rose and Vic sucked in a breath when she saw the gun in his hand. He cocked the hammer back and his voice was cold when he spoke. “Welsh, you will resume your position and continue this mission. That’s a direct order.” “Go fuck yourself Avi,” he said, not turning around. Then the gun shifted so that it was pointing at Romanova’s head. She heard him suck in a harsh breath and even Vic was surprised, eyes flicking to Avi’s face. There was no expression on it, he just held the gun pointed at Romanova’s head and he didn’t flinch and he didn’t blink. “Jesus fucking Christ Avi, what’s wrong with you?” Alexey asked. He held up his hands and took a step back and next to Jez she could hear Tony growling lowly in his throat. Welsh paused at the sound of his brother’s voice and he stopped to look over his shoulder. His face paled when he saw the gun pointed at his brother and his gaze flicked from one to the other. “Avi,” he said, turning around and taking a step back. “You’re problem’s with me, leave him the fuck out of it.” “When we get back, you are all receiving a formal write up for insubordination,” Rogers snapped, his gaze scanning the gathered troops. Vic snorted because that was just a little slip of paper and what the fuck did it mean anyway? Boo hoo, the other kids didn’t want to listen to me. Avi continued, his tone hard and cold as he looked at each of them one by one. “Until then, you will all obey my orders to the letter or I will consider it an act of treason and your contracts will be immediately and efficiently terminated. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” he demanded, looking directly at Welsh. Wenston Simon could only stare at Avi. He’d never felt the emotions that were running through his chest right now. There was a burning hatred and a terrible, horrible disgust settling into the pit of his stomach. He didn’t like the gun in Avi’s hands and he didn’t like the fact that it was pointed at his brother. He didn’t like thinking about that gun firing and he sure as fuck didn’t like thinking about the little girl inside the hut. He didn’t like how he’d told her it was safe. He’d told her he was there to help. He’d lead her to her death. Avi had shot her. The man had told Simon to put her down and go outside and Simon had done that. He’d followed orders and he was so fucking stupid sometimes. He should have known Avi would do something, because why would he ask Simon to leave her in the hut where her entire family had just been murdered? He should have known. He should have never let her go. Avi wasn’t a person to him anymore, he was a fucking animal. He was a murderer. He couldn’t even say why the man had done it. It didn’t make sense to Simon because she was just a little girl. She was small and helpless and not a threat at all. Any person with a heart wouldn’t have even considered hurting her or leaving her there, let alone shooting her like Avi had. He just didn’t understand. And he couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t be a part of an organization that killed defenseless children. The girl hadn’t even cried out. She’d just taken a bullet between the eyes and Simon could still see those wide, dark eyes staring up at the sky with dull detachment. And Avi still had a gun pointed at his brother. Simon took calculated steps back over to where he’d been standing a moment ago and Avi was watching him closely, his eyes narrowed. Simon couldn’t take him. He couldn’t beat him in a fight and he sure as hell couldn’t aim his gun faster than the man could shoot. So he didn’t even try. He just walked back to his spot and then shifted to the side so he was standing in front of his brother and in the line of sight of Avi’s gun. The man’s face hardened further and Simon just kept his own gaze dark and burning. No one had answered the man when he’d threatened them with a formal write up. No one had even batted an eye or looked concerned. They were all just staring at Avi like he’d lost his fucking mind. Maybe the man had. Maybe he’d lost it a long time ago. Because a sane person would never have shot a little girl in between the eyes. “You murdered a child in cold blood,” Simon said lowly and calmly, his eyes on Avi and not the gun still aimed at his head. Behind him, Alexey sucked in a breath. “He what?” he hissed. “What child?” Lyle asked from his position crouched on the ground. Simon shook his head, ignoring Lyle and he felt a swell of emotion tightening his chest because he’d told her it was safe. He’d told her he was going to help. Less than a week ago, he’d shot a man in the head. Today he’d pulled a little girl out of a bloodbath only to find out he’d been pulling her to her death. If he’d just stayed in position. If he’d just stayed outside the hut like Avi said, she would still be alive. “We’re not here to look for survivors,” Avi said coldly. “Everyone back to their positions, we’re resuming our mission.” “How hard would it have been to take her to the chopper?” Simon said quietly. A flare of anger passed across Avi’s face and then he was stalking across the ground towards him. Behind him, he could hear Alexey suck in a breath and then let out a small cry as Avi pressed the gun against Simon’s forehead. He heard Lyle mutter something and he couldn’t see what the others were doing or if they even cared, but Simon didn’t. If the man wanted to pull the trigger, he couldn’t stop him. But at least it was pointed at him now instead of his little brother. “You are not in command of this unit,” Avi hissed, his face close to Simon’s and the gun pressing harshly into his forehead. “You are not paid to make decisions or have a conscience. You’re paid to do your job and your job is to follow my orders. Now, Welsh, if following orders is too much of a task for you, I can terminate your contract right here and now.” Alexey’s hand was suddenly on Simon’s arm and his brother gave a startled, “Whoa, hey.” Avi didn’t look away and Simon didn’t tear his eyes from the man either. “That’s not necessary. Look, he just gets a little emotional in the field, is all. He’s getting better though, doing really good lately, right Vic?” Alexey asked, turning to look at the woman, standing somewhere behind them. There was a moment where she didn’t say anything and if Vic was always yelling at Simon that she could feel him staring, he thought he knew what that feeling was now. He could feel her gaze on the back of his head and he wondered what she thought about Avi holding a gun to his head. He wondered if she would even care if he got shot right here and now or if she really was as cold as she considered herself to be. He wondered why he was thinking about her now, and why he cared what she thought. She’d made it clear they weren’t friends and that they would never be friends. Maybe he should just accept that. And maybe he should just accept that Avi was a child murderer. “Yeah,” came Vic’s quiet, bitter answer and he couldn’t tell if she meant it or not. He thought about her yelling at him for turning around and wanting to leave and he wondered if that pissed her off. It shouldn’t have. If she really didn’t care about him, or hated him that much, she should have been encouraging him on to leave. “You see!” Alexey said, his voice rising. “He’s getting better. You can lower the gun, it’s no problem. He’ll do what you say, won’t you Simon?” Avi’s face hardened as he waited for Simon’s answer, but Simon didn’t open his mouth. He pictured himself grabbing the gun and turning it on Avi and he didn’t know if he could actually shoot the man like that, but he was considering it. “Jesus Christ, Simon, just fucking say yes,” Alexey spat, his voice scared. A condescending smirk twitched up Avi’s lips and Simon could tell the man wanted him to say no. He could tell the man was itching to pull the trigger. Then Avi was asking, “This is the last time I’ll ask, will you follow my orders?” He was still quiet and Alexey’s hand tightened on his arm before he growled out, “Simon!” “Yes,” he finally answered, his voice cold and dark and his eyes dull. The gun was still tight against his forehead and Avi almost looked disappointed. Then a sneer curled across the man’s face. “Yes what?” Simon knew the man was trying to assert him dominance and he took a steadying breath. “Yes I will follow your orders, Captain.” Avi smirked again and then withdrew the gun. “Good,” he said simply. Behind him, Alexey let out a long breath and ended it with a breathy, “Jesus.” Avi looked at the others finally. “Everyone back into position,” he demanded. When no one moved, his face darkened and his voice rose, “Now!” They started spreading back out and Alexey came around front of Simon, his eyes wide and scared. Simon just brought his hand up to grasp the back of Alexey’s neck and then he shoved him back towards his position. His brother gave a wry smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Simon watched him go and then he turned and he noticed Vic lingering, her eyes watching him coolly. He didn’t smile at her, for once, and he didn’t even bother trying to avert his gaze or back down from her. Instead, he snapped, “Sorry for pussying out,” and it was bitter and broken and he couldn’t read the look on her face when he said it. She didn’t like apologies and she didn’t like weakness and she had no reason to like him because he was full of both. .Wolfie. The radio was deathly silent.There came a point where Vic almost wondered if she wasn’t alone in the jungle, except she could still hear the steady hacking of vines and brush from Tony and Alexey on either side of her. Alexey was the quietest she’d ever heard him and she didn’t know if that was because he’d almost gotten shot in the head or because his brother had almost gotten shot for him. She didn’t understand Welsh. She didn’t understand a single thing about him because he was weak. She knew he was weak, she’d seen him fight and he was better, but still not great because he hesitated and didn’t want to hit her first. He drove a fucking Lexus and wore his polo shirts and did yoga with rich housewives and there wasn’t a single thing about him that spoke of strength. Her pops had taught her what strength was. He’d taught her not to cry when she got hit and to fucking deal with it when she had a nightmare. He’d taught her how to fire a gun and use a knife. Pops had been everything she’d ever needed to know about strength. Those were the lessons she’d learned all her life and she knew them like the back of her hand. She knew how to recognize weakness and weakness was things like apologies and guilt and attachment. Those things were stupid and useless and got people hurt and killed and they were going to get Welsh killed too because he had all of that weakness. So she didn’t understand how he could stand there and have a gun pressed to his forehead and not flinch and have to be told to say the words that wouldn’t get him shot. Vic understood survival. She understood that above all else. She’d had to sign away five years of her life and put herself on this fucking leash just to get out of prison because she’d understood that she wouldn’t survive in there. So she didn’t understand what the fuck was worth putting his head in that line of fire for. She wouldn’t have died for pops. She wasn’t happy he was dead, but she wouldn’t have died for him. He would have told her it was fucking stupid and weak because there was nothing and no one on this earth worth dying for. Then there was Avi. She wasn’t sure if she thought he was out of his mind, or that it was about fucking time he grew a pair. She thought about that hut as she sliced through the leaves. She thought about the body parts she could see through the doorway and she wondered how Welsh had handled finding that. She wondered if he’d thrown up and she wondered why the fuck she cared how he reacted because he was weak and confusing and it was easier to just dislike him. It was easier than to think about the cold look in his eyes when he’d snapped at her and it was easier than thinking that she liked him better when he wasn’t afraid of her. “Sound off,” Rogers snapped, and Vic was startled by the sound because it had been quiet for so long. She brought down the machete to saw through a vine and she listened to everyone respond one by one until it was her turn. Everyone was still here. She was almost surprised that Welsh hadn’t turned and taken off back to the helicopter, but maybe she was glad. She didn’t want Avi to win. She could hear running water somewhere ahead of her and she wondered if they were getting close to the river. She wondered how long they’d been walking and if they just hadn’t found Gustavo yet or if they’d passed right by him. Maybe he wasn’t anywhere near here and they were just blundering around in the jungle for the fucking fun of it. “We’re approaching the river,” Avi told them, his voice hard and clipped. Vic rolled her eyes because they could probably all hear it by now, he was just trying to act like the fucking man in charge. Did he forget they all had guns too? “Everyone stay alert.” The trees stopped abruptly about five minutes after he said it, and she just froze in her steps. There was a waterfall rushing over a broken slab of rocks into the river about twenty feet below. Vines and trees tried to stretch their way across it and she watched as a monkey ran and jumped across the treetops and took off somewhere on the other side. The brush extended past her feet and some of it kept climbing down the rocky walls towards the river. It was a steep incline and she hoped he wasn’t going to make them try and scramble down there because she’d gone swimming on the last mission. She wondered if there were piranhas in there. She wondered if they were going to find out and she wondered if anyone would mind if Avi accidently got knocked in there with them. She snorted and almost smiled and then it was gone just as quickly because maybe Elias would be annoyed and then she thought about dumping fucking Elias into a river full of piranhas. Her gaze rose and she glanced to her right and left. She could see movement along the tree line as they emerged on the edge of the river and then she heard the radio crackling to life. “What kind of shifter is he?” Welsh asked, his voice short and clipped and still so cold. She felt a shiver run down her spine and she rubbed at her arms, crouching at the edge of the incline. She toyed with the machete in her hands, using it to flatten down the brush and not think about how she liked it when Welsh sounded all demanding and in charge. There was a long drawn out silence and Vic smirked as she wondered whether Avi was just being a bitch because he wanted to surprise them or because he realized he was the moron that hadn’t even told them they might be looking for a toucan or something. Then the radio crackled again. “Gorilla,” he snapped. Vic played with the machete in her hands and waited for the King Kong joke that she swore Romanova had to be holding onto, but it never came. He at least had looked terrified to die. She wondered if positions were reversed if Alexey would have stepped in front of a gun for Welsh and she didn’t understand Simon at all. She would think later that it was bullshit that something so big could move so quietly. She crouched at the edge of the river and glanced over towards where Alexey was leaning his head out so that he could see into the water and beyond him Avi was staying in the shadows while he considered their next move. No one wanted to open their mouths and ask him because he’d been a prick about his radio silence and at this point maybe he would just shoot the next person to ask a fucking question. Vic always knew when someone was staring at her and maybe that was the only reason she turned around. She felt that feeling start between her shoulders and then she heard a quiet crunch on the brush behind her so she tilted her head back to look and felt all the brush leave her lungs in a rush. He was fucking massive. He was the biggest god damned anything she’d ever seen because pops had never taken her to the zoo as a kid and she’d only seen animals that big on National Geographic. Her eyes widened as they focused on him and he was already charging towards her, snapping trees out of his way. His head was huge and his jaw was jutted out, his eyes dark black holes in his head. Each arm was probably as big as her and he was covered in dark black fur. That was all she had time to register and then she was moving because one giant fist was swinging out towards her. A startled cry left her lips and she threw herself backwards in a roll, her feet skidding against the rocks and the brush as she started to slide down the incline. She caught herself with her fingertips but she’d dropped the machete and it skidded back towards the river. She thought she heard shouting but the only thing she could focus on was Gustavo Alvarez as he rose up on his hind legs. Those shoulders were ridiculously huge, and then he was pounding his fists against his chest as he roared. Gunshots went off from next to her but she didn’t spare a glance in their direction. Gustavo did. His head rose as bright red bullet holes struck his flesh and then he was roaring and charging to her right. She sucked in a harsh gasp because it had been Tony shooting at him and then his meaty arm was striking him hard in the chest. He crashed hard against a tree and she heard it snap behind Bruno before he slumped hard to the ground. Gustavo leaned his head down and then opened his mouth in a roar, his teeth sharp and stained with blood as he screamed into Tony’s face. Controlling the shifter shape had been part of their basic training program, and it was one of the few things they’d had to teach her that she’d actually paid attention to. Changing form didn’t seem like one of those things a person could get used to, but they’d had to and quickly because it was the whole reason any of them were here. She always started with her teeth first, because that was the first thing she’d always noticed changing. She was still going through the process when she pushed herself off the rocks and started running back towards Gustavo. If guns wouldn’t work, maybe something a little sharper would. She launched herself at his back, claws digging into his ribs as she dragged herself up towards his head. She heard him roar underneath him and then the world was shifting and moving beneath her as he reached up to haul her off. She sunk her teeth down into his neck and the roaring turned into screaming before she felt his hand close around her ribs. There was blood bursting in his mouth that was his and then her teeth were tearing loose from his flesh as he threw her back towards the river. She hit the ground hard, tucking and rolling as she went, but the rocks still ripped through her shirt and shredded the skin on her arms and her knees. She felt her head and her knees crack hard against the ground and then she was sliding to a stop. Somewhere over her head she heard more guns going off but for that moment she couldn’t move. There was blood trickling off onto the dirt next to her and about ten feet away she could see the drop off where the ground broke off into the river. A little farther and maybe she’d be finding out if there were piranhas. “Aim for his eyes!” Avi ordered, and she forced herself to her knees, lifting her head to find out what was happening. Avi had his M-4 clasped tightly in his hands and he was firing round after round at Gustavo. He turned and threw himself back into the trees where the bullets struck wood instead of him and she could only see brief flashes of black as he threaded himself through the forest. Givessi had her Glock in hand and she was taking careful steps back towards Vic’s position, watching for any break and Gustavo to come charging back out at them. She lifted her head farther and she could see Lyle fiddling with something on the ground and beyond him Welsh stood with his gun up and his back to Vic. She wondered if he was scared. “You still with us, sweetie?” Givessi asked, casting a quick glance over her shoulder. Vic managed a smirk, lifting her hand to wipe the blood from her chin and then just flipped her off in response. She laughed and then turned to watch the black shape moving in the jungle, sliding back towards her position. Alexey was crouching by Tony and he was slapping at his face. “Come on big guy,” he said. “No way should King Kong beat the Incredible Hulk.” Wenston The first thing Simon thought when he saw the Gorilla shifter was that they were not at all prepared for Gustavo Alvarez. If they hadn’t been prepared for Costas DeFranco, they sure as hell weren’t prepared for something like this guy. He was huge. He was more than huge. He was a monster of a man and not in the same way that Simon had just got done thinking about Avi. This was girth and strength and being massively overpowered to the point where bullets were like bee stings. This was something they should have planned for, other than just find and destroy. Simon made sure to keep an eye on his brother the entire time, because Alexey was fast and he was agile, but if Gustavo did manage to grab him, all he’d have to do was squeeze and his brother would be mush. Alexey was still bent over Tony, whose eyes were fluttering, his arms moving sluggishly up to his head. Alexey was being careless because he was focusing too much on the man on the ground instead of the man lurking in the trees. Gustavo had swung himself up into the canopy and he could move pretty well through the forest for being something so huge. He was moving back to where Jezibel stood blocking Vic, who was still kneeling on the ground. She had shifted into her wolf form and so far, other than Gustavo, she was the only one who had. He hoped he wouldn’t have to. He knew it was probably inevitable, but he’d never liked it, the shifting. He never liked feeling his skin and bones and muscle changing and he never liked the idea that he wasn’t human anymore. He was something different. Something that science had created and something that went against the natural order of things. He’d never been a very religious person, but he did believe in God. God had seen it fit to give him cancer, and technology had seen it fit to say “hell no.” Simon still hadn’t really come to terms with that whole concept. And shifting reminded him of that. Avi was firing away, but at this point he was wasting bullets, losing them to the trees. Gustavo was being careful, he was sliding through the branches and around the tree trunks and he was roaring and grunting and he didn’t sound human at all. He was heading back to where Vic was still kneeling on the ground and Simon tried to tell himself that she could take care of herself and he shouldn’t worry about the blood on her lips or her head or her knees and arms. They were scrapes and cuts and she was fine. She was a lot stronger than he was. She’d said so many times. He didn’t like to see her bleed. Simon turned around and he started heading back towards a spot that was between Vic and Alexey. He came a few steps away from Lyle before the man’s head shot up and he held up a hand. “Go around, Rambo,” Lyle drawled and Simon stared at the man, wondering where the nickname came from because he wasn’t a freaking Rambo, and then his eyes went to the ground and what Lyle was messing with down around there. It looked like a tripwire and he followed it to a small clump of what looked like clay that had been wedged against a tree. “What is that?” Simon asked. Lyle grinned up at him. “Kaboom,” he said simply. A sudden yell from Avi had Simon’s gaze snapping up towards their leader. Gustavo had swung down right in front of him and Avi had shifted into his lion form. Golden fur covered his skin and he had his mouth open, exposing sharp, jagged teeth as he roared at the Gorilla shifter. He had abandoned his M-4 and instead, was attempting to go hand to hand with Gustavo. The Gorilla shifter swung a massive arm towards Avi, which he ducked beneath and then turned and grabbed, sinking his teeth deep into the flesh above the elbow. Gustavo let loose a massive yell and Simon was heading towards them because as much as he couldn’t stand Avi right now, they were still a team and the man was still their leader. From the corner of his eye, he could see Alexey helping Tony stand up, the man already shifting into his Bull form and massive horns grew from his head, his muscles doubling in size. He was a giant shifted, but still no match for Gustavo’s size. The Gorilla shifter reached his other arm around and wrapped a hand around the back of Avi’s neck, yanking the lion shifter off of his arm, disregarding the teeth dug into his skin or the chunks of flesh they pulled out when Gustavo pulled him away. Avi’s hands came up to grab onto the fingers wrapped around his neck and then he gave a guttural cry as Gustavo slammed him to the ground. Simon cursed and raised his gun, aiming for Gustavo’s head, but the Gorilla brought Avi back up and in the line of fire and Simon snarled. Gustavo flung Avi towards Tony, who’d been charging at the man and the two collided, then tilted to the ground. Avi lay there and Tony tried to untangle himself. Gustavo was moving again, dismissing those two as threats and he headed towards Alexey. Simon felt his heart beating loudly in his chest. Red and white fur sprouted along Alexey’s skin and then his brother was jumping back out of the reach of Gustavo. Jezibel was rushing forward, not yet shifted, and she was firing her glock at the man’s face. He roared at her and batted out towards her. She tried to step aside, but the Gorilla shifter’s hand closed around her hair and she gave a startled yelp as he tugged her backwards. She dropped her guns, her hands coming to her hair because from this position, it wouldn’t be hard for Gustavo to snap her neck. Alexey gave an angry yell and with his machete still in his hand, he leapt forward onto Gustavo’s back and plunged the knife down into his shoulder blade. Gustavo screamed, flinging Jezibel like she was a doll to the side and his hands came up to try and grab Alexey off his back. Simon could only hear his heart beating and his breath coming in ragged, harsh gasps because Gustavo’s hand closed around one of Alexey’s arms and then he was hurling his brother clear away from him. Alexey smacked into a tree with a crunch and when he fell to the ground, he shifted back into his human form and lay there groaning. The Gorilla shifter moved like he was going to go after Alexey some more, but Vic had reentered the fray, her teeth clamping down on Gustavo’s leg. He roared, slamming his fists into his chest once and then tried to hit her. She ducked out of the way, her claws raking across his calves but she was doing little more than drawing bloody lines on his skin. She gave a startled yell when one of Gustavo’s feet caught her in the ribs, flipping her onto her back. It was hard to explain the reaction Simon had when he saw Gustavo raise his hands high in the air, preparing to bring them down on top of Victoria Wolfe and end that name and that life right there. They weren’t friends. They never would be because she had said it so many times. She didn’t care about him and she hardly smiled sincerely at him and she thought he was weak and pathetic and not worth her time. He didn’t know why he tried so hard around her because nothing he’d ever do would be enough for her and he didn’t know why that bothered him so much. Maybe he just liked bringing her coffee in the morning. The Shift came whether he agreed with it or not. He didn’t have time to guess or question the morals of the science behind this power. Gustavo had his hands raised and Simon had been running towards the Gorilla shifter as he watched this fight play out and now he was there and not his knife, nor his glock, nor his M-4 were going to bring this thing down or stop him from crushing Vic to a bloody pulp. But even if basic training had still left him a weak fighter, it had done one thing right and showed him how to use what science had given him. Black fur formed along his skin. His teeth elongated and his face morphed into the snout of a panther. His muscles bulked and he felt his bones and his skin and his flesh shift and bend and shape and then he was giving a roar and he was blocking out the others. He was blocking out Alexey gingerly picking himself up off the ground. He ignored Tony who was trying to shake awake an unconscious Avi. He ignored Jezibel as she cradled an injured arm to her chest and he ignored Lyle, who was slowly making his way back towards them and the way he’d almost stayed out of the fight completely. He focused on Gustavo and Vic and stopping what was about to happen. His teeth sunk into the soft spot between Gustavo’s neck and shoulder. The Gorilla immediately abandoned the descent of his massive arms and Simon reached around his massive head to rake his claws across Gustavo’s face. He let go just as quickly as he had attacked and he ignored the way Vic was staring at him as he backed away from Gustavo, bent and with the taste of the man’s blood in his mouth. Gustavo had turned around and was slapping at his own face because Simon had done a pretty good job of clawing it up. Then the man’s wild, vicious eyes were following on him and Simon encouraged the shifter by letting out a feral cat roar. It seemed to get the effect he wanted. The hackles rose of Gustavo’s back and then he snorted with rage, slamming his fists into his chest and then charging. Simon turned and ran and he knew what it looked like. It looked like he was scared and trying to run away and maybe a part of him thought that wasn’t such a bad idea, but the other part of him was just trying to remember where the fuck Lyle had put that tripwire. He found out a moment later is it glinted in the faint sunlight seeping down through the canopy. He leapt over it at the last minute and ran a few more yards before he crouched low and whirled, watching Gustavo close in on him. From behind the Gorilla shifter, he heard Lyle yell, “Keep running you idiot!” He wasn’t sure why. Then Gustavo tripped the wire and he found out. The blast blinded him with dirt and debris and he felt something hard snap sharply against his forehead. He fell backwards and there was a shrill ringing in his ears. Aside from that, he couldn’t hear a thing. He lay dazed for a moment, the world tipping and tilting around him as he tried to blink himself back into focus. He tried to roll over to his hands and knees and it was clumsy, but he managed to push himself up. He didn’t know what happened to Gustavo and he wondered if it was too much to hope that he’d been blown to pieces. He coughed and looked over his shoulder, blinking through the smoke and settling dust. He could see Gustavo’s massive form lying on the ground. He watched the shifter and he wondered if he was dead. But then the massive lump moved and his Gorilla head rose, blood leaking from its nose and mouth and he shook himself. He was hurt, but he wasn’t dead. And he was looking right at Simon. .Wolfie. Vic could smell burning hair.The explosion had set a patch on Gustavo’s leg on fire and it was still burning dully. She had a moment to hope he was dead because he wasn’t moving and there were chunks of burning wood scattered across the ground. There had been a blast of light and then she’d been showered with dirt and bits of wood as the tree exploded. Now Gustavo was lying on the ground in a massive and bloody heap and she hoped he stayed down because she wasn’t excited about going another round with him. He’d hurt her badly and she was trying not to pay attention to that right now because otherwise she would realize how much she fucking hurt. That moment was followed up by a weird sort of anxiety in her chest because if he was dead maybe Welsh was too. She didn’t understand him. She didn’t understand why he would defend her like that. Maybe he was just trying to complete the mission. She didn’t understand a single fucking thing about him and she was confused and she was anxious because she didn’t want him to be dead. She’d thought he was running away. She’d thought he was pussying out on her. She’d thought he was running away because he got scared and was going back to the helicopter or anywhere else far away from here and she hadn’t liked that. She hadn’t liked that he would turn his back on her and she didn’t understand that feeling because she didn’t get attached. She pushed herself to her feet, skin throbbing painfully from where she had scraped over the ground. There was blood in her mouth and some of it was hers and some of it was Gustavo’s but not enough of the second one. Her claws clicked against the stone as she made her way over towards Welsh and King Kong and she hoped he was dead. Behind her she could hear movement and she could smell the fear and unease and it reminded her that she couldn’t have room for those things. Then Gustavo moved. A snort came from his nostrils as he lifted his head and she felt her heart slam against the inside of her rib cage. A rumble came up from his chest and then she saw his giant arms rise as he began to push himself upright and how the fuck was he still breathing? He’d been clawed up and shot up and had chunks ripped out of his neck and scratches across his face and he was still going. He’d had a fucking tree blow up on him and now the damned ape was still pushing himself to his feet, arms hanging at his sides. His head rose and then he swung a giant meaty fist towards whatever was in front of him. She heard the tree smash under the blow and then she was running forward because the only thing over there was Welsh. Her ribs protested as she moved but she ignored the pain because pain was for the weak and she didn’t have time to be weak. Somewhere behind her she heard shouting and then Jez’s Glock was going off again like tiny bee stings in Gustavo’s back. He waved a hand behind him, trying to brush them off and then he brought his fist down on the ground. It sent a rumble through the earth and the trees next to him split, running all the way up the center. She heard a loud, crack and then a vicious cat’s growl and by then she was almost on top of him and she was launching herself at Gustavo’s back. Her nails dug into his spine and then her jaws were snapping out and closing around whatever she could reach. He screamed as her jaws sank into his skin and then he was whirling, arms pawing at his back to try and scrape her off. He took a stumbling step back and she caught a flash of black as Simon lunged at his front. Gustavo howled as they tore at him, Vic clinging to the flesh on his shoulder and Simon tearing at the front of him. She could barely see anything but red and black and then she felt thick fingers curling around his ribs. She felt them bruise and she crushed her jaws shut tighter around his flesh. Then he was ripping her off him and hurling her across the ground. She struck the tree hard, and she hoped it was the fucking tree she heard breaking instead of her back because then she was hitting the ground with a hard thump. For a moment she couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t move, all the air crushed right out of her lungs as she lay on the dirt. Her head was pounding and dizzy and she felt weak as she bled out onto the earth. She felt her shape retreating and she focused dimly on the body lying across from her. Avi was lying not far from her, his eyes closed and blood coming from his head. Beyond him, Lyle was crouching and juggling something between his hands as he watched. Jez’s eyes were wide as she tried to get a shot off at Gustavo and then Romanova was stepping up next to her, his Glock raised in his hands and his face pale. She couldn’t see Tony, but she thought he was alright wherever he was. He wasn’t a runner and he was too big to go down so easy. And then there was Welsh, the only one still in the thick of it and he was tearing at Gustavo’s throat, his claws digging into his skin and drawing thick bloody lines. She was just lying there, taking it all in. There was blood running off her skin and that shouldn’t have been enough to stop her but then she closed her eyes and she saw her father lying dead across the carpet from her and when she opened her eyes again all she could see was an unconscious Rogers and she could hear Gustavo letting loose a guttural roar as his hands wrapped around Welsh. He looked like he was about to be ripped apart. Gustavo had one meaty fist around his neck and the other around his waist and his fingers tightened as he got ready to shred. Bullets burst in his hand and Alexey was screaming as he stepped forward, the gun going off in his head. Gustavo’s head whipped towards him and he threw Welsh off to the side instead. He skidded off the stone and stopped not far from the edge, his claws bloodied and his muzzle coated in blood. She thought that would be it for him. She thought he was down and was going to stay down and then he was pushing himself back to his feet. Then Lyle’s arm was moving and something bright and white was bursting at Gustavo’s feet. Vic had to duck her head against it because it was blinding in her vision. Her hand scrubbed over her eyes and then she lifted her head, trying to blink away the spots in her vision. He took a stumbling step backwards and he was right near the edge now, his hands scrubbing at his face because there was light and smoke in his eyes. She found out in the next second where Tony had gone off to because he was suddenly charging from her left, his head down and his horns out. She heard his hooves thundering against the stone and then he was slamming hard into Gustavo’s side. He roared, his arms flailing wildly as he began to tip off the edge. His hand snapped out and she saw his giant fingers curl around the edge, blood pulsing off his face from the jagged lines that Welsh had left in his skin. His arm came up and he started to pull himself upright and then Tony was slamming his hooves down hard on those massive fingers. Vic braced herself against the ground, pushing herself upright with shaking limbs as she started to drag her way away from the trees. Gustavo howled and then his hand rose and he pawed towards Tony. The bull shifter backed away, his nostrils flared and his tail thrashing from side to side as he dodge the meaty fingers trying to grab for him. She heard the rocks cracking a second before they gave out, and then the edge of the cliff was breaking and sliding into the river. She heard Gustavo roaring. She heard him howling as he reached for anything to keep himself from falling. Tony snorted and backed away, the ground crumbling underneath him and then he was turning and running from the edge. Vic limped weakly towards the edge of the trees but she couldn’t get herself to go any farther. Alexey and Jez stumbled back as the rocks cracked and broke. Then she focused on Welsh. He was too close to the edge and she felt that strange anxiety rising in her throat, her feet carrying her forward before she knew she was moving. Lyle had his hands hooked under Avi and he was dragging him back towards the trees and Welsh was running, the rocks cracking beneath his feet as he ran. He shouldn’t have made it and he should have been falling and dying like Gustavo was but then he was pushing his back legs against the ground and he was leaping. She saw his claws hook in the edge as he tried to hold himself up and she heard Alexey shouting and yelling for his brother and then she was in front of him. One hand wrapped around a massive paw and the other reached down and gripped the scruff of his neck. She didn’t know what she thought she was going to accomplish. She was strong but she didn’t think she was strong enough to lift a fucking panther, but she was trying anyway because it was Welsh and he had saved her and he shouldn’t have. She had told him he was weak and worthless and would get them all killed a thousand times but she was alive because of him and she didn’t understand. But she wanted to. He did most of the work himself, pulling himself up off the edge of the cliff. His claws left furrows in the rock and she kept pulling on him because she didn’t want him to fall to his death. He shifted as soon as he was back on solid ground again and she found herself with a hand fisted in the back of his shirt instead. For a minute she couldn’t get herself to let go. For a minute she just clung to the black fabric to keep herself grounded and understand that he wasn’t in danger of falling or dying now. He was panting as he kneeled on the dirt, blood dripping from his mouth and pooling beneath his hands and she couldn’t get herself to let go of his shirt. Not until Alexey hit the ground next to her. Not until he reached down and put his hands on Welsh’s shoulders. “Are you okay?” he demanded and then Vic got her fingers to release. She sat back hard but she pushed herself up almost immediately because she couldn’t just sit and be weak anymore. He’d had to save her. She’d called him weak and worthless and he’d had to save her and what did that make her? She rubbed at her arms and she couldn’t focus on the rest of the team as she stood and stared off the edge of the cliff to the river below. Gustavo lay there at the bottom and she could barely see him because he wasn’t a gorilla anymore. He was just a man, covered in blood and dirt. He hung off the edge of a rock and he looked battered and broken and twisted. She stood and watched as the river washed over him and then claimed his body and carried him away. Wenston It had been a long ride home. Tony had to carry Avi half the way, but the man had woken up before they got back to the helicopter. It was a lot different ride out of Brazil than it had been going in. It had quiet and somber and Simon wondered if all of their missions were going to be like this. If things were always going to end with them accomplishing what they needed to accomplish, but having to go through a giant clusterfuck to get there. He hoped not. He didn’t know how much more of this he could handle. When they’d gotten back to the compound, they’d gone to the infirmary first thing. Tony was given ice for his head, Avi had to have stitches put in his temple and his ribs wrapped. Jezibel had her left arm in a sling to limit movement of her elbow, which she’d strained. Alexey managed to escape with just bruises and Lyle didn’t have a damn scratch on him. Vic looked the worse and he wondered how he felt about that. Her elbows and knees were bandaged. She had butterfly stitches on her head and her ribs were wrapped from where Gustavo had kicked her. He supposed it could have been worse. Simon himself had some nice bruising around his waist that looked completely unhealthy but they’d said there was no internal bleeding. He had more bruising around his neck and there was one dark bruise across his forehead where a stray piece of wood had caught him when Gustavo had tripped the bomb. Now they were waiting to debrief. Probably to receive their formal write ups, because according to Avi, they were all going to get one. He didn’t really care. They were all sitting in the hallway in chairs outside of Elias’ office and no one was really saying anything, not even Alexey. The kid looked tired for once. Simon wondered if he was tired of almost watching his brother die. He’d done it a lot recently. The door to the office opened and they looked towards it. Tony emerged and he’d been the first one called into the office. He didn’t look any worse for the wear and he gave a friendly smile to all of them before he took his seat next to Alexey. There was a slip of paper in his hand but they all looked towards Elias, who emerged after the man. “Avi,” Elias said and motioned for him to come in without another word. It was the first time Simon had seen Elias without a smug smirk or chide comment. Avi stood and his face was cold and hard as he followed Elias into the office and the door closed behind them. Finally, Alexey broke the silence as he turned to Tony. “Well, what’s the news big guy?” Tony shrugged. “They gave me a write up,” Tony said and it looked like the man was sincerely disappointed by that. Simon smiled lightly to himself because Tony was a good guy. He was honest and sincere. Beside him, Vic was sitting quietly with her arms over her chest. She was slumped in the chair and she was being unusually broody and quiet, but Simon wasn’t pushing. They weren’t friends. Even if she had held a death grip on him when she was pulling him up over the edge of the cliff. He wanted to thank her. But he thought maybe that would be taken as weakness. “I’ve never been written up for anything before,” Tony said, his lips curling downwards. “Aww,” Alexey said and reached a hand out to place it on Tony’s shoulder, a smile coming to his face. “There, there. It’s just a slip of paper, it doesn’t mean anything, really.” Tony sighed. “And two week’s pay.” “What?” Alexey and Lyle squawked at the same time. Simon glanced at the blonde man, sitting next to Tony. Jezibel gave a soft laugh from her place next to Simon. Alexey’s eyes narrowed. “How dare they. That’s our bar money. I guess we’ll have to pass on those wings this week, huh?” “No, we’ll still have wings,” Tony nodded his head. Alexey sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Bitchzilla will come too.” Simon titled his head to look at Victoria. She narrowed her eyes slightly at Alexey, like this was his fault and then her eyes shot to Simon and he was surprised that she actually looked away first. He wondered what that meant and if she was really mad at him for something or if she was thinking how weak he was because he’d almost fallen off the cliff. He hadn’t meant to get flung that way. He hadn’t meant for a lot of things to happen. The door opened again and this time Elias came out alone. His eyes came to Simon. “Welsh, come in, please,” he said, his face sober for once. Simon let out a slow breath and then stood up, his hand on his stomach because he had Gorilla sized fingerprints there. He wondered why Avi wasn’t coming out and he didn’t think that meant anything good. “Good luck, bro,” Alexey called and Simon glanced at him because he wasn’t acting like himself. He was being too quiet and sincere and there wasn’t enough pizzazz to his jokes. Alexey was looking at him worriedly and so Simon flipped him off and that brought a huge grin to his face. He shook his head and then Simon disappeared into the office. Avi stood by Elias’ desk. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a bitter look on his face. Simon looked to Elias for instructions and the man moved pass him, going to sit at the desk. He held a hand out, motioning for Simon to sit down. He moved over to the chair, but stood behind it, holding his hands behind his back. “I think I’ll just stand, if that’s alright,” he said, eyes on Elias. The man quirked a brow and finally that smug smirk was back on his face. “Of course,” Elias said, smiling at him. “Mr. Welsh,” Elias pulled a form from a stack of papers to his right and then he looked up at him. “Captain Rogers is filing a form write up about your insubordination on the Alvarez mission. He says you, above all others, had shown significant disregard for his authority and command.” Simon let out a slow breath and then tilted his head up, but he kept his mouth shut. Elias smiled a little, his eyes staying locked on Simon’s. “Can you tell me what happened in Pará, Mr. Welsh?” Simon shifted his stance slightly and swallowed because he knew what Elias was talking about without having to be told. He glanced to Avi, who was staring at him coldly and then he tore his eyes away from the captain and back to Elias. “I disobeyed orders to hold my position, disagreed with the Captain’s tactics on dealing with civilian survivors and alluded to my resignation of my position on the team, sir,” he said calmly and he saw Elias’ eyes widen ever so slightly, like he was surprised the words were coming from Simon’s mouth. To be honest, so was Simon. Elias’ mouth twitched up. “In the Captain’s report, it says you reacted poorly to the collateral damage of the mission.” Anger spiked across Simon’s face and he squared his jaw. “That collateral damage was a child,” he spat, his eyes going to Avi, who still looked cool and cold. “So yes, I reacted poorly to the Captain’s decision to shoot her in the head.” “Do you acknowledge that she was a threat to the success of the mission?” Elias asked, tilting his head slightly as he watched Simon for a reaction. “No I do not acknowledge that, sir,” Simon said with a shake of his head. Elias’ brow furrowed slightly. “Do you consider your emotional attachment regarding the collateral damage as being a contributing factor to the poor execution of this mission?” Simon couldn’t help the small scoff that escaped his lips. “No sir, I do not.” “What do you think the contributing factors were, then?” Elias asked. His eyes flickered to Avi and he knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that if he opened his mouth now, it was going to come back to bite him. But he had to. A little girl had died. Alexey had almost died. Vic had almost died. They’d all almost died and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He just couldn’t. “Poor leadership, sir,” he said firmly. A look of surprise passed across Elias’ face, like he couldn’t believe Simon would say such a thing. Maybe Simon was a little surprised too. He saw Avi’s face darken and the man was glaring daggers at him. Elias leaned back in his chair, hand coming to his chin and he looked like he was curious and entertained by this. “Do you care to explain yourself, Mr. Welsh?” He opened his mouth to do just that, but Avi cut in suddenly. “Elias,” he snapped and Simon watched the man slowly turn his head to look at Avi. The lion shifter was practically growling where he stood. “Welsh is not a soldier. He’s never been on an ops team and has no field experience except for what he has gained here. I don’t think his opinion of leadership will be accurate.” Simon licked his lips and said, “It doesn’t take a soldier to recognize poor leadership, Avi.” Avi’s face contorted and then he was leaning onto the desk, pointing a finger at Simon. “How would you know it’s poor leadership if you fail to follow the orders I give you?” Simon sighed and looked back at Elias, because even if he didn’t really like or trust the man, he seemed to be the sensible one right now. “I don’t know why I was chosen to be on this team,” he said and he saw Elias get ready to say something, but Simon continued before he could. “But I’m on it. I am the weak link. I know it, and now everyone else knows it too. But it shouldn’t have taken them two missions to find that out,” he said, eyes locked on Elias, who raised an eyebrow at him. “This is a team, and today was the first time I knew Liddle was good with explosives. It’s the first time any of us have seen each other shift and it’s the first time we’ve been together, fighting something, as a team.” “It’s called field training, Welsh,” Avi snapped, his face red. Simon shook his head. “No, it’s called poor leadership, Avi. Before we even left the room the first time we all met, we should have known what each other’s strengths and weaknesses were. We should have known how we worked together as a team. A good leader coordinates the missions based on those strengths and weaknesses.” Elias watched Simon coolly for a moment, his eyes narrowed. Then he turned to look at Avi. “Do you know your teams’ strength and weaknesses, Avi?” Avi stood up straight, his jaw jutted at Simon. “It’s too early to make an accurate report on them.” Elias turned back to Simon. “What about you, Mr. Welsh? Are you aware of their strengths and weaknesses?” Simon chewed his lip for a moment. Then he started, “Lyle’s good with his hands. He’s good with explosives and placing traps. I’ve yet to see him fight, he tends to stand back and watch. Tony’s big. He uses his size to intimidate and exert brute force. But his size and muscle makes him slow. Alexey is quick. He’s smart and he’s agile. He has a problem with authority and assholes,” he glanced at Avi and the man’s face contorted into rage. Simon ignored him and focused on the growing smirk on Elias’ face. “Jezibel is a fighter. She’s silent when she moves and light on her feet. She can be distracted and also be a distraction. Vic,” he cut off and licked his lips before continuing. “Vic is a fighter. She’s good and she’s distant and she doesn’t let emotions get in the way. But she could easily fly off the handle. Avi’s smart, he’s a good fighter, but he doesn’t know how to handle people.” Elias snorted as Avi growled and then Elias was folding his hands in front of him, leaning over the desk. “And what about yourself, Mr. Welsh? What are your strengths and weaknesses?” “I have a lot of weaknesses,” Simon said calmly. “My strength is knowing what they are.” Elias nodded. He tore a form off of his clipboard and handed it to Simon. “This is your formal write up,” Elias said and Simon reached out to take it, but Elias held it firmly as he tried to pull it away. The man was looking up at him and Simon watched him curiously. “You really don’t know why you were chosen for this team?” he asked, brow raised. “I don’t,” Simon told him. Elias shrugged and let go of the paper. “You may leave,” he nodded towards the door. Simon hesitated a second, his eyes going to Avi, who was staring at him with wild eyes. Simon just ducked his head and turned towards the door. He heard Elias’ voice say quietly, “Stay a minute, Avi.” Simon let out a steadying breath and realized his hands were shaking as he stepped out into the hall. .Wolfie. Vic was the last one to get her write up and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.She wondered if he was giving her time to sweat or if he wanted something else from her or if he just didn’t have that much to say. She wasn’t nervous. She was just pissed because that was the only emotion she would allow herself to have. She wasn’t good at feeling sorry for herself and if she started to think about it too much then that’s what this would turn into. All her life she’d tried to be strong because strength was the only thing that mattered and she’d gotten thrown and beaten like she was still a child. She wondered if it would have gone better if she’d just gone in there with her knife because that’s what she was quicker with and what she was comfortable with. Maybe she’d gotten cocky or maybe she just wasn’t as strong as she thought and that thought fucking pissed her off. She thought about how half the team had worked together to take Gustavo down and she had been the one lying against a tree with splinters in her spine and blood all over her skin. What if Welsh wasn’t the weak link? What if it was her because she didn’t know how to work in a team and she didn’t want to know? The door opened and let Alexey out and he was scowling as he slumped back down in his seat. “Apparently Elias isn’t a Guns N’ Roses fan either,” he snapped, kicking at the carpet. Simon chuckled quietly and ruffled his brother’s hair, looking down at his own piece of paper. She wondered what Avi had to say about him. Probably a lot and none of it good. She shifted and went back to staring at the floor because she couldn’t look at Welsh right now. There were a lot of things she was thinking about and he was the most confusing one and maybe if she just focused on the carpet then she would understand. There’d been a kid in the hut. She focused on that because she hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time. There’d been a kid still alive and Welsh had wanted to take her back to the chopper so Avi had shot her in the head. She cracked her neck and rubbed the sore muscle and honestly hadn’t thought he’d have been the type to be able to do something like that. She thought about being that little kid and thinking that someone was coming to save her and getting murdered instead and she should have just been stronger. If she hadn’t been weak she would understand that everyone in the universe wanted to fuck her and fuck her up. Except for Welsh. She heard Elias clear his throat and she glanced up at his face, her eyes narrowing as soon as she looked at him. A smile curved his lips. “Victoria,” he said, stepping back and holding the door open for her. Alexey snorted. “Good luck, Bitchzilla,” he told her. She shot a glare at him and flipped him off and it just made him laugh. It didn’t make her feel any better. This was the last place she wanted to be. She’d rather be back on the fucking helicopter than in this room for a single second longer than she had to be. He didn’t look surprised that she didn’t head immediately for one of the chairs in front of his desk. She crossed her arms and stood by the door, waiting for the second she was dismissed so she could leave. He headed around the other side of his desk, settling in his chair and bringing a clipboard over in front of him. He kicked back a little in his seat to read it and then he glanced up at her face. “Captain Rogers seems to think you,” he paused, glancing down at the clipboard and smiling “‘demonstrate a supreme disregard for authority.’ Nothing we didn’t already know about you.” “How fucking nice for him,” she snapped, taking a step forward. She held her hand out and glared down at him. “Are we done?” Elias smirked and set the clipboard down on the desk. He laced his fingers in front of him, tipping his head to the side as he studied her. She didn’t like the dangerous glint in his eyes or how closely he was watching her, his eyes scanning all the fresh bruises and scrapes. They lingered on the butterfly stitches on her head and then finally focused back her cold gaze. She swallowed hard and brought her hand back to cross it over her chest because he clearly wasn’t going to make this either quick or painless and it was hard to forget that less than a week ago he’d been fucking her. He finally sighed and pushed himself to his feet, moving to the front of the desk so that he could lean against it. She took a step back, keeping the chairs between the two of them and as soon as she did it she knew he’d moved just to fuck with her. His smile widened as he crossed his arms over his chest. “How have you been, Victoria?” he asked her, and if she didn’t know him then she almost would have believed that he gave a fuck about the answer. “I’m fine,” she told him shortly, and it was close enough to the truth. She thought about almost watching Welsh get shot and almost getting snapped in half by Gustavo and it was all just in a days work, right? She’d seen a thousand worse things working with her dad. “Can I have my detention slip from the principal?” she asked, almost sweetly. He laughed quietly and then shook his head. “Welsh had a lot of interesting things to say about you and your teammates.” “That’s so fucking nice for him,” she snarled, a little harsher than necessary. She hadn’t forgotten what Elias had said to her about Welsh last time they were together and it was none of his fucking business what she thought about Welsh. It was none of his fucking business if she wanted to fuck him and if she thought he was stronger than she’d given him credit for because she didn’t admit mistakes like that and she didn’t apologize. He could have easily stood there and let her get crushed to death by Gustavo and he could have easily just stayed down any number of times and she didn’t understand how he was so weak but he kept getting up. “He seems to think the problem is that you suffer from poor leadership,” he said calmly. Vic snorted and she wasn’t going to bite and she wasn’t going to tell him half the honest things that ran through her mind because she didn’t trust Elias and she didn’t like him and anything she said could just come back to bite her in the ass. So she crossed her arms over her chest and ground her teeth together in her head as she waited for this to be over already. He smiled at her lack of a reaction and then tilted his head to the side to watch her face and she wondered why until he opened his mouth. “Are you fucking him yet?” “Go to Hell, Elias,” she snarled, her back stiff and she wished he would cut the bullshit and just let her leave. He laughed quietly and nodded his head. “That’s a ‘no’ then.” Then he straightened up and returned to business. “Captain Rogers says that you left the debriefing last week before being dismissed, that you disobeyed a general order to maintain radio silence, and that you backed Welsh’s borderline treasonous actions in Pará. He also says that you are a danger to yourself and others, that you don’t follow any standard when it comes to the rules of engagement, and that your disrespectful actions and attitudes are having a potentially negative affect on your teammates.” She snorted in disgust and didn’t answer. All she’d said about Welsh was that he was getting better at fighting and he was. And fuck his stupid radio silence rule and his stupid debriefing because he’d gone and fucked up both times and that wasn’t her problem. It was his. He was the one who was supposed to be the man in charge. Elias smiled when she didn’t answer. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah,” she snarled. “You can both go fuck yourselves.” Elias laughed and then pushed himself off the desk. He reached a hand back and grabbed the clipboard, ripping the top sheet off it and holding it out to her. She snatched it out of his fingers and then turned to leave because she didn’t want to be anywhere near him ever again if she could help it. She was so fucking stupid and she never should have gotten attached. She was already starting to open the door when his hand struck it and slammed it shut again and she was surprised by the fingers suddenly wrapping around the back of her neck and shoving her face hard against the wood. A snarl rose in her throat and then she felt his lips brushing by her ear. “We’re not fucking anymore Victoria,” he said harshly, fingers bruising her already battered skin. “Any allowances that might have afforded you before are gone.” She felt his lips lower and brush over the skin of her neck and he was laughing quietly. “Tread carefully from now on,” he told her coldly. Her elbow snapped back and caught him in the gut. He let out a rush of air and she felt the pressure on the back of her neck relax. She turned and shoved hard at him because she just wanted him the fuck away from her. She didn’t want him touching her and she didn’t want him kissing her and she just wanted to get out of this fucking room. He stumbled a little and then caught himself on the back of the chair, staring at her in surprise for a moment. She stared back at him, her hands curled into loose fists and she hated that his lips lingered on her skin. She just wanted to shower and scrub until the feeling was gone and she didn’t have to feel his fingers on her skin anymore. Then his smile turned cruel and he headed around the side of his desk to write something down. “That’s two counts of assault on a senior member of this company, Victoria. For the next two weeks you are suspended from leaving the compound without either my approval or Captain Rogers.” He scribbled something down and then shuffled the papers on his desk. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She just stared at him and she hated him because he’d just shut her back in a cell. Then he looked up at her and he smiled coldly like he didn’t know or care what he’d just done. He’d essentially just put her back in prison for the next two weeks. She couldn’t leave this fucking facility unless he said it was fucking okay and she felt panic in her chest because she hated being fenced in and caged and that was why she’d signed his fucking paper to begin with. “That’s all, Victoria,” he told her in a clear and obvious dismissal. “You can’t do this,” she told him, and she hated how fucking weak and harsh her voice sounded when she said it. Her hand was still curled around the doorknob but she couldn’t make herself pull it open because of the sentence he’d just dropped on her. He glanced up at her with one raised eyebrow. “I can, and I did. Goodnight, Ms. Wolfe.” Wenston He’d shown up at 12:01 like he always did. Lisa had been in her flimsiest outfit yet and had complained that Alexey wasn’t there and Simon made a mental note to keep his brother away from this apartment because he might catch something from the girl. Vic had come out of her room and she was already dressed and that was something new. It was like she hadn’t just woken up and when he looked at her face, there were dark bags under her eyes and he wondered if she’d been having trouble sleeping. His eyes moved to the wounds on her arms and the bruises littering her skin and he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop himself. “We could skip the practice today if you’re not feeling well.” He’d said it like an idiot and Vic had glared at him like he was an idiot and afterwards he’d felt like a damn idiot. She’d taken his coffee and his latte and she’d dumped it in the trash and so much for her accepting his peace offerings. She’d told him, “Pain is weakness,” and that’s all she’d said as she walked out of her apartment and Simon followed her to the gym. He was stretching out on the mats and he was thinking about the morning because he didn’t understand why she was mad at him. He didn’t understand why it looked like she hadn’t slept well or why she couldn’t look at him without glaring or sneering and just yesterday she’d been clinging to him with a death grip as he hung over the edge of a cliff. He didn’t understand how she could be so cold one minute, cling to him to save his life the next, and then return to her cold, angry state just as quick. He wondered if she’d ever think of him as more than just a chore she was ordered to do. “Come on,” she snapped and Simon turned his head to look at her. She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest and she looked uncomfortable and anxious. He didn’t know why. She was glaring at him and he just lifted an eyebrow back because he wasn’t doing anything different today than he’d done the past week that they’d been sparring. “Just fight me already,” she growled. Simon sat up, his hands loose in his lap and his legs stretched out in front of him. He shook his head. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice quiet and his eyes sincere. She glared at him and opened her mouth and Simon just shook his head and cut her off, “Sorry, I forgot, we’re not friends.” He sighed and stood up, forgoing the rest of his workout because she seemed anxious to get this over with. He came out to the center of the mats and he saw she was still just watching him. “Why would you do that?” Vic asked, her face puckered and her head tilted slightly and Simon frowned because he wasn’t sure what she was talking about. “Do what?” he asked, stretching his arms because she still wasn’t coming at him. She shook her head, her mouth snapping shut and for a moment she just looked lost. For a moment that mask of rage and anger slipped away and Simon just saw confusion there. He saw pain and hurt and he wanted to ask her again if she was okay because even if they weren’t friends, he didn’t like to see those things on her. He didn’t want her to be in pain or be lost or hurt. She was too pretty when she actually smiled. They didn’t get a chance to say anything else to each other. The door to the gym opened and Simon glanced at it, suppressing a groan in his throat as Avi came into the room. He was wearing a gray hoodie and black shorts and when he spotted them, a feral grin spread across his face. Simon sighed, his shoulders dropping a little and he looked back over at Vic, who was watching Avi and the mask was pulled back over her face. She was glaring at the man and she was back in control and Simon didn’t call her on losing control of her emotions. “Welsh,” Avi said and there was a condescending, arrogant tone to his voice. Simon looked away from Vic and tried to not glare at Avi as he approached him. “I was hoping you two would be here. I’d like to see how you’re coming along on your combat training.” “We were just about to start,” Vic snapped and Simon turned to glance at her, surprised at the sharp tone in her voice. Avi didn’t even look at her, his eyes still on him. “That’s alright, Ms. Wolfe. I think I’d like to test him out myself.” Vic growled low in her throat but then she just sat back down on the bench, her arms still crossed heavily over her chest and she looked like she was ready to explode at any moment. Avi pulled his hoodie off, turning around to put it on the floor and Simon cracked his neck. When Avi turned back, he said, “Alright, Welsh, let’s see what…” Simon didn’t give him time to finish. Vic had told him that if someone was talking, they weren’t preparing. He struck out with a fist that Avi barely managed to duck beneath and then he was following it up with another that actually did strike the man. Avi took a few staggering steps backwards, his eyes wide and one hand coming up to touch the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He pulled it back and looked at the red on his fingers and Simon pretended like he wasn’t satisfied seeing that there. “Alright,” Avi said with a nod of his head and then he was coming at Simon. It was better than last time. Simon was dodging and blocking and rolling with punches instead of just getting knocked down over and over again. He tried to throw a few of his own, but Avi dodged everything he had because the man had years of experience on Simon. After that first blow, he didn’t land another. Avi sure did, though. Simon was doing good, staying on his feet, but a sharp jab to his jaw dazed him and gave Avi time to swipe his feet out from beneath him. Simon fell to the side and landed heavily on the mats. He rolled onto his hands and knees and he gave a surprised yelp as Avi grabbed his head with both arms and shoved him down onto the mat, his knee pressing into the small of Simon’s back painfully. He grunted as Avi shoved against him and then the man’s head was coming down next to Simon’s and he spoke lowly. “If there’s one thing you need to remember, Welsh, it’s that I’m in charge,” Avi hissed and Simon growled against the pressure on his head and neck because his neck was bent at an awkward angle and he tried not to think that if Avi wanted to, he could snap it here and now. Then Avi shoved him and stood, releasing him. Simon pushed himself back to his hands and knees and then to his feet. He rubbed at his neck and turned to face Avi again. The man was glaring at him and whatever professionalism he’d walked in here with was completely gone. The man charged at him and Simon tried to sidestep and meet his face with a fist, but Avi grabbed his arm and brought his shoulder up, holding Simon’s arm around his chest as he elbowed Simon square in the face. A bright flash of pain exploded in his eyes and he could taste blood in his mouth. He grunted as Avi’s elbow struck him again and on the third time, the man let go of him and Simon staggered back before falling to a sitting position, his hands coming to his face. There was blood dripping from his nose over his lips and he’d bit into his bottom lip when Avi’s elbow had smashed into him. It was bleeding out the corners of his mouth and coating his teeth. “Get up,” Avi demanded and Simon rolled back to his hands and knees, ignoring the way he left bloody handprints on the mats. He didn’t think this was just a sparring session anymore. He didn’t bother to glance at Vic, because he didn’t think she wanted to help him. She was mad at him for something and he didn’t know what it was and they weren’t friends. As soon as Simon was standing again, Avi backhanded him with a fist across his cheekbone and Simon’s head snapped to the side. His hand snaked out to catch Simon’s wrist and then he was yanking it hard and Simon tried to bring an arm up to fend off any more blows to the face, but he didn’t expect Avi’s knee to collide with his eye and then Avi was shoving him hard to the mats. Simon blinked and there was blood and darkness in his eyes. He started to push himself up, because if there was one thing in this world he never wanted to do again, that was give up. But then Avi struck him hard with his arms across his shoulders and Simon fell back to the mats, winded. He lay there for a moment before he tried to push himself up again, his arms shaking at the exertion and his head spinning. He didn’t even know anymore if this was normal for sparring or if Avi had gone ballistic. Then something hard struck him in the face and he was flipping over onto his back. It took him a moment to realize Avi had just kicked him in the face and the man suddenly straddled his waist, his hand fisting in the front of Simon’s shirt as he pulled an arm back and struck him several more times, each with growing strength and he thought he heard Avi giving strangled grunts with each blow. Suddenly, the blows weren’t coming anymore and Simon felt Avi being ripped off of him. He heard Vic and he didn’t know what to think about her because she was mad at him but she was still yelling at Avi. “That’s enough!” she snarled. Simon’s face was throbbing and there was blood leaking back down his throat. He could taste it in his mouth and feel it pouring from his nose and there was a cut above his eye bleeding into his vision. He choked a little on the blood in his throat and then he was pushing himself with his elbow to roll over. Once he was on his stomach, he pushed himself to his hands and knees and he stayed there for a moment, bleeding onto the mat. He thought about telling Elias in front of Avi that the team had poor leadership. He thought about knowing that it would come back to bite him and he thought that maybe this was it. Avi must not have liked being called a poor leader in front of his boss. Simon’s limbs were shaking as he pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. .Wolfie. He kept getting back up.Those words felt like they were on repeat in her head. Avi had beaten the shit out of Welsh. It had been worse than some of the prison beatings she’d seen and half the time the people on the receiving end of those never got back up at all. There was blood all over the mat and more of it on Welsh. There was a cut above his eye and bruises all over his face and she couldn’t tell if his nose was broken yet because his face was so swollen and bruised. His eye was just one black bruise from where Avi had put his knee into it and she thought he was lucky he hadn’t broken any of his teeth because the man had been merciless. There’d been no point to it, at least none that she could see. She shouldn’t have cared because strength was all that mattered. Not right and wrong or good and evil. Not heroes and villains or saints and sinners. All that mattered was who was strong and who was weak. Welsh was weak and Avi had proven that when he massacred that and it didn’t matter if she hated Avi because he was stronger and she should have respected that because that was the way the fucking world worked. It would have been that simple for her if he’d stayed down. It would have been that easy if less than twenty-four hours ago Welsh hadn’t stood in front of Avi’s gun and dared him to take the shot so that he wouldn’t kill his brother. She would have stayed on the bench and watched until it was done if he hadn’t gone after Gustavo and saved her life. Only he had done all those things and even after Avi was done breaking his face in with his fist Welsh still wouldn’t stay down. He was shaking but he got back up and he stood on his own two feet even as he dripped blood onto the floor. Avi looked like he wanted to go after him again. He looked like he wanted to put his face back into the mat and keep hitting him until he never got back up again and Vic didn’t like the thought of that. She stood in between them with a hand held out towards Avi’s chest in case he tried something again. “Just go,” she snarled, and for a moment Avi’s eyes darted from her to Welsh and he looked like he was thinking about just knocking her out of the way and going another round with Welsh’s face. A sneer curled her lips and she took a step forward, pushing at his chest. “I said just go,” she snapped. She almost hoped he ignored her. She almost hoped he took a swing at her because then she could hit him back and show him what a prison beating really fucking looked like and then it wouldn’t be because Welsh’s blood was on his knuckles. For a moment she thought he would because his hands were still in loose fists at his side and his eyes were full of unrestrained anger. Then he snorted and shook his head as he took a step back and she tried not to be too disappointed. “Better,” he snapped, grabbing the gray hoodie off the floor. “Still slow and weak.” He spat the words and glared daggers across the room at Welsh before pushing out the doors and letting them slam shut behind him. Vic stared after him for a moment and she wondered if Welsh should be worried about finding a bullet in his back next time they went on a mission and she didn’t like that thought. She turned around and he was wavering on his feet but he was still standing, even though he looked like he should be in a fucking hospital bed with a tube down his throat. He met her gaze and he didn’t try to smile for her and didn’t flinch away from her eyes. There was blood on his lips and he lifted the back of his hand to wipe it away, looking down at it for a moment and she didn’t get how he was still upright. “I don’t understand you,” she whispered, and it was one of the most honest things she’d told him so far. “What’s to understand?” he asked, frowning a little at the comment and then wincing as it pulled the bruised muscles in his face. She just shook her head and she didn’t know how to answer and maybe it was better if she didn’t. She wasn’t used to being wrong about people and she wasn’t used to people asking her if she was okay without wanting something from her and she didn’t get him at all. She helped to the infirmary and then she just left him there because she didn’t like seeing all those bruises on his face and if she stuck around he might ask her why she was still there and she didn’t know how she’d answer that question. She went back to the gym and beat on a punching bag for a few hours and then she just walked home. She sat on the steps for a while and smoked one of her cigarettes because it reminded her of her dad. She didn’t really like the taste but it was familiar and comforting and it shouldn’t have been. Her pops wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type and if she asked him for advice he’d tell her that she should watch her back because no one did anything without wanting something in return. She wondered if that was true about Welsh and she wasn’t sure she could believe it because he had kept getting back up. When it was gone she threw the filter into the street and went to bed. It wasn’t like she could do anything else. She couldn’t leave the compound to go drinking with Tony and Romanova and she didn’t fucking want to go to Elias’s even if she could. She lay in her bed and tried not to think about all the blood underneath Welsh and how he kept pushing himself to his feet and she didn’t fucking understand him and it was frustrating her. She wasn’t used to people surprising her and every time she thought she understood Welsh he turned around and shattered all those assumptions. At some point around midnight Lisa came home with a guy and she could hear her giggling and laughing in the living room. Then the laughter turned into moaning and screaming and she growled and pulled the pillow over her head. It didn’t help, and the noise just reminded her that she hadn’t been laid in a weak and it reminded her of Elias asking if she was fucking Welsh yet. She didn’t fall asleep until after the guy left and then Lisa came in and smoked two of her clove cigarettes in their room and reminded Vic again why she hated her roommate. She didn’t fall asleep until after the sun was coming up but she doubted it mattered. She had herself convinced that Welsh wasn’t showing right up until 12:01 when she heard him knock. Lisa groaned and rolled over and Vic shot a glare over her shoulder as the girl started to get up. “I got it,” she snapped, grabbing a pair of pants off the floor and dragging them on and she didn’t know why her heart was beating so fast. She shuffled to the door and she was tired and still bruised from Gustavo but they were just bruises and she didn’t care. She had smaller ones on the back of her neck from Elias and she swore to herself that was the last time she was going to let him leave any kind of mark on her. There was a weird sort of anxiety in her chest because this had to be Welsh and if it was she didn’t think he could honestly want to spar because last she’d seen him he’d looked like the victim of a mafia hit. But when she pulled the door open he was still standing there in her doorway. His shoulder was braced against the frame and he looked beat to Hell but he had still gotten up and he was still standing there with two cups of coffee in his hands. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and didn’t move to invite him in. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Pain is weakness,” he told her with a wry smile, and he was meeting her gaze and not looking away. She stared at him for a long time and didn’t understand a fucking thing about him. He looked awful and he shouldn’t have been standing, let alone asking her if she was ready to spar with him for the next four hours. His eye was swollen shut and it was black and blue like the rest of him. She could see the three stitches holding part of his forehead together she wondered if they’d given him painkillers or if he was just dealing with it like she would have. She had a strange realization looking up at him and that was that even if he thought he could fight her today, she didn’t think she’d be able to hit him back. She pushed the door open wider and jerked her head at him. “Come on,” she said, and she didn’t recognize her own voice because it wasn’t mean or biting. It was almost something like nice and she wondered if she was getting soft now that she was outside of prison and pops was dead. She wondered if she cared right now. She didn’t wait to see if he shut the door behind him, going over to the couch and picking up the clothes draped over the back of it to dump them on the arm chair. “Sit down,” she told him. He frowned and looked a little confused at the order but he did as she said, sitting down on the couch and resting the two cups of coffee on the table in front of him. She felt his eyes following her as she went into the kitchen and threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave but she didn’t yell at him. She heard him clear his throat and shot a glance over her shoulder. “What are we doing?” he asked. He looked tired. He looked worn out and battered but he had gotten back up. She snorted and didn’t answer at first, just bracing her arms on the counter and studying him. She wondered what kept him up at night. She wondered if he thought about shooting Costas DeFranco or if he thought about the kid that Avi had shot in the jungle. She wondered if she really cared or if she was just confused and if tomorrow she would realize that he was out to get something from her or fuck her over or if he really was just made of weakness, all the way down to his core. The microwave went off behind her and she turned around to grab the bag and dump it in a bowl. She put extra butter on it and she didn’t know if he liked extra butter or if he even liked popcorn but it was a requirement for her. She headed over towards the couch and put it on the table in front of him before she walked over to the TV. “Research,” she finally told him, holding a movie up before she popped it in. She hit the button the television and maybe it was smaller than he was used to but he’d have to get over it. “If Sonny Chiba can’t teach you how to fight then I sure as fuck can’t.” She came back to settle on the couch next to him, folding her legs under her and leaning back against the cushions. “Research?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over at her face. She wondered if this was the part where he reminded her that she’d said a thousand times already that they weren’t friends and they’d never be friends and those were her own words being thrown back at her and she didn’t like it but she didn’t ever apologize. “You mean Kung Fu movies?” “Well, yeah,” she told him. “Bruce Lee’s next.” He smiled and looked down at his hands and not at her and she wondered what he was thinking. She wondered if he thought she was a hypocrite and if he thought she was weak. She’d needed him to save her and she wasn’t sure if she could hit him today and those things spoke of attachment and compassion and things she didn’t need. She thought about Elias telling her she was a fucking slut and that she wasn’t a girlfriend or anything but a fuck and she wondered if Welsh thought she was stupid. She wondered if he wanted to get into her pants and if that was the reason he was here and she couldn’t tell. She turned her eyes to the movie and she focused on that so that she didn’t have to look at his face while she spoke. “I don’t say I’m sorry,” she told him. “I don’t say thank you and I don’t need people to say either of those things to me.” She felt the moment he looked at her face because she could always tell when someone was staring so she kept her eyes on the television. “I didn’t need you to save me. If I’m that weak that I need rescuing then I should have fucking died.” She heard her father’s voice in her head. She heard him telling her that if she was so fucking weak then she might as well just be another victim in the street. And she had been. She’d gotten hurt and she hadn’t been strong enough and if she wasn’t and got herself killed than that was her problem and if it got her killed than that was life, tough shit. “Do you really believe that?” Welsh asked softly, and for a moment she blinked and looked up at his face. She didn’t understand the look he was giving her. She didn’t understand why he looked like he was hurt, though maybe it had something to do with the million and three bruises on his face. She wondered if Avi really would have shot him or killed him yesterday and she didn’t like that the answer might be yes. “I’m glad I’m not dead,” she finally told him, and it was the closest to a ‘thank you’ she’d ever given. He cleared his throat and she felt him settle back against the couch. The bowl of popcorn and both coffees sat in front of them untouched and she wondered what he was thinking and if she was stupid. On the television Sonny Chiba was beating the shit out of a couple of guys with knives but they weren’t watching that either. “I’m glad you’re not dead too,” he said lowly, and she didn’t know why but the harsh sound of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. She licked her lips and then she reached forward and grabbed the popcorn, pulling it with her onto the couch and putting it in Welsh’s lap. She reached in and grabbed a handful before pointing at the television. “Watch this part,” she told him. “He hits this guy so fucking hard that he throws up a little.” He laughed quietly and the sound of it made her smile and it wasn’t mean and it wasn’t faked. At some point she shifted on the couch and rested her cheek against his shoulder and he didn’t tell her to fuck off and but he didn’t try and cop a feel either. “We’re going to teach you to do that,” she told him at one part of the movie. “So that next time you can beat the shit out of Avi.” Wenston Episode #3: Heidi Colette Alexey and Tony crashed their sparring session a week later. There were a lot of things that Simon was trying to figure out. He was trying to figure out what it meant that Vic had made him watch Kung Fu movies for three days in a row after Avi had kicked the crap out of him. He was trying to figure out what it meant that even after that, she hadn’t been hitting as hard or going as fast as she usually did and more than anything, he was trying to figure out what he felt about her. He didn’t believe that they weren’t friends. Maybe they weren’t good friends, yet, and maybe sometimes she still yelled at him or glared at him, but they were getting fewer and farther in between and he found her smiling more. He found her laughing with him instead of at him. And he found that she hadn’t said they would never be friends in a really long time. He was trying to figure out what all of this meant. Because the more he was around her, the more he wanted to be with her. She had him pinned to the mats when Alexey came in and gave a catcall. They both turned to look at him and she was still straddling his waist, her hands closed around his wrists and pinning his arms above his head. For some reason, he was thinking about the night of dreams he’d had way back when they’d first met and she’d asked him if he wanted to fuck her. He wondered if the answer was still the same. “Alright, stop trying to murder my brother,” Alexey said and he was grinning, carrying a case of beer in each hand. Behind him, Tony held several carryout boxes and he was grinning ear to ear. Simon could smell the wing sauce from where he lay on the mat. “We’ve brought wings and beer. It was Tony’s idea, since you’re under house arrest, Bitchzilla.” He grinned after he said it, but Simon felt Vic’s hands tighten slightly on his wrists and then she was pushing herself up and off of him. He rolled to the side and stood up. Tony put the boxes on a table near the bench and Alexey placed the beers down, pulling one out and tossing it to Vic. She caught it easily and raised an eyebrow at Alexey, but he just turned around and grabbed a bottle of mineral water, tossing it to Simon. “And for our health freak,” he said and then frowned, looking at Simon’s face. “You still look like shit.” “Gee, thanks,” Simon said and glanced at Vic to see what she would do. He smiled when she popped her beer and then walked over to the table. He watched her for a moment. Her bruises had faded somewhat and the scrapes on her arms were diminished, but still visible. She was watching Tony as he uncovered all of the wings and held out his hands, showing Vic she should take some. She smiled up at him genuinely. Simon screwed the top off of his water and went to go sit on the bench. He watched Alexey grin, grab a box of hot wings, and come over to sit next to him. “Just watching out for my big brother,” Alexey said. “Someone’s gotta do it, since, you know, Avi wants to kill you and all. I mean, man Simon, I know you’re kind of squishy – and I can say that now because I don’t need you to rescue me from the big guy over there this time – but Christ, couldn’t you have fought back even a little? Look at your face.” “He’ll beat him next time.” Everyone in the room stilled and Simon looked at Vic, who had a hot wing in her hands and she glanced over at him because no one had expected that to come out of her mouth, maybe not even her. She looked surprised and she was the one that had said it. Alexey snorted. “Uh, did you just compliment my brother?” he asked and didn’t wait for her to answer, his head whipping to look at Simon. “She’s a doppelganger. Come from outer space to suck our brains. Do you think I can convince her that my brain is down a little further. You know, around my…” “Lex,” Simon cut him off and gave him a glare. “Everyone already knows that’s where your brain is.” “Touché,” Alexey chuckled. Tony chuckled, his mouth full of chicken. “Does he mean his whatsit?” That got a laugh out of Vic and she covered her mouth with her hand. Simon grinned, more because Vic was laughing than because Tony was the slow kid in the room. Alexey just sighed and shook his head at the larger man. The door opened again and all eyes moved to the newcomer. Jezibel walked in, seemingly oblivious to them for a moment, a large sports bag over her shoulder and her workout clothes on. Her hair was pulled back tightly and her arm was finally out of a sling, only trace bruises remained on her otherwise flawless skin. She paused when she noticed them all sitting by the bench. Her eyes scanned them for a moment before she rested them on Simon. “Oh,” she said. “Am I interrupting something?” Alexey answered for them. “No way!” he gave cheerfully. “Come, eat of our food, drink of our drink…and if you take that in a sexually explicit way, that’s exactly how I meant it.” She laughed, light and cheerful, then set her bag down and came over to see what they had. She gave a polite smile to Alexey and told him, “I’m watching my calories, but thank you.” Alexey waggled his eyebrows at her and then she looked at Simon, standing in front of him. “I heard Avi did a number on you,” she said quietly and then reached forward. Simon forced himself not to flinch but she didn’t come at him harshly or try to hit him and he wasn’t sure why he thought she would in the first place. But her fingers ghosted lightly over the bruises on his face. “How are you feeling?” she asked, her hand resting on the side of his head. Across from him, Vic threw down her chicken bone and she didn’t pick up another one, her eyes narrowed at Jez and Simon wondered what the look on her face was. Alexey, next to him, was grinning ear to ear and he leaned over. “You know, I got thrown by that Gorilla,” he told her. “I could use some tender touching.” Jez chuckled dryly at him and then made Alexey scoot over so she could sit between the two of them. She kept her eyes on Simon, though. “I have some cocoa butter you can put on those cuts, to make sure they don’t scar. We wouldn’t want you to ruin that handsome face of yours.” Simon raised an eyebrow because she was looking at him so sweetly and she was so beautiful and a year ago she would have been just his type. “I don’t get it,” Alexey complained. “I am clearly the better looking brother. What, you got something against shorties?” he asked, trying to lean around so he could look her in the face. She finally turned to him and patted the side of his cheek. “Yes,” she said simply and Simon chuckled at the look on Alexey’s face. While Jez wasn’t looking at him, his eyes flickered up to look at Vic and she was back to scowling and her eyes left Jez to look at him once and there was that familiar glare back in her eyes. Alexey snorted and was about to say something when the door to the gym opened again. Simon didn’t expect the person who walked through those doors at all. Apparently, neither did Alexey because he snapped a quick, “Holy shit,” before he leaned back on the bench and crossed his arms over his chest. “What the fuck…” he grumbled. Pearl Welsh always dressed like she was going to dinner with the president. She was perfectly well groomed and her clothes pressed and clean and pristine. She had a large hat on her head and gloves on her hands and a purse around her wrist. She looked around the room and when her eyes fell on Simon, she smiled and waved, “Oh there you are!” she exclaimed and started towards him. Simon resisted the urge to play dead, because wasn’t that supposed to work? She came over to him and bent down to give him a hug. Simon just sat there wide eyed and didn’t hug her back because what the hell was she doing here. “Isn’t there security in this building?” Alexey snapped. “Who is this, Simon?” Jezibel asked from beside him. He didn’t get a chance to answer because then Pearl held out her hand to Jez and smiled politely at her. “Pearl Welsh,” she said. “Simon’s mother.” She smiled at Jez. “You had better watch out for him, too. You are just his type.” Simon closed his eyes and sighed and he heard Jezibel give a small, sultry chuckle. When he opened his eyes again he looked at Vic and he didn’t know why but he wanted to tell her that Jezibel wasn’t his type. Not anymore. “Seriously,” Alexey continued. “Do we have like, a panic button we can press that will bring in a SWAT team?” Pearl ignored him and Jez reached up to shake her hand. “Well it’s very nice to meet you,” Jez said sweetly and Simon could recognize that formality in her tone. “I’m Jezibel. You have an amazing son.” Jez glanced at Alexey and none of them had missed how Pearl had introduced herself as Simon’s mother and not Alexey’s. She hadn’t even acknowledged his brother and Simon guessed it had something to do with Alexey and her fallout when Simon had been sick. Things hadn’t ended well. “Two of them, actually,” Jez smiled. A laugh escaped Pearl’s lips. “Alexey? What has he ever done?” The temperature seemed to drop drastically in the room and Simon closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath. He could feel the storm brewing between Alexey and his mother. “How did you even get in here?” Alexey snapped at her. “You need a badge to get through the gates.” Pearl sighed at him. “Not when you donate as much money as I do to the company that funds this building,” she said. “So show a little respect. Your father didn’t raise you well.” Alexey ignored the jab at his father. “Don’t you have a puppy to kick or an orphan to laugh at?” he snapped. Simon finally cleared his throat and stood up, making Pearl take a step back. He forced a smile as he looked at her. “Did you need something, Mom?” he asked and held his hand out, motioning her away from the others. She smiled and didn’t move with him, even when he put a hand on her shoulder to try and guide her away from them. He didn’t want her here and around them and he didn’t want Alexey and her to get into it in front of the others. She was still their mother. “No,” she said simply, and then shrugged. “I just wanted to stop by and visit you. Oh, but guess who I talked to this morning?” “Satan?” Alexey asked loudly. Simon fought really, really hard to keep the smile off his face. Pearl shot a glare towards him and then turned back to Simon. “Kimberly,” she said and Simon felt his breath catch at the name. He knew he’d visibly winced and he felt a pain in his heart as he thought of the girl. He forgot the others were even in the room for a moment. Alexey groaned loudly and smacked his head back against the wall. “Kim, Satan, same fucking thing.” Then he climbed to his feet and held his hands out to the side. “What makes you think he even cares if you talked to her or not?” “She’d like to get together with you,” Pearl said, ignoring Alexey. “Talk about what happened. You really shouldn’t blame her for leaving, Simon,” she said and reached out to straighten his shirt. “You know what you were like when you were sick. Who wants someone that weak and pathetic? No one would have married you back then. You’re lucky she wants to get back with you. Did you know that the type of Leukemia you had has a 50% chance to come back? No one’s going to want you when they find out you were sick.” Simon’s chest tightened and he couldn’t get his mouth to work. The words hurt. He couldn’t express how much they hurt. They’d hurt when Kim had broken up with him on their wedding day with just a card and a bouquet of roses. Alexey growled low in his throat. “Jesus fucking Christ.” He didn’t think his brother was going to stop there. But Simon didn’t let him go on. “It was nice seeing you again, Mom,” he said, his voice monotone and low. Pearl’s eyes narrowed and when she spoke, the sweet motherly voice was gone. “Think about it, Simon. She’s willing to take you back. Look at yourself. What options do you really have?” “I’d say he has plenty,” Jezibel said and Pearl turned to look at the girl. She smiled and then looked back at Simon before she reached up to kiss his cheek and then turn around and left. Simon could only watch the door swing shut after her. .Wolfie. Vic was trying not to get mad and she was trying not to get jealous.It wasn’t working. She stared at the beer in her hands and she felt like she was eighteen again and she’d just been dumped by the cop she was fucking because he wanted to work it out with his wife. That’s all she ever was, just the fuck on the side and she understood that and she tried not to get attached and tried not to care but she always wanted these men that could never give a shit about her and that was her own fucking fault. It was her fault that she went for men that she loathed. Only this time she wasn’t even the fuck on the side. She wasn’t anything. He’d told her when they first met that he didn’t want to fuck her and she should have listened to him because she wasn’t his type. Bleach blondes like Jez were his type and what the fuck did she care anyway what type Welsh had because it shouldn’t matter to her either way. So what if he’d saved her ass once? So what if they’d watched a couple of kung fu movies together? It didn’t mean shit and she shouldn’t be getting mad and she shouldn’t be getting jealous. “Don’t listen to her, Simon,” Alexey was snarling. She glanced up at his face and it was contorted with hatred as he stared at the closing door. She thought about some comment he’d made around when she’d first met him about his mom being more likely to stab him in the back and leave his corpse to get eaten by pigs and maybe that made a little more sense now. She looked away from him and at the closed doors and she hated her and she hated Jezibel and she hated Welsh and she hated that she was confused again. “Mom’s a bitch and you know it. God, she’s worse than Bitchzilla over here,” he said, shooting her a grin. “Don’t let her get under your skin.” Vic snorted and flipped him off. She concentrated on her beer and on draining that because she was pissed off and the more she thought about it the worse it was going to get. She was trying not to think about Elias telling her that she wasn’t girlfriend material and that all she was good for was a fuck and how could she really argue it? She hadn’t been in a real relationship her entire life because people were shit and they just wanted to fuck her over so she got what she could out of it and that had to be enough. So she shouldn’t care if Welsh’s ex-girlfriend wanted him to come visit and she shouldn’t care if Jezibel thought he was a handsome catch and she shouldn’t care if he’d told her ‘no’ when she’d asked him if he wanted to fuck her. She shouldn’t care at all. “I’m not,” he said quietly, in a way that said he really was. He was looking at the closed door and she wondered what he was thinking. She wondered if he was thinking about getting sick and she was having a hard time picturing him dying in a hospital bed because he always got back up. He had still healing bruises on his face to prove it and she couldn’t imagine him being weak and sick and dying. She didn’t like even thinking about it because Welsh always got back up and that explained why he was here anyway. Then she wondered if he was thinking about some girl named Kimberly or if he was thinking about the life he’d had before this and it must have been so much fucking better. His life had been soft and comfortable and easy and girls like Jez had probably been around him all the time and now he was stuck on this team with a girl like her risking his neck for no fucking reason. At the end of the day it didn’t matter how much better he got because when his contract ran up he could go back to his nice comfy life in Beverly Hills or wherever the fuck he was from and do yoga with rich housewives and marry some gorgeous blonde thing. And Vic would be stuck. Elias had told her as much. Even when her contract ran out, there was nowhere else for her to go. She was living on government property with the government’s money because she didn’t have a single fucking thing in her own name. The girl that had her real name was dead anyway, because she’d been sentenced to life in prison. This felt about the same. “Are you okay?” Jezibel asked him, and Vic’s eyes flicked up for a moment to the back of the girl’s head. She was smiling gently at Simon and she was being nice and comforting. One hand came up to rest on the side of his head as she watched his eyes and for a moment she saw Welsh’s gaze flicker over towards her and she didn’t know what the fuck he was looking for and she didn’t care. “Fine,” Welsh said, offering Jez a smile and brushing past her to get his water. Vic didn’t have to be a fucking psychic to know he was lying but they weren’t friends and she didn’t know him and it was none of her business anyhow. “Hey, we know people now,” Alexey said abruptly, a grin spreading across his face. He hit his brother on the shoulder and she watched Simon wince a little at the motion but he tried to smile for his brother. “We could probably take out a hit on her.” Welsh rolled his eyes and smirked at his little brother and as soon as he whirled around and turned his back the smile was gone and he just looked tired and she had to remind herself that she shouldn’t fucking care if he was tired or if she might hurt him during their sparring sessions because they weren’t friends and never would be. “Bitchzilla, what are you doing tomorrow?” She snorted and shook her head, staring at the beer in her hand. She drained the rest of it and then set it down on the table and out of the corner of her eye she watched Jez moving to Simon’s side and she didn’t know what she was going to say next about his handsome face or him being her type or whatever because she just didn’t fucking care anymore. “Same shit I do every day,” she snapped at Alexey. “And besides, I’m on fucking house arrest remember?” Alexey grinned and shrugged. “We could sneak you out. It’s for a good cause. We’d be destroying the Antichrist!” “Well good luck with that,” she snapped. She was disgusted with herself and disgusted with the situation because she wasn’t supposed to care if Jez was sitting by Welsh and she wasn’t supposed to give a shit if she was his type or not. He didn’t want to fuck her so she didn’t want to fuck him and that should have been the end of it because she didn’t have friends. Alexey frowned and watched as she snatched her hoodie off the bench and dragged it over her head. She didn’t look at Simon and she didn’t look at Jezibel and she didn’t care if the four hours weren’t up because if she went in the ring with him right now she might finish the job that Avi started. She should have just gone with first impressions and she just wanted to go back to hating him because that didn’t feel half as painful as this. “Wait, did you just turn down the opportunity to murder someone?” Alexey asked. “Simon,” he snapped. “What did you do to Bitchzilla? She doesn’t want to kill someone.” “Vic?” she heard Simon call from behind her, but she didn’t turn around. She kicked the door open with her foot and let it swing shut behind her without a glance back and she just felt so stupid because she’d started thinking maybe a new name did mean a new life. It didn’t. It never would. She was the same girl that pops had raised and if he was still alive he would be pissed right now because she was acting on emotions and not on basic survival instincts. She could fuck and she could fight but anything else would just get her distracted and get her hurt and get her killed. She knew better and she should be trying harder to remember those lessons. She didn’t expect Welsh to follow. She didn’t expect to hear his footsteps on the hallway behind her or to feel his hand catch her arm before she made it out of the building or to the locker room or wherever she was going. She didn’t even know where she was headed. She’d just been letting her feet carry her where they wanted to go. “Hey,” he said, and when he pulled her around his eyes were wide and concerned. “Are you okay?” he asked her, like he genuinely cared about the answer and it was all bullshit. “Fuck you,” she told him harshly, yanking her arm out of his grip and trying to walk back down the hallway. “Hey,” he said, and then he was moving in front of her, his gaze narrowed in concern. She wondered if it hurt his face to look at her like that because the bruise around his eye was still healing. She’d tried to avoid hitting him in the face and she couldn’t believe she’d pulled her punches. What the fuck was that supposed to teach him? There was no point to pity because it would just teach him how to keep being weak. There was no point to taking it easy on him because then he wouldn’t know how to take a real hit when it came. It would just get him hurt or killed in the long run. “What’s wrong?” She felt his hands come to rest on her shoulders to stop her and she didn’t like how the motion stilled her in her steps. She shrugged off his hands and took a step back, arms crossed over her chest and her eyes snapping to the floor because she didn’t like how he was looking at her and it made it hard to remember that no one had her back but herself. “What do you want from me?” she snapped. “You want me to cry and hug and talk about my feelings?” He smirked and she thought he was faking it but he plastered it across his face anyway and she realized with no small amount of surprise that he was trying to make her feel better. “I don’t know,” he said. “Do you want to cry and hug and talk about your feelings? I’ve heard I’m a pretty good listener.” It almost made her smile. It almost killed all that rage because he was so fucking sincere and she didn’t understand. “Why the fuck do you even care?” she asked, glaring at him as she took another step back. He didn’t try to follow her this time but he was watching her carefully and she knew this was the part where she was supposed to yell at him for staring. “Why? Don’t you have better shit to do with your time than bother me? Why don’t you just go fuck Jezibel or run off and marry whoever the fuck Kimberly is and just leave me the fuck alone?” His face contorted into an expression of pain and she tried not to feel guilt that she’d put that there. Whatever she’d said must have struck a nerve but then his voice was lowering and she almost didn’t hear him. “Because I don’t care about either of them,” he said, and she couldn’t have heard him right. It was just a line he was feeding her and he didn’t mean it. Then he shook his head and held his hands up and his voice was bitter and broken when he spoke again. “You know what? You’re right. We’re not friends and I don’t know you. I didn’t mean to bother you, I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.” He started to walk away and it was borderline terrifying how badly she didn’t want him to leave. He was headed past her back into the room to get his things and she felt his shoulder brush hers as he passed. She should just keep her mouth shut and let him go and go back to never being friends and it was the smart thing to do because she didn’t understand him and she didn’t understand herself when she was around him and she didn’t understand why she wanted to be around him all the time. She didn’t understand why her hand came out and caught his arm as he passed and why her mouth opened and whispered “Wait.” He paused and he looked over at her and she didn’t understand why he looked so hurt and angry but she knew it was her fault. She kept her fingers wrapped around his arm and she hated that she couldn’t get herself to let him go. She just needed to know. She just needed to know where they stood and if she was losing her mind and reading too much into this. “Do you want to fuck me?” she asked him lowly, and she watched his face for a reaction. Apparently it wasn’t the question he expected. She saw his eyes widen a little in surprise and it must have pulled at the bruises because there was a slight wince afterwards that he didn’t acknowledge. He was studying her face like he was waiting for her to tell him that she was just fucking with him but the words didn’t come because she wasn’t. “Am I interrupting something?” a cool, hard voice said, and her gaze snapped behind her. Avi was walking up the hallway and he was in his military uniform today and it made him look like less of the psycho he was and more of a sanctimonious prick. She felt a growl rise in her throat anyway because he’d been the one to leave all those marks on Welsh and she didn’t know why she still cared but she did. He was the one that got her fucking imprisoned here and she wasn’t ever going to forget that. Maybe most of it was Elias, but Avi was the reason she’d been in that office in the first place. Her fingers released Welsh’s arm and she took a step back. She shouldn’t have asked him that because now he thought she was a slut just like everyone else and she could still feel him staring at her. “No,” she told Rogers, and it wasn’t the truth at all. Avi grinned. “Good. Because we’ve received our next assignment.” Wenston It was the second time she’d asked him.The first time, she’d been drunk and he’d been staring at her and he’d told her no easily because it had been the truth when he’d said it. He thought about the night of dreams it had induced afterwards and the way she’d gripped onto his shirt in Brazil when she thought he’d fall to his death and he thought about her cheek pressed against his shoulder as they watched movies in her apartment and shared popcorn because she didn’t want to hit him after Avi had just beaten the shit out of him. He didn’t answer her, because he didn’t know how. He didn’t know why she was mad at him or what he’d done to piss her off because they’d been fine this morning. They’d been sparring and joking and they’d been okay and then it was like a switch was pressed and she’d gotten pissed. And he didn’t understand why she was asking him this again. He didn’t understand why this time it looked and sounded and felt like she meant the question. Or maybe he just didn’t want to admit to himself that he could guess why she was asking. Maybe she wanted him to fuck her. He hated that he was thinking like that. Because he’d been raised to respect women and although he wasn’t a saint when it came to sexual activities, he hadn’t been with that many different girls. And he hadn’t been with any that he hadn’t already been in a relationship with. He wasn’t easy. He wasn’t one of those guys that barhopped and had a different girl every week. He wasn’t one who met a girl and got in bed with her and then went their separate ways in the morning. That wasn’t him and that wouldn’t ever be him, except there was one small problem with that. The answer to her question was yes. He did. He didn’t like that he was thinking about that, but he was. He wouldn’t tell her that, he couldn’t, because he didn’t know what she’d do or think or say if she found out he did and he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression. He wanted her. He liked it when they sparred and she was rough on him and she’d pin him to the mats and he liked it when she was on top of him, but he also liked it when they sat on her couch and watched movies. He liked it when she accepted his coffee some mornings and he liked it when she smiled at his jokes. He liked it when she caught him staring and didn’t yell at him for it. He wanted to know her. He wanted to know about her and he wanted to do that before he wanted to fuck her. They sat in the briefing room quietly. Vic sat on a different couch than him, the furthest away she could get and she wouldn’t look at him because he hadn’t answered her. She was mad and she was disappointed and he didn’t like that, but he didn’t know what to say. If he said yes and they had sex, what would she expect of him afterwards? If he said no and wanted to get to know her, would she even let him? He didn’t know. And he hated that he didn’t know. Alexey was sitting on the couch next to him, but he was leaned forward and flirting with Jezibel, who was rolling her eyes at everything he had to say, but indulging him with smiles. Tony sat beside her and Vic sat beside him. Avi stood at the front of the room and he was leafing through papers as they waited for Lyle to show up. Simon wondered if Elias would come. Simon tore his eyes away from Vic, because he needed to focus and he couldn’t focus if he was just thinking about how much he wanted to be with her. Instead, he focused on Avi because the asshole didn’t even have a mark on him from their sparring match a week ago and Simon still looked like an angry mob victim. He wondered if Avi would make things hard on him out in the field, or if he’d just continue to kick the crap out of him when they weren’t on a mission. He didn’t know which one he preferred. Lyle showed up a few minutes later and he was followed closely by Elias. Avi looked up and cleared his throat as the two came into the room and then he was grabbing the remote and the screens behind him flickered to life. A picture of a blonde little girl came over the screens and she was smiling and holding a stuffed penguin to her chest. She was cute and the picture had been professional taken and in the corner in gold letters was the name, “Heidi.” “Three days ago, this girl was taken from her home in Vancouver,” Avi started. “Her name is Heidi Colette. She’s the only child of Timothy Colette, president and CEO of Scylla Pharmaceuticals.” Avi clicked the remote and the screens flashed to a man in a white lab coat. He looked professional and serious. “Colette is one of the main stockholders and pharmaceutical suppliers for Shifter Initiative subjects.” “Hey, that’s us,” Alexey said smartly. Avi narrowed his eyes at him and Simon thought the man should just be grateful because Alexey was holding back today. “That’s correct, Mr. Romanova,” Avi said, showing unbridled patience. Then he clicked the remote and a picture of another man came on the screen. Simon sucked in a breath because the man looked sickly and pale. He was almost skeletal, his eyes sunken and his teeth visible through his lips. He had dark circles under his eyes and a crazed look on his face. “This is Paulo Valentino, seven years ago when he was suffering from AIDs. Valentino was selected to participate in a study for a new drug, and a new procedure.” Avi clicked the remote again and it was still Valentino on the screen, but this time he looked healthy and tan and muscular. “The drug had remarkable results and returned Valentino to good health, seemingly curing him of the virus.” Simon glanced over at Vic and he swallowed thickly because she wasn’t even looking at the screen. She’d glanced at it and then looked back down at the floor and she looked so hurt and disappointed and Simon wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t be. He just wanted to know what she wanted from him. He just wanted to know what it meant that she kept asking him if he wanted to fuck her and he couldn’t answer her until he knew because he didn’t want to say the wrong thing. “Except there were several side effects to the drug,” Avi continued and clicked the remote. The next picture of Valentino showed the man and he was bleeding from the eyes. “Along with uncontrollable rage, Valentino also suffered from a severe breakdown of his internal organs. He was in and out of the hospital for years and has since gone bankrupt, lost his house, got a divorce, and lost custody of his child. This man has nothing left to lose and recently tried to take Scylla Pharmaceuticals to court for damages. He lost.” Jezibel shifted on the couch and crossed her legs and Simon watched her for a moment because he didn’t know what to make of her either. “So he kidnaps Colette’s daughter?” she asked. “Yes,” Avi said. “He’s since demanded a ransom, but Colette refuses to pay.” Simon frowned, stringing his fingers together. “Even to save his daughter?” he asked quietly. He didn’t miss the way Avi turned heated eyes towards him and he knew what they were both thinking. The girl in Brazil that Avi had shot to teach Simon a lesson. Maybe Avi and Timothy Colette didn’t care about other people’s lives, but Simon did. And she was just a child. “The amount Valentino is asking for would plummet Scylla Pharmaceuticals’ stock into the ground,” Avi said. Simon shook his head and shrugged. “It’s still his daughter,” he said. Avi growled and then he was clicking the screens off. “We have twenty four hours to find her or Valentino will kill her.” “How do you know he’s serious?” Lyle asked. “Because yesterday he sent Colette one of her fingers in the mail.” .Wolfie. Vic sat on the bench in the locker room and she hadn’t managed to get her clothes out yet.He hadn’t answered her and she didn’t know what that meant. Maybe he was trying to think of a nice way to let her down and if he was than she didn’t fucking need it because she’d told him almost two weeks ago now that she didn’t need him to pull his punches for her. She could take it. If he didn’t want her that was just fine because it was just fucking and that didn’t mean anything to her anymore. So it shouldn’t matter to her what he said and she shouldn’t care about the answer and that she did scared her a little bit. It meant she was getting attached before they’d even fucked and that was edging into dangerous territory. She wasn’t sure exactly how that had happened. Maybe because he had saved her life and no one but pops had ever gone out of their way to stick their neck out for her. But it was Welsh, and maybe that meant he would do the same for anyone. He had put his head in the line of fire for his brother and he’d stood up to Avi for a little girl and maybe that’s just who he was. She thought that was probably it and she scrubbed her fingers through her hair because she wasn’t supposed to get attached and she was so fucking stupid. Alexey and Tony were standing a few lockers down and they were joking about something but she wasn’t really listening. Simon had gone to get his blood test from the doctor’s and she didn’t like thinking about that either because that meant they thought he could get sick again. Even his own mother thought he could get sick again and she wondered what it was like living with that kind of terror. She’d wondered if he thought he was dying and if someone had been there to hold his hand while it happened. She believed he’d fought it because it was Welsh and he always got back up, even when Avi or Gustavo were kicking the shit out of him. She pulled her bag out of her locker and thought maybe she hated Simon’s mother after what she’d said about no one wanting him. The words weren’t true. Vic wanted him. She dumped her bag on the bench and unzipped it, pulling out the black uniform and her bulletproof vest. She hesitated on the vest and she thought about the day her pops had gotten shot because some days it still didn’t sink in that he was dead. She’d seen his corpse and felt his blood on her cheek. She’d been crying and that was proof enough he was gone because if the man ever caught her crying he’d backhand her and tell her to stop being so fucking weak all the time and he hadn’t. He’d just lain on the floor. For a minute she thought about Timothy Colette refusing to pay the fucking ransom and she thought she hated that man too. She thought she hated him more than the kidnapper because Valentino was just the target. Colette was the asshole that was her father and he didn’t want to give up his millions of dollars for her. Pops had given up his whole fucking life for her. This was just money. She heard the door open and she glanced up. Jezibel strolled in and she was already dressed, her heels clicking on the tile as she walked over to her locker. Vic bit back a growl and looked down at the bag in front of her instead of at the other woman. There was no point in getting mad or jealous. There was no point because either Welsh wanted to fuck her or he didn’t and if the answer was no then she didn’t give a shit if he went off and fucked Givessi or some ex-girlfriend named Kimberly or whoever he wanted. It was none of her business because he didn’t know her and she didn’t know him and she could live with that. Either way she couldn’t keep standing here and thinking about it because if she did then she would just start remembering all the nasty things that Elias had told her that she had already known. Vic was only ever good for a fuck. “You know, if you won’t change in here with the rest of us then you should at least invite us to join you some time,” Romanova told her. He pulled the black shirt quickly over his head and then leaned against the lockers with a grin. Vic rolled her eyes and kicked her shoes off and tried to tell herself she wasn’t jealous. The girl was beautiful and she probably didn’t have a bullet scar on her stomach. She had high heeled shoes and a dog named Princess and she introduced herself when Welsh’s mother came into the room. Jezibel smiled and pulled open the door, settling her bag in the bottom of it and pulling her hair back out of her face. She cast a glance over her shoulder at Romanova and the smile was real and teasing. “Maybe I have. Maybe you’re just not on the guest list,” she told him sweetly. Vic bit back a snarl and yanked her tank top off, dropping it in a heap on the bench. Alexey’s grin widened and she could always tell when someone was staring at her so she snapped a glare at his face. “You should take a cue from Vic and just run around topless,” he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. Either he didn’t care about the glare being shot his way or he was oblivious to it, but either way he was turning his attention and his smile back on Givessi. “It’d help boost team moral and all that. And hey, if you decide you need to do that by putting on a cheerleader skirt and putting your hair in pigtails then I fully support your team spirit.” She laughed and shut her locker door. Then she walked over in front of him and patted his cheek. He looked like he enjoyed the attention and she wondered if Welsh had liked having her hands on his face too. Fuck, she didn’t want to keep thinking about this. “I bet you are, honey, but sorry, but you have to earn it first.” She knew the words weren’t really directed at her. She knew that Givessi was just teasing Romanova and she knew that it was part of their banter or sexual tension or whatever the fuck it was, but she didn’t like the words. She shot a glare at the back of her head before she pulled her black shirt over her head and pulled at the button of her pants. She thought about Lisa saying she was free and easy in front of Welsh and she hadn’t liked that because she didn’t want him to think she was a fucking slut. She didn’t want him to know that until two weeks ago she’d been fucking Elias and that the nastier he was to her the more she’d liked it. She didn’t want him to know those things because he was nice to her and she didn’t think it was because he wanted something. Alexey was watching Jezibel as she worked on strapping on her bulletproof vest and his eyes traveled the length of her body, lingering on her ass as she walked away from him. “So… like a twenty?” He asked, tilting his head to the side to get a better view. She heard Tony laugh and he slapped a hand on Romanova’s back and glanced in the same direction. She had the door to her locker open and she was touching up her lipstick in the mirror hanging there. “Oh please,” Givessi drawled. “I’m not that cheap.” She tilted her head back to grin slyly at Romanova. Vic tossed her jeans in the bottom of the locker before grabbing her black pants. “And I am?” she asked darkly. Romanova looked like he’d been about to open his mouth and say something but he closed it at the words. She didn’t look at him, focusing on putting the black pants on before she tilted her head to look at Givessi as she waited for an answer. Jezibel was frowning but she finished touching up her makeup in the mirror before she finally glanced at Vic in the reflection. “That’s not what I meant,” she told her, and maybe it wasn’t but that’s how Vic took it. She smiled back sweetly and there was no part of it that wasn’t faked and bitchy. “Good,” she told her, pulling the bulletproof vest over her head. She was aware of how quiet the locker room had gotten and she didn’t care because she was pissed off and hurt and she didn’t give a fuck about anyone right now. “Because if I ever thought you were calling me a slut I’d fucking gut you.” The silence dragged on for a moment before Alexey laughed and she couldn’t tell how forced it was. “Oh please Vic, no one thinks you’re a slut. Just hoping you are. Have I been too subtle? I did mention that open invitation to my bed, right?” “I don’t think she wants the invitation from you,” Jezibel said quietly, watching her face. Vic tossed the rest of her clothes in the bottom of the locker before she slammed it shut. “Fuck off Givessi,” she snarled, sitting down hard on the bench to yank her boots on. She could still feel the girl staring at her and she didn’t fucking like it because she didn’t like people staring at her. They stared because they were looking for weakness and there wasn’t any in her. She didn’t give a shit about anyone and no one gave a shit about her and the only way to survive was to keep it that way. She kicked her foot hard against the locker so she could lace the boots and she could still feel her god damned eyes on her. “And stop fucking staring,” she snapped. Alexey snorted behind her and as always he couldn’t keep his mouth from running. “Are we going to have a catfight here?” he asked, and there was a trace of hopefulness in the question. She could almost hear him grinning and she slammed her other boot against the locker to tie it with quick and clumsy knots. “You want to move it into the showers first? I can hose you down, Big guy over here can work the camera, it’ll be a sexy party.” She snarled something in response but she didn’t think it was words, just curses because if she was going to fight Givessi it wasn’t going to be sexy and it wasn’t going to be a party. She was quick, but Vic was brutal and she’d just spent the last three years dodging bitches that wanted to fuck her up and carve her into little pieces and she thought she could take her. It didn’t matter. She didn’t want to fight her and she didn’t want to be around her. She just wanted to go and save Heidi Colette because her father wouldn’t and she was too weak to save herself. She should have been able to fight back or do something other than wait for daddy fucking dearest to come save her because she couldn’t depend on that. One day daddy wouldn’t come for her and then what the fuck was she going to do? Just sit there and die? “Are you thinking with your whatsit again?” Tony asked, and two hours ago the question had made her laugh. Givessi laughed quietly. “I don’t think he ever stops,” she told him. There was still that itch between her shoulders that told her the girl was staring and she shot a glare up towards her face for a split second because she really hated it when people stared. There was nothing here to see. Givessi was watching Vic like she wanted to say something to her but then she glanced back at Romanova and Tony and kept her mouth closed instead. She heard the door open and for a second she wondered if that was Welsh and she didn’t know if she wanted it to be him or not because she was the fucking coward that couldn’t look him in the eye. She wished he would just open his damn mouth and tell her that she wasn’t his type because then she could fucking deal with it like she always had. Only when she glanced up it was Lyle standing there with his bag over his shoulder. He stared at Vic for a moment and he smirked at the sneer she shot him before his gaze went past her to Alexey. “Romanova,” he snapped. “Why didn’t you tell me we had a coed locker room?” Wenston Simon hated needles. He watched the nurse as she filled up three vials of his blood and set them in a machine on the far end of the room. He didn’t know what the machine was, because the hospital he’d gone to when he’d had cancer didn’t have a machine like that and he wondered if it was something the government had but just didn’t give out. He focused on the machine and the nurse instead of focusing on the needle as she moved to draw a fourth vial. He focused on those instead of thinking about Vic. The nurse was an older woman, in her late forties or early fifties. She had graying brown hair she kept back in a ponytail and glasses. She was kind looking and to be fair, she was being very gentle and understanding when she stuck him with her needles. She finished drawing the fourth vial, walked across the room and set it in the machine before coming back over and removing the valve in the crook of his elbow, placing a cotton ball over and taping it in place. She looked up at him and smiled. “Just a few more minutes,” she said warmly. “I know you dislike my infirmary.” Simon smiled back at her, despite himself. “It’s nothing personal,” he told her and she chuckled. He glanced down at her badge and there was a picture of her smiling on it. She looked younger in the picture. Beside it was her name, “Katherine Tracer.” He looked back up at her face and she was glancing down at some charts while she held the cotton ball forcefully over his elbow to make sure the bleeding was stopping. “What’s the chances it will come back?” he asked and she glanced up at his face, a look of surprise etched across her own. “The leukemia?” she asked and he nodded because he was thinking of his mother telling him that there was a 50% chance he’d get it again and he didn’t know if he could handle that. He didn’t know if he could go through that all again and what would happen if it did? Could they just put more animal genes in him? Could the cure him this time or would they just cut his losses? She tilted her head side to side and smiled warmly at him. “Well, gene therapy is a fairly new science. There haven’t been many cases like yours. Normally, there would be about a 50% chance. But, in your case, with the gene therapy, it’s really hard to tell. It may be the same chances, it may be lower.” Simon nodded and looked down at his lap. He wondered what Alexey would do if he got sick again. He wasn’t sure his brother could go through that again. He’d basically given up his life to take care of Simon. The door opened to the infirmary and they both turned to look at the newcomer. Elias stood in the doorway and he smiled professionally and fake at the doctor. “Kathy,” he nodded his head. “Hello, Elias,” she said back and Simon looked between the two because there was some hidden emotion there that he didn’t quite understand. “He’s almost done.” Elias nodded. “Good, I just need to talk to him for a moment,” he said and the doctor sighed but nodded, bringing Simon’s hand up to hold the pressure over his elbow. He did and watched her walk over to her machine, turning her back on them. Simon glanced at Elias and he wondered distantly if this man could fight too and if he could, if he’d take down Simon the same way Avi did. “How are you feeling, Mr. Welsh?” Elias asked, coming to stand next to the examination table Simon sat on. He had his hands clasped behind his back and he was looking at Simon appraisingly. “Fine,” Simon answered simply because he really didn’t want to elaborate. Elias was the one who made Avi stand in on his write up and he was the one that didn’t think it necessary for the man to leave the room when Simon told him they had poor leadership. “Superb,” Elias said, distracted as he glanced at the doctor before looking back to Simon. “How are you liking being on the team?” Simon licked his lips and thought about that for a moment. Then he snorted. “It’s eye opening,” he gave honestly. “To see what our government condones.” The corner of Elias’ mouth twitched up into a smirk and then he wiped it away. Simon didn’t expect the question that came out of his mouth next. “Did you warn Costas DeFranco that night?” The question caught him off guard and he froze for a moment. Elias’s face hardened as he watched him and then Simon shook his head. “What?” he asked. Elias leaned forward, his face pulled down into a scowl. “He knew we were coming. Someone warned him. Was it you?” “No,” Simon said and frowned heavily. For a moment they just stared at each other and then Elias leaned back, the scowl off his face and the smug smirk returning in its place. “Good,” he said and glanced back at the doctor for a moment. “I hear your mother stopped by for a visit today.” He snorted and turned to eye Simon. “She’s quite the woman.” “There’s no way you could deny her access to the building, is there?” he half joked. Elias gave a laugh and turned to leaned against the table Simon was sitting on. He crossed his arms over his chest and if Simon didn’t know better, he’d say the man was looking casual and friendly with him. “No, unfortunately. The bosses are appreciative of her contributions and have granted her full access to our facilities.” He looked at Simon sidelong. “Though what you do specifically stays quiet, understood?” “Yes, sir,” Simon nodded. “You don’t have to call me sir,” Elias told him. Simon just nodded and he wasn’t sure what to call the man if not sir. Maybe Mr. Skarsgaard but that sounded awkward. “She wants you to get back with your ex, Kimberly, correct?” Simon narrowed his eyes for a moment and Elias laughed, pompous and shielded. “Mr. Welsh, you have very little secrets with us. We also have an eye on your ex fiancée. She’s quickly becoming a key player regarding one of our…person’s of interest.” He didn’t understand the tightness in his chest. She’d dumped him. She’d dumped him on what was supposed to be their wedding day when he’d been too sick to even leave the house. She’d sent him a bouquet of flowers and he hadn’t talked to her since then so he didn’t know why he was getting angry at Elias for talking about her like she was an assignment or a job. He’d loved her once. He’d told her so. He wouldn’t have asked her to marry him if he hadn’t. Maybe that couldn’t be erased entirely. Not that he would ever dream of getting back with her or giving her a second chance. Not that he didn’t forget how cold and nasty she’d been to him towards the end. “Good for her,” he said simply and Elias snorted. “You have disdain for her,” he observed and Simon didn’t agree or acknowledge the statement. Elias sighed and pushed off the table, turning around and placing his palms flat on it, leaned over with his head turned to the side so he could look at Simon. “When I say she is becoming a key player, I mean we want to keep a close eye on her. She’s engaged to someone we’ve been watching for years. A sort of, competitor of ours, if you will.” At the word “engaged,” Simon felt his face pale a little. How long had it been since they’d been engaged? How quickly could she fall in love all over again and maybe it wasn’t love? Maybe she was just so anxious to find a husband and maybe Simon had dodged a bullet with that one. “I want you to meet with her, Mr. Welsh,” Elias said and he studied Simon’s face for a reaction. Simon furrowed his brow. “Why?” he demanded and he didn’t like the idea of meeting with Kim. He didn’t like the idea of ever seeing her again. “She obviously doesn’t want to get back together with you, being engaged and all. We want to know why she wants to meet with you.” Elias stood up straight and at the downcast look on Simon’s face, he tilted his head to the side and said, “I’m not asking you to have feelings for her, Mr. Welsh. Just pretend that you do.” Simon ran a hand over his face and he looked at the doctor. The tests were done, he could see them in her hand but she wasn’t moving and she wasn’t looking back at them and maybe she knew that when Elias was in a room, people did what he said. He gave a small, cold laugh and looked at Elias. “I really don’t know if I can do that,” Simon said. “It wasn’t a request, Mr. Welsh,” Elias said and Simon nodded because he knew it hadn’t been. Elias dipped his head again to look Simon in the face and the next question caught him completely off guard. “Are you fucking Victoria yet?” Simon’s head shot up and he looked wide eyed at Elias. The man didn’t react to Simon’s surprise, instead, watched him with a cool, calm expression on his face, like the question wasn’t completely out of line or intrusive. Like he’d asked what his favorite meal was or something equally as mundane. He swallowed and shook his head. “Um, no, we’re not…I mean, I don’t…” he spluttered. Elias scoffed. “I know you want to fuck her,” he said lowly. “Who wouldn’t. Do you know what the best part about her is? She wants to be fucked. She doesn’t want to be made love to, she wants a good fuck.” There was a knot in his gut that he didn’t recognize as anger at first. But the more it grew, the more he realized that he didn’t like the way Elias was talking about Vic. Elias leaned closer. “Just bend her over, have your way with her, then throw her to the side. That’s what she’s good for. She likes it rough. She’s nasty in bed, if you make it that far.” Simon thought back to the bruises on Vic’s neck and his eyes narrowed slightly because it was starting to become clear to him and the more he pictured it, the more the knot in his gut burned and expanded and it was all he could do to not jump off the table and bash Elias’s face in. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Simon said with a growl. Elias laughed. “Don’t get attached, Mr. Welsh,” he said. “Fuck her and be done with her.” Then Elias clapped him on the shoulder and Simon let another low growl escape his throat. “When you get back, set up your date with Kim. You’ll get more information when you return and none of your other team members are to be told about this assignment of yours. Not even your brother. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes,” Simon grit out. “Good,” Elias said and then grinned at him. “Good luck on your mission today.” Then he turned around and headed towards the door. Simon should have let him go, but he found himself talking before he could stop himself. “Elias,” he called out. The man stopped and turned to look over his shoulder at him. “Mmm?” he asked, lazily. Simon grit his teeth and then narrowed his eyes. “If you ever touch her or talk about her like that again, contract be damned I will bash your fucking face in.” The doctor turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes wide and Elias raised an eyebrow, looking amused. “That would be interesting, Mr. Welsh,” he said and he didn’t sound scared in the slightest. Simon didn’t think the man realized that he wasn’t lying. Then Elias’s face flashed in anger and his eyes narrowed. “Take care of yourself,” he said and it sounded like a threat. “You too,” Simon shot back at him as he walked out the door. .Wolfie. They took a helicopter to Vancouver and it didn’t do much to help settle Vic’s agitation any. She sat on one side next to Alexey with Tony on the other side of him. Across from her Simon sat between Lyle and Jezibel and she didn’t look at them and she didn’t think that Givessi looked like the type of girl Welsh should have on his arm. She was tired of thinking about it and tired of thinking about him but she focused on him for a moment anyway. His brow was wrinkled and he didn’t look like his head was in the game. She wondered if that was her fault and as soon as she did she knew that was a stupid assumption. The thought made her frown anyway because if he didn’t get focused he could get himself hurt or killed. His head lifted for a moment and he looked up at her, his gaze meeting hers. He was studying her and she didn’t know what he was thinking or what he was looking for. His gaze softened as he watched her and she wasn’t sure she liked it. She looked away and buckled herself in and she didn’t know what the look meant because not a word had passed between them since she’d asked him again if he wanted to fuck her. The fact was she shouldn’t let the answer matter. It was just a fuck. If he said no then she just wouldn’t let it change anything. She’d still teach him how to beat the shit out of Avi because she wanted that bastard to go down. She’d just remember to throw his coffees away in the morning and not get attached. “Stop fucking staring,” she told him harshly, but the words lacked their usual venom. “Jesus Vic, house arrest getting under your skin or what?” Alexey snorted. “You need to relax, relieve some tension, and by that I mean the sexual kind.” She snorted but didn’t answer, fingers twisting in the straps holding her in. The engine was humming beneath her feet and she was trying not to be nervous. “Seriously, when was the last time you got laid? And did you leave him alive?” He lifted an eyebrow at her and grinned as he strapped himself in. “Unfortunately,” she snapped, and Alexey laughed like she was kidding. Elias had been standing on the roof and watching them get in the chopper and he’d had that nasty smile on his face. It was the one that said he knew exactly what she was because he’d been there and fucked that. He hadn’t said anything to her but he hadn’t really needed to. She kicked her legs out in front of her and stared down at the floor until the chopper started taking off and then she crushed her eyes shut and tightened her grip on the harness holding her in. The world lurched around her and she focused on keeping her breath moving and in and out of her lungs. She hoped this flight was quicker because the one to Brazil had not been and she didn’t really want to do this today. Not that she had a fucking choice. She was trapped here for the rest of her life and it felt so much like prison that she was trying not to panic. Prison with more field trips and better food but what did it matter if she still chains around her wrists? “We’ll land within the hour,” Rogers said, all business as usual. “Once we arrive we’ll meet briefly with Colette and go from there. He hasn’t contacted the authorities, because the last thing he wants is this to leak to the press. Wolfe, are you paying attention?” Her eyes opened and she tipped her head to the side to glare at him but the helicopter shuddered and she didn’t open her mouth. She saw Avi’s eyes narrow at her but whatever he was about to say was cut off by Welsh. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he was looking at Rogers as he spoke. She wondered how smart it was to keep antagonizing the man because he wasn’t ready to beat him. Not yet. “What do you mean, ‘go from there’? Do we have any leads, or are we just bullshitting this mission?” Avi’s glare turned away from her and focused on Welsh instead and Vic followed his gaze because she was surprised at him. “You’ll receive your orders when I give them to you,” Rogers snapped at him. Alexey snorted, slumping down in his seat. The helicopter was rattling around her and she was trying to keep her eyes opened and on Avi but as soon as he looked away from her she closed them again because she hated helicopters. She hated flying and she hated that she was afraid of it and that the only way she could make these trips was to close her fucking eyes against it. She should be stronger. “Right, or we all might end up in the principal’s office again,” Alexey said, and she heard him grinning even if she couldn’t see it. Lyle chuckled from where he slumped across from Vic. He perpetually looked like he’d just rolled out of bed and she wondered if he was high all the time or if he was just a lazy fuck. Then again, there was no reason why it couldn’t be both of those things. “Hey, we keep getting pay cuts and this really will be charity work,” he said slyly, glancing at Rogers. The man glared back at him and she shouldn’t have felt relief that he wasn’t looking at Welsh anymore. She felt his eyes on her and she forced her eyes open so she could meet his gaze. He was studying her again and it wasn’t fair that they were on a chopper because she didn’t want to open her mouth to yell at him. She felt nauseous and uneasy and she tipped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes again. “Yeah,” Alexey snapped, pointing a finger at Rogers. “And we still didn’t see our free booze from Brazil.” “Nor are you likely to,” Avi snarled back at him. Alexey snorted and shook his head. “Well I just call bullshit on that,” he told Rogers. He nudged Tony with his elbow and jerked his head at the man at the front who was glaring at him fiercely. She wondered if they really would get written up again if Romanova kept running his mouth and if it did then she needed him to shut the hell up because she still had another week left on her suspension and she didn’t think she could take much more of it. She hadn’t put this fucking leash around her neck for nothing. “I mean, we saved the country like four billion dollars, I think they could spare a case of beer.” Tony chuckled and slapped Alexey hard on the back. “At least we still have that case we brought Bitchzilla.” He lifted his head and grinned at her and she tried to smile back because they had tried. She’d walked out on it because she’d been pissed and frustrated, but they’d still tried. She didn’t say thank you but maybe she thought it because she wasn’t used to people doing nice things for her. She thought about Welsh saving her ass and maybe she just should have sucked it up that time and said the words. Alexey laughed at that. “Hells yeah we do,” he told Tony, and then nudged her with his knee. She rolled her head to the side to glance at him and he was smiling, pressing a hand to his chest. “No need to thank us or anything though. You know, unless you want to whack our mom. Or express your gratitude with sexual favors. I accept those too.” She rolled her eyes and then closed them again and she heard Alexey snort. “Should I take silence as consent?” “Alexey,” Simon said quietly from across the helicopter. She didn’t open her eyes to look at him but his voice was low and serious and she wondered why he kept jumping in for her. “Stop thinking with your smaller head.” Jezibel laughed softly. “With his ‘whatsit’?” she asked coyly. She heard Alexey laugh loudly and she wondered how much longer Rogers was going to put up with it. She wondered if she cared. She just wanted to land and be done with this and maybe they could just drive back from Vancouver. Maybe she could take the fucking bus. Maybe she could just disappear and she knew as soon as she thought it that it was a terrible plan. She entertained it for only a moment and she wondered what she would do. She could take off easily enough, but she’d just end up doing the same shit she’d done with her pops and then she wondered if some day the Night Stalkers would come for her too. “Absolutely,” Alexey said, and she felt him shifting next to her so that he could lean over and look at Jezibel. She doubted his focus was on her face and she doubted that the woman was unaware of it. She wished that they would just fuck and get it over with or if she would just shut him down for good but she didn’t see either of those things happening any time soon. “You should come over some time and help me brainstorm.” Jezibel laughed quietly. “That’s what you have a right hand for.” “Oh that’s not all it’s for,” he told her. “My right hand can do a lot of things. I’m a musician, remember? Very dexterous fingers. Let me know if you ever want me to show off for you.” Vic tightened her grip on the harness and tuned him out because he wasn’t talking to her anymore. She kept her eyes closed and counted her heartbeats and her breaths or anything just to keep the focus off the metal can they were hurtling through the sky in. She hated being afraid. She hated the feeling of her heart racing and her stomach turning but every time they hit turbulence she felt a whimper try to claw its way into her throat and it was a battle not to let it. She was relieved when they finally landed and she was the first one to unbuckle her seat and stand. Her legs felt weak and unsteady and she didn’t like that feeling and she didn’t like that she could feel Welsh staring at her again. She double checked her weapons and then headed for the door and Avi was just standing out of his own seat. His hand caught her arm and he was glaring. “I’ll go first,” he told her. Then he released her and straightened his uniform and she waited with gritted teeth because she just wanted off this thing and back on solid ground. “Don’t speak unless spoken to, is that clear, Romanova?” She heard Alexey snort behind her. “Why am I being singled out? I’m just exercising my talented tongue.” “I think it’s gotten enough exercise for one day,” Welsh said behind her. She didn’t turn around but she felt him near her shoulder and she hated that she couldn’t look at him. She stood there and held tight to her M-4 and waited for Avi to leave the helicopter before she followed him. Her legs still felt weak and her heart was still thundering in her chest and she stumbled slightly when she hit the ground. She didn’t turn around even when she felt Welsh’s hand on her back to steady her, but she didn’t tell him to fuck off either. The touch was gone in a second but she didn’t understand why it had been there in the first place. Her head rose and she focused on where they’d landed. She felt an immediate surge of disgust and hatred for Timothy Colette because they’d landed in the man’s backyard. His house was spread out in front of them and she probably could have fit every place she’d ever lived inside of that one building. “No,” Welsh said with disgust and for once she echoed the sentiment. “I’m sure he couldn’t have afforded the ransom.” Avi turned around and shot a glare over her head. “That’s not our problem,” he snapped. Wenston There were mansions, and then there were mansions. This was the latter. Timothy Colette’s house was huge. Simon had grown up with money. His mother’s house was considered a mansion and he was used to the lifestyle. But this, this was different. This house wasn’t the type of house you got by marrying into wealth or however Pearl Welsh had gotten her money. This was a sign that the man was rich and powerful and the fact that he hadn’t paid the ransom for his daughter made Simon want to burn his fucking house down. They met Timothy inside. It looked like he’d hired some private security by the looks of the two men in suits guarding the backdoor. They had secret service radios in their ears and they opened the door for Avi as he nodded at them and walked into the house. Timothy was in the kitchen, with a bottle of scotch on the counter and a rocks glass set out in front of him. His shirt was untucked and his collar was loosened, his tie hung around his neck instead of tied. He looked up as they approached. A scowl passed across the man’s face as they filtered in and Simon didn’t like that he was looking at them like they were to blame for something. He grabbed his scotch and took a drink before pointing at Avi. “I expected you here thirty minutes ago,” the man said, his speech slurring and drunk. Simon looked away from him and held his tongue because if it was Simon’s daughter that had been taken, he wouldn’t be getting drunk. He’d be out there trying to find her. Hell, he’d have paid the ransom the first time they demanded it. Or he’d have had private security in the first place, to protect her always. “I apologize, Mr. Colette,” Avi said and it was a surprise to hear him be so diplomatic with the irate man. Simon didn’t believe him for a second. Beside him, Vic was looking around and she had a disgusted look on her face that Simon didn’t know whether he agreed with or felt concerned about. Did she not like people with money? She’d said so when they’d first met. Called him a rich boy who played with Daddy’s money and he wondered if she knew that he hadn’t had a father since he was six years old and the man had left for work and never came back. He wondered if she resented people who were wealthy and he wondered if he’d be able to convince her that she shouldn’t judge a person by the size of their wallet. He wondered if he’d even get the chance because she wasn’t looking at him anymore. And when she did, it was always with a glare or a bitter comment. “I don’t want to hear apologies,” Colette snapped and he reached into his pocket, withdrawing a piece of cloth and he threw it on the counter. “You find her before they send more pieces.” Simon felt his stomach drop because the cloth was bloody. Avi didn’t move to look at the cloth, but Jezibel did and she reached out, grabbing a corner carefully and pulling it back. He had to swallow thickly at the finger that was inside. It was so small and he tried to picture how scared the little girl must have been. “We’ll do our best,” Avi told him and then turned to the ground. “Romanova, Bruno, we’re going to set up a voice recorder on the phones, in case they call again. Givessi, Liddle, set up a perimeter, keep your eyes peeled. They may have eyes on the house. Welsh, Wolfe, upstairs to the girl’s room. I want to know how they entered.” Colette didn’t seem to like those orders. His face darkened and he pointed his finger at Avi again. “Why are you prancy footing around? You know who took her. You know where he lives and where he could be. Why don’t you go there already?” He slammed his glass down on the counter. Alexey scoffed before Avi could answer. “Well you could just pay the ransom,” he said and Colette turned his burning gaze on Simon’s brother. Alexey just smiled politely and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt at that look on his brother’s face. Alexey shared Vic’s disdain for wealth and power. It had taken a while for Simon and Alexey to be okay with each other and once they were, there was always that shaky elephant in the room that Alexey had grown up with a Dad who could barely support them while Simon grew up with their mother, who had so much money she didn’t know what to do with it all. There’d always been that resentment, up until Simon had gotten sick. “That’s not an option,” Colette said darkly. “No?” Alexey asked and then nodded his head towards a grand piano that was sitting in the living room. “Strapped for cash, I bet you could sell that thing for a few bucks.” “Romanova,” Avi warned dangerously. Simon glared at the lion shifter because he didn’t want him going after Alexey the same way he came after him. Colette grinned wickedly and leaned across the counter to sneer at Alexey. “$85,000 to be exact,” he said. Alexey’s face would have been hilarious if the situation hadn’t been so dire. “That fucking thing is worth $85,000?” he whistled and then shook his head. “Hope you didn’t buy it for your daughter, huh?” he said and the words were cruel as he nodded his head towards the finger on the counter. Simon was amazed that Colette’s face stayed passive. Avi’s did not. He shoved Alexey hard towards the living room where the phone sat on an end table. “Enough,” he snarled. Alexey glared at him and Colette and then Tony clapped him on the back and they headed towards the phone. Avi turned around and looked at the rest of them. “Go,” he ordered. They split up, Simon and Vic heading towards the stairs and he could hear Avi talking to Colette behind him, apologizing for Alexey’s comments. He didn’t hear what the man had to say and he hoped Alexey wouldn’t get in trouble for that comment, but it was sort of the truth. How could a man not pay ransom for his daughter? How could he not go to the police? How could he care more about his company than his own flesh and blood? Simon tried not to think about that, but he didn’t want to think about the other thing that was on his mind because she was currently climbing the stairs in front of him. She still wasn’t looking at him or talking to him and he knew it wasn’t just because they had to get in the helicopter again. She hadn’t liked it on the way to Brazil and she didn’t like it now and it was obvious to him but apparently not to the others. Maybe because he spent more time with her than the others did. Maybe because he was starting to recognize the looks she got on her face. Heidi’s room was huge. But unlike the rest of the house, aside from its size and furniture, it looked like normal. It looked like a normal kid’s room. There were pictures up on the wall and posters and she had toys and outfits lying around. He could see a dance trophy on her nightstand and there were ribbons from fairs and competitions and Simon chewed his lip because seeing her room and seeing her smiling face in the pictures made it more real. Vic headed towards the window and Simon watched her a moment before he headed towards the dresser. On the mirror Heidi had taped pictures of her and her friends and he looked at her with her blonde hair in ribbons and pigtails and curls. He saw her laughing and with ice cream on her face and he had to swallow because her face was starting to morph into a different one. A little girl with dark hair and blood on her feet and wide, terrified eyes. A little girl he’d told she was safe and she could come out and he was there to help. A little girl he’d gotten shot. He wondered what her name had been. “They came in here,” Vic said and he looked over his shoulder at her. She was running her fingers over some groove marks in the window sill. Simon looked at the marks and then looked at Vic’s face and she wasn’t looking at him still. His eyes went to the wounds she’d taken while they were hunting Gustavo and he looked at her neck and the bruises he’d seen there were faded or gone. He thought about Elias and he felt a low growl escaping his throat because he didn’t like that he’d just let the man say those words about her. “I don’t know how to answer you,” he said to her suddenly and she frowned and shot a glance his way, studying his face. He bit his lip and looked down at his hands. This wasn’t the right time and this wasn’t the right place, but he couldn’t stand her not looking at him or thinking bad things about him and he realized that with a sudden certainty. He didn’t want her to hate him. “It’s a simple yes or no,” she spat and he glanced up at her. She looked angry. Her lips were curled in a sneer and her brow was furrowed. Her fingers were still on the windowsill and he suppressed a shiver as he remembered the feel of them on his chest the first time she’d asked her question. The same one she was asking now. “Do you want to fuck me. Yes or no. It’s not that hard, Welsh.” Simon snorted and shook his head. “I don’t want you to think that’s all I want from you,” he said quietly and he saw the sneer melt off her face and her eyes widen slightly and he didn’t think that was an answer she expected. He had a sudden spike of fear because he liked bringing her coffee in the morning and he liked being with her and if he’d just scared her off, he didn’t know what he’d do. He felt like he was panicking and he looked away from her, back down at the floor. He swallowed and he couldn’t look up at her because he was scared. “I think you’re beautiful,” he whispered and he didn’t see what her reaction was. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs stopped whatever more they were going to say to each other. Alexey appeared in the doorway. “Valentino’s on the phone,” he said breathily and then looked between the two of them, frowning slightly. “Uh…do I need to put a sock on the door handle and leave you two alone for a while?” .Wolfie. He thought that she was beautiful.She knew she was supposed to be thinking about the grooves in the windowsill and the man that had taken a little girl out of her home. She was supposed to be focused on the job because that’s why they were here and if she wasn’t focused then it would get her killed or someone else killed and she didn’t want to be the weak link. She didn’t want to fuck up because she wasn’t paying attention. Except Welsh thought she was beautiful and that confused the fuck out of her. She didn’t know what had prompted him to say it and she didn’t know if that was what he actually thought. No one had ever called her that unless they were trying to fuck her and she couldn’t tell if he was or not because his answer wasn’t really an answer. She didn’t know what that meant either. She didn’t know what it meant that it wasn’t all he wanted but it wasn’t a ‘no.’ It wasn’t a ‘yes’ either but it was closer to that and if he thought he had to play the knight in shining armor for her, he didn’t. All he had to do was say ‘yes.’ She didn’t like or need foreplay. Ahead of her Welsh cleared his throat and he was looking at his brother who led them both down. “How long ago did he call? He asked. He hadn’t looked at her when he said it and he wasn’t looking at her now but it didn’t piss her off this time. “About thirty seconds ago,” Romanova said over his shoulder. “Though if you need another thirty seconds I fully support you.” Welsh snorted and pushed him in the shoulder. “Just move your ass, Lex,” he said, and she thought she could hear wry amusement in his voice. It was almost enough to make her smile but she didn’t know if she should. Romanova stumbled a little on the stairs and he laughed as he jumped the last few steps to the ground floor. The smiles died as they headed into the living room where they’d set up shop. They had a recorder set up with phone wires running into it and Timothy Colette was sitting on the couch with his glass of scotch in his hands and Vic focused on that out of everything because it was the only familiar thing in this place. The living room was bigger than one of the trailer homes she’d lived in and it looked straight out of a magazine. It had modern, black leather furniture and the table where the phones were was a large glass thing. There was a large marble fireplace and pictures on the mantle. She focused on the ones of Heidi for a second before she looked down. Avi was standing over him and he glanced up to see the three of them come back into the room. Lyle and Jez stood over by the glass doors and Lyle was leaning against the wall while Jez concentrated on the phone with a strange look on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Vic lingered at Welsh’s side and she didn’t know if she was still mad at him or not but she felt better when she was next to him and she felt uncomfortable and annoyed just by standing in this house. All that money and he couldn’t save his fucking daughter. Vic’s pop had given up everything for her and he’d had little to nothing to begin with and Colette couldn’t lift a fucking finger to save his little girl when he was getting pieces sent to him in the mail and she wondered what that meant. She wondered if that meant her dad had loved her. Avi leaned down and pressed a button on the phone and Colette cleared his throat. “Paulo?” he asked. A harsh voice came through the speakers. It was rough and ragged and he drawled his words like he was drunk or high. She wondered if he was. “Hello Timmy,” Paulo said. “How are you?” A sneer curled Tim’s lips and he took another drink before he slammed it down on the glass table. “Where’s my daughter, Paulo?” he snarled. Vic watched him and she stiffened a little because her father had said something so similar once when he bashed into a stripper’s apartment to drag her out of the foster system. “Alive,” Paulo drawled. She heard him laugh darkly. “I already gave you a part of her. Where’s my ten billion dollars?” Colette shoved himself off the couch and he started to pace. “I’m not paying that,” he snapped, and Vic felt herself suck in a breath because she couldn’t tell if he was pissed because Paulo wanted his money or because he’d sent him a piece of his little girl. Somehow she didn’t believe it was the second one. “I’m not paying,” he said again, shaking his head. Avi watched him coolly with his arms crossed over his chest and she couldn’t tell what that bastard was thinking. The man on the phone sighed and he just sounded tired. He sounded bored and she wondered again if he was on drugs. “Timmy. Timmy,” he said. “I told you what would happen if you didn’t pay. I warned you what the consequences would be. Why didn’t you listen to me? You don’t want this little girl to end up dead, do you? Or is she just collateral damage?” Welsh stiffened next to her and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His face had gone hard and cold and he was staring at Avi, his eyes narrowed with something like hatred in them. She wondered what he was thinking and it was weird that she wanted to know. She wanted to be able to look at him and understand him and know what he was thinking without having to ask it and she thought that was a strange thing to want. She rubbed at her arms and she thought again that she was getting way too attached and she shouldn’t let it make her smile that he thought she was beautiful. Tim snarled. “Just give me my daughter back. Give her back and I’ll forget this whole thing.” Paulo laughed again and it was dark and miserable. “Of course you will. You’ll forget all about Paulo and what you did to him and you’ll just take your beautiful little girl and go to your beautiful home and I’ll go back to the trailer park and hope I get to see my kid on the weekends? No, no Timmy I don’t think we’re going to do that. You pay up or I’ll send you another finger. Maybe a toe.” Vic growled low in her throat the comment and Avi shot her a warning glance because Paulo probably wasn’t supposed to know that they were here. She couldn’t help it. She hated Colette because why the fuck didn’t he just pay the money and get his girl back? Why didn’t he call the cops and why wasn’t he out there himself trying to get her back? Was he waiting for her to save herself, because she was too young and too small to do that and it wasn’t fair to expect. It wasn’t fair for her dad to just leave her there as long as he had. Avi leaned down and covered the speaker with his hand, turning so he could talk to Colette. “Make the deal,” he said softly. Colette picked his glass up and threw it across the room. The two security guys jumped at the motion as it smashed into the wall next to him but they otherwise didn’t move from their position. She wondered where the fuck they’d been when Heidi was getting kidnapped and if either of them had helped. “I’m not paying that son of a bitch,” Colette snarled. Avi leaned in closer, his hand pressing down harder over the speaker. His voice was low and quiet and his mouth was right by Colette’s ear. “I didn’t say pay him,” he told him. “I said make the deal.” There was a moment of quiet while Colette stared at him for a moment and then he snorted and just stared at the phone. “Timmy you still there?” Paulo drawled, because no one had said anything for a moment. He waited and Colette didn’t answer at first and then she heard Paulo laugh on the other end. “Do you want to talk to your little girl? Come here Heidi, talk to daddy.” They could hear movement on the other end and then a quiet sobbing in the background. “Are you listening daddy?” he said darkly. “Talk to your little girl and explain to her that money is more important than her life.” “Heidi?” Tim said, his voice breaking a little. He sat forward on the couch and braced both arms on the table as he leaned over the phone. “Heidi are you there honey? I’m here. Daddy’s here, just tell me you’re okay.” They could hear whimpering and crying and then a sobbing voice came on the phone. “Daddy?” she whispered. Vic pressed a hand over her stomach and the words hurt and she couldn’t say why. The girl sounded so sad and broken and she was asking for her father to come save her and it was bullshit that Paulo was right that money was more important than his little girl’s life. It was bullshit that his daughter was expecting him to fix it and how could he just sit there and tell her that he wasn’t going to come save her because he didn’t want to part with his company. Maybe Paulo wouldn’t give her back. Maybe Paulo was lying and he was just going to kill her after he had the money but what if he wouldn’t? Was it worth the risk? “I’m here baby girl,” he told her, and Vic tried not to snarl at the words. Her fingers tightened on her arms and she jutted her chin out because she couldn’t let this become personal. They had to be prepared for the possibility that the girl was going to die and that her dad was going to let her and that was life. It was shitty and it was awful but that was the way it worked. “Daddy,” she whispered. The little girl sobbed afterwards and it sounded broken and terrified. “Daddy I’m scared. He hurt me. Please daddy, don’t let him hurt me anymore.” Colette leaned forward more and he slipped right off the couch onto the floor. He dragged the phone over to him and Avi reached down to stop him from dragging the recorder right off onto the floor. “Its okay honey, you don’t have to be scared,” he said to her, and just by looking at the man Vic didn’t believe that for one fucking second. “Daddy’s going to get you back and he’s going to kill the rat bastard that hurt you, okay honey?” “Please daddy,” she whimpered. “I just want to go home.” She kept crying even as the phone left her ear and Paulo took it back. “See?” his voice curled through the phone. “She’s still alive. Now give me the money and she stays that way.” “Fine!” Colette yelled, slamming his hand down on the table. “Alright,” he said again quieter. She watched him bury his head in his hands and he looked like he didn’t want to say the words that came out of his mouth next. His fingers kept clenching and unclenching in his hair and then he lifted his head. “I’ll give you the money. Just don’t hurt her anymore.” Paulo laughed again. “I knew you’d come around Timmy. It’s easy, isn’t it? It’s easy watching other people get hurt. Not so easy watching your own flesh and blood get carved up.” “Just tell me where,” Colette snapped. “You have pen and paper?” he said, and then he laughed like he’d made a joke. Vic wondered if he was having fun with this and if he was happy he’d won or if it didn’t matter if he won or lost as long as he got to hurt Colette in the process. There wasn’t anywhere ehd’ be able to hide with ten billion dollars. Not with Colette backing the Shifter Initiative. He was a dead man either way and she wondered if everyone in this room understood just how dangerous that made him. She didn’t think Colette did. “Are you writing this down Timmy? Ten billion in unmarked American bills and I want it in two hours.” He scoffed and pushed the phone away from him. “I can’t get all that in two hours,” he spat, and Vic’s eyes widened because she couldn’t believe he was arguing because he didn’t like the timeline. He wasn’t going to pay up anyway, why the fuck wouldn’t he want his daughter back as soon as possible? “Yes you can,” Paulo said lowly. “You can or you get sent an ear.” Wenston Two hours was a long time to wait. It was a long time for a man to be alone with a scared little girl. It was a long time for that girl’s father to sit and wonder what was most important to him in life. It was a long time for Vic to not say anything to him. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking, to say those things to her. What had he expected her to do? Tell him that she wanted more than just to fuck him and throw him to the side too? He wondered what she did want. He wondered why she kept asking him and if she just wanted someone to sleep with her, then maybe he shouldn’t be leading her on. After an hour and forty five minutes of standing around, checking weapons, and watching the phone not ring, Simon headed out to the back yard and sat down on the steps of his cement back porch. He placed his M-4 across his knees and he’d brought a picture of Heidi from the mantelpiece of the fireplace outside with him. He didn’t know why. He just wanted to look at it and remind himself why he was here. Why he was doing this. He wanted to remind himself that sometimes there were people he could save and Avi wasn’t going to shoot this little girl like he’d done the girl in Brazil. Inside, Alexey was entertaining everyone by playing the piano. Or at least he was just entertaining himself. Simon didn’t even know that AC/DC songs could be played on the piano, but apparently Alexey knew how to do it. Jez was leaned on the piano, watching him play. Avi and Colette sat quietly on the couch, waiting and Avi wasn’t even yelling at Alexey for playing. Tony was standing over his brother, watching him work the keys and it looked like he was trying to take lessons. He’d lost track of where Vic had gone. Until he heard her footsteps on the porch, heading his way. He tried not to tense, but it didn’t quite work. He wondered if she was going to yell at him or tell him he was stupid because he couldn’t just give her a straight answer. He could practically feel her foot kicking into his back as she yelled at him or started hitting him to teach him a lesson. But that never happened. He was surprised when she sat down quietly next to him on the stairs. Vic’s eyes went to the picture frame in his hands and he watched as she reached out and plucked it away from his fingers. She held it in front of her and smirked a little bit before turning it over and setting it down on the porch, face down. “You shouldn’t get so attached,” she said, but the words weren’t bitter or mean. She just said them quietly and they sounded a little distant. “I know,” he said quietly and she glanced up at his face. He couldn’t even look at her. He didn’t know why, but he was embarrassed that he’d said those things to her because they’d basically just met and yeah, they’d been hanging out every day, but he wasn’t sure if he should be having these sort of feelings for her already. How long had it taken him to have feelings for Kim? He cleared his throat and crossed his arms on top of his M-4, looking out at the yard. “I just…I hope she’s alright.” She was quiet next to him and he chewed on his lip because he didn’t know what she was thinking and maybe she thought he was weak again because he cared about this little girl he didn’t even know. But she was just a kid. And she was probably terrified and she didn’t deserve the things that were happening to her. “What’s your favorite Kung Fu movie?” Vic asked suddenly and he finally glanced over at her. She had her head tipped back and her jaw jutted and it was like they were on her couch again, eating popcorn and watching movies and they weren’t in the middle of a mission. He watched her face for a second and she was so god damned beautiful sitting there. He hadn’t been lying to her when he’d told her that. When he didn’t answer right away, she turned to look at him with a frown on her face. “Are you slow today or just don’t like answering questions?” she snapped, but there was a playful look in her eyes. Simon snorted and a smile broke his face. It grew wider when he saw it reflected back on hers. Then he narrowed his eyes in concentration, like he was giving the question real thought. “The Five Deadly Venoms,” he said after a moment. Vic raised an eyebrow at him. “Nice choice,” she said and then tipped her head to look at him more closely. “I like The Street Fighter. You can’t go wrong with Sonny Chiba.” He chuckled and couldn’t keep the smile off his face. That had been one of the first movies she’d made him watch when he’d shown up after Avi had kicked the crap out of him. “I liked him in Swords of Vengeance.” “The Fall of Ako Castle,” Vic said, giving him a narrowed look and he smiled beneath it. “If you’re going to claim to like his movies, at least get the titles right.” “Sorry,” he said and looked back down at his hands. She didn’t tell him not to apologize or that saying sorry was for the weak or do any of those things. She went quiet too and he felt the smile slip off his face because he’d made things awkward between them and that was the last thing he’d wanted to do. He cleared his throat and cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure no one was behind him before he asked, “Do you really think I can beat Avi?” Vic looked at him and there was a smirk on her face. “Not right now,” she said honestly and he smiled because she was really straightforward sometimes. Her face softened a little and he wasn’t used to seeing that on her. She shrugged a little and wrapped her arms around her knees, bending forward and looking out at their helicopter parked on Colette’s lawn. “But eventually,” she nodded her head. “We’ll get you there.” “So,” he said and clucked his tongue. She turned her head to the side, resting the side of her face on her knees as she looked up at him. “You don’t think I’m weak, then?” he asked with a grin. She snorted and lifted her head to say, “You’re soft,” before she laid it back down. “Soft?” he feigned horror. He sat up straighter and put his hands to his stomach. “Do you know how hard I worked to have a body like this one?” He waggled his eyebrows at her and he felt a wave of relief and happiness when she actually laughed, pure and honest, and sat up, shaking her head at him. He leaned forward to look at her face. “Very hard. Hours of yoga.” It made her laugh again before she closed her eyes against the setting sun and turned her head away from him so he couldn’t see her face. Her shoulders slumped a little and when she spoke, the humor and lightheartedness was out of her voice. “Why are you nice to me?” she asked so quietly he almost didn’t hear her. The question was a ridiculous one. He scoffed and said, “Why wouldn’t I be?” like it was the strangest thing he’d ever heard. Vic’s head turned back around to look at him and he was surprised by the serious look in her eyes. Her dark eyes were searching his face and he didn’t like the hurt expression on her features. “No one’s nice to me.” He wasn’t sure why the words hurt, but they did. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t like that. He didn’t like that people were mean to her and he wanted to ask who was mean so he could go have a word with them. Not that he didn’t think she could take care of herself, but she shouldn’t have to. Jezibel’s voice broke the silence passing between them. “He just called with a location,” she said and they both turned to look at her. She was poking her head out the back door, her eyes going between the both of them and she smiled a little at Simon, her eyes lingering. “We’re leaving in five.” Then she disappeared back into the house. He turned to look at Vic and she was glaring at Jezibel’s retreating form and he wasn’t sure why, but it made him smile. “Maybe I just don’t want you to beat me up,” he said and she turned to glare at him. He smiled to show he was joking and she rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet. He couldn’t stop himself. His hand came up and caught hers and she froze in her steps. Her head shot down to him and he just looked up at her and he really, really wanted to know who was mean to her. He wanted to make sure no one was ever mean to her again. “Or maybe I just think you deserve someone to be nice to you,” he whispered and he felt her hand shake in his grasp. He couldn’t read her face. Letting her hand go, he stood up and gave her a grin. “But it’s mostly because I don’t want to get beat up,” he said, walking backwards as he headed towards the house. She was watching him and a slow smile spread across her face. He loved that smile. .Wolfie. They rode in the back of a black van on their way to the rendezvous point and Vic liked this less and less.She didn’t see an outcome where this worked out well for the girl. Maybe if they were actually bringing daddy’s money like he promised than Paulo Valentino would let her go and she could go back home to her room and her stuffed animals and her grand piano. Though she wondered if she would be able to play it missing a finger and she knew as soon as she thought it how morbid that was. She tipped her head back against the metal wall and held her M-4 tightly in her hands. Avi sat with his back to the driver and he had his hands laced together and his chin resting on them as he studied his team. Simon sat next to her and Jezibel on the other side of him and she was trying to ignore that one. At least the woman wasn’t hitting on him this time. They were all quiet and maybe she wasn’t the only one thinking this couldn’t end well. Then again, if all else failed they could grab Valentino and get the location out of him by force. It sounded like he was working alone, so he had to be the one to get the cash. Not that he could get very far with it. Alexey was sitting in the middle of Tony and Lyle and he was glaring at Simon from across the van. “How did I end up with the manwich again?” he demanded. Welsh laughed quietly at his brother and shook his head, but his attention was on the gun in his hands. She thought about how she’d found him sitting on the porch with the picture of a little girl he didn’t even know in his hands. She should have told him that attachments were weakness and if he wanted to survive he couldn’t give a fuck if one little girl lived or died. She should have told him that she didn’t need him to be nice to her or call her beautiful. She didn’t say any of those things because a little part of her that was still human liked that he cared. She liked that when they were storming the jungle to kill a monstrosity they’d created, he cared more about some little kid in a hut. She liked that he was here because he wanted to save a little girl and not just because Elias had told them to be here. She liked that he was nice to her and that was where she got scared because there was a reason no one was. No one was nice to her because she wasn’t nice to anyone. She didn’t have friends and maybe that was the part where Welsh was confusing her because she thought he was trying to be her friend and maybe she was getting it mixed up with him wanting to fuck her. She wasn’t used to someone wanting the first and not the second from her and she wasn’t sure how to respond to it. For a moment she bit her lip and she could still feel his fingers brushing her skin and holding her hand tightly while he told her that she deserved to have someone be nice to her and it scared her that he thought that because he didn’t know her. As soon as he did he would change his mind. As soon as he found out the things she’d done with her life and the places she’d been and the people she’d fucked he wouldn’t think she deserved much of anything anymore. She looked down at her hands and the gun resting in them and tried not to think that Elias was right and she was damaged goods. Maybe when he found that out he wouldn’t be nice to her anymore and that was why she didn’t get attached and let people get close. She thought all of those things and she knew they were probably true and it didn’t change the fact that she liked that he’d called her beautiful and she liked his skin touching hers and she sucked in a breath and tried to focus. “So what are our orders, Captain?” Welsh asked. His eyes were focused on Avi and the man lifted his head to glare at Welsh for a moment while he tried to figure out if he was trying to be a smart ass or not. Even Vic couldn’t tell so she rubbed a hand over her mouth to try and stifle a smile because she thought maybe he was. She wondered when it would come to blows between them again and if Simon wasn’t ready then she’d be damned if she just stood back and let him get massacred again. “Collette goes to make the drop,” he snapped. “As soon as we’ve got him in sight we go in. Get the girl, take care of Valentino.” “We’re going to kill him?’ Welsh asked. He frowned but he didn’t sound annoyed when he asked the question, just curious like he hadn’t thought about it and she wondered if he really hadn’t. She wondered what he thought they were going to do with him and she tilted her head to the side so she could watch his face. Across from them Lyle snorted in amusement and shook his head. She heard Avi shifting in his seat and he barely kept himself from snarling out his answer. She wondered why they hated each other so much. “Of course we are,” he snapped. “You don’t have a problem with that, do you Mr. Welsh?” “No,” he said quietly, and she watched him look back down at his gun. “Just double checking I guess.” Avi snorted but he didn’t say anything else and Vic still didn’t look at him. She was studying Welsh’s face and watching him roll the information over in his head and she thought about him pulling the trigger on Costas DeFranco. She was pretty sure it was his first kill and she wondered if it had been easier than he thought or if he beat himself up over it. She wondered what he would think of her if he knew that she’d killed people before she’d ever been recruited and she wondered why she cared so much what he thought about her. He glanced over at her when he realized she was watching him and she watched him smile for her. She tried not to smile back and it didn’t work. She ducked her head and focused back on the M-4 while she listened to the engine underneath them. She had no problem being bounced around in a tin can when it was on the ground, why couldn’t she handle it when they were flying. She shook her head and rechecked her weapons and it always made her feel better to feel that combat knife strapped to her thigh because if all else failed then she always knew how to use that. She felt them hit a bump and then they were driving over something rough and she thought about where they were going. It was almost funny that they were ending up by the water again. Valentino had given them directions to a boathouse on the river and she tipped her head to the side to glance at Welsh. “Don’t try to drown on me today, okay?” she told him, smirking up at him. His eyes narrowed and he focused on her eyes while he tried to figure out if she was being a bitch or not and then a smile creased his face. He snorted and shook his head. “Trust me, it’s not high on my to-do list.” She felt the van rattling and then they were pulling into park and she felt the thrill of adrenaline race up her spine. She licked her lips and wondered if this would really be a quick smash and grab or if Valentino had friends that they didn’t know about. She wondered how Colette thought this was going to go down and she didn’t understand the man because he sat there and got drunk and acted like he gave a shit about his daughter but he couldn’t get off his ass to do something about it and the man was weak. He was weak and she hated weakness and he didn’t deserve a daughter that had faith in him and could sit there and get her finger cut off and still be coherent when her father tried to talk to her. Still, people rarely got what they deserved. They got what they took because strength and survival were all that mattered. She watched Avi as he pushed himself out of his seat and went to the back of the van. He pushed the door open and hoped down, eyes scanning the area before he turned around and gestured for them to follow. They piled out onto the docks and she swept the area in a quick glance. There were boats floating on the water but most of them looked like they would sink if anyone tried to take them out any deeper. The docks were messy and unused and the boards looked rotted beneath her feet. She lifted her head and looked down towards the boathouse sitting on the river and she wondered if Heidi Collette was still in there or if she was floating in the water. Timothy Collette climbed out of a limo next to them, his two bodyguards pulling twin black bags out of the trunk. Avi walked up to him, his gun cradled in his arms as he looked down at the man. “Once you hand off the bags, you get out. We’ll take care of the rest.” Vic snorted because Avi was trying to sound so in control and professional and she wondered if Collette had been given the heads up on him. He’d fucked up twice in the last two missions and she wondered if there was a three strikes rule. If there was, she hoped he held off until the next mission to fuck it up because she didn’t think Welsh could take watching a little girl die. She could, but then she was more than a little fucked up. Didn’t mean she wanted to, but she could handle it if it came to that. Tim nodded and pulled at his tie though she didn’t know what the point was because it was barely around his neck. “Got it,” he said, nodding again, and she wondered if he was still drunk because he looked a little unsteady. “Let’s go,” he snapped, turning around and heading for the boathouse. He didn’t wait for Avi to move or for him to get them into position and she wondered if he was going to ruin this mission for them because he was drunk. She smiled a little as she wondered how Rogers would explain that to Elias and then the smile fell off her face because she could never smile anymore when she thought about Elias. They crouched on either side of the entrance, waiting while a nervous Collette stood at the door. He set the bags down next to his feet and rapped at the door. “Paulo?” he called, picking up the two bags and taking a step back. The knock echoed off the wood and Vic held her breath as she waited for a response. He’d been vague about the directions after this point. He wanted two bags of bills and he wanted Collette to bring them himself, right to his doorstep. She wondered if Paulo was even inside. They settled into position on either side of the door, crouching next to it and waiting with guns ready in case Paulo opened the door. She licked her lips and waited, aware of Welsh crouching behind her and trying not to be aware of how close he was. A small hiss of breath escaped her lips when she heard the sudden ringing and Collette cursed and flipped open his cell phone. “Hello?” he said harshly, wavering a little on his feet. Avi left position to march over to him, leaning his head in so that he could hear what was going on too. She watched his expression, and she watched it narrow into a glare. His hand came up to cover the receiver and he shook his head. “No,” he mouthed at Collette, but the man just sneered at him. “Sure,” he snapped into the phone. “I’ll bring it down,” he told the person on the other end. Then he snapped the phone closed and slipped it back into his pocket. He ignored the glare on Avi’s face and she could tell Rogers just wanted to manhandle the guy into cooperating and it would have made her laugh how annoyed he was except there was nothing really funny about this. Collette was reaching forward and opening the door and her eyes widened because god damn it, the stupid asshole was really going down there. Avi growled low in his throat and then he was gesturing at the door. “Move,” he snapped at them, and then he followed Collette down the stairs. Wenston Simon was trying to remember how to breathe as they made their way to the lower level of the boathouse. Colette was in front and he was stalking like a mad man and it made no sense to Simon that he wouldn’t pay the ransom for his daughter but here he was charging in there. Following him closely was Avi. The others filtered in and Simon made sure to know where his brother was at all times. Alexey was behind him, with Tony and for once they weren’t cracking jokes or making smart comments and maybe Alexey was a little scared of what they’d find down there. Maybe Simon was too. Vic was in front of him and he was trying to stick as close to her as he could. She had her gun held out in front of her and her head ducked and she was keeping her eyes on Colette and the room they were walking into and she was so prepared and tough and he wanted her to teach him those things. He wanted to tell her that he admired her and thought she was mysterious and beautiful and he thought it was weird that he was thinking all these things because a year ago, she wouldn’t have been someone he’d be thinking these things about. Or maybe he just never would have met someone like her. The lower level was dark save for a swinging overhead light illuminating two figures in the room. One was Paulo Valentino. He stood behind the other figure. Heidi Colette was tied to a chair. She had blood at the corners of her mouth and bruises on her cheeks from where he must have smacked her around a bit. Bloody gauze encompassed her left hand where he’d removed one of her fingers and Paulo was standing behind her, holding a knife to her throat and using her as a shield as he watched them come into the room. “I told you to come along, Timmy,” Paulo sneered. Colette, for what it was worth, ignored the man’s comment and pointed a finger at him. “Let her go,” he demanded. “Money first,” Paulo demanded. Colette held up the two cases. “It’s here,” he said and Simon wondered if Paulo was buying any of it, because he couldn’t figure out how the man expected to get out of this. Once Colette handed him the money, they weren’t just going to let him walk away. Lyle answered that question. “There’s a bomb under the chair,” he said beneath his breath. Simon glanced at him and he saw Avi stiffen a little. Paulo must have heard the comment because he grinned and looked at Lyle. “You are correct, sir.” He wrapped a fist into Heidi’s hair and pulled her head back. The little girl sobbed and Simon felt his heart skip a beat because she shouldn’t be in the middle of this. “Here’s how this is going to work. I’ve just started the timer on this bomb, it’s set to go off in five minutes. I can remotely keep that from happening, but I’ll do it from a safe distance and you’ll let me walk out of here and don’t come after me.” “That’s not going to happen,” Avi told him. Paulo snorted. “Oh yes it is,” he snarled. “Because the second part of this is that there’s a weight sensor on the chair. So if she’s lifted off of it, boom boom.” He grinned and it was a wicked, crazy thing that sent shivers up Simon’s spine. His eyes went back to Heidi and she was looking at her father with wide, terrified blue eyes. He hadn’t said anything to her and Simon thought if he was in Colette’s position, he’d be doing everything the man asked and he’d be telling her that it was going to be okay because so far, no one had told her that. Maybe no one believed it. Simon did. “You’re sick, Paulo,” Colette said coldly. “You won’t get away with this.” “Watch me,” Paulo growled and then pointed at Colette. “Toss the bags here.” Colette seemed to hesitate for a second and Paulo didn’t like it. He tugged back on Heidi’s hair and the knife drew a small bloody line on her neck. She cried, her cheeks pink and stained with tears. Colette snarled and then threw the bags to the side of where Paulo was crouched behind the little girl. The man eyed the bags and glanced at the back of the chair a moment. “Four minutes, twenty three seconds,” he said. “Don’t try anything.” Then he came out from behind Heidi and reached for the bags. They were all surprised when Avi’s gun went off, crimson exploding out the back of Paulo’s head. His eyes were wide, like they were shocked, but he was dead before he hit the ground. For a moment, they all just stood there, staring at the dead man. Then Avi turned and simply said, “Liddle.” The wiry blonde man seemed uncomfortable for a moment and then he was hurrying across the boathouse to Paulo’s dead body, rifling through his pockets to find the remote. Colette turned to Avi, his eyes wide and burning. “You couldn’t have waited until my daughter was safe?” he demanded. Avi ignored him and turned to them again. “Bruno, Givessi – take Mr. Colette outside, a safe distance.” Tony and Jezibel hesitated, like they weren’t sure how this was going to work out and Simon had to agree with them. But then Avi snarled, “Now,” and Tony came forward, grabbing Colette’s arm. The man put up a little fight, but all Tony had to do was tighten his grip and the man left, with a glance over his shoulder at his daughter. “Daddy!” Heidi cried as he disappeared around the corner and Simon’s heart broke because she was so terrified. He headed over to her, ignoring the glare Avi was giving him. “Uh,” Lyle said, as he pulled a device out of Paulo’s pocket. “Houston, we have a problem.” “What problem?” Avi growled, walking over to Lyle. Liddle held up the device. “It requires a password,” he said. “Not enough time to crack it.” “Can you defuse the bomb?” Avi asked. Lyle raised an eyebrow. “You just expect me to know how to do these things? I like playing with C-4, doesn’t mean I’m a bomb expert.” “Liddle!” Avi yelled. The man held up his hands, “Alright, alright,” he said and crawled over to the chair, lying on his back to get a look at the bomb. Simon crouched down in front of the chair and ducked his head so he could look at the little girl’s face. “Heidi?” he asked and she was crying, fat teardrops running down her cheeks. Behind him, he heard Vic walk over quietly and Alexey was close behind her. “My name’s Simon,” he said as he swung his M-4 across his shoulder and reached to untie one of her hands. “Welsh,” Avi warned and Simon ignored him. “See the pretty girl behind me?” he asked and he saw Heidi’s wild eyes focus a little bit as she turned her head to look at Vic. “Her name is Vic. And the dopey looking kid next to her is my little brother, Alexey.” The ropes around her small right wrist came loose and he reached forward to put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s a girl’s name,” Heidi sniffled. Simon laughed and nodded his head. “I’ve been trying to tell him that his whole life.” Behind him, Alexey scoffed. “What? Alexey is a very masculine Russian name. If you’re going to make fun of names, make fun of Vic’s. That’s a boy’s name. Short for Victor. Actually, that’s a pretty cool name. Maybe I should change my name to Victor.” Simon smiled when a small laugh escaped Heidi, her eyes coming back to Simon. She was still crying, but at least he had her attention now. “He talks a lot,” Simon explained needlessly. “Three minutes,” Lyle announced. Simon ignored him a moment and ducked his head to give Heidi a serious look. “I’m going to untie your other hand, but you have to promise not to get up, okay, Heidi?” She bit her lip and nodded. Simon moved to untie her other hand, but he kept his eyes on her. “I saw some trophies in your room,” he said casually and a small smile crossed her little face. “You like to dance?” She nodded again. “Well you must be pretty good, those were some big trophies.” The rope came loose and Heidi suddenly rushed forward. He heard Vic and Alexey gasp behind him, but he was ready. He moved forward quickly, his shoulder catching her to keep her weight on the chair while at the same time bringing one of his hands down to push down on the seat of the chair. The room seemed to still for a moment and then Lyle’s head poked out from the side of the chair, his eyes wide as he sneered at Simon. Simon just looked at the man and then licked his lips, because they couldn’t stay like this. “Will it go off if more pressure is applied?” he asked softly, trying not to scare Heidi. “Uh,” Lyle said, raising a brow at him. “No, only if there’s less than what she weighs. Why? Are you about to do something stupid?” Simon shot the man a smile and then he titled his head to the side to look at Heidi’s face. She was hugging his shoulder tightly, crying again. “Hey, Heidi,” he said gently and she lifted her head to look at him. “Have you ever played a game called musical chairs?” She nodded her head. “Welsh,” Avi snarled and then he was stalking towards them. “Whatever you’re about to do, stop it,” he warned. “Simon, I would listen to him this time,” Alexey said and he sounded nervous behind him. He ignored all of them. “Well,” he said, focusing on Heidi. “You know when you get down to the last chair and you have to fight someone for it?” She smiled slightly, tears still falling from her eyes. “I really want this chair,” he told her. He heard Alexey and Vic shift and let out quick breaths behind him and he guessed they knew where he was going with this. “So, dopey Alexey back there? He’s gonna come over here and pick you up and all you have to do is let him carry you to your Dad, okay?” “I’m what?” Alexey snapped. “I don’t think-” Simon cut him off. “But I need to switch spots with you and I need him to be ready,” he shot back at Alexey, who sighed and took a few steps forward. “We’re going to do it on the count of three, okay?” Lyle peeked out again. “Hey, I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said and Simon glared at him. The man just shrugged and went back to work on the bomb. “Two minutes, by the way.” “You ready?” he asked Heidi and she nodded. “Okay, one…two…three!” He held his breath as he scooted onto the chair. Alexey rushed forward, grabbing Heidi and pulling her off of Simon’s shoulder as he slid into her spot, making sure to press down on the seat until he was in place. Alexey turned around, shielding the little girl in his arms if it didn’t work. For a horrible second, everyone in the room held their breath, waiting to see if the bomb would go off. But it didn’t. Simon let out a breath and looked up at Alexey, who was looking at him with wide eyes and he wasn’t joking or smiling or telling him a good job. He just looked terrified. “He’s gonna take you to your Dad now, Heidi,” Simon said and he was proud of himself that his voice wasn’t shaking. His hands were tight on the arms of the chair, knuckles white. “Simon,” Alexey said, terrified. “Lex,” was all he could say back and his brother looked like he wanted to say more, but then the little girl was hugging him around his neck and Alexey’s arm came up to her back and he growled, turning around and hurrying with her up the stairs. Simon relaxed a little and he glanced at Avi, who looked furious and finally at Vic, who was looking at him and he couldn’t read the look on her face. Avi growled and walked around to look at what Lyle was doing. Simon just kept looking at Vic and she kept staring back at him. He tried to smile for her, but it felt strained. Finally, Vic’s face contorted into one of anger. “You’re an idiot,” she snarled. Simon grinned at her. “So I’ve been told.” .Wolfie. “Liddle, are you making any progress?” Avi demanded. His arms were crossed over his chest and his jaw was tight.Vic wondered if he actually cared or if he just didn’t want to clean up the mess. His gaze was locked on Lyle and his shoulders were tight and strained and his nostrils were flaring because he was agitated. There was a body on the floor because he’d shot Paulo Valentino point blank and she wondered what the fuck he’d been thinking. Not that she wasn’t thrilled he was dead and all, but now she was standing there watching the seconds on Welsh’s life tick away faster than she liked to acknowledge and if he hadn’t put himself in the chair she’d be waiting for Heidi Colette to get blown to bits instead. “No,” Lyle snapped back. He was crouched under the chair and she couldn’t see what he was doing. She wondered if he could stop it in time because he didn’t sound too confident and she thought maybe Avi was overestimating how much he liked to play with explosives. “But there’s sixty seconds left until we all get blown up so maybe you could shut the fuck up and let me concentrate.” Normally Vic would have laughed that someone else was back talking Rogers, but she just couldn’t get herself to smile. Welsh was sitting in the chair with a bomb strapped under his seat and he was just watching her with that small smile on his face. Her eyes flickered back to Lyle and then back at him and she felt her heart beginning to climb up into her throat because there was a fucking bomb in here and every instinct was screaming at her to run because she wasn’t willing to die for anyone. Not even Welsh. Not even if he smiled at her and thought she was beautiful. Survival came first and she should have been running. She couldn’t get herself to move. He was watching her and just her and maybe redirecting his focus was helping him not think about the bomb threatening to end his life here and now or maybe he just thought she was pretty and she didn’t want him to die. “Wolfe, go upstairs,” Avi snapped, glancing over at her. His knuckles were starting to turn white around his arms and she thought she could hear his teeth grinding from where she stood. Beneath the chair she could hear Lyle cursing as he tried to diffuse a bomb set by a psychotic drug-addled kidnapper. “Wolfe,” Avi snarled, his eyes narrowing as he watched her. “Go.” She couldn’t look away from Simon. He smiled gently at her and it looked sad. “It’s alright,” he told her. “Go.” He was scared. She could tell he was scared because his knuckles were white around the chair and the smile on his face never reached his eyes. But his voice was steady and he looked calm and she wondered if he had looked like this when the cancer was killing him and she wondered again if anyone had held his hand when it happened and she didn’t want to leave him here to die alone. Avi grabbed her by the arm and turned her towards the stairs before giving her a shove. “Wolfe, that is a direct order,” he barked at her, and she wondered why he cared. Then his head snapped over his shoulder. “Liddle, can you make it or not?” She couldn’t look away from Simon. She felt panicked and scared and sad because she wanted to run but then Welsh would die alone. Her head was racing a thousand miles an hour and she thought about her dad dying in a pool of blood while she watched. She thought about how fucking stupid it was that Welsh put his head in front of Avi’s gun and how he’d gone after Gustavo for her and almost fallen off the cliff. She thought about Heidi sitting there sad and scared while a strange man hurt her and her dad couldn’t say a word to her. Not a single fucking word. He didn’t tell her that it wasn’t her fault and she shouldn’t be scared and that she didn’t deserve this and she felt her chest constricting because all he’d told her was not to be a victim. It was Welsh who’d gone to her and talked to her and tried to help keep her calm and keep her safe when her own father had just fucking stood there. Welsh was the one who’d taken her place and it should have been her dad in that chair and it wasn’t. He was upstairs with his daughter and his money and power while someone else cleaned up the mess. “Thirty seconds,” Lyle growled, and she saw his fingers moving but she didn’t know what he was doing. “Fifteen more seconds and then you leave, Liddle,” Rogers snapped at him, and then he whirled towards Vic. “Let’s go,” he snarled at her, his hand curling around her arm and pulling her towards the stairs. For a moment she let him, her boots dragging over the wooden floor as she stared over her shoulder at Welsh. He was sitting there watching her and there wasn’t hate or resentment in his eyes and she didn’t understand because he couldn’t want to die. If he wanted to die then he would stop getting up so how could he sit there so calmly and not be mad that she was leaving and not say a word? Her heart was pounding her chest and in the back of her head she was counting down the seconds and every nerve was telling her to run because she didn’t know how big the explosion would be and she didn’t want to die like this. She didn’t want to die at all. “No,” she snapped abruptly at Rogers. She yanked her arm loose and Avi cursed at her but then he was booking it up the stairs. She could hear his feet pounding on them and he didn’t look back and he didn’t hesitate when the time came to get the fuck out. Simon was watching her and she crouched down in front of him. She glared at him and her voice was biting. “I’m not dying for you,” she snapped at him. “But the last face you see shouldn’t have to be Liddle’s.” Simon laughed quietly and she heard Lyle grumble. “You should be nicer to the guy that’s trying to save his ass.” His hand lifted for a moment and she felt his thumb brush over her chin in a small touch. It sent a shiver down her spine and she really didn’t want him to die here and she was really scared he was about to. “Thanks,” he told her softly. “Fuck it,” Lyle snapped. She heard something snap and her breath caught in her throat as she tipped her head to look at him. He whistled to himself and she wasn’t sure what he was doing but his fingers were moving quickly and efficiently. There was the sound of something else snapping and suddenly Lyle was jerking up and taking quick steps backwards. “Well, I think I disconnected the pressure wire,” he said in a quick, slurred breath, his feet already carrying him towards the exit. “So you could probably run. Just you know, give me a head start in case I fucked up.” Then he was racing up the stairs without a single glance back. It took less than half a second for the words to sink in and then Vic was jerking to her feet and moving backwards, her gaze locked on Welsh. She saw the moment when Welsh closed his eyes and maybe he was praying under his breath. Was he a religious man? She didn’t know. She didn’t know a lot of things about him but if he didn’t move his ass she wasn’t ever going to get to find out. Then he was pushing himself upright and the instant the bomb didn’t go off they were both running for it. He shoved her up the stairs ahead of him and she didn’t have enough time to argue so she just ran. In her head she was counting down the seconds and she wondered how many had been left on the clock when Lyle had snapped the wire and she wondered if ten seconds was enough to get far enough away. Her boots pounded on the stairs and all she could hear was her own heavy breathing rasping out of her lungs and the blood thundering in her ears. They burst out the doors into the night and she heard shouting from down the docks. She could see the van and the limo still parked down by the end and she thought she could see Collette holding his daughter. There was a flicker of shadow as Lyle ran ahead of them and then the bomb went off. The blast was loud and harsh in her ears and she felt sudden heat at her back before she was thrown forward. There was a moment where her feet left the ground and then she was hitting the ground hard, her face striking the wooden surface before she rolled across it. She came to rest against a crate and for a moment she could only just lay there, the lights blinding in her eyes. Fire and chunks of wood rained down around her and splashed into the river before her. She could see the remains of the boathouse burning brightly and right in front of her she could see her hand lying limply with skinned and bloodied knuckles. There was a groan next to her and she tilted her head back, ignoring the pain her neck as she focused on the shape lying on the docks beside her. Simon was face down on the wooden surface, blood trickling from the corner of his lip and a fresh gash over his eye. The back of his shirt was smoldering and then he rolled over onto his back and put it out. She watched him as his eyes flickered and he focused on the sky above them. It was filled with ash and smoke and a black cloud that rose up towards the moon and tried to swallow the stars. She watched him swallow the blood in his throat and then he braced his boots against the docks. She watched him put his hands against the wooden surface and then he was pushing down against the ground. A groan escaped his lips and he looked like he was in pain and he had just started to heal again. She lay on her side on the docks and she just watched him for a moment because there was blood trickling down over his eye and thirty seconds ago she thought he was going to die and then he was pushing himself upright. He climbed gingerly to his feet and she started laughing. She rolled over onto her back and she could still feel the uncomfortable warmth of the burning boathouse and she was laughing anyway because she had never been so fucking wrong about a person in her life. Smoke and flames all curled towards the sky and she just watched it all until his head appeared over hers, a small smile on his lips. He lifted a hand and tried to wipe the blood off his face and somewhere behind him she could hear Rogers yelling and maybe he was yelling at Lyle or Alexey or Collette but she didn’t care. “What’s so funny?” Welsh asked her, his lips quirked to the side like he wanted to laugh but not without being in on the joke. “You just keep getting back up,” she told him quietly. Wenston “Okay, we’re gonna set a few ground rules from now on,” Alexey was saying. Simon had his head tipped back against the wall and he opened his eyes to look at his brother. They were piled back into the black van, on their way back to Colette’s mansion. They sat on either side and Alexey was glaring at him. His brother hadn’t been very ecstatic that Simon had almost gotten himself blown up. Simon sighed and just tightened his grip on the gauze he was holding to the gash over his eye. Beside him, Vic was sitting quietly and he knew she had to be hurting because she’d been right there with him when the blast had hit and he wondered why she wasn’t bleeding and he was. The question was stupid. Vic was made of tougher stuff than he was. He thought about her laughing and what she’d said to him when he asked what was so funny and he didn’t know what to make of the words. He didn’t know why they were so funny and he didn’t know why Vic had looked at him the way she had as she said them to him. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask her and he wondered if she’d just want to go home and go to sleep when they got back to the compound or if he could convince her to stay and talk with him for a while, because they needed to talk. They needed to talk about what was going on here. Because it was distracting both of them and the next distraction could be their last. And he didn’t want that for her. “First off,” Alexey said and held up a hand, ticking off each point on one of his fingers. “If there’s a bomb that’s about the explode, that does not mean, hey, I’m going to go sit on it. Unless the bomb is my face and the pretty girl is the one wanting to sit on it. Then we can make an exception. But all other times, absolutely no.” Jezibel scoffed and rolled her eyes. Her hand came out to touch Simon’s arm and he rolled his head to look at her and he wondered if he should just come out and tell her he wasn’t interested. Maybe he would, when they were in private sometime. She was smiling up at Simon and she just glared Alexey. “There are several things wrong with that statement, Romanova.” Alexey quirked an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with it? Simon doesn’t sit on bombs, and pretty girls sit on my face. I don’t see anything wrong.” On the other side of him, Vic stiffened and he wondered if it was because Jez had her hands on him and if it was, it made him feel good that she didn’t like it. He thought about her staying in the boathouse with him and her coming over and crouching in front of him. He’d reached out to touch her face and her skin was soft and smooth beneath his fingers and if he hadn’t been scared that any further movement would have killed them all, he may have just leaned forward and kissed her. But maybe he was rushing into it. Maybe that’s not what she wanted at all. Maybe he just should have taken the chance. “Well, dear Simon’s brave move saved a little girl today,” Jezibel said and Simon glanced at her. Her slender fingers tightened on his arm and he really thought he should tell her that he wasn’t interested soon. He wondered if she’d care or if it would change the way she clung to him and spoke about him. “And also, you would have to demonstrate that impressive tongue of yours a little more, before anyone considered sitting on your face.” “Is that an invitation?” Alexey asked, his eyes wide. Jezibel just smirked. “Duly noted.” He nodded his head and then looked back at Simon. “Second of all,” he continued. “No more stepping in front of guns. Or almost falling off cliffs. Or drowning. You know what, have you written a will yet? And if so, how much money are you leaving me? Maybe I shouldn’t be giving you all this advice.” Simon snorted. “I’m not leaving you anything,” he said, his voice hoarse. He pulled the gauze away from his head and felt the cut with his fingers. It still came away bloody and he glared at it before putting the gauze back. “I’ve left everything to Mom.” The look on his brother’s face was priceless and Simon couldn’t help but laugh. Alexey was looking at him like he’d just sprouted a third head, and horns, and was spitting pea soup while his heads spun around in circles and he was speaking in tongues. Alexey put a hand to his heart. “That hurts me, bro.” he said and if Simon didn’t know him so well, he’d almost believe him. “Don’t even joke about those things. You had at least better leave me your modest Lexus.” “That’s going to Uncle Frank,” he said. “What?” Alexey squawked and leaned his head back against the wall. “What!” he yelled again. “You’re killing me, Smalls.” Then Alexey lifted his head and looked at Vic. “Okay, Bitchzilla, this is what I need from you. I know you know people, so I’m gonna need someone who can forge documents so all of Simon’s worldly possessions are left to a one Alexey Sergeyevich Romanova. That’s me, by the way. Don’t tell anyone my middle name, it’s Russian. Dad musta been a spy or something.” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Oh, and in exchange for your services, I’ll let you give yourself something in his will too.” Vic narrowed her eyes at him and Simon turned to look at her. “Maybe I would just take everything,” she told him and there was a touch of amusement in her voice. He watched her face and he wondered again what it meant that she’d stayed behind with him. That she’d put herself in danger for him. She’d told him that she wasn’t going to die for him and he didn’t want her to. But she’d stayed. He thought about her saying that no one was ever nice to her and he hated that. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but they were in the middle of the van and everyone would see it and he restrained himself. She turned to look at him when she felt him staring and he didn’t look away this time. He met her eyes and he kept looking at her and he wanted to thank her but she said she never thanked anyone or said she was sorry. She must think it was weakness. But she’d also said that he kept getting back up and he lowered his voice somewhat as he whispered, “Thank you,” to her. She turned up an eyebrow, like she didn’t know what she was talking about and maybe she didn’t. Or maybe people just didn’t thank her enough. Avi cleared his throat and Simon tore his eyes away from her, looking at the man with a glare. He was watching Simon. “You disobeyed orders,” he said. “Again.” Simon narrowed his eyes. “You shot Valentino before we could secure the hostage,” Simon said. “She was top priority and we needed to get her out of there.” Avi’s face contorted into a snarl and Simon didn’t think the man liked him talking like that. Like he knew what was going on. Simon didn’t know if he liked himself talking like that, because most of the time, he didn’t know what was going on. He wasn’t cut out for this and he’d been proving it to all of them by messing up, but he still held to his morals and his instincts and his instincts had been telling him to get the child out of danger. She didn’t sign up for it, they did. That’s all there was to it. Civilians should come first. Always. He knew Avi didn’t think the same. He’d proven that in Brazil. “Taking down Paulo was priority,” Avi said coldly. “Oh,” Simon said and shrugged. “Then I’m surprised you didn’t shoot her in the head. Or have you gotten your fill of killing innocent children for the month?” The temperature in the van seemed to drop and Avi’s face remained hard and impassive. He was glaring at Simon and then the man snarled quietly, “When we’re back and we’ve been debriefed, you’ll meet me in Elias’ office.” Simon nodded his head and didn’t say anything more and he didn’t feel bad about opening his mouth. He didn’t feel bad about talking down to Avi or calling him out because the man was high and mighty and a murderer still in Simon’s eyes. Simon let the hand holding the gauze to his head fall down into his lap and he didn’t care if it was still bleeding or not, he just stared at the ground and he wondered if Avi would want to fight him again or if he’d just write him up or if he’d do something else. He was surprised when he felt Vic’s hand on his arm. He glanced down at her fingers and then up at her face and she was glaring at Avi and she didn’t look at him. “So…” Alexey said, drawing Simon’s attention. “Can you make out that will before you meet with Rogers today?” .Wolfie. It was like a fucking three ring circus at Colette’s house.A doctor and two nurses arrived at the house shortly after they did and she bet that even if he wasn’t the type to normally make house calls that he made an exception for Colette. Avi was standing over him with his arms crossed and he was trying to talk to him but Timothy was still drunk and he alternated between asking questions of the doctor and yelling at Rogers that he was going to have a word with his superior about all this and Vic wondered if Avi was telling the truth when he said Paulo was their priority. She wondered what had been so dangerous about one man that Colette hadn’t called the cops and they were supposed to take him out. She wondered about the comment Rogers had made earlier, about not wanting anything to leak to the press and she wondered what other experiments had been done on Paulo. She wondered if he was happy to die because he’d already lost everything and she still doubted that it had ever been about the money. She tilted her head to look at Colette and she didn’t think any of this had really hurt. His company wasn’t bankrupt and he still got his daughter back and he probably wouldn’t have batted an eye if Welsh had been killed in the process. She wondered what she would have done if he’d died. She thought she would have missed him. Somewhere in there Alexey was hitting on one of the nurses while she tried to stitch up Simon and he was sitting on the couch trying not to wince as they pieced his head back together again. She thought distantly that he needed to stop getting hurt and maybe if she hadn’t started pulling her punches then he would know how to take a hit by now. Next time they hit the mats she wasn’t going to take it easy on him and she hoped he didn’t take it easy on her. And that thought wasn’t entirely about fighting. Givessi settled on the couch next to Welsh and she was studying his face with an intensity she didn’t like. Then she smiled at him, her fingers brushing his arm. “Let me see your hand again,” she told him. He frowned at her and Vic watched as he held out to her. She didn’t like when Jezibel held his hand and ran her palm over his and her smile widened. She didn’t look away from his face. “Better,” she told him, her fingers lingering on his skin. “But still soft.” Vic snorted and then she turned and went back out onto the porch because there was too much going on in there and she was trying to get her head together because at some point Welsh had gotten her completely tangled up and she didn’t understand that. She hopped up to sit on the railing and braced her back against one of the posts. Her head tipped back and she stared up at the sky and it was clear and bright and she liked nights like this when she could remind herself that she wasn’t in prison anymore. She liked being able to see that and think that she could go anywhere and be anyone. She knew how to slip the cops and the mafiosos and fuck Elias because when her contract expired she could disappear. She could change her name and be someone else again. There had been something refreshing about that. About changing their names for every city they went to and leaving the old life behind. There was no guilt that way. No guilt and no attachment and she knew even as she thought it that she didn’t really believe that. She thought about her pops and she thought about him a lot these days but it was hard not to. She was out of her element here because they’d never worked with other people. It had always just been the two of them, doing whatever it took to survive. There had been a kind of comfort in that. That it didn’t matter what was right or wrong because survival was more important than both those things. Only he wasn’t here now. He wasn’t here to tell her what to do and how to think and maybe that made her weak. She wondered if the old man would think that funny or if he’d just be disappointed. She dug the cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up so that she could smell the smoke and remember the old bastard. He hadn’t started until after he got out of prison. “Didn’t know you smoked,” a voice said behind her. She hid a smile and didn’t turn around but she heard his steps on the porch. “I don’t,” she told him, and she didn’t elaborate. She glanced over her shoulder and Welsh was watching her with a thoughtful expression on his face. She wondered what he was thinking about and why he was looking at her like that. She thought about his quiet words of thanks and she looked down at the cigarette in her hands. She thought wryly that pops would probably have hated him, but then he hated everyone. Probably himself most of all. “You’re a problem, Welsh,” she told him quietly. He snorted and tipped his head to look at her. He did this thing with his mouth when he was trying to figure out if he should smile or not, where just the corner quirked up and he was doing that now. “How’s that?” he asked her. “Because,” she told him, leaning her head back against the post. “You’re confusing.” Through the glass door she could see Rogers on the phone with someone, probably Elias, and Colette was downing another scotch. Alexey and Jezibel were still on the couch and she could imagine the things he was saying to her and she wondered if any of those lines ever worked. Simon scoffed. “Out of the two of us I wouldn’t say I’m the confusing one,” he told her with a small smile. She almost laughed, but she covered her mouth before he could see it. “Alright,” she told him, putting the cigarette out. She sat up and turned so that she was sitting on the railing and he was still watching her and studying her and she wondered when it had stopped bothering her when he stared. “Let me simplify this for you then. I want you to come over tonight and I want you to fuck me.” She bit back a smile at the blush on his face but he had gotten very still and his eyes were wide as he studied her face. “You don’t have to seduce me. You just have to say yes. If that’s not what you want then say no and I’ll go home alone, no harm, no foul.” He swallowed hard and his face was bright red as he stared at her. She wondered if he still thought she deserved nice things and still thought she was beautiful or if he thought she was free and easy and maybe it didn’t matter because this was who she was. She was blunt and she was upfront and she hadn’t been acting that way with him and maybe that was why he was confused. Maybe that was why they were both confused. She tilted her head to the side as she waited for an answer and this hesitation was killing her. “So what happens after that?” he asked, and it wasn’t an answer she’d ever gotten before. “What happens if I say yes and I go home with you?” She smiled at the question and opened her mouth to answer and he shook his head quickly. “After that part,” he told her. “What happens after that? What do you expect from me?” She frowned and shrugged uncomfortably. “Nothing,” she told him, and she didn’t feel quite so cocky anymore. Was he worried that she would read too much into it? “I don’t expect anything. If you don’t want to stick around, that’s fine.” “That’s not what I mean,” he said quietly and almost sadly, the red fading from his face. “I mean… is a fuck all you want?” She didn’t understand the question. She didn’t understand it because she didn’t know what he wanted to hear from her but he was watching her with sincerity and maybe concern. She shrugged and tried not to sound too much like a child but he was so fucking confusing to her. She tried to ask the question like she didn’t care about the answer and like her views on relationships hadn’t been shattered when she was thirteen, but she wasn’t sure she managed it. “What else is there?” she asked quietly, and she wondered if it was fucked up that she honestly wanted an answer. His frown deepened as he studied her and she couldn’t read the look on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was disgusted with her or if he was sad or what he was thinking and she didn’t like that she didn’t know. She didn’t like that he hadn’t answered any of her questions with a straight answer. “Vic,” he said, and she liked her name on his lips. His hand reached out for a moment and his fingers brushed along her jaw as he studied her. “I’m interested,” he told her. “I don’t want you to think that I’m not, because trust me, I’m interested.” “I hear a ‘but’ coming on,” she said, forcing a smile so that he would know she was a big girl and she could take it. He laughed and then his hand fell away from her face. She missed the touch as soon as it was gone and she missed his eyes on her as soon as he looked away. He was looking down at her hands and then his fingers came out to brush over the skinned knuckles and slide his fingers into hers. “But,” he said, smiling up at her. “I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you. And I want to. I want to know who you are before it goes that far.” He sucked in a breath and at least it looked like it was hard for him to turn her down. “So maybe tonight I could just come over and watch Kung Fu movies with you instead.” She stared at his face and he looked like he was waiting for her to get mad or start throwing things and she wondered why she wasn’t. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t get attached to people and he shouldn’t either because people were shit and they would just let him down. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t really want to know a fucking thing about her because there was nothing in her life that was nice or worth knowing and she’d come to terms with that a long time ago. Then her gaze slid past him to the inside of Colette’s house and the man had finally gone into the living room and given his daughter a hug. She watched the girl cling to his back like he’d saved the day and it was bullshit. Her dad hadn’t lifted a fucking finger to save her and then there was Welsh, who’d sat on a fucking bomb to save her and she didn’t know why he cared so much. It was a weakness and it could get him hurt or killed and if she let it then he might get her hurt or killed too. “That’s too bad,” she told him, looking back up at his face. For a minute it fell and he licked his lips and looked down at the porch, nodding his head. He looked disappointed and he started to step back from her but she didn’t want him to go so her hand came out to catch at the collar of his vest. He glanced up at her as she pulled him back and a slow smirk crossed her face. “Because I wanted to watch ‘Yojimbo’ tonight. That’s more of a Japanese Western than a Kung Fu. You could still learn a lot from it though. It was my dad’s favorite movie, probably because he thought he was Sanjuro.” She watched an answering smile crease his face and she didn’t know why there was one on her face. She didn’t know why her heart was racing or why she felt like she’d just agreed to something good because he didn’t want to fuck her and she hadn’t been laid in two weeks and Welsh was fucking hot. “I would love to watch ‘Yojimbo’ with you,” he told her, his voice low. The door banged open and she released her grip abruptly on his vest. He took a step back and she let him go because then Avi was marching out onto the porch and he looked like he was on the war path. His gaze flicked from one to the other and Vic just glared back at him. She didn’t like that he wanted Welsh alone in Elias’s office because she didn’t trust either of those bastards and she didn’t like that last time Avi had gotten the chance he’d beaten the shit out of Welsh. His face was still healing and if it happened again she didn’t think Givessi’s god damned cocoa butter would help any. “Let’s go,” Avi finally snapped, jerking his head at the chopper. Her eyes flicked to it and she really hated helicopters. They were halfway across the lawn when the door opened again and she heard quick feet pounding across the grass. She glanced over her shoulder and Heidi was just getting to Welsh, slinging her arms around his neck. Her hand and her neck both had gauze around them and she still looked dirty and hurt, but she was safe now and she was hugging Simon tightly. “Thank you,” she told him, and then she was pressing something blue and fluttery into his hands. It was one of her ribbons from a dance recital or something and Simon smiled as his hand closed around it. Wenston He told her he’d be over after he dropped Alexey off and picked up Chinese. He wasn’t sure if she liked Chinese or if she was even hungry, but she hadn’t told him not to and so he was thinking about what he should order her as he headed up to Elias’ office. Maybe she liked noodles. Or fried rice. Or cashew chicken. That was his favorite. Maybe she’d want to share with him or maybe he should just get a little of everything and they could share it all. He hoped Morticia wasn’t home, but somehow he figured she would be and he didn’t want to share his with her. There was something about her that disturbed Simon. Alexey was waiting in the car. He hoped his brother didn’t get too bored or he just might hotwire the car and drive off. If Alexey wrecked the car, he wondered what kind he would get after having a Lexus. Maybe a Jeep. Vic looked like a Jeep type of girl. The hallways to Elias’ office was quiet and Simon tried not to think too much about the meeting he was about to have. He knew Avi was furious with him. He knew why, but he didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand Avi at all and the man had been right the last time he’d been in Elias’ office and he’d said Simon wasn’t a soldier. He wasn’t. He wasn’t and he could never shoot little kids in the head or risk them getting blown up or leave his team members behind trying to diffuse a bomb. He wondered if Avi had felt like a coward running up the stairs while three of his team members had been down below trying to save their lives. He knocked quietly on the door and Elias’ voice called, “Come in.” When he opened the door, Avi was already there and he was standing on the other side of Elias’ desk, his hands folded behind his back and his face red, like he was already pissed and he probably was. He wondered why Avi was so threatened by him. Simon wasn’t any danger to the man. And even if one day, Vic was right, and he got better and could beat Avi in a fight, that didn’t mean he was going to go out of his way to start one. Avi was constantly the one coming to him. He wasn’t going to stoop to that level. “Welsh, have a seat,” Elias said, not looking up from the paperwork on his desk. “I think I’ll just…” he started to say he’d just stand, but Elias’s head shot up to give him a nasty look. “Sit,” he demanded and there was no arguing with it. Simon swallowed, glancing at Avi once before he did as he was told and sat down in the chair. Elias looked away from him again and continued reading the paperwork and for a long, drawn out moment, the room was silent and Simon wondered if this was a scare tactic. Because if it was, it was working. Finally, Elias looked up, closing the paperwork and crossing his arms over his desk. “Welsh,” he said, his eyes narrowed. “Captain Rogers has filed another formal write up regarding your insubordination.” Simon glanced at Avi, who was watching him and then looked back at Elias. “Okay,” he said simply. Elias quirked his mouth to the side and then leaned over the desk a little. “In his report, it says you willingly put yourself and the team in danger.” “I did it to ensure the Colette girl was out of danger, sir,” Simon said. Avi snorted. “Paulo Valentino was our number one priority,” he snapped and Simon resisted the urge to tell the man that he’d already said that before and Simon cared about it now just as much as he’d cared about it then. He didn’t give a crap. Heidi Colette was a little girl who’d been through Hell and she didn’t deserve to be so scared or in danger. Maybe Valentino had been Avi’s number one priority. But Heidi had been Simon’s. Elias sighed and Simon was surprised when he turned to look at Avi. “Actually, remaining in Timothy Colette’s good graces was our number one priority, Avi,” he said and Simon tried not to smile when he saw the man turn wide eyes on Elias. “And according to Colette, you put his daughter in more danger than what was necessary. If it wasn’t for Welsh’s quick thinking, Colette would have severed ties with the Shifter Initiative. That’s a contract that is worth more than yours, Avi.” Avi’s mouth opened for a moment, but no words came out. He snapped it shut and then squared his shoulders. “Colette was heavily intoxicated. He…” “I don’t want excuses, Avi,” Elias snapped. That silenced the man very quickly and Elias looked down at the paperwork again, picking up a stamp and snapping it against the paper. “This formal write up is officially revoked. And your request to have Welsh transferred to a different unit is denied. This is your team, Captain Rogers. We’ve given you the best and it’s your job to put them to use in the most efficient way. If Welsh’s only use is to be a human shield, then that’s your call. Otherwise you get them into shape and do your job.” Simon raised an eyebrow at that and he waited for Elias to smirk or Avi to snort, but neither of them did and he didn’t like that Elias was being completely honest when he said that. Avi growled in response and his eyes shot towards Simon, a snarl curling his lips. “Understood, sir,” he grit out. Elias nodded. “We’re done here, Avi,” he said and looked back down at the paperwork. “Welsh, stay a moment.” Simon felt his heart skip a beat and he met Avi’s eyes and he didn’t have a doubt in his mind that this wasn’t the last he was going to hear about this. There was no doubt Avi was going to make his life a living hell and he wondered if he should be watching his back on missions. Avi stormed out of the office and Simon looked back at Elias, who was just sitting there and the man wasn’t looking up at him. If Elias was going to yell at him, Simon wished he’d just get on with it already. He thought about Alexey waiting out in the car and the 24 hour Chinese restaurant he was planning on stopping by and he wondered if Vic liked fortune cookies because he did. Then he thought about Vic and she was probably at her apartment waiting with Yojimbo and a bowl of popcorn and she put so much butter on it that Simon could basically feel his arteries clogging every time he ate a handful, but it was okay because that’s the way she liked it and that meant that’s the way he liked it now. Finally, Elias looked up at him and he just stared at him for a moment. Simon shifted uncomfortably beneath the glare and then Elias was sighing and putting his chin in his hand as he kept watching him. “Welsh, have you thought about your future with this team?” he asked and Simon was surprised at the question because it wasn’t him getting yelled at or said in a biting tone. It was an honest question. “No, sir,” he gave honestly. Elias nodded. “You’ve been very willing to put yourself in harm’s way,” he observed. Simon just bit his lip because he didn’t know what he was supposed to say to that. “I have two problems with this. First and foremost, you haven’t paid off your debt to us yet and it would be very inconvenient for our company if you were to die within your first year of your contract. But secondly, you have potential.” “Potential?” Simon asked quietly. “Yes,” was all Elias said and then he leaned forward. “What are you going to do when your contract is up?” “That’s a while away yet,” Simon said. “I haven’t really given it much thought.” Elias nodded. “Of course you haven’t. I’ll tell you what you’re going to do. You’re going to renew your contract.” Simon frowned and went to argue and then Elias was pulling out a picture and tossing it down on the desk in front of Simon. He looked down at it and it was a man with the name “Harmon” beneath his face. He looked back up at Elias. “That’s Gordy Harmon. He’s a Shifter. He was enlisted around the same time you were and for the same reasons. He had a brain tumor. Welsh, if your cancer comes back and you’re under contract with us, we’re willing to help.” Simon raised an eyebrow, his eyes going back to Harmon and he didn’t understand the connection here. “Harmon’s brain tumor came back,” Elias said quietly. Simon’s heart skipped a beat and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. “That’s why you test me before every mission,” he whispered. “Yes,” Elias said. “Welsh, at the end of your five years, you’re free to do as you wish. But know this, we will not offer you another contract if you refuse to renew and later you become sick again.” Simon didn’t look up at him. He didn’t acknowledge what the man was thinking and he wondered if Elias was trying to pressure him into something. He didn’t know. He didn’t think it was going to work because he honestly didn’t know what he’d be doing in five years or what he would feel like down the road. Maybe he would be a completely different person. Elias cleared his throat. “How is it going with your teammates?” he asked. “Fine,” Simon answered simply. “Are we done here?” A slow smile spread across Elias’ face. “How is it going with Wolfe? Has she invited you over yet?” “I don’t see how that’s any of your damn business,” Simon snarled and Elias looked surprised. Elias rose from his seat and he chuckled, coming around to stand next to Simon. He bent over so his face was close to his. “It’s funny to me that you like her. Don’t deny it. I pay attention, Welsh. I see the way you look at her. It just amuses me, that two weeks ago when I was fucking her in my apartment, the only person she seemed to have a problem with was you.” Anger swelled up in Simon’s chest because he thought about Elias’s words that morning and about Vic and he didn’t like that the two of them had been together. He didn’t like the way Elias talked about her and he didn’t like that he had no doubt in his mind Elias had used her. He’d used her and he didn’t think he’d been nice with her and he didn’t like this man at all. His eyes narrowed and he looked up at Elias dangerously. “I told you what I would do if you talked about her like that again,” he said coldly and Elias raised an eyebrow in amusement. “And if you’re just pissed because she won’t fuck you anymore, I think it’s time you moved on.” Elias smiled wickedly. “Who said she won’t?” .Wolfie. The lights were off in her apartment when she got home but the television was on and Lisa was sitting in front of it.“Morticia,” she spat. She was watching some movie about vampires or some shit and she tipped her head over her shoulder to look back at Vic. She was already pulling her boots off and dropping them by the door in a heap. She could still smell smoke on her clothes from the bomb going off and she hadn’t stopped to change in the locker room. She felt nervous and anxious and she wasn’t sure why because he wasn’t coming over to fuck her and she knew that. Maybe that was why she was scared. “I need you to fuck off for the rest of the night,” she said, hands finding the hem of her shirt. Morticia snorted and rolled her eyes before turning back to the television. Her feet were kicked up on the coffee table and she turned the volume up just to piss Vic off and it was working. “Too bad,” she told her. “I’m busy. Go fuck somewhere else. Oh wait,” she sneered. “You can’t because you got grounded.” “Listen,” she snapped, peeling her shirt off and heading past her towards the bedroom. “You’ve got ten minutes to find somewhere else to be or I fucking break all your fingers. Understand?” Lisa snorted and rolled her eyes and Vic glared at her as she pushed the door open with her foot. She took a quick shower and kept it cold because if she didn’t she’d start thinking about the fact that Welsh was really coming over here and she’d start thinking about how he looked when he walked out of the shower and then she might do something stupid like try and jump his bones. She changed into a tank top and pajama pants even though she didn’t like sleeping in them but she figured if Welsh didn’t want to fuck her tonight she wouldn’t push it by walking around in her underwear. When she got out of the bathroom Lisa was lying on her stomach chain smoking her cigarettes. “Is it Romanova?” she asked, glancing up at Vic’s face. She rolled her eyes at the question because she couldn’t tell if Lisa looked excited at the prospect of him coming over or disappointed that Alexey might be fucking Vic. “Nope,” she snapped, slamming the door hard behind her. She hoped Lisa kept her ass in their room and left her the fuck alone, mostly because she just didn’t like the girl being around Welsh. But a second later the door pulled open and Lisa stuck her head out, her face contorted into a frown. “Tell me you didn’t convince Welsh to fuck you,” she demanded. Vic ignored the question, tipping her head over her shoulder as she headed for the couch. Lisa was always leaving her clothes around the apartment and she gathered them up before pushing the door open again and dumping them in front of her. “What part of ‘fuck off’ did you not understand?” she sneered, kicking the pile inside the doorway. Lisa’s lip curled and she started to snatch her things off the ground. “You’re a fucking bitch and I hope you die of AIDs,” she snapped, slamming the door shut. A second later she heard her music kick on and she growled, running a hand over her face. She started moving around the apartment, cleaning off the coffee table and dumping dishes in the sink. Mostly she just wanted to keep her hands moving. Then she went to get the movie out and set it on top of the television. She threw popcorn in the microwave but didn’t turn it on yet and she realized when she was just standing in their kitchen chewing on a fingernail that she was nervous. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Was this a date? He said he was bringing Chinese food and she wondered if she should get the liquor out or if she should make coffee and her thoughts were running away from her. She’d never been on a date before. She didn’t know if this was one and she didn’t know how she was supposed to tell. She settled on making coffee and that gave her enough time to start getting nervous about other things. She wondered how his meeting with Elias and Avi was going and she felt a sliver of fear because maybe they were going to terminate his contract and she wondered if that meant they would execute him or maybe they would just relocate him. Maybe they could still spar every day if it was the second. She leaned against the counter and listened to the music blast out of their room and she hoped he didn’t change his mind. Or if he did that he would at least call and then she thought that was stupid because he didn’t even have her number. She jumped a little when she heard the knock at the door and it must have been the surprise making her heart pound loudly. Welsh was waiting when she opened it and for a second she felt awkward and nervous and she wasn’t sure why because she’d just seen him a few hours ago and she hadn’t been anxious then. She’d been propositioning him for fuck’s sake and it didn’t make any sense for dinner to be so much more nerve wracking than that. He was studying her face with a strange expression on it and she wondered what he was thinking before a smile curled his lips. “Hey Vic,” he said, and then he lifted up a brown paper bag by the handles. “I come bearing gifts,” he told her with that wry smirk and she felt it echoed on her own face. “You can put it down on the coffee table,” she told him, pulling the door open. He went to do as she said and then he started pulling tins of food out and putting them down on the table. She watched him for a moment and the way his muscles moved beneath his shirt, even if it was a god damned polo. Then she headed behind the counter to grab forks because she was lazy and never used the chopsticks. She’d never gotten the knack for it. “I uh, I didn’t know what you’d like,” he told her, glancing over his shoulder. She headed past him to put the movie on and when she glanced over he was smiling at her, popping the plastic lids off. “So I got a little of everything.” She smirked and went to settle on the couch. “What’s your favorite?” she asked. “Cashew chicken,” he told her easily. He looked tense as he sat down next to her and she wondered if he was nervous too. It made her feel a little better to think that and maybe he wasn’t sure how this night was supposed to go. She almost asked him if this was a date and if he was sure he didn’t want to fuck her but she kept her mouth shut, leaning forward to grab the tin of chicken off the table and then sit back next to him. She handed him a fork and kept one for herself and he stared at her for a moment. “So,” she said, taking a forkful of chicken. “How’d your meeting with the bosses go?” A sly smirk curled her lips as she watched his face at the question. No fresh bruises so it must not have gone too badly. She took a bite and she didn’t tell him that she’d never even tried cashew chicken before. If it was his favorite then she wanted to know what it tasted like. He snorted and shook his head, looking down at the tin she was holding out to him. He stuck a piece of chicken on the fork but the smile had fallen off his face and he didn’t look happy. She didn’t like the look on his face because he almost always had a smile for her, even if he was faking it. Even if he was sitting in a chair with a bomb underneath him he still managed to smile for her and she didn’t understand why he wasn’t doing it now. “It could have gone worse, I guess,” he told her. “Odds are good that Avi officially wants me dead now, and Elias…” he trailed off and then he glanced up at her face in a way she didn’t like. “What about him?” she snapped, and she had to look away from that gaze because he looked sad and hurt and she didn’t know why. Her hand came up to rub at her neck and she was surprised when his fingers caught hers and pulled them away. “I’m sorry,” he said harshly, and she frowned and glanced at his face because she’d told him never to apologize. “What the fuck for?” she snapped, because she didn’t want or need apologies. She didn’t say the words and she didn’t need other people to say them to her. She became aware that his hand was still holding hers and she felt his thumb move over her knuckles in a slow comforting motion and she didn’t understand what he was apologizing for. He was watching her closely but she couldn’t read the expression on his face. Then he licked his lips and his other hand came up to brush his thumb down her neck. “That he hurt you,” he said lowly, and she felt her heart sink into her stomach. She felt her face crumple and she pulled her hand roughly from his. He let her go but she didn’t move any farther away. She was just sitting there, staring at him and wondering why he was saying this to her and why she wasn’t yelling at him that he shouldn’t be apologizing for something that wasn’t his fault. “Who?” she demanded like she didn’t already know. Maybe he could be talking about Gustavo. Maybe he was talking about Avi hitting her and she didn’t think so. He swallowed hard and moved the chicken back to the table before scooting closer. “Elias,” he told her softly, reaching for her hands again and she crossed them over her chest so he couldn’t. “Don’t,” she snapped at him. “Don’t apologize for that. Don’t apologize at all.” She thought about Elias calling out Welsh on their first day about his cancer and she should have expected that he would open his fucking mouth and she wondered why Welsh was still here because now he had to know that she didn’t deserve nice things. She wondered if Elias had told him that he’d offered to be nice to her and she’d told him no, that wasn’t what she wanted because nice scared her. She wondered what she would have done if Elias had told her to spend the night that one time and if she would have started to believe a lie because she was alone. He swallowed hard and the movie was playing behind his head but she wasn’t watching it and she wasn’t eating his food. She was just staring at the couch cushion and she was remembering what he’d said to her and the bruising grip he’d had on the back of her neck and she’d gotten off on it. That was what she was into, not Chinese food and kung fu movies and she shouldn’t have let him come here. She should have just gone home alone and forgotten about it. “Hey,” he said lowly, and she glanced at his face for a split second. He didn’t look mad and he didn’t look disgusted but she didn’t understand why he was looking at her with anything other than those emotions in his eyes. “You don’t have to explain,” he told her. “I just thought you should know that you deserve better.” She laughed darkly and shook her head. “If you knew me you wouldn’t keep saying that,” she told him, turning her attention to the television so that she didn’t have to look at him and she wondered how much longer he would stick around. A small sigh escaped his lips and then he leaned forward. “What’s your favorite?” he asked, tipping his head towards the food. She frowned and glanced at him for a moment and he was trying to force a smile onto his face. She liked that smile. She shouldn’t, but she did because it was genuine and it didn’t matter if she smiled back or not because it was just for her to have. “What the fuck does it matter?” she asked, and she saw him fight to keep the smile on his face. His eyes never left hers. “It matters because if I’m going to get to know you I need to know things like that. So that next time I don’t bring the entire buffet back with me.” He was grinning at her and still waiting for an answer and she didn’t understand him at all. “General Tso’s chicken,” she told him, and the smile widened on his face. He nodded and picked the tin up before shifting back down next to her. He used the fork to grab a piece of chicken and then he held it out to her lips and watched her with that hopeful smile on his face and she didn’t know what he was expecting from her or why he was still here because nothing Elias told him could have been nice. She scanned his face and if she’d seen anything other than that soft smile she would have told him to just get the fuck out and leave her alone. It never wavered, and she finally sighed, taking the fork from him. “I can feed my damn self,” she said. He laughed and picked up his own fork to share the tin with her. “I know,” he said. She watched him for a moment as he turned his head towards the television and pretended to watch the movie. She didn’t think he was. She studied his face and she was trying to figure him out and every time she thought she understood him he surprised her. She wondered if there was a force in the world that could keep Welsh from getting back to his feet and she wondered why the fuck he was here with her. She sighed and shifted down next to him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. “You’re a problem, Welsh,” she whispered. He laughed quietly and then his head was turning, his lips brushing over her forehead as he spoke. “I know.” Wenston Episode #4: The United Liberation Front The used to eat at the Bistro at least once a month when they were together. It was an Italian restaurant that did most of its business during the summer or spring or early fall. There were three tables inside the small restaurant and ten outside. It wasn’t a place they normally would eat, either of them. But they’d stopped in one night to escape the rain, tried the salami sandwiches and had fallen in love with the place. She’d always called it slumming when they went there, but Simon just liked the place. And the people. It was a wonder Kim even wanted to meet there. He’d shown up early and gotten one of the white plastic tables outside. He ordered two limeades and waited for her to show up. He was a nervous wreck and he wasn’t exactly sure why. Well, okay, he knew why. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been so disgusted with how sick he was, she’d walked out of the house. Aside from talking to her on the phone the other day, the last time he’d heard from her was through a card that was breaking up with him on their wedding day when he’d been too sick to even get up off the couch. But he wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. If anything, she should be the nervous one. He hadn’t done anything wrong except for have cancer. “Simon?” He turned around and there she was. She stood next to the table and her blonde hair was pulled up into a fancy ponytail. She wore some designer shirt and tight jeans with heels. She looked straight out of a fashion magazine and he swallowed because he could have been married to this girl and he wasn’t sure what he thought about that. “Kim,” he said, standing up and forcing a grin on his face. He was surprised at how much effort it took to not yell or storm off and instead he just reached out and hugged her. She hugged him back and gave a laugh. “It’s good to see you,” he said and it was a lie but it sounded like the truth. She smiled and him and he waited for her to take a seat before he took his. She placed her fancy $1000 purse on the table and crossed her legs and it looked like she’d lost weight since he’d seen her last. He wondered if she still worked of Mary Kay or if she didn’t have to work at all with her new fancy fiancé. “You too,” she said and a slight frown marred her brow. She reached out and ran her fingers down the side of his cheek and for a moment he didn’t know what she was doing. Her fingers were so soft and light and he hadn’t felt something that delicate in a while. Then he realized what she was doing as she said, “Have you been in a fight recently?” He had, but it wasn’t really a fight. He’d been sparring this morning with Vic. 12:01, like always. His face had healed up nicely from Avi’s beating and there was still a mark over his eye from where he’d cut open his eyebrow when a bomb had exploded in the boathouse. But other than that small mark, there were no traces he’d been on any missions. The only sign he had, was a small blue ribbon he kept pinned up in his locker in the compound. The bruises Kim was running her fingers over were from Vic. She hadn’t gone easy on him today and she’d caught him off guard with a right hook to the face. She’d laughed immediately afterwards and had covered her mouth with her hands because she probably hadn’t meant to hit him that hard. He’d just stood there and pouted, rubbing at his cheek to try and gain sympathy from her and when she’d told him to come here, he’d gone closer to her like an idiot and then she’d flipped him over her shoulder because she was amazing when it came to fighting. “Oh this?” he asked, his hand coming up to cover Kim’s soft one. “Nah, happened during kickboxing,” he lied easily. “New student, aimed a little high.” Kim giggled a little and then withdrew her hand. Simon grinned and then the waiter came over. They both ordered salami sandwiches and when the waiter walked away, Simon’s eyes fell on two guys who were standing by the door. They were wearing suits and sunglasses and Simon watched them for a moment because they were so obviously someone’s security. Kim looked over her shoulder at them and then turned back. “Oh, don’t mind them,” she said and Simons’ eyes widened a little because apparently they were her security. “David thinks I need babysitters wherever I go.” “David?” Simon asked. Kim nodded. “My fiancé,” she said and she didn’t hesitate or look empathetic afterwards, like the words shouldn’t hurt or shouldn’t mean anything and he wondered if she even remembered that at one time they’d been engaged. He wondered if she remembered the fights they’d had the closer they got to the wedding or the day he’d cut himself in the kitchen and watched his whole world crash down around him because that was the day he’d found out he had cancer. “You’re getting married,” Simon said, nodding his head like this was news to him. He’d been told this by Elias. He’d been told that David Walworth was a highly respected board member of a company whose name was never made public. It was a corporation that was experimenting in advancing the government’s work in gene therapy. Basically, it was a threat to the US government and Kim’s new fiancé was high on the list of people the government wanted to keep an eye on. Kim glanced at him as she reached into her purse and pulled out her lipstick and a small pocket mirror. She rolled her eyes as she started touching up her lips. “Don’t act like that, Simon,” she said and that was the Kim he remembered. None of this sweet girl business. “You never called after you got better. What was I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you for a hundred years?” Simon shrugged and he was trying to remember that he didn’t really want to get back with her. He wasn’t here to profess his undying love for her. He was here because Elias had told him he had to be and he was supposed to be keeping in touch with Kim so they had a way to keep an eye on David. He was trying to remind himself that there was a different girl now, whether either of them realized it or not. There was a girl that he liked watching movies with and eating popcorn with and who he’d spent every day with, fighting, but not the way he and Kim fought. When Vic fought with him, it was to make him better. It was to teach him how to take care of himself. They hadn’t gone anywhere together yet besides her apartment and he wondered if she’d say yes if he offered to take her out to dinner. Or maybe they could go to the movies. Or the mall. Maybe he could buy her something nice. She deserved something nice. “You’re right,” Simon said, forcing the smile to stay on his face. “I just…miss you, is all,” he said and looked down at the table so she couldn’t see the lie for what it was. She sighed and put away her lipstick. He glanced at her face and she had her head tilted to the side, watching him. Finally she rolled her eyes again and said, “Look, I didn’t want to meet you to try and get back together or anything,” she said and Simon held off from breathing a sigh of relief. “I felt bad,” she said. He highly doubted that. “I should have been more supportive when you were…sick.” “I understand why you weren’t,” he said. He understood she was a bitch, that’s what he understood. Kim smiled at him and her hand came out to cover his on the table. “You’re better now though, aren’t you?” “Yeah,” he said with a nod. “Good,” she said and leaned back, letting go of his hand. He tried not to pull it back quickly so she couldn’t grab it again. “I’d really like it if you met David,” she said and Simon raised a brow at her. “I told him how you were sick and that you’d gotten better and he’d like to ask you a few questions. Something about the medications they had you on or something. That’s part of his job. He’s a pharmacist or something,” she waved her hand and Simon snorted because she really was a blonde. “Maybe you could come over for dinner sometime? To David’s house.” “I’d love to,” Simon said. Kim smiled back and then their sandwiches came. Simon looked down at it and suddenly he wished he was eating Chinese and he was back in Vic’s apartment and he wondered what she was doing tonight. .Wolfie. Vic was in the middle of cleaning their apartment.She didn’t normally clean because she didn’t like to and she got frustrated and bored easily, but she was doing it today. She had the windows open and the furniture moved so that she could vacuum the carpet. She gathered up all the clothes left draped over the couch and thrown them in the hamper to get washed and most of them weren’t hers. She’d already emptied the fridge and she didn’t want to think about what half the things she’d tossed were. Afterwards she’d wiped it down and put back the leftover Chinese food and tried not to smile at the labels that had been quickly scrawled in sharpie because it wasn’t her handwriting. It was Welsh’s. Lisa’s music was blasting and for once Vic didn’t mind because it gave her something to listen to while she worked .The girl was hiding in the bedroom to get away from it but the joke was on her because the bedroom was next and then the bathroom. She had been thinking about painting it another color but Welsh had laughed so hard when she told him why she of all people had a pink bathroom. She could tell herself that it was just because she was tired of living in a shithole, but most of it was because of Welsh. He’d never said anything bad about the place and she didn’t even know if he cared, but she still felt strange every time she had to do a quick clean up just so he could sit down and eat Chinese food off their battered coffee table. It had been a week since that first night and he’d come back a few times since then. They were still on unfamiliar territory with each other and she was still confused as all hell when he came around, but she knew she liked being around him. She knew she liked his smile. Mostly she was cleaning because she was restless. Tonight was her first night of freedom since Elias had grounded her like a fucking six year old and she wanted to go out somewhere. Anywhere. She didn’t care where, as long as it was off this compound and away from her roommate. And if she was being honest then she was hoping Welsh would go out with her. She wondered if he would like the Drunken Bear or if he’d just be bored and uncomfortable. Did he play pool? Did he drink beer? When Alexey and Tony had brought her a case he’d just had mineral water and she wondered if he just didn’t drink alcohol. She didn’t even know if he was coming over at all tonight and she should have asked him this morning but she didn’t. She’d kept her mouth shut because she wasn’t supposed to get attached and she felt like that thought had just gone right out the window. She was getting attached. She liked having him in her apartment and she liked seeing him every day and she was worried what was going to happen when she lost that. Because eventually he was going to get good enough that he didn’t need to fight her every day and as much as she wanted that for him, she thought she would miss it a lot more than was safe for her. She was crouched in front of the television wiping the dust off it when the knock came at the door. It sounded too light to be Welsh but she felt her breath catch anyway because she wanted it to be him. It was stupid of her and she knew it but it didn’t stop her for a second when she pushed herself to her feet and headed for the door. She’d just seen him two hours ago as he was leaving their sparring session but maybe he’d forgotten something. Or maybe he just missed her. Or maybe she was just losing her mind because she’d been hoping he would show up and it was stupid to be so attached already. There was already a smile curling her lips when she pulled it open and she had a comment about him missing her already on the tip of her tongue but it died as soon as she opened the door. “Elias,” she said, her knuckles tightening on the door and he’d never come to her apartment before. “What the fuck do you want?” she snapped. He’d been leaning casually against the door but he reached out a hand and pushed the door open, letting himself into her apartment. He didn’t answer her, a small arrogant smile curling his lips as he stepped over the threshold. His gaze wandered the place she lived, sneering a little at the pathetic excuse for a living room. The couch was still pulled out and crooked and the vacuum was leaning against the back of it. The place smelled like lemon pledge thanks to the bottle of it sitting on the coffee table and he just smirked, glancing over his shoulder at her. “No wonder we always fucked at my place,” he said dryly. Her eyes narrowed into a glare. “We fucked at your place so that I could leave whenever I wanted.” He snorted and raised an eyebrow at her, his arms crossing over his chest. Both he and his Italian suit looked out of place here. “If I recall, you were the one who told me you could stay. Something I don’t remember ever asking you to do.” The words hurt. She didn’t want them to because it had been three weeks and she was mostly over it. They stung anyway because she had asked to stay and she’d known at the time that she shouldn’t have been getting attached, especially not to Elias. Her ears burned as she remembered the other things he’d said to her and she had just let him. She’d let him say cruel things and hurt her and she’d enjoyed it. “And I don’t remember inviting you in,” she snarled. “So why don’t you get the fuck out?” He laughed and shook his head at her, walking back over to push the door shut. “In a minute, dear,” he told her, and her lip curled into a snarl because she hated it when he called her dear and she hated that he had a hand braced next to her head and that he was leaning his face in towards hers. His hand came up and brushed against her chin because Simon had left her a small bruise there. He was still trying to pull his punches but he was doing better. It was the best hit he’d gotten on her all day because she’d been brutal and unforgiving. She wanted him to be able to take the hits when they came and she wanted him to be able to hit back. “Is this from Mr. Welsh?” he asked, glancing up at her eyes. He tipped his head to the side and she growled and shoved the hand away because she didn’t like him asking about Simon and she didn’t like him touching her or standing in her apartment. He grinned when she didn’t answer. “Is it from fucking or fighting? Or is there really a difference with you?” “What the fuck do you want?” she asked again through gritted teeth. He smiled at her and his head leaned closer, his lips close to her ear. She forced herself to remain still because she’d just gotten off house arrest and she didn’t want to go right back on it. She didn’t want to be trapped in this compound like she was back in a fucking jail cell but it was so hard not to move or just fucking hit him. “I told him the way you liked it,” he said. “I told him that you want to be used, that you want to be bent over and fucked. Tell me you don’t miss that about me.” She pushed on his chest and then slid out from against the door. “I don’t miss a fucking thing about you,” she snarled at him. She tried to tell herself it was the truth. There was no reason to miss anything about him. He’d just been a fuck. Just like her. She tried not to think about the other part of it. She tried not to picture him saying those things to Welsh. He clucked his tongue at her. “That hurts, Victoria,” he said, and she didn’t believe that for a second. He leaned against the door and he was studying her carefully, before glancing out into the rest of the apartment. He laughed quietly and shook his head. “You surprise me. You know what I always admired you? Your self-awareness. You always seemed to know exactly who you are, and just how fucked up and dark you are.” He laughed and then he was moving forward, his hand snapping around her throat. “Now look at you. Doing everything you can to convince yourself and Welsh that you’re not the same fucking whore you’ve always been.” His fingers dug into her windpipe and for a minute it felt like being back in his apartment again and he was manhandling her like he always had. She felt his other hand dig into her hip and pull her hard against him and he was leaning down to snarl into her ear. “Tell me you don’t get off on this,” he said, a vicious sneer curling his lips into something animalistic and dark and she hated that she could understand that. He was just like her. “Tell me you don’t want this. To be treated like a slut.” She felt the hand on her hips move to her belt but the words were sinking into her head and her hands were moving before her brain caught up to them. She snapped her arm around and caught his wrist, twisting and pushing it up behind his back and forcing him against the counter. “You don’t get to fucking touch me anymore,” she snarled at him. “Not ever.” She shoved him hard into the counter one more time and then she stepped back, watching him and waiting for the aftermath. She was waiting for him to tell her she was never leaving the compound again and her heart was loud in her ears. He didn’t. He just laughed and then pulled something from inside his suit. He tossed it on the counter and then grinned at her. “I just came by to drop that off for you,” he told her, and her gaze flicked to the thing lying on the counter. It was a pass to get through the gates and then she snapped her eyes back to his face. The cruel smirk was still on his face and she didn’t know what that meant but she didn’t like it and she didn’t like that she wasn’t sure how wrong he was about her. His hand was rubbing at his shoulder and it only gave her some small satisfaction because she was sure there would be consequences. There always were with him. “Your suspension is up, Victoria,” he said. “You’re now free to leave the compound. Just don’t wander too far off your leash.” “Go to Hell,” she spat at him, and he just smirked in response. She tried not to let the words sting because she was free enough for right now. Maybe she still had the leash around her neck but she could pretend it was just a job and that she wasn’t owned like a piece of property. Her arms crossed over her chest and she fought the urge to touch her neck because it felt tender and she didn’t want him to know that it had hurt. It was just a small pain, and the little ones were the easiest to deal with. “I’ll be seeing you soon,” he told her, opening the door. The smile was still on his face and she didn’t understand why. She watched until he shut the door and then she couldn’t stop herself. Her feet carried her forward and she snapped the locks shut and she tried not to feel the strange sort of panic building in her chest because she wasn’t thirteen anymore and she could protect herself. She turned around and picked the badge off the counter, studying it as it sat in her hands. She walked over to the couch and just sank into it, staring at her own cold face looking back at her and it was easier than thinking about anything else. She didn’t want Elias. She didn’t want him touching her or being anywhere near her and she felt like she needed another shower because she could still feel his breath crawling across her skin. Her hand lifted to her throat and she hoped it didn’t bruise because she didn’t want any marks from him. She didn’t want anything from Elias. The hand moved to scrub over her face and she wondered if he was right about her and that hurt more than the fingers around her throat. Maybe she was lying to herself and lying to Welsh and she wasn’t good for anything but a fuck. If that was the case than she wondered why he was wasting his time. She didn’t even jump when the bedroom door opened and Morticia stuck her head out. She looked at Vic sitting quietly on the couch and then at the door, a frown on her face as her gaze went back to Vic. “Was someone here?” she asked. Vic rolled her eyes and slumped back into the cushions. “It wasn’t Romanova,” she snapped. “Go back to your dildo.” Wenston As soon as Simon got into his apartment, he sighed. He wondered how smart it was that he kept picking fights with Avi. The man had proven that he could kick his ass. He’d proven that he didn’t give a shit about whether he lived or died and Simon wondered if the man was crazy. He thought about Gustavo and how his animal genes had driven him insane and he wondered if that was possible with them. He wondered if it was possible that maybe Avi was going a little insane. His apartment was trashed and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind who’d done it. Simon stood in the doorway for a moment and all he could do was sigh. Simon owned a nice corner apartment in a luxurious building downtown. He’d bought it after he’d gone through the gene therapy because he couldn’t live at home anymore with his mother. He got disgusted every time he saw her because she was constantly reminding him how he’d been sick and how the sickness would always loom over him and shadow everything he’d ever do for the rest of his life. He didn’t like that. So he’d moved out. Inside the apartment was a large kitchen, a living room, a dining room, two bedrooms and an office. It was more room than he needed, but he’d liked the living room above all else. It was in the corner of the apartment and there were windows on every side. Large, spacious windows that overlooked the city and let in the light and it was nothing like a hospital room. It was nothing like waking up to a dark day. Only now the whole place was trashed. The end table he kept in the walkway right inside the door was smashed. The bowl he kept his keys in was in pieces on the floor and as he looked down the hallway, he could see his living room and his CDs and DVDs were lying strewn about the floor. He closed his eyes a moment and told himself it was just stuff and he was surprised that he was actually not too disturbed at this. Maybe this was life’s way of humbling him. Maybe Alexey was right to make fun of his Lexus and his money when Vic’s entire apartment could fit in his living room and dining room. He wondered if she’d like it here. He wondered if she knew he had an extra bedroom and extra space and then he wondered why his first thought went to the extra bedroom and not his own bed. He ran his hands over his face, putting his keys in his pocket instead of the smashed bowl on the ground, and thought that the idea of Vic moving in was way too premature. He hadn’t even kissed her yet and he wondered what he was waiting for. It wasn’t an invitation, because she’d given him plenty. Maybe he was just nervous. Nervous that his Mom was right and Vic couldn’t possibly want him because he’d been sick and weak and maybe one day he’d be sick and weak again and she’d up and leave. Maybe he was nervous because it hadn’t been that long ago when he thought he’d be marrying Kim. Walking into the kitchen Simon winced because all of the food he’d had in his refrigerator was thrown out onto the floor. His cupboards were open and the dishes smashed. The drawers in the counters were pulled out and some were even tossed on the ground, their contents strewn around the tile. He walked through the kitchen to the dining room and he’d had a painting above his dining room table that was shredded. The table itself had its legs broken off. He wondered if Vic would want to go furniture shopping with him. Then he wondered if she would get pissed off because he had the money to buy all new furniture. He’d saved money nearly his entire life. He had reserves. Although this might clean him out and he wondered if he could start teaching yoga classes on the side again. It had actually paid well. The living room was in worse condition than the kitchen and dining room combined. Simon sighed and pulled his couch into an upright position, pushing the cushions back on and ignoring that whoever had done this had slashed through the leather furniture. Who was he kidding, he knew who’d done this. It had been a while since Avi fucked him over so of course the asshole would do something crazy like this. He sat down heavily on the couch and laid his head back against it, looking out the windows. It was getting late and the sun would be setting soon and he wondered if he should call Vic and see if she wanted to do something tonight. Today was the day her suspension was up and he bet she wanted to go out somewhere. Only his house phone was ripped off his wall and he didn’t know where the hell it was and his cell phone was down in his car. A knock on the door had Simon lifting his head and he bet it was his neighbor. Mrs. Kratz was a sixty year old woman who was living off her dead husband’s life insurance money and she had nothing better to do with her time than tell Simon gossip and then yell at him for having his television up too loud. Some days he thought about vacuuming at four in the morning just to see what she’d say about it. Pushing himself up off his couch, Simon walked back towards the front door and he wondered if he was in shock or something because he wasn’t even freaking out that his apartment had been ransacked. He wasn’t freaking out that there was thousands of dollars worth of damage in here and he basically had to refurnish his house and buy all new shit and he thought maybe he should be freaking out a little. He paused as he reached the door and he realized that he hadn’t checked the entire apartment to see whoever had done this – fucking Avi – was still here. For a moment, he felt torn because he had the urge to run to the bedrooms and see if the asshole was hiding beneath the beds, but there was someone knocking on his door and he thought for sure he must be kind of out of it. First he had dinner with Kim and then he came home to this and it was starting to feel like today was one giant nightmare. The knock came again and then Alexey’s voice filtered through the door. “Simon! I know you’re home! I saw your Lexus!” he yelled. Simon closed his eyes a moment because Alexey was not going to handle this well. He was going to joke and laugh at Simon and then he was going to get pissed because he’d realize that this wasn’t nice. That’s how Alexey operated. He walked forward and pulled the door open and he was surprised to see Alexey leaning against the doorframe and Tony standing behind him and he was even more surprised to see Vic standing next to them. He wondered if Alexey had dragged her out of her apartment or if she’d called him and he didn’t understand why he was suddenly jealous that she’d call Alexey over him. Because he was sure that wasn’t how it happened. “Hey,” he said lamely because his brain was moving slow. Vic raised an eyebrow at him and there was a smirk on her face but his eyes moved to her neck and he felt a snarl creeping up his throat because there were small bruises on her neck. “What happened?” he asked and the smirk fell off her face. Maybe she was about to yell at him not to pry or that it was none of his fucking business, but Alexey cut her off. “Uh, dude, I think we should be asking you that question.” Alexey shoved pass him into the apartment and Simon stepped aside for Tony because he didn’t want to be shoved by the large man. Alexey was making incredulous noises as he walked through the kitchen and the rest of the rooms and Tony was following him closely. Simon looked back at Vic, who’d stepped into the apartment and her eyes were looking at the broken end table and smashed key bowl before she looked back up at him. “Redecorating?” she asked and he saw the touch of concern in her eyes. He smirked and turned back to look towards the living room, where Alexey and Tony were picking their way around the chaos. Simon brought a hand up to the back of his neck and he just shrugged because he didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure if he should just come out and tell them it was Avi because he didn’t know that and if they didn’t guess it then he didn’t want to start that rumor. He didn’t want to tell her that it was just stuff because he didn’t want to seem like he didn’t care or had money to throw around on stuff like this. But he didn’t want to tell her that he was upset either because maybe she’d agree that it was just stuff and maybe she’d think his apartment was too big and too fancy and maybe she’d just turn around and walk out because he really was just a rich boy. He wished Alexey hadn’t brought her here because he was embarrassed and he wasn’t sure if he should be, but he was. He didn’t want her to think bad things about him. Finally, he looked back at her and she was studying his face closely. His eyes went to the bruises on her neck again and he let out a small, delirious sounding laugh. “I’d offer you a drink, but I think they’re all smashed.” .Wolfie. For a girl who didn’t clean much, Vic thought she was doing that an awful lot today.She was in the kitchen trying to sweep up the remains of all of Welsh’s dishes and dump them in a black trash bag. The only thing salvageable was the silverware and that would have to be washed because it was all just lying in the scattered contents of his refrigerator. She picked up a drawer and slid it back in its place and in the dining room next to her she could hear Welsh and Tony as they dismantled his table and leaned the pieces up against the wall. A painting went next to that and the fabric had been shredded. “Jesus Simon, are you serious? Simon and Garfunkel? How gay are you?” Alexey shouted the words from the living room where he was pretending to get all the CDs and DVDs cleaned up and she snorted because so far it was mostly him getting distracted. The leather couch had been shredded and there was stuffing and fabric still littering the carpet. “You said you were helping, Lex,” Simon yelled from the next room. “Questioning my sexuality isn’t helping.” She heard him snort in response and he continued shuffling through the collection. “I disagree. It’s absolutely helping, it’s just helping me. Once the girls realize you’re gay they’ll turn to me for comfort. And by comfort I mean sex.” She smirked and almost made a joke but she wasn’t sure it would help. Welsh had seemed more than a little disturbed and she couldn’t blame him. If someone had been in her apartment without her knowing it and gone through her things she would have fucking found the asshole and gutted him. Mostly because she didn’t like the idea of anyone being able to break into her place whenever they felt like it. She didn’t have enough to get upset if it was destroyed. It was just the principal of the thing. “Really?” he shouted back, and she heard some amusement in his voice. She wondered if they had been like this all their lives. “You’re desperate enough to go for the pity fuck?” “Hey, a pity fuck is still a fuck,” Alexey shot back. “If you were smart you’d be playing that card on Vic right now.” He laughed but didn’t have an answer for that and she didn’t try and think too hard on it. He still hadn’t made a move on her and she was trying not to get frustrated but she was. She wanted him and usually that led to sex and sometimes she got stupid and she got attached but this time was different and it was messing with her head. Normally she would have bailed by now and been fucking someone else but she was still waiting for him and she didn’t know why. Maybe because he’d said she was beautiful. Maybe because he’d said she deserved someone to be nice to her. But maybe he wasn’t interested anymore because of what Elias had done to her and if that was the case she wished he would just come out and tell her that. Her hands went to her neck for a split second and she hated that he’d left marks and she hated that Welsh had seen them because he looked so angry when his eyes had landed on them and she wondered if he was mad at her. She let her hand drop from her neck and worked on cleaning up the chunks of glass off the floor and tried not to think about it. It had probably been a nice apartment yesterday. She probably could have fit three of hers in here and she wondered if he got all that money from teaching yoga or if mommy had a trust fund set up for him. She wondered what it was like to never have to worry about paying rent or keeping the electricity and the water turned on. He could probably just go out tomorrow and drop a grand on new furniture and she took a breath because she knew that wasn’t fair. These were his things and someone had just shredded them for no fucking reason and she should have been mad at that and not feel so weird that Welsh had nice things. She had a theory. Welsh said he didn’t but she was pretty sure by the way he kept his mouth shut about it that he was thinking the same thing. This had to be Avi. Rogers was the only one who hated him enough to go through all this trouble and she wondered just how fucking unstable Captain America had to be to do all this. Had he just gotten bored and decided hey, I’m going to go fuck with Welsh today? If they reported it, would anyone even believe them? Sure as fuck not Elias. She shook her head and dumped the remains of a ceramic bowl in the bag and finished sweeping up the smaller shards of glass that had been scattered across the ground. There was still food strewn across the ground and she picked the bag up to set it on the counter for a moment because she didn’t know if Welsh had a mop or not and she wondered if that would be enough. He and Tony came out of the living room in the next second and Tony shot her a grin as he headed towards the living room. “Hey Small fry!” he yelled. “I want beer and wings. Let’s go for pick up.” She heard the slap on the back from the kitchen and winced for Alexey because sometimes the big guy didn’t know his own strength. “Ow, okay, okay, Jesus don’t go gentle on me or anything,” he said. She smirked, leaning her arms on the counter and watching Simon. He was rubbing the back of his neck and he snorted a small laugh at his brother but his eyes looked sad as they slid over the floor and the mess she was still cleaning up. She wondered what his bedroom looked like and if he’d checked there yet. Should she invite him back to her place? If she did, where the fuck was he going to sleep? Her couch? Tony came out of the living room a minute later, his arm slung around Alexey’s shoulder as he guided him back towards the entrance. Alexey grinned when he saw Simon. “Hey bro, apparently we’re going for beer and wings,” he said. “We’ll try to bring you back something healthy and fruity so you can keep living securely in the closet.” Then he tilted his head back to Vic and the grin widened. “You can come too, Bitchzilla. We could drop you off at the bar so you can enjoy your night of freedom. You could do some shots, maybe do a table dance,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. She smirked and leaned over the counter. “Maybe I’ll just stay here and do a table dance.” She always knew when someone was staring at her and she felt the moment Simon’s gaze landed on her. She glanced over at him and he was blushing and he looked away first and she wondered what he would do if she actually did it. Maybe he really just didn’t want to fuck her and the thought hurt more than she thought it should. Alexey grinned and then turned to point at Simon. “If she does that, you have to promise me you’ll take pictures.” Simon rolled his eyes and pushed his brother towards the door of the kitchen. “Bye Lex,” he told him. She watched the three of them head to the door and Alexey said something to make Tony laugh a second before they were out the door and slamming it behind them. She heard Simon sigh and she felt suddenly nervous because she’d never been in his apartment before and now the two of them were here alone. He stayed in the other room for the moment and she wondered if he was avoiding her. Maybe she was reading too much into all of this and maybe she shouldn’t have gotten so attached. She swallowed and looked down at the dishes in the sink and then started to run water to wash them. There was a dishwasher next to her but she’d never had one before and she wasn’t sure how to use it so she just used soap. There had been a few mugs that only had chips out of them and she thought they were still usable anyway. Maybe Welsh would throw them out later because they were damaged and why have something damaged when he could just go out and buy something shiny and new to replace it? Vic heard his footsteps a minute later and then he leaned his back against the counter next to her. She felt him watching her and didn’t look up for a moment because she was waiting for him to say something and he was just staying quiet. “You don’t have to stay and do this,” he told her after a moment. “This is supposed to be your first night of freedom.” She rolled her eyes and then looked up at him and he looked sad as he studied her face. He looked guilty and apologetic and that was fucking stupid. “If you don’t want me here, then just tell me to go. Otherwise shut the fuck up,” she told him. His face lightened a little with a smile and she felt an answering one try to pull at her lips. “Thanks,” he told her. She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head. “You don’t have to thank me,” she said. “If I didn’t want to help, I wouldn’t.” The smirk died off his face as quickly as it had come, his hand coming out to brush against her neck. She shivered at the touch and wondered if he knew how crazy he made her every damn day. She looked down at the silverware in the sink and started to work on cleaning them again so that she had something to with her hands. She was trying not to focus on the gentle touch against her skin and it was so different from the bruising pain of Elias wrapping his fingers around her throat. “What happened?” he asked her again. “He didn’t fuck me if that’s what you’re asking,” she snapped, her tone harsher than he deserved. She slammed the forks down in the sink and she wondered if he thought she was easy or a whore or all of the other nasty things Elias had called her and maybe he was right. Maybe Simon didn’t want to fuck her because he wanted a nice girl that would fit in his nice apartment and his nice life. “That’s not what I’m asking,” Simon said. She glanced at his face and she couldn’t tell if he was jealous or if he was mad at her or what he was thinking until his eyes met hers. “Elias?” he asked quietly. Her lips pressed together in a thin line and she looked back at the dishes in the sink because she didn’t want to hear his name and she didn’t want his fingerprints on her skin and she wondered if Simon thought she was weak for letting him put them there. She did. She was weak for letting him hurt her and she was weak for getting attached to Welsh and she was weak for a lot of things. “Yeah,” she snapped. “Elias dropped by to give me my hall pass back.” She glared at the dishes as she ran water over them and she hated him and she hated Rogers and she wondered if he knew that she could easily kill him and dump his body in the river where no one would ever find the pieces. She wondered if she should explain that to him one of these times. What would he have done if Welsh was at home? Would he have hurt him too? The thought made her angrier and she didn’t realize she was shaking with it. “He hurt you,” he said lowly, and it wasn’t a question. She answered it anyway with a small shrug, glancing up at his face. “Pain is weakness,” she told him. Wenston “What the fuck is this?” Simon poked his head into the living room. He’d been picking up the dining room some more and Vic had moved to the living room to finish up the CDs and DVDs that Alexey had started. The kid hadn’t gotten far and Simon thought maybe he should give some of the DVDs to his brother. It wasn’t like he watched any of them anymore. He just bought movies he thought he’d like. Half of them he hadn’t even seen. Maybe Alexey would want some of his CDs. Then he thought that was stupid because their taste in music was nothing alike. Vic was standing in the middle of the living room and there was half of a pot in her hand with sticks poking out of it. Simon grinned and walked into the living room, taking the contraption from her and starting to reassemble it into what it was supposed to look like. “A fondue set,” he told her. She made a face and Simon laughed. “What?” he shrugged and tried not to feel self conscious again. “You’ve never had fondue?” “No,” she said dryly. “Well maybe I’ll make some for you sometime,” he said and set the pot back up on the shelves he had near the hallway to the bedrooms. He stood back and looked at it and when Vic didn’t say anything, he turned to look at her. She was watching him with that studying look on her face and sometimes he wondered if she thought he was an asshole or not worth her time and maybe she was wondering why she was sticking around here because he hadn’t even kissed her yet. “I hear I make really good fondue,” he told her, quirking a brow. Vic sighed and bent to pick up another DVD. Simon couldn’t help but look at her ass as she bent over and he quickly looked away, blushing a little because he was really, really attracted to her. “You get all this money teaching yoga?” she snapped and Simon winced slightly because there was a biting tone to her voice but then he saw her look up at him and maybe she hadn’t meant for the question to come out so harsh. But it had and he could recognize resentment when he heard it. It laced Alexey’s voice almost every time they spoke before Simon had gotten sick. “Some of it,” he answered honestly and then the smile slipped off his face and he was looking down at his hands. “But most of its from my Dad.” “So you two are really close?” she asked and there was that resentment again but she was trying really hard to mask it. He snorted and looked up at her. She was watching him curiously. “I don’t know my Dad,” he said and she frowned but didn’t ask what he meant by that. He could have just left it at that, but he was trying to get to know her and it was only fair that she get to know him. He didn’t really talk about his Dad much. “When I was a kid, he left for work one day and just….never came back.” He forced the smile on his face but Vic didn’t return it. He couldn’t read the look she had and he thought he should be able to by now, but they hadn’t really talked about her much. He was doing a bad job of getting to know her, because he just liked spending time with her and sometimes he forgot that he was supposed to be learning about her. He shrugged and looked back down at his hands. “I don’t think he’s dead, I mean, I still get money put into an account every month and I’m pretty sure it’s from him. Maybe he’s like, a CIA agent or a spy or something,” he looked up at bit his lip. “Romanova must like the money,” Vic said as she leaned to pick up another CD. Simon smirked. “He doesn’t get any,” he said and Vic turned to him with wide eyes and he felt his stomach drop at that because she was looking at him with disgust. He panicked a moment and he’d never been around someone where he was so ashamed to have money or nice things. He was quick to tell her, “We’re half brothers. Different Dads. Mom basically considers me an only child. We didn’t even grow up together,” he watched her face and he almost told her that he’d do anything for Alexey. He almost told her that if every Alexey would have asked him for anything growing up or even now, he would have done it. He’d told Alexey that one time. He’d told him he would do anything for him. And he wasn’t sure why he was so defensive right now or why he felt so guilty. Deciding to change the subject, he cleared his throat and looked over at her. “What about you? You have family?” “No,” she said and she said it too quickly. Simon watched her for a moment and she just kept moving, kept picking things up and putting them back on his shelves and she wasn’t looking at him. He decided that he’d hit a sore spot and she’d talk to him about it when she wanted to and not before. “I’m sorry,” he said because he felt like he should even though he didn’t know why. She turned to glare at him. “Welsh, what did I say about apologies?” And the question kind of surprised him because she didn’t say it in a mocking tone and she wasn’t yelling and a couple weeks ago, she would have been. Simon smirked. “They’re signs of weakness and not to do them,” he said like a child being scolded by his mother. Vic smirked back at him and he couldn’t help but chuckle a little because sometimes she tried really hard to be cold and uncaring but every so often she would smile and he loved that smile. He turned around to grab the broom and when he turned back, Vic had paused over a small card lying slightly torn up on the floor. Her fingers brushed over it and then she picked it up. His heart jumped to his throat because he knew immediately what that card was and he wasn’t sure he wanted her to read it. It was weakness. It was weakness at its fullest. Vic read it and then looked up at him. She must have seen the nervous look on his face because she seemed to reign in her anger and then asked, “What is this?” A sigh escaped his lips and he set the broom back against the wall, slowly walking over to her. He reached for the card and took it from her hands, turning it over to read the words. He’d memorized the words and could recite them by heart. He smirked again but it was cold and sad and he hoped Vic didn’t see through it because he didn’t like being sad around her because emotions were weakness to her and he wanted to be strong. “You think you’re doing good in life and then one day you wake up and your Mom’s asking you what kind of gravestone you want at your funeral and your fiancée is so disgusted by you that she breaks up with you on your wedding day with a card because you’re too sick to get off the couch and she doesn’t like sick people.” He gave a bitter laugh afterwards and then bit his lip because maybe he’d just ranted a little and he wasn’t sure that Vic liked him enough to be able to rant to her like that. He glanced over at her and she was watching him, her face impassive. Then she shrugged. “I could break their legs for you, if you want.” Simon laughed. He couldn’t help it. He looked back down at the card and he’d never known a girl like Vic. He’d never known a girl so strong willed and beautiful and he wished he could just kiss her already and he didn’t know what was holding him back but he thought maybe it was this card and it was Elias telling him about a guy named Harmon who’d gotten his brain tumor back and as strong as Simon tried to be he wasn’t sure he could go through being sick and watching everyone but Alexey turn their backs on him again. He wasn’t sure he’d make it through that this time. “I might take a rain check on that,” he said and he laughed again when she looked a little disappointed. “This came from the bedroom,” he told her, holding up the card. “Better check on it, I guess.” Then he turned and walked down the hallway and he smiled to himself when he heard Vic’s footsteps following behind him. He paused outside the bedroom and took a breath before he pushed the door open. His shoulders dropped immediately because the bedroom was the same as the rest of his apartment. Things were just strewn around and the bedding had been pulled off his bed. They walked inside and Simon set the card in the bottom of his sock drawer and he wasn’t sure why he kept it but he did. He started pulling the sheets and the comforter back onto the bed while Vic was picking up his clothes and he wondered if she was tired of helping him or if she wished she would have gone to the bar with Alexey and Tony and he wondered when they were going to come back. He looked to the side and he snorted. “Man, I’ve been looking for this,” he said as he spotted a disposable camera on the floor. It was from a trip he’d taken with Kim to go see Niagara Falls. He bent down and picked it up and there were a few pictures left on it. He turned and snapped a photo of Vic and she paused, her eyes wide. He grinned at her and then her eyes narrowed. “Give me that camera,” she said darkly. “What’s the matter,” Simon said and then snapped another photo of her. “Don’t like your picture taken?” “I’m warning you, Welsh,” she snarled and he watched her face to make sure she wasn’t seriously angry. There was a crook at the corner of her lips that he recognized when she wanted to smile but was trying not to. He just shrugged and snapped the camera one more time. “Give me the fucking camera,” she spat and then stalked over to him. Simon laughed and held it above his head. He was surprised when Vic grabbed his arm and proceeded to try and flip him. He wrestled with her for a moment because he’d been sparring with her for a while now and he knew what kind of moves she made and she wasn’t honestly trying right now. He laughed as she shoved at him and he chuckled, “What’s the matter, shorty?” Vic pulled back a moment, her eyes wide and then she leapt at him and he gave a yelp as she collided with his chest. He fell backwards as his knees hit the edge of the bed and she fell on top of him, her hands grasping at the camera. Simon struggled beneath her and he’d never been able to get out of it when she pinned him except for that first day but this time she was concentrating on what was in his hands and not on his hips and he bucked his waist to the side, tossing her onto the bed and he rolled so he was on top of her. She looked up at him with surprise and he grinned because their wrestling didn’t often end like this. He was smiling down at her and then he realized how close they were and that they were lying on the bed and he was pinning her to it. She held the camera in her hands above her head and his waist was pressed into hers, his legs tangled with hers and his arms on either side of her. She wasn’t moving to get out from beneath him and he could only look into her dark eyes. They were beautiful. She was beautiful. Simon brushed his fingers down the side of her face and she shivered beneath him. The fingers moved to the bruises on her neck and he wondered if this was right because she’d been hurt and he didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to do anything bad to her, ever. He looked down at her lips and they were full and parted and he started to move his towards hers. The sound of the front door opening had him pausing. He looked Vic in the eye and then smiled as Alexey’s voice filtered through. “Honey, we’re home! Start up the Simon and Garfunkel, it’s time to party!” Vic was looking up at him, waiting and he just chuckled, running his fingers through her hair. “He has the worse timing,” he whispered and then pushed himself up, pulling himself away from her. She was watching him and he ducked his head because he’d almost kissed her and he wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted from him. He knew she wanted sex. He didn’t know if she wanted anything more. He turned and walked to the door and he was surprised when Vic scoffed and said, “Way to pussy out, Welsh.” He turned back to look at her, his eyes wide because those were the same words she’d said to him in Brazil when she thought he was just abandoning the team. He squared his shoulders because she was looking at him with her jaw jutted and a disappointed look on her face and he hated that look. Then he was stalking back across the room and he brought his hand out to shove her back onto the bed and he put his knees on either side of her hips as his hands came to hold her jaw and the top of her head and then he kissed her. He hoped he wasn’t crossing a line she didn’t want him to and he hoped she didn’t get mad or upset or hurt but he kissed her. At first she just laid there and maybe she was surprised he actually had done it, but then she starting kissing him back and his shoulders relaxed and the worry melted away and her hands came up to his arms. He pulled back after a moment and looked down at her. She opened her eyes and looked at him, breathless. He grinned and gave her the same answer he’d given her in Brazil. “Fuck you, Vic.” There was no bite to it and he leaned down to give her one more quick kiss before he pushed himself off the bed and headed out into the kitchen before Alexey got the idea that they were fooling around. The thought made him grin. .Wolfie. Simon Welsh was a tease.Vic hadn’t expected it but that was what she decided after he left her lying across his bed with the taste of him still lingering on her lips while he went out to greet his brother. He’d surprised her with how forceful he was and not in a bad way. It was in a way that made her wish he hadn’t stopped. Her fingertips ran over her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment and shivered. She pushed herself upright and sat on the edge of the bed, running her hands over her face and then through her hair and her heart was beating loudly in her chest. The low words he’d said to her sounded like a promise and she hoped they were because she wanted him. For a moment her eyes focusing on the sock drawer. Her lip curled in a sneer and she hoped he didn’t come back because then he would wonder about the look on her face. She was thinking about the card he’d put inside it and the words scrawled on it and she felt hatred curling darkly in her chest. In her mind’s eye all she could think about was Welsh pushing himself to his feet over and over again. He could have just laid down and died a hundred times but he kept getting back up and she couldn’t think of him as weak anymore. He was a lot of things that she didn’t understand yet, but weak wasn’t one of them. She wanted to take that card and set it on fire and ram it down the throat of the bitch that had left him. When she got to the kitchen Alexey was digging through plastic bags and Simon was standing next to him with an amused expression on his face. Tony had a case of beer in front of him and he’d already cracked one of them. He grinned when he saw her and tossed one over and she caught it deftly in her hands. Simon glanced over his shoulder at her and the smile on his face was wide and sincere and she just flipped him off because he was a tease and she thought maybe he knew it. For a moment she focused on Alexey and she studied him as she popped the beer open. She wondered how they’d both ended up here if they hadn’t even grown up together. She wondered what had passed that would make Welsh ready to take a bullet for him, but he didn’t want to share daddy’s trust fund with him. Then again, maybe Alexey didn’t want it. Her dad would have said that it was stupid to let pride get in the way of survival, and she wondered about that lesson because sometimes he’d seemed like he was saying it more for himself than for anything else. “Ta da!” Alexey said, turning the bag upside down on the counter. A package of paper plates thumped down on the counter, followed by a little bag of plastic forks and a stack of napkins. He grabbed the next bag and pulled out a frozen burrito to pass it off to Welsh. “For you, health freak,” he told Simon. Welsh lifted an eyebrow at him but he didn’t stop smiling. He crossed one arm over his chest and tilted his head to the side as he studied the package. “I wouldn’t call a frozen burrito healthy,” he said. Alexey scoffed and picked one of them up. “Sure it is, see? I got you the one with green chili.” Simon smiled at his brother but he shook his head as he read the nutrition facts on the back. Vic stretched across the counter and plucked it from his hands. He glanced at her and he smiled and she wasn’t going to smile back because he was a tease and she almost wished Alexey had stayed out at the bar and gotten drunk instead of coming back here and interrupting whatever might have happened in Simon’s bedroom. Her eyes scanned the ingredients and then she glanced up at Welsh with a sly smirk on her face. “It’s got soy,” she told him helpfully. “Is that healthy enough for you?” “Wait, really?” Alexey said, pulling it from her hand. He snorted when he read it and shook his head. “No shit.” Simon rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter, his back to her. “Still doesn’t make it healthy,” he said. Tony shrugged and took a drink from his can. “We also got beer,” he said, and Vic smiled despite herself because Welsh had probably figured that part out. He glanced over at the man and there was a smile on his face. She hated how it had fallen when he talked about the note or about his dad and she hated that the people who were supposed to be looking out for him had hurt him instead. “See? Just have a couple of those and it won’t matter anymore what exactly is in a beef pattie mix. I’ve got your back bro. Speaking of which, did Vic do a table dance for you? Did you get a picture?” Vic’s eyes narrowed and she glanced at Welsh’s face. He was smiling and looking at her out of the corner of his eye and she was trying to glare back at him. She didn’t think she was managing it. She was trying to pretend she was annoyed or frustrated and maybe she was a little frustrated, but mostly she was just distracted. He was distracting and his lips were distracting and she’d liked kissing him. She’d liked him pinning her and running his hands through her hair and over her skin and her teeth pulled at her bottom lip because Simon Welsh was a tease. “No table dance,” Simon told his brother. He’d gotten a picture though and she wondered why he’d even want one. They saw each other every day and when that changed and one or both of them were gone there was no point in having a picture because attachments were weakness and she was trying to remember that. The only other pictures she knew had been taken of her were the ones the government had taken of her. Her driver’s license, her mugshot, and her badge were the only photos that proved she existed. Alexey clucked his tongue at her. “You’re letting me down, Bitchzilla. Not out getting into fights, not getting drunk or doing table dances. You’re going soft on me.” She shrugged. “It’s still early,” she said, glancing up at Simon’s face. She wondered if he’d ask her to stay the night or if he was just testing the waters. She’d told him that he didn’t have to seduce her or anything but the thought was only just occurring to her that maybe he wanted to and she didn’t know at all what to make of him. “That is absolutely true,” he said, pointing a finger at her. His grin widened and then he jerked his head at the case of beer. “Keep drinking and hey, if you get the urge to do a striptease or drag me into a bedroom for a little one on one time than just embrace it.” She raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. “All thirty seconds of it?” “Wow, I didn’t realize you were that quick,” Alexey shot back. “Well if that’s all it takes, I guess we could go twice. Make a full minute out of it.” “A minute out of what?” Tony asked, taking a swig of his beer. Vic smiled and looked down at the drink in her hand and she was trying not to laugh because Tony was a good guy, he was just a little slow sometimes. Alexey smiled sadly and patted Tony on the back. “Don’t worry about it big guy,” he told him, picking a beer out of the case for himself. He cracked it as he walked backwards and grinned at Simon. “I’m going to see if you have anything manlier than Dirty Dancing to watch, sugar plum.” Simon rolled his eyes. “I don’t think a guy that uses the term ‘sugar plum’ gets to comment on my manliness.” Alexey chuckled and then he disappeared beyond the doorway. “Hey,” he shouted from the living room. “So when are we going to talk about this anyway? Did Captain America do this or what?” She heard him shuffling through the DVDs and she wondered if he was just making a mess out of what she’d already managed to clean up. Simon looked immediately uncomfortable and Vic watched him closely as he looked down at his feet and shrugged. He seemed to realize in the next moment that his brother couldn’t see him. “I don’t know,” he said, and Vic frowned because the look on his face said maybe he did know, or at least suspected. She wondered if he was just trying to keep his brother out of harm’s way and she took another swig from her beer. Maybe that was smart for Alexey but Vic wasn’t scared of Avi and if he’d pulled this then she was going to have a nice long conversation with him that involved her knife and his jugular. “You should start keeping a bat under your bed,” Vic told him. He snorted and glanced up at her and she just shrugged. “What? I keep a knife under my pillow, but you’d probably cut yourself in your sleep if you tried.” A smile pulled at his lips and then it faded as he realized she was serious. “You sleep with a knife under your pillow?” he asked. She frowned because she didn’t find that strange but he was looking at her like it was. “Well, yeah.” She shrugged again and she wasn’t sure how to answer it because she’d been doing that for years. Ever since pops had shown her how to use a knife she’d kept it close at hand. After what had happened, she hadn’t been able to start getting a full night’s sleep again until she started keeping a blade under her pillow and even in prison she’d kept a shank there in case anyone tried to mess with her. “Jesus Simon, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Vic blinked and leaned over the counter to try and look into the living room. She heard Alexey scoff and then he was coming back in, a movie in his hand and the sound of ripping plastic as he opened it. “I can’t believe you owned this and you never even opened it. Have you even watched it yet?” Simon frowned. “What is it?” Alexey scoffed and then held it up. “’Heroes of the East.’ Come on, we’re watching this now. Bring the beer and your burritos.” He tossed the plastic in the black garbage bag on the floor and then headed back out into the living room without even turning around. Tony grinned and lifted up the case of beer to follow him and Vic watched Simon with a raised eyebrow, not moving from the counter yet. He met her gaze for a moment and then shrugged and smirked, reaching for the burritos. “You heard the man,” he told her, ripping the plastic off and tossing the first one in the microwave. She snorted and then came around the counter to stand in front of him. Her hand reached forward and curled in his shirt and then she was tugging him down closer so that her lips were by his. “You’re a tease,” she told him lowly, and she watched the slow smile spread across his face. His hand came up and rested against her cheek and she felt his thumb brush over her cheek. “Come on!” Alexey shouted from the living room. “Unless you’re going to fuck then get in here and watch this with me.” Wenston Simon felt good this morning. He felt good because yesterday he’d kissed Vic and now she thought he was a tease and he didn’t think that was entirely a bad thing. He’d kissed Vic and she’d kissed him back and he was trying not to think about what would have happened if Alexey and Tony hadn’t come back when they did because if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he would have stopped when he did. He’d had her on his bed for Pete’s sakes. He knew she wanted to. He knew she wouldn’t have said no. He just wasn’t sure how he felt about that because he still felt like he didn’t know hardly anything about her but, God, he wanted her. Climbing the stairs to her apartment, he was early today and he attributed that to the fact that he could barely sleep last night. She’d been on his mind the entire time. And also that stupid fucking burrito Alexey had brought him and it had been the most god awful thing and had messed with his stomach all night but Vic liked them and if she liked them, then he liked them. And he’d liked sitting in his apartment with her and his brother and even Tony eating burritos and watching movies because Simon didn’t have friends that he did that sort of stuff with before. Standing in the hallway, Simon ignored the way her coffee was burning his hand and he leaned against the opposite wall, keeping his eyes on his watch and waiting for 12:01 and he wondered what she’d do if he knocked at 11:56 instead. He didn’t think she’d get mad. But maybe she wouldn’t be as prepared and that meant the possibility of spending more time with Lisa while he waited for Vic to get dressed and that was not something he wanted to do. The girl scared him. He knew it was stupid, but she seemed like the type of girl to cut off her ear and give it to someone as a show of affection. Turns out, he didn’t have to wait until 12:01 because the door opened at 11:59 and Lisa stood in the doorway with a bag over her shoulder and a schoolgirl skirt on with a top that he was pretty sure he could see her breasts through. He concentrated on keeping his eyes on her face or on the wall and he wondered what she did for the government and what her contract was. He almost laughed out loud as he thought she’d make an awesome undercover hooker. Lisa smiled coyly and Simon sighed as she shut the door behind her and kept her eyes on him like he was a piece of meat. He shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. “Hello, Welsh,” she said, her voice deep and sultry. “Uh, hey Lisa,” he greeted her and then his eyes went to the door. “Is Vic up yet?” Lisa pouted her bottom lip, black lipstick and all, and then walked over to him slowly, her hips swaying a little too much to be natural. “No,” she said and when she reached him he wished he didn’t have his hands full because her fingers were toying with the hem of his shirt. “You know, if you wanted to warm up for her, I could take you for a wild ride,” she grinned up at him and Simon’s eyes went wide. “Uh, no, no thank you,” he said politely and he gave a small yelp as her hands slid up beneath his shirt and ran over his abs, her black nails scratching at his skin. He glanced at the door again and bit his lip because maybe he could just step around her. “Wow, you’re really muscular,” she was saying, her hands moving up his abs to his chest and he gave a small, uncomfortable laugh and then decided it was time to go find Vic. He tried to step to the side and head towards the door, but he was surprised when Lisa suddenly flung herself at him. He hit the back wall because he hadn’t been expecting it and then he gasped as the coffee’s lid came off and most of the liquid splashed out and onto his shirt, soaking it to his skin and he tried to suck in his stomach because the coffee was damn hot. “Oh no,” Lisa said and by the way she said it, he knew the coffee spill hadn’t been an accident. “Well we’ll just have to have you take this shirt off.” Simon wondered when he’d lost control of this situation. He wondered if he should get Vic’s phone number and have her meet him outside from now on to avoid situations like this and he wondered what Lisa really planned to do because she was pulling fervently on his shirt, exposing his stomach and the red mark the coffee had left on his skin. She was trying to reach behind him and pull it up over his head but he still had the two cups in his hand and maybe there was enough coffee left in Vic’s that she could still have some. “Jesus Christ,” he yelped as she forced his head down and started pulling the shirt. He hadn’t heard the door open but he definitely heard Vic’s angry voice as she snarled a, “What the fuck?” Lisa’s hands stilled and then she was shoving him back against the wall again and Simon tried to shrug his shirt back down, ignoring the still scalding spots of coffee on the fabric. He looked at Vic and she was watching him a moment before she turned burning eyes towards Lisa, who was grabbing her bag and skirting off down the hallway at a quick pace. At the stairs she turned and waved at them. “Later, Welsh!” she said and Simon’s eyes widened even more as she disappeared. He could hear Vic’s growling from the other side of the hallway and he glanced over at her. She was dressed already and it was 12:03 so she’d probably been wondering where he was and that’s why she’d come out in the hallway. He opened his mouth to tell her something, but he didn’t know what he was about to say because he wasn’t really sure what had just happened. But Vic held up a finger and told him very dangerously, “Really think about what you’re about to say to me,” she told him. Simon glanced back at the stairs and then back at Vic and he wondered if she was really mad at him because he hadn’t done anything and maybe that’s why she was mad. “She jumped me,” he blurted at last and he saw Vic raise an eyebrow. Finally, Vic snorted and there was that familiar smirk back on her lips and it eased some of his anxiety because he didn’t want to make her mad or hurt her and her roommate was a psychotic bitch. “I believe you,” she told him and then came forward, taking her coffee cup and sneering at it before looking at his shirt. She gave a small laugh and shook her head. “Don’t look so violated, Welsh.” Then she turned around and headed back inside, leaving the door open for him. “I feel violated,” he grumbled loud enough for her to hear as he followed her inside. Vic threw the rest of the coffee into the sink before throwing out the cup. Then she grabbed his latte, took a sip and threw that out too. She turned around and pulled two mugs from a cupboard and put her own coffee pot on. While she was doing that, Simon was inspecting his shirt and he sighed and finally pulled it off of himself because the coffee had stained the entire front of it. “I think we should set her up with Alexey,” Simon said as he held his shirt over the sink and rang it out. He watched Vic turn around to say something to him, but her eyes fell on his chest and whatever she was going to say was cut off and she just stared at him for a moment. He looked down at himself to make sure nothing was wrong and when he looked back up, she was smirking again. Vic jutted her jaw and then met his eyes and he raised an eyebrow at her. She just sighed and shook her head. “You’re a problem, Welsh.” .Wolfie. “Here,” Vic told him, holding out a black shirt. “It’s the only thing I’ve got that might fit you.”Welsh took it from her, lifting an eyebrow at the picture on it. It was an Iron Maiden tee shirt with a zombie on the front and she was trying not to smile at the look on his face. He was still standing in her kitchen without a shirt on and she thought again that he was a tease because he was built and muscular and he didn’t even seem to realize what he did to her. She’d spent a restless night in her bed wishing she was in his and now he was standing half undressed in her kitchen and Welsh was a god damned tease. He studied it for a moment and then smirked and shook his head. “Thanks,” he told her, pulling it on. It was a little small and he looked like he was having a hard time getting it over his shoulders. She took a step forward and caught the hem of it, helping him tug it down around his frame. There were little red marks on his stomach from the hot coffee and her fingers brushed over them as she pulled the fabric down. Lisa was such a fucking whore. She was going to have a conversation with her whenever she got back and it wasn’t going to end well for Morticia. She hated her having her hands all over Welsh and she was going to break her damn fingers. “Can’t believe you’ve got me helping you put clothes on,” she told him. “I’m kind of surprised myself,” he said with a laugh. He rotated his shoulders to stretch it out. It pulled tight over his chest and she couldn’t help but smile because as big as it was on her, it was small on him. She wondered if he’d have to be cut out of it later and she didn’t mind that thought either. “It’s a little tight,” he told her. She shrugged, fingers still playing with the hem of the borrowed shirt. Her fingers brushed against his stomach and she felt the muscle tighten beneath her skin. “You could always take it back off,” she told him, glancing up at his face through lidded eyes. He chuckled at her, hands coming to rest on her arms. “If I didn’t know better I would think you were coming onto me,” he said lowly. His thumbs rubbed over her shoulders as he studied her and she tipped her head up to look at him with a challenging gaze. She wondered how much clearer she needed to make this for him. She wanted him and she was trying so hard not to be pushy because she didn’t understand exactly what he wanted from her. He said he didn’t just want sex from her but she didn’t know what else he expected. Was he hoping for a relationship? Did she even know what that was? “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” she told him. Her hand slid up around his neck and then she pulled his head down towards hers. She tilted her head up and kissed him and she felt his hesitation because for a moment he didn’t return it. His hands tightened on her arms and she wondered if he was going to push her away and then he was kissing her back, pulling her closer against him. And fuck, for all his boasting, she didn’t think Alexey was the brother with the talented tongue. She felt his hands move to her waist and then they were sliding up under her shirt. A small noise escaped her throat as his fingers moved over her skin and she yanked him harder against her. She crushed her mouth against his and she was barely aware of them moving backwards until her back hit the wall. There was a loud beep as the coffee finished and then he was pulling away. Her fingers curled tightly in his shirt and she almost cursed at him because she didn’t want him to leave. “Coffee’s done,” he told her quietly. “Tease,” she growled, and he just laughed quietly as he took a step back. She moved past him to the counter and her hands were surprisingly steady as she poured them each a cup. It was probably a quarter after by now but she wasn’t sure she cared. She hopped up on the counter next to the coffee maker and leaned back to offer Welsh a cup. “If you want creamer it’s in the fridge,” she told him. He was smiling at her as he took the cup, fingers brushing against hers. He went to the fridge and got the creamer out, putting that and sugar in his cup and she smirked because he looked like he took it sweet. He leaned against the counter next to her and he studied her face for a long time. She wondered if they were even going to make it to the gym today and maybe they could spar in a different way today. “So,” he said finally. “What other music do you like?” She rolled her eyes because it sounded like a lame pick up line and he grinned when he saw her reaction. “What?” he asked with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m just trying to get to know you.” She narrowed her eyes at him, the cup of coffee hesitating in front of her lips as she thought about that. He was trying. He asked her questions and she dodged the answers because she didn’t let anyone get close. It was dangerous for anyone to know too much about her, not just for her. She wondered what he would think of her if she told him that she used to deal drugs or that she’d been in prison. She wondered if he would lose interest and she didn’t want that to happen because he had just kissed her for the first time last night and she was hoping for more. She was attracted to him and she wanted him and maybe, just maybe, she liked him. So much of the shit he’d lived through had been laid out in front of her already. She knew he’d been sick, she knew he’d been engaged and the bitch had dumped him because he got sick. She knew his dad had left him when he was a kid and she knew how that felt. She remembered being eight and wondering when pops was going to be home and it was three days until social services showed up instead. Only Simon’s dad had never come back for him. He’d abandoned him with his mother. She wasn’t good at sharing. She was good at keeping people at a distance but he was looking at her with that smile on his face. “The Rolling Stones,” she told him. He smiled at the answer, maybe just because she’d actually answered him. She took a sip of her coffee and watched him study her for a moment. Then she sighed and set it down next to her, shifting so that her leg was braced on the counter and she was facing him. “One question,” she told him, holding up a finger. “I’ll answer you one question.” He straightened up, a concentrated look on his face as he studied her and tried to think of a good one. Then he settled the coffee cup down on the counter and braced his arms against it. “Why did you join the Shifter Initiative?” he asked. She chewed on her lip as she watched his face and he just watched her, maybe wondering if she would actually answer him. She’d offered because this was what he said he wanted but she still hesitated. She supposed out of all the things he could have asked her the answer to this one was one of the least terrible ones. She sucked in a breath and then looked down at her feet. “Because,” she drawled. “It was either that or spend the rest of my life in prison.” He got quiet and she almost laughed because there was such a harsh contrast between the two of them. She turned her head away from him out at her apartment and for as small as it was it was still one of the nicer places she’d ever lived in. There weren’t rats in the walls or burns in the carpet and she had actual food in her refrigerator. Then she thought about Welsh’s place and he was the first person she knew to have an actual dining room. She wondered what kind of house he’d grown up in and if it was anything like Colette’s place. She snorted and wondered what that had been like. He cleared his throat and she glanced at him. She couldn’t read the look on his face because he was studying her with a carefully veiled expression and she wondered if he was second guessing this now. She was a criminal. She pulled her legs up so that she could wrap her arms around them and she wished she knew what that look meant. “What did you go to prison for?” he asked quietly. She shrugged and rested her cheek against her knees because she couldn’t meet his gaze. “I said one question, Welsh,” she told him. Vic jumped when she felt his hand come to rest on the side of her neck. She glanced up at him and he was forcing a smile onto his face. She wasn’t sure she should believe it because she didn’t know what he was thinking. She was trying not to find the touch comforting but she did and she wondered if she should because maybe he was horrified with her now. “How do I get another one?” he asked with a smirk and she tried really hard not to smile back. “I’ll let you know,” she said, suppressing a shiver as his thumb ran over the skin on her neck. She took a breath and turned her head so her chin was resting on her knees. His hand fell away and he braced them on the counter as he watched her. “You joined because of your cancer?” she asked. “The Initiative cured it?” He nodded his head, hiding his face behind his coffee. “Yeah,” he said. His voice was quiet and reserved and she thought about what his mom had said to him in the gym the other day. She thought about her telling him that there was a fifty percent chance that it would come back and that no one would want him if h was sick and Kim writing him a note that said she didn’t want to be a widow in a few months and she couldn’t help but think they had put this look on his face. He wasn’t smiling. He was looking away and he looked distant and sad and it didn’t look right on him because he always had a smile for her. “Is it true?” she asked, watching his face. He blinked and glanced at her like for a second he’d forgotten where he was and who he was with and maybe he wished he was somewhere else. Maybe he wished he was back in his old life with his old fiancée because he’d kept the card. No matter that it had said nasty things on it and she hated the girl, he’d still kept it. She wondered if he missed her or if he loved her and she thought it was strange how jealous that thought made her. “Can it come back?” He nodded his head again and she felt a little nervous because maybe he didn’t want to be talking about this or maybe he just didn’t want to be talking about it with her. “Yeah,” he said again. “There’s a fifty percent chance. Maybe lower because of the gene therapy, but they don’t know for sure.” Vic nodded her head and glanced at him. He looked so sad and she felt guilty that she’d brought it up and she didn’t like the feeling. So she shrugged like it was no big deal and tried to pretend she wasn’t scared for him. “You always get back up,” she said. She hopped off the counter, turning around to dump the rest of her coffee out in the sink because she didn’t feel much like drinking it anymore. She didn’t look at him as she washed the cup out and he was being too quiet next to her. She wondered if she had crossed a line with him and if she’d just ruined whatever had been starting between them. There was a reason she didn’t get close to people. There was a reason she didn’t tell anyone who she was or what she’d done. They’d either hate her for it or use it against her and either way she would end up getting hurt. She shouldn’t have been getting so attached to him. When it was clean she dried her hands off and then looked up at him. He was leaning across her counter, the coffee cup sitting in his hands and his eyes focused on the window. He looked like he was a million miles away and she wished she hadn’t brought it up. Her hand came out to take the coffee from him and put it in the sink and then he finally glanced at her. She forced a smile across her face and sauntered backwards towards the door. “Come on Welsh,” she said. “Let’s see if you can pin me two days in a row.” Wenston Simon was stretching out to the side of the sparring ring and he kept glancing at Vic. She was watching him, waiting for him to finish up and whenever he looked over there she was looking at him with that curious look on her face like she couldn’t figure him out. Maybe he was returning it a little bit. She’d gone to prison. He was trying to figure out how he felt about that. He didn’t think he was mad or scared or put off by it. Mainly he was just curious. He wanted to know why she’d gone. He wanted to know everything about her because he didn’t think life was easy on her and he wanted to give her nice things and treat her right. He thought he was starting to really like her. She was mysterious to him still. She was beautiful and dangerous and so fucking alluring that he had trouble thinking straight when he was around her. She was all he could think about and she had him paying attention to what he did all day and wondering if she’d approve of it or think it was weak. She had him trying new things and changing his view on stuff and he liked that. He liked her. “Okay,” he said and stood up. He stretched his arms and ignored the way his shirt rode up on his stomach because this shirt was way too small for him and he hoped Alexey didn’t come in and see him in it because he’d never hear the end of it. “If I pin you, can I get another question?” he asked and he grinned afterwards because her lips curled up in a smile but she still had that curious look on her face. “I’ll decide when you get your next question, Welsh,” she snapped and then she was coming at him and he was ready for her because she did this all the time. As soon as they stepped in the room he was prepared for a spar because one time she’d come after him before he even started stretching. He hadn’t been prepared that time and she’d yelled at him for it so he promised himself he’d never be caught unprepared again. Not by her at least. He wanted to be better for her. She swung at his face and swiped at his feet and he was getting better and faster every day that they did this. She still believed he’d be good enough one day to take Avi on and he was starting to believe it himself. Probably because she kept saying it to him over and over again. Probably because she had faith in him and he didn’t want to let her down. After a while, they were moving around each other and Vic landed a blow to his ankles that had him falling backwards onto the mat. She instantly jumped on him and straddled his waist, her hands coming down to pin his arms at his side. She grinned at him and he smiled back up at her. The minute she started to release his arms, he pulled them away, and grabbed her forearms, pinning them to her sides. The sudden motion had her falling forward and he held her in place as he brought his head up to kiss her. If she really wanted to, she could have gotten away. He was very calculating about how he touched her, every time, because he didn’t like it when she was hurt and he never wanted to hurt her. The hands around her arms were tight, but not bruising. She seemed surprised at first and then she was kissing him back and she gave a soft tug on her arms but he held her in place because like this she couldn’t pull away unless he let her. Her hands were gripping at the shirt on his sides and they couldn’t go anywhere else. Finally, he pushed her up a little and her eyes opened, glancing over his face and back to his lips and she tried to move her head back down to kiss him again but he held her just out of reach. He tilted his head to the side to look at the bruises on her neck and then he was bringing his head up to kiss her skin and he felt her shiver and a soft moan escaped her lips and he smiled as he kissed her neck. “Go to dinner with me,” he said, his lips still pressed against her neck. He felt her tense slightly and he pulled back, looking at her face. She was looking at him curiously and he tried to keep the smile on his face because the look on hers had him questioning his confidence. “Any place you want,” he told her. She yanked her arms out of his grasp and he let her go. She sat up, still straddling his waist and when he tried to sit up, she shoved at his chest and kept him pinned to the mat and he honestly didn’t mind it so much. What he did mind was the look she was giving him. He wasn’t sure what it was. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he watched her because maybe she didn’t want anything but sex and she was getting frustrated with him. Maybe she’d been leading him on because she just wanted him that badly and maybe she didn’t want any of the emotional baggage that came with a relationship. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if that’s all she wanted, but he wanted her. He wanted her and he wanted to know her and he wanted to take her out and be nice to her and he almost panicked because maybe she didn’t want those things. “Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked and he snorted because she could be so forward sometimes. “Well,” he said and he was a trying to read her face but she was good at hiding her emotions and he wished he knew what the right answer was. “Yeah,” he said quietly, trying to shrug a little but it lost something against the mats. Vic just kept staring at him. Her eyes were calculating as they scanned his face and the fingers on her chest pressed harshly into his skin but she didn’t even seem to notice. He kept his eyes on her and didn’t look away because he didn’t want her to think that he doubted himself. He wanted her to know that he meant what he said and he wanted to take her out. “Welsh,” she said and Simon felt his heart constrict because she looked sad and he was certain the next words out of her mouth was that he was asking too much of her and he was pushing her too hard. He was certain she was going to say no and that he’d just ruined what they’d had going on and maybe they hadn’t had anything going on. Maybe he’d been reading signs that weren’t really there. The door to the gym opened and Simon watched her as she turned to look at whoever was entering. She scowled, her lips turning up into a sneer and when he glanced at the newcomer he felt the same way because it was Avi. He pushed himself up and this time Vic didn’t push him back down. She climbed off of him. “Hope you had fun yesterday, Captain,” Vic spat. Simon watched Avi’s face and it was indifferent as he looked at her. Then his eyes moved to Simon and even though he tried to hide it, a smug smirk tugged at his lips. He let out a breath and then said, “Meet in the briefing room in thirty minutes.” He started to turn away, but then paused and reached into his pocket. Simon tensed and instinctively he moved closer to Vic, pushing his shoulder in front of her. But then Avi turned back and looked straight at Simon. “Oh, and Welsh, it’s not a wise idea to leave your spare keys lying around,” he tossed something at them and Simon reached out to catch it. He looked down and he scoffed because he didn’t have spare keys, but he had no doubt this was to his apartment. Avi grinned wickedly. “You never know who might find them.” When he was out the door, Simon sighed and ran a hand over his face because he didn’t know how Avi had gotten this and he didn’t know how many more he had and he wondered if he should take Vic’s advice and start sleeping with a baseball bat under his bed. The thought of Vic had him turning to look over his shoulder at her and she was staring coldly at the door. She hadn’t answered him. He swallowed thickly and pocketed the key. “Well, we better go,” he said quickly and headed for the door. .Wolfie. Welsh was a problem.He was a problem because he had Vic thinking and saying and doing things that broke rules she’d lived by all her life. She was never supposed to be weak and she was never supposed to let things like emotion get in the way of survival. She was never supposed to stick her neck out for someone else or turn her back on them because she would just end up with a knife in her. She was never supposed to get attached because attachment was weakness. Attachment meant that when the time came to pick up and run then it would hurt so much more when she had to say goodbye. In her life, goodbye was always forever. Except she didn’t want to say goodbye to Welsh and that was where the problem came in. She wasn’t supposed to give a shit if he had cancer or if he fell off a cliff in Brazil or if Rogers beat the shit out of him. She wasn’t supposed to get jealous when other girls hit on him or that he’d been engaged once. She wasn’t supposed to care one way or another, only she did. She cared about all that. Vic didn’t have relationships. She didn’t have friends or boyfriends or anything like that. If she got lonely then she was good for a fuck and that was it because anything else just complicated things. She wasn’t girlfriend material and never would be. So when Welsh asked her to dinner, she should have told just told him ‘no’ and that would have been the end of it. The problem was that she didn’t want it to end. She didn’t want him to stop smiling when he saw her and stop bringing her coffee in the morning even if her bitch roommate had spilled it all over the hallway today. She didn’t want him to stop eating Chinese food and watching kung fu movies with her or asking her questions that she didn’t want to answer. She didn’t want him to stop kissing her or teasing her even though she was so sexually frustrated by now it almost wasn’t funny, though he would probably laugh at her anyway. She didn’t know how to explain to him those things. She didn’t know how to tell him that the only time a man had taken her out to dinner she was eighteen and it was just so she couldn’t make a scene when he told her he didn’t want to fuck her anymore. She didn’t know how to tell him that she didn’t know what a relationship was or what she was supposed to do in one besides get laid. There was a little voice inside asking what was so bad about breaking those rules, and it was eating away at her because she felt weak just for thinking it. They’d been based around a life that wasn’t hers anymore and she didn’t know what to think about that. What happened if she said yes? What if she picked some place and they got there and Welsh decided it was too low class for him and she was too low class for him and he just walked away. What if he just wanted to take her out so he could tell her that this wasn’t working and she needed to back the fuck off, because if that was the case then he didn’t need to waste his money on dinner to tell her that. What would they even talk about? She chewed on her lip and she didn’t know the answers to any of those questions and she didn’t know what he would say if she asked him. What did he expect from her? Why did this have to be so complicated? She tried to tell herself it was just dinner and it didn’t mean anything and she didn’t think she was buying it. They stopped in the locker room to get changed out of their workout clothes and she wasn’t looking at him as she dressed quickly. He wasn’t looking at her either and things had gotten awkward and tense between them and she didn’t like it because things had been going good. She still felt his lips on her mouth and her skin and his hands holding her tightly and even if he was mad at her he still made her heart race. She glanced over at him and he was at his locker, struggling to get out of the shirt she’d let him borrow. She smiled despite herself and walked over to help him. “Here,” she said, tugging it up off his arms and over his head. He looked all kinds of disheveled when it finally came loose and she bit back a grin at that. His gaze lowered to hers and that was twice today that he’d ended up shirtless in front of her and it wasn’t a bad habit to get into. Only he wasn’t smiling and she hated that. “Vic,” he said, his hand coming to rest on her arm and he looked like he was going to ask her again or apologize and she couldn’t yet because she didn’t know how to answer him. She shook her head and took a step back. “Later,” she told him, and then she finished changing into jeans and left quickly. Welsh was a problem, and she didn’t have a fucking clue what she was going to do about that. That was all she could think about right up until she entered the briefing room and then she felt her stomach churn because Elias and Avi were already waiting. Elias sat behind the desk but he glanced up and smiled at her when she entered and she didn’t like that smile. Then her gaze focused on Avi and she liked Rogers even less. He nodded at her like he was all cool and professional but she’d seen the nasty grin he’d given Welsh and she knew what he’d done with his time yesterday because she’d spent hers cleaning it up. A sneer curled her lips and she perched on the arm of the couch as she waited. This must have been a mission because when she glanced over Lyle fucking Liddle was sleeping on the sofa again and she wondered how he could do that. She wondered if the man had any place to live or if he just crashed here at the compound all the time. Welsh came in shortly after and he hesitated for a split second before he sat down on the couch next to her. She glanced at his face and he looked nervous or disappointed or maybe both and she tried not to feel guilty for that because that was a weak emotion. Jezibel was the next to arrive and she smiled as soon as she saw Welsh and Vic tried not to growl at that. She tried not to react at all when the woman sat down next to him on the couch but she her hands curled into fists in her jeans as she stared at the carpet. “Simon,” Jezibel said brightly. Her hand rose to his face and brushed over a bruise that Vic had left there yesterday. Givessi glanced up at her and the smile never left her face. “How’s sparring going?” she asked. Simon swallowed hard and she felt the moment his eyes landed on her because she could always tell when someone was staring at her. Elias was doing it but she was trying to ignore him. “I think it’s going really good,” he said. Vic tipped her head to look at him at the words and when her eyes met his he had the smile back on his face for her and she had to work really hard not to return it. Maybe the biggest problem with Welsh was that she wanted him, and not just as a fuck. The doors burst open in the next moment and Tony and Alexey came in side by side. Vic grinned when she saw them because apparently Tony had decided that Small fry was his new best friend and she almost made a comment about them making a cute couple. Then Alexey’s eyes focused on Avi and a dark look crossed his face. “Hey, Captain America,” he spat. “Loved what you did with my brother’s place, maybe I could come over some time and help you redecorate in a similar fashion.” Avi just lifted an eyebrow, a cool smile on his lips that Vic didn’t buy for a second. It made a growl rise in her throat because she could just imagine him wearing that smile as he ransacked Simon’s apartment and she didn’t like the thought of him having that kind of access to his place. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Romanova,” he said. “Yeah, sure you don’t,” Alexey snarled, dropping into the seat next to Jezibel. Givessi’s fingers brushed against Simon’s arm as she turned to look at him. “What’s he talking about?” she asked. Vic watched Simon as he shrugged. He looked uncomfortable and she couldn’t tell if it was because of the girl touching him or because his brother was calling Avi out in front of everyone. She watched him shift so that he could pull his arm out of Jez’s reach and rest his elbow on the back of the couch. The motion made her smile and maybe it shouldn’t have but it did. “Okay,” she said, and the word was so low that she almost didn’t think Simon had heard her. Then his head was tilting to look up at her and there was a questioning look on his face. She met his gaze and sucked in a breath and she wondered what the fuck she was getting herself into but she repeated the word anyway and she hoped he understood what she was saying. “Okay.” “Oh nothing, just that Captain America up there decided to break in and destroy everything in Simon’s apartment. I guess he got bored of shooting kids or something.” Alexey sneered up at him and Vic glanced at Avi’s face. It was just cold and impassive. Elias cleared his throat from behind the desk and she flicked her gaze back to him. “Mr. Romanova,” he said calmly, a cool smile on his face. “If you or Mr. Welsh would like to issue a formal complaint than you can stop by my office and do so. Otherwise please keep unsubstantiated rumors to yourself.” She snorted but didn’t say anything. Alexey did for her. “Yeah,” he snapped. “Fat lot of good that would do.” Avi smiled calmly at Alexey and she didn’t like the look in his eyes. “If you’d like to discuss it with me personally, I would be happy to do so later, Mr. Romanova,” he told him. “In the mean time, we have a job to do. Mr. Liddle!” he snapped. Lyle barely moved, his eyes sliding open and revealing those eerie golden orbs as he focused on Avi. Rogers smirked and then he turned to the screens behind him, clicking them on with a remote. An aerial view of a series of buildings were on the screen, a barbed wire fence wrapped around the place. It looked similar to the compound they were in now and she wondered if this was another rogue shifter story. “The place you are looking at behind me is currently home to an organization known as ‘the United Liberation Front.’ They are borderline religious in their dedication to their cause, and that is the complete destruction of the United States government.” He straightened up, clicking another button and the screens changed to rows and rows of men and women holding machine guns with identical postures. “They are anarchists. They are well trained and highly dangerous.” “Why hasn’t someone done something about them sooner?” Simon asked next to her. Avi turned a heated glare on him and she hoped he took her advice and started keeping a bat in his apartment. “We’re doing something about them now,” Avi snapped. His hand rose and he clicked the button again, shutting all the screens off. “Intelligence sources have indicated that they plan to launch a major attack within the next week, so we’re going to strike them first.” He straightened up again, hands clasping behind his back and his gaze was focused solely on Simon as he spoke. “Our mission is to eliminate every man and woman in that compound because every single one of them is a terrorist. No one has a problem with that, do they?” he asked, his head lifting and glancing around the room. No one spoke, but she felt Simon shift next to him. Avi focused his attention back on Welsh again and his smirk grew. “Good,” he said. Wenston Simon wondered where she wanted to go. He was sitting on the examining room table while the doctor ran his blood work and he couldn’t even think about the test outcomes. He couldn’t think about the mission or the fact that they were still testing him for cancer. Which was weird to him, because at one time it was all he could think about. But now all he could think about was Vic and where she’d want to go to eat with him because she’d said “okay” and that meant yes. Yes, she would go out with him. On a date. It had been a while for him and he wondered how long it was since she’d last had a date. He wondered what her last boyfriend was and then he wondered if she’d considered Elias a boyfriend. If she did, he wasn’t sure how he felt about that because the man was scum. Maybe she’d want to go out for Chinese. He knew a nice place downtown that had an entire wall as a fish aquarium. Or maybe she’d want Mexican because he knew a place on the East side that made authentic Mexican tacos and not the processed crap they served in most restaurants. Or maybe she’d just pick something that was her favorite that he didn’t know about, or a fancy restaurant because she knew he had money and he didn’t care if she did that. He wondered what she looked like in a dress and if she even had a dress because so far he’d only seen her in jeans and t-shirts. And underwear, and maybe that was his favorite look on her. “There’s a study going on in Germany that claims eating fish at least once a week helps prevent cancer,” the doctor said and Simon blinked and looked over at her. She had her back towards him but he smiled anyway because she seemed to be the only person who worked for this company who was decent. “I think I read something about that,” he admitted and she turned to look over her shoulder at him, returning the smile. He shrugged. “I read a lot of theories, actually. I really don’t want to get sick again.” She chuckled slightly. “I can imagine,” she said warmly. “I read through your file and it looks like you did not have an easy time of it.” “No, not really,” he nodded and watched her turn back to the machine testing his blood. He watched her for a moment and brought his hand up to chew on his thumb nail. “Will you be able to help me again if it does come back, Dr. Tracer?” She turned around and smiled. “Please, call me Kathy,” she said and he nodded. “If it does come back, that means our process of gene therapy is only a temporary solution. But if it worked the first time in getting rid of the cancer, it should work the second time. The only thing you would have to worry about then would be any side effects from continual gene modification. No one’s ever gone through the process more than twice. We don’t know what sort of consequences it would have.” Simon snorted. “So in other words, don’t get sick again.” Kathy laughed. “Do you best not to.” The door to the infirmary opened and Elias walked in. He was smiling coyly at Simon and immediately Simon’s mood dropped because he was remembering his lips running over the bruises on Vic’s neck and he’d made a promise to Elias that if he ever hurt her again, he’d bash his face in. He’d even given him a second warning. So now it seemed like an obligation but Simon didn’t know if he’d even get away with it. “Welsh,” Elias greeted and turned to glance at the doctor. “Kathy.” She smiled and gave a polite nod back and Simon hid a smile because he could tell the good doctor didn’t care for the man either. Elias walked over to where Simon sat and crossed his arms over his chest. “How did your meeting with Kim go?” he asked. Simon kept his face impassive. “Went fine,” he said and glanced up at Elias. The man seemed to be waiting for him to elaborate. Simon sighed. “She wants me to have dinner with her and David.” “Walworth,” Elias nodded. “You said yes, right?” “Yeah,” Simon said and he was ashamed of that because he felt like he was being used. Kim was going to be his wife at one time and now she was going to be some other guy’s girl and he should have been completely fine with that because she was a bitch but for some strange reason he wasn’t. Maybe it was because he couldn’t believe he’d ever thought he’d loved her in the first place. But if he were married to her now, he never would have met Vic. And they had their first date lined up already. Elias nodded. “Good. Go to dinner,” he said. “He’s going to ask you questions about your cancer and what you did to get rid of it. You’ll bullshit your way through it and not once will you mention gene therapy or the Shifter Initiative, is that understood?” “Sure,” Simon said and then frowned. “But wouldn’t he be able to find that stuff out pretty easily? He probably already knows about it. What if he brings it up first?” “Deny it,” Elias said. He stood back and looked at Simon, studying him. “Your case is unique, Welsh. David’s corporation has been able to clone our processes of gene therapy to a tee in all aspects except for one. Curing disease. Cancer patients specifically. The few experiments they’ve dabbled in have led to some…interesting outcomes.” Elias glanced back at Kathy and she turned and gave Simon an apologetic look. He frowned, because he didn’t understand. “What do you mean interesting?” Elias gave a cruel laugh. “They accelerated the cancer in one case. Created a man who couldn’t shift back from his animal form in another. And one man…let’s just say that his prostate cancer cured itself by, removing itself. And the prostate.” Elias paused and tipped his head. “It fell off, Welsh.” Simon glanced at Kathy and she was watching him. The machine beeped behind her and she turned to get his results. The smile on her face was all the answer he needed to know he was clean and then he looked back at Elias. “So if you already know what Walworth wants, why do you want me to meet with him?” Elias smiled dangerously. “That’s all you need to know,” he said. Then his brow furrowed slightly and Simon didn’t understand the look on his face because it almost looked like concern. “Your apartment was ransacked last night?” “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Mr. Romanova was quick to point the finger at Avi,” Elias said coolly. “Would you like to file a complaint?” Simon just shrugged because he doubted it would do anything but piss Avi off and maybe next time he’d come with a gun. “I don’t have any proof.” He didn’t bother to tell Elias about the key Avi had or the threats he made or anything else that Avi was doing to him. He didn’t know why Elias was even pushing him about any of this because it wasn’t like the man cared. Elias snorted. Then he shrugged and said, “Very well then. Good luck on your assignment today.” He turned around and headed back towards the door. Simon sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before he called out, “Elias?” The man paused and turned to glance at him and Simon hopped off the table. He walked over to Elias and kept his eyes on the floor as he said, “I’m a pretty honest guy and when I say I’m going to do something, I usually do it. So…” he looked up and Elias was looking at him curiously. The man didn’t expect the right hook Simon lashed out at his jaw. He stumbled backwards, his hand coming up to touch his face and he was bleeding from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Simon with wide eyes and he wondered what type of consequences this little action would get him. He wondered if he’d get a knife in the back tomorrow or maybe suspended or moved to a different team or something equally as awful. He shook his hand and ignored how he’d split one of his knuckles on the man’s face. “When I tell you not to hurt her, I mean you don’t get to touch her. Ever,” he said. Elias smiled, but it was bloody and amused. “You don’t get to hit me, Mr. Welsh,” he said darkly. “This won’t go without consequence.” Simon shrugged. “I know,” he told the man honestly. “But next time you lay a hand on her, I break your nose.” Then he shoved pass the man and headed towards the locker room. .Wolfie. The worst part about all these missions was probably the helicopter. Vic was starting to hate the thing because all but the first mission had involved flying somewhere and at this point she only considered that marginally better than being in prison. She hated the fucking tin can and she hated that she was scared of it. She was going to have to figure out a way to deal with it because it looked like this was the standard of travel for the Initiative and she didn’t want to get to every mission shaking in her skin. She wondered if it was coincidence or not that they’d only started flying everywhere after she’d stopped fucking Elias and when she thought that she noticed that for once he wasn’t there to send them off. For a brief moment she wondered where he was and then she remembered she didn’t give a shit anymore. She wondered why she’d ever cared in the first place. The others were already climbing into it and she was still hesitating there on the roof because she didn’t want to get in it and she didn’t want to get flung through the air in a spinning metal death trap. She didn’t even understand how the fucking thing stayed in the air because all she saw were spinning blades and that didn’t make any sense to her. Avi was waiting by the door with his arms crossed and he lifted an eyebrow at her and jerked his head at the door. “Come on, ladies,” he said, smiling smugly. She sneered at him and wanted to wipe that god damned smile off his face for more than a couple of reasons. She was startled by the hand that came to rest on her lower back and she glanced over her shoulder at Welsh. He wasn’t looking at her but there was a small smile on his face as he looked at the helicopter. “You know,” he said softly. “They say one way to get over a fear of flying is by learning to fly yourself.” “Fear is weakness,” she spat harshly. He smirked, maybe because he knew the harshness wasn’t for him. She rolled her shoulders back and jutted her chin and tried to pretend she was completely okay with it as she climbed onboard the helicopter. She hated that this had become a weekly thing and she hated that Welsh knew she was scared of it because she wasn’t supposed to be afraid of anything. She tried not to take comfort in the hand that lingered on her back and she tried not to miss his touch when it was gone. She had a date with Welsh. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that yet and she was already second guessing telling him yes. She didn’t do dates. Ever. She just didn’t know if that was because they were all bound up with weakness and attachment or because no one had ever really asked her before. For a split second she wondered about her mom. She tried never to think about her because she wasn’t supposed to but she wondered who she’d been and if her pops had loved her. Did it change things if he had? Alexey and Tony had taken seats on either side of Jez and she almost smiled at that because Alexey was trying to find a sneaky way to get his arm around her shoulders. She slumped into the seat next to Liddle. His head was tipped back against the wall but he lifted it when she sat and he grinned at her. “This is the kind of mission I’ve been waiting for,” he said, his golden eyes focusing on her. “Just straight up murder, pure and simple.” Jez shot him a glare from across the helicopter. “It’s not murder,” she told him. “They’re terrorists. They’d kill us all.” His grin widened and he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Don’t kid yourself, sweet cheeks,” he told her, and he seemed to enjoy the way her face darkened at that. “It’s murder. Doesn’t matter what your reasons for doing it are, the act stays the same. Everything else is just an excuse you tell yourself so that you can sleep a little bit easier at night.” She crossed her arms over her chest, long nails digging into her arms as she glared at him. “I don’t believe that,” she told him. “I’m not afraid to do what I have to do but I’m not going to feel guilty for killing someone who deserves it.” He grinned and tilted his head to the side as he studied Jezibel. “Who said murder was anything to feel guilty about?” he asked. Alexey snorted and kicked back in his seat. “That’s fucked up, Lyle my man,” he told him. Alexey still seemed irritated and she couldn’t blame him. Simon’s apartment had been destroyed and there wasn’t much they could say or do about it. There was no way to prove it was Avi even though she didn’t have a fucking doubt in her mind. But even if she took the spare key and went to Elias about it, she doubted he was willing to lift a finger about it. Not now anyway. Maybe three weeks ago he would have. At the front of the helicopter Avi took his usual seat with his back to the cockpit so that he could watch them all. She wondered how much longer they could all keep surviving with him as their Captain and how badly he was planning on fucking them up this time. Maybe they would be alright this time, because it was a simple mission and all they had to do was go in there and shed some blood and get out. She could handle that easily enough and then her stomach lurched as the helicopter lifted off the ground and her hands tightened into fists on the harness. “Is it?” Lyle asked, still leaning forward. His tongue was running over his teeth and then he shrugged, sitting back against his seat. “I’m just saying it’s not a crime to enjoy what you do.” He chuckled and then he turned his head to the side to look at Vic. “You look like you know what I’m talking about. Nothing wrong with being a killer, right Vic?” “Don’t pretend like you fucking know me,” she snapped harshly, turning her glare on him. She didn’t need him to remind her that she’d shot first and asked questions later and she wasn’t going to feel bad about that. If anything she should have been quicker. Maybe if she’d pulled the trigger just a little bit faster than pops would still be alive. Then she wouldn’t have had to sign that contract because he would have found a way out of it. He always found a way out of it except for the one time he didn’t and she wondered if that was her fault somehow. She was the only weakness pops had ever had. He shrugged and leaned his head against the wall, letting his eyes slide closed. “My mistake then.” She was good at killing. She’d found that out before she went to prison and the Shifter Initiative had just given her a chance to prove it, over and over again. She was good at slitting throats and not batting an eye and she wondered if that was the sort of thing she should feel bad about it. It was the sort of thing she thought Welsh felt guilty about and she wondered if that made him weaker than her or stronger because he still did it anyway. He felt bad about it and he still pulled the trigger and she just had the advantage of not giving a fuck who she was killing because it was either her or them and there was no room for middle ground with her. If she didn’t kill them then worse things would happen to her. Either she would get shot when she wasn’t looking or she would fail in her mission and get sent back to jail or grounded or who knew what else. If she didn’t do her job then she wouldn’t have a job and all of the consequences to that were terrible. It made it easier for her. It brought it down to basic survival and she was good at that. It was the shit other people found normal that she was no good at. She glanced over at Welsh as it occurred to her that he’d never seen her kill before. They’d fought Gustavo together, but he was more monster than man at that point and it didn’t count. She wondered if it would scare him off. The helicopter shuddered and she did so right along with it, grinding her teeth together and clinging to the harness. She wondered if Welsh had a point. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so awful about these things if she was the one behind the driver’s seat because whoever was flying this thing wasn’t easy on the bumps. Did the Initiative give flying lessons? “We’ll be landing outside of Albuquerque,” Rogers told them abruptly. Vic glanced over at him and he was trying to look cool and professional and she didn’t fucking believe it anymore. She wondered if anyone would miss him if she ‘accidently’ slit his throat inside the compound and left him there to rot. The only thing stopping her was the possibility that Elias would care, and have her sent back to prison since the asshole didn’t think she ever should have left the place to begin with. “Hey that’s not far from Vegas,” Alexey said, lacing his fingers behind his head and grinning across the helicopter at Welsh. “Maybe we could have a field trip while we’re out this way, play a little roulette, a little blackjack. Hey, hookers are legal in Nevada, right?” He waggled his eyebrows and she heard Simon snort next to her. “Aw honey, are you really getting that desperate?” Jezibel asked, tipping her head to the side and smiling sweetly at him. She reached a hand up and patted his face gently and he grinned at the touch. “If you want a whore come talk to my roommate,” Vic said with a smirk. It was gone as soon as the helicopter rumbled again. “No field trips,” Avi snapped, ignoring the comments. “As soon as night falls we strike.” She lifted an eyebrow and tried to ignore how dry her mouth was or how white her knuckles were around the harness. There was a loud humming that she thought came from the engines and she wondered if they were supposed to make that noise or not. “And what’s our ‘top priority’ this time?” she asked dryly. He shot a glare in her direction and she met his eyes squarely because she didn’t care if the question pissed him off. She didn’t know how he expected them to do what they had to do if they didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Then he smirked and leaned forward in his seat. “Our top priority is to kill everyone on that base. Ideally this will include the leader of the organization, a man named Terry Howell, but since no one outside the Front has seen the man in ten years, we’re not exactly sure what he looks like. So the only solution for this is either to plant a mole, which has been tried and failed, or eliminate the threat completely.” Welsh frowned next to her and she glanced at his face for a moment. “Are there still moles in the field?” He couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut when it came to Rogers and as much as that made him a target she liked that about him at the same time. He was smarter than her and he saw angles she didn’t see because he really thought about what they were doing and why. The same things that got him in trouble when they fought were the same things that would make him better than her one day. Avi sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s not our problem, Welsh,” he snapped harshly. “Any agents remaining at the compound aren’t any of ours. We’re going there to eliminate the threat completely, not to look for double agents or defectors. The time to pull out has passed, do I make myself clear?” She heard his teeth grinding together but then he opened his mouth and just said “Perfectly, sir.” Wenston They landed outside of Albuquerque and from there it was nearly a three mile trek to the compound. Avi said it was because the compound would be suspicious of a helicopter landing so close and Simon agreed with that, but he also agreed that a three mile walk was a long one if one of them got injured. Maybe they could have gotten ATVs or a jeep or something. What if Tony got hurt? No one would be able to carry that man three miles. He almost said something to Avi about it, but decided against it because the man was already glaring daggers at him.“I have a question,” Alexey said. They were walking single file through the dessert. Avi was paving the way with Lyle following behind him, Vic behind Lyle, then Simon, Jezibel, Alexey and Tony. Simon smirked when he thought most of this line was chosen in this order so people could look at another person’s ass as they walked. He wondered what that meant for Tony and Alexey and maybe he’d rib his brother about it later. Avi sighed from the front of their parade and growled out a low, “Yes, Romanova.” “How are we getting in?” Alexey asked. “We just gonna walk up to and say, hey, we’re here to kill all of you, will you please open the door?” “There’s a building in the far east corner where the fence doesn’t span behind. Liddle will be giving us access through there,” Avi said coldly. “Oh good, explosions,” Alexey said happily. “I love explosions.” Lyle snorted. “Well I’m glad I came prepared,” he snapped. “Maybe this is stuff that you should tell us before we leave? What if I didn’t bring any explosives? What would we do then?” Avi didn’t even turn around as he answered with, “You always carry explosives.” Then he sighed and said, “And I’m telling you now so it doesn’t give whoever the traitor among us is time to tell the bad guys how we’re coming.” That seemed to quiet everyone. Simon ducked his head and thought about that because he’d forgotten that they suspected one of them had sold them out with Costas. He tried again to think who it might be and he just frowned because he couldn’t picture any of them as a traitor. His eyes rose to stare at the back of Avi’s head and for a moment he wondered if Avi wasn’t the traitor. Maybe he’d been the one to call it out because he was trying to throw people off his scent. He almost laughed when he thought that might be too smart of a move for the man. Then his eyes fell on Vic and he tried to picture her as a traitor. He didn’t like that thought. He didn’t think she was, because she seemed like she just didn’t care that much about things like that. He watched her walk and she was still somewhat shaky from the helicopter ride and he thought it was cute that she was scared of flying. He wondered if it was flying in general or just helicopters. He wondered if she’d still get scared if they traveled by jet. Somehow, Vic always knew when someone was staring at her and she must have felt it now because she raised her right hand to flip him off. She didn’t even turn to look back at him and he bit his lip as he reached forward to grab her finger, giving it a playful tug. She pulled it out of his grasp and turned to glare at him but there was a playful look on her face and he wished they weren’t on a mission right now because he wanted to kiss her so bad it hurt. “Focus, Welsh,” she spat at him and then turned back around. He chuckled, but she was right. He looked around them and aside from some stray cacti, there was nothing really out here. He kept seeing lizards and an occasional buzzard overhead, but other than that, it was barren and desolate and he missed the city because he liked being around people and liked having things accessible to him. It was the way he’d grown up and he didn’t know if he could get used to the dessert. Plus, he loved it when it snowed. He wondered if Vic liked the snow. He thought she probably looked beautiful in it. Avi suddenly held up his hand and then crouched down. They all followed suit and then Avi sat and turned around. “We wait here until dark,” he told them and Simon frowned because the sun was still about an hour from setting and he didn’t understand why they’d walked out into the middle of the dessert to sit when they could have stayed near the helicopter and at least had shade. Sometimes he questioned Avi’s thinking and he wondered what the man had done before he’d been given this team because, if he had to bet, the man had probably never lead a team before. They all sat solidly into the sand and Simon pulled his rifle across his legs as he looked out around them. Beside him, Vic sat with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms around them and he wasn’t sure he liked when she sat like that because she looked sheltered and hurt with that faraway look in her eyes. “I could go for a beer,” Alexey said as he sat down, stretching his legs out in front of him. Tony laughed and it was so genuine and sincere that it made the rest of them smile. Except Avi, of course. “Well you know what I could go for?” the big guy asked. Alexey sighed. “Let me guess,” he said and squinted his eyes at the man like he was trying to read him. “Wings?” “No,” Tony said and frowned at Alexey. “Jerky.” “Oh,” Alexey said and Simon snickered because for once his brother looked confused and speechless. “Well, maybe if you caught one of these lizards running around and laid it out in the sun, it would be like the same thing, huh?” Simon watched the look on Tony’s face and he was looking for a lizard with a thoughtful look. Then he laughed, like he just realized it was a joke and reached over to punch Alexey not too lightly on the shoulder. Alexey tipped to the side and had to catch himself from completely falling over. “Ow,” he said and rubbed at his arm. “You’re always joking,” Tony said with a grin and it was a compliment coming from the man. Alexey snorted. “Well, my Dad always said, ‘Boy, when things happen you don’t like, you can either joke or cry. But if you cry, I’ll kick your ass, so you better fucking make me laugh.’” Alexey grinned and Simon sighed because he knew that Alexey’s Dad had said stuff like that to him. The man had been Russian and tough and he’d never known him to hit Alexey except for once and Simon had been on a flight the next day to go out and have a word with the man. Alexey hadn’t exactly been a saint of a son, but Simon didn’t like anyone hitting his brother. And he’d told the man so. With threats against his green card status. Whether Simon would have really been able to do anything or not, he didn’t know, but he’d done a pretty good job convincing the man that he had that kind of power. He’d never really laid his hands on Alexey again. “Charming,” Jezibel said and Simon glanced at her because she was pulling suntan lotion out of one of the pockets in her pants and Simon wondered what else she kept in there. She put it on her face and then glanced up at Simon. “Would you mind putting some on my neck?” she asked softly. Simon opened his mouth to tell her that he didn’t really think she needed it but Alexey cut him off by scrambling over to her. “I’ll help,” he said and he took the lotion from her squirted some in his hands before rubbing it into her neck. There was an annoyed look on her face for a moment but then she started to roll her head side to side because Alexey had started to massage her neck. He shook his head at his brother and then glanced back at Vic. She was glaring at Jezibel but when she felt Simon looking at her, her dark eyes moved to his face and he offered her a smile. She returned it but there was an apprehensive look on her face and he wondered if she was changing her mind about saying “okay” to his date proposal. Maybe he was pushing his luck with her. Maybe she wanted sex and the more he held off, the less interested she’d be. He glanced back down at the gun in his hands and he wondered if he should take her out to dinner and then invite her back over to his place and give her what she wanted. What then? What would happen after they had sex? Would she get what she wanted and never talk to him again? Would that be all he was to her? Just sex? Jezibel broke his thoughts by pulling away from Alexey and coming around in front of Simon. “Here,” she said and she had some lotion in her hands. “You should put some on your face so you don’t burn,” she smiled and before he could stop her, her hands came to his face and she was rubbing the lotion in. He frowned and felt uncomfortable and awkward. Alexey scoffed and sat back down next to Tony. “Don’t worry about me or anything,” he told her. “I’ll just burn and peel and be hideous and then no girl will want me.” She laughed and he thought her hands were lingering on his face too long so he leaned back a little because he didn’t want to be rude but she wasn’t the girl he wanted touching him. “You can have some if you want, Alexey,” she told him, leaning back to look at the younger man. “Will you apply it for me?” He asked, waggling his eyebrows. “I need it here, and here, and here,” he said, pointing first to his face, then his chest, then his pelvis area. Jezibel shook her head, rolling her eyes. “You’re a fiend,” she told him, a playful smirk on her face. “Will being a fiend get me laid?” he asked her. When she just laughed, and glanced at Simon with a smile on her face, reaching up to wipe away some excess lotion, Alexey snorted and nudged Tony. “She didn’t say no,” he said with a grin. .Wolfie. Vic didn’t like Jezibel having her hands on Welsh’s face.She didn’t like the girl touching him or the way those touches lingered and she didn’t like the way she looked at him sometimes. It made her jealous and she didn’t like the feeling. It sat in her gut like a lead weight and she tried not to think that maybe Givessi was more his type and the type of girl he could take on dates and maybe she should be the one backing off. She turned her head to the side so that she couldn’t see either of them anymore and rested her cheek against her knees to stare off past Avi and Lyle into the desert. The dirt and sand and scrub stretched for miles around them and she watched the sun as it sank down towards the horizon. She wasn’t used to seeing an actual sunset like this because she’d spent all her life moving from city to city. The suburbs were the closest she’d ever been to the country so seeing a place so barren of buildings and people felt strange but not uncomfortable. She would have been uncomfortable four years ago, but that was before she’d gone to prison. That was before she spent three years in a concrete cell with bars on the windows and an ever present metal fence closing her in. Now she didn’t care if she was lost in the Brazilian jungle or in the desert in New Mexico, because it all reminded her that she was free. She closed her eyes for a moment and let the sun sink into her skin and she wasn’t worried about suntan lotion or burning because she liked the warmth on her face. She liked the feel of it, reminding her that she wasn’t behind bars anymore and hopefully never again. She heard the sand shifting behind her and then Welsh was moving carefully to sit next to her. She could tell it was him because she could feel him staring at her and she wondered why he thought he wanted her if he didn’t want to fuck her. She moved her head so that her chin was resting on her knees and she opened her eyes to look at him. Sitting behind him in the sands she could see Alexey with a grin on his face as Givessi spread lotion across his cheeks. She wasn’t being half as gentle as she’d been with Welsh. “So,” Welsh said. He kept his voice low and a smile on his lips as he studied her. His eyes were sweeping her face and he looked like he was trying really hard to keep the smile there. “Where do you want to go?” he asked. She shook her head and looked back out at the desert because it was less confusing than him. “I don’t know,” she said. “A little lower,” Alexey said, and she glanced over at him. He had his head tipped up and Givessi’s hands were on his jaw, but he looked like he was trying to get them to move over his neck, and probably lower. Jezibel was staring at Simon’s back and Vic didn’t like it. “Alright,” he scoffed. “A lot lower.” Romanova grinned and it brought the woman’s eyes back to him. Simon shifted in the sand next to her and she dropped her eyes to his because he looked a little sad and she wasn’t sure why that expression was on his face. “You’re not changing your mind on me, are you?” he asked, and he said it playfully but there was real concern in his eyes. She stared at him and she wanted to ask him why he wanted her and why he was always being nice to her and if he understood that it was weak to care so much only then she would have to remind herself of that too. “Luigi’s,” she told him, and she saw the smile brighten at the answer, maybe just because she’d answered. She didn’t tell him that she was second guessing herself and all of this because it wasn’t smart of her but she wanted him anyway. “It’s Italian. Is that okay?” The smile on his face was warm and genuine and it scared her how much she liked having him look at her like that. “That’s perfect.” His face was illuminated for one last moment by the dying sun and then it was gone as the last of it disappeared behind the horizon. “Let’s move,” Avi snapped, and she turned her head to look up at him. He was glaring down the line and she was surprised he hadn’t demanded total silence while they crouched in the desert. She was surprised he hadn’t pulled a gun on any of his own team yet and she snorted at that thought as she pushed herself to her feet. Her knees were stiff from sitting and she didn’t understand where the logic was in having them wander around in the desert for hours before trying to break into a terrorist compound. Vic wasn’t a strategist. She never had been, and neither had pops. They were both just the muscle and she understood that and she was fine with it but even she thought Avi’s plans kept getting stupider. He couldn’t have been the only military man willing to have his genes spliced for the good of his country. Maybe he was just the only one with enough dirt on him to stick them with a group of desperate outcasts arrayed out around her. She wondered what they had on the rest of them. She brushed the dirt and sand off her clothes and then fell into line behind Avi and Lyle as she wondered about that. She understood now why they’d picked Alexey and Simon and he’d called that practically the first day. They were used and manipulated because they cared about each other and it just helped illustrate why attachments were weak and problematic. She glanced back at Alexey once and she thought wryly that their dads probably would have gotten along. The others, she had no idea. She wondered what in the world could have driven Tony to join up and maybe he just got bored one day and decided it sounded like fun. Maybe he’d been sick too and she couldn’t really picture that. Lyle looked and sounded like he might have cut the same kind of deal as Vic. She wouldn’t have been surprised to find out that he’d done time in the slammer for drug possession or murder or arson or pretty much anything on the list. She still didn’t know much about him but he’d saved Welsh’s life when it counted and that was something. It wasn’t much, because she didn’t trust anyone, but it was more than Rogers had earned and he was supposed to be their fucking team captain. She didn’t know shit about Givessi either and she didn’t like to think about it. If she did she’d just start getting jealous because she looked and sounded like she had money and confidence to spare. She’d sounded on the first day like she was used to getting what she wanted and it bothered her that maybe she wanted Simon. She’d never been the type of girl to fight over a man. She tried not to think about any of that as she followed Lyle through the growing darkness. The moon was somewhere behind them and in a few hours it would be overhead and she wasn’t sure attacking under a full moon was smarter than daylight. Avi led the way and a little part of her hoped that he stepped on a rattlesnake or something equally as nasty. Vic felt the familiar thrill of anticipation as the compound came into view. She could see lights glowing brightly from inside and spotlights sweeping the area in a slow circle but they didn’t seem like they expected much company. She wondered if the reason no one had stopped them yet was because they couldn’t prove that they were technically doing anything illegal and the thought almost made her laugh. They’d taken her out of prison so that she could keep being a criminal. Fucking hilarious. “Move quick, stay silent,” Avi said over his shoulder, and his voice was low and sharp. She snorted because that was his only direction and then he was moving around the back of the compound towards the single building not enclosed by a metal fence. Her gaze lingered on the place and she didn’t understand voluntarily putting herself in there because it was just a prison of another kind. Funny how it looked a lot like their compound in New York and she wondered again if she hadn’t just traded her handcuffs for a different kind. At least this jumpsuit was a lot nicer. Much better color. Her hands were tight on the gun as they moved into place by the building. Avi turned to look over his shoulder and he gestured at Lyle to join him next to the wall. She saw the man roll his eyes and then he was crouching by the bricks. His hands were quick and dexterous as he started arranging his explosives against the wall. Welsh shifted into position next to her and he was holding his gun tightly, his eyes focused on the wall and a nervous look on his face. She studied him for a moment and then his eyes lifted to hers and he smiled, trying to erase the fear from his face. She didn’t know what prompted her to say it. She didn’t know why she thought he needed it but he wasn’t a killer and he wasn’t a soldier and all anyone had been telling him since he joined was that he was the weak link, and she didn’t believe that anymore. She didn’t think he should believe it either. Her mouth lowered next to his ear and her voice was nothing more than a quiet whisper as she spoke. “You can do this,” she told him. Then she straightened up and rested her finger lightly on the trigger of the M-4, not looking at him again. All she could think about now was the trail of bodies she was about to leave behind. She glanced over at Avi for a split second while Liddle worked and he was starting to look nervous, glancing back at the spotlight. “Liddle,” he hissed, and the man shot him a sharp glare. Rogers lifted his gaze and it swept over the five of them waiting with their guns in hand and then back at Lyle as he arranged his plastic explosives. Then he glanced over at the fence. There were shadowy figures moving around on the other side and she wondered how quick the whole place would come running when the wall went out. She wondered how smart it was to hinge his entry plan on whether or not Lyle had thought to bring his explosives with him. Liddle licked his lips and then he was unrolling a line of wire away from the wall. Avi retreated and she saw him bring his gun to bear. “Go,” Avi snapped, and Lyle crouched and covered his eyes with one arm as he yanked hard on the wire. The explosion was loud and bright and if Vic hadn’t crushed her eyes shut and averted her head she probably would have been blinded by the blast. She heard rocks breaking and someone was yelling and there was the sudden, bitter smell of smoke in the air. “Go!” Avi yelled again, and she lifted her head to see him already moving towards the fresh, gaping hole in the wall, his gun going off. She snarled and then she was moving, focusing on the figures she could see moving around through the smoke. There were six of them who’d been sitting at a table and Avi had gunned down three of them before they even got out of their seats. She fired the M-4 in her hands and cut through the fourth and fifth and she didn’t even look at their faces as they died. Avi shot the last man pointblank in the face and he barely got off a shout before he went down. Somewhere behind the door of the room they’d entered she could hear yelling and then Avi was crouching by the door and yanking it open. His gun went off in short bursts and then he paused, tilting his head out the door and looking both ways. It looked like it let out into a hallway and then he was turning around and gesturing sharply. “Split up,” he snapped. “Wolfe, Welsh, you’re with me. The rest of you head right down the hall. Take out anything that moves. If you get separated, just keep moving. Meet back here in thirty minutes, or you get left behind.” Wenston Simon was following behind Vic and Avi and he was trying to listen to both of the voices in his head. The first one telling him that there could be agents still undercover in here and if that was the case, he could possibly be shooting the good guys. And he wasn’t okay with that. He wasn’t okay with killing everyone because a part of him still believed that people could change. Heck, Vic had gone to prison and yeah, she had no qualms killing people, but did that make her a bad person? Did that mean she deserved to die? Maybe these people could just go sit in a cell and they’d be out of society and still alive. But the second voice in his head was Vic’s. And it was telling him he could do this and she didn’t encourage him like that very often. She told him one day he could beat Avi and that was about the only encouragement she’d ever given him. So for her to say something like that, it made the voice in his head scream loud and clear and told him that she had faith in him to do what he was supposed to do and right now, what he was supposed to do, was follow the plan because everyone else was following the plan and if he left people alive, then this mission could fail. And he would not be the reason they failed. At anything. He followed closely and Avi was kicking down doors and shooting anyone who was inside. Vic would double check the room as he moved on and Simon would glance in, but so far he was waiting until they got to the room at the end of the hall and it opened up a bit. He had no problem holding off on killing people and maybe they’d all be dead by the time Avi and Vic were done and he wouldn’t have to even pull the trigger. He hoped Alexey was okay and he didn’t like that Avi had sent him out of his sight but he supposed he’d have to get used to that. Alexey was better than him. He was smart and he was fast and he could fight without having to think about it so much. Plus, he had a freaking bull of a man who had basically forced Alexey to become best friends with him and would look out for him. Simon smiled at that because Tony was a good guy and he knew he’d look after his brother. He’d manhandled Avi when he’d pinned him to the table. That was another thing he would have to talk to his brother about. He was going to have to tell him to watch his mouth around Avi. He didn’t think the man liked being called out like that, but really, Simon didn’t know what he expected from his brother because Alexey always spoke his mind and he never held back. Simon had only ever seen him hold back once and that was with Kim because he was trying to be a good brother-in-law. Look how well that turned out. Reaching the end of the hall, Avi ducked down suddenly and Vic whirled so her back was against the wall. Simon moved to her side and they were flanking a doorway. Avi growled when an alarm suddenly started sounding and he reloaded his pistol quickly before glancing at Vic and Simon. They both nodded at him and then he kicked open the door. Immediately, there was shouting on the other side. Avi’s gun went off and Vic’s gun went off and then they were running in opposite directions in the room. Simon sucked in a breath, closed his eyes a moment, and then followed them in, his gun raised. There were men and women and this must have been a mess hall of some sort. The tables were flipped over to offer the people in the room shields and Simon remembered Avi telling them these people were highly trained. He wondered if that meant more than a few weeks of basic training and some fucked up missions because if so, he didn’t stand a chance. He ducked down behind a barrel and he hoped it was food and not gasoline because if he got exploded again, he was going to be angry. He tried to ignore the barrage of bullets that were tinging off the barrel and he glanced Vic’s way. She was behind a support column, turning around and shooting and by the sound of it, she was hitting a lot of things. He heard her whispered words again and then he growled and pushed himself up and held the gun above the barrel. He got some shots off before he ducked down again. He gave them a few moments to shoot at him because if they were shooting his way, they weren’t shooting hers. Then he jumped up again and he saw one man standing up, shooting towards Vic and he didn’t hesitate to put a bullet in the man’s chest. Dark red sprayed out of the man as his bullet pierced through him and then he fell backwards. Simon swallowed and crouched again as another man stood up, aiming at him. Vic took that guy out and they had a nice system going where one would draw fire and the other would shoot and he liked it, but it wouldn’t work forever because they’d get smart. When an angry grunt came from Vic’s direction, his head whipped towards her and he growled because there was a guy trying to swing a knife in her direction. The man had knocked the gun from her hands and it lay on the floor. He was fighting to get control of her pistol that she’d drawn and he slammed her wrist against the pillar, knocking that away too. He swung the knife again and she ducked beneath it and landed a blow to the man’s stomach. He brought the blade at her again and she dodged to the side, but had to duck immediately because it put her in the line of fire of whoever else was out there. Simon growled and he didn’t hesitate to shoot anyone he saw that was trying to shoot her. There were three of them that he shot and then he didn’t hear any more shots. He turned back to look at Vic and he could see a bleeding slice across her shoulder. Her own knife was in her hands now and Simon didn’t shoot at the man because he didn’t trust himself not to shoot Vic. He didn’t get a chance to anyway, because then there was a man coming at him and he didn’t know where the guy had come from, but he was grabbing Simon’s gun barrel and pushing it towards the ceiling while he jumped over the barrel Simon hid behind and leapt at him. The guy shoved Simon back into the wall and he grunted as he struck it hard. The man punched him once in the face and Simon was glad that he’d been sparring with Vic because she didn’t pull blows most of the time and he’d learned somewhat how to take a punch. Simon lashed out with his foot and he caught the guy in the side of the ankle. The man hissed and then he was spinning, pulling Simon down with him, flipping him, so he landed on his back on the ground. Simon immediately brought both hands to the man’s wrist because the guy had gotten a hold of his gun and was trying to aim it down at his head. This had quickly turned into a battle of strength because Simon was keeping the gun aimed away from him, but the man was pushing down trying to get it so he could blow his brains out. Simon grit his teeth and both of their arms were starting to shake and unless he could do something right fucking now, he wasn’t going to win this. He tried to keep tabs on how Vic was doing because if she got hurt badly or killed while he was lying on his fucking back, he’d never let himself get over that. It sounded like she was still fighting with her guy. He wondered where Avi was during all of this. Not wanting to die here on the floor, Simon suddenly brought his leg up and he kneed the man in the hip. It wasn’t anything brutal or that painful, but it was distracting and that was all Simon needed. The man’s grip faltered for just a second and Simon ripped the gun away, turning it upward, and pulling the trigger without thinking. He didn’t think about whether this guy was undercover or if he was just the cook or if he had a mother somewhere who would miss him. He didn’t think those things because Vic had told him that he could do this and he didn’t want to prove her wrong. Blood splattered thick and warm across his face and he flinched beneath it. The man went limp suddenly and Simon rolled him over and off of him. He sat up and tried to wipe the blood away from his eyes and cheeks but he just managed to smear it. He turned around and Vic had her guy by the hair, her knife pressed against his throat and she slid it across in a spray of red before kicking the man’s convulsing body to the floor. Her eyes came up to meet his and Simon looked down at the guy before he looked back up at her. “Are you okay?” he asked and it was automatic and he couldn’t help it because she was bleeding from the shoulder and he didn’t like it when she was bleeding or hurt. Vic snorted but there was a weird look on her face and then she hurried over to him, stopping to grab her guns. He climbed to his feet and she nodding towards the doorway on the other side. “Come on,” she said, not answering his question. She hurried off in front of him and Simon started following after her. He heard the gunshots. There were two of them. And then he felt two solid hits slam into the back of his vest. He fell forward against his will and he didn’t even have time to catch himself. His gun clattered to the ground and slid away from him and his cheek met the cement floor. For a moment he couldn’t breathe, his lungs frozen up and his arms tingling from the force of the blows. He didn’t realize what happened at first. He didn’t put two and two together as he just focused on drawing air into his lungs. His mouth opened and maybe he was going to cry out or maybe he was going to swear or scream, but all that came out was a gasp and a groan. He was glad he was wearing his fucking vest. .Wolfie. Vic dropped behind one of the overturned tables as soon as she heard the gunshots. There was a thump as Welsh hit the ground next to her and for a fraction of a second her eyes focused on him and she went completely numb. Smoke rose from two fresh holes in his back and she couldn’t hear a thing beyond the rushing of blood in her ears because he hit the ground hard and he wasn’t moving. He wasn’t getting back up. Two more shots rang out and she slid to the edge of the table so that she could look beyond it and she didn’t think about the body lying on the floor and she didn’t think that Welsh might be dead. She didn’t think about how he wasn’t saying anything and he wasn’t getting up and the asshole was supposed to take her on a date. She didn’t think about her dad lying on the carpet in a pool of blood or acknowledge that maybe she’d never really dealt with his death because she’d gone straight from the hospital to prison. She hadn’t even gone to his funeral. She didn’t even know if he’d gotten one or if anyone had gone except or where they’d buried him. She didn’t think about those things because whoever had just shot Welsh was still in the room and she had to focus and she had to stay calm and she couldn’t do that if she started thinking about how Simon was jus lying there not moving. Her eyes landed on Avi and he was standing towards the center of the room. There was a small trickle of smoke still rising from the end of his Glock and it was pointed at a body on the ground. In his other hand he held a different gun that must have belonged to the terrorist because she didn’t recognize it as one of theirs. She watched him crouch next to the body for a second and she frowned. Something was wrong. She focused on the corpse on the floor and the bloody holes in its head and something was wrong about this. Then Simon groaned and her eyes snapped to him. She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “Welsh,” she said. Her voice was harsh and unrecognizable and she didn’t want to acknowledge just how fucking relieved she was that he was still breathing. She heard him groan again and then his hands slid across the floor as he pushed himself to his knees. She felt slightly delirious because she almost laughed that he’d been shot twice and he was still getting back up. Avi lifted his head to look at him and then his gaze flicked to her. He licked his lips and his eyes were focused on her intently and she stared back for a moment because she felt like she had just missed something. Then he jerked his head at the body and kicked it once. “He’s down,” he told her, and she just nodded her head slowly. Then his eyes went to Simon. “Welsh. Are you fit for combat?” “Yeah,” he said, and Vic didn’t even think he stopped to honestly consider the question. She moved over next to him and gripped his arm as he tried to push himself to his feet. He seemed a little shaky and his head tipped back with pain as he tried to straighten up. “Good,” Avi snapped, and he glanced at her one last time before he headed to the door. He pressed his back against it, his gaze snapping in both directions with his Glock in his hand. She watched him for a moment as he holstered it and then pulled the M-4 around so that he could reload it. She had missed something. She knew she had because something about the scene looked wrong to her and she couldn’t place what. He’d left the terrorist’s gun on the floor and she glanced over her shoulder at the body he’d put two bullets in. The gun was lying next to his limp hand and his eyes were wide and dead, blood pooling out around him. She looked back at Simon and he was taking harsh breaths but he was trying to get his fingers to work as he reloaded his weapons. She couldn’t get herself to let go of his arm and he shot a smile up at her for a moment. “Did either bullet break skin?” she demanded. She wanted to strip the vest off him right now and make sure there wasn’t a slow bleeding hole in his back but they didn’t have the time. They had probably twenty minutes left to leave this place a slaughterhouse. He shook his head, wincing as he pushed his shoulders back. “I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head. “Hurts like a motherfucker though,” he said, tilting his head to smile at her, maybe so she wouldn’t think he was weak. She patted his cheek with a smirk on her face and tried to pretend she hadn’t been terrified. “Just be happy you’re wearing a vest.” She wasn’t sure it was working because her grip was still tight around his arm and she could still hear the blood rushing in her ears, her heart thundering loudly in her chest. She was surprised he couldn’t hear it, but he was looking at her with a curious look on his face so maybe he could. She wanted to yell at him not to do that to her again because she’d thought he was dead the thought had made her feel dead too. Only that was fear and attachment and weakness so she didn’t say it out loud. “Let’s move,” Avi snapped, and then he was already moving through the next door ahead of them. Vic and Simon hurried to follow but she glanced back once at the body he’d left on the floor and she frowned as she did. The feeling that something was wrong lingered with her and she always trusted her instincts. They had kept her alive this long. Her feet froze in the doorway when she saw it. She didn’t know how she’d missed it the first time because she should have seen it right away. The man had three bullet holes in his skull. She’d probably put the first one there herself. Only the other two were from Avi and her gaze snapped up to his back as he headed down the hallway. Welsh smiled at her and then he started moving after the Captain and she didn’t like that she wasn’t in between the two of them anymore. She didn’t like how tight Welsh’s shoulders were and how he winced when she thought he wasn’t looking because someone had put two bullets in his back. They paused outside the men’s room and Avi held up his fingers to count down before his boot slammed into and it opened with a bang. She slid into position next to the door but there was only one man in there and he wasn’t armed. He died in the handicap stall and he had only enough time to shout in surprise once before Avi took him down. They checked the ladies room next but no one was in there and then they hit the end of the hall where a bright red exit sign blazed over their heads. Above them somewhere she could still hear alarms going off and there was shouting beyond the walls of the building they were in. She wondered if they’d already had two much time to organize and then Avi was nudging the door open, his back against the wall. She saw five dark shadows move outside the door and they were shouting to each other, guns held in their hands as they raced towards the other side of the compound. She watched Avi count under his breath and then at three he pushed the door open and opened fire into their backs and she watched him from her spot against the wall as he pulled the trigger. There was only one reason that she could think of for him to put two bullets in a dead man’s head. She kept her mouth shut as she rolled it over in her head because she couldn’t afford to be wrong about it, but somehow she didn’t think she was. She almost turned around right now and told Welsh that he shouldn’t stop at a bat beneath his bed. He should be keeping a gun under his pillow and a knife in his nightstand. He should change the locks on his doors and windows and get a deadbolt installed and most of all he should never, ever turn his fucking back on Avi Rogers again. The five men outside dropped and then Avi was crouching and moving low across the ground and she moved to follow him. She thought about using the gun in her hand on him. She wasn’t sure exactly what was stopping her, although maybe it was that she hadn’t actually seen him pull the trigger. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe the man hadn’t been entirely dead. She didn’t really believe that for a second. There had been a lot of blood beneath his head and she was pretty sure she was the one that had shot him. She thought about Avi holding the terrorist’s gun and then leaving it next to his hand like he’d just dropped it. There was a line of Hummers parked outside the door and they ducked behind one because there were probably twenty men starting to pile into three of them down the line. They were shouting and someone was waving his hand towards the other side of the compound and she thought she could see a fire starting on the far end of the building they’d just exited. She smirked because that seemed like something Alexey or Lyle would do and then she took a sharp breath as there was a sudden, blinding explosion. She ducked her head to the side and her forehead met Welsh’s shoulder as he crouched next to her. The sound of screaming and yelling grew louder in her ears and then she lifted her head to look. The guard tower on the far end of the compound was tipping and falling to the side, fire and black clouds still billowing up around it as it started to crumble. She smiled at the sight of it and that must have been Lyle fucking Liddle’s doing because in the next moment it was crashing into the ground in a blaze of flame and smoke. The Hummer two over from them roared to life and Avi leaned his head back to watch as it pulled out and started to pull away. His gun rose to his shoulder and then he was firing at the tires with quick bursts. The gunshots drew attention their way and she saw a group of men pause in their steps to turn around. She turned and pushed Welsh towards the front of the Hummer and they hid behind the front bumper as a haze of gunfire went off next to them. She felt it rattle the vehicle behind them and she glanced over her shoulder to see Avi roll underneath it. She hoped he got hit. She hoped he died bloody and in pain because the more she thought about her theory the more sense it made. She felt her teeth grinding together in her head and she could easily picture what Welsh would have looked like if he wasn’t wearing a vest. He would be dead. The group of men were headed their way and she rolled over into her stomach around the side of it to fire off a few shots. Two men screamed and went down with bullets in their chests and the rest scattered to take cover. Only one stopped and lifted his gun to fire back at. She didn’t have time to take him out because in the next moment there was a bullet exploding out the back of his head as Welsh braced his gun on the top of the hood and took him down. She ducked back behind the bumper and only had a second to breathe before she heard movement to her right. Metal dinged off metal as gunshots went off next to her head and she ducked instinctively against the rain of fire. There was a man crouched behind the Hummer next to them, his gun resting on the hood of the vehicle as he shot at them. They were flanked on both sides and she didn’t like that at. She ripped the Glock out and fired back at the man with quick and sloppy shots. He shouted and ducked and she heard the windshield next to him shatter and then a scream as one of her shots found him. She sucked in a breath and glanced back at the Hummers, wondering if they should just steal one of the fucking things and leave Avi here. She wasn’t sure where he was gone and she really hated that because she didn’t trust him at all. Welsh lifted his gun and the muzzle blared brightly in the darkness as he fired at the men still towards the end of the vehicle. She heard a thump and then the sound of shouting and she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the part of her that wasn’t human. She could hear the heavy thud of his heartbeat and smell the stench of fear coming from the man but he was the only one she still heard. Then there was a sharp blast as he ducked around the side and tried to shoot back at Simon and she didn’t like that. She moved without thinking, her boots catching the bumper and she was going up and over the vehicle with quick motions. Her blade was out of its sheath before she dropped down next to the guy and he managed only a single strangled shout of surprise before her hand caught him by the hair and she ripped the blade across his throat. He died with a gurgle, his blood splattering across the back window of the Hummer in a sharp arc of red. She didn’t like anyone shooting at Simon. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest as she thought that and her eyes lifted to his as he stood up and looked back at her. She didn’t like him getting hurt or someone trying to kill him and she didn’t like that there was no doubt left in her mind about why he had two holes in the back of his vest. She’d only seen one man still standing there with a smoking gun, and all of her instincts were screaming the same thing at her. Avi Rogers had shot Simon Welsh in the back. Wenston Simon’s back was on fire. His muscles protested just about every movement he made but that didn’t keep him from making them because Vic was sticking close to him and she was fighting smoothly and efficiently and he didn’t want his sloppiness or pain to get her hurt. Besides, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Vic had told him he could do this. He’d seen her face and felt her grip when he’d been getting up off the floor and he hated that he’d put that look in her eyes, but he was grateful it was there. She’d been scared, whether she’d admit it or not, he recognized that look on her and her fingers had lingered on his arm for longer than what was necessary, but he’d been comforted by it and tried not to think about the fact that he’d been shot in the back. He’d been surprised that Avi was the one to take out the guy who’d shot him. He didn’t think the man would ever do anything to help him, after he’d basically admitted to breaking into his apartment and had beat the shit out of him. Maybe he was reading Avi wrong. But it confused him, because he was sure Avi was the one who’d trashed his place. He was sure the man hated him and maybe Avi was just trying to make sure everyone was dead. Maybe he didn’t give a crap about him at all. The shouting and the yelling and the gunshots were dying out and they were making their way through the open courtyard of the compound looking for any stragglers, but they’d done a pretty good job of cleaning house. Simon tried not to feel bad about that because he was thinking about Avi saying there could still be some undercover agents in here and he wondered if one day he’d be undercover somewhere when a raid came and they wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him. Would they believe him if he told them he was one of the good guys? Would he have believed it if someone here had told him that? He thought the answer to those questions was “no.” They headed towards the end of the row of hummers and they froze when they heard approaching footsteps. Vic grabbed his arm and pulled him down into a crouching position and he had to fight not to smile because she was being very protective on him. He couldn’t help it. He knew it was a stupid mistake that could have cost him because there was someone approaching and he needed to be ready to shoot, but he glanced at her. He glanced at the blood flecks on her face and the gash on her arm and she was amazing. She was smart and dangerous and funny when she wanted to be and he liked her more and more every time he laid eyes on her. The footsteps rounded the corner and Simon whipped his head back around. He brought his gun up, but instantly froze because Jezibel rounded the corner, her gun drawn. She snapped her gun at them, but then pulled it back quickly when she saw who it was. “Captain,” she barked, in case they didn’t see who it was. Avi stood and Vic did as well. Simon was a little slower pushing himself to his feet and Vic was sticking close to his side still. “Status?” Avi snapped. “Targets eliminated,” Jezibel said with a nod. Behind her, Lyle came sauntering up and then Tony plodded up behind him. Simon’s heart instantly leapt to his throat because Alexey was slung over Tony’s shoulder and there was a cloth tied tightly around his right thigh and it was staining with blood. “Lex?” Simon squawked and hurried forward. He was relieved when Alexey’s head popped up and turned to look at him. His brother slapped Tony’s back. “Put me down a sec, big buy,” he said and Tony bent to settle Alexey against one of the hummers. Simon hurried forward and helped ease him down. When he was sitting, Alexey looked up at him and grinned, although his face was pale and sheen with sweat. Simon kept a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. “Hey, bro,” Alexey greeted. “My first war wound.” “Are you okay?” Simon asked quietly. He smiled a little at Tony as the man kept crouched at Alexey’s other side because that was his little buddy and Simon was again glad that Alexey had someone that devoted to watching out for him. Alexey leaned a little towards him, putting his hand up to block Jez’s view of him. “It’s just a flesh wound, but don’t tell that to Givessi because I think she has the Florence Nightingale syndrome going on.” Jezibel laughed lightly. “I can hear you, Alexey.” Simon glanced up at her and for as much as she enjoyed flirting with Simon and putting lotion on his face and touching him, she was starting to say Alexey’s name more and more when she talked to him and he wondered what that meant. Maybe Alexey was getting through to her. “Oh,” Alexey said, leaning his head back against the Hummer and Simon watched his face because his brother was pale and even if it was a flesh wound, there was still a lot of blood coming out of his leg. “Well in that case, do I get bonus points for getting shot? I know chicks dig scars. Bullet holes are sexy, huh? I might need you to put that nurse’s outfit on. Oh and fishnets. Nothing to do with being a nurse, but they’re hot.” Jezibel snorted. “You’re delirious,” she said. “Only a little,” Alexey grinned up at her. Simon frowned at his brother and put his hand to his forehead. He didn’t like how clammy his brother’s skin was and he didn’t like that it was a three mile hike to the helicopter. It would be slow moving and even if it was a flesh wound, it was ample time for Alexey to bleed out. He turned to look at Vic, because he didn’t know anything about first aid except for the basics they’d taught them in training. Vic was staring at Avi, who was scanning the courtyard, his gun in hand. Simon didn’t understand the look on her face because she looked angrier than he’d ever seen her and he didn’t understand why. Maybe she was angry that Alexey had been shot and now they had to walk three miles? He didn’t know. He squeezed his brother’s shoulder and then turned and he was planning on going to ask her if she was okay, but his brother’s hand suddenly curled in the collar of his vest and he yanked him back. Simon stumbled a little and he figured his brother had just spotted the holes in his vest. “What the fuck?” Alexey snarled. “Did you fucking get shot?” Simon smiled at his brother. “No, you did,” he said and tugged himself out of his brother’s grip. “I just had bullets aimed at me. But that’s why we wear vests,” he said with a grin. “Why’d you let someone get behind you?” Alexey demanded and Simon’s face fell because he could tell his brother was really pissed. Simon ducked his head and shrugged a little. “I thought we’d cleared the room,” he said. “It was a stupid mistake.” “You need to stop making fucking mistakes,” Alexey growled and Simon glanced up at him, surprised because his brother’s tone was biting and angry. His face softened a little when he saw the look on Simon’s face and then he leaned his head back against the Hummer again and maybe Alexey was just hurting and mad that Simon had two holes in the back of his vest. “Nurses are my thing, dude. I can’t have you making mistakes all the time and stealing all the women.” Then Alexey winced and Simon gripped his arm. His brother needed to get out of here. “Well, you won’t get many women playing purse for Tony here,” Simon said and Alexey made a face at him. “Screw you, Welsh,” Alexey spat and Simon laughed because his brother never called him Welsh. Avi cleared his throat. “Let’s go,” he snapped and started heading back towards the compound. Simon frowned and watching him for a second. “We can’t walk back,” he said and he saw Avi freeze and then turn, his gaze heated. Simon didn’t care. “That’s a three mile hike and Alexey’s bleeding.” “Flesh wound,” Alexey reminded him, helpfully. Simon just glared at him. “We could hijack one of these trucks,” Lyle suggested quietly. Simon turned around to look at the man but his gaze fell on Vic because she’d come up to his side and he hadn’t even heard her approach. Her eyes were narrowed on Avi and Simon wondered what the man had done to piss her off, other than what he already knew. She looked ready to kill the guy and Simon didn’t know why. “Do you know how to hotwire a Hummer, Liddle?” Avi snapped, irritated. Tony cleared his throat. “I do,” he said and all eyes turned to him. He shrugged when he saw everyone looking at him. “I steal cars,” he said like it was no big deal. Then he pointed at one of the Hummers near the end of the road. ‘We should take the H2. They come standard with a 6-disc CD changer.” He grinned and didn’t wait for an okay from anyone before heading over there. Simon didn’t have the heart to point out that a CD changer did no good if you didn’t have CDs. .Wolfie. Vic kept her mouth shut on the ride back to the helicopter and on the flight back to New York.She kept her mouth shut even when Welsh said he’d made a stupid mistake and she wanted to tell him that he wasn’t the one that had made the mistake. She was, because she should have slit Avi’s throat open and left him in New Mexico because instead he was flying back with them with a gun still in his hands. She knew he didn’t feel any guilt about shooting civilians when they were in the way or making sacrifices when the situation called for it, but this was different. He’d fucking shot Simon. She watched him with a narrowed gaze because there was a little part of her that was terrified the moment she turned away would be the moment he tried again. She wondered if he’d really been trying to kill Simon or if he just couldn’t help himself when he saw the man turn his back. If he wanted him dead then he would have shot him in the skull instead, but it was all the same to her. Alexey was in bad shape by the time they got back to the compound and he was trying to pretend he wasn’t, but Tony had to carry him down to the infirmary and he was pale and shaking by the time they got there. “Man, how did I end up the damsel in distress?” he asked, while they rode down in the elevator. Tony was cradling him like a baby in his arms and she snorted when she saw that. The big guy was just full of surprises. He’d hotwired the Hummer like it was nothing and then he’d driven it through the desert without spinning the tires once. He’d rattled off random information about the thing and he had been so disappointed that they didn’t have any CDs to play with the disc changer. She wondered if his car stealing was what had gotten him in trouble or if it was just a lucky break for them. And wasn’t this something Avi should have fucking known already? “Because,” Givessi told him, glancing up at his face. “You look the prettiest in a dress.” She tried to smile for him and he laughed, wincing sharply afterwards. The bandage around his leg was bleeding through again. They’d done a quick patch with the first aid kit on the helicopter but his flesh wound wasn’t looking much better. “I think we should base it on who looks prettier out of the dress. Come over sometime, we’ll compare notes,” he said, tipping his head back to grin at her. Next to Vic, Simon’s eyes narrowed in concern for his brother and she almost reached over to hold his hand. Avi and Lyle took off before they got to the infirmary. Chances were good that Avi was going to meet with Elias and Liddle just didn’t seem the type to care or stick around. They got Alexey on a table and the doctor was cutting the leg off his black pants before he’d even lain down completely. The woman looked down at him and smiled comfortingly for a moment. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You’re in good hands.” Alexey snorted and his head tipped back against the table. “I’ll say. Five seconds and you’re already getting into my pants.” The woman laughed and shook her head. Vic thought they should have more doctors on hand the night of a mission but since they didn’t she turned and pushed Simon hard in the chest. His eyes widened and he took a step back, the back of his knees hitting the chair behind him. He sat down hard and by then she was already kneeling in the one next to him and pulling at the straps on his vest. She wasn’t sure how she managed to keep her hands steady as she yanked it off him because she wasn’t okay with him getting shot. She wasn’t okay with him just lying on the ground not moving with two smoking holes in his back and she didn’t want him to be dead. He was staring at her and she didn’t know what kind of look she had on her face as she dropped the vest on the floor but then she was pushing him forward with a hand on the back of his neck and pulling the shirt up with her other hand. There were two bright bruises on his back and the one closer to his spine was crusted with blood from where the skin had broken. Welsh swallowed hard and glanced up at her because she was just standing there looking at them. “So, will I live?” he asked. She snorted and then released her grip on him, letting the shirt slide back down over his back. He winced as he pulled it down and she knew it had to hurt but it made her feel a little better to see that they were just bruises. Her eyes met his as she slumped down in the chair next to him and now she could be angry that they were there at all. No one else had shot him. Just his fucking Captain. “When I’m done with Mr. Romanova I’ll get that knife wound stitched up,” the doctor said. Vic blinked and looked up at her and the woman shot her a quick glance, her eyes darting to her shoulder. Vic’s hand rose to her arm and she felt burning pain as soon as her fingers brushed over the wound. She glanced down at the blood on her hands because she’d forgotten she’d been hurt. She’d forgotten about anything but the fucking bullet holes in Simon’s vest. Her teeth pulled at her lower lip and then she pushed herself off the chair. “I’ll be back then,” she said shortly, and turned towards the door. She was surprised when Simon’s hand caught hers and she glanced over her shoulder at him with surprise because she hadn’t expected it. He was frowning and looking at her curiously. “What’s wrong?” he asked her lowly. She always knew when someone was staring and she glanced up because Givessi was looking over at her. She was standing next to the table while Alexey lay curled on his side, one hand running through his hair. The doctor was concentrating on the hole in his leg, forceps pulling a piece of metal out of his skin. Tony was watching with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes were narrowed as he watched. “I have to talk to Elias,” she said, and as soon as the words left her lips she saw his face darken. His hand started to pull from hers and she didn’t like that. She tangled her fingers in his and took a step back. “I’ll tell you later,” she said. “I promise.” He studied her face for a moment and he looked hurt and she hated that she’d put that there. “I believe you,” he said finally. She tried to smile for him but she wasn’t sure he believed it because he didn’t smile back. He looked concerned and hurt and maybe scared and she didn’t like seeing that on his face. They were weak emotions and she didn’t like that she was feeling the same ones and she didn’t like that he’d been shot in the back and thought it was because he’d fucked up. Her steps were quick as she walked down the hallway and she took the stairs to Elias’s office and tried not to think that Avi might be in there because if he was he would just have to get the fuck out. She should have killed him. He couldn’t hurt anyone if he was dead. She heard voices on the other side of the door and then her fist was banging hard against the wooden surface. She took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest and tried not to think how it had gone the last time she’d been in Elias’s office alone. She tried not to think about his hand around her neck or the bruises still there because he was supposed to be their fucking link to the top and they should fucking know that their team Captain was a psychotic bastard who was a little too trigger happy. The silence on the other side grew and then the door pulled open. Elias stood there with one raised eyebrow and he smirked at the blood on her face. Behind her she could see Avi sitting in one of the chairs across from Elias’s and he glanced over his shoulder at her for a moment. “I’m a little busy right now, Victoria,” he told her. “Can this wait?” “No,” she snapped. “It can’t fucking wait. I need to talk to you alone.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him and then she frowned because it looked like he had a split lip and a bruise on his jaw. She wondered who’d put that there. His gaze swept her face and she hated that she knew what he was thinking. He was wondering if she was here to try and fuck him again because his eyes lingered way too long on the bruises he’d given her and the smile on his face was cruel and dark. She let him believe that if it would get her into his office but there was no way that was going to happen ever again. “Alright,” he finally said, pushing the door open. “Captain Rogers,” he said, turning around. Avi looked from her to Elias’s face and a frown creased his features. “Please wait outside for a few minutes. This won’t take long.” “Elias,” he growled, and she couldn’t tell if he was more annoyed that he was being told to wait outside or because he thought he already knew what she was going to say. His gaze flicked between the two of them as the sneer on his lips grew. “I haven’t finished debriefing you about our mission,” he said darkly. Elias smirked and held the door open for Avi. “The outcome of your mission isn’t going to change whether or not I debrief you now or in ten minutes. Wait outside, Captain Rogers.” He looked like he wanted to argue it more and hen he gritted his teeth hard together. “Yes sir,” he snapped, pushing himself out of the chair. He bumped into her shoulder as he pushed his way out of the room and she ignored how it jarred the knife wound in her skin. It was starting to throb painfully but she wasn’t going to lose an arm in the next ten minutes so it could wait. Elias shut the door firmly behind him and then he turned around with a sly smirk on his face that used to get her all hot and bothered. Now it just made her angry. Now she just wanted to slam his fucking face into the desk because this was as much his fault as it was Avi’s. He’d known about the tension between them and he’d heard about the ransacking of Welsh’s apartment. If he wanted a formal complaint before he would do a fucking thing than here it was. “So,” he said calmly. “What can I help you with Victoria?” “Rogers shot Welsh,” she said immediately, fingers digging tightly into her arms as she glared at Elias. His eyes widened for a split second as he watched her and she saw something like confusion flicker through his eyes. It almost made her smile, because she didn’t think she’d ever seen that expression on his face. Then he cleared his throat and straightened up off the door, a frown replacing it. “That’s what you wanted to speak to me about?” he asked. Then he snorted and shook his head like the answer didn’t matter. “Explain,” he snapped, gesturing at the chair. She ignored the invitation, standing in front of his desk with her arms still crossed tightly in front of her. “On the mission tonight, Welsh got shot twice in the back. The bullets struck his vest so it didn’t kill him, but Avi’s still the one that pulled the trigger.” “You saw him do it?” Elias asked, lifting an eyebrow, and for once he looked genuinely concerned. She ground her teeth together and she looked down at the desk instead. “No,” she snarled, and she should have been paying closer attention. She should have been watching his back because he was still new at this. “But it was him. The room was cleared, everyone else was dead. He was the only one standing and the only one with a gun in his hand.” “Did he use his own gun?” Elias asked, and Vic felt her chest constrict because he wasn’t going to believe her. They were just going to let Avi keep control of this team when he’d tried to kill Welsh and she felt so much hatred for both of them. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I think he used one of the terrorist’s weapons.” “So,” Elias drawled. “Welsh gets shot in the back by a terrorist’s weapon and you expect me to believe that it was Captain Rogers that pulled the trigger? Based solely on your word? Victoria,” he smirked. “I told you not to expect any special treatment now that we’re not fucking anymore. You’re going to have to be more convincing than that.” “Oh go fuck yourself Elias,” she shouted abruptly. “He did it and you fucking know he did it and don’t give me that bullshit about my word against his. You know he ransacked his fucking apartment and you know he’s been out to get him since day one.” “Don’t raise your voice to me, Victoria,” he said darkly. His fingers were laced together in front of him and he was just staring coldly at her as her fingers dug into the back of the chair across from him. He sighed and leaned forward, tilting his head to the side to look at her. “You want to talk about what I know? This is what I know. You and Welsh both have both on different occasions assaulted a senior member of this company. No one has reported anything against Captain Rogers. You are a convicted felon. Rogers is a decorated soldier. It’s your word against his. Who do you think I’m going to believe?” She didn’t have an answer for that. She looked down at her hands and her knuckles were white around the chair and she wished she’d been just a little bit faster. She wondered what was going to happen on the next mission they went on and if Avi was going to aim for the head instead of the chest. If Elias wasn’t going to believe her, maybe she should just handle this herself. Maybe that’s what she should have done in the first place, instead of expecting her to believe him. She didn’t say a word as she straightened up and turned around. Her fingers were already around the door handle when Elias cleared his throat and she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Victoria,” he said, and his voice was low and serious. “Did he really do it?” She snorted and wondered why he cared but the look on his face was intense and dark. “Yes,” she snapped. She yanked the door open and Avi was sitting calmly and quietly in the hallway. He glanced up at her when she came out and his gaze moved from her to the open door and then back to her face. “You try it again, I’ll fucking kill you,” she snarled darkly at him. He lifted an eyebrow at her like he didn’t know what she was talking about, and then she saw him smile. “Captain Rogers,” Elias said from behind her. “Please rejoin me in my office.” Wenston Simon went to shower before Vic got back and he hoped she wouldn’t be mad at him, but he needed to get out of the infirmary. Alexey had told him to go and at first he felt guilty because his brother had stayed by him when he was in the hospital sick, but then Alexey had told him to leave and he knew his brother was well aware of his dislike for anything hospital. Tony was sticking by him anyway and Simon would go pay him a visit afterwards. But he just needed to get out of there for a minute. He went to the locker room, pulled off his clothes, and got in the shower. The water burned at his skin and the steam filled the shower and Simon just let it as it ran over his body. He leaned his forehead against the tile and closed his eyes, letting the water run down his face and drip off his nose and over his eyes and lips. He felt the painful bruises on his back but he ignored those for now because he wasn’t ready to deal with that just yet. The doctor had said Alexey needed to spend the night for observation. Alexey had been hurt badly enough that now he had to spend the night in the infirmary and Simon felt his chest constrict at that because his brother wasn’t supposed to get hurt. He wasn’t supposed to be put in danger or sent places where people were trying to kill him and Simon should have been watching out better for him. He thought about his brother lying on his side while the doctor worked on his leg and even if it was just a flesh wound, Alexey had been so pale and shaky it had made Simon sick to his stomach. Vic had a slice on her shoulder and Simon tried not to feel bad about that either. He should have been better. He should have been practicing his shooting instead of goofing off because he could have shot the guy she was fighting and she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. He wanted to be better. Maybe if he was better he wouldn’t get shot in the back. That thought had him sighing loudly. He focused on that for a moment because he couldn’t believe he’d make a stupid mistake like run through a room that wasn’t cleared. He thought about Victoria running ahead of him and he bit his lip and was glad he was there because the bullets could have easily gone for her. He tried to think about the mess hall and tried to picture where the guy could have been hiding. He was having trouble doing it, because he’d looked everywhere. He’d looked behind everything and there was no place someone could have been hiding that he didn’t look and it should have been clear. Simon shut off the water, dried himself off, and wrapped the towel around his waist. He headed back out into the locker room and it was empty. He sat down on the bench and realized he didn’t have a shirt that fit here and he wasn’t putting on Vic’s shirt because it would push too much on his back. Leaning forward, he put his elbows on his knees and he covered his eyes with his hands and he needed to stop making mistakes. Alexey was right. He was awful at this and maybe Vic was right that he was the weak link. Maybe he needed more practice. Maybe he needed to spend more time on the shooting range or going over strategies or doing something to make himself better. A hand on his shoulder had him jumping and he looked up, surprised to see Vic standing next to him. Concern flashed across her face but she quickly wiped it away and replaced it with a frown. The sleeve of her shirt was cut off and the slash across her shoulder was stitched closed and it looked like it had taken too many stitches for his liking. He reached up to run his fingers beneath the wound and she was watching his face closely. He let his hand fall and then he looked away from her and stared at his locker. “Maybe we should practice five hours a day instead of four,” he said quietly. “I keep messing up.” Vic sighed and then she surprised him by moving closer, swinging one leg around his and he leaned back as she sat down on his lap, a leg on either side of his hips. He didn’t know what to do with his hands, so he moved them to her hips and just settled them there. He tried to ignore the fact that he kind of liked this position, her straddling him. He tried to remember that he was supposed to be sad and mopey and not enjoying having her sit on him and be this close. Her hands came up to the sides of his face and she ran her fingers through his short hair and then her arms wrapped around his neck and she sat there, looking at his face. “You didn’t mess up,” she told him quietly. Simon sighed and he couldn’t help himself. “If we’re about to have a serious conversation, can I put my clothes on?” “No,” Vic said without hesitation and he laughed a little. Her hands were crossed at the wrists behind his neck and her fingers were moving gently over his skin and he liked her touch. Then her face grew serious. “It was Avi.” He frowned and tipped his head to the side. “What?” he asked and he honestly didn’t know what she was talking about. Maybe she’d gone to talk to Elias about his apartment and the man had acknowledged it was Avi. If he did, he wondered what punishment Avi would get. “Avi’s the one that shot you,” she whispered and Simon watched her face. He didn’t think she’d joke about something like that but he looked for it anyway. He swallowed thickly and then frowned. He dipped his head and looked away from her face. Her fingers moved up to the back of his head while she gave him time to process it and he tried to picture the scene again. Avi had been back there. By the guy on the ground. He’d said the guy was down and then asked if he was okay for combat and Simon didn’t understand. “You saw him?” he asked, looking back up at her and her face darkened slightly. “No,” she told him honestly. “But I know it was him. The guy on the ground had three shots in the head. Avi only fired two. That means one was already there. He couldn’t have been alive.” Simon snorted and he didn’t think the words were sinking in yet. “You should be a detective.” Vic rolled her eyes and then glared at him. “I’m being serious,” she snapped. “I know,” he said and then turned his head to the side to press his lips to her forearm. He kept them there for a moment as he thought about what she was telling him. Avi had shot him. A man that was supposed to be their leader and watch out for them had shot Simon in the back. Either the guy was ridiculously idiotic because he knew Simon was wearing a vest and he’d still aimed for the back and not the head, or he wasn’t trying to kill him, just shake him up. He couldn’t decide which one seemed more like something Avi would do. He thought about his apartment being torn to bits and the spare key Avi had gotten from somewhere. He thought about the man threatening Alexey in Brazil and Simon’s face fell. He rolled his head to the side so his cheek was against her arm and he looked up at her face. She was watching him closely. “What do I do?” he asked quietly and he thought the words sounded weak and maybe she’d think they were, but he needed her help. She knew things about this sort of stuff and he’d never dealt with this before. He never dealt with someone trying to hurt him or harassing him or whatever the hell Avi wanted from him. Vic’s face grew serious and stern. “Carry your knife and your gun with you at all times,” she said like she was giving him a command. “Sleep with one or the other beneath your pillow, change your locks, and don’t ever, ever turn your back on Avi for a second. A smile tugged at the corner of Simon’s lips and he saw her frown at it. “Why are you smiling?” she demanded and she sounded disturbed. Simon just shook his head and he gave a quick laugh. “You’re really hot when you get bossy,” he said and her eyes widened for a moment. He reached up and pulled her arms from around him. “May I get dressed now?” It was Vic’s turn to smile and she shook her head. Simon snorted. “Why are you smiling?” he demanded. “Because you’re such a damn tease, it’s getting ridiculous,” she said and started to get up. He reached forward suddenly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. She gasped as their chests collided and he held her tightly against him, their mouths close. He kept backing up every time she tried to move forward to kiss him and he watched her eyes narrow. Then he tipped his head and pressed his lips against her neck, pressing them roughly up her chin and then tilting his head the other way to press them against the other side of her neck. With his lips pressed her collarbone, he whispered, “I won’t be just a tease for long.” He pulled back and when he did she was breathless, still pressed against him, but she was looking at him curiously. He grinned. “What’s the appropriate attire for a place like Luigi’s?” he asked. “Will I get to see you in a dress?” She shook her head and leaned forward to try and kiss his lips, but he moved back again and she growled at him. “That’s too bad,” he said and grinned. “They’re easier to take off.” .Wolfie. Vic wasn’t nervous.She knew she wasn’t nervous because there was nothing for her to get nervous about. It was just dinner. She’d had dinner with Welsh a couple of times already, it just happened to be in her apartment with her roommate hanging around and once at his with his brother and Tony. There was no reason for her to be nervous this time just because it was only the two of them on an actual date. The only difference was that maybe tonight would end with her in his bed and that thought made her heart race. She was kicked back on the couch at her apartment and she’d put Yojimbo on but she wasn’t really watching it. There was a lit cigarette held loosely in one hand as she stared at the screen. She wondered if Welsh would like Luigi’s or if he would be disappointed when they walked through the doors. It probably wasn’t the upscale kind of place he was used to but they had good pasta and good pizza and it was the kind of place her pops used to take her to when she was really little. That was when he still used to be part of ‘the family’ and not just the jack-of-all trades asshole he’d had to become later. She sucked in a breath when she thought about his words last night and she wondered if she should wear a dress. She wondered if she even owned one. She owned a skirt, but maybe he would think she was trying too hard if she changed into that. Maybe she was. The bitch was staring at her. She sucked in a breath and tipped her head back against the couch to glare at the doorway of their bedroom. Lisa was standing there and she was just fucking staring with narrowed eyes. It lost something because of the bright purple ring around her left eye and Vic had put it there last night when she got home. “What the fuck do you want, Morticia?” she growled. “So I can’t smoke in here, but you can?” she spat. “You’re getting ash all over the couch.” She snorted. “I don’t fucking care,” she snapped. “I cleaned the god damned couch. I cleaned the couch and the fucking carpet and the kitchen and you spilled coffee all over the fucking place because you’re a fucking whore so I don’t want to hear it.” “You’re not even smoking it,” Lisa snapped, ignoring every fucking thing she’d just said. “You’re just sitting there holding it.” Vic wondered if she should have knocked out a couple of teeth while she was at it. Maybe she should have just hospitalized the bitch because she’d had a long day of people messing with Welsh and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like other girls hitting on him and she really didn’t like that Rogers had shot him in the back and she didn’t like that there was almost nothing she could do about it. “Listen,” Vic snarled. She sat forward on the couch and pointed the cigarette at her with a curled lip. “You keep pushing this and I’m going to put this fucking thing right in your eye. So shut the fuck up and stop fucking staring at me.” She snapped it with one finger, spraying ash across the carpet and Lisa glared at her for a long time. She looked like she was gearing up to say something and then they both jumped as somebody knocked at the door. She saw the girl’s eyes flick towards it and her face darkened again. “Fuck off, Morticia,” she snarled, pushing herself off the couch. She saw Lisa hesitate, like she wanted to ignore her and get the door herself and she hoped she did because then she would just manhandle the bitch. Finally she rolled her eyes and barged into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. “You’re a fucking slut, Victoria,” she yelled through the door, and Vic didn’t even care right now. She flicked the cigarette in the sink and went to answer it. She took a breath and told herself she wasn’t nervous as she pulled open the door. Simon had an arm braced casually against the doorjamb and a slow smile curled his lips when he saw her. “Hey beautiful,” he said. It made her laugh because it was so unexpected and her hand came up to cover her mouth as soon as the sound escaped. His grin widened at her and she rolled her eyes. She took a step back to hold the door open and let him into the apartment. “Does that line ever work?” she asked him, biting her lip to keep from smiling at him. He’d cleaned up since their sparring session that morning and he looked good. He looked better in just a towel, but maybe they could arrange that later. “I don’t know,” he told her, and she was surprised when he stepped closer to her, one arm going around her waist and the other tipping her head up towards him. “Does it?” There was a sly smile on his face and then he dipped his head like he was going to kiss her. Her lips parted and she wished he would but then they landed on her neck instead and he was killing her. “Maybe,” she said, and her voice was a harsh whisper. Her hands tightened on his arms as his lips moved over her neck and over her jaw. She tried to turn her head to kiss him and he grinned and moved his lips to her ear. “You ready to go?” he asked, and she almost told him that she was ready to skip dinner and go straight to his apartment. “Yes,” she told him, tipping her head to the side to make it easier for him. His mouth wandered down her skin and her nails dug into his arms as his lips brushed over the juncture between her neck and her shoulder. Then he pulled back and he was smiling at her like he hadn’t done anything wrong and he was such a fucking tease. “Good,” he said brightly. “Then let’s go.” It was raining when they got outside but it wasn’t coming down hard and she didn’t mind it anyway. Anything to remind her she was free, right? She shoved her hands into her pockets and stepped out into the falling rain, tipping her head back so that it could fall across her face and she could taste it on her tongue. Her eyes closed for a moment and she loved the rain. Especially this kind because it was the steady, warm kind that washed all the bad shit down the drain. She felt that itch between her shoulder blades that meant Welsh was watching her and she turned to walk backwards towards his car so that she could stare back. “Where did you come from?” he asked, and she hesitated a little in her steps because of the way he said it. There was something like wonder in his voice and he was just watching her. She shrugged at him and smiled as he reached her. She wasn’t sure what the question meant but she gave him an honest answer anyway. “New Jersey,” she told him simply, and his grin turned into a laugh. He pulled the passenger door to his Lexus open for her and she tried not to feel some small resentment at that. The inside looked warm and dry and she remembered Alexey telling her it had heated leather seats. She’d never had a car of her own, just the battered things that his dad bought with cash from the salvage yard. Most of them had leaked when it rained and didn’t always have heat or air conditioning, like the last one they’d had in Colorado. She hesitated for a moment and glanced at his face and he was just holding the door and waiting for her. She bit her lip and then slid inside it as she tried not to feel uncomfortable. She glanced at him as he slid into the passenger seat and then she looked down at the stereo system. She couldn’t tell if it was a six disc changer or not because she wasn’t sure what just one looked like. “Nice car,” she told him, and she hoped it didn’t sound as bitter coming out of her mouth as it did in her head. By the way he winced it had. He sighed and shook his head as he backed out of the parking spot. “God damn it,” he grumbled. “Alexey was right, wasn’t he?” he said, shaking his head. “It just screams ‘rich boy.’” It made her smile because she could picture Alexey saying that. “Only in a big way,” she told him, leaning her head against the seat. “I guess you wouldn’t believe me either if I said this was a modest Lexus?” He smiled at her as he said it and she let herself return it because there was something like guilt in his eyes and she didn’t understand that. There was a lot she still didn’t understand about him but maybe that was the point of this. Maybe he didn’t understand her either. “Nope,” she told him, grinning at him as her head rested against the seat. It did have a large backseat. “But if it makes you feel better to say it, by all means, knock yourself out.” He chuckled and then reached up to turn on the CD player as they drove to Luigi’s. She bit her lip and glanced at him with a smile because he’d put on the Rolling Stones for her and she wondered if he paid attention to everything she told him. She wondered what his favorite music was and if it was really Simon and Garfunkel because if it was she was going to make fun of him mercilessly. Half the CDs in the collection she’d cleaned up hadn’t even been opened yet, and the same went for the DVDs. She wondered what he liked and what he was into because she didn’t know a lot about him still and she thought she should. If she was going to try this dating thing, she should know what his favorite things were. She didn’t even know if he liked Italian food, but he was still smiling as they went inside and she felt his hand on her lower back guiding her through the door. She wondered when she had started feeling so comfortable around him because she liked every little touch and she missed it when it was gone. It wasn’t that busy and they got a table up front by the window and he wasn’t here to dump her and no one was staring. “So what’s good here?” he asked, sitting across from her. He flipped through the menu and she watched him for a moment because he wasn’t anything like she’d thought when she first met him. He wasn’t just a polo wearing monkey, and she almost told him that. “Everything,” she told him, chewing on her thumbnail because she was suddenly nervous that he wouldn’t like it here or maybe he would get food poisoning or maybe he thought it was too low class because he drove a Lexus and this was the kind of place that served pizza to college kids on the weekends. “I like the penne with alfredo.” He nodded and then glanced over his menu at her. “So,” he drawled. “When do I get my next question?” Vic snorted and a slow smirk curled across her lips. “When I tell you that you do,” she told him, and he smirked and nodded his head. She watched him for a second and thought about Avi putting two bullet holes in his back and for a moment yesterday she’d thought he was going to die on her. She chewed on her lip for a moment as she studied his face and then she sighed, sitting forward and holding a finger up. “Alright,” she said. “You get one. But just because you got shot.” He chuckled and glanced up at her, letting the menu fall to the table. “I get a question for getting shot? That doesn’t seem like a fair system. But if that’s how it works then shouldn’t I get two for getting shot twice?” She tried not to laugh, hiding her mouth behind her hand before dropping it into her lap. She tried to turn it into a glare and by the grin on his face he didn’t believe it. “You’re a problem, Welsh,” she told him, and he just grinned back at her until she rolled her eyes and bit her lip to hide her smile. “How about this. You get one for getting shot,” she told him, “and another one for getting back up.” Wenston Simon’s cheeks were hurting he was grinning so much. He just couldn’t help it. Vic had said yes and now here they were and she was beautiful and he was making her laugh and smile and he loved that smile. She didn’t even look at the menu and Simon figured she already knew this place like the back of her hand so she knew what she was going to order and he wondered if this was her favorite restaurant because if it was, they could come here again. Maybe next time he could pick the place. Maybe he’d take her to the grill downtown. They had an indoor waterfall that she’d look so beautiful next to. “Then I’m going to have to think of some good questions,” he said, grinning at her. Vic smirked and leaned back as the waiter came over to take their orders. Vic ordered her penne with alfredo and he got the same because he wanted to try it if she liked it. When the waiter was gone, Simon leaned forward on the table and rested his chin on his hand as he watched Vic with narrowed eyes. She frowned a little under the scrutiny, but the smile was still on her face. “What are you doing?” she snapped playfully. Simon sighed dramatically. “I’m trying to think of good questions,” he told her and she rolled her eyes. “Don’t hurt yourself,” she said. He grinned and put his arm down, jutting his jaw and watching her closely. “Okay, question number one. Why’d you go to prison?” Her face faltered for a second and then she looked down at the table. She reached out to pick at the old plastic tablecloth and he tipped his head to the side to try and see her face because he didn’t mean for the question to make her feel bad and if she was ashamed or scared that he’d judge her, she didn’t have to be. Simon had spent a good amount of time trying to think of all the reasons Vic could have gone to prison and there was nothing she could have done that would make him change his mind. Not after the things she’d done for him. Vic finally looked back up and her face was hardened and when she smirked is was completely forced. “Do you want the whole list?” Simon raised an eyebrow and asked, “How long is the list?” She sighed and licked her lips. “Well we’ll just stick with the big ones, which are murder, accessory to and drug trafficking.” Simon watched her for a moment, chewing his bottom lip and he tried to picture her doing those things. The murder one he could see, because he’d seen her kill and for some reason he was strangely accepting of that. It scared the crap out of him and he hoped he never pissed her off one day, but it didn’t surprise him. The drug trafficking he hadn’t really expected. She didn’t look like a junkie. Cocaine was the drug of choice for the people Simon used to hang around with. He saw what it did to people and Vic didn’t look like she’d ever been on or was doing it. Vic gave a small laugh and it sounded bitter. Simon realized he hadn’t said anything and she was looking back down at the table like he’d hurt her feelings. “Not exactly the nice girl that you want, huh?” she spat. He frowned and waited until she looked back up at him to shrug. “Nice girls aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,” he told her and her eyes darted around his face. He grinned and his hand came out to grab hers that was picking at the table cloth still. She tensed under the touch and he pulled her hand back over towards him, playing with her fingers and then bringing them up to his lips and kissing her knuckles. “Besides,” he added, looking up at her. “The last girl I was with turned out to be a complete and utter bitch, so maybe I’m just attracted to those kind of women?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. A slow smile spread across her lips and she leaned forward too, so her elbow could rest on the table as he brushed his lips over her fingers. “Are you calling me a bitch, Welsh?” she asked. “Yep,” he said without hesitation and she laughed incredulously. “A talented, dangerous, smoking hot bitch, if that makes a difference.” She narrowed her eyes at him, but the smile was tugging at her lips. “It does,” she said and he chuckled. “Okay, question number two,” he said, kissing her fingernails. “Where did you grow up?” Vic rolled her eyes. “That’s a stupid question, I’ve already answered that,” she said. He frowned and she licked her lips. “New Jersey.” “You were serious?” he asked, eyes wide. “Well I retract that question. I still have one left.” She laughed and pulled her hand back, her fingers still locked with his and then she was kissing his knuckles and he tried not to let on how fucking hot that was. “Nope, wasted a question. You’ll have to wait until you earn another one.” Simon scoffed. “Well maybe I’ll have to get shot again,” he said and then winced because her hand suddenly tightened around his, her head shooting up. “No,” she said forcefully and he raised an eyebrow at her, amused at the reaction. She brought her other hand up to hold his between both of hers and she rested her chin against it. “No,” she said again. “Don’t do that again. There are other ways to earn questions.” Then a sly smile curled her lips and he returned it because he thought he knew what she was talking about and he wondered if she knew what he had planned for tonight. He wondered if he even knew. He was excited and nervous at the same time and he hoped he lived up to her standards. He didn’t want to think about them, but Elias’ words about how she liked it ran through his head and he wondered if they were true. He wasn’t going to take his advice, though. She was going to get him, Simon, and no one else tonight because he was going to show her how he did things and he hoped it would be enough. He hoped that after tonight, she’d never have to run back to Elias to get it how she liked it and the thought of it had his blood boiling and he thought he hadn’t hit the asshole hard enough. Their food came shortly after that and the whole time they were eating, Simon kept stealing some of Vic’s and she would bitch at him because they’d ordered exactly the same thing then she’d stab at his with her fork and had to pay attention because he didn’t think she cared if his hand was in the way or not. He had her laughing and smiling and he wondered if she knew she had taken her cold, hard mask off tonight. He wondered if she knew how much he liked her and hated it whenever he wasn’t around her and how much he wanted her. She’d know tonight. When the bill came, Vic was chewing on her straw and she was leaned over the table, her eyes narrowed at him. She pulled the straw from her lips and said, “You know, when I went to see Elias today, he said you assaulted a senior member of the company. Know anything about that?” she asked. Simon nodded, wiping his face off with his napkin and pulling the bill towards him. He didn’t even look at her as he pulled out his wallet and dropped a few bills on the table. “Yeah,” he said. “I punched him.” Vic looked surprised that he was so straightforward. She sat up a little and the smile faded from her face. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.” Simon shrugged, still grinning. “I know,” he said. “But I told him if he ever laid a hand on you again, I’d bash his face in. Oh, sorry, his fucking face in. And then you showed up with bruises on your neck so, I was kind of obligated.” He grinned at her and ignored the fact that she still didn’t look pleased with this news. “I’m not a liar and I’m not going to become one for an asshole like Elias.” Vic seemed to study him for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. He just snorted and then threw his napkin on the table and stood up. “Come on,” he said taking her hand. She frowned like she was surprised it was over but he didn’t think she’d mind. As she stood, he slipped an arm around her waist and started guiding her towards the door. On the way out, he paused suddenly and gave a quick, “Oh yes,” before he withdrew his arm from her waist and headed over to a machine in the corner. She scoffed behind him and he smiled to himself because he knew what he was doing to her. The machine was a hook game, with stuffed animals inside in. Simon dug in his pockets from a dollar and stuck it in. “Welsh,” Vic said and she had a way of sneaking up on him without him hearing her that drove him crazy. She was at his side, her mouth near his ear and her voice low. “You’re killing me,” she whispered and he grinned. “I’ll only be a sec,” he told her, guiding the hook towards a pink elephant in the back of the machine. “I have to win you a prize,” he told her and tried to ignore the way her fingers were sliding under his shirt and across his lower back. She rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t need a prize,” she told him. Simon snorted. “It’s not about needing one,” he told her back, tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he pressed the drop button and watched the hook fall and curl around the stuffed animal. He gave a loud laugh as it actually picked it up and it was rare he got these things on the first try. He waited for the elephant to come out of the machine and he picked it up, turning and holding it out to her. She looked down at it and then rolled her eyes, reaching for the elephant and taking it from him, frustrated that he was ignoring her advances. “It’s about wanting one,” he said. “Thanks,” she said dryly and she turned around, heading out the door and towards the car. He grinned and followed after her. She was walking fast and he wondered if she just really wanted to leave or if she was mad because she thought he was putting off fucking her. As she reached the passenger side door and pulled it open, Simon reached forward and slammed the door shut. She gave a startled yelp as he wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, carrying her the short distance to the hood of the car and he sat her down, leaning against the car so he was holding her there while her legs swung off the side. She looked at him with wide eyes and a smile on her face. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything as he leaned forward and kissed her. She kissed him back and he tried to remember they were in a public place. After a moment, he pulled back and Vic laughed. “You’re going to scratch your modest Lexus,” she whispered to him. He shrugged. “I’ll buy a new one,” he answered and she just laughed again. He reached up to brush some of her hair behind her ear and his hand lingered on her face. He looked into her eyes and he kissed her once more before he whispered, “Come home with me.” Vic leaned back, looking at him. Then she bit her lip and feigned indifference. “I don’t know,” she said and he grinned. “I’m kind of tired.” He shook his head and grabbed her wrists. “Then I’ll just have to kidnap you,” he told her and she gave a startled cry as he flung her over his shoulder and carried her to the backseat. He laid her down, careful to not hit her head as he deposited her in the back seat. Then he slammed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. Then he climbed in and drove back to his apartment. .Wolfie. “I don’t need you to carry me,” Vic told him, fingers digging into his shirt so that she didn’t fall. Simon grinned and pushed the door open with his foot. He had her slung over his shoulder and the keys were in one hand, fingers holding her legs steady with the other. “I didn’t say you did,” he told her. “But I’m kidnapping you and if I put you down then you might run away.” She snorted and rolled her eyes, watching the carpet move under his feet. He set her down on top of the counter and then braced his arms on either side of her and for a minute he just studied her. She raised an eyebrow and returned the look because she wasn’t sure what it meant. Maybe he was getting nervous. She felt her heart starting to beat faster in her chest but she thought it was more from anticipation than anything. He’d invited her back to his place and he’d told her last night that he wasn’t going to be a tease forever. A smile curled his lips and then he leaned in like he was going to kiss her. He paused with his lips hovering just beyond hers. “Would you like a drink?” he asked. She moved her head forward to meet his and he grinned and pulled back a little. A sigh escaped her lips and she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance but he was smiling and she couldn’t stop smiling back at him. She leaned her head to the side and finally sighed, lifting an eyebrow at him. “What have you got?” she asked, because it couldn’t have been much. She’d just been here a few days ago and she knew exactly what state his cupboards were in. Avi had broken almost everything. He laughed and then turned around, opening a cabinet under the sink. He crouched down and pulled out two bottles, placing them on the counter above him. “Blackberry brandy and a bottle of pinot noir.” She snorted and shook her head, because neither of those things sounded like anything she wanted to drink. She needed to get him some whiskey to keep her and she wondered at the thought. She wondered if she planned on making being here a regular thing and she wondered what was so wrong about that and if he’d want her to. “I don’t even know what you’re saying to me right now.” He laughed again and pushed himself to his feet, pushing the cabinet closed. Neither of the bottles looked like they’d ever been opened. “Well there’s still some beer in the fridge from Tony and Lex,” he told her. “You can get me one of those then,” she told him, smiling sweetly, and for once she didn’t think she was faking it. Welsh moved to the fridge to obey and she watched him as he did. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip and her heart was starting to beat harder in her chest because she wanted this. She wanted him. She wanted to be in his apartment and in his bed and in his life. He popped the top off it and then handed it over to her, just watching her with a smile on his face. She took a sip from her beer and then tipped her head to the side to look at him crookedly. “You’re staring, Welsh,” she told him. “I know,” he said, coming over to stand in front of her. His hands rested on her knees and she felt a jolt race through her at the slight touch. He smiled at her like somehow he knew what he was doing to her and his thumbs moved against her legs in small circles. “I’m just trying to think of what else I can do to earn another question.” She took another sip from her beer and then settled it down on the counter next to her, hands moving to the edge of it and gripping tightly. “What would you ask if you got one?” He quirked his mouth to the side as he thought about it and then took another step closer. His hands slid up her legs to come to rest on her hips and she felt his fingers move beneath her shirt. They traveled across her skin and then his thumb was brushing over the small round scar on her stomach. She shivered, more just because he was touching her than because he was touching that. He tilted his head to the side, lowering it closer to hers. “I would ask where the scar on your stomach came from,” he told her. She grinned and tilted her head back challengingly at him. “I’ll tell you the answer to that one for free.” “You will?” he asked with a smirk. “Tell me then.” She laughed and felt his lips move towards her neck. They were warm and soft and set her nerves on fire when he touched her. “Yeah,” she said. Her hand came up to rest on the side of his head and moved through his hair as he kissed her neck. Her eyes wanted to close against the touch and she felt her breathing get a little shaky because she wanted this badly. “It’s from a bullet.” “You know what?” he asked. He pressed one last kiss to her neck and then straightened up, giving her a mock glare. He snorted and tipped his head to look at her face. “If I’m a tease than you’re a cheat.” She smiled back at him. “It’s only cheating if you get caught.” He laughed brightly and then he pulled her tighter against him and she felt her breath hitch in her chest. “You’re already caught,” he said. “I kidnapped you, remember?” He didn’t give her time to respond before he was kissing her, hands holding her hips against his. Her arms slid up around his neck and her eyes closed as his lips moved against hers. He was a fantastic kisser. She wondered if she should tell him that, but maybe it would just go to his head. His tongue moved against hers and she leaned into the kiss, arms wrapping around his neck and she wanted more. Her hands tugged at his shirt and he didn’t stop her as she pulled it up and over his head. She tossed it casually to the floor and he smiled at the motion before pulling her back in for a kiss. Her hands moved over his chest and she liked kissing him and the way he moved his tongue against hers. She liked running her hands over his skin and she wanted to feel more of him against her. She wanted to fuck him in a bad way and her breath was getting uneven thanks to his tongue. A small noise left her throat as his hands slid up under her shirt. He grinned and kissed her harder and then he leaned back so he could pull it up over her head. It was halfway off, the fabric stretched over her eyes when he stopped, hands holding her arms still. She felt his lips ghosting by hers and she tried to lean forward to kiss him but he just pulled away. “Welsh,” she said, and it sounded like begging even as she whispered his name. She heard him laugh softly and his lips brushed over hers again but it wasn’t a full kiss. She wasn’t sure what kind of noise she made, leaning forward towards the touch even as he pulled away. She could feel his breath across her cheek and across her lips and she could feel him smiling even though she couldn’t see. “Vic,” he responded, amusement in his voice before he kissed her, one arm sliding around her waist as the other still held her arms in place. He pulled back from the kiss to pull the shirt the rest of the way off, dropping it on the kitchen floor next to his. When it was gone her arms wrapped around his neck again and she pulled him forward into a hard kiss because he was making her crazy with all this teasing. Her teeth tugged at his lower lip and her nails dug hard into his shoulders. In the next moment he was lifting her off the counter, his hands gripping her hard and her legs wrapping tightly around his waist. He carried her towards the bedroom, stumbling a little in the doorway and she felt her back hit the wall hard. She moaned as he pressed against her, his mouth dropping to her neck and traveling lower on her skin. His fingers were digging hard into her hips but it wasn’t bruising. Everything was done with the same calculating thoughtfulness like when he fought and it was making her crazy with need. Every time she made a noise he grinned and memorized the spot so he could come back to it later. Her hands dropped to the button of his pants as he pressed her against the wall and he was smiling against her skin as she tried to tug them down. “I told you a dress would have been easier,” he told her. Her head tipped back as his mouth lowered to her breasts. “I’ll remember that next time,” she said, and her voice sounded harsh and desperate. She wondered if it should scare her that she talked like there was going to be a next time because they were still on their first time and they hadn’t even made it to the bed yet. Even as she thought it he took a few stumbling steps backwards until his knees hit the edge of the bed. He fell back on top of the comforters with her straddling his hips and she grinned as she lowered her mouth to kiss him. He smirked, tilting his head away and she kept going anyway, her mouth traveling along his jaw and down the side of his neck. She wondered what it would take to make him lose control and she wanted to find out. She wanted to know what it took to get under Welsh’s skin. Her hands dropped back down to his pants and then she was sliding off the edge of the bed to pull them off. He lifted his hips up and helped her get them off before sitting up on the edge of the bed. She smiled as he dragged her closer by her belt, her hand resting on the side of his head. He turned and kissed her wrist and then undid the buttons and tugged her jeans down off her hips. The dropped to the carpet and then she was stepping out of them, straddling his waist as he sat on the edge of the bed. His hands came up to push her hair from her face because it was already wild and mussed thanks to him. He smiled up at her and his hands lingered on her cheeks for a moment. He pulled her down into a kiss and she returned it as his hands slid down her back and her sides before they dropped to her hips. His lips pressed against her chest in a kiss and then he was pulling her down on top of him. She gasped as he entered her, mouth moving to his neck and her teeth digging into his skin. He groaned at the sensation and then her arms were wrapping around his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. One hand stayed on her hip to hold her while she moved and the other slid up her back, fingers moving across her skin. Another noise escaped his lips and then he was rolling them over onto the bed so that he was pinning her and she didn’t mind. His hands and his lips moved over her skin as he moved and she realized the thing that set Welsh apart from every other guy she’d been with was that he actually gave a damn if she got anything out of it. He paid attention to the spots that brought moans and little gasps out of her lips. He didn’t go easy on her but he didn’t abuse her either and she wasn’t sure she’d known there was a difference. It was the best fuck of her life. There was something to be said for those yoga classes and she swore to herself she would never make fun of them again. He was strong and he had stamina and he manhandled her the way she wanted. He smiled when her arms tightened around his shoulders, nails drawing lines across his skin. “Simon,” she gasped, her back arching and her lips parted. His hands held her tightly as she came apart for him, one sliding up into her hair and holding her head still as he kissed her. “Vic,” he whispered back. Wenston Simon came shortly after Vic did. He was pressed deep inside her and he ducked his head so his face was against her shoulder. Her fingernails bit into the skin on his back and he bet he’d have more than just bruises there in the morning. He lay there breathing for a moment and he felt her quivering beneath him, both of their bodies spent. Finally he pulled out and rolled onto his back, one arm slipping beneath her shoulders and pulling her into him, whether she wanted to or not. She didn’t fight him though and she curled around his side, her hands sliding over his chest She pressed her lips against his shoulder and he ran his fingers softly up and down her spine, taking note of every part of her body. She was amazing. Everything about her was amazing and Simon didn’t think there was anything he disliked about her. Maybe that she’d been with Elias, but that wasn’t her fault. He looked up at the ceiling and he thought about the girl wrapped around his side, lying naked in his bed and how tonight had been one of the best nights he’d had in a long, long time. He thought about when he’d first met her and how cold she’d been. How she’d told him not to stare and that they weren’t friends and he hoped she still didn’t think about him the say way. He didn’t think she did. She’d done so many things for him. She’d pulled him up off the edge of a cliff, she’d been terrified when he’d gotten shot in the back, she’d helped him clean up his apartment after Avi had trashed it. At that thought, Simon frowned a little and he looked towards the bedroom door. Then he looked down at Vic and she was staring at the opposite wall, lost in thought and he wondered what she was thinking. Her fingers were moving slowly over his ribs and her touch felt so good. He leaned his head down and placed a kiss in her hair before he pulled his arm out from beneath her and sat up. Climbing over her to get out of the bed, he paused for just a second to leaned down and give her a soft love bite on the side of her neck, growling playfully as he did so. She let out a small laugh of surprise at the motion but then he was swinging himself off the bed and he grabbed his boxers, pulling them on before he headed out of the bedroom and hurriedly plodded his way towards the front door of his apartment. He quickly locked the door, double checking it because maybe he was willing to risk it if he was alone, but not when Vic was here. He knew it didn’t make sense, because Vic could handle herself, but he wouldn’t put her in the situation where she had to. Turning back around, he checked in the kitchen a moment and pulled open the fridge to make sure the eggs he’d bought were still there because he was planning on making her breakfast. They were so he closed the door and then headed back to the bedroom. He stopped in the doorway, surprised when he saw her out of bed and pulling her jeans on. He frowned and leaned against the doorframe. “What are you doing?” he asked softly, trying not to let the hurt sound through in his voice but he didn’t think he did a good job of it because watching her get dressed was sending a pain through his heart. Maybe he had just been a fuck to her. And now that she got what she wanted, maybe she’d toss him to the curb and he hoped if she did she’d at least tell him to his face instead of send him a bouquet of flowers with a card telling him he was no good. Vic glanced over her shoulder at him and her shirt was still out in the kitchen so she was still topless. “Getting dressed,” she told him simply, crouching to grab her sneakers and then she turned and sat on the bed, glancing up at him again and a frown marred her face when her eyes scanned his. It looked like something occurred to her suddenly and she tipped her head to the side. “Do you want me to stay?” she asked. “Well,” he said and looked down at the floor for a moment before looking back at her face. “Yeah,” he said and he saw her eyes widen a little. He didn’t want to hear her yell at him or tell him he was an idiot because this wasn’t a relationship, this was just a fuck, so he continued. “I mean I…I bought stuff for breakfast. I bought hashbrowns and eggs and sausage and I didn’t know what kind of cheese you wanted with your eggs so I bought three different kinds.” He couldn’t read the look on Vic’s face and she opened her mouth to say something to him but he cut her off again. “And I have a really nice shower here, it’s really spacious so we could both fit.” “Welsh,” Vic said and Simon bit his lip because he was rambling and it sounded like he was pleading and desperate but he was because he really didn’t want to be just a fuck to her. He didn’t want her to just use him and if she just got up and left because that’d been all she wanted, he didn’t know how he’d face her the next day because he’d actually thought she wanted more from him and he could be so stupid sometimes. She stood up and came over to him and her hands came up to the sides of his face. He still couldn’t read the look on her face and he didn’t like that because it meant this was a look she’d never given him before and he didn’t know what that was. “It has a massaging showerhead,” he blurted. She laughed but it didn’t sound bitter or mean. Her fingers played through his hair and she shook her head. “Most guys don’t want me to stay,” she said and he was surprised that those words hurt worse than if she’d told him he was just a fuck. He tried to picture her with Elias or some other guy and they fucked her and then kicked her out and they were assholes and idiots because they didn’t know what they were missing. She was amazing. He bent his head down to press his forehead against hers and she looked a little surprised at the motion. “I’m not most guys,” he whispered to her. The smile that spread across her face made him feel good and any doubt that he hadn’t been up to par with what she wanted and liked went out the window because the smile was sly and mischievous and satisfied. “No, you’re not,” she agreed. Simon slid his hands down to the buttons of her jeans and he made sure to watch her face as he undid them and let them fall to the floor. She went to step out of them, but he grabbed her arms and held her in place. “If you stay,” he whispered and leaned in to kiss her lips. He pulled back and grinned and his confidence was back. “I’ll give you a round two.” She smirked at him and then stepped back. Her hand came out to take his and she walked backwards towards the bed, pulling him behind her. He followed obediently and then gave a surprised laugh as she grabbed him suddenly and shoved him down on the bed. She climbed on top of him, leaning down to kiss his neck and his shoulders and trail them down his chest and he kind of liked it when she got demanding and controlling. She laughed when she got to his bellybutton and he tensed up. “You had me at massaging showerhead,” she whispered. .Wolfie. Episode #5: Senator William Casey “Do they still hurt?” Vic asked him. She lay on her side next to Simon and he was sprawled out across the bed with one arm hooked around her waist. Her fingers were moving across his back to the two still healing bruises there. They looked a lot better than they had when he’d gotten them a week ago but they hadn’t faded yet. She didn’t like that they were there. She didn’t like that the man who’d put them there was still alive. “Not really,” he told her, forcing a smile onto his face and she lifted an eyebrow at him because she wasn’t sure if she should believe him or not. Her fingers were gentle as her thumb brushed over one of them and she watched his face as she did so. He looked away from her. She frowned and studied him as he rested his chin on his forearm and he was staring at the headboard of his bed, his eyes distant. She wondered what he was thinking. She wondered if he was second guessing himself for getting shot in the first place and if he was it was stupid because there was no reason for him or any of them to have thought that Avi would go so far as to put two bullets in his back. If she’d really believed that then she would have taken him out in Brazil where no one would find the body. He could have joined Gustavo Alvarez at the bottom of the river and she doubted anyone would have called her on it. She dropped her chin to his shoulder, hand moving up to the back of his head so her fingers could run through his hair. She liked this. She liked being here in his bed almost every night because she’d only slept at home two nights since that first one. She liked that after sex when she asked him if he wanted her to leave he always smiled at her and told her no. Because she still asked. She couldn’t help it because it had only been a week and she didn’t know what this was or where it was going but she felt good here. “Then why do you look like they still hurt?” she asked him, biting gently at his shoulder to draw his attention back to her. He blinked and tipped his head to the side, cheek resting on his forearm and he was studying her with a strange, apprehensive look on his face. He still got that way sometimes, like he was afraid he was pushing her too much. So far he hadn’t. He didn’t ask more of her than she could give. He didn’t ask her to call him her boyfriend or to meet his mom or any of that. There was a serious look on his face and then he looked away again, his fingers sliding over her skin. “One of the early warning signs of leukemia is bruising easily,” he told her quietly. “The day I went to get my suit fitted, my back was covered with them.” She grew still at the words, lips still pressed against his shoulder as she watched his face. He’d been very up front about his cancer but it hurt him to talk about and sometimes she could tell he was still scared. He was scared he would get sick again and she couldn’t blame him. Vic had never gotten sick, not badly. The most time she’d ever spent in the hospital was when she’d been shot in the stomach and that wasn’t the same as watching her body waste away without being able to lift a finger to stop it. She quirked her mouth to the side and let her fingers move over the bruises again. “These are from bullets,” she told him, trying to make him smile. He snorted and glanced back at her, a smile curling his lips but the distant look still in his eyes. He rolled over, arms suddenly wrapping around her and dragging her on top of his chest. She tried to pretend the motion didn’t make her squeak in surprise but he heard it anyway. He stared up at her, hands running over through her hair as he searched her eyes. “Would you still stick around if I got sick again?” he asked her quietly. He was trying so fucking hard to keep the smile on his face but she knew by now how to tell the difference between a real one and a fake one. She ducked her head so that her lips were pressed against his neck and she didn’t know what to tell him. She didn’t know what this was to begin with and if he got sick she didn’t know what she’d do. Every second she spent with him she got more attached and that scared her because she should know better. She shouldn’t get attached but she hated the thought of him getting sick and getting hurt and possibly dying on her. She ran her lips over his skin to give herself time to think but she felt his grip tightening on her and she thought about the bitch that had left him on his wedding day because he had cancer. She thought about him being that weak and she couldn’t stand it. Not because it disgusted her, but because it didn’t fit with anything she’d learned about him. Welsh always got back up. If he hadn’t done that she wouldn’t have been here because he would have stayed the same spoiled rich boy that she thought he was the day she met him. She hated the thought that one day he wouldn’t and she remembered smoke rising out of his back and the fear felt the same. She realized she hadn’t answered him yet and when she glanced at his face she could see the anxiety there as he thought that maybe the question was asking too much. She bit her lip and then stretched up to kiss his mouth. “Probably,” she told him. “But don’t expect me to eat any of that fucking hospital food. That’s where I draw the line.” He snorted and shook his head at her, trying to smile as he ran his hands up her back. She loved feeling his fingers on her skin and she shivered at the touch. “But frozen burritos are okay with you?” he asked. She grinned and nodded, ducking her head to kiss him. “Absolutely,” she said against his lips. “They should be their own food group.” He laughed and rolled her over, hands pinning her wrists to the bed as he hovered over her. She loved it when he got rough and demanding. So far he hadn’t tried to be too gentle with her and she wanted to warn him now never to do it. She didn’t want to have a fucking panic attack on him because she didn’t know what she’d say if he asked why. She didn’t know if she could tell him the honest answer. She was damaged goods and no one should want her because of what happened when she was thirteen. His lips moved down her neck and then over her chest and she sighed contentedly at the feeling. His mouth traveled down to her stomach and then she felt them move over her bellybutton and then over to the round scar still marring her flesh. “When are you going to tell me about this?” he asked, glancing up at her face with a raised eyebrow. “Who said I ever will?” she asked, giving him a cocky smirk. He smiled back at her and then lowered his lips back to her stomach. She watched him and thought about his reactions to all the answers she’d given him so far and he hadn’t shied away yet. She sighed and pulled at her wrists hard. She felt his fingers release as he let her go and he never tried to trap her and pin her in a way that she couldn’t get out of if she really wanted to. Normally she didn’t want to. She pushed herself up and a hand came up to shove at his chest, pushing him back off her. She swung her legs over his hips and he sat up to slide his arms around her waist. She crossed her wrists behind his neck and bit her lip as she studied his face. There were a lot of things about her that he still didn’t know and she wondered where the line was with him. She wondered what it was that would finally make him realize she was no good. “My dad and I sold drugs,” she told him, watching his face. Her fingers played with the back of his neck and she watched his expression as she told him that. He nodded his head and he waited, hands resting lightly on her hips as he waited for her to explain and he wasn’t judging her or pushing her off him. “We didn’t do them. We just sold them. Quickest way to lose everything is use the shit you sell,” she told him, and it made her laugh darkly because he’d always told her that and they’d lost everything anyway. “Alright,” he said quietly, thumbs moving over her skin. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her chest. “So what happened?” She shrugged like it was no big deal but she looked away as she remembered. Her fingers kept moving on the back of his neck and her voice was surprisingly calm when she spoke. “Our last deal went bad,” she told him. “The cops showed up and our supplier thought we ratted on him. He got shot, I got shot, pops got shot… I’m just the only one that didn’t die from it.” He nodded again, lips still pressed against her chest as he processed this and she wondered why she’d told him all that. She wondered if this was the part where he told her to get out and then he pulled back to look at her, arms still wrapped around her waist. One hand slid up her back and cupped the back of her head, pulling her forward into a kiss. “I’m glad you’re not dead,” he told her, smiling at her and she returned it because that was what he’d said after he’d saved her from Gustavo. She smiled back and then pushed him back on the bed and he wasn’t arguing with her when her mouth moved over his lips and across his jaw. “I’m glad you’re not dead too,” she told him, and he laughed quietly at the words. She proceeded to show him just how glad she was that neither of them had died and she thought it was funny that this week she probably had more sore muscles and bruises from sex than she did from sparring. They still fought their four hours a day and she was even harder on him then she’d been before he got shot twice in the back. She wanted him to be stronger so that he couldn’t get hurt and she thought he understood that. He hadn’t argued on the few days that their sessions had gone over the four hours and he didn’t argue when she told him that maybe on sunny days he should spend a few hours on the shooting range as well. He’d listened to her about the other things as well. There was a bat under his bed and a gun in his nightstand and she’d brought over her knife and kept it under the pillow when they slept. He’d changed his locks about three days after he’d gotten shot and put in a dead bolt. She didn’t think it would stop Avi if he was really determined, but it was more protection than he’d had before. She was almost afraid to wonder what he was going to try next, and if he would just aim a fucking sniper rifle through Welsh’s window. She fell asleep on top of him, his arms wrapped around her frame and she was still getting used to that. She was still getting used to waking up in someone else’s bed with someone else next to her and it wasn’t a bad feeling. Most mornings he got up before her and made her breakfast or did his stretches but she liked it better when she woke up with him next to her or wrapped around her. This was one of those mornings where she woke up alone. Her eyes slid open and there was sun coming through the window and she smiled because she could hear him moving around in the kitchen and then she frowned because she heard someone else. “Check out this fucking pimp cane they gave me,” the other voice said. She smirked and buried her head in his pillow and just listened for a minute because she easily recognized Alexey’s voice. “Just call me Rick James, bitch.” Apparently he was feeling a lot better after getting shot in the leg, because he’d looked like shit that first night. She wondered what kind of shape he would have been in if Tony had to carry him the three miles back to their helicopter and that was just fucking stupid planning. “Lex,” Simon’s voice said, and his voice was low and quiet. “Keep your voice down.” She glanced at the clock and it was just past ten. She didn’t know what time they’d gone to sleep last night, but then she’d been a little distracted at the time. She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and started looking around the floor for her clothes, the sheet pressed tight against her chest. “Why?” Alexey asked, raising his voice and she swore he did it just to be a pain in the ass. “Worried about angry neighbors? Is that old woman giving you a hard time again?” “No,” Simon told him, and she smiled because he was still trying to be quiet for her. “Because you’ll wake Vic up.” Her grin widened as she heard the silence afterwards and she wished she were in the room so she could see Alexey’s face. She felt a little nervous because she didn’t know what this meant. Were they an official thing now? Should she start calling him her boyfriend? She chewed on her lip as she put her underwear on and then grabbed her tee shirt off the floor to pull it over her head. Finally she heard Alexey laugh, and it sounded a little hesitant like he couldn’t tell if his brother was joking with him or not. “Are you fucking serious?” he finally asked. “You and Vic?” There was a moment of quiet and then he asked “was I right about the cock trap?” Wenston Simon snorted as he finished dishing up the two plates of eggs and bacon. He’d found out that Vic liked her eggs with pepperjack cheese. She’d never had it with that type of cheese before coming to his apartment, so he made sure to make her eggs with it every time he made them breakfast when she’d said it was really good. He also found out she liked orange juice with the pulp and she’d acquired a taste for his turkey bacon instead of the regular bacon. “I’m still in one piece, aren’t I?” he asked, his back to his brother as he finished up the plates. Then he turned around and placed one on the island counter in front of his brother. “I take it the second plate wasn’t meant for me, then,” Alexey said. Simon grinned. “Nope, but eat it anyway.” Alexey look down at it and then put his cane up on the counter and slid onto the barstool, waiting for Simon to get him a fork. It concerned Simon a little that his brother still needed a cane. And he’d been limping horribly when he came in through the door, but what had he really expected? Alexey had been shot. His little brother had been shot and he was still trying to come to terms with that because it wasn’t okay. “Yeah I guess,” Alexey said and then tried some of the eggs. He made a face but continued eating them because Alexey had grown up knowing that you didn’t waste food. You ate what you were given or you didn’t leave the table. Simon almost told him that he didn’t have to eat the eggs if he didn’t want to, but then his brother was pointing the fork at him. “So, what’s she like?” Simon snorted again and glanced towards the hallway. He smiled as he saw the shadow coming down and set Vic’s plate down in front of the other seat. “Beautiful, amazing, very sexy walking up the hallway in her underwear,” he told his brother and Alexey’s eyes widened a little and he turned to look over his shoulder. Vic rounded the corner and she was smiling but trying not to as her eyes narrowed at Alexey. Simon knew she’d heard him. She’d probably heard their entire conversation because Vic was a light sleeper. “You’re earning brownie points, Welsh,” she said and sat down next to Alexey. Simon gave her a fork and an orange juice and grinned at her before he turned around and grabbed some extra fiber instant oatmeal from his cupboard and put it in the microwave. Alexey waggled his eyebrows at her. “What does he get to buy with his brownie points?” he asked. Vic just shook her head at him and Simon laughed. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he told his brother. “I would!” Alexey squawked. “How long has this been going on? When did it start? Aren’t you two supposed to hate each other? What does Simon have that I don’t?” Simon smiled as he leaned back against the counter, watching the two of them. Vic raised a brow at Alexey and then just shrugged and said, “Stamina.” Alexey looked thoughtful for a moment and Simon just rolled his eyes because he knew his brother was thinking all sorts of nasty things in his head and he was trying really hard to keep his mouth shut because now Vic was with Simon. He wondered what that meant. He wondered if they were a couple. Maybe he should ask her what it meant that they’d only spent a couple days apart at night the past week. Maybe he should ask her what it meant that he liked having her in his bed and holding her at night and kissing her and he just really liked her. He decided then that they needed a second date. Maybe a movie, or bowling. He wondered if she liked bowling. The phone on the wall rang and Simon shoved off the counter to go and answer it. He got halfway there and then the microwave dinged. He hesitated a second and turned back to open the microwave door before he hurried over to the phone and answered it. Behind him, he heard Alexey ask Vic, “So what’s your favorite position?” He smirked and blushed when Vic said, “All of them.” He had to close his eyes a moment as he pulled the phone off the receiver and then said, “Hello?” “Simon.” The voice on the other end had the smile slipping off his face and he turned so his back was facing the two of them. Alexey was asking Vic more questions and Vic was being a good sport dodging them but Simon had to tune them out as he concentrated on Kim’s voice. “Hey,” he said quietly. Kim cleared her throat and it sounded like there was talking in the background. He wondered if she was getting her nails done or her hair done and was calling him when she was bored. “Were you still interested in having dinner with David and I?” she asked. “Sure,” he told her and turned around to glance at the two at the counter. Alexey was holding his plate over Vic’s and dumping his eggs on top of hers. Simon smiled a little at that because his brother didn’t think he was looking and Vic looked like she hadn’t agreed to this at all. She held her fork like she was ready to stab it into Alexey’s arm but his brother didn’t look worried at all. “Way to commit, Simon,” Kim said dryly and he turned back around, resting his forehead against the wall because Kim was really good at cutting him down. He closed his eyes and counted in his head because he wasn’t supposed to make her mad and he couldn’t blow this opportunity because Elias told him he had to meet with David. Kim scoffed. “You haven’t changed a bit,” she spat bitterly. “What day were you thinking?” he asked and he didn’t even notice Vic and Alexey had gone quiet behind him. He was concentrating on not getting angry, but his knuckles white around the phone cord were probably a good indicator that he was failing miserably. Kim sighed. “Wednesday at 8:00,” she told him. “It’s late, I know, but David doesn’t normally get home from work until then.” “Okay, sounds good,” he told her. A scoff sounded and Simon frowned because nothing he could say was ever right for Kim and he didn’t know why it still mattered or why he cared, but he did. “You know, are you even going to ask how we met? Or when we’re getting married? Did you ever even care for me?” Simon couldn’t help it. He snarled and spat out, “Did you?” before he could stop himself. He hadn’t heard his brother come up behind him and he thought that was strange because Alexey was limping these days. But his brother yanked the phone from him and ignored the angry glare Simon shot his way. He held his arm out, shoving Simon back and then his brother said into the phone, “Alright, who’s making my brother put his grumpy face on?” The mischievous look died off Alexey’s face instantly and he looked up at Simon like Simon had committed the ultimate betrayal. “Kim?” he growled. Simon growled and shoved his brother, grabbing the phone back. “I’ll see you then,” he spat into it and then hung up the phone, the whole time staring at his brother because Alexey was looking disgusted at him. As soon as the phone slammed down, Alexey pointed a finger at him. “What the fuck are you doing talking to Kim?” he yelled. He glanced over at Vic and she was sitting there was a calm, but sad look on her face and he felt his chest constrict because he’d been told not to tell them but he didn’t want either of them getting the wrong impression. Especially not Vic. Alexey apparently wasn’t done because he shoved Simon in the chest. “Answer me!” he yelled. “Why are you talking to that bitch when you have a hot chick like Vic sitting in her underwear in your kitchen?” Vic snorted and looked down at her plate. “I’m not girlfriend material,” she spat and she sounded so hurt and disappointed. “No,” Simon said forcefully and they both looked up at him. “That’s not it at all,” he told her and then gave an incredulous laugh, running his hands over his head. “There’s nothing going on between Kim and I, whatsoever.” “Then why is she calling?” Alexey demanded. Simon sighed and he was suddenly angry because this whole situation was just ridiculous and he realized what it looked like and he hated that he had to meet with Kim and he hated that Elias had told him not to tell anyone, but fuck Elias. “Because,” he snapped and then he threw his hands up in the air and maybe he lost his temper a little bit as he snarled, “She’s engaged to someone that the Initiative wants to keep an eye on so Elias told me to go have fucking dinner with her and her new fiancé of the fucking month. So I get to go to his big ass mansion and talk for a couple hours about what having cancer was like because he’s some fucking pharmacist that wants to know what drugs I took to get better and I get to listen to Kim tell me how disgusting and pathetic I was the entire time.” Alexey just blinked and Simon took a deep breath and he normally didn’t lose his calm like that, but he couldn’t help it. Even Vic was looking at him a little apprehensively and he hoped she believed him because he was telling the truth and he didn’t want her to be mad at him or leave him. Finally, Alexey took a breath and said, “So…what you’re saying is that she’s a bitch and you still hate her.” “Yes,” Simon snapped at him. Alexey nodded. “And also that Elias is a bitch.” That made the corner of Simon’s mouth quirk up and he looked away from his brother. “Yeah, that too,” he said. “And also Avi,” Alexey added, even though nothing about this situation had anything to do with the man. “That’s a given,” Simon said and he looked back at Vic and she wasn’t smiling. He sighed and stepped around his brother, shoving him out of his way playfully. Alexey gave an overdramatic yelp and Simon came over to her side. He reached out to take her hand and when she tried to pull it away from him he just gripped tighter and wouldn’t let her go because she was mad at him and he didn’t want her to be. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “Elias told me not to tell anyone.” Vic just nodded but she didn’t say anything and Simon felt his stomach drop. He let go of her hand and stood up and he hated that she was mad at him. He should have never agreed to any of it and maybe he could convince Elias to just let someone else do it. He wasn’t even sure what the whole stupid missing was about. “I do think you’re girlfriend material,” he whispered to her sadly. .Wolfie. “I’m already fucking you Welsh,” Vic told him. “You don’t have to feed me lines.”They were both staring at her. She fucking hated it when people stared. “It’s not a line,” he said, and his voice was sad. Maybe he thought he meant it. Maybe he thought he could change her and make her into something she wasn’t and maybe he thought they could have a relationship, whatever the fuck that was. If he did he was stupid and she was stupid for believing him. “I’m going to get dressed,” she said, pushing her plate away from her. She slid off the seat and didn’t look at the hurt expression on Welsh’s face or the uncomfortable, concerned one on Alexey’s. She just wanted to get her clothes and leave. “Vic,” he said, trying to catch her arm. She twisted it easily out of his grasp and kept walking and she felt hurt and cold inside and she didn’t like the feeling. She wasn’t supposed to get attached or care too much because she’d known before this started that if she did, it couldn’t end well for her. Attachment was pain and heartbreak and all kinds of weakness and she needed to be stronger because her pops hadn’t been and it had gotten him killed. If Welsh changed his mind about her tomorrow she had to be ready for that because everyone left eventually and he wasn’t going to be an exception. She shouldn’t let this hurt and she shouldn’t care if he was talking to an ex-fiancée or some other girl because Vic wasn’t girlfriend material. She wasn’t the girl that guys fell in love with and wrote songs about. She was just the bitch that they fucked in the backseats of their cars because their prom date had ditched them and she wasn’t the girl they would ever want to go to dinner with. Eventually Welsh would realize that and he would want more than just a fuck. Everyone always did. She could hear his footsteps on the carpet behind her but she couldn’t get herself to look back at him. His hands caught her again as soon as she was through the door of his bedroom and he was pulling her to a stop with both hands on her shoulders. “Vic, don’t be mad,” he said, shifting so that he was standing in front of her. “I don’t want her back.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest like it didn’t matter to her either way. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Welsh,” she told him. “I know exactly what I am. I’m just the fuck on the side. So don’t worry about hurting my feelings.” His eyes widened for a second and she didn’t understand why he looked like she’d just punched him in the gut. Then his hands were moving to hold her face and he was pulling her head up to look him in the eyes. “Hey,” he said. His voice was harsh and ragged as it pulled its way out of his throat and she didn’t understand the pained look in his eyes. “Don’t you ever say that again. You’re more than that.” She snorted and tried to look away but his hands held her cheeks steady. “Vic?” “What?” she snapped, eyes going back to his face. She felt a dull ache in her chest and she didn’t like it because pain was weakness and she felt so fucking weak right now. She shouldn’t have told him all of that about her. She should have just fucked him and left. Maybe she never should have fucked him in the first place. Maybe someone like Elias was all she deserved. He sighed and ran his hands through her hair and she just stood there and let him. She tried to pretend just having his hands on her didn’t help and didn’t make her want to forget but she was bad at lying to herself. She turned her head to the side to look out the window and she was surprised when he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, one hand moving to the back of her head. “It’s just for the job, I swear,” he told her. “Okay,” she told him. She believed him, she did. It just didn’t make it feel any better. She’d seen how angry he was on the phone and after he’d gotten off of it and whether or not he still loved this girl, she still had power over him. She still meant something to him and Vic shouldn’t have cared because it was in the past but it still hurt because she didn’t mean anything. She shouldn’t have wanted to. It was stupid to get attached and she couldn’t tell herself that enough times because even if he didn’t up and leave her like everyone else, both of them could still get shot or hurt or killed and what would she do then? He sighed and then he lifted her up in his arms. She glared down at him and started to push at his chest but he held her tightly as he stepped backwards, until his knees hit the edge of the bed. He sat down on it and tugged her legs forward so that she was straddling his hips and she kept glaring at him even as he held her there on top of him. She rested her hands on his shoulders and tried to pretend that she didn’t like sitting on top of him and having him hold her like this. He tilted his head so that he could look up into her face and his voice was low and serious when he spoke. “I’m sorry,” he told her.” She rolled her eyes and pushed at his chest to try and get but he didn’t let her go. One arm slid up her back and the other rested comfortably on her hips as he held her against him. “Don’t apologize,” she snapped, shoving at him again. She kept telling him not to and he kept making them anyways and she didn’t want to fucking hear apologies. They didn’t mean anything. They were just words that people were constantly saying to each other and they were stupid and pops had taught her better. “Because apologies are weakness?” he asked her. He forced a smile across his face as he tried to get her to return it. She rolled her eyes at him. “No,” she told him harshly. “Because if you’re telling me the truth then there’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re doing your job. You’re doing what you have to. That’s just survival, Welsh.” “I am telling you the truth,” he whispered, and he looked hurt that she’d even question that. She had to look away for a moment because she felt a flash of guilt at the words. She knew he was telling the truth. She didn’t think Welsh had ever lied to her and she’d said it anyway because she was hurting and so she did what she always did and took it out on everyone around her. Welsh just happened to be the closest and she almost opened her mouth and told him she was sorry. Then she sucked in a breath and pushed down all the weak emotions that were choking off the air in her lungs right now. Pain and jealousy and fear were all just stupid emotions that she didn’t need. She didn’t want to feel this awful and wretched and god awful sadness because there was no point to it. “Good,” she snapped. “Then there’s nothing to be sorry for.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her collarbone. The touch sent a spark to her brain and she thought she shouldn’t like sitting on top of him so much right now. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said softly. For a moment she stiffened and she didn’t know how to respond to the words. Her hands had moved around his neck and her fingers had been running through his hair when eh said it. They stilled and she licked her lips and turned her head away because a lot of people had hurt her and no one was ever sorry about it. She didn’t need them to be. Pain and hurt were just things she had to get the fuck over so that she could be strong and she didn’t need him to be sorry for it. She glanced out the window and tried to pretend she didn’t feel him staring at her. “Pain is weakness,” she said quietly. “Then I’m in a lot of weakness right now,” he told her. His hands were running up and down her back in a way that was way too soothing. She glanced down at his face and he had a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and she knew he was just trying to make a joke and make her feel better. She bit her lip so that it wouldn’t work because she didn’t want to smile right now. His hands came up to run over her cheeks and down her neck and he shook his head. “Please don’t be mad at me, Vic,” he said. She sighed and rolled her head to the side to look at him and it wasn’t fair that he said that because he sounded so sad and genuinely sorry. “I’m not mad,” she told him. She leaned forward and her lips brushed over his and she liked kissing him too much. She liked everything about him too much. “Not at you.” “I should have just told Elias to go to Hell,” he said quietly. “Well, you’re not the only one to make that mistake,” she told him. She ducked her head and she wondered what she would do just to keep from breaking contract. “He uses people. It’s what he’s best at.” He nodded his head. “I really am sorry,” he told her. She sighed. “I know,” she told him, kissing him again. His eyes were watching her carefully as she pulled back, like he was trying to decide if she was still mad at him or if she’d really been mad at him in the first place. She didn’t know the answer to either question. “But stop saying it. I told you a while ago that I don’t fucking need or want apologies.” She pushed off his chest and this time he let her go. He watched as she picked her clothes off the floor. “Are you leaving?” he asked, and he sounded so sad and scared that she glanced at his face. She hated that he wasn’t smiling and she hated that it was her fault but she didn’t know what to say to make it better. There was that aching, hurt feeling in her chest and she didn’t like it and she just wanted it to go the fuck away because she had shit to do today. “No,” she told him, forcing a smile across his face. He returned it and it was just as hollow as hers but she saw his shoulders sag a little with relief because she wasn’t leaving. “I’m going to shower.” He smirked and lifted an eyebrow. “Do you want me to join you?” She snorted and shook her head. “No,” she told him. She grinned and jerked her head back towards the kitchen where his brother was probably sitting there awkwardly and alone. “Go bother Alexey.” He laughed quietly behind her and she pushed the door shut with her foot before she stopped trying to pretend she was okay with all of this. She knew he was hurting and she was partly responsible for that. He was just doing what he had to do. If going to dinner with his ex-fiancée was what he had to do to uphold his end of the contract, she didn’t blame him for it. She understood survival. But she wasn’t okay with it. She thought about that as she turned the water on and left her clothes in a pile on the floor. She wasn’t okay that he was talking to a girl who had completely ripped out his heart and that she still had the power to hurt him more. She wasn’t okay that he hadn’t told Vic about it and she knew why, but it didn’t make her feel any better. Even if the woman was a bitch and engaged to someone else, it didn’t change certain facts and they were the ones she was having problems with. She’d been engaged to Simon. At one point he must have loved the woman enough to want to spend forever with her. And what was Vic compared to that? She was nothing, and she knew it and understood it and it hurt worse than she thought it should. She was just the fuck. She was just someone to keep him company until he met the next girl that would be perfect for him or patched it up with the old one and she hated just how badly that fucking hurt. She climbed in the shower and braced her arms against the wall, trying to let the water wash all the bad down the drain. It didn’t work. It never would. Victoria was damaged goods and nobody wanted something already damaged. Wenston Vic left mad, or upset. He couldn’t tell which one it was, but he had a guess that maybe it was both. She tried not to let it show. She smiled at him and kissed him and told him she’d see him later for their sparring session but she’d still left and maybe she’d used the excuse that she wanted to go home and change, but he didn’t see why he couldn’t go with her and spend time with her until they went to the gym. She didn’t want to be near him. That’s what the answer was and it hurt because it was his fault and he really should have just told Elias no. The man still hadn’t punished him for punching him, and a little part of Simon thought maybe this was punishment enough. Alexey left shortly after Vic did and Simon could tell that his little brother felt awkward. He’d slapped Simon on the back, told him to “hang in there” and then limped his gimp ass out of the apartment to go and find Tony because they were going to go work out. Simon was amused with that thought, even if he was feeling completely helpless. He didn’t think Vic was just a fuck on the side. He didn’t think that she understood that and he didn’t know why she would think that about him or that he could do that to anyone. He never started a relationship thinking that one day it would end. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he hadn’t made it clear enough that he wanted a relationship with her. He hadn’t been sure that’s what she wanted, but if she was getting mad thinking she was just a fuck on the side, then maybe she did. Maybe she wanted him to start calling her his girlfriend. Maybe he just needed to make it official that they were a couple? Or maybe she’d tell him to go to Hell if he did, but he had to try. There were still a couple of hours before he was supposed to meet Vic for sparring, so he grabbed his keys out of his newly purchased key bowl near the entrance to his apartment and headed down to his car. He was taking a risk, he knew he was taking a risk doing this, but he needed her to know that she meant more to him than just a fuck. Maybe he should have waited longer before they had sex. But she’d wanted it. She’d wanted it so badly and he was having trouble keeping up with what she wanted and what signals she was giving him and maybe it was time he took the matter into his own hands because she wasn’t just a fuck to him. He needed to make that clear. There was a jewelry store downtown that he used to buy presents for Kim in. He tried to ignore the fact that it might be morally wrong to buy her a present where he used to buy his fiancée presents, but that stuff didn’t matter to him. It was a good store, that had good items and maybe she would appreciate the presents more than Kim had. He wondered if anything had ever bought her something before, because he never saw her wear jewelry and then he wondered if she even liked jewelry. He hoped so. Maybe he should get a back up present just in case. The store was somewhat empty when he got there. He knew the layout better than he knew the isles of his grocery store and he headed to the necklaces first and foremost because he’d only bought a girl a ring once and look how well that turned out, and he didn’t think Vic would like a bracelet for some reason. He looked at a wide variety of necklaces. Some with diamonds, some with emeralds, amethysts, sapphires. He didn’t know what she liked so he tried to picture them on her and he frowned because none of them went with her tank tops and hoodies. A sly grin spread across his face as he pictured her topless and wearing them and he wouldn’t tell her that’s how he picked one out, but it helped him decide on a sterling silver necklace with a small heart pendant that had three tiny diamonds embedded in one side of the heart. It wasn’t big and flashy and it didn’t look overly fancy. If he didn’t know it was silver and real diamonds, it looked like something he could have bought anywhere. For some reason, he didn’t think she’d want something big and fancy and really expensive looking. He hoped she’d be okay with this. The clerk behind the counter set it in a black velvet box for him and then tied a ribbon around it and Simon watched, satisfied that this should be enough to show Vic that she wasn’t just a fuck to him. He wanted to be with her. And if she didn’t want to have sex for the next year so he could prove that to her, then he’d do it. Although he highly doubted that. But he’d do anything to prove it to her. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he shifted his stance so he could reach into his cargo shorts and pull it out. He sighed because the number was unavailable and he only knew one place that called without a number. “Welsh,” he answered. “We need you to report in, immediately,” Elias’ voice sounded. Simon nodded and then realized the man couldn’t hear it. He handed his credit card to the clerk and watched him run it. “I’m downtown right now,” he said. “It might take me a while.” “Are you buying something nice at that jewelry store?” Elias asked and Simon froze, his eyes automatically darting around. Elias laughed darkly and said, “We can track your cell phone, Welsh.” Simon chewed his lip and mulled that information over in his head and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the Initiative being able to track him wherever he went. Maybe it wasn’t so much the Initiative, but just Elias. Maybe he just really hated that guy and maybe he was blaming Elias for giving Vic the idea that she was nothing more than a fuck. “Isn’t that against the law?” Simon asked and he didn’t really know if it was or not, but if it wasn’t, he thought it should be. He glanced up when the clerk handed him back his credit card and passed the small plastic bag over to him that held the necklace he was buying Vic and he smiled at the man before heading outside and towards his car. “Keeping track of your investments isn’t against the law,” Elias said and Simon sneered because that was such a snotty and degrading thing to say. He bet he said stuff like that to Vic all the time and it just boiled Simon’s blood. Simon almost told him as much, told him that he was an asshole and that he shouldn’t refer to them as investments because investments couldn’t bust in faces, but he paused and froze when he got to his car, keeping his mouth shut. The car was a mess. Someone had keyed it to all hell and Simon glanced around, expecting to see Avi standing somewhere nearby, but he didn’t see the man. He took a few steps closer to the car and upon further inspection, he could see the tires were slashed. He looked at the marks on his doors and trunk and hood and there were no words scratched into it, just scratches. Simon sighed. “Can anyone track this phone?” he asked Elias and he wondered if Avi knew enough about technology to do something like that or if he’d just been following him around. The man snorted. “You’ll have to get over it, Welsh. I need to make some more phone calls.” “It might take me a bit,” Simon said. Elias paused and then sounded curious as he said, “Why?” “Because someone keyed my car and slashed my tires and I need to find a fucking ride,” Simon snapped and then he slammed his phone shut and ran a hand over his face. He kicked one of his tires in utter frustration. .Wolfie. Vic was sitting on the counter with her arms wrapped around her legs when the phone rang.She’d just been sitting there with her chin resting on her knees listening to the coffee brew next to her. She didn’t even think Lisa knew she was home because she hadn’t gone into the bedroom yet and she had her music cranked up as loud as it would go. That was fine with her. She didn’t want to face her or Welsh or Romanova or anyone right now. She felt really fucking confused and stupid and she didn’t know what to do with herself. A week ago she would have been okay with the thought that she was just a fuck. Not completely okay, but she would have accepted it because it was what she was used to. She would have been aware of what she was getting into and she could deal. Only Welsh had asked her on a date. He’d taken her to dinner and he’d won her a little pink stuffed elephant that was currently sitting on the counter next to her and then he’d taken her back to his apartment for the night. He’d asked her to stay. He’d fucked her and then when she’d gone to leave, he’d asked her not to. Maybe that’s when she’d fucked up. Maybe that’s when she’d gotten too close and let herself care about him and what he wanted from her and started to think she was someone she wasn’t. He’d asked her to stay and she’d known at the time that he was asking more from her than just to keep his bed warm and she’d said yes. Even today he’d told her she wasn’t just a fuck and she didn’t know if she should believe that or not or if it would make her feel any better if it was true. He was a problem, and now she was in a situation where no matter what happened it was going to hurt. If he just wanted her as a fuck then it was going to hurt because she liked being with him and she hated the thought of him with some other girl. But if he wanted something more from her than what was she going to do then? She didn’t know how to be a girlfriend. She missed her pops. He would have yelled at her for it because there was no point in missing anything once it was gone. It was distracting and it was a weakness and Vic was starting to think she wasn’t half as strong as she’d tried to be all her life. For all the shit she’d survived she wasn’t acting like the daughter her pops had raised. People were shit. They would use her and take what they wanted and then throw her away, but only if she let them. The only way to stop that was to be stronger than them and to take what she wanted first and say fuck all to the rest. The problem was Welsh. The problem was that she wanted him and not just to fuck him and be done with him. She liked sparring with him and listening to him talk and just how damn hard he tried to make her smile. She liked that he never looked at her like she was worth less than him or spoke down to her. He told her she was beautiful and that she was worth something and that she deserved nice things and she believed him when he said it. But she also believed Elias when he said she would never be a girlfriend. Just a fuck. The phone was ringing and she tilted her head to the side and thought she should probably answer that. Lisa picked up first. She heard her music pause as she picked up the phone in the bedroom. Her muffled voice came through the door and then in the next moment she laughed and then cracked it open. Her eyes lit on Vic and she grinned, jerking her head at the phone on the wall. “It’s for you,” she sneered. “He says it’s important.” “Who?” she snapped. She leaned forward and stretched her legs out so that they hung off the edge of the counter. She wondered if it was Welsh, telling her he wasn’t coming because she’d been pissy with him and he didn’t want to deal with her today. Lisa shrugged and she still had that mean curl to her smile that said she was full of shit. “He didn’t say.” She growled and pushed herself off the counter. She grabbed the phone off the wall and then covered it with one hand, jerking her head at Lisa. “Hang up the fucking phone, Morticia,” she snapped at her. Lisa rolled her eyes and then slammed the door shut behind her. She sighed and leaned her back against the wall, pressing the phone to her ear as she stared at the counter and the little pink elephant sitting there by itself by her coffee maker. “Hello?” she said, and she tried not to snap the word in case it was Welsh. She’d hurt him enough already today. Bad enough that he had to deal with Kim and Elias, she shouldn’t have made it worse. “Victoria,” Elias drawled, and she growled again, head tipping back against the wall with her eyes shut. This was just a fucking wonderful day, wasn’t it? It had started out nice. It had started out with her in Welsh’s bed and she wished she could just crawl back in it and stay there. “We need you to report in.” “Fine,” she snapped, and she didn’t even question it. She slammed the phone down on the cradle because if she didn’t she would start screaming at him. She’d ask him what the fuck the point was of forcing Simon to play nice with his ex-fiancée and she wasn’t supposed to know anything about that. She’d ask him if he’d done anything with Avi yet or if he was just waiting until he really fucking hurt Welsh until he lifted a god damned finger. She’d ask if he really would have been nice to her if that’s what she had wanted or if he just wanted to hear her tell him no. She thought she already knew the answer to that one and she was so fucked up. She didn’t look over at Lisa as she pushed her way into the room and started pulling clean clothes out. The girl was sitting on her bed painting her fingernails black and she’d put blue tips in her hair. She wanted to tell her she looked like a fucking Smurf on crack but she was trying to ignore her. She didn’t make it easy because the bitch was staring. “So,” she said slyly. “Is Welsh a good fuck?” She dropped her clothes on the bed and worked on pulling her shirt off. “None of your fucking business,” she said. Lisa laughed and sat forward on the bed. She screwed the top back on her nail polish and set it on the nightstand and then stretched her fingers out to let them dry. “What’s wrong?” she sneered. “Did you have a fight? Did he find out you’re a fucking slut yet?” She was moving before she really stopped to think about it, one hand curling in the back of her head and the other snapping forward in a fist. It cracked hard against her eye and she heard her cry out in pain before Vic tossed her to the floor, hand still gripping her head. “Shut your fucking whore mouth,” she growled at her. She landed a kick in her side and then pushed her down to the ground, turning around and grabbing her shirt off the bed. Morticia didn’t say anything else. She stayed on the ground and glared at Vic as she got changed and she heard something smash against the door behind her after she slammed it shut. She shouldn’t have let the words bother her. She didn’t give a fuck what Morticia thought about her because all that mattered was what Welsh thought about her. Maybe that’s what the problem was. She shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket on the way over and tried not to feel a little anxious but she was anyway. Her morning rituals were all fucked up today and she didn’t like it. She was the first one in the briefing room and she didn’t like being that early. She settled on the couch in the corner and pulled her legs up to her chest while she waited. Not even Elias or Avi were in the room yet and she hoped Avi didn’t come at all. She thought again about the conversation she’d had with Elias and it just pissed her off. So what if she’d done shit in the past? It wasn’t fair to hold those fucking ‘counts of assault’ against her because he’d been the one who fucking tried to touch her without her permission. She didn’t think that defense would hold up anywhere because she’d been fucking him, so of course she must have wanted it, right? She heard voices outside the door a second before Alexey came in with Tony hard on his heels. “Bitchzilla!” Romanova grinned when he saw her and then used the cane to hobble over to the couch next to her. He slumped down on the cushion and slung an arm around the back of it before turning his head to look at her. “Listen,” he said, before she could even say hello. “Don’t be pissed at my brother. If he says there’s nothing going on with Kim anymore than it’s the truth.” She snorted and rolled her eyes. “I don’t need any fucking advice Romanova,” she snapped at him. He shrugged his shoulders, the smile still on his face as he stretched his injured leg out in front of him. He winced as it pulled at the muscle and the half healed skin and then he rested the heel against the ground. “Nah, probably not. Well then, just let me know if you’re breaking up with him so I know when it’s safe to hit on you again. It’s a violation of bro code, but I might make an exception for you.” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her and she glared back at him. “Who said it’s ever safe to hit on me?” she said, a small smirk tugging at her lips. He laughed at that and then slumped down lower in the couch. Tony had taken the seat next to him, glancing around the room and maybe they weren’t used to being early either. Lyle Liddle slipped into the room next and he had a sleepy grin on his face. She wondered if this was too early for him because it was just hitting noon. That caused a swell of disappointment in her and she looked down at her jeans to pick at them with a thumbnail. She didn’t like not starting the day with her 12:01 coffee followed rolling around on the mats with Welsh. Jezibel swept into the room a second later and she smirked when she saw Romanova. “How’s your leg feeling, Alexey?” she asked, sitting down in the sofa closest to the door. She crossed her legs demurely and leaned forward so that her elbows were resting on them as her eyes focused on him. He grinned at the attention and pushed himself upright, hobbling quickly over to the empty cushion next to her and sitting down in it. She lifted an eyebrow as he stretched his leg out and starting pulling his pant leg up. “I got this terrible scar starting to form,” he told her. “It’s looking very sexy, you should come over and kiss it all better some time. Or you know, if you want to rub any of that cocoa butter into it for me, I’m game for that too.” She laughed and rolled her eyes at him but then she tilted her head to look at the still healing wound. Vic watched them for a moment and then she tightened her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knee. There was a clock over the desk and it was after 12:01. She wondered if they’d gotten a hold of Welsh or if he was going to show up at her apartment and wonder where she was. Maybe he wouldn’t care. She chewed on her lip and glanced at the door as it opened again and Elias and Avi slipped in. Her eyes narrowed into a glare when she saw Rogers and if they weren’t going to do a fucking thing about him than she would. Pops had taught her to live by street justice and she was letting him down. Avi’s eyes swept the room and he focused on them each individually, his eyes narrowing. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stopped in front of the desk and she hated the way he lifted his chin and looked down on all of them. She wanted to wipe that fucking look off his face. “Where’s Welsh?” he demanded. Elias had moved to sit behind the desk and he tilted his head to look at Avi curiously when he asked the question. Then his eyes flicked to Vic and a small, arrogant smirk pulled at his lips. “He’s running late,” he said. Avi snorted and Vic narrowed her eyes at him, studying his expression. A ghost of a smile flirted with his lips before he hid it, his eyes narrowing as he looked over his shoulder at Elias. His voice was harsh and biting as he spoke. “Running late? Should we consider this a breach of his contract?” He tried to say it coldly and professionally but Vic felt a snarl rising in her throat because it sounded just a little bit too helpful for her liking. The snarl curled her lips and she saw Elias smirk at it. “No,” he said calmly. “I handle the terms and conditions of each contract, Captain Rogers. I’ll determine when we have a breach of one. You continue to do your job and I’ll continue to do mine.” Wenston By the time Simon shoved open the door to the locker room, he was pissed. He hadn’t really been mad when he saw his car. He hadn’t even been mad when he called AAA to come get his car and take it to the shop so they could fix it and inspect it because Simon didn’t really trust that the brake lines weren’t cut or some shit. He wasn’t even mad that the shop told him it would take a week and a half to get the car back because they were backlogged and busy and they didn’t even have a temporary car for him to use so he’d have to rent one for the time and he’d have to foot the bill himself. He was okay with all of that. Really, he was. What he was pissed at was that he’d just gone out and bought something nice for Vic and now they were about to go on a mission and he was running late and he didn’t think he’d have time to give it to her before they left. And that meant spending this whole time in an awkward funk around each other and he didn’t like that one bit. He wanted to give her the necklace that was a heavy weight against his thigh as it sat in the pocket of his cargo shorts and tell her she deserved nice things and that she was beautiful and no one past or future could compare with her. He didn’t mind it when Avi was just messing with him. But now he was encroaching on Vic time and that just wasn’t acceptable. The first thing he saw when he entered the locker room was Vic and she was topless. She’d pulled on her black pants and was in the process of changing her shirts. Beyond her, Alexey was sitting, struggling to get his pants on and Tony stood behind him, pulling a shirt over his head. At the very far end was Lyle and he saw with his arms crossed over his chest and he wasn’t even trying to hide that he was watching Vic be topless. Simon frowned at that, because he didn’t want anyone looking at Vic like that, even if it was harmless. Simon had no qualm with Lyle. But that still didn’t mean he liked him looking at her. Vic turned to glance at him and she looked him over for a moment. He wondered what Elias and Avi had told them about why he was running late. He’d completely missed the briefing and he was supposed to get filled in by them while he got ready. But he hadn’t even been to see the doctor yet so there was still that to do and Simon was really getting fed up with Avi. He swallowed down his anger and annoyance and looked back at Vic. “Hey,” he said softly to her because just this morning she’d left upset. “Hey,” she said back to him and then pulled the shirt on over her head. Simon wished there weren’t other people in the room, because he really wanted to talk to her and make sure she was alright and give her the gift in his pocket. But instead he just ducked his head and instead of walking on the other side of the bench, he scooted behind her, brushing by her and as he did he pressed his lips to the back of her head, giving her hips a small squeeze before he walked to his locker. He ignored the questioning look Lyle had on his face. “You’re late,” Alexey told him as he settled down on the bench and started pulling off his clothes. Simon snorted. “No shit,” he told his brother. “Well?” Alexey asked and tapped his cane on the bench, trying to catch Simon’s attention. Simon pointedly ignored him. He was careful as he pulled his pants off and set them in the locker because the necklace was still in the pocket and it was going to have to stay there until they got back. He hoped things would be okay between him and Vic until then. Until he could tell her that he thought the world of her. “What happened?” Alexey demanded. “Were you sexually frustrated after this morning and got caught jerking the gherkin? Polishing the sword? Buffing the banana? Bludgeoning the beefsteak? Answering the bone-a-phone?” Simon glanced at his brother. “Answering the bone-a-phone?” he asked. “Does he mean masturbating?” Tony asked and it caused Lyle to laugh loudly. Alexey just shrugged and grinned. “Big guy’s still learning.” Simon shook his head and then looked back down at himself as he continued to get dressed.. He side glanced at Vic and she was pretending not to listen to him or glance his way every so often. “Nah,” he said at last. “But my modest Lexus is out of commission for a while.” Alexey paused, his face going serious for a moment. “What do you mean? You weren’t in an accident were you?” He leaned forward on the bench, pulling up Simon’s shirt to check for bruises or cuts or anything to show he’d been in an accident. “You get distracted by your heated seats?” Simon scoffed and shoved his shirt back down. “No,” he said and sighed. “It’ll be fine. I’ll have it back in like a week,” he said and he didn’t really want to tell Alexey what happened because his brother had a problem with holding things back and he didn’t think he’d let this go. He wanted to keep his brother out of this and he was actually kind of surprised Avi wasn’t messing with Alexey yet to just fuck with Simon. “What?” Alexey grumbled. “You can’t say something like that and not tell me what happened.” A sigh escaped his lips and he shrugged. “It got keyed,” he said and Alexey took a moment, but finally he laughed. “Keyed? That was your big dilemma that made you late? Put some duct tape over it, dude.” Simon chuckled a little and he was quiet, considering just leaving it at that but then he said, against his will, “And the tires got slashed.” He glanced up at Alexey’s face and his brother was frowning, like he wasn’t sure whether to find it funny or get mad. Finally, it seemed like the latter won because he gave a bitter laugh and threw his wadded up shirt in his locker before pushing the locker closed with his cane. “Let me guess,” Alexey drawled. “Captain America.” Simon ran a hand over his face and shrugged again. “Maybe,” he said and then corrected himself, “Probably.” “Man,” Alexey scoffed. “He sure has it out for you. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to pull something on a mission or whatever.” Simon winced and his eyes went immediately to Vic. She was frowning and her eyes moved from Alexey to him and Simon tried to plead with her with his eyes not to say anything. He hadn’t told Alexey about the bullet bruises on his back coming from Avi. He hadn’t told any of them and he wanted to keep it that way because even if the man was trying to fuck with him or kill him or whatever he was trying to do, he was still their leader and if everyone in the ranks thought he was psychotic and murderous, then no one would listen to him and things would go to hell quickly. They would fall apart on a mission. And it could cost someone their life. Simon would rather it be his than any of theirs. And that realization came as a shock to him, because he adamantly didn’t want to die. “I don’t think he’d go that far,” Simon said, his eyes still on Vic and she looked absolutely furious. He looked down, away from her because he absolutely hated that he kept making her mad and upset. But he didn’t want Alexey involved and he hoped she understood that. Then he looked back at his brother and quickly changed the subject. “So what are we doing?” Alexey scoffed. “Something stupid,” he said, disappointed. “Protection detail for a stupid politician. We just have to sit on the airplane with him while he travels and make sure no one tries to kill him. How boring is that? Who would try to kill someone on an airplane, right?” Simon raised an eyebrow at his brother. “We’re going on an airplane?” “Yep,” Alexey said. “And I better get some damn pretzels.” Simon smirked at his brother and then he looked over at Vic. She’d paled a little and he quickly finished dressing and stood up, heading back over to her. He leaned against the lockers, his back to the others. “Are you okay?” he asked her quietly. She turned and she gave him a bitter smirk. “Peachy,” she snapped at him. .Wolfie. Vic was really fucking pissed off.Her first instinct, the one that pops had instilled in her at a young age, was to go down to the parking garage where Avi was waiting and cut his god damned throat open. Then all she had to do was dump the body in the trunk of one of those cars and drive it into the river. By the time they found the car and found the body, she could be long gone with a new name and no one had to find her because she didn’t want them to. It was what he would have done and what she really wanted to do. The problem with that was the second part of her plan. She couldn’t run. There was no where she could run that they wouldn’t find her because the Shifter Initiative was its own kind of mafia with its fingers spread all over the place and she had no doubt that if they hadn’t outright bugged her somehow, they could still find her and drag her back and probably do worse than send her to prison. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t go have a conversation with Captain America. It had gone too far and she shouldn’t have left it in Elias’s hands. Avi had beaten Welsh, ransacked his apartment, destroyed his car, and fucking shot him the back. And Welsh hadn’t even told anyone. He hadn’t even warned his brother that he should be watching his back because he was mouthy. She slammed the locker door shut and worked on yanking the vest over her head. Her fingers were quick and clumsy as she started to pull the bulletproof vest on and she could feel Welsh staring at her. She couldn’t look up at him because she was angry and she didn’t want to fight with him anymore because she liked it better when he was smiling at her then when he was giving her those sad, scared looks. She was pissed because of Avi and she was scared because they were going on an airplane. She was trying to tell herself that she could do this and she wasn’t going to be weak enough to let fear win but she wasn’t okay with this. She turned and headed for the door, still buckling the vest on as she went because she wanted to get to the parking garage and have a conversation with Rogers before anyone else got there. She heard footsteps on the ground behind her but she was still startled when Welsh’s hand caught hers right outside the locker rooms. She glanced over her shoulder and he just gave her hand a small squeeze before bringing it to his lips and pressing a kiss against the back of her palm. It always set her blood on fire when he touched her. She wondered if he knew that and if he did he was cheating. She sighed and took a step back, fist curling around the neck of his vest and tugging on it firmly. “You should warn your brother to watch his back.” His gaze darkened and his hands reached up to catch hers. He curled his fingers around hers and she looked at their hands for a moment. His were so much bigger than hers. “Vic,” he said. “I don’t want him getting in the middle of this. I don’t want him getting hurt because he can’t keep his mouth shut. You know he can’t. It’s like asking him to stop thinking with his dick.” She snorted and almost smiled, still watching their hands. He flattened his palm out against hers and she watched as his thumb brushed over hers in a small touch. He made it easy to forget where they were and what they were doing. A small sigh escaped her lips and she turned her gaze back to his face, her voice low and serious. “Welsh, he’s your brother. If you think Avi’s above going after him just to fuck with you than you should take another glance at your back in the mirror.” His face darkened and he nodded, looking down at the ground. His hand came up to scrub through his hair and then he sighed. “I have to go get tested,” he said, trying to smile at her. “I’ll see you downstairs.” He pulled her hand to his lips again and then let her go. She sighed and watched his retreating back because his shoulders were stiff and now he had to go find out if he was still cancer free. Her hands rubbed at her arms as she turned away and her feet carried her quickly down the hall. She took the elevator to the parking garage and watched the numbers above the door. She was trying not to think about what happened next. She was trying not to think that they were taking the van to the airport and then they were getting on a plane and she hated planes. Maybe if it was one of the really big ones this wouldn’t be so bad, not half as bad as the helicopter, but it was still going to be a battle to keep it together. She hated that. She hated that on this one she might be the weakest one on the team. The doors dinged as they slid open and Avi was waiting with his hands clasped in front of him and his shoulders squared. He stood by a big black Hummer and she wondered if this one came standard with a six disc CD changer. She snorted at the thought and then sauntered over to him, hand playing with the handle of her knife. It was a battle not to pull it and use it on him and she saw him glance at her as she came towards him. That fucking arrogant smirk played at his lips and she wanted to cut it off him. “There’s something I need to talk to you about,” she said, pausing in front of him. Behind her the elevator doors slid closed and she hoped she got the two minutes she needed to say what she needed to say because witnesses would defeat the point. He lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, turning so that he could face her. He nodded his head and he was trying to pretend that he wasn’t a completely psychotic asshole, his face remaining cool and professional as he looked at her. “Go ahead, Ms. Wolfe,” he told her, and she hated being called that because she hadn’t even picked the fucking name this time. “I need you to back the fuck off Welsh,” she said, jutting her chin up as she glared at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” For a second he smirked and he looked so proud of himself. She thought again about the bruises he’d left on Welsh’s back and she hated that they were there. She hated that someone had shot him and that person was still walking around because they’d hurt. Not as much as if they’d actually punctured skin, but they’d still hurt in more ways than one. She thought about his quiet voice last night as he told her that he’d had bruises all over his back when he got sick again and now he had two more reminders just sitting there because Avi had fucking put them there. “Yes, you do,” she said. She was surprised at how calm her voice was because she felt like she was shaking in her skin, she was so angry. She fucking hated politics. She hated that Elias was letting this slide because she’d stopped fucking him. She thought about that cold smile he’d worn when he’d come to see her in her apartment and maybe this was why. Maybe this was how he got back at her. Avi lifted his chin and raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m afraid I don’t,” he said again. She didn’t believe him. She didn’t know why he felt the need to fucking bullshit her. “He receives the same treatment as any soldier under my command.” “Bullshit,” she snarled, the cool mask slipping a little. “You’ve hated him since day one. I don’t know why, and I don’t fucking care.” She took a step forward and her knuckles were white around the handle of her knife. He glanced down at and she saw his stance shift like he was waiting for her to pull it. She almost told him that if she did than he couldn’t move fucking fast enough to stop her because she was so pissed off at this point. “I know you’re the one that shot him in New Mexico.” He stiffened for a moment and she saw something like concern flicker across his face. She ground her teeth together because she’d known it, without a doubt, but calling him on it and seeing the reaction just drove the point home. Then it was gone and he replaced it with a cool smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he told her. “He was shot by a terrorist that I then killed.” She sucked in a harsh breath and her head tilted up at him again. “Back the fuck off, Rogers. I’m not going to tell you again.” He snorted and she saw his hands tighten around each other. Maybe all of this was an ego trip. Maybe he just wanted everyone to fall in line and obey him and worship him and if he was then he had to be really fucking disappointed right about now. “You don’t get to give me orders, Ms. Wolfe,” he told her, his voice slightly chillier than it had been a moment ago. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. “I do this time,” she told him almost sweetly. “I do because if you don’t back the fuck off then I’m going to kill you in the most violent, horrible way I can think of and they’ll never find your fucking corpse.” He snorted and he looked like he wanted to hit her just for threatening that. His eyes narrowed and his teeth were grinding loudly in his head. Behind her she could hear the elevator moving and the others were probably on their way down, but Avi didn’t look like he cared at the moment. His hand lifted and he held up a finger. “One,” he told her. “Threatening your commanding officer can have very serious consequences. Two,” he said, lifting a second finger. “Perpetrating murder will result in a termination of contract. However, since you are still the property of the Shifter Initiative, they can do whatever the fuck they want with you afterwards.” She felt a chill run down her spine but she kept it stiff so that he didn’t see it. She thought about what Elias had said and about what had happened to Paulo Valentino and Gustavo Alvarez and she wondered if it was possible that pissing them off too much would end with her being just another guinea pig in a lab. If that was the case, she would prefer prison. His grin got nasty as he watched her face and then he held up a third finger. “And three,” he said, leaning his head down so that he was staring right into her eyes. “I would love to see you try.” She laughed. She laughed right in his face and she saw his eyes narrow at the reaction but he didn’t do anything but straighten up and cross his arms back over his chest. “Listen,” she said. “I get it. You’re a soldier, you’ve got your field training and you’re stronger than all of us, blah blah blah. But here’s the thing. I know you’ve seen my file and if you’ve seen that then you might have even taken a glance at my dad’s file. And the thing that I want you to really consider is that if that’s all the stuff I got caught for, just think about all the shit they don’t know about.” His face darkened, and it was enough, because she wasn’t kidding. If he hurt Welsh again then threats of experimentation and prison weren’t going to be enough to stop her. She couldn’t take watching him keep getting hurt, not after everything he’d been through. And it was stupid and it meant she was attached, but she couldn’t help it. Avi didn’t get to fuck with him. She took a step forward and her smile was just as nasty as his had been. “You think for a second that I would leave enough of you for them to identify later?” She was still watching his face as the door dinged open behind her. He cleared his throat and then straightened up, looking over her head. “Get in the van,” he snapped. Wenston Simon stared at the floor of the van and pressed the cotton ball into the crook of his arm. He’d been declared cancer free, again, and every time he got tested he felt a little better and a little more confident that he wasn’t going to get sick again. These things were supposed to be cognitively susceptible, right? If he thought he wouldn’t get sick again, then he wouldn’t. Or maybe he was just trying to convince himself of that. Vic sat on one side of him, between him and Avi who sat at the head of the van, facing all of them. Lyle sat on the other side of him and across from them sat Jezibel, Alexey and Tony. Alexey had his leg outstretched near Simon’s feet and his brother looked bored already. He could tell that he didn’t think this mission was going to be dangerous or exciting. Simon hoped he was right. He hoped no one tried to go after this politician and they could have an easy time for once. Beside him, Vic was tense. She was staring at a spot on the floor as well and Simon knew what she was thinking about. She was thinking about the airplane. He’d seen it in her face and he recognized the look as the same one she got when they rode on the helicopter. She was afraid of flying and now they were about to spend a long time on an airplane. He wanted to hold her hand and tell her it would be alright. Maybe he would have if there weren’t other people watching. He wasn’t sure how she felt about making it known to the rest of the team that there was something between them. Maybe once they figured out what that something was. “You know,” Alexey said and Simon closed his eyes for a moment before looking up at his brother because Alexey had been giving Avi death glares the whole ride so far. It probably had something to do with the way Avi had belittled Simon as soon as he’d climbed on the van. He’d been the last one on because the blood tests took a while. Avi had snapped at him immediately, and he wasn’t used to the man calling him out in front of everyone like that or making his hatred of him so well known. Avi looked pissed already and he wondered why. Hadn’t he won the fucking battle when he’d keyed up Simon’s car and slashed his tires? Shouldn’t he be smirking instead of looking pissed? Alexey cleared his throat and leaned his head back against the wall of the van. “You could have been a little more artistic,” he said, his head rolling to the side and looking at Avi. Simon sighed and glanced at the man too. Avi had his brow raised at Alexey but that burning look was still in his eyes. “What?” Avi snapped. Alexey shrugged. “I mean, you could have drawn a picture on his car or something,” he said and Simon narrowed his eyes and that was exactly why he couldn’t tell Alexey that Avi was the one who’d shot him. His brother couldn’t keep h is damn mouth shut. “Now if it was me doing it, I would have drawn a dick. Maybe multiple dicks. Dancing, doing the cancan. Maybe with little tiny balls in the background wearing sombreros and playing the guitar. Then I’d have them all shouting, Viva La Sausagefest.” Jezibel laughed melodically and then tipped her head forward to look at him. “What are you talking about, Alexey?” she asked. His brother just shrugged. “Oh nothing. Just that someone in this van keyed my brother’s car and his name starts with an ‘A’ and ends with a ‘vi.’” A snarl curled at Avi’s lips and Simon opened his mouth before the man could start aiming anything at his brother. “Lex, why do you always jump to conclusions?” he said and his brother scoffed. “Oh come on,” Alexey said. “Everyone knows you two hate each other. I know it, the team knows it, Elias knows it, pretty soon the New York times will know it. It’s be in the headlines. Of course he did it.” Then Alexey looked at Avi again. “Look, I don’t know what you have against my brother, but really? His Lexus? That’s just cruel.” Avi sneered at him. “Mr. Romanova, it would be best for everyone if you learned to shut your mouth.” Simon narrowed his eyes at the man because that was too close to a threat towards his brother and he thought about Vic’s words in the hallway. It was nothing he wasn’t already thinking, that Avi would just love to do something to Alexey just to get at Simon and he would die before he let the man hurt his little brother in any way shape or form. That was the line. He could do anything he wanted to Simon, but he didn’t fuck with Alexey. No one did. “Wow, Captain America,” Alexey said, his eyes wide. “That was a bit unprofessional.” “He’s going to professionally kill you in a minute,” Lyle slurred tiredly from next to Simon and he hated the thought that those words could be true. Simon watched Avi closely because if the man wanted to try something like that, he’d have to go through Simon first and maybe he’d get through, but he’d tire him down and give Alexey a fighting chance. “What?” Alexey scoffed. “I’m way too fast to be caught by Lion-O over there. I’m practically a ninja with my super speed.” “Not with that bum leg,” Tony supplied helpfully. “You couldn’t even climb up on the barstool at the bar the other night.” Alexey’s face flushed a little and Simon smiled despite himself. “That was a secret, BFG,” Alexey snapped quietly. Tony winced and covered his mouth like he had actually done something wrong and looked worried Alexey would look mad, but his brother just smiled at the large man. “You’re not faster than a bullet,” Vic said from beside him and he glanced at her. She was scowling but he couldn’t tell who she was scowling at. Maybe him because he wasn’t telling his brother to be quiet or not to antagonize Avi. “I could totally dodge a bullet,” Alexey said. Avi surprised them by saying, “You won’t dodge mine. I always hit what I’m aiming for.” Simon turned his head slightly to look at the man and he waited, watching as Avi focused on the M-4 across his lap and then his eyes slowly came up to meet Simon’s and he bristled at the smirk across his face. It was a threat. It was a jab at him and the two bullet holes in the back of his vest and the bruises on his skin. Avi was telling him that if he’d wanted him dead, he would be. He was telling him that next time, he’d aim for something other than his vest and he hoped that something wasn’t fucking Alexey. Alexey was frowning, looking between Simon and Avi. He leaned forward. “I feel like we’re talking in code.” Simon looked away from Avi and then up at his brother. “Just shut up, Lex,” he said and his brother frowned, leaning back, but he did what Simon said because Simon hadn’t had his normal joking tone in his voice. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t like Avi aiming comments like that at him or his brother. He side-glanced at Vic and she had her eyes narrowed at Avi, her teeth grinding together and she was pissed again. They were quiet the rest of the way to the airport and when the van stopped, they all climbed out. Simon waited until Avi passed them and headed inside until he reached out and grabbed his brother’s arm. Alexey turned to look at him curiously. “Lex,” Simon said lowly. “Promise me you won’t turn your back on Avi,” he said because he didn’t know what Avi planned to do but he needed Alexey to be prepared. His brother frowned and gave a small laugh, like Simon was joking. But when Simon didn’t smile, the amusement left his face immediately. “You’re joking right? Avi’s harmless, he just likes to destroy stuff. Your stuff mainly.” Simon sighed. “Just promise me,” he demanded. “You keep your eyes out for enemies, but you keep your eye out for Avi too, okay? Don’t show him your back.” Alexey clucked his tongue. “What are you talking…” he cut off suddenly and Simon reached up to cup the side of his head before he headed inside, cutting off whatever revelation his brother was having about what Simon was telling him. He heard Alexey hobbling after him. “Simon,” Alexey called through grit teeth. “Simon,” he hissed sharper when Simon ignored him. Simon didn’t answer him as they stepped inside, because Avi was already talking with the politician. His brother came to stand next to him, his eyes solely on Simon’s face but he didn’t even look at Alexey because he didn’t want to confirm what he was thinking. His brother was smart. Simon didn’t know if he should have kept his mouth shut or what, because he was sure Alexey was figuring out what he was telling him. Avi shot people in the backs. He hoped Alexey remembered that. .Wolfie. Senator William Casey had been granted the whole first class section of the airplane.He was traveling alone, but alone for him meant that only his personal assistant, one advisor, and his private security were with him. The assistant was a blonde woman who didn’t look much older than Vic with wire frame glasses that cleaned compulsively when she got nervous. She probably hadn’t gotten this job based just on her qualifications but this was politics and who did? The advisor was a man who looked older than the senator. He looked stern and serious and glared at anyone who got too close to him. Vic was trying to be thankful that it was one of the bigger ones and not something like a private plane or a helicopter. It was a little easier to deal with, as long as she didn’t look out the window or concentrate too hard on the way the floor hummed beneath her feet. As long as she didn’t see anything blatantly reminding her that she was a thousand feet in the air she would be okay. It made it easier not to think that if anything went wrong they were all fucked. She hesitated for only a second getting on the plane because they had to walk up a metal flight of stairs to get on it. She froze right outside the doorway and she knew it wasn’t coincidence that Simon had hung back so that he could walk behind her. She crushed her eyes shut and tried to tell herself she could do this because she’d faced worse. This was probably an easy mission. All they had to do was keep their eyes peeled for the next few hours and then it would be over. They didn’t have to hike through the jungle or wade through the bay. They just had to get on a plane. She felt Simon’s hand brush over her lower back and she sucked in a breath because she didn’t like being afraid and she didn’t like that he knew about it. She didn’t want him to think she was weak. His touch got her moving again though. She ducked her head under the doorway and climbed inside the plane and didn’t panic. First class was separated from the rest of the plane by thick blue curtains and she didn’t really see how that would stop anyone. There were two archways on each end, with a bright blue carpet running along the floor. Avi was walking with the senator and she glared at his back for a moment as she watched him. He stayed with him as he went to his seat and she didn’t know what they were talking about and she didn’t much care. She was hoping that this fresh verbal antagonism was just him venting because if he ever hurt Simon again then she was going to fucking kill him. Alexey ducked his head to look out one of the windows and he grinned and made a face when he did. “There’s… something… on the wing,” he said. Lyle chuckled in response but Vic just ground her teeth together because she didn’t find it very fucking funny. Romanova jumped when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. “That’s great Mr. Shatner but if you fire any guns in here I’m afraid I’m going to have to toss you out the airlock.” The head of Casey’s private security stood behind him, and he had a wry smile on his face that he wasn’t faking. His dark hair was slicked back and he wore a perfectly tailored black suit with a white shirt. There was an earpiece situated over his ear and curling under his collar and dark sunglasses hid his eyes from view. He looked neat and professional, with a gun holstered on his belt and he probably knew how to use it. Alexey studied him for a moment and then a grin spread over his face. “Well, at least give me a parachute or something first. Oh and maybe drop me over a tropical island or something. One of the good ones, with girls in bikinis and Mai Tais, not one of the bad ones with angry natives that want to kill me and sacrifice me to a volcano god.” “I think that would just make the volcano god angrier,” Givessi said, glancing over her shoulder with a smile. The man laughed and squeezed Alexey’s shoulder before releasing him. “Sorry, but we’re not flying overseas today.” He pulled his sunglasses off to clean them and then slid them back on his face. She caught a glimpse of a glass eye on the left side of his face and then he straightened up and clasped his hands behind his back. “My name is Neil Matheson, I’m head of security for Senator Casey. What I’d like to have you do is have one of you by each entrance and then one sitting on either side of the senator over there. Unless your Captain has something else planned?” He glanced over his shoulder at Avi whose gaze flicked up to meet his. She saw the flicker of annoyance cross his face and it almost made her smirk. Apparently Captain America didn’t like someone else making plans for him and she thought that was just too fucking bad. She watched him force a smile across his face and then he straightened up, nodding his head. “Exactly what I was thinking, Mr. Matheson. Romanova, Bruno, you two take the two entrances closer to the cockpit, Wolfe and Welsh, you watch the ones closer to the passengers.” Vic frowned and out of the corner of her eye she saw Simon make the same expression. She saw his mouth open but before anything came out Mr. Matheson cleared his throat. “No offense, Captain, but maybe your injured man should take a seat next to the senator.” Avi’s eyes narrowed and he glared at the man from across the plane. The senator was ignoring them both, unfolding a magazine from the seat in front of him and looking like he was just waiting for someone to go get him coffee. His assistant was sitting two seats down and typing furiously on a laptop and his advisor was to his right with an irritated look on his face as he watched the two of them. Then Avi nodded his head and his neck was so stiff it looked like it was going to break. Next to her Welsh closed his mouth and she would bet good money that was what he was going to say. She tried not to be relieved that someone else that Avi couldn’t follow home and beat the shit out of had called him on it. It was one less thing for him to hate Simon for because apparently the man already had a list that he read every night and thought about ways to repay him for. “Right,” Avi said. “Givessi, you take Romanova’s position up front. Liddle and Romanova, you two take positions on either side of the senator.” She heard Alexey snort and his voice was low as he looked over at his brother. He hobbled past him towards a seat on the left side of the plane. “You think we could switch? Would they let us trade Captain America for this guy?” Matheson chuckled but didn’t say anything, jerking his head at his own men. Two of them moved to sit two rows in front of the senator and the other took the seats two rows back. They all had guns on their belts and they were all dressed similarly in the plain black suits. Avi glared at all of them as they moved and then he turned his attention to Vic because she hadn’t moved. “Positions, Wolfe,” he snapped darkly and she returned the glare even as she moved. She tried to ignore the anxiety rising in her chest. She tried to ignore the way it made it harder to breathe and the way her legs started to shake even as she walked towards the back of the plane. She kept her head up and her chin jutted and she tried to pretend that she didn’t feel Simon staring at her as she moved to the door parallel to him. She glanced over at him for a moment and he gave her a gentle smile. She rolled her eyes but returned it, situating herself by one of the curtained doorways. Her fingers came out to push it aside so that she could glance out at the coach seating. It was a hell of a lot louder and more crowded than first class. The seats were jammed together and the people looked like sardines in a can as they crushed past each other to get situated before the plane took off. She glanced over her shoulder and Matheson was taking one last walk around to double check everything before take off. He studied her for a moment and she saw a frown crease his face. He turned to Avi and his voice was sharp and controlled and she wondered how a private security guard could be better trained than a fucking marine. Maybe the shifter genes had messed with Avi’s head. Maybe he hadn’t always been a fucking psychopath. “Captain,” he said. “Is your team ready?” he asked. Avi glared at him for a moment like he was annoyed the man was even asking and then he glanced around. Givessi and Tony stood by the front two doors with their M-4s in hand and Simon was across from her at the other rear one. Lyle was slumped down in the seat and his eyes were lidded like he was fighting just to stay awake. Avi frowned when he saw him and then kicked at his boot with his foot. “Liddle,” he snapped. “Are you ready?” His golden eyes slid open and focused on Avi’s face. “Yes oh Captain my Captain,” he said dryly, and Avi glared down at him like he couldn’t decide if he should say something or not. Then he nodded his head sharply and looked up at Matheson. “My team is ready,” he said. “Take a seat for take off,” Matheson said to Avi, and then his gaze flicked back towards Vic and Simon. Vic slid gratefully into a seat closest the door and she forced her hands to steady as she strapped herself in. Matheson watched and waited until everyone was seated and then slipped into one next to the assistant. “Might want to close that,” he said to her with a smile. “Oh, sorry Neil,” she said quickly, offering him a bright smile that made her look years younger as she snapped it closed. He smirked and waited for a moment until she got it put away and the senator hadn’t lifted his eyes the entire time. Then he nodded his head, pressing the earpiece against his head. “Tell the Captain we’re good to go,” he said. Vic swallowed hard and tried to pretend that the words didn’t send a rush of anxiety through her nerves. She started to turn her head towards the front but her gaze stopped on Simon because he was still watching her with that concerned look on his face. She offered him a shaky smile because she couldn’t help herself. He’d had a rough day and when it was over she hoped he still invited her back over to his place. She shouldn’t care so much but she did and she felt better when he smiled back at her. Then the plane started to rumble as it headed out onto the tarmac. She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her eyes open because if she closed them than she wasn’t doing her job and she was admitting weakness. Her knuckles were tight around the arms of her chair and she felt sweat breaking out across her forehead. She hated this. She hated everything about this. It felt like being in an earthquake because the world was rattling around her and it didn’t matter how hard she hung on, it just kept quaking beneath her feet. It felt like forever until the plane finally ascended and evened out. Even after it did she sat there shaking in her skin, her fingers sore from gripping the arms of her chair so hard. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest and her breath felt like it was coming harsh and ragged in her lungs. She heard Matheson clear his throat and she couldn’t even glance over at him. “Resume your positions,” he said. Wenston Simon liked Matheson. He liked that Matheson was a leader who cared about his people, and people that weren’t even his, and that he knew what he was doing and made smart, sound decisions. He liked that they had earpieces instead of bulky radios because they were easier to use and harder to lose. He liked that Matheson knew precisely where everyone was and what everyone was doing and the fact that he’d joked around and buddy-ed up to Alexey seemed like a friendly, welcoming move, but Simon recognize the tactic. It was a standard business practice used by educated professionals to not only ease tensions and bridge unfamiliarity, but also to assess mindsets, knowledge and earn trust with few words. But even some corporate executives didn’t do it as smoothly as Matheson did. Because who would have guessed the man’s reasoning behind joking with Alexey was to assess his ability as a soldier. Matheson had seen Alexey’s leg and the cane and he’d wanted to test his mindset. Simon respected that. He also respected that Matheson had the common sense to sit his brother next to the Senator where he could be a last defense against attackers. The man knew what he was doing and Simon appreciated that because he’d been getting the feeling that all people in leadership positions in the line of work were like Avi. He glanced over at Vic and she looked white as a sheet and Simon didn’t like that she was scared. There was nothing he could do about it because her fear was something they couldn’t right now, but he hoped she knew that he was here for her if she needed him. He didn’t think telling her that he’d flown hundreds of times would help any, so he kept his mouth shut and his hands on his M-4 and his eyes on the doorway that separated first class from coach. Simon studied the small cabin area. In front of them was a stewardess’s station. There was only one stewardess up here and he assumed that Matheson had already told the flight crew they would be using the station in the rear to serve the rest of the passengers. This stewardess would be solely serving them. It would be dangerous to have carts and people moving through this area. Simon’s eyes went to the door that lead to the cockpit. He figured Matheson had a guy up front with the pirate because he’d heard him tell someone to let the pilot know he could take off. The door to the cockpit required a code, probably only known to the stewardess and the pilot and co-pilot. It was becoming a standard of the airline industry. Simon leaned slightly to the side and peeked through the crack of the curtain that separated them from coach. He took in the passengers. There was a mix of people back there and the flight was pretty full. He could hear a baby crying somewhere and he almost smiled at that because there always seemed to be a crying baby on airplanes. And they always usually sat behind him. He usually didn’t like flying first class. He liked to talk to the people he was in an airplane with. It was interesting getting to know them. “So,” Alexey said and Simon grinned to himself, turning to look at his brother. “How long is this flight?” he asked. He grinned wider when he saw Matheson shoot a glare at Avi because that’s probably a piece of information they should have known. “Three hours,” Matheson said simply and it looked like the man was concentrating on everything that was going on around him. From beside him, he heard Vic make a small noise that only he heard. He glanced over at her and it looked like she was having trouble just being here. He reached over to lightly touch her arm and her eyes snapped to him like he was a threat, but then her face softened and Simon gave her a comforting smile. He thought about the necklace he had waiting for her and he hoped she could hold out until them. If it was a three hour flight to wherever the Senator was going, that meant it was a three hour flight home too. Maybe the flight back wouldn’t be so bad because they wouldn’t have to be on their guard and maybe he could hold her hand. Or maybe they could rent a car and drive back. The flight seemed to be going fairly smoothly. Every so often, Simon would glance back into the coach class and check on the passengers. No one seemed that eager to do anything and Simon hoped it stayed that way. He hoped that all this extra security was just a precaution and it wouldn’t actually be needed. He wondered what was so important about this Senator anyway. The stewardess that was serving their area started passing out pretzels and drinks to everyone. Alexey looked like he was ready to open his mouth and ask for some, but a glare from Avi had him shutting up and slumping in his chair, dejected. Simon smiled because his brother was such a little kid sometimes. The Senator ordered a small bottle of scotch and a cup of Ginger ale. He mixed his own drink and when the stewardess offered something to his assistant, she just shook her head. “Oh, come on Heather,” the Senator said. “Enjoy the flight.” The girl smiled at him and then looked back at the stewardess. “Just cranberry juice, please.” Simon smirked and he wondered if the Senator paid well. He wondered if he hit on her or just kept her around as eye candy or if she really had talent and skill in the field she was pursuing. The advisor refused to take anything from the stewardess and Avi glared at the rest of them to let them know this was not a vacation and they would not be helping themselves to complimentary snacks. As the stewardess headed back front and put some coffee on, the curtain between Vic and himself suddenly slid to the side. Simon’s arm shot out immediately, blocking the way, before he could even see who was there. Vic stiffened and brought her Glock up. Everyone turned and looked and Simon frowned at the man standing there in a sweater vest and horn rimmed glasses. “Go back to your seat,” Matheson said, authority and superiority thick in his voice. He’d risen from his chair, but just turned so he was facing the man. The man looked surprised by everyone up here and he opened his mouth, stuttering as he said, “That bathroom in the back is full.” “You’ll have to wait,” Matheson said with a patient smile. The man nodded, swallowed thickly, then retreated back into his area. Simon watched him through the crack in the curtain as he headed back to the rear bathrooms and when he was satisfied the man wasn’t a threat, he turned around and found Matheson looking at him. He couldn’t read the look on the man’s face, due to his dark sunglasses, but the man smirked at him and said, “Quick reflexes, soldier.” Then he sat back down in his chair. Simon’s eyes widened for a moment and he wasn’t sure why, but he felt a swell of pride in his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was because no one had ever called him a soldier before or because the man had told him he had quick reflexes. He saw Alexey turn around and give him a huge grin and a thumbs up, which Matheson could clearly see and chuckled at. Simon just rolled his eyes at his brother and then glanced over at Vic. She was watching Matheson and he couldn’t read the look on her face. Then her eyes moved to him and he waggled his eyebrows at her. It felt good when she smiled because she hadn’t done that a lot on this flight so far. The stewardess came back out of her section with coffee pot and a few cups in her hands. She tucked the cups beneath her arm before typing the code into the keypad that opened the door to the cockpit. The door swung open and Simon could see the pilot and co-pilot and sure enough one of Matheson’s men was sitting up front as well. The stewardess closed the door behind her and Simon sighed, wondering how much longer this flight was going to be. He wondered where they were even going. Washington maybe? How long did it take to get from New York to Washington? He’d never flown there before. Alexey’s voice broke his thoughts. “You doing alright there, Senator?” he asked and there wasn’t his usual joking tone to his voice. Simon glanced at the man and Matheson’s head had whipped towards him too. The Senator was pulling at his collar and looked like he’d broken out in a sweat, his face flushed. “Damn hot in here,” he grumbled, his words slurring slightly. “Senator Casey?” Matheson demanded, standing up and coming around towards the man. He paused in front of the man’s assistant and she was wiping at her face, her own cheeks flushed. Matheson growled and then pointed towards Jezibel and Tony. “Get in there! Stop that stewardess, she’s put something in their drinks,” he shouted. Simon frowned looking from the Senator towards the door to the cockpit. Tony was trying to pull the door open and when it didn’t work, he tried ramming his shoulder into it. It still didn’t work and Simon tried to remember which buttons the stewardess pushed, but then Tony’s form was shifting and changing and his horns and tail sprouted, his muscles tripling in size as he brought out his Bull form. He rammed into the door one more time and it busted open. As soon as it did, the plane dipped forward. .Wolfie. The flight attendant had slit the pilot’s throat.That was about all Vic had time to register because the nose of the plane had dropped and there was abruptly a hell of a lot more turbulence then there had been a second ago. She stumbled on the carpet, hands coming out to catch herself before she hit the floor. Her fingers curled around the chair closest to her and didn’t let go. She felt herself losing it. There was panic rising in her chest and choking off the air in her lungs because the plane was lurching and the nose was pointed down. It wasn’t supposed to be going that way because that’s where the ground was and unless they were landing the ground meant they were going to smash into the earth and die and there wasn’t a fucking thing she could do about it. She didn’t know how to fly a plane and the pilot was dead and she felt completely out of control. She didn’t want to die. Survival meant everything and she didn’t know how to survive a plane crash. She could hear shouting, but it was just a dull buzz in the background. She could hear blood rushing in her ears and her heart was thudding loudly in her chest but all she could think was that the plane was going to crash and she couldn’t breathe. Givessi was in the cockpit in a heartbeat, just a flash of platinum blonde as she caught the stewardess by the wrist. She still held a knife in her hand but then it was clattering to the ground as Jezibel brought her arm down hard against her knee. There was a crack as it made contact and then the girl was crying out in pain. Jez ignored the sound as she twisted her arms. She forced her into the ground with her knee digging into her back and the girl’s arms wrenched up behind her. The dead pilot was slumped forward against the controls and the co-pilot was shouting as he tried to bring things back under control. Tony was retreating from the door but he hadn’t shifted back yet and Matheson had a hard time moving past him into the cockpit. Avi stood up and his hand snapped back towards the two of them with a glare on his face like somehow this was their fault. “Keep watching those doors,” he snarled, and then he pulled himself out into the aisle and headed towards the cockpit. Matheson was pulling the pilot out of his seat and onto the floor so he could check for a pulse even though he couldn’t really believe he’d find one. Behind him his man that had been sitting in the cockpit was helping Givessi hold the stewardess down, snapping handcuffs around her wrists. Somewhere in front of her Alexey was pulling his gun, his gaze darting from the cockpit to the senator that was wiping sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. He glanced back helplessly at Simon for a moment but he held position. Casey was shaking and then suddenly he lurched forward and grabbed for the courtesy bag. He threw up violently into it and his assistant didn’t look far behind. Vic was aware of these things but they felt like they were happening a thousand miles away. Her gaze was blurry and her hands were shaking and she couldn’t get herself to move because the plane was still moving downwards. She knew what she was supposed to do. She knew she was supposed to be stronger than this and stronger than the fear. She was supposed to stand there next to Welsh and make sure that not a single fucking soul came through that door and if they tried she was supposed to kick their ass because that was what she was best at. She told herself that she could do those things and she wanted to believe it except there was one problem holding her back. She couldn’t breathe. She was trying to. Her mouth was open and she was trying to suck air in and out of her lungs but it wasn’t working. She was staring at the ground listening to her heart thundering in her ears and around her the world was shaking and falling apart. They were all going to crash and die because the pilot was dead, his corpse slumped over the controls and his blood all over the electronics and around her the plane was still rumbling and shaking as it descended downwards. A strangled whimper was trying to pull its way out of her throat and she couldn’t tell if it she actually made a sound or not. Her body wasn’t listening to her. Her mind was screaming at her to just stand up because if they crashed and died she should at least be standing and at least pick that gun off the floor but the fear was crippling her and she couldn’t get herself to move. She couldn’t force her fingers to release the chair in front of her. Her muscles tightened as an arm slid around her shoulders and squeezed tightly. “Vic,” Simon said into her ear, and she realized she was still half crouched on the ground, her gun lying by her feet and her knuckles white around the chair. She couldn’t turn to look at him because she was still just trying to breathe. Her lungs were struggling desperately to get oxygen and her body wasn’t obeying. His fingers tightened on her shoulder when she didn’t answer and his head dipped. “You’re okay,” he told her. “You can do this.” Avi was standing in the doorway to the cockpit, one hand braced against the wall as the plane dipped. He was yelling something at Matheson and Vic couldn’t even hear what he was saying. Maybe he was passing the blame or maybe he was whining that his mommy didn’t love him enough or that no one listened to his orders and her head was just wandering because she was terrified. She hated fear. She hated being afraid and she hated that it was winning but her body just locked up on her. She crushed her eyes closed and opened them and tried just to focus on the strong hands holding onto her and anchoring her to the world. His voice was low and soothing and she clung to it like a lifeline because if Welsh told her she was okay she believed him. The world was rattling and shaking and tipping backwards as the co-pilot struggled to get the plane back under control and pointed the right way. Alexey had moved to the seat next to the senator and he had a hand on the back of the man’s head as he threw up. It looked like something Alexey was used to, like he was handling a college frat boy. “Just get it all out man,” he said. The four security guys had stood and they were forming a loose circle around him, their hands resting on their guns in case anything else happened. “You can do this,” Welsh told her again, because it was what she’d said to him in New Mexico before they’d all gone and committed mass murder. She focused on the sound of his voice because everything else was chaos around her and he was the only thing keeping her sane. “You’re my talented, dangerous, smoking hot bitch, remember?” She turned her head to the side and Simon had one arm around her and the other still holding his gun. He wasn’t looking at her at the moment, his gaze glancing over his shoulder towards the doorway because the curtain was pulled back a little. He flicked a glance at her face but he was trying to do his job and pull her back together at the same time. Their eyes met for a moment and he pushed a smile across his face for her. She wished she could return it and she focused on steadying her breathing because her lungs were still tight and constricting and she tried to remember that Welsh thought she could do this. “I’m yours, am I?” she asked, and she was trying to be okay but then the plane lurched and she did too. Her fingers tightened in the chair and she had to fight to keep her eyes open and her stomach where it belonged. She didn’t know what he would have answered her or if he would have just laughed the question off. In the next moment someone from beyond the curtain was screaming and he was pushing himself to his feet, his gun in hand and the other still resting on her shoulder. She tried to ignore how desperately she needed him next to her right now because she was falling apart. “What the fuck is going on back there?” Avi demanded, spitting the words as he turned around. “Wolfe, are you hurt?” “No,” she managed. She shook her head, glancing up at the man’s face and he was glaring at her from across the plane. He was glaring at her because she was crouched on the ground without a gun in her hand and she was weak. Pops would have been so god damned disappointed in her that she was letting the fear win and she hated how much of an effort it was to get her fingers to release the chair. She hated how hard it was to get them to stretch down and pick up her gun and how much her legs shook as she forced herself to stand. She thought the only reason she could was because Welsh was here and she would think about what that meant later. “Fuck,” Simon snarled behind her, and she took a step back so that she was next to him. He was looking out at the coach passengers and she tilted her head to see what he saw. Her breath hitched in her throat because the reason people had started screaming was because other people started pulling guns. There were at least six of them that she could see and the leader looked like the one towards the back. He was waving and gesturing at some of the passengers and forcing them to line up along the left side of the plane. Three of the attackers already had passengers held tightly in their grip. One scruffy man with a green jacket was hanging onto a girl in a blue dress. One hand was wrapped around her throat and the other was holding the gun tightly against her temple. She was crying even as the metal barrel dug deeper into the side of her head. “Don’t scream,” the man snarled at her. The other passengers were moving quickly to do what he said but she watched as one man turned towards one of the men holding a gun on him and tried to jump him. He hit him hard in the midsection and they both crashed into the ground. No one had time to do anything. The gun went off in a loud blast and then the passenger was slumping over with a bloody hole in him. She didn’t hear the footsteps behind her and that made her nervous because she didn’t like being snuck up on. But in the next moment Matheson was right next to them, pushing the curtain aside. His lip curled into a snarl and it was the first sign of anger she’d seen on him. He unclipped his gun and slid it into his hands and then he glanced over his shoulder. “Keep the senator down,” he told his men. Two of them obeyed immediately, coming forward to take the senator by his arms and get him to the floor. They crouched over him, keeping him under the seats as they ducked behind them and drew their guns. Vic’s gaze flicked back out through the gap in the curtain and she pressed tightly against Simon’s side as the plane rumbled again beneath her feet. She tried to tell herself that they were okay now, that the plane wasn’t spiraling into the earth and that all she had to worry about were crazy men with guns. She could handle crazy men with guns. She’d been dealing with them all her life, she just had to forget that they were on a god damned airplane a thousand feet in the air and she tightened her grip on her gun. She watched the leader as he stepped forward and grabbed a kid out of the line. He was a little boy, probably about eight, with a baseball jersey on and a cap on his head. The man pressed his gun hard against his head. “I know you can hear me,” he shouted at them. “Give us the senator, or everyone on this plane dies now.” Wenston Simon’s eyes were locked on the man in the back of the plane, holding the little boy in his arms and pressing the gun to his head. He grit his teeth and wondered how it was that they kept running into these situations that involved kids. When people went to war, why couldn’t it just be adults? People who had made conscious decisions and he didn’t know if he’d be able to handle doing this much longer if he had to keep watching little kids get hurt. Maybe it would turn him cold. Maybe one day he’d just shut off the part of him that cared and he hoped not. He hoped there wouldn’t come a day when he was okay with a kid being hurt. When chalking it up to collateral damage was okay with him. One passenger was already dead. Simon hoped that was the last one to die. He turned to look at Matheson and waited for the man to tell them what to do. Avi sure as hell wasn’t taking charge. Matheson had closed the curtain and looked like he was thinking deeply. Finally he frowned and turned back to look at Avi. “Captain?” Matheson asked. “What can your team offer in this situation?” Avi turned to look at him from his place near the cockpit. He glanced around at his team and then his eyes stopped on Tony. “Send Bruno up the middle, the others follow behind, we take them out,” he said like it would be that simple. Simon frowned and glanced at Matheson to see what the man would think. He saw him frown a little but nod and he seemed to accept that as the plan. Simon felt a moment of let down, but then realized that he had asked Avi that question because Avi was supposed to be their leader. He was supposed to know what they could do and how to handle these situations. Matheson looked back at Tony. “You’ll be their target,” he told the large man apologetically, who was still in Bull form. Tony snorted, one of his hooves stomping on the ground and he nodded, like he was accepting that fact. Simon’s eyes darted back to Avi because he didn’t like this plan. He didn’t like sending Tony out to draw fire because there was no place to go and the man was basically going out there to be a human shield and Avi should think of something else. He should think of a better plan, one that didn’t involve killing Tony. “He signed up for this,” Avi just said coldly. From beside the Senator, Alexey’s voice came and he sounded upset. “You can’t send the big guy just crashing out there!” he yelled at Avi. “They’ll kill him.” “You’ll follow my orders,” Avi barked at Alexey, who looked ready to protest some more. Simon cleared his throat, “Sir,” he said, drawing Matheson’s attention to him. Simon reached to his side and pulled out one of his flashbang grenades. “What would the effects of setting off one of these on the plane be?” Matheson looked to the grenade in his hands and then reached out to take it. He smiled and looked back up at Simon. “Worst case scenario, we start a fire.” Simon nodded and he inadvertently glanced at Avi because the man was glaring at him and he knew he’d just stepped out of bounds again, but he wasn’t going to let Tony just charge in to their deaths. And really, the flashbangs should have been something Avi had thought about. He was the one who’d given them the damn things. “Best case scenario,” Matheson looked up at him and quirked a grin. “We beat the bad guys.” Simon smirked. “Then I say we use it.” “So do I,” Matheson nodded, looking Simon in the eye before he turned back to look at Avi. “Captain, get your men in position. We only have about five seconds of stun time and then they’ll be on their toes again.” Avi snarled, but shoved Tony towards the front. “We’ll do this shifted,” Avi barked at them and started his own shift into his lion form. Simon glanced over at Vic and she was still focusing on her breathing and her eyes were peeking out the curtains to the passengers. He reached over and touched her arm and he didn’t like that she flinched at the touch but then she was looking at his face. He wondered if he’d gotten through to her earlier. Simon smiled gently. “I have your back,” he told her quietly. The words didn’t get the response he’d been expecting from her. Her face twisted into something sad and maybe angry. “Just make sure you watch your own,” she snarled at him and then she was shifting. Simon grinned because her words were determined and angry and maybe it was okay to piss her off right now because if she was angry then she’d forget she was scared. He started his own shift and black fur sprung along his skin, his muscles growing and his hands morphing. He could feel the claws make their way up and out and he didn’t think he’d ever get used to that feeling. Matheson moved to the side to let Tony come and stand in the center of the aisle. Jezibel came up too and Simon glanced at her. She was shifted, white feathers glistening like pearls along her skin and he wondered if she’d had the scientists purposely make it so she looked like an angel instead of an owl or if she just got lucky. He leaned over towards her. “Jez, can you get the boy?” he whispered to her, his voice deep and feral in his panther form. . She glanced at him, quirking an eyebrow and he thought it looked funny in her form. She chuckled and her head twitched to the side, like a bird’s would. She leaned closer to him and said, “Do you purposely try to outsmart Avi?” she whispered quietly. Simon snorted. “It’s not hard,” he told her automatically and then leaned quickly back as Avi came to stand next to them all. He was growling low in his throat as he stood there, golden fur covering his skin and a mane around his head. Simon didn’t look at the man but when he shifted his stance, Avi snarled and snapped his jaws and Simon leaned back away, frowning and still not looking at him and he didn’t understand these feral instincts quite yet. He thought maybe they should be training in these forms, so they could understand them better. “We’re positioned,” Avi growled towards Matheson. The man nodded and Simon turned to look over his shoulder at Alexey, who’d shifted but was still by the Senator. His eyes were scanning all of them, wide and scared and he knew Alexey wished he didn’t have a wounded leg. When his brother looked at him, Simon showed him his teeth and he saw Alexey tip his head, his eyes narrowed and Simon chuckled deeply before turning around. Matheson stepped between them, his finger on the pin of the flashbang. He looked between them all. “Watch the ground. When you see the flash, move immediately. Take out the guns first, then worry about the people. The last thing we need is to lose pressure in the cabin.” “We know how to do our jobs,” Avi spat at Matheson. The man just smirked at Avi. “Clearly,” he said and then pulled the pin and threw it out the curtains. The flashbang went off and then they were moving. .Wolfie. Vic thought that doing this shifted was one of the smartest decisions Avi had made so far. Statistically speaking he was bound to make one sound decision out of all the shit ones, and at least this one had been not to fire guns on an airplane. The only problem she saw with this plane was that none of them had a lot of practice shifted and they were still on a motherfucking airplane.The grenade went off with a bright flash of light and a bang and she refused to look at the guy holding the little boy because if he got shot in the head she didn’t want to know about it yet. She didn’t want to get distracted and she was distracted enough already. She’d fucked up enough on this mission enough because she couldn’t get her fear under control and she felt sick and dirty because of it. Pops would be disgusted with her. He’d tell her that she was weak and she might as well just be lying dead in a gutter somewhere because she’d let her fear get the best of her. He’d tell her that she’d depended too much on someone else and that made her crippled. He wasn’t wrong. She should be able to deal with this by herself because it was just fear and that was the greatest kind of weakness. Any time she’d told her father she was scared he’d told her the same thing. He’d told her to shut the fuck up and deal with it. The bastard was dead, but she could still hear his voice in the back of her head, a constant reminder that she had to be stronger. The claws were already out and her teeth were sharp points in her mouth as she darted into the coach cabin. She focused on the guy holding a gun to the woman in a blue dress because she already had him marked in her mind and she knew he had a gun. His arm raised as the flashbang went off to protect his eyes and he took a single step backwards. She hit hard, nails scoring bloody lines in his arm as she grabbed onto it. She twisted it hard behind his back and he cried out a second before she threw him hard into the ground. Her other and came out to grab the barrel of the gun and wrench it from his hands and then her mouth closed hard around his neck. He screamed as her jaws clamped shut and she tasted blood bursting on her tongue in a metallic rush. She could taste his heart beating in her mouth and then she ripped it out with her teeth. The girl had been thrown to the side and she was rubbing at her eyes as she crouched by one of the seats and Vic thought she better hope she stayed blind. She heard a roar from behind her and when her head snapped over her shoulder Tony was slamming two of the guys up hard into the ground with a hand around each throat. Hoofs stomped down hard on their hands and she heard snapping and screaming. Avi went straight for the leader. He went straight for the man holding the little boy in his hands and Vic had no doubt that if it was up to him he’d just cut through the kid to get to the man with the gun. He’d done it before and he would do it again and if Vic didn’t hate him so much she could almost understand that single minded determination. The job above all else, survival over sympathy. It wasn’t up to him this time. Givessi darted in with a startling quickness, her wings a bright flash of white as she moved. Vic couldn’t tell if she’d flown across the god damned plane or if she was just that fast but in a second she was dropping in front of the guy and her nails were sharp as they slashed across the man’s face. He cried out, startled because of the grenade and the sudden pain in his skin and her arms closed around the kid and pulled him from the man’s grasp. He snarled and he was blinking to try and clear his vision, the gun rising to point at Givessi, and then Avi was hitting him hard in the midsection. He hit the ground with a thump, and she saw huge jaws closing around the man’s throat, his claws shredding his arms as he tried to fight back. It was like something right off the god damned Discovery channel and she didn’t like that he wasn’t on their side. She didn’t like that the monster tearing up the man on the floor was out to hurt Welsh. She didn’t like that he could break into his apartment and his car and that he could just as easily grow jaws and claws that were like something off of Wild Kingdom. She didn’t like that he was their Captain and he wasn’t smart and couldn’t be trusted and that he’d put bullets in Simon’s back. At that thought her gaze snapped to him and she only saw a black streak moving across the cabin. He was aiming for the man closest the passengers and before he could even get to him the man was yelling, an arm across his eyes as he tried to scrub the smoke and light from his vision. He fired two shots from the gun in his hand without even opening his eyes to aim it. He gestured wildly and she could hear a woman screaming as the blast went off and struck her in the leg. Her husband caught her before she hit the ground and his hands were already going to her skin to try and hold the blood in. She had a moment where all she could think about were all the terrible ways this could end. She was crouched over a man with his gun in one hand and his blood trickling from the side of her mouth and she could kill an asshole with a gun in two seconds but if the cabin depressurized and the plane crashed then she couldn’t do anything but sit there and die. And if the bullet hit Welsh in the head, then she wouldn’t be able to do anything but watch him die too and she thought she hated helplessness more than anything. The second bullet struck the seat and in the next moment Welsh was hitting the guy holding it. His jaws closed around the arm holding the gun and she heard the man scream as his teeth tore through skin and ripped the weapon from his hands. As soon as the gun hit the floor she pushed herself up and turned towards another one of the men. There was one crouched behind the seats not far from her and he looked like he was trying to figure out who to shoot at or if there was anywhere for him to run. As soon as he realized there was nowhere for him to fucking go he dropped his arm and pointed the weapon at Givessi and the kid that she was holding in her arms. He was crying and staring wide eyed at Avi and the lion shifter was still tearing at the leader on the ground, claws shredding his torso and his jaws opening in a roar in his face. “It’s okay, sweetie,” Givessi told the kid, and Vic fought back the urge to tell her that she shouldn’t call people that. The little boy didn’t seem to mind and then he tipped his head back and looked up at her face and the glistening feathers that adorned her skin. She put a hand on the side of his head so he couldn’t turn back to look at Avi and she smiled comfortingly at him. “Are you an angel?” the kid asked, and she heard Givessi laugh gently at the question. Then her gaze was snapping up and she saw her tense as she focused on the guy pointing a gun at her. Vic was on him in a second. Her claws curled around his wrist and he shouted as they dug in hard. Her other hand came up to wrench it out of his grasp and toss it behind her to the cabin floor. She was surprised when he flung himself forward into her and she dropped her back to the ground, tossing him over her shoulder. He rolled once as he hit the floor and then he pushed himself to his feet with a shake, one hand coming to his skull. His head lifted and focused on her and by then she’d already rolled over onto her knees. She launched herself hard at him, knocking him onto his back as she straddled his chest. One hand snapped around his neck to hold him still and then the other was reaching back to free her knife from its sheath. His eyes went wide for a split second before she slammed it down through his neck. He gurgled and pawed at his throat but his lifeblood was already spilling out around the steel. Vic sucked in a breath and then pulled the knife free, tilting her head over her shoulder to see if there was anyone left. Her eyes focused on the only man she saw with a gun and it didn’t look like anyone else had noticed him yet. He was retreating towards the back of the cabin, his hands scrubbing over his face and his eyes blinking and watering as he tried to focus. There was a gun in his hands but he looked like maybe he wasn’t comfortable using it and when his eyes finally focused on the scene in front of him she saw fear in his eyes like he didn’t know what he was supposed to do now. The man Vic thought had been in charge was on the ground with Avi’s claws in him and Tony still had those two guys held tightly in his hands. He brought his arms up again and slammed them both into the ground and Vic didn’t like how the whole plane shook at that. Vic saw his gaze focus on Avi and then he swallowed hard and raised his gun towards the lion shifter. She saw his finger tighten on the trigger and she tilted her head at him and wondered if she had any problems letting him do it. She thought about the two smoking holes in the back of Welsh’s vest and she thought about the vague threats he’d been making in the van. It was only going to get worse. He was going to seriously hurt one of them and he was a danger to himself and others. Simon took the decision out of her hands. She hadn’t seen him move but suddenly he was there next to him in a blur of black motion. His hand snapped out and closed around the guy’s arm and she saw his claws digging into his skin, drawing bloody lines across his flesh. She felt a swell of pride because he’d gotten faster and hadn’t lost any of that calculating precision that made him Simon. The guy cried out and the gun tumbled from his hand as Simon twisted his arm hard up behind his back. He planted a foot in front of the man’s and then shoved him forward hard so that he fell to this knees on the ground and then Simon was pushing his other knee into his back and dropping him all the way onto his stomach. He pulled his other arm up behind his back and then he was ripping the guy’s belt off so that he could tie his wrists with it and she thought it was cute that he didn’t want to kill him just because he stank of fear and was yelling loudly. “I didn’t have a choice,” the man cried. She didn’t expect the flash of gold that was suddenly moving across the cabin. She didn’t expect Avi to hit him hard with a backhand blow and knock him off the man he’d disarmed. Apparently Simon didn’t expect it either because his eyes were shocked as he lifted his gaze to Avi’s. Vic felt a growl rising in her throat and she rose to a crouch, fingers twirling the knife into position. Avi’s jaws opened and then he was roaring loudly at Simon. He was positioned low and when she caught a glimpse of his eyes he didn’t look like he was thinking like a person anymore. He looked like just a fucking animal. “Captain,” Givessi called, trying to draw his attention away from Welsh. The man didn’t even look like he heard her. He started to circle Simon with a feral glint in his eyes and she felt her stomach lurch for more reasons than just the fucking airplane they were still on. His tongue snaked out and licked blood from the corner of his lips and she watched Simon as he circled with him. She’d told him to always keep moving if he was going to fight and she’d told him to always make the first move but she felt something like fear in her gut because he wasn’t ready yet. Not yet. “Captain Rogers,” Givessi snapped, her voice rising in pitch. For a minute Vic didn’t think he would answer her. Then he blinked and some of the gold seemed to fade from his eyes. His head turned and she didn’t like that his teeth were still bared or that she could still see the blood on his tongue. “What is it, Givessi?” he growled, and he looked like he honestly didn’t know what the problem was. She swallowed hard and her gaze flicked over to Simon and then to Vic before she looked back at Avi. “Is that all of them, Captain?” Wenston Matheson laid his jacket over Heather, the Senator’s assistant, where she lay across a row of seats. He covered her face with the jacket and Simon ducked his head because the girl was young and innocent and she hadn’t even wanted a drink to begin with and while the security and Alexey and Lyle were busy trying to stabilize the Senator, no one had been trying to help her or keep her alive. There were more bodies in the back, piled in the stewardess’ station at the back of the plane so the passengers could return to their seats mostly. There were too many casualties on this plane and this should have been an easy mission. He wondered how those men had gotten the guns on the plane. Beside him, made a small noise as the plane passed through a cloud and he glanced over at her. He’d taken a seat beside her while the others were trying to keep the Senator comfortable as the poison coursed through his system. Jezibel and Tony had taken their seats. Alexey and Lyle were helping Matheson’s men and Matheson was up wandering, trying to manage the mess. Avi sat in the corner, by himself, brooding and Simon tried not to think about the man, but it wasn’t working. He’d seen the man’s eyes. He’d seen the feral look in them and he’d felt his hackles rise because Avi had seemed more predator than man and Simon wasn’t sure what to make of it. He wasn’t sure why Avi had just attacked him like that, while everyone was watching. Jezibel, Tony, Vic, Matheson, all of the passengers, they’d all seen Avi turn on him. Why would he do that? Why would he risk exposure of his hatred for Simon like that in front of all these people? He wasn’t thinking clearly. Simon reached for Vic’s hand and he had to pry her fingers off the arm rest before he brought them to his lips. She turned to look at him and she was trying very hard to pretend she wasn’t afraid. He brushed his lips over her fingers and right now he didn’t care if anyone saw because she needed it and maybe he did too and the worse was over. Now they were making an emergency landing in a few minutes and then they could go home and Simon could give Vic her necklace and they could go to bed. Whether she wanted to do something tonight or not, she would be in his bed. Whether to sleep or have sex, it would be up to her. Vic’s fingers moved and he looked at her face as she ran them over the corner of his mouth. It felt tender beneath her fingertips and he figured he probably had a bruise there. He watched her face and she was studying his mouth before her eyes snapped up towards Avi. He rested his cheek on top of their hands and then he was whispering, “Do you think we could end up like Gustavo?” and he didn’t mean for the question to sound so broken, but he couldn’t get Avi’s feral eyes out of his head. Vic looked back at him, frowning a little and she pulled her hand from his, instead bringing it to the back of his head to run in through his hair and he just watched her, waiting for an answer. She reached for his arm and tugged on it. He lifted it and she leaned into his chest while he wrapped an arm around her, holding her closely. He rested his chin on top of her head he could feel her shaking and he didn’t think it was all because of the adrenaline rush they’d just been through. “Dead at the bottom of a river?” Vic joked and Simon snorted. “No,” he said softly and glanced again at the back of Avi’s head. “Crazy.” Vic brought a hand up to play with his fingers wrapped around her shoulders. “You’re already crazy, Welsh,” she said. He chuckled lowly but kept quiet and Vic tipped her head to look up at him. “Gustavo went nuts because his government didn’t have the right technology,” she whispered to him. “What if it’s more than that?” he asked softly and he saw her frown. She pulled out of his arm, sitting back in her chair and looking at him. He just swallowed and shrugged. “I don’t know.” The pilot’s voice came over the PA and announced they would be landing soon and immediately Vic’s hands went back to gripping the armrests. Simon smiled and leaned over closer to her, his mouth near her neck and he pressed a kiss there, to which she leaned away from because not only were they around the others, but they were on a plane. “Landing is easy,” he whispered to her and she shivered. “Just shut up, Welsh,” she snapped at him and he chuckled, sitting. They landed with minimal jouncing and the plane taxied only a short distance. Simon could see flashing lights and FBI agents outside and they were moved a metal staircase up towards the door. He figured they wouldn’t be unboarding at a gate. Once the door was open, several paramedics came in with stretchers, first removing the Senator, and then removing the injured people in the back. Simon watched Alexey stand up and stretch his legs. Behind him, Jezibel and Tony were sitting quietly, waiting for the words that they could get off the plane. Matheson walked back to them, checking on the passengers in coach before he turned around and Alexey grinned at the man. “Hey, at least there were no monsters on the wings.” Matheson smiled at him and started heading back towards the front of the plane. He paused by Jezibel for a moment and handed her a card. Simon hid a smile when he saw Alexey’s eyes immediately narrow. Matheson leaned down and told Jezibel. “In case you need anything,” then he stood up and walked out of the plane, his men following him. He didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Avi. Jezibel looked down at the card and then laughed. “He gave me his phone number,” she said but put the card in her pocket. Alexey was scowling deeply. “I changed my mind,” he said. “I don’t want to trade anymore. I’ll stick with Captain America.” Jezibel laughed, but Simon saw her look towards Avi, then glance his way and then she looked back at Alexey and he knew she was thinking the same thing he and Vic were. Avi was dangerous. Almost to the point of being out of control. Avi stood up suddenly and when he turned around, his face was cold and he didn’t look at any of them. “Let’s go,” he demanded. “There’s a helicopter waiting to take us back.” Simon stood and he let Vic climb out of the seats in front of him. They all walked down the metal stairs and Simon kept his hand near Vic’s lower back the entire time because she looked a bit unsteady on her feet. Tony was watching Alexey because the stairs proved to be difficult for his still healing leg. Simon glanced around the tarmac and he could see the ambulance where the Senator was being loaded into, his advisor climbing in after him. “Why do you think they wanted him dead?” Simon asked quietly. He didn’t expect Avi to answer. “The Senator was lobbying to pass a bill that would make Shifter technology available to the public.” Avi didn’t even turn around to tell them that and Simon watched his back. He wondered if he’d told the rest of the team that in the briefing, but somehow he doubted that because he saw Vic frown like that was news to her. Alexey hobbled up next to Simon and then pointed to the bruise near the corner of his mouth. “So, is Vic teaching you nothing? Why you always getting beat up, huh?” Simon snorted and shrugged, amusing his brother because he didn’t really want Alexey to know that Avi had done this. He still hadn’t acknowledged to Alexey that Avi had been the one to shoot him in New Mexico. Unfortunately, Jezibel didn’t think the same way Simon did. She came up on the other side of Alexey and whispered. “Why don’t you ask the Captain?” Alexey frowned and then looked at Simon, then Vic and he growled. “What the fuck is wrong with him?” No one got to answer. He didn’t know what anyone would even say, but he wasn’t going to find out because a loud explosion suddenly sounded behind them. Instinctively, Simon grabbed both Vic and Alexey and pulled them down. Alexey lost his balance and fell on his ass, but Vic crouched easily with him as they turned to see what was happening. Vic had her gun drawn immediately, but the entire team just paused and stood there, quiet and confused. The ambulance that the Senator had been taken to was in flames, destroyed. Smoke billowed up and the people who’d been standing near it were on the ground. Some weren’t moving, some were pushing themselves up gingerly, bloody wounds on their bodies. Alexey said what they were all thinking. “Oh, shit.” .Wolfie. “You failed,” Elias said darkly.He was standing at the front of the room, his arms crossed over his chest and an angry glare in his eye. He swept the gathered team, his glare seeming to linger on Avi for a moment. For once their team Captain wasn’t standing at the front of the room with him. Elias had snapped at him and told him to take a seat and Vic tried not to be too pleased that he was in trouble too. Avi cleared his throat and held his head up, his chin jutted out and his eyes dark. “We stopped the hijackers,” he snapped. “Our job was to protect the senator during his flight and we did that. The rest is on Mr. Matheson.” Elias snarled and he pushed off the desk. “Your job was to protect the senator until he reached Quantico. Your job was to keep the situation under control and keep Casey safe and you did neither of those things. Don’t think for a second that he stopped being your responsibility just because you stepped off the plane. You had a job to do and you failed at that job and if you can’t complete the missions I assign to you than what good are any of you?” Most of the words had been directed at Avi but at the last part he straightened and glared at the rest of the room. Vic’s hand curled into fists against her leg and she kept her eyes on the floor. She’d fucked up and she knew it but she didn’t need Elias to stand there and tell her about it. She’d let the fear get the best of her and there was no part of her that wasn’t angry and disappointed at that. She was stronger than that. She knew she was but her body had just locked up on her. She’d thought the plane was going down and the complete lack of control at the outcome had just crippled her. She’d been a liability and a distraction not just to herself, but to Welsh too and that put them both in danger. Elias sighed and leaned against the desk, a mask of anger on his face and his arms still crossed tightly over his chest. It was wrinkling his Italian suit. “There is no room for failure in this business,” he snapped. “If you can't do your job then you won’t have a job, and I don’t think I need to remind any of you that the consequences of that will not be pretty or enjoyable.” Avi growled low in his throat and sat forward on the edge of his arm chair. “With all due respect, sir,” he snapped. “There was no way to predict that there would be a bomb waiting on the ambulance.” Elias snorted and turned his glare back on Avi. “And how do you know it was waiting for him? How do you know that someone, maybe someone on your team, didn’t plant something on the senator or his advisor themselves?” Vic saw Avi’s face darken at that thought and his gaze whipped around to stare at all of them. She saw his eyes narrow when he focused on Welsh and she felt a growl trying to pull its way out of her throat because she didn’t like that look directed his way. She didn’t like how Avi had lost his mind to the lion’s while they were on the plane and she wondered if Welsh was right. Maybe eventually they would all stop being human. Avi’s mouth opened and Elias cut him off with a raised hand. “No more excuses, Rogers,” he snapped. “This mission was your responsibility and that means its failure is your responsibility.” Avi growled but he kept his mouth shut and Elias smirked as he straightened up. “The Shifter Initiative is all about second chances,” he told them. “But don’t expect third and fourth ones.” Avi’s knuckles were white as he clenched them into fists, but he nodded and stood. “Understood sir,” he snapped. Elias glanced up at him and he smirked, jerking his head at the chair. “I didn’t say you were dismissed, Captain,” he said. “Mr. Matheson has filed a report with us and I found some of his comments very interesting.” Avi didn’t take his seat. Vic watched as his arms crossed over his chest and he looked like he was on the verge of snapping again. She wondered what would happen if he attacked Elias and that would probably be the end of his role as Captain. She almost hoped he did it. Her gaze flicked between the two of them and next to her she felt Welsh stiffen slightly. “Sir,” Avi growled. “Mr. Matheson is a civilian. I hardly think he has the authority to comment on our unit or its performance today.” Elias had been leaning over his desk to grab a clipboard off of it but he stiffened at the words. “Captain Rogers,” he snapped, glancing over his shoulder. “Take your seat and don’t interrupt me again.” Avi growled at the words but when Elias turned around he sank back into the chair, his grip tight around the arms of it. Elias snorted and shook his head. He flipped through the clipboard for a moment and then he looked up and then jerked his head at the door. “Bruno, Givessi, and Romanova, the three of you can leave. Matheson’s report said the three of you followed orders and performed admirably.” They sat for a moment at the words as Elias looked back down at the clipboard. Romanova glanced over at his brother in the seat next to him and then his gaze moved past him to Avi. A sigh pulled its way from Elias’s lips and then he glanced back up and jerked his head at the door again. “Get out,” Elias snapped. “Good luck,” Alexey said quietly, clapping Simon on the shoulder. He pushed himself to his feet, using the cane to keep himself steady. Tony slung an arm around his shoulders and the three of them left the room, pulling the door shut behind them. “Liddle,” Elias snapped. The man had been slumped in the sofa with his eyes half open but he lifted the lids and tilted his head to the side at the sound of his name. A sly grin spread across his lips and he waited for whatever Elias was going to say. “This is not a spectator sport. Start making yourself more useful or we’ll find ways to make you useful. You’re dismissed.” Lyle smirked and saluted cockily, pushing himself to his feet. “Yes sir,” he drawled. Elias waited until he’d left the room and then he turned his attention to the three remaining. Vic tried not to feel nervous that it was her and Welsh in the room with Avi and she wasn’t sure how this was going to play out. She looked down at her hands and tried not to feel pissed at herself for letting the fear take control. She wondered if it would have ended differently if she wasn’t so distracted by the panic that had choked off her lungs and frozen her in her steps. Maybe if she hadn’t pulled Welsh down with her they could have saved the senator. She leaned forward and scrubbed a hand over her mouth as she waited for Elias to just come out and tell her that. He lifted his head and focused on Vic. His lip curled into a sneer and then he was straightening up, arms crossing over his chest again. “Victoria,” he snapped. “Very few of these missions are going to take place in New York. Odds are good that you will be traveling by helicopter or plane for several hours at a time.” She paled at the words and looked down at the carpet and she knew it but it still made her sick just thinking about it. Elias smirked and continued. “If you cannot come to terms with this then you’re useless to me.” The words stung. They shouldn’t have but they did and her hands tightened into fists. If she couldn’t do her job she was useless to him and it just rubbed in how little she’d ever meant. “I understand,” she said darkly. Next to her Simon let out a low growl and she glanced at his face. He was glaring at Elias and he looked so full of hate and venom that it made her breath catch in her throat. His hand moved and brushed over her lower back and Elias’s eyes narrowed because he didn’t miss the motion. “Welsh,” he said, a cruel smile curling his lips. He tilted his head up and looked at him curiously. “Matheson said he was very impressed with you. He suggested that we might have even put the wrong man in charge. However,” he added. “I would suggest you spend less time babysitting your fuck buddy and more time watching your own back.” Simon’s hand stilled on her back and she was more than aware of Avi turning to glare at them. She flicked her gaze to his and she didn’t like the dangerous glint in his eye. She didn’t like how quickly he’d turned on Welsh or what he might try next because he was getting worse. “Is there any specific reason I should be watching my back?” Simon said quietly, lifting an eyebrow. Elias just smirked and laced his fingers together. “It’s always a smart practice in this business, Welsh. You should remember that.” Then he turned his attention to Avi. “Rogers,” he snapped viciously. “I’ve scheduled your entire team for a complete psychiatric evaluation. Yours is scheduled for Monday.” Then he jerked his head at Vic and Simon. “You two are dismissed.” Vic didn’t need to be told twice. She was up out of the seat in a second because she didn’t want to be in that room anymore. Her hands curled into fists so that they wouldn’t shake and she felt completely fucking miserable. She’d screwed up and Elias knew she screwed up and she thought maybe that was worse. She wondered how she was going to deal with being on a fucking helicopter every week and it wasn’t right that she’d needed Welsh just to get back on her feet. She’d dragged both of them down this time and maybe that was the reason they’d failed. She was supposed to be strong and she just felt weak. He followed her into the locker room but neither of them said a word at first. The room was empty, the others already cleared out, but she still didn’t turn around to face him until his hands caught her arms. She sighed and leaned her back against the lockers, glancing up at his face. His hands dropped and took hers as he slumped down on the bench in front of her and she tried not to feel better when his thumb started running over the back of her palm. “Are you okay?” he asked her, and it was stupid that he had to ask. “Sure,” she snapped, turning her head to look at the floor. She had to bit her lip to stop herself from yelling because it wasn’t his fault that she was a coward and she didn’t know how she was going to deal with this flying business. Did the Initiative give flight lessons? “We need to talk, Vic” Simon told her quietly. He was watching her with a strange look on his face and she didn’t now what it meant. His fingers twined in hers and pulled her closer, his other hand sliding around her waist. She went easily, fingers running through his hair as he pressed a kiss to her stomach. She tried not to hate those words. She tried not to feel like this was the part where he told her he didn’t want to fuck her anymore because he wanted to work it out with his ex-fiancée, but thanks for the good time. “Nothing good ever comes after those words,” she said quietly, a small smirk curling her lips. She tried to pretend it wasn’t a little bit bitter and a little bit scared but it was probably both. She shouldn’t have cared so much. She tried to tell herself that if he didn’t want her she could take it. He smiled back at her but he looked sad as he pulled her fingers to his mouth, brushing his lips over her skin. “That’s not true,” he told her and then he laughed quietly. “At least I hope not.” His hand was running slowly up and down her side before he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her stomach. “Come home with me.” Her heart was loud in her chest and she stiffened under the words. Her fingers were still running through his hair and he leaned into the touch. He glanced up at her face and there was concern looking up at her and maybe that scared her more than anything. She cared too much what he wanted from her and maybe everything would be easier if she didn’t. Sometimes she’d cared about the men she fucked, but never like this and she didn’t know if that was good or terrifying. “You don’t have to play nice with me you know,” she told him quietly. “If you want to fuck me all you have to do is say it. I don’t expect more from you.” He frowned and his lips pressed against her stomach as he looked up at her face. She wondered if she’d made him mad because he didn’t look alright. His hand pulled away from hers and then he wrapped both arms around her waist and she loved having his arms around her. “Is that all you want?” he asked her lowly. “Do you just want this to be a fuck?” She looked down at him, her fingers running through his hair and his chin resting against her stomach as he looked up at her. She wondered what he wanted from her and if she could be that, whatever it was, because she wanted him way too much. “No,” she whispered, and she surprised herself when the word came from her lips. “But it’s what I’m used to.” Wenston “I don’t want to be something you’re used to,” Simon said, his chin still against her stomach as her fingers wandered over his head and through his hair and her touch felt good. It was loving and he almost laughed at how far along she’d come since the first time he’d met her. She’d hated him. She’d called him weak and slow and she didn’t want anything to do with him and now look at her. Now look at them. And he wanted them to talk about what this was. “You’re not,” she told him, her head ducked and she wasn’t looking in his eyes. He watched her face and she looked scared and confused and he would have thought it was cute, but he didn’t like that she could possibly run if he pushed too hard or said something wrong and he didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want her to get mad or sad or go away. “At all,” she added and then her lips quirked and her eyes finally rose to meet his. He smiled back at her and tilted his head to rest his cheek against her stomach, his arms pulling her closer and squeezing around her waist. “Come home with me,” he whispered again because she hadn’t answered him before and he still wanted her to. He felt her hands still on his head and for a moment he was scared that she was about to tell him they were moving too fast for her or that she didn’t want to. “Okay,” she said softly and he closed his eyes as relief spread through him. He squeezed her tighter and then stood, reaching to run his fingers through her hair and press a kiss to her lips, which she returned fully. He was well aware they were in the locker room and there could possibly be visitors at any minute, but if the others hadn’t guessed by now what was going on between the two of them, then they would just have to deal with it. He didn’t want to hide it anymore from them. While they were getting dressed, Simon kept glancing over at her and he’d smile because she always seemed to know when he was looking at her, so she’d pause and take her time pulling on whatever article of clothing she was in the process of putting on. As he pulled on his cargo pants, he felt the heavy weight of the necklace in his pocket and he grinned because he didn’t think she’d be expecting it. He watched her as he got finished and she was still pulling on her clothes. He thought about her crouched on the floor of the plane and he chewed his lip because he didn’t like it that she’d been so scared. He didn’t like that she was scared of something they’d probably have to do on every mission. Elias was right, they’d have to fly almost everywhere and he hated that Vic had to deal with that every time. Clearing his throat, he drew her attention to him and smiled gently. “I know I guy that gives private flying lessons,” he told her. She frowned and then quickly wiped it off her face before looking in her locker. She didn’t say anything so Simon pressed on gently. “He can do helicopter or plane, whichever you’d want.” Vic finished getting dressed and then bit her bottom lip, looking over at him. “Maybe,” she said and she was still reluctant to admit to him that she was scared of anything. She was reluctant to get in a plane or a helicopter, but he knew that eventually she’d decide it would be a good idea. He nodded and as she closed her locker, he walked over to her and brushed his fingers across the back of her neck. She shivered beneath the touch and he kissed her cheek before taking her hand. “Well, let me show you my rental, then,” he waggled his eyebrows and she laughed slightly as he lead her out of the locker room and to the rental car he’d gotten until his Lexus was fixed. It was a beat up old thing, no heated seats, and no air conditioning. As they drove to his apartment, he glanced over at Vic as she played around with the glove box that kept falling open whenever he hit a pothole. It looked like she was trying to fix the thing, but it just kept popping open. He grinned at the frustrated look on her face. He thought about Elias’ words about Matheson. The man had told Elias that they’d chosen the wrong man as leader, and Simon agreed completely with him. But then he’d said Simon would have made a good leader and that blew Simon’s mind that a guy like Matheson would think that. Matheson was professional and experienced and good at what he did. Simon had gone on what, three, four missions? He didn’t know a thing about this stuff. Avi was experienced, even if no one would have ever guessed it by the way he ran his team. He thought about what he would have done different on the plane. Maybe background checks on the flight crew. Maybe have people not just in the first class section, but throughout the plane. Maybe coordinate with the air marshals to have guys undercover in the seats. Or maybe he just would have chartered a damn private jet for the Senator and they wouldn’t have to worry about civilians. They could have booked all of the other seats, they had funding, and government backing to do so. Matheson’s crew probably didn’t. “What are you thinking?” Vic’s voice came quietly and he felt her fingers on his knee. He glanced over to her and realized he’d been lost in thought. He also realized this was the first time she’d asked him what he was thinking and he smiled at her because maybe it meant she really did want to get to know him and be with him. He wanted to know what she was thinking all the time. “About Senator Casey,” he told her. Vic made a face and then told him, “There’s nothing you could have done.” “I know,” he told her honestly and then smirked. “Just thinking about what I would have done differently if I were Avi.” A smirk crossed her lips and she scooted closer to him, one hand running behind his shoulders and the other moving from his knee to his thigh and he resisted the urge to tell her that he was driving because she probably knew that already. Her lips came to the side of his neck and he gave a small laugh because it was an odd reaction to what he was thinking. Her breath was soft on his skin as she whispered, “Everything.” Simon was glad he didn’t live that far away because by the time he pulled into his parking spot outside his apartments, Vic’s hands had run all over him and he was very distracted, unable to concentrate on the road. He put the car in park and shut it off, then turned in his seat and grabbed her head roughly, but carefully. He tipped her head back and she grinned at him, her mouth parted slightly. He leaned in like he was going to kiss her but his mouth hovered over his as he watched her face. “You’re distracting,” he told her playfully. Her face fell at that and she pulled back out of his grasp and he wasn’t quite sure what he’d said wrong, but it looked like he’d just slapped her in the face. She leaned back in her seat and he reached over to grab her chin, pulling her face back so he could look her in the eye. “Hey,” he said, frowning when he saw the upset look she wore. “That’s not a bad thing.” “Yes it is,” she said. “You were distracted today, trying to get me to do my fucking job,” she growled. Simon frowned and he didn’t understand why she was suddenly so mad. “That won’t happen again. It can’t. When we’re on missions, we focus on the job, that’s it. Distractions will only get you killed.” Simon pouted playfully. “But I like having you as a distraction,” he whispered and leaned over to kiss her neck. He felt her hand come up to his shoulder, but he didn’t pull back, working his mouth along her skin. “I’m being serious,” she told him and he just grumbled in response as he kept kissing her, his hand slipping beneath her shirt to run over her stomach and he felt her relax a little beneath the touch, her breath coming faster and he smiled against her skin. “Simon,” she said and not in the way he was used to when they did this. He pulled back to look at her face because she was serious now. She looked at him, her fingers coming up to run through his hair. “When we’re out there, the job comes first.” Simon didn’t think he’d be able to do that. He didn’t think that if it came down to it and he had to choose the job over Vic, he didn’t think he could do it. If it meant her getting hurt or killed, he’d always choose her. And maybe that’s what separated him from Avi. The man didn’t care about anything but the job and that’s why the Initiative had chosen him to lead this team. He didn’t let emotions get in the way. Except for when he went after Simon. But he didn’t have someone he was fucking, or possibly loved, on the team. And that meant he could think semi-clearly when it came to tough situations like that. He couldn’t promise Vic he’d do that. He couldn’t tell her he’d do that because he wasn’t a liar. So he just leaned back, pulling her hand away from his head and bringing her fingers to his lips. “I’ll try,” he told her and it was the best he had at the moment. Her eyes narrowed slightly but she seemed to realize that was the only answer she would get out of him. Vic looked out the car window and it was starting to rain outside. Simon watched her face and she sighed before looking back at him. “You said we needed to talk,” she reminded him and he smiled because she sounded worried and he didn’t know if she should be or not. “Yeah,” he said and leaned back, letting go of her hand. He took a breath and gathered his courage and then he smiled at her. “I’m crazy about you,” he told her and he watched her frown, but a smile crossed her lips slightly. “I know you don’t want to be just a fuck, and I don’t want you to be either.” He moved closer and pushed some of her hair behind her ear and she was watching him, her face scared, like she didn’t know where he was going, clinging to every word he said. He kept the smile on his face as he spoke to her. “I want you to be with me. I want you to be mine, Vic.” She swallowed, letting out a small breath as she shook her head, “Like…a girlfriend?” she asked and the word sounded foreign on her tongue. Simon just smiled and he reached into his pocket and pulled out the box that held the necklace he bought her. He looked down at it and he saw her eyes travel to it, frowning a little. He held it out to her, but she didn’t move to take it so he opened it for her and he heard her take a sharp breath. “I want you to be whatever you want to be to me,” he whispered. .Wolfie. Vic didn’t know what to say.She felt like she couldn’t get her mouth to move and she couldn’t stop staring at the box held in Welsh’s hand. There was a necklace glittering inside it, a simple silver heart with three stones set along one side and she wondered if those were real diamonds and how much they must have cost. She felt suddenly out of place in her own skin because men didn’t buy her jewelry or take her on dates or ask her to be something, anything more than just a good fuck. Men gave her six hundred bucks to disappear and keep her mouth shut. Men begged her not to tell pops that they’d fucked her in the back of their van. “I can’t accept that,” she told him, her voice a harsh whisper. She didn’t know if she was talking about the necklace or the words but he couldn’t mean any of it. He couldn’t want her because she was damaged and she was dirty and he was neither of those things. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked scared and concerned and she’d put that there but there were a thousand reasons why she couldn’t accept his gift and couldn’t accept what he was saying. It was weakness and it was attachment and even if she ignored those things, she still didn’t belong in his life. “That’s too bad,” he said gently, a smile pulling at his lips. “Because I got it for you.” She shook her head and she felt something like panic rising in her chest. “Then take it back,” she snapped, harsher than she meant to. She saw hurt flash across his face for a moment and he swallowed hard and looked down at the box to hide it. She looked down at her hands because she felt so guilty for putting that look there. He didn’t know what he was asking. He didn’t know who she was. He didn’t know anything about what kind of life she’d had and she didn’t know anything about the kind of life that he’d had and she didn’t need him to buy her anything because she could take care of herself. “You don’t like it,” he said quietly. She frowned and shook her head. “I didn’t say that,” she told him. She looked at it again and it was too much. It was pretty and silver and she wondered why he’d picked that one and she didn’t want to care. It probably cost too much and she couldn’t imagine just having money to dump on something that was just there to be beautiful. “I just can’t take it.” “You’re not taking it,” he said. He forced a smile across his face and he still looked a little hurt but he wasn’t giving up. He leaned forward as he pulled it out of the box for her. “I’m giving it to you.” She sat farther back in the seat, watching it spin in the glow from the streetlights outside the car. It reflected strangely in the light coming through the rain soaked windows and she watched the small stones wink back at her. No one had ever gotten her something like it before and maybe she was panicking a little bit because she didn’t know how to handle it. He was looking at her so hopefully and she didn’t understand what he wanted from her. She didn’t understand why he would buy her something like that. It was too nice and too much for someone like her and maybe he didn’t understand that yet. “Why?” she demanded. “I got it for you,” he told her, “so that you would understand I think the world of you.” He held it forward for her but she still didn’t take it. She pulled one leg up on the seat and wrapped her arms around it as she studied him. She tried to ignore just how much those words meant to her. She tried to ignore just how hard it made her heart pound in her chest when he told her that he was crazy about her and he thought the world of her and coming from him, she believed the words. “You shouldn’t get so attached to me,” she told him quietly. She didn’t say the words to be mean, but they came out that way anyway and maybe she was just saying them because she felt she had to. “Attachment is weakness.” He frowned and sat back in his seat, toying with the necklace in his hands. He was studying her with a strange sort of intensity and she almost told him not to fucking stare but they’d moved past that a while ago. “You’re mad,” he said, and he chewed his lip as he processed that. “You got mad thinking you’re just a fuck but now you’re mad that I think of you as more.” “I’m not mad,” she snapped, pulling the other leg up onto the seat with her. She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably and her gaze flicked from the necklace and then back to his face. “I just don’t understand you, Welsh.” Something seemed to occur to him and he tilted his head to the side, a smile tugging at his lips. “Are you mad because you like me?” She frowned at him. “I like having sex with you,” she said. He laughed and a slow, lazy smile rolled across his lips. “Yeah, that’s probably true. But I think you’re mad right now because you like me.” She shivered at the words because sometimes he was too fucking smart for his own good. She kept her head resting on her knees and watched him as the smile slowly faded away. He toyed with the necklace in his hands and then he looked up at her and he looked nervous and contemplative as his eyes roamed her face. “What do you want to be to me?” he asked her quietly, and wasn’t that just the million dollar question? She ducked her head so that she didn’t have to look at him. “I don’t know,” she said, and she felt like a confused little kid. Her nails picked at her jeans and she almost opened her mouth to tell him that all of this was new territory for her. Men didn’t want to date her. They wanted to fuck her and be done with her and she had always been fine with that because she didn’t need to get emotionally involved. Welsh was different. He was better than that and she wanted to be better for him. “I don’t know how to be a girlfriend.” He laughed quietly, his hand coming out to brush along her cheek. His hands were still soft. They fought every day and he’d been on five missions but his hands were still soft and she should have hated him still but she didn’t. She didn’t know how that had happened. Even the sound of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. “Just be you,” he told her. “That’s all I want.” Maybe it was because of those words that she didn’t tell him to go to Hell. He wasn’t asking her to change. He wasn’t asking her to be anything else but herself. His hand was cupping her face and she leaned into it. Her lips pressed against his palm and her head was spinning but then she turned her face to his and she smiled weakly. “Yes,” she whispered quietly. He lifted an eyebrow. “Yes?” he asked. She smirked and turned to kiss his palm again. Her hand curled the fingers and she brushed her lips over his knuckle, letting his thumb come to rest against her lower lip. “Yes,” she told him again. “Yes, I like you.” She watched a slow grin spread across his face and she returned it. “And yes, I’ll be yours.” She said those words low because she was almost surprised they were coming from her lips but they were the truth. She was his, and she leaned her cheek into his hand. “But it doesn’t mean you own me,” she added harshly. He smiled and a laugh pulled its way from his lips. “I’d never think it for a second,” he told her, grinning as he leaned forward to kiss her. Then he sat back and started to unclasp the necklace. “Now are you going to let me give you this or not?” “What do you want in return?” she asked, looking apprehensively at the silver heart. He smirked and he was trying to be funny and he was trying to be okay but she’d hurt him by trying not to take it and she knew it. “You do understand the concept of a gift, right?” “Yes,” she snapped, and he smirked at the reaction. She rolled her eyes at him but it wasn’t very funny. She kept her mouth shut and didn’t tell him that she hadn’t exactly gotten a lot of those. Her dad had gotten her one, ever, when she was a lot younger and had asked him if Santa Clause thought she was bad because he never brought her presents. The next day pops had left her a snow globe of Coney Island and when she asked why Santa brought her something this year he just snorted and told her there was no such thing as Santa Clause. “But I still don’t understand why you got me one.” He sighed like she was making him tired and then he sat forward in his seat. His hand came out to lift her chin up and he smiled warmly at her. “Because,” he said quietly, pressing a kiss to her lips. “You deserve nice things.” She felt his hands move to her throat and she felt the chain as it slid across her skin. He was kissing her again and maybe that was why she wasn’t fighting against him as she fastened it securely around her neck. The heart was a heavy weight on the end of it and she glanced down to where it sat against her chest. Simon smiled at the necklace and then he looked up at her face. “Beautiful,” he whispered quietly. He started to sit back but her hand came up to the collar of his shirt and she yanked him back down towards her. She kissed him hard and she was surprised when he didn’t pull back or tease her or try to make her beg. He returned the kiss, one hand cupping the back of her head and pulling her roughly against him. She felt the other hand slide under her shirt and her breath was quickening in her chest with every little touch. Then he was tipping her chin back and his mouth was dropping to her neck, biting gently at her skin as his lips moved to her ear. “Let’s go upstairs,” he told her. He pulled away from her, biting her neck one last time with a low growl before he pushed his door open and climbed out into the rain. She followed him out into the downpour, skin soaked almost immediately when the water hit her and it was a shock to her system after the warm car. He held the door of the apartment building open for her but she lingered in the rain anyway because she really did love standing in it. She didn’t say anything in the elevator and she didn’t say anything as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Her fingers toyed with the necklace and she wasn’t used to wearing jewelry of any kind. There had never been a point to it. Any jewelry they’d owned had been hocked to buy food and so she’d never gotten into the habit. She didn’t say anything until he looked back and took her hand, leading her into the apartment. “Simon?” she said, and he glanced over his shoulder at her. She stopped in her steps, still holding his hand. “Vic?” he asked with a sly grin on his face. Her hands pulled out of his and slid up to his face. She cupped his jaw and her voice was low and serious when she spoke and it was full of weakness and attachment and she didn’t care. His arms were sliding around her waist and if she was honest with herself she would admit that she was happier here than she’d been anywhere else. It was dangerous and it was stupid and she wanted it all the same. She stretched up on her toes and her lips ghosted over his as she whispered quietly to him. “Thank you,” she said. Wenston Episode #6: Marcus Meehan She was beautiful. That’s all he could think, over and over again as he stood in the doorway to his bedroom, leaning against the doorframe with a coffee in his hands as he looked at the girl lying in his bed. She lay on her stomach, her arms beneath the pillow, her face turned towards the warmth of the sun coming in through the curtains. The cream colored sheets lay about her waist and her back was exposed, her tan skin a stark contrast to the bed she lay on. He looked at every curve of her body. Every mark on her skin, some he’d put there himself when she drove him wild with the things she could do with her body. She’d told him she was his. She’d told him she liked him and neither of them had ventured into the “love” area yet because even Simon was afraid of that journey. As much as he liked her, as much as having her near and hearing her say his name in hushed tones or cried out in furious passion, he didn’t think he could say “love” yet. It wasn’t because it wasn’t true, because he thought maybe he was heading down that path, but it was because there was still an open wound inside of him from the last girl he’d said it to and how easily she’d discarded it when he’d needed her the most. He could get sick again. He knew he could and he was reminded of that on a daily basis. He didn’t know if Vic would stay if that happened and that scared him. She’d told him she’d probably still like him if he got sick, but probably wasn’t yes. Probably wasn’t holding his hand as he puked into a bucket all day or coming to visit as he lay half dead in a hospital bed and probably wasn’t a promise that she’d stick around. And he couldn’t do that again. He couldn’t watch the world crash down around him again and if they ventured into “love” territory, he’d have more to lose. Although, it would still hurt like hell if she left him now. Vic shifted on the bed and he watched as she rolled her head so she was facing him. The silver chain around her neck glinted in the sunlight and her dark eyes opened to look at him. A small, tired smile curled his lips and he returned it. “You’re a creep,” she said tiredly and he laughed because he’d kept her up most of the night last night. She’d been rough on him, but he didn’t really mind. “There’s coffee in the kitchen,” he whispered and he didn’t know why he felt the need to talk quietly. She was already awake. Vic’s eyes closed and she nuzzled into his pillow more, hugging it. “You’re supposed to bring it to me.” A low chuckle escaped his lips and he shoved off the doorframe, walking over to the bed and setting the cup of coffee in his hands down on the nightstand next to her. He leaned over her, his hand coming to the small of her back and he leaned down to press a kiss to her hair. She sighed contently beneath his lips and he smiled, breathing her in a moment. “I have to get ready,” he whispered to her. A frown marred her face and then her eyes were opening again to look up at him. “Ready for what?” she asked. He smiled gently. “Dinner. With Kim and her fiancé.” He watched her face closely and he could see the flash of annoyance, hurt and pain that crossed through it before she wiped it off completely. He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through her hair. She rolled over, grabbing the sheets and pulling them up to cover her chest as she sat up, bringing her knees up to wrap an arm around them. He leaned into her, resting his chin on her knees and keeping his face close to hers. “It’s for a job,” he reminded her. “I know,” she said and she was telling the truth. Didn’t mean she had to like it though. She was watching him closely. “So this guy,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant but Simon wasn’t buying it. “He’s some pharmacist?” Simon smiled, pressing a kiss to her knees. “He works for a company that’s experimenting with shifter technology,” he said quietly and he watched her face contort because he’d left that part out. She brought a hand to the side of his head and brushed her thumb along his cheekbone. She was quiet though, waiting for him to go on. “They can do all the same things the government can do except for cure disease.” “Like yours,” Vic said and it wasn’t a question. Simon smirked. “Like mine,” he told her. Then the smirk fell off his face. “I just need to keep an eye on him and answer his questions about my cancer and not let him know that I’m a shifter. How hard can that be, right?” He said it to be funny. He said it to make her smile or laugh but his voice had wavered slightly towards the end and it didn’t come out the way he wanted it to and he just couldn’t force the smile on his face because he didn’t like to talk about his cancer and he didn’t like that he had to do it in front of Kim and a guy he didn’t know. He cleared his throat. “I just need to keep an eye on him, that’s all. Get to know him, answer his questions, find out what he knows.” Vic frowned. “Why does the government care about the company so much?” Simon just shrugged and Vic watched him for a moment before she leaned forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing her forehead tight against his. “Watch your back on this one,” she whispered. “I don’t like this. I think you’re being lied to.” Simon snorted and leaned into her. “I know I am,” he whispered. Then he leaned forward and kissed her lips before he pulled away. “I need to take a shower. I’m going to be late.” He grabbed Vic’s hand and brought her fingers to his lips before he stood and walked into the bathroom. Pulling off his sweats, he started the shower and climbed in and let the water run over his skin and he sighed as he thought about this. She was right, he was being lied to, by Elias, but he didn’t know why. He didn’t know why the government cared about a company that could do the same thing as them. He didn’t know why he was meeting with this David guy or what Elias expected him to get out of the man because if the company he worked for was elusive as he said it was, David wouldn’t tell him anything. He felt like he was being played. He felt like he was a worm on a hook being dangled over a school of fish and they were just waiting for someone to bite and he didn’t know who it was that was supposed to bite him. As Simon ran shampoo over his head, the glass door to the shower pulled back and he blinked his eyes open, but shut them immediately as the shampoo burned. He heard the door close again and then Vic’s familiar hands were running over his chest and then heading downwards. He grinned. “What are you doing?” he asked, trying to wipe the shampoo from his eyes but she pulled his hands down so he remained blind. Vic didn’t answer, her mouth too preoccupied with placing kisses along his chest and up his sternum and neck and collarbones and her lips roamed all over him. Finally, her lips rose to his ear and she nibbled on his skin and he pulled his hands away from her to wipe the shampoo out of his eyes and looked down at her. She pulled back and looked up at his face. “Making you late,” she whispered to him. He grinned and grabbed her, pulling her up onto his hips and pushed her back against the wall of the shower. “You’re evil,” he told her and then shut up whatever she was about to say to him by pressing his lips against hers. .Wolfie. “How do I look?” Simon asked her with a wry smirk.She sat on the counter in his kitchen, wearing just her underwear and a shirt of his that didn’t want to stay on her shoulders. Her hair was damp from the shower and she felt warm and content and bruised in all the right places. She loved the way he manhandled her and he was getting better at not pulling his punches. She tilted her head to the side to study him because he’d put on way more clothes than her. He was wearing a suit and a tie and she thought he wore it well but she still didn’t like it. It fit him and it fit this life he used to have but she didn’t think it was really him anymore and she wanted to take it back off and leave it crumpled on the floor. Her hand reached out and curled around his tie as she pulled him closer to her. His hands came to rest on her bare knees and she tilted her head back to look at him. “Like a tool,” she said, grinning up at him. He laughed, hands sliding up her thighs to her hips where they settled there. She felt his thumb brushing over the bare skin and she wished she could convince him to stay. She didn’t like any part of this and she didn’t like that he would have anyone there to watch his back. He was smart and he was calculating but she didn’t know if he was naturally suspicious enough to know when someone was trying to fuck him over. Vic expected it of everyone. “So I look the part?” he said, chuckling dryly. Her face fell and her hands came to rest on his shoulders. She slid her palms down the fabric and straightened out the blazer and she nodded her head slowly. “You look good,” she told him, and she saw him smile at the compliment. Then her head tilted to the side and mischievous smile spread across her lips. “You’ll look better when I take it off you.” He laughed and his hand came out to cup her face. He kissed her hard and his fingers were tight in her hair and all of it, the way he was acting and the way he was hesitating told her that he didn’t like this anymore than she did. He knew he was being used. He knew that not everything here was on the level because there was no reason for Elias to think that some pharmacist would tell Simon anything just because he was fucking Welsh’s ex-flame. He kissed her again and she tightened her grip on the collar of his blazer as she pulled him closer against her. She felt his fingers digging into her hips and she didn’t think he was okay with this. She wondered how he felt about seeing Kim again. She wanted to ask but she wouldn’t because that would just sound jealous and insecure and she didn’t want to be that girl. She’d meant something to him once, and she didn’t think a guy like Welsh could just forget that. The bitch had dumped him on their wedding day and a little part of her wanted to tell him that it was the best thing that had ever happened to him because he could do better than that fucking whore. He could do better than her and he could do better than Vic. Though honestly, she was jealous. She was jealous that he was going to see a girl that fit better into his life. The kind of girl that was used to jewelry and nice dresses and expensive things and didn’t get scared when he told her she was beautiful. “I wish I could bring you with me,” he said quietly, and the words started her. She stilled, pulling back to look at his face. Her head tilted to the side to look at him. “Really?” she said, and she was surprised that he’d said it. It was the kind of dinner where he had to wear a suit and the nicest thing she had to wear was the necklace that he’d put around her neck. A smile spread across her face and she wondered what Simon would say if she told him that. He smirked and pulled back, hand still cupping her face as he looked at her. “Yeah,” he said, watching her eyes as he ran a thumb over her cheek. “I think I’d feel a lot better about this if you were there.” She grinned slyly and nuzzled her lips under his chin. Her mouth moved along his neck and she thought about leaving marks there. Her hands slid up under the jacket and across his muscled chest and his fingers tightened around her hips. Her lips moved up the side of his neck to his ear and she tugged the lobe between her teeth. She heard him groan quietly and he wasn’t the only one that could be a tease when he wanted to. “We could have sex in their bathroom,” she told him, lips brushing over his ear. He laughed quietly, fingers digging into her hips before his hands came up to cup her face and pull her mouth away from his skin. He was smiling at her, pressing his lips against hers before he leaned back to study her. She wondered what that look on his face was. She wondered what he was thinking about and if he really had to do this because she hated it. “See, this is why I adore you.” She laughed quietly and put a hand over her mouth to stifle it but she was surprised when his fingers came up to pull it away. “Don’t do that,” he told her. “I love your smile, don’t hide it.” He kissed her again and she tried to pretend that the words didn’t make her heart race faster. She wondered if he understood how much of a hold he had over her and if he understood that she wasn’t lying when she said she was his. Then he pulled back with a quiet sigh and rested his head against hers. “I have to go. I’m already late,” he told her, but the smile on his face took any sting out of the words. “Are you staying here tonight?” Vic leaned forward, quirking her mouth to the side as she studied him. This was still his apartment and she didn’t know if he wanted her here all the time or if he wanted some alone time when he got back. “Do you want me to?” she asked. He laughed weakly and pressed his forehead against hers. “Yes please,” he whispered, and she hated how nervous he sounded. She smiled, hands running through his hair and down his neck before she pulled his face up into a kiss. If they sent him home hurt or sad she was going to take a baseball bat and break all their fucking kneecaps. “Then I’ll be here.” “Good,” he said, and he sounded relieved. He tilted his head and kissed her again and she wondered if he was just stalling now. “There’s a spare key in the bowl by the door. If you go out just lock up first. Last thing I need is Avi burning down my apartment while I’m gone.” He laughed but it wasn’t really funny because neither of them were sure it wasn’t true. She wondered if Rogers would do as she said and leave Welsh the fuck alone. If he didn’t, she didn’t think she’d have a choice but to follow through on the threat though there was a little part of her that was nervous about Avi now. He was scary in lion form, more animal than man and if she didn’t kill him fast then she didn’t know if she would win. She wondered if there would come a day very soon now when he just snapped and tore through Welsh and whoever was standing in between them. She had no doubt that he was the reason Elias wanted them all given psychiatric exams and she wasn’t looking forward to that either. “Be careful,” she told him, and she saw him smile at the concern in his voice. She frowned and gripped his chin firmly in her hand. “I’m serious,” she snapped. “Watch your back. And don’t let the other kids bully you.” He laughed and kissed her forehead. “I know, Vic,” he said quietly, and maybe he did. “I really have to go now.” “I know,” she said. A sigh escaped her lips and she used his tie to pull him back into one more kiss. She didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want him to have to and she hated that bastard Elias for putting him in this position. She wondered if he’d have ever wanted to see his ex-fiancée if Elias wasn’t making him and either way she didn’t feel better because he still had to do it. Her fingers ran up the side of his face and she rested her forehead against his lips. “I’ll see you later.” “See you tonight,” he told her, tipping her chin up so that he could kiss her goodbye. She hated saying goodbyes. It was only some small relief that he didn’t look happy to be leaving her and she watched his back as he headed for the door. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip and she didn’t like that he was walking away and she knew it was just dinner and it didn’t mean anything but she felt a vague sort of panic in her chest. “Simon?” she called, and she didn’t like how weak and pathetic her voice sounded but it came out anyway. She’d told him she was his. She hadn’t asked if he was hers. Maybe she was afraid of the answer. He turned around and he smiled at her and she felt her chest constrict as his eyes met hers and she couldn’t ask the question because it wasn’t what he needed right now. He’d told her he was crazy about her and he thought the world of her and she felt the necklace hanging between her breasts, the metal cool against her skin. That was answer enough. She smiled back and it was honest as she looked at his face. “Anyone who says you’re weak and pathetic is a fucking liar.” He smiled at her and backed down the hallway. “Thanks,” he said. His voice was rough with an emotion she couldn’t recognize. She listened to the front door close and as soon as he was gone the apartment felt a lot quieter and a lot lonelier. She chewed on her lip and crossed her ankles, hands still resting on the edge of the counter. It felt good that he trusted her enough to leave her here but it wasn’t her apartment and she still felt awkward being in here alone. She pushed herself off the counter and helped herself to one of the beers still in the fridge before walking back into the bedroom to get dressed. She didn’t know how long this was supposed to take but she probably had enough time to go back to her apartment and get a change of clothes before she came back. Her teeth pulled at her lip and she wondered what it meant that she was his. She wondered what it meant that she hadn’t been lying when she said it and she tried not to think of just how fucking terrified she was of all this. She cared about him and she wanted him and maybe she was scared that this could only end in pain. She pulled her jeans on and didn’t bother to change her shirt because she was comfortable in his clothes right now. She liked that she could still feel his hands on her skin and his lips against hers and she liked everything about him. She liked that he was confusing, and that felt like a strange thought but it was true. The moment she’d met him she’d pegged him as weak and worthless and nothing but a corpse waiting to happen and then he’d saved her life. He’d stared down the barrel of a gun for his brother and she still wanted to ask how he’d done that. She wanted to ask how he could be so unafraid of dying and she wondered if it was because he’d already almost died of cancer. She wanted to know everything about him and understand him and know who he was because he wasn’t just a polo wearing monkey. There was a pad of paper by the telephone and she scribbled him a quick note on it just in case he got back before her. She pinned it to the fridge with a magnet from Niagra Falls and she wanted to know where else he’d been and where he wanted to go. Vic closed and locked the door behind her before walking home and she tried not to think what he was doing and who he was with. Wenston Simon hadn’t been lying when he’d said David lived in a mansion. As soon as it came into sight, he immediately got self conscious about the rental car he was driving and the suit he was wearing and everything about himself because he felt awkward going to a place like this trying to pretend he was still the same guy who’d lived in Pearl Welsh’s mansion before he’d gotten sick. He wondered when the change had actually happened. Maybe it was when he’d moved out, or when he joined the Shifter Initiative, or maybe it was when his mother had asked him what type of gravestone he wanted while he was in the hospital. Maybe he’d been changing before he’d even gotten sick. There was a high fence around the entire mansion and it made it look more like a compound than someone’s home. He could see a guest house to the side that was bigger than most houses in the city and there was an open garage with at least twelve classic cars showcased. Kim was doing well for herself, he had to admit. He wondered if she even cared about the man, or just his money. Probably the money. When he pulled up to the gate, he winced as his rental car spluttered and he hoped the shop would finish his Lexus soon. Then his mind went to Vic and the way she’d made fun of his fancy car, just like Alexey had and he didn’t need to be flashy around them. That wasn’t his life anymore and he should have nothing to be ashamed of driving this car or wearing a suit that cost under $1000. He shouldn’t be ashamed of living his own life and not relying on money to be happy. He had Vic. He had his brother. He had the Initiative and as much as it gave him a headache, he found he was enjoying being a part of the team. Being a part of something. He wished they could pick their missions a little more selectively. Take the ones where they were saving people. Like Heidi Colette. If nothing else, returning her to her father made being on the Nightstalkers worthwhile. He chuckled because they hadn’t called themselves that since the first day. There was a security guard at the gate, sitting in the booth and he walked out as Simon rolled down the window. Simon noticed cameras posted just about everywhere and all the extra security made him a little nervous. David Walworth was powerful, he knew that. But he didn’t know how powerful he really was and he wondered if he was walking into something dangerous. Elias was lying to him about why he had to keep an eye on David and maybe he’d have a chat with the man when he got back. “Hey, I’m here to…” Simon started. “Mr. Welsh,” the security guard smiled and Simon paused to study the man’s face, wondering if he’d ever met him before. “They’ve been waiting for you. You can pull up to the foyer, there will be someone there to park your…car.” Simon glanced at the hood of his car and then offered the man wry smile. “It’s a rental,” he explained. “Uh, my Lexus is in the shop. For a while.” He chewed his bottom lip and watched the security guard stare blankly back at him and he didn’t think he knew the man, which meant that the security in David’s place knew what he looked like, were probably given pictures. “Alright,” the security guard said and struggled to keep the warm smile on his face. “Pull on in,” he said and the gates opened up. Simon nodded to the man and then let out a growl as he pulled up the long drive towards the front of the mansion because this was ridiculous. He had nothing to be ashamed of and this was stupid that he was here while Vic was at his apartment because he wanted to be there with her and he wondered what David would have done if he’d brought Vic along. Put her in a nice dress, showed her off. He snorted when he thought maybe the man would be jealous, because Kim was a fucking Barbie doll where as Vic was a living, breathing, beautiful woman. When he pulled up, a man came around to open the door for him and Simon smiled at him, handing him the keys. “Try not to scratch it,” he said with a straight face and then he laughed when he saw the man’s face. He clapped him on the shoulder. “Do you get paid to be so serious?” The man gave him a funny look and then said, “I don’t get paid, sir.” Simon quirked an eyebrow and almost asked what the guy meant by he doesn’t get paid. Why else would he be running around doing stuff for David Walworth? Maybe it had something to do with the company the man worked for. He thought about his own contract and maybe he’d gotten lucky because he was compensated for the time. Maybe there were alternatives out there that didn’t give that option. He didn’t get a chance to ask as a woman in glasses and a business suit appeared on the steps. Her hair was pulled back tightly and she held a PDA in her hands, but he didn’t miss the way she moved or the lean muscled tone of her body and he doubted she was just a nerdy assistant. She almost looked military. “Mr. Welsh,” she called and he looked up at her. “If you’ll come with me? They’re ready to start dinner.” “They?” Simon asked, walking around his car and up the stairs. She nodded curtly and then turned, her heels clicking on the marble floors as she lead him into the mansion. He looked around and there was just as much security inside David’s place as there was outside. Cameras in every room, guards posted near every door and he wondered if the man was just paranoid or if there really was a need for this security. “Mr. Walworth and his associates,” the woman said. Simon frowned. “Associates? I thought this was just a dinner with him, Kim and I?” “Mr. Walworth always dines with his associates,” she told him and then pushed open a large set of doors. Simon sucked in a harsh breath as he looked inside. By associates, the woman meant about a dozen other men, all in fancier suits than his, with beautiful woman at their sides wearing sparkling jewelry. At the head of the table was a man he assumed was David. He looked young, younger than the other people in the room, but he looked powerful all the same. He was clean shaven with neat, slicked brown hair. Kim sat next to him and she wore a ton of jewelry that probably cost enough to feed a small country. They all turned to look at him as the doors opened and Simon stood there awkwardly for a moment, feeling uncomfortably inadequate and he suddenly hoped that this wasn’t how he made Vic feel. If it was, he needed to stop it. He needed to mess his apartment up or move some place smaller or wear ripped jeans and dirty t-shirts or whatever she was used to. “Ah, Simon,” David said, a smarmy, condescending grin spreading across his features. Simon tried not to let it show that he already didn’t want to be here. “We were beginning to think you’d decided not to come.” Simon forced the smile on his face. “I had an unexpected delay this morning,” he said and was surprised by himself for slipping back into the formal, neat diction he’d been around his whole life. He wondered why he didn’t just come out and say that he’d been fucking a beautiful woman in his shower this morning. He wondered what David and his associates would think of that. “How unfortunate,” David said. “Everything has been sorted out, I hope?” Simon nodded and David smiled back at him. “Then, please, have a seat,” he held out a hand, motioning for Simon to take a seat at the head of the table, opposite David. He did as the man asked and pulled the chair out. As he sat down he was surprised when several personal servants came to push his chair in for him and pour him a glass of wine and lay out his plates in front of him. He watched them, smiling his thanks to them and he wondered if they got paid or if they were like the man outside and working for free. Simon glanced at the other people around the table and they were all still watching him and he tried not to let the apprehension show on his face. He wondered if they all worked for the company as well or if they were just taking advantage of David’s power and charity. He wondered if it could even be classified as charity. “Tell me, Simon,” David said and Simon looked down the long table at him. “Have you ever had the pleasure of tasting shark fin soup?” He held back a sigh and instead said, “I have not, actually.” David smiled but it looked even more condescending than before. “Then you are in for a treat.” .Wolfie. The bedroom door was closed when Vic got into the apartment and she rolled her eyes because she didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what was going on behind it. She could hear Lisa’s music blasting through the door and beneath that she could hear her making all kinds of noises that she didn’t really want to think about. For a second she thought she would be pissed if the bitch was fucking on her bed but then she didn’t really sleep here much anymore. The thought made her smile because she liked waking up in Welsh’s bed, even if he did wake her up by staring. She didn’t mind it as much when it was him. She clicked the television on and checked the fridge for leftovers while she waited because she really didn’t want to go in there right now. There was a box of pizza and a couple cans of beer so she helped herself to those and flopped down on the couch. She wondered how Simon was doing. She wondered if he’d let Kim and her fiancé walk all over him and she hoped not. He was better than that. He was stronger than them and he was more than some rich asshole who could sit on his fucking high horse and spend money that he’d never earned. Her pops had earned every fucking penny they’d ever had, even if he’d done it illegally. He’d still worked hard. He’d had to fight for every scrap they’d ever gotten and he’d taught her to be a fighter too. It was assholes like Elias that tried to make her feel like shit for that. Like she should feel bad because she hadn’t just gotten to sit around and get money and that her life hadn’t been fucking easy. She didn’t want any pity and she didn’t want any handouts but she didn’t think they deserved to sit there and make her feel like she was less than them. Life for her was just about survival. It wasn’t about the shiny things she could collect or the expensive cars and fancy clothes. She was lucky that she’d lived this long and she had a bullet scar on her stomach to prove it. Her fingers rose to toy with the necklace around her neck even as she thought it because maybe those things weren’t completely true anymore. She didn’t have to worry about the cops or the mafia bosses coming after her tomorrow because the Initiative had given her a new life and a new name and made her disappear. If she wanted to get attached she could, because she could think about things other than whether or not she was going to live to see another day. Even as she thought it she felt nervous because that was dangerous ground to tread on. It meant it would hurt so much more if he decided she was no good. It would hurt more if she lost him. As long as she took care of herself on missions, she would live to see another day. That meant she couldn’t keep being terrified of flying. She bit her lip and wondered if she should take Welsh up on his offer and find that guy that could give her lessons. Helicopters were the worst for her. Maybe she should start there. The door behind her opened and she glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Lisa come sauntering out. She choked on the beer pressed to her lips as Romanova came out of the room with just his jeans on and his hair mussed. “Alexey?” she blurted, her eyes wide with surprise. He grinned when he saw her but headed for the fridge. “Bitchzilla!” he said, pulling it open. She watched him pull out two beers and then push it shut with his foot and then he leaned on the counter for a moment to study her. “Simon went to dinner with super bitch and her ken doll?” Vic’s eyes narrowed and he snorted at the look, a grin pulling across his lips. “Well, Alexey to the rescue,” he told her, gesturing a hand at his chest. “You want to hit up the bar with me? I’ll need…” he paused, lifting his head with a concentrated look on his face, “ten minutes?” She snorted and shook her head, turning back towards the television because she didn’t want to see Romanova prancing around in her kitchen with half his clothes off. She wanted to see his brother like that. She’d wanted to keep him in the shower with her all morning because of the things he could do with his hands. “Don’t strain yourself,” she said, “I understand that would be a record for you.” Alexey laughed, walking backwards towards the door, the two beers clasped tightly in his hands. “You’re right,” he told her. “Maybe fifteen.” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows before pushing the door shut with his foot. She rolled her eyes and tipped her head back against the couch and tried to tell herself that at least it wasn’t Simon in there. She wondered if he was going to come out with chunks missing from his skin. Lisa was a fucking psycho bitch but apparently Romanova wasn’t feeling selective. She smirked and wondered if Givessi was going to give Matheson a call and maybe she could convince him to come over and replace Avi. Her smile widened after she thought it because it just reminded her of what the man had said about Simon. They’d put the wrong man in charge. He thought Simon should take his place and maybe that was why Avi hated him. He was smart and calculating and she liked that about him. She liked that he thought about what they needed to accomplish and as stupid as he could be sometimes, he put the mission ahead of everything. She wondered how he could be such a realist and an idealist at the same time. He wanted to believe they were doing something good but at the same time he didn’t hesitate anymore when he had to pull the trigger on someone else. He didn’t look away when he saw her with blood on her face. She wondered what pops would think of him and she knew better as soon as the thought crossed her mind. He would have hated him but he would have told Vic to keep fucking him and get everything she could before they had to take off again. He would have told her not to get attached and maybe he would have backhanded her just to make sure the lesson stuck. Then she thought that Simon probably wouldn’t have liked her dad either. He didn’t like it when people hurt her and she didn’t think he would understand that pops had only ever hit her to teach her strength. Not just because he could. It was just after ten minutes when Alexey pushed out of the bedroom again, Lisa hot on his heels with a pout on her lips. She was covered in just a blanket and Vic felt a growl rise in her throat because the blanket was off her bed. That fucking bitch. She was watching Alexey try and pull a shirt over his head and she was pulling at his belt buckle as he backed up. “Come on,” she whined, and Vic’s face darkened because it was so god damned grating. “I could go for a second round.” “Maybe next time,” Alexey told her, grinning broadly. He grabbed her by the back of the head and pressed a kiss against her mouth before he finished pulling the shirt on and jerked his head at Vic. “I’ve gotta go drink Bitchzilla under the table.” Lisa’s face darkened and suddenly she was glaring at Romanova before she cast the look over his shoulder to Vic. She didn’t know why, because she hadn’t done a fucking thing to the bitch in a while, but smurfette looked like she wanted to cut her throat in her sleep now. Her knuckles were turning white around the blanket and Alexey glanced over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow at Vic. “I don’t see what you want with that fucking slut,” she snapped. “I’m a better fuck than her anyway.” Romanova shrugged and grinned like he didn’t notice the heated glares directed his way. Maybe he didn’t. She wondered how much of his idiot act was the truth sometimes because if he was smarter than maybe he would try a little bit harder to keep his mouth shut around Rogers. She hoped that didn’t get him into trouble one of these days because she was the dumb bitch that hadn’t said a word about Romanova. Maybe Avi would think that was the way to strike at Welsh next and she didn’t think that would end well for either of them if he did. Simon got stronger every day, but right now Avi would just rip him apart. “Well, you’d have to ask my brother about that,” he told her, glancing back at Vic and waggling his eyebrows at her. She just rolled her eyes but her fingers lingered on the necklace he’d put around her neck. She wondered if he was okay and if she should have gone with him because he had no one there would watch his back. Just put bullets in it. “But we gotta go.” “Where are we going?” Vic asked, tilting her head to the side. “Drunken Bear,” he told her, his grin widening. “I need a drink just thinking about Welsh out with Kim and I’m not the one fucking him. So you are going to go shot for shot with me and when you lose and crawl under the table I’m going to tell him what a wimp you are and how you’re not half as badass as you pretend.” She raised an eyebrow at him and leaned forward, bracing her knees against the couch. “Bullshit,” she snapped. “I’ll kick your ass and then you’ll be crying home how you’re the pussy that got beat by a girl.” He laughed. “We’ll see,” he said, turning around to face Morticia again. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime,” he told her. “Fuck you,” Lisa snapped darkly, the angry glare on her face and if anything worse. “Already did that sweetheart,” he told her brightly. Her eyes widened and then she turned around and slammed the bedroom door hard in his face. He turned around and looked at Vic, a confused look on his face. “What did I do?” he mouthed, and then he winced as something hard hit the other side of the wooden door and then the music got louder on the other side. She raised her eyes to his because it sounded like she was yelling and throwing things on the other side. She covered her mouth with her hand to hold back a laugh and she thought about Simon telling her that he loved her smile and she really hoped he was alright. Vic shrugged. “I don’t know,” she told him, pushing herself off the couch. He watched her with a raised eyebrow, grabbing his coat off the back of the chair and pulling it around his shoulders. “But I’ll tell you what you should do.” “What’s that?” he asked with a smirk. She grinned sweetly at him, walking backwards towards the door. “Get tested.” Wenston Shark fin soup was disgusting. Simon decided that on the first bite. But he suffered through it and listened to David and his associates talk about politics and economy and pass themselves off as presumptuously smart. He wasn’t sure if he bought it or if they just liked slinging around big words towards each other. Simon only spoke when he was spoken to and it may have seemed somewhat rude, but honestly, he was doubting now that Elias’ entire reason for sending him here was to be buddy-buddy with David. He knew there was something else going on. Something beneath the surface. He just didn’t know what. The soup turned out to only be an appetizer. Then came a salad, then bread to cleanse the pallet, and then the main course, which turned out to be roasted pheasant, which Simon found out David had gone out and shot himself and it just made Simon wonder again what the hell he was doing here and not spending time in his apartment with Vic. They could be watching Kung fu movies and eating frozen burritos or he could have made her fondue because she’d never had it before and maybe he would make that for her tomorrow. He wondered if she’d like it or just think it was stupid to dunk everything you ate in cheese. “So, Simon,” David said after their plates were taken away and Simon glanced up at him. He had his hand over Kim’s on the table and he didn’t know why there was a spark of anger at the sight, because he didn’t have feelings for Kim anymore, but he couldn’t help it. At one time he had. At one time he’d thought he loved her enough to ask her to marry him and if he hadn’t gotten sick, they’d be husband and wife now. Kim had almost been his wife. It was strange, the differences between Kim and Vic. The most stark contrast was how they were in bed. Whereas he couldn’t escape the marks Vic left on his skin, Kim had barely wanted to touch him. Sex was business to her. It wasn’t sex. And in the three years he’d been with her, they hadn’t had it as much as he’d had in the short time he’d known Vic. He wondered if that should have been a sign. Vic was so much better than Kim. David leaned forward and grabbed his wine glass, swirling it slightly before sipping it. Simon watched him, waiting for him to say something. He didn’t miss the way the table had quieted down when David spoke. “What do you think of my home?” he asked, leaning back in the chair and the smarmy grin was back on his face. “You should be very proud of it,” Simon said, because he wasn’t a liar and he wasn’t going to start. David snorted and leaned forward, his eyes glinting. “I am proud of it,” he said, his voice low. “I’ve worked hard to get where I am today. And hard work should bring payoffs. This is mine,” he held his hand out towards the room around him and Simon smiled politely. David tipped his head, bringing Kim’s hand up to kiss her fingers and Simon glanced at Kim’s face because she hated public displays of affection, but she was smiling sweetly and David and maybe she had just hated Simon. “Kim tells me you have a very nice home too. Though not as grandiose as mine.” “Actually, I moved out of the house,” he said, trying to keep the smile on his face. “I moved into an apartment.” A gasp escaped one of the women to his right. He glanced at her and she had covered her mouth with a gloved hand. “Oh how dreadful,” she said and Simon’s face twitched but he refused to frown. “It must be so small, compared to what you were used to. You poor thing. Did you run into money troubles with the stock market?” David laughed and Simon glanced at the man. “Oh, don’t let dear Simon fool you with his apartment, rusty cars, and brand label suits.” Simon swallowed and he didn’t know why the words hurt. They shouldn’t have. But they were cutting him down. They were looking at him like he was pathetic and weak and he thought of Vic’s words saying that if anyone called him that, they were liars. The thought made him smile and he focused on them because even if she wasn’t sitting next to him, she was still supporting him here and he needed that. “He still has a fairly substantial wealth backing him.” Simon raised an eyebrow at the man because he wasn’t entirely sure how David knew that. He’d never told Kim about the account that had money put into it anonymously every month. David had done his homework and by the way the man was looking at him now, he wanted Simon to know that. He forced a smile on his face. “Maybe I wanted to see how the other side lived,” he said, trying to sound funny. “Why on earth would you want to do that?” A man on his right said. David sipped his wine again and said, “Perhaps it was your close call with death?” He’d known the topic was coming. He’d known he had to talk about being sick and he thought he’d been prepared for it, but it didn’t make the blow any less painful and it didn’t make it easier. “Are you re-evaluating your life, Simon?” “Something like that,” Simon said and it was entirely too hard to maintain his cool. It was entirely too hard to not get mad or angry and snap at the man. “It was awful,” Kim said and Simon looked at her because she sounded so disgusted. Her lips were curled into a dark sneer and she shook her head. She looked around at everyone at the table. “You should have seen him when he was sick. He was so gaunt, wasting away to nothing. He couldn’t keep anything down – it was simply disgusting. And yet he refused to go to the hospital. He wanted to stay at home, with his mother and that awful brother of his. He only stuck around for Simon. His mother wanted him gone so badly, he was such a reckless freeloader.” A woman to his left scoffed. “How could you do that to your mother?” “Didn’t you think of the kind of strain that put on your family?” a man to his right asked. Simon looked down at his plate. It felt hard to breathe and his chest was constricting. This was too much. He couldn’t sit here and be berated by complete strangers and a girl who’d dumped him on his wedding day and hadn’t stuck around or cared if he lived or died. He couldn’t do this. He felt trapped. He felt like the pack was closing in on the sick and wounded and this had been his life once but now he was on the outside being ridiculed by those on the inside. He thought about Vic and he thought about everything she’d told him and everything she’d done for him and she didn’t care that he’d been sick. Maybe she wouldn’t stick around if he got sick again, but then again, maybe she would. So fuck this place. Simon grabbed the napkin off his lap and placed it on the table, looking up at them all and giving then all a polite smile. “Money means nothing when you’re dead,” he said lowly to them and a few of the men frowned at him. He looked at David and the man was sitting back in his chair, watching Simon intently, studying him almost. “So you all just remember that when you look death in the face and he shows you what you’ve become. Because in the end, you’re all just as worthless and weak as the rest of us.” He heard the shocked gasps from some of them and Kim let out a scoff. Simon stood up and screw what Elias told him to come here for, he wasn’t going to sit here with these people. He scooted the chair back and looked at David. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner,” he told the man and David just looked amused, a small smirk on his lips. “You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m telling all your associates and your bitchy fiancée to go to Hell.” Then he turned around and shoved the doors open, stalking towards the front of the house and he hoped that guy had his car ready and accessible because he wanted to leave. He wanted to go, now. He walked out onto the foyer and the guy looked up at him. He jumped up and then headed off to go get his car and Simon growled low in his throat and thought about just walking down to the gate and calling for a taxi. Screw the rental. The sound of footsteps behind him and him stiffening, but he just stood there and waited for the guy to bring him his car. He was surprised when David came up to stand next to him, looking out over his massive lawn. “That was rather rude,” David said quietly. Simon snorted. “So was inviting your fiancée’s ex over to talk about why she left him in the first place.” A laugh escaped David’s mouth. “Who told you to accept the invitation?” he asked and Simon wondered if he really wanted an answer to that. He wondered what the fuck he was even doing here and he just wanted to go home and wrap his arms around Vic and hold her for a while and have her hold him and just be with her because she made things better. She made him better. David leaned forward to look at his face. “Do you know what I find interesting?” he asked. Simon chose to ignore him. He didn’t even turn to look at him. David smiled, amused. “When you were sick, they gave you weeks to live. You were dying. And then one day, you’re just back on your feet and fine again. What’s your secret?” Simon growled and he finally turned to face the man, looking him square in the eye. “What’s yours?” he demanded back at him. He saw David’s face flash something for a moment and it confused him. Did David have an ulterior motive for inviting him over today? What did he want? What was he looking for? Finally, David let out a laugh, more to relieve the tension than because anything was particularly funny. Then his face darkened and it didn’t scare Simon, but it made him wonder just how cautious of the man he should be. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing, Simon. If you think we don’t have eyes on you, you’re sorely mistaken.” Simon snorted. “Then so are you if you think I give a shit.” The car pulled up and Simon watched David for a moment, waiting to see if he’d say anything more. The man didn’t. He just stepped back and allowed Simon to get in his car. Simon stalked down the stairs, hopped in, making sure he slipped the driver some money since the man didn’t get paid, and then he drove off. He gripped the steering wheel hard as he peeled out of the gates and when he was on the road and on his way home, he yelled and slammed his hand against the steering wheel out of anger. None of this made sense. Who was David and what was the company he worked for? He didn’t understand and he was so furious that he’d been used by Elias for something he didn’t even know. He was just a pawn in this power game and he didn’t even know why. His phone going off in his pocket made him jump and he silently cursed himself, eyes going to the rearview mirror and watching David’s mansion fade into the horizon. He pulled his phone from his pocket and growled into it, “Yeah.” “Welsh, I need your help.” His anger melted away and was replaced with confusion. “Jez?” he asked, surprised to hear the woman’s voice on the phone. And especially surprised to hear how scared and desperate she sounded because she never sounded like that. “What’s wrong?” “I’ll explain it later,” she said. “I need you to come pick me up.” Simon frowned and he didn’t like it that Jez was scared because on the tough factor, she was right up there with Vic. “Okay,” he said gently. “Sure, where are you?” There was a moment of quiet before she answered. “Your apartment.” .Wolfie. Alexey was staring at her from across the table, his eyes narrowed in concentration.The bar was busier than she thought it should be on a Wednesday night, and they were sitting at a small table towards the center of the room. Normally, if it was up to her, she’d never sit in the center of the room. Too many fucking entrances and exits and people all around and no way to keep an eye on all of them and it just wasn’t smart planning. Not when someone was always looking for her or out to mess her up and it was hard to remember sometimes that maybe she didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Alexey’s hand rose and he pointed at her, his eyes still narrowed. He leaned forward on the table and disturbed the small pyramid of empty shot glasses next to his elbow as he did so. “You’re drunk,” he slurred at her. She snorted and lifted an eyebrow. There was a shot glass sitting in front of her and it was full of something and she couldn’t remember what he’d been ordering them but the shots just kept coming and her vision just kept going and she felt fuzzy and warm and numb. She wished Simon were here instead of at Kim’s and she wondered if he ever got drunk. “You’re drunker,” she slurred back. He laughed and sat back hard on his chair. “That… that might be true,” he admitted to her, still studying her face. His was flushed and red and then he picked up the shot glass and held it out to her, waiting for her to clink glasses and down another and she grinned because he looked like another couple drinks and he’d be on the floor. Then she frowned because she didn’t know if she could drag his ass out of here and she wished Tony were here to carry him around like a damsel in distress. The thought almost made her giggle. “But you’re still drunk. Isn’t this the part where you pick a fight?” “Hey, hey, listen Lex,” she told him, lifting the glass and tapping it against his. The liquid sloshed over the sides and she hesitated for a moment because the last drink was still burning a path down to her stomach and the world was spinning pleasantly around her. It made her numb to the feeling of anxiousness in her gut and the worry of whether or not Simon would be okay. “I don’t pick fights, I just finish them. Unless you wanted to go find Kim and her god damned fucking pharmacist ken doll. Then I’d pick a fight.” “Oh man! We should totally do that! You think… you think we should do that?” His eyes lit up excitedly and it made her laugh for a moment before she covered her mouth with her hand. Would Simon get mad if she punched his ex-fiancée in the face? “Yes,” she told him. “Yes I do.” He grinned and they tossed their shots back together before slamming them down on the table. The aftertaste lingered in her mouth and she shook her head as the liquor burned down her throat. Her hands tightened on the edge of the table to keep herself upright and she wondered distantly how she was ever going to make the walk back to Simon’s place. She wondered if he would be mad if she showed up drunk and she wondered if he ever got mad because she didn’t think she’d seen him ever lose his temper. “Man… awesome,” Alexey drawled, nodding to himself. He looked like he was thinking very hard and then he burped loudly, turning the shot glass upside down and adding it to his pyramid of glasses. It was getting tall and the lights were bright as they shown through it and she squinted at the colors reflected back at her. “So… where does he live?” Vic frowned and turned her head to look at him. She shrugged and waved her hand over her head for a moment and then dragged it across her face. “I don’t know. In… some… fucking rich person’s house or something.” He snorted and his eyes narrowed at her again. He leaned forward and tapped his finger hard on the table and she wanted to yell at him and tell him not to knock their pyramid over but he didn’t look like he would have cared right now. There was bitterness when he spoke and she thought about the way Simon had talked about the money he received and how Alexey never got any. She wondered if Romanova was alright with that. “You want to talk about rich person’s house? You should’ve seen my mom’s fucking place. The thing could fit like… I dunno like eighty bazillion trailer homes in there. It should have had its own zip code or something.” She shifted uncomfortably on her seat before letting her arms cross across the table. She fiddled with the shot glass in her hands and thought about their house in New Jersey and was it wrong that she would have just been happy with that? She was happy with Simon’s apartment, because it had his arms and his bed and his shower and she loved all those places. “That must’ve been nice.” Alexey grunted and shook his head. He stared down at the table and he looked irritated and she wondered if she’d struck a sore spot and maybe Simon would tell her later. “I guess so. Maybe. I dunno. Not worth living with mom though.” Vic frowned and she’d only met the woman once but she didn’t like her. “She seems like a bitch.” Alexey laughed darkly and then he was leaning forward, hands pounding on the table again. “You should try being her kid!” He shook his head and sat back, turning his head to glare out at the bar and she wondered what the man in the cowboy hat by the jukebox had ever done to him. He was just trying to find something on the thing to play. “Man,” he snorted. “You should fucking hear her. ‘Alexey! Why can’t you be more like Simon? Alexey! Why do you have to be such a freeloader? Why do you have to take after your deadbeat dad?’ Gee, I dunno mom, if my dad’s so bad then why’d you ever fuck him?” She snorted a laugh and then leaned forward with a mean smirk on her face. She pointed her finger at him and she thought about meeting Pearl Welsh for that brief moment and the woman hadn’t said a word to her. She’d dismissed her because she didn’t look like Givessi and she thought it must have been worse being her kid. “If you say that to her I’ll give you twenty bucks.” Alexey slapped his hand down hard on the table. “Done and done,” he said with a grin. She laughed and looked down at the shot glass she was still twirling in her fingers and she felt it die off her face. “So…” she drawled, glancing up at his face. “She wasn’t very nice to Simon when he got sick, was she?” “Which one?” he snarled, his face darkening. He kicked at the table and he was glaring angrily at the empty shot glass tower. “Kim or mom? Because both of them were running for bitch of the year award. It was so fucking inconvenient of him to start dying right in the middle of planning his own god damned wedding. Christ, couldn’t be more considerate of other people?” She nodded, ducking her head to rest it on the arm braced across the table. Her chin was digging into her skin and she just stared at the empty glasses as she processed that and it was hard because there was so much fucking alcohol in her system. It hit her like a blow to the gut just how much she hated that he had to go see that woman again and how much better he was than those people. He’d been dying. He’d looked death in the eye and it wasn’t the kind he could get back up from and everyone had bailed on him and left him to die alone. No one should die alone. She wanted to tell him that she understood how it felt to lose everything in one quick blow. Her shoulders itched and she glanced up at Alexey because he was staring at her. He was studying her face and then he leaned forward, elbows braced on the edge of the table. One of them slipped and banged against the wood and he made a face before pulling it back up to rest under his chin. “How serious is this thing you have with my brother?” She shrugged, spinning the empty glass in her fingers. “Maybe I’m just using him for sex,” she smirked, trying to make a joke. She was surprised when he didn’t laugh. He kept staring at her and he looked so intense and so unlike Alexey and she thought about Simon being willing to take a bullet for him and she wondered if Romanova would have done the same. “You better not be,” he told her. “I like you Bitchzilla but you hurt my brother and I’ll break your fucking kneecaps.” With that look on his face, she almost believed him. She smirked again and her hand rose to toy with the necklace hanging from its chain and she was too drunk for this conversation. She was too drunk to talk to Simon’s fucking brother about him because her tongue was loose and she might say something really binding and right now she still had an out. She shrugged as she put the empty shot glass on top of the pyramid of them. “If I hurt him, I’ll give you the bat to do it with.” He grinned and sat back. “Good!” he told her, all the cheer back in his face. She laughed because he was such a fucking lunatic and then she turned around in her seat to look for the waitress because all their glasses were empty and maybe she should just ask what time it was. Maybe it was time she stumbled back to see Simon and tried to sober up before he got in because the way she was feeling she might just start rambling to him and say the thousand things that were on her mind right now. Like just how fucking different he was from every other guy she’d ever been with. She wasn’t just his dirty little secret. She liked him. She barely liked anyone but she liked him and she liked being around him and she liked that he brought her coffee every morning and told her she was beautiful. She wasn’t just this damaged toy to him, to be used and thrown away. “Holy shit,” Alexey said abruptly. He jumped in his seat and then he was pawing at his pocket, scrambling to dig a cell phone out of it because it had been vibrating against his leg. He looked down at the number and he grinned, flipping the phone open. “Romanova’s sex line, how can I service you today?” he said cheerfully. His head tilted to the side and the smile grew wider as his gaze flicked across the table to Vic. “Nah, I’m not busy. No, just going shot for shot with your girlfriend.” He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Pssh… who says I’m drunk? Drunk is a legal term and since I’m not driving right now it has nothing to do with the situation.” “Is that Simon?” Vic sat forward on her seat, the world tilting and blurring around her. She focused intently on the phone and she hated only hearing one side of the conversation. “What’s he saying?” she asked, looking up at Alexey’s face. He waved her off, leaning back on his stool and he looked like he was going to fall off it any second. She frowned and reached forward to pull him back towards the table by his shirt. “Romanova,” she snapped. He chuckled, letting his elbows drop back to the table. “Yeah, she’s drunk too,” he said into the phone. “She’s been professing her love for me all night. Sorry, I guess the ladies just can’t resist me.” Vic rolled her eyes. “Is he home?” she snapped, leaning over the table and feeling her heart start to beat faster. Alexey made a face at her and then he sighed. “She wants to know if you’re home,” he said. He paused and then he looked up at her and nodded his head. “Yeah, he is.” She felt her grin brighten and she slid out of the stool. She stood for a moment, still gripping the table as she tried to decide if she was okay or not and when she was still standing after she released the edge of it her smile widened. “Hold on, I think we’re leaving. I think we’re coming to you. Yeah, and there she goes, okay, see you soon bro.” She heard the bits of his conversation as she turned and pushed her way through the crowd and then Alexey was stumbling after her. He slung an arm around her shoulder and it almost made her careen into the doorway. She barely caught herself on the metal frame and she turned to glare at him. “Stop trying to take us both out,” she snapped, and he just laughed. She wasn’t sure later just how they actually made it to Simon’s apartment alive. They stumbled down the sidewalk and Vic rolled her eyes every time Alexey made a catcall at one of the girls walking by. At some point she swore to him that if he didn’t keep his fucking mouth shut she would make it shut with a roll of duct tape and a dead rat. “Why would you kill a rat?” he asked her, grinning with drunken abandon and maybe that was messing with his sense of self-preservation. “What did the poor thing ever do to you?” “It’s for a good cause,” she snarled at him, and he just laughed again. They practically collapsed in the elevator on their way up to Simon’s apartment and it didn’t occur to her to ask why he’d been calling, just that he had and he was home and she didn’t have to be worried anymore that they’d hurt him or killed him and dumped his body in the river. Her fingers were clumsy as she tried to unlock the door and she heard Alexey snort next to her. “He gave you spare already?” She didn’t answer because the next second the door was pulling open and she was stumbling through the entrance. Her gaze was blurry and she could barely focus on him but it was Simon in the suit he’d left in. He’d undone the tie and it was hanging around his neck like a noose. She smiled up at him and then her arms were sliding around his neck and she was pulling him into a hard kiss. Behind her Alexey whistled loudly but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about him and she didn’t care about the suit she just cared about Simon’s lips on hers. “I missed you,” she told him with her mouth still pressed against his. He laughed quietly and she felt an arm slide around her waist and try to keep her steady. She grinned and tried to kiss him again but he wrapped his other arm around her to hold her still. “Vic,” he said. He made a small choking noise as her hand slid beneath his coat and started to pull at the buttons on his shirt and then his hands caught her wrists. “We’ve got a situation,” he said lowly. She blinked, letting him still her hands as she stared at him. Concern crinkled her brow and her eyes swept his face, looking for signs that he’d been hurt or been tricked or been used. He just looked so tired and she pulled his hands up to her mouth. “A situation?” Someone cleared their throat behind Simon and she wondered just how fucking drunk she was because Givessi was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed under her breasts. Alexey pushed himself up on his toes to look past the two of them into the room and he made a surprised noise in his throat when he saw her there. Vic frowned and her gaze flicked from Jezibel to Simon and she didn’t understand what was happening here. “Hey Vic, Alexey,” she said quietly, and she focused back on her face. Her eyes were finally drawn to the large purple bruise across her temple and she frowned, looking up at Simon for an explanation. “What’s going on?” she asked. Wenston Simon placed a cup of coffee down in front of each of them. Jezibel was sitting on one of the stools, holding an ice pack to her temple. Alexey sat next to her, concentrating on not falling off the stool and Vic sat on the counter itself, he legs swinging off of it and she went between looking at Simon for an explanation and glaring at Jezibel and he wondered if she’d still be so upset if she weren’t drunk. She had no reason to be. It wasn’t like he’d invited Jezibel over or anything. The girl was in trouble. That much was made clear by the stark bruises on her temple and around her wrists and it looked like she’d been manhandled pretty severely. He wondered what kind of a guy was able to manhandle Jezibel, because she was a pretty fierce fighter. “So,” Simon said and he was well aware that he and Jezibel were the only sober people in the room. He doubted Vic and Alexey would be any good in this situation and he should have just told them to stay at the bar, but he wanted them here. “What happened?” he asked gently. Jezibel was looking down at the counter at it was a heavy contrast from her normal smiling, confident self. Her hair was pulled back and she wasn’t as made up with make up or jewelry or nice clothes. She just wore jeans and a tank top with a jacket and the bruises looked awful on her. It was like looking at a different person. She sighed as she looked up at him, then towards Alexey and Vic and then she shook her head and her eyes actually filled with tears. “My past found me, that’s what happened,” she said and she sounded broken. Simon frowned a little and glanced at Vic. He was about to reach out and take Jezibel’s hand, but Alexey beat him to it and he was kind of glad because the last thing he needed right now was to make Vic jealous while she was drunk and Jezibel was hurt. Jez laughed a little and actually held Alexey’s hand back. He had a goofy grin on his face that was supposed to be comforting but just looked drunken. “The whole reason I joined the Shifter Initiative was because I got into a bad situation and they promised to give me a new start.” A small, incredulous laugh escaped her lips and she looked up at the ceiling, struggling to keep the tears from falling down her face. Alexey looked at Simon and his brother looked lost. Vic was watching Jezibel closely but the glare was out of her eyes and instead she just seemed to be studying the woman. Simon sighed and leaned against the counter, trying to talk as gently as he could to her. “Jez, you have to tell me what happened.” Jezibel looked at his face and her own crumpled a little before she seemed to compose herself. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was a dancer. I worked at this club. It…it was a sleazy stupid place and the only reason I was there is because I owed the owner money and I didn’t know how to pay him back otherwise. He wasn’t one of those guys you mess around with, you know? He’s the kind that can make you disappear.” “Pssh, I could take him,” Alexey said and Jez let out a small laugh. Simon looked at his brother and Alexey was grinning at her, watching and he wondered if his brother knew how good he was with people or if it just came naturally. If Alexey liked you, you knew and he’d make life so fun and happy. He felt a swell of pride for his brother and tried to focus back on Jez. “You’re sweet, Romanova,” she said, reaching a hand up to wipe at her cheek. She looked at him and smile. “But you’re also very drunk right now.” “Well that’s true,” Alexey admitted and accentuated the point by slipping off the stool. Jez reached out and caught him, helping him guide back to stool, he held up his hands, showing everyone he was good before he settled back down and reached to take Jez’s hand again. She didn’t seem to mind. Vic reached a hand over to run across Simon’s lower back and he glanced at her face. She was watching the two of them and he moved a bit closer, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to tell her that he wasn’t some spoiled rich brat and he that he should move into a smaller apartment or get a cheaper car and he could donate all his money to charity or give it all to Alexey, even though his brother refused to take any of it. He wanted to thank her for being there for him even when they were apart. The smile faded from Jez’s face and she looked down at the counter again as she spoke, not looking at any of them. “There was one night at the club, I was dancing and this guy came in. He was a regular, I’d seen him before. He was some sort of dealer, or pimp, I don’t know. But he wanted a private show and I didn’t want to do it but the owner said I’d do it or he’d make me regret it, so I did. And the guy, he got…handsy.” Jez frowned, like the words hurt. “More than handsy.” Simon felt the air leave his lungs and Alexey’s face was puckered like he was pissed off and he probably was. “I’m sorry,” Alexey whispered. Jez shook her head, biting her lip. “I was just trying to get away from him. I just didn’t want his hands on me.” Simon felt Vic tighten her grip on him and he glanced at her face. Her eyes were dark and he didn’t recognize the look on her face and he wrapped his arm around her and didn’t know what she was thinking but she looked like she could relate to what Jez was thinking and that pissed Simon off. Jez ran a hand over her cheeks again and took a deep breath. “I kicked him away from me and he fell and hit his head and he just didn’t get back up again. Ever. I killed him.” She let out a slow breath. “I ran after that. The guy that I killed, he was just a underling in this gang ring. They don’t like it when you kill one of their own.” She laughed and looked up at all of them, chewing on her lip. “And they found me. I didn’t know where else to go, I’m sorry.” Simon shook his head. “It’s okay,” he told her and gave her a warm smile. “We’ll take care of this.” Alexey sat back on his stool and Jez laughed as she reached out to keep him from tipping backwards off it again. “We should call Tony,” Alexey slurred and Simon had to agree. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and shoved it in front of his brother. Alexey looked down at it and shook his head. “The numbers are too small.” Simon chuckled as Jez reached out to take the phone from him, dialing Tony’s number. He glanced at Vic’s face and she was being quiet and thoughtful and it didn’t match her drunken state. He tipped his head so he could look at her face and she finally rose her eyes to meet his. He smiled questioningly at her and she just leaned her forehead down on his shoulder, place a kiss to his bicep before raising her head to look at Jez as the woman handed the phone back to Alexey. “How many were there?” Vic asked and the words were sharp but not mean. Jezibel looked at her and smiled. “Four,” she said. “Really big guys. Bigger than Bruno I think.” Alexey snorted. “Impossible.” Jez let out a sad laugh and looked back at Vic. “They were just goons. He’ll just keep sending more now that he knows where I am.” Vic scoffed. “Then we’ll take care of his goons and go after him,” she said like it was no big deal. Simon watched her for a moment because he knew that Vic didn’t care much for Jez. There was a look on Jez’s face that said she was thinking the same thing, but then she smiled and nodded her head at Vic. Vic nodded back and looked at Simon, smiling and leaning forward to kiss his lips. He kissed her back and then looked at his brother. His eyes moved to the door behind Alexey and he stiffened suddenly as the light from the hallway was momentarily broken beneath the door. He licked his lips and pulled away from Vic. He looked at Jez and said, “So, tell us about the club.” She looked at him funny and he nodded his head towards the door. She turned to look at it as he started towards the bedroom. He pointed at Vic and mouthed for her to stay when she started to follow him and she just gave him a shocked look. Simon could hear Jez talking as he headed towards his nightstand and pulled the gun he’d started keeping because of Avi out. He grabbed the bat from beneath his bed and came back out, putting the bat on the counter for one of them to use. Alexey was hanging up from leaving a message for Tony and he frowned at it. Vic was doing the same and they all watched him as he made his way down the hallway, towards the front door. He glanced back at them once and held a finger to his lips. Then he reached for the door handle. He took a deep breath, then flung it open. He pointed the gun before he really saw who was there and when he did he gasped and so did the little old woman on the other side of the door. She was looking wide eyed and horrified at the gun pointed in her face and Simon immediately pulled it back. “Mrs. Kratz?” he croaked. The old woman was too shaken and in shock to answer. He closed his eyes a moment and calmed his nerves and behind him he could hear Alexey burst out laughing and Vic’s quiet chuckles. Simon felt his shoulders drop and he wondered what the woman was going to tell the landlord. “Mrs. Kratz, I’m so sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “Simon!” came Jezibel’s sharp warning. His eyes flashed up to behind Mrs. Kratz and rounding the corner were two huge guys in leather jackets. He saw them draw semi-automatics and then he was pushing Mrs. Kratz to the ground. “Down!” he yelled and he hoped his brother and Vic weren’t too drunk to realize this was real and they were in real danger. Gunfire blasted above his head and he tried to cover Mrs. Kratz as best he could, keeping her down and out of the line of fire. He chanced a glance behind him and he saw Jezibel had knocked both Alexey and Vic to the ground and they were scrambling behind the corner, so they weren’t open targets. “Simon!” he heard Vic yell and she sounded scared. He wanted to tell her it was okay, but he didn’t know what about this was okay and he wasn’t a liar. Simon pulled Mrs. Kratz, who was letting out terrified noises along the floor and he shoved her through the doorway to the living room, trying to avoid lifting his head too high into the gunfire because he didn’t really want a new hole in the head. He tried to scramble forward again towards the table that held his gun. As he reached it, the gunfire suddenly stopped and he lifted his head to see what was happening. He had no time to react as a beefy hand suddenly closed around his throat. His hands came up to grasp the wrist and his air was cut off completely. He choked as the hand lifted him up and then slammed him against the wall. He knocked over the table with his lower back and then the man was shoving him into the opposite wall. He choked and gasped as the man pushed him up it, so his feet were dangling and Simon’s eyes were wide and his mouth open, trying to suck in air. He tried to bring a leg up to kick the man in the ribs or get his foot between them to kick him away, but the man just grabbed his leg and held him there against the wall. Simon tried to reach forward to claw at the man’s face but he just held him higher and all Simon could do was lay his fingertips on the man’s skin and he was getting desperate for air. The edge of his vision was going dark and he tried again to kick at the man desperately, but he wasn’t budging. “Simon!” he heard someone yell and then his eyes started to roll back into his head as the man just continued to squeeze the life out of him. .Wolfie. Vic couldn’t help but think this was a really fucking bad time for her to be drunk off her ass.The world was tilting and blurring around her, her back pressed against his counter and the wall next to her riddled with bullet holes. She’d just helped pick up Welsh’s apartment and now these assholes were ripping it apart again because Jez had said no. She was too fucking wasted to really think about that right now but she couldn’t erase her words, saying that she just didn’t want him to touch her and she couldn’t erase his hands because she was damaged and those marks would never, ever go away. She stuck her head around the corner because there was panic and fear building in her chest and constricting her breathing. She didn’t know if Simon was okay. She’d heard the gunshots and Jez had forced them down but she didn’t know if he was okay. Something crashed and she focused on the attacker just inside the door. He had his hand around Simon’s throat. The world was spinning and blurring around her but only thing she could focus on was Simon’s face. He was gritting his teeth in his head, his fingers digging into the arm holding him pinned against the wall and it wasn’t doing any good. There were choking noises coming out of his throat and even as she watched his eyes went from being focused on his attacker’s face to starting to flicker and close and she felt his name pull its way from her lips because that was her Simon and she couldn’t watch him die. Her fingers were thick and clumsy as they grasped at the baseball bat but her hands managed to grasp it anyway. She stumbled as she moved across the carpet to the giant attacking her Simon and her lip curled in a snarl as she hefted the bat in her hands. It whistled through the air as she swung it and there was a satisfying crack as it connected with the man’s spine. His body slammed forward into the wall and she heard Simon gasp for air as he was crushed against the giant and the wall. She hauled back again, swinging the bat as hard as she could. She was aiming for his head but it caught his shoulder instead and maybe if she weren’t so drunk she wouldn’t have missed. It connected hard with the bone anyway and his fingers loosened enough on Simon’s neck, letting him fall to the ground with a heavy thump. She heard him sucking in harsh breaths of air and she didn’t like how ragged it sounded as it moved in and out of his lungs. She pulled the bat back and swung it at the guy again but she was surprised when his meaty hand curled around the weapon and stopped it in the middle of the swing. She stumbled when it happened and she felt him yank it hard from her grasp before the back of his hand was meeting her face and slamming her hard against the wall. She felt her head crack against the surface and stars burst in her vision as she slumped down onto the floor. Her head was throbbing, pain bursting in her cheekbone and in the back of her head and she was heading quickly towards delirious. A second man was forcing his way inside the apartment and he was spinning a crowbar in his hands. “Jezibel!” he called. Her head tilted to the side and she watched the blonde girl as she pulled herself from behind the counter. Alexey’s hands were tugging at her and trying to hide her back behind the counter but she stepped back and away, her eyes focused on the big man coming towards her. A smile curled across his lips and then he pointed the crowbar at her. “We’ve been looking for you, bitch,” he told her. She didn’t say anything but she looked nervous and scared and so hurt. Vic watched her through the blurry haze across her vision and she didn’t look like some rich bitch. She just looked like a girl who’d had to be as tough as she had because everyone in the whole world just wanted to fuck her up or fuck her over or just plain fuck her and she’d learned that lesson just as well as Vic had. The only difference was that she’d fought back and she’d won. She’d left a body behind her and even if she was paying for it now she hoped she wasn’t sorry because he’d deserved it. Vic could only wish that hers hadn’t been the only body left on her living room floor. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crashing across from her and her head rolled to the side to try and focus on where she was and what was happening. Simon was on his back on the floor and the big man was leaning over him, his hands back around his neck. His legs were kicking desperately at the carpet and he was thrashing and fighting like nobody’s business but the big man just sat on his chest and tightened his grip and tried to choke all the air from his lungs. It pissed her off. The sight of it just made her mad because she was tired of feeling helpless and watching Welsh get hurt and she did the only thing she could think of and threw herself at the man’s back. She hit him hard and he grunted under the weight but then threw an elbow back and tried to shake her off. Her teeth were the first things to change. He probably didn’t expect it but then her jaws were sinking hard into his skin and she heard him scream as she tore at the flesh. The metal tang of blood burst on her tongue and she just closed her teeth tighter into his throat, arms wrapping around the back of his neck and holding on because he was jerking to his feet and slamming back against the wall. All the air left her lungs in a rush as her back struck the drywall. Something behind her cracked but she was too numb and didn’t even know right now it if it was a bone. She really hoped not. The man was roaring like a beast and then he slammed her back again. She was crushed between him and the wall and she felt her grip on him slipping. Her jaws clamped down harder on his throat and something crunched beneath her teeth. She hoped it was his throat but she really couldn’t tell right now. His hands were reaching back to grab at her and then suddenly there was a flash of metal in her gaze. She heard him cry out and there was a clang and a crunch as the bat met his jaw hard. He careened to the side and struck the wall before crumpling into a heap on the ground. There was blood coming from his throat and his jaw and Vic forced herself to release and push herself backwards. Welsh held the bat in his hands and then he was hauling back and bringing it down hard on his head a second time. She felt warm blood splatter across her face as it connected but she was just watching him, the shift retreating beneath her skin. The guy on the ground was barely breathing, but Simon didn’t hit him again, his grip tightening around the bat as he thought about it. His chest was heaving and his face was cast in shadows so she couldn’t read the look on his face. Maybe he was weighing this man’s life in his hands and she didn’t think he had to because in a minute he would bleed to death. There were vivid bruises on his neck and she didn’t like them there. She didn’t like him getting hurt, ever, and she hated that she was so drunk and slow and stupid that she’d let that happen. He coughed and his fingers rose to his throat and then his eyes met hers and he looked more concerned for her. There was a crash behind them and his gaze whipped around, focusing on the second guy that had charged into the place. He had the crowbar held tightly in both hands and he was forcing Jezibel against the counter with the bar across her throat. Her back was arched painfully backwards and her hands were pushing up desperately at the metal bar to try and keep it from choking her. It wasn’t working. There were tears in the corners of her eyes as she fought back against it but she didn’t let them fall. Alexey yelled something and he was jumping on the guy’s back. His fist came down and hit him in the side of the head and it jarred his grip loose on the crowbar but it didn’t do much to hurt him otherwise. His hip slammed into the counter and then Jez was kicking out hard and forcing him backwards. Simon growled as he tried to bash Romanova off the kitchen cupboards, the wood splintering and breaking as he hit them hard. He cried out as he lost his grip, his ass landing hard in the sink. Vic’s hands pawed at the ground, looking for the gun that Simon had dropped but her vision was blurry and dark. There were the jagged pieces of his broken key bowl and that was the second one he’d lost just this month. She almost laughed because she was still too fucking drunk and later she would ask him if it was worth it to replace it. Jez was attacking him with quick, graceful movements, but every hit looked like it barely touched him. Her hand cracked out across his face and he snarled and tried to return the blow with his crowbar. He swung it hard and she ducked underneath the hit, fist slamming into his stomach and then the back of her hand meeting the side of his face again. Behind him, Alexey was scrambling to find something, anything to use on him, and his fingers curled around a dinner fork before he jammed it hard into the juncture between the man’s neck and shoulder. He roared in pain and then he turned and grabbed Alexey, tossing him into Jezibel. They went down in a heap, Alexey on top of her and pinning her to the floor. She pushed at his shoulders and tried to scramble free but the guy standing over them had a grin on his face as he stepped closer, swinging the metal bar in his hands. “You should have known there was nowhere to hide,” he growled, and Vic wondered why assholes like these always thought they had to give some final warning or chit chat about what they were doing. Pops had always said while they were talking, she should be shooting. Simon was stalking across the room with the bat in his hands and he did exactly what he was supposed to do and hit the guy in the face while he was talking. There was a loud crack as the bat connected and then the man snarled and swung his crowbar out at Simon. He took a stumbling step back, and she felt a swell of pride when he dodged it and then her hand closed around the gun. “Givessi,” she called, and the woman’s eyes flicked over her shoulder. Vic hated that she was too fucking drunk to do this herself. She hated that she was depending on someone else and that Simon could get hurt because she’d gotten stupid, but it didn’t stop her from doing what she had to. She flicked the safety on the gun before tossing it across at the girl and it bounced across the carpet once before Jezibel stretched back and got her fingers around it. The guy slammed the crowbar down towards Simon’s head and he dodged to the left. It caught his shoulder instead and dropped him to one knee, his hand coming out to grab at his skin and Vic was so scared for him in that moment. The gunshot was loud in the apartment and in the next room she heard the old woman cry out at the sound of it. Blood splattered across Simon’s face in a burst as the hole appeared in the man’s chest, and then Jezibel was firing again and putting three more in it. She emptied the clip and by the end of it she was breathing heavily and her hands were shaking and then the gun just clattered from her fingers. She sucked in a breath and pushed herself back into a sitting position against the wall. Her body was shaking as she tried to hold in sobs and Vic just watched her as Alexey crawled to her side. “Hey,” he said. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Jezibel laughed weakly and her head fell back, her eyes focused on him. “You’re so drunk, Romanova.” Wenston Simon walked Mrs. Kratz back to her apartment. The woman was shaking and chattering incoherently the whole way and he wondered if tomorrow she’d go to the landlord and they’d kick Simon out. He wondered if he shouldn’t just go live at the compound, that would make him closer to Vic. Or maybe he should look for another apartment, or even a condo somewhere. Maybe somewhere that didn’t have neighbors. Or maybe he could convince Mrs. Kratz to just leave it well enough alone. “Those men shot at us!” the woman squawked when he finally got her back to her apartment. She was clinging to his arm like a lifeline and he was trying his best to ignore how much it jarred his shoulder. He didn’t think anything was broken, but he found he didn’t really like being hit with a crowbar. It hurt. A lot. “Yeah,” he said quietly, prying her hands off his arm as he stayed out in the hallway. Mrs. Kratz turned around and then her eyes narrowed at him and he figured this was the part where she threatened to go to the landlord or the cops or write to her Congressman. She put her hand on her hips and Simon wondered if this was how his grandmother would have been. He’d never known either of his grandparents. Alexey had a grandfather out there somewhere that he’d seen around Christmas time every year, but that wasn’t Simon’s grandfather and he didn’t know anything about his Dad’s side of the family, but his Mom’s had been taboo ever since he was old enough to talk. “Now you listen to me,” Mrs. Kratz started and Simon tried to show her that he was paying attention and not scared of her because she was just an old lady. She pointed a bony finger at him and he bit his lip as she said, “You tell that little girlfriend of yours to keep it down at night. And the next time you watch a movie at four in the morning, you keep the volume down!” Simon frowned, confused and tilted his head to the side. Mrs. Kratz just eyed him to show she was serious and slammed the door in his face. He stood for a moment outside the door, wondering how she could care more about the noises coming from his apartment at night than the fact he’d almost gotten her killed. Then he just shook his head and walked back towards his apartment. As he walked in, he paused for a moment to look at the three people still standing. Jezibel was standing near the sink, rubbing her arms like she was cold, her eyes drifting from one body to the next. Alexey stood next to her and looked like he was trying to make himself sober. It didn’t look like he was winning much. Vic was in the hallway in front of him and she was standing over the man who’d been strangling him. She toed the man with her foot and he remained limp. He’d bled out from the gashes in his neck and Simon realized he was going to have to get all new flooring in his apartment. There was so much blood. He stepped inside and paused next to Vic. She glanced up at him and he didn’t like the bruise on her cheek, threatening to swell her eye closed. He lifted a hand to brush his thumb over it and she didn’t even wince or flinch and he wondered if she was just too drunk to realize she’d gotten hurt. Her eyes roamed to his neck and he saw her face darken and he smiled. He placed a kiss on her forehead and then walked further in, picking the bat and the gun up and putting them on the counter. “So…what do we do with the bodies?” Alexey asked, his speech still slurred. Simon smiled at him and behind him, Vic said, “Throw them in the river.” He sighed and turned around to look at her and she wasn’t even looking at them, like she didn’t even know she’d said anything. Finally, she looked up and met his gaze and she shrugged. “What?” she said. He snorted and looked at Jezibel, who offered a small smile and it was all she had at the moment. He tried to return it and then he pulled his phone out. He leaned against the island counter and let out a slow breath, his eyes going between both bodies as he listened to the phone ring on the other end. Finally, it stopped and Elias’ voice came over, “Hello, Welsh.” “There’s two bodies in my apartment,” Simon said immediately and he heard Elias pause whatever he was doing because that caught his attention. He couldn’t read the emotion in Elias’ voice when the man said, “Did you kill them?” “Well, they were shooting at us and I didn’t really appreciate that,” Simon snarked and he heard Elias snort on the other end of the phone. “Come in,” Elias told him calmly. “Spend the night in the compound and tomorrow you’ll return to your apartment and it will be as good as new. Without the bodies.” Elias paused and then added, “Do you know who they are?” “Not by name,” he said and he turned to look at the others. They were watching him curiously and Vic was looking at him like she didn’t understand why he would call Elias. He offered her a small smile because he knew she hated the man and maybe he did too, but Elias was still their connection with the Initiative and there were witnesses here who’d seen them kill these two guys. He figured the government cared more about keeping their secret team secret than Elias did about screwing them over. “I gotta go,” he said quickly and didn’t give Elias time to say anything further as he hung up the phone. He looked at the others and then said, “Let’s go.” “Where are we going?” Alexey asked. “We’re spending the night in the compound,” Simon told him, grabbing his keys off the floor and as he did, he realized his hands and his face were still covered in blood. He swallowed hard and tried not to think about that. “Elias is footing the bill for this one.” Alexey laughed and Simon thought it was probably made more funny by the fact he was still very drunk. “Nice,” his brother said and then reached to take one of Jezibel’s hands and lead her towards the door. She looked surprised and then amused but she followed after Alexey. Simon watched them head out and then he looked back at Vic and she was still just watching him. “Are you okay?” he asked her quietly as he grabbed the rest of the stuff he’d kept in his key bowl and stood his end table back up and set them on top of it. When she didn’t answer, he looked back at her face and she was watching him intensely. “Vic?” he asked, standing and walking over to her. He reached a hand out to touch her bruised cheek again and he should have checked her for concussions or broken bones because she’d been banged around a lot. He was surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He was gentle when he hugged her back and he didn’t understand what was wrong but she was shaking as he held her. She put her head on his shoulder and he held back a wince because it was the shoulder he’d been struck with the crowbar. “Don’t do that,” she whispered to him. “Do what?” he asked and he wished he knew what she was thinking. “Scare me,” she breathed into his shoulder and he let out a relieved breath. His voice was ragged and his throat hurt just about as much as his shoulder did, but he was fine. They were all fine. Bruised and sore, but fine. He ran his fingers up and down her spine gently, aware that she’d been slammed into the wall and was probably sore there, but he just had to touch her and let her know they were fine. “It’s okay,” he told her and kissed her neck. He pulled back and held her chin gently, looking in her eyes. “We’re fine,” he said. “We’ll be fine.” She didn’t look all that convinced and he chuckled at her. “Come on, I want you to get looked at by a doctor.” Vic frowned but let him take her hand and lead her out of the apartment after Alexey and Jez. “I don’t need a doctor,” she whined and he laughed because she was funny when she was drunk. “Okay, maybe I just want to play doctor.” .Wolfie. Vic sat on the couch in the briefing room and watched Alexey with a smirk on her face. He was stumbling as he walked backwards, dragging one of the armchairs across the carpet to settle it next to the other couch. Jezibel was lying on her side watching him with a small smile on her face and he gave her a wide grin. He kicked at an ottoman and moved it in front of the armchair and then he flopped down in it. “Now you don’t worry about a thing,” he said, the words slurred. He pointed at himself and his smile was too bright to be sober. “I’m watching over you, so anyone who wants to hurt you has to go through me first.”Jez laughed quietly and then her hand reached up to take his, squeezing it firmly. “Thanks Alexey,” she told him. They were sincere and heartfelt and she wasn’t faking the smile on her face as she said it. He grinned back. “No problem,” he told her, squeezing her hand back. He settled deeper into the chair, the other arm falling off the side and his head tilted so that he could look at her. “And it’s not just because I want to get into your pants though if you feel like showing your gratitude through sexual favors I won’t say no.” Jezibel laughed and rolled her eyes. “You certainly know how to ruin a beautiful moment, Romanova.” He laughed louder than he probably should have, and Vic had no doubt it was thanks to the alcohol in his system. She could relate. Her head was still swimming but she was beginning to feel the throbbing pain from her cheekbone making its way through her head. The man had hit hard. He’d hit really fucking hard and she hoped it wasn’t broken because she’d never had a broken bone and she didn’t want to start tonight and definitely not with her face. There was movement next to her and she glanced up just as Simon crouched down in front of her. She tried to focus on his face and smile for him but it faded as she looked at the bruises on his neck. A snarl pulled at her lips and she didn’t like that he’d been hurt so badly. Her fingers came out to brush over the skin and she saw him wince as she touched the bruises on his throat but his eyes didn’t leave hers. His hand rose and she felt him something cold press against her cheekbone as he rested an icepack against her skin and she thought he should be more worried about himself because he’d almost been killed. She’d just gotten slammed around a little. “I fucked up,” she said. Her hand came up to rest over his and then she pulled the icepack away because she didn’t want it or need it. Pain was for the weak, and it was important that she know how to handle it because if she couldn’t then she’d be dead. Instead she moved the icepack to his shoulder, and he lifted an eyebrow as he watched her face. “How do you figure?” he asked. His fingers twined with hers as she pressed the cold compress against his shirt and he was still wearing the suit he’d worn to dinner. She wished he’d been wearing the bulletproof vest because they’d shot at him and she didn’t want him to get gunned down too. “Because I’m really, really drunk,” she told him. He laughed quietly and he didn’t look mad or disappointed in her. She felt a smile curl her lips and she didn’t want it there so she pushed at his other shoulder. “Don’t laugh,” she said. Her lip stuck out in a pout and then her head was leaning forward to rest against his. “It’s not funny. Drunk is bad. Drunk is all slow and stupid and I shouldn’t have gotten so bad but I really, really didn’t like you going to dinner with your ex and I was worried but I was jealous too so I drank a lot.” The words just spilled off her tongue and she bit her lip to stop them because otherwise she’d just keep going. She didn’t recognize the expression on his face, but maybe it was because she was still really wasted. She wondered if he was mad at her but he didn’t sound mad and she wondered why that was always her first thought. She wondered why she kept waiting for him to get mad and to hate her and maybe the mistake she kept making with him was thinking he was like the others. “You’ve got nothing to be jealous about,” he told her. A smile tugged at his lips but she frowned because she didn’t know if she should believe that. “Sure I do,” she told him. “You’re all smart and funny and amazing and hot and really, really good in bed and you could have any girl you wanted.” He laughed and his hands were gentle as he pulled hers away from his shoulder. He moved to the couch, helping her lay down on it and as soon as her head hit the cushion she felt the darkness tugging her down towards sleep. “Good,” he told her. She felt his hand move through her hair and she smiled at the touch. “Because I want you.” She laughed and didn’t know why it was funny but it was. “You think that now,” she told him. She stretched out on the couch and curled her arms beneath the pillow. It was soft and warm and she closed her eyes. “But nobody wants something already damaged.” She felt his hand still in her hair but she was already half asleep so she couldn’t see the look on his face. Her body was starting to ache and she dimly remembered being slammed into the wall but maybe if she went to sleep then when she woke up it wouldn’t hurt anymore. Warm breath moved across her skin and then she felt Simon’s lips pressing against her neck. “You’ve got this all backwards,” he said lowly, and she tried to push her eyes open to look at his face. “But I forgive you because you’re drunk.” He was smiling at her but there was something dark in his eyes and she didn’t know what that meant. She pursed her lips at him and then she hooked an arm around his neck and dragged her down on top of him. His eyes widened and his arms came out to brace himself above her frame. She lifted her head and pressed a sloppy kiss to his lips, hands tugging at his suit jacket. “Come sleep with me,” she told him. He grunted as she tried to pull it off him and then he sat up so that she could peel the jacket off his shoulders. She tossed it into the middle of the floor with a grin and then pulled him forward again by his shirt. “Vic,” he said. His voice was low and he was still smiling but she was having a really hard time telling which ones he meant through her still drunken haze. “My brother’s in the room right now, even if he’s passed out there’s something a little weird about that.” She snorted in response before glancing back. Alexey really was unconscious in the armchair, his head tipped to the side and his eyes were closed, his mouth half open and quiet snores coming from between his lips. Vic bit back a smile and then she glanced at Jezibel and it faded. She wasn’t looking at them, but she wasn’t sleeping either. Her eyes were open and sad and Vic stilled for a moment. She wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault. She wanted to tell her that she did everything she was supposed to because no one should be allowed to touch her without her permission. She was supposed to hate the girl because she was some snotty bitch with her fancy clothes and her toy dog and her fingers all over Welsh’s face but right now she just couldn’t. She looked hurt and sad and there was no one looking out for her but the people in this room. She swallowed hard and then looked up at Welsh who was still watching her carefully. She pushed herself upright so that she could shove his back down on the couch. He grunted when his shoulder hit the fabric and she frowned because she didn’t mean to hurt him. Her head lowered and she pressed a kiss to his collarbone before she sat back and started tugging his shoes off. “I didn’t say fuck me,” she told him. “I said come sleep with me.” She grinned at him and tossed the dress shoes on the floor. He laughed softly as she pulled his legs up on the couch by his pants and his hands went to her arms. She settled in beside him, lying half across his chest as his arm slid around her shoulders. If he was uncomfortable he didn’t say anything, his fingers moving along her shoulder blades in slow, comforting motions. She buried her neck up under his throat and pressed a kiss to the bruises there because she really fucking hated that she’d let anyone put them there. Her eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder and she smiled as her arm wrapped around his chest. “You’re really comfy,” she said. He laughed and then his lips were brushing over the top of her head. “You’re really drunk.” “Yeah,” she said. She smiled and she was a little embarrassed but not as much as she would probably be in the morning. She buried her face against his chest and she wanted to tell him all the other things she thought when she was with him. She wanted to tell him that until she’d met him she’d never really given a fuck about anyone but her dad. She wanted to tell him how proud she was of how he’d handled himself with that giant of a man. There was a disconnect in her head because she’d been so scared when he got hit and so fucking proud of him that he’d taken a blow from a god damned crowbar and stayed upright. She didn’t tell him any of those things. She fell asleep before she could, before she told him all of that or asked him about how his dinner had gone. He kept the world stable underneath her and she passed out cradled in his arms. She wasn’t sure what she dreamed about or if she even did but at some point she woke up because he was moving off the couch. One hand reached out for him and he caught it in his, bringing her fingers to his lips. “I’m not going far,” he told her, and it eased her mind. When she woke up the next time, there was bright light coming through the edges of the curtains and everything fucking hurt. She groaned and crushed her eyes shut, burying her face in the cushions and wishing that someone would turn the sun off. Her face was throbbing and her back and her chest felt bruised and tender but at least nothing felt broken. She pulled herself gingerly into a sitting position, grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes to try and clear the grit out of them. There was an awful taste lingering in her mouth and if she were Simon she’d never kiss her again. Her head lifted at that thought and she had to blink a couple of times to get her gaze to focus. Alexey was still passed out in the armchair by the couch but it was now vacant except for the coat thrown over the back of it. The owner of it was sitting in another chair by the window, the curtain pulled back so that she could look outside. The sun was bright on Jezibel’s face but it didn’t light up her eyes. Vic watched her for a long moment, elbows braced on her knees and she wondered where Simon was. His coat had been moved to the chair but his shoes were gone and so was he. Vic cleared her throat and Jezibel glanced over her shoulder to focus on her face. She forced a smile onto her lips but she didn’t buy it for a second. It was fake and plastic but it wasn’t because she was being nasty. It was because she was scared and there were people out to get her and maybe she didn’t know how to handle that. She hadn’t grown up being taught how to skip town and change her name and change her look and dodge the people that were out to hurt her. “Good morning,” she said, when Vic didn’t say anything. She was studying her cautiously, maybe because they weren’t friends and Vic had made it pretty clear that they never would be. She didn’t have friends, but then she’d never had a boyfriend either. She jerked her head at the door. “Simon went to get us coffee,” she said. “He said he’d be back soon.” Vic nodded slowly and didn’t say anything and then Jezibel looked down at her jeans. “You don’t like me,” she said. Vic snorted, blinking against the bright sun but looking towards the window anyway because it was better than looking at the other woman’s face. “Not particularly,” she told her, and it was still the truth. “But you’re helping me anyway,” Jez said. She said them quietly, and Vic wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She rolled her eyes and tipped her head back to look at her. “Yeah,” she said, shrugging like it was no big deal. “Well, there are some things that really piss me off. Some fucking asshole that doesn’t understand the word ‘no’ is one of those things.” Vic smirked at the girl and it made her face hurt but she did it anyway because she looked like she needed one. Jezibel studied her for a moment like she was trying to decide if she meant it or not or if she was trying to be a bitch. Then she returned it, nodding her head at the words. She licked her lips and then looked down at her feet. “Don’t be sorry you killed him,” she told her. “He deserved it.” Wenston Simon was trying to balance coffee and bagels all in one hand. He could have easily used two, but his shoulder had hurt a million times worse this morning than it had last night when he’d tried to sleep next to Vic. He hadn’t slept, not a wink. He’d kept his eye on Vic and his brother and on Jez, who he didn’t think had slept much either. He was worried about her. He was worried because she was scared and he didn’t like it when anyone was scared and it made him furious at the bastard who was trying to get her. He felt a strange sort of protectiveness towards everyone on the team, maybe even Avi if he thought hard enough about it. They had their differences and each one of them was nothing like the other, but they were a team. And teams stuck together. Which meant they had to find this guy and make him leave Jezibel alone. He wondered if scare tactics would work with a guy like him, but Simon somehow doubted it. Then he wondered if he would really be okay with killing the guy and he thought about Jez’s wide eyes when the men had been coming after her and the tears in her eyes when she’d told them why she joined the Initiative and maybe it wouldn’t be as hard to kill him as some of the others. That thought should have probably scared him. He probably should have been terrified that he was somewhat okay with taking a life if it came down to that. It didn’t scare him half as much as it should have. He thought about Vic’s words last night. They’d been on his mind since she’d mumbled them half coherently and he wondered if she’d even remember saying them. Her own words telling him that nobody wanted something that was already damaged. He’d hated that she’d said them, but he hated that she thought they were true, in more ways than one. He’d still want her even if he did think she was damaged. But he didn’t. He thought she’d been hurt, been manipulated for most, if not all of her life, but he didn’t thinks he was damaged. She was smart and dangerous and she just needed someone to believe in her and back her up and she could do anything she fucking wanted to do, that’s how amazing he thought she was. He wondered what classified someone as being damaged in Vic’s eyes. He wondered what had happened to her to make her think that because he didn’t think it was prison or getting shot or watching her Dad die. He knew those things about her, but he knew there were things she still wasn’t telling him. He could guess. He could guess what had happened to her, just by the way she’d looked at Jezibel last night when Jez was talking about what happened to her. He’d never ask her about it. If she wanted to talk about it, she’d bring it up first and then he’d be there to listen. And he’d be there to tell her that it wasn’t her fault and he didn’t think she was damaged, she just had bad things happen. Simon paused on the stairs as he climbed up towards the briefing room where he’d left everyone and his heart skipped a beat as he saw who was coming down. He swallowed thickly and stayed still and maybe Avi would be in an okay mood today because he hadn’t really seen the man since Elias’ office after the flight with the Senator. Avi didn’t even seem to notice him until he was almost on top of him, and when he finally saw Simon standing there, he stopped in the middle of the stairs and just stared, his eyes going to the coffee and bagels in one hand, and then the bruises on his neck. Avi smirked and it was a wicked, violent thing. “Welsh,” he said. “Captain,” Simon said softly, submissively. Avi’s face curled into a frown and then he was saying, “Being on this team isn’t meant to be a fraternity party, Welsh.” He snarled and took a step closer to Simon and Simon just hoped he wasn’t about to get into a fight because he didn’t think he could take Avi, even if his shoulder wasn’t black and blue all over. “You don’t just get to fuck who you want and get drunk every night with your little buddies. Being on this team means hard work and dedication.” Simon just nodded. “I understand, sir,” he said. “Do you, Welsh?” Avi snarled and grabbed Simon’s shoulder. He gave a pained gasp as Avi shoved him back up against the wall. He struggled to maintain the balancing hold he had on his coffee and bagels and then Avi was pointing in his face, his hand still gripping Simon’s injured shoulder with a vice like hold. “I don’t think you understand the lengths I’m willing to go to see you off this team,” he growled lowly and Simon just frowned at him. “You’re a pest to me, Welsh. I want you gone. For good.” “That’s not your decision to make,” he said and he knew they were the wrong words as soon as they were out of his mouth. He saw Avi’s face turn red and he was squeezing Simon’s shoulder tighter and tighter and Simon thought the man was about to shift or take him out or kill him right here in the hallway and no one would even know. Someone cleared their throats from down the stairs and they both glanced to the newcomer. Tony stood a few steps down, looking up at them with a frown on his face. His beefy arms were crossed over his chest and he was looking at Avi with a challenging glare. Avi snarled and then shoved Simon back into the wall again before stepping back. “Bruno,” Avi said as he collected himself and then shoved pass the large man, heading down the stairs and Simon let out a slow breath as he watched the man disappear from sight. As soon as he was gone, Tony turned back to look at Simon and his face broke into a grin. Simon chuckled despite himself because the large man was such a teddy bear it was unbelievable that anyone who knew him could be afraid of him. Maybe that was the problem. Avi had never taken the time to get to know the guy. He didn’t know any of the people he lead and that’s where he failed. Horribly. “Hey Tony,” Simon greeted the man. Tony moved to take the bagels and coffee from Simon, his eyes going to Simon’s throat and a worried look crossed his face. “Is Small Fry alright?” he asked. Simon laughed and rubbed at his shoulder, nodding his head towards the stairs. “You can come ask him yourself.” Tony grinned and the two of them climbed the stairs, up towards the briefing room. Simon tried to ignore the fact his nerves were on edge now because of Avi and he tried to ignore the deep seeded feeling in his gut that one day Avi was going to snap and it wasn’t going to end well. He tried to think again what he’d ever done to the man and he thought back to the first mission when Avi had told him to stay by the van. He frowned as he reached for the door handle because all he could think of was after that, Avi had hated him. And the only thing he’d done was kill Costas. Maybe Avi didn’t want Costas dead. The thought struck him just as the door was opening and he struggled to keep himself together as he looked inside. Jezibel was sitting near the window. She smiled when she looked over at them. Alexey was still asleep on the armchair, snoring. Vic was awake, sitting on the couch next to his jacket. He hated the dark bruise on her cheek and he should have fought harder against the guy trying to strangle him last night because she never would have gotten hurt. She kept sticking her neck out for him and he had to be better so she wouldn’t have to anymore. He had to do better. Tony came into the room and set the bagels and coffee down on the table before he walked straight over to Alexey and picked him up in a giant bear hug. Alexey let out a startled cry and it was cut off as Tony squeeze him tightly. Alexey’s face was priceless and Simon laughed as his brother’s wide eyes came to look over at him. “Are you okay Small Fry?” Tony asked, setting Alexey down. He stumbled a little bit, probably still a little drunk and probably very hungover. Tony’s hands gripped his shoulders to keep him on his feet. “I got your message this morning.” “Uh, yeah,” Alexey said frowning, and looking around like he had to remember where he was. He spotted Jez and she was trying to hold back a laugh. “Missed ya last night, big guy.” Vic stood up and Simon didn’t miss the stiffness in her shoulders as she walked over to him. Her hand came out to his shoulder and even the light touch sent pain down his arm. Her fingers brushed over the bruises on his neck and he knew she was seeing them sober for the first time and he watched her face closely. He was still in his suit pants, but his shirt was untucked and he’d lost his tie somewhere. He wished he could have gone home to change. “Hey drunkie,” he said and she glared at him but he just laughed and wrapped his arm that didn’t hurt around her, pulling her in and kissing her forehead. He kept his other arm pressed tightly against his ribs and he didn’t think having Avi manhandle him had helped it any. His should still felt swollen and it hurt to move his arm. Then Simon glanced over at Jez and he rested his cheek on the top of Vic’s head as he called to her, “Okay. I need to know this guy’s name who’s after you.” Jezibel swallowed and looked down. She shook her head and then looked back up at him. “He’s dangerous.” Alexey snorted. “Well, so are we.” .Wolfie. “His name is Marcus Meehan,” Jezibel said quietly.The girl sat on the opposite side of the desk, her chair pulled back away from the window so that she could eat breakfast with them and they could hear her as she spoke. So far she hadn’t eaten anything and she hadn’t even taken a sip from the coffee in her hands. She was staring at the desk and she looked like she hadn’t slept much or at least not comfortably. Simon nodded and his face was serious as he watched her. There was a bagel sitting in front of him but for the moment he was all business. “Alright,” he said. “What can you tell us about him? What are we dealing with?” Vic was perched on the edge of the desk, Simon’s hand resting lightly on her knee. The bruises on his neck looked worse this morning, maybe because it was brighter, maybe because she was sober. Either way, they looked like they ran deep and she glared at them because she hated that they’d been put on his skin. His voice was harsh when he spoke and it looked like it hurt him just to breathe. He wasn’t saying anything about it though. He wasn’t saying anything about that or about the way he kept his left arm cradled against his chest, but she noticed anyway. She wanted to pull his shirt off and get a look at that shoulder, but it was going to have to wait. She wondered if it had been dislocated or if the bone had been cracked and she hoped it wasn’t either of those things. They all probably should have gone to the emergencry room, but they hadn’t and they were still standing so good enough. Jezibel smirked darkly, ducking her head. “I know he owns half the strip clubs and half the girls on the other side of the river. I know those big guys you met last night are just the start. He’s got a lot of guys just as big and just as mean working for him and they’ll do anything he asks. He’s powerful. He’s got money and he’s got influence and even the cops leave him alone because he brings in business.” She shivered and looked away from them to stare back out the window. Alexey sat by the corner of the desk and even if he was hungover, it didn’t stop him from shoving a bagel in his mouth. “Hey,” he said, spraying crumbs across the wooden surface. “We killed King Kong!” he told her. “We can handle this guy.” He wiped them off the front of his shirt and then he grinned up at her. She laughed weakly and shook her head at him. “You’re ridiculous,” she told him. Her fingers played with the coffee cup in her hand and she didn’t look like she believed the words, just like she wanted to. Tony sat in the chair next to Alexey and she couldn’t tell if he had any clue what was going on or if it mattered. Maybe he was just here because someone had hurt Small fry and now he wanted to get a little payback. The thought made her smile and it hurt because it stretched her cheek and made the bruise there sting. Her fingers came up to brush at it and even the light touch sent pain lancing behind her eye. If she’d been sober that never would have happened and it had been stupid of her. It was only some small comfort that they were all alive now because the men had semi-automatics and they’d only had one gun and a bat. “So he’s got a lot of guns and a lot of muscle,” Welsh said. “Do you know where we can find him? His home or his office?” Vic glanced over at him and she tilted her head to the side to study him. She took a sip from her coffee as she did but she was watching his face. He looked so calm and focused and in charge and she loved it when he took charge. He was amazing and she didn’t think he even realized it, because who would have told him? She wondered just how much she’d said to him while she was drunk. She remembered bits and pieces and what she did recall was embarrassing at best. There were a lot of things that she thought about Welsh and didn’t say and she couldn’t remember if she’d opened her mouth and said half of them or just thought them really loud. She wanted to ask him but now wasn’t the right time for that conversation or the other one. She still didn’t know how his dinner had gone. She wondered if he’d found out what he was supposed to be looking for or if he’d managed to become best fucking friends with Kim and her fiancé. Her teeth pulled at her lower lip and she focused on pulling a bagel out of the bag he’d brought and trying to eat that. Her stomach was a little unsteady but it was her head that she was mostly worried about. It was throbbing painfully and she remembered being slammed against the wall at least twice. She took a sip from her coffee and turned her attention back to Jez because she looked like she didn’t want to tell them anymore. She looked like if she’d had anywhere else to go she’d be gone. “Like I said, he owns a lot of the clubs down by the river. I know a couple of them that are his favorites.” She glanced up at Simon as she spoke and he nodded his head, just processing the information. He looked thoughtful and calculating and her hand slid over the one on her knee, giving his fingers a small squeeze. Simon glanced up at her and smiled, pulling her fingers to his mouth and kissing them before he turned his attention back to Jezibel. “What about his home? If we can avoid civilians I want to try.” Jezibel shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure. But his home would have more security than a club.” Simon sighed and his gaze darkened at that. He accepted it as the truth because it probably was but he didn’t look happy about it. She studied his face and she should have thought it was a weakness to care so much about collateral damage. Maybe before she’d met him she would have. She would have shrugged and said if they were so fucking weak then they deserved to die. They should just get the fuck out of the way and if they couldn’t move fast enough that was their problem. Simon actually gave a shit. He cared about the people in the middle and about trying to keep them safe. He cared about little kids in baseball hats and about getting Heidi Colette back to her father, even if the man was a total asshole. He confounded every expectation she had about life and how it worked and he wasn’t hesitating to help Jezibel even if it meant murdering someone. She knew she was alright with it. Even if the Initiative didn’t clean up after them, she figured they could just drive a car out into the country and then set it on fire with the body in the trunk. They’d have to bash his mouth in first, but she could handle that no problem. There was a creak as the door opened behind them and Vic glanced over her shoulder. Her gaze darkened when Elias came into the room, files held in his hands. His hair was slicked back, his suit perfectly neat and pressed and he didn’t look like he’d lost a moment of sleep last night. She wondered if he would care if they’d all died or just been pissed that he was out an investment. His eyes rose and swept them all and he chuckled and shook his head at the scene that greeted him. “You all look terrible,” he said, shutting the door behind him. Vic stiffened at the words and she felt Simon’s fingers tighten around her knee as he looked back at Elias. “Rough night,” Alexey said dryly. “Lots of drinking, carrying on, getting shot at. You know, the usual shenanigans. Also we left a tiger in your bathroom and a baby in your closet. Hope you don’t mind.” Elias actually laughed at that but it was a mean sound. “That’s fascinating Romanova.” He went to stand behind the desk and lay his files down but then he glanced up and jerked his head at Vic. “Off the desk, Victoria,” he said. “It isn’t a couch.” She snorted and almost made a snide comment about how he hadn’t given her that speech when he was fucking her on it but she kept her mouth shut. She slid off the edge of the desk and she was surprised when Simon’s arm looped around her waist and pulled her down into a sitting position on his knee. Elias’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything, situating himself behind the desk. He leaned back in the chair and looked at Vic’s face before glancing over at Givessi. She still had her hands around the coffee but she had stopped drinking it again, her gaze dark as she looked back at Elias. “Which one of you were they after?” he said, his voice cool and unemotional as he asked the question. His fingers rested lightly on the two files in front of him and Vic felt her stomach sink at the question because suddenly it didn’t seem so unlikely that someone could still come after her. They’d been after her dad mostly. There had been fewer of them over the years but every once in a while a couple of soldiers would show up at their doorstep and if pops didn’t make them disappear then they would disappear themselves. He was dead, she thought maybe even if the Initiative hadn’t wiped her off the earth then they wouldn’t care about Lukey’s kid anymore anyway. “Me,” Givessi said quietly. “They were after me. You said that I would disappear. You said they wouldn’t find me.” She glanced up and her gaze was dark as she looked at Elias, her lips pressed together in a thin white line. “We did make you disappear, Ms. Givessi,” he told her. He picked the top file up and flipped it open, spinning around to click on the television sets against the wall. “But some things can’t stay buried forever. However, we made a deal with you, and we intend on honoring your part, since you’ve been so cooperative with us so far.” He smirked and clicked a button again and a man appeared on the screens. She heard Jez suck in a quick breath and she didn’t like that she was so scared. Givessi was an amazing fighter, and even if he had a couple of goons with him she didn’t like the thought that anyone had made her scared. Vic frowned as she studied him and she already didn’t like him. He looked slick and sleazy and she thought about him owning half the clubs and half the girls and he probably thought he didn’t have to take ‘no’ for an answer either. She felt Simon’s arm around her waist and she glanced down at him for a moment because he was being quiet and concentrating very hard on the screens, a dark look on his face. She wondered what he was thinking and she wanted to ask. “This is Marcus Meehan,” Elias told them. “He is your next target.” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at them, focusing on Simon for a moment. “Since this is an… unofficial mission, I see no reason to disturb your team Captain or Liddle for this one. So Welsh, consider yourself in charge.” Simon stiffened underneath her but his voice didn’t change when he spoke. “Understood, sir.” Elias smirked and then turned back to the screens. He clicked a button and it went to a map of the city, an area already highlighted on the screen. “He owns most of the buildings in this area, but he changes which club he operates out of every night to keep prospective competitors on their toes.” He clicked a button and it flicked to a large house with a big yard and two giant Dobermans playing in it. “This is house on the other side of the river. I’ll provide you with security information and patrol times should you choose to go that route.” He glanced over his shoulder, handing the file to Welsh. “You have three days to handle the situation. No failures this time.” Wenston Elias left the room after he gave Simon the file. It was quiet in the room afterwards and Simon just looked down at the file, but didn’t open it. This was Jez’s file. There was probably stuff in here she didn’t want anyone seeing and he felt a pang of guilt knowing that he now had it in his hands. But he knew he had to look at it. He had to know every detail about this mission. He had to know who the players were, where they were going, when they were going. He had to know these things in depth because Elias had put him in charge. He wondered if the man had gone mad. He wondered what would ever possess Elias to put him in charge and if it was because of what Matheson said, then Elias was taking a huge risk. The man just had one encounter with Simon, he didn’t know his experience or his techniques, he hardly knew anything about him and Simon didn’t have half the background in this sort of thing like Avi did. He didn’t know how to fight like Vic or Jezibel. He wasn’t strong like Tony or quick like Alexey and he had no clue why Elias had chosen him. But he had. And that meant Simon had to take this seriously because now the team’s lives and wellbeing were in his hands and that was not something he was willing to risk. That was not something he took lightly. Avi wasn’t here to take the fall if they made a mistake. He wasn’t here to bark out orders if things went wrong. If someone got hurt or they failed, that was on Simon’s shoulders. “So, boss,” Alexey said and Simon looked over at him. He looked highly amused and Simon just sighed because of course his brother would think this was the greatest thing in the world. “What are your first orders? It better be that Vic and Jez do this mission topless or I will kick your ass.” Jezibel rolled her eyes, but a smile graced her lips and Vic just flipped Alexey off. He laughed and grinned at them both, but waited for Simon to answer. Simon looked back down at the file in his hands and then looked back up at them. “Go home,” he said simply. He saw the smile slip from Alexey’s face and a look of confusion replaced it. Jezibel quirked her head to the side, curiously. Simon looked them all in the eye. “We got shot at last night, we’re still covered in blood, and we spent the night on the couches. Go home. Take a shower, change clothes, and meet back here in two hours.” He glanced at Tony and then added, “And stay in pairs. Tony, you stay with Alexey. Jezibel, you’re with Vic.” Vic, who was still seated on his knee tensed slightly and he glanced at her. She was looking at him and he didn’t understand the look of admiration on her face as she looked at him. Alexey whistled and then laughed, “Oh my god,” he said, putting a hand to his chest. “Give you a whip and call me the gimp – you are intense when you get bossy. If I were a woman and not halfway related to you, I’d jump your bones.” “That’s disgusting,” Simon said and he couldn’t help but make a face at his brother. Alexey laughed and climbed to his feet, glancing at Tony as he did the same and apparently the big guy had decided to take Simon’s orders to heart because he wasn’t letting Alexey more than a few feet away from him. His brother pointed a finger at Simon. “Two hours. And whatever plan you come up with better not be something from the A-Team. Or Dragnet. Or Kojak. Okay, maybe Kojak.” Simon snorted and Alexey finally made it out the door. He poked his head back in once and said, “And you can pull off Bullitt too, but only because Steve McQueen is my hero.” Then he ducked back out. Simon smirked and watched as Jezibel stood up and headed to the door. He looked at Vic and she made no move to get off of his knee. He bounced her a little and she glared at him but he just laughed. “Go on,” he said, giving her a gentle nudge. “I need to think and you’re a distraction,” he jested and the glare just intensified. “Especially when you’re sitting on my lap,” he added and leaned in to kiss her neck. “I want to look at your shoulder,” she said, her voice serious. He smiled gently at her and then pushed her off his knee, keeping a hand in hers. “Later,” he said and then nodded his head towards Jezibel, who was waiting by the door and trying not to eavesdrop, but he knew she could hear everything they were saying. Vic just sighed and then leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “You’re a problem, Welsh,” she whispered to him and he just laughed as she walked over to Jez and then the two of them left. Simon stared after the door for a moment. Then he stood and went to the other side of the desk, sitting down in the chair and placing the file down in front of him. Flipping the file open, the first thing he saw was a picture of Jez. He felt a growl escape his throat and immediately he thought if he was going to lead this mission, he had to keep his emotions in check. It was hard to do when Jez was staring up at him from the picture with bruises on her face, one of her eyes swollen shut, her lips both split and the other eye bloodshot. She’d been beaten to hell. He read through the file, paying attention to the parts that mentioned Meehan or the man she’d killed trying to get him off of her. He learned that Jez had been born and raised in Florida. She moved to New York to go to film school, but had dropped out after one semester and shortly after that she started working in Meehan’s clubs. There was a police report from the scene of where Jez had killed the guy and it made her out to be the bad guy. It didn’t mention that the man had nearly beat her to death and then tried to rape her. Simon turned around and grabbed the remote to the screens. He clicked the buttons and Meehan’s face came back up. He stared at the man, learning his features and studying every part about him. Then he clicked to the man’s house and Simon set the remote down, leaning back in the chair to stare at it for a moment. He needed the plans to the house. The door opened again and Simon glanced over at it. Elias was coming back in. He smirked at Simon when he saw the screen back up and the file open. Simon watched him come over and he almost got up to go sit on the other side of the desk, but Elias just sat in one of the chairs and watched him for a moment. “How did dinner go?” Elias asked and it wasn’t the question he was expecting right now. “I don’t think I’ll be invited back,” Simon gave honestly and Elias didn’t get mad like he thought he would. Instead, he laughed and nodded his head. Simon leaned forward and watched Elias. “But, then that wasn’t your intention, was it?” Elias snorted. “Whatever intentions we had, you’ll do as you’re told,” Elias responded and Simon bit back a growl because the man was a master manipulator and he hated that he could pull that with any one of them. He hated that he had so much power over them. He thought again about what the man had said about Vic. About how he knew how she liked it in bed, about just bending her over and fucking her and then getting rid of her. He hated that those words had come out of this man’s mouth and he hated that Elias had hurt her like that. He hated that he couldn’t do anything about it except for prove to Vic that she was more than just a fuck. She was his Vic now. No one else’s but his. “I’d like to see the security and the patrol information,” Simon said, instead of the million other things he wanted to say to the man. Elias smiled wickedly. “Don’t think that being in charge of this one mission means you’ll be in charge of any others,” he said nastily and Simon just stared back at him because he hadn’t been thinking that at all and Elias was reading him wrong. He wanted to tell him, but he got a kick out of watching Elias think he knew it all. “Captain Rogers is still the leader of this team and you’ll still follow his orders.” “I understand that perfectly, sir,” Simon spat. Elias watched him for a moment, his eyes narrowed. “Good,” he said and then stood up. “I’ll get that information for you.” He started to leave, but then paused and turned back around to look at him. “You should get that shoulder looked at when you go to get tested.” Then he left and Simon sighed, running a hand over his face. He didn’t think about the tests. He didn’t think about his shoulder or about how much of an asshole Elias was. He focused on the file in front of him, the screen behind him and then he started planning. .Wolfie. Vic walked back to her apartment with Jezibel next to her and it was quiet and awkward. She bit her lip and she wished she could have stayed with Simon but right now he was her boss and he’d given her an order. The thought made her smile. She didn’t know why Elias had put him in charge for now, maybe just to fuck with his head or to see if he’d fuck it up, but she had faith in him.He was smarter than Avi. He questioned his orders all the time and he paid attention to details that Rogers missed because all he saw was charge and shoot. Granted it was the only plan she would have thought of, but there was a reason she wasn’t in charge. She was a soldier like pops. She was good at fighting and killing and not second guessing herself or her orders, but she needed orders. She needed someone else to make the plans because she wasn’t good at that part. She was good at pointing the gun and pulling the trigger. She was good at using her knife and cutting someone’s throat open but she’d always had pops to tell her where to fire. She’d had him to tell her what they were doing and who they were dealing with and now that was gone and he’d been replaced by Avi. She fucking hated that. She hated that Avi and Elias were the ones that controlled her life now because she didn’t like or trust either of them. Even when she was fucking Elias she’d never trusted him and the feeling intensified every day because of whatever game he was playing with Welsh and Avi. She didn’t like it. She didn’t want to see him get hurt but no one was reeling Rogers in. Jezibel didn’t say anything as she led her up the stairs and she didn’t look at her face to see her reaction. She told herself that she didn’t care what the girl thought of her apartment because her opinion didn’t matter. She didn’t need to impress her or feel small because she didn’t have a lot. She used her key to get in and held the door open to let Givessi into her place. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was rubbing at her shoulders like she was cold as her eyes flicked around the apartment. The bedroom door was cracked open and it didn’t sound like Lisa was home and making she was doing her fucking job for once. She snorted and almost laughed when she thought if she was here it would probably kill Romanova’s quest to get into Jezibel’s pants. “You can borrow some clothes,” Vic said. She shut the door firmly behind her and clicked the lock shut after she did. “But I doubt it’s what you’re used to.” She tried really hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice but she wasn’t sure she managed it. Givessi was a dancer. Either she made really good money in tips or she was just really good at faking it but either way her lifestyle was completely different from the way Vic had lived for the last twenty odd years of her life. “Thank you,” Givessi told her, ignoring the sharp tone of Vic’s voice. She glanced over her shoulder at the girl and she wasn’t saying it to be sarcastic. She meant the words and she was still rubbing at her arms as she followed her into the bedroom. Vic pulled open the wooden drawers on her dresser and it was all just tee shirts and tank tops. She snorted and held a shirt up by her fingertips. “You want Red Hot Chili Peppers? Or something else?” she asked. She glanced over her shoulder with a smirk on her face as she did and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t trying to be a little bit of a bitch. She was surprised when Jezibel just laughed quietly. “That’s fine,” she told her, taking it from her hands. She stood for a moment and just held the shirt in her hands as Vic tried to find a pair of jeans that was actually clean and barely ripped. There was one with just paint on it, so that would have to do. She leaned back on her heels to hand it up to her and she took it with a small smile. “You know I saw them in concert a few years back. It was after the socks only tour though. The bassist was wearing these pants made out of stuffed animals… really good stuff.” Vic snorted. “Oh yeah?” she said. It sounded like the girl was just making conversation and Vic wasn’t good at small talk. “Yeah,” she said, and then she got really quiet. She nodded her head and she wasn’t making any move to go to the shower or go change or anything. She was just standing there holding borrowed clothes in her hand and staring at the carpet and Vic frowned because she looked like she was on the verge of tears again and she had barely said anything to the girl. She watched Jezibel sink down on the edge of the bed and she cleared her throat. Jez didn’t even flinch, her knuckles white as she hung onto the tee shirt and it looked like she was clinging to a security blanket. “You okay?” she asked, feeling more than a little awkward. She pushed herself to her feet and just stood there watching her carefully. Jezibel blinked and glanced up at her, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “What would you have done?” she asked. Vic was startled by the question but she didn’t think Givessi really wanted an answer. She shook her head and looked down again. “What was I supposed to do? I told him not to touch me and he didn’t listen. And the cops… they tried to say it was my fault. Like I was asking for it. Like I deserved something bad to happen to me because I was a stripper. Like I should have just let him touch me.” Vic snorted and shook her head. “What the fuck are you feeling bad about?” she said. The words came out harsh and Givessi lifted her head to look at her, eyes wide and sad. Vic just shrugged and kept going. “Some asshole tries to touch you after you tell him ‘no’ then you should break his fucking skull open. You should only feel bad if you just fucking lie there and let him do it.” She spat the last words out and there was more venom in her voice than she meant for there to be. Givessi laughed quietly and then tipped her head up to look at Vic’s face. “Well thanks,” she said. “That’s nice to hear.” Vic shrugged it off like it was no big deal. “You don’t have to keep thanking me. I’m just telling you the truth. The way I see it, anyone tries to hurt you, you’ve got a right to fucking end them.” Her past was coming back to bite her because she hadn’t wanted to be a fucking victim and Vic didn’t fault her for anything she’d done. She didn’t fault her for fighting back or for killing the guy. She just shrugged and smiled at her and it wasn’t a mean thing. “The only thing I would have done different is go after this guy before he found you. You strike as soon as you know there’s going to be a fight, kill him, and burn his corpse. Or dump it in the river.” Givessi laughed and looked up at her, shaking her head. She didn’t look like she was on the verge of crying anymore but she was giving Vic a very odd look. “You do realize you’re completely terrifying, right?” she asked her. Vic frowned and stared blankly at her because she didn’t see what was so wrong about what she’d said. Givessi laughed again and looked down at the clothes in her hand, shaking her head. “I think I’m glad you’re on my side,” she said. A grin pulled at Vic’s lips but she bit it off before it formed. She jerked her head at room attached to the bedroom. “If you want a shower it’s in the pink bathroom over there. If you don’t, then I’m going to take one.” Givessi nodded, pushing herself to her feet. “I think I’ll go shower then,” she told her. She offered Vic a smile before heading into the bathroom and she heard her laugh when she saw the paintjob. Vic smiled to herself and she was honestly surprised that Lisa hadn’t fixed that one of these nights while Vic was gone. Maybe she was terrified of what would happen when she came home. She pulled some clothes out of her dresser and dropped them on the bed before she headed out into the living room. The place hadn’t stayed clean very long, but that was because Morticia was a fucking slob. She’d left more of her clothes over the back of the couch and Vic moved them onto the armchair before she flopped down into the cushions. Everything hurt. Her head was still throbbing and her back and her sides ached. Her teeth pulled at her lower lip and she wondered how Simon’s shoulder looked because she didn’t like how much he’d been favoring the other side. It looked serious and painful and she didn’t like it. She wished they hadn’t spent the night on couches at the compound. She’d wanted to go back to his place and remind him that he wasn’t weak or worthless or whatever else they said about him at that stupid dinner. She’d wanted his lips and his hands to remind her that she was the one he wanted because she only believed it when she was in his arms. The rest of the time she kept waiting for the axe to fall because it always did. Nothing good ever stuck around in her life. She glanced up when the bedroom door opened and Givessi came out. The blood was washed off her skin and she looked a little better, even if she still looked tired. She was wearing Vic’s clothes and she wondered just where Romanova’s head was going to go when he saw that. Vic smirked and pulled herself into a sitting position, rubbing at her neck. “Thanks again,” Jezibel said abruptly, and Vic glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t have to thank me,” she told her. “I don’t fucking need it. Besides, the boss told me to help out, remember?” She smirked and she liked calling Simon the boss. She had faith in him and she hoped he knew that. Givessi laughed quietly and settled down on the opposite end of the couch from Vic. She had a towel in her hands and she was drying her long blonde hair off with it. “Ah yes,” she said. “Simon.” Her voice sounded almost sad when she said his name and then she glanced up at Vic. “He’s off the market then?” she asked. She smiled like she was trying to make a joke but she caught the edge of disappointment. It made her jealous. It shouldn’t have, but it did because he probably would have been better off with her. “Yes,” Vic said. She snapped the word harsher than probably necessary, her hand coming up to play with the necklace. Her thumb ran along the smooth edge of it and it reminded her of his voice, telling her that she deserved nice things. She wanted to tell him that he was the nicest thing she’d ever had but Vic never told him half of those things because a part of her was still holding back. Jezibel nodded her head, pushing a smile onto her lips and Vic didn’t buy it for a second. “Well, I’m glad for him then, for both of you. He’s a really good guy and he deserves to be happy.” Vic nodded her head, trying not to glare at the girl. “He is a really good guy,” she said. “Luck you he’s got a brother.” Givessi laughed brightly at that, the smile lighting up her face and erasing the momentary disappointment. “He does,” she said, nodding her head, and she said it thoughtfully. Vic thought again that Romanova was lucky Lisa wasn’t around today because he might be making some headway after all. She pushed herself to her feet to go get her clothes and shower and Givessi glanced up at her with a smile. “You know,” she said. “He’s probably going to imagine all kinds of porn worthy things are happening with us as we speak. Especially when I show up in your clothes.” Vic didn’t mean to laugh but it came out anyway and she immediately covered her mouth with her hand. She was still smiling as she took a step backwards towards the bedroom. “What do you think he’d do if we told him there was a pillow fight involved?” Givessi grinned brightly. “Have a heart attack.” Wenston A half an hour before everyone was supposed to come back, Simon finally decided on a course of action for this mission. He’d been pouring over files and photos and he’d memorized all the details of Meehan’s security detail. He knew faces, he knew names and he knew who he was after. He knew the patrol routes of every security guard on Meehan’s home property and he knew protocol for the security at his clubs. In his mind, there were a million different ways to go about this and he’d gone through each of the scenarios in his head, trying to find which one would work best for them. He finally decided on a plan that was moderate risk, fairly intricate, and low harm to civilian casualties. It could still go wrong. There were dangers to all of the team and he’d outweighed the dangers to the team with dangers to civilians and he was trying not to feel guilty about that. He’d have to stay vigilant and alert while they were out there because if anything happened to any one of them, he wouldn’t forgive himself. He cared about these people. They were his friends and his family and he almost didn’t want to be in charge of this. But he didn’t trust the task to anyone else. Finalizing the details in his mind, Simon headed for the locker room. He was still in the remains of his suit and he wondered if it was even salvageable with all the blood on it. He snorted as he thought about how awkward he’d felt at David’s house in a suit that cost less than $1000 and now he was glad he hadn’t paid much money for it because it was ruined. He thought about the dinner as he used his good arm to unbutton his pants and pull them off before he sat down on the bench. They’d asked him how he could put his family through the ordeal of taking care of him when he was sick. They’d asked him how he could choose to stay at home like it was some awful thing he’d done to his mother and even if deep down he knew none of them could understand what it was like, he wondered if they were right. He thought about his brother and all Alexey had given up for him. He’d basically given up his life, his career, everything to come and take care of Simon. Granted, things hadn’t been smooth from him, it was still his life and his friends and everything he’d sacrificed for his brother. A part of him thought maybe he should have just stayed in the hospital. Maybe he should have just wasted away in silence because then Alexey would still be out in California, pretending he was a rock star and Simon wondered if he’d been happy out there. He wondered if he was happy here and he realized he hadn’t asked his brother these things. He thought about Alexey getting shot in New Mexico and what would he have done if his little brother had died? Died because he’d signed up for the Shifter Initiative so his big brother wouldn’t be alone. But then again, he never would have met Vic. And it was too late to change his mind about signing up. It was too late to change his mind about just lying in a hospital bed and giving up and dying. He’d signed up, his brother had done it for him and all Simon had to tell him was “yes” and it had saved his life. There was no turning back and now that they were here, Simon needed to make sure they stayed alive. He needed to make sure that his decision to want to live didn’t get his brother killed, or Vic, or any of them because for the next three days he held their lives in his hand and if he’d just told Alexey “no,” they never would have known him. He sighed and shook his head clear of those thoughts because he had to keep his mind on the plan. He had to be sure of it. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, glancing at his shoulder as he did so. It was awful looking. The bruises were deep and thick and dark. They spanned his entire shoulder and up his collarbone, trickling down his back and he wondered if he’d broken something. It didn’t feel broken, just really, really sore. He showered quickly and went over the plan a few more times in his mind, taking in all possible outcomes or flaws and there were a lot, but he was also leaving himself a lot of room for error. After he showered, he got dressed in his uniform, forgoing the bulletproof vest for now, and headed back upstairs. He was the first one back in the briefing room and it gave him time to go over the pictures again on the screen. He stood in front of the desk, his left arm cradled near his chest and his right hand rubbing at his chin because he was calculating the risk and all the factors of this plan and he realized all at once that he was scared shitless that he was about to get the team killed. Simon hadn’t heard Vic or Jezibel come back into the room. It startled him when Vic’s hand suddenly ran across the small of his back and he jumped at the touch, turning to look at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and he gave her a wry smile, slightly embarrassed. He glanced over at Jezibel and smirked when he saw the clothes she had on. She didn’t look uncomfortable in them or anything, but they definitely weren’t what he was used to seeing her in. “Did you get your shoulder looked at?” Vic asked and Simon brought his eyes back to her. “No,” he told her honestly. She frowned at that and he sighed. “I will, though. I still have to go get tested and I’ll just have her look at it then.” Vic didn’t seem appeased with that and then she was turning him around gently. “Take your shirt off,” she told him and he didn’t argue when she pulled it up and over his head. He kept it on his arms and he heard Vic suck in a breath when she got a look at his shoulder. He watched her as she stared at the mass of bruises covering his shoulder and her fingers came out to lightly brush over it. It sent small shocks through his skin but he let her have her way because her face looked so intense. He wondered if she felt guilty because last night she’d told him she’d messed up by getting drunk. He almost told her right now that was stupid, because how was she supposed to know this was going to happen? As the door opened again, Simon shrugged back into his shirt, ignoring the burning of his shoulder and he leaned forward to kiss Vic quickly before he stepped around the desk and watched Alexey and Tony come in, going to sit on the couch. Alexey paused halfway there, looking at Jezibel. His eyes went between her and Vic and he scoffed loudly. “You know, I have forty nine crude comments bouncing around inside my head right now and I can’t seem to decide on the best one for this situation,” Alexey said, his eyes narrowing. “I’m debating between a naked pillow fight joke or a mud wrestling competition.” Jezibel smirked and she glanced over at Vic. “The pillow fight might be closer to the truth,” she said. Simon watched Vic smile at the girl and he grinned because he never thought he’d see the two of them get along. Alexey put a hand to his chest. “Oh my lord,” he said simply and then collapsed onto the couch. “I need a minute.” “Lex,” Simon called and his brother rolled his head along the couch to look at him. Simon just chuckled. “Compose yourself.” “I’m about as composed as I’m gonna get right now,” Alexey said and Simon shook his head. “What’s the plan, Simon?” Jezibel interrupted and Simon glanced at her. He smiled warmly and then looked down at the file on the desk and Jezibel’s bruised, broken face was looking up at him. He took a breath and closed it before looking out at them again. “There’s no telling which club Meehan will be in at any given time,” Simon started. “He moves on a daily basis and not even his head of security is aware which club he’ll be working out of at night until Meehan is actually there. But,” Simon said and clicked a button on the remote. He had a picture of the outside of a club all ready and he grinned when it came up. “We do know which club his head of security works out of, because it’s always the same. The plan,” Simon sucked in a breath and realized they were all watching him intently. “Is to get a man on the inside. One that can tell us which club Meehan is at and gain us access to his office so we can go in and make a clean hit.” Alexey snorted. “How do we get a man on the inside?” “In a minute,” Simon said, narrowing his eyes playfully at his brother and Alexey clucked his tongue. “The second part of this plan, is that we’re going to have two chances at this, in case our inside man doesn’t work out. One team will be at the club and one will be stationed outside his home.” Alexey raised his hand and Simon rolled his eyes but pointed at him. “How do we get a man on the inside?” he asked again. Simon grinned. “We sell him something he’s interested in. Or rather, his head of security is interested in.” Simon turned his gaze on Tony, who’s brow shot up. “Tony, how do you feel about breaking up a fight at a strip club?” Tony made a face. “A fight between who?” Simon grinned and turned back to look at Alexey and then Vic. “A loud mouthed asshole and a smokin’ hot bitch.” .Wolfie. Vic didn’t like hospitals or infirmaries. She hadn’t spent much time in them because they kept records of everything and records made it easier for the police to find them. They all had the same sterilized smell and it reminded her of lying there waiting for her bullet wound to heal up enough for them to take her to prison. It reminded her of having the stitches pulled out by a burly nurse who couldn’t give a fuck if it hurt because she was just a convict and probably deserved to be in pain.She didn’t like them for all those reasons but when Simon finally finished going over his plan with them and agreed to go to the god damned infirmary, she went with him anyway. She didn’t like how awful his shoulder looked and she didn’t like how he was cradling it to his side and trying to pretend it wasn’t bothering him. Alright, she thought that was all manly and strong of him, but still. She held his other hand in hers and he squeezed it tightly as they walked down the hallway. They hadn’t gotten much alone time in the past twenty-four hours, excluding when she’d been drunk off her ass and rambling incoherently at him. He must have been thinking the same thing because he stopped her outside the door to the infirmary and she was surprised when his hand came up and cupped her face, pulling her up into a kiss. Her eyes closed against it and her arms slid around his neck as he pushed her forward against the wall and she wished they had more time. His hand moved down her neck and tipped her chin up and she loved how he could be so demanding and rough with her without ever hurting her. It was part of his calculating nature and a small noise left her lips as he ducked his head to kiss her neck. “By the way,” he said. “I missed you too.” She blushed. Not much embarrassed her but she thought about how shamelessly she’d just thrown herself into his arms last night and it turned her face pink. “I was drunk,” she said. “That isn’t fair.” He laughed and his teeth scraped over the skin on her neck before he pulled away. His hand dropped back down to take hers and he brought her fingers to his lips, brushing a kiss over them. “You’re such a tease, Welsh,” she snapped at him, and he just laughed and moved the kiss to her temple. “You said a lot of things when you were drunk,” he said. It was an offhand comment but she didn’t miss the way he glanced at her face and she felt suddenly awkward because she didn’t know everything she’d said and maybe some of it she should have kept to herself. He saw the smile fall off her face and he kissed her knuckles again. “Hey,” he said. “You didn’t fuck up.” She snorted and followed him to the door of the infirmary. “I drank way too much,” she said quietly. He smiled over his shoulder at her as he pushed the doors open. “You mentioned that too,” he said. “It’s alright. I think it’s cute that you were jealous.” His grin widened at the look on his face and then turned around to greet the doctor. Dr. Tracer was scribbling something on a clipboard when they walked in but a smile spread across her lips when she saw them. Her gaze focused on Simon first and Vic was fine with that because she didn’t really like doctors or infirmaries or the smell of alcohol unless it was the liquor kind. “Simon,” she said. “I’ve been expecting you, though I’m sure you’re not anxious to see me.” Then she tipped her head to the side to look at Vic and the smile didn’t fade. “And Ms. Wolfe, correct? Are you hurt?” “No,” she said. Simon flicked a glance over his shoulder and raised his eyebrow at her because she still had a bright purple bruise on her face that said otherwise. The shower had helped some. It had helped ease some of the sore muscles but it didn’t do much to ease the pain of a head wound. “I’m here to make sure he gets his shoulder looked at,” she said. Her eyes narrowed into a glare at that, and Simon just laughed it off like it was nothing. She knew it wasn’t. The bruising was terrible and deep and it had to hurt just taking a breath. “And to hold his hand,” she added, pressing a kiss to his good shoulder. For a moment he paused and something unreadable crossed his eyes as he studied her face. He lifted her fingers to his lips and his eyes slipped shut as he kissed her knuckles before he turned and climbed up on the table. Vic pulled a stool over next to him to and held his hand in her lap as the doctor bustled around, getting her needles together. Simon pointedly didn’t look at them. “There’s no need to be nervous,” she told him, leaning closer. Her other hand came up to rest on the back of his neck and move soothingly through his hair and over his skin. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He smirked and licked his lips, looking a little embarrassed. “It’s not that,” he told her. “I just, ah… I don’t like needles.” Vic raised an eyebrow at him and then glanced at the doctor as she moved her tray over. She cleaned off a spot on his forearm and it looked like it was just an everyday thing for both of them. She wondered how many needles he’d had stuck in him when he was sick and she realized that she still didn’t entirely understand what that must have been like for him. She knew he had cancer and she knew he’d been dying but it was so hard for her to process because he was so vibrant and alive now. Her hand tightened on the back of his neck and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “How was dinner?” she asked him, trying to draw his gaze away from the needles. He laughed at the question, focusing his gaze on her face and away from the doctor and her shiny metal instruments. “It could have gone better,” he admitted. A smile tugged at his lips and he looked down at his arm for a second before he forced his gaze back to her face. Dr. Tracer was sticking the first needle into his skin and he was trying very hard not to look at it as she pulled the blood from his veins. “Long story short, I basically told them all that they were going to die and go to Hell.” A laugh burst from Vic’s lips and she didn’t have time to cover her mouth. She ducked her head and pressed it against his shoulder to try and stifle it but it was just so god damned funny. “Are you serious?” she asked. “You’re amazing.” He shrugged like it was no big deal but there was a smile on his face. “Yeah, well I was just trying to remember what you told me about letting the other kids bully me. The other kids tried to bully me, tell me I shouldn’t have been such a burden on my family.” The smile faded as he spoke and Vic didn’t like the sad look that stole over his features in its place. Her thumbs moved over the back of his hand and she watched his face and she thought she hated his mother and all the people that had put that doubt and sadness there. They were all fucking stupid and worthless and she didn’t understand how they could hurt him so easily. “That’s stupid,” she told him, her voice harsh and unyielding. “Your family’s supposed to take care of you when you can’t take care of yourself. Blood’s the strongest tie on this earth.” She ducked her head and tried not to think about her dad but he was the only family she’d ever known and no matter what he’d looked out for her. He’d always done his best by her. “Alexey’s the only one that stayed,” he said. “My mom had too many commitments and she didn’t want to waste the time looking after her dying boy and Kim doesn’t like sick people so she couldn’t even stand to be around me. Alexey’s the only one that was there for me. He stayed here instead of going back to California so that I could go home and do outpatient treatment instead of having to stay in a hospital. He’s the one that signed me up for the Initiative.” By the look on his face he looked like he hadn’t meant to tell her all that and he glanced up at her like he was afraid of her reaction. She watched him quietly and pressed another kiss to his shoulder, squeezing his hand tightly. “That’s why you’re willing to take a bullet for him,” she said. It wasn’t really a question but he nodded anyway. Her hand moved over the back of his neck and he was still watching her because the Doctor was working on getting a second vial on top of the needle in his skin. She didn’t know what to say to him. She was too sober to admit just how strongly she felt about him and she thought she hated those people for abandoning him like that. “You deserve better than them,” she told him quietly. “They shouldn’t have let you go through that alone.” “Yeah, well, what’s done is done,” he whispered, but he still sounded sad about it. She thought about him asking if she would stick around if he got sick again and she wished she’d had a better answer for him. “I’m here now, and that’s not my life anymore.” “No,” she agreed. “It’s not.” He sighed and turned his head to press his lips tightly against her forehead. “Do I make you feel inadequate?” he asked abruptly, and she frowned because it seemed random. “What do you mean?” she asked, turning to rest her cheek against his shoulder and ignoring the spike of pain. Her head was still throbbing but she wasn’t going to take any damn painkillers because pain was weakness and she had embraced enough of it. She was too attached to Welsh and she knew it and just didn’t care anymore. He made her happy. He shook his head, fingers tightening around hers as the Doctor wiggled the needle in his skin. “It’s just, I get there and all these stuck up assholes are sitting around trying to make me feel bad for the things in my life, my apartment, my car, even my suit. Like it’s not good enough and like I’m slumming it. I just wanted to know if I ever make you feel like that, like you’re not good enough. Because I can change. I can get rid of the car and the apartment. If I ever say or do anything that makes you feel bad, you can tell me. You’re worth more to me than the stuff that I have.” He was rambling and she thought it was adorable when he rambled because he usually did it when he was saying something and he wasn’t sure how she was going to react. She smiled and nuzzled against his shoulder, shaking her head at him. “It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care about that stuff, Simon,” she told him, and it drew his attention because she usually only called him Simon when she was moaning his name against his skin. “Those are just things you have, not who you are.” He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Are you sure?” he asked, and he sounded skeptical at the words. “Because it’s not a problem for me. I can get rid of those things. I could get a smaller apartment, maybe one on the compound.” She cut him off with a shake of her head. “Look,” she said. “I’d be lying if I said it isn’t uncomfortable for me sometimes. In case you hadn’t figured it out I didn’t exactly grow up a trust fund baby.” She smiled as she spoke and he tried to return it but he was concentrating very hard on the words she was saying. “But I mean, there are nice things about having a loaded boyfriend.” A mischievous smile slipped across her lips and her fingers moved their way across his neck. “Like his giant bed. And his spacious shower with massaging showerhead. Those are both very nice things.” He chuckled and glanced at the Doctor who was trying to pretend she wasn’t turning red as she got the last vial of blood filled. She pulled out a cotton ball and pressed it to his arm and Vic’s fingers took over holding it against his skin. The Doctor rolled across the floor to a machine in the corner and Vic wasn’t sure what she did with the vials but she loaded them quickly and efficiently into whatever was supposed to test his blood. She wondered how long it took and if Simon ever got nervous. “You can tell me, you know,” he said quietly. His head leaned forward to press against hers, his other hand coming out to cover the one holding his blood in. “If you think I’m just some spoiled, rich brat.” “Oh, you are,” she told him sweetly. “But you’re my spoiled, rich brat.” For a second his eyes widened and she didn’t think he was going to smile and then he laughed, moving so that his lips pressed against her forehead and she loved every little touch. Her fingers ran over the back of his neck and then the feeling was replaced by the anxiety in her chest because he hadn’t argued with her, but he hadn’t said it either. He hadn’t said it and she hadn’t asked. She looked down at their hands and how the fingers were laced together and then she looked up at his face. “You are, right?” she asked softly. “Mine?” He laughed again and he shook his head at her. “No, Vic,” he said, and his voice was dry and sarcastic. She knew he was joking with her and teasing her because Simon Welsh was a tease, but her face fell anyway and she looked away. Immediately she felt his fingers brush under her chin and he was wincing because it was his wounded shoulder but he lifted her face anyway. “Of course,” he told her firmly. “I’m yours.” He leaned forward to kiss her and then he whispered lowly. “But it doesn’t mean you own me.” Wenston Dr. Tracer made him wear a sling. His tests had come back clean, which he didn’t think he’d ever get over his anxiety about, but when the doctor had taken a look at his shoulder, she’d told him nothing was broken or torn, just bruised and sore from blunt force trauma and he shouldn’t move it around much. So she’d given him a sling. He wasn’t sure he was really going to wear it, but Vic had helped him slide it on and apparently he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Vic still held his hand, even in the elevator as they made their way to the garage level where the others were waiting. He held it tightly back and he thought about her words to the doctor telling her that she was there to hold his hand and he couldn’t express to her how much those words meant to him. He didn’t know how to tell her just how much he cared about her and even if he did know, he wasn’t sure if he should say the words or not. He didn’t want to scare her away by coming on too strong because she still seemed reluctant about things and they still hadn’t ventured into the “love” territory but he thought they were getting there. He smiled as he thought about her asking him if he was hers and he didn’t know why she even had to ask. Maybe he hadn’t made that clear enough to her. He was hers and hers alone and he was going to have to prove that to her somehow. Maybe that second date. He glanced over at her and she had her cheek pressed against his good shoulder and he loved it when she clung to him like that because he would do anything to protect her. “Go to dinner with me,” he said, because the words were familiar and they’d worked so well the first time. Vic’s head rose from his shoulder and she looked at him, a brow quirked. “Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked and he chuckled because that was the answer she’d give him. He just nodded, bringing her hand up to brush his lips across her fingers and he hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he missed her last night. Vic smiled and then tilted her head to the side. “Where do you want to go.” “I want to surprise you,” he told her and she just smirked. He chuckled at the look she was giving him and he would have to think of somewhere to take her. Or maybe he could do something special. He didn’t know what, but he’d think of something. “Will you go?” Vic chuckled slightly and nodded her head against his arm. “Yes,” she said and he grinned down at her because she’d barely hesitated to say that and he was wild about this girl. He just wanted to be with her all the time and make her smile and laugh and give her the world. It felt strange to him, the extent of his feelings for her, because he’d never had them to this intensity with Kim. And this relationship was only just starting. The doors to the elevator opened and they stepped out, heading over to where Tony, Alexey and Jezibel were standing next to a row of cars. Alexey was sitting on the hood of a red convertible. Alexey’s face immediately puckered when he saw Simon’s arm in a sling and his brother always got uppity whenever Simon was hurt or sick. “Man, you really are squishy,” Alexey grumbled, but there was a concerned look in his eyes. Simon just snorted. “Hey, why don’t I hit you in the shoulder with a crowbar and see if you’re still walking around.” “No thanks,” Alexey said cheerfully. “You might break your other arm if you tried it.” Simon just laughed and then looked at Tony, who had his arms crossed and looked like he was concentrating really hard on something. Simon watched him for a moment before he cleared his throat and said, “Tony, you know what you’re supposed to do, right?” Tony nodded. “Yes,” he said firmly. “Repeat it back to me one more time, just so I know,” he said, trying not to sound like a dick or too bossy, but he didn’t want anything to go wrong because he didn’t want any of them to get hurt. Tony shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth, looking to the ceiling as he said. “I go in and order a drink, but I only take a couple sips every few minutes because I’m not supposed to get drunk because I’m going to be there a while to make it look realistic. Then Small Fry and Bitchzilla will come in and I’m not supposed to look at them at all, just keep my eyes on the stage. And then after a while, Small Fry is going to start yelling at Bitchzilla and he’s not supposed to touch Vic because he’s supposed to remember that Vic will kick his ass when he gets back, and then I go over and break up the fight and toss Small Fry to the curb. Oh, and I don’t wear an earpiece because if they see it in my ear, they won’t offer me anything.” Simon bit back a smirk because Tony had basically summarized everything Simon had told him earlier and the guy was a little bit slow, but Simon liked him. Beside him, Alexey snorted. “And you better be gentle on me. I’m tender.” Tony looked worried and Simon patted the man on the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he told him. “He’s a tough kid. Now, what do you do after you throw Alexey out?” Tony bit his lip. “I go back and sit down and wait for half an hour and if the head of security doesn’t approach me, I leave.” Simon nodded. “And if he does, I pretend that I’m looking for a job and if he offers me one, I tell him I can start tomorrow.” “What if he says you’ll start next week?” Simon asked. “Then I tell him I have another job lined up already and I can’t wait until next week,” Tony said. “And what do you do if you get into trouble and need backup?” Simon asked. Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Simon had asked Elias to get them some extra equipment that Avi had never given them, and one of the pieces of equipment was a cell phone for each of them. Elias had seemed impressed by the idea and Simon just thought it was stupid they hadn’t been given something like it before. He’d even gotten one for Lyle and Avi when they showed up next. He pointed to a button Simon had set as a speed dial on all the phones. “This button sends out a text message to all of your phones that says, ‘911’ and you’ll come running.” Simon grinned at the big guy and then nodded to the car. “Good,” he said. “Afterwards you come back here and we’ll go over what you’ll do tomorrow, okay?” “Yes, sir,” Tony said and then headed to the car. Simon made a face and he wasn’t sure how he felt about any of them calling him sir, because he wasn’t their boss or their leader, he was just in charge of this one mission. He watched Tony hop in and then he called out, “And be careful!” Tony turned to look at him and he grinned so big Simon thought it would consume his whole face. Then he started up the car and drove off and Simon let out a slow breath because he was second guessing himself and thinking of all the things that could go wrong and there were a lot of them. Vic squeezed his hand and he glanced over at her. She was watching him closely and when he looked at his brother and Jezibel, they were both smirking at him. “What?” he asked. Alexey shook his head. “You’re adorable when you’re all nervous and in charge, that’s what,” he said and Simon made a face and wondered what was wrong with his brother because that was the second comment he’d made like that. “Shut up,” Simon snapped playfully and his brother just snorted. “You know what you’re supposed to do?” he asked. Alexey rolled his eyes but hopped down off the car. “I go in with Vic on my arm and my pimp cane in my hand and then I make an ass of myself and let the big guy toss me out. Oh, and I’m to remember that if I hit Vic or say something too mean, she can beat me up later.” Simon bit his lip. “But make sure they believe you,” he said and then glanced at Vic and she was still watching him. “And if you say anything too mean, I’ll beat you up too.” Alexey scoffed. “I’m not sure I like these orders.” Simon grinned and then Alexey was walking over to the car, hopping in the driver’s seat. “Come on, toots, we’ve got a date,” he said, winking at Vic. Jezibel walked over to the window and leaned down to talk to Alexey, but Simon didn’t hear what she said to him because Vic was grabbing his chin and pulling his face down so he was looking at her. “Don’t be nervous,” she whispered to him. “It’s a good plan.” Simon tried to smile for her. “Any time you’re out there without me, I’m nervous,” he told her and he leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back and then he leaned his forehead against hers. “Please be careful,” he whispered softly. “Don’t worry,” she said and kissed him again and then pulled back, walking backwards towards the car. He felt a sudden spike in his heart because he was sending her out there and putting her in danger and those were his own orders doing so, but he’d had to look pass his personal feelings for this and she was the only person capable of doing this job. Plus, he wouldn’t insult her capabilities by trying to protect her from being put in danger. She was amazing. She was dangerous. She could do this. “I won’t let Alexey cop a feel.” .Wolfie. “This is so intense,” Alexey said next to her. His eyes were roaming the club as they headed through the doors, resting for a moment on the two giant security guys standing by the doors. Vic felt a moment of anxiety because they were just as big as the guys they’d fought last night. At least this time if it came to a fight she was sober. Romanova had an arm slung around her shoulders and his pimp cane in his other hand as they strolled through the doors. “I feel like we’re in a spy movie. Though seriously, I’m disappointed in Welsh. I can’t believe he missed this opportunity to make you wear a miniskirt. Would have fit the part better.”Vic smirked and scanned the club. “Maybe I’ll do that just for him.” Her eyes picked up Tony by the bar and she turned them towards one of the tables next to it. Most of them were full but there was an empty one towards the wall that looked promising. Romanova didn’t even notice, his eyes going immediately towards the girls on stage and staying on them. “Tell me you wear a schoolgirl outfit,” he said, his head still craned over his shoulder to watch the strippers and Vic just rolled her eyes. Romanova had to be in paradise. An undercover operation where they had to infiltrate a strip club and he pretended Vic was his girlfriend. The only way it could get better for him was if Jez was in her place. “And then tell him to tell me about it. Please, please, pretty please? It’s bad enough I’m missing out on Jez’s nurse’s outfit and sexy pillow fights, throw me some scraps here.” She laughed and thought about that for a moment. She wondered if Simon would like it if she showed up in a schoolgirl outfit or a nurse uniform and maybe she should do it one of these days just so see his reaction. Maybe would find out on their next date. There was a smile on her face and she was still considering it as she slid into the booth. She wasn’t much on foreplay or roleplay or anything but sex but maybe she’d make an exception for him. Alexey kept his arm around her and she made sure that his hand stayed on her shoulder and didn’t wander any lower. “If I were you I wouldn’t give up on Jez in a nurse costume just yet.” He made a choking noise in his throat and then his head was whipping around to look at her. “Why?” he demanded sharply. His eyes scanned her face and she almost laughed at the look on them and then wondered if she should have kept her mouth shut. Maybe she shouldn’t be giving him hope where there was none, but then Alexey was a big kid and he could take care of himself. “Did she say anything about me? Did she call out my name during your pillow fight?” “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Vic smirked and leaned back in her seat, scanning around for one of the waitresses. Alexey had rambled on the drive over, something about Jerry Springer episodes he’d seen and just how they should play this. It made her smile. All of it did, even if she was about to feel completely ridiculous in a minute. It made her happy that they had a solid plan and that it was one Simon had come up with. He sounded so confident and determined dishing out orders to them and there was something so hot about that. She liked him being demanding and in charge and she was almost sorry this wasn’t a permanent thing. She knew he was nervous, and he wasn’t as confident as he was pretending, but she didn’t think he should be. He was strong and smart and amazing and she’d almost hit stop on the elevator to show him what that did to her. “Um, yes,” Alexey said, still staring at her face. “That’s why I asked.” Vic just laughed and didn’t answer. He held his hands out to the sides and gestured frantically. It was almost enough to make her laugh but she spotted a busty blonde waitress wearing next to nothing headed their way. “Well? Something? Anything? Throw me a bone here!” She just lifted an eyebrow at him and jerked her head at the waitress. “Are you ready or not?” “You’re cruel,” he told her, pointing a finger in her direction. “Throwing me a scrap of hope like that and then giving me nothing.” He sighed and shook his head. He turned in his seat so he could face the waitress but glanced over his shoulder at her. “Am I ready? To be a loudmouthed asshole? Absolutely. By the way, the safety word is ‘banana.’ In case things get a little rough.” “What can I get ya?” the waitress asked. She leaned on the table a little as she asked and Vic didn’t think it was an accident that it further exposed her cleavage. Place like this the more boob she showed, the better the tips. Alexey grinned and Vic thought this wasn’t much of an act for him. All he had to do was come in and pretend to be a lecherous prick. It was like an ordinary day for Romanova. She was just trying to laugh as he tilted his head and stared down the waitress’s shirt and she hoped that he remembered they were here for a reason and not just for him to get his rocks off. “I can think of two things right off the top of my head,” he said, waggling his eyebrows and glancing up at the girl’s face. The waitress smirked and crossed her arms under her breasts as she leaned down on top of the table. It pushed them practically out of her top and Alexey’s smile widened. Vic couldn’t tell if the girl was actually happy or not because she probably had assholes hitting on her all day long. “Oh yeah?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow. “And what are those?” Vic turned wide eyed towards Alexey, slipping easily into a Jersey accent. “Are you fuckin’ serious?” she demanded, throwing her hands up. “Are you seriously doing this right here in front of me?” The waitress blinked and glanced at her like she hadn’t even known she was there and started to straighten up. She glanced back at Alexey and he was just rolling his eyes, slumping back in his seat. “Jesus, babe,” he snapped, and she was impressed with how straight of a face he was keeping. She wondered if he felt weird calling her babe because she felt weird hearing it. “Don’t fuckin’ start with me right now. I’m just makin’ conversation with the lady. I was just gonna order you a fuckin’ drink.” Vic’s eyes narrowed into a glare and she crossed her arms over her chest as she sat back hard in her seat. “Oh, like you were just ‘making conversation’ with my sister last week?” The girl shifted awkwardly on her feet and leaned back away from the table but Vic kept watching Alexey as he shook his head at her. “Why do you always have to do this? Why do you always have to make such a big fuckin’ deal out of everything?” He slammed his hand down on the table and the waitress jumped at the motion but he looked like he’d forgotten her. He turned in his seat to glare at her and she returned the expression. His voice was rising in pitch and then he gestured his hand at his chest. “I already told you babe, I was drunk and she came onto me. So just relax and have a fuckin’ drink.” He kicked at the table and turned like he was going to order them something from the waitress. Vic scoffed and her voice rose as she gestured at the girl next to them. “Don’t tell me to fuckin’ relax! We’re in the door two seconds and you’re already trying to fuck the waitress?” “See, this is what I’m talking about,” Alexey said, his voice getting louder and louder. He slammed his hand down on the table again and his hand came out to point in her direction. “I try to take you out, I try to buy you a drink, and you throw a fucking bitch fit in the middle of the god damned club. I’m sick and fuckin’ tired of your shit so unless you’re going to suck my dick with it, just shut your fuckin’ mouth.” He jerked his head at the waitress who was looking more than a little nervous now. “Get me two vodka martinis, sugar,” he said to the girl. She nodded and left in a hurry towards the bar. Vic watched her for a moment as she leaned over the counter next to Tony to talk to the bartender and she didn’t miss the nervous glances she was shooting over her shoulder at their table. Then she turned and she spit the words out at Alexey in the most biting tone she could manage. “Why do you need me to suck your dick? Sounds like you’ve got enough other whores lined up to do it.” “Listen bitch,” he yelled, pushing himself to his feet. He pointed a hand in her face and his eyes were narrowed and mean and if she didn’t know him she would have believed it. “I told you to shut your fuckin’ mouth. Don’t make me say it again.” “Fuck you!” she yelled back, pushing herself out of her seat. “I don’t have to take this shit from you.” She was half around the table when he came out from behind it and grabbed her around the arm to stop her. She’d told him in the car that she could take a hit if she needed to but if it left a bruise then Simon was probably going to follow through on his word to hit him. He’d done the same to Elias already and she didn’t need him to fight her battles but it meant so much to her that he’d defended her anyway. “Don’t you fuckin’ walk away from me!” Alexey screamed at her. “Now sit your ass back in that fuckin’ seat!” “Just leave me the fuck alone!” she shouted back. She yanked her arm roughly from his and pushed the flat of her hand into his chest. “I’m not your fuckin’ whore!” Around her the rest of the club was quieting and she always knew when someone was staring at her. There were a lot of people staring at them now and she wanted to turn around and make sure it was the right people. “No, just a fuckin’ bitch,” he screamed back, his face contorted with rage. He took a step towards her like he was going to do something and his eyebrows made a complete V when he was angry that Vic thought was almost funny. A giant hand curled around the back of Alexey’s neck in the next second and she saw his eyes go wide, even though he was expecting it. He tried to turn his head over his shoulder but then the big guy behind him grabbed his arm and turned him away from Vic. “She said to leave her alone,” Tony said, his voice a low rumble. He forced him forward, shoving him back towards the entrance they’d come in through and she wanted to glance around and make sure security was looking but she wasn’t going to blow their cover now. “Get off me you big fucking ape!” Alexey yelled over his shoulder. He made a good show of fighting back but every attempt to get free just made the fingers on the back of his neck tighten. At one point he almost broke free and Tony slammed him face first into a table. She saw Alexey’s eyes meet hers for a moment and he made a face that almost made her laugh. She hoped Tony didn’t accidently hurt him, because he was easily manhandling him towards the entrance. She didn’t think he would. That was his Small fry, she thought wryly. Vic grabbed Alexey’s cane off the seat and followed quickly, shoving her way through the crowd. She got there just in time to watch Alexey hit the pavement. He caught himself on the ground but he might have some skinned knees and palms tomorrow. Tony just dusted his hands off like he was taking out the trash and then headed back inside like he was just going to finish his drinks. She hoped they’d made a good enough show of it but there wasn’t much they could do now. Vic threw the cane down next to him because she knew the security guys were still watching. Alexey was pushing himself up on his knees and groaning as he put a hand to the back of his neck. He glanced up at the sound of her voice and she sneered at him. “Don’t even think about calling me tomorrow,” she snapped, turning on her heel and stomping down the sidewalk. Wenston Simon sat in the passenger seat of his rental car, leaning his head against the window as he watched the rearview mirror. Jezibel sat next to him, and she was filing her nails, every once in a while looked in the side mirror. They’d parked up the street and Simon hadn’t told the others that they would be following them, but it had been a last minute decision because he’d told Tony to press a button if things got hairy and he didn’t want the guy to have to wait thirty minutes for them to drive across town. If Tony got into trouble, they had to be there to help him out. So they’d parked up the street from the club, facing away and Simon was watching the entrance in the rearview mirror, waiting for his brother and Vic to emerge. He went over the plan in his head again and he really hoped this part worked, because if Tony didn’t get a job offer, then they were just left with the backup plan of hitting the house and that was the more dangerous approach. That had more security and more room for error. He hoped it would be an easy hit, inside the club where Tony could walk out and no one would be privy to Marcus Meehan’s death until they opened his office door and Tony and everyone else was long gone. He hoped it worked that way. Jezibel sighed and Simon glanced over at her. He immediately brought his eyes back to the rearview mirror, but he noticed Jez was looking out the window with a blank look on her face. Simon swallowed nervously and then asked, “You okay?” He didn’t expect the bitter laugh that came from her throat and he gave her a moment to answer because he didn’t know how she felt. He didn’t know what it was like to have people after him who wanted him dead and Avi didn’t count because Simon wasn’t running from the man. Jezibel had started a new life, changed her DNA to get away from these people and they’d still found her. Simon didn’t think that was fair. He didn’t like that the government had paid to have her disappear and someone was still able to find her. “I thought it was over,” Jezibel whispered quietly and Simon’s eyes came back to her. He saw her face fall and he shifted uncomfortably because he never knew if he would say the right things when someone was crying. Kim used to cry and Simon would think he was saying something that would make her laugh, but she’d just yell at him and call him insensitive. “I hate this. I hate being the damsel.” Simon smiled at her and she smiled back, shaking her head. He looked up the in the rearview mirror again and then back at her. “Jez, I’m sorry, but I have to ask,” he started and she turned to look at him, her eyes a little wide and he hoped she didn’t get mad at him, but he had to know. He’d seen her reaction when she saw the picture of Marcus. “You and I are going to be the team at the house. I need to know that, if you see Meehan, you’ll be able to do what I need you to do.” Jezibel didn’t get mad. She didn’t look offended, but she didn’t scoff or laugh or do anything that he expected her to do. She just watched him for a moment and he realized she was giving his question actual thought. Then she licked her lips. “I want this to be over,” she whispered so quietly he practically had to read her lips. “I won’t do anything that could keep that from happening.” He nodded and that was good enough for him. “Okay,” he told her and smiled appreciatively and then he looked back in the rearview mirror. “Thank you,” Jezibel whispered and he frowned. He almost asked her what she was thanking him for, but she must have read his mind. “For doing this. For doing it well and putting effort and thought into it. Just…thank you.” “You don’t have to thank me,” he told her. Jezibel gave a small laugh. “I know, it’s just a job.” Simon frowned and he wondered if he gave off that impression. “No,” he said and she turned to look at him again. “You don’t have to thank me because this is what I do for people I care about. And this team…” Simon shook his head and looked down at his hands. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just caught up in team spirit.” He joked. Jezibel smirked at him. “I don’t think it’s all team spirit,” she told him and she didn’t elaborate but he knew what she was trying to say. There was something about this team, something about being a part of a group who would fight for each other, who would come together when one of their own was in trouble. Simon wondered if he’d just been imagining it, or hoping for it, but they’d really come together for Jezibel. Movement in the rearview mirror caught his eye and he glanced up. He nearly laughed as he saw Tony fling Alexey from the building. He winced because it looked like the big guy wasn’t making it look real, by making it real. Jezibel did chuckle a little and Simon shook his head as Vic came out and threw Alexey’s cane down next to him. It looked like they exchanged a few more words and then they stalked off in different directions. Grinning, Simon pulled his phone out and dialed his brother’s number. It took a few rings and Simon was watching Vic make her way down towards them and he wasn’t even sure if she knew they were parked down here. Alexey picked up and Simon was smiling as he said, “That looked like it hurt.” There was a moment of quiet on the other end and he could picture his brother looking around and then he heard his brother spit out, “You are such a stalker.” Simon just laughed and then said, “Just get back to the compound. We’ll meet you there once we know Tony is okay.” “Big guy will be fine,” Alexey said and Simon rolled his eyes because for as much as Alexey had been hesitant to get into that friendship, his brother was really starting to act like he liked the guy. Simon thought he did. Alexey had moved away from all his friends, so beside from Simon, Tony was the closest thing he had to a friend out here. Now he had the team too. Simon hung up the phone and he rolled down the window as Vic got closer. He leaned his head out and gave a cat call, “What’s a foxy babe like you doing in a place like this,” he called out to her. Vic stopped in her tracks and looked at him with wide eyes. He just grinned at her and she bit her lip, sauntering up to the car and bending down so her face was near his. “Are you following me?” she asked playfully and Simon just rested his chin on his arm, braced on the rolled down window. “Oh, you know, I thought I’d stalk you for a little bit, call you at night and do the whole heavy breathing thing,” he told her. Vic smirked. “I can think of a better way to make you breathe heavily.” Simon blushed a little and Vic just laughed. Then she opened the backdoor of the car and climbed in. He turned around in his seat to look at her. Vic glanced at Jezibel and actually offered the girl a smile before she looked back at Simon. “How’d it go?” he asked her seriously. Vic shrugged. “We put on a good show. Alexey got manhandled. I would buy it if I were the head of security.” Simon nodded. “Good,” he said and then leaned back in the seat. Vic leaned forward and her hands came around the back of the seat to run down his chest and he grinned, aware of Jezibel in the car, but she seemed uninterested or pretended to be. She kept filing at her nails and looking out the window. “What are you doing here?” Vic asked. Simon turned his head to the side and she laid a kiss on his jaw before he said, “I told Tony if things went wrong, all he had to do was push a button. I wanted to be close in case he needed us.” Vic was quiet for a moment and Simon leaned forward so he could turn and look at her. She was watching him closely, a smile on her face. She didn’t say anything, and he didn’t know what she was thinking. Maybe she thought it was dumb or overprotective or that he was too worried and he should calm down, but he couldn’t. He needed to keep this team safe. He needed to be there if things went wrong. Jezibel chuckled a little. “I say we vote Avi off the island.” Vic smirked and her hands came up to run over Simon’s head and he just leaned back into the touch because her fingers were soft on his skin and he was getting tired from not sleeping at all last night, and hardly the night before. Vic laid her head on the back of his chair and then said, “You should plan these missions more often.” Simon just snorted and he tried to not let their faith and confidence in him go to his head. He wasn’t sure if he deserved it yet. “Don’t say stuff like that until we see if the plan works.” .Wolfie. It was another hour before Tony came out of the club and that was either a really good sign or a really bad one. Vic could tell Simon was getting nervous. The big guy hadn’t set off the 911 but that could either mean he got the job or he was in a lot of trouble. His eyes stayed on the side mirror and Vic’s eyes stayed on him. She knew the moment Tony came out of the club because the tension he was holding in his shoulders relaxed and she smiled because he really did give a shit about everyone on this team. She glanced over her shoulder out the back window and watched as Tony got in his car and drove off. “Well, let’s find out if we’re doing this the easy way or the hard way,” Welsh said, glancing in the rearview mirror at Vic. She offered him a grin that he returned and then he started the car up and drove all three of them back to the compound. She watched him as he drove, and she knew she was staring but she couldn’t help it. His eyes were focused on the streets as he navigated them back towards the compound but his head wasn’t in the car with them. He was running through all the ways this could go wrong and all the possible outcomes that he hadn’t considered. She could see it all on his face because his gaze was shuttered and she was getting better at recognizing the looks he wore. This was his game face. She leaned her head against the window and wondered when she had realized that the Welsh that had walked into that briefing room the first day wasn’t the same Welsh that was sitting in front of her now. She wondered if it was the moment he’d shot Cygne Noir in the back or if it was the moment he’d stepped in front of Avi’s gun for Alexey. Maybe it was when he’d gone after Gustavo for Vic. He was changing. He was getting better every day and it wasn’t just because of their sparring sessions. Alexey had called him squishy, but she thought that soft exterior was being stripped away and the person underneath was this calculating, dangerous man. Tony and Alexey were sprawled on one of the couches when they made it back to the briefing room. She scanned Tony quickly and didn’t see any bruises or marks on him, so at least if they turned him down they didn’t do so violently. Alexey had a bruise on his jaw and his hands and knees looked a little scraped up and Tony was sitting there looking so fucking guilty for it that she thought it was sweet. Alexey’s eyes went straight to her and a grin pulled its way across his face. “I made it with your sister, did I? Didn’t know you had a sister, Vic.” He crossed his fingers and looked up to the ceiling. “Please let her be a twin.” Vic laughed as she went to sit on the edge of the desk. Simon leaned his back against it, bracing his hand against the wooden surface while the other arm stayed cradled against his chest. “Nope, no twin sister,” she told him. “Not even a hot cousin.” Jezibel laughed at the look on his face and patted his shoulder while she walked by him. His gaze followed Givessi as she settled into the armchair next to them and then he turned back to Vic, shaking his head at her. “You are just all about crushing my dreams today, aren’t you?” He pointed at Simon. “Your girlfriend is an evil, evil woman.” Simon laughed and she felt his hand move to cover hers. “I know,” he said. She felt a smile curl her lips and she turned to hide her mouth against his shoulder because he’d just been telling her that a day ago while he fucked her against the wall of his shower. Then he cleared his throat and his gaze went to Tony, fingers still moving over hers. “How did it go?” he asked, focusing on business. The big guy shrugged and he looked a little uncomfortable. “The guy came and talked to me, said if my background check cleared I could start tomorrow. He’s gonna call me tonight or tomorrow morning.” Then he looked up at Simon with a nervous look on his face. She watched Simon smile and he looked like he was trying not to laugh but the poor guy looked so anxious to find out if he’d done everything right. “Good,” he said, nodding his head. “You did good, Tony. Let me know as soon as he calls you and tell me what he says. If you clear and he starts you tomorrow then you go in and do the job he gives you. If you get found out or run into trouble don’t forget about the emergency button on your cell phone.” He straightened up to address all of them, eyes scanning the room. “We’ve got the next two days to see if Tony can get close enough to hit him. If we don’t get a shot by Saturday, we’ll hit him at the house.” He turned to her and there was no hesitation in his voice as he gave them orders. She felt a shiver run down her spine just watching his face because he looked calm and in control and maybe later he would be nervous but right now this was the plan and there was nothing but confidence in his voice. It was making her want him in a bad way. “You and Alexey will wait in a van close to Tony. If he needs back up, you go in first. If you both need back up then call Alexey, otherwise he waits in the car.” Alexey scoffed and she turned to glance at him. He gestured at his chest and he looked mildly offended. “I’m right here, boss. I can still hear you. Why do I have to wait in the car?” Simon lifted an eyebrow at him. “One, because you still have a bum leg.” Alexey rolled his eyes and scoffed at that, his mouth opening to argue the point. Simon cut him off, lifting his hand and holding up two fingers. “And two, because you just got thrown out of the place. If any of the guards recognize you, they might toss you out on your ass a second time.” Vic grinned and tilted her head to the side. “That’s what you get for being the loudmouthed asshole who fucked my sister.” Alexey scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, slumping down in the couch. “I can’t believe imaginary sex is coming back to bite me in the ass. I feel like I should get real sex to compensate for it.” Givessi laughed at the comment and Vic glanced at her for a moment. The smile on her face was real and maybe it was because in two days this would all be over. Maybe then she could start to sleep again because the girl was starting to look tired. She looked coyly at Alexey anyway while she grinned. “If that’s how it works then you have your whole life to make up for.” “Oh?” he asked, leaning forward, his elbows braced against his knees. “Are you offering? ‘Cause if you are we should get started now, make sure we get as much sex in as possible.” She laughed and didn’t answer, just offering him a small shrug. The grin on Romanova’s face grew even wider and then he was nudging Tony in the ribs with his elbow. “You think silence means consent?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows. Tony stared at him blankly for a moment and then chuckled, slapping Alexey hard on the back. He made a face at the blow and glanced wide eyed up at Simon, mouthing a quiet ‘ow’ at his brother. Vic shook her head and turned towards Simon, resting her chin on his shoulder. “So where will you be, boss?” she asked, grinning broadly at him. He blushed a little at the term and then pulled her fingers to his lips to brush a kiss over them. “Jezibel and I will be waiting outside the house,” he said, his voice lowering a little. She tried to pretend that she didn’t feel a flash of jealousy but she did and she looked down at the desk so that he didn’t see it. He didn’t buy it for a second. His hand released her fingers so that he could grip her chin and pull her head up. “She can’t go into the club,” he said. “They’ll recognize her immediately. And I need someone to watch my back in case we have to hit him at the house.” She sucked in a breath and smiled up at him. “I know,” she said, her voice soft. Her teeth pulled at her lip and she wanted to tell him that she just didn’t like not being there to watch his back. She didn’t like trusting his life to someone else and even if she didn’t hate Givessi anymore it still didn’t make her feel better. She nodded anyway. “It makes sense.” He smiled at that and leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead. She closed her eyes, leaning into the touch and trying to tell herself she’d be alright with this. “You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he said against her skin. “Shut up,” she told him, pushing lightly at his good shoulder. He just laughed and she tried to pretend that didn’t make her smile. He turned back towards the others, his hand dropping down to rest over hers. “There’s nothing else we can do tonight. Head home, get some sleep.” He cleared his throat and then turned towards Jezibel. “Jez, I’ve got a guest room if you want to stay there. Probably more restful than sleeping on the couch again.” He offered her a smile and Vic leaned against his shoulder trying to remind herself that he wasn’t interested and she’d made it sound like she was backing off. She smiled back and nodded her head, arms wrapped around her frame. She opened her mouth to say something but didn’t get the chance. Alexey choked and coughed, shaking his head back and forth. “Woah, I don’t think so. No way do you get to go home with two hot chicks.” He nudged Tony again and pushed himself to his feet, turning to point a finger in Simon’s face. “We’re coming over. We’ll bring the beer and burritos. You just make some room on your couch.” Jezibel laughed and pushed herself to her feet. “Are you two going to share the couch?” she asked, eyes moving between Alexey and Tony. She tilted her head to the side as she studied him. “Let me guess which one of you is the little spoon.” Alexey’s eyes narrowed as he moved towards the doors. “You’re evil too,” he told her, and it just made her laugh. “I’m serious! You’re a wicked tease and the only reason I let you get away with it is because you’re smokin’ hot.” Vic watched as Jez followed them out into the hallway and she didn’t miss that it left her alone with Simon. She stayed sitting on the desk, tilting her head so that she could look up at him. He had that concentrating look on his face as he watched the others leave and it made her smile. She pushed herself off the desk and moved around in front of him, hands resting on his shoulders. “You’re killing me, Welsh,” she told him. He glanced down at her face and she saw a smile tugging at his lips. His good arm slid around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. She went easily, arms circling his neck as she watched him with a studying eye. His other arm was still in a sling and he wouldn’t be wearing it if she hadn’t made him. She didn’t know if he just found it annoying or if he was trying to be strong but either way she thought it was cute. “How’s that?” he asked. He dropped his head so that he could kiss her neck and she thought he already knew the answer to that because of the way his lips were moving over her skin. She tipped her head to the side, fingers tightening around his neck. “Don’t play dumb,” she told him. Her breath was quickening as he moved his head roughly up under her chin and her fingers slid up into his hair. A small noise left her lips when he bit down on her skin and she felt him smile against her neck. “You have to know how fucking hot it is when you get all demanding and in charge,” she said. He tipped his head back and laughed, arm tightening around her waist. “Maybe I don’t,” he said. “Maybe you should tell me.” She grinned and pressed her lips against the hollow of his throat. “Maybe I should show you.” Wenston “I’m gonna be the next Bruce Lee.” Simon chuckled to himself as he roamed around the kitchen heating up everyone’s frozen burritos. Alexey was explaining to everyone as they watched the credits start that one day he’d be making martial arts films and the world just hadn’t discovered him yet. The others didn’t seem to be buying it and Simon smirked because they all hadn’t known each other that long, but they seemed to have Alexey pegged by now. His brother was pretty much a straight forward type of guy. “Alexey,” Jezibel drawled in a sultry voice and Simon was happy to hear her voice cheer up. She’d been too scared and distant lately and he hoped the fact that she could joke and hang out with them meant that she trusted they would take care of this for her. That she trusted she’d be safe again once this was all over and Simon hoped so. He hoped that taking out Marcus Meehan would be the end of it and he didn’t have some sort of business partner or heir to the throne that would keep coming after her. He wondered how Jezibel would ever feel safe going home again and then he wondered where she lived. He wasn’t sure. She’d been keeping her distance from them, mostly. Maybe this would change it. Maybe coming back to his apartment to watch Kung Fu movies and eat frozen burritos was the best thing to happen to this team because they were smiling and joking and relaxing with each other and it meant that they cared. He wondered about the others. He wondered about Lyle and what the man was doing and the only reason he wasn’t here was because Elias said not to involve them. Tony had happened to get a drunk dial from Alexey, otherwise he would have been left out as well. He thought the big guy might have been kind of sad. Then there was Avi. He wondered how their Captain would feel about all of this. How he’d feel about Simon being in charge of a mission. If he failed, Avi would probably hold it against him for the rest of his life, but he wouldn’t be alone. Simon wouldn’t forgive himself either. But if he succeeded, he wondered what the man would actually do. He wouldn’t be proud, that’s for sure. Simon thought maybe Avi felt threatened. Maybe the day he’d called Avi poor leadership had been the day Simon had doomed himself. Avi had been out to get him ever since. And Matheson, a man who had only known them for a few short hours, had told Elias that Simon should have been in charge instead of Avi. If Simon were in Avi’s position, he’d be scared. There was no doubt about that. He’d feel threatened and he’d be worried about his job and the respect his team had for him. Although, he didn’t think Avi as a person cared much for that. Respect and fear were two different things and he didn’t think Avi really understood that. He wondered again about what happened on the plane. About Avi’s eyes lost in a golden glint as they circled around each other and maybe Avi hadn’t even been in there until Jezibel had drawn him forward. Avi’s psychological exam was on Monday and he wondered how that’d go. He wondered how his own would go. He wondered how Vic’s would go. “So far,” Jezibel continued after gaining his little brother’s attention. “All I’ve seen from you do is wag your tongue, get shot in the leg and get tossed out of a club.” Alexey scoffed and Simon smiled as he pulled the burritos out of the microwave and put them on a plate. He turned and heard his brother say, “You haven’t really seen me in action, then. I’m secretly a ninja master.” Simon paused in the doorway and he held the plate in his hands, but he couldn’t seem to move into the living room. Tony was settled into a chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Jezibel sat on one end of the couch, while Alexey sat in the middle. Vic was perched on the other side, but it looked like she was saving room for Simon. He looked between all of them and he didn’t understand the sudden tightness in his chest. The movie was rolling on the screen and they were all laughing and joking and tomorrow they may go kill someone or they may go and get killed and whatever happened would be Simon’s doing. The realization that he could get them all killed seemed to hit him suddenly. He’d been thinking it all day, but seeing them here in his apartment laughing and having a good time, he realized that they hadn’t questioned him all day, not really. They hadn’t doubted his competence or his decisions and Tony had looked so eager to please him, a lot more than he’d ever looked for Avi. He realized that they trusted him. The tightness in his chest was so rough he had to turn around and place the plate on the counter before he dropped it. He leaned over it, his left arm still in the sling and his right braced against the countertop because he didn’t know what to think of that. He didn’t know what he’d ever done to deserve that kind of trust and he didn’t know if he should even have it. He almost wished one of them would have argued with him, would have questioned him. But they didn’t. They just believed in him. “Hey,” Vic’s soft voice came and he felt her hand on his back. He jumped a little because she was really good at sneaking up at him. He turned to look at her and she had a smile on her face, but when she saw his, her brow furrowed and a look of concern passed across her features. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly so the others wouldn’t hear. Simon forced the smile on his face as he answered, “Nothing.” Vic gave him a look that said she wasn’t buying it and he didn’t know whether to be happy that she could read him so well by now or concerned that he’d showed her all the sides of him there was to know. He gave a small laugh and then shook his head, his face growing serious again. “What if I mess up?” he asked quietly and Vic tilted her head, not understanding the question. He just looked towards the window over the kitchen sink and sighed. “I’m the weakest one on the team and now Elias put me in charge and what if…” “Hey,” Vic said and this time she looked angry. She reached up and grabbed his chin roughly and he was a little surprised and excited that she was getting rough. He tried not to smile and ruin the moment. “You’re not weak,” she said firmly. “When I said that anyone who thinks you’re weak or pathetic is a liar, that includes you. And you’re very adamant that you’re not a liar.” Simon snorted and leaned into her touch. “I guess I just have the pre-mission jitters,” he joked and it made Vic smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he watched her face closely as she leaned up to kiss his lips. “You’re brilliant,” she whispered and he frowned but she continued. “You learn quick, you pay attention, and you always get back up. That’s why you’re going to do fine. Those are the things I know I can count on from you.” Simon smirked and he ducked his head to kiss her neck. His lips pressed against her skin and he said, “You can count on me for other things too,” he said playfully. She chuckled, her hands running over his back and his good hand moved beneath her shirt and he wished this mission was over already because he wanted her in a bad way. He wanted to take her to the bedroom or right now he didn’t even know if they’d make it that far. If there weren’t other people in his apartment, he may have tested out some different fun spots. “Like what?” she asked and she had to bite her lip as his hands started trailing over the spots he knew always sent shivers through her body. Simon leaned his head back and he looked her in the eye. She watched him, her head ticking to the side in curiosity. He wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her that he thought he was falling in love with her. He wanted to say those words to her because they were the truth and he wasn’t a liar, but he kept his mouth shut and instead, he just grinned. “Cooking burritos and watching movies with you,” he said. .Wolfie. “What did I tell you about staring at me, Welsh?” She didn’t even open her eyes, the words muffled as she said them into the pillow beneath her face. She heard him laugh quietly and then felt his hand sliding over her lower back. He was staring at her and she could feel that itch between her shoulder blades a second before his lips landed there, trailing kisses across her bare skin. She tried to pretend it didn’t make her shiver when his mouth brushed over the back of her neck.“I thought we’d gotten past that point,” he said, his voice quietly amused. She smiled at the sound of it because he sounded more awake than her and she wondered how long he’d been lying there awake. She wondered if he was still stressing out about the mission and if that’s why he was already up or if he’d just been watching her sleep the whole time. She rolled over onto her back, trying to blink the grit out of her eyes and focus on his face. She wondered how early it was because Welsh liked to get up early but he was still in bed. Her head tipped to the side to look out the window and it looked like the sun had barely risen. They’d stayed up late last night watching Kung fu movies and eating frozen burritos, waiting to see if Tony got a callback for the job. It still hadn’t come by the time he and Alexey had finally stumbled home and shortly after that Jez had gone to sleep in the guest room and Vic had joined Simon in his bed. She’d tried to keep it down, really she had. A low, contented sigh left her lips as his hand slid over her stomach, just resting against her skin as his thumb moved in small, slow circles. “Why, just because I’m dating you now?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He laughed and his head ducked to kiss the corner of her mouth. She tried to turn her lips to meet his but he moved his kisses down her chin to her neck and onto her collarbone. “Yes,” he said. His hand moved and cupped the side of her face and then he was tipping her head roughly backwards. Her breath quickened as he leaned over her. “You’re mine, remember?” He leaned down to kiss her and his lips were just hovering over hers when a jingling sound filled the air. She jumped a little at the noise and she saw Simon’s smile widen, his lips still just above hers. “Cell phone,” he told her quietly, and she groaned in frustration as he rolled away from her, grabbing the phone of the table next to him. He looked at the number and she could see the immediate change in his expression and his posture. He pushed himself up in bed with his good arm, using the damaged one to hold the phone to his ear. “Hey Tony,” he answered. “What’s the word?” She sat up next to him, pulling the sheets up to her chest and her knees up beneath them as she watched him. He was biting his lip and staring down at the covers and she thought about what he’d said to her last night. She hoped he believed her when she said he wasn’t weak or pathetic. She hoped he believed her when she said he was brilliant and maybe when this was over he would. Her arms wrapped around her legs while he listened to Tony speak on the other end of the phone. She should have been wondering what the man was saying and if they were going to do this the easy way or the hard way like Welsh said. She wasn’t. She was thinking about him and how she felt about him because she wasn’t sure she understood just what this was. She was his. She hadn’t been lying when she said that. But she didn’t know what that meant and what that meant for her because maybe a little part of her was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was waiting for this to end because there were good reasons she never got attached. It was weakness. That was the biggest thing. Her pops had drilled it into her head over and over again. If she got attached, she would want to stay and then they would get caught and either killed or put in prison, depending on who caught them first. If she got attached then it would hurt so much more when they had to leave and pain was a distraction that could get them killed or caught. If she got attached then she was weak because only the weak gave a shit about anything other than survival. Those things were true and she knew in her head they were true. The problem was that she was starting to give a shit about all of them. She’d never had friends before, but she liked going to the bar with Alexey and Tony and she liked watching movies at Welsh’s apartment with all of them, even Jezibel. She was genuinely happy and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that. “Alright,” Simon said, nodding his head. “Then go in for tonight. Don’t ask too many questions, just listen and watch.” He laughed quietly at something and then shook his head. “Thanks big guy,” he said. “You’ll do great.” Then he flipped the phone shut. For a minute he sat fiddling with the phone in his hands and she didn’t mind that he’d forgotten she was back here because he was so deep in thought. Her gaze traveled his back and she frowned at the dark, awful bruising on his shoulder. She didn’t like it when he was hurt. She knew pain was the path to strength and that if he fought through this then he could fight through worse when it came. That was what she’d been taught and the reason she hadn’t taken any painkillers for the throbbing bruises on her face and the back of her head. But she still didn’t like seeing him hurt. She didn’t like seeing him sad or scared or in pain. She wanted to make him happy, because that was what he did for her, and that sudden realization terrified her. He let out a sigh and it startled her because she’d just been staring at his back while her fingers played with the necklace he’d given her. He turned his head over his shoulder and studied her for a moment before he smiled. “They gave Tony the job,” he said. “They’re starting him tonight. We’ll track the GPS in his phone once he goes in so we don’t have to risk him getting discovered by calling us or anything. Once he’s in place, we can make the hit and end this once and for all.” She nodded her head and didn’t say anything because she was trying to listen to him but she was trying to think about what it meant that she wanted to make him happy and that she cared so much about him. It meant pain. It meant so much pain when he was gone because one day he would be, whether he died or left her, he would be gone. “Hey,” he said, his hand coming out to rest on the side of her neck. She blinked and focused on his face and his eyes were narrowed with concern. “This is a good thing,” he told her, smiling at her. “Then I can take you on that second date.” The words made her smile. She didn’t want them to but they did and she felt like this was the point where she just needed to come clean with him one way or another. Either this was just a fuck, a great fuck granted, the best fuck of her life, or this was something more and if it was the second then he needed to know what he was getting himself into. There had been two files in Elias’s hand and she was pretty sure the second one was hers. She ducked her head against her knees so that she didn’t have to look at his face and then she whispered “I lied to you,” quietly into the sheets. She felt his hand still on her neck and she wondered what he was thinking when she said those words. She wondered what she was going to tell him next because she didn’t know. She was warm in his bed and she could feel his hands on her skin and she was so fucking happy here. She tried really hard to remember the last place she’d been happy and she couldn’t do it. “What about?” he asked her quietly, and then she glanced up at his face and the look that she’d put there. He looked like he had the night he came back into his room and she was pulling her clothes back on. He looked like she was about to tell him thanks for a good time and then leave him. He looked like he was waiting for the worst news of his life to come and she didn’t understand it because she was just one damaged girl but she couldn’t lie to him and tell him he was just a fuck. She ducked her head again and picked at the sheets. “Not completely,” she said. “I just left some stuff out.” She lifted her head to rest her chin on her knees again and watch his face. “When I told you I grew up in Jersey, that’s not completely true.” Something like relief crossed his face and she felt so terrible for putting that look there in the first place. He laughed softly and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. Then he shifted on the bed so that he was closer to her, his hand coming out to rest on the other side of her leg and he put his face close to hers. “That’s not fair,” he said, his voice teasing and a smile on his face. “You told me I wasted a question. You didn’t even answer it right.” She almost smiled at him but she forced herself to glare instead. “That’s not funny,” she told him. “This is important.” He held a hand up like he surrendered and she sighed, tipping her head to the side to look at him. “I said not completely. I did grow up in Jersey. I lived there until I was nine. It’s just after that we moved. A lot.” He frowned and pressed a kiss to her knees. “Okay,” he said. “Why did you move?” That time she did smile because it was so perfectly Welsh to ask why something happened instead of asking where. She felt his hand brushing along her cheek and the touch was comforting and gentle and things she’d never needed before but she’d never tried to explain her life to anyone before either. She wanted to. She wanted him to know who she was and what he was getting himself into before they both ended up hurt. “Pops pissed some people off,” she told him. She saw him tilt his head and try and picture that and she shook her head before he got the wrong idea. “It was either run, or end up swimming with the fishes in our cement shoes.” He nodded and this time he didn’t say anything, just watching her and waiting for her to finish. She turned so that she could kiss the palm of his hand and she closed her eyes while she did, almost afraid to open them. “I’ve been on the run since I was nine,” she told him quietly. “The people pops pissed off… I mean maybe they don’t care about me anymore. He’s dead, maybe that’s all that matters to them. Maybe they don’t remember I exist. But if they do and I get close to you, if I get attached to you…” She trailed off and just closed her eyes because she couldn’t finish. If she got close to him then maybe one day the family would find her because they didn’t forgive and they didn’t forget and when they did they would hurt him first because that was how they worked. “I’m not afraid,” he told her. His hand tightened on her leg and she opened her eyes to look at him. He smiled at her and she felt his lips press against her knee, his gaze locked on hers. “You don’t have to keep running,” he told her quietly. She felt his fingers pull her hand off her knee and then he pressed it to his chest where she could feel his heart thundering away in there. “You’re not alone anymore. You’re mine and I’m yours and that’s how it’s going to be.” She should have told him no. She should have told him it wasn’t that simple and he was being hardheaded and ridiculous and if they ever found her or still gave a shit about her than they would hurt him worse than a damned crowbar. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t get himself hurt over some damaged girl that was only good for a fuck. She didn’t. She didn’t because he was smiling at her hopefully and she could feel his heart beating under her fingers. So she just opened her mouth and said “Okay.” Wenston Simon wasn’t scared. He wasn’t scared that he’d just dropped Alexey and Vic off at the compound and watched them climb into a van and drive off. He wasn’t scared that at this very moment Tony was showing up for his first day of work. He wasn’t scared that he was leaving it to Tony’s hands to take out Marcus Meehan. He wasn’t scared that now, Jezibel and himself, were driving towards the man’s house on the other side of the river. And he sure as fuck wasn’t scared that if people came after Vic, something would happen to her or him or anyone else. Because he’d never let that happen. She’d looked scared when she’d been sitting on his bed telling him all of that. The truth was, he’d been scared out of his mind then that she was going to leave him right there. Or tell him that she didn’t really care for him, only his bed. There’d been a million different scenarios running through his head on how she could break him, and maybe, if anything, that was the only thing he was scared about. But she hadn’t. She hadn’t left him or told him she didn’t care. She’d said the exact opposite. She was scared he’d get hurt. She was scared that the people who came after her would come after him first. There was no way he would let that happen. There was no way someone who was after Vic could come face to face with Simon and walk away. It just wasn’t going to happen. He wouldn’t let anyone who wanted to hurt Vic keep breathing if he had a say in it. That was his Vic. That was his girl. And whether or not he’d said that he loved her out loud or had even convinced himself within his own head, the fact that she was his girl and had said so meant the world to him. She meant the world to him. “You’re being quiet,” Jezibel observed from next to him. He glanced over at her and then looked back at the road. The sun was setting and pretty soon it would be dark, which would give them the advantage if they needed it. If it came down to them having to take Meehan out in his home, they would need the darkness to cover them. Because they would already be inside the house when Meehan showed up. “I’m just thinking,” Simon said, forcing a smile on his face and he needed to get his head in the game. Vic was a distraction, but he knew how to keep distractions at an arm’s length. He thought it was funny that when Elias had asked what his first impressions of the team were, he’d called Jezibel the distraction. He’d said he felt Vic could easily fly off the handle and he felt guilty about telling the man that. He should have said only nice things about her and should have kept those observations to himself because Elias didn’t need to know that. Although the man probably already did. He probably knew more about Vic than Simon did and he realized he was jealous about that. Jezibel gave a soft laugh and he glanced over at her again. She was watching him, her pale eyes studying his face. “You’re surprising, Simon,” she said and he frowned because he didn’t know what she meant by those words and whether to be offended or afraid. Maybe she thought he was going to fail at this. Maybe she thought that she was walking to her death and if she thought that, he would make her stay in the car. “How so?” he asked, trying to sound like he didn’t really care, but it didn’t quite come across that way. Jezibel shrugged. “You don’t find many people like you in this business,” she said and then looked down at her lap. He watched her for a moment and looked back at the road. He didn’t know what to say to that. Jezibel sighed. “I was on a few missions before I came to this team and you don’t find many people that care as much as you do.” Simon chewed on his lip, a frown marring his face and then he shook his head. “Well that’s stupid,” he said and Jezibel laughed, making him smile because he knew it was a juvenile thing to say. He shrugged. “But I think it might be easier if I didn’t care.” “Well, I’m glad you do,” she told him and he smiled and tried not to let the compliment go to his head. He did care. He cared about all of them. “Victoria is very lucky,” she said and the comment caught him off guard. He looked over at her and she was smiling at him. “And very loud.” The blush raced across his face quickly and it made Jezibel laugh. “Sorry,” he said, embarrassed because he knew the walls in his apartment complex weren’t thick. He knew sound travelled and now this was the second person to tell him that they’d heard him and Vic at night. He wondered if he could get the walls insulated or if the apartment complex would frown on that. “Don’t apologize,” she said. “I appreciate you offering me the guest room.” Simon caught the tail end of sadness on that statement and he looked over at her, giving her a confident smile. “This will be over tonight, Jez,” he said lowly and she nodded but couldn’t seem to open her mouth to say anything. Simon reached over and laid his hand on her arm and he saw her close her eyes. “Then you can go home, back to your little dog.” Jezibel laughed and Simon grinned, withdrawing his hand. She shook her head and it was her turn to blush and he didn’t quite understand why until she said, “That dog wasn’t even mine.” Simon raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. “I needed to make a first impression.” “And you chose the stuck up snob route?” Simon asked. She laughed again and shrugged. “It’s easier not to get close to people that way,” she said and Simon frowned because he didn’t like that answer. He didn’t like that she felt that way or that Vic felt that way and he wondered if that’s how all of them felt. He wondered if they were all just pretending to like each other and get along, but they were just waiting for one of them to betray them. He thought again about Avi and Elias thinking there was a traitor among them and he just couldn’t see it. He just couldn’t see it being one of them. “What’s wrong with getting close to people?” Simon asked, playing dumb. Jezibel looked out the window and then shook her head. “It won’t hurt as much when they stab you in the back.” Simon kept his mouth shut and then Jezibel turned to look at him and he didn’t understand how she could sound so much like Vic and he didn’t like that the people he cared about had been hurt. “The thing you have to remember is that we’re all under contract. That means we are forced to be together. As soon as the contract ends, do you think we’d actually all stay in touch?” Simon tried not to let the pain of that statement get to him, but he felt it steal its way deep into his chest. He wondered if they would. When the contract was up, would they all just up and leave? He frowned and shook his head. “Maybe,” he said and then added, “But that’s a long ways off and if we just sit around thinking that the whole time, life will be miserable.” Jezibel laughed and it sounded genuine. “You are surprising, Simon,” she said and he took that as a compliment as he pulled the car over a few blocks from Meehan’s house. Now all they had to do was wait. .Wolfie. Vic wondered if she was overreacting. She wondered if she was just getting nervous because of everything that happened with Jezibel because up until now she’d managed to convince herself she was done with that. She’d been convinced that her pops was dead and the government had wiped her off the grid and there was no reason to think the family would find her ever again.Except Jez had thought there was no way Meehan could find her either, and look where that had gotten her. She couldn’t even go home. All Elias had been able to say about it was that some things couldn’t stay buried forever and maybe that meant her too. She wanted to believe that they just didn’t give a shit about her anymore. They’d been after pops, not her, because he was the one that had broken silence and talked to the cops. He was the one that had betrayed them and the penalty for that was death, no exceptions. Only pops was already dead and they hadn’t gotten their justice so maybe when they figured out what had happened they would make her pay for what he’d done. She wasn’t sure. He hadn’t like to talk about the family any more than he had to, just enough so that she knew what they were running from and what they would do if they were found. Just enough to scare a nine year old kid. She’d asked him once why they didn’t just kill whoever was after them. Her dad had laughed at her. He’d laughed in her face and told her that there was being strong and not taking anyone’s shit and then there was being fuckin’ retarded and going after the family was the second one. He asked if she was that curious to see the inside of a full body cast or a coffin because those were her only options. She hadn’t asked again. She just shut her mouth and when Lucas said run, she packed her shit and she ran. She didn’t know if there were always good reasons to take off or if he was just paranoid but if something had pops scared then she was scared too. And now Simon knew. Maybe not everything, but he had a better idea and she wasn’t sure if she’d been trying to warn him or just scared him away. She didn’t want it to, but it made her feel better that she had blurted that out to him and he had told her he wasn’t afraid and that she was his. She believed Simon when he said things like that. She believed him when he said she was beautiful or deserved nice things and she believed him when he said that she wasn’t alone anymore. She didn’t know if it was smart or safe of her, but she believed him and it meant so much that he still wanted her, even knowing that. She wanted to tell him what that meant to her, what he meant to her, but there were lines she was still trying not to cross. She had a lifetime’s worth of habits that she was breaking just by staying with him, just by accepting his gifts and sharing his bed but she was still holding back because the less she shared the less she would have to lose when it was over. “Why is it Tony gets to hang out in a strip club all night and I get stuck in a van?” Alexey grumbled. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he was kicked back in his seat, playing with a giant rubber bouncy ball he’d gotten from a quarter machine. Vic rolled her eyes at him. “You got to hang out in the strip club last night,” she said. “Now you’re just getting greedy.” “Damn right I am,” he told her, tossing the ball in the air. He caught it and one hand and then gestured at the screens across from him. “How often are we going to have missions involve strip clubs? I mean right now we’re getting paid for this. I feel like I should take as much advantage of the situation as I can. Who knows when this’ll happen again?” “I guess you’ll just have to keep wasting your own money there,” she said. She grinned at him, watching the television screens they’d set up in the van. They’d gotten a couple of the security cameras to feed into the van but she didn’t see Tony and she imagined wherever they had him stationed wasn’t some place that had cameras or at least if they did, not ones that could be hacked that easily. It had been a rush job by one of the techs back at the compound but they were kind of on a deadline. She wondered how he and Jezibel were doing. She wondered if they’d made it into the house alright or if they’d gotten attacked by one of those giant fucking Dobermans or caught in the security system or by one of those big burly guards. “Hey,” Alexey snapped, pointing a finger at her face. “Who says it’s a waste? You know, this is Jez’s livelihood I’m contributing to. Those girls are legitimate dancers and they work hard for their tips. I’m just supporting the arts.” He waggled his eyebrows before he grinned and tipped his head back, tossing the ball in the air again. “Please, you’re just supporting your boner,” Vic said. “Don’t try to pass it off as anything else.” He shrugged, not even looking up at her. “Hey, I think it’s a worthy cause anyway. Man’s gotta have something worth living for.” She snorted and bit back a laugh, just shaking her head as she turned back towards the screens. She held her cell phone loosely in her hands and she was fighting the urge to play with it and see if she’d somehow missed any messages from Tony or Simon. She hoped he was okay. She didn’t like not being there to watch his back, anymore than she’d liked sending him to see that fucking pharmacist alone. They’d tried to push him around and she was glad he’d stood up for himself but he shouldn’t have had to. Who the fuck did those people think they were that they could pass judgment on Simon? He was better than them. He was better than all of them. She was startled when the phone went off and she flipped it open without looking to see who it was. “Hello?” she snapped, a little harsher than necessary. She was anxious. She was anxious to kill something or to fight something and she was anxious because she was worried about Simon and Tony. A lot of her was anxious for this mission to be over, because then she could have a second date with Simon and maybe she could get a better idea what it meant that she was his because she was still figuring it out. “Bitchzilla,” Tony said, and his voice was low, like he was trying not to be heard. “They’ve got us rotating and now I’m supposed to go up and watch the doors to his office upstairs. But I’ve got a buddy and I don’t know how to get rid of him.” Alexey was leaning forward to look at her and she shot him a smirk before nodding her head. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll think of something, you just keep doing your job and don’t do anything to raise suspicions. You’re doing good, big guy.” They said goodbye and she flipped the phone closed, biting her lip and staring at it for a moment. She knew Simon didn’t want a bigger body count than they had to leave, but she couldn’t really see a way around it this time. The guy they put Tony with was probably a professional. He wasn’t just going to leave his post because a girl had asked him to for any reason. If they moved fast she and Tony could take the guy out and move in to get Meehan before anyone knew what had gone wrong. She chewed on her lip and glanced out the back window. It was dark out. That meant Simon and Jezibel were already stationed in the house or at least on their way in. She wasn’t going to risk fucking this up for him. A sigh escaped her lips and she pushed herself upright, aware that Alexey was staring at her and waiting. He held his hands out, the ball curled in one fist as he gestured at her. “Well?” he said. “What’s the word?” “Looks like big guy needs some back up. Just sit tight princess, I promise I’ll call you if we need a loudmouthed asshole.” He rolled his eyes and flipped her off, but he looked a little concerned as she pushed the back door open and hopped out of the van. She double checked to make sure she had her knife on her because she had the sneaky suspicion she was going to need to use it. Her heart was starting to race a little faster because she always got excited when something needed to bleed. As soon as she realized it she felt a little darker and a little more damaged. Maybe Elias was right about her. Maybe killing got her off. Maybe it wasn’t natural for her to be alright with having blood on her face and maybe it wasn’t right that she didn’t feel any guilt when she sliced someone’s throat open. They were people and they had lives and she just didn’t give a fuck because they had to die. She’d never questioned it before. Maybe she only was now because of Welsh, because he cared more about saving lives. It was a different club from last night and there was a big neon dancing girl on top that blurred out the name of the place. She smirked when she saw it and bet Alexey was having a shit fit inside the van right now because he’d been told to wait in the car. She didn’t recognize the bouncers at the door and she hoped that meant they didn’t recognize her either because the less people saw her then the easier it would be to get out if anything went wrong. Her eyes marked the exits and entrances by habit as soon as she walked into the crowded club and the one in the back by the bathrooms was probably the quickest way out. Vic felt the familiar rush building her system as she weaved her way through the crowd towards the back rooms. Tony had said upstairs. Her eyes scanned for any signs of a balcony or a staircase and anything like that was probably towards the back where he didn’t have to make his way through a maze of lecherous bastards jerking off in their seats. She headed towards the bathrooms first to make it look like she had a reason for heading straight across the club but at this point she didn’t know how much discretion was going to matter. She saw the small staircase down the hall to her left and she smirked as she ducked down that direction. There were two massive guys waiting at the bottom of the staircase and it was some small relief that one of them was Tony. The other one looked serious and severe and there was an earpiece in one ear that would probably let him shout for help as soon as he thought something was up. Her gaze flicked past him up the stairs and there was a door at the top that was probably Meehan’s office. He was right fucking there. If they could just get past this guy they could end him here and now and be done with it. The two of them turned to look at her as soon as she started coming down the hallway and she saw the guard’s hand move towards his coat. She had no doubt he had a semi-automatic stashed there and Tony glanced at him and then back at her with a nervous look. She did the only thing she could think of. She plastered a grin on her face and stumbled a little as she moved towards them. “Hey boys,” she slurred, and she saw the man relax in slow degrees. “Either of you know where the bathroom is?” She tripped over her own feet and caught herself against the wall. She giggled a little and it was a lot of effort because Vic never giggled. “Back the way you came, honey,” the guy told her, smirking as he nodded down the hallway. Tony was looking nervous but she just widened the grin on her face, stumbling forward and catching herself on his jacket. There was definitely a gun under there. She could feel the solid weight of it beneath her hand and she wondered if she could get to it before he did. “Sorry,” she slurred at him, grinning up at his face. Behind him Tony was taking a slow step backwards, glancing towards the door at the top of the stairs behind him. “I had an awful lot. Do you think you could show me where it is?” “Listen honey,” he spat, gripping her wrists and holding her away from him. His eyes were narrowed but he wasn’t watching Tony as he moved towards the door and maybe all she had to do was keep this guy busy enough for him to take Meehan out. “Just go back the way you came and try to sober up. The bathroom’s right behind you, I think you can find it by yourself.” A smile slid across her lips and she was debating going for his gun or drawing her knife when a sound at the end of the hallway drew her attention. Two beefy guys were headed their way, guns in their hands and then the door to Meehan’s office was opening. All three of them turned to look up the stairs and Meehan was stomping down it, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “What the fuck do you mean my wife’s home? She’s not supposed to be home for another two weeks. Well, get the bitch out of the house then, before she sees her.” He snarled something and then snapped the phone shut. He shook his head and then his gaze rose and focused on the four security guards standing at the bottom waiting for him and then his gaze went to Vic. His eyes narrowed and he looked at the guy still holding her wrists, jerking his head at her. “What the fuck is this?” he snapped. Vic cleared her throat. “I was looking for the bathroom,” she said, aware that there were three guys bigger than Tony currently surrounding her and standing in the way of her and their target. Jesus, she’d messed this up, royally, hadn’t she? Tony was standing there looking uncomfortable and she wondered if he’d be able to keep it together if they ordered her taken out back and shot. Then Meehan snorted and shook his head. “Women,” he snarled, and then pushed past his security guards. “Get the car ready, and somebody get me a fucking drink.” Wenston The cell phone vibrating in his pocket made Simon jump. It was Vic’s number and he hoped she was calling to tell him Meehan was dead and it was over. A part of him was really hoping they didn’t have to go into the house because this was the more dangerous route and there was a reason they were the only two here. It meant if things went wrong here, the government would only lose two measly investments. Jezibel, who’d been crouched next to him just outside Meehan’s house, glanced over at him as he pulled it out and whispered lowly, “What’s the news?” Vic sounded angry as she spat into the phone, “Meehan’s on his way home.” He could hear her walking somewhere and then the sound of a van door was opening. “He walked right pass us. Tony never got the chance to be alone with him.” “That’s okay,” Simon told her and it was. He smiled. “That’s why we had a plan B.” He glanced over at Jezibel and nodded to her. She returned the gesture and looked at the house, her face stealing itself and he watched her for a moment and thought about when he’d asked her if she’d be able to do this. He hoped she hadn’t lied to him. He hoped when the time came, she’d be able to pull the trigger. But if she wasn’t, he’d do it for her. “Where’s Tony?” Simon asked. “They’re letting him go home early since Meehan’s not there and tomorrow he’s going to call in to quit,” Vic said and she sounded hesitant. He wondered if she thought she’d messed up somehow and if she did, that was stupid. Things were going according to plan. This had been one of the possibilities he’d factored in. “You guys did great, Vic,” he said. “Stay with Tony until they let him go and then everyone get back to the compound. We’ll call you when it’s done.” Vic sighed and Simon frowned a little and wished he could see her face because he didn’t know what she was thinking. He couldn’t read her facial expressions and he couldn’t touch her skin to let her know he was there for her because when she sighed like that, it usually meant she didn’t like what was happening. “Be careful,” she said and a small smile crossed his lips. “We will,” he told her. “I mean it,” Vic said and he believed her because of the severity of her voice. “Come home to me.” The words made him suck in a breath. It sent his heart racing and he closed his eyes for a moment to let those words sink in because he did have someone to come home to now. He had someone to share his bed and share his life and something to fight for when people were trying to kill him. If he died, he’d be leaving something behind and he didn’t want to do that to Vic. She deserved nice things and she didn’t deserve to have someone in her life who was just going to die on her the minute she turned her back. For her alone, he’d always get back up. “I will,” he told her and he wanted to tell her he loved her, but he held his tongue and then hung up the phone. He glanced over at Jezibel and she was waiting patiently. He sighed and steeled himself and then said, “Ready?” “As ever,” Jezibel answered and Simon snorted. “Okay, get into position,” he told her. “I’ll get the door open for you. You remember the plan, right?” Jezibel smiled and gave him a look. “Simon, we’ll be fine. I know what to do. Just get the door open,” she said with a smirk. He smirked back and then she was standing. She reached into a pouch strapped to her thigh and pulled out two dog biscuits. She tossed them easily over the fence and then she crouched. He watched as the shift came on. White feathers sprouted along her skin, her body morphing and it was still exhilarating to him to watch someone shift, especially fully into their animal form. The Shifter Initiative was still relatively unknown to the public. Most people knew that the government was experimenting with animal genes, but it hadn’t really gained exposure that they’d succeeded in the way they had. People still reacted with shock and awe when they saw a Shifter. He remembered the looks on the faces of the passengers on the plane. Most of them had been horrified. It didn’t take long until a snowy owl stood in Jezibel’s place. She was completely animal, and if anyone saw her, they’d never know she was human at all. She flapped her wings and flew to the giant oak tree outside of Meehan’s window and perched there. Simon felt his own shift come on, but he didn’t go the full way. He stopped somewhere between panther and human and it was the form he took most. He kept his eyes on Jezibel and he could see her more clearly in the dark, now that his eyes were shifted. Jezibel turned her head towards him and then it ticked to the side, birdlike, and she swooped down from the branch. He watched her fly around the corner of the house and this was the part of the plan he hated, when she was out of his sight because he couldn’t know what was happening when he couldn’t see her. He waited patiently, his nerves starting to fray. Then Jezibel came gliding back around the corner and hot on her heels were the two Dobermans. She swooped up suddenly and perched back on the branch. The dogs circled the tree for a moment and they were being remarkably quiet. Simon guessed they were trained just to bark at human intruders, not animals and he was glad. He watched the dogs and they seemed to be contemplating how to get the tasty snack in the tree, and he grinned as they seemed to pick up the smell of the bones lying in the grass. He watched them silently as they walked over to the bones and ate them. It only took a moment for the tranquilizers laced inside to kick in. The Dobermans fell over and Simon looked back up at Jezibel. She was watching the dogs and as soon as they fell, her head turned to look at him. He gave her a feral grin and then he was scaling the fence, hopping silently onto the ground and heading along the wall towards the balcony of Meehan’s home office. He was nearly invisible in the dark, his black fur keeping him hidden in the shadows. He scaled the wall in a single bound, his pawed hands gripping the railing of the balcony and he pulled himself up and over it, crouching low. He turned to look out at the yard and he saw the two armed guards who patrolled the yard walk around the corner. Jezibel took her cue and flew down lowly. The guards drew their guns and Simon’s breath caught in his throat and he hoped they weren’t spooked enough to pull the triggers. They kept their eyes on Jezibel and it gave Simon time to pock the lock on the door and climb step inside. Once inside, he waited quietly. He kept one eye on the door to the balcony and one eye on the door to the hallway. Meehan would come to his office. It was something every business man did when he got home. The first place he stopped was his office to deposit anything work related. Especially corrupted businessmen. They usually had some sort of vault or lockbox they kept hidden for their illegal stuff. Jezibel came in the balcony door a moment later and she crouched down next to him, shifting so she was fully human. Simon kept half panther, to allow himself to see in the dark. “The guards?” he asked quietly. Jezibel smirked. “No culture,” she whispered. “You think their parents would have taken them to the zoo at least once.” Simon smiled and then they fell into silence. He could hear people walking around in the house. None of them seemed to be coming this way and he hoped he was right about Meehan coming here, because if they had to wait here for hours, Vic and Alexey may just show up thinking they were being held hostage. Suddenly, Jezibel’s hand reached out and gripped his forearm. He glanced at her and then paused because there was a new set of footsteps in the house. They were making their way down the hallway, towards the office and Simon could hear the man grouching about something. A woman’s voice and high heels were following him and by the grip Jezibel had on his arm, he assumed the man coming towards them was Meehan. He reached over and covered her hand with his paw and they just waited. “Who was she, Marcus?” a woman was spitting out. “You can’t keep your dick out of a whore for three weeks while I’m gone?” There was a condescending laugh and the office door opened. Simon and Jezibel ducked down a little further and Simon heard the man spit back, “You calling yourself a whore Fionna?” “Oh screw you, Marcus,” the woman shot back. “Why’d you ask me to marry you if you just wanted to fuck everything with two legs?” Marcus just sighed. “Baby, I’ll make it up to you,” he said and Simon resisted the urge to roll his eyes because the tone the man took on was sleazy and wicked. “A new mink coat.” “Two,” the woman said and Simon felt like gagging because he hated this lifestyle. Or maybe he just hated that he’d tried to do the same think with Kim once, except with earrings and he hadn’t done anything wrong to deserve her being mad at him in the first place. Marcus seemed to grin. “Deal,” he said, like he was doing business. Then the office door closed and Marcus sighed. “Bitch,” he muttered under his breath. Simon glanced over at Jezibel and nodded. Jezibel took a silent breath and jerked her head to the side. Simon crawled quietly around the desk he was crouched by and poked his head out. Marcus was standing at a bookcase and sure enough the man had a lockbox on the shelves he was putting envelopes and cash into. Simon waited until Jezibel was in position and then he shifted into his human form and stood up, clearing his throat. Marcus spun and Simon saw the man’s eyes widen when he looked at him. Marcus reached for something on the shelf, but Jezibel didn’t give him time. “Marcus,” she said and the man snapped his head to the side to look at her. She didn’t give him a chance to say anything. She gave him just enough time to recognize her before she pulled the trigger. The silencer kept it quiet. Simon rushed forward and caught the man’s body before it could make a noise falling to the ground. He lowered the dead man down and Marcus’ eyes were wide and dull looking up at the ceiling, a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. Simon glanced up at Jezibel and she was staring at Marcus, her gun still held out in front of her. She was breathing heavily and it looked like there were tears in her eyes. He took a few steps over to her and put his hands on her shoulder. “It’s over,” he whispered. “Let’s go.” Jezibel turned to look at him and he was surprised when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you,” she said, hugging him tightly and he saw the first tear fall from her cheek. He rubbed her back soothingly and then looked out the window. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.” .Wolfie. Vic was trying really had not to play with the phone in her hands but she was nervous. She was really fucking nervous and she didn’t like that she felt this much anxiety and she liked even less that she wasn’t the one who’d gone into Meehan’s house with Welsh. She hated not being there to watch his back even though she had faith that Jezibel would do it. She kept forgetting that one of them was supposed to be a traitor because the only one she believed would shoot any of them in the back was Avi and he wasn’t involved.She was worried about Simon and she was anxious because she didn’t want to see him hurt and she really didn’t want to see him killed. She wanted him to come back to her and take her home with him and have sex in every room of his apartment. Alexey and Tony were sprawled on the couch next to her in the briefing room and it sounded like Romanova was bitching again about how unfair it was that Tony got to hang out in a strip club all night where the most he got was the neon naked chick on the front sign. Tony just shrugged. “I couldn’t really see much,” he said. “That’s not the point,” Alexey said, throwing his hands up in the air. “You still spent the night in a strip club. You at least got to pass by the stage once or twice. I got to sit in a van like some kind of creepy pedophile, only without the hope of some Girl Scouts passing by or something. I mean, you probably had drunk chicks throwing themselves at you all night.” He grumbled and slumped down into the seat, still bitching to himself and Vic snorted and shook her head, looking away. She didn’t know how long it had been since she’d talked to Simon. She wasn’t sure how long it would take them to get into the house and then back out but if everything went smoothly it couldn’t be that long, right? Maybe everything wasn’t going smoothly. Maybe Meehan was fucking his wife or his mistress and they had to wait for him to finish before they shot him. She bit her lip and fought the urge to flip open the phone again but she was nervous. Simon was good. He was tough and he was smart but this was still new to him and if he needed her she wasn’t there to back him up. She jumped when the phone went off in her hand and she didn’t hesitate to flip it open and press it to her ear. “Hey,” she breathed. “Hey to you too,” he said, and she smiled just hearing his voice. Her eyes closed and she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her cheek against them. He sounded calm and relieved and she thought she heard the purring of a car starting up and all of those were good signs. All of those things pointed towards a successful plan B, even if she’d messed up the first part. “How did it go?” she asked, and she hoped he understood that she was asking more than just if Meehan was dead. Alexey and Tony quieted on the couch over when they heard her speaking and she waited nervously for the answer. “Without a hitch,” he told her, and a wide grin split her face. “We got in, Jez took out Meehan, and we’re on our way back now.” “Then I’ll see you soon,” she said, her voice low and warm. He’d done it. Her Simon had pulled it off and she was so fucking proud of him because last night he’d been so scared. She heard him laugh on the other and then he told her goodbye and she wanted to tell him that she didn’t like that word because goodbye in her life was always forever but she didn’t. She flipped the phone shut and turned so that her chin was resting on her knees and she opened her eyes to look at Alexey and Tony. A grin tugged at Alexey’s face when he saw the smile on hers and she just nodded her head. “They got him,” she told them. A laugh pulled its way from her lips when Alexey let out a war whoop and held his hand up to give Tony a high five. “Alright,” he said excitedly. “This calls for a celebration. I’d say we should to go the strip club but that might be like a neon sign held over our heads. Oh, maybe the pool hall.” “What are we celebrating?” someone asked. She lifted her head as Elias let himself in the doors and her eyes narrowed. He had a cool smile on his lips and she wondered if he really would have wiped his hands clean of Jez if they’d failed. Alexey grinned and kicked back on the couch, crossing his arms under his head. “Mrs. Meehan is now a single lady, and if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it.” Elias paused and he was frowning as he settled into the chair behind the desk. Alexey waggled his eyebrows at him and he was waiting for some kind of response but the man just lifted an eyebrow. “He’s dead,” Alexey said flatly. “Six feet under, pushing up daisies, swimming with the fishes, taking a dirt nap. We offed Marcus Meehan.” Vic almost laughed at the look on Elias’s face because his eyebrows went up and he looked honestly surprised. She wondered what he’d expected from them then. What kind of games was he playing with them? A sharp cough left his lips and he covered his mouth with his hand to stifle it. “Really?” he asked. “Yeah,” Vic spat, drawing his gaze. He wiped the surprise off his face and replaced it with cold amusement and she hated him and hated that she’d fucked him and she hated that she’d liked it. “Welsh and Givessi just took him out. They’re on their way back now.” He smirked and wiped the last traces of emotion off his face. He settled back in his seat and laced his fingers in front of him, still watching her face. “I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t somewhat unexpected,” he said, and she was surprised by how bluntly honest he was being. She wondered what his game was. There was always some fucking mind game with him and she wondered what one he was playing this time. “But mission, accomplished, well done team,” he smirked condescendingly as he said it and she saw Alexey even frown at that. “And how do you feel Mr. Welsh did as team leader?” “Hey, Welsh for President,” Alexey said, raising his fist in the air. “This whole thing was his plan and isn’t it crazy how we actually accomplished the mission without killing any orphans or puppies? Can we vote people off the island? Can we ditch Captain America already, you’ve gotta know he’s off his rocker.” Elias snorted but he didn’t even glance at Alexey. “I wasn’t asking you Mr. Romanova.” She heard Alexey scoff and out of the corner of her eye she saw him flip off Elias. Vic felt like the man was tricking her somehow. She felt like he was waiting for her to say the wrong thing and she didn’t know what that was but she suspected it was telling him the truth. “Very capable,” she said, and she saw the smirk on Elias’s face darken. “He is a smart, calculating, dangerous man and he understands the people under his command and how to use them to the best of their abilities.” “Are you saying that because you believe it or because you’re fucking him?” Elias asked, resting his chin on top of his hands. He was watching her carefully and she didn’t like that dark, appraising look in his eyes. She’d always hated it. It was the look that said he was looking for her flaws, looking for just the right way to stick a knife in her and twist it. Alexey snorted from on the couch. “Wow, that’s awfully personal, don’t you think?” he asked. His voice sounded almost irritated but she didn’t look over at him because Elias was still ripping her apart with that cold gaze. He laughed softly and then he turned to look at Alexey. “I don’t,” he said. “A personal question would be ‘does he fuck you the way you want it?’ or ‘does he know you’d like it better if he was nasty to you?’ or ‘do you think he’ll ever be able to fuck you without knowing that I’d been there, done that first?’ Those are personal questions. I didn’t ask those, Mr. Romanova, because that would be unprofessional. I asked if she was giving me her honest opinion or if she was biased because she’s fucking Welsh.” The words stung. She thought they shouldn’t have anymore, but he always knew just what to say to make it really fucking hurt. She stared at him and at the cold smile on his face as he turned back in her direction but she couldn’t get her jaw to unclench. It would have hurt less if it weren’t for the last question. She wondered if it bothered Simon that she’d been with Elias and if it did she couldn’t blame him because it bothered her. She thought he’d said terrible things about her and the worst part about those things were that they were true and if he asked her she wouldn’t be able to argue it because she was damaged goods. She just wanted Simon here. She wanted him here to tell her that she deserved nice things because if he said it she would believe it. “Wow,” Alexey said after a moment. “Those really are personal questions. Man, it’s a good thing you didn’t ask those because that would make you a total asshole. And since that’s my brother’s girlfriend I might have to do something like punch you in your fucking face and then that’s a whole mess of paperwork we’ve got to get into and it just sounds like a bad time.” Vic almost laughed because it sounded so sincere. She turned her head to look at Alexey and he shot her a grin and it wasn’t forced and it wasn’t mean and he really was a good kid at heart. She let out a breath and turned towards Elias and he didn’t look half so smug and arrogant as he had a second ago. She thought about Simon hitting him for touching her and she didn’t need them to stick up for her but it felt good that they had because she was used to being alone in everything for so long. “I’m fucking him because that is my honest opinion,” she told Elias. He glanced back at her with a dark look on his face and it almost made her smile. He just licked his lips and then he nodded his head, pressing his fingers tightly together. She was relieved when the door opened and she had to fight to stay seated. Welsh had a smile on his face as he let himself into the room and she didn’t see any blood or bruises on him and maybe ‘without a hitch’ had really meant that. It would be the first mission that had gone completely right and it was because he had planned it and she wasn’t lying when she said he was a smart, dangerous man. Her chest felt tight and she wanted to go over to him and wrap her arms around his neck and tell him that she’d missed him but she didn’t because there were too many other people here. She would tell him later, but with fewer words. “Mr. Welsh,” Elias said, still seated at the desk. It drew Simon’s eyes to him and she didn’t miss how much his gaze darkened when he saw the man the man there. She wondered if he did think that Elias had her first and she wanted to tell him it wasn’t the same because she wanted to give Simon more than she’d ever given him. “I hear your mission was a success.” “Yes sir,” Simon said. His voice was hard and cold and it was different from his in charge voice. It was a tone she never wanted to hear directed at her because it was devoid of emotion or concern. “Mr. Meehan is no longer a threat to anyone.” Elias smirked and nodded his head, processing the information for a moment. Then he pushed himself to his feet and walked around the desk, keeping the smile on his face. “Good,” he said. “It’s important that we protect the company’s investments.” His grin turned nasty and he tilted his head to the side as he looked up at Simon’s face. “We want to make sure we use them for all their worth before we throw them away, don’t we Mr. Welsh?” “Maybe if you took better care of your investments then you’d never have to throw them away,” Simon told him quietly. Wenston “Where are we going?” Simon smirked and glanced over at Vic because she was trying to sound annoyed and bitchy, but he wasn’t buying it. She was messing with the necklace around her neck and he liked that she wore it even with t-shirts and jeans because it meant she liked it. She was looking out the window, trying to figure out where he was taking her, because he still hadn’t told her. They’d celebrated last night at the bar. All of them, even Jezibel and he liked that she was starting to hang out with them because he couldn’t get what she’d said to him outside of Meehan’s house out of his head. About not getting close to people because when this was over, they’d all leave. He didn’t believe that. The more he was with them, the more he didn’t believe that they could just up and walk out of each other’s lives. Alexey and Tony had gotten smashed. Vic and Jezibel had drunk their fair share and Simon had one beer, because he wasn’t much of a drinker and he didn’t like being drunk. Not only because it wasn’t healthy, but because he didn’t like not being in control of his body or mind. It reminded him too much of being sick on the chemo and the radiation and he couldn’t control anything. He didn’t like not being in control. He didn’t like being sick. But he didn’t begrudge the others if they wanted to do it. He had no problem being their designated driver. Vic had wanted to leave early anyway. So Simon had called them all a cab and saw them off safely, with extra tips to the cab drivers to make sure they got in their homes alright. Then he’d taken Vic home and he’d showed her just how much he appreciated having her to come home to. He’d showed her multiple times, in multiple rooms, because it had been a while since they’d had some alone time and he didn’t want her to forget about him. “You’ll see,” he said simply and she sighed loudly, still trying to pull off the annoyed attitude but he could see the corner of her lips tugging upwards as she tried to hold back a smile. “Our second date and I didn’t even make you dress up,” he told her. “Next time you’re wearing a dress. So I can take it off,” he gave her a mischievous smile and she laughed at him, rolling her head along the headrest to look at him. “I don’t know if I own a dress,” she told him. Simon quirked a brow at her and shrugged. “Then I’ll buy you one. A skimpy one. One that leaves little to the imagination. Maybe lingerie to match.” “You’re a pig,” she told him, but leaned over and ran her hand over his thigh, her other hand coming up to brush the back of his neck and it drove him wild when she touched him like that. “No,” he said. “I’m a panther.” She laughed, her lips pressed against the side of his neck and he tried to concentrate on the road but she was making it very, very difficult to not just pull over and test out the backseat of this rental car. He hoped his Lexus would be done soon. Another couple of days. The Lexus had a giant backseat. But maybe they should test the heated seats first, because that could be fun. When he finally pulled over, Vic lifted her head from his neck and looked to see where they were. She frowned. “The park?” she asked. Simon leaned back and grinned at her. “Yep,” he said simply and then climbed out of the car. Vic followed as he headed to the trunk and opened it. She saw the basket inside and the blanket he’d brought. “A picnic?” she asked, one brow raised curiously. “Yep,” he said again and grabbed all the stuff, wincing as he carried the basket with his still bad shoulder. The Shift last night at Meehan’s house had helped it a little. He didn’t need the sling. It had killed him climbing over the walls and he’d thought he’d messed it up worse, but when he’d looked at it last night, the bruising had faded a lot and he could actually lift it and move it somewhat successfully now. Vic followed him as he lead her into the park. She rested her head against his shoulder and he knew a great spot, one by the pond and sometimes there were swans. It was a good time of year to see them. He found the spot and smiled when he saw the white birds on the water. He laid out the blanket and then plopped down, pulling Vic down beside him and she laughed as he started pulling sandwiches he’d bought from a deli out of the basket. “So, this is a cheap date, then?” she asked playfully, her hand running across his shoulders soothingly. Simon scoffed, trying to sound offended. “Cheap?” He held up a sandwich. “This is a $9 sandwich.” “Oh,” she chuckled, taking the sandwich from him and setting it down on the blanket. Then she shoved the basket away and he sighed as she pushed her way onto his lap, he legs wrapped around his waist. He put his hands on her hips and rubbed his thumbs across her skin, beneath her shirt. “My mistake,” she said and leaned in to kiss his neck. “You’re ruining my picnic,” he told her but bit his lip and moaned as he felt her teeth dig into the side of his neck. She ran her hands up the back of his head and through his hair and he hoped this was not a frequented area because he didn’t think they were going to remain G rated much longer. Vic pulled her head back and held her face near his, her lips hovering over his and he tried to lean forward to kiss her, but she gripped the side of his head and held him back. “What do you like?” she asked and he raised an eyebrow at her because the question seemed random and he wasn’t quite sure he knew what she meant. “You,” he said and shoved his head forward, kissing her before she got a chance to pull back again. “I mean besides me,” she said, grinning at him. Simon shrugged. “Your skin,” he said and started placing kisses up her neck. She laughed and pushed his head back. “I’m being serious, Welsh,” she said and he chuckled because he knew she was. “Tell me what you like. What’s your favorite music? Your favorite food? What do you like to do? I want to know you.” Simon smiled and he ducked his head, pressing a kiss to her chest and she sighed. He turned his head and laid his cheek against her chest and he heard her heart beating in his ear and he loved that sound. He closed his eyes. “Blues,” he said. She dipped her head to try and look at his face and he lifted his head and pulled her closer, his arms wrapped tightly around her. “I like Blues music. Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, B.B. King. I like music I can feel,” he told her and she was smirking at him. He just grinned at her. “Don’t laugh,” he said even though he was chuckling. “I’m not,” she defended herself and shrugged. “I just wouldn’t take you for a Blues man.” “What? I’m soulful,” he joked and she laughed as he ran a hand up and down her back. “My favorite food is Beef Bourguignon. My favorite color is green. My favorite state is Arizona. My favorite movie is Casablanca. What else do you want to know?” Vic laughed and shook her head. “What’s your favorite holiday?” she asked, giving him a challenging look. He grinned. “Columbus day.” “You’re such a liar,” she laughed, shoving at his chest. He laughed back and looked offended. “What? No way, I’m not a liar,” he protested and then he rolled to his side, bringing Vic with him. She laughed as he laid her down on the blanket, their legs tangled. He braced himself over her and tried not to wince from his shoulder. One had was braced at the side of her head and with the other, he ran his fingers over her forehead and through her hair. “You’re my favorite,” he whispered and kissed the side of her mouth. She smiled as she looked up at him. He almost told her right then that he loved her. He almost said the words but he was scared and he thought about how many times they almost came out and he wondered what she’d do the day he actually said them. He wondered if she’d get scared and leave or if she’d say them back or if she’d get mad. He didn’t know. He didn’t know how she’d react and he was scared that it wouldn’t be good. Vic’s face suddenly fell and she reached out to brush her fingers down the side of his face. “About Elias…” she started. Simon shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about Elias,” he told her. “That’s over and done with. He’s the only one that hasn’t moved on,” he told her and he saw her face twist with an emotion somewhere between relief and confusion. “Why else would he keep ripping you down? I think he misses you.” He ducked his head and laid kisses along her neck. “But he can miss you all he wants, because you’re mine.” “I was just going to say I think he was impressed,” Vic said quietly and he paused to look down at her face. There was a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips and he shook his head. She laughed at the look on his face and he shook his head. “You’re evil,” he told her again. “Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?” she challenged. Simon pretended to think about it for a moment before he shrugged. “Here’s looking at you, kid,” he said and then tipped her head back and kissed her and he thought she’d forgotten all about the picnic. .Wolfie. Episode #7: Simon Welsh “I changed my mind,” Vic said. “I don’t want to do this anymore.” She couldn’t tell if Simon was laughing at her thanks to the loud humming of the helicopter blades over her head. Probably. If she wasn’t scared out of her mind she would have turned around to check but she couldn’t get herself to look. Her hands were tight around the controls of the helicopter and she couldn’t believe she’d convinced Welsh to make her do this. She started when she felt his hand rest on the back of her neck and then she heard his voice. “You can do this,” he said. The instructor, a man named Patrick Landers, just smiled. “Just ease her up, you’ll do fine,” he said. Vic growled something under her breath because she didn’t think it would be as easy as that, but she did what he said anyway. She bit down on her lip hard when she felt the helicopter shift beneath her, rising up into the air as she moved the controls. Three days after they’d killed Marcus Meehan, Vic had finally agreed to this. She’d been straddling Simon the sparring mat and she’d just opened her mouth and told him “okay.” If he could get his ass kicked by Vic for well over a month then she could suck it up and take some fucking flying lessons. She hadn’t been excited about it. She still wasn’t excited about it but Elias’s words stuck in her head and she had to do something. They had to have another mission coming up soon. That meant they would probably have to fly somewhere, maybe overseas, and she couldn’t afford to drag Welsh down again. For both their sakes. It made her think of that psych evaluation they were all supposed to be getting. Avi, Alexey, and Jezibel had already had theirs and Alexey hadn’t been able to tell them much. He shrugged and said he’d had to look a lot of inkblots and that the psychiatrist was smoking hot in that glasses-wearing, librarian sort of way. He made a couple of other comments and none of it told her quite what the point of it was. She wondered how Avi’s had gone and if he would be disappearing soon. She hoped so. Either way, she wanted to be able to go in there and say that flying wasn’t going to be a problem for her anymore. Simon had driven her out past city limits to this tiny airfield and she’d spent the first few days watching DVDs and riding shotgun when Landers took them out but this was the first day she was actually behind the controls and she was terrified. She really hated this. She hated being scared and she hated being in a helicopter and she tried to let herself be comforted by the hand resting on the back of her neck. She tried to remind herself that Simon told her she could do this and he never lied to her. Though she was still pretty sure Columbus Day wasn’t his favorite holiday, he never lied to her about anything important. She’d barely gone home in the last week. She’d gone back to shower and get some clothes and get in a fight with Lisa when she asked where Romanova lived. She hoped Alexey started sleeping with a bat under his bed too, because the bitch was insane. The rest of her time was spent at Simon’s place and a part of her was terrified about that too. The more time she spent with him the more time she wanted to spend with him and she couldn’t get past the part of her just waiting for it to end horribly and them both to get hurt. If she ignored that then she’d admit just how happy she was. Whether she was watching movies with him or having sex on his couch. The helicopter was rumbling beneath her hands and she just tried to focus on what she was supposed to be doing, which was keeping this tin can in the air. She tried to tell herself it was just like driving a car, only with more directions to go in. “How do you feel?” Landers asked, glancing over at her once she got it into a hover. She focused on keeping the air moving in and out of her lungs and normally this was the point if she was a passenger that she would just close her eyes and try to pretend she was somewhere else. She couldn’t do that if she was driving this thing and how was this supposed to help? “Alright,” she told him, and she wasn’t sure if it was the truth, but she said it anyway. She felt Simon’s fingers moving across her neck to try and ease her fear, his thumb brushed over her spine. She leaned back into the touch and bet again that he was laughing at her because for some reason he thought it was adorable that she was scared of something. She didn’t think it was that fucking funny but she couldn’t yell at him when he smiled at her. She couldn’t stay mad at him for anything and this was just ridiculous. “Listen, she’s not going to do anything you don’t tell her to. You’re in control.” Vic nodded at the words and tried to listen to them. It was just like driving a car. A bigger, louder car. “Why don’t you try taking her out around the field?” She wanted to tell him to go to Hell. She wanted to tell him that she meant it when she said she changed her mind and she didn’t want to fucking do this because she didn’t like helicopters or airplanes and there had to be a better way to deal with this. But Simon’s fingers were running over her neck and he’d told her that she could do this so she just swallowed hard. “Okay,” she said. Her voice was shaky and uneven. She did as he said, pulling at the controls and lifting the helicopter higher into the air before she turned it towards the left. The helicopter obeyed her like Landers said and she let out a shaky breath as she directed it over the field. He wasn’t lying to her. It did everything she told it to and the only one who controlled whether they flew in circles over the field or crashed and burned in a fiery blaze was her. She did a few laps around the field and when he asked her if she wanted to head south a little ways she said okay. She watched out the front window as they flew and if she glanced to her left she could see the road and the power lines. The cars looked so small from up here as they zipped along. At some point she stopped maintaining such a death grip on the controls and she hadn’t even realized she’d done it. She wasn’t sure when her heart stopped beating so hard in her chest or when her palms stopped sweating but she felt a little better when she realized they had. The sky was bright and blue above them and there was no turbulence to battle through. It wasn’t exactly like driving. She couldn’t convince herself of that, no matter how hard she tried. But there was less time to be scared when she was in control and she was the one that had to keep them flying. There was less time to think about how things could go wrong because she was the one telling it what to do. The whole point of this was to keep Welsh from getting killed because of her irrational fear, and she wasn’t going to ruin that by crashing the helicopter now that she was flying it. She kept it in the air for a good hour before Landers finally smiled and told her to take it back and land it. There was a jolt as the bottom of the machine hit the landing strip but it didn’t bother her as much because it meant they were back on the ground. They waited in the helicopter until the blades stopped spinning and then she let herself out of the safety harness and out of the helicopter. She was shaky when she stepped back onto the earth but she wasn’t sure if it was because she was still petrified or because they’d been up in the air so long. Either way, Simon was there to rest a hand on her back and keep her steady. She felt his lips brush over her hair and he was smiling as he spoke. “You did great,” he told her, his voice a low whisper. Vic turned and slid her arms around his neck and he was grinning down at her as he wrapped his around her waist. She wondered again when she’d realized that he meant more to her, because she thought it was before they’d started having sex. She thought it was the day he’d come in covered in bruises and blood and she’d curled up on the couch and watched Sonny Chiba movies with him. The realization startled her because she’d barely known him at that point and for someone who never got attached to anyone, she’d barely hesitated to let him into her life. She thought it was his smile. She loved that smile. She pushed up on her toes to brush her lips over it and he was still smiling as he kissed her back. “You were right,” she told him reluctantly. Her fingers were moving through his hair as she pulled back to look at him. He smirked and lifted an eyebrow and he had such a cocky look on his face. Her eyes narrowed but she couldn’t stop the smile pulling at her lips. “It helps a lot, being the one in control. Then I have to focus on not killing us all.” He laughed and leaned down to kiss her again. His lips moved over her lips and then along her jaw to her neck. “I know,” he said calmly. She laughed and pushed him away from her but she didn’t argue when his hand came out to tangle with hers. “Of course,” she said, tipping her head to the side. “Because you’re just that smart, right?” She had a smile on her face and he laughed, pulling her fingers to his lips. He led her back across the airfield towards the main office and she almost opened her mouth to ask him who was paying for this. She hoped it wasn’t him. She hoped he was forwarding the bill to Elias because she didn’t know how much helicopter lessons were but they couldn’t be cheap. She didn’t need him spending all that money on her. Maybe she’d said there were nice things about having a loaded boyfriend but she didn’t want to be his charity case. She could take care of herself. “Yep,” he said brightly, pressing a kiss across her knuckles. “And because I have total faith in you.” The words made her still in her steps, and he paused with her, glancing up at her face. She studied him and the honest smile on his face and she realized she was blushing. She ducked her head and pressed her lips against his shoulder, ignoring the laugh that left his mouth and the hand he ran over the side of her head. “You do?” she asked. “Of course,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead. “I thought I’d been making that clear to you,” he said, and she was surprised at how low and serious his voice was. He tilted his head to look at her and she saw his lips part like he was going to say something before he hesitated. He pushed a grin across his face instead. “Do we need another date? It’s Friday night, maybe I should take you out somewhere. A movie? Bowling? Dinner? Should I buy you that revealing dress now?” She rolled her eyes but she was smiling back at him. “You don’t have to keep buying me presents,” she told him, and her hand went compulsively to the necklace around her neck because despite the words, she never took it off. “Oh, it’s not a present for you,” he said, shaking his head at her. He pulled the door open and held it for her and she thought he did those things out of habit. “It’s a present for me. You only get to wear it through dinner, and then you have to take it off and give it back to me. Maybe you can keep the matching lingerie. We’ll see how easy it is to work around.” The words sent a shiver down her spine. “Promises, promises,” she said, her voice a little breathless. She saw the sly smile spread its way across his lips and she was distracted as he said goodbye to Landers for the weekend. She waved to him as she followed Simon out to the car and as much as she made fun of it, he still seemed happy to have the Lexus back. The little beater car he’d rented had felt more like what she was used to, but the Lexus was more like Simon. “You know,” she said, sliding into the passenger seat. “Maybe we should just go home and I can make you dinner.” He laughed and turned his head to look at her. His fingers came out and gripped her chin before he pulled her into a kiss. “Is that what you’re calling it now?” he asked with that sly smile. She laughed at him, leaning closer as he started the car up. Her hand came to rest on his thigh and she saw him swallow hard as her lips brushed over his neck. Her teeth scraped over his skin and she loved the way his hands tightened around the wheel when she did that. “It?” she asked. “You mean sex? No, I’m still calling that sex. We can do that too, after dinner or before or both.” He laughed, his hand reaching over to rest on her knee. “Well, let’s head back and we’ll see how far we get.” She grinned and ran her tongue over his skin. “I’m hoping we get to the backseat,” she whispered. Wenston Vic was moving around his kitchen with ease and Simon thought about what it meant that she knew where everything was already. She knew which side of the cupboards he kept his silverware, where the bowls were, where the pans were, where the measuring cups and ladles were. She knew where in the apartment he kept his towels and where he kept his spare sheets and where his wine and blackberry brandy were always stashed. She knew her way around and he liked it that way. He wondered what she’d do if he told her one day she should just bring all her stuff over and move out of that apartment at the compound and stay here with him. She was here practically every night. And he could get used to her knowing her way around the apartment like it was her own. He’d have to tell her he loved her first, though. And he couldn’t quite seem to get those words out. Every time they made their way up his throat, they stuck on his tongue, behind his teeth and they just wouldn’t come out. He wondered what would finally push them out. Eventually he’d have to tell her. Because he wasn’t a liar and he wasn’t going to pretend like this was just any other relationship. She was his and he was hers and that’s all there was to it. She’d done great today and he was proud of her. She’d been terrified of the helicopter, but Pat had always been a great mentor. He’d been a friend of Pearl’s way back in the day and Simon remembered the man from when he was little. When Simon’s Dad left, Pat and Pearl had a falling out, but Simon had kept in touch. Because that’s what he did with the people he cared about. Even at that early of an age, even when he barely knew how to dial the phone, he knew the importance of keeping those he cared about close. Maybe that’s why he’d been so hurt when the only person who’d been there for him when he was sick was his brother. He looked up at Vic and she was at the stove, stirring something in a pot that was smelling up the whole kitchen. He wondered if she would have stuck around or if she would have been like Kim and gotten the hell out of dodge. Simon leaned against the counter and whined slightly. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, her brows raised. He pouted playfully. “Is it done yet?” he groaned. Vic glared at him, though the corners of her mouth quirked up. “Are you whining, Welsh?” “Yes,” Simon answered quickly as she turned back around. He stood up and walked around the island counter to stand behind her. He looked into the pot and she was cooking some boxed flavored rice or something. Apparently it was cheap and easy to make and she’d used to keep leftovers of it in her fridge. In a pan next to it she was grilling chicken breasts. “What is this called again?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his nose and mouth into her neck. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, eliciting a small moan at the motion and his hands slid up her shirt, running gently over her stomach. “Chicken a la Rice-a-roni,” she whispered and she bit her lip as his hands slipped lower, running over her hips as he slide them beneath her jeans. She gave an incredulous laugh and then reached out and pushed him away from her. He chuckled as she turned around to glare. “Now whose the distraction?” she asked, trying to look mad. “Still you,” he said, leaning against the counter and swiping the empty Rice-a-roni box up to look at the nutrition facts. He read it over and his eyes widened. “Have you looked at the sodium in this?” he demanded and she turned around. He pointedly ignored the look she was giving him. “It’s 42% of your daily intake,” he told her, like she would give a damn. “Well it’s not Beef Bour-whatever the fuck you like, but you’re going to eat it and you’re going to enjoy it,” she snapped and he winced because he was just joking with her and he hoped she hadn’t actually gotten mad. He tipped his head to the side to try and look at her face but she had turned back around and was stirring the pot. “Bourguignon,” he said quietly. Then he set the box down and came forward again, his hands rising to her shoulders rubbing his hands into her tense muscles. “I’ll love it,” he told her. “Because you made it.” Vic scoffed. “What if it’s disgusting?” she asked, but she rolled her head as he massaged her shoulders. Simon leaned in and pulled her t-shirt down off her shoulder, kissing her collarbone as he stood behind her. “Doesn’t matter,” he told her and she shivered beneath his lips. Maybe he got distracted. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention, but he didn’t mean for the next words to come out as his lips were pressed against her skin. “I love you, so I’ll love it.” He winced as soon as he said it and beneath his fingers and his lips, he felt her tense up. His eyes opened, but he kept his lips pressed to her collarbone as he stared at the boiling pot in front of them. Shit, he hadn’t meant to say that and panic spiked for a moment through his heart because she was being quiet and still, her hand no longer stirring the rice. She dipped her shoulder away from his lips and he watched as she turned to look at him. Her eyes were wide, her face a little pale and she was just staring at him. Simon didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to take it back, because he meant the words, and he didn’t want to say that he hadn’t meant to say it, because she might take that the wrong way. But she looked suddenly like a trapped animal and it was the reaction he’d feared most from her. He half expected her to start yelling at him and storm out and tell him it was over because he was way too attached and that made him weak. She’d be right about one thing. When it came to Vic, he was weak. “Vic,” he started but he couldn’t think of what to say after it. She wasn’t moving or saying anything, she just stood there like a deer caught in headlights and he didn’t know what the fuck to say because he didn’t want her to get scared away and leave him. The phone ringing made him wince and he glanced over to it lying on the counter. He felt torn. He felt panicked and anxious and he wished she’d just yell or cry or run off or do something so he knew how she felt about those words and he wanted to kick himself because he’d wanted to tell her, but not like this. Not with a slip of the tongue when it wasn’t even romantic or good timing. But he’d said it. And now he had to man up because now she knew and he had to make sure she knew the extent of it. The phone continued to ring, but Simon reached out to gently grab the sides of Vic’s face and she was still looking at him, a wide, glistening look to her eyes. He brought his face closer to hers and he whispered lowly, “I do, Vic. I love you and it’s okay if you can’t say the words back, but I’m not going to deny it or hide it because you’re my world and I’d do anything for you.” He swallowed thickly and said, “I’ve never had someone like you in my life and I feel like everything that’s happened to me has just been a prelude to meeting you. And you can do with those words what you want and I won’t ask you to say them back to me if you don’t mean them. Just know that I do.” He glanced at his phone and then forced a wry smile onto his lips. “And please don’t run away while I answer the phone.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and then turned and grabbed his phone off the counter. He took a steadying breath and closed his eyes with his back to her and he was afraid to turn around and see her face so he just flipped the phone open. “Welsh,” he said. “Mr. Welsh,” Elias’ smug voice came through and Simon wanted to growl because he was the last person he wanted to hear from right now. His heart was still racing a million miles a minute and Vic still hadn’t said a word or moved behind him and he was terrified that he’d just ruined everything. He was terrified that she was already out the door. “I need you to come in.” “Okay,” he said, his voice quaking. “We’ll be right there.” “No, Mr. Welsh,” Elias said and Simon paused, frowning slightly. “Just you.” .Wolfie. Vic felt like she was drowning in quicksand.She couldn’t move and she couldn’t breathe, all she could do was stand there and stared at the back of Welsh’s head while she felt like she died a slow death. If attachment was weakness then love was a death sentence and she felt so fucking stupid for letting it get this far. He didn’t know what he was saying. He didn’t know what he was asking or what he wanted but she wasn’t that girl. She wished he’d never said it. She wished he would take it back and tell her he didn’t really mean it because love wasn’t the kind of thing that either of them could get out of without getting hurt. She cared about him and she wanted him to be happy but she couldn’t do love. She just couldn’t. It was weak, it was weakness of the worst kind, and he was an asshole for ruining whatever thing they’d had going here by bringing love into it. Love was for people that didn’t have to be strong every fucking day of their lives. He flipped the phone shut and she hadn’t even caught what the conversation had been about. For a moment he still didn’t turn around. He stood there with a hand braced against the counter and his back and shoulders were stiff and straight. Then he sucked in a breath and turned back to face her and she wished that he hadn’t because it made it worse. It made it worse seeing his face and the look she’d put there because she’d hurt him and she’d never wanted to do that. His eyes were sad and bleeding because he’d told her that he loved her and she hadn’t said anything back because she couldn’t. She couldn’t say those words back to him and maybe he said it was okay if she didn’t but it wasn’t okay to her because she didn’t want it and even if she did she didn’t deserve it. She didn’t want his love and she didn’t want him to be nice to her because those things would just make her weak. “Vic,” he said. He cleared his throat and took a step towards her and she jerked away from his touch. “The chicken’s burning,” she said quickly and she turned around so she didn’t have to look at his face anymore. She could feel his eyes on her back and she almost opened her mouth to tell him not to fucking stare at her but she couldn’t get herself to say anything. She was having a hard time breathing and her fingers were numb as she tried to flip the chicken over. She felt his hands come to rest on her arms as he leaned over her shoulder, his thumbs rubbing in comforting circles against her shoulders. “Say something,” he asked her quietly. “Say anything. Just tell me what you’re thinking.” She was trying to flip the second piece of chicken over but her hands stilled at that. One side was browned but it wasn’t blackened yet and she thought distantly that he was going to hate it and she wondered if it really mattered anymore. He loved her. She should leave. It was as simple as that because there was a difference between being his girl and being in love and she was only capable of one of those things. Anything more was asking too much. “Take it back,” she told him, and her voice was hard and hurt. The hands on her shoulders stilled and she felt his head lower, resting his chin on her shoulder. She almost told him not to touch her but it wasn’t because she didn’t like his hands on her. It was because she liked it too much and she didn’t want him to mistake that for love because she just couldn’t do that. “I can’t,” he told her softly. “I’m not a liar, Vic, and that’s how I feel about you.” “No you don’t,” she snapped. She tossed the tongs down on the counter and pushed away from the oven and from him. He let her go but she could still feel him staring as she braced herself against the island. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and she could tell herself it wasn’t from hearing those words but she wasn’t sure she could believe it. He didn’t understand. He didn’t fucking know her or her life and he didn’t understand that attachment was weakness and this was beyond that. Pops had said so enough times, hadn’t he? Fuck, she was in so far over her head. “You just think you do.” “I think it because it’s the truth,” he told her. They were both quiet for a moment because she didn’t know what else to say to that and she couldn’t tell if she was angry or just scared. Then she heard him sigh and he was moving behind her. She was startled when his hands closed around her hips and turned her around to face him. They tightened as he lifted her up onto the counter and her hands went instinctively to his shoulders to keep steady. “Talk to me,” he said, his voice pleading. She focused on his face and she hated the look she’d put there. He looked sad and scared and hurt and she’d done that to him because she was damaged and what the fuck would happen to her if she let him get that close and he realized he didn’t want her anymore? Her thoughts were jumbled because Welsh was a problem and she shouldn’t have let it get this far but she had wanted him so badly. She still did. No one had made her feel the way Simon did, not in her whole fucking miserable life and she didn’t want to lose that but this was too much. “Love is weakness and pain,” she told him harshly. “And you can’t mean it because you barely know me.” He snorted and his hand came up to cup her face, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone where the pale yellow remnants of a still healing bruise were. “I do know you,” he told her. “I don’t know everything about you or everything that’s happened to you but I know you. I know you’re smart and dangerous and you don’t take shit from anyone. I know you don’t pull your punches in anything you do. I know you think that a lot of things are weak and that I do half of them.” He leaned his head forward and pressed it against hers, his eyes closing. “I know you try hard to be cold but that just makes it all the more beautiful when you smile.” “Stop,” she said, and her voice sounded weak and shaky even to her. She moved her head away from his touch and his face fell. His eyes closed and he turned his head to the side. His hands were braced on either side of her on the counter and she felt like she was being torn in two because she liked him and she liked being here but this was more than she could handle. It had gone too far and she didn’t think she could do it. He deserved someone who would love him back and she wasn’t it. She couldn’t be it. She didn’t know what that was and it didn’t matter how much she cared about him it would never be love because she was broken. She watched his face and it was contorted in pain and he wasn’t even looking at her. Maybe he couldn’t right now. Maybe she’d just broken his heart and the thought made her ache inside. She’d never wanted to hurt him and maybe this was as much her fault as it was his. Her hand came up almost with a will of its own and ran through his hair and his eyes slid open to look at her. “I can’t,” she whispered, and the words hurt just saying them. For a minute it struck her that all her thoughts were that she couldn’t be in love and she shouldn’t be and that it was weak and painful but not once did she think that she didn’t love him anyway. “That’s okay,” he whispered. “Just be whatever you want to be to me.” He tried to smile, letting his eyes close as he leaned into the touch. The words were almost a physical blow and she was surprised that it felt like tears were pricking her eyes. It took bullet wounds to make her cry, not this. It just hurt so fucking bad because he’d told her he loved her and it wasn’t because he wanted anything from her. It was because he really believed that and it was stupid and weak and he said it anyway and he didn’t apologize for it. She bit her lip and she didn’t let herself cry because crying was for the weak and Vic could never be weak. She watched him and she wondered if he would ask her to leave or worse, if he’d ask her to stay, because if he did that she wasn’t sure she’d tell him no. She should be running. She should be getting out of his apartment and out of town because he thought he loved her and if she didn’t love him back she should just leave and spare them both the pain. She’d been told a thousand times just how weak attachment was and this was as weak and as attached as it got. He turned his head to the side and his next words surprised her. “I have to go,” he whispered, and she frowned. “This is your apartment,” she said. Her hands were still running through his hair but he caught her wrist and pressed a kiss to it. She didn’t understand how he could do that but it still sent sparks down her nerves. “Shouldn’t I be the one leaving?” He laughed but it just sounded sad and then one hand was reaching up to cup her face, his eyes studying hers sadly. “That was Elias,” he said. “I have to report in.” She blinked and glanced at the phone because she hadn’t even wondered who was calling or why. She’d been blindsided by the words he’d said to her and it was some consolation that he’d seemed just as surprised as her. “Both of us?” she asked quietly, and he just shook his head ‘no.’ He was still watching her carefully and she wondered if she still looked as panicked as she felt. The silent ‘no’ didn’t make her feel any better because the last time Elias had sent Simon on his own mission he’d been going to dinner with David and Kim and they’d ripped him apart. She wanted to ask what else he’d said but she couldn’t get herself to do it because all she could think about was how sad he looked right now because he loved a girl that could never love him back. She swallowed hard and ducked her head, moving to slide off the counter. His hands caught her hips before she could move and she didn’t expect the words that came next. “Will you be here when I get back?” he asked her. His voice was low and quiet and she was startled by the question, eyes flicking to his face. He looked sad and he looked hopeful and she wanted to scream at him that he was stupid and he shouldn’t love her and that he should just take the words back and let her just be a fuck to him because that was what she knew. If he’d stood there and told her that he would never love her and he would pay her six hundred bucks to disappear she would know better how to handle it and if she told him that, would he still love her? Maybe she should. Maybe she didn’t because she didn’t want him to stop loving her. “I don’t know,” she whispered back, and they were the only words she could get out of her lips. He nodded his head again and then he leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead. His hand was still cupping the side of her cheek and she felt his mouth move as he pressed the side of his face against hers. “I hope you will be,” he told her. Then he smirked in that wry, self-deprecating way when he was trying to be funny but was just hurt. “Sorry for ruining dinner.” She didn’t tell him not to apologize but she didn’t tell him it wasn’t ruined either. He pressed another kiss to her cheek and then he moved away from her, getting his shoes on quietly before heading out the door. Her hands moved to her arms and she tried to rub warmth back into them and she still felt that panic in her chest telling her to run and it made her want to scream because this was the only place she’d ever been happy and she really didn’t want to. She moved her hands to her face and scrubbed them hard over her skin but it didn’t clear her head any and it didn’t make the hard beating of her heart slow any. She didn’t know how long it was until she finally pushed herself off the counter. Her motions were numb and robotic as she turned off the stove and started cleaning up the burned remains of dinner. She barely felt her hands moving as she got out the pack of cigarettes and lit one up and the smell didn’t have any place in Simon’s apartment so she put it out almost immediately and threw it away. The whole time she didn’t let herself cry, because crying was for the weak and Vic could never be weak. Wenston He was an idiot. He was a stupid fucking idiot and he’d just ruined everything. That’s all he could think about as he drove to the compound and he was barely paying attention to the road and he wasn’t giving any thought at all as to what Elias wanted from him. Maybe another dinner with David. Maybe to move his psych evaluation up because his was scheduled in a couple of days. Maybe he’d badmouth Vic and give Simon an excuse to relieve some of this anger on his face. She’d told him to take it back. She’d told him not to say those words and to deny that he meant them and that hurt worse than anything she could have done. She hadn’t known if she was going to be there when he got back to the apartment and that could mean no. That could mean that she’d up and leave and he’d really fucked up. He should have kept his mouth shut. He hated that Elias had called when he did because he felt like Vic was slipping through his fingers and he by the time he got home, she’d be gone for good. She was good at running, he’d gathered that much and he just hoped she remembered that he’d told her she didn’t have to run anymore. He was with her now. Maybe she didn’t want that. He hoped that she was just scared and they could talk about it later when the words had time to sink in and she had time to think about them. He meant it when he said that she didn’t have to say them back to him. He wasn’t going to lie and say it didn’t hurt that she couldn’t, but he wouldn’t blame her because it had taken him so much longer to say the words to any other girl. But Vic was different. She was everything he wanted in the world and somehow he’d known that from the first time he saw her. Pulling into the compound, he shut off the car and just sat for a moment because he didn’t want to face whatever Elias had planned. He was still trying to comprehend what he’d just done. He was trying to understand and work out all the possible scenarios of where they’d go from here and none of them were good because the look on her face hadn’t been anything happy. The look on her face told him that he’d crossed a line that there was no turning back from. When he got home, she’d either be there, ready to talk, or she’d be gone. There was no in between now. Running his hands over his face, he gave an angry yell and slammed his fist into the dashboard before he shoved open the car door and stalked his way into the compound and up to Elias’ office. He didn’t know what he was walking into or what the man had planned, but he almost just wanted to throw the door open and tell Elias to go fuck himself because Simon had to go home and take care of the mess he’d just made of whatever relationship they’d had going. He didn’t. He didn’t because he was a fucking coward and he was scared that when he went home, his apartment would be empty and he’d never see her again. So he knocked on Elias’ door and waited for the man to yell a quick, “Come in,” before he opened the door and stepped inside. Elias was sitting at his desk and Simon thought this must have something to do with David and Kim because there was no one else in the office. The man looked up as he closed the door behind him and gave a smug smile, nodding towards the chair. “Have a seat.” This time, Simon didn’t argue or say he’d rather stand. He rolled over and submitted to whatever Elias wanted him to do. Elias watched him closely, like he could see the shame and guilt and sorrow seeping off of him. “How are you?” Elias asked but the tone of voice told Simon he didn’t really give a fuck. “Fine,” he said simply and then leaned forward in the seat. “What did you want?” he asked, because he didn’t want to bullshit right now. Elias snorted and then pulled a file out and tossed it at Simon. He caught it deftly and opened it up. He frowned and didn’t recognize the man that looked up at him from the picture inside. “That’s Henric Vanderheim. He was Costas DeFranco’s second in command.” Simon sucked in a breath sharply and when he blinked, he could see Costas’s face in his head and the scared, frightened look he’d given Simon as he begged for his life right before Simon shot him. He shook away the mental image and looked up at Elias. “Okay,” he said and waited for the man to continue. Elias studied him for a moment and he was probably wondering about his mood, but he didn’t say anything further. “We’ve been keeping an eye on Henric and three weeks ago, he was incarcerated in a Chinese prison. Which was fine by us, because he can’t do business with the Chinese. They operate with a different weapons dealer. However, new information as arose about a possible new buyer for DeFranco’s stock of merchandise. We want to know who that buyer is.” Simon snorted. “Why don’t you just ask him?” he said bitterly. “That’s what we plan on doing,” Elias snapped back at him and Simon frowned, looking up at him. “Or rather, that’s what you’re going to do, when you fly to China in an hour.” Simon felt his heart skip a beat and his eyes widened slightly. “An hour?” he asked, surprised and he thought about Vic maybe still waiting in his apartment. He swallowed thickly and shook his head. “I can’t…” “It isn’t up for negotiation,” Elias cut him off and pulled out a duffle bag, tossing it to Simon. “You showed you can handle yourself on a mission. You’ll be undercover as a Canadian psychiatrist. You’ll find the credentials are all in order. The Chinese government is more willing to work with our Northern friends than they are any Americans. You’ll get the information from Vanderheim and then you’ll come home. It’s simple, it’s easy. Do you have any questions?” Simon scoffed but looked back down at the file, his mind slowly shifting from Vic telling him to take back the words to the mission sitting in his lap. He was torn and he felt trapped and panicked but he shook his head. “He’s not just going to give up information like that.” Elias smirked. “Luckily for us, Chinese prisons don’t have anything against immoral interrogation tactics.” “Yeah,” Simon said, looking at the man’s face. “Lucky for us,” he murmured and then sighed. “Anything else I should know? Or is it really as simple as you’re making it seem?” Elias smirked and the smirk was all Simon needed to know there was a side to this he wasn’t seeing. “It’s really that simple,” Elias said coolly. “You, I, and Captain Rogers are the only ones who know about this mission of yours. We’re going to keep it that way.” There were several things about that statement Simon didn’t like. The first was that maybe he had Vic waiting for him at his apartment and if he stood her up, she would think the worse. He needed to at least call her and tell her he wasn’t coming. But what would he say? Just that he couldn’t tell her the truth? He wasn’t a liar. The second thing about that statement was the fact that Avi knew about this mission. He didn’t understand that. “Why does Captain Rogers know about this?” Simon asked and Elias lifted an eyebrow to look at him. “We didn’t tell him about the Meehan thing. Why tell him about this?” “Because this is an official assignment,” Elias said. “And he is still your captain.” Then Elias stood and he walked around the desk, pulling Simon to his feet. “Come, you need to leave before you miss your flight,” he said and walked Simon to the door. Simon didn’t know what to do. There was something wrong about this, but he supposed it couldn’t be too hard to just walk in and talk to a guy. As they reached the door, Elias clapped Simon on the shoulder and he didn’t understand the words the man said to him. “Remember, no one else but Captain Rogers and I are to know where you are. Is that clear?” Simon grit his teeth and he felt his heart shattering because he knew Vic wouldn’t understand. He knew that if she waited for him, she’d hate him when he didn’t come home. But he also knew there was a distinct possibility she was already gone. “Yes, sir.” .Wolfie. Vic couldn't stay.It wasn't because she didn't want to. It was because she did. She recognized by now when she was running scared and she was fucking terrified now. She was panicked and confused and she didn't know what she would have said to him anyway if she'd waited for him to get back. Maybe just that she couldn't love him back and that would hurt her as much to say as it would be for him to hear. He loved her. Those words were still sinking into her head because no one had ever said them to her before and meant them. There’d been a guy named Marty that had tried that line on her and she’d laughed in his face and told them that he didn’t need to fucking lie to her to get laid. Welsh deserved better. He deserved a girl that could say she loved him back. He deserved someone that would wait for him to come home to her and as soon as she thought that it hurt a thousand times worse because she'd thought of it as home. She thought about him telling her that everything else that had happened in his life was just a prelude to meeting her. Those words stuck in her head more than anything because those were the ones that she could understand. Her life had been miserable and hard and he hadn't been lying about her when he'd said she tried so hard to be cold. It was safe. If she didn't care then she couldn't get hurt. If she didn’t care than when the time to say goodbye came she could say those words with ease and not feel the pain of missing out on something. She could pack up and run like she’d always done and se could stay the same. Welsh had fucked that all up. He’d come into her life and for once she'd had something that just made her happy. It had nothing to do with survival because he was a weakness and it had nothing to do with just satisfying the desire to get fucked because if it was just that then there were other people she could have gone to and none of them would have meant what Simon did to her. She liked him. She hadn't been lying when she'd admitted that to him. But she didn't think it was love because she wasn't sure exactly what that was and if this was it then she should get out while she still could. Vic was good at running. If she thought she could stay lost then she would get her shit together and be gone tonight. If she wasn't scared of what the Initiative would do to her when they caught her, and she believed they would, then she would already be on a bus and halfway out of the city. Never mind that Welsh had told her she didn't have to run anymore. Never mind that he’d held her hand and told her that she was his and he was hers and that was all there was to it. The walk back to her shithole apartment was cold and lonely. She burned half the cigarettes in her pack and tossed them in the gutter and then she stopped in a gas station to buy a new pack in case she went back to prison. A month ago she would have just been disappointed that she hadn't gotten laid tonight but that was before she'd opened her mouth and told Welsh that she'd be his girl. That was before it had been the truth. She wondered if he would be hurt to get home and find her gone or if he'd just be relieved. If she were him she'd be relieved but she wasn't him and that was more than evident now. He was the one that had opened his mouth and said he loved her and she was the one that had run like a fucking coward. She wondered what had prompted the words because she'd just been making dinner. Maybe that was why neither of them could pretend he hadn't said them. If he'd said them in the heat of passion she could have blown them off as him being caught up in the moment. This was different. He had said them for no other reason than just because she was there with him and she couldn't pretend that he didn't think he meant them. Whether he should or not, whether it was smart or not, he meant them. She wished he had just taken them back. She wished he had lied to her just this once so she could pretend that there wouldn't be such awful consequences when it was over. It was a stupid thing for her to ask because even if he'd said he'd do anything for her she knew better than to ask Welsh to lie to her. He had always and would always tell her the truth just like he would always get back up. She felt like a stranger in her own apartment when she let herself in. She'd barely spent any time here in the past few weeks and even if she had it wasn't home. Home was with Simon and that thought just tore the wound deeper. Everything hurt right now and she didn't know what the right answer was. She couldn't and wouldn't say she loved him. She couldn't even tell him that maybe someday she would because she didn't know if that was something she would ever be capable of or even wanted to be capable of. It was weakness and she was supposed to be strong every god damned day of her life until the day she died. Morticia was shut up in the bedroom with the door shut and her music on and Vic hoped she stayed there. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now, especially her fucking bitch whore of a roommate. She stood there for a minute feeling empty and cold and she wondered what she was going to tell Simon tomorrow at 12:01 when he showed up with coffee in his hands and a fake smile plastered on his face for her. She wondered if he would still come because he'd laid his heart out in front of her and she'd told him to take it back. Maybe this was it. Maybe they were over because she'd up and walked out and maybe it would be better that way and maybe that thought hurt so fucking much she couldn't breathe. She went to the fridge and got out a beer before she put on a movie and flopped down on the couch. There were burritos in the freezer and Morticia’s leftovers in the fridge but she didn’t take either of those things out. She didn’t even make popcorn. She thought she should be hungry but she didn't feel much like eating. She just felt like dying. She drank her beer and curled up on the couch to watch Streetfighter by herself and it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as lying across Simon's lap with his fingers running through her hair as they watched Kung Fu movies together and it wasn't the same as watching him choke down over buttered popcorn just because it was how she liked it. And as much as she told herself that she wasn't in love and never could be in love she couldn't pretend that Simon meant more to her than anything left in this world and she felt like she had just thrown away the only thing that had made her happy when she tossed those words back in his face. Her fingers played with the silver necklace around her throat and she wondered if she should give it back to him and if she should tell him that she just couldn't be his girl anymore or if she should tell him the truth. Whether she loved him or not she was still his and maybe that was the biggest reason that she was running scared. She didn't turn around when the door to the bedroom opened and she already knew it was too much to hope that the fucking bitch kept her mouth shut. She heard her go to the fridge behind her and then her steps paused by the back of the couch. "When the fuck did you get in?" she asked, and Vic wondered why it even fucking mattered. "I don't know," she said. She didn't move and she didn't turn around. She watched Sonny Chiba break some guy's teeth on the television and she remembered promising Welsh that she would teach him how to do that. Her arms wrapped around the pillow beneath her and she wished he'd never said the words and she wished she could just be happy that he had. Wasn't that what every girl was supposed to want? To fall in love and live happily ever after? Maybe she couldn't be happy because she understood that there was no such thing as happily ever after for girls like her. There was hurt and pain and maybe a ‘thanks for a good time’ and that was the most she could let herself hope for. If she let herself hope for more it would just end in disappointment. If she let herself fall in love with him then she didn’t know how she would get back up when it was over. She didn’t know how she could keep her mind focused on staying strong and staying one step ahead of the people that wanted to fuck her up and fuck her if she opened herself up to that much weakness. She was surprised when Morticia cleared her throat and leaned on the back of the couch. “Are you okay?” she asked. She didn’t know why she asked the question because they both fucking hated each other. “Fucking fine,” she snapped, because the last person she wanted to talk about this with was Lisa. She didn’t want to talk about it with anyone except maybe Simon and she’d already fucked that up. She’d just up and left and she didn’t know if he would forgive her for that. Maybe he would keep his distance from her now, because maybe that’s what he thought she wanted. Lisa was quiet for a moment and Vic didn’t bother to look up at her face. Then she heard her scoff and the couch shifted as she pushed herself away from it. “What’s wrong?” she asked, and any trace of concern was gone. Her voice got cold and mean and bitter. “Did you and Welsh have a fight? Did he get mad because you gave him a VD? If he’s back on the market tell him I’m a better fuck than you and I’m ready to give him a ride any time he wants it.” “Lisa,” Vic said, her voice low and dangerous. The girl quieted because Vic almost never called her by her real name. “I’ve had a really shitty night. So please, keep running your fucking mouth. Just give me an excuse to hurt you.” She snorted and Vic’s hands curled into fists as she waited for something, anything to come out of her mouth. She wanted her to say something. She wanted her to make one more crude comment about Simon or to say one more bitchy thing about Vic being a slut because then she could take all this anger and hurt out on something other than herself. Her eyes closed and she listened for the words that would make her night that much fucking better because if she said any of that then she would be up off this couch in a second and she would hit her so hard that she made her throw up last night’s burritos. The words didn’t come. She waited a long time for them but then she just heard the girl’s footsteps across the carpet and the bedroom door slammed shut. On the other side of the door her music grew louder but she never said a word. A sigh escaped her lips and her eyes opened to watch Sonny Chiba beat up some knife fighters and for a brief moment she wondered what Elias had wanted with Simon. Maybe he wanted him to have dinner with David and Kim again, just to keep fucking with Vic’s head. She kept the phone by her head on the coffee table and as much as she’d never wanted to be that girl, she wanted Simon to call so that she could tell him she was sorry. She never said the word but she would say it for him because she cared about him so much it was painful and she’d hurt him badly. She wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to talk to her again. Maybe this was what it would take for him to figure out that Vic was damaged and that wasn’t what he wanted in his life. She didn’t know if she should hope for that or not and when the sun finally rose through her window she was still trying to figure out the answer. Wenston The flight to Beijing was long and it gave Simon too much time to just sit and think. He’d flown to Canada under his name and he’d flown out of Canada under a fake one. Some doctor’s name on a passport with his photo on it and Simon wondered how the government did this sort of thing. How they could break the laws they upheld so easily and he wondered why he gave a shit anymore because it seemed like sometimes the lines between the good guys and the bad guys got so blurred. There was too much time to think and too much time to feel guilty because he hadn’t called Vic to tell her not to wait for him and he hadn’t called Alexey to tell his brother they couldn’t get dinner tomorrow like he’d planned and both of them would just be sitting there, waiting for him and he wouldn’t come. He’d told them he would do something and now he wasn’t going to do it and he realized that was almost like lying to them. Elias was making him a liar and he hated that. He hated that he didn’t know if Vic would wait. He hated that he’d made her upset and confused and that she’d told him to take the words back. He hated that he wouldn’t be there tomorrow with coffee at 12:01 and he hated that he knew what she would think. She’d been hurt so many times before and now he was going to hurt her again and he almost convinced himself that when he landed, he would call her and tell her that he was going to be gone for a couple days and not to worry, but he’d come home to her if she was still offering him something to come home to. She meant the world to him. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he knew that he hadn’t known her that long, but it was the truth. Maybe he just fell in love easily. He’d convinced himself that he’d loved Kim. But that was different. Kim didn’t make him feel like he was a good person. She hadn’t made him feel like he could do anything and be anything and she’d never called him brilliant or strong. Her voice had been one of the loudest among those who called him weak and pathetic and according to Vic, that made her a liar. Because Vic had told him he wasn’t either of those things. It was more than sex. He knew that to be true for him, and he’d thought that was true for her too because they’d spent plenty of time together when they weren’t just fucking each other. They’d watched movies, gone on dates, they sparred every day and granted, they spent a lot of time in bed or the shower or on the couch or one time on his dining room table, but those were just bonuses. That was just a way of showing her how much he cared about her. He had too much time to think by the time the plane landed in Beijing. He was sober and melancholy as he walked through customs and he wasn’t even worried that they’d know his passport was a fake. He wasn’t worried that his visa had been forged by the United States government and he wasn’t worried that he was about to walk into a Chinese prison where he could interrogate a guy named Henric any way he wanted to in order to get information out of him. He wasn’t worried because he was distracted. He knew he was. And he knew that his distraction was Vic and thinking whether or not she would still be there when he came home. It was a three hour drive from the airport to the prison. There weren’t many cars on the road, mainly buses and bikes. But Simon sat in the back of the car and it had been sent from the prison to pick him up because they were expecting him. They were expecting a doctor from Canada to come and ask a prisoner some questions, give a complete psych evaluation and he wouldn’t be stepping on any Chinese government toes, they’d been promised. By the time he got to the prisoner, he was tired. As the pulled up, he realized he probably should stop thinking about Vic and start thinking about what information he needed to get out of Henric because Elias had trusted him enough to give him this assignment and if he messed it up, they’d never trust him again. He wasn’t sure if he wanted them to, but knowing they believed in him was a morale booster. He hoped Vic believed in him too and she’d said once that she knew he could do these things and he believed her when she said it because she’d had an honest look in her eyes and no smirk on her face. Climbing out of the car, Simon grabbed his briefcase and straightened the collar of his suit. He looked towards the entrance and there were armed guards on either side of the door. A large brick wall surrounded the entire prison with barbed wire and jagged glass in cement at the top. It was crude and rough and it would be hard to escape but he figured that was the point. As soon as he walked in the door, he got the feeling that something was out of place. Something wasn’t right. He’d never been to China before, but he knew how secretive and private the Chinese government was with any form of discipline, military or prison system. But the cold stares the dozen guards inside the front room were giving him didn’t seem natural or normal. They weren’t just devoid of emotion, they were glaring at him with suspicion and mistrust. Simon followed the man who’d driven him from the airport over to a desk. There was a high ranking man sitting behind the desk and he looked up as they approached. He smiled, but it was completely fake and plastered. When he spoke, his English was broken and hard to understand. “Ah, can I help you?” he said and his tone of voice was condescending and slimy. Simon smiled back as pleasantly as he could. “Dr. Woods,” Simon said, pulling his passport and ID out from his pocket. “I’m here to talk with one of your prisoners. I believe you’ve been expecting me?” The lie flowed naturally off his tongue and he always thought it was weird how easily he could lie when he was on these assignments because he wasn’t a liar. The man didn’t even look down at his credentials. He just stared back at Simon. “Did you say your name was?” His diction was proper and educated, but the pronunciation needed work. “Dr. Woods,” Simon gave again. “My superiors spoke with yours on the phone…” “Woods,” the man interrupted. “That does not seem correct. No, no, I don’t think it was Woods.” The man put a finger to his chin and tapped it there. Simon stared at the man for a moment and warning bells were going off inside his head. He tilted his head to the side, like he didn’t understand what the confusion was. He pushed his credentials forward again. “Dr. Woods,” he repeated. “Dr. Richard Woods.” The man shook his head and glanced at a guard standing next to him. The guard stayed perfectly still and didn’t look away from Simon. “Woods doesn’t seem right, does it?” the man asked. The guard didn’t respond and the man rolled his eyes and looked back at Simon. “How about Welsh?” It took every ounce of self control to keep the surprise out of his eyes. How did the man know his name? He was made, his cover was blown and he’d not even made it ten steps inside the front door. This wasn’t right. A million different scenarios rushed through his mind and all of them were somehow linked to Elias setting him up. They sent him away without him telling anyone where he was going or how long he’d be gone or even that he was going anywhere and now he was caught and no one would ever know. If Elias wanted to get rid of him, he’d done a fucking fantastic job. “I’m sorry?” Simon forced himself to say, his voice remaining steady. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Perhaps if you called my superiors…” “No, no,” the man said, wagging his finger at him. “That’s it, Welsh. Simon Welsh.” The man grinned and it was a cruel, wicked thing. “American.” This couldn’t end well. He knew that right now. It would end any other way than poorly and he gave a silent prayer that he’d at least be kept alive and given the chance to talk to Vic one more time because he’d told her he loved her and then he’d disappeared on her and she may never, ever forgive him. “I think there’s some misunderstanding,” Simon said. He heard the man behind him moving and it was only because he’d spent the last couple of months sparring with Vic that he was able to sidestep the blow that was meant for his head. He dropped the briefcase to the floor and he cursed that his phone was inside of it and not in his pocket because he couldn’t hit his panic button that would send out the 911 text to his team. That had been a stupid move on his part, but he hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t expected betrayal. Whirling, he grabbed the man’s gun who’d come at him and yanked it from his hands, bringing the butt of it up to shatter the man’s nose. He swung the gun like a club around to hit one of the other guards in the side of the face and that was two down. He didn’t get another hit in. Pain exploded in the back of his head and he was falling forward, unable to catch himself. His head snapped off the stone floor and he lay there for a moment. When his vision cleared, he saw the man from behind the desk come to stand in front of him, his gun held high in the air. He spat something in Chinese that Simon didn’t understand and Simon tried to move out of the way, but the pounding in his head froze his nerves and his body and he couldn’t move as the man brought the gun down across Simon’s cheekbone. It went dark after that. .Wolfie. He didn’t show.At first Vic didn’t really comprehend that because there hadn’t been a day since they’d started sparring that Simon didn’t show. She didn’t count the days they had missions because she saw him then anyway and she knew the reasons behind it. Then again, maybe she knew the reasons behind it this time and she was trying to pretend she didn’t. Maybe she was trying to pretend that she didn’t know what it meant that he wasn’t at her apartment at 12:01 with coffee in his hands and smile on his face. She waited. She hadn’t left the couch all night and she hadn’t slept either. She was tired and she felt like her whole body was aching even if there was no reason for it and even if he showed up to spar with her she was fairly sure it would be an easy fight for him. She tried to tell herself that maybe he was just running late and maybe he had errands to run or a line at the coffee shop. By the time one o’clock rolled around it finally sunk in that he wasn’t coming and she understood with a sinking feeling in her chest exactly what that meant. He was done with her. She couldn’t be what he wanted her to be so he was throwing her away. It took too much effort for her to crawl off the couch and a lot more to make it to the bedroom door. Lisa was just finishing buckling her top when she came in and she didn’t understand the purpose of buckles on a shirt. She wondered what her roommate even fucking did for the government because it seemed like most of the time all she did was hang around here and fuck on her bed. Maybe she was a hooker. Maybe Vic didn’t really fucking care. The girl glanced up at her and her lip curled into a sneer when she saw her. She bumped by her on her way out the door with a quiet “bitch,” muttered under her breath. “Whore,” Vic spat back, and it didn’t make her feel any better even when Lisa slammed the door behind her. She wasn’t sure there was anything that was going to make her feel much better right now because it was a 1:15 in the afternoon and Welsh wasn’t here because he wasn’t coming and that hurt so much more than she wanted it to. She tried to tell herself it was better that she know now because if he had waited until later on down the road to leave her then it would have hurt even worse than this. It made it worse that it was Elias’s words echoing in her head right now. It was his voice telling her that she was damaged goods. It was his voice saying that she wasn’t a girlfriend and she was only good for a fuck and it was his voice asking her if he wanted him to be nice to her. She’d told him no, and she had done the same to Welsh when he’d offered her his heart. She wanted to hate him for standing her up, but she’d bailed on him first. Mostly she just felt tired. She gathered her clothes up and went into the bathroom to shower. A small laugh escaped her lips and it was bitter and tired but apparently Morticia had used the week she was out of the apartment to pain the bathroom black. She shook her head and tried to ignore the lingering paint fumes as she climbed into the shower. She always did her best thinking in the shower but today she didn’t want to think. She just wanted to forget. She just wanted Simon. She tried to let the water wash all the bad down the drain. She didn’t know why she kept thinking that would work because it hadn’t when she was thirteen and it wouldn’t work now because she’d lost the one thing that had ever made her happy and she didn’t know what she was supposed to do now. She was trying to remember what she’d done before Simon and she could barely remember. Before him she’d been fucking Elias. Before that she’d been in prison and didn’t get to decide what to do. Before that she’d done whatever her father told her, and that meant buying and selling drugs and stealing whatever she could get away with. The thoughts just made it worse. Pops had always told her that there were going to be things she wanted and things she needed and she better always fucking pick the second one and she always had. She’d done what she had to do. She’d sold herself out to the Initiative so that she could keep living outside the prison and she killed the people they told her to without question. She’d done everything he’d told her, keeping everyone at a distance and keeping herself strong so that she didn’t end up another fucking victim in the street and where was pops now? He was fucking six feet under and he’d died miserable and alone except for her. Whatever peace she thought she’d made with her life was gone. By the time she got out of the shower she was angry and hurt and she wished Simon hadn’t said those words to her but he had and now she had to figure out what came next. Maybe she didn’t get a say in it anymore. Maybe she’d made the decision for both of them when she left but she hoped that wasn’t the case because she’d just needed time to think. If he didn’t understand that then he wasn’t who she’d thought he was. She slammed around in the kitchen making her coffee and scrambling eggs because she hadn’t eaten since Simon had made her lunch in his apartment yesterday and even if she couldn’t tell if she was hungry she should eat anyway. She sat on the counter with her legs crossed under her and she didn’t look at the clock because it would remind her what time it was and what was missing. He was better at making breakfast but by now she knew how to take care of herself. She dumped her eggs out on her plate and they were missing pepperjack cheese so she dumped barbeque sauce on them instead and threw the pan in the sink. She broke a mug trying to get one out of the cabinet and at this point she didn’t care. She didn’t know what she was feeling. She didn’t know if she was angry or scared or hurt because she was so fucking confused by him. Welsh was a problem and she didn’t know how to fix it or herself right now. She gathered up the bigger pieces and dumped them in the sink and then she pulled herself back up on the counter to eat her breakfast and drink her coffee. She focused on that and nothing else because that was the one thing she could control right now so she was going to fucking enjoy it. She’d only gotten about halfway through her eggs when the phone started ringing and she jumped because she still wasn’t used to it. She wouldn’t if Welsh hadn’t made the call for the whole team to have them and that was something Avi should have done a long time ago. It was just one more illustration of the differences between them and how much Avi had failed them as Captain. She slid off the counter and tried to pretend her heart wasn’t pounding loudly in her chest and that she wasn’t hoping in the back of her mind that this was Simon calling. She’d said enough times that she didn’t want to be that girl, the one that waited by the phone and got mad when her boyfriend didn’t call or blew her off but it hurt because she was confused and he was the one that had confused her. She wiped her hands off on her jeans and she should really get into the habit of looking who was calling before answering. “Hello?” she said. Her chest felt tight and she felt like she could barely breathe for the weight pressing on her heart. “Victoria,” Elias said on the other end. She slumped down on the couch because she felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. It wasn’t Simon. He had blown her off without a word and maybe he was done with her because she couldn’t love him back. Or maybe he’d realized how damaged and broken she was and he didn’t want that in his life after all. “How are you?” Elias asked. Her head ducked and she ran her fingers through her hair, crushing her eyes closed and it didn’t match the crushing disappointment in her chest. “What the fuck do you want, Elias?” she asked, her voice low and harsh. She couldn’t keep the hurt out of it. It made him laugh. She growled at the sound because he was only genuinely amused when someone was hurting and she tried to remember what Simon had told her. She tried to remember that he thought she deserved nice things but if that was true than where was he? He was the nicest thing she’d ever had, the best thing that had ever come into her life and she’d hurt him because she couldn’t say she loved him. She tried to remember that he thought Elias only ripped her down because he missed her and that it shouldn’t matter because she was Simon’s but maybe that wasn’t true anymore. “Someone’s in a rare mood today,” he said, still chuckling dryly on the other end. She bit her lip to keep from snarling into the phone and her fingers scrubbed harder at her hair. “I was just calling to remind you that your psychiatric evaluation is Monday at ten. That’s in the morning dear, so try to get a good night’s sleep.” “Don’t call me ‘dear,’” she snapped, and it just made him laugh harder. The words seemed cagey and she frowned, rubbing a hand over her lips. “What did you want with Simon last night?” she asked, and she knew as soon as the question was out of her mouth that he was going to be an asshole about it. He didn’t know any other way to be but she asked the question anyway because she hadn’t seen Simon to ask him herself. Her heart sank and she wondered if they’d moved him to another team and he would tell her, right? “I fail to see how that’s any of your business, Victoria,” he said. She heard him laugh dryly and she wondered if he didn’t have anything better to do then to call her and make her feel like shit. Why couldn’t he take up golf like all the other rich assholes? “Just as fucking me didn’t make you privy to all my business and personal affairs I see no reason why fucking him should make you privy to his. I do think it’s adorable how you keep mistaking yourself for something more than you are. Do you think just because he buys you shiny things and parades you around like a high class whore it means he loves you?” “He does love me,” she said, before she could stop the words from coming out. They were easy to say because they were the truth but as soon as she said them out loud she felt something like tears prick her eyes because he did love her and she had told him to take the words back. God, no wonder he hadn’t shown up this morning. Elias snorted. “Does he?” he asked. “How unfortunate for you both.” She stilled at how ominous the words sounded and then she heard a quiet click as he hung up the phone on the other end. She let it drop from her ear and she just stared at it for a moment because what the fuck was that supposed to mean? She chewed on her lip as she stared at and a part of her wanted to call Elias back and ask him what those words meant because she didn’t like them at all. She wondered what he’d wanted with Simon last night and she wondered if he’d said something to Simon that had made him change his mind about her and maybe Vic’s own words had done enough damage to whatever kind of relationship they had here. She didn’t know what she wanted out of this but she knew she didn’t want him to hate her. She pulled her legs up onto the couch with her and wrapped an arm around them before she flipped the phone back open. Her cheek rested against her knees and focused on Simon’s name in her contact list. Her thumb hesitated over the call button before she finally sucked it up and pressed it, holding the phone back to her ear. It rang loudly in her ear and she closed her eyes as she waited for him to pick up. She didn’t know what she was going to say but she had to say something better than “I can’t” because that wasn’t a good fucking answer for anything. Her heart sank as it kept ringing and he didn’t pick up. It reached an all time low when it kicked to voicemail and she thought about just hanging up and not saying anything but he would see that she called and she had to tell him something. He deserved that much. Her fingers played with the necklace around her throat as it beeped and her voice was harsh and quiet when she spoke. “Hey Simon,” she said. “It’s Vic. I…” the words trailed off because she didn’t know what she wanted to say. She wasn’t going to swear to him that she was his if he didn’t want her anymore. She was too much of a fucking coward to put herself out there like that. “Give me a call back,” she finally said. “Or come see me. I’ll be around.” Wenston He woke up to a backhanded slap to the face. His face stung as he opened his eyes, blinking away the darkness and grit blurring his vision. There was talking around him but he’d deal with that in a moment because he needed to focus and try to remember where he was. He didn’t think he was at his apartment and he didn’t think it was Vic who’d just slapped him because yeah, sometimes she got rough, but not to the point of bruising his face or leaving lasting marks. When his senses started coming back, he realized he was tied down. Sitting in a chair, his hands were tied to a rung behind his back and his ankles were tied to the front two legs of the chair. His suit coat was missing and his white dress shirt had been unbuttoned, his chest exposed. They’d taken his shoes and his socks and his feet were bare. Once he assessed all that, he was sure now that he wasn’t at his apartment and Vic wasn’t anywhere near him and he remembered it after that. He remembered the words he’d let slip off his tongue and he’d remember her cold voice telling him to take them back and he remembered leaving her in his apartment as he flew to China because Elias had told him to and not tell anyone and he’d done the idiotic thing and had followed orders. He’d left without telling anyone where he was going and it had all been a part of someone’s plan, whether Elias or his bosses or someone else because he’d walked into the prison and they’d known his name and his nationality and there was no way they could know that unless someone had told him. He hoped Vic believed him when he’d told her he loved her, because a part of him thought that people had planned for him not to come back from this one. And as much as he was thinking a big “fuck you” to them right now, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to get out of a place that was specifically designed to keep people in. Rolling his head to the side, he looked at the man standing in front of him. There were two others at the door with guns and he could hear movement behind him and water running but he couldn’t turn his head to see what was happening. He looked up at the man and it was the same guy from the front desk. He was looked down at Simon, just watching him as he gathered himself. “Good morning, Simon Welsh,” the man said and it grated Simon’s nerves that he knew his name and used it so freely. He wondered who’d told. He wondered if this was Elias getting back at him for punching him. Or for stealing his girl and if it was that, he hadn’t known that Elias considered Vic his girl and it made him furious because Vic was his girl, whether she wanted to be or not. “Sleep well?” “Let me go,” Simon said, his tongue thick and his throat dry. When he spoke, it pulled at his cheek and he imagined he had a pretty impressive set of bruises there from the butt of a gun being slammed into his face. The man simply laughed and then backhanded him again, this time drawing blood from the corner of Simon’s lips. He licked it away and just looked up at him. “Americans are all alike. So demanding, no manners.” Simon couldn’t help himself. He snorted and said dryly, “Let me go, please.” The man actually laughed but Simon didn’t think it was a good sign or because he found it particularly funny. Maybe amusing, maybe pathetic. Maybe the man was just looking forward to what smart mouthing would bring and Simon tried to think about what the best course of action in this situation was. They’d never been trained on what to do if they were captured and he thought that was a stupid oversight because it was bound to happen. Maybe the United States government just wouldn’t give a shit. But he thought they should, because each of them was worth a lot of money. “Tell me who sent you,” the man said started, leaning closer so he could look Simon in the eye. “And I will make sure you meet a swift death.” Simon felt his heart skip a beat but he tried not to let it show on his face. He just glared back at the man and didn’t answer. The man shrugged. “If it’s a slow, painful one you prefer, then who am I to argue?” Then he stood and yelled something in Chinese to someone behind Simon. He heard shuffling and movement but he couldn’t tell what was going on and that was unnerving. This whole thing was unnerving and he was fighting an ever growing panic rising in his chest. He was still new to this. As used to being on a team like this as he’d thought he was, he wasn’t prepared for this. He wasn’t prepared for being a captive or being tortured or interrogated or whatever the fuck else they were going to do to him because the government had ways of training that sort of thing and maybe their team should have been put through training like that. Simon was still getting over being just a yoga instructor. He was getting over a cushy and uneventful life where the worse thing he had to worry about was cancer. Not Chinese prison guards or immoral interrogations or torture. Not dying right after he’d told a girl he’d loved her and she’d been too scared to believe him. The man nodded and then looked back down at Simon. “Okay, Simon Welsh,” he said and Simon snarled his teeth slightly at his name on the man’s lips. “One last chance. Who sent you? FBI? CIA? Special Forces?” He bent down and grabbed Simon’s jaw roughly, pulling his face forward and it strained his arms behind him. “Who. Sent. You.” he emphasized every word. Simon said nothing. He didn’t spit in the man’s face or smile or laugh. He just sat there, stoic and quiet and his face blank because that’s what they did in the Kung Fu movies he watched with Vic and he wanted to hold onto her right now and be home in his bed with her in his arms and if he couldn’t have that, he could act like someone she’d like. He could act like someone she could possibly love because maybe she couldn’t love someone like him. Maybe she couldn’t love someone who was weak like him or with money or who’d never gone through hardships like her. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t say the words. The man growled and shoved Simon’s head away, slapping him three times in succession across the face and the blows left his skin stinging and raw. He shut his eyes and concentrated hard on bringing air in and out of his lungs because there was panic rising in him because he wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready to not be in control and to be hurt and unable to stop it. He wasn’t ready for this Shifter contract to become real because up until now, he hadn’t been alone in this. Up until now, he could believe he was still the same person he was without the Shifter genes in him. “Fine,” the man spat and nodded again to someone behind him and Simon jerked as an arm suddenly wrapped around his neck, choking off his air. He felt the rope around his wrists snap and he hadn’t realized how tight the things were until blood came rushing back into his fingers, tingling and shooting sudden pain through his nerves. Someone else cut the ropes around his ankles and then he was being manhandled out of the chair. He tried to fight back, but it earned him a blow to the ribs that knocked the wind out of him. It was followed up by another one and then he was being dragged, his feet numb from being tied and he could hardly stand on his own. He kept his eyes open and he made sure to watch his surroundings because maybe he could find a weakness. Maybe he could find a way out. He tried not to listen to that voice in the back of his head that asked who he was kidding. He was in way over his head. There was a basin of water near the wall on the other side of the room. Simon swallowed thickly and tried not to make a noise to let them know that he was scared of the water. He’d drowned in it on day one of this team. He’d never been fond of it before, but drowning was the worse feeling in the world. He didn’t care what anyone said, it wasn’t peaceful and it wasn’t quiet. It hurt. When they reached the basin, the men holding him kicked his legs, forcing him to his knees and he grunted as they cracked against the stone floor painfully. The man who’d been interrogating him came over to stand beside the basin, his hands folded behind his back, but there was a thick bamboo stick in his hands. Simon didn’t like the look of that thing. “Now I‘ll show you what we do to spies,” the man said and Simon didn’t have time to think about that because he wasn’t a spy. He wasn’t here to spy on the Chinese government and he almost blurted that out but he wasn’t going to give them a thing. They didn’t give him time, anyway. His head was shoved into the basin and he nearly gasped at the freezing temperature of the water. A hand held the back of his head down firmly and he was completely submerged. He struggled against the hands holding him in place and fear was tightening his gut because he didn’t want to drown. He hated the water. He hated drowning and he didn’t want to do this when he was on the other side of the planet from anyone who could help him. When he was on the other side of the planet from Vic or Alexey or the team that he’d just realized he’d do anything for. A sharp crack suddenly tore it’s way along his back and he couldn’t help the gasp he took at the sudden pain. He got a lungful of water and then he was thrashing because he was coughing and hacking and all he was sucking into his lungs was water. It burned and it hurt and he was terrified he was about to die. Then the hand pulled him up above the water and all he could do was cough and spit up water as he was held on his knees. The man who was asking him the questions bent down, his face near his. “Who sent you?” he asked again. Even when the coughing passed and he was just left shivering, he didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t, because what was he supposed to say? Did the Chinese government even know about the Shifter Initiative? Would they believe him if he told them he was just here to talk to a prisoner? Probably not. As they sunk his head back into the freezing water and cracked the bamboo stick across his back again, he thought about Vic. He thought about how he’d left her in his apartment and if she was still waiting for him, he hoped he made it out of this so he could apologize for making her wait. So he could apologize for scaring her but not for telling her he loved her because that was the truth. He’d never been so sure about anything in his life. He thought about Vic as they nearly drowned him again, and again, and again. He never told them anything. .Wolfie. Vic didn’t mean to fall asleep. All day she’d been up and down, alternating between getting angry and sad and hurt and it was exhausting. She was pissed at Simon for not fucking calling her back and at least having the decency to tell her that he was just tossing her aside. That led into the hurt because then she would remember that she was the one that couldn’t say she loved him and she was the one that had ditched him in his apartment and maybe that was as much of a goodbye as she should have needed. It was all too much. She was tired and Elias’s words wouldn’t get out of her head and her own response wasn’t helping any because she’d come out and said Simon loved her when she hadn’t even been convinced of it herself. He didn’t know her. Maybe he thought he did and maybe he thought he knew enough but she had barely let him see the surface of the things she’d done and the person she’d been. He couldn’t love her because he didn’t know her and she couldn’t love him back because she couldn’t ever afford to be weak and she was just arguing with herself, over and over again in her own head. She fell asleep on the couch with a movie playing and a couple of empty beer cans. She’d gone out to buy herself a six pack and she’d stopped on the steps to the apartment building to finish lighting up the last of her pack of smokes. She’d burned them all down to the yellow filters and she thought about her dad and she thought maybe today she hated him. She didn’t usually think that, because he was her pops and he’d taken care of her and come back for her when she’d thought she was on her own. He’d sold out the family for her and it had sent them both on the run and she thought now maybe that was why she hated him. Maybe she would have been better off living with a stripper named Rachel Starr. Maybe she would have become a coke addict or a stripper like her but maybe she at least would have been more of a person. She would have had real relationships and she wouldn’t have been a mafia solider made in daddy’s image. As soon as she thought it she knew she didn’t mean it because she didn’t ever want to be as fucking weak and useless as someone like that woman had been. She just wanted to be the kind of girl that could tell Simon Welsh that she loved him back, because she thought if she could feel that way about anyone it would be him. She didn’t think the words were true yet but she thought they might become true if she let them. She cracked one of the beers open while she sat on the steps and she watched the sunset behind the skyscrapers by herself. She wondered what he was doing and why he hadn’t called her and if he missed her and maybe he was glad that it might be over. Maybe he was crossing himself and thanking God because she had so much fucking baggage it was ridiculous. She took another sip of that and then headed upstairs to settle back on the couch and she hoped Lisa had a late night out because she didn’t want to see or talk to the bitch. She’d just end up breaking her face or her knees or something else and getting kicked out of the apartment and right now she had nowhere else to go. She didn’t know if Simon would welcome her back into his apartment, even if it was just to sleep in the guestroom, because she’d bailed on him once already this weekend. She tried not to think about it as she put in The Way of the Dragon and she tried to pretend that Kung fu movies made her feel better. She didn’t get even halfway through the movie before she fell asleep because she hadn’t slept at all the night before and probably not much the night before that because she never went to bed early when she was with Simon. Her arms curled under the pillow and she pressed her face tightly into it, trying not to think about that too. She missed his hands on her skin and his mouth on hers and she missed falling asleep in his arms because she was warm and comfortable and at home when she was there. She was already too attached and she knew it. She’d come to terms with that when she’d taken the necklace but just the concept of love terrified her and having it given to her so freely was something she just couldn’t wrap her head around. She was startled awake when the credits were rolling by the phone going off and her hand grabbed for it before her eyes were even all the way opened. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Her head twisted over her shoulder as she scrubbed a hand over her gritty eyes and it looked like Lisa was still out anyway. She blinked and tried to focus on the name and she frowned when she did. She thought about ignoring the call but then he might show up depending on what he wanted. “Alexey?” she said, flipping it open. “Bitchzilla, I need you to do me a favor,” he said, and she frowned because she was still half asleep and she couldn’t begin to imagine where this was going. “As happy as I am that my big brother’s finally getting laid on a regular basis, I need you to get off him and remind him that he has dinner with his kid brother and while I accept that sex is a perfectly good excuse for being late, we’re going on an hour here and I could be hitting up the bar trying to get some action of my own.” She laughed weakly but it died just as quickly. She twisted on the couch so that her feet were on the floor and she glanced at the clock because it was just after eight and she wondered when she’d fallen asleep and she was too tired because the words were taking a while to sink in. “I would Alexey, but I’m not with Simon,” she told him, and she hated just saying it. She didn’t like those words. They made it sound like she wasn’t his anymore and nothing could be farther from the truth because he was the only one she’d ever said anything like that to. He was the only one that had ever meant anything to her. Alexey snorted. “Seriously?” he asked, and then she heard him grow quiet. She scooted forward on the couch and checked the beer cans in front of her, trying to figure out if any of them had anything left in them. There was one only half empty and she took a sip of that while she turned the television off. She was still waiting for Alexey to say something on the other end and it made her nervous when he finally did. “Well, where the fuck is he then?” he asked, his voice bitchy and irritated and underneath that was concern. “He’s not answering his phone; I figured he was busy with you. You guys have been like rabbits for weeks.” Vic shrugged and felt stupid as soon as she did because it wasn’t like he could see through phone cords. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. Her stomach sank and she kicked back against the couch, staring at her feet and wondering if he just didn’t want to talk to anyone right now because he’d fallen for a girl that had broken his heart. Alexey scoffed again. “What do you mean you don’t know? You’re his girlfriend, you’re supposed to know these things and then tell me them when he stands me up on our date. I even wore my best tee shirt for him.” “I don’t know,” she said again. “He’s not answering me either. I don’t know if we’re even still together anymore.” Alexey shut his mouth at that and she shut hers too because she hadn’t meant to say the words but she was thinking them. He’d stood her up for sparring and he wasn’t returning his calls and maybe it was over and he was done with her. She hated that she felt tears in her eyes again because she didn’t cry over things like this and it pissed her off that they were there. She cried over fucking bullet wounds and her dad dying and not little things like this because she knew this was going to end one day anyway. “Man Vic, that’s another one of those things that you’re supposed to know. You’re dropping the ball on me, Bitchzilla.” She snorted and she couldn’t laugh because she was shaking and she felt like she was holding in tears and she didn’t cry. “I’ll make you a deal. I’m dropping by his apartment tomorrow. Whoever finds him first makes him call the other person, deal?” “Deal,” she whispered, and she heard her voice cracking as she said it. “See you around, Lex,” she told him, flipping the phone shut and as soon as it was closed she felt a small whimper escape her throat and she fucking hated this. It wasn’t like Simon to blow off Alexey too. Even if he was mad at her, he wouldn’t take it out on his brother. Maybe he’d gone home to mom and hadn’t thought to call or maybe he’d gone to visit his ex-fiancée and didn’t want to call because Alexey didn’t like her and Vic had broken his heart. She knew as soon as she thought it that it was stupid because she was engaged to someone else and Simon had already told them all to die and go to Hell. It didn’t make her feel any better though, because she hadn’t heard from him and she didn’t know where they stood or if he still wanted her but she thought she still wanted him. Something felt wrong. That feeling was sinking into her bones and she could think of all the rationalizations and all the horrible things about herself that she wanted but something was setting off her instincts and they were rarely wrong. It was the same thing that told her when someone was staring at her. It was this itch between her shoulders that told her when something was wrong and she was feeling that now. She wondered again what Elias had wanted him about and maybe he’d shipped him off on a mission. She didn’t know if she believed that or if she was just grasping at straws because the alternative was that he was done with her or he was so hurt that he was just hiding out from everyone and didn’t even want to see the kid brother he’d die for. She pushed herself off the couch and changed movies and she felt pathetic just sitting at home drinking by herself. At this point she didn’t know if she should hope that at 12:01 tomorrow Simon would show up with coffee in his hands and an apology that she didn’t need or if she should just sleep all fucking day. She thought it was the second one. She thought he was never coming back to her because he just didn’t want her anymore. Wenston Simon sat shivering in the corner of a dirty cell. His knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wedged between him as he tried to keep himself warm, but he just couldn’t seem to do it. His hands were tied at the wrists and his fingers were so numb he couldn’t get the rope undone. He’d tried to use his teeth, but that had just ended with a guard coming in and kicking him in the side of the head. So he’d given up trying to get his hands untied and just focused on trying not to die of hypothermia or asphyxiation because he could still feel the water in his lungs every time he coughed. He tried to cough up as much as he could every time, but his lungs hurt and he knew that there was a serious risk he could asphyxiate once his body realized there was something in his lungs preventing him from breathing. He’d read it on the internet after that first mission. He’d been trying to look out for side effects, because he hated being sick. He was learning the guard pattern. They were keeping him some place where there were no other prisoners and by the look of the stains on the floor, there was a reason for that. There was blood splatter on nearly every inch of the floor. There wasn’t even a bed or a toilet in this room and if Simon closed his eyes for too long, the rats would come. He tried to keep them scared away by moving his feet, but he was exhausted and he hurt all over and sometimes when he closed his eyes they wouldn’t open back up no matter what he did. They’d interrogated him nearly all of the first day he was here. They’d tried different methods and different techniques and none of them worked because Simon just refused to open his mouth. He hadn’t said one word to anyone since he’d told them to let him go and if he had it his way, that was the last thing they’d ever hear from him. He wasn’t going to beg and he wasn’t going to give. He passed the time thinking about Vic and Alexey mostly. He tried to think what they were doing. He thought about fun, calm times they’d had because if he thought about what they were doing now, he might start to think that maybe Vic didn’t even care if he was gone because he was the asshole who’d ruined their relationship. He thought about her lying in his bed. He thought about his fingers tracing over her skin and her lips on his neck and the way she touched him and drove him wild. He thought about Kung Fu movies and he played them over in his head and sometimes he swore he could taste Vic’s ridiculously buttery popcorn. He’d sat in his cell for a long time, and he couldn’t tell how long it was. He seemed to be drifting in and out and he was tired and aching and he couldn’t stop shivering. When the man finally came to the cell door and stood outside of it, Simon barely spared him a glance because it was easier to pretend this wasn’t happening and that he was really at home and any minute now he’d wake up in his bed with Vic’s fingers running over the back of his neck and her lips brushing against his ear. Any minute now he’d be home. “Hello Simon Welsh,” the man greeted him and Simon ignored the way he shivered more violently when the man said his name because it was just a harsh reminder that someone had meant for this to happen. He’d been thinking about that a lot too. He’d been thinking about Elias’s words that only Elias, Simon and Avi would know what was going on and it should have been obvious to Simon when he’d first known he’d been betrayed what had happened. Avi wanted him gone. He’d told him so. The easiest way to get rid of him was to get him killed on a mission. And what better way to do that than to blow his cover in a place where no one could ever find him. The man sighed when Simon didn’t answer and the door to the cell opened. He stepped inside and Simon watched his boots as they made their way across the dirty ground to him. They’d changed him into prisoner’s clothing. Gray pants and a blue collared t-shirt with a number over his heart. The man crouched down beside him and he had that fucking bamboo stick in his hands again. The man’s face was warm and friendly and Simon didn’t buy it for a minute. “Do you know how to fight, Simon Welsh?” the man asked. He didn’t know if the man really expected an answer or not, because he hadn’t answered any of his other questions. He didn’t know what he’d even say to that question. He’d been getting better, sparring with Vic. She’d been working so hard with him and trying to make him stronger and faster and better. He wondered if she’d still help him or if she’d just go in there and tear him to pieces because he’d scared her and then didn’t show up afterwards. He wondered if she was still even in New York or if she’d run away. He hoped not. He didn’t know what the Initiative did to people who tried to run, but it couldn’t be good. And he didn’t want bad things to happen to her. The man waited patiently for an answer and after a good thirty seconds when Simon didn’t even twitch or look at him, he snapped his bamboo stick out across the side of Simon’s face and it stung, leaving a welt along his cheek. “Do you know how to fight?” the man asked again. Simon still didn’t answer and then the man was nodding to one of the guards and he came over, yanking Simon to his feet. Simon was unsteady and he still shivered as they forced him to walk. He wasn’t sure where they were taking him and he thought if they forced him to his knees, he’d find a gun pressed to the back of his head and they would execute him. That’s how the Chinese got rid of problems. And Vic had told Simon enough times that he was a problem. He was vaguely surprised when they lead him to a small square area of the prison, with ten foot walls on all sides. There was wire and glass around the top, just like the walls outside. But above the walls was a second story where prison guards were surrounding and it looked like a makeshift coliseum to Simon. He let out a shaky breath because maybe there’s been a reason why they were asking him if he knew how to fight. They shoved him in and his knees gave out as his still bare feet hit the sandy dirt. He fell to his hands and knees, catching himself with his tied hands. He turned around and the door behind him slammed closed. He was alone in this pit and he looked up at the guards, wondering if they were just going to shoot him full of holes or if there was going to be someone he had to fight or what they expected of him. A door on the other side of the pit opened and Simon watched as another man was shoved in. He looked fierce and vicious and definitely not in the same horrid shape that Simon was in. His hands weren’t tied and when he held his arms up in the air, the prison guards all cheered. Simon realized fairly quickly what this was. It was a match up. It was a fighting match and this was the prison’s champion fighter. He was just a prisoner, Simon could tell by the number on his shirt. The man who’d been interrogating him appeared suddenly above them and he cleared his throat. He spoke first in Chinese and the guards were all shouting and hollering and he had no clue what any of them were saying. Then the man looked down at him and grinned a feral grin. “Simon Welsh,” he said. “This fight is to the death.” Simon sucked in a breath and looked over at the other guy. He was watching Simon with cool eyes, no fear. “You should have told me who sent you,” the man said, like it was Simon’s fault he was here, ready to get beaten to death. Only then the man standing across from him started shifting, his muscles and bones moving beneath his skin and Simon’s eyes widened because the man was like him. He morphed and changed and soon there was a half bear, half man standing across from him. He stood a good three feet taller in this form and when he roared, it seemed to shake the walls. Simon took a step backwards and the thought that this was a fight to the death rang over and over in his head because he couldn’t fight this bear without shifting but if he shifted, they’d know what he was and maybe he’d put the Shifter Initiative in danger of exposure to the Chinese government. He swallowed thickly and for a small moment, he thought about just letting himself be mauled. He thought about just accepting death because he’d been running from it for a while now and maybe he should just accept the inevitable. Except back home, Vic had said maybe when he’d asked her if she’d still be there when he got home. She didn’t say yes, but she didn’t say no. There was a small sliver of hope that if he made it home, she’d still be there, waiting for him and maybe she’d take his advice and just be whatever she wanted to be to him because that’s all he was asking and he hoped that wasn’t nothing. He hoped she wanted to be something. The shift came swiftly. Black fur sprung out along his skin and from above him, he heard startled gasps from several of the guards. The bear shifter across from him barely gave him time to snap the rope from his wrists before he charged at him. Simon ducked out of the way and dodged to the side and he could hear Vic’s voice in his mind, telling him to keep moving, to hold his punches until he could land one for sure. He followed her instructions and she was walking him through this fight. Simon raked his claws across the bear’s back and a roar filled the air. Simon pushed himself back as the bear turned around and charged at him again. He dodged to the side, jumping off the wall and landing unsteadily on the ground. His lungs were burning and his limbs shaky but he had to keep moving because Vic told him to keep moving. The bear turned and batted a large paw out his way, which Simon barely dodged. It left the bear’s neck open and Simon gave a feral growl as he rushed in, eyes closed solely on that bare spot on his neck. His teeth dug in deep and there was a gurgling sound. He almost cried out and released his clamped jaws as he felt claws rake their way across his side, but he held tight and then he was digging his own claws into the bear’s throat and ripping as much as he could. He tasted blood in his mouth and it was coating his pawed hands and only when the bear shifter fell to the ground and stopped jerking beneath him did he let go. He stumbled backwards, blood dripping from his jaw and his hands and he shifted back and felt weak because it wasn’t a bear lying on the ground anymore, it was just a guy with his throat missing and that was his own work. It was just a prisoner who’d been in the same position as him and Simon hadn’t hesitated. He tried to tell himself that it was either that guy or him and Simon had people waiting for him at home but he wasn’t even sure if that was true. He wasn’t sure if anyone even knew he was gone. There was fire in his side and when he looked down, his shirt was stained darkly. He pressed his own hand, already bloody, against it and he hoped that guy hadn’t had any blood borne disease because if he did, now Simon would have it. He realized the guards above him were quiet and when he looked up, he felt a chill run through his spine because they all had their guns drawn and pointed at him. Simon’s eyes sought out the man who’d interrogated him and he was just watching him closely. “Interesting,” was all the man said and then jerked his head towards Simon. There was a small prick in his neck and he brought his other hand up to feel at it even as his vision started to blur. There was something stuck there and when his weak fingers grasped at it and pulled, he looked at the dart he’d just been stuck with. The world tipped and tilted around him and then he was collapsing to the ground, jarring the wound on his side and the welts along his back and the bruises littering his face. A part of him hoped that he didn’t wake up. But an even bigger part of him hoped that if he did, Vic would be there to tell him it was all a bad dream. .Wolfie. “What do you see in this one?” the woman asked.Her name was Dr. Robin Hill and Vic had already decided she didn’t like her. She was the one Alexey had said was hot in a librarian sort of way but Vic just thought she looked like a bitch. She was wearing black framed glasses with a chain that ran around her neck and her pale hair wad bound up behind her head, making her look severe and frigid. She wore a suit that wasn’t pink, it was rose-colored like there was some kind of fucking difference and Vic just glared at her as she slumped in the chair across the desk. She was holding up a card with an inkblot on it and Vic glanced at it for a moment, her eyes still narrowed. She wasn’t sure what the point of this was or what the point of the evaluation was and she wondered if Elias was just trying to piss her off or if he’d just been trying to make it look like he wasn’t just after Avi. She didn’t care either way right now because there were other things on her mind. Simon hadn’t shown yesterday. She’d gone to sleep on the couch and woken up at 11:30 because she’d fallen asleep early. She’d made breakfast and tried to tell herself that she wasn’t hoping he would walk through the door and let her make it up to him. He hadn’t. He hadn’t called her back and he hadn’t come over and at first she’d been mad and hurt but after a while she’d just been worried. She thought about Alexey calling her Saturday night looking for him and her not being able to tell him where Simon was and she was starting to wonder if he’d ever gone home. She was starting to wonder if there was a reason he’d blown her off because she’d thought that the first day. Nothing had ever stopped Simon from showing up before. Even when she was throwing his coffees away and telling him he was weak and slow and was going to get himself killed, he’d shown up for her with a smile. Elias’s words were sticking in her head, telling her how unfortunate it was that Simon loved her and she still didn’t understand those words. She didn’t understand what he could have wanted with Simon and maybe he’d done something with him and she couldn’t tell if she was hurt and paranoid or if there was a reason to be worried. Alexey had dropped by Simon’s place and afterwards he’d come by Vic’s and told her that he wasn’t there and his Lexus wasn’t there and he hadn’t asked about the fight. They made a couple of calls. Alexey had called their mom and he’d been pissed about it the whole time and more pissed after he got off the phone. He’d slammed it down on the table and spouted curses out of his lips that involved very improbable things about the human anatomy and then he’d just shaken his head and said “she doesn’t know where the fuck he is either.” It was scaring her. It scared her that no one knew where he was and he wasn’t at home and she wondered if he had run because that didn’t seem like him. He always got back up, and if she was the thing that had broken him she would hate herself. Alexey had left as soon as Lisa had come in and that had left her alone in her apartment with her bitch roommate. She’d had an attack of the crazy and started screaming at Vic for fucking Romanova and no matter how many times she told Morticia that it hadn’t happened the bitch wouldn’t believe her. She didn’t tell her that it was the stupidest thing she could have thought because the only person she wanted to fuck anymore was his brother and he was gone maybe because Vic couldn’t say she loved him. She tilted her head to the side to look at the inkblot and for a moment she thought it looked like a black panther. Her heart constricted in her chest and she wondered where the fuck Simon Welsh was because there were a lot of things she needed to say to him and she couldn’t do that if he wasn’t here. “A kitten,” she told the Doctor, crossing her arms over her chest. She smiled at her and scribbled something down and Vic wondered what that was supposed to tell her but she didn’t ask. She pulled out the next one and Vic thought it looked like a broken and bleeding heart. “A flower,” she said. The doctor was still smiling and she nodded her head, pretending that she actually believed Vic. She pulled out the next card and Vic couldn’t breathe for a second because she didn’t expect to actually see anything in these stupid tests but for a minute it looked like blood splattered across the bottom of the bathroom tub. “A rainbow,” she said, swallowing the sudden panic and glancing challengingly at the woman’s face. Her hand reached up to curl her fingers around the necklace hanging against her chest because it let her pretend that Simon was still around and that she was still his girl. Maybe he was in trouble. Maybe Avi had come after him or something else, like the family, and as much as the thought terrified her she didn’t really believe it. If the family had gone after Simon, she wouldn’t be wondering where he was. They would make it clear where he was because there was no point of a warning or a message if she didn’t get it. Maybe she was supposed to go back to the apartment. Maybe he was lying hurt inside it because Alexey hadn’t gone in and maybe when this was over she would. The doctor gathered her cards together and then set them on the side of the desk, lacing her fingers in front of her as she studied Vic. “Don’t fucking stare at me,” she snapped, kicking one leg out to brace it against the desk. The doctor smiled and tilted her head to the side, still watching her and Vic hated it when people stared. She especially hated that this woman was doing it because she looked like everyone that stared at her. She was trying to pick her apart, look for the weaknesses and the cracks in her skin and if she asked she would tell her that she only had one weakness and she didn’t know where he was. “Do you always try to close yourself off and push people away, or is it because I’m a doctor?” the woman asked. Vic snorted at the question, tipping her head to the side so she could look past her out the window. “It’s because you’re a special snowflake,” she snapped. She wished the woman would stop staring at her. She wished she would just ask her questions and be done with it so Vic could leave and drop by Simon’s apartment. For a minute she felt anxious and scared because maybe he would be there and he just didn’t want to see her. Maybe he would ask what the fuck she was doing there and tell her to leave and never come back because she’d been good for a fuck but now it was over and maybe Simon would never say that but maybe he would. The doctor surprised her by laughing quietly at her answer. She reached up to pull her glasses of her nose, cleaning them with a rag she pulled out of her jacket pocket. Vic rolled her eyes because she hated the kind of people that wore suits and still kept handkerchiefs in them or whatever and she hated psychiatrists because they thought they had the right to ask all kinds of personal fucking questions and then try to tell her why she was who she was and she didn’t need that kind of analyzing. She pushed the glasses back on her face and then leaned forward again, still fucking staring at her. “You’re probably wondering the reason for this interview,” she said. Vic stared back because she really couldn’t give a damn. The woman waited for a response and when she didn’t get one she smiled and kept going. “You’ve all had extensive gene therapy, a process that’s still in its infancy.” “I noticed,” Vic snapped. “I didn’t figure I was born a werewolf.” The doctor laughed again and Vic decided she didn’t like her laugh because she was trying so hard to be nice and relatable and Vic didn’t need that kind of bullshit. She wished people would just come out and say what the fuck they meant. As soon as she thought it she felt guilty because Simon had come out and told her exactly what he thought and told her exactly what she meant and she’d run away and now she couldn’t find him and she was scared and hurt and she missed him badly. She hadn’t seen him in three days. “No, of course you didn’t,” the doctor said, when her quiet laughter had faded. “Well, anyway, we’re having this conversation because we’re still trying to figure out what the mental effects of that kind of therapy would be. We’re still trying to determine how much the animal genes influence your own thought process and attitudes. Have you noticed any unusual attitudes or cravings?” Vic laughed darkly and shook her head. “What, like the urge to run naked on a full moon? Cravings for red meat or the blood of virgins?” She crossed her legs at the ankle on the woman’s desk and she flicked a glare at her shoes for a moment before it was gone. “Well, yes, anything like that for starters. But there may be more subtle effects. For example, your genes were merged with a wolf’s. Have you experienced any emotions that seem out of the ordinary for you? Any aggressiveness, territorialism, protectiveness? Wolves are pack animals by nature. How are you adjusting to working on a team?” Vic frowned because she’d just thrown the questions at her, but then she just shrugged. “It’s just a job,” she said. She dismissed the question easily but it was true that when she’d first joined she hadn’t wanted anything to do with any of them. The doctor smiled and leaned forward. “Well, that’s true to an extent. But that doesn’t really answer the question. From reading your file I already know that it’s just been you and your dad for most of your life. The Initiative has offered you a new start in more than one sense of the word, and you’re not entirely human anymore. They’re forcing you to work with others on this team. How are you adapting to that? Do you enjoy working with your teammates or would you prefer to continue your solo work for this company?” Vic almost opened her mouth and gave her the smart ass answer but she froze before she did because maybe she would take that as a request to go back to working alone and right now she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She stilled and gave the question actual thought because it would be easier and it would be safer if she was alone. Then all she had to worry about was taking care of herself and maybe if she’d asked her Saturday then she would have said without hesitation that she wanted to be alone again. Only today she was more worried about the possibility that Welsh was hurt and if she was gone who would watch Simon’s back? “I don’t mind working with them,” she said, and she hated how the doctor’s smile widened, like she’d just gone and admitted something important. She frowned and her eyes narrowed at the woman, her fingers still playing with the necklace around her neck. “I’m adapting fine,” she told her a little bit colder. “The only one who isn’t is your Captain Rogers.” The doctor nodded. “You say that because of his numerous conflicts with Simon Welsh, correct?” she said bluntly. Vic was surprised by how forthcoming she was and she didn’t trust it because she didn’t trust anyone. “Yes,” she snapped. “If you call shooting him in the back a conflict.” She didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget the sight of two smoking holes left in Simon’s back. She had thought he was dead. They hadn’t even been together yet and she had been terrified that he was gone and out of her life and now she’d pushed him away because she was damaged and maybe it had hurt him in more ways than one. Her instincts kept screaming at her that something was wrong and maybe he needed her and she was just sitting here. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about Captain Rogers. If he is as unstable as you imply, the company will handle the issue.” Her eyes were still focused on Vic’s, but her hand was moving quickly across a pad of paper as she scribbled notes and Vic wondered what the woman was saying about her. “You have a sexual relationship with Mr. Welsh, correct?” “I don’t see how that’s any of your fucking business,” Vic snarled, hands tightening around the chair because she didn’t expect it. The woman wouldn’t stop smiling. “I only ask because such a relationship can easily become a liability. Do you think that such a relationship would distract either of you from being able to do your job to the best of your abilities?” “No,” she said. She snapped the word out easily but after she did she wondered if it was the truth. She’d dragged him down on the airplane and whether she’d admit it or not, she’d been really fucking distracted when he’d gotten shot in the back. She had frozen because it always scared her when Welsh got hurt and she didn’t like seeing it. She turned her head back towards the window and then she thought about him taking on Gustavo to save her and she thought about her slashing a man’s throat open for shooting at Simon and maybe it was the opposite. Maybe he fought harder for her and she fought harder for him. “I don’t think it’s a liability.” The doctor nodded her head and wrote something else down and Vic thought she should be wondering what the bitch was saying about her but mostly she was just wondering about Simon. She wondered if he was okay and where he’d gone and she wanted him back but she didn’t know what had happened to him in the first place. All she knew was that she missed him. She missed his arms around her and his mouth against her neck and she missed the sound of his voice in the morning. She wouldn’t say she loved him. She wouldn’t say that because she didn’t know what that word meant and once she said it she couldn’t take it back and maybe it wasn’t true. But she wanted him badly and she missed him when he was gone and just being around him made her life better. She rubbed her arms up and down her shoulders and glanced at the woman. “Are we done?” she asked. The doctor glanced up and studied her for a moment and then she nodded her head. “For now.” Wenston The guard came by to drop off a plate of bread and Simon could only stare at it from across the room. He was huddled in the corner, shivering and coughing and every time he coughed, it pulled at the wound on his side, sending pain shooting up his ribs. He thought maybe it had been two days, or three. He couldn’t really tell because he didn’t know how long he’d been drugged and unconscious. He couldn’t tell what time of day it was because his jail cell had no windows and he couldn’t see the sun to know. It felt late. It felt like nighttime but he couldn’t even trust that sense because he was halfway across the world from New York and maybe there it was night and here it was morning. He wondered if Vic missed him. He wondered if she waited for him to show up at 12:01 with his coffee and his latte and maybe she was just glad he wasn’t coming over because he was the asshole who’d taken their relationship too far too fast and he was just an attached, self centered bastard who ruined the best thing they’d had going for them. Maybe Alexey would miss him. He’d supposed to have had dinner with his brother at a sub joint because Alexey could eat a footlong like no other person Simon knew and yeah, he used to make crude jokes about that. Maybe Alexey would be pissed that he’d stand him up, because Simon never stood up his brother. He never let Alexey down if he could help it and he was just letting down everyone he knew and he wouldn’t blame them if they never wanted to talk to him again. Maybe they’d never get the chance. The wound on his side seemed to pulse with his heartbeat. It got worse the longer he sat in this dark, dank cell and when Simon dipped his head to pull the torn shirt up to look at it, he’d see the awful, jagged stitches they’d put in his skin that weren’t professional at all. He’d see the red, inflamed edges of the lacerations and it looked awful and smelled worse. He knew it wasn’t good. He knew the yellow skin around the cuts wasn’t natural and it wasn’t just bruising. He could tell he had a fever. He could tell by the sweat trickling down the back of his neck and the sides of his face and how he still shivered despite being so hot and a moment later he’d be freezing. His lungs hurt. His throat was raw from the coughing and his chest felt like someone was sitting on it constantly and it was hard to breathe sometimes. His eyes felt sunken and heavy and he was just waiting for a time when he closed them and they didn’t open back up. He wondered if the Initiative would just cut their loses or if his mother would have a body to bury. She already had his funeral planned out, it wouldn’t be that hard for her. She’d had it planned out the day he got sick. The door to the cell opened and Simon cracked his eyes open, expecting to see the man who’d been interrogating him from day one. He was surprised to see two guards escorting another prisoner into the cell. They shoved him in and the man fell to his knees. Simon sucked in a breath because there were burns along the man’s arms and over his face and it looked like they were just in centralized spots, like he’d been electrocuted. Simon swallowed hard and didn’t move. He looked up at the guards and one of them just kicked the man in the ribs and then they were walking out of the cell, slamming the door shut behind them. Simon’s eyes fell back to the man on the ground and he was surprised to see him pushing himself to his hands and knees. He didn’t know how the man could do that, because his burns looked awful. The man’s eyes rose and focused on Simon and then he glared and spat something in Chinese to him. “I don’t understand,” Simon croaked and it was the first thing he’d said since that first day. The words were painful coming out of his throat and the man just started speaking louder and faster in Chinese and Simon couldn’t tell if he was angry or scared or what he even wanted because Chinese was one language he didn’t know anything about. Maybe he should learn it if he got out of here. “I don’t understand you,” Simon said again. The man’s face fell into a snarl and then he was launching himself across the small cell towards Simon. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know why this man was attacking him or if he was a shifter, but he only had time to bring his hands up before the man was wrapping his scarred, dirty hands around the collar of Simon’s shirt and shaking him. He was screaming in his face, spit flying form his lips and Simon didn’t understand what he was screaming because the man wasn’t comprehending that Simon didn’t speak his fucking language. “Stop,” Simon said because as the man shook him, it was sending pain spiking through his stomach and up his back and across his ribs. His head was pounding and the world was fuzzy around him. Simon tried to grab at the man’s wrists, but when he did, the man’s burnt skin flaked off onto Simon’s hands and he let out a cry because he didn’t want to hurt this prisoner, he’d already killed another one and he didn’t want to hurt this one too. “Stop,” Simon told him again. Then the man did as he asked, but not because he understood Simon. He started sobbing. Simon just watched, wide eyed and a little slow on understanding because his head was fuzzy and his temperature was high he thought maybe he was dying. But the man was sobbing and then he was ducking his head and lean it against Simon’s shoulder and he was crying into Simon’s shoulder. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what was wrong or what this man was here for or why they had tortured him. But this was another human being and at one time, that had meant something to Simon. Before he’d joined the Initiative, another person’s life had been something worth fighting for. It still was. He had to convinced himself of that. He brought his hands around and set one on the man’s shoulder and the other on the man’s back and he tried to give him whatever comfort he could, but he didn’t know what to do or say because there wasn’t understanding passing between them. The man just kept sobbing and sobbing. After a while, he quieted and Simon tried not to feel awkward because this prisoner wasn’t letting him go. His burned, injured hands had a death grip on Simon’s shirt, like if he held on tight enough, nothing in the world could hurt him. Simon tried to get a look at the man’s face and underneath the burns and the bruises, he figured the guy must be young. Younger than Simon, maybe younger than Alexey. He was Chinese, Simon was sure. The door to the cell opened again and Simon looked up to see his interrogator standing there, a sadistic smirk on his face. He spat something in Chinese and then guards were coming into the cell. The man in Simon’s arms screamed and tried to keep his death grip on Simon, but the guards were yanking him away and then hitting him across the face with batons. “Stop,” Simon told them. “You don’t have to do that,” he tried, but his pleads were broken by a coughing fit. He tried to push himself to his feet, but a couple of the guards came over to him and started yanking his hands behind his back. They crossed his arms high behind his back and tied them with a rope. He fought against the rope that was tied around his neck and attached to the one holding his arms behind him, but when he tried to move his arms, the rope choked him so he stilled immediately, watching as the same thing was done to the prisoner in front of him. They were lead out of the cell after that. Simon could barely manage to stay on his feet, staggering and his head swirling as they moved him. The wound on his side had stopped bleeding a while ago, but it was still oozing and his shirt stuck painfully to it. They were lead to a courtyard and Simon nearly broke when he saw the two posts on the other side of the yard. He watched the prisoner be lead to one and then he was lead to another. He was forced to his knees and held there as a blindfold was put over his eyes. The ropes attached to his wrist and neck were tied to the post and he couldn’t move or pull away without choking himself. He laid his head against the post and he knew enough about the world to know what an execution looked like and it looked like this. There was a familiar feeling coursing through his veins. That dread when he knew he was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. It was like lying in a hospital bed looking at tombstones with your mother. It was like watching your life slip between your fingers because no one wanted to be around someone who was sick. This was what dying felt like and he was well familiar with it, but it never made it easier. The prisoner tied to the post beside him was crying and begging and sobbing. Simon swallowed and he wouldn’t do any of that. He wouldn’t beg for his life. He fought to survive, but he knew when there wasn’t a way out of this that he could fight for. He knew when he was beat and this time, his brother wasn’t here with a pamphlet that held his salvation. A gunshot tore through the air and something wet and hot splattered across Simon’s face. He gasped because the crying, screaming and begging stopped immediately. He fell backwards a little, the rope around his neck pulling painfully and choking off his air. He struggled to get himself back to a kneeling position and when the pressure was off his neck, he started coughing, his already sore lungs burning with every breath he took. He waited for the bullet. He waited for the gunshot and for the pain, but it never came. He tried to listen for something, anything. The cocking of a gun, the quiet orders of the man who’d been interrogating him, but there was nothing. He couldn’t hear a thing over the beating of his own heart. “Simon Welsh,” the man’s voice came and Simon startled violently, a gasp escaping his throat involuntarily. He felt the man’s hand on his shoulder and then his other hand was pressing hard into the wound on his side and he grit his teeth, biting back the cry that was threatening to pull it’s way from his lips. “Sleep well.” Then the man let go and Simon panicked for a moment, not understanding, but he heard them all leaving. He heard them all walking away and he was out in this courtyard in the sun, tied to a post where he had to stay kneeling or he’d strangle himself to death. He half expected the shot to come and for it to be a joke. But it never did. It never came. .Wolfie. Vic had every intention of going over to Simon’s and finding out if he was there and just avoiding them or if he was lying dead on his living room floor or if it was just as empty as she’d left it. Maybe if she hadn’t left then she wouldn’t be so scared and uncertain right now. Maybe he would have come home to her and they could have talked and he could have told her what it meant when he said he loved her and she could have believed him when he said it was okay she didn’t say it back. As soon as she walked out of the psychologist’s office she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Elias was waiting for her, leaning against the wall and reading a file over in his hands. He glanced up when she exited and that cruel smile curled across his lips. She hated it. She hated him and she felt exhausted as soon as she saw him. “Victoria,” he said, closing the file and straightening his back. He adjusted his tie even though it was never out of place and then he handed her the file. “Report to the briefing room within half an hour,” he told her, and she was surprised that was all he said. He turned and started walking away and she watched him go with a frown on her face. “Elias,” she snapped. “What is this?” Her eyes went to the file in her hands and she flipped it open, not understanding what she was looking at. It was the layout of a Chinese prison and she realized slowly that this must be for a mission and then she wondered why the fuck he’d handed this to her. Wasn’t he supposed to give these things to Avi or if not him, at least Simon? Why the fuck was he handing it to her? She flipped through it quickly and there was a roster of security guards and inmates and none of the names meant anything to her and she didn’t understand why she was holding it. A chill went down her spine and she wondered if they would be sending her there. Elias glanced over his shoulder at her and the smile was playing across his lips but she couldn’t read the look he was giving her. He sighed and looked away from her, but he was still standing in the hallway. “I never gave you anything, Victoria,” he told her. The frown deepened and she was just confused now because she didn’t know what he was talking about. Their awful excuse for a relationship? He cleared his throat and said it again. “I never put that in your hands. Do you understand?” She nodded slowly as it sunk in what he was telling her, but she didn’t understand why. She watched him as he walked down the hallway and she looked back at the file in her hands and she was really fucking confused now. Was this a set up? She was thinking about that and she was thinking about a thousand other things as she headed down to the locker room. She wasn’t sure what else to do with the file so she hid it in there for now and pulled a hoodie out of her locker to pull it over her head. She didn’t understand why Elias had given it to her but she would probably find out in half an hour. Maybe she would see Simon then. Even if he was avoiding her and avoiding Alexey, he wouldn’t blow off a mission. He cared too much and not showing could get his contract terminated. If that ever happened it wouldn’t just be him that suffered. They might cut Alexey too and she didn’t think Welsh could ever risk that. He had to be there. Unless he’d gone and transferred out of their team, then he would be there and maybe she would get a chance to talk to him before the mission or maybe he would just tell her to fuck off but either way she would get to see him and hear him and know that he was okay and she’d just been overreacting. She shoved her hands in her hoodie pockets and made her way to the briefing room. She tried to ignore the pounding of her heart and the desperate hope that when she walked into the room Simon would be there and she would know what had happened to him one way or another. She was trying to ignore the itch between her shoulders and the churning of her gut that were telling her in no uncertain terms that something was wrong here and something bad had happened because she just wanted him to be okay. Lyle was the only one there when she got there and he was already slumped on his usual sofa. She wondered where he lived and what his deal was because she didn’t know shit about him except he was a little bit off and possibly on drugs. He was awake this time at least, and he looked up at her with a smile. He studied his face for a moment and then the grin pulled his lips wider apart. “I heard a rumor,” he said, lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back on the sofa. “A little bird told me that we’re having some… restructuring done. Maybe we’ll get some fresh blood out of it.” “A little bird told you? Was this before or after you ate it?” she snapped, perching on the arm of the couch. He laughed and tipped his head back against the sofa as he closed those weird fucking eyes of his. “Before, of course. I couldn’t really hear what it said afterwards. Its wings were flapping too loudly.” She snorted and wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to pretend she wasn’t anxious and scared. She tried to pretend that she hadn’t been lying to that psychologist when she said that Simon wasn’t a distraction but right now he was. He was all she could think about and all she’d been able to think about for days because the last time she’d seen him he’d been telling her that he loved her and she was his world and she hadn’t seen him since. Her head rose from her knees when the door opened and she watched as Jezibel made her way into the room. The girl smiled when she saw her and Vic managed to smile back but it felt like a lie on her face. She settled into the armchair she usually took and a few minutes after that Alexey and Tony made their way in and for once Alexey wasn’t being a loud and obnoxious asshole. His gaze flicked to Vic and then to the empty couch next to her and his eyes narrowed in concern because it wasn’t like his brother to be late or to not show and something had to be wrong. It had to be. Maybe he could just toss her aside but not Alexey. Alexey was blood. He was the only family that had stuck by Simon when he was sick and she knew that because he’d told her that several times and there was no way that he would just bail on his brother like that without a word. Something was wrong. The two of them settled down on the couch next to her and in the next moment the door was opening and Elias was letting himself into the briefing room. His hands were empty and Vic didn’t understand because she thought this was going to be a mission. He glanced up at them and he smirked but it didn’t reach his eyes. He had a cold, serious look on his face and Vic rested her chin on her knees as she watched him. “Well, now that we’re all here we can begin,” he said, and the words were like a slap to the face. “Um, we’re not all here,” Alexey said sharply. “In case you haven’t noticed, my brother’s not here.” “That’s because he’s not coming,” Elias said, just as sharply. Alexey’s eyes widened and she couldn’t even find it funny that no one was asking about Avi being absent as well. She saw his mouth open but Elias didn’t give him the chance to finish. “Friday night, Mr. Welsh was sent on a solo mission to a Chinese prison. Only two other people were aware of it, myself and Captain Rogers.” Vic was having a hard time breathing because she didn’t like where this was going. Elias had sent him on a mission by himself. To a Chinese prison. She’d thought prison was bad enough but it wasn’t anything compared to what they did to prisoners overseas and she had to fight to keep the air moving in and out of her lungs as she waited to find out what had happened but she thought she could already guess. Only Avi had known about it and everyone knew that Avi fucking hated Welsh. He’d put two bullets in his back for fuck’s sake, and now he’d been sent to a prison where no one was there to watch his back. “You sent him there by himself?” Alexey squawked, and it would have been funny if she didn’t now exactly how he felt. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Is he still there? Did you get my brother killed, because I swear to Christ if you got him killed…” “Don’t threaten me, Mr. Romanova,” Elias snapped, and something like a snarl curled his lips. “I am not in a lenient mood today.” He cleared his throat and swept the room with his gaze again, crossing his arms under his chest and she didn’t understand why he was the one that looked pissed. “Welsh was compromised as soon as he got in the doors. Possibly as soon as he left the States.” “Is he alright?” Jezibel asked, and Vic tried not to think that she should have been the one asking the question. Her knuckles were white as she clung to her knees and she was trying to focus on what he was saying but she couldn’t. She was just thinking about Simon stuck in a Chinese prison and her hand came up to cover her mouth because she was picturing him tortured or mutilated or dead and maybe if she’d waited for him she would have known the first day that something was wrong and she had just left him there. “I doubt it, Ms. Givessi,” Elias said coldly. “As I said, Captain Rogers and myself were the only ones aware of where he was going, so it has become apparent to us that Captain Rogers can no longer do his job competently or without bias. Indeed, it is the current assumption of myself and the men above me that he is responsible for the errors and failures that have come before on your team. Therefore his contract has been terminated.” Vic wanted to be happy about the words but she was still thinking about Simon and her eyes rose to Elias because that fucking asshole had set him up to take the fall jus to get rid of Avi and she was going to kill him. Later she would think about how mad she was that Simon hadn’t told her. Later she would be pissed that he’d asked her to stay and he wouldn’t have come home to her anyway but she would say all that to him once she got him back. “And what the fuck is going to happen to Simon?” she asked, her voice a low growl. His gaze went to her and she saw something dark in them but she didn’t really care what he was thinking. All she cared about was Simon and if he wasn’t strong enough to come back to her then she would have to go fucking get him because he was hers and she was his and that’s all there was to it. “The official word is that the United States government can’t risk an incident with the Chinese. Alliances with them can be shaky at the best of times, and breaking into a prison would aggravate tensions between both nations.” The words were hard and cold and her eyes narrowed at him and for a moment all she could think was that she hated him and she was going to fucking kill him because this was all his fault. “That is the government’s official order and unfortunately we must abide by it. Despite how… distressed the Initiative would be at losing two of its investments within such a short period of time.” “So that’s it?” Alexey snarled, jerking to his feet. “You’re just going to leave him there? Do you have any idea what they’d do to him there? They’re going to kill him! You’re just leaving my brother to die!” His face was contorted in rage and hurt and his hands were curled into fists. She kept waiting for him to fly at Elias and the man just crossed his arms over his chest as Alexey raved at him. She wondered how he could look so fucking calm and she wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t thinking about killing him herself. “That’s it, Mr. Romanova,” he said coldly. “As I said, we cannot order any official rescue operation and we cannot acknowledge any terrorist operation that might take it upon themselves to fly there within in an hour and bring him back.” His head turned to the side and he looked at Victoria, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Do I make myself clear?” “No, you don’t fucking make yourself clear,” Alexey growled. “That’s my brother you son of a bitch and I didn’t sign him up for this just to get him killed. I signed him up to save his life.” “Alexey,” Vic said quietly. “Shut the fuck up and let’s go.” She was thinking about Elias’s words and the bastard always had to be so fucking cagey and underhanded it was ridiculous. She thought about the file waiting for her in her locker and what he had said to her after he handed it off. It was nice that he thought he needed to help and spell it out for them but she didn’t give a fuck if he’d given her the file or not. That was her Simon and she was going to bring him home. Wenston Simon didn’t even know how long he’d been tied here, kneeling by the post with someone else’s blood on his face. The rope was tight around his neck because his back was strained and stiff and he could barely hold himself up. His wrists were raw and his lungs ached, his cough wet and it seemed to tear up from his chest and out his mouth. His head was spinning and he was fairly certain it was him and not the world around him, because he was used to fever and sickness. He was used to it, but that didn’t mean he liked it. When he was sick, he’d thought it strange that the thing that most made him sick was what was supposed to be helping him. The chemotherapy, the radiation, it had made him so sick he couldn’t get off the couch. He didn’t miss those days. He didn’t miss the days of waking up and not knowing what day it was or what hour it was or whether today would be the last day. Not that life was much different than that, especially now that he was a part of the Initiative and they sent him on missions like this one, where every day could be the last. But it was better to think that he had some control over it. He could fight back. When he was sick, there was no fighting back. And this felt like that. This felt like there was no fighting back and there was no escaping. The ropes around his wrists and his neck were tight and held him firmly in place and if he so much as lost consciousness or went slack for any other reason, he’d hang himself here on this post, stuck on his knees with someone else’s blood on his face. It rained for a bit while he was tied to the post. It seemed to wash some of the blood from his face and it was cool on his feverish skin, but it did nothing for the hot and cold sweats. He shivered beneath the rain and he was trying his hardest to think of anything other than where he was and that he was alone and didn’t know if anyone knew he needed help. If anyone knew how much he needed them. He focused on the rain and everything that had happened to him in the rain. He thought a lot about Vic, because she looked so beautiful in it. He thought about her standing in the falling rain with her face towards the sky, the water running over her face and over her skin and soaking her clothes and her hair. He thought about her running through it and her hand slipping into his and he thought about kissing her in the rain and he wished she was here now because he’d give anything to see her. He’d give anything to just feel her hands on him. He must have stayed tied to the post all night. When the rain stopped, it was replaced by sun and he wanted to think it was better than being in a dark cell, but it was hot and burned down on him and he was sweating and feverish and he’d give anything to be home again. He’d give anything to wake up and have this all be a dream, have this all be some nightmare. By the time he heard footsteps on the ground behind him, he was only half conscious. He was only slightly aware that there was someone there and the only reason he didn’t give in completely was because if he did, he’d die and even if he was sick and felt awful, he still didn’t want to die. The blindfold was pulled roughly off his face and he had to blink heavily against the sun and the sudden light assaulting his eyes. His eyes weren’t even focused yet before someone grabbed his jaw roughly and yanked his head backwards. The rope tugged tightly against his throat and he looked up into the face of his interrogator. “Good morning, Simon Welsh,” the man said, that cruel smile back on his face. Simon hated that look on him and he hated this man. “Did you have a nice night?” Simon swallowed thickly and it was so hard to do so he didn’t think he’d be able to say a word. He wouldn’t anyway, because he never answered this man when he asked him something. He never begged or pleaded with him and the only time he’d asked anything of him was to stop hurting the other prisoner and that had been a moment of weakness for him. It wouldn’t happen again. The man waited for an answer, but when he figured he wasn’t getting one, he snapped Simon’s head forward into the post. Stars burst behind his eyes and the world spun and darkened around him, blood trickling down his forehead, over his nose. The man pulled his head back again and leaned over him, looking down. “Simon Welsh,” the man said again. “American spy. Do you have a family?” Simon stilled at the words and he focused on what the man was saying because he didn’t like where this was going. He didn’t like that the man was asking personal questions. “Do you have a wife? A child? Do you live in a big house?” When Simon didn’t answer, the man snapped his head forward again. Pain erupted behind his eyes and for a moment he went slack against his bonds. He choked and coughed and if it weren’t for the man’s hand wrapped tightly in his hair, he would have been strangled. “Do you have a family?” the man asked again as he pulled his head back and looked down at his face. Simon remained quiet and he thought this was the part where they would have enough. This was the part where they’d realize he wasn’t going to tell them anything and they’d shoot him in the back of the head because he was still tied to the execution post. The man sighed and tilted his head to the side, like he was studying Simon. “Who knows you’re here? Who knows where you went? Who will they send?” He growled when Simon remained silent and he slammed Simons head twice more into the post before saying, “When they come, they will die. And anyone you told, will die too.” The man smiled cruelly and then let go of him and Simon had to fight to hold himself up on his own knees. He listened to the man retreat and he was left alone, still tied to the post. He leaned his head against it and he felt the sun beating down on him and the sweat and blood trickling down his face and his neck and his back. His side was on fire and his hands were numb. He thought about what the man said, about if anyone came for him, they’d be killed and Simon didn’t like that thought. He didn’t know who was coming for him and he didn’t like that he was still tied here, out in the open and this felt like he was the bait. This felt like it was a trap and he didn’t know if he should wish someone came or wish they’d just stay home and keep their distance. He wished he’d never accepted this stupid mission and he wished he was at home, with Vic and Alexey and Tony and Jez and they were eating burritos and watching movies. He closed his eyes and sat there beneath the sun shivering and sweating and he wished he was strong enough to get out of this himself. But he didn’t think he was. .Wolfie. It was nighttime in China when they landed and Vic had forgotten that she was supposed to be afraid of flying. She’d spent the flight in the copilot’s seat and she realized that she didn’t even know the name of the man flying the thing. He didn’t talk to her and she didn’t talk to him and if she could have just flown the damn thing to China herself she would have. She stared out the window during the trip and she wasn’t terrified of crashing and burning because that wasn’t an option. They had to make it there because if they didn’t then no one was going to get Simon and he was going to stay in that prison and rot. She didn’t want to think about what they might be doing to him. She didn’t want to think that a few months ago he’d been this yoga instructor who’d only seen guns in movies and television and couldn’t take a punch because he’d never been in a fight in his life. He wasn’t that man anymore. He was her Simon and she needed him to be strong and she needed him to be alive for her. She didn’t know what lies the pilot told the Chinese government to get them inside their borders but she didn’t really care. Her hands were tight around the gun in her hand and she was just thinking about what waited for her on the other side of a concrete wall. The people that had hurt him were going to die. She knew that much with a cold certainty. She didn’t care if they thought they were good guys or bad guys or just doing their job. She didn’t care that maybe they had families or kids because it was too late to worry about that now. They should have thought about that before they hurt the one thing in this world that meant anything to her. “What’s the plan?” Alexey asked, leaning up between the seats. They’d been stuck on the helicopter for hours while it flew overseas and she had barely spoken to any of them. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he looked anxious, but she didn’t think he was scared about what was coming. She thought he was scared about getting there and finding his brother dead and she wanted to tell him that wasn’t going to happen but that wasn’t a promise she could make. Her eyes went past him into the rest of the helicopter and she could see Jezibel and Tony sitting there quietly, faces veiled and determined. She studied Jezibel because it wasn’t so long ago that they’d all stuck their necks out for her and she wondered if this was her way of repaying the favor because she wasn’t sure she would have been here before that happened. Tony was staring at the floor, big hands holding the gun and she figured he would just go wherever Alexey went. Lyle was the only one absent and she’d almost gutted him when he said he wasn’t coming. He’d just shrugged and said “Sorry, I’m not allowed in China.” “Fine,” she’d growled back, and then he’d gone home while the rest of the changed quickly in the locker room. As far as their government was concerned, they were a terrorist group acting on their own and she was fine with that. It meant she could do what she wanted. It meant she didn’t have to play nice or be sneaky. It meant she could go in there and kill every motherfucker that tried to get in her way. “Simple smash and grab,” she told Alexey, eyes glancing back at his face. He was staring out the window as the countryside flew underneath them and she wondered how long it would take for the Chinese government to launch an aerial assault against them once they got in there. They would have to be really fucking fast. He snorted and nodded his head. “Works for me,” he told her, hand gripping the back of her seat. He looked out the front window and his face was a mix of determination and fear and she thought she could understand that. She turned her head away and she thought about crouching in front of Simon once and telling him that she wouldn’t die for him even as she stayed with him. She didn’t think that was true anymore. The realization hit her hard in the chest because it was stupid and irrational and weak and pops had always told her that nothing and no one was worth dying for but Welsh was the one exception to every rule she’d lived by. She saw the prison on the horizon a second before the radio crackled to life. She heard someone’s voice bark out a sharp command in Chinese and she wondered what he was saying and if it really mattered. She glanced at the pilot’s face and he looked like this was just another day at the office for him. “What’s your name?” she asked, and his head tilted over at her for a second before he looked back at where he was going. She wondered if he was a shifter or just a guy and she wondered if he was the same pilot that had taken them to Brazil and Albuquerque and Canada. She wondered if this was going to be his last job and she hoped not. “Don’t worry about that, sweetheart,” he drawled, and he had a thick southern accent. “You just do your thing and I’ll do mine and we’ll all get paid at the end of the day.” Alexey snorted and Vic smirked at the response before she turned her attention back to the prison before them. The radio crackled again and the same man’s voice yelled at them but she didn’t know what he was saying. The pilot sighed and reached forward, clicking it to the left and cutting the man off midsentence. “Take out that wall,” she said, jerking her head at the concrete barrier ahead of them. The pilot smirked and she tried to pay attention to what he was doing because she was trying to learn how to fly one of these fucking things and the ones that Pat took her out in didn’t come with missiles. This one did. This one sent one through the air in a blast of fire and smoke before it struck the wall. The blast was loud and bright in her eyes and it made her smile because they weren’t going to know what fucking hit them. She heard Alexey laugh behind her as they created a smoking crater where the wall used to be. The helicopter circled over head and Vic watched as the men shouted and scrambled to move underneath them. Most of them were running towards the fire growing on the eastern wall and that was the point. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and she told herself that it was because of the adrenaline beginning to run through her system because she was about to kill a lot of people. She told herself that Simon would be here and he would be okay and then the helicopter was settling on the ground with a jolt. The southern man tilted his head to the side at her. “My orders are to give you fifteen minutes and then leave. So get gone.” “You better fucking be here when we get back,” she spat at him, and then she was kicking the door open and jumping down onto the grass. She heard the side slide open and Tony and Jez were coming out with guns in their hands and determined looks on their faces. Alexey followed her out the cockpit door and she tried not to think how strange it was that neither Avi or Simon was here to tell them what to do or how to do it. Vic wasn’t a planner. She was just a killer, and now she just had to do what she did best. “Tony,” she said, jerking her head towards the wall. The fire was on the other side of the prison and she could hear yelling behind the concrete as they ran to handle that disaster. Behind her the helicopter roared as it lifted back up into the sky to keep circling and she tried not to be concerned when she heard yelling and the sound of bullets pinging off the side of it. The bull shifter frowned in concentration and she watched as horns rose from his head and his shoulder widened and bulked out. Tony was already a big guy, but as a bull shifter he was even bigger. She watched his feet dig into the grass and then he was charging. He struck the wall with a loud bang and she winced at the sound of it because if it was her that would fucking hurt, and because she was worried the noise would draw attention to them instead of on the disaster they’d left on the other end. A crack ran up the side of the wall but it didn’t break and he snorted in irritation, backing up and ducking his head again. The man didn’t even look like it hurt him. It didn’t even look like he cared that he’d literally slammed his head against a brick wall. He charged it again and this time there was a rumble and a crash as he punched a hole through it. She felt a smile tug at her lips because the big guy was backing up to take another run at it. He put his shoulder into it and she couldn’t help but be impressed when he knocked a section of all out onto the grass and mud beyond it. She heard shouting as soon as it happened and then he ducked against the ground a moment before gunfire rattled the side of the building. She slid up next to him, trying to peek around the corner at whoever was shooting at them. She didn’t get a chance to see because Alexey moved up next to her and hurled a flashbang into the prison before she got a good look. She turned her head away a second before it exploded in light and sound and then Romanova was charging inside with his gun going off in his arms. Any doubt she’d had that he would take a bullet for his brother was gone because there was no hesitation as he shot down the two guards that had been firing at them. The bullets ripped through them and they were hitting the ground hard in a pile of blood and gore and there was no remorse on his face for effectively gutting someone with his bullets. She couldn’t say there was any on hers either. They moved quickly into the prison and now she was feeling worried because she wasn’t sure where they’d be keeping him. The place was in chaos and they only had a limited amount of time before the helicopter left. She didn’t care. If the others had to bail to make sure they got a flight out of this place they could, but she wasn’t leaving without Simon. A man came around the corner of the building and he shouted and pointed when he saw them. Vic’s gun cut him down before he could do more than that but it was enough to have the door to their left slamming open. Five men poured out right next to them and their eyes widened when they saw the four of them. Tony didn’t hesitate to pick up the man closest to him and he roared as he lifted him over his head and smashed him hard against the wall. There was a crack as his skull met the concrete and she thought the man was dead before Tony threw him across the grass. She saw a gun raise and point at her head but by then she was moving, her arm snapping up and knocking the gun away from her head. Her M-4 clattered to the ground abandoned as her knife ripped out of its sheath. The blade arced forward across his throat and warm blood splattered her face. Jezibel was moving in a flash of platinum blonde, her leg kicking out and hitting the butt of the man’s gun. It twisted in his hand and then hers were snapping out to catch it, firing his bullets back into his chest. He stumbled back against the wall, holes riddling his skin and his eyes going empty and dead before he even hit the ground. Alexey managed to bring his own gun up to knock away the one aiming for his face but then the man pulled a nightstick from his side and brought it down hard against his shoulder. He yelled and dropped to one knee and Vic saw his face contort with rage a second before he launched himself into the man’s chest. She wanted to tell him not to grapple but she didn’t think he’d listen to her because in the next moment he was ripping the thing out of the man’s head and bringing it down hard over his head again and again. “Where the fuck is Simon?” he yelled, and she didn’t think he was even aware he was saying it. His eyes were dark and there was nothing but hate in them as he bashed the man’s face in with his own weapon. She turned towards the last man, flipping the bloody knife in her hand and she was about to gut him when he held his hands up. “Welsh?” he said, his accent thick and broken. He took a stumbling step back and he tripped over the body of one of the men behind him. He glanced down scared at that and then back up at the four bloodied people in front of him, holding his arms higher in the air. “American?” he asked, glancing from face to face as they all stared at him. Vic took a step forward, her heart suddenly slamming against her rib cage and her knifepoint buried itself in the corner of his neck. “Where?” she demanded, her voice harsh and desperate because if he said he was dead then everyone in this prison died. He licked his lips and he didn’t answer with words but his arm pointed and that was enough. Wenston Simon was having trouble telling what was real and what wasn’t. The pain was real, he was sure of that. It tore its way across his side and each breath he took burned. The air was ragged and wheezing as he tried to keep it flowing in and out of his lungs and he thought this was what was called after drowning. Where he had water in his lungs that hadn’t been tended to and now his body was trying to fight against it by shutting down his lungs. He thought that was a pretty stupid survival mechanism, because wouldn’t the body know that without lungs it wouldn’t survive? He wondered who made up the human body because there were some definite flaws that needed to be worked out. For a while, he thought about God and though he’d never been a really religious man, he’d always believed in him. He tried to figure out what God thought about the Shifter Initiative and he didn’t think he’d like it very much. He didn’t think he’d appreciate anyone trying to change or rewrite his work because he’d created humans with a very specific design in mind and then they’d gone and changed everything up. But then, why did God give them the ability to think and reason and create science if he didn’t want them to explore the possibilities and the wonders of the world? He knew he was losing it because he only ever though philosophically when something was bothering him. And being tied to a post, with his hands crossed high behind his back, tied to his neck, definitely counted as something that would bother him. Having cancer was something else that bothered him and so was telling a girl he loved her and not having the time to talk about it when she freaked out. Not being given the chance to explain that it didn’t matter if she could say the words back or not, he would still love her - that bothered him. He must have drifted off for a little while, because when he woke up, it was to a loud sound of an explosion. He wasn’t sure if he’d heard it right or not because the sound had him jerking and then he was struggling to draw air into his lungs as the rope tightened around his neck. He gagged and choked and when he righted himself, the rope loosening, he broke into a coughing fit and he was spitting up mucus that left an awful aftertaste in his mouth that told him he probably had an infection in his lungs. The wound on his side was beyond bothersome, so much so that he’d had to mentally block out the fact that anything was wrong with his side or else he’d go crazy. Or maybe that was just a sign of going crazy. The claw marks were oozing, the skin red and inflamed and warm to the touch. The skin had hardened around the wound and the stitches they’d put in had pulled and ripped at his skin because they’d been put in poorly and he didn’t even think they used medical stitches. He thought they’d just used some sort of wire. He was sick. He hated it, but he knew it was true. He was sick and he was probably on his way to death’s door if things didn’t change soon and that scared him more than he cared to admit. He wasn’t scared of death, he was just scared of the way he would die and he hoped it wasn’t flat on his back in a hospital bed or alone in some Chinese prison with people waiting for him in the States who didn’t even know he was gone. If he concentrated hard enough, he thought he could hear gunshots. He wasn’t sure where they were coming from or why they would even be coming. Maybe someone was trying to escape and he wondered how well they’d do if they had to go over the wall with the barbed wire and glass. That would probably mess them up pretty bad. His eyes cracked open and his face sore and his head was pounding. He wanted to lay down so badly. He was tired of kneeling, his body was spent and he didn’t think he’d be able to keep it up for much longer, but he wanted to know what the gunshots were for because maybe he could hitch a ride out of here if it was someone come to break someone out. Maybe he could convince them to take him with, or maybe he could pay them for the ride. He could clean out his trust fund. “You know why she couldn’t say it back, don’t you?” Simon frowned and concentrated on where the voice was coming from. He had to blink several times, but finally his eyes focused on the man who was tied to the other pole. He had a bullet hole in the back of his head and his forehead was just a gaping hole where his brains had blown out of his head. But his eyes were open and they were looking at Simon and he realized it was the prisoner they’d shot whose blood was on Simon’s face and who’d been sobbing on his shoulder the previous day. He knew he must be hallucinating this, but it gave him something to think about, something to concentrate on other than how exhausted and in pain he was. “What?” SImon croaked, his lips chapped and his throat parched. He coughed afterwards and he had to tip his head to the side to spit up mucus. The prisoner smiled and he was speaking in perfect English and it sounded a lot like Simon’s own voice. “I asked if you knew why she couldn’t say it back to you,” the prisoner said, blood dripping from his head. Simon frowned and he really didn’t want to talk to a dead man about this, but he knew what the guy was talking about. He was talking about Vic. He was talking about how stupid Simon had been to blurt out that he loved her out of the blue and he should have saved it for a time when it was right. Not while she was making him dinner, not while they weren’t doing anything special. But everything he did with her was special to him. He fucking loved that girl. The prisoner laughed cruelly. “She doesn’t love you,” he said and Simon closed his eyes again because he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear this from a dead guy. “She doesn’t love you because how could she?” he sneered. “Look at you. You’re on borrowed time and you’re weak. Look at all she’s been through. Do you think she could possibly love someone who doesn’t know how that feels? You’re nothing but a fuck to her,” the prisoner said, his voice morphing into Vic’s. Simon opened his eyes and glared at the dead man hanging from the pole. “Shut up,” he growled low in his throat. The man just laughed. “And that brother of yours? How excited do you think he’ll be to get rid of you? He gave up everything for you, and for what? So you can put his life in danger every single day? You’re pathetic.” Simon turned his head away, his face pressed against the pole. He could hear shouting and gunshots and there was the smell of smoke in the air and he wondered again what was going on. He was just so fucking hot and so fucking tired and he had a dead guy mocking him and telling him all of his subconscious fears. He coughed violently and it left him gasping for air afterwards and it seemed to get harder and harder to breath every time he coughed. "Eventually they'll all leave," the prisoner said. "They'll all realize how pathetic and weak you are and they'd leave. They'll walk away and never look back." Simon shook his head and the next words drew a small cry from his lips. "Just like your Dad." "Fuck you," Simon choked out. “You should have died,” the prisoner said and Simon whimpered a little at that. “You should have just rolled over and died in that hospital bed.” There was a part of him that agreed with the dead guy. Simon was starting to go slack, the rope pressing hard into his throat as he began to sink towards the ground and he didn’t even have the strength to pull himself back up to save his own life and the prisoner was right. He was weak. How could anyone want him? How could he expect Vic to love someone like him? How could he expect his brother to keep sticking around through all this shit that kept happening? He barely registered the hands on his back. He realized he could hear something other than shouting and gunshots and fire. He could hear other voices, much closer and then the hands were pulling him upwards so he wasn’t choking. He coughed violently, leaving him wheezing and gasping afterwards and he could feel the hands working on the rope binding him to the pole. He tried to pry his eyes open. They opened slowly and were heavy and there was darkness on the edges of his vision but when his eyes focused, he could make out a face and he thought he was still hallucinating because it looked an awful lot like Vic. .Wolfie. “You’re not real,” Simon said, his voice slurred and broken as he spoke.It wasn’t exactly what she’d hoped to hear when she found him. It wasn’t ‘I love you’ or ‘I missed you’ or ‘Please get me the fuck out of China’ because any of those would have meant that he was okay. That he’d told her he didn’t think she was real just said that he was hallucinating or was bad enough that he thought he was and that scared Vic more than she liked to admit. He was in bad shape. She could tell that even in the dim lights above them and she could tell by the way he collapsed when she cut him loose that he wasn’t alright. He fell into the dirt and the mud and there was blood all over his skin. She couldn’t tell how much of it was his but it was splattered all over his face and caking his side. Her hands tried to pull him upright and his skin was hot to the touch. He was covered in sweat but he was shaking and she felt her heart sinking deeper and deeper into her chest because he wasn’t okay. He was sick and hurt and she had left him here too long and maybe he was going to die here. “Yes I am,” she said to him. She was surprised that she managed to keep her voice as controlled and hard as she did because on the inside she was just a scared little girl that was worried the one man that had ever said he loved her and meant it was dying on her. Simon shook his head at her, even as she slid her arms beneath his shoulders. He was burning up beneath her and his skin was coated in a cold sweat. Her arm wrapped around his back and she dragged one of his around her shoulders as she forced them both to stand. His legs were shaking and within the next moment his knees gave out and he hit the ground hard, tipping face first into the mud. She cried out as he fell and she tried to catch him but he just slipped through her fingers. Her knees hit the mud next to him as she tried to hold him upright but half his face was in the dirt and his breathing was rasping harshly in and out of his lungs. “Simon,” she begged, and she hated how pathetic her voice sounded as she rolled him over onto his back. Her fingers brushed over his side and she heard him groan as her fingers touched his skin. She frowned and pulled his shirt up and a small whimper left her throat at the sight. He looked like he’d gotten clawed or cut on something but whatever had happened, it wasn’t healing right. It was red and angry and hot to the touch and even if she knew shit about first aid she could tell it was infected. She should have gotten here sooner. “Simon,” she whimpered, kneeling next to him in the dirt and the mud and she didn’t even feel the stinging cuts on half her face right now. Shrapnel had exploded in the wall next to her head as they hit the courtyard and left the red marks on her cheek. It was just pain. She could deal with physical pain, what she couldn’t deal with was finding Simon Welsh again and having him die on her. Her hands pulled at his arms and dragged him into her lap and she hated how limp his head was as she hauled him close against her chest. He was right here in front of her, everything she’d ever wanted, and he was slipping from her grasp as she sat here. Around her she could still hear gunshots because Tony and Jezibel were covering the entrance to the courtyard and trying to give them cover while they retrieved Simon. Alexey was hurrying towards her, blood splattered across his face in a dark slash and his own blood dripping to the ground from a graze on his arm. She wasn’t sure he even realized he’d been hit. “Simon?” he demanded, crouching down next to his brother. “Jesus, you look like shit,” he said. “You’re not real,” Simon said again, and Vic hated that he said the words because why wouldn’t he think they would come for him? “Simon,” she said his name again. Her hands cupped his cheeks and dragged his head towards her and they needed to get the fuck out of here. Above her head she could hear the helicopter circling and behind her Tony and Jezibel were still firing away but right now all that mattered was the man in her arms. “I need your help,” she said, and she knew she was asking a lot. “I need you to get back up.” His eyes closed at the words and at first she wasn’t sure he’d heard her or was even aware enough to hear her anymore. His heart was beating hard against his ribcage and she could feel it pulsing beneath his skin and her fingertips. “We need to move,” Jezibel said, glancing over her shoulder. Her face contorted when she saw Simon lying there and Vic couldn’t even feel jealous because this was Simon. He had helped Jezibel when she needed it and he would help any of them if they ever just asked for it and he shouldn’t be so weak and so hurt. Her hands ran over his skin and she ducked her head to his forehead because she knew it was true and if she had to she would order Tony to carry him out of here because she wouldn’t leave without him. His skin was blistering hot beneath hers and that terrified her. She thought about him dying and the last thing she’d said to him was ‘I don’t’ know.’ She’d told him she didn’t know if she’d still be there when he got back and even if she hadn’t known that it would be days before he came back again, she should have stayed. She never should have left his apartment because that was the only place she wanted to be. She wanted to be there with him and it didn’t matter what they did. It didn’t matter if she was in the kitchen making him some cheap excuse for dinner or if she was in his bed while he made her scream or if they were on his couch watching movies. It didn’t matter what they did as long as she was with him. Maybe she couldn’t say she loved him and maybe she never would but she didn’t want to lose him now that she’d found him because there was nothing and no one who had ever made her feel as beautiful and as wanted as Simon Welsh. He meant so much to her and it was ripping her heart in half because he might be dying. She pushed herself to her feet and tried to drag his arm back around her shoulder. She didn’t like thinking what he was right now, because it was dead weight. He was a dead weight across her back and if Alexey’s hands hadn’t taken him on the other side then she never would have been able to get him upright. “Please,” she begged, and she didn’t know who she was talking to. She didn’t know if she was begging God or Simon because she only believed in one of those people and she only thought one would help her now. “I’m sorry,” Simon choked out as he started to slip again. “I’m sorry I ruined everything.” She went to catch him and she was surprised when he caught himself. His hands went to her arms and tightened there painfully but she didn’t even mind. His feet came out and braced against the ground and he was trying so fucking hard to stay on his feet that it was breaking her heart. Her lips pressed into the side of his head, brushing over his skin. “Welsh,” she whispered. “What did I say about apologies?” He laughed weakly and it was enough. It was enough to tell her that Simon was still in there and maybe he believed she was real and maybe he didn’t but he would when she got him back home and into the hospital or into bed or whatever it would take for her to convince him that she was real. She dragged his arm across her shoulder and then Alexey was taking the other one and they were moving as quickly as they could back towards Tony and Jezibel. “I don’t think we can get back out the way we came in,” Jez said, glancing over her shoulder at Vic. She winced as gunshots shattered the rocks next to them and they hid Simon behind the wall because he didn’t have a bulletproof vest or any kind of protection. He was wearing a prison uniform soaked through with blood and Vic was trying not to panic at how much blood was on him. “Then we should make our own exit,” she snapped, jerking her head at Tony. “What do you say, big guy?” she asked, nodding her head at the wall behind them. The man glanced back at her and then at the wall and he sucked in a breath before heading towards it. She let Simon slip down against the wall and she didn’t like it but she needed her gun in her hands so that she could keep them clear until Tony got them a way out. She lifted the M-4 into her arms and she fired at a pair of guards that thought they were being sneaky as they moved through the shadows to her left. She moved quickly to the other side of the courtyard entrance and her eyes flicked across the grass as she watched for anyone else to show her the whites of their eyes. She caught a glimpse of movement and she fired without waiting to see who it was, the bullets shredding the shadows and sending a scream up into the air. “You’ve gotta stop doing this,” Alexey was saying. He still had an arm around Simon and the Glock was in his other hand, even though all his attention was on his brother. “Everybody knows chicks dig scars, why do you have to keep one upping me? I get this fucking bad ass bullet wound so you have to go get clawed up. I’m never going to get any at this rate.” Alexey sighed and shook his head and he was trying so hard to be funny but she wasn’t sure she bought it because his eyes were sad and scared. Simon didn’t answer and she thought that scared her more than him telling her that she wasn’t real. It scared her more than feeling the red hot warmth beneath his skin and it scared her more than finding him tied to a post in a Chinese prison with blood on his face. It scared her because he was always quick with a word or a smile to make things better and now he was being quiet and his breathing was the only thing she could hear coming out of his lips. It sounded awful. It sounded harsh and ragged, like his lungs were shredding themselves just trying to get air and she didn’t like that sound. She needed him to be okay, even if he left her afterwards. There was a crash behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see Tony as he finally bashed through the wall. The big guy took a step back and she watched his hand go to his head and come away bloody. He blinked and shook his head out, the white horns still curling away from his head. He saw her watching and smiled but she thought he’d hurt himself trying to give them an exit and there was a reason she wasn’t in charge. She wasn’t a fucking strategist. Outside the prison she could hear the whir of the rotor blades as the helicopter landed and she pushed herself to her feet, the gun cradled in her arms. “Get Simon out of here,” she snapped at Alexey, firing at the guards running their way. She didn’t wait to see if he obeyed, her hand snapping to her belt and pulling loose one of the grenades. She dragged the goggles down over her head as she tossed it out of the courtyard into the prison yard and there was a blast of light and smoke and flame. Jezibel stood up next to her and the girl’s gun was going off in her hand, shredding the men that had been charging their way. Vic brought up the rear behind Tony and Alexey as they dragged Simon towards the helicopter. Jezibel kept close to her, the Glock backing up her M-4 and they had a pretty good system going. Vic would slow them down with the semi-automatic and Jez would take the kill shot with her handgun. It was working pretty well and she thought they were going to make it out alright. Jez slipped through the hole Tony had bashed and Vic glanced past her for a moment to make sure that Simon was secured. Tony was manhandling him into the helicopter and she didn’t know if he could survive the flight back to the States but he had to because she needed him. There was a blast close to her and suddenly her back was striking the wall and there was a blistering, throbbing pain in her chest. Smoke trickled up in front of her face and she didn’t understand what had happened at first, not until her vision cleared. A man stood to her right with a handgun held tightly in his grip and there was a cruel smile curling his face. He took a step closer and Vic just stared at him because there was a bullet wedged in her vest and her chest was throbbing painfully. For a minute all she could think about was the bullet that had pierced her stomach three years ago and the one that had killed her father and it would hurt worse if she lost Welsh. “I tell him,” the man said. “Anyone who comes for him dies. That means you, American girl.” The man moved to stand over her and she looked up into his face as he pointed the gun down at her. The words were sinking into her head and she thought about him saying that to Simon. She thought about him saying that he would die alone and that anyone that did try to help him was going to die and she couldn’t let that come true because she didn’t think he’d ever get over it. If he told her he loved her and then she up and died on him, what kind of girlfriend would that make her. She saw the man’s finger tighten on the trigger and then her arm was snapping out and yanking him forward. His eyes widened in surprise and a snarl curled her lips as the shift took her. There was a loud bang as the gun went off but the bullet went into the wall. Her teeth didn’t. Her teeth sunk into his neck and she tasted blood on her tongue and heard his scream in her ears. Wenston He was having trouble keeping up with what was happening. There was so much going on around him and he couldn’t keep up, he couldn’t concentrate and keep track of who everyone was and what they were doing so instead of concentrating on everyone, he focused on what was most familiar and closest to him and that was Alexey. His brother had one of Simon’s arms slung around his shoulders and he was holding his waist tightly and then they were lifting him up and if he thought really hard about it, he thought maybe that was Tony next to him. Somewhere out there was Vic. And if he wasn’t hallucinating her, then he should have been worried about her because he couldn’t see her and she wasn’t close to him and the only person he could focus on was Alexey. But he had faith in Vic. He had faith that she could take care of herself and she wouldn’t leave him when he needed her the most and right now he needed her so she’d come back. She’d take care of what she had to take care of and then she’d come back, because that was his Vic. And he was her Simon. They laid him out on the floor of the helicopter and Alexey put someone’s jacket beneath his head and it was the softest thing he’d felt in days. His muscles were protesting from having been forced to kneel for almost two days straight and his side was on fire. The world was spinning around him and he was having trouble staying awake. The only thing keeping him conscious now were the ragged, wet coughs tearing their way up from his lungs. “It’s okay, bro,” Alexey was saying and he was working around Simon. There were other hands on him, soft ones stroking over his head but he didn’t think they belonged to Vic and when he tried to focus on them, all he saw was platinum blonde and a voice in the back of his head whispered the name Jezibel to him but he didn’t have the strength to put coherent thought to it quite yet. Alexey tore his shirt open and exposed his stomach and chest. His fingers pressed gently into Simon’s side and Simon couldn’t hold back the small cry the motion elicited from his lips. “S..stop,” Simon pleaded and his brother’s hands stilled. The soft hands stroking through his hair slowed and someone bent down and gently shushed him. Alexey leaned forward and then he was in Simon’s line of sight as he stared up with blurry vision. “Simon, it’s me,” he said, his voice terrified and he knew his brother well enough to know Alexey was trying not to be. “It’s Alexey. Your adorable, amazing, and very handsome younger brother.” It took a moment, but the words sank in and Simon let out a small laugh, jagged and harsh, followed by a fit of coughing, but he saw a smile break across his brother’s face and then Alexey was back at his side and Simon didn’t know what he was doing, but it hurt. If Alexey was here, shouldn’t Vic be here too? As soon as he thought it, he heard someone climb up onto the helicopter and yell, “Get us the fuck out of here,” and he knew that bitchy tone. She sounded winded and hurt, but she was there and then she was crawling to the other side of him. The hands on his head backed off and she took over and Simon kept his eyes open and tried to clear his vision as he looked up at her. There was blood on her face and small scratches along her cheek on one side. He wanted to reach up and brush his fingers over her skin but his body wasn’t cooperating. He could only look up at her. “Are you okay?” Alexey’s voice came and Vic spared him only the smallest of glances before her eyes came back down to Simon and she ran her hands over his face. She was trying to wipe the blood away, but most of it had dried. “Fine,” she grit out and Simon couldn’t even tell why his brother had asked her the question, but she seemed stiff and when she shifted her stance so she could lean her head over his, she was wincing and he hoped she wasn’t hurt. “Simon?” Vic asked, her voice softening and her eyes wide and scared. The helicopter shook beneath him and then they lifted off and Vic’s face didn’t even change. She didn’t have a death grip on anything and she wasn’t closing her eyes. She was just looking down at him and he was just looking back up at her and he thought maybe she was real because her touch was so soft against his face, her hands cold but it felt good against his hot skin. Beside him there was movement and he glanced to the side, watching as Jezibel moved over towards Tony and held some gauze to the man’s head. There was a bloody line across his forehead and it was bruised and he wondered if he’d smashed it against a wall because that’s what it looked like. He didn’t think the wall would have survived. “Simon, can you hear me?” Vic asked again, her fingers soft as they stroked down the side of his head and his eyes moved back to hers. Simon swallowed thickly and when he spoke, his voice was broken and rough. “Did you save me some dinner?” he asked. The smile that tore across her face was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Her necklace was dangling down in front of her and her eyes were sparkling along with the diamonds and he didn’t care what she thought or that she was scared he’d told her he loved her, that was his girl. That was his woman. That was his Vic and she was here with her hands on his face and happy that he wasn’t dead and that meant she didn’t hate him. Vic shook her head and leaned down to press her forehead against his. “I burned it,” she whispered, her voice watery. “I was looking forward to Rice-a-roni,” he said and immediately broke into a wet coughing fit afterwards. Vic’s hands tightened on him, holding him in place and she closed her eyes until the fit passed. It left him gasping and wheezing and she just stroked her fingers through his hair until it calmed down. “I’ll make you some when we get home,” she told him and he closed his eyes and smiled because she’d said the word “home” and he didn’t think she just meant the States or New York or even the compound. He didn’t think she meant a hospital or the briefing room. He thought she meant his place. He thought she meant his place with him in it and her in it and them being together and he felt relief wash over him. “Simon?’ Vic asked and he realized he’d gone quiet and his eyes were closed and they were so fucking hard to pry back open but he did because she was pleading with him and he wanted to give her whatever she wanted. Before he could say another thing, a sudden pain tore through his side from whatever Alexey had been doing there and he cried out, gritting his teeth. Vic’s eyes widened and she shot a glare to Alexey, who’d paled considerably and he gave a frightened look to Vic. “They stitched it shut with chicken wire,” he whispered to her, his voice horrified. Simon watched Vic’s face and there was a range of emotion playing across it. She looked down at the wound on his side and he just watched her because she looked angry and scared and sad and he thought maybe she wanted to go back and kill anyone they’d left alive because she had that look in her eyes. “They knew my name,” he told her and her eyes moved back to his face. Her hands took back to stroking through his hair and Alexey went back to trying to work with the wound and clean it and at least help him hold out until they got him to a hospital. “Shh, it’s okay,” Vic told him and he thought that she didn’t look surprised by that news. He broke into another coughing fit suddenly and this one was so violent she reached for his hand to grasp it until it passed. He closed his eyes and rolled his head to the side and when it was over, he was left shaking and he couldn’t for the life of him get his eyes to open again. “Simon?” Vic asked and the world was spinning more violently around him. It was starting to fade out and fade away and he didn’t want it to because his Vic was there and she wanted him to stay with her and he wanted to stay. “Simon?” she asked, more desperately and he could only squeeze her hand back. And then even that faded away. .Wolfie. Vic didn’t sleep at all the first night they got Simon home.His eyes closed on the helicopter and she couldn’t get him to open them again. She spent the rest of the flight with her eyes shut too, her hand pressed to his neck and the other to his chest so that she could feel his heart beat and his uneven breathing. His skin was burning up beneath her fingertips and she was terrified that he was going to die right in front of her. She tried to keep telling herself that Simon would always get back up and it was like a prayer she kept repeating over and over in the back of her head. They took him straight to the hospital and Tony had to carry him inside because he hadn’t woken up the whole way back. She followed closely but when they got him onto a bed and wheeled into the emergency room she lost track of him and she hated that. She hated that he was out of her sight because if she couldn’t see him or touch him she didn’t know he was still alive. They wouldn’t let her in to see him, spouting some bullshit about his condition not being stable and she didn’t want to hear any of their fucking excuses. She just wanted to see her Simon and why couldn’t they understand that? At some point a nurse pulled each of them aside and she cleaned the scratches on her face and put butterfly stitches on them. She kept her mouth shut and didn’t say anything about the massive, pained bruise on her sternum because it hadn’t broken skin and she wasn’t dying from it. It just hurt, but not as bad as it would have hurt if she wasn’t wearing the vest and she’d gotten shot in the chest. Then she’d probably be lying against the concrete wall in China with her blood on the ground and none of it in her heart. It would have made her a bitch, coming to get Simon just to die on him as soon as they finally got together again. Tony had six stitches put in his head to close up the gash there and he just sounded annoyed that the wall had gotten one over on him. Alexey had to have the graze on his arm patched up and he had a bruise on his jaw. Jezibel probably got off the easiest and Vic thought it was because she was faster than all of them, the sly bitch. It was some consolation that they’d all made it hope alive in one piece with minimal injuries but she couldn’t be happy because Simon was lying on a hospital bed and she couldn’t see him. At some point Elias showed up and bullshitted with the doctors and the staff to try and clean up the mess. He smiled when he saw her and just tipped his head to the side and said “subtle, Vic,” with quiet amusement in his voice. She didn’t care. She didn’t care if he was amused or annoyed or proud or disappointed because the only thing she gave a shit about was whether or not Simon was going to be okay and Elias was the asshole that had used him as bait. He was the one that had sent him into that place knowing full well that he probably wouldn’t be able to walk out of there on his own power. The doctor sent them all home. He said that they were trying to stabilize him but there was nothing else they could do tonight and they should go home and get a good night’s sleep. He would call Alexey if anything changed. Both Alexey and Vic tried to explain to him just how fucking stupid that plan was in the most colorful terms they knew and the doctor explained that if he had to call security they wouldn’t be allowed back in the building and then they wouldn’t get to see him at all. So they went home. Vic almost went to Simon’s apartment but she couldn’t get herself to do it until she knew he was going to be alright so she went back to hers and spent a sleepless night on the couch with her stuffed pink elephant. She couldn’t get his eyes out of her head. She couldn’t stop thinking about the first words he’d said to her, asking her if she was even real and she couldn’t stop being terrified that it was the last time she was going to see him. She couldn’t stop thinking about him asking if she’d saved him some dinner because it meant he didn’t care if she’d gotten scared or if she’d run and he wasn’t throwing her away. It meant he still loved her whether she could return it or not. Even battered and wounded and delusional and possibly dying, he’d smiled for her and that smile meant the world to her and she thought it all terrified her. She should have gone to visit him as soon as the sun rose, but she didn’t. She hesitated and she wasn’t sure why but she thought it was because he might not wake up again and she didn’t think she could take that. She didn’t think she could take just watching him waste away on a hospital bed because her Simon should never be that weak. She was a fucking coward for it and she knew it but she didn’t go. She sat on the couch and drank her coffee and she was too scared to go down there and find out if he was alive. Alexey called in the evening and her hands were shaking when she picked up the phone. “Bitchzilla,” he said, and he said the words too brightly for this to be anything good. “Simon’s awake, he’s stable, and they’re pumping him full of antibiotics. Now get your ass down here before I have to follow through on breaking your kneecaps.” Her eyes closed at the words because Simon was awake. He was awake and she suddenly felt so guilty that she hadn’t been there when he woke up. “I’ll be there in a little while,” she told Alexey. “I have to stop somewhere first.” It took longer than she wanted to get her ass to the hospital and her head was spinning as she walked through the doors. Hospitals still made her nervous and she tried to remind herself that there was no reason to be now. The only thing she should be nervous about was how Simon would react to seeing her now that he wasn’t delirious and maybe he would remember that she’d asked him to take back the words when he said he loved her. Maybe he would ask her to leave and she hoped not. Alexey was sitting by Simon’s side when she opened the door to his room and he glanced up and grinned when she walked in. “About fucking time,” he said, clapping his brother on the shoulder. “I’ll see you later bro, give you two some ‘alone time,’” he made quotations around the words with his fingers and Simon just chuckled and shook his head as Alexey waggled his eyebrows at him. He pointed his finger at Vic as he headed out the door, trying to make a serious face and it failed miserably. “Remember what we talked about, bitchzilla,” he said. “You promised to supply the baseball bat.” She rolled her eyes. “Shut the fuck up, Alexey,” she told him,, and he just laughed as he headed out the door. Her eyes finally went to the man in the hospital bed and for a moment she couldn’t get herself to walk in the door. He was sitting up but he still looked like shit, his face pale except for the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble on his cheeks. His eyes saddened as he watched her and she realized it was because she was still just leaning against the doorway watching him and not coming any closer. “Hey, Vic,” he said, and she saw a smile tug at his lips because it was what he said when he felt awkward. It was enough to put her at ease. This was still her Simon and maybe he was sick and weak right now but it didn’t make him any less in her eyes. What she hated was that someone had hurt him so bad and she hoped she’d killed the fuckers that had done it because she didn’t think she’d left enough bodies behind in China. She wished she knew what they’d done with Avi because whatever it was she didn’t think it was bad enough for what he’d done to Simon and she wished she had a way to hurt Elias for putting him there. “Hey Welsh,” she said, smiling at him. She shut the door behind her and kicked her shoes off by the bed. He watched her curiously as she stepped up on the bed and his eyes went for a moment to the brown handled paper bag she was carrying. She leaned over his chest to drag the tray table over and then she crossed her legs beneath her Indian style and dropped the bag on the table. “What is this?” he asked, glancing up at her face, and his voice was still harsh and ragged. She didn’t look at him but she smiled as she started to pull presents out of the bag. “I told you I wasn’t eating any fucking hospital food,” she told him, and it made her feel better when a smile spread across his lips, his hand coming out to rest on her knee. “Cashew chicken,” she told him, setting the tin on the table, and he laughed, maybe because she’d brought him fucking Chinese food after he’d been tortured there for days. Possibly poor planning on her part, but it was what he’d brought her on their first unofficial date. “In case you’re not feeling up to that, I brought you Wonton soup and a couple of egg rolls. I was going to bring you beef bour-whatever the fuck, but I honestly don’t even know what that is or where to get it. So you get this instead.” He laughed and it turned into a cough right afterwards. It sounded ragged and painful and her face contorted at the sound of it. She moved closer to him on the bed so that she could rest a hand on the back of his neck, fingers moving over his skin and through his hair until it passed. He sucked in ragged breaths and she hated how sick he as and just how badly he’d been hurt. She wanted to tell him she was sorry for not waiting and sorry she hadn’t come for him sooner but she didn’t ever apologize. She leaned her face forward and pressed her lips against his temple, closing her eyes and she tried to just be happy that he was here and he was alive. “Thank you,” he said. She felt his hand come up to cup the side of her face and press her closer against his skin. “For everything.” Her eyes closed tighter at the words and she kissed his skin again because this should have been the moment where she told him that she loved him. She didn’t, because those words weren’t true yet but she thought they might become true if she just stayed here. “You don’t have to thank me,” she told him again, squeezing his hand tightly before she pulled away. “Anyway, I’m not done yet.” A smile pulled across her lips and then she pulled the pink elephant out of the bag. The smile that lit across his face when he saw it made her heart pound loudly in her chest and his hands were gentle when he took it from her. “You kept this?” he asked, glancing up at her. He probably hadn’t expected her to, because she thought he’d only won it for her to tease her and make her wait longer for him to fuck her. She thought he’d been nervous and been stalling and maybe he was, but it still meant something because he’d won her a prize just because he thought she should have one. “Yep,” she told him brightly, and then she pulled the last thing out of the bag, pushing herself off the bed so she could go put it in the DVD player attached to the TV in the corner. He glanced up at the screen as she hit play and the smile already on his face widened when he saw it was Casablanca. “I pay attention too,” she said, smiling over her shoulder at him. “I guess so,” he said quietly, watching her with an odd expression on his face as she settled cross legged on the bed again. She thought she knew what that look was now. She thought it was love, and they were going to have to talk about that, but not right now. He still hadn’t made any move towards the food she brought him so she reached in the bag and started pulling out the handful of fortune cookies she’d brought him. He was watching her and then she felt his fingers brushing over the cuts on her cheek, his fingers gentle against her face. She glanced up at him and he was frowning at them because Simon didn’t like it when she was hurt and he was the only one who’d ever felt that way. Her face turned and she pressed a kiss to his palm before ripping her fortune cookie open. He frowned as she broke the cookie in half and pulled out the slip of paper without eating it. “You’re supposed to eat the cookie before you read it,” he told her. She gave him a mock glare and by the look on his face he didn’t believe it. “I’m a rule breaker,” she told him, and then looked down at the fortune and pretended to read it. “This one says ‘No more super secret missions for Elias without talking to your fucking girlfriend about it first.’” She cast a glance up at his face as she said it and for a moment his face crumpled. Maybe he hadn’t told her because he wasn’t sure she was still his girlfriend. “It doesn’t say that,” he told her, forcing a smile and reaching for the slip of paper. She glared at him and held it above her head and out of his reach. He laughed and gave up, dropping his hands back into his lap. “What does it really say?” “It says ‘focus on the color yellow tomorrow for good luck.’ See? What I said is much better.” He laughed and it turned into a cough again and she hoped he got better soon because he was breaking her heart. Her hands came out to run through his hair and he was shaking when the fit passed. His eyes closed and he leaned back against the cushions, focusing on getting his breathing to even out. She wondered what they’d done to him over there and she couldn’t get herself to ask yet. Her fingers wandered over his head and his eyes opened and focused on her face. His hand came up to hold hers and he kissed her knuckles as he watched her face. “Vic,” he said quietly, his voice serious. “I can’t take it back. I do lo-” “I know,” she said. She said the words quickly to cut him off and his face grew shuttered as he studied her, like he wasn’t sure if he should be happy that she knew it or sad that she wouldn’t let him say it. Her fingers slid over his skin as she looked at him and she thought about just how much he meant to her and how much of a hole it would leave in her if she lost him. “I know you do,” she said again. “But don’t say it.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead and her voice was soft as she whispered to him. “Not until I can say it back.” Wenston Episode #8: Brett Miles Simon had these dreams. He’d been home nearly a month and some nights he slept alright, in his bed, with Vic there and her arms wrapped around him. But most nights, he had dreams. Some of them were about the bear shifter, some of them were about a man holding his head beneath the water and he always woke from those dreams gasping and choking. And then he had the dreams where he was tied to a pole and across from him, the people he loved were tied and begging him to help them and he’d watch them get shot through the back of the head, one by one. Vic was on the pole a lot, and so was Alexey. Tony and Jezibel and even Lyle had shown up a few times to get their brains splattered on the wall. And each time, all he could so was kneel there and watch. He couldn’t even talk to them, couldn’t cry for them. He could only watch. Simon had these dreams and he’d thought by now he’d be over it. He’d spent a week and a half in the hospital before they’d released him to go home. And even after that, he spent most of his day in bed or on the couch and he tried to get up, because it reminded him too much of when he’d had cancer, but he couldn’t. The infection on his side had cleared up well, but the infection in his lungs had nearly ended him. It probably didn’t help that he rarely got a good night’s sleep. Mostly they were filled with dreams and nightmares. He was having one of those dreams now. He could always recognize it was a dream because in the dream, he was a spectator. In the dream, all he could do was watch and he couldn’t fight back or scream or save himself or anyone else. This dream was one where he was having his head held beneath the water. Except it had morphed into something terrible and frightening. When it had been happening for real, all he’d seen was the bottom of the basin. But in the dreams, he saw the faces beneath the water. He saw Vic and Alexey and the team and they were all in the bottom of the water, wide eyed and pleading with him to pull them up to safety. He couldn’t. He couldn’t even pull himself to safety. The water was thick around him and the hand on the back of his head was strong and he could feel the water entering his lungs and clasping them shut and he couldn’t breathe anything but dank, putrid water. He startled awake and his eyes shot open, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. He was lying on his side and he stared at the opposite wall, the sunlight coming in through the open window. He was trembling and it took him a moment to realize that he could feel a hand running up and down his arm in soothing motions. There were lips pressed against his neck and it was comforting and familiar. “It’s okay,” Vic’s voice came and then she was leaning her head forward and lay her cheek against his shoulder, her hand slipping around his waist. There were ugly, still healing scars on his side and she was always mindful of them. “It’s just a nightmare.” Simon listened to her voice and he closed his eyes, letting the lingering images from his dream fade away and seep out of his mind. He focused on Vic because she’d spent every night since he came home from the hospital in his bed and he didn’t know what he’d do if he woke up from the dreams without her here to tell them they were just dreams. He still hadn’t told her what had happened to him. He hadn’t told anyone, not even when they asked. He just got quiet and he wasn’t sure why he couldn’t tell them what happened. He wasn’t sure why he felt ashamed that he’d killed another shifter or that he’d just watched another prisoner get shot in the head or that he’d let himself be drowned over and over again and maybe he was ashamed because he hadn’t fought back as much as he should have. Rolling over, Vic backed off to give him room so he could lay on his side facing her and then her hands wrapped back around his waist and he looked at her face. She looked tired and he wondered if she thought he was weak because they hadn’t talked about that either. She’d said she didn’t think he was weak, because he always got back up and he didn’t know if he believed her when she said that anymore because he was having trouble getting back up after this one. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered and he saw Vic’s lips curl up into a smile. She reached forward and ran her fingers over the back of his neck. He leaned his head forward and kissed her and he loved her so much, but they didn’t talk about that either. She’d told him not to say it anymore until she could say it back and that meant that maybe one day she’d be able to. She hadn’t told him not to love her, she’d just told him not to say it. “What were you dreaming?” she asked and she asked him every time she had to calm him down after a nightmare but he never answered her. He always just told her that it was nothing. Just a dream. But he could see how tired she looked and he knew she was tired because of him. Because she was used to being strong for herself her whole life, but she wasn’t used to being strong for him too. He knew he had to get back on his feet, for her and the team. They wouldn’t just let him sulk forever. Simon licked his lips and swallowed thickly and he didn’t think she expected an answer but he said, “They were holding my head under water.” Vic’s fingers stilled on the back of his neck and her eyes widened slightly as she watched his face. It was the first time he talked about any of it and she seemed to know that. She moved her fingers from his neck to his arm and rubbed at his skin soothingly. “That’s what they did the first day. They’d do it until I blacked out and when I came to, they’d do it some more.” Vic’s face darkened and she scooted closer to him. “What did they want?” she asked softly, like she was treading carefully and he wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to. She didn’t have to be careful with him, because he trusted her and had faith in her and loved her. “They wanted to know who sent me,” he said. He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. “Avi must have told them I was a spy.” Simon didn’t look at her face, but he nuzzled closer to her and closed his eyes. “They made me fight another shifter. They didn’t know I was one. They just thought I’d lose. They were just going to watch him rip me apart. And when they tied me to that pole, they had a guy next to me and they executed him. He was just a kid, Vic.” “It’s okay,” Vic told him and he opened his eyes, realizing he was shaking again and she pulled him closer. He buried his face in her neck and he just let her hold him for a while. He didn’t say anything more and she didn’t ask him anything more, she just ran her fingers over his skin and he just breathed her in. He frowned after a moment and then whispered into her neck, “I’m sorry I didn’t come home to you.” Vic sighed and put her hands on the side of his face, pushing him back so she could look him in the eyes. “You’re home now,” she told him. “Even if I did have to come and get you.” Simon watched her for a moment and then he pushed himself forward, his hands going to her shoulders and he rolled her onto her back, leaning over her. She chuckled and looked up at him. His fingers slid through her hair and he kissed her cheeks and her forehead and her jaw and finally her lips and she kissed him back fiercely. “Thank you,” he told her again, his lips still pressed against his. She smiled and said, “I’ll always come and get you.” Simon shook his head. “No,” he said and she tilted her head to the side. He ran his fingers over her skin and his legs were tangling with hers and he’d missed her so much and he’d been so scared he’d never see her again or she wouldn’t want him when he got back. “Thank you for being here when I got back.” .Wolfie. “I’d be stupid to leave,” she told him. Her hands went to Simon’s face and he closed his eyes against her touch as she ran her fingers through his hair. She pushed herself up one elbow so she could press her lips against his neck. His fingers tightened around her waist as she kissed his skin and her voice was harsh when she spoke. “You’re the only thing that’s ever made me happy.”It was the closest she could get to admitting that she thought she was falling in love with him. She didn’t say it because she didn’t think she was there yet, but she felt it in her bones. She was his and he was hers and nothing else mattered. He made a noise as her teeth scraped over his neck and then he was pushing her back down on the bed. His mouth covered hers and his fingers dug into her hips as he kissed her hard. A moan left her lips as his head ducked to bite at her neck because he knew by now how she liked it. His hands pulled at her roughly and desperately as he rolled over, dragging her on top of him. She did her best to remind him that he was home and the nightmare was over and he clung to her like he wanted to believe it as she settled on his hips. She was worried about Simon. She didn’t know how to fix him. She didn’t even know where to start because she’d never had this kind of relationship with anyone. The people she’d been surrounded with all her life had been hard and cold and used to pain and used to the world being an awful, shitty place. Simon’s life had been different, and it was the kind of thing that her pops would have said made him weak but she couldn’t ever slap that label on Welsh again. He was still here. He was still breathing and he’d held out long enough for her to get him home and get him patched up. It was just that his body was healing but his mind was still wounded. He had been hurt and he’d been helpless to stop it and he’d been alone when it happened and maybe she was trying not to think of the one thing in her life that felt anything close to that. She was trying not to remember the nightmares she’d had afterwards because every time he woke up sweating and shaking she thought she knew a little bit what that felt like, even if they’d been hurt in different ways. She wasn’t going to tell him what her father had said to her because it hadn’t helped then and it wouldn’t help now. There was only one thing that had helped the nightmares go away but she was putting off giving it to him because maybe he would think it was stupid. Her nails dug into his back when she came, her lips parted and his name leaving her lips in a sharp cry. She felt his fingers digging into her skin, his arms wrapped around her waist and his face pressed into her chest as he came with her. His breathing was ragged and harsh and she knew it wasn’t just from the sex. His lungs had been the problem, the infection settling deep into his chest and she hated that he was just getting back up to his full strength. They sparred every day but the sickness had set him back and they both knew it. His hands slid over her skin and she didn’t make any effort to move. She was happy here, arms wrapped around his shoulders and legs wrapped around his hips. Her fingers ran up the back of his neck and into his hair and she nuzzled her face against his skin. She wished she knew the words that would make it better because she was no good with this kind of thing. They’d drowned him. They’d held him underwater and they’d drowned him and she thought about how limp and slack he’d been on that first mission, before she’d breathed air back into his lungs. Only she hadn’t been there to do that for him this time. She thought about the other things they’d made him do and it was like they knew him and knew how to hurt him. He cared too much about other people and she knew how hard it must have been for him to sit there and watch someone else die next to him. She knew how hard it must have been for him to kill someone else just so he could live because Welsh still believed in things other than survival of the fittest. He was still an idealist at heart and she didn’t want him to lose that because then he wouldn’t be Welsh. She didn’t have the luxury of believing in anything because it had been beaten out of her at a young age, but he still could. She shifted back, studying his face as he tipped his head to look up at her. “I’m going to make you breakfast,” she said, smiling at him. He smirked at the look on her face and she pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before pulling herself out of bed. He sat there and watched her for a moment as she pulled on her underwear and a tee shirt and she smiled over her shoulder at him. She was trying. She was trying to make him better and she didn’t think she was doing a very good job because she couldn’t tell if any of it was helping. She tried to pretend that she wasn’t tired and worried but she didn’t think he believed that either. “What are you making?” he asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. Her eyes swept his frame and lingered on the barely healed cuts on his side. They’d probably been from the shifter, and she wondered if it would help if she told him how proud of him she was because he’d kept himself alive. There was nothing wrong with keeping himself alive. “It depends,” she said, coming back over to him. She leaned over the bed, the necklace dangling between her breasts and she wanted to tell him that she never took it off because he meant that much to her. “Do you want French toast or eggs?” He lifted an eyebrow and she was happy at the teasing smirk that pulled at his lips. It looked more like her Simon. “Do you know how to make French toast?” he asked her. Her mouth fell open and her eyes narrowed in annoyance at him but she couldn’t mean it because he was joking with her and he was smiling and maybe that meant he was feeling better. She made a face at him and pushed him in the chest so that he fell back on the bed. She swung her legs over his hips and bent over so that her face was inches from his. “For your information,” she told him. “I make amazing French toast. But just for that maybe you won’t get any.” He pouted at her and the look frustrated her because she was trying to scowl at him but it was making her smile anyway because he was playing along. She felt his hands settle on her thighs, his thumbs brushing over her skin and if he kept that up she wouldn’t make it out of his bed at all. “I’m sorry,” he told her, ducking his head to look up into her face. “What can I do to make it up to you?” She grinned and leaned down so that her mouth was hovering just above his. “Get your lazy ass out of bed,” she told him, grinning playfully. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then pushed herself to her feet and hopped off the bed. She heard him laughing quietly behind her and the sound made her smile because he didn’t do that as much as he used to. It was taking a long time to get him back to where he used to be and maybe he never would be. Maybe he could never be the same person he’d been before and that was okay, because she didn’t expect him to be. He’d been changing even before he went to China, she just didn’t want this to be the thing that destroyed him. She didn’t want to lose her Simon because of Avi and Elias and she hated them both for what they’d done to him because she wasn’t sure it was something she could fix. She picked her hoodie off the floor on her way out and her fingers worked on pulling the knife out of the front pocket. It was a large bowie knife like her dad used to carry and she hoped Simon didn’t think she was stupid. She hesitated with her back to him and then she bit her lip and figured it was worth a shot and if he didn’t like it then she would just keep it under her side of the bed. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he was just getting to the edge of the bed, his arms shaky as he moved. “Simon?” she asked, and he glanced up at her, frowning when he saw the knife. She quirked her mouth to the side and then walked back over to him, playing with the knife in her hands. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest and she knew why but she was trying to pretend she didn’t. She flipped the knife over in her hand and offered it to him hilt first. “I want you to have this.” He blinked and just looked confused. “Thank you,” he said, taking it slowly. He unclipped the snap on the sheath and slid it open to reveal the wickedly sharp blade inside and she knew this was dumb because they were already given knives but she’d started. “Why?” She opened her mouth and she wanted to tell him because he loved her and she didn’t think he’d judge her. She couldn’t force the words past her lips, because in all the time since it had happened she’d never said the words to a soul. She’d barely been able to think them because there was no point thinking about it. It was over and done with and nothing she did would fix it or make it better, she just had to be stronger so that it never happened again. She didn’t want to be just another fucking victim in the street. “When I was thirteen, I…” she stuttered on the words and she wanted to tell him what had happened to her because he’d told her what had happened to China but they didn’t come out. “I started having nightmares,” she said instead, and she ducked her head so that it didn’t feel as much like lying. “I had them every night and my dad wasn’t exactly the warm cuddly type who would tuck me in and tell me it was all just a bad dream. Even if he did, he would have been lying. Anyway, nothing he said really helped, but he gave me his knife and I always slept a little easier, knowing it was there. That I had something there keeping me from being helpless.” His hand came out to push the hair behind her ear and she glanced up at his face so that she could try and gauge his expression. “I can’t picture you ever being helpless,” he said, and she didn’t know if the words made it better or worse. She grinned at him and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. “That’s because I sleep with a knife under my pillow,” she told him. He laughed quietly but he was still studying her carefully. She didn’t know what the look meant but she would do or say whatever he needed to help him get better. Her hand came out and ran over his cheek and she kissed him again, letting her lips wander over his skin. “I’m here for you,” she told him. “I’m your girl. Anything you need, just tell me and I’ll do it.” His head turned and his skin slid against hers, his lips moving across her cheekbone and across her temple. “You already do, Vic,” he said, and she smiled, squeezing his hand tightly. She shivered as his mouth traveled to her neck and down her skin towards her shoulder. “I’m getting my lazy ass out of bed,” he told her. “Where’s my amazing French toast?” She laughed and swatted him in the shoulder. “You’re a bitch,” she told him, fingers brushing his chin as she kissed him. Then she pushed herself out of bed, grabbing his boxers off the floor and throwing them at him. “You still have to make it to the kitchen to get any,” she told him, and he laughed, catching his clothes in one hand. She turned and headed for the kitchen, aware that he was staring at her as she left. She pulled out a pan and got it heating on the stove while she pulled out a bowl for the eggs. By now she knew where everything was and she didn’t even stop to think about that as she made herself at home in his kitchen. It took him a while to make it to the kitchen and by then she’d already gotten the eggs mixed and the bread pulled out. The turkey bacon he liked was in the microwave and she’d set out a glass of orange juice on the counter for him. He went past it, coming up behind her to see how she was doing and she smiled when his arms slid around her waist. “I thought of you,” he said quietly. “When?” she asked, dropping the bread in the batter before dropping it down on the heated pan. “When they were asking me questions. When they were drowning me. I thought of you and your Kung fu movies because I was trying to be like that. I kept my mouth shut and I didn’t tell them a thing because I wanted to be strong for you.” The words sent a chill down her spine and not in a good way. She tried to turn her head to look at him but his arms held her firmly so that she couldn’t, because maybe it hurt him just to say it. “I wanted to be someone you could love,” he whispered. Her hands stilled with the next piece of bread in her hands and she felt his arms tighten, like he was afraid he’d stepped over that line again and that she was going to run. She licked her lips and turned her head to the side so that she could rest her forehead against his chin. “You already are,” she told him quietly. Wenston Vic was right. She made amazing French Toast. Simon sat at the counter, savoring the meal because it was something Vic made for him. She was cleaning up the pots and pans and he made her eat some of the bacon, but she didn’t make any French Toast for herself, so he was saving a piece on his plate. He watched her as she worked and she was still in her underwear and a t-shirt as she moved around his kitchen. She was beautiful and she’d told him he was someone she could love. He knew it wasn’t the same as her telling him she loved him, but it meant a lot to him all the same. It meant she was okay with who he was. Vic finished cleaning up the pan and she wiped her hands off on a dishrag, turning around to eye his plate. She saw the food still left on his plate and then looked up at him. “You’re not eating your breakfast,” she said, a smirk on her face. He held his hand out for her and she threw the dishrag on the counter before walking over to him. She let out a small squeak as he pulled on her arm and turned her around, yanking her up to sit on his lap. She laughed quietly and watched his face. He leaned back on the stool and ran his hands through her hair and down the side of her cheek. “I need someone to share it with,” he whispered. Vic rolled her eyes and watched as he cut a piece of his French Toast off and stabbed it with his fork. He held it up to her and she reached to grab it, but he moved it out of her grasp. She glared playfully at him. “I don’t need you to feed me,” she told him and she’d said it to him before, when he’d brought Chinese food over to her apartment. “I know,” he said and moved the French Toast back to her lips. She smirked and didn’t move to take the fork again, but bit the food off his fork. He grinned because she was making a show of it for him. She licked her lips and Simon reached a hand up to cup her chin, his thumb running over her bottom lip. He tightened his arm around her waist and he swallowed a little because he felt like he was treading on uneven ground with what he was about to say to her. “I was thinking,” he started. “You’re hot when you think,” she joked and she leaned forward to press a kiss to his temple. He laughed but he felt his heart beating faster because he was nervous. Simon turned a so his nose rubbed against hers and his lips brushed her lips. “Maybe today we could go to your apartment and pick up your things.” He felt her back away a little and he met her gaze, looking into her dark eyes as she watched his face. He forced the smile to stay on his face like he wasn’t scared out of his mind to be asking her this. He couldn’t read the look on her face but she wasn’t screaming or telling him to go fuck himself, so he pressed on. “I mean, you already have a spare key. And I miss you when you have to go home to change clothes. I’d rather watch you change here,” he joked. Vic was watching him closely and she tipped her head to the side. “Are you asking me to move in, Welsh?” she asked and he couldn’t help but smile at her tone because sometimes she was really straightforward and he wondered why he couldn’t just be like that. He rambled when he was nervous. She just blurted things out. “Maybe,” he said and he hefted her up further on his lap, his hand running over her thigh and the other wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. “It depends on if you say yes or not. I don’t take rejection very well,” he joked, but kept his eyes on her face. She seemed to really be giving it thought. He thought about how much he loved waking up next to her. He loved her arms wrapped around him and her sitting on his lap and he loved how she made breakfast and dinner and he loved it when she watched movies with him. They still hadn’t gone on their third date and he thought maybe he’d dropped the ball on that, but the whole getting tortured thing probably had something to do with that. He wanted her. He wanted her to stay around him and he didn’t like it when he had to let her out of his sight because she made him so happy. She’d came for him. She’d flown halfway around the world to find him and bring him home and he didn’t know how to tell her how much that meant to him, how much she meant to him. He wanted her to have nice things and he wanted to be the one to give her those nice things. He wanted to be strong for her and he wanted to stop having nightmares and be okay for her and if she was around, maybe he could do that. “You’re a problem, Welsh,” she said and he tipped his head to the side, because there was a smirk curling her lips and he thought he knew what that meant. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing one leg up so she was straddling him and held her tightly against him. She sighed and then she was smiling brightly. “Okay, but so long as you remember that this doesn’t mean you own me.” He laughed and ducked his head to kiss her neck. “I know,” he told her, his teeth scraping over her neck and she moaned and he thought about picking her up and taking her back to the bedroom. A knock on the front door ruined whatever plans he’d had and he laughed, leaning his head forward against her chest. “I think you should answer your front door,” he said and she just chuckled, climbing off his lap to let him get up. “I don’t think so,” she told him and then walked around to the other side of the counter. He didn’t miss the way her hand stayed out of sight and the way she was trying to be nonchalant about it, but he imagined she was going for the knife he kept in the counter drawer. He shook his head at her and made his way up the hallway to the front door. Elias was standing on the other side and Simon had to suck in a breath because he hadn’t seen the man since the first day in the hospital when he’d come in to debrief him. He wore one of his fancy Italian suits and he smiled with a fake pleasantry on his face when he saw Simon. “Hello Mr. Welsh,” Elias said and then let himself into the apartment. Simon sighed as the man made his way towards the kitchen and he growled low in his throat because Vic was still in the kitchen in just her underwear and a t-shirt and he didn’t want Elias anywhere near her like that. “Victoria,” Elias greeted as he leaned against the counter. She just gave him a fake smile back before he face fell into a glare. Simon shut the front door and then made his way over to them. He rounded the counter and stood beside Vic, one of his hands coming out to take hers and he just waited for Elias to tell them what he wanted. Elias looked down at them, his eyes moving over Vic and Simon growled again because he didn’t like the way Elias was looking at her. “How are you feeling, Mr. Welsh?” Elias asked suddenly, his eyes moving to him. “Back on my feet,” Simon answered and he felt Vic squeeze his hand back. Elias nodded. “Good,” he said. “I’ll need you two to report in tonight. At six sharp.” Vic scoffed. “That’s why you made a house call?” she asked bitterly. Elias smiled wickedly at her and then looked back to Simon. “No, I’m making a house call, because you’ve been promoted, Mr. Welsh. You’re the new team captain. You’ll need to report an hour earlier so we can talk over the details. Congratulations.” Then Elias turned around and headed back towards the front door. Simon blinked for a moment, just watching the man walk away and then he shook his head, rounding the counter. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he blurted and Elias stopped, turning back around to look at him. “And why is that?” Simon swallowed thickly and tried not to sound like an asshole or weak, but he didn’t think he could have a team under him, following his orders. Not now. Maybe before China he would have been okay with it. But not now. Not when he couldn’t close his eyes without seeing someone he loved tied to a pole getting their brains blown out of their head. “I’m sure the Initiative can find someone a bit more…stable than me, Elias.” Simon said. He didn’t miss the look Vic shot him and he’d have to talk to her later about it because he didn’t want to tell Elias that he didn’t think he was mentally capable of leading them anywhere. “Then you’ll receive weekly psychiatric sessions,” Elias said. “Elias, I’m going to have to decline the position,” he told the man. Elias just grinned wickedly. ‘You don’t have a choice in the matter.” .Wolfie. Simon was concentrating hard today. Vic circled him on the other side of the mat and she watched his eyes as he moved. They were narrowed and focused on hers because she’d told him that the eyes would always give away his opponent before anything else did. The slight tightening, the flicker of motion, any of it could give away when a fist was going to come towards his face next and he was trying hard to be aware of that and everything else she’d told him. She launched a sharp jab at his face and he just ducked his head to the side because he knew she liked to follow that first jab with a cross and hit him as hard as she could. A smirk curled her lips as his arm blocked the cross and lashed out with a hook. The blow caught her hard and she was surprised at the force behind it. It snapped her head to the side and she felt pain burst in her jaw where his knuckles bit into her skin. Almost immediately she felt his hands close around her wrists and he was stepping close to her, head ducking to look into her eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, eyes wide and concerned. She didn’t answer him with words, yanking her arms back and breaking his grip. Her fingers curled around his wrist and she was ducked into him, knee catching him hard in the gut. In a second she was dropping him to the mat, her hands still gripping his arm and yanking it up hard between his shoulders as he fell to his stomach. She straddled his lower back, fingers still curled around his skin as she lowered her head to his ear. “I’ve told you a thousand times not to pull your punches with me,” she said, pressing a kiss against the side of his head. He grunted a little at the pressure holding his arm behind him and she relaxed her grip somewhat. “I know,” he said, face turned to the side as it pressed against the mat. A sheepish smile pulled at his lips because he knew better than to drop his guard like that. She always made him pay for it. “Can you let me up now?” She smirked, letting go of his arm but not getting off his back. He pulled his limb back in front of him, rubbing at his wrist and glancing over his shoulder at her where she still crouched on top of him. She crossed her arms and leaned on his shoulders, head still leaned down near his and her eyes focused on his face. “You’re concentrating very hard today,” she said. “What’s on your mind?” His fingers were still working at his wrist and she hoped she hadn’t hurt him with the move because he’d been hurt enough this last month. She wanted to make him stronger, not break him down. “I don’t know,” he said, and she knew it was a lie as soon as the words were out of his mouth and he did too. A sigh escaped his lips and he turned his head so that he could look back at her. “I don’t want to fuck this up. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt because I didn’t do my job well enough.” She smiled and nuzzled her mouth into his neck because she’d been waiting for this since Elias had come into his apartment this morning. He’d been quiet and thoughtful and she could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. It worried her that he thought he wasn’t stable enough to lead anyone but she understood why he’d said it. He was still having nightmares and he was still trying to get back on his feet and she knew he was scared, but he didn’t have to be. Her fingers came up to run through his hair and her lips pressed against the side of his head. “You’ll do fine,” she told him. “I’m not so sure,” he admitted, shaking his head. He crossed his arms beneath his face, resting his chin on it as he starred across the floor. “I mean, why me? They’ve got to have someone else they could assign to this team.” She sighed, her fingers massaging the back of his head as she rested her chin on his shoulder. “Why not you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side so she could watch his eyes and he wasn’t looking at her. He was a thousand miles away and she smiled even though he wasn’t looking at her. “I’ve told you before how brilliant you are. You’re smart and you’re dangerous and you already know this team and what we’re capable of. You’ve already proven yourself on the Meehan job.” He shook his head. “I know,” he said. “But that was before.” As soon as he said it he snapped his mouth shut like he didn’t want to say any more or he didn’t want to risk being weak. Her fingers kept moving through his hair and she moved her lips down the side of his jaw and then onto the back of his neck. “We’ll get you back to okay again,” she told him quietly. Her hands moved down his neck and she started to rub at the tension in his shoulders. “I keep seeing you die in my sleep,” he whispered quietly, and her lips stilled at the words. She kept her hands moving, thumbs rubbing across his shoulder blades. “Not just you. Everyone I know, everyone I care about. They all die in my dreams.” “Those are just bad dreams,” she told him. He closed his eyes against her fingers and her hands as she tried to work the stress out of his shoulders. “And it doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means you care.” Pops would have argued with that, but he was dead now, wasn’t he? “I’d rather have someone who gives a shit about my life asking me to risk it than I would someone like Avi who would just use Tony as a fucking meat shield because he’s too stupid and careless to stop and think of a better plan.” She couldn’t help the disdain in her voice as she spat the words out and when she was done she heard him laugh quietly underneath her. “I see. So what you’re saying is even if I suck, I at least won’t do any worse?” he asked, tilting his head to the side to look at her. There was a wry smirk on his face it made her smile back. She leaned her head down to press a kiss to his temple, fingers running through his hair as she did. Then she pushed herself to her feet, hearing him grunt underneath her. “Now you’re getting it, Welsh,” she told him. “And if you get us all killed at least we’ll be too dead to be mad at you for it.” He snorted, shaking his head as he pushed himself back to his feet. “Surprisingly that doesn’t make me feel better in the least,” he told her, a fake bright smile on his face. He stepped back, fists held up in case she went after him. She did, but not in the way he was waiting for. Her hands closed over his fists as she stepped in front of him, pressing a kiss to his chest. “Then I take it back,” she told him, because she never said she was sorry. Her lips moved up his chest and then to the hollow of his throat and then she tipped her head back to smile at him. “You can do this,” she told him firmly. “I have total faith in you.” A quiet sigh left his lips and he ducked his head to kiss her. “How can I argue with that?” he said. She laughed and kissed him back and then she pushed him forcefully away. That was the only warning he got when she came after him again and the look of concentration back on his face. His eyes locked on hers and when she swung at him he was ready for it. She didn’t go easy on him but then he didn’t go easy on her either and it turned her on to see him so forceful and determined. They cut the sparring session short so that there was still time to shower and get her stuff from her apartment before Simon had to meet with Elias. She wondered if he was nervous about that because she was and she wouldn’t even be there. He held her hand as they headed up the stairs to her tiny apartment and she felt vaguely excited and mostly scared. He’d asked her to move in with him. She’d been there almost every night since that first date but she still felt strange about it. It was Simon’s apartment, she’d just been sleeping there and she’d always felt that subtle distinction. She didn’t answer the phone or the door and she felt weird sometimes about using his food. She wondered if they would go grocery shopping together now and she wondered if she should try and pay part of the rent or if he’d even let her. She didn’t even know how much his rent was. A month ago she’d run away because he’d said he loved her and now she was getting her things to move in with him and she wondered if that meant her priorities were fucked up. Love was something that had terrified her, but sharing his home with him just made her excited. She liked being in his bed and in his shower and making dinner or breakfast with him. He was more of a distraction than a help sometimes but she liked that too. She liked everything about him and that was scary and new. “I just thought of something,” she said. She was busy unlocking the door to the apartment when it occurred to her and she glanced over her shoulder at his face. “You’re hot when you think,” he said, and she laughed because he was throwing her own words back at her. She pushed the door aside and leaned against it to hold it open for him. The bedroom door was shut and Lisa’s music was on as loud as ever and she was so fucking happy that she would be done with that shit. She wouldn’t wake up to some bitch staring at her or the smell of smoke in their bedroom. She would wake up to fingers playing across her spine and kissed on her neck. And yeah, she’d probably wake up to him gasping for air and clinging to her desperately to remind him he wasn’t having a nightmare, but she didn’t mind that. She minded that he was having them, but she wanted to be there to convince him it was all just a bad dream. “Well, you’re going to be the boss now,” she said. He smiled at the way she put it but she saw his eyes narrow as he started thinking about that and it hadn’t been her intention. She pushed the door shut with her foot and headed towards the television to start getting her movies together. There wasn’t much else she had that was even hers. She could keep whatever was in the fridge and the furniture. She just needed her clothes and her movies. “That means you’re going to have access to personnel files. Like mine.” She heard him suck in a breath and maybe he hadn’t thought about that but she had, because she’d spent so much time trying to bury the past. She didn’t turn around, crouching in front of the television and starting to dig out all the ones she knew were hers. She heard his feet on the carpet as he came to crouch down next to her and she could feel him staring at her as she sorted through their things. His hand came out to rest on her shoulders and she glanced at his face because he looked so much more distressed than she had meant for him to be. “Vic,” he said. “If I don’t have to, I won’t look at it.” She smiled at the words because she believed him, but she also believed that he wouldn’t have a choice. She turned around to put the DVDs on the table and he caught her wrist as she started to pull back. His eyes were searching her face like he was trying to figure out if she was mad or not, and she wasn’t. She was mostly just sad and a little nervous. “You’ll have to,” she told him. “You should know who the people on your team are if you want to do a good job and I know you do. It’s just…” she trailed off and then shrugged, a hand coming up to brush over his cheek. “I wanted to tell you that stuff myself.” “You can tell me anything,” he said, turning his head to kiss her palm. “It won’t change how I feel about you.” She smirked, thumb brushing over his cheek. “Maybe,” she said, and then the smile widened. “Wait until you see my rap sheet to say that thought. It’s a pretty impressive list.” Wenston It was easy getting Vic moved in to his apartment. She didn’t have much stuff, just clothes and movies mostly. He’d cleared out one side of his closet and half of the dresser for her and she didn’t even have enough clothes to fill it all. Her movies filled up his television stand and that was all she had. He thought he should buy her some more things. Take her shopping. He wondered if she liked clothes shopping or what things she actually liked. CD’s maybe, or posters or maybe she’d like pottery. He just didn’t know. While Vic had been getting her clothes, Lisa the roommate had come out and pointed a finger at Simon. “I need your brother’s phone number,” she’d demanded and Vic had stuck her head out of the bedroom and told him not to tell her. Simon didn’t even get a chance to ask why before Lisa was spewing off curses towards Alexey for being a whore and a man slut and a bunch of other colorful names Simon had never heard of before. He tried to picture his brother being with this girl and the thought made him shiver because she was psycho. They’d said goodbye to Lisa, Vic using not so subtly telling the girl to go die in a fire, and then he driven her back to the apartment and they’d gotten her settled in. They only had about half an hour before Simon had to leave to go to the compound so he’d flopped onto the couch and had pulled Vic down on top of him and he’d flipped the television on, but they didn’t really watch what was on. “We need to go on another date,” Simon told her and she grinned at him as she laid on top of him and between his legs. She was pressing kisses along his neck and he’d never been with a girl who was as affectionate as Vic. He wouldn’t have expected it out of her from the first time he saw her, but he loved it. He loved that every time they had sex, it was like the first time. It didn’t get old and it didn’t get stale and he didn’t think it ever would. And if it did, he’d just have to find new ways to keep it interesting. Vic’s face was pressed into the crook of his neck and she was smiling against his skin. “I’d rather stay home,” she said with a sly grin. Simon laughed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to him. “I still need to see you in a dress,” he said and she groaned because she’d been fighting that since he’d first suggested it. He laughed and ran his hands up and down her back. “So I’m going to take you shopping for one. And you’ll have to try on every one I pick out until I find one I like.” Vic laughed and lifted her head to look at him. “I think that’s supposed to be the other way around.” Simon pretended like he was actually giving that thought and then he shook his head. “Nope,” he said. “If you don’t like dresses, it’ll be more for me than you, so I get to pick it out.” She just laughed at him and he decided to shut her up by pressing his lips against hers and they stayed that way until it was time for Simon to go. They drove together and the thought passed through his mind that maybe she should have a car of her own, but he didn’t know if she’d accept something that expensive from him. He didn’t mind driving her around, so maybe he’d just get her a spare key to the Lexus. Vic went to the gym while Simon went up to Elias’s office and she didn’t look too happy to see him go. He could relate. He wasn’t really looking forward to being in command of the team, but he was and he’d have to move pass the anxiety and fear because those were things that could get him or the team in trouble. He felt the same way he did on the Meehan job, that their lives were in his hands and he wouldn’t do anything that could compromise that. He had to be prepared. Even if he didn’t think he was stable enough to do it, he had to. There wasn’t another option. Knocking on Elias’s door, he heard the man call for him to come in and when he pushed the door open, Elias was behind his desk like he always was. He glanced up at Simon and that cruel smile of his slid across his face before he waved Simon over. “Welsh, come in,” Elias said. “We have some things to go over.” Simon closed the door behind him and he sat down across from Elias. The man was signing some paperwork and when he was done, he passed it across the desk to him. “These are your work agreements. They just say that you’ll be compensated at a higher rate of pay, so all you have to do is sign there.” Simon glanced up at Elias and accepted the pen, but he read through each of the pages. Elias looked amused, but Simon didn’t care. He didn’t trust the man anymore. He wasn’t sure if he ever did, but after what had happened with the China mission, he didn’t trust Elias to just slip in there that he’d be signing on for another fifteen years or something. The paperwork turned out to be in order, so Simon signed the documents and Elias accepted them back, filing them away in a manila folder. Then he crossed his arms on the desk and leaned forward. “As the team leader, you’ll be the first to get information about all missions. You’re in charge now, Welsh, so they’ll be taking orders from you and you’ll be planning everything. If a mission fails, it’s on you. If it succeeds, it’s on your team, do you understand that concept?” Simon nodded. “Yes sir,” he said. Elias smirked and tipped his head to the side to study Simon. “What made you tell me that you weren’t stable?” he asked and the question seemed to come out of the blue. Simon glanced up at the man and then shrugged a little. “I’m having nightmares, feelings of regret and guilt, and other signs of post traumatic stress,” Simon informed him and Elias just smirked. “You’re very smart and self aware, Welsh,” Elias said. “You told me that knowing your weaknesses was your greatest strength. I don’t see anything wrong with knowing you’re traumatized.” Simon swallowed because he had told Elias that in the very beginning. He didn’t like being classified as traumatized because that word was so harsh. He watched Elias’ face break into a cruel grin. “Half the members on your team are traumatized in one way or another,” he said and then pulled files out of his desk. He slid them across the desk towards Simon and pointed at them. “These are the files of each member on the team. You’ll read through them and understand where they’re coming from.” “Yes sir,” Simon said again and reached for the files. Elias didn’t remove his hand. Instead, he dipped his head to look Simon in the eye. “Make sure you pay attention to your little girlfriend’s file,” he said, his voice low and mean. “You’ll find out why she likes it rough and nasty.” Simon growled slightly and Elias just laughed. “You’re playing with fire thinking you’re in love with her,” he said and Simon wondered how the man knew these things. He wondered how he knew that Simon was in love with Vic. “She’ll ruin you. It’s best not to get attached to sluts like her.” “Elias,” Simon said and he was surprised with how calm and steady his voice was. “We’re going to be working closely together. It would make it a really unpleasant work environment if I had to break your arms for calling Vic anything other than a member of the team.” Elias didn’t look scared. In fact, he looked amused. “You’re right he said,” leaning back and Simon didn’t like the look on his face. “We are going to be working closely together.” He pulled more files out of the desk and plopped them down in front of Simon. “And I’m leaving you in charge of finding a new team member. I’ll need your pick by the end of the week.” Simon nodded and pulled all of the files towards him. “What about this mission?” he asked. Elias just grinned. “Let’s head to the briefing room and I’ll give you the information there,” he said, standing up and rounding the desk to clap Simon on the shoulder. Simon rolled his eyes but stood. As Elias opened the door for him, Simon paused and looked at him. “One more thing,” he said and Elias raised a brow at him. “If you do what you did to me in China to anyone on my team, there’s not a thing in the world that will stop me from slitting your throat open, do we have an understanding?” Elias was grinning, but when Simon didn’t falter and didn’t back down, something passed across his face and Simon wasn’t sure if it was fear, anger or a combination of the both. Elias just shrugged to hide it and said, “The big bosses accomplished what they sought to accomplish. That is my number one priority. If that means liquidating assets, then so be it.” Simon nodded like he understood and then just walked out the door with a quiet, “Doesn’t change anything.” .Wolfie. Vic was trying not to be nervous but it wasn’t working. She swung at the punching bag in front of her and she tried to let that ease some of her anxiety, just the steady thump of her fists against the bag. She was doing her best not to think about Simon alone with Elias because she didn’t fucking trust that man one bit. He’d sent him off to China to get tortured and imprisoned and it was just so that he could use Simon as bait to finally nail Avi. Because shooting Welsh in the back wasn’t enough proof the man was fucked up.She kept thinking about her personnel file and she didn’t know everything that was in there. She had some pretty good guesses. Probably the psych evaluation and her rap sheet. Probably the records from the foster homes she’d been in and every fake ID she’d ever used. Every name she’d ever gone by, every trip to the local prison she’d ever been in, all of that would be in there. The only thing that might not be was the one thing she hadn’t told him or anyone. There were no records of what happened to her at thirteen because she hadn’t gone to the hospital and she hadn’t gone to the cops. Why would she? They weren’t going to do anything anyway. If her pops didn’t care enough to go after those bastards then some stranger in a uniform wasn’t going to do shit about either, especially not for a drug dealer and his kid. Her dad had owed somebody money and they’d taken that back and more. Unless Elias had been a fucking asshole about it and written his theories in the margins, that at least he wouldn’t see on paper. Everything else would be in there, all under her real name and she felt abruptly guilty that she’d never told him that. It was just a name and it didn’t mean anything, but maybe that was one of those things she should have told a man she was moving in with? That killed her dark thoughts almost immediately. A smile tugged at her lips because they’d spent half the day putting her clothes in drawers next to his and she had never realized how little she had until she’d moved out. She didn’t have much. She never had. Even when she was with pops, they didn’t collect things that they couldn’t throw in a backpack and take with them in thirty seconds or less. She used to have that snow globe of Coney Island, but that was long gone by now, abandoned in whatever shithole they’d been staying at that last day. She wondered what had prompted her pops to give her that. She had this theory, one she’d never say out loud because it would have gotten her hit, but she thought that it was something that used to belong to her mom. Maybe her name was in her file somewhere and maybe if she asked nicely Simon could tell Vic her name. She heard the door bang open a second before she heard Alexey’s voice. “So the chief, he’s real quiet for a minute, and then he finally turns to the professor and he says ‘I’ll make you a deal. You don’t say anything about more the sheep and I won’t say anything more about the kid.’” Alexey burst out laughing at his own joke and Vic paused to grab the punching bag and turn in his direction. He was coming in with Tony at his heels and the big guy was just staring at him blankly as he slapped him on the arm. Alexey was still laughing until he finally realized he was the only one who was and then he blinked up at Tony. “I don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head down at Romanova and the look on his face was absolutely priceless. Alexey sighed and he patted him on the arm. “He fucked the sheep, big guy,” he told him, and then he turned his head towards Vic, a grin spreading across his face. “Bitchzilla!” he yelled, sauntering over in her direction. “How the Hell you been? I’ll forgive you for not calling or writing or sending flowers if you tell me that you’ve just been busy laying sexual healing on my brother.” She smiled, leaning into the punching bag as she started stripping the bindings off her hands. “Hey, that’s a lot of work. At least twice a day, every day,” she told him, and he crowed loudly at the response. “This is bullshit,” he said, shaking his head and laughing at her. “I am quite clearly the smarter and more attractive brother. How is it that he’s the one regularly getting some from a smokin’ hot chick? Is it because of the scars? It’s because of the scars isn’t it?” He shook his head and slumped down on bench with a sad, dejected look on his face. Tony sat down next to him and patted him gently on the shoulder and he was so genuine all the time that it was just ridiculous. “Just don’t tell me it’s the fucking yoga thing because I really don’t want to do that shit every day.” Her smile widened. “Oh, that’s a lot of it,” she told him. “Turns out that kind of flexibility is very appealing.” Alexey groaned and tipped his head back against the wall. Vic grinned and then she twisted the knife deeper, an innocent look on her face. “But you know, if you’re that desperate Lisa was asking about you today. She was trying to scam your number off your brother.” Alexey coughed and jerked upright, covering his mouth with his hand and looking at her with wide, terrified eyes. She thought he should be, because if Simon had actually given the bitch his number she’d probably be calling him at 2am to breathe heavily into the phone and ask him what he was wearing. “Tell me he said no,” Romanova begged desperately. “Tell me she doesn’t have my number. Or my house address. No, you know what? When you go home tonight just tell her I’m dead. Tell her it was very tragic.” Vic bit her lip to try and stop the smile that was spreading across her face. When she went home tonight it wouldn’t be to Lisa and her fucking black bathroom or her cigarettes. It would be with Simon. She would go home with him tonight and every night and she would get to go to sleep in his arms and wake up next to him and she felt her heart beating hard against her chest because the thought made her happy. He wanted her. She wasn’t just a fuck to him and sometimes that thought still scared her but right now she was just happy. “I would,” she told him, resting her head against the punching bag. “But I don’t live there anymore.” Alexey tilted his head to the side and he looked like he already knew the answer to his next question but he asked it anyway, a grin tugging at his lips. “Oh yeah?” he said. “So where do you live now?” She shrugged like it was no big deal even though it was. It was to her anyway, because she’d never moved in with anyone before and she’d never been taken on dates or given presents and she’d never cared about someone like she cared about Simon. She’d never been in love and while she couldn’t shake the voice of her father in the back of her head, telling her it was stupid and it was weak and it would end in pain, she couldn’t help herself when it came to Welsh. “I live with Simon,” she told him. Alexey tipped his head back and laughed, but it wasn’t a mean thing. She didn’t understand why that was his reaction but he was smiling anyway, and next to him Tony was smiling too. “Does this mean we should celebrate?” the big guy asked, glancing over at Alexey for answers and she smiled because the two of them were ridiculous. “We could go to the bar. It’s karaoke night.” “Yes,” Alexey said. “Yes we fucking should. Holy shit Bitchzilla, it took him like a year and a half for Kim to move in with him. This has been what? Two months since you even met each other?” He whistled and shook his head, the smile still on his face. “This just happened today,” she told him. “So we’ll see how it goes.” “Today?” Alexey said, tilting his head down to look at her. “Well then it definitely means we’re drinking tonight. What’s your song, Bitchzilla, because we’re getting your ass up on that stage and you’re going to sing us something. You look like an ‘It’s Rainin’ Men’ sort of girl, what do you think, Tony?” He chuckled and nudged the guy in his stomach and Vic just rolled her eyes because if he thought she was singing anywhere but in the fucking shower he was seriously mistaken. Tony shook his head. “Vic’s a ‘Bad Reputation’ girl,” he said. Alexey frowned and glanced at him like he was surprised that it came out of his mouth and then he laughed and clapped the big guy on his back. “Yeah, that fits,” he said, grinning as he turned back to Vic. He leaned back on the bench, crossing his arms over his head as he waggled his eyebrows at her. “So where is the old ball and chain? You got him tied to the bed posts at home, waiting for you to come back and punish him for being a bad boy?” Vic rolled her eyes and walked across the mats to get her hoodie off the bench. It was ten to six and she wanted to get to the briefing room early so that Simon knew she was there to support him and he didn’t have to be worried about taking charge of the team. She didn’t lie to him when she said she had total faith in his ability to do this, because he was amazing. He was stronger than she ever would have guessed at first glance and he was smarter than her and she didn’t feel weird about that. She knew where her strengths were, and they were all about being able to slit throats and do whatever it took to survive or get the job done. “He’s already working,” she told Alexey, and she bit her lip and didn’t tell him that he’d been promoted because she thought it would be funnier if he found out in the briefing room. Besides, if Elias hadn’t told everyone already then maybe he was waiting to announce it in some sort of official capacity first. Though mostly she just thought it would be funnier. “I think he had some paperwork to fill out with Elias, but he’ll be there.” She pulled her hoodie over her head and Alexey took that as his cue to get off the bench. “Well, as long as he’s not sending him on some secret mission to China, I guess I’m okay with it. You think a month’s long enough for them to find someone to replace Captain America? I mean, Christ, they could just throw a chimp in a suit and he’d do a better job,” he said, heading towards the door. Vic bit back a laugh and kept her mouth shut. “I hope the mission’s not tonight,” Tony said, and she glanced at his face because he sounded genuinely sad at the thought. Looked it too. “I really wanted to go to karaoke night.” “Aw, there, there big guy,” Alexey told him. “Even if it is tonight there’s gotta be a bar somewhere in this city that’s got karaoke tomorrow. Or you know, we could just go next week. Anyway, we’ll make it happen, and then I’ll show you the kind of musical genius this world missed out on when I signed with the Initiative instead. I’m telling you, you poor bastards could be watching my Behind the Music special right now, and then you’d be wishing you were jumping my bones instead.” “Are you talking to me or Tony?” Vic asked sweetly, tipping her head to the side to look at him. He burst into a coughing fit at the question and even Tony shot a frown her way. She bit her lip to try and bite back the smile because Simon wasn’t here to see it and it was still habit for her to pretend she wasn’t smiling and she wasn’t happy because emotion was weakness. “I was talking to you, but I rescind the offer. I’m sorry Bitchzilla, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to see other people. Banging my brother is one thing, but an insult to my sexuality? I just can’t let that slide.” He clucked his tongue and shook his head at her. She sighed and put a hand to her chest as she headed towards the briefing room. “How will I ever survive?” Wenston Simon was pouring over files. He hadn’t even touched the stack of possible new recruits. He didn’t plan to even look at those until they got finished with this new mission Elias sent their way. He’d started with the file for the mission and there wasn’t much to go on. Elias had even told him it was probably the smallest file they’d had on someone yet and Simon that was fitting seeing as this was his first mission as official captain. They couldn’t make it easy for him, could they? He hadn’t wanted to, but he’d starting looking through their personal files after he’d memorized everything in the mission file. He’d been starting to put a plan together in his head, but there wasn’t much to go on, not like with the Meehan one. They’d probably be doing most of their planning once they got there. He started with his brother’s file, which didn’t hold anything he didn’t already know about him. Alexey’s record was completely clean except for a few speeding tickets and there was a reason he never let his brother drive the Lexus. Tony’s file came next because he wanted to know who his little brother was hanging around with. On paper, Tony seemed like the kind of person Simon would have been terrified of. He had a fairly long wrap sheet, mostly involving auto theft or selling stolen car parts. He had an assault and battery charge and that made Simon a little leery, but when he read through the file, Tony had gone after his sister’s boyfriend because he’d been beating her. That made Simon snort, because Tony really was a good guy. He just liked cars. And he probably was easily manipulated into the car theft business. It said he’d had partners and worked for a guy that was still out there somewhere. He’d taken a deal to get in with the Initiative. He’d read Jezibel’s file on the Meehan case, but he looked through it again, if only to be reminded of how they’d handled Meehan, because he was someone who’d come after one of their own and they didn’t stand for that. Putting her file on top of Tony’s, he pulled out Lyle’s. It was surprisingly little. There were no felony convictions or traffic tickets. There were some military papers and Simon was surprised to find out Lyle had been in the army. He wasn’t surprised to find out he’d been a munitions expert. A bomb sniffer, basically. He looked for explosives along the roads. Other than that, he’d grown up in a middle class family, went to college and dropped out after two years to join the army and that’s really all there was to his file. He was kind of disappointed because he still didn’t really know the man and after reading the file, that hadn’t changed much. He paused on the last file. It was Vic’s and he almost didn’t want to read it. She’d seemed disappointed that he would be reading through the file and learning stuff about her that she wasn’t able to tell him. But he’d decided as soon as Elias had told him he’d be in charge of the Nightstalkers that there would be no special treatment. Not for Vic, not for Alexey. He’d treat them like the team they were when they were on missions. And if afterwards he got to take Vic home with him, that was his own business. The file was a long read. Her father had been tied with the mafia and that didn’t surprise in one bit after she’d told him the man had pissed people off and they’d had to go on the run. The thing that surprised him the most was all the different names she’d ever gone by. He tried not to be hurt that she hadn’t told him Victoria Wolfe wasn’t her real name. She must have had a reason for it and he trusted that it wasn’t because she didn’t want him to know. It was because he never called her Victoria Wolfe. He’d always just called her his Vic. He read the names of the people her father had been in business with. He read the police report from when she’d been shot. He read all about her life and when he was done, he shut the file and sighed because now he knew the specifics. But there was still more he wanted to know about her and it meant the world to him that he could still ask her these things. That he could still discover things about her on her own time and not read it in a file somewhere. The door to the briefing room opened and Simon glanced up. Alexey and Tony walked in and his brother was laughing about something, which could be anything knowing his brother. Vic followed after them and she smiled widely when she saw him. He returned it full fledged and shoved the files to the side, grabbing the mission file instead. Vic sauntered over to the desk he was sitting behind and sat down on it, her arms folded over her chest. He saw her eyes go to the stack of files and then back to him and he just kept grinning up at her. “If you have the urge to change your name again, just let me know ahead of time,” he said, making sure to keep his tone light to let her know he was joking with her and that he wasn’t judging her, but he wanted her to know that he’d read through the file. “We could just roleplay in the bedroom. I always wanted to change my name to Dirk.” She laughed at that and he was glad because it meant she wasn’t mad. She leaned across the desk and her face was close to his. “Dirk?” she asked playfully. Simon nodded leaning forward to kiss her, aware that Alexey and Tony were in the room, but he didn’t care at the moment. Vic was watching his face closely and then she shook her head. “I like Simon better.” The comment made his grin widen. Alexey cleared his throat behind her and Simon looked pass Vic and over at his brother, who’d taken a seat on the couch. “So, I hear you have a new roommate,” Alexey said and his brother was never good at being subtle. Simon snorted. “No, no, it’s okay. You’ve only known me my whole life and I don’t even have a key to your place.” “Why would you need a key?” Simon laughed. “To come over and watch your big screen,” Alexey said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Oh, and when I bring a girl home to your apartment, I can pretend it’s mine and they’ll think I’m as loaded and successful as you as I bang them on your couch. It looks like a nice couch for that sort of thing.” “It is,” Vic said and Simon blushed a little as his little brother broke into laughter. Tony sighed heavily and Simon glanced at the big guy sitting next to Alexey. Tony was looking at him, his head quirked to the side. “Do we have a mission tonight?” he asked and Simon raised an eyebrow, glancing at Alexey because the guy looked disappointed at that prospect. Alexey just grinned. “We were going to go to karaoke tonight to celebrate Bitchzilla moving in with you.” Simon bit back a laugh and shook his head. “We leave tomorrow, actually.” “Oh awesome, big guy,” Alexey chirped, slapping the man on the shoulder. “See? I told you it would be alright.” He paused for a moment and then looked towards Simon, a frown on his face. “Wait, how do you know when we’re leaving? And what are you doing sitting at the desk? And why do you have all those folders?” Simon opened his mouth to answer, but the door opened and Jezibel, Lyle and Elias walked in. They glanced at Simon sitting at the desk and Elias smirked, waiting for everyone to take a seat. Vic pushed off the desk and Simon watched her walk back over to the couch and Simon wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t yell at her for sitting on the desk like Elias would. “I’ll need to make this quick,” Elias said. “I have another meeting to go to.” He turned and held his hand out to Simon. “In wake of Captain Rogers’ recent termination, Mr. Welsh has taken over as your team captain.” Simon watched his brother’s eyes widen and then Alexey burst out laughing, clapping his hands like that was the best news he’d ever heard in his life. Elias seemed annoyed by the outburst, but Simon just dipped his head to hide his smile. “I’ll leave you to it then,” Elias said and Simon was surprised when the man left them at that. Simon had already told Elias a little bit of what he planned with the mission, but he hadn’t expected him to just leave like that. Alexey quirked an eyebrow at Simon. “So, boss,” he said sarcastically. “This means drinks are on you tonight.” .Wolfie. “His name is Brett Miles,” Welsh said, nodding his head at the screen. On it was video footage of Miles as he snapped together the pieces of his rifle. The sound was off but he was laughing and saying something to the camera. It looked like a homemade snuff film, because when he was done talking he got down on his belly and moved forward through the brush. Vic watched as he put the gun to his shoulder and took aim at an elephant taking a drink from a watering hole.“The man’s a big game hunter. When he started out, he used to pay the fees and get the proper permits, but in the last decade he’s gone completely off the grid. The man wants to hunt,” he said, shaking his head. “He doesn’t care if it’s an endangered species, if I had to guess I’d say he doesn’t even care about all the money he’s making in ivory right now. It’s about the hunt for him.” Even as he said the words, the gun on the screen went off and struck the animal in the head. Brett Miles turned back to the camera and he just smiled, giving it an ‘ok’ sign with his hands. Simon left the footage rolling until the elephant hit the ground. “We’re going after a poacher?” Alexey asked, his eyes widening. “You mean we’re doing something just to save the wildlife, protect nature, fight the good fight?” He laughed, shaking his head and leaning forward. A smile pulled at Simon’s lips as he waited for his brother to finish and Vic just watched him because right now he didn’t look as nervous as she knew he was. “Man, I know they put you in charge but I didn’t think they’d go so Greenpeace just because you’re running the show.” “Don’t get your hopes up,” Simon told him. “I doubt the Initiative is doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. The ivory trade has been alive and illegal for the last twenty years, but even the regular poachers watch how much they take. It’s not good for anyone if all the African Elephants drop dead at once.” He glanced back at the screen and he had a thoughtful look on his face. Vic wondered if he was trying to figure out the answer to his brother’s question because Simon would want to know why the Initiative cared. “Miles isn’t being careful. He’s last been spotted in Chad, and he’s making a regular elephant graveyard out of every herd he finds.” “So when do we leave, boss?” Jezibel asked. Simon laughed quietly at the name and she grinned back, leaning against the cushions. “Tomorrow,” Alexey said quickly. “We’re not taking off until tomorrow, so that means you’re more than welcome to come out to the bar with us tonight. Its karaoke night you know. You can sit there and cheer me on while I strut my stuff. I’ll sing ‘I’m too sexy’ just for you. Maybe I’ll throw you my shirt if you sit in the front row.” Jezibel laughed and then turned her head towards Vic. “Remind me to sit behind you,” she said. Vic couldn’t help but smile and as much as she had wanted to hate the girl at first, she didn’t anymore. She’d helped her save Simon. Lyle leaned forward on the sofa, his hands resting on his knees and his strange gold eyes focused on Simon. “So they pretty much determined the ‘traitor’ was Avi all along then?” he asked. He tilted his head to the side and studied Welsh and she didn’t miss that he was returning the look. She wondered what he’d found in Lyle’s file and she would have to ask if he was a coke addict because that had been her guess. She wondered if Simon could even tell her or if it was confidential. If it was then she wouldn’t push. “Looks like,” Welsh told him, leaning back in the chair. He laced his fingers behind his head and jerked his head at the screen. “Our orders are to get ride of Miles and anyone helping him. Right now he’s somewhere in the African Wilds. We’ll start in Chad, at the last pile of bodies he’s left us, and as far as anyone knows we’re going in as Wildlife Conservation officials.” “So we’ll be hunting the hunter?” Vic asked, leaning forward to rest her chin on her knees. There was a smile on her face as she studied Simon and she liked that he was the boss and she loved the smile that he gave back to her. “That’s the plan,” he told her, and then he swept the rest of the room. “Does anyone have any questions?” Alexey’s hand shot into the air like he was in school and Vic just rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around her legs. Simon sighed and then tipped his head at his brother, waiting for his question. “So what kind of perks do you get? Do you get a company car, or a private helicopter or anything? You going to be using it to join the mile high club?” Simon laughed and just shook his head. “Any other questions?” he asked. Vic smirked, still watching Simon and all the anxiety he’d had before was buried under that cool mask of determination. She thought again that they’d picked the right man for the job and she bit down hard on her lip. He’d come so far, just in the short time she’d known him. She thought about him on that first mission, leaving the safety on his gun and getting told to wait outside and then almost drowning in the bay. It took him ten minutes just to throw a punch and now she thought that he could beat her if he ever stopped pulling his punches. He probably could have had her today. Even if he was still weak from what had happened in China, he’d hit her pretty hard, and if he’d kept following through with it he probably could have had her on her back on the mat. He was almost there. When no one asked anything else, Simon just nodded his head. “Report back here by four o’clock tomorrow then. Hangovers and all,” he added, glancing up at his brother. Alexey rolled his eyes and Tony laughed, slapping Small fry on the back. Vic smirked as it knocked all the wind out of him and the big guy really didn’t know his own strengths sometimes. The others started to filter out of the room, Alexey slinging an arm around Jezibel’s shoulder and trying to convince her to come with them to the bar. He even tilted his head back to look at Lyle and shot him a wide grin as he asked if the man would be coming too. Lyle seemed surprised at the question, but then he tipped his head to the side. “Maybe I will,” he said. Tony’s eyes lit up and the man was just a big teddy bear sometimes. Her head turned to look at Simon and he was watching all this with a smile on his face but he hadn’t moved from behind the desk. His fingers were lingering on the files in front of him and she watched as he glanced down. She saw the mask slip a little and some of the anxiousness she knew he was feeling showed through. She knew he didn’t want to mess this up and she knew he wouldn’t believe her until they came home with a successful mission behind them. She pushed herself off the couch and went to hop up on the desk next to him, drawing his eyes to her face. “So boss,” she said, and she never got tired of the smile he gave her when she called him that. “What was your favorite? I was always partial to Vic Boston.” He laughed and turned in the chair, hands resting on her knees as he looked up at her. “My favorite’s whoever the girl in front of me right now is,” he told her, and she grinned because that was a really good answer. Her hand came out to brush over against his cheek and she almost said it. She almost opened her mouth and told him that she loved him but she wasn’t sure it was true yet and she didn’t want to lie to him. The rest of her life was built around lies and she only wanted to give him the truth. “My real name is Victoria DeSantos,” she told him. “But since she’s in prison, they gave me a new one.” He smirked, his thumb brushing over her lower lip and then moving to her neck where they slid against the skin. She tipped her head back and she loved his touch. She loved his hands on her skin and she loved waking up next to him and she loved that he didn’t judge her, not for anything. She wanted to tell him everything there was to know about her and that scared her because if she did that then it would hurt worse when it was over. Not that it wasn’t already going to hurt like a bitch. “You’re still my Vic,” he said, and the words sent a shiver down her spine, because they were true. She was his. She turned her head to kiss his palm and his wrist and then his hands dropped back to her knees. “Anything else you want to ask about?” she asked him, tipping her head to the side. She chewed on her lip and wondered what else might have been in there but she thought she’d told him the worst parts of it. He knew she’d sold drugs, he knew she’d worked with her dad, and he knew that she’d gotten shot in a raid. All the other terrible stuff wasn’t anything that would be in a file. “Nope,” he said. “I want you to tell me whatever you want me to know. That’s all.” He smiled at her, thumbs rubbing over her knees and she was glad that they would have one more night here before they had to fly to Africa. She wondered if he would have nightmares again tonight and if he did, she’d be there to wrap her arms around his shoulders and tell him it was all just a bad dream. She would be there to tell him that everything was okay and when she said it to him she believed it. She leaned forward, moving her lips across his cheek and then to his ear. “How is it you always know the right things to say to me?” The laugh that pulled out of his lips startled her and she turned her head to look at him. “Vic, I never know what the right things to say to you are,” he told her. His hand came up to cup her cheek and she felt his thumb moving across her cheek bone and the bruise he’d left on her jaw. He was smiling at her and his eyes were looking at her with that bright, loving look in them and it sent a shiver down her spine. He’d gone through her file and seen all her secrets but one and he was still sitting here and he didn’t hate her for it or hate her for what she’d done. “I just tell you the truth and hope you don’t gut me for it.” She smiled and moved off the desk onto his lap. He glanced towards the door and he looked a little nervous to have her sitting there, but she just slid her arms around his neck and pretended she didn’t notice. “Well, you keep doing it,” she told him, fingers running over the back of his neck and through his hair. “And I promise not to gut you for it.” He laughed and she felt his arms slide around her waist and hold her tightly to him. “I’m going to hold you to that,” he told her. He tipped his head up to kiss her neck and she almost told him to just go lock the door so they could have sex on the desk. “I’d rather you hold me to other things,” she told him, breath catching as he nipped at her skin. He laughed again and she loved that sound. She sighed contently as his lips moved over her skin and she almost told him that. She almost told him that she loved his laugh and his smile and his lips and that she thought she was falling hard for him. She almost told him that she’d never loved anyone before but she thought she could love him. Her fingers ran through his hair and her eyes drifted shut as his mouth moved down to her collarbone. “We should probably go meet Alexey,” he said, his breath warm against her skin. “I think you’re just making excuses,” she told him. He lifted an eyebrow and moved his head so that he was looking up at her, chin pressed against her stomach. She felt his fingers playing with the hem of her shirt and then moving up her back across her skin. “I think you just don’t want to get fired your first day on the job for fraternization in the briefing room.” A warm smile spread across his face. “Yeah,” he admitted. Then he lowered his chin, pressing a kiss against her stomach. “But the sooner we go out and have a drink with him the sooner I can take you home.” Wenston The bar was buzzing. Apparently karaoke night was one of the most popular nights and Simon never would have guessed. Bars weren’t really his thing. Only when Alexey was around did he ever go to them. But he didn’t mind going now, with his brother and the team and Vic. Even Lyle had come along and Simon had been somewhat surprised at that. He sat across the table from them and he was actually smiling and laughing at the drunk woman trying to sing a Lady Gaga song up on the stage. He didn’t know what to make of the man. But maybe he was trying to make up for not coming to China. Simon didn’t hold it against him. Jezibel sat next to Lyle and Alexey and Tony sat on the other side. They were playing some sort of drinking game that involved flipping quarters into their beer mugs. Vic sat on Simon’s lap and he didn’t mind that one bit. She sat sideways so she could participate in their quarter game and he kept his hands on her hips to hold her steady when she leaned forward. But she’d always come back and sometimes she’d turn around and kiss him when she won the game they were playing. Simon didn’t have a drink. He wanted to keep his head clear. He was so damn nervous about the mission tomorrow. “You’re way too fucking practiced in this game,” Alexey was complaining as Jez bounced another quarter off the table and it landed in Alexey’s glass. He grumbled and picked up the mug, taking large gulp from it before he slammed it down again. He was on his fourth already, but Tony and Jezibel had been keeping up with him easily. “You should see what else I’m practiced in,” Jezibel said coyly and the comment caused Alexey to spit out the beer, while Jezibel and Vic burst into laughter. Tony seemed like he missed the joke, but that was normal for him. Alexey looked wide eyed at Jez. “I’d love to see,” he said, a little too enthusiastically. “Especially if it involves anything to do with your tongue. Or your boobs. Or your legs. You know what, I’d love to see it no matter what it is.” Jezibel leaned across the table and picked her quarter back up, smiling at Alexey and she lingered on the table, giving him a free show of her low cut shirt before she said, “Keep drinking and maybe I’ll show you,” she said breathily and the look that passed between them made Simon lift an eyebrow and wonder if she was just teasing his brother of if Alexey actually had a chance. “Hot damn,” Alexey said and held up his hand towards the bartender. “Another round,” he called and then pointed to Simon. “On his tab.” Simon chuckled and looked at the bartender, giving a nod to tell him it was okay and to him it was. He didn’t mind them relaxing and having fun before a mission. He didn’t mind that they were all here, getting to know one another and enjoying each other’s company because when it came to it tomorrow, they may have to fight for each other. Vic grabbed a quarter suddenly and snapped it off the table. It plopped into Alexey’s drink with ease and his brother let out a loud scoff. “God damn it,” he snapped playfully. “You girls are just trying to take advantage of me.” Vic laughed and she’d had a bit to drink as well, but Simon didn’t mind that either. “We don’t need to liquor you up to do that,” she said, leaning back into Simon and he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to him. Alexey laughed and pointed a finger at her as he took more large gulps of his beer. “You’re right about that,” he said. Simon rested is head against Vic’s shoulder and he watched them carry on and joke and laugh with each other and he thought about tomorrow and how they all just accepted that Elias had put him in charge and they all expected him to do well and take care of things. He didn’t know how he felt about that. Then his mind went to Avi. He wondered if the man was dead and it was odd the spike of sadness that surged through him when he thought that. He didn’t like Avi. He could even go so far as to say he hated the man. But there was a part of him that thought Avi couldn’t control what he’d been becoming. When Avi had attacked him on the plane, it was like he didn’t know what he was doing. It was like he wasn’t in control of his mind and he wondered if that would happen to them one day. If that would happen to him. He wondered if Avi could even control his hatred for Simon. Had the man always been like he was? How had he been in the marines? They wouldn’t have put him in charge if he behaved the way he had with them while he was in the marines, would they? But he also had never expected Avi to go as far as to compromise the entire Shifter Initiative by giving away one of its operatives to a foreign government. “Alright,” Alexey said loudly and slammed his hands on the table. Simon lifted his head from Vic’s shoulder and looked at his brother. Alexey was climbing to his feet. “The time has come,” he announced. “The time when my fellow Americans are introduced to the musical prowess of none other, than Alexey Romanova.” He put a hand to his chest. Vic was laughing and the others just rolled their eyes, but Alexey pointed at all of them in warning before he headed over to the DJ who was coordinating the karaoke. Simon shook his head and then Vic was turning around and she was grinning brightly at him. “Are we drunk enough to enjoy this?” she asked playfully. Simon snorted and looked towards his brother, who was using his hands wildly to gesture towards what song he wanted. His smile dimmed somewhat and he looked back at Vic. “He’s actually really good,” he said and Vic looked curious, her hands coming up to run over his head and then she frowned and Simon thought it was because she knew how to read him and she could tell when his mood started to deteriorate. “He almost had a record deal once,” he said. “What happened?” Jezibel asked, pulling her drink up and taking a sip. Simon’s fingers played across Vic’s thigh and he said lowly, “It’s hard to be a superstar when your big brother is dying.” That seemed to sober the table a little and Vic’s arm came up and around his neck, her lips pressing to his temple. Simon nodded towards the stage where Alexey was taking his place. “Here he goes.” Simon nearly burst out laughing when the music started playing. It was Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel and Simon didn’t think that was a coincidence. Simon watched his brother and he was making a show of it as he sang. He hadn’t lied when he’d told them that Alexey was really good. The kid could have easily made a career out of being a musician if he just would have stuck with it and there was a pang of guilt in his gut because he’d taken that away from him. The bar started cheering when Alexey made the song his own by rocking it out. Simon didn’t think he’d ever heard the song sung that way and only his brother could think to do something like that. Simon laid his head back down on Vic’s shoulder. She laid her head on top of his and he felt her turn to press her lips against his temple. He watched Jezibel cheer for Alexey and Tony was dancing in his seat, cracking everyone up because it looked hilarious on the big guy. Lyle was tapping his foot to the music and he was shaking his head. Vic was getting good at reading him, because she dipped her head to look in his face. He tried to smile for her and she just ran her fingers over the back of his neck. Her lips pressed against his neck and she whispered, “I bet if you ask him, he’ll say he has no regrets.” Simon smiled and just squeezed her tighter to him. “Yeah,” was all he said. .Wolfie. Vic went to bed with Simon, but she woke up alone.They came home early and Vic told everyone it was because she wanted to spend some alone time with him before the mission tomorrow. While it was true, it was also true that Simon had been fighting a losing battle to keep a smile on his face all night and she couldn’t make him do it anymore. He was nervous and anxious and he was trying hard to pretend he wasn’t for the team. She curled up on the couch with him and watched a Kung fu movie with a bowl of overly buttered popcorn and he ate it because she’d made it but he wasn’t watching the movie and he wasn’t thinking about her and she finally sighed and pulled the popcorn out of his hands to throw it on the table. He looked at her with surprise and concern until she straddled his lap and yanked his shirt off his head and threw it onto the floor. She didn’t give him time to argue or protest and by the time her fingers made it to the button of his pants she didn’t think he wanted to anymore. She was rough and bruising and she was sure she left marks but it stopped him from thinking. She was worried about him. That was all she could think about afterwards, even though he was smiling at her and running his fingers up and down her spine. “I didn’t realize Jet Li movies had that effect on you,” he joked, running a hand through her hair. She shrugged, smiling back when his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against his side. She pressed a kiss against his chest and let her lips travel across his collarbone to the hollow of his throat. “What can I say? The man’s a quick motherfucker and he turns me on.” She tipped her head up to grin at him and his hand tightened around her skin. He laughed at her and she pretended she believed it. Her fingers wandered over his ribcage and she stayed curled tightly against him until his breathing evened out and then she let her hand move closer to the still healing cuts on his side. They were still raw and pink and she didn’t like how deep they’d been or the marks around them from the fucking chicken wire those bastards had tied it up with. She didn’t like that part of her Simon had been left in China and she crushed her eyes shut as she pressed her lips against his chest. She didn’t know how to make it better. She didn’t know what to say or what to do so she tried to just remind him she was here. At first she thought it must have been morning and he was making her breakfast or doing yoga and she thought for a minute that things were getting back to how they’d been before China. She blinked and tried to figure out what had woken her because she didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. Her head turned to the side and then she frowned because there was light coming in through the window, but it was from the moon and the stars and it wasn’t anywhere close to morning yet. She lay there for a moment, his sheets around her waist and her arms beneath the pillow as she listened and waited for Simon’s footsteps to come back down the hallway. When they didn’t, she pushed herself upright in bed and scrubbed a hand through her hair. Her clothes had been picked up off the floor and draped over the end of the bed, but Simon’s were gone. Her frown darkened and she didn’t like that he wasn’t in the room with her and he wasn’t sleeping. She wondered if he’d had a nightmare and if he had then he should have woken her ass up so she could tell him it was just a bad dream. She pulled her underwear and a tank top on and grabbed the knife out from under her pillow just in case before she padded out into the hallway. There was a light coming out of the living room and she didn’t know if that made her feel better or not. Her footsteps were quiet on the carpet and she paused in the doorway, her gaze darkening. She leaned her shoulder against the archway, crossing her arms over her chest and still holding the knife firmly in one hand, though she was pretty sure she didn’t need it anymore. There was nothing in this room that needed killing except a memory and she couldn’t seem to make that go away. Simon was sitting on the couch, a single light on next to him and a file opened up in front of him. There were several others sitting in a neat stack next to his elbow and she wondered what they were all for and if he would tell her if she asked. Her footsteps were quiet as she made her way across the living room. He jumped when she leaned over him, slamming a hand down on the file he had opened up in front of him. He started to rise but her other hand came to rest on the back of his neck and her touch seemed to calm him down. Her head turned and she pressed her lips hard into the side of his head, her voice quiet and forceful. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked him. He snorted and tried to force a smile across his face as he turned to look at her. He had to lean back so that he didn’t go cross-eyed meeting her gaze and she could see the dark circles under his eyes when he did. “How do you always manage to sneak up on me?” he asked, shaking his head at her. He was dodging the question and she frowned at him, climbing over the couch. “Answer me,” she told him, swinging a leg over his hips before she sat down on his lap. She tossed the knife onto the coffee table behind her and he looked at that for a moment before he looked back at her face. “What do you think you’re doing?” “I’m just going over the file for Miles again before tomorrow,” he told her. He leaned back, running a hand through his hair and he looked tired and stressed and her face fell because he looked like he was fraying at the seams. He looked like he was running on empty and she didn’t understand why he wouldn’t believe her when she told him he was strong and brilliant and amazing. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and she didn’t know what to say to fix it. “That and Elias wants me to pick out a new team member before the end of the weak, so I was going over some of the candidates for that.” “All that shit will still be there tomorrow,” she told him, sliding her arms around his neck. “So come to bed.” “Vic…” He said her name and then he just stopped. He looked exhausted and his eyes were tired and sad. Her fingers ran through his hair as she waited for him to finish. His hands went to her hips and just rested there for a moment before he shook his head and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her chest. “I can’t sleep,” he told her, like he was admitting some kind of weakness. “So come to bed and fuck me again,” she told him bluntly. She heard him laugh against her chest, cheek pressing against the necklace he’d given her. A quiet sigh left his lips and she felt his hands move up and down her side. “You can be so straightforward,” he told her. “Sometimes I think you’re just using me for my body.” He chuckled after he said it so that she knew he was just making a joke but she didn’t smile back because he wasn’t okay and she didn’t know how to make him be again. He shook his head and leaned back on the couch, his hands moving back to her hips and his head tilting to the side to study her. She kept her hands on his neck, fingers playing across his jaw and down his skin to his shoulders and back again. “I’m not,” she told him, watching his face. He smirked when she said it but he saw something like relief on his face for a split second and it made her hands still against his skin because maybe he’d really thought that. Maybe he’d thought that she was just using him for a fuck and maybe he still believed it or at least wondered. If he did then that was her fault. She wasn’t good at saying what she was feeling because emotions were weakness and love was a weakness and maybe she hadn’t made it clear to him that he was the exception to all those rules. “Why didn’t you ever ask me why I couldn’t say I loved you back?” she asked. He started at the question, eyes widening as his gaze swept her face. They hadn’t talked about it much, just that he wouldn’t say it until she could say it back. “I didn’t think you wanted to talk about it,” he told her. “I mean, if you can’t say it back it’s because you don’t feel it yet, and that’s okay because I don’t expect you to lie to me and I don’t expect more than you can give.” He licked his lips nervously and he looked like he was on the verge of rambling because that’s what he did when he was nervous or on uncertain ground with her and the question had probably come out of nowhere as far as he was concerned. “Nobody’s ever loved me,” she said. Her voice didn’t change tone and she didn’t say it with any regret. It was just a fact and she didn’t feel sad about that, thought maybe she should. “I’ve never loved anybody. I don’t know what that’s supposed to feel like or how I’m supposed to recognize it if it happens.” His face fell and she felt his fingers tighten on her hips. It made her smile and her fingers ran over the back of his neck. “Don’t give me that puppy dog face, Welsh.” “What about your dad?” he asked. His voice was as harsh and sad as the look on his face. The question made her laugh and she didn’t mean to so she covered her mouth quickly with her hand. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “But that’s not the point.” Her hands cupped his jaw and she lifted his face up towards hers. “The point of this is that this is all very new to me. The way I feel about you…” she bit her lip to hide the sudden smile on her face and then she leaned forward to press a kiss against his forehead. “It’s not because I just want to fuck you, though I do, it’s because you’re this brilliant, strong, amazing man. I believe in you. I trust you and I have faith in you and I don’t give that to just anyone.” He was being quiet and she didn’t know what the look on his face was. “If you’re nervous about tomorrow don’t be. You can do this.” He crushed his eyes shut and she ran her fingers through the back of his hair, holding him close against her chest. She felt his arms slide around her waist and hold her tightly to him and she lowered her lips so that they could brush over the top of his head. “Do you think when I tell you these things it’s just because I’m fucking you?” He tipped his head up and she grinned down at him but couldn’t tell anymore if the one he gave her back was real or faked because she didn’t know what he was thinking right now. “I don’t know Vic,” he said. He gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. “You might say anything just to get into my pants.” She laughed and shoved him in the chest so that he fell back against the couch again. The arms around her waist brought her with him and she was surprised when he rolled them both over so that she was pinned underneath him. His legs were tangled with hers, an arm braced next to her head while the other one traveled over her cheek and down her neck. His eyes were sweeping his face and she couldn’t read whatever expression he was wearing on his face. She swallowed hard and her fingers ran through his hair as she looked back up at him. “I think I might be falling in love with you,” she whispered, because she couldn’t get the words to come out of her mouth any louder. His fingers stilled on her jaw and she felt his thumb brush over her lower lip. “Now can we go back to bed?” she asked, turning to bite at his thumb. He laughed quietly and his mouth lowered until it was hovering over hers. “See?” he said quietly. “Anything to get into my pants.” Wenston Simon picked at the cotton ball taped to the crook of his arm. He’d gone through his normal testing routine before missions and it had come back all clear. No cancer. Only this time they’d done some extra tests and he had China to thank for that. He’d had to breathe into a machine and try to raise the ball as high as he could and they were testing his lung capacity and strength. It still wasn’t 100%. It still wasn’t where he used to be. But the doctor told him it was better than she’d expect. He had the yoga to thank for that, because it was all about breathing. They’d tested him for TB and the bird flu and both of those came back negative too. She’d look at the scars on his side and Simon was completely healthy. He was fit and ready to go on a mission according to the doctor. Only he didn’t feel ready. He’d barely slept the previous night. He was embarrassed that Vic had caught him up, but he was glad she did because of what she’d whispered to him. She thought she was falling in love with him and he hadn’t even had to push her to say it. She just did. He didn’t know why, other than maybe she meant it. He couldn’t see a reason for her to lie about it and that made him so fucking happy because he loved her so much and needed her more than he ever thought he’d need someone. She kept calling him brilliant and strong and amazing and he kept wanting to tell her that she made him those things. She made him stronger. The helicopter ride was fairly quiet. Lyle was snoozing next to Simon. Vic’s hand was held tightly in his and even though she didn’t have her eyes closed and she didn’t like white as a ghost, the fear of flying was still somewhat there and he didn’t mind holding her hand the entire trip. Across from him, Tony and Alexey were leaned against each other and Simon chuckled a little because they had fallen asleep leaned up on each other. Alexey had his goggles down to cover his eyes and his brother was hungover, but Simon didn’t doubt that by the time they got to Chad, he’d be ready for action. Jezibel sat next to them, filing and shaping her nails. He’d gone over Miles’ file again this morning and there was something about it that Simon didn’t like. Something about the man that bothered Simon and he supposed that should be something normal because they didn’t go after people that Simon should be okay with. They went after people who needed to be eliminated. Miles was a man who killed things for the pleasure of it. He wasn’t in it for the money or the fortune, he was in it for the hunt and that kind of obsession and drive made him a dangerous man. Simon didn’t think Elias or the others realized that. Or if they did, they were keeping it to themselves. But Simon knew that kind of person. He knew that kind of obsession and drive. He’d seen it in the business world when he was giving yoga lessons. Those men were always the most dangerous. Because they had nothing to lose. “Welsh,” Vic whispered and he turned his head to look at her. She had her chin rested against his shoulder and she was looking up at his face with bright brown eyes. “You’re thinking too hard again.” Simon snorted and leaned his head forward to kiss her forehead. “We need to be careful on this one,” he whispered to her and watched her brow furrow. He quirked his mouth to the side in thought. “I’ve got a funny feeling.” Vic studied him for a moment before she smiled and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “We’ll be fine,” she told him and he was surprised with the conviction which with she said the words. She meant them and he heard her voice in his head telling him that she had total faith in him. He nodded and then leaned his head to the side, resting it on top of hers and they stayed that way until they were getting ready to land. As the helicopter touched down, Simon unfastened his seatbelt and slapped Alexey in the knee. He watched his brother jerk awake, causing Tony to jerk, and the two of them sat up. Alexey wiped drool from the side of his face and he glanced up at Tony, disgusted that he’d been napping on him. He pulled his goggles up and looked over at Simon, dark circles under his eyes. “I need an aspirin,” he announced. Simon snorted, but he’d come prepared. He reached into a pocket of his pants and tossed the small square of foil and plastic towards his brother. Alexey lifted a brow and looked at him. Simon just shrugged. “I figured you’d need it after you got on stage and sang Purple Rain. You only ever sing that on nights you’re stupid drunk.” He grinned at the horrified look on his brothers face, which told him that indeed Alexey didn’t remember singing that song, and then he climbed out of the helicopter. They’d landed outside a small village in Chad. There was a larger building close to them with guards posted near the entrance. Simon hesitated a moment when he noticed the barbed wire along the sides of the roof and he imagined high walls with wire and glass and for a moment he just had to hold his breath and push down the sudden panic welling in his chest. His eyes focused on a pair of guards who were coming their way. He heard the others climbing out of helicopter behind him and he didn’t turn around as he told them, “Wait here.” He heard two scoffs, one from Alexey and one from Vic, but he ignored them as he moved forward to meet up with the guards. They held semi-automatics in their hands and wore red berets and green uniforms. “State your business,” one of the guards said, his English thick and his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Simon. Simon reached into a pocket and slowly pulled out the Wildlife Conservation credentials they’d been given by Elias. He pulled out another paper after that with orders for them to take Brett Miles into custody. That was the official order anyway. They didn’t need to know that the team wasn’t going to allow Brett Miles to walk out of Africa alive. Although he’d argued with Elias that if they handed Brett over to the Chadian government, they wouldn’t have to kill him. Elias had argued that a person like Brett Miles could probably pay of the Chadian government and Simon knew that to be true, so he hadn’t argued further. He just wished sometimes there was a way they could complete these missions without someone having to die. “Are you Youssouf?” Simon asked the guard who’d spoken to him, holding out the papers. The guard grabbed the papers and nodded, looking back up at Simon. “Yes, who are you?” he asked. “Wildlife Conservation,” Simon said carefully. “My name is Samuel. We were told to talk to you about transportation and a guide.” Youssouf frowned and looked back down at the papers. When he looked back up, he bit his lip and tipped his head to the side to study the ragtag crew behind Simon. Simon didn’t even turn around, he just tipped his head so he was blocking Youssouf’s view and he smiled politely at the man because his business was with Simon, not the team. Youssouf smirked. “You’re here for poachers?” Simon smirked back. “Just one,” he said. “Wildlife Conservation will be taking him off the Chadian government’s hands. Unless you’d like to explain to the Sudanese why you’re harboring poachers and yet still refusing refugees.” Youssouf’s gave darkened and he met Simon’s polite smile with one of his own, handing the papers back. “Chad has always been a friend to Wildlife Conservation,” he said and then turned around and gave a shrill whistle. He saw another guard at the door poke his head around the corner to look at them. Youssouf yelled something loud in a language Simon couldn’t understand. A moment later, a young African man, probably no older than 19 or 20, came running out of the building. He wore a pair of green shorts and a bright tie-dye shirt with a yellow happy face on the front of it. He had flip flops on. Youssouf turned back around and looked at Simon. “This is Saleh. He will be your guide. He will show you where you can find your transportation.” Simon smiled politely again, nodding his head, gaze still locked with Youssouf’s. “Thank you,” he said. “No, thank you,” Youssouf said again and they were being way too polite with each other. Simon knew that the man hated having them here and hated that they were coming into their land to take away a poacher and he wouldn’t be surprised if the Chadian government saw a portion of Miles’ ivory trade and that’s why the man was still out there roaming free and killing off the wildlife. When Saleh reached him, Simon smiled at him and said, “Do you speak English?” “Yes, sir,” Saleh said and Simon nodded. “Good,” he said, turning around and motioning for Saleh to follow him. “Let me introduce you to my team.” .Wolfie. “Chad has always had trouble with poachers,” Saleh said. The kid sat up front next to Simon, who was behind the wheel of the battered, olive green jeep they were driving. Vic sat behind him, Jezibel and Lyle next to her, and Tony and Alexey were all the way in the back. Romanova had put his goggles back on and his head was tipped back against the seat, his legs stretched out in front of him and a hand pressed to his forehead. “But it has gotten worse recently because our security is not what it was.”Simon nodded his head, his eyes focused on the rambling dirt path they drove on. “Darfur,” he said, and it sounded more like a statement than a question. The kid smiled and nodded his head anyway, eyes going out over the brush. “Yes,” he agreed sadly. “It makes it easier for the poachers and harder for the rest of us.” “If ivory trade is illegal here than who do they even sell to?” Jezibel asked, leaning forward between their seats. On the other side of her Lyle had his head tipped back and his eyes lidded as they rumbled over the dirt and grasslands. He hadn’t gotten half as drunk as Alexey or Tony but he’d had his fair share and he’d looked a little wiped before they got on the airplane. At least he’d slept most of it off, not like Mr. Romanova in the back of the jeep. “China mostly,” Saleh said. He glanced over his shoulder and shot Jez a bright grin. “There was a large bust not too long ago where the guards stopped the poachers before they got over the border. They brought back many tons of ivory, maybe that’s why your Miles is here doing such good business now.” Simon snorted. “Not for much longer,” he said, and the words made Vic smile because it sounded like maybe he believed them. “No,” she agreed, glancing at the rearview mirror. His eyes rose and met hers for a moment and she grinned up at him. “We’ll take care of it,” she said, crossing her arms under her head and slumping down in her seat. Vic kicked a foot up on the side of the jeep as she watched the dust billow out behind them. She swore she could see antelopes or wildebeests or something in the trees to her left and she felt abruptly strange about that. It was one thing to be wandering around the desert in New Mexico; it was something else to be driving through a war torn country in Africa. The hardest part about this mission was just going to be finding the guy. Vic had faith that when they did, it would be easy enough to kill him. He was used to hunting animals but they were getting used to hunting people, and she at least wouldn’t hesitate when it came time to put a bullet in him. Once that was done they could go home and maybe Simon would let her help him pick a new team member and maybe he would let her help heal his mind and his soul. Her gaze went to the back of Simon’s head and she wondered if he was still nervous because none of it was showing on his face. As soon as he’d stepped out of the helicopter he’d put all of it aside and put that confident, calm mask on his face. That was why she trusted him. It was why she had faith in him and why she kept telling him that she believed he could do this. He knew he was scared and hurt but they had a job to do and he put all of it aside so that he could do it. She hoped the mission went smoothly for him because she thought if it did then maybe he would stop looking at her like she was a liar every time she told him she believed in him. Maybe when they got back she could take him on a date. Maybe she could find a blues festival or take him to one of those swanky jazz places where everyone wore berets and read their freeform poetry on weekends. She’d do just about anything to try and get him back to okay because she cared about him more than she should. She wasn’t lying when she said she was falling for him. “Make sure to keep your distance around the watering hole up here,” the kid said. His finger rose to point off somewhere to their right and he glanced over at Simon to make sure he’d heard him. “We don’t want any of your team getting slaughtered.” Alexey snorted and Vic glanced back at him. He lifted his head, pulling the goggles off and he still looked like shit but at least he’d slept a lot of it off on the helicopter. She bit back a laugh because she and Jezibel had inflicted most of that on him and maybe she should be feeling bad but mostly she just thought it was funny. By the time their contracts were up Romanova was either going to know how to hold his liquor or he’d be dead from alcohol poisoning. “By what? Lions? Tigers? Bears, oh my?” The kid laughed and shook his head. “Hippos,” he said. Alexey stared at him for a minute and then scoffed, looking up at Simon. “Am I still drunk?” he asked. Simon chuckled at him and just shook his head and Alexey decided to take that as a yes, dragging the goggles back down over his face and tipping his head back against the seat. Tony grinned at him and patted his shoulder before turning to look back out over the countryside. She tried to pay attention to how far out they drove but she couldn’t stop staring at everything around them. She wondered why she felt stranger here than she had going to Brazil or China but she did. The flight to China she’d just been focused on getting Simon back. She hadn’t given a fuck about what country they were in, all she’d cared about was smashing down the walls of that prison and bringing him home. She just wished she’d gotten there sooner because she thought not for the first time that she hadn’t brought back all of Simon. If she’d just stayed in his apartment than maybe she would have known sooner and she would have been able to stop it. Africa felt different. It was wild and untamed and terrifying and it was a lot to process for a girl from Jersey. They had to worry about disturbing god damned hippos and possibly lions or elephants and it felt so strange and foreign. The kid directed them off the dirt path and she didn’t miss that there were other tire tracks already marking the ground below them. He had Simon put it into park at the top of a hill and below them the ground sloped down towards the edge of a small watering hole. The ragged tire tracks around them were deeper as they led right to the water’s edge and in the next second she realized why. They’d probably had to bring trucks right down into the thick of it to load all that ivory up. Simon hadn’t been lying to them when he said that Miles had left an elephant graveyard behind because the only thing she saw here were corpses. It was gruesome and terrible and she heard Jez whisper a quiet “Oh God” as she put a hand over her mouth. Vic wondered if the girl was going to throw up because if she did she didn’t think she’d blame her. The kid just looked sad as he led them down towards the water. There were at least ten of them slumped over onto the ground, and all of them had half their faces sawed completely off just above their eyes. Their trunks had been discarded not far from the bodies and the whole area was covered in blood. For a minute all she could hear was the quiet buzzing of flies as they feasted on the mutilated remains and the slow beating of her heart in her ears. Blood had just poured out of the remaining corpses and the ground was saturated with it. The smell rising off them lingered in her nose and her mouth and she felt sick. Simon was standing just beyond the puddles of blood, his face like stone as he looked down at the carcasses that Miles had left them. She thought about the video they’d had of him, of his grin as he turned around and gave the camera an ‘okay’ and she was starting to agree with him when he said he had a bad feeling about this. Simon swallowed hard and turned to the kid. “These bodies aren’t that old,” he said. Saleh nodded and the kid didn’t look any happier to be here than the rest of them did. He turned so that his back was to the bodies and she noticed that he kept his distance from the puddles of blood. “This is the freshest one,” he told Simon. “It probably happened yesterday. The guards spotted the carcasses from the helicopters this morning but by then the trucks were gone.” “Any idea where they went?” he asked. He kept his voice calm and focused and Vic watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to the corpses. She’d seen bodies before but this bothered her and she wasn’t sure why. She’d killed more people than she could count since she’d joined the Initiative, and she had no problem leaving corpses behind, but this felt wrong somehow. She took a step closer to one of the bodies and she felt the ground squish underneath her as she stepped through the blood. She crouched down by the closest one and they’d mutilated its face just to get its teeth and tusks out. It looked like they might have used a damn chainsaw to cut through its skull and she wondered if Miles had laughed while he did that too. She decided then that she hated Miles. He killed just because he was good at it and she didn’t like that maybe she wasn’t so different. The kid shrugged at Simon’s question, looking down at his feet as he shifted on the muddy ground. “They might have already passed the ivory off to get it out of the country, or they might have gone deeper into the wilds to find another herd. If it’s the second one you might have an easier time catching him because they’ll be weighed down by the ivory. They probably have a camp somewhere out here, away from other people and other hunters. Simon nodded and his head turned to look at the bodies again as the wheels in his head turned. The others were being quiet and she glanced over her shoulder at them. Tony had his arms crossed over his chest and he looked completely broken hearted and the guy really was too sweet for his own good sometimes. Next to him stood Alexey and he had the goggles pushed up on his forehead as his eyes swept the scene. She watched his hand come out to take Jezibel’s and the girl didn’t push him away or yell at him. She still had a hand pressed over her mouth and she looked pale and sickened. Lyle was the only one who looked undisturbed by it. He swept the corpses with his golden eyes, his expression never changing and then he yawned and turned to follow the tire marks up onto the ridge. Vic watched him for a moment as he covered his eyes with a hand, gaze wandering into the wilds around them. A sigh left her lips and she pushed herself back to her feet, walking back over towards Simon. His face was shuttered as he studied the remains and she wondered what he was thinking or planning. Her arms slipped around his waist and she pressed her cheek against his chest. She felt his arm slide around her shoulders and hold her tightly against him. She told herself it was because she thought he needed the comfort and needed to know that she was there for him, and not because she needed any kind of comfort. She’d seen bodies before and would probably see a lot more before her contract expired. There was no reason for this to disturb her and she kept telling herself that even as she pressed her lips against his chest. “What now, boss?” she asked quietly. His head turned towards where Lyle stood on the ridge and she felt his thumb moving over her shoulder as he thought. “We’ll follow the tire tracks as far as we can,” he told her. “If we don’t find anything by nightfall we’ll get the helicopter in the air in the morning to try and catch any signs of them. I don’t like that option because there’s a lot of area to cover, but that’s what we’ve got.” Wenston Simon was pretty sure now that the only way his team was going to be satisfied was when they put a bullet in Miles’ head. Maybe at first he’d thought he would be okay with just leaving Miles in a Sudanese or Chadian prison somewhere, but not anymore. That’s not what his team wanted and he could tell by the somber mood in the jeep. And if the team wanted someone dead, then he was just going to have to be okay with that. And if he wasn’t, then he’d just think about the mutilated elephants by the watering hole and it would make it a little better. They were following the tracks and Simon was trying to keep an eye on them and the team at the same time. He didn’t like how everyone was being quiet and he didn’t like that this one man had that sort of impact on them, but the only way he knew how to fix it was to get rid of Miles. His eyes kept moving to the team in the rearview mirror and he’d always settle on Vic for the longest. For some reason, he was thinking about when she’d told him that she’d never loved anyone and no one had ever loved her and that’s why she hadn’t been able to say the words to him. He didn’t know why he was thinking about this now, of all times, but he was. He was trying to imagine what a life like that must have been like and surprisingly he was able to imagine it fairly decently. Maybe more so because when he’d been sick, the people he thought loved him had shown their true colors. But it must have been different for Vic. It must have been so painful having just her and her father. She’d moved around a lot. Never staying in one place for too long, and it couldn’t have been easy to make and maintain friends when one minute you were Vic Boston and the next you were Vicki Newport. He wished he could have known her sooner. He wished he could have met her a long time ago and kept those things from happening to her and for a moment Simon realized that he hated her father. He hated what the man had done to his daughter and he didn’t even think that Vic thought the man had done anything wrong. He’d never tell her what he thought about her old man. But he must have been a piece of work. But he did manage to raise one hell of a daughter. Saleh reached over and tapped Simon’s arm suddenly. Simon glanced at him and then looked to where the kid was pointing. “Do you see it?” he asked. “Yeah,” Simon said and turned the jeep so he was headed towards where Saleh was pointing. When he pulled to a stop, he leaned forward, scanning the area quickly before his eyes came back to empty jeep sitting beneath twin trees. It had an open back and strewn across the seats was a lion with a bloody hole in its head. Its legs were hogtied and it’s jaws hung open in bitter death. Simon tried not to wince when he thought that it could easily have been Avi. Everyone leaned forward to get a look at the jeep and Jezibel said, “Well, it’s not ivory.” Saleh shook his head and said, “No, but he was brought down by a hunter.” He pointed at the lion. “To get a shot like that, the lion had to be charging.” “So,” Alexey said, leaning towards the front of the jeep to look at Simon, his head poked between Vic and Jez. “Where’s the hunter then?” “Let’s find out,” Simon said and opened his door. The others did the same and climbed out, but Simon turned back to Saleh and looked at the kid. “Saleh, how much do they pay you to be our guide?” Saleh just laughed a bit. “They don’t.” Simon nodded and said, “How much will it take for you to not tell anyone what you might see us do?” “If you bring this poacher to justice, then nothing more.” Simon smiled, unsure if he trusted the kid to keep his word, but he’d like to. He wished he could trust people the way he used to. He pointed towards the floor of the jeep. “Stay here,” he told Saleh and then climbing out, rounding the jeep to join the others. He stood next to Vic and looked them over. “We’ll fan out in three groups. Tony, Lyle, you guys head in that direction,” and he pointed towards the south. “Alexey, Jez, you’re that way. Vic and I will go north. Don’t go too far, but let’s find this guy. It’s probably not Miles, but he might know where we can find him.” They all nodded and then headed off in their designated directions. Simon glanced back again at Saleh to make sure he was staying put and then he put an arm around Vic, guiding her in front of him to lead the way. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, a grin on her face. “I love it when you get pushy,” she joked quietly. Simon snorted but pointed in front of them, “Eyes front, Boston,” he snapped playfully and she scoffed, turning back around, not saying anything about the use of one of her aliases. He smiled and leaned forward, whispering lowly, “You’re in front so I can stare at your butt.” Vic shook her head, giving him a coy look over her shoulder. “Eyes topside, Dirk.” He laughed and they got serious as they made their way away from the abandoned jeep with the lion strung over the seats. He kept glancing back at it and he wondered again what had been going through Avi’s mind when he’d shot him in the back, or attacked him on the plane, or sold him out to the Chinese. He wondered if it was just a power struggle, or if it was something more feral. If it was the nature of the beast trying to be dominant. They were both feline shifters, after all. But Simon hadn’t felt any hate towards the man until he’d started hating on Simon. Maybe he’d considered Simon a threat to his territory. He’d have to study up on lion behavior when they got back. Or maybe Saleh would know that kind of thing. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Jezibel yell suddenly, “Alexey!” and his heart stopped as he whirled because she sounded scared and she’d been screaming his brother’s name. He immediately focused on them and all he saw was a flash of platinum blonde shoving Alexey to the side a moment before a gunshot filled the air and blood sprayed the grass behind Jezibel, her body jerking and tumbling to the ground. Alexey let out a strangled cry and then he was crouching beneath the grass, making his way to Jezibel and they were both out of sight from Simon and he couldn’t stand that. Simon was running in their direction before he actually had a plan of action because someone had just shot at his brother and had hit Jez and he wasn’t sure if she was dead because he hadn’t seen where the blood had come from, but she had her bulletproof jacket on and he prayed to God that it hadn’t hit anything vital. Tony and Lyle were running up too and Simon pointed at Tony. “Help them,” he barked out the order and then looked to Lyle. “Come on,” he jerked his head towards the direction the shot had come from. Lyle and Tony broke away from each other and Tony headed towards where Jezibel and Alexey were crouched. Simon didn’t have time to spare them at the moment, holding his M-4 out in front of him as Lyle came up on his right, Vic on his left and he thought about telling her to stay here, but he didn’t play favorites and he had to remember that. He didn’t treat her any differently. “Where’d it come from?” Lyle asked quietly, for once emotion in his voice but maybe just because there was an actual danger that he may get shot. Or maybe because he’d actually gone out with them last night. “Ahead,” Simon said quietly. His eyes were scanning the grass from side to side, trying to look for any sign of the guy who’d just shot Jezibel and he was trying really hard not to think about that because he had to find the guy before he shot someone else. Simon’s eyes focused on something dark and foreign in the grass and he recognized the barrel of a hunting rifle. It was aimed at them and Simon yelled a quick, “Down!” before he shoved Lyle to the side and then pulled Vic down, covering her as the rifle blasted loudly. The shot went high over them and then all three of them were bringing their guns up and shooting at the spot. There was a cry as one of their bullets must have hit the guy, but Simon kept them down for a second, because a cry didn’t mean that he still couldn’t shoot. “Alexey?” Simon called back to his brother, but didn’t dare turn to look at him. “We’re okay,” Alexey called back and there was fear in his brother’s voice. “Well, I mean, Jez got shot in the arm, taking a bullet for me, which is amazingly fucking hot, by the way, but we’re okay.” .Wolfie. They’d hit the guy high on his chest.He lay on the ground, his face pale and splattered with his own blood as it pulsed out of the hole in his flesh. His hand had been pressed over the wound but he moved when he heard them coming. He snarled when and groped for the hunting rifle but Vic slammed her foot down on top of the barrel of the weapon. Simon swung the M-4 over his shoulder and grabbed the guy by the collar of his shirt and dragged him away from the weapon, slamming him hard against a rock. The guy grunted as his back struck the hard surface and his head tipped back for a moment, his face contorted in pain. He gasped for air and Vic watched impassively as he tried to hold the blood in his veins. “Fuck you,” he snarled in a thick British accent. Vic snorted, picking the gun off the ground and snapping it open to dump the bullets into the dirt. “That’s nice,” she said dryly. Lyle kept his gun pointed at the guy, even though Simon had a pretty good grip on him and he didn’t look like he was going anywhere. His knuckles were white around his shirt collar and she wondered if he would be okay torturing the guy if it came down to it. If he wasn’t then she would do it for him, because that was the kind of shit she was good for. “We’ve got the guy,” Simon called over his shoulder towards Alexey. “But stay put and stay low in case there are others out there.” For a moment she caught a glimpse of his face and he had a dark look there. It wasn’t fear, she knew that much. Maybe it was just adrenaline getting the best of him. She wondered if it was because Jezibel had gotten shot or because they’d almost gotten shot or if he was thinking about that guy in China that had died sitting right next to him. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and tell him it was okay and they were fine and he was doing great but she didn’t because this wasn’t the time or the place. “No problem boss,” Alexey shouted back. “But make sure you hit the asshole at least once for trying to shoot me. Unless it gets me laid. Then you can thank him. But hit him first just in case.” “Just stay low and stay quiet, Lex,” Simon shouted back, his teeth gritted as he turned his head back around. She crouched down next to him, pulling the Glock out of its holster and pointing it at his face. Simon looked at her for a second and then up at Lyle, jerking his head behind him. “Watch for any other movement,” he ordered the man. Lyle nodded and took a step back, swinging the M-4 out so that it was pointed out at the wilds. Vic wanted to turn and double check on Alexey and Jez but she didn’t want to take her eyes off this guy. She let her finger rest on the barrel of her Glock and kept it pointed at his head in case he had a hunting knife or a handgun somewhere on him. There was no fucking way she would let him draw a weapon on her Simon, not while she was sitting two feet away. “Who are you?” Simon asked, pushing the guy harder against the rock. He grunted when it jarred his shoulder and his hand pressed tighter against the wound in his shoulder, licking his lips as his skin paled. The words were a sharp demand, one that sent chills down her spine because he sounded dangerous. He sounded like a man who wasn’t to be fucked with. For a minute she thought he wasn’t going to answer. His head was tipped back and his jaw was tightly clenched, his eyes shut and not looking at any of them. “Fuck you,” he grit out again, and a frown creased Vic’s face. She wondered why the fuck he’d shot at them in the first place and if he was just a regular poacher out to bag himself a lion and they just happened to cross paths or if he was one of Miles’ men who’d thought he could head off trouble early. She wasn’t going to find out unless he opened his fucking mouth and answered them and she shot a glance at Simon. “You want me to make him talk, boss?” The words were almost playful, but she wasn’t kidding when she asked it. She’d picked things up from her pops, and she didn’t think any of it was pretty. The man had been a mafia soldier and he’d known how to get information when he needed to. Simon hesitated, glancing over at her for a moment. He looked like he was thinking about it and like he felt bad just for doing that. She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to. He should use the people on his team for what they were best at. She smiled at him and shifted the gun to her other hand so that she could pull out the wicked knife they’d been issued and she tapped the tip of the blade against her lower lip. “Just give me the word,” she said quietly. “Paul,” the man said abruptly. “Paul Abbey.” He shook his head and tilted it to the side to look at Simon. “I just wanted the money.” “You work for Miles,” Welsh said, and it wasn’t a question. The guy licked his lips again and glanced at the gun in Vic’s hand for a long moment. He looked from that up to her face and then he closed his eyes, nodding his head slowly. “Are you alone?” he asked. The man hesitated for a moment and then his eyes opened and he glanced at Vic. His head nodded again. She saw relief flicker across Simon’s face before he hid it again. Maybe he believed the guy, but she noticed he didn’t turn around and order his brother or Jezibel back to the jeep and she thought that was a smart move on his part, just in case. “Where’s Miles, Paul?” Simon asked, his voice still low and dangerous. “Is he still here? Is he camped close by?” The guy closed his eyes and she could see sweat breaking out on his forehead. The wound was still bleeding, dripping darkly onto the ground below him and coating his fingers. She didn’t think he was in danger of bleeding to death any time soon, but then again she was better at making people bleed than stopping it. As if he could read her thoughts, Simon started moving, ripping the guy’s shirt and pressing the fabric against the hole in his chest. He moved Paul’s hand so that it was pressing down over the torn cloth and the guy blinked and glanced at him in surprise. Even Vic looked over at his face with some surprise and sometimes she didn’t understand him because this guy had shot at his brother and he was still trying to stop the bleeding. Maybe he just didn’t want him to die before he finished asking all his questions. Maybe he just hated seeing other people in pain and maybe she didn’t get him at all. “Paul, I need you to answer me.” The man snorted and a harsh laugh left his throat as he shook his head from side to side. His eyes opened and they focused on Simon’s face as a mean grin spread across his lips. She didn’t like the look directed at her Simon and she tightened her grip on the gun. “He’s still here,” he told Simon darkly. “But if I were you I wouldn’t worry about trying to find him.” “Why’s that?” Simon asked calmly. She could see the slight tightening of his eyes and the sudden tension in his shoulders. His hand was straying towards his Glock and she couldn’t blame him because the words sounded ominous. Paul laughed again and it turned into a cough. He tipped forward, blood splattering across the desert and she didn’t think they would have to worry about shooting him in a second. Coughing up blood was always a bad sign. That meant it was in his lungs and she imagined if he didn’t bleed to death then he was going to drown to death choking on his own blood. “Because,” he ground out, tipping his head up to smile at Welsh. “He’s been watching your moves since you got off that helicopter.” Vic frowned but she kept her gun trained on the guy. Welsh went still at the words and he glanced up at her face and then back at Lyle who stood still guarding the three of them, a bored look on his face as he kept his gun trained out at the wilds. “And what’s he want with us?” Simon asked, looking back down at Paul. The man smirked and shrugged. “Brett’s a big game hunter,” he said with a nasty smile. “Game doesn’t get much bigger than you, does it?” He snorted and then another bloody cough shook his frame. “Wildlife Conservation my asshole,” he choked out. “The fuck’s that mean?” Vic growled, glancing at Simon. “Does he know what we are?” “How would he know that?” Simon asked quietly, and the question wasn’t really directed at either of them. She shook her head anyway and it didn’t make any fucking sense. She frowned and turned her attention back to Paul Abbey and she planned on asking him herself with her gun or the knife still held loosely in her other hand. She didn’t get the chance. There was a loud blast from behind them and spun on instinct, gun snapping up to point behind her. She could see a blaze of orange as the jeep burned on the grasslands. It had been completely engulfed by flames, the frame already charred and black as the fire ate away at the upholstery. Lyle snorted and she was surprised that he was actually at attention, the M-4 held tightly in his hands and pointed back towards their mutilated jeep. She heard Alexey shout in surprise and she heard Simon suck in a harsh breath behind her. “Saleh,” he said, and she could hear the pain and guilt as he said the kid’s name. Behind her she could hear Paul start laughing and then it turned into ragged coughing. There was a dull thump as he hit the ground and she didn’t have to glance over her shoulder to know that the man wasn’t getting up again. Simon pushed himself to his feet next to her, pulling the M-4 off his back to cradle it in his arms. She glanced up at his face and he looked so pained, like he was somehow responsible for this. Her hand reached out for him, fingers brushing over his elbow. “Simon,” she whispered, and he just shook his head, taking a step back towards the jeep with the dead lion in it. She hated that look on his face. That look of despair and guilt and her own contorted with pain as he walked away from her. All three of them almost pulled the triggers of their guns when the figure stumbled out from the other side of it. Her finger was tight against the trigger and she wondered if Saleh realized he was a second away from behind nothing but a red splatter of paint against the green jeep next to him. She sucked in a breath and forced the gun to lower as he stumbled closer to them. “Mr. Samuel,” he said, his voice harsh and rough. She frowned and realized his hands were tied tightly in front of him. Simon put the gun up, gaze sweeping the area behind the kid as he moved across the grasslands towards him. “Saleh,” he said, and she could hear the relief in his voice when he said the kid’s name. “What happened?” he asked. He tilted his head to study the kid’s face as he pulled the knife out of its sheath. To his left, Alexey and Tony were making their way back towards them, Romanova with an arm slung around Jez’s waist. She had a bandage around her arm but she looked otherwise alright. Saleh looked up at Simon and he looked sad and scared. “I’m sorry,” he told Welsh, and she saw his face contort with guilt as he said the words. “The man… he said to give you a message.” He swallowed hard and then he looked down at his feet. There was soot smeared across his face and blood on his fingers. “He just said ‘run.’” Wenston Simon could only blink for a moment as he stared at Saleh and processed the words. When the meaning of the message sunk in, his eyes rose to the trees and around at the high grass and terrain around them and there were too many places to hide out here. He’d thought that open savannah wouldn’t leave much room for surprise attacks or covert operations, but now that he was out here, he knew he’d thought wrong. This place was a fucking death trap and Simon tried not to panic as he realized it was his responsibility to make sure all of them made it out alive. Behind him, the others were waiting for him to say or do something and he could feel their eyes boring holes into the back of his head because he was the leader, he was in charge and they were looking to him for guidance. They were looking to him for a plan and an exit strategy. Before joining the Initiative, Simon may have cracked under that kind of pressure. Before China, hell, before their fucking jeep had exploded, Simon may have just drawn a blank and told them he couldn’t do this. Only now, the man had shot at his brother, even if his finger hadn’t pulled the trigger, he’d still arranged for it. Jez was dripping blood from her arm onto the ground, a kid they’d just met that morning was looking at him with scared and guilty eyes and the man they’d come here to kill had just issued a threat, a challenge, a warning to them. Something inside him snapped at that. He wasn’t sure what. Maybe whatever had been left of the Simon he’d been before joining the Initiative. Maybe whatever hold China had over his confidence. Or maybe it was the last straw because the people he cared about had just been threatened and he was tired of walking into traps and this seemed like too big of a fucking trap. This felt like someone had given them away, if Miles knew what they were before they even got off the helicopter. He’d have to have a conversation with Elias when they got back, because they were going to get back all right. He’d told the man that if he ever pulled something with the team like what he’d pulled with Simon in China, it wouldn’t be pretty. He wasn’t a lair. Swinging the M-4 off of his shoulder, he held it so Saleh could see it. “Have you ever shot one of these?” he asked. Saleh glanced at the gun and frowned before looking back up at him and shaking his head. Simon nodded and loaded the gun for him, getting it ready and he pointed to the sight on the end of the barrel. “You line up your shot using this. When you pull the trigger, it kicks and it’s possible if you’re not holding it tight enough against you, it could dislocate your shoulder. You point and aim.” Then he handed the gun over to Saleh and the kid looked like he wasn’t sure what was happening and he probably didn’t. “Simon,” Vic’s voice came quietly and he knew she didn’t like him giving his gun away. But he still had his glock. And Saleh was just a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Simon would be damned if he let anything happen to him. It wasn’t Saleh Miles was after. “Mr. Samuel?” Saleh asked and Simon smirked because he knew the kid had heard his real name several times and he didn’t think he was just playing dumb. He reached forward and pushed the gun against Saleh’s chest tightly. “Do you think you can make it back to the village?” Saleh frowned, lifting an eyebrow. He glanced down at the gun in his arms and then looked over his shoulder at the burning jeep. When he turned back, he looked confused. “To get help?” he asked. Simon smiled despite himself. Saleh was a good kid, but he shook his head. “No, to go home,” he told him. “This isn’t your fight.” Saleh looked mortified at the thought. He shook his head and then jutted his jaw towards the jeep with the lion tied to the back. “I could take the jeep,” he said. “Go and get help.” Lyle, who’d been crouching by the jeep suddenly cleared his throat and stood up. “Well, I hate to be the foil of that little plan, because I’m all for going to get help, but no one’s taking this jeep anywhere.” He kicked at the tire. “There’s a bomb wired to the engine.” Alexey snorted and said, “Can’t you get rid of it?” Lyle scoffed, holding his hands out to the side, his face contorted into annoyance. “What, do I look like the bomb squad? I know how to make the things, why does everyone just assume that means I know how to take them apart?” Simon turned back to Saleh and reached his hand forward, putting it on the kid’s shoulder. “Saleh, it’s time to go. You just go home and don’t forget what I told you about how to shoot this, okay?” The kid looked like he was ready to protest again but Simon just clapped him on the side of the head and shoved him back towards the way they’d driven down here. He hesitated and then turned on his heel and started running and Simon hoped he got home alright. Putting a hand to his mouth, he tugged his glock out and held it down at his side, watching Saleh run for a moment before his eyes turned back to the rest of them. Vic was watching him with narrowed eyes and Alexey still had his arm around Jezibel, but he had his head tipped to the side like he was studying Simon and seeing a side of him for the first time. He hoped his brother wasn’t seeing anything bad. “That was stupid,” and he was surprised the slur had come from Lyle, who was walking back over to them. “You should have kept your gun.” Simon just held up his glock lazily and his eyes were scanning the surroundings because Miles was still in the area. He’d managed to slip in and blow up their jeep and give Saleh a message and slip out and the man was crafty and sneaky and Simon wanted to be rid of him in a bad way. “So let me get this straight,” Alexey said and they turned to look at him. Jezibel was leaning a bit heavier on him and Simon looked at the bandage wrapped around her arm. It was soaking through as she cradled it to her chest and he didn’t know how long she’d be able to stay out here. “The guy that we came to hunt is now hunting us?” Simon smirked, despite himself. “Looks like.” Alexey gave a small, “Huh,” and then said, “I feel like we’re in the movie Predator. Where’s Arnold when you need him?” he glanced at Tony. “You’re gonna have to do, big guy.” Vic’s fingers found their way to his waist and he glanced at her. Her dark eyes were watching his face closely and he could see concern and maybe fear playing across her features. He wished he could tell her that it would be all right, but all he could really tell her was that he was going to try his damned hardest to get them out of this one alive. “What’s the plan?” she whispered. He thought about it. He thought about Miles watching them right now and if the guy wanted, he could pick them off one by one with that hunting rifle of his. But he wasn’t. They were all standing out in the open, discussing freely and that meant Miles wanted more than just to kill them. He wanted to hunt. He wanted a chase and a game of cat and mouse and to him, they were the mice. Well, he didn’t think Miles knew how rabid and feral these mice really were. “We do as he says,” Simon said. .Wolfie. “Head for the trees,” Simon ordered. They were jogging across the jagged terrain and she didn’t think there was anyone who wasn’t looking over their shoulder, expecting a shot to come. There wasn’t a fucking thing about this that Vic liked but she probably wasn’t the only one. She didn’t like that Welsh had given away the gun with more firepower and she didn’t like that they were running form an asshole they were supposed to be hunting. “They’ll provide some cover while I radio the helicopter.” The forest wasn’t thick like Brazil or even in the states but the branches formed a thin canopy overhead and it was better than running around in the open. As soon as they passed the tree line Simon pressed his back against the trunk of one and pulled the radio out to try and get through to the helicopter pilot. Vic crouched next to him, eyes scanning the terrain behind them. Lyle crouched somewhere behind her and she glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment. He looked like he was rigging up something like he’d pulled in when they were after Gustavo and he shot her a grin when he caught her looking. “Just in case,” he said, dragging a trip wire low across the ground. “Watch your step through here later.” Jezibel slumped down next to her and she shot the girl a glance. She was pale, her teeth grinding together in her head as Alexey crouched on the other side of her. “I feel like you’re just trying to trick me into putting on a nurse’s outfit,” he said, giving her a sly grin. “Which I would, for you, but frankly you’d look way hotter in it. Though I’ve been told I have nice legs.” Jez laughed weakly, shaking her head at Alexey. He smiled back at her but she could see the concern etched on his face as he started ripping off his own shirt sleeve. The blood had soaked through the makeshift wound they’d already put on her arm and Vic didn’t think it should still be bleeding that much. Jez winced in pain as Alexey changed bandages and it looked like the bullet had gone through the muscle, instead of just grazing her like she’d thought. She watched as he pulled off his other sleeve to try and make a sling for Jez and the girl was watching him with a grateful and adoring look on her face. “Thanks, Lex,” she said quietly. He smirked and shrugged like it was no big deal. “Hey, I’ve said a thousand times, sexual favors express gratitude better than words. Just saying. Keep it in mind, think about it, preferably while you’re in bed.” She was startled when a bullet thudded into the tree next to her and she jerked her head back, feeling her heart leap in her chest. A second bullet hit the dirt by her feet and a snarl curled her lips. Her eyes swept the savannah behind them and she couldn’t even see a glint of metal or a flicker of movement to give away where it was coming from. She really didn’t fucking like being shot at and her gun rose to fire back. She scattered a few shots with the M-4 and she didn’t think she’d hit anything but it made her feel better. Simon’s hand came up to curl around her arm and he pulled the gun down, his other sliding around her waist and pulling her behind the tree with him. She felt his mouth by her ear and his voice was low as he whispered to her. “He’s either trying to herd us, trying to get our position, or piss us off. Don’t let him do any of those things, Vic.” She felt stupid as soon as he said the words and she turned her head to look up at his face. His eyes were narrowed and angry but she didn’t think the emotion was for her so she just nodded, trying not to flinch when a bullet hit the ground next to them. His hand curled around her arm and helped pull them both upright. “Let’s keep moving,” he said lowly, and she could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t like this anymore than she did. They’d been caught in a trap and she didn’t like how neatly that had been pulled. She wondered if Miles knew who and what they were or if he just felt like hunting people. She hadn’t gotten that impression, but it didn’t make any fucking sense for him to know who they were. They’d decided Avi was the traitor, hadn’t they? And he was gone now. So unless Elias had fucking given them away she didn’t understand why this was happening. They moved deeper into the thin trees, keeping low and moving fast. She didn’t like how little cover there was here but it was better than running around in the savannah where there was nothing but low brush and dirt. Her gaze flicked over at Simon and he was wearing a hard, determined look on his face as he kept them moving. She wondered what he was thinking or planning and maybe right now the goal was just to get back on the helicopter and get the fuck out of here. Lyle jerked abruptly to a stop with a sharp “wait!” but Alexey was right next to him and his shoulder met the other man’s hard. They both stumbled forward and then she heard Jezibel cry out in surprise as the ground suddenly rose up under their feet. A rope net snapped up around them, lifting both men into the air. For a minute the air was filled with flying dirt and grass and leaves before it settled back to the earth. Lyle grunted and she could hear Alexey cursing as he shifted inside the net and it would have been funny under different circumstances. “Are you fucking serious?” Alexey demanded. “This is just retarded.” “Get your elbow out of my stomach, Romanova,” Lyle snapped at him. The net spun slowly as they shifted and Vic snorted. “Use your Jean Claude knife, Lex,” Simon told him. His gaze lowered and he was sweeping the trees next to them to try and see what the net was fastened to. She knew the moment he saw it because he headed that way, pulling the knife out of its sheath. His hand was wrapping around the rope and just starting to saw through it when the gun went off again and Vic felt her heart drop into her stomach as blood splattered across Simon’s chest. “Simon!” she shouted, moving across the ground towards him before the word was even out of her mouth. He snarled a curse and jerked his hand away but it wasn’t the bullet that had hit him. It had struck the tree in front of him and the wood had snapped and splintered into his hand. “I’m okay,” he growled, eyes rising and sweeping the trees back the way they’d come. He didn’t even notice the blood coming out of his skin as Vic tried to pull the splinters out of his hand and his wrist. It wasn’t bad it just bled like it was. He shook his head and his voice was low and full of anger when he spoke. “He’s fucking with us. This is just a game to him.” “Hanging on?” Alexey asked, his knife sawing away at the bottom of the net. Lyle snorted and didn’t answer, his arms wrapped through the holes of the net. Tony had moved to stand underneath them and she wondered if the big guy planned on catching them. There was a snap as the ropes came lose and Alexey cried out as he slipped, his foot tangling in the ropes and leaving him dangling upside down. He snarled and yanked on his leg, sending the whole net spinning slowly as he tried to free himself. “A little help here, Liddle?” he snapped, looking up at the man. Lyle rolled his eyes and then he pulled out his own knife, leaning over to try and cut Alexey’s foot loose. Vic’s head turned back the way they’d come and she kept waiting for Miles to shoot one of them while they just stood here but the shot didn’t come. “I think you like having me play nurse for you,” Vic said quietly, but the words came out scared instead of funny. “Only if you start wearing the outfit,” Simon snorted and he didn’t even wince as she finished pulling the last splinter of wood out of his palm. She forced him to flex it and nothing had been damaged, he was just cut up a little. She ripped at her shirtsleeve with her teeth, tearing off a strip so that she could wind it around his palm. He didn’t even watch her do it. He kept looking over her head and when she looked at his face his eyes were shifted, just round gold orbs in his head. She shivered and glanced back at Alexey and Lyle. There was a snap as he cut the rope holding his foot and he yelped as he fell loose. Tony caught him easily like a damsel in distress and Vic smirked at how embarrassed Alexey look as the big guy set him down. She was surprised at how nimble Lyle was as he climbed down the side of the rope net and then dropped easily to his feet. “If anyone asks, that never happened,” Lex grumbled. Simon turned his head to glance at Alexey and Liddle “Are you two alright?” he asked. His eyes narrowed in concern but they still hadn’t shifted back. Vic watched his face because he looked tense and angry and she wasn’t used to seeing him get mad. Alexey snorted and patted himself down, lifting his leg to look at the foot he’d had trapped in the net. He prodded at his ankle and tested the weight, bouncing a little on his toes. Jez rolled her eyes behind him and Tony just watched with concern as he shifted the weight on his feet. “Never better boss,” he said after a moment. He focused on the shifted eyes and then glanced at the hand that Vic was still holding in hers. “Are you?” he asked. “Did he shoot you?” “I’m fine,” Simon said. Then he jerked his head over his shoulder. “Let’s keep moving. Keep your eyes peeled for more traps.” He stayed close to her as they started moving through the trees again and she didn’t like anything about this. She didn’t like that Miles was right behind them and that he didn’t seem like he’d have any problem picking them off where they stood. That meant he had to be in the trees somewhere, probably close by, and she took a cue from Simon and started a partial shift. Her teeth were always the first thing to change and she felt them grow sharper in her mouth. The second was her hearing and she felt some relief because she could hear the distant sound of helicopter rotors getting closer. They were jogging through the trees when she heard the loud gunshot and then a sudden burning pain draw a line along her jaw. The bullet skimmed past her cheek and slammed hard into the tree in front of her. It made her trip and her knee hit the ground hard. Another bullet slammed into the dust next to her and she scrambled to her right to get away from the gunshots being directed her way. She was cursing in her head and it was probably coming out of her mouth when her hand punched right through the ground. It gave way underneath her and she cried out in surprise as she felt the abrupt sensation of falling. There was a crack as her back struck something hard and then she couldn’t stop the scream that pulled its way from her lips as something pierced her skin. At first she didn’t understand what had happened. There was a sharp, burning pain in her thigh and her lower back and she couldn’t move because she felt like she’d been shot again, it hurt that fucking bad. She lay on her back, staring up at the sky and she could feel the blistering agony moving up her nerves and blood pulsing out of her skin and she didn’t understand what had happened. There were dirt walls rising up around her but for a minute she could only stare up at the trees above her and the darkened sky beyond that and she was thinking about that date Simon had taken her on to the park. She was thinking about staying there with him until the sun set and about his hands pointing out the stars above them. His arms had been wrapped tightly around her waist and his lips had been by her ear as he told her which one was the big dipper and the little dipper and Orion’s belt. Then there was a thump as his boots hit the ground next to her. She tilted her head to the side and she didn’t understand what was happening but her eyes lit on Simon and he looked scared. “Vic,” he said desperately, hands going to her arms. “Hey Welsh,” she said, a smile curling her lips. She tried to push herself up and as soon as she did she felt the pain jolting up her nerves. Her head rose and she tried to focus on what was happening. There were thin, sharpened stakes around her, a few of them splintered and broken because she’d hit them at the wrong angle. She was pretty sure the bulletproof vest had snapped off one of them and she thought again how fucking grateful she was that they had to wear these. She tried to move and she gasped at the sudden pain because apparently one of them had still managed to get her in the back. Simon’s hands tightened around her shoulders and helped her sit up. Her fingers dug into his arms and she heard him let out a hiss of breath when he saw the broken stake digging into her back, just above her hip. There was another one in splinters piercing her thigh and it was bleeding darkly into the dirt around her. She sucked in a breath and tried to tell herself that pain was weakness even as she rested her forehead against his chest. “Have I mentioned I’m a city girl?” she whispered. Wenston Simon’s heart was thudding heavily in his chest. There was something else settling into his gut and he thought maybe it should be fear, but it wasn’t registering right now. Fear wasn’t an option at the moment because he had people’s lives in his hands and he was doing a shitty fucking job at keeping them safe and in one piece and that was being made clear to him as Vic was bleeding out onto the ground. There was a spike sticking out of her back and another lodged into her thigh and he knew he had to end this now because if she’d landed a little more to the left, she’d have had one in her head. He had to do better. That’s all he could think about as he ripped the sleeves off his black shirt. Lyle hopped down beside him and started doing the same. Simon’s hands wrapped around the spike in her back and he let out a slow breath, putting his chin down on the top of Vic’s head as hers rested against his chest. He looked at Lyle and a silent message passed between them. “Vic,” he said and her breathing was ragged with pain. “We’re going to pull these spikes out, okay?” “Welsh, you don’t need to baby me,” she said, but her voice trembled and he forced a smile on his face for her, even though she couldn’t see it. “I know,” he said, pressing his lips to her hair. “But on the count of three.” He looked at Lyle and mouthed the word, “Two,” and Lyle nodded, his hand coming to wrap around the spike stuck into her thigh. “Ready?” “Just fucking do it,” she said. “Okay,” he tightened his grip and sighed. “One, two…” and that’s all the warning she got as Simon and Lyle both pulled the spikes out at the same time. A cry left her lips and Simon and Lyle were working quickly to press one wadded up sleeve against the wound while tearing the other to wrap it around her thigh and her waist to hold it in place. It was a makeshift bandage and it wouldn’t last long, so they had to get out of here. He wasn’t even sure they’d make it back to the states. Maybe they could stop somewhere. He realized quickly that he was planning on them all making it out of here. They wouldn’t, if he kept fucking up. He had to do something and he had to do it fast because Jez was shot, Vic was hurt bad, and the others wouldn’t be far behind. His own hand was bleeding but he barely paid it any attention. His arms were wrapped around Vic and he held her tightly against his chest as she trembled beneath the touch. “Vic?” he asked quietly, ducking his head to try and see her face. Her eyes were screwed shut tightly and she was pale. She blinked as he said her name and then she focused her dark gaze on his face. There was a red line across her cheek and he growled because Miles was aiming closer and closer to them and Simon was getting pissed off. That burning feeling in his gut, it wasn’t fear. It was anger. Vic had told him that he’d do fine. She’d told him that he’d be good at this and that she had faith in him and she trusted him to get them through this and what did he do? He went and got her hurt bad. He went and let her fall into a spike pit and now she was bleeding and they were in the middle of a war torn fucking country and there was a distinct possibility that she could die because he didn’t know if the spikes had hit anything vital or not. Maybe her she’d have a limp the rest of her life. Maybe she’d lose her leg if infection set in. He bit his lip hard and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll take care of this,” he whispered to her and then he was shoving his arms beneath her knees and around her shoulders and picked her up carefully. She made a small noise anyway because she had to be in pain and it broke his heart when he heard that because this was his Vic. This was his strong, fearless, smokin’ hot bitch and right now she was hurt and he didn’t like that. He didn’t like that he’d let this happen. He looked up and Alexey and Tony were crouched near the edge. Alexey looked wide eyed and terrified. Tony was looking down, waiting for orders. “Tony,” Simon said and that’s all he had to say as Tony reached down while Simon hefted Vic up. She was grumbling something, but she took a sharp gasp as her leg and back were jostled from Tony lifting her out of the pit. He set her down on the edge and then reached his hands down to give Lyle and Simon a hand up. “Bitchzilla,” Alexey said and he was inspecting the wounds on her. “If you wanted some time off work, you could have just asked for a vacation,” he said and he was trying to be funny, but his face was contorted as he looked between Vic and Jez and then his eyes came to Simon and his brother looked scared. He looked more scared than Simon had seen him, even when he’d been on his death bed in the hospital with cancer. Alexey was scared that they weren’t going to make it out of this. Vic laughed weakly and she was watching Simon closely. He crouched down by her, his eyes still shifted into the golden cat eyes and his hand came out for her to wrap hers around, but he only glanced at her for a second before he was scanning the trees again. Miles was watching them and he was herding them and this was all Simon’s fault. It was poor planning because he should have accounted for something like this happening. He’d assumed Miles would be oblivious to their arrival. That was Simon’s fault. He should have thought of all possibilities. He had to make this okay. Turning back to them, Simon looked at Vic for a moment and reached out to run his thumb along her jaw. “I’m sorry,” he said and she frowned like she didn’t understand and then he was looking up at Tony. “Get her back to the helicopter,” he said and he felt her hands tighten around his. He knew she wanted to argue. He knew she didn’t like what he was saying, but she was going to like even less what he had to say next. “Lex, you and Lyle make sure Jez gets there too. Just keep going, watch your steps, stay together. Keep your eyes open, do you understand me?” “Uh,” Alexey made a face. “Yeah but, what are you going to do?” Simon’s hand curled around the flashbang strapped to his thigh and he smiled sadly at his brother, ignoring the way Vic was watching him closely, her eyes wide and there was pain on her face but she seemed to be ignoring it right now, instead focusing on him. “The helicopter will be beyond that clearing up ahead,” he said. “Just get there.” “You didn’t answer my question,” Alexey pointed out. Simon pulled the flashbang off his thigh and sighed. “I’ll be meeting you there,” he said and then he felt the shift start. Fur sprang out along his skin and he felt his bones morphing and his muscles pulling and it was always such an odd feeling. But this time he had anger fueling it on. This time he had Vic’s blood on his hands and her sad, pained gaze in his mind and he would be damned if he was going to sit back and let any of them be hurt any more on this mission. Someone had screwed them over, and he’d deal with that when they got back to the states and Vic was okay and he could serve her breakfast in bed every morning and take care of her and make sure she was okay. She was his girl. And nobody hurt his girl. Nobody. “Welsh,” Vic said, her voice shaky. “Don’t do something stupid.” Simon grinned and it was made feral by his cat features. He was halfway shifted and he pulled the pin of the flashbang. “I’m brilliant, remember?” he said and gave her a wink before he threw the flashbang behind them. He saw them cover their eyes as it went off and then he was moving. He shifted completely into his cat form and ran along the ground, ducking behind bushes and in the dark of the trees, he was nearly invisible. Then he sat and he waited, listening because Miles had to come following them sometime, and he heard the others moving and he knew Vic wasn’t happy with him but she was hurt and he’d do anything for her and anything meant that he was going to kill Brett Miles because the fucker had just messed with the wrong fucking team. He’d just messed with Simon’s team. .Wolfie. Vic hated feeling helpless. She hated the feeling of being completely useless and completely unable to stop what was happening around her so much that she thought she could scream with it. It was the worst fucking feeling in the world, worse than feeling blood pump out of her stomach or her back and worse than watching her father die in front of her. It was the feeling that no matter what she did she wouldn’t ever be strong enough and there would always be someone stronger there to fuck her up.She felt that way cradled in Tony’s arms as they jogged towards where the helicopter was supposed to be. She felt completely fucking helpless because if she was any good then she would be there to watch Welsh’s back like she was supposed to. “Stop,” she said. It was a battle just to get that word out because there were sharp pains lancing up her thigh and through her back. Her jaw was clamped tight and she had to fight just to keep her eyes open and keep breathing. The world was starting to tilt dizzily around her and she really hoped the world looked dark because it was fucking night out and not because she was losing it. Tony came to a stop, glancing down at her with concern and fear contorting his face. “Where’s Lex?” she asked. Her head fell to the side and she tried to see but everything seemed blurry and she really fucking hated that. She hated being helpless. She hated even more that Simon was somewhere behind them with a madman who was trying to hunt and kill them all and he was there by himself. She should be there to watch his back because that was her Simon and he needed her to be strong and to fight for him. She’d told him she would always come and get him. She shouldn’t have been so fucking stupid and gotten herself hurt because he’d told them to watch for traps and she’d fallen into one anyway. There was movement next to her and then Alexey was hurrying to her side. His face came into her line of vision and he looked just as fucking scared as Tony and she felt her stomach sinking because she must have been hurt bad. She couldn’t tell, all she knew was that her back felt matted with blood and it hurt so fucking bad she was having a hard time breathing. “What do you need Bitchzilla?” he asked, forced cheerfulness in his voice. “There’s a crazy man out there with a gun so let’s keep it fast.” Her hand came out and hooked on the edge of his bulletproof vest. She dragged his face down so that it was level with hers and her lip curled into a snarl. “Get your ass back there and you watch Simon’s back,” she growled at him. He smirked and stepped back away from her. “He’s going to be mad,” he said, the shift already taking him. Vic smirked and let her head fall back against Tony’s chest because that was a ‘yes.’ She didn’t care if Simon was going to be mad, as long as he was alive and came back to her because she needed him, more than she’d ever needed anything or anyone in her life. She was starting to lose her concept of time and that was never a good sign. Her eyes slid closed for a minute and when she opened them again they were moving and Alexey was gone. She thought she could hear gunshots behind her but they weren’t aimed at her and she felt sick with fear and pain. Her fingers clenched convulsively against Tony’s vest and it was the only thing keeping her steady right now because the world was blurring around her. Tony’s sharp hiss of breath was the only warning that something was wrong before he jolted to a stop. Vic bit her lip to keep from crying out as the motion jarred the wounds still leaking blood down her skin. “Drop the weapons,” a man’s voice said. Her head tilted to the side and she didn’t understand what she was looking at. The trees ended and beyond it she could see the helicopter waiting there, its rotors spinning slowly and she didn’t think she’d ever be so fucking happy to see a helicopter. But the relief was gone in a second because the pilot was standing in front of them, his fingers laced behind his head and a swelling bruise over his eye. There was a man right behind him with a semi-automatic pressed against the back of his head and even as she watched she saw his fingers tighten on the trigger. It wasn’t Miles, but she wasn’t sure that mattered. “I won’t say it again, mutants,” the man told them. “Drop the weapons or I drop your ticket out of here.” Lyle snorted, even as he tossed his M-4 to the ground. “Not like you’re going to let us walk out of here anyway,” he said dryly. Next to him Jez moved slowly, taking out her Glock and tossing into the dirt. When she took a step back Lyle put a steadying hand on her shoulder, though his eyes never left the guy with the gun. The man smirked. “Nah, not planning on it,” he said brightly. He shared Paul’s British accent and she didn’t have to ask to guess that he was another associate of Miles. Her eyes narrowed and she hated being helpless so fucking much. She hated that Simon was somewhere behind her and she didn’t know if he was okay and she hated that this man had a gun to their pilot’s head. “But there’s always a shot, isn’t there? Now why don’t you turn around and head back the way you came and let my boss have his fun, yeah?” “Vic won’t make it,” Jez whispered quietly to Lyle. Vic’s eyes narrowed and she hated that she’d said those words and she hated that they might be true because she wasn’t going to fucking die on Simon. She’d told him she would be there when he got back. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to bleed to death in Africa or on a drug dealer’s floor or crushed to death by Gustavo but more than any of that she didn’t want to go and die on Simon because he said he loved her and she couldn’t imagine what it would do to him if she up and died on him now. She didn’t want to hurt him like that and she hated that she might not have a choice. She didn’t ever want to do anything to hurt him because she was falling in love with him. The man took a menacing step forward, his gun still pressed against the back of the pilot’s head. “I said run, didn’t I?” Tony swallowed hard and then she hissed in pain as he shifted his grip on her. “Our friend’s hurt,” he said. The words were so genuinely concerned that it was ridiculous coming out of such a big guy’s mouth. The man snorted and he shoved the pilot forward, the barrel of the gun digging into the back of his head. She saw the man close his eyes and tip his head up and he’d probably never signed on for this. She wondered if he was even a shifter or if he was just a pilot for the military and her thoughts were starting to wander. “Well that’s not my problem then, is it? That’s your problem. And you’re about to have another one if you don’t do what I say and get moving back the way you came.” She heard Lyle’s quiet sigh and then he started backing into the woods. Jez glanced back at him with panic on her face and then over at Tony who still hadn’t moved. He was frowning and looking down at Vic and she could see the panic and the fear on his face because Vic was hurt bad and they all knew that she was going to bleed to death if she didn’t get out of here soon. He was torn because Simon had told him to get her to the helicopter and he couldn’t do it. “It’s okay big guy,” she told Tony quietly, and he shook his head because it wasn’t okay but she wouldn’t get him killed too. “Do as he says.” “See that?” the man said, a cruel smirk pulling across his lips. “Now do as the bitch says.” Tony managed a single step back before the heard the blast of gunfire. They stiffened and she cried out in pain as he whipped his head over his shoulder back into the trees. Agony sent its sharp fingers up her back and her leg and fear crushed her chest because the gunshots weren’t directed at her and if Simon or Alexey were getting gunned down she wouldn’t be able to take it. “This is the last time I’m going to tell you to move!” the man behind them shouted, and then bullets were shredding the tree next to Tony’s arm. He winced and took a stumbling step backwards and then she heard the sharp burst of an M-4 go off. The man had time to gasp in pain and the pilot had his eyes crushed shut, his finger still laced behind his head. Her eyes focused on him for a moment because there was blood splattered across the back of his head and it had traveled across his cheek and onto the ground below him. Then her gaze went to the man that had been holding a gun to the back of his head and for a moment their eyes met. His were wide and already glazed and empty and she didn’t understand why at first. She didn’t understand why he was crumpling forward into the dirt, the gun held uselessly in his limp fingers. She knew she was hurt because her mind was moving really fucking slowly. She didn’t understand why he was lying on the dirt with bullet holes in his back or why there was a kid standing there with Simon’s M-4 held in his hands. Saleh looked back at them and then he swallowed hard and looked at Vic and Tony and then at Jezibel and Lyle. “Where is Mr. Samuel?” he asked. Lyle didn’t answer, picking his gun back off the ground and shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what had just happened. He pressed Jez’s Glock into her hand and then he went and grabbed the helicopter pilot around his arm. “Are you okay to fly?” he demanded, shaking him roughly and focusing on his face. The man blinked and stared at Lyle before he finally relaxed his arms, dropping his hands in front of him. The back of them was splattered with the other man’s blood and he paused to wipe it off on his flight suit before he nodded slowly to Lyle. The man snorted and clapped him hard on the back. “Good,” he spat, hurrying him past him to the helicopter. “Let’s go,” he snapped back at them, and Vic wasn’t sure she recognized this version of Lyle. It made her nervous and she watched his back as he moved. “Where is Mr. Samuel?” Saleh asked again, hurrying to follow as Jez went after Lyle and Tony carried Vic towards the still spinning helicopter. The pilot headed towards the cockpit and his legs were shaking as they carried him across the rough terrain. She wasn’t sure he would really be okay to fly but they didn’t have much of a choice. Her head tipped to the side and she focused on the face bobbing next to Tony’s shoulder. Her hand fell and she reached for the kid’s, smiling when it slid into hers. She squeezed it tightly and Saleh smiled weakly back at her. “He’s coming,” she whispered, and she wanted really fucking badly to believe it. Wenston The thing he found most useful about being a panther shifter, was the ears. Having cat eyes was great to see into dark places, but there was nothing like the hearing of a cat. There was nothing like being able to zero in on a noise and know where it’s coming from. He hadn’t picked his shifter animal. Most of the others had been able to. He knew Alexey had picked a fox. It had been a good choice for his brother because it gave him agility and speed, which were Alexey’s strengths naturally. Jezibel had picked hers too, he’d read it in her file. But the rest of them hadn’t. Vic, Lyle and Tony had theirs assigned to them without a choice. Simon had been given the choice, but he hadn’t been able to sign off on it because by the time they’d come to him, he’d been too sick to even stay awake long enough to give them his choice. Apparently Alexey had given them some guidance and told them to make him a gazelle because it would be hilarious, and he was glad the Initiative hadn’t listened to his smartass little brother. He wondered what he would have picked if he’d actually been able to make the choice. He wasn’t sure he knew. He may have picked a big cat, like what they’d given him. There were animals he’d pick now that he’d been trained and he had some ideas on how different animal characteristics could be used out here in the field. He thought a bat shifter would be useful, if not a little creepy. A hawk or eagle shifter would have great eyesight. A frog shifter could climb walls. Anything venomous could be a potentially deadly assassin and he wondered if Lyle was venomous. He hadn’t really seen the man shift that much. His eyes were always gold and creepy, but he’d never seen the snake truly take over. That was something he’d chastised Avi about. The fact that they didn’t know how each other fought. They weren’t accustom to each other’s animals and now that he was leader, he should be pushing for that sort of stuff. He should be arranging drills where they shifted and sparred and learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses. But it may have to wait until Vic was better, because she was going to get better, he wouldn’t let there be any other outcome. He tried not to think about how pale and out of it she’d been. He tried not to think about her blood on his panther paws as he crouched in the grass and the leaves, hiding low and perfectly still. He tried not to think that she could already be dead because she was hurt bad and there was a lot of blood and he didn’t think they’d make it back to the states and maybe he could take her to the American embassy and get her medical treatment there without having to fly back to the states. He loved her. He loved her more than life itself and if there was a way he could trade spots with her, he would. He’d gladly take all of her pain if it meant she was okay and happy and not scared. He was cursing himself because he’d been stupid lately. The nightmares, the moping, the fake smiles, they were all weak. They were all things that weren’t making her love him any faster or any more and he had to be stronger for her. He had to do better and he had to take care of her and the team better. A snapping of a twig to his right sounded and his eyes darted in that direction because it was opposite of where Miles was supposed to be coming from. His lips curled into a snarl because he saw a flash of red and white fur and he recognized it immediately. What the fuck was Alexey doing back here? He’d told him to get to the helicopter and he was going to have to talk to him about authority and following orders and just because he was his brother, it didn’t mean he got special treatment. None of them did. Not even Vic. Alexey was half shifted, walking upright, part human, part fox. He was creeping through the trees and all of a sudden, Alexey froze and his hands rose in the air slightly, his eyes pointed towards a spot in the trees. Simon looked to where his brother was looking and he felt a low growl trying to escape his throat because Miles was perched on a branch. He wore camouflage and had his hunting rifle held out in front of him. “Hey,” Alexey said and his voice sounded nervous. He probably didn’t know Simon was here and for a moment Simon’s heart started racing because he hated that thought. He hated that Alexey thought he was alone out here with a guy that wanted to kill him and he’d probably come back for Simon. He wanted to tell his brother that there was no way he’d ever let Miles kill him. It wasn’t happening. “Nice hat,” Alexey chided. Miles let out a low laugh and his voice was deep. He jumped down from his perch and his footfalls were nearly silent. He was a hunter pure and simple. Every part of him, the way he walked, the way he moved, it was quiet and cunning and no wonder they’d never known the man was there or where he was shooting at them from. “You like it?” Miles asked, his British accent thick and he held the rifle out in front of him, tilting his head to the side. “I thought maybe it was a bit much for this weather.” He took a few calculating steps forward and Simon’s muscles tensed because in a few more steps, he’d pass his hiding spot and then Simon was going to take him down and end this because Vic didn’t have the time to wait. And he didn’t want to lose her. Just the thought of it was enough to break anything and everything he was. Alexey snorted. “Nah, man, looks good,” he said. “Makes you look like a right proper Jack the Ripper,” he pulled out a swanky British accent and Miles’ face twisted into an offended look, his grip on the hunting rifle tightened. Simon really had to have a conversation with his little brother about his smart mouth and smack talking the bad guys. He’d pulled the same shit with Avi and he was really lucky that Avi had never come after him for it. “I know you’re not alone out here,” Miles said, his voice dropping in temperature. “So to whoever is out here watching and listening, here’s how this is going to work.” Alexey made a face but didn’t take his eyes off Miles. Simon watched the man’s feet as they got closer and closer and he just needed a few more steps and he’d take him out. “In about thirty seconds, I’m going to shoot your friend here between the eyes. I’m a good shot, you know I won’t miss. If you show yourself, I’ll give him a head start and a chance to escape.” Alexey scoffed. “Do you even know who you’re talking to?” he asked. “I’m a Kung Fu master. I dodge bullets for a living, buddy.” Miles smiled, amused. “That would be very interesting to see.” Then his voice rose slightly. “Twenty seconds.” “You’re damn right it would,” Alexey continued on and the nervousness was out of his voice. There was a confidence there that made Simon think maybe his brother knew he was here after all. Maybe he’d caught sight of him, or wind, as he was downwind. “People pay good money for that sort of shit. Hey maybe you should try to get into the business of bullet dodging. I’d love to practice with you. We could start right now.” “Ten seconds,” Miles said and he took another two steps forward, raising the rifle to point at Alexey’s head directly. “Maybe you’re friend doesn’t care about your life.” Alexey chuckled slightly. “Or maybe he just wants to surprise you from behind.” That’s exactly what Simon did. Miles had a moment to think about that and he was halfway turned around as Simon pounced. He focused solely on Miles and not his gun and he was thinking about Vic lying bleeding in the bottom of a pit and her waiting for him in the helicopter and there was rage boiling in his gut. The rifle went off as Simon met Miles, the two of them toppling to the ground. He didn’t know where the bullet went, but his claws raked out at Miles. The man let out a cry as bloody rends were drawn across his face, but then he surprised Simon by bringing the butt of his rifle up and snapping it sharply against the side of his face. Simon just let out a feral roar and his jaws clamped down on Miles’ arm. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth quickly, but Miles wasn’t going without a fight, apparently. A burning sensation crept up his arm as Miles drew out a hunting knife and sliced it up towards his face. It caught his arm in a bloody line and then Miles was bucking him up and off. Simon leapt so he landed on all fours and he whirled quickly because Miles still had his gun. But Alexey wasn’t just sitting back and watching. His brother moved quickly and efficiently up behind Miles, wrenching the gun from his hand. Simon growled fiercely as Miles turned and drove the knife towards his brother. It caught Alexey across the arm and as Miles brought it back down, it almost sunk into his shoulder, but Alexey dropped to the ground quickly, rolling away with the agility that came with his form. Simon was there to replace him as soon as he was clear, leaping at Miles’ back. His claws sunk into the man’s flesh and he screamed again, his elbow snapping back and catching Simon in the face again. He gave a growl and then clamped his jaws down on the man’s shoulder. Miles surprised him by kicking at a tree in front of them and pushing them backwards. Being in full cat form, the momentum shoving him backwards onto his back, with Miles on top of him. But he held him firmly. Alexey’s suddenly terrified voice called, “Simon, to your right!” Turning his gaze towards where Alexey was pointing out, he saw a glinting beneath the leaves. He recognized it immediately for what it was and he pushed with all his strength to roll over. Miles was snapping his elbow back repeatedly into his shoulder and his side and he’d worry about the pain that was erupting there later. It wasn’t as bad as what Vic was going through, so he’d deal with it. He’d deal with anything for her. Rolling to the side, there was a sudden snap and Simon had to jerk his face back and away from Mile’s body as the jaws of a bear trap clamped shut tightly. Blood splattered across his face, thick and hot and he blinked for a moment before looking down at the man who was twitching and convulsing, but who’d lost all strength to his motions. The bear trap had caught his head, it’s jagged awful teeth slicing into his cheeks and neck and skull and it didn’t take a genius to see that Miles wasn’t going to be hunting anymore. Simon shifted back, pushing himself up, ignoring the flare of pain in his arm from the knife wound or the bruises he could feel forming on one side of his face or his ribs. Alexey was at his side in an instant and they both just crouched down and looked at what was left of Brett Miles. “Shit,” Alexey said and Simon let out a small noise of shock that mirrored his brother’s sentiment. “That sucks, dude.” .Wolfie. Vic wanted to stay awake and make sure Simon made it back to the helicopter and out of the woods okay. She wanted to be there when he got back so she could see him and smell him and touch him and know that he was alright because even though she trusted him and had faith in him, the man out there was a killer. He was a trained hunter and he wanted her Simon dead and she was terrified for him. She tried really fucking hard to stay conscious and it only lasted until they set her down on the floor of the helicopter. She caught a glimpse of Lyle pulling the first aid kit off the wall and Jez slumping down in one of the seats.Then she blinked and her eyes didn’t open again. She was cold. She was so fucking cold inside and out and she just wanted Simon there to wrap his arms around her because she was warm and safe with him. When she was with him, she was home. She had one of the nightmares again. She hadn’t had any since she got out of prison and before that she hadn’t had one since she was a teenager, but she had one lying bleeding on the bottom of the helicopter. She dreamed about his hands around her throat and the all consuming pain she’d felt as she lay bleeding on her living room floor. She remembered the broken light over her head because she had focused on that more than anything but it didn’t make it stop. Nothing made it stop, not crying or screaming or fighting back. She hated those dreams. She hated that they went on longer than they should and she hated that they came from a memory. She hated them because in them she was helpless and she hated that feeling more than anything in the world. It wasn’t fair that she should feel helpless in her own head, where she didn’t have a knife under her pillow to make the bad men go away. She woke up once with no concept of where she was, only that there were doors opening and familiar arms holding her tightly. He was yelling at someone, telling them to get a stretcher and a doctor and she frowned because she didn’t understand who was hurt. She didn’t think it was her because she was just really cold and numb all over and she would know if she was hurt. Her fingers curled in his shirt and she tried to get her head to lift so that she could look at his face. Her body didn’t listen to her. The traitorous bitch just lay there shivering and it made her mad. “Welsh,” she whispered harshly. The arms around her tightened and then she cried out in pain as he laid her down as it jarred her back and her leg. She couldn’t remember what had happened. She couldn’t remember where she’d been or what she’d been doing or who she’d been with but there was searing pain moving its way up her spine and radiating all down her leg. Her eyes closed and she didn’t want them to but it hurt so fucking bad. She tried to remind herself that pain was weakness. Her pops would be pissed if he ever caught her crying or carrying on just because she’d been hurt. It was nothing. It was just flesh and bone and that could be knitted back together and there was no fucking point whining about it just because she got a little banged up. She would spend the rest of her life getting hurt so she better fucking get used to it now or the next time it happened she might as well lie down and die in a gutter with the rest of the useless victims. There were hands on her face and she started at first because she didn’t recognize whose they were and she almost screamed with the panic in her gut because maybe it was him. She kept waiting for the hands to move around her throat but they didn’t. They stayed on her face and she recognized them because Simon was staring to get calluses on them from fighting her and shooting guns. Then one moved to take hers, squeezing her fingers as he brought them to his lips. “I’m here, Vic,” he told her. His voice was harsh and strained and he sounded scared. She frowned because she didn’t want him to be scared. She felt like there was something she wanted to say to him but she couldn’t remember what it was. The world was moving and shifting around her and she heard him talking at someone, that same scared tone in his voice. She caught a whiff of rubbing alcohol and antiseptics and she hated that smell. It smelled like a hospital and she felt something churning in her gut because maybe Simon had been hurt and then she remembered what had happened in China. “Simon.” She breathed his name and she felt the hand around hers squeeze tighter. Her eyes opened and she could see bright lights over her head and then she saw his face framed by them. “I’m sorry I didn’t stay,” she whispered. She didn’t know if she actually said the words or not because she didn’t ever apologize and she didn’t ever get attached. “I’m sorry sir, but you have to wait out here,” a woman said. “You can see her again when she gets out of surgery.” Vic didn’t get a good look at her but she understood the words because then the hands that had been anchoring her to the world were gone. As soon as she lost his touch her eyes closed and her vision went black. She dreamed again, but this time it wasn’t a nightmare. She was dreaming about lying on her back on a blanket, the sky bright and beautiful over her head and Simon leaning over her. She swore she could feel his fingers brushing her skin and then his lips pulled apart in a sly smile and she fucking loved that smile. It was everything that made up Simon Welsh and made her fall hard and fast for him. Just that smile. “Here’s looking at you, kid,” he said, and then he was leaning down to kiss her. When her eyes opened again she had a really hard time remembering when and where she was. She was in a hospital. She knew that much right away, the ceiling above her was too white and the smell was too sterile. She could hear the steady beating of a heart monitor and that sound wasn’t unfamiliar. She tipped her head to the side and she could see an IV dripping steadily into her veins. Beyond that someone had hung a portrait of Jesus Christ on the wall and she wanted to tell them to take that fucking thing down because she didn’t believe in him and she didn’t believe in God because no one was watching out for her but herself. Maybe her pops, but he was dead, and when she remembered that it was like a punch to her gut. Her dad was dead. He’d been shot in the head and she’d been shot in the stomach and she thought for a long moment that those were the reasons she was here. She was almost afraid to move her hands in case she felt handcuffs clang against the bed because she didn’t want to go back to prison, not now and not ever again. She sucked in a breath and tried to ignore the growing panic. Her eyes moved down her frame and she didn’t see any handcuffs. Just the IV connected to her arm on one side and when she looked to the other she saw someone’s hand resting in hers and as soon as she saw that her memory came crashing back. They’d been hunting Brett Miles in Chad, or at least that’s what they thought they’d been doing there. Someone must have given them away or set them up or something because he’d been waiting for them. He’d been waiting for them with a fucking spike pit and she was the dumb bitch that had fallen right into it. Her face contorted with pain as she turned her head to the side, focusing on Simon’s face because he had gone after Miles himself and she hadn’t known at the time if he was going to come back to her. She smiled softly when she saw him. He’d pulled a chair right over next to her bedside and one hand was stretched across the comforter to hold hers. The other was braced against the arm of the chair and it was holding his head up. His eyes were shut and his breathing was steady and even as he slept next to her side and she wondered if he knew how much it meant that he was here. Her eyes traveled his frame for a moment and she frowned when they lit on the white bandages wrapping one arm. He’d been hurt. Maybe not hurt badly, but he’d been hurt and she didn’t ever like it when he was hurt, especially not when she was the one doing it. She watched his face, letting her fingers move against his as she did. There were dark circles under his eyes and she wondered how long he’d been here and where here even was. She wondered if they were back in the states or if they were still in Africa and just how long she’d been unconscious. She must have lost a lot of blood because she didn’t remember much after getting back to the helicopter. It was all just a blurry haze and she was having a hard time pulling apart what parts had been real and what parts had been a dream. She used her other hand, moving slowly to pull back the sheets and look at herself. They’d put a bandage around her waist and another was wrapped tightly around her thigh. Her fingers pulled at the medical tape holding the gauze down and she winced as it peeled away from her skin. She tipped her head to the side and it was still a little bloody and a little messy but they’d done a neat job of sewing her back up. It still hurt every time she moved the muscle but judging by how numb everything felt they must have put her on some pretty decent painkillers because it didn’t hurt half as much as it should. She taped the bandage back up and slumped back against the pillows, turning her head to look back at Simon. He snored. It made her smile because he didn’t do it all the time. Not loudly, not the obnoxious, pull starting a lawnmower kind of snore, but he snored sometimes and he was doing it now as he waited by her side for her to wake up. “I love you,” she whispered. She didn’t know what prompted the words to come out now, but they slid from her mouth and as soon as they did she bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from saying them any louder. She had thought them quietly in the back of her mind but she didn’t want to say them to him in case she was lying because she didn’t want to hurt either of them like that. Only they didn’t sound like a lie. They sounded like the truth and she thought maybe that scared her more and maybe it was better if she kept them to herself. Maybe it was better if she didn’t say them out loud because once she did that then she couldn’t take them back and she couldn’t run and she realized after she thought it that she didn’t want to run anymore. She didn’t want to run and she didn’t want to change her name anymore. She just wanted to be the Vic that was Simon’s girl because home was where he was. She swallowed hard and brought his fingers to her mouth, brushing her lips over his knuckles. He snorted in his sleep and then he started a little, sitting up and trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. His other hand lifted and scrubbed across his face and then he let it drop, focusing on her face as she watched him. His eyes widened as he suddenly realized she was awake and the smile that spread across his lips was perfect. It was perfectly Simon Welsh and she couldn’t help but smile back. “Hey Vic,” he said, squeezing her hand tightly. “About time you woke up,” he said. He was joking with her, but she didn’t miss the undertones of fear and concern that laced the words because maybe he hadn’t been sure she would wake up. “Hey Welsh,” she said. He smiled again and his hand came up to cup her cheek. She leaned into the touch as his thumb brushed over her collarbone and she thought about telling him all the things she was thinking about him and everything he meant to her and she couldn’t quite get the words out. So she smiled and turned to kiss his palm and just asked. “Can we go home now?” Wenston Simon didn’t want to leave Vic, but he had to. She was going to be released in the morning, so he’d told her he was going to go and pick up some of her clothes for her and then he’d be back. The hospital staff had already agreed to bring a cot into the room so he could sleep there, but Vic insisted that he was going to sleep on the hospital bed with her. He wasn’t sure how true that was or not, because she was still hurt pretty bad and he didn’t want to jostle her, but if she wanted him to, he would. He would do anything she wanted because he was the dumb asshole who’d let her get hurt and he’d do anything to make it up to her. He stopped at the apartment first and he grabbed some clothes for Vic. He thought about the wound on her thigh and it was going to probably hurt for a while, so he grabbed a pair of his own basketball shorts she could wear so her jeans wouldn’t irritate it. On his way out, he grabbed a small cooler and shoved some of her frozen burritos into it and whether she wanted to eat them tonight or not, she was going to have the option because he knew how she felt about hospital food. On the way back, he passed a flower boutique and he decided to stop and pick some up for her because as soon as he saw it he was pretty sure that no one had ever gotten her flowers before. She’d told him that she’d never been loved by anyone and she’d never loved anyone in return and that probably meant that flowers weren’t something she was accustom to. He wanted her to be. He wanted her to like getting gifts and pretty things because she deserved them. She deserved the world. They’d made it back to the states, but it had been a close one. He’d almost made them stop somewhere along the way because Vic hadn’t been doing well in the helicopter. She’d been unconscious by the time him and Alexey had gotten back, with Miles’ blood on their hands. Simon had held her hand the entire flight back and he’d been scared to death that she wasn’t going to make it, but it turned out that Saleh had disobeyed him and come back and shot a guy for the team. The kid knew some things about first aid and Simon would forever be grateful to him. He’d told him so by giving him his phone number with the understanding that if Saleh ever needed anything, anything at all, he could call. The look on the kid’s face had told Simon that no one had ever offered that to him before, and it made Simon mad at the world because he didn’t understand how people could be so cruel to each other. He didn’t understand how Vic could have all these things happen to her and how Saleh could be so alone in the world in such a war torn country. As he was paying for the roses he’d decided to buy Vic, his phone went off. He answered it immediately because there was still a part of him that was thinking if he turned his back on her, some complication would arise and she’d be gone by the time he got back. He hated thinking like that, because she was on the mend, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it if anything happened to her. If she was gone, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get over something like that. “Welsh,” he said into his phone. “Welcome back,” Elias’ voice came and it immediately soured Simon’s mood. He didn’t want to talk to the man now and he sure as fuck didn’t want to explain to him that he thought someone had set them up and that Elias could possibly be that someone. He wasn’t sure how much of that he believed, but he didn’t know the men Elias worked for. He’d never met them before and it was easier to blame Elias than people he didn’t know. Simon smiled politely at the florist, gathered up his flowers, and then headed out to his car. He set them in the front seat and then shut the door, leaning against the Lexus with a hand pressed to his head. He had bandages wrapped down the length of one arm. “Elias, I was about to head back to the hospital.” If Elias was concerned that Vic was still in the hospital, it didn’t come through in his voice. Simon had called the man when they’d gotten Vic off to surgery and he hadn’t seemed too concerned then either and it just pissed Simon off because it was a reminder of how the man had used it. It was a reminder of the words Elias had said to him about using something and throwing them away once they got what they wanted out of it. That something was Vic. And Simon didn’t plan on ever treating Vic like that. “Stop by first,” Elias said. “We need to debrief what happened in Chad.” “Can it wait until tomorrow?” Simon asked. “Vic’s coming home tomorrow and…” “No, it can’t wait,” Elias interrupted and Simon sighed loudly, sure that the man could hear it. He heard Elias snort. “You know, there is a policy that states there will be no fraternization among any special forces team. If the bosses got wind of your biased relationship towards a team member you command, there could be consequences.” Simon rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah?” he said and he couldn’t keep the annoyance out of his voice. “What’s the consequences for a liaison fucking one of the people he oversees? Probably a little worse than what they’d do to me.” Elias laughed like he was amused by Simon’s tenacity and then he said, “I’ll see you in twenty minutes, Welsh.” There was a click as he hung up and Simon growled, shoving his phone into his pocket. He stood against the car for a moment and he tried not to think about Elias and Vic. He tried not to picture the man and the way he treated her just on a daily basis because he could only imagine how he must have treated her when they were fucking. He suddenly wanted to be by her side again and tell her she was okay and she was with him now and he’d never hurt her. Except he’d let her fall into a fucking spike pit and maybe he couldn’t say things like that again. The thought sobered him drastically and he had to swallow thickly before he climbed into the car and drove to the compound. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go and be with Vic. Elias was in his office when Simon arrived. He’d left the flowers and the burritos in the car, so he wanted to make this quick because he didn’t want either of those things to be ruined. Elias waved him in when he knocked on the door and Simon closed it behind him, heading towards the chair in front of the desk and sat down. Elias glanced up from some paperwork, his eyes going to the bandages around Simon’s arm before he smiled and looked at his face. “Tell me what happened,” he said. “Miles is dead,” Simon said simply. Elias raised an eyebrow and nodded, holding his hands out to the side. “And?” Simon glared at the man. “And I don’t know if I want to be the leader of this team anymore.” It must not have been the answer Elias was looking for and if Simon was being honest with himself, it wasn’t the answer he’d meant to give. Elias folded his arms in front of him on the desk and frowned a little. “Why is that?” he asked. “You accomplished your goal and took out the target.” “I nearly got the entire team killed in the process,” Simon said lowly. “Jezibel was shot. Vic almost died, falling into one of Miles’ traps.” Elias shrugged like it was no big deal. “Those sound like mistakes on their parts,” he said and anger flashed through Simon because that was Vic he was talking about and he didn’t blame her for falling into a trap. It’s not like she meant to, he was pretty sure she would rather not have a hole in her leg and a wound on her back. “The team is coming off of bad leadership, your own observations, let me remind you. It’ll take some work to get them back on their feet.” “It’s not the team,” Simon said. “My decisions got them hurt. My oversight almost killed them.” “Oversight?” Elias asked, looking puzzled by the word. He shook his head. “Mr. Welsh, you do realize this mission was a success, right? Miles is dead, the Chadian government is happy they don’t have to answer to the Sudanese, which makes them happy with the U.S., which makes my bosses very happy. You brought everyone back alive, which is more than what they expected.” Simon held up a hand and shook his head at that, “Wait, what does that mean?” he asked and he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what Elias was about to say. “It means the level of risk this mission encompassed was at a higher level than any mission the team has been on before,” he said nonchalantly. “So the fact you brought them all home alive, minus a few wounds, the bosses are very impressed with your performance.” Simon tipped his head to the side. “Miles was hunting us,” he said. “Yes, I know.” And that was all Simon needed to hear. He felt his chest constrict and he nodded, biting his lower lip for a moment. “You know,” he repeated and Elias was just watching him, like he was observing his reaction. “Did you know when you sent us?” “I did,” Elias nodded again. “The bosses felt it would be a good test of your abilities. Miles paid to have a team sent to Chad specifically for that reason. So the Initiative got a huge funding and they had a team to take out Miles and please the Chadian government.” “You sonofabitch,” Simon growled and Elias looked highly amused at the word. “Why didn’t you warn us? We could have been prepared.” “Like I’ve already said, the bosses wanted to test your abilities as a leader and your team’s ability to thrive under pressure. You performed remarkably. You may want to work with Ms. Wolfe, however.” Simon was out of his seat before he could stop himself. He was across the room and his fist was meeting with Elias’ jaw before he could think that this was a bad idea. He actually split his knuckles on the man’s face he hit him so hard. Elias gave a solid grunt as his head snapped to the side and he toppled out of his cushy leather chair, falling to the ground. For a minute he just laid there and Simon stood breathing on the other side of the desk, looking down at him. When Elias finally brought a hand to his face, he turned to look over his shoulder at Welsh and there wasn’t a cruel smile or a look of amusement on his face this time. There was just anger and rage. “The next time you want to test my team, you do it in a way that it doesn’t put our lives in danger,” Simon said lowly. “Vic could have died. They all could have died.” Elias pulled himself to his feet, brushing himself off and his eye was starting to swell shut and there were bruises forming on his cheekbone and jaw and Simon must have hit him really fucking hard because that was an entire side of his face. Blood was dripping from his own knuckles and he thought he’d popped one because his fingers were tingling. “It would have been her own fault.” Simon tipped his head to the side, giving a small, incredulous laugh. “You want me to give you a matching black eye on the other side, Elias?” he asked. For a moment, an emotion played across the man’s face and Simon thought maybe it was fear, but Elias hid it away swiftly. He jutted his jaw out and then said lowly, “I told you before that you wouldn’t be hitting me again. You’ve just assaulted a high ranking official, Mr. Welsh.” “One who had it coming,” Simon told him like they weren’t even discussing Elias. The man snorted and shook his head. “You think you being the team leader will grant you any immunity to punishment? Think again,” he said before Simon could answer the question. “We terminated Avi’s contract, we can terminate yours, and your brother’s just as easily.” “But you won’t,” Simon said and he was surprised at how confident his voice sounded. “Because you know what I think?” Simon leaned against the desk and eyed Elias. “I think when you go to your bosses and tell them that the kids were picking on you, they’re going to laugh in your face and tell you to grow a fucking pair. They may punish me, but they’re not going to terminate me. Not after you just said they were impressed by what happened in Chad.” “You’re very confident, Welsh,” Elias said and it sounded like it was hurting him to even move his jaw, which made Simon happy. Simon snorted. “Not really,” he said and it was probably the honest answer Elias wasn’t expecting. He started walking towards the door. “I’ll be with Vic when you decide what my punishment is going to be.” .Wolfie. “I don’t need you to carry me, Welsh,” Vic said.“It’s this or the wheelchair, Wolfe,” he shot back with a bright smile. Vic rolled her eyes but he didn’t look like he noticed or cared as he pushed the door to his apartment open with hit back. His keys dangled from the hand looped under her shoulders, the other one beneath her knees as he cradled her to his chest. He hadn’t listened to her when they were getting out of the hospital or out of the car or into the apartment building. She tried to tell him that she wasn’t a cripple. She just had a hole in her thigh. She’d spent twenty-four hours in the hospital for observation, but once she’d woken up she’d pretty much been in the clear. They’d sewn her back together and put blood back in her veins and now she was cleared to go home, as long as she took it easy. Simon had sworn to the doctors and the nurses that he would take care of her and make her take it easy whether she liked it or not. She tried to pretend that she wasn’t comfortable and happy being held in his arms like this. She had hers looped around his neck to keep steady and when she leaned her head against his chest she could hear the steady thump of his heartbeat against her skin. “No,” she snapped. “No wheelchair, no crutches, no painkillers.” He laughed and shook his head at her, pushing the door shut with his foot. “You really need to get over this ‘pain is weakness’ thing, beautiful. Sometimes pain is just pain.” She tried to glare at him but she didn’t think it was working because there was a warm blush in her cheeks at him calling her beautiful. He smiled and pretended he didn’t notice as he carried her into the kitchen. He set her down on top of the counter, hands resting against her knees. “I don’t mind carrying you around,” he told her. He leaned forward to kiss her between the eyes before he tipped her head back so he could look her in the eyes. “But you’re taking your painkillers.” Her eyes narrowed and he smirked at the look but he didn’t back down. His hand moved to her neck, running over the skin and brushing his thumb against her jaw. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe,” she said. They were keeping her comfortably numb right now. As soon as they wore off she imagined she would feel worse than a dull, throbbing ache in her back and her thigh. It wasn’t as bad as getting shot, but it ranked up there pretty high on her list of injuries. He sighed, running kisses down her cheek and her jaw. His lips hovered over her mouth and he spoke very quietly and seriously. “If you won’t take your painkillers then I won’t have sex with you until you’re all healed up.” She leaned back, her eyes going wide. She barely kept her mouth from dropping open and she saw him smirk wickedly at the look on her face. He kept his eyes on hers so that she knew he wasn’t kidding and she could only stare back at him with disbelief. She couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or amused. “Did you seriously just play the ‘withholding sex’ card on me, Welsh?” “Yep,” he told her bluntly. The wicked smirk grew broader and she felt his hand moving to the back of her neck, fingers traveling over her skin. Then the smile softened and he leaned forward to kiss her, his lips moving gently over hers and she didn’t know how she felt about that. “I’m not going to risk hurting you, Vic. Especially not like that.” His cheek pressed against hers and she didn’t understand why his voice got so low and serious. “I never want to hurt you,” he whispered. She frowned and pushed him away from her so that she could look at his face. Her hand lingered on his shoulder as she ducked her head to study him and she didn’t understand what that look was. “Are you feeling guilty that I got spiked?” she asked bluntly. He snorted and a quiet smirk pulled at his lips. “You really are so straightforward sometimes,” he told her. She sighed and rolled her eyes because he hadn’t answered her and that meant the answer was yes. Her arms slid around his neck and pulled him closer to her and she didn’t miss how careful he was to keep his hand away from her left thigh. “Well, I hope you’re not feeling guilty,” she told him quietly. “Because if you are that would be really stupid, and I keep telling you how brilliant you are. I’d be really hurt if you went and called me a liar. I mean, I know I’m a cheat, but I try not to be a liar.” He laughed but it didn’t last long. His eyes were sweeping her face and she wasn’t sure what the expression looking back at her was because it was intense and desperate and a little scared. “I need to do better,” he said lowly, and she was surprised at how harsh his voice got. He took a step forward and then his hand was sliding through her hair, holding her head tightly against his. His voice was a low growl and she didn’t understand until right then just how scared he was that she’d almost died. She hadn’t realized just how badly she’d been hurt. “I can’t lose you,” he said, and his voice broke just saying the words. “I can’t.” Her hands moved to the back of his head and she ran her fingers through his hair. The words sent a shiver down her spine and she couldn’t tell if they scared her or turned her on. Maybe both. She knew he loved her and her brain kept telling her to run before it got them both hurt, but her body and her heart didn’t listen as she slid her arms around his neck. “You won’t,” she told him. “Elias knew,” he said abruptly, and Vic started at the words. She tilted her head to try and look into his face and his eyes were dark as they rose to hers. “Miles asked them to send a team. He knew we were coming. He wanted to hunt us and Elias knew about it.” Vic stared at him for a moment, her fingers running through his hair as she processed that. Elias knew. He knew about China and he knew about Africa and she thought that she hated him because he was a master at manipulating them. He could do what he wanted with them and it didn’t matter if they got killed as long as they accomplished what his bosses wanted. She had to look away because she felt sick and used and she knew it was over but the familiar feelings of loathing and hurt still lingered. She swallowed hard and turned her attention back to Simon because he was just standing there watching her with that dark look on his face. Her hands moved through his hair and she shook her head. She thought about him saying he had a bad feeling on the flight and she should have trusted his instincts because they were amazing. “There’s no way you could have known that,” she told him quietly. Simon laughed and didn’t respond, maybe because he didn’t believe her. His mouth moved to press a kiss to her forehead and then he pulled back. “I’m going to get your things from the car,” he said before winking at her. “Don’t go anywhere.” She rolled her eyes and pushed him in the shoulder again. “Bitch,” she said, but there was no force behind it. He laughed and kissed her one more time before heading back to the door. They’d sent her home with crutches, even if she didn’t plan on using them, and he had a mini cooler in the car with a few frozen burritos still in it. She’d laughed and kissed him when she saw it and it made her so happy that he’d thought to bring them for her and that she didn’t have to eat any fucking hospital food. Then she’d spotted the flowers, and she didn’t know how she was supposed to respond to them. He’d gotten embarrassed because she’d just been staring at him and the roses in his hand. His face had turned red and then he’d set them on a table by her bed. “I didn’t know what kind you’d like,” he said. “But I figured roses would be safe.” The smile on her face had been honest bright and she tried to hide it behind her hand. He’d caught it in his so that he could see her face and the embarrassment faded as she pulled him closer. “You’re a problem, Welsh,” she whispered, kissing his mouth. She’d made him sleep in the hospital bed with her and she didn’t care if it was almost too small because that just meant she had to lay across his chest to stay on it. There were a lot of reasons why she wanted him in bed with her, mostly because she just liked sleeping with him and she felt better with his arms wrapped around her. But part of it was that she was afraid the nightmares would come back, either his or hers, and she wanted him there so that he could remind her when her eyes opened that it was just a bad dream now. She wanted him there so that if he woke up thinking he was drowning she could tell him it was going to be okay. She ignored his order to stay put, sliding off the counter onto the kitchen floor. She was wearing his basketball shorts and they were a little too big on her and barely stayed on her hips. She moved gingerly across the tile, using the counters to balance herself and stay upright as she made her way to the refrigerator. Her thigh started throbbing painfully as soon as she put weight on it and the hole in her back had already been hurting. She didn’t think there was a way to avoid that. She pulled open the cupboard to get out the popcorn and she had just gotten the microwave started when she heard the front door open and shut. She stretched up on her toes to try and pull out a bowl and she ignored the slash of pain at the motion. There was a thump as he put everything down on the counter and then she heard his footsteps across the kitchen floor. He didn’t say a word to her but she squeaked when she was suddenly lifted off her feet and back into Simon’s arms. “You’re going to be a problem for the next few weeks, aren’t you?” he asked sharply, a glare on his face as he took her back to the counter. She smiled up at him, catching his shirt before he could pull away from her. “Just the next few weeks?” she asked. He snorted and he looked like he was fighting not to smile back at her. “I hope so,” he said. “It better not take you longer than that to heal, but if you keep giving me problems then I’ll just make you stay in bed every day.” A sly grin spread across her lips and she pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt. “You promise?” she asked, and a laugh pulled its way from his lips in response. Her head tilted so that she could kiss him and she felt his hands settle gently on her hips as he kissed her back. He was always so aware of her and her body and she loved that about him. She loved that he knew where to touch her and how to touch her and that he could be everything she wanted without hurting her. She pulled back from the kiss and her lips parted. She almost said the words. She almost told him that she loved him and that she was his completely. She didn’t. A part of her was still scared of what would happen to her after that because she couldn’t turn back once she said the words. She couldn’t tell him that it didn’t mean he owned her because if she opened her mouth and told him she loved him than he would. He would own her completely and he still didn’t know her. Maybe when he did he would throw her to the side because she was damaged goods and she didn’t know if he would but she was still too much of a coward to find out. Behind him the microwave dinged and he pulled back away from the kiss. His hands had moved up under the edge of her shirt and she felt his fingers playing across her skin. “Popcorn’s done,” he told her. “What did you want to watch?” She grinned pressing a kiss against his chest. “A Jet Li movie,” she told him, moving her kisses up to his neck. He laughed, turning to catch her lips with his. “You’re going to be a problem,” he told her quietly. Wenston Episode #9: Vaughn Hannah Vic’s teeth sunk into his shoulder as she came. He was pressed down on top of her to keep her back from arching off the bed. One of her legs was wrapped around his hip and the other was stretched out on the bed because he’d refused to let her move it the entire time. He hadn’t wanted to have sex her first night out of the hospital, because he didn’t want to hurt her. Wounds like hers could easily be opened back up again if they weren’t careful. They’d managed to hold out until the morning at least . But when he’d woken up to her doing some amazing things with her hands, he’d given in because damn the woman could be persistent. She was trembling beneath him when he came a moment later and then her mouth moved to the side of his neck and her fingers were moving gently up and down his back. He lifted his head so he could look down at her and she didn’t look like she was in pain, just content and satisfied. He sat up, a little, his hands moving her gently so he could look at the bandages on her back and on her thigh and they were still clean and nothing had been ripped open. Vic reached forward and grabbed his forearms, pulling him back towards her. He laid down beside her and snaked one arm beneath her shoulders while the other remained on her hip, holding her still. She rolled onto her side anyway and curled her arms around him, snuggling in close and he loved it when she was close. He loved it when she was in his arms and he loved it when she was in his bed and he just loved her. “You tricked me,” he whispered to her as he lifted the hand from her hip to run it down the side of her face. She gave a tired, sultry chuckle and tilted her head at him. “How so?” “I said no sex before painkillers,” he told her, though the smile was still on his face. “It’s not fair if you start while I’m still asleep.” She laughed and it was beautiful and everything he loved about her. Her fingers played across his stomach and they lingered on the pink scars that had been his souvenir from China. Then she lifted her hand to bandages wrapped around his forearm from where Miles had sliced him. “I couldn’t help it,” she said coyly. “A girl has needs.” It was his turn to laugh and he leaned his head forward to kiss her. She relaxed beneath the kiss and his fingers tightened in her hair. As he pulled her head back, she grinned up at him. “You’re evil,” he told her again and then he let go of her hair, kissed her again and sat up. She rolled onto her back again and he didn’t miss the way she winced. He felt a twinge of guilty because maybe they should have held off longer. She was still healing, the doctors had told her to take it easy and fucking her wasn’t making sure she was taking it easy. “What do you want to do today?” he asked as he stood up and pulled on his boxer briefs. He pulled a pair of jeans on after that and then turned around and he realized he couldn’t find his shirt. He headed to the dresser and pulled out a clean when and then turned around because she wasn’t answering him. Vic rolled onto her side and propped her head up as she watched him. “Stay in bed,” she told him and he didn’t think she meant just to sleep. She confirmed that theory when she said, “With you.” Simon grinned and pulled the shirt on over his head before he crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. She laid her cheek on his thigh and he let his hand rest gently on her shoulder, his thumb rubbing her skin soothingly. “I could make you breakfast in bed.” “We just had that,” she said playfully and he laughed, leaning down to kiss her shoulder before he ran his fingers through her hair and he loved this girl. He wished he could just stay in bed with her all day. He wished she wasn’t hurt and he wished that he believed her when she said that it wasn’t his fault. “We could rent a movie,” he suggested and she groaned because she must really not have wanted to get out of bed. “And I can make fondue.” At that she rolled her eyes and Simon chuckled a little, guiding her gently off his legs so he could stand up again. “I could give you a massage.” His eyes widened and he pointed a finger at her. “Ooh, I could give you a private yoga lesson.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Welsh,” Vic said and her tone was falsely annoyed. “If any of those things involve getting out of bed or doing work, then no.” Simon snorted. “You’re lazy,” he told her and she just closed her eyes and rolled her head back against the pillow. He watched her for a second and she looked so beautiful with the sheets pulled up to her waist and her bare skin stark against the bed she lay in. She was beautiful and he wondered what he’d done with that camera because he needed more pictures of her. Maybe he could go get the film developed finally and he didn’t like how most of them would be of Kim. Maybe he could just wrap those up and give them to David as a wedding gift to show him what a bitch his future wife was going to be like. “Breakfast in bed it is,” he said and she rolled her head back to look at him. “With a side of painkillers.” She groaned but didn’t argue and that told him all he needed to know. He bent and kissed her forehead and then he walked out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. He’d left Vic’s medicine bottles on the counter and he shook two pills out into his palm, poured her a glass of filtered water, and then went back to the bedroom. He set it on the nightstand and it looked like she’d fallen back asleep in the short time it had taken him. He smiled at the sight and closed the bedroom door on his way to the kitchen to cook her breakfast. He’d just gotten the omelet started when there was a knock at the door. He turned to look over his shoulder at it and frowned as he looked at the clock on the stove. It was nine o’clock in the morning. Alexey sure as hell wouldn’t be up this early. He sighed and hoped it wasn’t Mrs. Kratz again because she hadn’t been back after she’d almost gotten shot in his apartment and he thought she was about due for another visit. Although, now he didn’t think she actually meant the things she chastised him for. He just thought the woman was lonely. Turning down the heat on the stove, he headed for the door and opened it, being cautiously quiet because he didn’t want to wake Vic up. On the other side of the door stood a man in a suit with glasses and his hair slicked back. He held a briefcase in his hand and Simon raised an eyebrow at him because he looked like a pretentious asshole. Simon was good at spotting pretentious assholes, he’d been around them most of his life. “Mr. Welsh?” the man asked. “Who are you?” Simon neither confirmed or denied. The men stuck out his hand for Simon to shake. “Nicolas Cartwright. Senior Liaison Officer for the Experimental Science Department of the Shifter Initiative Contract.” Simon snorted and he should have known this guy was with the Initiative. “That’s an impressive title,” he said, but took the man’s hand anyway. Nicolas nodded. “It is,” he said and then glanced over Simon’s shoulder. “May I come in?” He sighed but then nodded, stepping aside to let the man in. Nicolas walked pass him and Simon startled a little as two guys he hadn’t seen standing out of view followed him. “They’re with me,” Nicolas said and the guys were almost the size of Tony. Simon suddenly didn’t like this because he thought he knew why the guy was here. “You said you were a liaison officer?” he asked as he shut the door behind him and Nicolas and his two brutes had found their way into the kitchen. Nicolas placed his briefcase on the counter and clicked it open. “Senior liaison,” Nicolas said. Then he turned around and looked at Simon. “I’m brought in when there are conflicts between our liaisons and their team members.” Simon nodded. “So you’re here about that shiner I gave Elias,” he said and Nicolas just nodded. Simon sighed and rounded the counter, flipping the omelet before it burned and he stood with the spatula in his hand, back leaning against the counter behind him as he watched Nicol |
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