Chapter 1

Bang Bang Guns Go Bang

Sometimes there’s a mess that some people can’t get clean. No matter how hard they try, the problem is still there, mocking them, staring them right in the face.

That’s where I come in.

I would like to say that I am an artist, because that’s what I do: I create art. I spend hours concocting brilliant and intricate schemes to kill, maim, and murder countless messes (or marks) on the daily basis. I would love to say that I am an artist for when I succeed in killing a mark, it truly is a work of art.

But I am not.

I am a world class assassin. I know over eight world languages, have a black belt in karate, am a damn good sharp shooter and street fighter. I am so good that in my ten years in the job, I am one of the few proud fifty assassins to ever have one hundred uncompromised missions. The most surprising thing however, is that I managed to accomplish all of these feats by the tender age of eighteen.

Yes, you heard me correctly, eighteen, young right. Well that’s all apart of the fun; it makes me not only an more valuable assassin, but it also gives me an advantage over my poor unsuspecting marks, for who would ever suspect a eighteen year old to be a ruthless killer. From what my boss tells me, I am considered the best assassin of my generation.

Before this my life was nothing but a series of disappointments. Now I am right were I want to be, intoxicated by money, sex, booze and blood.

 -o-

‘Fat ass’ I thought glaring at my self in the mirror as I tried to squeeze into my new leather mini and red halter.

Here I am, balls deep in Siberia, trying to play girlfriend to an “arms dealer”( more like spy associate) so I can accomplish my goal- kill the buyer, but I cant fit into the damn stripper get up my employer requested I be in. “Shit!” It’s bad enough that I have to be in the cold unforgiving waste land, but to wear a fucking leather mini in thirty degree weather so that I can kill a useless mark, that’s just crazy.

So I take off the skirt, and put on a lightly tight strapless dress. ‘Great, now I look like a 140 pound beached whale, just lovely.’ Then its make up, hair, shoes and badabing, hot black girlfriend is ready to fit in with all the other Russian party goers. Grabbing my kit (purse containing one knife, one dose of cyanide, and a beautiful custom made nine mil.); I left my hotel room to try and find my partner for the evening.

The mark tonight was an Irish man by the name of Patrick O’Riley. Patty was wanted by the Irish, the U.S., and the Russian governments for extortion, minor drug trafficking, and fraud. However, his major infraction (and the reason they want him dead) is that dear Patty boy was a major financer of foreign rebellions and a big time arms-dealer to the third world idiots.

If things go as I plan, Patty will be dead with in an hour and I will be on my way to England one hundred grand richer and ready to get my next mission. ‘YAY!’ As I walked out of my hotel to meet up with my date the sudden sound of Slipknot’s ‘Before I Forget’ hit my ears making me roll my eyes as well as cringe over my ruined mood. I would have ignored it but after the seven minutes of non-stop ringing I couldn’t take it anymore.

Ripping my clutch open I fished out my phone and answered it with a rude ‘hello.’ “Well that’s not the way to talk to your boyfriend who has missed you so much” a sweet tenor stated in mock hurt.

My left eye twitched all the while the grip on my cell tightened. I didn’t know if I wanted to sigh or curse at my rotten luck.

“Hey Jase, baby I am sorry, but you caught me at a bad time” I said with false sweetness hoping that the idiot who called himself my boyfriend would get the picture.

“Oh well, I was just calling to see when you got back. I miss you so much and...”

URGHH!!! He didn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, Jase is a very hot, sweet, and talented boy, but he and I are on separate pages. He wants a long term commitment and I want a fuck buddy who will put out when I need it and shut up when I don’t.

“Look Jason, I am busy. I will call you back as soon as I can” I said not only cutting him off during his rant but hanging up on his ass as well. Turning off my phone I ran to the car garage, found my rental, and drove off to meet my partner.

- o -

“You’re late” called a deep baritone of my partner for the night, Sergi. I rolled my eyes. “Yea well you try to drive in high heels you ass, and let’s see how you fair.” I sneered turning up my nose.

Sergi laughed a deep sensuous laugh and proceeded to link arms with me. “You remember the cover story?” he whispered, his mouth a bit to close to my ear. I nodded dumbly and Sergi led us into our final destination: Anno, a hip rock/metal club.

As we walked in to the club I got a better look at my partner: chiseled features, a body to die for, ice blue eyes, and a sea of raven hair that managed to hide his eyes. I felt my pulse quicken as I started to become very aroused at the thought of a naked Sergi.

And he must have been looking at me too when he commented “You look good”, that sexy accent of his driving me wild. “So do you” I replied as we entered the club eager to finish the job given to us.

Hours later, I finally made it back to my room. Patty was ever the easy kill, as an Irish bloke he really couldn’t hold his cyanide as well as he could his Guinness. And like I said earlier, Sergi was too yummy to pass up, so after a quick romp (the best way to burn post kill energy), I stumbled back into my humble adobe, half drunk and tired as hell.

I quickly did a status report followed by a security check before I packed all of my shit, stripped to my skivvies, and took a nice long nap. And by five-thirty A.M. the next day Danielle Fargus, the International model girlfriend of the Notorious arms-dealer Victor Serankov, was no where to be found.

‘And such is the life of a high paid assassin’

There are people who sometimes judge the artist’s work. They either hold the artist’s work in deep contempt, claiming how utterly appalling and unimaginative the art work was, or they do nothing but sing praises about the artist and their work.

            These people are called critics.

We in the assassin profession also have to deal with this phenomenon, except our critics are the government, spies and our fellow peers, not fat, pathetic snobs who sit on their asses all day and write columns in trashy papers (you know the classic symptom of those who can’t do, write).

Sometimes an artist can lose their touch and will get such bad ratings, that they are shunned by their peers, their progress watched by all especially the salivating critics, who are eager and ready to produce another piece of slop about the artist’s failed potential. Every one wonders if the artist will be able to make a comeback or will they just wallow in the pity of being burned.

The same applies to an assassin.

If a mission is compromised or some of the assassin’s private life comes into play many can get blacklisted from their employers leaving them washed up, penniless, and/or dead. Some are able to strike new deals and get back into the fold, others aren’t so lucky.

But even if you comeback, the stain of what happened-your burn- stills lingers, everyone knows and it eats you alive.

-o-

The whole England trip turned out to be a bust: there was no trace of my mark anywhere; I was pissed. Needless to say, after calling my employer and complaining for an hour, I left England for Texas. Joy.

Texas, home of the free and land of the brave; the only state with its own constitution. More like Texas, home to the stupid land of the hot; the only state with more bleach blondes with fake tits per square mile. I had never been to Texas before but I have seen TV and I can now say that all country folk are sluts. I can’t help but miss my penthouse in NYC, the lovely view of all the steel monuments, the glow of Times Square shining through my curtains. Ah so peaceful.

Anyway, the reason I was in Texas was because my bosses though that I needed a refresher on who hired whom, so they decided to send me to Texas and stick me with some incompetent shit. Team work, Bah!

As I walked through the airports shitty baggage claim, my cellular rang. Adjusting my burdens, I grabbed my phone and looked at the screen. ‘Boss’ I thought, accepting the call and putting the receiver to my ear.

“Bill, what have you got for me?” I asked after the fourth ring.

“There is a car outside waiting to take you to HQ to meet your partner.” Bill rushed cutting to the chase. I rolled my eyes biting back a retort “Anything else”

“Yea play nice.” The phone went dead and I could have just screamed. ‘Goddamnit!’ I thought as I made my way out side, luggage in hand, to this mystery car.

Outside a simple black suburban caught my attention. Begrudgingly, I made my way over to the car and knocked on the window. Slowly, the window went down to reveal a cute green eyed blonde. “Open the trunk” was all I said and within ten minutes we were on our way to headquarters.

-o-

“Cassia Versey, due to your good work and many achievements, we are giving you a new high profile mission. And because we are so proud of you and have a lot of faith in you, we are setting you up with a partner…”

I could careless for the bullshit that this dude was spitting. As far as I see it, they were giving me some little shit to either weigh me down, or fuck me up.

“Your partner has a notorious reputation for being an angel of death and the best assassins of his generation and although he has recently been blacklisted, we need his expertise…”

OMG! Hold the motherfuckin’ phone. Did he just say blacklisted? Oh now, this is just wonderful.

“Miss Versey, meet your new partner, Mr. Viper Cross.”

‘SHIT!’

-o-

            Benjamin Thoreau or Viper Cross was no noobe to the assassin world. Being young, handsome, and talented, he had become one of the greatest spy/assassin any government organization could have. Standing at six foot four, the auburn haired, grey eyed Adonis was almost too good to be true: perfect yet surreal. It was a shame though, that in his prime, at the ripe age of twenty four he got blacklisted.

The reason was unimportant, all that really matters was that he was once on top and now he was at the bottom: a twenty-seven year old wash-up forced to work with the cocky, diva, child prodigy that was Cassidy Michelle Barlow or Cassia Versey. Lord be with him.

 -o-

“OH HELL NAW!” A loud scream could be heard as all the cries of “Miss Versey” were drowned out by my loud screams. “There is no way on Gods green earth, that I am working with that half-baked, washed up Frenchman who fucked up on the Amsterdam job. Hell no” I roared, crossing my arms over my chest like a child.

“Half French” a soft accented tenor stated, belonging to none other than my “new partner”, Viper. “And I am not very happy about this arrangement either.”

I rolled my eyes. “I need to talk to Bill-” I started, but was cut off by a Big Whig “Miss Versey, we have all ready talked to your supervisor and he agrees. He feels that this will be a good learning experience for you. Now if you are done acting like a child, may continue?”

As pissed as I was I didn’t want to be scolded or burned over some stupid shit like this. “Whatever” I muttered with a wave of my hand signaling for the conversation to commence again. Everyone looked at me for my lack respect but they could get over it, all I could think about was that by the time all was said and one with, someone is gonna die and it certainly wont be me.

Some artists have partners, others have muses. Together in an intimate dance and a few swift flicks of the wrist, Art is created.

But this art is different; it is not created by one but by two people. It has its own spirit and soul. It lives and breathes, for when two artists move and create as one, it is magic.

As always the same thing can be said for an assassin. When you have a partner, you move as one, you function as a cohesive unit. Sometimes the Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome kicks in and many feel like they are on top of the world. From friends to lovers, an assassin’s greatest strength, biggest weakness and above all their life is their partner.

Many try to steer clear of a partner; no strings appeal to everyone. The Helsinki rapture made having a partner an unnecessary commodity. Partners are jealous; they can betray you at the drop of a hat.

Betrayal means burned, betrayal equals death.

But then again it takes a foolish person to make foolish mistakes.

-o-

So get this, pretty boy Viper decides that he is going to be the leader of this unholy grouping because of his so called “expertise.” Its all bullshit if you ask me, I mean gone are the days when all you needed were good-looks and a gun. He maybe good but I am not called the child prodigy for nothing.

Anyway, we were now on our way to the Big Apple to hit up a few government insiders for our new case. Our insider for the day just happens to be David Littman, a Jewish banker. Davie leads the double life- nice law abiding Jew banker by day, stupid cartel running snitch by night. Normally his kind would have been weeded out and tossed into jail, but luckily for him, he gets all the good info and the government needed his ass. David was going to help us find our newest mark: Quest.

Once we landed, the plane on the tarp, I couldn’t help but gaze and admire the city line; I had missed my home. “Look” the soft accented ramble caught my attention. “I need to go to Ramnsteins. I will meet you at the bankers.” I rolled my eyes, but was secretly pleased; it gave me more time to do what I needed to do. “Whatever”

He stared at me hard, as if he was trying to impose his cool polite demeanor onto me. “We will meet at eleven, don’t be late.”

I looked at my watch; it was seven-thirty. Nodding my head in agreement, we didn’t utter a word as we went our separate ways.

-o-

Ramnsteins to the assassin world was like a candy shop to a child, only you had to be pretty damn special to be on their clientele. From the finest cavalier to the latest gadget and gun, Ramnsteins had it. You see, Ramnsteins only chooses the best to use their gear; Viper was chosen and the child prodigy wasn’t. Ramnsteins was a slice of the old doing well in a new world. And with faces live Viper; Ramnsteins will always be top dog. Stepping into the exquisite boutique viper walked past all of the diamond displayed counters until he got to the last counter at the back of the room. “I need guns."

-o-

‘Ah my home, how I have missed you so.’ Once I got in the NY, I carted my ass straight to my Times Square penthouse apartment. After a nice bath and nap I made a few very important phone calls. A quick glance at my clock told me that it was nine thirty, which meant Nicky had five seconds to walk through my door.

Nicky- better known as Nicolas Hewitt- is my personal Ramnsteins. The computer genius works for me and only me which means all of my gear is hot off the press and custom built for moi. No one else had my shit and I plan on keeping it that way. Although it took balls to publicly deny me access to their gear, I could care less; they didn’t need me and I didn’t need them. My front door opened knocking me out of my musing. “Well it’s about time Nicky. Suit me up."

-o-

Like always the child prodigy was late. Viper waited in the shadows of American Gothic, a warehouse turned club, for the horrid little brat to make an appearance. Gorgeous blondes and brunettes made their way in and out of the club each flashing a look to the irate Frenchman; he paid them no mind. Instead he got a cigarette and lit it, standing in the darkness, his dark eyes twinkling in mild amusement.

A short chubby figure caught the Frenchman’s eyes. Slightly stumbling over the gravel, a dark skinned girl in all black made her way over to the clubs front door, which conveniently was near the Frenchman’s corner. As she got closer, the man took a good look at her. ‘Cute’ he thought smirking. “You’re late.”

Black hair whipped around as Cassia took a look into darkness. Smirking she adjusted her clothing. “Aw, it’s sweet how you actually waited for me. And here I though you would be inside smoozing it up with some blond…again.”

Throwing the cigarette at the girl’s feet, stone-faced Viper made his way out of the shadows and into the club.

“Another game of follow the leader…Yay.” Cassia sneered as she followed the man into the club.

 -o-

Meanwhile in an undisclosed location in Romania

 “They are on to us” a gruff voice sounded. His companion coughed, taking a puff of his cigar. He paused to place the cigar down, grabbing his glass of brandy instead. “Not us, me.”  

The sound of two bullets could be heard, striking the other man dead. Setting his now empty glass down, the man pressed a button on his phone. “Davit, come and escort Alek out. And call Ion. We are leaving.” 

Note to self- Burn all the vinyl clothing you own. Quick recap- the big red retard left me to play follow the leader through American Gothic (more like American Circus) ,which is so damn packed it is like trying to find space in a sardine can, and I am in this G.D. black vinyl get-up from hell in a possible one hundred and four degree club. Fat girls can only stand so much heat. ‘Fuck this’ I thought leaving where ever the hell I was and making a B-line for the bar. “Yo, shot of vodka” I yelled over the music once I reached the bar.

The bartender, an ugly brunette, looked me up and down. Now I didn’t look anywhere near twenty-one or a size zero. I am an eighteen year old size whatever that fits who is naturally attractive but aint drop dead gorgeous. I am a work in progress and “straight?”

Always can manage to get a free drink. “Yea and keep them coming.” Thank god for boobs and a vagina.

Anyway once I had tanked three shots of vodka and got my creative juices flowing, I decided it was about time I found Littman. Stumbling, I just about bumped into every person I came in contact with. I think I would always regret those shots because if my senses weren’t impaired, I would have never bumped in to one of the last people I had ever hoped to see.

“Hey babe, we need to talk”

-0-

Mr. Cross was not in a very good mood. He was quite livid actually. He was so friggin pissed that he swore that he was going to kill someone tonight. The little bitch just had to bring that up. ‘Fuckin slut, all of them… make her wish she never messed with me…merde.’

Viper was a Casanova, a ladies man, a player. He liked girls; they were weak, pretty, smelled nice, and could be freaks in the sheets if trained right. That was until he met Violet Summers. Violet was like a goddess among mortals. She had gorgeous pale blue eyes on smooth un-scathed porcelain skin. Her hair was a wondrous lush white blond that ran down her back in thick perfect curls. Her eyes sat wide on a heart shaped face, and her body tall and lean. She was a sight to behold and between her looks, charm, wit, and the beautiful Amsterdam spring, Viper fell in love with Violet.

He messed up. He knew all women were snakes, yet he let her snake her way in to his bed and most importantly, his heart, and in the end not only did he get his heart broken but he got burned as well. It turned out that Violet was a mercenary working for his target that at the time couldn’t be stopped.

When all was said and done, Violet disappeared, Viper got burned, and the child prodigy got all of his glory. Four years in and he gets burned only to be replaced and upstaged by a fifteen year old brat. Hell he did all the work, and she swept in and stole his glory.

But she will get hers. The magnificent Viper Cross would get his glory back and make a mockery of the child prodigy.

-0-

Cass was drunk, it was obvious. And the man leading her out of the club was anything but. Tall, dark, and imposing, his demeanor reeked with power and masculinity. All the women, the ones who knew they were better than Cass, were miffed by the fact that some fat, vinyl wearing, black slut was able to steal the best catch in the whole damn club away from them.

The man pulled Cassie all through the club and out of the building. Holding her up he waited for the valet to bring his car around. Soon a jet black Lamborghini revved in front of the man. After securing his guest in the car, they disappeared into the night.

-0-

David Littman was a short, pudgy, balding, perverse man. He was exactly what viper figured he would look like. An old man parading around as a hipster, how sad. David eyeballed Viper from his seat.

Currently Viper and David were in American Gothic’s most exclusive V.I.P. lounge, David’s office. The room was impressive; it overlooked the dance floor, allowing one to see everything that happened while blocking out the horrid trash that the current generation liked. The luxurious yet cozy office set the tone of business.

“So, I see your partner is not with you” David noted raising an eyebrow. “The child prodigy couldn’t up” Viper spat.

David’s face stayed impassive. “It was a great mistake for you to leave her down there. I fear that she may have been intercepted. And we both know who would be at fault if the one Government’s best assassin was taken from them.”

Viper’s position grew strong and stony; he forgot about that.

“The child prodigy is a very hot commodity. Everyone wants that girl on their side because her record looks so damn good on paper. Lucky for you she is safe” David continued staring at Viper.

Confused yet angry, Viper glared at David. “So you have her then” he bit out. David sighed and stood up. “No, I don’t.”

Viper ran a hand through his hair violently. Frustrated he was about to speak only to be cut off by David. “It seems like you have forgotten much about this business, Viper. And the situation you have gotten yourself into…” David stopped to sigh once more. Walking over to Viper, he grabbed his hand. “Good luck finding Quest.”

Have you ever had this itch that you just can’t seem to scratch? No matter what you do, you can’t scratch it. It is there, persistent and nagging, begging to be taken care of. My itch came in human form. Alistair Gaunt. 

Alistair is an enigma, an ass, and just as bad of a thorn in my side as that cocky French bastard. The only difference is that Alistair was completely in love with me… or so he claimed. 

Lee was like Jason; he had a knack for making an appearance when he wasn’t wanted or needed. Yet Lee was a spy and had privilege to all of the good inside information. 

“Look at you love. Look like a right mess you do. Let’s clean you up” 

There was just something about Alistair, while he could be annoying, he was somehow familiar, like I had known him. But I would be a fool to say I trusted him. He is a traitor and a mercenary. A dog with out a true master. He is dangerous. 

“When we get married, you can’t be getting drunk all the time... As much as I love taking care you, it isn’t healthy for you… You will have to think about our family… I mean Cassia…” 

‘What is this loopy bastard saying’ I thought only getting in a few sentences of his rant. ‘he has probably been at it for hours’ I groaned silently.  

I cracked one eye open and looked around the room. The lights were dim but it looked like I was back in my penthouse. Well it looked like after he had gotten me out of the club, I had passed out, only to wake up in my penthouse, with lee playing house. I never liked that game. 

Opening my eyes fully, I searched for the bane of my existence. He was in my kitchen. And so I kicked him out of my house, his indignant screams of me owing him and him collecting on his debit falling on deaf ears… like I care. But while I tossed him out I couldn’t help but shiver. Oddly, what he had said stuck a nerve and I didn’t want to find out what it was. 

-o-

Dark, languid eyes watched as hundreds of bodies twined together. The deep bass music pulsated through the club, hypnotizing everything that heard its deceitful melody. Both young and old found themselves unable to resist the addictive tune; their treacherous feet began to move on their own, their feeble minds fading out to nothing.

A young lithe blond body caught the eyes’ attention. The child no older than twenty-five writhed against her partner provocatively, glancing at any man who looked her way. The eyes watched the blond intently, silently acting out some of its darkest fantasies.

Light blue eyes connected with the dark and all the eyes saw was red.

“Prey” two pale, thin lips whispered as they formed a wolfish grin. Stepping out of the shadows, a tall, pale figure materialized. A supreme alpha, the strong bodied man moved through the crowd towards his goal.

She was beautiful, in a superficial way; she was nowhere near worthy to be in his presence, let alone his bed, but tonight he needed something from her.

Rough, calloused hands reached out, bringing the girl from her other partner and into a strong body. She was surprised, he could tell by the way her heart began to beat faster. Long, spidery fingers played with her belt loops as they slowly grinded to the music.

His hands were like magic, carving paths of hot arousal through her body. The blond woman couldn’t keep up, all she knew was that she wanted-needed her mystery partner.

She looked up, her blue eyes burning into icy grey. He was beautiful, a blond Greek god, a work of art. He knew it, she could tell by the way he held her, possessively yet with a sense of indifference-like he could easily replace her if she denied him. His features were almost angelic, Strong jaw, high cheek bones, beautiful white blond hair that looked platinum in the lights, and mercury grey eyes that seemed ethereal. He was tall, at least six foot four, and his body was like that of David’s-like Michelangelo had gotten his inspiration for his statue from the blond man. But at the same time he had a sinister and imposing air about him, one that reeked with power and the demand of submission.

He was truly a sight to behold and she was lucky to have even been graced with his presence.

His eyes still peered into hers, asking her questions that she had to answer, lest she be thrown aside. “Follow me” they seemed to say. And how could she not, she was hypnotized. The angel grabbed her hands tugging her back into his corner- a small VIP area that he, and only he, had access to.

He pushed the bewildered child down on the couch before him, and when he was certain-for he never took a risk unless it was worth it-that no one would hear him or his query, he turned his attention back to the girl. Caressing her face softly, as if to ease her bewilderment, he moved his lips to hers, catching them in a soft kiss.

Like any good Casanova, he allowed the passion to slowly build until the kiss was scorching hot, lighting his body in a temporary heat and minimal satisfaction. ‘This is it.’ Oh he could feel the rush, the mind numbing adrenaline that came every time he was about to feed.

The music seemed to slow, the lighting in the dark corner intensified, moving in thick blanketing waves. As his mouth moved over her neck, his canines began to enlarge. The moaning carcass under him had no idea what was in store for her.

Slowly, as if he was in a trance, he opened his mouth, his glistening white fangs shining in the light. She didn’t see the fangs but it really didn’t matter anyway for he placed his lips of sin back on her neck. His eyes seemed to glow yet darken, red coloring seeping into his pupils. He gave a tentative lick- for he knew he could never fully anticipate the pleasure he was about to receive- and bit her neck.

The blond wept, she struggled, she begged for mercy, for someone to save her from this monster. And the monster, for that is what you call one who revels in another’s pain, covered the blond woman’s mouth to block her screams. While he fed, a small buzzing could be heard. At first he thought it was the white nose that came when one zoned out feeding, but it got louder and louder until it replaced all thoughts of feeding. The faint sound of a woman screaming was all the man heard. Gritting his teeth he tried to block out the noise but to no avail it didn’t work.

Rolling off the dying woman, the man tried to calm down and regain his bearings but it seemed as though the screaming grew louder pressing him to his hands and knees, giving his body slight tremors, making him bow before his invisible attacker.

Slowly as the screaming began to ease, he raised his head. With a sneer on his face and all the venom he could muster he spat out the name belonging to his attacker.

“Violet”

Before him a woman, just as imposing as the man, smiled.

“Hello Alistair, we need to talk.”

Chapter 6

Play poker all day at the saloon

After I kicked lee out, I tried to find the French bastard, but as it turned out I didn’t need to. The ass emailed me what David gave us, one flash drive worth of speculation and bull shit plus a plane ticket to Australia to meet with a Mr. Kurt Castle. ‘Great’ I thought sucking my teeth. While I got stuck with all the Oceania and Latin America leads, his royal highness got to traipse all over Europe like a prized pony.

            Anyway I put all my angry thoughts aside and tried to focus on the case. Not much was known about Quest. Sure there was an ass load of speculation, like quest ate children, pimped out grandmas, and could do the Jedi mind trick, but other than that there was essentially nothing. What I did know was that Quest was apart of a major GOV. operation that went wrong and now the government wants him gone.

            So I got all of my gear ready to be shipped to Auzzie-a-go-go and carted my ass to JFK. Within three hours I was on a plane headed to California, my first stop before I reached the country of interest. Now this was the time my hangover decided to make an appearance. My head started pounding and my stomach felt topsy tervy. I quickly got up and rushed to the small bathroom on the plane. After I had wrenched my guts out, I got a ginger ale, took two aspirin and closed my eyes. At first all I could here was the low rumble of someone talking. It grew louder, and louder. And then I was asleep.

                                                                         -o-

The room was white, all white. White floors, white walls, white bed and bedding. Two figures stood in the spartan room.  “Recruit number 3657, do you know why you are here?” a gruff voice called. The child, a small eight year old, shook her head, her bobbed black hair shaking. The gruff man chuckled. “You are here because you are going to be the greatest assassin for your generation. You were bred for this business; you will die for your country. You will be a hero.” The man watched the child standing before him. Taking off his glasses he sighed. 

“What is your name?” 

“Cassia Michelle Barlow” 

“What is your code name?”

“Cassia Versey” 

“What is your purpose?” 

“To eliminate all threats to my country ”                          

-0- 

The child was older now, roughly twelve or thirteen. Her hair was longer and she was surprisingly chubby for someone who ate to survive. Then again she always got rewards for doing well, and in her case it was in the form of chocolate shakes and cakes. She was a prodigy, they all said it, and she could do any task they gave her perfectly, effectively, successfully. They taught her everything she knew.   

                                                                 -0- 

There was a child, a small cherub who looked to be about three or four, playing on a rug. Her hair, thick, curly, and long sat atop of her head in a delightful ponytail.

 A tall figure moved over to sit by the child.

The girl looked up at her guardian smiling. “Papa” She called sweetly, abandoning her playthings to take residence in her father’s lap. Cassia watched from the shadows as the man placated the child. “Alexis” the man responded gently. The child grabbed hold of her father’s tie, tugging the fabric gently. “Papa, I missed you all day. Where were you?” the child asked tilting her head to the side, her brown eyes wide with curiosity. Her father chuckled, a deep resonating sound that subconsciously soothed Cassia.

“I was out with a few friends, Mon Cherie, taking care of some business.” Her father reasoned calling her one of her favorite pet names. “But Pippa says that you and Alexander were out beating up bad guys, like in my storybooks.” The child whined, a small frown gracing her features as pulled on fathers tie. Cassia grew annoyed but she continued to watch. 

The man frowned. “Alexis” he whispered sternly. Thoroughly chastised, the child removed her fingers from her fathers clothing pull her gaze from her fathers face to her fingers in her lap. The man sighed as he used two of his fingers to lift the child’s face up.

“Darling” He started, “there will come a time when you will have to make the right decision. No matter what you do, no matter what you choose, remember who you are and who your family is.”

Cassia lifted her gun and aimed.

-o-

She was crying. She couldn’t help it. They said that they were going to be here for ever. They promised. They lied. She cried until her eyes turned red and her mouth was sore. Her lips could barely form the words she had been moaning like a prayer.

-o-

They punished Cassia again. She didn’t forget. How could she, all the blood and all of the screams. So they punished her. She needed to forget. She must forget.

-o- 

I woke with a start. I hadn’t had an Alexis dream for a long while and the only time those pesky memories started to bother me was when something was weighing on my conscious, but past is past and I tried not to think of that often. So sitting up, for sleep would surely elude me, I got my laptop out and began reviewing my information.

I was going to Brisbane to meet with a Mr. Castle. Kurt was a retired Gov. big wig who used to have control of certain black op programs, projects, and experiments. Kurt knew of every program and all major players involved. He would tell me what origin of the enigma that is Quest.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the captain says that we will be landing in Sydney in thirty minutes. Please put your seats in the upright position. We know you have a choice in airlines and we thank you for choosing Quantus Airlines” the flight attendant droned. I sat up and gathered my things; I would be in a rush once I got to Australia.

Three plane rides later and I was in Brisbane Australia. After twenty four hours of Airplane madness you would think I would want to shut down, but the need to get more of this case done urged me to continue.

I was to meet Kurt at the Surfers Paradise, a local hot spot beach in the Gold Coast. As I stood, ankles deep in the sand, I reflected a bit. This case was different; normally I got information and location and did the kill and was on my way. Now I am digging for information and the location to hopefully make a kill.

‘When I find this Quest, I am gonna kill him extra slowly and painfully.’ I thought, as I took a seat on the pristine beach.

“Miss, Versey” a gruff southern voice with a slight Auzzie twinge called. I got up to face Castle.

“Kurt” I offered back

“Let’s take a walk”

-o-

Cassia and Kurt walked along the beach for ten minutes. As they walked in silence, sand became pavement, the steel buildings grew larger and became more intimidating and they moved to a more secluded area. Finally they reached a deserted covered under passage.

Kurt turned to Cassia. “Now I assume you want to know about Quest” he stated looking down at cassia. Not waiting for her to speak, he continued.

“You see Miss Versey, Quest was a very high profile agent in a very high profile project” Kurt paused

“Black ops” Cassie offered furrowing her brow.

“Somewhat, Miss Versey, Quest in the eyes of everyone, except those who are apart of my sector and now you assassins, doesn’t exist; Quest never happened”

Cassia was confused and Kurt saw this. He sighed “Have you heard about The Guild?”

Cassia frowned. “The Guild” she repeated as a small sense of dread filled her stomach. The name was familiar but for the life of her, Cassia couldn’t place it.

“Yes, the Guild. You see to understand Quest you have to understand the Guild.”

-o-

Some times people… well that’s just the thing, sometimes people aren’t really people, and things aren’t what they seem.

The Guild was an organization of spies and assassins. They were masters of their trade. Some of these men and women were human and others…well they were something else, something darker.

The government had the pleasure of capturing a Guild member once. They studied the non human extensively before they were able to create their own.

This was the birth of Quest.

This was the first step for the United States to have the best army, assassins and spies’ money could buy. This would insure their dominance and order in the world.

Quest was number 3656 in project Blackhart. The babe was the bastard child of the captured Guild member, a top notch government official, good breeding genetics, and a test tube.

Nine months later the child, no more than a few hours old was taken back to the Guild. Stolen. All the time, money, countless searching, and sperm and eggs to get the babe and now it took all the time, money and countless searching to get the babe back.

That child was the only successful thing to happen out of that wasteful experiment and now it was gone. It was supposed to be their killing machine. Theirs.

Well they fixed that problem, but now Quest was threatening to ruin the very fragile foundation that they had set for their replacement and they would be damned if they let that happened.

That’s where the child prodigy came in.

-o-

After the history lesson, Kurt gave me two names and a place: Operation Blackhart, Lt. Alejandro Medina, and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. I left Kurt to go to my hotel room to think, plan, and sleep. “Rio, here I come.”

-o-

I find Rio Disgusting. Now I love booze and sex but I don’t wanna see some coked up baby doll trying to pimp herself out for some blow. It’s disappointing.

Anyway it was my fourth day in Rio (on the first day I was knocked out, the second day I partied, and the third day I was hung over). Today was my meeting with Alejandro at some gothic club, Luxuria Do Sangue, in the back alleys of the city.

I got a call yesterday (i.e. the day my head wanted to explode) from Medina’s people. I was to be at his club tonight at 12 sharp in dark clothing. He was one of those weirdoes’s who liked to meet at clubs because of all the free booty.

And so I spent most of my day sleeping, checking information, selecting weapons, fixing the wire in my bra, further securing my room, finding and studying blueprints to the club, making exit strategies, straightening out my shit, and picking out the perfect outfit.

‘Leather is out of the question’ I thought eyeing a black leather jumpsuit distastefully. ‘That was outfit 47, let’s try outfit number 48’. All of my outfits either didn’t fit or were not climatically acceptable. Finally I chose I dark red balconette dress with black stiletto boots.

I looked like walking sex.

After I laid out my outfit, I took a shower, did my hair and make up, and called a cab. As the clock struck 10, I was on my way to the club.

-o-

Dark jaded eyes overlooked the dance floor. The bodies of buxom blonds and brunettes moved seductively against their partners. Alistair paid them no mind; he was searching for some one far better.

“There she is.”

And boy, did she dress to impress, her dark skin glowed and that dress drove him crazy with lust and need.

“That is her?” an interested voice asked. He turned to the face of their companion, a pale blond eyebrow raised. “She is mine.” Alistair growled, vermillion begin bleeding into his eyes. His companion raised his hands in defeat while he moved over to his plush couches in the VIP room they inhabited.

“I’ll have Laura call her up.”

Alistair glared at the man on the couch. “Don’t screw up, traitor” he sneered, baring his fangs.

“Wouldn’t dream of it”

-o-

Ok, so Luxuria Do Sangue was a weird place, but then again if a club has a name that means bloodlust, it can’t be normal. The place had three levels: Underworld, Purgatory, and Hell. Underworld was easy enough to get into, Purgatory had a list, and if you weren’t invited nor had access to blueprints, you didn’t even know about Hell.

So I walked in the poorly lit club and noticed that it was something straight out of a b-rated horror movie. The set ups was black and dungeon-esque. I rolled my eyes at the cliché. Anyway the people in the place were freaks eyeing me like I was either fresh meat or a weirdo. Either way if some fucker decided to get frisky, he or she would wind up with I cap in their ass.

I made my way over to the bar, the only structure that with proper lighting. However this time I didn’t drink; like any savvy club goer knows- you go to the bar to see and be seen. Within minutes, two big burly fuckers came and escorted me to a VIP area.

Hell.

-o-

The décor of Hell was impressive. The walls were black with a few red fixtures. The lighting came from a dim chandelier in the center of the room and a large fireplace on the far left wall. The music that flowed and filled the room was a classical a complete 180 from the thrasher shit playing downstairs. The dulcet sounds of Barbers Adagio for Strings filling me with a slight trepidation and sadness; I had heard this song before, with Alexia.

Looking at the black leather couches, I found Medina and two whores entangled in a make out fest. In the corner of the room was another girl in a suit, on looking. I was about to clear my throat to gain his attention when his brown eyes snapped on my figure.

“Miss Cassia Versey” his deep accented voice called. My breath was caught in my throat and my mouth went dry as I stared at this god in front of me.

-o-

Alejandro stared at Cassia. They had gotten all of the pleasantries out of the way and now they were talking business.

“What can you tell me about Operation Blackhart?” Cassia asked. Alejandro had already cleared the room of all persons save he and the prodigy. He was thinking of seducing the girl, especially when he saw how she reacted to his presence, but thought better of it.

“Do you believe in the supernatural, Miss Versey?” Alejandro asked, moving over the mini bar in the room to get a glass of wine. Cassia frowned.

“No.”

Alejandro hummed as he took a bottle of vintage, pouring the dark red liquid into a glass. He offered some to Cassia, but she declined.

“Well Miss Versey, you should.”

Alejandro moved over to Cassia, his eyes glowing and an ice seeping into his iris’ turning his once brown eyes into blood red gems. Cassia gasped while Alejandro smirked. “You see, I am a vampire.”

“A WHAT!?!?” Cassia screeched, moving away from the man.

“A vampire” Alejandro laughed, his pearly white fangs glittering in his mouth.

“Vampire” Cass sputtered still in shock and very much afraid. “Yes, yes vampire” Alejandro stated shaking his head and backing away from cassia. “I won’t bite. You do want to know about Operation Blackhart, no?” Cassia shook her head yes.

Alejandro sighed. He ran a hand through his hair before he stopped to stair at the girl in front of him. “Well that is what it is.” Alejandro started. “Operation Blackhart was the U.S. Government’s first introduction to the supernatural. It started in 1944 during World War II. It was during the liberation of France that a small military group raided a Guild territory in Bordeaux. A member was subdued and captured and sent to a lad in the United States for observation and experimentation.”

“For fifty years, they studied him. They tried to breed him but each project failed. Human cells couldn’t fuse directly with the vampire cell without complications; the vampire cells would kill the human cells and then die themselves. So they sat about trying to find an answer. I mean vampires are stronger, faster, and more deadly than human soldiers. They don’t require much food, or housing, they are impervious to disease and the weather. They are the ultimate weapon, and seeing as how they would probably never see or have one again after the Guild member died, they needed to figure out how to infuse his DNA with that of a human to create a child.”

“It was around the late seventies that the scientists were able to create the child using In vitro fertilization and mild cloning. They took cells from the vampire and extracted strands of his DNA which they mixed with the DNA from the sperm a few males and eggs from a few females- three gold medalists from the Olympics and two government officials; this created strong egg and sperm cells that each had fifty percent of the vampires DNA. The two deluded DNA strands met when the egg became fertilized, effectively creating a child with vampire genetics. By 1982 Quest was born and two other children were born.”

Alejandro stopped to look at Cassia; the girl had paled but otherwise looked fine, so he continued. “Quest was the better of the three children, more vampiric than the other two. The other two children were doped up on any of the remaining vampire cells they could find, and sent to be trained while they analyzed Quest some more. By the child’s first birthday, there was a break in- the Guild member was killed and the child was taken. In the aftermath, the government searched every hilltop and valley low for their perfect weapon but they never could find the child. So they turned to trying to make due with their other two children. It wasn’t until the fall of 1989, when the government lucked out and a small Guild coven in Romania, that they were able to continue with operation Blackhart.”

“They weren’t able to get another live subject, but the dead one they had provided enough blood, DNA, and Cells to make three new children and fix the remaining two. This plan was only a marginal success. They only created one child and succeeded in making one of the original children into a vampire. The others died. The new child was not as strong as the first quest was but it was stronger then the other two original children. They decided to wait till before they would try to make the child a full vampire like its predecessor.”

“Within six months of the child’s birth, it and the other child were taken to the Guild. All of the files containing the creation of the children were destroyed. The government lost forty-six years of data in only three hours. They were devastated. They searched even harder than they did the last time but all hope was lost. Operation Blackhart was disbanded, Kurt Castle was out of a job, and the whole project was labeled as an expensive failure.”

“It seemed like all hope was lost. And then four years later when the child was encroaching its fourth year, the government got it and the other child back. The thirteen year old operative remembered his training from his early years, that paired with puberty, distrust of his superiors at the Guild, jealously for both quest and the new child, and the vampire training he received- he managed to lead the government into Guild territory to get him and the child. For his troubles he received a purple heart and later the title of lieutenant in the army. The only problem was that their blood had been poisoned while they were at the Guild. Their DNA was more combative and wouldn’t pair with any human strands without killing it. And they weren’t able to get their hands on any useful Guild member bodies to create any other children.”

“So the government only has two vampire operatives, and the second one is in danger of being Guild property again. If that happens, then all is lost. The child in question has formed a strong link to Quest, one that the government spent a lot of time to subdue. They want you to kill quest to keep this from happening.” Alejandro finished with a sigh, standing up and moving over to his fire place. As he stared into the inferno, Cassia’s face was impassive- that was a lot of information for her to digest in the short amount of time she was given. She only hoped that the wire in her bra got all of that info.

“Well, Mr. Medina, there are still some holes in your story. I assume you are the second child, the one who ratted out the Guild?” Cassia asked, regaining some of her color and composure though her voice was still a bit shaky. “You assume correctly.” Alejandro laughed turning to face Cassia. Disconcerted she continued. “So who is took the children in the first place, where is the new child?”

Alejandro snorted. “All of that information is classified, but if it is any consolation your project was implemented a year after they regained the two children back. You couldn’t possibly be her. Now if you will excuse me I must attend to my guests.” Alejandro said effectively dismissing and shutting up Cassia. The two whor-women and the assistant came back into the room while Cassia excited. Bumping in to Cassia one of the assistant discreetly put a tracking device on Cassia.

Smirking Alejandro turned his attention to his women. “Alright my pretties, lets play.”

Ah the Czech Republic. There is nothing like Prague in the fall, spring, summer, or winter. I left Brazil three weeks ago after nearly being killed in stupid Rio. It was crazy- I had gotten back to my room and had been there for about ten minutes, before a gas can had been thrown into my room and bullets went flying. I was pumped; I did a cartwheel to the right to get my nine mil out of my nightstand. Taking cover from behind my bed I added to the fire. When I had maxed out that magazine, I grabbed my Kalashnikov from under my bed and really began to do some damage. 

When the smoke had cleared some I moved from my bed to assess the damage. There were two dead and one quickly dying men on my floor. Their weapons looked government issued- they type that SEALS and black op Marines would get, but they didn’t have on government issued clothing- just black cavalier vests, shirts, and pants. I dropped my gun, and stooped over to try and quickly interrogate the dying man when I was caught with a kick from behind. In pain I rolled over and began crawling away form the man while keeping my eyes on him. He followed and soon I was backed up against my bed. As he advanced I pulled a two throwing knives and threw them, one hit him in the thigh the other in his stomach.  

He fell over and I quickly rushed over to him. I could hear sirens in the distance- I had three minutes to get info from this guy and get out of here before I was done for. I slapped him a few times and begin yelling for the name of the guy who screwed me. 

“Medina” came the dying groan. 

Out of a pure, animalistic rage I roughly grabbed the knife from his thigh and slit his throat with it. I growled as I quickly moved through the room and got my computer, wires, and a few of my weapons and my emergency kit. I grabbed anything else that was traceable to me and my country and ran to a window. I carefully moved to the ledge connected to my window and scaled the building until I reached the blind shot that overlooked an alley. Jumping down I activated my mini parachute, and floated down. Stashing the device in a dump stair, I threw some lighting fluid and a match in there burning it and the blueprints to Luxuria Do Sangue as well as my dress with that stupid tracking device that the bitch from the club put on me.  

Walking away from the building, I waited until I was three blocks away- about the time the police had made it up to my floor- before I took out a remote and detonated the bomb in my room. The place went up in flames, the dark orange and yellow hues from the fire igniting the night with a light and heat that it hadn’t had in a while. Dressed in a bra and some boy shorts, toting black duffel I made got my ass out of South America and into Europe. 

So, I spent three weeks aimlessly wandering around Prague- brooding and milling around, searching and thinking. Viper sent me an email the other day; he said that he found a lot of useful info and that we should meet up soon to consolidate our information once he finished up with the other European leads. I just hoped he didn’t come to Prague. I needed some time to think before this case ran me ragged. 

‘I hope that loser is fairing better than me.’ 

-o- 

Viper had been doing considerably well. He started his tour in Great Britain. There he found out about Quest, the Guild, and operation Blackhart. Turns out that bitch he fell in love with was Quest. He had been angry for a few days, but he got over it. At least he got he didn’t get screwed over like the illustrious child prodigy. He would have to thank Kurt next time he saw him.

Anyway after Leaving GB, Viper went to France for a little down time before he began tracking Quest and the Guild. The true mission was the destruction of the Blackhart Guild and the capture of all their major Operatives. Now of course with for an organization that has been around for centuries that would it would prove hard, but Quest made that challenge easier. Her want to be with her ‘sister’ would help aid her down fall. 

Viper followed the trail from France, all through Scandinavia, into Russia and Asia. He trekked the Siberian plains and Mongolian straits to get and kill that harpy, all the while the only thought that ran through his mind was that whore, Violet better known as Quest. 

-o- 

It was spring time in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was always beautiful, but the soft beautiful spring gave off an air of vitality, femininity, and masculinity. It put love in the air, as well as pot and sex. He was in a café, performing a stake out when he saw her, she was a vision to behold, but then again that could have been because her hair, eyes, and clothes went well with the Amsterdam spring backdrop. They tap-danced around each other for two weeks before he was able to make a move on her.

-o- 

“Violet, Mon Cherie, I am in love with you” 

This was the first time Viper had ever poured his heart out to anyone. This woman in his arms would be the first and the last.

“Oh Gustav, don’t call me that; it reminds me of my father” The girl sneered lightly then sweetly added “but I love you too Gus” They kissed. He pressed his lips lightly against hers and she presses back.

His hands moved from her waist to her face cupping it before threading his finders through her hair. He pulled lightly on the hair and heard her gasp.

 Chuckling, he took advantage of the noise as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Their tongue’s dueled and danced and Viper couldn’t help but want more of the delectable flower who was so aloof yet so close. He and Violet were intimate and after each time he not only felt closer to her but he would dream about her. They would be married and she would be pregnant with his child, they would grow old together, and she would be his forever. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her. 

-o-

 “Violet” He called into their apartment. They had been sharing the space for at least four months. He was slight annoyed by her lack of response, until he saw the blood. There was a trail that led from the kitchen to the bedroom.

Viper rushed into the room, fearful of the foul fate that his beloved Violet has succumbed to. Blood was everywhere, on the sheets, walls and floor, but there was no girl. Viper tore the house apart in rage, pity, sorrow, and despair for his lost love, upon his knee’s wit hot tears streaming from his face he vowed to avenge his lost love.

-o- 

He saw her, his lost love, but not in the way he had hoped for. She was his enemy. He felt shocked, angry, betrayed, and disoriented. She sneered down at him, her regal head high and squared on her shoulders. She berated and denounced him. Then she burned him. She sent the U.S. Government a care package of pictures and wire tapings of their time together. She taunted him, as the government interrogated him before letting him go.  

-o- 

Viper shook his head at the old memories, trying to get them to go away. He would have his revenge. He would kill Quest and have the little child diva bow before his feet.

-o-

 I felt like I had been taken for a loop. All of the things that I got from Medina and Kurt barely matched up. On top of that Medina tried to kill me, and that bastard Viper probably has the case in the bag. None of this mission made sense and I was surprised I hadn’t gotten an aneurism yet. As a Christian would say, I was caught between a rock and a hard place, and I was debating on if I wanted to shave my head and become a bush woman in Africa. 

Deciding that coffee would be instrumental in making my decision, I walked over to my favorite café to have my last cup of Joe before I left the Czech. As I got my coffee, I began debating on whether or not caribou was indigenous to Africa when some one bumped in to me. 

“Oh I am sorry” we exclaimed at the same time. Looking up at the persons face I was shocked. 

“Victoria?”

“Cassia!” Victoria exclaimed pulling me in to a bear hug that should have been impossible for some one her size. “How are you?” she asked her blue eyes twinkling. Victoria was a spy like Alistair; the only difference was that I trusted Vicky a hell of a lot more than I did Alistair. “I am good, how are you?” I responded. Victoria was my off the street mentor; we hooked up on a job once and she helped so me the ropes mercenary style. She opened my narrow-mined eyes to the big picture. She also save my skin god knows how many times. She was practically family.

 “I am fine. What are you doin in the Czech, last time I heard you and Viper were supposed to be working on some big case?” Victoria asked. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. 

“Uh-oh” Vicky said catching on to my mood. “Let’s sit down and talk.”

 We sat down, and for an hour I spilled my guts about this nerve racking case. “But none of it adds up, where is the new child, who continually broke in to governm

ent property and stole the children, why the hell didn’t some one tell me that vampires are frackin’ real?” I questioned. “Yea and why did Medina rat the guild out, and then try and have you killed, and why the hell didn’t you kill his blooksuckin’ ass” Violet huffed her normally soft voice turning hard became lased with venom. 

I sighed again. “This is so ridiculous.” I whined. Victoria looked unfazed. She just stood up and stretched before she dusted imaginary lint off of her person. When she finished, she looked down at me. “Seems like you have acquired some faulty information.” She stated. I would have sighed again but she continued. “I say we go and figure this case out for ourselves, mercenary style.” She finished with a smile. I looked up at her face. Smiling myself I got up to join her.

 “Sounds good to me” I replied 

“Good, I know just the place where we can start.”

-o-

Viper was waiting in the Admiral’s club in the airport in Holland. He was about to go to Rome to piece together the rest of the case. His waiting place was nothing more than a balcony of windows that over looked the masses in the airport. He jadedly watched the people flow by. 

It was the hair that caught his attention. He had only seen one girl with hair so silvery blond and silky it looked like spun silk. 

“Violet” he whispered darkly. As if she heard him, the girl turned to look at him. She smirked at him and turned her attention elsewhere. Viper followed her gaze: he saw a short, black figure moving towards Violet. “Cassia” he whispered shocked. ‘

They know each other?!?’ he though franticly, as he looked back at Violet only to find that she was gone and so was Cassia.

 ‘MERDE!’

Chapter 9 

Can I touch your legs, Do I make you sweat? 

We finally got to our destination: England-home to bad teeth, yummy accents, and royalty. It was raining, but that was to be expected. Any who once we touched down in GB, we went straight for one of the HQ’s we had in the area.

We passed by all the favorite monuments: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Eye, but we finally made it to the building we were looking for: an AIG agency building. The building looked normal enough, but its basement held one of the biggest information databases in Europe.

Getting in was easy enough, I mean hello- we are super agents, plus showing a little thigh never hurt anyone. Now the hard part was getting to the third level in the basement, level A346. We first had to override the locks on the elevator so that we could get down there. Then we had to pass three security checks, find the room, and override its security system. All in all the process took thirty minutes, when the door to A346 popped open, I couldn’t be happier. The room as small and narrow but littered with computers. There were the big data servers in the far back of the room that were hooked into four modems by the door. Victoria and I took the computers furthest from the door and got to work. It took another thirty minutes for the computers to start working correctly.

“Alright, I’m in” We chirped at the same time was we clacked away on the keyboards. We sailed through the encryptions and searched through mainframes in silence looking for any files labeled Blackhart, Guild, or Quest.  Once we found the files we would move them to a newly created file folder. Within five minutes we figured we had enough info, so we each took a flash drive out of our pockets and plugged them into the computer. We waited in silence as the files wrote themselves on the drive.

Suddenly the air grew tense. At first I thought it was anticipation for finally having the tools needed to finish the case, having failed to see a soft white smoke began to filter the room. When I began coughing, I realized something was up- I never got sick.

“Shit! Cass!” Victoria exclaimed as she jumped from her seat and frantically began searching her pockets. She produced two small air filters and two sets of nose plugs. She quickly placed her set on before she aided me. After a few deep breaths of now drug free air, I turned my attention to the computers. ‘ 80% left’

I quickly ripped the drives from the computers, tossing one to Victoria while fixing her with an intent stare. She gave a quick nod back, before she turned around and began to royally fuck up the computers and the servers, All the while I found a loose ceiling tile, and began crawling to glory. Every Fifty paces I would slightly move a tile over to see if the room was empty. After two hundred and fifty paces I finally found an empty room. I moved the tile to the side jumping down gracefully and lightly into the room, without making a sound. I quickly moved the tile back and fixed my outfit, before exiting the room. I hustled down the hallway and out of the building, never looking back for a second. Once I was outside, I walked at least three blocks before I hailed a taxi. The black Austin FX4 pulled up, and I quickly got in. “Heathrow, Please” I called from the backseat winded, clutching the lone flash drive in my hand.

-o-

So in my need to get out of dodge, I traveled to Canada. In a small cottage on the coast of Nova Scotia, I spent hours upon hours shifting through the info on the flash drives. As it turned out Medina was right on something’s. Quest was an AWOL government project and there was another hell raiser out in the middle of Siberia.

The rest was either too heavily encrypted, or was just vague mentionings of the whole operation. And to top that off, I got a very interesting email from Viper. I read over the thing with growing trepidation- Viper had seen us in Holland. In no certain terms, the half Frenchman alluded to my presence in Europe- a fact which I denied. I mean it was an email which meant it was easier for me to lie to him now on paper than in person. I told him loosely of my travels in Auzzie-a-go-go and Brazil. I also requested that we meet soon so we could finish this case.

By nine that night, not only did I have a slight headache, I was in the mood for two bottles of vodka, hot sex, a tub of ice cream and a nice deep sleep. Deciding to go to sleep, I was about to make my way to my bedroom when there was a knock on my door. Grabbing a gun and steeling myself, I went to a window and looked out…

…It was Lee. Sighing in relief and exasperation, I threw open the door to glare at that smirking idiot, my head starting to pound softly.

“What in the hell are you doing here, or better yet how da hell did you find me?!” I whined, yelled, and groaned. Alistair laughed. “Well hello to you too, Aren’t you going to invite me in?” He questioned, an amused eyebrow raised, testing my will power.

I reluctantly moved aside to allow my parasite entrance. “Nine mill, my dear? I figured you would have your beloved Kalashnikov with you.” Alistair stated as he moved across the threshold and into my barren house. He looked around the small living room and tisked. “Cassia, darling, we can not have our house look like this when we get married, I mean look at this bloody dump. It’s a wasteland.” He lectured as he walked around inspecting everything.

I moved back to my couch and buried my face into it, trying to calm my nerves, my head, and block out all of that incessant chatter. “Don’t you have a job to do?” I questioned, mumbling abet into the couch. Alistair paused mid inspection, his back tensing slightly as he reached for some knick-knack on an end table “I hear you have been quite the busy little bee, breaking into your HQ like that.” He stated his attention never leaving the thing in his hand, while his voice grew empty and dark.

I froze. Slowly I got up from my place on the couch, headache be damned, and my eyes wide and wild. “How did you find out about that” I asked my voice deadly, neutral, and cold. Alistair chuckled, but it was uncharacteristically mirthless. “My Love, the underworld knows everything, But don’t worry no one important knows.”

‘Except you’ I thought while I grimaced and berated myself for not covering all of my bases. Alistair moved over to the couch and grabbed my hand. “Don’t feel beat yourself up about it, love, why don’t we go do something to get your mind off of this. Hmmm, I know lets go out.” The man rambled while rubbing soft circles on my hand.

Retching my hand from his grasp, I gaped at Alistair as if he told me he was a vampire. Then I proceeded to shake my head so fast, I thought it was going to fall off. “No, no, and Hell no Alistair. I refuse to go anywhere with you.” Alistair laughed (the sound was seriously starting to get on my nerves) and he regained his grip on my hand.

“Come on, I’ll take you to this sweet little restaurant and then we can go dancing. We can finally spend quality time with each other.” Lee reasoned, looking at me with big wide eyes.

I glared at him again. “I said no Alistair.” I sneered, folding my arms

“Well then, I was going to tell you the information that I went to Hell and back to get just for you about Quest.” Alistair said, his voice doing that annoying going-higher-and-trailing-off thing. I growled in anger at his ability to manipulate the situation. The angel and devil on my shoulders waged a war with each other till one side finally yielded to the other.

“Let me go get dressed” I said through gritted teeth. As I left for my room Alistair decided to give me one last statement.

“Oh and wear something sexy”

Fucking Idiot.

-o-

Alejandro Medina was feeling quite upset. First was that little presentation with the ‘child prodigy’, then there was that botched attempt on her life that resulted in the death of four of his men, four civilians, two police officers, injuries of countless others as well as the destruction of a hotel room.

In his glorious Hell VIP room, Medina had taken to drinking copious amounts of wine, sex, blood drinking, and the useless slaughter of people, all to the sounds of classical music. Medina sighed as he stood by his fire place gazing into the inferno.

“Hello little brother”

In shock, Medina quickly turned around to face the sight in front of him. Sitting on his couch, caressing a glass filled with some red liquid, as well as his assistant cheek, was the thorn in his side.

“Quest, how are you my dear? I trust that the years have been good to you. Have you found your dear Alexis yet?” Alejandro asked with false politeness.

Quest’s eyes narrowed into angry blue slits, her hand that was on the assistant moved from the cheek to the neck. She gripped the girl’s neck hard enough to bruise while her fingernails slowly began to grow. Quest pressed her nails into the girl’s neck hard enough to draw blood. She focused her attention on the sacred sheep in her grasp.

“You forget yourself, Medina. No amount of medals will save you from me. I will find Alexis, with the help of the child prodigy, whom you failed to kill” She stated matter-of-factly, her hand leaving its home on the assistant’s neck and moving to ghost over the girl’s heart. Quest smiled at the trembling assistant, her fangs winking in the light and her eyes never leaving the girl’s body.

“But first, I need your help”

-o-

Dinner with Alistair turned out to be a rather dull affair, or at least it was on my part. I was dressed in a low cut fitted little black dress and that dog Alistair was eating it up like the pervert he was. Every time I tried to ask for the information, he diverted to subject, using pet names and other petty affectionate advances to curry my favor.

By the time the dinner half of the date was over and done with, I was well through a bottle of wine and on my way to getting drunk. We left the restaurant, some cheesy Italian restaurant, and went to some club. It was one of those basement affairs with too loud music, cheap booze, and enough body heat to sweat your perm out.

I was lit enough to have a good time, but not enough to have a good time with Alistair. I headed straight for the bar, with Lee’s ass trailing right behind me like a puppy. “Vodka tonic, hold the tonic” I slightly slurred to the bartender.

The bartender eyed me vaguely, before he turned to get to business. When the drink came to me, Alistair tried to keep it from me but with a few well placed slaps, kicks, scratches, and growls, I got my elixir and took a hardy swig of it.

Suddenly the song that was playing changed from some fast rap song to a slower, sexier rock song. Being in the state that I was in (i.e. sloppy drunk) I figured it was time for me to dance. I slapped my glass back on the table and moved towards the crowd.

However before I could go Alistair grabbed my wrist and pulled me back into him, his grey eyes wild and searching deep into mine. “Where are you going?” he asked in a clipped tone.

I looked up at him with hooded eyes. “I wanna dance” I slurred in what I drunkenly thought was sexy. “Dance wif me.” I whined running a lone finger down his chest. Alistair gasped at my boldness, loosening his grip on my arm. Taking advantage of this, I moved my wrist from out of his grasp and moved closer to the crowd. Feeling rather brazen I turned around to smirk at the stunned man.

“Come and get me.”

-o-

“Come and get me”. She set his blood on fire with those words. Hell those dangerous little sounds coupled with her outfit and her drunken compliance made him want to take her out to some dark alley behind the club and fuck her nice and rough. He would have her screaming his name was he pumped out of her, marking her with his teeth and his seed. And before either of them could climax, he would sink his fangs into that gorgeous chocolate neck of hers making her his forever. His pants grew tight at the thought of possessing her, finally.

For years he waited for this moment and he wasn’t going to disappoint. Years of flirting, enduring her yelling and at times bad attitude, having to see her in those sexy outfits and not being able to act out on it- oh he was going to get his, and he was going to take his sweet time.

He could smell her, that teasing sent of vanilla and coffee beans. He knew where she was and he would play her game. Walking with a swagger that only he could possess, he made his way through all the club goers to get his prey-no not prey, mate.

In the dead center of the dance floor, he saw her and his breath seized in his throat. While she was the most alluring creature he had seen ( her black mini dress dangerously hiked up, exposing a little more than mid thigh than necessary, her full figured body winding to the music, her face slack with the pleasure she received from dancing), she was grinding, no damn near fucking some punk who wasn’t him.

A red glint tented his eyes, and the more he eyed the situation, the angrier he got: the little shit got bold and decided to place his unworthy hands on a woman that didn’t belong to him. Alistair was a possessive man, he wasn’t afraid to admit that- it came with the territory of being a vampire, but it took all the self control he had not to rip Cass away from her partner, kill him, and claim her, smearing  the blood from her fallen companion all over her, letting her know who she belonged to.

Calmly, Alistair made his way to cassia and with a well placed glare, his unnaturally red eyes striking fear in the other man, he replaced Cassia’s partner. Placing his hands on her waist, Alistair drew his prize closer to his body. She gasped and tried to move away but he tightened his hold on her, his arms like steel on her body. He moved his mouth to her ear, his hot breath making her shiver.

“Found you.”

Chapter 10

I'll Bite It, But I Won't Light It

Cassia watched as Alexis looked at her sister. The girl was tall and slender, her hair a rich lush blond that flowed down her back in soft waves, her cornflower blue eyes twinkling down at the little girl. 

“Alexis what are you doing?” the elder girl mocking chided placing her hands on her hips. Alexis giggled and ran to her sister’s knees. “

Alexander and I are playing house.” The younger girl giggled blushing as her sister averted her attention to the man playing with her sister and fixing him with a stony glare. 

“I am the mama and Alex is the papa, and Bitsy and Poodle are the babies” Alexis continued pointing to her dolls. “Guess what Sissy, Alexander says that when I am a big girl, he and I can get married for real” the little girl gushed. 

Cassia gagged. 

The little girl continued to prattle as her elder sister led her out of the room, all the while cursing Alexander. Cassia turned to look at Alexander, but when she saw his face, there was nothing there. 

-o-

Note to self: Next time you are out with Lee don’t get drunk. And definitely DON’T FUCK HIM LIKE IT’S GOING OUT OF STYLE!

I woke up this morning in all kinds of pain. My head was killing me, my nether regions were throbbing the-just-been-fucked-really-spectacularly throb, there was sticky shit on my thighs, and my stomach felt like it wanted to make a visit to the temple of the porcelain god. And on top of that I was unusually heavy and warm.

I carefully opened my eyes and looked down at my waist to see a tan-ish arm gripping me, pinning me down and next to the body beside me. I checked the bottom half of the body. Nice broad chest, muscular torso, a six pack that could cut sheet rock, the faint blond wisps that made a  happy trail, that lead to a very, very, nicely sized dick, if the throbbing in my loins had anything to say about it, down to powerful legs.

This dude who I picked up, last night was a ten- body wise of course. Deciding to get a look at the person who no doubt rocked my world and gave me some of the best sex ever, I moved my eyes up to gaze at my lovers face.

This is the part were I would have screamed if I was any lesser woman. Really I was surprised that I was so shocked that I could do anything, because if I could Alistair would be getting well acquainted with my fist and a bullet. My stomach faintly lurched and I felt sick. I like falling on my knees and screaming ‘NOOO!’ at the top of my lungs. At this moment I vowed never to get drunk ever again. This was all a bit to much, I couldn’t handle it, and I had to get out of there. I tried to move from his grasp, but as soon as I made the first wiggle, his arm tightened over my body and tucked me back into him.

It was déjà vu again, as his hot breath tickled my neck- which felt insanely sore for some reason- and made my traitorous body tingle and throb in excitement for more Alistair lovin.

‘Alistair lovin?!?! Fuckin hormones.’

“Where are you going?” Alistair asked, his voice still rough from sleep, making him sound…sexy. Damn my hormones.

“To the bathroom” I whimpered like I was up for round four, which I was but he didn’t need to know that. Alistair smirked and lowered his face to my neck. He took a sniff before he showered it with light kisses and nips. I had to bite my lips to keep from moaning like a bitch in heat. Who knew Alistair was a sex god.

“Mmm. You smell so good. Stay with me.” Alistair said, his tone more demanding than asking while carrying that sexy wet-your-panties and sex-you-long-time tone. I shivered and nodded dumbly to his request. So much for self control.

‘Note to self: no sex until you can regain gain control of yourself. Whore.’

-o-

I woke up hours later feeling a hell of a lot better, but my bed was empty. Trying to push aside my feelings of disappointment and sadness, I got out of bed. After I cleaned up, I went back into my living room so I could get back to work. I paused when I realized that Alistair never did tell me his info on Quest.

I was beyond pissed at the realization. I was about to go ape shit when I saw a piece of paper on top of my computer. Bemused I Opened it and read over its contents.

                                Dear Darling,

      How are you my sweet, I am sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke for the second time- duty calls. However, as promised I shall give you my

Information. Quest’s Alias is Violet Ann Summers ,you know the one who burned Viper. She was last spotted in Romania on her way to Rome. Sources say, she wants to have an Audience with you in the Eternal City.

                                 Until we meet again, yours always,

                                  Alistair.

                            P.s. you look so beautiful when you sleep.

I choked out a mirthless laugh. Quest wants to meet with me in Rome. I quickly ran to my bedroom and started getting every last item of clothing I could find. I got all of my shit together and sent an emergency email to viper telling him to meet me in Rome.

I had a lead on this case for the first time, and I wasn’t going to let it go cold. Pushing my feelings of trepidation aside I left Nova Scotia for Rome. If the bitch who burned Viper wants to meet, the least I could do was chat her up before I kill her.

-o-

Cassia was at a café on Via Nazionale in Rome. Sipping on an espresso and nibbling a pastry, Cassia tried to keep from trying to crane her neck to try and find Viper by looking out at the busy street. Busses and taxis filled with tourists flew by as the Italian citizens went about there business on the beautiful day. The sounds and smells of live, the past, and pasta filled the air, and if Cass wasn’t so busy on the case, she would have been caught up in the romance of the city like any one else.

“Scusa Signorina, hai finito?” the waiter asked catching Cassia off guard. She nodded absentmindedly. “Ah si, ho finito, grazie.” The waiter took her things and left, leaving Cassia to get more agitated.

“So what’s with the rushed meeting?” a cold tenor spoke from behind Cassia. Startled she was about to turn around, but Viper quickly stopped her by clearing his throat. Frowning at the very stupid and typical espionage way Viper was handling the situation, Cassia answered his question. “I got word that Quest was here in Rome.”

“From whom?” Viper questioned his voice oddly cold.

“From a reliable source.” Cassia defensively shot back, minutes away from getting hostile.

“How reliable?” Viper pressed, sneering at the vagueness of the child prodigy’s answer.

“A mercenary whose specialty us underground opps.” Cassia sneered back crossing her arms.

Viper hummed. “What else did you find out?”

-o-

After an hour of the typical spy cloak and dagger bullshit, viper and I had exchanged all the info we had collected. We had about the same amount of information, although I suspected that he was hiding things from me. I wrote these feelings off due to the fact that he is probably trying to get the kill first, and that I was hiding things too. The only thing was that I wished we didn’t have to slip up; looking back all it did was leave me royally confused, nearly killed, and fucked. Were getting ready to infiltrate the Italian spy underground network, and I couldn’t help but kinda miss Lee.

‘What the hell woman. You have one night of earth shattering, jaw dropping, sweat your perm out sex and now you are sitting around like you are dick whipped. Girl, get a grip’

Once it was night, we made our way to Via Dei Lavatore. Our destination for to night was a small pub like club called Sfortuna where the underground in Rome frequent. The Club was close to the majestic Fontana Di Trevi or Trevi Fountain. I was nervous and antsy and the sky that night looked turbulent. It gave me this ominous feeling that something bad was going to happen.

-0-

The inside of the bar was comfy- it was dark, hazy, and loud. Viper and I made our way to the back of the bar. There in a grand booth, sat what the media would say was your stereotypical Italian mob boss. Big, brunet, tan, and decked out in gold, with two blondes- one for each arm, was Giancarlo Calabrese. Giancarlo was the local underground network king, he would know if any one was coming into and out of his city.

“Scusa Signore Calabrese, Mi chiamo Viper e la mia compagna si chiama Cassia. Cerciamo per Quest, perche un amico di Cassia, dice che Quest é qui a Roma. É che vero?” Viper asked the man.

Calabrese eyed us. Chewing on his cigar, he motioned for his two females to leave. Once the two women left Viper moved to sit on the edge of the booth, while I decided to continue standing. Calabrese eyed me distastefully. “Beh, é possible, ma tu dovete chiederle di andare. È sfortuna affinchè le donne fare il commercio con gli uomini.” 

I rolled my eyes at the typical Italian male chauvinist bullshit and angrily made my way to the bar to get me a drink, even though I had given up the habit. “Vorrei un bicchiere di vino, per favore.” “

Vino di casa va bene?” the bartender asked getting the glass. I nodded and he got to work. I turned away for a bit, but It was long enough for me to not see the powder that the bartender stirred into my drink. By the time I turned back he gave me my glass with a smile. “Salute” 

I took two nice swigs from my glass, leaving only a little wine left. I paused for a bit and looked around at all the other shady creatures in the bar, before I downed the rest.

Within a few minutes I began to feel hot. I broke out in a sweat and my stomach felt like it was on a tilt-a-whirl. My vision grew blurry, and my head felt dizzy and light. 

“Misses Versey, Quest has been waiting to meet with you.” A familiar voice called. 

“Medina” I spat, the last thing I could say before my whole world went black. 

Chapter 11

At noon we draw to we draw to death

I was in a child’s room, I could tell because of all the toys and such. There was a small table with a tea set on it, a little girl at the head of the table pouring the tea into little cups.

“Cassie, come sit and have tea” a little voice called to me. The little girl stared at me- her brown eyes intently staring into me. “Cassie, come sit” I moved slowly to the table. This pleased the girl for she pulled out a seat for me and placed my glass of tea in front of the seat.

As I sat down, the girl moved to the seat next to me and sat. “Don’t worry Cassie, Alexander will join us soon” The child prattled as she fixed a glass of tea for herself. A figure entered from my left to take the seat in front of me. I gasped in shock as I stared at the face before me. “Alistair” I whispered lamely.

The child giggled. “No silly, Alexander. Alistair is his alius…Anius… his fake name.”

“Cassia” Alexander/Alistair spoke, his voice sending shivers of lust down my spine. As I looked at him I couldn’t help but realize that I had grown to have a soft spot for this loser, some where deep down in my little black heart. Feelings that could one day lead to…love.

The child looked at me once more and smiled softly. I smiled back at her and moved to grab my tea. “Cassia” a strange disembodied voice whispered. My smile wavered slightly but I continued to sip my tea and enjoy my company.

“CASSIA!” the voice called again with growing impatience. I frowned as I caught a whiff of something that smelled suspiciously like smelling salts. Groaning, I shook my head and opened my eyes slightly to look around. I was no longer with the child, but in what looked like a warehouse. I tried to move, but found that I was tied to a chair.

How cliché.

“Oh finally, you are awake.” An accented voice called. My head snapped in its direction. “Medina” I growled, remembering how the fucker had royally screwed me over twice. “Ciao, Signorina Versey, did you miss me?” He taunted softly, walking closer to me.

“Fuck you” I spat curling my upper lip in disgust. “Lose weight” Medina spat back with an amused smirk on his face. “And while you are at it, you should stop drinking: you make it too easy for someone to capture you, but then again you always have.” He added thoughtfully.

Confused I was about to call Medina out on his statement, when I noticed a hand sticking straight out of his chest, holding his still beating heart, Blood pouring from his mouth and wound and creating a puddle on the floor. I stared in shock, as the arm retracted allowing Medina’s body to fall to the floor and revealing his killer.

“V-Victoria” I stammered now suddenly frightened all of my spy work becoming useless. Her attention left the body before her and snapped to me, her once blue eyes now wild and red. “Actually, it is Alexia, Alexia Quest.” My eyes got so big I feared they would fall out of my head.

“YOU ARE QUEST” I yelped, slightly regaining some of my haughtiness. Smirking, Alexia nodded. “Well fuck me.” I whispered to myself, slumping in my bonds. Alexia chuckled bringing my attention back to her. “So what’s next? Are you gonna kill me, burn me…” I asked losing my voice before I could finish the sentence.

“Actually, we were thinking about taking you home” A familiar voice called behind Alexia. “Alistair or should I say Alexander, how nice of you to join us.” Alexia sneered. I snorted; I seemed like no matter here he went Alis-Alexander was hated by some chick.

“We need you to help us find my little sister, Alexis.” Alexia stated getting back to a serious tone. I stared at the two people who I considered my friends I mild shock. ‘Once this is over I am gonna punch Bill in the taint, quit my job, liquidate my funds, by a private island, and drink mojitos while I watch hot men play chicken in the ocean.’ I thought a slight glaze tinting my eyes. Only I would think of sex and booze at a time like this. ‘Booze….Medina…’

“What did Medina mean when he said I have always been easy to capture- this is the first time I have ever been compromised.” I questioned them, staring Alexander dead in the eye.

They both grew quiet; their focus seemed to shift from each other to me and then back in to space. “ANSWER ME DAMNIT!” I yelled my voice hoarse from anger and frustration. Alexander cleared this throat. “Haven’t you ever thought it was strange that you were the only child operative in your training, that you were the best at everything you did, that you were always slightly better than every one else, your instincts slightly sharper than every one else?” he asked, moving over to kneel before me.

“Didn’t you find it strange that you never got sick, ever, and that your injuries healed with in minutes after you got them?” Alexander moved a hand to caress my face. At first I moved into the caress, but when I came to my senses, I pulled back and turned my face out of his reach.

Alexia rolled her eyes. “Medina told you about how he and I were created?” She asked impatiently. I looked up at her and nodded. “Well then, you know that they made a second Quest, my little sister, Alexis. My Papa went and got my little sister form those horrid labs when he found out what the government did in Romania. Alexis was loved by everyone- she was so sweet, beautiful, and pure. She was smart too. Alexander was so taken by her as a child- Papa and I knew that when she was of age, Alexander would mate with her: it was a typical vampiric custom”

Alexia paused, her eyes cast downwards as alone tear made its way from one of her eyes. “But they took her away from us. Her and my Papa. He died with her name on his lips and I vowed to get her back. You see they took and broke our Alexis…”

“…And made her into you” Alexander finished.

I stopped breathing; I had a feeling I was going to faint again. “Oh no you don’t” Alexia growled and suddenly she was in front of me slapping my face. When I had calmed down a bit she turned her attention to Alexander. “Get the serum and call Ion, tell him we shall be there soon, then go get Davit and bring the car around.” Alexander nodded and vanished. With in a split second he was back carrying a cell phone and a needle.

I felt green when I saw that needle. “WHAT THE HELL IS THAR FOR!?!?!” I bellowed. Alexia rolled her eyes, relieving Alexander from his job by taking the needle and proceeded to move over to my squirming body and promptly stuck me in the neck, pushing the serum in. “so you can remember” she whispered.

Placing the needle on the ground, she stepped on it as she moved behind me and untied me. “We must leave quickly before Viper gets here. The government wants to kill all three of us.” Alexia said in a rush. I stood up, and then fell back down- got dizzy. “Damn vampire freaks and their drugs” I mumbled to myself as Alexia grabbed my arm and led me toward the exit.

“Going somewhere?” A cold accented voice sneered in front of us. In surprise, Alexia dropped my arm. “Viper” She whispered. The man in question laughed as he came out from the shadows with a Ruger SR9® 9mm, his gun trained on Alexia. 

“I can’t wait to kill you Violet or should I say Quest.” Viper said then fired two shots at Alexia. I couldn’t tell if they had hit their mark, because my drug riddled mind refused to work. ‘Note to self-get a new profession and new friends.’

 “You know Cassia” Viper started turning his sights and gun on me. “Or should I say Alexis, if you had only stayed away from Alexia and her accomplice you would have been fine. But once our agency realized that you two were shacking up, they knew then that you had to be put down. I mean we can’t have the worlds only genetically engineered vampires on a side that wasn’t their creators. So they decided to fight fire with fire” 

I furrowed my eyes in confusion. “You’re a vampire too?” I asked. I mean this was getting to be pretty ridiculous. It was the cluster fuck to end all cluster fucks and once again I found myself promising that once this was over I would be cracking skulls, before drinking  Jägermeister and getting grade A dick from fine ass Alexan- I mean from some fine ass cabana boys. 

“No, Half vampire” Viper sneered. “ That little tramp half turned me while we were having sex” ‘Well he does thins in halves’ I thought trying to hid a smile that was threatening to help me get shot sooner instead of later.

“Well say good-bye Alexis” The trigger was pulled. I was steeling myself for the shot, when Alexia threw me down to the ground and like a spider monkey on crack; she knocked the gun and Viper to the ground. It was like watching a movie, but worse because it was my life. 

As they rolled on the ground, my brain finally found my legs, and I wobbled out of there as fast as I could. Just when I had gotten to the door, it opened to reveal Alexander. Then two more shots were fired.  

I didn’t know what had happened until I felt an awful pain in my stomach. I looked down to see blood steadily pouring. Vision blurred, and I was truly afraid. I looked back up at Alexander, weakly smiling when I saw that I could still see his blond hair. Then I fell to the floor. ‘I am dying’ I thought. ‘This is bullshit- well at least I wasn’t a virgin’ I tried to joke with myself but the seriousness of the situation scared me.  

Alexander’s eyes seemed so red and angry and then grey and sad. He rushed down to cradle my body in his arms. I tried to find my voice so I could say something before I died.

“A-lex” I groaned. 

“Alexis, sweets, save your strength” He pleaded caressing my cool and paling face. I shook my head as best as I could, looking directly into his grey eyes. “I-” I tried but got caught by a cough. Blood trembled out of my lips. 

“I lo-ve y-ou” I whispered. The pain grew unbearable and my eyes rolled. I was in so much pain and I could feel myself losing the battle to stay alive. I could barely feel the hot tongue that licked my neck or the two fangs that pierced my neck. The pain grew intense and then there was darkness

It was another beautiful summer day in California- all the bleach blondes and surfer, movie stars and the like were out and about.

A short, chubby female was walking down the street. With a sense of purpose and decked out in St. John and Gucci, the woman walked down Melrose casually window shopping desperately hoping that the idiot boy who was tailing here would go away. Really he could follow her for a million years, but he could never catch her- she was a child prodigy once.  

Growing tired of the boy, the woman slipped in to an alley. As the boy entered behind her, the woman’s phone rang. She answered the call.

“Alexis Gaunt Speaking” She called into the receiver as she covered the boy’s mouth with her free hand, her arm pinning the boy to her body.

“Hi Baby, mommy will be home soon” She cooed as her hand slipped to the boys neck, twisting it roughly to the right, breaking it.

“Give daddy my love” Alexis said, moving the body behind a dumpster. Sighing Alexis pocketed her phone and pulled out her sunglasses. She ran a hand through her hair, her wedding ring- a platinum band with a four carat diamond- twinkled in the light.

Leaving the alley, she smiled, her two fangs twinkling.