| Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Prologue Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = In a dim alleyway on the seedier side of San Francisco, a lone female stood in wait. She was a rather stunning blonde with a slender but toned physique, dark brown eyes, with an almost child-like innocence in her dainty nose and slightly pouty lips that belied the jaded, sharp intelligence in her gaze. Dressed in a scandalously low-cut beaded blue crop top that truly left little to the imagination, a short black leather skirt, fishnet stockings, and shiny black patent leather stilettoes, and sporting a mermaid tattoo on her tanned, flat belly, it was quite obvious that she was a hooker. She carried a small black patent leather handbag in one slender, ladylike hand, which had a wide silver bracelet, studded with blue and white and black crystals around the wrist. Soon, a black limo with darkened windows, looking very out of place in the tough neighborhood, approached the alley, and the blonde sauntered up to the vehicle confidently. The window rolled down halfway, then, after she'd had a brief discussion with the limo occupant, the driver got out, and opened the door for her. The blonde gracefully stepped in, and shut the door behind her. Inside the limo sat a leering, muscular man, in his early 30's, with wild flame-red hair and a sadistic smirk. The blonde gave him a innocent but naughty smile, and purred, "Darling, I love that hair...is the rest of you as delicious?" The red-haired man gave an appreciative look at the generous amount of cleavage revealed by her top, and said, with a predatory gleam in his eyes, "What's your name, sugar?" "Amanda...at your service..."The blonde said in a smoldering voice, "And what should I call you, darling?" "Call me Rob." The man smirked. "What do you have in that handbag?" The blonde opened up the bag to reveal a carton of cigarettes, a lighter, a box of condoms, and a tube of red lipstick. Satisfied that she had nothing dangerous on her, the man called Rob gestured that she could shut her bag. ~ ~ ~ Soon, the limo pulled up at a gleaming building with tinted glass windows, a very expensive hotel. Rob and the blonde prostitute Amanda took the elevator up to the penthouse floor, and headed for the man's room. Amanda followed closely behind Rob, her eyes wide, quickly taking in the details around her..the lush carpeting, the just-right-lighting, the wooden doors with the numbers in gilt script embossed on them, the security camera following her every step. She fiddled with her bracelet, then entered Rob's room. Rob shrugged off his jacket, then went to the bathroom. Amanda looked about the place, and slowly put on lipstick. When Rob came back from the bathroom, he saw the blonde already lying on his bed, her mane of hair fanning around her on the pillowcase, a sultry smile on her glossy red lips. He pounced upon her, and pulled her into a kiss, tongue coming out to lick her sensuous lips. Immediately, he doubled over in pain, breathing labored, hives breaking out upon his fair skin. The blonde, all of her sex-kitten seductiveness replaced by a sharp, cold smile, watched him coolly as he shook like a leaf, sweat pouring down his brow. "You BITCH! What did you do to me?" He tried to slap her, but howled in pain when she, with a fluid movement, twisted his arm behind him, a sickening crack audible as the wrist was broken. "Oh, my dear Robert Dunn, I know so much about you. I know that you're also known as Rubeus...you're the assassin who killed Judge Hilton. I know that you're the mystery bomber who blew up the summer house of Senator Riordan, and that you're working for Dominic Dark, the millionaire who is actually the terrorist known as Demando, and heads the infamous crime organization known as Black Moon. I know that you're 33 years old, prefer blondes, used to be in the military, and...that you have deadly allergic reactions with penicillin." The blonde laughed coldly, pressing her fingers to her lips, then to his skin again, where angry red hives started to appear almost instantaneously. "W-who are you?" Rubeus, hacking terribly, managed to wheeze out. "Now, now, I can't tell you that, that's information that will cost you your life..." She pouted prettily, then smiled a chilling smile. "But maybe, you want to be put out of your misery anyway..." She bent down, and whispered a word into his ear. His eyes widened in horror, then, with a quick jerk of her two hands, rolled back, unseeing, as she snapped his neck. The woman rolled off the bed, took one last look at the dead man, and extracted a red condom and her lighter. She flicked on the lighter and held the package up to the flame. Instead of burning, the flame simply melted the "condom" inside into a thin, translucent liquid. "Ah, the joys of science." She sprinkled the liquid over Rubeus' body: it would remove all traces of her DNA, fingerprints, etc. from his body. Then, she took out her cigarette box, flipping it open to show that it was actually a cell phone. She dialed, and then spoke into it. "Agent Mercury reporting. Target dispatched. Coming out in 30." The woman then went to the bathroom. She tugged on her blonde hair, and the wig fell away to reveal a short navy blue coiffure. Brown contacts were removed to show a pair of sharp, clear sapphire eyes. She took out another condom, a green one, and once again held it up to the flame of her lighter. Then, she lathered the liquid over her skin, and wiped it off. The tan and the tattoo disappeared to reveal milky white, unblemished skin. Finally, she removed the mirror over the sink to reveal a secret cubby hole. She extracted a neatly folded navy blue pinstripe blazer and business skirt, a black leather briefcase and a pair of tortoise shell sunglasses. Quickly, the woman changed out of her hooker getup into the other clothing, put her disguise materials into the briefcase, and walked back out. She efficiently scanned the room, putting Rubeus' palm pilot, cell phone, documents and laptop into her briefcase as well, then walked out. She tapped once more on the crystals on her computer-bracelet, and the security camera in the hall was shut down for 5 minutes. Enough time for her to go down the elevator, out the building, and into the waiting black Porsche parked outside. ~ ~ ~ Three days later, Amy Anderson reported for work at an office building in L.A. She walked confidently into the office of Luna Felis, her boss and friend. Amy Anderson, aka Agent Mercury, was one of a quartette beautiful, brilliant young women of 26 working for Luna Felis. Along with Mina Angell, Raye Warrington, and Lita Woods, she was an elite agent, who had undergone training that made Navy SEAL training look like play as well as an incredible education (each woman specializing in something particular: Amy had a phD in Biochemistry from Harvard and one in Computer Engineering from MIT. Mina was fluent in four languages, English, French, Spanish, and German, with a phD in psychology from Berkeley. Raye had a master's in Women's Studies from Vassar and a phD in Nuclear Physics from Yale, and Lita had a phD in Ecology from Stanford and another in Electrical Engineering from Cal-Tech). They had worked on numerous highly dangerous missions dealing with high-profile criminals. Luna, a statuesque woman with luscious waves of blue-black hair and an almost catlike beauty, dressed impeccably in a black business suit and pale yellow blouse, looked up from the newspaper she had been reading. "Hey Ames, it looks like you've made the news again." She handed the paper to Amy. The headlines screamed: "Elusive Bomber-Assassin found killed in Hotel Room" "Well, I can't say that I particularly enjoyed every aspect of that particular assignment, but oh well. Another one down. So, what's my next assignment?" "Here." Luna handed Amy a manila folder. "You've heard of Terrelunia Inc., have you not?" "Yes, big biomedical research corporation." "Yes. A husband and wife, Darien and Serena White, are, respectively, the Marketing Manager and Research Director for this corporation. However, Demando is after the two of them. He has a personal vendetta against the two of them: went to high school with Serena and Darien White, and Serena White, then Serena Argent, dumped him for Darien White. That, added to the fact that Terrelunia Inc. is a large, powerful, rival corporation, well..." "Yes, yes..." Amy leafed through the papers in the folder, and processed this information. "And how do I come into play here?" "Well, this assignment is going to be a bit more complicated than your usual assignments, because both Serena and Darien White are targets. So, there will be two people, one to protect each of them." "Oh, so which one of the girls will I be working with?" "That's the thing. You won't be working with any of them. For one thing, they're all busy. Mina's dealing with that Beryl case, Raye with the racist bomber, and Lita's chasing after that drug ring. For another, you will need to partner up with a guy." "Okay...continue." Amy said, her eyes wary. "You will be a research assistant to Serena White, to protect her at work. Since it's a biomedical corporation, I think that's right up your alley. Also, you will be the 'wife' of a visiting 'college friend' of her husband's, to protect her at home. Therefore, you will be working with a guy who will protect Darien White, and also masquerade as your husband." "I..see...please tell me that the guy is at least reasonably smart and competent." "Well, he's got an MBA from Princeton and a degree in International Trade from Brown. So he shouldn't be that bad. He's one of Art's boys. He's on vacation now, but he will be back tomorrow and you will be able to meet him." 'Art' was Artemis Cato, Luna's partner-of-sorts who was in charge of a group of men somewhat similar to Luna's girls. Amy had met two of them before, through Mina and Raye, who had both been cooperating with them on cases. Agent Venus (Mina) and Agent Kunzite (named Kevin Knighton) had worked on a prostitution ring case. The Madame, Estrellita Noir, was another of Demando's agents, known as Esmeraude, a simpering, heartless bitch who looked and acted like the Southern Belle from Hell. After cracking the case together, Mina had decided to give up her habit of having whirlwind romances and she and Kevin had started dating. Kevin was almost totally opposite of Mina. Stoical, serious, and reserved, Kevin was at first baffled by the cheery, vivacious Mina, but they learnt to get along, and worked very well together, their complementary personalities balancing each other out. Agent Mars (Raye) and Agent Jadeite (named James Byrne) had cracked the case against a bomber-hacker agent of Demando's, Stephan Black, a brilliant but ruthless man known as Saffir. That venture had had a rocky start: both Raye and James had rather explosive tempers, but in the face of danger, they both fearlessly saved each other's lives, and that was the beginning of a beautiful, if volatile relationship. Amy got along well enough with both Kevin and James, but since Luna had not mentioned either, she was probably going to work with one of the other guys. Which was just as well, since she certainly did not want to masquerade around as the wife of one of her friends' boyfriends. "All right then. I accept." "Excellent! The Whites have sent a private plane. Pack your usual, and you can arrive at their mansion in time for dinner. Good hunting, Amy!" ~ ~ ~ At the same time that Luna was informing Amy of her assignment, the ringing of a cell phone woke Zack Waterhouse from his slumber. Growling, the young man rubbed, then opened his green eyes, and grabbed the offending cell phone. "Who is it? This better be good!" He snarled irritably into the phone, one hand raking through the tangles in his longish dark blond hair. "Good morning Zack! How are you on this fine day?" The said 28-year-old Zack could almost HEAR Art's smug, cat-that-ate-the-canary expression. "I WAS fine til you called, I was having a wonderful dream about a fine woman with long legs and.." "Okay, okay, I get the point, and I truly do not want to hear the disgusting details. I just wanted to inform you that your next assignment has come in. Wanna know about it?" "Sure, just make it quick okay?" "Glad to. You remember Dominic Dark --- Demando?" "Of course, our favorite little rich lunatic. What about him? Has he found yet another unfortunate but similarly rich schmuck to pester?" "In fact, he has. Have you ever heard of Terrelunia, Inc.?" "Of course. Do you even need to ask?" Zack, ever the financially savvy one, kept tabs on every major corporation on the market, and read Fortune 500 like a Bible. "Well, Demando seems to have a personal vendetta against Darien and Serena White.." "Marketing Manager and Research Director..." "Very good, Zack, I'm impressed. For someone with your particular...lifestyle, you actually keep decent tabs on some things. Anyways, his personal vendetta involves a somewhat messy love situation...suffice it to say that Serena White is a very attractive woman, but did not go for him. Add to that the fact that both Darien and Serena White are rich as Croesus..and you have the situation at hand. Both of them are targets. You will be working in conjunction with another agent, and the two of you will each protect one of them." "Okay, who will I be working with? Please don't tell me that I will be working with Nick...last time I did, he bored me to death with his astro swot." Nicholas Steller, aka Agent Nephrite, was another of Art's agents. With a phD in Astronomy from Columbia and a Master's in Mathematics from Dartmouth, Nick was their "Resident Space Cadet", as James termed him. Zack was actually friends with Nick, like with the other guys, but their distinctly different educational backgrounds made for a lot of good-natured bickering between them. Zack himself was the businessman of the group. With his outgoing personality as well as his shrewd business sense he knew exactly how to make disgusting amounts of money very quickly and easily. James Byrne, agent Jadeite, a larger-than-life character with three master's degrees, in Philosophy, Linguistics and Computer Science from UCLA, was great fun when he was not getting pissed about something or another..or, lately, making out with that raven-haired babe, one of Luna's girls, Mars, he believed she was. Kevin Knighton, the serious one, had a phD in Physics from Duke and one in Forensic Science from Johns Hopkins. Somewhat introverted, he was nevertheless a dependable friend. And lately, under the spell of the charming blonde girl Venus, another one of Luna's lovelies, he was seen to crack smiles more frequently than before. "No, it will be one of Luna's girls. She will be working with and protecting Serena White at work, as you will be working with and protecting Darien White. At home, you two will go as husband and wife. You will be masquerading as Darien White's friend from college, which should not be too hard since his alma mater is also Princeton." "Cool. Is she hot?" Art snorted exasperatedly, "Zack, is that all you think of? But you know that all of Luna's girls are selected for their beauty as well as their intelligence." "Yeah, yeah. Do you know what she looks like?" Zack, ever the lady-killer, persisted. Art sighed. "Let me think...Luna said she was sending Agent Mercury. Mercury..Mercury...she's about 5'5", short blue hair, big blue eyes, pale skin, quite pretty. There, satisfied??" "Hmm...any pictures of her? Tell Luna to send a picture of her to me through e-mail." "Fine, fine...just for heaven's sake don't spend the entire mission staring at her legs, okay?" Artemis rolled his eyes, then forwarded the email that he had just gotten from Luna to Zack's account. "There, it's sent. Goggle all you want now, I expect you to be all business by tomorrow. When you get here, a private plane will take you to the Whites' mansion." "All right then." Zack opened up his laptop and logged online. He opened the email and saw a picture of a prim-looking girl with huge, luminous blue eyes on a delicate little face. She wore a white sleeveless blouse, a pale blue skirt and a calm, serious expression. A pair of glasses rested on top of her cerulean hair. "She's cute, I suppose, but for the love of God, she looks like a librarian!" Art sighed. "You should reserve your judgments for later, Zack. You may be in for the surprise of your life." he smirked, "She just might be the one to tame you." Zack laughed, "Hotter chicks than her have failed. Dream on, Art. Now, may I PLEASE go back to sleep?" "Yeah, sure. I'll see you tomorrow." Art hung up and Zack turned off the phone. 'Tame me, that little girl? When pigs fly...' Little did he know that porcine animals did indeed have every intention of sprouting wings and lifting off... Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : One Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Agent Mercury, this time under the name of Amy Winters, arrived at the stately Victorian mansion of Darien and Serena White. Dressed in a subdued but elegant navy blue knee-length dress with matching high heels and a white sun hat, she was ushered into the household by an elderly butler. Her sharp blue eyes took in the security systems set up around the house, and she quickly took out a powerful palm-sized computer. She sank down in the nearest chair and began typing rapidly. Fifteen minutes later, when Serena and Darien White entered, she had finished with a smile of satisfaction on her face. Serena White, a pretty blonde woman of 28, dressed in a pale pink business suit and pearls, smiled at Amy, and shook her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Anderson." "Please, call me Amy. And I am going by the alias of Amy Winters. Mr. and Mrs. White, I have just made some adjustments to your security. Now, only with voice, fingerprint and retinal identification will anyone be allowed entrance from outside unless someone from within will come and escort them. The database includes you two, your staff, myself, and the other agent who is coming today. This system surrounds your entire property and every possible entrance. If anyone tried to forcibly break in or tamper with the security, you two, your bodyguards, myself and the other agent will be alerted immediately. Also, I have had my team install a hidden camera over every entrance, door and window. Hopefully, this will make my job a bit easier." Serena White clapped her hands in joy. "Utterly brilliant, Amy. And please, call me Serena. Now, is there anything else I should know?" "Yes," Amy handed Serena a small black control with a button on top. "Keep this with you at all times. Even when sleeping. If you ever see, hear, or even FEEL anything suspicious, hit the button and I will come immediately. This device will show me your location." "All right then! I believe it is time for dinner. Do join us. I believe the other agent will not arrive until 9:00 tonight. But I will have Martha, our cook, prepare him some sandwiches or something for him." Serena said, and the three of them adjourned to the dining room. ~ ~ ~ Dinner was a very enjoyable meal. Darien and Serena were impeccable hosts, intelligent, well bred, witty and gracious. Amy was able to have intelligent conversations with both of them, and learn more about their company and themselves. The meal, too, was delicious. A selection of cheeses, olives, and deli meats on crisp puff pastries for appetizers, next came chilled and flavorful Gazpacho soup, refreshing green salad with a tangy herbal vinaigrette, fine rolls, basil and bay-leaf roasted chicken with lemon, mushroom spinach quiche, and finally coffee cake for dessert, all washed down with a light chardonnay. After dinner, Serena and Darien both went to the computer lab to finish something for work, and Amy went to her room to unpack. Besides her clothing, personal things and documents, she brought a cell phone to keep in touch with the agency, her gun, a laptop, a "palm pilot" that was actually a very powerful palm-top computer that she could use for scanning her surroundings, programming and hacking into virtually any system. The computer chip inside, which she herself had spent nearly eight months meticulously and painstakingly designing and perfecting, was state-of-the-art, better and more powerful than any found in any computer company. She had planted it into her bracelet in her last mission as well. Also, several items: smoky blue crystal earrings with a fatal poison made from cyanide, oleander, and boomslang venom filling the hollow blue crystals, a "pearl" necklace, where the "pearls" were actually miniature tear gas grenades that could be broken off and thrown to explode on impact, a pair of glasses with x-ray installed onto them so that when she looked through them at someone she could spot concealed weapons, etc., a "diamond" ring that she would wear as her "wedding ring", which could be used to emit regular, infrared, ultraviolet and laser light, a fountain pen recorder/microphone, a bunch of tiny cameras, and various other devices for her mission. Satisfied that everything was in working order, she glanced at her watch. The other agent had 12 minutes and 28 seconds to arrive. Amy started down the stairs. He was now 14 minutes and 37 seconds late. Amy's brows drew together in a slight frown. A lack of punctuality, in general, was not a good sign. Then, the door swung open, and he came striding in. Amy looked up to see a tall, lean young man, slightly tanned, with wavy dark blonde hair, made slightly lighter by sun exposure, tied loosely at the nape of his neck. A pair of green eyes sparkled on a fine-boned, handsome face. He was dressed far more casually than she was: wearing a white t-shirt that showed off his muscular arms and broad shoulders, jeans, boots, and sporting a gold stud in each ear. He shook hands with Darien and Serena, then, as if it were an afterthought, shook hands with Amy as well. "I'm Zack. Zack Waterhouse. But I guess my alias is supposed to be Zack Winters." He said in introduction. He stared at Amy. "And you must be one of Luna's lovely ladies, Amy, is it?" "Yes, my name is Amy." The guy was certainly handsome, Amy was willing to admit that she thought he was quite physically attractive. But she did not like the way his gaze kept on returning to her breasts and legs. She scowled warningly at him. Zack took a long, appraising look at his partner. She was certainly nice to look at: that picture did not do her justice. She had a graceful figure, with curves in all the right places, but, from the muscles in her arms and legs, he could tell that she was quite strong as well. Her face was a combination of bright-eyed innocence and jaded intellect. But her beauty was marred by the prissy frown on her face. Zack felt half annoyed, half intrigued. It was a rare female indeed who frowned in disapproval when he checked her out. After introductions and a few pleasantries, Serena and Darien let Amy and Zack up to their rooms. Both of them had very nicely decorated, spacious bedrooms: Amy's done in shades of blue while Zack's was in shades of green, each with a private bathroom, and the two shared a parlor. Amy told Zack about her changes in the security as she watched him unpack. Zack listened to the girl talk, in scary amounts of detail, about how she had increased the security around the premises. Very admirable, but did she REALLY have to go into that much depth about the various different types of computer technology that was put into the making of each device? She seriously needed to loosen up! Amy gave an exasperated sigh at her partner. He obviously was not paying attention to what she was telling him about the new security system. Oh well, if he got trapped outside then, it would be his own damned fault. She watched as Zack unpacked from his luggage clothes, a gun, a cell phone, a laptop, and...the latest copy of Sports Illustrated, Swimsuit issue?! A maid, a young girl with purple hair and eyes, no more than 21, knocked before entering and asking, "Do you two need anything else?" Zach gave the girl his most charming smile, "No, we're fine, thank you. And what might your name be, sweetie?" The girl blushed, then answered, "Holly Thomas." "A pleasure to meet you, Holly." he grinned. Holly blushed even deeper, thanked him, and ran out of the room. Amy's annoyance grew. "You know, we're supposed to pretend to be married. That will not work very well if you insist on making passes at every piece of skirt you see." Zack turned his amused green gaze towards her. "Oh, are you jealous, my dear little 'wife'?" He said mockingly. Amy's blue eyes narrowed in anger. "In your dreams, pretty boy." Zack's eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "Well, well, most girls know better than to call me a 'pretty boy'." Amy rolled her eyes, "Well, I guess that I'm just not most girls, am I? I just want to get this mission done successfully and get rid of that bastard of a Dominic Dark. And it would be much easier to do all this if my 'dear husband' were not ogling every pair of nice legs that passed his way." Zack was slightly nettled. "Chill, geez. I have just as much experience and success in this job, I'll have you know. And.." he added somewhat nastily, "I happen to have a life too." Amy gave a contemptuous smirk, "Right...I suppose that some people are just more easy to amuse than others. I'm going to bed now." And she swept back to her room and shut the door behind her. Zack stared at the door with a mixture of indignation and grudging respect. No girl had ever had the guts to talk to him like that before. Certainly not exchange sarcastic insults with him, back and forth. He went back to unpacking, and soon had everything settled. He sat down on his bed and pulled out his magazine, idly flipping through the glossy pictures of tanned women in skimpy swimsuits. Maybe it was due to jet lag and tiredness, maybe something else, but for the life of him, Zack could not understand why his eyes were playing tricks on him, and how every luscious model had the same heartbreaking innocent yet intelligent little face crowned with short sapphire hair. Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Two Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Amy, always a light sleeper and early riser, was up at the crack of dawn. Immediately, she took a quick shower, did a few stretches, and dressed in navy dress slacks, an off-white sleeveless chiffon blouse with a Grecian goddess neckline. She also put on her special blue earrings, ring, necklace and glasses. Then, she flipped open her computer to check on the security about the premises. Satisfied that everything was normal, she poured herself a cup of coffee and sank down in one of the plush chairs in her and Zack's parlor, coffee in one hand, an apple in the other, the latest medical research journal open in her lap. This was how Zack found her, an hour later, when he got up. He stuck his head out of his door, still damp from the shower, and saw her curled up on the oversized chair, nibbling the apple, empty coffee cup on the table next to her. She bit her lower lip in concentration as she read. Zack grinned, there WERE some benefits to having this cute blue-eyed doll who had the guts to sass back at him, as his partner, after all. She was QUITE easy on the eyes. He smiled to himself, and silently walked up behind her. Despite Amy's concentration on her reading, she was not recognized as the most observant of Luna's girls for nothing. Despite the fact that Zack, similarly trained as herself, walked completely silently and stealthily, she immediately sensed a presence behind her, and when his hand came out to cover her eyes, hers shot out and grabbed it, stopping it midway to her face. Zack gasped as a dizzying set of sensations registered in his mind. First, the spark that shot up his arm when her hand touched his. Then, surprise...for a little wisp of a woman, she had a grip of steel! And finally, admiration...he had been one of the best trackers that had ever been trained in the past 50 years! But she seemed to have a built-in radar in the back of that silky blue head...which, close up, smelled like lemon and lavender and lilies and a thousand other pure, clean, refreshing things. For a moment, he felt a pang of shame for living the playboy lifestyle that was characteristic of him. Then, the feeling of regret disappeared when she turned her head and scowled at him. God, would it kill her to smile? Amy scowled at him. What did he think he was doing, trying to sneak up on her? She sighed inwardly. Out of all possible partners, she had one who was obviously the world's biggest philanderer. Great, that was all she needed, him being distracted by every pretty girl that passed his way. AND, she had to pretend to be the wife of this man, who undoubtedly wanted nothing more than to be a bachelor all his life, who would in all likelihood humiliate her by not giving her a second glance and flirting with each and every female above the age of 16? And why, oh WHY did he have to be devilishly handsome as well? With iron self-discipline and control, she raised her gaze from the lithe, strong form evident under the white linen shirt, and looked into the unreadable green eyes instead. "Good, you're up. What equipment have you for protecting Darien?" God, she should loosen up! Was it really necessary to interrogate him this early in the morning? Those tightly pursed lips could be used in far more...pleasant ways. "Emergency alarm, gun, daggers, surveillance buttons." He fished several normal-looking buttons out of a pocket, that could be attached to both the front and back of Darien's suit, and had built in cameras and recorders which could be monitored on his computer. Amy nodded. He continued, showing her that with a flick of his wrist, a small but deadly throwing dagger would emerge from the sleeves of his shirt into his hands. Two daggers up each sleeve, and one in each boot. Plus, his gun. "I've given Darien a call button just like you gave Serena. It'll be fine." Amy nodded cautiously. "All my jewelry is rigged in some way or another. Earrings contain poison. Pearls are tear gas capsules. Watch has built-in-radar, and is connected to the cams on Serena, so I can keep track of her at all times. Wedding band can be used to emit regular, infrared, UV and laser light. Glasses have built-in X-ray. I'll also have my gun, but rather than daggers, I work better with poisons." She took out a normal-looking blue mechanical pencil, the only distinction being that there was a band of a material resembling camera film around the grip. "This pencil can be used as a regular pencil by everyone, but as a deadly weapon, only by me. This filmy substance is actually a fingerprint ID. I put my finger there, then activate the system by twisting the eraser, and then, if I press the top, hollow needles filled with concentrated cobra and scorpion venom come flying out. The venom is about 20 times more concentrated than when found in nature. Suffice it to say, if your skin gets punctured by one of my needles, you are instantaneously paralyzed, and die within 5 minutes." Zack swallowed. "Aren't you afraid that you might accidentally hit someone you don't intend to hit with that?" Amy said, "I've been using this for 4 years, and practicing it for 6. Never had a misfire yet. And plus, the needles shoot through the air at the speed of a bullet. And are virtually invisible." She smiled coldly, "Targets don't even realize they had been hit...until they notice that first their fingers, then their arms and legs, and then their entire body, loses the ability to move. Then, they go into convulsions and die choking. I tend to save this for particularly rotten targets." Zack nodded slowly. 'Hmm...maybe, being on her bad side is REALLY not a good idea...' Amy continued. "Now that that's out of the way, we should get ready for work. I have already studied the plan for the building. You will be directly one floor above me. You must call me if you ever need anything, or if there is any suspicious activity." Amy looked beseechingly at Zack, "Look, I know that you don't like me, and that we have way too many differences in opinion and lifestyle and views, but we really need to work together and do a believable job of pretending to be married." Zack gave her a very thorough, piercing and appreciative look. "That will not be too hard, I can guarantee." Amy glared at him. "If you think that you can treat me like some slut you use for another one-night stand or a whirlwind relationship, think again. I'm not your plaything!" Zack sneered, "What, you can't even take a compliment? Not used to them or something?" Amy, outraged, did something that she had not done in 3 years. She lost her cool, and, quick as lightning, slapped him right across that handsome, infuriating face. She had not had all the combat and martial arts training for nothing. He staggered backwards, and almost at once a red mark appeared on his cheek where she had struck. Horrorstruck at her actions, and shocked that he was able to get such a rise out of her, Amy gasped. Suddenly, she ran to the bathroom, where there was a first aid kit. She came out a moment later with a cold pack in her hands and a wet washcloth. Gently but firmly, she made him lie down on the sofa, and applied the cold pack to his face. Zack looked up at her, and saw, for the first time, a softness in her limpid blue eyes, a look of apology and gentleness. Amy iced his cheek and jaw, then gently wiped it with the washcloth. "Zack, I am so, so very sorry. That was totally uncalled for. I should not have lost my temper, I should not have hit you. Or to imply that you are a worthless womanizer. Will you please forgive me?" Zack's eyes softened when they looked up into her beautiful face. "Well, I sort of had that coming. Don't worry about it. I should not have been so disrespectful towards you, either. You're a beautiful and smart woman, I should not have suggested otherwise." Amy ducked her head, feeling her cheeks warm. 'What's wrong with me?' Certainly, she'd been complimented before, quite frequently, actually. Then why did his words fluster her so? In fact, why was it that he affected her so? Long had she been desensitized by her job: a cold, ruthless, brilliant, efficient, beautiful killing machine, emotions shoved ruthlessly back. Something about him brought out her long-hidden humanity. She felt both freedom and fear at the idea, but temporarily tamped it down for later reflection. Meanwhile, she just finished wiping his face, noting with relief that the red mark was fading slightly, and proffered a slender hand. "Truce, then?" Zack grasped her small hand warmly in his own, grinning when a smile broke over her delicate features, illuminating her beauty like sunlight glinting on the surface of a calm ocean. "Truce." Who knew, his partner wasn't that bad after all. And together, they headed down for breakfast. * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Three Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Breakfast was a fairly uneventful meal. Both Amy and Zack briefly went over the different devices and items that they would be carrying, and told Serena and Darien exactly how they would be kept in surveillance. Zack still had a slight welt on his cheek, but if Serena and Darien noticed, they did not comment. Then, the four of them headed to Terrelunia Inc., main headquarters, for work: Amy and Serena in Serena's silver Lotus and Zack and Darien in Darien's black Jaguar. When they had arrived and parked, Amy installed a hidden camera on each car's rear-view mirror, and a program that would detect explosives, and cause an alarm to go off on both hers and Zack's cell phone, with a message sent to tell how long they would have before the bomb detonated. Amy knew that Demando had a partiality for blowing things up...two of his most powerful cohorts: both Saffir and Rubeus, had been bombers. But she, Lita and Raye had worked with their teams on creating numerous devices, pooling their combined and considerable amounts of knowledge. And such devices had, on more than one occasion, saved their lives. Zack had to grudgingly admit that she certainly had a plethora of useful gadgets. He personally preferred trusting his personal intuition rather than depending on technology. But to each his or her own, he supposed. After she was done, all four of them headed into the building, and planned to meet downstairs at noon for lunch together. Then, Darien gave Serena a peck on the lips, and he and Zack split up with Serena and Amy. ~ ~ ~ Serena led Amy to the entrance to her laboratory. "I must introduce you to my colleagues." Serena declared. Amy nodded. "Yes, but do not mention a word about the..special circumstances." She lowered her voice and whispered into Serena's ear, "I am Amy Winters. Age 26, PhD in Biochem from Harvard. Married to Zack Winters, age 28, MBA from Princeton. He is your husband's college friend, and both of us had recently transferred to Terrelunia Inc." Serena nodded in understanding, and the two walked into the lab. "Good morning everyone!" Serena called out cheerily, a wide smile on her pretty face. "I'd like y'all to meet the newest member of our team." Amy saw two men and one woman walk up to Serena and herself. First, a tall, dark-haired fellow who bore quite a remarkable resemblance to Darien, except his hair was longer, and his eyes were pale blue rather than Darien's cobalt blue ones. He gave Amy a polite smile and a firm handshake. "Soren Starr, a pleasure." Soren, she later found out, was 30 years old, with a master's degree in Genetic Engineering from the Boston University. Next, came a strikingly beautiful woman with a mane of moss-green hair and tranquil eyes the color of fine merlot. "Skylar Mason, glad to make your acquaintance." Skylar was 29, and Amy found out to her surprise that she, like Raye, had gone to Yale. In fact, as Skylar had a master's in Biophysics, the two had even shared some classes, although the two women had no more than a passing acquaintance with each other. Then, another man, with honey brown hair and a gentle smile, "Thane Starr, charmed." Thane was Soren's brother, 33, with a master's in Mathematics and another in Cellular Molecular Biology, also from Boston University. All three were very intelligent, courteous, cultured people, and each was in charge of a lab group, with Serena overseeing all of them. Amy was ushered into the office next to Serena's. "Here is your office. Because of your background in computer science as well as Biochemistry, you can work on the patents. Seriously, though, it should be fairly easy work. Would that be all right?" "That's perfect. Thank you, Serena." Amy agreed. It was enough work so that no one would get suspicious about her hanging about the place, but also easy enough so that she would have plenty of time and opportunity to monitor Serena. The morning passed rather quickly and peacefully. Thane seemed to be quite taken with the pretty, intelligent new member of 'the team', and under different circumstances, Amy would have been very flattered and might have considered a date or two with him. But she knew that first and foremost, she was on a mission, and secondly, she was supposed to be married to Zack. 'Pity, Thane seems like a mannerly, smart man. And when he looked at me he looked into my eyes, not at my chest. Which is more than I can say for someone else.' Meanwhile, Darien had also introduced Zack to his staff. His three main subordinates were two women and one man. The first woman was a tall, brash, tomboyish woman of 29 with a sarcastic sense of humor and a penchant for fast cars. Her sandy hair cut short as a guy's, she introduced herself as Anila Tennyson, no relation to the poet. She was the chief financial analyst, who got her MBA from Duke. The second woman, a beauty of 27 with a cloud of aqua green, wavy hair and blue-green eyes, a perfect body and roses-and-cream skin, who introduced herself as Meredith Kay, publicity manager, with a master's degree in psychology and a minor in music from Wellesley. Zack gave her a charming smile, and was about to be his debonair, flirtatious self when Anila, whose piercing ice-blue eyes seemed to notice everything, cleared her throat and gave a pointed look at the "wedding band" on his finger. Zack remembered his role, and for a moment felt a twinge of guilt. From then on, he treated Meredith no differently than Anila, with an impersonal, gracious courtesy. The man was 28, with longish white hair, which reminded Zack briefly of Kevin, except where Kevin was very tall and muscular this guy was slightly shorter and lankier. And instead of Kevin's serious, almost stony face, this guy's green eyes were bright with mirth. He introduced himself as Yen Starr, chief of accounting with a degree in finance from Boston University and mentioned that his two brothers Soren and Thane worked under Serena White. Soren was engaged to another of Serena's staff, a woman named Skylar Mason, but Thane was still single, Yen explained, most likely because he was the world's biggest geek. Zack glanced at a picture of the three brothers on Yen's desk, and saw that Thane was, despite his supposed geekiness, tall and handsome in a mellow, distinguished way, and was irritated to no end. That man would be working with Amy all the live-long day, until this assignment was over. This Thane character had BETTER realize that Amy was HIS wife...well, not really...but he better not...frustrated, Zack ran a hand through his hand through his hair. What was with him regarding Amy, anyway? Darien gave him an office close to his own, and the job of Ad management. All he had to do was to sift through ads, an easy job that gave him enough freedom and mobility to observe Darien and keep an eye out for trouble without arousing suspicion. So far so good, there had not been any suspicious people or events, and Zack divided his time equally for daydreaming about Amy, looking at ads, hating the unknown Thane, and watching Darien. Soon, it was time for lunch, and Darien and Zack headed downstairs to the lobby to meet Serena and Amy. As the two men were waiting, out of the corner of his eye, Zack noticed a janitor stare at them intently, then start watching the elevator. Something was not quite right, and the man seemed vaguely familiar...which was not a good sign. Zack saw Amy and Serena get off the elevator, and the janitor back into the shadows, confirming his suspicions. Darien pulled his wife in for a kiss, and Zack followed suit with Amy, kissing her briefly on the mouth, ignoring the sudden heat igniting in the pit of his stomach, then moved his lips to her cheek, and then her ear, taking the chance to whisper, "Your target, assassin at 10 o'clock." Amy gave a barely perceptible nod, playing along so that it looked like the two of them were sharing a tender moment, and scanned the room with half-lowered eyes as Zach kissed her jaw gently. Well! So there were some benefits to being 'wedded' to him, after all! She soon located the assassin. Imitating Zack's actions, she trailed her lips to his ear, "Got him covered. At lunch I'll break to go to the ladies' room, dispatch him, while you watch them two. I know he's going to follow us to wherever we're eating. Oh, and one more thing." She slipped off her wedding ring and handed it to him. "On the way from the kitchen to the table, food makes a trip." He nodded, and watched as she twisted one of the diamonds to emit a beam of UV light. "Poison phosphoresces under UV light." Zack nodded, and the two broke apart. Serena and Darien were looking at them in amusement. "You'd almost think that you two are a real couple." Serena declared. "That was quite cute, but would not a simple kiss have sufficed?" Amy and Zack glanced at each other. Well, they had been convincing at least. Too convincing...so convincing that for a fleeting moment, they WERE a young couple deeply in love, not just acting. But those fluttery, exhilarating feelings disappeared under the advent of the assassin. They had their work cut out for them. * * * 'K, that's the end of chapter 3!! REVIEW! REVIEW! Oh, and the wonderful, wonderful person who has me on their favorites' list, please e-mail me and tell me who you are..because you're AWESOME!! hehehe... Yeah, the next chapter in the works....til then, all good things come to ye! ~Thalia * * * Note on the names: If you have not picked up on it, Holly, Anila, Meredith and Skylar are what I have named the Outers (who have minor roles in this story....) Meanings.... Holly Thomas (Hotaru Tomoe aka Saturn): Holly plant (life in adversity) Anila Tennyson (Haruka Tenou aka Uranus): Child of the Wind Meredith Kay (Michiru Kaiou aka Neptune): Protector of the Sea Skylar Mason (Setsuna Meiou aka Pluto): Learned, wise one Similarly for the Starlights...(and I don't even KNOW their dubbed names) Soren Starr (Seiya Kou aka Starfighter): Warlike one Thane Starr (Taiki Kou aka Starmaker): The one who creates Yen Starr (Yaten Kou aka Starhealer): Soothing Yeah...this is just me having unhealthy amounts of time on my hands....^^;; Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Four Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Soon, they had all arrived at a nice, elegant Chinese restaurant and parked the cars in the parking lot . As Amy and Zack had suspected, the 'janitor' had trailed Serena's Lotus in an unmarked black car all the way to the restaurant, and was parked close by when the four of them had gotten out. Amy narrowed her eyes, and took a powder compact out of her purse. Nonchalantly, she walked past the car, and with a barely perceptible movement, dusted the door with the loose powder. Then, she walked past as nonchalantly as before to rejoin Zack. "What did you do?" Zack whispered to her. The two of them were walking behind Serena and Darien, hand in hand, looking every bit the newlywed, happily in love couple they were pretending to be. A passerby would simply see a handsome young man whispering sweet nothings into the ear of the lovely young lady next to him. "That powder is mildly radioactive. When he opens the door some will land on his body, and of course on his hand when he shuts the door." Amy took out a tube of lipstick, and twisted it, and pointed it towards the car. The powder, invisible to the naked eye, shone in green speckles under the beam . "He's not going to enter a classy establishment such as this dressed as a janitor. He will disguise himself, and this will just make my job easier. The stuff has a half-life of three hours, and by the time it is all decayed, he'll be lying in a bodybag." And with that, the four of them entered the restaurant. Amy kept her eyes peeled on the entrance. Just as the four of them had finished placing their orders, a man in a white shirt and charcoal slacks entered. He had sunglasses and scarlet hair. Amy flashed her lipstick at him, and tell-tale green flecks shone on his arms and legs. He moved to a secluded booth in the back of the restaurant, close to the bathrooms, and sat by himself, watching them silently. About ten minutes after the man had arrived, Amy excused herself to go to the bathroom. Grabbing her purse, she entered the ladies' room. Quickly, she put on some makeup and took a lace handkerchief out of her purse. She walked by a moment later, and dropped the handkerchief close by the man's table. Then, walking back to her own table, she told everyone that she was going to step out for fresh air. She was nearly to the door when she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to see the man with scarlet hair. She smiled, her target had taken the bait. "You dropped this, miss." He handed her the handkerchief. Thanking him graciously, she proferred a slim white hand with a smile. "Thanks, I'm Amy." The man held out an arm, as if to shake her hand, but suddenly, Amy felt a knife pointing at her torso, and the man removed his wig and sunglasses to reveal an unfortunately familiar face. Known as Peridot, the man, although not as powerful as Rubeus or Saffir, was still a formidable assassin. Thankfully, he did not seem to know that she was Agent Mercury, or else he would have stabbed her already. "Now, little lady, we're going to make a trip to that Lotus you and your friend came in " Peridot led Amy away from the restaurant door at knife-point. Amy knew that it would be foolish to move her hands; he would stab her in a heartbeat. So, obediently, she walked towards the Lotus. But she had a plan in her head. When they had reached the car, he took out a length of rope and bound her hands behind her back, then, in the instant that he lowered his knife to look for the key to the Lotus in her purse, Amy kicked the knife out of his hand. The knife sailed through the air, and Amy caught it securely in her right hand behind her back. The smile on her beautiful face would have been sweet and winsome had it not been so cold. "Now, now, haven't you ever learned...NEVER to underestimate the little lady?" With a flick of her wrist, she had used his knife to slice through her ropes, and in a flash, crouched in fighting stance with the knife pointed at him. He, shocked that this delicate-looking young woman had been able to break free, immediately dropped her purse and aimed a kick at her hand which held the knife. Amy, anticipating his move, dropped stance and did a sweep kick at his other leg. His kick sailed harmlessly past her shoulder. Amy knew that she could not afford to spend large amounts of time fighting with him: in all likelihood he was not the only one around, and she had to conserve her energy and get back to Serena as soon as possible. She fought back mostly in defense, and to keep him distracted so that he would not notice her whipping out an innocent-looking mechanical pencil in her free hand. Suddenly, in mid-kick, Peridot felt his muscles seize up. Collapsing heavily to the ground, he felt a burning hot, horrible pain in his thigh. Then a chilling numbness that spread throughout his body. With difficulty, he bent his head down a trifle, to see a silvery needle thin as a fiber optic embedded within his thigh. And then, he understood. He had heard of them before: four beautiful, brilliant women who'd had the most vigorous training and formidable educations in the nation, specifically hand-picked for their brains and beauty to be elite crime-fighter assassins targeting people like him. He cursed himself for not realizing it before: she'd been way too obedient, too cool-headed, when he had held her at knife-point. And then, his lungs seemed to be squeezed empty forcefully inside him. He started choking and wheezing, body jerking spasmodically on the ground. Amy gave him one cold look, picked up her purse from the ground, extracted an evidence bag and put in the knife and rope he'd used, then stuck it back into her purse and walked off without a backwards glance. In time, the local police would find the dead body, then find out that he was one of the nation's most wanted criminals, then they would call the FBI, get transferred to Luna's department, the department that every criminal justice official was in awe of, and every civilian only imagined existed. They would note how the man had been killed, and realize that it was one of those almost legendary elite agents that dispatched him. ~ ~ ~ Zack was becoming restless. Amy had not returned when the food had arrived. Briefly using her ring as she had shown him to ascertain that the food had not been poisoned, he waited on the edge of his seat, eyes hawklike focused on the door. When, in ten minutes, she had still not shown up, he set his teeth, strode out quickly, and met a grisly sight: A man, whom Zack recognized as the mysterious janitor, and identified to be a vicious assassin named Peridot who worked under Demando, was keening and writhing on the ground, bloody foam frothing his blue-ish lips. Amy's words returned to him: "Targets don't even realize they had been hit...until they notice that first their fingers, then their arms and legs, and then their entire body, loses the ability to move. Then, they go into convulsions and die choking. I tend to save this for particularly rotten targets." Speaking of Amy, there she was, looking slightly less impeccable and more mussed than before, putting an evidence bag into her purse. Zack felt relief: She was safe...she saw him, smiled, and walked up to him. Or was she?! A deep, jangling sense of danger struck him, a feeling that he had learnt throughout the years and countless assignments never to ignore. She seemed to feel it at the same time, too, for all of the sudden she stiffened. Out of the corner of his eye, Zack saw a stealthy figure to his left, about 8 feet away, half hidden by the shadow of a dumpster, and saw a gun in his hand. Almost without thinking, Zack gave a flick of his wrist towards the figure, then tackled Amy to the ground as a gunshot rang out. But only one. Then, there was the sickening noise of metal burying itself in flesh. Zach's dagger had sunk to the hilt into the second assassin's stomach. Amy and Zack stayed still on the ground for a minute, hearts pounding. Amy had started to catch her breath after her fight with Peridot and that close brush with death. But all of the sudden, she came to the stunned realization that Zack, the conceited casanova, her infuriating and infuriatingly handsome partner, had not only just saved her life, but...was lying on top of her, the arm that had not flung the dagger encircling her tightly. Her gratitude for the first was mixed with embarrassment: anyone passing would think that the two had been making out on the ground in public! And some inner rebellious part of her heart also managed to impishly say that the position, inadvertent though it was, was not an entirely bad feeling, before her head tamped down that thought mercilessly. Zack looked at Amy, pinned underneath him, her navy hair messy, her blouse wrinkled and dusty, her blue eyes huge, her cheeks crimson and her quick breaths tickling his ear. She looked more beautiful this way, trying to catch her breath, slightly mussed, than he thought was possible for anyone to look. Truly, Meredith Kay, or any of his previous paramours, could not compare. But now was not the time to tell her that. There were two dead bad guys lying around, one whose weapon needed to be collected and bagged. So he got up, and held out a hand to pull her up as well. Silently and quickly, they walked up to the assassin that Zack had just killed. It was another of Demando's assassins, Bloodstone. As Zack collected the gun in an evidence bag, Amy looked towards where they had just been on the ground. Past them was a tree, and there was a smoking hole in the trunk. Bloodstone was a notoriously good shot. Had it not been for Zack's tackling her to the ground, that bullet would have killed her. Zack rejoined her after bagging the gun. In that time, she had brushed most of the dust from her clothes and straightened out her hair. She walked up to him, and then did something that surprised both of them. Standing on her tiptoes to accomodate for his 6'1" frame, she dropped a light, gentle kiss on his lips. "Thank you for saving my life, Zack." She whispered. Zack smiled, somewhat shakily. Gods, was she cruel? Did she not realize the effect she had on him whenever they touched? She was not his, and yet, tempted him mercilessly with her light kisses! In a somewhat strained voice, he said to her, "You're very welcome. Let's return to the restaurant. I doubt that there will be any more attacks today, Demando, filthy rich though he may be, isn't that extravagant. Serena and Darien will be very worried." Amy nodded silently, and hand in hand, they walked back into the restaurant. * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Five Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Amy and Zack kept silent about the two assassins for the time being, just assured Serena and Darien that everything was now all right. They then waited for Amy to eat her now cold food, then paid, left and headed back to work. The afternoon passed uneventfully. Soon, they had reached Serena and Darien's mansion once again, and Amy was about to walk in when Zack gently stopped her with a tap on the shoulder. "Wait a moment, Amy." Amy looked at him expectantly. Zack gave her the most mischievous smile she had ever seen on someone NOT Mina, and dramatically fell on one knee after fishing her ring out of his pocket. In a melodramatic, stage-like voice, he said to her, replete with heavy sighs, "My darling, you are beautiful, you are lovely, you are gorgeous, you are stunning, you are hot, you are sexy..." Amy giggled, "If you need more adjectives, I have a pocket thesaurus in my purse..." Zack gave her a mock-glare, "Don't interrupt, woman! I'm on a roll here!" Reverting back to the melodramatic voice, he continued, "Of course, besides your outrageous good looks, you're also smart and nice and brave and caring. Oh, and did I mention that you're very pretty?" Amy arched a delicate eyebrow up, and noticed that Serena and Darien, watching them from behind, were both doubled up in laughter. "Yes, yes, thank you for the compliments. Are you trying to tell me something?" Her voice merry and amused. "My magnificent one, please accept this ring as a token of my eternal and undying love." Zack finished, his entirely solemn voice contradicting the laughter in his eyes. Amy burst out laughing, "Yes, I'd 'marry' you, but we're 'married' already." She let Zack slip the ring back on her ring finger. Zack's laughter joined hers, as he stood back up and stood by her side. "Well, I thought it was rather unfair. I was 'married' to a girl and didn't even get the chance to propose to her!" He winked roguishly. Amy laughed, then grew serious. "I wonder if any of us will really get married, with this lifestyle we live. We've the brains, the looks, everything. But that doesn't take away from the fact that we're killers. I've lost count of how many people's blood I have on my hands. And what man would want a wife who not only could kick his ass but, from her job description, could get killed any day? What man would want to have to be ready every day to explain to his kids that mommy got killed by some crazy psycho killer she was hunting after? What man would want a wife who masquerades as a prostitute to seduce an assassin?" Zoisite's eyebrows shot up. "You did that?!" Amy smiled wryly. "You better believe it. That's how I killed Rubeus. I was all trussed up in this tiny beaded top that was basically little more than a bra, and a tiny leather skirt. With blonde hair and brown eyes. Bleugh! I had to fawn all over him! I killed him with a kiss!" She shuddered at the memory. "I had special lipstick made, the man had deadly allergies to penicillin. He kissed me, and started to go into anaphylactic shock. I snapped his neck to put him out of his misery." Zack nodded slowly. He understood her concerns: He, too, although an inveterate playboy, had never had any long committed relationships, for the same reason. A one-night-stand had no strings attached. No one had any expectations of follow-up. But a real relationship...how could a woman ever want a man who could get killed any day? And not just any old criminal justice official, but a fucking James Bond in the flesh! A man to drool over on TV, but certainly not a 'honey-I'm-home' husband type. Unless...he looked at Amy, and thought about Kevin and Mina, and James and Raye. And when he spoke again, his voice was serious. "Amy, unless you find some other guy and fall in love with him and all that jazz, I promise you, that if you ever need a guy for a date some lonely evening, or to talk to, or whatever, I'll be there." Amy bit back a retort of "What, you'll manage to squeeze me between girls 14 and 15?" when she saw that he was absolutely serious. "Thank you." She said softly. Then, she smirked. "You're not as bad as I thought, pretty boy." Zack chuckled. Somehow, when she said it, he felt no offense at the epithet. Then, both of them realized that they were still standing outside. Zack opened the door for Amy, and the two walked in, to see two grim-faced people. Darien and Serena sat on the sofa in the living room, and Darien spoke up. "We were just watching the news. Breaking news came in that two of the FBI's most wanted assassins have been found killed in the back parking lot of the restaurant that we ate lunch at. One with a knife in his gut, the other with a poisoned needle in his thigh......is this what you two stepped out for?" Amy and Zack nodded silently. "The two were known as Peridot and Bloodstone. Both were Demando's thugs." Amy said. "Peridot was at Terrelunia Inc. and followed us to the restaurant. I stepped out with him and took him out with the poisoned needle. Bloodstone was his reinforcement. Zack killed him with a flying knife when he shot at me." "Yes, so now you know what you're up against. Admittedly, Demando is nearly finished. He had about 20 minions worth mentioning working under him originally. We, my fellow agents along with Amy's fellow agents, have taken care of 16 or so in the past 4 years, counting today. But yes, Demando is a ruthless little asshole. Which is why WE are here instead of two cops or something like that. These people aren't just a bunch of teenage gangsters who need to let out some excess testosterone. But," seeing the terror on Serena's face, he continued, "do not worry too much about it. Amy and I are two of the eight best agents this nation has to offer. The damned FBI doesn't even have any of us listed in their agent database, they save us for especially problematic cases. So, not to be cocky or anything, but we will be able to handle it. I promise." Darien and Serena nodded, slightly more reassured. Darien was about to launch more questions when Zack held up a hand. "Sorry, but we cannot tell you more. Even you, our clients, shouldn't know any more than is strictly necessary about us. Too dangerous." Darien and Serena understood, and the four went to have a thoughtful, silent dinner. ~ ~ ~ Meanwhile, in a secret room somewhere in northern California, a man with silvery lavender hair cursed when he saw the same thing on the news as Serena and Darien had. "Bloody hell, they've got one of THEM on their side." He was fairly sure that that bitch, Luna Felis, had sent one of her girls after Serena and Darien, although, to be sure, it could also be one of those bastards working for Artemis Cato. Now, that made his job considerably more difficult... He needed to find out exactly who was protecting Serena and Darien... * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Six Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Seven weeks passed with nothing out of the ordinary. No attacks on any of them, no suspicious characters, no assassin sightings. Zack, although enjoying the peace, felt uneasy. It was like the ominous lull before a storm, and he and Amy remained almost neurotically vigilant. He knew that this time, in the end, they would not just be killing off some of Demando's minions, but that they would eventually enter a showdown with the crazed criminal himself. Amy knew this as well, although she, like him, tried her utmost not to alarm Serena and Darien in any way. Although they hid it well, he could tell that both of them were still rather shaken by the incident at the Chinese restaurant. They had made Amy tell them exactly what had happened, and when informed that the assassin Peridot had wanted to break into Serena's car, they had turned extremely pale, and asked him and Amy what did they think Peridot wanted to do. Amy's speculation was that he had wanted to enter the car, hide in the backseat and then ambush her, and probably make her drive to Demando's hideout. Had Amy been, well, NOT Amy, Peridot would probably have forced her to open up the car door and then killed her and stowed her away in the trunk. Zack believed this hypothesis to be reasonable, and was very glad that Amy was Amy and thenceforth be able to stay alive. He and Amy were getting along far better now. Although they had had a somewhat unpromising start to their acquaintance, both found that they could learn to get along with each other with time. To be sure, Amy, the little wench, still insisted on calling him "pretty boy" and still gave him that prissy little frown every time that he acted in a way that she disapproved of, such as pay personal compliments to that cute maid, Holly. And he, for the life of him, did not understand why she was so bookish and serious at times, despite his best efforts to get her to loosen up. But there were also times when he felt great contentment. She, despite her bookishness and conservatism, was good company, understanding, witty, and nice to look at. She was a sophisticated, classy woman, but had her adorable, girlish moments as well. He remembered how, a week previously, he had just finished taking a shower, and turned the water off to hear tinkling laughter coming from the parlor they shared. The laughter grew louder with time, and he had come out to see what was so funny. Surprisingly, he found Amy curled up on the sofa, quivering with mirth, a COMIC book out of all things, in her hands. "Calvin and Hobbes, Amy? I'm surprised at you..." He had teased. She continued giggling, saying nothing. "Now, what's so funny?" He had asked her. Amy showed him the comic she was reading. The boy, Calvin, was looking whipped, his highly irate and scary babysitter was yelling at him. It was amusing, but not THAT amusing. "She reminds me of Raye, why, even has Raye's scowl!" Amy had explained, still laughing. She then proceeded to tell him stories about James' girlfriend that made him fervently and repeatedly pray that his friend would not do anything to piss her off. Punctuating her anecdotes with silvery laughter and dressed in denim shorts and a baby blue t-shirt with the word "Cutie" in silver glitter on it, she looked just like a little girl. Gone was the jaded, sharply smart woman, to be replaced by an innocent, lovable girl. She did not show this side of her very often, probably because it was a job liability, but at times, the little girl within would show her face. Today was such a day. It was Sunday, and everyone was having a lazy day at home. Darien and Serena had a swimming pool, and after doing several laps (she not only looked amazingly sexy in a bathing suit but swum like a fish) she had initiated a spirited water fight with him, blowing him raspberries whenever he missed her. Darien and Serena had laughed and joined in the fun, and soon all four of them were laughing like a bunch of crazy teenagers. It was now the afternoon, and the two of them were sitting comfortably in their parlor. Serena and Darien were having some "alone time" somewhere. Amy, to his great disappointment, had changed out of the nice blue and silver bikini she had on earlier, but her current garb still pleased him. Dressed in a white tank top and khaki shorts, she was sitting next to him on the floor, body comfortably nestled close to his. She cocked her head sideways to look at him, grinning impishly, "I think I won the water fight today." "Is that so?" Zack smirked. "I guess I will just have to do something about that, don't I?" He started tickling her, smiling when she squirmed and giggled and tried to break free. But he kept her where she was, and mercilessly tickled her sides. She laughed til tears sprung to her eyes, and raised her hands in surrender. "Peace! You win, Zack, peace!" Zack looked down at her. She was lying on the floor, her short hair tousled, her eyes dancing with merriment, a rosy flush on her cheeks. She was a winsome little girl and a smart, sophisticated woman all in one, a wholly enchanting creature, and he was in considerable danger of losing his heart and transforming him from the world's biggest player to the world's most besotted whipped boyfriend. But at that moment, he didn't give a damn. He smiled at her, and said softly, "Now, since I AM the winner, I think I'm entitled to some type of reward, don't you agree?" Amy felt her breath catch in her throat. Lord, did he have ANY idea of how that particular smile make her heart jump to her throat? All she could do was nod tremulously, all the while thinking that that particular smile should be illegalized. Zack gazed deeply into her peaceful blue eyes, and proceeded to shower her forehead, eyes, nose and cheeks with light butterfly kisses. Then, he pulled back slightly to look at her face. She was smiling up at him, a slightly bashful but blissfully content smile. And he lowered his head to kiss her firmly on her lips. He felt her sigh lightly against his lips, and then felt her slim fingers threading through his hair. Gods, the woman was driving him insane, and he was loving every minute of it. After a few more kisses, he broke away, and said to her in absolute seriousness, "Well, much as I hate to admit this, I think I actually owe that little bastard of a Dominic Dark one for being his crazy psychotic murderous self." "WHAT?!" He chuckled at her shock, then lowered his lips to hers again, "Had he been just another nice, harmless guy, I would never have met you." He felt her smiling when he kissed her. ~ ~ ~ Demando smiled cruelly at the redhead cowering in front of him. This Beryl girl was a silly, naive teenager with a crush on Darien. She was shy, untrained, easily influenced and unnoticeable. Perfect. She had never even met the object of her crush before, just seen him in a magazine. She knew next to nothing about him. Perfect...... He would send her to find out who was protecting Serena and Darien. Then, after she had given him the needed information, he would promise that as soon as he got rid of Serena, Darien could be hers. And then, he would kill her. She was not an assassin, hell, she didn't even look like she could kill a fly. She was just a stupid, cowardly little girl. No one would suspect her, or give her a second glance. It was perfect. Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Seven Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Beryl was on cloud nine whenever she thought of her current life. She had once written a long rant about her unrequited love for the tall, dark and handsome Darien White. She'd seen him in a magazine section about "Hottest execs", and had fallen in love. She was sure that she was in love, that it wasn't just a crush, because there was just something in his eyes that drew her like the moon drew water. Then, one day, she met this really well-dressed gentleman with silvery lavender hair, who had taken her out to dinner at an expensive dinner, given her champagne to drink, and then taken her to the mall, a fancy salon, and a spa. She'd lived in a trailer park all her 17 years of life: never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that someone would treat her like a princess. The guy introduced himself as Dominic, and his gentlemanly manner and the alcohol she had drank, she'd started talking about how she was in love with Darien White, and started crying. The man had then hugged her and comforted her, telling her that she was beautiful and desirable, and the only reason that Darien was married to another woman was because he had no idea that someone as lovely as her existed. He had provided her with anything she needed and wanted, and even provided her, free of charge, all of the fixes she wanted, and it was damn good dope too...not some shit mixed with baking soda or powdered sugar that peddlers often scammed her with. And not only that, he even wanted to help her get Darien! He told her that that little bitch, Darien's wife, had a someone protecting her, because she knew that she was an ugly hag and that many beautiful women like Beryl would want to kill her like she so deserved. But, since she'd met him before at a business conference, he could not go himself to find out who was protecting her, because her protector would know what he looked like and then kill him. But she, since Darien's wife had never seen her before, could be safe. She would be his spy, and then he would use the information she provided and get rid of Darien's wife, just for her! Then, Darien would be free for her taking! Beryl smiled, her eyes bleary and glazed as the high from the heroin she just snorted kicked in. Life was just wonderful! Not only did she have a rich, sweet, powerful man as her ally, who gave her any and every little thing she wanted, she would soon have the man she was in love with, and she was even involved in a glamorous mission! She remembered once when she was at a friend's house, they had watched a movie called James Bond, and in it there had been beautiful, sophisticated women who had helped him with his mission. Beryl giggled hysterically. She had the opportunity of a lifetime! What girl had a chance to be a "Bond girl", to work on secret missions? Boy, in twenty years, what a story she would have to tell her kids--her and Darien's kids... ~ ~ ~ A week later, once again Serena and Amy and Darien and Zack were going to meet downstairs in the lobby to go to lunch. Serena and Amy were already waiting in the lobby, chatting light-heartedly about the latest Biomedical research, when Darien and Zack, along with Anila, stepped out of the elevator. Serena and Amy quickly went to the elevator to greet them. As usual, Serena and Darien greeted each other with an affectionate hug and kiss, and Zack, with an impudent wink, grabbed Amy around the waist and twirled her around before tightening his arms around her in a warm, possessive embrace, then kissed her with surprising gentleness. Amy returned his kiss, then blushed crimson as Anila, standing close by, started chortling. "To think that I'd see a second pair of people as besotted with each other as Serena and Darien." She smirked. Meanwhile, Zack noticed, watching them intently, a redheaded girl of no more than 18. She was definitely not an assassin: she looked too nervous and untrained. But it was quite possible that she was a spy. In which case, the only thing to do was to act like any other employee couple. Drawing Amy close, he whispered what he saw to her, and she gave a tiny nod of agreement. Then, continued to talk nonchalantly to Serena about work, and make small talk with the tomboyish Anila. They decided not to pursue the potential spy, which would certainly alert Demando. Beryl watched it all going on from the other end of the lobby, close to the pay phone. She watched silently as the five went to the cafeteria for lunch, then called Dominic on the cell phone that he had given her to tell him what she saw. ~ ~ ~ "So, my dear Beryl, exactly what did you see?" Demando prided himself on his ability to keep his voice smooth and unruffled no matter what he was feeling. The girl, although she had her advantages, was getting to be a pest. Fancying herself some sort of Bond girl or something similarly ridiculous...but she was able to provide some rather interesting information... "So, yeah, like, that bitch Darien's wife and this other lady who works with her wait in the lobby for Darien and that lady's husband to join them for lunch, and the two guys come, but you know what? Like, I noticed a really strange thing." "Oh, and what might that strange thing be?" Demando continued asking her. "Well, like, there's this lone guy there, he's, like, rather pretty-boy-lookin' ya know what I mean? He came out with Darien and the other guy, that lady's husband." "Oh! Is that so? Pretty boy looking? Describe him." So it was most likely one of Artemis Cato's goons. Now, as soon as Beryl described him, he would be able to figure out which one it was. "Well, he was, like, tall, and smirked at the others, and said something that I didn't hear, cuz I was too far away from them, but, you know, I thought that I should have been far away, because, otherwise, they would, like, see me or something, you know?" "Yes, yes, I know. But, more about the guy, what color was his hair? His eyes?" "Well, it was kinda hard to see his eyecolor from far away, but I think they were blue, and he had short, sandy blonde hair." "I see." Demando allowed a sadistic smile to come onto his face. Agent Jadeite, the blasted, arrogant agent who killed his right-hand-man Saffir. Not that Saffir had been able to tell the story, but Agent Jadeite had by mistake been careless and allowed a hair of his to be left behind at the scene of the crime. A hair that Demando had had collected. After extensive tests and research, Demando was able to acquire considerable information about that particular Agent. Information which would be highly useful right now. "Thank you, Beryl. You have done well." "Thanks, Dominic." Beryl giggled. "D'ya think that I can be a Bond girl? D'ya think I'm pretty and smart enough?" "Of course you are, my dear." Dominic gave a sarcastic smirk that could not be detected through his voice. "Now I shall have my limo come to pick you up, and give you your fix. I'm sorry that you couldn't get that this morning but you know that Darien's company is a biomedical company and if you try to go in smelling like drugs, Darien's wife would call security." "Yeah, I know. I'll be waiting at the door then. Peace out!" Beryl turned off the phone and walked to the door. A short while later, a limo showed up, and she climbed in. The driver handed her a small bag of white powder, and, as Demando had ordered, waited for her to snort the drug, then drove off. When the limo had reached Demando's secret hideout, Beryl was dead in the backseat. She had inhaled, not the usual heroin, but powdered and purified Ethyl Nitrite, a fatal inhalation poison. * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Eight Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = A/N: To clear a few things up which might have seemed ambiguous in the last chapter...sorry if that caused any confusion...Beryl is very stupid. She saw, from far away, Serena and Darien, Amy and Zack, and standing off to the side, Anila (aka Haruka/Uranus). Whom she thought was a guy and the agent. Whom she then described to Demando. Who thought she was talking about Agent Jadeite. Yes, she is very stupid. Which I had tried my best to make apparent. As for the many people who want me to to know when I update...I update every day. =) So check every day =) * * * Demando thoughtfully stroked his sharp chin with his long, ivory-pale fingers. Now, the agent he was up against wasn't stupid. And like the entire bunch, probably paranoid now that Peridot and Bloodstone had already made appearances. He sighed in irritation: he was running out of good assassins, the ones he had left had no chance against the agent if he was able to dispatch both of them. No, he had to do it in a way that would make it look like some freak accident...hmm...... Demando suddenly remembered Rubeus. Rubeus, Saffir, Esmeraude...his most powerful followers. All gone now. A firebrand, and a reckless, arrogant one at that, Rubeus had at times been a royal pain, but he had been fearless and loyal. Saffir was equally ruthless, but more calculated, less explosive, cold versus Rubeus' heat. A man who truly gave the definition to the phrase "evil genius". Esmeraude, he suspected, had a rather strong crush on him. She was rather tiresome at times, simpering and flirting with him, but she did have a hard head for business and despite her Southern-Belle coy flirtatiousness, no basic compassion or softer feelings for others. Which was very useful to him as well. She, the fool, had started a gun war with the bastard Kunzite, who had more sharpshooter medals than L.A. had skyscrapers, and was a blasted William Tell with a gun. Needless to say, she was shot...so riddled with bullet holes that she was virtually unrecognizeable. He sighed, then smirked. Esmeraude had always made sure she looked stunning...to think that when she died, she was little more than a bloody pulp. Oh well, he shrugged, at least she had died quickly. Saffir was not so lucky. He'd managed to capture that fiery-tempered little spitfire Mars and strap a bomb onto her, but it just so happened that he had way too much confidence in his bomb-making abilities, and left her alone. The little bitch had managed to defuse the bomb, then surprise him by punching and breaking his nose. At that moment, that blasted agent Jadeite had arrived, furious that Saffir had taken Mars, and had also started to rough on him. Saffir had been careless and although he had taken away her gun and the dagger she had hidden in her boot. However, she had worn a pair of silver chopsticks in her hair and, when he had tried to shoot at her, she had somersaulted into the air, hands flying to hair to take out the chopsticks, and had stabbed him with them. He'd died in agony. As for Rubeus, he had been poisoned by a tube of penicillin lipstick...one of Luna's bitches had found out that he was fatally allergic to penicillin, and had given him a veritable kiss of death before snapping his neck. This one was more careful than agent Jadeite, and had made sure not to leave any traces of her behind. Demando had yet to find out who she was. All of the sudden, he smiled. It was absolutely brilliant! He had found out some very useful information about the agent Jadeite. Although otherwise perfectly healthy and fit as a fiddle, Jadeite was diabetic. Now, it would be a simple matter for one of his assassins to slip sugar into his food, then, when he was weakened, to send three to finish him off. Then, he could easily grab Serena and Darien. And THEN, the fun begins... ~ ~ ~ "Good morning everyone." Darien greeted his wife, Amy, Zack, Anila, Meredith, Yen, Thane, Soren and Skylar. It was the monthly informal meeting at a local cafe, to discuss business and whatever else they felt like talking of. He surveyed the people present. As usual, Anila and Yen were bantering; exchanging good-natured insults back and forth. Had he not been more daring, Darien would have inserted a comment about the two flirting with each other, but that would have caused Anila to fly at him and possibly incapacitate his reproductive system for such a ridiculous and impertinent suggestion. Thane and Meredith were fairly quiet, as was their nature. Serena, as always, was glowing...even more so. That morning, she had given him wonderful news: she was expecting! He felt a wave of tender love as he looked into his wife's cornflower blue eyes. Speaking of love...he looked at Amy and Zack. She was feeding him chocolate covered espresso beans, and smiling. With Zack around, Amy was a good deal less serious, more cheerful. Darien smiled to himself, it was quite romantic and sweet that two agents who had been sent to protect himself and Serena, two people with very different personalities, who had never met before, were unmistakeably falling in love. He watched as Zack grabbed Amy's hand that was feeding him the espresso beans, and laid a gentle kiss on each fingertip. She blushed, then interlaced her fingers with his. Darien's gaze shifted to Soren and Skylar. The two, although very chary with public displays of affection, were very devoted to each other. At the moment, they sat side by side, heads touching and bent over an article in a medical journal. They were waiting for their food and drinks to arrive. Soon, a waiter came up to them, with a trayful of drinks. A cappuccino for him, a glass of lemonade for Serena, mint tea for Amy, hot chocolate for Zack, a peach-mango smoothie for Meredith, caramel mocha for Thane, green tea for Skylar, orange chai for Soren, iced tea for Yen, and coffee for Anila...Coffee which, as soon as she tasted it, she screwed up her face and spit it out. Amy, ever alert, grabbed Anila's coffee cup and examined the coffee closely. "What's wrong with the coffee?" Anila made a face. "I always drink black coffee, but someone just dumped a shitload of sugar in here." Amy's eyes widened, then narrowed. "But why would they do such a thing? There's sugar and sweet-n-low here at the table, as well as creamer. They should give you black coffee as a default." She chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought. Zack, too, looked deep in concentration, his brow slightly furrowed. Then, all of the sudden, his eyes flashed in grim comprehension. He started whispering rapidly in Amy's ear... ~ ~ ~ "I think I know what is going on." Zack whispered into Amy's ear. "Do you remember that red-haired girl in the lobby that day, watching us intently? She must have been a spy of Demando's, to try to figure out the identity of who killed Peridot and Bloodstone. She must not have been a very important or skilled spy, because Demando did not want to risk losing any more important followers. She saw Serena and Darien, and you and I, and didn't think much of us. If you remember, that day, Anila was also standing with us, although a little ways off and by herself. The redhead, from far off, could not see her that clearly, and probably thought that she was a man, and that she was the agent. And then, she probably gave the description of the agent as a 'guy with short sandy blond hair'. And Demando must believe, from that description, that Agent Jadeite is the one protecting them." Zack's voice lowered slightly and was even grimmer. "I don't know if you know this, but James is a diabetic." Amy gasped. So THAT was Demando's plan now. As he no longer had many skilled assassins under him, Demando did not want to send off any more to get killed by whoever was protecting Darien and Serena. Instead, first, he would weaken the agent protecting the two, then make his move. "Thank God that it was not in fact Jadeite." She whispered back to Zack. "I bet you anything that there are assassins out there right now, lying in wait to overcome 'Jadeite'. But first, summon the waiter. We need to know who put the sugar in that cup." Zack nodded, then said, aloud, "Hey Anila, why don't you complain to the waiter about the coffee? Maybe they will replace it." Anila shrugged, "Er, okay. I was just going to drink it, but sure, why not? Waiter! This coffee, you put sugar into it! I don't like sugar in my coffee!" She called out loudly. The waiter and the cashier both strode up to the table. Both of them suddenly got very unpleasant looks on their faces. And in an instant, Anila found a gun cocked at her head. The spunky woman, although scared, had enough strength to say, in a tight voice, "What the fuck is the meaning of this?" The waiter and cashier, as well as a 'customer' in a nearby table, all drew out guns. "The next person to move is dead." The cashier said in a menacing voice. The waiter jerked Anila roughly to her feet, gun still at her temple, and turned away to steer her towards the door. Amy and Zack exchanged a glance. It was time to come out in the open. Amy hissed to the people at the table, "When I give the signal, all of you DUCK!" Everyone, petrified with fear, nodded slightly. "NOW!" All of the sudden, the waiter who had captured Anila gave a cry and fell forward, a knife imbedded in his back. Anila sprang away, but not before catching the assassin's gun as he fell. Wildly, she fired at the cashier, landing a bullet in his arm. Cursing, he shot at her, but Zack had sprang into the air and landed a kick to his head, felling him. By then, Amy's gun was out, and the cashier took a bullet full in the chest, and was dead before he hit the ground. When he fell, he had crashed into the third thug, and knocked the gun out of his hand. Zack quickly kicked it out of his reach, under the table where Serena and the rest of them were hiding. Amy somersaulted into the air as well, and together with Zack, faced off with the assassin. He kicked at the gun in her hand, and she put a bullet through his foot. Screaming in pain, he collapsed to the ground. In a flash, she had crouched down on the floor next to him, her gun, as well as Zack's, aimed at him. "Have fun in hell!" She smiled at him before coolly and deliberately putting a bullet through his head. ~ ~ ~ "So let me get this straight. Some psychotic badass is after your butts, and Zack and Amy are actually agents who are here to protect you guys?" Anila said in disbelief afterwards. Amy, who was putting away the assassins' guns in evidence bags, nodded. "And, what's more, they thought *I* was the agent, because I look like another agent, and they stuck that shitload of sugar into my coffee because that agent happens to be diabetic." Amy sighed. "Yes, more or less. Now, this information must not be disclosed. Zack and I will install some devices to ensure your safety. These assassins have been killed, so I daresay that your identities will not be known. Now, remember, NO MATTER WHAT, we are just regular employees working at Terrelunia Inc." Everyone nodded in understanding. No business was discussed at that meeting. ~ ~ ~ "AAAAUURRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! DAMN AND BLAST!" Demando cursed. His three assassins Topaz, Tourmaline, and Obsidian had all been killed by the blasted agent. Desperate times called for desperate measures. No longer would he go after the agent, or even Serena and Darien. Instead...Demando smiled sadistically and cruelly to himself...he would have Serena come to him voluntarily. He looked around him. One single good assassin left...the best of the bunch after Rubeus, Saffir and Esmeraude. Aquemireen, real name Adrian Negre, was a fencer, a 3rd degree black belt in ju jitsu and a chemistry expert who specialized in poisons. At the age of 31, the handsome, ice-blue-haired man with greenish blue eyes looked like an angel. But he was no angel. Aquemireen was as cold and ruthless as Saffir had been, a man who would have looked a 3-year-old child in the face and then shot him without a single twinge of conscience. Truly, a man after Demando's own heart, or lack thereof. Besides Aquemireen, he had four thugs. Not very smart, or even very good at fighting, but good enough to add an element of brute force. This would be it...the final show-down. He summoned all of his minions to him and started giving them a set of very specific directions. ~ ~ ~ Irene Argent, Serena's mother, was setting her freshly baked cherry pie on the table when the doorbell rang. "I wonder who it is..." Irene wondered. She opened the door a crack, and all of the sudden, someone pressed a wet cloth tightly against her nose and mouth. Irene, a former biology and chemistry professor, recognized the smell. "Chloroform..." was her last conscious thought before she passed out unconscious. ~ ~ ~ "Good morning, Terrelunia Inc. Serena White speaking, how may I help you?" "Good morning Serena." Serena's face grew ashen. Dominic Dark was on the phone! Without hesitation, she took the alarm button that Amy had given her and pressed. A moment later, Amy, gun drawn, ran into the room. "Oh my God, Demando's on the phone!" Serena gasped. "Yes, how nice to know that you still recognize my voice." Demando laughed chillingly. "Look at your computer screen." Serena numbly obeyed, and the sight that greeted her caused her to start sobbing. Her mother was tied to a chair, her mouth duct-taped shut. "I do believe that I have something here that you want." Amy's eyes widened in horror, then narrowed in hate. Serena sobbed into the phone, "How much money do you want, Demando?" "Oh, but I do not want any money, my darling." Demando drawled. "I have a proposition for you. And I think that it's a reasonable one." He paused, and in the computer screen, Serena could see him with a savage smile on his sharp face. "You, my darling, will come to my place. In return, I will let her go. However, you must not bring any other...visitors. I shall only allow you inside. And only when you have entered will she be set free. Do not think of sending another blue-eyed blonde to take your place, I will be checking fingerprints. You have six hours to think about my offer. But! Let me remind you...if you refuse, I will ruin you and that husband of yours...when the news gets out that you let your mother get kidnapped and killed and you did not pay any ransom, you can kiss that business of yours good-bye." His predatory smile, even on the computer screen, seemed to sweep over her. "I look forward to seeing you, my sweet." Abruptly, both the computer screen and the phone went dead. Serena collapsed onto her desk, her head on her arms, crying bitterly. Amy patted her back consolingly, her brain working rapidly on a plan. ~ ~ ~ Soon, Darien, Zack, Amy and Serena had gathered in Serena's office. Everyone had been informed of what hadtranspired, and listened to Amy's plan. Amy was going to have the people working in the lab to create a pair of prosthetic hands for her, prosthetic hands that had Serena's exact fingerprints, along with other things. In short, she planned to turn herself into a perfect replica of Serena, and go in Serena's place to Demando's. Then, after Irene Argent was set free, she would have a showdown with Demando. Zack would drive her there, and be the 'chauffeur' in the car to take Irene home. He could also kill any guards at the entrance after Serena's mother had been secured. Meanwhile, Amy had called Mina, and she and Kevin had promised to come over immediately, and protect Serena and Darien while Amy and Zack were at Demando's. "Amy! That's insane! You'll get killed, I won't allow it!" Zack shook his head adamantly. Amy looked up at his face: the concern in his green eyes warmed her heart. "You know that you're going to pass through a metal detector, get searched, the whole works...you won't be able to have your gun or anything! This is suicide!!" Amy gave a smirk, "I've faced death many times, it's part of my job, and it's never stopped me before. I know the risks associated. This time is no different from several other previous missions." Zack smiled sadly at her. She was standing next to him, her blue head against his shoulder. She smelled like lilies after a spring rain. Wearing a blue-gray dress with a white chiffon overlay, she had the ethereal, guileless beauty of a water-nymph. Bending his head, he whispered into her ear, "But it is different this time. In previous missions, you didn't have a man who was deeply and desperately in love with you waiting for you outside, knowing full well that you were alone in there facing a madman, that at any moment, you could be killed." Amy gave his hand a squeeze. He loved her...and she loved him. She was not sure exactly when they two had stopped "acting" like they were in love and acted in earnest. All she knew was that...she loved him with all her heart. Underneath his casanova tendencies was a sensitive, courageous, caring man who truly understood her. The missing half of her soul. She looked deeply into his beautiful green eyes for a moment, conveying in her gaze her love for him, reassurance and sorrow. "There is no other way, Zack. I need to do this." Zack sighed. He knew that she was right. She was right more often than not. But......he looked at Serena and Darien. The two had sympathy and understanding on their faces, and sorrow as well, for through the course of this mission, they had become friends. Serena's face was a mix of emotions: but included in that mix was a look of hope...hope that her mother might be rescued. Finally, his eyes full of pain, he nodded slowly. ~ ~ ~ They got to work immediately. Within hours, they had made for Amy a voice device, prosthetic hands, contacts, a wig and a mask. Mina and Kevin had arrived, and taken Serena and Darien away to the agency. Amy stepped into the bathroom with her new lab-created implements and the pink floral dress that Serena had worn that day, and emerged looking like Serena's twin. By the time the phone rang again, everything was ready. "So, darling, have you made your decision yet?" Demando, an arrogant smirk on his face, asked. Amy, in Serena's voice, had said in sorrow and resignation, "Yes. I agree to your proposition." "Excellent, I knew you would see it my way." Demando grinned. "However, I have one request, which I believe is for your good as well as mine. I'm going to your place myself, it will not be necessary to have me picked up. Because I don't trust anyone YOU might send. And also because you should know that this place will soon be swarming with police, and your goons will just get arrested, and then my mom will get killed." 'Serena' logically said. Demando considered. "Fine. However, no one must come out of your car except for yourself, and your mom will not be set free until you have stepped inside. If anyone else even sticks a finger or foot outside the vehicle, she will be killed." "Agreed. Now, how do I get there?" ~ ~ ~ Zack sat in the driver's seat of Serena's silver Lotus, looking at the blonde girl sitting next to him. Even with an entirely different face, Amy's spirit shone through, at least to him. Her face was blank. Controlled. She had no more idea than she did about the mission's outcome. Soon, they arrived at the gate of Demando's secret hideout. Amy turned her head and looked at him. "Zack, in a moment, those gates will open, and we will both be silent. I will be led in, and Serena's mother will be let out and led to this car. As soon as she is safely situated in the car, tell her to cover herself entirely with the blanket in the backseat. It's made of Teflon. Then, try to dispatch as many agents as possible. Don't try to come after me, just make sure that Serena's mother is safe." Zack nodded. Amy continued, her voice no longer businesslike, instead, quivering with rare emotion. "And Zack, I need to tell you something before I go in." Gently, she used 'Serena's' hands to hold his face. "I love you, Zack." Tenderly, she leaned in and caught his lips in a soulful kiss. He kissed her back fiercely, although the feeling was a little off. 'Serena's' lips didn't feel the same as Amy's under his. But the love was there. Then, without another word, they drove in. * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Nine Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Demando watched on the surveillance screen as Serena stepped out of her car, and walked slowly, her arm held by one of his bigger thugs, to the door. She put her hand to the fingerprint identifier, and it scanned positive. He flipped a switch, and the door opened. Irene was led to the door, and mother and daughter looked sorrowfully at each other. Irene grabbed Serena's hands, and they seemed to argue briefly, then Serena said something to Irene, and Irene, with an averted face, slowly walked out. ~ ~ ~ "Serena!" Irene had gasped, when she saw her daughter approach her, guarded by a huge man. "Honey, go back home, mommy will be fine, you don't need to do this..." 'Serena' walked up to Irene and grasped her shoulders. "It's too late for that now. GO. Just do as I say, and go. Everything will be fine, I promise you." Irene looked suspiciously at her daughter for a moment. Something was off. True, she had the same blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes as Serena, the same features, everything. But the look in her eyes...too jaded......too coolly calm. Irene's eyes flashed in comprehension. 'You're not my daughter'. Amy saw a flash of understanding in the older woman's eyes, and gave an almost invisible nod. Irene felt a mix of worry and relief, but Amy gave her a gentle but firm shove towards the door, and she walked slowly towards the silver Lotus. Entering, she saw a wary-eyed, handsome young man with long dark-blonde hair. "Sit in the back, and cover your entire body with that blanket." He said, no preamble. Irene gazed at him curiously. "Exactly who are you two?" "I'm an agent, here to get rid of these bad guys." He said laconically. "And that girl? She looks exactly like Serena, but she's not. A mother can tell." "I love her." That was all Zack would say. His eyes were peeled on the guard standing about two feet away from the car. Out of his briefcase, he took a pair of x-ray glasses. The man had nothing but a gun. "Stay low and keep your whole body covered with that blanket on all sides." He said firmly to Irene. Then, his own gun in his hand, he quietly stepped out of the car and shut the door. Moving with the stealth and grace of a panther, Zack slowly crept towards the guard. A moment later, there was the click of a gun's safety catch turned off. The guard spun around, and caught the bullet in the chest. He fell with a cry, and Zack grabbed his gun. In an instant, alerted by the gunshot and cry, twenty or so more guards came running. Zack, in turns rolling on the ground and vaulting through the air, shot with both hands. Bullets flew around him on all sides, but with sheer luck, he managed to come out unscathed, and the ground was littered with dead bodies riddled with bullet holes. But it was not over yet. At that moment, a man with pale blue hair emerged from the building. ~ ~ ~ Meanwhile, Amy had been led to Demando's room by a guard. Amy had been fingering her left earring the entire way there. She had not brought her poison pencil since with Serena's fingerprints she wouldn't be able to use it. But when they had reached the door of Demando's room, she had taken off her earring, and, with a cobra-like speed and ferocity, stabbed the guard in the arm, squeezing all the poison in her earring into the wound. Before the guard could react, she had stepped into Demando's room and slammed the door. The guard would be dead in10 minutes. "Ah, my darling Serena, welcome to my humble abode." Demando said mockingly. 'Serena' glared at him hatefully. He stepped towards her, and touched her cheek. She slapped his hand away. "Filthy bastard!" Demando laughed. Her total hatred of him was almost a turn-on, in a twisted way. He firmly grabbed her arms to keep her immobile, and then pressed his face down towards hers to kiss her. But she twisted out of his grasp and as the flat of her right palm came in sharp contact with his nose, breaking it, her knee came up fast and hard to his groin. He doubled over in pain for a few moments, then straightened up again, his eyes flashing with rage, his face cold and cruel despite the blood flowing from his nose. She spit in his face, then crouched down in fighting stance. Demando stared at her for a second, then comprehended. "You're not Serena." "Damn right I'm not, bastard!" Amy replied. He gave a howl of rage, and launched himself at her. She met his attack with her own, and soon the two were fighting fiercely around the room. Demando aimed a high kick at her chest, and she rolled out of the way onto his desk. Suddenly, she felt something cold and metal under her back. With a quick movement, she had the letter opener slipped into her sleeve. 'Zack-style'. The two were battling it out. Demando was throwing various items from around the room at her. So far, she had ducked a candlestick, a paperweight, a vase, a clock and a picture frame. But Demando was very skilled, and she had a bruise on her cheek to prove it. She was quick and agile, but lacked a bit of his strength. Amy decided that that was enough fighting for a while, and when he had left his torso open to attack while he was changing stances, she fired the flying letter opener at him. It sunk in with a sickening sound. Demando felt a quick, intense pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw, sunk to the hilt in his chest, his letter opener. Coughing up a trickle of blood, he sank to the ground, and looked in defeat at 'Serena'. His voice starting to fade, he asked quietly, "Who are you?" Amy, exhausted, watched Demando crumple to the ground, and heard his question. "Agent Mercury." She said in a succinct voice, one hand peeling off the mask and wig to reveal navy blue hair and big blue eyes on a highly intelligent face. "A---worthy--adversary....I salute you...." Demando wheezed out. His vision was getting cloudy. "When you--get out of here....tell--tell Serena that---I have---always loved her." And with that, Demando, the callous and cruel criminal, died, with a bit of humanity at the end. Amy gave him one last glance before turning away. Amy stepped out of the room and quickly exited the building. She ran over to the car, calling out gleefully, "He's gone now! He's dead!" Her joy turned to horror when she saw Zack lying on the ground, Irene hovering over his unconscious form. ~ ~ ~ Aquemireen had seen from the surveillance camera the carnage that had taken place outside, and had stepped out after those worthless fools had all been killed, no use being hit by a stray bullet. He saw Zack standing over the many dead bodies on the ground. An agent. But a single agent. Alone. Aquemireen smiled to himself. The agent had just killed 20 men. He was very good, but he would be tired. Rapidly assuming fighting stances, the two faced off. After the first few hits, Aquemireen suddenly hit him on the jaw, and in the few seconds that Zack had his mouth open, he flung in a tiny white pill. At that very moment, Zack had imbedded a knife in his belly, and said to him, "You're a dead man." Aquemireen smiled despite the fact that he was dying. "As are you." He managed to choke out before breathing his last. Zack did start feeling peculiar, a burning feeling in his throat, and nausea. He stumbled to the car and collapsed half a foot away from the door, falling to the ground with a thump. Irene had watched the fighting from the car window, and all of the sudden she saw Zack fall down right outside the car window. She rushed out, and bent over him. "Are you all right? What happened?" Zack choked, his skin becoming cold. "Poison" He finally spat out, before passing out. Irene gasped, then looked him over very carefully, checking his pulse and breathing. "Corrosive Sublimate." she muttered to herself. She ran towards the nearest dead body and checked in his pockets. Empty. "Damn!" She checked another's, still empty. Then a third. A pack of cigarettes. "Perfect!" Irene quickly took out a cigarette and pulled it apart, wadding up the tobacco in her hand. She ran back to Zack's prone form, and forced some of the tobacco down his throat. At that moment, a blue-haired, blue-eyed girl with a beautiful, milk-white face walked out, and ran towards the car. Irene recognized her as the girl who had been diguised as Serena. Her smile vanished when she saw Zack lying on the ground. "Oh my God what happened?" She demanded "Poisoned by a corrosive sublimate. I just forced a bit of tobacco down his throat." Irene informed the girl. "It's an antidote, and will temporarily keep the poison from killing him." "Yes yes I know." Amy said in a daze, fingers flying on her cell phone numbers. Within minutes, an emergency chopper showed up, picked them up and took them to the hospital. There, as Irene called Serena to tell her that she was safe, and that Demando had been killed, Amy sat in the waiting room, tense and pale, beads of sweat on her brow, as she waited for the doctors to flush and remove the poison from his system. It was a terrible few hours for her. Even when she had been fighting Demando, or being pursued during other missions, she had never felt so scared before. Within an hour, Serena and Darien, accompanied by Mina and Kevin, arrived at the hospital. Serena gave a wild cry of happiness when she saw her mother alive and well. The celebratory mood was ruined when she saw the stricken look on Amy's face. All of them were silent. Amy had never, ever, in their recollection, held such a look of terror and hopelessness on her face. An uncomfortable silence built in the room, but Mina stepped up to her friend and gave her a hug. "Irene's a chemistry professor." Amy nodded restlessly and wordlessly. No one made any more small talk, every eye was fixed on the hospital room. Minutes passed, that seemed like hours, and finally, an exhausted but jubilant doctor stepped out. "He's going to be just fine. He's awake now, and asking for Amy." * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Ten Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Zack was lying on the hospital bed, his face pale, his dark blond hair out of its customary ponytail and hanging in limp tangles about his head. He looked like someone who had just been seriously ill, but there was a shadow of his usual lady-killer grin on his face when he saw Amy run into the room. She was still wearing Serena's dress, a little pink number that was slightly loose on her, and slightly short. Amy was taller and just a trace more lithe and muscular than Serena. The rose-colored dress was wrinkled, torn in a few places. Amy herself...her sapphire eyes were huge on her face...on her cheeks there were traces of...tearstains?! Since when had Amy, strong, rational, level-headed Amy cried before? But she was smiling now. In a flash she was by his side. For a moment, neither of them could speak. Then, she spoke. "You look like shit, pretty boy." Though her words were mocking, her voice was quivering with all of the pent-up emotion that she'd been holding in all day long. "Look at yourself, hon." He laughed weakly. He lifted a cold hand from the bed to touch the bruise on her cheek. "So, exactly what happened in there that I missed? Get rid of Demando?" Amy nodded, "I was led in, Irene realized that I wasn't Serena, but was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. I was led to Demando's room. At the door, I stabbed the guard with my poison earring, then slammed the door in his face. Demando tried to kiss me, I broke his nose and kneed him in the groin..." "Are you suggesting that the fruity little bastard actually has any balls...?" Zack interjected insolently. "ZACK WATERHOUSE!!" A shadow of her severe former self reappeared, and Zack found himself laughing slightly. He DID have a thing for prudish-librarian-types after all. "Continue...so you permanently unmanned him. Then?" "Then he, too, realized that I was not Serena. We started fighting. The bruise is from when he threw a picture frame at me and I caught a corner of it on the cheek. Then, when he aimed a roundhouse kick at my chest, I leaned backwards on his desk to dodge it, and felt his letter opener under my back. So I slipped it up my sleeve." "Learning my tricks, I see." Zack murmured. "Then?" "When he was changing stances, I flung his letter opener at him, and it caught him in the chest. He fell, asked who I was, and then...then he said that...when I got out of there, to tell Serena that he's always loved her." Zack was silent, his mind processing this last bit of information. Amy's voice broke through his thoughts. "And what about you? Who poisoned you? Which one of those bastards will I have to kill painfully?" Zack gave a wry smile. "Been there, done that. Anyway, after Irene was secured in the car, I snuck up on the closest guard and shot him, then took his gun. After that, a bunch of them came running, and so I shot all of them while trying to not get shot. After that nice little gun war, Demando's last assassin showed up. Aquemireen. We fought it out and he flung a pill into my mouth just as I flung a knife into his stomach." "Corrosive sublimate. Temporary antidotes include tobacco, caffeine, and camphor." Amy murmured to herself. "Yeah, something of the sort. I managed to stagger to the car, then Irene came out and asked me what just happened. Then I don't remember." Amy stroked a hand gently down the side of his face. "Irene was a biology and chemistry professor. She knew what the poison was, and ran out of the car. She found a pack of cigarettes in one of the dead guard's pockets, and forced a bit of the tobacco down your throat. Then, I came out, found you two, and called the chopper." "I see." Zack said. He was about to say more when the door to the room opened once more, and in came a tall, dark-haired woman of 30 whom he recognized as Luna Felis, followed closely by Artemis Cato. Luna spoke first, "The mission was a success." It was a statement, not a question. "Yes." Amy then proceeded to give out a concise summary of all that had happened. Luna and Artemis nodded in silent approval. Artemis then smiled, a hint of mischief in his eyes, "I take it that you two worked well together." He glanced down at Amy's hand, still wearing the rigged wedding ring, clasped in Zack's. Luna watched Amy, the ever-unruffled one, blush a tell-tale pink, and smiled to herself. "Well done, you two. Now, Art and I will let you two...talk...we're just glad that the mission was successful, that both of you seem to be all right, and that you two worked so well together. Now, you two, remember to get some rest." With that, Luna and Artemis exited the room. "So...let's talk." Amy smiled at him. "Are you feeling okay now?" "I've been better, but I'll be fine. Must we make this pointless small talk?" Zack grumbled. "What would you like to talk about then?" Amy's smile widened, and she cocked her head to the side. "What are you thinking about?" "I'd tell you, but you would probably smack me again." Zack gave her a pointed look. "And I can think of MANY things that I would rather you do with me than hitting me." "ZACK!" She hissed. She looked outraged for a second, then laughed. "You're getting back to your old self." "Yep." He grinned cheerfully. "And you love me for it." And she did. Bending down, she kissed him gently. She felt his hand come up and stroke her hair. "The feeling's entirely mutual, just so you know." He whispered. He could feel her smiling against his lips. "I am one lucky bastard." He thought to himself. * * * Title : Covert Cooperation Chapter : Epilogue Author : Thalia Stalk Her? : «email» smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com Rating : PG13 Summary : *DONE!* She thought he was nothing but a playboy. He thought she was nothing but a prude. The only thing that Amy (Agent Mercury) and Zack (Agent Zoisite) shared was a common mission. Then, why did they feel such a powerful attraction? A/U * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = Disclaimer: We all know what I DO NOT own...(basically anything that you have heard of) * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = * = "Are the guests coming soon?" The woman, heavily pregnant, asked her husband. "Very soon, my sweet." The man looked adoringly at his wife. Never had she seemed more beautiful. She sat on her favorite overstuffed armchair in their parlor, wearing a white maternity dress. Her tranquil blue eyes glowed with love, and she turned to her husband. "Do you think we're up to the challenge?" She asked, gesturing her swollen belly. He gave her one of those warm, heartbreaking smiles of his, and took her slender hand in his larger one. "My love, we've been through so much together. I think that, after Demando, we can handle anything." He bent and kissed the top of her head. Serena smiled contently, "I love you so much Darien, do you know that?" "I love you too." They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. A group of ten people, five men and five women, came in. Two of the group, a lovely blue-haired woman wearing a tasteful ice-blue chiffon blouse and a silvery chiffon skirt, and a smiling, tall, green-eyed young man wearing gray slacks and a white linen shirt, gave the father and mother-to-be friendly hugs. Serena and Darien surveyed the rest of the group. They had met Mina and Kevin, as well as Luna and Artemis, in the case with Demando. Mina was looking radiant in a fuzzy yellow sweater and cream-colored silk slacks, a huge smile on her pretty face. She was clinging to Kevin's arm, very tightly, as could be seen by the slightly strained look he had on HIS face. Kevin wore a pale blue shirt and dark gray slacks that brought out his stormy eyes. By them stood a pair that Serena and Darien had never seen before. A striking, raven-haired woman wearing a cherry red tank top and black leather pants. Raye, if they remembered correctly. And next to her, stealing very, VERY appreciative glances at her every now and then, a tall, sandy-haired young man with laughing blue eyes, wearing a white shirt and black slacks. The agent that Demando mistook Anila for. James. Another woman, this one really very tall, with auburn curls and green eyes, her statuesque frame swathed in an emerald sheath dress, Lita. By her side, another very tall individual, a man with dark brown hair cascading down his back, his blue eyes full of abstract wisdom. He wore a white shirt and khakis. Nick. Then, Luna, resplendent in a black dress shot with gold threads that hugged her curves, and Artemis, dressed in impeccable white that matched his hair. Artemis spoke, "Thank you so much on behalf of all of us for inviting us over for Christmas." Darien smiled at the other man. "We're honored that all of you could come here. And Amy, Zack, we still cannot thank you enough." "Don't mention it." Amy smiled. Serena saw something that made her smile widen. "Amy, you're still wearing your wedding ring." She said gleefully. Amy was spared a reply when, at that moment, Anila, Meredith, Skylar, Yen, Thane and Soren made their entrance. ~ ~ ~ After a truly outstanding meal, all of them went to the huge family room to talk and reminisce. Raye was retelling a story about one of her past missions with great spirit: "Yeah, and the crazy little ditz actually started CRYING because I grabbed her hair to move her out of the line of fire! Gosh, would she rather get a few split ends or would she rather get a hole in her chest? But after I kicked the ass of the guy behind us and threatened to do the same to her if she wouldn't shut up, she did, and it was all for her own good, too. And she kept her mouth shut til after I dispatched baddie humber 1, who'd been shooting at us. Then, after we were out of danger, she started whining again! I swear, had I known that she was such an airhead, I would have just left her to the assassin! You'd think that...." Raye broke off when Mina gave an excited squeal and pointed up at the ceiling. "Look! Amy and Zack, you're sitting under mistletoe!" Suddenly, all eyes were focused on those two. Zack took a glance at the ceiling, then winked at everyone in the room before engulfing the slender young woman next to him in a tight embrace and capturing her lips with his in a deep, thorough kiss. She returned his kiss, threading her fingers through his dark gold hair, both of them oblivious to the hoots and hollering around them. A few long moments later, they broke apart, and everyone applauded. Zack bent his head and whispered in Amy's ear, "This is an awfully nice way to spend Christmas. You and I, together." Amy nodded, agreeing wholly with his statement. He took her hand in his, and fiddled with her rigged ring. "We should spend more Christmases like this." Amy smiled up at him. "I'd like that. I'd like that very much." Some time during that night, the fake diamond ring got exchanged for a real one. One that did not emit various different types of light, perhaps, but stood for so much more. The others did not notice the change, but Amy and Zack shared a secret smile. It was a merry Christmas indeed. * * * |