Machines

Pure Imagination

Disclaimer: own nothing but plot, and some characters.

Chapter: Ryan and Melissa

Lily Evans stared at down at the card that bore her picture and credentials. She slid it fully out of the manila envelope she was holding, and studied it closer. Lily Evans, it said next to her photograph, trained assassin. Listed under it were her height, hair color, weight, and age. She crumpled the paper in her hand and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans, and continued walking towards her destination.

Head up, hips swinging, hair swaying, Lily strutted over to a man of medium build. His muscles bulged from under his almost-tight-fitting shirt, and his eyes were gray and serious. His full lips nearly pouted from below his nose, which was turned up saucily towards the tip. "Here," she said, thrusting the manila envelope towards his chest. "I had to take a cab from Bristol to get this to you in time."

He grabbed it out of her hand, and flicked the contents out. Yes, there were his and Lily's pictures, although Lily's weren't as flattering as they should have been. The picture made her seem so…flat. Her looks were exquisite, from her dark, red-brown hair with streaks of black, to her finely shaped brown eyebrows and her flawless porcelain skin with the rose-tinted hue. Her green eyes were the most intense eyes he'd ever seen; so much action was packed into those orbs of emerald. Next, the man examined his own picture. He looked a little pale, but other than that, his finest features were apparent. Strong arms, thick black hair, impudent nose. Yes, he said to himself. Lily Evans and James Potter certainly was a fine-looking pair.

Suddenly, a car alarm's tinny siren pierced the quietness of the London park, and the tinkle of glass breaking reached their ears. Neither James nor Lily flinched, as did the other occupants of the park, but their senses were immediately on the lookout. James' hand found its way inside his leather coat pocket, inside of which was stowed a handgun. From the heel of Lily's boot came a knife, one she was skilled with throwing. Both of them faced the other way as two men, clad in black, made their way towards the two.

The pair pretended to be discussing some element of their photographs when two guns were pressed simultaneously to James and Lily's respective heads. They both snapped into action, as if a button, commanding them to fight, had been pressed.

Lily's hand reached back and the knuckles of her hand smashed into the man's eye. It all had happened so fast that he had no time to react before she used the heel of her hand to break his nose. In a second she'd punched his face a last time before she kneed his groin, and left him in a moaning, twitching heap on the ground. "Ready, James?" she called in his direction, picking off the ground the manila envelope that she'd dropped.

"One….second," he said with some effort. He was otherwise engaged, trying to fight the man who'd tried to kill him. James' hand was currently holding the man's fist, while his other had punched his opponent's face. Quick as a wink, the man lunged for James' stomach, only to be caught again, and this time, flipped. Lily took over from there, and while the man lay on the ground, she kicked him, effectively knocking him out. "Nice," said James. "Getting that pressure point and all."

Lily grinned at him. "Thanks," she replied. Her eyes ran over him. The sight of his body right now would be enough for many a woman to swoon, she thought. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his magnificent body, and, just as she'd been admiring that, he flicked a strand of hair back. She felt herself melt. "Well," she said, a little more briskly than usual. "I guess…if we're going to make the 12:15 to Glasgow." It sounded awkward, even to her.

James didn't seem to think so. "Shall we? Cruising from one capital to the next—exciting things, it is."

Lily nodded, and they continued their walk towards the train station, still remarking about the contents of that manila envelope. Lily groaned, looking towards her future afternoon, where another long train ride lay. The things they did to look like Muggles.

James leaned towards Lily, his eyes darker than usual. "How could they have found out about this? We took extra precaution, I thought."

Lily nodded, her eyes on the scenery flying by. "We cleaned everything, and didn't even cause something for the city police to think about."

"Well, we messed up somewhere."

"I'll have to become Melissa McKane, again. So much for staying plain old 'Lily'."

James exhaled deeply, his eyes tracing the scar that stretched an inch from Lily's right ear to her temple. "Say hello to Ryan Matte," he said.

"We're going to have hell to pay for this."

"Yeah," sighed James. "Stupid king, having to be killed."

Lily frowned deeply. "What do you think he was asking for, blackmailing the WIA into banning liquor?"

"It was only a matter of time," James observed.

They both paused, deep in thought about the last mission they'd had to perform together. Normally, assassins worked alone, but Lily and James found that people suspected them less when they believed the couple was just another pair of newlyweds, off on their honeymoon. Their last mission had been to assassinate the King of Magic in a small country in Eastern Europe, Chequoska. This country would have been overlooked as unimportant if it hadn't been the number one manufacturers of wizarding supplies, and also the headquarters for a mafia of vicious, clever people, whose constant goal was to usurp the most powerful positions in the wizard world. Head politicians feared for their life, and had to employ the use of the best bodyguards and Aurors just to watch them as they slept.

The King of Magic in Chequoska had emerged from a hard civil war as the main dictator, much as Napoleon had done in the Muggle world. His reign of terror inspired fear into the hearts of those he ruled, and his totalitarian regime was frowned upon by the various other Ministers, Presidents, and Leaders of Magic. Unlike Napoleon, he hadn't tried to conquer his neighboring countries, but rather, watched and waited. He knew his time would come.

Lily and James had been sent by the WIA (Wizarding Intelligence Agency) to assassinate the King of Magic, but had been unable to carry out their mission due to circumstances out of their control. They'd failed, but they'd been given a second chance…or so they thought.

They'd been sent on this particular assignment because most of Europe feared the new regime, and many didn't like the new ruler, who was rumored to have been an Englishman. (When James had heard that, he'd muttered, "Traitor.") The head of the WIA had been blackmailed into banning liquor throughout Europe, and forcing the rulers to comply. When the news of this reached the populace, they rebelled. Mobs of people tried to storm their assorted leader's offices, while other mobs simply looted stores, crashing windows, and injuring the owners. Chaos reigned. The leaders of the countries found no other choice than to let the liquor-happy mobs have their alcohol again, and the head of the WIA found himself in serious danger. Thus, he sent the two out to do his dirty work for him. Their scheme had been elaborate, intricate, and foolproof, but in the last minute, something had distracted them into failing.

Lily and James' minds returned to their world on the train as the beverage cart passed by them. Any good operations manager knows that a good meal is not something to pass up, especially when embarking on a journey away from men who'd tried to kill them.

After eating their delicious Reuben sandwich, they got off the train, and found themselves in the busy city of Glasgow. They took a cab through the crowded city without looking out the window much. Glasgow was no longer a marvel to them.

Once they reached their chosen hotel, they checked in under their aliases, and made their way up to their room. James and Lily set their luggage in the closet and the bathroom, respectively, and then both sat on the bed. With their fists out, they dueled with rock/paper/scissors. Lily's hand went flat, while James' stayed tightly curled in a fist. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "I still don't understand how a piece a paper can defeat a rock."

"You're just complaining because you have to take the floor!" Lily remarked. "And paper is clearly able to beat rock. The rain, which is considered obvious and unspoken in terms of RPS, makes the paper form a cement over the rock, effectively suffocating it, and rendering it unable to move."

"Silly girl," James muttered. "Like I didn't know that."

"Oh, of course you did," said Lily, facetiously. Their conversation was light and flirty, and James found himself leaning forward. At this sign, Lily positively leapt up, and asked quickly, "What should we do for dinner?"

James leaned back, disappointed. He told himself not to be, for Lily was just keeping with the contract they'd made, when they'd broken up on the last day of school, thinking that they'd both become Aurors, and that they'd needed to be on good terms. James cursed inwardly. Why had they broken up in the first place? Some silly, Hogwarts reason, he was sure. They became friends, even, but they always observed that unspoken pact that demanded no one-night-stands. They'd thought that this would have ruined part of their training as Aurors. After the first three and a half years of their four-year training course, they'd been scouted by the WIA for their quick reflexes and even quicker thinking on their feet. In another year, they were the most efficient and effective at their job, taking the world of undercover agents, spies, and central intelligence by storm. But somehow, they couldn't get out of the rut of being an assassin—they were both much to good at it.

An hour later, they were at a small restaurant, happily eating their meal. James had just bitten into his first bite and was savoring it. "Hey, slob," said Lily, gesturing towards his chin.

James picked up his napkin and dabbed it on his chin. "There. Is that better?"

Lily grinned. "Much." James picked up his fork again with the napkin still in his hand; the result was the clash of his fork hitting the hardwood floor.

"Oops," he said, bending down to reach it. Just then a shot was fired through the large picture window they were eating in front of. All of the glass in the window crashed down in front of them, and the bullet flew past the air where James' head had been a second before. Lily watched the window crash in slow motion; it was a waterfall of glass. She joined James, ducking under the table just in the nick of time, escaping with only a few scratches from the glass she hadn't been fast enough to dodge. James looked up at her, wide-eyed. "We better get out of here."

Lily tilted her arm downwards, making the tip of her wand hit her hand. Now was no time to take precautions for the Muggles: their sight of this would bewilder them, but save their lives. Next to her, James, too, had his wand ready, discretion thrown to the wind. Quickly, he transfigured the shattered glass into a stone wall, which rose up to shield them. Lily cast a Shield Charm all around them as they busted down the door to leave. James bent down and cast a spell on the building. "Accio bullet!" shouted Lily.

Then they both Apparated the hell out of there.

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