What Happens in Denver, Stays in Denver

Part 1

2010 May 5

Location: Somewhere in the South Asia

The work of a field operative was different from that of a Tech Support or someone who worked behind the scenes. They were more like the traditional assassins, trained killers, expert in the art of blending and stealth. A young Assassin licked her finger and held it out to catch the wind. She sat with her sniper gun from an undisclosed location, waiting for the perfect wind and shot. People were cheering and celebrating below. The Assassin turned her ipod up to drawn out the distraction. Her target finally arrived after thirty minute; he was a small tyrannical man in a green military uniform, riding in a sleek black convertible car. He wore large shades that were too big for his chubby round face. The crowd let out an overly enthuse cheer as he passed by, he waved to them like a king to his subjects.

Closing one eye, she looked into the scope, focusing and counting down for the perfect shot. "Locked-On-Target." She pressed the trigger, her finger fighting against it, pushing it all the way and letting the bullet be released from the gun.

Five minutes was all she needed, the Assassin did not wait to see if she hit the target. She knew she did. She spoke into her mic for the first time. "Down the block in five minutes, be there."

Taking apart her gun, the girl went over to her guitar case. Snapping it open, she unbolted her empty guitar and put the pieces of the gun where they belonged. Closing it, the woman shut the case and clipped it shut. Slinging the case over her shoulder, the girl headed toward the door into the building. As she shut the door, the girl went down the steps quickly, when she hit the hallways; she ripped off her pants and shoved it into a trash bin nearby. Underneath, she wore a pair of cut off demine shorts. Disappearing into the emergency stairs, she took off her jacket and converted it into a purple one by turning it inside out. Pulling off her hair band, the girl let her long black lock fall over her shoulders.

The Assassin walked out into the alley, applying lip-gloss with her free hand. Making her way to the designated location, she spotted three policemen hovering around. People were panicking and running around, hiding her presence from them. Frowning, the woman took a different direction away from the location. She quickly text her comrades about the change, due to her eastern Asian appearance, she easily blended in with the locals.

Strolling down a couple blocks, the Assassin pretended to text on her phone. In truth, the text consisted of nothing but x's and o's. Her comrades were doubling around to pick her up, in front of her; a pregnant woman wearing a scarf around her head seemed to be having trouble walking. She gave a soft cry, toppling over.

"Watch out!" The Assassin jumped toward her and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Thank you," The woman spoke in a husky voice, putting a cold blade at her savior's neck. "Why don't we go somewhere nice and quiet?"

"Of course," The Assassin grinned sweetly. "If that's what you want." Discreetly, she activated her mic hidden in her ear.. "Where would you like to go?"

She followed him to an abandon warehouse; he now had a gun pressed to her temple. The man shoved her into the building. The Assassin fell forward, grabbing a discarded brick; she whirled around and smashed it into his face. Distracted, she charged at him and kicked him backward. Gripping the rock once more, she proceeded to beat him down. Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. Screaming, she tried to buck him off in vain. Reaching in front of her shirt, she pulled out a Bowie knife. Twisting it around in her hand, she stabbed the man's stomach. He cried out in pain and released her abruptly. Taking the opportunity, the Assassin jumped on him, stabbing him multiple times. Blood splattered on her shirt and face. A group of assailants burst into the building as she finished off her attacker. Slowly standing up, covered in blood, she held the knife defiantly in her hand. "Who wants to go first?"

An hour later, the Assassin limped out of the building, bleeding yet still alive. Her wrist throbbed in pain from swinging and hitting her opponents with a car jack. They were Templars, she regretted nothing by brutally killing them but it bothered her as to how they knew her assassination plans. For months, she and her companions planned it meticulously. There were no paper trails and only a handful knew of it. The Assassin wiped her bloody knife on her sleeve, at this point she didn't care how dirty she appeared.

In front of her stood three armed men, all guns aimed at her. For a second, the Assassin could only stand and await death bravely until a van plow over the three. She blinked, not believing what just happened.

The van's door slide opened, a man held his hand out to her. "Jesus Christ! You look like shit." The Assassin smiled wanly at him, fighting the urge to throttle him. She climbed into the car.

"I need a medic…or a bandage if any of you have one?" She crumbled on the ground, bleeding on the carpet.

"Damn!" The driver glanced back at her, eyes wide in shock. "Girl, what in the hell happened to you?"

"We lost contact of you, hold still Jill" A red-headed woman put a cloth over her wounds. "Templar?"

"You tell me," Jill mumbled to Dwayne the driver, she looked at Piper. "Templars…one of them lured me here…shit…" She started to lose consciousness.

"Hey," Toby came to her side with medical supplies in his hands. "Hey! Look at me, look at me Jill."

Denver, Colorado a week later…

Daniel studied her files, a picture of a somber girl with braids, taken at sixteen. Her eyes were cold and serious. Her real name was "Jill" Juliana Yoona. MaceaEAchthighearna but she went by Jill Kim, her Korean grandmother's maiden name. Daniel's eyes hurt just staring at her last name; he wasn't even going to try saying it out loud, it was something long and Irish. She was 5'3" in height and weight 108 pounds, slender of build and her blood type was O-. No medical conditions, relatively healthy, non-smoker and a donor. Daniel skimmed over the rest of her records, stopping at her family history and records of successful missions and targets. The granddaughter of a high ranking Assassin, James T. MaceaEAchthighearna (Deceased) and an elementary school teacher from Korea, Mina Kim (Deceased). Mother (Deceased) was another distinguished Assassin of the eastern sec; father an unknown North Korean Templar. Raising a brow, Daniel found the fact interesting. Other relatives listed one uncle, two great-uncles, their locations were unknown. According to her records, she was sent out at a young age into the field. Working as a carrier and spy in Mumbai and then to France, afterwards sent to Shanghai for an extensive period of training and back to the States in her late teen.

Daniel watched her on the reflection of his phone; she wore a pink sling and dressed casually in a plaid purple shirt, shorts and green convers. Hair pushed to the side in a messy braid. Light bruises covered one side of her face, a small cut on bottom lip. In spite of her battle wounds, he thought her rather pretty. A shame really, he had to bring her in. He wondered about her level of skills in a close combat situation, her files indicated that most of her kills were from long range shots. Yet the first attempt at bringing her in showed she possessed a relatively high degree of fighting skills. He only counted a handful of Assassins that he really had trouble. By how she dispose of the Templars who were sent after her, he could tell she was going to be a handful but then again the girl never met him before. Daniel closed his eyes; he needed his medications before the voices started again. He couldn't focus on capturing anyone if they started up again. He might stab his prey again and that would be annoying.

Jill closed her eyes; she needed more medication but refrained from taking any drugs. Normally she avoided anything to do with medication or drugs; she hated them and shunned them like the plague. But right now, the pain overruled her principle. So she took two pain killers and that was it. Maybe when she got home, she could make some of her grandmother's natural tonic. It saddened her to know that when she arrived home, there would be no one to greet her. In her imagination, she felt the sunlight, smelled the scent of the farm and heard the cows mooing in the pastors. The images of her grandfather playing the violin on the porch and her grandmother cooking in the kitchen and of course their dog, Joe Jack.

Daniel noticed a smile appeared on his target's lips, a pure happy smile. He wondered what she was dreaming of. Most of her family members were dead according to the files and she lived alone on a farm. The records told of no spouse, boyfriend and few close friends. Daniel laid his head back, maybe she was dreaming of her past, of her dead family…he envied her; at least she had a family to remember. He had no one really; he blew it with everyone and hurt everything he came into contact with. His foster parents, his supposed brethren, Kelly and Hannah and what's to stop him from losing his mind again and leaving the Templars. The voices will come again and when they do, no one was safe from him.

Her grandfather used to lift her up high in the sky; he said he would never let her go to the camps. He would train her himself and show her the ropes to the family business. Since her mother died, her grandfather became more protective of her upbringing. As much as he devoted himself to upholding the Creed, he did not entirely agree with some of the teaching methods. He especially did not agree with William Miles. She saw him once when they tried to take her away, her grandfather would not allow it. He had a son, a boy a few years or so older than her. William believed Desmond would be able to entice her into going to the camps, he assured her that she could be with children like herself. At the time, she was seven years old and did not like the way William Miles talked to her grandfather, so she shoved his son down. Of course Desmond got back up to strike her but she knocked him down again.

"She ain't going anywhere with you Bill, there no one else better to teach her than myself. Now I am going to ask you politely to get gone." James put a proud hand over his granddaughter's head.

Jill worshipped her grandfather; he stood his ground, in the end they left without her. She could still see him now; his faded blonde hair, stern face and wearing his favorite plaid blue shirt and jeans. Her grandmother once joked that he slept and worked in plaid and blue jeans only.

After landing, Jill made her way to the parking lot where she left her truck, a green 1965 ford. It belonged to her grandfather; they went all over the country and even to Canada and Mexico in that truck. Tossing her bags into the back, Jill climbed into it. She hated the smell of cigarettes but kept a pack in the car, sometimes when she missed her grandfather, she would light one or two.

Daniel never seen such an ugly truck in his life, he wondered how many mileages the bucket had. He followed at a safe distance. They drove for a while until he started to see pastures and spaced out houses. Perfect, he thought to himself. It meant no one would hear the struggle, easy as pie. Daniel saw her curved into a house, parking in the trees, he double around and parked at a secluded area in the trees. From there he trudged up the back forest to her house stealthily.

Jill stopped her truck in the front of the house and left her bags in the car. She went up to the front porch; some of the steps were broken. Jill frowned; she really needed to start taking better care of the farm. Her grandfather would turn in his grave if he saw the way she neglected it. The front door proved to be a little difficult to push in. She spent a small portion of her childhood in this house with her grandparents when her mom dropped her off a few months after her birth. Truthfully, she hesitated to come back to a place filled with such happy memories. Her uncle had kept it for her; he told her everyone needed a place to return to when the world got too hard. For years he encouraged her to come back, at eighteen she finally came back home. She kept most of the bedroom closed off and slept in the guest room. Her and her grandparent's rooms were like time capsules, nothing changed in them. She wanted to keep them as they were, untouched.

"I am surprise you are not haunting me granddaddy, I'm letting your house fall to pieces." Jill dropped her keys on a table. She lived in a two story farmhouse built by one of her pioneer ancestors. It had a basement, a parlor, foyer and even an attic. Her grandfather added a sun room in the back. The house had a total of four rooms and two bathrooms.

Jill went straight to the kitchen, opened the snack cabinet first. Taking almost everything from mars bars to Kit Kats to the living room and laying them out on the coffee table. Pulling off her braid, Jill kicked off her shoes and went upstairs.

Daniel sat up on a tree branch with a pair of binoculars; he watched her move from her living room up to the second story. Getting up, he jumped to another tree to get a better view of what she was doing. She went from one room to another, switching on both lights. In the bathroom, she stood over a white bathtub, one of the old fashion ones. Daniel knew what she was about to do and he didn't mind at all. His job was hard enough, he wasn't being pervy, and it just happened his target was an attractive young woman about to take a bath. She stripped out of her clothes, he didn't look away. There were traces if a little tan lines, he guessed she recently return from somewhere sunny. Nice slim body, butt dimples, perky breast…nothing pervy just an observation.

Jill held her hand up as she settled into the bath; she shut her eyes and sank into the much needed bath. Etta James played soothingly in the background, "All I Can Do Was Cry ". It was a perfect end to a strange mission, it still bother her about the Templars.

The memories came rushing back to Daniel, so sharp he fell off the branch, hitting the ground hard. Anna…Anna sitting in the tub, her belly round and heavy with child, protruding out of the water like an island. He stood in the doorway, watching her with adoring eyes. He loved her dearly, more than words can ever say.

"No…no…not now…go away grandfather…go." Daniel groaned in pain, he needed to get away. It would not do if he lost control of himself. A person usually ended up dead when he lost control, the girl wasn't supposed to die yet. He whither on the floor for a good, attempting to fight off the voices from the past.

Jill pulled on her favorite blue sweater with the big red hearts and a pair of comfy fuzzy panda shorts. She danced down the stairs singing "You Me Feel like a Natural Woman," she flicked her locks around vigorously. She threw herself on the couch, careful not to hurt her wrist. Switching off the stereo with her remote, Jill put on the recorded episodes of "Breaking Bad", she missed while away.

Daniel crawled away, babbling in Russian as he got up and stumbled blindly toward his car. By the time he dragged himself in the car, semi-wet dirt covered his clothes. The stench of animal feces filled his car.

"Fucking bitch!" Shit covered his leg up to his waist, Daniel groaned in annoyance. "Shit all over my new shoes."

#

The barn needed to be repainted, the house also, the door knobs should have been changed ages ago, the gutters cleared out and the steps were a safety hazard. Jill mentally went over list of things to do, most of it she could manage on her own but another hand would be a great help. Sighing, she turned her truck into a medium size brick red building. It doubled as a coffee/bakery and bookstore. Jill went in though the back door, the smell of bake goods filled her nostrils. On one of the table, a tray of fresh chocolate chip cookies were cooling, going over to it, Jill swiped one.

"I would not eat that," Dwayne came into the kitchen, wiping his dirty hands on his apron. "It's one of Toby's new recipes, don't eat it. "

"Oh come on Dwayne, you liked the last experiment." Toby ambled in behind him with a tray of muffins.

"Yeah and I was in the hospital for three days." Replied with sass, he winked at Jill, who wisely put the cookie back.

"Come on Jill, just try it," Toby pleaded with her, giving her his big puppy eyes. "You might like it."

"Sorry Baby but I just got out of the hospital," Jill grabbed for one of his muffin though. "I don't want to go back."

She left the two bickering and went over to the book side of the store. Piper stood at the front register, reading her latest romance novel.

"What is it this time?" Jill bit into her delicious blue berry muffin. "Scottish lair? Or sexy pirate?"

"Neither," Piper held up the book to her fellow friend and co-worker. "Assassins, look at this sexy best." In the cover book, a sexy man was wearing only a white hood and a skirt looking covering around his waist. His abs was exposed and his arms were nothing but cords and muscles.

"Assassin Lovers," Jill read the cover and flipped it around to read the summary. "Alter is a stone cold Assassin with a sexy hot body to counter his coldness." Snorting, Jill had to put the book down for a moment. "He is a top Assassin in his guild and grandmaster's protégée, next in line to take over his brotherhood at only the tender age of 25." A giggled escaped Jill's lips; she stared at Piper and wiped away the tears. "Can he be any more perfect…But Altar has a weakness, he lusted after a certain someone…Piper here comes the sexy part? Alter is secretly in love with his childhood rival, Maliki, who hates him. Maliki blames Alter for a failed mission that cost him the loss of one of arm and his brother. Will Alter and Maliki be able to get pass their tragedies or will their passionate love be doom to fail."

The two girls chuckled for a couple of minutes. "It's so good though, you should really give the series a try. It's my new guilty pleasure."

"Yeah…ah nope." Jill gave her the book back. "I will just stick to my mystery novels and comics."

The girls shared a couple more laughs and went about their work. Jill went into the back to deal with some of the new inventors. Daniel parked his car across the street from the bookstore; he sat in a diner, occasionally staring out toward the store. All he saw was the cashier girl, a mildly attractive red head. He felt refreshed today after taking his medications, right now he intended to follow her for the next few days, get a feel of her routine. Assassins born into the lifestyle were harder to capture, most were trained from a very young age. He recalled seeing a little girl once, a tiny thing lugging around a sniper case and wearing a rifle on her back during his visits to one of the camps.

Suddenly the image of a young blonde boy with a knife in his hand appeared in Daniel's head. Grasping his coffee mug tightly, Daniel tried to banish the thought from his head.

"Are you okay mister?" The young waitress asked him as she came to refill his cup.

"Mind your God damn business," Daniel barked at her, sending her scurrying away. Ten minutes passed before he got himself together. Dropping more money than he owed, Daniel stalked out of the diner.

#

Jill walked through the empty halls of Denver University, the summer usually left most of the halls of the school empty. The history department was especially empty, devoid of any form of life. The office of the head of the department was hidden way in the back of the building, mainly to hide from the students, the dean once joked to her.

Jill entered slowly, the professor, a man in his late fifties hunched over a large thick book, hardly noticing her presence. Smiling, Jill put the box of pastries she had been carrying aside. Silently as a ninja would, she took a pen from a table nearby. One shot kill, Jill sneaked up behind him. Smack. A sharp pain stung her cheek, Jill squealed and jumped back.

"If you intended to kill me, you have failed," The professor spoke in his monotone voice, his gaze never leaving the book. He hit her with a fly swatter without turning around. "But then again, you failed the moment you choose me as your target."

"That is why you are the master and I am the student," Jill said to him in a good humor tine.

"I heard your grandmother recovered rather nicely," the professor whirled his chair around to face her.

"Yes, the operation went as planned, except for the storm cloud that occurred afterwards." Jill replied, her mouth twisting into a frown. "I am still puzzled as to how? The forecast said bright and sunny."

"I see and you are certain that no one outside of your family knew of your grandmother's operation?" The professor inquired deeper into the situation. "I find that troubling but I shall ask the doctors to be more discreet with their patient's confidentiality next time."

"I brought you some truffles by the way," Jill retrieved the box from where she set it. "Chocolate and cherries specially made for you from "Romeo and Juliet", the best bakery in Colorado."

"Set it by the table with all the books." He instructed her, returning back to his book. "I am going on an expedition to Rome next month; I would really like it if you join me."

Jill smiled wanly. "Maybe, I want to take it easy for a while." She touched her sprained wrist. "My house is in shamble."

"Think about the offer, Rome is lovely this time of the year." He told her, flipping through the page of his books.

"It is also hot and the last time I went there, I came back with a broken leg and was severely sunburned." Jill laughed and went over to place a little peck on his cheek. "But I will consider it…maybe."

"Your memories of Rome and mine are very different." The professor said to her thoughtfully.

Jill headed toward the door. "That's because you were inside most of the time." She recalled dodging bullets under the city sewers. "Goodbye Professor."

"Goodbye dear, think about it."

#

Daniel learned from the red headed cashier that Jill was out on break and would be working the whole night. He flirted his way to get the information by mainly talking about the red head's schedule. He drove up to her house, to survey the surrounding and examine the house. Going up to the porch, he nearly lost his leg in the broken step. "Shit! This place is falling apart."

Daniel peered in through the window, studying the interior for the purpose of sneaking in at some time or another. He circled the house, searching for easy access into it, spotting three windows that were perfect for climbing in with ease.

"Who are you?" Daniel whirled around to find Jill staring at him curiously. Shit! Shit! Stab her; no…I can't stab her.

To his surprise, she smiled at him. "You must be the handyman, Paul told me that you would call or come by today or tomorrow."

"Paul…?" Daniel muttered stupidly to her, his heart rate beating too fast. "Paul sent me, yeah Paul sent me."

"I'm glad, he said you might not take the job because of some family issues," Jill strolled over to him and held out her hand. "I am Jill Kim, nice to meet you."

"Nick Daniels," He said to her gruffly but soften his tone. "Yeah…he mentioned something about maintenance on the house, I was coming to see you and talk about what needs to be done."

"Well, as you can see." Jill gestured up at the paint on the house, the whites were peeling. "It needs a new coat and the barn needs a new coat of paint also. And I have some other things around the place that needs fixing, let me show you around."

Daniel thought about kidnaping her right there but decided against it. She stated to him that she needed to get back to work, which meant someone would miss her if she disappeared now.

"So are we good for tomorrow morning?" Jill asked him as they walked to his car.

"Yeah, we are good for tomorrow," Daniel replied to her, he held his hand out to her to shake good bye. "I will bring my tools." Ropes and duct tape.

"Good, I will have the paint." Jill grinned again.

Daniel noticed the light dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. He was a little attractive to her. She had a cute face, a slime figure and dark locks with a few strands of purple in them. Although she maybe a little too young but so was Anna. Daniel blinked, what in the hell was he thinking?

"Are you alright?" Jill inquired of him when his expression unexpectedly became troubled.

"Yeah, I got to go now." Daniel got into his truck and drove off quickly.

Jill watched the man leave, her stayed on his car until he disappeared from view. Crossing her arms, she suddenly felt chilly, holding her hand up, she saw it was trembling. Balling it up in a tight fist, she wielded it to stop.