Ski Resort
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Night World (even though I honestly want to)….
Cesca (x-blackmeadow-x): Eve (BookVampire) and I are working together for this story! Isn't it exciting? Yeah, I know right! LOLOLOL. ;D Too much LOL's. Anyways, we'll just talk more down there v.v Unless Eve wants to add some more on this note…
Eve: I do have more to add! ^^ Thanks Cesca! Well what I wanted to say is I hope you like this story! :D
Another note: This story is ALL HUMAN. If anyone asks, Imma cut a bitch. (Love, Eve.)
Prologue
. . .
Mary-Lynnette grabbed her dark blue duffel bag from the slightly polished floor of the airport entrance and exit door.
"Mare!" Hannah, her best friend, called. "The bus is already here, you've got to hurry up!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Mary-Lynnette murmured before jogging towards Hannah. They exited the huge airport using the automatic, sliding, glass double doors.
"What took you so long?" Hannah asked, concern all over her face. "I had to stall the driver and all that stuff," she waved her hands frantically. They passed lots of people with tons of luggage and bags. They're at an airport, after all.
"Dad wouldn't let go of me and he had to remind all of the rules and all that," Mary-Lynnette explained, slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder.
"Ah…" Hannah nodded her head in understanding as Hannah steered her to the blue and white colored bus. "I thought I'd never find you there in the airport!"
"Well, you found me—so no biggie," Mary-Lynnette laughed while zipping up her thick, light blue coat. It was freezing.
Hannah nodded. She guided Mary-Lynnette on to the bus and into their seats. Her eyes glinted with excitement. "Anyway, enough of that, I haven't seen you in days!"
"That's because you came here earlier than me," Mary-Lynnette laughed, putting her bags above them. "You came here as soon as you and your family finished your mini hiking trip, remember?"
"Yeah—and I've been lonely when I came here. I had no one to talk to!" Hannah exclaimed playfully. "But at least my BFF is here now!"
"True, true," Mary-Lynnette smiled as she sat down beside Hannah. She leaned on the dark green leather seat. "How was the first two days here?"
"Three words; cold, boring, and lonely," Hannah explained while lifting up three fingers. "How were your 'without-Hannah' days?"
"Awful," Mary-Lynnette said. " Dad is hardly home—and so is Mark! He's out for, like, 19/7!"
"19/7?" Hannah laughed, also leaning back on the seat.
"Yeah, nineteen hours every day in the week," Mary-Lynnette said as she nodded her head.
"How would you know if he goes out nineteen hours a day?" Hannah asked. "Are you stalking your own brother?"
"Hannah," Mary-Lynnette laughed. "Mark and I live in the same household. How do you call that stalking?"
"You're avoiding question," Hannah pointed out.
Mary-Lynnette cursed. "Why do you know me so well?"
"Because we're best friends."
"Hannah… that was a rhetorical question." Mary-Lynnette explained gently, like she was explaining to a kid Santa Claus didn't exist.
"Well it didn't seem rhetorical to me," Hannah grinned.
Mary-Lynnette laughed and rolled her eyes. "How long is the bus ride to the ski resort?"
Hannah shrugged. "Like 45 minutes. It was horrible riding there all alone." She sighed theatrically. "With no one to talk to but my imaginary Mare. Who is so much better than the real one."
Mary-Lynnette laughed and playfully smacked Hannah's arm. "You are so cruel to me. This is a serious injustice to your best friend."
"A serious injustice?" Hannah repeated, laughing. "You're the one who left me all alone for two days."
"I tried to come earlier." Mary-Lynnette grumbled dejectedly. "But my parents already had tickets to come up here as well. They bought them ages ago before Mom died. But they and Mark were going to the other ski resort. I almost had to sell my soul to convince them to let me stay with you."
"Aw, well I'm glad you didn't have to sell your soul for me." Hannah hugged Mare; glad she was finally with her best friend.
"Maybe not, but I didn't have to sell my sanity." Mary-Lynnette joked.
"Well you never had that anyway!"
After their laughter died down, Hannah asked gently, "How was the funeral?"
Mary-Lynnette sighed. "Horrible."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I'm really going to miss your mom. She was like my second mom." Hannah frowned.
"I know. Well now your mom gets to be my mom, so I'll spending a lot more time at your house from now on." Mary-Lynnette joked, but Hannah knew Mare was really upset about her mom's death. Who wouldn't be?
Mary-Lynnette pulled out her iPod and gave Hannah the left earphone. "I got some great new songs the other day. You have to watch this new Katy Perry video too."
Rashel looked out of the window. The engine of the private jet hummed smoothly as they flew through the air. She sighed and leaned back on her comfy seat, imagining herself back in Russia. Back when her life was normal… It still was—if you count out the part where she's a secret agent working for the FBI. Oh, and the part where she has these cool martial moves and skills that you only see in movies.
Yeah. Her life was pretty normal.
Not.
She was born American—but not born in America. She was born in Russia, but on American soil—and had spent most of her childhood and some of her teenage years there. Which is why she has this slight Russian accent that would come out here and there. You could say that it's part of her.
Quinn leaned forward and snapped his fingers in front of Rashel's face. Rashel scowled.
"What do you want?"
"Your attention, maybe?" Quinn asked as he crossed his arms. He was sitting beside her. Again.
"Too bad, I'm busy," Rashel said while looking out of the window again.
"Busy doing what?" Quinn asked, smirking.
"Looking out of the window and thinking of ways to kill you," Rashel retorted, glaring through the window and at the wonderful blue sky.
"You can't kill me," Quinn said, putting his chin on his hand as he rested his elbow on her armrest.
"I can," Rashel murmured. She wanted to add 'Watch me' but that would be too far. Plus, Thierry—their boss—would fire her, in return.
Quinn smirked, as if to say 'We'll see'. "How come you dislike me so much anyway?"
Rashel shrugged, not answering his question. Quinn seemed to let this go and slinked back to his chair, deciding that Rashel wasn't in the mood. Not that she ever was.
Ash turned as Quinn sat back down beside him. He snickered. "I see you got rejected. Again."
"Not rejected. She just hates me," Quinn said with a shrug. He glanced back at Rashel on the other side of the jet. "She's a challenge, you know."
"Because she doesn't kiss your feet like those other ex-girlfriends of yours?" Ash asked sarcastically.
Quinn frowned. "They don't kiss my feet. They kiss my face. And something else," he added with a smirk.
"Alright—I definitely did not want to know about your private doings," Ash said while making a face. "Quinn, we're friends and all—but you've got to learn when and where to stop talking about relationships. Your relationships, to be exact."
Quinn chuckled and leaned back on the seat. "Whatever."
Ash smirked a little and rested his head on the headrest, crossing his arms.
Thierry cleared his throat, waiting for all the eyes of his agents to focus on him. The big, black screen behind him suddenly came to life with pictures…of Hunter Redfern. All of his agents tensed and glared at the screen. Some eyeing the screen with bitterness, some eyeing it with total distaste, and some eyeing it neutrally.
"Seems familiar?" Thierry asked, watching his agents nod once. He glanced back at Hunter's picture (Hunter with two girls in his arms, smiling mischievously in a suit and tie) before glancing back at his agents. "Yes, he's Hunter Redfern. Care to tell me more about him?" Thierry asked, looking at each and every one of his agents' faces.
"He's the mastermind of illegal drug trades in the whole world," James said, still glaring at the screen.
"Stole money from banks," Quinn said, monotonously.
"An annoying little a-hole," Ash answered.
"Not necessary, but we all know that," Thierry said with an amused smirk.
Quinn snickered beside Ash as the ash-blonde agent smiled mischievously.
"Molests girls…?" Galen spoke up, although he sounded a bit uncertain. "Rapes them…?"
"Some, yes," Thierry said as the screen changed into a different scene. He looked at them. "Anything else?"
"He has his own security—ones he hired to protect him since he's rich enough to pay them and turn them into his minions," Delos said.
"All of what you said is true. Which is why we should all be careful when approaching this dangerous—"
"— Bastard," Ash finished for Thierry.
Thierry simply rolled his eyes. "Yes, bastard. Anyways, here," he said as the screen changed into another picture, "is the blueprint of the ski resort."
"Obviously," Quinn muttered under his breath.
"And, here," Thierry said while pointing to some rooms, ignoring Quinn, "are where we're staying. From our research, Hunter owns a cabin in the woods near the ski resort," Thierry explained as the blue print on the screen slid out of their sight, a forest just a few hundred feet from the ski resort and mountains being zoomed in on the screen. "I guarantee that the forest is surrounded by his men—and his cabin is deep inside the forest."
"So we have to find his cabin?" James asked, noticing his boss's sentence.
"Unfortunately, we have to—need to—find his cabin," Thierry said while repressing a sigh.
"This isn't starting too well," Delos murmured thoughtfully.
"So this better end well," Thierry said, looking at Delos first and then at everyone. "This is definitely one of the most challenging missions—with very little information about our victims. We have to do research as well as do the actual thing of locating Mr. Hunter Redfern. Therefore, there should not be any time to waste because he could leave his cabin today or tomorrow or at any time he pleases. Understand?"
The agents (Ash, Delos, Galen, James, Quinn, and Rashel) were feeling very nervous and excited as their hearts pumped faster with anticipation. They nodded stiffly. This is definitely a dangerous mission.
But why were there only six of them? Seven if you counted Thierry with them.
Galen felt the need to ask. And he did. "Why are there only seven of us if we're going on a dangerous mission such as this? Why not bring other people?"
"The more, the merrier, after all," Ash murmured sarcastically.
Thierry gave them a ghost of a smile. "You six are the most outstanding individuals I've worked with these past years and since you all haven't worked together in a group-,"
"That's because we've never been assigned in the same group," Quinn interrupted amusedly. Ash smirked and nodded. The others didn't say it, but they agreed in their minds.
"—I decided," Thierry paused, shooting Ash and Quinn warning glances, "that since this is one of the most riskiest and hardest missions; I took out the most outstanding agents from the other missions and placed you all here."
"Too bad I couldn't go to Peru with the other agents. Hunting down some assh—a-hole," Ash said with a fake, dramatic sigh.
Thierry resisted the urge to roll his eyes and simply gave them a charming smile. "Well, if we finish this mission early, we could stay at the ski resort."
"What's fun about ski resorts?" Quinn asked aloud. "No gorgeous bodies to look at," he added the other one silently to Ash—who snickered in reply.
"Tan, gorgeous bodies and lots of skin," Ash murmured back, thinking longingly of Peru.
"Besides, skiing—oh I don't know," Rashel muttered scornfully, glaring in Quinn's direction as she daydreamed of punching him in the face for interrupting their boss so many times. Delaying the peacetime she has in this jet before they set out to start their mission.
Thierry rubbed his forehead in frustration. Sure, they were the best of the best agents…but when it comes to attitude… goodness, it makes him reconsider his decisions.
"We've all got to work together," he told them, "which means that we need to work on our attitudes against one another. This is practically the mission of our lifetime. There will probably be more in the future, but right now, this is the mission. So if you guys," he pointedly looked at Quinn and Ash, "screw up by getting distracted and being useless—well, guess what. You're out."
"So does that mean women are out?" Quinn whispered. Ash sniggered. Yeah, like that'll happen. Staying away from a women- easy. Women staying away from them- unheard of.
"So what do we do when we do find Hunter?" James asked, using 'when' instead of 'if'. A pretty optimistic thing to do.
"We arrest him and call for backup to come pick him up. Send him to jail and keep him there for the rest of his life," Thierry answered. "They were the ones who asked us to do this for them. It's only reasonable that they should deal with him once our job is done."
"But what if he gets loose?" Delos asked, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"He won't. We'll most likely give him a good beating before handing him to the cops. That man doesn't go back down without a fight. I mean it," Thierry said. "During our stay there, our meetings will be held in different, private areas—as to not make people suspicious.
"Landing in three minutes, folks," the jet's speakers said from above them.
The big screen automatically turned off as Thierry crossed his arms and eyed his six agents firmly. "No time to waste," he repeated. "As soon as we get off this jet, we go to our assigned rooms, got it? After that," he paused and looked at them again, trying to get his point across that this mission is very important, "our mission officially begins."
The atmosphere was so tense, someone could cut it with a knife.
To ease the tension, and because he was really curious, Quinn asked, "Will we have code names?"
"If we do, I call Farquar!" Ash yelled and, exactly like he planned, everyone on the plane laughed.
"No, we will not have code names." Thierry smiled a forced smile.
"Please fasten your seatbelts, we are about to land." The pilot announced.
Thierry quickly took a seat and the earlier amusement was gone.
Their dicey mission is about to begin.
Maggie entered her room—the room that she's sharing with her friend Poppy—with a sigh and plopped down on her bed.
"I'm tired," Maggie whined to Poppy, her voice partly muffled by the pillow her head was in.
Poppy, with her coppery curls, looked up from the dark green, carpeted floor (she was reading the latest Cosmo magazine) and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you just go to sleep?"
"I don't know. I have a feeling that…" Maggie trailed off and shook her head, her curly auburn hair swaying at her movement. "I don't know," she repeated.
"I know the feeling," Poppy said, catching on what Maggie was trying to say. "Like something's going to happen…" she murmured and shook her head as well. "Oh well. Whatever happens happens right?"
"Yeah, I guess. As long as it's not bad…then I'm fine with it," Maggie said with a sigh as she stared at the big, white ceiling. "This is a pretty place," she commented.
"Mhm," Poppy answered from the floor. "Expensive, but totally worth the summer."
"Totally. I mean, it was so hot back home," Maggie said. "Here it's freezing."
Poppy giggled, loudly flipping a page. "What do you expect? It's a ski resort," she said—attempting to be sarcastic. "Have you tried skiing yet?"
" No," Maggie replied. "I wanted you to come with me but no. You wanted to stay here and read a bunch of magazines. And listen to," Maggie paused to listen to Poppy's music, "what are you even listening to?"
"Techno music," Poppy answered cheerfully. "It's very good, you know."
"Oh, I feel bad for whoever you're going to marry," Maggie joked.
"I'm planning to find true love here," Poppy said, "and I'm pretty sure they'd accept me for who I am. And what music I listen, too. If fate loves me enough, maybe they'd give me a soulmate who likes this kind of music, too," she said amusedly.
"It's too good to be true," Maggie laughed. "A big J-K there. You know I'd support you, no matter what."
"You're too loyal to be true," Poppy joked, laughing.
"I want to go to sleep." Maggie said, but it sounded like an open sentence.
"But…" Poppy added.
"I'm too tired to get up." Maggie finished and attempted to heave herself off the bed.
Poppy laughed at her friend's feeble attempts. "Let me help." Poppy place her Cosmo face down on the floor and walked over to Maggie's bed.
"Can you take my shoes off?" Maggie asked hopefully.
"Ugh, fine. But if your feet stink, I'm going to kill you." Poppy laughed and pulled off Maggie' left boot. "Oh, God EW! Maggie how can you sweat so much if its below freezing?" Poppy squealed and hastily pulled off Maggie's other boot and ran to the connecting bathroom to wash her hands.
"You're such a pansy, Poppy!" Maggie called and unzipped her heavy jacket and managed to pull it off of herself, despite her body feeling like lead.
"Whatever." Poppy laughed, coming back in the room. "Are you good?"
"Yeah." Maggie laughed. But her expression sobered quickly.
"What's up?" Poppy asked, noticing the change immediately.
"I just keep thinking that something big is going to happen. Something huge. Like we'll never be the same ever again."
"Don't be overdramatic." Poppy chided. Which was an extremely ironic thing for her to say. Inside, Poppy was getting nervous. Her stomach clenched in something like anticipation. She knew exactly what Maggie was talking about.
"Let's just hope it's a pair of hot guys and not some horrible, cliché story." Poppy said and changed into her pajamas and crawled into be with her Cosmo.
"I hope he has black hair." Maggie yawned.
"I like brown hair more." Poppy turned off the lights.
"A strange eye color." Maggie said.
"I've always wanted to see silver guys."
Maggie laughed quietly. "You mean silver eyes?"
"That's what I said." Poppy murmured stubbornly.
"Goodnight, Poppy." Maggie chuckled.
"Goodnight, Maggie."
"Are you sure no one knows I'm here?"
"Yes, sir. We are certain that the FBI has no intelligence of your whereabouts."
"And the CIA?"
"The CIA has no matters in your case, sir."
"Excellent. So what would you think about skiing tomorrow?"
"As long as you keep your mask on at all times sir. You are a very wanted man."
"I will, I will. Now leave me be as I laugh at Thierry Descoudres."
"Yes, sir."
"Ah, Thierry my old enemy. You are fighting a lost cause. You will never find me. And I will destroy everyone you love."
"Sir, if you are done mocking your enemies to yourself, you have a call waiting on line one."
"Who is it?"
"Your old associate."
"Wonderful." Hunter Redfern's lips curved into a hungry smile.
Eve: There you have it for the first chapter! [: I hope you liked it! Once again, they are ALL HUMAN!
Cesca: OMFG. We had so much fun writing this… LOL. So I hope you all had fun reading the prologue! xD
Thanks for reading!
Please review!
BookVampire- Eve
YES! Review please (lol, I just switched the words around)!
x-blackmeadow-x : Cesca