Ok, so I love the movie Losers and I love Cougar so I decided to start a fic. Anyway as the summary says this is a Cougar/OC fic and it takes place during the movie. I don't own anything except my own character and some of the things she does. I hope you all like it and if you want to see what my main character looks like there will be a link on my page to take you to some pics of what I was picturing.
P.S. Any and all translations will be at the end of the story.
Felis Pardalis
Prologue
20 Years Ago…
The heat became suffocating when combined with the humidity. Everyone could feel the weight of the sticky moisture closing around them as they shuffled down the dirt trail. Their feet scuffed, dress shoes kicking up dust behind them as they followed the others. The shades of black and gray didn't belong in the greenery that surrounded them. The forest was alive, vibrant colors of life that contradicted and mocked what was happening beneath the trees. Birds sang and rodents chattered to each other from the treetops. Their joy was not welcome.
The precession slowly made its way through the maze of stones, all of them protruding from the green earth and each one bearing a form of identification. All on them were a marker of sorrow, another line of people doing the same sad walk in the dirt. No one paid attention to the stones they passed, their sorrow was too great to focus on anything beside the box in front of them. It was small, so small, with a glossy black paint that shone in the sunlight.
The party came to a halt, the sound of scuffling feet slowly fading out as everyone circled around the gaping opening in the ground. The four men who had been hefting the too small box stopped and settled it onto the grass beside the hole. No one talked as the group circled around and stared at the glossy coffin.
The silence was deafening, drowning out even the noise of the life around them. Life wasn't wanted here; only death resided on this ground. And it was that exact reason everyone had come. It was a day to see another resident find their home within the ground they stood on.
"Estamos aqui para enviar um dos nossos de volta à Terra grande. Nunca é uma coisa fácil de fazer, mas nossa tristeza não é necessário. Esse filho está retornando ao Criador, ele estará de volta onde ele pertence. E apesar de sentir tristeza em nossos corações, agora, podemos encontrar a paz no conhecimento de que Mateus já está descansando em paz eterna." The hunched, deeply lined priest said. His voice was light and raspy, affected by the years he'd seen and it left a hollow feeling among those listening to him. "Agora, enquanto o caixão é baixado, vamos mandar Mateus fora com os nossos melhores votos e orações."
The silence was broken as the men began to lower the coffin into the deep, consuming hole. A sob started from the older woman nearest the coffin, her heart breaking with every inch the box disappeared into the hole. A second anguished sound followed, then another and another. A chorus broke out, a melody of pain that silenced the once happily chattering animals around.
A girl looked on as the swallowed the box. Her eyes swam with unshed tears, she hadn't cried once since the ceremony had begun. She didn't have it in her. It wasn't right. She shouldn't be watching her older brother's enclosed body being lowered into some dirt hole. It shouldn't be happening, it wasn't supposed to happen.
They were supposed to be playing in the house Papa had built them in the back yard, laughing and screaming until the night bugs came out and it was time to go inside for supper. Mateus was supposed to complain about the greens Mama had put on his plate while she laughed and giggled at the argument he put up for not eating them. He was supposed to stay up late and tell her scary stories until she cried. And then he was supposed to shush her when she became too scared. This wasn't how anything was supposed to happen. It just wasn't. He wasn't supposed to be lying still in some wooden box, being packed under foot after foot of cold, uncaring dirt. He wasn't supposed to be used the way he was, it wasn't right. None of it made sense to her child's mind; this wasn't what was supposed to happen.
But here she was, watching as her big brother's body was covered by piles and piles of dirt. Her Mama had looked away, her sobs becoming hysterical as she doubled over with the pain only a mother could feel. Papa stood strong as he helped others shovel cold dirt onto the enclosed body of his son, his usually caring face hard as he carried out the deed. Others around her had begun to walk away, not wanting to see the last pile of gravel be tossed on the filled hole, but she didn't move.
She couldn't leave; her brother wouldn't have wanted her to. He would have wanted her to be brave, to be strong like he was before he had died. So she stood there, her eyes focused on the mound that hid her brother from her and watched as every last speck of dirt was packed down. When the last shovel stopped scooping and the sound of metal against earth finally ceased she allowed her tears to fall. One, then another, another and another.
It was as Mama and Papa led her away from freshly packed ground that she realized the bad people in the world, those that like to use children for their own gain, those who don't care who they hurt as long as it suits their needs, those people were bad, and bad people didn't deserve to do the things they did. Mateus didn't deserve the death he was forced into; he didn't deserve the slow, painful way he died. But he did deserve his revenge and she would be the one to make sure he got it, she would avenge her brother and anyone else who had ever been hurt the way her family was.
Chapter 1
Present…
Brazil
"Tell me again why we are heading to Brazil instead of Mexico like we had planned?" Captain William Roque questioned from the back of the hot van that he and his five "teammates" were currently driving in.
Aisha clenched her jaw, but held back the first angry retort that built in her mind, and instead glanced back at the dark skinned man. "I told you already," She said as calmly as possible for her, "There's one more person who we need in order to have the best chance at getting to Max."
It had been two days since the first time the entire team had met Aisha and the day they were supposed to be on a plane back home the Bolivian loose cannon had surprised the guys by telling them of a little side trip they had to make first. They had ended up taking a full-size, rust colored van – it had definitely seen better days– and started driving north toward Brazil. Hours in a hot van had taken a toll for the worse on the van's occupants, especially on their tempers.
"Oh, right," Roque retorted sarcastically. "I forgot. Instead of getting us back to the US like you promised we have to spend hours in this fucked up van going to some unknown destination in Brazil to pick up another person we can't trust. Perfect."
"Hey!" Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Clay barked from the front seat when Aisha went to snap something back at the older black man sitting behind her. "Knock it off both of you!"
Both arguing parties stared hard at Clay, but neither of them moved to say anything else to one another.
"That's better," Clay said with a little nod, "Now tell us where you're taking us Aisha."
The chocolate skinned woman looked to the black haired man beside her. "Rio Branco. There is someone there who will greatly aid us in our mission to get to Max." She said turning her eyes back to the road.
"Who is he?" Sergeant Linwood Porteous, known to all by Pooch, inquired from the last row of the van.
"His name is Felis Pardalis." Aisha said, her tone instantly alerting the group that there was something that she wasn't saying.
"Felis Pardalis? What kind of fucked up name is that?" Corporal Jake Jensen asked from beside Pooch.
"It's not his real name," Aisha rolled her eyes at the short haired brainiac. "It's the only alias that anyone knows him by."
Clay wasn't too sure he liked the fact that Aisha seemed to be holding something back from him. He knew the team already had their doubts about her and, even though he didn't completely trust the broad either, his team didn't need any more of a reason to go against this plan. "Just who is this guy?"
With a sigh Aisha pulled the van off an exit and toward a spot off in the distance that, in the fading sun, everyone could see the glow of lights. They were grouped around like one would see from a city and as they got closer the buildings began to form and the amount of cars and people began to increase. The team was quiet as Aisha drove through, first a little suburb area with large green lawns and big windowed houses, then into the city where cars lined the road and neon lights lit up the darkened streets. It only took a few minutes for them to find a hotel, one that stood right along the main street of the city, and get two connecting rooms.
"Ok," Clay started as soon as the six of them had congregated in one room. "Tell us about this Felis person." It was a demand, not a request. He wanted answers and she was going to give them to him.
Aisha stood in front of the five men and looked at them. "Felis Pardalis," She started pacing back and forth in front of the group. "Known only by that alias is an assassin. He is one of the best."
A snort from Pooch cut her off. "You want to bring in a hired gun to help us take out a C.I.A mastermind? Are you nuts? He'll be noticed as soon as we get into the US."
Jensen had already brought out his hand held and began to type in the name of the supposed assassin as Aisha stopped her pacing and glared at the dark skinned man who had questioned her. "Felis is the best there is, he has never been caught, never been suspected and best of all he has never hit the C.I.A's radar."
Pooch looked doubtful, but before anyone could say anything else Jensen let out a low whistle, his glasses covered eyes glued on his hand held device. "Whoa." He said quietly.
"What'd ya got?" Clay asked looking to his tech expert.
"This dude is badass." Jensen said finally, drawing out the last word and lifting his eyes to look at his teammates. "I only got a pinch of info on him; this guy keeps his name out of the air waves. No known identity, no company info, no background history at all."
Moving over to Jensen's side Pooch looked over his shoulder and let out an annoyed sound when he couldn't tell what the device was saying. "Then what did you get off this dude?"
Jensen went back to messing with his hand held and after a moment he furrowed his eyebrows. "All I can really get is that this guy has a certain kind of target. Seems he goes after the bad fish, drug dealers, arms dealers, prostitution ring leaders –the usual evil guys. There are a ton of suspected deaths linked to him, but no one seems to know what the guy looks like. He's like freaking Batman." Jensen said shaking his head and glancing up at those around him.
"I don't like it." Roque spoke up, putting his two cents in.
Pooch shook his head and turned to Clay, he trusted the Col.'s decisions and if Clay thought it was a risk they should take then Pooch wouldn't argue. Both Jensen and Sergeant Carlos Alvarez, or Cougar as he went by, stayed silent and watched as Clay weighed the pros and cons in his head. Finally, after a few moments of silence Clay sighed and looked to Aisha.
"What makes you think this guy is in Rio Branco?" He questioned, his tone still wary.
"I have a contact here who has information that says Felis Pardalis is in Rio Branco on a hit." Aisha replied as she moved to the duffle bag she had tossed aside when they entered the room. Reaching inside she pulled out a brown folder and handed it to Clay. "His mark is Hernando Chavez, Cuban National and a known drug dealer and child prostitution ring leader."
Clay flipped through the file before passing it to Cougar and the others to see. "So you figure we'd follow this dirt bag and find our hit man?" He asked Aisha.
She shook her head and motioned to the folder that Jensen was looking at. "No, Chavez only hangs out at one place during his nights; a strip club a few blocks from here where his cocaine trade is high and he can keep an eye on the girls he brought to Brazil from other countries. If Felis Pardalis is going to get Chavez anywhere it will be there."
The guys nodded, knowing that it was the most logical place for the assassin to get his target. It was quickly decided that the team would head down to the club and try and look for Hernando Chavez to see if they could see any sign of the mysterious Felis Pardalis. They'd break into smaller teams to keep track of the people getting near Chavez and they'd keep tabs on each other with ear pieces.
Everyone got ready, nicer jeans, better shirts to help them blend in with the crowed at the club, and concealed weapons where all that were needed before the six of them were out of the door and onto the street.
Night had fallen completely and the air was sticky and heavy with the humidity that came from Rio Branco's tropical climate. Bugs swarmed around the street lights and neon signs, but they weren't enough to deter the many people who came out for the night life that the city had to offer. Women strutted down the sidewalks in short skirt, high heels and barely-there tops. Men dressed to impress those women followed like the bugs drawn to the lights.
Cougar shook his head as he and Jensen entered the well packed club behind the others. He let his eyes wander around the dim room. It was pretty much just like every other club one would find anywhere in the world, loud music, overly extravagant lights, people practically dry humping on the dance floor and women in skimpy outfits serving drinks.
"Ok Losers," Clay said gaining the teams attention. "Jensen and Cougar, you will be one team, Pooch and Roque, and Aisha and myself."
Cougar nodded and continued to follow the Col. through the front area of the club and into the main area. Instantly he was alert, his eyes scanning the outer skirts of the club's dance floor. Aisha had shown the team a picture of Chavez and he'd looked exactly like Cougar thought a low life like him would; black greasy hair slicked back with too much oil, dark tanned skin and excessively expensive suits. It wasn't hard to find him - the guy was surrounded by about ten muscled thugs who didn't even try to blend in to the crowd around him.
"He's over there." Aisha said, her gaze trained on the man in the back corner of the club.
The bad guy in question was seated in the far back corner of the club at the biggest booth available. He needed it too, there were at least five girls flocked around him, none of which looked older than fifteen.
"Ok, we need to keep eyes on him." Clay directed, "Aisha and I will be over there by the bar, Roque and Pooch you guys take the guy's twelve and Cougar and Jensen get a table toward his nine."
The guys nodded and headed toward where they were instructed. Pooch and Roque took up places at the dance floor, right across from Chavez. Aisha and Clay sat at the bar to the right of the booth and Jensen and Cougar sat a few tables away from Chavez to his left. All of them kept a close watch on the Cuban scumbag, their eye fervently focusing on the private booth and documenting every patron who neared the table.
Stakeouts in any form could be tedious, but Cougar was used to it. Being the sniper on the team had given him the patience of a saint.
"Ugh!"
Jensen on the other hand had no patience to speak of.
"Dude!" Jensen groaned almost twenty minutes later. "This is pointless. No one remotely suspicious has approached his table."
"If the guy could be made easily then he wouldn't be a very good assassin, would he?" Cougar asked without taking his eyes off the booth feet away from him.
The glasses wearing techie seemed to think about it for a minute before nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Cougar shook his head and smiled at the other man and took a sip of the drink he'd ordered. He was getting a little tired of watching the man at the booth, the guy was a skeeze. Only women had gotten remotely close to the table and Cougar was getting sick of seeing young women, girls really, being pawed at by a man three times their age. It was disgusting.
"How many drinks does the guy need?" Jensen asked with a groan.
They watched as a woman carrying another round of drinks drew near the table. She was long and lean, wearing a skimpy little black outfit that's sides didn't meet fully in the middle, it exposed an ample amount of the woman's breasts and showed a flash of caramel skin down to her navel. When she leaned down to place the glasses on the table Cougar couldn't help as his eyes traveled downward- the black outfit didn't cover much skin on her ass either.
"Damn," Jensen mumbled as his eyes roamed over the waitress as well. "I think we're in the wrong business."
"Yeah," Cougar finally turned his brown eyes to the man, "Cause child prostitution is so much better."
Jensen shot him a disgruntled look, muttering "kill joy" under his breath. Cougar shook his head and they both focused back on their target. The waitress had gone and now the prick was back to talking to the girls around him. It was the same thing as when they had first arrived half an hour ago.
"Do you guys have anything?" Clay's voice cracked over the ear pieces a few minutes later.
"Nothing here." Pooch replied from his position at the edge of the dance floor.
"Just the same old sexily dressed women here." Jensen answered for him and Cougar.
"Keep a sharp eye out." Clay said after a slight pause, "If this guy is as good as he seems we might not see him until it's too late."
"Clay has to call an end to this soon. Obviously the guy's not coming tonight." Jensen said after another few minutes passed by and no one new approached the table. Cougar was ready to agree with the genius, if the assassin had been here to do a hit he would have taken his mark by now.
Just as Cougar was ready to tell Clay he thought tonight was a bust a commotion broke out at the booth. Chavez's guards were surrounding him. They all looked to be in a panic as one of the beefy guys pounded on Chavez's back. Instantly both Jensen and Cougar were on their feet, Jensen quickly getting Clay's attention. The two tried to get close to the table without seeming out of place and when they were close enough Cougar focused on Chavez. At first it appeared that the Cuban was choking on something, but as he drew closer Cougar could see smoke coming from the man's mouth as a hole began to form in the middle of his throat. It looked as if the skin of the guy's throat was melting away.
"Whoa," Jensen exclaimed as they passed the table. "That is not normal."
"Clay," Cougar said turning away from the gruesome scene. "It looks like our assassin hit."
"Rally point at the bar, now!" Clay's angered voice answered.
Cougar and Jensen quickly made their way over to the bar where Aisha and Clay were, Pooch and Roque strode up just as they did.
"What happened?" Aisha demanded before Clay could open his mouth.
Pooch and Roque turned to Jensen and Cougar. "We couldn't see Chavez as well as you two could." Pooch said with a shrug.
"The dude was fine one minute and then the next his throat started to disintegrate." Jensen said when Clay turned to them for answers.
"You didn't see anyone suspicious?" Aisha questioned. "No one who was hanging around his table?"
"You mean like us?" Pooch asked sarcastically.
"No," Cougar interrupted before an argument broke out again. "No one except the barely dressed little girls he has running around him."
Clay looked pensive for a minute; Cougar could see the wheels in his head turning as he tried to figure out who had the chance to get at Chavez without any one of them seeing. "It must be the bar tender then. He had ample opportunity to give the guy something in his drink."
But Aisha was already shaking her head. "No, it wasn't any of them," She said with complete sureness in her voice. "I kept an eye on the drinks they made. None of them added anything different."
Clay looked ready to disagree, but before he had a chance everyone turned to Jensen as he soundly slapped a hand to his forehead.
"You ok there?" Pooch asked looking at the man beside him.
"No!" Jensen exclaimed with a shake of his head. "I can't believe we didn't see it before!"
"What?" Clay demanded getting a little frustrated.
"The waitress!" Jensen's voice was loud, drawing a few eyes in their direction, but he ignored it. "The smokin' hot chick that brought that last order of drinks to the table. She had to have been the one to do it." He continued as he looked to Cougar.
Nodding Cougar knew that his friend was right. "I hadn't seen her earlier. She wasn't the usual one bringing Chavez his drink the whole night, but she did the last time." He said in support of the theory. "I thought the waitresses had switched shifts."
"No," Aisha chimed in, "The same waitresses that were here when we arrived are still working. Did you see the woman when we got here, before she served the table?"
Cougar and Jensen shook their heads 'no', as did Pooch and Roque. Immediately Clay stood from his seat and scanned the surrounding club. "Do you see her now? What did she look like?"
"She was wearing a short black outfit, barely covered anything. Tanned skin, lighter hair and a great ass." Jensen said as he looked around as well.
Cougar didn't need to look around to know that the woman was no longer in the club, the timing had been too perfect and the fact that no one had seen the assassin meant that they hadn't known what to expect. They had assumed the assassin was male, but by doing so they completely eliminated the chance to be looking for a woman.
"She's gone." Cougar spoke up. "Probably left after delivering the drinks to the table."
"Great," Roque said. "So now we've wasted another day looking for some assassin and she fucking got away? Real great."
Cougar ignored the pessimistic guy as he looked to Clay. "She couldn't have gotten far. She only left a few minutes ago."
Nodding Clay motion the group toward the door. "Come one we'll have to find her. We'll need to break up and try to cover some ground." He said as they exited the pulsing club and stepped into the humid night. "Assuming she didn't drive here she hasn't gotten too far."
The team split into their smaller groups and took off in different directions; Cougar and Jensen to the left down the street, Aisha and Clay to the right and Pooch and Roque across the street. Cougar kept his eyes peeled as he and Jensen jogged down the slightly crowded sidewalk. Club patrons were waiting in line or meeting friends outside the bars and as the two men passed more than one pair of eyes followed their forms.
They had gone several blocks before Cougar noticed a figure up ahead of them who had the curves of the woman in the bar. Jensen must have noticed as well because he already had a hand to his ear and was telling Clay and the others. Looking over at the other man Cougar nodded toward the woman ahead of them. Jensen returned the gesture and together they sped up, trying to close the distance between them and the woman. As they neared her the woman glanced over her shoulder, took one look at them and took off at a run.
"Dammit!" Jensen swore a he and Cougar sped to try and catch her. "I hate it when they run."
"Clay," Cougar said into the ear piece, "The woman is on the run."
"Yeah and she's a freaking cheetah!" Jensen added as the woman continued to speed up.
"Stay on her!" Clay's voice sounded loud in their ears. "We're almost to you. Pooch and Roque went around the street and are going to try and cut her off."
"Seriously!" Jensen panted, "Who can run that fast in heels?"
Cougar could feel himself start to get winded as the chase continued, the chick was fast, he'd give her that. But as they reached an intersection he could see the forms of Pooch and Roque as they closed in as well. Collecting a surge of energy Cougar gave one more burst of speed and closed the distance between him and the woman.
It was obvious the woman had seen the other two men as well, she had slowed down and was looking for a quick exit. The small pause in her step was all Cougar needed. He swiftly caught up to her and grabbed her arm. Instantly the woman turned and next thing he knew a fist was coming for his face. He dodged it and grabbed the woman's hand, keeping it at bay. But the woman was a fighter. Twisting in his grasp the woman spun around to Cougar's back and delivered a knee to his lower back. Grunting Cougar let the woman go as he was shoved forward.
Almost immediately Pooch, Roque and Jensen were on her. They tried to subdue the woman, but she was well trained. She took a few hits, one from Roque that should have felled her and in return she bestowed upon the older black man a kick to the groin that had every one of the men wincing in sympathy. With one person down she turned to the other three and attacked with a fury that surprised Cougar.
She struck fast, a series of jabs and kicks that had all three men trying to remember their force training to keep up with her. Cougar growled low in his chest as he received another hard left hook to the face. He knew they needed Clay and Aisha soon or they didn't have a good chance at taking the woman down. As if they had heard his thoughts, Clay and Aisha ran into the fray and Roque began to recover from the vicious attack to his nether regions.
The tables began to turn in the teams favor as Pooch and Aisha were able to grab each of the woman's arms. With her arms restrained the woman began to us her legs, which, with the wickedly pointed three inch heels she wore, were no less dangerous than her fists. Her foot connected with Clay's chin, sending the older man back a few feet to land on the ground with painful impact.
Cougar could see there was a fury in the woman's eyes. He'd seen it many times in his teammate's eyes when they were fighting the bad guys, it was a strength that few held. Seeing it he knew that the woman wouldn't be subdued easily, she would fight until there was no fight left in her.
"We aren't working for that bastard Chavez." He spoke suddenly, his voice loud enough to sound over the scuffle. The woman looked at him and, though she didn't immediately stop fighting, Cougar could tell she was listening to him.
"We're here to hire you for a job," He continued, trying to motion to his teammates to stop fighting.
Jensen, Roque and Clay, sensing what Cougar was trying to do, moved away from the woman's flailing legs and stood back in a non-threatening manner. The woman narrowed her eyes and slowly she stilled her fighting, going lax in Aisha and Pooch's hold. It looked like the woman had settled down her fighting and was ready to listen.
"Let go of me." She finally spoke, her voice low and a little raspy.
Aisha and Pooch both hesitated, their eyes going to Clay and wanting his permission. But before he could say anything the woman jerked hard in their holds and did some fancy foot work to break out of their grasps and step away from them completely.
"It wasn't a request." She said as her narrowed gaze shot to the two who had held her.
Cougar couldn't help but smirk a little at the woman, she wasn't one to be messed with and he admired that in her. Clay looked equally impressed as he eyed the woman as well.
"Are you Felis Pardalis?" Aisha question, her tone showing her annoyance at having been bested and talked to in such away.
The woman looked to her and seemed to weigh her options of answering. "If you truly are here looking for me then you know I am and if you're here to hire me then we need to move this discussion to a more private place."
It was then that the Cougar and the others seemed to notice the attention they had grabbed. People had stepped out of the clubs and had taken an interest in the little scuffle they'd had. Clusters of finely dressed patrons stood outside, gawking at the group, none of them trying to hide the fact they were watching.
"Fair enough." Clay said stepping forward. "We can go back to our hotel."
The woman raised a finely manicured eyebrow, but she inclined her a little and motioned for them to go ahead. "Lead the way."
It took about fifteen minutes for the group to reach the hotel. The woman had walked behind the team the whole way there, she was definitely cautious and it showed in her movement and the constant motion of her eyes. When they reached the floor their rooms were on Clay opened the door to the closest room and everyone shuffled in. The team took positions around the sparsely decorated space, their body language trying to be as nonthreatening as possible.
The woman, though she leaned against the side of the couch coolly, was still on guard. Her body language was calm, but her muscles were tense under her smooth skin and her eyes regarded each of them with suspicion.
"Now," The woman said as the silence started getting heavy. "Mind clueing me in on the job that's so important you had to jump me on the street?"
The team exchanged looks before Aisha stepped forward a little, turning all attention to her. "We're after someone and we need your help."
"Well that is generally why people hire me." The woman said, her tone conveying her short patients with the group. "But let me save you some time before you go through the whole story of why you need me to help you kill whoever you're after." She continued as she stood up straight. "My services are not cheap. I'm good at what I do and my pricing will reflect that."
"Pricing?" Jensen interrupted, "Sounds like we're getting quotes on a roof."
The woman smiled at him, a slight smile that showed a hint of a dimple in her cheeks. "Yes, well you kind of are." She said, "My fees can be a little daunting and they will vary depending on the baddie I'm going after."
"What are you fees?" Pooch asked making the quotation marks when he said the word 'fee'.
The woman's smile disappeared and her whole demeanor turned more serious. "Before I even start the job I get a down payment of sorts. It's usually around fifteen grand, I use it to get the materials I need in order to get the job done. After I've taken down the mark I get a final payment of thirty grand. And you forgot you've ever met me."
The group was a silent, each of them exchanged a look or two. The woman was definitely a professional. They'd seen her work first hand, but it was always dangerous to bring in someone whose only concern in the matter was money. They're loyalty was easily bought off and they could very well turn on their "employers".
As if reading why the team was thinking the woman spoke up. "I don't do the jobs just for the money." She said meeting each of their eyes. "I don't kill people. I kill monsters, the people who don't care whether others live or die. I do the world a favor, I just get paid for it."
Cougar, Jensen and Clay all smirked at the flippant smile she gave at the end.
"I don't care if you do it for the money or not." Aisha cut in. "We need your skills and I'm willing to pay for them."
The woman once again turned her attention back to the mocha skinned girl. "Tell me who you're after and I'll tell you the price."
"You heard of the Bolivian disaster that happened four months ago?" Aisha asked.
The woman's face instantly clouded over. "The accident that ended in the deaths of twenty-five children? Yeah, I saw it on the news."
"We're after the man who is responsible for those deaths. He is responsible for the accident and much more." The woman's expression turned pensive, she wasn't sure about the job.
"Those kids weren't supposed to die that day." Clay spoke, "Max, the man who gave the order to have the helicopter shot down, was trying to kill us. We were the intended targets of that explosion. He knew that we went in for those children and that there was a chance that we weren't on that plane when he blew it up. He knew that there was a chance we would live and he could have called off the missiles, but instead Max took down twenty-five innocent kids."
"Alright," The woman said after a few moments of silence. "I'll help you."
Cougar could see the relief show on Aisha's face, but it was short lived at the woman continued to speak.
"I'll help you, but it's going to cost you more." She said and turned her eyes to Aisha. "You're talking about going after someone from the US government, they don't like to play nice. I'm going to need twenty grand up front and then we'll discuss my final fee when we're finished."
Jensen let out a low whistle. "I would say your prices are steep, but, having seen Max's work first hand, you are smart to ask for more."
"Well," Aisha said without looking over to the techie. "Now that we've got this all settled, we can get some sleep and head out first thing in the morning."
"I need to go to my hotel." The woman said as everyone moved from their positions around the room. "I've got a few belongings there and I really need to change out of this outfit." She gestured down the skimpy piece of clothing that covered little.
"I think you look great!" Jensen chirped from the doorway.
The woman shook her head and shot him a smirk. "I'm sure you do."
"That's fine." Clay cut in, standing from the bed he'd just sat down on. "We can take you."
"You don't trust me." It was a statement, the woman knew what the score was. "That's fine, but I will not have a whole parade of men escorting me to my room. I already look like a stripper, I don't want to look like a whore." That got a chuckle out of the guys, all of their eyes roaming over her form, appreciating her body for the great and lethally honed piece of art it was.
"Alright," Clay conceded with a smile and nodded to the man to his left. "Cougar will take you there and back."
"Fine," The woman said and turned to look at the group. "What are your names?" She asked suddenly as she looked at them.
"I'm Clay, that's Roque, Pooch, Jensen, Cougar and Aisha." Clay motioned to each of them in turn.
The woman merely nodded and pointed to herself. "I'm Sacnite."
"Otherwise known as Felis Pardalis." Jensen put in. "What's it mean?"
"Yes, I have acquired that name over the years," Sacnite admitted as she moved toward the door. "It's another name for the nocturnal wildcat of Central America."
"An ocelot?" Jensen questioned, surprising everyone that he knew what kind of wildcats were in Central America.
"Yes," Sacnite nodded and pointed to her left. "You're, Cougar, you will escort me to my room?"
Cougar raised an eye brow at the woman, but say anything as Clay motioned for him to go. With a shrug he followed the woman out of the room and into the hall. They exited the building and walked for a few minutes in silence before Sacnite said anything.
"What's your real name?" Sacnite asked as they crossed the street.
Cougar glanced at her for a moment before answering her with a brief, "Carlos."
"You don't talk much do you?" She asked, but it was more of an observation than a question.
Turning his head in her direction slightly Cougar met her eyes. They were beautiful, a deep and rich hazel that he hadn't noticed before. His gaze moved from her eyes to take in the rest of her features; high cheek bones, smooth, caramel skin, thin, lightly rounded nose that ended above a plump and tempting mouth. She was beautiful.
"I do not see a point in idle chit chat." Cougar said.
"Hmm," Sacnite murmured, a smile coming to her lips. "The strong silent type."
Cougar gave a low chuckle and shook his head. They continued their stroll down the street for a few blocks before they came upon Sacnite's hotel. It was grand, much nicer than the one they were staying at and the expensive furniture and décor definitely reflected that.
"I'm on the top floor." Sacnite said as she led Cougar to the elevator.
They stepped out of the elevator a few moments later and walked down the hall to the last room on the floor. Cougar watched with an increasing heart rate as Sacnite trailed her hand up from her waist to just under her bosom, her slim fingers delving under the black material of her outfit. His eyes locked on the place her fingers disappeared, it was a sight that shouldn't have been as appealing as it was, but the fact that the woman was barely covered by the skimpy outfit and that she was a looker didn't help.
Sacnite cast a look at him from the corner of her eyes, smirking when she saw where his eyes were focused. With a slight shake of her head she pulled her hand away from her body, revealing the keycard she had put there since she didn't have a purse. Stepping up to the door Sacnite quickly pushed it open.
"I will only be a few moments." She said, motioning Cougar to take a seat where he wanted. As he took a seat on the flora patterned couch Sacnite moved to the suite case that sat at the end of the only queen sized bed in the room. It took her only a moment to grab a few items of clothing and then head to the closed door on the other side of the room.
The door to the bathroom closed behind Sacnite with a soft click and she took the moment to herself to glance in the mirror. She had a small cut above her eyebrow, the big black man, Roque, had a hard hand. Running some cold water over a cloth Sacnite dabbed the wound and ran the cool rag over her neck with a sigh. The night had taken an unexpected turn.
The hit on the low life Chavez had gone exceedingly well, better than she had expected actually. The little concoction she had cooked up and slipped into the bastard's drink had results that were even more amazing than she had predicted, it had burned a whole through the Cuban's throat, windpipe and anything else that it touched within his body and his death would be a painful one.
No less than he deserved, she thought with a small, satisfied smirk.
But then she'd been marked, someone had followed her and the next thing she knew she was in a street brawl with six people. She had been holding her own, but then an offer was made and Sacnite couldn't deny that she had been wanting to take out the people responsible for the senseless deaths of those children. She'd made it her life's focus to rid the world of as many scum as she could before she died and this guy, Max, seemed like he was towards the top of the list in the 'scum of the world' category.
Even though the job sounded like any other hit she would except Sacnite had never worked with a team before, especially one as skilled as the group who had sought her out. The fact that they had know who her hit was and where she would be was enough to make Sacnite wary of them, but add the fact that they were able to almost over power her, even before the other two people showed up in the street brawl, said enough about their fighting skills to tell Sacnite that these weren't ordinary civilians. She knew that this hit was going to be nothing like any of the other ones she'd taken on before. She was going to have to tread lightly and deal with this group with the cautiousness that had kept her alive this long.
With one last pat with the damp cloth Sacnite quickly stripped out of her one piece short-suite and changed into her newly selected, and more modest, outfit. The black shorts landed to the center of her thigh, longer than the ass hugging outfit she had just taken off, and the grey shirt hung off one shoulder and revealed a strip of her midriff. Sacnite gathered her discarded clothes and exited the bathroom.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the quiet Hispanic man sitting on the couch, Cougar, they had called him. He was lounging on the love seat, his lean body relaxed, and his light brown leather cowboy-esque hat pulled low over deep brown eyes that saw more than most. The white t-shirt he wore fit him well, hanging on his frame in such a way that showed off his lean and muscled body without being tight and his well-worn blue jeans and leather boots added to his casual, modern and rugged cowboy style.
"I am ready." He didn't even jump at the sound of her voice, though she was soundless when she exited the bathroom. Sacnite knew he had been aware the moment she had stepped out of the bathroom and into the main hotel room.
Cougar pushed his hat back with two fingers and stood as she zipped her bag, slung it over her shoulder and approached him. "Let's go then." He said holding open the door for her. Sacnite smiled her thanks and they got on the elevator. She checked out of the hotel and they made their way back to the hotel the rest of the team was staying at.
Ok I hope you all like the first little bit of my new story. I am currently working on the second chapter and I will post it as soon as I'm done if I have enough reviews. Please read and review! Thanks!