Blood tickled down her chin, dipping steadily onto her chest. She had been stripped to her singlet and underwear, and she shivered in the cold. Her jaw ached. A throbbing pain where her tooth used to be- how did they expect her to talk when her mouth was full of hands and pliers? Amateurs.
The blood finally reached fabric and stained the white quickly. She spat excess blood from her mouth. She wondered why torture rooms always had to be so dingy and damp, always in the goddamn basement. A stark white room would affect her more- she'd have less to plan with. Now she could see pipes and hear the echoes of voices above- she was gaining valuable information.
'How are we doing? Have you decided you're ready to talk?' The young man stopped in front of her, twirling the chair to sit on it backwards- why did anyone ever think that was intimidating. Hollywood had a lot to answer for.
'I'm always ready to talk' she smiled sweetly, steadily working her hands out of their bonds.
'Who are you working for?' He was a handsome man, too good looking for this line of work.
'Myself' the same saccharine smile
'Why did you break in here?' His head cocked to the side like a questioning dog
'I was trying to visit a friend'
'And who might that be?'
'Jim Moriarty' even to his employees his name bristled them. She loved it.
'What business do you have with him?'
'No business, just a friendly visit'
'A friendly visit, with grenades?'
'That was if it turned unfriendly'
'I see' he studied her for a long while, before leaving her in the gloomy, echoing basement alone again.
She worked her hands completely free of her binds, but remained sitting, aware of the security camera focused on her from behind. Shouting erupted above. Time passed slowly, measured by the steady 'drip drip drip' of a leaking pipe. So dull.
It was well and truly night when she heard the thunk thunk thunk of helicopter blades in the grounds, and she smiled, knowing her time for a daring escape had come.
Stupidly, her captors had left her weapons in the same room. If they paid any attention they'd have known who she was and this all could have been avoided. Quickly, she untied the rope binding her legs to the chair, and collected her gun. They could keep the rest, but the gun... Well, it was sentimental.
She crept silently up the stairs, her escape unnoticed by the camera watchers. Standing guard at the door, two men. One had his neck broken, the other shot through the temple. She felt no pity- this is a dangerous industry, if you want to survive you remain alert. Never ever is there a place for complacency.
As quietly as she could, save for the thunk of bodies hitting the marble floor, she made her way through the house. She could hear footsteps in the main foyer, a voice rising and falling in anger. A second voice, stammering an apology. She strolled into the foyer, still half naked, and aimed her pistol at her interrogator while shooting a smirk at his boss.
'Hello Hunter' he sighed
'Husband! How nice of you to join us' she grinned broadly this time, revelling in the confusion on the young mans face.
Jim Moriarty ran a hand through his silken black hair, shaking his head. 'You know, I had high hopes for you, Jules'
'Sir I... I didn't know she was your wife! She broke in! Grenades!' He stammered, more fearful of his punishment than of her pistol.
'Ex-wife' Jim corrected 'and even so, too many rookie mistakes. There is no time for that in this line of work'
'Uhuhuh' hunter waggled her finger at him 'it's not official yet, my love' she enjoyed teasing him. She was one of the few who could 'shall I dispatch him for you? Or are you in the mood to get your hands dirty?' '
No, no go ahead, please' he stepped back, as she took a tiny breath and pulled her trigger. His body dropped to the floor, brain matter spraying a macabre artwork across the room.
'Did they get the wisdom tooth that's been bothering you?' He shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled towards her
'No, the molar in front of it' she rolled her eyes 'no worry, the dentist will fix it all up tomorrow'
'You're supposed to stick to our agreement' his eyes flicked briefly to the pistol in her hand, now hanging loosely by her side, before probing her eyes.
'How can I stick to our agreement when I come home, and MY Ming vase is missing?' Her gaze was intense. Fuck he looked good. That was a new suit, and god it was tailored well.
He shook his head but didn't deny anything 'are you sure you didn't misplace it?' He couldn't help the smile, his almost ex-wife causing so much trouble 'I see you still favour the Wolf' he looked pointedly at the pistol.
'Call it sentiment' she smirked 'I'd like my vase back, please'
'You cut down 30 men and lost a tooth to get a vase back? Which I don't have by the way' he stepped close enough to her that she could feel his breath on her cheek- spearmint gum, as always.
'I was always your best' she couldn't stop herself from glancing between his eyes and his mouth- that smart mouth that teased and tormented her, and gave her so much pleasure.
She closed the gap, kissing him forcefully, his hands moving from pockets to her hips and crushing her against him. Hunter slid her hands beneath his jacket, running her fingers over the back muscles she loved. He pulled away, breathing heavily, lust reflected in his eyes 'fuck I love you'
She smirked, kissing his jaw, his neck, nibbling at his Adam's apple. It never took much of her teasing to arouse him completely, and he was already straining against his trousers.
He claimed her mouth again, pulling her head back roughly by the hair to kiss down her neck.
'Lets get married' he whispered, biting her collarbone
'Again?'
'Yes' he growled, moving to bite her lip 'marry me'
'Fine. But I still want my vase' she said after he released her lip, running her tongue over it slowly
'It's in the bedroom' it was his turn to smirk, lifting her into his arms
She cursed quietly 'should have started with the bedroom'
'Now we can end with it' he stepped over the body of one of his men, taking her back to where she belonged. Their bed. As his wife.