Golden Ticket to Hell
"Where's Malia?" was the first thing Corey asked, the second Theo walked into the Blink&Clean building.
He had left the McCall's ranch during a thunderstorm and seen Stile's excuse of a jeep disappear in the gray horizon, knowing Malia was with him. The anger of being thrown out hadn't compared to the anger and betrayal he had felt seeing her walk away with Stilinski, of all people.
"She's not coming back" and Theo knew he was right.
Malia could say whatever she wanted about being used by him – and he had, hadn't he? – But in the end she had used him just as much. She had used him to play the dream boyfriend to her family and friends, used him when she pressed a collection of kisses to his face and made his head swim… And now she had gotten everything she wanted. All Malia wanted was to go back and he had known that from the beginning.
The life in Blink&Clean had always been a play for her. It was the reason why she didn't understand him. She didn't understand how was to be an agent and to live for that. Theo would give up his life any day for a mission and Malia would never get it. Assassins don't have the luxury of caring and Malia cared far too much. He cared far too much for her, she had been a weakness from the start and Theo didn't regret overpowering it. He wasn't going to let his feelings for her stop him from finishing the job.
"I'm dropping out" He let the paperwork fall on Desert Wolf's table and she raised her eyes from the laptop screen and tilted an eyebrow.
"Dropping out?" Lara repeated slowly, opening the file case and browsing through it "You'd be gaining four million dollars with this case and you're dropping out?"
"People have paid me more, for less" Theo crossed his arms over his chest "Malia discovered my part on it, she probably warned the Hales already. The mission was compromised"
"Alright" A deep sigh and she opened a drawer, taking out a digital pen and a tablet "I never thought I'd see you giving up on a case, Agent Raeken"
"Things change" Theo sat down before her and took the pen, signing the contracts dropping out and taking all the responsibility for that.
"Do you have anyone to suggest taking your place?" her eyes had gone back to the screen and she was typing furiously on the mercury keyboard.
"No"
Going back home, as if he had ever called the safe house Blink&Clean chose for him 'home', was weirder than he had thought. After almost a week sharing the bed, sleeping alone felt cold and empty and Theo found himself training until late night and waking up earlier than normal. The nightmares with her cold glare and "All the rumors about you were truth" didn't help either.
"Liar liar, pants on fire" Corey smiled, walking into the shooting room a week later and poking him on the ribs. Theo missed the bull's-eye and turned annoyed to his younger friend.
"What do you want, Corey?"
"You little liar, you said she wouldn't be back"
The gun kicked in his hand when Theo pressed the trigger, missing the target for incredible three meters.
Corey tilted his head to see the hole in the wall "Somebody is surprised…"
"Somebody should leave me alone" Theo bit back, putting the gun down and walking to the weapons wall, choosing another one.
Corey followed him like a puppy "Will I ever know what happened in the week you were away?" his voice was filled with dry humor and Theo turned to him, unlocking the gun.
"You have four seconds to leave before I shoot you in the leg"
"Bullshit" Corey rolled his eyes "Your mood is worse than hers and that's saying something"
"I'm not joking, Corey" Theo shot the floor, near Corey's feet and the young man jumped back and raised his hands.
"Ok, ok! I'm going!"
The realization that she had came back didn't down on him until later that day, when he passed through the gym and Malia was already training the younger agents with ruthless fury. He made sure to not make eye contact, but her eyes burnt him like she wanted to open holes with only her gaze. Theo figured she really wanted to open some holes on him, except that she would be using bullets if allowed.
He avoided her like the plague, but she didn't do the same. If anything, he saw her more now than before going to Beacon Hills. Malia now went to the medical floor not only when necessary, but simply to observe and talk with Corey. She would stay late training with Hayden and spend her free time locked with Josh on the shooting room.
Theo would see the bad aimed bullets on her target and imagine if she was picturing his head there. Probably.
"You're much better than this, Theo" Corey sighed, sitting in front of him and stitching the big cut in his ribs, which he had earned during a fight. "I can't believe you let a bodyguard do this. It's an amateur mistake, Raeken"
"I don't need a lecture, mom" Theo snapped back, annoyed he had lost a simple case and in pain, since Corey had denied him a local anesthesia as punishment.
"Corey, any chance you could stitch up, Josh…" Malia entered in the infirmary, only to cringe and stop talking "Never mind, I'll ask Beth"
"Beth is a butcher" gasped Josh, with an arm wrapped around her shoulders "No way I'll let her take this bullet off"
"Just put him on the bed, I'm already finishing Theo" Corey sighed "What happened?"
Theo couldn't take his eyes from her face. She didn't avoid his glare; staring back and throwing him a dirty look that made him wince more than Corey digging on his flesh.
"I shot him by accident"
"She almost killed me" Josh corrected "this psycho had her gun unlocked and was just resting her finger in the trigger"
Corey let out a small smile and started to make a knot on the line "Well, at least today I'm only getting easy cases. Newbie mistakes."
Josh closed his eyes, resting against the pillow "What? Raeken is here because of a newbie mistake?" He almost smiled "I don't believe it"
"He let a bodyguard open his ribs with a Swiss knife" Corey finished the stitching and pulled the needle away "You done, Theo. You can go back to being stupid by tomorrow already."
"Do you need me here?" Malia asked, turning to Josh. He shook his head no, wincing with pain "I'll be ok"
"Sorry again for blowing a hole in your leg"
"It's fine. I've had students doing worse."
"Ok, then." She smiled apologetically one last time and left the room.
Theo felt his heart skip a beat and he hastily tried to stand up, grimacing when it pulled the recent stitches "May I go?"
"Sure" Corey bit down a smile and exchanged an amused glance with Josh, while Raeken struggled to get on his feet and walked out of the room as fast as he could.
"Malia!" He yelled, trying to run toward her. She didn't slow down, but didn't run either, so Theo figured it wasn't an entirely lost cause "Malia, wait!" he grabbed her by the arm "We need to talk"
She turned to look at him and her gaze wasn't deep in ache or anger, just pure annoyance "No, we don't"
"Can you even try to understand me? I'm an agent and you knew that from the beginning!" Theo exclaimed, letting go of her arm "What did you think was going to happen, Malia? Our five lovely days would change me forever? That I'd stop being who I am because…" because I like you? "…Because of a kiss?!"
"Are you done?"
"No!" Theo shook his head. He wasn't sure of what he was trying to achieve. "I can't keep going with this, ok?! I can't keep on avoiding you. I don't regret what I did, Malia, but I do regret helping you."
She slapped him with so much force that Theo tasted blood "The only thing you were ever good at was lying and if our five days proved anything, is that you suck at it too."
He grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her closer with force, boiling anger filling up his mouth "You want to hit me, Malia?" he hissed, squeezing her wrist between his fingers. "Why? Because your heart is broken?"
She punched him with her free hand, grabbing him by the shirt and with the shock Theo let go of her. Malia all but threw him against a wall, opening a vicious smile when Theo hissed painfully "I want to hit you because you deserve it. Because you're mean and a traitor" she slapped him again and there would be a mark there. Malia wasn't delicate in her anger, she was violence and broken bones and Theo was slowly loosing hold of whatever she was saying.
Her face was so goddamn close to his, her perfume was driving him crazy. "I'm mean, Malia?" Theo mocked, twisting her arm and exchanging positions. She face palmed the wall, Theo pressed in her back "Wasn't it mean to play with me, uhm?" He whispered in her hair, barely aware of them attracting Corey outside the medic bay, "I warned you I was no good, you trusted me because you wanted to"
"Bullshit" Malia barked back, stepping on his feet and kicking his knee. Theo fell on the ground and she forced her knee on his chest "I trusted you, because you gave me all the reasons too. You played me, Theo. Don't try to push on me, just because you're too pathetic to deal with your own guilt"
"U-hum" a female voice interrupted. Theo froze with a hand going to Malia's tight, ready to throw her underneath him. Malia's fist froze on the air, the aim perfect to fracture his nose. "What is this?" Desert Wolf crossed her arms, the elevator door closing slowly behind her back.
"I can explain" they said in unison. Lara sighed, eyed the ceiling as if she was dealing with children and pressed the elevator button again.
"Get off of the floor"
"I'd be lying if I said I never saw two employees fighting… It's bound to happen" her voice was calm, almost motherly and Theo knew he was screwed. Desert Wolf was always cold and whenever emotion displayed in her voice, it was a sign she was completely livid.
"Desert Wol-"
"Shut up" She hissed before Malia could interrupt to try and explain herself "As I was saying, some fights are bound to happen when you have so many angry and skilled people in one building. However…" she squeezed her dark eyes, glaring at them "I was not expecting it from my best agent and my daughter"
"He was asking for it!" Malia yelled, interrupting despite the fury in their boss's eyes.
"Do I look like I care?" Lara yelled louder, hitting with a fist in her table and making all the devices shake "I don't care if he shot your father before your eyes, Malia! You two are my employees and I will not admit exhibitions of your lack of professionalism. WHATEVER SHENANIGANS YOU HAVE WITH AGENT RAEKEN, IT WILL STAY AWAY FROM WORK!" she was spitting by the end of the speech "Wait outside Malia"
"No, I'm not a ch-"
"Wait outside" The woman's brown eyes shone with anger and she walked closer, hands shaking. "Wait outside before I kick you out of the job, the house, and expose your entire web of lies to Mr. Tate"
"You wouldn't dare…" Malia growled, being slowly cornered to the door. Desert Wolf opened her silver door and pushed her daughter outside by the arm.
"Try me" Lara hissed, before banging the door closed in Malia's face.
Theo gulped down. He was going to be fired… or neutralized. Of all the girls to mess with, he had to pick his boss' daughter. Desert Wolf was going to kill him.
"Sit down, Agent TR Chimera" Lara pointed the chair and passed a hand over her pants, as if to clean imaginary dirty, to compose herself from the screaming.
"Desert Wolf, we both knew she would play a tantrum"
"Malia is made of anger, I can't say I blame her for trying to kill you" she mumbled darkly "For a daughter I never wanted, she has far too much of my temper"
Theo stayed quiet, absorbing the information handed to him. It could be useful later.
"The spectacle you two played was a vulgar thing. I never expected it from you, Agent Raeken" she sighed "I can't help but wonder… Was the last job too much for you?" her voice was cold and professional, but Theo knew he was being mocked "Did you develop feelings for Malia?"
"Absolutely not" and his heart skipped a beat. He was lying badly and Desert Wolf snorted.
"The best agent of Blink&Clean since me… dropping out of a job because he has a heart." She opened a smile that made Theo want to be sick. His entire reputation, all those years of credit… Thrown away for Malia. "It would be tragic if it wasn't it comic"
"My relationship with Malia doesn't interfere with my job." Theo said, his voice razor sharp.
"Doesn't it?" Lara opened a drawer and pulled a big file, skipping through the pages "Since you dropped the Hale Case, all of your jobs have been poorly executed. Was it any other agent… Agent TR Chimera, you understand that you're not fired by now because of your history with Blink&Clean, right?"
"Yes" his mouth tasted like blood, he felt something bitter on the back of his throat. His pride, his dignity, bile.
"Alright then." She closed the file with a soft thump and sighed "You're banished from taking any jobs on the next two weeks. Banished from the building too."
"Desert Wolf, please…" he would go crazy. Staring at the nude walls of his house, without anything else to do… Theo would go insane.
"I hope it serves you as warning before you go throwing punches inside of your work place." She then squeezed her eyes "And I hope your next job is brilliantly executed, or you'll have some paperwork to do"
And by paperwork she meant the dismissal form.
"Tell Malia to come in. You can go, Agent TR Chimera"
"Thank you, Desert Wolf" and in all honesty, Theo was glad he wasn't fired yet.
With his ego destroyed, finding a bar and getting drunk seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. Living in Seattle, even if he rarely ever went out in the city, made it perfect to find the grimiest bar on a dirty corner and order a dose.
He was on his fifth cup when a voice said "Please do entertain me with your dramatic story"
Theo turned toward her, downing his liquor. "What?"
"Easy, handsome. It was a joke" she rolled her eyes "But you do look like you could use a friend"
"I don't have friends" Theo tilted an eyebrow, watching as she opened a small, dangerous smile.
She sat by his side, downing her drink and gesturing for the waiter "No friends, uh? Why don't you tell me your story? Entertain me"
Theo let a lazy smile slip to his lips, his eyes wandering through her white shirt and jeans "Only job problems, nothing much. What about you? How did you end up here?" he signaled the dirty bar that didn't match her appearance, but much definitely matched her personality.
"Life brought me here, but I stayed for the whisky" she raised her glass for the waiter to fill it and Theo saw the sparkling ring on her hand.
"You are married" He pointed out, raising his own glass. She shrugged. "Does it bother you?"
"Only if it bothers you" Theo smiled when he felt her hand rest in his thigh and squeeze it gently.
"Not at all" She downed her drink "I'm Eva"
Eva didn't have much patience. She knew when to shake her head for his words, when to punctuate with a joke and when to slip closer to him. However, Theo couldn't fight the feeling that she wasn't even hearing him.
He had come to a bar to find the sweet oblivion of alcohol and Eva had come to drink away her marriage problems. She didn't take off her diamond ring for a second, as if the rock was a reminder that she was prohibited and just because of that he should crave her more.
Theo let his gaze drop to her face, with a sexy smile and plump lips and looking nothing like M… Yeah, Eva was a gorgeous woman.
"We're closing" the bartender eyed them with annoyance. The place was empty if not for them and the guy was clearly done with them eye-fucking but not paying the bill.
"Allow me" Theo said, grabbing her bill. Eva raised an unimpressed eyebrow and rolled her eyes.
"Sexist jerk, why am I not surprised" she sighed.
Theo frowned "If you insist on calling courtesy "sexism"…" he shrugged, before drooping the notes with a large tip and handing it to the annoyed man looking at them.
"Oh, it's named courtesy." Eva laughed "Paying a married woman's bill is courtesy, in my time it was named something else" she walked to the door and Theo followed her.
It was the middle of the night, a couple of hours before sunrise. He could yell really loud and nobody would call the police, because it was that time of the night when you could be murdered and people would only complain about their interrupted sleep.
"You keep saying you're married, but I don't see you going home"
"I don't want to go home" She sighed, taking off her jacket and throwing it on his face. Theo smiled against the warm leather. "I'm gonna ask to divorce her"
"Of course you will" He joked. Eva kept walking, he kept following.
It wasn't her first time cheating. It wasn't her first time cheating with a person from that grim bar, because otherwise Eva wouldn't know about the hidden motel turning the block. And she wouldn't grab a key as if the room was hers and wouldn't take off her shirt on the empty hallway and throw it on his face.
"How many times?" Theo asked, when Eva opened the door and turned on the lights. She pushed him against a wall, kicked the door closed and opened his jeans with terrible easiness.
"I've lost count" she whispered against his stomach, pulling his jeans down and staring at him in her knees. Theo smiled at her, tangling a hand on her hair and tilting her head back. Eva blinked, dark eyes shining on his and Theo bent down to kiss her.
She intertwined her hands on his hair and then Theo wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling Eva to him and standing up. He pressed her against the opposite motel wall that she had pushed him on.
She smiled under his kiss, letting her hands drop to his shoulders and pulled his shirt off.
He raised her and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her body arching gently when Theo started to kiss her neck.
Eva smelt like alcohol, bad decisions and grapes and he squeezed his eyes shut and willed the nagging voice in his head to shut up, trying to drown himself on her.
She pulled away from him, biting his shoulder and throwing Theo on the bed. Eva sat on his lap and then smiled, her body warm and light on top of him.
"All the rumors about you were truth" She whispered, before kissing him deeply and forcing him on the pillows. Theo pulled her away with force, his hands on her arms. "What?"
"I said" she frowned, confused "Do you have a condom?"
"Yes..." Theo blinked, unsure "In my wallet"
She kissed him again, never leaving his lap, while she bent to grab his wallet. "You betrayed my trust and only used me as a ploy" Eva whispered in his ear, opening the small package. Theo pushed her off him hurriedly, standing up.
"What's wrong with you dude?!" She exclaimed, her arm growing red where his fingers had squeezed her.
"What did you say?!" Theo passed a hand through his face. He was going crazy.
"I asked if you wanted to put it on, or let me"
"I…" his heart was racing and Theo blinked to focus her. How drunk was he? Had she drugged him, yeah, that sounded possible… With his luck "I think I better go now"
Eva frowned and then rolled her eyes "Don't bother with courtesy, this room is already paid" she growled, before throwing his wallet to him and crossing her arms.
Walking home drunk and almost unemployed, for the first time, would have been humiliation enough, but the fact that he had freaked before fucking a girl made it even worst. Theo could officially say his pride was dead.
He opened the door of his house and stared bored to the place. Hell, he hated it. There was no way he could stay two weeks locked up and not go completely crazy.
Waking up covered in sweat, with his mouth tasting like alcohol and a boner that answered perfectly to the memory of "I could kiss you… But I won't" was so embarrassing that Theo decided to try and drown himself in a cold shower. Forget about her, Raeken, forget about her. She'll destroy the only thing you ever cared about: your career.
He ended up getting into a bar fight later that night, not because he was drunk (in all honesty, Theo was a lightweight and he didn't enjoy feeling out of control), but because the feeling of a nose crushing under his fist was calming.
"C'mon, man!" a guy yelled "Let the security deal with this prick, before you end up in jail!"
Good advice, too bad Theo had a blood thirst that couldn't be sedated and he punched and kicked until a security guard punched him and said "Leave, or I'll call the police"
He ended up training the rest of the night, hitting the punch bag with a vicious anger that any teacher would call "weakness". He was full of weakness now, right? Angry, distracted… with the taste of cheap liquor on his mouth and a name on the back of his head that just wouldn't leave. Theo wished he could punch away the flutters of his heart, the cold sweat of his palms or the constant wet dreams that managed to be even worse than the nightmares.
All he could do was train until he felt sick and pray two weeks passed faster.
"I'm retired if you haven't heard, fucker, so try calling me again in two weeks or at a better fucking hour than five AM" Theo growled in his pillow, his head banging with a hangover that had more to do with the guard's punch than the alcohol. His phone wouldn't stop ringing and he had picked it up out of pure spite.
"Lovely, Agent TR Chimera" Desert Wolf answered and Theo bolted sit, pain forgotten.
"I'm sorry, Desert Wolf" he grumbled, cleaning his throat to keep the sleep away "I didn't see the number"
"That's obvious" there was something close to amusement in her voice "You know I don't pick favorites for jobs, TR Chimera, and you are banished from Blink&Clean…"
He wasn't even annoyed she was reminding him that. There was a 'but' in her voice. "What?"
"I've got a job… a complicated one. And I can't find somebody else to do it, since we both know your reasons for dropping out of case 10.004. Come over before we open today, if you accept it, it's yours"
Theo was buzzing with energy when he entered the building, only two hours later. Even Gaia wasn't sitting on the reception yet and it was a little weird to see the always crowded edifice, so quiet.
Desert Wolf had a coffee mug in her hands and she pointed the file before her when Theo entered her office.
"Why me?" He asked, opening the file.
"It was either you or a group mission. Group missions are expensive" Desert Wolf shrugged and tilted forward to see what he was reading. "Line eight"
Theo jumped for line eight and then opened a huge smile "Kate Argent" he whispered "It's a case against the Argents"
"Yes"
Kate Argent had been the one to pester Desert Wolf to hand her best agent. Kate Argent had been the one paying him to steal the Hales. Kate Argent had been the annoying spoiled lady calling him every five minutes to make sure the job was done and, because of that, ruining his five days with Malia. Oh, it was going to be good.
"I accept it" Theo answered, voice jumping in a teenager-ish way. Lara only rolled her eyes and stared at her computer, typing something and then turning to look at him.
"You know the deal. Get the file, study it. You leave tonight"
"Thank you" Theo opened a smile. She blinked, confused by the sudden warmth in his voice. "Thank you so much"
"Oh, look who's wasting our oxygen again" Malia mumbled, the second he got in the same elevator as her. She was just leaving, he was entering.
"Last time I checked, you enjoyed to share my oxygen… my saliva too, if I'm not wrong."
Malia turned to face him, Hayden's hand in her arm and an annoyed glare in her eyes. "Really, Theo?" Hayden groaned, but none of them heard her.
"Why don't you curl up somewhere and die, Raeken?" Malia barked, before she was pulled away.
He couldn't let her walk away with the last word, so before the elevator's door closed Theo made sure to yell "Don't worry, Malia, you won't see me around anymore!"
N/A: And first chapter is here! Reminding everyone that this is a sequel to All Tied Up and I recommend reading it first, so you won't get lost. I hope you all enjoyed this start! See you in the comments!