The room was dimly lit by dimmed lamp and some candles and smoke filled the air from the cigars smoked the past few hours. I looked at the money on the table, all won by me and my partner, Julian. His black hair glistened even in the dim light and so did his light blue eyes. His eyes were trained on me as I pulled him closer by his belt loops.

"I think we should celebrate winning this game…" He chuckled and picked me up, setting me rather roughly against the soft wooden table that we used for poker. His lips claimed mine for the first time since I'd been here, something I'd been waiting for. Don't get me wrong, I'm no sex addict or anything like that, but two months without anything to take your frustrations out on gets to you. So when a hottie like this comes around, there's no way I'd pass up the opportunity.

He kissed down my neck, sucking on my collarbone lightly, and I allowed myself to moan, but I couldn't enjoy this too much – there was still a goal at hand. I tugged on his shirt and he took it off, revealing a toned stomach, but no abs. I always liked guys with abs, but even without them this man was hotter than all of them. "You're so damn sexy…can't even imagine what you look like with your clothes off."

A chuckle left my lips as I pulled his face back to mine, biting on his lower lip which made a groan leave his mouth. My jeans were next, my phone going with them. He ran his hands up my legs and gripped the back of my knees. That's when my phone started to go off, sounding identical to an alarm on a submarine. I knew that ringtone well and knew what it meant – my time was being cut short. So while Julian was busy kissing me, I grabbed the tail on my dragon necklace and pulled on it, revealing a three inch blade, a blade that was soon stabbed into the side of Julian's neck. His eyes widened in shock as he pulled away, while I just smirked. "Sorry Julian, but I'm afraid I have to cut this short." Blood came from his mouth as I dragged the blade across his neck to the other side. "You-you-you bi-bi-bitch…" He fell to the floor, choking on his own blood.

He stopped moving moments later and I pulled the blade from his neck, cleaning it off with his shirt before reconnecting it with the upper half of the dragon necklace. I picked up my phone and put it to my ear, "Vixen speaking."

"Aye, it's bloody good to hear your voice Alla."

I smiled lightly as I pulled my jeans and shoes back on. "Hey Soap, what can I do for you?"

He chuckled over the line, "I need your help, actually. It's a job. I hope you're not busy?"

My eyes shot to Julian's body, which was now in a pool of blood. I glared lightly at his corpse, "I was actually just in the middle of something." He laughed on the other end. "Sorry Alla. But I need you for a job. Will Hereford, England do? There's a nice little dinner place called Aqua Diner, and it just so happens I have a reservation for two tomorrow night."

I chuckled softly at him. "You always were a flirt, John. I'll meet you there tomorrow night at…?"

"Sorry. Seven sharp! And that's at night before you get smart! I'll see you then Alla."

I ended the call and collected the cash from the table, throwing it into my bag. This would be my tip for being good at what I do. Now that I had left to do was collect my reward from the man who hired me to kill Julian and I could be on my way to England.

OoO

The clock read 6:58, just two more minutes and I'd hopefully see the woman of the hour. I had gotten here an hour early so I could get a good table. Shepherd wasn't too keen on this idea of mine, but I had convinced him it would work like a charm. Alla was trained in this art and could bring down any target.

oOo

Shepherd looked at me warily as I showed him a picture of the woman I had talked to him about. He shook his head and shoved the picture away. "Captain MacTavish, I will not have a prostitute working with our team!"

I shook my head, "Sir, she's no prostitute. She's the best assassin I know and I know she can get the job done. She always completes a job." He still wouldn't agree with me. "I don't think this will work."

"Shepherd, Vixen has taken out the most dangerous targets all around the world. Captain Price trusted her with his life, I trust her with my life, and trust me, she never double crosses. If something goes wrong, I'll take the fall for it. This might be the only way."

oOo

"Still stare off into space I see." The angelic voice snapped me back from the earlier events of the day and made me smile. Long dark brown hair up in a curled bun, black eyeliner and purple eye shadow that made her green eyes pop out, and she was dressed in a short, plum colored dress that was off the shoulder. She still held that sexy yet beautiful thing about her that made everyone stare as she approached me.

She smiled brightly, revealing her pearly white teeth. I got up and pulled the chair out for her, almost forgetting my manners. "You look absolutely stunning as always." A giggle left her lips, "And you absolutely dashing." She was referring to the silky black suit I was wearing. I had to look nice in a place like this, and especially around this woman – she expected a lot, or at least that's what everyone thinks.

"So what can I do for you, John?" Before I answered her, I took a champagne glass of red wine off the tray the waiter had brought us, apparently compliments of the restaurant itself. I watched in amusement as Alla smiled flirtatiously at the man and then took her wine. Watching men do her bidding was quite amusing, but of course, her tactics worked best of the weak and middle minded. The job I had for her today, I knew it would be a challenge.

"I'm here to hire you for a little something and I was thinking we could discuss your payment at the base tomorrow?" The flirtatious look left her eyes and it was immediately all business for her. She eyed me carefully before speaking. "Whose it for?"

I looked around the restaurant to make sure we had no listeners – so did Alla – and then I turned my attentions back to her. "Vladimir Makarov."

Alla was defiantly surprised at first – much I could tell. So many emotions went through her face at once that it was hard to tell what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. But as she looked me over, almost checking as if I was messing around with her, she gave an uneasy look. "Vladimir Makarov aye? I guess I better get a casket and a funeral planned."

My eyes came together as I watched her sip her wine. "You assassinate and seduce for a living! How hard could it be, Alla?" She raised her eyebrows, "Makarov is a very smart man and isn't easily manipulated by things like seduction. I have time limits, no longer than three days, to take out the target, which means gain their trust – Makarov is way too smart to fall for this!"

I shook my head. "You told me years ago that you could do any job given to you." She sighed as her glass was refilled. She was thinking heavily on this, but I had never known her to turn one down. Even with the three weeks we spent using her home as a base, she never once turned down a job.

When she looked at me again she was very hesitant to speak. "I didn't say I wouldn't do it. I'm just telling you that there are rules in this kind of business, and breaking these rules can either make you or break you. And let me tell you, staying for more than three days is a big no-no."

"And how is that?"

She smirked, "Setting a short time limit allows you to not get attached. It happened to my mentor – he got attached to one of his victims and she's how he died – suicide. I'm not saying I'd get attached, but he had his time limit of three days, broke it, and now he's dead."

I could see her point, but how the hell could she get emotionally involved with Makarov? He spilled blood for money… well I guess I'm being hypocritical since Alla spills blood for money, but she doesn't spill innocent blood, just the blood of the scum of the Earth. He's a monster – not someone anyone would fall for! As if sensing what I was thinking about she shook her head. "Not like that John, it doesn't have to be in a in love way, it could just be family, or enjoying their company – that's what happened to my mentor, all three actually."

"You are a highly trained assassin! You've been doing this for how long? Sixteen years? I know you can do it!" She smiled lightly at me and nodded. "Thank you, John, but before I agree to this," she narrowed her eyes at me, "what's the catch?"

I chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of my neck, "Well, we need you to get information on the Ultranationalist first…" She glared at me, "John, now you're asking me to get attached."

My hands went up defensively and I shook my head, "No-no, I don't think you would have to become attached to get the information we need," I sighed and took her small, soft hands in mine, "Look, I know you're good with hacking computers too and you're very sneaky, so I know you can do this. And I know you won't get attached to Makarov, Alla, I know you won't."

She took her hands from mine and went quiet. I was going to let her take her time through dinner to think about this. It would be hard, I knew that, but Alla was especially trained for stuff like this. In the three weeks we spent at her base, I saw her hack past firewalls that not even Ghost could, I saw her sneak through houses and crunching fall leaves and she didn't once make a sound.

At the end of dinner, I took the bill and looked at Alla. She was looking right at me with a small smile on her face. I went to speak but she shook her head, "Before you say anything John, I want you to know how easy it is to get attached without knowing it." She looked at me and then at the bill. "It took me one week and I was attached to your team, and I still am. It's not out of love, but out of your company and so many other things I can't really explain. You see how easy it is?"

I nodded and gave her a small smile, "You'll do fine, and I know you will. You're too smart for him, Alla, and use that to your advantage," She nodded but there was something in her face that told me there was something else, but I wasn't going to push my luck. "I'll pick you up at the park tomorrow, alright?" She gave a quick nod and kissed my cheek, "Thank you, Johnny."

OoO

His office was neat and well kept, much like he was. The papers were neatly stacked and organized by importance, and the folders were kept in draws alphabetically. The desk was made of a light colored wood, and on top were a couple picture frames and a computer, along with papers and folders I knew I shouldn't ask about but I was so curious as to what he was working on. The walls also kept me calm, with their gray color, and the floor as well with it white tiles speckled with blacks and grays.

The wooden door opened, and in stepped a man with a mustache, and I knew then it was General Shepherd. I felt no need to get up and shake his hand or give him a salute or even a bow – he gave me a bad vibe as soon as he entered the door. He probably thought the same of me but I knew I had good intentions, this man on the other hand, I had no idea what his intentions were.

John cleared his throat, as if sensing my uneasiness with the intruder. "Alla, this is General Shepherd. General Shepherd, this is the assassin I told you about." The man looked me up and down, and I did the same to him, eyeing him carefully, checking where his weapons were and how he stood. By this I determined he was a man of high standards and expectations, and was not even close to okay with using me in this.

The General nodded to me and I nodded back, waiting for him to speak. "So you're miss Alla, Soap's told me a lot about you. But I don't like the idea of a prostitute going in on a mission like this and getting herself killed." I was honestly offended and it was as if the General was surprised by this. I looked over at Soap who just gave me a sad smile.

I looked at the General and smirked. "Then you'll never get the job done and Makarov will be out there forever, eluding your grasp. But I'd hire me for the job whether I was going to die or not, I'm not always available," my smirk increased as I thought of my next words and allowed a chuckle to leave my lips, "better hirer me before Makarov does, 'cause from what I heard, he's looking for someone like me to get the job done."

Shepherd looked between me and Soap. Soap was nodding, knowing I had the General in a hole already. If he let me go and did not hire me now, Makarov of could very well hire me and have him killed. It was agonizing minutes of thinking in his part I'm sure of, but he finally nodded. "I have a set of-"

"No, I have a set of rules. You hire me and you go by my rules, got it? Or else you'll be paying a hirer price, and since this is Makarov's head we're talking about, that price is going to be pretty high if you ask me."

I enjoyed putting the General in a new place, making him go by my rules. My game was already going with him and I was winning already. The games I played always worked no matter how a person's mind worked and I knew now that Shepherd had a weaker mind than he thought. He looked at me and then at John, "You tell me the price she wants – I have other things to do other than sit around here and listen to this-this-"

"Prostitute? Whore? Don't even think about saying it or you'll lose your tongue." He glared at me and I glared right back at him – he didn't scare me, not a bit. And after he was gone, Soap crackled with laughter. "The look on his face! I've never seen anyone talk to him like that!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, but we have a price here, and I already have one in mind, especially for his head." He nodded for me to continue. "If this were someone like Julian Harkov, who should be rotting in hell as we speak, I would say thirty to forty thousand…pounds is it? But for a man like Makarov, that price is much higher." He cringed at thought of how much money it could be but if he wanted the job done right he'd have to work with a price.

"How much?" A smirk formed on my face, "One-million pounds, or over sixteen-million US dollars – we can start from there."

It took a couple hours of Soap trying to negotiate the price down, but he was nowhere near good at it. I was still at one-million pounds for doing this job and he just wasn't good at bringing me down. Maybe I should of told him he can throw in something other than cash, like weapons and such, but I was really enjoying myself, well until the door opened.

In stepped a muscular man with wide shoulders and was very tall, but I couldn't tell what he looked like with the skull balaclava on, so only got an outline of his face and blue eyes under red tinted shades. A smirk formed on my face as I looked him over. "I'll do it for free if I get to fuck hotstuff rate here."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I could see that skin visible on the man's face was turning red from my comment. Soap on the other hand was dying with laughter. I glanced over at him and saw that he was laughing so hard nothing was really coming out.

"And who are you?" I chuckled and got up to shake the man's hand. "Alla Lyubov, but you can just call me Alla or Vixen for short. And you are?" He took my hand cautiously and I savored the warmth. "Ghost."

I let his hand go and turned to Soap, "I see he's a man of few words." Soap had calmed down enough to nod but he still found it quite funny. I remember when we met five years ago and I had said the exact same thing to him. Of course I had just been joking, much like now.

"Sorry about that, Ghost. She likes to joke around."

The man called Ghost looked me over, checking me out in a way, but it was something I was used to by now. "And who are you, Alla?" I looked over at Soap who nodded at Ghost. "This is the woman who is going in after Makarov," he smiled at me before continuing, "she's the best assassin I know."

With a role of my eyes I grabbed my black duffle bag. "I'm the only assassin you know, but I like what you're saying. I want five-hundred-thousand pounds converted to my rubles in my account when I'm done with this, do we have a deal or not?"

Soap shook my hand, sealing the deal for good. "I want updates Alla, and please," I looked up at him as my hand twisted the door knob, "please don't get yourself killed." I smiled at him and nodded. "Don't worry about me – it's Makarov you should worry about."

With those words I exited the office and made my way to the rental Jaguar that I would have to return to a friend before I left. After that, I would have to search for Makarov. But unfortunately, the searching would be the easiest part – the job itself is what I was worried about.