It was 5 years ago. There was a busy dinner party in Budapest. Women and men dressed in millions of dollars in dresses and tuxedoes. I was there to target an ambassador from Beijing. Keeping an eye out for hostiles, spies, I pretended to mingle. As a freelance assassin, I had an advantage over American spies. They had protocol, rules that kept them in line, and they followed them. At least, the boring ones did. Once in a while I would come across someone who wasn't afraid to step a toe out of line. I was hoping I wouldn't encounter any of those tonight. This was a busy op, and it required precision and focus more than usual. No excitement. Not tonight.
At first I thought I was in the clear. Thats when I first saw him.
I had slipped a drink onto the platter of a passing waiter. Suddenly, I thought I saw someone looking at me from behind a thick marble pillar. Doing a double take as subtlety as I could, a wisp of my red hair blurred my vision. By the time I pushed it away, the man was gone. An uneasy feeling settled around me, and I walked through the crowd towards the door to the kitchen. Pushing my way through the frantic workers, I located the door to a hallway leading into the other part of the house. Slipping through it, I shut it quietly. Looking around my dark surroundings, I found myself in a dimly lit, well furnished hallway. Turning my ears to the sounds around me, I proceeded down the hallway. As I walked, I slid out of my high heels and carried them in my hands. I had to think about my mission. I was gathering all the intel I had collected in my brain when I heard a light shuffling sound. It was very faint but I could hear it well enough to know it came from above my head. I pretended not to hear it but poised my self, knowing I was about to fight. Hearing a straining sound, this time I could feel my instincts kicking in. Ducking and rolling, I pulled the hand gun from inside my calf and pointed it to the sounds source just as an arrow wizzed down and penetrated the carpeted floor about a half inch from my left foot and pinning my long green dress to the floor. Ripping the expensive fabric, I ran down the hallway. Another straining sound of a bow being pulled back and I knew this one would hit me if I didn't think fast. Lining up my gun to the bow sound, I pulled the trigger. The bullet sliced straight through the arrow, but I didn't stick around to watch the two momentum starved pieces hit the persian rug. Running full speed I ducked into an adjoining room. My attacker was a pro, and I knew staying in the line of fire would mean an arrow through my chest. Staying still, my feet planted firmly on the floor, I kept my gun raised at the door. I heard a thumping sound behind me.
A man in a black suit with no sleeves was standing behind me, eyes narrowed and bow fitted with a new arrow. I had seen the piercing blue eyes, and knew it was the person I had seen watching me in the ballroom. My gun and his bow level, we silently dared each other to make a move, and thinking fast I dropped my gun and swung my leg out, knocking his bow out of place. He lunged forward, and I dodged his fist as it plunged toward my face. Grabbing it in my hand, I twisted hard and threw his body over my shoulder. His frame slammed onto the ground with force, but he jumped up without missing a beat. He punched forward again and clipped my chin. Though it was only a small amount of contact my chin started throbbing. Taking advantage of my momentary unbalance, he pinned me against the wall. Ducking, I avoided another punch, and swept my foot and knocked him off his feet. As I was trying to kick him, he swung his hand out and I fell over. He jumped up and placed his boot on my stomach, and suddenly his bow was in his hand and an arrow was pointing at my forehead. Keeping my gaze cold, I flinched as a piece of broken glass cut into my arm. I don't know what had broken, but shards of it was scattered across the floor. His blue eyes flickered to the blood slowly staining the carpet, and I got a good look at his face for the first time. His blue eyes stared into mine and then back at the blood. Something different came into his eyes and they un narrowed. Taking his boot off my stomach and lowering his weapon, he extended his hand. Suspicion clouded my thoughts, but for some reason I took it and allowed him to help me up. Our eyes met again, and he turned and jumped out the window.