A/N: Thanks to anyone who's followed so far! Please read and review :)
2. Sense the crowd expecting something more
Slowly, she stretches out her right leg on the bannister beside her, bending her left knee as low as she can before straightening. Taking a deep breath, she repeats the move with her other leg. Glancing behind her, she smiles at the girls reassuringly; some look pretty nervous. "Ready, everyone?" she murmurs, voice covered by the orchestra outside. The girls behind her nod, some more hesitantly than others. For most, this is their first mission, and, while the dancing is second nature, what follows it will provide a good reason to be nervous.
She is one of the youngest, but was the first chosen to go on a mission. With the greatest amount of experience in the field, she is in charge of the other nine girls in her program; at least while out here. There are numerous others of higher rank than she is when they return to base, and she will have to relinquish the authority. Which is fine; she prefers not to have the responsibility of people following her orders. Too many variables that she would rather deal with on her own.
The music changes and she lifts herself onto her toes, glancing back once more to see if the others are copying her. They are. Gracefully, she dances out onto the stage and begins their routine. It last forty-seven minutes before the first break. Some of the girls leave the stage and return in that time, but, as the lead, she is present for most of it. During intermission, the girls go backstage and prepare for the second half.
"You're doing well, Natalia," Yelena says, appearing beside her as they stretch.
She smiles. "As are you, my friend."
Yelena glances toward the others and then lowers her voice. "You think they'll be able to survive the next step?"
"I think we've lost enough of our sisters and I'd rather not lose any more."
A grim smile crosses over her friend's face. "Yes, that's true. You don't want to be the best, Natalia?" she teases.
She clears her throat. "I will do what I must for my country, whether that requires me to work alone or as a team," she answers stiffly, but then grins. "But hopefully better than anyone else is."
Yelena laughs. "Well, I can't say you're going to get much competition from any of us. What's it like being the star pupil? Going on missions with just the Madame?"
Shrugging, she adjusts the laces on her legs. "I'd rather go on my own," she admits softly.
"Maybe we will be sent together. That would be fun, don't you think?"
She considers. "Yes, I think we would enjoy it. I just hope we wouldn't get too distracted from our mission," she adds with a cheeky smile.
"Have they picked groups for tonight's mission yet?" Yelena asks seriously.
"I don't know. I think it's supposed to be random. We'll get our keys after the performance."
"Alright. Well, good luck out there, Nat. See you on the other side."
"Let's make Madame proud," she replies.
The lights are flickering in the auditorium, and they set themselves for the rest of the show. Natalia is not as integral this time and gets to rest a little more. Still, she is exhausted by the end and not looking forward to conducting a mission before bed. Of course, then she would just be a regular dancer and where would the fun be in that?
In her dressing room after the show, there are quite a few flowers. She ignores them all except the chamomiles, an odd addition. As expected, she finds two keys hidden in the base; one for her room, one for her mission. They are labelled with the name of the hotel about a block from her current location. Their presence energizes her, and she changes out of her costume and into street clothes. Slinging her pack over her shoulder, she makes her way toward the real objective of the evening.
The night air is cool on her skin, a relief after the exertion of the dance. Soon, though, she begins to feel a little chilled and hurries to the hotel. The steps up it are gilded and the carpet under her feet is plush and carefully maintained. She is relatively certain that she was assigned to the most luxurious of the locations, and cannot help but feel a little smug about that. Once her mission is over, she will certainly enjoy having the room to herself until morning. Then she'll have to go back to base, back to her real life.
People passing by her occasionally smile, some likely recognize her from her show shortly before. Others' excuses are less apparent, but perhaps it is because she is barely twenty and they are men. She smiles back beatifically, disarmingly. Her confidence in her ability to complete the mission, bolstered by the successful performance, must be contagious. The man who holds open the doors seems quite blown away, and would be an easy mark. It's unfortunate that he has nothing she wants.
"Good evening, miss," the concierge says as she approaches the desk. "What can I do for you?"
"I have a reservation under Kendall, I believe," she answers, her smile conspiratorial.
"Very good, miss," he replies, checking the registry. After a moment, he glances back up at her, almost apologetic. "You checked in two days ago, have you lost your key?"
Her smile doesn't waver. "Oh, no, I have it. I was just hoping for a room service menu," she explains. Her hasty perusal of the list of names goes unnoticed.
Pleased to be of service again, he is all too willing to provide the menu and offer his advice. Seeing no reason not to, she accepts his recommendations, then heads up to her room to await her dinner. The other room to which she has a key is just down the hall from hers. She slows as she passes it, listening hard, but cannot determine if it is occupied now or not. It shouldn't be for long, but she'll give them plenty of time to clear out. Running into the occupants would be awkward, to say the least.
As she is settling in, the knock at the door indicates her food has arrived.
"It's open!" she calls lightly.
A man pushing a cart soon appears in the doorway and she adopts her best smile. "Room service," he says, not immediately responding to her.
"Oh, it smells delicious!" she asserts, going to stand next to him.
He glances at her a little nervously, then smiles. "I hope you enjoy it, miss."
"I'm sure I will. It's just unfortunate that I don't have anyone to share it with," she adds wistfully.
Looking surprised, he opens his mouth but it takes a moment for him to share his thought. "My shift's about to end if, I don't know, I mean…" he stutters.
"I think you'd make excellent company," she purrs.
Once the door is closed behind him, he is easy enough to subdue. They always are, when they're surprised. She drugs him once he's out so he won't be a problem later, and so he will be unlikely to remember her. Then she changes into the hotel uniform hanging in her closet, and heads out. The cart of food completes her disguise, though her stomach growls in protest when she decides she should get this over with first.
The hallway is silent and she doesn't expect to be seen. It's awfully late. She walks down to the other door, pushing the cart in front of her, and knocks lightly. No response; good. Pulling out the key, she lets herself in and tucks it back into a pocket. The room is exactly like hers, with a sitting area, a bed, and a bathroom. Both are larger and more luxurious than any she's experience before, but she pushes the thought away. Now is no time to act like a tourist.
Signs of occupation fill the room, but nothing indicates anyone has been here in a few hours. Moving silently, she assesses the contents of the place and searches for any paperwork. She was sent to gather intel, mostly files, but doesn't get very far before she hears voices behind her. Hastily, she moves back toward the hallway.
"What the hell are you doing?" a large man snarls from the hall as she reaches the doorway.
"Did you not order room service?" she asks innocently, her expression one of confused concern.
"No, girl, get out of here," the same man continues. There are two more, one his size and one much smaller; clearly the target and his body guards.
"I do apologize," she says contritely. "I hope you are all having a nice stay," she calls over her shoulder as she pushes her cart away. The man who spoke to her remains in the hallway as she leaves, the others going into the room. He is clearly watching her, so she heads back to the elevator, cursing mentally. They weren't supposed to come back tonight. Something must have gone wrong.