Assignment:

Tamara Donovan

Age: 28

Destination: Belfast, Northern Ireland

"Boss? I don't fancy this at all." Adam Aikens plucked at the white Polo shirt, smoothed out the wrinkles of his khakis, and snatched the matching flat cap from Killian's waiting hand. "Not to mention, it's fucking frigid!"

"That's what your fancy sweater is for, mate." Killian had taken his lower lip between his teeth to keep from laughing at Adam's preppy looking appearance. He'd make fun of him of more, if he weren't dressed the exact same bloody way! "If we weren't restricted on our clothing choices, I would still be in my leather."

"I don't understand why you dragged me into this. I don't even know how to golf." he whined as he popped the collar of his polo. "And it's fucking cold!" he repeated.

Giving a roll of his eyes, he reached over and dropped Adam's collar back down and glared. "You've seemed to have forgotten that we're not here to play golf, or bitch about the weather. There's no longer any holiday. We're back on duty. There's a job to be done, and I damn well intend on doing it." he explained in a hushed tone. "Do I make meself clear?"

Adam's eyes wandered the treeline off in the distance as he received his lecture. "Yes, boss." As Killian pushed away to finish up his last minute touches, the slender man just couldn't help himself. "But, why did you bring me?"

Jones straightened his flat cap, dropped his arms to his sides, and allowed his blue eyes to roam to his. "There's someone I need you to find for me. He frequents this establishment in his down time, and I'm pretty certain he'll be here this afternoon." he explained.

"Who is it?"

"Albert Spencer."

Adam's face, paled. He recognized the name. It was a name that they were given when they were just 23 years of age. Six years ago they were given both he and James Spencer as assignments in London. James has been dead since that day, but for some unknown reason, Killian missed his mark. He was to hit Albert, and failed. The one, and only time, he's ever. "But-"

"You heard what I said." his face was stone as he gave his orders. "Find him. When you do, tell him to contact me."

"That's it?" he asked confused. "You're sending me to him for that? Are you out of your bloody mind?"

A single brow arched as a slow smirk spread across his face. "Aye." He most certainly was.

"FORE!" Killian clutched his club as he ran down the path to where his ball flew.

Straight. To. Tamara.

Golf was not his forte. Which, oddly enough, works out in his favor for this assignment. He closed in on the petite, dark skinned beauty, yelling out his most earnest apologies. "You alright?" he asked as he became arm's length of a distance away. "It didn't clip you, did it?" he asked as he helped her up from the ground.

Their eyes briefly met before she pulled her hand away, "No, I'm fine. I'm fine." she pulled down her hat to avoid his gaze, causing him to smirk. "You should be more careful on how you handle your balls." she snipped.

His finger came up to rub the back of his ear as his brows arched. "I can assure you, love, I'm somewhat of an expert on handling my balls."

His innuendo was met with a slight scoff and a roll of her big, brown eyes. "Is that the one you're going with?" she asked. "That's like, the oldest line in the golfer's handbook."

"Oh, they're giving out handbooks now? Apologies. Must've missed it. I seem to have my sights focused elsewhere."

"Again." Tamara gave a shrug of her shoulders and scrunched up her face at another failed attempt. "That's awful!" she laughed.

"Is it?" he asked, adjusting his hat. He had purposely allowed it to sit off kilter, to watch her reaction. According to the reports, she was quite the perfectionist. Which means, his hat would bug the shit out her. Causing her to fix it. "I can attempt another?"

Her eyes bounced from his, to his hat, and back again, as her fingers flexed around the handle of her club. "Please, don't. I don't think I can handle another cheesy line."

"Fair enough. How about a drink then? To warm you up after your last hole? I promise to polish up on my lines, just as long as you provide the handbook."

Twirling the club in her hands, she couldn't hide the grin that was attempting to overtake her firm, pursed lips. "You know there's not actually a handbook, right?" she asked, giving just a ghost of a smile. Her eyes danced to his hat again, before she gave a soft sigh. "I'm sorry. I just- I have to-" placing the club firmly between her thighs, she reached up to straighten the flat cap atop his head. "That was bugging the hell out of me."

Killian gently took her wrist in his hand when she moved to pull away, and held her gaze. "Handbook or not, love, you'll provide the most stunning company. Adam Lynch." he introduced just before placing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "I'll be waiting."

Without another word, or gesture, he turned and walked off. His eyes fell closed and his jaw clenched, as he rubbed the scruff on his face in irritation. If this were a few years ago, he'd have her hot and bothered in the matter of moments. Hell, they would have already been in one of the bordering treelines by now. Deep down, he knows that he won't be able to flirt forever. He'll need to make a move. For that, he'll need rum.

And lots of it.

Killian had just climbed into the golf cart when his phone began to ring. Digging half-heartedly into in pocket, he pulled out the device and slid the answer button to the right. "Talk."

"Well, hello to you, too." the voice muttered.

He immediately sprang up from the laying his head against the steering wheel, and found himself at a loss for words.

"Jones?"

A choked breath came from the back of his throat as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Swan." he finally managed. "Eh, this isn't really-"

"I can let you go." she offered.

"No, that's not- I mean, ehm- damn it." Glancing back over to where Tamara had been standing, he gave a deep sigh. "I'm- on an assignment right now." he began, "I can't have any distractions."

"I… didn't realize I was a distraction."

He could hear the hurt in her voice and instantly regretted his word choice. "Only in the best way possible, love."

"Right."

"Emma, I'm so sorry. But, can I call you later? What time do you get off?" he asked, placing the phone in between his cheek and shoulder to rub his hands together for warmth.

"Don't bother. It's okay. I'll be with Ruby anyway."

"Swan-" he heard the call signal its end and sighed. "Brilliant."

So, Emma was indeed still pissed off at the way he left. He knew she would be. But, he didn't expect for her to be the first one to call. Now, not only is he worried about how to seduce this mark, he also has to figure out a way to make things right with his girlfriend. If he were back home, he'd surprise her with a candlelit dinner for two consisting of perfectly prepared grilled cheese and soup for the chilly weather, her favorite flowers, and a bottle of that peach wine she loves so much. His way of apologizing for being such an arse.

But he can't.

Instead, he's stuck here. Flirting with marks to get his money.

As he circled back towards the country club, an idea popped into his head. He couldn't do those things. But, that doesn't mean it still can't happen.

"Well, I found 'im." Adam muttered as he collapsed down into the chair opposite Killian.

He happened to glance up from the menu he had been studying and bit back a laugh. Adam was sporting a new black eye, a busted lip, and his sweater was torn. "They allowed you in here? Looking like that?" he asked.

"I said that I had an altercation over if I made par or not. Either way, that's not the point." he grumbled, touching his swollen lip. "He, eh... he's still very much angry…. That I offed his son…. Hence-" he waved a hand over his face and sighed.

Killian nodded slowly, brows raised high as he, again, attempted to hide his amusement. "Ah. I see."

"Oh, and he said he'll be in touch." he added, grabbing the menu to look it over. "What we havin', then?"

"I'm having rum. I don't know what you're having. But, you need to go. She will be here momentarily. Oh! Before you do-" he leaned over to dig in his back pocket, scrunching up his face as he did so. "I need you to do something for-"

"No!" he threw the menu back down, shaking his head furiously. "Nope! I'm not doin' it. I'm not gettin' hit again! My face is too pretty for this! Well, not now-" he corrected. "It was."

Killian stared at him blankly during his rant, holding a small slip of paper between his index and middle fingers. His elbow rested on the table as he offered the note for him to take. "Are you bloody well done?" he asked.

"No!" Adam pursed his lips, leaning back in the chair and he folded his arms and lifted his chin in thought. He breathed in deeply before throwing his arms half-heartedly in the air as he moved to grab the piece of paper. "Yeah-" he drawled in defeat.

Giving it a quick glance over, he furrowed his brows and looked to Killian who met his stare. "No questions. Just do it."

"Is there trouble?" he asked simply.

"There will be, if you don't get your arse out of here." he warned, pulling the menu back off the table. "Now." he added.

"Yeah, alright. Fine. I'm going." he leaned over the table, taking Killian's water glass in hand, and chugged the whole thing down. He smacked his lips together and let out a quenched, over exaggerated, sigh. "That's better. Cheers."

"Bloody idiot."

"Fuck."

After another two hours of just sitting, and waiting, and playing Marvel on his phone, he realized she wasn't coming.

And his phone was at 8%.

Both were very tragic.

He moved away from the bar as he dialed in Adam's number and placed it to his ear. Somehow she knew, he could feel it. They've been found out and he had absolutely no idea where she could have gone. "Adam!"

"I called! No need for shouting!" he instantly responded.

Killian stepped outside, scoping the grounds as he walked. "She never showed. Have you seen her?"

"Ehm… no. Sorry."

"Sorry? You're saying sorry?"

"Sorry."

"Aikens!"

"What?!"

Killian lowered the phone from his ear, gripping the device as hard as he could while thumping it against his forehead. The idiots he worked with- "I swear." he growled as he raised the phone back to its original position. "Get here- FU-"

Every single muscle in his body tensed up involuntarily, causing him to fall forward to the ground. Hard. The ticking of the taser sounded in his ears, but never processing in his mind. He couldn't think. Couldn't move. He was completely useless as the the pain of what felt like fifty wasps overtook him.

Just as the pain started, it ended just as quickly.

His muscles were tight, but he was able to move, bringing his arm back at an attempt to prop himself up. That is, until a foot placed in between his shoulder blades pushed him back down to the ground. He grunted from the force, sweeping his face against the concrete.

"Is everything alright over there?" A voice yelled from the general direction of the the club.

"Oh, yeah! Just innocent play. My boyfriend so graciously volunteered to test out my new taser. I'm so sorry. We'll take it somewhere else!" Tamara explained as she dug the heel of her boot into his back, causing him to release a grunted, menacing chuckle.

Evidently the man was accepting of her explanation, because her heel was removed from his back to land a blow into his ribcage. Another grunt of pain as he rolled to his back, moving a hand to his side. "I never would have pursued you if I had known you were the stalking type."

"Shut up." she warned.

"Or what?" He tested. "We're out in the open. You can't do shit."

"Neither can you. I believe this is called a stalemate. Better luck next time."

"Next time? Already making a second date? I'm flattered." Killian slowly moved to stand, but noticed her wide spread stance.

Getting to a knee, he placed a hand upon it making to push himself up. But instead, in one swift movement, he wrapped his arms through the inside of her legs and around the backside of each of her knees knocking her off balance. Tamara flew backward, hitting her head against the concrete, falling unconscious. He heaved out a sigh, pulling the taser probes from his back, as he searched around for his phone.

Spotting it a few feet away, he went to retrieve it. "Fucking brilliant." he muttered at the broken screen. "Can anything else go wrong this evening?" Killian threw his hands up in defeat after learning that his phone had completely died, and his charger was back in Glasgow. "Of course!"

His head fell to the side to look to the motionless body. He couldn't very well carry her without getting caught. Although- "Hmmm…."

He rounded the corner of the club with Tamara's arms draped around his neck and her body leaning into him. Killian had to put on the act of the 'drunken couple' as he stumbled around, laughing as he guided her limp body towards the parking lot. There were only 2 patrons outside of the club, luckily, and once they were well out of view he dropped her to the ground. "You're lucky I'm used to doing all the work." he sneered.

Adam sprang from the car a few rows down upon spotting him in the rearview. "What happened?"

"Let's just say, the night has been quite shocking. Get her in the car." he ordered before walking off.

Killian looked over to Adam in the driver's seat, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. This whole day, he has been nothing but completely off. This wasn't how Hook operated. But, lately, he didn't want to be Hook. Maybe that was the problem. He's been shit.

He was shit at seducing his mark from the beginning. Of course, he didn't want to seduce her.

He was shit when talking to Emma. Hell, he was shit when he left Emma. Then again, he didn't want to leave her.

Not to mention him being shit at misjudging the entire scenario tonight. There was absolutely no excuse as to why he walked right into a taser attack. None.

"Fuck me." he muttered under his breath, moving his fingers to rub over the inside corners of his eyes.

"No thanks." Adam retorted.

"Shut it!"

"You're doin' it again."

"What, may I ask, am I doing?" Killian looked to Adam as he pondered his words carefully. He shifted in the passenger seat, rubbing his scruff, and bouncing his leg.

"Call her." he stated simply.

His head snapped over in his direction as he threw his broken phone at Adam. "It's dead! And I'm without a charger!"

"You can use mine, Hook."

His hand came up at an attempt to block his moniker. "Don't… call me that." his hand balled up into a fist before falling onto his bouncing knee. "It wouldn't matter anyhow. She's still working. Doubt she'd answer." he explained somberly.

"Don't hit me, but-"

"Adam… fair warning. Whenever you start a sentence like that, I always hit you." he glanced over in his direction, arched brow in place. "Choose your words wisely."

Aikens cleared his throat and adjusted his grip on the steering wheel before starting, "How do you… no wait, that's not right. Eh…" his mouth opened and closed as he searched for the words before Killian got fed up.

"Just ask the bloody question."

Against his better judgements, he obeyed. "How do you expect to make this work between you two? Not that I'm not rooting for you two, boss….But, Gold has you tied down. You had a hell of a time sneaking off for her birthday, and got bombarded with questions upon your return. Do you really think you guys can last?"

There was a long, drawn out, tense pause before- "Ow!"