As Elsa finally made her way through the airport terminal gate, she quickened her pace, eager to separate herself from the crowd of mindless travelers and the excruciatingly loud crying babies that haunted her for the last 10 hours.
Fucking finally. Some damn space.
Mrs. Jones sure spared no expense to ensure her star agent traveled with the utmost "comfort". Stuffing Elsa in coach between two extraordinarily large human beings and a family of 5 seated in the row directly behind her, it was a miracle how she managed not to kill anyone. Confined within a third of her seat while hearing the constant crying of that damn baby… – that fucking baby – and the couple's two other children, giggling and laughing the entire flight. How the fuck can children be so happy all the damn time?!
It's not that Elsa hated children…she didn't really hate anything – except maybe Mrs. Jones… and her job…oh and loud people… and large crowds… basically people in general… well, you get the point – it's just…why does everyone and everything have to be so goddamn annoying ALL THE fucking TIME.
The blonde already had the "pleasure" of enduring several forms of psychological and physical torture, so of course the flight was nothing to her. It damn well didn't feel like fucking nothing. In fact, the CIA basically paid for that torture session and Mrs. Jones intentionally manipulated me into getting on that damn plane. Fucking bitch.
The blonde took a deep breath. At least it was over. Ugh…just let it go…. And she exhaled, releasing most of her pent up fury from the sleepless flight. She slowed her pace, the other passengers were already far behind. As she strolled through the airport, she came across a kiosk, containing a whole assortment of touristy souvenirs, anything from "authentic" French berets to Eiffel Tower magnets. Of course, the blonde had no need for petty ornaments, but she might as well start looking approachable.
Elsa picked a bluish-gray wool beret and started to walk over to the cashier. Dull… like me. Hah. She stopped at a bookshelf and smirked. With her dainty free hand, she plucked out a copy of "French for Dummies". This might be useful. Although the blonde's French was already flawless, she loved being underestimated. That's when targets let their guard down.
The blonde quickly paid for her items and found her way to the baggage claim. Just as she was coming down the escalator, she spotted her "help" waiting for her in front of the airport exit. Are you fucking serious…. If she wasn't trapped amongst the crowd on that damn escalator, she would've immediately spun around and found her way onto the next flight back to D.C. Despite how dreadful her flight, the blonde had a feeling it would've been much more bearable than what lay before her.
As she descended, Elsa found herself glaring at a burly man, around 5'10 – maybe 6 feet tall. His unkempt dirty blonde hair greatly contrasted the business suit that was suffocating the moron's figure. Though the man was quite muscular and stood a good 4-5 inches above Elsa, she would never have found him intimidating – though in all fairness, the girl rarely found anyone intimidating. Instead, the man appeared almost comical, though Elsa was miles away from laughing. Even at 50 meters away, she could make out the words on the sign held in those bulky hands…
The Ice Queen.
If there weren't so many people around, she would've beat his stocky ass into the ground, starting with the fucking idiotic goofy grin on his dumb face. But instead, like with everything else that happened in this fucking mission so far, Elsa had to endure it. But just because she had to tolerate it didn't mean she was going to conceal her contempt.
The man's grin widened as he spotted the blonde approaching, recognizing her from the picture in the mission brief he received. He watched her as she slowly made her way to him… "Hey! I'm Krist-" … no wait… past him. Elsa intentionally blew off the jubilant idiot, choosing to stare straight ahead and walk towards the exit. Hell, she didn't need his help, she could find that helpless redhead on her own.
Kristoff took a few seconds to realize that the girl had no intention of waiting for him.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" The blonde showed no signs of slowing down, so he jogged to catch up to her, struggling in his rigid business attire. Despite her harsh first impression, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. Wow… she sure is the Ice Queen.
Elsa reached the airport exit and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, realizing that she had no idea where to go from that point. But she'd be damned if she let that bumbling idiot know that.
After a few seconds, she finally heard the man's heavy footsteps approaching her.
"About fucking time," she said coldly, still refusing to look in the man's direction. She heard a deep chuckle and finally turned to glare at the idiot, who quickly shut up.
"Um…sorry… about earlier…I guess the sign was a little uncalled for…. Mrs. Jones did tell me you were, uh, a bit… sensitive." The final word made Elsa cringe. Sensitive…that was the last word she'd use to describe herself.
Kristoff waited for a response, but slowly realized the woman had no intention of providing one. "So, uh, anyways…I'm Kristoff," he said, trying to smile to lighten the uncomfortable mood, "I've been assigned to help you make contact with – "
"We can discuss that later," Elsa interrupted. She'd rather get on with the mission as soon as possible instead of exchanging pleasantries – if you could call it that – with the moron. She decided to keep moving instead of asking the man where to go, so she turned right and continued walking.
Kristoff watched the girl walk off. He smiled to himself, discovering the girl had no idea where she was going. For a brief moment, he was mesmerized by the way Elsa's hips swung back and forth as she intentionally tried to escape his presence. Even though she seemed a little – actually, very – bitchy, the girl was quite attractive. Finally deciding to save her from her stubborn self, he laughed and called out to her.
"Hey blondie! My car's this way," smirking as he watched her slowly turn around and reluctantly return to him, avoiding his eyes.
"You know what? Yeah, I think The Ice Queen is a pretty lame nickname too, so I just thought of a better one for ya. Wanna hear it?" Kristoff asked, as he started walking towards his car.
Oh god no…. Elsa sighed, knowing she didn't have a say in the matter. She reluctantly followed the man, wishing against all odds that her "help" didn't actually include the blundering idiot in front of her.
"Yeah I figured you wanted to know what it was," the man stated matter-of-factly, not waiting for a reply. "Your new nickname is… Icy Hot," the man smiled to himself, admiring his own wittiness.
…the fuck? At that very moment, Elsa was almost grateful that she followed behind the man. She would've never forgiven herself if he caught a glimpse of the silent laugh born from the sheer stupidity of his "wittiness".
Elsa quickly regained her uninterested composure as the man stopped and spun around, smiling. "Alrighties, here's my ride," Kristoff motioned to the snow white Tesla Model S beside him. "Shall we?"
Part of her wanted to leap into the vehicle, knowing that the quicker they left, the quicker she could get on with her mission (and away from the grinning "comedian" in front of her). However, the other part of her was smarter than that. The car ride could very well be more unbearable than her flight. Elsa had half a mind to call a taxi or even walk to her destination if she had to, anything to prevent herself from the assured torture she'd have to tolerate if she stepped foot in that car.
Oh wait…her destination…. She still didn't know where she needed to go.
Fucking shit.
Elsa reluctantly made her way to the passenger side and slowly opened the car door, trying to ignore the screaming in her head as her inner conscious berated herself. She sighed as she stepped into the car, desperately trying to disappear in the soft leather seat. Several muffled grunts later, as Kristoff clumsily entered the car – he tried to act as smooth as possible to gain the attention of his distracted passenger, but to no avail - Elsa opened the book she purchased earlier, hoping to discourage the driver from any attempts at conversation.
It didn't work.
"So… Ms. Icy Hot, tell me a little something about yourself," Kristoff started, ignoring the fact that the blonde was buried in a book as he backed out of the parking spot.
The blonde continued silently staring down at her open book, giving no indication that she heard the request.
Maybe if I ignore him, he'll stop talking.
He didn't.
"… and that's basically how I fought off an entire wolf pack with my bare hands while driving a sled through a snowstorm," Kristoff smiled triumphantly, knowing any sane person would be thoroughly impressed at the feat.
Exceptionally frustrated by this point, Elsa was gripping the book hard enough to turn the knuckles on her pale hands a completely new shade of white. It was only the seventh. fucking. story. she'd heard during the commute – a woman can only endure so much in silence, even her. So, against her better judgment, she decided to appease his desperate cries for affirmation.
"Woooooow…" Elsa deadpanned, the word drowning in sarcasm and screaming "I don't give a fuck" simultaneously. Her expressionless gaze never left the book – though she hadn't turned a single page since they departed.
Kristoff's smile widened at her reply, even though she was obviously uninterested. He would've started with another story, but he parked the car. Unfortunately, they just arrived at the safe house.
"We're here, Sassy Pants," he announced as he exited the vehicle.
Oh thank god. Elsa snapped the book shut and took in her surroundings for the first time since they left the airport.
They were parked on a quiet side street, beside a tall unassuming beige building. As they exited the vehicle, Elsa studied the building they approached. The structure exemplified the stereotypical European apartment building. It consisted of five stories, each holding numerous glass windows and balconies. Intricate carvings lined the entirety of the brick-and-mortar walls, running all the way up to the steeply slanted roof.
Kristoff opened the short, slightly rusted, iron gate and silently lead the girl through the small wooden front door. They climbed up a cramped lit staircase until they reached the top floor, which opened up to a short, dimly lit hallway.
"Don't worry about neighbors, the CIA bought out the entire floor and the one below too," Kristoff assured, walking down to the third apartment door on the left before stopping. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a set of keys, jumbling with the keychain for a few seconds before unlocking the door.
Elsa lowered her gaze to glare at the floor. So they were able to buy half a fucking apartment building but couldn't buy me a half decent seat on the stupid flight. Assholes. Elsa blindly followed Kristoff into the room, too engrossed in her spiteful thoughts.
"So… I guess, uh… just make yourself at home, blondie," Kristoff called as he entered a hallway, then turning into what was probably the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
The loud noise snapped Elsa out of her spite. She was surprised by her surroundings – the rest of the building was so antiquated with all the intricate carvings, dimly lit hallways, and creaking staircases, however the apartment was remarkably modern. She was standing in what appeared to be the living room, facing the side of a large dark grey leather couch that sat in front of a matching grey coffee table, supported by four chrome legs. Opposite the sleek furniture was a 50-inch plasma screen TV, mounted to one of the light beige walls that surrounded her. The original crown molding still lined the walls, the only reminder of the building's true age. Along the TV wall stood a dark maple shelf, filled with a large collection of books. Elsa was slightly relieved at the discovery; she hated watching TV. It was filled with utterly stupid things that stupid people did to entertain equally stupid viewers. Reading suited the blonde much more. Books were absolute masterpieces, meticulously crafted and thoroughly thought out by their intelligent creators. They allowed Elsa to escape from the fucked up world she was trapped in, liberating her from the constant irritations and annoyances that plagued her insignificant domain.
To her left was the kitchen, equipped with the latest stainless steal appliances and dishware, and a rather large dining table, built of the same dark maple wood as the bookshelf. To her right was a small hallway, with the bathroom door on its left wall. At the end of the hallway appeared to be a bedroom. Elsa slowly made her way down the corridor, hearing the faint sound of Kristoff's humming as he passed the time doing…well doing whatever he was doing. God, what a moron… Elsa criticized as she passed the bathroom door.
As she blocked out Kristoff's atrocious musical talent, she suddenly became aware of faint rummaging and muttering coming from inside the bedroom. The blonde froze, feeling the all too familiar surge of adrenaline beginning to course through her veins. It's barely been an hour since she landed and the mission had already been compromised? Well, she shouldn't be too surprised…the compound was manned by a single large idiot who couldn't be discreet even if his life depended on it. She quietly inched her way up to the doorway, hugging the wall to her left to conceal her movements in the very exposed corridor. Elsa paused when she reached the entrance, savoring the thrill of the moment. After everything she's been through so far, kicking someone's ass would be the simple therapeutic release she needed to brighten her gloomy day.
Elsa could barely contain her excitement as she swiftly turned the corner to attack the intruder. A large man was hunched over an equally large suitcase – probably Kristoff's – with his back facing her. She silently crept up behind him within an arm's reach, grinning from the anticipation. In one swift motion, she pulled the back of his collar as she swept both of his fat legs out from under him with a single strong, low kick. As the intruder was falling, Elsa quickly spun around, her platinum hair dancing behind her, and instantly planted a powerful punch down into the man's pudgy abdomen, slamming him forcefully to the floor. The blonde quickly mounted the large man's upper torso, trapping his arms beneath her knees and pinning him to the ground as she prepared for the final pun-
"ELSA WHAT THE FUCK?!"
The blonde froze and looked up to see Kristoff standing in the doorway. He rushed over to the man and effortlessly tossed the stunned Elsa off of him, luckily she landed on the soft queen-sized bed or she would've later beaten some sense into the brash idiot.
Elsa quickly recovered from the landing and shot up to glare at Kristoff and yelled, "this guy was going through your sh-" Elsa cutoff, as she watched the idiot help the intruder stand up. Although partly confused, she took a split second to admire her handiwork. He was struggling to breathe, probably because her fist knocked the air out of him, coupled with the hard fall flat on his back and her entire body landing on his chest. She almost let out a chuckle at the pathetic image before her.
"He's with US, dumbass," Kristoff stated coldly, patronizing her with the last word.
Well… shit. The statement immediately extinguished the small warmth of delight within her, promptly replaced with the scorching burn of embarrassment. Elsa turned away, hiding her flushed cheeks.
"Well he shouldn't have been searching through your shit," she said coldly, trying to mask the shame with her normal "no fucks" attitude.
The round man interrupted the tension with a series of coughs. Once he recovered, he hesitantly interjected, "Errm…well um…so sorry, but that's actually my bag…," still breathing heavily. It was somewhat amazing that he could actually talk after all that.
Fuck.
Elsa scoffed and repressed her embarrassment. Realizing she had no other choice, she grudgingly sighed and slowly turned back to face the two men, her eyes glued to the hardwood floor.
"Um…sorry," she muttered, barely audible.
"Should be," Kristoff quickly shot back.
The pudgy man chuckled loudly, broken by another coughing onslaught. After a few awkward moments, the man recovered and stated, "Of course, of course. Just a simple misunderstanding," with a strained smile, concealing the obvious pain he must be in. "Anyways…Hello there! You must be Agent Frost! My name is Kai. Apparently Kristoff didn't inform you that I'd be assisting with this mission…." Both he and Elsa shot a dirty look at the husky man, who was now stunned at the turn of events.
"Wait, what?! H-How the hell did this become my fault?" Kristoff exclaimed. Elsa snickered at the idiot, relieved the conversation diverted from her lapse in judgment.
"He most certainly didn't," Elsa amusingly stated, playing along with Kai's façade, "someone could've been seriously injured!"
Kai laughed again, "Good thing I had all this padding," he said as he patted his round belly. Kristoff was obviously annoyed, pouting as he watched the two – it made Elsa smile. Maybe this won't be so bad after all….
"Whatever," Kristoff chided, clearly not amused, "Kai, are you almost setup yet?"
"Just about," the round man stated as he grabbed a few computer components from his suitcase along with a laptop, "just need to hook up the router and adapter cables and I'll be all set."
Now that the adrenaline had passed from her system, Elsa was able to clearly study the man. Although he was about her height, Kai appeared to be a bit shorter – probably due to his round figure. The man was probably in his late forties maybe early fifties – a bit old for an agent, though he did seem like a techy, maybe they have different standards. His age showed through his distinct, and rather large, bald spot, surrounded by a thin wall of red hair. Actually, now that she's studying him, Elsa discovered almost everything about the man was large, even his nose. The blonde finally realized she was staring at the man and quickly glanced away.
Kai exited the bedroom, taking his equipment with him and Elsa and Kristoff followed close behind. They made their way past the only other door in the hallway, the bathroom, and Elsa abruptly stopped. Kristoff stumbled over himself in his attempt to avoid ramming the girl, causing him to slam his shoulder into the left wall.
"Hey, what the hel–"
"Kristoff. Why is there only one bedroom?" Elsa quickly interrupted, ignoring the small dent in the wall as Kristoff stood up.
The man gave her a confused look, but then suddenly smiled as he realized the reason for the question. "Well… since we'll be working together, we should get acquainted with one anoth-"
"Guess I'm sleeping on the couch then," Elsa stated bluntly.
"Aww…come on now…" Kristoff started in disappointment, "ugh…fine…. If you must know, we all have separate rooms. It's not like we don't have extra rooms to spare, remember? This is actually your place."
Elsa felt a little stupid for forgetting that. But at least she'd be able to get some much deserved alone time instead of living with Kristoff 24/7. She nodded in approval and continued out the hallway into the living room. Kai was fumbling around on his laptop, wires strewn about between the laptop, other gadgets on the coffee table, and the mounted TV. The television screen was divided into several boxes, all depicting video footage of a certain street from different angles.
"Oh! Before I forget, here's your new identity!" Kristoff stated, grabbing the folder on the table and handing it to Elsa. She opened the file, curious to see what the agency made her.
Are you fucking serious….
"Elsa Winters. Really? Are you fucking kidding me? That's the best they could come up with?" Elsa asked drily as she scanned the front page. Some coworker of hers was probably giggling to himself, knowing that he was able to create such a pun from her real last name. Fucking idiots.
She sighed and snapped the file shut. She'll read it later that night before bed, right now she had better things to do.
"So what's going on here?" Elsa asked, gesturing to Kai's maze of wires and camera screens.
Kai looked up, finally realizing that she was talking to him, "Oh! Um, well uh – a few days ago I hacked into Ms. Walker's phone, computer, email account, tumblr, facebo- well, um… you get the picture. We found her schedule in her phone," – Elsa didn't want to ask why they hacked all the other stuff if the phone held enough information – "and well, the information led us to believe that she'll be walking down that street to attend a business meeting tomorrow in the late morning. That's when I figured you could make your approach."
Elsa examined the camera footage on the television screen, wondering how she could approach such a wealthy girl. There was only one shot at the target approach, if not done properly, the entire mission could be scrapped and she'd be sent straight back to her boring office. I'm definitely not going back to that shitty place anytime soon.
The blonde smiled as she spotted a small café a few doors from a large office building. Perfect.
"Alright you two, listen up. Here's the plan," Elsa felt the small fire of delight return. Tomorrow she'll be meeting Anna Walker.
A/N: Hi guys! Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and reviews :D. QuiteQuiet, there's no need to be an anon on my blog, i dont bite :p. I'm pretty excited about this plot as well, hopefully i can live up to your expectations! There's just so many ideas and situations and it's so hard to pick just one x_x.
I never expected this chapter to be so long, but the ideas sorta came to me as I was writing and I just went with them, and I think it turned out pretty well :) (feel free to say otherwise :p).
I want to try to update once a week, but I apologize if I fail to do so on some occasions. College has started up again and I've been pretty busy and what not, but I promise I will try! :)
I want to thank rilguia (ill post a link on my profile) for allowing me to use the drawing of Elsa and Anna as the cover image for my story, they're expressions basically depict how I envisioned their early relationship with one another, so I was really excited to find that beautiful artwork :D.
Anyways, enough of my talking. Hope you're enjoying the story so far! :)