" I knew you would fuck this up one way or another. You're Pathetic. "
Those same words rang in her head like church bells, reminding her of the infuriating situation she was put through. Anna tapped her foot impatiently, trying to hold a calm composure so that she would not crush her Styrofoam coffee cup placed in her hand.
" Can't I start this without him? " Anna gazed at her wrist watch; almost half an hour had past and Shani wasn't in sight. " I shouldn't be waiting for that old geezer. "
Anna looked up and around the cafe; her partner was not in view, and in the next thirty seconds she had planned to leave. Soon she reached her limit, got up from her seat, and marched towards the cafe entrance. The door swung open and Anna stepped back, glaring at the person in front of her. " You're late. "
Shani glared back at the woman. " Only by -- "
" A few minutes? " Anna gave him a smirk. " No matter. Come on, old man. We got work to do. " She rushed past Shani and out the door. All Anna knew was that today was not going to do pleasant.
Two hours of walking the Irish streets had passed. Anna monitored the GPS in her hand, receiving no leads on the suitcase which had a hidden tracer bug attached to it. All she'd gotten was pain in her feet and suffering from Shani's complaints.
" Hey, rookie! " Shani called out to Anna. " Do you even know what you're doing? " Anna stopped in her tracks and turned around.
" If I didn't know what to do, I wouldn't even be holding this thing, or be here in general for that matter. " She turned away and rolled her eyes, averting them back to the GPS device.
" Being a smart-ass again? " Shani had a bit of emphasis in his tone, and Anna rolled her eyes again. " I'm getting a bit tired of your attitude, and -- "
The Irish woman stopped in her tracks, as the signal on the GPS started to beep with a fast pace. " I got something. " She looked around and gazed at an old, run-down building across the street for her and Shani. " Not an very fancy hideout, I see. " She turned to see Shani already crossing the street. " Hey, what gives? " Anna called out to him.
" You move too slow. Learn how to keep up, rookie! " Shani called out back to her, leaving her behind as Anna growled under her breath.
" I hope a bus hits him. " She started to pick up her pace and began to follow.
Anna slowly took small steps down the stairs, carefully not making a sound with her clicking heels, which would echo in the barren, cramped stairway. Shani turned around to look her in disgust, and groaned as he shook his head.
" Why did you even decide to wear those things? " He pointed at Anna's feet. " We're doing espionage, not walking on a catwalk. " He was only responded by silence as Anna ignored him. Anna halted as she made it to a door, and pressed the side of her body against it. She leaned her ear a bit, hearing the sound of roaring, as if a riot was on the other side of that door.
" Wanna check it out? " She turned to Shani, who raised an eyebrow and glared.
" Why do you think we're here for? " He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms against his chest. Anna, not willing to argue again, grabbed the knob and opened the door. As she did, the roaring had blasted into her ears as she shielded them with her hands, Shani waltzed into the room, unaffected by the loudness.
The two had seemed to stumble into a underground arena, crowds of overexcited people surrounding a large, caged ring. Inside was a large man attacking an smaller one in a barbaric, brutal manner, throwing him around the ring like a rag doll. Anna grimaced at the sight of blood smeared on the mat, and was terrified by the larger man's roaring battle cries.
" What a beast..." She gazed at him, and soon bumped into a cheering woman whose elbow had smacked into Anna's forehead.
" Oh, sorry! I -- " The woman spun towards Anna and apologized with a frown and an Irish accent. Anna clutched her forehead and looked at the woman as her mouth slightly dropped. She had somehow recognized the woman by her brown hair that went to her shoulders and the green beret that she wore. " Maddie? "
The woman gave the other a confused look. " Anna? Anna Williams? " She quickly trapped Anna in a tightening, bear hug, almost managing to suffocate her. " It's been so long! " She had let go of Anna, who inhaled short bits of oxygen.
" Yeah, I know. Now, why are you here? " Anna raised a brow at Maddie. Maddie Williams was a first cousin on her father's side, and was a rather shy and reserved girl. She was never an outsider, always indoors and drawing paintings or reading numerous amounts of books. To Anna, Maddie coming out of the corridors of her home and out to watch a underground cage fight was the last thing she had excepted her to do.
" What, I can't celebrate my 17th birthday? " Maddie gave a smile, then averted her eyes back to the cage, seeing the smaller man laid out of his back with a bloody face.
" Alright, everyone! Who's man enough to step up to the Mighty Marduk? " The crowd roared as Marduk had let out another strong roar. " The winner will receive the grand prize money! " The announcer held up a large, silver suitcase -- the same briefcase that was stolen from last night at the bar. " $50,000! "
Anna knew what she had to do. She began to march through the crowd when she felt something grab onto the sleeve of her jacket. " Don't even think of going in there with that thing. Do you wanna end up like that guy, kid? " He pointed his finger at the defeated fighter, who was coughing up bits of blood, laying there as if he were to die seconds later.
Anna broke free from his grip. " I have to do what I have to do, in order to complete this mission. You know that. " She gave him a hard look, a look that showed she was determined to finish the assignment she was given, and Shani let out a long sigh.
" Fine. Do whatever you want. " And all that, Anna rushed for the small stairs attached to the cage door, and stepped into the ring. The crowd's roar had quickly changed into a series of howls as they eyed the velvet mini dress under her jacket that showed ample cleavage. Anna jumped as she heard footsteps behind her, and turned around.
" Maddie! " The agent gasped as she saw her cousin in the ring with her and a large, barbaric man who's bent on beating their faces in. " What are you doing? "
" Celebrating my 17th birthday -- " Before Maddie could finish answering Anna's question, she was soon shoved to the cage door.
" Maddie, now is not a good time for birthday celebrations, so can we discuss this later? " Anna had insisted to her cousin that she did not want to celebrate her birthday by having a caveman's gigantic fist smashed into her face for a present. Maddie did nothing but break away from Anna and sighed.
" Fine, I'll go. " At that, she turned heel and sighed, only to have the cage door be slammed in her face. " Or not. " She cringed as the hearty, arrogant laughter of Marduk had sent a sense of fear down her spine and paralyzed her in her tracks.
" Well, I see I got some two lovely ladies here! " He heavily grinned at Anna, who sent a glare in response. " How about you two be good, little girls and throw the match, eh? So I take you two somewhere nice, especially you, birthday girl. " He snickered and raised an brow at Maddie, who was still frozen in fright with her back facing him, and his large shadow that hovered over her gave no comfort.
" Ugh. She's not interested in neanderthals, so I'd recommend that you'd stay in your cage. " Anna spat at the larger man in disgust, repulsed by his features. His loud, overbearing, primitive ways, the forest of hair on his chest, and how the strong scent of sweat that surround him all made her regret even having a thought of stepping into the ring.
Maddie finally gained the courage to face Marduk, and became even more horrified in Marduk's presence than she did when she was within the safety of being outside of the ring. Her eyes wandered down to his lower body. " Oh my..." Her pupils stretched in horror as she saw the large budge within Marduk's shorts, praying not to be raped in front of the many spectators.
Marduk, ignoring Anna's protest, grinned. " I love it when they play hard to get..." At that, he charged for the two women. Anna leaped out of the way into a roll as Maddie did the same, only to land on her stomach. " Come on, baby, I won't bite! " Anna stood and rushed for Marduk, sending swiftly-executed kicks at his chest, only to have every single hit blocked. She picked up her pace, and her kicks came at him with a faster rate, managing to strike him hard in his left rib and cause him to stumble back.
" Heheheh...not bad, I like my women feisty..." Marduk struggled a bit to speak through the stinging pain in his ribs, but was equipped with his eyes of lust that met with Anna's, pushing her into a mental zone of insecurity.
" What's up with that look of his? " She asked herself, and before she knew it, Marduk was already right in front of her, tackling her into the cage wall. He pinned her against the wall, making eye contact with her again with a greedy smirk. " You know, we can do this right here and now if you want. The audience would pay big bucks for that! " Just as he said that, he was struck hard in the groin with severe force, feeling the protective cup crack between his legs. His eyes widened and he stumbled to the ground on his back, yelling in agonizing pain.
Maddie stood up, watching her cousin be almost violated and fight off Marduk. " Hey, caveman! " Marduk ceased his yelling and looked up at Maddie. " They're waiting for your audition at the Geico commercial! " The larger man soon became angry and pushed himself off the mat before charging at Maddie, screaming a monstrous battle-cry.
" Maddie, get out of the way! " Anna cried out, fearing for her cousin who was about to be beaten into a bloody pulp. Maddie turned heel and ran towards the cage wall, taking a few more steps before driving her leg forward and flipping off the wall over Marduk's head. Airborne, she wrapped her elbows around his neck, and landing on her feet, she pivoted her hips and threw Marduk onto his back. The crowd roared in excitement, the cries of female spectators sounding over the men's, as Anna watched in surprise. " She definitely learned that from daddy..."
Marduk got off his back onto all fours, gazing at the woman like a bull fuming at the sight of the color red. " Is that the best you got? " Maddie taunted with a wag of her finger before leaping out of the way of Marduk's tackle, which had him ram into the cage. " Come on, it's so easy, a caveman can do it! Why can't you? " She continued dodging every blow sent her way, dancing around the ring as Marduk grew more and more annoyed by the second.
Anna watched the fight from a distance and was left in confusion. " When did she learn to fight like that? " She began to recognize the technique that Maddie pulled off, a technique that belonged to Anna's father, who was an assassin. The Head Twist Throw. She then gasped at the sight of her cousin be grabbed and held in the air by her neck with Marduk's hand crushing her throat.
" I tried to go real easy on you, kid, but you've really pushed my limit! " Marduk cried with a demonic grin, a grin that soon faded when Anna leaped onto his back, locking her arms around his neck. She applied pressure, suffocating the man as Maddie was released from his grip and dropped to the floor. Anna placed Marduk on his back over her knee, and smashed his elbow into his throat. She then stood to her feet, leaving the unconscious Marduk behind her.
" The winners of the match are these two ladies standing right here in the cage! " The announcer marched into the cage with the suitcase in hand. Anna rushed up to him with a smirk before snatching the case from him.
" Thank you, sweetie. " She gave him a wink before walking down the steps with Maddie following her, and turned around. " Mind telling where you learned that move from? "
" Oh that? " Maddie raised an eyebrow. " Uncle Richard taught me that. He thought because of my timidness that I couldn't defend myself. That's something, isn't it? "
On Anna's father's side, many relatives were either assassins or infiltration spies, with many of their children raised in the way of a hidden killer. Maddie, however was not one of those children, for she was a rather peaceful child who never had thoughts of taking a life.
" Time to go, kid. " Shani snatched the suitcase from Anna's grasp and made it for the exit, as Maddie glared at him with a frown.
" What's up his butt? " She asked Anna, who gave her a shook of his head.
" I don't even know. "
